It Okay

Today Noelle received a package from her Great Grandparents. She tore into it with excitement and surveyed her adorable new outfits. After much consideration she decided to try on some bright yellow pants while leaving on her purple long sleeve shirt. She slipped them on and looked down at her new outfit. Word for word she says to me, "Mommy this not match, but it okay, we not going anywhere today."

We Hate Snot

"I have snot!" shouted Noelle from her bedroom 2am Wednesday morning. I ran and tried to comfort her to no avail. Asking her to blow into a kleenex was just like asking our dog to tap dance around the house. My two year old doesn't do well when it comes to extricating her mucus into a soft tissue. "Find someting else for snot Mommy." she tells me matter of factly, after her failed attempt. I suggest the lovely snot sucker and that was not a good idea. "Whatcha goin do now for snot?" she asks with her little hands on her hips.

When you are used to sleeping through the night it is hard to get your brain in full work mode that early. I just wiped what I could and put her back down. Needless to say that was the beginning of our sick week.
Wednesday Noelle had a fever that followed through to Thursday. We spent the days inside snuggling and wiping the nose a lot. Of course, it is very difficult to keep a two year old away from her beloved little brother. We washed our hands a ton and just hoped Max wouldn't come down with anything.

Well Saturday morning he had a fever. When a little guy just under four months gets a high fever I get scared. He's too young and fragile so I decided to run him to the walk in clinic just down the road to be on the safe side. They concluded it was just a virus after checking his ears and giving him a throat culture. Even though I'm not a doctor, I had a feeling going in that is was just a virus but I wanted it to be checked out since the fever was pretty high.

Andy, Amanda, and Olivia Feyes came over to visit on Saturday. The Dads went to a Red Wings game and we stayed at home with the children. Noelle was exceptionally crabby, having woke up very early and had a short nap. Even though she was irritable she enjoyed the company of another little girl around. They played fairly well together and had a really good time. Tom and Andy enjoyed an action packed, high scoring, winning game. Also, they were able to see Gordy Howe and get an autograph from him! Both men sounded like little children as they recalled the encounter, it was pretty cute!

Today we had to take Max in again to the doctor. He has oral thrush and was given some medicine to help clear it up. Pretty common in nursing babies, but definitely uncomfortable for my little man. We will spend the rest of this week recovering from our illnesses (sometime in the last few days I came down with the cold as well) and finding things to keep us entertained.

CAUTION:

The following post contains numerous photographs from the past week. If pictures of children cause you to feel fatigue with dullness, this in not the post for you.

Thursday, Noelle, Max, Charlotte and I took a trip to the Zoo. It was a success on multiple levels, from the weather to unbelievably well behaved children. The pure excitement permanently planted upon Noelle's face was breathless. To view the world for the first time through a two year old's eyes is remarkable.

The day before the trip it was all she could talk about. While conversing about the animals we would see, she would ask, "Peas talk about more animals Mommy." if I took a pause at all. Thursday morning she woke and the Zoo was the only thing on her mind. Unfortunately, while driving there I had to make a quick stop. I pulled into a gas station and Noelle exclaimed, "We here, I see animals!".

The carousel, train ride, and many exhibits were a big hit and we will be returning many times this summer.

Her first carousel ride ever:

Noelle and Aunt Ceecee on the train:

This is what Max did most of the time:Watching the otters:

Here are some more pictures of the children. I am in a bit of a crabby mood and honestly don't feel like writing much so I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Crib Success

It appears my little man just needed a bigger bed! Maximilian was waking up around 5-6am after going down for bed at 9:30pm. I had a feeling the bassinet was getting too small when I would find that he had kicked himself toward the top and thus contributing to his waking at the crack of dawn. Since the big move he now sleeps from 9:30pm to 7:30am. I can't complain much about that!

Noelle Stories:

After being very loud and silly I said to Noelle, "You are my little Monster". Noelle responds with, "I no Monster, I a pincess Mommy."

While playing outside Noelle throws her ball (pink one, of course) down the hill then chases after it. I tell her that she could throw it the other way and then wouldn't have to chase it down the hill. Noelle looks at me and says, "But it so much fun to chase ball down hill!". It looked like too much work for me!

She now loves to say over and over, "Max SOOOO hansome!" A lot of times she will always tell Daddy the same thing.

After a very messy play session I asked her to pick up her toys and she actually did, a rarity. When she was done she put her little hands one her hips and said, "I a really great happy helper!". That you are my princess!

"Max is a baby, I a big gurl and Mommy a big big big gurl!"

Aunt Ceecee is on her way to visit so next post will have pictures of our very exciting trip to the Toledo Zoo!!

Just Another Week

It seems that Noelle's two-year-old-attitude has faded. I feel I may have been premature in my frustration and concern mentioned in the last post. A very mellow well behaved Noelle has made this past week very enjoyable.

Sadly, the only day I left the house was Monday. I had a scheduled oil change at the dealership. How sad is that? I only leave the house for an appointment. Anyways, it went very well. Unfortunately, we were there for over an hour, in the past they are usually pretty prompt with their service, and both children managed to keep smiles on their faces. Noelle was given a big balloon that made her day. We walked around and played in the show cars to pass the time.

The weather was pleasant and to reward her for being so patient and understanding at the dealership, I promised to take Noelle to the park after her nap. Of course, as soon as she woke the first words out of her sweet little lips were "I go to park now, peas Mommy". I honored the promise and off we went.

