Our Third Teenager
2 years ago
Friday, September 18, 2009
Gettin' Ready for Some GA Football
Just a quick pick from last weekend. My little Dawgs for those of you who don't look at Facebook..Rainwaters, Barnetts :-)
Friday, September 11, 2009
Happy Birthday, Gage! (9 months)
Okay, so I'm a little late on this post...8 days late to be exact. So sorry, but life goes on. Gage turned 9 months old on September 3rd. He and Savannah both had appointments with Dr. B. Savannah just got her flu shot. Gage had 2 shots...round 1 of his flu vaccination and Hep B. Savannah went first and cried the most she's ever cried from a shot, therefore, Gage was crying before it was even his turn. Perhaps doubling up on appointments is not the best idea.
Gage is definitely a sympathy crier. All in all, he's a very happy baby, and Savannah can really get him tickled. But if Savannah cries (heck, even if she's just laughing loudly), Gage gets upset and starts crying. He loves to clap. He's learning some sign language...he now knows "more" and I think "milk", but he's also learning to wave bye-bye which tends to look a lot like "milk" since his wave is backwards as if to say "bye-bye" to himself.
Stephen is tickling Savannah here as Gage is happily swinging:
Savannah is pretending to eat...Gage found it hysterical:
Well...this video will have to come later...I'm having technical issues.
He's not crawling or pulling up or cruising or even attempting to take steps when we hold his hands while he stands. He sits and tries to get himself into a crawling position by rocking forward and putting weight on his hands, but he can't quite get his feet out from under him and behind him. He will scoot on his butt though. When it comes to pulling up, he'll reach up and pull on the furniture, but he's still not able to get his feet under him and use those leg muscles to get to a standing position. "They" say that the second child reaches certain milestones before the first one did as a desire to "keep up" with the older sibling. I think in our case, Gage has no motivation to be mobile since Savannah stays right with him and brings him anything he could ever need, want or desire. I wouldn't move either if someone was always there to bring my water, the phone, the remote, my laptop and entertain me.
"Lady, can't you see it's football season? Now, get outta here with that camera."
Gage is also still trying to master his pincer grasp. He mostly grabs food with his whole hand and puts his whole fist to his mouth...food deeply hidden in his grasp so it never quite makes it into his mouth. So really the only food he can feed himself is cookies that are large enough to stick out of his fist. He also likes to gum pizza crust. Can anyone tell me what ever happened to zwieback toast??? I always gave it to Savannah, but I have been to 3 Publix, 1 Kroger, 2 Targets and Walmart, and I cannot find it anywhere. Argh! Which reminds me, Gage has no teeth. Not surprising though since Savannah didn't get teeth until after her first birthday. He is starting to eat table food...sort of. He did eat a sweet potato tonight that was an actual sweet potato from a restaurant and not pureed.
So for his 9 month stats:
Weight: 18 lbs, 9 oz. (25th percentile)
Height: 27 1/4 inches (25th percentile)
Head Circumference: 47 cm (95th percentile) - According to Dr. B, all the Barnetts (including me) have big heads...thanks, Dr. B!
Adorableness: tied for #1 in this family
Gage is definitely a sympathy crier. All in all, he's a very happy baby, and Savannah can really get him tickled. But if Savannah cries (heck, even if she's just laughing loudly), Gage gets upset and starts crying. He loves to clap. He's learning some sign language...he now knows "more" and I think "milk", but he's also learning to wave bye-bye which tends to look a lot like "milk" since his wave is backwards as if to say "bye-bye" to himself.
Stephen is tickling Savannah here as Gage is happily swinging:
Savannah is pretending to eat...Gage found it hysterical:
Well...this video will have to come later...I'm having technical issues.
He's not crawling or pulling up or cruising or even attempting to take steps when we hold his hands while he stands. He sits and tries to get himself into a crawling position by rocking forward and putting weight on his hands, but he can't quite get his feet out from under him and behind him. He will scoot on his butt though. When it comes to pulling up, he'll reach up and pull on the furniture, but he's still not able to get his feet under him and use those leg muscles to get to a standing position. "They" say that the second child reaches certain milestones before the first one did as a desire to "keep up" with the older sibling. I think in our case, Gage has no motivation to be mobile since Savannah stays right with him and brings him anything he could ever need, want or desire. I wouldn't move either if someone was always there to bring my water, the phone, the remote, my laptop and entertain me.
