Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers

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Lilypie Fifth Birthday tickers

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Lilypie First Birthday tickers

Monday, March 30, 2009

At Least He's Not Lacking in Confidence

Me: Will, you look so nice! You are stylin'.

Him: No, Mama. I stylin' and profilin'!

(Thanks to Zach for all of the useful phrases and skills he teaches Will.)

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Singing Again

Last August, I posted a video of Will showing off his singing skills. Well, he's improved since then! (And, I can't believe how much he's grown up!) This weekend, Carol brought a little Flip video camera to try out, and Will made the perfect subject. So, if you want to see his new repertoire, more singing can be found here. (Due to my limited technical skills, this is the best I can do to get this on the blog...can't figure out how to embed it. So, you have to really want it and actually click on the link.)

I don't think there's a sweeter sound ANYWHERE than that little voice.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Wonderful Weekend

This past weekend reminded me why I love being a parent, and also, why I love springtime. We had the most beautiful weather all weekend, and it's amazing how much the weather affects all of our moods. Zach's parents were in town for Julia's baptism (more on that in a minute), and with the nice weather, we were outside almost all weekend. It makes such a difference to not be cooped up in our house...especially with two extra people. We played in the back yard, we went to the park (where Will worked on flying the kite he got at Coleman's birthday party), we sat on my parents' patio. In short, we just enjoyed the days and each other. Julia rolled around on a blanket while Will played golf, soccer, and "chase". Unfortunately, he decided that Mama was a better "chaser" than Daddy, which meant a lot more work and exercise for me! Not sure where he got the idea that Mama actually runs ever.

Sunday morning was just as beautiful as the rest of the weekend, and we went to church for Julia's baptism. She was a vision in the same Christening gown that Will wore--one that has been in Zach's family since 1898. And, if I do say so myself, Will was ADORABLE in the outfit I smocked for him and his "fancy" shoes (which is the way he's been referring to his saddle oxfords since we got them). However, the church service fell right near nap and eating time for Julia, so she fussed a little bit during the actual baptism. Another baby was being baptized at the same time, and they kept trading cries...first Julia, then Harrison. It was actually quite amusing. Will was an excellent big brother, and did a great job, with no outbursts or talking (!) during the service. I was very proud of how he behaved and felt very blessed to have two wonderful children. It was a special day that culminated in a lunch with family and friends at my parents' house.


I think it says something about how I feel about the weekend (perfect! just perfect!) when I tell you that during all of this, I had a terrible cough and Zach had a throw-up bug! Everything else was so great that it's easy for me to gloss over those "minor" issues. But, I did feel so bad for Zach...he really felt terrible all day on Sunday and just laid on the couch and didn't even eat lunch. Luckily, he was able to keep the throwing up at bay during church, but I wish he had been able to relax and enjoy himself more. Oh well...I guess it's always something!
Zach and Julia making the same face. Excited!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The Bully

There's a bully in Will's class. Yes, apparently, a three-year-old can be a bully. This child bites, hits, and jumps on the other children at naptime. Just the other day, he deliberately poured milk on two children before 9 AM. A great way to start the day. The teachers are at their wits' end...he doesn't respond to their punishments...nothing seems to work. He has terrorized the class. Almost every day, Will comes home and says, "I don't like Hayden. Hayden is mean. Hayden is mean because he bites and hits." (Not his real name.) Will has even learned to hit back, a fact that I am none-too-pleased about, but at the same time, I don't know a better solution. He tells us, "I hit Hayden back when he hits me first."

However, I've seen this child be sweet. He comes and hugs me almost every morning when I bring Will to school. He really wants other children to like him. I feel for him, and I feel for his mother (she is a single mom; don't know any info about dad). But, I'm more concerned about Will and the other children who are being terrorized by the bully. Zach and I went to talk to the director of the center and voiced our concerns. The meeting was quite unsatisfying, as she mostly gave us rhetoric about "adjusting schedules" to suit everyone better and told us that this type of thing was what you had to deal with in "group care settings." The kicker is that Hayden's grandmother is a teacher at the school. And, I can't help but think that the response would be different if another child, a child whose relative didn't work at the school, were acting the same way. It just doesn't seem fair or right to put the "needs" and behavior of one child above the needs of eleven others. We may have to revisit the issue with the director, but it's frustrating because we really have no recourse. Our only option would be to pull Will out of school, which obviously doesn't make sense, since we would likely encounter some form of this behavior at any school.

