The Strait Scoop: January 2011

The weather here has been just awesome here the last couple of days....60 degree weather and bright, sunny skies. Of course, within 48 hours it's due to get down to like -20, but whatever. Yesterday afternoon we took the kids to the park to take advantage while we could.

The kids love to swing!

Sadie never wants to take a picture with me now....can't wait until she's a teenager.

Such a big boy!

Sadie looked scared to death every time she went down the slide, but wanted to do it again and again.

Sadie and Daddy....

Parker wanted to "catch" them as they came down the big slide.

Father and son.

Walking to the basketball court....

....and Sadie trying hard to keep up!

This doesn't look like it's going to end well.

Me and my boy!

Wow, so I didn't realize how long it's been since I've posted updated info on each of the kids! I've been trying to complete some other projects lately, and well, as a mother, when something has your attention, something else usually doesn't. So my apologies to those who follow this blog....I'll try not to let it happen again. Who am I kidding? It will likely happen again, so I'll just apologize in advance for that, too. I'll start with Parker first....

Parker is four now and quite the big boy. Even his little physique looks like a big boy now. *Insert a tear rolling down my cheek here.* He definitely likes to do things for himself, but he gets frustrated quickly if he can't quite do what he's trying to do.
Parker is finally, yes FINALLY, fully potty-trained! It took nearly 15 months, and just like (snap) that the battle was over. It happened sometime during the first week in December. Parker was acting funny, so I asked him if he needed to go poo-poo. He said "No....yes....but I don't want to cry" (something he had ALWAYS done if we tried to get him to go on the potty). I said "OK, you're not going to cry", and he went to the bathroom and that was that. The rest, as they say, is history. Andrew and I are deliriously happy.
Parker loves to boss Sadie around. Sometimes she loves it, sometimes not. He also subtly does many things to annoy her....on purpose, of course. Gotta love sibling interactions.
Parker isn't very picky as it relates to food, but he has started taking forever to eat at mealtimes. He is usually too busy talking, playing, singing, etc.
A couple of weeks ago, Andrew got Parker interested in playing the quiet game. At first he was awful and couldn't remember to stay quiet to save his life. Now he loves to play and "wins" every time, and we go nuts cheering for him.
Parker is constantly saying things that crack us up. When he started going on the potty, we told him how proud we were of him a LOT. Now, when we do something that he likes, he says "I'm so proud of you!". Also, we've been working with him on always telling the truth....not something he really has a hard time with, but there are the occasional moments. The other day, we were eating lunch and Parker asked if he could have some pudding. I told him yes, and he said "Thanks for telling me the truth, Mom!!!!".
Parker still sucks him thumb when he's really tired or going to sleep....about the only 'baby'ish thing that he still does.
Parker loves to take baths, play games on Andrew's phone or the Nintendo Wii, paint, watch movies, read books, put together puzzles, sing songs, go on errands, and play outside, to name a few.
A couple of Parker's challenges lately are whining and not listening. We are working on these daily with as much patience as we can muster.
Parker's favorite toy right now (outside of Daddy Hippo) is his big Buzz Lightyear that he got from his Nonni for Christmas.
Parker and Andrew wrestle almost every night. Somewhere along the way, Andrew would tell Parker "I'm gonna wrestle you down, boy" while they played. Now, Parker says that to Andrew to try and entice him to wrestle.
Parker is a mostly sweet, awfully funny, and usually happy little boy!

Now for little Sadie girl....

Sadie is now nearly 21 months old! At her last appointment at the doctor's office she was at the 20th percentile for weight and the 15th percentile for height, so even though she's gained some weight from her last visit she's still a little peanut.
Sadie certainly has a mind of her own and an opinion about everything. She has no qualms expressing herself.
Sadie says a lot of words now including 'bite', 'my' for mine, more, 'tees' for please, 'puppy' for cuppy, bye, NO, 'tain too' for thank you, 'aahhh-e' for sorry, and 'Kawker' for Parker to name several. About a month or so ago, she also started saying 'mommy' and 'daddy' instead of 'ma-ma' and 'da-da'.
Sadie loves to play with Parker....most of the time. When they get along, they get along. When they don't, they don't.
Sadie is very independent and loves to try to feed herself with a spoon and fork. She eats very well....usually at least as much as Parker.
Sadie is quite dramatic when the "need" arises. She has been known to throw herself on the ground, kicking, hands on her face, the whole nine yards, in protest to something that she doesn't like. She has also become a screamer. If something is bothering her (usually Parker), she will let out an ear-piercing scream so that no one nearby will miss out on her displeasure. She is also spontaneously sweet and gives hugs and kisses easily.
Sadie LOVES to dance to music, and she gets into it with her whole body.
Sadie can be quite sneaky. When Parker was little, I never needed to worry if he was quiet. If Sadie is quiet, that means I'd better verify her whereabouts and quick! If I leave the room for even a moment, 99% of the time she is into something that I have told her no less than 157,000 times to leave alone.
She still puts her hand/hands on her face when she's tired or to comfort herself. She also likes to have her 'ba-ba' or blankie nearby.
Sadie loves to take baths, play with Parker, read books, push her baby in her doll stroller, build with blocks, climb on anything and everything, carry a purse, and pretend talk on her toy cell phone.
Sadie still naps once a day. She goes down willingly at naptime, and seems to enjoy having the time to rest. Even though she also sleeps well at night, at least 3-4 nights a week I wake up in the night to hear her having a grand time talking, laughing, and yelling "NO" in her bed.
Overall, Sadie is a sweet, funny, and sometimes naughty pretty little girlie!

And for fun, here are a few pictures of my little darlings. Every once in a while, the kids will hold hands in the car. One day last week, they held hands all the way home from work. I took a picture when we came home...

Both of the kids like to read books. Yesterday, Parker grabbed his dinosaur book and told Sadie to "get your blanket and come here so I can read to you".