Leon is now totally done with bottles. Not that he ever really liked them. But, hey, that's one kid we are completely done buying formula for. (Two if you count Ree.)
But the question remains, will Leon wean completely before kindergarten?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Boys, boys, boys
Now that he can walk without support, Leon spent all week walking. Every waking minute. Actually, that's not entirely true. He took breaks from walking to eat, and boy did he put away some food this week! He may be the littlest one in the family, but right now he is the biggest eater.
Michael's walking continues to improve, and he is getting where he too can fly through the house as long as he is pushing something for support. However, last weekend I moved the boys' books from a bookshelf where they were out of their reach to a basket on the living room floor, and he spent most of the week reading. My favorite moments were when he was truly "reading" by himself. The first came last Sunday. He pulled a book out of the basket that was filled with photographs of cats. As he looked at each page, he said "cat" and his eyes grew a little larger as he realized he "read" another page in the book. By the end of the book, he was frantically flipping forward and backward through the book, realizing he could "read" every page. A couple of nights ago, I saw him flipping through another book. It contains all the lyrics to "If You're Happy and You Know It," which is one of the boys' favorite songs. Michael would turn a page, bounce up and down, and then clap. Then he would do the same thing on the next page. You could tell exactly what was going on in his head. He was dancing through the words, and then clapping at the appropriate times. He didn't need someone reading it to him!
Michael's walking continues to improve, and he is getting where he too can fly through the house as long as he is pushing something for support. However, last weekend I moved the boys' books from a bookshelf where they were out of their reach to a basket on the living room floor, and he spent most of the week reading. My favorite moments were when he was truly "reading" by himself. The first came last Sunday. He pulled a book out of the basket that was filled with photographs of cats. As he looked at each page, he said "cat" and his eyes grew a little larger as he realized he "read" another page in the book. By the end of the book, he was frantically flipping forward and backward through the book, realizing he could "read" every page. A couple of nights ago, I saw him flipping through another book. It contains all the lyrics to "If You're Happy and You Know It," which is one of the boys' favorite songs. Michael would turn a page, bounce up and down, and then clap. Then he would do the same thing on the next page. You could tell exactly what was going on in his head. He was dancing through the words, and then clapping at the appropriate times. He didn't need someone reading it to him!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Conundrum
She hit a boy in class.
They were so proud of her!
This was the first time she had shown any sign of standing up for herself at school. At home she is happy to boss around the dogs, and she is starting to tell her brothers what to do (although she mostly shrieks in fear if they take her stuff), but at school, not so much.
So although she has made a lot of progress socially, she still has a long way to go since we kinda failed at socializing her the last couple of years. (Not that she is the first kid in the history of the world to stay at home with a parental unit until she is three-years-old, but she is the freak exception in the current world in which kids begin taking music lessons and attending formal play dates when they are six-months-old and are playing soccer, taking gymnastics, and learning piano by the time they are three.) But academically she is doing just fine, and is actually way ahead of the curve.
And now, in the next two weeks, we have to decide if we want to put her in the four-year-old class at preschool, which is where she fits chronologically and academically, or in the three-year-old class which is the natural progression from this year's class and where she might fit better socially.
I was so hoping we could put off school dilemmas until she was deciding between Harvard and UC Berkley. School decisions shouldn't be so hard at this age!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Shopping, and Cooking, and Screaming, OH MY!
It was a good weekend, as far as I'm concerned. I got in all kinds of bargain shopping, because I am cheap like that.
I worked Friday morning, and then Jeff sent me and Ree off on a girls' adventure in the afternoon. (Apparently I had been cranky enough on Thursday night that he knew I needed to get away.) We went to lunch at Olive Garden (no McDonald's for my little girl!) where Ree ate two whole breadsticks and her ravioli after dunking each and every bite in a gallon of marinara sauce. Following lunch we went to Target, where I used a ton of expiring coupons, and to Food Lion, a local grocery store that had insane sales on their store brand stuff.
