{Oh the Things She Will Say}

There are two hours in my day that I dread EVERY GOD GIVEN DAY (well, five days I week I suppose).  The hour in which the kids get up and I have to get them up, dressed, and out the door by 7:30 and the hour that we come home after I pick them up from daycare, and they are tired, cranky and hungry, and Bob and I are tired, cranky, and hungry.  Evenings don’t seem to be as bad as the mornings.  Once we get some food in them at night the kids mellow out and play.  And 2 on 2 is much easier then 2 on 1.

It seems as though, the combination of trying to get somewhere or do something fast, leave the house in not too much of a disarray and making sure the girls and myself are properly dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed, dogs fed, etc can cause me to have a panic attack anytime I think about it.  Often times as I take the elevator up to work, I find myself letting out a deep breath, feeling like I have already put a full day in.

When Anna first wakes up, she is a complete delight.  Cuddly and happy.  And perfectly content to snuggle in bed watching Disney Junior.  But as soon as it is time to get dressed, all hell breaks loose. 

A recent morning went like this –

Anna - “It doesn’t spin mom, MY SKIRT DOESN’T SPIN!”

Me - “Yes it does Anna, I promise you, YOUR SKIRT SPINS!”

Anna – “NO it doesn’t!  I want to wear my pajamas to school”

Me – “You can’t wear your pajamas today, it isn’t a jammie day”

(I have considered just sending her in her pajamas on non-jammie days, but I know if I did this I would never get her in actual clothes again)

Anna – “I WANT TO WEAR A SKIRT THAT SPINS!”

Me – ““We have no more clean dresses, mommy has to do laundry… no you can’t wear the size 24 month flower girl dress from Liz’s wedding today because it spins…. Why?  It doesn’t fit you.”

Me - “Ok, that’s fine, wear whatever you want.  Never mind that it is -12 with a -40 windchill, wear the summer dress, I really don’t care”

Anna – “I want to wear my reindeer ear muffs”

(at this point I think to myself, seriously?  Do you remember the fit you threw when I tried to get you to wear them at x-mas, but I know enough to know that won’t make us get out the door any earlier so I don’t say anything)

Me - “That’s fine Anna, you can wear your earmuffs, but if you aren’t ready in 5 minutes, Evie and I are leaving and you will have to stay here by yourself all day with the dogs”

(cue the dog’s ears perk up, and give me a look that says, “Really?  You are going to leave her here with us?”)

I then catch Anna out of the corner of my eye twirling in a circles as she exclaims, “Look Mommy, my skirt spins!!!!!”

SIGH.

Somehow, however, every morning we make it out alive and live to talk about it.  And by the time I sign into my computer at work, I have forgotten about how stressful it was, until the next morning comes.  I do know it will get easier someday down the road.  Hopefully.  Maybe the promise of some warmer weather would help.  Maybe come June.

{1}

A year ago at this time Bob, Anna and I were adjusting to the newest lil member of our family, sleepless nights, and it seemed like we were all sick all the time. Crazy as it is, not much has changed in a year – the past week we have had many sleepless nights as we all cannot seem to get healthy. Turns out, other then that, A LOT has changed in the past year – and it absolutely baffles me that this sweet baby is already a year old!

Everly’s 1^st birthday totally snuck up on all of us, as I suspected it would and will continue to, given its timing with the holidays, but we had a lot of fun celebrating with her and our friends and family. We celebrated many times and Everly got many chances to dig into a birthday cupcake. The night before her actual birthday, Anna and I snuck out to buy her some balloons and Anna helped me wrap her presents and make cupcakes. For her actual birthday we went to a friend’s house and rang in the new year enjoying their company, yummy food and some fun adult conversation and games after the kiddos crashed. It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed her special day. Instead of doing a big birthday party, we have booked a few nights in the dells in February and March and cannot wait to get away!

At one year, Everly is doing absolutely fantastic – other than a nasty cold she is fighting right now. I absolutely hate winter and CANNOT wait for spring to come and we can all be healthy again – anyway at one year –

Everly –

Weighs 21 lbs, 10 oz and is 31 inches tall







Has 4 teeth and broke her 5^th one through over the Christmas holiday







Is not quite yet walking – which has totally taken all of us by surprise based off of how quickly she took off rolling over and crawling. Everly is a very proficient crawler and I think that is why she really hasn’t taken off walking yet – seems as though she gets everywhere just fine on her hands on knees. She happened to take her first steps right after Christmas which I managed to catch on video and has been taking steps here and there more and more, but hasn’t really taken off yet..In time, I am sure.







Is starting to say her words more clearly – we can easily make out "mama", "dada", "Anna", "thank you" and "uh-oh". She also will say "more" and "all done" when she is eating.







Sleeps through night – She typically goes down around 7 and sleeps until 6:30 or so on most mornings.







Is bottle free!!!! I had no expectations to take her off the bottle right around a year, but she very easily dropped her morning bottle a few weeks ago so we tried going cold turkey that weekend and she did great! It is sooooo great to be bottle free. Although, I do have to admit it made me a little sad, she is one more step closer to being a little toddler. We started a new routine at night – 2 books and a sip of milk and down she goes. Her favorite books are the "That’s Not My….(pony, monkey, fairy, etc) series. She loves touching all the different textures.







Has started going through a ‘shy around strangers/clingy to mom and dad stage’. I remember this stage with Anna and it certainly can make evenings tough when we are trying to get settled in/cook dinner/get the girls ready for the next day, as she is typically exhausted for her day and ready for bed, but we get through it just fine. That being said, we can’t wait for her to grow out of it J







Loves to sort toys, clothes, really anything into pile and then different piles and resort them again – that can keep her busy for hours.







As most babies do, loves anything electronic – iphone, remote, ipad, etc. It amazes me how she already knows how to use the ipad.







Loves her big sister to pieces and wants to have whatever she has – milk, juice, snack, etc. I took just Everly to the store the other day and the whole way she asked for Anna – I love to watch the two girls play together. It takes a lot of patience on Anna’s side, and overall I would say she does great with her. Anna also continues to be a great helper – she loves to help me give Everly her bath.

On top of Everly turning one year old – we had a great holiday and enjoyed our time with family and friends. We are so thankful to have such an awesome support structure and feel extremely blessed. We look forward to 2014 and what the year may bring us. We have a couple of getaways booked to get us through the winter and Anna and I have a trip planned out east in April to see Michele, Mike and Teddy. Bob is looking forward to finishing off the basement and I can’t wait to decorate and organize the girls room’s and toys once that is done. Happy 2014!!!