Side-by-Side Comparison

Mallory at 16 months and Chelsea at 17 months. :) Even though she was younger at the time Mallory had a bit more hair than Chelsea has now.

Chelsea – Rocking Chair – 13 months

Chelsea is growing up so fast! How is she already turning into this toddler. I love the age that she is right now. I want to freeze her in time right now.

Some bits and pieces about this girl:

• more teeth are making their way through the gums: 7 visible + more that look to be poking through.
• she tries to give kisses. She either makes the kissing sound or she’ll lean in to receive a kiss. She doesn’t know to do both at once.
• she’s in between size 6-12 and 12-18 clothes. Most 12-18 pants are too big on her.
• she’s self feeding 95 percent of the time. We only spoon feed her things she can’t feed herself yet – like yogurt, applesauce.
• she can be a finicky eater. She’ll love something the first time she eats it (scrambled eggs, hot dog) but then won’t touch it if served it again. She loves ham, peas, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, guacamole, pretzels, chicken, pork, fruit, yogurt and applesauce. She self feeds everything except food that requires a spoon like applesauce and yogurt. She’s drinking water out of a sippy cup and looks cute doing it, especially if it’s a big sippy cup. She can sometimes get liquid out of a straw cup. She still will not take milk out of a cup which is a little frustrating.
• she tries to color with a crayon if you give her one (we’ve learned to pick them up quickly if they fall to the ground because otherwise, watch out for our walls!)
• she is still throwing fits when I change her diapers or try to change her clothes. She screams and fights me when I lay her down to do these things 90 percent of the time. It doesn’t seem to matter if I put her on the change table or the floor; or if I try to give her a toy to distract her; or if I have Mallory try to distract her. She just hates it when I change her. However, 90 percent of the time, if Jonathan changes her, she’s all smiles and is fine with it. Every once and awhile she’ll throw a fit for him, but not often.
• give her a container and she’ll put something in it. She loves finding a small thing to put in a bigger thing. This means we’ve found odd bits here and there around the house (random toys in bathroom drawers, boxes filled with little goodies).
• she does this funny thing when she tries to walk fast. She’ll jut her neck and head out in front of her body and her arms angle backward from her body. I need to get a good picture of this.

I’m sure there is more, but I need to get this posted since she’s already 14 months old…

Unfortunately…

I generally don’t do facebook/email type of forwards like answering 20 questions (not really sure why), but I saw this version of that kind of thing in one of my new favorite blogs I follow. I thought it was funny and since my name is somewhat unique, I wasn’t sure of the results.

Here’s how to play… do a Google search using the phrase “unfortunately, _____” and insert your first name in the blank (and make sure to quote the phrase). Then post the somewhat odd results.

Here are mine:

• Unfortunately, Lucia’s future husband and in-laws weren’t very happy with her actions.
• Unfortunately, Lucia died on tour in 1890 when the train in which she was traveling became stalled in a mountain snowstorm.
• Unfortunately, Lucia’s horse Merlin, arriving separately, didn’t adapt.
• Unfortunately, Lucia’s fears motivated an unreasonable attack on Anna and now they are stuck trying to work through a problem seriously clouded by anger.
• Unfortunately Lucia was no help, simply saying that she knew his birth mother who gave him up to give him a better life.
• Unfortunately, Lucia may not realize this million-dollar dream.
• Unfortunately, Lucia has an adrenal tumor & a mast cell tumor on her left front paw.
• Fortunately or unfortunately, Lucia’s partner is a schoolgirl that has the capacity to see these demons, called Viruses.
• Unfortunately, Lucia was put off by Janaff constantly pointing out dark spots and oily areas in her skin and so the relationship ended rather quickly.
• Unfortunately, Lucia is already in love with Sir Edgardo, whose father has been slain earlier by Enrico.
• Unfortunately, Lucia’s family has been blessed with the most horrid of luck, and all of her family has died in a series of unfortunate accidents.
• And my favorite –> Unfortunately, Lucia recently discontinued (at least for now) her nude modeling.

Now, you try it. If you do, post a comment and link me to your results so I can see what your name is unfortunately up to. :)

Unimaginable

This family found out THREE weeks ago that their baby girl had cancer (it was stage 4 by the time they found it). She passed away on Sunday; she was barely 11 months old. She was a happy, healthy little girl prior to three weeks ago. Her parents took her in for a possible ear infection and that’s when they figured out she had cancer.

