Tidbits

I've been feeling a little overwhelmed lately so I'm sorry for the lack updates (and sorry if I have not returned your e-mail, phone call, etc - it's not that I don't care!) I will post some pictures some day, but I have to focus on other things right now (namely things that result in a paycheck). But I did have to mention a few random things.

1. We started Emilia on solids. She did not take to the rice cereal at all. This is the first time that we have had a child not like baby food. Beyond cereal, we tried bananas (for a couple days now). She was not at all interested when I gave it to her but took it from my mom just fine. Interesting. We are going to try avocados and sweet potatoes in the next few days. In other news, Emilia has rolled over, can grab things deliberately, is jabbering constantly, sleeping beautifully and is about the happiest baby ever.

2. Lily has been her usual self. On Dr. Seuss' birthday, Lily brought one of his books to William and said, "I'm going to read this one to you. It's a legend." Yesterday she told William that she "schooled" him. When I asked her where she heard that expression, she replied, "You don't need to know". Alrighty then. Lily is very into the presidents and wants to be the first female president. In our conversation on this topic tonight she said, "I don't want to promise too many things, but I did do everything without using this [her right] hand today". What more do you want in a president anyway? And while she can really work over her brother, she can also be very, very sweet toward him. Now when William gets in trouble, he immediately goes to Lily, who has her arms wide open and comforts him by saying "Did mama yell at you? It's okay." I find this to be particularly amusing because he is usually in trouble for hitting her (who no doubt instigated the situation). When Lily went to the library at school today, she picked out a Thomas the Train book for William and then read it to him on the front step right when she got home....about the sweetest thing ever. I just love seeing them being sweet to one another. And it helps make all the bickering tolerable.

3. Since I just updated on William, I don't have a ton of information about him. His latest thing is saying "sorry". While it is incredibly sweet, it is also sort of sad when he says it because he inevitably says it when something happens that he did not do or was unintentional, like when I bump into him because I did not see him or he falls down while running. Now, of course, we get no sorries when William chucks something directly at us, but then again, he probably isn't sorry for that. Another new "thing" with William is now when I say, "I love you" to William (many times throughout the day), he responds with, "I not love you". Ahh, the sweet rewards of motherhood.

Happy birthday, Carl!

Happy birthday to the hardest working husband and father ever! We are so proud of you.

William Oscar

I have a ton of pictures from trips and outings that I want to get to, but I've had a few projects that needed to be completed first. I may or may not get to those pictures in the semi-near future, but I wanted to write a little bit about daily Deetz life now because the pictures will keep. My memory, however, will not.

Lately it seems that all my posts are about William's mischievous behavior. This really isn't surprising considering a) he's a boy, b) he's two, c) I'm home with him all day, and d) he's a boy. I'm sorry to have to delve into this topic again, but it is my world right now. I'm thinking that
William may have a calling as a safety products tester. Whatever children these so-called safety products were tested on must be some serious lightweights. Instead of deterring William from "protected" things, these safety products seem to be more like a beacon calling to him. They do not serve as deterrents but rather invitations to test his mental and/or physical capabilities. So far, he has exceeded all expectations.

This week, William has learned lots of fun new tricks. He now knows how to open the locked door to the basement and get downstairs into forbidden territory in record time. Another gem added to his repertoire is pressing the water dispenser on the refrigerator and giggling as the water runs down his arm and puddles on the floor. Fabulous. His favorite was stealthily breaking through the "safety" knob on the door leading to the laundry room, opening the locked door to the garage, pressing the button to open the garage door and running out, nearly making it to the street four different times. This number, of course, excludes multiple attempts that were thwarted by me early in the game. This week William also appears to be on the cutting edge of a new trend in the decorating world. His motto: say it with food. Namely, powdered sugar on the couch and peanut butter on the television. It really adds that je ne sais quoi to our hearth room. Thank you, my dear William. And it's only Wednesday.

But, there really is so much more to William than his ability to find new ways to elicit gasps from me. To paint a complete picture of William, you have to know that he is a cuddle bug. I live for the moments when William asks me to "nuggle, nuggle" with him. Luckily, I get this request almost daily. The increasing communication that occurs during the second year of life is both heavenly and hysterical. I really appreciate the ability to talk about the here and now, but what I really cherish the most (as evidenced by many former posts on Lily) is commentary from kids. Just to know what general thoughts are sprinting through their little minds is entertaining to no end. William has told us that he is scared of monsters, that Thomas is the best, and that climbing onto the counter is dangerous (said while standing on the counter, of course). He also has catch phrases that he will exclaim at any given time for no apparent reason. A few of the most popular are: "Ah, ha! I'm back!", "Rock and roll Lily!" (Lily need not be present), and "Why? Because I told you!" The last one I think he learned from Lily and cracks me up when he says, or rather yells, it. I will have to get this one on video.

