We have our first spontaneous, unprovoked, "I love you".
In the past few weeks, Natalie and Abby would repeat, I love you, if asked to - especially to Mema. A few times theywould respond with I love you if she was told I love you first. Today, Natalie did it all on her own.
The girls have just been running around playing, "I'll get you", ie. chase. Natalie came running in from the living room into our dining room and said, "I love you, Mommy. I love you, Mommy." It took me a minute or two to figure out what she was saying, and then, of course, my heart just melted. I knelt down, gave her big hugs and said, "I love you too, Natalie." I have been awaiting this day (as it seems a little late to me), and it was just as wonderful as I imagined:-)
Monday, December 28, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
"Check on Mema"
I'm so glad the girls can be here to get to know Mema. And, I'm glad they can bring her joy. When she hears their voices she says, "I hear a little one" and her face just lights up. When they touch her hand, she says, " I feel a little hand" with a smile. In the last few days, which have been very hard, they have been nearly the only thing that has made her really smile.
Having the girls here is such a blessing, for all involved, I believe. But it also poses the potential problem of the confusion they will experience when they come in to check on Mema and she is no longer here. Christmas has actually worked in our favor since we have talked a lot about Baby Jesus being born. I've been preparing them by talking about how Baby Jesus lives in Heaven with God and we can't see him. Then I say that Mema is going to go live with Baby Jesus and we won't be able to see her anymore either. I'm pretty sure they have no idea what I am saying or what I mean. But, if I can keep preparing them, maybe it will come together when we have to say good-bye to mema and they can't see her anymore. Explaining death to 2.5 year olds is tough. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to share.*Biscuit is really more than just a stuffed animal. He is a part of our family. Years ago, maybe 20ish, my Aunt Joyce (mema's sister) bought Biscuit for Granny (their mother, my great-grandmother) when she was sick. Since then, whenever someone was sick, Biscuit was sent to stay with them. He has been mailed and carried across a number of states to whichever member of the family was in the most need.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sing, sing a song, sing out loud, sing out strong!
The girls are becoming quite the little song birds. I've mentioned before how Abby likes to sing - all.day.long. Natalie has been singing more of late as well. We have finally progressed past just the ABC's and onto other selections. We can sing most of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Jesus Loves Me. And, I'm not so very proud to say, they now know the theme song to Wonder Pets. They also picked up pretty quickly on Jingle Bells when I had it on in the car.
The songs sometimes mix all together. It's very common to start with ABC's and finish with Wonder Pets. Or, start with anything and end with the ABC's. In fact, the ABC song is just as often as not started somewhere in the middle, LMNOP or QRS seem to be popular starting points for Abby. She also frequently mixes talking and singing, especially when playing alone with her babies in her bed. The ABC's also seem to act as a comfort item for her. It's really pretty funny. Abby will be in the middle of whining or crying about something and she's "Mommy, whine, whine, A B C LMNOP...cry...cry". I can't help but laugh at her. She's a pretty funny little kid.
Natalie has her funny things too. One thing she likes to do is make a production about leaving a room. She'll start to walk out and then turn around and wave with a grin, "bye mommy, bye mommy, bye mommy". It's hilarious. Then she'll come right back in, "hi mommy, hi mommy." The girls do it to each other in play as well. "Bye, Abby, Bye Abby". The other day, she was doing it in the bath tub. She took her little pail of water and started towards the back on the tub, "bye, bye, bye". I asked her if she was going on a trip. She said, "yes." So, so funny.
The songs sometimes mix all together. It's very common to start with ABC's and finish with Wonder Pets. Or, start with anything and end with the ABC's. In fact, the ABC song is just as often as not started somewhere in the middle, LMNOP or QRS seem to be popular starting points for Abby. She also frequently mixes talking and singing, especially when playing alone with her babies in her bed. The ABC's also seem to act as a comfort item for her. It's really pretty funny. Abby will be in the middle of whining or crying about something and she's "Mommy, whine, whine, A B C LMNOP...cry...cry". I can't help but laugh at her. She's a pretty funny little kid.
Natalie has her funny things too. One thing she likes to do is make a production about leaving a room. She'll start to walk out and then turn around and wave with a grin, "bye mommy, bye mommy, bye mommy". It's hilarious. Then she'll come right back in, "hi mommy, hi mommy." The girls do it to each other in play as well. "Bye, Abby, Bye Abby". The other day, she was doing it in the bath tub. She took her little pail of water and started towards the back on the tub, "bye, bye, bye". I asked her if she was going on a trip. She said, "yes." So, so funny.
Potty Time!
Abby went tinkle on the potty today!! She's been showing some interest and about two days ago wanted to sit on the potty. Today, Ben asked her if she wanted to. She said, "yes" and she did!
I really haven't pushed the potty training. I decided that at my mother's house in the middle of all this chaos really wasn't the best time. Plus, we are hoping to sell our house and move soon, so I thought I'd wait until then. It appears Abby has other ideas.
Natalie doesn't show any real interest herself. If you ask her if she wants to sit on the potty, she very clearly and strongly says, "NO." But, she is very concerned about Abby using the potty. She says, "Abby potty?" and points to the bathroom.
My mom picked up a Sesame Street toilet seat today. Maybe once Natalie can pee while sitting on Elmo she'll be more interested.
I really haven't pushed the potty training. I decided that at my mother's house in the middle of all this chaos really wasn't the best time. Plus, we are hoping to sell our house and move soon, so I thought I'd wait until then. It appears Abby has other ideas.
Natalie doesn't show any real interest herself. If you ask her if she wants to sit on the potty, she very clearly and strongly says, "NO." But, she is very concerned about Abby using the potty. She says, "Abby potty?" and points to the bathroom.
My mom picked up a Sesame Street toilet seat today. Maybe once Natalie can pee while sitting on Elmo she'll be more interested.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Working Class Girls
Natalie and Abby have officially joined the ranks of working class America. They have each earned their first dollars.
Saturday, after our Santa excursion, we went for a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant. While in line to pay, a woman commented on how well behaved they were and how cute, etc. I thanked her, of course, and we chatted a bit. After leaving the restaurant, we popped in next door to Goodwill. After buying a few plain white T-shirts for bibs and some books, we were getting back into the car, when the woman came up to me and handed me two one dollar bills. "For their piggy banks," she said. I was quite surprised, and thanked her profusely and wished her a Merry Christmas.
