New Skates! New Camera!

Got a new camera for Christmas so I've been experimenting with the movie mode. Here is a video of Maggie putting on a roller skating show. Its amazing how much she has improved since I took this about 5 days ago. She really has the skate and glide motion down. I'll have to do an "after" video for comparison. :)

Starting Solids!

Sean is having a good time in his new high chair. He loves to chew on his spoon. We tried a little pear today on the spoon, and he sort of ate it. Not bad for a first try. Nothing came back out and he tolerated it quite well. He prefers the spoon without food on it though.

It looks like Sean may have a sensitivity to wheat. I let him try some zweiback toast over Christmas and he promptly broke out in hives. I later found out that the eczema on the backs of his legs and tummy may be wheat related as well, so I have cut out all wheat from my diet to see if Seans symptoms improve. Sean won't get wheat at one year old (which is when you are supposed to first sample it) and will have to wait until 18 months or 2 years of age to try again while his gut unlearns the allergic reaction to it. If he is still allergic then, he will likely have to avoid wheat his entire life. :( Lets hope he outgrows it.

Isn't that a cute little bib Sean is wearing? With cookie monster on it? Well, I washed it tonight and it is now pink! Grrrrrr! I washed it with the evil red tablecloth that dyed another load pink earlier this month. Why can't I learn??? All my Christmas towels and kitchen cloth like hotpads, etc, are now pink. This tablecloth is headed to the Goodwill.

Is it just me? or.....

...do these kids have all the same expressions??

No denying they are siblings!

Merry Christmas everyone!

The Nutcracker

Maggie and I went to see the Nutcracker put on by Ballet Arizona. It was a very big production hampered only by the fact that Maggie couldn't sit still during Act II. :P Here she is dressed up in her finest.

Sean and Glen stayed home. I left a bottle, but Sean went happily for 4 hours without eating. He definately nursed when we got home. The ballet took place downtown Phoenix in Symphony Hall. Maggie got to see her old preschool pal, Maddie. One of my old students recognized me. She is in grad school now. Ugh! I feel old! Only 4 days of school left until Christmas Break.

Another Doctor Visit for Sean

Saw the ped again today. Sean's ears are totally better and without the use of any antibiotics. Yay! She proclaimed him healthy and then he got his 6 months vaccinations. Poor little guy cried a bit, but was calm after the nurse left. I believe he got more agitated when they took his temperature rectally. His face turned purple and he screamed!!! Ok. So no more doctor visits until the 9 month well check. Hopefully he stays healthy.

Maggie is doing well, except she is just exhausted by the end of the week. Kindergarten is hard work! The reports home from the teacher generally start good on Monday, and get progressively worse by Friday. :( Her teacher said she was "excessively emotional" today. So we filled her up with pbj and tried to get her to bed early. Unfortenately, we ran into some of those emotions when we asked her to clean up this HUGE mess of packing peanuts she made (Thanks Stephen) so bed didn't arrive until almost 8 o-clock. But at least the peanuts are picked up now. Bleh.

We had planned on visiting the train park tonight for a train ride to the north pole, see the cool lights, and visit with Santa. But nobody was up to it when the time came. Some other day. Tomorrow Glen is chaperoning the xmas dance in my place and Sunday, Maggie and I are going to see the Nutcracker Ballet with some other moms and daughters. I hope Maggie can make it through... Ok. Enough stressing. Time to go eat some icecream. :)

Christmas photos

Got the Christmas tree up and it inspired me to take some pcitures...try to capture the moment as it were. However, all Sean wanted to do was suck on Maggies face. So, the following are the best pictures out of 50 that I took. Which would you like to see inside your Christmas card? Vote for your favorite!

1. Sean going for Maggie's nose.

2. Maggie hefting Sean up by the diaper.

3. Distracted by something off camera.

4. Getting tired of all these photos.

5. Sean looking dazed and confused.

6 month well baby visit

Took Sean to the ped today. He is 19 lbs (50th percentile) and 28.5 inches long (98th percentile). He didn't end up getting his vaccinations today because the doc was concerned about his ears. They are a little red and she wants to wait and make sure he doesn't have an ear infection before doing the vaccines. He seems fine and is in good spirits, but we have an appointment next week to check on those ears.

We were hoping to get our xmas tree today, but it is raining, raining, raining. Maybe tomorrow... Its the weekend....YAY!

Houston...the baby is sitting and laughing!

Sean can sit unsupported! Well...sort of. He tends to fall over when he reaches for a toy. But I can't believe my little baby is so grown up! Ack! He can't sit himself up yet. And he still doesn't roll from tummy to back. He will roll from back to tummy when he is reaching for a toy, but tries to be careful not to turn all the way over because as soon as he has the toy, he rolls back to his back. He definately prefers sitting though.

Today was also his first documented laugh. He is very good at the silent smile and likes to coo and "talk", but he let out a full fledged laugh today when I tickled his tummy, and another laugh when Glen "flew" him through the air. We have such a happy baby!

13 loads of Laundry

Monday -- 1 load of Towels and tablecloth
Tuesday -- My night off but something always comes up
Wedsnesday -- 1 load of diapers
Thursday -- 2 loads Bedsheets
Friday -- 1 load of diapers, 1 load Seans clothes
Saturday -- 2 loads of my clothes, 1 load of Maggie's clothes
Sunday -- 2 loads diapers, 2 loads of Maggie's bedsheets and blankets (wet bed)

Its hard to believe I used to only do 1 or 2 loads a week. Thankfully Glen does his own laundry. Lets just hope the washer doesn't break anytime soon. (knock on wood...)

Tempe Street Fair

Well, its been raining, raining, raining. Strange, I know. But we had lots of plans for the weekend that had to be reworked. We did manage to get to the street fair today inbetween showers. Its always fun to walk around and look at everything. With Maggie and Sean in tow, we saw more performances and ate more snacks then actually wandering the shops. Maggie volunteered during one act. She got to crouch down in a line with 5 other kids while a dog jumped over them. Sean was happy to be carried in the beco. Waaaaaay too crowded for a stroller. Plus I think it kept him warmer. It certainly kept me comfy! :) We also got to listen to the Tempe Police Pipe Band (bagpipes and drums) and the Brazen Heads (Celtic Music). Glen and I actually went to a pub in Dublin called the Brazen Head. Its the oldest pub in Dublin (or in all of Ireland?). Built in the 1400's or so. I remember it had low ceilings and doors. ANyway, Maggie had fun making some crafts in the kids zone and watching a puppet show too. We had to leave a little earlier then planned because I didn't pack enough diapers. But I think everyone got their fill.