Low Moments in Parenting: Poop Edition

The title should have sufficiently warned you.

Low Moment #1:

Over the weekend, I noticed thatboth Sebastian and Collette hadn't pooped in a couple days.  This is typical (but still not good) for Collette but very odd for Sebas.  I gave them both some Miralax in their milk - Collette stole most of Sebastian's and, shocker, pooped the next day.  However, as of yesterday night, Sebastian still hadn't pooped and I could tell he was trying to and couldn't.  A lovely chat with a friend who is a former nurse (hi Megan!) pointed me in the direction of suppositories.  I hoped it wouldn't come to that but more Miralax did nothing.  So, after school today, I got to give my son some medicine up his bum.  Why don't any parenting books EVER mention this as a possibility?

Low Moment #2:

Matteo puts everything in his mouth.  Dog food, bark mulch, crayons, whatever.  I try not to spend too much time worrying about it.  Whatever he swallows will probably just come out the other end, no problem.  My theory was confirmed when I changed his diaper to see the poop staring back at me - the unlucky googly eye untouched by the digestive process.  Ew.

Ma

Sympathy Pregnancy

As Sebastian and Collette get older and understand more, I try to be as honest with them as possible.  It can be hard to talk about grown up things at a level they can understand but they often surprise by how much they understand.

I told them about the coming baby, that it's in my belly and all that.  They seem to understand and remember when I ask them about it.  And because the first trimester always kicks my ass, I have told them that the baby can make mommy feel sick and tired sometimes. 

In light of this, Collette has developed a sympathy pregnancy.  She, too, has a baby in her belly - a baby girl, at that - and her baby is making her tummy "ouchy" and also making her sleepy.  I guess she is also in her first trimester.

It's things like this that make me really love the stage they are in right now.  Too darn cute!

I guess it was meant to be

A week ago, I had a feeling something wasn't right.  In the lady department.  One of those "I'm sure everything is fine but I should just check, you know, to be sure" type of things.  A quick trip to CVS and then to the bathroom and three minutes later, I am faced with this:

If your first thought after seeing this was HOLY F*CK!!! then we are on the same page.  I called Billy, crying hysterically, apologizing and basically just being crazy.  Typical pregnant person stuff.  He talked me down and I was able to keep my head out the oven.

You see, this wasn't supposed to happen.  We had a DOCTOR - a specialist, no less! - tell us that this was not supposed to happen.  Or at least, it would probably take a long, long time.  And I know this happens all the time.  Couple struggles with IF for X years, does treatments, has a one (or two or three...) babies with some help and them BOOM - surprise pregnancy.  But I thought, based our our IF circumstances, that this would not be our case.  It wasn't some hormonal thing, or some unexplained thing that could change whenever.  It was just a very, very small chance of it happening "naturally" for us.  So, you can imagine my surprise to see that stick telling me I'm pregnant after just three short months of returned fertility (breast feeding moms know what I'm talking about).

As a friend of mine put it, I should buy lottery tickets.  And Lord knows we'll need those winnings to send four kids to college.  Oy.

Now that a week has passed, I'm feeling much better and I'm getting really excited about adding a new little one to our family.  It will be crazy, for sure, but I know we can handle it.  The baby is due sometime in June so it will be a LONG summer home alone with four kids but at least we can play outside.  Visitors will be welcome!  And your morale-boosting comments are much appreciated, as well.

What a way to get back to blogging, huh?? :)

As I suspected, they love school

I'll end the suspense for you - Sebastian and Collette did great at school today. It turns out that the hardest thing about the first day of preschool was trying to get them to pose for a picture. I see all my twin mom friend's FB pages with their kids standing still, or even hugging!, for their picture. Not mine. Here are my photo-keepsakes from today:

Pretty pathetic. 

Collette is posing but refuses to smile or hold still.  Sebastian refused to stand in front of the door with Collette because he wanted to go in the car but then hurt himself once he was inside the car and cried hysterically for a couple minutes.  He found some matchbox cars to put in his backpack which cheered him up enough for me to get a decent shot (that last one) but, again, no smile.  He is saying "cheese," for what it's worth.

Drop off went well - the director gets them out of the car and Sebastian was fine with it.  Collette was a bit scared and then started to cry but at pick up they told me she calmed down after 5 or so minutes.  And neither of them wanted to leave and go home so I will take that as a good sign.

Now, how long do you think they'll nap??

Better late than never

In case you didn't get your fill of back-to-school blog posts, here is one more.

