Grace and Ears

I believe I mentioned Grace's ears at her 12 month wellness. It was the third time her pediatrician mentioned "watching her ears" in the event she got an ear infection. I brought it up and he sent us to a specialist, ENT doctor. We saw one doctor and I didn't care for him, so we sought out a second opinion.

I'm ready for the doctor.

And we're waiting for the doctor...

And we're still waiting...

The second doctor confirmed the issue, but we preferred his way over the last doctor. She needs tubes in both her ears.

She's never had a fever. She's never had an ear infection. But I guess when she's had colds in the past, the mucus can slide down the eustachian tube (which for young children is completely horizontal from eardrum to nose, and as we grow becomes more diagonal - hence why adults don't usually have ear issues like children) and sits behind the eardrum getting stuck. The stuck fluid makes her ability to hear a little more difficult - like being under water. Though I never notice having to raise my voice for her to hear me and she's saying words like: No, thank you, night night, bye bye, hi there, mama, dada. The doctor said we could remove the mucus and not insert tubes, but the fluid might return then we'd be back to square 1. This is such a critical age in learning to speak that we don't want to hinder her at all, and so the procedure is super easy (15 minutes), in and out.

Miss Grace is scheduled for surgery in early December. Quite a bummer, but at least it's nothing too major. As she grows the tubes will fall out (in around 6-12 months depending on her growth) and the eustachian tube grows larger making it harder for fluid to get stuck. She should be good to go.

Always smiling! She'll do great!

Potty Time

So the day came where we didn't have anything planned for 3 straight days and started the potty training weekend for William! It started the day after Halloween. The first two days William got to pretend he lived in a nudist colony. We put his Thomas the Train potty smack in the middle of downstairs and reminded him constantly to try #1 and #2. William had just one accident on Saturday (after insisting on wearing underwear, which I think he thought substituted diapers) and same scenario on Sunday - 1 accident when he insisted on underwear. The first day he went 2 (which I've heard can very daunting) all by himself and told me after the fact! So funny! He did the same thing on Sunday with Matt. Good job!

Grace likes the seat

On Monday I gave him more free reign. He got to wear underwear and I wasn't reminding him. But we had a couple accidents. So back to the nudist colony. 

Chilling in our big boy underwear

The next day was a school day. I was thinking about keeping him home, but figured - eh, let's just deal with it. And lo and behold, no accidents! So proud and we went to the toy store right after to pick out a new toy. 

Big boy at school with big boy underwear!

The week has gone by and he did amazing. We went out and about all week long without any accidents. He went to school on Friday and did have an accident, which I was fully expecting because I signed him up for "Lunch Bunch" that day, which means he stays until 2 p.m. They were painting Christmas ornaments that day and I had signed him up before I knew we'd be potty training. William loves art and I didn't want to hold back the little artist. So yes, a new pair of pants were on him and I suspect it happened at lunch bunch when he probably wasn't sure who to be asking to use the potty. No big deal.

To sum it all up - it was pretty easy. He's got it and I'm sure now and then there will be accidents, but it's been quite stress free.

Great job William!!

William's First Week

The first day of school was great for William. He was very excited to go and see "Langholz" - his teacher! We worked on the "Mrs." part and now he tells me after school that he played with Mrs. Langholz and Mrs. Kest (his assistant teacher). He also says they nap at school. Two of his classmates were in his class last year, so he plays with Davis and Lola a lot. The other kids are adorable too. I'm the room mom and had the chance to go in and take pictures of them all. I made a little class page of pictures with their names and laminated it. William loves to look at the pictures.

Dropping William off on his first day

Standing outside his classroom

Immediately bolted to the cars

School is going great for William. The first week went very well and he said he had fun every day. He told me the second day of school he read books, sang a song and played with "Light Queen."

His teacher has texted a couple photos and wrote a nice email saying all is well! Fun to get the little update. 

William and Gabriella taking a spin!

William loved phones and cameras? Huh?

