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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Wednesday Will-isms

Zach just got a new (expensive) TV remote, and he has apparently done a good job of impressing upon Will that it is not something he should play with. The other morning when I picked up the remote, Will quickly admonished me: "Don't touch that, Mama! It's super dangerous!"

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Will has been wanting to have a sucker each morning when he wakes up, as a treat for sleeping through the night. (Note that he wants the sucker regardless of whether he sleeps through the night. Shocker!) So, the other morning I told him that we weren't going to have suckers in the morning anymore, but that he could have a sticker. He thinks about this for a minute, and then very deliberately says to me (as if he's explaining it to someone who might have a hard time understanding this concept), "But Mama, a sticker is not something that you eat."

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The other day Will was having a very hard time and generally being a pill. So, Zach put him in his crib to calm down for a minute. Shortly, we heard Will screaming, quite indignant: "Somebody come in here! I can't get out of this crib!!"
Well yes, Will. That's the point.

That Sounds About Right

I went to the grocery store at 8:00 this morning and bought milk, baby food, and wine. I think this pretty much sums up my life: milk for Will, food for the baby, and wine for Mama. Lots and lots of wine.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

File Under: The Things You Do For Your Kids

A few weeks ago we took Will to the Thomas the Train Outing at a local railroad museum. And, you may be thinking, "Well, that doesn't sound so bad!" And, it wasn't so bad, except for the torrential downpour. The rain was incredible. We bought tickets prior to the event, and it occurred rain or shine, so we went. Since we had been building it up for Will, we couldn't really NOT go, despite the weather. We met the Petreys at the event, and actually had a good time, even though we were all soaked head to toe. There were several activities to do, including getting Thomas the Train fake tattoos (Will's lasted for a week and he loved it) and balloon animals. The dads loved the balloon animals that their sons requested: Coleman wanted a pink dog and Will wanted a purple sword (Banks' comment: "At least your son got a SWORD.") Some of the activities, like putt-putt and the moon bounces, weren't available due to the rain, but the main event was a ride on an actual train! I think the train ride was a little underwhelming, probably because Will was anticipating an open-air train, like at the zoo (but, we were thankful we hadn't chosen the open air option!). What makes me laugh is that the boys didn't care ONE BIT that they were soaking wet the whole day; in fact, it probably added to their enjoyment.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Wednesday Will-isms

Me: But, first we have to go to the store...
Will (interrupting): Mommy, we don't say butt!
Me: Oh, this is different, Will. This isn't "butt" like "bottom", it's "but" like...
Will (interrupting again): We don't say BUTT!
Me (I can't give it up): No, Will. "But" means...
Will: WE DON'T SAY BUTT, MOMMY!
Me: OK, fine. However, first we have to go to the store...

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

The Gift of Reading

Reading to Will has become somewhat of a challenge, not because he can't sit still or doesn't have the attention span for the books, but because of all of the questions! I can't read one sentence without three questions popping out of his mouth. I try to encourage him to just LISTEN to the story, but to no avail...he's too curious about everything else that's going on. Here's how our reading session went last night. Bonus points to anyone who can identify the book* just from the questions Will was asking:

What's that, Mama? Is that a skateboard? Is that part really a skateboard? And, what's that part of the choo-choo called? No, THAT part, Mama. Who is Anthony? Who is Nick? No, that's Anthony and that's Nick. Where's the breakfast cereal? Which one is Audrey? Is that Elliott? What's her doing? She driving the car? Why she driving the car? Are the windows open? They ALL going to school? Why they all going to school? Why the car look like that? Him going to frow up? What they doing at school? They coloring? Why they coloring? What's a jelly roll? Where are the sprinkles? Why him eating that? Why he not eating it RIGHT NOW? Is he hitting him? Is he pinching him? He's pinching like this. Him not supposed to hit and pinch. He going to get in trouble. Is he in trouble now, Mama? They at the shoe store? They going to get fancy shoes like me? I go to the store and get some fancy shoes. Remember that, Mama? Where his shoes? They at his daddy's office now? Where his daddy work? What they doing? What he eating? Is that ice cream? Why he hate lima beans? I like lima beans. What are lima beans? He in the bathtub? Is that Anthony and that Nick? Where they sleeping? What kind of bed is that? What are bunk beds, Mama? What is that Mickey light? What is that part of the choo-choo called? Him going to sleep now?

YES HE IS AND SO ARE YOU!

*Book was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Anyone get it?

