Cai Cai

Another gymnastics pic from last night below- P's mom sent it.

Today was pajama day at school. I recognize I should've gotten a pic bc Jax looked adorbs in her PJs, boots and pig tails. These were PJs I bought for PJ Day at her daycare a year ago- and they were huge (size 18-24 mos) and now they fit perfectly- although some 18-24 mos pants are too short for her, most of them fit perfectly. Some are even long. Never know. Russian roulette, folks, bc let's face it- we aren't going into a dressing room. Not happening.

Ok, I am listening to Ingrid Michelson on a show called Shark Tank right now and totally get why cousin Jenna loves her.

I digress.

Hillers has started to become so communicative and it is weird bc I am used to her just being my little emotional carry on. But this morning in bed she was watching Caillou and there were birds on the show- she was like "BIR! BIR!" Pointing and looking at me like "Do you SEE these birds? This is nuts!!!!" and Jim and I were all happy over this development. She also started to bring over to me books that she wants to look at together. How can you say no to that??? For years I've been picking up those $1 bin Sesame Street books at Target when I see them and she is obsessed. And I literally force books on the girls bc I love children's books so much. So it was totally an ET phone home moment. Today was all about that.

I would also like to bring back those little fridges we had in college- it would be by my bed and at night I would stock it with a sippy cup for Jax, bottle for Hilly and granola bar for hilly. And creamer and a coffee maker on top of it for me. So the magic of feeding my children and waking myself up could happen without getting up (aside from crib-fetching). Bc the routine is currently, Hilly cries for us at 6, Jim puts on Sesame or Caillou while I grab bottle and Jackie's provisions from downstairs fridge (lame!) and Hilly. Hilly goes in her chair w bottle watching Sesame until Jax calls for Dada (daddy's girl, that one. Hilly, don't turn on me. He's not that cool. I kid.) then both girls climb into bed and I give Jackie her granola bar and sippy cup and H still has her baba and continue watching whatever is on. Sometimes Jackie demands to go down right away and I am happy she is a daddy's girl bc she doesn't want ME. Woohoo!!!!! She wants Jim. See ya, guys!!
I will be sleeping a bit longer. And growing our 3rd child and first son. Ya know- no biggie. You're welcome.

Below is also a pic of Jax and her daddy at Donuts for Dad at school which is a bad pic, I know, but so special!!!

Also is a pic I found while Jack was at school today. We were drawing Caillou before school today in bed and she had drawn this. It made me excited to pick up my girl. As if I wasn't already. :)

The Best Weather Ever

God, wasn't today just easier? Well, for me it was. Being awkwardly pregnant and able to wear yoga capris vs. struggling w the still-too-big maternity pants or my yoga pants that are dirty from overuse or black stretch pants that require some kind of shirt to cover my rear (not because I am modest but because I don't like my butt, thankyouverymuch).

In the 'Nastics pics below Jax has joined the rank of a long sleeved leotard. On the one pic she is on the balance beam w her friend, P. Jax is in the back, P in foreground. Eavesdropping on older girls there, I learned that (a) a leotard is called a "leo" as in "omg! I like your leo!" which makes me feel cool bc I am totally into slang and (b) a leopard leo is amazeballs to the 8-12 year old set. And also probably many other age groups. I can't get too judge-y bc I did buy Hillers that leopard shirt. Damn.

Speaking of Hillers, she was a serious nightmare this evening at 'nastics. I think the other mothers were like "umm... Your toddler is really annoying." If I would hold her for 1 second so I could watch Jack she would SCREAM angrily. If I set her down, she runs for the hills. At swim she is really good bc she can see what the kids are doing- not an option at this place. Oh well- totally comes w the territory of having a 17 month old. I remember at Jackie's 18 month wellness visit, I was pregnant w Hillers and chasing her ALL over the doctor's office. Now when we go to the doctor's (Jax and I, sans Hillers), she grabs a book and we read it together. The luxuries of a 3 year old! Although getting her to eat can be a challenge and it is never a challenge w my Hilly-monster. In fact, a 2.5 year old had a bag of pretzels at the gym today and Hilly stalked those pretzels. The girl said to Hill "You can't have them." I laughed to myself- homegirl had no clue who she was talking to. Hilly was taking those damn pretzels. Spoiler alert? She did.

In other news, we took a walk today which was luxurious. Jax and I hunted for squirrels and birds and spotted people's remaining Xmas decor. Hillers was our lookout.

Tutu Tues

P wanted Jax to wear her tutu today, so Hillers wore hers too. Fear not, those who love our tomboy Jax, she would've rather worn her t-shirt and shorts.

She apparently danced and played with baby dolls at school and cut paper with scissors. The other day she was looking for scissors and called them clippers. She also used to call a zebra a beez-ba but now she says zebra, which kind of bums me out.

Jax had swimming today too.

Meanwhile, Hillers has grown really attached to this little stuffed giraffe. She hugs it, carries it around everywhere and gives it kisses. I love watching their personalities unfold. I love the softer side of Hilly.

Hero Jim

I woke up in middle of Saturday night to throw up, which was awesome. Then I woke up a few more times to do the same.

Jim is seriously my hero. I woke up at like 8ish to the sounds of him bathing the girls. This is no small feat.

Then he took them to Target (hooking Jax up w a new UD t-shirt and jersey.....), the pet store and to Grammy and Pops'. Then they came home and slept for 3 hours. Then hung out, ate dinner and bedtime.

