Quick update - Abby had her 2 month check today. She weighed in at 11 pounds 10 ounces, is 22 1/2 inches long and her head is 15 inches around. She had 3 shots, which she did NOT like, but she also charmed the Doc with her cooing and impressive weight gain. She'll spend the rest of the day resting with her sisters and her Daddy in the air conditioning. I'm off to my first shift back at work.

A quick post to mark Abby turning 2 months old! Wow how did that happen already? She is so fun. She smiles and coos a little when you talk to her, especially if she is just fed, or just waking up. (Don't mess with her if she's hungry or tired.) She is still very easy going and generally goes along with whatever we're doing without much complaining! She's sleeping almost 6 hours most nights which is fabulous! I'm looking forward to Tuesday to see how big she is at her 2 month check-up.

Tuesday is also my first shift back at work. I think we're all ready for that. I'll miss my girls but it will feel good to be back at work. And it's only one shift - and then I'm off until next Tuesday!

Father's day was great today. The girls woke before Chris, so we had his gifts waiting when he came downstairs. Maggie and Katherine LOVE to shout SURPRISE at any opportunity. He acted very surprised that we had chosen the right 12 gallon shop vac for him. Even playing along pretending he didn't know we had purchased it during a trip to Lowe's when he was there! I took the big girls in one cart and he had Abby in the other. I told the girls we had to be very sneaky and they believed him that he had no idea what was going on. Gullible Children - I love it! He also got a photo album filled with pictures of his girls, and a cookbook he requested (which will arrive in a week or 2 - he didn't tell me soon enough!) We spent the day going to church and then up to West Bend to see Chris' Mom and Grandparents.

Plenty more to chat about - but I'm tired and Abby's hungry! I'll get back here eventually!

I’ll call this “Early Morning Blog.” It’s 545am, everything is quiet. This is the third time in the last 2 weeks that Abby has slept from 11p-515a. As I told Chris, the difference from the first child to the third is that with Maggie, I might have been up a few times in the night, worried that she was sleeping so long. With Abby, my head hits the pillow and I’m out until she is fully awake and screaming for food. With Maggie, I would have fed her and then gone back to bed, excited that she slept so long,but greedy enough to still want more. With Abby, it’s 545 and I’m excited to be up with no one to bother me while I type a blog entry. Why bother going back to bed if you know you’ll be up in less than an hour anyway?

Besides, this is summer vacation and we’re busier than during the school year – there’s a lot to be done today!I actually remarked to Chris the other day that I couldn’t believe that the summer could be somuch busier than the school year. And his response won’t surprise you – “I know, Isn’t it great? Look at everything we’re getting done!”

One reason this week is busy is that Maggie is in “Vacation Bible School” this week, every day from 9-12. She was thrilled to see that her teacher for the week would be her preschool teacher from last year, Mrs Borland. The theme is SAINTS. So far I’ve been told that a Saint is a Hero, and that if you do good deeds, you, too, can be a Saint. One of the songs she’s been singing is to the tune of “B-I-N-G-O” but of course, it’s “S-A-I-N-T, a Saint is a true HERO!”

While Maggie has loved every minute of Bible School, Katherine wasn’t so sure the first day - she missed Maggie too much. I took her to the library for Storytime to distract her, but she still asked about 4 times in 3 hours when Maggie would come home. And when the car pulled into the driveway, a casual observer might have thought they been separated for a month, instead of just a morning. Maggie jumped from the car shouting “Katherine, I missed you!” And Katherine ran to her shrieking in excitement. However, by Wednesday, Katherine figured out that no Maggie meant no sharing. And she did not want Maggie to come home! She even set up a tea party for “Mommy, Daddy, and Katherine, not Maggie” Poor middle child, she is just enjoying the attention. I think she’ll love it when Maggie goes to school all day in fall.

(funny sidenote, when Chris and I sat for the tea party, I asked what kind of tea we were having. She told us that Mommy had Lemonade and Daddy had Wine. This is a girl who pays attention and knows what her parents like!)

Katherine is full of funny things to say. Driving past Kopp’s last week, Maggie read the sign that the flavor of the day was “Cookies-n-cream” Maggie asked if we could stop because “I LOOOOOOVE Cookies-n-cream” Katherine piped up “I just want the cookies, I don’t like the cream!”

