Archive for June, 2014

Maia is Six Months Old!

Wednesday, June 18th, 2014

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5/21

Reached for Eric

Sticking out tongue. SO cute =)

Going on tummy all the time during playtime.

Almost sitting

 

Serenity LOVES picking Maia up now.  And Maia loves it just as much.  Only a few unfortunate incidents of her laying her back down a bit fast...

Serenity LOVES picking Maia up now. And Maia loves it just as much. Only a few unfortunate incidents of her laying her back down a bit fast…

Maia had consonants 5/26 dada da da bam. She smiles pretty big when she says dada and I pass her over to him, but I don’t think it counts as a word yet =)

Barrett came over to babysit, and his opinion of her chewing on toys is “that is highly unsanitary.” =)

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6/16

My Maia is nearly six months old! I love my sweetheart baby girl. When she sees people she smiles and she just lights up. It melts my heart every time. When she is squirmy at bedtime or a little fussy, her whole body stills instantly when I start singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Her eyes just stare into mine and I can feel her little body relax and listen to me. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to comfort that tiny baby. She still snuggles happily in the Moby wrap everywhere we go. She still swings in the baby swing, although only at bedtime now because if she gets too enthusiastic in the swing during the day she can get her head sideways in a very uncomfortable position. So the swing’s days are numbered.

 

Love those toes!

Love those toes!

She is sitting pretty well these days. I can actually put her in a sitting position without being right in front of her at least, if she topples it’s not usually that fast anymore. She loves sitting up and playing with the taggies ball, or her favorite rattle.

 

Sitting up with Taggies Ball =)

Sitting up with Taggies Ball =)

Solid foods are coming up this month. I have been thinking about taking a more laid-back approach than I did with the first two. I no longer feel like I’m going to poison my baby if I don’t buy the gerber boxed rice cereal, followed a week later by the oatmeal cereal, with a new fruit or veggie from a jar every three days. I think I might try just feeding her actual food… Hopefully it will get me back into cooking food for the rest of us as well. But of course we’re traveling soon so the jarred foods would be a lot easier 😉

She actually grabs the tags on her blanket and the little toy DZ made her.

She actually grabs the tags on her blanket and the little toy DZ made her.

Serenity LOVES picking Maia up now.  And Maia loves it just as much.  Only a few unfortunate incidents of her laying her back down a bit fast...

Serenity LOVES picking Maia up now. And Maia loves it just as much. Only a few unfortunate incidents of her laying her back down a bit fast…

Helping Maia sit up =)

Helping Maia sit up =)

With Papa waiting for Sister's recital

With Papa waiting for Sister’s recital

 

Every baby loves Peek a Who =)

Every baby loves Peek a Who =)

Eric has been taking the kids outside every morning to swing before work =)  Maia gets to participate!

Eric has been taking the kids outside every morning to swing before work =) Maia gets to participate!

Favorite Facebook Moments:

Sunday, June 8th, 2014

I like to collect all the little things I post about the kids on Facebook somewhere =)  It’s so much fun to go back and see what I shared!

 

 

Oh, I forgot the dinosaurs activity from last night! They pulled out all the books we have about dinos and read them Led to lots of fun book time with Mama and DZ in the morning.

 

6/4

Serenity:look dz, your dinosaurs wanted to make you a cake
DZ: THANK YOU!!!
Then Serenity made a flame out of playdoh and we sang. T-Rex in the bucket got giggles

 

6/3

Donovan: (in his sweetest voice) Mama, can you teach me something? I want to learn!

Me: (thinking he wants to play school, one of his favorite games). Sure, honey, what do you want to learn?

Dz: I want you to teach me how to turn on the DVD all by myself!

 

May 22

I have mountains of cardstock, reams of printer paper, construction paper in every color, watercolor paper, easel paper, poster board, and yet my kids have spent the afternoon diligently crafting with toilet paper.

