Melanie's Latest & Greatest

I had to share some of Melanie's latest antics, as she is a constant source of entertainment.  She has mood swings of needing to be entertained, or being able to entertain herself.  She loves her "new" playroom and all of the toys at her disposal.  She can play for a long time just "preparing dinner" and serving it over and over.  Aunt Julie gave her millions of toys that accompany her play kitchen, and with these, she can whip up a gourmet meal of cheese and mustard, or pizza with ketchup.  She still takes several bottles a day, and call me a bad mom, but it soothes her, and I'm all for a calm kid.  She is very "helpful" - helping with laundry, loading/unloading the dishwasher, etc.  When she is done with a dish - be it her plate, her bottle, etc., she will go put it in the sink herself.   Her favorite activities other than her kitchen include puzzles, coloring, and anything Elmo.  She is also enjoying her Little People sets (also courtesy of Aunt Julie, of course, since there are one million pieces).  Sometimes she helps and cleans up all of her toys, other times not so much.

She got her second H1N1 shot on January 11, and she weighed 22lbs 9oz; still a little peanut.  She's still wearing some 18-month clothing, but transitioning to 24-months, particularly the tops.  She is wearing size 6 shoes (she just got a new pair of shoes she doesn't like to take off!)

She is very aware that there is a baby in Mommy's tummy.  I'm not sure if she knows what that means, but she will show you where the baby is, give the baby kisses, put lotion on the baby, say bye-bye to the baby when she leaves the room..... Boy, is she in for a surprise when an actual baby emerges and comes to live with her!  I asked her the other day if she wanted to feel the baby kick.  She replied "NO" with a shake of her head.  I pulled my shirt up slightly so she could see my belly, and asked her again, at which point she ran over, pulled my shirt down, and continued playing.  Just in case I wasn't clear.....

She's been sleeping really well lately; she still likes to be held until she falls asleep (I know that every book tells you not to do this, but it's a habit she picked up over the summer that we haven't been able to kick); but before she goes to bed, she will tell everything & everybody "Bye-Bye" - everything from her "colors" (her coloring table), to the clock, the pictures on the wall, Elmo, etc.....even people who aren't there like Gigi, Molly, etc.

Melanie is talking a lot - and repeating even more.  She can say sentences up to about three words (such as "I need Elmo.")  Sometimes she gets a word or phrase in her head and will say it over and over - a lot of times, this involves saying Molly's name until it's ringing in my head.  She is also imitating a lot of things we do, like putting on deoderant, doing her hair, talking on the phone, etc.  She does a good job with "thank you" - and hearing her say "Thank you Mommy" or "Thank you Daddy" (unprompted) is one of the cutest things I have ever heard.  She can do most animal names & noises, even ones we didn't teach her, she's constantly amazing me with the things she comes up with that we didn't teach her.  Obviously she goes to daycare; but it's just funny to hear/see her do things that are a mystery to us - for instance, showing me "what an elephant does."

We are still going to Gymboree twice a week - to the "open gym" on Wednesday nights and to class on Saturday mornings.  Mel is making friends and enjoying the activities - particularly the stamps she gets on her hands & belly at the end of class.  She has been known to pull up her shirt 10 minutes before class is over to await her stamps.

She is still touch & go with food.  Sometimes we just have to try a few different things before we figure out what she'll eat for that meal.  When she's in the mood, she can do some eating - a full egg and some toast, and chicken, pizza, blueberries, are some her favorites.  She enjoys drinking out of a "big girl cup" (non-sippy) - until she dumps the cup.

Just some updates since this is my form of journaling/keeping up with her baby book!  I don't want to forget a single thing, and want to treasure every moment :)

Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas!
We weren't able to get a family Christmas picture (something about a strong-willed toddler....) but below are some of our highlights from Christmas 2009! We had a great holiday, and didn't travel farther than Frankfort the whole time. Ron & Diane arrived on the 22nd and stayed at our house until Christmas morning, spent a couple of days in Frankfort, and then came back for the day/night of the 27th; Cory & Randy & the kiddos stayed with us the nights of the 23rd and 27th. The whole family hung out with old friends of the Worzalas on the 23rd - the kids loved having even more pint-sized people to play with! We are truly blessed to have such an amazing family - and one that we can seamlessly blend so we don't have to spend the week running everywhere, we can just relax & enjoy those we love!

Vist from Santa!
On Christmas Day, Santa himself came to the Doan house to visit Melanie, Charlie, Sammie, and Molly. Charlie LOVED it, Sammie & Molly seemed to tolerate it, and well, you can see how Melanie felt about it. She loves the concept of Ho-Ho, but when he is actually within touching distance, she changes her tune. After Santa handed out gifts and left, Melanie stood at the window waving and saying "Ho Ho, bye-bye!" - that was her favorite part - like "don't let the door hit ya!" We hope Santa continues to make his visits in years to come, when Mel gets more warmed up to him!

Melanie's Christmas Presents

Mel is still at somewhat of an in-between stage with recognizing what Christmas is all about. Daycare did a good job of doing daily lessons about Jesus' birth, etc; but the hoopla surrounding the day pretty much escaped her. On Christmas morning when Jeff went up to get her out of crib, she looked over the railing into the living room, saw her craft table (pictured below) set up, pointed, and said "What's THAT?!" - too cute! She was a bit overwhelmed by all the gifts - I think particularly that she couldn't just sit and play with each one, that she was moved to open the next, and then the next....She seems to be really enjoying everything she got, including the 1,000,000 pieces of Little People & kitchen toys that Aunt Julie gave her.

