On Tuesday we celebrated the Winter Solstice. In the morning when the kids got up, we all opened our presents. They were pretty excited!
Here are pics of their favorites. The rest of the photos will be in a Facebook photo album.
Leo's favorite was his Lightening McQueen "Shake and Go" car. Leo also got puzzles, a recycling truck, tub toys, a new bedding set, and books.
Here, Flora is dressing her Polly Pocket. This was definitely one of her favorites, but it was a toss up between Polly, Princess nightgowns, and a pretty pink dress. She also got puzzles and books, as well as a DVD, slippers, and dishes for the play kitchen.
Tom got a new travel coffee mug and a alarm clock/dock for his iPhone.
I got a travel coffee mug, a necklace, a bracelet that says,"a mother holds her children's hand for a short while, but their hearts forever", and prenatal yoga classes.
For the rest of the morning, the kids played with their new stuff. Then it was lunch time, then nap time.
Since they both decided not to nap that day, Tom(I was out running errands) decided to get them out of bed and geared up to go play in the snow fort he created for them(see pics in the Facebook album).
When I got home, I made "Penne with Asparagus and Mushroom Cream Sauce" with a little salad on the side that Tom made. It was pretty tasty!
After supper we snuggled up on the couch and watched the new movie the kids got, "Despicable Me". Then it was early bedtime seeing as the kids didn't nap.
Overall it was a pretty relaxed day.
Hope you had a Happy Solstice!
(Too bad it was too cloudy to see the lunar eclipse. I find it really interesting that the full moon, the eclipse, and the Solstice all fell on the same day.)
The kids really enjoyed the eating it part, as you can tell!
After supper, Tom helped the kids frost the cookies they cut out the other day. I guess they weren't too enthused. Leo dumped sprinkles in the frosting. Flora frosted and sprinkled only a couple of cookies and then got bored. Oh well! At least they tried. :)
Last night we rolled, cut, and baked the cookies. I think frosting and decorating might have to wait until tomorrow, because tonight our activity is: "buying a gift for a needy family".
Flora's school has a giving tree with ornaments that have an item on them to give to Harbor House. They offer this instead of each child buying the teachers a gift. I thought that was a good idea. When I was a daycare teacher, I got a lot of mugs and a lot of "stuff" for the holidays. Most of which I have not held on to.
So along with finishing up other holiday shopping, we will be buying towels for Harbor House. :)
This last picture was taken today while making Danish Christmas Cookies. Leo likes to stir, but it's kind of hard for him(he HAS to do it!) and he has his own agenda. He likes to scoop what he's mixing and put it in other bowls. He also tends to be messy, saying. "oopie" every time he flipped some out of the bowl. That's why I normally use the biggest bowl we have when the kids help stir, because Flora does it too. :)
Stay tuned for more "Twelve Days of Solstice fun"!
Last week we started what I call the "Twelve Days of Solstice". It's like an Advent calendar, but everyday we look in the stocking or mitten and there is an activity or craft to do. We started at 12 and will count down to Solstice.
So, our first activity, on Thursday, was making gift tags. I cut up our holiday cards from last year and we used all kinds of glitter and glue to decorate them. Flora also used a stamp to imprint the "To:" and "From:" on the back. It was good messy fun!
We've been busy in the last week "decking the halls"! On Wednesday we put out some of our holiday decor and the M&M lights in the playroom(the kids loved them!). Saturday it was too cold to go for a walk, so we got a little crafty and made some gingerbread paper dolls. Flora and Papa really got into it. Leo was into it for a little while, but after a while, he just kept getting into all the stuff and making a mess instead.
Working hard!
The finished results
Last night we set up the tree. Isn't it a beauty?!? AND it fits just right in our living room! A real Charlie Brown tree. Ed got it from Up North. This was the type of tree I wanted last year, but we ended up buying one instead. The kids really wanted to "help", but since the tree is so skinny and the branches were so thin, it was a "parents only" kind of a project. They still had fun checking out all the ornaments.
We did celebrate St. Nick by giving them stocking stuffed with books, colors, socks, puzzles, and just a little bit of candy. They got their stuff on Sunday morning, so Tom could be there, too. They really enjoyed it!
Today Finn was here and we made some cute reindeer. Finn's was a birthday card for his mom, since it is her birthday today. :)
Funny that Leo's hand isn't much smaller than Flora's!
I'm sure we'll be crafting, baking, and decorating more in the weeks to come, so stay tuned(and warm)!
Our ultrasound went well. Everything was in woking order and was where it should be. Baby was drinking amniotic fluid while we were viewing her. It looked like she was sucking on the placenta. It was pretty cute! As you can see baby is a girl. We don't have a name picked yet, but we have plenty of time. ;)
I know it's been a VERY long time since I wrote on here, but with everyone being on Facebook, it has fallen to the wayside.