Jeff was gone to a soccer workshop all day Saturday, so after lunch I bundled up the kids and we headed to Harris Teeter, another grocery store, for more shopping. It was Super Double Coupon weekend. (Did I mention I was on an insane mission? I think I did about 6 months worth of shopping over the weekend.) I also knew the boys really needed to get out of the house. We left at 12:45 and were practically the only car on the road. Apparently others in Wilmington are freaked out by temperatures in the 30s with a brisk wind. As my daughter put it, "But not Mommy, and Ree, and Leon, and Michael. We go out in the cold!" It was a little cold out (okay, it was nasty), but I liked the lack of other people.
The only challenge with going grocery shopping by myself with the kids these days is that I have to push the boys in the stroller, which takes two hands with their beastly bus, and therefore I can't push a shopping cart. (There was a short period of time where I could put one in the seat in the cart and one in the sling, but that was a short window.) So I am limited to what I can put in a basket that I carry on my arm. We only made it about 3 aisles before the basket was full. But that's okay, everyone liked getting out. And we ate more than our money's worth of free samples. All the kids loaded up on cantaloupe and oranges, then at Ree's insistence, she and I hit the bakery and deli for more.
On Sunday afternoon, Ree and I returned to Harris Teeter to finish our shopping. Not only did I still have coupons to use, but Ree was dying to get more ravioli because some parental unit (not me! not me!) ate all of her Olive Garden leftovers.
When I wasn't a shopping maniac, I was cooking. I love to cook, and I hardly ever get to do it these days. Jeff cooks dinner on weeknights now so I can sit on the floor and let the boys use me as a jungle gym. This also happens some weekend nights. This weekend, the kids actually let me get away with making food. They finally have me trained to complete all cooking by 1:00 p.m, because after that, the day is not my own. So on Saturday morning I made pancakes for breakfast, beans and rice for lunch, and put some vegetarian chili in the Crock Pot for dinner just after lunch. (Beans were on sale for $.25 a can at Food Lion. But I have to admit, that combination of meals is probably directly related to the fact that I started Sunday morning by cleaning the kids' bathroom.) On Sunday I made eggs for the kids for breakfast (not my thing) and then Jeff and I grilled and cooked a super-mega lunch of steak, Asian chicken, baked potatoes, and sauteed cauliflower. Delicious.
So I enjoyed my weekend. Michael, however, had very different thoughts on the matter. He was ready for me to stay home and play with him for 11 days, like I did over break. He wanted me sitting on the floor playing blocks and singing songs. He did not want me running errands. Or hiding in the kitchen. (Not that you can really hide in our kitchen, but I suppose it feels like it when you are only 2' tall.) And he knows the schedule well enough to know that after Daddy watches football, and Mommy cleans the house, Mommy has to disappear again. So last night he checked in at 1:15 a.m. And 1:45 a.m. And 2:15 a.m. Then he screamed from 3:15 - 4:00. SCREAMED. Each time he was checking on me, making sure he could get in some Mommy play time before I left for work. He then got up at 6:30 for the day and happily played on the bathroom floor while I got ready for work. He was not happy when I passed him off to Jeff at 7:00. That was not in the day's plan.
So we'll see how he does tonight. And I'm already looking forward to spending next weekend PLAYING. Maybe the kid is on to something.
I worked Friday morning, and then Jeff sent me and Ree off on a girls' adventure in the afternoon. (Apparently I had been cranky enough on Thursday night that he knew I needed to get away.) We went to lunch at Olive Garden (no McDonald's for my little girl!) where Ree ate two whole breadsticks and her ravioli after dunking each and every bite in a gallon of marinara sauce. Following lunch we went to Target, where I used a ton of expiring coupons, and to Food Lion, a local grocery store that had insane sales on their store brand stuff.
Jeff was gone to a soccer workshop all day Saturday, so after lunch I bundled up the kids and we headed to Harris Teeter, another grocery store, for more shopping. It was Super Double Coupon weekend. (Did I mention I was on an insane mission? I think I did about 6 months worth of shopping over the weekend.) I also knew the boys really needed to get out of the house. We left at 12:45 and were practically the only car on the road. Apparently others in Wilmington are freaked out by temperatures in the 30s with a brisk wind. As my daughter put it, "But not Mommy, and Ree, and Leon, and Michael. We go out in the cold!" It was a little cold out (okay, it was nasty), but I liked the lack of other people.
