Yeesh, I have a half dozen, started but then abandoned posts. They were once good ideas, but oh well. Hopefully this one will stick!
While Lacey has a delightful personality, full of sweetness and kisses and smiles, there have been some big frustrations with her development. She is a lousy sleeper and a super picky eater. I know I have crabbed about this endlessly in the past, but I wanted to revisit this because things have somewhat improved.
My pediatrician has suggested multiple times to take Lacey to see an occupational therapist who deals with feeding issues. At first, I thought--what, every picky eater now has a "disorder"? Give me a break. But then I noticed that Lacey never ever mouthed toys, even when she was teething, she never chewed on her fingers, she never put anything other than food in her mouth (except for little bits of toilet paper--weird) which I thought was odd for a toddler. So I figured, what the heck, I will take her in and see what they say.
The big issues with Lacey were that she rejected almost all veggies and didn't really like to pick up foods with her hands and feed herself. The only veggie she would eat is peas, BUT they had to be in a soup and spoon fed to her. A spoon of just peas would be spit out, a bowl of peas dumped on the floor. She would not touch pea and put it in her mouth. There were other foods that met a similar reaction--fine if spoon fed, but she would not self-feed. Her list of tolerable foods were limited to 3 different homemade soups (meat or tofu, veggie, starch), which of course is very limiting. So, after a 2 hour interview and watching Lacey eat things she will eat and foods that are more challenging for her, the OT said she had a very mild sensory issue categorized as tactile defensiveness. She explained it to me that certain textures made her feel extremely anxious--fight or flight anxious. It also may contribute to her horrendous sleep patterns--at the time, she was waking 2-5 times per night crying and we let her CIO each time. It never got better, i.e. she never "learned" to stay asleep.
The OT showed me how to give her a very specific massage where you squeeze her arms and legs and do mini compressions on her shoulders, wrists, hips, and knees. She loves it! I am supposed to do it at least 5 times a day and the idea is that it helps desensitize her nervous system so that texture and touching things doesn't feel so scary. Seems kinda goofy to me, but I gave it a try and I can definitely see an improvement. She has expanded her list of acceptable foods and is more open to trying new things, even if it ends up on the floor. As far as her sleep goes, the OT told me to try a thick quilt or weighted blanket, which sometimes helps them feel that squeeze feeling when they sleep. It was amazing--she sleeps through the night probably 50% of the time and wakes once the other 50% of the time! HUGE! I will take it!
I also read that book How to Get Your Kid to Eat, But Not Too Much (Thanks LauraC!), which I think really improved my own response and attitude to feeding a picky eater. I try really hard to leave it up to her to decide how much to eat and whether to eat, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't affect me when she doesn't eat dinner. I take it personally, which is ridiculous! I really try to just put the food in front of her and she eats what she eats, no pressure. I only offer new foods alongside foods I know she likes, this way if she doesn't like the new food, she has something to eat at least. The book was very helpful overall and I am happy to see an improvement.
One other thing that has helped so much is that I taught her how to use a spoon and fork. She will now self-feed cooked carrots, cooked celery, cooked spinach and cooked canned tomatoes, using a fork. This is an amazing feat, considering we have only been doing the therapy for a couple of months. I don't need to take her back to the OT, just keep up the massage.
Oh, and another thing--I have been so frustrated b/c I cannot get her off the boob! She wouldn't take soy milk or rice milk, so I was giving her fortified OJ in a sippy cup, which just felt like a piss poor substitute for breastmilk. So I crossed over to the dark side and gave her chocolate soymilk--she sucked that down no problem! Now she asks for her "mih". I am down to one session of breastfeeding right before bed which is about to go in a few weeks. I really did not want to be breastfeeding for this long, but she is such a cuddle bug, its so hard to give up!
So I will continue to try new foods with her and give her a little squeeze a few times a day--sometimes she will even squeeze me back and say, "Skeeze!" Love that kid!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Getting back to blogging with some photos!
