Thursday, June 28, 2007

20 months

Michael and Emily are 20 months old today. Hard to believe that in 4 short months they will turn 2 years old. Today they finally removed the gates that we had in front of the fireplace so I am going to take them down and see what they do. How bad could it be? Probably non stop admonishment from me: "No, get down from the hearth!" But, there is really no way to stop them now. I am going to put up the pack and play, and that will be their "time out" spot for repeated violations....it worked for Sophie at this age, so we will see.

Emily is the climber to beat all others. Yesterday I found her sitting on top of the kitchen table, helping herself to some leftover chocolate cake (from Valdosta). She had moved a chair close to the table, climbed up on it, and then got on the table. I let out a yell when I saw her, I was so startled, and she looked at me as if to say, "really, and what are you going to do about it?"

We had a great time with James and Kat. It was funny watching the 3 toddlers interact. James and Michael had some sharing trouble, but by the end of James' visit, they actually were taking turns. Here are some photos:





Monday, June 18, 2007

The Dog Days of Summer

Just when you think you have them figured out, your kids throw you a curve ball. Michael and Emily? Not so content to stay in the family room and play.....would much rather roam the house and take apart/destroy/climb on anything they can find. And Sophie? Has realized that Mom's job when her siblings are asleep is not to play endless games and entertain her, but to do laundry, clean the kitchen, make the grocery list, pay the bills, get dinner started,and maybe have a few quiet moments to herself....uninterrupted. How BORING Sophie told me yesterday. Now, mind you, it's not like I banish her to her room, she is free to help me with whatever I am doing, paint, do play dough, glue, cut, etc when the kiddos are napping. I will sit with her and get her started, and then I am in the vicinity to observe, help and answer questions. But alas, sometimes this wears thin, and she can't help but let the big SIGH escape. Good thing Aunt Katharine and James arrive on Wednesday, we could all use the company.

Michael and Emily have both also entered the full-on tantrum stage as well. In case you haven't seen one lately, they look sort of like this:

That was Emily's reaction when I refused to let her have the camera. You really need to hear it though, I think, to get the full effect. But she is usually a happy little thing, and most of the time looks more like this:
And then there is Michael. He is the epitome of extremes. When he is happy, he is VERY happy:
And when he's not...well, that's just a whole other story. Once he gets going, he can REALLY get going. I never knew there was a pitch that high until I heard his shriek. Even Sophie has started saying to me, "Uh-oh Mom, you better go and pick him up/give him juice/change his diaper/ before he starts that shrieking" Terry and I call him the escalator, because his tantrums escalate in a heartbeat, and he is really not the best self soother. Yesterday at the pool he climbed into Sophie's tube and was laying there, just like a little sunbather. I turned my back to get the camera, but the moment passed. He had decided to climb out, and here was the unhappy result:


I know the tantrums are brought on by frustration. What they want to do and what they are physically capable of doing are so vastly different right now. And what they want to communicate and what they are capable of communicating also differs greatly. I know in a few months this stage will pass, as their expressive language catches up with their receptive.

But right now it is hard. It's hard to go anywhere; it's hard to be at home. And I feel guilty for all the things I don't do with them just because there are two of them. Take a walk down the street? In the stroller unless Terry and I are both available. Play outside? Same thing. Go to Mass? You'd better get everything ready the night before if you want to make it on time. And only yesterday did we attempt the pool with all three, but that is for another post. I know I shouldn't compare, but Sophie was one lucky toddler, her world was huge compared to Michael and Emily's.

Today they came with me to the dermatologist. (lucky Sophie is at Noah's for the day, his house is much less BORING than ours) 20 minutes in the car to get there, 45 minutes in the stroller to wait and then be seen. I stopped in the lobby to feed them before heading home, and a lady approached me to talk twins. She has a 6 yr old daughter, and B/G twins that are 9 yr old. She told me this stage, from 18 ms to about 2 1/2 is the worst, except for the sleep deprivation of the newborn stage. She said she felt so trapped, that she couldn't go anywhere, but that it does get a lot easier, and then you reap the benefits of having 2 together. Things like a constant playmate, and someone to start school with were her big two. It was nice talking with her, because I have been feeling guilty lately for thinking how much easier it would be if I only had one toddler. She related to that, saying how of course you love them both, but it is never ending. And that is how I feel, I love them both, wouldn't trade either for the world, but I am never on top of things anymore. Don't get me wrong, I know how incredibly lucky we were to even have these children, and I don't regret that for a moment. Guess I just need to "embrace the chaos" as Kathleen likes to say, cause I feel it is here to stay!

Thursday, June 07, 2007

On the Beach

We spent last week on the Gulf of Mexico, in Seacrest, FL. And when I say "we", I mean Terry, Sophie and me. Michael and Emily stayed home with Terry's mother, Donna, which was the wisest decision I have made in a long time. I cannot thank my mother in law enough; the trip was so enjoyable, and we were able to do so much more having just Sophie with us. I cannot imagine what it would have been like lugging two 19 mth olds and all their stuff up and down to the beach. Not to mention the 8 hour car ride........

Sophie and Terry dug lots of holes, and built lots of sand castles. All the beach time was a bonus as well, Sophie ASKED to take a nap on most days, something she hasn't done in 2 years. That was our time to either nap, or take turns being on the beach ALONE, a concept I thoroughly enjoyed.

Ever the social butterfly, Sophie made fast friends with the little boys in the "combo" next to ours, Josh and Bentley, whom she nicknamed Stanley. We met up with them on our visit to GulfWorld, on the one rainy day we had all week. Their parents were really nice as well, and we had fun hanging out together. They joined us for fireworks and sparklers on the beach in the evenings. Their last day they went deep sea fishing, and caught so much Red Snapper, they gave us some. I cooked it that night, and it was the best seafood we had all week.


One reason we love this location, is that we have a small lawn in the back, which overlooks this:


We brought the slip and slide and it was a hit one afternoon when we had all had our fill of the sand.






Sophie enjoyed the fountains in nearby Seagrove Village.


She never used her goggles in the ocean, but they did come in handy one night when lighting sparklers.


View of the sunset from our little patch of lawn. Marilyn's condo, Mistral, is the building on the far right, with the window along the top.



Me and Sophie watching our last sunset on the beach. We left early the next morning, we knew Nana was ready for us to come on home!



More beach artwork


Again, many thanks to Nana for taking such good care of Michael and Emily. They seemed to have grown and changed so much in the time we were gone, that part always amazes me.