I know I only have a handful of followers, but I thought if some of them posted this to their blogs then it would really get around. Anyway, I think I'll have Taylor draw a giraffe and send it to this guy. I think this is neat.
http://olahelland.net/giraffes/
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
SPAGHETTI and PEE PEE!!!
Just wanted to say that Grady peed on the potty tonight! He's obsessed with sitting on the toilet and stuffing toilet paper between his legs. Tonight he happened to pee too! This is the second time he's actually peed on the potty! Taylor gave him a big hug and he seemed happy with that!
NOW, the big news (to us anyway).....
Taylor ate about 10 bites of spaghetti tonight!! She's never been willing to even try it! We're starting a new "take at least one bite" tough love approach and tonight it worked! WHEW! I wasn't looking forward to the "tough" part of "tough love" because Taylor's no fun in that mode!! :)
So, our ped. told us that Taylor is old enough for sure to "take at least one bite". If she won't then she doens't eat, then when the next meal comes she takes a bite of the original food before eating the next meal, then if she doesn't she doesn't eat and it goes to the next meal and so on. He said that she's stubborn but missing a few meals won't hurt her and when she's hungry enough she'll gladly take that one bite. SOOOOOO, now that school's out and we're at home for a few weeks, I told her that we'd start it tonight. I gave her plenty of time to get used to the idea but let her know that if she didn't eat the spaghetti (or take a bite) for supper then she'd go to bed with no supper or snack and we'd try again at breakfast. Again, not expecting her to eat the whole serving just a bite. Also, starting with something I know she'll like if she'd just try it (she loves pizza sauce). So, I asked her if she wanted sauce or not (I always ate mine with just butter and parm. cheese) and she said, "Put lots of sauce on it!" I put it in front of her. She said, "I'm so so scared!" She gagged on the first bite but the next one she chewed and swallowed and then went ahead and slurped the noodles up and licked the sauce and ate a total of 10 bites with no prodding from me!!!! (Grady, on the other hand, who had eaten three smokie links and three small pancakes, and half a banana at lunch had already finished his bowl of spaghetti--about double/triple Taylor's serving--and he was happy to finish what she didn't eat!) Taylor then ate her apples, cheese, and pudding. We called 5 people to let them know about her eating spaghetti and she was so proud!!
This may not mean much to some of you but when you have a child who refuses to eat any veggies and a lot of other stuff, getting her to eat one bite would have been a victory but 10 bites was HUGE!!! I plan on continuing with this "plan". It's not like I'm going to stuff a brussel sprout in her mouth (although, I am a fan of some good baby brussel sprouts!). We'll start with simple things (mashed potatoes, cheese potatoes, peanut butter and jelly, green beans, corn, etc) that I think she will/could like.
Oh, and I was on a mission to find a Barney, Baby Bop, and BJ stuffed animal today so I went to 4 Goodwill stores. I FOUND ALL THREE CHARACTERS!!! Woohoo!! I had bought Grady a Barney off of Amazon for like $11 but then Taylor was all sad that she didn't get one so I told her if I could find them CHEAP I'd get some more. Couldn't believe my luck to find all three ($1.99 each!!!)
I also got a small container with sponge and shells for $2.99 at Goodwill. I then bought Taylor her first "pets". She likes the hermit crabs at Juana's house (daycare) so I got her and Grady two hermit crabs. They were out of food at Uncle Bills (who knew that I'd go to 3 other places looking for the crabs and only be able to find them at Uncle Bills!) So Ryan will get hermit crab food tomorrow. The container is actually a little small for two crabs but for now it will work. Taylor was thrilled. She wanted to hug them goodnight! Watch out for that claw/pincher!!
So, all in all a very good day! Tomorrow I take the kids to the dentist for the first time!!!!
NOW, the big news (to us anyway).....
