Crawling update - #5

This is the final update. SHE DID IT!!! Yesterday, after IA came home from daycare, I saw her crawl...officially crawl, not the half-ass army crawl that she mastered over the last couple weeks. My little slow poke did it and I'm one proud mama. Next up? Walking. Whoa boy...

WA's quote of the day....

"Cherry lollipops are mysterious AND tasty!"

Yes son, indeed they are. Indeed they are.

Seattle - Summer '09

IA and I just came back from a week long trip to Seattle. We left the boys back East and headed out for my best friend's baby shower. It was a surprise and we totally pulled it off. Good stuff:). I lived in Seattle for a majority of the 1990's and many of my close friends (including two of my best) are still out there. It was so, so great to see them all and in some cases for IA to meet them for the very first time. We had a blast staying with the C's and I am seriously in love with their little boy MC. MC is the son of one of my oldest and dearest friends, DSC, he is also one day older than WA. MC is pure gold. By far my favorite thing about him is his desire to take off all his cloths and run around in rubber rain boots. I mean, can you beat that?!?

MC and WA are alike in many ways, both are sweethearts and smartypants, but it was really interesting to see how different they are. MC possess a calm and maturity that WA just does not have. An excellent example of this was when MC locked himself in a bathroom whose lock uses an old fashion key. One of those long thin wrought iron ones from the 20s. (Mind you he locked himself in after going to the potty all by himself...yet another difference!) After we initially determined that MC really could not get out, his dad ended up calmly talking him through turning the key, removing it and sliding it under the door. Not only did MC follow directions to a T, but he did not panic. Not one bit. Seriously impressive. WAY more than his parents realize. When I told my hubby this story he said..."Yeah, too much drama in WA's genes for him to react like that". So true. My son would have flipped and the world would have ended... that my friends is all from his daddy:). On the flip side, WA is hands down better at spacial relation. He can put shoes on the right feet and complete a puzzle in lightening speed with no help. Even his teachers comment on how amazing his skills are on that front...again he gets that all from his daddy. I never expected these two kids to be clones, and I understand that development happens at different paces, but it was really interesting to see the differences up close and personal. Kids are just so darn cool.

The C's also have a son GC, who is one month younger than IA. He's a sweetie too and I met him for the first time. I've already picked out the wedding venue and colors...but don't tell them that.


So in the midst of all this excitement it was IA's first time on a plane. I was traveling alone and did not get her a seat of her own. Therefore what I ended up getting myself in to was a squirmy baby on my lap for 5 hours. Let me just say...won't happen again. Luckily I was seated next to a mom and daughter on each leg of the trip, so at least they could sympathize when IA dropped her toy for the 20th time in a row. I also made the very big mistake of wearing a U neck shirt. I think I flashed just about everyone on the plane with the help of IA's tugging hands. All in all she did pretty well considering...I, on the other hand, was a bit worse for the wear.

It was great to travel and have fun. It was also nice to have toddler-free time with IA, I felt like we had a great bonding experience. I so needed that. But I'm also really glad to be home...cause I missed my boys.

Mommy, I love you

Last night, as we were reading books before bed, my son said "Mommy, I love you" for the first time.

Before you assume that my 3 year old is a cold hearted kid, understand that he has actually said the words "I love you" before, but never on his own...out of the blue...sweetly. Usually he'll say "I love you too" after being told that he is loved or when requested to do so(ex: WA, tell Grandma and Grandpa you love them).

I have to say the feeling I had right after the unsolicited "I love you" is just about the best thing I've ever experienced. Ever. Man that was good.

My first blogging snafu

Yesterday I had my first blogging snafu. My posts usually happen in one of two ways...1. I write a stream of consciousness or re-tell a story in one sitting or 2. I write a draft, mull over it, think about what I'm feeling and then edit the post until it conveys what I want it to. Most of my blog consists of the former. Yesterday I posted a number 2, by accident. It's title was "High School all over again". There wasn't anything wrong or bad about the post, it was just unfinished. So, if you happen to be looking for that post, I deleted it...but stay tuned, it will re-appear. The topic is still very much marinating in my brain!

Crawling update - #4

Are we there yet? Nope. All signs are pointing towards go...but she's not quite going. She's got the military crawl down and her knees are bright red from getting up on all fours and rocking...but still no "official" crawling.

She did cut her first tooth however! I'll take it:).*

*Bottom right.

Gimme a little of that energy

I sat in amazement this morning as I watched my son "dance" for IA. The dance consisted of him sprinting/hopping/jumping back and forth across the room while singing and intermittently stopping to goo-goo at his baby sister. This went on, at a frenzied pace, for a good 10 minutes. Nothing out of the ordinary, cute to watch, but nothing special...except for the fact that I could not figure out where his energy comes from. He had not eaten yet, was awake for 5 minutes and hadn't even left his room. How is it that I can barely muster the strength to get out of bed some mornings, especially before a good stiff Diet Coke, but my son appears to be able to run the Boston Marathon? Seriously, what bio/genetic factors are at play? Where DOES kid-energy come from?

