Friday, April 27, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
toenails
Yesterday I decided to let Ilana indulge herself in one of her birthday purchases. She was given a combined $9 for her birthday - quite a lot for a 4 year old if you ask me. After talking with Ilana she thought it would be a good idea to spend some and then save some to go out to ice cream once it gets a bit warmer. She'll be able to load up on toppings with all that extra cash! She liked that idea. Sugar: very motivational for this 4 year old girl!
So, yesterday, Ilana painted her toenails.
She was more careful than I thought she'd be, as far as not getting any on the floor or rug. But she's still got some work to do on her aim.
Of course it's purple. Is there any other color for this girl?
She was having a BLAST...
...until I told her she was done and took it away.
Wow, her emotions are strong these days! But, nothing that a little "quiet, still, let-the-polish-dry" TV time couldn't cure. Oh, Ilana! You are something else these days.
So, yesterday, Ilana painted her toenails.
She was more careful than I thought she'd be, as far as not getting any on the floor or rug. But she's still got some work to do on her aim.
Of course it's purple. Is there any other color for this girl?
She was having a BLAST...
...until I told her she was done and took it away.
Wow, her emotions are strong these days! But, nothing that a little "quiet, still, let-the-polish-dry" TV time couldn't cure. Oh, Ilana! You are something else these days.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Ilana at 4
Three things come to mind when I think about this past year with Ilana: growth, emotions and the "instruction manual."
Ilana has grown in so many ways this past year - in stature, as a big sister, as a friend, as a daughter, mindfully, vocally... I could go on and on. I look at her summer clothes from last year and think "these will never fit her again!"
Ilana has been so "little" since she started walking, and now she finally seems to be catching up...
just a little bit.
We still have meltdowns ever day, which is where the emotions of this year come in.
Ilana is really exploring her emotions - which ones are appropriate when, what they actually are, and especially how to express them. We're trying to help her navigate this confusing part of life.
All in all, she's a pretty happy girl most of the time.
She's also grown in her imagination. This girl LOVES to dress up as 759 different characters every day and you better remember which one she is now.
When people ask me about Ilana these days I say "the instruction manual has arrived." People always wonder why infants don't come with an instruction manual and my answer is because they arrive at 4 years old. Ilana knows what she wants, when she wants it, and is not afraid to tell you. Must be a 4-year old thing. Definitely a new adventure for us!
Her birthday this year was on Wednesday - the day Paul works late, so we started celebrating the night before by going to our favorite pizza place in Chicago, formerly Ian's Pizza (now Dimo's Pizza, same exact place, they just decided to stay a local pizza place and not franchise - go Dimo's!!) Of course, we had to get their smore's pizza and when they brought it out, it had 4 candles on it. Again, go Dimo's!! My friend, Emily is in town this week, attending a conference in Chicago, so of course she joined us for dinner that night (on the left). It was super sweet.
The next morning we let her open her gifts first thing.
We had a great time celebrating with the friends at our weekly Wednesday playgroup. I intentionally didn't take the camera with me. It was just one too many things, plus I wasn't feeling all that well. Then we came home and after naps and dinner had another round of cupcakes.
There was no resistance to this idea, only silly faces.
Ilana, you are a joy to us, despite all the challenges that being 4 brings!
Ilana has grown in so many ways this past year - in stature, as a big sister, as a friend, as a daughter, mindfully, vocally... I could go on and on. I look at her summer clothes from last year and think "these will never fit her again!"
Ilana has been so "little" since she started walking, and now she finally seems to be catching up...
We still have meltdowns ever day, which is where the emotions of this year come in.
Ilana is really exploring her emotions - which ones are appropriate when, what they actually are, and especially how to express them. We're trying to help her navigate this confusing part of life.
All in all, she's a pretty happy girl most of the time.
She's also grown in her imagination. This girl LOVES to dress up as 759 different characters every day and you better remember which one she is now.
When people ask me about Ilana these days I say "the instruction manual has arrived." People always wonder why infants don't come with an instruction manual and my answer is because they arrive at 4 years old. Ilana knows what she wants, when she wants it, and is not afraid to tell you. Must be a 4-year old thing. Definitely a new adventure for us!
Her birthday this year was on Wednesday - the day Paul works late, so we started celebrating the night before by going to our favorite pizza place in Chicago, formerly Ian's Pizza (now Dimo's Pizza, same exact place, they just decided to stay a local pizza place and not franchise - go Dimo's!!) Of course, we had to get their smore's pizza and when they brought it out, it had 4 candles on it. Again, go Dimo's!! My friend, Emily is in town this week, attending a conference in Chicago, so of course she joined us for dinner that night (on the left). It was super sweet.
The next morning we let her open her gifts first thing.
We had a great time celebrating with the friends at our weekly Wednesday playgroup. I intentionally didn't take the camera with me. It was just one too many things, plus I wasn't feeling all that well. Then we came home and after naps and dinner had another round of cupcakes.
There was no resistance to this idea, only silly faces.
Ilana, you are a joy to us, despite all the challenges that being 4 brings!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Ok, it's time
After being nudged by my friend, still doing middle-of-the-night feedings (Hi Carolyn!) and a good church friend (Hi Caroline!) to keep up blogging...it's time for an update!
On Valentine's Day, Ilana had a message for everyone.
Grayson was...well...establishing his own sense of fashion.
In March, when we had 10 days of 80 degree weather (WHAT?!), Ilana got industrious and started digging dirt and putting it into her tricycle.
Grayson is really starting to "find his own" in our crazy family as our comic relief. He is such a little boy these days and we are doing our best to soak up every ounce. (Yeah, my face in this picture drives me crazy, so just focus on Gray.)
I love, love, LOVE this little man and am honored to be his Momma.
So, during tonight's bath Gray decided it was necessary to put on his hard hat, you know, to keep him safe from his sister's antics. We were all cracking up!
And just a few weeks ago, we found out we're expecting our third little one. We've been perfectly consistent with surprising ourselves as far as the timing of our kids. So, we're doing a lot of adjusting these days. Adjusting how we thought this year would go. Adjusting our food budget. Adjusting what we thought "our family" would look like. Adjusting again to the expectation of having our hearts explode with love for another human being. Lots of adjusting. I have my first appointment with my nurse-midwife tomorrow morning and I'm pretty excited.
So, lots to blog about these days! Thanks for your patience. Ah, sweet Thursday night (or early early Friday morning, if you're Carolyn). :)
On Valentine's Day, Ilana had a message for everyone.
Grayson was...well...establishing his own sense of fashion.
In March, when we had 10 days of 80 degree weather (WHAT?!), Ilana got industrious and started digging dirt and putting it into her tricycle.
Grayson is really starting to "find his own" in our crazy family as our comic relief. He is such a little boy these days and we are doing our best to soak up every ounce. (Yeah, my face in this picture drives me crazy, so just focus on Gray.)
I love, love, LOVE this little man and am honored to be his Momma.
So, during tonight's bath Gray decided it was necessary to put on his hard hat, you know, to keep him safe from his sister's antics. We were all cracking up!
And just a few weeks ago, we found out we're expecting our third little one. We've been perfectly consistent with surprising ourselves as far as the timing of our kids. So, we're doing a lot of adjusting these days. Adjusting how we thought this year would go. Adjusting our food budget. Adjusting what we thought "our family" would look like. Adjusting again to the expectation of having our hearts explode with love for another human being. Lots of adjusting. I have my first appointment with my nurse-midwife tomorrow morning and I'm pretty excited.
So, lots to blog about these days! Thanks for your patience. Ah, sweet Thursday night (or early early Friday morning, if you're Carolyn). :)
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