Growing Kids...and colds

We have, since declaring Holly size 4T, added size 4T clothes in her clothing cue, but it seems more obvious now than ever that she's growing up.  Her nightgowns are more like nightshirts and her dresses like long shirts, but we usually put leggings or pants underneath during this colder weather.  So we really need to phase out the 3T stuff and bring in more 4T.  Even her dance teacher remarked how grown up she is now compared to two months ago.  And now we are declaring Johnny size 12 months.  He can still fit the 9 months stuff, the sleeves and pant legs are too short.  But I'm going to wait to do any clothing shopping till after Christmas since they might get some clothes for Christmas and we're just way too busy right now to squeeze that in.  And yes...cold season has returned.  The daycare called yesterday and had David pick up Johnny since he felt hot and wouldn't take a bottle.  We think he was fine and just needed his nose cleared of yuckiness so he could breathe and thus receive milk.  David was able to get 14 ounces in him before I got home and didn't feel hot at all.  Maybe after efforts to get him to take a bottle he got frustrated and that set him crying and that usually gets him a little hot.  Regardless, he cooled down and was fine.  I fed him solid food and he nursed last night and this morning like he usually does.  Johnny is sneezing now so that helps get the yuckiness out.  It's more pleasant to wipe his face than to use the snot sucker on him.  Holly has a cold too, but is old enough now to cope just fine.

The Christmas Red Zone

We've finished our Christmas shopping on Friday so basically all we have left is wrapping and shipping.  David and I have a big start on the wrapping and the shipping should be done by tomorrow.  I'll probably do some baking but I haven't thought on that much yet.  I could probably get some sugar cookies done this week since that uses pretty basic ingredients.  It would also make for a fun family activity to decorate sugar cookies.  Holiday really enjoyed it last year.  I'll figure out the rest later.  Saturday we went to my co-worker, Kathy's, Christmas music program at her church. She sings 1st soprano in the choir.  Amongst the Christmas songs were a couple pieces from Handel's Messiah which I sang back in my high school choir.  Holiday and Johnny did pretty well.  They weren't exactly quiet but they were happy and happy children's sounds aren't exactly hard to listen to, are they?  When the last hymn that the choir and audience sang was over, Holiday said at full voice level, "That's a good song!"  She really enjoyed the Hallelujah Chorus too, she couldn't understand why her daddy didn't want to dance with her in the aisles right then and there.  This morning David got up and I thought he was checking on Holly since her monitor was indicating that her monitor device was shut off.  When it didn't come back on I got up and shut off ours and went to see what was going on.  David said the power went out.  Oh yeah...I hadn't realized yet our night lights, fan, heater and everything else was off and I was just wandering around the house in the pitch black.  There was a pretty bad storm overnight and it was still marching on.  So we got ready today by light of flashlights which took a little longer so that's not too bad.  Holiday was fine, she's likes carrying flashlights around.  Johnny's okay as long as he can see everyone.  Disembodied voices aren't enough for him.  The Seattle City Light outage map shows our area was hit pretty hard...for Seattle, and that our power should be back on by 2pm today.  I hope so, or we'll need to find somewhere else to hunker down for the night.

Christmas stuff

Last Friday we went looking at Christmas lights in the area of Crown Hill.  It's not a gated community but there seems to be some kind of understanding that they're supposed to all put up lights for Christmas.  A couple houses were predominately blue and white so they're probably Jewish.  Most people really decorated nicely while a couple others put up a string or two and called it good.  Candy canes seemed to be popular this year.  Holly really enjoyed the lights and was calling them out left and right..."Santa!" "Snowman!" "Candy Canes!"  I could see Johnny back there looking at everything too.  Then on Saturday we went downtown to check out the festivities there.  First we went to Macy's to go see Santa.  There was no line at all, we just had to wait for the family that was on Santa's lap to finish their turn.  Holiday still has no wish to see Santa because she's still really scared of him, but Johnny was able to do the Santa picture.  Poor Holly.  We then took a ride on the carousel which is always a favorite activity for Holly.  After checking out the giant Christmas tree we ate some dinner.  Then we went to Pacific Place mall to check out the live music.  It was a gospel choir singing Christmas songs with piano and full percussion accompaniment and they were pretty good.  For us it just needs to be danceable and you know that Dancing Dave was out there cutting it up.  Holiday has learned enough from her dance class to follow David's lead, that made for a great video.  After that we browsed Barnes and Noble until it was time to go home.  I kind of miss downtown so that was fun for me. 