Worzala Christmas

As you can see, the Worzala grandchildren enjoyed their Christmas! Charlie continues to be an entertainment to everyone. In the photo of us below, this was during a little chat in which I asked him if he has an "off" switch. He said "yes, I do, actually." However, I disagree. Melanie is very lucky to have Charlie & Sammie in her life!

Monkey Joe's

Melanie's first trip to Monkey Joe's was just a couple of weeks ago. On that visit, she was NOT interested in the "under 2" play areas; she only wanted in the big-kids' areas. Suzi's son Wyatt was sooo sweet in that he would get in the same jumping areas, run around and tell the kids to be careful with Mel. Together, she and I went down every single slide in that place. That was fun - climbing rope ladders with a toddler, pregnant! On this visit, though, we were a bit tamer. Mel & Molly loved playing in the smaller areas, and they had a great time. This was the day after Christmas, and a great way for Gigi & Poppy to spend the day with the girls :)

Melanie-isms

I always thought it was an urban legend that parents could understand their kids even when the rest of the world could not. However, Mel does like to talk, and we can't always understand what she's saying - despite her best efforts to get her message across. Here are some of her translations of everyday language. There are, of course, other words she says perfectly clearly - these are just the highlights of the Melanieisms.

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Mr. Potato Head = Tooloo

Oscar the Grouch = Yoyo

Grover = Roro

Cookie Monster = (miming eating cookies and making the eating noise)

Ernie = the giggle he does

Fish = sheshe (accompanied by a fishy face)

Keys = pees

Medicine = Yum-yum

Bottle/Water = Baba/Wawa

Elbow = Elmo

Santa Claus = Hoho

Names

Grandpa Worzala = Pawpaw

Grandma Worzala = Mawmaw

Grandpa Doan = Poppy

Grandma Doan = Gigi

Julie = OOlie

Charlie = Chacha

Frogs and snails and puppy-dogs' tails

...That's what little boys are made of! We'll find out soon enough, when our SON is born! We had our ultrasound on Wednesday, December 23. While I never had an inclination to find out what we were having when pregnant with Melanie, this time around, I couldn't WAIT. I just feel like there's a lot more to do and preparations I can make this time - juggling two little ones after Baby W2's arrival will be enough, without sorting through clothes & such :) We learned, at the ultrasound, that everything looks great! We were impressed by how much time the tech spent with us going through all of the markers, measurements, etc. The baby weighs a little over a pound right now, and has all of his parts! What a great Christmas present!

December Update

It has been a couple of weeks since I posted, and I want to get some thoughts down since this is my outlet instead of journaling or scrapbooking....

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Mel has had an active couple of weeks, despite being on antibiotics since before Thanksgiving. First, we were treating a cold - coughing, etc - the stuff I was dealing with too, and neither of us could shake it; additionlly, we treated another round of pink eye. Finally, by Thanksgiving, we were both back to "normal" (whatever that means). Then, she started the coughing again, and her eyes were goopy again! Jeff took her to the doc on Tuesday 12/8, and she was diagnosed with her first-ever ear infection. I've gotta say, having only one ear infection in 21 months - not so shabby. Many of her friends already have tubes! After nine days of this ear infection antibiotic, I wasn't satisfied with the cough, runny eyes & runny nose that continued, so I took her back on 12/17. The ear infection had cleared up, but the doc changed her antibiotic to try to kick the cough, which is probably a sinus infection. She seems to be doing better already, on day two of the antibiotic.

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We have kept busy with our twice-weekly trips to Gymboree (the play center, not the store!), trips to the library to see the "choo choo" and play in their play room, and playing with the girls in our neighborhood. We also went to visit Santa last Sunday. Let's just say we did not get photos taken with Santa. Melanie is VERY interested in looking at photos of Santa, seeing him on TV, and seeing him from a distance - She loves to say "HO, HO, HO!!" - but, when it comes to the real thing - or even a statue of the real thing - she, ah, tends to shy away.

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Mel is continuing with her interest in the potty. She talks about it a lot, and plays on her little stool. When it comes time to do the business, she prefers the "big" potty, and she is going in it a couple of times a week. I'm not pushing this, and I just follow her lead right now. I'm sure we'll go through phases with this. She LOVES brushing her teeth. She could seriously spend the day at the sink, washing her hands, playing in the water, and "brushing" her teeth. She cries when she can't do it, and we tend to keep our bedroom door shut to try to keep it out of her mind. She is in a phase where, if you're not doing what she wants you to, she'll take you by the hand and lead you to the place she "needs" you to be. Her daycare teachers continue to report that she is a very good "helper" in the room. Miss Ana mentioned that Melanie would like to be the lead teacher. She checks all the other kids' diapers, makes sure they go down when it's nap time, is always aware of where & what everyone is doing, etc. I said that just sounds like a bossy busybody, but they said she'll make a great big sister!

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Mel will show just about anyone where Mommy's baby is. She pulled up my shirt at the pediatrician when I asked her to show him where the baby was; she also attempted to show a first-time-expectant father at a clothing store this weekend. I hope she's this proud of him/her upon arrival! Her latest trick is also saying "OH, Baby!" - which is the saying on my most comfortable (and most-worn) maternity shirt. I try to get her to say it frequently, since it's so stinkin' cute.

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As for the pregnancy itself, it's progressing smoothly! I've been able to feel the baby move for a couple of weeks now, and on December 12, Jeff could feel it! That is almost to the day (one day short) of where I was in my first pregnancy when we could feel Melanie move; so things are looking/feeling great!