Keeping them little

I can not believe how big my little ones are getting.

Calan is quite the toddler personality. He is always talking. He is always singing. He is always going. 

Maisie is gaining words by the day. She is very determined and very independent. 

Neither of my children are small in size. I just had to buy 3T summer clothes for my 20-month-old daughter. Seriously not small. 

But yet, there are just such adorable moments throughout our day that remind me that I am still the mother of babies. 

When Calan looks up to me and asked, "Carry you?," my heart melts a little. He means for me to carry him, but somehow he never got the me part and has always said you. Or when he is climbing into his bed and asks me to "Tuckle" him in instead of saying tuck me in, I just know that my little guy is still me little one. 

And then there is Maisie, my big little girl, who when heading to nap time or bed time, looks to me and asks for her "Borsch." No idea where that came from, but one day she just started calling her pacifier, which she only has when sleeping, a "borsch." I have always called it a pacifier, but to her it is "borsch." All I can envision is a little old Russian lady when she says it. 

These small things remind me how blessed I am to have them in my life. They make my heart smile. I love that they are getting older, but I love that they are still my babies. 

Maisie decided that her glasses worked better as a headband this day. 

Calan running around the family room stopped just for a second for me to take a picture. 

Toddler Transitions

Oh, Mr. Toddler. It was time for us as your parents to help you grow, but it wasn't easy.

Over the last month, we have really been watching Calan grow and watching him change even more from our little guy to a big boy.

A month ago we began our potty training journey. It was a stressful time for both him and I. As a mom you feel like you are banging your head against a wall over and over and over again. I am sure as a toddler you are just plain confused as to why anything needs to change at all.

For us, it took about 3 days for Calan just to start to grasp the idea of potty training. It took another 4 days for him to ask to go potty. And it took another 3 days for him to actually poop in the potty.

After about 10 days, Calan was fully potty trained. Except for a few nap-time accidents, he has been accident free. Every once in awhile like if we are at a play date, I have to make him go pee rather than waiting for him to ask me, but other than that, he is in control.

And then Saturday night, we said goodbye to the crib and hello to a normal bed. We are still transitioning, but it is going pretty well. The first night was the worst so far, so if every night is better, I figure we are getting somewhere.

To transition him, we did all the normal stuff of getting him excited about the bed. When I brought home construction truck sheets, all he kept saying was wow, so I figured I choose the right set. Then the big night came. We put him to bed telling him to stay and that it was time to sleep. We explained that sleeping in his big boy bed was a privilege and that if he did not go to sleep that he would have to sleep in his pack-and-play.

Well, warning after warning, we tried to hold off putting him in his pack-and-play because as his parents we wanted him to sleep in his bed. However, I wish we would have been more firm that first night. Around 9:30, we finally set up the pack-and-play and put him in there. He of course FREAKED OUT, and after he calmed down, I did give in and put him back in his big boy bed. And he went right to sleep around 10.

Nap times have been a little more difficult, and he has kind of chosen to sleep in the pack-and-play  instead of his bed the first few days, but yesterday he started off in the pack-and-play, but wanted to be in his bed about halfway through and he went right back to sleep.

Last night, he was asleep a little after 8:30 and I had to wake him around 7:45 this morning. So, I feel like we are getting somewhere. It is still early to say that we are transitioned, but we are getting there.

It isn't perfect. At night, it takes longer for him to settle down. He needs water or another toy or some other excuse that has Bob running back and forth from the kids' room for about 20 minutes. We also had to make his pack-and-play less desirable since he started wanting to sleep there instead of his bed. So, we told him that if he sleeps in his pack-and-play, he couldn't take any of his stuff animals with him. Just his blankets and a pillow. That helped make him want to sleep in his bed more.

So what have I learned through the last month of toddler transitions:

Remember who your kid is

We read a book and watched a video for potty training and while the information was great, I forgot to factor in who our kid is. He hated being forced to sit on the potty over and over and over again. Once I started to space the time out to every hour rather than 30 minutes, he (and I) were much happier. Also, even in his diaper, he never pooped in front of people. The kid likes his privacy and I needed to understand that. He was never going to poop on the potty under my watch.

For the bed, I have had to remind myself that it is all about transitioning and that it is OK not every night or day will be perfect. However, Calan is a kid who needs sleep, so if his pack-and-play is needed to make sure that happens, so be it. I just needed to figure out a way to make his bed the better option. It is still early with the whole bed transition, but overall it has been pretty painless and I think as long as we keep it relaxed for him, sleep won't be compromised.

As Calan's mommy, I have been pretty proud of my little guy. I have been happy that these transitions have worked and that he was ready for them. A part of me is pretty sad that he is growing up, but overall, I'm pretty darn proud of the little guy he is becoming. (OK, enough mommy pride).

His first night in his bed and raring to go. It would be another 2 1/2 hours
later before he actually fell asleep.

A little story time after a nap time. He does love playing and laying in his bed. 

A quiet moment after a nap. When he snuggles in his blanket, I get a
glimpse of my baby still. He is getting big, but a mom needs these
little moments too.  

Potty Training: It has begun

Well. We did it. We took the parenting leap into potty training.

We were nervous. We weren't sure what we were doing. We didn't know if he was really ready. But we did it anyway.

It has not been great, but it hasn't been awful either. I think we are getting some where, but we aren't there yet.

We started the process Saturday by taking him out to buy special treats, a new potty, and underwear. We then sent him off to nap time with his last diaper on. When he woke up, it was go time.