More fun photos!

 

Johnny was so excited about his new teething toy...

 

...that he couldn't wait to bite it's face.

 

Bath time!

 

Johnny with Grandpa on Thanksgiving Day.

 

Holly had successfully tucked in Molly, one of my mom's dogs.  Rocky is their beagle, you can see his tail in the forefront.

 

Hanging out with Grandpa.

 

Sweet potato time.

 

Mmmmmm....sweet potatoes.

 

Christmas jams from Grandma.

 

The hat already too small.

 

Johnny modeling our Christmas tree.

 

Those Christmas jammies are like knickers on him...they only need to last till Christmas, right?

More Pictures and kids stuff

 

Johnny playing in his saucer.  I love that shirt on him, it's just hard to get him in and out.  Especially if he's been drooling.

 

Petting the horsey.

 

There's great smile.

 

Horseys are simply fun.

 

Here's Daddy Jack-o-lantern which Holiday designed.

 

Here's Mommy Jack-o-lantern, also designed by Holiday.  Remember when I said 'asymmetry' was the theme?

 

Holiday and Anna ready for trick-or-treating.

 

Johnny and Ellie all dressed up.

 

Mommy all cozy on the couch with kids.  Looks like Johnny already zonked out.

 

Playtime with Daddy.

 

Smile!

 

Looks like a typical Sunday morning.

 

And that looks like a typical Sunday night.  Man Johnny's gotten so big.

 

I've been really busy at work so I only just had a break in my time to put more pictures up.  I don't mind too much though, busy is always a good thing in my opinion.  David's work is pretty busy too, especially this time of year with the boat show less than two months away.  It's a good thing we got our Christmas decorations up right away because we've been busy with Christmas shopping and wrapping.  It's amazing how much of our time that takes up, even when we take advantage of free shipping sales and shop online.  Maybe I'll have time to work on Christmas cards tonight.  Last week was a little rough with Johnny.  Maybe it's teething or growing or my milk production or a combination thereof, but Johnny had a really hard time going to sleep.  I have since started taking an herbal supplement at the advice of my doctor and it does seem to help.  Johnny's still gaining weight so I know he's getting enough.  I think our living space was partly to blame, that it was simply too stimulating for him to calm down.  So one night I was desperate and found a Fatboy Slim concert on cable.  It worked...nothing like a lot of repetitive dj music and flashy lights to put a baby down.  We just have to tone the house down so Johnny can wind down for the night.  He does seem to like music to put him to sleep.  He's doing much better now.  His teeth have grown in enough that he's figured out how to grind them together.  Holiday did that!  I had forgotten that awful sound.  He's also figured out how to shake his head "no".  I don't think he's actually saying "no", he can just do the head shake motion.  I've been getting more of Holly's old toys out and Johnny's really taken with the blocks.  That's something that Holly's been enjoying playing with Johnny, she stacks them and he knocks them over.  It's a great game.  Johnny's also enjoying the experience of solid food.  He really chows down.  He leans forward with every spoonful so he can get it a fraction of a second quicker.

Catching up on photos again

 

Mommy and Johnny sitting in Holiday's chair.  It's quite comfortable.

 

Daddy's giving Johnny a bath.

 

Holly's 'helping'.  Johnny got really splashy so his baths all take place in the bathroom now.

 

This is Holiday's Halloween costume this year.

 

What a great bunch of smiles.

 

Close up!

