Big girl bed!

So, I think I figured out Aria's sleeping issues! Today at naptime she got up twice. She never gets up like that at naptime. She was crying a very frustrated cry, like she didn't actually want to be up. I asked what was wrong and she pointed at the crib railings. It hit me (and I'm not sure why it took so long) she was hitting up against the crib rails and waking up. I should've figured this out sooner bc she is a crazy girl when she sleeps. She flails (sp??) around all over the place, and whacks Matthew or (and) I on the face several times. I am not sure why I didn't assume this was the case in her crib, too. So... tonight I put a queen sized mattress in her room (just the mattress on the floor, not a box spring). She was soooo excited. I surrounded the mattress with her stuffed animals in case she fell off. We did our routine - books, cuddle time, and bed - and I told her that she has to stay in her bed. I told her good night and left and haven't heard a peep out of her since. ahhhhh...

so why is it 12:15 and I'm still up... hmmm...

I love bof ah um!

I think it's hilarious how Aria says "both of them", and "lots of them"... Bof ah um and lots ah um. I crack up every time.

Last week, Aria kept getting up in the middle of the night (yes, we are back to that...). When she used to get up in the night before, she'd start crying, but last week when she'd get up, she'd scream at the top of her lungs the highest pitched scream and scare the living crap out of me! I am not sure how I escaped having a heart attack. When I went into her room (or when Matthew did) she was not scared, she was just up, and wanted to go downstairs and play. BABY!! She's hasn't gotten up in the night this week, though (knock on wood) but it's been hard to actually get her to go to sleep at night lately. Ugh!

Speaking of screaming... she does the same loud, high pitched scream whenever she sees Mia & Jenn and Mina. She thinks they're like the Beatles, I guess. Her hands go to her face, and her eyes open up wide, and she screams like a teenager at a Jonas Bros concert. It's sweet she gets so excited to see them!

We went to the bounce house for little kids twice last week. Aria had SO much fun! - and guess what else? So did Chanson! I never thought he'd have as much fun as he did! I'd lift and lower him like he was jumping, and he'd LAUGH and laugh. There are also obstacle type courses that you (errr... the kids) run through, and Chanson thought that was really fun, too. He's just the happiest, laughing-est baby in the world!

When it is time to go to bed (at night or nap) I always say "Aria, guess what time it is" and she used to respond that it was naptime. Last week I asked her and she answered TV time! Since then, she's responded with food time and shoe time (she wanted to put on my shoes).

Aria was looking closely at my face the other day and she said "Mama! your eyebrows have HAIR on them!" haha she didn't realize that eyebrows are hair.

I need to upload some pics... sorry no pic!

s'more funnies

So, a few more funnies from our clown, Aria ;-)

On Sunday Matthew made us breakfast - YUM!! He's good at making breakfast food, and I am not. But, I won't use butter, and I pretend like Matthew doesn't either ;-) And, he lovingly places each choco chip on the top of the pancakes as they cook. True pancake dedication. Anyway... as we were eating our yummy food, Matthew asked Aria if she liked her OJ. Aria looked at him like DUH and said "daddy, it's not OJ, it's orange juice!"

Later that day she asked us for an artichoke. Um... where did that come from?

Today in the store, I was looking for Maple Syrup that was actually maple and not sugar water mixed with high fructose corn syrup (which I didn't find at Walmart...) and Aria was playing pretend, and she handed me "something" and so I pretended to eat it. Aria says (very dramatically) "Mama!! Don't eat the baby!" oops... I suppose I should listen more carefully to what she is saying when she hands me imaginary things.

