"That Kid"

Some of my posts on this blog aren't always our proudest moments.  But, I always tell myself that I have to document these things for memory's sake.  Here's one of those posts...

A while back, Mrs. Wynk, Vera's preschool teacher, sent me pictures of Vera and her friends at school.  I started to notice that in a lot of the pictures she had the same sweatshirt on, even though the pictures are from different days and weeks.  The sweatshirt was supposed to be her jacket for the day.  I finally asked Vera if she wears her sweatshirt all day at school, and she told me yes.  I didn't think too much of it, until Mrs. Wynk shared one morning at drop-off that Vera never wants to take her coat off and she normally wears it all day.  They said she tells them that she's cold, even though it was September and early October.  It wasn't chilly outside during the day and the other kids were wearing no coat at recess.  One day I went to pick Vera up in the afternoon, and I could see her through her classroom window.  She had her warm fleece coat zipped to her neck and her hood up.  I laughed to myself, almost in embarrassment.  I came home and told Adam that she is "that kid" that wears her coat all day at school.

Is anyone surprised that she also wears dress-up skirts at preschool?

Lately, I've made sure to dress her warmer or make sure she has a sweater or light jacket to wear, especially now that it is legitimately cold outside.

Since the first day of school, Vera has come home with markers and paint on her clothes.  Usually nothing major.  Those stains wash easily.  But, sometimes she comes home with her lunch on her shirt too.  One day she came home with baked beans all over her dress.  Then this happened...

Any secrets on how to clean ketchup and mustard from a white sweatshirt?

She says her hotdog "slipped out of the bun" and fell on her shirt.  I can just imagine her yacking away and not paying attention at all to her food.  I can also visualize an excessive amount of condiments on the sandwich.  Doesn't surprise me a bit that this happened.  She was a bit ashamed of her mess when I picked her up.  Adam and I couldn't help but laugh as she told us what happened.  And, we laughed in embarrassment that our kid is "that kid" who wears her lunch on her shirt.

This Boy...

Vince is one of a kind.  You just never know what's going to happen next.  Here's the latest...

He is obsessed with wearing shoes.  If his aren't around, he will wear anyone's.

Vera took her shoes off at the end of the day.  Vince insisted in having them on.  Adam put them on and the silly boy walked around, rather well, for at least an hour.  It was hilarious to watch him walk.

Then he spotted my shoes one evening.  He is so persistent in trying to get the shoes on himself.  When that doesn't work out, he brings them to us and jabbers something indicating he wants them on.  It's always Adam that gives in and puts the shoes on him.  This was a riot.  He walked around so cautiously, and thought he was such a big shot.  Having us laugh at him only encouraged him more.  He was not happy when we made him take them off.  No need to land in the ER.

I turned my back for just one second and this happened...

He was in Vera's room with the door closed playing.  Next thing I know, he's in the bathroom screaming.  He grabbed my hair straightener.  :(  Talk about feeling like the worst mom ever!  He cried and cried after it happened.  He wouldn't let us run cold water or put ice on it.  We resorted to filling an uninsulated sippy with ice and water and letting him carry it around.  I sprayed Dermoplast on it and gave him some Tylenol, and once the stinging stopped, he was fine.  The next day, he woke up with this huge blister.  I haven't noticed him bothered by it, and he uses his left hand like normal.  It will be interesting to see what happens when the blister pops.  There's no way he will leave a bandage on.  I mean, he hates to wear a hat, refuses to wear a bib, or even have his sleeves pushed up to eat.  Forget about a bandage.  I guess we'll focus on keeping it clean and try some ointment or essential oils.  One thing at a time...  

He is still very busy, but he is starting to sit for short spells and read books, play nicely, or watch TV.  Just today he watched Paw Patrol for about 10 minutes.  Yesterday when he woke up, he laid with me on the couch for about 5 minutes.  I'll take whatever snuggle time I can get with him.  He is a sweet boy, albeit ornery, sweet too!  

Aww!  :)

Baptism

Little Annie was baptized on Sunday, November 15 after mass.  Although Father was a bit scattered during the baptism, she had a lovely day for her first sacrament, and we had a nice party with family after.

Anne Marie looking so pretty in her fancy gown.

Blake, Bailey and Vera were Father's helpers during the baptism.  He even let them hold and handle the Holy Chrism.  Father was quite trusting of them, because everyone else was nervous as Vera and Bailey carried around the glass vessel of sacred oil.

Little Annie didn't make a sound as the water was poured over her head.

So many little ones!  Mandy, Mindy and the grandparents did their best to keep them all entertained.  The snacks were completely gone by the end.  I heard they were eating them by the handfuls.  :)

Steve & Lindsey are Annie's Godparents.  She asked them to be her sponsors all by herself...

Annie is Grandma Otte's 19th great grandchild.

Her cake turned out so pretty!

God Bless You, Anne Marie as you begin your Christian journey.  You are a blessing to our family!

Breakfast With Santa

Versailles had their Hometown Christmas Weekend recently.  The Eagles sponsored a Breakfast With Santa, so we joined Grammy, Papa and Bailey for a Saturday morning breakfast.

Bailey and Vera both walked right up to Santa and talked to him.  One thing that I caught Vera tell Santa is that she would like a bike for Christmas.  Vinners, on the other hand, did not enjoy his encounter with Santa.  Here's a series of pictures to tell the story...