I would really like to get back into blogging more regularly. Sometimes I forget that a post can be a quick story or a few photos instead of an inner-thoughts type of sentimental rambling. So here are some photos--a lot of photos taken over the past several months. We love our new camera, although we are still getting the hang of it, as you can probably tell.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Parenting fail
One of our very worst habits as parents is that Bill and I curse. A lot. In front of the kids. I know, not good. I always try to switch out a bad word for a less bad word or spelling out the curse word, but then I drive somewhere and somebody cuts me off or pulls some crazy move and there I am, dropping the F-bomb with my kids in the back. Bill curses 100 times more than me--sometimes multiple curses in a sentence. Its like he is in college! Boys curse in the operating room, but he is one of the worst offenders. I wonder what those nurses think--hmm. Anyway, we know its a bad habit and Lana is aware of the cursing and that its not good. She even made a curse jar for us, but Bill never pays up. I have told her that there are some words that adults are allowed to say in certain situations, but kids are never allowed to say and its unfair, but too bad. Luckily, she has experimented very little with the bad words and she has never embarrassed me with them in public.
So the other night I am in the shower with Lana and she is always drawing on the walls of the shower door when it gets all steamy. And then she writes out (in very nice handwriting): S-H-I-T. Nice. Four years old and she writes shit on the shower door. Oops. I guess the whole spelling out the curse word backfired on me.
So the other night I am in the shower with Lana and she is always drawing on the walls of the shower door when it gets all steamy. And then she writes out (in very nice handwriting): S-H-I-T. Nice. Four years old and she writes shit on the shower door. Oops. I guess the whole spelling out the curse word backfired on me.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Still here and a bit of randomness/updating
Geez, February just blew past me and here we are in March! How did that happen? I can't say I have anything profound to report, other than just life and me being too tired and lazy to blog in the evenings. February did kind of suck because of the plague we all had that sucked 3 weeks away from us. I seriously hope next year's flu vaccine gets it right because I never want to have influenza again. Even after we were all well again, it took another week for us to regain our energy, appetite and not to have bags under our eyes. But we recovered just in time for a little travel, winter break with a little winter weather and BOOM--its March.
Our life for the past 6 weeks or so in a nutshell:
Lacey started Little Gym and she loves it, especially the singing and the balls and bubbles. I was worried she might be clingy, but she is actually very social, well, as social as 17 month olds can be.
Lana went on her very first ski weekend with Bill. Lacey and I stayed home b/c I didn't think Lacey could handle a long car ride. I started a lengthy post about this, but who am I kidding, I may never get to it. Lana took a ski lesson and she rocked it! She is not really into physical pursuits, but with her, new experiences are mostly mental and if she decides she is going to have fun, then she will. She did great and apparently was very confident for her first time and even though she fell a bunch, she didn't get discouraged. Bill took a video of her skiing with the instructor and I had to laugh b/c you see her skiing and then you hear her talking incessantly to the teacher--constant chatter about who knows what! Totally Lana.
Lana has been super duper high energy lately. What I mean is that she is bouncing off the walls. Literally. Maybe she has winter doldrums. I am constantly telling her to calm down. She also does this thing where she will ask a question and before you even inhale to answer it, she is asking it again and again and again. Holy crap kid, you have to be quiet for like 2 seconds so I can answer. I think its b/c she is wrangling for attention with her sister, but it drives me nuts. She is such a great kid and I enjoy her so much, but I often feel like I am constantly telling her to reign it in.
Lacey is doing so many cute things. She is obsessed with Curious George and has a stuffy she sleeps with (she rubs his ears). When she sees George on TV or in a book she yells, "EEORGE, eeorgie, eeorgie!" Its hilarious. She also is talking a ton and is so very affectionate, giving kisses and hugs and snuggles. Oh yeah, I love it. On the down side, she is really clingy and does not want me in the kitchen at all, not even for a minute. She cries and fusses and pushes me away from the counter or sink. She cries, "UP!" anytime another adult is in the room b/c she is afraid that I may bolt if I am not holding her. I can't wait for that phase to pass. I have such a strong right arm from carrying her on my hip.
