Dol..dud.

I suppose it's my own fault for procrastinating.

With Gemma, I had most of the DIY projects for the party done before I went back to work. Now I'm scrambling, trying to do overtime at work while we have it and at the same time trying to organize this party. I still have so many missing details, forget the DIY stuff. I'm trying to do things a bit more different this time, but it all seems to be ending up to look the same as Gemma's dol. 

i haven't even decided on whether I should do a cake this time or do cupcakes again! 

I feel so bad... my brain is constantly elsewhere and when I get a moment to relax, that's what i want to do - RELAX - not sit for another hour burning the crap out of my fingertips trying to glue tiny beans onto a cardboard cylinder... 

But I promise you, Leni, IT WILL GET DONE! 

lol...

Leni

I can't believe my BABY is 11 months old. I mean, she's going to be turning ONE in a matter of weeks! This time last year, I was so uncomfortable I couldn't sleep in my own bed and I could hardly walk from hip pain. I remember just wanting the pregnancy to be over and being anxious to get my own body back. Well, I should've known that my body would never return, but that's an entirely different post... 

At 11 months, Leni is... hmm...

hmm....

i know that seems a bit weird, but i don't really know what to say to describe her. If I try to think of just one word to describe her, it would be... SCREAMY. 

she screams. ALL THE TIME. happy, sad, mad, hungry, excited, frustrated, annoyed, etc. As much as I love her, I find I just really need a break at the end of the day from all the screaming. She is incredibly stubborn and actually really needy - I wonder if that has to do with her being a second-born in that there has always been someone there her entire life, whereas Gemma is very independent and i wonder if that's because she is used to spending short amounts of time by herself. I don't know if it's separation anxiety or just her personality, but she cannot be left alone. As soon as I turn around to walk away, she is screaming. Then, she follows me around, just screaming and crying until I pick her up. 

Leni also loves to eat. TOO MUCH. She can't get enough of food! She eats as much as Gemma does (and Gemma eats almost as much as my mom) and I swear both of my kids (and me too, I guess, hehehe) lack that communication between the stomach and brain where the stomach tells the brain it's full. Frankly, the only times that Leni isn't screaming is when she has something in her mouth or when she is sleeping. Every mealtime, it's a struggle trying to get her out of her high chair - she gets so mad! 

She's not walking yet, but she is standing more and more everyday. I am hopeful that she will walk soon, mostly because then she can go to forward facing and I figure that will make her like being in the car a bit more. She is an insanely fast crawler and she loves to climb up to the top of the stairs and then slide down as quickly as she can on her belly. We also have an indoor slide that she loves to play on. She is so strong, she can pull herself up on the slide part and then slide down on her belly. 

It's hard to believe she's going to be one so soon. As challenging as she is, she is cute as a button and I just love her to bits. 

Gemma

My dear 2-1/2 year old... Everyday she surprises me with how much she knows. Who says kids don't learn from TV?? LOL. Good excuse, I know. 

When do kids start to be able to carry a tune? Gemma just loves to sing and she sings ALL THE TIME. About a month ago or so, I really noticed how much more she can carry a melody than she used to be able to. Now that she can do that and she realizes she can do that, she puts random words into melody. Her favorite melody is for "Clementine" and she'll use this tune to sing almost anything. For example, "have to go pee, have to go pee, have to go pee go peeeeee" or "peanut butter, peanut butter, peanut butter and jelleeeeeee"

Totally different topic now ...

Last Sunday, we took Gemma to church. A Korean church. Oddly enough, it was Jesse's suggestion for trying to get her to retain Korean outside the house and to know that other people speak it too. It's about 40 minutes away. When we got there, Gemma was in great spirits. All the old people would compliment her on her cuteness when she would walk by and she was just sopping up all the attention. We were greeted by a nice man, who recognized that we were visitors (even though it's quite a big church) and took us down to the Sunday School downstairs. It was for kids 2-1/2 years and maybe up to kindergarten age? I dunno. But anyway, I think at this point the attention got a bit overwhelming for Gemma and she started to freak out. She got really shy and wouldn't leave my side or make eye contact with anyone and basically cried anytime anyone tried.

I have to say, though, that Sunday School program was really great! They sang songs with actions, then a Bible story (about Joseph), then a snack, then another story. The kids had to raise their hands to speak and follow certain rules within the classroom. Gemma has never been in a setting like this before and obviously she had no idea what the rules were or what rules ARE even, but then again, she cried nearly the entire time (other than snack time). I'm not sure if me being there the entire time was helpful to her or not. I wonder if I should just leave her there next time - would she just get over the fact and just join in? 

I myself had a really good time, LOL. Anyway, we were hoping to go again tomorrow (and keep going), but half of this household is sick and I think it's best we stay away. I think it will be good for her though to make some Korean friends, GO TO CHURCH, and learn what preschool is kinda like...

update

I've been working so much overtime the last 2 weeks, by the time I'm done work I really don't want to be on the computer anymore. 

Scarlet fever - It's NOT scarlet fever! Well, it mustn't be, since we never got a call about the swab results. Leni's rash faded away quickly after my last post and she is back to her usual self. In fact, I think she is making up for the lost time still, plenty of energy, plenty of trouble-making, plenty of annoying Gemma...

Leni's mastered our stairs and we have to really remember the close the gate at the bottom of the stairs or else that's where we can expect to find her. Fortunately (and knock on wood) she hasn't taken a tumble down yet. 

I don't know if Leni is also trying to make up for lost appetite, but it seems like she just can't eat enough. We are pretty much giving her what we eat minus the seasoning and I think she eats about as much as Gemma - and Gemma eat a LOT. She can't handle seeing food anywhere or anyone else eating. She throws some of her biggest tantrums when wants more food. 

The food thing - she's just like Gemma. Both kids just love to eat, it's hard to keep the fridge stocked. 

A way in which Leni is nothing like Gemma, though, is the fact that Leni eats everything off the floor - carpet fuzzies, a torn piece of paper, a leaf that has fallen off a plant, a piece of dried up food that fell onto the floor the night before, a piece of dirt, mini hair elastics, etc. Gemma always mouthed her toys, but she never would seek things out off the floor and automatically put it in her mouth. It's exhausting, trying to keep up with her so she doesn't eat something. I vacuum constantly, but it seems like there is always something for her to put in there. 

Gemma has been into two things lately: drawing and puzzles. She has always loved to draw and now, she can really draw recognizable things. Most of the time, it's still fluke, but if you ask her to draw a face, she will draw a big circle, two small circle for eyes (and a line connecting the two for glasses), a another circle for a nose, and either a smile or a frown for the mouth. She sometimes even squiggles in hair. It's amazing to me that at this age she can draw something like that. She also draws big spikes for mountains or small spikes for grass, and experimenting with circles and lines, writing "100" or "olio", etc. She can also do a 48-piece puzzle by herself and can sit for a long time just keeping herself busy in these ways.

Gemma has also really started to warm up to Leni in the last couple of weeks. She really likes playing with her now, crawling after her, putting stuff on her head to make her look like a "princess", etc. If Gemma is coloring or something and Leni comes over to join in, she's prompt to say "No Leni, that's my crayon" or whatever and gives her something else to play with. Ninety-nine percent of the time it doesn't work though and Leni still goes after whatever Gemma's doing. Oh, little sisters.