Home Preschool

Maisie had been looking forward to starting her preschool again at the end of January, but unfortunately we underestimated how fast it would fill up, so now Maisie can't go until spring. This was very upsetting to Maisie and in turn, upsetting to me. So I kicked it in high gear and decided we would set apart a couple hours every day to "preschool". Since I love planning, I throughly enjoyed finding activities that Maisie would enjoy, but also activities that would develop her talents and teach her new things. I went to the print shop last month and printed 60+ pages of various worksheets. I was super excited to get started, but after everyone was asleep I grabbed the large stack of papers and thumbed through them. And that's when I had a realization that maybe I'm taking this too far. If she wants to do them that's fine and dandy, but what if she doesn't? Do I push her? Do I focus on just having fun? Or teaching? Both? Should my home feel like a school or a sanctuary? And if I want a good balance how do I go about creating a healthy ratio? 

So after pausing to think about it I decided I would push her as far as she wants to be pushed. Maisie is very vocal about not liking a certain activity or loving another. So I'm following her cues and encouraging her on things she's uneasy about. It's so fun to see her push through (even when she's complaining) to being so proud of herself after conquering a task... this last one? Drawing hearts. And you better believe they are the cutest little lopsided hearts you ever did see. 

So even though I did print out 60+ pages and have an entire workbook we can work on, its not dire to do every single page. And its ok to go out of order if there's a certain page/project/activity that gets her excited. So, if/when sitting down and doing worksheets becomes stagnant I will have a backup craft/activity/books we can do instead. 

Some things that are helping me with Maisie's preschool: This workbook, my "toddler activities" Pinterest board, and I LOVE this website for crafts and fun projects. 

I still can't believe Maisie starts Kindergarten in only 6 months! I'm terrified and so so excited for her. I hope with my help she feels prepared and confident going in, but most of all I just want to play with her. I want to soak up this time I have with her now. I want her to feel loved and accepted more than anything else. Geeze, I am going to miss that little ray of sunshine around the house, but my plan is just to be present- not to worry about the inevitable future. I just want to be right here, right now. And I fully intend to do just that.

An activity we did where we read about and looked at some Monet paintings and then made one of our own.

Ellie Hazel is 6 Months Old!

This little girl is a half of a year old!! Time continues to fly by faster than ever and I find myself torn between feeling like it was just yesterday that she was born and with the feeling that she has been here all along. Theres something about how she feels in my arms that's so familiar- like I have always known her. She is just so cuddly and feels so good to hold- she's sturdy, yet tiny. Squishy, yet strong. Did I mention kissable? Above all else she's so darn kissable. 

Here are some pictures of Ellie at 6 months:

Just finished up a nursing and nap session in the mother's lounge.

first sister bath

Patiently putting up with Maisie's dress up antics

LOVES mirrors. She wakes up each morning to stare and giggle at our stand up mirror.

Lately when I am nursing Ellie she stops and just smiles at me, I have been wanting to get a picture of it for a couple weeks, but never had my phone around me. Finally I got one. She's not smiling per se, but she's lovingly staring and gosh, is she cute or what?

Happs:

Ellie learned how to sit up a few days before she was six months old, but she can now, slightly controlled, get onto her side and roll away from a sitting position. Even when she takes a tumble she has yet to cry (very opposite of Maisie as a baby).

Still has no interest in solid food despite many, many attempts.

Enjoys a sippy cup, but ends up just letting all the water run out of her mouth leading to an outfit change.

Loves pulling herself up when she's holding onto our fingers. She gets the proudest smile whenever she does it.

Said "Dad" last weekend. We were prompting her to say "dada" and finally she belted it out. It made Austin happy, but she's been saying "mama" for a couple months now, so take that Austin!

Still adores being swaddled.

Since Christmas she has been waking up twice each night to nurse. It doesn't bother me very much because she is such a fast eater and falls asleep right after.

Ellie is so mellow. She is alert, but very calm. She can go days, even weeks without crying. If she needs anything she usually complains for a second or two to remind us she's hungry or tired. 

She falls asleep for all her naps by herself. After I swaddle her, nurse her and sing her songs, I put her in her rocker tired, but awake and she falls asleep quickly without a peep. Austin enjoys rocking her and singing to her for a bit at night so most of the times she falls asleep in his arms, but she does just fine going down by herself then too. 

HATES her crib...  any tips for how we can transition her? She still prefers her rocker because it's much cozier.

Favorite toys: Como Tomo Teether and the Munchkin twisty teether.