We had a lovely weekend getaway (Bill had a conference) and we all had a great time. The kids were both remarkably well-behaved and happy. Bill and I both got to visit with friends and colleagues from our past. It was very satisfying and it got me thinking, not only about the past, but about the future. I know that I am being kind of vague, but suffice it to say that I was feeling more than a little introspective about my career--where I have been, where I want to go (maybe). A topic for another time for sure.
Things have been good. We spend a lot of time with our parents on the weekends. We have Sunday dinners with Bill's parents and my mom. We go to birthday parties, Costco, out to lunch. Nothing truly earth-shattering, but I like things this way--stable, happy, safe. Bill and I even went on a few dates recently, which were really fun. Its been good. The only thing I would like to change is that I would like to have a little bit of time to myself. I haven't figured out how to make this happen, but I think it would be afford me a little extra patience and would recharge my batteries. I would also love to socialize with friends and tackle To Do lists and organize cabinets, hang photos on the walls, but really these things are just the icing on the cake and we are busy enjoying the cake right now.
Our life for the past 6 weeks or so in a nutshell:
Lacey started Little Gym and she loves it, especially the singing and the balls and bubbles. I was worried she might be clingy, but she is actually very social, well, as social as 17 month olds can be.
Lana went on her very first ski weekend with Bill. Lacey and I stayed home b/c I didn't think Lacey could handle a long car ride. I started a lengthy post about this, but who am I kidding, I may never get to it. Lana took a ski lesson and she rocked it! She is not really into physical pursuits, but with her, new experiences are mostly mental and if she decides she is going to have fun, then she will. She did great and apparently was very confident for her first time and even though she fell a bunch, she didn't get discouraged. Bill took a video of her skiing with the instructor and I had to laugh b/c you see her skiing and then you hear her talking incessantly to the teacher--constant chatter about who knows what! Totally Lana.
Lana has been super duper high energy lately. What I mean is that she is bouncing off the walls. Literally. Maybe she has winter doldrums. I am constantly telling her to calm down. She also does this thing where she will ask a question and before you even inhale to answer it, she is asking it again and again and again. Holy crap kid, you have to be quiet for like 2 seconds so I can answer. I think its b/c she is wrangling for attention with her sister, but it drives me nuts. She is such a great kid and I enjoy her so much, but I often feel like I am constantly telling her to reign it in.
Lacey is doing so many cute things. She is obsessed with Curious George and has a stuffy she sleeps with (she rubs his ears). When she sees George on TV or in a book she yells, "EEORGE, eeorgie, eeorgie!" Its hilarious. She also is talking a ton and is so very affectionate, giving kisses and hugs and snuggles. Oh yeah, I love it. On the down side, she is really clingy and does not want me in the kitchen at all, not even for a minute. She cries and fusses and pushes me away from the counter or sink. She cries, "UP!" anytime another adult is in the room b/c she is afraid that I may bolt if I am not holding her. I can't wait for that phase to pass. I have such a strong right arm from carrying her on my hip.
We had a lovely weekend getaway (Bill had a conference) and we all had a great time. The kids were both remarkably well-behaved and happy. Bill and I both got to visit with friends and colleagues from our past. It was very satisfying and it got me thinking, not only about the past, but about the future. I know that I am being kind of vague, but suffice it to say that I was feeling more than a little introspective about my career--where I have been, where I want to go (maybe). A topic for another time for sure.
Things have been good. We spend a lot of time with our parents on the weekends. We have Sunday dinners with Bill's parents and my mom. We go to birthday parties, Costco, out to lunch. Nothing truly earth-shattering, but I like things this way--stable, happy, safe. Bill and I even went on a few dates recently, which were really fun. Its been good. The only thing I would like to change is that I would like to have a little bit of time to myself. I haven't figured out how to make this happen, but I think it would be afford me a little extra patience and would recharge my batteries. I would also love to socialize with friends and tackle To Do lists and organize cabinets, hang photos on the walls, but really these things are just the icing on the cake and we are busy enjoying the cake right now.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
My week in bed
Not sure what I was complaining about last week, having one sick kid and feeling a little cabin fever. Turns out it could get worse--Lana and I came down with the disease and oh yeah, it sucked. This was not your ordinary cold--this was one of the worst sicknesses I can remember! Lana stayed home from school all 5 days and we spent 4 out of 5 of those days laying in bed, watching obscene amounts of TV. Thank goodness for On Demand.
