Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The Terrific Twos

Michael and Emily turned 2 on Sunday. Amazing how fast it goes. It seems like years since we brought them home, but then again, it seems like just yesterday. I never understood what all the fuss was about when relatives would visit and comment on how much we had grown. Now I know.

They are so much fun right now. And maybe it is because they are twins, and entertain each other that I feel this stage is going so well. Maybe because I am more relaxed than I was when Sophie was a 2 year old. Don't get me wrong, there are many challenges every day...like exiting the car and walking to their classroom, which is a 15 minute process. One of my friends sees us making our way down the stairs, and says, "Oh, here comes the Speedy Family." Not! But at times they can be quite speedy, like when we are playing outside and in the blink of an eye Michael is taking off down the sidewalk. Sophie gets to be in charge of Emily as I take off after him. Of course, all this is normal for this age. Too soon it will be over.

They are both talking in phrases now, and repeat everything. They love singing and dancing, especially Michael. Emily is fasinated with anything that requires fine motor skills; she can get herself in and out of her chair quite easily. And after she gets down, she will unfasten Michael's belt for him. She is quite the little caretaker where he is concerned. She will bring him a cloth diaper, his cup, a toy, whatever she thinks he needs. She is more social than he is. He really doesn't like a crowd. We had a family birthday party, and he was much happier when everyone left. Nothing personal, he is just more comfortable in a smaller group. His great loves are trucks, trains, and currently, pumpkins. Here are some pics from the party.


Nana and Michael. Note both hands in the mouth, his 2 year molars are coming in.


Daddy and Sophie

Grandpa taking care of the fabulous ham, which I had to note weighed more than the 2 of them combined at birth!
Blowing out the candles. Emily knew exactly what to do; Michael just wanted some Motrin and his bed.
Grandma Maier bought them both slippers, and Emily decided she needed hers on ASAP!!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Silly Me

Tonight after dinner, Sophie asked, "Mommy, can I help you wash dishes?" I looked at her in amazement, but was quick to answer "Sure!" She proceeded to help me empty the clean dishwasher and load it back up. She even wanted to learn how to wash dishes in the sink. When she was done with that, she asked if she could help me fold clothes. I, in return asked her if she was feeling alright. I told her we could fold clothes, as soon as I tended to Emily, who had just come into the room holding her bottom and saying, "poob on poddy", which as any mother can attest, means "poop on the potty". I checked her diaper and she hadn't gone, so off to the potty we went. 2 seconds later she hopped back up, and yes, she had done her poopy business in the potty. I was thrilled, we had to bring it in to show Sophie, who clapped and sang for her. Then we made a big deal about flushing it, and she even got a stamp on her hand. She has done this twice before in the past 2 weeks, but both times with the sitter.

Of course, whom else do you call to brag about your extremely helpful 6 year old and your incredibly talented almost 2 year old? That's right, your mother. Mom and I had a quick conversation about how mature Sophie was becoming, and how smart Emily is, and won't it be great if she tells me every time she needs to go, then maybe Michael will follow her lead, and oh, life will be great once we are out of diapers. Yay me.

10 minutes after I got off the phone, Emily again told me "poob on poddy". Only this time, she had gone in her diaper, but still wanted to sit her dirty bottom on the potty, because what fun it is just getting your bottom wiped, it's much better to make another mess for Mom to clean.

And at bedtime, when I told Sophie how proud I was of her for offering to help me, and how considerate that was, she replied with a big smile on her face, "Well, my friend Katie at school told me that if you do jobs for people, sometimes they pay you." Her look was so sly, I had to laugh.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Punkin Patch

We had a fun time at the Pumpkin Patch this afternoon. Michael and Emily were a riot. Sophie, who is an old pro, was focused on finding the perfect carving specimen. Michael has just learned to say "punkin", Emily can say it too, but no one says it with the zeal and determination he does. He sure is a one track guy....I thought he might faint when we were standing among the pumpkins and he noticed a truck going by on J.Ferry. His two current favorites all at the same time, does it get any better?? Here are some pics and a video I shot when we got home. Fun afternoon for all.







Oops!

