Kickin the Habit

In the beginning it was there. A soother I told myself. A silencer in reality. Not that she cried a lot but when she did it worked and she held it in and she suffered from the second child syndrome. Something that I didn't get with Katie Jo I now had with Georgia. And I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass me by. Just for a few months I told myself.



A year passed and it's residence was no longer a rental. Now it was more a lease-to-own deal. We mostly kept it hidden except for naps and bed time and the occasional emergency. Only once did I find myself tearing into CVS, purchasing a pack without so much as a Hello to the cashier, and opening the package before the van door could slide open only to pop it into her mouth with no cause for concern over the absence of a rinse with boiling water.
Then there was the 18 month mark. Why did she still have it? Why did I care? What was it about this item? An item that finds itself onto the majority of registries. An item that so many moms depend on for a lock on their sanity. And then I realized that was it. Maybe I thought I was above the allure of the almighty pacifier. Why couldn't I be the mom that was able to control her crying child without the pacifier addiction. Maybe I had felt the pressure from others who looked down on it. Would it ruin her teeth? An overbite would be a certainty. Was I causing her a lifetime of ruin because she sucked on silicone attached to plastic with an indecipherable Chinese symbol painted in pink? I think not!And then as quietly as it entered our life it slipped away.

All because it wasn't the right color.

As I popped it in her mouth last Thursday evening she gingerly popped it back out, turned it over to check the color, realized it was orange and not pink, and laid it aside. See, these last few weeks she has only had the one in her paci bowl and it was pink. I guess she's a creature of habit and we didn't even know we were doing ourselves a favor.

So you many ask, "Has she done Ok without it?" Yes, much to my relief this has been easier than I could have dreamed. And there was the added stress of their visit out of town this past weekend. She hasn't so much as peeped when we've laid her down for naps and bedtime. It's almost as if it was never there in the first place. Which is why I realize now this was never about the concern for her but for myself.

I worried about how many nights we'd spend trying to get her down without it. How many days I'd have to spend during her nap time trying to soothe her. I was afraid. It's why at a dinner last week a friend and I whispered between ourselves among a table full of fellow moms about when we'd give "it" up. We both agreed the two year birthday seemed a doable goal. Yes, we agreed that would be the time to face our fears.

But that's kind of what mothering is all about: setting goals for your child. Whether it be potty training, riding a bike, going to college, marrying the perfect spouse. They don't always meet these goals in the time line we have for them but without a goal in mind we have nothing to work towards.

So when I pass that child with a pacifier in it's mouth in a baby carrier, a stroller, walking to kindergarten, will I judge? Nope because I'll know that that child's mother has a goal in her head of when that child should be able to go through life without the use of a pacifier. And I'll also know that that goal was passed long ago and several new ones had to be set. Just like me.

Highlight from History

This was just a highlight from today but one of my favorite moments. When Rev. Lowery finished Katie Jo turned to me and said, "I liked when that man speaked." It has been a historic day and I wonder what she will remember: being told the tv would be on all morning and not tuned to Noggin, seeing all the people (1.4 million) waving American flags so fast it looked like a red blur on the screen, seeing President Obama speak and being shushed when she spoke above a whisper, or sitting on my lap to hear Rev. Lowery commanding the crowd to say "Amen."

Girls, Girls, Girls

These are just some recent shots I've taken over the last couple of weeks. The above was taken by KJ of Georgia and I.

Can you tell which child thought I was leaving when I went out the front door? It is pretty funny looking with her finger in her nose though.

Georgia loves riding around on the plasma car that Santa brought her.

Sisters playing! I hope this is a common occurrence around our house.

Silly girl

Deep in thought

This one's a deep thinker too

Another shot of G girl and I courtesy of KJ. I wish you could zoom in on G's smirk. It has Jay written all over it!

KJ wanted a picture of she and G holding hands so bad. G wouldn't cooperate but it turned out to be a cute shot nonetheless.

