Figuring it Out

Every time I think I have something parenting related figured out, it changes. I'll think, ok, this is when they sleep, this is what they like to eat, this is what makes them feel secure in a new situation. Then, just as I'm about to congratulate myself for conquering a given challenge, they change the rules on me.

Deciding what time to go to church has been a two year battle. There does not seem to be a good time. We are always rushing to get them out of bed, back into bed, fed, dressed, etc. This morning we decided to just have a relaxed morning and go to the latest service. We even seemed to have a little bit of extra time, so I tried to take some pictures since Cate was actually out of her pajamas.

As you can see, she is rather solemn in these pictures. I should have known that trouble was brewing.

She wanted Timmy to hold her hand by the window...

He had other plans.

This picture is blurry, but this expression is so Timmy.

As his expression above might indicate, Timmy has always been easygoing about getting dropped off in the nursery at church. He sees a few balls and he is off to play. He never looks back.

We have had quite a lot of difficulty dropping Cate off in the 2 yr. old room at church. For weeks or maybe even months, Tim would just stay with her. Then she seemed to get more comfortable on her own. She talked a lot about what she learned, what songs she sang and of course, what they had that day for a snack. This morning, she was so upset after I left that they had to flash our number on the screen to come and get her. So Tim made his way to go and get her and returned with a very blotchy Cate. She sat with us quietly for a long time and I felt so bad that she was so stressed.

So now I'm back to wondering if we should go at a different time, try to get there really early (yeah right) so that it's less busy/crazy, if I should stay with her again.... I always have the nagging feeling that if I just did things a little bit, better, smarter, earlier, faster... then life would be smooth. It's probably time for me to accept that life with little kids is just messy and unpredictable.

This is what I Love to See!

I ended my last post hoping that I would have something interesting/exciting to report in the near future. I know that looking at this picture of C&T in their pajamas does not look like much progress, but at our house, this is HUGE progress. Cate and Timmy spent quite a bit of time playing together without me this morning! The stars must have aligned because Cate felt like reading books to T and he complied. She got him a blanket and sat and read him board books. Then they moved on to their new playhouse. Cate always pretends that it is a train and that she is going downtown to see her "fwiends." After that they played with their little dollhouse and with the Thomas train set. Of course there was some yelling involved when Timmy didn't follow Cate's plans, but this is the best they've ever done playing together.

I didn't take many pictures because I didn't want to break the spell, but the fact that I could get a few things done around the house while they were both awake is revolutionary around here. Let's hope that this is the beginning of a trend!

Sometimes it's so good....

....that you just have to lick the plate.

Timmy does, anyway. This morning Cate requested banana cinnamon french toast, so I got out my awesome, foldaway electric griddle and whipped some up. I hadn't planned to make anything exciting for breakfast because we needed to get to open gym so that Timmy could run around, but Cate really wanted french toast and I was feeling flexible since they both slept until 8:30 this morning.

After I hosed Timmy off, we raced down the street to open gym and Timmy played basketball the entire time. The only problem is that he is not content to use the small hoops, he wants to use the adult sized hoops, so I have to hoist him up and help him to shoot the ball. Cate brought her bitty baby, Maggie, to open gym but agreed to let her take a nap in Mimi's office while she ran around. I am hoping to have something besides Timmy's messy face to report sometime soon, but we have all been sick since Christmas and we have not done much lately. Let's hope that February is a healthier month around here!

Sick Day/Snow Day

Days like today make me very thankful to be able to stay home with Cate and Timmy. For one thing, it is really cold outside and we got a fresh coat of snow last night. Chicago winters really aren't so bad when you never really have to leave the house if you don't want to. The second reason is that poor little Timmy is sick again. He seems to have croup and the accompanying head cold. He only had about three days between his ear infection/cold and this. Poor thing. I was thinking this morning that although taking care of sick babies is hard work, at least I don't have to figure out who is going to stay home with him, make sub plans, etc.

Two nights ago, Tim was up with Timmy from 4:30am until he left for work. Timmy just could not go back to sleep and ended up sleeping with Tim on the couch. Last night, he made it through the night, but when he got up this morning, he did not want to be put down at all. This would have been ok, but I had already promised Cate french toast which is hard to make while you hold a baby.

I finally got Timmy to snuggle up next to Cate and watch a little "Dinosaur Train" while I cooked. I almost didn't post this pic b/c of Cate's pacifier, but oh well. She still uses it at night and for a few minutes when she first gets up. We tried to get rid of it when she got her big girl bed, but that didn't work. I don't know how we're ever going to get it away from her.

Sweet potato french toast

Timmy was allowed to eat at the little table in the playroom with Cate. I think he felt like such a big boy.

Timmy has dropped his morning nap, but this morning he needed one, so Cate and I went outside. I really needed to get some housework done, but I knew that Cate would love playing in the snow. She got dressed in her pink snowsuit all by herself and we headed out.

Getting out the Door

Cate and Timmy have been sleeping late these last few weeks, which is great except that it is so hard to get them moving. Cate (like me) really likes to move slowly in the morning, sit with her blankies and juice (the rough equivalent of my coffee) and just wake up before going anywhere. Although we decided to go to church later than usual, she still did not want to move. Everything I asked her to do was met with, "Mama, I don't want to." We negotiated through breakfast, a bath and getting dressed (the pink dress I chose was not in her plan for today). In the picture below, I wanted her to put her coat on. She was not ready.

Finally, with the promise of a box of raisins, she got her coat and shoes on.

She gave her brother a hug because he now seems to have a cough and runny nose (again) and could not go.

Finally, out the door they went and Timmy and I went downstairs to play trains until he was ready for an early nap. You may notice in these pictures that Timmy is almost as tall as Cate is. At his 15 mo. appointment this week, we found out that he is officially off the charts for height (Tim is busy finding him an NBA scout and planning practice drills on the court) and he is only an inch and a half shorter than Cate. We have had a few people ask us if they are twins, but as he starts to look more like a toddler, I think we will be hearing it more.