...or, How To Create Chaos Using Five Feet of Steel and Plastic
So yeah, a couple weeks ago the girls finally realized that any illusion of imprisonment offered by the cribs was of their own making, and started moving between at their leisure. We have no right to complain or feel sorry for ourselves of course: 2 years and 6 months is well past the expected useful lifespan of a baby crib, but still...These are the times that try parent's souls.
The Disney Princess and Fairy beds have actually been purchased for the better part of a year, hastily acquired after Kayla somehow managed to get out of her crib one night, a skill she promptly forgot about. Even when Musical Cribs started up, we yet hesitated, trying to rely on stern words and/or bribes to delay the inevitable. But eventually you work through the seven stages and arrive at acceptance, and so on a Friday during work (via email), the plans were made.
I set to work as soon as I got the girls home, getting about halfway through one bed when Jenn arrived home to assist. It seems like Bed #1 (a.k.a. Pink Princess) was finished somewhere around 7, when reality began to set in. "Huh", I said to myself, "They're supposed to be in bed within the hour." Wasting no time, I began work on Bed #2 (a.k.a. Purple Fairy), thankful that we had the random flare of wisdom to wait until Friday to attempt this procedure.
The beds were greeted with great enthusiasm by their intended occupants upon first unveiling, and they were happy to sit and watch TV on Pink Princess in the living room as I toiled on the second bed, and Momma "wide-awake-and-trapped-toddler proofed" their bedroom. Eventually Purple Fairy sprang into life as well, and then began Phase 2: Crib Disassembly. This was relatively painless, as the cribs we got come apart rather easily, and I have some experience in the matter, having done so a while back thanks to a recall. Meanwhile, excitement grew in the living room as Little Girls slowly gained the super powers that seem to be granted to tired 2 year olds. My wife and I shared knowing glances in between hauling, storing, and/or securing various items: Trouble is brewing.
Finally all traces of the cribs were removed, Pink Princess and Purple Fairy placed in their respective places of honor, and the requisite pillows, blankets, and assorted stuffed beings collected. Estimated Time of Completion was approximately 10:00. Nature sort of took over for us at that point, and while there was a bit of consternation at the reality of the situation ("I want big bed"), sleep eventually slipped over our charges with only minimal maintenance on our part. We h ad accomplished our goal, and it seemed as if the transition would be relatively smooth.
And then came Saturday.
The girls have an internal clock that is really quite remarkable in accuracy, at least when it comes to waking up in the morning. I myself never last past 7:00am on weekend, usually more like 6, and the girls likewise seem set to 7:30 CST. It's a running joke at this point between myself and Jenn. A late night usually does little to affect this, and sure enough, there they were knocking on their door before the accustomed time, ready to get their day started.
Things were fine, if a bit tense, as Tired Little Girls did have a bit of an attitude. We figured an early afternoon nap would be possible, and tried laying them down in the big girl beds, to much protest. Several minutes later, we tried again. And then again. And yet again. Still the wailing protests continued, interspersed with bouts of either noisy play, knocking at the door, fighting, and singing. Were I a smarter man, I would have recorded the cacophony and had a hit Broadway play on my hands, but oh well, I hear the Tony Awards is all politics anyway.
Naptime jettisoned, we pushed through the afternoon/supper/evening, treading through the field of tripwires and landmines as best we could. Night-Night time produced similar drama, and in the end was only successful thanks to the various limitations of human child biology. You can't imagine the terror Kayla and Megan faced down in this suddenly evil concept called sleep. They needed a special blanket, not that special blanket of course, but the other special one, in the living room, come here Mommy I'll show you. No no no, not that blue one, the one that's red but I'm going to call it blue. But then what about the Special Baby, her pacifier is not on properly. Wait, did you put the pacifier on that baby? WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR, IT CLEARLY SHOULD BE OFF! And really, how can I be expected to go to sleep with all of these blankets in here?
And so it went throughout the weekend. The real kick in the teeth was when we took them to daycare on Monday, warning Miss Kelli about our tribulations, only to later receive the report that they napped for a good two hours and it was no big deal at all. Thanks for that, girls.
