Silly boy!

Dominic said something today and Jon asked him

"Dominic, where did that come from?"

"From my mouth, Daddy."

I was cleaning out the garage and emptied this clear storage box. Dominic thought I'd brought him a new toy and has spent hours playing with it. Caitlin was a bit confused at first when she couldn't quite reach her brother.

Dominic will hide under this and then yell for us to come "find" him.

I will occasionally allow Dominic to jump on the bed when he has excessive energy that needs to be released. Got some great mid-air shots.

Not sure why, but my bed is one of the funnest places for the kids. They'll roll around and giggle forever. They love to pretend to sleep or hide under the covers. I have to watch Caitlin pretty closely now that she is crawling.

Random stuff

This is my new necklace. I'm not a jewelry person, but I saw this on a blog I was reading and had to check out the website. Since I sing You are My Sunshine to the kids all the time I thought it was cute.

Caitlin was really enjoying Sabbath School yesterday, but she wasn't being very nice to her little Moses. Not sure she'd make a good big sister. =) We went over to the Clarks for supper and a bonfire last night and the kids all piled in the hammock with Jon Clark. Poor guy!

Quiet Time

I have finally hit the nap time jack pot. After months of trial and error and lots of tears I found a solution to nap time.

Dominic hasn't been taking consistent naps for a while now. And it was a fight to get him to stay in his room. He might eventually go to sleep, but it would be late enough that he wouldn't sleep that night or we'd have to wake him up. Then he was grumpy. Caitlin had been in the pac-n-play in our room so she could get a good nap.

I moved Caitlin to her crib and Dominic to our room. I told him that he could watch a movie (his are usually about 30 minutes long) and it would be the ONLY time he could watch tv all day. Then I got some books, stuffed animals and the timer. The timer is set for 60 minutes. He has to be quiet the whole time and can only come out when the timer goes off.

Dominic has had a total change in attitude. He LOVES quiet time and yesterday even asked for it when he got up that morning.

Today Dominic lost his tv privileges. I was so proud of him when quiet time came. Even w/out the movie he was so quiet and didn't once come out until the timer went off.

My days are better as well. No fighting to make him stay in his room and quiet time for me. =)

Firewoman

Caitlin found Dominic's fireman hat and was having so much fun playing with it.

I took the kids to childcare at the Y today so I could do my Pilates. Caitlin was a little fussy because she hadn't taken a nap yet. When I told the guy that usually watches Dominic he said

'Don't worry about it. She'll stop crying as soon as I put her in Dominic's lap. Happens every time." I guess they find things that Dominic can do while holding Caitlin and he will hold her for the first 15-30 minutes I'm gone. Then she's fine and will let him go off and play. I guess since she's tired she wants the comfort of someone she knows. Dominic has told me several times when I've left him at Play Date (if I have a dr appt I can't take him to, etc.) that he can't wait until Caitlin gets big enough that she can come too. A child has to be 1 yr and walking before being left at Play Date. So I have a mommy date planned for when Caitlin starts walking. =)

Isn't it precious that my children love each other so much and miss each other when they are separated?

Being different

Both of my children were nursing 4x a day by the time they were 8 months old. It was probably long before this, but I remember 8 months because while we were at camp meeting when Dominic was almost 9 months old he stopped nursing the 2x during the day. Thankfully I had brought some soy formula along "just in case".

Well Caitlin can't let her brother do something with out her so this past week she's also quit two of her feedings. But she decided to be different than her brother and she skipped one during the day and the one at night. This actually works well for me because now someone else can feed her before bed. So I'm good for book club, movie club and date nights!!! = )

Caitlin-update

Just a quick update on Caitlin's cough situation. She does have asthma, but it is a very, very mild case. She only has to continue her breathing treatments for a few more days and then we just need to watch her and pay close attention if she gets the flu or a bad cold.

If you can't beat them, join them!

Caitlin crawled to the gate to watch the men go downstairs.

Dominic is making faces at her.

My kids are silly and provide tons of entertainment. =) Today on the way home from Greenville Caitlin was getting very excited about a toy she was playing with. Every few seconds she'd let out a little scream. Dominic was trying to watch a video and didn't appreciate the noise. He was being very sweet and polite.