The only challenge with going grocery shopping by myself with the kids these days is that I have to push the boys in the stroller, which takes two hands with their beastly bus, and therefore I can't push a shopping cart. (There was a short period of time where I could put one in the seat in the cart and one in the sling, but that was a short window.) So I am limited to what I can put in a basket that I carry on my arm. We only made it about 3 aisles before the basket was full. But that's okay, everyone liked getting out. And we ate more than our money's worth of free samples. All the kids loaded up on cantaloupe and oranges, then at Ree's insistence, she and I hit the bakery and deli for more.
On Sunday afternoon, Ree and I returned to Harris Teeter to finish our shopping. Not only did I still have coupons to use, but Ree was dying to get more ravioli because some parental unit (not me! not me!) ate all of her Olive Garden leftovers.
When I wasn't a shopping maniac, I was cooking. I love to cook, and I hardly ever get to do it these days. Jeff cooks dinner on weeknights now so I can sit on the floor and let the boys use me as a jungle gym. This also happens some weekend nights. This weekend, the kids actually let me get away with making food. They finally have me trained to complete all cooking by 1:00 p.m, because after that, the day is not my own. So on Saturday morning I made pancakes for breakfast, beans and rice for lunch, and put some vegetarian chili in the Crock Pot for dinner just after lunch. (Beans were on sale for $.25 a can at Food Lion. But I have to admit, that combination of meals is probably directly related to the fact that I started Sunday morning by cleaning the kids' bathroom.) On Sunday I made eggs for the kids for breakfast (not my thing) and then Jeff and I grilled and cooked a super-mega lunch of steak, Asian chicken, baked potatoes, and sauteed cauliflower. Delicious.
So I enjoyed my weekend. Michael, however, had very different thoughts on the matter. He was ready for me to stay home and play with him for 11 days, like I did over break. He wanted me sitting on the floor playing blocks and singing songs. He did not want me running errands. Or hiding in the kitchen. (Not that you can really hide in our kitchen, but I suppose it feels like it when you are only 2' tall.) And he knows the schedule well enough to know that after Daddy watches football, and Mommy cleans the house, Mommy has to disappear again. So last night he checked in at 1:15 a.m. And 1:45 a.m. And 2:15 a.m. Then he screamed from 3:15 - 4:00. SCREAMED. Each time he was checking on me, making sure he could get in some Mommy play time before I left for work. He then got up at 6:30 for the day and happily played on the bathroom floor while I got ready for work. He was not happy when I passed him off to Jeff at 7:00. That was not in the day's plan.
So we'll see how he does tonight. And I'm already looking forward to spending next weekend PLAYING. Maybe the kid is on to something.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Week in Review
Here are my favorite memories of each kiddo from the week.
Leon spent most of the week sick with a nasty fever, and Jeff and I spent most of the week holding him. Based on the rash he had at bedtime last night, it looks like it was finally his turn for roseola. But, before he succumbed, he was one crazy little guy. Last Sunday, he finally really figured out how to walk. He spent the whole day practicing. Because he learned to walk by pushing things, he walked with his arms straight out in front of him for balance. He looked like a zombie right out of Return of the Living Dead or the "Thriller" video. The funniest part was that the whole time he was staggering around, he was grinning like a madman, unbelievably proud of himself.
Last night was Michael's turn to be proud. During dinner, Ree wanted to practice rhyming words, so she would say a word and then she, Jeff, and I would take turns naming words that rhymed with it. Michael was watching all of this from his high chair, and he caught on to the fact that we were taking turns saying words. He waited for a break in the game to shout his word of the week, "CAR!" We told him, he did a good job, adding that yes, "car" is a good word, although "car" does not rhyme with "Ree." He sat back, elated that he had participated in our fun, picked up a corn flake from his tray, and began pushing it around making car noises.
The dogs never got to eat table scraps until the boys started eating solids. Leon is using Ree's old high chair, but we got a new one for Michael. Unlike Leon's high chair, if Michael drops food, it falls on to the floor. The dogs quickly caught on to this. Then they got a bit more aggressive, and decided to just keep their faces buried in Michael's lap while he eats, so they can get food the second it falls from his fingers. We hate to lock up the dogs every single time Michael eats, since it seems to be about 16 hours a day. As a result, we spend a lot of time yelling at the dogs to go lay down.
