With walking ... comes running and ... STITCHES!!!

The beginning of June - I'm at work - the kids are at home with Allison - I'm planning away in my classroom - it's half and hour till school starts - my cell phone rings.  "I think Jaxon needs stitches."  "Seriously???"  "Yep."  Of course I carpooled to work today - Andrea drove - so no car - I book a TOC - Andrea kindly lends me her vehicle - I head back to Abby and ... sure enough, there's a gaping gash in my little boy's chin.  He wouldn't be a boy if he hadn't had his first trip to the ER and a few stitches a few months after his first birthday.  Apparently running and a coffee table are not a good mix - the poor little guy tripped running into the living room and impaled his chin on the edge of the coffee table.  Split it good enough for 3 stitches - not a huge number - but that's still quite a few considering the size of his itty bitty chin.  Jaxon was a trooper through the whole thing - actually laid perfectly still while the doctor stitched him - cried - but didn't move.  The picture isn't the best but here it is.

Miss Emerson ... the Climber (Way back in May - I'm sooo behind!)

With the onset of walking I knew that climbing was not too far behind.  We had already had our share of issues to deal with when Jaxon and Emerson started pulling up to standing.  I never would have thought that within a few weeks of becoming a confident walker and runner, I'd find myself with a little girl resilient enough to use a stool to reach the counter, sink and one of her most favourite things.... her toothbrush!

Look at me ... I'm so big!!!

Brushing with my big sis.

Playground in May

As I said I'm way behind in posting stuff about the kids so I'm going to just post pics from the past few months.  These pics are of a visit to Eagle Mountain Park one day in May.  Here my little kids are finally walking and making their way around the playground.

Here's is Makenna with her best bud AJ.

I have been a very bad mommy and have not posted anything since I went back to work.  So many things have happened and events come and gone (ie:  first birthday... Easter ... Makenna's b-day...).  Anyhow, at this point I have uploaded these pics of the kids in March.

A Busy Couple of Weeks....

This is going to be quite a long entry as it's been a couple of weeks and Daddy is out of town so we need to share lots of pics of the kidlets and keep him up to date on what we've been up to.

This past week we were fortunate to have a visit from Nana and Grandpa Pryor.  It had been just over 2 months since their last visit so they were excited to see how everyone was doing and also see all of the new things they've been up to.  Lucky for me, they decided to stay for the whole week which coincided well with my first week back to work.  I was very grateful for all of the extra help.

It has been a very exciting couple of weeks as Jaxon has finally begun to say a few "words". Along with Mom (which he has said for a long time), he's added:  dada, nana, hi, baba and he makes noises when he drives his little cars or trucks (sounds kind of like "errrrrrrr" - it's very adorable!)

Emerson continues to be a chatter box.  Here's a list of her "words":  mama, dada, hi, nana, baby (this one is clear as a bell), baba (for bottle), ca (for cracker), water (I'm trusting my mom on this one - still waiting to hear it clearly again) and bye.  I also think she says ma on its own for Makenna - I need to investigate this a bit more.  I think there are a few more but can't remember at the moment.

While Nana and Grandpa were here Jaxon sure globbed on to Grandpa - the boy would hardly leave his side and for the first time wanted more to do with Grandpa than with Mommy.  It was a nice break to not have such a clingy boy.  I think he must really be missing his Daddy because he was very happy to have a man (Grandpa) in the house.  It was nice for my dad, too, as it is usually Emerson who takes all of Grandpa's attention.

The Friday before heading back to work we took advantage of our Zoo membership and went for a walk.  It was quite a cool morning - the wind was chilly - so we didn't stay for long. Makenna was happy to see all of her favourites - the lions, giraffes, tigers, rhino and zebras.  No yak today, though - too far to walk on a cold morning!

Jaxon has had an aversion to finger foods up until recently.  This week he found his love for Ocean Park lasagna!  He couldn't get enough of the stuff!  The boy also loves fries - maybe that will help fatten up Mr. 10th percentile!  Emerson has been showing an interest in our food for quite a while now.  It started with eating chow mien off of her dad's plate and now you name it, she'll eat it.

 

This week has proven to be a challenge with Emerson and her bib.  As soon as I put it on she pulls as hard as she can with two hands to rip it from her neck, and then proceeds to play peekaboo with it.  Thank goodness that girl is a cutie because it drives me crazy!