Yes, the fateful day has finally arrived. Sebastian and Collette start preschool tomorrow. Weeks after everyone else has started school. But its cool. Preschool is serious business and its not to be rushed. We wouldn't want them to burnout on coloring and circle time by Thanksgiving.

And actually, our preschool doesn't technically start tomorrow.  Tomorrow is an hour long orientation for students and parents.  Then Tuesday, Sebastian and Collette will join half of their classmates for 2 hours (instead of 2.5 hours) and skip Thursday so the other half of the class can have their "first" day.  Next week  begins our real first proper week of school.  Oy.  Talk about taking it slow.

I'm 80% excited for them to start and 20% sad.  Well, maybe 90/10.  The fact that there is any sadness surprises me - I was sure I would be one of those moms just barely slowing down and kicking the kids out the minivan sliding door.  But it looks like I won't be because they tried on their little backpacks today (a marketers dream - Thomas and Dora...) and I almost started to cry.  It just seemed so real!

As for the kids, they are confused, mostly.  The thing is, we call their EI playgroup "school" because they have teachers and I leave the room.  So when I tell them they will start school soon, they answer back with all the names of their current EI teachers.  Try as I might to drive home the point that this is a new school with new teachers, it doesn't seem to be sinking in.  But, I guess that's what tomorrow is for.  Funny side note - I asked the twins what they will say to their new teacher and Collette responded with "Happy Birthday!"  I think she'll make a good impression.

I know that they'll love it - its basically a room full of kids and toys.  And snacks.  Really, what's not to love?  But I'm a mom now which means I have a special "worry" hormone going in full force just for instances like these.  I worry that the teachers won't understand them.  I worry they won't make friends.  I worry they'll cry and hate school (despite aforementioned toys and snacks).  I worry that Sebastian will poop every time and I'll have to go change him.  I worry that the teachers will like one twin more than the other.  Or, even worse, dislike them both.  It's weird for me to just leave them in the care of complete strangers, especially after rarely leaving them with sitters - and even then its usually a family member. 

Hopefully, they won't smell my fear.

Worst First Birthday Present Ever

After one too many people mistook Matteo for a girl, I decided it was finally time to cut his hair. At his age, I figured it was pointless to take him to a hairdresser and that I should just do it myself. I guess I forgot about the part where I have no idea how to cut hair.

Poor guy.

Somebody turned ONE!

On Wednesday, at 12:30am while we were all fast asleep, Matteo officially became a one year old!

Cliched as it may be, this year has flown by!  Life with three (very young!) kids is busy, fun, frustrating, difficult and joyful all at the same time.  And it provides lots of fodder but not enough time for blogging as evidenced by my lack of posts and updates during my littlest one's first year.

As if he knew he would be turning one and wanted to celebrate with a big achievement, he started walking just a few days before his birthday.  He has been taking steps for a while but still favored crawling for the most part.  Not so much anymore.  He is a man on a mission!  Usually that mission involves a ball, the dog's water bowl or Mommy.  Or the stairs.  Yes, he is a pro at climbing (crawl climbing) the stairs and I need to be extra vigilant about keeping the doggie gate up because he will be upstairs faster than Sebastian and Collette can yell "Noooo, Teooooo!!!!!!!!!!!"

And he is talking so much, it amazes me.  He tries to repeat so much of what we say and seems to be adding words to his vocabulary at a pretty good pace.  He definitely says "ball" and I think he has been trying to say Lola, which is a hard one to say.  He signs "all done" and tries to say it but isn't quite there.  He even tries to sing and you'll hear a little tune come out of his mouth that sounds a heck of a lot like the melody to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

I know that this coming year will be full of fun now that we have the "baby" phase behind us as a family but I am so grateful for this past year.  Matteo showed me that maybe I am a baby person - I almost didn't mind those midnight feedings, all snuggled up with him watching him drift back into his warm milk drunkenness.  He has brought out the sweet side of his brother and sister (usually) who try to take care of him and cheer him up when he's sad and play with him when he's happy.

Here's to another terrific year with a most terrific boy.  Happy (belated) Birthday, Matteo!

We put the p-o-o in pool

Saturday was Auntie Kim's annual summer cookout and Wiffle ball tournament for which we made the trek out to Grafton, about an hour's drive. (For us, that's a lot.) We were expecting record heat that day (over 100 F) so my sister's neighbors were kind enough to offer up their pool to those of us bringing little ones. They have 4 kids of their own so adding a few more to the mix is no big deal.

