B's buzz

One big pajama party.

2012-01-20T20:29:00.003-05:00

I think this 15 day hiatus is the longest I've ever gone without posting. It's been insane. Work is kicking my butt, Big Man's schedule has been crazy, and I'm just exhausted. Like going to bed mere moments after I put the girls to bed exhausted.

Blame the little dude.

Sure, he's cute. He's also 5 months old, and wearing 12 month baby clothes. You'd think he would be sleeping through the night, but no. Mr. Chowhound needs a bottle at least once a night, which is okay, because he fusses, I get him up, feed him, change him, and he's back to down in 15-20 minutes.

BUT, now he can roll over. He sleeps on his tummy. (GASP!) He has since he was just a few weeks old. (THE HORRORS!) The kid doesn't want to be on his back. Period. But now that little man can roll over, he does sometimes, usually 2-3 times per night when I'm sound asleep, and then he's crying, on his back like a little turtle that can't flip back over. It was cute the first night. Two weeks in, I'm the poster child for the dollar store verion of 5 hour energy drinks, and couldn't live without my coffee-on-demand Keurig.

He's been the easiest kiddo so far, so I can't really complain, but damn, I miss sleep. And even with this minor mishap, I know I've got it easier than lots of new moms. But being perpetually sleep deprived still sucks.

But if they are cute little monkeys. And the progress they are making...amazing. Tori's just shy of 21 months and is starting to communicate so well. She says the ABCs, and phrases, like "here you go Mommy" and other things that are just adorable. I promise an updated progress post on each little monkey soon, as long as Little Dude cooperates!

Grandma and Grandpa visit!

2012-01-05T21:29:00.002-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa are visiting, so that means there are NO RULES! Ice cream before dinner!

Eskimo kisses!

Snuggles and hugs!

And starting to play before you are out of your pajamas!

Just lots of hugs and fun and grandparents love!

Christmas 2011, a Dani guest post.

2011-12-28T21:27:00.006-05:00

Hey everybody, it's been a while since mommy's let me post. It's hard work being a big sister to two babies, so I just don't have the time I used to have, you understand.

I'm going to tell you a little about Christmas this year. It was lots of fun.

Since I figured Tori was already on the naughty list, I decided she could get into all the trouble she wanted to because it didn't matter anyway. Hey Tori, I know we're not supposed to touch the ornaments, but mommy's not paying attention, and, we look so cute all dressed up for Christmas Eve church service. I dare you to grab one. Quick! Double dare you...

That kid's an easy mark.

The good news is that Mommy wasn't mad after all. It was close to bedtime and we were headed to church, so that meant we were going to stay up WAY past bedtime!

I sat still almost the whole time and sang songs. Tommy was pretty good too. Tori didn't really want to sit still. She kept getting up and running around. Mommy's face kept turning read and they kept whispering to Tori to be still. She doesn't like to listen. I was really good and I only cried once--they wouldn't let me hold a candle like everyone else. It was totally not fair.

We made it through church, and came home to bed. Santa was coming! When I woke up in the morning and we went downstairs, presents were everywhere! I must have been the best kid on the planet!!! Good work Santa!

Tori got a couple of presents, despite being the naughtiest kid ever.

Even Tommy got some presents. That Santa sure is nice. And it was mostly toys, not clothes like last year. Mommy made breakfast and we played with our new toys all morning. It was awesome. I wish it could be Christmas every weekend.

Then we all got dressed up again and went to mommy's cousin's house for Christmas Dinner. Tommy wore a Santa hat--he's so cute!

We ate lots of yummy food, got even more presents. I don't know how Santa knew I was going to be at two houses, but he knew. He's so smart!

Off the charts.

2011-12-26T20:20:00.003-05:00

In all the Christmas craziness, I forgot to mention that Tommy's 4 month well baby visit was great. He's off the charts for height, and is the biggest baby yet. He's 26.5" long and weighed 17 pounds 2 ounces. (Compare that to Tori at 26" and 15lbs 7oz, and Dani at 25" and 13lbs 8 oz). He's about to pop his bottom teeth, and is just doing everything early. Dr. Forlano told Big Man that he's "got his O tackle".

Little dude remains the happiest, most chilled out baby around.

Dani also came to the doctor with Tommy, for her 3 year visit. She's 38" tall and weighs 34 back breaking pounds. She's also never had a sick visit, my tough little cookie!

Everyone's healthy and doing well. Time to start to organize the Christmas pictures!

Another first...the high chair!

2011-12-19T21:12:00.002-05:00

Tommy has his 4 month doctor's visit tomorrow! First day in a high chair! Where does the time go???

Dani, Tori and I enjoyed ice cream pops the other night...perfect pre-tubby time snack!

Dani has her 3 year well baby (can we even call it that, more like well child) visit too tomorrow so stay tuned for stats!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

2011-12-16T19:53:00.003-05:00

Tommy went in the exersaucer for the first time tonight. He was captivated. I managed to eat dinner with Dani and Tori for 30 minutes or so before he wanted out. Why didn't I think of this sooner??

We bought Dani a "color me clubhouse" for her birthday, and set it up on Sunday in the hopes of actually being able to watch the Bears game. It was a big hit. They drew all over it and ran and screeched, opening windows and doors.

It is, seriously, the size of a garden shed. Hopefully this pic of Dani gives some perspective to the massive size of this thing--takes up our flippin' foyer! I SWEAR it looked smaller on the box!

Dani-isms

2011-12-15T21:11:00.004-05:00

Dani was put in "time out" for the first time a few days ago. I told her she needed to sit in daddy's spot on the couch, and to sit still because she was in "time out".

About 15 seconds later, Dani exclaims, "Mommy, I want it to be time IN."

Sometimes it's hard to keep a straight face.

PARTY! PARTY!

2011-12-13T21:48:00.003-05:00

On Dani's actual birthday we had crowns! Crowns!Daddy bought her a tiara for her party, which was fun! Lots of friends, family, food and presents!

The girls wore their party dresses!

And flashed their blue frosting smiles!

I blinked.

2011-12-08T21:23:00.005-05:00

Dani, in just a few hours you'll be three years old! Three!!! How can that be?

I blinked, and you're three.

You started out as such a little bitty bit. A little rumble in my tummy, growing into an angry ninja who liked to try out her moves in my tummy and keep me awake all night.

And then, you were here. December 9, 2008. Our first baby. This is where I'm supposed to say you were perfect and beautiful. To be honest, you were red and screamy, but perfect nonetheless.

From early on, you were a dynamic, dramatic little girl. I took you everywhere. You were smiley, and sweet, and you were never, ever the crying baby in the store. Not once. That's one of the reasons I took you everywhere.

You slept well, you ate well, you never even had a cold. You would light up at your daddy's voice and he loved to snuggle with you. Your first nickname, from daddy was "little rat". It sounds silly, but it was absolutely a term of endearment. Every night at bedtime, I sang "My Favorite Things" to you, hoping you would associate that song with peacefulness. You do. It nearly always calms you down when I sing it, and you've often asked me to sing "eyedrops on roses song".

Time flew by. We took you out for the first time on Christmas Eve 2008; you were just a few weeks old, here:

You surprised daddy by rolling over at 8 weeks. He called me at work to tell me he was so surprised. You did nearly everything early as your first year flew by.

And I guess I blinked again, because then it was your first birthday and had your very first cake, made by daddy, of course:

And you were one. Walking. Babbling. Laughing and smiling. My little punkin', you were always such a joy. Curious about everything, but never getting into trouble; we never had to baby proof, because you always listened to daddy's constant reminder "no kitchen; no bathroom; no stairs". You didn't mind, as there was always something else to play with.

Our family got bigger, and Tori joined us. The minute you saw her you said, "Baby!" and gave her a kiss. The minute I put her on my lap to feed her, you started to cry and climbed on my other knee, jealous and wanting your own bottle too. Of course, we gave you one, but once you knew that Tori wasn't taking your place, you were your happy old self again.

You started talking. It was amazing how much you could understand, even before you could really say anything. Every day there was something new you showed us.

And then, I blinked, I guess, because you were two. You've always been comfortable in front of the camera, probably because it's always taking your picture. Dani, you're quite the little ham.

Two, you were two! And you were running and talking and trying to play with Tori. You wanted to do it yourself--from brushing your teeth to feeding yourself. And you were so darn smart. Like a little sponge. From singing the alphabet song to identifying letters and numbers by sight, we were constantly amazed. And you were still the happiest, silliest little girl.

