8-23-10

Laney and I are home sick today with fevers, sore throats, and coughs.  At least she can take decongestant.  I am stuck with Tylenol.  We just received good news from the hospital that Anneliese was born this morning.  Laney has a new cousin to play with!

Laney has been getting easier to put to bed the last few nights, really getting used to sleeping in her "big girl bed."  She has really taken to Play-Doh in the last week or so, and loves coloring on her own with her markers.  She is such a good helper.  I can ask her to turn on the fan or get a wipee and she does it for us.  We bought her a dust buster so she could help clean up after dinner (under her chair is a mess!).  She likes to carry around the little red vacuum torturing the dogs with it because they run in fear from all vacuums.

I try to teach her a new song every few days or so now.  She likes the Itsy Bitsy Spider, 5 Little Monkeys, and now Old MacDonald.  When we get to the E-I-E-I-O part she just yells aye yay yay.  I am now teaching her Twinkle Twinkle and the ABC song.  So far she can't really carry a tune, but can memorize the parts pretty quickly.  It is so cute to hear her singing to herself in another room.  I will have to try and video tape it.

8-18-10

Last night I was tasked with getting Laney to bed while Patrick was at softball.  I put her to bed and went downstairs to get some water.  I turned around and she was standing there in the kitchen, lovey and pillow in hand, smiling and saying "hi mommy."  I took her back to bed and promised I would stay on the couch in the playroom until she fell asleep.  I got out my laptop and then heard her door creak open a few minutes later.  She tip-toed out with lovey over her head and eyes.  I think she thought I couldn't see her because she couldn't see me.  She quietly snuck over to the side of the couch and ducked down by the arm.  Then she started giggling uncontrollably.  I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing as I sent her back to her bed to lay down.  What a cutie pie!

Today she threw up banana on my while I was painting her fingernails this morning.  She has had a slight fever all day, took 2 naps, and went to bed early.  I only hope that she sleeps through the night!

8-17-10: part 2

While we were away celebrating our anniversary, Laney decided to start sleeping in a "big girl bed" at Shesh and Pop   Pop's house.  When we got home, we purchased a full size mattress and put it on the floor of her room.  It was  a big hit outfitted in big girl sheets to match the room.  The first night she slept in her BGB was funny.  P and I were sound asleep when WHAM! the door to our room slams shut and it is pitch black in our room.  We both sit bolt upright and P turns on his light.  Laney is standing in the middle of our room with Special Pillow and Lovey Doggy and just says "hi mommy, hi daddy."  Now she comes in our room without shutting the door (thank you night lights) every night around 4 or 5 am.  She sleeps with us until about 6 or so, and then wakes us both up by smashing her face into ours, kissing us, and declaring that it is time to get clothes on and get some milk downstairs.  So much for sleeping in!

We have also started going to toddler classes at the local community center Tue and Thu mornings.  I call it school, and we do 45 minutes of Alphabet Adventures one day and 45 of Toddler Tumbling the other.  It was not a hit the first few times, but today she managed to participate without doggie or tears, even riding on the parachute with the other kids for the first time.  Progress.  The first class was a 45 minute sob fest with her crying and whining to go home the whole time.  Today she followed along and couldn't wait to get the letters C and D stamped on her hand at the end.  I have been telling her that I would stay the whole time and wouldn't leave her.  She repeats in the car "mommy whole time no leave!"  I'm glad she is getting used to it because we start preschool on Tuesdays at the church in September, just mommy and me classes actually.  Shesh is going to enroll her at Hammond Dance on Wednesdays and I will probably continue with tumbling on Thursdays.

Laney began using "I" instead of "Laney" this week.  She can really tell you a story, and you can almost conversate with her.  She remembers rhymes now and her favorite is "5 little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" as well as the Hokey Pokey.  I am working on Old Macdonald with her right now.

As for me, I am diabetic and exhausted at 32 week.s  I am having Arianna come most afternoons to play with Laney so I can rest.  My feet started swelling this week...just in time to get the baby's room done.  I had my "sprinkle" this past Sunday and got so many beautiful gifts.  I can't wait to get Liam's room ready.  I talk to Laney about Liam and babies every day.  I praise her for being my big helper and am encouraging her to play independently now so she will be used to it when he is born.  It is hard to tell if she is going to like having a baby in the house.  I am guessing that it might be fine until he can crawl and get into her things.  Then we will have to have a gated "Liam-free" zone for her.  

