Cookies!!

We have had a two day cookie extravaganza! Yesterday we made cookies with Leila and Max and today we decorated cookies with Leila. The kids had a ton of fun, and it was a good reminder for me to just relax and let the toddlers play.

Cookie making was more cookie dough playing. Fortunately, we made butter cookies (the recipe I grew up with) which don't have any eggs. I had high hopes that I could roll out the dough in front of each child, and the kids would use the cookie cutters and cut them out. I would then place the perfectly cut cookies onto the baking sheet, and stick them in the oven. That wasn't quite how it happened.

Look at me! This is how it should be done!
The kids creating their masterpieces. Leila preferred hearts and butterflies while Quin took after me and used the rocking horse. Quin mastered the art of eating the dough very quickly, another trait he shares with his mother. Leila and Max weren't too interested in eating the dough, but Quin asked for more cookie dough several times.
The decorating went much better, from an adult's perspective. The icing actually made it to the cookies. For the most part.

Which color should I start with?
Mom's watching, I'd better decorate a cookie.
Wow! I like what she's doing! Can I eat it also? (To be fair, Quin wasn't interested in eating the icing.)

Mom's not watching!

I have all this icing left, can I decorate one more?

Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah!!

Zip-A-Dee-A!
My, oh my, what a wonderful day!!

Today is the last square on the potty chart! We've been talking about it, and Quin (I hope) understands that this is his last (of two) potty charts before he is potty trained! He has been going poop in the potty consistently for 4 days now (with two exceptions while asleep), and he's only had a couple of minor accidents. I'm so excited! E's so excited! Of course I have a brand new box of size 5 diapers in the garage... but since he's still wearing them at night and for naps, I guess that's a good thing.

Leila's already wearing undies full time, and was encouraging Quin to use the potty last Wednesday. Nothing like a little bit of positive peer pressure!

December already??

Where did the year go? Oh, yeah, that's right: time goes faster for the sleep deprived! I figured that since I was posting, I would get a jump on December; maybe I'll figure out how to post pictures more than once a month this month!

Let's see, Gretchen is crawling everywhere now, and she can really move too! She can push herself up into a seated position, and is starting to realize that there is a vertical aspect to the world. I'm not overly thrilled about it, and Quin is even less excited than I am.

Quin's enunciation has returned; when Gretchen was born he regressed with his enunciation. He did get better over the summer, but nothing compared to now! We're also making positive strides in potty training! Only parents of potty training toddlers can get excited over BMs, but my little, um, big boy made two BMs today - ON THE POTTY!! ALL BY HIMSELF!! WITHOUT ANY PROMPTING!! I'm so proud of you, Quin! E and I decided that Quin was going to be wearing undies any time we're not going to school, running errands, going down for a nap or bedtime, or going to visit. So far it's working pretty well. It helps that Leila and Avalon both are potty trained; I can use them as a good example: "don't you want to wear undies like Leila and Avalon?"

For those of you who don't know my husband, E loves to play computer games. We don't have a headset for the phone, so E improvised.
It's still hard to get Gretchen's smiles on camera, but I'm getting better!
Nana and Papa gave Quin some large, magnetic letters. He loves them! He knows how to spell "Quin" ("Q-U-I-N spells Quin!"), and this was his first attempt. I did have to encourage the letter placement a little, but only a little! He knows most of his letters, although he will occasionally get K and X mixed up. Along with spelling, I've also started working on basic math:
"How many blue trains do you see?"
"2"
"How many green trains do you see?"
"1"
"How many green and blue trains are there?"
"1-2-3"
This probably makes the teachers out there cringe, but it entertains me while we're playing trains. I should restate that. It entertains me while I watch Quin play with trains - I'm rarely allowed to do anything but watch him play, but he wants me there. It's the little things that keep him happy and me amused.
Leila came over last Wednesday, and the two kids had a great time reading together. *Sniff* My little boy is growing into a bookworm. You go, Quin! I was informed that Leila is his best friend on the way to school on Tuesday. She is a cutie!
Tonight Quin helped me make brownies. Gretchen really wanted to help too!

November catch up

I've been bad about downloading my camera lately, but here's the latest!