Actually, Maggie might be eating more than the usual amount of Ice Cream for the next few days as she is on a “soft foods diet.” She lost her first tooth yesterday. And by lost, I really mean – had it pulled by the dentist. We’ve been watching her front upper tooth for some time – as she has klutz genes from both sides of the family and has fallen on her front teeth more times than I can count. After a tooth injury in November, this particular tooth was quite loose and the dentist basically said it was dead and would fall out easily as the permanent tooth

moved into position and started pushing on this baby tooth. Maggie’s been quite proud of her loose tooth, and many days would tell us it felt even looser than the day before. But it was nowhere near falling out.

About 3 weeks ago, we noticed a growth of tissue on her gumline near this tooth. I happened to be at the Doctor for Abby and asked him what he thought of it and he referred us to an ENT. Chris and I had been planning to call the dentist, but we followed the advice and she saw the ENT. After 2 visits with no real change, the ENT sent us to the dentist. Chris took her yesterday and Dr Fred took an x-ray and poked a bit and declared it an abscess. If there had been any root to work with he might have done a root canal, but since the tooth had been injured so many times and the root was all but gone, he decided it would be best to just pull it out.

Now, honestly, I’m glad I was home waiting for the new stove to be delivered, as I’m not sure I would have handled this very well. But there is a small part of me that wishes I had been there. Apparently they gave her some nitrous oxide to inhale before numbing her mouth with Novacaine. (I had no idea anyone used this – especially on children, but Chris was not surprised as he used to have it at his dentist as a child.) The gas had the desired effect of relaxation, but also turned her into a chatterbox. Chris said she would NOT stop talking. Even though they gave her a large wad of gauze to bite on (to prevent biting herself) she still continued to talk non-stop even through the guaze. Dr Fred even said to Chris, “They usually can’t talk with guaze in their mouths, that’s why we give it to them” Nope, not MY daughter – she was loopy, giggly, and overly talkative. I can’t IMAGINE where she got THAT trait! I think I would have enjoyed seeing her all goofy!

So anyway – the tooth was pulled and she was very brave – focused on the Tooth Fairy coming and not the idea that her tooth was being pulled. She chose a book about the Tooth Fairy at the library last week, so it’s been a topic of discussion anyway. And now she has a hole in her smile. She told me as she gazed in the mirror last night, “Mommy, now I look like a Grown-Up Kid!” The tooth Fairy left a dollar under her pillow last night, so I’m waiting to see her reaction to that!

So, we’re leaning about Saints, having tea parties, losing teeth, buying/installing a new stove and Oh yeah, Chris also painted the garage this week - No, not the OUTSIDE, the inside. He patched cracks/nail holes in the drywall, and painted all the walls of the garage. We wouldn’t want to waste any time or just sit and relax!

Abby’s still here too. She’s 8 weeks and perfect! She is starting to outgrow her 0-3 month clothes so I'm anxious to learn at her check up next week, just how big is she? She is smiling a lot now – which is fun for me, but more so fun for Maggie and Katherine – they LOVE to make her smile. She is making some noises too – which the girls enjoy interpreting “Mommy, I think Abby is saying………she loves her big sister” (Katherine) or “………She wants to go in her swing!” (Maggie)

Never a dull moment in this family, and really, I wouldn’t have it any other way!

(note, it is 905, who knew it could take more than 3 hours for one blog post?)

Here's a new trick - let's see if I can make a video work on this blog.

Hope that works!

(Thanks to PJ for the technical assistance)

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”

 

I’m not sure who said it first, just that Mom and Dad used to say it to us when we complained that a sibling was bothering us by copying, or echoing, or doing whatever siblings do.

 

I’ve been thinking about that quote quite a bit lately.  Both Maggie and Katherine have been following me around with their baby dolls, doing whatever I happen to be doing with Abby. Sometimes it is a simple feeding, or diaper change. Other times it has been a running commentary – everything I say to Abby is repeated to the “baby of the day.”   Honestly there are times I feel myself getting frustrated – much as I did years ago.  But when I step back and take a deep breath, I see that they are learning what it means to be a mommy, and practicing, and loving every minute.