Things have evened out though, as they always do. We actually did get a naptime in this past weekend, and Night-Night Time is becoming less drama filled every successive night, as we slowly develop our routine.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Babies' Bedtime
The girls were playing with two of their dolls this evening. At one point I had Megan calling her yellow-haired doll "Baby Susie", and Kayla calling her plastic doll "Baby Mary". Somehow, though, "Baby Mary" became "Baby Susie" as well. I think it was some time after she had her doing somersaults on the floor.
They decided it was time for the doll babies to go to bed, so they trotted off to their room with their blankets and dolls. Kayla tucked "BabyMary Susie" in bed on the floor under one of her blankets. She wanted me to take a picture of her baby.
Kayla got herself ready by putting on her favorite "big tutu" -- inside out. It's a well-loved tutu, with no hem left. In fact, all the trim had to be cut off so she wouldn't trip over it. And she INSISTS it is supposed to be worn with the lining outside, and the tulle ruffles inside. She wears it nearly every night.
And then both girls asked me to take a picture of Loki.
And of course I obliged!
They decided it was time for the doll babies to go to bed, so they trotted off to their room with their blankets and dolls. Kayla tucked "Baby
Meanwhile, Megan wrapped her "Baby Susie" in a blanket, then sat in their rocker. You can see her doll's yellow hair outside the blanket, against Megan's yellow jammie shirt. She rocked back and forth and sang, "Jesus Loves Me" to her doll. I suspect this might be part of Granny's routine for tucking them in bed, but I haven't confirmed that. Too cute not to get a picture!
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Traveling
The past month has been a busy one, punctuated by a couple of trips.
The week of May 15th I was in Atlanta, GA, at a Microsoft conference, which of course meant that Jenn was a single mom for five days. She did great of course, but it's always a little bit draining when you're trying to wrangle both girls for an extended period by yourself. Compounding this was the fact I had to work most of the Saturday after I got back...it was definitely a long week.
The conference was at the Georgia World Congress Center, which is right downtown next to the Olympic Park, Georgia Dome, Phillips Arena (where the Atlanta Hawks play), Coca-Cola World and CNN's headquarters. It's really a pretty nice area; you can take a train right up from the airport, all kinds of hotels and restaurants within walking distance, couple of mall-type places, etc. Anyway, one of the other attractions in the area is an aquarium, and I decided I was going to hit it up at some point for some gifts for the girls.
I walked over the the place around 3 one day, and a couple of very unhelpful women told me there was no one available to take me to the gift shop, the exit to which I could see not 30 feet from where I stood, because "everyone was getting ready to leave for the day". The aquarium closed at 5 of course, I suppose I should have raised a fuss, but figured I had better things to worry about. As it turns out, walking back to the hotel I passed a children's museum, who were more than happy to let me drop into their gift shop and give them ~$50 for 10 minutes of work. I ended up with a stuffed Grover and Cookie Monster, which were well received, and occasionally fought over (mental note: GET IDENTICAL TOYS WHENEVER POSSIBLE!)
Our second trip happened last weekend, as Jenn and I made Memorial Weekend longer, and went up to KC for a couple days while the girls stayed with Granny and Grandpa. They had a wonderful time by all accounts, and in fact getting them out of Granny's house Sunday night was a little traumatic.
In another burst of development, we've seen the girls progress with the concept of talking to someone over the phone/video. While I was in Atlanta, Jenn and I tried to do a video call session between home and the hotel room. We were hampered by the hotels terrible internet being hammered by 500 or so geeks, but it was good enough to get a picture through for a while. Girls have done this with Granny a couple times as well, and usually they express mild interest at best, and are off to do something else quickly. Same for trying to talk to someone over the phone.
Then all of the sudden, we're calling them last Friday night after pulling into KC, and they're responding to questions, telling us about how they played on the swingset, saying bye-bye at the appropriate time, etc. During our KC trip we bought them a couple of toy phones from the Disney store, and yesterday evening I busted them out during a bout of fussiness-fueled desperation, and for several precious minutes they were having quiet conversations with Mommy or Grandma or Whomever, telling them they were fine and how they played at Ms. Kelli's. Just this evening as well, Mom called to tell me about the trouble my uncle Kevin's family is having with flooding up in South Dakota, and the girls conversed with Granny over speaker phone for a bit, like they had been doing it all their lives.
