Wednesday, March 23, 2011

... the last little while...

What a beautiful girl
A little sneak peek of Berkley's dress for the wedding!
While snuggling on the couch before bed, we got involved in conversation for a couple of minutes. The next thing we know, Chloe is zonked! I tried to pick her up and lay her down in bed, but she woke up, quite cranky I might add, and ended up staying up a little later than normal from her mini cat-nap!
Berkley being her little stinker self! What this picture doesn't show is the line of toilet paper from the actual roll in the bathroom!
We mostly resorted to giving Berkley dollups of baby food and finger foods on her tray because she usually doesn't want anything to do with us feeding her. She's also enjoyed having a fork and spoon to play and try to eat with! Fun, but definitely messy!
Semi-smile from chubbers!
Chloe and Berkley had so much fun playing in the water with Chloe's magnetic fishing set, but boy was it a mess! Chloe was more or less soaked from head to toe. Thankfully doing water play this way is only temporary- after much neglect and broken legs, our old sensory table bit the dust. But, we have hopes of rebuilding one before it starts to get really nice outside!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Finally spring...

BIG smile
Chloe was beyond happy that we were able to get outside and play today!
Although this girlie does have beautiful hair, it grows forward (which she can thank me for)! It's always in her sweet face, and on a normal day, she is in this position about 85% of the time. If only we could convince her that it would be easier if she'd let us pull it back or use a clip...
This picture makes me smile! Berkley loved playing outside. I think spring might actually be coming this year- yay!!!
YAY!
Berkley's new trick is clapping. She will clap if you say "yay," and she tends to do it when someone else is clapping, too. It's so fun to watch her grow!
This little babe is following in her sister's footsteps: loving the swing!
Chloe must have had summer flashbacks because as soon as she started swinging, she kicked her shoes off! I don't think it is quite warm enough for barefeet... I wish it was, though!
I pushed these girls for quite a while, and they loved every minute of it!
We're so happy that spring is in the air. Now, we just need to pray that it stays!!

Always silly

Chloe was certainly enjoying her corndog at lunch! Chad asked her to take a BIG bite; here it is :-)
Haha! She's laughing and covering her mouth- too cute!!
Aww! Daddy & Berkley!

The Naked Baby

Berkley loves to be naked, as most babies do! She's been really resistant to getting a diaper & jammies on after her baths, so we've let her roam free for a little before getting her dressed and ready for bed! The other night she decided to motor into the bathroom. She kept looking back at us with this cute pose, and we thankfully caught it on film! Haha! She's such a fatty!

Monday, March 7, 2011

how to talk...

So, I decided that this year I wanted to make a goal of reading more. I love to read, but last year I didn’t get a large opportunity greatly because we were preparing for and adjusting to having Berkley. My most recent read was How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. I had frequently heard of this book in my classes at USU, and I actually purchased their book Siblings Without Rivalry shortly after we found out that we were expecting Berkley. When Chloe started to STOP listening to us, I decided that I had better buy this book. I read a comment on a post regarding preschoolers’ listening to their parents on phdinparenting (see my list of favorite things for the link to this site) that said that when the commenter’s daughter turned three that her ears fell off! I died laughing because this, in fact, was describing exactly what I was experiencing. I’ve always tried very hard to do many of the things pointed out in this book, but I feel like I fell a few steps backward after having Berkley. But, I’m happy to report that things are going much better (though we still do have “those” days with Chloe, and I know full well that we will continue to- it’s so important to remember that she is only three and that these things are developmentally normal for her).

Here are a couple of techniques/ideas from the book that I especially like, for those of you considering reading the book or just searching for a few new strategies to try to get your earless toddler/preschooler/school-aged child to listen:
First, the authors explain something that really hits home to me- they explain that children’s feelings need to be respected and accepted, but that some actions must be limited. It is ok for children to feel EVERY emotion. I know that there is a tendency to try to get children to dismiss negative feelings, but it is so important that they understand what they are feeling and are allowed to feel freely. However, I love that they write about limitations on actions. For example, Chloe was really frustrated with Berkley today because she kept “messing up” the meals she was preparing at her little kitchen set. What was Chloe’s response? She said, “GRRRR, Berkley!” and proceeded to push her over. So, I comforted Berkley and then said, “Chloe, it is so frustrating when Berkley messes up the plates of food you’ve made, but that doesn’t make it okay for you to push her over. Use your words instead, and I will hear you and help out.”

Second, I love the ideas they list as alternatives to punishment. One of my favorites is giving choices. Children yearn for independence, so the easiest way to avoid problems is to offer them a choice. The authors make an excellent point in saying that as a parent you must give choices that YOU are comfortable with, otherwise you’ll both end up being disappointed. Another alternative is to express your feeling without attacking your child’s character. In other words, tell the child why you are upset (“I’m angry that the play food is scattered all over the floor when I just finished cleaning your room earlier today”) rather than demeaning them (“You’re so inconsiderate! How dare you mess up your room after I spent all that time cleaning it up”).

Some of you may be wondering if these strategies really work; in my experience they most certainly do. I had never really considered the way that children are spoken to until I did a practicum at the Child Development Lab at USU. One of the overarching themes in the book (although I can’t remember if it was blatantly stated or if I just inferred this message) is that children should be spoken to and treated like little adults. Their feelings are real, their emotions are, too. Several times the authors pose these questions: How would you feel if someone spoke to you like this? What would your reaction be? Would you listen or do the opposite just to spite the person? I think that as parents if we simply stop and consider these questions before reacting to and speaking with our children that we might gain some ever important perspective!

little eaters

Here is Chloe gorging herself on cheese balls!
For the past four months or so she has been asking to get them at Sam's, so I finally decided that we'd treat her to them! She could literally eat them ALL DAY LONG!

We have never been able to get Berkley to eat little pieces of banana. But, on Sunday we decided to let her hold one to see if she'd be more willing! We were successful! In this picture she was trying to show Chad the banana; it was hilarious because she actually smeared some of the slobbery fruit on this face :-)
little miss piggy
This baby at about 1/3 of that banana! YUM!

Another round of Chloeisms

1. Chloe had me rolling when she said this as she was getting dressed the other day:
As she looks down at her naked chest she says, "Look, Mom! I have boobs!!"

2. This was uttered while we were in the bathroom at a restaurant in Logan:
"My bum just itches (itching her bum). Let me scratch it for a minute, k?"

3. I sort of spiked Berkley's hair this morning and Chloe had this to say:
"She looks like a warthog!"