After having some snacks and playing a bit inside, Auntie Stacey and I got the kids dressed in their suits and headed over to the pool. None of the kids know how to swim so we have to hold them the whole time we are in the water, even with their life vests on. After being in the pool for about half an hour, Collette said the P-word. Normally, this would not be alarming. She is potty trained and gives ample warning when she needs to use the bathroom, especially where poop is concerned.  However...she has been on a potty strike, of sorts.  She now refuses to go to the bathroom anywhere outside of home.  Even if a I have a potty ring (just like the one at home) and put it on someone else's toilet, she screams and cries and kicks and just. won't. go.

So, when she said "poo poo," I bolted out of that pool, knowing that she must be pretty desperate if she's willing to go when we're not at home.  As I was running upstairs, cradling Collette, to the bathroom, I realized there was already a bulge in Collette's bathing suit.  I was too late!  Once we were in the bathroom, it didn't take me long to realize that she was done pooping and it was now trapped in her bathing suit.  This was a low moment in parenting for me, to date.  Getting the poop into the toilet and trying my damnedest to not get any on my hands or all over my sister's bathroom was nearly impossible.  Meanwhile, Collette was crying that she wanted to go home to poop (a little late for that!!) and fighting my every move to get her de-pooped.

I somehow managed to get her clean and not ruin my sister's bathroom in the process.  She was still crying, though.  Traumatized, no doubt.  Then, I looked out the window, which faces the aforementioned pool.  And I see everyone evacuating.  And I know it can only mean one thing.  Poop in the pool.  To say I was mortified is an understatement.  I wanted to curl up into a little ball and just die of embarrassment.  Alas, I am a grown up and we grown ups have to face these things.  I changed Collette into her dry clothes and headed over to the neighbor's yard, my head hung in shame.

I climbed up to the pool deck to assess the damage.  And there, right in the middle of the pool, was a fairly large poop.  And it wasn't a floater, because that would be too easy.  No, it was a sinker and it was sitting at the bottom of the pool, mocking me.  My brother was there, laughing at me and disgusted with me, simultaneously.  I asked him where Kerry (the owner of the pool) was and what the "plan" was.  Do pool owners have special equipment for such things?  No, they don't.  The plan was to use a pail and the pool cleaner net thingy to dive down to the bottom of the pool and scoop out the poop.  So, Kerry and I put on some kid goggles, each got a pail and net thingy, and took turns diving for poop.  Ya...that really happened. 

Where was this guy when I needed him?!

How was YOUR weekend?!

Oh ya, Matteo is 11 months old now.

I think its clear that Matteo is definitely neglected.  At least when it comes to my dedication to chronicling his infancy.  Let's hope he doesn't hold it against me.

I missed his 10 month old post altogether - mostly because I was in Montreal celebrating my 30th birthday but is that really an excuse?  :)  What I would have said in that post is that is got two teeth and has only bitten me a few times.  That he is saying "mama" and "dada/papa" and waving.  But all that's old news now.

His 11th month has been even more fun than his 10th.  He is taking baby steps, literally.  He knows how to "do" the hat song - those of you in EI know what I'm talking about.  I'm pretty sure he is signing "all done."  He has added "hi" and "uh-oh" to his vocab.  "Uh oh" is his favorite because he gets to drop something on the floor and then say "uh oh" over and over and over and over again.  He's learning to climb the stairs which is not so fun because he hasn't mastered the not-falling-down-once-you're-a-few-steps-up part.

He still loves to eat shoes, paper and chalk.  He has taken to attacking Sebastian when Sebastian is getting a diaper change.  Or he tries to grab the dirty diaper.  In other news, I really need to potty train Sebastian.  Let's just say I was right when I said it would be hell on earth training him.

Eating and sleeping are still great.  Of the three, Matteo is my best eater.  I'm enjoying it while it lasts because that toddler-picky phase will be here before I can say "just one bite, for god-frickin'-sake!!"  While two naps a day are going very well, I am planning to switch him one nap by the start of school.  I know that way early but it will make school drop off much easier.  Not to mention I don't want to be stuck at home now that I'll finally have some time to get stuff done without the twins in tow.  We'll see.

One other thing I notice with Matteo is just how much he learns from Sebastian and Collette.  The Hat song is one example.  He also plays with cars (like, actually pushes them along the floor just like Sebastian and Collette do), tries to do puzzles, uses drum sticks on the drum, etc.  It makes me grateful that they get all this time together.  Not to mention the fact that Sebastian and Matteo have become like peas and carrots.  Watching them play together is just too cute.  The stuff us parents live for.

And here my littlest man in his chair.  Filling it up too quickly.