New artwork up on the wall

William has had blue day and red day at school, and I can see his identifying colors has gotten so much better. Red, blue, pink, orange, yellow, green are really good! Amazing what a couple days with a teacher can do!

So far so good! I'm looking forward to their first class party - it will be a Halloween party. Fall Festival is coming up, which William loved last year. Then lots of class playdates and other fun events coming up! 

Big Boy Update 2

Smooth sailing now! Naps are great and the past three nights he's stayed in his bed without requesting to be tucked in. He woke up today at 7:15a. And yesterday when I checked on him at nap time I heard him talking to Dusty Crophopper (a picture is now on his wall) about how Mommy was going to get Baby Grace from her nap. I peeked in and he was tucked under the covers laying on his back just chatting away. He tells me he tucks in Peter at nap time and bed time, and shows me how he tucks himself in - so he's feeling accomplished, I think. Two thumbs up for William!

Two thumbs up

So next on the to do list... I ordered the rest of our potty training supplies... I keep going back and forth on that one. I think he'd do well, but then begins the racing to the nearest potty (or bush/tree) to go all the time. Seems daunting... Keep you updated!

Frozen!

Olaf selfie

We brought William to see Disney's Frozen On Ice show at the Amway Center this past weekend. William has loved Frozen since he first watched the movie a couple months ago. He loved the show on ice too! 

Frozen on Ice!

I tried to get tickets as close to the ice as possible, since I didn't think he would like it as much if it looked like ants on ice. So our seats worked out great. William got an Olaf hat with Matt's cotton candy and he was happy to watch the entire performance. It was kind of long! 6:30-8:30p! William got antsy getting on and off his seat in the last ten minutes. But was still paying attention to the show. William danced and was thrilled when Mickey, Minnie, and the other main characters came out on ice. A huge highlight. 

Dancing the snowman dance

Lots of clapping 

Bye Bye as we left. We heard "Frozen again, please." many times.

Since the show, William talks about Elsa constantly and even got very upset with me and made me rip the cover off the Lands End magazine when I tried throwing it away because the girl on the cover catching snowflakes in her mouth is apparently Elsa. Who knew Elsa modeled on the side? So funny... 

There's the hand pointing to Elsa

1 Year Wellness

Grace had her 12 month wellness visit to the doctor a couple days after her first birthday. She was running all over the place waiting for the doctor. There was a turtle in the room that was VERY life-like and she did not want that thing near her. It was hysterical. She was running circles around it then she discovered the stool under the table. Perfect for climbing. 

Wellness visit

Her visit went very well. Everything checked out great. The one thing noticed was a little fluid in her right ear. The doctor asked if she had been sick lately, which she hasn't and he didn't seem too worried about it - but the last two visits the other doctor and NP had also mentioned the fluid in her ear. The thing is she actually did have a cold during that those visits, so I didn't think too much of it. It never seemed to bother her. So the doctor asked us to return in 4-5 weeks to double check it and if he still saw fluid then we will go see an ENT doctor. He still didn't seem too worried, but just wants to keep track of it. 

He checked to see that she's babbling (yes) and clearly she's quite mobile and let us know to start brushing her teeth, and switch her to whole milk. Check, check. We got it! 

Here were her 1 year stats! 

Weight: 20 14.5 oz. - 68%

Height: 30.75" - 94%

I already checked - she weighs a tad more than William and is 1/4" shorter from his 12 month wellness visit! So they're pretty dead on with one another! 

She had three shots and she screamed, but wasn't upset after a couple minutes. They must have made her tired because she took a very long nap that afternoon. When I got her out of bed, she had ripped her band-aids off! I always feel bad taking them off myself because those band-aids really stick and I know it hurts. But that's Grace for you! Ripping it off through the pain! Haha!

We go back at 15 months!

Grace is 1!

12 months old!