Ree picks up on EVERYTHING we say. While at the table, she will often yell at the dogs just like we do before we even notice then hovering around Michael like vultures. This week she decided to take her yelling elsewhere. She, Max, and I were in the kitchen. I have no idea what he was doing, but suddenly I hear Ree say, "No, Max, no! Go lay down." I said I didn't think he was bothering her. She disagreed, and I added, "You're getting a little bit bossy." She replied, "Ree not bossy. Ree just tell Max what to do." I'm glad we cleared that one up!
Leon spent most of the week sick with a nasty fever, and Jeff and I spent most of the week holding him. Based on the rash he had at bedtime last night, it looks like it was finally his turn for roseola. But, before he succumbed, he was one crazy little guy. Last Sunday, he finally really figured out how to walk. He spent the whole day practicing. Because he learned to walk by pushing things, he walked with his arms straight out in front of him for balance. He looked like a zombie right out of Return of the Living Dead or the "Thriller" video. The funniest part was that the whole time he was staggering around, he was grinning like a madman, unbelievably proud of himself.
Last night was Michael's turn to be proud. During dinner, Ree wanted to practice rhyming words, so she would say a word and then she, Jeff, and I would take turns naming words that rhymed with it. Michael was watching all of this from his high chair, and he caught on to the fact that we were taking turns saying words. He waited for a break in the game to shout his word of the week, "CAR!" We told him, he did a good job, adding that yes, "car" is a good word, although "car" does not rhyme with "Ree." He sat back, elated that he had participated in our fun, picked up a corn flake from his tray, and began pushing it around making car noises.
The dogs never got to eat table scraps until the boys started eating solids. Leon is using Ree's old high chair, but we got a new one for Michael. Unlike Leon's high chair, if Michael drops food, it falls on to the floor. The dogs quickly caught on to this. Then they got a bit more aggressive, and decided to just keep their faces buried in Michael's lap while he eats, so they can get food the second it falls from his fingers. We hate to lock up the dogs every single time Michael eats, since it seems to be about 16 hours a day. As a result, we spend a lot of time yelling at the dogs to go lay down.
Ree picks up on EVERYTHING we say. While at the table, she will often yell at the dogs just like we do before we even notice then hovering around Michael like vultures. This week she decided to take her yelling elsewhere. She, Max, and I were in the kitchen. I have no idea what he was doing, but suddenly I hear Ree say, "No, Max, no! Go lay down." I said I didn't think he was bothering her. She disagreed, and I added, "You're getting a little bit bossy." She replied, "Ree not bossy. Ree just tell Max what to do." I'm glad we cleared that one up!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The 12th Day of Christmas
The past few months have been a strange time for me, with many dates making me think about what we were doing on the same date the prior year. I was a wreck all day on Halloween, just waiting for someone to go to the hospital, since that was the day I was admitted with preterm labor. Thankfully, despite my pessimism, no one went to the hospital and party-planner Ree made sure it was a great day.
The next big even was Leon and Michael's first birthday, and it was just a joyous, amazing day. I tried not to think much about the surreal day of their birth, although it is pretty hard to forget just how dang cold I was sitting in a parking lot in 27 degrees with a windchill, naked from the waist down. Modesty was not a factor (especially since my belly was still almost touching my knees). I just wanted to be warm! Everyone was so worried about the silly, little baby who was wrapped in about 42 blankets. What about the mommy???? They could've at least given me one blanket, thrown a sweater my way, something!
December 11th was a bittersweet day. It marked the anniversary of the boys' release for the NICU, but in hindsight I knew it also meant Leon went back to the hospital the following week.