You started to insist you were a big girl! Sometimes you were shy, other times, the boldest kid in the room. Tori got old enough to be fun, and you spent most of the day chasing each other around and laughing.

Our family grew again. Tommy joined us. This time, Tori was the jealous one, and you were the big sister. The helper. You helped with bottles, and fetching bibs, giving Tommy his paci and anything we asked. When you're not bossing Tori around, she's your best friend. You're our sensitive little girl, quick to cry, and quick to love. You notice every detail, as small as when daddy wears his wedding ring or mommy gets her hair cut. You like to Skype, and can talk on the phone with grandma and grandpa, for at least a few minutes before you announce "okay bye!". You have the most amazing imagination--and will tell stories with such detail I am awed.

And, I guess I blinked again. Just a minute ago you were such a little bitty thing. And now, in just a few hours, you'll be three. And I can't wait to see what you do next, my sweet little Dani.

Stockings!

2011-12-04T19:16:00.001-05:00

The stockings are hung!

Thankful.

2011-11-27T21:16:00.004-05:00

So many things to be thankful for.

Three little munchkins.

Big Man.

Relative health, wealth and peace.

Friends and Family.

Work.

Hearing words said by little mouths for the first time.

Hearing songs sung by little voices.

Silly breakfasts.

Family, party of five.

Baby Plague.

2011-11-21T20:04:00.002-05:00

It was bound to happen eventually. It's actually pretty amazing that at nearly 3, Dani's never had a sick visit to the doctor, and neither has Tori. Dani still hasn't. Last Wednesday, Tori was a mess; she's had a low grade fever and bad cold for a few days and it seemed to have settled in her lungs. Tommy was starting to sound sneezy and Big Man was a mess too. We piled in the family truckster and headed to the doc. Tori had an ear infection and bronchitis; Big Man had bronchitis and Tommy was deemed to only have the sniffles. Antibiotics were prescribed for Tori and Big Man, and (as Dani would call it) the "snot snucker" with saline drops for Tommy's nose.

It's kinda hard to keep germs to one's self in this house. Dani and Tori share everything from sippy cups to toys; they are also always helping themselves to whatever Big Man and I have.

They are constantly picking up Tommy's pacifier and toys and playing with them or even trying to help give them to him.

He's even been known to sport a play 'stache or two. So it should have come as no surprise that Tommy woke up from his afternoon nap on Thursday and sounded like he couldn't breathe. He was hoarse and congested and had spiked a fever. I called the doctor's office, who heard him breathing and instructed me to go right to the Emergency Room. I did. It's croup. The whole way there in the car, I was convinced he was going to stop breathing. After a few hours at the ER, he received a shot to open his airways and a prescription for steroids.

After a rough couple of days, Little Dude got his smile back. Now mommy can breathe again.

Where do they learn this?

2011-11-17T20:38:00.003-05:00

So smarty pants here even surprised me tonight.

We're looking for creative options for milk delivery that minimize spilling when Dani's not supervised. I'd like to move away from soft nipple sippies to have Dani drink the milk quickly, but she makes a mess with a big cup.

So, in a flash of brilliance, I decided to open the cupboard for a new, Dani-sized drinking vessel:

(Yes, it's a Stoli double shotglass, but it's the perfect size for toddler hands.) So I fill it with milk and hand it to Dani, who remarks, "This is a real glass." Okay, okay, so that doesn't make her the smartest toddler on earth, I understand.

Then she inspects the glass, and the decorative garland on it, and says, "It's a Christmas glass, mommy." And I tell her that it's mistletoe or holly leaves or something that sounded holiday-related because I wasn't really paying that much attention (to be totally honest). And, I'm pretty sure I told her it was mistletoe and berries, but upon further inspection I was dead wrong...

And then she says, "But mommy, that is saturn."

SATURN? SATURN?

Little kid, you are not even 3 years old, and we don't even have a book about the planets, last time I checked. Yet, you have managed to identify a Christmas-themed saturn on a milk-filled shotglass correctly?

The UC grad in me is totally high-fiving you, Dani, my little smartypants!

Not-so Little Dude.

2011-11-10T20:35:00.005-05:00

Hey, smiley little dude, or should I say not-so-little dude?

You aren't even 3 months old yet, so why do you fit in 6-9 month clothes? Don't get me wrong, I love that you're pretty much sleeping all night, but do you have to rush everything else?

You're still kind of a snuggle bug.

And you know your big sisters adore you, but you're getting SO BIG, SO FAST!

You are literally pushing yourself up so high on your arms that I told your daddy tonight that you'd be crawling by 5 months.

You can even sit up a little bit, if you have something to lean on. Come on, little snuggle bug, you're my last little one. Don't rush me!

HALLOWEEN!

2011-10-31T20:27:00.005-04:00

WOWIE! This was pretty much the first Halloween for us. Dani, Tori and I went to three neighbors' houses, with Dani carrying Tori's bucket and saying "trick or treat". Then we went home to hand candy out. I took the glass out of the screen/storm door, so that Dani and Tori could just hand candy through, to the hundreds upon hundreds of kids who came.

We had 1,000 pixie sticks, 144 vampire teeth, and 300 tootsie rolls, and we were out in 90 minutes. Dani enjoyed giving everything out--she kept telling kids "trick or treat" or asking "what's your name". She had a blast. Tori handed out a couple of vampire teeth, but otherwise stood guard at the front door with Dani.

Most people were patient with the toddler candy hand out. Dani is not the most efficient kid. But she was so friendly and bubbly and trying so hard to hand candy out to the massess--it was not one at a time, but many kids, sometimes a dozen in front of the door, and Dani just kept her pace~yelling "Mommy, more candy!" when she ran out!

But this Halloween thing. It has always seemed to me like a total candy glom. Like the goal for the majority of kids who come to my door is to get as much candy as humanly possible. I'd guess about 25% of kids at my door were Dani's age (under 3) or younger, yet they were in strollers, or being carried! If your kid's under 3, there's no way your kid's eating the candy! Seriously, Dani and Tori had a peppermint pattie and some other little thing and that's it.

As for trick or treaters........It's crazy. And it's a vicious cycle. There aren't too many houses on each street that have their lights on, so people drive their kids all around the city, so each year fewer people give out candy and there are more kids per door because there are way more kids being driven around just to find candy. When I was walking with Dani and Tori, I figured I would stay on the block. I did. Besides my house, there were only 2 with lights on (fortunately my next door and across the street neighbors). That's all. So I understand the driving to find a few houses, but the full bags and buckets many kids had made it clear that people really travel for candy. When my kids are bigger, I'll walk them around a bit more. But, unless it's inclement weather, they will be walking.

I tried awfully hard to get a pic of everyone in costume. Tommy was fussing and the girls were restless! This was early on--Dani and Tori were getting dressed while Tommy wanted to rest!

Big Man managed to snap a quick pic of us at the door. Happy Halloween!!

The bags got in the way.

2011-10-30T21:21:00.003-04:00

Today, I took Dani to see an elderly man who is like a great-grandfather to me. His tailor shop was next door to my office years ago, and I got to know him well. He calls Dani his "principessa" and Tori his "estrella".

He lives on a busy street, and it's very hard to get in and out of his driveway. As I was trying to back in today, cars were whizzing past me, making it very difficult for me to maneuver the car. I *may* have uttered something like "D*****bags are in my way, under my breath.

Well, I thought it was under my breath. When we were sitting at Dario's dining room table, Dani announced that, "Mommy had trouble parking because the bags got in the way!" I knew what she meant, but he just looked at us, confused. Looks like I've got to clean up my language a bit.

You're looking at Team Naughty here! It was a day of insanity. Kids bouncing on furniture, banging on computers, and a constant "no" "no" from Big Man and I. Even naughty, they are just so flippin' cute!

Two Months!

2011-10-22T20:28:00.002-04:00

Little Tommy is 2 months old!

He is towering over baby Dani and baby Tori at that age. He's 12 pounds, 14 ounces and 24.5 inches long. This is over a pound more than Tori was, and 1.5 inches longer (and Tori weighed more than Dani!)

He smiles, he coos, he sleeps. He totally rocks, that little dude of mine.

So big-a-big-a-big!

2011-10-18T20:38:00.003-04:00

I swear, I blinked and Dani turned into a KID. Where'd my baby go?

