Pool Time

It is FINALLY getting above 75 degrees in Boise so we can go swimming. For those of you that don't live in Boise this has been the LONGEST spring ever. We are all ready for summer. We have been swimming with the kids a few times over the last two weeks. Pennington really likes to go swimming. I have found him a few times lately in his room putting on his Swimmie (aka swim diaper) all by himself. I have to hide the Swimmies so he doesn't get mad at me if we can't go into the pool right now. He likes to jump into the pool by himself and have someone catch him. He also likes to blow bubbles in the water. Overall, he is not afraid of the water. One of my favorite childhood memories is going swimming and then laying out on the warm cement to dry off. Below is a picture of Pennington drying off.

Piper is indifferent about the pool. She doesn't mind it but she doesn't love it. She does love the water table. The water table as been a must have for the summer. Pennington loved playing in the water table last summer and now Piper is loves it. Below is a picture of Piper playing in the water table.

Summer Fun

We have been up to so much lately I don't even no where to begin. We have been into biking a lot lately. In May we got the "Burley Bee" which is a bike trailer for the kids. It has been so much fun putting the kids in the Burley Bee and going for a ride. We have been down to Powells Candy Shop in Bown Crossing several times, to parks or friends houses, and the other night we rode to Red Robin for dinner. For the most part the kids LOVE the Burley Bee. I don't have any photos of the kids in the Burley Bee yet but I will post some soon. Below is a picture of Piper at dinner at Red Robin. Both of the kids did amazing at dinner. They were super well behaved and ate really well.

After dinner at Red Robin, Pennington and Daddy went fishing in Parkcenter Pond. Pennington kept trying to catch a fish that was about three inches long that kept attempting to bit the spinner bait. Below is a picture of Pennington and Daddy fishing.

Daddy also got Pennington a new bike. It is a balance bike which according to Parenting Magazine is very popular in Europe. Balance bikes have no petals. There are lots of balance bikes at Pennington's school so he is familiar with them. Below is a picture of Pennington on his new bike. He is so excited to ride his bike and wear his helmet.

Pennington is really into his lawnmower. The other night Daddy had to fix Poppy's lawnmower and Pennington just had to watch and attempt to fix his own lawnmower. Below is a picture of Pennington fixing his lawnmower.

The other night we were hanging out in the driveway so Pennington could ride his bike and I turned around to find Piper like this. She had gotten into the glass recycling. Silly girl.

All By Myself

This was the first weekend ever that I have spent the entire weekend taking care of the kids without the help of grandparents, Johnny or any other caregivers for that matter. I woke up with the kids in the morning, fed them, got them ready for the day, played with them, changed their diapers, and put them to bed all by myself. I also managed to go to Fred Meyer, Costco, George's Cycles, and visit with my dear friend Becca.

I point this out for two reasons. (1) It truly takes a village to raise a child. You need as much help as you can get. (2) Sometimes it is just easier to not have other people around.

I never could have taken care of the kids for this many hours all by myself during the first . . . nine months of Piper's life. Honestly it isn't until now that I see them as twins. Piper is walking now and while she can't eat everything Pennington can she can feed herself which makes a world of difference. First time and even second, third, fourth, . . . , time parents need to realize that you need to ask for help. You can't do it alone for hours on end.

On the flip side I have also found that the kids are usually easier to deal with when I am the only one around. I'm guessing this is because there are few distractions. Additionally, you don't have to worry about what other people are thinking about your parenting. For instance if no one else is around you don't have to worry about picking up all the food and toys on the floor right that second. There is no one to tell you what to do or judge your parenting.

Overall, the weekend was great. I LOVE hanging out with my kids. They are truly my favorite hobby. Below is a picture of the kids from tonight. They are eating left over Pedialite Pops, hanging out in only onesies and shirts and I am completely fine with it.

Piper 10 Months Old

HELLO EVERYONE! My name is Piper and guess what I can do now.

1. I'm walking! A whole month earlier than my brother. :)

2. I have four teeth. Two on top and two on bottom. This means there are so many new foods that I have been able to try. I don't even remember the last time I let my parents feed me. I only like to feed myself. I LOVE fruits and vegetables and cheese. I'm not a big fan of breads and meats but I will eat them if I am hungry. Mommy says I eat twice as much as Pennington does.

