An Afternoon of Fun

Our awesome neighbors so kindly handed down a two wheeled training wheel bike to Madeline. It's princess and everything! Well, Madeline LOVES her new bicycle, and it's become one of her most prized possessions! Eric and I were a little concerned that she wouldn't be able to ride it because our past history with the tricycle was a lot of whining and us pushing her. Well, after a few shaky attempts, Madeline has proven to be able to pedal to keep herself going and steer! We still need a couple of lessons in brake usage, but we've come a long way!
Madeline is very quick to let us know that "it's not raining!" which in her brain that means she can ride her bicycle after lunch or after naptime.
So proud of her riding down the street looking like a pro...
And, this little squirt absolutely loves being chauffeured down the street in her purple chariot! She loves getting outside for a spin around the block too!

This next picture cracks me up --- she was fussing because we hadn't left the driveway yet. She was ready to hit the road!

Four Weeks

This is my broken foot at four weeks! I know, GROSS! It needs some serious TLC, but no pedicures in my near future. My toes are still black and blue and really wanky looking. Yucky!! I don't have pretty feet anyway, and a broken foot definitely hasn't helped my foot aesthetically.

I went back to my orthopedic doc this week, and he had an X-ray done. As it turns out, I broke two metatarsals --- the middle one and the fourth one. No wonder I saw stars! Apparently, the swelling and such was so terrible that it wasn't clear on the first x-ray. A little bone lesson took place at this appointment: Bone has several stages of healing. I am in the stage of healing where the hard cartilage part (think: kids' bones) is repairing. By 6 weeks, the bones will start pulling calcium into the process to starting forming new bone. Basically, no "real" healing is visible on the x-ray until 6-8 weeks. Awesome.

The good news is that I've been good about wearing my boot and not walking barefoot, so everything looks as it should. The other piece of good news is that I've been given the thumbs up for the stationary bike at the gym. I patiently listened to the Doctor and all his doctor talk, but my first real question was, "OK, Doc, so what can I do cardio wise at the gym?! It's been FOUR weeks?!" Yes, he rolled his eyes, and yes, my husband was there reminding him to choose his words wisely with gym talk. I think Eric's exact words were something along the lines of, "Be careful what you say to her. She tends to take what you say to the utmost extreme." So, yes, cycle class here I come!!

I was also given clearance to wear a shoe, BUT it has to have a stiff sole & not much binding over the broken area. To quote my doctor, "Barefoot is the WORST.SHOE.EVER!" Ladies, this criteria is not conducive to a cute, stylish shoe AT.ALL. So, heels, wedges, boots, flats, a flip flop, and even my running shoes are a BIG NO-NO, but my Chacos (pictured) are a winner. Too bad it's winter time, but I wear these sandals around the house. The boot is hard on my ankle and my lower back because it has my alignment all out of whack (my left foot is higher than my right, and it keeps my ankle super still and stiff). I am really nervous about being out in public and dealing with the girls, so I wear my boot to the gym and while we are out and about. Around the house, I am able to walk on it barefooted on a very limited basis (like in the shower), and most of the time, I wear my Chacos. The more bending in the broken area = longer healing time was the gist of the shoe conversation. Cleaning day requires my boot. :)

I go back in a month, and hopefully, that will be it with this broken foot issue. While it's certainly not ideal, it's much better a month into it. My anxiousness has been relieved as far as taking care of my girls and going about my day-to-day routines. Now, I'm just anxious to get back into the gym like I want. Then all will be right with the world in Anne's world.

Hibernation Party

Madeline's class has been studying winter and learning about animals and plants with regard to the seasons. Apparently, bears and hibernation has been a big part of their "winter" season. Madeline informed me that they have been making the classroom bear cave --- according to her, it involved "lots of paper, lots of painting with brown paint, and lots of construction!" Today, they were to bring a bear to school to put into the cave to hibernate for the winter. They are now counting the days until spring when the bear can come out of hibernation to come home. They had a hibernation party complete with wearing pajamas, hot chocolate, and party food. Cute in my book.
Madeline chose her American Girl/Stella jammas to wear to school, and she chose this hilarious Boyds Bear complete with a fur stole, a velvet hat, and a brooch! I have no doubt that Madeline's bear is the only one hibernating with accessories! :)

13 Months

Amelia celebrated her 13 month-day, and she has had the BEST month! It's been a big month as far as milestones are concerned. She has been happy, playful, and fun!
Her disposition has been so sweet this past month. She loves to sit on the floor and dump out her blocks and put them back in the bucket & repeat over and over. She loves to collect the little people and make little piles all over the place. She has really shown in an interest in board books especially the touch and feel ones. Her attention really only allows for one book reading, but she loves to flip the pages, rub the textures, and point out the different pictures. Amelia seems to be showing interest in what things are by pointing and making a silly high pitched noise. Slowly, but surely, she's realizing there's more to this world than acid reflux, snotty noses, not feeling well, and ear infections! :) Amelia loves music, and that's an understatement of the year. I am not a TV person, but I love to keep music playing around the house and in the car, and she loves it. (Thank goodness for Pandora on my phone!) Amelia hears the music and immediately starts dancing. She car dances, and if I wasn't driving, I would video her. I find myself adjusting my rear view mirror so I can see the road and her. Super cuteness! Bath time is also a favorite time of day for her. She loves to splash, play with the foam letters, and make the letters and fish squeak against the tub.

