Family Held Captive By Two-Year-Old

As promised, Ed is still very much into balls. We had him out in the sprinkler for the first time today--we'd been trying all summer without sucess. For whatever reason (maybe it was the 80% humidity), he decided to run through it today, fully clothed.

I had similar pictures last year (see link below), but this year, Eddie decided to pick up the sprinkler and run around with it. He wanted to water the bushes, his balls, and anything else he could. We were laughing so hard, all the while trying to stay out of the path of the roving sprinkler.

http://watchusgo.blogspot.com/2006/08/summer-sprinkler-fun.html#links

4 Month Update

We went to a local park Saturday morning that has both a carosel and a mini train (right across from each other). Eddie had a great time. He is increasingly interested in trains, but not to worry, balls are still his passion.

Josie of course went along for the ride. She also had her first airplane ride when we went to g'parents Wisc. She started sleeping in her crib the night we got home from Wisc. I guess she wanted one last spin in the bouncy chair (her bed for her first 4 months). We even bought one while in Wisc. because we knew she'd sleep well.

She has started going to bed earlier, around 8:30 or 9 and seems to fall asleep pretty quickly (which tells me we're catching her at the prime time for sleep, according to a book on sleep I read). Last night she slept all the way until 4:30am, which was a nice change from the last several weeks.

She seems to be eating a lot more too. She rolled over a couple weeks ago and pretty much every time you put her on the floor or somewhere to spread out, she likes to utilize this new skill. She likes to sleep on her side. She is pretty much out of 0-3 (sigh) clothes and solidly into 3-6, although several of those are still much too big.

We have her 4 month check up this Friday and after the last visit and her reaction to the vacines, I am seriously dreading this visit. Eddie never had such an issue. I've told Dennis that since it's on a Friday, I will be needing some help at home, as she will be a handful for even one person. I don't think he realizes how bad it was at 2 months. I'm going to talk to the Dr. about her reaction and hopefully he'll have some thoughts on the matter.

She smiles a lot more and giggles out loud, which when you get her going, can be pretty funny. She drools a ton. We regularly go through at least 2 bibs a day. She loves the bath, splashing the water out onto the kitchen floor. Cookie says she loves watching the kids play.

Couple more pictures below.

This is For You, G'pa Wisc.

I bought this outfit while in Wisc. and g'pa thought it as cute as I did and requested photos. I especially love the flower on the butt--something I don't love as an adult. She got tuckered out by the end of the photo shoot.

Four month update to come soon...


This is her movie star look -- with the tilted hat. Her head wobbled as she can't sit up and this just cracked me up.

You Have Got to Be Kidding Me!

I just had to post the below as about the biggest 'duh' I've heard in a while. I guess if you don't have kids, you might not think of this...but putting those little decorative crystals on a pacifier? I'm careful about the pacifier keepers I use, let along anything extra on a pacifier (the clips you attach to your child's clothes so the pacifier doesn't fall to the ground when spit out).

Pacifiers Decorated with Crystals Recalled Due to Aspiration and Ingestion Hazards These pacifiers fail to meet federal safety standards for pacifiers. The pacifiers' crystals can separate easily, posing an aspiration and ingestion hazard to young children. This alert was issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. For more information, see http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07254.html

How Did This Happen??

[I love the look on Josie's face in this picture with g'pa].
No we didn't travel with this stroller, although I don't think we would have noticed with all the other stuff we had. Den's brother is finished with the stroller and left it at g'parents for us to use.

Gotta love the milk tank.

This is Eddie riding the monkey I referenced in an earlier post.



I think I have a reputation for taking a lot of photos. G'ma even commented on our second day that I had yet to take a photo. I figured I had several more days to go....yet somehow I wound up with just a handful of photos of the kids with g'parents and none of all four together.

Could it be because:
1. I shopped too much--in the afternoons when the kids napped
2. When the kids were with the g'parents, I was otherwise engaged?
3. When Eddie doesn't want his photo taken, he can be difficult to capture and it's just easier not to try.