The best medicine

Earlier this week, in a rare moment of tranquility, my husband sweetly told me that he misses me. Stop. Breathe. Smile. It was exactly what I needed. Having two young children, working, and trying to juggle it all really can create a sort of distance between even the most loving and connected spouses. We are a team, going through this whole parenthood thing together, but even still...every now and then...it's really nice to know that my groom misses his bride.

The parrot strikes again

In a previous post I wrote about how WA is turning in to a little parrot. Last night my hubby, JA, got a taste of just what this is like. WA was in a good mood when he came home from school. He got to play a little hockey and also got "flat meatballs" (his term for a hamburger) by request for dinner. One thing he wasn't doing so well, however, was listening when we asked him to pick up his toys. JA kindly asked him a couple times, but WA went on his merry way acting like there was no one else within 10 miles (showing, once again, just how much of a pro this 3 year old is at exercising selective hearing). So finally JA said..."WA, I've asked you three times to pick up your toys. If you don't pick them up, then you don't get to play hockey tomorrow.". Well now! That got WA's attention pretty darn fast and the toys were stored in 10 seconds flat (funny how that works huh?).

After everything was cleaned up...dishes included...we all proceeded to go upstairs to get WA ready for bed. JA brought WA to the potty and hung out with him for a bit reading a book. I was in WA's room choosing the nights literary selections. JA left the bathroom and came to talk to me for a second. All of a sudden WA springs off the potty and runs in to the hallway, looks at his dad and says "Daddy, I asked you three times!" turns around and heads back to the potty. Completely out of the blue. I cracked up because JA was so surprised by the whole thing. And me...being the veteran here...I just enjoyed the show.

I think my all time favorite parrot story still goes to my niece, KF, though. One night I was on the phone with her dad, my brother, and we were talking about something. In order to emphasize a point my brother said "$hit, $hit, $hit!". Then, no less than one second later, over the phone I hear KF in the other room singsongingly say "$hit, $hit, $hit!". It was hysterical. That was definitely my first, and best, lesson in the dangers of "the Parrot".

How do I figure it all out?

Here's my day...

5:30-6 am - rise and shine to feed hungry IA
6-7am - catch a little nap w/satiated IA
7am - rise and shine for real
7-8:45am - get one very slow pre-schooler and one baby dressed, fed and out the door
8:45-9:30am - drop off kids, hang out with WA in his class (if possible)
9:30- noon - catch up on email, set up my workday, begin work, conference calls
noon-1pm - shower, eat (most days at my desk)
1-5:30pm - jump from conference call to conference call, create pressos, work
5:30-6:15pm- do dishes or laundry, get dinner started, breathe
6:15-8:30pm - feed kids, hustle through baths, pjs, books, bed
8:30 -10pm - collapse in a heap on the couch, drool on myself while watching trash tv, read, fold laundry
10-11pm -bed

I don't mean to be pitied (cause I know everyone reading this has similar days), but I just can not figure out where "I" fit in to this schedule. It's so frustrating and even though I know it's short term, I miss taking care of myself. A severe lack of exercise, exhaustion and a nasty trail mix addiction are not equaling good things. I'm in a cycle of no good. So, how the heck do I figure this out....or at least how the heck do I give myself a break until I do?

Crawling update - #3

I have three reference points when accessing how IA is progressing....1. my memory of what her big brother did (which is shaky at best), 2. what her friends are doing and 3. books. All in all, my reference points seem to be indicating that my ginger kid is gonna take her own darn time reaching her developmental milestones. I can't quite tell if she's just a bit slower than the rest (both with crawling and eating solids) or if she just trying to keep the sweet gig of being carried and hand fed all the time. I suppose you can't really blame her...I'd love for someone to carry and feed me too. I'm really not worried, she'll get there, but I do wonder if this is the beginnings of a personality trait:).

Want to know when I post a new entry?

A couple of people have recently asked me how they can tell when I post a new blog entry. Well, if you look right over here >>>>>>>>> you'll see a field where you can enter your email address and get my posts delivered directly to your inbox, immediately after I publish them. Granted, this sort of takes away the fun of visiting the site to see if there's something new, but since a couple people have asked, I thought I'd point it out. Enjoy!

WA turns 3

This past Saturday we celebrated WA's 3rd birthday with a party attended by some of his CT buds. It was a great success, WA loved it...even more than I expected him too...and it appeared that all of his friends did as well. We held it at the Darien Nature Center and the kids got to enjoy a meet and greet with some very cool animals. When asked which animal was his favorite, WA insisted it was the turtles. I didn't even have to ask which was his least favorite...


My favorite was definitely the hedgehog...that thing was cool!!


