Saturday, January 30, 2010

More milestones for Edith...


I can't believe how fast my darling little baby is growing up.  It makes me kind of sad, but I love it at the same time.

She now has two teeth--both on the bottom.  The second one has been hovering just under the surface of her skin for what seems like ages but is actually only about 10 days, and it finally popped all the way through yesterday.  She is getting very good at using her two teeth to tear her food.  They come in especially handy on things like bread, which she loves.

Her hair is getting quite long now, and as it gets longer it is starting to curl into the most adorable little red ringlets.  It still sticks straight up on top, but she has a little curl over each ear.  They are so cute, and the color is staying a gorgeous shade of red.  What a lucky little girl!

She has been crawling for a few weeks now, but it's still so much fun to watch her go.  She is getting pretty fast, and she is a very curious little girl.  She's not afraid to venture out on her own, so I may have to get a couple of stairgates for upstairs.  I never had to do that with Dylan because he preferred to be in the same room as me or Martin. 

Now that she's learned to move on her own, she is hard to keep still.  She's started wriggling away when we try to change her diapers or get her dressed/undressed.  And she is so determined!  Just today, after about a week of trying, she learned how to go up the step from the front room into the dining room. 

She's still a little angel though.  She is so sweet natured and, as suspected, is turning into a shy little girl.  Not at home, though.  She loves to pull funny faces and make all sorts of noises.  She growls and says mama and sings along when Dylan and I are singing.  But when we go out in public she goes all quiet and very rarely even smiles for strangers.  She just looks at them with those big greenish-blueish-brownish eyes of hers (have I mentioned that she's got the most amazing eyes?), taking it all in.

She loves to feed herself, and since we stopped trying to spoon food into her mouth she is eating about twice as much!  Her favorites are broccoli and pasta and bread.  She can use a sippy cup on her own, though she still spits most of her drink out instead of swallowing it.  She does better with a normal cup, but has to be helped with that as she would otherwise fling it all over the dining room.  And, best of all, she is now having a bottle every night before bed instead of breastmilk!  I continue to feed her in the morning and at nap time, but it's so nice to be stepping it back a bit.  Plus, she is sleeping better for it.

So that's the Edith update.  She's a little firecracker at home and a shrinking violet in public, and we are loving every minute of this girl!


Oh, and we are trying to potty train Dylan for the second time.  It's harder this time around, but he's getting there.  Any potty training tips would be appreciated.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Just for my mother...


Why I have the best husband in the whole world...

Martin gives the kids their bath every night--unless he is working, of course.  He's done it since Dylan was a baby, and it gives him a chance to bond with the kids and me a chance to get the kitchen cleaned up from dinner without worrying about kids being underfoot.  It's a great arrangement for everybody.  And just look what a great job he does of it...


Dylan is always the first one to get undressed for bath time.


Then Martin starts to get Edith all ready for her bath.


Sometimes he gets a little bit of "help" from Dylan.


Both kids get a bit of practice on the potty...


...and one of the kids, or sometimes both of them, usually tries to make a break for it.


But eventually the bath is started.  And my husband is the most amazing daddy in the whole world!  Every day I feel blessed and awed to have him in my life. 

Thanks for being you, Martin!

Fingers crossed...

We're trying to potty train Dylan--AGAIN!

He's nearly 2 1/2 now and I'm getting tired of buying and changing diapers.  He's too big to fit in most public changing facilities and his language is so well developed that he ought to be using the toilet.  Yesterday he only had one accident, which I think is pretty good.  Especially when you consider the fact that we drove in to Scunthorpe to do a bit of shopping.  We'lll see how it goes.  But we might need Grandma to send us some Swedish fish--they are his favorite reward for peeing on the toilet.

He also said something very adorable while we were in town.  We were running late so grabbed some dinner at KFC.  As we were walking in, Dylan told us that he wanted to go to the "hungry shop."  That's what he's just started calling restaurants and fast food joints.  I guess it makes sense.  When we asked him what you buy at the "hungry shop" he told us burgers and chips and chicken.

Oh, my kids are so amazing!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

A typical day...

Thanks for thye inspiration, Becca!

5:30-6:30am (depending on the day)
Edith wakes up for her morning feed.  Martin brings her in to me and I feed her in our bed.  Then Dylan wakes up and Martin puts Edith back to bed and goes downstairs with Dylan to change him, make him some toast, and watch telly.  I go back to sleep.

