This week Lily has taken huge strides in her journey to become a walker and it is so much fun! First of all, when we used to set her down on the floor she would always buckle her legs and want to sit. This week she's decided she wants to stand and she will, steadily, for a few minutes. She's also started to get to standing by herself (without using any assistance to get up!) and a few days ago I tricked her into taking her first step and she did it without falling! This little girl will catch up to Juliette in no time!
Yesterday I took the girls to Grandma and Grandpa's house to visit for a little while. They are having a garage sale this weekend so they were enjoying hanging out outside and playing with all the "stuff". We went home with a guitar and a small trampoline so they've been having fun with those. Now if I can learn to play we'd be all set for singing their favorite songs!
Speaking of songs, there was an anonymous request in the comments (most likely from Grandma Laurine) to mention how much the girls love singing. They LOVE it. Their favorite song is "Wheels on the Bus" and they love to do all the movements and clap their hands. They get so happy whenever we sing. Unfortunately, half the time Maia tells me to stop singing because it makes her sad, but we have fun the other half.
Couch to 5k update. Somehow they think it'd be a good idea for me to run 20 minutes straight tonight with no walking. Say what!? We'll see how that goes - I sure wish it wasn't muggy.
I decided to take the girls out for lunch today and we ended up at the healthiest food establishment I can think of: McDonalds! Now, I really meant to take them to Rosedale mall to get to Stride Rite to get Juliette some new walking shoes but by the time I got everybody out of the door it was already 11:15. The girls can't eat much later than 11:30 before they start melting down. I decided to forego the shoes for now and we ended up a few blocks away at Mickey D's. Never again!
So you have to understand that the only way to get three little girls under the age of 3 into a restaurant is to use a stroller (Ben and I finally purchased a lightweight double a couple of months ago). We got out of the car and I packed the girls in the stroller and their milks in my purse and held Maia's hand and we crossed the parking lot to the door. Our double stroller can fit into a standard size doorway without any trouble but McDonald's decided that it would be a brilliant idea to brick out a planter right before the door (against the building) with a railing on the other side of the door. So now there is about a 2 ft walkway to get into a 3 ft door. What am I supposed to do? How do wheelchairs get inside this place? I ended up turning the stroller horizontal and shimmying it into the space while trying to hold the door open for myself and Maia and trying not to smash the girls' hands.
We finally got in. Thanks everyone who didn't help us who was just standing there - that was really nice. I ordered and it took about 10 minutes because the guy behind the counter had no idea what he was doing. While the food was being prepared, I got the girls situated. This McDonald's thinks it's a great idea to bolt their seats to the floor so Maia couldn't comfortably reach the table and I couldn't move chairs out of the way for two high chairs. I finally got our food, got seated and realized that the guy forgot something in our order so I had to run up there (without the kids) and get it. I hate to do that because you never know what'll happen! We ate our lunch then Maia "accidentally" spilled her chocolate milk all over herself and the floor. We finally got cleaned up and shimmied our way out only to realize we forgot the Happy meal toy. Too bad
I'm kicking myself for not updating more often. I know I'll look back on these days and wish I had. My goal is to update today and tomorrow and we'll go from there.
Things are good! Ben's 30th birthday was last Thursday and we celebrated with friends on Saturday. It was really great to see everyone and we enjoyed Famous Dave's and Dairy Queen ice cream cake (decorated with baby Mickey Mouse --what can I say, their selection was limited). Can't go wrong.
Lily and Juliette are doing great. Juliette is so opinionated. She lately enjoys pointing at things she wants to play with or look at and saying "uh." If she doesn't get her way, watch out! She's working on more teeth and her sleeping is spotty but the good news is that she has been able to put herself to sleep at night and at nap more often now! I always nurse her before she goes down but occasionally when she is riled up she doesn't fall asleep so I put her in her crib and 50% of the time she just plays until she does. I consider this progress! Lily is our perfect napper. She's still taking 2 naps/day but I can just lay her down with her lovey and she'll fall right asleep. She's my nap angel! Lily has been so smiley lately and she just loves to sit on people's laps. Both girls are getting more into books so it's nice to be able to read them stories without them trying to eat each book!
Maia is doing well. She's learning so much every day and she really thrives on routines. If we don't do something just as we usually do or just as she likes it she melts down. She is daytime potty trained now (except bed and naps) so that is such a blessing to have taken care of. She loves her underwear. She won't go #2 in the potty ever (she waits til morning and naps) but I'm confident we'll get there. We think she has a bladder or yeast infection right now so I'll take her to the doctor tomorrow and see what they say. Hopefully it's easily treatable! We have had friends over often lately and Maia loves to play with other kids.
