Christmas 2013

Our Christmas festivities were intense and long, but I am happy to report that everyone in my little crew were happy and healthy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Lainey gave us a scare Sunday and Monday with a nasty cold, but she woke up virtually snot free Christmas Eve morning...a lovely Christmas miracle. Nick is back on the sick train with a horrible cold, but we just returned from the doctor and he is ear infection free...for now. Maybe New Year miracle for him tomorrow?

 

We celebrated in Moline this year and Lainey and Nick got lots of quality time with their cousins. Lainey still adores her cousin Amelia (I think she said her name about a million times over three days) and is now old enough that she and Oliver can pal around and play. Nick and Eleanor got along quite well, too!

 

We took the kids to get the obligatory Santa picture...I think this may be a Moline holiday tradition, because it's so fast and easy at the mall there. Who wants to wait in a long line for a picture that's probably not going to be that great? There were no tears this year, but Lainey was still leary of the big guy. Nick rolled with it for the most part, but getting them both to look at the camera and smile was impossible. You can check out the result below. Good enough, I say.

 

The kids enjoyed an overflow of presents Christmas Eve night from the family and Christmas Day from Santa (Lainey finally decided to be on the "nice" list - whew!). Mid-morning we bundled up and headed over to Uncle Tim and Aunt Rebecca's for some sledding fun. Lainey LOVED it! We couldn't get her inside. It was back to Grandma and Grandpa's for nap time and then back to Tim and Rebecca's for dinner and lots of play for the kids. Lainey enjoyed watching her big cousins Jacob and Ben play guitar hero and checking out Ben's new drum set. She also played her first games of hide-and-seek, sticking close to Amelia (and kinda' ruining Amelia's hiding as a result). It was awesome watching all of them hang out and interact. As we were leaving to head back to for bedtime,  Lainey said, "Daddy, I had so much FUN!" Aaawwww...

 

After a quick birthday celebration for Amelia and Oliver Thursday morning, it was time to head back to Chicago where Dad and Sharon were waiting for us. We rushed through another huge stack of gifts (my kids are nothing if not spoiled), while skyping with Uncle Chris. It was a whirlwind! But, Lainey got her most prized possession of Christmas, a pink acoustic guitar from Grandpa! Stay tuned for some video of her strumming and singing "Oh my darlin', Clementine." Spoiler alert...it's adorable!!!

 

Dad and Sharon stayed through the weekend and headed back yesterday. So, things have been all over the place for the past week or so, but it's all been worth it for the kids to have some great quality time with our loved ones. Now on to 2014...hoping for good health and cheer!!!

 

Eleanor and Nick Having Some Fun

Elaine is keeping her distance...

 

Enjoying her first candy cane with her idol, Amelia



Guitar from Grandpa...our little folk singer

Nick is 9 Months!

Another month has flown by in little Nick's life. This last one has been rough on him, so here's hoping for a brighter path to month 10.

We did his 9-month check-up on December 9, but I've been holding his stats for the official monthly update. He's 21 lbs. 6 oz. (75% - although I suspect this has gone done a bit over the last week, what with the whole eating strike and all). He's still topping the charts in length  (29.5" / 95%) and head circumference (18 3/8" / <95%).

Nick is crawling everywhere now and is starting to pull himself up, but hasn't gotten all the way to his feet yet. He's taking on finger foods like a champ and pretty much attacked Mark's pizza last night. So, we may get that weight back before we know it. The teeth that we've been swearing are coming in for the last two months are still nowhere to be seen, but he continues to gnaw on anything in arm's reach and to soak his shirt in drool.

In less fun news, I think his "dream baby" days are over. I don't know if it was the extra attention at Thanksgiving, all the illnesses, or just his age, but he has become pretty demanding. Where he once was happy to play alone where ever I decided to plop him, separation anxiety has reared its ugly head and he mostly wants to be right by my side. Nap time was always a breeze, but now takes some extra rocking, swaying, and back rubbing. He also has a new and inexplicable hatred for putting on his jammies at night. He wails and screams and fights during this once perfectly calm and lovely nighttime ritual. The worst of it all, however, is he's back to waking at 4:00 - 4:30 AM every day. Last Friday, not only did he rise at 4:30 AM, he screamed every time I sat down. If I was walking, he would collapse against my shoulder and sleep, but the minute I tried to take a load off, he would erupt. As soon as I took that first step to continue pacing, he was right back asleep. I finally got Mark up at 5:30 AM to switch.

But, in spite of his new found fussiness, he's still a joy and watching his new feats and daily discoveries is awesome. We love our little buddy!

School Photos

It's once again school picture time at CLP. Nick is looking pretty good in them, but the ones of Lainey make me cringe a bit. But, in spite of the heinous background and Lainey's odd expressions and "unique" hair style, we still shelled out the $100 to buy a DVD with the images (this was actually the most economic option).  Yes, we are suckers.

This one is pretty cute

Not Lainey's best angle

Little Buddy

Nick worked it!

Not so bad...

I don't know where to start with this one...

Magical World of Make Believe

Elaine had a special visit this past Friday from the Binky Fairy. We had been talking about her impending visit since October to build Lainey up for the big event. She had seemed on-board with the whole idea until last Wednesday, when I think it finally clicked that the Binky Fairy was going to take all of her pacifiers and leave a present--not bring her new ones along with a present. Her attitude changed abruptly once this was clear to her.

Friday night, we collected all of her binkies in a basket (I let her keep one in her mouth for the final farewell). But, when we got up to her room she snatched them all, ran to her bed and laid down on top of them. Knowing this would present a problem for the Binky Fairy later, I finally coaxed her into just keeping one in her hand, one in her mouth and returning the rest to the basket. The stealthy Binky Fairy collected all five binkies a few hours later and left a Princess Sofia doll in their place. The night didn't go very smoothly and Lainey ended up in our bed, but she hasn't so much as asked for a binky since. Guess the Binky Fairy could have come sooner.

