August 29, 2006

It seems like it will never stop raining. The kids have been couped up inside for the past fe days. At least Evie has many new toys to occupy her time with. We've played a lot with her play-dough zoo kit. She loves adding googley eyes and different limbs to balled up dough. She has also discovered the blue and pink dogh mixed together create purple! We've also been building castles with her moon sand and playing hungry hungry hippos. She loves to sing and has been invited to join the cherub choir at church. She is now also old enough to attend Sunday school and has been begging to "go to school" for about 6 months now.
Steven is wonderful as usual. He laughs all the time. Today I put him in his crib and turned his fiher price aquarium crib toy on and went into the other room and after a few minutes I just head him start laughing. It takes very little coaxing to get him to smile or giggle. He's also started some "solids". I say it that way since his solids are more like thick liquids! So far he has tried and liked sweet potatoes, pears, and bananas. I've also started to give him a little bit of juice mixed with a lot of water. He really likes that too. He loves his bunbo seat and sits in that on the table while we eat dinner. He can even get up on his hands and knees now. I think he'll be training for the Boston marathon shortly!

August 23, 2006

It's official. Evie is now 3 years old as of Monday. We had a fun day and I took her to Toys R Us to spend her $3 gift card she received as being part of their birthday club. She also got a free balloon and they announced over the PA that it was her birthday. They gave her a crown but she didn't want to wear it. She picked out a little gumball machine as her prize. This also meant that last night I got to put peanut butter in her hair to take the gum that she got in it, out. Ken didn't believe me that it would work. I guess he had never heard of the peanut butter in the hair technique. Of course her hair now looks a bit oily even after me washing it. I guess baby shampoo isn't a great degreaser.
Steven is back to his happy smiley self. It's wonderful to have my happy baby back. He is now big enough to fit in his step and play piano and the excersaucer my mom has at her house. He is so long he can actually stand flat footed! When Evie was his age we used a phone book underneath her until her tootsies could touch. He seems to enjoy being able to move around on his own. He likes being upright and able to look around. He also had his first taste of sweet potatoes Monday night and seemed to enjoy them though Ken tasted them and thought they were less than palatable. They are both growing like weeds!

August 20, 2006 Evie's party

Today was Evie's birthday party. It was a Wonder Pets theme of course and she seemed to have a lot of fun. It was supposed to rain all day but the weather was great. The kids swam in the pool and when they came inside to have pizza and cake it rained. By the time the cake and presents were open it had stopped and we were able to hit the turtle pinata outside! Except for the pizza running every late and me being a bit disorganized things ran smoothly and all the kids seemed to have fun. Steven was wonderful and had a lot of people take turns holding him! Tomorrow is her actual birthday. It's hard to believe she's three as of 4:01pm tomorrow. She's so funny and so smart. I am so proud to be her mom.

August 18, 2006

I think everyone, except perhaps Evie, is tired here at the Wilson house. Steven has been pretty sick and we finally seem to have figured out why. On Monday he was given a prescription of Zythromax for his ear infection and it seems he is allergic to it. I feel just terrible about giving him what was making him so sick. It was causing severe abdominal pain and also a rash on his tummy and back. Of course I found all this out after taking him to the ER at 3am Thursday morning. He just wouldn't stop crying and it was that "I'm in pain" cry. Of course once we got to the hospital he hardly cried at all, but at least the doctor was able to look at his rash and tell me his ear infection was gone so we could stop the Zythromax. The next day he was fine all day long. Ken and I hadn't slept much in a few days so he took the day off yesterday since neither of us could function well. I let him get some sleep and then he let me. Of course it did mean that Steven's sleep schedule got a little screwy. He woke up this morning at 5am thinking it was time to play and is now back asleep snoozing quite comfortably.
I went shopping for Evie's birthday last night with Steven and we found some great things for her. We always try to get her one special girft every year. This year it's a Barbie big wheel. Steven's present to his big sister is a little Polly Pocket doll. She really seems to like them because she can dress and undress them without help since the clothes snap on and off. She also loves make-up so I found a little girl make up set. We also got to go shopping at Target for toys with the gift card sent from her Grandma and Grandpa Z. With that she will receive at her party a Cinderella doll and the game Hungry Hungry Hippos. Her party should be a lot of fun. This year a few of her friends from church will be there as well as Abby and Emma so lots of kids to play with. Hoping for a nice day. I can't believe she's turning 3. I can't imagine how my mom feels since I just turned 30!

August 17,2006 - A look back

I thought with Evie's third birthday coming it might be nice to take a short trip (since she's only going to be three) down memory lane. These are pictures of Evie taken when she was between 5 and 7 months old. I also thought it would be fun to post these pictures so people could see side by side, well close to it just skim down a bit, what Evie and Steven look like at similar ages. It's hard for some to see how much they do look alike until they look back at baby pictures. We have some beautiful children!

