More Like Our Parents Every Day...

It goes without saying that as parents now, we will inevitably do things that our own parents did. Some of us never thought that we would be driven to this while others recognized that the tactics our parents took worked and therefore there must be some magic to it.

For example, I have found that while Drew is watching TV, it is virtually impossible to get him to listen. So I have to do what my mom used to do....stand in front of the TV. (Mind you, I HATED this when I was growing up.) But, hey, it's a tactic that works.

On a lighter side, I've found that after a few tries, it's really not that hard to spell everything out (or decrypt what Patrick is spelling.) In fact, today he decided to be a smart-*** and tried to ask if we should give Drew a c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e-c-o-v-e-r-e-d-b-a-n-a-n-a. As you can imagine, there really was no need to use so many letters...but back to the point, a good ole encrypted message between parents, just like my parents used to do. (It's like an enigma machine I tell you....that's a History channel reference folks.) It will probably be a few years before we have to pull out the next trick to thwart the kids....spelling things backwards.

But the reason for the post is that Patrick had to pull out an oldie but goodie this morning. Drew asked for a waffle for breakfast and Patrick obliged. After giving Drew the waffle, he said he wanted something else and Patrick told him that he had to eat the waffle. At which point Drew turned the plate over and the waffle went on the floor. After some discipline and tantrum, Patrick told Drew "you will get nothing and like it." I'm sure this is music to some grandparents ears....

Drew's a Fast Little Devil....

So, as a few of you know, we are in the midst of trying to potty train Drew. (Side note to any of you who have not tried this....this takes WAY more time than I ever imagined.) We've felt very proud of our accomplishments, especially when he doesn't put up a fight to sit on his little potty and even starts to sing while he "waits." (It's as if he may actually be enjoying the experience.)

The other day I put him on the potty and it happened to be a time that he didn't particularly want to be on the potty. So what's a kid to do you ask? Of course the answer is to run through the house with pants around the ankles and even start playing that way.

The funny part isn't so much that he insisted on playing without bothering to pull up his pants, but how FAST he got away from me. That little guy can MOVE (Nevermind that any of us big people would have fallen by the 3rd step with our legs constricted by pants). It was like watching an old guy shuffle along, only his legs were moving so fast I couldn't catch him!

I tell you, when there's a will, there's a way...

Addi's New Skill

The other day, I noticed that Addi would start crawling down the hallway like a madman. At first I couldn't figure out where she was off to and then realized it was the bathroom (of all places).

I then noticed over the course of the week that she kept cruising into the bathroom. Of course, I had to cringe because if there is one place that the germies love, this would be it. At least she didn't seem too interested in the toilet.

She showed interest in Drew's stool and the next thing I know, she's trying to climb onto the first step.


Well, guess what this little critter has figured out how to do?? Yep, not only can she climb onto the first step, but she climbed up both steps and stood up!

For the first minute I was amazed. Then I realized that both of my children are like little monkeys. First Drew would escape from his crib and this little one wants to climb on steps before she can even master standing up. I have my work cut out for me!

Needless to say, we will be keeping the bathroom off limits from this one...
(She'll probably notice that I'm running interference on her, but oh well!)

Baby Ali

Today was the big day to go see baby Allison! Not only did the four of us go down, but Maryanne and Nicholas joined us too. So it was a full car for the ride down to Chula Vista!

Ali is just adorable. Although she has a little bit of dark hair, because she has light eyebrows, I think she'll end up a little blondie like her momma. And despite having Addi just 10 months ago, I have completely forgotten just how tiny brand new babies are. Addi looked enormous next to Ali, which is funny considering Addi is on the smaller side for her age.

True to form, the little gal slept for most of our visit. Suzie & Steve say that they have a hard time getting her to wake up to nurse. At that point I stopped feeling bad when my kids would start crying and throwing their fits. I figured what the heck, if they wake the baby up, they're just helping her feed! (That of course is my rationalization to make me feel less guilty about Drew & Addi throwing their fits.)

Suzie looks great and Steve doing pretty good with the diaper changing.

