Did She or Didn't She?

Dani has been working really hard at rolling over. She easily gets on her side and works her legs around. But usually she sucks on her hand and can't get enough momentum or push to get over her own arm. Today she made it completely onto her stomach but was still awkwardly laying on her arm, instead of just relaxing on her forearms. Does this count for the baby book?

Welcome Home!

Jack is obsessed with trucks and he loves his new garbage truck that Nonny bought him. He brings it everywhere and constantly plays with it. Today I got home from work and he came running to the door excitedly to greet me. My heart warmed as I thought that he would say, "Mommy! I missed you!" Instead he said, "Dat's a nice garbage truck."

"Let's go to the Field Museum. . . ."

And with these words the worst day of my life began!

My mom came into town yesterday for a visit. We planned to head downtown Chicago to the Shedd Aquarium with the kiddos today. We got off to a later start because we had to get Dani checked out by the doctor after her ear infection and RSV. We didn't get on the road until about 11:00, since Dani decided to take her sweet time drinking her bottle. As we were making our way downtown, the exit we needed was closed. After finding an alternative route we found parking. You can't really park anywhere remotely near the Aquarium so we had a heck of a walk ahead of us in the cold. When we finally got there, there was a line about a mile long outside the Aquarium. Turns out CPS is off on Spring Break this week too and the place was packed. Since we had a stroller, we were able to go into a smaller line but after 15 minutes of waiting out in the cold, we had moved just feet. We decided to try out the Field Museum instead, as there was no line and we figured that we would have fun anywhere.

We got in right away but the teacher discount wasn't nearly as good as at the Shedd (free!). We paid $46 in entrance fees for the all access pass. Turns out it didn't access much. It was around lunch time and we wanted to make the 3D dinosaur movie at 2:10 so we decided to eat lunch. It was a huge hassle (tight quarters and less than motivated employees) and we paid another $26 for it. At lunch, we learned that the 3D movie was lame so we decided to scrap it. Just then, Dani decided to blow out her diaper and Jack had a full one too. We headed for the bathroom where it took FOREVER to change both kids in the tight area. By 2:30, all we had done was eat and check out the bathroom.

It wouldn't get much better. Dani blew out two more diapers and I had to change her outfit. We checked out a couple of the exhibits but they were really pretty lame. Finally we decided to leave only to get stuck in TONS of traffic. We had to stop on the way home to feed both babies since we were stuck in traffic for 2 hours and they were starving!

When we were leaving the Field Museum, Jack said, "Go to Target!" We should have done that instead. We'd have saved a lot of money and a lot of frustration! I figure we aren't going to visit any more museums until the kids are teenagers.

Penalty Box

Today Jack got a time out for hitting me. He screamed and cried. Afterwards, I retrieved him and went to change his diaper. While lying on the changing table (what used to be our dining room table), he looked back over his shoulder, pointed at Time Out Corner and said, "It no fun there." I told him prison was the same way.

Dentist Visit

Jack went to the dentist for the first time today. Dr. Tony's office was nice and pleasant and kid friendly. Jack practiced saying his name but just managed Dr. Moni and Dr. Baloney. He was not a big fan of Dr. Moni Baloney but he did like the sticker he got after the visit--a shiny firetruck. He carried that sticker everywhere with him today, even napping with it. Maybe he'll come around on the poor dentist next time!

RSV

Poor Dani came down with RSV, a super nasty respiratory virus that can lead to pneumonia. She's on an inhaler to help her breathe, as this virus can put kids in the hospital. She's not eating, she sounds like a congested 90 year old man, he nose has not stopped running but she hasn't stopped smiling. And today, she was diagnosed with an ear infection. The doctor couldn't believe that she was so pleasant with all her issues going on. She's my little trooper and she's a tough little girl! And she was ready to be social, staring at the doctor the whole visit. I think she's might be more social than Jack. This is hard to do since Jack is such a social kid. But even when Jack was a baby, in new situations and with new people, he would carefully observe until deciding to flash a big grin and play with people. Not Dani. Talk to her and she's all smiles. We're so lucky to have such good, happy babies. I hope they are always as joyful as they are now!

More Tidbits

Jack is obsessed with cars, trucks and construction vehicles. This makes car rides fun lately as he points out everything he sees. We bought him a book of machines where he learned to say and identify tractors, taxis, bulldozers, forklifts, car transporters, vans, police cars, excavators (what the heck is that?) diggers, cement mixers, etc. Today on the way to the dentist, we saw a ton of these. When we came up to a tanker, Jack said, "Oh my goodness! A tanker!"


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When our cleaning lady was leaving today. . .

Jack: Bye-bye Miss Donna! Have a good day.

Donna says goodbye and closes the door. Jack turns to us.

Jack: I gonna miss Donna.

We start laughing and he joins in. Then he says, "I so funny!"

