I had a feeling if I left him alone while I ran upstairs for a few minutes this would happen…
I don’t always make him take a daily nap anymore (so he’ll be more likely to fall asleep quicker at night) but he still obviously could use some rest. 🙂
Year: 2013
Peek!
We didn’t see Katie then all of a sudden she pops up!
Minor Knee Update
So, I completely forgot about my knee and tried to kneel on it today while cleaning the floor…and almost collapsed in pain.
This can’t be good.
It’s okay standing—and walking and on stairs I can feel it—but anything requiring a 90° bend hurts (unless I’m laying down) and any pressure is killer.
It sucks because I tend to kneel quite a few times during the day and I have to consciously remind myself to kneel on one knee only.
Owen always surprises me.
This morning he wanted to go outside and I told him he had to get shoes on. Usually he puts his Crocs on since they’re easier (although we’ve been trying to teach him his Velcro sandals)…but he came back with the sandals! And on correctly! (He usually gets the Velcro on way too loose—like foot falling out loose.) I was impressed.
You can now tell him to go to his room and get an outfit and he’ll bring one down. Most times he can get dressed, too!!
I made a frozen pizza for dinner. I was sure he wouldn’t like it so I had one of his ready for backup. He takes one look at mine and says “Where’s MY pizza?” I tell him we only have pepperoni (knowing he doesn’t like pepperoni) and he says “YES! Pepperoni! I like pepperoni!” Hmm. Okay. So he somehow THINKS he likes pepperoni? So he gets it and lets it cool and…big surprise…he doesn’t like it. We pick off all the pepperoni and…nope. (Of course, Katie ate both.)
Then, I was giving Katie some freeze-dried corn (same stuff that Owen LOVED at that age but hasn’t eaten since) and he just up and asked to try some. And liked it. And asked for more. WHAT?!?! Okay, cool. Then he asked for dried bananas (which he has eaten lately—but I’m still amazed he asked).
He’s growing up…
Sniff.
First time up our stairs!
We leave the gate open now and again because Katie hasn’t actually showed much interest above the first step. But today when Owen opened the gate and…
Colorful old outfit!
Yet another Jenny outfit from the days of yore… Could she BE any cuter?
C’mon Gramma Jean…I’m holding up my end of the bargain by dressing her in these and taking pictures…where are the pictures of ME to prove I actually wore this stuff? 🙂
Papa’s Bracelet
Owen got this out today and wanted to wear it. I asked if he remembered who made it for him…and of course he remembered. 🙂
April photos are online!
>>> March Pictures
Can I ask you a question?
Owen asks this about 20 times a day. Most times it’s in relation to something he’s doing/watching/eating, and I don’t think he’s always wanting an answer. 🙂
Owen: Can I ask you a question? What’s your favorite color?
Me: Hmmm. Purple. What’s your favorite color?
Owen: Blue. What’s Katie’s favorite color?
Me: I don’t know.
Owen: Pink!
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: How do you get ninjas?
Me: How do YOU get ninjas?
Owen: You use your energies!
Owen: Mama, can I ask you a question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: Can I have some popcorn please?
Me: Mimics handing him popcorn.
Owen: Mmm, thanks! I really needed some popcorn.
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: How do you get the number 10?
Me: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Mmm hmm.
Owen: How do you play Indiana Jones game?
Me: You know how to play!
Owen: Laughs. YES I DO!
Owen: Mama, can I ask you a new question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: How do you eat cereal?
Me: How do YOU eat cereal?
Owen: With your spoon!
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: How do you get popcorn? Brief pause. Can I ask you another question? How do you get the elephant?
Owen: Mama, can I ask you a question?
Me: What?
Owen: How do you get popcorn?
Owen: May I ask you a question? About that thing?
Me: What thing?
Owen: The chocolate pudding.
Me: What’s your question?
Owen: How do you get it?
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Yes.
Owen: How do you feel?
Me: I’m happy.
Owen: Me, too!!
Owen: Can I ask you a question?
Me: What?
Owen: How do you get the pool ready?
