1. Compliments
Regarding a hair I found growing in his ear (a sign he is getting old - ha!)
Me: It just caught my eye
Phillip: Your judgemental eye
Me: I am proud of my judgemental eye
Phillip: I bet you are
2. Reading/cuddle/prayer time with Ellen
3. My impassioned Lilly who used to scream after finishing a 6 ounce bottle, now screams after downing a whopping 7 ounces. An empty bottle = one angry baby. Poor thing has her Mama's temperament.
4. A husband who loaded the car this morning to make getting out of the house a little easier for me and the girls... Ellen's bedding, folder and lunch and Lilly's bedding, diaper bag, wipes and diapers. We always have extra on Mondays due to bringing clean sheets and blankets for naptime but Lilly also happened to need more diapers and wipes this week. And not to mention a check for $350 :(
5. The ability to laugh (even when I feel like crying)
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Are you happy now?
Our homeowners association sent us a "friendly reminder" to "maintain our property" by removing the weeds growing in our flower beds. Have I mentioned how much I don't care for our HOA? A trip to Lowe's, $34, and one Sunday afternoon later, our flower beds are officially weed-free. We even trimmed our hedges for good measure. Phillip took six garbage bags full of yardage (is that a word?) to the dump afterwards. It needed to be done but I didn't appreciate the letter, "friendly" or not.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
The devil is in the details
Phillip: How was your day?
Ellen: I don't know
Phillip: Well, did you have fun?
Ellen: I think so
This exchange was particularly vague but Ellen has never been one to go on and on about school or what she did on any particular day... much to my dismay. But that doesn't keep us from asking!
--------------------
I went to Ellen's parent/teacher conference a couple of weeks ago. I rarely get to see her teachers so I was really looking forward to this meeting. I left disappointed. She is doing well both socially and academically and is ready for Kindergarten, which is good, but I was expecting/wanting to hear a few cute stories or something more personal. What can I say, I like that kind of thing.
Here is Lilly's recent assessment: (I left out the objectives that didn't apply)
Objective: To feel valued and attached to others
Progress: Consistently
Evidence (comments from Ms. Eady): Full of smiles. Lilly is a very happy baby. Loves being talked to and likes full one-on-one attention.
Objective: To assert their independence
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Loves her bottle, so she never pushes that away :) Will occasionally pull at her diaper and lift legs while being changed.
Objective: To communicate a broad range of emotions through gestures, sounds, and - eventually - words
Progress: Consistently
Evidence: A very happy baby! Loves to be talked to/sang to. She has laughed/cooed out loud one time.
Objective: To develop trusting relationships with nurturing adults
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Pays attention while being talked to. Does look to adult when upset.
Objective: To show interest in peers
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Does watch friends while playing on the floor and will occasionally try to touch them. Working on grasping.
Objective: To express needs and thoughts without using words
Progress: Consistently
Evidence: When Lilly is upset, she will let you know :) Full of smiles, very inviting. Loves to feel engaged on one-on-one time.
Objective: To respond to verbal and nonverbal commands
Progress: Not Yet/Rarely
Evidence: Will occasionally respond to name. Sometimes will mimic - if you open your mouth she will open hers and smile.
Objective: To develop gross motor skills
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Has very good head control. Has began trying to sit up from a lying down position... exercising early :)
Objective: To coordinate eye and hand movements
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Will follow toy being played with above her from side to side. Looks at hands/chews hands. Working on grasping toys.
Objective: To develop self-help skills
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Sucks pacifier to soothe.
Objective: To gain an understanding of basic concepts and relationships
Progress: Not Yet/Rarely
Evidence: Has put pacifier back in mouth at times if it was laying on her chest.
We love Ms. Eady. She is the best! And we liked her even before she let us borrow her Bumbo.
Ellen: I don't know
Phillip: Well, did you have fun?
Ellen: I think so
This exchange was particularly vague but Ellen has never been one to go on and on about school or what she did on any particular day... much to my dismay. But that doesn't keep us from asking!
--------------------
I went to Ellen's parent/teacher conference a couple of weeks ago. I rarely get to see her teachers so I was really looking forward to this meeting. I left disappointed. She is doing well both socially and academically and is ready for Kindergarten, which is good, but I was expecting/wanting to hear a few cute stories or something more personal. What can I say, I like that kind of thing.
