I really do plan to post more frequently this summer :)

I promise I haven't given up on the blog. It's been hard for me to keep it updated, but rest assured the kids are still growing, still funny, and still cute.  We've been staying busy by staying outside now that the weather is getting warm...okay well, we at least take advantage of the warm 70+ degree weather before it dips back down into the 30s. What a strange Spring this has been!  Remember those beautiful 3 days a couple of weeks ago when it got up into the 80s? We jammed as much outside time as we could before the cold front came in. So much so that I was actually excited about the cold and hopefully getting a "break" from all the activity.  During those three days, we visited at least 5 parks, played with bubbles for HOURS, had picnics, splashed in buckets of water, and came in every night with 1 or 2 skinned knees.  Glorious! I hope the warm weather sticks this time.

Operation "get Makael fat" is going pretty well.  There are no noticeable "chubs" per say, but he feels heavier, he's noticeably taller, and I've officially been able to put all of the 9 month clothes away, along with most of the 12 month stuff..never mind he's closer to 2 now. The biggest difference I have seen is in his overall demeanor.  He's a much happier kid and has been flashing his killer smile a lot these days :) He seems so grown up now. Sure he still doesn't talk much, but he understands everything and always finds some way to communicate whatever it is he wants me to know. He's just the most precious!

Gemma got to visit cousin Ariya's dance class a couple of weeks ago. It was "bring a friend to class" day. I am planning on enrolling her in the fall anyway so it was a good opportunity to see if she will like it or not.  She loved it! Probably even more than swim class...if you can believe that.  She seemed a little hesitant when I was getting her ready at home, but she joined right in once we were there. There was no question who the seasoned dancer was between her and Ariya, but she really did give it her all. Watching the two dance side by side was almost too much cuteness to handle.

Gemma got upgraded to a queen size bed last week.  Can you say spoiled?!  The reason we did this was to have a bed big enough to accommodate guests when they come to visit. We had the bed that was in our guest room (at our old house) painted white to match her other furniture. It turned out beautifully!  Unfortunately, what I thought would be a simple switch ended up being somewhat of a project.  Where I originally thought the bed would go prevented us from being able to open her dresser drawers.  Queen beds are big apparently. So I ended up taking her book shelf out, taking things off the wall, patching up the holes, repainting the walls, painting some shelves, hanging everything back up on the walls in new locations, and buying new bedding.  I loved every second of it!  Have I told you how much I love decorating rooms?  Kids rooms are by far my favorite. Hopefully guests don't mind staying in a pink girly room when they come to visit...at least until we have a proper guest room in our basement . You should see how teeny tiny Gemma looks in her new bed!

We will have a back yard fence in tomorrow! I never thought I would be this excited about a fence, but boy howdy am I ever. When you have a little boy who likes to be outside as much as Makael does, a fenced in back yard is a must. This fence is more for him than it is for the rest of us, so he better like it!

Gemma asked if she could borrow a towl.  She didn't tell me it was to drench the entire vanity in water.  

Still little enough to be able to jump on the bed.

Showing off his killer smile...and new electric toothbrush.

Still loves to turn things on and off. Good news...he's actually liking water more these days.

Ready for dance class.

Gemma found her spot...notice she didn't wait for Ariya's help.

Stretching.

So worn out he didn't even wake up while having lunch with daddy.

It was a big day I guess...this is nap 2.

Sharing nicely. :)

Part of her (even bigger) girl room.

Beautiful!

It is what it is...

Any parent can tell you that there are good days and bad days when it comes to parenting. Some days are easy and you can't think of anything better than spending time with your kids. Other days may seem like you're fighting an uphill battle and you're just holding on until you can put them in bed and call it a day. Maybe that sounds bad coming from a mother of two, but truth be told, that can be said about almost everything in life.

