Craft with friends

It's fast approaching Christmas, so friends of ours invited us to a wreath-making afternoon. It was a lot of fun (if you discount Alex spilling her potty on their bathroom floor in front of an interested audience) and they even let me wash Teddybear, Giggles and Baby in their washing machine.

Here are some photos.

Here's Jen demonstrating the wreaths with Donita taking a photo. Sarah is still drawing on the Christmas tree whilst Heather is holding Thomas and watching Alex and Emmaline.






Jen, Donita and Sarah kick back and relax.








Jen "wreathmaker extraordinaire" (thanks D)








Alex (thanks D)





Anna (thanks D)





Sarah (thanks D)








Alex again (thanks D)








Two friends hanging out in the window - Alex and Anna.








Emmaline (thanks D)





Clockwise from top: Sarah, Thomas and Anna playing together. (thanks D)





Donita reading "The Daring Book for Girls" - how to read a palm. With her trusty "to go" travel mug with her. She also took the excellent photos of the girls - she's really very talented and I'm jealous ;)









Heather following Donita's directions and working out her life-line...or was it the love line? Thomas is playing happily beside her.






We took our craftmaking home and finished a wreath made out of Alex's hands.











We had a great day with our friends - Sebastien slept most of the time and poor Olivia tried to sleep through her chest cold. Thank you!!

Sad news

I'm a Terry Pratchett fan from way back - and have tried to introduce as many children as possible to his writing. So I was sad to receive some news from Clare in Australia about him having early-onset Alzheimers. I have read every book in the Discworld series plus some others that he's written and loved every one. I hope he has more than a couple left before he loses the plot...

Let's compare...

OK, so now I have some energy (you might have noticed the number of posts today - Alex and Sebastien are finally asleep...) I thought I'd dig out some of Alex's photos for a comparison of the first month.

Alex in the hospital.
Sebastien in the hospital.Alex at one month with her Circle of Friends.
Sebastien at one month with his Circle of Friends.

Smiles

After much traing by my mum when she was here, Sebastien is now smiling up a storm.

Sebastien at TWO months...already!

First, the "Burrito Baby" - he still prefers to be swaddled for sleep - and quite frankly, we like him to be too!

Sebastien with his sister getting in on the act (thanks for the fairy outfit Aunty Sharn!) with his Council of Friends monthly photo.

And here he is, all by himself, stretching and smiling...

Other mums do tend to say "enjoy it while it lasts, they grow up so fast..." and here Sebastien is at 2 months already! No longer eligible to be a newborn and now a fully fledged infant. Sigh..

A crazy time of year

Last week, we went to an event at a local mall that was all about Christmas. It was crazy! Crowded and busy, busy, busy so we spent only about 40 minutes there before leaving. Alex loved listening to the singers on stage singing Christmas carols, she also liked to watch the animated mice near the Christmas tree. Here are some photos of Koala getting a check up (the event was put on y a local hospital/clinic group), her petting the reindeer and also of her with Mrs Claus and her elf.

Uh oh...I'm in trouble...

I spoke too soon in my post on 6th December...

Imagine you've just had an interrupted night's sleep - your no-longer-newborn has started refusing to take the bottle so you've been bottle feeding in solidarity with your husband - and your husband has kindly let you sleep in until late morning...

You arise, go out to the living room and ask how the morning has gone, to be greeted with -

"That depends...how good a mood are you in?"

Your husband takes you into the kids' bedroom and this is the sight that you behold:

Sebastien's pack'n play where he sleeps...

Alex's inner circle of friends (thankfully Koala had spent the night in the living room) of Baby, Giggles and Teddy Bear plus Sebastien's circle of friends and a library book (already removed by the time this photo was taken)...

A close up of Giggles and Baby with their "medicine" on them "because they were sick"...

And a final shot of Teddybear - covered in the medicine ie Desitin (40% zinc oxide plus petroleum jelly).

