Hey guys!!
I know it's been a while since I last blogged... life.. kids... it all caught up to me. ;) but recently I had a conversation with a friend that made me think I really need to blog about this because it touches my life deeply. Many of you already know that I'm a deaf mom- a fierce wickedly cool one by the way.. not sure my 3 year old would vote for that today but.. haha. I digress. :)
Per my conversation with my friend- we started talking about how deaf technology has truly changed and for the better.. and wonder what the future will bring for us.. hopefully more and more access so we can finally be on the same footing as hearing people. :)
1. In 1990- ADA law set up that every disabled person must have access to any public place, with accomdations made by the place to accomdate a disabled person. In this law as well- included closed captioning. for many of you who don't know- closed captioned is when words show up on a t.v. screen with black background and white letters. If it is "subtitled" it will often be yellow or white and "open" open caption is almost like subtitles. Anyway, CC became required in that law and around 1992-1993.. my mom had gotten a voucher to get me a CC box it was a black box attached to the tv via cable cord. and a plug to the wall.. and it had buttons on it that you could turn the CC on and off. She plugged it in and got it all hooked up and she's like Lauren, you can read the words on the t.v. instead of asking what they are saying.. i was like.. what? ok?? she turned on oprah winfrey- ths was one of the VERY few shows that were closed captioned at the time....... and I remember watching the words scroll on by.. they were saying what people were saying- probably a bit delayed but I remember being amazed.... as the years went by up until about 1995-1996- then more and more shows are captioned. Almost Everything on t.v. is captioned now. For me, it is normal to have words on the screen so i can read it.. and most of the time when i go to other peoples houses- they are willing to turn on captioning.. but I also hate asking because i feel like it is a hassle to figure out how to get it on and sometimes people don't remember how to get it off also. Just funny, thinking about watching that first t.v. show with CC and being floored and now it is a normal everyday thing for me. my kids are growing up with words on the screen... I wonder what they will have to say when they go to other peoples houses and notice they don't have CC. :)
2. TTY to TTY conversations... TTY is a box keyboard computer thing almost. you place a phone on it, and you can make a phone call to another TTY and also through relay to a hearing person. and you type what you want to say, then say GA, (go ahead) then if you are done talking and say bye bye you say Stop Keying (SK SK) This is also widely known as a leader to future technoglogy as Instant messages and also texting on Cell Phones- yes you can thank the Deaf people now!! We are the reason why everyone texts. :) Texting works silimarily to how a TTY worked back then.
instant messages- that didn't come around until about 1997-1998- so Us 25 year olds and up- were born before internet... Life without Internet... and big box computers- and we had dial up too... and often got told to get off the computer so someone could use the phone- now its a completely different world- everyone has a cell phone- and the Internet is often cabled- and no more dial up!
3. Baby monitors- they finally made one that is made for hearing and deaf parents alike- a vibrating baby montior- I have used this with both kids- It is a life saver- it vibrates when the baby cries and MUCH better than hooking up lights to this special montior- that would make every light in the house flash every time the baby cried or talked or made a peep. Could you imagine having a house flashing lights every time your baby made a peep? Not me! I was so thrilled that they came out with this. It helps a lot.
I think those 3 things in my life as a deaf mom- had a huge impact on my life.. for one thing.. my kids will probably learn how to read faster because they will be exposed to literacy early because of the CC. My 3 year old already knows how to use the mouse and keyboard, and he knows when I am chatting with my friends on VP or through relay or Skype- that I am talking to someone and it is normal for him to annoy me when i am on the phone- just like you hearing moms- I have the same issues you do! :) Although I am almost done using the baby monitors- it will be amazing to see what else the future has in hold for more advanced deaf technology and also how... things have changed in just few years. I am so happy we have those changes now- and they make life easier.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
cochlear Implants
this is a different blog post than in months past... a friend of mine brought up how hearing people think that a cochlear implant is a cure all. It is not.. I have my own story to tell plus hundreds of thousands of stories of other people that have their own experiences and stories to tell.
I got my Cochlear Implant at age 6. My parents espically my mom questioned if it was the really truly the right choice- and my dad was all like "hey if it helps her then it helps her" My mom sat me down one day and said....... do you want to hear? What a heavy question for a 6 year old... I just wanted to be just like my sisters... not be different. I wanted to whisper with them at night, and share secrets in the dark and not have to work to talk to them, or anyone (not that ASL is a beautiful language) I just wanted to be a normal, happy 6 year old. so I said Yes..... and that started my journey.......
I had to go through a lot of tests to find out if the Cochlear implant would even work and a interview process with the Team at University of Iowa- Iowa City. They are about 7 hours south of GB. I don't really remember too much from this time. it came out that i was a perfect candidate with my right ear and they would do the operation. They scheduled the surgery for Dec 6th,1990- just so i could have the 2 weeks off from school then winter break then return to school. I remember having the surgery done- I actually remember not wanting to breathe into the mask.... but it made me really sleepy so i fell asleep... I woke up in recovery but fell asleep again. I woke up a few hours later because they had to check to make sure i needed to eat. I was SO, SO tired. I just wanted to sleep a lot the first day. After that I started waking up more and I wanted to be more active but it was difficult because of the gauze on my head that felt like it weighed 20 pounds. I did have a headache and fever- they ended up keeping me just a day or 2 longer than planned to make sure i would make a full recovery. I drove my mother Crazy the next 3 weeks- I couldn't wait to get back to school.
I got back to school and I looked different so it was a little shocking to some of my friends- my dad came to school with me to tell my friends about what happened and why. I finally got activated in march.. I couldn't tell you what day it was... I actually don't even remember it at all.. but basically what happens is they Map you and you have to listen to tones to make sure it sounds all the same and it sounds good and watch you for reactions to the tone. Im sure the first time they turned it on and I responded it was probably cute and emotional..I don't remember this at all but I do remember driving back to Wisconsin and we got back to GB and we went to pick up my sisters from my dad's house-my dad and I walked into the house and my dad's like.. she can hear now... and all 3 of my sisters all started talking to me loudly and laughing and making noises to see what I could hear and stuff. My mom said that when they were driving back I was asking what sounds EVERYTHING was making- it was just so much noise! I was thrust ed from a quiet world with crappy hearing aids to this.. loud noisy world!!
It's been about 23 years now since I've gotten my cochlear implant.. I've flourished.. I've learned how to talk, i can read lips pretty well... I can hear sounds and words and environmental sounds.. Its just if you are talking to the back of my head it just sounds like garbled words being spoken too fast haha. I can catch a word or two but not everything. Although if i look at you and can read your lips- I pretty much understand everything you are saying. I can't hear on the phone like normal hearing people can- it just sounds like words messed up... I know only a few words that i can "pick out" but yeah.
getting to the real point here though.. I have so many different deaf friends that have cochlear implants... for some of them- they have not worked at all-only hear some or some environmental sounds but its very very limited-some have exposure to a lot of sounds but words and language does not sound different than the sounds. People like me that can survive with having a CI get spoken language and understand fine and actually are capable of picking up spoken language... and there are deaf people that are completely oral with CIs- which means they just talk and they get a great benefit with the implant- and years and years of training. not everyone can get the training and sometimes you put in all the work and still not 100 percent capable of getting all the benefits from it that other people do.