I'm not sure how to classify this day...it doesn't really fall in either category.  I'm going to start a new category and just call it "Odd". Our morning was pretty ordinary. The kids woke up, had a glass of milk,  Gemma ate breakfast, Makael refused breakfast, we all got dressed, made beds, played for a while, and headed to Gemma's swimming lesson.  I think that's when all the strangeness started.  First off, Makael decided to be interested in the stash of goggles they have for the swimmers.  He has seen those goggles for weeks now, and has never once even tried to grab one.  Today he wanted to wear them.  Odd but okay...I'm fine with that.  He wore goggles the entire 30 minute class, and walked around waving at people.  Now if you know Makael, you know why that's somewhat strange.  He doesn't typically like strangers, much less walk up to them waving and wearing swimming goggles. That sounds more like something Gemma would do...although not today.  Today she was that little swimmer who freaked out about everything. She didn't want to do her kicks, arm strokes, or even her floats (which is typically her favorite), but oddly enough was eager to jump in (which she hasn't done since her first lesson when she got water up her nose after jumping off the blocks).  There was definitely some role reversal going on with those two. Weirder than that though, was the fact that the bulk of the class was in the dark.  Five minutes after class started, the storm took out the power. They got everyone out of the water for about 30 seconds until the owner came back in and said it was okay to go back in the pool. She explained that the power was back on (which we knew since the office lights were on) but the pool lights took a while to warm back up. We could see everyone due to the office lights, but it was still pretty dark.  I guess the darkness would explain Gemma's abnormal dislike of swimming class, but it doesn't explain why Mr. Goggle Face was suddenly an extrovert.

Nap time/ room time was also very strange today.  Makael has been playing great in his room if I give him room time, but I will put the rail on his bed if I want him to take a nap instead of play...and today I wanted him to nap. So I got his room ready and put him down.  Gemma also went to her room for room time.  I was looking forward to a little bit of a break to get things done around the house.  Wouldn't you know, Makael figured out that he can in fact get out of his bed when the rail is up (I'm honestly pretty surprised it took him this long).  As I'm walking to his room, because he's banging on the door and yelling for me, Gemma walks out of her room completely naked! Definitely a first for her. Appearantly her clothes were "itchy" today.  I told her to go put something more comfortable on, to which she replied "I need your help though". So I put Makael back in his bed, helped Gemma get some comfortable clothes on, and returned to my house work.  10 minutes later I hear more banging on Makael's door, and just as I'm about to go check on him for the second time, Gemma walks out again asking me if she can go to the bathroom...wearing a completely different outfit...I guess she didn't need that much help after all.

So nothing has happened that would really make this a "bad" day, but then again, nothing has gone like they should to make it an easy "good" day. It is what it is.  A day when I don't get as much done around the house and my kids decide to try out new "tricks".

This picture is completely unrelated to today's post, but one of my favorites. 

Pictures Galore!!

Hard to believe in one week we went from this...

to this...

I rather enjoyed the snow though. We got an extra whole day with daddy at home, I got to clean the whole house (which I actually enjoy doing), watched movies with the kids, and made cupcakes with G.

  

As fun as that was, I'm glad winter is behind us and warm weather in our near future.  We had our first trip to the park last week. This was the first time in three years that I wasn't pregnant or having to hold a baby most of the time.  I got to sit on a bench, drink some water, and just watch to make sure they didn't get hurt. So nice!  Makael was more interested in throwing dirt or running up and down the sidewalk than the slide or swings, and Gemma of course made a boyfriend in the first 5 minutes we were there.  

Gemma just started her final swim session.  I honestly had no intention of signing her up for three different sessions, but I never thought she would love it as much as she does.  She has come such a long way.  She can now hold her breath under water for ten seconds.  She likes to take baths almost every day now to "practice".   As long as we can get her little brother to like the water this summer, we might just live at the pool.  

She wanted to practice holding her breath in the sink haha

This girl's personality doesn't cease to amaze me. This is her "dancing"...

 Makael made the move to a "big boy" bed last week! I was so nervous about the transition, thinking I would have to fight him every night to make him stay in bed. Thankfully it couldn't have gone better and he loves it!

I found this when I went in to get him after room time. Definitely a perfectionist.

It melts my heart when they play together. I could just sit and take pictures the whole time...

...even when it's Gemma helping Makael get into trouble.

They are two cuties for sure!

Litte Man is 18 months!

Technically Makael is closer to 19 months now, but he just had his 18 month check up last week so I wanted to wait.  He weighs 20 lbs 3 oz, putting him back down into the 5th percentile, and is 32 inches tall which puts him in the 25th percentile (falling from the 50th).  Not too big of  drops so his pediatrician wasn't overly concerned, but we still need to go back in three months for a weight check just to make sure.  The doctor might not have been concerned, but I left the appointment feeling pretty discouraged.  As hard as I try the boy will NOT eat! It's not even that he's picky, he just has no interest. Most of the time I can get him to take a bite of whatever I put in front of him, and then he's done. I think the only thing keeping him from starving himself is that he loves milk, especially chocolate milk. So...I just got back from the grocery store and my pantry is now stocked. Operation "get Makael fat" begins tomorrow. I skipped right over those 60 calorie pudding cups, and went straight for the 150 calorie cups of creamy goodness! I'm going to try and maintain our healthy eating habits and minimize processed foods, but at this point the objective is to get calories in him.