Here's a little update: Flora is doing well at preschool. She seems reluctant to go, but that wears off as soon as I leave and she always says she has fun when I ask her after school. Her favorite friend is Eliana. She often reports on the way home who was sassy or wasn't listening.
Leo is continuing to expand his vocabulary. He has been using two word sentences, as well. Oops, actually three. He just said, "please help me." This morning he told me the names of the letters P, M,W, U, and O, which impressed me. :)
He is also starting to understand more and "help" more. Last night he put Flora's and his bowls and cups away on the counter in the kitchen without being asked to.
Leo's independence is developing more as he is trying to take off his coat on his own and will not sit in his booster seat anymore.
Sorry, but this is still not a Flora update. Maybe later... I swear, I'll get to it!
Just writing to say that I put a lot more photos in the "Glimpses of Spring" album as well as pictures of Flora's actual birthday in her "3rd b-day party" album. Enjoy!
We tried out Flora's new bubble machine, today, as well as spending some time enjoying the beautiful weather. Hope you got to enjoy it, too!!!
Here's another web album:
I told Flora when she wakes up, in the morning, she will be 3, and she'll be bigger and smarter. She told me that she would be able to paint and to cook all by herself. They grow up way to fast.
Leo's 7th tooth popped through last night. It's on the bottom on the right side. Leo also said "mo" on Thursday when he wanted more crackers. He has also been doing the sign for "more" more often.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Just a few pictures from my phone.
Leo's posting on the blog, too!
"The Prince and Princess" Flora wanted Leo dressed like this, so I helped her put it on him. :)
I put more pictures on the web albums today. I had to go back to using mine because Leo's ran out of room. But there are more pictures in his "Winter 2009-2010". You can view the photos in the slideshows on the top right or by going to the bottom right-hand side of the page and looking in photo albums section(Princesses on Ice is there, too).
Here's a little update on Leo, since I will update you all on Flora around her birthday.
Leo went to the doctor last week to get his ears re-checked. She said they were all clear and didn't want to go with tubes just yet because he cleared up his infection really quickly. So I'm hoping with the nice weather coming that he(and all of us!) won't get sick again before he maybe will out-grow it.
Leo has been walking all over lately. He will just walk and walk and walk!
He loves books and will still clear all the books off the shelf. He has also been "reading" to himself in his jibberish talk. It's pretty cute and he sounds a lot like Flora did at that age.
Leo says a few words. He says baby, happy, mama, and baba. He doesn't say a whole lot of "real" words, but he does a lot of babbling. He also can do the signs for "milk", "more", and his own variation of "all done". We have been working on please since he's been doing a lot of whining when we get out something he really wants to eat or drink.
We're are trying to teach Leo how to clean-up. He will take out all the cars(he loves them!) or play food or you name it! So we have him help us pick-up and tell him, "put it away". He'll put it in the bucket and say, "aye!"(for away) and then clap.
Leo is really starting to understand things and voice his opinion(he gets pretty upset if you take him away from something he wants to do). As I was writing this he got the play laptop and set it next to me and worked on it while I working on mine. Cute!
Leo popped out another tooth today! He has also been walking all over. We think he looks like an old man the way he shuffles his feet sometimes. :) Leo likes to talk on the phone lately. He mostly puts the phone near his mouth(usually upside down) and says, "hi, hi, hi, hi". Except, of course, when there really is someone on the other end!
Flora still has her crazy hives. I took her to the dr., again, and he really didn't have a solution. He wanted to put her on prednisone, but I wasn't too keen on that. So she is on Xyzal and Benadryl to keep them at bay. So far today, she hasn't gotten any. Let's hope it stays that way!!!
On Sunday, we discovered that Leo's fifth tooth came through! He has been walking more and more every day, too. :) Here are Flora and Leo(& Guthrie) enjoying what was left of the light, today.
They really liked sledding! Lots of giggling, until the sled tipped on a turn and Leo got half of his face washed. He cried, but got over it fast and went back in the sled for more fun!
Here us Flora making her first snow angel.
I took Flora to the doctor on Monday, because of a rash. Turns out she had hives. But not from anything she ate or had on her skin. It's from the cold! It gies away when she warms up. But the doc gave her some medicine that seemed to help until this morning when she got hives 30 minutes after she took it. At least it's not a food allergy and she'll probably out grow it. Or maybe it'll just go away when it warms up- in July! :)
Well, he's starting to walk. He has been taking 2-4 tentative steps here and there, but this morning, he intentionally was walking in the play room. He took about 6 steps. I got a little video of another little walking attempt. I'm sure he will really start taking off now! Oh boy!!!
He's a little more on Leo as a one-year old. He has been doing great feeding himself. He uses his utensil for a while but gives up towards the end of the meal to use his hands. At least he knows what he's supposed to do. He has also been leaving his bowl or plate alone during meals. He used to just dump them right away, but now if he does it it means he's done. We'll get him to be a civilized eater yet!