I'm still doing my running program. It's so nice to get out of the house by myself and just go. I always feel so good afterward! I have been doing it for almost 5 weeks now and I haven't had to skip or repeat a day. I did go to an orthopedic doctor since my knees were bothering me but right after I went it stopped so hopefully I'm good to go now. Today I ran 15 minutes (3 sets of 5 minutes each with a little walking in between) and I was able to finish. It helps that the weather is cooperating!
Ben's mom is here visiting right now and the kids are sure enjoying playing with their grandma. She leaves on Tuesday but she's coming back for Maia's birthday.
Things are good here. I think I mentioned that Juliette is down to one nap. Lily is still doing two so I'm looking forward to when she's at one as well so that they can all sleep at the same time and I can get some consistent downtime during the day! Plus then I'll feel better about taking the kids out in the morning without worrying about them getting enough sleep.
Both girls are still teething. Lily has all of her teeth except her canines and 2 year molars and Juliette is missing a molar and an incisor (but is working on two others). Teething is not my favorite part of babyhood that's for sure! Speaking of teeth, Lily has started biting and hitting and Juliette pinches. I'm trying to figure out how to discourage the biting since I don't often see it but I know it's happening because Juliette had a few teeth marks on her leg and back the other day. When J pinches or Lily hits I try to put them down and ignore them for a bit but so far it hasn't really been working well. I'll keep trying.
Developmentally the girls are doing well. Lily still isn't walking but she's able to stand alone for longer periods of time. I'm still not worried since I know she's strong and is progressing. They're both doing well with receptive communication. They can tell me where their belly, arm, feet and hair are and sort of know others. They know quite a few words and can usually follow simple commands. Lily isn't quite as vocal as Juliette who can sort of say several words now but it'll come.
I need to make an appointment for the girls to see a pediatric eye doctor because they both appear to have the same problem Maia did with a blocked tear duct. I know after they turn a year it's less likely to go away on it's own but it seemed to for Maia thankfully (we had her surgery scheduled and everything but then I went on bedrest and things got crazy). It's supposed to be a quick thing so we'll see what the doctor says.
The end of July is a big ol family birthday time for us. Ben's mom's
birthday is July 26th, my dad's birthday is July 30, my mom's birthday
is August 2 and Ben turns 30 on August 12. We took my parents out to
dinner on Saturday to celebrate and Ben's mom is coming to visit over
Ben's birthday so we'll celebrate theirs then. Maia sings "Happy
Birthday" all the time now - she can't wait for people to have
birthdays (especially HER birthday!) and she's constantly telling me
happy birthday just so she has an excuse to "make me a birthday" (cake)
and sing me a song. It's pretty cute.
Couch to 5k update: I'm still doing it. I'm now in week three so I'm running 90 seconds, walking 90 seconds, running 3 minutes (killer), walking 3 minutes. Repeat for 20 minutes with a 5 min warmup and 5 min cooldown. I always feel great after it's over but I seem to be having a problem with my knees. They're sore for about 10 minutes into running (then it stops) and they're sore for the next few days until I run again. I did get some new shoes since I have no arches and I overpronate so that's helped.
I know I keep adding non-sequitor things to the end of my entries but I keep thinking of stuff! I don't remember if I mentioned this but we finally sold our house! We closed on July 15th. It's bittersweet but I'm so thankful that we sold it quickly and that it went through with no problems. In this market it's a blessing but it will be difficult for me to think of it as someone else's home. I hope that they take great care of it and love it like we did.
I can't believe that it's already July. Where is this summer going? Things are pretty good here at the Ark household though we've had a busy month. Ben's mom visited for a week and then my brother and sister-in-law (and kids) came and stayed with us for a few days last weekend. We had a great time with them! Ron and Kathryn were in town from Texas to attend a chiropractic conference so while they were gone during the weekend days, I stayed at home with the 5 kids. Luckily, my mom took off of work to help and Kathryn's mom Marlys came in from Wisconsin to help for a couple of days as well. I'm so thankful because those five kids are a handful! Luckily, Annabelle and Maia play well together and little 4 month old James is a very easy baby so all and all it was a successful trip.
One great thing to come of it was that Maia has once again resumed interest in using the potty (I think because she saw Annabelle doing it). She had regressed for awhile and wanted only diapers and I'm not prepared to force her if she's not entirely ready. Now she wants to wear underwear and has started to recognize when she has to go. We still have to wear diapers when we go out because she refuses to sit on a regular toilet (she uses a kid potty seat) but we're making progress! She also won't go #2 in the toilet either and gets around it by making sure she has a stinky diaper in the morning and right after nap.
Lily and Juliette are doing well. Lily is teething like crazy! Right now she has her 4 front top teeth, both top 1 year molars, 3 bottom front teeth, 1 bottom molar and the other bottom one is working it's way out. Juliette on the other hand has neither bottom molar an no bottom lateral incisors. Funny how their differences manifests themselves! Lily still isn't walking but I'm not concerned since she's only 13.5 months adjusted. I just keep reminding myself that Maia didn't walk until 15 months so I don't think there's anything to be worried about. Juliette on the other hand, is running. I have J in 12 month clothes now and it's so fun to be able to dress her in pretty dresses that she can wear because she can walk! I remember we had dresses for Maia when she was in 12 month clothes but she never wore them because they were hard to crawl in.
