Now THAT's a mouth full!!!

I was going to post this yesterday, but we had a visit from our friends the Lemms during the day and then the rest of the day just sort of...slipped away. This first picture is one I call "bucket full of Colby". He was delighted with the game Uncle Jason invented of raising and lowering him in the bucket. Peels of laughter abounded!

We were eating dinner the other night and Colby jammed his mouth SOOOO full of food that he couldn't even close it!! I laughed out loud at him, and he one upped me by showing me the entire contents of his mouth (which included carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli as you can see here). Then I was laughing out of control! I told him to show Steve and he was only too happy to comply. How he didn't choke, I'll never know!! I suppose I shouldn't be complaining that my son was stuffing his mouth with vegetables!!!

His uh-oh is a full blown two syllable word now and he continues to develop his dance skills - much to my amusement! He's attempting the stairs now and quite proud of himself when he manages the whole flight. We tried the swing at the park yesterday and it still scares him to death, but I found that if I barely swung him and stood right in front of him so he could "get me" each time, he was okay. Baby steps, I guess. The slide, on the other hand, was a hit!

Kailin is starting to play (nicely) with her brother and he is learning that she's not always out to get him, so that's been a great development this week. She had the rest of her M's after dinner the same night as Colby stuffed his face and she wanted me to "picture" her. Here's the result - entirely adorable if you ask me!

Things here have been a little crazy as we settle into "real life". Both kids are now up at 6 or before (Kailin is ALWAYS up before 6), so showering is becoming a challenge for me. Colby still WAILS the entire time I'm in the shower if he's in the bathroom, so I'm trying to come up with ideas for what to do about that. Suggestions happily taken!

It's going to be a busy Mother's Day weekend for us - but a fun one full of family. That's my favorite. This will be the first Mother's Day that all of the Schultz women are mothers and I'm looking forward to spending the day with with them. I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with two beautiful kids who both have a wealth of personality and who fill my heart with joy (most of the time... ha ha). They truly are the twinkle in my eye and the light in my life. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers reading this!

Wonder Twins activate...form of two teething toddlers!

I've decided henceforth to call the two "little boys" The Wonder Twins. They are hysterical together.

Monday included a sympathy cry from Wonder Twin One (Colby, since he's older) when Wonder Twin Two banged his head and was wailing.

Today they played amiably with blocks together for awhile and then mutually lost interest and went their separate ways. Soon after they delighted in a game of chase. They never did decide definitively who was the chaser and who was the chasee. ha ha. If I hadn't been afraid of interrupting their fun, I'd have run for the video camera.

They're almost exactly the same height, so watching them toddling around is so adorable. Listening to them both whine when it's lunch or nap time, however, isn't quite as pleasurable.

I'm sure there will be many Twin Tales to follow.

Yesterday...seems so far away...

I had all these witty math word problems to describe my day yesterday like - What is the probability that three randomly selected car seats will fit into the back seat of a Jeep Cherokee? One 2.5 year old and two 1 year olds are released into the front yard while one mom attempts to put a third car seat in the back seat of a Jeep Cherokee. They scatter at approximately 5m/sec in random directions. How long will it take the mom to discover the error in her plan and subsequently, how far away will the children be by the time she sets out to round them up?

I decided (in a moment of sheer lunacy) to go to Walmart with the kids yesterday. We needed a few things and I also wanted to make some meals for my sister before I went to see her last night and discovered that I was missing a few key components. I didn't think it would be all that hard to do. I didn't think hard enough!!