Mom, on the other side of the car, missed part of the exchange and when I told her what she did, she was also quite surprised. Mom said the woman had been sitting near us and had spoken to mom about the girls when I was in the restroom.
I'm not quite sure what to think about the whole exchange. It's not every day people hand me money on the streets - or in parking lots. Maybe the girls reminded her of her own children or grandchildren or the children/grandchildren she wished she had. Maybe she was really impressed they were so well behaved instead of running loud and wild as kids are prone to do nowadays while their parents watch or ignore them completely. Maybe she just thought they were super cute. Hopefully, she didn't think they looked they needed the two dollars. I mean, I was wearing my best jeans and my best pink Johns River Valley Camp T-shirt (a pretty swanky outfit, for me.)
Whatever her reasons, I thank her. She did a very kind and generous thing in the spirit of Christmas and it is a story I will remember forever and be sure to tell the girls. So, thank you, kind woman in Franklin. I hope God blesses you ten-fold for your kindness. Merry Christmas.
Saturday, after our Santa excursion, we went for a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant. While in line to pay, a woman commented on how well behaved they were and how cute, etc. I thanked her, of course, and we chatted a bit. After leaving the restaurant, we popped in next door to Goodwill. After buying a few plain white T-shirts for bibs and some books, we were getting back into the car, when the woman came up to me and handed me two one dollar bills. "For their piggy banks," she said. I was quite surprised, and thanked her profusely and wished her a Merry Christmas.
Mom, on the other side of the car, missed part of the exchange and when I told her what she did, she was also quite surprised. Mom said the woman had been sitting near us and had spoken to mom about the girls when I was in the restroom.
I'm not quite sure what to think about the whole exchange. It's not every day people hand me money on the streets - or in parking lots. Maybe the girls reminded her of her own children or grandchildren or the children/grandchildren she wished she had. Maybe she was really impressed they were so well behaved instead of running loud and wild as kids are prone to do nowadays while their parents watch or ignore them completely. Maybe she just thought they were super cute. Hopefully, she didn't think they looked they needed the two dollars. I mean, I was wearing my best jeans and my best pink Johns River Valley Camp T-shirt (a pretty swanky outfit, for me.)
Whatever her reasons, I thank her. She did a very kind and generous thing in the spirit of Christmas and it is a story I will remember forever and be sure to tell the girls. So, thank you, kind woman in Franklin. I hope God blesses you ten-fold for your kindness. Merry Christmas.
Project Santa: Success!!
Attention: We have a successful interaction with Santa! I am very excited. No one cried, there was minimal clinging, and we actually sat with Santa. I was actually getting stressed about getting a Santa picture since Franklin has no actual mall. I was even contemplating driving an hour and a half to Asheville just to go to the mall. But, small towns, like animals trapped on an isolated island, have their own methods of adaptation, so instead of the mall - Santa shows up at Kmart. He also shows up at The WhistleStop, which is, I suppose, the closest thing Franklin has to a mall. It's a bunch of crafty stores and antique shops inside one giant building (well, the size of a couple of Walmarts, maybe). Santa was on site from 1pm to 5pm and we were there to greet him.
I will lament that poor Santa didn't have much in way of decoration or throne to sit upon. The Gazebo had lights on it, but no one turned them on. There wasn't a Christmas tree in his Gazebo (although the rest of the "mall" had one every 10 feet), and his traditional big cushy, velvet chair to sit on was replaced by a hard wooden bench. His little Elf (a rather pathetic, sad looking teenagish girl) looked pretty void of Christmas spirit, and common sense - like that required to GET OUT OF THE WAY when parents are trying to take a picture. The poor mom before us was trying all sorts of angles to get just her adorable baby on Santa's lap and cut out the sour-faced elf.
I will say this about small towns and Santa's in random places: you don't have to wait and they are very patient. Operation Santa Picture took some time - at least a good 20-30 minutes from the time Santa was first spotted and the clinging and crawling over Mommy began. It was quite a process.
First, there was the acknowledgment of Santa. Hi Santa - Look, there's Santa - When Santa first walked in, it really didn't go very well. First, he (actually a she, but for tradition's sake..,), he came walking in shouting ho-ho-ho and ringing these very loud jingle bells. Scared the girls to bits. Other parents with sensory kids will appreciate this. Clinging, almost crying and climbing over mommy ( literally, climbing up as if trying to climb over me) was the result. Thank goodness we were actually a good 30 yards or more away from Santa when this happened. Imagine had we been right next to him...
So, Step One: seeing Santa from afar. This included watched an adorable 14ish month old baby in a red Santa dress waddle towards the steps to get to Santa.
Step Two (after Santa stopped ringing the stupid bells), approach the Gazebo and see Santa from about 20 feet away. I sat on the floor with them and let them cling while Grammy and I talked up Santa.
Step Three: Observe other happy children with Santa (see adorable baby above). Adorable baby modeled how to pick a toy from Grumpy Elf's box, how to look up at Santa adoringly, and how to sit on Santa's lap and look right at the camera while mom took a picture. Abby and Natalie never did any of these things, by the way, despite the baby's lovely demonstration.
Step Four: Avoid Santa and look at giant blow-up Penquin on the steps of the Gazebo.
Step Five: Sit on steps of Gazebo with - not looking at Santa. (ps - at the time, I thought this might be our only picture with Natalie, Abby, and Santa!)
Step Ten: Mommy gets Natalie to come to her by picking little snow men out of Grumpy's box and tantalizing her with it. (Natalie is the less squeamish of the two) It had the desired effect and I was able to pick her up and sit her on the bench. It was my hope that if Natalie didn't freak out, Abby would be willing to approach us as well. And, it worked! At first Natalie and Abby have to appear nonchalant and not pay too much attention to the guy in the Big Red Suit (or Mommy who is desperately calling their names to try to get them to look at the camera.)
But, finally, finally, they relax enough to smile (sort-of) and look at Mommy. Success!
Okay, so this isn't your typical kids on Santa's lap picture, but considering last year's crying and wailing, I'd say this was a huge improvement and I am quite pleased.
Project Santa Desensitization is a success.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Natalie and Coloring - Take II
Little Miss Abigail touched my computer and deleted my first, and nearly complete first attempt...grrrrr.
So, Natalie has taken to coloring. I have introduced coloring several times in the past but the girls have shown only passing interest. Just in the past few days, Natalie has developed quite a passion.