8-17-10: part 1

Funny things Laney has said recently:

• A few weeks ago she started telling me that there was a monkey in the house.  It was in the kitchen, on the sofa, on the coffee maker, on the chair. etc.  I started to worry that she was hallucinating because she was so certain that it was there.  I even thought about calling the pediatrician.  Finally she ran to the door and pointed to a fly and said "monkey."  I was so relieved that it was just a housefly and not a figment of her imagination.  I still have no idea why she thought it was  a monkey.
• As I got out of the shower  she brought me my bra and said "Help boobies.  Wear bra."
• As I squatted naked and pregnant on my closet floor looking for something down low, she ran over and lifted up both boobs with her hands and proclaimed "lotsa boobies!"
• Patrick was about to get in the shower one morning for work and she ran in the bathroom and declared her intent to shower with him.  He started to undress her, and as he did I saw her little head look up, followed by a hand that shot up in the air and pointed, screaming "weenie!"

7-23-10

Here it is July, and I have thought about blogging for so many days now.  Laney has changed even so much since the last time I wrote, and so have I!  I am 28 weeks pregnant with Liam and am getting bigger every day.  Yesterday was our 10th wedding anniversary and we are celebrating by a small vacation to Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara.  We exchanged some new right-hand rings on the beach yesterday and went out to a nice dinner in town. 

Laney has turned two and is just a joyful little girl to be around.  I finished work in June and have really been enjoying my month home with her.  She seems to enjoy having me home too.  She wakes up early and then we put her in our bed so we can try to sleep until seven, but are up most mornings at 6.  Laney really loves to have her back rubbed and also loves "cratchy back".    We got her a special booster that raises the height of a regular table chair and she likes to climb into it and declare "dinner" when she is hungry, no matter what meal it is.  Usually she asks us for a cheese quesadilla or chicken and rice, her two favorites.  Lately it seems that her other favorite food is whatever mommy is having and I find that I usually have to give her bites from my plate too!

Laney moves at full speed now, declaring "Laney fast" as she runs laps around whatever she can.  She loves to take the pillows off the sofa in our living room and then jump off the sofa onto them.  No fear!  She also likes when I help her do somersaults on the pillows and laughs hysterical and proclaims "again." 

Her hair is getting much longer, with beautiful golden ringlets in the back.  She rarely lets  me style it, but loves to shake her head and mess it up with her hands declaring that she has "crazy hair".  Laney is also in a major "self, self, self" stage.   She wants to do everything from putting her socks, shoes, clothes on to washing herself with soap and climbing in and out of the car/stroller by herself.  She often needs help, especially knowing what shoe goes on which foot, and freaks out if you try to help her. 

5-10-10

Well, Laney has a new word and it is "dammit". She heard me say it and now any time she drops something she says it! So embarassing :) I am trying to get her to say "rats" instead, but so far she seems convinced that dammit is the right word.

Patrick commented tonight that reading with her is so amazing because she is really beginning to point out the names of things in her books without being asked. She knows some key words in favorite books too, and likes to yell them out as we read (especially in Go, Dog! Go!)

5-7-10

Laney said "hungry" this morning and "chicken". We are so excited because she hasn't been able to tell us when she was hungry before. Hopefully this will make it easier on us!

Boy does this kid love milk and chicken. I stop at the deli counter at Albertson's to get her a chicken tender to eat while we shop and she is so happy!

5-6-10

A complete stranger commented on my pregnancy this morning(17 weeks). Guess I have reached that point where I definitely look pregnant enough that strangers are comfortable commenting on it! I guess that is better than people just thinking I am fat!!!

4-30-10

Last night while giving Laney a bath, I asked her, "What's your name?"  "Naney!" she responded (she just started answering this question correctly this week.)  Then the following happened:

I asked Laney,
"What's his name?" pointing to Patrick's chest.
"Daddy." 
"What's his other name?" 
Patrick."
"What's my name?" I asked, pointing to my chest.
"Mommy."
"What's my other name?"  I asked, pointing to my chest.
"Boobies!"

