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

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Fri, Sep 29, 2006 8:16 PM
Lauren has developed a cough and has no appetite. Her temperature is back to normal but she just doesn't feel good so I kept her home from preschool today. It was just as well since it was Grandma Elizabeth's last morning with us. Just after she left, Lauren started saying "I miss Meema" and that was her mantra the rest of the day. So I would call that a good visit!

Grandma Elizabeth is a speech pathologist and it was very interesting to see her interact with both kids. I was particularly pleased to learn one tactic with 3 syllable words which Lauren has trouble with. She suggested to break it down in syllables and build it up backwards. Like for banana you say, Na, then Na-na, then Ba-na-na. She also noticed that Jack is more verbal when Lauren is not around, which I wasn't really aware of. And also, when he wants up, for example, to really make him express something verbally before picking him up. It's exciting because Lauren is just starting to speak in full sentences and Jack is just starting to say recognizable words. His list includes baby, dvd, thank you, wiggle, and cheese! Of course most of the time he just babbles Mama! for anything that he wants.

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Wed, Sep 27, 2006 11:01 PM
We had a tough night becuase the burgular alarm kept beeping inexplicably at something like 5AM. Jack woke up at 6:30 (his normal time)saying Mama! and proceeded to burble happily a lot of other jibberish. At least someone in this house wakes up well rested!

Lauren had preschool and we got her school pictrues back. They are Ok, but I can tell she's laughing in all 3 poses so she's sort of oversmiling (if that's possible). I'm trying to figure out how to put them on this website.

Then we had playgroup for Jack which has become hectic because of having to leave early to pick Lauren up. Jack alternated between being very clingy and being fascinated with their toy kitchen which I swear in nicer than our real one!

Lauren seems to be coming down with a cold. She has a slight fever and has been sneezing. She just didn't seem herself after her nap. She perked right up after taking some Motrin, drinking a bunch of diluted juice and eating a few Pedialyte popsicles. Maybe she was just a bit dehydrated. She had another accident where she peed in her pants, because she was jumping around excitedly outside on the lanai with Grandma Elizabeth and Jack. I think she just doesn't want to take the time out of her busy play schedule to go sit on the potty!

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Tue, Sep 26, 2006 11:11 PM
I survived 3 1/2 days without my babies! I had a whirwind trip to New york which included 3 shows, a 2 brunches and many meals and drinks in-between. Oh yeah, and a little shopping. Of course I bought more for the kids than for myslef. I got much more for Lauren. I only got Jack one shirt. My epiphany while I was looking for clothes for him is that I dress him rather conservatively. I guess I dress him a lot the way Mike dresses.

I asked Mike to contribute to the journal while I was gone. Apparently both kids were fine and that's about all I can get out of Mike! I got in around midnight on Sunday and I couldn't resist going in to see both of them. Jack hardly stirred despite the fact that I even stroked his cheek. Lauren, on the other hand, sat bolt upright the second I craked her door open and called, "Mama, Mama?" So I got to do what I wanted which was hold her for a few minutes and breathe in her her wonderful toddler smell(a combination of her conditioner and apricot oil). I felt awful because she woke up a few times after that and I'm sure my disrupting her sleep was responsible.

In the morning Jack seemed happy to see me, but not especially so. I'm sure I missed both of them more than they did me, which is fine and I wouldn't want it any other way! Monday was all about getting caught back up and preparing the house for Grandma Elizabeth's visit. She arrived today and both Lauren and Jack have been enjoying her all her attention, especially Lauren who has been playing ball,and doing puzzles and moving stickers around in her Wiggles activity book, and they even did her homework together which is getting more complicated. Today's assignment was to draw something beggining with F. I think it's supposed to be a fish, but it's what I think we would call abstract! It's ridiculous, but I have to resist the urge to do her homework for her. But honestly, she's not even 3 and they expect her to draw?

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Wed, Sep 20, 2006 8:46 PM
Well, maybe the growth spurt's over already because Jack napped terribly today. Lauren seemed to have fun in preschool. They painted traffic lights as part of their transportation theme this month. Lauren's was still wet as we carried it to the car and I smeared a bit on Jack. Thank goodness for washable paint! We now have her wonderful creations adorning our walls in the kitchen. Soon we're going to run out of space and have to expand into the playroom!

