Niffer All Grown-Up

Big Sister Quote of the Day XIV

2009-12-07T15:28:00.002-07:00

In one hand, holding out a Bun-Bun wrapped in a blanket, she says "See? It's a baby Bun Bun." Then holding out another Bun-Bun, she says "And see? It's a big sissa Bun Bun."

Ninja Baby

2009-12-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

How do you spell "Waaaaa"???

Bah Humbug!

2009-12-04T04:41:00.001-07:00

Birthday Earth

2009-12-03T03:24:00.000-07:00

I was told about a pretty cool product that I thought I'd share. Take a look:
This is what the Earth looked like when Addie was born.
And here is the Earth when Ellie was born.

I got the images from Birthday Earth. Email me if you want a coupon code for 50% off (expires end of 2009).

Most bizarre thing I've ever owned

2009-12-02T13:40:00.001-07:00

Michael's aunt gave us some handmade bears that she did herself. Aren't they cute? So why would I claim that these are the most bizarre things I've ever owned? I asked her to make them for me. No, that's not why. Wait for it... wait for it...

The bears are made out of Merlin's hair. Yes! I'm not kidding you! Do you remember his first haircut? You're probably thinking to yourself, "She didn't!?" to which I have to say "I did!" I think I'm going to have to blame the pregnancy for that idea because I can't fathom why I would have ever thought to make bears out of my dog's hair if it weren't for my hormones going crazy.

Believing in something

2009-12-02T06:47:00.000-07:00

Someone recently asked me when we will start taking Ellie to church. Not being much of a church-goer, I said we didn't have such plans. She then responded with "How is she going to believe in anything then? She needs to believe in something."

I'm curious... many of my readers are religious and attend church regularly. Others are not. What do you guys think?

Do I have to send my children to church in order for them to believe in something? Is it even fair for me to pretend to be a church-goer when I really am not? What if I want them to be open to other religions? This person obviously was thinking of a Christian church, but would she be ok if I told her that we've decided to sign Ellie up for a Jewish school?

If I want my children to grow up and make their own decision on which religion they want to believe, what's the best way to do that?

In my ideal world, I envision picnics and hikes where my daughters and I sit and ponder how wonderful God must be to have made such a beautiful and complicated world. Is that not enough?

Is it not enough that Ellie and I sing "I see the moon and the moon sees me... God bless the moon and God bless me and God bless the one I want to see. God looked down from up above and he picked you out for me to love...?"

What do you think? If you're a more religious person than I, I'd like to know how you feel - if your goal was for your children to make their own decisions on religion, would you feel that church was required? If you're not a religious person, but have the same goal, what's your approach?

Flowers

2009-12-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

OH MY GOSH! What a special moment! Ellie drew me a picture, but what was special about the picture is that it actually almost, sort of kind of looks like what she said she drew. She was even telling Nana how to draw flowers:

Firs you go dis (draws a big line down the page). Firs you go dis (draws another line down the page). Firs you go dis circles (draws the flower on top of the stem).

Not too bad. Mommy's so proud. And she drew them for me! I'm the luckiest mother around.

Addie cries it out

2009-11-30T20:10:00.002-07:00

On a whim I decided to see what would happen if I let Addie fuss a little while putting her to sleep so this morning, before her first nap, I went through my little bedtime routine and I put her in the car seat (currently in the crib to help minimize the puking) and left.

What would Ellie have done? I know what she would have done because I tried it with her too. She screamed bloody murder until the I could not stand it any more. I seem to recall even sitting outside for a while so that I couldn't hear her. She never stopped but I don't recall how long I waited.

Addie cried a little. She actually cried off and on for 15 minutes. Every time she cried it was just to file her complaint. She knew she wasn't doing to die. Then she'd stop for a while. After 13 minutes of total fussing (I planned on going in after 15) she was sound asleep.

Not only that, she slept for an hour and a half instead of her normal 30-45 minutes!

The rest of the day she had no problem falling asleep without the pacifier (which has such a love/hate relationship with us).

