Conversations with a Two Year Old

Steven is a non-stop talker, and he narrates his way through life. It's interesting to see people's reactions at the store as we talk our way through it. He has to discuss e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g! He definitely brings smiles to most of the people we pass.

I think that public restrooms are the most interesting. I think that he has to go every time we are at Target, and thankfully, they have clean restrooms. Both kids have discovered the acoustics of the restroom, and they love to hear themselves. Fortunately, I've broken Steven of that habit (for the most part), but the Peanut still likes to do her own thing. As Steven's sitting on the potty, he has to tell me every thought in his head. It gets even more "fun" when someone else comes in. "What her doing? She going potty too? I go say hi!" I then remind him that we don't go say hi to people while they're going potty. "She going yucky yuck? I going yucky yuck!" At this point, I usually hear at least one person snickering :)

Steven is the same way at home. He talks about the most random things, and sometimes, I have a hard time figuring out where he came up with something. For example, right now he's sitting in his booster seat eating pineapple (he and the girl just polished off a 20 oz. can!), and when I gave him a second serving, he told me that he understands the pineapple. I'm not too sure what there is to understand a pineapple or what a pineapple might need understanding of, but he's got it covered :)

Steven is quite smart and very logical, so when he gets in trouble, we usually talk about it. The last two days we've had to talk about what is appropriate to flush and what isn't :( Yesterday he put an entire (new, of course) roll of toilet paper in the toilet (without unwinding it). That resulted in a long discussion, and we went over in detail what he could flush (pee pee and poopies) and what he couldn't (everything else!). We talked about it again last night with Mark and reminded him of what he could and couldn't flush. He was also reminded that he is not allowed to touch the toilet paper. I thought we had it taken care of.

Apparently not. This morning, he unwound most of the (new) roll and put a good part of it in the potty. He was still sitting on the potty when I came in, so I'm guessing he was "wiping." I wasn't happy to see all the toilet paper on the floor, and then when I picked him up, I was even less happy about all the toilet paper in the toilet. We had another talk (and another punishment), and he was warned that he'd be in "big trouble" if he broke the potty. I think I've found my new angle there :)

With all of Steven's talking, it's no wonder that Michelle doesn't say much. For now, she's sticking to shrieking and screaming. . .I think I'm going to have to figure out a way to get Steven to be quiet because I don't know how much more shrieking and screaming I can take!

Easter Pics

Changing So Fast!

It's hard to believe how much the Peanut is changing. She is definitely not a baby anymore! She knows what she wants, and she does whatever it takes to get it. Determination is good. Stubborness, not so much.

She loves playing outside and keeping up with her brother. She enjoys swinging and wants to be pushed as high as possible. It's so fun to hear her laughing and squealing. She is fearless and a climber, which is a scary combination. She climbs in and out of the wagon and her toy car and tractor. She has no problem standing up on things that really shouldn't be stood on.

She adores her big brother, and for the most part, he adores her. However, he doesn't adore it when she eats off his plate (which happens mainly when we eat outside). After dealing with this during lunch today, he ended up trying a different tactic--feeding her. He came at her with a spoonful of mashed potatoes, but she only wanted his chicken.

Her daddy is her favorite person, pb&j is her favorite food, and screeching is her specialty. She gives us a run for our money, but we are so blessed to be able to call her our daughter!

Prayer at Lunch

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for Grandpa. Thank you for Grandma. Thank you for Katie. Thank you for Sissy. Thank you for you (Mommy). Thank you for Maddie Dog and Sadie. . .and Katie's shoes. Thank you for my eyes. . .and my eyebrows. . .and for you's (Mommy's) eyes and eyebrows (as he jabbed my eyes) and for Katie's eyebrows and for Sissy's eyebrows.

And at this point, Mommy intervened and said amen :)

Ice Cream!

Tonight we decided to go to Dairy Queen while while were out on our nightly walk, and the kids each got their own cone and got to eat it completely unassisted. When Steven was done with his ice cream (he licked it out of the cone instead of eating it), he held up his cone and asked for a refill :) As you can see from the pictures, we went home and took baths before bed!

The ice cream on her forehead is from her yanking the cone back when Mark tried to take it away :)

Conversations at Breakfast

Steven: There's dirt on my applesauce! I want cinnamon.

Mommy: That is cinnamon.

Steven: Oh. Okay!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(Amidst much screaming and crying)

Michelle: Please

Mommy: It's about time :)

Talking

Steven has always been a huge talker--he started talking words in context at 5 1/2 months, and by the time he was Michelle's age, he was speaking over 40 words. I've since learned that he is the exception.

Michelle has been slightly behind average on talking, but she's added several words to her vocabulary in the past week and has even started yelling "Daddy!" when she wants him. She now says cracker, Mommy (or maybe it's Momma--she doesn't say it much), Daddy, sock, Sadie (our dog), Katie (my sister is here visiting), yay (her first word), hi, bye, uh-oh, and hey you :) She generally doesn't say much, but she's babbling more. Of course, Steven rarely shuts up, so she's going to have to fight him for a turn to talk!

How to Eat a PB&J Sandwich

Steven and Michelle have their own ways to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and of course, each would argue that their way is the best.

To eat like Michelle:

You shove the entire in your mouth at once, even if it doesn't fit.

Steven's way is a bit more complicated.

First you give a cheesy smile for the camera.

Then you pull the sandwich apart and lick off all the jelly.

Finally you shove both pieces in your mouth.

Yum!

And Sadie's strategy is to sit by Michelle's chair in hopes that she drops something!

And there you have it. The best (and messiest) way to eat your pb&j!

Confirmed

Well, it's official--the Peanut is allergic to eggs and most tree nuts :(

We went to the pediatric allergist today (whom we LOVE), and Michelle had scratch tests done. Basically, the pricked her with a 10 pronged thing (in two different spots!) and then put a drop of different allergens on each spot. Michelle cried and cried and cried, but not because it hurt or anything. She was angry as can be that we were holding her down. Michelle does not like being restrained at all, so keeping her flat (to prevent the drops mixing) was a challenge. Mark went with me, so he held down her legs and hips, and I held down her arms and shoulders.

The tree nuts aren't a huge deal for us. She can still eat peanuts, and that's the main type of nut we have in the house. (Although for nursery/sitter situations, we're just saying she can't have any nuts.) However, the eggs are a pretty big deal. She's never liked eggs, which is a huge contrast with Steven who would eat a carton a day if we let him.

But, she LOVES baked goods--especially breads, bagels, noodles, pancakes and muffins. Her bagels don't have eggs in them, so those are still fine. I can easily find noodles without eggs, so we'll do okay there. I haven't checked the bread yet, but I'm pretty sure it's safe too. Pancakes and muffins are a huge deal. She would eat them for every meal if I let her. In fact, I just made a double batch of waffles yesterday, so she could have them for breakfast or snacks for the next week.

I've found several recipes for egg substitutes to use in baking, but I have no idea how they'll taste. She'll be fine at home since I love her enough to do that :) However, when she's out of the house, it'll be harder. I'm planning on making laminated tags to pin on her back listing her allergies when she is in someone else's care. There are just too many things with eggs or nuts in them to expect someone to remember verbal instructions, esp. when she's in a room with a ton of other kids.

One upside to all of this is that eliminating eggs should reduce or even eliminate her excema. I had no idea that egg allergies are the number one cause of excema. I'm still amazed that the doctor picked up on egg allergies when we've never see her react to it!

Little Girl