It's been a while

Well, naptimes recently have been shotty at best. Either that or I am tutoring or out and then Cali decides she's going to sleep for 3 hours or more. We know who is really in control around here.

Mac found his tongue today. It's really funny to watch him stick it out and make funny noises with it. He is still the happiest, smileyist baby I've ever seen. I just want to snuggle him all of the time. Yesterday, Marshall went to pick him up at Leigh's (I was tutoring and got my eyebrows controlled) and Mac just about jumped out of Leigh's arms to get to him. At least that's what they tell me. He also continues to adore Cali -- as she does him. Two nights ago I forgot to let Cali kiss Mac goodnight and she kept saying "Mac, Mac," until I took her back downstairs and she got to say goodnight to him. She went right to bed after that.

Cali is at an age where new things happen daily with her. Her vocabulary is ever expanding. She knows two comes after one, and three comes next, as well as six comes after five. Six is her favorite number. She can repeat almost anything and her enunciation is pretty incredible. She is even starting to make the "l" sound properly. since she was born, I have said bless you everytime she has sneezed. The other day I sneezed in the car and from the backseat I heard "bless you!" (It wasn't Mac :)).

A few days ago I took the kids over to school and let Cali walk around the track a little. It was the first time I have seen her go up and down steps without holding onto anything. She's really getting strong. That same trip she was stepping off the curb and her head went first and she did a summersault. Instead of crying she looked up at me and laughed. I thought she was going to be hurt, but not my tough girl :).

Mac has just figured out how to take out and put in his pacifier (which Cali named "B' a long time ago -- not sure where that came from). Sometimes he puts it in upsidedown of course, but at least he can find his mouth. Looking forward to when he can do it in the middle of the night.

We had Mac's pictures taken a week or so ago and oh my gosh. I thought Cali's were difficult to decide on. He is just so happy, that Jen got so many good shots that really capture my little man's expressions.

We put up our tree after Thanksgiving and Cali helped me decorate it. She brought the balls over and I put them on the tree. She's pretty good about not taking them off and just looking at them, but we still have a tree that is decorated from the middle up. It will be that way for at least a couple more years I'm afraid.

Cali had her 18 month checkup today and the doctor said that it was the easiest 18 month she has had. She says that the children usually wiggle and cry and really resist, but Cali just sat there, curious about the different pieces of equipment the doctor was using on her. She didn't cry until she received her shot, and even then it was only briefly. She really did a good job.

Cali is jumping, rolling on the floor, dancing, discovering, loves the outside. She loves to be tossed around and to swing high on the swingset at the park. She puts Mac's pacifier in when he's crying, and tries to give him milk from her sippy cup. It's really fascinating to watch her become a little lady.

Mac grabs my face and pulls me in for open mouth kisses when he presses his open mouth on my cheek. And when Cali is around it's as though he's about to jump out of his skin to play with her body his body just won't let him. I'm so excited to see them play together in just a few short months.

Worst day ever

Well, yesterday started out ok. It's nice having Marshall home, and he usually lets me sleep in which is awesome! We went out on the town for the after Thanksgiving craziness and were having a great time. That is until we were in Opry Mills and I realized Ellie (Cali's right arm, stuffed elephant that we brought home from the hospital with Cali) was not with us. Initially I didn't exactly freak out, but I was angry. Not sure why, I guess it was just the start of the grieving process. We searched and searched, retraced our steps twice, inquired at every store we went into, and stopped at security twice as well. I think she's really gone. When I finally accepted that in the middle of the mall, I started crying. I just couldn't handle the idea of Cali asking and asking for Ellie and me not being able to give it to her. I wouldn't even be able to explain why she couldn't have her because she wouldn't understand. I had also become very attached to Ellie. It was just so sad. Fortunately, I had a couple of back up Ellie's at home. But I know the difference, and I'm pretty sure Cali does too, and she's just humoring us. I called mom and couldn't control my sobbing, it was as though we had lost a family member. She was trying to be sympathetic, but she was also laughing which made me laugh/cry because I knew how silly I must have sounded, and I know how comical the situation was, I just couldn't help it. I'm going to call security again to see if anyone turned her in, but I'm not hopeful.

Mac just conked out on the floor. I was in here typing and things became awfully quiet (Marshall and Cali are both napping). I went in to check on him, and he had rolled on his side and just fell asleep. He can't be comfortable, but I'm not going to move him for fear he will wake up.

Cali loves her shoes. She even made marshall put them on right before bedtime last night. Of course we took them off before we put her in her crib, she just needed to wear them for a few minutes before. And, as usual, she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Cali's vocabulary is expanding rapidly. She communicates very well. She has attached certain words to things that don't make sense, but we know what she trying to say. For example she says "B" for her pacifier, and she says "nee" when she wants up in the chair.

