Olivia's First Ponytail!

Not that it was a big ponytail. It was just a teeny wisp of hair but it counts! It was harder to put in than I thought it would be but I can't wait till she has more hair! I have a ton of barrettes and bows just waiting. :)

Preschool, Playgroup and the Dentist

The last couple weeks have been all about the dentist, preschool and playgroup. After 3 years, I finally was forced to go back to the dentist. (Not my favorite place in the world.) I was having some sensitivity and knew if I didn't take care of it, I'd end up really regretting it. So, this week I went back to start all the work that needs to be done. Besides having cavities, all my old fillings are coming apart and need to be replaced. Fun! My friend Catie was nice enough to agree to watch the kids for me. Aidan was happy to have her daughter Clarissa to play with. After over 90 minutes in the chair and 3 attempts to numb my teeth, I was done with phase 1. I go back in 2 weeks for a crown and more work. Then one more appointment after that. Hopefully I won't max out my insurance before then.

Today was Aidan's first preschool conference. Julien and I dropped Aidan off together, which Aidan liked the novelty of, then went to meet with his teacher. She didn't have a lot to say cause he hasn't been there all year. But, he plays well with the other kids, behaves well in class, likes the dolls and dollhouses just like the other boys do :), is independent with all his bathroom skills. He's trying to trace letters on letter worksheets which his teacher was really happy with as it's skill that's a little beyond a three year old. But, she was impressed by his fine motor skills. So, no complaints. She suggested that we let him dress himself from now on to encourage independence and since he has the skills to do it. (Just not the patience.) She said to continue working with him on his letters, numbers, etc but do it in a sneaky way since he doesn't like to sit and do it. It feels like work to him and work is not fun. :) After the conference we came back for a parent-child pizza party, then home.

We've been trying to get to more playgroup events. It's hard with Olivia's schedule and Aidan in preschool. So we hosted on Monday. A few of our friends were able to come over and make a snowman craft, play and have lunch. And of course, us moms were able to get some social time in too. I love hanging out with my playgroup mommas! It's reassuring to know you aren't the only one having problems with getting kids to sleep or finding the perfect preschool.

As for kids sleeping, Olivia is finally napping on a schedule and for up to 2 hours at a time! Hallelujah! She isn't on schedule like Aidan was nor does she have the natural rhythm to follow like he did but, we're working on it and seeing improvement. She still cries at bedtime and naptime. Now it's about losing the pacifier just as much as about going to bed. Although I think she will always fight going to sleep. She's eating more baby food too. She loves sweet potato, squash, avocado and cereal. I think she looks forward to eating at dinnertime. I got out my baby food maker and tried it out with some squash. Holy moley, that thing is awesome! Wish I had it when Aidan was a baby. It was so easy to use and blended it so well. Much better than my blender for sure! My goal with Olivia is to make all her baby food and so far I've only bought her cereal. I really hope I can keep it up. I have a bunch of squash and sweet potatoes in the freezer and hope to add some more to it in the next week or so. Not sure what to have her try next. Maybe some peas or at least something that isn't orange. She's had a lot of orange. :)

Olivia Update

Hard to believe my little Olivia is 5 months old already. Where did the time go? She's gotten so big and changed so much. She's wearing 6-9 month clothes already. She's getting closer to sitting up. That balance thing is hard though. :) She's started using her exersaucer and really seems to like it. She looks so big sitting in it. She's started on cereal and some baby food. So far she likes rice cereal and apple sauce. I got a cool baby food maker for Christmas that I can't wait to use. She's not the eater Aidan was but, she holds her own. Unfortunately she still likes to eat at night and is still waking a lot. She was doing so well before she got an ear infection and now we can't seem to get her back to it. In fact, she's waking more now than she was before. It makes for some long nights and groggy mornings. I can't wait to get some sleep again. She's waking every 4 hours and sometimes, more often than that. She has a hard time getting herself back to sleep and relies on the bottle to it for her, I think. Olivia isn't a very good sleeper over all. She doesn't nap very long. I'm lucky if she sleeps 1 1/2 hours during the day. It's a big change from the way Aidan was. I was really hoping that she would take after his sleeping habits but, every child is different. But at least she's in her crib to sleep. Now if I could just keep her asleep. I think it may be time to change our game plan . One nice change is that she doesn't scream in the car anymore. That really helps. I don't think I would want to do a long trip with both the kids on my own yet though. At least the daily drives to preschool and to run errands are much more pleasant. Olivia has also started laughing. Usually it's her brother who she thinks is hilarious. I was really looking forward to hearing her giggle. It was so exciting when I finally got her to do it. And luckily I got it on video too. I keep reminding myself that it's our last time to enjoy these little firsts. Before I know it, she'll be all grown up just like her brother. And although it'll make me a little sad, I don't think I'll miss it enough to go back and do it again. I'm sure these two will keep our hands full.

Christmas and New Years!

Hello everyone and Happy 2010!! What a week we've had. We had quite the adventure with visits to both grandparents for the holidays. But, our busy week started with Christmas Eve. Aidan had a great time getting everything ready for Santa. He made a "letter" for him and put out the milk and cookies by the tree. I was busy all day making more cookies and Kringlas, which Aidan helped with. Kringlas are a family tradition for me so to share it with my son was a treat. I have wonderful memories of my mother and grandmother making them and I hope to someday make them as perfectly as they do. So, after a busy day of preparations, we read Twas the Night before Christmas to Aidan and sent him to bed. Of course, it took forever for him to fall asleep but "Santa" waited patiently. We put out all the presents and tried to get some sleep ourselves. Christmas morning, I videotaped Aidan coming down and finding his presents and stocking, especially his crane from Santa. We all had a great time and some ebelskevers (apologies for the spelling) for breakfast. (A Ross-Boon tradition.) This Christmas so much fun. To see it through the eyes of your children makes it new again. Aidan really understood the concept this year and enjoyed himself. After present opening, it was off to packing and the next day we were off to Iowa. We made a stop in Davenport to see Cynthia and Ron and eat at Ross's, of course. Yum! We were lucky enough to see Melissa and her family and Kelli and Max. It's been awhile since we've seen them, let alone all of them at the same time. Aidan had a blast playing with everyone. And Olivia had "blasts" of her own. Let's just say the antibiotic that she was on didn't sit very well and we had many clothing changes last week, meaning Olivia and the people holding her. But Nana and Grandpa were able to meet up with us in Davenport too so it was a big family get together and very fun. Then off to my folks. Aidan was so excited to be able to play in the snow. And even better, Grandpa found the old toboggan and Aidan went sledding! In fact when we got home Aidan was sad cause all the snow was gone, as he said. :) I don't think we'll be getting 12 inches of snow, sorry Aidan. While at Grandma's, there was play time with Sophie. Aidan always looks forward to seeing his favorite cousin. Julien broke out the Wii. Not only did we get Dad to play (he's a bowling whiz) but, Brian and the girls played too. (It really is a system anyone can play.) It was so funny to see them sword fighting on Sports Resort. Emma and Sophie both wanted to take on their daddy. Olivia got lots of love from Grandma. Like all the grand kids, she loved rolling around with Grandma on her wheelchair. From there we went to Nana and Grandpa's, where we had another Christmas and celebrated New Years. Not only did Nana and Grandpa take Olivia both nights for us, but they watched the kids so we could go to lunch and see a movie. Which we really really appreciated. It was nice to get some sleep and even nicer to have some adult time together. Before we knew it, it was time to come home. As much fun as we had last week, there's something about coming home and sleeping in your own bed again. It may take us a couple days to recover.