mean eyes

I was switching the laundry from the washer to the dryer a couple of minutes ago and Micah came in and said, "I'm going to look at those mean eyes." I was like, "What?" Then he showed me on the wall where there were two little scrapes in the paint. Then he said, "I'm going to make mean eyes back at them."

His mean eyes don't look quite as mean here.

Is she stubborn or does she not get it?

For the last couple of days I've really been working with Amelia on the two signs we've taught her: "More" and "All Done." She did them all the time for a while. I want her to be more consistent with them, so I start by giving her a piece of banana (her favorite food). After she eats it, I say, "Do you want more?" and I show her the sign. Then I help her make the sign and I say, "Oh, you want more. Here you go." and she eats the banana. Then I say, "Do you want more?" Sometimes Micah will give me his banana and I'll do the same with him when she's watching (he loves this part because he gets to be the teacher). I think she's just really stubborn. This morning I sat there for probably 20 minutes and she wouldn't say it. I kept showing her the sign and making her do it and then saying, "now you do it" but she wouldn't. Micah totally had this down by nine months and Amelia is 10 and a half months. Any suggestions?

Random Thoughts by Micah 2

Micah: "Mom, I changed my mind. I don't want to be Emily Elizabeth any more (for Halloween next year Amelia was going to be Emily Elizabeth and Micah was going to be Clifford). I want to be... (pause) Power Ranger!
Me: "But I thought you wanted to be Clifford. You could be a dog!"
Micah: But Dogs don't pee in the yard, they just poop in the yard.
Me: Oh.

A Cat?

Micah: "Mom, when I be a cat can I go potty in the yard?"
Me: "A cow?"
Micah: "No, a cat."
Me: "Oh, a cat. Yes, when you're a cat you can go potty in the yard."
Micah: "Okay. But I'm a boy and boys go in the toilet, right?"
Me: "Yep. Boys go in the toilet."

Bath please?

This morning I was drying my hair in our room while Amelia was playing in her room. A minute later I saw her peek her head around the corner and she crawled into the room where I was. She seemed determined about something and she kept crawling past me and into the bathroom. She started looking around like she was thinking, "How do I get into the tub?" When she realized she couldn't get in by herself she plopped herself down on the rug and made her sign for "more." It was very sweet. You had to be there.

Tightening the reigns

Ryan and I decided that Micah's constant whining and fussing has been getting out of hand. When we were all sick we weren't as consistent with discipline as we had been. Anyway, today was the day we were going to crack down. I made it clear to Micah that if he fussed or whined, he would need to go upstairs to do it. Otherwise he would have further consequences. He checked his boundaries constantly until about 3:00ish and then suddenly he was fine. It was like he was comforted with the fact that he had solid boundaries again. It amazes me that he is happier when we are more strict with the rules and he knows exactly how far he can go.



Usually dinner is a battle if we try to make him eat what we're eating. I don't know why, but we decided to pick this battle tonight, also. Amazingly, he ate what we ate and didn't complain. Just accepted it. It was our little bright spot in an exhausting, but well worth it day.

In other news, Amelia has two big bulges on her upper gums. I think we might be seeing more teeth soon.

One more thing about Micah. He continues to amaze me with his computer skills. He can click and drag objects. He listens to directions on his little games and then does what they ask. That little brain is so much smarter than I think. Wish mine was.

Spontaneity???

Today was a beautiful day in Salem. We wanted to do something fun as a family rather than sit around and watch TV all day and be annoyed by the kids. So we decided to go out to WOU for their annual Pow Wow. First, though, we went to "Jessie's McDonalds" (aka the McDonalds in Independence). Micah had been asking to go there for quite some time. After McDonalds we went over to the Gym at @WOU and watched a bit of the Pow Wow. Micah did surprisingly well considering how loud it was (he does NOT like loud noises). We stayed for about 15 minutes and then walked around campus and ended up at the Student Union building where Micah reminded us that he is still not over this bug he's had (an incident in the bathroom. I won't go into detail). As we left WOU, Micah fell asleep within 3 minutes on the road, and I said to Ryan, "Do you want to go to the beach?" So, we took off for the beach knowing that Micah would get a better nap if we had a longer drive, than if we went home. About 5 miles before the junction to 101 the traffic was practically stopped. We were traveling less than 5 miles an hour and it was showing no signs of speeding up. Therefore, we decided to head north on 101 rather than follow the traffic into Lincoln City. We didn't know if there was anywhere to see the beach if we headed north. We just wanted to be able to walk on the beach and then head home. Anyway, we ended up at Pacific City, walked on the beach for 2 minutes, headed across the street to the market for a snack and then headed home. It took about 5 hours total from when we left home. It was a fun, interesting day. Micah "rested" most of the day, so hopefully that will help with his recovery. Of course, I didn't bring my camera, so I don't have any pics for you. That was our day. Spontaneity