August 14, 2006

Just a quick post. I ended up taking Steven back to the doctor today as he was running a fever this morning and was very fussy. He has another ear infection. Poor little guy has had three already now. The zythromax works well but it upsets his stomach to the point where we have to break it up into small doses throughout the day. At least it's a fast acting antibiotic. I miss my happy, smiley little guy. He cried a lot last night and Ken and I took turns walking with him. Even keeping him on Tylenol every four hours isn't helping as much as it used to but the doctor said he can't have ibuprofen until he's six months old. He's as big as a six month old! But I guess that doesn't count.
Evie had a lot of ear infections as well and the doctor said it could be genetic. Not something I wanted to pass on to my children.
Evie has been an angel today, even with Steven crying so much. On the way to the doctors he was crying and she kept telling me I had to give him "medsin" to make him feel better. She kept saying "his tummy hurt mom, you gotta give purple medsin" which is the Tylenol he's been taking. Then she told me to hurry up and get to the doctor so the doctor could give him "medsin" so "He feel bedder". Actually she usually calls everyone she/her so she refers to Steven, her dad, anyone be it male or female as she or her. She's asleep now on the couch taking a late well deserved nap. She looked at me and said "I tired. I lay on de couch". She's been so wonderful today. Just reminds me how lucky I am to be her mom. We had some cuddle time this morning while Steven slept. We curled up together and she had cereal and we talked and watched Little Einsteins. Then she danced for me and we talked and played some more with her stuffed animals. I was utterly exhausted and feeling terrible when I first woke up. It's amazing how much a smiling sweet child can lift your spirits. Suddenly I wasn't tired anymore either.
They are both sound asleep so I am going to enjoy some quiet time and go start dinner.

August 13, 2006

Yesterday Steven discovered his feet! He was so intrigued by his own little toes. It was as is he had discovered a whole new world with how he looked at them. I think he was amazed he could grab them himself. I am so amazed by him and how quickly he accomplishes new things. The pediatrician said he was more in line with 6 month old babies than 4 month olds with everything he can do. He can hold his bottle and even grab and put his pacifier in her mouth. He did run a small fever after he has his shots on Friday and is still a bit fussy but it will pass I am sure.
Evie was part fish today as she was in the pool at least three times today. She loves swimming in the "houl" as she calls it. I just love how she pronounces some things. Garbage is "garship", backpack is "pak-pak", hot dog is "hoggog", banana is "bana" and so many other adorable things she says. I can't think of them all now. Today I asked her to go upstairs for something, I can't remember what, and she turned around and said "I'm going, rewax" (relax). I had to stifle a laugh. Must be all the times I tell her to relax when I see her getting over excited. Her birthday is soon approaching and I had let her pick out the cake mix she wanted me to use for her birthday cake. On Saturday she had the box in hand when I came home from work and said "mom bake this, bake my "birfday" cake" and then turns the box over where they have pictures of what to add and she points to them and tells me "you need cup water and eggs and mix it up and a plate". I'm going to attempt to make a wonder pets cake using a pattern for cupcakes I found on nickjr website. Instead of making a ton of cupcakes I will try to make their faces on a sheet cake. We'll see how it turns out. I want to try to make her cake every year. I'm thinking I will need to take some classes! Off to cut Ken's hair. This will be interesting.

August 11, 2006

Steven had his four month check-up today. Poor little guy had four shots, but I know a little pain now is better than a horrible illness later. At his next appointment he only needs three shots. They took his weight and height today. He's weighing in at 14.8 pounds and 26 1/2 inches! He's very long so hopefully that means he'll be tall when he's all grown up. He's in the 95th% for height meaning he's taller than 95% of other boys in his age group. His weight is average for his age which I was a little shocked about but I guess boys due tend to be a little bigger than girls. At least that's what the nurse told me.
Evie has been having a little difficulty behaving the last two days. I've seen borderline tantrums where she is testing her boundaries. I also see some regression where she acts more like Steven I believe in hopes to gain more attention. I know this is all normal behavior but I was hoping we wouldn't have to deal with it as she was doing so well for so long. She's shown a bit of an attitude though we are handling it. I have had to tell her that mommy will be happy to discuss such and such with her when she can talk to me calmly, without whining or yelling a few times the past two days. She's such a wonderful kid and usually so well behaved. I guess I've been spoiled. She's never really thrown a tantrum before but she has the "stink-eye" down when she's upset. I'm trying to find ways to relieve her frustration by finding things she can do to help me as well as expel some of her energy. Doesn't help much when mom is so tired and not much fun. With Steven teething lately I haven't gotten much sleep.
On a funnier note Evie was happy to inform me that I'm old! Tolday in the car she was counting saying twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-nine, twenty-ten(she still skips around when trying to count in the twenties) and I said that I was twenty-ten. She quickly told me that SHE was twenty-ten to which I replied "Wow, you're old" and she said "Evie not old, mommy old!" I had to laugh. I told her that I was old and happy to be so otherwise I wouldn't have her. She makes me laugh everyday and smile more times than I can count. And whatever grey hairs she may give her father are quite all right with me!