One night after we had finished bath time, Makenna was standing on the counter waiting to get dressed. After I put her underwear on she kept pulling on them trying to hike them higher and higher.  She was pulling on them front and back.  I finally asked her what she was doing and her reply was, "I want panties like Nana T. - they have to cover my belly button."  Needless to say my mom and I broke out in tears of laughter (sorry Nana T.).

While Nana and Grandpa Pryor were in town Jaxon and Emerson opened up their ride on toys - they were supposed to get them for Christmas but we decided to save them for their birthday as they would be able to enjoy them more at this age.  They both can easily get off and Jaxon loves pushing his down the hall.

On Sunday, March 8th we helped AJ celebrate his 3rd birthday at Captain Kids.  Nana and Grandpa Pryor were in town so we got to leave the babies at home and Makenna and I had the afternoon together.  After cake and snacks upstairs, the kids spent a couple of hours running around, climbing, sliding and playing. Everyone had a great time.

Here is Makenna with her big girl friends that she met at Captain Kids.

Here's Makenna going down the Lava Slide at Captain Kids with her big girl friends. You're supposed to be 5 and older to go down it but, Makenna continues to ignore the signs (and so does her mom - that's one battle not worth fighting!)

Here are Jack, AJ, Grace and Makenna at AJ's 3rd birthday party.  Cake and full strength juice...what more could a toddler ask for?

Some of my favourite pics of the kids are when they are passed out sleeping in the van.  This usually occurs in the morning when I try to time morning nap with my daily Starbucks run. Makenna, of course, does not sleep in the van but, you can see the remnants of her 'kids half sweet chocolate milk with whip and sprinkles.'  (Could the kid be any more like her mom in the high maintenance department!)

Jaxon has finally begun to achieve some developmental milestones over the last couple of weeks - ones that I've been waiting months for!  He's begun to play peekaboo - covering his eyes with the back of his hands waiting for you to ask, "Where's Jaxon?" He thinks this is big fun.  He has also begun to clap - but only when he wants to - so I've only seen this a few times.

A Day at the Park

Bateman Park was redone over the winter so we now have a new place for the kids to play right in our own neighbourhood.  We try to make it there a few times a week and each time we go I'm finding Makenna more eager to go climbing and sliding.  The babies are also more interested the park and enjoy their time in the tandem baby swing.  Emerson is getting better at standing every day and on this particular visit, was totally fascinated by two dogs that were running around the park - hence, her facial expressions.

Jaxon is enjoying the park more and more each time we go.  I think he enjoys being able to stand and really check things out - I'm sure he also appreciates escaping from the confines of the stroller.

Makenna continues to enjoy the swings.  We have graduated from the baby swing and she is more confident on the big kid swings.  I have to give her a limit on the number of underducks otherwise I'll be there pushing her all day.

Scraggy Hair, Tank Tops & Super Why

"Mom, I want scraggy hair today."  If we are leaving the house...yah...no!  Otherwise, the ponies are pulled out and she looks like a scrag.  The kid is also obsessed with tank tops and comfy pants.  I guess she has seen me too often walk in the door and change into comfies.  The first thing she does now after a day out is head to her room, dig in the bottom drawer and puts on either joggers, yoga pants or leggings.  Along with this comes a tank top and no socks. Sometimes she matches but this is rare. Needless to say she will never go out with me in any of her get ups - I still (and will always) have the final say! In the meantime... I thank her for the extra load of laundry.

Makenna is obsessed with Super Why (a PBS show) - so much so that I've ordered a DVD from PBS and downloaded a Podcast in iTunes.  The only bonus with this obsession (aside from her practising reading and recognizing letters) is that I can play it on the computer downstairs while Dave and I put the babies to bed.  I am proud to report that Makenna knows all of her letters (upper and lower case) and their sounds.  She sometimes confuses i/I with 1 or l, but I'm not too concerned about that.

When Emerson gets hurt or upset she crosses her arms and pouts - it's very heart wrenching.  She loves to play peek-a-boo by covering her eyes with the back of her hands - it cracks me up how she thinks we can't see her.  Emerson has also discovered her love of cheese and chicken fajita lunch meat.  

Jaxon still refuses to roll himself over or attempt to get up when one of his sisters knocks him over - or even if he falls on his own he still plays the victim and cries to be saved.  He is getting braver when it comes to cruising but I think it will be quite a while before he actually walks - he's too cautious and really doesn't like to fall.

Makenna is also really getting in to pretend play - she's a mommy now and dotes on her baby Denise - feeding her, dressing her, putting her to bed - you name it.  Apparently, we need to get a  babysitter for her baby now when we go out because "she will cry" if we don't.