4-28-10

Laney is now 23 months old, and is in full swing with the terrible two’s behavior:  throwing things, crying, and saying her favorite word, “NO!”

She has become obsessed with milk and chicken in the last two weeks, demanding both constantly.  I am fairly sure that she is getting ready to go through another growth spurt soon.  Last week we had to re-sleep train her after she woke up one night at 1:30 and didn’t go back to sleep until 5am.  She is getting up at 5 am now, and we don’t know what to make  of it.  We have let her cry it out several mornings until it got light out, but that doesn’t seem to help.  Patrick thinks that she is having growing pains like he did when he was little!

Laney is really into walking places right now, and still wearing her necklaces all the time.   Her hair is long and ringlet curls in the back.  She can wear little pigtails all the time, and looks soooo cute with them in.  She is also really into the swing and the park.  We have to go to the park for about an hour each afternoon so she can climb on all of the equipment and go down the twisty slide over and over.

On another note, she actually answered my “What’s your name?” question with “Naney” yesterday.  So proud of her.  We are getting a little better restaurant behavior out of her, as long as we sit in a booth where we can block her in and she can stand on the seat.  She only wants to eat our food right now, and really only likes to eat my food.  We have been setting a spot for her at the dinner table and letting her eat from my plate.  Sometimes I give her turkey and tell her it is chicken so she will eat it. 

We are able to bargain a little with her now, things like take 4 bites and then we can play choo-choos.  She is really loving choo choos right now, and seems interested in the Thomas the Tank Engine show  (thank God, because I cannot take another minute of Baby Einstein!).  We are encouraging this new interest, and I took her to Target yesterday and let her pick out some trains.  We have a set in the front room for her to play with and it is the first thing she runs to in the morning. 

She still only wants Daddy a lot of the time, but will settle for me at bedtime and when he is not around.  She does only want my food, however.  Her vocabulary increases by leaps and bounds daily, and she is really using phrases a lot, and repeating everything she hears (including dammit when I stubbed my toe!). 

Right now I am 16 weeks pregnant and just started feeling the baby move last week!

4-8-10

Laney is 22 months old now.  I have been on Spring Break with her for the last 2 weeks.  2 weeks ago we decided one morning to go to Tahoe with my mom and the dogs.  That afternoon we landed in a winter wonderland.  We had all 4 dogs there, and found out that Laney can easily tell the difference between all of them.  We had a lot of snow while we were there for a few days, and I was really looking forward to playing in the snow with Laney.  However, during our trip, I came down with a cold as did Laney.  We both had fevers, but hers spiked to 103 degrees!  That night she kept waking up shrieking because she was shivering and scared.  We took lots of cool showers and baths with her.  The next day we flew home and she saw Dr. Schmottlach who prescribed Augmentin.  He said that because she is getting her back molars, she may have been getting an ear infection due to extra digestive juices blocking her eustachian tubes.  Wednesday night was no better with the fever, and she slept in our bed between us in only a diaper because she was burning up.  Every 2 hours or so we would pop her into a cool shower and bring her temp down to 97.  What a long night it was for us.  Finally she broke that fever by lunchtime, but it took me until Friday to completely kick mine. 

Easter was that weekend, and Laney did not really have a good time.  I think she was overwhelmed by all fo the people at my mom's house (our family, the Olsons, and the Millers).  She did not even want to egg hunt!  Kiersten was so sweet to her, helping her find eggs but she only wanted Daddy.

Last week was the peak of tantrums and bad behavior by Laney...lots of time outs for throwing things.  This week has been a completely different story.  She has been such an angel and so loving and cute towards me.  We have made it to Stroller Strides this week and have had lots of play time together.  Yesterday she made her first "friend" at the park. Another 2 year old boy was playing on the playground and she grabbed his hand.  They rna around the lawn holding hands and laughing.  Later they hugged each other.  She told me to go sit and wanted to play and go down the slide by herself.  WE are working on the concept of sharing with her, which she likes to yell at the other kids ("Share!")  Occasionally she would sit down in the middle of the stairs to block the other kids from the slide, as she thinks the slide is hers! 