What to say...words failed me. Apparently Alex was put in her room in a "time out" by Brett - and when he went in a little later, he was greeted by her saying "my friends were sick, daddy". Quite.

Notice the Desitin on the back wall of the pack'n play? Well, when Alex was asked whether she'd climbed into the crib (something we've told her again and again not to do - especially with Sebastien sharing her room) she said "no..." then we asked her to retrieve something out of the crib, upon which she stood up on her potty and started to climb in...only to realise what she was doing and hurredly remove her leg out of the crib - an "a-ha!" moment indeed.

So now what to do? Words failed me and initially I wanted to "ground" her all the rest of her days...problem is that "grounds" me too - as I've discovered - as I said no playgroup outings for the week. And she has really no concept of that being a punishment related to her "bad choice". So her friends have been removed from her (initially to see if we could clean off the Desitin but also as she can't treat them with respect) and also all library books have been returned to the library for the same reason.

Now, if anyone has a remedy to remove Desitin from teddy bears...

PS: all photos were taken when she was in the bathroom getting cleaned up herself...no need for her to know that we were quietly amused (eventually) with her antics.

Mummy's New Toy

One thing I meant to blog about earlier (one of many things) was this great present my parents bought me when they were here visiting us. I am now the proud owner of a Gateway notebook! Wireless and all! What a great Christmas present for me. Thanks dad and mum! It's so nice - clean, tidy files, and very portable - I've even taken it to a cafe to use the wireless already.

Ever have that feeling?

I have had an overwhelming feeling - trying to keep up with everything has been a struggle lately. Between Alex being, well, a two year old, and Sebastien being, well, an infant...Let's just say that my standards have fallen...way, way below what I like them to be. Thankfully (or not?) Brett's standards aren't any higher. Just looking at the photo folder on my computer makes me realise just how far behind I am in my blogging...so I'll try to catch up a little today.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Well, the first snowfall of the season - and with it the freezing rain that turns footpaths and carparks into icerinks. Not my favorite part of the season! But Alex is continually amazed, looking out the window each morning and saying "Winter's here mummy" and "It's light outside - get up mummy!"

We have broken out the Christmas CDs now, and I've realized how unattractive they are for Alex (they're mainly instrumental and any choral ones are more, shall we say, traditional?) so I borrowed some from the library, including the Wiggles...yes, they did a Christmas CD. The result is that Alex is singing Christmas carols around the house (very different to her usual renditions of "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia or "Before he cheats" by Carrie Underwood"). So we're currently very amused to hear her singing......

Feliz smellydad...

Bring on Christmas!

No really, I'm happy...really, these are just tears of joy...

I have to blog this...I can hardly believe it happened. Why does all the "exciting" stuff happen to me and not Brett?!

After an eventful morning at Parents Morning Out and lunch at Panera, we had just come home and put Alex down for her pm nap. I had already changed her nappy once and threatened her dire consequences (the removal of her friends from her bed) if she didn't settle down and get to sleep. Now I was feeding Sebastien who had made his misery evident every minute I had put him aside to change Alex. About 20 minutes pass and Sebastien is starting to slow down...I hear a quiet (her bedroom door was closed) voice say "I did it by myself"...and again. I debate the merits of disturbing Sebastien to check out this statement, and finally hoist myself and Sebastien out of the armchair to check out Alex. Upon opening her door I see her - naked - and a discarded nappy on the ground...and a mountain of wipes next to it. "I did a poo mummy..." Alex proudly declares to me (we're just starting to overcome BM withholding issues) "...and I wiped myself all by myself too!" Uh oh! I check out the box that (used to) contain the wipes...empty. Okayyyy - so she used almost 100 wipes to clean up - take a deep breath - "that's wonderful sweetheart - bend over so I can make sure you're all done".

And I still needed to finish it up! I guess I should just be happy that nothing had been smeared on the ground, that she had managed to keep all the dirty wipes on the nappy...so I just said that next time she wanted to clean up herself, she should let me know so I could give her one or two wipes - cause that's all she'll be getting!!!

