monkeyturtle

He fits right in

2012-02-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

No need to worry if he is genetically related.... his computer obsession makes it clear, he is one of us! he even multi-tasks with his nighttime bottle of mommy milk!

New york city chess

2012-02-12T19:56:00.000-08:00

My dad who grew up in NYC is teaching Monkey chess. apparently Monk has picked up on whatever slight accent Grandpa still has left because his pronunciation of Paww-uns is spot on Bronx/Long Island/Jersey Shore! too funny! im not too sure where Base-ship (bishop) came from, but we're rolling with it :)

Big Cheer!

2012-02-09T12:02:00.000-08:00

Well, it has happened! Monster has discovered the love for Cheerios!! he has been so/so on them for a while now. but this morning he chose them over oatmeal for breakfast! who doesnt love those little circles of ground and compressed oat?

Radio girl

2012-02-03T14:42:00.001-08:00

Turtle has taken to asking about songs on the radio while we are driving in the car.

"whys he sad, mommy?"

"he lost he's sister?"

"he lost he's heart?"

"oh, dats so sad!"

"he sad dat she wawked a-way?"

"if i woose you baby?"

"Dhere are no cwear skies?"

she really wants to figure out the story and why the guys singing are so sad. she is pretty sure that all of the songs are about a sister and a brother and she wants to know why everyone is leaving/walking away. she is so stinking cute!

Im calling it...

2012-02-01T15:32:00.000-08:00

OFFICIAL FIRST STEPS!! filmed with the help of the 6 year old

He did a few 'sort of' steps 2 nights ago. but 30 minutes ago i watched as he turned away from the blue couch and took 2 steps to our chair. that is when i knew today was the day. watch as our little monster (2 days shy of 11 months) takes his first steps!

ive kind of got the harsh mommy voice going on... but i had to share anyway even if it is a little embarassing. :)

Future girl

2012-01-29T15:56:00.000-08:00

No matter how hard i try to convince her of the opposite, Turtle refuses to believe that you cannot see through the phone line. she is constantly trying to show grandma things by holding them up to the phone! haha! silly girl. maybe she is from the future? im sure in a year or two skype/facetime will be the norm :)

Baby Barricade

2012-01-27T10:50:00.000-08:00

Now that Monster is highly mobile, Monkey has taken to trying to deter him in any possible way. Monster attacks toys and ruins games. Soooo, this is the result... a baby barricade

However they tend to be fairly ineffective because Monster is smarter than your average amoeba and manages to find a way out. i would rank his intelligence somewhere between lab rat and adult dog. pillows and pink baskets are not going to keep him contained!

This is how we do it

2012-01-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

After several nighttime skirmishes over who would be first for teeth brushing i decided to solve the problem with what i like to call, "Everyone's First". How is that for super mommy?!!! :D thank you very much!!! brushing two mouths at once... now that takes skillz (with a z, no less!)

Houston, we have standing!

2012-01-21T12:40:00.000-08:00

I knew he was getting close. but when Monkey brought Monster into the room and set him down, i dont think any of us were expecting this.....

He stood long enough for me to get a picture with my phone, for about 20 seconds! he was very surprised he was doing it! I need to get a new cassette (yes we are old school) in the video camera so i dont miss the inevitable walking!

I dont know why i try?

2012-01-18T17:30:00.000-08:00

another dinner meal, another colossal failure. this time, Honey Garlic Chicken.

"mommy, this is gross"

i should have known.... if it requires me to plan, prep, and cook, the kids are not going to like it.

thanks for the reminder kiddos.... back to sammies and string cheese.

Sandwich Love

2012-01-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

"Look mom, we're a sandwich"

And even though it doesnt look like it, #3 was totally down with the scenario. but you know how wiggly and impatient babies can be. and how slow and annoying cameras and mommies trying to document life can be.

There's no place like Snow-m

2012-01-17T21:47:00.000-08:00

We have spent the last few days in a wintery wonderland with more of the white stuff supposedly on the way tonight/tomorrow. Snow-pocalypse 2012. all our weathermen get WAY over excited for things like this and then there really is only a good 50% chance that their predictions actually come to fruition.... so, a big hit of snow tomorrow? or will these few inches of powder slowly melt away? we shall see. in the mean time Monkey is enjoying going out to play and coming back inside with new snowballs for the freezer... so we can keep them :) he's cute :)

Well, those goofy weather people were right.... today we got more snow! probably a total of 8ish inches :)

and thankfully, after an exhaustive search we found the missing snow pants! my darling husband decided to pack them away instead of putting them back in the drawer the last time they were used. it only took him 36 hours to realize he had done so.... back off girls... this guy is TAKEN!

There must be magic in there!

