Sadie Say II

This was out at G'ma Jody and PaPa Pat's in NJ.

Caleb tripped in the dining room over a basket of pine cones and of course, Sadie was there playing little mama to see if he was okay. She came running into the living room, still pointing to the basket, declaring that "Cay-dub fell on da porkypines" After a little thought we were able to figure out that Sadie got pine cones and porcupines a little mixed up. Now Caleb is calling pine cones porcupines even though he knows what really they are. You never know what these guys will come up with. :-)

A couple of pictures from Christmas

Sadie Says

Sadie's catch phrase this weekend- "it's kinda easy" we have no idea where she picked it up but we hear it a lot at dinner time.

And the children have discovered Disney's Peter Pan. Sadie asked Daddy when he came home from work the other day "Daddy, can I fly to Neverland with Peter Pan and Wendy and Michael?" Caleb enjoys the crocodile that chases after Captain Hook.

The New Bed (Part I)

We had this crazy idea to get the kids bunk beds (Sadie needs something in the house to climb on now that the weather is cold). Unfortunately, they didn't send us all that we needed to build the entire set. So last night Andy and I put together the bottom bunk and moved Sadie's crib to the basement.
Tonight, with the kids back from G'ma's house (thoroughly worn out) we found a little problem at bedtime. Sadie was very excited to be in a big girl bed and Caleb was also looking forward to sleeping in the new bed. They both cried when asked to sleep in Caleb's toddler bed (that's still in it's usual spot). So we asked them if they wanted to share the new bed and this is what we got.

And I can happily report that by 8:30 they were passed out and at 10:30 (when we last checked on them) they were sleeping right next to each other. Sadie had turned herself around so that her head was right near her big brother.

We'll see how early they're up in the morning :-)

Sadie's 2nd Year

I realize I haven't been keeping up with this very well lately. I would say that I've been really busy but that isn't really an excuse. I have been fortunate to have had lots of photo session these past couple months so it looks like Jodi Walsh Photography will continue in 2009. I think it's more that I haven't felt like I have a lot to say. But since I did a big update on Caleb when he turned 3, it's only fair that I give you all the same update for Sadie.

Well, Sadie is very different from Caleb. We've been thinking of her as a 2 yr old since at least the beginning of summer. She's been talking non-stop since about 16 mos (which couldn't have been more different than Caleb not talking until he was almost 2). She's our active child with only 2 settings, moving and asleep but even asleep she moves all around but it's quieter.
We're convinced that she is either going to grow up to be an stunt woman or a physical comedienne since she has mastered the art of falling and takes great pride in falling and having people laugh at her. It's not unusual to see her sprawled on the floor grinning from ear to ear. We made the decision early that we weren't going to fuss over falls with both kids and taught them to say "ka-blooey" when they fell. Well, this might have back-fired with Sadie because she now loves to fall whether, jumping off the stairs, flopping on her diaper-padded rear, or doing belly smackers on the floor, she just laughs and jumps up ready to do it again.

She also loves dancing and music and will mimic (or try to mimic) dances that she sees on TV. She's recently discovered ballerinas and will try to ballerina twirl. At 2 she has mastered walking in high-heels (something I have yet to do). She loves dress up and has even gotten her big brother to play along.

She's the little mama, always trying to take care of everyone. Offering encouragement to Caleb on the potty, getting his milk for him, and often just patting him on the back when he needs it. We often hear her little voice asking "What's wrong?" when there's any indication that things aren't going well.

As I mentioned earlier, she started talking pretty early. She will say anything and understands so much. She has started picking up phrases from books. Not memorizing entire books like her brother but I've caught her a few times looking through Monster at the End of the Book saying "You turned the page."

Bear continues to be her faithful companion, joined sometimes by Baby and Daisy (a new doll from her birthday). She also loves the Little People and often talks to them and calls them her friends. She's been a little more hooked on TV than Caleb and will wake up asking to watch Sid the Science Kid, Mis Street (Sesame Street) or Jeopardy but she's never too upset when the answer is no.

Sadie, we're learning, has the makings of a social butterfly. Kids seem to be drawn to her, maybe it's that she follows them around until they just get used to her being there. I don't know. I think she's cute but I'm also a little biased. Most recently, she's charmed some little girls in Caleb's pre-school class. Picking up Caleb, I often hear the little girls saying good-bye to Sadie as we leave. I can't help but wonder how she's going to do next year when she's actually in pre-school. They might not be ready for her.

Other things we're learning about Sadie... she loves meat (meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs, hamburgers, kielbasa and sausage- daddy's girl). She also loves her treats and often asks for a treat for finishing her treats. She doesn't seem to have the same pickiness that Caleb has or rather the treats are just more motivating to her than her brother.

Well, that's our little princess, even Caleb calls her his princess and we love her dearly and can't wait to see how she grows in 2009.

Thanksgiving 2008

Daddy: What are you thankful for, Caleb?
Caleb: My cornucopia.
Daddy: And what are you thankful for, Sadie?
Sadie: (after some discussion) My bear.

Hope you all have had a blessed Thanksgiving Day!

Caleb Potty Update!

I think we've finally had a break through! for the first time today, Caleb told me that he had to go potty and we're on day 3 with no accidents. the key is motivation. Caleb can be a challenge. in true stubborn fashion, basically from the day he was born, the child will not respond if you tell him he "has" to do anything. we've always had to find a way to outsmart him and convince him that he "wanted" to do whatever was asked. for some reason, i always forget this part of his personality and there can be lots of yelling and butting heads when we're both frustrated. this has been especially true of the potty. people have been telling me for months and months that things will just click, that he'll just get it one day. well, i've been working with him on this since March (?) and recently i've been wondering if he's ever going to get it. (i may even be jinxing myself by recording this update)

well, this week, i did 2 things. the first- i found this great little chore chart dry-erase board at Target with the days of the week and little magnet stars. very cute! a while ago Caleb really enjoyed earning stickers for going potty but we ran out of charts and it got forgotten (although both monkeys every now and then ask for a truck sticker). i thought this board might work- and save paper :-)
the second thing i did was offer Caleb the reward of computer time. i don't know what made me think of it or why i hadn't thought of it before but i offered that if he went all day with no accidents, he could have some time on the computer. he really liked that but i quickly discovered that waiting all day for the reward was a little too abstract for him. so adapting as always, i changed it up to if he puts something in the potty, he right away (or almost right away) will get 5 minutes on the computer.

i can't express how easy this has made things. this boy for a while has been refusing to even try to go and for some bizarre reason, if he knows that he has to actually go, he'll hide and refuse to sit. this usually happens in the morning and this morning, all i said was time to go potty and he happily went up, sat down, did his business and we were able to have a happy day in preschool with no accidents. yeah, and that's another relief. it's not good when the director expresses her disappointment in having potty problems when he was supposed to be completely trained before starting school.

well, i'm keeping my fingers crossed that we have turned a corner and that i won't have to fear the preschool director :-)

and of course, now i can think about getting sadie trained and we will return to a diaper free land once again :-)