There have been accidents, but nothing crazy or home-destroying. Here is a bit of our recap:

• We had a hard time getting into a flow with Calan. It took him a little while to get the whole wetness feeling. 
• He wants to get off the toilet quickly without exactly finishing, so we really have to push him to "empty." Once we started to do that we eliminated most of our accidents
• We are using pull-ups for nap times and bed times, which of course meant that he waited to poop till he was in his pull-up for nap time. It ended up being a bit of debacle because it gave him a bit of a rash, which made Sunday afternoon potty training a bit of a struggle, but his bottom is healing quickly because he isn't in a diaper. Hopefully this set back will be fixed tomorrow. 
• We need to trust a little more on him that when he actually has to go, he does go with us to the potty. He is getting a little resentful toward the potty and doesn't want to be forced to go. 
• We need to stay consistent and uplifting toward him. It is easy to lose enthusiasm as the days go on. When it's two steps forward and one step back, it is hard not to focus on the step back instead of how far we have come in such a short amount of time. 
• We let frustration get to us and weren't working as a parenting team on the same page. Once we kind of regrouped, it got better. Working as a team is ALWAYS the way to go. 

We are sticking with it. I really believe that he is ready and I have to keep reminding myself that it has only been a day and a half since we started. Potty training is a bit of a journey, but I hope to have him daytime trained by the end of this week. Let's be honest, I am not prepared to have 3 children in diapers, so we have a few months to get this right.

This week we are sticking to home. As soon as Calan starts asking me to go potty, we will venture out. I am hoping that maybe we will be able to go to our playgroup Wednesday morning since it is only 2 blocks from our house, but I'll figure that out once we get through Monday and Tuesday. I am taking it one day at a time.

I am proud of our little guy. He isn't thrilled about potty training, but he is doing it. This process hasn't been perfect and we are doing a lot of trial and error as parents, but we are doing it.

Here is the video that we watched in preparation for potty training;

Potty Training 1-2-3 from Growing Kids on Vimeo.

My little man with a big heart

There are many times a day that I am in awe of my children. I see all their little personality characteristics and intricacies and find them absolutely amazing.

I am obviously very a little bias.

Probably one of the things I love most about my kids are their tender hearts, especially when it comes to Calan.

Even at only 2 ½, Calan has the sweetest heart of any kid I know. He is genuinely concerned when another person is hurting physically or emotionally. I love hearing him console Maisie telling her not to worry or it's OK or even telling her to be patient when I am not fulling her demands fast enough.

He is the only toddler I know that gets teary-eyed at cartoons when the character is sad. (Seriously, this happens all the time.) He even tried to give "Santa" (my step-dad dressed up) presents instead of taking anything for himself.

He'll kiss any boo-boo to make you feel better. He worries when others are upset. I know that he pays close attention to other people's moods; he just knows how they are feeling. I can't explain it, but I know that he does and he always wants to make things better. He wants others to be happy because he is a happy kid.

Our little toddler genuinely cares and it melts my heart every day. His compassion comes so naturally that I know that it is a gift to be cherished (and I do).

I know that as his parents it is our job to make sure not to change, hinder, or alter this natural gift. I pray all the time that I am able to help him foster this tender heart of his in the right way.  I hope his compassion for others will help him do great things.

What can I say? I love him. Obviously.

Serving others, 2-year-old style

Here is what I used for the thank-you cards the boys
decorated. I put together the base of the ornament and they
added green and white ribbon to the red ornament and
colored on the white ornament that we signed their
names to. 

Here are the peppermint covered pretzels I made. I got the
idea from Blooming Designs. 

The final ornament that Calan made for the firefighters. 

Here is one of the firemen that
we met. We were there basically 2 seconds
and Calan is already running as fast as he
can to the fire trucks. 

As parents, Bob and I truly want Christmas to be different for our children. We love being able to give them things that they want or need, but we want them to see Christmas as a time where we help others, love family, and celebrate Christ.

We also know that doing those things can never start soon enough. 

Yes, as a 2-year-old, Calan does not understand the things we are doing or why we do them, but he won't know any different as he grows up. The things we are doing now before he gets it will just be the way we do things. 

We went shopping as a family for Children's Hospital's Snow Pile (basically toys bought for the parents of children in the hospital to pick from for all the members of their families since they won't have time to shop and be there for their child in the hospital). We also do several year-end givings to charities that are important to us. 

While those are wonderful things, they do little for a 2-year-old boy. He approved of the gifts we bought, but never saw or interacted with anyone. 

So, a friend and I decided to take some treats to our local fire station to say thank you to the men and women who work there. This station is probably a quarter mile from our houses. I did not expect the experience to be as wonderful as it was. 

I made a treat for them and Calan and his friend decorated thank you cards for them. And then we packed up and headed over to the station. 

Calan driving a fire truck with all the lights going. He sat there
for what felt like forever and then drove the ambulance for
what felt like forever. 

Basically, we got a one-on-one tour of everything! Calan could barely handle his excitement. He sat in the driver seat for what felt like forever. Every time I asked if he was ready to get down, he said, "No, mom, I driving." 

The men were so nice and wonderful to our little boys. It almost felt like our thank-yous weren't enough. 

I am so glad we did this. It showed Calan in a small way that giving to others really gives joy in return. 

I know as an adult when I am helping and serving someone else above myself, I feel happier, more content, and more peaceful than when I am just serving my own needs. 

This experience was definitely the
right way to go to get a 2-year-old started in a serving direction. 

Thank you Royal Oak Fire Station #3. Merry Christmas and God bless you. 