Boy, does he look like his Daddy. :)

The Big Hit of the Garden

My tiny little garden has been giving us its all for the past couple months. We had a rainy go of it in May but June has been nice and with our sprinkler system on, I don't even need to water the plants. Gardening has proven to be a pretty low-key, rewarding hobby thus far.

To date, I have harvested strawberries (which are just now coming to an end), arugula (done since late May/early June), spinach (same story as the arugula), cilantro (one batch done, more sprouts coming up), basil (still growing), shallots (which are curing as we speak), snap peas (just finished) and carrots. With the exception of the strawberries, the kids have been most excited about the carrots. Collette sank her teeth into one before I could even get it inside to wash off. They are a small variety so make great snacks for little 2-year old bellies. And the kids seem to enjoy our garden carrots more than the ones I get from store. I doubt its the taste as much as it is the novelty of it being from our garden and being small. But who knows - maybe they taste something better in those little treats. The carrots are also one of my favorite things to harvest. It just amazes me that the treasure is hiding under that soil, waiting for me to pull it up and eat it. Next year (and late this season, I'm sure) I will definitely plant more carrots.

For our summer veggies and herbs, we'll have more basil and cilantro, sweet and hot peppers (Billy forced me to grow habaneros and I'm scared to harvest them when the times comes!), green onions, tomatoes and more strawberries.  I also have swiss chard and parsley seeds that I may sow this week, which would be ready by the end of summer if all goes well.

I'll be sharing some of my garden recipes thus far over at How Does Your Garden Grow so be sure to pop over and see what I did with all that veggie goodness.  I'm making a ratatouille tonight that I posted a while ago over there.  Too bad the kids won't eat it...more for me, though!!

Rainy day surprise

Yesterday was our first "free" summer day. We always had Monday and Tuesday mornings open but yesterday we would have normally been at gymnastics. We've been playing outside a lot lately, especially with our neighbor and her nanny.  They are moving away today (sniff, sniff) but it's been fun having a playmate right outside our door every morning.  Anyway, we joined them on a walk downtown to meet up with a bunch of other kids and their nannies.  I felt a bit out of place, almost like a spy, being the only mom but no one seemed to mind. 

The kids had loads of fun even when it started raining.  We all gathered under an enormous tree and stayed relatively dry.  The walk home was another story.  The twins were in the jogging stroller which has excellent rain coverage.  Matteo was in the Ergo which has a head cover.  And me, I was just getting soaked.  Its about a 20 minute walk (uphill...) so by the end, I looked pretty awful.  We were just a couple blocks from our house when we passed a few high schoolers, just hanging out on a bench.  On of the girls said, jokingly, "she looks like she needs a babysitter!" to which I immediately answered, "yes, I do!"  She was surprised that I answered but excitedly so.  She jumped off and asked me if I was serious.  Yes, I most definitely was serious!  She talked about some other babysitting jobs she has had (or still has, not sure).  In my head I was thinking, why is she telling me this??  Then I realized, oh ya - she probably thinks I want someone with experience.  I'm so desperate, I forgot to consider that!  Not that I would just leave my kids with her.  I would have her come and "watch" them while I was home, let her get her feet wet.  But for me, anyone who sees my brood and still wants the job, chances are they have experience.  Caring for 3 under 3 is not usually how people want to get their start in the babysitting world, I would imagine.

I took down her number and asked her where she lived and how old she was.  She lives about 5 blocks from me (score!) and will be a junior in the fall (double score!).  That means I get two years before she is off to college, if she works out.  And since she is young, she will come a bit cheaper which is OK with me since she will mostly be a mother's helper to start - I'm looking for one afternoon per week as a set schedule, plus nighttime sitting as needed for me to go to meetings or out with Billy.

Are you all proud of me?  I'm totally going out of my comfort zone here.  Sad, though, that this is out of my comfort zone...

I see summer!

I'm just going to skip over the fact that I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks, that I turned 30, celebrated 5 years of marriage and that I went to Montreal to celebrate during my blog hiatus.  I'll get back to it when I feel like gathering my thoughts.  In the meantime, let's talk about summer!

Yes, summer is almost here (or already here depending on how you define summer for you and your family) and I am surprised to be excited about it.  Surprised because last summer was awful - the kids were in a rough patch (18-24 months, you were not my friend), we had record heat for the last two months of my 42-week pregnancy and my A/C was broken for most of that time.  Last July pretty much turned me off to summer forever.  Or so I thought.

