Happy 2010!

Happy New Year to everyone in blogland!

I'm hoping to get back to regular blogging. In the past I've used it as a way to remember the cute things Linus said. Lolly has joined the cute sayings now, and remembering for two is twice as hard (duh!), so I've GOT to write it down.
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We had a fantastic Christmas. Linus loved every. single. thing. she got. Lolly still has one unopened present. She only got five things total from Santa and us, so it's not like we went overboard. I simply forgot how long it takes my girls to open presents. They give each gift due time before moving on to another. Lolly thinks her world is complete with a phone, remote, and purse though. :)

Merry Christmas from my two favorite kiddos and me...

Linus, 6 yrs


Lolly, 16 months

Hello Again...Again!

Ok, trying again. Things are really busy here, but I'm petrified that if I don't make the time to blog, I'll forget the things my kids do. So, here's to another go at making an effort to blog and read blogs.
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Just in case you thought life might be easier at my house with Lolly than Linus, I present How to Know You've Lost the Sippy Cup War, Vol 1.

I've tried casually to introduce the sippy cup to Lolly a few times. She's less than thrilled with them. I tried again today. I believe this qualifies as a fail: I handed the sippy to Lolly. She handed it back, shook her head no and said, "bot bot."

More proof:
While Army, Linus, and I sipped on the most delicious milkshake ever (we split it, one sip in and we all knew splitting was a huge mistake!), Lolly was finishing off her lunch. She had a huge lunch--pasta, turkey, carrots, peas, and crackers. The kid can eat! Once she ate her last bite, she looked at a piece of bread and began her efforts to let us know she wanted it. In the meantime, I asked her to point to the light. "No, no, no" she said as she shook her head. I repeated, "Lolly, where's the light? Show me the light." Since "no, no, no" didn't work on me, she tried another approach. She lifted her palms, shrugged her shoulders, and made an "I don't know noise." Army then asked her if she wanted bread. Immediately she shook her head yes. After he gave her a piece, he asked her to point to the light. And she did. Then she laughed. Little stinker! She already knows how to bargain.
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A little Linusism:
Linus asked for cinnamon toast for breakfast. I'll admit I usually cut her sandwich into however many slices she wants (or even shapes when she was younger or on holidays). She asked for it to be cut into quarters. Since I knew that meant more chances for her to spill the cinnamon, I said no. She grinned and said, "Ok, then, how 'bout fourths?" :P

Well Hello Again!

I finally remembered my blog address, so here I am. Just kidding. We've had a LOT going on. In the past few weeks:
*Linus had surgery
*Linus had surgery issues
*Army had a birthday
*I took the girls to my parents to celebrate my dad's birthday
*Linus cut the ever living daylight out of her finger
*Linus had more surgery issues
*Linus started first grade. FIRST GRADE!!!! How'd that happen?
*Linus had a project for school
*My dad spent a week in the hospital in congestive heart failure (he's still there)
*Linus had another project for school (seriously--two in the first three days!!!)
*I've had four meetings
*I've been preparing for Lolly's first birthday, yes it's been a year. She'll be one (sob!)

Sooo, I've been busy. I've checked blogs, but probably only once in the past few weeks. I've got a load of emails to return. I've got more work to do with Linus, and I've got to finalize things for Lolly's birthday. Thankfully we only do family for first birthday parties. I can't imagine planning a huge party right now.

Oh, and did I mention I had house guests for a total of eleven of those days (not eleven days straight though).

I should be around more now though, complete with first day pics, birthday pics, pics of Big L's new haircut, etc. :)

ROARRRRR!

Lolly has a new trick. She imitates everything, and I do mean everything. She's pretty good at it too.

For a while now, she's been making a "roar" noise which she learned by imitating Linus. She just started crawling a few feet, stopping, lifting up to a kneeling position, putting up her "claws" and saying "ROARRRR!" Then she drops back down to all four and crawls some more. It's so cute hearing her sweet little baby voice try to roar with effect. :)

MORE Sweet Lolly!

Linus and I were discussing how much I love her this afternoon. She'd open her arms and say, "This much?" and I'd say, "No, more." After a few rounds of this, Sweet Lolly starts making the /m/ sound and signing "more." She's been able to sign more for a few weeks now, but so far it's only been when she wanted more food. :)

Oh Lolly, My Lolly

My sweet Lolly has really blossomed lately. She continues to be the complete opposite of Linus, but that just makes being their mom even more fun.