2012-01-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

Monster baby is being such a goof with his glow seahorse! All of a sudden he has gained interest in it after not caring much about it for 9 months. He will watch it intently while it plays and glows, slowly moving his head around trying to figure it out! He knows that if he just looks long and hard enough he will be able to see the magic that makes it go! little smarty pants!!!

The short term memory of an almost 4-year-old

2012-01-07T00:11:00.001-08:00

A solid 40% of today's conversations went like this...

" mommy, whas the name o' my new frincess again?"

"her name is Jasmin, honey."

"oh yeah!!! Jas-mint!"

"JasMIN"

"oh, Jas-mint"

Now wait 15 minutes and repeat, hahaha! Turtle is funny. Though I wonder about that memory of hers.

Dear Pinterest

2012-01-06T23:26:00.000-08:00

Dear ~~Facebook~~ Pinterest,

my girlfriends have become obsessed with finding new methods to curl their hair online. now, one would think this is normal behavior for teenagers. but that is the thing, these are full grown adults. even the ones you wouldnt think would be interested in hair have jumped on the band wagon. ~~Facebook~~ Pinterest, is this a symptom of a group mid-life crisis? Have you put an evil facebook spell on them? or are my best friends just young at heart? I guess it doesnt matter the reason because i love these goofballs regardless of their Trichomania

A nursing strike and other hunger games

2012-01-03T17:41:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of days that stinky baby Monster has been giving nursing the ol' stink eye! i blame it on that 9 month developmental period where babies just seem to think they have better things to do than sip slowly in a quiet dark room. Monster seemed to think that playing and cruising and standing and bouncing were so much more important. but thankfully and finally he seems to be back on track!

un-thankfully getting back on track was not without a few all out boobie wars and one battle in particular where he came out the victor while my ever faithful and trustworthy Lefty was left with some teeth marks :/ (Lefty so didnt deserve that treatment, s/he (?) is a gentle pacifist by nature)

who me?? i would never do such a thing!!

In other food related news i must give thanks to this simple little item... the sandwich cutter! who knew this thing performed miracles?? i sure didnt. lets rewind 6 months.... the summer of 2011... neither of my olders ate sandwiches.

"sandwiches are yucky"

enter the sandwich cutter (gifted to me by a sweet sweet lady)!!! apparently sandwiches in cute shapes are YUMMY!!!! hooray!!! now the 6 year old even manages to MAKE. HIS. OWN!!!! did you hear me??!! MAKE HIS OWN!!! seriously a miracle! and all because of this little piece of plastic!!!

HUGE props sandwich cutter! HUGE!!!

Happy Un-birthday !

2011-12-30T18:48:00.001-08:00

We are still a few days shy of her real birthday but today we celebrated anyway! Turtle had a great time! she ended up with 3 new "P words", 2 cliffords, and a Tinkerbell too! I am happy with how her cake turned out. though it kind of looks like colored deer poop hahah, but oh well, i tried :)

Garden D'lights!

2011-12-27T19:05:00.001-08:00

The kids were hesitant at first to be walking around in the rain at night. Turtle kept asking to go in. But after a stern talking to and a Naughty Spot threat everyone seemed to start enjoying our rainy adventure! the lights were really pretty! we saw an alligator, butterflies, a dragon, a river with salmon and 4 waterfalls! i wish we had had more time to enjoy them but bedtime was fast on our tail!!!

2011-12-24T22:44:00.001-08:00

Waiting for Santa...

Fall Fotos

2011-12-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

check out the facebook link below for many more! it is a lot of baby Monster :)
Facebook album

Sneaky yum

2011-12-22T00:00:00.001-08:00

I guess I shouldn't have left the raisins on the counter. The raisin monster found them... The raisin Turtle that is!

All things Snapish!

2011-12-20T19:27:00.001-08:00

I am excited to try my hand at some pictures of the kids in front of the Christmas tree! My expectations are high which means I will most likely be disappointed in the results. Ah well :). Hopefully years from now I will get joy out of looking at the pics even if they are subpar.

I will try and download my camera in the next few days so I can have a nice empty memory card for Christmas and (turtles) birthday celebration! Keep your eyes peeled for a Facebook photo post :)

My little artist

2011-12-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago at Monkey's parent teacher conference i was informed that Monk is really into art and drawing! this kind of surprised me because up until as late as last year i couldnt leave him unsupervised with crayons. he would EAT them haha! crazy kid! Anyway, apparently his teacher is pretty impressed with his focus as well as the finished product when it comes to his art. im not sure if this is just a standard line that she feeds most parents... but eh,... you tell me my kid is an art genius, im going to run with it! haha. im a proud mama!

a duck

self portrait

It's here! It's HERE!!! (Santa pic)

2011-12-14T11:50:00.000-08:00

On a scale from "laying in a field of daisies, EASY" to "3 kids in the waiting room of a late doctor, TORTURE", that was only mildly torturous! Somewhere in the neighborhood of taking 2 well behaved young children grocery shopping solo.