August 10,2006

Just had to add this picture. He's so darn cute!

August 10, 2006

Well, I wasn't sure about it or I would have posted earlier but it seems that YES, Steven has cut his first tooth! It popped through before he turned 4 months but it was still hard to feel so I wasn't quite sure it was a tooth. It's on the bottom and not even a front tooth. I am just amazed at how fast he is growing. I think Evie was about 10 months when she got her first tooth. Before we know it he's going to be walking and running everywhere!
In my last post that I accidentally erased I had to share about my trip to the grocery store with them. I usually enlist Evie's help as a way to keep her from getting too bored, keeping her interested and wanting to stay with me. So first I asked her to help me find the milk and then on to the eggs. Before I actually thought that one through there was a dozen jumbo eggs on the floor. It looked like the floor was covered with little sunshines! I couldn't get angry and almost laughed. I just said to her that was why mommy always tells her to be careful with eggs. She looked so sad after it happened and didn't leave my side for the next twenty minutes. She had one arm wrapped around one fo my legs. Poor thing. I don't think she will do that again anytime soon. At least they weren't Faberge!

August 8, 2006

Here are two of the latest pics I have of the kids. I had a long detailed post written and then accidentally deleted a picture then the entire post and since Steven is fussing and hungry I will simply post the pics now and come back later to fill in the goings on with the kids.

August 7, 2006

Yesterday Steven was baptised. I was so happy to be able to use the family baptismal gown. Evie was too big by the time she was baptised though we did get her a very special dress to wear. It seems baptismal gowns are becoming a thing of the past. At the last baptism I was at I think there were four or five babies being baptised and I don't remember any of them in a gown. It gave me a wonderful feeling to participate in such a specail family tradition. To know he was wearing something I wore, my sisters wore, and my mom. So much history in one very delicate article of clothing. It was not too hot though I kept the back of the gown as open as possible to keep him cool. Pastor Rich commented on what a big boy he is. He is growing up so fast. Yesterday I gave him his first tast of rice cereal. Very diluted of course but he ate from the spoon very well. So far his stomach seems to have handled it well.
Evie will be three very soon. She is getting so big herself, tall really. She tells me she's a big girl now and not a baby. We are working on potty training and yesterday she did wear her Dora underwear for a while. She even asked to sit on the potty today though I think she's having some trouble sensing when she needs to go in time. It will come though.
She's having her wonder pets party at my moms house this year. If anyone doesn't know, Wonder Pets is a new preschoolers TV show on Nick Jr. It's about three classroom pets that work together to save baby animlas. There is always a special lesson to be learned whether it's how to share, or how not to be afraid to be yourself. And it's all done in an operetta style. Evie loves it and it is very cute. She also likes SpongeBob and LazyTown. I will get on at nickjr.com and play their "radio" with the songs from the TV shows and she loves the LAzy Town music. We get up and dance and Steven loves it to since I dance with him in my arms. It's something the three of us can do together. She likes Blues Clues a lot too. I love how she can have fun and learn so much at the same time. We put up a ring pool (or as Evie calls it a houl) in the back yard and she loves to swim. She has my part fish genes in her aparently as I never wanted to get out of the pool when I was young. On Saturday we went to Ken's company picnic and had fun. They had a bounce house and even got a game of kick ball going with the adults and their kids. Evie kicked the ball and stole second! All of the people Ken works with seem very nice and there were a lot of kids there. Evie wasn't shy and played all day. Steven was a dream as usual and never even fussed. There were two other babies there. One three months and one two months. Both girls, perhaps future girlfriends of Steven LOL!

August 2, 2006

Not only is Steven able to roll both ways now but he has already started teething! He is growing up so fast! He's so different than Evie was at this age. He loves his pacifier or sucking his knuckles or whatever he can get in his mouth. He already grasps his toys in his hands and then usually puts them in his mouth. His baptism is this weekend and I am hoping for a cool day. These last two days have been a killer with heat and humidity dangerously high.
Evie is looking forward to her birthday party. This year it will be a Wonder Pets party theme. It's a new show for preschoolers on Nick jr and she loves it. It really is cute, but since it is so new there is nothing on the market in way of merchandise so I have had to be a little creative with getting the theme into her party. Thankfully nickjr.com has printables for parties and I have used those to assist me. I finally got her invitations done and they came out cute. I can't believe she will be three! Right now she loves talking about outerspace and going there in a rocket. Ken takes her outside at night to look at the stars and she just talks on and on about seeing planets and stars in a rocket ship. She also loves to sing and dance. Yesterday was a very musicle day for her as I heard her singing "Mary had a alittle lamb", "the Alphabet song" and "Old MCDonald".
Steven's crying!