A few weeks ago, Lolly learned to say "hi." More accurately, she learned to whisper "hi." Poor baby had been with me on errands most of the day, and she crashed in her carseat on our way home. Since she's rather small for her age (10 months, can you believe it? I can't!), she still fits in the infant carrier. I didn't want to wake her, so I quietly brought her in and put her carrier down right outside the bright lights of the kitchen. I could still easily see her, but the lights wouldn't wake her up. I was surprised when she still hadn't woken up when we finished dinner. I debated waking her so that I could feed her, but I decided to wait until after I finished cleaning the kitchen. As I'm wiping down the table, I thought I heard something. Neither Army nor Linus were near, so I decided I imagined it. A minute later, I heard it again. And again. And again. I looked over at Lolly, and she was grinning ear to ear and whispering, "Hi!" It was so adorable, and it completely melted my heart. I really wish I'd had the video camera nearby.

Sweet Little Lolly

Afternoon carpool at the school Linus attends is run like a well oiled machine. Nine cars load at a time after snaking through the parking lot. The kids are called in stages, so they are (usually) ready by the time you get to the loading area. As we snaked through on Friday, Linus made it to the first holding area more quickly than usual. Lolly looked over (two rows away, and kind of hidden!) and noticed Linus. She immediately got a huge smile and her whole body began bouncing and shaking with happiness. It was finally time to see her Linus. Then we pulled forward to continue moving towards the loading area. Lolly panicked. She began screaming and reaching her arms towards the window in the direction of Linus. And she screamed and cried until we finally got to Linus. By the time Linus got into the car, Lolly had worked herself into a full panic and was doing that cry-breathing when you can barely catch your breath. Linus could not stand to see Lolly so upset. It's so sweet to watch their love bloom and show.


Linus has been in love from the beginning. :)

Extra Love

No Swine Flu here. Just lots of giggles and smiles. My goodness I love this girl!!!

Extra Long Lashes

Have I ever told the story of the lady at the Dollar Tree? We were in there one day, and she commented on the great lashes my girls have. After going on and on about their eyes, she asked me to look up (I was digging for money), and when I did, she laughed and let me know that my girls' beautiful eyes did NOT come from me. Thanks lady!

Is it wrong to be jealous of my girls' eyes?

Linus--you can't see the full effect of her lashes here, but it gives you an idea

Lolly--she was only 6 months old here...imagine in a few years!

An Extra Round of Pics

Be forewarned: I've figured out the issue (looks like my photoshop has seen its last day), so I've got pictures...and more pictures...and more pictures. Daily pics. :)

When Linus was 9 months old, she got a Cheerio stuck on her nose. It upset her at first, but I laughed, and eventually she thought it was funny too. I loved that set of pictures, and I planned to stage some with Lolly. Well, Lolly took care of that on her own for me. Check them out:

Linus


Lolly


Nearly identical expressions:




Lolly isn't really very fond of Cheerios. She'd much rather throw them on the floor. :)

Any idea how to do a video for the technologically challenged? Every single site I've tried to use to upload it says it's too big of a file.

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

Is there anything cuter than a chubby little rubber band fist feeding an adorable lipped baby mouth?



That's a Cheerio on her nose. More to come...

Extra Love

Lolly. My sweet Lolly.

Lolly is seven months old now. How'd that happen so quickly? This is one of my favorite ages. She's a total monkey right now (I don't lift her up, but she won't let go). If she's lying down, she hooks her legs around my arm, her arms around my wrist, and she hangs on. She loves climbing things as much as her little body will allow. She's still an itty bitty thing, but she's getting big chunky thighs. Have I ever mentioned how much I love baby thighs?

I love her toothy grin. She's been working on getting her two bottom teeth. Poor baby, they both broke through on the same day. If you ask her, "Where are your toovies (that's what Linus called teeth when she was a baby)?" she'll open wide, stick her bottom jaw out a bit, and smile a big ole smile. I can't get enough of it. I ask her constantly. :)

I love listening to her babble. There's nothing sweeter than hearing "Mama" even if it doesn't have any significance to her yet. I still love it. I also love listening to her inflection. You can tell her mood by her babble. When she's happy, it's such a sweet babble. If she babbles a bit, but doesn't get the attention she wants, she gets louder and more direct.

She's obsessed with her feet. She holds them constantly, and they often find their way to her mouth. Her feet are finally starting to fill out a tiny bit. They are still really narrow, but we're getting there. Until recently, her feet looked like newborn feet, only a tiny bit longer.