Does fever cause hallucinations?

Last night Micah had a fever of 103.8. I don't think he's ever had a fever like that before. He kept coming into our room after he had fallen asleep saying things like, "there's fire on my pillow," or "the spiders are going to burn me" (he saw spiders on his covers). He was also dreaming about a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode he saw yesterday where all the color was gone and Mickey and his friends had to find something of each color of the rainbow so the color would come back. He really seemed to see this happening. He said, "See, over there! Do you see it?" It was really starting to freak us out. He's feeling better this morning, but his fever isn't gone yet. Amelia has a slight fever too. I'm hoping this means we're at the tail end of this sickness. Its been 10 days since all of this started.

A little story: Last night Ryan and Micah went to Walgreens to get some more children's tylenol and some other things. In the check out line Micah would point to something and ask what it was and then ask if they could buy it. First it was a spongebob pen. Then it was a little pillbox/keychain thing. Micah said, "Can we get that Dad?" Ryan said, "We don't need that honey. Micah said, "We can get it for Mom to put her pills in."

An early valentine

Today Grandma and Grandpa West came down to babysit the kids. Micah and Amelia had a great day and got to open early valentines.

This is a picture of Amelia's two favorite pass times: Jumping and Eating

Micah said, "Do I look like a grandpa?" Grandpa Clark always has a pen in his shirt pocket.

I also figured out how to upload videos. Check out the next entry.

An old video

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

While you were sleeping...

Last night came close to the top of our list of worst night sleeps ever. Micah got sick about 6:30PM and then again at 9:00, 9:30, 10:00, 10:30, 11:00, 11:30 and 12:00. Poor guy. He had nothing in his stomach and was still dry-heaving. Ryan had already decided to stay home with the kids so he told me to get some sleep. About 4:30 he came in and said he thought he was getting sick too. So, here we are, a bunch of sickies at home. Micah and Amelia seem fine now, but Ryan is confined to the bed and I am still hacking up a storm from my cold. Anyone want to come visit? OH! And I'm now taking unpaid leave because I already used up all of my sick leave. I know I sound like I'm complaining (because I am), but I do love hearing things like, "Mom, can we cuddle?" Thats the best part. It doesn't happen when he's well. I'm off to read bed time stories (at 10:51 AM) and cuddle with my monkey-man.

Building together

Today Ryan decided to put together his christmas present... an outdoor fireplace. Micah wanted to help too. Here are the two of them working on it.

Update on Amelia: The illness has moved a little south if you know what I mean. I won't attach pictures of the diaper disaster earlier today. You're welcome!

Update!

Not three minutes after that last post, Amelia got sick again. She was sitting on the edge of the blanket and it got all over the carpet. Oh well. Poor thing. I know she must not feel good, but she still smiles and plays like nothing's wrong.

Found the Camera!

Ryan found the camera in the pocket of the coat that I wore on that snow day. We went for a walk to the park and took a few pics.

On Friday, Micah got sick at the babysitters so Ryan took the kids home at noon. That night, Amelia got sick in her bed. She seemed fine this morning so we went to Costco and she got sick again in the check-out line. The checker was very nice about it. However, I'm sure they have our picture up there somewhere along with Walmart: Watch out for these people... their children throw-up in our store! Micah still says, "Is this the Walmart where I had yuckies?"

In an attempt to save our beautifully un-stained (sigh) carpet, Amelia played on a large blanket all day, just in case.

Looks really sick, doesn't she?