Keeping with the theme of magical beings who come bearing gifts, I helped Lainey pen her very first letter to Santa on Saturday (see below). I think her list is a reasonable, although I question the integrity of her opening statement. Of course, the term "awhile" leaves wide room for interpretation. Using Santa as a disciplinary aid hasn't really worked on our girl. Last night when I asked if she was going to be on Santa's good list or bad list, she proudly told me she was on the "bad" list, said "guess no presents for me" and happily went on about her business. I probably shouldn't invoke the "lump of coal" threat anyway, since her behavior would have to get pretty extreme before I would follow through on it. I was just hoping to buy a few easy outs during the holiday season. Maybe the Easter Bunny will have more impact on her...

Crayon colors chosen by Lainey

Amoxicillin...Music to My Ears

Never in my wildest thoughts would I have imagined feeling relief at the diagnosis of a double ear infection. But after a stressful and worrisome 48 hours when Nick suddenly refused to eat and we thought his RSV had made a resurgence and escalated to pneumonia, I was almost happy to hear the news. Ear infections can be treated. Ear infections I know and understand. I expect to have another bumpy night tonight, but tomorrow the antibiotics should start bringing him (and me) some relief. He'll take his last dose Christmas morning. That's all the gift I need. 

Quick Hits

I would love nothing more than to spend some quiet time typing away a updates on our world, but I am incredibly tired from an incredibly long 2 1/2 weeks as our poor Nick has fought eye infections, an ear infection, impetigo, and RSV, which after slight improvement seems to be worsening. I think we'll be back to our favorite weekend destination, Town & Country Pediatrics, tomorrow--wouldn't be a weekend without it.

But, there have been some great happenings amidst the prescriptions, ointments, inhalers, and boogie wipes. There are two major milestones in particular that need to be documented in this chronicle of my children's lives...

1. Elaine is potty trained!!! I thought the progress we had made was going to completely fall apart over the trip to Ohio and the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving. But, our girl chose the time to ditch the pull-ups and embrace her big girl undies (Disney Princesses and Elmo). She's still wearing a diaper at night and has had a few accidents, but we're super proud of her! Go Lainey!
2. Nick is crawling!!! He finally progressed past his army crawl and got up on those hand and knees last Saturday. The wood floors slip him up a bit, so he still prefers to slither than crawl, but I'm officially marking this off his developmental check list. And we are officially overdue for baby proofing this place. Nick's been very helpful in showing us where we need improvement in that department. Like when Mark innocently left his steaming hot cup of coffee on the floor and turned his back for 5 seconds. Nick came very close to adding a scalded hand to his list of ailments. 

And that is where I leave you tonight dear friends. My bed is calling my name.

I've Still Got It

After a challenging few weeks with way too many work hours, much too little sleep, and a very sick baby boy (who finally seems to be on the mend), I had a much deserved girls night out on Saturday. The group was smaller than our usual holiday dinner, but, while I missed some faces, it was nice to have an intimate group where everyone could talk collectively. Our awesome planner for the evening, Kristen, picked a great spot, Bento Box,with a prix fixe, chef's choice menu. After a long hiatus from any grown-up evenings in the city, it was just what the doctor ordered.

But, as much as I enjoyed the food and the company, I'll admit my favorite part of the evening was at the bar across the street before anyone had even shown up. As I sat waiting for my lovely, female companions for the evening, an adorable, if somewhat (okay very) inebriated, guy sidled up to my table and tried hitting on me. Of course, I made it known that I was married with two beautiful children, but it still felt nice to get noticed (and by a guy, whom I suspect was quite a bit younger than me). Plus, he was a complete sweetheart and very appropriate, so no harm done. We ended up talking about whether or not he should try online dating or if that was creepy. Good luck to you bar guy, whose name I can't remember!

This Saturday is Mark's night out with the guys...let's see if some young thing tries to pick him up (or maybe not).

I Have Blessings...

I don't know if there is a thing as a stress-free holiday, but I wouldn't mind trying it out sometime. Our trip to Ohio hasn't been smooth sailing, and I was feeling a little "woe is me" earlier today, but I took a deep breath and remembered that I am blessed to have...

• A crying baby at 2:00 AM who won't go back to sleep and a 2-year-old who crawls into bed with me and proceeds to kick me for the two hours available for sleeping. Because it means I also have days with a giggling baby, who looks at me with adoring eyes and a 2-year-old who can't stop hugging me and saying she loves me. 

• Ample access to medical care...even on the holidays. Thank you urgent care (for treating Nick's ear infection) and bless our 24-hour on-call pediatricians (for talking me through his hive outbreak). Although one of these days, I would love to get through a holiday without either of you,  there are other mothers who would give up every holiday for the rest of their lives from the promise of access to a doctor for their babies. 

• A stomachache from eating too much and frustration trying to fit all the leftovers into the fridge. There are millions of people starving right now and would be happy to help make my life a little easier by solving my food storage problems for me. 

So, yeah, life can disappoint and things don't always live up to my expectations, but at the end of the day, I don't have much to complain about. I have blessings all around.

My Biggest Blessings of All! Happy Thanksgiving!

8 Months Old!

Nick is two-thirds of a year old! Which is terrifying to me, because these last eight months have gone by in a blink, so that means he's going to be one way too soon. But, for now he's still me sweet roly-poly baby boy!

Nick is officially on the move, so it's time to start baby proofing some things and paying better attention to what's within reach. He's not crawling on his hand and knees, but does a mean army crawl and is pretty speedy with it. He also can get back to a sitting position from him stomach

He's very vocal and has moved on from his "dadadadada" sounds to the much coveted "mamamama," which means I have a shot at his first word!

To commemorate eight months, I tried for a clip of him army crawling, but Lainey kept video bombing it. So, enjoy a clip of him laughing instead:

So, THIS is What Adults Talk About...

Sometimes I get to do fun things through my job. My company has a table for a series of Global Leader luncheons with varioius speakers. Some are great; some are boring. Yesterday, was a great one with Chris Matthews as the guest speaker. At first, I was a little bummed, because Tom Brokaw was supposed to speak and had to cancel, but I think I enjoyed Matthews' speech and subsequent Q&A much more than I would have Brokaw's (and we got a free, signed copy of his book Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked.)