Papa teaching Gretchen how to "zip it!" Quin loves this game: the mouse runs its paw over it's mouth as it says "Zip it!" However, "zip it" isn't nearly as popular as the mouse throwing up. What is it with boys and vomit? Seriously?
Papa hard at work. Being retired has taken a lot out of this poor man. Playing with his grandbabies, visiting friends, sailing... it's hard work, but someone has to do it! (For the record, he refused to use the table, claiming he was more comfortable on the floor.)
Nana and Papa encouraged E and me to go out for an evening. I left some pumped milk, but turkey girl (a.k.a. Gretchen) decided she wouldn't take a bottle. After we were called home (Nana sounded very desperate on the phone), they discovered that she would take milk out of a cup. Fortunately, we were at the end of a movie at a friend's house when they called. Yes, it is taking both of them to feed her this way: Nana to hold Gretchen, Papa to control the cup. She was practically snatching it out of his hands; the poor thing was starving!
Nana and Papa decided to ride the tandem with E on his way to karate one Saturday. Nana's not too sure about Papa being in charge of the steering and gear changing.
Quin loves to do "sink work" - here he is washing dishes.

Gretchen has this thing for chewing on my hair. I'm not sure what it is; it doesn't matter if it's clean or dirty, up or down, but she will always go for my hair and stuff it in her mouth. I swear she loves the challenge of pulling my hair out of its "pony-bun" when she's in the backpack. (E's name for this hair style - well, it was somewhat styled before Gretchen got a hold of it!) I have to put her in the Jumparoo when I do floor exercises or play with Quin - she'll come over and start to eat my hair. Very distracting when trying to do sit ups!
Gretchen loves to chew on tags. She's a "mouthy" baby - she sticks everything into her mouth. Quin wasn't like that at all; we could put him next to almost anything and he would rarely put it in his mouth. Gretchen, on the other hand, is very orally fixated.

These are her favorite two fingers to suck on.
Quin has been fascinated with pretending to eat and make things recently. I'm not sure why. He was going on and on and on about making pancakes, so we made pancakes the first non-school morning. Quin was a great helper and an even better eater!
"No, Mama, I wanna feed Gunkin!"

The Sensei

Last night we saw an amazing movie: The Sensei.

It was a very powerful movie, and I highly recommend that everyone go see it! When it comes out, that is. We were fortunate to know someone who invited the writer/producer/co-star, Diana Inosanto, to show a private screening of the movie for World Aids Day.

The link has a synopsis of the movie, so I won't include one, but it is a tear jerker, so bring your hanky. If there is a screening in your area, go see it! They are doing a word of mouth, grassroots advertising campaign similar to The Blair Witch Project and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. A definite must see!

Last Day!!

Yikes! Order your truffles and caramels TODAY if you're interested! (See the 24 Nov. post, below.) The Sweet Hope link is to the right. Tasty, tasty, tasty!

Pink-eye Tips

1. Did you know that when your toddler wipes his nose on the back of his hand (to many protestations of "I don't WANT a Kleenex!"), and then perhaps rubs his eyes (due to lack of sleep or just plain itchiness), that he can give himself pink eye?? I never knew this. I honestly thought it was something that had to be passed on from another person. Tip: always wash hands after touching mucus.

2. E and I have had experience putting eye drops into Quin's eyes. After all, the boy's tear ducts practically sealed themselves shut for the first couple of months or so. Smearing cream into a newborn's eyes and then trying to get him to blink is much easier than holding down a squirming 31.5 pound 2-1/5 year old to put eye drops into his eyes! I swear an extra pair of arms and legs are needed, because they will always manage to get a limb loose and bat at the eye drop container. ALWAYS. Oh, and when the doctor tells you that you can use the same drops on your infant daughter, should she also contract the bacteria, then of course your toddler will squirm more, attempting to wipe said bacteria onto the tip of the bottle and making it unavailable should the 8-month old need it. (Happy 8 months, Gretchen! She weighed in at 17 lbs 5.4 ozs at the doctor's on Saturday.) Tip: grow at least an extra set of arms for administering eye drops to a toddler. Should that prove impossible, learn yoga and judo in an hour, and use on squirming toddler. If you're really lucky, another adult will take pity on you and either a) do it for you, or b) help hold the toddler down.

3) Ear infections can come on quite suddenly with pink eye, and are a common secondary infection. Wow. Talk about sudden. Quin went from a 1 (perfectly healthy ear) to a 10 in just a matter of hours. He was complaining (OK, whimpering) that his ear hurt yesterday morning before I went into the office. I called and got an appointment (since the kind doctor told me this would probably happen). The doctor he saw yesterday was impressed that Quin wasn't running a fever and was just cranky (and whimpering in pain) with such a bad ear infection. He's never had one before (which the doctor was also impressed by), so this is new territory. I'm just quite thankful that the doctor gave us an oral antibiotic rather than ear drops. Oh, and we get to continue the eye drops in order to clear up the pink eye faster. Tip: when your toddler is whimpering in pain, but isn't doing any of the other stereotypical ear infection signs, TAKE HIM IN.