Conversation that I had with her tonight:

Dani: Mommeeeeeee, you're home!

Me: Hi Punkin'.

Dani: Is Daddy going to work now?

Me: No, why? Do you want him to go to work now?

Dani: Yes. He needs to go to work now.

Me: Why.

Dani: All the bad guys aren't in jail yet.

She's such a big girl. Such a sensitive little softie who wants to be Batman one minute, and a princess the next. Tonight, she was wearing a Batman costume, and wrapping herself in a blanket, declaring herself Princess Batman. Adorable.

And my little Dude-ly Dude is headed to the doctor for his 8 week visit tomorrow. He's alert, smiley and chirpy. And, amazingly, despite a zillion toddler kisses, and pokes from grimy toddler hands, he hasn't had a cold yet. Truly, I'm amazed. When I'm not looking Tori likes to try to stick her finger in his mouth so he will try to suck on it and she laughs hysterically. This is the same kid who eats food off the floor. Tommy has some serious, super baby immunity.

And, this little mischief maker is our wild and crazy one. She literally dances around the house all day long. It's like she's stuck onstage doing Tori Riverdance. She is an endless ball of energy that is smiley and bubbly about 75 percent of the time. The other 25 percent she is an angry wildabeast that I am convinced may be possessed by demons. The wildabeast comes out whenever she is told no or does not immediately get her way--shrieking, flailing and flinging herself onto the floor is the typical response.

She's starting to talk and it's awesome. She's the happiest, zaniest kid I've ever seen. And cute as hell.

As crazy as life is these days, I wouldn't change a thing.

Seven years.

2011-10-09T20:56:00.006-04:00

Whenever Big Man and I celebrate a wedding anniversary, the number always seems too low. I know, I know, everyone says that. But I really mean it.

He and I met my first year of college. I was just a kid, from a small town, dropped off in the big city of Chicago. I went out early because I was on the soccer team--and he was on the football team. When pre-season ended, we were in the same house of the same dorm. And we were both work study, and had jobs at the gym--he was my boss.

Now, the year was 1991. Our campus seemed pretty safe, but it was like a little college oasis in the midst of a much harder 'hood. (**Big Man if you are reading this, I'm not trying to embellish, really, perhaps the years have romanticized this story in my mind...just in case you think my story is a bit off.) Big Man and I were friendly. We had a lot in common with sports and dorms and all. I used to work at the gym until 11pm or midnight, and walk home alone after work, without ever thinking that it was risky. For Pete's sake, there were sidewalks and streetlights, so it had to be safe, thought the little girl from upstate New York.

The early 90s were somewhat of a rough time for racial relations--and we were just in somewhat of a rough 'hood. The Rodney King incident happened, and there were isolated incidents of violence on or near campus that referenced a response to that. And one night there was a police report that a college-age woman was kidnapped walking alone at night, at around 11pm, on the general route I traveled home from the gym after work. And as soon as it happened, the next time I worked, a handsome young man showed up at the end of my shift at the gym to walk me back to our dorm, to make sure I was safe. There may have been a thank you kiss or two. And then we were together, an item, and so in love.

Fast forward a bit, and silly B, a tender young lass, decided the wanted her freedom--she was young, and cute (and as the old poem goes, gather ye rosebuds while ye may) and in love all the same, but mercurial as most college girls are. After days of crying on my best friend Gina's shoulder, telling her, "Big Man is the kind of guy I want to marry, but I'm only 18 and I'm not ready yet!" I know, it sounds crazy, but it's true. Gina remembers the conversation.

So when we stopped dating, he moved into the role of one of my closest friends. Through college and beyond, we were always in touch--and saw each other when we could. There's a really funny memory I have about a trip to Cleveland after college--and a barely-safe motel, because that's all we could find. Someone (not me) stayed awake all night, or close to it, to be sure nothing crazy happened.

Lots of years in between; he did his thing in Michigan, I did my thing in NY. But we always stayed in touch, and he would always visit NY on his way to CT to visit his brothers and family.

And then there was the visit.
THE visit.
It wasn't planned as a romantic visit. In fact, he was supposed to visit for President's weekend with two other college friends (Jessie and Chang). At the last minute, Jessie and Chang didn't come. Big Man did.
It was just him and me.
And I was 18 again.
And he kissed me.
He started driving from Michigan to New York regularly.
He proposed. Of course, I said yes. I also told him that I didn't want kids, and told him he should be sure he wanted to marry me as he was meant to be a dad.
He gave up his career and moved here.
He started over, job-wise. The US doesn't have uniform police training standards, so when he decided to go back into law enforcement here, he had to go to the academy again, in his mid-30s.
And he's excelled. He's done very well in his career.

His hard work has permitted me to follow my own career dreams. (ie earn no money)

And, somewhere along the way, all the pieces of my life fit together so well, and I knew it was time. Time to have kids. The girl who never wanted to be a mom, loved so much she wanted to see the man she loves be a dad.

Fast forward seven years-- we have three wonderful babies after a heckuva hard time as we lost the first.

But that which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, they say.

Minimally it makes you appreciate what you have.

And I have a life partner. A best friend. A husband who has exceeded my every expectation.

Who can still put butterflies in my tummy, and who still can me me feel like the prettiest girl in the room....despite my age, and my weight, and everything.

Who I fall in love with all over again every time I look at her:

or her:
or him:

Happy Anniversary, Big Man.

More Dani-isms.

2011-10-09T16:05:00.001-04:00

Dani, trying open a bottle of seltzer I was drinking, upon finding the cap too tight to twist off, "Mommy, it's locked!"

Being a big sister, a Dani guest post.

2011-10-05T20:45:00.003-04:00

Hi everybody, Dani here. Mommy said I could give you an update on my little brother Tommy. Its fun being his big sister. He's little and snuggly, and he sleeps a lot. Everybody says he looks like me. Personally, I think I'm cuter, but don't tell him that.

Since he sleeps so much, I still have lots of time to play with mommy and daddy and Tori. Tori's getting big. She's starting to talk, and can play with me. She's not such a baby anymore, so I don't mind sharing my toys with her. Tonight, I let her spin with me on the Sit N Spin, and mommy made us a new clubhouse. We decided not to let Tommy in, because it was for girls only! Mommy tried come in, but she was too big, so we just talked to her through the windows.

I take my job as big sister very seriously. Tonight, I fed Tommy his dinner, all by myself! And he didn't even make a mess!

I'm going to teach him all kinds of stuff when he gets a little bit older. That's what big sisters do! Well, that's what they are supposed to do. Tori will probably teach him how to be naughty. She's really good at it. Tonight she climbed up on the table and dumped out the salt and pepper onto the floor. She's always doing naughty stuff right in front of mommy. It's kinda funny to watch. Mommy's always saying, "NO Tori" and then as soon as mommy looks away, she takes off and does something naughty again. Her favorite thing to do is to run into the kitchen and try to grab stuff. She likes to squeeze the bread, and she also swipes the maple syrup, even when there aren't any pancakes. I'm going to teach Tommy to do the naughty stuff when no one is paying attention, so you don't get caught. Like when Tori's getting her diaper changed or mommy is in the bathroom--so no one sees us. That's what I do--it works every time, well most times. Don't tell mommy, okay?

Dani-isms.

2011-10-04T21:05:00.004-04:00

I popped out for a few mnutes after dinner tonight--just down the street to the store to pick up a few things. I decided to surprise the kids with chocolate chip cookies.

When I got home and showed them to Dani, she exclaimed, "Mommy, you spoil me!"

Making it work.

2011-10-01T21:52:00.002-04:00

Mass chaos. That's what things feel like these days. Too little sleep. Way too little sleep. Too much work, at home and at work. The Big Man and I are like ships passing in the night, sneaking a few words in at night when he gets home or in the morning when I hurry to work. But it's good chaos, as good as chaos can be. The girls love their little brother, and make mischief everytime he distracts me for more than a minute or so. I wish he and I saw each other more, but besides that, all is well. Dani is the most amazingly articulate kid; loving, and silly, and sensitive and whiny. She's trying to figure all of this family expansion out like we all are--she takes queues from Tori's naughty not-quite-a-big-kid behavior to screech and make messes, because it's more fun than being the biggest sister sometimes. But she's the go-to kid, always at the ready to help. Tonight I was getting the girls milk before bed, and Tommy started wailing while laying on the couch. I walk into the living room, and Dani was putting his pacifier into his mouth. :) Amazing kid.