Yes, i will admit I was the crazy lady jumping up and down behind the photographer trying to get my attention challenged children to look and smile. Yes, I was also screaming SMILE while I jumped! Aaaand, yes, I am thankful that only a handful of strangers witnessed my display of insanity. but it was totally worth it in my opinion :)

So without further ado....

Santa pic 2011

Tomorrow is santa day!!!!

2011-12-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

im So Ho Ho excited!!! i cant wait!

here are 2008 and 2009 santa pics.... i cant find 2010... i will dig for it later :)

Ha! i found it :)

the obsessive compulsive side of me wishes i had kept Monkey on the right side and Turtle girl on the left. but i guess maybe that doesnt matter now that there are 3 kiddos?

obviously Santa will have to hold onto the baby monster so does that mean that Monkey has to stand? I have the boys in match-y outfits, so it would be nice if Turtle was in the middle of them somehow. maybe we can do a cascading affect with Monk standing Turtle on the lap closest to him and then baby M on the other leg?

Maybe, just maybe i am overthinking this hahaha? .... naaaaw ;)

"Do you know what dead is?"

2011-12-12T21:40:00.000-08:00

That is what my 6 year old monkey asked me over breakfast this morning. Wow, the death talk... i wasnt expecting that to happen while i was making oatmeal.

but, ok. here goes...

I told him yes, i know what dead is and that it is when you go to sleep and dont ever wake up. I could tell by the look on his face that he the concept scared him a little. i asked him if he was ok and what was the matter? he told me that he didnt want me to be dead and then started to tear up (my sweet little precious boy!!!!).

Hugs time!!!! i held him so tight and told him that i wasnt going to die! that people dont die until they are very very old (no need to go into how unfair the world is for so many people). and that before any of us die we have to be grandpas and grandmas first (sorry grandpeople :). i told him he had a long way to go yet and that he first had to get married and have kids of his own and then become a grandpa before he even had to start thinking about being dead.

such a hard topic to try and explain to kids. but i think i did ok. he seemed ok with what i told him and was tear free by the time we were done.... PHEW!

I have been gone a long time!

2011-12-11T11:57:00.001-08:00

Wow! no posts in 2.5 years! i ABSOLUTELY blame Facebook for this travesty!!! let me see what i can do about this. give me a bit to clean things up (dead links, old photos) and maybe i will get things at MonkeyTurtle (and Monster) cruising again :D!

sick turtle

2009-04-19T17:25:00.000-07:00

it had seemed as though we had made it through winter without a bad illness for turtle. but just as i was beginning to breathe a sigh of relief and a fresh spring air..... turtle up and decides to get sick :(

she started out a little warm and once evening hours arrived and she was in bed her temp shot up to 103/104. we have misplaced our rectal thermometer... so i was only taking armpit temps (i know you wanted to know ;).

for two nights in a row turtle and i would meet in the bathroom for a midnight soak in the tub. poor little babe, she looked so pathetic sitting sad in the water! but last night was much better. only a slight temp and no temp this morning! hooray! she is definitely over the hump!

i wish i could say she is back to her old self. but the lingering effects of this sickness are still here. she is obviously not feeling 100% b/c she is CRABBY!!! and still wants me to hold her all day long. and she is still not eating. i am hoping that tomorrow will finally be a good day.

first dentist appointment and horns

2009-03-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

Monkey was in rare form yesterday for his very first dentist appointment. this past week i had tried to prepare him for it by reading books about dentist appointments and looking at pictures of other little boys and girls at the dentist. sadly, he was reluctant to go in the first place. telling me he didnt want to go.

but when we got there things se

emed to look up a bit. he was excited to be in the waiting room and to play with the new toys.

once we went back to the room, however, he became uncooperative. his little monkey self came out and he wouldnt sit in the chair. he loved playing with the chair buttons though (after the hygienist said it was ok)!!!

what was nice was that Dr Dave and the hygienist were GREAT! they were very friendly and explained everything. but even after all the explaining and counting of other body parts, Monkey still wouldnt lay in the chair to have his teeth counted. so instead we laid him down across my and Dr Dave's lap. that way Dr. Dave was able to take a quick peek and do a little counting.

the final prognosis..... he has all his teeth and NO cavities! and his little monkey mouth looks great!

Dr Dave said that Monkey could start brushing his own teeth with an "after check" by dad o

r mom. and that we should come back in 6 months for another appointment. hopefully at that time monkey will submit to a cleaning :) i am not holding my breath.