The book is about the relationshop between Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill and how even though they were complete ideological opposites, they managed to work together and get things accomplished. Now, I was just a wee girl during that administration and haven't particularly studied it in-depth, so I'm taking Matthews at his word that things indeed got accomplished (outside of little stuff like ending the Cold War). Matthews' critiqued our current political leadership and their inabaility to do anything other than name call (and he was completely hilarious, doing so). If you know anything about Chris Matthews, you know he's liberal, but he was just as harsh on Obama as he was Boehner. He just ended his diatribe on Obama's inability to assemble a cohesive leadership structure in his administration by saying "and I like the guy." Boehner didn't get that hedge.

I won't go into a recap of recent Capital Hill showdowns or an editorial on why our governement is broken, because I think, left, right or moderate, most people agree we've got a pretty big problem on our hands and are sick of watching our elected officials not do their jobs. What I really want to write about is how much I enjoy going to these events--whether it's someone as recognizable as Matthews or the CEO of Archer Daniels Midland, whom I'd never heard of, but gave an incredibly thought-provoking talk on global food production and demand.  These talks give me a chance to think and feel like an educated adult. I rarely get to watch the news anymore and only occasionally find the time to scan a newspaper, so I often find myself feeling really dumb and unaware in group conversations these days. One could argue that I could be reading up on current events right now instead of writing this post, and it would be a valid point. But, this blog gives me a little creative outlet and I really enjoy keeping it. I'd rather be clueless on the latest in Syria, but have cute Halloween pictures of Nick and Lainey posted for my family and friends. So, my co-workers may not get dazzled with my insights on chemical weapon disarmament, but my loved ones get to see Nick as Eeyore. It's all about choices, friends.

So, I'll take my slivers of intellectual stimulation when they are conveniently offered to me and get the rest of my news from the Daily Show playing in the background as I fall asleep at night. Perfectly acceptable.

I am looking forward to reading the book,though. Just as soon as I get to Night Film by Marisha Pessl and NW by Zadie Smith...and finish Anna Karenina. I am embarrassed to say I started AK about a week before Nick was born. He will be eight months old next Friday. Again, choices my friends, choices.

Happy Halloween!

Well, our Halloween wasn't the prettiest of days, wet, wet and more wet, but luckily the temperatures popped back up into the 60s, so it made it bearable to get out to a few houses for Lainey's first trick or treat. Mark took her, while I hung back with Nick, waiting for the throngs of trick or treaters I had heard about in our neighborhood. Alas, either the weather kept them in or they all headed out before we were home, because we only had maybe 20 kids. It really bummed me out. I think I was expecting the excitement of my childhood with loads of kids roaming the streets all decked out in their costumes. Then again, in Delaware, we had set trick or treat hours where everyone goes out during the same two hours, so it's all very concentrated. In Chicago, there are no parameters--you could head out at 3pm or 7pm.

But, while trick or treating didn't quite meet my expectations, the party at Lainey's daycare was really cute and fun. I'm going to have to start entering these shindigs with my video camera rolling, because once I again I arrived to Lainey dancing her heart out in the middle of a big circle of parents and kids. There was my little Pooh Bear shaking her bon-bon and twirling 'round and 'round.  The rest of the festivities centered around controlling cookie intake and rotating potty-training toddlers in and out of the bathroom as quickly as possible (they don't exactly understand the concept of "holding it"). It's always fun to see Lainey playing with her classmates, whom we hear so much about. And it's nice to hear from other parents that their kids come home talking about Lainey all the time, and apparently in a positive way, which is reassuring given her problems with hitting and other aggressive behavior (oh, have I neglected to blog about that ongoing issue? Details, details).

Yes, there was also a party in Nick's room, but he doesn't know what's going on yet, so we kind of skipped it. We had planned to hang out for a bit with Nick's class before heading home, but Lainey was way too wound up from her festivities to be contained in the very crowded Koala room. Plus, we still wanted to get home for trick or treating. So, my smiling, happy Eeyore just got scooped up and carted away. I didn't so much as say "hi" to the other parents. I kind of felt bad about that, but got over it pretty quickly. And to future Nick, who may one day read this and think we cared less, please know that we never went to your sister's parties when she was your age either. Mom and Dad aren't "minglers," and the infant room parties are more about the parents than the kids. 

Finally, I am very glad we took time to dress the kids up on Sunday and do a little photo shoot, because amid all the chaos of yesterday afternoon and evening, we weren't able to get any good shots. Lainey refused to pose for any pictures at daycare and Nick was screaming to be fed when we got home, so his costume came off pretty fast and never made it back on.

Enjoy the cuteness of Pooh Bear and Eeyore!

Photo reel in action!

Cookie Time!!!

 

Someone's not done trick or treating!

BUSTED!

Seven Months (and 8 days)

Oh my beautiful boy, Nicholas! Sorry, but I fear I will perpetually lag on your monthly updates. But, better late than never.

Nick (aka Nickles, per Lainey's new nickname for him) is a grand 'ole 7 months! And other than some crankiness and sleeplessness around the onset of his ear infection, he continues to be a dream baby--Dr. Freeman actually wrote it in his chart at the doctor's office.

He's sitting up like a pro now and is oh-so-close to crawling. He's chowing on solids has stopped being so lazy about holding his bottle. He's got a mean grasp and will grab onto anything that gets within reach...time to start the baby proofing again.

He's really into the TV...which is not something I'm particularly proud of, but whatcha' gonna' do? We were really good about keeping Elaine off the tube until closer to 2, but we being a bit more lax with Nick. It's either deprive Lainey of her beloved Nemo (thus inflicting a lot of pain on ourselves) or keep Nick in another room while she gets her fix of the little orange fish. I've tried just turning him away from the TV to play with him, but he just cranes his head over his shoulder or works himself back around to watch. Eh, pick your battles, right? I'm pretty sure my parents put absolutely no restrictions on my TV viewing and I've managed to become a productive, well-adjusted person.