And the little maestro here, is the mischievious one. She's the kid whose sneaking into the kitchen cupboard when my back is turned, and trying to drink the maple syrup. When the house is quiet, it's not because she's sleeping, it's because she's somewhere she shouldn't be, like splashing in the toilet or climbing onto the dining room table to see how much salt she can pour out of the shaker before I notice she's gone. People meet her for a minute or two and generally observe that she's got a mischievious look about her...and she's so damn cute that she generally gets away with it!

Tommy's settling in too. He's alert and wakeful for longer periods, and is slowly starting to realize that mommy would appreciate him focusing on sleeping at night. I'm going to need to work on that, as Big Man's headed back to the midnight shift on Monday...wish us luck!

They call me Little Dude, a Tommy guest post.

2011-09-27T21:17:00.003-04:00

Hi! Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the latest and greatest addition to the crib. I'm Tommy, but you can call me Little Dude, like mommy does, if you want. I kinda like it. I haven't been around too long, but I'm digging all the attention I get. My big sister Tori gives me kisses, like, 1,000 times per day. And lots of people come over to visit me.

My Grandma and Grandpa were just here. I'm named after my Grandpa. He's pretty cool, and he says he will take me for a motorcycle ride one of these days. When I can talk, I'm going to tell him I need a leather jacket. All the cool babies are wearing them.

My Grandma is super fun too. She spent a lot of time with my big sisters. They got to ride bikes and do lots of stuff that looked so fun. I can't wait until I'm a big kid!

Here's another picture of Grandma with my big sisters Dani and Tori. They didn't sit still for long.

My Grandpa was a really good snuggler. I like to sleep alot. He had a good belly to sleep on. He likes to sleep too. I think I heard him snoring sometimes when I was sleeping on him.

There was so much to do when Grandma and Grandpa were here! So many people came over to the house to see us. It was really tiring to meet so many people! I needed a nap after they went to the airport. For old folks, they really keep a baby on his toes!

Well, this is Little Dude, signing off. Hope you liked my first guest post. Come visit me!

One Month!

2011-09-17T21:54:00.004-04:00

Mr. Tom, aka Little Dude is one month old!

He's the biggest of the three! Ten pounds, ten ounces! I don't know where he's putting it, as he's a skinny little bean. Must be the balls. That's my guess.

He had his first "tummy time" tonight. He was a super champ! The hardest part was keeping Tori from trampeling him. I tried to get Dani to lay with him for a picture, but she kept insisting that she didn't need tummy time and being generally bratty.

Big Man's mom has been here for two weeks helping out. She's taking off tomorrow and my folks are flying in for the week. Woo hoo!

Go Bears!

2011-09-12T22:41:00.004-04:00

I was hoping to get a family pic while each of was dressed in our Bears garb during Football Sunday. Unfortunately, the kids conspired to sleep in shifts so we never had all three awake all day. But, even little Tommy was decked out in Blue and Orange!

A little snuggletime.

And, arguing over a call wtih Daddy!

Someday we'll have a good enough family pic to print!

Sloppy kisses!

2011-09-08T21:01:00.003-04:00

I gave Tommy a bath tonight and put him in a chair for some photos. Then he was mobbed by his adoring sisters.

First Tori hopped up to give him some sugar.

Then Dani decided to help.

And then, DOUBLE KISSES!

Big Sisters Rock!

2011-08-29T21:31:00.003-04:00

We have some VERY attentive big sisters in this house. Tommy gets kissed about 470 times per day, and Dani is always trying to stroke his cheeks and head and tell me how soft he is. Tori likes to kiss him so much that she tries to dive-bomb the couch when he's on it, and is happy to kiss his legs or whatever she can reach.

The girls got to watch Mickey on mommy's laptop last night--they just sat at the table like little grown ups, drinking their milk and sitting quietly. It was adorable!

Dani, who's 2 1/2 going on 12, likes to take a more hands on approach and is always asking to feed Tommy.

Life is good, family-wise.

Our city is devastated from flooding, but luckily we didn't have any damage at home or my office. They did evacuate the street behind mine last night. Pics to follow when I'm ready to feel bummed out about the situation. A friend of mine lost her house. Everything. Just horrible.

Silly things they say and do.

2011-08-23T16:18:00.003-04:00

This little Angel scared the pants off of me today. I'm sitting at the laptop at the dining room table, and I hear Tori walk over and sit down. Dani says, "Mommy look at Tori". I look down and see dark red liquid all over Tori's face, hands and front of her shirt, and my heart stops in my chest. Then I see a white ketchup packet in one hand and realize that she wasn't mortally wounded. And I wonder why I'm getting gray hairs!

She's just so darn cute!

And from our oldest today, "Mommy, every day I wake up and grow bigger and bigger like a flower. But flowers can't talk."

Tommy comes home.

2011-08-20T21:14:00.003-04:00

We came home from the hospital on Friday afternoon. Big Man got me settled and went to get the kids. I was eagerly anticipating their reaction, both to Tommy and to me. Both kids ran in yelling "mommy" and "baby" (in Tori's case) and "Tommy" in Dani's case.

It was love at first sight for Dani. Many kisses were administered.

And then Tori started to cry. (She is cutting some teeth.) Then Dani started to cry. Dani told me, "Tommy makes me feel sad. I need to watch TV to feel happy again." (She hadn't had a nap, but could have been working her master manipulation skills on this one.) So they all got to watch TV and I figured we were in for some crazy transition time.

A little while later, it was time to feed Tommy, so I asked Dani if she wanted to do it. Super excited, she was (perhaps because the Mickey episode we had put on was over)! Even Tori had to come over to see what all the excitement was.

Tori had the opportunity to give Tommy a closer inspection and approved, or so it seemed.

Tori was fine with Tommy until we put his formula in one of her bottles this morning. Then she screamed bloody murder and basically didn't stop. She flailed and wailed and was just generally angry at the world each time he was fed. It was pretty sad, because there wasn't really much we could do about it--and she refused to be held or comforted, preferring instead to stomp off of fling herself on the floor screaming. I wasn't expecting this type of response--when we brought Tori home, Dani was jealous of the holding and lap time and wanted to be on my lap too and be held more often, etc. Tori was just clearly upset that Tommy was here.

Hoping tomorrow's a better day for poor little Tori!

Number 3.

2011-08-17T07:39:00.004-04:00

That sounds a little cold, number 3...it's Tommy's birth story and it's kind of surreal, so grab a cold one, and let me tel you about the day Tommy was born, well what I remember about it anyway. It's a complete haze.

I waddle down to the operating room, and climb on the table. The docs begin to prepare me for the spinal, and they administer it. With the last two kids, I couldn't feel my legs by the time someone lifted them onto the operating table. Not so with this one. I still had a lot of feeling. I mentioned it and the doc said it can take a while to kick in. They said they were going to start with the catheter, which I felt going in. I mentioned it but everyone assured me the spinal would continue to progress.

A few minutes later they start the procedure, and I'm feeling more than I think I should. With the last two c-sections, I only felt pressure; this time I felt cutting, and dull to moderate pain. I told the doc, and that's where my memory kind of drops off. Apparently I needed loads of narcotics throughout the delivery because the spinal meds weren't enough. I was somewhat of a drooling idiot.

I remember waking up at one point and asking where my husband was, and was asked whether I heard the baby crying (I hadn't yet) and was told he was in the baby room with the nurse--which was, by the way, about 7 feet from me and visible if I could have focused on anything.
Here I am drooling on myself while daddy enjoys Tommy time. He was born at 12:10pm; 8 pounds, 4 ounces and 19 inches long. I was in recovery until almost 4pm as they tried to get my pain under control, and I tried to talk in sentences. It was, hands down, the hardest delivery of the three.
But the end result is our little man! He has bluish-grey eyes just like mommy, and even if the odds are they won't last, it's still nice to see them. Another strong baby--he can lift up his head already. The women in the nursery said he was a bit of a chow hound all night long, and he's got a really calm demeanor. And, unlike Dani and Tori, he has hardly any hair.

Dani and Tori got to see him on Skype last night which was sweet. I can't wait until they meet him in person. Welcome to our family, Tommy.

Dress Up: two ways, a Dani guest post.

2011-08-15T19:54:00.004-04:00

Some days, I like to dress up like a pretty princess, and play with all the jewelry in my jewelry box. I like to dress daddy up too!