She's far more into the oral stage than Linus ever was. If Lolly can pick it up, it's in her mouth. If she can't pick it up, she leans her head toward it so she can get her mouth on it. She's also much more analytic (can you even say that with a baby this young?) than Linus was. Linus was the most content baby ever. NOTHING bothered that child. Lolly is determined to figure out how things work. She's twist, turn, manipulate, etc objects until she can figure them out. We used a binky clip for about 30 minutes before she figured how to unclip it from her dress. She studied it and studied it until she could get it off.

And best of all, she's a cuddler. She loves to put her head on your shoulder and pat your back. I love it more! She loves to be cradled in your arms. If you lie down with her on your chest, she's transformed instantly into peacefully sleeping baby. It's instantaneous. Of course, that comes with the flip side too--she can't stand for me not to be in sight, and she does not like strangers at all.

Linus is still her favorite person in the world. I hope they are able to share the fantastic friendship that my sister and I have!

I remember wondering the same thing I've heard several friends wonder as the birth of their second child approaches: How on earth can I love this second one as much as I love my first? I remember everyone telling me that it wasn't just possible, it was a given. I secretly thought they were wrong. I simply could not fathom loving another child like I love Linus. I was so wrong. Turns out there was room in my heart to love another child with everything I have.

Picking Up Linus

Every afternoon, I'm treated to the best show. It all starts when I put Lolly in her carseat. The tears begin to fall, but they are immediately replaced with a smile as soon as I utter, "Let's go get Sissy." She babbles on for most of the ride to get Linus. We usually have to wait a few minutes before they dismiss, so Lolly looks at the clouds and carries on one-sided conversations with them. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, she'll even sing to the clouds. After dismissal, but before carpool line begins moving, Lolly will begin to fuss just a bit. It's as though she's saying, "Where's my Linus? Let her out! I'm ready for her." As soon as we begin moving, Lolly begins squealing with delight. As we pull up to the loading area, Lolly becomes quiet. She waits in great anticipation for her sister. The second the car door opens, Lolly's head turns quickly and she gets the biggest smile on her face. As Linus climbs into the car, Lolly's smile grows even more, and she begins kicking her feet. As soon as Linus is buckled in, she turns to Lolly. Day in and day out they have the same conversation:

Linus: Hi there. Did you have a good day?
Lolly: Aaaaaa
Linus: AAAAAA yourself
Lolly: AAAAAAAAA
Linus: AAAAAAACCCCKKKK!
Lolly: AAAAAAA AAAAAAA AAAA AAA

Then Linus begins making silly faces and Lolly giggles. That makes Linus giggle as she continues to make silly faces. Lolly's laughter eventually graduates to a belly laugh. Their eyes never leave each other.

Every single day this exact scene occurs, and every single day it makes me smile. It never gets old. :)

Extra Sweet!

I captured an amazing video of my girls tonight. Lolly began to get fussy as we finished dinner, so Linus entertained her. You can see the adoration Lolly has for Linus in her eyes. The feeling is mutual.

I had my camera in the diaper bag, so I had pulled it out to take a few pics of the two of them. I just happened to flip it to video right when Linus kissed Lolly's feet. Lolly got a huge grin and then made a raspberry. That made Linus laugh. Linus's laugh made Lolly laugh. Lolly's laugh made Linus give a big belly laugh. Lolly took a deep breath in and let out a deep belly laugh too. The two of them were cracking each other up for several minutes, and I captured it all on video.

I'm not sure it gets much sweeter than this! :)

Super Duper Extra Unfair!

Can somebody please explain when things change? Why the double standard?

Lolly is a little bitty thing. She's the extreme opposite of Linus. Lolly is small all around. Linus was huge all around. Despite being small, Lolly does have a little baby fat. Linus had lots of it. :) Linus had no fat compared to the baby down the street who we ever-so-unpolitically-correctly referred to as Sumo. *hanging head in shame* That baby had rolls on her rolls. Linus just had rolls. Anyway, Linus truly was a beautiful baby. Sure, I'm biased, but she really was. I'll have to dig up a picture at some point. People constantly said, "Oh she's so beautiful. And just look at those chubby thighs." Linus also had huge cheeks. We called them pillows because she'd tilt her head just a little to the side and rest her enormous cheeks on her shoulder and fall asleep. People would usually say, "Oh those cheeks! I could just eat them up!" Both comments are commonly said around babies. People just adore babies and all their chubby glory. I do too.

