Monday, October 10, 2011
Irvine Park and Railroad!
On Sunday, October 9th we went to the Irvine Park and Railroad to pick out our pumpkins and ride the train. Clayton and Chloe had so much fun, as did Ryan and I! What a fun place Irvine Park is. The train was a definite hit as Clayton is obsessed with trains. I taught him to say "choo choo" and pump his fist like a conductor, so he does it on command when we see a train. The line for the train was 30 minutes long and he patiently waited "choo chooing" away the entire time. Both babies picked out their pumpkins and are so excited to see them sitting on our front porch. They both adorably say pumpkin too! Here's some pictures from our fun afternoon.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
17 Months and Growing!
September was a busy month full of lots of adjustments. I went back to work, thankfully part time again. I am so grateful for my part time job with the time it allows me daily to be with and raise my children and also the financial security it allows us. I work from 10:30-1:15 and the babies nap while I'm gone, so I miss about an hour and a half of time with them. While I'm so happy to have the majority of the day with Clayton and Chloe, it's also been hard because I have absolutely no down time, which is quite difficult when you're pregnant. Second pregnancies are much different than first pregnancies because there is no indulging your every ache, pain, and exhaustion when you have two toddlers to chase after. I'm starting to feel better though, so hopefully October will be a little easier for all of us.
Clayton and Chloe have been so full of it lately. Clayton is a crazy climber. He climbs up slides and then goes down them on his bottom. He can climb on top of the toy box, which is quite scary, so we have to make sure there are no climbing aides (toys he can stand on) near the toy box. He can climb into my Tahoe from the ground, across the passenger seat, and to the steering wheel, which is his absolute favorite thing to do. He's obsessed with "driving." Clayton is talking up a storm, repeating nearly every word you ask him to say. He's always so proud of himself when he says something new. Our favorite phrase is "a-be-dat" or "what be that?" He's started saying an exaggerated "oh" every time something surprises, intrigues, or amazes him. I imagine he gets that from me! Clayton has started listening to directions, like "please pick up the ball and put it in the basket" or "go give the toy to Daddy." I'm thinking he's going to be a great helper with the new baby. Clayton has gone to the bathroom in the potty consistently four nights straight after months of practice and seems to understand poop, but of course doesn't understand that we go in the potty yet. When I ask him to tell me when he has to poop, he grunts and often comes up to me and grunts. We then sit on the potty, but nothing happens. He's starting to get it, though. We were planning to really start trying around the holidays, but now that he's started understanding going tinkle in the potty, we are in full training mode! Hopefully we can be almost potty trained by the new baby's arrival. Clatyon loves building with blocks and then crashing his creation down! Clayton still has the heartiest giggle and definitely is exercising his fits of cries and screams when he doesn't get what he wants. He is obsessed with being clean and neat...crumbs on floor, he picks up and brings to me, string on the carpet, he finds and brings to me, dirt on his hands, he says "uh, uh" until instructed to brush it off, etc, etc, all day long! We love this baby boy so, so very much!
Chloe has the biggest news of all...she is finally walking! Chloe took her first steps three weeks ago. She's still primarily crawling, but walks more and more every day. Chloe is our cautious baby, so she doesn't do things until she can totally do them. She'll walk on her own from one piece of furniture to another or if you put her down on her feet and instruct her to walk, she will, but walking isn't quite her primary mode of transportation yet. She actually walks great when you hold just one hand. Chloe can totally walk on her own, she just needs to get more confident. We are so happy for her and all of her progress! Chloe is talking more and more every day too and really seems to pick up on what her brother says. We truly believe she has roots in Germany because the twang in her words sounds so German! We have full conversations with her where she "answers" every question you ask her with some silly combination of sounds that sound German. Chloe is definitely submissive to Clayton, but seems okay with it. We intervene when necessary, but the pediatrician said that she has to learn how to deal with her brother taking things from her on her own. Most of the time she lets him and then moves on to something new. Once in a while she starts crying pretty hard and when she really gets mad, she bites (not good!). Chloe's tantrums are less frequent than Clayton's but she is the queen of throwing herself on the floor and rubbing her face in the ground. It's really funny! My mom says Chloe is just like me, petite, cautious, and just goes with the flow. She's so adaptable to any situation, which is absolutely wonderful. Unlike Clayton, Chloe seems to enjoy being dirty. In fact the sandier, wetter, muddier, the happier she is! Chloe is such a sweet baby girl who loves giving kisses...we love her so very much!