When I started the first post, she was sitting to my left, bending over (practically climbing on) the dining room table and intensely working on Cookie Monster in her Elmo coloring book.
She has started covering nearly the whole page instead of just a few passing scribbles. And, as of today, she has started something I am very pleased with - changing colors. Before, her pictures were mostly monochromatic and she would usually keep the same color for multiple pages.
Today, she is using one color, then putting it down and picking a different color to use on the same page - sometimes two or three colors.
She's not using "appropriate" color choices yet, ie. Elmo is not red or Grover Blue. But then again, I think a red, black, and orange flying Grover is pretty cool!
Abby shows no such inclination towards coloring. I did manage to get her to color this:
after I told her I would take a picture of it (she saw me taking pictures of Natalie's). She is still in your basic scribble, scribble, scribble, done stage.
It's not really that surprising as it fits with their personalities. Natalie tends to be better at the fine motor activities that require more patience - like coloring, stringing beads and puzzles. She easily focused on her coloring for at least 15 minutes just now - maybe longer. Abby tends to be busier, not really in a hyperactive way, just busier. She will sit and focus for long periods of time on pretend play: feed her babies, stir soup, etc. But even this is busy. There's lots of moving around, talking and action. I think she likes/needs to input more than Natalie. It may explain why she also sings all.day.long. Really. If she sings her ABC once a day, she sings them 100 times. Or hums them, or do-do-do's them or starts and stops or starts in the middle of them. Twinkle, twinkle is also being a favorite. She really does vocalize almost all day. It's actually very adorable. Mema can actually tell who is who it is now because with minutes Abby identifies herself by breaking into song.
As I mentioned once before, Abby appears to have excellent pitch for a 2.5 year old. I am very pleased. As I also said before, I hadn't really heard Natalie sing enough to really judge but it wasn't looking that good. Natalie is starting to sing her ABC's more - and it's still not looking so good. I'm afraid twin Grammy winners are not likely in their future. However, Natalie does love to dance, and clearly, likes to color, so there's great hope for visual arts in her future.
So, Natalie has taken to coloring. I have introduced coloring several times in the past but the girls have shown only passing interest. Just in the past few days, Natalie has developed quite a passion.
When I started the first post, she was sitting to my left, bending over (practically climbing on) the dining room table and intensely working on Cookie Monster in her Elmo coloring book.
She has started covering nearly the whole page instead of just a few passing scribbles. And, as of today, she has started something I am very pleased with - changing colors. Before, her pictures were mostly monochromatic and she would usually keep the same color for multiple pages.
Today, she is using one color, then putting it down and picking a different color to use on the same page - sometimes two or three colors.
She's not using "appropriate" color choices yet, ie. Elmo is not red or Grover Blue. But then again, I think a red, black, and orange flying Grover is pretty cool!
Abby shows no such inclination towards coloring. I did manage to get her to color this:
after I told her I would take a picture of it (she saw me taking pictures of Natalie's). She is still in your basic scribble, scribble, scribble, done stage.
It's not really that surprising as it fits with their personalities. Natalie tends to be better at the fine motor activities that require more patience - like coloring, stringing beads and puzzles. She easily focused on her coloring for at least 15 minutes just now - maybe longer. Abby tends to be busier, not really in a hyperactive way, just busier. She will sit and focus for long periods of time on pretend play: feed her babies, stir soup, etc. But even this is busy. There's lots of moving around, talking and action. I think she likes/needs to input more than Natalie. It may explain why she also sings all.day.long. Really. If she sings her ABC once a day, she sings them 100 times. Or hums them, or do-do-do's them or starts and stops or starts in the middle of them. Twinkle, twinkle is also being a favorite. She really does vocalize almost all day. It's actually very adorable. Mema can actually tell who is who it is now because with minutes Abby identifies herself by breaking into song.
As I mentioned once before, Abby appears to have excellent pitch for a 2.5 year old. I am very pleased. As I also said before, I hadn't really heard Natalie sing enough to really judge but it wasn't looking that good. Natalie is starting to sing her ABC's more - and it's still not looking so good. I'm afraid twin Grammy winners are not likely in their future. However, Natalie does love to dance, and clearly, likes to color, so there's great hope for visual arts in her future.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Eating Christmas Miracle
I am so happy to report that my girls are beginning to eat like normal children. This morning Abby ate 1.5 pieces of sausage, and few bites of egg, a few bites of banana, and a bite of bread. Natalie ate one sausage, some egg, banana and a bite of toast. I am so excited.
The "not-so-much-formula" experiment is going well. They are now only getting two bottles: one at nap of lactose-free milk, and one at bedtime of bright beginnings. Everything else is food.
Sausage has long been a favorite food, as well as most kinds of fruit, especially grapes. I swear they can eat a pound of grapes in a few days. Eggs are also becoming highly coveted. They have eaten as many as 4 eggs in a sitting (between them). One night last week, we had eggs and ham for dinner. My mom scrambled 7 eggs. When they were gone, I made 4 more. 3 adults and 2 kids ate 11 eggs!!
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I started this post a few days ago on a particularly good eating day. I may have gotten ahead of myself with this "miracle" bit. Our very-good-eating-day was followed by our not so good day yesterday where they ate one piece of sausage, half a bowl of manderian oranges from Wendy's each (of these they would have each eaten 2 or 3 bowls had I bought them), one chicken nugget each, a few spoonfuls of chili liquid (NOT the beans or hamburger), about 4-6 oz each of some chicken and rice soup, and only one bottle for the day. A not-so-great-eating day.
But, I'm not getting discouraged. Just like "regular" toddlers, some days are better than others. I'm still pretty excited when I see Natalie and Abby spooning soup into their mouths or devouring a whole cup of grapes. It's actually been just over 2 years since we first brought them to Mema's - that first November. We were starting the one ounce, every 2 hours feeding schedule. I remember how we struggled for 30 minutes each hour (for each baby) to try, try, TRY to get them to drink one ounce of milk. Measure out an ounce some time and see how little it is. The saddest thing is: most of the time we failed getting them to drink even that.
Now, they are drinking 9 ounces a bottle on a daily basis, eating cups of fruit, bowls of soup, patties of sausage, nearly a whole box of mac and cheese, ice cream, crackers, eggs, chicken, rice, and anything with chocolate.
We've come a long way, babies!
