Easter and Spring 2010

It's hard to believe Easter has now been and gone. This year is just going by too fast. Both of the girls are continuing to grow and develop their own little personalities. They both of course were excited about Easter and Caitlyn got the hang of hunting for Easter eggs really quickly. She loved snacking on the goodies that were inside the eggs. Amy has had a few ongoing problems with her asthma and is off to see an asthma/allergy specialist on May 10. At the moment they think it is more allergy related and the poor little girl is now taking 2 more medications. Hopefully after May 10 we'll get it more controlled.

They are both still having fun at daycare and each day they seem to come home with new stories or activities. In the last couple of weeks Caitlyn has been naughty and bit a few kids in her class when they try to get a toy off her. Of course the situation is not helped when big sissy sits there and tells how good she is and that she doesn't bite! (Thanks Amy for rubbing it in). Amy will sit there and recite all the rules to Caitlyn.................no biting, no pinching, no pushing etc and then on Friday on the drive to daycare we hear No throwing mulch! I'm like where did that come from :-) Amy loves her rules and of course Caitlyn just laughs at her.

With it starting to get warmer we'll be going for a swim each week. I bought the girls the cutest new little swimming outfits (matching of course), so I'll get some pictures when we're at the pool for the next post.

Spring is here!

The cold weather seems to be finally behind us and we are having some great sunny days (which is nice on the weekends!) It's hard to believe it will soon be Easter. March has been another fun month for us girls and we are certainly reaching some milestones. As many of you know potty training with Amy started over a year ago. Since that time I have tried getting her to use a potty, a step-stool with a Dora toilet ring and tried bribing her with M&M's, Tinkerbell underpants (whatever it would take). But she just refused to even sit on the potty (clothed or not). She would scream and stiffen up so I would let it go and try again in a couple of weeks time. I was starting to think she will be at school still in diapers. Well about 2 weeks ago we were at babies R Us buying diapers and Amy announces she wants a pink potty. I thought great so of course I buy the one she wants. We get home and for 3 days she wouldn't go anywhere near it and even told me I can take it back to the store. One night before bath I had Caitlyn undressed and sat her on the potty. Low and behold she tinkled in the potty - little sissy used the potty before Amy! The other night out of the blue while I was on the phone with Tim, Amy walks into my bedroom naked with the potty and she had pooped in the potty all by herself :-) Now for the last week while she is at home she tinkles and poops in the potty, no prompting necessary! She will undress herself and go and use the potty. Looks like friendly competition from Caitlyn did the trick. We are going out this weekend to buy her some more underpants. Although she did tell Grandpa Jeffrey the other night that he had to buy her Tinkerbell underpants.

Amy is so funny with little things she does - she certainly won't do anything until she is ready. Each day now it seems she comes home from preschool with the funniest little phrases and mannerisms. She is so brutally honest too. In the bath the other week I was washing her hair and told her how her hair is getting darker like Mummy's, she said "Yes, dark like you and silver". Gotta love it when your child points out you have grey hair. Caitlyn too - she isn't talking yet but has her own little personality. She is so loving too, she loves to give kisses now and wave goodbye. When I pick the girls up from preschool I get Caitlyn first and take her to Amy's class room. All of Amy's friends come up to me and want to play with Caitlyn so I put her down on the floor and all the little boys and girls hug each other and say goodbye every afternoon. It is so cute to watch!

The girls were with their Dad last weekend and he took some cute pictures of them sitting in a field of blue bonnets. It was cute seeing them hug each other. Another nice Spring weekend coming up this weekend too. So we will be off to the park today for sure.

Growing up way too fast

It's been another busy 2 weeks for the girls and they are both growing up so fast. The phrases that now come out of Amy's mouth continue to shock/entertain me everyday! Not to mention the fact that she is only 3 - god help me at 13. The other night (like most nights) I was asking Amy if she wanted to use the potty. She told me "No, just at pre-school." We then had a bath and after bath I asked her again. She refused again and I said "Well you use it at pre-school." Her response, "Actually.....no I don't." I guess you had to be there to hear her attitude. I had to turn away so she didn't see me laugh. And her latest word of the week seems to be "Remember?" For example..........."I told you last week Momma. Remember?" Where does she get this stuff? She also bugged me for the last 2 weeks to get her hair cut. Since she has never really been to the hairdresser and she is so into her hair clips etc I kept asking her if she was sure. Apparently she wanted to get her haircut like Emily's (a little girl in her class). Peer pressure at 3 - my god. So after 2 weeks of nagging I took her to the hairdresser yesterday to get her haircut. It does look adorable, just cut to her shoulders. She says she is a big girl now! Of course the big girl won't let me get a photo of the new hair style.

