Our Growing Girls - Molly (22 months)

Next up - our fun-loving & adorable dare devil!

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Molly is just shy of 2 yrs - already! And Livy asks me on a daily basis - “Is Molly a baby or a big girl?” To which Molly always replies, “I big girl!” And she is, really, but I still refer to my “babies” as it is hard to admit how old Molly’s gotten. And she has grown into a really adorable toddler. In fact, there were so many things I wanted to write down about her right now that this post just kept getting longer and longer and longer! I think it’s partly this age where their little personalities come out and they are so sweet & curious about the world. It’s just priceless. And some of it is just Molly and the beautiful way that God made her.

When JR started redoing Violet’s room, we moved the little white Ikea crib into the big girls’ room and turned it into a toddler bed for Molly. She was so proud! And she’s really doing great with it. It only took her about a week to start taking naps in it and she never had a problem going to sleep in her big girl bed at night. I think she really enjoys having her own space that she can get in and out of all on her own and we find her there reading books or talking to her “Poly” (a little dalmatian puppy named Roly Poly) and other stuffed friends. She is very attached to her pacifier, which she calls “chuch,” “chu chu,” or “chuchi” (Spanish pronunciation on all of the derivations - it comes from the Spanish word for pacifier - chupon). We have decided not to push her to give it up, at least not now. Though I have started telling her I can’t understand her with a chuch in her mouth and she will take it out to repeat what she’s said and in general doesn’t usually ask for it unless she is tired. Molly LOVES reading books and especially enjoys books in Spanish, which has been fun. Even JR can be found reading Pato Esta Sucio!  She is a very independent child and reminds me of stories I’ve heard of JR who could always do things beyond his years. For example, Molly is quite adept at putting on her own sandals, getting into her seat & buckling herself in, and climbing anywhere and everywhere. In fact, Molly’s feet are rarely on the ground these days as she is more often than not hanging from something and swinging wildly! You have no idea how many places there are to hang in your own home, and especially in a store! Molly is definitely adventurous and has convinced us that we need a swing set - ASAP. Twice now, Molly has sat on the potty chair before bath & gone both #1 & #2 so perhaps she will train herself soon. If there’s one thing I learned with Olivia, though, it’s not to make any guesses about how long these things will take! The biggest change with Molly, though, is her blossoming language. She is growing so articulate! I had some notes from a few weeks ago and had listed all the sentences/phrases we’d heard from her at that time (and I will paste them here for posterity’s sake) -

“It is a dog, Mama.”

“Whoa!” (appropriate for falling, being scared, being excited - truly a multipurpose phrase!)

“Mama, I see yellow.”

“Where are you, Mama?”

“I did it, Mama.”

“I love you.” (which she typically said when doing something naughty and/or dangerous)

“Upperballs!” (here she is trying to say SuperBalls, a brand name of tennis shoes)

For awhile, almost everything she said ended with “Mama” and that was very sweet. But now just a few weeks later, she is really talking. I couldn’t possibly list all her sentences anymore. She repeats everything she hears. She is definitely a girl who knows what she wants and we hear “I do dat.” and “I no want.” a lot, but her most frequent question lately is “What do Daddy?” (what are you doing) followed by “Why?” and “Why?” and - well I think you get the idea. She is a very curious little gal and has been known to lay flat on the floor to get a good look at something. JR says she may not be the smartest one, but she will be the most like him - I definitely see a resemblance (and smarts is one of them)! In fact, it is rare that I serve Molly something to eat that I know JR doesn’t like and she actually eats it (and when I’m doing this, JR is usually nowhere around). They have this unspoken understanding about things. Oh, and Molly can sing, too. So far, she’s gotten really good at the ABCs & Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but she will frequently chime in with the last word or two in a phrase when Livy is singing as well. She is also trying to count and just tonight she counted all the way to 10!! That seems pretty advanced to me. She still loves playing with baby dolls & is just adorable when she is shhhing them to sleep and then lying them down in her bed - complete with a blanket to cover them up! Molly LOVES animals, and really enjoys Curious George books - or “Georsh” as she calls him. For now, Molly is mostly just Molly, but we also use Smallz, Mollz, & I’m thinking Molly Jo will eventually take off. I also refer to her as Ms. Piggy to go with my Piglet.