But other days, it's fun to run around the house and pretend I'm a Chicago Bear!

Did you know that tomorrow I'm going to be a big sister again? And I helped mommy find my old Chicago Bears onesie so Tommy can wear it and look just like me!

We're going to have lots of fun, Tori, Tommy, and I...since we're going to outnumber mommy and daddy!

More Tori stats! 15 months!

2011-08-09T20:25:00.002-04:00

Little Tori, or maybe we should say not-so-little Tori had a doctor's appointment today for her 15 month checkup. Little Hoss apparently handled a shot in each arm without crying. She's 30.5" tall and weighs 24 pounds, 12 ounces. She's quickly catching up to Dani!

She is rockin' the cuteness these days!

Summertime, and the living is easy.

2011-08-07T20:54:00.004-04:00

We love lazy summer weekends. Sleeping a little later. Enjoying the AC on a humid day. Dips in the pool. Family dinners and sweet summer veggies.

Dani and Tori really enjoyed some sweet corn tonight.

Tori can handle her own corn and can clean an ear like a pro--not bad for a kid with 8 teeth!

Someone spent some time playing pirate with daddy.

And Tori decided that the changing table was her new fort.

We're in the final countdown to baby number 3. It sounds silly, but I just want to eke out every last moment with Dani and Tori while we are a family of four. In a week, it all changes for them and their needs and wants are going to have to be balanced with the more pressing needs of baby Tommy, and a recovering-from-surgery mommy. I'm sure they'll grow to enjoy it eventually, but I know it's going to be a rocky first few weeks for them, and us too.

I got out the baby heartbeat monitor this weekend, and Dani was scared of it at first yesterday. She wanted to try it again today and was pretty excited to listen to Tommy's heartbeat. We listened to how quick it was, and then she listened to daddy's much slower heartbeat to compare. She looked adorable with her little headphones standing at my belly listening, and whispering to her little brother, "Hi Tommy," like for the first time, the abstract concept of her baby brother had indeed become real to her.

Dani 1, Mommy 0.

2011-08-01T20:35:00.003-04:00

Another amusing conversation in my house tonight:

Big Man is in the kitchen making dinner.

I'm sitting on the stairs while Dani and Tori run around.

I realize that Tori ran past me a moment ago and is unattended in the bathroom.

Me: Damn it, where is Tori? (as I start to walk to the bathroom with Dani behind me.)

Big Man: Watch your mouth, mommy.

I walk into the bathroom and Tori is at the potty, just about to dive her hands in.

Me: Noooooo Tori, NO!

Dani: (laughing) hee hee Tori
Me: (scooping Tori up and taking her to the sink to wash her hands) It's NOT FUNNY Dani!

Dani: It is a little funny, Mommy.

OWNED BY MY 2 YEAR OLD!

2011-07-30T20:37:00.003-04:00

My conversation with Dani this afternoon:

Dani: I am going to get married.

Me: Who are you going to marry?

Dani: Daddy.

Me: Daddy will be a good husband.

Dani: Daddy IS a good husband.

Dani reminded me no fewer than 27 times tonight, "Daddy is a good husband."

Given the day I had, Big Man really needed to be talked up, so Dani did him a solid.

Where are you going my little ones?

2011-07-28T19:57:00.007-04:00

Last night, I fed the girls dinner at their little tykes table, which meant that Tori sat in a chair at a table for the first time. I took a few pictures, and when I went to upload them to the computer, I saw that Big Man had taken a number of photos as well. Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones working overtime, but I was just a little blown away by how big they looked.

I took this one of Tori, sitting like a big girl, eating a tomato. It was so sweet to see her climb in the chair and sit like a big girl across from Dani to eat. She was trying to use a spoon and making a huge, adorable mess.

The rest of the pictures, the ones Big Man took, looked like this one. The first thing I thought of when I looked it was Dani's first day of school. I actually got a little choked up (damn hormones). Dani's got her backpack on, paper in hand, and looks like she can conquer the world. But she's not 5, headed to kindergarten, she's 2! It just really gave me pause. It seems like only minutes ago she was just a little blip on an ultrasound. And now she's a chatty little powerhouse.

Tori's trying like heck to catch up with her and it seems like every day there's a new word and something new she can do. Tonight she held up their Mickey Mouse nightlight and announced "Mickey". She also learned to climb into the overstuffed chair, a task that she tried, and failed at, yesterday. When did my two babies turn into kids??

It's called a skull.

2011-07-25T19:58:00.002-04:00

We are tearing through the summer here, with only 3 weeks to go until Tommy-time! I'm seriously doubting that I'm going to make it the distance, although I hope I can, as we've already scheduled help and flights and time off and such beginning on the 15th, and it would be chaos to have it happen early.

The kids are keeping us entertained. Tori's finally showing an interest in talking to the rest of us. So, there are lots of "hi daddy" and "hi mommy" and other cute things that she is starting to come out with. And, she continues to be little miss mischief. The second you blink, she's into a cabinet, or trying to climb something, or trying to eat something she shouldn't be. She'd definitely the reason that cabinet locks were invent, and probably baby leashes too. She's such a silly little kid--and is often stomping around with a giggly little dance, until she gets pissed (oops, I'm not supposed to say that out loud, because Dani repeats it) I mean upset, and then she flings herself onto the floor screaming and kicking. She did it tonight and Dani suggested, "Mommy call the doctor for Tori. She scream her head off."

Dani, on the other hand is so terribly two. She is adorable and snuggly, and then adamantly defiant and whiny all in one breath. I can't leave the house without "Mommy, I need a BIG kiss and a BIG hug," followed by tears of "Don't go mommy. Don't go to work." It makes it hard to leave. And, she's always trying to boss Tori around, leaning in her face and saying NO TORI, and other angry commands, despite the fact that I'm constantly reminding her to be polite.

She also talks up a storm, and is so creative. The littlest thing can turn into a story for her. And some of the things she comes out with...yesterday it was, "I have a head bone. It's very hard. It's called a skull." She told us this randomly during breakfast.

She also loves dressing up--here she is in a party dress someone gave her, dancing like a ballerina princess. She also loves sitting at my makeup table and telling me, "I love makeup!" while playing with my brushes and trying to draw on her face when I'm not looking. It's pretty adorable. She's our little charmer when we take her out, saying "hello" and "excuse me" to people in the store, exiting by telling everyone goodbye, and just being pretty damn personable.

It's pretty fun, this mommy thing. I'll be happy when we can meet Tommy, and certainly am looking forward to never being pregnant again. Ever.

Cute things my kids say.

2011-07-22T19:44:00.002-04:00

Tonight Dani asked, "Mommy can I go in the TV and say hi to Mickey Mouse?"

Sisters.

2011-07-17T14:39:00.003-04:00

Now that Tori's getting bigger, she and Dani are playing and interacting more. That often means more yelling at each other or trying to grab each other's toys. There's lots of "NO TORI" and Tori yelling "DADADA" in response and shrieking at the top of her lungs.

But there's also tons of laughing, running and general silliness. Dani will, literally, run in circles around Tori, while Tori shrieks with Glee. They both "talk" on the phone. Dani is actually somewhat capable of carrying on a brief telephone conversation with grandma and grandpa before she decides it's more fun to push the buttons on the phone than talk.

They usually aren't too far apart when they're in the playroom, and are generally cracking each other up.

Tori is unquestionably Daddy's girl. No matter what we are doing, she's always keeping an eye out for Daddy. Yesterday, I had her in the pool while Big Man was doing some yardwork, and she kept yelling "DA or Daddy" and would fuss until I brought her to the edge of the pool where she could watch him work. It's pretty adorable. And she's now giving kisses. Not the halfhearted Dani-kiss, (Dani puts her cheek next to yours and kisses the air) but adorable puckery smooches. Even Big Man describes it as the cutest thing ever.

Dani's very excited about baby Tommy. She is now announcing to people, "We're having a BABY." And, she tells me that she is going to feed him and burp him and change his diapers. I think she's the perfect age to be a helper and not really jealous. Tori, on the other hand, is going to have a problem I predict. She's starting to be a bit of a biter, and she really will flail at you if she gets angry...I think we are going to have our hands full. Plus, given the fact that she can now climb anything and everything, the new baby distraction will allow her to get in to way more stuff than she can now...dreading that! Seriously, it's often the cuteness factor that saves her from trouble!