It started last Sunday with a fever for Lana and a sore throat for me. At this point, Lacey just got rid of her fever (5 days later!) and still wasn't eating anything other than fruit. Monday I was really starting to feel bad, but it was like a really bad cold, nothing more. It was hard to have both kids at home and feel so sick myself. Lana needed extra attention, while Lacey was busy being a crabass and tearing up the house. It was a long day. On Tuesday morning, I called my inlaws to see if they could watch Lacey and I am so glad I did b/c I took a turn for the worse--I had massive pain in my face around my sinuses, couldn't breathe at all, at one point I started coughing and dry heaving all over the place, then I spiked a fever. Lana was acting fine as long as her fever was down with meds. She wanted to play and color and I wanted to put my head on the table. I was in bad shape. Of course, Bill had a meeting at night, so he wasn't coming home till 8 or 9pm. I started antibiotics and did the neti pot and whined and complained.
The rest of the week my inlaws took Lacey, so Lana and I could rest. We basically would watch a ton of TV, play a few board games, colored, did a couple of crafts and then spent lots of time in bed--I tried to sleep while she played Leapster or watched Phineas and Ferb. I kept waiting for Lana's fever to go away, but it kept coming back. Today was her first fever-free day. The funny thing is that while our cold symptoms were pretty severe, they weren't the worst ever. The worst part of this bug was the loss of appetite and fatigue. I feel so bad I was obsessing and trying to get Lacey to eat last week when she had this. Now that I have experienced it, no wonder she didn't want to eat! I felt so weak and shaky, probably b/c I haven't been eating much (and still lactating--not a good combo). Seriously, it was so hard to take care of the girls feeling so physically zapped. I have never been knocked out a whole week by a cold.
My inlaws were AWESOME. They really came through for me this week. I am not sure what I would have done without them. Not only did they take care of Lacey Tues-Fri, but they also made dinner and packed it in little tupperwares for the entire week, so that I didn't have to cook for Bill (since he was the only one eating anything other than soup). How lucky am I?
But, we are finally on the mend. Lana and I ate a somewhat normal meal and we both fit in a nap this afternoon. I feel like I have turned the corner. Lana seems fine, but she always does--that kid could survive on fruit and sugar. I am glad we are recovering. Just in time too--Bill is next. I hope he doesn't get as knocked out as we did.
It started last Sunday with a fever for Lana and a sore throat for me. At this point, Lacey just got rid of her fever (5 days later!) and still wasn't eating anything other than fruit. Monday I was really starting to feel bad, but it was like a really bad cold, nothing more. It was hard to have both kids at home and feel so sick myself. Lana needed extra attention, while Lacey was busy being a crabass and tearing up the house. It was a long day. On Tuesday morning, I called my inlaws to see if they could watch Lacey and I am so glad I did b/c I took a turn for the worse--I had massive pain in my face around my sinuses, couldn't breathe at all, at one point I started coughing and dry heaving all over the place, then I spiked a fever. Lana was acting fine as long as her fever was down with meds. She wanted to play and color and I wanted to put my head on the table. I was in bad shape. Of course, Bill had a meeting at night, so he wasn't coming home till 8 or 9pm. I started antibiotics and did the neti pot and whined and complained.
