What's new with Nick?

Little Buddy had his 15-month check-up (oh about 4 weeks ago) and I’m happy to report that despite our nickname for him, he’s anything but little. His weight was almost 27 pounds (90-95%) height is 33 inches (95%) and as with Lainey, he’s still rockin’ a large melon. I had to miss this one, because I had just started the new job, but Mark said he took the shots like a trooper. Just a little whimper and he was over it!

Nick seems to be past his gross motor struggles we we’re seeing around 10 months. He’s quick on his feet and will climb on anything with no regard to his safety (or his mommy’s heart rate). I can’t take my eye off this kid for a second!!! I’m remembering what hard work this age is. I love the budding personality and seeing all his new accomplishments, but there is no down time…just constant watching, chasing, correcting, and protecting. He’s on the move, but has no concept of boundaries and seems to think “no” is the funniest joke I tell.

Fine motor skills seem to come pretty easy to Nick. I think he’s further ahead than Lainey was at this age. He’s very good with eating utensils and manipulates small toys very well. My favorite new activity (as of last night in the car) is “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” He was making some sing-songy noises, so I turned around to look in his mirror (Mark was driving) and him working his little fingers.  I started singing the song and his face lit up and he started doing the motions, making the itsiest, bitsiest, cutest spider ever!!! Loved it!

Nick’s very verbal and words include dada, ball, doggie, birdie, flower, more, all done and bubbles. He CAN say “mama,” because I can get him to repeat it, and he KNOWS that I’M “mama,” because he’ll look at me if you ask “where’s mommy?,” but he still doesn’t use it in reference to me. Maybe because he’s too busy calling for “dada, dada, DADA!” He only wants his daddy…unless he just finished throwing up, then he wants me. It stings a little to have him burst into wails and cling to Mark when I take him away, but I remember Lainey was once the same way and now she’s my bestie and usually prefers me to Mark. Can’t they just love us equally?!!

My sweet boy is having some trouble transitioning from the infant room to the toddle room at daycare. We thought it was going to be an absolute breeze, because he loved going to the Chimps (toddler) room to visit and would cry when he had to go back to the Koala (infant) room. He would even reach for one of the teachers from my arms during drop-off. Well, guess he’s not down for being there permanently. I’m hoping he turns a corner soon, because it breaks my heart dropping him off in the morning! And I have to do it, because if he gets that upset to see me go, then you can only imagine how he’ll react seeing Daddy walk out the door. I wish the drama were only at drop-off, but so far it seems to be carrying on throughout the day. Booooo!!!

Daycare woes aside, Nick’s lookin’ good and feelin’ fine these days! 

Hugs for mommy...

...before smacks for mommy!
(We're working on the hitting.)

Check Out Our Wheels

My (belated) Mother's Day gift was a new bike. Not that I was personally dying for one--it had been 18 years since I'd been on a non-stationary bike--but, both kids love taking bike rides and since there is only one of Mark, I had to step up to the plate. Turns out--it's just like riding a bike!

I wanted a few weekends to practice my riding skills before strapping my son to the handlebars, so it wasn't until this past weekend that we FINALLY took our inaugural family bike ride. It's great that we have such a bike/family friendly neighborhood to ride around in together. There's little traffic and the cars that do come your way, go slowly and give a wide berth when passing. Since we did so well this first time out, I think the next trip we'll hit the nature preserve to feed the ducks. Look at me--being all kinds of active!

Wipe that worried look off our face, Little Buddy! Mom's got this!

Birthday Girl

After months of anxiously awaiting her birthday, Lainey finally got to celebrate…three different times!!! (Three for age three, I guess!)

We celebrated with Dad and Sharon two weeks ago with a trip to the zoo, presents, and mini cupcakes. Dad got her a table and chairs and a Doc McStuffins dress-up set. She was ADORABLE in her little doctor’s jacket and stethoscope. She gave examinations all around and later, when Dad bumped his knee, she took a listen to it and diagnosed a band-aid, all the while referring to herself as “Dr. Lainey.”

We decided to give her the dollhouse Mark had been lovingly laboring on while Dad was here (didn’t really make sense nor did we have the car space to drag it to Moline and back). I thought she would like it, but I was surprised at just how rapt she was with it. She’s been busy playing with it the past two weeks and even lets Nick get in on the action (but, only with the furnishings she chooses for him). I love it! It’s great to see how her little imagination works (and it lets me sit quietly on the couch and finish a cup of coffee). Everyone wins!!!