Amelia celebrated her 13 month by saying her very first word, "UH-OH!" So the "dropsy uh-oh" game has been the semi-annoying trait of the month. I don't mind the dropsy uh-oh game when we're playing, but it's super aggravating in the grocery cart, in the car while I'm driving, or while she's eating! However, my favorite "uh-oh" moments are in the bathtub because she drops all the bath toys out of the tub, and she stands up on the edge looking over repeating "uh-oh" in this distressed tone over and over. Amelia is not walking, but she's walking behind baby strollers very well especially on the carpeted areas. She's started to let go of the furniture she's holding onto, and she can stand for a few seconds, maybe a minute or so, on her own. She LOVES to hold our fingers and make walking laps. I have also noticed a few "climbing" moments throwing a leg up in the toy bin or trying to throw a leg up on the tub's edge. I really hope she loses interest in that climbing thing. However, she has lost interest in the steps, so I guess she accepted her gated access fate.

Her appetite is insane these days...she's an eating machine! Her most recent favorites are blueberry bagels, blueberries, egg & cheese omelet, and Nutella sandwiches. Amelia finally mastered the sippy cup, so she's a milk drinking machine too. She loves milk and really doesn't care for juice, so milk it is. Really icy cold water is also very yummy to her. Her mealtime habits are improving as well. I have been diligently working on her "all done sign" which has evolved into pulling at her bib. While she's still throwing her food on the floor, we're consistently scolding her for this, so it's starting to sink in that's it's a big no ma'am!
Amelia continues to be a great sleeper going down for the night between 6:30-7 PM and waking about 6-7 AM. She's napping pretty well in the afternoons going down about 1:30-2 PM until about 3-4 PM. Just like Madeline, she LOVES her bed, so she'll play in her crib after waking in the mornings or waking in the afternoon for about 45 minutes, sometimes an hour. I love to listen over the monitor talking and giggling. Amelia loves to roll around, "talk", and play with her lovey. Big milestone for Amelia (and Mommy since it's my go to trick): I stopped carrying the lovey and paci with me during the day, and she's addicted to both! It's been a tiny bit hairy at times, but I'm holding my ground on this one. No lovey and paci outside the bed. So she has to get all her paci and lovey time in her bed, and it's gone well overall. I have forced her to drop her morning nap, and she's handling it very well. She's not nearly as fussy and crabby in the mornings while we are out and about. I have also cold turkey dropped the morning bottle, so I think she got thirsty enough to figure out the sippy cup as a result. Like I said, lots of little milestones were accomplished this month.

Amelia only takes medicine for acid reflux, and I'm starting to skip the morning dose to see how she does. Her doctor and I would like for her to be all done with the medicine by 18 months, so I'm dropping the morning dose as a trial for now. So far it seems okay especially since she no longer drinks an 8 ounce bottle of milk in the mornings. We're keeping the evening dose, since she still takes a bottle at nap and before bedtime. Hopefully this will also be a smooth transition for her.

Amelia is really beginning to blossom and show her little personality. While she's not as precocious & happy-go-lucky as Madeline, she very much reminds me of Madeline as a baby. She's silly, giggly, squealy, and very sweet. Amelia can be quite clingy, and she definitely is a Mama's girl. We adore our little Amelia Bedelia and continue to look forward to watching her grow and learn as she becomes a full-fledged toddler!

Ever have one of THOSE days?

You know the kind of day that I'm talking about --- it seems every decision you make backfires on you, nobody in your life seems to be happy about anything, too many, "I want...", very few thank you's, and overall very frustrating kind of day when you plop into bed at night praying that tomorrow will be better because by golly, tomorrow is a new day, and it's got to be better! I think I would sum up our 2011 year as one of THOSE days times 365! That last statement might be a slight exaggeration, but 2011 was a rocky one for us. As for me, it was a humbling year on so many levels.