Since the boys weren't really interested in a new baby, they forced Uncle Steve to be master of ceremonies. And boy did he deliver. It's amazing how much fun that kids can have with the ultimate toy....an empty cardboard box! We of course checked out their neighborhood park (where of course Nicholas was taking tips from Drew on how to jump off of things to Maryanne's chagrin....gotta love the bad influence!)

Our Little Niece Allison Has Arrived

Yesterday was the big day for my sister Suzie...she had a little baby girl Allison Ann. (Yes, that means there are now cousins Addison & Allison!)

Ali weighed in at 7 lbs. 2 oz. For those keeping score, this means that little Maryanne is in the lead of the baby weight competition by producing the biggest baby: Nicholas at a solid 9 lbs. 8 oz. Okay, back to Ali....

The length turns out to be a little more confusing. She was first measured at 20 1/2 inches. Considering both Suzie and Steve are tall, this was not surprising. My dad, thinking the kid was actually longer, demanded a "remeasure." She somehow lost over an inch and was re-measured at 19 1/4 inches. Somehow this seams like college football stats...everyone is gigantic until they show up before draft time and are really measured....

Suzie was in very good spirits when I called her. At that moment, Steve was having to do the very first diaper change. I had to laugh...apparently he wouldn't let her finish doing her business before trying to change her and went through 3 diapers in 5 minutes. Any of us parents have to laugh at that one. :)

Anyways, I am looking forward to seeing my little niece this weekend. It is only a couple more months before a little nephew is due to arrive!

Addi Stood Up!!

Oh yes, it happened! Addi and I were goofing around on the bed and she decided to crawl to the edge. Amazingly (and this isn't the point of the post), she knows not to go head first over the side of the bed and instead gets really close to the edge and then turns herself around to drop off feet first. (Daycare must be teaching her a thing or two because I keep worrying she's "diving" to the carpet.)

Anyways, she dropped herself off, hung onto the side of the bed for half a second and just stood there for two seconds. I couldn't believe it!!! She's turning into a big girl way too fast (sniff)!

Cliff Notes Version: Addi stood up for 2 seconds and then fell on her butt.

Beef Jerky

Patrick has a strange affinity for beef jerky. I say strange namely because I can't stand the stuff...especially with it's strong "aroma". So as a joke, he decided to hand it to Addison. As you can obviously tell, Addison must be the second child because no mother in their right mind should let their baby have beef jerky, right?

The strange part is that Addi actually liked the jerky. After letting her gnaw at it for a couple of minutes, I tried to take it from her to feed her "real" food....and she got mad!! What the heck is going on here?! At that point I gave in. Let's recall that the girl has no teeth, so she's just "tenderizing" it if you will.

And yes, that's right. She's 10 months old and still no teeth. (I've been told not to worry about this because having teeth just means they can bite you - to which I can not argue.)

The only downside is that Addi smelled like beef jerky afterwards. And that isn't the scent you expect when you're holding a baby!

Chuck E. Cheese

This past Saturday, our little family had a big event....the first birthday party with little people at Chuck E. Cheese! Drew invited his best friend from daycare (Casey) and my friends' kids as well. I of course chose Chuck E. Cheese since I would have no prep work, no clean up and I always find it entertaining to see which lane Drew will try to throw the "skee-balls" up (not always his own.) In fact, sometimes we have to work on keeping him from throwing it overhand (again, not quite what CEC ownership had in mind...)

Drew did so much running around that he was (literally) sweating at one point.

(I guess that's the sign of a good party for him.)

As for his cake, I was originally planning on ordering him a "Thomas the Train" cake. When we went to the bakery and I asked him what he wanted on his cake, he said "candles." Turns out that when you're 3, you don't realize that you automatically get candles AND a design on your cake. Once we got past that, he finally decided he wanted "whales" on his cake. So as you can see, he got an ocean themed cake.

And while all the other kids ate their cheese pizza, Addi gave pizza crust a shot. Not only did she gnaw on it for a good half hour, she really seemed to enjoy it. (Pretty impressive for a girl with no teeth!!)

Thank you to those that earned their tickets and "donated" to Drew. We now have 600+ tickets to spend. I can only imagine the number of trinkets this will buy us. :)