Becky is coming to stay with us tonight. She hasn't met Mac, and she hasn't seen Cali in a long time. I'm going to go clean up a bit.

The scream

Two days ago several things to report. Cali always wakes up and asks for Mac. After we got up, Cali, Mac and I played on the bed. I had to carry Mac down the steps, so Cali was left to come down by herself. On the way down, I dropped Mac's "Butch" stuffed animal. I couldn't pick it up, so I left it on the steps and took Mac to the den. A couple minutes later, Cali arrived in the den and handed Mac's stuffed animal to him. She's always looking after him. I didn't even ask her to pick it up!

That same day, Cali was eating pizza at Costco. I was cutting it up into pieces and had left one of the pieces on the fork. Cali took the fork and shoveled the pizza to her mouth. We ate the rest of the meal with the fork.

One the way home, Mac fell asleep. I was so excited because it was Cali's naptime too and I thought, for once, they would be sleeping at the same time. As I was taking them out of the car, Cali looked at Mac and said "shhhh!" as she often does when he is asleep. She did this three or four times and then all of a sudden she let out the loudest scream ever. Of course this woke Mac up and he was awake the whole time Cali was napping...She thought it was the funniest thing, so after the second scream, I left her in the car all by herself while I went inside with Mac. When I came back out and opened the car door, she greeted me with a nice scream hello...She thinks she's so funny.

Mac has found his feet. It's fun to watch him play with them. He also can stand in the exersaucer now. He hates the little green monster toy on it. He tries to eat it and gets really mad. He always ends up crying.

Last night Cali ate a ton. She finished off a full tub of blueberries and still said "more, more."

Cali has been getting up around 5:30 which needs to stop. Between Mac getting up around 4 -5 times and Cali waking at 5:30am, I feel like a zombie most days.

We are going to Connie's house tonight for dinner with Lily, Connie, Lee, and Marilyn. It should be fun as long as we can keep Cali contained :). She's busy and into everything.

Another one of Cali's favorite foods: salmon!

Breaking my heart

So, I'm starting to really realize Cali is learning right and wrong, and emotions. Yesterday, Marshall and Cali were playing on the floor and Cali bit Marshall. It really hurt so Marshall kind of yelped and said in an appropriately firm voice "Cali, we don't bite." Well Cali got really sad and reached out to hug Marshall, then she teared up. Her eyes got all red aroudn the edges. It was so sad, it made me cry. She was just so upset that she hurt Marshall.

She is testing her limits. I will tell her she can't do something, and she will look right at me and do it again. Of course she has an ornery smile on her face the whole time.

Mac is still as sweet as ever. We are trying to get him to eat cereal, but he is not interested at the moment. He still loves attention, and he is the happiest little guy ever!

We went to Target and a few other stores today and so many people commented about or talked to Cali and Mac. They both were just taking and jabbering away in Target. We were having a good ol time. It's amazing how much better the day goes if I just have 30 minutes in the morning by myself before the kids get up. I can brush my teeth, get their clothes ready, gather myself, and start the day. I was even able to make myself pancakes!

Nights have been a little rough again lately. Cali is waking up and wanting me to pick her up. I go in and sit in the chair for a little while. Two nights ago, she started crying again when I got up to leave, but last night she just watched me go. Between that and Mac needing his paci several times a night, I haven't been sleeping very well. Mac has been in the pack and play downstairs because I don't want him to wake Cali. However, going up and down the stairs is no fun either. And I hop up very quickly because I'm so afraid he's going to be too loud and Cali is going to hear him.

At night, Cali and I rub faces and she thinks it's the funniest thing. She is happy, but doesn't belly laugh a lot. When we rub faces, she belly laughs and snorts. I'm going to be sad when she doesn't do that anymore. She's a climber and a daredevil, I think she's going to like gynmastics. She also like animals.

I forgot to list brocolli on Cali's list of favorite foods. She LOVES it above all else. Whenever she gets it she says "yum!" and gobbles it like popcorn. She even makes sure she doesn't drop any. I can't give her all she wants or she won't eat anything else. Brocolli, salmon, cheese and goldfish crackers...

Cali is asleep. Mac is sleeping on the couch with his Daddy. So I am going to call it a day as well.

Saturday is nap day

I was a little bummed today because Marshall had a meeting in the morning, but I still was able to sleep in a little...around 7.30 or 8.00 not sure. Anyway, this morning was the longest morning ever as I waited for him to return. Some mornings are just like that.

Mac's big accomplishment of the day was he finally rolled over. He's been working on it for weeks. I was actually talking to Mom when he did.

Cali's fun thing was she drank out of a straw. I didn't know she could do it until I gave her Marshall pop and she drank it through the straw. It was pretty cool. We took a family trip to Costco which is always fun.