I can’t even begin to imagine what they have gone through and will go through. I don’t know them personally, I just stumbled upon their blog. Please keep them in your prayers as they go through this difficult, unimaginable time.

For the sake of Cora and her family, give your sweet babies, no matter their age, many kisses and tell them you love them.

Chelsea – Rocking Chair – 12 months

I am finally getting around to creating a post about Chelsea’s 12th month — she’s ONE! She is still a really sweet baby and her personality is really starting to come out. Here are some points of interest:

• she’s FINALLY consistently sleeping through the night. YAY!
• she likes feeding herself finger food. And the foods she likes are guacamole (us feeding her), cheerios, pretzels, ham, ground beef, eggs (!she’s not allergic!), crackers, peaches, applesauce, soy yogurt (we haven’t tried dairy products with her yet), melon, peas, corn, and probably most of what we put in front of her unless it is squishy like bananas or avocado (weird that she doesn’t like avocado, but loves guac??).
• she will drink water out of a sippy cup, but not milk. She makes a really funny face and refuses it when she tastes it. We’ll just have to keep trying. Until then, she is still nursing several times a day usually before sleep time.
• she takes 2 solid naps a day (2 hours each) if our schedule permits us to be home most of the day. And she does fine if she has to miss a nap due to us being out and about.
• she will throw a fit if I set her down before she is ready; I can be sitting right beside her on the floor and she’ll still throw a fit (screams LOUDLY and is furious). Her fits don’t last long though.
• Her skin is about the same as it’s been. She has more dry, rough, sore spots on her face now though.
• she loves interacting with Mallory. They have started to play together a little where it’s real interacting and not just aggravating each other. Precious.
• if she has something in her hand and is carrying it around and you take it away from her = huge fit.
• her hair is SLOWLY growing… it seems shorter than Mal’s was at this age. It is looking lighter though, like she might be blonde. It has a slight curl to it too, from what we can tell.
• she has 2 blankets that are her lovees. She snuggles with them in bed. And when she’s being silly, we can walk in after she’s woken up from a nap and one will be on her head. She likes putting things on her head.
• she is a master walker. Once she started in November, she hasn’t slowed down. She’s small for her age (25%tile in height and weight, ~90%tile for head circ), so she looks young to be walking so agilely.
• she has 5 teeth in, with at least 2 more on the way, poking their way out of her gums.

I love this age of baby/toddlerhood. She’s so pure and innocent. And she’s a relatively easy baby, so we are truly enjoying this stage. Happy 12 months Chelsea!

Where do I start?

I reallllllly want to declutter several rooms/areas in our house but I don’t even know how to start. I know the process will turn the rooms and surrounding areas upside for awhile and that prospect makes me nervous. I am fantastic at starting projects but have a hard time finishing them. So, I picture just massive upheaval that sticks with us for months. Then I think, clutter is better than massive upheaval which leaves me thinking status quo is ok.

And in regard to my other resolutions,

• the working out is going ok.
  Last week I only worked out twice but am starting this week out right with a workout today; I’m hoping to get four workouts in this week to make up for last. I am finding it hard to time when to work out since Chelsea takes a morning and afternoon nap (~2 hours each), the latter which sometimes coincides with Mallory’s afternoon nap (1.5-3 hours depending on the day). Then add to that, the gym has childcare from 9-1 only. By 9 Chelsea is about ready to go down for her morning nap. I wish childcare was open at 8, then we could be home a little after 9 for C to take her nap. They do have childcare time in the late afternoon, but I don’t even attempt that because my desire to workout lessens as the day goes on and the afternoon is even more unpredictable depending on how long the naps last and who is grumpy or not.

  Now, nevermind the idea that I sometimes need to run normal errands (not the quick kind). When that happens, then fitting in time for the gym and errands on the same day isn’t likely. I really value my girls’ nap times (as a rest for them AND me). I try to make sure Chelsea gets her two naps a day. However, there are times (lately it’s been once a week) when C has to get by on just one nap a day (days when there are places we need to be or errands that have to be run). And I always make sure to be home at some point in the afternoon for Mallory’s nap. She can get very grumpy without one.