-----------------

Unrelated, monkey is taking to calling ponytails, horns! haha! when sister had her first ponytail a few weeks ago he immediately commented on her new horn! and he has since continued to mention turtle and how she will have horns. silly kid!

georgie & shoes

2009-02-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

turtle has been really interested in wrapping georgie, her beloved monkey companion, up in a blanket recently. she will come to me with monkey in one hand and blankie in the other and wait patiently while i wrap georgie nice and tight. she is usually giggling as she walks away.

she also likes wearing shoes... and will bring me her shoes held high above her head, one in each hand, asking for me to put them on her. she is so happy once they are strapped on!

silly girl!

2009-02-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

little miss is turning into quite the goofball.

she does this thing, where if i am standing with my weight on one leg and the other foot crossed over and propped up on my toes, she will come over and try to sit on my heel. about half of t

he time her tush doesnt make it and she slowly slides down my foot to the floor. but for some reason or another she thinks my foot off the ground is an open invitation for her to take a seat :).

or if i am standing she will mosey o

ver and lean her back up against my legs like she is standing up against a wall. it is very cute and totally silly!

and it is hard to explain, but her demeanor when she is just wandering around the house is so funny too. she walks around with her big belly pushed out and her shoulders slouchy while her arms hang like dead weight... or swing randomly. all this with a hum~de~dum look on her face! i think she is going to be the quite funny type!

Valentine's day

2009-02-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

yes, i know this is several days late. i was planning on sending out cute little V-dayay cards. but the ones i ordered from Winkflash.com were late late late... and when i finally got them the quality was HORRIBLE! never use Winkflash.com!!! i know i never will again :(

anyway, here is the card :)

she isn't a turtle?

2009-02-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

maybe she is more like a fox or a raccoon or a dog?? only those critters could love eggs as much as my little turtle does!

this morning i made her oatmeal and couldnt persuade her to eat more than 5 bites. so then i tried fruit puree and only enticed her to have 3 or 4 spoonfuls. normally at this point i would have stopped and assumed she wasnt hungry. but as a last resort i offered her some hard boiled egg. and she has now eaten 2.5 of them!!!

she has been so fussy these last 2 days but whatever i have offered her to eat has been met with... (whats the opposite of excitement?)

so now i am realizing that she was fussy from hunger but was holding out for her new favorite! EGGS! she is CRAZY!

the girl is going to LOVE easter :)

1st molar and eggaholic

2009-02-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

turtle has been busy cutting her first molar this week! she has been acting ok, but there have been a couple times when she has been a little needy and just wants to be held (of course i make the mistake of thinking she is hungry/thirsty/tired before i figure out hours later that it was something else).

then last night at bed time i finally have the bright idea to stick my finger in her mouth and check for new teeth... low and behold... her left top molar is poking through. that answers a lot of questions!

when it comes to allergys.. we have good news/bad news. here is the good news first!

it looks like turtle may be good to go when it comes to eggs! the girl LOVES them! we have done a 3 day trial of yolks followed by a 3 day trial of whites .... followed by 2 eggs for breakfast today (on top of a bowl of oatmeal, haha). she is a BIG fan of eggs! just like her brother!

now for the bad news. unfortunately, the other day her daddy kissed her face after having had sour cream chips and she got 2 little hives... so it looks like (also just like her brother) she will have a dairy allergy as well. :( this makes me sad. i know it is not the end of the world. but im still sad about it.

preschooler and green marker

2009-02-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

things have been busy busy busy around here. we have been spending a lot of time preparing our townhouse for new tenants. so i havent had much time to update the blog with the latest kiddos tid bits. and really they hasnt been much. but a few interesting points...

Monkey is going to be a preschooler!!! i got up bright and early yesterday to go wait in line for sign up. and guess what... he got the VERY last spot!!! HOORAY! and PHEW! that means no wait list and 100% he is going to school 3 days a week starting in september! :) that is going to be quite the adventure, im sure

in other brother news, monkey took the opportunity to draw on my white couch with a green marker the other day!

he knew right away from the tone in my voice that he was in BIG BIG trouble! and after a sit on the naughty spot (while i cleaned the marker off) he was still very upset.

it was pretty funny to see him so sad about his own actions and how they had disappointed me. when i got him off the naughty spot he needed a lot of reassurance that he was still loved even though he had done something so naughty. so i tried to make him feel better with lots of hugs.

yea! i won an award!