In my previous post of the week's happenings...how could I have left this out?? Ray was in town for a conference, and Mary was able to spend the day with us. She came to Sophie's school to check it out, and spring Sophie out early. She got to read LOTS of books to all three of the kids. Then we took her on a nature walk to see the pond behind our house. That turned into a 2 hour event, as we decided it would be easier to walk back home through the neighborhood rather than retrace our steps to my backyard. Herding cats, that's the only description I can come up with. Trying to get Michael and Emily to walk with any sense of purpose is just not going to happen. And that's ok, it really gave me a chance to see the neighborhood in great detail. We now know where every pumpkin and Halloween decoration resides.

We had a quick visit with Ray when he arrived to pick Mary up that evening. Michael and Emily took to him immediately, and he and Michael bonded over a few books themselves. It was a short visit, but so nice to see them both.

This and That

Just a post about what's been going on this week....... Terry told Sophie he could take her tooth out before she could count to three, and she let him. I was at Target (with just Michael, what a treat!) and they called to tell me the big news. She does have the gap now, and is lisping, which is very cute. Here she is with another letter from the Tooth Fairy.

Michael and Emily seem to be growing and changing every day. We are starting out slowly on potty training, which means we have the potties out, and the seats on the regular toilets. It seems that after nap is their most successful time. Emily has managed to do both kinds of her business then. Michael likes to sit down, then hop right back up saying, "all done". But yesterday he sat for a few minutes, and before bath asked to be put on the big toilet. No success yet, but at least he is getting the message. I cannot tell you how motivated I am to be done with diapers. But I did learn a valuable lesson: Don't leave them bare bottomed and unattended for even 30 seconds while you run the laundry downstairs. You will find presents when you come back up. Michael even managed to walk through his; I threw away the socks he was wearing.

Here they are doing some after-breakfast reading. It was awfully quiet in the family room, and when I peeked in, I saw they had climbed on the table to read. Since they were so engrossed, I didn't have the heart to make them get down.

I had the pleasure of having brunch with some longtime friends one morning this week when everyone was in school. I met up with Kathleen, Carol and Laura at Flavors in Sandy Springs. Awesome food, and Joan, you were right, the egg white omlette was really good. I have been friends with these girls since I came back from college to Atlanta, almost 20 years ago. We have been through singledom, marriage and kids together. And now they are on the cusp of parenting teenagers; it was interesing (and sometimes scary) to hear what I have to look forward to. We don't have the chance to see each other often, but when we do, it is like old times. There is comfort in friends like that.

Tomorrow Aunt Karen and Uncle Jack will take Sophie to The Center for Puppetry Arts. They did this last year, and all three of them enjoyed it. Terry and I have a substantial "to do" list for naptime. I am hoping to make some headway on all the little things that are hard to get done with little ones around.

Ok, enough blogging, better go see why M and Em are still asleep.....

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Happy Birthday Sophie!

Since her party was a week before her birthday, it seems like Sophie's birthday has gone on for quite awhile now. She has received packages and cards in the mail, and that has kept the excitement alive. On Friday, her "real" birthday, we had Grandma and Grandpa Maier over for one final celebration. I made an ice cream sandwich cake, and we sang once again. That day in school was neat for her too. I made cupcakes, and she and Lily helped decorate them. Another new Kingergarten thing I learned...she was allowed to take a cupcake to her "specials" teachers, so she brought one to the nurse, her PE, Music and Computer Lab teachers. And, she got to pick a friend to make the delivery with, I think that is big for this age.



It is amazing to me that she is 6, I know it was yesterday that we arrived home from the hospital, shell shocked. I remember telling Terry when she was about a week old, that we would have to get my mother to come, or hire a baby nurse, what where they thinking letting me take a baby home? Time and Zoloft helped lift that depression! This year has been a challenging one on many levels, and I feel I am again that brand new mother, with no idea what to do, or how to discipline. Sophie is changing in SO many ways, and I think I was unprepared for many of them. I had an epiphany of sorts the other day, when I realized that not only was her going off to school an adjustment for her, but an adjustment for me as well. I know it's not like she went off to war, but having your child "out there" in the big elementary school....for a control freak like me, was a bit scary. I think we have both calmed down. Our mornings getting out of the house are a lot smoother, we hardly ever have tears over clothes or shoes. And our afternoons are better as well. Much of this is due to me learning that it really doesn't matter what she wears (within reason) and that she doesn't want to rehash her day the minute she gets off the bus. When she gets home, all she wants is a snack and to be left alone for 30 minutes to watch a show. So that is what we do, and after that she is much less grumpy. Telling about her day is usually saved for bath or bedtime.

