Good job party!

Check out emailsanta.com! We just did...we filled out a form letter to Santa with some very specific details, and received an instant reply right at the site. Both Annah's letter to Santa and his to her were printable also! Very cool! She is so excited!!

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Sylvia has been doing such a great job with her potty-training that we decided it was time for her Good Job Party!

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Annah modeling some clothes she received from Gram & Krampa for her birthday

Kid Updates

Kid update:

Annah:

 Is working very, very hard to stop sucking her thumb. She visited the dentist this week who suggested some things. We are taping a sock over her hand at night. It was hard the first night (Thursday); she cried for about an hour and asked us to take it off. It was so hard not to give in! But, it has been much easier since she fell asleep that night. She has only caught herself sucking her thumb 2 times since, and stopped right away. We told her if she goes 22 days without sucking her thumb, we will take her to Chuck E. Cheese's. She is doing so well!

Sylvia:

Has been making great progress in her potty training the past few days!! She has gone in the potty chair or toilet every time (except during sleep) for four days in a row now! It seems she now knows the feeling of needing to go, and she will come to us and say, "I need to go potty," and then will go in and go. She can turn the water on and off to wash her hands now too. She is very proud of herself, and we are too, of course!

Both girls seem to be growing up every day and surprising us with things they say and do all the time.

Caeden:

Can get himself to a standing position from a squatting position without holding on to anything! I have never seen a pre-walker do it quite the way he does--it's very interesting. We just say, "Caeden, stand up!" and he squats , then stands on up! Once he gets up, he seems like he wants to just take off walking but can't figure out why it's not that simple! We're guessing it won't be too much longer, and we ordered his first-walkers (shoes) this week!

Last Saturday he learned how to clap without someone helping him anymore!

Caeden is also starting to try more words. New things he is saying:

Ah, ah, teeth! (What he needs to do to brush them.)

cheese

no, no, no

carrot

shhh! (with his finger to his mouth)

wow/whoa

I'm not sure if I've written about it here before, but Caeden is a rocker and a head-banger! He likes to get up on all fours and rock. But, more than that he bangs his head back over and over again when sitting in his high chair. He also gets on all fours in his crib, puts his hands up in front of him, and bangs his forehead (not hard) on his hands to get to sleep. It seems disturbing, but for him it is really a comfort mechanism. It's kind of wild, but I think it is a lot like thumb-sucking for him. I asked his pediatrician about it, and he said it is normal and doesn't indicate OCD yet. I am afraid he is going to rock the screws in his crib loose though!

Annah's Potty Party

     We have been struggling with potty training Annah for over a year now.  A few months ago, not long after Sylvia was born, Taryn told Annah that when she went pooey in the toilet, she would bake her a cake and we would have a party.  Today, she did it! So, she got to help make the cake, and we had a party for her!  

 

 Come here frosting!
    

Mmm! Chocolate is my favorite!
 

 

Candles and everything!
 

"Congratulations to you!"
 

Blowing them out...again...?
 

Daddy, help! The candles keep coming back on!  

Can I put my finger in it?
 

Good stuff!
 

Annah, we are proud of you!

Tummy Turning

Last night we were watching a video of Annah at the same age Sylvia is right now.  We realized that we gave Annah a lot more "tummy time" than we've been remembering to give Sylvia.  But, today Sylvia rolled over!!!  (At exactly the same age Annah did--almost to the day!)  She was lying on her back under her Gymini.  For a minute she was in the room by herself because Annah actually asked to go potty and Gram and I took her there.  Jeremy was playing his trumpet in the next room, and when he checked on Sylvia she was on her tummy.  He called us all in and asked if any of us turned her over, but none of us had.  She turned over all by herself for the first time and we all missed it actually happening!  Jeremy got out the video camera and waited for her to do it again, but of course she wouldn't. 

We've started round 3 of potty training with Annah. So far, she is doing better this time around. A few times, she has even told one of us that she needed to potty. She does go "tinkle" almost every time she sits on the potty chair, but seems afraid to do the "pooey" in there.

I've decided that this time we can't give up; we have to be persistent. And, I've also decided that people who say potty training their kid(s) only took a few days are lying!!

Sylvie has caught her first little cold. She woke up with a stuffy nose yesterday morning, and now has watery eyes and tiny little sneezes too. She slept a lot today, trying to fight it off. But, despite her discomfort, she is still a happy little girl.

Spoiled

We've officially been spoiled.  My mom is still here.  She tried to leave, but we wouldn't let her!  Actually, she did try to leave last Friday, but a few miles down the road some warning lights came on in her car.   She took her car to the dealer in town, and they said it needs a new alternator.   Since her car is leased, only a genuine GM part can be put in it.  Of course, there weren't any in the  area, so one had to be ordered straight from Detroit.   She was told it would be here by today.  

Yesterday the dealer called and said that part was lost on its way here, so they found one near Chicago.  There's a chance they'll get it today and be able to finish installing it, but it looks like Gram will be here at least until tomorrow.  We love having her here, and she's been here 3 weeks now.  We know she's anxious to get home though.  Hopefully she's not too sick of us, and she will still want to come back and visit us sometime!
     

Yesterday was Jeremy's 5-year anniversary with SF!   He has also scheduled his last C.L.U. exam!  We may be going to Hawaii yet!  Our hotel reservations are made anyway! ;)
     

I am continuing to recover well.  I have more energy every day, and the pain is getting better too.  I'm worried about how I'm going to be able to manage everything once Mom leaves though!
     

Annah's potty training is going a little better the past couple days.  If we set a timer, she knows she has to go when it goes off.  She's kind of like Pavlov's dogs though, in that sometimes when it goes off, she just goes right where she's standing and doesn't always make it to the potty chair!
     

Sylvia is doing beautifully.  Sometimes she has a little cranky time just before bedtime, but it doesn't usually last long.  Last night she only woke up at 1:30 and 5:30 to eat. And, she slept in the cradle (instead of our bed) until 5:30 too.  Over the weekend, Sylvia started to smile in response to sounds and faces.  She's also making some cooing sounds now.  And, she can see well enough to watch the mobile when she's in her crib too.  She's changing so quickly!