I've also had issues with figuring out who i am because of having a cochlear implant and being able to talk well before (my speech is horrible now) but at that time in my life it felt like like i was in between both worlds like talking and signing... and trying to go between. Now though, I don't really wear my CI anymore (and I should) and I feel that im more on the deaf end of things- which Im absolutely fine with... I love where I am and I love the rich language and the culture that it comes with and I don't mind dabbling in the hearing world as u know my bf and my children live there but I love being where I am.. when i am with my deaf friends- i am simply at home- it is where I can be myself with my language and communication flows freely and clearly with no frustrations. It took years though to figure out where I wanted to be.
I got my Cochlear Implant at age 6. My parents espically my mom questioned if it was the really truly the right choice- and my dad was all like "hey if it helps her then it helps her" My mom sat me down one day and said....... do you want to hear? What a heavy question for a 6 year old... I just wanted to be just like my sisters... not be different. I wanted to whisper with them at night, and share secrets in the dark and not have to work to talk to them, or anyone (not that ASL is a beautiful language) I just wanted to be a normal, happy 6 year old. so I said Yes..... and that started my journey.......
I had to go through a lot of tests to find out if the Cochlear implant would even work and a interview process with the Team at University of Iowa- Iowa City. They are about 7 hours south of GB. I don't really remember too much from this time. it came out that i was a perfect candidate with my right ear and they would do the operation. They scheduled the surgery for Dec 6th,1990- just so i could have the 2 weeks off from school then winter break then return to school. I remember having the surgery done- I actually remember not wanting to breathe into the mask.... but it made me really sleepy so i fell asleep... I woke up in recovery but fell asleep again. I woke up a few hours later because they had to check to make sure i needed to eat. I was SO, SO tired. I just wanted to sleep a lot the first day. After that I started waking up more and I wanted to be more active but it was difficult because of the gauze on my head that felt like it weighed 20 pounds. I did have a headache and fever- they ended up keeping me just a day or 2 longer than planned to make sure i would make a full recovery. I drove my mother Crazy the next 3 weeks- I couldn't wait to get back to school.
I got back to school and I looked different so it was a little shocking to some of my friends- my dad came to school with me to tell my friends about what happened and why. I finally got activated in march.. I couldn't tell you what day it was... I actually don't even remember it at all.. but basically what happens is they Map you and you have to listen to tones to make sure it sounds all the same and it sounds good and watch you for reactions to the tone. Im sure the first time they turned it on and I responded it was probably cute and emotional..I don't remember this at all but I do remember driving back to Wisconsin and we got back to GB and we went to pick up my sisters from my dad's house-my dad and I walked into the house and my dad's like.. she can hear now... and all 3 of my sisters all started talking to me loudly and laughing and making noises to see what I could hear and stuff. My mom said that when they were driving back I was asking what sounds EVERYTHING was making- it was just so much noise! I was thrust ed from a quiet world with crappy hearing aids to this.. loud noisy world!!
It's been about 23 years now since I've gotten my cochlear implant.. I've flourished.. I've learned how to talk, i can read lips pretty well... I can hear sounds and words and environmental sounds.. Its just if you are talking to the back of my head it just sounds like garbled words being spoken too fast haha. I can catch a word or two but not everything. Although if i look at you and can read your lips- I pretty much understand everything you are saying. I can't hear on the phone like normal hearing people can- it just sounds like words messed up... I know only a few words that i can "pick out" but yeah.
getting to the real point here though.. I have so many different deaf friends that have cochlear implants... for some of them- they have not worked at all-only hear some or some environmental sounds but its very very limited-some have exposure to a lot of sounds but words and language does not sound different than the sounds. People like me that can survive with having a CI get spoken language and understand fine and actually are capable of picking up spoken language... and there are deaf people that are completely oral with CIs- which means they just talk and they get a great benefit with the implant- and years and years of training. not everyone can get the training and sometimes you put in all the work and still not 100 percent capable of getting all the benefits from it that other people do.
I've also had issues with figuring out who i am because of having a cochlear implant and being able to talk well before (my speech is horrible now) but at that time in my life it felt like like i was in between both worlds like talking and signing... and trying to go between. Now though, I don't really wear my CI anymore (and I should) and I feel that im more on the deaf end of things- which Im absolutely fine with... I love where I am and I love the rich language and the culture that it comes with and I don't mind dabbling in the hearing world as u know my bf and my children live there but I love being where I am.. when i am with my deaf friends- i am simply at home- it is where I can be myself with my language and communication flows freely and clearly with no frustrations. It took years though to figure out where I wanted to be.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Things I miss before I had children...
a different topic today than normal... I decided to write about the things I miss that I did.. before I had the children
1. Being able to finish a book in a day.......... and they said rome was built in a day (not if you have 2 toddlers)
2. Going out when I feel like it (have to pre-plan, sitter, and pack the kids bag)
3. Eating a Hot meal..... My kids eat before I do and by the time i get to it.. it is cold and yucky.. and then i warm it up in the mircowave... and someone falls.......... there goes the dinner.
4. a clean house.. in all areas... at all times. (it looks like a war zone much of the time.. with toys waiting to be set off and blast your ear with loud music.. and they wonder why kids are going deaf)
5. Taking a shower... and a long one.
6. going food shopping without having children present/or begging for food
7. watching a entire movie without falling asleep....... yep.. I get so exhausted i can't even finish a movie.
8. having a house full of food.... longer.. my almost 3 year old boy begs for snacks almost hourly now.. he is like a garbage disoposal that cannot stop eating.
9. not having to feel vibrations to make sure that my kids are behaving... and checking on them a lot.. more often than not.. they are wrestling (yes my kids wrestle now) or fighting over a toy they just cannot share.. and when it gets really quiet then they are having too much fun and doing something that is a no no.
10. sitting on the couch in a total clean house and proud of my work and feel great it can stay clean for a while... doesn't happen when you have children.
11. again, reading a book in one or so day.. It takes me weeks now to finish a book........... man.
Don't get me wrong.. this isn't complaining about my kids at all... I just have certain things that I miss.. before I had my children... but my life is much fuller now because of them... Every morning I get to get up to see the 2 most beautiful faces on this earth. I get to play (most of the day) with my kids and be The cool silly mommy and make my kids laugh.. even though i can't hear them laugh, I see the smile reach up to their eyes and they (esp vincent) yells Mommy you funny!!!!!!! Nothing makes my heart sing than my ability to make my kids giggle. I hurt when my kids hurt.. I hate telling them no and seeing them cry but I know in the long run it will make them a stronger person. My favorite part of the day-- is when I get to sit on the couch with both of them and watch some t.v. and we all snuggle.. sometimes its a movie and we get to eat popcorn. Every night I put them to bed... and I silently sing Hallejuah because I get to spend some ME time finally but.. I'm always thankful that I am THEIR mommy. Life isn't so bad when you have two hearts to love and love forever. Not so bad after all. :)
1. Being able to finish a book in a day.......... and they said rome was built in a day (not if you have 2 toddlers)
2. Going out when I feel like it (have to pre-plan, sitter, and pack the kids bag)
3. Eating a Hot meal..... My kids eat before I do and by the time i get to it.. it is cold and yucky.. and then i warm it up in the mircowave... and someone falls.......... there goes the dinner.
