Milestones reached....

So my last post brought to an end my babysitting sharing. Although it was alot of work I enjoyed it for the most part. But I am now enjoying the time that I get to spend with my kids and actually get out and do things as with 6 kids I was stuck at the house because our truck barely fits 3 kids let alone 6. I think that was part of my problem I felt stuck at home with no place to go. But now we all can do things like we did last year and have fun together.

Anyways that is no the reason for this post, I am posting because I am in awe of my little Hunter. He is now 6 months old and already crawling and boy can he move. He sure knows what he wants and works to get it. There is no stopping him. I think that this attitude will serve him well in his life. Oh and he has cut his first tooth and his second one is not far behind. So we are going to be having a couple more sleepless nights I think. Although he is still not sleeping thru the night so it really hasn't made a difference in his sleeping pattern.

Micha is now back to her happy go lucky self. Still trying to do things that she thinks that she can, and not listening ALL the time, but it is a far cry better than her attitude ahs been. I think that she just needed our dynamics to go back to normal. I think that she missed the one on one time that she got from me.

Lolo is his loving self and fighting with his sister, but nothing out of the ordinary.

I am glad that things are back to normal around here and my kids are back to their old selfs. They miss G and C and I have to admit that there are days that I miss them too. Sometimes I miss C's constant questions and him asking "Tara are you happy with me?" I have to admit that most times I was and I feel blessed that I was given the chance to watch some amazing kids.

I am also glad that all the mishaps that went on the last week did not interfere with an amazing friend as I don't have many of them and value the ones that I do have and appreciate all that she has done for me in watching my kids and being there with a listening ear.

Don't know what else can go wrong.....

A friend of mine and I have been trading off babysitting duties for a few months now and for the most part it has been going pretty good. I get 2 whole days to work, catch up on cleaning and do anything else that I want with only Hunter tagging along for now. That means that I have 2 days with 6 kids running around here and most times having fun.
Lately, however, it has not been going as smoothly as it has in the past. 2 weeks ago her son, who is the same age as Lolo, was caught sticking things up his bum. Yep that's right folks he was sticking our toys up his bum and laughing about it. I know that he thought that it was funny, but I wasn't laughin at the moment. It's kinda funny now, but that's because I am now finished sanatizing the toys. The next day he had a few accidents in his pants (after I asked him if he needed to use the washroom) so that was some more fun. Then came Monday, he bent my baby swing frame so now Hunter can't swing in it anymore. Tuesday was a good day he was really making an effort to behave himself. But that brings us to Wednesday....My bedroom is a no kid zone when all the kids are here and they know that rule and usually obey it. Wednesday, however, Lolo and C went into my room to play and got locked in C's sister G let them out and I told them not to go in it again, but they did and got stuck yet again. But this time instead of asking for help they pushed my door beyond it's frame (as it is a pull door from the inside and not a push door). But anyways off it came from it's hinges. So we had to go out and buy a new door.
Now that brings me to Thursday....and I am glad that they were at my friend K's house and not mine as Lolo and C were fighting over who got to watch the TV and off it came from the swivel that held in on the wall and down it went. Now K has no TV. I must say that she handled it a whole lot better than I would have. Maybe that's because it would have been another thing on my list of broken things at my house. But The kids went to ben with out dinner and that was the start of my night frome hell..but that's another post.
Now here we are on Friday and I really hope that nothing else goes wrong as I don't know it I can take any more mishaps at my house or K's.

He's growing up slowly but surely......

So this morning I was in a rush cause Logan had a pedeatrician's appointment at 9am. I had to get dressed, take out the garbage, get the kids dressed, warm up the truck, put the kids in their winter coats (which for some reason takes longer than a summer coat), take Michaela to Auntie Carrie's house (or as Micha calls it Kendyls house), get gas in the truck and then travel all the way to Chinook Centre to see the doctor. Well I managed to sleep in an didn't get up out of bed until 7 which then put me in panic mode. But I managed to get everythign done and get out the door to Carrie's house by 8. What a miracle!!!! considering the phone was ringing this morning too.

So, anyways, Logan has been seeing a pedeatrician for a few months now since I had some concerns about him taking so long to start walking and that he had lost weight and was really quite short. So we've been monitoring him quite close to see how he has been growing. his last appointment in July put his weight at 21 and a bit lbs. today he is 22 lbs and 14 ozs which is fine by the doctor. Kids hos age only gain 5 lbs a year. But what really had me happy was the fact that he grew 5 cm in 6 months. According to the doctor that is great. he went from 75 cm to 80 cm. So maybe at the ripe old age of 2 he can finally get out of his 12 months pants, but then again maybe not since they are just fitting him right now, they are not too long.

