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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

12 Days

First I would like to say CONGRATULATIONS to my mom for making her first ever comment on my blog.  I’ve only been blogging for 2 years and 9 months, mom!  Now that I know you know how to comment I better be seeing a lot more of those.  AND-if any of you want a shout-out on my blog, just leave your first comment ever too.  I will also give a shout out to my most faithful commenter, Aunt Beth.  At least I know she loves my children. Smile 

Moving on…

It has been 12 days since my last update and so much has happened.  It is safe to say that there is never, ever, and dull moment in this house.  Below is the list of our craziness:

Warning: Random pictures may or may not have anything to do with the list!

* Bye Bye Paci: Hannah got rid of the paci!  She was only using it at night but that thing made her breath smell like something had died in her mouth.  One day last week she brought it down stairs and then over the course of the morning decided to throw it in the trash (unknown to me).  When it came time for nap time I told her to find the paci before I counted to 10 so that we could go upstairs for nap time.  I knew she had it downstairs but I didn’t see it laying around.  She didn’t get it so I just took her up to bed (with her kicking and screaming the whole way).  I put her to bed and came back downstairs.  All of a sudden I hear from her door, “Mommy, my paci is in the trash.”  She said she put it in the trash because it was stinky.  Once the paci went in the trash, it didn’t come back out. I think Hannah put it in there as a joke but she wasn’t finding it very funny.  Overall she did really, really well considering the circumstances.  I have to admit that the first night I shed a few tears right along with her.  It was the last piece of “baby” and it was so hard.  Hannah was so sad and even Kyle said that he just wanted to go dig it out of the trash for her (which is saying A LOT because Kyle is no pushover!).  We stayed strong and she is now doing great without it.  However, the only day she has taken a nap since getting rid of the paci is the day I gave her some Benadryl.  She may or may not have had allergies that day.

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I always find the way that Hannah plays with her toys to be very interesting.  I am so curious to know what kind of career path she chooses when she gets older.  She is so orderly and symmetrical but also loves painting and art.  Anyway, this cracked me up when I saw it.   Don’t you and your husband always have conversations standing on chairs?  Oh, you don’t?  It just must be Kyle and me then. 

* Chipped:  Last weekend I took Hannah to the playground where she ran into a piece of the  equipment and chipped her front tooth just a little bit.  This led to her first trip to the dentist, which was AMAZING for her.  I highly recommend taking your children to a pediatric dentist rather than just your general dentist.  Dr. Bob’s office was painted with all sorts of things all over the walls and he was very entertaining.  The first thing he said to her was, “Hello Hannah, I bet you like Dora.”  “YES!!!” she said and from then on, he was her new best friend.  She sat there like a pro while he filed her tooth down, counted them, cleaned them, and put vitamins on them.  In the end she got 3 Dora stickers and a new Dora toothbrush.  When we got home she said, “Mommy,maybe we can go to the dentist again tomorrow!” 

This was also the day that while she was having rest time in her room I heard some banging and went upstairs where she was “fixing” Sadie’s door with a hammer.  That was the end of Sadie’s nap that day and it left the painted chipped off of her door. SO….chipped had a dual meaning that day. 

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Spitting: Sadie has a new trick and it is spitting.  She does it in happy times and sad times.  She loves to spit.  She has also started solids this week.  It isn’t going all that well because she pushes it out of her mouth and gags but she is getting better.  We are trying just a little bit at a time.  This is one way that Sadie is very different from Hannah.  Hannah was/is very adaptable when it came to transitions: nursing to bottle, breast milk to formula, starting solids, bottle to sippy cup etc., etc., she never had any issues with and just went along with it.  Sadie- not so much.  I thought she would just gobble the solids up, but this girl loves her milk. 

Baby food:  With the Sadie starting baby food this week it means that I have been in baby food making mode.  So far I have made her squash, sweet potatoes and pumpkin and just got some more fresh fruits and veggies to make more tomorrow.  Making baby food is so, so, so easy and so cheap!  I paid $1.50 for two sweet potatoes and got enough to feed her for about 2 months.  I know it is not for everyone, but I would encourage everyone to at least give it a try and a taste test.  Puree some sweet potatoes and go buy a jar from the store.  Stick your finger in the stuff you made and taste it.  It tastes like, well, sweet potatoes.  Now do the same for the jar.  I’m not sure what that stuff tastes like- but not sweet potatoes. 

