Thursday, November 20, 2008

She did it!

Allison rolled over! Yesterday I put her down on her tummy so that I could change Hannah and when I was done, she was on her back! I think it will still be a while before she actually knows how to roll over, but once is a start!


Here is Miss Allison in her favorite pose...tongue out! Her tongue is always out, sometimes she just likes to stick it out, sometimes she is licking things, as long as it isn't in her mouth she is happy. The other day we were playing in the mirror and she wouldn't put her tongue back in her mouth, it was getting all dry before she finally decided she had tasted the air enough! Anyways, I think she is a cutie with or without her tongue! I also think it is funny because she always has things in he mouth, but she is rarely sucking on them. For example, her fingers are almost always by her mouth, but she is usually either chewing on them (luckily no teeth yet)or just licking them. I was worried about her being a thumb sucker (because it can be a hard habit to break later) but so far she doesn't really "suck" her thumb. It has been so much fun to notice all of the differences between the two girls. They are really so unique, even just as babies!

Here are just a few pics of the girls playing and acting goofy.


One last thing, I need your opinions! We are trying to figure out how we should spell Allison's nickname. Ally, Allie, others!? She has two "Ls" in her name, so I think her nickname should, too, but maybe not. Which spelling do you like best??

Thursday, November 13, 2008

The potty and the rec center!

About two months ago I got really excited about trying to potty train Hannah...and she was excited for about half a day, and then not so much. After that point she got upset any time I asked if she wanted to sit on the potty, use the potty, etc. So today she went pee on the potty, this is technically time number 2, but after a little break. She is excited about the whole potty idea again...so maybe it will last a little longer this time! Hopefully!

Yesterday we went and played at the rec center. They just started "toddler time" on Mondays and Wednesdays. Pretty much it consisted of Hannah running around like a crazy person after basketballs, kids, whatever for a good 45 minutes. Yeah for a good way to get some extra energy out! That afternoon she took a 2 and a half hour nap...probably a record for Hannah. I'm usually lucky with a hour and a half! I've maybe found my winter sanity...the rec center!

Allison is also doing great. I'm still waiting for her to roll over, but I think now she is at least getting close. Up until yesterday she seemed to forget that she had arms while on her tummy, but now she has figured out how to push herself up. Any day I expect to find her not in the same position I left her! She's about 4 1/2 months old, and Hannah had rolled over by this point, but I think I haven't helped encourage her. Mostly the ground isn't a safe place to put her with Miss Hannah around, so she doesn't get extra tummy time, that is for sure!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

The good and the bad

So last week, on Halloween, I learned something about myself that I didn't know before. I apparently have this problem with blood. I guess I never thought I did, I did an internship in high school at a vet's office w/o any problems and I saw plenty of blood there. My guess is that my problem is more with the combination of blood/pain/knowing it is my child hurting, etc. So on Halloween the girls and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some candy (last minute, yes) I put Hannah in the cart, got Allison in the cart, and turned around to get the diaper bag. Next thing I know as I back turn around, I see Hannah falling face first over the side of the cart. We are in the parking lot, and so plenty of people watch this happen. I picked her up, and of course she is bleeding all over the place and screaming. Luckily one lady came by to help for a few minutes...but how do you really help, I don't know. So Hannah settled down relatively quickly, but I was definitely having a problem! I felt like I was going to pass out and be sick to my stomach. Nice, huh? How in the world am I supposed to take care of my hurt child when I can't even take care of myself? I'm sure these thoughts didn't really help. After many minutes of sitting the car holding Hannah while Allison slept in the cart (luckily), I recovered well enough that I could at least drive home (at first I was worried that I would have to call Nate and have him leave work to come get us) Hannah was fine, she just bit her lip a little and got her tongue pretty good, but this event still scared me because I know there will be other times when my kids are hurt, and there is blood involved, what am I supposed to do? Last night I had another opportunity to find out. Hannah just needs to chill a little and she might not get hurt as often, but good luck telling her that! She was running around her room playing with me, slipped and hit her chin on her bed, which made her bite the inside of her lip REALLY good. I think she is lucky her teeth didn't come through the other side, gross! So there was even more blood than the first time, but I held it together much better this time around. I still had to sit down on the floor with her, but it was a big improvement for me! Heavenly Father must be helping me overcome this weakness of mine! I'm not really sure I am enjoying it, and Hannah probably isn't either, but I was almost relieved that I did better with the\is second injury. Does that make sense? Maybe I can handle being a mom after all! Sorry for the long story, but it was just on my mind.

So the happy thing that happened yesterday was between the girls. Hannah usually loves to give Allison hugs and kisses, to the point that I have to remind her that babies need to breathe and have their space, too. Yesterday Hannah realized that she could make Allison laugh! It was by accident, Hannah sneezed, and Allison thought it was funny, then she sneezed again and Allison thought it was REALLY funny. For the next 15-20 minute (forever in Hannah time) Hannah kept trying all sorts of things to get her little sister to laugh, fake sneezing, fake laughing, etc. It was too cute, and hopefully a glimpse of how they will interact when Allison is a little older. I can't wait until they can really enjoy having each other as sisters, even if that also means they will fight like siblings, too!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Baby updates and Halloween

So Miss Allison went to the doctor's last week for her 4 month appointment...time sure does fly! So along with shots, we got to see how big she is getting. She is 26 inches(95%) and just about 16 lbs(90%). She is doing great and growing so fast! It is interesting to watch how different Hannah and Allison are. Hannah was always right around the 50%, which makes Allison quite a bit bigger, and Allison also seems so much more laid back. I'm not minding the laid back part, but I was hoping they would be closer in size so that I could at least use SOME of Hannah's clothes for Allison! Allison is fitting into 6-9mo clothes without a problem, and when Hannah was 9 months old it was June. We've got our seasons all wrong! Luckily we have a great second hand store in Carroll, which is also where I got the girls' Halloween costumes. It almost makes up for the fact that I don't have a Kohls or a Target closer than an hour and a half away! So here are some pics of the growing girl!


This one is a pic of me when I was about 8 weeks old, but I still think Allison looks a lot like me (minus the skinny chicken legs)

Then we had Halloween. We never got around to carving a pumpking this year, but we still had a great time. Hannah enjoyed carrying the pumpkins around the house anyways. We had a trunk or treat at church, where Hannah practiced her trick or treating skills. Friday night we visited our neighbors and family here in town. Hannah was so excited about handing the candy out to the kids who came to our door before daddy got home that at first she didn't want to leave her job to go trick or treating. Our house is up on a hill and she was stading on our front porch yelling to all the kids "CANDY, CANDY!" When we went to the neighbors across the street, they told us how cute they thought it was...mom maybe just thinks she is getting loud! Once she realized that she got candy when she went door to door she was all for it!



And last but not least, the Hannah update! She is getting more crazy and wild every day...winter maybe scares me because we can't just go outside and run around as easily. She thinks that it is fun to bite Allison's fingers and toes. I don't really know where she learned this one from. I just have to remember that she is two, and this is normal, right!? She is also like a little parrot! Last night she asked to watch her Diego video, and I told her that is was Sunday and that we didn't need to watch TV. She then tells me "Come on, mom! Right now!" I had to laugh because I know she sounded just like me when I'm trying to get her to hurry up and get ready to leave the house, etc. I better watch what I say, because she's going to say it right back to me! She might challenge me sometimes, but she is still such a good girl (most of the time! :)
Another uncooperative pic.