Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a great weekend filled with friends and family time!

Saturday:

Dr. Seuss Read Aloud at Target with Jenna and Charlie

Callie learned how to drink from a juice box!

Playing with a new toy- PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS!!!

Family dinner at Pad Thai...Mommy why are you putting that camera in my face again?

Sunday:

I went on a 5.5 mile run...apparently it was pretty cold

Church- first time going up for the children's sermon! No picture though...not appropriate to whip out a camera in church. :)

Lunch with MorMor and Bops

Hanging out with Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Cathleen and Uncle Dan
Snuggle time with Grandpa after naptime

Auntie Cathleen working hard on cheese and cracker snacks

Reading with Uncle Dan

Hope everyone has a great week! It is almost MARCH!!!! I'm so excited about that...it really means spring is around the corner.

My Little Sanity Savers

Today wasn't the best day.

But this was all I needed to see to erase the ridiculousness of this long day:

And I felt like I was able to actually accomplish something today by documenting the brilliance of this toddler:

Snowman and Ladybug from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Oh, and (after bedtime) this helped a little too:

14 Months Old!

Once again the 22nd has rolled around and Callie is another month older. She spent her 14-month birthday hanging out with Daddy, going to school to have lunch with Mommy, walking at the MOA with friends Kylie and Calvin, and playing with almost-1-year-old Wes and his parents Mike and Trang! It was a busy day! Here are a couple of pictures of Callie and Wes, the two babies toddlers. They were both SUPER shy at first, but warmed up to each other quickly. Though the pictures seem to show that they aren't too thrilled with each others' presence, they did have fun playing.

Callie Joy continues to be the light of our lives...I still can't believe that I get to be the Mommy of such an adorable and perfect baby!

Nap Update

After exactly 2 hours of fighting, she finally caved and is now stirring after a 1.5 hour nap.

On another note, my Mom and I went and met my dad for lunch at Macy's like my sisters, Mom and I used to do when we were little. And now that Callie is walking, she was able to reenact running to meet my dad when he came around the corner by the elevators. I must have done that hundreds of times!

She took a little detour, but it was pretty adorable all the same. It is a cell phone video so the quality isn't that great, but here you go:

Macy's from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Irony

So...you remember my post on Saturday? The one where I thought I was the master of the parent universe?

Right now, an almost 14-month-old is kicking my sorry butt in an epic going-on-2-hour nap battle that I'm THISCLOSE to giving up but know I can't. The kind of battle where I've gotten more than my share of exercise running up and down the stairs putting the passy back in, giving her the blankie that she threw out of the crib and saying "Time for sleepies", only to have an almost 14-month-old laugh in my face. Literally, she's laughed in my face about 5 times now.

We've screwed with her nap schedule the past few days, and after all my la-di-da about consistency and routine, this is what we get.

Maybe I'm wrong, but since she's walking EVERYWHERE now, shouldn't she be that much more tired? It hasn't seemed to be so. Yesterday and today she got 30 minute car-ride naps that seem to put enough wind in her sails to last forever. But I know, especially today when it is supposed to be time for the 2nd nap of the day even though she's only had a 20-minute first nap, that I need to win the battle.

Yesterday, she won the battle. And I have a feeling that is why today she's fighting so hard again.

I NEED NEED NEED to win the battle.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Weekend Wrap-Up

I should probably just title this post "Sunday Wrap-Up" because we laid pretty low yesterday. Callie managed to get another cold, so her little nose is red, snotty, and dripping constantly. We fell for the Boogie Wipes at Target again. Somehow they just seem better than regular Kleenex.

Anyway, today we got to celebrate Sydney's baptism with the whole Wicks clan. Sydney did great during the service (Callie did too!) and we had fun hanging out and eating lunch at Dave and Cherilyn's house afterward.

Luther Friends

Callie reading a book with Nana Wicks

Sydney and Callie

Dave reading Callie one of Sydney's new books (and one of Callie's FAVORITES) Puppies and Kittens!

We made it home this afternoon despite the "Snowmaggedon" that has engulfed the Twin Cities, and spent the rest of the day in the basement totally ignoring what is going on outside.