Using an FM system in the classroom has been challenging, and she's really done well speaking up for herself. Each morning, she goes to the nurse's office, where she changes her hearing aids for the county supplied pair. In the classroom her teacher wears a headset, really a loop over her ear connected to a microphone on a very thin wire. This lets her voice go directly to Sophie's hearing aids, and helps reduce the background noise. Her teacher has been wonderful about it, letting me know about any problems or issues. And Sophie is doing well too. When parents come into the classroom to help, she will remind them if they are instructing that they need to wear it. It also goes with her to her specials classes. At the end of the day she goes back to the nurse, and picks up her own hearing aids. The hearing specialist from the county has told me repeatedly how impressed she is with Sophie's self advocacy, and how that will serve her well all her life. We did run into the "I hate my hearing aids, I wish I wasn't different" scenario about a month ago, but she seems to have gotten past it. A big thanks to Aunt Mary, a school nurse herself, who suggested bringing a friend with her each morning and afternoon, that seems to have made all the difference.

Here are some pics from our party at home:



Saturday, October 13, 2007

Soph's Big News

Last week Sophie lost her first tooth. Both of her center bottom ones were loose, but the one she lost was not quite as loose as the other. She happened to hit her chin on the coffee table while dancing, and I saw something fly out of her mouth. She was stunned, and I asked if that was her tooth. She picked it up and realized that it was, and that her mouth was bleeding. Waterworks ensued. I guess I hadn't explained that when you lose a tooth, it bleeds. Oops. Plus, it hurt, as it was literally knocked out. We got a cold wet washcloth, which seemed to help until she pulled it away to look at "all the blood" on it. I distracted her with the tooth pillow that Terry had picked up several months ago, and all was well.



However, now the other tooth is hanging on by a thread, and really, it gives me the willies to look at it. We (me, Terry, Grandma Maier, Mrs. Martin) have all tried to convince her to either let us pull it out, or take it out herself, but no go. I am surprised it has made it this long. I guess when it bothers her enough she will do something about it.

Her favorite part of the tooth fairy's visit was the note she left with her picture. (You can find anything on Clip Art. I wanted to post the note, but I can't figure out how to get a Word document to post to Blogger.) Sophie didn't notice the one dollar coin or the new book, just came running in to tell me that the tooth fairy was ADORABLE. And did I think she used our computer to type that note, or does she have her own. Their belief at this age is just priceless.
Here's a short video of the hanging tooth, and her latest skill, jumping rope.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Birthday Party Bliss

Kathleen and I have decided that by the time Sophie and Noah get married, we will be able to plan the reception with our eyes closed. Yes, we are THAT good! This marks the third year they have had a joint party, and it just keeps getting easier. (Granted, I had the easier tasks, Kathleen did the invitations and the goody bags, whew!) Keeping it small was the best decision we made this time around. The party was at Atlanta Swim Academy, and consisted of an hour in the pool, and an hour in the party room. None of us had to get in the pool with them, as they are all old enough to be on their own, except for Samuel...sorry Jeff! The kids loved the huge floats that they could climb up on and jump off of. Cake and ice cream went well, and when that was over, Paula kept them entertained with a few favorite Mt.Zion songs. A good time was had by all.


Best Buddies


Sophie and Ebi share a float

Samuel tries to join Noah as Josh, Katie, Sophie and Nate chill out


The gang

Elizabeth, Sophie and Noah


Is this not the tackiest cake ever? I think we could have put more stuff on it if we had really tried!! I saw the name candles when I was at Party City, and just couldn't resist.


Entertaining Paula

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Smiles after bath

Mom posted some pictures of us on her blog, and as she noted Michael really does smile. What is it about seeing yourself on film, or in this case, in pixels, that makes you think: Is that what I really look like? I took these last night after bath. Kathleen had given me these pj's for Michael and Emily at my baby shower. I think she chose them well, considering she didn't know their genders at the time. Sophie took the photo of me with Michael, I thought she did a great job. Emily is down to this one last pacifier, it is actually a preemie size from the NICU. She only uses it at nap and bedtime, so hopefully, weaning from it won't be that traumatic.