We took Drew and Gracie to get their hair cut yesterday afternoon. The hair stylist was talking to Gracie as she was cutting her hair, and asked her if her mommy brushed her hair every day. Gracie said, "No, just on Sundays." After she thought about it for a minute or two, she changed her mind, saying "Just on days we go somewhere." A little bit better, I guess. :)
And for the record, yes I do brush Gracie's hair!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Water Park Woes
I took Drew and Gracie to the water park yesterday (with the help of our next-door neighbor girl, who happens to be one of the kids' favorite babysitters, as well as a lifeguard). This was the first time I have ever been swimming while I was pregnant, but I was given a maternity bathing suit, so I had no excuse not to go.
The bathing suit was the first of my water park woes. I actually received it on Monday, and tried it on then. When I asked Gracie what she thought of it, she said, "Mommy, look at your bottom. It has wrinkles in it." Thanks, Gracie. You really gave your mommy's self-confidence a boost there.
My second water park woe was over sunscreen. Last summer we used Water Babies sunscreen without any problems. However, when I used it earlier this summer when we were playing outside, Drew got a rash everywhere I applied sunscreen. I thought maybe he was sensitive to the fragrance in the sunscreen, since we do have to use fragrance-free laundry detergent. Yesterday I tried an Aveeno baby sunscreen that was fragrance-free, but today he broke out in a rash again. Both were chemical sunscreens, so I guess I should probably try a sunblock with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. I would love baby sunscreen recommendations.
Other than the bathing suit and sunscreen woes, we had a great time at the water park. Gracie is getting a lot braver. She went on the big water slide twice, "swam" in the big pool with a life jacket on, and floated around the lazy river. She even went down the water slide in the kids' area all by herself (with me at the bottom of the slide to catch her). Drew wasn't sure about the water at first, but by the end of the day he was happy to sit in the water and splash around. We're looking forward to going to the water park again this summer. I just hope we can find a sunscreen that works for Drew.
The bathing suit was the first of my water park woes. I actually received it on Monday, and tried it on then. When I asked Gracie what she thought of it, she said, "Mommy, look at your bottom. It has wrinkles in it." Thanks, Gracie. You really gave your mommy's self-confidence a boost there.
My second water park woe was over sunscreen. Last summer we used Water Babies sunscreen without any problems. However, when I used it earlier this summer when we were playing outside, Drew got a rash everywhere I applied sunscreen. I thought maybe he was sensitive to the fragrance in the sunscreen, since we do have to use fragrance-free laundry detergent. Yesterday I tried an Aveeno baby sunscreen that was fragrance-free, but today he broke out in a rash again. Both were chemical sunscreens, so I guess I should probably try a sunblock with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. I would love baby sunscreen recommendations.
Other than the bathing suit and sunscreen woes, we had a great time at the water park. Gracie is getting a lot braver. She went on the big water slide twice, "swam" in the big pool with a life jacket on, and floated around the lazy river. She even went down the water slide in the kids' area all by herself (with me at the bottom of the slide to catch her). Drew wasn't sure about the water at first, but by the end of the day he was happy to sit in the water and splash around. We're looking forward to going to the water park again this summer. I just hope we can find a sunscreen that works for Drew.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Bush Hair
My husband has nicknames for the kids: "Long Hair" for Gracie, and "Short Hair" for Drew. I don't really remember when he started calling the kids that. However, I will never forget the day that Gracie looked at my husband and asked, "If I'm Long Hair and Drew is Short Hair, who is Mommy?" My husband asked her what she thought they should call me. Gracie thought for a minute, and said, "Bush Hair!"
Unfortunately for me, Gracie's description is very fitting. My hair is long, and if there is any humidity at all it gets frizzy and looks like ... well, like a bush. My husband thought Gracie's nickname for me was hilarious, and he has called me that ever since. Maybe someday when the kids are older I will spare more time to try to tame my hair.
Unfortunately for me, Gracie's description is very fitting. My hair is long, and if there is any humidity at all it gets frizzy and looks like ... well, like a bush. My husband thought Gracie's nickname for me was hilarious, and he has called me that ever since. Maybe someday when the kids are older I will spare more time to try to tame my hair.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Summer Reading
I took Drew and Gracie to the library today to sign up for the summer reading program. Drew has really become a book lover in the past month or two. It makes trips to the library interesting, though. Drew has almost outgrown his stroller, but I still put him in it for the library, because he loves books so much that he wants to choose stacks and stacks of books for himself.
That's not my only problem with Drew and library books. I try so hard to watch him when he is looking at library books, because I know he can still be a little bit rough with them at times. Unfortunately, it seems like I end up at the circulation desk all too often, explaining the damage to one book or another. Our librarians are awesome. I always offer to pay for the damage, but more often than not they say it is something they can fix, and that they are happy that Drew is learning to love books. I am glad, too. I just wish he wouldn't love them quite so hard.
