Thursday, February 26, 2009

Vocabulary

Last month, our neighbors, Jessica and Bill, had a gorgeous baby boy who they named Max. When they were at the hospital, Emma Rose, Anabelle and I fed and played with their dogs. Their names are Mona, Jake and Bowser. The girls loved playing with them. I think they couldn't believe there are actually dogs in the world that are bigger than cats. Jake is a lab, and I'm not sure of the breeds of the Mona and Jake. Anabelle fell in love! Whenever we would come home from feeding and playing with the dogs, she would cry and say their names over and over. Well, mostly she would say "Mo (slight pause) ma." As soon as we would start over in the mornings and the afternoons, she would get excited and start saying their names. Anabelle is still talking about Mona, Jake, and Bowser. Now she mostly says Jake.

Her vocabulary is exploding! She's even giving orders. This morning, she started crying and calling for me at about 6 am. I went in her room to check on her, and when I picked her up, she said "Daddy. Vork (work)." Then she pointed to the glider and told me, "Chair." I rocked her for few minutes and then she told me, "Bed." I gave her a kiss and put her back to bed. Done!

Emma Rose also used a three syllable yesterday. When we eat dinner, Anabelle can see her reflection in the door to the back porch. If she's fussy or won't eat, I encourage her to show the baby how to eat or to see if the baby is crying. It works pretty well. Last night, I had to use the trick. Emma Rose leaned over and tried to see herself, too. She told me, "I can't see my reflection!" I had no idea she even knew that word! She also told me several weeks ago that she was exasperated!

When I take Emma Rose to ballet, Anabelle and I sit in the adjacent room where we can watch Emma Rose and the rest of the class on a television screen. This past week, I was feeding Anabelle lunch and talking to one of the other moms. It got a bit quiet and then there were a few giggles, so I looked up at the TV screen. Emma Rose had taken off her skirt and was doing her best to put it back on. She alternated between trying to get it over her head and trying to step into it. She could get the skirt over her head, but couldn't quite get both arms through the waist. Then she would get one foot in and couldn't stretch the skirt open enough to get the next foot in. After about 5 minutes of her doing her best to get her skirt on, her teaching finally came over to help.

This past weekend, Anabelle fell off the ottoman. She got a huge bump on her forehead that swelled up to be about the size of a golf ball. When I held her, she stopped crying after about 30 seconds when she saw her wooden frog pull toy on the floor. Then she yelled "Frog!" In Anabelle speak, frog still rhymes with duck. For a quick second, I thought she was just really mad that she had bumped her head. Anabelle says frog after she fell off ottoman.

Also, we have been poop-free in the bath tub for almost a month. Sadly, Anabelle has been a bit constipated. She now has tooth number 7 and tooth number 8 is on it's way in. There may also be some pre-molar or molar activity going on. Maybe once the teeth come in, the constipation will be gone.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Ballerina, Cake-aholic, & Absorbent Moon

Emma Rose received her dance recital costume today. It is orange. I was hoping for pink or purple, maybe red. Her class will be wearing orange. Although I am a teensy bit disappointed in the color, I'm super excited about how much fun she had trying on the costume tonight. Usually, we argue about trying on clothes, and 50% of the time, she very reluctantly does it. The other 50%, she refuses. Not tonight: she took her clothes right off and pulled the costume out of the bag. She giggled the entire time. She also grabbed her black and white pretend dress up shoes, which came off very soon as they impeded the dancing. As soon as she put it on, she started dancing and singing I've Got Peace Like a River. I think that might be a song for the recital. Emma Rose got the lyrics a little confused and started sing "I've got to peace like a river . . . " In the pictures, be sure to notice the band aids on her knees! This is the link to the rest of the pictures: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8QYs3Ldo5at2O.















Last week was my last week with the yucky flu. John's dad and step mom, Pops and Sugar, came to help with the girls. Being able to rest was a blessing and it helped me heal. The girls had a great time, and we were all glad they were here. Emma Rose and Pops played with dominoes, and they made "domino dances," lined up dominoes so that when one is pushed, they fall in succession. Sugar and Pops took Emma Rose to Cracker Barrel for lunch where she had pancakes and got her own bottle of maple syrup. Anabelle got to eat as much cake as she wanted on Tuesday night when she was sitting in Pops' lap. Anabelle is still asking for Sugar and Pops!











Anabelle is getting in at least 3 teeth right now. They are all on the bottom. She's been having a terrible time with her afternoon naps, and I think she may be just about ready to go to one nap a day. We'll start trying that either this week or next week. My sanity may be on the line. I was watching TV one afternoon last week when she was suppose to be napping, but she was with me. A commercial for sanitary napkins was on, and the napkin was delicately curved against a night blue background. Anabelle pointed to the TV and said "Moon!"
Here are a couple of other pictures: 1. John and the girls had a play-doh session this weekend. It looks like John is playing more than the girls. 2. John took a picture of me with the only orchid I have ever managed to keep alive. I've had it for more than a year. One of the stalks (the one with the bloom) has grown new blooms twice since the original ones died. A new stalk has grown and should be blooming in the next few weeks.