Truth in the Tinsel

This is what my family room looked like last night.

This is where all the mess went to.

What am I doing? I am taking Calan and I on an Advent adventure till Christmas.

Using the e-book "Truth in the Tinsel", I have created 24 bags filled with ornament crafts and Bible study for Calan and I to do leading up to Christmas.

We will use each bag to learn a little more about Jesus and the Good News of his birth.

After we create the ornament, we will hang it on a small empty Christmas tree that we have. It will be Calan's own little tree to play and decorate.

I hope to do something like this every year with my kids.

Bob will do the Bible study with the kids in the morning before he leaves for work. I printed out the verses from the Good News translation. It seemed the most kid-word friendly.

Each craft looks pretty easy for Calan to handle. I doubt Maisie will be able to do them, so I'll give her some activity to do in her high chair while we are working. I am sure that I will have to help Calan quite a lot, but the end product is never as important as the process. I hope that he looks forward to the different ornaments each day.

We will paint, glue, decorate, color, etc. till all 24 ornaments are hanging on the tree.

What are we going to do about hitting?

The last two weeks at church, we have been told that Calan hit another child and last week tried to pull a kid by her hair across the room. Neither situation were we thrilled about, but we didn't know why it was happening. He rarely if ever hits Maisie and I have never seen him hit another kid when we are at play dates, so why was it happening at church? 

Toddler Times offers 5 Steps to stop
toddler hitting habits. 

Well, yesterday, Calan and I went to the library where there is a train table with only a few train cars that everyone has to share. Obviously for young children, the sharing is not easy. Calan wanted to use some of the cars that one kid had and when the kid literally yelled NO, Calan bopped him on his head. It was not a proud mommy moment at all. Calan then could not play with the train and had to stay by me while we looked for books. 

I am pretty sure the hitting is stemming from a lack of communication skills. I am not too worried about it. However, he needs to learn how to wait his turn. He is very good at sharing with other children, but does not understand why others do not share, hence the hitting. So, we will be working on waiting turns for awhile. 

I thought I was doing pretty good as his mom teaching him to share and wait and play nicely with kids. He doesn't hit Maisie, but I have seen him slightly push her out of the way if he wants something. She doesn't care too much if he wants what she has, so he rarely has to wait his turn. And that's the issue. So, he will be waiting and waiting and waiting some more from now on. 

Hitting is just not acceptable and I need to nip it in the butt as of yesterday. 

I hate worrying about my kid while he plays with others. Some of the issue is that he is not shy at all. I wish he was a little more shy and a little less in your face. He wants to play with other children, but doesn't understand when other kids are shy and don't want to play right away. Plus, I am sure half of them don't even know what he is saying, which obviously adds into the situation. 

But, mommy can't be there all the time and it is good to know (whether good or bad) how he acts when we are not around. We now know what we need to work on. We need to give him the words to communicate and the ability to wait. 

So praying this is a quick phase and that no one's children are hurt in the process. And I apologize in advance to any moms who have to put up with my crazy toddler. He is a work in progress. 

Fun Calan-isms from the U.P.

Before I forget them, I want to record some of the fun things Calan said while we were on vacation.

The first is the fact that he repeatedly very excitedly kept calling for my parent's dog whose name is Keeley, but of course every time he said it, it came out "Kiwi."

"Come on, Kiwi, Let's go."

"Stop, Kiwi, stop."

By the end of our trip, he had us and my parents calling her Kiwi.

After our late Sunday Lions' brunch in town, I knew that Calan would not be that ready for lunch, but I made a small lunch anyway before naps. When I asked if he was ready to eat, he looked at the truck he was playing with and said to me,"

"No thanks, mom, I got tractor."

Can't really argue with that logic.

While we were there a nearby town hosted a county fair. It was an experience in itself. Not quite like what we were use to. We stood out like a sore thumb, but Calan loved being able to get right up close to the animals. When we were looking at the horses, there was probably a 13- or 14-year-old letting Calan pet his miniature horse. Since he was wearing a cowboy hat, Calan kept calling him a cowboy. The boy's younger brother thought it was hilarious. 

"Sorry, Cowboy." 

"Ok, Cowboy."

And probably the funniest thing to me was when my mother and I were playing with the kids down by the water, one of the shovels started to float away. I asked Calan to go grab it before it got too far. Next thing I know, he is standing by the dock, punching fake numbers into his hand, and then pretending to talk on a phone. He said:

"Hello, Fireman Sam, Go shovel. OK. Bye."

He called his favorite Sprout show hero Fireman Sam to go rescue his shovel. Hilarious!

I am sure that there were more, but I seem to have already forgotten them. I need to be better at writing them down. He talks constantly, but honestly, I only understand about every 5th word. He is quite the ham, that's for sure. 

Starting School?

Our trip is nearing its sad end. We will head home tomorrow afternoon. My escape from reality is over and the harsh real world awaits me back home.

Once we get home we have a week till most public schools start around us. I've been thinking again on how I need to get back into a routine. My days need to again have goals and focus.

I am beginning to make some lesson plans for Calan. But how do I really teach my 2-year-old who has the focus of a gnat?

The fact is I can only do so much. I will continue to plan short lessons that hopefully he gains something out of. I do not have a teaching background, but I do know my son, so I will try to focus things around things that he is interested in.

It is going to be a shock to his system for sure. Our summer has been full of activities and relaxation. There has been little structure and our routine has been non-existent. That has been totally my fault and laziness.

