All Is Well

I know - I haven't blogged in a while. I actually haven't even commented on many blogs lately. But all is well. I am just taking a little break (expect me back next week). Things are going well, but I have just been busy. I guess life can be like that sometimes!

Animals

AJU5 has a love/hate relationship with animals. She loves to look at them. She hates to be close to them. And the definition of close varies based on the animal and parental closeness. She will say "kitty" and "Puppy" these days when she sees or hears them (in the case of the dogs). But, if they come close, she runs away. Earlier this week, we went for a walk and saw a very nice older cat whom we have pet before. We got him to come over, but he walked to close to AJU5 and they both got scared! So, we followed him across the street and sat down. He then was willing to come over to me so I could pet him. But AJU5 still wasn't sure. At one point he rubbed up against her and she did not like it. Luckily, this time he wasn't phased by her reaction.

Yesterday we went to the zoo for the first time. She seemed to like it. Some of the animals I don't think she saw because they were "hiding," but others she loved to watch. The ones that were most entertaining for us were the polar bears, cougar/mountain lion, small birds, and koala bears. We also spent a good amount of time at the seals and sea lions and ape exhibits, but I don't know how much she actually saw of the animals. The plan is to go back every few weeks. Hopefully by the end of the summer she will know at least the "fun" animals!

Pregnant with a Toddler

Bessie Viola asked what it is like to be pregnant with a toddler. They currently have a 15 month (plus or minus a few weeks) old daughter and are considering when to expand their family again.

First, let me say that many of the readers of this blog have already gone before me! Hopefully you ladies will correct me if I am wrong :)

Now, the worst thing so far is dealing with AJU5 when I feel terrible. Being a WAHM makes this worse because I have to juggle her and work already. When I was throwing up multiple times a day, I could tell she didn't have a good day either. Luckily, AJU1 would play with her outside when he got home so she could burn off her energy and cheer up. In Bessie Viola's case, this won't be as bad. She is a working mom, so her daughter Madeline won't notice the difference when she is at day care.

Another thing to deal with is moodiness. I find myself getting to my breaking point a lot faster these days. As a result, AJU5 has ended up crying it out in bed a few times (note: I resort to this only near nap time). I have also left her to cry in a room where she could access me when she was done with her fit.

The third "big" hurdle to overcome is fatigue. AJU5 likes to be carried these days - inside that is. Outside she prefers to walk until she is exhausted :) It is hard to explain to her that Mommy can't carry her around the house meeting her every whim when she is already tired. This is the main reason for many of the fits mentioned above... Hopefully the second trimester will give me a little more energy!

I guess that is it so far. Again, you moms to more than one, feel free to share your experience! I am talking to you Becca, Sarah, Coach Mom, NoWheyMom, and any others that haven't commented in the last month or so!

Sleep...

I wonder if AJU5 has hit the 18 month sleep regression? She is 17 months old today, and getting her to bed at night has become a huge chore. We put her down at her normal time (and she is tired), but all she does is scream. She has everything she needs - pacifiers, water cup, blankets, etc - but she cries and then screams for over 30 minutes. Then, we give in and let her out. Around 9pm she is finally ready to give up. Now, 9pm is also our bed time. so she has NO CHOICE. Once she is down, she normally doesn't have many issues that require us. Lately, the only times I have had to go in are for pacifiers (I had only given her one one night on accident, and she lost it) and wind issues (open wind + high wind = scared little girl). She does go back to sleep fairly quickly after these with a little snuggling. But this bedtime thing - not fun. At first I thought it was because some days she takes two naps. But yesterday she only had one nap. And she got a good amount of exercise. So, I don't know what the issues really are. Hopefully she will grow out of this soon!

In other news - I have yet to take a Zofran today. It is amazing to not feel pukey! Hopefully the days to come will be like this.

Fun Trip to Target - NOT!

