Sleepy Heads

I am amazed at how quickly my memory of my babies fades! The main reason I started this blog was as an attempt to better remember what they were like throughout the different ages. So I plan to start going back and chronicle memories of them.


Going back to Elise as a baby, one of the first things I remember is how sleepy she was. This is just typical of all babies, I know. But I really wasn't prepared for such a snoozer. Feeding Elise was just about always a battle for about the first month and a half because of this. She just didn't want to wake up to eat. She would begin her meal, and without fail, in a minute or two she would be out like a light. We tried everything - tickling her feet, getting her naked, changing her diaper - you name it. But to no avail. It often took close to an hour to get her to finish a meal because it took that much effort to keep her awake.


Joel on the other hand, while a sleepy head as well, was a great eater as a newborn. He loved to eat and ate very quickly. Meal times usually took no longer than 20 or 30 minutes. I have to say that with Joel, nightime feedings were a lot less dreaded!


Even now I can see the difference in their sleepiness play out. Joel is a great sleeper and sleeps great at night and pretty well during naps (although that did take some work). But Elise really needs her sleep. Though she is almost 2 years older, she still usually sleeps more than Joel. And when she doesn't get enough sleep, it quickly shows. It's interesting how much you can see individual traits and personalities play out so early on.
One thing I remember about both of them as sleeping newborns was that they both smiled a lot while they slept. Again, I know this is often typical for babies, but it doesn't make it any less precious to see. Both of my kids took a while before they smiled while awake, but we got lots of views of them smiling in their sleep. We figured they must have been dreaming of milk!

(Original post 11-14-08)

Moochies, nuggets & pine needles

Moochies, nuggets and pine needles...let me tell you what these words mean in the Harrang household!

For a long time Nik has called Joel nugget. Where did that name come from? I don't really know. One day Elise started calling Joely a nugget as well though. It was really cute. She would scrunch up her face, tickle Joel and say, "hello you little nugget!". Then the word began to transition in her mind. During bath time she went through a phase where she got very curious about his unique boy parts. As she started to talk about his private area, she referred to it as his "nugget". So now, nuggets, in her mind, are boy private parts. So she has noticed that Papa and Joely have nuggets, while she and mama do not.

Now on to moochies. One day Elise and I were out in the backyard. She put her hand on my chest and began to talk about my moochies. That word was completely authored by Elise. But from that day on that's what shes called them! So now she talks about how mamas have moochies, but papas do not.

Now for pine needles. The other day Elise was sitting at the table with me and Joel. We were all eating lunch together. She pulled up her shirt and pointed to one side of her chest and said, "these are my pine needles.". So now, I guess moochies are the developed version of pine needles! It is fascinating to see Elise make sense of her body and the world around her - and quite amusing too!

(original post 11-13-08)

Joel's Words

Joel is incredibly verbal. Let me clarify. He loves to use his vocal chords - but he has preferred loud nasally grunts and noises to actual words. The funny thing is that he is fully capable of saying words in a clear way (clear for a 1 1/2 year old that is). For example, a couple of months ago I tried to get him to say See-See, which is what we call Elise (how that nickname came is another blog in itself). We haven't really figured out a good spelling for that name yet. Anyway, he said it beautifully, kind of like "shee-chee". Several times I got him to say it perfectly. But within a day he was back to the grunts. I would say, "Joel, can you say See-See?". And he would just say, quite loudly by the way, something like "hrrr-hrrr", spoken through his nose though, not his mouth.

With time I have learned what his grunts mean. For example, he says, "anna, anna" all the time. We came to learn this was his way of saying, "I want." Lately we have been working on the word please. He knows the sign for please, but he also knows how to say it. Instead of actually saying it though, he prefers to say, "hee", again, spoken through his nose. We decided it was time for him to actually start saying it all the time though. So for the last few days I have not been meeting his requests until he clearly articulates, to the best of his ability, the word please. And now, we finally have a little boy who can clearly say please! It is so exciting! Every day he is starting to speak more and more clearly, and he can even make some full sentences. I have to say though, I think when he has fully outgrown his nasally grunts and noises, I will miss them!

(original post 11-08)

Say "cheese!"