So big!

2011-07-14T20:08:00.003-04:00

Everyone around these parts is getting SO BIG!

First, my 34+ week belly is about to require it's own zip code, it's so big. I'm exhausted and cranky and hot! I've been doing a terrible job with updates because I'm just so darn tired.

But so many awesome things have happened this summer! Big Man was promoted to Lieutenant, and his hours changed to 3-11pm, so he's home for the night, and not exhausted all the time. We need a few hours of child care a day, but our super-star sitter, Miss Ruth, is a lifesaver. The kids go to her house for a few hours of fun every day and she feeds them an early dinner so that when tired mommy picks them up after work, I don't have to come home and cook.

Dani is talking nonstop. The kid is amazingly creative, telling stories all the time, pretending to be characters and just is tons of fun. She is already telling me that when Tommy comes, she is going to feed him and hold him and burp him. She keeps asking when we can unzip my belly to get him.

Tori is still our little handful. I thought Dani was a silly, happy baby, but Tori is exponentially more so. She's always smiling and laughing, and getting in to something. If you turn your back, she will have swiped something off a shelf, or will be in the cat's water bowl or just doing something she shouldn't be--and she laughs like heck when caught. When she swipes the phone, or remote or something she shouldn't have, and you notice she shrieks with glee and sprints away as fast as she can.

She makes tons of animal noises, and says a few little words, like hi, daddy, mommy, kitty and a handful of others. But she understands a ton and can follow commands, when she wants to. She also reacts with a fiery, screamy rage when you stop her from doing something she wants to do, often sitting on her butt and screaming bloody murder. I'm sure my neighbors appreciate that.

Fortunately for her, she's really cute. It's her saving grace lots of days. They keep us entertained, and I can only imagine the trouble they get into when Tommy gets here!

A traitor among us.

2011-07-07T21:18:00.003-04:00

We played a practical joke on Big Man this morning: He was not as amused as I was.

GO BEARS!

Family visit. Schu's in the house!

2011-07-05T20:33:00.003-04:00

My parents, brother Todd and his family came to visit for the long weekend. We had a family reunion with my Dad's family, and it was great to see family members that I hadn't seen in many, many years. Everyone came. It was great!

The kids enjoyed their time with grandma and grandpa, and Uncle Todd, Aunt Amy and baby Peter. Grandma rocks Dani on the hammock:

Grandpa sits on Dani's lap!Big Man and Amy were taking the pics and Tori was napping, but we got some of the family! Too bad we didn't think about a group pic before we left the party!

Dani had lots of sillytime with Grandpa.

Tori tried to outrun Grandma, but she's pretty quick for an old broad!

Lots of laughs were had by all!

As Dani likes to say, "I love my family." Although it's much cuter when she says it...

Summertime with Grandma and Grandpa.

2011-06-30T20:39:00.003-04:00

Summertime visits from grandma and grandpa mean:

Cold berries with Grandma on a hot day.

Drawing with chalk on the deck--and tasting it too! Silly Tori!

Singing "These Boots are Made for Walking" with Grandpa.

Toddler Wrestlemania!!!

2011-06-23T21:33:00.004-04:00

It's Round 1 and Tori's off to a good start, quickly climbing on top of Dani!

But Dani, the more experienced wrassler, quickly overtakes Tori.

Tori attempts to sneak away, but Dani drags her back to the ring! This kid shows no mercy!

And, 1...2...3....Tori's down!

Summertime!

2011-06-20T20:47:00.004-04:00

Summertime! When it's hot, the girls love their little pool! Mommy's looking forward to the bigger pool which is on its way, but for now, I squeeze into the baby pool too!

Tori (aka Chompers) puts EVERYTHING in her mouth.

Dani likes to try to catch the sprinkler "raindrops".

We had to drag them back inside. Dani was literally shivering, but insisted that she wasn't cold and wanted to stay outside!

Father's Day!

2011-06-19T20:49:00.002-04:00

For Father's Day weekend, we took a day trip to New London, CT to visit Big Man's family. His mom was in from Chicago, and Tori finally got to meet her!

For Father's Day, we let daddy sleep in. When he woke up, Dani and I went out to get him breakfast, after he opened his presents, and the girls modeled their Father's Day shirts, of course!

I think Big Man got a tear in his eye, when Dani dressed up as his favorite superhero, Thor!Happy Father's Day to the best husband and father I could ever have dreamed of.

For you, Grandpa.

2011-06-11T12:09:00.004-04:00

Hi Grandpa, I was thinking about you today.

I drew you a picture.

Then I imagined going for a ride on your motorcycle.

I have my gear all ready, you can come pick me up anytime! I love you!

Snuggletime!

2011-06-08T20:28:00.002-04:00

Sometimes on hot nights you just have to sit on the couch and enjoy the AC and a good book.

We read about animals, and babies and everything under the sun.

And after all that reading, it was time for a cold one!

Shantytown.

2011-06-02T21:08:00.005-04:00

It's not easy, living here in our little box shantytown. Cardboard's really not too great in the elements. Too hot, too cold, and not so watertight, especially when mommy cuts holes in the top.

We're always trying to spruce up the place, but all we have is crayons and duct tape. But it's ours, and we love it.

We entertain ourselves.

And we share, even though we ain't got much; it helps us through those lean times in our little shantytown.

Unplugged.

2011-05-30T20:58:00.003-04:00

I had a weekend like I haven't had in a very, long time.

No trips to the office. Pretty much no internet, email, or checking my blackberry.

I was home with my family. We enjoyed olive fingers and fruit for lunch:

Stealing daddy's hat at dinnertime!

We grilled out. We had breakfast together. We piled on the couch together, and Big Man and I actually watched a movie, snuggled up on the couch! The kids decided he was the best seat in the house.

We ate silly food. These are silly dogs....hot dogs you spear with spaghetti before boiling. Dani didn't know quite what to make of them, but she loved them!

We had our first day in the pool. Fearless Tori took on the sprinkler over and over.

We sure had fun!

When mommy gets distracted....

2011-05-22T19:50:00.004-04:00

It was my job to cook dinner tonight. Everyone was getting antsy, so Big Man took the girls outside to play. Meanwhile, I had dishes on the stove, in the oven, and was grilling!

I got to see such cute daddy-daughters time!
Dani, mastering the over-ball leap!
She's up.
And over!
Big Man helps Tori on the slide.

And, somehow, the main course was utterly destroyed. Darn, hot grill, getting in the way of my photo session!

Oops.

Spring Fling!

2011-05-21T14:15:00.003-04:00

We took a little trek to Spring Fling downtown today with my friend BrendaLee. We saw tons of people we know, ate lots of tasty snacks and enjoyed the sights!
Dani decided that she should wear BrendaLee's hat; once it was on, she was ready for her closeup!

Tori enjoying the sights from the wagon:
Even with the intermittent rain, it was a fun time!

Victor, a Tori guest post.

2011-05-13T20:32:00.003-04:00

Hi everbody, it's Tori. Did you know that Tori is short for Victoria? Daddy said he picked that name because it was the strongest name he could imagine for a girl. And you know what? I'm really strong. I'm also the victor! I beat Dani in my 1 year visit!

I went to the doctor today for my 1 year visit and I'm 29.5" tall and weigh 23 pounds and 6 ounces. I'm a whole inch taller than Dani was when she was 1, and about 4 pounds heavier! I win! I'm the victor!

I guess you could call me Super Tori if you want.

Dani says.

2011-05-11T20:18:00.000-04:00

While attempting to open the blinds to let the sunlight in this morning, Dani says, "Mommy, I make it more and more day!"And, if Dani leans in toward Tori's face, Tori puckers up and gives her a kiss. Adorable!

Dani 1, Mommy 1?

2011-05-10T22:19:00.002-04:00

Update:

When I woke Big Man up for work at 9:45, Dani was still going strong awake and talking. When I went into her room she told me she needed a diaper change. And let's just say, that was an extreme understatement. So, there's hope.

I cleaned her up, gave her about 1/2 cup of milk, and now I think she's actually asleep.

Resume supermom status.

Dani 1, Mommy 0.

2011-05-10T20:47:00.002-04:00

Tonight was the night. Big Man spent a chunk of time today getting it ready. Dani was finally going to move into Tori's room and a big. girl. bed.

