Language Laughs

I don't know if I mentioned in my development post but Kendall calls Seren "Dobbie" for now.  I had no idea what "Dobbie" was or what Kendall meant but she kept saying.  Finally Seren said to me "Dobbie...me" pointing to herself and Kendall says "yeah!" in this 'duh mom' sort of tone.  Too funny.

Kendall was trying to get her shoes on a while back and starts saying "Help me Dobbie.  Dobbie!  Dobbie help me" in broken record fashion.  Seren finally goes over to help her and the two of them work on it for a minute and then Kendall sighs "Mommy! Help me mommy!"

Both girls love to help with whatever is going on as well.  You unload the dishwasher, they want to dry and hand you dishes (unbreakables of course).  We were putting together a Little Tykes playground set this morning and they were right there trying to grab screws and screwdrivers (and of course eager to jump on it).  I also was distressing a dresser I painted for our room and they both wanted in on that with "Help.  I wanna help...I wanna help".

Kendall recently we think is even surpassing Seren with her vocabulary.  She learns new words all the time and is beginning to pick up on her letters and colors as well.  She is so excited about the words that she learns...poop, sorry, apple, etc.  We taught them both to say "apple...it's goooood"  (from Enchanted) and Kendall loves to do this now and get the giggles out of us.  Both are doing great with language.

We recently put our swings back up now that the snow has melted and they love it.  We have a large swing set (left with the house) and the large little tyke climber / slide (which I'm so grateful for after last year's broken leg).  Seren still has no fear though silly girl.

I was swinging with Seren in one of the swings a couple days ago and told her we should do "the spider" (where she would sit on my lap facing me).  I asked if she knew how to do the spider and she got excited and said "yes" and started singing and doing the hand motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider...so adorable.

Then we were asking them later that night who they loved and we asked Seren who she loved the most and she says "me" (good girl) and then we asked who she loved next most.  She thought for a second and said "bananas" and then who...thinking again "mommy".  So yep I'm right up there with bananas.

It is so fun to listen to their language and personalities develop more and more.

Live with content or regret...

This has been my question lately.  I am so happy and content with our girls.  But I wonder if we move on with donating our remaining embryos if I will regret it later.  I love the idea of another baby and I love the idea of a sibling for the girls beyond each other.  But I also love the equilibrium we have with the girls.  Even odds definitely has its benefits when parenting.

Every day is a different answer for me.  Yep it's settled...I want another kid.  The next day (usually after tantrums and poor parenting)...are you kidding me, I can barely handle the two we have.  And it just keeps on this revolving path.  No for sure answer.  Generally speaking I do feel better in my gut as to leaning towards another shot.  But still not sure enough to actually decide.

I don't know how people ever decide.  Going from one child to two would be a relatively easy answer for me (if that were the case and a second were possible)...the only child idea is lack luster for me.  But we have two and they are a far cry from ever being lonely.  I don't think they've ever been without each other for more than a few hours.  How do those with two happy kids make the leap to have a third?

I can so relate to New Normal's post today about listening to your heart over your head.  Sometimes I feel like I can't even tell which one is logic and which one is emotion.  But my heart and head are very distinct in their worries and answers.  Why do we need another child when we have two of the greatest right here?  Why not add another if it feels like the right thing to do?  What if it throws off our groove and things don't have that balance again?  What if we regret it later when the choice is no longer possible to make?  What if this other child feels lost in the shuffle of two parents together and twin sisters together and then them?  When you can so easily picture another child in the family does that mean one will be "missing" if it doesn't happen?

Ughhh...I wish there was a firm answer.  So far there isn't though.

Update: 26 Months or is it 2 years 2 months?

I really only plan on doing something like this every 6 months now but things are going so well with language and catching up so quickly I thought I'd put one up.  Once again for me and the girls to remember so...

Eating:  They eat 3 meals a day and one or two snacks depending on how they do at meal times.  They are eating better at meals and try new things more often (maybe because I starve them a little before dinner haha).  We still give them gummy vitamins.

Foods They Like:  chicken pot pie (homemade), enchiladas, minestrone, chicken nuggets, almost anything chicken now (doing so much better with meat in general),  oatmeal with yogurt, yogurt alone, string cheese, they love most fruit (bananas, oranges, blueberries, apples), carrots, broccoli, sour cream (they eat it by the spoonful...good thing they need the calories haha), pancakes, cereal, marshmallows, vitamin gummies, etc.  