Something I think is really cool is that Aria draws faces - and you can recognize them as a face. The 1st time she did it, I drew just a big circle for a head. She drew curly hair, circles for eyes and nose and a curved line for a smile - all in the right places. I couldn't believe it! So, yesterday I told Matthew she could do this, so he took her to her drawing board, and asked her to draw a picture of herself. She did even better, (except that the nose was on the forehead ;-) but, still between the eyes ;-) ) She even drew the circle for the head herself, and curly hair again, and eyes a nose and a mouth. She also writes letters. I really don't think she intends to draw what she does (it just ends up looking like a letter). But, she does say she is going to draw M's and then she does little loops like a lot of m's together. Yesterday she drew a W (and just a W) and said "Mama look - a W" She's done that with M, W, and V - so always the same motion. Oh and O, but that's just a circle.

Rolling!

Can you open your eyes a little bit bigger?

Isn't it sad that the pic above is the closest picture I have to both of them smiling at the same time ;-) ha! It's hard enough to get Aria to smile nicely for the camera for more than a split second, after which I miss the shot.

Well, it's official - Chanson is rolling over ;-) he's done it several times in the last week. He'd done it before, but not consistently. Now he's doing it more. He's so much more solid lately. I think it's from all the muscles he uses to keep his body straight as an arrow. When he's on his belly, he is almost U shaped bc his legs curve up he is flexing them so much.

He's laughing even more now than he was before. He will look at someone new, and just start laughing and smiling. (not everyone new, but it's happened a few times).

Today he discovered his feet. Never paid a bit of attention to them before (his legs are usually not bent in a way he would even see his feet bc he keeps them so straight so much of the time). I even got to see it when he saw them and realized he could grab them.

He's sleeping a LOT less lately during the day and sleeping more at night. I love it! He sleeps until 8 am, eats, and goes back to sleep until Aria wakes him up with a bazillion kisses. Today, he was sound asleep and she came up to him saying "awwww baby it is ok, stop crying" and then proceeded to kiss and hug him - which woke him up.

He doesn't fit in his 3-6 month Gerber onesies anymore. They are way too small. Do they run small? His other 3-6 month clothes fit.

It's a good thing for Aria... yesterday we were eating, and she said "the baby's crying!" and both Matthew and I told her, no, he's sleeping. Then, I thought I better go check on him (he was in the pack n play in our room taking a nap, and we were at the kitchen table eating - so not too far away) and sure enough - he was softly wimpering. Good ears, Aria! Then, later, he was fussing a bit, and Aria said "mama, he needs to eat the boobie" and I said no, not time yet. Then I looked at the clock...oooops yes it was time. Thanks again, Aria. THEN in the car yesterday, Aria says "Mama, sun is too bright in baby's eyes". Oops... better put the sun visor up. She also told us when his head lopped down in his carseat, but I couldn't have done anything about that, anyway. He'd fallen asleep and I couldn't reach him. But, still, it was nice of her to let us know ;-)

I love bananas

Aria decided to swing in the big girl swing today. She used to sit in it, but wanted to get off right away and go into her other swing to actually swing. Today she was going pretty high on the big swing, and she did great!

I almost forgot to include a good Grampa story from Aria's birthday (or maybe I already posted it... you know the whole memory thing). I was getting things ready for Aria's party, and I hear Chanson start to cry from the other room where he had been sleeping. I asked my dad to go get him. My dad came back with this awful look on his face, a baby in one arm, and his other arm stretched out ... I came over to see what happened and found my dad's entire hand was covered in poop, as was Chanson. You have to know that my dad is completely grossed out by poopy diapers, so it was especially awful (aka funny) to see him covered in it ;-) Initiation complete, Grampa! Good job ;-)

When Aria and I are playing, or when we are sitting at the table eating, she will get up and say "oh I forgot something" and then she'll point at me, look at me with a very stern face, point her finger at me and say (with a pause between each statement and a finger wave to emphasis her point) "Don't move. Don't fall down. I'll be right back". It's her newest thing bc she says this to me multiple times a day. Well, I also say this multiple times a day... like the 30 or so trips back and forth from the house to the car before I go anywhere.