"Caitlin, please don't scream."

"Stop screaming, Caitlin. Please be quiet."

We were amazed at his patience, but I could tell he was reaching the end.

Next thing we hear is two kids screaming.

If you can't beat them, join them.

And We're Off

Both Jon and Caitlin have taken off.

Yesterday at church Caitlin crawled a few "steps" for the first time. It was during the middle of church and I missed it. But then she crawled in Sabbath school when I was able to see. She's been taking baby "steps" ever since. She'll crawl a few feet and then sit back and smile so proudly. This also means that Dominic is having to keep his toys picked up better and he's not crazy about that. =)

Jon had his first solo flight today. I'm very proud of him. Proud for going to school and doing what he's always wanted. Also proud that he didn't crash the plane the first time. =)

Way to go, you guys!!!

Cooking

Dominic LOVES to help me cook. Now anyone who knows me even a little knows that I don't like to cook. There are days when I even hate it. So Dominic is pushing me out of my comfort zone because he wants to cook every day, sometimes for lunch, supper and "cookies for snack".

I had a recipe for Rice Crispie Treats using corn syrup. It was supposed to be less sugar than using the marshmallows. Unfortunately I lost the recipe and when we went to make it tonight I had to improvise. I pulled up the original recipe online, but it didn't list quantities. It showed a stick and a half of butter, a bag of marshmallows and a box of Rice Crispies. So I put one stick of butter (all I had) and 1 cup of syrup in the microwave. After using the entire box of cereal we still had a very loose, sticky mess. (For those of you interested it is 3 tablespoons of butter =), 1 bag of marshmallows and 6 cups of cereal.) I found a recipe that called for peanut butter and I hoped that would congeal it a little. It was now even greasier. All the time, Dominic is shoving the greasy cereal into his mouth faster than he could chew. I would run back to the computer and would return to find his little cheeks puffed out. I'd mutter, stir in something else and return to the computer. By the time I gave up there was about 4 cups of cereal missing and Dominic looked a little green. =) Tonight when I asked him what he was thankful for he said "Mommy cooking with me." I thank God for kids who push me to do things and then love the effort even when the result isn't the greatest.

Anyone want to come over for some peanut butter cereal?
 

My silly kids

Caitlin wouldn't go to sleep for her nap today. I looked in several times and she was sitting up in the crib sucking her thumb and holding her little bear. It got quiet and this is what I saw when I looked in her crib. Dominic was trying to fit in the laundry basket.

Since he didn't fit so well with one basket he decided to add another one.

I told the kids to make faces. =)

When Dominic was small some friends got us this onsie for him. I had to put it on Caitlin and take a picture. It says "When God created me He was just showing off." LOVE it!

Move!!!

Caitlin can only scoot backwards and was getting frustrated because she kept getting stuck under the chair. So she turned around and tried to pull herself up. When that didn't work she started hitting and pushing the chair and squealing.

Breathing treatments & little green men

Caitlin has had a very strange, deep barky (sp?) cough ever since she was born. At first we were told that it was just her lungs getting rid of the fluid from being born c-section. Then it was the fact that she was a baby and babies didn't have as developed lungs as adults. It was always a really plausible reason so I made the assumption that they knew what they were talking about. This past week however the cough got worse and now she wheezes when she breathes as well. Several people told me it sounded asthmatic (sp?) and when it didn't get better I took her to the doctor. To make a long story short they still don't know what's wrong with her. It could be an allergy to something environmental, asthma, or something else. ?? We brought home a nebulizer and some medicine that has steroids in it for asthma and are to return in two weeks. In the mean time we've had "fun" trying to keep her still for her breathing treatments. Dominic makes funny faces to keep her entertained and loves holding her "breathing treatment fish".

Yesterday Dominic was talking to someone. Jon asked him who he was talking to.

"My friend, Wuacomole. He's keeping my brother company"

"Oh, What does Wuacamole look like"

A duh look and then

"He's green, Daddy." (Guacamole, maybe??)

Fragile Girls

Dominic was climbing on Jon this evening.

"Oh, Dominic, don't climb on me."