Blessed Relief

It’s hot down here - not just regular Texas hot, but really, really, REALLY HOT!! Austin marked its second-hottest June day in history yesterday, with temperatures reaching 107 degrees (the record is 109) - and these are actual temperatures, mind you, not heat indexes! Seems like this will be the second hottest June in recorded history (2008 is the record, and before that you have to go back to 1923). It’s the kind of hot that makes you nauseous just being outside and the kind that makes your car literally uninhabitable after being off for a mere 3 minutes.

So today I just couldn’t stand it anymore and I took down my pile of shorts from the closet praying that some would fit (I only have one pair of shorts in my current size and was determined not to buy any because I had a whole set just one size down). And much to my surprise (I’ve been trying them on every couple of weeks for awhile now), I could put them all on! Now some look signficantly better than others, but I got them on! Praise God that I will not have to endure any more 105+ days without an adequate supply of shorts!! I have not worn this lot of shorts since the summer after Olivia was born (summer of 2006) so this is some exciting stuff (granted, I was pregnant for summer 2007 & 2008)!! And since it will be hot all the way through Halloween, this is some much needed relief.

Our Growing Girls - Violet at 9 months

It’s been awhile since I took the time to make notes about our growing girls. Each of them is doing something particularly adorable lately, so I have to get it written down before I forget! First up is the darling baby . . .
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Sweet little Violet Frances is growing up fast. She is a super fast crawler (since she’s been doing it for about 3 months now!) and pulls up on everything. She can stand there for a long while playing with things or looking at something. Sometimes she gets herself down and sometimes she gets stuck and cries for someone to help her sit back down. So far she isn’t cruising along the furniture or taking steps if you hold her hands, but I expect that won’t take long as she is very comfortable on her feet. We suspect that she is so much more active than her sisters were at the same age because she is so much smaller. In fact, we took Violet in for her 9-month well check and found out she was only in the 8th percentile for weight (15 lbs. 9 oz.) and 15th percentile for height (26.25 inches). We knew she was a peanut, but I was a little surprised that she was so tiny compared to other babies her age.  At first I thought she was especially small compared to her sisters at the same age, however, after looking up the numbers, while Molly was over 20 lbs at the same age; Livy was just 16 lbs. 11 oz. (which put her in the 25th% percentile) and interestingly enough, I was almost identical to Livy at 16 lbs. 15 oz. at 9 months! So while Violet is still the smallest of the four of us, she isn’t that far behind Livy or myself. We agreed with the doctor that her small size is something to watch, but not something to freak out about. It’s perfectly possible that Violet got the ‘Hatt genes’ and will be petite like Great Grandma Hatt. Her cousin Addison (my sister’s daughter) seems to be in the same boat. That being said, we are making a conscious effort to fill her up at mealtimes and let me tell you, I had no idea how much of a chow hound she is! I think I probably didn’t pay as much attention to how much solid/table food she was eating as I should have before her checkup (which is why they have such checkups, I suppose) and now that we know that she could stand to bulk up a bit, we happily let her partake in whatever we are eating (minus citrus, peanut butter, berries & honey which are not okay for a child under 1 yr) and have abandoned baby food altogether. She has been eating mashed potatoes, mild enchiladas, little bits of chicken & meat, pasta, cheese, banana bread & she really enjoyed her brownie the other night after dinner with friends! So hopefully, all of that will add up to a little more chunkiness at her next weigh-in in six weeks. She is also learning how to drink from a sippy cup and has two little teeth on the bottom that give her a really sweet smile.
Violet makes the cutest little squeaks & squawks. I don’t hear many consonants, but she is definitely a talker - mostly squeals & yayayaya. She doesn’t sleep through the night yet (in fact she usually wakes at least twice), but given that she is such a pleasant, easy-going baby (which for the record, all three of them have been), we figure we don’t have much to complain about! She loves taking a bath with her big sisters and when things start to get a little too wild, she is the first to be washed up & whisked away to safety! JR has taken on the decorating in her room and has a beautiful plan that is nearing completion. We’ve been calling it Violet’s treehouse and it will feature a life-sized wooden tree on the wall to compliment her bird bedding and robin’s egg blue walls. It’s really quite darling and makes us want to spruce up the big girls’ room so that theirs is equally as charming (I never got much beyond painting the walls & hanging curtains - which was done before Olivia was born!). So far, the nicknames that have stuck are Violeta, peanut, Vi, baby & piglet. We also call her fuzzy quite a bit because after a bath it is quite descriptive. Truth be told, Violet is a really sweet, happy baby and we are so blessed to have her!