For the most part, Elise was a very smiley and fun baby/toddler. But when it came to pictures she seemed to always be so straight-faced. Right before Christmas, in 2006, we made the mistake of trying to teach her to smile when taking pictures. One of us, probably me, put our hand to our face one time while trying to demonstrate a photo smile. Not only did that catch, but a cheesey forced grin caught as well. For months after the fact, whenever Elise would smile for a picture she would put her hand on her cheek and give us this fake forced smile. It took a long time for her to outgrow it. If we had only known...

(original post 11-08-08)

Tied to the Bink

When we first had kids, I was determined not to have babies who were tied to their Binkies. Elise rarely used one her first year of life. I think it was due to a rough teething season, but somewhere along the way, she became addicted. I was glancing through some pictures of her between the age of one and two, and it was almost rare to find a picture without the Binky in her mouth! She just loved that thing! As she neared two, we made a "Binky stays in the bed" rule. She could have it for naptime and nighttime only.

She adjusted very quickly to not having a Binky in the daytime. But her nighttime attachment only grew. For several months Elise would often wake up twice a night crying because her Binky fell out and she couldn't find it. Eventually Nik got a little pouch that we tied onto the crib that held extra Binkies so, should she lose one, she knew where to get another one. It worked fairly well, but wake up calls due to a lost Binky were still not uncommon. We got pretty tired of it, so when she turned two, she said goodbye to her dear Binky. It was a sad parting, but within a couple of days she had recovered.

Joely too turned into a Binky-lover. And now he also has a nigh time and naptime only Binky rule. And often he will wake up crying because he lost his Binky (although not as often as Elise did). And so he too, when he turns two, will have to say goodbye to his dear bedtime friend.

(original post 11-08-08)

Moo, Baa, La la la

My kids love the book "Moo, Baa, LaLaLa". It really is a cute one - and fitting for my kiddos. I was reminded of a fun memory of Elise this week. Joely was pointing to his lion, asking me to get it for him. His way of asking was making the sound of a lion, "Roar!". It was so cute - and then it struck me - this is exactly what Elise used to do when she was younger. She was very verbal early on. And one of the things she first learned to say was the sounds that animals make. (I still remember calling my parents one day and Elise leaving a message of animal sounds on their voicemail). As a result, her first stuffed animals received names that matched their sounds. So, her lambie's name was "Baa." Her lions name was "Roahr". Even when she learned to say "Lambie" and "Lion", she still for a long time preferred to use their sounds for names instead. It is so fun to see Joely follow in her footsteps now.

Teething

Ugh! I do not like teething at all! I think it is safe to say that if Joel could speak more, he would agree wholeheartedly, and even more so! Our buddy doesn't seem to have the highest threshold for pain. And unfortunately, when he teethes, he tends to get several teeth in in a short amount of time. The past several days he has been CRANKY! It didn't take me longer than a few hours to figure out he was teething. He currently has four or five teeth coming through, many of them being eye teeth which are very painful.

Typically when Joel teethes he gets sick. I realize many doctors say teething doesn't cause colds, fevers, etc. From personal experience I beg to differ! The teething itself may not cause the illness, but I think it throws Joel's system so out of whack, because he gets so upset, that he just picks up bugs as a result. This time I was determined not to let that happen. He has been doused with vitamin C, and Tylenol to keep him calm and lots of prayers!. And thanks to God this time he is not sick! But man, is he ever crabby. Still sweet, but when he doesn't get his way, look out! I cannot wait until these teeth come through. It will be a blessed day in the Harrang household when Joel's final tooth comes through. That day cannot come soon enough!

(original post 11-04-09)