 

May 13:

My kids are pretending to sleep on the stairs. They told me to say “wake up” to wake them up. I don’t know why they think I’d do that…

 

May 12th:

Diane M Hale was watching my kids this morning so I could help at the teacher appreciation party, and I got this long text message from her about Donovan…

First he tries to hook me like a fish. Then he comes back. “It’s time to attack” he says. “Can I attack Sister?”
No.
“Why?”
You are a gentleman and should always be nice to girls.
“BAD IDEA!” Goes off on the scooter. Comes back. “Can we play ball?

 

April 30th:

Donovan forgot the “one bandaid a day unless you’re actually bleeding” rule

 

April 22nd:

More potty training fun: “great job going potty by yourself! now put your underwear back on!” Why? “Because you can’t just walk around naked.” …. I can RUN!!!!

 

April 18th:

I think I may have sent my children to their rooms forever… What I actually said was, you can read or play quietly, but you can’t come out until you clean up the room. Oh well, I suppose I can visit them up there.

 

April 9th:

Donovan decided to help the mopping up process

 

March 26th:

Donovan is an evil genius. He has gotten out of bed to use the potty three times to pee since I put him down for the night. I think he’s purposefully saving some pee each time so that he has more excuses to get out of bed and visit us. And I am completely powerless because what am I going to say? Don’t use the potty? I can hear his brain saying “Bwa HA HA!”

 

March 24th:

Who’s the genius who scheduled potty training day one for our first day back from a trip, when the house is a mess and has no food in it? Sigh. That was me.

 

March 22nd:

Happy pancake burritos!! Thanks Aunt Tina Wainright McAlister!
March 11:

Dz came running inside in tears “sister called me bad Donovan!” Oh no, why would she say that? “Betause I frew something at her”. So she called you bad because you were bad? “YES!!!”

 

March 10:

Dz’s comment as he lay down to get his diaper changed: “this is going to be terrible”. His prediction was correct the pic is from today’s activity, his first with regular glue

 

March 4

Donovan is waiting on his teacher to get home from school . My big sister was my teacher and I Love that my kids are so in to playing this! Love you Jen Thorp Zandbergen

 

March 3rd

Love starting my day with morning snuggles

 

February 21st

First time getting an x-ray today. Dz may have pneumonia. He was so cooperative for the doctor and at the x-ray! And for the breathing treatment. So that all went as smoothly as possible. And now he’s playing happily so hopefully he will be better soon!

 

February 20th

Dz to Mama: “I’m not a baby”
Me; “ok, I love you my big boy”
Dz: “no, I not big yet, I just medium.”

Get it right mama

 

February 3rd

Dz was saying I’m a bully, I’m a bully, and Serenity was appalled. “I don’t want him to be a bully! I asked him why he was a bully. “Because I’m sitting on a bowl.” Ahh, ok then

 

January 17th

Made a bat cave for DZ

 

January 14th:

Donovan ate pork! And asked for seconds! ‘Course, he thought it was chicken…

 

January 9th

Lunch buddy. Upon seeing his picture, he said “Ah, he’s cute!”

 

January 7th:

Playing hide and seek with Donovan. He still likes to hide in the same spot and pop out when I get to ten so I can nurse Maia on the couch and still find him

 

December 30th:

Donovan was singing Rockabye Baby to Maia… and I think he realized just how wrong that song is. He sang (not quite right) “Rockabye Baby, in the treetop, when the bough falls, the baby will break… I don’t want baby to break! Stay with me, baby!” Now you know why I always change the last line to “Mama will catch you, cradle and all.”

