Growing up

July 30, 2009 when I got home from work, after we ate dinner, Craig, Gillian and I went grocery shopping. This is a normal Thursday ritual for us but we are discussing changes days and times because I had to pop in the grocery store last Sunday at 9am and there were no people there which I thought was fabulous but anyway….we went grocery shopping. Gillian said she had to go potty which I think she was just bored because she had just gone before we left the house but due to the potty training, she says she needs to potty and we are off and running to the bathroom. So we went in the bathroom and no one was in there. Gillian is very entertaining in the bathroom. She points out all the yucky stuff and she likes to discuss all the noises she hears. She constantly makes friends in the bathroom. Today was no different, by the time she was done using the bathroom and going out to wash her hands another person was in there and she politely said, “Excuse me” to the woman so Gillian could wash her hands and then again so Gillian could get to the hand drier. The woman just smiled at Gillian and then looked and me and smiled which made me think – Yes, my child does have manners at age 3. After we left the bathroom, Gillian pointed out that we had no idea where Daddy was…I told her no big deal we would just go through the isles looking until we found him. Gillian said no MaMa and grabbed my arm, so I looked down at her and she took a huge breathe in and yelled out, “DADDY”. I laughed and told her that wasn’t going to work since we are in a store filled with I’m sure other children’s Daddys. I love the moments like this when she totally catches me off guard on what she will do.

It was also a big week for riding in the car. Gillian reached the weight requirement – 30 lbs and height requirement – 38 inches to be able to have a high back booster. Although the car seats we have go up to 50 lbs I believe, she is very cramped in the back of my vehicle. I constantly feel her feet hitting my back. Gillian calls it her chair and absolutely loves it. She had to test sit in both booster seats in both vehicles and wanted me to drive her around in them. I can’t believe how fast the time is going by, I still remember the first time she was put in the carrier car seat for her car seat test in the NICU and when she finally hit 20 lbs and had to move to the regular car seat. She is growing in leaps and bounds.

The baby carrier car seat...

The car seat...

The booster seat...

Fair 2009

July 22nd, Craig and I took Gillian to the fair. I’ve never been a huge fan of the fair…I know that the rides in amusement parks can be taken apart but to me they are permanent fixtures and that makes me feel better. So I’m not keen on the rides at the Fair that are put together in a couple days and taken down in the same amount of time or the people that come to town to run the rides…that is a story for another time. My goal for the fair was for Gillian to enjoy the animals and I wanted some bread dough. We saw horses, goats, a pig, ducks, rabbits, cows and a brand new calf. I know I come from a small town when the news on the front page of the paper on the July 23rd was the calf being born at the Fair….not sure how that it was that important for front page but I guess there were limited stories. I had never heard of digging in sawdust for money but Gillian did and I took pictures. She made a quarter off the deal; apparently there was $600 in quarters in the sawdust. I loved that they had to wear goggles to be able to dig for money in the sawdust. Gillian had a good time and I got my fried bread dough so it was worth the trip.

We have also started to get use out of our pool which is a very nice change. We are avoiding buying a swing set since we do have a pool. We don’t see the point in having both so it has been nice to finally have a bit of weather that allows us to use our pool and Gillian is finally adjusting to the temperature of the pool.

Day at the park

Gillian spent the day at the park with Grammie and Grampie Miner. I didn't have tons of time with my grandparents when I was a child. I hope Gillian will look back at these as very cherished moments...

Happy Birthday!

Friday night was interesting…Gillian felt the need to poop in the tub…I definitely think potty training thus far is the toughest part of parent hood. Yes, the guessing of what is wrong when a baby is sick is tough but changing diapers is much easier and cleaner than potty training. Yuck! I can’t wait for this phase to be done.

Saturday Gillian and I hung out with Craig. Normal Saturday, played Candy Land and Gillian beat me 3 times. And I didn’t even let her win; she beat me on her own. As soon as Craig left the house, I got Gillian dressed (yes getting out of PJs on a Saturday is not mandatory around here!) and we headed out to get supplies to decorate the house for Craig’s birthday. We went and ordered balloons and got a cake. We had celebrated his birthday with family on July 13th but I wanted to make sure that Gillian understood that it is important to celebrate important dates. Gillian fell asleep on the way home and I figured as soon as she was up she would want to play with the balloons. I was wrong! She woke up and immediately wanted to start decorating for Daddy’s birthday. We had to put the 13 balloons up and around the house. Gillian drew Daddy a picture and we had to practice the birthday song. She was so excited and I took pictures because she was just having a blast.