2009-01-19T09:53:00.000-08:00

i would like to take this opportunity to thank the academy along with my friends and family. you are the reason i was able to win!!!hahaha ok, i'll stop being a cheese ball now!

thanks Tina for passing the award on to me! your blog is one of my favorites to read! i wish i was as good a blogger as you!!

now per the terms of the award i must nominate others.... here are my favorite blogs:

baby's 1 year appt

2009-01-13T12:42:00.001-08:00

my babe had her 1 year appt this morning and all went well. my tiny turtle lightweight is only clocking in at 17lbs 13 oz., that is 7th percentile!!! haha SO funny! and since she is 90% for height, that makes her quite the little string bean!

what is funny is that monkey was always on the lower end of the % for weight. he hovered around 20% but did drop as low as 15 at one point. but turtle started out strong at 50% and stayed there until her 9mo appt where she dropped to 25% and then now to 7!! that is crazy!

our pediatrician isnt worried and in fact kind of predicted it back at her 9mo when she said that she wouldnt be surprised if turtle went down in % more.

anyway, i am sure at some point turtle will start climbing the % again. Monkey was 35% for weight at his 3 year. so i can imagine around 2.5-3 years she will start packing it on :)

oh and my little nugget also has a small head, 25%. but it was a new nurse and honestly, i dont think she did the best job measuring head or height.

the other funny thing that happened is that monkey covered his ears and quietly screamed while turtle got her shot. but turtle did pretty well and only made one little squeak.

the new nurse also had a hell of a time with the bandaids. she kept getting them stuck to her gloves and not to the baby, hahaha!!!

birthday girl!

2009-01-09T12:53:00.000-08:00

today marks 1 year since the birth of my baby girl! and i dont know if cell/muscle memory is a 100% sure thing... but last night sure had me wondering.

little turtle woke up at 3am crying (she hasnt done this for over a month). since i knew i couldnt let you cry on your birthday i went to see what was wrong.... poopy diaper.

this is something that NEVER happens. turtle never poohs in her sleep.

so it has me wondering if her little body remembers that this is her birthday? remembers the excitement/fear that she felt at birth? remembers the meconium she passed in utero? i know that is gross... but true maybe? who knows?

anyway, the plan for today is to take lots of pictures of my newly 1 year-old. but to wait on the party. so turtle gets lots of hugs and kisses today.... but not much else.... pressies and cake will have to wait :)

i dont think she likes santa

2008-12-11T20:42:00.000-08:00

we went to visit santa yesterday. here is your traditional freak-out snapshot. :)

and eventhough turtle didnt have a good time. mr. monkey really enjoyed telling santa what he wanted!

we have never visited santa before because i dont think monkey was old enough to understand the concept. but this year he totally gets it and is so excited for christmas to come!

she made me do it...

2008-12-07T21:16:00.001-08:00

my girlfriend insisted that i elf the family... so i finally got around to it! it is pretty silly o.O :P

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

don pablos is dead :(

2008-11-29T10:58:00.001-08:00

my favorite mexican resturant in florida is gone :( at least in the area we are visiting. and i was so excited to eat there :( the BEST tortilla soup i have EVER had!

while we have been on thanksgiving vacation i have realized that Turtle is pretty tuned in. i think she is saying "yes" ...when she says "esss" and last night she told grandma "bye-bye" at bedtime. she has said "mama" once and is very on/off about trying to say that one. and the first night we were here she didnt want to sleep so daddy was laying with her trying to get her to bed. as he was rubbing her back, she started rubbing his arm. in the past i have sworn that she would pat my arm the same time i was burping her but now i have proof :)

Monkey has been enjoying the beach and loving the sand. yesterday when he came in to use the bathroom, he sat on the potty and was licking the sand off of his free hand... once he finished licking the sand off the front he started licking the back. that boy has a gizzard!

only a few more days and we will make our journey back home. i am actually ready to leave. the last few days i have seen quite a few roaches.... ewwww!

she's walking!

2008-11-13T15:22:00.000-08:00

yup, thats right. the just turned 10 mo/old girl is walking!! ALREADY!!!

two days ago i saw her take two steps in a row. then the next day i saw her take 4 in the morning. another 4 at night.... and when daddy got home we worked on it some more and she was taking 6 to 7 steps in a row without falling.

now today she is going crazy walking all over the place! what a big girl!! and SO SMART too!! :)

personality on parade!

2008-11-10T15:07:00.000-08:00

turtle is really starting to come out of her shell, so to speak hahah! she is chatting more and working on ma ma and da da. eventhough she hasnt quite got the hang of those words yet, she will say papa and Aa wa. and Aa wa wab and bob wab wab

these last couple of days she has really enjoyed racing after her brother as he goes running back and forth between rooms. all the while laughing and squealing as he zooms by. it is really fun to see them playing together :)

Besties

2008-10-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

Turtle had a playdate with her future BFF. at least that is what her mom and i hope for!!!

carving the pumpkin

2008-10-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

Monkey named the pumpkin nemo, we also carved a smaller one named marlon :)

for those of you who dont follow all things 3-year-old.... those pumpkin names reference one of his favorite movies, Finding Nemo!

our trip to the pumpkin patch

2008-10-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

an early walker?

