Height: 23.82 in (81%)
Weight: 12.19 lbs (64%)
Head Circumference: 15.9 in (63%)
This already seems so long ago. Grey just turned 5 months last weekend so I still have a lot of catching up to do. But I'm glad I'm getting a post up about this even though it will be picture-less. Mostly, it is fun to compare Grey's growth to Lucy's growth when she was two months. I had thought that Grey was so much bigger than Lucy but their height and head circumference are actually quite similar and it is just his weight that is a bit bigger.
The big difference I noticed in my two babies at two months was with their vaccinations. Grey got his DTap, HIB, Polio, Hep-B, Pneumo PCV, and rotavirus vaccines (which I think was two or three shots and mouth drops). Grey did pretty good about taking the the rotavirus liquid vaccine but he was so upset about the shots compared to Lucy. It just made me think that boys don't have as high a pain tolerance as girls do. Or maybe Lucy is just a really tough cookie. She has always been really good about getting her shots. So he screamed quite a bit and it took him longer to calm down but once he got a good nursing, he was just fine although I'm pretty sure his sleeping was screwed up for several days.
I wish I could remember more about his developing personality at this time but I've already forgotten. Just another reminder to me to stay up to date on my blog.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Crossfit! (May 13, 2013)
The very best Mother's Day gift of all that I completely forgot to mention was from Grey. That weekend, he started to sleep through the night. Lucy started to sleep through the night at 6 weeks and as Grey hit 6 weeks, I kept my fingers crossed but he was still waking up around twice a night. By 7 weeks, he was only waking up once a night and it started stretching out for longer periods of time so I wasn't waking up until around 4:00 am. By that weekend, right before he turned 8 weeks, he was sleeping through the night. And when I say sleeping through the night, I mean he sleeps from when I go to sleep (anywhere between 10pm-midnight but sometimes earlier) until at least 5:00 or 6:00 am so I was getting anywhere from 6-8 hours of continuous sleep.
This happened just in time for me to begin Crossfit. Even though I have a year-long pre-paid membership to 24 Hour Fitness, you can't bring babies to daycare until they are 6 months old (at Gold's gym it is 6 weeks!). I actually let my 24 Hour membership lapse last December, anticipating that I wouldn't be able to use it for a while after having Grey but then caved in and bought another year membership in January because I was dying not working out and doing yoga for those last few months of my pregnancy. But it was probably a mistake since I didn't work out 6 weeks postpartum and barely make it on weekends now when Brandon can watch Grey. It's also not very close to my house so it's not convenient to go to unless I am running other errands. My membership was convenient when I just had Lucy and I would go work out and then go out food shopping or take her out on some excursion straight from leaving the gym.
My sister, Emily, had started Crossfit the beginning of the year and I was curious to try it out and to kick start my post-baby fitness. My husband is also a little obsessed with it even though he has never experienced it before. Since I still had money left over from my AmeriCorps educations award that I had used for my yoga certification, with the encouragement of Brandon and Emily, I decided to do Crossfit through the U's Continuing Education Program as an academic non-credit class. I was a little apprehensive at first because I wasn't sure what to expect. But I found out that another girl from my church ward did Crossfit through the U (since she works there and gets an employee discount). She explained to me that the Crossfit class was basically a membership to a local Crossfit gym so that I could go anytime. Since there was no daycare at the gym at all, the only time I would be able to go would be a morning class before Brandon went to work. There was a 5:00 am and 6:00 am class so I opted for the 6:00 am class which happened to be the class that the girl from my ward went to as well (which was helpful to have a friend to help motivate me to get there). I could have just gone to the 5:45 am class at 24 Hour Fitness but it was earlier and further away and I just wasn't motivated. My rule for Crossfit was that I would only go on the mornings that Grey slept through the night because the classes are physically demanding enough as it is and not getting adequate sleep would just be torture.
So on Monday, May 13th, I went to my first Crossfit class at 6:00 am at Brickwall Crossfit.
I. almost. died.
No...it wasn't that bad. But it was definitely hard. It happened to be a harder work-out than normal and for someone who hadn't worked out at all for 8 weeks postpartum and just did yoga through my entire pregnancy and not much else, it was pretty intense. But I made it the next day. And then for one more day that week because Grey still wasn't consistent about sleeping through the night. For the next month, I was able to make it to Crossfit 1-3 times a week when Grey slept through the night. On the mornings that I made it, my day was always better. Even though it sucked to wake up at 5:20 am and pump for 20 minutes, it was pretty awesome to start my day with a work out and then be showered and ready for the day by 8:00 am. You feel like you have already accomplished so much in a day.
I only signed up for the first session of the summer to try it out and towards the end of the session, I wasn't going at all because Grey got a little sick and wasn't sleeping through the night at all. When I went to sign up for the second session on-line in mid-June, the class wasn't there. When I asked my friend what the issue was, she told me that I had to go in person to sign a liability form at the U and then go in person to another office to sign up for the class. That may sound pretty easy but the person who had the liability forms that I needed to sign was not easy to work with and we couldn't get our schedules worked out to meet so I just never signed up at all.