We took a trip to Moline this past weekend to celebrate both Elaine and Ben’s birthdays with the Brandi crew. (Ben’s birthday is the day before Lainey’s.) On Friday (her official birthday), Mark and I left Nick with grandma and took Lainey out for some solo time with us. We hit the park and then took her to lunch where she ordered pancakes and French fries. It was a great morning, followed by a long nap. Things went south post-nap when, being the monstrous parents we are, we FORCED her gift upon her amid a series of tantrums. Seemed she would have much rather watched Ice Age on the couch than enjoy her brand-new, pink balance bike. Tears and screams were not the reaction we were hoping for with this gift. Luckily, we have the whole travesty saved on film, so we can relive the fun for years to come.

The party with the family on Saturday had no tears, however. Lainey loved being with her cousins to play and celebrate. She also loved all of her Frozen gifts, including her first “Barbies” – Anna and Elsa (we’ve had some interesting anatomy questions this past week). She also was quite pleased with her purple birthday cake that she’s been requesting since Nick’s birthday in March.

Three years went by way too fast, but I still find that she just gets better with age. Her imagination is off the charts and she comes up with the funniest things. I love our conversations and wish I could record everything she says right now, because there is just no way to remember all the cuteness!!!

Happy 3^rd Birthday, Laineybug! Let’s try to slow it down a bit on the way to 4, okay?

The Dollhouse - second generation in the Brandi Family

Dr. Lainey make house calls

 

Joy at the park!

The purple cake of her dreams (topped with Anna, Elsa and Olaf figures)!

The New Kid

I’ve completed my first week at the new gig. The people are very nice, and I think my new bosses should be pretty manageable. Judging from these first few days, I’m going to be able to bring a lot to the table once I get settled in. If only I didn’t have to deal with that whole “getting settled in” thing…I hate being the new kid.

It’s tough to go from a position where you know everything and everyone to knowing nothing and no one. The extra rub with being an admin is 90% of your role is to know everyone in and everything about the office, because your bosses don’t and are relying on YOU to help THEM navigate through it all. Right now, I don’t even know where to go get office supplies. 

Alas, these are things that will only come with time, so I’m a good two to three months from hitting my stride. That feels like years away right now. But, I’ve done this before and I can do it again. What seems overwhelming now is going to be a blip on the radar before I know it.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…

A Salute to Mark Brandi

I'll admit it. Sometimes I get really annoyed with my better half. Like when I'm rushing around trying to make it through the evening rigmarole and catch him scrolling on his phone in the other room. Or when I have two screaming kids at the dinner table and the first thing he does when he gets home is head upstairs to change his clothes. It's really easy to get caught up in the "I do everything myself" mindset when washing the fourth load of laundry, sloshing through the third sink full of dishes, and mopping the kitchen floor before hauling two kids up the stairs for their bath, while Mark's off doing something.

BUT...the thing is, I don't do everything...and the "something" he's doing is probably a legitimate task related to the upkeep or improvement of our home. It's just not on my "to do" list, so I don't always immediately recognize his contributions, but there are many. Two weeks ago, I took the trash out for the first time since we moved to this house, and only because Mark was traveling for work. I think I've only emptied the diaper pail two or three times in the past year. Those things just magically happen. 

While I'm trying to whip up our Sunday night family dinner, Mark's keeping the kids out of the kitchen and entertaining them...without using the TV. I didn't fully appreciate the difficulty of this until, for Mother's Day, Mark made dinner (because I wanted a break from it). Holy cow! They never want to be in the kitchen, but the moment they aren't allowed to go into the kitchen, it's like the floor is tiled in cookies. Before this experience, there was more than one Sunday evening when I became a little annoyed that he gets to play with the kids, while I am cooking and the least he can do is keep them out of the way. I don't get annoyed anymore--he's working harder than I am. (Full disclosure: on Mother's Day I ended up letting them watch TV for the last 15 minutes before dinner. He's never done that. But, in fairness to me, dinner took about twice as long to prepare and I had to pitch in or we wouldn't have eaten until 9:00 PM.)