4) Just when you think everything is going to be OK, your infant will get diaper rash. No pink eye for her yet, although we have been warned she will most likely get it. I will hold out hope that she will not only avoid getting it, but that she won't get an ear infection if she does. I'm not holding my breath, I'm just washing everything that she touches. Tip: wash everything.

So, to sum that up: Quin has pink eye and an ear infection, he's on two different antibiotics, and he's taking some acidophilus (these at least are blueberry and chewable) to maintain some healthy fauna (flora?) in his gut. No sign of pink eye for Gretchen as of this post, but I'm watching her very carefully. Tip: teach your toddler how to wash his hands after wiping snot on them, blowing his nose, or getting mucus on them in any way, shape, or form. Also teach him how to not rub his eyes unless he's washed first.

And finally, what is it about having pink eye in the house that makes every healthy eye itch insanely??

Adoption Truffles

Hello all!

My friend from high school, Lisa, is doing her annual adoption fund raiser. The company is Sweet Hope, and the link is to the right. She is selling truffles and caramels (Rich's recipe - all the sticky goodness, none of the cooking!), and half the proceeds will be donated to a family that is currently trying to adopt. Her goal this year is to raise $1200. Wonderful candy for a great cause!

H A double L O W double E N

Quin loves that song! Ok, back from 3rd grade sing-alongs - we had a great Halloween! Quin's friend from school, Leila, came over with her brother, Ethan (a week younger than Gretchen), and her mother, Jessica. We had a great time trick-or-treating!

The pre-trick-or-treating playdate went quite well, although it was amusing watching the two-year-olds try to understand that we were waiting until a little later to get the candy! Nana and Papa had a fun time teaching Quin and Leila to knock on the door and say "trick-or-treat!"
And then we had the kids dressed and ready to go! Oh, wait, no, you can't go outside yet, all the parents want PICTURES!! It was hard to convince the little ones to wait just a little bit longer, just one more picture, please!
Ethan changed into Quin's puppy costume from last year due to costume issues. He really is only a week younger than Gretchen! Leila made a beautiful princess, Ethan made a cute puppy, Quin was a ferocious tiger, and Gretchen was a playful dalmatian.

We loaded the babies into the "chariot" (a.k.a. the bike trailer). Ethan fell asleep rather quickly, but E had to move continuously in order to keep Gretchen happy. She was finally taken out and carried for the last portion of the walk so that she wouldn't wake up Ethan.

The chariot was also used by the older kids when they wanted to take a break from walking. E was a sport by biking along with us - his headlights were so bright, we didn't need a flashlight!
We had a successful trip, and Quin continues to ask to go trick-or-treating when we go for a walk around the block! The kids only needed minor prompting for this shot - they were waiting for the door to open.
Candy was enjoyed after the event - after all, E and I were going out while Nana and Papa stayed with kids! (Thanks to Toki for doing the red-eye adjustment magic on this photo!)

(In my defense, I am still waiting for the Halloween photos from Nana and Papa's camera - they were downloaded onto E's computer, and it's been difficult getting them away from E.)

October

And this post is dedicated to Nana's nagging - she was fully supporting Toki's call this morning....

Again, it was a quiet month. We haven't done much this school year - the cold that wiped us out in September was still hanging around in early October. Gretchen cut her first tooth (lower left) at the end of the month. She seems to be trying to cut a top tooth as well as the other bottom front tooth at the same time. Ouch!

It seems like every morning before school we have a poopy diaper from one of the kids. On this particular morning, I ran upstairs to change Gretchen, and when I came back down, Quin had finished my request to put on shoes and coat. I hadn't specified his shoes.

Quin helped me rake leaves in the back yard. It took a while to get the rake away from Quin, and he consoled himself by climbing the stump and reaching for the sky. He's very into reaching for the sky (and touching the ceiling when ever possible) right now!
Quin put on his own pants. He's still learning that when you lay the pants out, the tag goes on the bottom.
Gretchen is really moving around now. She can roll all over, and she's mastering the army crawl. She still isn't crawling in the traditional sense, but she sure is trying!
Quin has been very into "houses" (aka forts).

Quin has a great friend from school, Leila. Here the kids are practicing for Halloween. The costumes were Forrest's - thanks again, Forrest!
Nana and Papa are currently in town. Poor Papa has been roped into watching Blue's Clues ad nauseum (or so he thinks, he can't sing most of the songs).
Yes, I have purposefully left off pictures of Halloween. Leila's mom has a ton of photos, as does Nana and Papa. My camera was charging when most of the pictures were being taken, so I have to wait. And wait. Oh, and Nana and Papa left their cord on the boat, so we also have to wait for E to be home long enough to use his card reader.