Jenn has commented several times recently as well about how much they seem to be growing up. Indeed, every morning on the drive over to daycare, the conversation becomes a little bit more coherent and relevant. Though, as an aside, a note to Kayla and Megan if and when they read this many years from now: Yes, there are birds, I see them too, you don't necessarily have to point out every one to me.
The week of May 15th I was in Atlanta, GA, at a Microsoft conference, which of course meant that Jenn was a single mom for five days. She did great of course, but it's always a little bit draining when you're trying to wrangle both girls for an extended period by yourself. Compounding this was the fact I had to work most of the Saturday after I got back...it was definitely a long week.
The conference was at the Georgia World Congress Center, which is right downtown next to the Olympic Park, Georgia Dome, Phillips Arena (where the Atlanta Hawks play), Coca-Cola World and CNN's headquarters. It's really a pretty nice area; you can take a train right up from the airport, all kinds of hotels and restaurants within walking distance, couple of mall-type places, etc. Anyway, one of the other attractions in the area is an aquarium, and I decided I was going to hit it up at some point for some gifts for the girls.
I walked over the the place around 3 one day, and a couple of very unhelpful women told me there was no one available to take me to the gift shop, the exit to which I could see not 30 feet from where I stood, because "everyone was getting ready to leave for the day". The aquarium closed at 5 of course, I suppose I should have raised a fuss, but figured I had better things to worry about. As it turns out, walking back to the hotel I passed a children's museum, who were more than happy to let me drop into their gift shop and give them ~$50 for 10 minutes of work. I ended up with a stuffed Grover and Cookie Monster, which were well received, and occasionally fought over (mental note: GET IDENTICAL TOYS WHENEVER POSSIBLE!)
Our second trip happened last weekend, as Jenn and I made Memorial Weekend longer, and went up to KC for a couple days while the girls stayed with Granny and Grandpa. They had a wonderful time by all accounts, and in fact getting them out of Granny's house Sunday night was a little traumatic.
In another burst of development, we've seen the girls progress with the concept of talking to someone over the phone/video. While I was in Atlanta, Jenn and I tried to do a video call session between home and the hotel room. We were hampered by the hotels terrible internet being hammered by 500 or so geeks, but it was good enough to get a picture through for a while. Girls have done this with Granny a couple times as well, and usually they express mild interest at best, and are off to do something else quickly. Same for trying to talk to someone over the phone.
Then all of the sudden, we're calling them last Friday night after pulling into KC, and they're responding to questions, telling us about how they played on the swingset, saying bye-bye at the appropriate time, etc. During our KC trip we bought them a couple of toy phones from the Disney store, and yesterday evening I busted them out during a bout of fussiness-fueled desperation, and for several precious minutes they were having quiet conversations with Mommy or Grandma or Whomever, telling them they were fine and how they played at Ms. Kelli's. Just this evening as well, Mom called to tell me about the trouble my uncle Kevin's family is having with flooding up in South Dakota, and the girls conversed with Granny over speaker phone for a bit, like they had been doing it all their lives.
Jenn has commented several times recently as well about how much they seem to be growing up. Indeed, every morning on the drive over to daycare, the conversation becomes a little bit more coherent and relevant. Though, as an aside, a note to Kayla and Megan if and when they read this many years from now: Yes, there are birds, I see them too, you don't necessarily have to point out every one to me.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Making Muppins
The girls love making muffins. Or as Megan calls it, "making muppins".
They both get on a step stool. Mommy measures, and let's them pour, stir, put out papers and spoon in the batter. They make a mess. Oh, my do they make a mess. But they're learning, having fun, and messes clean up!
So they aren't the prettiest muffins ever -- but give them time. The chefs are only 2 1/2 years old, you know!