Kids, who needs more stress!

More on Grandie and Poppie

The weather really changed and for the last few days it was awful. Poppie came down with a bug and wasn't really well - which must have made the return airtrip pretty average.

Highlights of the trip (and I'm sure I'm forgetting some as they've been gone almost 2 weeks now):
When buying Alex's laxative medicine at Walmart, we went to pay for it. Poppie, being a doctor, was interested to read the packaging. Alex (whom we have been busy training that people's medicine is their own and not for anyone else to have) said "no poppie (whilst holding tightly to the bottle) the doctor said that this was just Alex's medicine, so you can't have it (to look at)" to which Poppie said "well that's ok, 'cause I'm a doctor (holding out his hand)" at which point Alex looked askance at him and declared "no you're not a doctor, you're a poppie". Case closed!

Over at Grandie and Poppie's apartment, we're all in the living room - Poppie and Grandie with Alex and Sebastien on the couch. Alex is getting direction from her mummy about what she should be doing - "no mummy, you're not the boss of me!" (trying not to laugh) "then who's the boss of you?" I ask. "Alex!" She then points to Poppie "and Grandie is the boss of you" and points to Grandie "and Poppie is the boss of you"...confused? We were!

Then there was the sauntering along towards the Savoy Schnucks supermarket on the footpath, hands in her jeans pockets - unfortunately I don't have a photo, but Poppie does and when I get a copy I'll blog it!

I forgot to mention that the other big draw to Grandie and Poppie's apartment was the promise of dessert each night - Poppies favorite Ben and Jerry's icecream! And very soon, Alex's favorite too! Which sure confused her when Tom and Jerry were on the Cartoon Network!

If I remember anymore, I'll edit this post. But at the moment I'm suffering sleep deprivation and need to get some shut eye. More later!

Grandie and Poppie are in the country!

What a great visit! After a bit of practice when Grandad and Grandma visited a month ago, Alex was more than prepared to trek across the road each morning for breakfast...after all, their apartment had TELEVISION! That and the lure of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal was enough. And now for a few photos...

Here's Grandie with Alex and Sebastien on the couch (I'm sure they're as glad as I am that they had their own place...)




Also part of the lure was that Poppie was happy enough for Alex to use his computer - something that she's been dying to do for a long time with her daddy's. She's actually pretty good at it and loved listening to her cd's on his computer - watching that cool little graphic that moves/lights up in time to the music. In fact, Poppie couldn't turn on his computer the whole visit without a little face instantly appearing at his side...


Quite possibly Alex's favorite part of the day was deciding where to have lunch - most usually at "Panera" (or as Poppie mimicked "Panerwa" to Alex's disgust - "no Poppie, it's Panewra!"). Actually, Mummy quite likes it too. This photo is of Grandie, Poppie, Alex, Sebastien and Daddy having lunch. Grandie and Poppie's favorite was the Broccoli & Cheddar soup in a sourdough bowl.


Over the two weeks that they were here, we did most of what we would normally do - except for the playgroups that we normally attend. But we also added in a few other things, like checking out various bookshops and electronics shops. Here Grandie and Alex are doing puzzles together at Pages for all Ages in Savoy, whilst Poppie, Sebastien and I cruise the book aisles.



We also made time to visit Curtis Orchard - though that was very disappointing. It was definitely post-season as the outdoor play equipment was either removed or damaged (the seesaw only had one seat) and the cafe was closed. On a positive note, Alex took Poppie by the hand to show him where the goats were - and Poppie delighted Alex by showing her how to "talk to the goats" - and I'm refraining from making any jokes about that!

Babysitting and all that

Every Tuesday evening, Brett, Alex and Sebastien (I have meetings three in four Tuesdays) have Emily join them for some playtime. Here are some photos of them: reading in bed! Very comfortable.

