I feel like a ton has happened in the past month. The time always goes by quickly, but I felt like I had a little break from the letter writing this time…for once. I can’t believe I’m getting this thing out on time! Here’s the last monthly installment in letters to Cullen. My next letter to him will be in 3 months! (more…)
As of yesterday, Cullen is now 14 months old! He’s an amazing little boy, and we’re enjoying seeing all of his developments. It’s time for another letter to Cullen! (more…)
Cullen turned one a week ago, and I’ve been trying to get this letter done all week. It’s a long one. I can’t help myself. I always have so much to say! So, here’s the latest letter to Cullen. (more…)
So….Cullen turned 11 months a few days before Christmas. With family visiting, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and a stomach bug, I haven’t had a chance to post the letter. I did write most of it just before Christmas, but it took me a bit longer to organize the photos. What else is new? So, here’s Cullen’s last monthly letter before he turns 1! (more…)
I really debated just skipping this week, but I had things I wanted to make sure to write down about the kids and the goings on in our household….obviously, we’ve been busy!
Something that makes me happy: My annual Christmas date with Audrey Podrey. We had a wonderful time last night (yes, Wednesday) at Sitti and at the theater for the stage adaptation of A Christmas Story. I intend to write a review of each, as I have done after our past Christmas dates. We’ll see if that actually happens. Lately, I’ve had more blog posts in my head than on the actual blog.
Something I’m thinking: I’m using our hour delay from work this morning (due to the yucky winter weather overnight) wisely.
Something I’m hoping: I’m hoping to send out my holiday cards tomorrow by Saturday. I had my cards ordered so early this year, but then some corrections had to be made and it took an extra month to get them right (the delays were mostly my fault). You would think that I could get the cards out early this year.
Something happening around the house: This is the third time that we’ve had a dusting of snow on the ground already. This winter scares me. Gabe put up our outdoor decorations and spent quite a bit of time trying to find the bad bulbs in a long strand. I hear it was quite the frustrating process. We have some new lights this year, including a few bush nets that cover a couple of our bushes. Unfortunately, the bush lights are almost blue as they are LED lights and not the yellowish Christmas light white. I think it bothers both of us somewhat! I say we just go for the complete Griswold house and make sure that every bush is a different color (and blinking).
Something I’m reading: Umm…since I’m covering almost two weeks here, I’m finding it difficult to remember everything that happened. I finished The Secret History just in time for last week’s book club! Book club was great. We had an awesome turnout, and I enjoyed visiting with friends. I haven’t started my next book yet. I haven’t had time to do anything like that!
Something I’m watching: Maddie and I ran some errands last weekend. We were able to get a little shopping done, and I also picked up a collection of classic Christmas movies. We now have Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. I think Maddie is enjoying seeing the movies of the songs we’ve been singing! Hooray for classic holiday fun!
Something I’m playing: Ooh, we did get a chance to play Dominion with the new Prosperity expansion that we received as a gift. We also played poker for the first time since our last annual holiday tournament. Gabe and I both placed “in the money.” I think that’s the first time that we both placed in the same tournament.
Something tasty: I didn’t have many dairy free options at the Nordstrom’s cafe when we went to visit the mall Santa, but the sandwich that I had was yummy! It wasn’t something that I would have ordered without the dairy restrictions. I also made truffles for the teachers at school, though I can’t say for myself that they were tasty. I heard from Gabe and the teachers that they were yummy! Last night’s dinner at Sitti was also very good.