I need to do better. Maisie and Calan deserve better.

My children deserve an engaging mother who helps them to learn about the world around them.

My children are by no means "behind," but I know that I can be doing more. I want to do more.

I am just famous for sticking with anything for 3 weeks and then giving up. I need to stay consistent. I need to stay on top. I am hoping to use this blog as a little accountability by sharing with you my lesson plans for each week.

I am hoping that Calan and Maisie will actually get something out of it.

I am hoping a lot of things, but the reality is that with a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old, you get what you get and all I can do is try.

I am getting geeked about it though. I have our first two weeks planned. I am excited to see what works and what doesn't. I am excited to see if I can actually teach them something.

I am a mom with lots of good intentions, but little follow through. I am praying that my inconsistency stays at bay and my children and I have fun.

So one week till school starts for us. Will I pass or fail?

How do you teach your toddlers? What advice do you have for this novice teacher-wanna-be?

Best buds

From birth, Calan has had a best bud. Born 10 days apart, his mom and I have watched them grow. We have watched them become two very different toddlers. We have watched them become friends.

They are so funny together. 

We invited Gavin and his family up for the weekend to my mom's where we still enjoying our long vacation in the Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 

They stayed four days and the boys had a blast being boys. Running and chasing and playing and never stopping. They were on the move. 

Walking out to Lake Superior in Grand Marais. 

Playing with trucks at the public park in Grand Marais, Mich.

Having their first s'more together. (Please notice Maisie in the
background not enjoying being left out.)

Giving Gavin's dad a workout. 

Playing with footprints at the Seney Nature Refuge
welcome center.

Looking at swans at Seney.

Hiking a little through Seney. 

Helping Gavin out on the bike around my parent's house right
before they headed home.

We had a great time and were so happy the Leich family could join us on vacation. Till next year. 

The Big 2!

Big 2nd Birthday! 

The Birthday Boy ready for the party.

Presents and cake. One very special and blessed little guy.

Dear Calan, 

My little buddy. You are 2. Can you believe it? I can not begin to tell you how wonderfully blessed we are to have you in our lives. You bring such joy and happiness everywhere you go. Your smile is contagious. 

We celebrated your birthday with family and friends at our home. You spent most of the afternoon completely soaked from your water table and pool. And when you weren't splashing, you were cruising in your Cozy Coupe you got from Grandma Robin or chasing bubbles.

 

You were blessed with so many fun trains and fire engines. You didn't even no where to start. You just wanted mommy and daddy to take the toys out of the boxes, but we were trying to get you to open everything. You were taking the boxes to any adult you thought might help you when you realized we were useless. It was perfectly adorable. It will be something I will remember.

I hope that you felt special. You are my little guy and I love the toddler you have become. This year is probably going to be filled with more craziness, but it will also be filled with plenty of joy and happiness. My wish for you this year is that you continue to grow and learn and feel the love that we have for you. You are amazing and we love you. 

Love, 

Mommy and Daddy

23 month / 10 month update

Well another month has gone by and my kids are getting closer to their birthdays. Can't believe that it was a year ago that I was pregnant taking care of a crawling Calan. My almost 2-year-old is running and climbing and playing and being every bit of the energetic toddler that he is. My almost 1-year-old who once was my fussy newborn is now the most easy going and joyful little girl.

This month was filled with fun events and trips and excitement. We were a family on the go!

Sleeping

• Calan still rocks, of course, but some days I think it is getting better, but then he has a bad night and I feel like it will never end. Luckily Maisie still does sleep through his noise-making, so only he and I are lacking sleep. However, his wakes do not seem to affect his mood. He is pretty happy for the most part. I really think that I need to stop stressing about it, but that is so much easier said than done. I just pray that God helps sooth him and he stops rocking soon. We have moved back his bedtime to 7:30 or 8:00 and that helps some with the winding down and falling asleep, but it has not seemed to help with the night wake ups. As for nap time, he is doing great, and he is still sleeping from 12:30 till at least 3. I usually do not let him sleep past 3:30 or he takes forever to fall asleep at bedtime. 
• Maisie is my sleeping goddess. We had a week there where she was waking early from naps, but I think that seemed to because of a Wonder Week. She seems back to her regular sleeping routine now. She sleeps an hour in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon, but can skip or catnap her morning nap if we are out and about and is totally OK. I try not to make it a habit, but at least twice a week we skip the morning nap. At night she is sleeping from 7:30 till either 7/7:30. I have no complaints there. The are doing great sharing a room. Calan actually asks for her during naps, but I am not ready for them to nap together yet. Maybe soon though. 

Eating

• Calan has really started to eat less. He must not be going through any major growth spurts. He is eating more and more foods without battling me. However, we are still working on him not playing so much with his food. He is doing pretty well with a fork and spoon. Still messy, but definitely way better. 
• I have been trying to give Maisie some type of finger food at every meal. She has been doing great. She has 4 bottles a day (3-8 oz. and 1-6 oz.) and she has solids at 3 meals. Plus, she seems to only be allergic to scramble eggs so far. She has had banana bread and waffles and a few other things that contains eggs and she did not have a reaction. So that is great news. Hopefully, that means she will grow out of the allergy. This month, I will start to introduce her to a a sippy cup, so we shall see how that goes. 