Update on the Paci

Sebastien really didn't take willingly to the paci - grudgedly accepting it only if he was really in pain and nothing else was forthcoming - so I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find that he really doesn't take it at all now. I probably could go out and buy a lot of different types to see if he'd take one, but I really couldn't be bothered (maybe I'll change my tune at 3am one morning when he just can't be calmed...). The more perturbing trend is his starting to refuse the bottle. A more recent occurance, Brett and I are wondering if he will wander down the same path as Alex and refuse bottles unless desperate. We had thought that we wouldn't face that issue as (opposite of Alex) we introduced him to a bottle before a month old and have been giving him at least a bottle a day (thanks daddy for those early a.m. feedings!) whilst with Alex we'd waited until 3 mths to do that. We're waiting to see how the coming week goes...

Been a bit slack...

Wow, the month is almost gone and I see that the last time I posted was the 4th...all I can say is that it's been quite a month! I've just sat down to catch up on my posts having seen my mum and dad off at the airport this afternoon. So bear with me as I post to my heart's content this evening...I'll try to make them bite sized posts but there will be many photos!

To Paci, or not to Paci...

That is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer...sorry old Bard. I've just been pondering the question lately. As a NON-paci provider (sorry Grandma) to Alex, I figured that the same would be the case for Sebastien. Well, to date Sebastien has proven a "gassier" baby than Alex, with some spit-up moments after horrendous amounts of time spent burping him. This meant that not a lot of sleep was happening - for him or his Mummy!

A friend mentioned using a pacifier to help, and in sleep deprieved desperation I threw my preconceptions out the window and broke out the only pacifier in the house (one to administer medecine that we had been given before Alex arrived) and he used it, grudgingly, that very same night. "Eureka!" I thought. But it turns out that more often than not, he declines the pacifier when offered it. I'm not about to go out and buy different pacifiers to find one he may prefer - his sleep pattern is settling down and when he is truly gassy and miserable (as am I) he accepts the pacifier then - say every 2-3 evenings.

Anyway, just wanted to put it down in writing that I'd broken down and offered Sebastien a pacifier - just for Grandma to read!

Here's something I prepared earlier...

Ahh, Grandie and Poppie sent a wonderful box of goodies all the way from Australia - and included was an Alex-sized apron. So as Alex is now in the "very helpful" stage (when she isn't perfecting her "I'm a terrible-two-toddler" tantrum) I decided we needed to start cooking together on a more regular basis. I'm trying to find toddler friendly recipes that she can help me with.

Here are a few photos of our latest cooking adventure - Alex's favorite "cupcakes" cornbread.

First of all, we stand on our special step that lets us get into all sorts of things in the kitchen (and yes, that is our very sharp knife knifeblock on the bench). Then we smile at the camera, show off what we are making and say "cheese".










Then we very carefully pour our ingredients into our bowl, mix it somewhat erratically and make sure Mummy puts the correct amount into each muffin paper.







Finally we hide as we start a long-putoff tantrum instead of smiling for the camera with our finished product.

All in a day's work, really!

Shrek 3...Shriek!

No photo with this post - today we decided to take in a free movie (Shrek 3) at Savoy Theater before heading over to Parkland's Dodds Fields to watch Daddy play his final game of soccer for the season. Well, we were a little late and so arrived after the movie had started. No sooner had we sat down, than the action on the big screen (for those who've seen the movie, when Shrek and Princess Fiona get all dressed up for an event and the costume's they're in spring apart) proved too much for Alex and she started crying - a lot - and asking to leave.

So we ended up sitting on the carpeted floor just outside the theater with Alex on my lap, Daddy next to us and Sebastien...still asleep. Much discussion ensued about what exactly made her cry ("I'm scared mummy" and "What was Hector doing?" - she confused Shrek with a storybook character she had previously read about) and whether she wanted to go back in - "No". It seems that with a lack of tv etc, she can't discern the difference between real and pretend. That not having seen cartoons or their equivalent before, she fears that what she's seeing is actually happening to people (and that they're suffering). We're not sure whether this is a good thing or not...and I really wanted to see the movie! Instead we hung out at a park - much less threatening!