7:30am
Martin gets back in to bed and I snuggle up with him until Dylan starts yelling for me.  Martin goes back to sleep and I go downstairs and watch cartoons with Dylan, check my e-mail, blog, go on Facebook, etc.  I go get Edith when she wakes up and feed her again.

9:00am
Wake Martin up, cook porridge for breakfast, eat breakfast, clean up from breakfast, get dressed, get the kids dressed.

10:00am
Depending on the day, we sort out Kleeneze brochures, go for a walk to deliver and/or collect them, etc.

10:45am
Martin leaves for work and I start preparing lunch.

11:15am
The kids and I have lunch--usually something gourmet like sandwiches, hotdogs, chicken nuggets, fish fingers, frozen pizza, or just lunch meat, cheese, and tomatoes.

11:45am
Get the kids down for their nap.  This involves feeding Edith again and tucking Dylan in to bed and reading him a story.

12:00pm
Dash downstairs to do all the "me" stuff for the day--grab a quick shower, do ironing, clean up from lunch, work out on the Wii, do my dinner prep, put on make-up (if I have time).

1:15pm-4pm
Collect Edith as she is usually awake by now and feed her again!  Sing and play with Edith while Dylan is still asleep!  Martin comes home from work.  We hang out and depending on the day again, do the grocery shopping, go to the library, do some work on the house, etc.  Dylan usually wakes up at around 2pm.  The  kids have their afternoon snack.  I clean up from that.  Some housework gets done since Martin can take care of the kids while I do laundry, clean the bathroom, tidy up the kitchen, etc.

4-6pm
Dinner preparation and consumption.

6-7pm
Evening cartoons!  Martin gives the kids their bath while I clean up the kitchen and dining room from dinner.  Take the kids upstairs for bedtime milk and stories, have family prayers and kisses, then tuck both kids in to bed.

7-10pm
Grown-up time!  Martin is on call at Rapi so we have to stick close to home.  We do DIY on Mondays and have date night on Fridays.  On other days we do some tidying, work out on the Wii together, check e-mails and blogs again, watch movies or telly together, etc.

10-11pm
Bed!

This is 5 days a week.  The weekends are something else entirely.  Martin works from 9am-5pm at the Place, comes home for dinner, and then heads out again at 6:30pm to work at Rapi.  Then, of course, Sunday involves the 4 1/2 hour church ordeal and either a video call with my family or dinner at Martin's parents' house.

It is a pretty calm, peaceful, and slightly boring life.  Sometimes it chafes, but most of the time I love it!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Enjoying it...

I had a really lovely birthday this year.  My gifts were thoughtful and much appreciated.  My birthday cake was delicious.  I had some good company.  I got to go out on a date with my wonderful husband. 

Yes, I had to prepare and clean up after 3 meals.  Yes, I had to make my own birthday cake.  Yes, I had to clean the house for company to come over.  Yes, my son did stay up 4 hours after his bed time because he was waiting for us to come home and I had to feed my daughter when we got home at 11pm.  But seriously, it was a wonderful day.

My favorite gift was from Martin.  He gave me a handbag sized sketch book, some new drawing pencils, and some oil pastels.  I did an adorable sketch of Edith yesterday, and realized just how incredibly out of practice I am.  I used to sketch every day, and now I do it about once every 3-4 months.  Martin knew I've been missing it, and got me a gift to encourage my talents.  What a great husband!

I've also been trying to get the kids out of the house more, weather permitting.  It seems to be making a difference in Dylan's sleeping pattern--and it's a change for the better!  This morning he didn't wake up until 6:40am. That's an hour later than he has been getting up, and it was blissful.

We've got company coming over tonight--Charlotte and Dave, along with baby Tim and little Beth.  I'm making homemade pizza and breadsticks, they are putting the kids to bed here, and we are going to play games & stuff.  I'm really looking forward to it.  Even to making the pizza.  There's something so satisfying about making a gorgeous looking pizza!

Don't worry mom--I'll dig out the camera and put a few pictures of the kids on in the next few days.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

My afternoon as the parent of one...

Dylan and Martin spent some quality time together this afternoon, so it was just me and Edith.  I love having only one child every now and again!

The boys went in to Scunthorpe on the bus, which is more expensive than driving but is a real treat for Dylan.  He LOVES the bus.  Especially because the 350 has a special name and bus color.  It's called the Humber "Fast Cat," and it's a bright orange bus.  When Dylan was fist learning to talk he called it the "masscat" and told us that it was "issinge."  So adorable.

