Two weeks ago I took Paige into her room for a routine diaper change. When I laid her on the changing table and peeled off her diaper, this is what I saw:
My mind started racing. Does she have a rash? Where is the blood coming from? Since Paige is no stranger to weird medical ailments I began checking her all over. She was completely calm and I couldn't find any traces of blood.
Seconds later a quick lift of her bottom revealed the source of our red diaper: Apparently Paige had been "carrying" a red crayon around in her diaper most of the morning. Just another strange happening in the world of a stay-at-home-mom.
When Reese was about 18 months old she received a picnic table from her Grandma and Grandpa Bailey as part of her Easter presents. The table quickly became a fixture in our hallway and was used for many meals and projects. This summer we moved the table outside in our backyard. Since Paige is now more mobile we cleaned it off and it has made a return.
Paige loves climbing onto the benches and joining her sister for coloring and other projects.
We've designated the side closest to the cabinets as "Paige's side" since she is less likely to fall.
I put out peanut butter and apple slices for snack; but for Paige, peanut butter is all she needs.
Someday when the girls are grown up I know they will be friends. I like to imagine them as best friends, even. There's a lot of time and ground to cover between now and then. There will be arguments over clothes and probably a few wrestling matches to referee, but for now we are experiencing the ups and downs of sisterhood on a constant basis: giggling friends one moment, screaming and biting the next.
At it's best here's the loving sisters in action:
Reese is reading Paige one of her favorite books.
Reese loves to shower Paige with hugs and kisses. Can you blame Paige for being less than enthusiastic if most of the hugs look like this? And, most of the kisses end with Paige on the floor. No matter how many times we've discussed hugs that don't involve strangling and "gentle" kisses, it's just not happening yet.
On Christmas Eve Reese sprinkled the lawn with glittery reindeer food and actually fell asleep quickly. With only one toy to assemble we were in the clear shortly after 8pm. Christmas morning we woke up and enjoyed a morning of homemade cinnamon rolls (thank you Pioneer Woman!) and opening gifts. Reese ate an entire cinnamon roll and proceeded to vomit it right back up. There were no more episodes later that day so we blame it on the decadence of my creation and her eager sweet tooth. After a quick morning nap for Paige we packed up the family and headed to San Antonio for Christmases 2 & 3 with each of the grandparents. On the way down Reese declared that she likes San Antonio because her grandparents "spoil her rotten."
Wow, it's almost February. I've been a little more than behind on updating our dear blog. Blame the holidays, travel, having two kids on the move, doctor's appointments, or insert your own lame excuse here: ________________.
So, in an attempt at redemption I bring you a run down of December.
December started with Kevin's holiday Christmas party. Here's a picture of us at midnight. Need I say more?
Two days later Paige managed to have her first walking accident. To say it was a walking accident is a slight stretch. She was actually standing next to a playscape at the park, there wasn't any lateral movement involved. She suddenly lost her balance and began to fall. If she had fallen straight down onto her bottom it would have been a non event; instead, she tried to catch her fall by grabbing onto the playground equipment. Her fall resulted in a mouth full of blood. I remember the first time Reese sustained a mouth injury (bit her bottom lip) and the amount of blood had me instantly panicked. Now, it nearly takes a protruding bone to get me spun up. I calmed Paige down but couldn't find the cause of the bleeding. Later that day I discovered that she had managed to fall and chip the bottom off of one of her front teeth. Lovely. We're not talking a "Swamp People" quality chip, her two front teeth are now just uneven. I scheduled a dental exam just to make sure everything was ok. After helping pin Paige down at the dentist there was no good news, but not any terrible news either. Yes, she had chipped her front tooth, no they didn't want to smooth it out; yes, BOTH of her front teeth were loose, but no they didn't need to be pulled (yet...we'll wait until they turn black or gray and then they have to go). Basically, if her tooth dies, she'll just be toothless until her permanent ones grow in. Poor girl can't get a break.
All during the month of December we were serenaded by Reese's versions of Christmas songs. I say "Reese's versions" because she knows about 25% of the lyrics to about 20 different holiday songs, and her inability to carry a tune combined with her lyric-osis produced some hilarious creations. One of my favorites was a mash-up of "Up on the Rooftop" and "Away in the Manger." Baby Jesus played a role in almost all of her songs, but was often mentioned int he same breath as Rudolph or Santa. We'll sort out the details in coming years I'm sure. I tried on multiple occasions to get Reese to perform one of her songs on video and she always refused. Days before Christmas I she conceded and produced a surprisingly accurate version of Rudolph. We have amazing neighbors for many reasons. They have helped us in a number of emergency situations (including child birth and gas leaks) and they associate with us even though our lawn is no where near as manicured as theirs. (We have two young kids and they don't, that's my excuse.) I secretly fear that if we ever move we will have used up our good neighbor quota and be stuck with schmucks. Every year around Christmas we exchange Christmas treats with our neighbors. We have been the recipients of homemade cinnamon rolls, fudge, platters of cookies, and a number of extravagant desserts. This year the girls helped me make treats for the exchange. I decided to make candy coated pretzel rods. The process involved dipping pretzel rods in chocolate and vanilla coating and covering them with all sorts of goodies--crushed peppermints, sprinkles, coconut (dyed both red and green) etc. After about two pretzels there was already one jar of sprinkles on the floor and I realized I was going to be on my own. (No, i didn't give a toddler a jar of sprinkles, I had bowls set out and had a whole system devised...if she was five it might have worked.) While I dipped 100+ pretzels, the girls enjoyed "making" their own. A side note: When I was teaching the OCD side of me always hated art projects involving glitter. No matter HOW you managed the project, glitter was going to be everywhere. My pretzel creations made me realize that sprinkles are the glitter of baking. I swear it has taken nearly a month to feel like my kitchen is finally sprinkle free.