"Lady, can't you see it's football season? Now, get outta here with that camera."
Gage is also still trying to master his pincer grasp. He mostly grabs food with his whole hand and puts his whole fist to his mouth...food deeply hidden in his grasp so it never quite makes it into his mouth. So really the only food he can feed himself is cookies that are large enough to stick out of his fist. He also likes to gum pizza crust. Can anyone tell me what ever happened to zwieback toast??? I always gave it to Savannah, but I have been to 3 Publix, 1 Kroger, 2 Targets and Walmart, and I cannot find it anywhere. Argh! Which reminds me, Gage has no teeth. Not surprising though since Savannah didn't get teeth until after her first birthday. He is starting to eat table food...sort of. He did eat a sweet potato tonight that was an actual sweet potato from a restaurant and not pureed.
So for his 9 month stats:
Weight: 18 lbs, 9 oz. (25th percentile)
Height: 27 1/4 inches (25th percentile)
Head Circumference: 47 cm (95th percentile) - According to Dr. B, all the Barnetts (including me) have big heads...thanks, Dr. B!
Adorableness: tied for #1 in this family
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Poor Parenting? Perhaps.
With summer's end quickly approaching, the Barnetts are spending as much time at the pool these days as possible. While we do enjoy the pools in the subdivision and the super short drive to get there, there is really nothing better than a morning and lunch at Aunt Brencie and Papa Dick's pool, gardens and patio. We are so fortunate to have access to such posh amenities and I love that my kids get to grow up swimming in the same pool where I learned to swim.
Our mornings at Brencie and Dick's usually means that Gage must miss his morning nap. We've tried putting him down for a nap in his Pack -n- Play, but there's no way he'll stand for that. He must be in the pool! He loves his float and usually coos, kicks, splashes and plays while we all swim and dive and chit chat around him. Yesterday, however, before we knew it, Gage was asleep in his float.
Normally this wouldn't be a problem, however, the timing wasn't ideal. We were all about to get out of the pool and have our lunch in the cool shade of the muscadines. Do we pick him up out of the float and risk waking the perfectly content sleeping baby? Never!
What is it they say about necessity being the mother of invention?
Yes...that is a rake holding the raft in place so we would all have a clear view of Gage while we prepared and ate our lunch. Before you all start emailing me and bashing my parenting skills, Gage was perfectly safe...we were very close...4 adults watching...he was in the shade...and he woke up before we even started eating and spent the remainder of lunch on one of our laps.
Savannah is really turning into a little fish these days. She is jumping off the diving board and swimming to the ladder all by herself.
Our mornings at Brencie and Dick's usually means that Gage must miss his morning nap. We've tried putting him down for a nap in his Pack -n- Play, but there's no way he'll stand for that. He must be in the pool! He loves his float and usually coos, kicks, splashes and plays while we all swim and dive and chit chat around him. Yesterday, however, before we knew it, Gage was asleep in his float.
Normally this wouldn't be a problem, however, the timing wasn't ideal. We were all about to get out of the pool and have our lunch in the cool shade of the muscadines. Do we pick him up out of the float and risk waking the perfectly content sleeping baby? Never!
What is it they say about necessity being the mother of invention?
Yes...that is a rake holding the raft in place so we would all have a clear view of Gage while we prepared and ate our lunch. Before you all start emailing me and bashing my parenting skills, Gage was perfectly safe...we were very close...4 adults watching...he was in the shade...and he woke up before we even started eating and spent the remainder of lunch on one of our laps.
Savannah is really turning into a little fish these days. She is jumping off the diving board and swimming to the ladder all by herself.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Motivation
Wikipedia definition: Motivation is the internal condition that activates behavior and gives it direction; energizes and directs goal-oriented behavior.
For at least the last 6 months, mornings from Monday through Friday consist of whining, crying, fits, temper tantrums, "No!"s, "umph"s, kicking, screaming, hiding under the covers, demands and anything short of spitting and biting. Did I mention we have a 3-year old? A wise person once told me that Threes are the Terrible Twos with an attitude. Mornings are dreaded in our house...and it's not my alarm clock that goes off at 5:30 am...in fact, I cherish that quiet time to myself between 5:30 and 6:15 when I get to shower and primp without interruption. But boy, when 6:15 rolls around, Hell breaks loose in our house. The daily grind is simple really: milk, potty, brush teeth, dress, hair and out the door. All can really be done in 20 minutes tops, but in our house, this routine can take upwards of 45 minutes to an hour...throw in a "time-out" and you see where I'm going with this.