Foods They Don't: salad (they eat it if it's got dressing or something on it), vegetables (doing much better with veggies but still not a strong suit).

Favorite Things: our dog Thor...they chase him around and squeal with laughter (I think he enjoys it too) and they love to "hug" or kiss him goodnight (which he tolerates), they love books, puzzles, singing, dancing, etc.  Book: Seren loves the "Potty Book for Girls" and Kendall loves picture books and "Baby Says Moo".  She points to the red-headed baby/toddler girl in the book and says "me...me".

Dislikes:  Being told what to do and time outs.  Kendall actually doesn't mind time outs and if she's causing trouble and you say "do you want to go to time out?" she'll say "yes" and take herself to the wall for time out.  She is very sensitive to tone of voice though and cries at the littlest scolding.  Being helped with anything...must put clothes on themselves, must climb into their car seat by themselves, must do anything and everything they can for themselves.

Favorite Toys:  Their doll strollers, their tricycles are popular (can't reach the pedals but they push and steer all over the house), my old Wonder Horse, puzzles and books.  And as always whatever toy the other one has.

Their Accomplishments:  They play well together and look out for each other.  They are super smart and understand so many things.  They jump and actually catch a little air.  They both get dressed and undressed mostly on their own.  They can both open doors now. 

Teeth:  Both still waiting on 2 year molars.

Verbal:   They are doing better with speech.  Our speech therapist seems to think if Kendall starts getting on track with amount of words she's learning that we can evaluate again and discontinue services.  She has been learning a new word almost every day recently so I don't think we're far off of that.  Both try to copy words you give them now which is awesome as Kendall wasn't much of a copy cat before.  I think this has helped build her confidence to talk. 

Sleep:  They sleep about 12 hours a night.  They are off and on with naps.  

Potty training:  We're back to considering the wagon.  Seren has been very good at using the bathroom whenever she feels the urge and 90% of the time she is able to pee when she asks to go.  Kendall likes to sit on the potty still but doesn't pee.  I'm not sure what to do.  I don't want Kendall to not succeed and feel bad if Seren is succeeding.  But I feel like if I potty train them separate she'll feel left out anyway.  Thinking maybe if Kendall drinks more and is given more opportunity it might happen.  We'll see...not going to try until music group ends with E.I. in a few weeks.

Favorite memories:  Seren feeding Kendall her oatmeal because Kendall had polished her own off and was "begging" saying "ah ah...me, me".  The giggle fits and fun new games they find.  Playing hide and seek in the house with them.

Making Friends With HRT...

...again!  I stopped using birth control / HRT last summer.  And not for any great reason...our insurance didn't cover what I liked and I was too busy (and or lazy) to call in for a different prescription.  But I have felt like poop and not like myself really for a few months or more so I decided I'd better get back to my old friend HRT.  I think it is a combination between my thyroid meds being lowered from 150 mcg to 112 mcg...my labs coming back out of range (hypo) but my doctor saying "they're close enough".  Bye bye to that doctor!  He's been bugging and pissing me off since the first time I saw him...I tried to avoid another appointment with him but the clinic forced me back to him.  Do you suppose he has trouble obtaining or retaining patients?

But anyway yep went back to my ob/gyn that provided care and delivered the girls.  He's such a good doctor.  I asked him about the thyroid meds and he said it wasn't uncommon to be that little out of range and he wouldn't consider therapy for the level.  When I told him I was on thyroid replacement he then said that it was not a very good range for someone on medicine and offered to just bump it up.  Yeah!  I hope that helps.  I'm also trying again with the NuvaRing and hoping insurance will cover it now...he said things have changed with it being accepted by most insurance.  Here's hoping.  I know it'll be better for my body to be back on some sort of hormones...so either way I will stick to something.

Also...Is it just me or do any fellow POF/POI ladies still hate checking the "post menopausal" box on the patient questionnaire??  I feel so limited by that assumption and so old.  I mean like hell my body will function or have a period on it's own but do I have to call it menopause when I'm barely in my 30s.  Boo to that!  Just a side note haha.

Snow Snow Snow...

We have had snowy weather for what feels like a month.  The first storm we hunkered down and stayed inside...I am a woose haha.  The second storm we got the girls snow boots on and brought them outside.  Seren loved it and walked all over the driveway and stomped on the snow.  Kendall stepped on the snow and promptly freaked out when some stuck to her snow boot.  So we gave in and went inside.  We hibernated through another storm or two and played inside.  No fun.  So this last storm, even though it was a light dusting, I put there snow boots on again.  We ran some errands...they are getting good at being "my little ducklings" that follow me when I put them down to walk (although Seren still likes to run away from me when she feels it's safe... ie the library and the shoe store). 