The "not-so-much-formula" experiment is going well. They are now only getting two bottles: one at nap of lactose-free milk, and one at bedtime of bright beginnings. Everything else is food.
Sausage has long been a favorite food, as well as most kinds of fruit, especially grapes. I swear they can eat a pound of grapes in a few days. Eggs are also becoming highly coveted. They have eaten as many as 4 eggs in a sitting (between them). One night last week, we had eggs and ham for dinner. My mom scrambled 7 eggs. When they were gone, I made 4 more. 3 adults and 2 kids ate 11 eggs!!
-------
I started this post a few days ago on a particularly good eating day. I may have gotten ahead of myself with this "miracle" bit. Our very-good-eating-day was followed by our not so good day yesterday where they ate one piece of sausage, half a bowl of manderian oranges from Wendy's each (of these they would have each eaten 2 or 3 bowls had I bought them), one chicken nugget each, a few spoonfuls of chili liquid (NOT the beans or hamburger), about 4-6 oz each of some chicken and rice soup, and only one bottle for the day. A not-so-great-eating day.
But, I'm not getting discouraged. Just like "regular" toddlers, some days are better than others. I'm still pretty excited when I see Natalie and Abby spooning soup into their mouths or devouring a whole cup of grapes. It's actually been just over 2 years since we first brought them to Mema's - that first November. We were starting the one ounce, every 2 hours feeding schedule. I remember how we struggled for 30 minutes each hour (for each baby) to try, try, TRY to get them to drink one ounce of milk. Measure out an ounce some time and see how little it is. The saddest thing is: most of the time we failed getting them to drink even that.
Now, they are drinking 9 ounces a bottle on a daily basis, eating cups of fruit, bowls of soup, patties of sausage, nearly a whole box of mac and cheese, ice cream, crackers, eggs, chicken, rice, and anything with chocolate.
We've come a long way, babies!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Thanksgiving Pictures
We did make it to Mema and Grammy's for Thanksgiving. We enjoyed a great dinner on Friday and lots of left-overs. We shared it with Uncle Wayne, Aunt Jane, and then Cousin Rachel and her family, husband, Mike, and kids, Michael and Maria. Aunt Joyce wasn't feeling well and couldn't join us.Here are just a few family photos to remember the day!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Project: Santa Desensitization
This year Natalie and Abby have shown a lot of interest in Christmas - especially Christmas trees and Santa. They can spot a Santa and tree a mile away - kind of like Elmo and Mouse. I have taken advantage of this newfound interest to begin Santa Desensitization in hopes of avoiding this:
I would really love to get a great picture this year and more importantly, have the girls enjoy Santa. Project Santa involves talking about going to see Santa, looking at books about Santa, looking up pictures of happy kids sitting on Santa's lap on the internet, and most recently, seeing Santa in person without the pressure of trying to get a picture.
As you know, we are visiting indefinitely with my mom and mema here in the beautiful mountains of Franklin, NC. Franklin is the kind of town kids can't wait to get out of and tourists love to visit. The town is really quite darling and somewhat quaint with a neat little town square with such things as painted trash cans.
Also, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the town held a "Cookies with Santa". It seemed like the perfect opportunity for Project Santa. I wasn't sure if it would be a sit down at a table thing with Santa (it was really just "have a cookie while you stand in line"), but it sounded good. We arrived at the Gazebo in the middle of town in time to see Santa wander around a bit before taking his seat. Natalie and Abby were quite excited. We had our cookies while waiting in line and took the opportunity to write a letter to Santa telling him that they had been very good little girls.
Natalie and Abby did well until we started to approach Santa. There wasn't any crying, but there was a lot of clinging. I think the did great though. They introduced Santa to Elmo and Mouse and handed him their letters. (They will be getting return letters from Santa soon in the mail.) They were willing to stand pretty close to Santa as long as they were holding on to Mommy or Daddy.
We also walked around town a bit and enjoyed the Christmas decorations. There was a huge live tree decorated and the girls loved it. Natalie loved the huge red "emlo balls".
Elmo and Mouse also enjoyed the Christmas Tree.
We took a few family photos and one with Grammy.
We also did a little window shopping.
I would really love to get a great picture this year and more importantly, have the girls enjoy Santa. Project Santa involves talking about going to see Santa, looking at books about Santa, looking up pictures of happy kids sitting on Santa's lap on the internet, and most recently, seeing Santa in person without the pressure of trying to get a picture.
As you know, we are visiting indefinitely with my mom and mema here in the beautiful mountains of Franklin, NC. Franklin is the kind of town kids can't wait to get out of and tourists love to visit. The town is really quite darling and somewhat quaint with a neat little town square with such things as painted trash cans.
Also, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the town held a "Cookies with Santa". It seemed like the perfect opportunity for Project Santa. I wasn't sure if it would be a sit down at a table thing with Santa (it was really just "have a cookie while you stand in line"), but it sounded good. We arrived at the Gazebo in the middle of town in time to see Santa wander around a bit before taking his seat. Natalie and Abby were quite excited. We had our cookies while waiting in line and took the opportunity to write a letter to Santa telling him that they had been very good little girls.
Natalie and Abby did well until we started to approach Santa. There wasn't any crying, but there was a lot of clinging. I think the did great though. They introduced Santa to Elmo and Mouse and handed him their letters. (They will be getting return letters from Santa soon in the mail.) They were willing to stand pretty close to Santa as long as they were holding on to Mommy or Daddy.
Elmo and Mouse also enjoyed the Christmas Tree.
We took a few family photos and one with Grammy.
And made sure everyone stayed warm and cozy.
We also had a chance to see the bricks that members of our family donated and dedicated. The town has a little garden with a brick pathway made of the donated bricks.
Daphne is my grandmother and John, Louree and Joyce are her siblings. Clayton and Pallie are their parents. There is another brick we couldn't find for Louree, donated by her children. Louree passed away quite a while ago.
All in all, it was a great day and I think, a very successful introduction to Santa for Natalie and Santa. Next step, seeing Santa at the mall. If all goes well, we should have a picture by Christmas.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving Blues
*sigh* It's been rough around here. We girls have been a little sick. And by we, I mean mostly me. To make a long week short, I've been sick since last Wednesday with a variety of ailments the most annoying of which is a very sore throat which will not go away. I have not had a traditional cold in the sense of a stuffy nose, however, just a very sore throat and periodic coughing in an attempt to cough up a lung. After 7 days, I finally went to the "Minute Clinic" at CVS (brilliant idea, btw) to determine that I do NOT have strep throat and that my lungs are perfectly clear. So, I suffer through it.