Looking back on it, I'm a little sad that I only did it for a month. It's pretty expensive compared to a regular gym membership but I would be interested in trying it again, maybe with Brandon next time. I wasn't super crazy about the Olympic power lifting but it was fun to be able learn correct form and lift really heavy weight (I think that dead lift max was 130lb the one class we worked exclusively on dead lifts). I would have liked to see the improvements on my work-outs but didn't participate long enough to do the work-outs more than once. I also never got to climb the rope or learn how to do kipping pull-ups or muscle ups (which I was excited to learn how to do). I never took any pictures either but next time, I will be sure to do some before and after pictures.
I'm definitely feeling some work-out withdrawal. I used to joke with my Crossfit friend from church that I should just wake up early and do yard work because my yard is so neglected and it's actually a really good work out. So when I couldn't sign up for the second session of Crossfit, I figured that I could finally focus on making my yard look nice. But after Grey got sick, he cut two teeth, then we went on vacation, then we recovered from vacation and on the nights that he did sleep through the night, Lucy would wake up for one reason or another. So I haven't been able to get anything productive done these days, it seems.
In just two weeks, Lucy will start Pre-K four days and a week and Grey will be 6 months on September 17th so you can bet that I will be at 24 Hour Fitness on that day to work out at a more reasonable time. Then someday, I'll do Crossfit again.
This happened just in time for me to begin Crossfit. Even though I have a year-long pre-paid membership to 24 Hour Fitness, you can't bring babies to daycare until they are 6 months old (at Gold's gym it is 6 weeks!). I actually let my 24 Hour membership lapse last December, anticipating that I wouldn't be able to use it for a while after having Grey but then caved in and bought another year membership in January because I was dying not working out and doing yoga for those last few months of my pregnancy. But it was probably a mistake since I didn't work out 6 weeks postpartum and barely make it on weekends now when Brandon can watch Grey. It's also not very close to my house so it's not convenient to go to unless I am running other errands. My membership was convenient when I just had Lucy and I would go work out and then go out food shopping or take her out on some excursion straight from leaving the gym.
My sister, Emily, had started Crossfit the beginning of the year and I was curious to try it out and to kick start my post-baby fitness. My husband is also a little obsessed with it even though he has never experienced it before. Since I still had money left over from my AmeriCorps educations award that I had used for my yoga certification, with the encouragement of Brandon and Emily, I decided to do Crossfit through the U's Continuing Education Program as an academic non-credit class. I was a little apprehensive at first because I wasn't sure what to expect. But I found out that another girl from my church ward did Crossfit through the U (since she works there and gets an employee discount). She explained to me that the Crossfit class was basically a membership to a local Crossfit gym so that I could go anytime. Since there was no daycare at the gym at all, the only time I would be able to go would be a morning class before Brandon went to work. There was a 5:00 am and 6:00 am class so I opted for the 6:00 am class which happened to be the class that the girl from my ward went to as well (which was helpful to have a friend to help motivate me to get there). I could have just gone to the 5:45 am class at 24 Hour Fitness but it was earlier and further away and I just wasn't motivated. My rule for Crossfit was that I would only go on the mornings that Grey slept through the night because the classes are physically demanding enough as it is and not getting adequate sleep would just be torture.
So on Monday, May 13th, I went to my first Crossfit class at 6:00 am at Brickwall Crossfit.
I. almost. died.
No...it wasn't that bad. But it was definitely hard. It happened to be a harder work-out than normal and for someone who hadn't worked out at all for 8 weeks postpartum and just did yoga through my entire pregnancy and not much else, it was pretty intense. But I made it the next day. And then for one more day that week because Grey still wasn't consistent about sleeping through the night. For the next month, I was able to make it to Crossfit 1-3 times a week when Grey slept through the night. On the mornings that I made it, my day was always better. Even though it sucked to wake up at 5:20 am and pump for 20 minutes, it was pretty awesome to start my day with a work out and then be showered and ready for the day by 8:00 am. You feel like you have already accomplished so much in a day.
I only signed up for the first session of the summer to try it out and towards the end of the session, I wasn't going at all because Grey got a little sick and wasn't sleeping through the night at all. When I went to sign up for the second session on-line in mid-June, the class wasn't there. When I asked my friend what the issue was, she told me that I had to go in person to sign a liability form at the U and then go in person to another office to sign up for the class. That may sound pretty easy but the person who had the liability forms that I needed to sign was not easy to work with and we couldn't get our schedules worked out to meet so I just never signed up at all.
Looking back on it, I'm a little sad that I only did it for a month. It's pretty expensive compared to a regular gym membership but I would be interested in trying it again, maybe with Brandon next time. I wasn't super crazy about the Olympic power lifting but it was fun to be able learn correct form and lift really heavy weight (I think that dead lift max was 130lb the one class we worked exclusively on dead lifts). I would have liked to see the improvements on my work-outs but didn't participate long enough to do the work-outs more than once. I also never got to climb the rope or learn how to do kipping pull-ups or muscle ups (which I was excited to learn how to do). I never took any pictures either but next time, I will be sure to do some before and after pictures.