Afterall, it's not like I locked up the camera, Den could have taken some, but still I guess I just have the reputation for capturing everything. I felt so bad as I looked over our pictures and not a single one.

We took off in such a hurry on our last day (it's a 2 hour drive to the airport) and we were nearly the last people on the plane, that I didn't even get any parting shots. To make up for it, I got plenty of Eddie with the chicks...but he is still asking to watch the cows get milked.

Piano! Piano! Apparently, every morning, when g'pa met Eddie at the bottom of the stairs (g'pa Wisc. is an early riser, whom I thank each morning for MY early riser of a son) , Eddie wanted to play the piano w/ g'pa. We brought this wonderful songbook and g'pa tried to teach Eddie 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.

So as we're pulling up to our home in the taxi last night, before the door to the car was open, Eddie cheerfully asks, 'go see g'ma and g'pa Ohio?'. Yay! A child who likes to travel. We cracked up.

chick sucession

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Ed held just about every color chick. I don't know what the chick did, but all of a sudden, Eddie dropped the chick--fortunately into Den's waiting hands. It was a bit of a challenge to get him to keep his thumb out of his mouth after all this. They did have plentiful hand-washing stations with both hand sanitizer and running (via foot pump) water with soap.



We made good use of these, but nothing like getting the full scrub back home.

Meeting the Chicks

At the Fair they had a nice program published complete with a map. Unfortunately, they said nothing about the petting area --you just had to know where to go.

Nobody did. We asked person after person and finally, outside the goat barn, a couple with a child sitting in their fold-up chairs knew what we were asking about. When she told us they had chicks you can hold, I made a bee-line, darn near running g'pa over to get there.

Round and Round

We went to the Fair on Saturday for a second day's adventure. This time we left Josie home with G'parents Wisc. and I think it worked better that way. Once again, Ed wanted to hold the chicks and see the animals. He specifically requested the goats. Being in Wisc., they had this tank--kind of reminded me of a beer stand, only it had milk and they were selling it for something like 35 cents. It was free if you filled a baby bottle. I should have done that because when Eddie didn't finish the whole cup I accidently dumped it in his stroller.

Eddie finally decided he wanted to go on the Merry Go Round. Turned out to be the most expensive ride there at $4.50. Every one we told thought that was highway robbery. He chose to ride the monkey and sure liked it, going "round and round." I have pictures of both the tank o' milk and and merry go round.

It didn't take Eddie long to recognize g'parents Wisc. house. He would even know when we turned down their street. He's been playing with a handful of balls g'parents have here, putting them in the same order each time. Josie has been just going with the flow, enjoying the attention that extra visitors and having four adults brings. I've been doing what I love when I come to Wisc.--shopping. And Den has been catching up with old friends.

The County Fair!

The County Fair is taking place while we are here. I have never been to a true County Fair--or one that I can remember anyway. I was not disappointed--and neither was Eddie. I can't wait to post the pictures of Eddie holding the chicks. That was by far his highlight -- when we asked him last night what his favorite thing was, he said the chicks--and he doesn't usually answer that kind of question.



He must have held 5 different chicks--and he kept going back, asking to hold them again and again. It was adorable. They had rabbits, goats, sheep, and cows you could touch too. We're going back today or tomorrow to check out the food area--the baking/cooking contests, more animal viewing and then there are a couple fair rides that I will trust to try out (I don't generally condone riding fair rides, as there is something about the pieces being packed up and moved repeatedly that makes me nervous). I'd really like to see the demo derby on Sunday night, just to say I have.

Coke, Coffee, and Milk--or Where are you at 12AM?

We've arrived safely in Wisc. (as of Thurs.), but there will be no pictures for a while as we left the laptops at home and there is no way to upload photos to the g'parents computer. Don't worry, I'm taking some fabulous

photos while here tho'.