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Speaking of funny, Jack has decided that he really likes making me laugh. When I leave the room, he will put himself in a funny position (i.e. laying on his back on his bed with his feet up in the air) or make a funny face (i.e. standing in the dark in the bathroom with his eyes squeezed shut and a smile on his face) just to try to make me laugh. It ALWAYS works!

Go Bananas!

The other day, Jack wanted a banana after his dinner. He happily ate nearly all of it, save for the last bite, when he said, "No more banana." Then he looked at me and said, "Dat was a good banana!"

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It looks like Jack is starting to pretend. When I got home from work this week, the extra crib mattress Jack uses as a trampoline was on it's side and Bunky and Jo-Jo were sitting on the edge. He looked at me and said, "Dats a train!" And I guess Bunky and Jo-Jo were his first passengers!

My Kid is Hilarious!

No one makes me laugh more than Jack. He's just ridiculous. Today, we had our music class. And he had me cracking up almost the entire class. On the way there, we passed a pond that was frozen over.

Jack: There's no turtles!

Me: Nope. You're right.

Jack: I don't see 'em.

We arrive at music class and another mom, who was sick last week, shows up with her kids. The teacher asked her how she was doing. . .

Teacher: Are you feeling better?

Mom: Yes. Much better. Thank you!

Teacher: That's great.

Jack: I'm so glad.

I'm not sure if he knew that what he was saying matched the context perfectly or if he just got lucky but later in the class, he definitely didn't match the context when he turned to me and said,

"I love pandas!"

I was puzzled having not remembered ever showing him a picture of a panda. Later in the class, the teacher started singing one of the usual songs.

Teacher (singing): Everyday is special, in it's own way. Come on, everybody, let's celebrate today.

She then started to go into the day's theme about colors.

Teacher: What day is today? (she was looking to introduce the color unit.)

Jack: Special!

Other than that, he had me laughing as he threw his hands in the air and shouted, "Hooray!" and when he finally got rid of his shyness about bringing class materials back to the teacher. After depositing the drumsticks into the bag, he decided to give himself a little pat on the back by yelling, "Yay for Jack!" My little narcissist!

Buzzy Butt and Other Stories

Dani is really starting to show her little personality already. She's a very happy little girl and she is pretty easy going in most regards. It's a night and day switch from the way she was the first month of her life, when she was hurting from her allergy unbeknownst to us. Since then, she's been great. Happy, pretty easy (we'd probably consider her very easy if we didn't have TWO kids to chase around!), sweet and snuggly. She likes to interact with you and does her best to talk. She also is a girl who knows what she wants.

She likes to eat dinner with us, even though she can't partake in the eating part. If she's awake, we bring her bouncy chair to the table so she can feel part of the family. She likes to watch Jack and talk to both of us and be talked to. This weekend, we moved Jack out of his high chair and into a booster seat. He now sits to my right, so Dani was left on my left all by herself. I did my best to interact with both equally but apparently I was spending too much time with Jack. I heard Dani start to squawk (she does this little half cry have annoyed yell that we call her 'squawk'). I looked over at her. Her little brow was furrowed and she looked a little annoyed. Once I turned to her and said "hi", she gave me her big goofy grin. Looks like she's figuring out how to communicate what she wants already.

This morning, she was eating breakfast with us and I had turned the vibrate function on her bouncy seat on. She was as happy as could be, talking with me and then all of a sudden, she stuck her little lower lip out and started to pout. She looked like she was about ready to cry any moment when I realized her the vibrate function had turned itself off. I leaned over, turned it on and she was all grins!! Who needs words??

He Knows What He Wants

Jack: Mommy, want truck stickers.

Me: We don't have anymore of those. But we have other ones and you're going to like them.

Jack: I gonna like trucks!

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Jack: Wanna kiss Dani!

Me: Okay, give her a kiss.

Jack (leaning in towards her): Here it comes!!

My Polite Guy

Jack: Mommy, want the blocks.

Me: These ones?

Jack: Yes please.

Me: Okay, what now?

Jack: Open it please.

I open the Duplo tub.

Me: Here you go, buddy.

Jack: (taking blocks out) Just don't throw 'em!

At least I know he's listening to me!

He seems to be copying my phrases all the time these days. Yesterday, he started kicking as I was trying to put his pjs on after his bath. "JACK!" I yelled. He looked at me and yelled, "What the heck!!??"

Recent Pics

Jack and his new goofy picture grin.

Buzz Lightyear

Children's Museum

Car fun!

Playing music

Say "cheese"!

Jack enjoyed saying the shapes and colors and then moving all the pieces around.

I've been behind with my posting. Just before I returned to school, I took Jack to the Kohl's Children's Museum. We had a really nice time. Jack really liked the car room, the music room and the water room. No surprises there! He did pretty well with the other kids running around. He stayed back and watched for awhile but then jumped in after the other kids finished. He was very patient and seemed to enjoy himself. I think the museum will be perfect when he's about 3 or so but it was still a great visit and a fun way to spend quality time before returning to work!