Lainey continues to be his favorite person. She could be smacking him in the face, and he'd just give her his huge, goofy grin. Mommy is in second place, and Daddy comes in third--even Mark will admit to this. And I don't feel even slightly bad about pointing it out, because Elaine was ALL Daddy's girl (and still is). It's nice to have Nick favor me a bit more.

He is growing SO FAST!!! I just bought a bunch of 9-month clothes and he's just fitting into them. When I bought them, they looked HUGE, but now I'm afraid he's going to outgrow them within a month. Slow down little guy...stop growing up so quickly! I need more time!!!

Oh, this guy...love him, love him, love him!!!

My Little Man

 

And a little live action clip...

 

 

Return of the Antibiotic

Well, we had a good run. Nick made it to 7 months without a sick appointment at the doctor. And the diagnosis is...an ear infection. I almost started crying in the doctor's office. Let's hope this is just a one-off and not the beginning of a chronic problem or the end of my dream boy's dream sleep habits (last night was painful for us both). 

Oh, my little Nick!  

Remember When Sick Days Were Fun?

Remember when, as a kid, you had a sick day from school? You got to stay home, watch as much TV as you wanted, and pretty much got waited on hand and foot. Sure, you didn't feel the best, but non-stop Nickelodeon and Popsicles for breakfast wasn't a bad trade. Unless, you were the parent who was doing the nursing and frantically trying to re-juggle your day.

And that is the perspective I relate to these days. Daycare called yesterday at 4pm with the news that Nick had a fever. Of course, yesterday and today are two days I cannot miss at work, because the Board of Directors' meeting is taking place (I'm currently on the 5:50am train to work after being there until 8pm last night). So, once again Mark has to throw his schedule out the window and stay home. Luckily, he has no meetings today. 

I always miss my mom, but on days like these I really wish I could talk to her, if for nothing else than to say, "I get it." I can remember hearing the tension in her voice when I would call her to come get me from school, because I was sick. And I remember thinking, "how can you be mad at me for being sick?" Well, she wasn't. She was probably freaking out about dropping everything at work. And in those days, she couldn't even do a quick alert to people via email or keep up on the basics of the day via remote access (the debate on whether our current access to technological connection is a good or bad thing is for another post). 

Aside from the logistics of getting everything covered, there is the emotional toll of not being able to be with your sick little one. It kills me that I can't stay home and cuddle Nick today. Or that when Elaine was so sick about a month ago, I was in an even more intense work situation and had to be MIA. And so, the debate of "to work or not to work" rages anew in my head this morning. 

At least Lainey is home to help Mark. He just sent me the below...

Should I Just Give Up Now?

Here are a few gems that have come out of my darling girl's mouth over the past week or so. Do I have any hope once she becomes a teenager?


When listening to Mark and me talking: "Mommy, let daddy talk for a minute."

When I got a little worked up over something, "Mommy, calm down."

When trying to overrule my authority:
Lainey: "Daddy, can I..."
Me: "I already said..."
Little hand held out as a stop sign to hush me
Lainey: "I'm talking to daddy."
Followed by a full-on eye roll.

And the one that really puts the fear in me...

When responding to my assertion that I'm the boss,  "No. Lainey's the boss. Mommy's just pretending."

The Pictures are In! The Pictures are In!

Hot off the presses, Nick's photos are in!

For a quick slideshow of the photographer's picks click here:

http://maggiekphoto.com/kylie-anderson

To go through all 100 images...and you KNOW you want to...use the below link and create an account. Access code is eae043b2.

http://maggiekphoto.com/photocart

We didn't hit a family picture out of the park, but there are a few decebt ones. However, there are some really amazing pictures of little buddy. Now we just have to decide what to order...and FAST! We only have a month before the cart expires.

Mom of the Year Award

Mom of the Year Award goes to me, but only if it's being given by Lazy Parenting magazine. It's just been one of those hard weeks that makes it all to easy to take shortcuts.

Cold cereal and yogurt for dinner? Sure!

Back-to-back viewings of Finding Nemo? Why the heck, not?

You don't want to take a bath tonight? Well, let's skip it. I'll just scrub you down with a diaper wipe really quick. Aaaaah...spring fresh!

These are the weeks I'm thankful the kids go to daycare where they get a hot meal and age appropriate stimulation.

Then, I'm reading my Parents magazine with all of these cute Halloween craft suggestions, such as spray painting plastic insects in neon paint and gluing them to a ceramic bowl for handing out candy. Are you kidding me? I will be lucky to get the candy out of the bag and into a clean bowl from the kitchen. An even more likely scenario is me handing out gum from my purse, because I never got around to buying any candy. Just pick the lint off, kids.

I also love the 20-step ideas to liven your child's lunchbox. People...I fed my daughter cold cereal for dinner (albeit at her request). Do you think I have time to cut cucumber slices into stars and make caprese kabobs on toothpicks?

I know there are moms out there somewhere with four kids and two jobs, who will create a full-blown haunted house for Halloween and have soup made with homemade chicken stock ready for post trick-or-treat dining. I freely admit my inferiority and only feel slightly bad about it. Sorry, Lainey and Nick. You will be feasting on Campbell's and wearing store-bought costumes (that I will have to priority ship, because I won't order them until 10/28).

I may not be the Martha Stewart of moms, but I love my kids. They love me. And sometimes that's good enough.

Six Months and Growing!

Our sweet boy hit six months on Sunday! I have no idea where those six months went...didn't I just bring him home from the hospital a few weeks ago? Nick continues to my dream baby. He's a great eater, sleeper and just an all around, happy, roly-poly little guy.

We commemorated the big six months with a professional photo shoot at the house. Proofs should be ready within the next two weeks--stay tuned for the slideshow! Nick really hammed it up for the camera, so I think we'll get some really great shots. Lainey was less cooperative for the family pictures, but I'm hoping we get one or two good ones.