3. I have the strongest abs you have ever seen. Or at least that is what my Nonnie tells me. I go from a squatting to standing position and visa versa like it is the easiest thing in the world.

4. I like being read to now. I think this month is the first time I have ever listened to my Mommy read me a story from start to finish. I think I might start to enjoy being read to.

5. I definitely know I am a girl. I love looking at other girls. Girls are so much more interesting than boys. Well except for my brother whom I LOVE hanging out with. Usually Pennington is pretty nice to me. If he pushes me over he gives me a kiss and tries to help me back up. He doesn't like it when I take his toys but Mommy and Daddy tell him that he has to share with me.

Below are some recent photos of me.

Memorial Day Weekend at the Cabin

It has been over seven months since our family has ventured up to the Groves Family cabin. We would have liked to have gone sooner but work schedules have hindered our ability to go. Additionally we found that last time we went to the cabin with the two kids that the cabin is NOT child proof-able. Specifically the stairs. The only thing we can do is put an ironing board in between the spoils at the bottom of the stairs so the kids can only climb up two stairs. We have also figured out that there is absolutely no way to block off the top of the stairs. Basically we have to keep our eyes and hands on the kiddos at all times when we are at the cabin.

Nonnie, Mommy, Pennington and Piper drove up on Saturday afternoon and meet Poppy. Daddy came up on Sunday evening. On Sunday Nonnie and Mommy took the kids into McCall to pick out a new toy and book and go to My Father's Place for Lunch. On Monday Daddy and Pennington went fishing off the dock.

Below are some photos of our weekend at the cabin. I didn't realize this until now but for some reason I only took photos of Pennington. I have to be better about taking photos of Piper.

Pennington 22 Months Old

A few things come to mind when I think about Pennington over the last month.

1. He is constantly asking to go outside. When he is inside he looks out the windows and talks about things he does outside or things other people do outside. One of the things he likes to talk about is mowing the lawn. Pennington has his own toy lawn mower which is plays with everyday. When we are in the garage he constantly talks and points to Daddy's lawn mower. Tonight the neighbors were mowing the lawn and he kept saying "Daddy, Daddy" as if Daddy was outside mowing the lawn. I had to take him outside to show him Daddy was not home and that the neighbors were the ones mowing their yard. Of course we had to sit and watch. Note: When I say talking I mean he says some words but I end up asking him if this is what he is saying and he says yes back. He still is only using about 10 verbal words right now.

2. He is really enjoying reading books right now. He really likes reading "The Carrot Seed" because it talks about a little boy gardening. Both Nonnie and Grandma have gardens so when we read the book we also talk about Nonnie and Grandma's gardens.

3. He has started to eat vegetables again. Yeah!!! He likes broccoli and carrots. I have to say I think the reason he is willing to get them again has to do with the fact they serve them at school. Nothing like a little peer pressure to get you to eat your vegetables.

4. Every time we are in the car he asks me to turn his music on. He loves listening to his Music Together CDs. This makes me happy because I don't find the music to be really annoying and the songs come from all different cultures and have different types of rhythms and intonations, ect.

5. He is also into "Stringing Work". Basically it is taking a string and adding beads or at school they use pasta instead of beads. Denise (Pennington's teacher) mentioned that he was really into the Stringing Work last week. This is because we got the Melissa and Doug Stringing Kit when we were up in McCall for Memorial Day weekend.

Below are a few recent photos of Pennington.

Pink Eye

Two weeks ago Denise (Pennington's teacher) mentioned that a few kids at school had Pink Eye and to look out for it. Well a week goes by and it looks like we dodged Pink Eye (or did we). I noticed a few days ago that Pennington had eye boogies which Johnny thought was just sleepy eye stuff. Pennington didn't seem to have red or pink eyes and wasn't rubbing his eyes so we were not concerned. Well this afternoon I realized that I had pink eye in my left eye. I got pink eye when I was in college so I knew right away what it was and that I had to have gotten it from Pennington. So when Pennington woke up from his nap I put Piper and Pennington in the car and headed to the Primary Health on Broadway to get our eyes looked at. Sure enough we both have Pink Eye. Luckily Piper doesn't have it.