Milestones 

• The kids had their first plane ride! Calan loved it. Both kids traveled pretty well. The plane ride was short, so there weren't any major meltdowns. Plus, Calan got to sit in the cockpit. He was in button heaven. The flight crew thought he was adorable. Luckily, my sister made traveling so easy by having car seats and pack-and-plays already for us once we got to Boston. Calan did not sleep that great and wanted to wake up at 5 each morning, but overall I would say the trip was a success and I would do it again. 
• Calan's vocabulary and independent thoughts have taking a whole new leap. He loves to sing everything and I amazed at how quickly he picks up a tune. Though it does take a mother's ear sometimes to figure out which song he is singing. His favorite by far right now is "Farmer and the Dell." He sounds hilarious when he says "Hi Ho the dairy oh." He loves playing with other children, but still doesn't always understand that he can't be so bossy (Is he my son or what?). The evil-toddler in him is starting to show its face. Lots of time-outs lately, but he is overall still pretty obedient. I can't say enough about how amazing it is to watch him turn into a little boy. 
• Maisie, who once was so fussy, seems to be happy all the time. She is perfectly content pulling herself up and crawling all around exploring everything. Rarely does she like to be held. She doesn't cry, but she wiggles right out of your hands. Maisie has really been developing her vocabulary this month. She has been so quiet for so long (she rarely coo-ed) that it is crazy to here her talk all the time. She has mastered da-da and ba-ba, but I still haven't heard a good ma-ma yet. 

Schedule

• Our regular schedule has been a bit all over the place with so many play dates and events and just being busy, but here is the bare bones schedule we are following:
• 7:30 a.m. - Wake up; Maisie bottle, Calan milk
• 8 a.m. - Breakfast
• 8:30 a.m.- Playing in the family room
• 9 a.m. - Maisie nap; I shower; Calan watches TV
• 10 a.m./10:30 a.m. - Maisie wakes up. 
• 11 a.m. - Maisie bottle
• 11:30 a.m. - lunch
• 12:30 p.m. - Both kids nap
• 3/3:30 p.m. - Wake up / Snack
• 6 p.m. - Dinner
• 6:30 p.m. - Bath time
• 7:30 p.m. - Bedtime

Overall

The kids have been healthy and happy. Calan is pushing limits and Maisie is exploring her boundaries. They are a handful, but such a blessing. I love having two babies. They keep life interesting and me on my toes, but I wouldn't want it any other way. 

Calan testing out the pilot's seat on our plane ride into Boston. 

Calan hanging out at his aunt and uncle's house

Maisie playing on our deck. She has to be contained because she loves to chew on sticks and leaves and rocks and anything else she can get her hands on.

Calan helping me make pizza for dinner. 

Out to lunch with dad

Loves to be standing near her brother. Where ever he is, she must be too.

Calan upset at a local truck event. He did not want to wait in line to touch and drive the trucks. 

He loved driving. It was  great event with trucks of every kind!

My little bug. 

22 month / 9 month update

Calan loves riding the train at the mall. For a dollar, it is a great treat. 

Maisie all dressed up in the outfit her cousins picked out for her when they spent the night. 

Another month has come and gone and the next is almost over. Time is flying by, but I have no complaints. Life is good. The babies are good. We are good.

What a difference a month makes? The month of March was hell. The month of April was heaven. Life is really settling into a good routine. The calm before the storm, right? Not sure when life will become topsy turvy again, but right now, I am loving the flow. 

As for the kids, I am going to try to keep things based on just 22 and 9 months because the last two weeks have been crazy busy with things, but I will share more of that during the next update. 

So here's what the kids have been up to:

Sleeping

• The kids are officially sleeping in the same room through the whole night. At the start of this month, we tried and had to abort due to colds and bad sleeping, but we tried again and haven't looked back. I was determined. It was time and I needed to get Maisie out of our room. I just can't sleep well when she is making any noises, and she would not put herself back to sleep because she knew I was there. I have been amazed at how much the kids sleep through one another. Maisie falls asleep just fine when Calan is having a "crib party" rocking and singing to himself at night, and Calan sleeps through Maisie who about once a night cries out, but will either fall right back to sleep or just needs her pacifier. For nap time, I still have Maisie upstairs, but that is my choice. I think that it works better for us right now. 
• Calan has become a little energizer bunny at night. We usually put the kids to bed around 7:30, but he can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours to fall asleep. I use to try and get him to lay down, but I have found that does not help the situation. Usually if I just leave him alone, he finally does go to sleep. Though when he gets bored singing to himself or rocking, he tends to start calling for Maisie. While I find it adorable, I do go in then and lay him back down. Nap times have become a breeze. I put him down around 12:30 and he is usually out pretty quickly and sleeps till at least 3. For how much I struggled with nap times, it is amazing to me how well he sleeps now. 
• Maisie is my sleeping champ (for the most part). With her in her crib, she is sleeping much better at night. Usually, however, she does cry out once each night. It seems to be a startled cry like a nightmare or something like it. Usually just giving her a pacifier and laying her back down does the trick. Not really sure why she does it or how to get her to break the habit, for now, luckily, there is any easy solution to comfort her. Maisie is a great napper and always has been. Maybe it is a second child thing. If we are home, she naps from 9 till about 10:30 in the morning, but is perfectly OK skipping the nap if we are out and about. She then sleeps from 12:30 till at least 3:30. If she missed her morning nap, she goes from 12 till 3:30. I never worry about her getting enough sleep or being rested. But to make sure that both kids get a good nap, I have them nap in different rooms. I don't see myself changing that anytime soon. It works for us. 

Eating

Maisie tryout sweet potato fries, an easy favorite. 