 

Princess Holiday.

 

Mommy and Johnny playing Le Havre.

 

I wonder if these made it on Board Game Geek yet.

 

The many faces of Johnny.

 

More smiling.

 

Some tongue action.

 

And back to smiling.

 

We had a great Thanksgiving and a great time visiting with family and friends over the weekend.  David's turkey was a success as was all his other dishes as well.  I think the kids' schedule got a little out of sync because there were a couple of melt downs due to fatigue.  We got our Christmas decorations up Sunday night and Holiday helped with that.  She's pretty excited about that.  The ornaments she put on were placed about a dozen to every twig.  I spread them out a bit after she went to bed so she hasn't noticed.  Every morning when she gets up she's surprised and excited to see the Christmas tree.  Johnny just likes the Christmas kitty that sings "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" in meow-ese.

Thanksgiving preparations

Pretty usual happenings in the Anderson house.  Johnny's doing better with teething, Holly's still dancing through the house and David's getting over his cold.  We had family pictures done this last Saturday, Johnny did really well and Holly did okay.  It's probably a toddler thing, but I still liked the pictures we got.  We did finish the bulk of our Thanksgiving shopping.  It's a good thing David already cleaned out the refridgerator so we had room.  We have the turkey in the thawing process right now.  I made a shopping list and forgot it at home, remarkably I was able to remember everything on the list.  We didn't do any yard work this weekend because the weather has been so wet and windy.  David and I have been do our best to keep up with it, so the bushes and lawn look great, with some leaves down but not bad, and there's always weeding to do but I consider the flower beds to be in decent shape.  I still think that's better than most people.  There's simply a lot of die-off in autumn anyways so I just clean it up as I go.  My mom is hosting Thanksgiving this year.  My sister Kelly will make the haul from Spokane and will get to meet Johnny for the first time so that's exciting.  We'll just bring the playpen and the saucer so we can function with Johnny.

The balloon song and other kids' stuff

The other night Holly sang us the 'Balloon Song' (which is pronounced 'bawoon').  It's a song that Holly made up so it's absolutely fantastic.  It went on for several minutes and David even joined in.  Sometimes it required Holly running into the kitchen where I was at the time to incorporate mommy in the kitchen doing dishes, into her song.  We have our Christmas coo-coo clock up now so she's excited about that.  In one of Grandma Linda's recent packages she sent Johnny a giraffe teething toy that squeaks.  I pulled it out of the box and started squeaking it and Johnny turned around to see what the squeaking was and just had to have it.  He immediately bit it's face.  That was an instant hit if there ever was one.  We've been upping the tummy time because Johnny's been trying so hard to be able to crawl.  He either gets his front end up or the back end, has been unsuccessful to do both at the same time, but he's trying.  We can't just leave him in his cradle anymore because he can flip over in it now.  He doesn't move if he's asleep in there, otherwise we have to stick him in the saucer if we have to leave the room.  We're still practicing sitting up unassisted too.  Johnny's teeth have made a lot of progress coming down so I hope the actual cutting part is done.  He had a fever on Tuesday so I stayed home with him.  It was a long day of crying and napping with a few moments of happy baby time.  Thank Goodness we had Tylenol on hand.  His fever broke that night and for the last two nights he's slept through the night until I wake him up.  Woo-hoo!

Johnny's 6 month check up

Johnny had a check up today:
19lbs 6.6 oz (80th percentile)
27 inches (77th percentile)
8 teeth total (yup another tooth)
All the 6 month shots plus the flu shot

I've decided to continue breastfeeding since it's still working out.  If Johnny and I can make it till he's a year old we won't need to do formula at all.  So as long as Johnny and I are still happy with the breastfeeding situation, we'll carry on.  We might have to get a new car seat for him sooner than later though.  It's rated for 22 lbs but the straps are as big as they get.  Other than that we just need to get his vitamins in him.  He'll need a flu shot booster next month. 