4. a clean house.. in all areas... at all times. (it looks like a war zone much of the time.. with toys waiting to be set off and blast your ear with loud music.. and they wonder why kids are going deaf)
5. Taking a shower... and a long one.
6. going food shopping without having children present/or begging for food
7. watching a entire movie without falling asleep....... yep.. I get so exhausted i can't even finish a movie.
8. having a house full of food.... longer.. my almost 3 year old boy begs for snacks almost hourly now.. he is like a garbage disoposal that cannot stop eating.
9. not having to feel vibrations to make sure that my kids are behaving... and checking on them a lot.. more often than not.. they are wrestling (yes my kids wrestle now) or fighting over a toy they just cannot share.. and when it gets really quiet then they are having too much fun and doing something that is a no no.
10. sitting on the couch in a total clean house and proud of my work and feel great it can stay clean for a while... doesn't happen when you have children.
11. again, reading a book in one or so day.. It takes me weeks now to finish a book........... man.
Don't get me wrong.. this isn't complaining about my kids at all... I just have certain things that I miss.. before I had my children... but my life is much fuller now because of them... Every morning I get to get up to see the 2 most beautiful faces on this earth. I get to play (most of the day) with my kids and be The cool silly mommy and make my kids laugh.. even though i can't hear them laugh, I see the smile reach up to their eyes and they (esp vincent) yells Mommy you funny!!!!!!! Nothing makes my heart sing than my ability to make my kids giggle. I hurt when my kids hurt.. I hate telling them no and seeing them cry but I know in the long run it will make them a stronger person. My favorite part of the day-- is when I get to sit on the couch with both of them and watch some t.v. and we all snuggle.. sometimes its a movie and we get to eat popcorn. Every night I put them to bed... and I silently sing Hallejuah because I get to spend some ME time finally but.. I'm always thankful that I am THEIR mommy. Life isn't so bad when you have two hearts to love and love forever. Not so bad after all. :)
Thursday, May 10, 2012
the bed time trick
Bed Times are my favorite part of the night- MY KIDS finally go to bed! and leave me alone for several hours. Hallejuah!!! haha. don't get me wrong. I love them to pieces.. but when i am reading a good book or seeing a good show on Net flix that I can't wait to see the next show of.. Or finish the book and so on. :)
the other night I tricked Vincent into going to bed early.... and I told my friend I just earned the worst mom of the year award but it was pretty funny. Haha. OK.. well, I JUST recently moved the box of books upstairs so now Vince and I.. and eventually Victoria and I will snuggle in their beds and read bed time stories. :) Part of this now, is learning how to listen to mommy read and not reading other books and just relaxing and listening to the stories. Vincent is a hyper little 2 year old at 9:30 at night this particular night.. I started reading a book... and he was reading other books and jumping around and pretty much not listening to me... I finally glanced at him and said.. Hey bud? you want me to leave right? and Vince said Yeah. I was like Ok, I guess Story time is over and I picked up all the books and put them back in the box.. and said I guess its time for bed now since you don't want to listen to mommy read you some stories. Vincent at this point started freaking out and crying and being like I really want to finish the books and i'll listen im sorry... and I was like.. No you were playing anyway.. and not listening and you wanted me to leave, so I'll leave.. maybe you'll learn to listen next time.. and he was STILL crying ( obviously tired out) and I said nighty- night buddy.. I'll see you in the morning I love you.. and hes like (cries) i love you too... ( ibet he was thinking I was a horrible mean mommy for doing that to him )
I later texted a friend that night.. saying ha-ha! i earned the worst mom of the year award tonight.. but it was pretty funny to me.
Vincent-im glad to say now all i have to say is? You want me to stop and leave??? and he knows.. he's like ok i'll lay down and listen. It is so hard for him to do at almost 3 years old but he is learning. He Throughly enjoys the hungry caterpillar. I can't wait until he is a little older so we can do a caterpillar project so he learns more about what caterpillars do and how they become a butterfly. :) way cool.
the other night I tricked Vincent into going to bed early.... and I told my friend I just earned the worst mom of the year award but it was pretty funny. Haha. OK.. well, I JUST recently moved the box of books upstairs so now Vince and I.. and eventually Victoria and I will snuggle in their beds and read bed time stories. :) Part of this now, is learning how to listen to mommy read and not reading other books and just relaxing and listening to the stories. Vincent is a hyper little 2 year old at 9:30 at night this particular night.. I started reading a book... and he was reading other books and jumping around and pretty much not listening to me... I finally glanced at him and said.. Hey bud? you want me to leave right? and Vince said Yeah. I was like Ok, I guess Story time is over and I picked up all the books and put them back in the box.. and said I guess its time for bed now since you don't want to listen to mommy read you some stories. Vincent at this point started freaking out and crying and being like I really want to finish the books and i'll listen im sorry... and I was like.. No you were playing anyway.. and not listening and you wanted me to leave, so I'll leave.. maybe you'll learn to listen next time.. and he was STILL crying ( obviously tired out) and I said nighty- night buddy.. I'll see you in the morning I love you.. and hes like (cries) i love you too... ( ibet he was thinking I was a horrible mean mommy for doing that to him )
I later texted a friend that night.. saying ha-ha! i earned the worst mom of the year award tonight.. but it was pretty funny to me.
Vincent-im glad to say now all i have to say is? You want me to stop and leave??? and he knows.. he's like ok i'll lay down and listen. It is so hard for him to do at almost 3 years old but he is learning. He Throughly enjoys the hungry caterpillar. I can't wait until he is a little older so we can do a caterpillar project so he learns more about what caterpillars do and how they become a butterfly. :) way cool.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Toddler Speak
Most of you already know that Vincent was having or is having difficulty in speaking english. Haha. I just wanted to update you that he has been really trying harder now to talk more and it has gotten hilarious to just see the things he has to say. As a deaf mom- i'm proud that he signs... but I want him to also function in the hearing world like I do.. speaking, writing, reading... it will take him far in life. It has been really interesting to see the things he has to really say and what is on his mind.
Vincent is very self centered now......... everything begins with ME, or I.
he also yells............. ME WANT PLAY OUTSIDE!!!!
ME TIRED! I WANT EAT FOOD...ME hungry.
It is so funny to see the language he is picking up and how he spends hours giggling over the smallest thing. Tonight i was telling him good night and giving him hugs and kisses.. and (yes at 3) he doesn't like the kisses anymore and wipes them off his cheeks.. BUT he asks for more and laughs... so I think he still likes it but is making a game out of it. He has really begun a language explosion the last few months where he is picking up so many signs/words.. and also with me letting him watch signing Tv shows (blue clues, signing time) he has been really learning more. I have never been prouder of him.
I think there is some speech delay though... the key will be to find out to what degree and how to help him catch up with his peers. Hopefully he won't hate us for all the work we will have to do with him. :) I had speech thearpy as a kid and I hated it........ I guess I never thought about how it would be like from a hearing kid point of view- they should speak english fine and shouldn't need the help..... so I hope I can make vincent feel ok about having to go and that he gets the extra help now while he still is little. It is hard.. so many worries.. so much love and life.
