It's almost Christmas and I don't think I've written since the summer!

So, it's been a while...

Let's start with Camille - She is one smart little cookie!  She will repeat nearly every word that we say if we ask her to.  She also "reads" a lot of her board books to us.  That is, she points out the pictures and says what the objects or people are.  For example, she will say "mermaid" for Ariel in the Little Mermaid book, she'll say "Nemo" for Nemo or any other sea animal for that matter, she even says "Eugie" for Snow White - Eugie is one of her aunts and she is absolutely tickled pink that Camille has (on her own) associated her with the Disney princess.  Camille also will go through her ABC animal book and name animals in there by herself - even ones like Moose and Newt.  She is also doing well learning to drink out of an open-top cup (and glass) and sometimes eats with utensils - but usually just her hands - which is OK too - at least she pretty much feeds herself now.  Also, she will answer questions, too - even if she doesn't know the answer - in which case she'll put her hands up in the "I don't know" manner.  It's so cute.  She is really becoming a "real" person, so to speak.  She will get things that we ask her to go get - like her shoes, for example.  She also enjoys brushing her teeth.  One of the biggest changes lately is that on October 16, her 16 month birthday, we stopped nursing!  She's strictly on "real" food now!  She eats well if she's in the mood, but we do give her her daily Poly-Vi-Sol vitamin drop just like we did for Paul at that age.  

Speaking of Paul - it's time for an update on him.  He's becoming quite the big boy these days.  He is talking up a storm - he'll say 3-4 words at at time or even more sometimes.  He's not always perfect on pronunciation, but we can usually tell what he is trying to say - which is a long way from where he was just a few months ago, when he didn't want to talk.  He is in a "Superman" phase currently and even calls himself "Paul du-ka-doo"...as in the theme song for Superman goes "du - ka - dooo - dooo - du - ka - dooo - doo - du - ka - doo - doo - doo - doo" at least in his interpretation - so that's why he calls Superman "du-ka-doo".  He hasn't mastered the actual word "superman" yet - but he's getting there.  He is also in to trucks of all kinds and Bob the Builder.  He loves seeing construction sites and trucks on the road and learning about what each of them does.  He is also FULLY potty trained!  The only help he needs is turning on and off the bathroom light and wiping for #2.  The rest, he can do himself.  We started training right before the school year this year in Mid-August and he's really picked up on it fast.  He even goes at school without any problem.

And on the topic of school - the biggest change around here is that Camille and I are now joining Paul at school!  We all go to Kinder Haus now on Monday, Wednesday and Friday!  Camille is in the Toddler class, Paul is in the Preschool class, and I work at the front desk from 8:30-11:30 on MF and from 8:30-3:00 on W.  I don't make quite enough to cover Camille's tuition, but that's okay.  It's fun for us all to be there together and for Camille and me to get out of the house.  This just started right before Thanksgiving and is going well so far.  Paul cried the first time I came in his room while I was working because I think he wasn't quite used to it even though I had explained it to him.  But, now he's fine and I think (or hope) he likes that I am there when he is.

While I am not working, I attempt to get crafting done and have started some new projects I will soon post about in my crafting blog at junebuggydesigns.blogspot.com once they are complete - and once I give them to their owners at Christmas.  

Well, that's a quick summary for now - hopefully I write again before the new year - I know I've been slacking lately!  

My kids talk & tee-tee on the potty..they're turning into real people!

Over the last couple of months, Paul has finally decided to start talking!  The last few weeks, he's significantly increased the number of words he says and he even puts 2-3 words together, like "Daddy  Go" or his favorite "No! Mine!"..used mostly on Camille.  But, hey I guess we have to be glad he's talking.  Camille has also been repeating a lot of words and even communicating with words herself.  I can't even count how many words the kids use, things like Mommy, Daddy, Nanna, Papa, Meenee(for Mandy - that's Camille's word).  Paul says a lot of colors (purple, yellow, green, blue) and nouns like plane, car, cheese and Camille says puppy, apple, juice, cheese.  She also will say "more" and bring us her empty plate or cup.  She also will repeat what we say, like just now I said "That's Mommy's paper" and she said "paper" over and over.  There's a lot more words they use that I just can't think of right now.

