Keeping Track of Lauren & Jack » November 2006 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

< > November 2006

Thu, Nov 30, 2006 10:50 PM
We hosted Jack's playgroup on Wednesday and it went fine, although I didn't get to vacuum like I'd wanted, some people came early (!!!) It's just embarrassing because when we go to their houses they're always immaculate! Oh well, it wasn't too bad. For once I took the time to actually chat with the other moms. Jack is getting to the point where sometimes he plays for quite a while on his own. I get nervous because it's too quiet, and I frantically search for him, only to find him quitelty leafing through some books or playing with a toy. And he actually seemed to interact with some of the kids this time too.

Today we went to Lauren's playgroup and she was in heaven because it was hosted by a family of 3 girls and they had a lot of princess/dress up paraphanalia. Despite my best efforts Lauren never did sleep for her nap even though she was in her crib for close to 2 hours. In the end I just got her up because I had to go to the store. Our new nanny Ellen wasn't available today, so I had to take them both with me. Now I'm remembering why I usually try not to do that! Lauren kept screaming at the top of her lungs that she wanted everything she saw, and Jack got fussy too. Then in the middle of shopping we had a potty run, so what should have been a quick trip turned into 2 hours. That put me completely behind schedule for the rest of the evening.

One funny thing, Jack has been completely enamoured of Lauren's Wiggles backpack which is bright pink with roses all over it, so I finally got him his own little Thomas the Tank Engine one today. He ran around with it on when we got home and was just beside himself with excitement. (He kept doing his little football dance which is a dead giveaway!)

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Tue, Nov 28, 2006 11:51 PM
This is the sort of thing that drives me crazy, Lauren insists on wearing socks for her nap or at bedtime, but then she pulls them off, and then screams at the top of her lungs until I come and put them back on. And this happened 3 times today at least! And I know it's just a delay tactic, but she screams so loud that she wakes up Jack, so I try to head her off at the pass.

Jack threw up twice today. I think it's just because he's a litle congested. He didn't have a fever. Now I'm worried because I'm supposed to have his playgroup over in the morning. He seems to have settled down so maybe he'll be a bit better in the morning.

Here's a question, what's the use of a book club where we barely even talked the book? Grrr. . . I do reccommend the book though for any of you new moms out there. It's called Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner about a bunch of women who become friends after meeting at a prenatal yoga class.

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Mon, Nov 27, 2006 11:10 PM
Back to the usual routine with preschool for Lauren today. I tried to make some order in the house in the two hour window between drop off and pick up, but I feel like I barely made a dent! The mountain of laundry just keeps growing. . .

We had our first day with our new nanny Ellen today. Things seemed to go pretty well. Of course Lauren kept asking where Jennifer was, and I don't think she really quite gets it that she's gone. Luckily Ellen is a Tampa native so she will be available over the holidays.

I just booked our Christmas trip to Oklahoma City to see Mike's family there. I can't believe I procratinated this long, but we're all set now. I should just tell myself to start packing NOW and maybe this time I won't forget Jack's socks!

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Sun, Nov 26, 2006 11:56 AM
Well we survived the trip to Lewiston fairly unscathed. I only forgot a couple of things, socks for Jack for instance! Somwhow they didn't make it into the suitcase. Luckily I had plenty for Lauren and some of them are just white and they practically wear the same size anyway. But I was proud to say I got everything for both kids into one suitcase, which is much better than the three we took in June to see Uncle Peter!

The weather was beautiful-cold but clear and sunny. No snow this time, but they both enjoyed running around with their big coats and mittens on! We didn't do too much, just tried to keep the kids from destroying the house or falling down the stairs. Lots of good food and wine and conversation. I was also surprised at how well they both slept in unfamuliar surroundings. Jack did well in his pack'nplay and Lauren had a small foam bed on the floor and they seemed right at home. We also just took a small single umbrella stroller for Jack and that went OK too. The double just takes up so much room and we really didn't use it much excpet at the airport. Lauren always want to walk anyway.

The trip back was sort of hairy because neither one would nap. We also didn't plan the food situation very well, so I think they were hungry. Tired and hungry is NOT a good combination when contained in a small space for 3 hours! I hate all these new regulations about liquids. We ran out of milk for Jack and of course they didn't have any on Southwest. In the end he drank some of Lauren's strawberry milk and we had plenty of juice, so we survived that crisis too.

The smartest thing I did was change them both into their footed pajamas while waiting for Mike to go get the car from long term parking. Jack fell fast asleep in the car ride home and for once he transfered beautifully into bed! I got the idea when I saw another little girl about Jack's age in her PJ's and since it was their bedtime, of course it just made sense. Anything to avoid the hyterics of last week after the Wiggles concert. Lauren didn't fall asleep in the car, but she was easier to get into bed because she just had to brush her teeth and read a story. So it's good to go away but it's also good to be home again!