Cali is very good at saying please and thank you. It's really awesome. She says thank you whether giving or receiving something. And she knows please will get her whatever she wants...for now. Her first sentence was "up, please."

We ended up not going to Alex Harvey last night because our friends cancelled on us. Marshall wanted to go to the Ensworth vs BA game but I didn't really want to go. It was rainy and I didn't really feel like seeing people. I felt bad thought because I know Katrina really wanted to watch the kids, and Cali loves her "Meena" so Marshall and I got ice cream at Sonic and then went to TJ Maxx. It was actually really fun. I came back home at 8:30 while Marshall went to the second half of the game. Katrina stayed until about 10pm helping me wrap Christmas presents. It was fun.

Sometimes I just want one day where I don't have to be responsible for anyone but myself. Sometimes I just want to sit and be, but I can't. Diapers don't change themselves, babies will starve...I guess I never really thought about the fact that you are on 24 hours a day, seven days a week whether you feel like it or not. I thought I was busy with teaching, but at least you could take 30 minutes, heck...5 minutes, and not have to think about anything if you wanted to. Even when I am away from the kids, I still think about them. It's a strange thing really.

I did get a nap this afternoon. And why is it that the kids sleep at the same time for a long time on Saturdays. A nice, long, Wednesday afternoon nap would be nice...

Rah! Rah!

Naptime again. Both are sleeping. What a precious thing.

This morning we went to the pep rally at Brentwood Academy. Cali was so excited because she got to see Daddy and "E." I couldn't believe that neither one of them had any problem with the noise level in the gym. Mac hung out with Mrs. Dobbins while Elizabeth hung out with Cali. When we got home we played outside with Colin. Cali gets so excited when she sees the O'Neils outside. I'm so glad that we moved into this house. It was meant for us!

Tonight Marshall and I are going to see Alex Harvey at Puckett's. It will be the third time total and the first time when I haven't been pregnant. I have to remember to bring my earplugs. I have sensitive ears. Katrina is going to watch the kids. I never thought that I would be comfortable with a 7th grader watching a 17 month old and a 4.5 month old, but she is so good with them. She's very mature and doesn't get rattled when both are crying. She just takes care of it. I'm very lucky to have her. And Cali loves "Meena" too! Her mom is going to be home just in case, but I really don't think she's going to need her.

Pat and Helen are supposed to come with us but they are having trouble finding childcare for there 7 month old twin girls. If they can't find anyone, Annie and Maggie are going to come with them to our house for dinner before and then Marshall and I will just go by ourselves. Usually I prefer it to just be the two of us, but I was looking forward to having the Anderson's join us tonight I hope they can work it out.

Well, the oven just beeped. Must put the chicken in. Not too much longer until the peace and silence is broken. Ahh.....

The first of hopefully many...

Ahhh...naptime is so sweet. Ugh..the FedEx man just rang the door bell. Fortunately Cali is not really a light sleeper. She has been waking up during the past three nights; several times last night. The only thing that appeases her is getting into the guest bed with me. I'm thinking she might be getting her bottom molars which would explain the angst. I can't keep doing that though. I'm exhauted.

Mac and I are just chilling. He is playing with the little blow up ball that hangs from his play mat. The little guy makes my heart happy. He is just like his daddy; the sweetest, most pleasant little man. I can't imagine how he could be any easier. We thought Cali was an easy baby too, but she definitely had her melt downs. Mac is just getting to the stage where he likes attention and someone to talk to him at all times. He has this little whimper that he lets out when he wants attention. It's more of a squeal actually. They are keeping me busy though. Mac melts my heart with his smiles. They consume his whole face. I just want to kiss him and snuggle him all the time. He has discovered his feet and is just about to roll over. He is my little man!

Cali is a delight. She is more like her mommy than her daddy right now. She is confident and fearless, curious and adventuresome. She loves the swing and last Saturday she figured out how to jump. It was the cutest thing. Yeesterday, she actually puckered up and made the kissing sound with her mouth. Up to that point she had just been touching her head to yours and saying "muah." She likes to roll around on the floor and watch Elmo! She loves the outside and brings me my shoes and her shoes, walks to the door and says "Yes!" when she wants to go out. Her favorite foods are broccoli!, turkey, cheese!, goldfish, watermelon, bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. She devours books and loves to be thrown around as she plays on mommy and daddy's bed.

I have had quite a bit of trouble adjusting to life at home. I can't imagine leaving them all day, but I miss my "old life." This is mostly going to be about the kds though, so I save my feelings for another time.

I love watching Cali and Mac interact. She kisses him way more than she does anyone else. He looks at her like she hung the moon. I hope and pray that they have a great relationship. I love watching them together and look forward in a strange way to the mischief they will create.