June 11-15: Vacation!

I don't really have the energy or time for a full recap of our vacation.  I'm sure there are not many of you out there who really care about every detail of our vacation anyway.  So I'm just going to post a few pictures and thoughts.

Holland, Michigan:  We went to Holland with our friends BJ and Kellie and their kids Ava and Truett.  Combined, we had a 1, 2, 3, and 4 year old together on this trip!  We really liked Holland.  It's a fairly small town and doesn't have many big attractions, but it is a place for a laid back vacation.  We spent a lot of time in downtown Holland...shopping, eating dinner, going to the Farmer's Market, and checking out the street performers they have there on Thursday nights (an interesting experience to say the least!)

The Beach House:  We stayed here, and we LOVED it!  Iwas a gorgeous place.  Everything was so nice.  Our condo had two living areas, a fully equipped kitchen, small patio and grill, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms and a sleeping loft.  Plus they had a pool, hot tub, and bigger patio/grill area for everyone to share.  So much attention was paid to detail in the building and furnishing of this place.   Everything was very high quality.  Nothing was cheap about it, except the price!  We paid $240 per night, which we split with our friends.  So it was only $120 per night for us...about the same as the cost of many hotel rooms in the area.  And we got so much more for our money in this place.

 The Beach and Pool:  So it's not quite the same as the ocean, but the Lake Michigan beach is still a fun place to hang out.  Our kids had a good time playing in the sand and even playing in the water (it was freezing, but that didn't stop them).  We had one day that was kind of chilly, but the other days we were there, it was warm enough to hang out at the beach and play in the pool.  Audrey had a breakthrough in her swimming.  She has always been so scared and unwilling to let go of us in the water.  With the help of some flotation devices (a swim vest, arm floaties and occasionally a pool noodle) she got brave enough to move around the pool by herself.

 

 Vacationing with Small Children:  The last time we went on vacation with BJ and Kellie was before we had kids.  Several times on this trip, we reminisced about those easy, carefree days.  We could sleep whenever we wanted for as long as we wanted.  We could eat dinner in peace and quiet.  We could just lay out at the pool all day long.  Oh...those were the days! 

Traveling with four small children was a bit on the crazy side, but really, life with small children is always on the crazy side, right?  I'm glad our kids got to spend time together (even though they won't remember it).  Plus it was fun to watch the kids have fun swimming and playing at the beach and taking in the sights.  There was never a dull moment!!

June 9: Audrey's Princess Hopscotch Sprinkler

I have been looking for a sprinkler that we can use in our backyard this summer.  We have the "robot sprinkler" but I wanted one that was more like a mat, where Isla could sit and play with the water on low.  Something that could work as a baby pool for Isla and a sprinkler for Audrey, all at the same time.  Audrey had also put in a request for a princes sprinkler.

So last week, we were picking up a couple of things at Walgreens, and Audrey spotted a Disney Princess hopscotch sprinkler.  It was a mat type sprinkler, exactly what I had been looking for.  It was also the last one on the shelf.  At $10, the price seemed reasonable enough, so I thought I would buy it for the girls.

But, then Audrey started to whine and beg and insist that she NEEDED to have this sprinkler.  I was in a bind.  I really wanted to get it, but I did not want to give in to her whining.

So, in a split second decision, I decided to buy the sprinkler with the condition that Audrey would have to earn it.  I'm not sure if this was a good parenting move or not; I probably should have just walked out.  But that's what I decided, so that is what we did.


We came home from the store and made a special sign for the sprinkler, and then we put it away.  We also made a chart.  When she did good things (specifically: no crying or fits, sharing with Isla, being kind to us, and first time listening), then she got a sticker on her chart.  When her chart was full, she would get her hopscotch sprinkler.


We stuck with this plan, and it took her about ten days to fill her chart with stickers. We were a bit generous with the stickers the last day or so, because we really wanted her to get the sprinkler before we left for vacation.  Today, she finally got to play with her hopscotch sprinkler, which she had been talking about constantly for the past ten days.

 After adjusting the water so that it didn't hit her straight in the eyes, she loved the sprinkler and played in it for a long time this afternoon.  We didn't put Isla on it today, but I do think it will be perfect for Isla too.  The water pools up inside each square, and I think she will love to sit and scoot and play and splash in it.

I don't think we will constantly have a sticker/reward system for good behavior going on around here, but it did seem to work fairly well with her in this instance.   I  think it was a good lesson/reminder for Audrey that you can't always get what you want when you want it.  (I think she could probably handle to learn the lesson that sometimes you just don't get what you want at all...we'll keep working on that one).  It was fun to see her get so excited as she watched her stickers grow and then today when she finally earned her reward.  I'm sure ten days seemed like an eternity in three year old time!

June 8: Wall Calendar

Sorry, the blog has been kind of lame this week.  We are going on vacation next week...so at least I should have some more interesting pictures to share soon!

For the past few months, I have been trying to figure out a cheap way to get a weekly wall calendar for our dining room.  Daniel has a hard time remembering what times I teach piano lessons each day, and it drives me crazy that he constantly has to ask.  I saw this idea on Pinterest that used a frame with multiple openings, and then you can write on it with a dry erase marker.