I love traveling, so much so that I'm trying to tell Den that he needs to get his employer to offer a 'splash' like his brother's employer offers--after a certain number of years of employment, you get 4 weeks off that you are required to take. Can you imagine the places we could go? I'm salvating just thinking about it. Somehow I doubt that will happen, but a girl can wish. It would be so great for employee moral and retention, and people would come back refreshed and ready to go. And it would have to be required, as otherwise people like Den would never use it--the idea (which I can understand) of being away that long is daunted. Just think of it as abreviated Maternity/Paternity leave :)



But I digress. When I used to travel every three weeks for work, I was an efficient packer. Somewhere along the way, I became the worlds slowest packer, no matter what time I start, I'm always finishing at midnight. Trying to pack now for 4 people...I started at noon, laying out Ed's clothes, but between interuptions, laundry, and ironing, we literately didn't finish until midnight. I am positive that if I had just waited and started at 10 or 11, I would have still been able to finish at midnight.



Needless to say, Den and I were exhausted on Thurs. as we were woken by both kids during the night and baby Josephine thought it was a good night to stay up after her 4:30am feeding. So on the plane, I ordered a Coke (pepsi), Den ordered a coffee, and we got Ed a little bit of OJ. Ed downed his OJ, and wanted our drinks. To keep the peace, Ed had some water diluted coffee AND pepsi--and still managed to nap on the way to the g'parents. Come to think of it, maybe that's why he only slept 40 minutes.



I was really nervous about how Josie would do on the plane--Ed has (short of one bad flight) always been a steller traveler and this flight was no exception. Josie did great too. No ear popping issues--which really is the one thing I worry about. There were lots of kids around us and ours were the only ones who didn't fuss, cry or otherwise protest during the flight. We are so lucky in this regard!



The thing we love about visiting Wisc. is the sleep. We went to bed just after 9am on Thurs. night and didnt' get up until 10am the next day--with a couple interuptions during the night of course. Gotta love g'parents!

Ed and Josie's New Wheels

I am obsessed with strollers. Or have been recently. Tandem, side by side, toddler seat, jog, you name it. It kind of reminds me of buying a car. There are different strata of strollers. I won't get into these strata except to say that there are lots of cheaper strollers, a very few mid priced ones, then you get into the luxury strollers and finally into the strollers that only people with money to burn can justify.

My internet time has been consumed by my quest to find a stroller with a toddler jump seat. A double stroller is far larger than I expected and typically heavy. In response someone came up with strollers that are basically a suped-up single that can accomodate a second seat, often without all the luxuries of the main seating of the single stroller. The bonus here is that if your 2.5 year doesn't feel like riding, you aren't pushing around a giant 2 person stroller. And if he decides a ride would be nice, you can easily accomodate.

The thing is, I don't know for what purpose these strollers are intended. Many people say that when you put the toddler seats on (I've found about 5 different kinds so far), in most cases, it makes the stroller difficult to steer or has some other problem. Yet, in order to support all that weight, they seem to weigh 30 pounds and up. SO if they are difficult to steer, you won't take them for long walks and if they are heavy, they aren't good for quick trips. What's left? Looking nice in your living room? I'd hoped to get one as my errand running stroller, but haven't settled on what I wanted--or rather what I'm willing to deal with.

Time was flying though and Cookie really wanted a double to get the kids around now that I'm back at work. She knew exactly what she wanted. The tandem you see here. I even took her shopping with me and she passed on all the expensive ones and said she wanted the Graco duoglide. Den put it together over the weekend and she took the kids for her (and their) first spin. She just raved about how easy it was to steer, how much she loved it. It does have some nice features.

YOU MAY WANT TO STOP READING AFTER THIS, AS IT GETS PRETTY BORING IF STROLLERS AREN'T YOUR THING.

For me, I've fallen in love with European strollers. There are a couple I'd love to have, but they don't sell them in the US. I'm actually trying to figure out how I can get to Europe to test drive a couple I've got my eye on. In particular, I like the forthcoming (this fall) iCandy Pear. My big question is will it be like the Kolfcroft Contours Options and be absolutely about the largest stroller in length and heft I've seen, and have seats that dear Eddie is too big for, or will it really be geared to a toddler and infant as promised.