The rest of the week my inlaws took Lacey, so Lana and I could rest. We basically would watch a ton of TV, play a few board games, colored, did a couple of crafts and then spent lots of time in bed--I tried to sleep while she played Leapster or watched Phineas and Ferb. I kept waiting for Lana's fever to go away, but it kept coming back. Today was her first fever-free day. The funny thing is that while our cold symptoms were pretty severe, they weren't the worst ever. The worst part of this bug was the loss of appetite and fatigue. I feel so bad I was obsessing and trying to get Lacey to eat last week when she had this. Now that I have experienced it, no wonder she didn't want to eat! I felt so weak and shaky, probably b/c I haven't been eating much (and still lactating--not a good combo). Seriously, it was so hard to take care of the girls feeling so physically zapped. I have never been knocked out a whole week by a cold.
My inlaws were AWESOME. They really came through for me this week. I am not sure what I would have done without them. Not only did they take care of Lacey Tues-Fri, but they also made dinner and packed it in little tupperwares for the entire week, so that I didn't have to cook for Bill (since he was the only one eating anything other than soup). How lucky am I?
But, we are finally on the mend. Lana and I ate a somewhat normal meal and we both fit in a nap this afternoon. I feel like I have turned the corner. Lana seems fine, but she always does--that kid could survive on fruit and sugar. I am glad we are recovering. Just in time too--Bill is next. I hope he doesn't get as knocked out as we did.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Winter sickies
I have about 15 unfinished posts about somewhat interesting topics, but I haven't been able to complete them for whatever reason. This week has been less than stellar. Lacey has some type of plague. It started with croup overnight followed by a fever and then standard cold symptoms. She is still spiking fevers (its been 5 days now), she has absolutely no appetite, although she is drinking plenty, her cough is nasty and she looks like crap. I took her to the peds twice to have her checked for EI, strep, bronchitis, but she is looking clear of infection. I figured she would be on the upswing by now, but no deal. Today we had the pleasure of our very first cough-till-ya-puke experience. Poor Lacey, we felt so bad for her. At least she did me a favor and gave it up on the hardwood floor instead of the carpet. Since she is totally disinterested in food we blended frozen blueberries/raspberries/blackberries with silken tofu and some juice and we spoon fed her that over the course of the day. She wouldn't take any chicken noodle soup or soft bread or cheerios even. Poor little bugger.
I have not left the house all week other than preschool dropoff/pickup and going to the peds, which is kind of tough for me. Even though I am not a super-social person, I get cabin fever easily. I am not the stay at home mom that actually stays at home! Hopefully she turns a corner tomorrow or we will be going back to the pediatrician. Just in time, Lana, Bill and I all have sore throats--here comes Round 2! Ugh.
I thought last winter was bad with the sickness, but this year has been worse. We have had 4 colds since Christmas, roughly one/week. That doesn't count the 10 we have had since September. Luckily, the first 14 colds have been pretty mild and normal in duration, but this one has the potential of knocking us out. We have blown through the Costco sized tissues and its only January! We are getting ready to do a bunch of traveling, I really hope we get the sickies our of the way before our trips.
So that's me whining about illness. It could be worse though, it could always be worse.
I am also feeling pretty low this week b/c I heard that a co-worker of mine from my postdoc passed away unexpectedly. He was 38 and leaves behind a wife and two very young children. I can't stop thinking about it, the senseless tragedy of it, how his wife and kids will carry on. I know many people think that everything happens for a reason and its God's plan and all that, but I don't really see how his kids will be better off without him. Plus, he was a really nice person, who was really smart and successful.
Well, that was depressing. It also puts things into perspective, like not being able to leave the house b/c your kid is a booger factory. Totally not a big deal. At all.
I have not left the house all week other than preschool dropoff/pickup and going to the peds, which is kind of tough for me. Even though I am not a super-social person, I get cabin fever easily. I am not the stay at home mom that actually stays at home! Hopefully she turns a corner tomorrow or we will be going back to the pediatrician. Just in time, Lana, Bill and I all have sore throats--here comes Round 2! Ugh.
I thought last winter was bad with the sickness, but this year has been worse. We have had 4 colds since Christmas, roughly one/week. That doesn't count the 10 we have had since September. Luckily, the first 14 colds have been pretty mild and normal in duration, but this one has the potential of knocking us out. We have blown through the Costco sized tissues and its only January! We are getting ready to do a bunch of traveling, I really hope we get the sickies our of the way before our trips.
