Our Kids

I’ve added links to our latest videos on the right. Enjoy!

Jason

The girls have been doing more for themselves lately and although it seems like that would help me it generally doesn’t. Along with doing things for themselves comes the extra time, the endless “I can’t” and some whining. Sometimes I do get the gleeful “I did it” and that really is the whole point, to help them feel good about themselves and for them to learn that things are hard but in the end they can do it and they feel good about it.

Along that vein I have been encouraging the girls to go to the potty by themselves. That event involves getting their step stools, pulling down pants and panties, getting on and off the pot, wiping and pulling up their pants and panties. A lot of work by 3 year old standards. Often times I get the “I can’t” but I just say try and I will come and help you. So I did that yesterday to Piper, she went in to try by herself and in a few moments she was calling, “help, help, I need help.” So I quickly ran in (well I actually casually walked) and when I got there she was folded in half in the toilet with her legs and arms up in the air and her little head looking at me like WTF. She was in good spirits and so was I because the toilet had just been scrubbed by Maria and her wonderful minions so I knew it was clean. In the cleaning process they remove the kiddie ring that sits on top so Piper just plopped herself down and into the potty she went. All in all it was a funny experience for us all, although her winnie the pooh t shirt got a little wet, so we changed it, replaced the kiddie seat and all was right again.

The girls have started a new class, we are still doing our ABC’s class on Tuesdays but we have added a science class to the mix. Yesterday was their first day at class and it was fun. We learned all about volcanoes, what makes them, what comes out of them etc. Then we made our own volcanoes and they erupted. The girls got a really big kick out of it. After the teaching portion we did our volcano craft and then they get free time with every type of science object you can imagine. Magnets, dinosaur digs, fake snow, human anatomy, tornadoes and so much more. They enjoyed the class but were totally wiped out by the end and ready for a nap. Lucky for me they chose not to nap so I had uber crankies all afternoon. But my valentine came to my rescue with a catered dinner;) Ahh…..so sweet.

Here is an update on Landis:

Rolled over for the first time from her tummy to her back, scared the crap out of her but she did it:)
She can turn around in her exersaucer, I think this is a by product of her moving her legs not necessarily and intended turn
She holds her head up really well and can consistently get her fingers in her mouth for noshing
She is quite the chatty cathy going on and on for about 10 min when she is really rested, it is so sweet
She is starting to grasp things when put in front of her and I think I saw her look at her hand so she is starting to notice her limbs

She is doing really well and is a super happy baby. If you will hold her, or wear her in a wrap, she will sleep most of the day with delightful alert periods where she is contented to goo and look around. She will put herself down for the first nap of the day and the other day I nursed her down for an afternoon nap but she still needs mom or dad around for comfort, which is ok. I think she is doing super and will be 5 months soon, can you believe it?

So Jason survived his three day weekend with the girls and they all looked in pretty good shape when I got home, but apparently looks were deceiving. On Monday we started in with the croupy coughy crap. It is Friday and we are still in with the croupy coughy crap along with the cranky attitude. Lela was hit hardest with a fever for a couple days and now Piper just seems to have the cough and cranky thing down. All in all they are doing really well now but they are just really tired which causes the cranks to come on. Landis and I seem to be doing okay so that is a blessing.

Lela is hands down the most pitiful thing when she is sick. Back in the day before Landis when Lela would get sick I could basically hold and carry her around until she was well and Piper dealt fine with it. These days I can’t do that because I am either holding Landis or tending to food/water/potty requests. So Lela was even more pitiful and I don’t think I had stored up enough patience for the whole thing. We finally worked it out so that I could hold her in time when Landis was awake and that is helping. In addition she is getting extra cuddle time at night when she crawls into bed on Jason’s side. It is a full house even in a kind sized bed but it seems to be helping her get much needed sleep. In the morning we are joined by Piper and then it is a really full house in the haslup california king.

Hopefully this cough will leave us soon.

Sorry I have been MIA. I have been fortunate in my life to have one of the best grandma’s on the entire planet. She recently turned 90 and has decided it is her time to go. My grandpa passed 20 years ago so she has stayed around for our benefit long enough, she is ready to go and be with him. Landis and I went to visit with her a few days in Texas. I was happy to see her be her old self cooing and laughing with the baby. She only sat up once during my visit but was her funny self even though she was lying down. Instead of grieving during this time I have decided to celebrate her life which was full and wonderful. Here is one of my favorite stories about Grandma Ruth.

Grandma Ruth has always had a green thumb and been an avid gardener. One time she had a garden full of vegetables and one of her neighbors chickens kept coming in and wrecking her garden. In true Ruth Strength fashion she was ever so polite and mentioned to the neighbor that her chickens were coming over and wrecking the garden. The neighbor was unsympathetic and said they were chickens and what could she do. Granny Ruth doesn’t have unkind words for anyone so she devised another plan. A few days later she waited until the neighbor came out and then she went about her garden picking up eggs (that she had placed around the garden herself in the night) and putting them in her basket. The neighbor said that those were her eggs since they came from her chickens. Granny just replied that they were in her garden so they were in fact her eggs. Funny thing is that the neighbors chickens never came into Granny’s garden again:)

I love that story because it just shows you what a classy lady she has always been. On top of that she is a stitch, funny, kind, generous and a great cook. While I was at Auburn you would find me most weekends at my Grandma’s house instead of some party. I love my granny from the tips of my toes to the ends of my hair and if she decides it is her time then I support that. I know that she will go to be with Grandpa and even though only a day has passed for him he will be so happy to see her arriving in all her glory.

I want the girls to know their grannies in the same way which is why we are here and not in Montana;)

Landis is really trying coo and respond to your noises with her own noises. Pretty cute… especially in the mornings. Right when she wakes up she is ready for some chit-chat… she’s fussing about, stretching her arms and legs… if you lean in and give her a big smile she’ll return that favor with an even bigger smile.

This morning Piper came in when Mystique and I were cooing at Landis on our bed… first thing Piper did was make a beeline to the side of the bed and say, “Hi Landis!”

The girls have also been getting a kick out of whenever Landis looks at them, or brushes their hand while stretching, etc… We hear a lot of “Landis likes me!” and “Landis touched my arm!” It’s great because those are happy exclamations. Not like, “Piper is touching me!” “Lela is touching me!” Quite different

Landis sitting in her chair (I forget what it’s called):

Landis in her Chair from The Haslup Girls on Vimeo.