Best yet - I just got done putting her down for sleep. I did my bedtime routine and put her in the car seat without her pacifier at all. What happened?

Nothing. She went straight to sleep! No fussing at all! I even waited in her room for 15 minutes for her to do her normal "wake up and cry" thing that she does.

NOTHING!

Seriously, if 15 minutes of crying is all it took for her to get excellent naps in and to fall asleep by herself the rest of the day then Yay!

Finally

2009-11-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'm glad they're finally doing real artwork in school now.

Thankful

2009-11-27T20:40:00.004-07:00

I purposefully didn't write a post about how thankful I am because I know I'd break down in tears if I even attempted to put it into words. However, there is a song on the radio that has a line in the lyrics that I think puts it all into perspective.

"I guess we're all one phone call from our knees"

Think about it. How easily can your life be turned upside down in the matter of seconds? How quickly can you go from having a life that is not necessarily perfect every moment, but perfect for you, to having difficulties wondering how you can continue to go on.

Think about it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a few people I need to hug.

I think she's trying to communicate

2009-11-26T10:16:00.001-07:00

This morning I was trying desperately to get more milk into my baby than she felt was necessary. It's a mother's job. After finally giving up out of sheer frustration, I started to talk to her instead. Much to my surprise, she started talking back! She was making all sorts of adorable coos and ahhs, and even an occasional cah! "Oh, look at you talking away," and Addie's only response was a gigantic burp worthy of a sumo wrestler. I've never heard a sumo wrestler burp, but now I know what one would sound like.

Sigh. I guess she wasn't talking after all. She just needed to burp.

Then she starts up again. OH! OH! Talk away, baby! You are so cute. Following that comes a couple minutes of more adorable bahs and coos. "You really ARE talking, aren't you?" and Addie's only response is to puke all over the bed. This wasn't your average baby spit up (I would have used those cute words if it were). It wasn't even your average baby puke. Again, it was worthy of a sumo wrestler (of course, assuming said wrestler only ate milk and lots of it).

Sigh. I guess she wasn't talking after all. She just needed to puke.

Then she starts up again! Oh my! Maybe she really is talking! There isn't anything left in her to complain about! Dang, can you get any more adorable? After a couple minutes of sheer cuteness, I mistakenly say "I love it when you talk to me, Addie!" and Addie's only response was to explode her diaper and when I say "explode" that's exactly what I meant. Now I have seen those sumo wrestlers and what they wear. I'm sure this was worthy of one of their poopy accidents.

Sigh. I guess she wasn't talking after all. She just needed a poop.

Then she starts up again! No, say it isn't so. Do you see where this is going? Can you guess what the final slime is that comes out of this little thing in front of me? Let's just skip to the end, shall we? There was cooing and awwing followed by a fountain of piss. Yep, she peed on me. After all that, she peed on me. Thank goodness she wasn't a sumo wrestler!

Sigh. "Are you done now?" and Addie's only response is a stare. No blinking. No moving. She is still. All is calm. And there is peace in the world again. My apologies for insulting the tribe of sumo wrestlers.

I guess I shouldn't complain. Maybe she was just trying to warn me of the grossness to come? You'd think I'd learn.

Today's deep thought

2009-11-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

I've figured out why babies insist on pooping while they breastfeed. They need to plug the top hole in order to build up the pressure needed to clear out the bottom hole!

It's about the proper motivation

2009-11-24T03:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't told you yet, but Ellie is almost potty trained! She's been in princess panties for two weeks now and is doing really well. It was daycare who told us she was ready, though we planned on waiting a while after the baby was born.

For a while we were motivating her to go poo-poo in the potty by telling her that she could have a lollipop if she did. Lollipops are her favorite, but even that seemed to lose its magic after a short period of time.

