What happened to me?!? I used to zip around this town like it was nothing. I-15..piece of cake. 95..forget about it…no problems there. Not so much anymore. Now I’m a scary, slow, grandma driver. I hate going on the freeways…for that matter I hate leaving the 5 block radius that I live in. Anything I need is right here…family is close, shopping, parks…why would I possibly need to go any further. Except..occasionally I do. I need to travel outside of my little bubble and every time I have to leave my “safe place” I get stressed. Missing naps, delaying naps, messing up our sleep schedule stresses me out. Having meltdowns in public stresses me out. Driving with all of the looney tunes out there stresses me out. Please, please tell me this anxiety and stress goes away and not that it gets worse with age. That would be very, very bad.
Pictures of the babies in their forward facing carseats. I finally convinced Jeff to turn them around a couple of weeks ago. The babies LOVE to face foward. The first couple of times Shenzie was in her foward facing seat she just giggled and giggled. It was so cute…you would never guess how much she likes it from that frown she’s wearing.
When I was 17 or so I got a job at Tar.get as a cashier. I was promoted to Customer Service, then to Supervisor of the Front Lanes, and from there I moved into the Cash Office where I was responsible for all of the incoming and outgoing money. Working there I had the opportunity of seeing all of the great sales and get first dibs. Score!
When the babies were born and we were housebound for 3 months I started getting the Tar.get itch. I was going through withdrawls. First outing I ever took the babies….of course, my good friend Tar.get! Second, third, fourth, and fifteenhundredth outing….of course, my good friend Tar.get! We probably hit them up once a week for odds and ends, specific items, or just to browse. They are smart cookies, those Tar.get people. I’ve never left the store without spending money, usually more than I intend too. When I recently read about all of the great deals and sales going on after the holidays you can imagine my yips and yelps of glee. I grabbed the babies, tossed them in the car, and sped like a maniac to get all of things I don’t need and more! And then….the unbelievable happened. I left the store empty handed. As in, I did not purchase ONE SINGLE THING. I must have missed all of the great deals and steals, because the store was barren, cold, and sad…so very sad.
I guess they are off the hook since last week I purchased this on sale and have found it coming in rather handy for all of the crap….er, toys we have.
I know I say that every single month is my favorite, and I mean it. Every single month just gets better and better. While your Dad is pining away for those blob baby days I am loving the independent, walking, fighting stage to its very fullest. I LOVE this age. You are both so much fun. The time outs, hair pulling, scratching, biting, hitting, and pushing….I could certainly do with less, but the walking, babbling, signing, laughing, kissing, and loving I can’t get enough of. Your little personalities are just bursting out of you…so big and wonderful. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be you and see the world from your eyes, but let me tell you..watching you watch the world is amazing. Watching you learn things is so amazingly wonderful, I seriously just sit and watch you all the while giggling at how funny and cute you both are.
For my birthday your and Dada got me a new camera. By now you are used to seeing me with my third child and used to the constant attempts to get you to look at me. This camera has something that my other camera doesn’t….video! I am addicted to making videos of you. I follow you around with the camera recording everything you do. I’m sure this phase will pass once I’ve gotten over the fact that you’re both walking!!!!! Yes, my little Clammies, you are walking…..and I love it. You are both so proud of yourselves to walk. It has become your favorite new toy. Walking. You walk in circles, walk around and around the kitchen, walk from your bedroom to my bedroom and back, over and over and over again. Who knew that the one thing we didn’t spend money on is the one thing that keeps you occupied for the longest amount of time. Go figure.
Dear Shenzie,
If you’re wondering why you are always first in these letters it is because you were born first. You are exactly one minute older than your little big brother. When you’re older you can use the “look here little brother” line while looking up at him. We had your pediatrician appointment today and you had to get two shots. It is harder to sneak them in now that you are aware of whats coming. Your 15 months stats:
Not too shabby. You are still on the small side and probably always will be. You’ll have a life long problem with finding pants that are short enough, not being able to see in crowds, and having people use your head as an arm rest, but it is all ok…I’ve lived through it and so shall you.
You are so very funny. Your face is so expressive. You always know when you’re happy, mad, tired, or upset. When you smile your entire face lights up and your eyes shine. You laugh a lot. Gone is that serious baby we once knew. You are a very happy baby. You are getting more independent and less clingy which is nice. I can now leave the room without you crying.
You are still very wary of strangers, are scared of Sesame Street but love Elmo, and love watching Signing Time. You dance along as they sing. You love to dance. You dance sitting, dance while crawling, dance while walking, if I watched you long enough you probably dance in your sleep! My little ballerina (if swaying back and forth could be considered ballet).
Shenzie Bear, you are so very smart. You pick up on things so quick and constantly amaze me with things you know. We are still semi practicing your signs. You know milk, more, eat, dog, quack, bye, and sometimes all done. You are constantly mimicking me whether it be a sound, a word, or an action. You help me clean the floor with wipes, you help me fold the laundry…and by fold I mean take all the items I’ve folded and throw them down and then rearrange them in their new pile.