I'm leaving tomorrow for a weekend in New York City, so Mike will have the kiddies until Sunday evening. Jennifer is going to help him out every day, but it's still a lot of work. Thanks Daddy for giving Mommy some time off! I'm looking forward to it, but I also know I'll miss everyone the minute I pull out of the driveway.

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Tue, Sep 19, 2006 11:39 PM
Today both kids slept in until 8:45AM! Considering Jack usually gets up at 6:45AM, that's really something! I actually got to shower and blow dry my har and everything. Then he took an unprecedented 2 1/2 hour nap in the middle of the day, which makes me wonder if he's going through another growth spurt. He's such a completely different boy when he's well rested! Lauren, on the other hand, had two accidents in her panties and napped terribly. Oh well, can't win them all.

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Mon, Sep 18, 2006 8:17 PM
Saturday I previewed a class with Jack at Gymboree which I'm considering taking on Fridays when Lauren is in preschool. He had a blast so I think I'll definitely sign up. I sent Lauren off with Mike for a little father-daughter evening of a movie and dinner so I could take Jack to his birthday party without her getting upset and feeling left out. I think she thought we were home the whole time they were gone! Jack was so funny at the party, he's very interested in babies. He just stares at them and wants to touch them. He also gets very coy with strangers, especially women, so he's definitely working on those flirting techniques!

Today Lauren moved into a new classroom at preschool, and it's amazing how something like that is such a big deal to a child her age. But she seemed to adjust fairly quickyly once she got the lay of the land. Jack and I had Music Together class and he continues his fascination with babies. He's doing a lot better with all the instruments but he still won't stay in my lap for very long during the songs. He only napped about 40 minutes today so I put him to bed early. Lauren, on the other hand, always naps well on days she has preschool. Oh, I've been forgetting to mention, she's been telling me about her dreams. Like the other day she said she was dreaming about the tractors after her nap. I think she can hear them working on the construction of the condos just down the street. Sometimes she has nightmares too in the middle of the night. I don't think she can make any distinction between her imagination and reality.

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Fri, Sep 15, 2006 9:06 PM
Yesterday we had playgroup at McDonalds because the person hosting had to cancel at thelast minute. It was sort of fun for Lauren, they have this big climbing apparatus with slides and everything. It's really suited to children who are slightly older. We just went there because it's too hot to go to the playground still, and I still don't want to try the pool with Jack's ongoing poop situation, even though that seems a lot better in the last few days. It's too bad we still don't have a mall around here! Later we had Taylor and Alison over for a playdate and the girls proceeded to push each other around on the tractor screaming, with Jack closely on their heels.

Today Lauren had photos being taken at school, so I had to make sure she looked especially gorgeous. I think I did pretty well, I put her in a navy blue sailor dress with big white bows in her hair. As always, I try to tame those curls, but they just get messed up in the car seat, so there's only so much I can do!

Then I went straight from there to Jack's 15 month doctor appointment. He's 27 pounds and 33 1/2 inches which means he's gained 1/2 an inch in a matter of weeks. Of course I think the measurement is difficult because he doesn't really stand still. The doctor said that he wanted to check his iron because last time it was low, and that's the first thing I've heard about that. He said that his nurse called, but I didn't get the message if she did. It's frustrating, because I could have been giving him supplements for the last 3 months. But the level now is fine, so I guess it's a moot point. Jack also has a little fluid in his left ear. He hasn't been pulling on it, or had any fever, so we're just supposed to watch it in case it develops into an ear infection. He did pretty well on his shots but he's getting hard to hold down he's so strong!

By the time we were out of there it was 10:15 and it wasn't worth going home since we were half way to where Lauren's school is, so we went to Target to get a birthday present. Here's something new: Jack is invited to a birthday party and Lauren is not included. It's a little odd since I know the Mom from Lauren's playgroup with her older son, but the party is for her younger son. I have not talked about it with Lauren at all, so she doesn't really know what she's missing,and I've decided to send her to a movie with Mike so she doesn't see us leaving without her.

I found out the Wiggles are coming to Tampa in November and the tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10AM, so I hope I remember to get online and get some. Should be a hot ticket if the show at Disney is any indication. I'm also going to get tickets to Dorothy the Dinosaur's Dance Party in October. I don't know why, I'm just fueling Lauren's current obsession with all things Wiggles!