What has worked wonderfully since is Potty Hugs and Potty Dances. If she pees in the potty, Daddy gives her a Potty Hug. A potty hug is a great big hug full of bounces and turns. Only Daddy has the energy to do it. If she goes poo-poo in the potty, she gets a Potty Dance! A potty dance entails a lot of tosses into the air. Only Daddy has the strength and energy to do that.

But, for the most part, it's working quite well. Her teachers wrote us a note on Friday declaring her potty trained, though I don't quite buy it. I'm thinking that we'd be washing a lot fewer poopy underwear if that were so. However, we're close, especially for it just being a couple of weeks (and during such a time of change).

Big Sister Quote of the Day XIII

2009-11-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

Mommy, I don't like it when my baby cries.

Ladybug Game

2009-11-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

We recently started playing various games with Ellie. We've had the most success with Memory (the game where you turn over tiles and try to find the matches), but Gramma also says she likes to play War with cards. Just yesterday I introduced her to the Ladybug game. She loves it, though I'll admit our last game ended up playing "house" with the ladybug game pieces going shopping for bugs and water (maybe it's in the fine red print of the game instructions?).

Anyway... while playing an actual game (from start to finish - wow!):
Mommy: Is it my turn now?
Ellie: Yep!
Mommy: (taking a card) Oh no! I have to move back 4 spaces!
Ellie: One... two... three... four.
Mommy: (reading the space my ladybug landed on) Oh no! I have to give back two of my bugs!
Ellie: (concerned) Mommy, are you sad? I give you a hug!

UGH! JUST EAT!!!

2009-11-20T19:51:00.003-07:00

It's amazing how frustrating it can be for a breastfeeding mother to try to feed a baby who seems hungry but won't eat. UGH!!! Don't you know it's bedtime and if you don't eat, you don't sleep! EAT! JUST EAT!

This frustrating moment brought to you by the letter J and the number 8.

Big Sister Quote of the Day XII

2009-11-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

Ellie: Oh Oh! Baby is crying!
Mommy: Why do you think that is?
Ellie: Because he's too little to talk, too little to pay, too little to eat pizza, apples an ice-keem!

I highly highly recommend this book to anyone adding a child to their family. I'm assuming there is a version of it for big brothers, too, but it's a really cute book. We started reading this to Ellie over 6 months ago and she knows it by heart. I think it really helped her understand that babies really can't do anything themselves and are really needy. Best of all, it taught her that she is very important to the baby and can help take care of "our baby."

Thank you

2009-11-20T09:26:00.001-07:00

Just when I wonder if I am a bad Mother for thinking that my baby's cry is just adorable (heck, any baby crying is adorable compared to the cry Ellie used to have), or for not really having a good reason for why Ellie can't bring in her stuffed cow to school... I go and get a compliment like this, from Melissa:

"Jennifer comes next. Friend I haven't met, and author of Niffer All Grown Up, Niff shares such sweet and witty tales of her daughters that she makes me want to be a nicer Mommy."

And since my friend, Salina, recently reminded me to just say "Thank You," I'll do just that.

Seriously, the compliment came at the perfect timing. It's not that I'm having a bad day, it's just something I really needed to hear. I like that I make other Mothers want to be a nicer Mommy. It implies that I'm one myself. Go me!

To all the Mommies who read my blog... go give your little ones a hug for me. And thanks, Melissa for the wonderful compliment.

Ellie Pumps Too

2009-11-19T09:20:00.002-07:00

It occurred to me that many of the stories of being a big sister and helping out with the baby are all experiences that Addie will most likely NOT have. These are stories that only Ellie can give me. That seems to make them all the more dear, don't you think?

The other day Gramma was with us and she helped feed Addie a bottle. Ellie got excited and said "Oh, I know! You feed your baby and I feed my baby, ok?" Then she turned to me and was concerned that there weren't enough babies for Mommy to have one to feed and so she reminded me that I could pump instead.

So I pumped.

Ellie got bored with feeding her baby and decided that she, too, needed to pump for when someone else wanted to feed her baby instead. So, she took her toy bottle and stuck it into her belly button and said "I'm pumping too, Mommy!" After I stopped laughing, she looked down and said "I see milk!" and then after a couple minutes, she decided that bottle was full and swapped it out with another one.

