A difficult lesson

Ellie is not the best cleaner. I know, shocking that a child of mine isn't super neat. But, seriously, the kid will not clean. I have to sit down next to her and prod her all the way, doing the majority of it myself. This weekend, it all came to a head. Ellie had completely trashed out the toy room (aka the dining room) and her bedroom. I sent her to her room to clean and told her not to come out until she was done. 30 minutes later I went to check on her and she had dragged out even more toys and was happily playing. I threw some threats her way and sternly told her to get cleaning. Still no response. So, Tom walked in and told her that any toy she didn't pick up would be taken away. She still wasn't taking us seriously so awhile later I told her that as soon as I was done bathing Jack, I was coming in to pick up any toys she hadn't cleaned up. Would you believe she got out even more toys during that time? So, I walked in with a bag and started throwing toys in. The girl went ballistic. I had never seen her so upset. She ripped the bag out of my hands and hid it somewhere. I then went and got a box, but was hindered by a screaming maniac clutching my leg. So I pried her off, shoved her out the door, and locked myself in her room. I heard Tom return from walking the dog and Ellie sobbing to him, "Daddy, Mommy is taking all of my toys!" I opened the door and Ellie launched herself at me again so I handed the box to Tom and told him to put it in our closet. Ellie, at this point, is furious. Her fists are clinched, she is literally shaking, and her face is red. No exaggeration. She starts screaming, "You ruined everything! You and Daddy ruined everything!" I have seen Ellie throw many a fit in my day, but never, ever have I seen her so upset. Of course, Tom and I couldn't help laughing. Once she calmed down, we explained to her that each time she cleaned up her toys when asked, she could go pick out one toy from the closet. Later that night, Tom and I felt bad about traumatising our daughter so much. But...it has worked like a charm! She has cleaned up the past three nights and has been able to recoup a few toys. However, since that night she has started referring to Tom and I as "Mother" and Father." Coincidence?

Bowling (not so) Fun

Tom and I were off today for MLK Day. In the past, when we had a day off from school, we would often drop Ellie off at daycare and made it a "date day." But now that we have Jack, and I am still uncomfortable leaving him, we decided to make it a fun family day. We went to Fuddruckers for lunch and then bowling. OK, Ellie has never been bowling and the last time Tom and I bowled was about 7 years ago. Really not our thing. But I envisioned it being a lot of fun. I didn't take into consideration that Ellie would not be able to roll an 8 pound ball down the lane with any efficiency. I'm talking, we would wait like 5 minutes for that ball to reach the end of the lane. Also, Ellie had issues with taking turns. After we finished one game we called it quits. Ellie went on and on about how much fun she had. Tom and I were like, "Eh, maybe we'll try this again next year."

Dear Jack: 3 Months

Dear Jack,

Today you are 3 months old! This past month has been a very emotional one for me because I returned to work and enrolled you in daycare. I miss you so much while I am at work. Every day you are growing and changing and I hate to miss a moment. I am so excited about watching your personality emerge and seeing what type of person you will be. I have already determined that you aren't going to be feisty and sassy like your sister. I think you are going to be more quiet and solemn, but very loving. I can’t help comparing you to your sister when she was a baby. Ellie was always smiling and talking. You are smiling and cooing more, but you still make us work for it. Ellie could not entertain herself for long whereas you are content to sit and stare at your toys and bat at them with your little hands. Ellie didn’t like to be swaddled and wanted to face out, you have to be swaddled tight to sleep and prefer to be rocked with your nose pressed against my chest. If I could, I would just sit and stare at you for hours because I find you so fascinating.

You are the cutest, roly-poly little boy. At your two months appointment you already weighed 15 pounds and you are growing taller and wider every day! A lady came up to me at church on Sunday and said you were such a cute butterball. I thought that was the perfect description of you.You are more interested in toys this month. You like to stare at them and try to grab them. You are also very interested in your sister and like to watch her dance about, breaking into a smile when she gets in your face and calls you "pumpkinashes."

You are sleeping really well, only waking up once or twice a night to nurse and then going right back to sleep. We are slowly getting you on a schedule where you fall asleep around the same time each night. I have started putting you in your crib to sleep, but after the first nursing I get lazy and put you in the bassinet by my bed. However, you have gotten so long that your head touches the top and your feet touch the bottom.

Jack, it is amazing to me how seamlessly you fit into our family. You are a perfect fit and I am so glad you are here! I love you, my little butterball!

Mama

Sunday Best: Failed Photo Op edition

I was late for church on Sunday so wasn't able to pose the kiddos for their Sunday Best pictures until after we returned home. Which is probably why all my pics turned out something like this:

Still standing

Ellie and Jack survived their first week of preschool. Well, Ellie now has a terrible cold and has lost her voice (she said it is in the clouds) and Jack is coming home completely exhausted and out of it, but, you know, they survived. Or more like I survived. It is hard to leave kids as cute as these!