Winter solstice occurred on December 21st in both 2008 and 2009. There is a tradition of burning a candle all night to mark the solstice. I'm not sure the exact reasons for the tradition, but they are along the lines of brightening the darkest day (and longest night) of the year and ushering in the light. I was in traumatized, post partum depression (PPD) hell as I lit my candle in 2008. I placed the candle on the sink in the master bathroom, since the last thing I had time to worry about was burning down the house, and in doing so, I had to walk by the boys' crib. I can't describe the emotions I felt walking by the crib and just seeing one baby in it, knowing the other was again locked away in the hospital for an indefinite period. It was horrible. But as I stood in the bathroom, staring at the candle, and most likely crying since that is how I dealt with PPD, it occurred to me that it was the darkest day of the year. That meant the next day wouldn't, and couldn't, be as dark. Things would get brighter. It was a crazy metaphor, but it really helped me.
And the next day things did get better. I had an amazing nurse practioner go to bat for me, and while it took all day, she managed to get Leon released into the care of a home health nurse. On December 22nd, the boys' one-month birthday, our family was finally home and complete again.
Our journey wasn't over, though. There was one pesky detail to wrap up. They had been released from the NICU on the condition that we take them to see a pediatric hematologist (since they appeared to have a blood disorder), which was no small feat since the closest one was located in Chapel Hill, which is 160 miles away.
Our big appointment was on January 6th. Jeff's parents were in town to meet the babies, and to help us with this insanity. They watched Ree for the day while we took off on our crazy adventure. That morning the temperature was in the upper 50s in Wilmington, and the high was supposed to be in the low 70s, so I dressed the boys in short sleeve onesies and little stretch pants (they were wider than they were long!) and threw light blankets over them for the nearly 3 hour car ride. (Ya always have to assume you will get stuck in Raleigh traffic!) Knowing we would be gone all day, I took two changes of clothes for each, in case of disaster. When we got to Chapel Hill, it was 43 and raining. Oops. Should've checked their forecast too! And although we parked in the garage closest to the building, we were still a LONG way from shelter. It turns out UNC Hospitals have a huge campus.
So as we walked with the boys, wearing nothing but jeans and short sleeves ourselves, we felt like horrible parents. We also felt pretty cold. (I'm sensing a theme!) I tried to change the boys into warmer clothes and discovered that milk had spilled all over the four extra sets of clothes. Then we had to spend 45 minutes shuffling from one reception area to the next trying to get to the correct waiting area. We were done, and we hadn't even really started. But when we finally got to the correct waiting area, everything changed.
Our hematologist was part of the pediatric oncology department. That is practice that shouldn't exit. There just should not be a reason for it. The building was undergoing rennovations, and we all sat together in a hallway outside the treatment room. We were literally surrounded by kids who were pale and balding from chemotherapy. As we sat there, we realized how insanely lucky we were to have two happy babies.
Everyone there was thrilled to see the boys. They thankfully don't see many infants, much less premature twins. Our time in the hallway turned into a bizarre game of pass the baby as patients and nurses looked at them and smiled. In a strange way, this put me in an amazingly good mood.
Although there are apparently many different versions, I grew up believing that January 6th is the Epiphany, or the 12th day of Christmas. It marks the day the three wise men arrived with gifts for baby Jesus, and in the eastern tradition, it is the day gifts are exchanged. On January 6th, we got an amazing gift. Both boys had blood work done, and both boys had neutrophil counts in the normal range. The antibody had passed through their systems, and although it was impossible to know for sure, their hematologist felt confident that they would have no lingering problems.
People keep strange souveneirs from their children's lives. Some keep locks of hair and baby teeth. The nurses in the NICU packed all of the boys' leads, foot monitors, and other seeming devices of torture in case we wanted them. (I really didn't, and I quickly threw them away at home.) While cleaning out over Christmas break, I came across my strange souveneirs. I kept both Leon and Michael's blood test results from that day. To me, they represent the boys' being granted freedom from future medical intervention.
So to me, January 6th, the 12th day of Christmas, will always represent the best gift of all. It was the day we were allowed to finally just be a family.
The next big even was Leon and Michael's first birthday, and it was just a joyous, amazing day. I tried not to think much about the surreal day of their birth, although it is pretty hard to forget just how dang cold I was sitting in a parking lot in 27 degrees with a windchill, naked from the waist down. Modesty was not a factor (especially since my belly was still almost touching my knees). I just wanted to be warm! Everyone was so worried about the silly, little baby who was wrapped in about 42 blankets. What about the mommy???? They could've at least given me one blanket, thrown a sweater my way, something!