 

This picture tells quite a story. Notice that I’m dressed for winter – despite the calendar saying JUNE! Note that Katherine doesn’t mind the temperature – she still rejects pants as often as I let her. And note that while she is copying the idea of feeding – she is not focusing too much on the actual technique. I’m pretty sure she’s never seen me holding Abby by the head to feed her! 

Kids are too funny. Really, what did I laugh about before I had kids? Nothing could be as funny as the things that they say!

 

This morning we were getting ready to go out – nothing fancy, just a trip to the Oil Change Store. But Abby needed a dry diaper before we could go. In the process of changing her diaper, she need 2 new outfits after spitting up twice.  Asked Maggie to run upstairs to get the new things – but of course,  I wasn’t expecting to need TWO new tings – so she had to make the trip twice. After finishing her second trip, she sighed loudly (dramatically) and said "This is a hard life!”  When I asked for clarification, she continued “All this running up and down the stairs, it makes my life a hard life!”  Of course I flashed back to singing “It’s a Hard Knock Life” while dusting the Convent during sleep-overs with Aunt Peggy. Hmmm, Apple and tree perhaps?

 

The trip to get the oil changed also led to a deep philosophical discussion in the back seat.  The girls were rewarded with suckers from our friendly station attendant.  In a weak moment, I allowed them to enjoy the suckers on the way home.  Needing SOMETHING to argue about, Maggie provoked Katherine telling her that they are called “SUCKERS” not “LOLLIPOPS” as Katherine prefers.  Of course, hearing Katherine say “Wow-wee-pops” and “Suckaws” over and over was enough to make me giggle (and I’m allowed to laugh at her speech difficulties because I had the same ones when I was her age!) But it was the logic of the argument that cracked me up the most!

Maggie: They are Suckers because you SUCK on them.

Katherine: They are Lollipops because (pause) they are Loillipops!

 

And, to prove that the torment of sisters goes both ways, let me tell you about Saturday.  Chris and I spent the morning in  the basement, cleaning, organizing, moving things around and eventually attacked the playroom – doing a major PURGE. Chris had the label maker home from Church, and we used it until it ran out of tape – labeling boxes, bins and tubs in the playroom – in a desperate attempt to make it easier to clean up after the girls have taken EVERY toy out at one time.  Maggie was impressed with how clean everything was. And since she has her fathers need for perfection, she LOVED that everything had a place.  Later in the afternoon, Katherine took out too many toys at once and Maggie shouted at her “Katherine, we can only take out one thing at a time, it has to be neat and clean, I don’t like MESS”  Katherine grinned and evil grin and shouted “I LOVE MESS” while dumping a box of puzzle pieces. Maggie shrieked in horror and Katherine just laughed and danced around the room singing “I love mess” just to antagonize Maggie.  One more parenting moment where I just wanted to laugh.

 

Saturday afternoon was spent finishing the outdoor planting and gardening work.  Chris is attempting to grow tomatoes and peppers this year. Given that our yard is about 90% shade, I’m interested to see how it works. Sunday we went to Chicago for a birthday party at Gymboree for the daughter of my high school friend Eydie. Ava was born  the same week as Katherine, but they’ve been in Portland for 2 years – so it had been too long since we’d all been together. The kids had a blast – but it was really the adults who appreciated the time to catch up! We stopped at Gram’s for dinner and she enjoyed some “solo” Gram time – PopPop was on the radio which meant that Gram didn’t have to share!

 

In Abby news, she is now 6 weeks and doing well. She is eating more every day. I haven’t had a weight check – but I can FEEL that she is getting larger.  I’ve even noticed that some of her footed outfits are getting tight in the toes!  She definitely has more awake/alert time now – with her huge eyes taking everything in. She’ll follow you if you move across her field of vision and I just wonder what she thinks of this crazy house. She still goes with our flow pretty well – enjoying  playdates, time outside, and even our road trip to Chicago this weekend.

 

Next week Chris will be done with school, and then we’ll be having even more fun. We all know that Daddy doesn’t like to sit still for too long – so I’d imagine we’ll be go, go, going all summer long.  He already has a list of “projects” that he hopes to accomplish.  I think I’ll be grateful that I’m back at work – even if only a couple days each week!