• Both kids made huge strides in eating over the past month. Maisie is eating more solid foods and Calan is eating without a fight. 
• I had to resort to a little bribery and timeouts to get Calan to eat his food. He loves bread and most fruits, but was avoiding anything he didn't want and just saying "all done." I now do not have to even use bribes and usually just a threat of a timeout solves any eating issues. I am not the mother that thinks that he needs to eat everything on his plate, but he does have to at least try everything. Dinner times have been way more peaceful and he is sleeping better and rocking less at night because I think he was hungry. 
• Maisie has been doing great eating. I still have not giving her a ton of solid food basically because of laziness on my part, but what I have given, she has done fine with. She loves sweet potato fries and bananas. She has had toast and some strawberries. I did try to give her some scramble eggs, only to find out she is allergic. (Yea, that was fun.) So far she hasn't had any reactions to any other foods. When she is a year old, we will have her tested. She will most likely grow out of the allergy. 

Activities/Milestones

The kids looking through their Easter baskets. Cheerio filled eggs were a huge hit. 

• Maisie had her first Easter. Both kids liked their Easter baskets. We went to church, had brunch with Bob's mom, and then headed over to Bob's dad's for dinner. Nothing crazy, but fun nonetheless. 
• Maisie is now pulling herself up like a champ. She has just begun to transfer between items standing up like from the ottomen to the chair. She is crawling all over the place and usually crawls right to my feet and climbs up me to be held if I am in the room with her. 
• Maisie is still lacking vocal vocabulary. She is pretty quiet most of the time, but I have heard her say "i, i, i" a few times and "mmmm" and if you do a cough noise she repeats the noise. She just enjoys observing the world. 
• Calan's vocabulary keeps expanding. Funny things are starting to come out of him. Like if he is eating something he actually likes he says, "mmm, that's good." Or a couple weeks ago, I said "thanks, honey," to bob for something and Calan said "thanks, honey," most of the day. Pretty cute. 
• Calan is finally saying other colors than blue when asked, so he might not be color-blind after all. 
• My sister and her family came to visit in April and the kids really enjoyed playing with their cousins who are 9 and almost 12. And my nieces loved playing with the babies. It was great to see my kids playing with their family. The last time we saw them, I was pregnant with Maisie and Calan was almost 1. A lot has changed in a year. 

Schedule

I really revamped and worked on our schedule this month and that has been a huge help in keeping the peace in our home. If you have a toddler and not on a schedule, I highly recommend starting. Life really is a lot easier when they know what is coming next. 

7/7:30 a.m. Wake up/ Maisie bottle

8 a.m. Breakfast

8:30 a.m. Maisie pack-and-play time (independent playtime); Calan and I chores. (Calan loves to sweep and clean up.)

9 a.m. Maisie nap time. Calan room time. And I take a peaceful shower and get ready. 

9:30 a.m. Calan TV time and I get coffee time. 

10 a.m. Calan and I play (usually with his train table)

10:30 a.m. Maisie wakes up and the kids play together

11 a.m. Maisie bottle; Calan either free play or TV time depending on his mood. I get lunch ready. 

11:30 a.m. Lunch

12 p.m. Play outside or story time or free play inside

12:30 p.m. Both kids nap. 

3 p.m. Kids start to wake up. TV time fore Calan if Maisie is not up yet. 

3:30 p.m. Blanket time and snack time for both kids. 

4 p.m. Depends on the day. Sometimes learning time, sometimes errands, sometimes outside play time. 

5 p.m. Prep for dinner

6 p.m. Dinner time

6:30 p.m. Bath time

7 p.m. Daddy time or TV time

7:30 p.m. Bedtime

Overall

What a great month! We still had some lingering colds, but nothing like March. The kids are starting to act like siblings and that is pretty fun to watch most of the time as long as Calan isn't hurting his sister. Another month done and this month is almost over already. Summer is just going to fly on by. 

Calan has become increasingly interested in Maisie and wants to know where she is at all times. He probably says her name 100 times a day. Cute ... yes; Annoying ... Absolutely. 

21 months & 8 months

Seriously, how is my baby 8 months old already? Since I was so late, doing the 20 month/7 month update, it seems like I just did this, but it has been a crazy busy month filled with tons of milestones and more sickness.

This past week, the kids and I have been dealing the a cold from hell. Both kids got ear infections and pink eye. I went to the doctors so much in the past two weeks that it really became a joke. The kids were about a two-days off from what ever the other one had. Maisie had pink eye first, then Calan's ear infection, then Calan's pink eye, and then Maisie's ear infection. Seriously, this was my life the past week and a half. Now, throw in there that I also had the cold from hell and it was the week from hell. Luckily Bob has been immune up till now and as he seems to be coming down with it, we are all getting better.

So here is what the kids are up to:

Sleeping

• We started to let the kids sleep together at night and from 7 p.m. till 3 a.m. it is fine, but after that usually Maisie makes her way up stairs with us. If she fusses too much and wakes up Calan, Calan will stay awake rocking for at least an hour or more. I usually grab Maisie and put her back to sleep upstairs. However, if Calan wakes up, Maisie pretty much sleeps through it. So, we are getting there, but we are not close enough yet.
• Calan - The ear infection really threw me for a loop. Because he is known to wake up in the middle of the night rocking, it took me 3 nights of no sleep for me to realize that something more was wrong. Poor little guy! His naps have been hit or miss, but usually 2 hours. I love the days that it is 3, but it does seem to be more 2 to 2.5 hours this month. And it goes without saying that his rocking is still my archnemisis. Not sure when I will let go about it, but geez to I just pray that it will stop SOON.
• Maisie - Seems to be settling into a good 2 nap schedule. She usually takes a shorter nap in the morning and a longer one in the afternoon. She has been having a hard time going to bed and needs to be more cuddled, but she is going down. Maisie does seem to be going through her 37 Wonder Week, which is may include nightmares. Maisie seems to be affected by this. She cries out the saddest cry about an hour and a half into sleeping. I usually just lay her back down and give her a pacifier and she settles back to sleep instantly.