My little doctor trip was only after spending the morning at the doctor's office with Natalie and Abby. Abby has had a fever off and on since Friday. Natalie off and on since Sunday. Tylenol/Motrin seemed to control it so I wasn't too worried. Also no cold symptoms and no flu symptoms. Then yesterday Abby woke up from her nap with another fever and a rash on her face, stomach and back. 2 hours, $40 and a poor tortured wax filled ear (abby), I'm told she probably has a viral rash. Natalie seemed fine. I was told that they would be "significantly less contagious" once they were without fever for a day. On the bright side as well, tonight Abby woke up crying and pulling at the poor tortured ear from which the doctor tried vainly to get enough wax so he could see the ear drum. So, that means they probably scratched it with their little scrape-y tool which will likely inflame and cause Abby pain for the next few days. Goody.
I've been trying to get back to my Mema for the past 3 days, so this is good to hear. The plan was to leave Monday after the girls spent a pre-Thanksgiving weekend with Yaya and grandpa (and Ben). Yes, Mommy was blissfully home alone but unable to enjoy it. I spent most the time sleeping and sitting miserably on the couch. Since I apparently have nothing diagnosable wrong with me and the girls are "significantly less contagious", we will try to head to Mema's tomorrow.
At the traffic won't be bad.
My little doctor trip was only after spending the morning at the doctor's office with Natalie and Abby. Abby has had a fever off and on since Friday. Natalie off and on since Sunday. Tylenol/Motrin seemed to control it so I wasn't too worried. Also no cold symptoms and no flu symptoms. Then yesterday Abby woke up from her nap with another fever and a rash on her face, stomach and back. 2 hours, $40 and a poor tortured wax filled ear (abby), I'm told she probably has a viral rash. Natalie seemed fine. I was told that they would be "significantly less contagious" once they were without fever for a day. On the bright side as well, tonight Abby woke up crying and pulling at the poor tortured ear from which the doctor tried vainly to get enough wax so he could see the ear drum. So, that means they probably scratched it with their little scrape-y tool which will likely inflame and cause Abby pain for the next few days. Goody.
I've been trying to get back to my Mema for the past 3 days, so this is good to hear. The plan was to leave Monday after the girls spent a pre-Thanksgiving weekend with Yaya and grandpa (and Ben). Yes, Mommy was blissfully home alone but unable to enjoy it. I spent most the time sleeping and sitting miserably on the couch. Since I apparently have nothing diagnosable wrong with me and the girls are "significantly less contagious", we will try to head to Mema's tomorrow.
At the traffic won't be bad.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Bedtime for Natalie and Abby
Abby and Natalie are just so cute at bedtime that I just have to share.
We generally put them down around 8ish. We have a little routine. After we change diapers, take medicine, and change clothes, we turn off the lights and with each of us holding one, we sway and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". At the end we say, "kisses for mommy" (and get kisses), "kisses for daddy" (and get kisses), and "kisses for sister" (and get kisses). Then they go in their beds.
Usually at this point we tell them we will be right back with their milk. We've been trying to stretch this out a bit lately and come back a while later. The girls aren't crazy about this new plan. They are very conditioned to having their milk right away so the interim is sometimes noisy.
When we go back to get them for their bottles, they always bring "their babies". Over the months, this has meant their special blanket and any number of stuffed animals or babies. Natalie has been far more consistent. She attached herself to her Elmo since we got it and has pretty much stuck with it. Sometimes another baby comes too, but always Elmo. Abby is more fickle. For a while, it was Elmo, and then Elmo and "dorge", her little Curious George monkey. Then it was just "dorge", although like Natalie, occasionally a visiting baby doll was chosen as well. For a while now though, she has been extremely attached to a black and white mickey mouse, or simply, "mouse". So, drinking a bottle must involve Elmo or mouse and "baby" - their name for their blankets. It took me a while to figure out how the blankets were so named. Finally, I realized that when I go in, I say, "get your babies" by which I meant Elmo, mouse, or whoever, and their blankets. I realized however, that they had associated the name "baby" with their blankets, and have now assigned them that name. So, "baby" and Elmo/Mouse it is.
Once we finish their bottles, they go back in their beds and the fun really begins. For example, for the past hour, we have listened to Abby (mainly) singing and talking and generally running her mouth. She loves to sing. She sings the ABC song about 100 times a day, not always completely though. Sometimes you just get phrases of letters. She also sings "Twinkle, Twinkle" but it's more the tune to which she puts the words, "dodo,dodo, dodo do," She can say some of the words but seems to like to ad lib it most often. Speaking of Abby's singing, I've actually been quite impressed with her sense of pitch. She is really quite spot on. I have high hopes for her:-) Natalie also talks in her bed, but she is much more quiet. She generally talks to her babies. She also doesn't sing as much as Abby although she has recently begun to sing parts of the ABC song. I'm afraid, though, I have not been as impressed with her sense of pitch...Natalie also tends to talk more in the morning and at nap time.
Listening to Natalie and Abby talk and sing is one of the sweetest sounds one could ever hear. It fills me with so much joy to hear them entertain and delight themselves. In our case, we also have the added blessing of hearing them interact and play with each other as they laugh, play and talk.
Watching Natalie and Abby play is actually one of my favorite activities. I love the way they are so deliberate about what they do whether it's putting a baby in the stroller for a ride or stirring some bears for some soup. It's such a gift to get to glimpse the mind of a child.
I have lots of video of the girls playing that I will try to get around to editing and posting. Of course, friends and family are always invited over to experience the real thing first hand:-)
We generally put them down around 8ish. We have a little routine. After we change diapers, take medicine, and change clothes, we turn off the lights and with each of us holding one, we sway and sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". At the end we say, "kisses for mommy" (and get kisses), "kisses for daddy" (and get kisses), and "kisses for sister" (and get kisses). Then they go in their beds.
Usually at this point we tell them we will be right back with their milk. We've been trying to stretch this out a bit lately and come back a while later. The girls aren't crazy about this new plan. They are very conditioned to having their milk right away so the interim is sometimes noisy.