I have to share though: Victoria said Mama tonight. :) she was looking at me and going MMMMMMMMMM, Mama! little tiny voice she has. :) I'm just thrilled because vincent said dada first before mama. (but he did sign mama before dada) Victoria isn't really into signing at all.. she knows what signs are and what are the same repetive signs we use daily. Time will tell in the next few months if she will really ever pick up ASL like her brother has. I was also cleaning up the house tonight... and Vincent got his animals and pooh blankie and said good night to his dad and basically put himself up in bed by himself.. I was like you are getting so big that you know you are supposed to be going to bed.. Wow. :( My babies are growing up.. the next I know.. i will be blogging about all the activities they do and how much time I spend texting/driving.. Haha.
Vincent is very self centered now......... everything begins with ME, or I.
he also yells............. ME WANT PLAY OUTSIDE!!!!
ME TIRED! I WANT EAT FOOD...ME hungry.
It is so funny to see the language he is picking up and how he spends hours giggling over the smallest thing. Tonight i was telling him good night and giving him hugs and kisses.. and (yes at 3) he doesn't like the kisses anymore and wipes them off his cheeks.. BUT he asks for more and laughs... so I think he still likes it but is making a game out of it. He has really begun a language explosion the last few months where he is picking up so many signs/words.. and also with me letting him watch signing Tv shows (blue clues, signing time) he has been really learning more. I have never been prouder of him.
I think there is some speech delay though... the key will be to find out to what degree and how to help him catch up with his peers. Hopefully he won't hate us for all the work we will have to do with him. :) I had speech thearpy as a kid and I hated it........ I guess I never thought about how it would be like from a hearing kid point of view- they should speak english fine and shouldn't need the help..... so I hope I can make vincent feel ok about having to go and that he gets the extra help now while he still is little. It is hard.. so many worries.. so much love and life.
I have to share though: Victoria said Mama tonight. :) she was looking at me and going MMMMMMMMMM, Mama! little tiny voice she has. :) I'm just thrilled because vincent said dada first before mama. (but he did sign mama before dada) Victoria isn't really into signing at all.. she knows what signs are and what are the same repetive signs we use daily. Time will tell in the next few months if she will really ever pick up ASL like her brother has. I was also cleaning up the house tonight... and Vincent got his animals and pooh blankie and said good night to his dad and basically put himself up in bed by himself.. I was like you are getting so big that you know you are supposed to be going to bed.. Wow. :( My babies are growing up.. the next I know.. i will be blogging about all the activities they do and how much time I spend texting/driving.. Haha.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Easter Egg Hunt
The promise of Easter is finally here.... Easter. Easter is a time for us to get together and finally get outdoors and enjoy the sunshine and really enjoy being with our family... after being rudely shut in all winter!
This year held special meaning to me... as most.. Ok, ALL of you know, I had Victoria the day before easter- and that is when my family does Easter.. so I missed out, and I missed out on Krause Clan festivities last year as well as Steiner's. I have been looking foward to easter since christmas mainly just because I can eat the food and actually paricipate in the fun rather than being in a hositpal bed wincing in pain.
We went to my mom's hosue for Easter this year.......... it was actually a lot of fun.. lots of chattering, eating, and giggling for hours. This year, since I got out of cooking food- food duty.. I decided to allow ( with my mom and stepdad's permission of course) all 6 grandkids to go outside and do a easter egg hunt with 84 plastic eggs... Haha. 84 divided by 6 came to 14 eggs per grandkid! Grandpa G went outside to hide all the eggs.. It was pretty funny watching my Nephew try to sneak and see if he could see where Grandpa was hiding all the eggs. :) Once all of the kids arrived.. ( I love how this happens) one of the kids ran up to the other and said.. Grandma's letting us easter egg hunt!! and there's Candy in them.... then all the kids bubbled up with exictement and started chattering madly and peeking out the window and yelling I see one..... Oooh i see another. Grandma was like we aren't doing that until after everyone's ate and is done! (kids mumble and whine a bit) Kids rush through meal while the adults take our sweet time eating and chattering........... (kids come up the stairs and ask about 20 times when we are going to do it.) (giggles) Vincent was really a little too young to really get it.
The Easter Egg hunt:
we told the kids 14 eggs each, once u get all 14 you stop but if you see somoene else that is still looking for eggs, then you can help if you want. All of the kids found eggs pretty quickly- amazed me how fast they found 'em. we had trouble finding 6 eggs.. I guess Grandpa must have hid them really good!!! we did find them... if there was one or two i am sure Grandpa will find them when he mows the lawn. haha.
the adults spent the rest of the day on the deck yakking for hours and visited with Tori who slept most of the time. poor baby she was really tired.
Sunday we spent the day with the krause clan....... easter egg hunt.. and the kids found eggs too.. vincent having done this the day before caught on really quick.. when we told him to look for something in this spefic area.. he found them! I think it helps too to have BRIGHT colored eggs ( which i think we will do next year at Mom's) this year we had pastel and I think that was harder for vincent for some reason. and we all sat around and laughed at the kids and chatted.... they all really liked seeing Victoria and vincent. Vincent threw a HUGE fit at the end because he was so tired from all the craziness and he told andy.. I not fall asleep on ride home. i Promise. I not tired. andy is like you are tired and i thnk u will fall asleep.. he said no daddy i not tired i not fall asleep.. and on the way home he was desperately trying to stay awake........... and he made it to De Pere........about 3 blocks away from home.... he fell asleep. and we laughed.......... I not tired!! Andy put him to bed and vincent tried to convince him to let him not nap... I was like, No buddy mom says u need to nap.... pitting one parent at the other already!! tori was completely exhausted and very happy to nap :) after all that....... so were we!
Lauren
This year held special meaning to me... as most.. Ok, ALL of you know, I had Victoria the day before easter- and that is when my family does Easter.. so I missed out, and I missed out on Krause Clan festivities last year as well as Steiner's. I have been looking foward to easter since christmas mainly just because I can eat the food and actually paricipate in the fun rather than being in a hositpal bed wincing in pain.
We went to my mom's hosue for Easter this year.......... it was actually a lot of fun.. lots of chattering, eating, and giggling for hours. This year, since I got out of cooking food- food duty.. I decided to allow ( with my mom and stepdad's permission of course) all 6 grandkids to go outside and do a easter egg hunt with 84 plastic eggs... Haha. 84 divided by 6 came to 14 eggs per grandkid! Grandpa G went outside to hide all the eggs.. It was pretty funny watching my Nephew try to sneak and see if he could see where Grandpa was hiding all the eggs. :) Once all of the kids arrived.. ( I love how this happens) one of the kids ran up to the other and said.. Grandma's letting us easter egg hunt!! and there's Candy in them.... then all the kids bubbled up with exictement and started chattering madly and peeking out the window and yelling I see one..... Oooh i see another. Grandma was like we aren't doing that until after everyone's ate and is done! (kids mumble and whine a bit) Kids rush through meal while the adults take our sweet time eating and chattering........... (kids come up the stairs and ask about 20 times when we are going to do it.) (giggles) Vincent was really a little too young to really get it.