Today Nick had his check-up and his new stats are 18 lbs. 9 oz. (75%), 28.5" (98%), and his head is still at the upper range at 90%. He also had to get the dreaded shots. The nurse was new, so this round was kinda' painful...at least for me to watch. Usually, I can barely blink and the nurses have the shots done and bandaids on. Not so much this time. I could see the needle slowly go in his skin and come back out and more than a few droplets of blood ran down his chubby thighs before she got the bandaids on. I know a new nurse has to learn on someone--but, couldn't someone else's kid be the pin cushion? To make it worse, the combo shot that has four vaccines in one is in short supply, so he had to get them individually. Poor kid...guess he has his father's luck. A few cuddles from mom and all was well in his world again.

Nick's become very vocal and loves giving raspberries. As far as new tricks, he can pull himself forward a few inches when he's on his tummy and has started doing the backwards slither. He's lagging a bit on sitting upright unassisted, so we're working on that right now. Poor kid just doesn't get the one-on-one time Lainey did. He's so content to just hang out on the floor and play with his feet, and she's so insistent on constant attention (I mean CONSTANT), that it's easy to let the evening slip away without getting any focused developmental time with him. Also, you know my earlier comment on not knowing where the time went? Well, I keep thinking he's about two month younger than he is and since I'm not obsessed with What to Expect the First Year this time, I lose track of what developmental milestones he should be hitting and when. I'm not worried about it, though. He's very strong and has great motor skills overall. And even with a few sessions over the weekend of focusing on sitting, he's made huge strides.

Happy six months to my little buddy!!! Let's try to slow the next six down just a little bit.

Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!

I just lost a post I spent 30 minutes writing when I should have been using that time to do a million other things, including sleeping. It was a good one, too. Maybe I'll muster the resolve to re-write it tomorrow. Right now I think I'll just thrown phone against the wall and go to bed. Harrumph. 

Habla Espanol? Si!

Lainey has really taken to the Spanish lessons at daycare. (Yes, she gets Spanish lessons at daycare...and yoga...I really would love to see a yoga class one day.)

Check out her mad counting skills:

A Weekend in Maine

Mark and I had our first weekend away in over two-and-a-half years this past weekend! We jetted off to Maine to celebrate the wedding of my amazing friend, Terri. The the flights were uneventful, weather was beautiful, and friends, food, and fun abounded.

First, I'll start by honoring the bride. Terri is easily in the top 5 of the best human beings I've met in my life. She is just a truly genuine, caring, good person, and I couldn't have been happier to share her special day with her. The icing on the wedding cake was that I got to celebrate with some of my other favorite people who live much too far away (Joan and Kristen--you were bridesmaid beauties!), as well as some that live very close, but we never seem to connect. Kisses to you all!

While hanging with friends was great, Mark and I also really enjoyed some "us" time on Saturday. We had a leisurely day strolling the beach, scarfing lobster rolls, and just enjoying each others' company. Of course the little ones crept into the conversation frequently, but it was incredibly gratifying to have a series of uninterrupted conversations (even if they were about the kids) and long periods of quiet and just being together and taking in the beautiful scenery. Aaah! Talk about rejuvenation.

Dad and Sharon held their own back on the home front with Nick and Elaine (although they seemed just a tad eager to get on the road Sunday). And as much as I enjoyed our little break, I couldn't get to Elaine fast enough when the cab dropped us off on Sunday. I left Mark in the dust to deal with the driver and bags. She was already waiting for us at the glass door, smiling and jumping up and down. I threw open the door, scooped her in my arms, and with a big smile she shouted "Hi, Mommy! I'm poopy!"

Vacation over.

Look at us...no kids!

Adorable Chapel for the Wedding Ceremony
 

With the glowing bride

 

Bridesmaid Beauties, Joan and Kristen

Time for Solids!

I finally got the video of Nick's first experience with cereal to upload this morning (had it loaded correctly last night, you would have been spared my whine-fest). Mark took almost 10 minutes of video, but no one needs to watch 10 minutes of cereal dripping down his chin. Here's a photo and a much shortened clip of the exciting event!!!



Messy chin!



The More Things Change...

Since Nick came along, I've been pretty proud of myself for being a more relaxed, go-with-the-flow person. I'm finding it much easier to forget the laundry to head out and play and to go to bed early, so I'm rested, instead of staying up to scrub down the kitchen.

But, after an incredibly long and stressful work week that kept me away from my family, left me backlogged at the office, completely behind on household chores, and mentally and physically exhausted, I came down with a giant case of the berserks Saturday night.

Because I was so tired, I gave in a took a very long nap with Nick Saturday afternoon. Which was wonderful, but also meant I didn't touch any of the chores on my very long list. I was okay with it at first, rationalizing that I needed the rest and the cuddle time with Nick, but later as I was trying to finish off dinner amidst a very cluttered kitchen, while both kids screamed, and my head raced through all the things I still had to do, I completed melted down. 

Since we've moved, I've been pretty nonchalant about the very slow pace of getting all the things done to make our house our home. But, it's getting to me now. I'd just like to see a little progress at this point. I just don't know where to find the time between work, the kids, and getting all the basic weekly chores and house maintenance done.

**Sigh** There are plenty of people out there that wish they had my problems, right? Tomorrow is another day...and I should stop writing this blog and get back to folding that laundry.

5 Months!

Where is the time going? Didn't we just bring wee little Nick home a few weeks ago?  My guy isn't so "wee" anymore. This little cutie is putting on the pudge, and I love it, love it, love it!!!

Nick is very vocal now and has the best giggle (when we can get one out of him--he's stingy like his sister was). But, while we don't often get the laughs, he almost always has a big smile on his sweet face.

He's rolling over both ways now, and as of this week, prefers to sleep on his tummy. He can hold his bottle, but he's not usually up for the extra effort. He prefers to hold onto my fingers while I hold the bottle. He's still sleeping through the night, but is an early bird like his big sis--he's up 5am every day. Unlike Lainey, however, he's a breeze to put down at night. We put him in his crib at 7:30pm and he puts himself to sleep. Still my little dream baby!

Here's a little video clip of Nick enjoying a warm day in the back yard:

 

Drop that Phone

My friend, Nicole, sent me a food-for-thought article from The New York Times: "Resisting the Siren Call of the Screen: 3 Books Offer Ways to Cut the Cord, If Only Briefly" http://nyti.ms/15XcUhn.
After reading it, I had a good dose of Mama Guilt, thinking about my phone habits--especially around Lainey and Nick.