When we go back to get them for their bottles, they always bring "their babies". Over the months, this has meant their special blanket and any number of stuffed animals or babies. Natalie has been far more consistent. She attached herself to her Elmo since we got it and has pretty much stuck with it. Sometimes another baby comes too, but always Elmo. Abby is more fickle. For a while, it was Elmo, and then Elmo and "dorge", her little Curious George monkey. Then it was just "dorge", although like Natalie, occasionally a visiting baby doll was chosen as well. For a while now though, she has been extremely attached to a black and white mickey mouse, or simply, "mouse". So, drinking a bottle must involve Elmo or mouse and "baby" - their name for their blankets. It took me a while to figure out how the blankets were so named. Finally, I realized that when I go in, I say, "get your babies" by which I meant Elmo, mouse, or whoever, and their blankets. I realized however, that they had associated the name "baby" with their blankets, and have now assigned them that name. So, "baby" and Elmo/Mouse it is.
Once we finish their bottles, they go back in their beds and the fun really begins. For example, for the past hour, we have listened to Abby (mainly) singing and talking and generally running her mouth. She loves to sing. She sings the ABC song about 100 times a day, not always completely though. Sometimes you just get phrases of letters. She also sings "Twinkle, Twinkle" but it's more the tune to which she puts the words, "dodo,dodo, dodo do," She can say some of the words but seems to like to ad lib it most often. Speaking of Abby's singing, I've actually been quite impressed with her sense of pitch. She is really quite spot on. I have high hopes for her:-) Natalie also talks in her bed, but she is much more quiet. She generally talks to her babies. She also doesn't sing as much as Abby although she has recently begun to sing parts of the ABC song. I'm afraid, though, I have not been as impressed with her sense of pitch...Natalie also tends to talk more in the morning and at nap time.
Listening to Natalie and Abby talk and sing is one of the sweetest sounds one could ever hear. It fills me with so much joy to hear them entertain and delight themselves. In our case, we also have the added blessing of hearing them interact and play with each other as they laugh, play and talk.
Watching Natalie and Abby play is actually one of my favorite activities. I love the way they are so deliberate about what they do whether it's putting a baby in the stroller for a ride or stirring some bears for some soup. It's such a gift to get to glimpse the mind of a child.
I have lots of video of the girls playing that I will try to get around to editing and posting. Of course, friends and family are always invited over to experience the real thing first hand:-)
An Eating Epiphany
I have had an epiphany. I learned something this weekend that both relieves me, and at the same time, annoys me and angers me to no end.
I saw my cousin (up from Florida) who has a 2 year old granddaughter born full-term just days(8 days) later than Natalie and Abby. I learned she weighs a grand total of....21 pounds. And is only 30 inches tall. I was floored. Natalie and Abby are 33-34 inches and weigh 23.5-24 pounds. This kid is smaller than they are.
Now, have their doctors driven them mad with talk of g-tubes, calories, weight charts, special formulas, and foods to add calories? HELL NO. They just say, "as long as she's growing, she's fine". Well, damn.
AND, the little girl drinks only water. No milk or juice. And based on what grandma said, eats almost nothing. She ran down a day's menu (of which, of course, I knew the caloric count for everything she named), and I counted maybe, 800 calories. And apparently, that's a good day.
So. I've decided I'm done. No more worrying, no more apologizing, no more adding lard to their food to add calories. I'm also done with their $350 a month bright beginnings habit. I think I may give them one can each a day for nutritional value, but we are going to move to regular soy milk instead of Bright Beginnings. And, after our allergist appointment Wednesday, we may get to try whole milk. I also want to start feeding them more healthy foods and not the junk I've settled for because of the calories it has.
I'm so annoyed that the doctors have given us such a hard time and acted as if our daughters' lives depended on getting 1200 or more calories a day and gaining 8 oz a week. What 2 year old gains 2 pounds a month, anyway?
Obviously, I'm venting and I may decide to freak out again next week, but for now, I'm done.
So - take THAT Mr. Doctors! Mommy is done.
Now, have their doctors driven them mad with talk of g-tubes, calories, weight charts, special formulas, and foods to add calories? HELL NO. They just say, "as long as she's growing, she's fine". Well, damn.
AND, the little girl drinks only water. No milk or juice. And based on what grandma said, eats almost nothing. She ran down a day's menu (of which, of course, I knew the caloric count for everything she named), and I counted maybe, 800 calories. And apparently, that's a good day.
So. I've decided I'm done. No more worrying, no more apologizing, no more adding lard to their food to add calories. I'm also done with their $350 a month bright beginnings habit. I think I may give them one can each a day for nutritional value, but we are going to move to regular soy milk instead of Bright Beginnings. And, after our allergist appointment Wednesday, we may get to try whole milk. I also want to start feeding them more healthy foods and not the junk I've settled for because of the calories it has.
I'm so annoyed that the doctors have given us such a hard time and acted as if our daughters' lives depended on getting 1200 or more calories a day and gaining 8 oz a week. What 2 year old gains 2 pounds a month, anyway?
Obviously, I'm venting and I may decide to freak out again next week, but for now, I'm done.
So - take THAT Mr. Doctors! Mommy is done.
-----------------------------
Since starting this post several days ago, I have indeed relaxed considerably. Most days the girls are now getting only 2 bottles: one of regular soy, and now, lactose-free milk, and one of BB soy. Some days they've only gotten one bottle. I feed them normal food, although a little heavy on the soup. They like it a lot and will eat a good bit. But, if they don't eat much. Oh well. I'm offering sippy cups of milk (usually rejected) and plenty of water for fluids. I do expect they will lose a little weight, but I also think they will shortly begin to eat more regularly. I'm going to encourage more healthy foods and just not stress as much about it.
If they do begin to lose a significant amount of weight or begin to show signs of dehydration or lethargy, I will make some changes again. But, I'm beginning to feel very strongly that they are fully capable of eating when they want to. Case in point: this morning they each ate a whole scrambled egg - each. For lunch, their speech/feeding therapist brought one of those microwaveable lunch things of pasta, peas and corn** and an orange, which happens to be one of their favorite things to eat. I added some more corn to the plate and they ate a few pieces of pasta and a good bit of corn and peas along with a number of orange slices. They also finished up nearly 14 ounces of broccoli soup, most of which was eaten by Abby, who I think ate at least 8-10 ounces of it herself - and by feeding it to herself. Dinner was mostly grapes, mommy's Honey Nut Cherrioes and some more oranges. Not too bad, I think.
