2011_01_21 Friday

We got about 6 inches of snow overnight. Dave got out there super early and shoveled. Elise got up around 8, and so we snuggled/played; Jonathan joined us closer to 9, and we all snuggled/played until about 10. By then, everyone's tummies were growling. So, I got Elise dressed; meanwhile, Jonathan went to the bathroom all by himself AND then he got his own clothes out AND dressed himself this morning. He sure was proud too. I nearly cried!! My little guy is a big boy.

On our trips to drop Dave at the airport, Jonathan looks for trams that connect the terminals. And, we've discussed that trams are just little trains. So, we were just playing with his trains, and he said: "mom, this is a tram because it's little, and it's taking this sick, blue man to the hospital." What a riot.

2011_01_20 Thursday

Elise is getting her second set of bottom teeth now. I can feel little spikes poking through. No wonder she's been drool-y and chewing on her hands. Orajel hasn't seemed to help much, and I don't like to do too much Tylenol, etc, but it's worth it when she wakes up at 10pm. ;o) I also managed to finally finish her DIY crib skirt! Of course, I never have a camera when I'm in her room.

Jonathan was a rock star today! Not only is he so helpful with his baby sister, he helped me make her a couple of meals and helped me bathe her. He also asked if he could make bread, so we made (ie he poured/mixed) a 1-pounder that actually turned out pretty ok (we had for b'fast on Friday). AND, he decided that he wanted to take a shower at night. So, he and I jumped into my shower; he was pretty skeptical at first, but at the end, he decided that he really liked it. I told him that we'd practice with a few more, and then he could do it all by himself. He thought that was pretty cool.

I had my official conference call with work today. Here we go!!

2011_01_12 Wednesday

Both kids woke up before 7:30am today -- ugh!! Long gone are my 10am mornings with Jonathan. We snuggled in bed for a little while, while Elise nursed. Jonathan spontaneously gave me a biology lesson about the ear: "there's the outer ear, and then a tunnel, then a drum, then another tunnel to the inner ear." I'm guessing that came from school, but who knows!?

We received about a foot of snow overnight, so I was also dreading looking and then needing to shovel it. So, luckily, two men came by, offering to shovel for me, and I jumped on that quickly.

Both kids are also under the weather, Jonathan far less so but Elise really. She's got a wet cough and a really gross, runny nose. I've been kind of concerned about it too. He's just got a boogery nose. Then I called our family dr about Elise; she decided we needed to come in. Turns out, she's got a double ear infection and fluid in her lungs and needs to be on antibiotics 3x/day for 10 days!! As the day wore on, she got progressively more miserable. She had pureed peaches for dinner and went to bed by 5:30. Can't wait to see what time she's up tomorrow.

I feel like garbage: not physically ill, but emotionally drained, frazzled, worn out. I feel guilty for it, but I know it's normal. I have had zero time to myself, and the daily routine is much harder with 1-2 sick kids w/o being able to go outside b/c it's too cold/windy. not the best of days.

2011_01_10 Monday

Today is Jonathan's 1/2 birthday!!! He's 3.5 today; that is 1,280 days old. To celebrate, he got up at 7am (ugh!)! After breakfast, we went to KidzVillage for about 2 hours to burn off some energy (and get out of the cleaning lady's hair). He had a good time, and the place was basically empty. After his 'birthday lunch' of hummus and salad (!?!), we made chocolate chip cookies. I plan on making ice cream sandwiches (maybe even with sprinkles!) later today...to celebrate.

2011_01_08 Saturday

Today was a new adventure. Elise woke up slightly before 8am, which was ok this time. Jonathan had his first day of Deutscheschule!! It's much bigger than I had expected, a pleasant surprise. There were two classes of his age (maybe 15 kids each), and at least two more classes of older kids. He was a little skeptical about me leaving him, and honestly, I was too. I didn't know if it was an immersion program or what their teaching techniques were, and I felt a little guilty for not being about to prep him for it. Other than not knowing that we were responsible for bringing a snack and crayons, it went really well. The teacher (Frau Winklmeier) said he jumped right in and made friends easily. Of course, he wouldn't share a thing about class. ugh. The important part is that he said he "had a lot of fun, but they didn't use any numbers." (I have been working on 1-10 auf Deutsch with him.) All I can ask for!

Meanwhile, Elise and I spent an hour finding a grocery store for his snack. And, then we chilled at a Dunkin' Donuts. I tried to read, but that wasn't very successful.

Did I mention that she's blabbing "dadadadadada" and will do the sign for Dad on a regular basis. She hasn't associated dadadada with Dad yet.

2011_01_04 Tuesday

When I picked Jonathan up today from school, his teacher, Morah Yaffa, said that he had the best day ever today. He was laughing and throwing snowballs at his friends. She said he was an absolute joy today (which begs the question: what about other days?!). I was so happy to hear it, though. And, he pee-ed in school with his pants on; yippeeeee!!!! By George, I think he's done it!

2011_01_03 Monday

What a day! Welcome to 2011!! Jonathan and I had dentist appointments today. Dave came along to help with the kids, and he and Jonathan played PacMan in the lobby for a long time. I have been talking him up for the past few days, just so he knows what to expect and not freak out. Well, he whimpered after a few minutes on the chair (I still am not sure why), but then he completely rocked the house. He let them give him a flouride treatment/cleaning, and did everything the dentist asked him to do (basically hold his mouth open for him to count and open/close on command). The chipped front tooth doesn't seem to concern the dentist; I guess that's good news, but I see it every time the kid smiles now! Nobody beats his uncle, though!!

And, to top the day off, Jonathan has been kicking butt with his DIY toileting! He can now go without taking his shoes, pants, and underwear off. We spent the week at the Barony in sweatpants to practice, and he CAN do it. And, he can pull everything back up without too much trouble; it's not pretty, but he can do it.

Elise is eating solids like it's going out of style. She had -- read: inhaled -- fruit salad today. She's pretty good with diced up chicken. Small cubes of cheese are easy, too. Not sure I'll even bother making any more baby food! Still no words yet, but she's quite the chatterbox. And, I still don't know what her obsession is with wooden clothes pins.