I found this frame on clearance at Target for 70% off, and it was the perfect price and the perfect frame for this project.  It's really nice to have not only my piano schedule but also all of our other activities, meetings and appointments posted in one visible place.

It was super easy to make. I just printed the days of the week on white cardstock and cut out the paper to fit the 4x6 openings.  Then I used a dry erase marker to write directly on the glass.  It is super to easy to wipe off and start over with a new week!  I do want to get an extra fine point dry erase marker, so that I can write smaller and neater.  Other than that, I love the idea, and it is a great system for us so far.

June 6: Back to PT

Isla had her physical therapy evaluation this morning.  She did really well.  She used to cry all the time during physical therapy, but she didn't cry at all today.  She was actually laughing during most of the exercises (and games) Shannon was doing with her!  We did some of the same things at home tonight, and she liked it again.  So that's good news.

The bad news is that Shannon does want to continue seeing her for a while to help her improve in the areas of crawling and pulling up.  Isla actually pulled herself up three times today during our session, which is the first I have ever seen her do it.  So, that was very encouraging!

She thought that Isla was doing fairly well  and her muscle tone seemed fairly good (despite the delays).  She thought Isla would probably get the hang of crawling and pulling up in the next few weeks if we worked with her more (both at home and in PT).  I have been slacking a little bit in working with her crawling at home, as I kind of just settled on the fact that she was going to scoot.   Plus, after a year of trying to get her to do things she doesn't want to do, I'm just tired of listening to her cry and struggle! Shannon did give me some good ideas on how to help her get comfortable in a crawling position and how to encourage her to pull up. It was helpful to get some tips...let's hope that Isla will be cooperative!

So many people tell me about the development delays their kids had with crawling and walking.  Then they all grew up to be just fine.  I've tried not to worry too much about the fact that Isla is behind in some ways, as it does seem fairly common.  On the other hand, it is possible that something could be wrong, or that she just needs a little help from us.  It seems better to try to work through these issues now than to wait until it causes more problems later.  Shannon did say that kids with torticollis and range of motion issues (like what Isla had as a baby) are more prone to developmental delays as they get older as well.

While she is a bit behind with her gross motor skills, I feel like she is right on track in all other areas.  That does encourage me!  And have I mentioned how sweet she is??  She really is the sweetest little girl ever!!

June 3: Isla and her Party!

My last post was about all the details of Isla's party.  This post will be about the important stuff:  like the birthday girl!!

Isla's party started at 11 am, which was in the middle of her nap time.  We woke her up after she had napped for about an hour.  She was still sleepy, so she was really chill and calm the whole time.  She just stared so seriously at everyone who tried to talk to her.

Here she is eating her lunch with Mimi.

Daniel made a video of her first year.  I don't have a copy of it on my computer right now, but when I do, I will post it!  Here is Isla watching all her baby pictures on the video.

My dad made balloon animals for all the kids, and they were a huge hit!

So, the cake is the big moment at all one year old birthday parties, right?  Not so much with Isla.  It was very boring, as she showed no interest in the cake at all.  We forced her hand into the cake, and then into her mouth so she would get the idea that it is for eating.  After that she very gently touched the cake and licked her fingers a few times, but that was it.  I didn't put a bib on her, and she didn't even get her dress dirty!

 

Opening presents at a party with little kids is always interesting, as all the kids want to help open the presents!  Audrey was my main helper...it was tough for her to understand that the presents were for Isla and not for her.  We had A LOT of talks about this being Isla's special day and not Audrey's!

Happy birthday to our sweet baby Isla!  Even though you are one year old and not really a baby anymore, I think thatI will always call you my baby girl!

June 2: Pink Lemonade Birthday Party Details

Whew!  We all survived the Pink Lemonade birthday party.  I often question whether all the effort I put into these parties is worth it in the end.  I get stressed out, and right now I am so exhausted, but deep down, it is still fun for me (despite outward appearances to the contrary, at times).

I rarely have a good idea of my own; pretty much everything I come up with I found somewhere else on the internet.  I'm going to try to give credit to all the original sources for these ideas.  (Thank you Pinterest for making this much easier for me!)

If you are interested in all the details of the decor, favors and food for Isla's party, keep reading.  I love reading about party details on other blogs, so I thought I would share mine here.

If you are interested in reading about the birthday girl and her big day, then come back for tomorrow's post!!

I checked the weather this morning, which said there was a 10% chance of rain and predicted partly sunny skies and highs in the low 70s through the morning and early afternoon.  Sounded perfect...so I decided to continue with our plans to have the party outside.

Everything was set up outside, it was 15 minutes before the party was supposed to start, and it started to rain.  It was a pretty good downpour that only lasted for three minutes, but that three minutes was plenty of time to soak everything.  Not good news for all the printable signs and fabric table coverings!  Aaugh!  I almost lost it at that point, but the rain stopped.  Daniel and his mom worked to get everything dry, and we were ready for the party to start on time.  The rain held off through the rest of the party, then started again as we were cleaning up.  It was a close call, but it worked out in the end.