Orange and Blue Scrimmage

So I guess I'm pretty good at answering quizes. Brett has won once (Panera Bread $10 gift card - which he kindly allowed me to use :)). For the second time this year I won a radio station prize (the first time was a pool party - not the swimming kind - at a local bar) with the prize being 4 tickets to the Orange and Blue Basketball Scrimmage at Assembly Hall. So Brett and I took Alex and Sebastien to see his first Illini sport. Alex loves to wear her Illini headband. Here are the three of them - btw Sebastien slept through the entire game.

She was pretty good and lasted the whole hour and a half (with the help of some snacks).

Although you weren't meant to take in food and drink, the security guard let me - I mean, the concessions stands weren't selling yoghurt, apple slices and cheerios for young kids so we weren't about to buy from there! The tattoo on her cheek was from a week before when Brett took her to watch a women's soccer match. The "Illinois Fever" tattoo was not allowed to be washed all week. We're not sure what sport we'll see next, maybe wrestling or gymnastics.

Trick or Treat!!

So friends had a Halloween party (part of the Econ/baby crowd) which we went to. Trick or treat hours were 6-8pm tonight so the party started at 5pm. Everyone bar me dressed up (don't ask - it was a horrible, horrible afternoon - I went as a mummy) and it was so cool! Lisa and Jason had gone all out on the decorations and food plus "potion" beverage which were great. Here are more photos - Daddy as a werewolf (long black nails and fangs plus overcoat), Sebastien as an imp and Alex as a bumblebee - yes, we got her back into that costume! Though she really wanted to wear last year's lion costume (too small) or the rabbit again.








Then everyone headed out to the neighborhood at around 7pm to trick or treat. It was quite the crowd from our party - here's Alex getting candy whilst Tigrin, Zaruhi, Arthur and Monica look on. Alex pretty soon got the idea of what trick or treating involved tonight - and immediately ran off (literally) to the next house, and the next house, and the next house...and refused to return to the party because there were still houses to visit! A pretty good neighborhood for trick or treating as most of the "loot" was chocolate.



One of the trick or treaters - Max - in his Elvis impersonation. His mummy is very talented and spent the week making his, his daddy's and her costumes. Very cute!










After Trick or Treating, we headed back to the party for some Pinata Fun - pull a string and see if it opens the pinata. Alex wasn't successful, but she did manage to get even more candy...enough to last until Easter!
















We headed for home at 8pm. Given Alex hadn't had a nap, had had an energetic playgroup that morning (see post about the leaves) and had really withheld badly that afternoon (to the point where I rang her doctor for advice), she was in quite a good mood - blame it on the sugar fix! And she hadn't even touched her "loot".

She didn't want to head home though and wanted to go and trick or treat some more. When we got home, she went to bed whilst her daddy and I sorted the "loot" into "daddy's pile" and "Alex's pile" - pretty much gum and lollypops for daddy and the rest for Alex. She is sharing her "candy" with her daddy for dessert at the moment. The bag on the left is the one she decorated with stickers and gluing on pictures at playgroup the previous week.

Truly Fall Weather and it's Halloween!

OK - Blogger is not spacing how I want it to and I'm deleting photos each time I try to edit it. So I'm leaving it however it turns out.

We had an excellent playgroup at Jen, Anna and Olivia's house with pretty much all first-born girls there (sorry Nicholas!). At the end, Jen got out the rake and raked a pile of leaves together for some traditional "jump in and throw them around" autumn fun. The girls (and moms) had a ball! Here are some photos of them: L-R Kaelyn, (mom) Mary, Kylie, Alex and Sarah.





L-R Alex, Sarah (back) and Anna enjoy a stomp in the leaves.








The girls check out the pumpkins (remember our visit to the pumpkin patch?) L-R Kaelyn, Kylie and Alex.

Check out those scary pumpkins! L-R Sarah, Kaelyn, Anna, Alex and Kylie.




Needless to say, Alex didn't want to go home...as usual!