Sleep already

Is anyone else's kid fighting daylights savings time like there's no tomorrow? 4:45, 5:15, 5:30. Our last three mornings. At this rate we'll be back to normal wake up time by Thanksgiving.

Halloween

Hi friends and family...I know its been a while. There's lots to report, but little time to do so these days!

One of my favorite holidays (third behind Cinco de Mayo and Christmas) just passed. Halloween was AWESOME this year. Our new neighbors and neighborhood helped make this the best Halloween yet (with the possible exception of the Halloween I met the hubby). We went through 5 bags of extra large candy and probably had close to 200 kids walk our path to chocolate goodness. There were some adorable costumes (with the exception of a fat kid dressed as a fat kid. Depricating or stupid? I couldn't decide.) The hubby and I alternated between taking the kids around the square to trick or treat and passing out candy. Since there are so many kids out, folks end up sitting outside rather than opening the door every 3.5 seconds. One guy even pimped it out by setting up a firepit to keep warm. IA and WA had a blast! IA dressed up as a pumpkin..cute little redhead in a large orange ball. WA was an astronaut. We bundled them up, because it was chilly, but I'm sure the adrenaline alone kept them warm. Many of the houses in our neighborhood were decorated with flair adding to the experience. We did our best, considering we had limited decorations in CT.

Last night the hubby asked when we planned on taking down the Halloween decorations to put up the Thanksgiving ones. I looked at him, like he was crazy, and told him that Thanksgiving is the breath between Halloween and Christmas! We do, however, need to get our Christmas decoration strategy worked out. I may have to get my cousin to make one of her famous 3D models with accompanying color coded organization binders. I kid you not:).

IA-isms

Always fairly verbal, IA has grown even more so recently. There are two things she says that are worth a post...

1. The way she says her brother's name - "Wee-yum". Sigh. Love it.

2. "Mommy, no tak-a mean". She has taken to saying this when you talk at elevated volumes. Like the other day when I raised my voice to tell her "No!" as she was reaching for a knife.

Now, her brother flat out yelled at her after she snatched his toy and I got to hear the motherload sentence..."Wee-yum, no tak-a mean!".

'Nuff said.

It's the little things

Last night WA, IA and I got home after a long day at work/daycare. Considering the day was slightly rough for two out of three of us, what came next was a delight. We walked in to the kitchen to see a straw stuffed pumpkin head man staring back at us (eh, give me a break on this one, thats the best description I can come up with). Surprise! With a smile on my face I immediately knew who the culprit was. After a complete inspection, WA asked me who did it. I asked who he thought. He said "Daddy?". I told him "Nope" and then asked who loves to decorate for the holidays. He said "Me!". "Well yes, that's true" I said, " but who else??" "GRANDMA!" he exclaimed. Right. It was his grandma. She and Grandpa had stopped by on their way to visit KB who just started her first week at OSU. After having let themselves in, they planted this special surprise. I really loved the thoughtfullness, the kids loved the plastic pumpkin and straw. Everyone had a smile on.

Knowing when to push

I find myself in uncharted medical territory. IA has been sick ALOT since moving to Ohio and on multiple occassions her lips turn blue. First time it happened she ended up having pneumonia, but her pulse-ox was never low. Weird, right?? The subsequent two time her pediatrician didn't find a cause (other than saying, she has an infection somewhere). I'm frustrated with this answer and frankly her pediatrician. So I'm now in the zone of wondering if I'm being an overly sensitive parent or if any other pediatrician would give me the same (non)answer.

Am I not pushing this hard enough? Do I accept the answer at face value(it's not that I don't believe it could be true...i guess I'm just wondering if it should be taken more seriously). Help friends and relatives...what would you do?

First Haircut

On August 28th, IA got her first haircut. She was a champ (maybe her Mimi was with her in spirit. Mimi was always a fan of little girl hair!). IA didn't utter a peep and let the lady spray her with water, looked down when asked and gazed at Elmo on the TV screen. (Anyone else sort of bothered by these 'haircut as entertainment' joints??). We took off about an inch and a half resulting in a cute little bob. 21 months felt a little old for a first haircut, considering her brother's first was at barely 6 mos (he had a ridiculous head of anchorman worthy hair). She looks so much better now so I'm glad I bit the bullet.

One more last 'first' down.

And so it begins

While she has always been a sensitive child (thank you Allman genetics), IA has clearly turned it up a notch over the last few weeks. The other night, during a mid-dinner meltdown, the hubby turned to me and said "It's started." I instantly knew what he meant...even though I hadn't conciously had that thought yet. Here we go...the "Terrible Twos" (who came up with that misnomer btw?).

"Shell shocked" is the term I'd use to describe the Allman parents when this first happened to us 2 years ago. We did not know where our sweet smiley boy had gone and I remember emailing my brother and good friend D, asking if this was the terrible 2s. To be fair, I remember that email going out more towards 18mos...so perhaps it was the timing that threw me more. Now? I feel like a pro. I know all the tricks this little girl has up her tantruming sleeve and I say, bring it IA!

Peepee on the potty. Woot woot!