Grace is 1 and it is still unreal to me! She turned 1 a couple weeks ago at this point. She's still a tiny baby in my mind, but really she's a "stand my ground, run as fast as my little legs allow, jump in the big wading pool, shake my head no, no, no, laugh louder than others" little girl in the making! She's a hoot and she is going to be one to reckon with down the road, we believe. She is not a wall flower and cruises through the crowd like she's ready for a great time.

Both sides too cute!

Shades

Walking on the beach with pink bear

Big bows for the big girl!

Toddler band at the playground

No babies were hurt in the taking of this picture. Naughty girl!

She smiles constantly. She has the sweetest smile. She has 8 teeth and her molars started coming in a week or two before her first birthday. I didn't even notice till she seemed to be putting her fingers in her mouth more often than usual (she still attempts to taste everything which is why I didn't think much of it). By the time I looked inside her mouth the molars had broken through a great deal. What a tough little lady!

Oooh William! Come down, come down!

Who's the boss around here?

Ruh Roh... boo boo on the forehead didn't phase her

She loves sitting in chairs and the sofa

Right before Grace's first birthday she was down to 1 bottle at bedtime and it was around 4-6 oz. She loves food. It was a breeze to get rid of bottles. After her 12 month wellness we dropped that bottle completely. She had one night where I gave her a bottle because she didn't eat a huge dinner and I feel bad about her going to bed without a full tummy. That happened once and the past 10 days there's been no bottles. 

You're 12. Get out of the baby pool or I'll stare you down.

She smiles 95% of the time and the other 5% she's showing her disapproval with her stink eye! See above. Haha! I laugh so hard when she does this because it's honestly her showing she's not happy. You correct her, she might throw a stink eye your way. In the case above an older girl jumped into the tiny baby pool and was splashing around, so Grace wasn't having it. Grace stood there till the girl left.

I love the beach and my Daddy

We love to wrestle with big bear

Little sis and big bro love each other!

William and Grace are obsessed with each other! It's funny how only a couple weeks can make a difference because last month it was kind of NOT fun to hold her back from William while he was playing. She would grab his crayons and eat them, she'd knock down the castle he had just built, she would sit down on top of him when he was racing cars on the floor... She's cooled it down and so the "fighting" has gone down. She still wants to be near William, but she's not being AS naughty :) They laugh together so much. I don't know what they're thinking, but they will look at each other and crack up. She looks for him in his bedroom every morning or after naps, and vice versa. William will give her hugs and kisses randomly (our loving and affectionate boy!) and she laughs so hard when he does. She actually puts her arms around him now too! 

Selfie!

Let's go to the playground!

Earlier in the month. Literally holding her back from William.

Two cute babies!!

Gosh, I feel like I never mention toys with her. She's like William was. Not a huge fan of lots of toys. She's more into chasing, running, being active. She does like to pick up his cars and planes. She will take a plane and pretend it's soaring through the air. She likes to pick up heavy things too. Haha! I'm impressed with her strength at times. In the next couple months I will start bringing her to the open gym time. I know she will love running around in there and climbing up, around and over things.

Run, Run, Run

What a year! It's been the best. She was the easiest, most agreeable, most happy baby ever. She made the transition to two, which I hear many say can be difficult, a complete breeze. Coming home from the hospital she was sleeping big chunks of time and was so content to snooze during the day in her swing. She loved the car, had no problem sleeping on the go. I literally remember only 2 nights where Matt woke up to assist with her (growth spurt time), so I'm sure Matt could attest to what a breeze it was too! I remember going to William's school 2 days after giving birth to pick him up and feeling great. Even went to a mom coffee a week later and the moms couldn't believe how great she was at sleeping and that I wasn't feeling tired. She has been nothing short of amazing. Amazing Grace she is! Thank you, Grace!! We are so happy to call you ours!

Months 1 through 12!

Big Boy Bed update

So day 2 nap went great. Night 2 went quite well except for one "tuck in" request at 5:50a and again at 6:50a, but he was happy to get up by 7a. William hasn't been up at 7a in... Ever! He usually sleeps till at least 7:30 - some days I wake him up at 8:15a. Day 3 nap worked out great. Night 3 not as good as night 2. More "tuck-in" requests - probably 3 in the wee hours of the morning. Nap time today no issue. 