Here is Lilly's recent assessment: (I left out the objectives that didn't apply)
Objective: To feel valued and attached to others
Progress: Consistently
Evidence (comments from Ms. Eady): Full of smiles. Lilly is a very happy baby. Loves being talked to and likes full one-on-one attention.
Objective: To assert their independence
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Loves her bottle, so she never pushes that away :) Will occasionally pull at her diaper and lift legs while being changed.
Objective: To communicate a broad range of emotions through gestures, sounds, and - eventually - words
Progress: Consistently
Evidence: A very happy baby! Loves to be talked to/sang to. She has laughed/cooed out loud one time.
Objective: To develop trusting relationships with nurturing adults
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Pays attention while being talked to. Does look to adult when upset.
Objective: To show interest in peers
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Does watch friends while playing on the floor and will occasionally try to touch them. Working on grasping.
Objective: To express needs and thoughts without using words
Progress: Consistently
Evidence: When Lilly is upset, she will let you know :) Full of smiles, very inviting. Loves to feel engaged on one-on-one time.
Objective: To respond to verbal and nonverbal commands
Progress: Not Yet/Rarely
Evidence: Will occasionally respond to name. Sometimes will mimic - if you open your mouth she will open hers and smile.
Objective: To develop gross motor skills
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Has very good head control. Has began trying to sit up from a lying down position... exercising early :)
Objective: To coordinate eye and hand movements
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Will follow toy being played with above her from side to side. Looks at hands/chews hands. Working on grasping toys.
Objective: To develop self-help skills
Progress: Sometimes
Evidence: Sucks pacifier to soothe.
Objective: To gain an understanding of basic concepts and relationships
Progress: Not Yet/Rarely
Evidence: Has put pacifier back in mouth at times if it was laying on her chest.
We love Ms. Eady. She is the best! And we liked her even before she let us borrow her Bumbo.
(So sad that Lilly's hair is thinning out so much. Grow, hair! Grow!)
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Mid-Week Adventure
The girls and I went to Lucky Ladd Farms in Eagleville yesterday. What a great place! Next time we need to bring a friend with us because I think Ellen was overwhelmed by all of the different activities and would have enjoyed/benefited from having a buddy or two by her side. Several families (moms and their kids) and a large Elementary school group were there too so that helped bring her out of her shell.
We saw the animals, played, had a picnic lunch and then went back to say good bye to the animals before heading home. Ellen wouldn't go into the petting zoo area, which is what I thought she would enjoy the most, but she did like looking at and waving to all of the critters from a distance :)
We will definitely come back in the Fall for pumpkin season.
First stop: Bunnyville
Population: 1
(Apparently only one bunny lives in Bunnyville!)
(Apparently only one bunny lives in Bunnyville!)
We spent a lot of time in the corn pit
Maze
Making music
Pumping water
She loved this huge slide
Consulting the map
Lilly was there too!
This was neat... you put food in the cup and turn the crank until it reaches the top of a small wooden deck where hungry goats anxiously await its arrival
Llama Llama
Ever the cautious one
Moo!
Ellen got to feed a baby goat
Baa!
A see-sawing goat
A better look at the "attractions"
See you next time!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Soccer, Sal's and Shopping
After [painstakingly] working three in a row I was finally off on a Saturday. Yay! Unfortunately Phillip had to work. It just isn't meant to be for us to spend a lot of time together on the weekends. Determined to make the best of it, the girls and I headed to the soccer fields. We only got to see the tail end of Savannah's game (we were running late) but it was freezing and we weren't dressed accordingly so it worked out for the best. Too bad it was the last game of the season. Afterwards we went to the Moss's and then to Sal's for pizza and salad. Phillip had to work longer than he originally planned (rough week last week) but he was able to meet us for lunch. He took Lilly home and Ellen and I went to the mall to spend a few gift cards. I let Ellen play for a while (she had a blast) before heading back to Sara Jo's to pick up some summer clothes for Ellen (thanks Savannah!) Busy day but a fun day.
In other news, the streak has ended (tear, sob). Lilly did great all week but decided to start waking up in the night again over the weekend. We were able to console her last night, it took a while but she eventually went back to sleep, but I ended up feeding her at 3:30 early Sunday morning (she was going nuts). I don't think she was feeling well (constipated?) so I am hoping this is only a temporary set back.
Future soccer stars?