Today is Craig’s actually birthday. Happy 31st Birthday! We went out to breakfast with Craig’s parents. Then Grammie Miner said she wanted to take Gillian for the day so off to the beach they went today. I have been puttering around the house. There is stuff I really should be doing but I’m only so motivated. This week Gillian’s daycare is closed for vacation so she is spending the days with Grammie Brooks. I love that Gillian gets quality time with her grandparents. My Mom’s parents passed away young and my Dad’s parents lived in England so I didn’t see grandparents like Gillian does. It is something that I greatly appreciate for her and I know one day she will be happy that she got all this time with them. I think that it keeps them young and active too so it is definitely good for them too.

The past week...

So Gillian is back in pull ups…doesn’t like to tell anyone when she has to poop. She is good about making it through the night without an accident and if she has to pee she makes it to the bathroom. So we are part way there and I know that with time it will come just like everything else. It is nice to be worried about something that all parents worry about for a change. I know that her bathroom issue is common for all kids not just preemies. It’s a nice change for me.

We had a wedding shower on July 12th for Craig’s cousin Rachael. Gillian and I made brownies…she loves to bake. It was a fun afternoon and Gillian was so good. I don’t think anyone really knew she was there. It amazes me how patient she can be.

July 13th we had some people over to celebrate Craig’s birthday which isn’t until the 19th but due to his work schedule that day worked best. Again, it was a fun evening and right as everyone is getting ready to leave Gillian decides to mention that I’m carrying her baby brother…which I’m not carrying a child so I asked her if she knew something I didn’t. Needless to say she got people excited with both happiness and fear which we had to crush by telling them we aren’t expecting a baby.

Today we got terrible news that Peanut had passed away…she would have been twelve next month. She was getting to be an old girl but that doesn’t make it any easier. That is the hard thing about dogs; they become like your children except you know they won’t out live you like you hope your children do.

This evening Gillian and I went grocery shopping after I picked her up at daycare. It poured rain this afternoon and Gillian was very excited to tell me a fellow daycare girl who had her own umbrella. I had never really thought about getting Gillian an umbrella. I have one and I have never used it so why would I think to get her one? But that is all she could talk about so we had to find her her own umbrella. I can’t believe her fascination with accessories. A she loves necklace, bracelets, barrettes, hair ties, likes to change up her shoes and now she has the perfect Little Mermaid umbrella.

Tonight when I laid down with Gillian for bed again, she asked me if I was going to have a baby. I asked where the baby questions were coming from but of course didn’t get an answer. I asked her if she wanted a baby brother or sister and she said yes. I asked if she preferred a brother or sister, she said she would prefer a sister. Not that I should be encouraging such discussion but I was curious what she was thinking. Then she changed the subject and told me how much she loved me, Daddy and Pooh which is always a nice way to end the day.

Last couple days...

Sunday Gillian spent at the beach with Grammie Miner. She loves the beach. We took her for Memorial Day and when Grammie was getting her ready to go, she reminded Grammie of everything she needed for the beach. Her memory amazes me.

Monday was my 1st day back to work after vacation and Gillian’s 1st day back to daycare. There were 2 new little boys at daycare that apparently started sometime last week. Gillian had her normal poop accident at daycare. She gets one more chance and if she poops again, it’s back to pull ups. She is good about peeing on the potty but pooping she doesn’t tell anyone before or after she does it and for sanitary reasons she may need to go back until she is ready to tell when she has to go. She has been told that she needs to tell or no more big girl underwear…hoping that works. So far we have tried rewards, candy, small gifts, big productions, punishing and nothing is really working with the pooping problem…I know she will do it when she is ready so we will just have to wait and see.

Today was a crazy day at work and I can’t believe that tomorrow is already Wednesday! I love when my week flies by. I got home and got my big greeting of hello from Gillian which I love to walk in the front door and see her. We had pictures taken of Gillian for the 1st time in a while and they finally came in so I brought them over to show my parents. When I got home, I got into my exercise gear and did my workout which is a video….trying to get a bit of exercise these days to work on being healthy. At the end of the workout...Gillian comes over to me and says, “Great Job MaMa.” I can’t think of anything better to motivate me to workout:)

Strawberries

Happy 4th of July!

This morning I got up at 8:45AM – that is sleeping in for me. Gillian was at Grammie Brooks’s so Craig and I could sleep in. I made the two batches of brownies and headed over to my parents to pick up Gillian so we could go to Craig’s Uncle’s for a family gathering.