 

December 27:

If Donovan and Serenity had their way, I’d never put Maia down except in their arms. They’ve been taking turns with her all morning. . All three were in the blue chair with me for awhile

 

December 26th:

Donovan beat Eric at Hungry Hungry Hippos… a lot

 

December 20th:

Last night as Serenity and Donovan were getting ready to sleep by the Christmas tree, Maia made some unhappy noises. Donovan looked up, alarmed, and said, “What’s wrong with baby?” I told her she was ok, just lonely. He said, “Baby sleep with us?” So sweet

 

December 8th:

Donovan just looked over at me and said “Mama, your tummy is FULL”. I agree

 

December 3rd:

Donovan wanted to sit in santa’s lap

 

November 19th:

DZ fell asleep with his Dino tail on

 

October 22nd:

(Jen posted) Had fun with Donovan the Dinosaur at LaFortune Park this morning. Filling him up with some chicken and French fries before he goes back to his Mom

 

October 19th:

New build a bear ponies and strollers thanks to last years Christmas money from Grandma . Donovan got his horse a magic wand, which I think he expects to do actual magic, as he keeps saying “it’s not working!” Even though it lights up and makes noise . Serenity has her favorite Little Pony now.

 

October 16th:

In my car this morning, my kids said with incredulous excitement: “we’re passing that car, we’re passing that car! Do it again mama!” Yeah, I’m usually the slowest car on the road I guess….

 

October 12th:

Donovan tagged along to the birthday party for Serenity’s classmate today… and now he’s sitting in the floor, asking “I go birthday party again? You take me? Pleeeeeaaaaaaase? Pleeeeaaaase?!?” He’s a party guy

 

October 10th:

Fabric shopping with Grandma . Dz is a big hit in that hat, and he says thanks every time someone says they like it .

 

September 16th:

Perfect day for an impromptu visit to the playground dz spotted as we were driving to the grocery store

 

September 14th:

Can’t believe playing the quiet game worked. All five kids asleep in the tent

Camping cousins in the backyard! Thanks Ben Dill for the tent!

 

 

September 9th:

First morning nap in a year…. This is what happens when someone decides 4:30am is the time to get up and party

 

September 7th:

Finished Donovan’s horse blanket! One project done, and finally his bedding doesn’t clash with the room . He loves horses!

 

September 4th:

Donovan deserves major props today. I took him to the parents association mtg at school and he sat quietly through the entire thing, except one time he said shhhh to Aunt Jen. Then he went shopping with me, napped in the car, and played happily at sister’s dance class. Amazing! He did this puzzle four times today .

 

August 23rd:

I Green Lantern!! ( sounds like Geen yantern) . Then the sound effects and sword swinging. Pssshtt pssshhht

 

August 14th:

Serenity’s most excited to see Lorelai! My uschool sign pic was blurry, I’ll have to try again. Poor Donovan though, after we walked sis to her class, said, “Where’s my class?” He has to wait another year

 

August 7th:

My kids slept past 8am! First time for everything I guess . I was in between them until a minute ago, can’t believe they slept through me extricating myself. Baseball is awesome

 

August 6th:

Our first baseball game . Sitting in the lawn with Casey Barrett and Jen — with Jen Thorp Zandbergen.

 

 

July 22nd:

Donovan did great at swimming! He only fussed a little bit about going to the teacher, and he was even ok with that by the end! He didn’t want to get out of the water! So much for stressing out over swim lessons AND, he took an hour nap on the couch! So cool!

 

July 19th:

Tried to explain to Donovan that he can’t jump on my tummy because there is a baby in there. First he said “oh no my baby!” And tried to look down my shirt to find it. Then he got his noisy dinosaur and pointed it at my tummy and made it roar. I think he was trying to scare the baby out. Now he’s trying to play the flutes at my tummy… Hard to explain the baby has to stay in there for a lot longer….

 

July 14th:

Ready for the park and discovery lab in wings and cape .

 

July 16th

Well, DZ is a fan of the new car. He walked to the door carrying UNO moo like a computer bag and said “I need go work. I drive red car.” Such a serious face

 

July 5

Just signed the kids up for swim lessons. I think Donovan’s going to be annoyed at me.

