Wednesday, August 7, 2013

June and July

Catch up time! In June, Rusty turned the big 3-0!!! We celebrated by renting a convertible mustang, getting a massage and spending a day at the beach. It was great to kick back and relax for a day. So glad I chose such a great birthday gift for us him. :) We also spent time with friends for a kid-free dinner out. It was so nice to catch up without time-outs and kid duty interfering! This month we also enjoyed taking the kids to the beach and our preschool co-op made a visit to the Oviedo fire station.


Not much to report in July. I was able to pick up a few extra shifts at work since Grandma is off work for the summer so we laid low. The highlight of the month was our fun trip to the science center! We went with a group of friends and their kids and are looking forward to purchasing a membership sometime in the near future. It was so fun to watch the kids see things they had never seen before! Audrey and Madison talked about the "dinosaur at the science center" and "pushing the button to make the dinosaur move" for a solid week.

In July we also transitioned the girls to toddler beds. Oh boy. Double trouble is an understatement. Everything in their room is locked and tethered down, everything removed except essentials in order to make it as boring as possible in hopes that they will nap/sleep/not destroy my house. If I said it's been a zoo, that would be an understatement. It sounds like a teenage slumber party in there at naptime everyday! At night, they screamed bloody murder for the first 2 weeks and demanded I "put it back." It being the crib rail. We seem to be settling down, finally. Madison occasionally falls asleep on the floor at naptime but Audrey has not slept except for bedtime when she falls exhausted into bed! There's been poop hiding, mattress tossing and who knows what else. But you know what? I don't sleep in a crib and everything is ok. Someday they will grow out of the shenanigans (I hope.)

Everyone loves a good poop story, so here it is: The girls had taken off their diapers during "nap". I found poop smudged on the mattress, the bed frame and Audrey's shirt. But no poop. Audrey's seemingly clean diaper was sitting on the changing table. I found the mystery poop in 2 separate dresser drawers (despite drawer locks). I thought that was it. Then the next morning, Madison kept saying "Audrey poop" and pointing under the dresser. Another mystery turd found. Good news? I figured out where the lingering poop smell was coming from!

 
Madison is our little wild child! She's always one step ahead, hands everywhere and into everything! Since my last post she has become VERY verbal and is now speaking in full sentences. We were so worried when she was almost 2 and hardly saying any words when our pediatrician told us to enjoy it. Soon she would be chatting our ears off. Boy was he right! She sings song, can carry on a conversation, count to 15 and can recognize most letters and colors. Right now her favorite color is BLUE! and her favorite song is Mary Had a Little Lamb. It's the most highly requested tune in the house! Play dough is also a favorite right now! She is still a major daddy's girl and asks for him all the time when he is at work. As crazy as she can be, she is also incredibly sweet at times. She asks me all the time when we are sitting down to eat "mommy, is it good?" If Elana is crying she runs over, pets her head and says "It's ok baby!" Funny how things you say and do get mirrored back to you :)
 
 
Audrey is our little emotional child. She's great at independent play, doesn't really get into things or tear the house apart (unless she is Madison's partner in crime). But oh my, don't take something she is playing with, had played with or is thinking about playing with. Don't touch her chair, her cup, her dolly, her blanket, her bed, and please, don't push her down the slide because an emotional meltdown will occur! Oh, and don't sing in the car either, gah! One of her favorite things to do right now is help mommy fix dinner. If she sees me fixing food in the kitchen she begs for the chair to stand on so she can help. I usually have her help me when (if) Madison naps. It's fun to have a little 1 on 1 time with her once in awhile. We usually juice, make smoothies, or something else useful to prepping dinner. She is also getting very good at recognizing colors and letters and is always singing some tune. She also LOVES to paint and make hand prints (and mistakenly used a marker one day as lip gloss!)
 

 
 
Elana is our little sweetheart (for now). She is generally very happy and smiley and is great at self entertainment! She's all over the place and climbing. Oh the climbing. If she gets on the couch, she will pull herself up on the counter top bordering the kitchen. We had to turn her crib backwards because she almost climbed out one day. She has learned how to turn the Elmo chairs around, throw out the toys in her way, and climb on up! She's taken a few nasty spills and I feel pretty lucky she hasn't really injured herself from all the craziness I've witnessed! We spend a lot of time playing outside and she's ALL OVER the back yard, chasing Audrey and Madison, exploring or just looking for mischief! We joke that she's going to be the most mischievous of them all, I mean she's learning from the best right?! As charming as she is, she's got that spark of naughty in her shining through already. If she's doing something she isn't supposed to, she'll give you a huge stinker smirk! She is still a major mama's girl but is starting to give daddy the time of day once in awhile :) A few days ago she even took her first steps! I can't believe my little baby is starting to toddle around. Happy but sad feelings all mixed in one.
 
August brings some new changes to our routine. The big girls will start a new preschool one day a week. I'm sure it will be an adjustment for them but I'm hoping they love it as much as they loved their last school! The rest of the month, I'm sure I'll be scrambling to get ready for our Disney cruise in September. Who knew so much planning could go into a 4 night vacation?!