"Why not, Daddy?"

"Because I'm fragile."

"Daddy, you aren't fragile. Only girls are fragile."

Pump It Up!

(I found this post in my drafts. It's a couple of weeks old, but I thought I'd post it anyway.)

Watching the safety video

We hadn’t been to Pump It Up in a while and the weather has been really hot. So I took the kids the other morning. Dominic is much braver now and will go on everything by himself. He didn’t even ask me to go with him so it was a bit harder keeping track of him since he was moving so fast between bouncy things. It's blurry, but I think you'll get the picture.

Caitlin is too small to bounce, but really enjoyed the little cars that they have there for the smaller kids. She also enjoyed watching everyone.

High Chair

We don’t have a ton of room in our little apartment so we pulled out the portable high chair and attached it to the table hoping to get rid of the larger high chair. Caitlin, for some reason, doesn’t like the large high chair either. I took several pictures of Caitlin in it because we moved into the apartment when Dominic was about this age. We used this high chair then and I wanted to compare. Amazing how much they look alike (at least to me).Our table has one post in the middle and isn’t as sturdy as I would like with the children. I usually put a chair underneath Caitlin so if the table tips over she won’t fall very far (you can see it in the picture). For some reason the chair had been moved one morning. I was finished with breakfast and was in the bathroom brushing my teeth. Dominic takes FOREVER to finish his meals and so I left Caitlin in the high chair to be entertained by her brother so I could brush in peace. I heard a crash and ran into the kitchen. Dominic had leaned on the table in front of her high chair and knocked the table over. The table fell on him and Caitlin fell out of her chair onto the floor. Both kids were scared and I ended up sitting on the floor with both of them in my lap, my mouth filled with tooth paste. I later found my tooth brush on the kitchen floor. Thankfully they weren’t hurt very much. Caitlin has a little bruise on her leg, but that’s it. Caitlin is now back in her large high chair. Dominic didn’t have an older sibling to lean on the table or move chairs so it worked for him, but I guess Caitlin will have to suffer in her big chair.

Mr. Ma'am

A little man came roaring up to me with a shiny red fire hat and sitting on a not so shiny fire truck. 

"What do you need sir?" "Are you sick or hurt?"

"Dominic, I'm a ma'am."

"Oh, yeah!" "What do you need mr. ma'am?"

Beach Day

We went to the beach this last weekend with some friends. We had been trying to go for several weekends, but the weather wouldn’t cooperate. The kids had a blast and Jon and I really enjoyed it as well. It was so relaxing. Our friends had some friends with a beach house on the sound side and we had a little cove to play in. The water was really shallow and so we didn’t have to worry about waves knocking kids over or the sand dropping off into the ocean.

All the men with the kids!

I sun screened everyone twice while we were there, but either missed the eyes both times or the kids wiped their eyes too much and rubbed the sunscreen off. Because when we got home, both kids had little tiny sunburns under their eyes. I felt terrible.

One of my friends brought a little swimming pool that we filled with ocean water and let the babies play in. It worked well and they looked so cute in their own little pool.

Dominic loved the idea of a picnic at the beach, but couldn’t grasp the concept of not touching the sand while holding his sandwich. It got a little crunchy at the end. =)

There was also a little inflatable boat that the kids had a ton of fun playing with. Caitlin even got a short ride in it. One kid would sit in the boat and the others would pull them around.

Pretty cool

Dominic had his six month check-up at the dentist on Monday and the assistant really enjoyed talking to Dominic.

"Dominic, your sister is so pretty. You are too!"

"Thanks, but I'm pretty cool."

Happy Anniversary!

Jon and I have been married for 13 wonderful years. I can't believe we've been married that long and yet in looking back it seems like we were just kids (oh wait - we were!). =) I've been blessed with an amazing husband and he's a wonderful dad to our kids as well. I couldn't ask for a better person to spend my life with.

Jon took off work today and we spent the day relaxing. We went shopping and then had a picnic at the park with the kids. Dominic really enjoyed having his Daddy home during the week and said he liked "annirsarys"

Dominic had fun riding his bike and feeding the ducks. I guess he wanted a better view of the ducks so he tried to climb the fence.