Something Maddie is doing (33 months old): Maddie and I made a gingerbread train together a few nights ago! That was a fun mommy/daughter project. Gabe thought it was funny, I think. We made a good effort, but it was a bit of a messy result. Maddie said, “it looks just like on the box! Look, they are both colorful! Ours is colorful like that one!” It was colorful, but that’s where the resemblance ended. Gabe took a photo of our train next to the one depicted on the box. It makes him laugh. Maddie did great with her Santa visit (last week, you know the week that we’re supposed to be covering with this set of somethings). She didn’t smile naturally either time, though the second take worked out much better. She asked Santa for a baby doll with hair and cars and even said, “please.” I was proud of my sweet little girl! Maddie is very into playing with her baby doll these days. She’s even getting good at getting her tricky outfit back on (and has been great at taking it off for a long time). I hear from her teachers that she can play at the baby doll station for an hour. She’s recently picked up on my habit (one of those that I didn’t know I had) of saying, “awwwww…” in too many situations. Once she started doing it, I realized how often I said it myself. It’s cute when she does it, and it now annoys myself when I do it! She uses it appropriately, like when someone gives her something (as in “awww, that was sweet, you didn’t have to do that!”) or when something is cute. She has been going to bed later and later (or rather, resisting sleep later and later). I think we’re going to have to start with a later bedtime and move it back slowly (like we had to do shortly after Cullen was born, at the pediatrician’s advice). She has been more aggressive towards Cullen lately, resulting in time outs for her. She has been very good about going to time out and then discussing what she did wrong and apologizing to the wronged party afterward. She has said some funny things lately, like the other day when Gabe brought her apple juice to have with her dinner. She said, “that was a good call, Daddy. Apple juice is a good call.” And at the poker table the other day, I asked Maddie who we like to see at the poker table and she said, “donkeys.” (yes, I taught her that). I asked her if she saw any donkeys at the poker table, and without skipping a beat, she pointed at her daddy and said, “Gabe.” Too funny!
Something Cullen is doing (46 weeks old): Cullen visited Santa for the first time. He wasn’t smiley in the photos as he decided to go for the serious look. I was surprised that he took everything so well! He didn’t seem to mind sitting on Santa’s lap and was very calm. Cullen has had some rough nights since my last somethings, but I guess what else is new? We have made a few more trips to the doctor. One night while Gabe was still out of town, Cullen screamed so much that I figured something must really be wrong. I thought maybe he needed to have better reflux meds. They weren’t comfortable with giving him more reflux meds. We did find out that he gained a pound and a half in a month, which was a factor in them not wanting to give him more reflux meds. The weight gain was good, at least. His nights continue to be bad. We stopped his reflux medication altogether and plan to reintroduce dairy again (into my diet) in a few weeks. It’s hard to know what pieces of the puzzle were really helping him since we started the reflux medication and stopped the dairy at the same time. On our second visit, the pediatrician has come to the conclusion that he’s possibly a really awful teether (it is true that all of this started around the same time that he started getting teeth) and/or he is overtired. It’s a constant guessing game! Meanwhile, I could really use some more sleep. On the plus side, one of the suggestions that the pediatrician made was to co-sleep a larger portion of the night (though at the time, I’m not sure she realized how much Cullen is really in the bed at night). It was nice to know that the pediatrician was supportive and not trying to get us to Ferberize. In more positive news, Cullen started saying, “ball.” It seemed like coincidence the first few times, but he consistently referred to the ball as “ba” and was having a great time throwing it around. I guess you can say his first word is “ball!” He has been saying “mama” and “dada” while referring to us more consistently, but I’m not sure whether those really count as words or not. Cullen has also started pointing, sometimes, for things that he wants. He did this for the first time at the breakfast table the other day when he ran out of Chex. Chex are his current favorite cereal. He prefers them over Kix (which he prefers over Cheerios). He’s pulling up on everything and loves to stand. He’s cruising along the couch, when he gets a chance.
Something I am struggling with: I struggled with putting the kids to bed while Gabe was out of town. Two of the nights were particularly bad! I was so happy to have him back home.
Something I’m doing towards my goals: I signed up for a cake decorating class! I’m excited about it and hope to be able to try out my new skills on the kids’ birthday cakes next year. The class starts in January and is four sessions. I’ll have taken half of them by the time Cullen’s birthday rolls around. I have been setting mini goals for myself each night, but I haven’t been completely successful every time. My biggest goal right now is to get those holiday cards done.