On Sunday, we started to potty train Paul.  We have taken away his regular diapers and he wears either underwear or pull-ups.  For Sunday afternoon, Monday and Tuesday, we pretty much sat him on the potty every 15-20 minutes and most times he would tee-tee.  He still hasn't poo-pooed on the potty, just in his pull-up, but I hear that takes longer anyways.  Once, he started to tee tee in his underwear and then went quickly to the bathroom with me trailing and another time, he took himself.  Today he's at school for the first time since starting to potty train so we'll see how he does.  I am taking him today so he can pick out some big boy underwear for himself.  When I take Paul to the bathroom, I usually take Camille, too and set her on the little child potty while Paul sits on the regular potty.  She actually did tee-tee on it once each day and today, too.  I think she's starting to automatically go to the bathroom first before getting her diaper changed even if she doesn't quite grasp why.  

Those are the big milestones taking place right now, but I'll end this with a little story about Paul and one about Camille.  

Last night Paul was trying to be funny during story time at bed time and we were going through a picture book and naming all the objects and once we got to the page with the cheese on it, everything there after was cheese, too - the plane, the car, the kite, etc.  It was pretty funny and he was just laughing away.  

Camille has a favorite board book that has a different baby on each page and she'll bring it to us and flip through saying "baby" for each page which she's been doing for a while now.  Then yesterday, we were looking at a little 101 Dalmatians board book and she was flipping through it and saying "puppy" for each page.  It was super cute - she wasn't even guided to say it.  

Our kids are just too smart! :-)

Kids Update June/July

As fast as my kids are growing and changing, I really need to be better at updating my blog about them.  I feel like they are almost new people since the last blog last month.

Camille is a lot more interactive and understands so much more now.  She even shakes her head no when we ask if she wants something (like more juice or snacks, etc).  Or she'll go to wherever it is that the thing is that she wants.  If she does want more juice, she walks right to the refrigerator.  She also says a variety of words - Mama, Dada, (Sometimes Mommy, Daddy), bubba, Meenee (That means Mandy), Pops, cracker (sort of), juh (for juice), and some others I am sure I'm leaving out.  She is still quite the little monkey and wants to climb on anything she can reach.  We are fearing some injury related ER trips in her future.  But, as strong as she is, I think she'll be some sort of really great athlete, too.  My guess is either soccer or gymnastics - time will tell I suppose.  While she is quite whiny at times, she is also very affectionate and will come to sit in our laps just to cuddle.  It's very sweet.  

Paul is finally really starting to come out with some new words.  He says the names of several colors (yellow, pink, blue) and says ball, bat, Tia, Mama, Dada (sometimes Mommy and Daddy), cheese, there's quite a few more, I just can't think of them all now that I am trying to list them.  He will also answer yeah and no to questions we ask - in words and sign language - his favorite response is, of course, NO.  LOL  He also makes a lot of sound effect noises for his actions - his favorite is "pa-kow"..that's right..not KA POW like most people would say..but his own take on the phrase.  He also says noises like psssheeww, for actions he tries to demonstrate or when he is make believing like with his airplanes and such.  He has also grown quite a bit these last couple months.  He's fitting in to 3T shirts and some 2T some 3T shorts.  He also still loves to take apart and figure out how everything works.  He also is getting really good at building with his mega blocks.  He makes a pretty good airplane all on his own.  His other hobby lately is working puzzles.  We have some old board puzzles from when I was his age and he figures them out in no time - even though the age on them is 3-6.

It's been a challenge this past year to have two kids under the age of two for a while, but now that Camille is a year old and can play by herself, it's getting a lot easier and more fun.  We have been on a few outings lately and they can both run around and have a good time.  They even play together at times.

Well, I'm getting distracted by the ones I am speaking of, so I must run - more updates in a month!