2008-10-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

maybe? maybe turtle is going to walk early? it is so hard to remember what her brother was doing at this age. and i know he was cruising like a champ at 9mo. but he didnt crawl until 9mo. and sister has been crawling for 2 months already.

she is getting pretty good at standing independently.... so who knows... it seems strange that she would continue crawling for another 3mo. but maybe she will. then again, maybe she will decide to walk in a month or 2??? CRAZY!!!

oh ps, she is now a waver! last night she waved bye-bye to daddy in the bathroom while her brother was taking a bath. she is growing up!

turtle's 9mo appt

2008-10-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

Our dr appt today went really well. turtle is right on track and getting so big. i was a little worried before the appt b/c i knew turtle wasnt gaining much weight and i wondered if there was something wrong. but her dr. reassured me that it was normal for a baby's weight to fluctuate during the first year.

so now for her stats. 17lbs 1/4oz = 20% for weight (down from 50% at her 6 mo check) 30inches = 97% for height... the dr said she was putting all her energy toward height not weight :) and 17inches = 30% for head circ.

also, turtle got her HIB and polio vax. and Monkey got his flu shot..... the 3 year old cried like a baby when he got his, and the baby only made the slightest peep after her second shot.

my sweet little 2 year old has been replaced...

2008-10-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

by a 3 year old devil child! i just dont know what to do with him. most days now he is an obnoxious and rude little being. if there is a boundary, he will test it... if there is a chance to talk back, he will do it.... if there is a way to harass sister, he will accomplish it!!! and it is grating on my EVERY nerve. i guess the upside is that he is going to be a determined go-getter type of adult who will reach every goal.... if he makes it to adulthood without mommy banishing him to his room for all eternity! (dont put it past me ;)

back to back allergy blows

2008-10-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

for the last week turtle has been developing a rash on her back. in the recent few days it has spread to her front as well. a quick trip to the DR confirmed that she most likely has eczema. this is not good news on the allergy front since eczema and food allergies have a close relationship. looks like we only make allergy babies. :(

allergy test = not good news :(

2008-09-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

im so depressed. i got the results from monkey's recent allergy blood test. things are not looking good on the whole "maybe he will outgrow it" front. his numbers for peanuts went WAY up and he added a new allergy to the list.... hazelnuts. also, the blood test made it official that he is allergic to sunflower seeds. his numbers for milk did go down slightly... but i dont know how significant a .6 drop is until we go in for his allergy appt in october (it probably means nothing at this point since all the other news is bad).

i would be lying if i said i hadnt had any hope that this was all just a silly mistake and he was going to outgrow this allergy nonsense. it is looking more and more like that isnt going to happen.

i am sad :(

she's in love with a monkey......

2008-09-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

monkey doll that is! her brother's 8" Curious George stuffed monkey to be more exact :)

she only started loving george recently. but ever since last week, whenever she sees him she immediately smiles or laughs and instantly puts his little monkey face in her mouth (a kiss i am guessing)! she loves to chew on his ergonomically-designed-baby-suckable hands! maybe the attraction is his endearing yellow shirt, or the white tag hanging off his butt? whatever it is, i hope he becomes a life long friend!

it is so precious to see how they have bonded! not sure how george feels about his perpetually wet appendages though?.... i bet he is used to it.... being his native habitat is the rain forest. her drool probably reminds him of home :P

blood poke

2008-09-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

monkey went for his allergy blood draw on saturday. it was an interesting experience. the last time he had a blood draw was when he was one. that time he did really well and didnt even realize anything was happening.

this time however, was very different.... it all started out well, the lab had an aquarium and he had fun pointing out Dori and Nemo from one of his favorite movies :)

but once i set him in the blood poke chair and told him what was going to happen... the tears followed and the "no, mommy... i want to go home". it was sort of heartbreaking....my poor boy!

in order to get the 2 vials needed i had to hug monkey while he was facing me on my lap and with my other hand i had to stabilize his arm. he cried/whimpered the whole time. but was mostly better when they finished.

he got a big 3" thomas the train sticker which he stuck to his left forearm and felt a little better. but on the way out he got sad thinking back on the experience and started crying again!

my poor baby!!!

when we got the the parking lot i let him pee on a bush ....... nothing like public peeing to raise ones spirits!!! once in the car he got 2 cookies and life was good at this point. he fell asleep within 5 minutes of turning on the engine

funny thing is, the kid still has that sticker stuck to his arm 3 days later hahahah!

she is!!!