I'm definitely feeling some work-out withdrawal. I used to joke with my Crossfit friend from church that I should just wake up early and do yard work because my yard is so neglected and it's actually a really good work out. So when I couldn't sign up for the second session of Crossfit, I figured that I could finally focus on making my yard look nice. But after Grey got sick, he cut two teeth, then we went on vacation, then we recovered from vacation and on the nights that he did sleep through the night, Lucy would wake up for one reason or another. So I haven't been able to get anything productive done these days, it seems.
In just two weeks, Lucy will start Pre-K four days and a week and Grey will be 6 months on September 17th so you can bet that I will be at 24 Hour Fitness on that day to work out at a more reasonable time. Then someday, I'll do Crossfit again.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Mother's Day/Kim's Baby Shower - May 12, 2013
Since Kim's little baby boy would be due in just a couple of weeks, Heidi & Emily had a little family baby shower set up for her. Heidi put up some darling decorations (that also served double duty as little favors for the girls to keep).
Little baby Grey. He already looks so different (have to catch up on blogging, have to catch up on blogging). Kim was nice enough to let him use her brand new little rocker thing. I had never seen one before but I loved it! And the best part was that it folded up so it didn't take up as much space but was taller than many of the other rocker chairs out there so you don't have to bend over as much. I also love the colors and pattern. I imagined it must have been some really expensive boutique thing but it ends up it is Fisher-Price and you can buy it at Target for a very reasonable price.
You can never have too many baby blankets. But seriously, I barely had any blankets for Grey because everything I had was pink! It's nice to have a little blue.
Heidi gave her sister some magic pillow and a fancy schmancy video monitor.
And of course, there were plenty of clothes!
It's so great to have extra adult hands to take care of all these babies!
Heidi also made this darling room decoration for baby Hugh. She had not idea what the colors would be but just happened to get them right.
What a great way to spend Mother's Day. Emily and I did not go home empty-handed either. Vince and Peg gave us some yummy chocolate dipped strawberries from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Heidi also gave us the comfiest pants ever from Victoria's Secret. A wonderful way to end a wonderful day.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Mother's Day Brunch - May 12, 2013
Who wants to cook on Mother's Day? Not me. Who wants their husband to cook and make a huge mess in the kitchen and keep asking you where ingredients and kitchen tools are? No thank you. I decided that we would go out for Mother's Day brunch because I didn't want either of those things. Also, I saw a sign on this restaurant that mothers eat free on Mother's Day. I don't know if I was really in the mood for Vietnamese but I can't turn down a good deal. I think Brandon would have preferred Caffe Niche or Oasis Cafe or Park Cafe but I chose Cafe Trang. Fortunately, I didn't have to teach my regular Primary class so we all just went to sacrament meeting at church (the primary kids were singing a special musical number with their moms) and took off right after the first hour.
The manly men!
The girly girls.
Lettuce wraps.
My entree. Yum. I love fried rolls.
Our fortunes. I can't remember which ones belonged to who. Maybe mine was the bottom right, Brandon's was above me, and Lucy had the two on the left.
Mother's Day Morning - May 12, 2013
I will admit, I was a little disappointed on Valentine's Day. I usually don't have very high expectations for the holidays. It seems like it is more about the kids and less about the adults. And to a certain extent, I hate buying in to the over-commercialized Hallmark holidays that force you to celebrate your love on one particular day or your mother on the another. However, it is nice to do something and if a special day is not set aside for it, then it is difficult to remember to celebrate on your own. To appease my own disappointment, I ended up buying myself two pairs of shoes (on sale of course - they were $14 each on 6pm). I also bought myself some clearance roses from Smith's (which died shortly thereafter - probably why they were on clearance). But it wasn't Brandon's fault - neither of us do much or make that big of a deal for birthdays and holidays. We had set a precedent either because we didn't want to waste money or we were too lazy. But really, is there ever enough money?
Well, for Mother's Day, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I would not be disappointed for this holiday. By golly, I am raising a very assertive (read: challenging) four year old and just sacrificed my body (and my mind, a bit) to give birth to a new baby boy. I mean, I know - lots of other women do this and many do it better. But that doesn't mean it isn't hard or doesn't totally suck sometime. So yes, we all deserve a holiday to get a little more attention and perhaps some pampering or an extra gift or two.
So my plan was to let Brandon know exactly what I wanted. So no surprises, but also no disappointment. And no cringing if he went overboard on a gift that was way too expensive (something out of our budget probably stresses me out more than nothing at all). There were no subtle or not so subtle hints. It went like this, "I want a new electric hand mixer." Mine had died and it wasn't very good to begin with and any time I needed to make a dessert like chocolate roll for a birthday, I had to borrow my neighbor's electric hand mixer from across the street. But not just any mixer. I did research and found the most reasonably priced one with the best reviews on Amazon (I'm all about value) and put it on my Amazon wishlist and sent the link to Brandon. Easy.
Next, flowers. But not just any flowers. I didn't want expensive florist flowers. A bouquet from Trader Joe's or Sprouts would be just fine, thank you very much. They have lovely flowers that are very reasonably priced. Plus, we have lots of our own vases.
For breakfast, triple strawberry shortcakes. No cereal for this girl. I even gave Brandon the recipe and bought all the ingredients.
