Peach-Picking

We made a last minute decision to go peach-picking this past Saturday.  It was a long drive to Battleview Orchards, but worth it seeing all the fun the kids had.  A picture speaks a thousand words, so enjoy the photos!

August Update

Wow... I can't believe it's been over a month since my last blog entry!  In my defense, I did start writing something a few weeks ago... I just never got around to finishing it, so now here's my attempt at recapping the past month.

Baby M started his speech therapy at the end of July.  He's only getting it once every two weeks and has had two sessions so far, so I don't know how much it's actually helping yet.  He did say a lot more words after we had him evaluated for Early Intervention (it probably coincided with the time that the fluid cleared from his ears, which meant he could finally hear what we were saying), so we probably could've held off on the speech therapy, but I suppose it doesn't hurt to give him a little boost.  The plan is to continue it for the rest of the year and re-evaluate after that.  Even though it's only once every two weeks, the costs add up (as we have to partially pay out of pocket)!

A few weeks ago, we gave baby M a box of raisins to eat.  M asked him to share one.  Baby M shook his head and said "no."  M pretended to be shocked and disappointed, but then asked him to share one with me.  Baby M looked at him for a minute, then said "jeh jeh" (big sister in Chinese), and walked over to big sister K and handed her a raisin.  Guess we know who's on top of his list.

The other day, we gave big sister K time-out for not listening to us.  She was crying in the corner of the dining room.  Baby M was playing in the living room, but when he heard big sister K crying, he went and sat next to her in the dining room.  It was very sweet of him.  Apparently, he has come to consider that spot as the "crying corner" and is now giving himself time-outs.  A few times we yelled at him for misbehaving or not sharing toys with big sister K, he started crying, walked to the corner of the dining room on his own, and plopped himself down on the floor.  The first time it happened, I didn't even realize he was there until a few minutes later when I walked over to find out why he hadn't stopped crying.  I felt bad for finding it amusing, but I couldn't stop myself from laughing when I saw my 1-year old giving himself time-out.  I just had to pick him up and give him a big hug.

Meanwhile, big sister K started kindergarten at her current daycare two weeks ago (she misses the age cutoff to attend our local elementary school), and she loves it.  During the week of her transition, she insisted on staying in her new class and refused to go back to preschool.  Hopefully the new class means more structured learning and less time playing.

M and I are having big sister K write a sentence each night, and it's been extremely frustrating, to say the least.  She has a hard time concentrating and often times doesn't remember (i.e., can't read) what sentence she wrote the day before.  Sometimes I feel like we're doing all this for nothing, that we're just causing ourselves unnecessary grief, but if I'm going to have my daughter attend Princeton on a full scholarship, gosh darn it I am not giving up!

My Little Fruit Lover

Baby M loves eating blueberries.  Most of the times, he would devour an entire box in one setting, all by himself.  One unfortunate side effect is that it turns his poop black and mushy... not the easiest to clean during diaper change. It gave us quite a scare the first time we saw it, but we've gotten so used to it by now.

After dinner tonight, we gave baby M some green grapes.  He ended up almost finishing the entire bunch (it was a lot of grapes!).  I commented on how much he ate, and big sister K goes, "he's going to have green poop!"  LOL!

Not only does baby M love blueberries and grapes, he's also a big fan of oranges.  The only way we were able to keep him quiet at the supermarket was to let him hold one.  It worked for about a minute before he tried to jump the shopping cart... as you can see he was getting ready to do in this picture.

Taken last weekend, big sister K was showing me some of the dance moves she learned in ballet class.

Healthy Again!

Big sister K came down with a fever last week that lasted a few days... it was low-grade and she didn't show any symptoms, but she wasn't quite her normal self and didn't sleep well at night, sweating up a storm.  Then over the weekend, baby M decided it was his turn.  We went to Sesame Place Saturday afternoon and he felt a bit warm while we were there.  When we came home and took his temperature, it came out to 103.  He was teething, cranky all weekend, didn't eat much, and barely slept.  It's not how we expected to spend Father's Day on Sunday, but fortunately, both kids seem to have recovered from their respective illnesses.

On another note, Happy Anniversary to the best hubby ever!  We decided to eat out on our special day, despite it being a weekday.  We let big sister K choose the restaurant, and she opted for buffet (honestly, I think it's only because she knows they have ice cream there).

Toddler Time!

My baby boy is growing up!  I got a call from the infant coordinator at his daycare yesterday informing me that a spot finally opened up in the toddler wing, and that he will be transitioning to the new class in a few weeks.  With the fluid in his ears, we haven't called to schedule an evaluation for early intervention yet (no point if he can't hear what we're saying), but hopefully with the move to the new class, he'll be able to pick up more from his peers and finally develop his verbal communication skills.

One of baby M's favorite pastimes has been bouncing on his giant teddy bear.  He'd put the stuffed animal on its stomach, sit on its neck, and start bouncing up and down.  I'm not sure if he learned it from big sister K or if she got it from them, but between the two of them, I'm convinced the poor teddy bear will soon be beheaded.

No More Snip-Its

I usually take big sister K to a kid-friendly place called Snip-Its in Princeton to get her hair cut.  She's long overdue for one, so I was planning to take her this Friday, when my half-day Fridays start.  Last week, I went onto the Snip-Its website and much to my dismay, I learned that the Princeton location no longer existed.  During the car ride home that day, I told big sister K that we couldn't go to Snip-Its anymore because they closed down.  Maybe I should've waited to deliver the news to her, but big sister K did not take it well at all.  She started crying like there was no tomorrow... you would've thought something devastating had happened (though in her eyes, something probably did).  I eventually got her to calm down, but was still shocked by her reaction.  She didn't mind canceling the Disney trip (and for that, I am very thankful), but not being able to go to her favorite hair salon, she has a major breakdown.  I don't get it.

I tried looking for other haircutting places in the area that cater to young kids, but had no luck.  I also asked big sister K's teacher at daycare if she had any recommendations, and she referred me to Supercuts (not exactly what I had in mind).  Big sister K refuses to let me cut her bangs anymore, so I'm hoping I can find a new place by Friday to bring her to.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Von Thun Farms

We went to Von Thun Farms for their annual Kids Day yesterday.  It was early afternoon by the time we got there and misting a little, so most people had already left (I was happy we avoided the crowd).  It worked out quite nicely for us because we got to enjoy most of the activities at the farm and the rain waited until we were safely back in the car before it started to really come down.

The kids got to see some farm animals, they went around in a straw maze, big sister K bounced in an inflatable house, and they also got to go on different types of pedal cars.  Baby M was too small for most of them and couldn't reach the pedal, but that didn't stop him from trying.  Big sister K had a blast zooming up and down the different courses. 

HUG!

A few nights ago, I yelled at big sister K for not listening.  She got upset and started crying in the living room.  The rest of the family was in the kitchen, including baby M.  We had the safety gate closed between the kitchen and the living room, so he couldn't get through.  Once I opened the gate, he ran to big sister K and gave her a big hug, not letting go for a few seconds.  I'm used to big sister K showing her love and affection for her baby brother, but to see it the other way around... wow!

My two babies... LOVE THEM!