This year, with Matteo and all the classes for Sebastian and Collette, I feel so rushed and busy.  Getting Matteo down for a nap and on time so I can wake him up in time to get out of the house and into the car and to whatever overpriced activity I signed us up for has been exhausting!  Not that I wouldn't do it again, I'm just tired of it now.  I'm ready to take a leisurely pace that compliments summertime so well.  With the twins starting school in September (albeit just 2 mornings a week...), I am excited to just go with the flow and live schedule-free.  Sure, they will still have a nap schedule - I haven't completely lost it!  But I won't feel the need to have each day planned weeks in advance.  I'm already relaxed just thinking about it!

So, as of Saturday, if you wanna hang out with some super cool toddlers, a very cute baby and me, we are officially free :)  And we have a kiddie pool - all are welcome.

Two point Five

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On Saturday, my "babies" had their half birthday.  This isn't something we celebrate (do others??  I'm not sure...) but there just happened to be a fair in town.  Now, if I were a good mommy blogger, I would have remembered to bring my camera to the fair to get pictures of them being big kids and riding rides by themselves.  Remembering three kids seems to be all my brain can handle, though, and the camera was left behind.  We had to settle for Billy's iPhone which is normally fine but on Sunday is self-destructed before we had a chance to transfer the photos.  So, ya...no pics.  But what we had was a very cute shot of them in the car-merry-go-round ride.  They chose the same car - Collette was in the front and Sebastian was in the back.  They loved it.  I got a little choked up at how big they seemed, riding all by themselves.  Another one of those unexpected milestones, I guess.

2.5 has also been an age of "advanced" play.  They are interacting with their toys (and each other) in more meaningful, developed ways.  They collaborate in games, simple as they may be.  Like jumping off the porch, throwing matchbox cars over the fence or taking turns dumping sand on the rhododendrons.  Recently, they acquired some dinosaur toys.  They know a lot of the dinosaurs names already so I tried to teach them which ones were meat eaters and which were plant eaters.  They took it to heart:

On the flip side, we seem to be confirming the theory that the half years suck.  The whining has reached epic proportions.  Things were going so well, I had been slacking on the discipline.  Now its back to counting them all the time.  For those of you who also do 1-2-3 Magic, do you count for whining?  If so, always or just in certain instances?  And what about crying?  For us, whining and crying is a fine line but I feel awful sending them to time out when they're crying.  I feel like I am denying them some mommy comfort that they need.  Then again, they (yes, they - its not just Sebastian anymore!) cry over ridiculous things like my suggesting that they wear a rain coat or serving lunch that doesn't involve yogurt and fruit.

Sibling rivalry has also been peaking.  Sebastian is in a "dat's mine!" phase, and even takes it out on poor Matteo.  But mostly it's just Sebastian and Collette fighting over toys and/or space.  I have a feeling that Billy and I will have to give them some quality one-on-one time to get through this stage of toddlerhood.  I just hope the second half of their third year in life isn't as rough as the second half of their first year.  Because I really did not enjoy 18-24 months old...

But back to the bright side:

They are still happy kiddos over all!

Matteo's 9 month stats, etc.

Matteo's 9 month check up was quick and easy. I'm lucky that he is such an easy, predictable baby so I rarely have questions for the doc. Also, this visit only required one shot and my little boy didn't even cry. What a trooper.

In record keeping news, Matteo has made his way to average, after being such a big newborn. Here are the stats:

Weight: 20.6 lbs (47th percentile)
Height: 28.5 in. (55th percentile)

And lastly, a lot of this has been going on:

Yup, pulling up, standing and cruising have begun. My little guy is on his way to toddlerhood. Lord help me!

And don't forget - you can vote for us EVERYDAY in May :)

See, TV can teach kids stuff

I'll admit it.  We watch a lot of TV in this house.  Billy and I are serious TV watchers and the kids have followed suit.  I bounce back and forth between feeling super guilty and feeling like it probably won't matter much.  Not that that's the point of this post.  That's a post for another day.  The point is that sometimes, kids can learn stuff from their little shows.  Really important things.  Like how to do The Robot.  It was on an episode of the Fresh Beat Band.  And here are Collette and Sebastian, doing their best Robot:

 So, ya.  That's 1 point for TV watching in my book.

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Parlez-vous "no kids!"?

It's really happening. Billy and I are going away. For 3 days. To another country. WITHOUT THE CHILDREN!

Yes, it's just Canada. And yes, its only 2 nights. But still. I am super excited. Billy and I haven't gone on a just-us trip since my friend Lena got married in NOLA when the twins were just 5 months old. And that trip was not so much for us - we were there for a wedding, after all.