Such sweet blue eyes. So deceiving!

Katie Jo was showing me that she was cold.

Notice the lips? Just another tumble in the life of G girl.

KJ is getting so big. I look at this shot and can't believe she'll be four in just a few months!

Birthday continued

Jay's birthday was Wednesday and we had a nice family party with dinner, cake and ice cream. We gave him a book all about Clemson and Katie Jo was nice enough to help him open it!

Then they blew out the candles.

And we all enjoyed the sweets!

Ho Ho Ho

To make my day a little sweeter I got the final installment of my Christmas gift from Jay. On Christmas Day he gave me a great pair of Sanita clogs in cow print. They were too big and I was truly bummed. They are not cheap shoes but he was able to get them from a friend that drives a shoe truck for a greatly reduced price. So I waited to see what else would come from the truck. Today when Jay met my parents he picked up the new pair and brought them home. I was so excited because even though I liked the cow print the new pair are my total favorite with a crazy pattern and color scheme that will match anything I wear. Well almost anything! So here is my Christmas present that I am just crazy over and they are so comfortable I might sleep in them.

One of my greatest days as Mom to a girl

So if you work backwards there is the wedding day, prom day, and the day they start dance class as the three greatest days of a mom to a girl. I'm kind of saying this with tongue in cheek but it really was thrilling to enroll Katie Jo in her very first dance class. All the memories of my days at Teele's School of Dance came flooding back and when I put my nose in the box of her brand new tap shoes (I'm not kidding, nose went directly into the box) pictures raced through my head of leotards, giggling with friends, mats, mirrors, and Sue Teele. She was the matriarch of the dance school and revered with a mix of admiration and fear. It's amazing how a smell can revert you back immediately and produce memories you didn't know your brain still held onto.
So anyway I gradually hyped up our eldest and by the time the first class rolled around she was beside herself with excitement.
The class she is enrolled in is a mix of tap and ballet. When I called to register her I found out it was $55 a month for a once a week, hour long class. I discussed it with Jay and we decided we could live with that price so she could have this opportunity. Well, what I didn't factor in was the couple of leotards we'd have to buy and the tap shoes and ballet shoes. After that I decided as long as she kept with it for awhile then it would not be a great cost over time. The first day of class the owner came in to talk to us about the recital at the end of the year. Apparently there is a cost. Shocking! And then there are the costumes. Also, not for free.
So now we have forgone the idea of having a third child so that Katie Jo's dance career can be worked into our budget.
Her first class went well and thankfully when we got there there were two other girls she knew so that made it easier. I sat outside her room and chatted with a friend. There is a window with a sheer curtain over it. I could peep in and watch but she couldn't see me. She did well, was a good listener, and overall seemed to have fun which was the point in the first place. Here are a few pics of our tiny dancer and a hysterical video of her showing off her tap moves.

Home Alone

I am home alone. Silence surrounds me. I came home from subbing, laid down for a nap, watched Grey's Anatomy on the computer and ate a bag of Chex Mix. Why? How? Because my girls have been shipped off to Gran and Pop's for the weekend! Jay took them this morning to Columbia where he met up with my mom and dad to drop the girls off.
Am I excited or what?!
Am I going to miss them? Yes.
Am I worried about them? No. I know that they will have a great time and I know they will be well fed, played with, and taken care of 1000%.
Jay and I wistfully talk of what it would be like to have grandparents near by to help us out occasionally. Just to have a break, run errands, get projects done, all without the business of caring for two little ones. We love our girls but goodness it gets hard to accomplish much around the house or for ourselves. So we finally have our chance this weekend. The good thing about not having grandparents close by is how much I appreciate a chance like this. Some people don't even have that so I am very grateful my girls will have a whole weekend of grandparent/family lovin.
I always loved when I taught and a student would share about spending time with their grandpa fishing or a day playing at grandma's. I know Jay and I both had so many experiences growing up where we spent time with our grandparents. Those are good memories and I'm glad for my girls to now get their chance.
So this weekend isn't just about our break but the girls having the opportunity to make memories with their grandparents. I love it! It's a win win situation.
So what do I do now? Maybe go out to eat and then a leisurely trip to Barnes and Noble where I can drink coffee and read magazines for hours. Maybe we'll just hang out here, order a pizza, and watch tv. Who knows? It's a wide open plan! I know this, I am going to try to do all the things I wouldn't normally be able to do. For that opportunity I am glad.

