Leah, Emma and Claire (and Jen and John)

So we had a good weekend. We went to Ronan’s first bday party on Saturday and then I had book club on Sunday. John’s dad arrived Sunday night to finish up all the little things that needed to be done before the drywalling starts.

John came home early (it’s sad when 5pm is early…) on Monday night, walked upstairs and threw up. He had a really bad headache and I was hoping it was just a migraine (although John doesn’t get migraines…). At 3am I heard Leah wimpering and made it into their room just in time to rub her back while she puked all over her crib. I got her and the bed changed and she went back to sleep. I didn’t go back to sleep at all, she threw up again at 4:30 and then at 6am which woke Emma up and there was no going back to sleep for anyone. Leah was in good spirits throughout the day and I thougth all was well until she projectiled her dinner. John was in bed sick all day.

Leah didn’t throw up in the night but she threw up 2 more times yesterday morning. By mid morning I was feeling queasy and I started puking after lunch when the girls went down for their nap. Emma woke up from her nap and then she started puking. Oh it was a lovely afternoon. Thankfully John’s dad was here to help me clean them up and take care of them.

The girls are doing fine today. I am still a bit off but nothing like I was last night. I guess I should be thankful that it is a quick acting flu. This is the first time the girls have been sick like this and I’m also thankful we got to wait this long. Leah is a real trooper. She did a fair amount of lying down on her pull out couch but for the most part she got on with her day. Throwing up didn’t really phase her. Emma on the other hand started to cry when she was sick. I think she was scared. She recovered quickly and we all watched in horror as she danced around in circles on the carpet minutes after losing her entire dinner.

John’s dad left last night but not before catching the awfulness. I’m just glad he got to be sick in his own bed. The poor man has had to see/hear me be sick no less than 8 times this past month…and then he had to clean up the girls puke. I think he might be taking a bit of a break on the basement!

Nana and Papa got the girls some rain boots. They love them and can put them on themselves. Here are some pictures from before they got sick. I didn’t take any pictures of them when they were sick although I wish I had taken one of Leah lying down on her couch. They never sit still like that and it was very cute.

We’re all sick. Trust me - you don’t want the details. I’ll be back soon.

Check out Carrie and Coby’s website for pics from Ronan’s first bday party.

It's still cold outside. It's some demented payback for the soft winter we had. I've taken the girls out in their wagon every afternoon. We go over to the pond and they say hi and bye to the birdies (Canada Geese that never left - I don't know if any of them do anymore?!). About 2 blocks from home I let them out and Emma pushes the wagon while Leah tries to test me over and over again by walking off by herself. Lucky for me "Do you want me to put you back in the wagon" seems to have the same effect as "I will pick you up if you don't hold my hand"…it's just not a very lasting effect.

I have been spoiled the last few weeks because John's dad has been here and then I spent that week in Windsor. He took a week off this week and I was a bit worried about 5 days in the house with no car and cold weather. The no car thing really is killing me (I told you I would whine eventually). I was the one who pushed John to get a new job and said over and over again that I was tough and could live without a car. Well it sucks…but I'm hoping the warm weather, if it ever comes, will help. And at the end of the day I've had the pleasure of actually having a car and not being able to drive it and that sucked much, much more than this little inconvenience. Being the wonderful person that he is, John has also offered to take mass transit whenever I want the car. It's not an option I will use very often but it's nice to know it's available.

Lately you can tell how the day is going to go within seconds of when Leah wakes up. If she's happy and chatting away to Emma you know it's going to be a good day. If she's crying and whining to get out of her crib watch out. On those bad days the whining sometimes never stops and it pushes me to my patience limit. One of the good things about being alone with the girls is that I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what her problem is. Early indications are pointing to sleep. She's a pleasure on days when she gets 12 hours. On days when she's up 30 mins to 1 hour early she's not happy. It got so bad yesterday morning I put her in her crib at 9:30am. She was not happy, but hey she wasn't happy before I put her in the crib, and within 10 minutes she fell asleep. I woke her up 1 hour later and then put her down for her nap with Emma. She was a pleasure to be around yesterday afternoon. They were both up early this morning and it was a so so day for Leah. Happy but not well rested happy. We put them to bed at 7 tonight. They didn't actually fall asleep til 7:30 but I'm hoping she'll sleep her full 12 hours. Fingers crossed.