They both get on a step stool. Mommy measures, and let's them pour, stir, put out papers and spoon in the batter. They make a mess. Oh, my do they make a mess. But they're learning, having fun, and messes clean up!
Kayla, Megan
Kayla, Megan
Kayla, Megan
Kayla's Pretty Dress
Kayla said, "Take picture of me in my pretty dress".....
..and so I did, while she put on a cheesy grin!
The latest trend is to wear a dress over their clothes. It makes for some interesting outfits around the house, that's for sure! Playing dress-up -- with their own clothes!
Easter Baskets
Wow -- it's been nearly a month since we posted!
And let me tell you, a month is a long time in the growing up of 2 year olds!
So let's revisit Easter.
The baskets! Yes, pink and purple!
These cymbal-playing chickens sit atop a tube of candy. I don't let them have candy often. There were exceptions, but this candy wasn't one of them. In fact, they didn't even know it was candy until their cousin told them what it was inside the handles. Of course, now they just point to it and tell us it's candy -- and continue to play with the chicken on top.
This is what was left of Megan's bunny when she was done. Note that there is a small bite mark on the feet -- that was where she tasted it. She held it for a while, but didn't care about eating it and eventually abandoned it.
This was what was left of Kayla's bunny. Kayla enjoys eating. She abandoned her bunny after eating most of it -- but not all of it.
The girls enjoyed their baskets -- and still talk about hunting easter eggs!
And let me tell you, a month is a long time in the growing up of 2 year olds!
So let's revisit Easter.
The baskets! Yes, pink and purple!
Megan and Kayla
Megan and Kayla, sharing some Gerber Fruit Chews
Megan and Kayla, with Chocolate covered Marshmallow bunnies
Kayla, Megan and Loki
The girls enjoyed their baskets -- and still talk about hunting easter eggs!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Accidents
Last night, I was watching the girls while Jenn went to Target. It was around 7:30 or so, getting close to bedtime, when one of the girls asked for a sippie. Now, I've been in this Daddy game long enough to know a stall tactic when I see one, but at the same time, who am I to deny a thirsty child a drink? So trying to strike a compromise, we went to big girl glasses.
Typically what we'll do is fill a couple of cups with two fingers of water, and break out the towels as they inevitably spill most of it down their shirts. Sure enough, they were a bit wound up, Kayla dribbled, and we put down a towel to clean it up.
It was at this point that Megan decided to just pour her drink on the floor, eliminating the middle man so to speak, and went running for a towel of her own. By now though the floor was quite soaked, and she took a spill, face first, right onto the kitchen floor.
It was traumatic of course, we had a good cry about it, had a bit of a red mark over her right eye, but not too long after she seemed to be doing relatively OK. We sat for a bit and watched some Dora, and after a half hour or so were getting really tired, so off to bed we went.
About an hour later I heard crying from their room, went in and found Megan awake and extremely fussy. We went back to the living room to sit and snuggle some more, and waited for Mommy to get home. Mommy was a little more successful in getting her calmed down, but not completely; still, we chalked it up to being over-tired and tried laying her down again.
Twenty minutes later, we heard an aborted cough, followed by crying, went to check and sure enough, she had thrown up in her crib. We got her cleaned up, called the on-call nurse, who told us that for concussions, their rule of thumb was two bouts of vomiting deserved a doctor visit, but since she was so fussy as well, the nurse would recommend bringing her in. Which became a moot point anyway when Megan threw up all over our bed as we were getting prepared to leave. We called Ruth over to watch Kayla (who had slept through the entire ordeal, including me changing the sheets on Megan's crib), and loaded up for Wesley.
We got there and got all checked in, nurse gave her an initial once-over, and as per usual in a hospital situation, we began The Long Wait. Somewhere north of 12:00 a resident finally showed up, looked Megan over, and gave us a diagnosis of a mild concussion. He told us a few symptoms to watch out for going forward, said that all she really needed was a lot of rest and to take it easy, and after another 45 minutes or so we finally got checked out. I think we ended up getting home around 1:30 or so, and Megan, Mommy, and Daddy all went to sleep without much fussing.