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Wed, Sep 13, 2006 9:12 PM
For the past few days I've been commemorating Sept 11, 2001. On Sunday night I watched "9/11", the documentary by the French brothers who were making a documentary on "a day in the life of a firefighter" on that fateful day. I can't believe it's been 5 years. It's just been making me think about what I really value, which is first and foremost my family. Then last night I watched the film "United 93." It just made me think about the fact that tomorrow is promised to none of us and that I need to stop taking the future for granted.

But . . . there's nothing that takes me out of morbid thoughts and brings me right back into the moment than these two crazy kids!

Monday Lauren had a visit from a fireman at pre-school. I took Jack to our first Music Together class of this new session. There are a lot of younger babies who are not mobile, so he's sort of a little terror. He walked around pulling his t-shirt up and showing everyone his belly! He also pitched a fit every time we had to put the instruments back. Then I drove to Orlando for an audition which turned out to be a huge waste of time. Almost not worth the long drive with the price of gas these days!

Tuesday we went to the science museum with the Mom's club, where they have this great kids exhibit which is interactive and the kids had a blast. Of course they kept running off in oppostite directions, but it was a fairly safe environment and luckily there were lots of other Moms helping me out!

Tonight we had Lauren's Open House at her preschool, which was a great way to get a sense of how she spends her time there. I really like her teacher, Ms. Lori. I guess this is the beggining of being invloved in her schooling. It requires a surprising amount of attention and energy. So far, so good though. I like a lot of the other parents too, which helps. I suspect we'll be seeing a lot of each other this year.

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Sun, Sep 10, 2006 10:28 PM
Today was my turn to "sleep in"! I was trying to make the most of it, but at 9:15 I heard Lauren calling "Mommy!", and I arose to find both kids standing at the gate that leads to our bedroom waiting for me! I must admit, it was sort of nice to be greeted so enthusiastically.

Not much happened today. Mike took Lauren to Target during Jack's late morning nap, so I took that opportunity to contain the chaos. It took me the entire time they were gone to make some order! I consider it a great victory that all of the toys are now in the playroom.

This afternoon Jack and Lauren took turns chasing each other around the house in circles. He's getting pretty fast! At one point later on,I thought, what are they doing, it's too quiet, but they were sitting side by side in the playroom quietly playing. I couldn't beleive it! We ventured out onto the lanai for some late afternoon frolicking, but it was so hot Jack was sweating, so that didn't last too long.

Mike put Jack down tonight and he brushed his teeth and read to him (which doesn't normally hapen at bedtime) and Jack seems to be fascinated with babies. He says "Ba Ba!" fairly consistently at babies, pictures of babies and dolls. I don't think you can call it a word yet, but he's becoming quite the babbler.

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Sat, Sep 9, 2006 11:07 PM
Today all four us went to Lauren's preschool classmate Aidan's 3rd Birthday Party which was held at a place called "Pump It Up!" It's got all these big bouncy houses and huge slides. It was so much fun! Lauren had a blast. She is completely fearless. She was the first one to climb the 20 foot slide and she just slid right down, no problem. I couldn't believe it, because half the kids were crying or got scared half way up. Of course the party was right through lunch/nap times, so it was also challenging for Jack. He was so overtired that he was wired and he was wandering around sort of crazed. But it was a fun party, there was a craft project and a pinata, and since there was a pirate theme, she got a treasure chest goody box which was full of booty!

If that wasn't enough, Mike and I then ran home to meet Jennifer before heading off to a USF Bulls football game. Of course every time I saw any kids at the game I just missed ours. But I'm glad we didn't try to bring them, because it would have been entirely too much in one day. In fact, It was a bit much for me!

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Thu, Sep 7, 2006 9:37 PM
Today I left Jack home with Jennifer and took Lauren with me to the membership meeting for the Mom's Club. There was a dentist there as our guest speaker and I now feel so gulity that I haven't taken either child to a dentist yet. Lauren was pretty well behaved but would occaisionally try to steal focus by dancing around up by the stage. (Hmm, a little performer in need of attention, I wonder where she gets that from?) Afterwards I took her to lunch and I couldn't believe how different it is with just her. I was so much more relaxed. I need to do that more often. The words I live by these days are: DIVIDE AND CONQUER!

She did great on the potty both at the meeting and at the restaurant, but then this evening she peed on the couch at home. I blame myself for not reminding her more often. I had to take the whole slip-cover off and wash the cushion covers etc. Thank goodness for Nature's Miracle which breaks down the smell! Ugh.