So, AJU5 is/was in need of ride on toys. So, we went to Target today to see what they had. After scanning the clothing areas (nothing at a good price...), we headed to toys. We first stopped at the more "indoor" ride on toys. First I had her try the Little People Fire Truck, which she liked. Then we saw the Leap Frog version. At our store, the Leap Frog one was only $19.99 (Little People was $24.99). so we put that int he cart and headed to the "outdoor" ride on toy area. There were a few cries along the way, but once she saw an outdoor ride on (note: the one in the store was pink), she climbed on and was happy. But, I didn't see a price. So, I had to get her off, carry it to the scanner, and scan it (not easy to do). It was $59.99 - more than I wanted to spend, especially for something pink! So, I had to put it back with her screaming the whole way. Now we headed to the card area so I could buy a graduation card for my BIL. She was NOT a happy camper. She walked some, but would take off down aisles as we walked by. With a mixture of carrying and coaxing, we made it to the cards. But, she was not happy. She kept pointing to her toy. So, I got it out and let her sit on it while I picked out a card. Once I was done, she wasn't ready to get off. So, I also picked out Father's Day cards. Then, I had to deal with a screaming kid again while I put the toy back in the cart and headed to the check-out. We did make it through, but it wasn't fun.

Now that we are home, we have only had one scream fit. She wanted to get the pop-ups open, but she refused to push the buttons. She was trying to pull them open. Luckily, she has figured it out now and is happy. I might regret this purchase though. The sounds are quite loud. But, I guess I could take the batteries out (and it might have a volume control - we will look for that tonight once she is asleep)!

What is your worst shopping experience?

Words

Here are the words AJU5 currently uses:
Dada (Daddy)
Bye (Leaving the Building)
Juice (Wants a drink or food)
Choe (Shoe)
Done (Done Eating - doesn't always sound like done, but the d is there - include bye hand movement)
MaMa (Mommy - sometimes with a b sound)
Ball (I don't know if the l sound is always there though)
**Mo (More - as in More Food Please)

Here are the words we think she might have:
Ba (Bath - includes splashing hand movement)
Blankie (Blanket)
Thank You
Friend's Name
Uh (Up - working on the u sound/p added)

When she went for her 15 month check up back in March, I said she had 4-5 words. Looking at the top list, she might have had all but ball down by then actually. But, if you don't write them down, it can be hard to count!

She is a big talker though. She has lots of conversations with herself and us. It just isn't in English! She definitely can make lots of sounds, so I am not too worried there. She does refuse to talk on the phone if someone is on the other end though! She will play talk all day long, but as soon as someone is other the other end, she is as quiet as a mouse...

How many words does you child have? Are they big talkers or the quiet type?

Pregnancy So Far

So, I had a feeling that I might be pregnant very early on. But, I waited until my period was actually late to test (and of course, it was positive). The morning sickness slowly started from there. In the beginning, I was just a little blah every now and then. By mid-April, I was miserable. I was throwing up 4+ times a day, not keeping much if anything down, etc. So, I called my doctor's office and asked for something. Unfortunately, Phenergan did not work! I was still throwing up multiple times a day. I gave it 4 days and then called the doctor again. Now I am on Zofran. It helps at least. I still have to watch what I eat and when, but at least I am not throwing up on a regular basis (once a week or less). Nights are the worst. On top of that being the "normal" bad time of day, the medicine runs out and the effects of the prenatal vitamins kick in. Luckily, I can either veg in front of the "TV" or go to bed (depending on how tired I am).

I had my first OB appointment on April 30. Everything looked good then, but my doctor "requested" an ultrasound for peace of mind, etc. Unfortunately, the sonographer was off that week, so I had to wait until last Wednesday. Luckily, Junior #3 is healthy and growing well! My next appointment isn't until June 4 because my doctor is on vacation the week of Memorial Day. Hopefully by then the morning sickness will be gone. With AJU5, it was Week 16 when I felt like eating, although I started to feel better around Week 10.