So naps are great. Night -- needs work. 

I've tried to explain to William that he is more than welcome to pull the sheets back over himself in the middle of the night. Not sure if he agrees. Literally, I take the sheet and pull it up and leave the room. Oh well!  Maybe a couple more days and he will be over it.

Funny thing is now the tables have turned. Grace is sleeping in until 8a (8:30 the other day)! And napping in the afternoons until 4:15p (before it use to be around 3:30p). 

Sleep changes happening over here, but thankful even with changes we all get lots of rest! Minus the quick wake up calls the past couple days we can't complain. 

Getting there! 

Big Boy Bed

William is no longer in a crib sadly! It's still the same crib though which makes the transition easier for mommy - I mean, William. Hopefully. The front part comes off and now voila! It's now a big boy bed.

We went to the mall yesterday and William picked out his new sheets and quilt in hopes of making it a really fun experience. Trains, cars, buses, diggers, of course. We also got him a book about Elmo moving from a crib to a big bed. He loved the book. I read it to him once and then he said he would read it, literally repeating each page form memory! It was pretty impressive.

He used the quilt in the car on the way home

He said "Thank you, Mommy." probably five hundred times on the way home from picking out the sheets. Cracked me up! Then it was time for nap time.

We didn't have the guard rail up initially for nap time and he fell asleep, but only with me rubbing his back. Then a thunderstorm came and he jumped out of bed crying for us. He probably slept for 30 minutes.

Top left: pretending to snore; Top right and middle, lower left: nap time;
Bottom right: night time and he's down 

Then bed time wasn't so hard. He liked the guard rail that was now up and kept going up and down. I rubbed his back for a few minutes and left him before he had fallen asleep. He cried a short time later asking for me to tuck him back in then fell asleep until around 3am. Then he cried again for me to tuck him in, and again, and again, and again. Probably every 30 minutes-1 hour after 3am, it was a request for being tucked in. He usually sleeps all over the place not with his blankets over him. I think the position of a pillow and sleeping one way the whole night was kind of foreign, which is why I think he needed help getting back into position when he woke up and the quilt wasn't over him anymore. hopefully he gets use to that soon because I was up more than I was with a newborn!

Wake up time was 7am. Not the norm for William. He's usually asleep till 7:30a. Grace slept till 8:15a. The tables have turned for those two.

So night time wasn't the most desirable situation, but we just need to get William over the fact that he doesn't need US to tuck him in all night long - he can tuck himself in :)

We shall see how nap time goes today... But William does tell us he likes his new bed, so that's a good start!

Inside the Lines

Our little artist William is a big fan of drawing. He was always up for art in school and when he's at home it's not unusual for him to ask for crayons and a coloring book. He will flip from page to page randomly scribbling and talk about what he's creating. And this weekend there was a new development -- coloring inside the lines (his best attempts and very, very close)!

Too busy coloring to eat!

Notice the clown's hair (top blue arrow) and the star (bottom blue arrow). I looked over while at dinner and all by himself, there he was very focused on coloring inside the lines of different areas! Yes, it's a funny observation, but I just love to see new abilities! I never encouraged drawing inside the lines. I let him color as he pleases. So it's fun to see him conquer something new on his own. 

Another amazing observation -- William can do small puzzles by himself! We have been doing puzzles with William probably since he was 2. He loves doing puzzles and has always needed assistance. He has understood how puzzle pieces fit and some don't, but we'd guide him along the way. But last week he took a truck puzzle, sat alone and finished it! It's actually a box of four different truck puzzles and he did them all (in different sittings). They're 12 piece puzzles.  

Puzzles!

Puzzle in progress

Puzzle almost finished

All done!

When he completes the puzzle he says, "I did it!" and raises both arms up in the air. So cute!

Another truck puzzle

Bulldozer puzzle this time

I love the concentration! He amazes me every day. Something new all the time. Great job, William!