Holiday had her flu shot today as well:
31 lbs
37 inches tall

We bought her some 4T panties and a pair of pajamas.

Growth Spurting

Remember two days ago when I wrote that Holiday was still 3T...?  Well, now she's 4T.  Suddenly her dresses seem too small, especially since we're putting leggings and long sleeved shirts underneath now.  We don't presently have much in the way of 4T yet so the clothing 'field' is completely open.  She still has clothes that fit, so she'll wear those until she can't, but they're definitely on their way out.  I probably need to go through both Johnny and Holiday's clothes and get rid of some stuff.  On another note, remember two days ago when I wrote that Johnny has two new teeth...?  Let's make that count 5 making a grand total of 7 teeth with 1 on the way.  Five teeth is a lot to break through all at once.  Johnny also was officially 6 months old yesterday, we have a check up for him scheduled on Monday morning.  Holiday will get her flu shot too.  David and I still need to get ours, we'll do that some Saturday when we have time.  Johnny is grabbing at toys (and remotes and phones) much more now.  So we're cracking out more of Holiday's old toys for him to play with.  He really likes rattle toys, they way he shakes them (which is really wide) is the most deliberate rattling I've ever seen.  Have him standing up in his saucer and give him a rattle and Johnny is the happiest baby in the world and thus he chirps away.

More teeth...

Johnny has some more teeth, one came in on the bottom last week and this week one of his front top teeth came in.  The grand total is 4 teeth and we can see 4 more teeth that will bust through any second.  That's a lot of teeth to have all at once.  Johnny was kind of fussy this weekend...which is understandable.  He hasn't quite gotten up to a fever though which is good.  But it's much more difficult to feed him because he just doesn't want it, and that's majorly frustrating for me.  There's been requests on sizing on him and his current sizing is still current.  The next size will be the 12 month sized stuff, but I have no idea when that shift will come.  I did go through what I have for him in the 12 month sizes and it seems to be mostly jeans and coats with a smattering of other stuff.  So he'll need oneses and pajamas and regular cotton pants too.  He's got a lot of socks so they'll probably a while (depending on growth spurts of course).  It does seem like my children are a little bobble-head-like so their hat sizes are a size ahead of everything else.  Johnny's got only one hat that fits him right now, so he'll need something for the future.  Holiday's sizing is still all the same at 3T but getting taller.  We watched her dance class this last weekend and she's learned quite a lot.  She's also been enjoying our trips to the library, checking out books. 

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We'll celebrate by having Sunday brunch this Sunday at the Ivar's Salmon House, but Daddy can have his presents tonight. ;) 

The Halloween report is that all went well.  The rain gave us enough of a break that we were able to do door to door trick-or-treating.  Holiday loved it... "Twick-o-tweat!" "Happy Halloween!" "Thank you!"  "You're wearing bunny ears!"  It just didn't get old.  Her jack-o-lantern basket got so heavy that she either had to carry it with two hands or pass it off to someone else to carry.  It was quite a haul for a 3 year old.  I've looked over every piece and not only do I think they're all save to eat, I think Toni and Drew neighbors give out pretty good candy.  There was only one tootsie roll in the bunch (man I hate those...they're like 'almost' candy).  Johnny was getting fussy towards the end but he's usually in bed for the night by then.  We were only out for an hour.  Johnny went to bed pretty well, Holly took a little convincing but it wasn't the worst.  She probably fell asleep within the hour.  In spite of David and I going to bed about the usual time, we overslept by a half hour this morning.  We're still pretty tired I guess, but we managed to kick it in gear and get out the door on time after having that initial wake up freak out moment.  We just have to move like crazy.  I don't think I could handle doing that very often.  Marie, our daycare lady, even had time this morning to sing David a Happy Birthday song.