The other one I like is by a company called Musty. Try searching on google for that stroller. It's called the musty duo and it has a toddler jump seat. This version as far as I can see is not sold in the US. Others I've considered are the Queen B bumbleride and toddler seat. And the Valco runabout. I'd prefer the Valco Rebel, but they stopped making that. There is a listserve for people with my addiction, and I seem like I'm just into the minor stuff compared to the addicts some of these people are. One woman recently listed about 15 strollers she had bought and/or sold in the last 10 months alone. Dennis doesn't know how good he's got it! Well, it was on the list that I learned about a stroller made by the guys who make Phil and Ted's (who left the company btw), and started a company called Adventure Buggy Company. They have a cool take on the toddler seat, but the stroller isn't sold in the US. Plus I want the baby to be able to face me...that's where I'm having the real problem.

Sometimes these non-US strollers are available second hand in the US, but while I'll sell, I'm not much of a second hand buyer in general. Then again, I did just drive an hour round trip to get a travel swing for Josie for free...

Evening Routine

Den did some J-lo sitting while Eddie and I ran some errands today. Here is a shot of the rare moments when she was asleep today. We both basically traded off all day, each trying our patented techniques to get her to sleep longer than 5 minutes.
Ed asked to hold baby Josephine tonight. Den was going to set her next to him and he asked that she be put on his lap and we put his arm up to support her. They sat like this for about 1/2 way through Green Eggs and Ham before Eddie announced that Josie and Daddy should go downstairs.

We had some funny meal encounters with him. On Sat. night he didn't want to come to dinner. When he finally wandered onto the screened in porch, he ate about what I could normally eat in terms of tater tots, beef, and onions (he stayed clear of the garden green peppers). When Den got up, he climbed into Den's chair and polished off his garden grown green beans and then delighted in serving himself more green beans. He just kept packing in away. I think we'd better open up a savings account for when he's a teenager so we can afford the grocery bill.

Tonight, he didn't want to touch the tacos. But he did gamely try just about everything. Lately he's been wanting brown cow yogart because of the cow on the front. And the little cow, not the big cow (so the little containers, not the giant, more economical ones).

14 weeks--Rollin, Rollin, Rollin...

She rolled over this morning. Den was there to see it, which is fair because he missed Ed rolling over the first time. She rolled back to front, which isn't surprising because she doesn't get nearly enough tummy time. He of course didn't have a camera around to document. These were all taken this afternoon, she is pretty tuckered out at this point. Ed is not a fan typically of having his photo taken, so I am less likely to trot out the camera these days.

We are having major sleep problems lately. I'm trying to transition her to her crib and it's not going well. She ends up in our bed most of the night. In my exhausted haze I think she's awake and so feed her, well half the time I'm actually waking her up, so now she's developed a habit of waking 3-4 times a night, whereas previously she could go from 9:30-5:30. It's like having a newborn. Something has to change.

She is definitely more serious than Ed, but when she choses to smile, it's a powerful smile. She is grabbing her hands, looking at them, grabbing hair and anything else she can. She is definitely more social, which I think is part of the sleep problem. I'm kind of frustrated with myself because I took a great sleeper and have made her a crappy sleeper and now I have to figure out how to fix it.

Ed is home from the park/run with daddy, so this is coming to a close.

Oh and for more pictures that I snuck in between previous posts, check out the 7/7/07 post a couple posts back.

All toys are not created equal.

G'parents Ohio bought a new toy for themselves over the winter--a little sports car. Ed and g'pa just finished putting down the roof of the car. Held Ed's attention the whole time.
Ed still asks about G'parents Ohio and Wisconsin.

weekends with Josie

Here are some pictures of baby J over the weekend. She is really starting to grab onto things. Den taught Eddie to hold his own bottle around 5 months and I believe has similar goals for J, so was pretty excited that she grabbed onto the worm.