My eyes were opened this past weekend to a truly amazing phenomenon...motivation. I think I finally learned what motivates my 3-year old...and I bet you all want to know the secret to my success. It's quite simple really. Three-year olds apparently like to win. We first tested this with eating green veggies. Now Savannah has always been a good eater, but as of late, she tends to turn her nose to the green veggies...they are not her "favorite". But if Stephen or I picks up a green veggie and challenges her to a race, she's very eager to shove green veggies down her throat as quickly as possible to "beat" us. Not sure why it took so long to sink into my thick skull to apply this concept to mornings, but this morning, I challenged Savannah to "beat Daddy". While Stephen showered, Savannah was to go potty and brush her teeth before Daddy could finish his shower...and was she ever up for the challenge! She finished her business, brushed her teeth and beat Daddy getting dressed. She was even eager to get her hair brushed and styled so that she could "beat Mommy" getting ready. Savannah was out of bed and ready to walk out the door in 20 minutes. She even got to "wake up Baby Gage" and kiss him good-bye. It's funny...as I type this, and without even knowing what I was doing, Stephen came in and said that Savannah commented on the way to school this morning, "Daddy, I didn't cry." So she KNOWS when things go smoothly and she's proud of herself when they do. So why the drama??? We're going to give this a try again tomorrow. Wish me luck!
We got to play outside a lot tonight with Sophie. The weather was actually pretty nice for August. And the sky looked really cool!
And I had to re-create Stephen's picture of Gage on the trike (Stephen posted his iPhone version on Facebook)...
For at least the last 6 months, mornings from Monday through Friday consist of whining, crying, fits, temper tantrums, "No!"s, "umph"s, kicking, screaming, hiding under the covers, demands and anything short of spitting and biting. Did I mention we have a 3-year old? A wise person once told me that Threes are the Terrible Twos with an attitude. Mornings are dreaded in our house...and it's not my alarm clock that goes off at 5:30 am...in fact, I cherish that quiet time to myself between 5:30 and 6:15 when I get to shower and primp without interruption. But boy, when 6:15 rolls around, Hell breaks loose in our house. The daily grind is simple really: milk, potty, brush teeth, dress, hair and out the door. All can really be done in 20 minutes tops, but in our house, this routine can take upwards of 45 minutes to an hour...throw in a "time-out" and you see where I'm going with this.
My eyes were opened this past weekend to a truly amazing phenomenon...motivation. I think I finally learned what motivates my 3-year old...and I bet you all want to know the secret to my success. It's quite simple really. Three-year olds apparently like to win. We first tested this with eating green veggies. Now Savannah has always been a good eater, but as of late, she tends to turn her nose to the green veggies...they are not her "favorite". But if Stephen or I picks up a green veggie and challenges her to a race, she's very eager to shove green veggies down her throat as quickly as possible to "beat" us. Not sure why it took so long to sink into my thick skull to apply this concept to mornings, but this morning, I challenged Savannah to "beat Daddy". While Stephen showered, Savannah was to go potty and brush her teeth before Daddy could finish his shower...and was she ever up for the challenge! She finished her business, brushed her teeth and beat Daddy getting dressed. She was even eager to get her hair brushed and styled so that she could "beat Mommy" getting ready. Savannah was out of bed and ready to walk out the door in 20 minutes. She even got to "wake up Baby Gage" and kiss him good-bye. It's funny...as I type this, and without even knowing what I was doing, Stephen came in and said that Savannah commented on the way to school this morning, "Daddy, I didn't cry." So she KNOWS when things go smoothly and she's proud of herself when they do. So why the drama??? We're going to give this a try again tomorrow. Wish me luck!
We got to play outside a lot tonight with Sophie. The weather was actually pretty nice for August. And the sky looked really cool!
And I had to re-create Stephen's picture of Gage on the trike (Stephen posted his iPhone version on Facebook)...