Jesus:  It has been all about Jesus the past few weeks with Hannah.  She as two CDs with 30 Bible songs on each one.  We have one in the car and one in the house and she listens to them ALL the time.  She has most of the songs memorized and will sing them while she is playing.  Her favorite book to read at bedtime is her Jesus Storybook Bible.  When she was going through the transition of getting rid of the paci her prayer for many nights in a row was, “Dear Jesus, Help me to be a big girl.” 

Loss: Today our little dog Brody got out of the yard and was hit by a car.  Many of you know that I had a love/hate relationship with him.  Kyle and I both joked many times that if something happened to him that we wouldn’t be sad.  However, when something actually did happen we were both quite sad.  Unfortunately Brody was not very smart and when he got out he would just dart across the road and I guess he tested his luck one too many times.  Kyle and I were talking today about how it is weird that we will never hear him howl again (as annoying as it was!) at the UPS man.  We buried him on our property and explained it all to Hannah.  Believe it or not we will miss that little guy a little bit, although my vacuum will not miss his hair and my carpet will not miss his pee.  I am very thankful for a few things that happened in the whole situation: Kyle was home (thank goodness!).  I don’t know what I would have done without him here.  I am also glad that Hannah (or the rest of us) wasn’t outside when it happened, as we had just gone in to have lunch.  Kyle and I don’t have much experience with death (another thing I am thankful for) and it is ugly, even when it is a pet. Here is a picture that I snapped of Brody as we were leaving the house  to head to the hospital to have Sadie.  I wanted to make sure my camera battery was working and he was standing there.  Goodbye, little guy.

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3 comments:

Kim said...

Love the mommy and daddy on the chairs! Made me laugh out loud!

We will miss Brody too. Sad day for all of us -

Sadie eating the cereal was so cute as she was trying to grab the spoon. Such a big girl!

Erik said...

Lots of things to comment on first of which is Sadie. Of course we joke about Sadie being Peter's future husband, but if nothing else, I enjoy reading the blog not only to see how she is doing but to get a glimpse of what life will be like in a few weeks. She's a beautiful girl and we can't wait to see all of you in December!

Now on to Brody. We've had a good day appreciating our dogs (Abbie and Debo) because we all know once the baby comes the dogs no longer are the "babies". While that is a good thing, we all know they are a a part of our family and no matter how much we joke about their lives being meaningless, they are much more meaningful than we give them credit for. I will say as I reflect on my short memories of Brody it is difficult not to tear up myself. Not so much because I knew him as well as you did of course, but because of the brief week I remember Debo and Brody becoming friends (Debo finally dominated a dog after years of being Lhotse's..uh...bitch...no other words fits) and because of the few times I remember visiting you all in Denver or DC (while a single man of course) and inviting Brody to jump up in the guest bed with me.

We are so sorry about Brody and he will be missed not only by you all, but by us as well. We don't know if dogs can fathom these ideas or not, but I do know Lhotse can. She did when I took Debo (and myself) to Seattle and I know she will now...no matter how much she would tell you beforehand that she didn't really "care" about Brody :).

Like most dogs, he wasn't perfect, but no dog really is and if nothing else he was always good for a laugh...at his expense or not :)

We'll miss you Brody...

Love,
Erik, Julie, Peter, Debo and Abbie

Unknown said...

Well, it's getting to the point where I'm really, really wanting my nieces to live nearby! But, Skyping and reading and watching videos on the blog will have to suffice until circumstances change...hopefully one day soon!

Brody will be missed, you guys. I have been thinking about him and you guys a lot during the last few days, and I still get sad and shed a few tears. Even though we all joked about how "slow" he might have been, he was such a little sweetie and just wanted to curl up next to anyone who would let him and be loved. That's why we have dogs, right? For the love they so willingly give every day.

I'm praying for you all, as you remember Brody and as you mourn. Give Lhotse some extra pats and give each other some extra hugs.

Love you!

PS - I'm HONORED for my commenting status! xoxo