Eating

• Calan - His appetite has decreased by a ton. He use to be an empty pit for food that he liked, but he really has slowed down quite a bit. One issue that I am facing is that when he gets a little bored at the table or he seems to have finished only the things he likes he says "All done" and throws a bit of a tantrum till I let him down from the table. I try to ignore it and get him to eat more, but the behavior is just not getting better. It is always worse at dinner than during the day. I have found that time outs really don't help the situation. He calms down sit quietly in his crib and then when put back at the table instant tantrum. So, I have just been trying to stretch the time each day. I usually use Maisie as an excuse saying that we need to wait till she is done. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. Oh, how I love toddlers. He is doing really well with his spoon and fork. He still makes a pretty big mess, but he gets a lot of food in his mouth.
• Maisie - She is now eating a few more purees like peaches, peas, and green beans. I have tried giving her Cheerios and she is just not into picking up food to her mouth, which is so different from Calan. He ate food so quickly and I never had to worry about the way he chewed and at his food. He was a great eater. It has been a very slow go with Maisie. She only likes purees. I tried giving her a a banana piece and she choked a little and spitup, so that was a failed attempt. Getting her to eat finger foods is my goal for this month. Hopefully, we will get there.

Activities/Milestones

• Calan - He is still our little golfer. He has been swinging up a storm and loves to go outside and hit balls in the backyard. We also took him to the driving range for the first time. He was adorable. He wanted to hit every ball, which only allowed Bob to hit probably 6. But he listened well and stayed with Bob and loved watching the other golfers take their swings. It was a great family moment.
  I have also started to transition Calan from pack-and-play-time to room-time independent playtime.
  He is doing pretty well, and for the most part sticks to playing with his toys and reading books while I shower. Unfortunately, our bathroom is right across from his bedroom, so the second I am done showering he wants to come out of his room. So, we are working on it.



Calan playing during roomtime

• Maisie - What a busy little girl! She has learned to crawl and sit up on her own. She was so proud of herself when she finally got it. She is loving the fact that she can get to Calan's toys now. I can place her toys within reach and she crawls right over to his toys. On top of being sick, Maisie also had both top teeth cut through. So she is now up to 4. As I have transitioned Calan into room time, I have started Maisie on pack-and-play time. I don't do it every day, but when she isn't napping and Calan is having room time, she has pack-and-play time. She does just fine in there playing with toys.

Maisie playing during pack-and-play time

Schedule

There was a lot going on this past month between Bob's grandmother unexpectedly passing away and the kids being sick and daylight savings time, we have really gotten away from our schedule. But here is what it sometimes looks like:

7:30 a.m. - Kids wake up. Maisie has her bottle.

8 a.m. - Family breakfast, including Maisie's solids.

8:30 a.m. - Playing in the family room and getting Maisie dressed

9 a.m. - Maisie nap, chores for Calan and I

9:30 a.m. - Calan room time

10:00 a.m. - Structured activity like puzzles or craft or something like that, But with the kids sick the last week or so it has been more TV time

10:30 a.m. - Maisie wakes up / kids play in family room

11 a.m. - Maisie Bottle

11:30 a.m. - Lunch

12 p.m. - Both kids blanket time, but again since the kids were sick it has been more TV time instead of blanket time.

12:30 p.m. - Story time and then Maisie and Calan afternoon nap

3 p.m. - Kids wake up, Maisie bottle. Calan is slow to wake up, so he again usually watches a little TV (this month TV again was a bad habit. I blame it on the sickness through our house)

3:30 p.m. - Calan snack time

4 p.m. - Free time (this becomes anything from crafts to errands to TV to music to sibling playtime to whatever keeps everyone happy.)

6 p.m. - Dinner time

6:30 p.m. - Bath time

7 or 7:30 p.m. - Bedtime (Depends on how well their afternoon nap went. If it was more of a 2:15 p.m. wake up then bedtime is closer to 7 and if it was a 3 p.m. wake up, then it is closer to 7:30)

Overall

• Calan - Well the plague sickness, really threw us for a loop. Calan was just not his happy go lucky self this past month, but he did have his moments. He is getting a little more interested in structured activities like crafts and puzzles, but still loves physical activities most. He learned to jump as well this month and is pretty cute jumping around and dancing. He is playing so well with his sister and is really understanding that soon she will be a playmate. But doesn't always get that she isn't quite big enough yet. He has tried to pick her up and move her a few times, but then asks for my help to "get" her. They laugh and giggle with each other. It is so adorable.
• Maisie - She is loving her new found freedoms. She is so proud of herself. Even with a Wonder Week, 2 teeth coming through, pink eye, an ear infection, and a horrible cold, she was actually pretty good. I felt so horrible for her, but she just smiled through.

Ever since her top teeth have come through, she has been doing this with her tongue. It is absolutely adorable!

Calan during an Easter egg hunt. He got six eggs and then told me he was all done. 