Thank goodness tomorrow is President's Day...day off!

Teacher Mom

I LOVE that Callie is at the age where I can put my teacher skills to good use. I can almost SEE the neurons firing, making connections, doing what they're supposed to do. It is EXCITING! The past week has reminded me of some important things about being a successful teacher, and also a successful parent.

1) Structure and Routine is Awesome. On Thursday night I put Callie to bed at 8:00 or so and headed to Target expecting a wonderful, calm, solo shopping experience. The second I got there I knew I was in for a completely different experience because the number of people there with their little kids (like 3 years old and under!) was ridiculous. And it wasn't just single parents making a medicine run or something like that. It was a bunch of duo parents pushing big shopping carts around with the little ones strapped in. And the majority of them were screaming. I couldn't help but feel thankful that my toddler was at home sleeping. And it reminded me why Chris and I are real sticklers about Cal's sleeping routine.

2) Consistency and Repetition are da bomb. Being a special ed. teacher, those two qualities are crucial for me. There are some crazy statistics out there that say kids need to have things they're learning repeated like a million times (okay, slight exaggeration) in order for it to stick in their brains. I'm using that same idea for Callie and it is working great. Just this morning we were reading her big 100 Words Book and she can point to various things that I ask her to...because we've done it over and over.

3) If you don't like, or are concerned about, a specific behavior...plan to do an intervention! Remember when I mentioned the book reading hissy fits? We started teaching her the sign for "please" early last week, and throughout the week we stuck to our guns. We wouldn't read her a book unless she signed for it. For the first many days we had to physically move her hand for her, but *TA DA!!* this morning she got it!

4) Light Bulb Moments are what it's all about. They are why I go to work every day, and why I can't WAIT to watch Callie continue to grow and learn.

Here is just a small example of an almost-14-month-old's light bulb moment.

Pre-Intervention (the baseline data, if you will):

Reading Before from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Post-Intervention (the results, if you will):

Reading After from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

So cheers to structure, routine, consistency and repetition.

And cheers to many more Light Bulb Moments.

Finally!

I think it is safe to say we now, OFFICIALLY, have a TODDLING toddler:

It's Official from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Notice how her hands stay in by her stomach when she walks? And Chris is slightly amused about how her feet are turned out when she walks- just like me (and my dad)! Haha. I think that just means she's destined to be a dancer.

Life with a toddler is SO MUCH FUN! She's funny, adorable, sweet, smart, curious, and recently has shown some diva-like behavior. Her latest thing is to find a book she wants to read and then FREAK OUT (whining, crabby faces, yelling) until we read it to her. I'm glad that she's excited about reading, but it is a little ridiculous. So, to combat this behavior, we've started teaching her the sign for "please". Before we read her the book she brings us, we show her the sign and move her hand to do it. Hopefully she'll learn it soon and will start that habit instead of throwing a hissy fit. Stay tuned!

Happy Valentine's Day!

From our little lovebug:

Weekend Wrap-Up

Well, Callie is down for what I *hope* will be a good long nap (she's napped a total of 15 minutes today which means she's already an hour behind her normal sleep schedule).

Chris is out with friends. Kona is sleeping in the living room sunspot.

The house is quiet. Peaceful. All I hear is the whoosh of the washing machine and the static of the baby monitor.

I gotta say I am loving this afternoon.

So time for my usual weekend wrap-up.

Friday night...a family night in.

Walking Practice:

Silly Baby:

Silly from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Saturday...hanging at the condo, playing at home, Valentines party at the Koch's:

Playing piano with MorMor:

Someone needs some b-ball coaching from Auntie Mari and Bops:

B-Ball? from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Valentines Party with Christine:

Sunday...Playing in the snow at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Being kinda wussy:

Snow Wussy from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Lots more pictures that I've taken this month can be found on our SHUTTERFLY SITE.

Vegetable Trickery, Static Electricity, and Body Parts

Compelling blog post title, huh? Let me explain.