You are a toy hoarder. You will pick up and carry around as many toys as you possibly can hold. It is hilarious watching you try to cram more toys into the stack you are holding. Some of your favorite games are peek a boo, walking with things on your head…preferably covering your eyes so you can’t see and run into walls and doors and such. You love to rough house, get spun around, get thrown in the air, and hang upside down. For some strange reason you also love medication. Sometimes before you will nap I have to pretend to give you Oral Gel. You’ll reach and reach for it on the shell and won’t calm down until I put some on your gums (or pretend to put some on your gums).
This month you almost gave Dada and me a heart attack. The first heart attack occurred while I was out and Dada was watching you. He came to the stairs to see you had climbed up 4 stairs all by yourself. The second heart attack came when you did the same thing on my watch. I was gone for 20 seconds and you were climbing right up the stairs. While I’m glad you learned how to climb and are so great at it, would you PLEASE wait until we are with you before attempting to do so again. We are too young for heart attacks!
I love you so much sometimes my heart hurts. You are such a sweet, special, amazing little girl. I am so very happy I am your Mama. I love you Shenzie Weather.
Love,
Mama
Dear Heaten,
I know I always say how sweet and loving you are and this month is no different. You are so sweet and loving and cuddly. Until you get mad of course, and then watch out! You’ve recently developed a temper and you ARE NOT going to let Shenzie beat you up and bully you any longer. You hit back, push, and try to bite. Luckily you still only have two teeth so it isn’t all that bad. You have been trying to cut your two front upper teeth for over two weeks now. You are a very SLOW teether and it is NOT fun.
Anything look weird about those numbers to you? Rightio big headed bandit! You have one BIG noggin. Probably to hold your large brain. It takes a lot of brain to be as smart as you are!!
You are all boy. You love to bang things, throw things, and of course you love your Dada. You love to snuggle up on his lap whenever you get the chance.
And now on to the things you hate. The list is getting longer and longer. You hate to get dressed and fight me every single morning and night. You screech out this wounded animal sound when I put your shirt on. I have to tug and tug to get it over that rather large melon of yours. You hate to have your diaper changed, you hate when I lotion you, you hate to have your nails clipped, you really really hate to have your hair washed, and hate for me to brush your teeth. Hmmmm. All boy indeed!
Feeding you is becoming more of a challenge. One day you love blueberries the next you hate them. You throw your food all over the floor or hide it next to you in your highchair. I think you’re eating all good and then find handfuls of food when I move you out of your highchair. Very clever, very clever indeed. I’m sure if we had a dog you would be sneaking him all of your gross food. One day you eat wonderfully the next you can’t stand anything I feed you. One thing you always love no matter what is milk. Mmmm. It does a body good.
Where sissy puts things on her head you like to put your head on things. One of your new things is headstands or headcrawling. I’m not quite sure where it came from, but it is quite hilarious.
While you’ve been taking steps for quite awhile you are now officially walking. The day after Shenzie started you started. I guess you couldn’t let sissy show you up! You walk like Frankenstein. Your chest all puffed out, your legs straight, your gait heavy. It is pretty funny. I gasp in fear a zillion times a day when you almost fall into the coffee table or cabinets. You are still pretty clumsy, your Dad wants to put you in a helmet. And while you would look adorable I’m sure I just can’t cover up your rock star hair. Grandma wants me to cut it, but I say NO! I will not give in! I love your hair even if people think you are a girl. Screw them!!!!
Little man, I love you more than you could ever dream of and then even more than that. I love seeing you grow and learn and turn into this amazing, wonderful little boy, my son.
A couple of you wondered how I find the time to read so many books with twins running about. I am a nerd. I love to read. Reading is by far my favorite past time (not including babies of course…but then again, they aren’t really a past time as say a HARD TIME)…anyway, I digress with my HUGE run on sentence.
So reading. I love it. I don’t remember much from my childhood, but one memory that stands out is Grade 3, Ms. Day’s class. She had reading day where we brought in our pillows and blankets and laid on the floor reading all day. If I ever see Ms. Day again I will tell her that she is too cool for school!!
My problem is I don’t retain things very well, and since I had the babies it is even worse. I can read a book and a year later re-read it again and it is almost like I never read it. Good for saving money on buying new books, bad because my brain is fried.
So back to how I find the time. Instead of cleaning, doing laundry, blowing out my hair I read. Ok, that’s not entirely true since all of those things get done, after I’m done reading of course. I read every single morning with my cup of coffee while the babies nap. I read at night after they go to bed, I read while they have alone playtime, and at night instead of reading How Now Brown Cow for the fifthteenhundrethtime I read them my books.
Luckily for me I married someone who loves books as much as I do. A favorite family outing is going to the library and wandering the aisles. When I was little I wanted to be a librarian. When I was 16 I worked at a Trade/Buy bookstore and LOVED it. One day when my hubby gets us rich I want to open a book store/cafe’ and spend all of my time reading and drinking yummy coffee. Ahhhh. The good life…coffee and books.
For Christmas the babies got their first pair of “real” shoes. Grandma Jan bought them Stride Rite big kid shoes and they are ADORABLE! Nothing quite says your babies are growing up like a pair of big kid shoes. Watching them clomp around in them is hilarious. When we’re in the car Heaten bangs his foot on the side of the door over and over with his clompers, he thinks he’s too funny. Now if only I could get them to keep their socks on when they don’t have shoes on.