  I know I’m not the only mom with 2 (or more) children with sometimes conflicting nap schedules that is trying to go to the gym on a regular basis. I wonder how they (you?) do it? Any tips?

• photography is going great!
  I am keeping up with taking pictures daily(!), but I have fallen behind with posting them daily (at most one day behind). I have also delved into photography forums and blogs to try and learn as much as I can (just reading right now, not posting just yet). I have learned this much so far: I thankful for my graphic design background (i.e. Photoshop knowledge and working experience with the program; I’ve been using it for almost 12 years) and the B&W photography course I took in college. I took the B&W course when film cameras were the norm and I had to process the film and develop the pictures in a darkroom myself. That experience has given a fairly decent understanding of photography (granted it was almost 12 years ago, so I don’t remember everything). Again, still lots to learn but I feel I have a good start.

I know I had some other resolutions; have to go and look them up!

• financial plan and the clothing budget… (those are kinda related, right?)
  Well, we are working on our financial plan kinda (yay!) and I stink at sticking to a clothing budget for the girls (boo!). As a challenge to myself, I am going on a hiatus of buying clothes for the girls for the 3 next months — end of April  (hopefully longer). Well, an almost-hiatus… The hiatus doesn’t count shoes, since Mallory will need new spring/summer shoes when her feet grow; and Chelsea might need another pair or two for the spring/summer (she’ll use some hand me downs from Mallory if they fit ok). And, I’m giving myself a $40 *emergency* fund budget per month if I realize the girls need something that they don’t have. I will have to give good reason to spend the *emergency* funds though. There is one more catch to this… I may allow myself to shop with *rewards* that I earn from my credit card — we buy everything with ou credit cards (and pay them off each month) to earn points/rewards/miles. Still iffy on that point though. We’ll see.

  Outfitting the girls in cute clothes has become a silly hobby of mine. I’ll miss the shopping because of this challenge but we will easily survive this hiatus because the girls have plenty of clothes for spring and summer already. Reason? I love finding fantastic deals at the end of the season and stocking up for the next year (I hope to post about these deals at some point to show how cheaply I can get great quality clothes). So, Mallory is all set because I bought her spring and summer wardrobe for this year, last year. Chelsea has a lot of hand-me-downs from Mallory plus she has some new things too.

  You might wonder why I’m even posting about my quasi no spend challenge here. It’s a bit personal. But, I’m hoping this post will make me even more accountable over the next three months. Wish me luck!

Call me crazy…

… and I might answer but I’ve started another blog.

“Another blog?!?” you say. “But you can hardly keep up with this one.”

How right you are. However, this new blog is different and I think it’s something you’ll want to check out. I’ve been keeping it under wraps for a few days just to see if I could keep up with it. And the good news is, I have! :) I’ve impressed myself so far with my new-found endurance. Think it will last another 357 days?

So, add my new blog, Wilke: Project 365, to your blog reader or bookmark it and then check back in daily (yes, daily) for a new picture and caption. You can read about my reasoning for the Project 365 blog here and here.

In case you are wondering, I won’t be neglecting this blog. My hope is that the other blog will remind me that this one exists and needs some lovin’ too. Besides, I have plenty of catch-up to do here… like quick recaps and rocking chair pics of Chelsea’s month 10, 11 and 12 (eek!), Christmas festivities, and Chelsea’s FIRST! birthday. That should keep me busy for awhile.

See you on the other side!

A whole new perspective

So, Christmas has come and gone as has New Year’s Day (Happy Birthday Chelsea! more on that later) so now it’s time for all of those resolutions to be listed and followed or ignored. This year I am highly optimistic that I can follow them. My list is below and it’s been going well so far.

• Exercise
  • Quit Gymboree Play & Music classes for Mallory and instead…
  • Sign up to a gym for me* (girls can play in the childcare area instead of at Gymboree and it’s cheaper than Gymboree and it’s a healthy thing I’m doing for me) and workout at least 3x/week –> Signed up yesterday; first work out today; will call Gymboree tomorrow! More on this later…
    
