Monday, October 20, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
18 Month Check-up and Check-In
Delanie had her 18 month check up today with Dr. Powell. She is 34.5 inches tall (>98th percentile) and weighs 28 lbs 15 oz (93rd percentile). Dr. Powell said that if she were an adult today, she'd be between 5'9"-5'10."Developmentally, she scored 100% on the 18 month assessment, she continues to hit all the milestones. And, of course, she is
hitting the milestones that her parents are less-than-thrilled about: picky eating and tantrums. But, when I asked for advice, the Dr. just nodded and said, "Yup, the two things that were furthest from your mind at her 12 month appointment are now driving you crazy."One of the most notable aspects of Delanie's personality is that she is a true chatterbox. We have known this since she was 3 months old. But, now her chattering is actually real words. She literally will name EVERYTHING she sees, and repeats it until we acknowledge that she said it. And, she repeats every word we say. So, we have to be careful!
Some of her latest words: sca-cra (scarecrow), hoe (horse), trac-ta (tractor), pum-pa (pumpkin), Charl-aa (Charlie), Karl-aa (Kona), juuu (juice), Day-lay (Delanie), ba-pa (backpack), beee (beach), Ga-Ga (Georgia).
Delanie has made me pay attention to the little things. She is so excited about everything she encounters, I can't help but want to see her excitement! For instance, our entire trip to daycare centers around landmarks. Landmarks that I have passed by every day for four years and have barely noticed. Here is the sequence of events on the way to daycare:
"Buckle! Door! Boat! Horse! More! More! Car! Truck! Bus! Horse! More! More! Tractor! Tractor! Bus! Car! Bus! Truck! Bus! Water! Bus! School! Door! Buckle! Molly!" All of this is said with such enthusiasm, I have truely started enjoying the beauty of our neighbor's horses and marveling at the tractors on construction sites.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Beach Trip!
Delanie and Caleb had so much fun together at the beach! They are at the "monkey see monkey do" stage of toddlerhood, so they spent a lot of time doing the same things. Delanie was on her third week of a yucky virus, so she spent a lot of time in the wagon picking her nose! We tried to get this shot without her hands 4-5 times, but it didn't happen...
Delanie loves playing in the sand and the water! Each morning, a pool would form right in front of our chairs, which was perfect for the kids (and dogs) to play in! Delanie immediately ran into the water the first time we went to the beach, and it was hard to keep her out! And, when she played in the sand, after about 30 seconds, she would look at her hands and say, "diiirty" and we would need to head back to the water to wash off. Here she is with Kevin, stomping on his pretty sand castle.
Beach Trip
Here is some video from our recent trip to Topsail Island. We had a blast! The weather was beautiful (low to mid 80s and sunny), as was the near-empty beach. We rented a huge beach house across from the public beach access. Delanie and Caleb (17 months) are really starting to develop a friendship. They hold hands and hug, and they genuinely enjoy playing with each other, whether it's chasing each other around the sofa or mimicking "stomps" and "claps." Of course, they are also in that "grass is greener" stage, where they both want to play with the same toy at the same time all the time. Delanie will need to work on her sharing skills!
In all, 6 adults, 3 dogs, 2 toddlers (and 2 babies-to-be that are causing a double dose of morning sickness for a poor mother-to-be) spent the long weekend together. And like the toddlers, the dogs enjoyed spending time running and playing with their BFF Oz.
This is a beach trip we will definitely do again, the house was a steal, and one of the few that allows three large dogs to stay!
More pictures to come!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Busy Bees!
The title of this post hopefully serves as a partial explanation of the large gap between posts. Between daycare, work, school and a second job, we collectively have a very busy life right now. And, we really haven't had much time for pictures either, but what we did capture is priceless!
When we were hit by the remnants of a recent hurricane, Delanie donned the raincoat for the first time since we got it back in March. Dela
nie is starting to get the concept of different things - she is beginning to understand what a coat is, and how we put it on, for example. But, of course, we can't reason with her when she disagrees and throws the raincaot back off, which has happened since this pic was taken.
The second pic is sure to be one for the memory books, Delanie saying "Cheese" for the camera and flashing a million dollar smile (of sorts).
The third pic is Delanie in her Wipigaki shirt (Thank you Grandma and Grandpa). She really likes wearing big shirts to bed, which I also remember loving as a kid. Of course, she has had to wear pants the last week or so.
And the last pic is one of Delanie with her hair in a pigtail, wearing a sophisticated toddler combo (Thank you Great Grandma Clemons!). She looked like she was 4 years old that day, complete with the jeans and matching purple socks. What a doll! Of course, I thought about posting the picture I took two minutes prior, with her throwing a tantrum on the floor because she couldn't hold my camera.
And if there is one common thread in these photos that sticks out to me, its that mop of hair. She refuses to let me put it up, I was only able to do so recently because I used sophisticated diversion tactics (a Signing Times DVD). Typically, I show her what barrettes look like in my hair, then I put them in hers. Only to find that I am headed into the door of her daycare, and I am the only one wearing fuschia bunny barrettes in my bangs. Hairstyles do not last past the 20 minute drive.
This week, as seen below, I started using the adult ponytail holders. The hold the hair much better, and they are much harder for Delanie to pull out. They have held up well so far.
Her hair is at an awkward in between stage. We have cut the bangs a few times, but only found that other hair migrated to her eyeballs. So now we are attempting to grow out the bangs in hopes that it falls perfectly to the sides of her head.