Another thing I can't believe is that this child has HOMEWORK!! I mean, it's easy, but you have to remember to do it. The class homework was to think of 5 things in our house that begin with the letter C (which is the letter of the week). And the reading homework was to color in the upper case C's with red and the lower case c's with yellow. I'm having flashbacks. . . and wondering when along the line I became such a procratinator! That is definitely not something I want to pass on to my kids!

Jack is 15 months today! My little baby is geting so big!!

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Wed, Sep 6, 2006 10:08 PM
Last night Jack threw up again. I think it may be overfeeding, but I'm starting to wonder if it's maybe reflux. He seemed to feel perfectly fine in the morning.

We had a really busy day. We got Lauren off to preschool, then went to Jack's playgroup, then ran off to pick her up again. Then after lunch and naps I took Jack to get a haircut. This time they used the clippers so it's much shorter than before. He looks so handsome, really like a toddler now, no longer my little baby! He did pretty well considering we had to wait almost an hour before we even got started. The saving grace was Baby Goldfish snacks. Those always perk him up when his energy is sagging!

Lauren was being very snuggly and wanting to be hugged and held a lot this evening when we returned. I'm not sure if it's because of school or what. She also had a peeing accident today. She was looking at her new Princess tiara from Disney in the mirror in the bathroom, and she just went right there through her jeans into a puddle on the floor. I'm thinking maybe she was just overexcited. Oh well, I guess we're bound to have a few setbacks.

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Mon, Sep 4, 2006 8:15 PM
Oh it's so good to be home! Jack took two unprecedented naps of an hour and a half each! He must be working off that sleep deficit. The only thing we did of note today was swim in our pool. I was sitting in the back watching the kids run around, feeling so hot, and it suddenly didn't seem like too much trouble like it usually does! I think I need to take Jack for lessons though. I thought I could try out the routine I learned with Lauren, but he just swallowed a lot of water and I'm too scared to do any more!

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Sun, Sep 3, 2006 9:29 PM
Our first big Disney World adventure is now completed! We got there around noon on Friday and just managed to get in to see the Wiggles show at 1PM thanks to our pals (Alison, Charles, Taylor and her Grammie Glenda)graciously gretting us tickets. We left the boys to have lunch and the girls were just thrilled. Lauren was dancing and waving, it was so cute. It really is like a little toddler rock concert. Then we went and checked into our hotel which was very nice. Huge. Bigger than our apartment in NYC! After trying unsuccessfully to get Jack to take a nap, Mike agreed to stay with him and I took Lauren back with our pals to dinner at the Prime Time Cafe. Lauren did pretty well without a nap, but she was pretty wired. She was fascinated by the view master thingy that they displayed the dessrts on, and it made me think I should get her one of those. But we did get her a Wiggles Backpack which is pink and had Dorothy the Dinosaur on it! So much for trying to resist all the merchandising. . .

Saturday was the big Magic Kingdom day and it was very hot and humid. They managed to go on the Pooh ride, It's a small world, the carousel and the dumbo ride before our fancy lunch at the castle with the princesses. Lauren was quite suspicious of Cinderella. I think it just takes her a little while to warm up, and they want you to hurry up and take a picture before the kids feel comfortable. After lunch Lauren explored Pooh's world which is so cute, and then Jack finally fell asleep in the stroller, so Lauren and Mike did the spinning teacups and also the Indy racecars. Then we saw the parade and then headed back to our hotel to cool off before dinner. Lauren wouldn't nap, but I did get her to lay quietly watching a dvd on her bed. Oh well, it's better than nothing! I stayed home with Jack this time and Mike took Lauren with our pals to dinner and then they went on the Peter Pan ride. They were going to wait for the fireworks but it rained and they were cancelled, so Mike came home sort of soggy with Lauren passed out like a sack of potatoes on his shoulder. That's the first time that's happened! We just took off her shoes and shorts and put her to bed in her t-shirt.

Today we checked out of the hotel which seemd to take all morning, and then we went to Epcot Center. I'm sort of wishing we had gone back to the Magic Kingdom instead, becuase one day is just not enough of that place. Plus at Epcot we did a ton of walking and it was so unbearably hot. At least Jack slept again for a little while in the stroller. We managed to exit the park just as it was starting to rain, which became a torrential downpour. That was lucky, because we didn't have anything with us to protect us from the rain!

So, we're glad to be home. I can see why you need to spend a week there to see everything, but I don't know how people can take it for that long! I'm utterly exhausted!

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