• Photography
  • Take 1 picture a day this year then compile “a year in the life” photo album (not scrapbook) –> so far so good! It’s only the 5th day of the month though.
  • Work on building out a quasi-portfolio to see if I really want to pursue photography as a business. This means taking lots and lots of pictures of family and friends. –>  I’ve already had one shoot which I enjoyed and I’m relatively happy with the photos.
• Schedules! Try to get into a routine with laundry, exercise and cleaning. Any progress here would be a huge improvement from what I’m doing now. Ack.
• Projects
  • Finish up Mallory’s Rocking Chair scrapbook
  • Start Chelsea’s Rocking Chair scrapbook
  • Compile and print pictures from Mallory’s first 2 years (to put into photo album and baby book)
  • Compile and print pictures from Chelsea’s first year
  • I think I have more to add here but I am blanking…
• Clean Sweep of our STUFF
  • go through each room and find things to get rid of (into the trash or for massive garage sale). Concentrate on laundry room, master closet/bedroom, craft room, holiday decor and garage. I am ready to get rid of things that we haven’t used in years.
• Stick to Clothing Budget for the girls. Wish me luck!
• Plus some others like figuring out family things like creating a will, updating our financial plan, setting up a regular (monthly? every other week?) date night with a babysitter.

*The interesting thing I discovered by working out today (something I haven’t done in YEARS) is that I used to dread working out because I saw it as a task, something I had to do. I would try and get done with it as fast as I could. Now, I am seeing it in a whole new light. It is a time for me to have some time to myself. I found my old self wanting to rush me through my workout today, but I had to change my thinking, because why was I rushing?? The girls were happily playing in the other room (I did peek in on them and they were hard at play) and I had time to kill (what’s that?).  By mid workout I was able to relish in being able to do some cardio, strength training and stretching all without some little one jumping on me, calling for me, crying, and/or wanting me to play with them. I’m now loving the idea of working out and what I’ll be able to get out of it. This will also be the first time that my primary reason for working out is not to lose weight. Sure, it would be a nice benefit, but it’s not my focus. I am doing it do be healthy and to get some time for myself.

What are your resolutions? Are you in the mood to stick to them? At this moment, I am. :)

Slacker

So, I’m a slacker. I didn’t post about going to the pumpking patch, Halloween/Trick-o-Treating, Chelsea’s 10th month or Thanksgiving. That’s the way it goes sometimes. I might try to play catch-up, or I might not.

Chelsea’s big news is that she started walking during the Thanksgiving holidays. She walks about 50 percent of the time now. She took her first steps the first part of November and hasn’t slowed down since. She is now less than a month away from her first birthday. She is a ham – she claps, plays peek-a-boo, will blink back at you when you blink at her slowly, has several new teeth, and we even think she says mama (kind of directed at me too — This is a huge milestone in our house since Mal didn’t say mama until AFTER she turned TWO!).

Here’s a picture of Chelsea to tide you over until my next – hopefully soon – update.

Project: Dress-up Clothes

I am on a mission…

to collect your outdated, ill-fitting, extra clothing items and accessories that a little girl would love to use for dress-up clothes.

I’m sure the easiest way to start a collection of dress-up clothes would be to go to:

Go0dwill, but I think it would be neat to get these items from people we know. That would mean more to us

or

T0ys ‘R Us, but I’m trying to stay away from Di$ney pr!ncesses and that seems to be what most commercially available “dress-up” clothes are centered around.

Instead, I want your discards! Go through your closets and see if you have something I’m looking for that you don’t need anymore. If I don’t live near you, I’d pay the postage to get it to me. The added bonus is it’s good for the environment — reduce, reuse, recycle!

I did a little research (if you can call it that) about building a dress-up clothes wardrobe and then did some brainstorming. My list of ideas and wants is at the end of this post. I am looking for all types of things… things that cater to girls AND boys and everything in between. Obviously I can’t have, nor have space for, everything on the list. This list is here to give you some ideas. Do you see anything on here that you have but you don’t want any more?? If so, please let me know! :)

Clothing Items

• men’s/boys’ suits: (holes/stained ok!) whatever you have; the funkier the better
• shirts: flannel, polyester, Hawaiian, brightly colored, funky, black/white stripes, etc.
• pants: bell bottom, brightly colored, khaki, denim, white, black, plaid, funky, sweatpants (easily alterable), etc.
• dresses: flowing, formal (prom/bridesmaid), casual, sundress
• vests: suit, camo, down/puffer
• short silky robe/nightgown
• artist smock
• overalls
• fur stole
• socks (the funkier, the better): knee, sports, striped, etc.
• cape
• skirts (elastic waist preferably): short, long, pleated, straight, poodle
• uniforms: boy/girl scouts, mechanic, basketball, soccer, fast food, baseball, cheerleading, sports jerseys, etc.
• shorts: bermuda, khaki
• ballet gear: leotards, ballet slippers, tutu

