Monday, September 27, 2010

Summary of the Week

Over the past couple of weeks I have been trying to come up with ways for us to get out of the house. I have learned that doing this makes everyone happy, even though the process can be very exhausting. We went to the Library for story time. It surprisingly went good. They had puppets and sang songs. Riley sat the entire time (this is very rare) and Quinn smiled as we all sang really cheesy songs. I met some other moms and I hope to go again. Last Friday we went to Salomon Farms for a fall festival. Riley picked out her own little pumpkin and Quinn sat and stared at the pumpkins and hay.

On Saturday morning we got the kids up, ready, and out the door by 6:40am for my first race. Mark was kind enough to drop me off and take the kids to watch. All the ladies were impressed at his parenting skills. I have to admit, he is very patient with them and is great at multi-tasking!

Riley is getting so big! She can sing the entire alphabet except M,N,and O and she counts to 12. She occasionally calls Quinn "Ninn" instead of "brother" or "bubby". This makes me very sad. Most of her words are now pronounced correctly too. She is growing up way too fast. During Quinn's morning nap, we try to do some special activities together. We have had some tea parties with water and crackers. Today I let her work on sorting the silverware drawer. It seemed boring to me, but she loved it!


Quinn is in to everything. He is emptying pots and pans and crawling in the cabinets. He stood on his own for a couple seconds yesterday. Hopefully he can hold off on his walking for just a little bit longer. He loves food just like his sister. He eats everything I give him, unless it is baby food. If he is not eating what I have, he looks at my plate and fusses. He even eats things he doesn't like. I can tell because he cries the entire time he is chewing, but he will still eat it. Don't worry, I sometimes will give him a break and feed him something else.

We are working on finding the best ways to discipline Riley. Over the last week, I have put her in the corner when she continues to fuss or throw a temper. Today I heard her crying, I looked over and she was playing. She would say "sit", sit down pretend to cry and say "no cry!". She did this over and over. Of course, she stopped by the time I got my camera out. She sure is a smart little Drama Queen.

That's all for now. I really should blog more frequently so my posts aren't so long!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Random Thoughts

My brain is full of random thoughts tonight so I thought I should spill them out on my blog, in case anyone is interested.

I am super excited about a book I got from the Library called "Deceptively Delicious". It has lots of healthy recipes that have hidden veggies. Riley does not like too many veggies so I thought I could hide them in her food. Most of the recipes use vegetable purees and I have actually had a lot of fun making different ones. So far I have made and everyone has enjoyed sweet potato chicken nuggets, buttered noodles with squash, and chocolate chip cookies with chick peas. I am so excited the food tastes good and the ingredients are really healthy.

As I was cooking all my wonderful recipes and left Riley alone for all of 3 minutes, I walked in to the living room to find the corner of our couch covered in red marker. I wanted to scream! I kept telling myself, "She's one, she's one!". I almost took a picture, but was too upset. I was able to get most of it out... and I was surprisingly calm.

I am amazed at how my "want list" has changed over the past year. I use to want to new clothes and shoes. Now all I want is a good mop, more healthy cookbooks, and a maid for a day.

I was excited today when the cashier at Meijer was slow and when I got stuck in after school traffic. I was able to be alone for a couple hours. God has a funny way of blessing me sometimes.

I love my kids and can't believe how every day I love them more and more. They bless me every day and teach me patience and grace. Their laughter can cure a tough day in a second.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Footie Jammies

Here are a few cute pictures I took before bed. Because it is getting cooler outside, I broke out the footie jammies. I love them!





Tonight Riley and Quinn played together for a long time. They crawled under the crib, laid next to each other and laughed. It was so wonderful to hear their little giggles. Riley is now in to Lego's and Quinn is still in to anything that makes very loud noises. Today we went to the Library. Yes, it is strange I would take both if them by myself to the library to play. Sometimes we get desperate to get out of the house. Riley made a friend with a 5-year-old. They played, shared,and hugged each other. Quinn continued to bang puzzle pieces on the table for a half hour straight. Needless to say, we left in order to allow those trying to read to have some peace and quiet.I'm considering potty training Riley. I need something to make my life a little more hectic...

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Week in Review

It has been a wonderful week! We have stayed busy having friends and family over to our house and were able to enjoy spending Labor Day in Huntington with family. Here are some other highlights of the week:

* Riley and Quinn still love playing together. Much to my dismay, they like to wrestle.
* Quinn crawls around all day with a red drumstick. He holds it like most children hold their blanket. He bangs it on things and smiles...so strange.
* I am still leaving veggies on the counter for Riley to "sneak". Tonight it was green beans. She had a green bean in her mouth most of the evening, mostly because it took her forever to swallow because of the nasty taste! Please read my blog about broccoli if you are confused. Mommy likes mind games!
* Riley talks all day.
* Quinn is starting to reject his baby food. I keep trying to give it to him, but he looks at my food and fusses. My master plan was to give him baby food for a long time because of its convenience. Oh well.
* Riley spit out the meatballs I made tonight and said "Ewww, gross!". Tell me how you really feel, Riley.
* Riley loves to sing and Quinn loves to dance.
* Quinn likes it when you knock him over. He is such a boy!
* I am looking for a good parenting book, hopefully one with a focus on raising toddlers. Please let me know if you know of any.
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The moments that make it all worth it....