DragonBlog

More pics!

Nevermind about that sidebar link I mentioned in the last post. I changed it to the Picasa gallery now instead. AND added more pictures from today. I was showing Kayla what fun "pretty barrettes" could be. What you DON'T get to see are pictures of ME wearing about six different flower barrettes in MY hair too. Because I only took one picture of that, at arm's length, and it went straight into the recycle bin when I uploaded it. Bleh! No makeup, new haircut that I can't seem to brush into submission, and flowery barrettes? Not a chance y'all are gonna see THAT online!

So Nyah!

But Kayla was totally having a blast and hamming it up! Go check it out...

Current Mood: amused

My Little Toddler!

Okay, first off - don't use the link to the left that points to the old gallery anymore. Because I was told to upgrade my installation of the program and it messed up. And my backup restore stuff didn't work. Whatever. The pictures from the past posts should still be on the server and all, but the actual gallery program is down, so no more of that nonsense. The Picasa web thing is working fine for now. In fact - there are new pictures up there and a couple of new videos of Kayla. In one of which, she is WALKING!

That's right. Yesterday, while we were at Cosley Zoo in Wheaton for a field trip with Jareth's summer camp, she was cruising along the benches and then just started wobbly-toddling off to try and check out the deer next to the program area. While Jareth was busy getting to feel the soft fur pelts of foxes and other critters, and checking out a feather and a turtle, his sister was finally taking her first bunch of steps. She's taken one or two to cross a short distance from one piece of furniture to the next before - but not that big of a difference. I'm seeing a huge burst of confidence in her standing now too, and last night she was doing some walking around on the carpet at home too. Oh - and there's a picture of a turtle who totally posed for me. His name is Flare, and I mentioned if the picture was good I'd put him up on the internet. His picture turned out totally awesome - the poser. lol.

Also yesterday, after a LONG wait with her calling me (and everybody else, for that matter) "daddy" (although it was pronounced "dotty" when she talked about me) she called me "mammy" (with some prompting). Today I got her to say it as "mommy" finally, and I think she's slowly starting to figure it out.

Yeah, I know. I'll regret that one soon enough. When I start hearing her whine "moooooooommmmmeeeeeeeeee!" all the time. lol. But, for now, it's SO beautiful to hear her say it. *big, proud-mommy grin*

Painting has begun on the family room downstairs in order to reclaim it from the flood. I recently finished priming most of what needs primer so that we can actually start working on the paint end of things. We also have to get as much crap out of there as we can before we have someone install carpet so we can get back in there. I'm MORE than sick of being squished in the living room as our Living/Family/Office room at the moment. Every time Kayla crawls behind my computer chair I have to be extra careful. I've nearly rolled back onto my cats before when we were down in the family room. I'd be horrified if I accidentally rolled over her little fingers! We NEED to be able to spread out again, even the little bit that having that family room back can afford.

But, unfortunately, there's only so much we can do when we have to take turns with watching the kids. And we can only get babysitting so often. Kayla's still SO picky about people that I can't even pay strangers to come sit with her, so it has to be familiar faces. I left her with some of the other moms yesterday for FIVE minutes to take Jareth to the potty while we were at the zoo, and she screamed the WHOLE time. She was in her stroller and not even being picked up by them. Aparently there was even a singing attempt to calm her, and one little girl drew her a picture on an index card. Which she has treasured ever since - she folds and unfolds it (okay, scrunches and unscrunches really) over and over again and toddles around clutching it like it's the coolest treasure since Little People. lol. The things that will amuse my kids also don't cease to amaze me.

Anyway, the priming is mostly done and we can move on to painting the room and clearing the stuff out. Except for the iguana cage. That sucker is too big to move, so the carpet people will have to move around it. We have to literally break caulk seals and partly disassemble it to get it out of that room, so we're not moving it until WE move.

Brian posted on his blog this morning. It's been a while since he put anything up. He kind of alludes to the reason why, as well. Sometimes it's just better to say nothing at all than talk about the real, problems. This is supposed to be my place to vent - let things out for some relief. Oh well. Maybe when it's all over I can tell the tale. If it doesn't utterly shatter me into a million tiny emotional pieces, that is. I hate that my kids are seeing me go through this. Hard as I try, I can't mask it off all the time. I just try to keep them busy so they don't notice. Camp two days a week. Friday playgroup. Wednesdays there's usually an event too. Mondays I have a playgroup we've been trying out too. All these things are in the mornings and then naptime in the afternoon. Then I try and cram everything else I need to do into their naptime. Just keep busy... swimming, swimming... one foot in front of the other until this is over.