I keep my phone near when I get home with the kids, so Mark can text with his ETA from work or let me know he's missed his train stop and we need to come get him (I hope that was a one-time thing). Fair enough. A phone is meant for communication afterall. But, the problem is, if my phone is near me, I find myself sneaking peeks at email, Instagram, Facebook, blogs, etc. I probably spend between 10 - 15 culmulative minutes between the hours for 6-8pm looking at my phone. Not such a big deal, right? Except I have less than two hours of time with my kids each night--and much of that time is spent prepping their food, changing their diapers and clothes, and giving them baths--which means much of that time is spent cajoling or arguing with Lainey (Nick still lets me do as I please with him). Our time together playing or "just being" is very limited, so robbing even five minutes of precious face time with them is really too much.

Also, the constant web-surfing and email-checking is not a habit I want to instill in Lainey and Nick. I want them to value personal interacations and activities that require their imagination instead of a touchscreen. I want them to be comfortable with quiet, idle time, instead of needing constant entertainment and stimulation. Actually, I want to be comfortable with quiet, idle time again. I don't remember the last time I just sat quietly with my thoughts. If I want my kids to resist the "siren call of the screen," I need to set the example and resist that call myself.

So, starting tonight, I'm putting my phone and computer time on lockdown. If my babes are with me, the laptop stays shut and the phone is for calls and LIMITED texting only--and only with a very small set of people (if you don't share a bloodline with my children, you're going to have to wait until after 8:00pm ). I don't think a few hours of digital-free time will prove too difficult during the week, but the weekend will be tough. We'll see how I do...

Pearly Whites

Although our pediatrician said we could wait until age three, Lainey took her first trip to the dentist this past weekend. We've been diligent about brushing her teeth--and she finally has become cooperative in the process--but, a few weeks ago, I noticed her top teeth were greyish along the gum line and freaked out. Since she's on our dental insurance anyway, I went ahead and booked an appointment and prepared myself for the worst. We practically have to sedate Lainey at the ENT's office, so I envisioned screams, tears, flailing arms, and hard kicks. It was not helpful that I had to book the appointment during her nap time (or wait four weeks for another Saturday appointment that worked with our schedules).

I spent Friday night and Saturday morning prepping her by talking all about the dentist and showing her pictures of the doctors online, so she'd be familiar with their faces (only to arrive and find a new doctor that just joined the practice).

All my worry was for nothing. She did GREAT!!! She wouldn't let the hygeinist use the electric toothpolisher on her, but she did let the dentist scale her teeth without any struggle. I was floored!Perhaps the parade of gifts that were brought to her throughout the visit helped...stickers, a rubber ducky, a balloon. And when she was done, she got quarters to pick a prize from the vending machines (you know the little guys you see at grocery store entrances). Did I mention that she got to choose a DVD to watch on not one, but TWO, TVs in the examine room...one on the wall for when she was sitting up and one on the ceiling for when they leaned her back. Heck, I want to go to this dentist.

And as for my distress that we had neglected her teeth and they were rotting away, they were just stained from her Vitamin D drops. The discoloration came right off with the scaler. The advice was to have her drink a little water after she takes them. Easy breezy!



A smile this great must be protected!

Beach Time

After talking about it since Memorial Day, we finally got in some beach time on Sunday. The trip started off kind of bumpy...Mark left the house in his slippers (but, noticed just as we pulled out of the drive); we bumped the car behind us when parallel parking (and the driver was in it and not kind about it); we forgot to bring Lainey's toys (but, she made due with the caps from the sunscreen for digging sand and pouring water).

But, despite all that, we had a really good time. Lainey loved the sand and water, and Nick had fun kicking around on the blanket. If we can move out of these fall-like temps, we may try again this Sunday. 

Enjoy some pictures of the kiddos having a beach ball of a time!

Striking a Pose

Digging to China

Having His Fun in the Shade

Where did 4 Months Go?

Mr. Nick turned a whopping four-months-old last week. I can't believe how fast time is flying with this little guy. I swear I just brought him home a few weeks ago and now he's a smiling, laughing, roly-poly boy.

All is well with our best guy. He's still growing and reaching all his milestones. He can roll over both ways, push up on his arms, grab/pick-up toys, and best of all...wait for it...he's sleeping through the night!!! (Well, not last night, but the four before it). Now, if he could just have a talk with his sister...

He's just a sweet, happy baby, who loves to babble and pump his little arms and legs. And Lainey is still his most favorite person in the world! It doesn't matter what trauma she's putting him through, he just stares at her and smiles.

This guy...always smiling

House

I’m finally grabbing a few moments to write a post…

So, about the house…we’re in! But, still quite unsettled. We accomplished a good amount last Friday, because the movers were super fast, but things slowed over the weekend when both kids got sick and needed extra cuddles and attention from mom and dad. I’m happy with the house, but living in a two-story is taking some getting used to after having everything on one level for so many years. I actually was getting cramps in my calves earlier in the week from all the up-and-down. But, we’ll get a better routine down eventually…I hope.

Lainey loves the new space. She was adorable when we brought her home last week. She had been to the house a few times, but now it had all her stuff in it. She just kept pointing at things as saying “It’s Lainey’s [fill in the blank].”  We also bought her a play kitchen as a “welcome to your new home” present, which she played with pretty much non-stop over the weekend. I’m so glad we went ahead and got it, so she’d have some easy entertainment, because we are currently without cable or internet. That story is too long and aggravating to recount, so I’ll just leave it at “Comcast sucks.” In theory, we should be getting set-up this Saturday. Mark told me if the guy shows up and says he can’t do it, I should just call the cops. It hasn’t been as excruciating as I thought living without TV, but the internet thing has been hard. We have our iphones, but the internet runs better on wifi and some things just don’t cut it on a 2”x4” screen.