The Easter Egg hunt:
we told the kids 14 eggs each, once u get all 14 you stop but if you see somoene else that is still looking for eggs, then you can help if you want. All of the kids found eggs pretty quickly- amazed me how fast they found 'em. we had trouble finding 6 eggs.. I guess Grandpa must have hid them really good!!! we did find them... if there was one or two i am sure Grandpa will find them when he mows the lawn. haha.
the adults spent the rest of the day on the deck yakking for hours and visited with Tori who slept most of the time. poor baby she was really tired.
Sunday we spent the day with the krause clan....... easter egg hunt.. and the kids found eggs too.. vincent having done this the day before caught on really quick.. when we told him to look for something in this spefic area.. he found them! I think it helps too to have BRIGHT colored eggs ( which i think we will do next year at Mom's) this year we had pastel and I think that was harder for vincent for some reason. and we all sat around and laughed at the kids and chatted.... they all really liked seeing Victoria and vincent. Vincent threw a HUGE fit at the end because he was so tired from all the craziness and he told andy.. I not fall asleep on ride home. i Promise. I not tired. andy is like you are tired and i thnk u will fall asleep.. he said no daddy i not tired i not fall asleep.. and on the way home he was desperately trying to stay awake........... and he made it to De Pere........about 3 blocks away from home.... he fell asleep. and we laughed.......... I not tired!! Andy put him to bed and vincent tried to convince him to let him not nap... I was like, No buddy mom says u need to nap.... pitting one parent at the other already!! tori was completely exhausted and very happy to nap :) after all that....... so were we!
Lauren
Monday, March 12, 2012
Good Bye Crib
Tonight, Fondly and happily- we bid farewell to a old friend of the family. Mr. Crib. Mr Crib has been a member of our family since before Vince was born. I still remember the antipication of bringing Vincent home from the hositpal.. and Andy and I decided that we could trust vincent alone in his big (small) bedroom and let him sleep without mommy or daddy nearby. I was going to be going in there every 2-3 hours to feed him anyway. He would be fine. The first night, he snuggled down happily... and I lowered my arms to put him in it and Andy wrapped him in his crib the way they showed us how at the hostipal due to SIDS prevention. I remember looking at him and worrying about him being all alone in such a BIG crib and all by himself (after all 2 days ago he was in my belly waiting to be born!) Andy looked at me and smiled, and said Lauren-- he will be fine.. you will be back in here in 2 hours and we have the baby monitor. grudingly I left my sweet baby boy....
Almost 3 years later.......................
Vincent is almost 3 and we finally decided he was big enough to sleep in his own big boy bed and that he could choose what he wanted for his big boy bed. He chose toy story, Although every night he still sleeps with his Pooh and his Tigger and his blanky. These are his must haves EVERY single night. It still feels unreal to me as a mom.. that overnight it seems like Vincent grew up much too quickly for me. He does not want to be momma's baby anymore and wanting to be more independent. It has been 3 weeks since we moved Vincent and no real big issues at all.. He stays in his bed most nights unless he is a little wounded up for bed. Most nights because he does not take a nap-- he is pretty much ready for bed when he goes to bed. Thank god we haven't had too many issues except for wanting to wake up Victoria when he is supposed to be sleeping. :) He is really happy about sleeping in his big boy bed and Loves to show people his big boy bed and big boy room. We are so proud of him but for me as a mom.. I am so proud of him but at the same time I miss him being a little tiny vincent. It all went by so fast. But I sure am glad he is not jumping in his crib anymore.. there were many nights i was afraid he would jump so hard he would break the crib- they made that crib unbreakable! lol
Good bye Crib- good bye old friend.. thank you for protecting our sweet little baby.
Almost 3 years later.......................
Vincent is almost 3 and we finally decided he was big enough to sleep in his own big boy bed and that he could choose what he wanted for his big boy bed. He chose toy story, Although every night he still sleeps with his Pooh and his Tigger and his blanky. These are his must haves EVERY single night. It still feels unreal to me as a mom.. that overnight it seems like Vincent grew up much too quickly for me. He does not want to be momma's baby anymore and wanting to be more independent. It has been 3 weeks since we moved Vincent and no real big issues at all.. He stays in his bed most nights unless he is a little wounded up for bed. Most nights because he does not take a nap-- he is pretty much ready for bed when he goes to bed. Thank god we haven't had too many issues except for wanting to wake up Victoria when he is supposed to be sleeping. :) He is really happy about sleeping in his big boy bed and Loves to show people his big boy bed and big boy room. We are so proud of him but for me as a mom.. I am so proud of him but at the same time I miss him being a little tiny vincent. It all went by so fast. But I sure am glad he is not jumping in his crib anymore.. there were many nights i was afraid he would jump so hard he would break the crib- they made that crib unbreakable! lol
Good bye Crib- good bye old friend.. thank you for protecting our sweet little baby.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Everybody poops
This is a conversation Vince and I had over lunch while Victoria was napping... I shall call it everybody poops...
I was looking at diapers online to determine what was the cheapest cost of buying diapers and pull ups... Vince asked what I was doing, and i showed him. He said the baby wears diapers and I wear pull ups now because Im a big boy (really he just said I big boy)
We were talking about going pee and poop in the potty and that mommy wasn't going to get any more diapers for Vince because he can go pee pee in the potty. Vince then says I can go poop in the potty BIG BOY! I am like Yes, You can! He says..... Momma, Lady goes poop??? I was like yes- outside because it is very stinky! Momma, does the Kitty go poop? Yes, in a big box full of litter. Momma Monkey poop?? Yes monkey poops in a jungle (what else am i supposed to tell him....) Momma, bear poop too? I was like Yes.. bear poops......somewhere in the woods..... (the things that make you think... how come I never stepped in bear poop?) Momma-froggy poops too right? Yep in the pond... little poops u can't see because it goes right in the water just like the fishies- Vince goes quiet and is eating his lunch........ then he is like....... I gotta go poop.......... like a frog....
(sitting on the potty) Momma- I be pooping like a bear!!
(um.... Yeah......guess that is all you got out of the life lesson buddy) LOL
I was looking at diapers online to determine what was the cheapest cost of buying diapers and pull ups... Vince asked what I was doing, and i showed him. He said the baby wears diapers and I wear pull ups now because Im a big boy (really he just said I big boy)
We were talking about going pee and poop in the potty and that mommy wasn't going to get any more diapers for Vince because he can go pee pee in the potty. Vince then says I can go poop in the potty BIG BOY! I am like Yes, You can! He says..... Momma, Lady goes poop??? I was like yes- outside because it is very stinky! Momma, does the Kitty go poop? Yes, in a big box full of litter. Momma Monkey poop?? Yes monkey poops in a jungle (what else am i supposed to tell him....) Momma, bear poop too? I was like Yes.. bear poops......somewhere in the woods..... (the things that make you think... how come I never stepped in bear poop?) Momma-froggy poops too right? Yep in the pond... little poops u can't see because it goes right in the water just like the fishies- Vince goes quiet and is eating his lunch........ then he is like....... I gotta go poop.......... like a frog....
(sitting on the potty) Momma- I be pooping like a bear!!
(um.... Yeah......guess that is all you got out of the life lesson buddy) LOL
going night nighty!