I stayed home with Megan for a nice, relaxing day today. Poor Jenn had to go struggle through a day of work on four hours sleep. Megan slept until 11ish, we made a run to Best Buy, came home, and Megan had another nice 3.5 hour afternoon nap. Definitely wore out more easily than normal today, but otherwise was quite happy and playful, every bit her normal self. We're going to keep her home tomorrow as well with Grandma Ruth, just to avoid a lot of excited play at daycare, and to make sure we don't take another tumble.
Typically what we'll do is fill a couple of cups with two fingers of water, and break out the towels as they inevitably spill most of it down their shirts. Sure enough, they were a bit wound up, Kayla dribbled, and we put down a towel to clean it up.
It was at this point that Megan decided to just pour her drink on the floor, eliminating the middle man so to speak, and went running for a towel of her own. By now though the floor was quite soaked, and she took a spill, face first, right onto the kitchen floor.
It was traumatic of course, we had a good cry about it, had a bit of a red mark over her right eye, but not too long after she seemed to be doing relatively OK. We sat for a bit and watched some Dora, and after a half hour or so were getting really tired, so off to bed we went.
About an hour later I heard crying from their room, went in and found Megan awake and extremely fussy. We went back to the living room to sit and snuggle some more, and waited for Mommy to get home. Mommy was a little more successful in getting her calmed down, but not completely; still, we chalked it up to being over-tired and tried laying her down again.
Twenty minutes later, we heard an aborted cough, followed by crying, went to check and sure enough, she had thrown up in her crib. We got her cleaned up, called the on-call nurse, who told us that for concussions, their rule of thumb was two bouts of vomiting deserved a doctor visit, but since she was so fussy as well, the nurse would recommend bringing her in. Which became a moot point anyway when Megan threw up all over our bed as we were getting prepared to leave. We called Ruth over to watch Kayla (who had slept through the entire ordeal, including me changing the sheets on Megan's crib), and loaded up for Wesley.
We got there and got all checked in, nurse gave her an initial once-over, and as per usual in a hospital situation, we began The Long Wait. Somewhere north of 12:00 a resident finally showed up, looked Megan over, and gave us a diagnosis of a mild concussion. He told us a few symptoms to watch out for going forward, said that all she really needed was a lot of rest and to take it easy, and after another 45 minutes or so we finally got checked out. I think we ended up getting home around 1:30 or so, and Megan, Mommy, and Daddy all went to sleep without much fussing.
I stayed home with Megan for a nice, relaxing day today. Poor Jenn had to go struggle through a day of work on four hours sleep. Megan slept until 11ish, we made a run to Best Buy, came home, and Megan had another nice 3.5 hour afternoon nap. Definitely wore out more easily than normal today, but otherwise was quite happy and playful, every bit her normal self. We're going to keep her home tomorrow as well with Grandma Ruth, just to avoid a lot of excited play at daycare, and to make sure we don't take another tumble.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Just a quick note
I finally got around to uploading some new videos up at the YouTube site, including the famous "Happy Birthday Baby Emma" one.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Valentine's Day Cookies
Back in February, Granny made Valentine's Day cookies for the girls. Cookies are a real treat, and the girls really enjoyed them!
I wish I had a picture of the cookies, as they were all decorated.
There was a large heart with Megan's name, and a large heart with Kayla's name.
Megan woke up from her nap before Kayla, so we had a little bit of time to ourselves.
She remembered the cookies, and while still waking up, munched on her personalized cookie.
These pictures emphasize her need of a haircut at the time...but it's okay, she's had one since these were taken.
Sometimes, she ate it right off the table.
A little drink, after nibbling all the way around the cookie.
Oh wait, this is My Little Pony here I found on the table.
Oh, Hi, Mommy -- I'm waking up! and you've got the camera! I'll smile now.
And I have My Little Pony AND a cookie!
Gallop, Gallop, Gallop
Can My little Pony share my cookie?
Well, maybe I'll eat it myself -- since it has my name on it. Yummy!!
And if Kayla doesn't wake up soon -- I might have to eat hers, too!
And if Kayla doesn't wake up soon -- I might have to eat hers, too!
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