There is a certain Punkin Head in our house who has started to refuse to eat vegetables of any kind. She'll eat fruit like crazy, but if we give her a vegetable it ends up flung on the floor. Immediately.

So I engaged in some Vegetable Trickery this evening and it worked.

Do you notice the cooked carrots hiding in there? She didn't! Apparently macaroni & cheese cheese sauce hides all sorts of (perceived) icky stuff.

The dry air that comes from this ridiculously cold weather provided us with some seriously hilarious baby hair-ography tonight.

And the body part identifying repertoire is growing by the day!

Hair, Nose, Hands and Feet from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

On an unrelated note, I ran 3 miles after work on Monday and today, and really can't wait for temperatures that feel above zero. But I'm back in the game and on my way back to 13.1!

Yep, I'm a Mama

1) You know you're a Mama when you get new cosmetic bag from a Clinique Bonus gift and immediately think "The baby would love to play with this!"

2) You know you're a Mama when you go into Old Navy for yourself on the 1st floor, and find yourself coming out on the 2nd floor with a bag full of size 12-18 month clothes.

Anybody got any more "You know you're a Mama when..." scenarios?

The Sweetest Face...

...and really cute jammies.

Superbowl Sunday

Pre-Game at the condo meeting family friends Randy, Lori and Bits:

Watching the game at home:

Matching babies!

Jammy time for Sydney

Jammy time for Callie

Playing with Uncle Dan before bedtime

It was a really fun day! Now another week starts...and this week also starts the training I need to do for the half marathon in April. Which means I need to start running 3-4 times a week. Outside. With temps that are only supposed to be in the single digits, teens tops. I haven't run since Thanksgiving. Fun times!

Tu-Tu-Tools

Today we went over to the condo for Andy and Beth's Baby Shower! It was a great party with a some multi-cultural lullaby singing, and playing "Who Wants to Be a Donald-aire" (in honor of little soon-to-be-born Donald, obviously!). The parents-to-be did very good answering questions about famous Donalds, so they got a prize:

The highlight for me was giving them (specifically Andy!) our present- a Tu-Tu-Tool-belt.

Background information in case you're confused: My sisters and I grew up a couple of blocks away from our 2nd cousins, Andy and Emily. Because Andy was the only boy (and because I was bossy) he ended up wearing a lot of girls clothes during our play times. So I made him a tool-belt of baby essentials, and decided to attach a tu-tu to it for old times' sake. He was a very good sport:

Auntie Laura came home for the weekend, but neither Mari nor Emily were able to come home for the shower. So...their faces were made into cardboard cut-outs attached to plastic spoons and we got a cousins picture:

Callie thought Mari's cardboard head was hilarious and enjoyed playing with it, along with showing her knowledge of noses...sort of...

Noses from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Little Donald, who I mentioned in a previous blog post should make his arrival in a month or so...please continue to keep him, Andy and Beth in your prayers!

Stuffy...

Breathing through the mouth because the nose is out of commission makes it hard for a certain little girl to eat, suck a passy, and therefore nap/sleep. We've tried to teach her to blow out her nose, but she seems to be taking after her Mommy with her nasal congestion habits.

Poor baby...poor Daddy...

Pretty much...ALMOST!

We're THISCLOSE to having an official walker on our hands. She just has to work a little bit more on balance but she gets in 6-8 steps at a time about 75% of the time (the other 25% is shown in the first part of the video)!

Pretty Much Walking from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Cough Cough Achoo Sniff Sniff

I asked for February and here it is. It crept up on us last night, all the while little Punkin Head was developing a NASTY cold. Nasty enough to wake her up a couple of times last night. Still nothing major, but that is a lot when we're used to her sleeping from 8pm to 6am! Her poor, stuffy, snotty nose...this is how she seems to be feeling:

But, amazingly enough, she has still been a happy-go-lucky baby most of the day:

Chris was home with her this morning and I took the afternoon off so he could go to a meeting. The one good thing about a sick baby is that she becomes a cuddly baby. So I'm sitting here typing one-handed with my little one sniffing away on my lap...love it!