Big milestones for the kids lately

A week ago yesterday, Paul gave up his pacifier!  It was unexpected for all of us and we used the "cold turkey" method, but it worked..woo hoo!  He never uses it at nap time at school and wants it at home, usually just to chew on, or when he's sleeping.  He doesn't really need it, so we knew it was getting close to time for him to give it up.  We were going to put the nail biting stuff on it and tell him when he's old enough it's gonna taste bad and then he'd have a signal to know it was time to get rid of it.  However, it didn't quite work that way.  What actually happened was that I was out running an errand with Camille and husband Paul couldn't find the pacifier so he convinced Paul to try and sleep without it, which he's had to do in the past once or twice.  He agreed, but then I got home and told Paul I knew where it was, but since it was all chewed up and Paul had already agreed to try and sleep without it, I didn't get it for him.  So, with a bit of reluctance, he went to sleep without it.  The only thing he wanted instead was for one of us to stay in his room until he went to sleep.  Usually, we read 3 books, sing a song and leave, but without his security pacifier, he needed security from us, I guess.  The next few times he went to sleep pretty much went the same way, but lately, we haven't had to stay in the room 'til he falls asleep and he hasn't asked for it since the 2nd day without it.  We are so proud!  Next step - potty training!  Which leads me to Camille's big milestone...

Yesterday, we put them both on the potty before bath time, which is what we've been trying to get in the habit of doing the past few days, and Camille went tee-tee on the little potty!  It was her first time going - usually she wants to get off right away and doesn't seem to understand what the potty is for, but this time she actually used it!  It was pretty cool.  Today she didn't, but that's OK.  I think she'll still be easier to train than Paul.  At least I hope so! :-)

Kids Update - May-ish

I never wrote a May blog about the kids - so why not in late June?  Oh well...anyways, these kids sure are growing up and changing so fast!  I should really write a weekly blog about them, but seeing as I can't even manage a monthly one, I guess I'll just have to do my best with remembering everything that's been going on.

Let's start with Camille.  She just turned one year old this past Saturday and we had a Hawaiian Luau theme party at our house.  It was a lot of fun and she was just a running all around the place. One of her gifts, to share with Paul, was a "Lookout Treehouse" for the backyard.  It's a sturdy plastic climbing toy that has steps on one side, a slide on the other and a "tree" top that they sit under as well as a lookout periscope.  She can manage it quite well already.  She doesn't always sit before sliding, so she's surprised herself and fallen a little fast down the slide, but no major injuries. I figure the more she uses it, the better she'll get.
At her 12 month well baby check up this week, she weighed in at 18.2 lbs and she's 28 inches tall.  She's average for everything, except low on weight, but the doctor said no worries.  She's very active so I know she burns calories like crazy, which is why despite the incredible amounts of food she eats - sometimes  more than big brother - she's still little.
She's been talking and babbling more and more.  She says "hi" and "baby" and "mama/dada/bubba" and "mee-nee" meaning "Mandy" (our dog).  She also says "juh" meaning "juice".

Paul is coming around on the talking as well.  He now says "Tia" (as of yesterday in fact).  That is husband Paul's mother and she's thrilled to finally have a grandchild say her name!  She has always gone by "Tia" for her nieces and nephews, so just kept it for her grandmother name, just fyi.  He also says ball & ba (bat) and makes animal sounds, though doesn't say their actual names just yet.  He also says a lot of the first sounds of words like "ch" means cheese.  He is finally saying two word sentences every now and then, too, like "daddy go" or something.
His new favorite activity is jumping off of things.  He particularly likes the little stool in his room and it's only 6-8 inches or so off the floor and he has those big rubber puzzle piece mats so I feel a little safer when he jumps in there.  I try to encourage him jumping off of that versus the couch or something.
He is also quite the artist these days.  He just built his first model airplane this week and glued it together (with help from Mommy of course), but he actually did a lot of the painting and gluing himself so I was really proud of him, especially since it was a time-consuming project and one that took a few days so he had to be patient to get the plane together.