We’ve had a few other little snafus with the house, but we’re working through them. For instance, we are replacing all the interior doors, because a) they’re old and worn and b) when we ripped up the carpet, it left a two-inch gap between the bottom of the floor and the door. There must have been some serious padding under that stuff. Turns out all the doors in our house are 1 5/8 inches thick, but standard doors these days are 1 3/8 inches thick. They don’t even make 1 5/8-inch doors anymore. Our contractor thinks he has a work-around, but of course it will cost more money and there’s a chance that once he starts, it could be more difficult than expected and cost even more money. Welcome to home ownership.

On the very bright note, it is wonderful to have a yard and to be in easy walking distance of a few parks. And it’s even more wonderful to be able to roll the stroller right out of the garage and not have to lug it in-and-out of the car trunk or up-and-down the stairs. And can I get a shout out for central heat and A/C?!! Even though the temperatures cooled off so much this week that we’ve actually needed the heat at night, I’ll take heat that I can control with a push of a button, instead of cranking on a half-dozen radiators. And did I mention the garbage disposal…yeah, we’ve got one of those again, too!

Also on the good side is the people are VERY friendly. This also falls on the kinda-weird-I-don’t-know-how-I-feel-about-this side. I mean, I don’t want cranky, mean neighbors, but people out here are seriously interested in greeting us. Even walking to the park, a random dude stopped us to say “hello” and ask about the kids. I guess we’re just so used to living anonymously that we feel a little out of our element making small talk with every passerby. I mean people aren’t even this friendly back in Ohio. Maybe the slip Prozac into the water out here.

The commute has been fine so far. The morning is a little worse than the evening, which I was expecting to be the other way around. But, it looks like we’ve only added about 15 minutes each way, so nothing earth shattering.

 

So, that's week one on Loleta in a nutshell!

 

Stay tuned...

I promise that I haven't forgotten my blog.  I'm just very short on time with the move (yes, we're finally in!) and a tough couple of weeks at work both behind and ahead of me. Plus, we are currently without Internet, so I have to use my phone. A full update on the move and the new house to come...I hope before the end of the week!!! 

Move Over Mrs. Field

For the past two months, Lainey has refused to sit down in the bath. It started the evening after she scraped her knee and when she sat down in the water it stung. Ever since then, she's fought her once beloved evening event and even when she gets in without too much drama, sitting down has been out of the question. We have cajoled, begged, and bribed to no avail. Even the promise of a cookie, her most desired edible, couldn't get her down on her tushie. Until tonight...

Bath time went down the usual way with me soaping her up and pouring water over her to rinse her down. Then, as always, I tried to convince her to sit down for awhile. And, as always, she gave me her impish grin and said "cookie?".  I said "yes, you can have a cookie if you sit down," knowing full well I had no cookies or anything remotely cookie-like in the house. I assumed she was bluffing as she has done the past 60 or so days...I assumed wrong. She sat right down in the tub and started playing with her toys, chanting "cookie, cookie, cookie!"

Thinking on my feet, I quickly started talking about ice cream and wouldn't she like that sooooo much more than a cookie? She seemed on-board with the plan, and I was relieved. I mean, right now, bribery is the cornerstone of my parenting tactics, so I HAD to produce the promised treat. I would completely undermine all future bribery attempts if I didn't. 

Too bad she didn't like the ice cream. Now she was demanding her cookie, and I was unwilling to admit I had none.  This is where my mad MacGyver Mom skills came in. I told her I was making her a special cookie. I took a saltine cracker, smeared it with peanut butter, and drizzled Hershey's chocolate syrup over it. Mark looked at me like I was crazy, but she LOVED it! She even asked for another. 

Of course, the mess of eating that "cookie" completely negated the bath, but it was worth it. As far as my daughter knows, she can still count on Mommy to keep her promises. 

And tomorrow, I will be picking up a package of Oreos.

First Laugh

We caught Nick's first laugh on camera tonight! Big Sister Lainey provided the entertainment.

Birthday Bonanza!

Lainey got to celebrate her birthday three times this year! Celebrations began on the 23rd with Grandpa Bob and Sharon. I thought she was going to be stoked to have "Happy Birthday" sung to her, because she loves singing it and her favorite YouTube video is of her birthday from last year. But, when we started belting it out she got really shy and hid by putting her head down on the table. Maybe it was just our voices? We have video, but since we took it on the camcorder who know when it will get uploaded. If it's not on my iphone where I can easily upload to YouTube and post, then it has to go on the always growing to-do list. She did enjoy present time, however. A brand new tricycle from us and a tea set with play food from Grandpa were the big hits. Grandpa and Sharon also bought her clothes, but she just pulled those out of the bag and then threw them on the floor. The tricycle is a little too big for her, so we're going to put blocks on the pedals and hope they bridge the gap.

On her actual birthday, June 27, she had to go to daycare. Wah, wah. I wanted to take the day off, but since we closed on the house and had to take another afternoon off for contractors, (and I have to take July 3 off, because daycare is closed), I just couldn't ask for another. Turns out she had a BLAST at daycare. They celebrated her all day long, and she got a toy tamborine for a gift. When I picked her up, she kept saying, "It's Lainey's birthday! It's Lainey's birthday!" The celebration at home got a little off-track. It started pouring rain just as I was picking the kids up at CLP, so that was a fun juggling act getting them to the car, home, and then into the apartment without us all getting soaked (just me as I ran back-and-forth between buildings and the car). So, I was a little stressed, but then we had a fun Skype session with Uncle Chris and Uncle Sean before dinner. Dinner started off well...Lainey picked what she wanted (PB&J and yogurt), and Nick was contently nursing. Then a fruit fly appeared and Lainey lost it (she's developed a huge fear of bugs). You would have though Godzilla came into the kitchen. So, I had Lainey screaming in fear and Nick screaming because I had to stop nursing him. I got the whole crew relocated to the living room away from the terrifying fruit fly. I did get her to resume eating on the ottoman by the TV, so I could finish feeding Nick. I just accepted that PB&J would be all over the furniture and figured I'd deal with that later. I was able to coerce her back to the kitchen with a Potbelly Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie, which I stuck a candle in for her to blow out. The good thing about the chaos is it pushed her bedtime back about 45 minutes, so Mark made it home to see her before she went to sleep.