Me: You saw how daddy got it ready. What did he do?
Owen: He got water.
Me: What else?
Owen: The rototiller.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Watching Cars is a riot.
First, he DOES NOT WANT to watch Cars—but as soon as it starts, he’s dancing around and getting out all the matching cars as they come on the screen.
Here, he’s crashing the cars as they crash on TV:
Then I had to pause Cars 2 when Crabby comes on the screen because Owen NEEDS to get his own Crabby—but it’s out of his reach and I’m feeding Katie and can’t get it.
I get Crabby AND Siddely (to prepare for later in the movie) and then it’s okay to start the movie again.
And on and on.
Fork!
She desperately wanted to grab MY fork while I was feeding her, so I gave her one of her own.
Little Masseuse
Owen’s Storytelling
Okay, everyone sit down and listen to my story.
Once upon a time there was a boy. His name was King Owen. There was a dragon and he fought him. And everyone was happy. The End.
The pool is officially open!
Owen has been bugging me to go in the pool ever since the first day’s brief splashing, but I haven’t been able to let him since the salt levels were too high. Today I finally over-filled the pool by about 2″ hoping it would be enough…and it was! I warned him it was going to be cold but he didn’t care…until he got in.
“EEK! IT’S COLD!”
Happy, happy boy!
Then I had him empty some of the water. It’s easier (and more fun) for him to do it!
Then he wanted balls. And water guns. And his AquaZooka. And then…
Owen: Mama, I want the fish.
Me: What fish?
Owen: The floaty fish!
Me: We don’t have a floaty fish.
Owen: Yes! In the shed!
I go to the shed and look around. I don’t see a fish.
Me: Owen, I don’t see a fish. Where is it?
Owen: Behind the wagon.
And damn if it wasn’t there, buried UNDERNEATH a hose. He must have seen it last weekend when Tom had everything out.
Then I noticed the sky looked like this:
So I kept an eye on the weather, but the clouds just moved right over us. Katie was enjoying watching her brother.
Then, strangely enough, AFTER the clouds passed, THEN it started to sprinkle, so I got Owen out of the pool:
And he decided to give Katie some love:
And then post-pool Lego play—of course in the kitchen where things easily get bumped or knocked off. But, to his credit, he said “But it’s out of reach [for Katie]!” which is exactly what I told him he had to do.
Unfortunately, when I went out later to fix the skimmer (that Owen had knocked apart), the pump started beeping at me that the salt was too high again. I have NO idea how that could happen, so I get to try again tomorrow…
Straw sippy cups!
This morning at breakfast I gave Katie a straw sippy cup to play/practice with. I marked where I filled it so I could tell if she actually drank anything or was just playing. And damned if she didn’t actually drink some! Then I let her have it during play time and she drank more! So…it looks like we’re going to bypass the hard spout cups. WOOHOO! (Owen didn’t drink out of straw cups until probably 1.5-2—but I don’t think we even gave him the chance because typically regular sippy cups come first so that’s what we did.)
At her second dinner (when Owen was finally eating at 8:00) I gave her the cup again and she was drinking and drinking. She’s still obviously getting used to the flow because she’d often choke a little bit on a big gulp of water. She’s also learning to hold it and pick it up…something she’s refused to do with her bottles thus far.
But look at how VERY proud of herself she is!
ALMOST BUT NOT QUITE!
THERE YOU GO!
TA DA!
I’m really wondering if she’s going to be done with bottles sooner rather than later. She still drinks SOME but it’s really few and far between (I can’t tell you the last time she drank a full bottle in one sitting)—she’d much rather eat real food.
Ninjas and Legos
So Owen and I were playing with ninjas and Legos. Owen turned the headdress around (of the Aztec Warrior) so the face was hidden and says “Whoa! Who turned out the lights?!”
Just another saying we have NO idea where it came from.
And him playing.
I see cords!
With the drawer pulled out, she can see the cords running behind the cabinet…so she’s often found like this:
Who, me?
Sisterly Love
She loves Owen so much! She’s always by him or crawling on him or messing with him. And I think he loves it more than she does!!