**Btw, the little toddler lunchable thing had a grand total of 150 calories. 150. I'm assuming since it is marketed to toddlers it is an appropriate serving size for a toddler and has an appropriate calorie count. Even if you add a piece of fruit and a cup of milk, the whole meal would be about 250 calories. So, if a child ate 3 of these a day plus maybe a snack - that's a max of maybe 800-900 calories, well below the 1200 my kids are supposed to consume. Well, I guess I can always make up the difference with a couple of 200 calorie a piece cookies...
I'm sure I'll have more to say on the subject of eating and weight, but for now, Mommy's going to take a nice little break from the stress of worrying about food. We will have to see how long it lasts:-)
I'm sure I'll have more to say on the subject of eating and weight, but for now, Mommy's going to take a nice little break from the stress of worrying about food. We will have to see how long it lasts:-)
Allergist Review
Yesterday we attended our long awaited appointment with the pediatric allergist. It started out well. They had us headed to the back within minutes. Then, at least for poor Abby, it went downhill fast.
A little background: A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to get the girls' H1N1 shots at a free health department clinic. It was quite traumatic for Abby. Apparently, I did not have her secured as well as I thought and she slipped her arms out. She then proceeded to grab the needle, yank it out and drag it across her leg creating a scratch about 1.5 inches long. She was screaming and crying, "no,no,no,no". It was awful. And then, once we finally got the bleeding stopped and a band-aid applied, we then had to turn her over to actually give the shot in the other leg. Poor little thing. It was pretty awful.
Present day: It appears Abby remembered her recent trauma. As soon as the nurse made a move towards her - just to have her stand on a scale - she completely freaked out. Little Abby was crying, "no,no,no" sitting on the ground, and flailing about. She has never acted like that before. Never. I definitely think she remembered her last trip to the doctor. I did finally get her calmed down enough to stand briefly on the scale, but she still wasn't very happy.
Things were better after that. Not knowing how long the appointment would take, I had the good sense to bring along my new laptop. I connected to the kindly provided "guest" network and was able to access oodles of Elmo u-tube videos. They were a great diversion.
After talking to the Fellow and then the doctor, we had excellent news. They confirmed what I have recently begun to suspect: Natalie and Abby don't show any real signs of milk protein allergy. They also didn't think the bumps on their arms (which were better than I've ever seen them, of course) were allergy related. Just to be sure, they did the skin scratch test for milk protein and it tested negative for both girls. In fact, one of them had a greater reaction to the saline control than to the milk.
The doctors' thoughts were that IF they had a senstivity to something, it was most likely the lactose in milk. It would explain why they tolerate cheese and other forms of milk which have less lactose than straight milk. With this information, we are going to give lactose-free milk a try and see how that goes.
Personally, I'm beginning to doubt any of it and am beginning to feel that the Pedisure was the culprit all along. Other parents also have anecdotal evidence that suggests that Pedicure can just wreck havoc on sensitive systems. The difference once we switched them to the soy was incredible. But, it's hard to know what exactly they were reacting to.
In any case, I'm very happy the girls are not officially allergic to anything. I can begin to introduce different amounts of milk back to their diet and see what happens. I'm especially happy that they didn't think we needed to test for wheat or gluten or some of the ingredients you find in just about everything. That makes our life much easier.
I'm working on another post about their eating woes, so stay tuned:-)
ps - our little trip to the health department actually landed us on tv. A local channel was there to do a report and filmed us a little (pre-shot) and we made the 5, 5:30 and briefly the 11pm news. Yaya called to say she'd seen us on tv! I have it taped, of course, if anyone is interested in the girls' television debut.
A little background: A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to get the girls' H1N1 shots at a free health department clinic. It was quite traumatic for Abby. Apparently, I did not have her secured as well as I thought and she slipped her arms out. She then proceeded to grab the needle, yank it out and drag it across her leg creating a scratch about 1.5 inches long. She was screaming and crying, "no,no,no,no". It was awful. And then, once we finally got the bleeding stopped and a band-aid applied, we then had to turn her over to actually give the shot in the other leg. Poor little thing. It was pretty awful.
Present day: It appears Abby remembered her recent trauma. As soon as the nurse made a move towards her - just to have her stand on a scale - she completely freaked out. Little Abby was crying, "no,no,no" sitting on the ground, and flailing about. She has never acted like that before. Never. I definitely think she remembered her last trip to the doctor. I did finally get her calmed down enough to stand briefly on the scale, but she still wasn't very happy.
Things were better after that. Not knowing how long the appointment would take, I had the good sense to bring along my new laptop. I connected to the kindly provided "guest" network and was able to access oodles of Elmo u-tube videos. They were a great diversion.
After talking to the Fellow and then the doctor, we had excellent news. They confirmed what I have recently begun to suspect: Natalie and Abby don't show any real signs of milk protein allergy. They also didn't think the bumps on their arms (which were better than I've ever seen them, of course) were allergy related. Just to be sure, they did the skin scratch test for milk protein and it tested negative for both girls. In fact, one of them had a greater reaction to the saline control than to the milk.
The doctors' thoughts were that IF they had a senstivity to something, it was most likely the lactose in milk. It would explain why they tolerate cheese and other forms of milk which have less lactose than straight milk. With this information, we are going to give lactose-free milk a try and see how that goes.
Personally, I'm beginning to doubt any of it and am beginning to feel that the Pedisure was the culprit all along. Other parents also have anecdotal evidence that suggests that Pedicure can just wreck havoc on sensitive systems. The difference once we switched them to the soy was incredible. But, it's hard to know what exactly they were reacting to.
In any case, I'm very happy the girls are not officially allergic to anything. I can begin to introduce different amounts of milk back to their diet and see what happens. I'm especially happy that they didn't think we needed to test for wheat or gluten or some of the ingredients you find in just about everything. That makes our life much easier.
I'm working on another post about their eating woes, so stay tuned:-)
ps - our little trip to the health department actually landed us on tv. A local channel was there to do a report and filmed us a little (pre-shot) and we made the 5, 5:30 and briefly the 11pm news. Yaya called to say she'd seen us on tv! I have it taped, of course, if anyone is interested in the girls' television debut.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Beach Recap - Part I
The days were mostly frolicking on the beach with Natalie and Abby playing in the sand. They just loved it. They would even lay down in the sand on their bellies! We also spent a lot of time hanging out with Mema and enjoying the rest of the family. We ate some great food, read some good books, and made some amazing memories.