December 11th was a bittersweet day. It marked the anniversary of the boys' release for the NICU, but in hindsight I knew it also meant Leon went back to the hospital the following week.
Winter solstice occurred on December 21st in both 2008 and 2009. There is a tradition of burning a candle all night to mark the solstice. I'm not sure the exact reasons for the tradition, but they are along the lines of brightening the darkest day (and longest night) of the year and ushering in the light. I was in traumatized, post partum depression (PPD) hell as I lit my candle in 2008. I placed the candle on the sink in the master bathroom, since the last thing I had time to worry about was burning down the house, and in doing so, I had to walk by the boys' crib. I can't describe the emotions I felt walking by the crib and just seeing one baby in it, knowing the other was again locked away in the hospital for an indefinite period. It was horrible. But as I stood in the bathroom, staring at the candle, and most likely crying since that is how I dealt with PPD, it occurred to me that it was the darkest day of the year. That meant the next day wouldn't, and couldn't, be as dark. Things would get brighter. It was a crazy metaphor, but it really helped me.
And the next day things did get better. I had an amazing nurse practioner go to bat for me, and while it took all day, she managed to get Leon released into the care of a home health nurse. On December 22nd, the boys' one-month birthday, our family was finally home and complete again.
Our journey wasn't over, though. There was one pesky detail to wrap up. They had been released from the NICU on the condition that we take them to see a pediatric hematologist (since they appeared to have a blood disorder), which was no small feat since the closest one was located in Chapel Hill, which is 160 miles away.
Our big appointment was on January 6th. Jeff's parents were in town to meet the babies, and to help us with this insanity. They watched Ree for the day while we took off on our crazy adventure. That morning the temperature was in the upper 50s in Wilmington, and the high was supposed to be in the low 70s, so I dressed the boys in short sleeve onesies and little stretch pants (they were wider than they were long!) and threw light blankets over them for the nearly 3 hour car ride. (Ya always have to assume you will get stuck in Raleigh traffic!) Knowing we would be gone all day, I took two changes of clothes for each, in case of disaster. When we got to Chapel Hill, it was 43 and raining. Oops. Should've checked their forecast too! And although we parked in the garage closest to the building, we were still a LONG way from shelter. It turns out UNC Hospitals have a huge campus.
So as we walked with the boys, wearing nothing but jeans and short sleeves ourselves, we felt like horrible parents. We also felt pretty cold. (I'm sensing a theme!) I tried to change the boys into warmer clothes and discovered that milk had spilled all over the four extra sets of clothes. Then we had to spend 45 minutes shuffling from one reception area to the next trying to get to the correct waiting area. We were done, and we hadn't even really started. But when we finally got to the correct waiting area, everything changed.
Our hematologist was part of the pediatric oncology department. That is practice that shouldn't exit. There just should not be a reason for it. The building was undergoing rennovations, and we all sat together in a hallway outside the treatment room. We were literally surrounded by kids who were pale and balding from chemotherapy. As we sat there, we realized how insanely lucky we were to have two happy babies.
Everyone there was thrilled to see the boys. They thankfully don't see many infants, much less premature twins. Our time in the hallway turned into a bizarre game of pass the baby as patients and nurses looked at them and smiled. In a strange way, this put me in an amazingly good mood.
Although there are apparently many different versions, I grew up believing that January 6th is the Epiphany, or the 12th day of Christmas. It marks the day the three wise men arrived with gifts for baby Jesus, and in the eastern tradition, it is the day gifts are exchanged. On January 6th, we got an amazing gift. Both boys had blood work done, and both boys had neutrophil counts in the normal range. The antibody had passed through their systems, and although it was impossible to know for sure, their hematologist felt confident that they would have no lingering problems.
People keep strange souveneirs from their children's lives. Some keep locks of hair and baby teeth. The nurses in the NICU packed all of the boys' leads, foot monitors, and other seeming devices of torture in case we wanted them. (I really didn't, and I quickly threw them away at home.) While cleaning out over Christmas break, I came across my strange souveneirs. I kept both Leon and Michael's blood test results from that day. To me, they represent the boys' being granted freedom from future medical intervention.