Okay, onto the details!  I bought a printable pink lemonade birthday party kit from this Etsy shop for $10.  It was totally worth the money, as all I had to do was print and cut out everything.  Much, much easier and quicker than designing it all myself.

 For favors, I made these cute jelly bean bags.  I originally saw the idea on this blog.  I had to do some searching to find the bags, as the original poster didn't give any details about them.  They are 1x8 clear cello bags, if you are interested!  I ordered mine from here.

I also decided to make Pink Lemonade Playdough for favors for the kids, using pink lemonade Koolaid.  The lemonade scent wasn't very strong though, so that was kind of disappointing.

For dessert, I made these pink lemonade cupcakes.  I have not been super successful in the past at making my own buttercream frosting, but this frosting was pretty good....super sweet and lemony!  

 I also made Marshmallow Pops, partly as decor and partly as dessert.  I didn't think these tasted all that good; they were too sweet for my taste.  But they did look pretty!

 For Isla's smash cake, I just made a cake with a box of strawberry cake mix.  Then I had plenty of leftover frosting from the cupcakes to use for her cake as well.  Cake decorating is not one of my greatest skills.  I just don't have the patience for it.  But this one turned out okay, and it was much less stressful than some of the cakes I have made for Audrey's parties.

It wouldn't be a Pink Lemonade Party without some pink lemonade!!  I made some regular old Country Time pink lemonade.  And I also tried my hand at making some homemade watermelon lemonade.  It was a time consuming process (I juiced at least a dozen lemons by hand!), but everyone seemed to like it.  I think it was worth it in the end.  I used this recipe, but it only made 2 servings.  So I multiplied everything by 8 (I don't even know what the word for that would be, octupled??).  That gave me about one gallon of lemonade in the end.  We ran out, so I guess I could have made more!

I probably could have made more food as well.  We had BBQ chicken sandwiches, strawberry spinach salad, fruit and dip, and chips plus Uncrustables and cheddar crackers for the kids.  I believe that everyone got enough food, but we ran out of everything by the end.  I probably should have made another side or another meat option, but I was already over budget!  =)

This Strawberry Spinach Salad was a big hit.  I adapted the recipe a little from the original, substituting olive oil and red wine vinegar because that is what I had on hand.  And I also added some pecan halves.  I didn't try it, but everyone seemed to love it.

 For the kids, I made this play lemonade stand.  I was worried that no one would play with it, but all the kids seemed to enjoy putting lemons and straws in cups and passing them out to everyone.  Especially Audrey.  She made lemonade for everyone through the party, and she has continued the rest of the day and evening to make lemonade for us at home!

I didn't quite take pictures of everything, as it is always crazy to try to get everything set up (especially when it is raining!) and photographed before everyone arrives.  But if you made it through this whole post, then you have a pretty good idea of what the party was like! 

Now, it is most definitely time for BED!

June 1: 12 months old

Isla had her 12 month check up today.  She weighed in at 19 lbs, 9 oz (28%) and she was 28.5 inches long (43%).  If anyone else like me is keeping tabs on both girls, Isla weighs 7 oz less and is 3/4 inch shorter than Audrey at this age.  I was shocked by this, because I would have guessed for sure that she was bigger.  Isla seems so chubby and big to us, but in comparison to all the other babies in the world, I guess she isn't all that huge!

The bad news from our appointment is that Isla has to go back to physical therapy for an evaluation.  The doctor was not concerned about her scooting or the fact that she is not crawling.  But she was concerned about her inability to pull up on things.  Our doctor tends to be overly cautious, so I'm hoping that we will just go to the evaluation and won't have to do any more.  Going to physical therapy isn't that big of a deal, but I'm tired of paying for it!  We just got our last bill for Isla's physical therapy in January,  and I really don't want to start getting more bills again.

Isla has seven teeth right now, four on top and three on bottom.  I keep waiting for that fourth bottom one to poke through, but so far it is staying put.

She is pretty much just taking two bottles a day now, one in the morning and one at night.  We are getting ready to transition to whole milk, and then we will work on getting rid of the bottle completely.  She is starting to get kind of picky about what she eats.  Well, at least with green vegetables.  She will eat just about anything, but put any kind of green vegetable on her plate and she won't touch it.

I mentioned above that she is still not crawling and she is not pulling up.  And really, she still doesn't roll over, even though I know she is physically capable of doing it. She is scooting EVERYWHERE, and she loves to walk holding your hands.  A few times we have seen her stand on her own for a second or two at a time, but she prefers to be holding on to something.  She cruises all around the furniture, and she can move back and forth between the coffee table and couches by herself.  She can also push her play stroller around, but she is still kind of shaky with that.

 If she is in the right mood, she can:

• Say "Baa" when you ask her what a sheep says
• Say "mama" and "dada" in the right context
• Say "da" when she sees a doggie
• Wave bye-bye
•  Dance to music 
•  Point to what she wants

I'm sure I could go on about her, but I have to go finish up her birthday party preparations!