The picture with the balls is the equivilant of home alone. Den was left with both kids for a couple hours on Sat. while I went shopping with a girlfriend. Right after this picture was taken, Josie got bopped in the head by her loving big brother.

Josie also loves putting her shirts in her mouth. If she can't quite get them in her mouth, she just drools all over the front.

Happy Fourth!


Blogger won't let me post titles. Odd. G'parents Ohio returned from their trip to England and we had a low key Fourth of July celebration at home. I bought some cupcakes with blue icing (Ed is solidly into anything blue)--the reminants of which are seen in these pictures.



Sometimes I worry that Eddie will have a weight problem the way he loves junk food like cupcakes and cheese balls. You want him to move in a hurry? Tell him there is ice cream or cheese balls or some other confection involved and the dust will fly. Overall he eats really healthy food, now to teach him to make good choices for himself when we're not around...




Notice the hair too. Wiping him off caused the washcloth to turn blue!

Bodyslam number 1 of 2

Den left tonight (Sunday) for the first of two bodyslam, one-night trips this month (that we know of). This one is almost all the way across the country and he gets back tomorrow night.

I've been more stressed about finding a sitter for a night we need in mid-July than I was about how my night with the kids alone would go. This was the first time I was alone with both kids for dinner and the full nighttime routine.

I wonder if they knew it, because they were both GREAT! Ask me how they were during the night and hopefully I still say that. Josie went to bed the earliest yet--at 8:15 and I gave Ed some books to read, with instructions not to throw them out of his crib and he didn't. There was no food flying, no toys flung across the bathroom in a quest to get me wet, and Josie even did her part.

The only glitch was that the swing is low on batteries and it stopped working while Ed was in the bath, causing Josie to scream. I ran downstairs to get her and continued with the bath--Ed actually asked to get out--I guess 20 mintues is long enough. Now, we'll see what time Josie decides to wake and when Ed gets up for the day. It's been in the 5:30am range the last week and Den has let me sleep in the last 3 mornings, so I'm all caught up on sleep. Den on the other hand is a little worn, what with waking up early himself all week.

You may wonder why my pictures of Eddie and Josie together always have the same background. It's because early on, we made Eddie sit on the couch, so we could be right there and I guess he's been conditioned because when he asks to hold her, he says, 'on the couch'.

We escorted Den to the airport today--I don't remember the last time we did that. Eddie talked about it half way home, asking when he could go on a plane. Eddie is really saying some complex 7-8 word sentences on a regular basis. He uses words I didn't even know he knew. He is even learning to use pronouns, but has some trouble. Josie is smiling a lot more--but her tongue is always sticking out it seems. She is getting so much more interactive---responding to and holding toys.

Wanted: Evening Babysitter

As I mentioned in a previous post, Aunt Lore' and Uncle David came to town last week to help out while Den was out of town. They were a HUGE help. Eddie had an absolute blast with Uncle David and both were a great help with Josie. There is something about leaving your kids in good hands and watching your kids have fun with other people.

This leads me to my latest panic/worry/obsession. I've got to find a good babysitter for Tuesday nights by this fall. Cookie is going to be working for another family (the one she worked for prior to us) on Tuesdays and Fridays, as they are having a third child, so I'm out of luck.

I'm not opposed to a teenager--heck I babysat a lot when I was a teenager--sometimes I'm surprised parents left me in charge of their kids, but everyone ended up just fine. We had one teenager recently who just didn't instill a lot of confidence and I really want someone who can at least be comfortable with what they are doing. Our babysitter from last year is going off to college. Watching a 5 month old and 2.5 year old isn't impossible, but it is a handful. So if anyone has leads...oh and they have to have their own transportation, as I need the sitters for when Den is out of town, so obviously can't take them back home.

Den and I are already thinking of how we can combine g'parent visits with trips he has to take, but that only gets us so far and doesn't address the relative last minute trips.


Here we are after dinner Saturday night at one of our favorite resturants. We joke there are almost as many highchairs and boosters as there are regular chairs.