So that's me whining about illness. It could be worse though, it could always be worse.
I am also feeling pretty low this week b/c I heard that a co-worker of mine from my postdoc passed away unexpectedly. He was 38 and leaves behind a wife and two very young children. I can't stop thinking about it, the senseless tragedy of it, how his wife and kids will carry on. I know many people think that everything happens for a reason and its God's plan and all that, but I don't really see how his kids will be better off without him. Plus, he was a really nice person, who was really smart and successful.
Well, that was depressing. It also puts things into perspective, like not being able to leave the house b/c your kid is a booger factory. Totally not a big deal. At all.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Ho-hum
I don't think I am in a funk or anything, but life has been just...there. Routine. Normal. I don't want to tempt the fates because sometimes not very exciting is actually okay. I'll definitely take it over something catastrophic, but I have not been feeling very inspired to blog, to socialize, to tackle projects, etc. Maybe its the post-holiday lull, or maybe its the rain, although I totally hesitate to crab about the weather here--its been in the high 40s/low 50s which is pretty awesome for January even if its a bit gray. Things have been just a bit--meh.
We have been spending a lot of time planning a vacation! To a warm place, with sun! In April! This is good, very good. The sucky part will be getting there--its a long journey with the kids, although I am not the least bit worried about Lana, its Lacey--she is not going to sit nicely in the seat on the plane. But once we get there, it should be good--it better be good!
We have also finally upgraded our camera and got a digital SLR. Our point and shoot was incapable of capturing Lacey b/c every time we clicked, she moved and we would either get a blurry shot or one of those drunk-looking eyes half open shots. I actually felt like we were not documenting her properly in photos, so now we are getting to know our new camera and I promise some super great photos soon of Lacey in all her cuteness. Lana too, but she is far more cooperative with holding still and smiling. Plus we have a million photos of Lana and like 3 of Lacey--poor second child!
Instead of being a super snappy blogger these days, I have been really trying to stay on top of things around the house. Nothing radical, just not letting stuff get out of control. (Thanks Beth, for the inspiration). I have also been trying to enjoy the simple moments with the kids. Lana has been SO MUCH FUN! She is thriving in school, especially the social part--she just loves her friends and her teachers. She comes home with great stories with lots of detail. She loves to tell jokes, except she doesn't really "get" jokes, so they go something like this:
"How did the toilet walk through the door?"
"Lana, I have no idea, please tell me."
"He turned into a sumo wrestler!! HAHAHAHA"
Yep, they make no sense, but that's what makes us laugh. I love the purity of her laugh too. She has been just delightful to be with, my little friend. Lana has also been a lot more affectionate recently, which is equally delightful. Oh, we still have our moments, but all-in-all this stage has been absolutely wonderful and satisfying as a parent.
Lacey has been having a developmental explosion! She loves to play peek-a-boo, with a blanket over her face or in the playhouse or tent. She just cracks herself up. She is really into her dolls--hugging them, "feeding" them, rocking them. She is a hugger, a lover and oh my goodness I just eat it up! She is still night waking every single friggen night--anywhere from 2-5 times per night. She cries, we leave her alone and she goes back to sleep on her own. Still waiting patiently for her to figure it out. Still waiting patiently to get better sleep myself, sigh.
Lacey's language skills are exploding as well. Here are words she is saying at almost 16 months:
Mama
Baba
Nana (Lana)
Baw (ball)
Bow (bowl)
Doe (door)
Di-do (grandma dianne)
Amma (my MIL)
Boo
Apple
She is also blowing kisses, can identify her eyes, nose, ears, teeth, tongue, hair, toes, hands, belly button and waves bye-bye. It is absolutely amazing to me how much she understands--she can follow simple commands, like go get the doll, sit down, stand up, follow me, etc. I am noticing a fiesty streak in her, despite her being a pretty "easy" baby. Maybe its a little foreshadowing of the dreaded terrible twos. Eeek.