Ellie will be a good Mommy some day.

Big Sister Quote of the Day XI

2009-11-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

Last week I mistakenly thought that I could bring Addie into daycare when I went to pick Ellie up, AND still get out quickly. Once the baby was in her room, though, she was way too excited to show her off.

Michael: Oh, Baby!
Ellie: Das my baby, Michael! You wanna see?
Michael: Yeah.
Ellie: Ky-ky, you wanna see my baby?
Kylie: Yeah!
Ellie: Zo-ee, see, my baby? She's got little tiny fingers.
Zoe: Baby! Wow!
Ellie: Is my baby sister. See?
Kylie: Oh!
Ellie: His name is Add-a-line. You wanna tickle her, Michael?
Michael: Yeah!
Ellie: Tickle tickle. You wanna hold her, Ky-ky?
Kylie: Yeah!
Teacher: Uh... Let's let Ellie and her Mommy leave.
Ellie: See? Is my baby. Is my baby sister!

Time is relative

2009-11-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

Ellie: Can I close my eyes in da car?
Mommy: Sure, but we're almost there.
Ellie: Can I close my eyes?
Mommy: Sure. Do you want me to wake you up when we get to the park?
Ellie: Yeah!

(possibly one minute passes)

Mommy: We're here! We're at the park!
Ellie: Yay! Now I can wake up! Now I can go do lots of dings!

Comparison

2009-11-17T11:00:00.002-07:00

I've been meaning to write this post for a long time now but I kept waiting for Addie to reach her "fussy" stage. However, babies are supposed to reach the peak of their fussiness at the age of 6 weeks, and Addie is almost there. Does that mean this is the fussiest she will get? Let's hope so!

Anyway, I know parents aren't supposed to compare their children, but here is a comparison for those of you who are asking...

- Addie was, from the beginning, by far more alert than Ellie was.
- Addie pees during a diaper change much more often than Ellie did.
- Addie is a much stronger sucker than Ellie was, she even hurts my finger!
- Addie is by far a much better breastfeeder, though Ellie put in the hard work.
- Addie seems to be gaining weight quicker than Ellie, though I never kept track.
- Addie has no problem with the bottle, but Ellie thought it was the devil.
- Addie does not mind the car seat, but Ellie thought she was placed in hell.
- Addie cries like a cute baby should, but Ellie could (and did) make your eardrums crackle.
- Addie cries far less often than Ellie ever did.
- Addie calms down quicker and easier than Ellie did.
- Addie allows you to hold her without needing to stand and rock like Ellie did.
- Addie spits up and pukes much much more than Ellie ever did.
- Addie wakes up when she poops or pukes, but I don't recall Ellie having that problem.
- Addie is a much louder sleeper than Ellie ever was.
- Addie shows the proper signs of getting tired, but Ellie never did.
- Addie is by far easier to put to sleep than Ellie ever was (a result of the above).
- Addie doesn't sleep well (duration) yet, but I don't recall how Ellie was sleeping at this point.

So, in conclusion, Addie is by far less fussy but by far more messy than Ellie ever was.

Big Sister Quote of the Day X

2009-11-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

Addie spit up on Daddy the other day and Ellie scolded her by saying "No, Addie! No dank you!"

It's my picture, I'll cry if I want to

2009-11-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

Sadly, the very first picture I have of Ellie and her best friend, Brynnie got stuck to some of Ellie's early stick goopy artwork. Yes, the baby girls (approximately 8 &10 months old) are holding hands - too cute.You would cry too, if it happened to you.

What Daddy doesn't see...

2009-11-14T20:06:00.001-07:00

Daddy: Please don't pick your nose.
Ellie: Why?
Daddy: Because it will make your nose bleed.
Ellie: Ok
Daddy: Thank you.
Ellie: Maybe afa you leave, I pick my nose?