Caitlyn is an expert walker now and gets upset with me if I try and carry her to the car. When we leave the apartment in the morning she walks from the living room out to the garage and then tries to climb up into the car. She has also learned how to give real kisses and is so cute when she says "Uh-oh". There is a pause in between the sounds and real emphasis on the "oh". Somehow with all the trouble Caitlyn find I am sure she will need to use this phrase a lot!

Mummy did have one victory this week though. Monday night both of the girls decided they didn't want to eat the chicken and pasta they were given for dinner. So they got it again Tuesday night. Caitlyn nibbled a little but not our stubborn Amy. So Amy got it again Wednesday which is where I think she realized that Mummy wasn't letting up. So then on Thursday night they both ate all their carrots and peas!! Too scared that they may have been able to predict Friday's dinner I guess.

Amy turns 3!

Well another month has flown by for us and the girls are just grwoing up way too fast. Fortunately we have not had any more illnesses to worry about so that is good news. Caitlyn is now walking everywhere and getting into absolutely everything, more often than not things she shouldn't be in of course. I don't normally give her messy food to eat as I usually prefer a peaceful dinner for the 3 of us (i.e. mummy wants to be able to eat her dinner without tidying up mess every 30 seconds). However, the other night I gave her some of my spaghetti and sauce - she went to town. Absolutely loved it!! She of course got her hands and face messy but for the first time didn't actually drop half of her meal on the floor. She had a tantrum when it was time to get down from the table! She was having so much fun eating it I couldn't resist to take photos.

We also had a fun week this week - Blake is now officially a big brother, I went to visit his new baby sister Devyn in the hospital on Tuesday. Amy was all disappointed because she wanted to go to and didn't understand why she wasn't allowed in with the newborns. In a few weeks we'll visit at home though and then I'm sure her and Blake will be in their element. Then of course it was Amy's birthday yesterday. I didn't plan any big party this year, we just went across the road to Brindles and had some yummy ice-cream. The girls then went to their Dad's and kept on celebrating I'm sure. She did get some lovely gifts though and of course Tinkerbell featured in there. She also now has an adorable dance bag for her ballet and tap stuff. I also got her a cute little girls charm bracelet. It came with a heart charm and I also bought her a fairy charm (since that certainly reminds me of what she is into at this age). I will be taking Amy for her 3 year check-up tomorrow so we'll see how much she has grown and hopefully find out whether she needs to continue with the twice daily pulmicort.

Things are tough for us right now with everything that is happening but I am so blessed to have those 2 little girls in my life. I love watching them grow and change and develop their own little personalities. No matter how tired and exhausted you are at the end of the day getting a hug and a kiss from them before bedtime each night is my idea of perfect!

A new year

Here is the first post of 2010. We didn't really do anything to bring in the New Year, in fact didn't even make it to midnight (but what's new there!) Amy has been able to start back at daycare after her month off recuperating. She is in a new class with new teachers but seems to be adjusting well. She is especially excited because now she is old enough to start the ballet classes they have on a Thursday. While Grandpa Jeffrey was here we went and bought her leotard and shoes that she needs. She looks so damn cute. This week they are doing tap which I think will become her favorite because she loves putting the tap shoes on and dancing in the kitchen on the hard floor already.
Caitlyn on the other hand continues to be my "mischievous" child. She is 1 and I already had to the front office! She bit someone at school the other week while fighting over a toy. Thankfully she hasn't repeated it. She is walking more though and is very proud of all the extra things she can do now (usually revolves around getting into some cabinet she shouldn't be in. She had her 15 month check up on the 7th Jan and she is now 30.75" and 21lb 14oz. She's like her sister though in that she is not saying any words yet. So she probably won't talk until she after her 2nd birthday too.
Grandpa Jeffrey went home on the 8th and we miss him. While he was here Amy had an obsession with counting red cars and McDonald's. So now during the week we keep a tally so that she can tell him on Sunday's when he calls how many she has seen. Both girls have also seemed to carry on the game of squirting water on me while in the bath. Thanks for teaching them that one Grandpa Jeff!
It has been really cold here in San Antonio (well for Sth TX anyway). However, I'm about to get a lot colder when I head to Boston tomorrow for the week. I think the high all week is 38. Hopefully there are no snow related travel delays. I am busy today washing and getting the girls stuff ready for them to spend the week with Jerad. So I'll go and finish that and post again later.