In our house..... when it is night-nighty time it tends to get a little crazy.. or a little crazy... I have decided to put vincent in a big boy bed due to a lot of issues with my wrist (and amazingly- my wrist has improved/feeling better since we don't put vince in the crib anymore!) and the fact we are potty training him now, and He feels like he is a big boy- as we often tell him you are a Big Boy.
With two kids now... it gets harder to put both of them to bed. Vince has decided that since he is bigger than his sister- he should go to bed later than she does (even if it is 5 minutes after she does LOL) brothers. :) Usually it is either Bath,book bed for both kids depending on what night it is or its just Bottle, sippy cup, book and Bed. Both kids do great..
The night Andy and I were dreading finally arrived.... Vincent went to grandma's house the night before and got all hyped up and we picked him up and he went to sleep here (late) because he missed us.......well the next am he woke up early with me, and went food shopping with me (that boy LOVES shopping-when he is 13 and complains about shopping for jeans- I will happily remind him he never objected to shopping with momma. :) ) He was so tired out from Driving the cart and helping mommy pick stuff out at the store (or so he thinks) and he needed a nap..... Well...... He should have gone down for a nap at 2pm but he took one at 4pm and wouldn't wake up until 6pm. I knew he was going to be up........... LATE. I blamed this on andy since he let vince take a nap at 4pm- i said put him to bed at 7pm. instead...... No............ Well......I put vincent to bed at 10... cleaned up the living room...... and this sweet blond hair boy sneaked downstairs by Daddy and Andy laughed because he did not look sleepy.. so we checked him for a fever... Then I was like I suppose he can stay up and watch a little spongebob with me.. we both thought he would fall asleep on the couch hanging out..... Nope. He was JUMPING all over the couch and acting like it was a PARTY..... Seesh, I was so tired. I kept glancing at him hoping he would somehow fall over and fall asleep. 11:30 came... I was like arent u tired yet? he is like Nope and spongebob is ON again! Ohhhhh............. great kid. great... so I said OK, one more spongebob then u have to go to bed because it is VERY late in Kid-World. midnight came.... and I put vincent to bed thinking he would fall asleep. I went back downstairs to clean... 5 ish minutes later.. Andy walked into the kitchen and said Vincent got up and walked into the babys room and said HI baby hi baby..... and woke up the baby.. Andy was like vincent you can't wake up the baby when she is sleeping. You know that. tucked the baby back into bed and walked vincent back into bed and said time for bed now. Andy goes back downstairs laughing and reports this to me, then I laughed. about 10 minutes later, Andy walks back upstairs... sees the light on under the door... Vincent heard andy coming and ran to turn off the light before Andy could Yell.. and jumped back into bed and pretended to be sleeping. Andy opened the door and was like I know you want to play but its night-nighty time, time to go to sleep. you can play tomorrow. love you NOW GO TO SLEEP!!!
5-10 minutes later......... all was quiet.............
ahh, I can't wait to see what else Vince has in store for me. :)
Me.
With two kids now... it gets harder to put both of them to bed. Vince has decided that since he is bigger than his sister- he should go to bed later than she does (even if it is 5 minutes after she does LOL) brothers. :) Usually it is either Bath,book bed for both kids depending on what night it is or its just Bottle, sippy cup, book and Bed. Both kids do great..
The night Andy and I were dreading finally arrived.... Vincent went to grandma's house the night before and got all hyped up and we picked him up and he went to sleep here (late) because he missed us.......well the next am he woke up early with me, and went food shopping with me (that boy LOVES shopping-when he is 13 and complains about shopping for jeans- I will happily remind him he never objected to shopping with momma. :) ) He was so tired out from Driving the cart and helping mommy pick stuff out at the store (or so he thinks) and he needed a nap..... Well...... He should have gone down for a nap at 2pm but he took one at 4pm and wouldn't wake up until 6pm. I knew he was going to be up........... LATE. I blamed this on andy since he let vince take a nap at 4pm- i said put him to bed at 7pm. instead...... No............ Well......I put vincent to bed at 10... cleaned up the living room...... and this sweet blond hair boy sneaked downstairs by Daddy and Andy laughed because he did not look sleepy.. so we checked him for a fever... Then I was like I suppose he can stay up and watch a little spongebob with me.. we both thought he would fall asleep on the couch hanging out..... Nope. He was JUMPING all over the couch and acting like it was a PARTY..... Seesh, I was so tired. I kept glancing at him hoping he would somehow fall over and fall asleep. 11:30 came... I was like arent u tired yet? he is like Nope and spongebob is ON again! Ohhhhh............. great kid. great... so I said OK, one more spongebob then u have to go to bed because it is VERY late in Kid-World. midnight came.... and I put vincent to bed thinking he would fall asleep. I went back downstairs to clean... 5 ish minutes later.. Andy walked into the kitchen and said Vincent got up and walked into the babys room and said HI baby hi baby..... and woke up the baby.. Andy was like vincent you can't wake up the baby when she is sleeping. You know that. tucked the baby back into bed and walked vincent back into bed and said time for bed now. Andy goes back downstairs laughing and reports this to me, then I laughed. about 10 minutes later, Andy walks back upstairs... sees the light on under the door... Vincent heard andy coming and ran to turn off the light before Andy could Yell.. and jumped back into bed and pretended to be sleeping. Andy opened the door and was like I know you want to play but its night-nighty time, time to go to sleep. you can play tomorrow. love you NOW GO TO SLEEP!!!
5-10 minutes later......... all was quiet.............
ahh, I can't wait to see what else Vince has in store for me. :)
Me.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Our Crazzzy life
I aplogize........... truly sorry... I mean it....... I know I haven't blogged in forever......... you- my dear friend are probably wondering why I haven't written in forever....... It's because of the kids :) that is my go to excuse these days- But I love those little people.
Christmas was a complete whirlwind journey....... we laughed, we cried, we opened presents and enjoyed time together as a family and realized that we-- ourselves wanted to start traditions with our kids rather than run everywhere and do what everyone else wants... may be some changes in store for future christmas but looking foward to doing things and hearing my kids say... Mom.. I love when we do this! :)
Life has gotten so busy with two little ones...... so many changes just in 2 months.......
Vincent hit 2 and half before christmas and around that time I beleive the terrible 2s started to set in.... but thankfully I was able to ask him.... do you want Santa to come?! he knows when you are being bad so if you are bad enough he may leave coal in your stocking or not even bother to stop by at all. Now it is after christmas....... and santa came and went.........His favorite word nowdays is NO. I have learned to word things differently or offer 2 choices and he can't say no to that. that has helped a lot. he can jump, and he is learning what letters mean and what his name is.. and what letter it starts with. he is very Egoestic.. everything is about him at this point.
Victoria is now almost 10 months old........ and in the last few weeks crawling EVERYWHERE. She is defientely a on the go baby... can't take my eyes off of her very often anymore. She also started pulling up on me the last couple weeks.. and tonight she pulled herself up on a toy- looks like it is time for Daddy and Mommy to lower the crib bed so she doesn't stand up and fall out (god forbid) I have a feeling Tori will really give Andy and I a run for the money.. She is so much more active than Vincent ever was and already vocalizing sounds (mmmmmmmmmmmmm) (PFFFFFFFFFFFFT) I think she will walk around 11 months old..... and that will be bittersweet as this will be my last baby for a while doing this now. :( She brings so much love and giggles to the house though. I have to admit...... life is not the same without her.. I couldn't imagine not having her even if it is harder with two.. andy and I defientely have all the love we have to give for both of our babies.
