KCW Day 1: Maisie Daisy Flower Shorts

Day 1 of Kids Clothes Week was successful despite some unforeseen hiccups. I would love to say that the interruption was our daughter's arrival, but it wasn't. It was just monitoring her to only be told that we are fine. Glad she is OK, but spending most of my day at the hospital without having a baby is not my idea of fun.

But, I was able to complete these fun shorts for Maisie during the kids' nap time.

The shorts are very simple. From cutting to sewing to finishing, these shorts were easy-peasy. I did save myself some time today by getting my pattern pieces cut Sunday night so all I had to do was sit down and sew during nap time.

Why not use truck stickers to piece my
pattern together since I couldn't find
any tape?

Some how sitting down to my sewing machine really does relax me. Even though my day was a bit crazy, knowing that I got these shorts done made it a little bit better.

I can not say enough at how easy these shorts are to sew. If you know
how to do a straight stitch, you can make these shorts.

This is actually the second time that I have used this pattern, but the first time the shorts were just too small for Maisie. She is now a 3T, and I made the 2T size, which was just too tight for my cloth-diapered, non-petite little girl. If it had been a warm spring, she might have gotten some use of them, but since it is just now barely getting warm, they are just too small.

But I did learn a few things from my first attempt. I needed to make sure that I marked the front and back of the shorts. It got a little confusing as the project came together. So this time, I marked them and then I added a small tag to the back of the shorts when I was finishing off the elastic casing. This made it a lot easier sewing these shorts together.

It was hard for me to tell which side was the front and back
as the project came together, so I marked the wrong side of the
fabric and then added a small tag of fabric to the back. 

I used 3/4-inch elastic instead of 1/2 inch that the pattern instructs, and I only folded the bottom cuff up 1 1/2 inches instead of 2 because I liked the way it looked and gave it a little longer of an inseam, which I think works better on Maisie.

Because of my day and not being home in the morning or in the afternoon, I was not able to try the shorts on Maisie yet. Hopefully tomorrow will be less eventful and I'll be able to actually sew a little bit more.

This challenge is already a lot of fun for me. There are so many women working hard and creating a lot of great looks. Be sure to check out what others are doing over at Kids Clothes Week. I've definitely been inspired. Hopefully you will be too.

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. 

The Incredible Inedible Egg

With almost everything that has to do with my kids like Calan's body rocking and Maisie's cross-eye and Calan's fused fingers and Maisie's seizures, I scour the Internet to find as much information as I can. This is obviously a good and bad thing since the worst case scenerios always stick out the most.

But, somehow, when Maisie showed an allergic reaction to eggs, I did nothing.

I avoided scrambled eggs and omelets and other breakfast items, but overall, I pretended like it wasn't happening.

I am not sure if I was in denial or I just figured that since none of us have food allergies that her egg allergy would just go away. Or I was just hoping it would just go away.

Living with a food allergy is not easy. And since Maisie is not old enough to know, I have to be her Watch Dog, and I, obviously, have not been doing this. I have been ignorant to her needs.

That was until her molars came in and her drool caused a rash around her mouth that over the last month just has not gone away. I realize that I need to pay attention to everything that she is eating and that includes all the bake goods that are in our house.

I had never noticed this before, but did you know that all packaging has to list if it contains one of the top 8 most common allergies including eggs?

The meal that has been affected the most is breakfast. Frozen waffles, an easy staple in our house, are out. All pancakes, french toast, etc. have to be made egg-free. She has been eating a lot of fruit and yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast.

We love eating out on Saturday mornings as a family. That is not easy for a little girl with an egg allergy. I have been ordering off the sides menu and piecing meals together for her.

I have noticed her rash get better, but it still has not gone away. My next step is to use a little steroid cream to clear it up and then hope that with my new Watch Dog eyes, it won't come back.

While her allergy is moderate, I have to stop pretending it doesn't exist. It does and I, the mom, need to deal with it.

Egg-free Tip: Mix 1/2 cup of applesauce per egg to your pancake batter instead of eggs. To me, it actually tastes better with a little sweet touch. 

Stubborn Bugger

I feel like I have been saying for months that Maisie is days away from walking. Well, guess what, she is NOT walking. I swear she has been pulling herself up, walking around furniture, taking a couple steps to objects, and walking with push toys for forever. But yet, she won't take that leap. That final release where she knows she can do this. Where she knows that life will never be the same. Where she  is no longer the baby.

She is so cautious. So unsteady when she realizes she is standing by herself. I swear it is a confidence issue more than anything else. Is that crazy?

I am basically positive she has the ability, but yet she holds herself back.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have enjoyed having only one walker for so long. Not sure what I am going to do when they are both running away from me. But Gosh Darn It, Maisie, it is time for you to walk.

And then there is the bottle. She refuses to drink from a sippy cup. For Calan, I just started to cut out his bottle. I just wouldn't give it to him at meals anymore. I have done the same with Maise, and the yet she will just go without till I give her a bottle in the afternoon. I give her a sippy cup with milk and a bottle with water and she refuses them both all morning.

She is just not grabbing on to the whole sippy cup idea. She just bites. I have tried all different types of sippy cups, but if any of you have a go to, PLEASE share. We are just getting no where. She is quite attached and completely not willing to move forward.

Have I mentioned that she is a bit of a stubborn bug. Can't decide if this trait is like my husband who just hates change, or like me, who no one can make me to do anything I don't want to do. Or, God help me, BOTH.

