How Quickly I Had Forgotten...

and then all of a sudden, I remembered and had that "deja vu" moment. All too quickly. Last night had to be the most trying night of all. Baby G woke up screaming every hour (not kidding when I say every hour). I am a very light sleeper and every time she finished crying, I had just fallen asleep and then she was crying again. It was a night filled with a tug of war. Worry, Comforting Her, Sleep, Awake, Trying to Fall Asleep, Repeat.
Baby G is 10 1/2 months old and normally babies start teething anywhere 4 - 7 months. Well, Baby G is has 4 teeth coming in all at once at 10 1/2 months! Bless her heart! Fever, irritability, not sleeping. I can only imagine the pain she is in. I wish I could magically just make those teeth pop out so that she would not be in any pain. I remember Isabella had one tooth come in at a time and she would only scream once through the night here and there.
It appears Baby G has ALL at once. Whew! Rockstar that she is.
Tonight, I gave her a warm bath, let her chew on a teething ring, gave her some pain reliever and rubbed some homeopathic teething gel on her gums. I can't stand to see her suffer, so if last night repeats itself, I am going to scoop her up and let her sleep on my chest so I can comfort her. Think of Baby G and hope that she gets back to her big SMILES soon!

Could Giselle in Fact Be Walking Soon?

Giselle has been standing straight up for quite some time now and is very strong. Her school is amazed at home strong she is compared to the other babies and their ages. About a couple of weeks ago, I guesstimated that she would be walking in about a month.
Well today, I witnessed Giselle taking two complete steps forward then plopping down. We are all taking bets between home and school as to when she will start walking. This time always proves to be so exciting. I love it when they start walking..yet Bob loves the baby phase. While I will be sad that she no longer wants to be held like a baby, I am excited about her next phase and opportunity to explore everything and anything. I give her about 3 1/2 more weeks from today's date until she starts walking. She soooo badly wants to be like her big sister, Isabella.

The Carrot

Before I begin, I must disclose...MOM, I know you raised me better and I would normally not talk about such things, however I am just SO EXCITED, I just can't help but talk about it. And SHOW you a PICTURE : ) Insert SMILE here! So in advance, please forgive me. Perhaps, the Koditek side is coming out in me....
Let me begin by telling you that Isabella is potty training and she is 3 years old. If it were up to me, she would have been potty trained at 1 1/2, but I guess it doesn't work that way. From what I am told, they are ready when they are ready. Which at times, can be very frustrating. We have been taking her to the toilet every hour and letting her wear underwear, however just about every time, she wets everything. And then it is DRAMA. The crying, the meltdowns, the changes of clothes x 15. I just keep repeating to myself "POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT."
Well, every night Isabella disappears into another room to go to the bathroom in her pants. Tonight, she disappeared and I said ISABELLA - LET'S MAKE A CARROT IN THE TOILET!!! What?!! I couldn't believe that I had said that. But I did. She started crying hysterically. I walked her to the toilet, pulled down her pants. At first, she wanted me right by her side while she planted the "GOODS" in the toilet. But I told her I had to go attend to Baby G and feed her dinner. So she asked me to close the door. I fulfilled her wish, and I must say, I was SO EXCITED when I came back to this present in the toilet! Do you know what this means? One kid is out of diapers. Monumental!

Talkin Bout My Girls....My Girls...Talkin Bout My Girls....

It's that time of the year again where there is school pictures and I gotta tell ya, I am a tough critic. Here they are...and I have a hard copy for every family member. We are just missing the solo of Baby G. WAHOO...!!
Today at lunch, I was asked about the personality traits of both Isabella and Giselle. Gosh, how to answer or where to begin. Both girls are so dramatically different - in their own unique, special ways.
Isabella is effervescent, full of energy, witty, passionate about life, creative, adventurous, sleepy - in the sense that she will rise with the crows and take an afternoon nap for up to four hours sometimes, and lastly, shy - until she warms up to you and then SUNSHINE.
Baby G or Giselle - well, she bats her eyelashes, is a little more shy and reserved and for goodness sakes, the girl ALWAYS has a SMILE on her face - that LIGHTS UP A ROOM, full of energy, never takes a nap and if so it's a cat nap, determined, loves to EAT. I think it is a little bit early to fully pinpoint all of Giselle's characteristics or personality traits at 10 months, however there are several that are apparent right now.
I only wish both girls did not have my energy level. They both go and go and go like the energizer bunny. I was hoping that one of them might be a little more laid back, like Bob. As their mother, I too, have a high energy level and wish that I could tone it down a notch.
Perhaps in time, these girls shall teach me a thing or to and vice verso.

Photography by Isabella

If you never give the little one's a chance to expand their wings, they will never gain the opportunity to learn, be creative and gain Independence. It's never too early to learn...right? Think back. Do you remember the first time someone close to you took a chance on YOU and let you soar to your greatest potential? It felt GOOD didn't it? It made you feel like a MILLION BUCKS. Like you were the BRIGHTEST STAR in the sky.
I gave Isabella my camera and let her do her thing. So here she is...show casing her first time at taking pictures at 3 years old. First, is a picture of mommy holding Isabella. Second is a picture of mommy's hands. Third, a picture of Giselle chewing on a remote control (insert awesome mommy award here....heee heee). Not too shabby for Isabella's first go round with operating a camera, taking pictures and NOT dropping the camera on the floor, throwing it or breaking it to a million pieces. Cheers - to believing in little one's POTENTIALS!!

Trick or Treat 2011

Isabella was a pink horse. Giselle was Frankenstein. Each of the girls had their own bucket to fill with candy. And Baxie, well, he was a pumpkin. It was super cold here, as it always is on Halloween. You end up bundling the kids up to the point where you can't even tell what their costume is. We went out trick or treating for about an hour and at that point I could tell both girls were very cold, so we went in.
Baxie enjoyed pissing on every mail box he passed that wasn't his. The highlight of the evening was when we went to a house, Isabella said TRICK or TREAT and the lady put some candy in her bucket. (And there it was.....for the first time. I couldn't believe my ears and had to LAUGH out loud.)
The girl who always beats up on her little sister...SAID to the LADY. "YOU FORGOT TO GIVE CANDY TO MY BABY SISTER." And the lady said, "What?" And Isabella repeated herself. "You forgot to give candy to Baby G!" And the lady apologetically threw more candy in Baby G's bucket and said that she didn't see her.
Bob and I both couldn't believe Isabella was defending her baby sister Giselle - age 3. For the first time, she did it.
Hope you all had a nice Halloween. When we got back home, we had only 3 trick or treaters. Bummer!