The Ups and Downs of Parenthood

Parenthood is full of ups and downs, and this month has been no exception for us! Daniel and Lauren are at such a fun stage right now! They are walking, climbing, and discovering the world around them faster than I can blink my eyes. They are also very, very curious, which is why Lauren just about busted her head open a month ago by pulling a table over onto herself (giant gooseegg to scare mommy to the point of calling daddy home from work!).

It's also why Daniel's hand got eaten by the vacuum cleaner on Friday morning. Why, do you ask, was I vacuuming on Friday morning, at 7:00 a.m., mind you? That seems to be the first thing the nurses at the emergency room wanted to know ;-) 7:00 a.m. used to be the time of day that the floor was not yet covered in toys and other debris, and the children were all content to watch cartoons or otherwise occupy themselves while I quickly vacuumed. Ha! Not anymore! Now all they want to do is touch the vacuum, push the vacuum, pretend the cord is a necklace, and I guess even see what it is like to be a speck of dirt on the floor and travel into the vacuum. So our Friday morning started out like any other. The kids got up, had a bottle (yes, still having a bottle), and started to watch cartoons while I vacuumed. This time, however, things went horribly wrong and a few minutes later, there I was, waking Jeremy up with a loud, "Jeremy, I just vacuumed Daniel's hand!" Then he took a look and had a few choice words that I can't write on this blog. Then he was waking Sarah up with a "Sarah, it's time to get up. Put these clothes on. We've got to take Daniel to the doctor NOW." That's how we found ourselves eating popsicles in the pediatric emergency room at the hospital at 7:45 in the morning. What a way to start the day!

I would really, really, appreciate a re-do on Friday morning. Basically, I feel totally responsible for what happened to Daniel's tiny little hand, and it is really tearing me up thinking about how much pain he was in and continues to be in (hopefully not too much anymore, but it still pains me greatly to look at it, and I'm not really that squeamish of a person). Since I obviously don't get a re-do, I'll just move on, having learned my lesson. All vacuuming of the downstairs will now happen at night, after the kids are in bed, whether it disturbs their sleep or not. Better to have a few minutes of disturbed sleep than a few less fingers!

In spite of all the craziness here over the last month (Lauren's goosegg followed by colds for all three children, ear infections for the twins, allergy testing for Lauren, dentist visits for all, hand surgeon visit for Daniel (for what is, at this moment, now his 'good hand'), the worst two cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease I've ever dealt with (ok, the only two cases period I've ever dealt with), and who knows what all else, we have managed to have a lot of fun. How can you not have fun with these three cuties?




Finally, I owe a BIG thank-you to Nana, Mimi, and PawPaw. Nana saved the day last weekend by giving me back some of my sanity (I mean, it was like Mary Poppins showed up here!), and Mimi and PawPaw then came to visit this weekend and were put to work playing with and entertaining the kids so I could get some much needed errands and "to-do's" done. If the grandparents don't think I'm totally crazy by now, then I am surprised! All of this drama with the kids is making me pretty dramatic myself!

Happy Happy Birthday Birthday!

I know, I know, it's a little overdue, but Happy First Birthday Daniel and Happy First Birthday Lauren! It's hard to believe they are one year old already, and it's hard to believe all that has happened in our lives in the past year. One year ago today we had two-week old twins and closed on a house, loaded everything up, and moved across town. What.A.Weekend! It took a village to get everyone and everything from point A to point B in one piece. I remember it like it was yesterday! But then everything becomes a blur for the next several months....

Continuing thanks to everyone who got us to where we are today!

We had a pretty low-key birthday party for Daniel and Lauren at the house. We decided it would be more fun if we kept it simple, and it was! Nana and Papa, Mimi and PawPaw, Aunt Mary and Uncle David, and Almost-Uncle Jake (he's marrying my sister someday!)enjoyed some food, cake, and outside play time. My so so sweet seamstress neighbor made (yes, made, by hand!) birthday outfits for Daniel and Lauren, so they wore them for the party. Ms. Lisa and her sister even came by for some cake and to share in the festivities :-)

Aside from partying, we've been keeping pretty busy with the routine. I am much more of a schedule-follower this time around than I was with Sarah, I think due to necessity and to keep my sanity with two little bodies toddling around all day. I can count on one hand the number of days Daniel and Lauren have missed a nap time, and I think I'll keep it that way for awhile! Finally, finally (Praise God!) we have a consistent nap routine that includes 2 one-hour naps (approximately) and almost 12 hours of sleep at night!

So tomorrow they'll skip a nap...or two...because....Daniel and Lauren are starting Mom's Morning Out at our church! Ok, so they're really only going once or twice a month, but this is big for us! :-) They do a great job in the church nursery on Sundays, so I am confident they'll do great at MMO, too, and I will really enjoy a few hours a month to do some window shopping (ahem) and maybe even sit and read a good book on my patio, which I've been waiting to do for a year.

