Henry continues to talk

Henry is learning new words every day and it is so fun to hear him use them. Usually.

Sometimes when I set a bowl of food in front of him he puts his hands on the sides and if it is warm he says "It's hot." and won't eat it until he's been reassured several times that it's not hot, just warm. Well last night I put his dinner in front of him, he took one look at it and said, "It's gross." I couldn't help but laugh. I had made it with him in mind, no milk, no flour, no egg. But he wouldn't touch the stuff. He stuck to Corn Chex cereal. I tell myself that his appetite just hasn't been the same since he got this cold. Although maybe the yellow hue of the honey mustard chicken was less than appealing.

Later last night he made up for it when he said his first " I lub-oo." Yay!

A little better

So, Paisley seems to be feeling a bit better. She still has a hard time eating, I think her throat is sore and the coughing doesn't help. She is back to smiling and laughing though, which makes everyone feel better. All the kids have been sleeping progressively better each night. Yesterday I finally caught the cold that invaded our home (only without the coughing). I was exhausted by the end of the day and asleep before 9, wow!

I have had fun sewing the last week. I finished Paisley's curtains, the curtains for my bathroom, and some stylin' leg warmers for baby. MOre pics to come.

Sorry for the sideways pic. I thought I fixed it.

Well crap.

Warning: I am feeling a tad whiney.

I honestly can't remember the last time I had a decent night of sleep.

We (I) finally decided we needed to go out on a date with no kids and set up an evening for Ted and Lauren to babysit. Lo and Behold the fates conspired against us. Lauren got sick. Our kids have all had colds/coughs this week so I didn't think it would be wise to let Ted care for all four of them all alone. I considered taking Paisley along and decided against it. That isn't my idea of a nice night away.

With Paisley's cold she has decided to fight hard each time I try to feed her for the last 3 days. As soon as I lean her back and come at her with a bottle she starts a blood curdling scream accompanied by a stiff leg and arched back. It takes so long to get her to take only half of what she is used to. I have come pretty close to losing it.

I hope the weekend can bring some rest and relaxation, even if it doesn't come with a date with my husband.

On the fat front. .

I am a good (or bad actually) 35 pounds over my ideal weight. Gross. My body looks nothing like what it used to. Nothing. It is very hard to look at myself in a mirror right now. I realized that I try not to look in a mirror until absolutely necessary. Which in the course of my average day isn't very often, since I have usually nowhere to go, nothing to do, and nobody to see (unless you count 4 very small people that have to look at me almost their entire day). I don't get dressed in anything besides sweats except for church and the rare occasion that we go out as a couple or a family. Would you want to get dressed if you had about 4 items of clothes that fit you? And of course nobody wants to buy clothes in their fat size, because I want to be "downsizing" very soon.

I am very happy with my Jillian Michaels 30 day shred workout DVD. The recommendation for the best results are to use it along with dieting and to do the workout EVERY DAY. Well, that's not going to happen. My version of dieting so far has been eating less crap and sugar and just LESS in general and trying to cut out soda. Even diet soda is bad for you and I've been wanting to quit for years. I am also trying to drink more (way more) water.

So far I have managed to do the work out 3 days a week going on my 4th week. I am trying to bump it up to 5 days a week. I'm not sure how many pounds (if any) I have lost yet. Gotta dig that scale out of the garage! But I am definitely feeling better now that I am making an effort. Those first two days were killer and I was so sore it hurt to sit down. Now that's a pain I can live with.

shake rattle and ROLL

Paisley is doing new things every day. Since she turned four months old a couple of weeks ago she has acquired some new skills.

She can now roll from her back to her tummy. Since learning how, she seems to have forgotten her previous skill of rolling from tummy to back, so now she rolls to her tummy and gets very angry that she is there.

She arches her back like crazy and scoots backwards all over by doing that.

She has really gotten good at grabbing things and holding on tight. Things she loves to grab include toys, her toes (which she occasionally sticks in her mouth), shirts, and hair (usually mine).

She has also discovered that she has a tongue. Henry knew about his tongue from day 1 and was always found with it sticking out. Paisley has just barely learned about this body part and much to my delight she casually pokes it out occasionally. It is darling. She also has started this cute sucking on her bottom lip thing. It is all very endearing. We just love watching her change and grow. What a little chubs!

Feet

First of all- Thank you so much everyone for your wonderful feedback on my last post! It is so easy to get stuck in a rut and forget simple things I can do. I feel like I have a lot of new ways to feed Henry with more variety and nutrition. Thanks again!


In other cuteness. . Charlotte is always telling us that she is getting bigger. This morning she stood up next to Daddy and told him , " Look, I'm getting bigger." He responded as he often does, " Yes, your up to my hip, wow you're big," and then since she got measured at her check up last week at 36 and 1/2 inches, he added, " you're 3 feet tall, 3 feet."
To which she rationally responded, " I have 2 feet."

Henry's diet

As most of you know, Henry is allergic to wheat, milk, eggs and peanuts. I am running out of ideas on how to make his daily eating more diversified. Help please.

A usual day for Henry consists of an oatmeal breakfast, lunch of a hot dog or chili or grilled chicken, and dinner of more meat and veggies.

i am worried he is not getting enough fruits and veggies. Actually our whole family isn't. But it is especially hard to make vegetables appealing without using any dairy or flour. He eats potatoes and rice for starch. He doesn't like the texture of most of the fruit I try to give him. Although he loves oranges.

I would love any ideas you have for getting an 18 month old some variety in his restricted diet. Thanks!