The crazy thing to me about this whole Pink Eye ordeal is that it has cost me $120. $20 co-pay each for Pennington and I to get our eyes looked at and $40 each for the eye drops. $40 for eye drops!?!?!?! I guess without insurance this stuff is like $86. I guess whatever the doctor prescribed is like the top of the line eye drops for pink eye. He did mention that it would be gone in 24 hours and that we would no longer be contagious. Hopefully that is the case and Piper doesn't get it.

On a happy note at least Pennington will not have to miss school since he will be fine by Tuesday morning.

Piper 9 Month Checkup

I took Piper to her 9 Month checkup on Friday. At her 6 month check up Dr. Booth mentioned that we didn't have to come to our 9 month if we didn't want because Piper wasn't going to get any shots. At first I thought that was crazy not to go but now that I am a second time mom I have realized there is no need to go if we don't have any concerns. After her 6 month appointment I scheduled the 9 month appointment just in case I decided she needed to go.

Well her 9 month checkup rolled around and I decided we should probably go since she has still NEVER slept through the night. When I say slept through the night I mean what the doctors call sleeping through the night which is ONLY a 6 hour stretch. Even thought I already know exactly what I am doing wrong I just needed to hear it again. "DON'T breastfeed her to sleep and DON'T give her a bottle to go to sleep." It is crazy to think that I have this problem after I was so meticulous about putting Pennington down to sleep still awake. I guess this goes to show that every child is different and even a mom who just raised an infant 12 months ago can forget what she is suppose to do. So now I am starting over fresh and trying my hardest not to feed her to sleep.

Dr. Booth mentioned two things to me that I found interesting. (1) There are some cultures in this world that would find this conversation crazy. Why wouldn't you feed your baby if it was hungry, cry, ect? This is a good point. However, these children might sleep with their parents until they are 5. (2) Our culture thinks I am crazy that I would still be allowing Piper to sleep with me half the night.

I know I have mentioned this before but we are going on 9 1/2 months now of Johnny and I not having a full night sleep together. Crazy huh! I keep thinking it will end soon but the fact of the matter is it will not end until I can teach Little Miss Piper to fall asleep on her own.

Below are the stats:

Height: 27 1/4 inches (40th percentile)
Weight: 17 pounds 8 ounces (30th percentile)
Head Circumference: 44 cm (50th percentile)

I don't think much has changed on the stats percentile wise. I will point out that Pennington was 2 pounds heavier at this point. I am hoping Piper will reach 20 pounds by a year so we can turn her car seat around.

Video of the Kids at The Little Gym

Below is a video of both Piper and Pennington at Pennington's last class (see the previous post for details). In case you were wondering Johnny usually takes Pennington to the Wednesday morning class and G.G. meets him there to watch Piper.

Last Day of The Little Gym

For those of you that don't know our Little Gym in SE Boise is closing. We are really sad about it. We have LOVED taking Pennington each week to the Little Gym for the past year. He started when he couldn't even walk yet and now his running, jumping, swinging, kicking, climbing, you name it. On the last day of class they had a little medals ceremony for the kids which I heard was really cute. We had one extra class that Pennington didn't get to use so Johnny took Piper to what was going to be her first class but turns out to be her first and only class. On a happy note, I got a Groupon for Wings which is another little kid gym in town. Stay tuned for postings about Piper and Pennington at Wings. Below are a few pictures of the kids taken on the last class.

Pennington waiting with Carson to head into class.

Pennington climbing around.

Pennington getting his medal.

Pennington proudly looking at his medal.

The whole class. Avery on the far left and Carson the second from the right have pretty much been in the same class with Pennington since he started last summer. Max and Sam "The Twins" (not sure which one is which one is wearing red next to Pennington and the other is wearing green next to Carson) also go to K'tanim with Pennington.

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Piper Climbs Stairs

Piper figured out how to climb up the stairs all by herself this week. Below is a video.