We started our life as a family of four, and I would not trade our little family for anything in this world! I love my husband and my two girls down to my very core. Madeline has come along so far emotionally, socially, physically, and mentally. She's a very sensitive, empathic child. She can sense when I'm not having a good day and will try to make me smile. It pretty much always works! :) Madeline is a protective older sister, and she doesn't want Amelia to cry, get hurt, or be scolded. Sometimes she's too overprotective not allowing Amelia to fend for herself. Her outrageous temper tantrums come only every so often now, and she's learning to check her emotions. I had some very humbling moments in the afternoons pouring over my John Roesmond articles and books trying to figure out ways to conquer these tantrums in an age appropriate manner. Over the course of the year, she's become more rational, so she can calm herself down before things spiral out of her control. Madeline has blossomed socially making friends at school and in the neighborhood, learning to share without being prompted to do so, learning to not follow others' poor behavior choices, and communicating with adults in a mannerly way. Madeline is certainly not the most athletic child, but she's attempting to ride her tricycle and a bike with training wheels with much more confidence. She can climb the rockwall on our swingset in a flash, and her physical skills like hopping, running, jumping, etc. are much less clumsy. She loves her ballet class, and she's learned a ton! I am so looking forward to her recital to see what she has learned. Every now and again, I'll catch her dancing around obviously doing her ballet motions. Super cuteness. Madeline is a smart little girl. She loves to learn, and her neverending questions can be maddening, but she wants to learn about the world around her. Her little memory is a steel trap. The girl retains information like crazy. Books and coloring are still her most favorite past times.

And, sweet Amelia, she's finally coming into her own after 12 very long months. Her verbal skills are really starting to take off, and while she doesn't seem to have a huge interest in walking on her own, she's on the move keeping up with Madeline as best she can. She's eating up a storm, and she wants whatever we are eating. Amelia has figured out how to snap her fingers, and she will snap in the direction of the food item that she wants. While it's not the most mannerly thing to do, it's giving us some level of communication, so we're going with it for now. Eventually, we'll enforce the use of words once her verbal skills are better. Amelia humbled me as a Mom. I thought I had the whole Mom thing under control --- balancing my gym time, household chores, errands, and playtime. Madeline and I got into our routine just trucking right along, and when Amelia arrived, she slipped right into our lives like she'd always been here with us. Sure, I was exhausted, but that's to be expected with the newborn phase. And, then the fussy, gassy, uncomfortable, something's not quite right Amelia showed up. Just like that. I was taken down a notch. Suddenly, I was with an unhappy baby all the time, and our happy days were few and far between. I allowed this to go on for months making trips to the doctor, trusting his advice against my own gut feelings. Afterall, Madeline was nothing like this as a baby. What did I know? However, I knew something wasn't right in my gut. I finally put my Bullheaded Mom face on, sought out advice from friends, and switched doctors after 9 very long months! Amelia's health improved and so did her disposition, but it didn't last for long. Teething. Again, more unhappy days than happy days. Unfortunately, Amelia is not the "go with the flow" second child I just knew I was going to have. She's far from it, and it's been hard for me to handle every situation with grace and a smile. As I said, it's been a humbling experience thinking I had it all just right, and then one of THOSE days keeps going on day after day after day. There were many days when I felt like throwing my hands up in the air, and shouting, "I'm moving to Australia!" just like Alexander in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst.

Unfortunately for a large portion of 2011, Eric was traveling like crazy for days on end week after week, and it was rough running the show by myself especially during those summer months when Amelia's health & disposition were at their worst, and Madeline's terrible three's flared up. Again, a humbling experience for me...my husband did come home after a few days or even a week, and I could vent or cry or go to the grocery by myself. But, during these rough patches, I often thought about single Moms or wives with deployed husbands and wondered how in the world they did it. At least I got some reprieve. Luckily, Eric's job finally started to slow down and his travel schedule has become less hectic. Having him around in the evenings, has certainly made for happier dynamics around here! This year, he was able to find a better balance between working hard, family, friends, gym time, and hunting.

Together, we were able to go on some trips and have some date nights for some us time. Of course, we did a lot of work to the house making it "us", and we have enjoyed our improvements together. Our entertaining probably reached an all time high this summer and fall when we hosted several parties, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and some cookouts in between. Hence the reason all of our birthday celebrations were kept super low key this year. I could only handle so much entertaining with all the other things going on in our little world.

As for me, my excitement was my Disney marathon that didn't happen, and again, another humbling experience. All that training, time, & effort was for not. First, figuring out my training schedule amidst Eric's & the girls' schedules was tricky, and then I had an ankle tendon issue during the "meat" of my training which required me to cut back my miles for a two week time frame. Finally, my broken foot sealed the deal --- No marathon. Canceled trip to Disney because my foot couldn't handle the parks. Boo hiss.

Surely, all of these trials and tribulations of 2011 happened for a reason. I'm a firm believer in that. I may not ever realize all the reasons we had these experiences, but I know deep in my heart that the Big Man Upstairs puts events in your life for a reason. I've realized a lot about myself. I have a few things to iron out that could make me a kinder wife, a more patient mother, a more attentive friend, and a less perfectionist Anne in 2012. Here's to 2012 with less health issues, less temper tantrums, less travels for Daddy, a less frazzled Mama, and less of THOSE I'm moving to Australia kind of days!