My words

The other day Lilly was helping me put soap in the washer. When I turned around to put the detergent on the floor Lilly slammed the lid down on my fingers. It hurt a lot so I yelled out and then cried. I scared Lilly quite a bit but Eldon said, "You're just fine! Why are you crying?" I was a little annoyed that he was so unsympathetic, but then I realized that those were my words coming right back at me. Like many other moms, I try to downplay his "owies" by saying, "You're just fine. Don't cry." but being on the other end all I would have liked is a little hug and a "Are you ok, Mommy?" Maybe I should be a little more empathetic next time...

Second birthdays are a big deal around here...

Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Lawrence headed up here for Lilly's second birthday. Grandma had come for Eldon's second birthday last year. We had a really great weekend and kept pretty busy. I think the kids are completely worn out. Eldon and Lilly have both been sleeping more than usual (although Eldon has missed a few naps because it's just too exciting:). Whenever he wakes up he says, "Did you call Grandma yet?"

We've been to Chuck E. Cheeses, Columbia Park where we rode the train, ate Happy Meals at McDonald's, went shopping at the mall, saw Up, played in the Purdue fountains, ate lunch at the Olive Garden, and had a party! We've also played with lots of new toys including a pretend birthday cake puzzle, play pizzas, and bathtub "paper" dolls, read some stories with Grandma, and went on a walk.



At the movies!

Lilly has been such a sweet little thing. She's been saying "thank you" and "you're welcome," especially when she plays pizza parlor with her Grandpa. She also really liked scaring her Grandpa with a fake spider that we got at Chuck E.'s. She's been enjoying running and will yell, "running, running!" as she moves her little legs as fast as they can go. She likes jumping too and her Grandpa has taught her to jump over all the cracks in the sidewalk. She sat through most of Up, although she went back and forth between me and Aaron quite a bit. She loved the balloons at her party and thought Eldon was hilarious when he bounced up and down on them, even when one burst underneath him. She had to try it too and thought it was so funny when Eldon she kept falling off.



Lilly scaring Grandpa with the spider



Reading newspapers with Grandpa

Eldon has enjoyed having his Grandparents here a lot and is pretty sad that they're not staying here all the time. He keeps asking them if our apartment is cozy enough for them. I guess he thinks if they're cozy here, they'll stay:). He's really enjoyed reading stories with Grandma although most the time she just riles him up instead of calming him down! One of his most notable moments was escaping from Grandpa at the mall. He just wanted to see the new toys at the play place! We all had a heart attack. He was gone for a good 10 to 15 minutes and was on the opposite side of the mall. Finally my parents had me paged and I sprinted down the mall because I figured he was down by the toys when I saw a mall cop walking toward me with Eldon in his arms. The cop didn't seem to want to give him back to me...maybe he wasn't sure I was a responsible mom. All the way back to Grandma Eldon kept saying I want to see the new toys. I asked him what he was thinking and he said, "I was thinking I better find a policeman." He told a maintenance lady, "I need to find my mom" and she took him to the mall cop. Anyway, he performed notably for being lost but scared us all quite a bit. He said he wasn't scared. He just wanted to see the toys. Eldon really liked to play with Lilly's presents. The pizzas and "paper dolls" were a big it with him too.



Goofing around instead of reading



Playing with the bath "paper" dolls

Grandma and Grandpa leave this afternoon so we have one more morning with them. We're sad to see them go. It's so neat how the kids react to them now. This was the first time Lilly really interacted with them and was so excited to have them here.

Also, Happy Birthday to our little Loulou! We love her so much! and Happy Birthday to Beth's Josh and Sarah's Logan! Hope you guys had a great weekend!

Grocery store chaos

I tried to go to the store this morning after story time at the library. It was probably a bad time to go, because Eldon had already "worn out" all his "good behavior" by trying to be quiet and not run there, but I needed just a few things for dinner, so I sucked it up and went. Eldon was off like a shot gun. I saw a mom in there with 5 kids and they were all following her like little ducklings, so well-behaved. I asked how she does it and she said, "cookies from the bakery" and sticker charts and I have tried that, but it only lasts about 5 minutes. Anyway, Lilly has taken to chasing Eldon, yelling, "stop! wait! Eldon!" because that is what she hears from me all day long. I'm not saying Lilly is always an angel, she has her moments too, but she tends to want to help me out most the time and will try to pick up what I ask her to and try to put it in the cart. Anyway, I was trying to engage Eldon and have him look for items I needed and get them for me (suggestion from Supernanny) but it doesn't seem to work and he took off again by the milk. An old man just looked at me in disgust and shook his head. All I could think is that this guy probably never took his kids shopping alone (his wife probably did it). The big car on the front of the cart only holds Eldon's interest for a few minutes. So other than punishing him (I do talk to him about it in a firm voice) or strapping him in and refusing to let him out, what works for you guys?

