A Mother's Dream Come True

I can order diapers on diapers.com and they will send the diapers overnight-at no additional charge. It's wonderful. It drives me nuts driving to Target and then finding that they're out of my precious Pampers Size 3 Cruisers, or that the biggest box has 35 diapers---are they kidding me?-35 diapers lasts for like 3 days at our house.

Of course, it may be that we go through so many diapers because not only do these hineys wear them.....

But sometimes nearly every doll and stuffed animal in the house is wearing a diaper too!

She Grows!

Delaney is tiny but she's definitely had a couple of growth spurts over the past 9 months or so. This pair of pants just fit her a few weeks ago but now is too short. She only has a few pairs of 18 months pants that still fit--she'll be wearing strictly 2T soon! Elliot has just started to wear 18 months-so Laney is keeping just a step ahead of her baby brother.

A Sad Day

Grandma D passed away early this morning. She is already very, very missed.

The above picture was taken last July when we visited Long Island.

My Laney

Delaney is my baby girl. She can drive me nuts-and I mean seriously and clinically crazy but I can't be without her. She's complicated--so, so complicated. And exhausting and demanding. And absolutely wonderful in a million ways. And there's no one like her-that I can guarantee.

Laney is incredibly sensitive. If I cough, she asks me--Mommy, are you okay? Are you sick? She asks me everyday--Mommy, are you happy? Are you sad? If I yawn, she'll say--Mommy, are you sleepy?-You go nite-nite. She kisses the 'boos' (freckles) on my forehead and brings me bandaids. She rubs my back and gives me kisses on my cheek.

Laney has a great sense of humor. She'll walk around the house, saying--Mommy, look, look I'm Elliot. While sucking on his binky and baby talking. She loves to make us laugh. And when she's happy, she's soooo happy--there's no one that I would rather be around. Her happiness is contagious and wonderful.

And she needs me-more than anyone probably ever will. She tells me repeatedly throughout the day--Mommy, don't go away. Don't leave me. When she's riding in her stroller, she shouts--MOMMY, MOMMY, I can't see you, I want to see you, where are you?? Her neediness is tiring-even on a good day. But I know that it won't last. As much as she wants to be by my side every hour of every day, in ten years or so, I'll be wishing that she still wanted me so close to her.

Lollipops

Yes, it's a lollipop. Elliot realized quite some time ago that a lollipop would stick anywhere that he put it. His place of choice?--Delaney's hair. Needless to say, she was not happy about this.

And then today, Elliot stuck his lollipop in his hair and laughed-he thought that it was hysterical and didn't want me to remove it.

Elliot Feeds Himself

Elliot insists on feeding himself with a spoon. Delaney could feed herself with a spoon by 16 months-no problem at all; Elliot is still working on it. Regardless of how much oatmeal actually ends up in his mouth, he's so patient and proud of himself-it's precious. By the end of the day, I have to scrub his hair in the tub and then comb out all of the 'leftovers'!

In Other News....

Delaney asked me yesterday-Mommy, do I make you happy? It was about the sweetest thing that I've ever heard. Yes, Laney, you make me sooo happy.

Elliot is picking up new words everyday. His favorite words right now are 'baby', 'stick', 'kick' (at least he doesn't use these words in the same sentence!) and 'weeee' (as in weeee down the slide).

Delaney didn't nap yesterday. I was exhausted and in desperate need of a little quiet, so I told her to go play by herself for a little bit. She ran over to her toys, stopped, ran right back to me and said-Mommy, I don't like to play by myself. Laney, I know-I've sort of picked up on that in the past 2 1/2 years. Delaney loves to be around other people and really needs constant interaction with others. She's become quite the little chatterbox and can pretty much talk non-stop. It's wonderful that she's a good talker, but there's no getting away with--Oh, uh-huh, uh-huh--she knows the second that my attention starts to fade!

Delaney Goes To Work

Delaney joined Daddy at work today for about an hour, while Mommy and Elliot tried a playgroup for 1-2 year olds. Delaney was very, very excited to go into work with Daddy. She wore her 'business dress' and was sure to take her apple juice and a few of her favorite books with her. When I picked Laney up and asked her what she did, she said---I see Cy (Dave's coworker) and eat treats. So, Laney, is that what Daddy does all day at work---talk and eat doughnuts? :)

Elliot started to fuss a little when Laney got out of the car to join Daddy and he certainly was a little bewildered to be 'on his own' without his big sister. But he settled in quickly and enjoyed his playgroup.

Elliot's Favorite Toy

Last weekend, Uncle Mat and Aunt Rebecca brought the kids a Little People Builders set, and it has quickly become Elliot's favorite toy. Elliot loves to be on the move and is usually running around or pushing his trucks, and this really is the only toy that he'll actually sit and play with.

He loves it, and I love watching him build-he's so patient, and it's so cute to see him concentrating.