She has only been to a park maybe once or twice (my poor deprived child) before. After some much needed encouragement she figured out that she could climb on the play equipment all by herself. The whole time I was standing next to the equipment guiding her and if she lost sight of me, even just for a brief second, she would yell out, "Mommy Bear, where is you at?". Soon more and more children began to arrive. Noelle began to get nervous and kept saying, in a hushed tone, "Mommy Bear, so many people scare me". Yeah, they scare me too Noelle!

"Hush Little Baby" has become a fan favorite around our house. After a few days of made up words that did not rhyme or make any sense we looked up the real ones online. Noelle now will correct you with a stern, "dat not the right way" if we screw up! While putting away some laundry, the children were on the bed in the room with me. Max began to fuss and Noelle quickly grabbed his hand and began signing, "Hush yittle baby, don't you cry. Momma gonna buy you a mocking bird...". She made it through the whole song as I sat there, admiration at her gentleness overwhelming me. The moment she began to sing Max stopped fussing and after she finished she looked at me with a huge smile and said with much happiness, "I make him all better! I make Max stop croying!"

I just wanted to add a little bit about Max. He is now a super smiley guy. He laughs and smiles at everything! A definite crowd pleaser when I do make it out of the house. Friday, I decided that it was time to more him up from the bassinet to his crib. I have realized that I am still a sap (every little growth step Noelle went through was met with much emotion by me), crying at the mere thought of my baby boy growing up so fast!

From Tom: Today, Baby Max and I watched the Red Wings win game two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was very excited, and loved sitting in his bumbo chair while rooting the home team on. The little man has the gummy smiles down pat these days, and it is a very satisfying look. I went to the grocery store while Noelle napped today, as this makes it possible for me to take advantage of her time awake. A very happy girl welcomed me home, and she even helped put the new purchases away. What an angel!

A Big Helping Of Sweet n' Sour Noelle

I love sweet n' sour chicken but can do without sweet n' sour Noelle. This past week has been a long one to say the least. The good ol' terrible two's have officially set in and are testing Tom and I at every turn. This is the first week in which I have been brought to tears over a challenging child. Her emotions are now pouring in like the Hoover Dam. Amidst her high flying ponytails and princess-like demeanor, there lies a dangerous little creature, choc full of new words and emotions; capable of spilling out when I least expect it.

She has grown an invincible set of ear muffs that seem to mute out all the directions Tom and I give to her. But of course they don't completely cut out our voices because, with her back to us, she will sneak a look back and give this little devilish smile. Then she continues on in her own world. Sometimes the muffs are only half working because she will, with much attitude, yell out "No, Mommy Bear" and continue on with whatever action I had previously asked her to stop.

Time outs are a thing that challenges her and I. Me, because I have a difficult time ignoring the cries of "I so sorry Mommy Bear" coming from her corner. For her she just sobs and complains, "I have tears and snot!" and "I so upset" or "I so sad Mommy" while crying out. Busying myself with things around the house while she sits for the two minutes helps a bit to overcome the urge to grab her and just squeeze her.

Here comes the first change in authors for the Roehrig Family Chronicle. The rock of the family, Momma Bear, is currently attending to Max. She has tasked the Poppa Bear to finish this post. Where do I start. This weekend was full of fun and relaxation. Every Friday night I tell Noelle that it is the weekend and ask her what that means. She exclaims, "Daddy home!" It's almost too much to live up to, given the audience. Friday nights are usually spent bribing Noelle with promises of fun, as long as she goes to bed without incident. It never seems to pay off, as she is always up by 8 am.

My Saturday consisted of catching up on the chores, 3 loads of laundry, cleaning of two bathrooms, and general toddler clean up. I look forward to Saturday and Sunday afternoons, when Noelle and Mom take naps in their respective beds. This leaves me with little man on the couch for relaxation and tv time. Sunday was spent watching the Red Wings finish their season with a win over the once hated Black Hawks. My prediction is that the Hawks will be a contender within the next two or three seasons. They look like the Wings did a couple of years ago before the Euro Twins were known.

Alas, it is time to wind down, so I leave some pictures to tell the tale of two little people. Norah and Kitty Mitzel appear in one picture, for they went with Mom, Noelle, and Max for a much needed outing to Cabela's on Friday.






P.S. Isn't my Husband wonderful! There was no asking by me for laundry or cleaning of bathrooms . It was just Tom being purely perfect once again!

Do Or Die For The Eye...

Who needs straight eyes? So what if one eye turns in while the other looks straight. From my experience it fascinates some people and creeps out others. I wish it were that simple and I didn't have to worry about the inherent cross-eyed problems my children face. I find myself constantly studying their eyes. While playing, talking, and basically all day long I stare, focusing on every movement the eye makes. Was that the left eye turning it? Was that the right eye turning out? Poor Noelle and Max. I think they would say, "Mom you are kind of creeping me out." if they weren't used to it.

After staring into Noelle's eyes, past the glasses, scrutinizing every move the muscles were making, I had a good feeling about today's doctor appointment. My feeling was dead on. The doctor said that the glasses alone were correcting the crosses. Imagine me, nerves in a bundle over the thought on my Angel facing surgery, exhaling all the worry out in one big breath. It was wonderful news.

Being a very wonderful doctor, she decided to take a quick look at Max while he was there. His eyes were right on! Mind you, he is only three months and that can quickly change, but for now we are in the clear. I have an appointment scheduled for the beginning of September for both children. The will look at Noelle's eyes once again to make sure the glasses are doing their job. Also, Max will go through the big visit, dilation and a more in depth exam, to see if he will also be in glasses.

For the next five months I can back off the intense, and some what creepy, eye staring and enjoy my babies!