Hair aside, Delanie had a pretty rough week. It was a week of reflecting for me, because it can be so difficult when we have so much going on to slow down and take care of things. I also was thinking about how I thought parenthood would go before reality hit. A few examples:
Before having kids: I fantasized about sick days. My child would wake up with a few sniffles, I would tuck her in
on the sofa, and spoil her with ginger ale and crackers. We would snuggle up and watch Disney movies all day.
My reality check: As I am taking Delanie out of the car at her daycare, she throws up all over me, her and the car. She is stripped naked in the parking lot, then we head home. I spend half my day doing laundry and cleaning the car seat, while I am also tending to Delanie, who happens to be full of energy and a case of the "grumpies."
Before having kids: I would surely be able to "train" my children to sleep in until 9 and then we would leisurely eat breakfast as a family.
My reality check: Delanie is sitting up in her bed, wide-awake, at 4 am. She is crying for her "milk." After 45 minutes of attempts to get her down, we give in and get up with her. She gets her glass of milk and drinks it before I can even make her breakfast.
Before having kids: I thought that my daughter would easily entertain herself for hours on end, so I could do the house "stuff."
When we were hit by the remnants of a recent hurricane, Delanie donned the raincoat for the first time since we got it back in March. Dela
nie is starting to get the concept of different things - she is beginning to understand what a coat is, and how we put it on, for example. But, of course, we can't reason with her when she disagrees and throws the raincaot back off, which has happened since this pic was taken.The second pic is sure to be one for the memory books, Delanie saying "Cheese" for the camera and flashing a million dollar smile (of sorts).
The third pic is Delanie in her Wipigaki shirt (Thank you Grandma and Grandpa). She really likes wearing big shirts to bed, which I also remember loving as a kid. Of course, she has had to wear pants the last week or so.
And the last pic is one of Delanie with her hair in a pigtail, wearing a sophisticated toddler combo (Thank you Great Grandma Clemons!). She looked like she was 4 years old that day, complete with the jeans and matching purple socks. What a doll! Of course, I thought about posting the picture I took two minutes prior, with her throwing a tantrum on the floor because she couldn't hold my camera.
And if there is one common thread in these photos that sticks out to me, its that mop of hair. She refuses to let me put it up, I was only able to do so recently because I used sophisticated diversion tactics (a Signing Times DVD). Typically, I show her what barrettes look like in my hair, then I put them in hers. Only to find that I am headed into the door of her daycare, and I am the only one wearing fuschia bunny barrettes in my bangs. Hairstyles do not last past the 20 minute drive.This week, as seen below, I started using the adult ponytail holders. The hold the hair much better, and they are much harder for Delanie to pull out. They have held up well so far.
Her hair is at an awkward in between stage. We have cut the bangs a few times, but only found that other hair migrated to her eyeballs. So now we are attempting to grow out the bangs in hopes that it falls perfectly to the sides of her head.
Hair aside, Delanie had a pretty rough week. It was a week of reflecting for me, because it can be so difficult when we have so much going on to slow down and take care of things. I also was thinking about how I thought parenthood would go before reality hit. A few examples:
Before having kids: I fantasized about sick days. My child would wake up with a few sniffles, I would tuck her in
on the sofa, and spoil her with ginger ale and crackers. We would snuggle up and watch Disney movies all day.My reality check: As I am taking Delanie out of the car at her daycare, she throws up all over me, her and the car. She is stripped naked in the parking lot, then we head home. I spend half my day doing laundry and cleaning the car seat, while I am also tending to Delanie, who happens to be full of energy and a case of the "grumpies."
Before having kids: I would surely be able to "train" my children to sleep in until 9 and then we would leisurely eat breakfast as a family.
My reality check: Delanie is sitting up in her bed, wide-awake, at 4 am. She is crying for her "milk." After 45 minutes of attempts to get her down, we give in and get up with her. She gets her glass of milk and drinks it before I can even make her breakfast.
Before having kids: I thought that my daughter would easily entertain herself for hours on end, so I could do the house "stuff."
Reality Check: I had so much going on this week, and no spare quiet time, I brought long to-do lists with me to work. I had phone calls and electronic bills and even personal emails that I had been bad about responding to. It is mind boggling to me that a building with over 600 kids is quieter than a household with 3.
Of course, this humor doesn't take away from all of the wonderful time we have with Delanie, and now that Friday is here, we are all so happy!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
Cape Cod Wedding
Our family headed to Cape Cod for Labor Day weekend to celebrate DJ and Justine's wedding. We had a wonderful time, both celebrating with family and friends and sneaking in some R&R on the beach.Delanie had a blast on the beach, playing in the sand and water. Interestingly, though, she has developed an aversion to getting "diiirty." This proved a little inconvenient, seeing as water + sand = dirty toddler. So, we would have a pail of clean water handy for her to dip her feet in while she was in a lounge chair...
DJ and Justine were married on Saturday, August 30. This was such a beautiful ceremony. And, when you mix an Irish family with an Italian family, you know the reception will be a blast! It was so fun seeing family again! Dave and I danced for hours with everyone and stayed out later than we have in a while. A big thank you to Mr. Callaghan and Dr. Spinelli for including us in their special day :)
After the wedding, we took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. The third photo is of Delanie sleeping in the ferry seat on the way home. She does not really like to be held or cuddled when tired, instead she just finds a spot and falls asleep.
Our travel home was a disaster, between getting lost in Providence during rush hour, having Delanie get sick all over everything in the car, toting luggage without a handle and then the mother of all tanturms during the entire descent to Raleigh...
And, although we had lots of fun celebrating with family, like all vacations, we are happy to be home!
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