Anyway, they went to do some birthdy shopping for me, and Edith and I chilled.  She played on my bedroom floor while I did my hair.  We went for a little drive and played in the park for a bit.  We did a bit of grocery shopping together.  She ate gressini on the kitchen floor (not OFF the kitchen floor--she was sitting on it) while I cooked dinner. 

When the boys came home, we ate dinner as a family, did baths, and got the kids in to bed.  They are snuggled down for, hopefully, the whole night.

I have had a couple of really good days with the kids, and it's a good thing!  We all had a horrible virus which Dylan brought home from the hospital for us.  Plus, Edith was teething.  Add that to Martin's 11 hour day at work on Saturday and we were all pretty run down.  Today I like being a mommy again.  Plus, I got released from my calling im Primary on Sunday.  That made me pretty happy as well.

Anyway, tomorrow is my 31st birthday.  Hopefully it'll be a nice day as well.  Stay and Play in the morning with the kids, Martin's grandparents visiting in the afternoon.  Movie with my husband after the kids are tucked in to bed.  Yep, sounds like it's going to be a good one.  Now if Edith will just sleep through the night...

Not holding my breath on that one!

Friday, January 15, 2010

I can't believe this girl!

After months of praying and agonizing and tearing my hair out, and then FINALLY resigning myself to the fact that I would be breastfeeding Edith for what seemed like the rest of her natural life...

...she took formula from a bottle today.  Twice.  9 ounces of the stuff.  And then she had the nerve to take a nap that was twice as long as her usual one.  She'll probably sleep through the night, as well.

I just don't know about that girl sometimes.  It's a good thing she's so cute and fun to have around!


Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Personality...

Dylan mystifies me.

Seriously, he is such a social butterfly. He's confident and gregarious and just loves to talk to people and make new friends.  I have never been like that, and have never understood people who are.

Edith is my daughter.

It seems like I will have a shy one.  Remember me as a child?  Nose buried in a book?  Alone in my room playing with my Barbies for hours?  Just a little bit socially retarded?

At least I will be able to relate to this one.  Though I have to say that watching Dylan interact with others is very entertaining!

Watching my children develop their own little personalities is one of my chief joys in life.

Friday, January 08, 2010

Where to begin?

I guess I'll start with Dylan.  He is doing much better, though his appetite is a bit funny and he gets tired really easily.  This morning he was tearing around the house and forcing us to play with him--back to normal.  By late this afternoon he was whining and horrible because he was exhausted.  But anything is better than the lethargic whimpering and I'm glad he's ok.

Edith now has her first tooth--it popped through on Wednesday.  You still can't quite see it, but you can sure feel it.  Luckily she is no longer a biter, or it would mean no more breast milk for her.  She wasn't even bad when the tooth was coming through.  She woke up for night feeds a few times, but that was it.  She really is an angelic child!

Martin and I are both doing well.  Nothing new to report there, except that we've been working out on the Wii a lot lately.  I have only missed one day since Christmas day, and that was the day we all went to Lincoln.  I pushed Edith up Steep Hill and pushed both kids down it in the pushchair, and believe me--that was a FANTASTIC workout!  I am starting to feel the benefit of the exercise as I have more energy now.  Sadly, the more I trim and firm my tummy muscles, the worse my stretched out skin looks.  But it has to get worse before it can get better, so I'll live with it.

The biggest news at the minute is the weather. It is snowing.  Like, PROPER snowing!  We drove home from Scunthorpe in a blizzard today, and it was beautiful.  I have never seen snow and cold like this in England before.  Although it is causing some serious problems, I love it.  I couldn't go to Utah for the winter, so a Utah winter came to me.  Most of the schools in the country are closed, the airports are a mess, trains are delayed, roads are icy, and the local councils are all running out of road salt and are having to ration it.  The weirdest thing is that the weather is so cold that the snow isn't melting.  I would be completely content to just sit at home with a mug of hot chocolate and a good movie on telly.  In fact, that's what Martin and I are doing tonight.

Bring on the snow!

And that's the update (for now).  Now here are the pictures I promised my mom...





We met up with Cathy in Grimsby on Tuesday-did some shopping, ate cake, and just generally had a good time.



This kid seriously looks amazing in black.  He is such a beautiful little boy!


Never mind the curry stains on her little face--she is a beauty as well.  Especially when she smiles--her whole face just lights up and she wrinkles her nose and squints a little.  And then your heart melts.


New outfit--thanks Auntie Emma!


