Wow it's been awhile since I've gotten on here. It's been pretty crazy around here lately. Here is a quick update of a few of the things we've been up to:
Mike: Mike has been "working" at the Golf Course all winter but the course is now open so he's back to actually working. He's also been busy picking up shifts at Domino's mainly on the weekend nights. He also was busy fixing his truck over the weekend. On Thursday he was on his way home from work and it died on him. It's an old truck so all of Thursday night we tossed around ideas of what to do - fix it or buy a new (used) car. We decided that on Friday he would try to fix it as long as the parts that he needed wouldn't be too much money. Mike and the mechanic at his work determined that the fuel pump must have gone out so since he has done that before, we decided to spend the $160 and put in a new fuel pump. So Friday after he was done with his work he stayed after and worked on his truck. He put it in and it still didn't work. Big bummer! But then Saturday morning when he went back to work he decided to check the wires. Sure enough, he found that the wire that lead to the fuel pump was corroded and needed to be replaced. He replaced the wire and the truck works!!! Way to go Mike! So, a $1.00 wire cost $160! But at least it didn't cost a few thousand if we would have decided to junk the truck and buy something else.
Rachel: Busy! My bulletin work has picked up the past few weeks because of all of the Lenten services, Confirmation, Quarterly Reports etc. This last week I had 11 hours instead of my normal 6-7. Not that I'm complaining though - I like being busy with stuff like that! And this week we have church Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat & Easter Sunday which will probably mean a few extra hours this week too. Of course though, my housework is suffering but oh well. I've also been busy trying to help Laura with wedding stuff. Did you like the invitations!?! One of the fun things that I did though in the past week was some girlfriends and I took a flower arranging class. Here is a picture of the arrangement I made along with the bow they had us do. It was pretty fun and I wouldn't mind trying to make more on my own some day. The flower shop also has a class around Christmas time teaching how to make centerpieces so we might sign up for that class too.
Bennett: Wow this kid is on the go. He keeps me on my toes for sure. I think I mentioned it in past posts but his latest thing is climbing on the counter. He then proceeds to go in the cupboards and help himself to whatever he wants. This morning he got ahold of Mike's bag of black jellybeans. He dumped out the whole bag and helped himself. I don't know how many he actually ended up eating but his mouth was very black for a long time! Little stinker... Any ideas of how to stop him going on the counter (without me following him around the house) is welcome. This has to stop. He also climbed in the kitchen sink the other morning too and turned the water on soaking his pj's. He always does this when I'm feeding or changing Ashley.
He is LOVING the warmer weather. When he has to come back inside he cries and has a fit for a good 5-10 minutes. I'm afraid I'm really going to have to keep an eye on him this summer because otherwise I wouldn't doubt if he tries to go out by himself. He has started to really like playing with tractors and cars and does a vroom sound or the beep beep sound when he's playing with the bobcat (the sound they make when they back up). Slowly but surely the talking is coming. It is still not enough to make sentences or anything like that but every now and then we get a new word from him. The other day he said "I do" while shaking his head yes plain as could be. This might not seem like much to you but for us it is a big deal!
Black teeth and mouth from the jelly beans
Bennett playing Pat-a-cake with Ashley
Ashley: Nothing too new with her these days. I've gotten her sleep pattern figured out now so that she is in bed by 10:00 and sleeps till morning. She also takes one long nap during the day usually during the same time Bennett is napping which is great! Some times when she's on her tummy she looks like she might roll but nothing yet. She loves her fist - she sucks and chews on it all the time. One day she was chewing on her sleeve though making her entire arm wet with drool. She's sooo smiley but has a thing with my camera. She can be smiling away but the second she see's the camera the smile is immediately gone. So unfortunately you never get to see the Ashley I see all day long.
Ashley's getting picked on by Bennett already.
Bennett: Wow this kid is on the go. He keeps me on my toes for sure. I think I mentioned it in past posts but his latest thing is climbing on the counter. He then proceeds to go in the cupboards and help himself to whatever he wants. This morning he got ahold of Mike's bag of black jellybeans. He dumped out the whole bag and helped himself. I don't know how many he actually ended up eating but his mouth was very black for a long time! Little stinker... Any ideas of how to stop him going on the counter (without me following him around the house) is welcome. This has to stop. He also climbed in the kitchen sink the other morning too and turned the water on soaking his pj's. He always does this when I'm feeding or changing Ashley.
He is LOVING the warmer weather. When he has to come back inside he cries and has a fit for a good 5-10 minutes. I'm afraid I'm really going to have to keep an eye on him this summer because otherwise I wouldn't doubt if he tries to go out by himself. He has started to really like playing with tractors and cars and does a vroom sound or the beep beep sound when he's playing with the bobcat (the sound they make when they back up). Slowly but surely the talking is coming. It is still not enough to make sentences or anything like that but every now and then we get a new word from him. The other day he said "I do" while shaking his head yes plain as could be. This might not seem like much to you but for us it is a big deal!
Black teeth and mouth from the jelly beans
Bennett playing Pat-a-cake with Ashley
Ashley: Nothing too new with her these days. I've gotten her sleep pattern figured out now so that she is in bed by 10:00 and sleeps till morning. She also takes one long nap during the day usually during the same time Bennett is napping which is great! Some times when she's on her tummy she looks like she might roll but nothing yet. She loves her fist - she sucks and chews on it all the time. One day she was chewing on her sleeve though making her entire arm wet with drool. She's sooo smiley but has a thing with my camera. She can be smiling away but the second she see's the camera the smile is immediately gone. So unfortunately you never get to see the Ashley I see all day long.
Ashley's getting picked on by Bennett already.
Thanks for the update! It's always great to hear what you guys have been up to. Gabriel loves going outside too. He begs for it every day, multiple times a day. It's to bad it's been so cold and yucky here lately.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the counter-climbing, I don't think there is an easy solution. But I do have a few suggestions, of course. Is he using something, like a stool or a chair to get up there? If so, do whatever you can to not let him get those things. I remember seeing somewhere a family who bungeed their chair legs to each other so their kids couldn't pull the chairs out. If he can still get up to the counter, put anything interesting into the cupboards and then install child safety locks on the upper cupboards, too. Then, he might realize being on the counter is no fun. Finally, if he still climbs up there, I'd say do your best to not let him be alone in/near the kitchen. If you have to go into Ashley's room to change her, have Bennett come with you. (I know this adds an extra struggle, to get him to come along, but at least he's not going to fall off the counter.) Or, change/feed Ashley as close to the kitchen as you can. Then, if you see Bennett trying to climb, start counting, "1, 2,..." On 3, if he's still climbing, go get him down and put him on time out or give him a swat or some immediate punishment, even if it means having to put down Ashley. I read somewhere that when you have a second child, and when both children need attention, give the attention to the oldest child first because the baby will never remember crying for a few extra minutes, but the toddler will notice if the baby always gets the attention first. I think this goes for dealing with negative behavior, as well as needs like food and hugs. I forget this rule quite often myself, and it doesn't really work once the "baby" is a toddler. And one more idea, which I am not sure would work in your house is to install a baby gate (one that swings open would be great, but expensive) where you enter the kitchen from your living/dining room. I think Bennett could probably still get on the counter from the dining side, and the gate would also be problematic if he wanted to go downstairs to play. But I just thought I'd throw it out there as an idea.
ReplyDelete