Dear Maisie

Our little Bug, well, we made it. You are no longer a baby. You are on your way to being a full-fledged toddler. You turned 1 a week ago. I can't believe it. You came into this world as a joy and you are still my joyful little girl.

You love to clap and dance. Anytime there is any type of music playing you will stop what you are doing and clap or dance for it. You love to be praised. You light up with every loving word.

You are a determined little girl and are not easily distracted if there is something you want. You know what you want when you want it. (Very girl of you.)

You seriously think your brother is the coolest kid you know and try to be around him at all times. You and him say "da, da, da" back and forth all the time. He says it to you, you say it to him, and you both laugh so hard at it. It melts my heart.

You love to be touched and kissed and hugged. You squeal with excitement and giggle with joy. You are so precious.

You are days away from walking. Not sure if we am ready for you to be taking your first steps, but it will be so fun to watch you run all over the place. You are very cautious, so hopefully you will have way less injuries than your brother.

This birthday letter is a little belated because on your birthday you gave us quite a scare when you had a seizure on our way home from Charlevoix. While later in life you might find it cool that you rode in an ambulance, it was not a fun experience. We hope to never have a repeat. You are much better now. Thank goodness.

As you grow, we pray that you continue to explore your world and continue to find joy in the simplest of things. We pray that you maintain your happiness and always know how loved and adored you are. You are so amazing and the prefect addition to our family.

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy

Not the First Birthday I Had Imagined

Every time a nurse or doctor asked me her date of birth, I just shook my head and said today. Needless to say, no baby should be in the emergency room on their birthday.

I had thought Maisie's first birthday would be a day where we smile, where we eat a small cupcake for lunch, where we visit with my mom for a little bit before driving home from vacation, and where our drive goes smoothly and uneventful.  

The day started out as planned. Maisie woke up happy and went down for her morning nap just fine, but she woke up with a fever. She was pretty warm, but we were on vacation and I did not have a thermometer, so I am not sure exactly how warm. I gave her some Tylenol and she cooled down a little, but was still acting a bit sick. 

She barely ate lunch and was not into the cupcake I tried to give her. We went for a little walk and headed home from vacation at about 1:30 p.m. She fell asleep instantly.

However, about an hour and a half into our trip she got pretty upset and threw up. We pulled over as soon as we could. I tried to calm her down in some shade holding her and rocking her, but nothing was really helping. I was feeling car sick from the road we were just on, so I figured that she was feeling the same. We got back in the car and were heading toward the closest hospital when she fell back to sleep, so we thought OK let's just try to get home. 

She woke up a few times over the next 2 hours, but wasn't acting upset. 

We stopped at a rest area about an hour away from home to change diapers. Maisie was still warm and acting sick, but was smiling and even giggling at Calan. Bob put Calan back in the car and I bent over to put Maisie in and all hell broke lose. 

Maisie started to convulse and seize up. 

I yelled to Bob to call 9-1-1 and I held Maisie on her side watching her seize for what felt like FOREVER (but what was probably 3 minutes). 

She convulsed, her eyes dilated, and she turned a bit blue. She luckily breathed through most of it and did not bite down on her tongue. 

We took an ambulance to the closest hospital where they watched her for the next 3 hours. It took almost 2 hours for her to start acting normal. I guess after seizures it can take awhile for people to act normal again. For adults, they act confused; for babies, they basically lay not moving at all. 

They did a couple tests to figure out what was causing her high fever and from a chest x-ray, she has the beginnings of pneumonia. 

She does not have a cough, running nose, or wheezing. So, I asked the doctor how I was suppose to know and he basically said I wasn't and that is why they usually do an x-ray to rule it out. In babies, pneumonia symptoms do not show up like adults. 

We were released about 3 hours after we arrived with a prescription for antibiotics and instructions to follow up with our doctor this week. 

This morning, she is already 100% better. She barely has a fever and is smiling and eating just fine. She is dancing and clapping like the happy baby she is. 

Not at all how I wanted to be spending her first birthday, but so glad that we didn't panic and that Maisie is healing quickly. 

We will be taking it very, very, very easy this week. 

Already feeling and acting so much better this morning. Thank God!

Happy Birthday Party Day

The special guest of honor

Well, I am done. My party planning for the year is done. Maisie birthday was celebrated with friends and family. My little girl played, got covered in cupcake, and smiled the whole time. It was perfect.

The amazing desserts. I made the strawberry cupcakes, Bob's mom did the adorable cookies, and Bob's aunt made the amazing cake. Everything was delicious too. 

The dessert and gift table. I'll break down both Calan's and Maisie's party tomorrow on where I found ideas and what I did for them. 

Our best attempt at a family photo. One day these will be easy again and not torture, right?

My baby girl. She turns one July 29. Can't believe it.

Really was so happy all day. It made all the work worth it.

I kind of sped through opening gifts because it had started to get pretty warm and we needed to get inside to cool off. 

She investigated everything.

Singing Happy Birthday and another look at her adorable cake.

Getting her first taste. It was love at first taste. 

Love her face here as Calan started to move in on her cupcake. 

She ate all of it. 

(For all my friends and family who have already seen all these pictures on Facebook, sorry for showing them all over again.)

Tomorrow I will breakdown both parties and share links to recipes and how-tos for everything.

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!

Wordless Wednesday: This big

Maisie went from 10 pounds 12 ounces at 4 months old to a whopping 16 pounds 4 ounces at 6 months! She is huge and we couldn't be happier about it.

Guess who started solids?

(Sorry that the camera was on unstable, I was trying to feed and take video)

We are now on day 2 of solids and I don't think that she has even eaten one bite, but it just takes time, or so they say.