I just want to protect Will, though. I want to do what's best for him. I don't want to get the run-around. And, I really don't want to hear, "Mama, I don't want to go to school because Hayden scares me" anymore. It breaks my heart.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Six Months!



Julia turned six months old on Sunday (and yes, I know I'm late on this post, but I'm pretty proud that it's only two days late). One-half of her first year of life is now gone...it has flown by. It seems that the more she develops and the more interactive she becomes, the faster the time goes. Which, I guess makes sense. She is a lot more fun now than she was in the pet rock stage of the first few weeks.

Anyway! Month six was a busy one. It was also the one in which Julia decided that she forgot how to sleep. (Actually, that might have happened in month five, but I'm too sleep-deprived to really keep track of these things.) So, for some reason, she is waking up every night, usually for about an hour an a half, and mostly just to play and interact. She's not typically upset, just AWAKE! I think the real problem is the cough/congestion that she's had for several months (she was diagnosed with bronchiolitis and put on a nebulizer this month, too...the excitement never ends). The cough wakes her up, or vice versa, she wakes up and starts coughing, and then she can't settle down and get herself back to sleep. It also means that we can't really do any sleep training because I don't want to leave her in her room alone while she's hacking up a lung. So, for now...we're just awake. I've tried feeding her, not feeding her, swaddling her, not swaddling her, giving her a toy in her crib, giving her her pacifier, etc. etc. We're going to the doctor on Thursday, so I'll see if he has any suggestions. I sure would like to get this resolved sooner rather than later.

In other news from this month, Julia rolled from her back to her tummy, and although she thinks that is a great skill, she doesn't like her tummy once she gets there. She's also getting much better at sitting up, even improving in the last week. She's started a few baby foods--oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and applesauce so far--and she does reasonably well. She gets pretty distracted while she's eating, so it takes FOREVER to get her to take just a little bit of food. I'm sure she'll get better as we go along. She is also gnawing on everything, including her hands and feet, which I find adorable...maybe a tooth is coming soon (although Will didn't get his first until eight months).

In general, she's a sweet, happy baby, as you can see from the picture. She is learning and growing everyday--I can't wait to see how big she is when we go to the doctor. I just hope we can all start getting some more sleep sometime soon! Hopefully I won't be talking about the same things in month seven.

Monday, March 2, 2009

R.I.P. GoGo

Zach's grandmother, known as GoGo, died last week. Aside from her being old, her death was a bit unexpected, but it was quick...the way she would have wanted it. GoGo was a character. Typical of her generation, her hair was always perfectly coiffed, her make-up was "done", and she was always dressed to the nines, or at least in a nice housecoat if she was at home. GoGo was someone who would tell it like it was. She didn't mince words...you always knew where you stood with GoGo, good or bad. And of course, she always had lots of advice for everyone. But what struck me the most about GoGo was how much she loved her family. She adored her late husband, Jim, which was obvious to everyone, even when she was giving him some good-natured teasing or direction. She had a wonderful relationship with both of her daughters, and she never stopped talking about, or showing off pictures of, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Zach was her favorite grandchild, likely because he lived in the same area as GoGo for much of his life. So, when she died, we took Julia and flew to Virginia Beach to be with Zach's family. All seven of his cousins came, and we loved catching up with them. We saw Zach's aunt and uncle, GoGo's caretakers--some of whom had been with her almost 30 years--and lots of her and Carol's friends. Julia was a bright spot in the midst of sadness over losing GoGo. She was smiling and happy the whole time and slept through the entire Mass, despite having a nasty cold and cough. I regretted that we had not gone sooner, so that GoGo could have met her. That's the thing about funerals--they bring everyone together, but just a little too late. I couldn't help but think how much GoGo would have loved this weekend and would have loved seeing all of her family...there just for her. Instead, we celebrated her and her life well-lived. She will be missed.