 

June 12th:

Donovan was telling us what a pirate says (“arrrrrr”). Then Annie asked him what a baby pirate says, and he promptly responded with a little falsetto “arrrrr” .

 

 

Donovan’s Dinosaur Birthday!

Saturday, June 7th, 2014

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When I asked him his favorite thing about his birthday party, he told me he had ten favorite things! First, breaking the ice. Number two: whacking the pinata. Number three: Doing the volcano. Number four: digging for bones. Number five: digging for eggs. Number six: eating dinosaur donuts. Number seven: eating his cake. Number eight: lining up the dinosaurs in a row (after he broke them out of the ice, he made a very nice, organized line. Number 9: breaking the ice =) The number line broke down about then and he started repeating himself, but he clearly enjoyed his party =)

 

When Donovan woke up and came downstairs with Daddy, Eric took him to the door to see the garden and he said, “My dinosaurs are ready for the party!” when he saw the dino garden with the dinos in hats. He was so excited and he pointed out his favorite dinos to Daddy and told him all about how to play with the dinosaurs. Then he checked out the rest of his party stuff. He found the dinosaur grabbers and said, “I chomp you!!!” playing chompers with Daddy. They had to test out all the different dinosaurs.

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I got him dressed for the day and took a picture of him out on the rocks in front. He looks so big! My three year old boy =)

 

The party was so much fun! We started with the volcano when everyone had arrived. Donovan poured orange vinegar into the volcano and it worked perfectly! Plenty of orange color. This was so much fun. I was worried that maybe my nieces and nephews were starting to outgrow the parties I was planning, but they loved it too. Vinegar and baking soda experiments are just plain fun. =) I turned Casey loose with the last half gallon of vinegar and another box of baking soda and the kids turned the dino garden back into a swamp! =)

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I had buried dog bones and dinosaur eggs in the sandbox. I got new sand for the summer just before the party. Serenity and Donovan found all the bones and eggs before the other kids got there, but they were ok with burying them again so others could have fun digging and brushing the bones off with the paint brushes I’d put out. Then Casey and Barrett found them all and buried them yet again, except for a few bones they took home to Forrest.

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Ice Age dinosaurs was the other big activity. My dad froze dinosaurs in muffin tins and cool whip tubs and the kids got to break them out! I provided hammers, butter knives, kosher salt and warm water. They loved this activity! Barrett broke into his right away, he’s really good with a hammer. Raegan took the methodical way with a lot of salt and warm water. Donovan loved using all the tools and then lining up all his dinos in a very adorably neat row. And I saved one ice cube for Eric, and he threw his against the fence repeatedly to break it so of course the kids wanted to try it too.

 

 

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Donovan started asking for a pinata after we attended Evan’s third birthday, so of course I had to get one for his dinosaur party. Then I bought a second pinata as backup when I got worried that everyone wouldn’t get a turn before the first pinata broke. Good thing I did, it was a lot of fun! All the kids got a hit in on the first pinata, but it was hanging by a thread after Raegan’s hit so the last two kids just finished it off. Eric had fun with the second pinata, attaching it to a rope and letting the adults have a go at it. Eric liked his job as Andrew the pinata holder. Playing keep the pinata away from the adults was a lot of fun! =) Raegan gave the knockout hit on both pinatas =) Barrett was the first to put pinata remains on his head but all the other kids soon wanted a turn. =)

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Fishing was great fun. Barrett loved the crime scene tape I found, and Serenity ended up with the rainbow streamer. We had enough prizes for everyone to fish twice, and the second time Donovan got the ninja turtle puzzle and handed it to his Daddy saying, “This is for you Daddy.”

 

Jen’s triple chocolate cake was amazing, as usual. Dinosaur donuts completed our sugar shock. I cut dinosaur shapes out of watermelon and we just had fruit, veggies, cheese and crackers.

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Everyone was so cute in the dinosaur tails. =) Even the big kids wore them!

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