Favorite songs: "Why I Love You" and "Edelweiss" also any and all songs Maisie sings to her.

We just love our little Ellie baby. She is the perfect compliment to our family.

My Little Valentines

On Friday (the day before Valentine's day) I took the girls out in the backyard to take a few pictures. Maisie hasn't been loving getting pictures taken lately, most likely because she gets stuck holding a baby a lot. Don't get me wrong Maisie adores Ellie and loves to hold her, but her little arms can only take so much (about 3 minutes) until she's ready for a break. I don't blame the girl... Ellie gets heavy in my arms too, so I can relate entirely. Ellie is still trying to decipher if she likes the camera or not, so its hard to get her to smile unless Maisie is on "jump-up-and-down-to-get-Ellie-to-smile-duty." This particular day Maisie was too preoccupied by the swing set and trying to crack her skull open "swing." So it was just me and Ellie left to get some pictures. Ellie was more interested in finding sticks and leaves perfect for choking on and with Maisie moo nearly killing herself on the swing set, lets see here... 3 times, I called the backyard outing/photoshoot off. Luckily I didn't come away empty handed.

Cousins

Over Christmas the cousins were able to play to their hearts content. It was equally fun for the adults too because at least Maisie and Emerson kept each other busy while we talked/watched movies/ played games. Ellie and Jane were still to little to "play" per se, but they were darn cute together- so much chunky thigh goodness. Maisie misses Emerson so much, but hopefully we will be able to get back over soon enough.

p.s thanks Camille for taking so many cute pictures!

1st Ear Infection

So it's happened. We stepped onto new ground as parents. We have now endured the dreaded ear infection. Maisie has been really sick a handful of times, but other than an occasional cold she has an iron immune system. She has never had antibiotics or any medication really. So it all came as a shock when Ellie, our barely 6 month old already needed antibiotics. 

It all started when Ellie (and me) got a pretty bad cold at the end of January. She was incredibly stuffy and nursing and sleeping was hard on her. A few days into the cold Austin and I both noticed Ellie felt warm. She progressively became warmer and warmer until she was burning up. Even with a dose of tylenol it wouldn't come down. That night was rough. The nights before were difficult too, but man, this was crazy. It got to the point that Austin and I had to take two hour shifts- one of us in the bedroom with her and the other on the couch. It was almost impossible to get her to sleep. She would dose off, but quickly erupt in painful cries. And that's saying a lot too because Ellie rarely ever cries. At every one of my "shifts" I would take her temperature and we both became alarmed when it climbed over 103-the poor girl was beyond uncomfortable. I called the doctor first thing in the morning and Austin called out of work because of how exhausted we were and he wanted to help with Ellie throughout the day. The pediatrician squeezed us in and gave her an exam. One inflamed ear and the other infected and to top it off an inflamed throat. He prescribed amoxicillin which we were SO thrilled about - (did you pick up on the sarcasm? Ellie hates medicine. She refuses her vitamin D drops, if I do manage to get her to swallow them she will spit them up. Even Tylenol she will just let it pour out of her mouth). So Austin and I were dreading the twice a day dose for over a week. It was hard, but it paid off. Within a couple days she was back to smiling and laughing. We sure missed that happy little girl. We are so thankful that everything is back as it should, but lets all just cross our fingers that our little Ellie didn't inherit Austin's ear troubles!

This is what a sleep deprived and miserable little baby looks like while waiting for her prescription to be filled.

What is it about having a sick baby/child that makes you feel like real parents? Is it the way your child needs you differently? Is it because you realize that over all else having a healthy child is the most important? Does anyone else feel this way?

Sledding @ The Dunes

Last month when we were still buried in snow and daily high temperatures rarely went above 32 degrees, we went to the sand dunes to sled with our friends. Sarah and I stayed in the car with the two babies while our husbands took the crazy kids up (and down) the hills. I managed to sneak out for a few minutes to snap some pictures, but it wasn't until after the sledding was done, that I realized that the setting I had my camera on wasn't suited to the speed of the sleds and the brightness of the snow (notice the top two pictures) but I'm glad I at least got a few right?

With the weather we've been having lately (55 degrees!) who knows if we will get enough snow again to go sledding so at least we went once this year... thats more than we did last year haha. Also, to be honest I wouldn't mind if spring started and the snow stayed away. This last week as been so nice and getting outside without bundling up has been amazing. This may be wishful thinking, but the forecast so far is looking good!