The first issue was the installation of the extra car seat. It would've been no problem to do if I'd put the boys down for their morning naps, but as any mom who has a two nap a day child can attest - if you avoid nap times then you have NO TIME to actually do anything. Avoiding the afternoon nap is a huge mistake since Kailin only takes one nap (please see the Night Owls and Early Birds post for details on what happens when Kailin misses her nap). Anyway - the flaw in my plan was that I could obviously not leave them all in the house while I went out to put the extra car seat in, but I also could not contain them well if we went outside. I opted for the outside option so that I could at least hear and see them. Ha!!!! About 4 minutes in, I wrangled wonder twin #2 and put him in a car seat so that I was only capable of losing track of my own kids. Ha ha ha. It was all fine and dandy until I discovered that I needed to shift the seat he was sitting in! I finally got the car seat wrestled into the Jeep and plunked the remaining two into their seats and away we went. Wonder Twin #2 immediately began his car ride with a series of guttural "ahhhhhhhhh"s. I forgot that I missed that. Wonder Twin #1 stared at Wonder Twin #2 in amazement. Kailin chattered on independently and incessantly. Somewhere along the way, both twins fell asleep. Kailin chatted. Neither twin was ecstatic about being awoken upon our arrival.

Thankfully, I'd thought about problem #2 before we left the house. There really isn't a good cart option for a pair of 1 year olds. Kailin can walk, but the boys both need a lift. When they're a bit older, then those double carts will work well, but the harnesses aren't big enough yet and the boys are two squirmy anyway. I put Twin Two in the cart and schlepped Twin One around in the baby carrier. Not optimal, but certainly workable. I noticed that I got more than a few stares with my entourage in tow!

I got most of our stuff with little protest from the gang. Kailin got a little uppity toward the end of the trip, but she did great overall and it was indeed getting on toward lunch by the time we left. I made a big game out of going on a "mission" in search of M's. Surprise, surprise we found some, so Kailin was happy once again. She dined on her M's on the way home and helped me to pass out cheerios to the boys to keep them happy.

All in all, it wasn't bad for a first outing and I would probably do it again - although I'd install the car seat the night before and I would try to find a way to avoid going during nap time. Not sure that's possible, but it was an adventure anyway!

Last night I went and had a couple of fillings (in my wisdom teeth - they ought to be smart enough to know better, don't you think?) done and then headed to the mall to pick up the kids new portraits. After that I made a run to my sister's house to see my nephew....er....her. Ha ha. He is just so stinking cute!! I got home (late) to a house full of sleeping souls and they remained that way straight through til morning!

Tiny dancer

I have a tiny (or not so tiny) dancer on my hands. Colby is really into bopping along with whatever music is playing. It's pretty cute and I need to get it on video before it goes away.

His "ooooooo" has turned into a one syllable "uhoooooo" which I think will phase into a full fledged "uh-oh" soon. I wish I could say that "Maaa maaa maaaa" refers to me, but it means "more" instead. Oh well... ha ha. I remember that uh-oh and more were a jumping off point for Kailin's language development, so I'm excited to see if Colby's about to take the leap or if he's more of a "wade in" kind of guy. He's got the signs for hungry, thirsty, more, and all done down pat, so that has helped a ton. I'd forgotten how hard it was to have a child whose needs you aren't sure of (ie; one who cannot go on in great detail about the nature of his needs the way his sister can).

Kailin has given up "scewfdiver" and can say screwdriver now. Darn. I liked that one. Oh well....

My little man wants some lap time, so I best get going. I do have a longer post about yesterday, but it might have to wait for nap time. (Incidentally - spell check doesn't think that scewfdiver is a word! How absurd! Clearly spell check is broken..... ha ha ha)

Night owls and early birds...

So I was the night owl on Friday night. I went out with my sister-in-law, Jodi, and didn't get to bed until 1:30 - nearly unheard of for me in the recent past! Of course my early bird got me up at 5:15. Not enough sleep for me - or her. It turns out that she went to bed Friday night right on time at 6:45, but didn't actually go to sleep til after NINE!!!! Needless to say, she was NOT a happy camper on Saturday morning. So much so, that after much consideration (and taking into account that we all still have this cold going on) we decided to forgo the Cricket School end of year performance (I absolutely could not fathom forcing Kailin, in her Saturday morning state, onto the stage to be a rabbit - or to sing the Ni hao song...she barely agreed to do it when she was in a good mood!).