Long overdue 7 month / 20 month update

Well, this month is almost over, and Calan will be 21 months in 9 days, but I still haven't shared everything that has been going on for my 7- and 20-month-old. So here it is:

Sleeping

• I would love to say that Calan's rocking is done, but it is still going strong. I feel like a little bit of a broken record about it, but I just wish it would stop. We have tried intervening and we have tried ignoring; nothing seems to help. Though I have found that during nap time, if we get to him right as he starts, he will stay asleep his full nap. So, that is a little victory. His naps were hit or miss this month with some only an hour and a half and others a nice 3-hour nap. But his night sleep (besides rocking) has been good.
• Maisie is still sleeping upstairs. I thought I would try letting them nap together, but I found that one of them would ultimately wake up the other one too soon, so that was short lived. Just the other week, we tried night sleeping together, but unfortunately they got sick, so that was short lived. Maisie is great about missing a nap and making it up later. Calan was never like this. Most kid activities are during her morning nap, so if we are out and about, she usually doesn't nap. However, she takes a great 2.5- to 3-hour-nap in the afternoon and if needed, she will take a catnap from 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. My girl is a great sleeper other than ending up in bed with us each night around 4 a.m. till 7 a.m.

Eating

• Again, I sound like a broken record with Calan on eating. He loves his carbs and fruit, but meat and veggies are hit or miss. I try to hide them and he just eats around them. He would eat 20 bananas a day if I let him. There really haven't been any new foods; just trying to get him to eat vegetables. He has started to eat with a fork and spoon. He makes a mess, but he will eat more veggies if they are on a fork or spoon.
• Maisie is doing a lot better at eating solids. Though she still won't eat plain cereal. I usually just mix it with whatever veggies or fruit she is having with it. She has had bananas, pears, sweet potatoes, and peas. I have tried giving her Cheerios, but she does not seem interested in self-feeding yet. She still makes a bit of a mess with the solids, but at least they are being eaten.

Activities

• Well, TV watching is still more than I would like, but with the weather changing, I think this problem will fix itself. However, we have been doing more out of the house. We joined the Royal Oak Mom's Club and between that and other friends and outings, we have kept ourselves pretty busy. We have gone to a few indoor play centers and he really loves going down slides. He is such a social little guy. He loves to play chase with other kids. Some little 3- or 4-year-old usually matches up with him and let's him chase them around. He grins and laughs the whole time.
• Maisie is doing her thing. She is starting to move. She pushes herself around in a circle and scotches backward. She loves to be on the ground, and actually holding her is quite difficult because she twists and turns to be put down. She loves to be talked to and smiles and grins and kicks about when you just look at her. Cracks me up.

Schedule

• 7/7:30 a.m. – Maisie and Calan wake up. Maisie eats and gets dressed. Calan slowly rises and either plays with some toys or watches TV and drinks milk
• 8 a.m. – Family eats breakfast (even Maisie eats with us at the table).
• 8:30 a.m. – Bob leaves for work. I do a few chores and make some coffee and we play for a bit in our family room.
• 9 a.m.- Maisie naps and Calan plays in his pack-and-play. I either shower or do chores or just enjoy some me time.
• 10:00 a.m. – Calan and I play. I usually try to do some activity with him, but he usually does what ever he wants.
• 10:30 a.m. – Maisie wakes up.
• 11 a.m. – Maisie drinks a bottle.
• 11:30 a.m.- We have lunch (all of us).
• 12 p.m. – Calan and Maisie have blanket time. This means Maisie is usually on her play mat.
• 12:30 p.m. – Calan and Maisie naps. I do whatever needs to be done (me time, shower, blog, chores, etc.)
• 3 p.m. – Calan wakes up
• 3:30 p.m. – Maisie wakes up and has a bottle and Calan has a snack.
• 4 p.m. – We play or do some errands.
• 5 p.m. – I start cooking dinner, so either Calan continues playing well or if he is cranky, he has been playing in his pack-and-play again.
• 5:45 p.m. – Dinner for everyone.
• 6:15 p.m. – Bath time
• 6:45 p.m. – Maisie has her bottle
• 7 p.m. – Maisie and Calan bedtime
• 11 p.m. - Maisie has a small bottle
• 4 a.m. - Maisie tends to wake up and moves into bed with us (a HORRIBLE habit that we are going to try and break this weekend)

Overall

• Calan still is the happiest kid I know. Every time we are out and about, strangers comment on how smiley he is and ask if he is always that way. And besides when he is a bit cranky, he really is ALWAYS that smiley. If you just start laughing, he starts laughing. Cracks me up. He has become a great big brother and really has been amazing with Maisie, but I have noticed a little jealousy. For example if I am holding her in my lap, he tends to move on to my lap as well. He is learning to share a little. He knows the word, but says it as he takes whatever he wants or if we try to take back something, he holds tight saying, "share, share." Better than nothing I guess.
• Maisie is really on the move. She is inching her way to mobility. Not sure what I am going to do when I have 2 mobile children, but many mothers before me have done it, so I am sure I will be just fine. She isn't very vocal and hasn't started saying and sounds yet. She does giggle and coo, but no "ba, ba, ba" or "da, da, da" yet. She is really observing so many things. She has really started to study the world around her. Love her smile and her two little teeth that show when she grins. She melts my heart.
• As a mom of two little guys, I would say that since 6 months life has gotten increasingly more difficult. I feel a bit stretched. It probably hasn't helped that Bob is working a ton, so I am doing a lot by myself. However, I am starting to get use to my new routine and as the weather keeps getting better, life seems to be getting better. Can't wait for more.

Calan and Maisie at 6 months. 

P.S. This is my 200th blog!