He has definitely turned a corner in his talking.  I'm loving that he's using words more rather than grunting, but hearing "up" over and over can get just as old. He can get away with it though, his little voice is the cutest thing you've ever heard.

I don't know if it's his teeth coming in, the fact that he's perpetually in starvation mode, or it's that we are approaching the terrible twos... but we have been seeing a little too much of his defiant side.  Sometimes I wonder if he has an anger issue. Seriously! Anytime something doesn't go as planned (his ball falls down the stairs), or he can't figure something out (how to get a lid off of something), he loses it. He will throw or swing at whatever is closest.  Maybe it's a boy thing? I have no idea. All I know is I've been having to get much more strict with him and address those little (huge) temper tantrums.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that in a few days after I've managed to get him to consume some calories and his incisors have popped through, he'll be my sweet boy again.

Contrary to what you might think after reading that last paragraph, things haven't been all bad.  He's doing so many new big boy things that make him lots of fun.  He initiates games now like hide and go seek, chase, and getting Gemma to race him around the house.  This afternoon while we took a walk around the neighborhood, he would stop and get a serious look on his face, wait for us to be a ways in front of him, then sprint and giggle as he passed us before coming to a dead stop again. It was hysterical! We had no idea what he was doing but it was clear he had his own little game going. He also realized how much fun splashing in a puddle can be. See? That snow was good for something... It was all fun and games until he realized he was wet, then he refused to take another step and proceeded to whine at us while trying to take off his clothes. Ha! He still has an aversion to water but he's getting better.  We at least know he likes playing in the rain...

It was raining pretty hard and freezing but he didn't seem to mind all that much.

He's an expressive little guy :)

Getting Through Winter

I'm pretty impressed with us this winter.  No one has been sick (not even with a cold) since the second week of January. I feel like I've spent the last 8 weeks holding my breath wondering who will be the first to catch the "next virus". So far we've been lucky, although I'm currently trying to ignore Makael's slightly runny nose,  I'm so happy March is finally here and warm Spring weather is on its way.

The kids are doing great.  Gemma is loving her swimming classes.  She's come so far since her first lesson, and although she might not be a proficient swimmer before pool season gets here, it's comforting to know she's relaxed and comfortable in the water.  Not that she wasn't before, but I feel like she has more control now.  Not only am I impressed with her swimming, more than anything I'm impressed by how well she follows direction and how focused she is for the entirety of the class.  She's going to be a good student I think.  Although, she's the only one that HAS to have a conversation with the instructor before EVERY turn... "No I don't want to put my goggles in the water, just up to my nose"... You should see her back floats though! She's a pro.

Makael has really turned a corner with his talking.  He repeats almost anything I ask him to, and he has even started taking the initiative to communicate with words.  Some of his favorite words include:
Yes, Yeah, Papa, Nana, Daddy, Alvin (which he has to yell out just like in the movie), Dave (also from the movie), please, Ariya, blocks, and last but not least...Mommy. Finally!!! The other day he even said, "mommy please" while reaching for me.

In case you didn't catch it before, he's really into watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks".  And by really into it, I mean the first thing he says in the morning is "Alvin"... and again, he has to YELL it. Along with Alvin, he enjoys turning light switches on and off until you go crazy, getting every appliance out of the kitchen cabinets, pushing the buttons on the dishwasher, turning the water faucet off and on, slamming doors, and playing with empty containers from the recycling bin.  Toys? Who wants those?

He's starting to show signs of being a perfectionist. Not sure how I feel about that but given his family history I can't really be surprised.  He's very meticulous with his block towers.  They need to be stacked just right. I've even seen him turn them so they're all facing a certain direction, and he gets really upset if someone knocks them over.  What boy doesn't like to knock over blocks?!

Here's a little preview of our winter. I still haven't figured out why I can't upload videos.  I've got some good ones!

We thought Spring was near, and then this happened...

Brushing her teeth is the highlight of her evenings.

I've got some flirtatious kids.

Not very visible in the picture, but this was his first MAJOR fall. Sad day.

We played lots of indoor sports.

Looked for animals walking in the snow. 

Went to swimming (sorry it's blurry).

 There you have it...I'm looking forward to more outdoor pictures in the near future.