I am trying to decide how to choose books to read to Drew and Gracie this summer. I usually pick a few books at random and then let Gracie (and now Drew) pick some. Gracie almost always gets ones we have read before, and Drew just picks a handful that are all in a row from one shelf. I would love to have lots of variety in the books that we read, and I'm sure I'm missing some great books with my random choosing. Maybe I will adopt Drew's strategy and start at one end of the alphabet (for author's last name) and work our way through the library's picture book collection. :) I wonder how long it will take to read them all ...
That's not my only problem with Drew and library books. I try so hard to watch him when he is looking at library books, because I know he can still be a little bit rough with them at times. Unfortunately, it seems like I end up at the circulation desk all too often, explaining the damage to one book or another. Our librarians are awesome. I always offer to pay for the damage, but more often than not they say it is something they can fix, and that they are happy that Drew is learning to love books. I am glad, too. I just wish he wouldn't love them quite so hard.
I am trying to decide how to choose books to read to Drew and Gracie this summer. I usually pick a few books at random and then let Gracie (and now Drew) pick some. Gracie almost always gets ones we have read before, and Drew just picks a handful that are all in a row from one shelf. I would love to have lots of variety in the books that we read, and I'm sure I'm missing some great books with my random choosing. Maybe I will adopt Drew's strategy and start at one end of the alphabet (for author's last name) and work our way through the library's picture book collection. :) I wonder how long it will take to read them all ...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Another Boy
We found out this morning that Drew and Gracie are going to have a baby brother. The baby seems to be healthy, so we are really thankful for that.
Am I allowed to say that I was hoping that we would have another girl? When I was pregnant with Drew, I felt sure that he was going to be a girl, and when I found out he was going to be a boy, it took me a while to adjust. This time I again felt sure we were going to have a baby girl, but again it's a boy. (For the record, I thought Gracie was going to be a boy, so I'm zero for three.)
The funny thing is that my husband's Granny has an uncanny ability to predict whether someone is expecting a boy or a girl. She has thirteen great grandchildren (plus this one on the way), and I think she has been right every time. She was even right when she told one of my husband's cousins that they were going to have a boy, even when their doctor said it would be a girl. We saw Granny last weekend, and she told me that she believed it would be another boy. How does she do it?
I can hardly believe that this pregnancy is halfway over already. At least I still have time to look through the baby name book for a boy's name.
Am I allowed to say that I was hoping that we would have another girl? When I was pregnant with Drew, I felt sure that he was going to be a girl, and when I found out he was going to be a boy, it took me a while to adjust. This time I again felt sure we were going to have a baby girl, but again it's a boy. (For the record, I thought Gracie was going to be a boy, so I'm zero for three.)
The funny thing is that my husband's Granny has an uncanny ability to predict whether someone is expecting a boy or a girl. She has thirteen great grandchildren (plus this one on the way), and I think she has been right every time. She was even right when she told one of my husband's cousins that they were going to have a boy, even when their doctor said it would be a girl. We saw Granny last weekend, and she told me that she believed it would be another boy. How does she do it?
I can hardly believe that this pregnancy is halfway over already. At least I still have time to look through the baby name book for a boy's name.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Flower Girl
Gracie was the flower girl in my cousin's wedding on Saturday. She got to practice going down the aisle twice at the rehearsal, so we were hoping that she would know what to do for the wedding itself. The rehearsal was somewhat amusing. When she decided to try out the flower basket as a hat and to pick up the flowers at her feet and throw them into the air, we decided that it would be best for her to sit with us for the ceremony itself, rather than remaining at the front of the church. We thought that after we ironed out those few wrinkles, she would probably do fine.
During the actual wedding ceremony, we realized that we forgot to give her one very important instruction: that she should not talk while she was coming down the aisle! Gracie is a talker, so I don't know why we didn't think of that beforehand. We were treated to a running commentary as she came down the aisle: "Look how many flowers I dropped that time. Oh, I still have a lot of flowers left! Well, I can drop them when I go back to sit by mommy." Fortunately, the wedding was fairly informal and the bride and groom didn't mind.
I'm glad Gracie was in my cousin's wedding, because it gave her practice for our neighbor's (much more formal) wedding later this summer. Gracie and Drew are both going to be in that wedding, so it should be an adventure!
During the actual wedding ceremony, we realized that we forgot to give her one very important instruction: that she should not talk while she was coming down the aisle! Gracie is a talker, so I don't know why we didn't think of that beforehand. We were treated to a running commentary as she came down the aisle: "Look how many flowers I dropped that time. Oh, I still have a lot of flowers left! Well, I can drop them when I go back to sit by mommy." Fortunately, the wedding was fairly informal and the bride and groom didn't mind.
I'm glad Gracie was in my cousin's wedding, because it gave her practice for our neighbor's (much more formal) wedding later this summer. Gracie and Drew are both going to be in that wedding, so it should be an adventure!
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