Somebody's Been Sleeping in MY Bed

Hmmm.....

Michael's crib was too small.

Katie's bed was too crowded with princesses and fairies.

Mommy's and Daddy's bed was juuust right for a long winter's nap.


Hey, whatever works.

Surprise Success!!

We have a very positive update to report on our Princess Surprise Chart for Katie's potty training! The chart had worked wonderfully to motivate Katie for the first 2-3 days, with her asking to use the toilet throughout the day. And then she lost a bit of steam when she reached 8 (out of 10) stickers late last week. Because she still hadn't seen any great reward for her hard work, she probably lost interest and did not use the toilet again all weekend. Finally, Traci decided to use some new measures to re-motivate her. First, when Katie's buddy Patrick successfully used the toilet during his visit here yesterday, Traci made a HUGE deal out of it and gave him an honorary sticker. That got Katie thinking about her chart again, especially when she couldn't get a sticker. Second, Traci took Katie to the Disney Store at the mall today to take a look at all the wonderful merchandise there. Unfortunately, Katie was told that she could not buy anything because she hadn't made it to her surprise sticker yet. Cruel? Perhaps. Effective? YOU BET!

She's already gone twice on the potty today and finally earned her first big surprise. As another motivational tactic (what is this...The Art of War?), Traci decided to pull out one of the big gun surprises: a set of Disney Fairy/Tinkerbell figurines. Needless to say, Katie was beside herself when the surprise was revealed (see picture above). Do you think she might be a little disappointed when the next surprise is coloring books/stickers?

The Second Generation Babes

It's always fun for Michael when we get together with Katie's closest buddies because almost all of them now have younger siblings. (Connor's new sister should be here any day now!) Just as Katie has always played with Lyla, Patrick, Sam, Charlie, etc., now Michael will get to buddy up with Anamarie, Colleen, Oliver, and Maisie. Today Colleen (almost 1-year-old, pictured) and Michael took quite a liking toward each other, cooing, chirping, and giggling like a couple of little love birds. Colleen even tried to climb into his lap a couple of times. Colleen's mommy Kim suggested that we will have to continue the playgroup tradition for our second generation babes after all of the older kids are in preschool/school. We couldn't agree more!

Finding My Happy Place

Who in God's name would schedule their two kids' pediatrician check-ups back-to-back??? That would be we crazy folk! This morning Traci, Katie, and Michael headed to the docs for the big 3-year/4-month well visit. Traci should have known that things would get dicey when Katie started crying on the elevator up, chanting "I don't like when Michael cries..." over and over again. (You see, Traci thought she would comfort Katie by explaining that only Michael was going to get shots today. Noooo....) Anyway, Katie went into full-on wail mode as soon as we entered the office, surely entertaining all of the actual sick kids and harried parents in the waiting room. When we finally went back to our private exam room, the wailing only intensifed. (Angelic, little Michael was simply gazing around from his car seat through all of this.) Katie was so upset that the nurse had to come in several different times to take her blood pressure, as it was very elevated. (Uggghhh, just the memories of trying to get Katie on the height/weight scale gives me high blood pressure!) Anyway, things calmed down a bit when the doctor came in with a couple of princess stickers. (Word had gotten around that my kid was the loud one.) Katie did fantastically on all of her little tests (throwing a ball, jumping, saying her name, counting, colors, etc.). She even did well naming all of the shapes on her vision screening. She wasn't so hot on her hearing test, but I think she was just tired by then. I know that girl can hear the quietest hardwood floor creak in our condo from a mile away. By the fourth try, she finally passed the test with flying colors. As for Michael, he barely said a peep the whole time. The poor kid just sat half-naked in his car seat while I tended to the loud one. The doc was ecstatic with his growth, eating, strength, and awareness. When the doctor and I finally did focus on our Michael questions, I unfortunately had a little 3-year-old saying "I want to go home" at least 5,000 times in a row. Grrrrr.... Traci just had to breathe slowly and try to find her happy place.

Anyway, both kids are in super shape and Mommy is relieved to have that appointment over with. Here are their measurements:
KATIE - 39 3/4 inches (96th percentile), 36 pounds (90th), 16 BMI (60th).
MICHAEL - 26 1/2 inches (93rd), 17 pounds, 3 ounces (88th).

Short-Haired Marsupial

Katie would like to know who this new species of Mommy is... Not only did Traci lob off many inches of her hair, but she now has a baby joey sticking out of her pouch. Yesterday, Traci decided to rejuvenate herself by trying a new haircut. (Lord knows she's not rejuvenated by any amount of sleep.) This is the shortest Traci's hair has been since she was about 2 years-old; so needless to say, everybody was shocked when she got home. Katie still asks her when she is going to get her "long, princess hair" back. (Not thinking that she is a fan...) Oh, and as for the baby joey (Mikey?) in the pouch, Michael seems to really enjoy his new ride. He is so fricking huge that his foot sticks out the front (see picture). He loves it because he can almost get it to his mouth for eating purposes. Mmmm...nothing like fresh baby toes!

Some Peace and Quiet

Mike desperately needed the house to be quiet this afternoon as he worked the overnight shift last night. So, after tucking Katie in for her nap, Traci bundled Michael up and took him out exploring the neighborhood. Katie, being the first child, used to always enjoy long stroller walks when she was young, but we had yet to take Michael out on his own. (There always seems to be a certain 3-year-old around who nixes the idea of us doing anything on our own with Michael.) Michael really digged the ride, taking in all of the sights and sounds. After about 20 minutes, he fell asleep and Traci was left with the blissful sounds of SILENCE. Traci ended up getting two great deals for the price of one: some great exercise and a 2-hour stroller nap from Michael. Too bad we couldn't do this every afternoon while Katie slept!

4 Months Young

Look who turns 4 months old today! According to most resources, this means that Michael has graduated from newborn-hood and should theoretically become easier on us. Well, who ever said that our kids listened to conventional wisdom? It's not that our little sweetie isn't a pleasant, fun guy. It's just that he's not a big fan of sleep, and...um...we are. He's unfortunately nowhere near sleeping through the night, even with our valiant efforts with sleep training. His latest trick? He now becomes even more awake AFTER he nurses during the night. That means that somebody has to figure out a way to get him back to sleep at midnight, 3AM, 5AM....you get the picture. We guess he just has too much to learn, see, and do to actually want to sleep. But, on a more positive note, Michael is making great strides with his motor development (steady head control, rolling side-to-side, enjoying the exercauser) and emotional development (smiling, "chatting," paying attention to people and toys). We'll just have to make sure "sleep" becomes a part of his vocabulary as well!