circling back...

so yeah. it's been nearly a year. audrey is successfully a milk-in-sippy fiend and olivia potty trained in like three days. or some other ridiculously short time. i don't really think i had much to do with her success. she just... was ready.

so, score one for me! and, um, let's just say that as soon as audrey's potty trained? that rug is OUT. ew.

NEXT TOPIC.

hm. so many things to discuss. liv's at a magnet school and doing great, audrey is (sort of) sleeping better, the cat died, i have a new job...

WHERE TO BEGIN?

too overwhelming for the moment. so i shall leave you with this and the promise to return tomorrow (or later) with more...

i am crazy.

this week we are:

• transitioning audrey to whole milk from alimentum
• transitioning audrey from bottles to the sippy exclusively
• potty training olivia.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!?!

ps. we're pretty much going to have to burn our rug after this potty training endeavor.

swoon

am in some sort of parenting denial. is this common? it must be. my teeny newborn is nearly one:

my OTHER teeny newborn is three months shy of THREE. As in YEARS. OLD!!!!!

i... just can't process it. AND YET:

already they are laughing at me. ALREADY.

eleven months

my sweet audrey beans. yesterday she turned eleven months old. where did the last year go? no, seriously. i'm asking.

this kid is incredible. i mean, let's not rewrite history. the first four months were a nightmare. so colicky. so barfy. i feel like i didn't even meet her until september. but OHMAIGASH was she worth it.

i remember thinking no way would i ever want to have another kid after she was born. i mean, her birth experience was AWESOME, but everything after that was really, really, really difficult.

but then... it changed. somewhere around nine months she fell into this completely awesome stage and i want a million more of her. (HIGHLY unlikely there will be more, but i've still named my hypothetical third daughter all the time anyway.)

miss audrey at eleven months:

• is crawling like crazy.
• puts everything in her mouth. if she sees that you've spotted her with something she shouldn't have (usually a sticker) she jams that thing in her mouth SO FAST it's actually pretty impressive.
• eats like a champ (see above). loves absolutely all food - eats almost entirely table food with the addition of her happy bellies cereal in the morning. 
• weighs about 22 pounds - only four less than her big sister and they essentially wear the same size diaper.
• wants to walk, but hasn't figured out how to move her feet. 
• trying very hard to pull to a stand. i'm sure i'll find her standing in her crib within a week or so.
• claps.
• mimics olivia. they have nightly screeching matches after dinner. 
• WORSHIPS her big sister. 
• also madly in love with her daddy. she gets crazy excited whenever she even hears his voice. 
• hasn't gotten the hang of sleeping through the night yet. sigh. 
• is a total and absolute LOVE.

i can't believe it's almost her first birthday.

aw

i have to say it. I HAVE TO. these kids? SO. FREAKING. CUTE.

but, can i also add? how tired do tom and i look? because whoa. we are so. very. tired. i guess audrey looks a little tired (or pissed) in this picture, too. she is, yet again, fighting a losing battle against her sinuses. the sheer VOLUME of snot that comes out of this child's face has got to be some sort of record. it's like there was a water main break in her nose.

topic? EASTER DRESSES, YAY!!!

olivia: audrey, i know this photo-taking business is bullshit, but i have a stash of mini eggs in my shoe. just smile so they'll free us.

oh. my. GAH. look at those delicious legs. I LOVE HER.

happy easter, self. (and swistle and sage.) ;)

psst

anyone still have this thing in their reader? yeah, i didn't think so. it's ok. i'll just write my first post in nine months to myself.

you know.

at 12:28am. when BOTH of my children are asleep so I SHOULD BE, TOO. because yeah. they don't do that much. remember that post way, long ago where i said audrey was a good sleeper? oh, ha, ha, HA. ten months old as of two days ago and still wakes anywhere between one and four times a night. no, i don't nurse. no, i don't find it amusing however common it might be.

my older kid slept through the night (and i mean REALLY slept, like 11 hours) from ten weeks on. i am still in denial over this shit. and yet. here i sit. ON THE COMPUTER. instead of sleeping for ten minutes.

like ten minutes is going to refresh me. anyway. welcome back to me. i don't even have any pictures because i post every damn thing to facebook and you know what? i blame my iphone. it's too easy. sorry, fb.

you know what else? the last time i posted audrey weighed nine pounds. hee! she weighed 21lb 5oz at her nine month check up. NOM.

phew!

these little munchkins are wearing me out!!

i'm learning that in order to eat dinner (me, not olivia) before 10pm, i need to make ahead. like while olivia's in school kind of ahead. even that won't guarantee anything, but at least i won't be STARTING to cook at 7:45pm after she's in bed. today i'm making beef tips with rice and broccoli and it's a recipe that requires being in the oven for three hours. SCORE. and olivia even EATS THIS. wahoo!!

speaking of eating, my little audrey bean is having a tough go. she went back to the pediatrician yesterday (visit number 7 in less than four weeks) and was diagnosed with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). her symptoms are freaking TEXTBOOK (frequent vomiting, persistent wheezing, difficulty/crying out while eating, gas, abdominal pain, severe hiccups) so i'm not sure why it even took this long, but whatever. we know now.

she was already on nutramigen, but the doctor switched her to alimentum since some babies respond better to the subtle difference in the formulas. she's also on zantac now. we sent a stool sample off to check for bacteria and if it comes back positive and/or she doesn't respond to the new regimen, they'll switch her to neocate and refer us to a gi specialist.

i'm hoping this does the trick. she seems to be a bit better already. sleeping quietly and breathing easier (she was sleeping very fitfully before and holding her breath, crying out, etc.) so that's good.

she's also continuing to gain weight throughout this, so that's awesome! little monkey is up to 9lbs 10oz! love that girl!!