Tuesday, November 24, 2009

ten smile tuesday

1. three whole months...as i blogged about here (with some pictures of our three month old!)...jillian is three months old today. i really and truly cannot believe it...where has time gone?!

2. daddy dates...mike has been really struck lately with the importance of spending individual time with each of the girls, time to simply connect with them, to laugh with them, to treat them like princesses, and to make sure they grow up knowing just what kind a man they should someday marry...i might be crying as i type this...because, truly, he is such a fabulous daddy to his little girls, and my heart is beyond touched by their excitement and delight in spending time with him. he took elizabeth to the children's museum on his friday afternoon off...they had a blast, and, surprise, surprise, spent 3/4 of their time in the "science works" room...so elizabeth! when he asked kate what she wanted to do, she said, "see animals!"...since it was a little cold and many of the animal are gone for the season they headed to the pet store instead of the zoo...and then to a bookstore. jillian didn't get an official "date" out of the house...but she gets lots of love and attention from daddy all the time. (she might just have him wrapped around her finger in a way the other two truly didn't yet have at this age!)

3. mommy time...while daddy and elizabeth took their museum date, kate and jillian cooperated by taking 2 hour naps at the same time...meaning i had LOTS of uninterrupted sewing time. i was able to finish up a few stocking stuffers (crayon totes and baby doll slings for libs and katers), matching flannel PJ pants for the girls (we have a Christmas tradition that they get to open one present Christmas eve...their matching Christmas PJs), and some knit cotton pants for kate for potty training (figure it won't hurt to have extras on hand that are easy on and easy off!).

4. my first venture in applique...and it was a success (well, by my standards...no means professional quality...but i like 'em!) here are the Christmas PJs...they have matching flannel pants and then white shirts with their first initial appliqued on...you will have to wait for live models...since they can't put them on until we're at grandmommy and poppy's on Christmas eve!



5. speaking of daddy dates way back in smile #2...i got to have a daddy date this week as well. daddy, jillian, and i enjoyed some tasty Panera and chat-time...and then being the good sport that he is, we just might have finished the evening at jo-ann's buying the flannel for the PJs. :) have i mentioned lately that i LOVE my husband. i am so thankful for his hard work and long hours providing for our family, especially in the midst of the LONG project the past three months. we are so thankful to have him home more these days!

6. cutting and pasting...seriously, these two could cut and paste ALL day long! kate is especially fond of glue...frequently asking, "i do goo, mommy...PEAZ...i do goo!"


7. new schedules. i was increasingly frustrated the past few weeks with jillian's lack of interest in eating and the fact that i was often needing to wake her from a nap for eating. but i felt like surely at just three months she couldn't/shouldn't possibly be ready to only eat every four hours...and, i'll admit it, i was terrified that a shift in schedule might interrupt her sleeping through the night...but it didn't. hooray! she is still sleeping TONS...but is much, much more interested in eating. and, though we never did the sleepsack thing with either of the other girls (they were always plenty warm all swaddled up on their backs)...we gave in this time around. since j sleeps on her tummy and moves all over the place i needed something to keep her warmer (and to keep her from scooting and getting caught in the crib rails or flipping herself over). i found these grobags on mamabargains for a steal and decided to try them. fabulous! anything that helps my baby sleep, sleep, sleep brings a smile to my face!


8. an impromptu evening out with amy. even though the original plan--seeing a sneak peek of "the blind side" didn't work out, it was great to have a chance to see amy (and her friend shelley)...and to have some time perusing the aisles of united art and education afterward.

9. fresh paint. i've decided the only way our downstairs will ever get painted is one wall at a time, one naptime at a time...and yesterday was a productive start...i finished the play/living room and started into the kitchen. hooray! i'm including the pic for those, like my mom (smile!), who will be wondering what color it is. :) it is a greyish tan. love those productive days...though, i'll admit it, most of them aren't so productive! :)


10. winnie-the-pooh. elizabeth and i were running a quick errand saturday and popped in the library. i checked out the original "winnie-the-pooh", and i've been reading it aloud to the girls the past few days. elizabeth is enthralled...she will sit silently for three or more chapters/stories at a time, interrupting intermittently to ask a question or share some little detail she liked. priceless! next on our read aloud list is "charlotte's web"...but it has an amazingly long hold list at the library!

we are so blessed and have so, so many things for which we are thankful. i'm hoping to work on a post tonight filled with some of my thoughts on what makes us rich...come back for that. we will be heading out thursday morning for a quick trip to mike's parents for thanksgiving and an early Christmas celebration with them. we're looking forward to having some time there and then hopefully having a relaxing Saturday at home putting up Christmas decor and getting ready for the start of advent. :)

4 comments:

Leslie said...

ohh love this list..
your paint color looks close to ours... :) and yep I paint during naps... otherwise it won't ever happen.

also we are reading outloud winnie the pooh right now... I am loving it just as much as Ry, what a great little sense of humor he has... :)

and look at you go.. Your incredible.. keep it up lady..

and love lvoe love the daddy daughter dates. So sweet.

Rebecca said...

such beautiful smiles. love daddy-daughter dates (mike sounds like a wonderful daddy!). love the christmas pj's. i have been wanting to learn to applique. you sure have gotten a lot done this week! i'm impressed. how do you keep up with your blogs? i'm soooo far behind! jonathan recently started reading stuart little with liberty, and charlotte's web is next on the list. so fun!
have a blessed thanksgiving/early christmas!!

jennifer elaine said...

Make sure that your child is not constipated. This is the most important in getting started. Children’s are afraid of the toilet and the whole process of getting in a cold wet small room. If you are not an expert in knowing about the constipation, get them to a doctor when you see signs of them not eating well or change of mood. Increase the amount of fluid and fiber in their daily diet. Water plays an import role in helping your child staying healthy and helping to digest easily. Give lots of water and encourage with praise when they drink. Fiber enriched food for kids include; Barley, Navy Beans, Baked Beans, Split Peas, Oat Bran, Raspberries, Green Peas, Prunes, Spinach, Broccoli, Raisins, Mixed Vegetables, Strawberries, Carrots, Potatoes, Corn, Rice, Apples, Oranges, Celery.

Read children's story books about potty training to your child. There are lots of books available for you get online on potty training. Reading and imagination helps the child to relate to the interesting characters and behaviors within the story and helps them follow accordingly. Offer lots of praise when your child does make some progress. It is not an easy practice but this will help you see results amazingly when you really put in the effort to make your child proud of their achievement. Avoid physical punishment for not using the potty. Stop all reminders about using the toilet. Replace the reminders with the potty training stories you’ve read to your child. This helps as their mind recalls the story and how will keep it in mind when its time.

source: http://www.childdevelopmenttechniques.com

Crystal said...

Incredible smiles this week. I am loving those Daddy-daughter dates. That is a wonderful idea. I may suggest something similar to my hubs. Charis and I take our little trips together (or used to), but Kevin doesn't!

I used to paint during naptime too (and will again once the holiday is over). It'll wear you out for a while but the end result is certainly worth it!

A three month old Jillian. I can't believe it and she is so beautiful! Looking back though, she has a completely different beauty than the other two girls. I am looking forward to seeing more of her personality and looks in the coming years.

Happy Thanksgiving!