Speaking of love......... Valentines day was just last week... and guess how we spent it????? we were at the doctors!!! how romantic right??? Victoria developed a fever over the weekend at some point.. and we thought it was a Virus or teething and decided to wait it out (that is what happens when you have two kids you learn when you need the DR and when you don't) Sunday came and went and her temp went up higher but dropped every time we gave her tyenlol- Monday was much of the same except she was more crabbier and had a harder time settling down- and we defientely noticed she did not want to play as much and only wanted to be held. Tuesday AM-- Andy decided to go back to work in Neenah after checking on Victoria- who at the time felt tempurtally fine and seemed to be sleeping well. I had gotten up at 8 am and she was still sleeping...... she slept until about 9:30 and I thought to myself ok well I will wake her up and feed her and see how she is doing.... and she wasn't very interested in eating but only wanted to be held....... then I noticed she would cry every time I moved her.. and she was losing interest in playing with her toys.. she wouldn't even reach out to play with her toys at all...... which is totally opposite of our little Tori. I texted Andy at work and I'm like...... Something is really wrong. I have NEVER seen a baby behave like this. Andy deliberated between staying at work because there was so much work to do- or coming home. He decided to come home and he got home and he had took Victoria from me and said do what you need to with vincent i will sit with her for a while. Victoria had been just laying on Andy and he looked at me and said..... you are so RIGHT. this isn't right this isn't her. So I called the DR back and asked if we needed to take her to the ER and they said not to unless she starts vomiting or breathing weird...... so our appt was in a hour, We took the kids in then...... and after the doc looks at her... he just said yep she has a ear infection........ and we were flagbarsted that it was something so simple.. and he said yep.. some babies don't deal with the pain really well, or you waited too long before it gets to the point where the pain will irriate the baby more. Dr recommended ibp and amoxicillin and warned it could be 24 hours before we saw a change and to call if there was any more issues or styp gets worse. Tori started to feel better within a hour of starting the IBP and amoxicillin.. and it did take 24 hours before she was back to her normal happy giggly self. It did take about 4-1.2 days for the fever to go away. Lesson learned. When your mommys insicint is telling you something is wrong (I felt it on monday afternoon but i ingored it thinking it was probably a virus but i had a inkling it was a ear infection) I also love it when I get to tell andy I am right :) (doesn't happen very often!)
So that is everything that has been happening in our crazy world lately........ until next time..
I bid you farwell,
me
Christmas was a complete whirlwind journey....... we laughed, we cried, we opened presents and enjoyed time together as a family and realized that we-- ourselves wanted to start traditions with our kids rather than run everywhere and do what everyone else wants... may be some changes in store for future christmas but looking foward to doing things and hearing my kids say... Mom.. I love when we do this! :)
Life has gotten so busy with two little ones...... so many changes just in 2 months.......
Vincent hit 2 and half before christmas and around that time I beleive the terrible 2s started to set in.... but thankfully I was able to ask him.... do you want Santa to come?! he knows when you are being bad so if you are bad enough he may leave coal in your stocking or not even bother to stop by at all. Now it is after christmas....... and santa came and went.........His favorite word nowdays is NO. I have learned to word things differently or offer 2 choices and he can't say no to that. that has helped a lot. he can jump, and he is learning what letters mean and what his name is.. and what letter it starts with. he is very Egoestic.. everything is about him at this point.
Victoria is now almost 10 months old........ and in the last few weeks crawling EVERYWHERE. She is defientely a on the go baby... can't take my eyes off of her very often anymore. She also started pulling up on me the last couple weeks.. and tonight she pulled herself up on a toy- looks like it is time for Daddy and Mommy to lower the crib bed so she doesn't stand up and fall out (god forbid) I have a feeling Tori will really give Andy and I a run for the money.. She is so much more active than Vincent ever was and already vocalizing sounds (mmmmmmmmmmmmm) (PFFFFFFFFFFFFT) I think she will walk around 11 months old..... and that will be bittersweet as this will be my last baby for a while doing this now. :( She brings so much love and giggles to the house though. I have to admit...... life is not the same without her.. I couldn't imagine not having her even if it is harder with two.. andy and I defientely have all the love we have to give for both of our babies.
Speaking of love......... Valentines day was just last week... and guess how we spent it????? we were at the doctors!!! how romantic right??? Victoria developed a fever over the weekend at some point.. and we thought it was a Virus or teething and decided to wait it out (that is what happens when you have two kids you learn when you need the DR and when you don't) Sunday came and went and her temp went up higher but dropped every time we gave her tyenlol- Monday was much of the same except she was more crabbier and had a harder time settling down- and we defientely noticed she did not want to play as much and only wanted to be held. Tuesday AM-- Andy decided to go back to work in Neenah after checking on Victoria- who at the time felt tempurtally fine and seemed to be sleeping well. I had gotten up at 8 am and she was still sleeping...... she slept until about 9:30 and I thought to myself ok well I will wake her up and feed her and see how she is doing.... and she wasn't very interested in eating but only wanted to be held....... then I noticed she would cry every time I moved her.. and she was losing interest in playing with her toys.. she wouldn't even reach out to play with her toys at all...... which is totally opposite of our little Tori. I texted Andy at work and I'm like...... Something is really wrong. I have NEVER seen a baby behave like this. Andy deliberated between staying at work because there was so much work to do- or coming home. He decided to come home and he got home and he had took Victoria from me and said do what you need to with vincent i will sit with her for a while. Victoria had been just laying on Andy and he looked at me and said..... you are so RIGHT. this isn't right this isn't her. So I called the DR back and asked if we needed to take her to the ER and they said not to unless she starts vomiting or breathing weird...... so our appt was in a hour, We took the kids in then...... and after the doc looks at her... he just said yep she has a ear infection........ and we were flagbarsted that it was something so simple.. and he said yep.. some babies don't deal with the pain really well, or you waited too long before it gets to the point where the pain will irriate the baby more. Dr recommended ibp and amoxicillin and warned it could be 24 hours before we saw a change and to call if there was any more issues or styp gets worse. Tori started to feel better within a hour of starting the IBP and amoxicillin.. and it did take 24 hours before she was back to her normal happy giggly self. It did take about 4-1.2 days for the fever to go away. Lesson learned. When your mommys insicint is telling you something is wrong (I felt it on monday afternoon but i ingored it thinking it was probably a virus but i had a inkling it was a ear infection) I also love it when I get to tell andy I am right :) (doesn't happen very often!)
So that is everything that has been happening in our crazy world lately........ until next time..
I bid you farwell,
me
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy New 2012
Wow!!!! It has been a long few weeks since I blogged. Our house has been really busy getting ready for christmas and having Christmas and then Happy New Year...... I will not bore you, my dear reader about endless days we had... :)
The days leading up to christmas was so busy! we were busy buying and finding the perfect gift for our loved ones this year....... but through watching Vincent's gift from St. Nick- "A very merry Monkey Christmas" it is not about the reciving but about giving to others and having amazing, fun memories with the loved ones you have..... going on special monkey-approved adventures. :) It has reminded myself to be more giving, and also to make lasting memories.