And for the record, Eldon is a really good kid. He has a lot of really good moments and he gets calmer and calmer the older he gets and I don't think it's a bad thing that he loves to move and be silly, but when I don't see other kids doing the same thing--they're so well-behaved, I question my parenting. Any ideas?

Also, when you see a child running crazy at the store, do you commiserate? judge the child? or the mother? I'm interested to hear your guys' point of view.

Spin the bottle and potty-time

Eldon loves to play spin the bottle. I don't think we taught him that game. He must have seen it on TV, I think, but he takes old bottles out of our recycling and announces to the family that it is time to play spin the bottle. It's kinda fun. Everyone, including Lilly, gives and receives lots of good kisses.

Lilly has been really interested in the potty. I haven't initiated anything but I am sure she has watched our attempts with Eldon. She's been opening up the little potty lately, yelling, "poo poo potty" and doing her thing on it! I'm not going to push anything, especially with the trip to New Mexico coming up, but am definitely praising her when she gets it done. I didn't think I'd ever be so excited about this topic. Eldon is doing a lot better with the potty, but still has a few accidents, mainly away from home. He only gives you so much time after he says he has to go potty so the reaction time has to be quick and I think in new places he's not sure where the potty is. We're making progress and I'm no longer so uptight about accidents. I read in my parenting magazine the other day that 20% of 5 year-olds still wear pull-ups at night so I figure there is no reason to rush.







We went to the fountains on Purdue the other day with Lori and Jack. Eldon went in by himself but Lilly would have rather stayed dry, run around, and play with Eldon's Superman hat.

"Jack and Jill" by Lillian

Jack and Jill went up the hill
to get a pail of wa-wa.
Jack fell down and broke his butt
and Jill came tumbling back.

The librarians have been telling us how important it is to do rhymes with the kids so, recently, during bath time, I have been reciting Jack and Jill with them. This is Lilly's rendition, in her little Lilly-speech, of the classic nursery rhyme, which I find quite amusing. She never deviates from it.

No Swimming Lessons for Eldon

We've been going to the ENT to check Lilly's tubes every so often and once the doctor was kind enough to peek at Eldon's ears after another ear infection to see if it had cleared up. It turns out that Eldon has fluid in his ears that is just sitting there. We've been watching it for a couple of months and it hasn't gone away. They did a little test to see how much pressure the fluid was exerting on his ears and the doctor said that there was quite a bit and Eldon should have tubes put back in. Apparently the doctor said that there is enough pressure that he should be feeling pain, but when I ask him if his ears hurt, he says no. However, I have been watching him more closely and he sticks his index finger in his ear a lot. So this Thursday we'll be headed back to the surgical center. It'll be an interesting experience because Eldon is old enough to kind of understand what will be going on and he is scared when we leave him with unfamiliar people. He does fine with people he knows. I hope he does ok. I think the worst part is going to be when they take him away. I think he is going to be so scared. Any suggestions on how to help him through that?

So this means no swimming lessons for Eldon this summer since I don't want to have to deal with special ear plugs and worrying about water getting in his ears. Doctors have different opinions on putting the ear underwater after putting tubes in, but I think I'm going to be safe and not teach him to put his head under water for another year. Maybe next summer when these tubes have fallen out and, hopefully, he will have grown out of all these blasted ear infections!!

Another cute tidbit: Eldon has been sleeping every night with the lantern from the camping trip by his bedside. It's his new nightlight.

Last night the kids and I were eating dinner and after a bite, Eldon looked over at me and said, "I don't like this Happy Meal. Can I have a cookie instead?" Maybe I take him to McDonald's too much? We only do it for special treats though, like birthdays. I promise!

Happy Mother's Day

Because I'm tired of my last post already, I just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms-to-be, exhausted new moms, experienced moms, and empty-nesters. In spite of all its frustrations motherhood really is one of the most special things I've ever experienced. There are a lot of sweet moments...
I'm so blessed to have these two!