Finally, I'm sure you want an update on the "milestones" that Daniel and Lauren are meeting:-)

At one year, Lauren...
- is walking! Actually, she started walking just shy of 11 months. She is always, always, looking to get into something
- has 5 teeth and one more on the way
- eats just about anything but has changed her mind about cheese, a previous favorite
- loves, I mean LOVES, her bottle. The fits she has each morning while waiting for me to fix it are absolutely ridiculous, and if this continues, she will be taking a warmed bottle with her to college ;-)
- says "Dadeee", "Mama", and "Hi" and signs "more"
- is very, very social, and always needs to know that you are right there if she needs you
- loves cats, which is good, because we have about 10 of them roaming our coul-de-sac and patio at all hours of the day
- does NOT like getting into her car seat, but she does fine once we start moving
- does NOT like getting dressed or having her diaper changed

At one year, Daniel...
- is walking! Sort of. He takes about 5 steps at a time now and the proud look on his face when he does it is priceless!
- has 3 teeth and no more on the way that I can see yet
- eats everything and does it so fast you wonder where it all went when you turn around
- likes trying to climb out of his hair chair and up all over the toys
- is a mellow guy unless someone hurts his feelings, and then he can be as dramatic as his sisters
- says "Mama" (especially when he's tired or upset). He also loves blowing raspberries :-)
- loves to push, throw, and otherwise propel toys across the floor of a room and follow them around- he is such a boy!
- does NOT like getting his diaper changed or getting dressed (picture some major wrestling moves going on between mommy and Daniel during these times)

It's amazing the boy/girl differences that are already apparent at such a young age, and when I have tried (semi-consciously) not to steer them towards specific boy/girl toys or activities...

Enjoy the pictures from their birthday! On Monday of this week we met with our photographer Michaele at the park for the last of the baby photo sessions, so hopefully I will have some more adorable pictures to post soon!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. I'm not even sure if she still does it, but I sure need to this week :-)

I started trying to post these last year, but then I kept forgetting. However, I seem to have not done too many things this past week:

I most certainly did not find Daniel like this on Friday:


I would never have left him unattended in his high chair for even one second while I took Lauren to look at a cat out the window. I especially would never, ever do that without strapping him in. Finally, if I did see him in that predicament, I would certainly not stop to take a picture before lowering him to safety. No, not me!

Also this week, I definitely did not potentially expose maybe 20 kids, or so, to a virus that my kids (yes, all three kids now) have had. I would really not invite other children into my home to play with germ-infested toys. No, not me! (*disclaimer---I really did think we were in the clear! Ooops! Sorry!!!*)

And....I would never make 40 some odd visit to the pediatrician in less than a year. Even if I did, I would not call them three times on more than one occasion just to get one sick visit scheduled, and rescheduled, and rescheduled...

While I'm on a roll, I would not keep two toddlers in the shoe store for over an hour just to find the perfect pair of shoes. Will they even wear them? After not keeping them in the store that long, I would certainly not decide to just skip giving them lunch and put them straight to bed with just a bottle. I mean, these are growing, hungry babies! After they went to sleep, I did not just eat ice cream for my own lunch because it was easy (and tasty!). Nope, not me!

Last, but certainly not least, I would never jump for joy at the thought of my little bitty 4-year old being gone to school for 6 1/2 hours per day. I mean, that's really a long time for a kid, right? Not me!

As you can see, I didn't do a lot of things this week. How about you? I'd love to hear your stories!

She did What?!?!

So apparently I'm getting old, and so is Sarah. Sarah had her first day of Georgia Pre-K on Monday! No matter how hard I try, my mind cannot figure out how Sarah, my little baby, is as "big" as the kids I taught for GA Pre-K. Those kids seemed so mature to me (in most ways, immature in others!), but Sarah still seems so, well, little. At any rate, she is old enough to go to GA Pre-K, and so that's what she's doing this year. I am very, very excited for her, because I know how much fun "stuff" gets crammed into those Pre-K days, and I know how much "stuff" she's going to be learning and doing this year. Her teachers seem super nice, and are so qualified. Both are certified teachers! She's going to get to do so many great things there, including going on lots and lots of field trips. So far, here is what she has done (in her own words):

"tried to take a long rest, but it just didn't work"
"played those instruments that go together like this (cymbals)"
"they had the 'basagna' that I didn't like (cheese ravioli), so I didn't eat it"

And she is very, very excited to play with the "mushy mashy stuff" (floam), but I don't think she's gotten to chance to dig her hands into it yet :-)

Baby Portrait Session #3

We just had our third portrait session for Daniel and Lauren's 4-session baby package. It is so much fun to have someone come to our house and take pictures. It sure does save me some stress!

Hot Fun in the Summertime!

Wow, where has the time gone? Is it really almost the middle of July, and is August really just around the corner? If I don't hurry with this update soon, Daniel and Lauren will be having their birthday and I won't have even covered Sarah's 4th birthday on here yet! That's right, folks, Sarah turned 4 a few weeks ago! Happy 4th birthday (a little late) to my sweet, sweet Sarah. Sarah, you are pure joy (most of the time) to have around, and daddy and I are so grateful that we get to have you for our oldest and first girl. You will always be my princess, and my baby Sarah, no matter how big you get :-) Enjoy these pictures from Sarah's Minnie Mouse birthday party!








This is sort of backtracking, but at the end of May we took our first family trip to Disney World! Thanks to Mimi and Paw Paw, we had a fantastic condo to stay in with a fabulous pool (which the kids would have gladly spent the whole week in, hanging out under the water fountains). Jeremy and I were able to take Sarah to the Magic Kingdom for two days and spend some individual time with her, which was really special. We also took the whole crew to Animal Kingdom one day, and everyone did so much better than I expected! What a fun week!

















And we can't forget the 4th of July! We went to a pool party at my parents' pool, and then we came back home and took it easy for the evening. No fireworks this year, but maybe we'll give it a try next year! Happy Birthday America :-)