2008-08-28T16:44:00.000-07:00

CRAWLING!!! she learned last night!!! hahaha and it is SO cute!!! really she has only done just a few of the little crawly steps... but it was definitely crawling, her knees both moved and everything!!!

and eventhough she is not full on crawling from one side of the room to the other, it has opened up her world. she is rolling more and crawl~sitting more and somehow manages to cover vast distances with her own brand of movement.

this is all with only one day under her belt of being a crawler.... who knows what the next few weeks are going to bring??

top teethies are coming

2008-08-20T10:07:00.001-07:00

turtle has had her bottom 2 teeth for a couple of months now with no sign of any others on their way, until now. her top 2 are coming in. i can definitely feel one of them, but am pretty sure that its mate is coming too b/c of the swelling. she wont let me do a thorough exam however b/c i think it feels a little ouchy for her. soon she will have 4 teeth.... monkey had 7 or 8 by this age :)

a long long car ride

2008-08-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

this past weekend we made the long haul to aunt L's wedding in northern california. it was 12+ hours of driving (one way) with the actual distance being only about 9 hours and the extra hours devoted to nursing/pee/food stops.

monkey did really really good on the drive since i had the bright idea of getting him a portable DVD player. he stayed fully entrenched in tv coma the entire way!!! hahaha!!! it was great!!! the first day he didnt even have to pee for the first 6 hours b/c of it !!!! HAHAHA!

turtle on the other hand was not having any of it! she would ride for a couple of hours in her carseat without complaining. but after that she was D-O-N-E!!! there were several times when she just cried and cried and cried b/c she didnt want to be in her seat anymore. and i couldnt blame her... but i also couldnt take her out. i think the main problem was that she is a tummy sleeper so she couldnt get comfy in her seat :(

we took 2 days to drive down and one day to drive back.... i will NEVER do this again! and i dont recommend this to ANYONE!

it was nice seeing all the family though... and aunt L's wedding was very sweet!

didnt know i would have to have this conversation?

2008-08-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

i had to explain to my monkey today that we dont pee on couch throw pillows. this is one conversation i never thought i would have to have? but i guess if no one tells you, how do you know not to pee on throw pillows?

my mistake i guess. maybe i need to go over a list of things we CANT pee on... just to cover all bases?

i am lucky it wasnt a "nice" pillow

time to lower the crib mattress!

2008-08-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

this afternoon while turtle was supposed to be napping i kept hearing happy squeals! coming from upstairs... after about the 5th squeal i realized she wasnt going to go to be and decided to go get her.

well, what do i see when i open the door??? my little one was sitting up!!! thats right! i put her down on her tummy for her nap and she had sat herself back up! that little goofball!! mommy didnt know you could do that LOL!!

no more sister privileges!

2008-07-31T19:21:00.000-07:00

that IS IT!!! monkey has lost any and all privilege he had to touch, stand near, mess with, or grab from his baby sister. it seems like whenever i set her down she is in a fine mood until big brother does SOMETHING to make her cry! maybe he pushes her over, or steals a toy, or makes a mean face... it seems like it doesnt matter what he does but whatever it is he manages to make her cry EVERY time. so that is it! he has lost any and all privilege to even be NEAR her! im done!!!

we are all in BIG BIG trouble!!!

2008-07-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

turtle is moving!!! she just scooted herself (backwards) across the entire kitchen floor! big brother better watch out!!! soon the little stinker is going to be crawling!!! his world is going to implode!!!

"mommy, i need to go to the hos~ba~pal!"

2008-07-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

that is what my son said to me yesterday as tears were pouring down his face! he had just hit his shin on the coffee table and it looked like it was going to leave a pretty big bruise. i have no idea where he got the hospital idea??

i did my best to fix it up.... i did a pretend surgery and then a sesame street bandage and then a kiss. that seemed to do the trick and we decided to put off the hospital trip.

ah ~ HA!! just heard them mention the hospital on his new favorite movie... IRON GIANT. that is where he got the idea :)

my dream house

2008-07-22T23:57:00.000-07:00

tonight i was sitting here thinking about the dream house i hope to live in one day. you know, the one that is 2,000 + sqft with 4 bedrooms (plus and office/craft room) 3 bathrooms a playroom and an big ol' kitchen. i happen to think my dream is fairly modest. i just want to live somewhere where i am completely comfortable.

but it occured to me that i already have my dream house..... everything enclosed within the walls of my run down rental IS my dream house. i couldnt wish for anything more than the two beautiful children and husband that i have.

i am thankful everyday that my sweeties are both healthy and happy... and cute as little bugs too :). and besides the fact that he works his tail off and we never see him, i really do have a wonderful and caring husband. sure he has his moments ... he's a boy, what do you expect :).... apart from that he is a spectacular person.

i really have hit the lottery.

so i guess i may never have enough money that i live completely comfortably or that i am able to spend my days in a 2k square foot palace.... but i have to try and realize on a daily basis that i walk within my dream house everyday.

first taste of food

2008-07-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

turtle got her very first taste of solid food yesterday! she had some rice cereal!!! yummy!!!! she had a good time playing with it and making a mess! and i think she actually managed to swallow a bit of it too :)

yum, SODA!!