Baby sleep is going all right. They're doing longer stretches but still reliably getting up 2-3x/night to nurse. Sometimes they'll go longer and I'm thankful that they've started sleeping a little later in the morning so there are positives!
On a different note, I started doing the Couch to 5k running program this week and so far I'm liking it a lot. I think it's a great free way to exercise and build endurance and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes. So far in week one (there's 9 weeks) I'm able to keep up but my muscles sure are feeling it!
Here are some words that the girls have now...
Duck
Book
Ball
Bath
Mama
Dada
Maia
Maybe there are more but I just want to write them down as I remember them! Their receptive language is good so I know the words will come. It'll be weird to me when they're actually talking!
Time goes by so fast that it never feels like it has been more than a week since I blogged but I just realized that I haven't in about 3 weeks! There's a lot going on and I guess time just got away from me.
First of all, the girls had their 15 month appointment last week. Lily was 15 lbs, 3 oz and Juliette was 18 lbs, 5.5 oz. They're both growing, so that is great but for weight they're still less than 3rd percentile for their actual age. They are both 29.5" which shockingly enough is ON the chart for their actual age! They are in the 10-25th percentile. I'll take it! We also got their iron levels checked again and this time Lily is in the normal range and Juliette is still low but not enough that we still need to do the drops. Our doctor suggested just continuing to give her iron-rich foods and we should be good.
Because of their height, we had to finally graduate them out of their infant bucket seats. That was a sad day for me because the buckets are so portable and easy but it was time. Since we can't use our Double Snap-n-Go anymore we needed to get a different lightweight stroller (not our huge 3-seater Valco!) so we got a Combi Sport Twin. So far so good - it's certainly not the best stroller out there but it serves it's purpose for things like quick shopping trips or doctor visits. We got them the same "big girl carseats" as Maia - Britax Boulevard.
Lily is cutting 4 teeth right now and she's a bear. She's getting two top molars, a bottom molar and a front bottom incisor. Juliette is cutting 2 top molars. I think it's funny that they don't get their teeth at the same time! Anyway, sleeping had been going okay (both girls were getting up 1-3 times/night with Lily sometimes sleeping through) but now Lily is up a lot of the night with her teething. This too shall pass, right?
Our new house is great. We are still not unpacked but we're really enjoying the space we have and I adore the neighborhood. We got invited to a neighborhood 4th of July party which was a lot of fun. There are mostly older kids that live here so when we went there the older high school/collage girls flocked to Lily, Juliette and Maia. It was pretty cute! We got their swimsuits on and the girls went "swimming" in a neighbor's pool and it was just a really good day. Oh, and I think we might be able to get a babysitter or two out of the deal!
I've become obsessed with breadmaking. I had an old breadmaker awhile ago which was okay but it never produced anything very consistent. I lost the kneading paddle for it so I ended up just getting a new breadmaker and I love it. I've baked a loaf practically every day now and I have to say that there's nothing quite like the smell of fresh bread.
Anyway, that's enough for now. I'll update with some photos of the girls soon!
Things are going all right. Unpacking is going much more slowly than we'd like and I do admit that in the evenings when the kids are finally down all I want to do is nothing. I need to get with the program though and get stuff done so we're not living out of boxes anymore. We'd also like to get the garage cleaned out so that we can actually park in it! Now that we have a 3 car garage, there's no excuse anymore.
The girls are doing pretty well. They're on much more of a schedule now which has been fantastic because it means that they're sometimes actually napping at the same time twice a day. It's still hard to get things done though because I have Maia awake while they're napping but maybe I'll see if she can start "helping" me a little bit more.
Both Lily and Juliette have started to talk more this week. Juliette says "Hi" and they both are starting to say "duck" and a few other misc. words so I'm excited they're progressing that way!
I broke out Maia's old 12 month clothes the other day for Juliette and lo and behold, most of them seem to fit her! I can't believe they're growing up so fast. At the same token, Lily still fits into some 3-6 pants but mostly she's in straight 6 month clothes. She'll get there! Their 15 month appointment is coming up on July 2 so I'm looking forward to getting their weights and checking their iron levels again. We haven't been doing the drops, I'm really just hoping that it fixes itself.
Ben's mom is here for the week to visit. It's her first time staying at our new place so it's been fun to show her everything. Maia is loving having "Grandma Ween" here!
One year ago on June 7, Lily and Juliette were due. I knew I'd never make it to 40 weeks with them but still, it's something to celebrate because they're a year old now in every which way (actual and adjusted) possible. I'm so proud of them and of how they're growing and developing and I am excited to see the leaps and bounds they make in the next year!