So to me, January 6th, the 12th day of Christmas, will always represent the best gift of all. It was the day we were allowed to finally just be a family.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Catching Up
It's hard to believe it's only been a little over a week since I last wrote. Crazy times!
Christmas was good. Quiet, and good. My grandmother was here for Thanksgiving, and she commented on how noisy all of the kids' toys were. I thought she had an excellent point, so we intentionally didn't buy the kids any toys that made noise. Instead they mostly got old fashioned toys. Puzzles, Legos, blocks, balls, books, dolls. It was great. That's not to say a couple of noisy toys didn't sneak in. Leon and Michael got a cool gear set from one of their uncles that makes lots of noise. They also got a kitchen from my parents that lights up and plays all kinds of sounds. Oh, and Santa brought them another ride on car that makes noise. But that was it, and not that it mattered. Leon spent Christmas pushing boxes (as usual) and Michael spent a good part of the day sitting and looking at the new books. All of Ree's gifts were blissfully silent. And most of the time the kids make enough noise that they more than make up for the fact that their new toys don't!
Christmas was extra quiet when the electricity went off in the middle of the afternoon. We had no power for over an hour. Thankfully, it was a warm day and we were just having a turkey breast for dinner which had not yet gone in the oven. I called the phone company and had a distrubingly high tech computer talk to me. All I did was dial their number from my cell phone and press "1" to report a power outage. Then the computer told me my address and the time my electricity would be restored. Creepy and cool.
Leon has been unintentionally walking for several weeks. He will take steps between toys or between pieces of furniture, but he will not walk holding our hands or if he realizes what he is doing. On Christmas, he finally realized that he could intentionally take steps. Over the past week, he has decided that he is tired of crawling, and he wants to be vertical as he travels. However, he's not that fast yet, so he is always grabbing the closest thing he can to use as a walker and pushing it in front of him for balance. He will grab boxes, toys, our kitchen chairs, Michael, whatever, and take off. Michael has been watching and learning, and Michael now does the same thing.
The boys preferred walkers are their ride-on cars, and they can get them going pretty fast. Our house often looks (and sounds) like a demolition derby with random toys parts strewn everywhere and the boys crashing their cars into everything. I can't help but wonder if this is a preview of them in 80 years, racing their walkers around a nursing home.
The other night the boys were screaming, so I went in the bathroom and turned on the water in the bathtub to start baths. Michael came crawling in. A few seconds later, Leon came charging in, pushing one of the ride-on cars. He "parked" his car in the middle of the floor, sat down, and waited for me to put him in the tub. After his bath, I dressed him, he stood up, grabbed his car, and took off again out the door. He had things to do.
One of those things was learning to really walk. Two days ago, Leon started really taking steps. He started by walking the length of the bathroom. Since then he has walked about 15 feet from our bedroom towards the sunroom, and the same distance from the front door towards the living room. Last night he also surprised us by running across the bathroom. He followed that by climbing on top of Ree's step stool in the bathroom and standing on it on tiptoe while trying to flush the toilet. He is going to keep us busy in 2010!
Over the past week, Michael has been playing more and more with Ree. Well, more precisely, Michael tries to play with Ree, and she tries to get away from him. Lately Ree has started "reading" books. Sometimes she recites the story as she flips the pages, other times she makes up stories as she looks at the pictures. Michael is enthralled and always plops down to listen, even though she cowers on the couch, trying to get as far from his as possible. Michael also likes playing "Tag, you're it!" as Ree calls it. He crawls after her, trying to grab her ankles. She is not amused. This morning I did see them actually playing ball together. Ree would hand Michael a ball, and he would throw it back to her. They actually did this for over 10 minutes while I got breakfast ready.
Michael is also obsessed with the kitchen he and Leon got for Christmas. It has two sides of fun, and he wants to learn all about it. Every switch must be flipped, turned, and tried regularly. The funniest is when we turn the sounds off. He will still systematically try everything to see if it still works.
When Ree isn't trying to run away from her brothers or busy reading books, she is playing in her room. She is spends a lot of time and effort keeping up with all the "people" in her room. She already had lots of dolls and stuffed animals. Then she aquired 7 Disney Princess dolls, a Barbie, and a large Abby Cadabby doll (Abby's mommy, she explains) over the past week. She is always busy taking care of them. I can never keep up with who has a doctor's appointment or is having a birthday or couldn't make the tea party. But she keeps it all straight!