The Storyteller

For the past several months Elise has been very into being told stories. While she has been a book worm since she was a baby, now she would most often prefer to have you tell her a story. We've had all sorts of sagas and series, such as the the many tales of Princess Sally and her horse Neigh (these are Harrang originals), or of the Princesses Ariel, Cinderella and friends, or of Curious George. Let me tell you, our creativity is often running quite dry after making up literally dozens and dozens of stories to entertain her! Fortunately, Elise has a lot of creativity and often adds her own ideas to the stories, easing the pressure for us a little. For weeks we would encourage her to tell the story, since often she would be the one to tell us all of the details of the story before we even began. She always resisted, saying she didn't know how. Well in the past week or two that has changed, and a new storyteller has emerged in the form of our Elise. She loves telling us stories, and although I am slightly biased, I think she is quite good at it! A few days ago she started to tell me a story about several Annas. There was Anna-two-ya, Anna three-ya, Anna-four-ya...and then she paused. I think adding on the "ya" to the numbers was getting her a bit confused. So she started over - there was OneAnna, TwoAnna, ThreeAnna, FourAnna, and FiveAnna. I don't remember the rest of the story, but that part was so cute! Her new thing is telling stories with a mean king and a mean queen. I don't know quite where this came from, but now she has been asking me when she sees a person, "Mama, is that a mean person or a nice person?" (Oh, I just remembered where this all has come from! It is Halloween season and in all of the stores we go to the deocrations are everywhere. I personally think that some of the stuff is too scary! And so Elise has aksed me when she sees big witches or monsters growling and making scary noises, "Mama, are they mean?". I suppose it has translated over to her wondering that question about everyone! Blogging is so helpful for remembering stuff!). So we have a new storyteller in the house. Next time you see her, be sure to ask her if she can tell you a story! (oringinal post 11-18-08)

He's Got Character

Elise is so social - and has always been that way. So I assumed when we had Joel that he would be a little more shy. Well...I was definitley wrong on that one. Early in Joel's life we learned that he has a very vibrant personality. There is rarely any middle ground with Joel. He is either loving life, or life has just ended as we know it. When he is upset, boy is he upset. But for a better part of the time he simply has a zest for life.

He has the most amazing laugh - the kind that literally could be recorded and sold - like the tickle me Elmo laugh. And as social as our little girl is - really, I hardly know anyone as up for meeting and chatting with new people - Joel is the one who fills the role of the life of the party. Isn't life just one big party after all?

One of the things that floats Joely's boat more than anything else is a good balloon. And thanks to Gammie, in Southern California last month Joel recieved the balloon of all balloons - a gigantic Mickey Mouse. We had a full schedule in So Cal with my brother Scott's wedding. So the balloon came just about everywhere for a couple of days because it was sure to make Joel happy. The night before we left Joel had one last enjoyable time with his special Mickey balloon before we had to say goodbye and toss it. He had a nice bath, got to be naked, had on his favorite sunglasses, his best friend doggy (named "gaga"), and his Mickey balloon. Does life really get any better for an 18 month old? I doubt it! Oh, the simpicities of childhood. We can learn so much from these little ones!

(original post: 10-17-08)

My 80's girl

One of the things I love about my girl Elise is that she is incredibly creative. She is always coming up with new ideas for art, new ways to use objects around the house, and new ways to accessorize. She is truly an accessory girl - much unlike myself! The more, the better in her mind. And no matter what she wears, she often comes up with a look that is one of a kind.

Take today for example. We were going to the park with some friends and she decided she wanted to dress up in a cute little summer outfit - a yellow skirt and matching halter top given to her by her great-grandpa and grandma. She asked for two braids in her hair, and then added a little headband - which by the way is a headband intended for newborns. She found several about a year ago and decided that they fit her just fine, so she likes to wear one or more of them often.

Then her creativity began to really flow. She brought me a pink ribbon and asked me to tie it around her waste, like a belt. It seemed a little odd to me, but I love to encourage her creativity so I agreed. Minutes later she came to me with a super long blue ribbon and made the same request again. So I again agreed, having to wrap it around her waste twice because of the length. Then she decided she wanted to wear her tennis shoes with the outfit and picked out pink socks to match. She doesn't like her socks folded - she actually prefers them hiked all the way up. I have tried to explain to her that it looks a little silly. She doesn't agree, but she met me half way and let me scrunch them down a little bit. Her look today was completed with an oregon sweatshirt that her grandma bought her because it was a little too cool this morning to go out in a halter top alone.

As I looked at my cutie bug I saw, for Elise, a pretty normal sight - a very unique attire that illustrated who she is to a tee - and would fit quite well into the 80s scene as well! Every once in a while there is a part of me that wants to tame down her expressive looks (and there are times I might step in just a little), but I want to encourage her to be the way God has created her to be. I love my kiddo!!

(Original post 10-17-08)