Sulli-babies

The Sulli-baby has a little sister - I suppose I ought to change the title of the blog now.

Lucy Florence Sullivan was born 8:00am Friday, February 19. She was 7 lbs 11 oz, and 19 inches long. We brought her home the following Monday, and are enjoying getting to know her.

Big sister Molly is enjoying her new role, though she definitely needs l0ts of one on one time. Thankfully, Lucy is already a champion sleeper, so I can spend time with Molly during Lucy's many naps.

As Lucy begins accomplishing things, I will be more motivated to post. So far, her biggest accomplishments are gaining 10 ounces between the 1 and 2 week appointments, and the acquisition of a brand new belly button Friday, Feb 27. (Molly was quite distressed the first time she saw Lucy's cord- "Oh no! Baby Lucy has poop on her tummy!")

Happy "Valentimes"

Molly got her first Valintines day present from a boy today... sniff sniff! Her buddy Jai got her a box of chocolates. She was mostly excited about the box, and has been carrying it around since. She has excitedly talked about her "Valentime".

What happens when I take 5 minutes to blog...

In the 10 minutes it took me to write the last post, Molly decided to explore her artistic side. I walked into the bathroom to discover this:

As you can see, she was quite contrite. I just wish she'd chosen a less expensive medium than my foundation- and a less expensive canvas than my makeup cases...

Molly trusts the doctor

Yesterday, Molly woke up at 6:30. This is a highly unusual occurrence. She usually goes to bed around 8:00 and wakes up between 8 and 9.

When I went to check on her the reason for the early hour became apparent- poor baby was burning up! After a quick change, she snuggled with me until 8:30. This is unheard of- the most snuggle time I can usually get out of her is 30 minutes, and that's if we're watching Dora. She kept asking to watch her favorite shows (Sesame Street and Dora). I told her they were still sleeping, which she accepted (whew!). The fact that we snuggled for an hour before any TV was on was quite telling.

During snuggle time, we read some books and I tried to get her to drink something. She cried when I gave her a cold drink because it "hurt her hands". I assume she meant it was too cold. So, in the interest of fluids, I filled a cup with 1/2 juice and half hot water. Sounded gross to me, but Molly dubbed it "warm juice" and drank it down. She also wouldn't let me pat or rub her back unless it was on top her of her shirt and a blanket because my hands were too cold.

Normally, I just let this type of thing run its course. No reason to pay a doctor to tell me "yes, she has a fever and a runny nose. Give her some tylonol". However, since Molly's little sister could be here any day, I took her in just to make sure.

I love how children miraculously recover the moment you enter the doctor's office. My limp, whiny two year old turned into an energetic, delightful little person again. She immediately attacked the playhouse and slide in the waiting room. I was just glad she let go of me long enough for me to sign in.

She did have a fever, and they did a blood count test just in case. This requires the dreaded finger prick. I carefully explained to her the process (or so I thought). "The nurse is going to poke your finger, and it is going to hurt. BUT, then you will get a sucker...". Molly took it like a man- she didn't even cry when they pricked her thumb. She just looked at me and said "Now get a sucker?". What I forgot to tell her was that they squeeze the thumb afterwards... Oops :-( Still, she calmed down pretty quickly after that fit...

When the doctor came in to examine her, he asked her what she was thinking. She paused for a moment and said "I trust the doctor". Hehe... During the exam she sat in the chair all by herself! This was a first. She even let him look in her ears without thrashing. My baby is growing up!

After a 3+ hour nap, she was more herself last night. However, she's been CLINGY and CRANKY all day today. So much fun when you're almost 20 months pregnant :-p I'm still trying to enjoy the last few days of having only one kiddo. Even when she's a sickie...

Baby Food

One thing I am looking forward to with the new baby is making homemade baby food.

I didn't start doing it with Molly until she was close to a year old. I was amazed at the apparent difference in her appetite! Foods that she formerly refused she began eating with gusto. The only down side was that she'd eat the same thing for a day and a half. (One baked sweet potato = quite a few baby sized servings that don't keep for very long)

I also discovered that it is SO much cheaper to make homemade food. In my experience, two 1/4 cup servings of babyfood = $1 (sometimes more). One large sweet potato at $1 (or less) mashes into 2 cups- that's eight 1/4 cup servings. 50 cents a serving > 12.5 cents a serving.

I'm looking into options for extended storage of homemade baby food that doesn't involve canning/cooking/preserving. One method that sounds great is to freeze it using ice-cube trays. That way it's already portioned and will keep for way longer than in the fridge. I'm not sure how it would work for things that you don't cook though...