I spent literally all day in bed intermittently sleeping then barfing then catching glimpses of Supernanny- the TV show about disciplining your kids. Jim and I discussed how we need to be more consistent w Hilly's time outs. Before you decide we are meanies, understand they are 1 minute long and that she will straight up kick some Jackie a$$- knowingly, on purpose, etc.. (granted, she is often provoked but Jax gets time outs too). Hilly, we are onto you. Even though you have the cutest feet I have ever seen and the most kissable cheeks.

The best part about the day was how special it was for the girls to have a day with just their Dada. They get that time w me everyday, but not w Jim. This morning Jackie said to Jim, "Member when we went to Grammy and Pops' house and then to the pet store for dog food???" jim went to get ready for work and Jax asked where he was. I told her and she said, "Can I go up and prize him?"

Yesterday she kept coming into the room to see how I was. She said "We are going on errands." I said "I want to come." She responded in the sweetest tone, "But you are sick! You will probably be sleeping. We will be back." Like an angel.

Then her angel phase passed and she chased Lou around the house w the stroller. :)

Vom

Hilly had a stomach bug Wednesday-ish, so Jim and I got to clean up vomit a few times. Silver lining? Lots of Hilly snuggles which are AWESOME. She is a trooper too. As the younger sis, she still dropped off Jax at school, toured a different preschool and endured a play date w P and her little sister on Fri (though she was fine then).

P brought doughnuts and arrived while H was napping. H woke up and started raiding leftover doughnut from the girls' plates. Bless her doughnut-loving heart. So I hooked her up w her OWN doughnut, as seen below.

Also below is the family dinner Jackie sets up w her "people." I asked what they were having and she said "toast."

P insisted on wearing her Xmas dress and Jax insisted on wearing her t-shirt and shorts combo that I hate. When she is older she is going to ask me why I let her wear that. I will say 2 things: 1. I usually don't except in the privacy of our own family at home and 2. I also hate it, but wearing that outfit makes her giddy and I don't always have the heart to say no (although... 99% of the time I DO have the heart to say no). :)

Isn't Jax such a peanut? Kills me.

She hadn't pooped in a long time so I asked her a few days ago "Do you have to poop?" She said "No." I said "You sure?" She responded "You're freaking me out.". Hahahahaha. Totally. Poop talk (unless its funny) freaks me out too.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

While I definitely don't have seasonal affective disorder, I can tell you that I hate bundling up 2 toddlers, getting frost bitten en route to car, and then jamming them into their car seats (sometimes taking their coats off in car to buckle). Ugh.

Today we stayed home in the morning and it was glorious. Yesterday we had school, swimming and then met up with the old neighbors. Today we only had gymnastics. Below, Jack's BFF, P, is next to her. P wasn't there last week so J was timid at first- not today- she just ran right in w P. I hope they are BFFs forever.

I am way too protective of Jackie. If one person says something to her that I can't hear that I suspect is anything other than really sweet (which is ridiculous- she is 3), I immediately feel ready to throw it down. Even if the kid is like 4. Example: This one little girl at gymnastics who was a bit older kept saying something to Jax and P and Jax totally looked at her and then looked away and giggled at P over something unrelated. Who knows what she was saying. NO CLUE. I immediately did not like that other little girl. I mean... Whatever she said, Jax and P didn't give a crap. Why should I?

Because I am a crazy helicopter mom. Thank goodness P's moms and Will's mom are not bc I have that base covered. Two's a crowd in crazy land. It is a ridiculous mindset. I am going to have to eventually let her fight her own battles in life (though not yet- not even close to yet) so she can develop tools to be at least a little bit independent - so when she is 35, I am not calling her boss on the phone giving him/her a piece of my mind. How the hell am I going to manage this??

Lou is laying next to me and every time she moves, I get a whiff of butt. Disturbing part is, I think it is her breath.

Hillers woke up this AM and it looked like she had thrown up some peas last night.... Odd.

I ordered Jackie her new bed, mattress, a bed tent and a little sleep light for her tent.

Post 2 of Today

Jax had her 3 year wellness visit. Seems like just yesterday we were at her first doctor's visit ever- the doctor put a stethoscope to her belly and said "her bowel sounds are........ Perfect." To her brand new parents, that pause was about 45 minutes long. I am sure Jim recalls this incident also.

Anyway, as you can see, Jackie remains a peanut. The nurse freaked me out by saying her weight dropped off the scale and that "she was a big baby." um, 6 pounds is not a big baby. So my nerves were activated as I waited for the doctor- who waltzed in and said she isn't off any chart for weight/height-- she is in 10% for both and in perfect proportion and health. She is getting enough calories and "eats to live" and not vice versa, which is to her benefit. Also, he expects her to be small until puberty, where she may end up as tall as me or she may stay short. This height is no indication of what her size will be as an adult.

There are a lot of armchair pediatricians in this world (ahem, nurse). I have gotten much better at blocking out the noise, so to speak, and my heart goes out to new parents who haven't yet learned that everyone will have an opinion on how and what you feed your child, discipline your child, etc.. (and I don't think these people mean harm)

Anyway, we went to lunch at a fancy diner we've been wanting to try since my trusty old standby was closed by some money-hungry landlords. :( I mean, their Christmas decorations were sparkly and exquisite. It was open 24/7 and you could order anything at any time. It reminded me of TS, which may rest in peace.

Jackie was in a silly mood and fell victim to her new potty humor. I said "What do you want to eat? Hot dog or nuggets?" Her response? "Toots." Haha

Also, our daffodils are poking through! I know spring is a ways off, but the mere thought of it....