Christmas was good. Quiet, and good. My grandmother was here for Thanksgiving, and she commented on how noisy all of the kids' toys were. I thought she had an excellent point, so we intentionally didn't buy the kids any toys that made noise. Instead they mostly got old fashioned toys. Puzzles, Legos, blocks, balls, books, dolls. It was great. That's not to say a couple of noisy toys didn't sneak in. Leon and Michael got a cool gear set from one of their uncles that makes lots of noise. They also got a kitchen from my parents that lights up and plays all kinds of sounds. Oh, and Santa brought them another ride on car that makes noise. But that was it, and not that it mattered. Leon spent Christmas pushing boxes (as usual) and Michael spent a good part of the day sitting and looking at the new books. All of Ree's gifts were blissfully silent. And most of the time the kids make enough noise that they more than make up for the fact that their new toys don't!
Christmas was extra quiet when the electricity went off in the middle of the afternoon. We had no power for over an hour. Thankfully, it was a warm day and we were just having a turkey breast for dinner which had not yet gone in the oven. I called the phone company and had a distrubingly high tech computer talk to me. All I did was dial their number from my cell phone and press "1" to report a power outage. Then the computer told me my address and the time my electricity would be restored. Creepy and cool.
Leon has been unintentionally walking for several weeks. He will take steps between toys or between pieces of furniture, but he will not walk holding our hands or if he realizes what he is doing. On Christmas, he finally realized that he could intentionally take steps. Over the past week, he has decided that he is tired of crawling, and he wants to be vertical as he travels. However, he's not that fast yet, so he is always grabbing the closest thing he can to use as a walker and pushing it in front of him for balance. He will grab boxes, toys, our kitchen chairs, Michael, whatever, and take off. Michael has been watching and learning, and Michael now does the same thing.
The boys preferred walkers are their ride-on cars, and they can get them going pretty fast. Our house often looks (and sounds) like a demolition derby with random toys parts strewn everywhere and the boys crashing their cars into everything. I can't help but wonder if this is a preview of them in 80 years, racing their walkers around a nursing home.The other night the boys were screaming, so I went in the bathroom and turned on the water in the bathtub to start baths. Michael came crawling in. A few seconds later, Leon came charging in, pushing one of the ride-on cars. He "parked" his car in the middle of the floor, sat down, and waited for me to put him in the tub. After his bath, I dressed him, he stood up, grabbed his car, and took off again out the door. He had things to do.
One of those things was learning to really walk. Two days ago, Leon started really taking steps. He started by walking the length of the bathroom. Since then he has walked about 15 feet from our bedroom towards the sunroom, and the same distance from the front door towards the living room. Last night he also surprised us by running across the bathroom. He followed that by climbing on top of Ree's step stool in the bathroom and standing on it on tiptoe while trying to flush the toilet. He is going to keep us busy in 2010!
Over the past week, Michael has been playing more and more with Ree. Well, more precisely, Michael tries to play with Ree, and she tries to get away from him. Lately Ree has started "reading" books. Sometimes she recites the story as she flips the pages, other times she makes up stories as she looks at the pictures. Michael is enthralled and always plops down to listen, even though she cowers on the couch, trying to get as far from his as possible. Michael also likes playing "Tag, you're it!" as Ree calls it. He crawls after her, trying to grab her ankles. She is not amused. This morning I did see them actually playing ball together. Ree would hand Michael a ball, and he would throw it back to her. They actually did this for over 10 minutes while I got breakfast ready.
When Ree isn't trying to run away from her brothers or busy reading books, she is playing in her room. She is spends a lot of time and effort keeping up with all the "people" in her room. She already had lots of dolls and stuffed animals. Then she aquired 7 Disney Princess dolls, a Barbie, and a large Abby Cadabby doll (Abby's mommy, she explains) over the past week. She is always busy taking care of them. I can never keep up with who has a doctor's appointment or is having a birthday or couldn't make the tea party. But she keeps it all straight!
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