 

We came home and out into the driveway they went to play and leave footprints.  No freaking out.  Kendall LOVED it.  Seren was giddy.  Yeah!! I'm thinking maybe we'll try throwing on snow pants today and see how that goes over.  

Getting two in one picture on my normal camera...hard.  Getting two with my phone camera...nearly impossible.



Loving the bent knee cheesy grin

So stinking cute...love her




Silly goose wouldn't look at me...she loves to "cheese" for the camera now too

Beautiful girl...so lucky to have her

Did You Have Fun?

I have discovered a new way of going about my frustrations when the girls makes messes or do something I didn't exactly want them to do.  I admit in the past I have been frustrated by this type of thing...the telling them not to do something repeatedly and still having it happen.  I admit that I have yelled at them, swatted their bottom on occasion and even been the cause of tears (mine and theirs).  I have to remind myself that they don't have long term memory like I do.  And they definitely don't have reasoning.  I read an article once on child discipline and that asking a toddler why they did something is like asking a wasted or tweaked out fraternity boy the same thing.   Their reasoning isn't completely present...most of the time it's fully absent.  They don't really know why they did it.   It seemed like a good idea at the time and it was fun.  What more do you want them to say?  You won't really get anywhere until the reasoning is in place.

So telling Kendall and Seren no one day may not carry onto the next day or the next 5 minutes.  And there isn't really a reason or purpose to some of their crazy or (at times) damaging behaviors.  But they are learning things with every "experiment" they do and every nerve they might step on (unfortunately).  So today I tried a different method.  When Kendall smeared her peanut butter and ketchup (chicken nugget fail turned into PB sandwich) all over the table and herself and I wanted to scold her I remembered this and gently told her food goes in your mouth not on the table and then asked her "Did you have fun though?" and the cute little munchkin nodded enthusiastically.  So hey my nerves and patience may suffer a little but I hope they are at least having fun with it.

Throwing In The Training Pants

Update #2:  I gave up.  I kept telling myself before I started that I would not give up.  In my reading/understanding this wasn't a good thing and led to defiance on potty training and trouble later on.  I did it anyway.  We had a good morning and were mostly dry for a few hours.  Seren had a little accident and Kendall was dry.

I even tried the pour warm water on both of them...they didn't pee with it but it seemed to help get the idea  going (so thanks Brenda) and Kendall was excited so we claimed it was a pee pee just to bolster her confidence.  I gave her a sticker and praised like crazy.  We tried the potty sticker chart today and this seemed a good motivator.

During a dry/clean check just before lunch I noticed a small dab of wet from Kendall so I figured they needed to go and were holding it.  We sat on the potty and sang songs and read books for 5 or 10 minutes.  I told myself we wouldn't leave the bathroom until they peed on the potty or had an accident.  They both tinkled on the potty.  Yeah! I thought.  Success! I thought.  They were both so happy and picked their stickers and got praised.  Then less than a minute later Seren was in her spot in the front room soaked and dribbling to the floor.  I tried to help her to the bathroom quickly without success.  And while we're rushing to the bathroom Kendall starts crying from the kitchen.  You guessed it.  She soaked herself too and left a big puddle of pee at her feet.  I gave up.  I threw them in the tub and told them we were done potty training. We got out of the tub put on diapers and clothes and I packed up all the potty training evidence.  I'm sure I wasn't all smiles and pleasant about it but I hope I wasn't mean about it either.  Accidents have not gotten to me but these both did...to be on the potty and use it a little only to pee all over less than a minute later just cooked my goose.  I'm sure it's relatively normal but it was my last straw in saying they aren't ready enough for me to be ready.  I think they could be ready if they were a single child but to be able to focus on two girls who are only on the verge of being ready is not helping me.  And I need to be just as patient (or doubly patient) about it since there are two of them.

I have been reading some more too and the fact that lots of articles say training before 27 or 30 months is a waste of time or too difficult on kids has helped my attitude.  One article even talked about the concerns that training early can lead to with later toileting troubles.  So I will take comfort in these and forget the idea for a few months.  Focus on all the verbal/communication stuff and hopefully when they start picking that up quicker then we will be ready for lots of potty success.