Something I learned: I learned that putting together a gingerbread house (or train) is a little trickier than it would seem! Also, I learned that I should have assembled the “house” and waited a day to put on the candy. My train was not very stable! Maddie wasn’t able to put the candy on the house by herself since it was about to fall over. She did tell me where to place things. Next time, I’ll make sure the “house” is sturdy before we start decorating. It seems pretty sturdy now, a few days later!
Something I’m looking forward to: Well, since it is now late Thursday evening and the next Somethings are in just a few days, we don’t have much planned between now and then. I am looking forward to both classroom holiday parties. They are both tomorrow.
Something random: My low tire pressure indicator came on in the car again on Tuesday. I thought that it was just cold and thought about ignoring it and asking Gabe to check the tires later that night. Something made me check the pressure and take it across the street to the tire place. I tried to wave someone down from the parking lot as I didn’t want to unload the kiddos if I could help it. They asked me to pull up to the garage, and then they got someone to pull the car all the way into the garage (with my kiddos in the back, so that was a little odd for me). They checked each tire and filled it to the proper tire pressure. The tires were all pretty low, but the lowest one was 28 psi when I checked it. It had already dropped to 26 psi. I can’t believe how lucky it is that I had checked that tire’s pressure (and only that tire’s pressure) before heading to the service station. I told the guy that the pressure had dropped pretty rapidly, so he looked for a nail. Sure enough, we had a nail in the tire. They fixed it for free! I felt pretty lucky to have the tire pressure indicator in the car, to have checked the tire pressure and take it to the service station and that I checked the tire that was going flat! I’m glad that we didn’t have a flat on the interstate on the way home. Whew!
Something captured: It’s hard to get photos of the two of them together these days.
Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey
Wow. I thought time passed quickly with Maddie, but it’s just crazy now with the two kids. I can’t believe that my sweet baby boy is already 6 months old. He’ll be in college before I can blink. This must mean that it’s time for another letter to Cullen. (more…)
Something that makes me happy: Planning (and going on) vacations makes me happy!
Something I’m thinking: I’m thinking about getting some of those new designer diapers from Pampers. I saw them in Target the other day, and I was tempted!
Something I’m hoping: I’m hoping to take better photos of Cullen than I have been taking lately. I’ve been lazy and many days the only photo I have taken has been on the iPhone. The iPhone’s photos aren’t as good as the small camera (and definitely not as good as the SLR, obviously).
Something happening around the house: We had our friend Shannon watch the kids on Friday so that we could go to a dinner and a movie. It was strange being out of the house together without the kids. This was the first time since Cullen was born that we managed to do it. The next time will probably be for the Jack Johnson concert next month.
Something I’m reading: I started reading Little Earthquakes, the revised book club book for July. I don’t know if I will be able to finish it in time or not. I have plenty of time, theoretically. I just haven’t made much time for reading lately.
Something I’m watching: I was sad that Babies left the theaters before I could see it. Darn! Guess I will have to netflix it. I did manage to see Eclipse and Toy Story 3 in the theater. Wow, I can’t believe I saw two movies in one week! We also watched the first few episodes of Supernatural which is a bit creepy so far.
Something I’m playing: Gabe and I have been playing a lot of Words with Friends and iAssociate on our iPhones!
Something tasty: We had dinner at Lucky 32 Friday night for the first time in a while.
Something Maddie is doing (28 months old): She was doing great with potty training, but we had a couple of setbacks this weekend. Yesterday, she had a tiny accident while playing with a buddy. She wet herself a little and stopped herself and did the rest of the potty. But then after bath, she peed on the floor before getting her clothes on and announced happily that she had done so. Nice. She did the same thing again this morning, so I’m not sure what’s going on with her. We aren’t making a big deal of it and tell her that “peepee belongs in the potty.” Maybe she’s just trying to get attention. She had no other accidents this week, not even at night. I can’t believe how few nighttime accidents that we have had so far (only a couple in that first week). In other Maddie news, she continues to love singing songs. She loves her baby brother. She is very much into doing everything herself from climbing into her high chair or car seat to pouring her own drinks to dressing herself. She refuses to let us dress her and has to do it ALL by herself. She’s pretty good at it, but she’s not always the fastest dresser. Parenting a toddler takes a lot of patience!