Our big getaway is to Montreal. Billy was really pushing for Paris but there was just no way we could find someone(s) willing to watch the kids for long enough to make a transatlantic trip worthwhile. Anyway, neither one of us has been to Montreal and we can drive there - both big bonuses. And I can still learn some French!

Looks promising!

This vaca is happening in just a few weeks. It's a combination my-30th-birthday/our-5th-wedding-anniversary celebration. And I have so much to do before we go. I am pumping every night to build up a stockpile for Matteo but it sucks because you get so little when you pump in the late evening. I have to write a detailed list of instructions for taking care of the kids. My siblings are splitting the responsibilities so its not like I can just explain it to one person. I'm just so hard to replace. :)

Just remind me that the weeks of prep will be worth it for even just a couple nights away!

And, um, while you're at it, why don't you go on ahead, click on this little button down here, and vote for my lil' blog?? You're the best! Thanks!!

That Was Easy

With almost a week of potty training under our belts, I think I can safely say that Collette is potty trained. OMG!

Collette, reading her "princesesa" book (People magazine with Kate Middleton on the cover)

I wish I could share with you all the secrets to successful, stress-free potty training. Alas, I have no secrets. I think we just got lucky on this one. After the few accidents she had on Day 1, it clicked. She asks to go when she needs to, with plenty of time to get to the potty, get pants off and get her on the pot. False alarms are far fewer now (although we still have lots). And she is waking up dry from nap and overnight. I know. It's not even fair.

Poop, though - that's another story.

My first day alone with all three post-potty-training was Friday. I got the kids up, Collette went pee in the potty, and then went to the potty again but didn't do anything. So, I figured it was safe for me to sneak downstairs and make a coffee. And naturally, Collette decided that would be the perfect time to poop. In her underwear. I heard her crying/screaming and I knew she'd had an accident. Her pants were FULL of poop and some had even escaped down her pant leg and on to the floor. She was in hysterics. I was just glad the baby hadn't eaten any of the poop. Does that make me a cup half full kind of person, or what? :)

So, number 2 is still an issue. She has only gone twice since we started on Monday - once in her nap time diaper on Wednesday and the aforementioned incident. I have heard from so many moms that this is pretty standard so I'm not going to worry about too much for now. I'll keep you all posted though - I'm sure you'll be dying for Collette's BM updates.

All in all, I have nothing to complain about. This was way easier than I thought it would be. Does this mean it will be hell training Sebastian??? Please don't say yes.

Collette and the Potty: Day 1

After much thought and sufficient planning, we started potty training Collette today. Billy is on vacation this week which means that we can really devote a lot of energy to her and the process. Today was the first day and it went remarkably well considering the fact she has been refusing to go on the potty at all leading up to today.

We have been psyching her up for today for about a week. She seemed excited to start using the potty and to wear her Kai Lan underwear. We told her that she would be a big girl. That she would get chocolate. And prizes! I forgot about those last two so they didn't happen. Nit that it mattered. Once we got going, she was all in, candy or not.

She had her first accident this morning, right after breakfast. Billy and I were distracted by the other two and she peed while playing at the train table. It scared her so much that she went running to Billy and slipped in the mess. Poor thing. She spent the next hour crying, sitting on the potty without producing, crying more, another accident, more crying. Then she finally had a successful trip to the potty and she was so happy. I know because she actually said, "my so happy!". She didn't have another accident until lunch. Food can be distracting that way. She wore a diaper for nap (which I need to elaborate on but I'll wait until tomorrow for that), and did many a trip throughout the afternoon. She was accident-free for the rest of the day! Not too shabby!

Some things that worked for us:
- drinking water on the potty
- putting her fingers in warm water while on the potty
- letting her tell us when she had to go (as opposed to us bringing her - fit with her personality/mood better)
- rolling up the rug in the living room

Fingers crossed that Day 2 is even better...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

9 Months Old and Making Mischief

Oh yes, its that time. The time when the baby becomes a force to be reckoned with. And Matteo is hitting it right on track.

Truthfully, 9 months is one of my favorite ages. The crawling means he can get into everything but he is so happy to explore on his own. And I am starting to get glimpses of the kind of person he's going to become now that he has this independence. He's curious, determined, affectionate, engaging and fun-loving. It's so nice getting to know him. Even while he is eating sidewalk chalk, shoes and paper.

He is learning to pull up, which means I have to kick the baby-proofing into high gear. Or any gear. My house is currently not baby-proofed at all We had to move his crib down from the highest setting to one of the lowest - another milestone!