Taylor ate about 10 bites of spaghetti tonight!! She's never been willing to even try it! We're starting a new "take at least one bite" tough love approach and tonight it worked! WHEW! I wasn't looking forward to the "tough" part of "tough love" because Taylor's no fun in that mode!! :)
So, our ped. told us that Taylor is old enough for sure to "take at least one bite". If she won't then she doens't eat, then when the next meal comes she takes a bite of the original food before eating the next meal, then if she doesn't she doesn't eat and it goes to the next meal and so on. He said that she's stubborn but missing a few meals won't hurt her and when she's hungry enough she'll gladly take that one bite. SOOOOOO, now that school's out and we're at home for a few weeks, I told her that we'd start it tonight. I gave her plenty of time to get used to the idea but let her know that if she didn't eat the spaghetti (or take a bite) for supper then she'd go to bed with no supper or snack and we'd try again at breakfast. Again, not expecting her to eat the whole serving just a bite. Also, starting with something I know she'll like if she'd just try it (she loves pizza sauce). So, I asked her if she wanted sauce or not (I always ate mine with just butter and parm. cheese) and she said, "Put lots of sauce on it!" I put it in front of her. She said, "I'm so so scared!" She gagged on the first bite but the next one she chewed and swallowed and then went ahead and slurped the noodles up and licked the sauce and ate a total of 10 bites with no prodding from me!!!! (Grady, on the other hand, who had eaten three smokie links and three small pancakes, and half a banana at lunch had already finished his bowl of spaghetti--about double/triple Taylor's serving--and he was happy to finish what she didn't eat!) Taylor then ate her apples, cheese, and pudding. We called 5 people to let them know about her eating spaghetti and she was so proud!!
This may not mean much to some of you but when you have a child who refuses to eat any veggies and a lot of other stuff, getting her to eat one bite would have been a victory but 10 bites was HUGE!!! I plan on continuing with this "plan". It's not like I'm going to stuff a brussel sprout in her mouth (although, I am a fan of some good baby brussel sprouts!). We'll start with simple things (mashed potatoes, cheese potatoes, peanut butter and jelly, green beans, corn, etc) that I think she will/could like.
Oh, and I was on a mission to find a Barney, Baby Bop, and BJ stuffed animal today so I went to 4 Goodwill stores. I FOUND ALL THREE CHARACTERS!!! Woohoo!! I had bought Grady a Barney off of Amazon for like $11 but then Taylor was all sad that she didn't get one so I told her if I could find them CHEAP I'd get some more. Couldn't believe my luck to find all three ($1.99 each!!!)
I also got a small container with sponge and shells for $2.99 at Goodwill. I then bought Taylor her first "pets". She likes the hermit crabs at Juana's house (daycare) so I got her and Grady two hermit crabs. They were out of food at Uncle Bills (who knew that I'd go to 3 other places looking for the crabs and only be able to find them at Uncle Bills!) So Ryan will get hermit crab food tomorrow. The container is actually a little small for two crabs but for now it will work. Taylor was thrilled. She wanted to hug them goodnight! Watch out for that claw/pincher!!
So, all in all a very good day! Tomorrow I take the kids to the dentist for the first time!!!!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Oh no!
My mom and dad have a answering machine (not the tape kind) that had 4-5 messages on it that were from Taylor and Grady (from the time Taylor was about 6 months old) They listened to those messages pretty much every day! They were thinking of trying to hook the machine up to the computer or something and get the messages on a CD. Well, wild man Grady ERASED the messages with one simple push of a button!!!! He knocked a book into the delete button and they are all GONE!! It hadn't been 30 minutes since I jokingly said, "You'd be so sad if those got erased" and then the big accident took place. At least it was Grady and not me or someone else doing the erasing! I feel so bad, they are so sad to lose those messages!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
This is awesome and so very true!!
I think this should be distributed to women when they get pregnant to prepare them as well as to distribute to the people in their lives at their discretion.
*********************************************************************************
Dear Non-Pregnant Person,
I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn't mean me- then you should probably read this twice.
1) The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is "Congratulations!" with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you an ass.
2) Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father- not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase "my baby".
3) On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in #2, the pregnancy, birth and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it. The same goes for the name of the baby.
4) The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone's stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.
5) Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight - ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance, and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is "You look fabulous!"
6) By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don't need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes.
7) There is a reason that tickets to labor and delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, mother-in-law or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital and the parents home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to "help out". If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.
9) If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.
10) The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less. I hope this helps - it sure makes us feel better.
Signed,
All Pregnant Women
*********************************************************************************
Dear Non-Pregnant Person,
I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn't mean me- then you should probably read this twice.
1) The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is "Congratulations!" with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you an ass.
2) Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father- not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase "my baby".
3) On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in #2, the pregnancy, birth and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it. The same goes for the name of the baby.
4) The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone's stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.
5) Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight - ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance, and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is "You look fabulous!"
6) By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don't need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes.
7) There is a reason that tickets to labor and delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, mother-in-law or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital and the parents home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to "help out". If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.
9) If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.
10) The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less. I hope this helps - it sure makes us feel better.
Signed,
All Pregnant Women
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