OLD picture, but so sweet :-)

Every little thing she does is magic

Two days ago, I was a pregnant mess.

I'd had a good OB appointment while Molly was at Mother's Day Out. However, being told that you are not showing any signs at all of being ready to have a baby is rather disheartening at 37+ weeks. Then, after being put down to "nap" Molly (though fully clothed) somehow managed to poop on the floor. And walk in it. After 30 minutes of cleaning 2 year old, clothes, and carpet, my afternoon was complete. My hysterical crying/yelling reaction ruled out any nap on Molly's part, so we sat in a chair and started to read some books.

It's crazy how the littlest things give you a good kick in the pants. After reading a couple of the usuals, Molly brought me a book about "lasts". (ie - the last time you rock your baby to sleep, the last time you tie their shoe...) After a couple pages, I was crying (again). That book should carry some kind of warning label on the cover.

It's so easy to forget to appreciate the little wonderful everyday things your toddler does. I sometimes forget how little she still is, even though she's able to do so many things now. The last couple days, I've been trying to take it easy and enjoy our last bit of Mommy and Molly time.

I love snuggling with her first thing in the morning. I love how she asks for "brestest". I love how she sings Jingle Bells, ABCs, and Signing Time songs constantly. I love how she can't get both feet of the floor when she tries to jump, and how she is so proud of herself every time she does a "flip" (somersault).

Things are going to change forever very very soon. She has no idea. I don't think I do either...

Jingle Bells

Molly's favorite song is "Jingle Bells". She's been singing it non-stop since she saw a Christmas Sing Along video in late November. Today she was singing it at the top of her lungs as we walked through Wal-Mart, much to the amusement of many other shoppers.

This is a video from early December, but it's super cute.

Potty Time

We began potty training in earnest a couple weeks after Molly turned 2. By the week before Christmas, she would go days without any kind of daytime accident (night/naptime doesn't count :-p). We could go in public in cloth big girls, potty while out, and arrive home dry and use the potty. I was thrilled, as I'd wanted to have her mostly trained before the new baby came.

Then came the week of Christmas... By the time everyone left, she was refusing to use the potty at all. Since then, we've been clawing our way back, flush by flush, to where we were before the Great Potty Backslide of 09. The latest positive development is Molly's newfound ability to get on and off the big potty by herself. For now, the novelty of this is helping her attitude and motivation a LOT.

When Molly potties, she may ask for a candy (I don't offer it). The candy of choice one mini m&m. She doesn't just want the candy though- she wants Minnie Mouse or Hopkins to give it to her. She got a Minnie Mouse pez dispenser for Christmas. We quickly ran out of pez (and man, is that stuff impossible to find at the store), but mini m&ms are small enough to fit. Molly will ask for "Candy from Minnie Mouse's neck". The first time she said that, I just about died. "Hopkins" is a frog picture frame that greatly resembles the beloved frog character from Signing Time. She asks for "Candy from Hopkin's tummy". This means that I must place the single m&m on the stomach part of the picture frame and hold it for her like a waiter with a platter.

I know she will hate me for this when she is 13, but I can't help myself. Here are some things Molly has said after observing the result of a successful poop in the potty:

4) "It's kinda like a finger"

3) "Is it a potato?"

2) (when two rested at a right angle) "Look! It's a letter T!"

and my favorite:

1) (seeing several stacked together...) "Aww... it's a family!"

11 months since the last post... but who's counting!

I've been using Facebook as a twitter/blog for sharing amusing stories with friends and family. However, I thought I might start this up again, since Molly's little sister is due very soon!

Yesterday, Molly and I were preregistering at the hospital. While signing in, I heard Molly say "That's Captain Sword." (This is what she calls Captain Feathersword from the Wiggles). A couple seconds later, she said "He's kinda like a pirate.". Upon turning around and surveying the room, I saw that there was a gentleman with an eyepatch. Nothing like an observant, articulate 2 year old to make life interesting.

She is very into Dora now, and also enjoys the Wiggles, Sesame Street, Thomas, and our old standby, Signing Time. A few days ago, I listened to her quote about 2 minutes of a Dora episode along with the movie. Clearly, we need to watch less Dora :-p However, I love that she will randomly say things in Spanish! Maybe I need to get her Muzzy ;-)

Molly LOVES to color. Thankfully, we are no longer dealing with her love of eating crayons (as detailed in the 11 months ago post). I got her a new set of markers yesterday, and she literally played with them for an hour and a half after her nap. It was wonderful!

Soon to come: a potty training post...