Another thing she says (asks) multiple times a day is "whatcha doing?" I mean, she asks this a trazillion times a day. We'll be driving, and she'll say "daddy, whatcha doing?" he'll answer "driving"... 2 seconds later "daddy, whatcha doing". This goes on pretty much the whole trip. But it's not just us she asks this to - she asks everyone.

Every day she says she is going to go poo poo on the potty. She says "I'm gonna go poo poo on the potty and get choc-o-late chips and a lollipop!" We have told her that she will get chocolate chips and a lollipop if she goes in the potty many times. Well, the other day she said she was going to go on the potty and get chocolate chips, and a lollipop and a hello kitty cake. Hmmm... now you're stretching it. But, hey, if it works... ;-)

I love cuddle time at night before bed. I've mentioned our routine is brushing teeth, reading books, cuddle time, and then crib. We talk and sing a lot during cuddle time. She asked me to sing a song the other day, and so I sang "Aria is going to go to sleep in her crib, and tomorrow she is going to do something fun" and Aria took the song from there without missing a beat and sang in a very high voice "because Molly has blue water". I think she meant Molly & Jeff's pool water.

During cuddle time today, she tiltled my head to the side and said "mama, close your eyes and say I love bananas". I cracked up a little, and shut my eyes and said I love bananas. I opened my eyes and she just had a big grin on her face. Later she asked me to say it again, and so I did. She said "no no no, Mama! Like this" and she tilted her head and closed her eyes to show me. I have NO idea where this came from, but I guess the tilting your head part is important.

Another fav song she likes me to sing (why I'm doing all this singing, I don't know... she makes up what she wants me to sing and then wants me to sing it... have you heard me sing??) is the song about "Mia is at home, sleeping in her Elmo bed..."

Something she's said for awhile, and that I've never figured out where she got it from is "bop it". When she wants me to push a button, or hit something she says "mama, bop it!" Not sure on that one, but I love when she says that for some reason.

Oh and she is back to calling me Mama. I'm happy ;-) Mom is much too grown up. Although, for a day she called me "mother". Mother? What on Earth!? She got it from "the Land Before Time". She also likes to call me different names, and then I have to answer to it for the next few hours. This week so far I've been Molly, Emily, & Uncle Chris.

Aria has a good memory. She does not inherit that trait from her father or me, that is for certain! She really memorizes her books. I just start a sentence and she'll finish it. It amazes me how much she has memorized!

Every night she goes to bed listening to Norah Jones. Tonight, when she was listening to the 1st song, there was a line that said "wish that I could fly away". Aria got her concerned face and said "don't fly away, Jones!" She always calls Norah Jones "Jones".

The other day we were playing and Aria says "in the snow you wear a hat and you wear shoes! Mama, it's fun!" then she got up, and said "op! forgot shoes!" sits back down and pretends to put on shoes and says "ok mama, all set!" and stands up... and says "op! forgot hat" pretends to put on a hat and says "ok NOW I'm set!" Then she wanted me to do the same, and then Chanson to, also. Where does she learn this stuff? Sesame Street or Yo Gabba Gabba bc she's only been in snow as a little baby.

She was eating guacamole today, and called it "pock-eh-MO-nee". Not sure how that translates to Guacamole, but...

See the princess PJs and green flip flops in the pic above? Aria doesn't want to take either of these off ... ever. I put clothes on her to leave the house, but as soon as we're home, she takes off her clothes and wants her dancing PJs back on.

When I ask her what she wants to eat she says "Choc-o-late food". Ever since watching Willy Wonka that one time, she's been asking for choc-o-late.

Speaking of Willy... Aria noticed Chanson's boy parts today. Aria and Chanson had just taken a bath, and afterwards Aria was jumping on the bed. I then started to lift Chanson up and down like he was also jumping. He was laughing a LOT! Then when we stopped jumping, Aria noticed his boy parts, and she got this look on her face like "WHAT is THAT!" (I'm trying not to laugh) and she looks at me and says "Mama! It's BLUE!"

Not so terrible 2's?