The Three Stooges
Aunt Sara Jo!
Playing at the mall
Sign it was a very good day
Friday, April 20, 2012
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Knock on wood
I don't want to jinx it but Lilly has slept through the night for the past three nights. We put her to bed around 8:30 p.m. and usually don't hear a peep out of her until morning (she sometimes coughs in the night). She had been waking up around 4:00 a.m. to eat - which makes for very long days since there isn't time for us to go back to sleep afterwards. I hope this sticks! I don't like starting my day at 4:00 a.m. We need to feed her around 5:30 on weekday mornings anyway so it's only 1.5 hours more, but what a difference that extra sleep makes.
The girls had school pictures taken on Tuesday, their first "professional" sibling photo shoot :), and Ellen had graduation pictures yesterday. I am excited to see them, especially the ones of Ellen in her cap and gown. She graduates on May 18th. The 10 best signers (sign language) get to be on the front row during that part of the program so we have been practicing the alphabet at home. She has a ways to go :)
We changed out the nipples on Lilly's bottles this week. She went from stage 1 (0-3 months) to stage 2 (3 months +). It cuts about 10 minutes off her feeding time. She was ready for a faster flow but we were hesitant to make the switch due to her reflux... she has done well so far. We also decided to try regular Enfamil and she is tolerating it like a champ (well, a champ with reflux). Go Lilly!
Lilly's favorite activities at school include tummy time, sitting in the bumbo and being in the exersaucer (they stuff blankets around her so she is stable). She is such an active little thing! We don't have a bumbo but we do have an exersaucer - it might be time to get it out of storage.
Our precious Lilly is growing and changing by the minute! She is wearing 3-6 month clothes, almost in size 2 diapers (finishing up our last size 1's) and drinks 6 oz. of formula at a time (and seems to want more!).
Mother of the year sent Ellen to school with spaghetti sauce for lunch. Just sauce, no noodles. I grabbed the wrong container. I also sent the leftover lima beans instead of the smaller portion I had set aside. Crazy thing is she ate half of that sauce and almost all of the limas (way to get that daily fiber!). Ms. Puckett asked her if she ate just sauce at home and she said yes but that sometimes she has noodles with it too. For the record, we never have just sauce! I can't believe I did that.
Ellen and Lilly are so sweet together. Ellen is very loving. She does get frustrated when Lilly cries but insead of saying "hush" in a semi-aggravated tone, she now says "I know you can't help it but please stop crying". I guess our little talk worked :)
Life continues to be an adventure!
The girls had school pictures taken on Tuesday, their first "professional" sibling photo shoot :), and Ellen had graduation pictures yesterday. I am excited to see them, especially the ones of Ellen in her cap and gown. She graduates on May 18th. The 10 best signers (sign language) get to be on the front row during that part of the program so we have been practicing the alphabet at home. She has a ways to go :)
We changed out the nipples on Lilly's bottles this week. She went from stage 1 (0-3 months) to stage 2 (3 months +). It cuts about 10 minutes off her feeding time. She was ready for a faster flow but we were hesitant to make the switch due to her reflux... she has done well so far. We also decided to try regular Enfamil and she is tolerating it like a champ (well, a champ with reflux). Go Lilly!
Lilly's favorite activities at school include tummy time, sitting in the bumbo and being in the exersaucer (they stuff blankets around her so she is stable). She is such an active little thing! We don't have a bumbo but we do have an exersaucer - it might be time to get it out of storage.
Our precious Lilly is growing and changing by the minute! She is wearing 3-6 month clothes, almost in size 2 diapers (finishing up our last size 1's) and drinks 6 oz. of formula at a time (and seems to want more!).
Mother of the year sent Ellen to school with spaghetti sauce for lunch. Just sauce, no noodles. I grabbed the wrong container. I also sent the leftover lima beans instead of the smaller portion I had set aside. Crazy thing is she ate half of that sauce and almost all of the limas (way to get that daily fiber!). Ms. Puckett asked her if she ate just sauce at home and she said yes but that sometimes she has noodles with it too. For the record, we never have just sauce! I can't believe I did that.
Ellen and Lilly are so sweet together. Ellen is very loving. She does get frustrated when Lilly cries but insead of saying "hush" in a semi-aggravated tone, she now says "I know you can't help it but please stop crying". I guess our little talk worked :)
Life continues to be an adventure!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