Patrick and I have noticed such a change in her the last few days.  She is using more and more words, even remembering to say thank you and excuse me.  She seems to be maturing a lot right now.  She even had  her first haircut today with Sonny.  He trimmed her bangs for me, and she looks like a preschooler now.  I just can't believe that my Laney Bug is growing up so fast.

When I was getting her ready to leave the house today, she ran back and got one of great Oma's necklaces to wear today (she plays dress up with them).  So precious!  We bought her some necklaces in the Brass Plum at Nordstroms.  She was in heaven.  Lately she has been layering on mardi gras beads left over from my 30th birthday party.  She puts so many on that she looks like Mr. T!

3-16-10

I took Laney to Palm Desert this weekend to see Pops at the Betty Ford Center. I planned to have her nap all the way there in the car. Guess who would not take a nap! She was in such a good mood as we drove, talking to herself and laughing too. She watched some "moomies" and then I turned off the DVD player hoping that she would get bored and sleep. I even turned on an audio book and that didn't do the trick.

All that worrying for nothing because she was a little angel while visiting my dad. She was cute with him, and was even more adorable chasing ducks on the lawn by the pond. She was running all around the lawn with a big smile on her face as we tried to catch ducks. I brought her new trike with us and she rode around the grounds too. We took turns pushing her around, and then she got tired of it and we all hung out on the lawn in the sun playing. Mom and I left at 5pm, and Laney was asleep in 2 minutes in the car. She woke up at 6:30 in Temecula, so we fed her McDonalds for dinner. She really loves ranch dressing and chicken nuggets.

Last night we took her to Costco with us and she ate pizza with much gusto for dinner! She was taking big snapping bites and adding sound effects too. Hilarious! This morning Patrick was letting her eat a chocolate frosted doughnut for breakfast and I got a big, chocolatey kiss when I left for work. How I love that kid!

2-28-10

Another great day with Laney. She was in such a great mood today. When we arrived at the church nursery this morning, she tried to be brave and not cry. Her lower lip started quivering and she cried when we handed her over to Mary. Mary reported that she stopped crying immediately and played indpendently all morning. Hopefully there will come a day when the nursery doesn't make her cry!

Laney continues to be very vocal about what she does and doesn't want. She gets soooo frustrated when we don't get it, and throws things or hits us. She is a work in progress. We just keep reminding her to use words and to show us what she wants.

In the last two days, Laney has started saying phrases from favorite books while we are reading to her. Right now she will make the sounds in Peek-a-Who? and in Go Dog, Go! How sweet to hear her little angel voice yell out moo, boo, zoo, choo choo, and you. She will say go and stop and party for you doing Go Dog, Go! Another step closer to reading. It brings joy to a teachers' heart.

2-22-10

Yesterday was a really off day for Laney.  She was cranky and only wanted to play with Daddy.  We took her to the playground on the way to the grocery store, and she went on the slides like a madwoman.  What a little daredevil she is.  Finally she just was exhausted and started to cry so we knew it was time to leave.  We could not really get her to eat lunch, and around 4:30 she had  a hanger breakdown.  Thank goodness for apples and Pirate’s Booty!  She wouldn’t even take a bath last night…and that is usually a preferred activity.  I put her to bed at 6:45 and she was passed out by 7.  Hopefully today she will be happier when I get home.

This morning she went over and was pointing and blabbering at the open cabinet.  I shut the door and that appeased her.  Then she found some trash and excitedly ran over to put it in the can.  We always tell her that she is a good helper and she likes the praise!

Heading to Sea World for a few hours. We had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast. Driving along listening to Laney moo along with Old Macdonald in the back

2/4/2010

Last night we went to the Hadams to watch LOST. Laney stayed up until 10 pm with us, refusing to go to bed and crying histerically every time we put her down. Poor little baby had puffy, red, sleepy eyes but hung in there with us. She was so passed out in the car when we got home, that she was like a limp rag doll when I carried her upstairs.

Arianna has been putting clips in her hair to make pigtails in her little curls in the back. She looks so much like a big girl that it makes me a little sad that she isn't my little baby anymore. Can't wait to get home from work and play with her!

1/31/10

What a weekend!  We found out Thursday night that I am going to have another baby :)  I am due on 10/10/10, and am so excited.  This weekend we dressed Laney in a shirt that read "Big Sister" and took her to the Miller's and the Perry's to surprise our parents.  They were all so happy for us.  We also emailed out photos of her wearing the shirt to our friends and family to tell them.  What a happy weekend for our growing family.