Also, much to my satisfaction, he has learned how to take a sippy cup. We let him try the straw cups that Sebastian and Collette use and he was able to figure it out pretty quickly. Now, whenever he sees them with their milk, he tries to steal it away. I'm sure this will be a recurring theme throughout his childhood, for better or worse. For now, I'm just glad that I can have someone else feed him. Plans are in the works for an adult-only weekend away to celebrate my big 3-0. More on that later. :)

As far as his schedule, things are still pretty much the same. Two naps, goes to bed around 6:30 and gets up around 6/6:30 in the morning. It can be hard to get him up from his first nap in time for the twins' classes but so far we have managed to fit it all in and not disturb Matteo much.

All in all, 9 months is looking great! He is still my happy little boy.

I think he is going to have Collette's hair. I was looking at pics of Colie from this age and her was only just starting to curl. As you can see in the chair picture, he is rocking the faux hawk - that's au natural, folks. He's going to need a haircut soon. Oy. My baby is growing up!!

Sebby-isms

It would seem that all toddlers have those weird, quirky things they say that make us laugh but also question the lead content of the paint on the walls. Sebastian's latest obsession has him saying something that I find kind of funny and hopefully not indicative of some mental malfunction.

His obsession is with my Auntie Kim's car. Now, he has always been into cars - it was his first real word, after all. But his love of my sister's VW is really something else. It's a white Jetta (I think it's a Jetta...) - cute but nothing special, save for the fact that it brings Auntie Kim over to visit. A month or so ago, Sebastian would spot another white sedan and proclaim "Auntie Pim's Car!!" (Note that he cannot say Kim and instead says Pim. We're working on it.) In the past few weeks, he has stepped things up. Now, anything he sees that is white, even the tooth of the whale in a picture in a book is "Auntie Pim's Car." Milk coming up the straw of his sippy cup is "Auntie Pim's Car." Socks. White blocks. The mane on the unicorn rocking horse in their room. All "Auntie Pim's Car."

But that's not even where the obsession ends. Now, he can recognize the VW emblem. So whenever he spots a VW - no matter the color or model - it's also "Auntie Pim's Car." This part of the obsession has translated into finding Infinities ("Leah's Car") and Toyotas ("Auntie Stacey's Car"). The funny thing about the Toyota is that we have a Toyota. I guess he never notices our car's make.

So, what silly things are your kids saying? I know I'm not alone here! :)

Makes My Monday: Busy Matteo

Last week, Matteo had some very big breakthroughs. He is officially crawling forward, and with purpose. He mostly crawls around to put things in his mouth that he shouldn't, like pieces of paper, shoes and chalk. Clearly, I need to do a better job of tidying up.

He has been babbling for awhile now but it wasn't until last week that he started saying "mama." I have no illusions that of what his meaning is - I know its just babble. But still. Pretty awesome :)

And just over the weekend, he learned to clap! I started playing Pat-a-Cake with him and he loved it, started clapping after I showed him and that was that. He's a clever one!!

And for your viewing pleasure, a crawling video taken on my sh*tty phone.

Pee Times Three

As nice as it is when your sisters call you up out of the blue to take your kids (well, 2 out of 3) out to dinner without you, it's not so nice when said trip results in three sets of sheets soaked in pee.

What does one have to do with the other, you ask? Well, FavAuntie dropped off her puppy while she would be out at dinner, so as not to leave puppy in her apartment all alone. Sure - no problem. Unfortunately, when the puppy discovered a clean bedspread and sheets (mine...), she decided to mark her territory. Not cool.

As for the other two incidents, it seems that the twins were both drinking more than their fair share of something while out to eat with their Aunties (and Uncle, who met up with them). I awoke this morning to two toddlers in wet jammies and wet sheets. Thank goodness their mattress are waterproof.

And now I get to do even more laundry! What a day :)

(But seriously, it was really great to have the kids out without us - they had lots of fun with their Aunties and Uncle, so THANK YOU despite the pee)

Bonjour, Mon Ami!

Yes, the Flat Twins have jet-setted their way to the City of Light: Paris!



Lucky for the Flat Twins, they got to see all of the city, including the Louvre (I'm so jealous!) and many a cathedral. Unlucky for us, Billy lost his phone and all the Flat Twins pics. The ones above he had already sent me, thankfully, but the rest are stuck in his iPhone, keeping some Parisien company. Ah, well. C'est la vie!