So here is how it all went down:
The "gift wrap" was a little last minute but that's okay. It was very resourceful of Brandon to use an old wedding gift bag.
Brandon tried his hand at some floral arranging. I love Japanese irises and calla lilies (I really love any/all flowers). Thoughtful? Yes. Unique? Very. Unfortunately, the irises didn't last long. Lesson learned for next time.
My lovely hand mixer. There are 290 watts for about $25. I wanted me some power. And why would I spend double or triple on some pricey Kitchenaid or Cuisinart with less watts. Me, I'm practical. Someday, I will get a Bosch or Kitchenaid stand mixer but for now, this will suffice. I haven't started making my own bread yet. But we did use this to make my triple strawberry shortcake.
These weren't on my list but they were on sale at Target for $12 and I had a $5 off coupon so they were only $7! Did I need them? No. But I wanted them so I bought them and threw them in my Mother's Day gift bag. Nice work, Brandon.
And there is my triple strawberry shortcake. I helped Brandon make them. Who says you can't have dessert for breakfast. Good thing our church starts at 11am so we had time for all this.
Well, for Mother's Day, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I would not be disappointed for this holiday. By golly, I am raising a very assertive (read: challenging) four year old and just sacrificed my body (and my mind, a bit) to give birth to a new baby boy. I mean, I know - lots of other women do this and many do it better. But that doesn't mean it isn't hard or doesn't totally suck sometime. So yes, we all deserve a holiday to get a little more attention and perhaps some pampering or an extra gift or two.
So my plan was to let Brandon know exactly what I wanted. So no surprises, but also no disappointment. And no cringing if he went overboard on a gift that was way too expensive (something out of our budget probably stresses me out more than nothing at all). There were no subtle or not so subtle hints. It went like this, "I want a new electric hand mixer." Mine had died and it wasn't very good to begin with and any time I needed to make a dessert like chocolate roll for a birthday, I had to borrow my neighbor's electric hand mixer from across the street. But not just any mixer. I did research and found the most reasonably priced one with the best reviews on Amazon (I'm all about value) and put it on my Amazon wishlist and sent the link to Brandon. Easy.
Next, flowers. But not just any flowers. I didn't want expensive florist flowers. A bouquet from Trader Joe's or Sprouts would be just fine, thank you very much. They have lovely flowers that are very reasonably priced. Plus, we have lots of our own vases.
For breakfast, triple strawberry shortcakes. No cereal for this girl. I even gave Brandon the recipe and bought all the ingredients.
So here is how it all went down:
Lucy's Last Dance Class (until the summer) - May 1, 2013
So here is Lucy's real last dance class (until she starts again in the summer). I already blogged about her first class HERE. For the last class, there wasn't a whole lot of visible improvement but the parents got to participate...
I should have dressed more appropriately in yoga pants or something. I thought we would just be watching.
There was no performance or recital. Just the usual dance class from what I could tell when I peeked through the window on the door throughout the session.
But that didn't take away from Lucy's joy. I think that at this age, she may prefer dancing just for the fun of it.
Grey was enthralled to be there.
Can't you tell?
Lucy insisted on having her Hello Kitty blanket with her.
They ended class dancing on a (yoga mat) rainbow.
Sometimes it seems like these early classes are pointless but I do hope that there is some value to them in laying a foundation for dance later on. And at least it keeps her busy and gives her something to look forward to (usually). I also like that she gets to be with other girls in her class and has the opportunity to listen to another adult. Miss Jasmine was a great teacher and enormously patient with a bunch and 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 year old girls.
Lucy's 2nd Last Dance Class - April 24, 2013
Normally, parents aren't allowed to observe these dance classes with the exception of the first and last class of the semester. However, some of the parents got confused about when the last class was because of the recital for all the older dancers (which the preschool class doesn't participate in due to their age) so they showed up for the second last class instead of the real last class. Because some parents had taken off of work to attend, Miss Jasmine just let them stay. I usually go run errands while Lucy is in dance class but when she saw a bunch of other parents there, she begged me to stay even though I would be there the next week as well, with Brandon. So I didn't get my usual food shopping done, it was nice to be able to see Lucy's class. It was pretty much the same as her very first class
This little guy slept the entire time which was nice that I didn't have to worry about him.
The kids got to listen to a little drumming in addition to the piano in this dance class.
I can't remember exactly what they were doing here - being animals?
Lucy's Birthday Bike - April 27, 2013
Every year, Lucy's Grandpa Dayton always sends a generous birthday check. When Lucy was two, we used the birthday money to buy a Radio Flyer wagon. When Lucy was three, she got a scooter. So for her fourth birthday, she was ready to move on to a bike (especially after her cousin, Olive earned a bike for herself). Even better, her Grandpa Dayton was able to take her out on a grandpa-granddaughter date where he bought her bike and took her out to eat for lunch (to her choice, McDonald's). It was a great gift to her mommy too, to have some time to herself.