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Wednesday Will-isms

I am starting a new feature on the blog! Each Wednesday, I will post some of the funny or bizarre things that Will has come up with that week. Here are today's:

On being sick:
"Mommy, my stomach made a mistake and frew up."

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When Will is in bed, he often wants us to pull his PJ pants down over his legs because they get bunched up (it's one of the many excuses he has for waking up in the night). Luckily, he asks in such a cute way: "Mommy, pull my leg sleeps down."

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Will's two-year-old class is going to participate in the school's Spring Program soon. I was telling Will about this and explaining how he would stand on a stage and sing with his class. His first question: "Will I be wearing my socks?"
Well, of course that's what you ask when told you're going to be in a performance! Gotta get your priorities straight.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Seven Months!

Note the PJs...we almost missed our monthly picture-taking!

So, Julia turned seven months old last week, but due to the plague that infected our house (see previous post), I didn't have a chance to post about it. Let's get the obvious out of the way first: she's still not sleeping through the night. However, we have made progress in this arena in that she now knows how to get herself to sleep on her own. So, at bedtime, naptime, or in the middle of the night, we can rock her for a few minutes, put her down in her crib, and she's usually asleep within a few minutes (sometimes there is a bit of crying or talking). So, this is an improvement! Now, at least if we're up in the middle of the night, it's just for a few minutes instead of two hours. But still, we've got to do something to get her to sleep through, and I'm afraid that's going to involve ignoring her. I just wish I knew if she is truly hungry when she wakes up...she always chugs her bottle, but who knows if that's just because it's there. I don't want to deny her food if she needs it (my pediatrician claims she doesn't at this age), but I also want to stop this 3AM wake up! So, we'll see how it plays out.

On a non-sleep note, seven months is so much fun! Julia is the happiest baby I've ever met, always smiling, giggling, cooing, and talking. Apparently I am hilarious, because every time she looks at me she starts giggling and patting my face. But, Will is by far the funniest person on the planet, according to her. She just cackles at him! She's really started babbling a lot in the past month, too, with her favorite word being "ah-da". She's sitting up well now, and also likes laying on her back and kicking her legs and waving her arms. She seems to even enjoy tummy time more, and we found her asleep on her belly during naptime the other day! She loves her exersaucer, but is quickly outgrowing her swing and bouncy seat because she tries to kick or sit up every time she's in them.

On the eating front, she's still nursing, but I will likely give that up soon, although I'm very conflicted about it. She's also gotten better at eating her baby food and seems to like more and more types of food each week (and wants more and more quantity!). Overall, she's just a wonderful, happy, snuggly baby. We love each minute with her!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Rough Week or Two

It's been a rough few weeks here at the Mather household, particularly for the kids. Last Monday (March 30th), Julia had her first stomach bug, complete with throwing up all over me (unfortunately, they don't have a page for "baby's first throw up" in the baby book). I guess it's another "you know you're a Mom when..." moment, similar to when Will threw up all over my car last summer (more on that in a minute). So, she was out of school on Tuesday. Then, on Thursday, I took her to the doctor and discovered that she had a double ear infection. It was hard to tell, though, because she was still so sweet and hadn't been running a fever. So, she got on antibiotics, and we thought all was well.

But no, the fun began in earnest this past Sunday, when we discovered that Julia had a 101 fever despite being on antibiotics. The fever was likely caused by the horrible cold/cough that she and I both came down with, and thus, she was out of school on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Well, I guess Will was feeling left out because on Tuesday morning, he woke up at 5:30 and started throwing up. And throwing up. And then having horrible diarrhea. I thought it would be a 24-hour bug and he'd be back at school by Thursday at the latest, but it has lingered on and on! He was out of school Tuesday through Thursday, and then both kids were home again on Friday because school was closed for Good Friday! As for the reference to the throw-up in the car, he did it again Wednesday morning as we were dropping Julia off at school. Maybe it is something about the school parking lot that makes him sick...

Anyway, it's been terrible around here. I've felt awful, and both Zach and I have been very busy at work. We spent all week trying to piece together child care so that we could do what we needed to do work-wise...we are very lucky that we both have flexible jobs. And we are very thankful to Mom and Melanie who both helped out a lot.

But now, it's the weekend. Julia is better. I'm feeling a bit better. And, we are now at approximately 16 hours symptom-free for Will, so I am cautiously optimistic that he is on the mend. Hopefully we will celebrate Easter with a true "re-birth" and next week will be MUCH better. If it's worse, I may run away.