We were originally thinking of having an adjusted birthday party for them since we only did a small family gathering for their actual birthday but I think I've decided against it. I don't want to seem self-indulgant like we're asking for gifts, because we're not, and the actual birthday they had was mellow and nice and there's nothing wrong with that. I might have done things a bit differently had I known at the time there would be only one party but I can throw a big one next year and I think that will be okay.
So Maia has had a foot rash for the last two months that we were sure was athlete's foot. We brought her into the doctor, tried some cream (which didn't work), tried some more cream which also didn't work and then finally got referred to a dermatologist. We had an appointment yesterday at 10 am so I packed the kids up and drove for an hour in traffic and in the rain and when we got there we were told, "Sorry, she had an emergency and can't see you today." I was very frustrated. I understand that things happen but I wish they could have made more of an effort to squeeze us in somewhere else. We rescheduled the appointment for this morning at 7:30 and the doctor tested Maia's feet for bacteria, gave us some cleanser, lotion and shampoo to use (she says that the Baby Johnson stuff is horrible) and gave us a topical steroid cream to reduce inflammation. Hopefully it helps and we get an answer. She said that Maia had very sensitive skin and it could be excema (which Ben also has) so we'll see.
Both girls are getting molars! Lily is getting her top left 1st year and Juliette is getting her top right. It's made for some cranky nights and on top of that, they have a cold so we're doing a lot of nose wiping and suctioning. For some reason though, since they've had the cold they've been sleeping better - especially Juliette who has only been waking 1-2 times (versus the 4-5 times she usually wakes) so I'm thrilled and hope it keeps up. Both girls are also making a lot more sounds. Lily can say "Lalala" and Juliette says words that don't really make sense but are sounding more and more like English. My little ladies are growing up!
Well, we did it! Last Wednesday we finally moved and now we have officially lived at our new residence for 6 nights. We had a 26 moving van (we hired some folks) and took two trips and we still have stuff at the old house. We'll have to slowly move everything else but at least we have until July. It's bittersweet because I love that house and the chapter in our lives it represents but it's good to move on and make new memories as well.
Speaking of moving on, this weekend was sad because my brother and sister-in-law said goodbye to their first home as well and are on their way to Texas. My brother just graduated as a chiropractic doctor and he decided to open a new practice in Lockhart. It's a huge leap of faith to leave everything and everyone you've ever known and move somewhere where you don't know anyone but I believe in them and I know they'll do great. I will miss them so much though and I hope that we can still see them frequently.
Juliette is pretty much full blown walking now. It is so fun to watch her progress! She's fearless as far as falling so I think that's why she's catching on so quickly. Lily is just so cautious but I know she'll get there soon. They're 14 months actual (almost 12 months adjusted) and Maia didn't walk until she was 15 months actual so I'm certainly not worried!
Off to try to do some bills while two girls are sleeping and one is watching the Care Bears.
Yesterday was my birthday and we had such a nice day. Ben let me sleep in for an hour (even though he had to work) and it was wonderful! The girls were relatively well-behaved and we went out to dinner with our friends Lorry and Emma at Khan's Mongolian BBQ. Ben got me a gift certificate to my favorite salon so I'm going there on Saturday for a manicure and haircut. I can't wait! My friend Stacy got me a gift certificate to our nearby nail salon and she offered to watch the girls so I went and got a pedicure today. Pedicures are my favorite and it was nice to get away for an hour.
Juliette is really close to full out walking. She can take more than a few steps now before she falls and even took about 10 in a row today! My baby is growing up! Lily is working on standing and she can stand for a few seconds if she tries. She's much more cautious though and Juliette doesn't care about falling so that makes a big difference I think.
The girls have been having diarrhea for a couple of weeks now and I haven't really been concerned because I know viruses happen but I called the nurse line today and wondered when I should start getting worried. She told me to give them yogurt and come in since it had already been two weeks. I gathered up the kids and went to the doctor this afternoon only to be told that they wouldn't do anything because it hasn't been long enough. She was really condescending to me too when I tried to explain my frustration of being told to come in and then wasting a $30 copay for them to do nothing. At least we got their weights. Lily is up to 14 lbs, 12 oz and Juliette is 17 lbs 9 oz. They're still around 3 pounds apart!
Speaking of doctors, Maia has athlete's foot right now and she's had it for a couple of months. We went in and they prescribed Nystatin and we used the whole tube and it didn't work. We then got a prescription for a stronger cream and it still isn't getting better. I'm hoping we can figure out what's going on and how to fix it before the problem starts getting worse.
I'm not sure if I mentioned this but our house contingencies have all been cleared! We are trying to schedule our move for next week and then we'll close on July 15. We're excited to get it done and move on.
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