It's Halloween

Holiday is really excited about trick-or-treating this year.  We'll see if the rain lessens enough to go door to door, but the Northgate Mall is our plan B just in case.  Holiday is going to be Ladybug Girl (from the children's book) and Johnny will be a teddy bear.  The teddy bear outfit is like a bunting outfit so he'll be really warm, but it'll be good for any weekend outdoor activities through the cold weather so we'll get a lot of use out of it.  We'll be trick-or-treating with the Prestons this year so Holly will be happy to have her Anna back.  Then everyone else passes Johnny around, which is good because he's getting heavy and that can be hard on one's back.  I should probably weigh him just for curiosity's sake.  He's doing this thing now that he won't poop for three days and then has an absolute blowout, which usually happens at daycare for some reason.  He farts all the time so it's not like he's not trying, and let me tell you, those are a doozey of a cheesy puff kind of farts.  Johnny's been eating like crazy and he does feel really heavy when I first get him out of the crib in the mornings.  He likes getting changed.  He puts his toes in his mouth when he's on his changing table so I got to get him to put his legs down so I can get him dressed.  Oh, the flexibility of babies.  Johnny's also starting to like his saucer more so he spends more time in there.  I'm starting to see tooth buds for his upper front teeth, he's been working on those for a while now.  Holiday is growing up fast too.  We carved jack-o-lanterns the other night so Holly was really excited about that.  We had her draw the faces and we carved them out.  Let's just say 'Asymetric' is the theme.  Now she has a jack-o-lantern (a word she knows really well by the way) trick-or-treat basket and has to have it with her at all times.  Holly's is really comprehending quite a bit now and asks lots of questions.  David and I are hard at work to keep her interested and challenged.

Another usual weekend

We pretty much had ourselves a standard Anderson family weekend, which is great.  Holiday's dance class started tap this last lesson and the teacher specifically told us that Holly did really well and she was really pleased with her.  While Holly was having her lesson, Mommy was getting a driving lesson from Daddy.  He said I did well, I'm sure I need tons of practice still, but I felt far less freaked out.  So hopefully I'll start feeling comfortable with it soon.  Our van is new enough that everything is able to adjust to my size which helps a lot.  Johnny is spitting up a lot lately but I pretty much attribute that to teething.  It seems like he wants to move around more, like he's just going to get up and walk, so maybe he'll start crawling soon.  He does this thing where he stiffens his body if he doesn't want to sit on your lap.  He's much more grabby lately, so watch your hairs including facial ones.  Oh and earrings too.  Johnny is very interested in his environment so if he hears a noise coming from somewhere he contorts himself so he can try to see what it is making the noise.  If he's on my lap and I'm talking he stretches his head back to look at me.  If he's in his cradle in the living room he'll stretch around to see cartoons or football or whatever on tv, the same thing if anyone is playing behind him too.  Or even coming in the front door, it's pretty funny to see.  He also laughs really hard if anyone says, "Beep! Beep!"  David and I got yardwork done like we usually do.  My pumpkins are still really green, so I cut them off the vines and put them in my greenhouse.  They were orange on the bottom where they were against the ground so they probably need to get warmed up. 

Remlinger Farms Pictures

 

Silly Mommy

 

 

Silly Daddy...I admit Daddy was way funnier than Mommy.  This one got giggles from Holly.

 

 

Holly on the train after eating a donut.

 

 

Some of the grounds from our seats in the train.

 

 

There were scarecrows everywhere.

 

 

Here's a shot of the locomotive.

 

 

Mommy on the train!

 

 

Johnny was really enjoying chewing on his jacket.

 

 

Looks like he already chewed out the zipper pull.

 

 

Some horses while we're on the train.

 

 

I never seen so many scarecrows in my life.

 

 

You don't understand...so many scarecrows.

 

 

More grounds.

 

 

There was a lot to see from the train.

 

 

Even alpacas.

 

 

Now we're in the barn.

 

 

Little goat.

 

 

Holiday loved that merry-go-round.

 

 

Did that three times.

 

 

This is the canoe ride.

 

 

She had a lot of fun with that one too.

 

 

Holiday on Coconut.

 

 

She really liked the pony ride.