We went down to Steve's parents' house as planned. The kids both slept on the way down. We were looking forward to seeing our new niece, Evalyn, and spending some time with Jason and Sara as well. All was going well until Colby refused to take his nap despite being tired. We agreed to let Kailin go without her nap (despite the fact that I have previously vowed NEVER AGAIN to allow her to skip her nap) since she was having so much fun with Jason and Sara and had slept on the way down. By 5pm the kids were getting to the end of their energy ropes, so we fed them and put them in their pjs and put them in the car and headed for home. They both fell asleep and went easily into their beds when we got home. We thought we had it made. We thought WRONG.

Kailin was up screaming at 8:45. Steve went up there. She was tangled up in bed. He put her back down. She was up screaming at 9:15. I went up there. She was disoriented and out of sorts. I calmed her down and took her to the bathroom. I put her back down. She was up and in our room at 1:45 and 2:15 and 2:45 and 3:15 and 3:45 and then Steve put the doorknob thing on her door and she wailed until at least 4:30 and then I finally fell asleep. I have no idea what time she actually fell asleep, but she got up at 6:30. Unfortunately, her brother got up at 6:10, so I was up at 6:10 and didn't get a shower. My head was pounding and my neck and shoulders were stiff to the point where looking in any direction other than straight ahead was less than pleasurable. I'm not sure why that happened. At any rate, I decided that braving church with two little ones in that condition (theirs and mine!) was not probably going to result in anything good. Normally, I'd have my faithful companion by my side to support me and help me through...but my ever faithful and loving husband actually got up at 5am and went to work on Sunday so that he could stay home with me today - the first day the boys are back. What a man! He's my hero...the wind beneath my wings...the breaker of the wind...oh wait - that's a different "quality".

I hung out at home with the kids (not really - I hung out with Kailin. Colby went down for a nap at 8:30 and didn't get up until 11:45!) and then my mom came up for a visit. We had lots of fun and Kailin was thrilled to monopolize Nai nai. They blew bubbles and went down our little slide (Kailin, not my mom) and tromped around in the yard. After nap we took a drive over to visit the family I sit for (a little reacquaintance time before the old drop off today) and the kids had a blast! Dawson and Colby are only about 2 weeks apart in age and they were so cute together!! I found out that I won't have both boys back for a couple of weeks, so it should give me a good chance to adjust to the "twins" before I have a full house.

It was supposed to be pancake Sunday, but we stayed a little too long for that. The kids had peanut butter and jelly when we got home and Steve and I had frozen pizza after they went to bed. Thankfully both kids slept all the way through last night (although the early bird was up at 4:50) and we are all better for it this morning (and I am very very very thankful to have my husband home today!!).

The trials and tribulations of a two (and three quarters) year old...

This week has been an interesting one for Kailin as well.

In big news, I signed us up for Mom and Tot swim lessons last night. We'll be hitting the pool for an hour on Mondays and Wednesdays from June 16-July 16. I'm excited because I know she will love it, it'll be good Mommy and Kailin time, and I've been dying to get her into swim for almost a year now since she's such a water baby. I'm hoping that taking a class with me will help her to take a class WITHOUT me soon. Since Steve teaches on Monday nights, we'll be getting a sitter for Colby on those nights (hint hint - we're taking applications from any interested parties).

This morning she helped me unload the dishwasher and for the first time, I was able to give her some "real" dishes to put away. Usually I restrict her help to silverware and plastic bowls which she mostly just handed to me to put away. She reveled in her promotion and it was nice to have the help. My baby sure has grown since we brought her home two years ago this month!

The phrase of the week has been, "Mom, I love you and I missed you!" anytime we are apart for more than 5.5 seconds. It warms my heart and makes me laugh at the same time. I'm not sure when the transformation from mama or mommy came, but I'm Mom most of the time now. That makes me giggle a little bit, too. I feel a little like a character on a certain soap opera (which I won't name, but suffice it to say that Marlena has had glowing green eyes and now has a name that looks something like Marlena Evans Brady Evans Black Brady Black Evans Dimera Black Brady....or something like that) who left her toddler home and went on her honeymoon and returned to a teenager! Kailin sure has grown up this past month - whether it is perceived or real. She's got such big girl ideas now.