Happy Birthday Jay!

Today is Jay's birthday. He is 35 + 2. He started his day off right with a sausage biscuit courtesy of moi. Tonight we'll do a nice dinner at home followed by cake and ice cream. Katie Jo has been super excited about his birthday and we've been counting it down for two and half weeks!
Here is my favorite picture of him and I thought I'd post it since it says so much about him. This photo was taken last year when he went on a weekend trip with guys from Sunday School. They took one of their days and went rock climbing. Jay loves the outdoors and a favorite activity outside is climbing. He looks so rugged with the gear strapped to him with that beautiful background of the mountains. He needs to be able to do more things like this to reduce his stress. I hope when he sees this picture it'll take him back to a day he enjoyed.

Happy Birthday Jay!

Curly Sue Take Three

Well I finally figured out I can't do the Microsoft Word blogging and be able to have pictures because you have to use a photo host like Photobucket. I'm not getting into all that so I'll just deal with the "old way" of uploading the pictures through blogger. It's like having to use a rotary phone vs cordless!
Anyway, here is a cute picture of Georgia with all her after a bath, finger fluffed curls. It'll be interesting to see how long these stick around.

Curly Sue Take Two

I'm trying this one more time and I apologize to those of you who keep getting updates.

I guess not!

I guess the test didn't work the first time. Text came out fine but not the picture.

Curly Sue

 

This is just a test for me. Someone mentioned being able to blog in Microsoft Word and I'm trying it out. If there is any way to override uploading pictures to blogger I'm all for it. So we'll see if this is the new wave (no pun intented) of the future!

For Gran

My mom bought this beautiful dress last week and had it shipped to us. I told her I'd get a shot of KJ wearing it. She wore it this morning to church and looked just like a doll. It's such a vibrant color of purple! Thanks Gran!

Cuteness

Is it me or is this the littlest pony tail known to man?

I almost got the tower taller than her but obviously she was excited that it almost made it! I managed to get her name in there which you can barely make out.

New Years Eve

Jay was kind enough to keep our and Kayci's kids so she and I could go out to dinner. We got all gussied up and went out to the Olive Garden. We then took a trip to Target afterwards and stocked up on lots of Clearance Christmas items! It wasn't your typical NYE but it sure was fun!

No exaggeration necessary

I have mentioned before that Georgia is a climber. This past month she has really outdone herself. A couple of weeks ago (Dec. 16th to be exact) I was putting away clothes in her room when I heard a strange noise coming from the hall bathroom. I poked my head out and found her sitting in the sink just like below.

She had pulled the foot stool (pictured below) over to the counter, climbed on top and proceeded to use the molding on the cabinets as a foot hold while she hoisted herself up on the counter. From there she settled into the sink to check out the toothbrush holder and surrounding baskets. I was able to see this process after I put her on the ground and she immediately repeated her climb.

Then this morning Jay called me from downstairs. I had to go back to get my camera. He found her sitting on our bathroom counter and had opened a pack of Reese Pieces. They were scattered around her and she was eating them as quickly as her little fingers would allow. She's something else folks!

Some of the sweetest words a Daddy could hear

January 1, 2009

Katie Jo: Daddy, can I watch football with you?
Jay: Sure honey!

She then crawled up into his lap with her drink and snack and snuggled up to watch the game. Of course not to be outdone, Georgia followed suit. It turned out to be a pretty cute photo opp.