8 Months old for Matteo

Matteo's eighth month was somewhat uneventful, as he seems to be working on a lot of the same things he was last month. Here is a quick snap shot of my Tater Tot over the past month:

• Crawling backwards very well, not so much forward. In the past week or so, he has perfected his downward dog.
• Eating more table food. In the past month, he has tried crab cakes, quiche (also with crab...), puffs, apple bread, croissant, french toast, mango (pieces and in the mesh feeder), different kids of beans, shredded cheese, squash (pieces and in the mesh feeder), potatoes, and rice.
• Gets mad when I walk by him and don't pick him up. Actually, distraught might be a better way to describe the emotion. And the face he gives me is just heartbreaking...
• New love affair with the tupperware cabinet. I am fine having the tupperware all over the floor if it means peace, quiet and both of my arms free while I'm cooking.
• Still won't take a sippy cup or bottle. Grrr.
• Has been waking up on his belly lately, or at least he's on his belly by the time I get in there.
• Loves to chew on paper and shoes. Must have picked that up from the dogs.
• Sleeping better overall. His naps are much more consistent, I would say. Down from 8/830 - 930/10 for the AM nap and from 1230/1 - 230/3 for the afternoon nap. Bedtime is still between 6 and 630.
• Still very ticklish :)
• Eyes haven't turned brown yet...maybe they won't?

Here is my handsome guy, all smiley for his 8-month chair picture:

Makes My Monday: Super Daddy and Super Auntie!

This weekend, my Mother of Twins Club had their Spring tag sale and I was a seller for the second time. I didn't have too much but was eager to rid of some baby items as well as a plethora of plastic toys that my parents dump on me with each of their weekly visits. The sale is quite the undertaking and sellers have to set up Friday night and work from 6am Saturday morning until about 3pm that afternoon. In my absence, Daddy and Auntie Kim stepped in to look after the kiddos - Kim in charge of Matteo and Daddy with Sebastian and Collette.

Daddy took the kids to the mall and reported back that they behaved PERFECTLY! He braved the Rain Forest Cafe where they politely ate their whole lunch and, as a special surprise for me, got their picture taken with the Easter Bunny! Apparently, they loved him and each gave him a hug before saying good-bye. Figures, right? But I'm glad they are good for him because then he'll take them out solo more often.

Auntie Kim was stuck with Matteo. I say "stuck with" because, contrary to what I thought, he is just not that into his new sippy cup. I was able to nurse him right before I left in the morning but he still nurses every two hours so he had a hard time going down for his nap without me. When he woke up, Kim brought him down to the sale (thank goodness it's just down the street from my house!) and I filled up his little tank. Then she decided to show him off and met up with a friend of hers at a cafe in Davis Square. With a full belly, he behaved like the little angel he is.

Meanwhile, I had a great time at the sale. Saw all my big stuff go off to new homes and hopefully a lot of my little stuff sold, too. I donated everything that didn't sell because Billy would've divorced me if I came back with anything. I also picked up some new things for the kids - summer clothes, rain coats, a T-ball set, sand and water table, toy lawn motor (to match the one they already have and CONSTANTLY fight over), a few books and a toy car ramp. All in all, I know I made out on the plus side by quite a lot. Definitely a success all around.

Also, to propel myself back to regular postings, I am going to commit, here and now, to an overdue post for Matteo (he's 8 months old now!!!) and a Flat Twins post - all this week. Some of you know where the Flat Twins are but for those of you who don't, stay tuned! I have some very cute pics coming :)

Take that Mother Nature!

So guess what? I'm a gardener now!

Ya, since we're not having any more human babies, I decided to start raising some plant babies. We had a minor setback with an April Fool's Day snow storm but everything melted by Saturday afternoon and on Sunday, we were planting.

The plants you see are leeks, shallots and strawberries (in the block holes)

Here's what we've got in there as of now: arugula, spinach, bunching onions, shallots, leeks, strawberries and snap peas. I'm a tad worried about the strawberries but they had them outside at the garden center so we'll see...

As the weather warms up, we'll be adding carrots, cilantro, basil, tomatoes, jalapenos, bell peppers, and sweet potatoes. I have a very nerd-rrific excel spreadsheet going for "succession" planting (do I sound like a real gardener or what??) and will hopefully have a continuous harvest through fall! Its just ten squares (we're doing the square foot gardening thing which, until I started researching gardening, I didn't know was a thing - I thought that's how everyone planted in their backyard...) plus the strawberries so that should keep things manageable.

As for the kiddos, we got them a small planter and filled it with some soil. Collette especially was so enthralled with the raised bed, even before she saw us planting in it, that we knew they would need something of their own to keep them from inadvertently killing all the veggies. So far, they like their "garden" but still try and help me in the big one. But soon enough, there will be weeding to do and those little fingers will be perfect for the job!