Our Kids

So I am off on a 3 day camping trip with the girls, yikes! Calling it three days is really a stretch but we are leaving Monday around noon and returning Wednesday around noon so I am calling it three days. I am certain it will feel like 3 days. I dunno what I was thinking when I planned this back in April. It is not going to be much cooler if cooler at all where we are going although it will be all in the shade and in the shade in AZ it ain’t so bad (usually). It will be an adventure for sure and you might check back in later in the week to find out we holed up in a movie theater for the day somewhere, LOL! Well if it flops at least I will feel like I gave it a try:)

Well the week turned around towards the end and we pulled out all the science tricks. We made goop, oobleck and even film canister rockets. We had a great time and made a huge (well several huge) mess. After a while with the rockets the girls just wanted to see the baking soda and vinegar reaction and it was a bit of a difficult task to get it all in the canister and then get the cap on, turn it over and wait for the explosion. We had several premature explosions but those were fun too. We made quite a mess with our oobleck but it was lots of fun.

So Monday I was loving life, even though I was sitting outside in 100+ degree temps life was sooo good. We had had a tremendous day and as we sat outside and the girls were swimming around the neighbors pool I was thinking how much I was settling in and even enjoying my hot summer so far. The girls and I got up early and with help from Corbin and Noa (our neighbors) we got all their toy bins organized, labeled and put pictures on the boxes of what was inside (check that off my to do list). Then I had our new sitter, Kelly, come over for a couple of hours and I went to lunch with Jason and Landis. The girls had a great time with Kelly and I had a great lunch with Jason.

Then I went to our neighbors and we sipped iced teas and munched on fresh fruit while the girls played and swam. To round out the day we rolled veggie sushi and rice paper rolls for a delicious dinner. The girls went down okay that night and I though life was good and then……Tuesday!

We had a rough go of it today with lots and lots of whining, not much sharing, lots of yelling and even crying from Landis (who is working on those teeth). We made it through the day intact but it was a bit of a stretch. Tomorrow should be better because we have our new class at the Environmental Science Center (I LOVE this place) with our new teacher. The girls should have a great time and I am hoping to enjoy the cool A/C in the lobby while I read my newest book, Quantum Wellness. As usual I have high hopes for tomorrow:)

Landis is settling in to her new mobility, she can roll all the way across the room. She has started to roll around at night and sometimes I find myself trying to nurse a pair of feet! Last night she slept on every inch of the bed and surprisingly enough without falling off the bed. I am not sure what the solution is right now but I am glad to see her rolling over and flopping about in the bed to get comfy, she is settling in to being a big girl and needs me less and less at night. I have to admit that I love having her in the bed with me to cuddle and see her smiling face when I wake up. Today I skipped out at 5:30AM for a 10 mile run and when I got home I was just in time to see her smiling face as she woke up at 7:30, I guess all that rolling around last night caused her to sleep in!

Just as I suspected Landis was working on another tooth this week. She had a couple days where she was just off on her sleeping and not her generally happy self. Her second tooth on the bottom broke through this week so it looks like she is following in the footsteps of Piper so far on her teeth. That will probably turn out good since Lela is still working on getting all 20 of her baby teeth, I think she will start loosing them in middle school, LOL!

Also, drumroll for this one I think that Landis actually slept through the night last night! Ahhhhh….do you hear those angels singing? Lucky for me I am all congested and have a terrible sinus headache so I did not get the full benefit of the sleep through. Oh well probably for the best since it is not likely to be repeated too much at this point. But she is eating more solids, getting more active and sleeping for longer periods during the day instead of catnaps. It is all exciting and sad since this seemed to be the faster 9 months ever in all of our lives. My babies are little girls, my baby is a big baby and my laugh lines have grown:)

Landis pulled herself up to a stand in her crib! Now she only uses her crib for sitting and diaper changing but she was sitting in there while I did something in our bedroom and she pulled herself right up. It was so cute and she was super excited. She is also just about to get on all fours to begin crawling. She leans way forward and can get her legs out from under her but as soon as she does she rolls on her back and starts kicking. She is the funniest little thing. She is definitely more interested in getting about than the girls were and she really goes at things (like cheerios, toys etc.) more than the girls ever did.

Tonight she was sitting in front of a leg of a chair just talking away to it. It was so cute I almost went and got my flip to video it but did not because I could not tear myself away. She was chatting away and pulling on it, occasionally licking it and just having a good time. She was tempted to reach up to the chair and pull her self up but I think she knows that is a bit out of her reach just yet. I don’t know when she will crawl but I suspect it will be soon. She will be 9 months at the end of June and I can hardly believe it. I still have 10 lbs to lose but I think those will be off by summers end (being optimistic). She is starting to eat more solids so hopefully my body will begin to let go some of this mommy milk weight that I seem to be keeping to make so much milk for her. I love being able to nurse her so I can’t complain too much, it has definitely made my life easier this time around.

We have decided to watch a set of 4.5 year old twin girls every Thursday in June (well I guess I should say I have decided). I am basically doing it for chits in the karma jar but their mom is willing to watch my girls anytime sort of a child care coop. Anyway, today was our first full 4 hour sitting session and I think we all learned a lot. The girls really like her girls so that is nice but you can’t know what it will be like to be around someone else’s toddler until you are.

I learned a lot of things like:

Not all kids like to craft (honestly this was a surprise)
Not all kids like to have steamed broccoli, sweet potatoes, white beans, bnut squash and fresh fruit for lunch (okay so this wasn’t much of a surprise and next week I will make something a little more kid friendly)
Lela is really good at puzzles (I knew this but was surprised that the other girls could not do puzzles at all)
Four hours of interactive play sends my girls into a bit of an overload (mostly Piper, I did not think about that)
Not all kids can use a computer as well as our girls (not saying this is good or bad but these girls have never even used one and our girls might be too good at using computers;)

All in all it was a really good visit and her girls are really quite well behaved. They wanted food a lot but I think that is more a security thing just like when Lela asks for TV all the time. They will be back next week and I MIGHT drop my girls off there one day (oh who am I kidding).

We are heading into the heat of summer for AZ. I have planned lots of activities and trips with rest days in between to make it through, so far so good the heat isn’t really bad at all. This week we went to Kartchner Caverns and it was really great. I was a little worried about Lela but she was heading up the line and raring to go into the cave.

Piper kept saying in a really quiet whisper, “this is so cool.” I think they both really liked the cave and were such good girls. After the tour, which was 1.5 hours in a dark, wet, 68 degree with 99% humidity cave, we headed back into the center where we watched a movie about the discovery and creation of the caverns. Upon coming out of the movie I head the guide talking to the other guides about how good my girls were on the tour and how impressed they were. It was a nice thing to overhear, sometimes I don’t give us enough credit for how good the girls really are in situations where it matters (like a cave tour).

We had a picnic lunch in the back of my phat van and then headed home. We have had several meltdowns and tired moments since our arrival home but that is to be expected. We spent the day lounging around, dancing on lily pads and playing with fairies today (um, not really it was more tantrums, mean spirited play and lots and lots of eating). Tomorrow we are off to the library for a magic and juggling show in the morning, cross your fingers all goes well after a nice night of sleep.