Lacey's eating is still frustrating me, but that's a subject for another post. I am taking her to an occupational therapist that specializes in feeding and sensory issues in a couple of weeks. We'll see how that goes.
Ah, this post is all over the place, but I am okay with that. I don't know what is up with me lately. I lack energy and motivation. I have been getting a lot of headaches. I think about putting into action some ideas to make the day-to-day run a little smoother and ways to carve out some time to do something for ME, something that will lift my spirit, make me feel good inside. Right now I need to get my butt in gear and follow through. I need to stop being a spectator. I need to have some fun on the weekends. Blah.
Maybe I am in a funk after all.
We have been spending a lot of time planning a vacation! To a warm place, with sun! In April! This is good, very good. The sucky part will be getting there--its a long journey with the kids, although I am not the least bit worried about Lana, its Lacey--she is not going to sit nicely in the seat on the plane. But once we get there, it should be good--it better be good!
We have also finally upgraded our camera and got a digital SLR. Our point and shoot was incapable of capturing Lacey b/c every time we clicked, she moved and we would either get a blurry shot or one of those drunk-looking eyes half open shots. I actually felt like we were not documenting her properly in photos, so now we are getting to know our new camera and I promise some super great photos soon of Lacey in all her cuteness. Lana too, but she is far more cooperative with holding still and smiling. Plus we have a million photos of Lana and like 3 of Lacey--poor second child!
Instead of being a super snappy blogger these days, I have been really trying to stay on top of things around the house. Nothing radical, just not letting stuff get out of control. (Thanks Beth, for the inspiration). I have also been trying to enjoy the simple moments with the kids. Lana has been SO MUCH FUN! She is thriving in school, especially the social part--she just loves her friends and her teachers. She comes home with great stories with lots of detail. She loves to tell jokes, except she doesn't really "get" jokes, so they go something like this:
"How did the toilet walk through the door?"
"Lana, I have no idea, please tell me."
"He turned into a sumo wrestler!! HAHAHAHA"
Yep, they make no sense, but that's what makes us laugh. I love the purity of her laugh too. She has been just delightful to be with, my little friend. Lana has also been a lot more affectionate recently, which is equally delightful. Oh, we still have our moments, but all-in-all this stage has been absolutely wonderful and satisfying as a parent.
Lacey has been having a developmental explosion! She loves to play peek-a-boo, with a blanket over her face or in the playhouse or tent. She just cracks herself up. She is really into her dolls--hugging them, "feeding" them, rocking them. She is a hugger, a lover and oh my goodness I just eat it up! She is still night waking every single friggen night--anywhere from 2-5 times per night. She cries, we leave her alone and she goes back to sleep on her own. Still waiting patiently for her to figure it out. Still waiting patiently to get better sleep myself, sigh.
Lacey's language skills are exploding as well. Here are words she is saying at almost 16 months:
Mama
Baba
Nana (Lana)
Baw (ball)
Bow (bowl)
Doe (door)
Di-do (grandma dianne)
Amma (my MIL)
Boo
Apple
She is also blowing kisses, can identify her eyes, nose, ears, teeth, tongue, hair, toes, hands, belly button and waves bye-bye. It is absolutely amazing to me how much she understands--she can follow simple commands, like go get the doll, sit down, stand up, follow me, etc. I am noticing a fiesty streak in her, despite her being a pretty "easy" baby. Maybe its a little foreshadowing of the dreaded terrible twos. Eeek.
Lacey's eating is still frustrating me, but that's a subject for another post. I am taking her to an occupational therapist that specializes in feeding and sensory issues in a couple of weeks. We'll see how that goes.
Ah, this post is all over the place, but I am okay with that. I don't know what is up with me lately. I lack energy and motivation. I have been getting a lot of headaches. I think about putting into action some ideas to make the day-to-day run a little smoother and ways to carve out some time to do something for ME, something that will lift my spirit, make me feel good inside. Right now I need to get my butt in gear and follow through. I need to stop being a spectator. I need to have some fun on the weekends. Blah.
Maybe I am in a funk after all.
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