William definitely knows what (and who) he wants. Maybe the cutest thing I've ever experienced is when William puts his hand over my mouth and says, "No. Stop. Listen. We go to Chuck E. Cheese." When that doesn't work, he just runs through the list: "We go to zoo - see animals.....We go to choo choo train.....We go to Mageric (Magic) House.....We go see Ingrid (or alternatively, Ingrid come over - we go Chuck E. Cheese)......We go to Grandma and Papa's - see Mary, Katie". Nearly every day we go through this, but I love it. It shows me that he has formed real attachments and is passionate about his favorite activities. Plus, it is just adorable when he says these things in such earnest. I can't help but laugh which prompts him to remind me to "Stop. Listen." And repeat. Love it.

The next item on the agenda with William is potty training. He has been showing signs that he is ready to potty train for well over a month now. And by showing signs, I mean taking off his diaper, getting the Elmo training seat from under the sink, putting it on the toilet and proceeding to go to the bathroom (both pee and poop). So "ready to train" may not be as accurate as, "Mom, could you just put me in underwear already?" I know, I'm ridiculous. But, I know the truth that while he does this a couple times per day, he has multiple dirty diapers per day, and accidents are going to happen. "Um...yeah", you say. I know, I know. But Lily was just so easy, and she really didn't have any accidents. Plus, having one child to potty train is far, far different than having three pulling you in different directions. Okay, even I recognize that these excuses are lame, and I just need to do it already. And I will....soon.

When I started this post, I intended to provide some updates on Lily and Emilia too, but it looks like that isn't going to happen tonight. Stay tuned...

More Emmy

I'm not saying that Emilia is the most beautiful baby ever. Well, maybe I am.

Picture perfect park day

We took a few pictures at the park while enjoying the pristine weather a couple weeks ago. This gorgeous weather in February has led to highs in the upper 80s in March...not so cool. I'm a little nervous about this summer. We shall see.

Lily practicing her cartwheels

William taking in the scenery while enjoying a juice box

Our big little boy

Perfect kite-flying weather

Our girl, growing up so fast

Our little bean

I realize that I have not posted nearly enough pictures of Emilia. She is an amazing baby, and we feel so lucky to have her in our lives. Since we know that she is our last, it makes me want to hold her a little longer and squeeze her a little tighter every day.

We took Emilia to her 4-month appointment, and her measurements are 13 lbs. 4 oz. and 25 in. Her height is in the 70th percentile and is exactly the same as Lily's was at this age. Her weight is in the 35th percentile. This was a little concerning to us since I don't think any of the kids have been under the 50th percentile for weight or height ever. Lily was 13 lbs. 14 oz. at 4 months which put her at the 50th percentile. It's good to know that there is only a 10-ounce difference between the two, but I suppose 10 ounces means a little more when you're just over 13 pounds. Emilia's pediatrician said that we will just check her at her 6-month appointment. As long as she doesn't drop further in percentile, it's fine.

We did get the go-ahead for starting baby food, but I'm going to wait on that for a little while. With Lily and William, it was very obvious when they were ready for solids. They both started being a bit crankier between feedings and wanted to feed more often. William also started drooling like nobody's business and chomping on his hand. For Lily, we started solids sometime in the 5th month, and for William, it was right at 4 months. I have not gotten any indication from Emilia that she needs to start solids yet. We have done well thusfar to follow her lead, so I'm going to continue that trend and let her tell us when she's ready. I'm sure that it won't be long. And, I'm fully prepared to start making baby food with a new steamer/food processor that I got from Carl's mom & sister as an early birthday gift. Yay! Thanks so much guys! And here are a few pictures of our little bean....

Mommy learned a new skill - making baby headbands - thanks to the WUMCHA Craft Club!

Happy, happy baby!

My little pretties

They say that you should never compare your children. Each child is unique, has their own interests and talents, and develops according to their own timeline. Well, sorry "they". I cannot resist the urge to compare the kids, and they will probably be forever burdened with their mom comparing their physical attributes, actions, behavior, language, milestones, and any other aspect of development you can think of. And if that make me the evil witch mom, so be it. But, my favorite thing to compare is pictures of them from around the same age with the same clothes, using the same toys, etc. It is a trip down memory lane that I happily travel. It never ceases to amaze me that the days can sometimes feel so long while the years seem to fly by. And in all this time spent together, I feel confident that the comparisons between siblings are mild offenses compared to the numerous other things I've done that will surely land them in therapy one day.

Lily in the exersaucer - around 6 months

William in the exersaucer - around 5 months

Emilia in the exersaucer - 4 months

William in the exersaucer just this morning. Geesh.

Lily wearing white hat - 3 months

Emilia wearing white hat - 4 months

Lily with giraffe - almost 2

William with giraffe - 2 yrs. 4 months

Lily with elephant - almost 2

William with elephant - 2 yrs. 4 months

William in the swing today

Emilia in the swing today!