Sunday, February 15, 2009

The Exhibitionist and Her Assistant

Thursday afternoon, I heard a lot of giggles coming out of Emma Rose's room. The girls were both in there, and when Anabelle stepped out, she was topless! With a huge smile, she was holding her little Lambie Pie with one hand and rubbing her belly with the other. She has figured out how to take her shirt off but only half way. Emma Rose helped her get it completely off! I put the shirt back on, and Anabelle took it half way off again. She got the shirt over her head and walked around in circles trying to get it off her arms until Emma Rose helped her. They were giggling the entire time!

Ever the drama queen, Emma Rosetold me this week, "I miss Daddy being in my life." I'm just not sure where she picks up these kinds of phrases. Plus, she talks to her daddy every night on the phone, and they spend lots of time together on the weekends. She is so funny!

On Valentine's Day, Anabelle said "love you" for the first time ever! It was so precious. Following in her sister's footsteps, she said this to her daddy before anyone else. She then told Emma Rose "love you" quite a few times, and right before I laid her down for the night, she told me, too. I've been waiting to hear that for a while!

Friday, I went to the doctor and found out that I have been suffering all week from Type A flu, apparently the worst of the three types. My mom came over Sunday before John left for Pittsburg. While I was in bed, she made dinner for the girls and put them in their jammies. Thank goodness for her. She came back over Monday evening and helped again. On Tuesday, it seemed I was getting better, but I was wrong! Friday, the doctor gave me antibiotics for the secondary affliction, a sinus infection, and it seems that now I'm starting to feel better. The good news in all of this is that the girls, even though they had some sniffles, coughing and fever, did not get the horrible symptoms I had. They had the flu shot. I'm going to get it next year! John also still has not come down with the flu. We're crossing our fingers that he stays healthy!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

On the Mend

The sick are still sick, and I'm so excited for John to be home tomorrow. My mom, aka Cricket, has volunteered to stay with the girls Friday night so that John and I can go out to dinner. I so hope I'm feeling better. I really look forward to all of the adult time I can get, especially when it's with John. (I've also had black bean soup three nights in a row because I'm too tired to cook!) This week, it would be really nice because sick babies are some of the least fun babies. They're being pretty good even if they are sick, and I've done my best to keep them comfortable with Motrin and a little Benedryl. This has not been the best week for us, and I told John tonight that he must decontaminate before he's allowed to touch anything. I think he must have transferred airplane germs into the house. He, however, is still not sick. Good for him, but I did feel a little jealous when he told me "I feel GREAT!" on Monday morning.

Emma Rose has been sweet this week. She helps me with Anabelle and calls her Sweet Heart a lot. On Tuesday night at dinner, she spontaneously bowed her head and started praying that we would all feel better. It was so precious. She also has a tremendous list of people she wants to thank Jesus for everynight at prayer time. I'm impressed with her memory and especially her kind heart. I really hope she stays that way. Tonight, she wanted to thank Jesus for her Sunday school teachers as she really likes them. I took the opportunity to tell her that she would have a new teacher at pre-school next year. She immediatly told me she thinks her hair will be long and clean. She also thinks the teacher will be nice. I wonder if long, clean hair and nice personalities go hand in hand for her.

For snack time, I've been giving the girls chocolate bunnies and honey bunnies. They're tastey and free of the evil high fructose corn syrup. One afternoon, I started making them hop from the table into my mouth, and the girls did the same. Anabelle has remembered that, and now she calls the bunny cracker hops. She'll point to the pantry and say "Hops?" in her breathy little girl voice. I melt. She has also learned how to say help very clearly. Again, she uses the breathy little girl voice. It gets her immediate help from either me or Emma Rose. She has also managed to get another half syllable in the word, too. I think we may have a budding Southern Bell among us.

Another one of her little quirky words is "nope." She still loves to say no to almost anything, but it has morphed into nope. I think she must have picked that up from What's Wrong Little Pookie? by Sandra Boyton. That book has become one of her favorites, and she loves Pookie. When we read it, she helps me read by answering the mommy's questions about what could be wrong with Pookie. Are you cold? Did you tear your new shirt? The answers are no and nope. I'm so glad both Anabelle and Emma Rose love books.


In bath time news: we just had another poop free night! We may have a two week record soon!
Here are a couple of pictures of the girls from last week. We were in Emma Rose's room playing a combination of kitchen and tea party. Emma Rose is sporting her best contrived smile. I am still amazed at how long her hair is getting! Anabelle is still teething, and we're anxiously waiting on the seventh tooth.