Laney has been getting over a litle cold this week, but we have been having a blast playing with her. Last weekend we took her to Sea World for her very first visit.  She was very interested in the animals, especially the penguins and the tidepool sea stars.  She had a great time running around the park and was exhausted by the time we left.  Can't wait to take her to see a show the next time we go. 

Yesterday we had a great time at the San Dieguito Park.  They have redone some of the playgrounds since we were kids and it was fun to play with her there.  There aren't any swings at our parks in San Marcos, so she had fun swinging at the park. 

This morning Patrick and I were introduced at church as new members.  The sermon was really interesting, all about how you know God and following the examples God has set forth in the Bible.  At one point, Pastor Baca asked us who we were religious role models for.  I am so proud to be a religious role model for Laney and baby Miller.  I love incorporating God's love into the way we raise her. 

1/23/10

I finally got Laney in for her 18 month checkup, at 19.5 months. She had gotten sick the last two times I scheduled her well visit. Oh well. She is 34 inches tall and is in the 95th percentile for height. She weighed 23 pounds, still, and is in the 30th percentile now. Her head is 45 cm which is about 17.5 inches around. No idea what percentile that is.
We tried taking Laney out to dinner a few times in the last weeks. She has about 20 minutes worth of good behavior in her, and then we have to take turns dealing with her, which means that we get to eat in about 4 minutes flat. Not fun for anyone.

Laney started fighting us last week about bedtime. She woke up last Thursday at 3:45am, and never went back to sleep, so neither did we. Patrick and I were so wiped out the next day that we had to take naps in the afternoon, and went to bed at 9pm Friday and Saturday night. Putting Laney to bed since then has been a fight and she cries a lot in her crib. She really just wants to stay up reading books with us. I have been putting her to bed after lots of books and singing, and then feeling heartbroken when she cries as I leave the room. She doesn't cry for long, but I feel bad anyhow. Tonight was no different, with one exception: she put her hands together all on her own when it was time to say her prayers. It was so endearing that I started crying as we said the Children's Prayer together. I will try to teach her to say "amen" at the end of our nightly prayer.
Speaking of words, she has been really talking a lot more this week. She will say mommy and daddy, and tries peoples names when asked. She is really good at Sean, surprisingly, and started repeating shit after she heard Patrick say it. Of course he thinks it is funny, so he eggs her on and much to my dismay, she repeats it with glee.
This week she had to play indoors all the time because we had rain every day. She was stir crazy by today and I am so glad that we could take her to the park this afternoon. It was so sad when we were there because she was walking around not looking up, and walked full face into the side of the children's slide and knocked herself down. She was stunned and very upset for a few minutes. Poor girl. By the time I realized she wasn't looking where she was going, it was too late for me to stop her!

Patrick and I were looking at old pictures of her tonight and reminiscing. She seems like such a grown up big girl now. At Mr. Taco, she sat on the booth bench next to Patrick and ate rice, beans, and guacamole from a regular spoon and fork. She had a cup of water with a straw from the restaurant, and just looked so pleased to be eating like a big girl. What happened to my little baby that used to sit on the table in her baby carrier? Can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store. We are taking her to Sea World for the first time tomorrow :)

1/12/10

Happy 80th birthday Grammy!  I dressed Laney in a party dress today, and brought her to my mom's before going to dinner for Grammy's birthday dinner.  She loooked so adorable in a purple dress, white tights and sweater, black patent shoes and a hot pink hair clip!  Too bad she was in such a miserable mood.  I think that she gets upset when she sees us getting ready in the bathroom, maybe thinks that we are going to leave her again like when we go to work?  Anyhow, she started whining and crying when I was doing my hair and makeup and never really let up.  She was super crabby at my mom's house, only wanting to climb up and down the steps.  Fortunately, when we left her behind with Linda, she stopped crying quickly and was so sweet to Linda.  Linda reports that Laney played, babbled, and was delightful until about 8pm.  Then Linda noticed that she was so physically tired, that she put her to bed.   Laney layed right down and went to sleep without a protest.  I wish she had been in a better mood, but not every day can be awesome.