Now....... The kids and I got andy a really nice water filtered coffeemaker that has a timer- the whole purpose is so andy can save money and have coffee at home in the AM before heading off to work...... It is actually enjoyable for mom too! Vincent has been on a kick that coffee is just for daddy. He wants to bring him his coffee and help bring daddy things. It is so sweet.
Well... I had been wanting a camera for a LONG LONG time..... and I borrowed a friend's camera for over christmas so i could catch my lovely children opening their gifts and showing their apperication or exicement in opening the gifts. Well...... sadly it turned out that my friends camera was going on the fritz..... SO, andy let me open my gift one day early (ok two days IF you count christmas eve) and it was a Canon powershot 12.1 MP HD screen............. it was just soooooooooooooooo NICE. I was super excited. I have used it quite often. Vincent has turned into the willful model and wants to Model many times for me..... He really likes to see himself on camera and gets a kick out of seeing himself. We got him a kid tough camera for christmas for this same reason......... AND he is not that interested in it...........BOO for good ideas mom!
Christmas was really enjoyable with the HUGE number of our family this year. We are so blessed and thankful we have a huge family that loves us and our children and want to see us all over christmas. I am also really thankful that Demon child and Diva baby made it through the 2 days without too much fuss and tolerated and behaved themselves among family. It made me feel proud as a mom that they know how to behave themselves. The grandmas all had so much fun seeing them in their cute outfits and enjoying spoiling them. I will give you one delighful moment that made me laugh so hard and I will never forget.. and I am sure i will tell vincent this years down the road... but I let Vincent open gifts with Aunt N. and Aunt S. at Nanna B's house... With having Diva baby now- my arms are full and Andy just wanted to relax so the girls had him.. and vincent was all exicted about opening gifts...... and he got one box full of clothes.... and it was one with a construction truck and blue scrub-look-alikes.... and Vincent came running over to me and said Momma LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK! and started shaking the outfit for all it was worth and GIGGLING........ OH my sweet heavens...... I have never seen a kid so excited about showing off his clothes. It made me laugh and go oh vincent and laugh some more. for most of you that lovingly know vincent........ this is NORMAL of vincent. :)christmas just didn't change him haha.
Victoria was just 8 months old this year so she wasn't really all CRAZY about christmas just yet. She really enjoyed the christmas lights and she would "help" open one gift then she kinda lost interest...... She was like... Psh.. that is too much work for me... mom you do it and she just sat back and enjoyed the gifts in all it's glory. She pretty much stays away from the tree and just isn't really..... excited about it. The good news is...... she lets all the Grandmas and Great grandmas hold her now..... so it made christmas more precious for all of them. Again, It made me so happy to see that she was finally comfortable and felt like she could trust them enough to hold her. She never has a problem with the boys though... I think Andy and I have a world of worrying ahead for us when she is older..... she sure likes her boys! :-D
We just celebrated new years in our house last night.. and I let vincent stay up late with a buddy of his- his mom came over (oldest friend of mine) and they were hanging out at our house. I wish I thought to take some pictures of the kids playing. They were very good to each other and except for a few scoldings and talking about sharing... it was just awesome. The kids stayed up until 12 30am laughing and playing. we couldn't believe it.... I told vincent it was a once in a year treat haha! It was a wonderful time..... and it will be interesting to see next year if Victoria can stay up with her brother next year until midnight. :)
my next blog..... I will start adding pictures to it and you can see how the kids are growing up :)
The days leading up to christmas was so busy! we were busy buying and finding the perfect gift for our loved ones this year....... but through watching Vincent's gift from St. Nick- "A very merry Monkey Christmas" it is not about the reciving but about giving to others and having amazing, fun memories with the loved ones you have..... going on special monkey-approved adventures. :) It has reminded myself to be more giving, and also to make lasting memories.
Now....... The kids and I got andy a really nice water filtered coffeemaker that has a timer- the whole purpose is so andy can save money and have coffee at home in the AM before heading off to work...... It is actually enjoyable for mom too! Vincent has been on a kick that coffee is just for daddy. He wants to bring him his coffee and help bring daddy things. It is so sweet.
Well... I had been wanting a camera for a LONG LONG time..... and I borrowed a friend's camera for over christmas so i could catch my lovely children opening their gifts and showing their apperication or exicement in opening the gifts. Well...... sadly it turned out that my friends camera was going on the fritz..... SO, andy let me open my gift one day early (ok two days IF you count christmas eve) and it was a Canon powershot 12.1 MP HD screen............. it was just soooooooooooooooo NICE. I was super excited. I have used it quite often. Vincent has turned into the willful model and wants to Model many times for me..... He really likes to see himself on camera and gets a kick out of seeing himself. We got him a kid tough camera for christmas for this same reason......... AND he is not that interested in it...........BOO for good ideas mom!
Christmas was really enjoyable with the HUGE number of our family this year. We are so blessed and thankful we have a huge family that loves us and our children and want to see us all over christmas. I am also really thankful that Demon child and Diva baby made it through the 2 days without too much fuss and tolerated and behaved themselves among family. It made me feel proud as a mom that they know how to behave themselves. The grandmas all had so much fun seeing them in their cute outfits and enjoying spoiling them. I will give you one delighful moment that made me laugh so hard and I will never forget.. and I am sure i will tell vincent this years down the road... but I let Vincent open gifts with Aunt N. and Aunt S. at Nanna B's house... With having Diva baby now- my arms are full and Andy just wanted to relax so the girls had him.. and vincent was all exicted about opening gifts...... and he got one box full of clothes.... and it was one with a construction truck and blue scrub-look-alikes.... and Vincent came running over to me and said Momma LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK! and started shaking the outfit for all it was worth and GIGGLING........ OH my sweet heavens...... I have never seen a kid so excited about showing off his clothes. It made me laugh and go oh vincent and laugh some more. for most of you that lovingly know vincent........ this is NORMAL of vincent. :)christmas just didn't change him haha.
Victoria was just 8 months old this year so she wasn't really all CRAZY about christmas just yet. She really enjoyed the christmas lights and she would "help" open one gift then she kinda lost interest...... She was like... Psh.. that is too much work for me... mom you do it and she just sat back and enjoyed the gifts in all it's glory. She pretty much stays away from the tree and just isn't really..... excited about it. The good news is...... she lets all the Grandmas and Great grandmas hold her now..... so it made christmas more precious for all of them. Again, It made me so happy to see that she was finally comfortable and felt like she could trust them enough to hold her. She never has a problem with the boys though... I think Andy and I have a world of worrying ahead for us when she is older..... she sure likes her boys! :-D
We just celebrated new years in our house last night.. and I let vincent stay up late with a buddy of his- his mom came over (oldest friend of mine) and they were hanging out at our house. I wish I thought to take some pictures of the kids playing. They were very good to each other and except for a few scoldings and talking about sharing... it was just awesome. The kids stayed up until 12 30am laughing and playing. we couldn't believe it.... I told vincent it was a once in a year treat haha! It was a wonderful time..... and it will be interesting to see next year if Victoria can stay up with her brother next year until midnight. :)
my next blog..... I will start adding pictures to it and you can see how the kids are growing up :)
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