The weekends are going by entirely too quickly! This weekend was no exception, and we had a great time, especially on Friday night. It was Wii Family Night, but the adults really did not play any Wii. Well, of course, John was the exception. Nicki and her family, Shane (a friend from high school) and his family, and our neighbor, Kelly and her two sons came over Friday night. Her oldest, Matthew, is just 3 weeks older than Anabelle. The adults ended up just hanging out, and the kids played. John played Guitar Hero with Andrew and bowling with Kate. He also hung out with us a little, too. The kids had a great time, and I think Emma Rose has rarely been as tired as she was on Friday night. I think she ran around the house more than 50 times with Lauren and Kate. The mommies got their infant fix by holding little 8 week Andrew, Kelly's youngest son. I did not take as many pictures as I should have, but John did grab the camera and got a rare picture of me! We can't wait to get together with our friends again!
























The bad news is that we all woke up feeling bad on Saturday morning. I originally thought it was because we stayed up a little later than normal, but we all got worse throughout the day. We even tried to get out for fresh air to feel better, but it didn't work. We went to Canton's Heritage Park. We were a bit disappointed as there was no playground. There were some small hills where children were sliding on flattened boxes. We did not have a box, so our kids were deprived. We'll know for next time!



Anabelle continues to shout out "frog" and "fork." Each time, it really sounds like she is rhyming those f-words with duck, and I cringe a little. I'm sure she'll get the r sound in time. As of a few weeks ago, she has started calling her little lamb "pie." We have called her lambie pie for quite sometime, so her version is Pie. Pie now needs a second bath as her white fur is turning brown. Once we get past this sickness, she will get a bath to rid her of germs, snot, and drool.



Emma Rose's new passion, besides all things purple, is Power Throw on Wii Bowling. She's getting pretty good, and she's even reported that her arm hurts because of too much playing. She still loves to "play" Guitar Hero with her Daddy, too. She had such a good time on Friday night that she has asked me everyday if her friends will be back soon. I think she's going to love being in pre-school and making new friends.


This morning, Anabelle wanted to sit beside her sister to watch their morning Disney programming. Emma Rose put her arm around her sister! I love when they are sweet and loving!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

We may have had a minor milestone. It has been a week since Anabelle pooped in the tub. While I know this is not as exciting for parents who have non-tub poopers, I can assure you this is something to celebrate. If I could teach Jasper the Cat to puke up her hair balls some where other than the carpet, we could have a major party. Am I a movie star or do I just feel the intense glamour of pretending to be one in my house?

In construction news, the three houses being built around our house are almost done! We met Dwayne, the father of the family who is moving in on the west side of us. He has two boys, 7 and 11, a wife, and (the best part of all) a dachshund! Dwayne said the dachshund is a "tweenie" as he is neither a standard nor a miniature. It was fun hearing a masculine-type guy saying "tweenie." I could see that he was a bit uncomfortable with such a silly word!

This morning, I heard what I thought couldn't have been a muffled scream coming from the house on the east side of us. Well, when I heard the Fire Rescue truck, I realized I did hear a muffled scream. We all ran to the window, and Emma Rose was glued to the scene the entire time. One of the construction workers had fallen from a ladder when it bent. The other construction worker told me the ladders sometimes bend when it's cold. The injured guy was carried away on a stretcher, and I think he may have broken his leg. It was sad. The other sad part is as he was being lifted onto the stretcher and carried away, I started thinking about how the red clay mud from the injured man was going to stain the white sheets on the stretcher and how I was glad the sheets could be bleached. I hope he's OK. Emma Rose said she does, too.

Last weekend, Emma Rose let us put her hair in pig tails again! These pictures are of the pig tails and of Emma Rose and Anabelle playing in Emma Rose's room. They had just had a bath, and Anabelle's hair is in mohawk form. It'll be so exciting when we can put her hair in pig tails, too!
Yesterday, I signed up Emma Rose for pre-school. She is excited and can't wait to start. I hope the excitement lasts until August! We arrived at 8:35 am for the 9:30 registration time. When I wrote my name on the sign in list, I was number nine. I was relieved there weren't too many parents ahead of us. The lady who gave us the tour of the school told me that in the past, parents have arrived at 3 am with their heaters to make sure they get a spot for their child. She's in the class, and we only had to wait a little more than an hour! Hooray!
Anabelle, who may not be ready for pre-school, is a little chatter box. She surprises me with how many words she can say. She also embarrasses me a little. She says "fork" when she sees food or wants to eat, but she really can't say the 'r'. It sounds as if she is trying to rhyme fork with duck. She also does the same with frog and work. I'm always a little shocked when she screams out "frog" in reference to the several frog toys we have. I have to remind myself she is frog and not saying that word.