Vera is nervous because she's playing with her hands.

You better not pout...

...You better not cry.

Maybe we'll see Santa again in a few weeks and give it another try.  I'm not going to hold my breath that Vin will enjoy him anymore than he did here.  

Six Weeks Have Come and Gone

Baby Annie is six weeks old already!  The last 3 weeks have gone by so quickly, and I think time is going to slip right by as the busyness of the holidays approach.  I haven't done the best job of blogging Anne's milestones, but I did make a few notes on my phone as the weeks passed by so I wouldn't forget!

I love this picture.  So alert.
16 days old

The jury is still out on her eye color.  I think they're going to be brown...
2 weeks old

She has a cowlick right in front.  It's one of the first things people notice about her.  She can thank her dad for this trait.  I know someday she will hate it when she can't get her hair to lay just right.

Around 3 weeks, newborn clothes were too small for the little miss.  Her toes were to the end, so we packed those away.  It's always sad when they only get to wear the cute, tiny little clothes once or twice.

I remember telling Adam shortly after we came home from the hospital that 3 weeks is sort of a turning point with infants.  At that time, I feel like I know my baby a little more and their little tendencies and personalities are starting to show just a little.  We're getting (just a little) more sleep and therefore feeling a little more like human beings.  In the looks of the pictures, that has rung true.

3 weeks

Just a little peanut.
almost 3 weeks old

So peaceful
3 weeks

First tub bath.  Her cord came off when she was 20 days old.  

Since we've been home from the hospital, it seems like someone has had a cold.  Vince has been teething for six weeks, so he's had a whole litany of issues.  (Poor guy!)  Vera has hacked around plenty.  Adam and I both had coughs, and then poor little Annie got the stuffy nose at 4 weeks.  She was so congested and she would gag and choke on the mucus in her nose and throat.  I felt so bad for her, but unfortunately there was little we could do.  Thankfully, she recovered after a week or two.  She was a trooper!

At 4 weeks, Annie's first babysitter was Grammy for a few hours while I took Wild Man Vince to his well check and shots.

Little pumpkin
Almost 4 weeks

Bright eyes

Her complexion is different than the other kids.  She has such pretty olive skin.
5 weeks

For the first month, Annie slept in the bassinet that Mindy lent us.  Right around 4 weeks, we started putting her in the crib.  She sleeps on her back at night wrapped tightly in her swaddle.  She sleeps well with the swaddle; she's learned to associate swaddling with sleep.  I think she likes having her arms tucked in nice and warm.  The swaddle also helps her flailing arms from waking her up.

She also started to smile around 3 weeks.  At five weeks, I noticed that she started to be alert and awake for longer periods of time.  Now at 6 weeks, she's more generous with the smiles.  She's starting to interact a little bit more.


We are starting to settle into a routine.  Annie is a good baby.  She eats about every 3 hours and nurses well.  She's a little messy taking a bottle, but we're working on that.  Her sleep is still very inconsistent.  Some nights she'll go 5 or even a rare 6 hours.  Most of the time it's about 4 hour stretches, but we still have a night or two where she's up multiple times.  Recently, I have had trouble staying awake when I'm up with her at night.  I think I even had a short dream on one of the nights as I sat up and fed her.  Woops!  I'm waiting for that magic 11 pound mark.  According to the wives tale, that's when their little bodies have the ability to sleep through.  Fingers crossed...

When she turned six weeks, I told Adam that I couldn't imagine having to go back to work already.  Six weeks is nothing after having a baby, no matter how many babies you've had!  His comment was, "Could you do it if you had to?"  My response...yes, but waking up throughout the night would be a killer.

The older two have adjusted really well to having Annie around.  Vera loves to talk to her and she's a great helper.  Vince referred to her as "Vera" for the first weeks.  Now he realizes that her name isn't Vera.  When Annie cries, he points to her or will run up and to her.  Sometimes he aggressively shakes the swing or bouncy seat.  Other times he just looks for a moment and moves on.  Annie does well lying on the floor, but we refer to it as The Danger Zone when the older ones are home.  She is not safe for a moment.  We lie right beside her and guard her little body when Vince comes by.

Vera likes to lie beside her and talk to her, especially when Vince is asleep.

Overall, the little babe likes to be held and snuggled.  In the evenings, she often sleeps on Adam's chest while he watches TV.  I enjoy warm snuggles with her during the day.  She likes to rock and be held close, which is fine with me.  There's no rocking Mr. Vince anymore, so I appreciate rocking one of my babies.

6 weeks
Starting to fill out and change her looks.

Somehow, perhaps by coincidence, I've managed to capture of photo as she turns another week older.  (With the exception of 3 weeks.  Sorry, Anne.  Every time I thought to take a photo, I was tied up doing something else and then forgot!)

At 2 weeks, she got all dressed up and went to her first bridal shower.  As you can see, it was exhausting!

There's a little smirk!  :)

Not happy about turning 1 month.

That's better!

When she turned 5 weeks, we went to have our Christmas pictures taken.  I had no intention of buying the kids' pics, but Annie's was too good to pass up.

And at 6 weeks, this little princess was baptized.

Six weeks already!  Slow down time, and stay sweet and snuggley, baby Annie.