In order to minimize the shopping time and make sure that she got what she wanted, Lucy and I did some research on-line to find what bike she wanted beforehand. We checked out Walmart, Target, and Toys R' Us and she found a bike that fit her desires. She DID NOT want to get the same Disney princess bike as Olive because she didn't want to be a copycat (so interesting that she can catch on to that at four years old). But she had to have a bike that had a little doll seat carrier in the back like Olive's. There is actually not a huge selection of 12 inch bikes with doll seat carriers so the final decision on the Pinkalicious bike from Toys R' Us was easy. The extra storage bag in front was also a plus. Grandpa Dayton even paid extra for the little horn. The bike was assembled right in the store and since Grandpa Dayton had the Blaster, had plenty of room to drive it home. And of course, he couldn't forget the Pinkalicious helmet.
The ironic thing is Lucy has never even read the Pinkalicious books. At least not with me. But the important thing is that her bike is pink and she loves it.
Thanks Grandpa Dayton!
In order to minimize the shopping time and make sure that she got what she wanted, Lucy and I did some research on-line to find what bike she wanted beforehand. We checked out Walmart, Target, and Toys R' Us and she found a bike that fit her desires. She DID NOT want to get the same Disney princess bike as Olive because she didn't want to be a copycat (so interesting that she can catch on to that at four years old). But she had to have a bike that had a little doll seat carrier in the back like Olive's. There is actually not a huge selection of 12 inch bikes with doll seat carriers so the final decision on the Pinkalicious bike from Toys R' Us was easy. The extra storage bag in front was also a plus. Grandpa Dayton even paid extra for the little horn. The bike was assembled right in the store and since Grandpa Dayton had the Blaster, had plenty of room to drive it home. And of course, he couldn't forget the Pinkalicious helmet.
The ironic thing is Lucy has never even read the Pinkalicious books. At least not with me. But the important thing is that her bike is pink and she loves it.
Thanks Grandpa Dayton!
Monday, July 15, 2013
She Drives Me Crazy - July 15, 2013
Do you know that song by Fine Young Cannibals? It should be the theme song to my life right now. Do other parents deal with this? Times (or days, weeks, months?) when their children drive them absolutely crazy? Take today for instance. It is just one battle and frustration after another. A day when I literally don't like my own child - my own flesh and blood, for goodness sakes!
It starts off in the morning after I have had a tough night with Grey waking up three times in the night. So I'm feeling pretty tired in the morning and Lucy comes in whining for me to get up and get her breakfast. Granted, this is a reasonable request but perhaps it is in how sheasks demands it that really gets under my skin. But you know, I let it go and get on with the day. And Brandon actually gets up with her and takes care of the breakfast thing.
Then it is time to get ready for swim lessons. I drive Aeli from down the street too so she comes over to my house first thing in the morning (which is actually really great for Lucy to have someone to play with so I can get ready/clean/take care of Grey in peace). But Lucy has to go number two on the toilet. And she makes it this epic event - she wants me to hold her hand because she is scared....and stay...and w a i t. And when she finally finishes, she still wants me to wipe her. Even after webribe incentivize her with three tokens! I mean, this girl has been potty trained for over two years and we can't get her to wipe her own butt!! Okay, let it go. Not a big deal. We will keep working on it.
"Lucy, did you get your bag ready for swim lessons?" "Lucy, can you please get your bag ready for swim lessons?" "LUCY! GO GET YOUR BAG READY FOR SWIM LESSONS!!" Can I just ask something once and be done with it? Why, oh why will she not listen until I get angry and have to yell?
Then there is this competition. Lucy wants to be first for everything! First to get in the car, first to press the handicap button to open the door to the rec center. It is like this huge competition for her. If she is not first, then she starts whining. And sometimes, she will just scream at the top of her lungs. Like when Aeli waited at the car instead of waiting with Lucy in the driveway for me to unlock the doors - she makes up these arbitrary rules as she goes along and if you don't listen to her, you will incur the wrath of Lucy. Giant scream. Was I like this as a child? I hope not. If I was, Mom, I am so, so, so sorry.
After swim lessons, time to take a shower. I've stored up my patience in advance because I know Lucy and Aeli like to play in the shower and it takes a long time. So I wait. They take forever it seems. And then when they finally come out and while I am picking up their sopping wet swim suits and making sure the water is turned off and they haven't left anything in the shower stall, I turn to see Lucy shouting into Grey's car seat. Grey is asleep...or was asleep. I am livid. I hit Lucy on top of the head with the small towel I am holding and proceed to say, "You DON'T yell at your brother when he is sleeping! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO SCREAM INTO YOUR BROTHER'S CAR SEAT WHEN HE IS SLEEPING!" This has obviously not the first time this has happened. She fires back at me, "Owww! MOM!! NO HITTING!!!" She is right - no matter how angry we are, we are not allowed to hit or scream or yell. I have a hard time following my own rules (perhaps her screaming/hitting/kicking is from me since I obviously have some control and anger management issues as well). I apologize but sternly remind her that she is not supposed to shout at her brother when he is sleeping. She hadn't shouted at him maliciously - I think that she was just excited and wanted to share her excitement. Grey had already been sleeping about an hour so he could have been due to wake up at any moment and he didn't cry - was probably just surprised. But still, it didn't mean I wasn't completely pissed off.