So getting to my very long winded point: why the double standard? Nobody ever looks at my thighs and says, "OMG! I love your chubby thighs!" It's so unfair! :P

Extra Wordy

It's no secret that Linus talks a lot. A whole lot. Recently Army and I have begun to worry just a bit about the future because Lolly babbles a lot. Can you imagine how difficult it will be for either of us to get a word in?

Tonight we were having a quaint little get together for dinner. As we're enjoying our dinner, Linus mentioned death. Army asked her how it made her feel, and she responded with "Well, it makes my smile turn upside down." Army told her that it's perfectly ok to be sad when someone passes away...at which point Lolly let loose with a loud "Oh yeah!" Everyone heard it. Now I'm not foolish enough to believe my two month old is really talking, but boy did it drive home the idea of what talkers we're raising!

An Extra Meaning

Before I tell tonight's Linusism, let me make clear that SHE DOES NOT KNOW THAT DEFINITION OF THE WORD!!!

Poor Linus has and ear infection, and she got a shot today.  Poor Lolly got four shots today.  My kiddos had a rough day.  Because she wasn't feeling well, Linus asked if we could have a picnic for dinner.  We obliged with an indoor picnic.  It lifted her spirits a little, which put smiles on our faces. 

Shortly after dinner, we had Deal or No Deal on.  On tonight's show the ladies came out in short nurse uniforms.  As they are walking out, Linus looked at Army and said, "Hey, I know the name of that movie; it's Lady and the Tramp!"   I'm not sure which one of us laughed more, and poor Linus had no idea what was so funny.

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And speaking of shots...Jeannie and Melissa have these amazing children who did well with their flu shots this year.  I'm inviting them to take Linus with them next year. NEVER AGAIN WILL I TAKE HER!!!  Linus used to be a fabulous shot-taker. This year? Horribly embarrassing.  My sweet child bolted for the door.  I wanted to hide under the exam table.  She screamed and screamed. Then she had the nerve to tell the lady at the front desk that she didn't cry at all (in hopes of getting a sucker).  True, she didn't cry--she S.C.R.E.A.M.E.D.  It was awful!  So Jeannie and Melissa, either you have to tell me how you did it this year (and yes, I bribed!), or you get to take Linus next year.  ;)

 

Boo Hoo!

After a particularly trying day, I was delighted to receive news that Linus was accepted into the school we really wanted her to attend beginning in first grade. Unfortunately, their waiting list is l-o-n-g, and if we declined to enroll for the remainder of the year, her chances of getting in for first grade would pretty much be less than zero. Thankfully, the trying part about today concerned her current school, so moving her to the other school will be easier.

Here's the kicker though--Linus is in a half day program right now. I LOVE having her in a 1/2 day program! I know I need to get over myself, but I'm rather sad that she'll be attending school full days now. On the bright side, we took her to get her uniforms this afternoon. Talk about cute. Oh my goodness, the child OWNS that uniform!

Lolly is doing well. She's growing well and filling out nicely. She adores her sister. And Linus adores her. I'm rather blessed!


Happy October, y'all!

Extra Gross

***Warning: The story below is GROSS!!!***

How do you know your husband deals with gross bodily functions at work all day and has become immune to the vulgarity of them?

When your child has a serious pukefest spewing from the mouth and nose, and your husband cleans her up with his right hand while finishing a sandwich with his left! Ewww!  It was Lolly, so it was just a massive formula puke, but still, he could have done it with Linus too.  EWWW!!!

Another Update

My family has returned to NOLA.  Thankfully most returned to power and homes in good condition.  My sister wasn't so lucky.  She's dealing with the nightmare we all know as insurance.  She has no power, which doesn't sit too well with a pregnant lady with two small children.  She has an amazing attitude though and doesn't complain.  Ever.

At my home, things are settling down.  The differences in my two girls are already apparent.  Linus only cried when she was hungry, and it was just a little snort most of the time.  She didn't hate being held, but she MUCH preferred socializing, which meant she wanted to face out so she could see the action.  Linus was very scheduled from the beginning.  She hated being swaddled---she was all about freedom.  She loved baths and being naked.   Linus never complained about a dirty diaper ever.  NOTHING bothered Linus.

Lolly? Completely opposite in every way.  She's a fussy baby.  She insists on being held constantly.  She snuggles up and buries herself in your neck (which I love!).  She's about as non-scheduled as one can get.  She isn't happy unless she's swaddled, and she loathes baths and being naked.  You know the second her diaper is dirty, and she fusses until the diaper change is completely over.

Speaking of which, she's furious because I put her down, so I've got to run and see if I can make her happy again...