Damnit. I wasn't going to go there. I just wanted to mention that Brian posted, since it's been a couple of months since his last post. I want to just focus on my little girl walking. Walking! And gathering words like nuts for winter as she points to EVERYTHING and looks at me with those gorgeous blue eyes to find out what it's called! Sometimes she'll repeat it back too, albeit a bit garbled. She's learning SO much right now. I almost want to ask her to slow down - to stay my little baby girl for just a tiny bit longer.

That's all for today. Go check out the picasa gallery! I have to snuggle my kids before naptime now. *grin*

Current Mood: indescribable

I must be nuts to even consider it...

Once again, it's been a bit since my last post. I've got this black planner I write all my appointments/places the kids need to be/etc. down in. I've moved over from red pen to black finally, at least. There are only five days on this month that don't have something written on them. Two of those have already passed. Oof. Busy, busy. This is the last week of the current session of Jareth's school. Next week, summer camp starts. We're not doing the summer stuff through the school, but another summer of camp through another group I'm involved with instead. Two mornings a week we'll be trekking out to meet other kids and their moms at a park and do crafts and play. I'm also now on the board for this particular group, as their website gal. Which means I really ought to start going to their board meetings. lol. Then there's other groups who've got stuff scheduled for spray parks and outings, as well as the upcoming Summer Solstice and then our camping trip with one of the moms' groups, to Jellystone Park in Fort Atkinson, WI. We've got a little camping "cabin" reserved to make me a little less paranoid about either kid wandering off out of a tent.

Kayla pulled three "firsts" in one day on me yesterday. First she took a "step" away from a wall to knock over some blocks while we were out playing at Pretend Playground. It was only one full step and maybe a half one after that, and she dropped right down to a crawl again afterwards, but she's getting there! Any day she's going to figure out she's got the capability to walk and she'll be toddling all over the place... oh boy. lol.

The second one was using a fork. We had some sausages for dinner last night and Brian skinned some and cut them into small pieces she could eat, since she hardly wants to eat anything that isn't the same as ours these days. On a whim, I took one of the training forks we have with a chunky handle that little hands can hold and rounded sides so she won't poke herself, and I stabbed one of the pieces up. I show her how to hold the thing and the next thing I know she just pops the piece in her mouth. She got a great kick out of eating the pieces off the fork once we had helped her stab them. She was trying to stab them herself too!

She's been making a sudden, huge leap in communication and understanding lately too. She's trying really hard to talk and tell us what she wants. I can't wait for her to figure it all out, but at the same time she's growing up so FAST! Last night, she and Brian were sitting on the couch, looking out the window, when I closed the drapes as it was starting to get dark. She looked unhappy about it and so Jareth, Brian and I all said "bye-bye outside" and waved at the drapes. The next thing we know she's trying to say "bye-bye" and is clenching and unclenching her little fist at the drapes, in that baby's way of waving. I could have just died from the cuteness!!

I've had this strange desire to have another baby lately. There's an overwhelming sadness sometimes, realizing that Kayla is my last "baby" and she's already playing on her own and almost walking! She only falls asleep in my arms if she's breastfeeding, and only rarely then too. She's so beautiful, and so little, but already she seems to have grown so much. While I agree with Brian that we'd probably not survive another round of non-sleepy, colicky, baby time, there's still this distinct ache that has me wanting to have just one more. Or maybe two more... *sigh* Unrealistic, I know. To be honest, we just wouldn't be able to afford more than two kids. I want a bigger car as it is - I don't know where I'd put another car seat!

It's like a can of worms was opened when Jareth was born. Bearing a child is the most "womanly" thing I have ever done. It's the closest I've come to feeling a connection to my physical self - this task for which my body was made - to bear my children. Something only I can do, and of such amazing significance. It still amazes me that these two little kids grew inside me. It amazes me ever more as they keep growing each day.

Enough ramblings. Stuff to do. More blog another time.

Current Mood: busy