Some more new pictures

 Karter in the new hat that Uncle Chris or as Karter calls him "Oh Shit" got him with Danielle's Big Bird costume from 79'

 Karter started to nap again.  He goes to bed around 8:30 now but is a happy boy all day so it's worth the late bed time.

Craig's new beard

Sign Language

Nola started to do the sign for "more" today! 

Here are a few recent pics.

TROUBLE

Nola can pull herself up and eat even more at new levels.  She has very little fears and loves to climb into / on to and underneath everything

The Faces of Nola

Sticks her tongue out to lick just about everything

Makes raspberries with her lips

Always smiling and laughing

Family Time!

terrible twos??

Karter is a very good kid but he is 2 and likes to test his mom.  Lately he likes to do the opposite of what I ask and looks at me and does whatever he is told not to do.  He enjoys to be out and about seeing the world and being around people.  His new thing is wanting to know every one's name... His vocabulary is increasing and he's saying one and two sentences.  He really enjoys school.  He never wants to leave the house or anywhere else without his sister.  His compassion is endless and he loves his Handy Manny tools, Bob the Builder vehicles, and Thomas the trains. 

His best friend is Charlie and his girlfriend at school is Noa.  He tends to follow when he plays with his friends.  He likes someone to take control.. except mom of course.

Miss Independent

Nola is a happy independent little girl.  She gets where she needs to go... holds her bottle (for several months now).... loves her pacifier and pops it in when she wants.  The pacifier and the pacifier leash seems to be her "taggie" or comfort.  Lately I have been saying "mama" and she yells real loud "DA DA DAAA DAAA". 

She can't sit still especially on the changing table... always on the move.  Within the last week she loves to see the world from her feet which means I hold her hands and she puts one foot in front of the other and walks.  She gets the biggest kick out of Lionel and even shares his bones when she gets her hands on them.

Sleeping isn't an issue for Nola except for the fact that she only likes to sleep in HER crib.  She goes to bed around 6pm and wakes around 6am.  Goes back down for a 2 hour nap at 8am... then again around 12.  Today she sleep from 12 - 3:45.  I can brag because Karter was the opposite.  He needed to be soothed to the highest degree.  I have been reading to Nola and she plays for a little then off to dream land. Her crib bumper are permanently pushed down so she can see when someone opens the door.  As soon as the door opens she beems from ear to ear.  Karter is almost always the first one in her room.  He insists to be the first one in.  They truly love each other and get enjoyment from one another.

I can finally do it myself

Nola put her first Gerber "puff" in her mouth today.  As she was working on mastering it Karter would help her every chance he got because it meant he could get a handful for him and one for her.  I was so surprised it took this long because she puts everything in her mouth. 

Craig, Karter and I cheered her on as she put the 5th, 6th and probably 20th in her mouth.  I'm not sure she realized why we were so excited for her but she mastered it by then end of the day!

No more naps

I stopped Karter's naps because when he naps his bed time is between 9 and 10 pm.  It means a long, very long day for me but it's worth it to me to have a quiet night with Craig.   

catching up

Tonight is the second night that Nola has taken her 4:00 nap and not woken up until the morning.  Ok I am assuming its the 2nd.  The first time was 2 weeks ago. 

Abigail

We finally got to meet Abigail after a long waited 6 months. She is a sweet baby girl and it was so nice to spend time with the Colloton's! Nola loved her and wanted to grab her face. Karter was slightly obsessed with her and wanted to know where she was and always made sure she had a toy to play with. Friends for life!

The first POOP

It took 1.5 weeks to go poop on the toilet.  We promised Karter we would get him James the train as soon as he went poop in the big boy potty.  Tonight at 7:30 he took his first poop!  I'm not sure he even realized he went because he was as surprised as I was!!  We ran out to get James - well that was our intent.  We couldn't find James but we came home with a whole train set with 3 different Thomas Trains and tracks.

So far the peeing has not been an issue.  He only had 2 or 3 accidents.  Now he tells me he has to pee instead of me putting him on the toilet every 45 mins.  He did catch on quick and because of that he gave his diapers to Nola and Baby Jack!

potty training

Tonight Karter got another bag of clothes from Vanni.  Bonnie (Grandi) puts a bag together for Karter at least once a month.  This bag had some "Big Boy" underwear in it.  He told me he wanted to wear the Thomas pair so I put it on.  We were at my parents and he insisted to wear them home.  After peeing on the toilet for the first time at my parents house- in the car we went and that was the last time he wore a diaper again (besides at night)....  I knew he was ready but I wasn't sure if I was ready to stay home for several days at a time to make a trip to the bathroom every 30 mins.  Sometimes it's not up to you.

Not so stationary any more

Nola can get up on all 4 and rock but isn't crawling - she does her army crawl and gets where she needs to be.  There could be 5 of her toys in front of her in arms reach and she gets across the room to get to Karter's trains or Handy Manny Tools or Bob The Builder vehicles.  Of course Karter hates this and rips it out of her hand.  He is nice enough to replace it with one of her "boring" toys. Karter in all seriousness is a really caring and compassionate kids especially when it comes to his sister.  Nola gets the biggest kick out of her brother and he is sure to make her laugh by doing not much at all. 

