June 2006 Archives

Josie is inching her way towards being a little girl too. There are moments that I look at her and she seems so old, and then she wakes up from her nap and reaches for me yelling "Mama" and she's my baby again.

Josie's favorite toys now are her rocking horse, the play kitchen, and her babies. Especially her babies. She holds them and rocks them all the time. She takes elaborate care when putting them to bed, covering them with a blanket and telling us to "shhhh". She even has to sleep with one at night. In the morning I'll hear her talking to her baby after she wakes up. She uses her play kitchen to make food for her baby and then they go for a ride on her rocking horse. "Ya ya!" [yee ha!] She must be acting out an old western movie that she's seen.

As for speaking, Josie is trying to say more words. She is still using the basic sounds ba, da, ma, na and pa, but she's mimicing the syllables she hears. Thank you is "na naaa". Diaper is "da pa". Look at me is "neeeeee!" She doesn't talk as much as Maddie did at this point, but Maddie didn't have to compete with anyone else talking all the time either. (The only time Maddie isn't talking now is when she's asleep.)

As I mentioned in Maddie's post, Josie loves to sit on the potty now too. She'll yell "pa eeeeee!" and run to the bathroom. Many times I've gotten there just in time to catch her on the stool trying to climb up on the toilet. She has come very close to falling in. People have told me that the second child is easier to potty train, so maybe we'll have a 2-for-1 deal and get both girls potty trained at the same time.

You should see Josie dance! Her moves blow Maddie's out of the water. She's perfected the "booty shake" and has moved on to some original ones involving one foot stomping, as well as the moonwalk (tell her to moonwalk and she'll walk backwards grinning at you the whole time).

If you're wondering why none of the pictures show Josie in her glasses, well... she broke them again. I finally called the doctor and asked for his advice on how to get her to keep them on. She had done so well at first, and now she won't wear them at all. She takes them off and tries to bend them, thus breaking the latest pair. He suggested we hold off until her next appointment in 2 weeks to see if her eyes have improved any. Then we can consider some other options.

We're slowly learning to handle Josie's allergies. We have seen a dramatic improvement in her skin as we watch her diet carefully. We've been prepared when we go out to make sure she has things to eat. Because of her milk and soy allergies, she's drinking rice milk. We're still looking for options for other dairy foods. She loves cheese but we can't seem to find any that doesn't have dairy or soy. Anyone ever heard of rice cheese? Me neither and I've looked. Anyway, she has been doing well until a few days ago when she drank Maddie's sippy cup full of milk. Days later, we're still dealing with trying to make her rash and itching go away. You'll probably notice in some of the most recent pictures.

No doubt about it, Josie is a Mommy's girl. As with Maddie, that could change but it seems like Bill and I each have our own kid at this point. Josie knows how to cry for dramatic effect (they learn so early, don't they?) and knows she can run to Mommy for a hug. I can tell her not to do something and she'll give me this big, mischevious, silly grin. Let Bill do the same and she breaks out in a frown and gigantic sobs. She slides down to the floor and lies face down not moving. After a while, she'll look up to see if anyone's watching. If not, she'll get up and act like nothing happened. If we are watching, the whole scene takes place again.

Like I mentioned earlier, Josie is becoming more of a little girl. Her hair is getting so long and it's full of little blonde ringlets. She's actually slimming down and losing some of her little belly. She and Maddie still wear the same size (except for length in pants) and she still weighs one pound more than Maddie. It works well for her, though, because she can hold her own in any wrestling match with her big sister.

The best part about both girls getting older is seeing them interact with one another. They love to play together (despite those moments where they're fighting over a toy) and always hold hands when they're walking in public. I'll find them sitting in the playroom, playing with the Dora characters and their house. Each will be making the dolls talk to one another, even Josie. The kid can't speak real words herself yet, but she's already making the dolls talk to Maddie.

Sadly, I do miss Josie's babyhood. I feel like it zoomed by because I was so caught up in taking care of both girls. Many of my friends are having babies now and --now that the girls can play alone without me-- I get to sit and hold the newborn babies and just take it all in. It makes me realize that I do want to do this again, to experience another birth and pregnancy. Definitely in at least a couple of years, perhaps when the girls are in school (knock on wood).
But then, who knows how Bill and I will feel then. I just know that, for the first time in nearly 3 years, I don't have a baby to hold anymore. It's an odd feeling. I actually have time to work on some side projects, but even that feels weird as I'm just beginning to realize what to do with myself. In the meantime I'll enjoy everyone else's babies (hear that, Michael and Kami?)

I realize it's been a while since we actually updated everyone on how the girls are doing. We've been busy with, well, life. Some of you have gotten to see them lately so you understand just how much they've grown. For everyone else, hopefully this will enlighten you.