Oh, and AJU5 is already cute about this pregnancy! Now, I don't think she really has a clue what is going on, but she is already pulling up my shirt and pointing to my belly! I have already started to remind her to be gentle with Mommy's belly. But, she is still beating up on her baby brother or sister ocassionally! She didn't come with me to the OB appointment or ultrasound, but I plan on bringing her to the "short" OB appointments in the future. Hopefully by November she won't be too shocked when the little one arrives!

Due Date: November 28, 2009!

Happy Mother's Day from AJU5!

Pre-Lunch, Very Hungry Little Girl

Later in the Day - Happier but Sleepy!

Food...

So, it has been a while since I have talked much about AJU5's eating skills. So, here you go!

She has mastered the fork - well, unless the food is being difficult. She can stab anything that isn't too hard or slippery. This includes things you may not consider stabbing - fruit snacks, veggie fries, etc. She is good at getting the food in her mouth unless the piece is too big (and doesn't fit). Very little ends up in her lap this way.

Now, the spoon is another issue. We don't let her feed herself yogurt, so the only thing she practices with is cereal. As you can imagine, eating cereal with a spoon is quite tricky. So, normally she ends up holding the spoon and using her fingers (other hand) to actually eat with. We know she has the idea, but she isn't there with the coordination.

She is great with a straw - unless it is a straw cup that is. If it is a "fast food" cup or one of our Tupperware cups with the lid for a straw, there is absolutely no issue. Well, except for when she wants to play with the straw, but that is a play issue. Now, she isn't as good with the straw sports cups though. She tries to tip those and doesn't suck hard enough half of the time. So, we don't use them often.

She can also drink out of a normal cup (no lid) IF we keep the contents limited. She normally gets the last bits of our drinks as a result. We have given her larger amounts of fluid, but it normally ends up down her front - soaking her! But, at least she has the idea!. Now she just needs to learn about angles and when to put the cup down.

As for what she eats, it depends on the day. There isn't anything she has refused completely, but she gets tired of things. She ate waffles (Eggo) for a week and then refused them. So, now we are on cereal until she stops eating that. Lunch and dinner are what ever I am having OR chicken and cheese and veggie.

As for drinks, she took a liking to juice lately. She was refusing her milk even because she wanted the juice. But, the last few days she has been drinking at least two small cups of milk. So, I think it is like the waffles - she was just tired of milk! I guess she just likes to keep me on my toes!

What is your little one eating the most of these days?

There Is Hope!

For my husband. That the house may be clean eventually. That the clothes may someday be folded and put away.

Why does he have such hope?

AJU5 has some cleanliness genes in her! She has mastered the art of throwing away garbage (and I have only found one non-garbage item in the garbage so far). She has also acquired a love for wiping things with rags - in a dusting/cleaning sort of way. We are still working on her laundry skills, but I don't expect a 16.5 month old to fold clothes JUST yet. She does like to take them out of the basket and play with them though...

So, I guess I get to do the laundry for now. I have folded three baskets so far this afternoon. I have about 3-4 left to do. The guest bed was COVERED in clothes! But, now that the closet has storage (more on that in the days to come), my husband is pushing me to put the clothes away. And, I guess it is about time...

Product Review Friday - One Day Late

Okay, I need YOUR help this time. AJU5 is in desperate need for an outside, ride-on toy (bike/trike, etc). We have lots of concrete in our backyard for her to "ride" on, but we have nothing for her to ride yet!

Also, if you have another favorite outdoor toy, let me know! Our backyard is still in the remodeling stage, but there is still lots of concrete for her to play on. Maybe in a month or so there will also be some grass to play on as well. Next summer we plan on building a play-set in the upper portion, but that area needs even more attention!
Big dirt area is where grass seed has been planted. Concrete area is about as large!

Home Improvement Saturday - Ideas

I don't know what to cover next! So, I need you input. Tell me what you want to know more about. Below you will find a list of some of the things we have done (and I haven't covered yet). But, if there is something not on the list, don't be afraid to mention it. There is a good chance we have done it :)

• Staining
• Interior and Exterior Doors
• Window Replacement
• Closet Stuff
• Drywall
• Bathroom Fixutres