Paul and Camille are getting better at entertaining themselves and each other so I can actually do a chore or two while they run around and I know they won't get in to too much trouble - not usually anyways - haha

And one last story about the kids, I just love how they make me feel like an American Idol - it'll be the only time in my life when someone appreciates my singing.  I sing to them before I put them to sleep and in the car and they love it.  When both of them were babies and would get fussy in the car, and even now for Camille, I just start singing to them and it calms them right down.  And believe me, I am no American Idol - LOL - but since I am one of the only people they have ever heard sing, they don't know any better and I eat it up because I know it'll be my only chance to be someone's American Idol.  haha

The best day

Today was one of the best days that I can remember with just me and the kids probably since Camille has been born. Paul woke up at around 7:30ish, played a few minutes on the ipad in my room, them I got up and made us breakfast and Camille woke up and I fed her. Paul had a couple bites of an egg and a whole wheat waffle. I had an egg and a bowl of oatmeal squares and Camille had oatmeal mixed with unsweetened applesauce and a little cinnamon. After breakfast, we got dressed and went to the library with Tia. Then, we came home and both kids had a two hour nap! I got to do some crafting and eat my own lunch in peace. Then the kids woke up and I made them a cheese quesadilla and some sweet peas which they both gobbled up. After lunch, they pretty much entertained themselves all afternoon and I played with them, too. We played with their little wooden blocks and I would make a stack as quick as I could, then "Cam-zilla" would knock it down, sometimes with help from her big brother. Thy thought it was pretty entertaining. Paul came home from work at around 5pm and went to mow the lawn and I took the kids out to play in the backyard. Ey love to play with water so I filled a bucket and they had fun dumping or scooping out the water. While we were in the back, I watered our plants - we have 2 tomatoes growing on the tomato plant, quite a few apples growing in both apple trees, and even a satsuma starting to grow, not to mention all the rose buds on both rose bushes. We have been fixing up our garden this year and are having fun with our new (or newly healthy - apple trees got sick last year so no apples) plants. Then, I brought the kids in, dried them off, made a quick dinner of baked tilapia with taco seasoning and spinach with cheese. All of us were able to eat the same exact meal! Woo hoo! Oh and this was Camille's first fish! After dinner, we gave the kids a bath and I took Camille in Paul's room with me to read to him and put him to bed. She fell asleep after I nursed her, while reading, and they were both out by 8:15! This is extremely rare. Camille usually goes to bed around 9-9:30, sometimes a little later. So, for the next couple of hours, Paul and I enjoyed some time doing our own things, just "fartin' around" as we say. I worked on crafts - I made 2 cardboard boxes covered with fabric today. Paul played on his computer, surfed the web, and did some photography stuff - developing pictures and stuff. And now we are off to bed after a womderful day filled with happiness all around!

Way late April New Year resolution/kids update

Ok so this is over a week late, but sometimes that just happens, what can ya say. I will start with my New Year Resolutions update. 1. Salad 2x/wk - still going strong..usually eat salad daily 2. Coupons ($100/month goal) - I am already over $640, so that one is going good 3. Read 50 books - I have completed 14 and am currently reading 3, so I a not sure if that means I am behind or still on track. 4. Read the Bible - well, this one has been a bit tough because I've just been a bit lazy this month, so I won't say just how far behind I am, but I hope to catch up this month on this and my book reading. Kids update Camille - my beautiful little girl, who gets more beautiful everyday, can be described as of late with one word - fearless! This girl is such a little monkey & dare devil! She climbs on and off of everything, like the dishwasher when its opened, or up a staircase if no one is watching. I am surprised there haven't been some major injuries. Yes, we watch her constantly, but she is fast and can get places before we even realize. She is really something else, and quite strong for not even being 11 months old yet. She is also talking more. She learned how to say hi two days ago and she will try to repeat other words or at least babble the same amount of syllables of whatever the word is. Paul - he is doing quite well in school and even went to play when I dropped him off last Thursday without getting sad when I left. He is a sweet big brother, usually - haha, and helps a lot with Camille. He gives her snacks or her drink if she gets fussy and they have started to play together a little bit, too. He now says his own name, it sounds more like "pouwl", but at least he is attempting to talk more. He also says "bat" and "back". Where he lacks in speaking, he makes up for with sign language. He learns signs at school and has been responding to us with yes and no in sign language so thats pretty cool. I am pretty sure he has tried to say other things to me with signs, I'm just not sure what they mean...maybe I should go to school with him and learn the signs, too! Short update, but hey at least I finally wrote something! More from here in a couple weeks!