Our little monster, er, I mean, two-year old is doing great. She recently had a growth spurt (in height, not weight) so she's looking like she actually might be her age. Her pants aren't so long anymore, but she does need a little baby belt to keep them up.

Many of you know about her recent love for bad language. I assure you it is not something we are encouraging, but some of the moments are just too funny. She's always been advanced verbally, and her understanding of how certain phrases are used borders on genius. We are working hard on helping her to use other phrases when she is frustrated, such as "oh, bummer!" or "gosh golly gee". It has been a slow process. Despite the bad language, she definitely keeps us entertained with the different comments that come out of her mouth. It's amazing to see just how much she is beginning to understand and perceive.

Maddie is the only one in her playgroup who won't be attending preschool this fall. It will change the dynamics (and timing) of when she gets together with her friends, but Bill and I both feel this is the right decision for us at this time. We're not worried about her academic progress (she knows the letters of the alphabet, is working on letter sounds, can count and recognize her numbers, and can spell her name and almost write it) but we want to keep her home for at least another year. She's continuing in her ballet class for this season and we're considering soccer in the fall. She'll have enough to keep her busy and meet all of the areas we feel are important (academic, athletic, and social skills). We sound like nerds, but we've given this alot of thought.

She is definitely in the throes of the terrible twos. She loves Bill but has very little interest in me, unless he's not around. It hurts, but I understand that the preferences will change over time. When she was a baby I remember Bill being hurt by the fact that she only wanted me. But because she doesn't like me as much right now, I'm the brunt of all her tantrums and bad behavior. I've read that the preschool years are a direct parallel to the teeange years: struggle with independence and wanting to do things yourself, yet not having all the necessary skills to do so. I try to keep that in mind as I struggle with her one more time to give the toy back to Josie. Yet I have to admit that my patience has been tested quite a bit. She's a good kid, but she is also incredibly stubborn. I have no idea where she gets that. (Mom, no comments please).

Ballet class has been good for her in the fact that parents aren't allowed in the class and she is learning to relate to other kids in more of a class setting. She sees kids at playgroup, but she is just now learning to stand in line, wait her turn, etc. She LOVES the class and especially her teacher, Miss Mary. She and Josie both love to dance and show us their moves at home. Despite Maddie's lack of performance at her recital, she knows all of the ballet positions and is actually trying to teach them to Josie.

We're in the middle of potty-training. Argh. Maddie was really interested in it when she was about 18 months. She was going in the potty all by herself. Then she lost interest. She's now 32 months and finally showing some interest. Everyone (including our pediatrician) keeps saying that she'll do it when she's ready. I'm fine with that. She seems to be ready now: she wants to wear her panties, she runs to sit on the potty. The only problem is that she only lets us know that she needs to go after the fact. Between her and Mallory, who is having bladder difficulties, I just don't think I can take mopping the floor again. Seriously, though, at least she's showing some interest. A few months ago she didn't even like the sight of the potty. Now she goes to it all the time (even as a diversion tactic when it's time for bed). Seeing all the attention Maddie gets, Josie now wants to sit on the potty all the time too. They argue over who gets to sit on it first.

I'm amazed the kid has any energy at all, considering that she never eats. She'll take two bites and then ask to be excused. Or she won't want to eat at all.

It's hard to believe that she'll be 3 years-old soon. Our firstborn is no longer a baby. She's a little girl now. You can see it in her face (whatever happened to those giant chipmunk cheeks?) and in her little body. I'm trying to hold on to each day as much as I can, without losing my wonder at what she'll be like as she gets older.

Maddie: I need chocolate milk!

Bill: No, what are you supposed to say? ["May I please have...]

Maddie: Please I need chocolate milk!

Bill: No, Maddie, we talked about this. Think about it. What do you say if you want something?

Maddie: Please I need chocolate AND milk?

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!!! Mommeeeeeee!"

I had been running the blender. I run from the kitchen to see what's wrong. Was Josie hitting Maddie or stealing her toy? Was Sindri licking her toe? Why was she screaming?

"You need stop it, Mommy." she says very seriously with her index finger pointed at me.

"Barney is on." she nods towards the TV. "You need be quiet!"

We were in Wal-Mart today (I'll spare you the hellish story for another time) when we saw an elderly man in a motorized cart.

Maddie was amazed by him and yelled as we passed, "Hey, nice stroller!"

This past weekend, Alecia's sister Michel married Heath Bryan in New Site, Alabama. Congratulations to the new couple, and here's to many, many years of happiness together.

We've uploaded some pics of the event to Flickr. Since Alecia, Maddie and Josie were in the wedding, and I was taking video, we don't have many pictures of the actual ceremony. Hopefully, we can put more up when we see the pics the photographer took.