Miss Amarica's Day in Photos

Amara loves to take photos and video of her daily life.  Here's what she had to share one day:

 
Reading Jo's Dinosaur book:



Rawr!


Hanging out with the guinea pigs:







Dollhouse, Stretchica and Lego "people".




Kindergarten classwork: I can be a good friend by...Holding Hands



RIP to My Recliner

We were given a second-hand recliner a few years ago.  It was pretty and in great condition.  But many dirty hands and lots of use beat it down to this:

This isn't an optical illusion...the chair has been DESTROYED.

RIP (Rest in Pieces)

Coundown!

In less than one week this boy...

Will be ONE!

No more baby :(  



The last few weeks have certainly been trying and if I didn't know any better I'd swear I had a child entering the "terrible twos" phase!  It started with mini tantrums.  As far as a tantrum goes, it was absolutely laughable- Henry wanted something and couldn't have it so he would proceed to gently lie his head on the ground then writhe silently on the floor.  This (wonderful) tantrum quickly progressed over the next few days to some loud protesting, head-thumping and throwing his head back so that if no one was there to catch him he ended up on the floor.  Not something I'd expect from an almost-one year old (*sniff*).  He has been sleeping less and clinging more (to me, and sometimes ONLY me).  Which has led to some serious grumpiness (from both mom and babe).  I don't mind cuddling most of the day but when you're trying to cut chicken and stir something on the stove while your child is screaming at your feet with his arms wrapped around your leg...for the THIRD time that day...it starts to get a little frustrating!  And I really really REALLY beg the sleep Gods to please keep him asleep until after I get the kids to school.  And while I enjoy grumpy company, I simply need a few minutes to shower, feed the older two and get at least the oldest out the door.  Wake up then and we can have a super duper happy and calm morning, just the two of us (until the Tasmanian Devil, AKA Jonas wakes up!).  And the hitting thing really needs to be nipped in the bud ASAP.  His brother, the dog, his brother...Jonas can only take so much!    

It hasn't been all bad.  He's been getting really good at talking.  I might be the only one that understands "dud" and "deent" but he's been picking up a few hand gestures and signs to accompany his language so soon others might understand too!  "Mama" is always loud and clear.  When he sees dad he whispers, "dadadada".  If he picks up a ball and starts murmuring- watch out!  He's actually saying, "throw" or "catch" and he likely won't wait for you to be ready!!  He LOOOOVES being outside.  Not being able to go outside elicits some serious tears.  With age he has grown a mega mop of soft hair that curls when it's wet.  There will be no first birthday haircut- I'm enjoying this!  When he's anticipating something like a tickle he giggles like crazy and it's so funny to watch and hear and always makes me laugh too.  When I'm sitting on the floor I'm a target for dive bomb hugs that come with a huge laugh and are always welcome.  

And have you ever seen a baby that loves the Sit 'n' Spin?        

Just shy of 7 months



Weee!



     

This love started at almost 7 months and has continued since.  He visits it on an almost daily basis!

The countdown has begun!  Am I ready?  Yes and no.  This is my last baby and it's just not the same when it's not your own.  I look at my oldest, who will be TEN this year, and wonder where the time went.  But it's going to happen so I might as well enjoy the ride!

Tattletale of the Day

This morning we were getting ready for school and my 9 year old son Zachary comes into the bathroom. 
"Mommy?  Amara is being mean to me.  I went in to say hi to her and she stuck her fingers in her ears and said 'blah blah blah'." 

What's really funny about this is my son wouldn't normally pop into his sister's room to say hello.  He was likely angry that his attempt to make her mad backfired (because, as you know, people are supposed to get mad when you talk to them!) and hoped her reaction would get her in trouble. 

I hope that wasn't my warning for what's coming when they get home from school!  *sigh*

So That's Where They're Made!

I was playing with Jonas (3) last night and asked him where he got such cute little feet.  He said, "I got my feet at the workshop!".
He also mentioned something about some evil guy cutting them off and taking them.  I sure hope not, lol!       

And the Winner of the CSN Stores Giveaway is...

This is so exciting!!!!  The winner is...




Rebecca O said...
I love this one: http://www.swingsetsandmore.com/Swing-Town-MA3200-AOU1004.html

Thanks for the chance.


Congrats to Rebecca O!  I will be contacting you today. 

March 6th is the Deadline- Enter to Win Now!

Reminder that the CSN Stores Giveaway will be ending soon.  March 6, 2011 at 11:59PM is the deadline to enter to win a $20 CSN Stores gift code.

There are only 39 entries so your chances are good! 

Jonas Says...

