Cake

Earlier this month we celebrated Adam's birthday, we had a few good friends over for dinner and cake. The reaction we were looking for on Jackie's first birthday finally arrived - not only did she love the cake to eat - she loved it as a face cream, hair gel, makeup, and hand cream.

We all had a good laugh and then Dad took her for a much needed bath.

Anna's Birthday

Jackie - before the party

Anna (as mentioned in previous posts) is our super duper amazing day home lady. (Can you tell we love her and so does Jackie); well she had a birthday this past week and her family (husband, son and daughter in law) always put on a birthday party and invite not just current children, but children she has looked after in the past as well (oh and the parents are invited too).

We joined them this past Saturday for some amazing home cooked Hungarian food (Anna moved to Canada with her family 12 years ago from Hungary), cake and good company.

Jackie and Anna

Jackie wore a super cute dress that Grandma Hill bought for her and had a wonderful time - also thrilled us to see her eating foods for Anna she never eats for us (apparently this is very normal for kids in day homes).

Our Little Princess is a Bully!

Yes you read that correctly – she is a bully! Jacqueline is the youngest at her day home – there are a total of 5 kids – Jackie – 16 months; Lauren – 19 months, Luke – 2 years; Marti 2 ½ years, and Jorja – almost 4.

Since Jackie was not walking when she first started going, she was also the new baby, Anna (super amazing day home lady) was very insistent that everyone be very careful around her – she is the baby, etc. Well, I fear that all the babying has made Jackie realize she can get what she wants with a little bit of muscle.

It first started with some ear pulling. For whatever reason, she saw a need to come up behind one of the other kids at day home and pull both his ears. Yes, we laugh too – and Anna said she could barely contain herself as she saw this, but the poor little boy was crying, so Anna swallowed her laughter and Jackie got a time out. But that did not stop her, she has continued with some hair pulling, a few more ears and even some biting. The other day it was just the 2 little girls (Jackie and Lauren) and Anna was making them lunch – well Jackie must have been super hungry because she tried to take a bite out of Lauren.

So our little princess has turned into a bully. We are working very hard at teaching her to be nice to other people and seem to be getting better (now, the good days out weigh the “time-out” days).

Talking – her new favorite word is “BABY”. Right now all dogs are “baby”, but so is my belly. She will point to my belly and say baby – to which, I respond, yes, there is a baby in there – then she pulls up my shirt and pushes my belly button in – as far as she can if I don’t catch her in time. To that I inform her that she is going to poke her baby brother’s eyes out. It is super cute – but I think she thinks my belly button is called baby – I know she has no idea there is an annoying future little brother in there.

A New Chapter

Today I write this post with a heavy heart. I have caved. I have fallen. I have been trapped into the abyss, the minivan world has finally gotten a hold of me and will not let go….

I swore I would never enter this world! I swore I would always be an SUV driving Mom instead of a Minivan driving Mom. Not that I hold it against any of you out there that have a minivan – but I did not want one. I loved my SUV, I still love my SUV, but life changes…

Adam and I have made the decision to purchase a minivan – for a few reasons.
We were leasing the Blazer, and our initially plan had been to buy it out and then get Adam a pick-up truck; but with the price of gas the way it is – a truck is just not the best option for us.
That means that our biggest vehicle would be the Blazer, and with Peanut on his way, we are realizing we are going to need more cargo space for hauling 2 kids (in their massive car seats), a small wiener dog (but in a decent sized kennel), and all the amazing amounts of stuff a parent needs to haul in order to function with children outside of their house (this in itself is truly amazing and worth a whole post on it’s own).

Anyway – we are entering the world of minivans. After much debate, dealership visits and hours spent on the internet, we have decided to purchase a new 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. They have re-designed it and added tons of new safety features. I have to admit, I am now looking forward to the new vehicle and the new chapter in our life it is leading us into.
I will post a picture once we get it – should be in a few days.

Talking

Jackie is quite the little jabber mouth, unfortunately she knows very little English. She is however very fluent in baby talk – not sure if this is the same dialect all babies speak or she has developed her own. But needless to say she is a very good little talker.

So far we have been able to introduce a few English words to her:
First word: Dada
Second word: Mama
Third word: Anna – day home lady

Dada or Da as it became shortened to, was her favorite word for a while – everything was “Da” – me, Adam, the dog, a tree – everything. But now her favorite word is Anna – she knows we are Mama and Dada, but everything else is Anna.

Name Update

I thought I would update you since some of you have submitted some "wonderful" names.

Al & Sarah - you truly had the best - Blueberry Hill would be a great name - no one would ever make fun of him.

Megan - unfortunately - Benny Hill is just not a name I can go with - I get Jenny Hill changed to Benny Hill all the time - and although he has been dead for a long time - people still remember.

Starr - I love the name Sabastien - however - Adam is not the biggest fan of it - so off the list it went.

There are a few names on our list right now - and Anderson is leading right now - but who knows that could change overnight....