THE GREEN(wald) HOUSE … (growing rosemary & raising a little wolf)

Rosie is 31 months old (still 2 1/2 to the average person) - and Sam is now 7 months old.

Sammy had his first cold this past month. We all came down with a little head cold - maybe because it has been SOOO cold and snowy. Luckily, Sam didn’t really get it too bad, but had a runny nose for days (and still does). He is now crawling like a pro! It started off not that elegant - mostly looking like the worm. He would push up on his hands and knees, move one knee forward, put the other foot on the ground and try to push up to standing, then he would lean his body forward and belly flop on the ground as his legs fly up, and then repeat. He’s moving pretty quick now…I can no longer leave him unattended with the assurance that he will stay in one place…

He is also finally rollling over - which makes diaper changes a struggle - as the second I take off his diaper, he flips himself over and it is a wrestling match - trying to hold him down with one hand, and clean him and put a new diaper on one-handed. He can seamlessly go from sitting, to hands and knees, to crawling. He is also pulling himself up to stand on his own. He loves to stand up and is always trying to get to his feet while he is crawling. And, when he is standing and holding on to my hands, he is also starting to try to walk. He bends his knees, picks up his legs and takes a few steps forward. Yikes, he is growing up too fast! He has been REALLY cranky lately, even more so than last month - probably due to a combination of our recent cold - plus teething, plus all the developmental milestones. He gets really frustrated when he can’t get somewhere - when he crawls into a dead end and rams his head against the couch - or he grabs a bigger toy and gets frustrated and SCREAMS a really high-pitched scream because he can’t get it into his mouth.

He has been really trying to talk a lot lately constantly making sounds:
Ahhhhh Ta Ba FFFFFFFFa Da Pay MMMMMMM Guuu Bra TaLa Frrrr Da Ba Urrrr Dja WaDa Aiiiii Mu Way

He is still such a sweet baby - such a charmer, he smiles at everybody, and will let usually let anyone hold him, he is very easy-going most of the time. Unless he is tired or hungry, then - watch out - he will SCREAM such a high-pitched scream that will make you want to rip your ears off.

He is still just beginning to taste food, still not really swallowing anything. He is getting great at controlling his hands and arms and getting food to his mouth to chew on. Any chunks that have come off, he just gags and spits them out.

We took both kids to the doctor recently for a quick assurance that they are healthy and growing as they should be (not that we really had any concerns, but it is always nice to get confirmation). Rosie is 50% percentile for weight and height - 28 lbs and 37 inches tall. Sammy is 90% for weight and 75% for height, he is 22 lbs and 28 inches long. I can’t help but wonder if their cold was picked up in the waiting room at the doctor, as they came down with it a few days after our appointment (though it has been going around our circle of friends too).

Rosie has been whiny, defiant, sassy - telling me “NO” or flat out ignoring me when I ask her to do something - or bursting into theatrical tears with her hands over her face when I deny her something. She is really pushing boundaries lately, and I have been a very irritated mama dealing with that. I try to be patient, and calm, and remember that she is only 2 1/2 - but JESUS GOD - some days it would take a saint to not react.

“Mommy, can I have some yogurt”
“Sure, Rosie, what kind would you like”
“ummmmmm - blueberry! I want blueberry”
“Ok, I’ll get it for you in a second”
“I want blueberry - blueberry is my favorite”
“ok baby”
“mommy I want blueberry - blueberry yogurt - mommy I want it”
“Ok, I heard you, just let me finish this email”
“I WANT BLUEBERRY” (stomps feet for emphasis)
“YES Rosie, I HEARD you, I WILL get you some blueberry yogurt, can you please just be patient for one more second”
(fake crying with hands over face ” WAAAAAA - I want blueberry yogurt”
“OK! OK!” (walk to fridge, see that blueberry yogurt is gone) “Oh, baby, I’m sorry, we’re all out of blueberry, we have apple instead”
“NO!!!!! I WANT BLUEBERRY!!!- WAAAAAAAA!” (more fake crying and stomping of feet to emphasize words)
“I know you want blueberry sweetie, but you ate it all gone, all we have left is apple. Do you want apple yogurt or something else?”
“I want BLUEBERRY YOGURT”
(gritting teeth) “YES Rosie, I heard you the first seven hundred times you asked for it, but we don’t have any - so your choices are to have the apple yogurt or have no yogurt, or pick something else”
“YOU GET ME BLUEBERRY YOGURT”
“We can get some next time we go to the store”
“No, you get it NOW!”
“Rosie, we don’t have it, do you want this apple yogurt or do you want nothing”
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”
“FINE THEN, YOU GET NOTHING!” (slams fridge shut)

Awesome, huh?