Happy Father’s Day

to the world’s best Daddy!!

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Latin Mass & Perpetual Adoration

From the Church bulletin:

Fr. Michael Stinson was ordained May 30th for the Fraternity of St. Peter (in Lincoln, NE). This order was established by Pope John Paul II in 1988. Their apostolate is centered in the offering of the Sacred Liturgy according to the Latin liturgical books in use in 1962. Fr. Michael will be visiting his family in the Austin area before heading to his first assignment in Sacramento, CA. He is the son of our parishioners, Benny & Barbara Stinson.

While he is in the area, Fr. Michael will be offering daily Mass in Latin here at St. William’s at 10:00AM in our Church on June 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18 and in the Sacred Heart chapel on June 22, 23, 24, 25. Fr. Michael will also offer a Latin Mass this Thursday June 11th (the traditional date of Corpus Christi) in the Church at 6:00pm.

I have never been to a Latin Mass and am curious to experience this part of the Church’s history (that many still enjoy today). I have also been asking God to find a way for me to attend a daily Mass at 10:00am so as not to disturb the naptimes of the girls, so I am delighted to be able to participate. I plan to attend at least once (hopefully more than once), but I can’t go this week. Let me know if you plan to go. I’m thinking we’ll probably sit in the “quiet” room (aka cry room) since I will have the girls with me alone & don’t know all the proper responses & postures for the Latin Mass anyway.

Any tips for a first-timer? Will it differ in length from the “normal” Mass?

Also, our parish is starting perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament next Friday. I am excited to have these two extra opportunities to know & serve the Lord.

Top 10 Gadgets & Gizmos for under 3

We’ve welcomed three little girls into our world in the last three and a half years. This has provided us the opportunity to try out a great many of the latest & greatest baby/toddler gear. I thought about writing lengthy descriptions of why I love this stuff and exactly what makes it a “must-have” item, but that would delay the post by months, if not years, so for what it’s worth, here are our top items (okay, so I ended up with more than 10) - the ones that are truly worth the investment and I would never question buying again:

Transport

  1. bob duallie stroller (or a single to get you started) and combi tandem double
  2. zolowear ring sling and ergo baby carrier

Feeding

  1. nursing shawl and quality nursing bras
  2. fisher price booster
  3. sassy bibs & dexbaby bibs

Entertainment

In general, I tend to favor classic toys so if a manufacturer has a classic section on their website, that is where I naturally go. I also like wooden toys and if it requires batteries for lights & sounds, it really has to stand out. Of course, every child needs a bookshelf full of books, plenty of art supplies, and balls to take outside, too.

for baby:

  1. cradle swing and jumperoo (if you have to pick, go with the swing, if you have the option of a nearby grandparent, by all means choose them!)
  2. tiny love crib mobile and I really thought the clip n go musical mobile was awesome, but I had two and had problems with both of them and had to return them, so I’m not sure . . . but I LOVE the concept and plan to try again with the next baby to see if they’ve improved the design.

for toddler & preschooler:

  1. melissa & doug puzzles, wooden blocks (and/or duplo blocks), etc.
  2. kidkraft kitchen
  3. rody inflatable horse and bounce & spin zebra
  4. Ikea toy storage

There are plenty of other things that we’ve enjoyed, but these are the things we use over and over and over. I also really like the book Bright Start by Richard Woolfson for wonderful, detailed (but not overly detailed) descriptions of children’s abilities at each stage of development (newborn through 5 years) and practical suggestions for helping your child develop hand-eye coordination, language, learning, movement and social skills, including lists of basic, classic inexpensive toys for each age.

I also found this list on-line and it was so good, I thought I’d share it, too.

Top 10 Gifts for a Toddler

And now you tell me - what should we be looking at for the next few years - what gadgets & gizmos, toys & games are best for “big” kids?? We’re basically going to be running our own preschool around here so how shall we get ourselves set up?

