The wonderful joys of....

PUKE! We were sleeping last night and Bella, who has been sick for the past few days, decided to cough and cough and cough until she finally upchucked all over OUR bed. Okay, she didn't decide...I don't think she had any control, poor baby. All she worried about was that she didn't want to wash her hair. She HATES having her hair washed and it would honestly destroy her entire day if she knew she had to wash her hair at night. With regurgitated apples and tortillas stuck in her hair, she didn't have much choice. The damn ducks got the worst of it....they had puke all over them. I'll be spending the day at home with a sick baby and laundry a mile high:)

Isabella's 1st Report Card

We received a 5 page check list of Bella's 'frequently, occasionally, and rarely' used skills. She scored great in the Physical Development area but not so hot in the Work Habits. "She is enthusiastic about work but needs reminders to follow through and complete tasks and clean up. She requires frequent, gentle reminders to focus." Focus?? Most likely because she is TALKING too much. Remind you of someone??? Which leads me to the Social Development area....."Loves her friends" "VERY friendly and congenial" "Is willing to help others" "She is very social and loves to be with her friends. When she is tired she needs a break to work alone or just relax in the quiet corner." Written Language/Pre-reading Skills aren't rated too high-she spends too much time working on her social skills:)

In summary, and there is so much I am leaving out, Isabella LOVES to draw, cut, and talk. She isn't so much into the reading, writing, numbers, listening, following directions, or cleaning up. Not bad for a 3 year old, huh???!!!

Meet our daughter.....Brittany.

Brittany Miller (aka Isabella Connors-Kos) from the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie, that is. Isabella has decided that she IS Brittany and would like to be called by that name from now on. Oh...and I am Jeanette and Elisabeth is Eleanor. And we have to do the Chipettes cheer about 200 times a day. She even succumbed to her overwhelming fear of the mall (she thinks Santa is still there) so she could go and pick out the perfect Brittany outfit. Thank goodness I had some Gymboree bucks racked up!! I found her a hideous cartoon DVD of the Chipmunks made from my era. She has watched it about 5 times. The only good thing that has come from all of this is that she likes the mall again:)

Research Project

A few years ago, I saw a posting for a research project at Penn State. They wanted to follow 2 years old until they turned 3.5. At that point, they wanted these kids to come into the TIKES Lab at Penn State and complete a series of tasks. I signed her up a year ago and we just went in this past Tuesday for the question/answer part. They had to swab her mouth at the beginning and end so they could measure something or other and then they had to stick heart monitor pads on her chest so they could measure her heart rate throughout the tasks. I had to suck on the swabby thing first so she would do it...I felt like an idiot. And then I basically had to hold her down to get the sticky pads on her chest and stomach. I got 3 out of the 6 on but she hated the cords that were connected to them. She spent the first 30 minutes whining about them. Part of the time I was in the room with her and at other times I was watching through a 2 way mirror. She played games, worked on the computer, took standardized tests, read books, and did large motor activities.

From what I can gather, they were looking for a direct correlation between the parent's emotions and their children. I had to answer about 100 questions regarding my views on parenting and how I think Isabella's emotions have developed over the years. After 2 hours, I was exhausted but 25 dollars richer and she was wound up and the owner of very tiny piece of playdough.

At one point, she was bouncing on a hippity hop with the research assistant and smashed her face into the wall. The picture is of her being held by the assistant looking at her 'boo boo'.

Sadie's 3rd Birthday

We packed Thursday, traveled to Syracuse Friday and unpacked, packed up again and unpacked on Saturday in Canada, packed up again and unpacked in Syracuse on Sunday, then packed for one last time on Monday and unpacked in State College. Can I tell you that I am not going anywhere for a very long time?????? It was all worth it, though, to surprise Sadie (and Jacqueline) for Sadie's 3rd birthday. She had her first ever birthday party and the girls had a wonderful time together. We got to meet Michelle and her daughter Aimee (from the same orphanage as Sadie). We went out for Vietnamese that night and stayed up late watching movies. When Sadie arrived in Canada over a year ago, Isabella wanted NOTHING to do with her. Now they are inseparable when they are together-except for the times Bella is terrorizing their cat Deisel. It was a wonderful trip:)

Dad had surgery on his other shoulder so Shane was in town to keep an eye on him. We got to spend some time with them as well as my mom.

Sorry....

for being MIA. Sad things, happy things, frustrating things have been a happin' in our life. Todd lost a co-worker to suicide, the president of the school board died at age 51 while swimming laps on Monday, and Bella's sitter's daughter gave birth to a baby boy at 24 weeks gestation. The baby is hanging in there but only weighs 1.5 pounds and is a mere 12 inches long. We saw one of his diapers and it is literally half the size of a dollar bill and is TOO BIG ON HIM! Please pray for all 3 families. I can't imagine the stress and loss they are all going through.

Elisabeth has been struggling with a medical issue for the past few months. We finally got some answers today and hopefully things will be looking up for her. It has been tough to see her so stressed and upset. She has had to miss a few days of school and that just adds to the anxiety. I am looking forward to having my happy 12 year old back!!!

Isabella is doing well....she likes telling me that if I don't do something quick enough she is going to "FREAK OUT". I asked her what it meant and she said that it meant that she is going to freak out. Good explanation. I lost my SD card for my camera yesterday. One minute it was there, the next it was gone. We tore the entire living room apart and all of our computer bags. I asked her if she did something with it and she said "YES". I asked her where it was and said "I forget". How can you forget you STUCK it in the FIREPLACE VENT?????? At least we found it:)

Sleepover Sisters

Elisabeth had her best friend sleepover last weekend. I think Isabella was more excited about Annmarie than Elisabeth. Every time I thought I had her otherwise occupied, she would run and find them. When I thought she was tucked in bed, this is what I found...

My favorite outfit on one of my favorite kids:)

I know, I know.....

I am have awful at blogging. Horrible. Terrible. No good blogger. Thank GOODNESS I didn't promise to blog every day for the entire year. We all know what happened when I promised to take a picture of Isabella's outfits. Yeah, that went on for all of 2 days.

I do have a good excuse though - Isabella has been a monster. All my attention and time has gone to making her into a well-mannered toddler. HA. I am reading a book called "Have a New Kid by Friday" by Dr. Kevin Leman. When a child is not doing what he/she is told or being rude, he stresses that parents should say it once; turn your back on your child; walk away. We are trying this. She doesn't really care for the 'ignoring' part but so far, it is working:)

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

And he thought I forgot.....

well...I did, actually. I forgot to mention my anniversary. I, of course, remembered to celebrate it on the actual day but I didn't pay tribute to it on the bog. How could I forget 15 wonderful years with the same man?? The love of my life?? My provider and protector?? Time to stop..I am making myself sick.

Anyway, I have had some pretty amazing years with you, honey. Two awesome kids, 3 semi-awesome dogs, a beautiful house, 2 great jobs (okay..mine is great; yours is mediocre), and all the happiness in the world. We definitely have our share of fights-some of them are real humdingers-but in the end, I know you will always be there for me. I will love you forever:)