Or how about this one, getting ready to leave the house: (after giving her ample warning and time to get ready)
(holding coat out and open) “Rosie, come here, please put your coat on”
(ignores me and keeps playing)
“Rosie! Please come here and get your coat on so we can go”
(looks up at me, but keeps playing)
“ROSIE! I asked you nicely, please come here and get your coat on so we can go”
“OK, just a minute”
“No, not just a minute, NOW please!”
(ignores me)
“ROSIE! Please come here and get your coat on so we can go”
(ignores me and keeps playing)
“ROSIE! COME HERE NOW AND PUT YOUR COAT ON!”
“Ohhhh Kay” (wanders over at a snail’s pace and stops every few seconds to pick up a toy, touch something, etc)

yeah, I know these are really not a big deal, but when we battle like this for EVERY SINGLE THING ALL DAY LONG - it gets overwhelming at times…

And, I know she gets the “ok, just a minute” thing from me, she is repeating what I tell her numerous times each day - so I try to be understanding - but MAN it can be annoying…

I know that the easiest way to combat her crankiness is to use humor - usually that will distract her. One of my tricks is to turn her upside down and “shake the grumpys out” - but sometimes, a tired mama doesn’t even have the energy for that…

Though Rosie can be pretty cute sometimes when she is cranky - the other morning she was doing her usual “burst into tears when I say no” trick - this time it was because she wanted to take a bath at 10am. We got into the habit of daytime baths when she was sick because it calmed both kids down and got their boogers cleaned up. When I told her we would take a bath later she put her hands over her face and started her pretend crying jag and I tried to distract her by telling her:
“Ok - here’s the plan, we will have lunch, and maybe go play in the snow, and then after we play in the snow we can take a bath, because we will be all cold from the snow, and a warm bath will feel really good - ok? Is that a good idea?
She begrudgingly admitted “ok, that’s a good idea”
so I said “Ok - gimme 5!” and put my hand up for her to slap and she said
“I’m too crabby to give you 5″…
And of course that cuteness took me from irritated to smiling and just radiating love in a nano-second - and I said:
“ok, you can be crabby, you just let me know when you are done being crabby”
and she said “ok”…

Other cute things she has said this past month…

On the weather - when it was a really windy day, later in the day she was looking outside and she said:
“I’ts not wind-ing anymore”
You know, raining, snowing, wind-ing - it makes sense…

She also praised me the other day - I think I said “thank you” when she handed me something and she said:
“Good polite-ing mommy” - (We talk about how it is polite to say “Please” ‘Thank you” and etc.)

She told me this morning that “Daddy shoveled the drive-wave” and when my mom sent her a customized yoga mat for Valentine’s day - she told me “GiGi sent me my own special yoga map” .

Also, when eating leftovers one night she remarked:
“It’s just like yester-night”
Of course, yesterday - yester-night - logical- no? This is even more funny since my niece Ella (Emily’s daughter) has always talked about how something happened “last day” (last night, last day - should be the same). Those smart girls are more logical than the English language.

Rosie still loves to read, and her favorites are “Penguin Dreams” (Daddy’s favorite - she always reminds me), Curious George, these Dora books that play songs, and actually anything that plays music - she likes to sing along. She has been listening to a CD of Dora songs, plus Raffi, Lauri Berkner “Buzz Buzz”, and a CD of Little Mermaid songs. She also loves her “shows” too - Oswald is the reigning favorite right now, followed closely by Charlie and Lola, Wilbur, Superwhy, and Maggie and the Ferocious Beast.

Both kids are sleeping Ok - but with ups and downs as usual. Now that Sam is crawling, I am uncomfortable leaving him unattended on my bed (or in the co-sleeper) as he has already crawled off the bed once. So, I have been putting him down for naps and the beginning of bedtime in the crib in his new room. He sleeps pretty good in the crib and I like that he is getting used to his room for the eventual transfer to sleeping full-time in there. I usually nurse him to sleep around 7:30-8pm, and he will sleep for 2-3 hours in his room before waking up to nurse, and then I just bring him into our room as the timing usually coincides with the time Joe and I are getting into bed anyway. He still wakes up every couple hours to nurse, so he won’t be really sleeping in his room until he is down to nursing once or twice during the night.

Rosie loves sleeping in her big girl bed (mostly). She loves having free reign in her room and most naptimes and bedtimes it takes no less than an hour of her talking, reading books, and playing in her room before she eventually goes to sleep. She always has to have a variety of books and toys in bed with her, and she needs to have her “nursie milk” (warm milk flavored with either nutmeg or vanilla) and “one slice of cheddar cheese” (she is very specific about this and holds up her index finger to illustrate the “one slice”) and she also requests “make my dolly warm”. I made her a rice doll scented with lavender and used an old cashmere sweater as the fabric. I heat it up in the microwave and she can sleep with a warm, scented, doll to help keep her warm and cozy in bed. I call it a COZY DOLL and just started making them to sell. She still wakes up most nights once or twice, usually needing to go to the bathroom. She is still wearing a pull-up at night, but 95% of the time it is dry in the morning. The past week when she was sick, she had a few accidents after naptime and peed in her pants, but other than that, she is doing great and has fun picking out her panties every morning - choosing between Elmo, Dora, Curious George, Hello Kitty (or Kello Kitty as she calls her) and Little Mermaid panties. Even though it is wintertime, Rosie still prefers to be naked, I have to struggle to keep clothes on her, usually compromising and allowing her to wear just panties and slippers. Hopefully she’ll grow out of that soon (though her dad never did)…

I love my kids!