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Sun, Nov 19, 2006 11:10 PM
We had Mike's college buddy Ray visiting with us just overnight on Friday. It was such a short visit, and Lauren kept saying she wanted to see Mr. Ray hours after he had gone!

Saturday I left Jack home with Mike and took Lauren to see the Wiggles at a large forum downtown. We met up with Allison, Charles and Taylor, but they were sitting in a different section. Lauren seemed to be having a good time, but she was getting tired because she was so excited she didn't really nap. The show was only about an hour and a half, and we missed big chunks of it because the princess demanded we get french fries (so I got chicken fingers too and much to my surprise she ate a lot!) Then there were 2 potty runs. But the thing that was most disappointing to me was that Greg Wiggle was out sick. He's the one that does all the singing. They have a great guy named Sam who stood in for him, but it's just not the same. I don't think Lauren even really noticed though, and they do put on a great show.

Afterwards we went to the Spagetti Warehouse in Ybor city which is sort of on the way home with the Brocks, and Lauren and Taylor were sort of crazed and wild. Lauren was getting very tired and actually kept asking to go home. I realize now that maybe we should have gone straight home after the concert, because although Lauren fell asleep in the car, she did NOT transfer into bed. She woke up and proceded to have an absolutely hysterical screaming fit as I tried to take her shoes off and put her pj's on. NOT FUN.

It's actually getting cold here, which is a welcome relief to me because I'm so tired of it being so hot, but of course now, despite a lot of shopping for the kids over the past weeks, I still feel that I don't have enough warm clothes for them! Now if I can just get everything laundered for our big trip up to Buffalo on Tuesday. Yikes!

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Fri, Nov 17, 2006 7:26 PM
Wednesday I took Jack to the zoo with his playgroup, which was only possible because Mike took Lauren to school and picked her up again. It was a gorgeous day, but Jack was more interested in running around and climbing on things than he was in any of the animals!

Today I took Jack back to the G/I specialist for a follow up and he is now 31 pounds and 34 inches long! She didn't have much to say, just went over the blood test results. Since he's obviously thriving and actually semed to have quite a growth spurt since our last visist, she said she doesn't want to do anything else right now. I suppose it should put my mind to rest that the specialist isn't worried, but I wish there was something I could do to improve things for my little trouper.

Today was our nanny Jennifer's last day, she's off soon to Atlanta where she's transferring to Emory. We had a little Bon Voyage party for her to mark the occasion, but I can tell that the kids just don't get it. Lauren thought it was her birthday! They'll probably only start to realize that she's gone after we get back to our normal routine after Thanksgiving. Best of Luck Jennifer, on whatever path life takes you!

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Tue, Nov 14, 2006 9:46 PM
Today I had Lauren's first parent-teacher conference at her preschool and she had a simply glowing report. Her teacher had nothing but good things to say about her and said she was just a delight to have in the class-room. It almost made me cry, I felt so proud! I was also a little confused though, because that model student often dissappears when we get home to be replaced by a howling, angry beast!

I did try ignoring her tonight (while she was in a time out) and it worked eventually, but her screaming got so loud at one point she almost woke Jack, and she was clear on the other side of the house! The other problem was how much time it took, because she was already late going to bed. She's going to be so tired for school tomorrow and it's all my fault! I need to be better of sticking to the schedule with her because with all of her delay tactics it could take all night to finally get her into bed!

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Mon, Nov 13, 2006 11:31 PM
The screaming continues. Now I am really understanding what they mean by the terrible twos. I watched an hour of "The Dog Whisperer" tonight and I am clearly having trouble remaining calm and assertive under these volatile conditions. My friend Tatiana has advised me to do my best to ignore her, because if I give her attention I am essentially rewarding the bad behavior.

Jack has been fine although he ran around and didn't really pay much attention in music class. He did something so cute this afternoon. While Lauren was napping he started leading me with one hand and it really thrilled him to be the one in charge of where we were headed. We ran around in circles for at least half an hour!

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Sun, Nov 12, 2006 11:24 PM
It had to happen sometime. Lauren has been having hysterical hissy fits, and I mean complete meltdowns because she wants to do everything herself. The fact that she physically can't do many things is seemingly no deterrent. I try to let her do as much as possible and I'm amazed to discover she can do more things than I thought. For example, she's getting pretty good at getting her shoes and socks on, and even some of her clothes. I know she's just trying to assert her independence, but it's really wearing me down. She flies into an uncontrollable rage at the slightest thing "I want to do it, I WANT TO DO IT!" Today was an especially difficult day. I've been close to tears all evening becuase I am just so out of patience and energy and I'm convinced that I'm doing everything wrong. Ah well, tomorrow is another day (thank goodness!)