Christmas 2009

What a busy week we have had. Grandpa Jeffrey arrived last Friday and while Amy isn't allowed back to daycare until the New Year (because of her pneumonia/asthma) she has been spending her days with him (telling him what to do!). Last Sunday we went to Jennifer Garner's house to decorate Christmas cookies. Amy was a little shy at first but was then having a great time with all the other kids. During the week I took Dad and the girls downtown for dinner and a ride on the boat along the Riverwalk so we could see all the Christmas lights. It was a long wait in line for the boat but definitely worth it once we got on - Amy loved it and wanted to stay on the boat. Caitlyn was looking all around too and clapping her hands. Although little Caitlyn fell alseep pretty quickly on the way home in the car!

Christmas morning was exciting for the girls and I think Caitlyn was better at tearing apart the wrapping than Amy. Both girls got plenty of things to play with and mum had trouble finding places to put it all. We spent Christmas lunch at the Eckert's place. There was plenty of food and drink for everyone. Caitlyn spent most of her time trying to get to the stairs and Amy loved playing outside with Stephen's daughter Maddie. Amy even came inside wanting her own scarf and digital camera so she could be like the older girls!! The most exciting Christmas present of all though would be that Caitlyn has started walking :-) She only takes a few steps at a time but it is so cute to watch. She'll be into everything now. The day after Christmas Grandpa Jeff and I took the girls to the park - where we were once again instructed on what to do by Miss Amy - this time we were to push her high on the swing. Caitlyn loves the swings too and seems to like going higher than Amy.

So long between posts

To those of you that follow this blog i am sorry it has been so long between posts. Life has been very hectic and i just never seemed to find time to get to this. So here i go trying fill in the last 2 months!

September was fun when Grandma Liz came over for a 5 week visit. The girls loved it of course and Amy for some reason calls her Grandmother instead of Grandma - sounds very formal when she says it. Amy is really talking up a storm these days and singing little songs to herself - it is so cute. Caitlyn is saying sounds but not real words yet. She is really cute when she blows kisses and plays peek-a-boo. Caitlyn is a real cheeky little thing. Both of the girls are now in daycare at Country Home. Amy loves it and goes running in to play with Miss Samantha each day. It was embarassing the other day when I went to pick her up and she proceeded to tell me (in front of all the other kids) how some other kiddies had been naughty and were running in the calssroom. Hopefully she will learn in time it is not wise to tell on your classmates! Caitlyn surprised me and actually cries some mornings when I drop her off. She is usually so laid back and doesn't get bothered by much. She of course is fine within minutes of me leaving.

While Grandma was here Caitlyn turned 1. We had a little party for her at home but it was rescheduled to a week later because Amy had been sick with a tummy bug. She had a little cake all of her own but needed some encouragement to get in there and get messy with it :-) Amy loved it because she seems to think all the new toys that Caitlyn got were for her. She might as well enjoy it now because I am sure once Caitlyn is bigger I know who will win those battles out of the two of them!

Fall is here of course, so last month Blake and Amy had fun at Lovecreek Orchards (about an hour away in Medina, TX) at the Harvest Festival. They built scarecrows, painted pumpkins, petted the farm animals, went through the maze and just had a great time. Amy is also looking forward to next weekend when she goes to Blake's 3rd birthday party.

We had a bad week the other week. There was a Saturday night where poor Amy was coughing literally all night long. I took her to the med clinic on Sunday morning and we were sent to the ER at Methodist Children's. After 9 hours, blood tests, chest x-rays etc she was admitted to the intermediate care ward with pneumonia and has been diagnosed with asthma. Our poor little girl looked so tiny in that hospital bed with tubes and monitors everywhere. She was a real trooper though and takes her medicine every day, she even did well with getting her iv put in. So now we have daily albuterol and flovent morning and night. We go back to the doctor on Friday and we'll see what they say for long term treatment of her asthma.

Despite Amy just getting out of hospital we were still able to have a fun Halloween. We headed over to Jennifer's house to go trick or treating with Nicholas and Olivia. The kids all looked so cute. Amy was a pink pirate, Caitlyn a pink leopard, Nicholas was Harry Potter and Olivia was Piglet. The kids had a great time and certainly bought home plenty of candy. Mummy will be rationing it out for weeks to come.

The other exciting news is that Grandpa Jeffrey is coming to visit us for Christmas/New Year for 3 weeks. So plenty of fun to come.