 Christmas pajamas

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Darned mothering instinct...

It's just me and Edith today, and it's nicebut stressful at the same time.

Martin took Dylan to the hospital at about 3 this morning. He had a temperature of around 104 and it wasn't going down, no matter what we did.  We'd seen the doctor yesterday and she gave us some drugs, but told us to take him to the hospital if he got any worse.  He had been dozing, but not sleeping properly, for about 10 hours.  We could hear him in his bedroom whimpering in pain and talking to his hallucinations.  It was pretty frightening.  Finally, I asked Martin to take him in to the emergancy room.

It is now quarter past 2 in the afternoon and they are just leaving the hospital to come home.  Dylan is apparently doing much better now, which is a relief.

Last night, as I held Dylan's shaking and feverish little body, I would have given anything in the whole world to be able to take his place.  I would have gladly endured his pain so that he wouldn't have to.  I felt so helpless--I just wanted him to be better, but there wasn't a single thing I could do for him.  I loved him so powerfully in his pain, and I have never felt that way before.  Not even when he was in Primary Children's Hospital hooked up to all sorts of monitors and, for all we knew, dying.  He normally seems so big and strong, but when he's ill I see him how he really is--tiny and oh so fragile.  And I want to take care of him more than anything else in the whole world.

I never expected to feel this way about another human being.  My children have taught me so much about what it means to love.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

the secret ingredient...

I made a pizza the other day, and I did something a little different with the sauce.  As we were eating it, Martin commented that it was my best pizza yet.  I asked him if he wanted to know the secret ingredient.

"Love?" he said with a smile.

"No," I said. 

"Ketchup."

Friday, January 01, 2010

2010

Weird.  I can't believe a new decade has started.  Where did the last 10 years go?

New Years is kind of a strange one for me.  I never got into making new years resolutions.  To be honest, writing a different number in my diary never seemed like that big of a deal.  Except for when I was about to graduate from high school, and that's been a long time now.

I do like what my friend Amber did (was it) last year.  Instead of using this day to write my resolutions for 2010, I will use it to "write" the ones for 2009.  So, with that in mind, last year I...

...gave birth to my beautiful daughter Edith.
...got our house ready to sell and listed it with an estate agent.
...successfully created and maintained a household budget that most people wouldn't be able to survive on!
...grew my hair out (again).
...started a daily exercise routine.
...continued to develop in my role as a stay-at-home mother of two and housewife.

All things considered, I guess it's been a pretty successful year.  And, while I won't call them "resolutions" because I refuse to make those silly things, there are some things I would like to accomplish this year.  I would like to...

...NOT be pregnant or breastfeeding a baby for at least part of the year.
...get the house sold (though it's not really up to me, but I can make sure it looks really good!).
...move back to Utah (this one totally contingent upon the other one).
...lose weight (yes, I know.  Totally cliche.  But I want to have that darned surgery to get rid of my "apron."  I've already set that as a goal, so it's not a new years thing anyway)
...enroll in an art class of some kind.

Hopefully this will be a big year for our family.  I want it to bring weight loss and surgery for me, an American passport for Edith, a green card for Martin, a house sale, and an international move.  But the baby stuff and the art class stuff is definitely acheivable, no matter what!

We went to Lincoln on Wednesday to see Martin's cousin Gareth.  I really like him--he's such an unbelievably nice guy.  Sadly, we hadn't seen him since Dylan was born.  When he told me he hadn't seen me since I became a mum, I was shocked.  Had it really been that long?  I feel like I've been a mother for ever!  It sort of seems like my life before I had kids has faded away to nothing, because I am totally consumed by my current role.  I feel like it's changed me completely, and I wonder if other people see it that way.

Emma said yesterday that she sometimes forgets that I have a baby.  Dylan was such a big deal in our lives, and Edith kind of slipped in under the radar. 

Having these kids has definitely changed my body and my body image.  My stomach is so grotesque as it is, and that is 100% the fault of my pregnancies.  I certainly had my flaws before, but I always had a nice shape (though it was a bigger one than I'd have liked).  I love my children, but I loathe what they've done to me physically.  Edith more than Dylan.  Seriously, I now hate my body.  But I am amazed by what they've done to me emotionally.

So here I am, doing a self-check at the beginning of this year.  I like who I am, but not what I look like.  I like where I am, but I still want to move.  So there is definitely room for growth.

I'm really rambling.  Coherent thought just doesn't happen for me on 6.5 hours of sleep.

Happy New Year everybody!