Something Cullen is doing (24 weeks old): He started sleeping on his belly this week. I think that he’s more comfortable. He hasn’t miraculously slept through the night or anything, but I think we’ve been able to get him to sleep a little longer in the bassinet sometimes. Maybe. He still spends most of the night in the bed (NOT on his belly). Cullen gets compliments on his smile and his blue eyes everywhere he goes. He has a great smile. He’s so pleasant to be around (most of the time!). He loves his jumperoo. He seemed to be rolling over with more purpose this week. It seemed like he was rolling to reach things and for movement. He is good at spinning around on his belly when he’s playing on the floor. He explores everything by putting it in his mouth. He drools excessively. He’s wearing 9 month sized clothing (and has been for a little while). He’s getting close to being able to sit on his own.
Something I am struggling with: Keeping up with photos. Now that the first half of the year has passed, I had hoped to start on “volume 1″ of our photobook for 2010. I still need to organize quite a few photos from the first half of the year (including getting them on the website…I am still in April for those).
Something I learned: I learned that the front camera on my iPhone does not have as good resolution as the regular camera. Oh well, it’s still useful!
Something I’m looking forward to: Gabe’s mom is visiting soon, and we’re going to go to the beach for a couple days.
Something captured: My kiddos. They were both amused to see themselves on the iPhone while I took this photo with the front facing camera. Maddie had been singing “Where is Thumbkin” to Cullen, hence the sock puppets.
Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey
These months are going by so fast with the two kids. It’s time for another edition of letters to Cullen! (more…)
Seems like it wasn’t long ago that I wrote his 3 month letter! It’s time again for a letter to Cullen. (more…)
Something that makes me happy: Weekend afternoon naps.
Something I’m thinking: I’m thinking about gifts for our teachers this week during Teacher Appreciation Week.
Something I’m hoping: I’m hoping that this week isn’t too stressful.
Something happening around the house: We had guests this weekend. Catherine came to take photos, and Matt and Aiden were here to visit as well. Catherine took a ton of photos of all of us, and we had a nice time visiting with her family.
Something I’m reading: Not much time for reading this week.
Something I’m watching: We watched Pixar’s Up with Catherine’s family this weekend. They hadn’t seen it yet. I forgot how much I enjoyed that movie.
Something tasty: We had our first week of The Produce Box. We have managed to use the majority of the veggies in our box even with the tons of lettuce. Our salads have been very good! The strawberries were especially tasty! I’m happy that little to none of the box is going to waste this week.
Something Maddie is doing (26 months old): She’s officially counting to ten and attempted to tell her first knock-knock jokes this weekend. She’s not quite getting it. It generally goes something like this (with Maddie telling the joke): “Knock knock” “who’s there?” “banana!” “banana who?” *giggle, giggle* “banana who! knock knock joke!”
Something Cullen is doing (14 weeks old): We have finally turned a corner with bedtime! The past several days, we’ve been able to put him into the bassinet without me being in the room. The last two nights, I’ve actually been able to put him back into the bassinet after he wakes up to eat, too. He still spends a little time at the end of the night in the bed, but this has been encouraging! This afternoon, we took a nap together with him swaddled in the bassinet and me sleeping next to him in the bed.
Something I am struggling with: Making cookies for Teacher Appreciation Week. The Ginger Snaps are very tasty but a bit of work! It didn’t help that I forgot to add baking soda in the first batch. Who knew that baking soda was a key ingredient in baking? Oh, and just now I forgot to set the timer on the last batch, and the cookies are totally black. Awesome.
Something I’m doing towards my goals: We’re getting close to booking a cruise on Allure of the Seas which certainly qualifies as a megaship!
Something I learned: I’m not a fan of making the ginger snaps, but they make others happy, so I guess I’ll continue making them.
Something I’m looking forward to: Seeing our photos from Catherine Keene Photography.
Something random: Gabe is currently snuggling with the Boppy while we watch Amazing Race.
Something captured: Cullen looks like he’s dancing!
Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey