6.25.12

Saturday was the fire hall open house/book sale. I was there to help out with the book sale, and also got to watch Josh take part in a vehicle extrication demo. It was pretty neat to see how they take apart a vehicle. And you'll just have to trust me that it's Josh in there.

Removing the windshield. Josh is 3rd from right.

Cutting the front passenger post - Josh is cutting.

Removing the roof.  Josh is...one of those guys.

Taking out the `victim` - Josh is at the front of the gurney.

6.24.12

For Wyatt, it was the Tupperwear cupboard.  And I really didn't care that he'd take out every mother loving container from and line the kitchen floor with them - it was when he started slipping on the lids that he so carefully laid out, that we had to put up the child safety lock.
For Paige, it's a cupboard with glass jars and vases.  And instead of rearranging my kitchen (because that will surely lead to a massive purge, which I didn't have time for), I got Josh to add yet another child safety lock.  We now have 10 of these suckers preventing my children from wrecking havoc, and preventing unwitting guests from being able to put their recycling in the bin should they so choose.  Paige was quick to crawl over to help, and you may be able to spot another small pair of feet between Josh's legs.  Instead of distracting either child, I took a picture.  Because that's what a good wife would do.
(For the record, Paige was removed before any actual drilling occurred).
I had someone tell me the other day that listening to stories that I tell of my life at home with kids is "the best birth control".  I know I am honest about what parenthood is like (because really, it's not all unicorns and rainbows, it's often a lot of excrement.  Literally.) - but I hope I am clear that I LOVE my children, and my children are awesome - people who have kids should be so lucky as to have ones like mine.  Maybe I don't share enough of the good stories, like how Wyatt spontaneously tells me, "I love you SO much, mommy.  The most I can." and how when I hold Paige to put her to sleep, she grabs me by the back of the neck and pulls me in so she can fall asleep with her forehead touching mine.  I'll try to remember to share those stories too, not just the ones about my rashy children who refuse to sleep and throw Hot Wheels at each other.

6.21.12

Today Wyatt and I did a little experiment - coloured vinegar dropped into a pan of baking soda.  It was fun and fizzy and entertained him for a whopping 12 minutes.  "That was fun, but I'm pretty done with it."  Alright then.
This kid has been driving me a little nutty this week - not himself, but what his body is doing.  Tuesday morning, he woke up scratching his stomach - a lot.  To the point that I looked under his shirt.  Looked like about 10 mosquito bites.  That seemed odd to me, that many bug bites in one spot.  So then I started checking other spots, and found the same marks on his feet, knees, hands, elbows, chin and around his eyes.  My first thought was chicken pox (even though he's had the vaccine, it's still possible to get...which is why we didn't want the vaccine, but he got it anyway.  Different story.), then I thought because he had been on amoxicillin, maybe he was having a reaction to that.  I took him to the walk in clinic, and we were told it "might" be a mild case of chicken pox, and likely not a allergic reaction.  That was good enough for me, even by that evening his spots were fading.  After work on Wednesday, I was helping him in the bathroom and noticed a rash on both legs, from butt to knees.  I took pictures, knowing that it could go away quickly (or get worse).  We gave him Benadryl because he was SO itchy, as well as an oatmeal bath, and that seemed to be okay.  Today you could see where the rash was, but he wasn't scratching and it wasn't nearly as rough.  Smooth sailing all the way through today until bedtime.  He started scratching his back, and sure enough, he was getting a rash there too, but this one looked different again.  About an hour later, he was complaining about his legs being itchy, and I noticed that the rash was coming back.  His doctor is kind enough to see us tomorrow even though he's not in clinic, so hopefully we can get some answers.  Wyatt hasn't been on the amoxicillin since Monday, so I don't know if that's even it. :S  These kids cannot seem to catch a break!

6.15.12

Lately dinnertime has involved a lot of hide and seek.

 And a lot of playing with her belly - although today she took it to a new level and rubbed a meatball all over herself.  Delightfully weird child. :)

6.13.12

Don't let the smile on his face fool you - he was not enjoying himself.  I don't know why I can't let this bike riding thing go.  I guess part of it is that he regularly asks if he can go ride his bike or trike, and then I get my hopes up, thinking he'll actually attempt to pedal when we get out there.  Instead he just wants to sit on the bike, and if I try to move his feet and legs in the pedaling motion, he bursts into tears and tells me I need to sell the bike to someone else. *sigh*
And he was really excited about this bike - I won it in the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Fundraiser auction.  We went and picked it up yesterday, and while Paige was napping, Wyatt talked about how shiny and red it was, and that it was a motorcycle bike because it had lights and could he pleeeeeaaaase go ride it?
Maybe he and I just have different ideas about what it means to ride a bike.

6.9.12

Today we attempted a smash cake session for Paige.  This was attempt #3 - the first two were done by a professional photographer.  The first one did not turn out well, and I have yet to see the 2nd batch, so I figured there was no harm in doing some myself.  There was much eyerolling on Josh's behalf, but I think I got a few cute shots, even though Paige wasn't feeling the best today (she's a trooper!).  Plus, I had to get pictures of her in the birthday hat I made for her...2 weeks after her birthday. :P  Better late than never?  Some (Josh) might say it doesn't matter when it's just a birthday hat. ;)
I promise this will be the last of the birthday pictures.  I had such a blast planning her party, I am now in birthday party planning withdrawl.  Wyatt's birthday isn't for another 3 months...and even I would consider that a little early.  Maybe.

6.7.12

I decided the best way to spend a day off in 28° weather would be to haul the kids up to the beach to try to get some pictures of Paige.  We had her 1 year photos professionally done and she looked perpetually surprised in almost all of them.  Now, to be clear, I didn't decide to take them because I think I'm a better photographer (ha ha ha ahhhhh), more so I wanted to take them because I knew exactly what I was looking for.  I think I got a few good ones.  Wyatt was a good sport for the most part - he said he didn't want his picture taken, which is why I don't have any close ups of him.
While looking through her pictures again, I realized just how incredibly blessed we are to have Paige in our lives.  Even though the first year has been a challenge (she is a complete and total opposite from Wyatt, so it was like starting all over!), she is a constant source of joy and entertainment.  When she smiles (and I mean, a real smile), it starts in her eyes.  Whether it be giggles or tears, she is expressive and intense.  She's just beginning to hug, and I don't know what is better than those (kind of) chubby little hands digging into my neck.
Now, to remember these things when she wakes up for the day at 5:23. ;)