A Katie Break
Morning Fun
I started out taking photos of Katie in this cute outfit…I think the shirt came from Grandma Marsha or Grannie Lin and I think I got the skirt—but they match perfectly. And how cute is the little skirt?!
And then Owen got involved… Well, he just sat there and she LOVES to crawl on him so off she went.
Then back to Miss Katie.
Like father, like son.
Bathing Beauty
Dual Naps
We had to run some errands on the far side of town around nap time…
Poop Knee
For the past few days my left knee has been a little sore and has felt like it just needs to crack and I wondered what I did to it…but today I had the AHA moment.
Yep, it’s messed up from kneeling on the (ceramic tiled) bathroom floor multiple times a day (at five minutes a pop) for almost two weeks while Owen poops. 😐
The bathroom is too small for a chair. The stool is uncomfortable (it hurts my butt plus there’s not that much room so getting up and down is hard plus getting up and down is hard enough at almost-40). So it looks like I get to stand…which doesn’t sound bad but really gets old and tiring FAST.
I’ve started calling it my Poop Knee. Think it will catch on?
So in the meantime, I’m walking almost with a limp, it STILL feels like it has to crack OR that it might just give out on me at any random moment, and I’m taking anti-inflammatories.
But the good news is that he’s pooping!!!!
EDITED TO ADD:
A friend asked why I don’t just sit outside the bathroom?
Well, we might get to that stage, but remember he is blowing balloons to “help” the process along. Which still doesn’t require me to be close…except he’s learned that if you blow hard enough and let go, the balloon takes flight and it’s HILARIOUS. If I want him to stay on the toilet I have to hand it back to him. Lather, rinse, repeat.
He IS getting better (even trying without the use of the balloon) but I still need to be close enough for SOME balloon retrieval and verbal prompting… I watch him closely and I think a lot of the time if I wasn’t right there reminding him he’d just end up sitting there halfway trying and not REALLY trying.
So if we can get the balloon thing under control, I’ll be able to move away. Baby steps. 🙂
Poooooooooolllllllll!!
Oh my goodness he was SO excited watching Tom get it ready and start filling it up…
I love the feet here.
And the face here.
Tentative first step…
Hey, this is fun!
Posing for mom’s request.
More splashing around.
“Can I take my shorts off?”
“I have to go potty!”
I tried to get a cute shot of his face with his butt blurry in the background…but for as scary smart as he is sometimes, he could NOT grasp that I wanted him to move his legs around. 🙂
Tom working on the walkway.
She LOVED the water and wanted to GO GO GO!
When she first got in, it was pretty shallow so she could kinda crawl/float around…and boy did she scoot quickly!
But since it was filling as we were in it, it obviously kept getting deeper…
…and she started taking on water!
And of course big brother was RIGHT there the whole time. He wanted to play with her SO badly!! And we taught him that if he sees Katie go under, the first thing he has to do is pull her up then scream for us if we’re not right there. 🙂
I sense a very wet summer for me…
On a sidenote, we’re trying a saltwater system
NEW CONTENT:
Pool Prep, Stage 3: Testing!
Katie Kid
Another 9m summer outfit that we had to get on at least once before it doesn’t fit (though we have the same thing in a 12m ready to go)! I’m pretty sure Gramma Jean got both of them!
Owen LOVES to get in there with her. Silly kid.
Trying to appease the hungry beast without hauling out the high chair while still being outside and enjoying the weather… Of course, it was also a test to see if she’d leave everything (or most everything) on the plate. Ha. HA. HAHAHA. I think it lasted a minute or two at most. I did not, however, get a picture of the food scattered across the entire blanket!
Feeding time at the zoo!
Trying to keep her happy while Tom is working in the garden and pool and I finish unloading and reloading the dishwasher.
Pool Prep, Stage 2: Filling!
Frogs!
He loves us putting stuff in the box…for about 30 seconds. Then they sit for 5-20 minutes or so, then they “go back to their family.” Earlier in the week it was a lizard. Today, frogs. 🙂