I snapped the shots in this post this week and wasn't trying at all to set them up or capture the light or - I had the camera out and turned it on her and snapped. I think I can honestly say that my daughter has none of the unphotogenic qualities of her mother. That girl makes a good photo no matter what she does!!

I'm hoping that as these weeks wear on, things are feeling more normal in her life and that they will continue to improve to a point where she can entirely be herself again. I think she's done remarkably well with all the change, but she does still struggle with sharing our attention. I hope that as we go on she'll find a good balance and I won't have to feel so much like she gets the lion's share of our negative attention and the lamb's share of the praise. I've caught her being sweet to her brother lots of times this week and made sure to tell her how happy and proud that makes me, so I hope that has reinforced things for her. She is doing lots better as time goes on, so I know we're making strides in the right direction. I can't wait to see what next week will bring us!

The thrills and chills of a teething toddler (with a cold)...

The week in review.... (the pictures pretty much capture the mood this week - just barely acceptable or downright ugly... poor little guy! The last picture is my favorite. He is into making the O sound and he makes the tiniest little o with his mouth and then says "OH........." and I was dying to get it before it was gone!)

"Heads together", I'm a little (oh fine, now I'm losing adjectives!! I thought it was just nouns! What's the word for when you have mixed feelings about something.....not confused, but I swear it starts with con...probably not -ooh, after finishing this paragraph it came to me - CONFLICTED!)_____ about. It used to be a favorite game (of his, not always of mine) and has gone by the wayside in favor of pointing at random objects and saying "uh?" The objects are random to me - not to him. Should you fail to correctly identify the object (which is not always located in the house - might be that he's pointing outside at something you can't even walk up to), the pointing and "uh" will continue until you succeed. Part(s) of me (the bruised and battered ones) aren't so sad to see Heads Together move along, but another part of me (my mommy heart, I think) is sad to see that in just 4 short weeks he's already grown into a new phase in his life.

He is surely growing even more comfortable here and letting us see the real, true blue Colby more often. He's still a good sleeper and he still loves to make us laugh, but he's also a people pleaser. He delights in it, but it is not his driving force. He is an obedient child for the most part - more so than I'd expect from a 15 month old. He tries to be obedient even when it doesn't suit him, but forcing your hand if he declines will usually result in an unsavory reaction from the little man. ha ha. He is a tender boy most of the time and loves to snuggle with us (or his blankie). Balls are a favorite toy and climbing, plowing into, (as of yesterday) jumping on, crawling through...mark some of his favorite activities - he is ALL boy!

He's already learned several baby signs and (I'll live to regret this...Kailin taught me that!) I hope his verbal responses will follow soon. His comprehensive English is quite good considering he's not been hearing it for long, so that's helpful. I think his urge to investigate and problem solve probably help us tons in this respect.

I've felt bad for him this week as he is getting the wicked incisors and then was socked with a cold on top of it. Poor guy! He's not been eating well this week. I think in the earlier part of the week it was due to cold symptoms and lack of appetite. Later in the week, I think it was teeth. Yesterday it pained me to see him refuse cheerios in the morning. He'd put one in his mouth and then reach in and remove it again. It was clear that he was hungry, so I ended up giving him baby food and yogurt for breakfast. By noon things must have calmed down a bit in his mouth and for dinner he was back to eating several portions worth of veggies and pasta with chicken, so I knew he was on the mend in all respects. This morning he's been able to actually breathe through his nose again most of the time, so he was able to drink a bottle in less than 47 minutes for the first time all week! Progress for both of us. I've noticed less drool these past couple of days, so I'm hoping those dumb teeth are almost ready to pop and we can get entirely back to a normal (and dryer) life!