I got home from work and snuck upstairs to put the Dora stickers on the wall. She's going to love this I thought. And Dani did. She didn't want to come downstairs for dinner because she didn't want to leave her Diego bed.

I've got it easy, I thought. Until bedtime, I did.

Big Man took Tori and Dani and I walked upstairs together. "I don't LIKE my Diego bed. I want my crib!" said Dani. Big Man stood by and snickered "great idea mommy".

But I got her a drink of water, stood guard outside the door for a few minutes, and went downstairs. I made a few calls, loaded the dishwasher, and didn't hear a peep. Wow, that was easy, I thought.

I finished up my second call, and thought, I'll just take a peek upstairs to see how cute they look sleeping in the same room.

I was, in fact, having a smug, "I'm a supermom" moment. You know, that little mental happy dance where you can't figure out why parenting is so hard for everyone else, when it comes so incredibly naturally and easy to you? Yep, that one. Delusional, party of one.

From the landing, I notice that the door to their room is shut, and I see blinding light underneath it. Uh oh. I take down the baby gate and let myself in. Dani's got the ceiling light on and its daylight-bright in there; her bed is in the middle of the room, and it's chaos. Tori is fortunately fast asleep, despite the commotion.

"Go downstairs and watch Mickey, mommy," Dani says, "I'm not tired," she insists.

She starts to fuss and whine. I slide her bed back against the wall, and get another night light. I tell her that under no circumstances is she to turn the light on again.

She's upstairs singing songs and probably tying sheets together to escape out the window.

Dani 1; Mommy 0.Tori has now attained "most favored baby" status for sleeping through it all. (so far).

Mother's Day, a Dani and Tori Guest Post.

2011-05-08T13:44:00.005-04:00

Hey Dani?

Yes Tori?

I'm really tired. It's hard to keep up with TWO grandmas!

I know Tori, that's why I'm just laying here taking a break.

They were really fun. Way more fun than mommy is.

I know, Tori, but don't tell mommy that, we don't want her to feel bad!

I like grandma's airplane rides best!

Me too Tori!

I sure wish they lived closer. I love grandma and great-grandma!
Me too, Tori! Let's tell them something together!

Happy Mother's Day grandma and great grandma! We love you!

Tori Turns ONE!

2011-04-30T15:29:00.006-04:00

I'm bit late with this post, but Tori turned 1 on Wednesday! We celebrated her birthday with Big Man's family on Easter weekend.

She got to be the birthday princess:

And my friends at http://www.buildasign.com/ hooked us up with a sweet banner to help celebrate the day! Unlike Dani at 1, Tori had her way with the cake, so much so that she needed a bath immediately afterward.
She had a great day!
She's such a little love. She's almost always smiling and laughing, and she will let anyone hold her, with absolutely no hesitation. On the flip side, she's got a crazy temper--she can't say anything yet, but if you take something away from her or do something to upset her, you are met with murderous screams, and often flailing.

She and Dani spend lots of time running in circles around the house screeching. They often mimic each other's sounds until they explode in laughter.

Tori's still our little hoss--easily wearing a 2T top and although a few inches shorter, can basically wear all of Dani's clothes.

She progressed from early walking to full blown running and climbing at one year (at this time, Dani was only taking a few little steps).

She just gets more fun every day, and even though I don't have the time to write about her as often as I did when Dani was her age, I cherish my little Tor. As Dani says, "I love you to bits, Tori." Happy birthday, kid.

Dinnertime Silliness

2011-04-25T20:39:00.004-04:00

At dinner tonight, Dani asked me to take her picture while she made faces. First, she was just so excited she couldn't describe the face she was making. Followed by "silly".
Then "mad".
And "sad".
And "surprised".
She thought it was hilarious and wanted me to show her the pictures over and over!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

2011-04-24T20:13:00.003-04:00

We had the first annual family easter egg hunt today. Some of Big Man's family was in town to spend the weekend, and so Dani and Tori's cousins joined in the hunt.

Tori was assisted by Daddy:
Dani tore across the yard picking up eggs. She did great, but needed a little help keeping them in her basket, as she was moving so quickly. After a week of rainy and yucky weather, it was nice to be able to be outside. And Dani and Tori were little troopers in their matching dresses, despite the initial resistance to wearing them.
Feeling particularly festive, Dani added the St. Patty's day bow tie to her outfit!
After two days of trying to keep up with Jason and Justin, their 9 year old twin cousins, the girls were beat! Even Dani, who tries to stretch out bedtime as long as she possibly can. After we brushed her teeth, I asked her if she would sit on the potty, and she replied, "No. Mommy, I want to go to bed."

Nothing to see here.

2011-04-20T20:23:00.001-04:00

Elmo, sometimes I think you're the only one who truly understands me.
A little help, here? I'm hungry!

Almost spring.

2011-04-17T16:11:00.011-04:00

Dani got a taste of spring when it was warm and now she's always begging to go outside. It's been cold, but I've been trying to take them out a bit every day. We're fully stocked on bubbles and sidewalk chalk. Today was Dani's first experience with chalk. I was standing on the wraparound porch pushing Tori on the swing. I told Dani to look up so I could tak her picture--she took the command a little too literally. Even bundled up, Tori enjoyed the swing!

They really do say the darndest things.

2011-04-16T19:48:00.003-04:00

Some Dani sillies that amused me today: She stood up on the diaper box, raised her hands above her head and yelled, "Ladies and Gentlemen." During dinner, she took the serving spoon out of the vegetable bowl and handed it to Big Man, saying, "This is for you, daddy." When he asked Dani what it was, she said "a flower". So he asked what kind of flower, to which she replied, "a spoon flower".

Has decided that Daddy is "brown all over" but she is "white all over" and she isn't sure about Tori. She announced this tonight at dinner.

Apparently, I still have "Dora hair" according to Dani. And she has "Boots hair".

Tori's secret.

2011-04-13T19:59:00.003-04:00

Wow, I wonder what Tori's secret is. I just can't keep up with her, and I take my Flinstones vitamins every day. That baby just wears me out. I'm just going to lay here for a minute and recharge my batteries.

(Meanwhile, Tori is refeuling.)

So, that's her secret--mommy's coffee!

Just like in Stand by Me.

2011-04-08T20:49:00.004-04:00

Really, that's how it was at my house tonight. Let me set the scene for you. I brought the kids to my office at around 4pm, because Big Man thinks he's going to have to work a double due to mandatory overtime tomorrow, and I figured he could use a little extra sleep. I bring them home, and make a little mac and cheese; the note from Big Man said not to feed Dani too much as she's just getting over a cold and wasn't too hungry today. So, Dani wants to watch Mickey on the couch, while we eat, and I'm all, that's fine with me because I'm tired too. So, Tori's walking around, I'm feeding Dani mac, and give Tori a bite or two. Then, Tori coughs up a noodle and starts projectile vomiting on the couch and rug. Seriously, I think she had 3 gallons of liquid in her tiny body. I'm terrified because she's never puked before and she's just unloading. Dani then looks at Tori and gets this look. Before I can say, "nooooooooo" Dani is now projectile vomiting all over the couch and Tori. Dani's sick was just a reaction to Tori's as Dani, covered in puke, is still trying to feed herself macaroni. Remember the scene in the movie Stand by Me? Yep, that was my house. I stripped them down to their diapers and put them in the pack and play where they giggled and sumo wrestled and were fine, while I cleaned up the mess. If Big Man hadn't been sleeping upstairs, I would have considered packing the kids in the car and torching the place and just rebuilding a new puke-free environment. Ain't parenting fun?

Balls!

2011-04-03T16:03:00.002-04:00

How awesome would it be if, on a really stressful day, you could just climb into one of these: I think it would be far more fun and relaxing than a bubble bath!

Tori thinks so too!

Third time's the charm.

2011-04-01T20:38:00.005-04:00

We found out today we're having a boy.

I walked in the door tonight and Dani came running to me saying, "Hi mommy and Tommy!" I'm happy for us, for Big Man.

How we ended up having a third should probably be noted. When I was pregnant with Tori, about 7 months along or so, Big Man said to me, "Don't you think we'd look back and regret it if we didn't have a third?". I'm pretty sure I told him I didn't want the one I was carrying. (Sorry Tori; I was a grumpy pregnant lady.) I am sure I told him hellz no, I didn't ever want a third. And I didn't. (Sorry Tommy.) I'm still on the fence. (I'm sure I'll love you eventually, Tommy.) But when I started to think about what Big Man said to me that night, the words he used....regret. It really sunk in. Surely, I'd never look back and regret that I had another baby (well, unless they were in a Girls Gone Wild video or something). But I already knew that Big Man would look back and regret that we hadn't had a third. And I never wanted him to look back at anything in our life and be able to say he regretted it. Because I knew that there isn't a single thing I will ever regret about my life with him.