Accessories

• costume jewelry: necklaces (Gasparilla/Mardi Gras?), big bracelets, rings, earrings (clip on)
• shoes: smaller women’s shoes, short high heals, boys lace-up, sneakers, smaller men’s shoes
• boots: rubber boots, cowboy boots, rain boots
• headbands
• watches (men’s or women’s): elastic band preferably (broken ok!)
• hats: cowboy, crown, tiarra, pointy (witch/wizard, princess), baseball, men’s, top, pith helmet, hardhat, straw
• ties/bow tie: the funkier, the better; clip-on ok too!
• suspenders
• belts
• lab coat
• apron: full or half
• purses/evening bag (smaller scale, preferably): fancy, every day, funky!
• wallets: men’s or women’s
• plastic eye glasses (I’ll pop out the lenses to keep them safe and usable)
• plastic sunglasses
• gloves: long/short fancy, work, rubber, winter
• scarves/sarong: fancy, winter, any color
• feather boa

Random Things:

• cell phone/home phone (broken ok! the older the better)
• film camera (broken ok! the older the better)
• magnifying glass (broken ok, as long as not falling apart since that would be dangerous)
• binoculars (broken ok!)
• old date book
• receipt pad
• menu from a restaurant
• large calculator (broken ok!)
• chopsticks (to use as a wand, teacher’s pointer)
• wooden broom (small)
• badges/nametags (I can alter them to make them kid safe)
• keys
• maps (old, out dated ok)
• eye patch
• brief case/attache (smaller scale): condition – whatever you have!
• wand
• wigs
• masks
• dog collar/leash (relatively clean or cleanable)
• white/light colored sheets (to make togas or ghosts out of): can have stains or be partial sheets
• clip board (old style with brown base, metal clasp)

And, if you’re wondering what can be done with all of the items listed above, this is what they could become!

• prom queen: fancy dress, high heals, purse
• cowboy/girl: flannel shirt, jeans, bandanna, belt
• tourist: hawaiian shirt, bermuda shorts, sunglasses, maps, camera
• clown/hobo: oversized shoes, long wide polka dot tie, brightly colored pants/shirt, suspenders. think polka dots, stripes, patterns all mixed
• “daddy”: tie, jacket, pants, shoes, shirt, calculator, computer
• hippie: bell-bottomed pants, platform shoes, a polyester shirt, beads
• gypsy: with a flowing dress, hoop earrings, beads, bracelets, scarf or shawl.
• ghost: white sheet w/ eye holes
• supergirl/boy: cape, leotard, gold belt, tights, mask
• princess: fancy dress, wand, point hat/crown, high heals
• ballerina: leotard, tutu, ballet slippers
• doctor: scrubs, lab coat
• baseball/softball player: baseball hat, jersey, white pants, socks
• scientist: white lab coat, glasses, glove
• zoo keeper/safari: khaki shorts, khaki shirt, badge, hat
• dog: collar, leash, hat with ears, sweatsuit with spots
• farmer: overalls, plaid shirt, strawhat
• train conductor: shirt, red hankercheif, hat, whistle
• fighter pilot: flight suit, boots, sunglasses
• airline pilot: suit, wings pin, hat, sunglasses
• waitress: apron, hat, skirt, short sleeve white shirt
• referee: black/white stripe shirt, white pants, black, whistle, yellow flag
• cave girl: leopard print wrap, bone necklace,
• greek god: toga (white sheet), crown of leaves
• magician: black coat, pants, white shirt, bow tie, top hat, wand

I’ll transform adult clothes by:

• shortening long dresses by hemming or cutting them with pinking shears
• adjusting straps on dresses/tops so that they won’t fall off a smaller body
• shortening sleeves by rolling or cutting them off
• shrinking large items in the washer and dryer
• replacing clasps and buttons with velcro for easy on/off

I’ll want to make a few things from *trash*

• strong cardboard tube: telescope
• heavy duty cardboard: sworn