The girls finally figured out they can sit in their doll strollers. Luckily at 22 pounds the stroller can handle their weight. This has resulted in HOURS of entertainment. As soon as one of them sits down the other will come over, do up the seatbelt and push her sister around. Then they switch. It's pretty cute.

 ***VIDEO OF THE GIRLS PLAYING WITH THE STROLLER***

Seatbelts are not optional 

“I said GREEN BEER and you give me this water crap. Yeah, that’s right, CRAP. CRAP!, CRAP! - Emma don’t bother with your sippy cup - it’s full of CRAP”

 ”LEAH, LEAH, I see the beer truck”

“I’m coming - do you think I have time to change? I hate it when mom caves and dresses us the same. I struggle with my identity…”

“Here let me help. I think we’re too short. There must be something around here we can stand on. Hey, how about you lie down…”

“Come back…hey where did that sippy cup go? Maybe mom found the food colouring and that beer Uncle Coby left the last time he was here. Hey is that dad coming? What did we do to deserve a dad who doesn’t drink beer?”

Happy St Patrick’s Day and Happy 5th Birthday Jackson!

Here are some pictures from around the house and our trip to Windsor.

Playing Elmo on the computer

They’re getting so long. This is Emma

Leah - check out the new shoes.

Emma being cute (no, she’s not always cute)

Kissing - Leah will usually only kiss Emma goodnight

They like to climb in the toy chest (apparently Leah will kiss the baby doll!)

Leah and Chance. She’s not at all afraid of dogs. Emma is scared if he gets too close.

Gabe’s 2nd Birthday Party

Playing with Uncle Drew aka Deeeeewww

Emma always finds my book - but then she brings it to me while yelling “Mama’s book”. She brings John the remote!

Leah in the teddy bear’s hat

The Update
The girls were 21 months on the 7th. Their hair and teeth are unchanged. They’re still sleeping 12 hours at night (in bed at 7:30pm) and having a 2 hour nap at 1pm. No change on the potty front except that they seem to be aware of when they pee now (used to only be poop they were concerned with). Although they are still pretty picky, the do eat well with the foods they like. We actually got them to eat chunky hamburger soup (John’s dad’s recipe) which was a first for them. They’ve never taken chunky smushy food off a spoon - ever. They have no problems using forks but they don’t eat as much when they get the forks so we’re not pushing it. Spoons are way too messy and I’m fully prepared to wait on that one. I can only clean the floor so many times a day!

Their vocabulary is expanding daily. Emma is a little parrot and will attempt to repeat anything you say. Leah is not a performer but when she’s in the mood she can say everything Emma can. I’ve been using the speech workshop techniques and Emma uses 3 words quite a bit. Leah is using 2 words for the most part. Of course when we have visitors they use zero words - little monkeys. They both really enjoy singing and they are quickly picking up the gestures I add to the songs. They yell for more when I sing. It can get a little intense.

They are really enjoying the Sesame Street characters. They seem to like Elmo, Big Bird and Ernie the best although they can name them all. They are completely entranced by the TV when Sesame Street is on and I have to be careful because they would watch it all day long.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before but if we take them up to the mirror and ask them who it is they will both say each other’s name. Same thing with pictures. It must have something to do with seeing another little person and assuming it is the other.

We turned the carseats around this month because they were getting too long. They were 22.4 pounds on the scale on Friday. They have finally outgrown the shoes we got them in October. We got them runners on Saturday. They are both a size 6. They still wear 18 month clothes but some of the pants are getting too short so they are in some 24 month stuff. The fit really varies by the brand.

Our weekend
Saturday we got up early and headed to Sherway to look for shoes for the girls. I’ve been hunting for running shoes for some time now but I refused to get them any “I am a little princess” themed pink shoes. Selection is limited when you don’t want pink! Alicia suggested Olly Shoes and we were pleasantly surprised to find nice runners at a reasonable price. We ended up getting them the same pair because we liked them so much.

Today John had to get a haircut and I decided to take the girls to Walmart while we waited. We forgot the stroller and I’m sure I’m going to pay for letting them both ride in the main part of the shopping cart (Walmart doesn’t have shopping carts that fit two kids). The girls loved it and I eventually gave up trying to get them to sit down. They held on tight and didn’t fall. I made the mistake of walking through the toy section with them - with all the screams of “up mama, WALK!!!” I was in and out in under 1 minute.