Happy GIRL

To me Nola is the type of baby everyone hopes to have. She is such a sweet baby girl who goes with the flow. When she is tired she goes to sleep - wherever it might be - in her crib or on dad or bubby.  There is usually no complaining excepted when she wants to be held.  She loves her excersaucer, her brother's toys (which Karter does not want to share), food and anyone who smiles at her!  I was watching her on the video monitor the other morning in her crib...  it amazed me that she was able to find her pacifier "leash" attached to her sleeper and then popped the pacifier right into her mouth.  She can sit up by herself for a few seconds - not quite there yet but I'm expecting her to reach that milestone in a few weeks. 

Stitches out

The morning after his stitches were removed.  Not to bad!!

I took Karter to get his stitches out yesterday.  After waiting over and hour to be seen - it took no time to remove them.  He had to be put in a straight jacket again but it was far less painful.  I was right by his side and it was over in no time.  We went to Toys R Us after and he picked out Handy Manny's Construction Playset!

Never say Never

I never thought Lionel would lash out at the kids but when provoked enough I should never say never.  I wasn't there to see what happened....  I heard Lionel growl and ran in to see what was going on.  What I did see was Lionel in his bed with his bone with Karter beside him bleeding from the face.  My best guess is that Karter got into Lionel's bed and got rough with him and possibly hurt him and Lionel retaliated or protected himself. 

Of course Craig was working late and it was Nola's bedtime... so the panic set in after seeing all the blood.  I found a safe place to put Nola down so I could check out his wound.  Surprisingly Karter wasn't in too much pain and let me clean his lip out and put ice on it.  I was about to run next door to get a second opinion when the door bell rang.  It was an Optimum Online rep trying to sell me her services.  I had no interest in what she had to say but I was very inviting.  I asked her to come in and look at Karter.  She thought he might need stitches - exactly what I didn't want to hear but thought myself.  I called my parents to come over and Craig to tell him what happened.  My mom said she didn't think the cut was deep enough for stitches but I thought differently.  When Craig got home we made the decision to take him over to the walk in pediatric place.

We didn't even get through the paper work to get seen by a doctor because the nurse at the front desk said he is going to need stitches and there wasn't a plastic sergeant in their practice.  She set us up with Dr Korngold who would see us at Good Sam around 10:00 so we should go home and wait for a phone call to head to the hospital.  My mom stayed with Nola while he anxiously waited......

We got to the hospital around 10:30 and didn't get seen until 12:00 -  YES midnight.  Dr Korngold looked at me and said "if you don't think you can handle seeing him in a straight jacket yelling and screaming than you probably don't want to be there".  I agreed with him and Craig steeped up to the plate to hold his head while he got the nova cane and the 3 stitches.  I heard him crying from the waiting room- which absolutely broke my heart.  10 - 15 mins later they came out and both looked miserable.  Karter was pawing at his face saying "no more bo bo"  I grabbed him and held him as held him as tight as I could.  We all got in the car and left.  I give Craig A LOT of credit seeing his son go through that. I couldn't of done and thanked Craig over and over.  On the way home Craig was so upset he broke down and cried.  He was so brave and strong through the whole experience.  I think I felt the worse the for him...  for his family Craig will do anything. 

Karter and Lionel snuggling up before the incident

On Friday Karter fell asleep in his high chair eating dinner.  We all got to bed at 2:00 fri morning.  It was the first time Karter in our bed with us.

His "bo bo" face

Still best buds.  He came home from the hospital and gave Lionel a big hug and kiss.  Yes we are keeping Lionel around.  If I thought he was a threat to my kids or anyone else he would be gone in a second.  I truly think he was provoked and he is no more of a threat than any other dog.

Tues with Nola

Every Tues me, my mom and the kids go to Queens to see BIG Bubby. When we get back Karter stays at Bubby's (my mom's) to spend some quality time with her before Giovanni gets there.  Then Craig picks Karter up after work and they go out to eat together.  While all this goes on Nola and I get to spend some one on one time together.  This afternoon we stopped by to see YaYa with my dad because it was her 83rd birthday yesterday.  Unfortunately Karter, Nola nor Craig ever got to meet the YaYa that we knew and loved as kids.  She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about 14 years ago. It's such a terrible disease especially when you have your physical health that keeps you alive so long.  Today she did look and point at Nola and said "beautiful"!

Storytime at the library

Karter, Nola and I go to storytime at the library on Wednesdays at 1:15.  Today Nola enjoyed watching Ms. Barb read a book about the circus.  She was so smiley and vocal for a good 10 mins.  I think Nola has a new friend.  Ms. Barb and Nola hung out will Karter and I painted with water colors. 

Date Night

Craig and I have date night every wed - thanks to Bubby and Papou! We are appreciative and love the time we get to spend together as husband and wifey! We came home from dinner and made a fire.