On the way home, it is the same as the way to swim lessons. Whining to be first to get in the car. Arguing with Aeli about who gets to sit in the middle seat at the table once we got home (seriously, these are the dumbest arguments and they are initiated by my daughter - have we still not learned how to share and take turns?). Then at home, Lucy won't share the grapes with Aeli (remember Annie, always put food on two separate plates instead of sharing one even though it makes more dishes to wash, it alleviates arguments between little girls about being able to reach said food or who has the food closer to them).
I mean, is it normal to not be able to stand your own kid? It's like I don't even like her and would be happy if she just played at a friend's house all day. An argument that occurs almost daily is that Lucy wants to go to Mary's house for daycare. I love Mary, and I love daycare but it is not in our budget to put Lucy in daycare when I am not working and staying at home. Believe me, I would love to put Lucy in daycare and let her play with her friends all day long but my four year old can't seem to grasp the concept that things like daycare cost money and Mommy and Daddy don't have unlimited amounts of money. She is actually pretty good at understanding that material goods from the store cost money and has already learned that I don't buy things unless they are on sale or I have a coupon and it is a really good deal. But she hasn't quite caught on that services costs money as well.
Lately, Lucy struggles to tell the truth as well. Like when she just asked me if she could go to Mary's house with Aeli and I said no. Then I heard her walk into the kitchen and tell Aeli that her mom told her that she can go to Mary's house with her. I know that I am not supposed to accuse my daughter of being a liar because she doesn't grasp the concept of lying and all that stuff that my Babycenter e-mails tell me that I am supposed to compassionate about. But I can't tell you that I'm not worried about my daughter stretching or completely eliminating the truth and that it doesn't frustrate me when she tells an outright whopper right in front of me. But seriously, I would consider going back to work and putting Lucy in daycare if I didn't have Grey.
After I had Lucy and struggled with raising a baby, I scoffed and thought that other parents were crazy when they would tell me that it just gets harder as they get older. How could anything be harder than raising a baby? All the sleepless nights and breastfeeding and not being able to walk, talk, or eat solids. But although babies can be hard, at least they are simple - they just eat, sleep, poop, and burp and occasionally give you a smile. But little four year old girls - when does the drama end? There are still wakings in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or because of a bad dream and they tend to involve more screaming and crying. I feel like I am having an easier time with Grey than Lucy. But I have a feeling that the drama doesn't go away. It increases as they get older. What is it going to be like having a teenager? It's just past noon and I can barely deal with my four year old. But she got what she wanted - when we dropped off Aeli at Mary's house, Mary said that Lucy could stay for a little while to play since Lucy started to cry as we left.
I will instead drown my frustrations in a home-made vanilla cream pie that took forever to make yesterday because I decided to try something new instead of my usual custard pie but doesn't really taste that good to me but at least it is sweet. Seriously, meringue is so time-consuming and so not worth it. I don't even like meringue - I should have done the whipped cream topping instead but didn't want to waste four egg whites. Ar least I have a little time to catch up on my blog - just about three months behind now...perpetually. And although I hate posting things out of chronological order, it is worth it to vent. And now I can have a record of what a brat my daughter is to show to her when she is older and laugh when she has children of her own that are just like she was. (Again, so sorry Mom, if I was like this!)
It starts off in the morning after I have had a tough night with Grey waking up three times in the night. So I'm feeling pretty tired in the morning and Lucy comes in whining for me to get up and get her breakfast. Granted, this is a reasonable request but perhaps it is in how she
Then it is time to get ready for swim lessons. I drive Aeli from down the street too so she comes over to my house first thing in the morning (which is actually really great for Lucy to have someone to play with so I can get ready/clean/take care of Grey in peace). But Lucy has to go number two on the toilet. And she makes it this epic event - she wants me to hold her hand because she is scared....and stay...and w a i t. And when she finally finishes, she still wants me to wipe her. Even after we
"Lucy, did you get your bag ready for swim lessons?" "Lucy, can you please get your bag ready for swim lessons?" "LUCY! GO GET YOUR BAG READY FOR SWIM LESSONS!!" Can I just ask something once and be done with it? Why, oh why will she not listen until I get angry and have to yell?
Then there is this competition. Lucy wants to be first for everything! First to get in the car, first to press the handicap button to open the door to the rec center. It is like this huge competition for her. If she is not first, then she starts whining. And sometimes, she will just scream at the top of her lungs. Like when Aeli waited at the car instead of waiting with Lucy in the driveway for me to unlock the doors - she makes up these arbitrary rules as she goes along and if you don't listen to her, you will incur the wrath of Lucy. Giant scream. Was I like this as a child? I hope not. If I was, Mom, I am so, so, so sorry.