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Sat, Nov 11, 2006 10:34 PM
I forgot to mention on the 7th that Jack is now 17 months, which makes him half Lauren's age at 34 months, and exactly the age she was when he was born. Somehow she seemed older to me then, but of course I didn't have an almost 3 year old to constantly compare her to. And people keep telling me that girls mature faster than boys. Jack is a lot bigger and heavier than she was at his age, and I actually think it makes him more clumsy because if he loses his balance just slightly, the weight of his body will make him fall over. Lauren also had an ealier start with walking, so she seemed more coordinated at 17 months. Hard to believe my babies are getting so grown up! They are practically wearing the same size now. Jack is just still a lot shorter than his sister. When he hits a growth spurt and those limbs get longer, she's really going to be in trouble because it's going to be PAYBACK time!

Today we went to see the Orlando Philharmonic at Bok Sanctuary which has a bell tower on the top of this hill (the highest point in all of Florida) and beautiful gardens. We left the kids at home, but I missed them and I think Lauren would have really enjoyed it. I keep thinking when Jack is as old as she is now we'll be able to start taking them with us to more things. One of these days they'll be out of diapers and strollers and then the possibilities will really open up! In the meantime I'm trying to enjoy these fleeting toddler days. . .

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Fri, Nov 10, 2006 11:38 PM
Another week has flown by. I have been trying to get the kids some fall/winter clothing because we're headed to Lewiston (near Buffalo) soon and even though we don't need a ton of warm clothing because they will only wear them for a few months, we do need SOME things. I suddenly realized that all they have are short sleeves and shorts or capri's at the most! It's remarkably difficult to find winter coats right now. Apparently you have to buy them in August when it was 101 in the shade around here!

Lauren was sick Tuesday night/Wednesday. She had a terrible night and was coughing a lot. So I kept her home and she seemed to feel perfectly fine by Thursday. Then today I let her go to school, and when she came home her voice sounded a little raspy, so I'm not sure what's going on.

Her latest dvd obsession is now Angelina Ballerina, which is just in time for her to get excited for her ballet classes which will start in January. Well, technically it's called creative movement, so I guess it's pre-ballet.

Jack has been a little fussy, and today he slept for an unheard of 2 1/2 hours straight. I'm not sure what's going on with him either, maybe teething. This morning I took him for another haircut so he'll look all stylish for Thanksgiving. Mike said he thinks it looks too short, but it grows again so quickly. I think he looks very GQ myself!

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates
Sun, Nov 5, 2006 7:56 PM
I can't believe it's been a whole week! Monday was sort of nuts because I had an audition in Gainesville which is about 2 hours north. Mike took Lauren to preschool and Jack to his Music class. Lauren had a Fall festival at school in lieu of a Halloween party but she still came home with a ton of candy!

Tuesday we went to the Kidz Club where we're having Lauren's birthday and they both had a great time throwing themselves in and out of the ball pit among other things. That evening was Halloween so we went to a little party they had at the community center. On the way home Jack had a meltdown, so I sent him home with Jennifer (Mike had to teach class) and we went trick or treating with Taylor and her entourage of adults which included her parents,both sets of grandparents and her uncle's girlfriend! Taylor was dressed as Snow white and they were just too cute ringing the doorbells and shouting "Twick ur Tweet!" My camera of course was out of memory but I hope to get some pics from Allison soon.

Wednesday we had Jack's playgroup where he threw up all over thee hosts carpet. Poor little guy. I think it was just a combination of sort of choking on a teddy graham and some wayward mucuous. I was just mortified, but it also happened right before we needed to leave, and I really don't want to be late picking up Lauren after the whole letter-home debacle. Three kids left Lauren's class because of it. Of course those were the Moms that were always late, but still, it's a sensitive issue right now. Anyway, for once it paid off carying that big diaper bag around because I usually carry a cpmplete change of clothes and I certainly needed it!

I called to get the results of Jack's recent blood work, and everything is apparently normal, but he has a very slight egg allergy. Which is horrible to realize becuase we usually give him a lot of eggs! So now we're trying to eliinate eggs and see if that makes a difference. I don't think that's the only thing causing a problem, because he didn't have eggs every day.

Thursday we had Lauren's playgroup at Michael's Craft Store where she made a turkey visor with lots of feathers. I actually did most of it because all the kids just thought chasing each other around the big table was much more fun!

Saturday Mike was gone on a charity walk so we spent the morning at the playground. Luckily it's cooling down a little. Jack threw a hissy fit on the way home, but I had no choice but to leave him in the wagon, I couldn't carry him and pull the wagon and handle the dog all at the same time. We went back there today with Mike and he wound up carrying Jack the whole way home. That's the one problem with the wagon. There is no way to strap him in.

Tonight we also went out to dinner which was sort of a hairy expereince. Jack started screaming just being put into the high chair at the very beginning. I don't know what to do, because he needs to learn to sit and eat with us at the table, and he won't learn to do that if we never go anywhere. But it's very trying on the nerves. I just want to keep him from ruining everyone else's dinner (in the entire restaurant!)

Comments:

Add a comment:

Name: Email:
Comment:

Notify me of scrapbook updates