A few weeks ago I thought Paige may never walk. Realistically, that was my sore back talking, but it was hard to ignore. For months now, Paige has been cruising around the house and walking with the assistance of a push car or someone's finger. Just before Thanksgiving she was willing to take one or two steps toward someone if you distracted her and removed your support just before she reached them. At any other time, though, if you tried to get her to walk by herself, she would scowl at you and then promptly sit down. If she could talk I'm sure she was saying, "You can't make me do this. What do you think you're doing over THERE? Come back and help me." Sometimes, even the act of setting her down on her feet would bring on body arching and wet noodlism.
Then, last week, she began playing one of her favorite games--climb onto the blue chair. This time, though, after she turned around and sat down, she slid off the edge onto her feet and walked across the room to me. This was not a wobbly one or two step affair. She stood up and walked easily 6 feet without a stumble. Proud of herself and happy with my excited reaction, she continued to go back to the chair, crawl in, turn around, stand up and walk around her room. By the tenth time she slid down she turned and walked out of her room and down the hallway. And we were off to the races....Here's some video taken during her first day walking.
This walking experience is just another interesting point of comparison for the girls. Reese walked (and crawled) at an earlier age than Paige, but in doing so, she went through EVERY iteration of the experience. When it came to walking, Reese began to stand independently first and then try one or two steps at a time. This process lasted a few weeks before she really began to walk steadily. With Paige, everything seems to click on her timetable. She doesn't make a move until she's sure she can do it perfectly. It's been less than a week since she took those first steps and she already is carrying items around with her while walking, drinking her cup while walking, bending down to get things, and her balance and ability to catch herself to prevent falls is impressive. Reese was Paige's biggest cheerleader for the first day...then, some jealousy kicked in. It only took one time out for pushing sister down to straighten things out. Now Reese is ready for Paige to dance with her. I'm guessing in a few weeks Paige will surprise us all with a perfectly executed twirl or two.
1. During the week of Thanksgiving she mastered the art of swinging by herself! (Insert angelic choir singing here) The ability to "pump her legs" means no more marathon pushing sessions for Mommy and Daddy, and she's thrilled with the idea that she can swing as high as she wants and for as long as she wants. Since Daddy broke her of her slide phobia the weekend before, she is now a much more independent girl when it comes to the park. With two weeks of cool wet weather lately we haven't been at the park often, and I'm a little worried that our absence may cause some back-tracking, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
2. Reese is absolutely TERRIFIED of the Santa at our local mall. On the two occasions we've visited, she has covered her face and hid behind Paige's stroller. She's unable to articulate her fear, but she felt a little better when I assured her that I wasn't going to make her sit on his lap. We decided to write him a letter this year instead. I'm kicking myself for not scanning the letter into our computer before we mailed it because she even helped with some of the writing. (The letters she feels comfortable with--mainly S, E, C, T, L, and I) We took the letter to the big red mail box at Macy's (since their campaign makes donations based on the number of letters received) after Reese helped address it and stamp it herself. Her "big request" this year? A jack-in-the-box. No problem. 3. Reese and Madeline are becoming best buds. Reese has figured out how to move quietly and slowly in order to approach the cat. Reese also pets her gently, makes her purr, and has even gotten Madeline to roll over for belly rubs. 4. Reese has been very anxious for Paige to walk. She has followed Paige around helping her steer her push-car and is always clapping and cheering for any efforts Paige makes to get mobile.
5. When Aunt Kim recently announced her engagement, Mommy nearly brought down the house with her squeals of delight. I then had to explain to two startled girls the cause of my outburst. While Reese didn't react to the news immediately, several days later, she wrapped her self in this blanket and pranced around the house. She explained that the blanket was her wedding dress. When I asked who she was getting married to she replied, "Ellie!"
My mind started racing. Does she have a rash? Where is the blood coming from? Since Paige is no stranger to weird medical ailments I began checking her all over. She was completely calm and I couldn't find any traces of blood. 
Apparently Paige had been "carrying" a red crayon around in her diaper most of the morning. Just another strange happening in the world of a stay-at-home-mom. 