Funny sayings I've heard during this visit:

Nana: "She's jumping! That little turkey!" (Gretchen was in the Jumparoo while Nana wanted to take pictures)

Quin and I were having a talk; one of those talks that occur after a little boy has a meltdown because he wasn't listening.
Me: Will you listen to Papa, and do what he says?
Quin: No, Nana do it.

September

Yes, it's been a while. So long, in fact, that Toki actually called me to nag me about Halloween pictures today. No, you're not getting them today; I'm still waiting for Nana and Papa (my mom and step-dad) to download their photos and for a friend to send me the pictures she got. Ok, enough about Halloween - this is September's post!

We had a great month - all four of us were sick with a cold that hit us twice, so we were sick for about 6 weeks. "Great" is probably an overstatement, but we did survive. Two less bugs for the kids to catch in school (E brought them home from judo). It was quiet, we gorged on birthday cake (well I did), and stayed home, blowing our noses. We should have invested in Kleenex!

Quin and Gretchen playing on the couch.
My Picasso - he loves to paint, and really likes making circles!

Quin loves to puddle stomp!


Gretchen wasn't as impressed with puddle stomping as Quin was - just wait until next year!
Gretchen playing.

Toilet training conversations

J: "Quin, I'm so proud of you for wearing undies!"
Q: "Babies don't wear undies. Gunkin too little to wear undies. Quin wear undies just like Mama does!"

It's going pretty well. This is day two of wearing underwear. I think I'll be doing a LOT of laundry for a while because Quin insists on wearing 2-5 pairs of undies at any given time. The good side is that accidents don't spread as far. The bad side is that we have a limited number of undies (around 10). Just now he told me he needed to go potty, and up the stairs we went. However, he had just gone, but he's now happily sitting on the big potty ("big boys use big potties") reading a book. I'm hoping he's going to get it soon!! He has asked to wear undies to school on Monday, and I told him that he could as long as he continued to let me know when he needed to go potty. I have to remember to pack extra clothes on Monday....

Quin's first success!!

We had a successful potty use tonight! The first one without a diaper!! (We one last winter, with a diaper on.) I can only hope he'll be potty trained in a matter of days. Murphy's Law says that will happen: I bought a Costco size box of size 5 diapers yesterday.

Further August activities

The last post was getting long, and children started needing attention! So, after we returned from WA, we introduced Gretchen to rice cereal. She had been watching us eat for a couple of weeks, but I wanted to wait until we were back from vacation before starting her on solids. Like most kids, she had some initial reservations about this strange, white stuff that smelled like milk, but didn't quite taste or feel right. We now make it with water instead, which is much easer for me!! She now eats 1 - 2 tablespoons of rice cereal at a time. We've tried carrots (not interested), and I'm going to introduce a new veggie this weekend.
The Alaska State Fair is in August, and we took Quin and Gretchen. We met our friend Paul, and his mom, at the fair, and it was great having extra eyes to watch for the running toddler! Quin wasn't that interested in the animals when we looked at them, but as soon as we left the barn, all he could talk about was visiting the animals again. Quin was able to pet a rabbit and see some baby chickens! He really liked the baby chickens!!
My mother-in-law, Carolyn, won Best in Show and Division Champion for her sweater! Great job on such a beautiful sweater!!
We walked by the right spot at the right time: the Toddler Trot was about to begin! We signed Quin up, got him to the start line (with a lot of other parents), and the kids were off! Quin wasn't quite sure what to do, so he turned to me, grabbed both my hands, and I ran the race with him. Until he tripped. By then he knew what to do, and took off running. He almost ran out of the race track!
We ate a lot, had a great time, and the kids were great! We were at the fair for 6 hours, and E learned how useful a stroller can be! Quin was fasinated with the rides, but we decided he was too young this year. We stopped off to look at the animals on our way home, but all Quin wanted to see was the baby chickens. He is still talking about them, and knows that "baby chickens say peep, peep!"
It was a long, hard day at the fair.

August also saw the start of school. Quin has been looking forward to school all summer, and we were counting down "one month to school," "two weeks to school," and finally "school starts today!" Quin picked out his clothes, got dressed, and was ready to leave 15 minutes early! It was hard explaining why we couldn't leave immediately! When it was time to go, I loaded Gretchen, loaded Quin, smelled something suspicious, unloaded Gretchen, unloaded Quin, changed an extremely nasty diaper, then back into the car. Quin was so excited about school, it was hard keeping him focused on getting his slippers (indoor school shoes) on, hanging up his backpack and rain gear, and getting a kiss good-bye. He wanted me to stay for all of 1 minute, then he was off doing his own thing. *sniff* My baby is growing so quickly!
Gretchen wants to go to school also, and wasn't happy about staying home.