2008-07-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

well, i think today was the first time monkey had soda! and it was love at first sip!

seriously it like cocaine to an addict! his first sip was followed not 3 seconds later by, "more drink"??? and when we offered him the cup again it was almost violently commanded out of our hands and down to his little mouth for that liquid crack that he so desired!!!

it actually has me wondering what the hell they put in that stuff to create such an intense desire after only one sip? i think it will be a while before monkey has any more :)

secret language

2008-07-12T20:14:00.001-07:00

two days ago as my monkey was speaking gibberish to me i realized he was developing his own language. it goes a little something like this.....

"gumma gumma abba gumma baba, outside"

and he says this to me like i should understand what he is saying.... hahaha!! silly guy!!!

right now he is playing with my tripod... which he has decided is a robot. he keeps telling me how it has an EYE!! and it has a HOOOOOOO (hole)

too many pictures

2008-07-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

i have had the recent revelation that i take all too many pictures of my kiddos! is this a bad thing??? i dont know, but it is all too easy to do. i find that i end up taking 20-30 pics at a time and dont even realize i have taken that many!!!

health report

2008-07-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

monkey and turtle both had dr appts today! monkey now weighs 31.4 lbs and is 39 1/4 inches. and turtle is 15 lbs 4oz and 26 3/4 inches. that puts the baby at 50th percentile for weight and 83rd for height. i think that puts monkey at 35% for weight and 75% for height??? or something like that... not positive on his percentiles :) but everyone is healthy and happy and growing so quickly!

i have caught monkey beating up on his little sister quite a few times today, arrrrgh!!! i am pretty sure he has pushed her over from a sitting position and i caught him laying on top of her while she was laughing her head off. oh and another one of his games is put the pillow/blanket over her head!!! so NOT COOL!!! and of course he doesnt stop doing it when i tell him not to because she thinks this is hilarious too!

becoming a real person!

2008-07-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

it just seems like my little turtle is growing up so quick!!! right before my eyes! this last week her personality is really starting to come out! she is reaching for things like crazy and watching people eat. the other day she was doing all sorts of weird wiggles just because she could and because she wanted to see what would happen when she did! we will start solid foods this week after we see the pediatrician on friday for turtle's 6mo and monkey's 3 yr appts. i am really excited to see what she will do with rice cereal!

poop~a~holic

2008-07-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

well, i am starting to regret the whole "potty training" thing!!!! it seems that once i got monkey started pooping on the potty, he now doesnt want to stop! the kid has decided he wants to poop upwards of 5 times a day!!! every hour or so he will tell me he has to poop... go to the potty and push out a little poo nugget! and after every one of these trips he needs a wipe and the potty needs to be cleaned! i am hoping that he will tire of this soon... b/c i sure have!!!

it kind of makes me wish he was still in diapers HAHAH!! at least then i would be in the position of power... and only have to change him when I wanted to!!! :)

croup

2008-07-02T10:09:00.001-07:00

my poor little turtle girl has the croup!! it is so sad b/c she has no voice so when she cries you can barely hear her! and she wheezes when she breathes :( yesterday at the dr she got some oral steroid to help open up her airway and it seems to have helped a little bit. i just hope this all passes very soon so i can stop worrying about her breathing. 1 wheezy day down ... hopefully only 2 to go (says dr)

"mommy, what's this"

2008-06-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

my son asks holding out his finger..... on the tip is a peasized flat red something.

"who knows" i answer.

"a nose?!" monkey replies as i pick the something off and flick it to the floor

i wonder what is going on in your brain crazy boy :)

potty training!

2008-06-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

is going SO WELL!!! monkey has got this down! he is peeing and pooping like a champ! im really glad we postponed after our first attempt 3 months ago. because eventhough he was physically ready at 2 years and 8 months, he wasnt emotionally ready. so far our second attempt has been textbook! after 1.5 weeks he hasnt had a single pee accident and hasnt had any poop accidents since the second day! is it totally dumb for me to think it could be this EASY???

sitting turtle

2008-06-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

thats right!!! she is sitting!!! what a big girl! growing so fast!

its a monkey's life

2008-06-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

what do monkeys do all day, they swing from trees and forage for food, and accidentally knee mom in the stomach, and pee on the potty. ok so my monkey only does the last two. but he does have a way of driving me absolutely insane!!! the HORRIBLE 3s..... HORRIBLE!!! my sweet baby monkey has morphed into one of those angry killer monkeys that you see attacking people in movies and video games. i swear it all happened a month before he turned 3. i cant give you an exact date or an exact instance.... but it is here. now monkey doesn't listen, monkey runs and yells constantly, and monkey has quite an attitude :( we will push through all this b/c i know deep down my monkey is still as lovable as ever.... but some days ... what can i say???