This entire walking business is quite the entertainment. Long before Heaten was even crawling Shenzie was pulling up and cruising around on furniture. I thought for sure she would walk first. But then, as usual Heaten, he came zooming by and took his first unassisted steps leaving Shenzie in the dust. For over a month now they have been cruising around and taking a couple of steps from furniture to furniture and Heaten occasionally would walk across a room. There was no doubt in my mind Heaten would walk first. He is much braver at letting go. Shenzie would get scared and sink to her butt if she didn’t have something close by to hang onto. Imagine my surprise when out of nowhere this happened:
(Sorry for no sound, I broke something and don’t care to fix it just yet)
The funniest thing is she always goes to that same corner by the door to pull up and begin her walking adventures. That first night she must have crawled back to that corner 20 times. Since then she has branched out and will walk from just about anywhere…whooweee…now the fun really begins.
***Edited to add:
Excuse the playroom mess….I don’t notice the toys scattered everywhere and the laundry piled up but seeing it on here makes me look like a slob..really, I’m not all that slobby…it’s all the babies fault!
Shopaholic and Baby ¤ Sophie Kinsella ****
Miss Understanding ¤ Stephanie Lessing ***
Lust for Life ¤ Adele Parks *
April 2007
The Girlfriend Curse ¤ Valerie Frankel ***
The Body of David Hayes ¤ Ridley Pearson ***
Immoral ¤ Brian Freeman ***
Blonde Ambition ¤ Zoey Dean *
Brother Odd ¤ Dean Koontz ****
The Watchman ¤ Robert Crais ****
The Handmaid’s Tale ¤ Margaret Atwood *****
The Tenth Circle ¤ Jodi Picoult *****
May 2007
Perfect Match ¤ Jodi Picoult ****
State of Fear ¤ Michael Crichton ****
Vanishing Acts ¤ Jodi Picoult *** ½
Alias Grace ¤ Margaret Atwood *** ½
My Sister’s Keeper ¤ Jodi Picoult *****
Salem Falls ¤ Jodi Picoult ***
June 2007
Broken Angels ¤ Richard K. Morgan *** ½
Picture Perfect ¤ Jodi Picoult ****
The Pact ¤ Jodi Picoult ****
The Children of Men ¤ P.D. James *** ½
Already Dead ¤ Charlie Huston *****
Six Bad Things ¤ Charlie Huston *****
No Dominion ¤ Charlie Huston *****
Eleven Minutes ¤ Paulo Coelho *
The Memory Keepers Daughter ¤ Kim Edwards ****
July 2007
The 5th Horseman ¤ James Patterson ***
Innocent In Death ¤ J.D Robb ***
Born In Death ¤ J.D Robb ***
The Cold Moon ¤ Jeffrey Deaver *** ½
Hunting Fear ¤ Kay Hooper ***
The Suspect ¤ John Lescroart *** ½
August 2007
Sleeping with Fear ¤ Kay Hooper ***
At Risk ¤ Patricia Cornwell ** ½
Dance Macabre ¤ Laurall Hamilton ** ½
Haunting Rachel ¤ Kay Hooper ** ½
Step on a Crack ¤ James Patterson ***
Cross ¤ James Patterson ***
The Guy Not Taken ¤ Jennifer Weiner ** ½
Echo Park ¤ Michael Connelly ***
Caught Stealing ¤ Charlie Huston **** ½
Cover of Night ¤ Linda Howard *** ½
September 2007
Motor Mouth ¤ Janet Evanovich *
Judge and Jury ¤ James Patterson *** ½
Twisted ¤ Jonathan Kellerman ***
Slow Burn ¤ Julie Garwood ***
Gone ¤ Jonathan Kellerman ***
Rise and Shine ¤ Anna Quindlen ****
October 2007
Cold Moon ¤ Jonathan Kellerman *** ½
The Murder Book ¤ Jonathan Kellerman *** ½
Sleeping Doll ¤ Jeffrey Deaver ****
Daddy’s Girl ¤ Lisa Scottoline ***
The Woods ¤ Harlan Koban ****
November 2007
Invisible Prey ¤ John Sandford ****
Sister’s ¤ Danielle Steel **
Therapy ¤ Jonathan Kellerman *** ½
December 2007
Dirty Blonde ¤ Lisa Scottoline *** ½
Stalemate ¤ Iris Johanson *
Beach Road ¤ James Patterson ** ½
Obsession ¤ Jonathan Kellerman *** ½
6th Target ¤ James Patterson *** ½
Nineteen Minutes ¤ Jodi Picoult ****
Obsession, Deceit, and Really Dark Chocolate ¤ Kyra Davis *** ½
The Rabbit Factory ¤ Marshall Karp *****
Stay tuned for 2007 In a Nut Shell, Shenzie walking, 2007 Book Listing, 15 Month Post, Shoes and More Shoes, Stories of a hangover, January’s new design and header, and lots of photos!!! Whew, I better get busy!