Leo continues to be a good eater, aside from when he's sick, and eats just about anything. Last night he had two bowls of stir-fry with bok choy, tofu, and mushrooms. He loves fruit, cheese, and cereal. He is now off of formula and drinking rice milk. He likes that, too, but rice milk is rather sweet, so I'm not surprised. Even Flora prefers it to cow's milk, of course unless it's chocolate milk!
We have been teaching Leo Baby Sign language, like we did with Flora. He thinks we're funny, for the most part, but yesterday he did the sign for "milk" with out me prompting him. :)
Leo sleeping has gotten a little better. He was doing really well for two weeks and then had a set back because of another pesky double ear infection(his 3rd in 3 months!). Lately he sleeps through every other night. We had been getting him up and giving him a snack, but I think we'll go back to staying in the crib and patting/rubbing his back method. Someday he'll consistently sleep through the night.
As for naps... he usually takes two, but lately he's been taking one three hour nap after lunch. This makes things easier for me to run errands and such, but I'm not sure how it suits him in the long run(babies who nap well sleep well at night). So I try to give him two when I can with hopes that we can sleep through the night.
Leo is still a happy-go-lucky guy who goes with the flow, for the most part. Sometimes he gets pretty whiney and clingy when he's hungry and I'm making supper. When he's tired he's been getting destructive. He whips the magnets off the fridge or the toys off the shelf. I call him a "trash-a-sorous". Tom says, "destruct-o, change-o, Leo-range-o" or for short we say Leo's "Leo-ranging".
Flora is still adapting to Leo's new mobility and likes him on and off. I'm sure it will be that way for the rest of their lives. Sometimes she says she doesn't love him and other times she wants to be by him in his crib or in the play pen or is laughing and goofing with him.
Here's the lowdown on Flora: She may be out-growing naps. :( The only day this week that she took a nap was yesterday. That was because Leo had us all up the night before.
At any rate, she will still have a nap time in her room, even if she doesn't nap, it's good for her to have some quiet time, so I can have some, too! I'm sure she'll end up napping here and there on the days she needs it. Like today. Last night she and I went swimming at a friend's hotel pool b-day party and didn't get n=home until 10. She had a lot of fun swimming. There was another little girl there her age who was swimming on her own with water wings, so that encouraged Flora to want to swim with her swimmy wings, too. Sorry, I didn't get any pictures, because I was swimming, too.
I guess not much has changed with Flora. She is good at going potty on her own, but prefers her little potties to the big one. She can also go on a big toilet with out a seat, or anyone behind her, so that makes stops in public rest rooms easier!
Flora, as you may know, is all girl. She LOVES to wear dresses and is very interested in princesses, marriages, and happily ever after. Last night when we said good-bye to Tom, she said something like, "you need to say thank you for marrying you". So Tom and I looked at each other and both said at the same time, "Thank you for marrying me!" and sealed it with a kiss. She really likes that stuff. ;)
She also has been coloring and cutting a lot. She loves to paint, too. She really does a good job staying in the lines coloring, although, I haven't told her she has to, she just does.
Flora can count to 13 and know the ABC's. She likes to sing and make up her own songs, too. She is really starting to take an interest in letter recognition, which is good!
We'll be heading to Eau Claire for the weekend. Tom has to go there to meet with a supplier, so we're going along to hang out with him at the hotel and use to pool. We'll probably head to the Mall of America and/or Ikea (yay!) since it's not too far from there! Two kids in one hotel room will be an adventure!
Blog Stuff: I put a couple new videos on You-tube. They are on the right side under "Enz-a-vision". Enjoy!
Hi all! As you know a lot has been going on and for me to sit down and write a full update, it takes at least an hour. So this will be a short update because we will be gone all day today and have to get ready to leave shortly.
Leo's Dr. appointment went ok. He is 23 pounds 14 ounces, and is 33 inches tall. The dr. was concerned about his weight, but he had been sick with cold and another double ear infection(we found out while we were there) which decreased his appetite. He's still in the 66% for his age and had regained his appetite the day before his dr. appointment. I'm sure he'll gain if back. As for his height, I think that is off, again. When I measured him at home, standing, he was 31 inches. When the nurse measured him, he was squirming all over the table. At any rate, he grew.
She really had no other concerns, aside from his infected ears. He is on a stronger antibiotic, Zithromax, which he only takes once a day for 5 days instead of the other stuff that was two times a day for 10 days. He likes this one better and takes it easily. Hopefully it works and he doesn't get any more!!!
There is a new slideshow, "Winter 2010". All the pictures from his birthday party are on it.
Now were off to play at Mom and Pop, visit Mom and Denny, play with Val and Fischer for coffee, and maybe visit our friend, Lisa's, new baby Fritz!
Today is Leo's first birthday! It's amazing how fast a year can go! Here's a pix of him wearing his birthday crown. Well, it's actually Flora's frog princess crown.
Tonight we will celebrate by going out to eat and opening the gifts we got him. Tomorrow Leo has his one year check-up, so I'll give a full update after that.