The kids also enjoyed a "Nature Scavenger Hunt", which consisted of meandering down some very short trails while looking for pine cones, leaves and berries. Most of the kids were totally in to it.

The piece de resistance was the cake. As mentioned in an early post WA is a hockey nut. Loves everything about it. So for his b-day his dad and I thought he might dig a hockey cake...and he did. The cake was great, it looked perfect and tasted delicious (a rare combo if you ask me). Unfortunately I can't take credit for construction of the cake, but I did "design" and coordinate the effort (that's gotta count for something, right? asks the working mother of two).


A lot of my time and money was spent on this party, but considering WA hasn't had a "real" b-day party yet (his first was family only, his second was spent in Seattle with our very best friends (holla MC!)), we figured it would be totally worth it. And it was.


*a special shout out to my mother-in-law...without whom I would have completely lost my mind.

I'll take the one with sprinkles please

An excerpt from this morning's drive to school...

NA: "So WA guess who is coming to your birthday party?"

WA: "Who?"

I proceed to tell him a bunch of little kids who are going to be there
from his school and some friends not from school

NA: " and AM. Do you remember AM?"

WA: " Yes, she looks like donuts."

NA: "Donuts?"

WA: "Yes, donuts. I like Donuts."


A lady killer in training folks.

Firsts

This week has been incredibly busy... my in-laws are in town, IA was baptized on Sunday, my son turned 3 on Monday, I accompanied my sister-in-law on her first ever college visit to the University of New Hampshire (I experienced Colonial cuteness overload) and, to top it all off, I just started a major ramp-up on a large project at work. All of these things are great fun (even the work part actually), but I have been constantly on the go. Within all this craziness, I experienced a couple of notable firsts.

First #1 I was away from my daughter for the first time in her young life. She is just shy of 8 mos and I've never spent a night without her, even when my Mom was passing away. It's such an odd sensation to feel both incredibly liberated and a little bit sad to not be able to see and hold her. Definitely a coin with two sides.

First #2. WARNING- guys, you may not want to read this one. An old "friend" came back (why is it called a "friend"? It's so not friendly). I think one of the great side benefits of having a kid is not needing to deal with this monthly gift for well over a year. It's awesome. No feeling uncontrollably bitchy or generally crappy or majorly bloated. Why blog about this you might ask? Because upon it's arrival I had this thought.....seeing as IA is my last child, the next time I will not have my period is menopause! For some reason that freaks me out.

Crawling update - #2

She's still not there, but is getting even closer! Can she smell it? I think so! I've seen more practicing (hips up, legs under) and less fussing. Her sleep is also irregular (there are nights where she's up at midnight and again at 4, and then there are nights where she sleeps through till 6:45). Come on little girl, you can do it!

Where did you get THAT from?

I, and so many of my friends, are constantly entertained by some of the things our kids say. As hilarious tales, cute stories and funny blurbs are re-told, the question most frequently asked by us is..."Where did he/she get THAT from?!?". Today I learned where.

WA, IA and I were in WA's room getting ready for school and IA was starting to fuss because she was frustrated she could not reach a pile of stuffed animals that had accumulated just out of her reach. Being the kind, and mostly gentle, big brother that he is, WA walked over, looked at her and said (in an teasing tone) "IA, you kill me". He proceeded to pick up a stuffed animal and hand it to her. From here on out, I think I better watch what I say:). Hey, at least it wasn't a swear word....yet.

Happy Birthday WA!

If, one day, you ever decide to read your Mom's rants, raves and reviews...know this....you are the best three year old little boy this Momma could ever have hoped for. Happy 3rd Birthday Bubby! Love You Lots! Mom.

Crawling update - #1

Oh man she is close. Soooooo close. Gone are the temper tantrums induced by not being able to figure it all out and here are the hips up, legs tucked under, up on the arm sways. She is close, so close. Before the week is out I predict IA will be forward moving. I'm hoping she orchestrates this while her Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie K are in town from Ohio. Nothing like a little show as a reward for making the trip!

Overwhelmed

I am exhausted. I think the past 9 months are finally catching up to me. It's been a hectic time, starting with my mother-in-law's surgery in October, the birth of IA in November, my Mother's death 3 weeks later in December, X-mas, returning to work in February, various winter/spring illnesses (most of which managed to make the round robin in my house) and numerous trips to and from family get togethers. Top this off with hormones in flux, lack of sleep, absolutely no down time (i don't really count the hour at night between when we get the kids to bed and I have to do the pre-bed pump), a massive amount of stress, and I should not be surprised that I feel like a bus just ran over my head. So then why is it that I kind-of am? Surprised that is. Maybe it's the depth of exhaustion that's surprising? Somehow I managed to keep it all together, both practically and emotionally, but I'm sure feeling the toll now. I think I need a vacation. Either that or a wife.