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Just a picture
Just posting a new picture of Gage. Stephen and Savannah ran some errands this morning and Gage and I rotated his clothes...finally packed away all his newborn-6 month clothes. This is a chore I dread and put off more than anything else. But it's done...woohoo!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Hot Wheels
Savannah got a new trike...and she loves it! She had a tricycle, but it was no fun. I think she was always too big for it. Sophie had this Schwinn trike (long before she could ride...like most things we get our children I guess). Savannah was pretty good at riding Sophie's so we found one for Savannah. Now the girls like to ride up the sidewalk to the Elko's driveway and then pedal as fast as they can back down the hill to the cul-de-sac.
Gage is doing great. He'll be 8 months old on Monday. He's getting bigger, er, well, longer I should say. He's very lean.
Gage is doing great. He'll be 8 months old on Monday. He's getting bigger, er, well, longer I should say. He's very lean.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Summer Lovin'
Man, it gets harder and harder to come up with titles of these posts...especially when all you want to do is post a few pictures for the family. "Summer Lovin'" works.
We've had a fabulous summer so far! I finally signed Savannah up for actual swim lessons with Miss Michelle. Until now, I've been taking her to Aunt Brencie's for her "lessons" with me while Bren coaches me on what to do with Savannah and how to teach her. It's NOT EASY to teach your own child to swim! So I'm outsourcing! But I don't feel too bad about it. Bren says that even she could not teach her own children to swim. Savannah had her first lesson last night and I could already see the pieces starting to click together for her. We have 3 more lessons to go and Brencie and Michelle are confident 4 is all we'll need this year.
Recently our friends, the Joachims, came to enjoy the neighborhood pool with us. Last year at Savannah's birthday party which we held at the clubhouse, Lauren's boys spotted the water slide at our pool and were upset when they couldn't stay to swim and go down the slide after the party. I didn't get any great shots of the boys, but here is Savannah making her one and only solo run.
Big G was there to catch her, and can't you just read the misery all over her face???
Since last Friday was a holiday, both kiddos were at home with us. Savannah has been such a helper. Here she is giving Gage his bottle. This was not just a few moments for me to snap a quick picture. She fed him his entire bottle and took her job very seriously.
She loves her Baby Gage.
Saturday was the 4th of July. We started with a morning swim at Aunt Brencie's house with the hopes of wearing Savannah out enough to take a nap before the evening festivities. I'm happy to report that she napped! Later we trekked up the hill to the King's for good times with the best neighbors, delicious food and plenty of Guitar Hero to boot. Many thanks to Nana for holding down the fort while Gage and Savannah slept and Stephen and I got to hang out later with everyone.
Yeah, Gage is donning his cammo.
We've had a fabulous summer so far! I finally signed Savannah up for actual swim lessons with Miss Michelle. Until now, I've been taking her to Aunt Brencie's for her "lessons" with me while Bren coaches me on what to do with Savannah and how to teach her. It's NOT EASY to teach your own child to swim! So I'm outsourcing! But I don't feel too bad about it. Bren says that even she could not teach her own children to swim. Savannah had her first lesson last night and I could already see the pieces starting to click together for her. We have 3 more lessons to go and Brencie and Michelle are confident 4 is all we'll need this year.
Recently our friends, the Joachims, came to enjoy the neighborhood pool with us. Last year at Savannah's birthday party which we held at the clubhouse, Lauren's boys spotted the water slide at our pool and were upset when they couldn't stay to swim and go down the slide after the party. I didn't get any great shots of the boys, but here is Savannah making her one and only solo run.
Big G was there to catch her, and can't you just read the misery all over her face???
Since last Friday was a holiday, both kiddos were at home with us. Savannah has been such a helper. Here she is giving Gage his bottle. This was not just a few moments for me to snap a quick picture. She fed him his entire bottle and took her job very seriously.
She loves her Baby Gage.
Saturday was the 4th of July. We started with a morning swim at Aunt Brencie's house with the hopes of wearing Savannah out enough to take a nap before the evening festivities. I'm happy to report that she napped! Later we trekked up the hill to the King's for good times with the best neighbors, delicious food and plenty of Guitar Hero to boot. Many thanks to Nana for holding down the fort while Gage and Savannah slept and Stephen and I got to hang out later with everyone.
Yeah, Gage is donning his cammo.
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