Mema also spent time on the porch listening to the waves and even walked to the end of the walkway to the beach and hung out for a while sitting on the steps. We even managed to get her to the beach. We rented a "beach wheelchair", a unique contraption made of PVC pipes and huge tires, and rolled her out on the sand at the point. She wiggled her feet in the sand, took a walk down the beach, and let the waves chase her feet. Her energy and spirit were amazing. She kept saying, "it's even better than I imagined it would be". What more could we have asked for? 
There were so many beautiful moments and it was a blessing to spend such precious time with Mema. Although I know Natalie and Abby will probably not remember Mema, I hope the love she has for them will have imprinted their souls in a way that is always with them. I know she has touched the rest of us in ways we will treasure forever.
Brenda, Natalie, Mema, John, Ben
Abby, Johelen, Joyce, Kimberly, Wayne
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Fall Fun at Poppy and Nanny's
What an amazing weekend (10/8-10/12) Natalie and Abby have had at Poppy and Nanny's! We've had beautiful fall weather and oh, so much fun!It started Thursday afternoon when we FINALLY hit the road at about 2:30pm. I was quite tired and between getting gas, food, bathroom breaks and pull-over-so-mommy-can-rest breaks...it was taking a while. Then, we had one of mommy's Jo-Jo driving adventures. About halfway through the trip, I stopped off of Hwy 64 for a rest break. Somehow, when I got back on the interstate - I went the wrong way. I I didn't realize it until I was back at Hwy 288 - which is where you get ON I-64. At this point I'm probably 20-30 minutes out of my way and the babies are getting restless. I decide to stop, get gas (in case I get lost again) and give the girls a break. We are doing pretty well: I use the bathroom and the girls are happily walking around the gas station - pleased to be free. I turn around to get a drink from the cold case and suddenly hear a crash and then screaming and crying. Spinning around, I'm blasted by some kind of liquid in my face, momentarily blinding me, while I try to locate the source of the crying. Abby has run to one side of the store and is crying absolutely hysterically. Natalie is closer and upset, but not as bad as Abby. A 2 liter bottle of mountain dew is spinning wildly and loudly on the floor, spewing dew EVERYWHERE from a puncture in the bottle. It was chaos.
I find the girls and pull them away from the torpedo bottle and try to calm them down. I felt terrible. I wasn't sure what had happened but I was sure the girls' were responsible. Moments before they were touching the bottles and saying, "mama's juice". (Sad, I know). The store was a mess. There was mountain dew everywhere - all over the cold case, in the aisles, and there was probably spray a good 8-10 feet from the bottle. For good measure, there was also dew on me and on Abby - although we weren't soaked through, thankfully.
Abby remained pretty upset until we left the store. I think the combination of the crashing sound, the feel of the spray, the sound of the squirting (which was really loud) and the bottle spinning around on the floor was just sensory overload for her. Some chocolate chip cookies picked up at the checkout counter seemed to help. I did offer to pay for the bottle as I checked out. The guy was super nice (he had brought us tissues before). He kept saying it wasn't our fault, and something about a delivery guy. I was completely confused until I saw a delivery guy unloading pallets from his truck. I finally pieced together what the clerk had been saying. The clerk said that the delivery guy bumped the bottle display, which apparently caused the bottle to fall - probably from the top shelf. It then hit the corner of the metal shelving which punched a hole in it like a knife. Since it's under pressue, the 2-liter then became a spinning little torpedo.
I don't know how long we were at the store, but my plans for a restful little pit-stop were definately blown. Fortunately, all the dram made the girls very tired, and after eating their coveted cookies, they dropped off to sleep for the rest of the trip. Finally, at least an hour later, I was back at the point where I'd first stopped to rest in the first place.
We finally at 10:30 we arrived at Poppy and Nanny's. What should have been a 6 hour trip - took about 8. Fortunately, it went much better from that point on:-)
Friday
We were fortunate that Poppy had the day off from working at the community college where he works as an Academia Adviser and teaches classes. Our first field trip was to the bus garage to see "Poppy's Bus" (yet another one of his jobs). Quite a while ago, Poppy and Nanny gave the girls a 
Fisher Price bus, which we have always referred to as "Poppy's bus". Now, the girls love buses and whenever they see one on the road, they call out, "Poppy's bus, poppy's bus" and "more bus, more bus". So, Friday, we were able to see his bus live and in person. I couldn't help but be aware that in only 3 or so short years, Natalie and Abby could board the bus for their first day of school...:-(
After our bus adventure, we visited Nanny's elementary school to have lunch with her. Natalie and Abigail tried their hand at some classwork and had their first taste of school lunch food. They were unimpressed.
After "lunch" we headed out to the stables to see the horses. One of the members of Poppy's church (job #4, btw), works at the stables. (It's nice to be connected!) I was fully expecting the girls, especially Abby, to be pretty hesitant, if not fearful. But, they did amazingly well. We immediately spotted the cutest little ponies - who were very eager to eat straw or grass from the girls hands (whose enthusiasm to feed them cooled once they saw the ponies' teeth.)
Outside, we discovered a llama and a few donkeys. They weren't as friendly though, so we went back to visit the little ponies. Abby wanted to much to feed them, but wouldn't get closer than about 2 feet. She would pull up grass and toss it in their direction. So cute:-)
After a real lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant, where the girls' ate almost nothing, of course, we dropped Poppy off for bus driving and hit Walmart - always a must. The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent hanging out and playing at Poppy and Nanny's.
Saturday
Saturday was just an amazing, fun day. We traveled about an hour to Graves Mountain Apple Harvest Festival. The day was a little overcast, but nice. There were crafts, pony rides, music cloggers, hay rides, animals, food, pumpkins, and lots and lots of apples!
After their experience at the stables, Natalie and Abby took the the riding ponies like pros. They absolutely LOVED their first pony ride.
We played in a pumpkin patch... 
...and visited the farm area. The girls saw goats, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, pheasants and peacocks.Poppy picked apples for them to eat right off the trees.
We took a hay ride (another first) through the beautiful grounds of Graves Farm.
We finished up the day by watching the cloggers and clapping along.
It was really a wonderful, perfect fall day. The only downside was that Ben wasn't with us.
It's always so much fun visiting Luray. It's such a beautiful place and there is so much to do. We've just begun to scratch the surface of fun things to do at Poppy and Nanny's!
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