Hanging Out

This is how we spent much of our Sunday-just hanging out in the backyard-playing and relaxing.

In Other News....

Delaney and Daddy got into a battle of wills--of whether to watch Elmo (Laney's choice) or a baseball game (Daddy's choice). Daddy won-barely.

Laney said--I like kissies from my mommy. And it made my week.

In the past two weeks, Laney and Elliot have had four different babysitters-and done wonderfully each time. What a difference six months make.

Elliot's favorite books right now are Wheels On The Bus, Busy Bunnies (yes, this is a very manly book), Goodnite Moon and Zoo Animals.

Elliot had his first nitemare this week. He woke up in the middle of the nite, screaming and shaking. After a few minutes of snuggles, he was calm and sleepy. He was too sweet. I resisted the urge to put him in our bed and put him back to sleep in his crib.

Elliot is into throwing everything-and I mean everything-he turns everything into a ball and throws / kicks it across the room. As a result, I have a swollen lip and Laney has had more than her fair share of bruises and scrapes.

Playing In The Dirt

We have the best backyard for kids--lots of grass, big shady trees, a little patio and wooden fence (perfect for chalk drawings!) and a perimeter of dirt. Delaney and Elliot love playing outside and especially love playing / 'gardening' in the dirt. They dig and dig, making holes and filling up cups with dirt. Elliot also enjoys throwing dirt, eating dirt, rubbing dirt in his hair and pouring dirt down the inside of shirt-but we're working on this.

Now that the weather is getting nicer, the kids spend more time outdoors than indoors, and I love it--little kids are meant to be outside, and by nighttime, Laney and Elliot are rosy cheeked and smell like the sunshine and grass.

Snowy Visit to Tahoe

I stayed home while Dave, Uncle Mat and Aunt Rebecca took the kids to Sand Harbor. Apparently, there was a bit of snow!

It's been great to have Uncle Mat and Aunt Rebecca visit-for everyone. The kids get to see some new faces and play with eager playmates, and Dave and I get to see much missed family and recharge our batteries a little. The kids have been crazy good since Mat and Rebecca have been here--like complete and total angels. I guess they're just trying to ensure that they have some Schwartz cousins someday!

Reading With Rebecca

Delaney absolute loves to read; she loves to be read to and she loves to 'read' to herself and others. I'm so happy that she already loves books, and nothing makes me happier than listening to her 'read' to herself--so sweet.

Carson Valley Swim Center

After a fairly long week with the kids, Uncle Mat and Aunt Rebecca came into town, providing entertainment for the kids, great company and free babysitting! After naptime, we all headed to the pool in Minden; it has a wonderful baby pool and a nice warm therapy pool. Since Uncle Mat was there to help out, I got to sit in luxury, chatting with Rebecca and not getting wet!

Both Delaney and Elliot love playing in the water, and this certainly is credited to their daddy, who doesn't panic when they go underwater and has always encouraged them to get their faces wet. Uncle Mat called Delaney a 'water baby'--she quickly corrected him--she's no baby!

Art Time

The weather has been pretty crummy all week--rainy, cold, windy and snowy, so we've had a lot of indoor time (to burn!). Delaney loves to do anything artsy or crafty and can entertain herself for a good 45 minutes with some paints, markers or stickers. And if she's starting to get cranky, crafts are a great way to change her mood.

Elliot, on the other hand, has a tougher time sitting still, but is just starting to play with play-do and stickers. Of course, he usually winds up eating the play-do and putting a good portion of the stickers in his hair, but it's a start! He's not yet into scribbling, but man, does he love to run around the house throwing and kicking a ball (and anything else that he can get his hands on!); he's in constant movement.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Delaney and Elliot have been giving us a run for our money lately. It's been pretty brutal. They fight and fight and fight until I'm pretty sure that I'm going insane. Delaney takes everything that Elliot has, doesn't want him to look at her, touch her or touch any of 'her' stuff. Elliot throws her dolls in the trash, laughing hysterically, and repeatedly tackles her to the ground.

On the 'good' side of things, we left the kids with a babysitter on Saturday night and they did great; we went out with friends and had a really nice time. It was really nice to have some adult time.

On Sunday morning, Delaney happily worked on her shamrocks and then we all headed to a great indoor pool. The kids had a blast and totally wore themselves out.

Delaney was a wreck all afternoon and evening--tantrums, tantrums, tantrums. It's frustrating because she had more tantrums yesterday, than she's had in the past two months. At bedtime, Delaney threw herself out of her crib-onto the hardwood floors---nice, huh? She's a little bruised but basically fine. I had been hoping to keep her in her crib until she went to college, but apparently, her crib days are very limited.

This morning Elliot learned how to open the oven door as well as turn the stove and oven on. Great.

I'm so frazzled and frustrated. I keep telling myself-Patience, patience, patience.

This is a picture of Delaney holding up one of her little trolls. They kinda look alike, huh?! :)