On a lighter note, we saw Christine yesterday for her birthday.  Laney and I dropped off the gift in the afternoon while Patrick was working, since we were all too sick to attend the family party on Sunday.  Laney only needed to sit on my lap for a minute before she wanted to get down and run around her house.  She loved playing with Chase, and would even run to Oma when Chase was coming after her, laughing and giggling all the way.  I was so happy to see Laney willingly go give Oma and Christine hugs and kisses yesterday.  She is getting more friendly and self confident every day.

Last night we went to PetSmart while we waited for our order at Mexico Viejo.  The fish tanks were at Laney's level and she got such a kick out of watching the fish swim around.  She kept tapping the glass and telling them hi.  Then we saw the rats and mice, and she told them all hi too!  They came to the glass and looked at her and she laughed so much!  I can't wait to take her to Sea World and the Zoo this summer. 

1/9/10

Poor Patrick woke up today with pink eye and the stomach flu.  Laney and I packed a bag and high tailed it over to my mom and dad’s for the night.  After her nap, Laney, Shesh, and I ran errands.  Laney was such a good girl, and sat on the booth like a big girl at lunch.  Toward the end of the meal, she kept running back and forth from Shesh to me kissing and hugging us.  What a nice day we had!  Hopefully Patrick will be better tomorrow so we can move back home.  I can’t wait for Laney to wake up tomorrow morning so we can play!

1/8/10

"Doh-na-na."  We don't know why she started saying it, but we do know that she says it to us when she wants us to do something for her.  We think it means do Laney or for Laney, but at least she is communicating with us.  We took Laney to dinner tonight at Islands, and decided that we will wait a few more months before taking her to another sit-down dinner.  She just cannot sit still and we end up eating as fast as possible...not fun! She finally gave us a few minutes peace when she was busy clipping together the safety straps on the high chair.  Walk Like an Egyptian by the Bangles came on and she was busy bouncing her booty to the music.  It was HILARIOUS!

Lately Laney has been obsessed with taking things out and putting them away.  She loves her blue hippo shape sorter, and can put the shapes in and take them out for a long time.  She has been enjoying taking the dogs for a walk to the park, and loves going down the slide over and over.  She is finally feeling better (came down with a cold Sunday night).  Thank god for the humidifier and decongestant.  Yesterday she started using the electric nose sucker on her own--so determined to do everything herself!

1/2/10

Wow, it seems weird to use 10 in the date.  I can't believe that this is the year Laney will be 2.  It almost seems like yesterday that we were meeting her for the very first time at the hospital.  Laney had another sleepover at my parents yesterday.  She loves playing with my brother, and he loves playing with her.  Mom told me that he came home early from a Rose Bowl party just to play with her.  Last night she woke up with a nightmare during the night, and Sean went in to comfort her.  She cuddled up with him and went right back to sleep.  That just makes my heart sing with glee!

Happy New Year!

Well, we made it to 2010.  We spent the night with friends while Laney slept through the official change of year.  Yesterday I got to spend a few hours playing with her while Patrick was golfing.  We had so much fun cuddling and playing on the couch.  I got her to say her name, finally!  She says “nay-nee” instead of Laney.  I also got her to blow kisses to me.  What a fabulous day.  I love my sweet girl.  I am not really looking forward to going back to work next week because I really enjoy being home with her. 

Today we had our traditional Dutch New Year's Day meal of Olie Bolen (sp?) and appelfloppen (sp?).  Laney liked the olie bolen a little, but would not eat the appelfloppen.  Neither would Brodie, even though they both love plain apples.  It was really fun to see Brodie and Laney playing side by side, but boy do they fight over toys.  They both wanted a duck that you can pull along behind you and we had to find another pull toy to end the fight.  Later, when Laney was picking her nose, I made her stop and she tried to bite me.  Then she layed down on the patio and started crying.  I took her inside and put her on the carpet for a time out. She got so angry that she pooped while she was crying!  A few minutes later, all was well again and she went on playing.  She loves to stack towers of blocks and cups and then knock/kick them down.   She and Brodie played with the stacking blocks for awhile.  Laney was so cute too when she held Kiersten's hand and went into the kitchen with her to get an apple.  She loves her cousin so much.