This afternoon John’s cousin Christine came for a visit. She arrived while the girls were napping so we had time for some adult conversation before the girls figured out there was a new book reading candidate in the house. After Christine left we did the webcam with John’s parents and then put the girls to bed. We then had chocolate chip bran muffins for dinner - there are some perks to being an adult!

I got a call this morning from my mom asking if everything was ok because I hadn't updated the site (and posted the promised video). I think she's getting anxious to see the girls!

Everything is fine. I've fallen victim to DVR. John taped a bunch of shows while I was in Windsor last week and I've been watching them with him when the girls go to bed instead of spending time on the computer.

The drive back from Windsor was terrible. I threw up 3 times. I had a bad headache and then got carsick…or maybe it was some quick acting flu because both John's parents weren't feeling well either. I was so happy to get home and I ran inside to ask John if he could help his dad with the girls so I could go puke some more. Poor John had spent all weekend painting our family room/kitchen as a surprise and I don't think he got quite the reaction he was hoping for. It is really nice and I did fully appreciate it once I felt better.

Monday I had the second part of the speech workshop. This week we learned how songs really connect with kids and get them to talk. We spent 30 mins writing our own songs - which was tougher than you might think! I think I'll pass on writing mine here - you'll all think I've truly gone simple. Needless to say I've been that annoying singing mom that I can't usually stand all week and it really does work. I need to get a video of them singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

John's dad had the inpector in yesterday to look at the electrical work. Everything passed so we are one step closer to moving all the crap downstairs. I have to stop saying crap. Last week we were at the mall and I made some comment to John's dad about all the Dora crap. Next thing we knew Emma was yelling crap, crap, crap. They are little sponges.

We finally turned their carseats around. Emma is fine with it. Leah gets pretty worked up when I don't respond to her every need (mainly up, up, up, UP, UP, UP! UP!). She'll get used to it.

Leah has been pretty whiny lately. I'm not sure what it is but I'm hoping that a few days locked up in the house will get her back to normal.

Here's a video of the little recital the girls put on for the nuns.

***PIANO VIDEO***

On Sunday afternoon the girls and I decided we would pack our bags (and playpens, and feeding chairs, and food, and lambie, and chickie etc etc etc) and go back to Windsor with John’s parents after my appointment Monday morning. We knew John was going to have a busy week with work and I just wasn’t up for 5 days with no car and no adult interaction.

We’ve had nice week in Windsor. John’s dad is very much like me in that he just likes to go out for the sake of getting out of the house. We’ve been all over Windsor and the girls have done a ton of walking. They are now very good at holding your hand (except Leah refuses to hold Emma’s hand) and the threat of being picked up if they don’t hold your hand works like a charm. We visited the convent where John’s mom works and the girls put on a show on the piano for the sisters. I got a good video I’ll post when I get back home.

The girls are going to a birthday party this afternoon and then John’s dad is driving us home tomorrow afternoon. He’s going to stay and work on the basement for a couple of days.

John has been very lonely with us gone. He’s worked late each night and discovered that with no traffic he can make it home from work in 35 mins (it takes him between 1 and 2 hours most nights). I’m thinking it might be easier on him if he sees the girls in the morning and goes into work later, avoiding rush hour traffic both there and back. I haven’t been able to convince him yet though.

Although he has been lonely, he was pretty excited last night at the prospect of sleeping in today and tomorrow. I must admit I’m a little jealous. I think I have been alone in our house a handful of times since the girls were born and it is very relaxing!

The speech appointment was better than I expected and I learned some new things which we can use. The main thing I came away with is that you should always be encouraging vocabulary in a fun way. I know that sounds like common sense but they encouraged you to always push them which I might not have done. If they can say one word, give them two back. Always add an extra word so they learn. Gestures also count as words so if they give you a gesture you’re supposed to say the gesture and add a word. They still don’t want us to teach them please and thank you (useless words to speech and language people) and you have to stop and think of how to add words. If they say “more mama” I say “more cheese mama”. It actually works. I have the second part of the workshop Monday morning and then I will have to take the girls in at some point to be videod (is that a word?) using the techniques they teach you. I think (hope) we might be done after that!

I’ll post some pics when I get back to Oakville.