Ladies and gentelmen, we have entered phase 1 of Operation No More Diapers. IA has officially peed on the potty 4 times in 1 week. Granted, we're still in the "it was pure luck and good timing" part of potty training....but at 21 months, I'll take it! She is actively interested in going on the john, asks to sit on the potty and is developing an awareness of a full (or soon to be full) diaper. Good signs. Here's hoping for more (and speedy) sucess to come.

Sailing through a good memory

Yesterday I dressed IA in this little sailor outfit. I love it, mostly because my adored niece wore it the day my first born was born. That day is so vivid and KF looked (and acted) adorable. She was two at the time and had developed a facination with Tai Chi. I'll never forget looking over at her doing Tai Chi moves in the hospital room as I held my own new born child. She made me laugh and smile on a day full of both. Now my own daughter is old enough to wear this little number, and while she doesn't have her cousin's flare, she sure does look cute!

Whoa Mommy!

IA is doing the cutest thing, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face. Each day we pass the construction site of a new Jewish Temple. It's cool watching the progress...from wooded lot to cleared land to foundation to frame. As we drive by at the end of the day, IA has taken to exclaiming "Whoa Mommy!!", when she sees a new wall or part of the roof magically appear. It is in-credibly adorable and makes me want to squeeze that little bundle of cuteness every time. Love it.

Two!

The other day we were walking down the street and caught IA giving a "word up!" gesture with her hands. The hubby and I looked at each other and thought, "what?!?". We laughed and enjoyed the moment not really knowing who was teaching her such slick moves (certainly not her square parents!). This weekend I finally figured out what she was attempting to do. She was counting to two! Here are some pics of her attempts...

Who does this remind you of...

For those of you who knew me, and my locks, pre-kids...look familiar?

Alone time

I used to spend a TON of time alone with WA playing in his room. He got this VIP treatment until I was 8 months pregnant (and could no longer get up by myself!). Back in the day where it was 2 parents to 1 child, my hubby and I would often trade off weekend mornings and sleep in. WA, never a child who embraced sleep, would get up at about 6:30am. I'd go in and sit on the floor and play with him for hours. There would be days when I was exhausted and would half snooze/half play. As he grew older that trick didn't work as well. Anyway, I loved those mornings. With IA, I don't get much time like that. In a quite house, just she and I with sleepies in our eyes. This morning she treated us to a 5am wake up call. The hubby got up and attempted to rock her back to sleep, when that didn't work he brought her to our bed. From there she snuggled up with me for maybe 30 mins and started to get restless. I fended her off for 10 additional minutes before finally giving up just before 6. Since I was wide awake I decided to take her to her room to play. Alone. She and I. I really, really savored it. We got a solid hour of play, lotion application, dress up and books. If one has to get up before 6, playing with a cute little redhead is definitely the way to go.

A delight

I don't know why, but I absolutely LOVE witnessing IA's vocabulary expand. More so than when WA's was blossoming. Is it a simple case of little girl cuteness?

IA's 18mo stats

IA went to the docs earlier this week. Her stats are as follows..

Height- 97%

Weight - 95%

Head - 50%

Same exact percentages as her 15mo checkup. She's definitely a kid that gets mistaken for one much older and whose cute baby gut is almost too big for size 2T; she is adorable and i wouldn't change her for the world!

Peas

Is there anything cuter than your (almost) 18 month old saying "Please"? It comes out as "Peas" and kills me every time IA says it (with accompanying rub to the chest...which her teacher taught her to sign). I could watch and listen to that all day long :).

Best word so far!

Yesterday I heard IA attempt to say her brother's name for the first time. What a thrill! It sounded enough like his name that I knew what she was trying to say, but not enough where the phonetics were all that neat. I don't know why I loved hearing her try. Maybe it's because she so clearly adores him. Maybe it's because I know how much I love my own brother and can see that type of relationship budding with my own kids. Or maybe it's just super cool when your kid learns to say a new word. Whatever the reason, it was awesome.

Words, words everywhere

IA has started forming new words. She is on the cusp of a vocab explosion and it's starting to get exciting. Some of words she's mastered so far are...

Hi/Hello (which she says in to her play cell phone)
Byebye
Doggie
Kitty
Mama
Dada
Grandma (which she said yesterday. very thrilling for both me and her grandmother!)
Cow
Owl
Meow
Quack Quack
Banana (she's still a little shaky with the pronunciation though)

IA's 15 mos stats

IA went to the doctor this week for her 15 mo check up (granted we were two weeks late...but what's a working mom to do?!?).

Here's how she's shaping up:
Height - 97%
Weight - 95%
Head - 50%

Her height is staying consistent (and leading her toward a career in the WNBA), but her weight is coming down slightly (probably due to her extremely picky eating) and her head is growing! Her peanut noggin gained 25%...whatever that means. I suppose for all practical purposes it means I can now buy her a hat that fits.

My 15 month old little redhead....

I mean seriously....COME ON!

Last week IA was back in the ER after turning blue and this week WA spent Tuesday at home with me with a nasty case of pink eye. Heavens above, what the heck is going on here?!? This is about the ump-enth illness in our household in the past two months...let's not even count hospital stays, ERs, doctor's visits, x-rays and trips the the pharmacy! I have no idea what I did in a past life or if I'm being punished for the silly mistakes of my youth, but COME ON!!