After swim lessons, time to take a shower. I've stored up my patience in advance because I know Lucy and Aeli like to play in the shower and it takes a long time. So I wait. They take forever it seems. And then when they finally come out and while I am picking up their sopping wet swim suits and making sure the water is turned off and they haven't left anything in the shower stall, I turn to see Lucy shouting into Grey's car seat. Grey is asleep...or was asleep. I am livid. I hit Lucy on top of the head with the small towel I am holding and proceed to say, "You DON'T yell at your brother when he is sleeping! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO SCREAM INTO YOUR BROTHER'S CAR SEAT WHEN HE IS SLEEPING!" This has obviously not the first time this has happened. She fires back at me, "Owww! MOM!! NO HITTING!!!" She is right - no matter how angry we are, we are not allowed to hit or scream or yell. I have a hard time following my own rules (perhaps her screaming/hitting/kicking is from me since I obviously have some control and anger management issues as well). I apologize but sternly remind her that she is not supposed to shout at her brother when he is sleeping. She hadn't shouted at him maliciously - I think that she was just excited and wanted to share her excitement. Grey had already been sleeping about an hour so he could have been due to wake up at any moment and he didn't cry - was probably just surprised. But still, it didn't mean I wasn't completely pissed off.
On the way home, it is the same as the way to swim lessons. Whining to be first to get in the car. Arguing with Aeli about who gets to sit in the middle seat at the table once we got home (seriously, these are the dumbest arguments and they are initiated by my daughter - have we still not learned how to share and take turns?). Then at home, Lucy won't share the grapes with Aeli (remember Annie, always put food on two separate plates instead of sharing one even though it makes more dishes to wash, it alleviates arguments between little girls about being able to reach said food or who has the food closer to them).
I mean, is it normal to not be able to stand your own kid? It's like I don't even like her and would be happy if she just played at a friend's house all day. An argument that occurs almost daily is that Lucy wants to go to Mary's house for daycare. I love Mary, and I love daycare but it is not in our budget to put Lucy in daycare when I am not working and staying at home. Believe me, I would love to put Lucy in daycare and let her play with her friends all day long but my four year old can't seem to grasp the concept that things like daycare cost money and Mommy and Daddy don't have unlimited amounts of money. She is actually pretty good at understanding that material goods from the store cost money and has already learned that I don't buy things unless they are on sale or I have a coupon and it is a really good deal. But she hasn't quite caught on that services costs money as well.
Lately, Lucy struggles to tell the truth as well. Like when she just asked me if she could go to Mary's house with Aeli and I said no. Then I heard her walk into the kitchen and tell Aeli that her mom told her that she can go to Mary's house with her. I know that I am not supposed to accuse my daughter of being a liar because she doesn't grasp the concept of lying and all that stuff that my Babycenter e-mails tell me that I am supposed to compassionate about. But I can't tell you that I'm not worried about my daughter stretching or completely eliminating the truth and that it doesn't frustrate me when she tells an outright whopper right in front of me. But seriously, I would consider going back to work and putting Lucy in daycare if I didn't have Grey.
After I had Lucy and struggled with raising a baby, I scoffed and thought that other parents were crazy when they would tell me that it just gets harder as they get older. How could anything be harder than raising a baby? All the sleepless nights and breastfeeding and not being able to walk, talk, or eat solids. But although babies can be hard, at least they are simple - they just eat, sleep, poop, and burp and occasionally give you a smile. But little four year old girls - when does the drama end? There are still wakings in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom or because of a bad dream and they tend to involve more screaming and crying. I feel like I am having an easier time with Grey than Lucy. But I have a feeling that the drama doesn't go away. It increases as they get older. What is it going to be like having a teenager? It's just past noon and I can barely deal with my four year old. But she got what she wanted - when we dropped off Aeli at Mary's house, Mary said that Lucy could stay for a little while to play since Lucy started to cry as we left.
I will instead drown my frustrations in a home-made vanilla cream pie that took forever to make yesterday because I decided to try something new instead of my usual custard pie but doesn't really taste that good to me but at least it is sweet. Seriously, meringue is so time-consuming and so not worth it. I don't even like meringue - I should have done the whipped cream topping instead but didn't want to waste four egg whites. Ar least I have a little time to catch up on my blog - just about three months behind now...perpetually. And although I hate posting things out of chronological order, it is worth it to vent. And now I can have a record of what a brat my daughter is to show to her when she is older and laugh when she has children of her own that are just like she was. (Again, so sorry Mom, if I was like this!)
Realizations - July 12, 2013
The other night at bedtime, Lucy was telling me and Brandon that she wanted to be part of Aeli's family and to live over there. I wasn't offended by this request at all - I know that she loves playing over at Aeli's house and they have lots of great toys and lots of great food (she always eats corn dogs, hot dogs, pasta, etc over there). Lucy's friendship with Aeli has been my salvation since Grey has been born and I can't give Lucy as much attention as before so I'm extremely grateful for her family.
We explained to her that if she was part of Aeli's family and lived with them, that we (me and Brandon), would no longer be her mommy and daddy and that Grey would not be her brother. She said that she was okay with that - she might miss me a little but not daddy. I'm not sure if she was frustrated because bedtime is always a fight - getting her to put on her pajamas, brush her teeth, and go to the bathroom before bed - even choosing books for story time. It seems like we have to ask her a million times before she listens to us and then we get angry and start having to threaten to take tokens away and she gets upset. You know how it goes...and we as parents think we are doing the right thing by giving her limits and structure, even if she gets mad at us and thinks it is unfair that she can't stay up (although our actual rule is that she doesn't have to go to sleep, she just needs to be in her room and can continue to play if she wants after she is ready for bed).