But I had to take him for a bone age test where they x-ray his hand and wrist to see if the reason that he is so short is that the age of hi bones is behind that of his actual age. which would make sense since he is about the right height for a 1 year old. They are trying to put my fears of him being a "Little Person" at ease. he may just be a short kid and then a short adult, or one day he may just shhot up and be a little taller. who knows. All I know right now is that he is on the right track developmentally for a 2 year old and in that respect there are NO concerns. If he does winde up being a Little Person the we just deal with it. All I know is that he would make one HECK of a cute Little Person. Even if he isn't he is still stinking cute anyways.

Yep that's right my son is a shorty. But that is what makes him who he is and i wouldn't trade him for anything.

Things I just noticed

I have to admit that I never saw how smart my son really is. He's a quiet type of smart. He knows what he wants and where to go to get it. Just the other day I realized this and I was quite impressed with his brilliance. If he wants a snack he knows where to go to get one. If I ask him to get his things and go to bed, he gathers up his blanket and heads up the stairs to go to bed. If I ask him if he wants something like a sandwich for lunch, he will either nod or shake his head. If he is hurt he will tell me where it hurts. These are just a few things that he does that amaze me. Where Michaela has known her colours since she was just over a year and has spoken in complete sentences for as long as I can remember, she is more vocal about how smart she is. Now, that is not to say that she goes around a brags about how smart she is, she is too young for that. What I mean is, that the way she is smart is very noticeable and people comment on it all the time. Logan, on the other hand, flies under the radar and seems quite content to be the one in the shadows. Michaela loves the spotlight and lives for attention, where Logan will just sneak in quietly and play by himself and be quite happy with that.

He does though LOVE to copy his siter. If she does something like blow bubbles in the bath water, he's right there beside her blowing his own bubbles. I hope that Michaela will realize that even now she is an example to her brother and what a responsibility that is. I know that when she gets older she will be up for the challenge. She won't always realize the effect that her actions will have on her younger sibling, but she will always be under the microscope. It's not always fun, but it's the "blessing" of being the oldest.

Going, Going......Gone

SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER!!!!!!
You know there are days, and I guess ALL mothers can attest to this, that you wouldn't mind selling your kids to the highest bidder. Problem is, on those days you wouldn't get very much for them, amidst their temper tantrums, bitting, hitting and all out disrespect. Then there are the days that you cherish all their "I love you's", kisses, hugs and the "Mom, you're the GREATEST!!!!". Now those are the days that I wish there were more of, but unfortunately they are not as abundant as the days you wish you could go back and try to remember why it was that you wanted kids in the first place. My mom keeps reminding me that I was the one who wanted kids, and I keep reminding her that yes I did, but NOT one like me, let alone two, that, I didn't ask for.
I am however reminded that if you teach the stubborn ones the right pth to follow, they will NEVER stray off that path. The trouble is, I have to deal with it until they know how to control it. I do have a great support, in my husband, who knows when I need a break and steps in and takes over. We seem to compliment each other that way.
Now I know that I can't sell my kids, I would miss them too much. But I will tell you that bedtime has slowly become my FAVOURITE time of the day......now I know you can agree with that.

Kids

Kids are funny. When they are first born they want all your attention all the time. Then they get alittle older and think that they know everything and don't want your attention unless it's when they want it and on their terms. They want hugs and kisses when they want and it seems they want them most when you are upset with them. They turn on their little charms and melt your heart with that "I'm sorry Mom" and then they kiss you cheek and you can't remember why you were upset with them in the first palce. Like I said they want your attention when they want it.

We have a daughter who is 2 1/2 going on 15 and a son who is almost 16 months and has recently discovered the freedom of walking. At first we were concerned because he didn't walk when I thought that he should. I was comparing his growth to my daughter who started walking @ 10 months and speaking in 2-3 word sentences at 13 months. Then I realised that I can't compare them because then in the future they will compare themselves to eachother and that will create sibling rivalry and that is not good.
I came to realise that they are different and even in their young ages the differences are shinning through. My daughter Michaela (Micha) is VERY smart and has learnt sign language and although my son Logan (Lolo) is learning sign as well there is a difference in their comprehension and use. However Logan is able to do things that Michaela wasn't able to do at his age. Like I said you really can see differences in kids even from the time they are born.

Oh well Kids are funny. Don't you think?