Jonas is all about numbers lately.  Usually he is 2 years old (wrong) and after some jogging the memory he is 3 (correct).  He has also said he's 3 and a half which is not quite true.    Yesterday he said his bike is 3 and a half years old.  Today he said one of my arms was 7 long and the other was 2 inches.  He really loves to measure things.  I think he gets it from his big brother Zachary, the future engineer.



Daddy and Jonas celebrating 32 and 3


While I'm on the topic of my 3rd child, I have to thank wonderful people at One2One Network for informing me that Power Rangers were back (though really they never left).  My son is OBSESSED with them.  He is constantly asking to watch Power Rangers because he wants to fight bad guys.  He punches and kicks along with them during the shows and invites me to help.  The goofy antics of Bulk and Spike crack him up without fail.  He says the Purple Ranger is his favorite (funny, I haven't seen him or her, lol) and loves to talk about the bad guys and their "bad choice[s]".  Power Rangers really is a great show.  

I am really happy to say that Jo is becoming a book lover like his mama.  He even has favorites, like books about trucks, cars and dinosaurs.  He loves to invite me to compare with him his dinosaurs with the photos in his books to see if we can find a match.  He also loves Lion King books.  



Jo's favorite dinosaur book


I'm also proud to announce that this stubborn wild child is finally getting into potty-training mode.  At 3???  Yeah, he's STUBBORN.  I'm not a huge fan of bribing though I read that bribing when a meltdown is not involved is usually totally fine.  But for this child and this situation I am fully embracing the bribe.  He loves video and computer games.  Since those are a privilage that he can EARN I thought they would be most appropriate for helping with training.  So whenever he goes he can usually have immediate positive reinforcement by being allowed to play for a little while.  If he has an accident the gaming is put on hold until he tries again.  In the morning he has to at least try before any video or computer games are played.  It's my way of limiting the computer and video games that I don't really approve of him playing while still allowed them to be played, which hubby thinks should be unlimited (CRAZY man).  So it's a good compromise for the kiddo and us parents while relieving us of the horror of 3-year old diaper changes.  And I like that he can see his attempts being rewarded in a way that he loves.  It may not be the best way but I'm finally getting him to try!         
 

Uh-Oh!

We were in Maryland over the weekend, hanging out with some family. 
Baby boy Henry (happy 11 months!!!) is in stair and explore mode.  Fortunately they have some great stairs for baby stair lovers.  He was able to practice over and over and over again!  Made him happy; made me nervous.  But like the others he's a stubborn one and as such he wouldn't stop- win for Henry.  Makes sense- it goes along with his whole issue of not playing with real toys so I shouldn't really be surprised.  Of course, there are exceptions like trains (he says, "chchchchch"), riding toys that he can push, cars (he says, "ffffffffff" while he drives those), blocks and dolls/stuffed animals.  And he loves to read books (that's my boy!!) But his other passions include the dog bowls (especially when filled with water), REAL remotes, REAL cameras, REAL phones (he knows the difference and God forbid we try to give him a toy), pots, pans and mommy's laptop.  
Anyway, on our last day I was buzzing around packing while Henry did some exploring.  He usually has to be closely watched while he explores, especially in antique-filled houses, but he was playing with the trash can in a safe room so I left.  A moment later he comes out to me and holds his hands up (kind of like I-don't-know-what-to-do style) and says "UH!".  That means "Uh-Oh" in Henry-speak.  So I scooped him up and asked what he did.  We went back to the bedroom where I found a tipped-over chair.  I just love talking about this, thinking about it because the thought processes of little babies totally blows me away.  How cool that he knew that something was wrong and could let me know!

On that note, he did something else that humored me and made me realize how much he's growing and learning.  On Friday while we were getting ready to leave Henry was really insisting on trying to go down the stairs.  In our house it's a big no-no because it's about 13 steps and no one was available to hold his hand.  He was persistent though and I had to keep distracting him as we packed.  Finally, he decided that it would work better for him if we were all out of the way (I can only assume what was going on in that brain of his).  he started pushing everyone who was in the hallway into bedrooms.  At first I didn't know what he was trying to do until he pushed me back into my room, pushed Jonas (the other hallway dweller) into a bedroom then took off running for for the stairs.  He looked at me as he neared the stairs and realized he was busted.  Then moved faster.  There's a reason I call him my sneaky sneaky boy!

Some other new milestones: more understanding of "drink" but can't really say it yet.  I'm teaching him a little sign language to help.  He still loves waving and says "bah" (bye) sometimes when he waves.  He throws kisses to his Japanese Grandma (she taught him so it's their special thing!), he's getting better at throwing and trying to catch, his 8th (and now 9th) tooth is still working it's way out but it's not here yet.  When we say, "yay" or tell him he's doing a good job (or similar) he claps.      

Happy 11 months Henry!  I can't believe you're almost ONE!!!  March 30th is coming fast!