We arrived at Uncle Brad’s and it was the quietest that we have ever seen it. Normally everyone is outside and the place is loud and people are everywhere. There was no one outside (it was quite windy). Everyone was inside so we went in and started visiting. I come from a small family and Craig comes from a large family so it is nice balance. Gillian’s favorite part of the visit was strawberry picking. Gillian loves strawberries. She had an entire bowl for breakfast and she picked a bowl full at Uncle Brad’s. She was so cute following Rachael around to where the strawberries were and trying to be careful not to step on the plants. I could sit and watch her all day…

1st 4th of July Celebration...

Today we had a busy morning, slow afternoon and a busy evening.



This morning Gillian and I made a cake that I found in a cookbook specifically for baking and for kids. It looks like a watermelon and the cake is strawberry with chocolate chips so it seems like a watermelon…it turned out very good. Gillian was very good at making the cake. She cracked all the eggs, I measured all the ingredients and she put them in the bowl and she mixed all the ingredients. I made the icing but Gillian did add the sugar as needed while I was using the hand mixer. It was a very pleasant morning.

The afternoon was quiet and Gillian played Play-Doh.

This evening we went to my parents for a 4th of July celebration. We had the traditional BBQ….hence the cake that was for dessert. We got to see my siblings and parents…Tuesday is the big day when I find out if I’m having a niece or nephew due in November. Hoping for a healthy baby so doesn’t matter what the sex is. It was nice and quiet and everyone liked the cake which Gillian told everyone what she did to help make it which I thought was super cute. My sister-in-law also commented on how Gillian has the best manners for a child which is always nice to hear. My Mom took Gillian over night tonight so Craig and I can have some time to ourselves and hopefully sleep in.

Tomorrow is a day of celebration with Craig’s parents. I have brownies to make in the morning not sure if my assistant will be back from Grammies but I will try to make do if I have to.

Family Vacation

The week of June 22nd flew by…I was busy at work getting ready for vacation.

On June 27th I was thrilled to start vacation. That day started with Craig and me helping Sean & Andrea moving so Gillian spent time with her Grammie and cousin Emma.

On June 28th, we packed into the car and headed to Lake George, NY to go to Magic Forest and the Great Escape Lodge. Gillian was slow to warm up to the rides. We had never taken Gillian to an amusement park so we were sure what to expect. Gillian is very shy so tons of strangers and the noises from the rides didn’t help. Finally we just made her go on and didn’t give her a choice and by the end she was fine. We stayed for 6 hours riding rides, watching shows and just enjoying each other. I was very excited about the pictures I was able to take. Craig and I were also surprised when we found out our 3 year old daughter knows her left and right…we were extremely surprised to say the least.

I had made the mistake of telling Gillian when I was getting her ready that morning we were going to a water park. Throughout the day Gillian would ask about the water park just to make sure we didn’t forget. So immediately following our check in to the lodge we were in our suits and down at the water park. Gillian loved the water park. We stayed for 2 and half hours at the water park. It definitely had plenty to do and if my daughter hadn’t become extremely tired we probably would have stayed longer. She didn’t want to admit how tired she was but it was definitely a long day for her. She did admit how much her legs her and asked for them to be rubbed which I thought was so cute. She also thanked Craig and I and told us what a wonderful day she had…she makes me so proud.

On June 29th, we went to the Great Escape. Considering how overtired Gillian was she did extremely well and only had a couple meltdowns. The weather looked like it was going to rain but it held off all day for us. She didn’t go on as many rides as the day before but did manage to people watch which is what she loves to do. Again, I was able to get some really good pictures. Then it was back in the car for the trip home. Out of the two days the only thing that Gillian asked for was an ice cream. I don’t know if she realizes she has enough in life or if it is because when we go shopping we have always brought her with us but she never asks for anything…which is very nice and normally saves from meltdowns.

On June 30th, we recovered from our vacation. Gillian’s Uncle Bob came over for dinner. She is still terrified of Uncle Bob although Bob is nothing but sweet to her. She won’t even take presents from him…hopefully one day she will warm up to him. After dinner Craig asked Gillian if she wanted a cookie. Before she even had that cookie in her hand she asked if she could have a 2nd one which of course made us laugh. We lost power for an hour that night which after 5 minutes of being in the dark Gillian decided it was time for bed.

On July 1st, Gillian tried on her super girl cape that we had gotten her at the Great Escape. She was quite cute running around the house pretending she was flying. Craig took Gillian to the park while I went to the movies with my friend Lynn. When I got back we all went in the pool. Craig and I lasted longer than Gillian. I scarred Gillian with the day it was 64 degrees so now she thinks the pool is cold even when it isn’t really too cold. So we were probably in the pool for 30 minutes and Gillian was probably in for 3 minutes. She will eventually grow into it, I’m sure.