Later that night, when she was finally in bed, she started crying. Brandon went in to comfort her but she wouldn't tell him what was wrong and wanted to talk to me. So I went in and knelt by her bed and asked her what was wrong. She tearfully told me that she still wanted to be a part of our family and that she loved us both. She was so sincere about the whole thing - like leaving our family was even a possibility. It was pretty tender - that definitely pulled at my heartstrings. And I told her how much we both loved her and that I was glad to be her mommy even though it was hard and frustrating at times and that sometimes I made mistakes.
I ended by telling her that she could be a part of Aeli's family and still be a part of our family if she married Aeli's older brother, Willem or younger brother, Eli. She has been saying for a little while that she wants to marry Willem. My realization is that this is an actual possibility and might come sooner than I think...but right now, we will just keep plugging away at making bedtime just a little less stressful for all of us.
We explained to her that if she was part of Aeli's family and lived with them, that we (me and Brandon), would no longer be her mommy and daddy and that Grey would not be her brother. She said that she was okay with that - she might miss me a little but not daddy. I'm not sure if she was frustrated because bedtime is always a fight - getting her to put on her pajamas, brush her teeth, and go to the bathroom before bed - even choosing books for story time. It seems like we have to ask her a million times before she listens to us and then we get angry and start having to threaten to take tokens away and she gets upset. You know how it goes...and we as parents think we are doing the right thing by giving her limits and structure, even if she gets mad at us and thinks it is unfair that she can't stay up (although our actual rule is that she doesn't have to go to sleep, she just needs to be in her room and can continue to play if she wants after she is ready for bed).
Later that night, when she was finally in bed, she started crying. Brandon went in to comfort her but she wouldn't tell him what was wrong and wanted to talk to me. So I went in and knelt by her bed and asked her what was wrong. She tearfully told me that she still wanted to be a part of our family and that she loved us both. She was so sincere about the whole thing - like leaving our family was even a possibility. It was pretty tender - that definitely pulled at my heartstrings. And I told her how much we both loved her and that I was glad to be her mommy even though it was hard and frustrating at times and that sometimes I made mistakes.
I ended by telling her that she could be a part of Aeli's family and still be a part of our family if she married Aeli's older brother, Willem or younger brother, Eli. She has been saying for a little while that she wants to marry Willem. My realization is that this is an actual possibility and might come sooner than I think...but right now, we will just keep plugging away at making bedtime just a little less stressful for all of us.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Ethan's Graduation - April 26, 2013
It seems like every week, we have some new event to look forward to. It is especially nice to have an excuse to get out of the house because it is easy to stay in when you have a new baby. It's always a bit intimidating the first few times you go out with a new baby but then you start getting used to it. And it's always nice when you have other people there to help you out. What better excuse to get out of the house than to support Ethan for his graduation from UVU. Since the graduation was on Friday, Brandon had to take a half day off of work but it's always worth it to spend time with family.
We dressed Grey up for the occasion.
Proud Grandpa Dayton looking on at his youngest son graduating. I came prepared with lots of snacks for Lucy. She of course, dressed herself. I think we might have even run a comb through her hair but it didn't seem to do much.
Where's Waldo Ethan?
I was ready to bolt with this kid if necessary but he was pretty chill for the entire thing. I can't remember if he got a dirty diaper or not but if he did, Brandon took care of it.
I took care of the feeding and putting to sleep.
On the big screen receiving his diploma (or empty diploma case?)...
Walking by after receiving his diploma...
This guy is super excited!
Outside for pictures. The weather was pretty gorgeous. Besides the usual suspects (Merril, Damian, and our little family), Aunt Carol and Uncle Robert were also in attendance from Cokeville, Wyoming but I didn't get the group shot of us all (I think that Damian was able to capture it on his camera).
After the ceremony, we went out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings in Lehi. We were trying for Pizzeria 712 but no one really paid attention to their hours and they weren't open (and were probably booked with all the graduation traffic for later on). So it wasn't fancy, but for a nursing mother, it was awesome. Our super fancy dinner took place the next day at La Caille because Merril had a date that evening. I kinda wish I got a babysitter for the kids because it was so fancy but Lucy was on her very best behavior (I told her it was princess training) and Grey was also quite good. Lucy really wanted to go spend time with her friend, Aeli that night but didn't want to miss out on the fancy dinner either. Glad that she chose family over friends.
Congratulations, Ethan!
After the ceremony, we went out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings in Lehi. We were trying for Pizzeria 712 but no one really paid attention to their hours and they weren't open (and were probably booked with all the graduation traffic for later on). So it wasn't fancy, but for a nursing mother, it was awesome. Our super fancy dinner took place the next day at La Caille because Merril had a date that evening. I kinda wish I got a babysitter for the kids because it was so fancy but Lucy was on her very best behavior (I told her it was princess training) and Grey was also quite good. Lucy really wanted to go spend time with her friend, Aeli that night but didn't want to miss out on the fancy dinner either. Glad that she chose family over friends.
Congratulations, Ethan!
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