Mark never runs out of energy (and rarely patience) when it comes to the kids. I run out of both often and quickly. Watching him with the kids makes me a better parent. He knows when I need a break and, if he can give it to me, he does. Even this morning, on HIS day, instead of sleeping in, he got up so I could go back to bed for an hour (of course I was up with a screaming Nick for the majority of the night and he slept through the entire ordeal, so maybe he doesn't get too much credit for this one.)

Right now, Mark is downstairs on his third hour of painting a dollhouse for Lainey's birthday. I think he has given more thought and more care to painting this dollhouse than he did to our house. I would have just given it to her unfinished and called it a day (I mean she's going to be 3--she's not that discerning), but Mark wants it to be perfect for her. I love that about him. 

So, when I start to get the "I do it all" feeling, I am making a concerted effort to stop and recognize all he does. I realize we're a team. Sometimes one of us carries a little more weight than the other, but we're both working hard to be the best parents and partners we can. I'm lucky I have a husband who cares so much about his family and dedicates himself to making our world better.

We love you, Mark! Happy Father's Day!!!

copyright Joshua Ford, Ford Photography
His face says it all...

Big Week for Our Little Buddy

After about two months of almost walking, Nick finally put it all together and got moving on two feet!!! He just couldn't seem to make it past three steps before taking to all fours. Thursday night, he took five steps in order to get to Lainey and take her down WWF style (more to come on that). Evidently, once he had a taste of being bipedal, he couldn't get enough. He's not the most stable, but I officially declare Nick a walker!

In addition to his new mobility, he's eating with a spoon pretty well now, making his meal times more hands free for me! We haven't really worked with him at all on using utensils, so I was kind of surprised Monday night when I set a bowl of applesauce and spoon on his tray and he just picked up the spoon and went at it. This is exciting to me because when we do manage to have family meal time, I may actually get to join in the eating part.

I don't really know where to file this next one...an accomplishment...a milestone...trouble? Lainey and Nick are now wrestling buddies. They tackle, squeeze, push, roll around, and THEY ARE LOVING IT!!! Me? It's fun to watch them play and giggle until they can't breath, but I find myself holding my own breathe waiting for one of them to get hurt. I'm trying to find the balance between stopping a major injury without overmanaging their playtime. I mean a little rugburn isn't going to send them to the ER. And it's hard to keep telling Lainey "you're being too rough" when Nick has a giant smile plastered on his face and keeps coming back for more. Yeah, it's hard...and fun...and hard (and really, really fun).

Guess my little buddy really isn't a baby anymore. He's a full-fledged toddler! Go get 'em Nick!

Maybe not the neatest eater, but pretty darn good!

At least the tumbling is on a cushioned area

Highs and Lows

All of last week I kept thinking, I could write a post about this. And all week I decided to do something else instead (usually veg out in front of the TV for 30 minutes). So, I’ve decided to play a little high-low and hit all the things I considered devoting a full post to.

High: I got a new job! I have a general policy not to talk shop on social media, so I'll stick to the basic facts:

• New company is Orbitz.
• New role is supporting the CFO and President of Orbitz for Business.
• First day is June 23.

Low: We finally made the tough decision to quite battling to save our linden tree and had it removed last Wednesday. We got three opinions and while two thought we could keep it for awhile (awhile being anywhere from a few months to a few years), all agreed it would have to come down. Given its proximity to the power lines, we decided to take it out on our terms instead of dealing with its removal after a storm took it out (along with power to our house and our neighbors).

High: Lainey is slowly learning all the words to "Let It Go" from Frozen. She sings it softly and seriously and makes up every 10th word. Melt. My. Heart. Expect a video once she learns all the words.

Low: Mark found out Friday that he had to fly to San Francisco this afternoon. It kind of put a dark cloud over the weekend. He was particularly grouchy about it, because of Memorial Day. And while I never look forward to his traveling, Lainey’s been really defiant in the mornings lately, so I’m REALLY dreading doing the morning routine solo tomorrow. At least I don’t have to worry about being late to work. What are they gonna’ do? Fire me?

High: We have new neighbors behind us. Bye-bye chickens! We met the husband and wife on Saturday. They have two little girls, one almost five, the other almost three, so Lainey may have a new playmate. They're doing work on the house and don't move in for another three weeks, but we're feeling optimistic that this family will be a major upgrade.

I’ll end on a high and hope for many more this week!