Protein...

My older child is a very picky eater. It seems the older she gets, the less types of food she eats. She would eat fruit and "snacks" all day long. So for lunch today, she was given chicken, carrots, and applesauce. The first to go was the applesauce. Next came one or two carrots. Finally she took one bite of chicken and exclaimed, "I'm done!"

So I said to her, "Did you know that your muscles need protein? Chicken is protein, and it's really good for your muscles."

She looked at me with quite a puzzled look on her face, but didn't ask any questions. I stepped out of the room, in which I then heard this:

"Don't worry protein. Don't ever ever worry. I am going to give you to my muscles." Then she came running into the room I was in and exclaimed that she gave the protein to her muscles and she could already feel her muscles getting big and strong. :)

Now if I can convince her how important vegetables are!

Day by day...

Oh, I haven't posted in almost a month! Things are just status quo around here. P turned in his National Boards portfolio. His next step is to take an exam in June. I am trying to wrap up my Natural Family Planning internship. I hopefully will take my practitioner exam in the middle of May. We are working hard, and hopefully will have an uneventful summer. :)

The children are doing very well. AR is like a grown up. She talks to you all the time. She is into the asking questions phase. Driving to the grocery store the other day (which is less than 3 miles from our house), she must have asked me over 100 questions. It is very cute. J is still being stubborn about walking. He prefers to crawl, as he is amazingly fast. Sometimes he is crawling so fast, he messes up his sequence and ends up face down on the floor. He pauses like he is taking a rest break, and then up and off again. We have been really working on his speech. About 2 weeks ago, all he was saying was da-da, ya-ya, ra-ra, ba-ba. And nothing had any meaning. We think he has da-da and ma-ma down now, and the next thing we are working on is pa-pa. He says "pa". I'm not sure he is associating it with his grandfathers.

We had a wonderful Easter, and I will post pics soon. We spent 2 days on Kiawah with my family from New Jersey. It was amazing! We ate lunch at The Sanctuary. Oh boy...It was definitely nothing like I had ever seen before. My cousins had an Easter Egg hunt. AR loved it. So I will post all that soon.

Well, it's early Sunday morning, and I'm off to get breakfast going and then onto mass. I'm thinking about putting AR in the nursery. She went in there for a little bit during Easter Mass, but we were sitting outside on the plaza, close to the nursery so I could check on her a couple of times. I'm such a hovering parent! How am I ever going to drop her off at preschool in the fall, and then LEAVE? :( I get teary eyed just thinking about it.

Fridays during Lent

So my husband is working super hard on getting his National Boards stuff together. It's due Tuesday. He's been working on it every free minute he's had. He came home from work and sat at the computer for about an hour. He looks up and says to me, "I have to get out of the house. Let's go get AR a new bicycle helmet." Now this was not on my top priorty of things to do on a Friday afternoon, but I agreed.

We packed up the kids, got in the car, and drove over to Dick's sporting goods. We purchased a pretty pink helmet with white flowers on it. It's supposed to be for 5-14 years old (very adjustable), and since my almost 3 year old is as big as a 5 year old, it should last her 2 or 3 years. :)

Afterwards, my husband and I realized it was almost 7:30! I'm not really sure we were thinking clearly before we left for Dick's. We discussed dinner options. We settled on Captain D's since it's Friday and it's Lent. No meat for us, as we are both Catholic. We pulled into the parking lot and it was pretty full, but how long could it take? It's Captain D's...it's FAST food. We walked in, and there were only 3 people ahead of us. I waited in line while my husband got a booth. I placed our order. We were ticket 998. OK. Great. I went and sat down. I hear the loudspeaker turn on, "Order 968. 968."

WHAT? 968? My brain is trying to wrap itself around that...it's thinking: Quick math...998 - 968...THIRTY ORDERS???? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

No, no kidding. 30 orders. I look around and realize that almost all the people sitting don't have food. There are people standing in the aisles, waiting for their take-out. Geesh. What did we get ourselves into?

35 minutes later, "998? 998."

Never ever ever again will I ever THINK about going to Captain D's on a Friday night during lent.

Wordless Wednesday

Hi/Lo Thursday

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and get your link on their site.

Lows:

1. I feel like I am losing the battle on discipline in our house, with our almost 3 year old daughter. Our strategies just seem to anger her so much that she loses control. She seems to be having more and more tantrums, and I really don't know what to do about it.

2. I wanted to get my dining room pained before we have company this weekend, but I just ran out of time.


Highs:

1. Today is my baby's 1st birthday! I can't believe it. He has grown so much over the past year. Happy birthday baby J!

2. We are having a party on Sunday for J. Family and friends are coming for an italian feast, and I'm sure it will be alot of fun.

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Baby J!

One year ago today, I gave birth to the cutest, sweetest little guy in the world. He has brought more smiles to my face than I could have ever imagined.

J - you are a very strong, determined little boy, who loves his big sister to pieces, and brings so much joy into our house. You are mischievous...you puposefully call me dada, and when I say mama, you burst into laughter like you just told the funniest joke. You are very emotional (just like mommy), and very sensitive (just like mommy). You are growing so fast. Right now you say dada, baba, yaya, rara, gaga. We aren't sure what those mean, except dada of course. We are starting to think yaya is your name for your sister. You are crawling like a champ, and you can stand independently. You can walk if you are holding onto your walker, or our hands, but you prefer to crawl. I think it's because it's quicker for you right now. You are eating like a champ. You are completely off baby food and formula, eating what we eat (and enough for a grown up), and drinking soy milk and juice. Whole milk seems to upset your stomach. You weight about 25 lbs. I am not sure how tall you are right now. We have your check up in a few weeks. You are very curious, and you still love to put things in your mouth.

I love you beyond words. Your daddy loves you beyond words. Our family wouldn't be complete without you. Happy Birthday baby boy!

Hi/Lo Thursday

This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and for a chance to win $100.

It's been a pretty long week in the W family.

Lows:

1. Being very frustrated and in a bad mood directing it toward my family. There is nothing I can pinpoint, but it makes me sad.

2. My daughter is afraid of thunderstorms, which happened last night, and she ended up sleeping with us all night. Did not get a good night's sleep.

Highs:

1. My son is turning one next week! Very exciting!

2. I have had 2 weeks off of work!