Here's some pictures from our month.
All dressed up for Uncle KyKy's birthday. Poor buddy showing off his first major boo boo on his forehead.
The stages of a kiss mastered brilliantly by my two little love bugs. Such a precious moment.
Play time!!
Clayton and Chloe have been so full of it lately. Clayton is a crazy climber. He climbs up slides and then goes down them on his bottom. He can climb on top of the toy box, which is quite scary, so we have to make sure there are no climbing aides (toys he can stand on) near the toy box. He can climb into my Tahoe from the ground, across the passenger seat, and to the steering wheel, which is his absolute favorite thing to do. He's obsessed with "driving." Clayton is talking up a storm, repeating nearly every word you ask him to say. He's always so proud of himself when he says something new. Our favorite phrase is "a-be-dat" or "what be that?" He's started saying an exaggerated "oh" every time something surprises, intrigues, or amazes him. I imagine he gets that from me! Clayton has started listening to directions, like "please pick up the ball and put it in the basket" or "go give the toy to Daddy." I'm thinking he's going to be a great helper with the new baby. Clayton has gone to the bathroom in the potty consistently four nights straight after months of practice and seems to understand poop, but of course doesn't understand that we go in the potty yet. When I ask him to tell me when he has to poop, he grunts and often comes up to me and grunts. We then sit on the potty, but nothing happens. He's starting to get it, though. We were planning to really start trying around the holidays, but now that he's started understanding going tinkle in the potty, we are in full training mode! Hopefully we can be almost potty trained by the new baby's arrival. Clatyon loves building with blocks and then crashing his creation down! Clayton still has the heartiest giggle and definitely is exercising his fits of cries and screams when he doesn't get what he wants. He is obsessed with being clean and neat...crumbs on floor, he picks up and brings to me, string on the carpet, he finds and brings to me, dirt on his hands, he says "uh, uh" until instructed to brush it off, etc, etc, all day long! We love this baby boy so, so very much!
Chloe has the biggest news of all...she is finally walking! Chloe took her first steps three weeks ago. She's still primarily crawling, but walks more and more every day. Chloe is our cautious baby, so she doesn't do things until she can totally do them. She'll walk on her own from one piece of furniture to another or if you put her down on her feet and instruct her to walk, she will, but walking isn't quite her primary mode of transportation yet. She actually walks great when you hold just one hand. Chloe can totally walk on her own, she just needs to get more confident. We are so happy for her and all of her progress! Chloe is talking more and more every day too and really seems to pick up on what her brother says. We truly believe she has roots in Germany because the twang in her words sounds so German! We have full conversations with her where she "answers" every question you ask her with some silly combination of sounds that sound German. Chloe is definitely submissive to Clayton, but seems okay with it. We intervene when necessary, but the pediatrician said that she has to learn how to deal with her brother taking things from her on her own. Most of the time she lets him and then moves on to something new. Once in a while she starts crying pretty hard and when she really gets mad, she bites (not good!). Chloe's tantrums are less frequent than Clayton's but she is the queen of throwing herself on the floor and rubbing her face in the ground. It's really funny! My mom says Chloe is just like me, petite, cautious, and just goes with the flow. She's so adaptable to any situation, which is absolutely wonderful. Unlike Clayton, Chloe seems to enjoy being dirty. In fact the sandier, wetter, muddier, the happier she is! Chloe is such a sweet baby girl who loves giving kisses...we love her so very much!
Here's some pictures from our month.
All dressed up for Uncle KyKy's birthday. Poor buddy showing off his first major boo boo on his forehead.
The stages of a kiss mastered brilliantly by my two little love bugs. Such a precious moment.
Play time!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