Small Successes (vol. 2)

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Faith & Family has a regular Thursday meme called Small Successes. They describe it as follows:

It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that.

And as for me, here goes:

1. I hosted several friends in my home twice this week and it was mostly presentable (even better the second time!). On Monday, Shana & I watched 7 little ones (Livy was the oldest, 2 toddlers & 4 under 1 year!) as part of the babysitting co-op. We had our hands full, but it was fun. When all the mommies came back, we enjoyed homemade chicken tortilla soup for lunch. This morning, the whole group met at our house for a rosary and a few moms stayed for lunch (leftover chicken tortilla soup). They said it tasted good! :)

2. Inspired by one of the original Small Successes entries by Danielle Bean, I washed the dog bowls last night. They were awful. Poor Red!

3. Yesterday, I had the best luck with returns ever! I purchased 2 Ultimate Crib Sheets when Olivia was born and LOVED them! When Violet came along (and we added another crib), I purchased two more. Much to my dismay, they had redesigned the sheets and the new ones had plastic snaps (that broke the first time I used them) and a different fabric (that pilled the first time I washed them & felt like sandpaper). I called the company to complain and they said they would mail me 2 replacements. The first set got lost in the mail so they sent another set. I ended up getting 2 sets, but they said they didn’t want the extras back so I found myself with 4 expensive crib sheets that I didn’t like. I took them to Babies R Us to see if I could get store credit, but they’ve changed their return policy since the days I was a regular there and they didn’t want them. We went to Target next and I was 99% sure they wouldn’t take them as Target had a fairly stingy return policy as far as I remembered. Much to my happy surprise, they took 3 back (each customer is limited to $70 in returns without receipts per 12 months)!! So I ended up with $60 in Target store credit!! JR will be able to return the other one and we’ll have even more!! It was like hitting the jackpot - I got my original $40 back from the ones I purchased & didn’t like and then got an additional $40!!

Aside: In my experience, whenever I have been dissatisfied with a product and contacted the company, they have always tried to make it better for me. When my tortillas spoiled before the date on the package, they sent me coupons for replacements (3x what I had purchased); when a kaleidoscope got scratched in shipping with another item in the box, they sent a replacement; when my carseat baby mobile quit playing music, the store gave me a refund. In my experience, it definitely pays to ask (consider the manufacturer or the store you purchased it at)!! Besides, the worst they can say is “Too bad.”

8 Years Ago Today . . .

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we had the most beautiful wedding . . .

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Last Call

Here’s a friendly reminder in case you wanted to get your sponsorship of the girls in on time - the Walk for Life is THIS Saturday.  I know this is a tough time to be giving, but even $5 or $10 would be a great help! Thanks to all who have already shown your support!

TIR: Aftermath

The following is an actual email exchange. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

From: John Doe
To: Fixx Line
cc: Jane Doe
Subject: 15 Pass Van odor !

Thanks !

John Doe
Facilities Manager

From: Jane Doe
To: Chris
Cc: Fixx Line
Date: 03/10/2009 01:35 PM
Subject: Fw: 15 Pass Van odor !

Hi Chris,
We are trying to solve a mystery and are hoping you can help us since you were the last person we show using the large van.  There is a horrible smell in the van and wondered if you might know what the smell could be coming from?  Did anything get spilled maybe?  Just need to know so we can better determine how to get the smell out.

Thanks for your help!

Jane Doe
Facilities Department

From: Chris
To: Jane Doe
Date: 03/10/2009 02:18 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: 15 Pass Van odor !

We had an NI team do a running relay this past weekend, which is what we used the van for.  We covered all of the seats with towels and had somebody who wasn’t with us do a “smell test” after we were back, but clearly this wasn’t effective.
I’ll be more than happy to come in tonight and clean the seats thoroughly (this is most likely where the problem would be).  Let me know if this works for you.

Sorry for the inconvenience,

Chris

From: Jane Doe
To: Chris
Date: 03/10/2009 03:17 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: 15 Pass Van odor !

I appreciate that…but it is okay.  After reading your email below I think all we need to do is just air it out and spray some Febreeze or Odo Ban. We just wanted to make sure food or liquid hadn’t been spilt which would entail taking it to be professionally cleaned.  All is good and I appreciate you responding, was a huge help! :-)

Thanks!
Jane Doe
Facilities Department