A few people have asked me recently how we have escaped the terrible 2's, and how Chanson is sooo easy going...

Well... truth be told this is not in fact the case, entirely. Aria does disobey, and she tests us a LOT. Sometimes I'll clearly tell her not to do something, and she looks us right in the eye and goes and does it anyway, and as she does it you can just SEE the satisfaction in her face... like HA now what are you going to do, Mama? Chanson sometimes is very needy and I can't get a thing done all day (take today, for instance ;-) A few things about this; I don't think there has been a time that Aria didn't disobey since she was able to talk, so it's no worse now than it was before. BUT, timeout has been successful at getting her back on track. Now, she does like time out, which is very strange (very!), but... I feel like her discipline is easy bc it works. She is a good listener, though, much of the time. I guess I expected it to be much worse than it is ;-)We are blessed that she doesn't throw tantrums or fits. And Chanson - he is a great baby! But, he IS a baby, and babies are needy. It stresses me out when I am trying to clean the house or make dinner (or do anything, actually) and both kiddos are needing me. So, I just didn't want you all to think I was living in some dream world bc of how my posts have been written. I just like to stress the positive when it comes to my kiddos (and should take my own advice, and be more positive in every area of life! I'm working on it!)

Now, if Aria REALLY misbehaves, we put her to work... ;-)

A week of growing!

Just a short one to tell you all about how much Chanson has grown this week! He all of a suddent started getting more coordinated. I mentioned he is grabbing for things now. That has increased quite a bit this week. He can get his paci back into his mouth if it is close by (not if it is laying next to him, I mean... he can't reach for, pick up, and put the paci in his mouth). He also folds his hands a lot. I just absolutely love that he does this bc Aria did the same exact thing, and I'd almost forgotten. It's funny to me that siblings would have something like that in common - but he does it just like she did. Maybe it's common and I don't know it... just don't tell me if it is ;-) so I can go on believing it's their special trait ;-)

This week Chanson and Aria started interacting. Aria has always tried to get Chanson to interact, but, until this last week, he just stared at her in amazement, or smiled at her. The other day, Aria was playing peek-a-boo with Chanson, and when she'd say BOO, he'd start to laugh! It was very cute to see them play together!!

He is making the absolutely cutest baby sounds lately. Lots of talking and cooing.

He also has been making spit bubbles with his mouth. He tries to keep it going for a long time - it's funny!

He's getting big, and barely fits in his 3-6 month onesies! They fit but are getting very tight (in lenght, that is)

He has also slept WONDERfully this week! Thank you, baby! Ahhhh sleep!

Speaking of which, that is what I should be doing right now! I think there was more I was going to say but now I forgot... I'll post more later! So, as Aria would say... PEACE OUT!

Isn't he sweet?

Look at that face! Aww I just love him!

I can't remember what milestones occur at this age (he is 13 weeks) so I don't know what he is supposed to be doing. He is just starting to grab at things. He follows things when they move in front of him (but he's done that since he was 3 or 4 weeks old bc he did it when Ahna and Papa were here). He's really alert, and looks like he is really taking everything in and trying to figure it out. I always wonder what he is thinking. He kicks constantly - which is no surprise to me! He kicked for all of my pregnancy like a blackbelt! He isn't crazy about tummy time, but tolerates it. He usually just likes to suck on his hand, or whatever is under his face, so defeats the purpose of tummy time. Speaking of sucking on his hand... I cannot get those fingers of his out of his mouth! He's constantly sucking on them. I replace it with a paci, or just take his fingers out - but what do you do when you're in the car? Or in the middle of the night when he gets out of his swaddle?? Oh please don't be a thumb sucker! I can't take a thumb away like I can a paci! Ugh! Anyway... He is always holding his body so straight (that is why we do the airplane game I mentioned before). I measured him this week, and he is 25 inches and 13.5 lbs.

Did I mention he's the sweetest boy in the universe?? ;-)