And the grand finale was this past weekend in O'Fallon with the entire Brandi crew! Lots of celebrating to do--Ben's birthday, Lainey's birthday, and Eleanor's baptism. We spent a great Saturday at the park, which had an incredible water area for the kids. That night we did cupcakes for Lainey and a big cookie for Ben, followed by presents. There was a mild meltdown during gifts, because they were really awesome, but she couldn't play with them immediately (Sit and Spin; tub of art supplies; bubble mower and BIG bottle of bubbles). Luckily, Grandma thought ahead and realized this might happen, so she bought a Little Mermaid toy that we could break out right away. Once that was opened, all was happy again in Laineyland. We have quite the spoiled little girl on our hands!

Lainey had her two-year check-up today. She's healthy and growing just as she should. This has been the fastest, best two years of my life. Happy Birthday one more time to my little Laineybug!

Birthday #1 - No singing please!

Take #2 - Birthday Cookie Time

 

And a cupcake make #3!

The birthday girl on her big day!

Blog Blitz

It's been a very busy, hectic week since my last post, so I'm going to give the quick rundown of the highlights all in one condensed post:

1) Dad and Sharon arrived on Thursday for my birthday and to celebrate Lainey's upcoming birthday. (Lainey is getting three celebrations, so I'll do a full post on all those once complete.) The big outing of the weekend was Brookfield Zoo on Saturday. Lainey loved it! Although it's not free, I much preferred being there to Lincoln Park Zoo. The exhibits are way better, and it was much less crowded, so we could give Lainey a little freedom to run ahead and explore. Dad even commented that he thought it was better than the Columbus Zoo--and that's BIG kudos for him. He LOVES the Columbus Zoo.

2) Nick hit three months on Saturday! He's all smiles these days, but has regressed on his awesome sleep habits, getting up multiple times at night. I'm hoping he's just going through a growth spurt! He's seems to have adjusted to daycare okay. I feel bad just giving him a line-item update for his three-month brithday, considering I gave detailed accounts of Lainey's first year, but I had more time. Should the future Nick feel slighted, here is my message to him -- "instead of writing a post about you, I've been spending my free time talking and playing with you. You very much enjoy playing 'Super Nick' right now, and I like getting a little tricep workout during it."

3) I made it out for the Bachelorette Party Saturday night, but dropped out at 12:30am. And glad I did! I kept the alcoholic drinks to a minimum and drank lots of water, but I still felt hungover on Sunday. Of course, I only got 3 hours of sleep, because the kids were up and at 'em at 4am, so drinks or no drinks, I would have been miserable. Mark had to work Sunday afternoon, but I still managed a nap thanks to Sharon (and I guess Dad, but really Sharon did the work). Once I got Lainey down to sleep, Sharon took Nick and a bottle and I headed off to bed myself. Not a great hostess move, but I really didn't care at that point. Thanks again, Sharon!

4) We closed on the house on Monday! Hooray!!! All went smoothly with no surprises. We are officially home owners! The next-door neighbor boy, Leo, came by with his best friend, Garrett, to welcome us. They just got out of the fourth grade and I think were a little disappointed that our kids are just babies. We briefly met Leo's mom, Meghan, on Tuesday when she came over to introduce herself (couldn't chat because we had contractors at the house).

5) We met with the chimney repairman and bathroom contractor Tuesday. Not so hooray. The chimneys are in worse condition that thought by our inspector and are going to cost A LOT of money to properly fix. Booooo!!! The bathroom is going to take about double the time as estimated over the phone and of course cost about 1/3 more than we thought. The money is a bummer, but not surprising. The real pain is the timing. There is no way to get it done before we move, so at some point we're going to be without a shower for 5 - 8 days. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. On the bright side, there is now no hurry to get that project started, so we can take our time picking tile and finishes instead of rushing into decisions.

So, there's my quick 15-minute post so I don't fall too far behind on things. Lainey's birthday is tomorrow and then we head down to O'Fallon Friday night to celebrate with Mark's family. We'll also be celebrating Ben's birthday and FINALLY meeting sweet Eleanor and attending her baptism on Sunday. The car ride should provide some opportunity to catch up on blogging...or catch up on sleeping...I might opt for the sleeping.

I'm Thirty-WHAT?!

When did I get old?

Turning one year older has never bothered me; I've always liked celebrating my birthday. I'm mean having a birthday is definitely preferable to the alternative, right? But, for some reason 34 makes me feel old! Wasn't I just turning 24 last year? How did I hit my mid-thirties so quickly? Joanna Kerns was only 32 when she starting taping Growing Pains. Think about that. I'm older than Mrs. Seaver.

My laugh lines are staying put long after the laughing stops, my spider veins are multiplying, and various parts of my body are succumbing to gravity.  Forget saving for the kids' college funds...I'm saving for botox, laser treatments, and a boob lift. Instead of a night out to celebrate, I'd kill for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep (followed by two more for good measure). I'm going to a bachelorette party on Saturday and praying that I don't black-out after drinking two beers. And I'm quite sure I'll end up with alcohol poisoning if I have more than four. Four beers used to just be the pre-party.

But, while I no longer look like a co-ed and my stamina for a night out has dwindled, I still think every year gets better than the last. I'm digging my thirties. I'm comfortable in my skin and in my life choices. I'm a calmer, less dramatic version of my 20-something self. I know having the last word, doesn't necessarily make you the winner and drawing attention, doesn't necessarily make you interesting. While I'm still striving to be a better person and pursue new challenges, and hope I always will be, I'm doing it for me--not to prove something to someone else. I may have traded in my four-inch heels for ballet flats and bar crawls for Chuck E Cheese parties, but I'm happy, healthy, and loved.

So, bring on the mid-thirties...and the late thirties...and keeping it going right up to the nineties, should I be so blessed. Because if things keep improving at the rate of the past 34 years, I'll be having one kickass life at 94! I think I'll ask for 35 candles on my cake tonight...I need one to grow on.