So I asked the doctor and he said wait 6 months after Tori. At about month 3, I told Big Man that we could start trying, since I figured it would take a few months. Big Man said we were done, because I didn't want more babies. I insisted we weren't because he did. He said no. I said yes. I cried. I won. We bought the book How to Make a Girl or Boy Baby and Big Man followed the rules, tracked my cycle meticulously, and made a boy.

And so, friends, our family will be complete. Tommy, I love the concept of you, and Big Man, I love you as completely as I can imagine loving anything in the universe.

Tommy, you are being named after the two men I love most in this world, your daddy and mine. I hope you have your father's gentleness. His quiet strength. His temper--your daddy never reacts, he reasons; I have never heard him speak a word or act in anger. I hope we show you by example what a loving marriage and happy family is so that you may create your own someday.

Tommy, I hope you have your grandpa's ease. You're going to love him. Your grandpa is comfortable in any social situation, which is a rare thing. He can blend into a room of dignitaries and know which fork to use as easily as he can (smoothly) palm a twenty into the restaurant host's hand so we get a quicker table, as easily as he can fix the brakes on your car. I wouldn't be who I am without him, and neither will you.

Finally, and most importantly Tommy, I hope you have your older sisters' ability to sleep through the night. Please be a good sleeper. If you are the competitive type, you should know that both your sisters were sleeping almost all night by about 3 months. You should try to beat them, you know, show them whose boss. Make 8 weeks your goal, Tommy, and you and I will get along just fine.

So, son, you probably won't have a baby book, or nearly as many pictures of your childhood as Dani has, but know now that it's not because we love you any less. We're just tired--your sisters keep us pretty busy. As will you. Welcome.

Tori finally gets some fresh air!

2011-03-30T20:48:00.002-04:00

It felt like spring today. I was up at about 4:30am headed to NYC for court, and basically got back to town about 12 hours later. It was so nice out that I had to let Tori have a few outdoor firsts, and Dani always wants to go outside, regardless of the weather.

Tori had her first ride in the little red wagon. We went up and down the street and they loved being in there together! We went to the "playground" a/k/a our backyard, but Dani calls it her playground. She wanted to help push Tori on the swing.

Tori loved her first swing ride! She laughed and laughed! The yard's a little too bumpy for her to be able to effectively walk, but hopefully by late spring she will be able to handle it.

It just felt so good to get outside tonight! Hoping to do it more often, of course the weatherman says snow? The nice thing about late winter storms is that they don't last.

And, 3d ultrasound is Friday; stay tuned for a baby peen update.

Deep Thoughts, by Dani McGhee

2011-03-26T20:10:00.004-04:00

This afternoon I took Tori to the grocery store while Dani was napping. She was wearing a coat that used to be Dani's. When I carried her inside, Dani was awake, and saw me holding Tori, to which she exclaimed, "Baby Dani!"

So I turned to her and said, "No, silly, this is Tori. If I were holding baby Dani, then who would you be?" Dani scratches her chin, and thinks for a minute, and says, "But mommy, I'm older now."

Speaking of older--this little munchkin is turning ONE soon!

As you can see, she cannot manage to keep both socks on, ever. She's starting to stretch out, and is a little less of the chubby mcdubbs she's always been. And she and Dani are starting to meaningfully interact. Tonight, when Big Man was taking Tori upstairs to bed, Dani said, "Goodnight, Tori. I love you." Totally unprompted; she also grabs her and hugs her, and walks behind Tori with her hand on the small of Tori's back to be sure she doesn't fall (although this tends to make Tori fall forward instead). Adorable.You'll notice that the slide is tipped over. Big Man turned it on its side today (it will go outside tomorrow) because little miss daredevil (Tori) can now climb it unassisted, and tries to every time we turn around! I'm still utterly terrified about the chaos that three will bring (well the trouble the two will get into while I'm distracted by the new one), but I have a little more time to get used to it, I guess.

Kid Quote of the Day.

2011-03-21T20:08:00.001-04:00

While lifting up a bottle of eye drops tonight, Dani exclaims, "These are mommy's raindrops!"

Silly Sunday.

2011-03-20T20:36:00.011-04:00

Today was silly Sunday. We spent the day making silly faces.
Pretending to be rock stars. And getting strong with Play Doh barbells!

What a fun day!

"We don't wanna," a St. Patty's Day photo shoot.

2011-03-16T20:35:00.005-04:00

But mommy, we don't want to sit down for pictures right now, we're playing.

It's clear to us that there are two of us, and you have two hands, BUT, you have to hold the camera with one of them, mommy. Tori, I'll break right, and you break left...on my count, 1...2....3...go!
Good work, Tori. Remember not to smile.
Oops, I just smiled. Well it will be the last one, I promise. Mommy, sooner or later you're going to find out that we are in charge here.

You can make us sit, but you can't make us smile. And only one picture, then we bail, mommy. Okay, time's up, mommy. We're outta here!

Better luck next year.

Sqooshy!

2011-03-08T20:40:00.003-05:00

Wow, I don't really post for two weeks, and the kids just explode with cool new things. Tori is now freely and fearlessly walking around the house. Falling frequently too. And trying to climb the stairs. These are all things that my more fearful Dani never tried until she was around a year old. But Tori's smiley and happy. She says "hi" and waves to everyone and everything. When she hears us laugh or having fun, she shrieks and claps. She can say "no" as well. She's trying so hard to be a little person who can play with her big sis. And Dani. What a little ham. She's just a little ball of energy, who is always asking to make a "Dani and Tori show", which means she wants me to take videos of she and her sis so she can watch them. Her language has just exploded. It's amazing. She's 2 years and 3 months old, which seems so young for real sentences.
Some recent examples of Dani speak: "Daddy, what makes you happy?" "Mommy, my tummy's rumbly." "Mommy, I don't need a tubby tub tub. I'm fresh and clean." "Where's my handy fishing rod?" The stuff that comes out of her mouth totally cracks us up. She's also making strides with the potty. I'm starting to actually be optimistic that we won't have three in diapers all at once.

And she loves to sing. Everything. Just like I do, so it's lots of fun for me. She discovered Play Doh at a friend's house, and has been asking me to go back to Mary's house for some or to buy her some. I picked some up this weekend.
"Its sqooshy," she exclaims every two seconds. We only play with it when Tori's sleeping because I'm sure that Tori would ingest far too much of it, and despite the nontoxic pledge, I'm not willing to test it out, given Dani's propensity for feeding things to her sister. We get out cookie cutters and make shapes and just act silly. Sqooshy fun!

Slacker!

2011-02-28T21:00:00.003-05:00

Wow, I've been really bad about posting lately. (Sorry Dad.) We've been busy, and pregnant plus two babies is hard work.

Dani and Tori have been growing like weeds--Tori sprouted some more teeth and the kid is walking. Walking! Short little steps for now, but still, scary. When we aren't looking, she tries to climb up the slide. The kid is completely fearless, in a way Dani never was. She's giving me gray hairs!

And Dani is still mommy's helper. Sunday she helped me frost cupcakes, and then happily ate them.

I promise to be less of a slacker this week! More pics coming!

Party girls.

2011-02-19T20:48:00.002-05:00

The whole family went to a late afternoon birthday party in Clifton Park at a place called Bounce Around. It was kind of like a Chuck-e-Cheese, but without making any effort to make parents actually want to be there (by serving food or beer). If you are having a party you can bring your own, and the party room we had did have some chow from the hosts, Aimee and Seamus McNulty, and 3 year old birthday boy Liam.

The place was like walking into a toddler's dream. It was bright, and colorful, and loud and every square inch was packed with something to bounce on or play with. Dani spent some time in a cool car.

She adhered to her rule that cupcakes are best eaten by licking off all of the frosting. Dani's rule was slightly modified today, as she dipped popcorn in the frosting, and seemed to think that was a great nosh.
She was on the young side, so we stuck her in the 1-3 year old only farmland bouncer. For the first few minutes, she was the only kid in there, and just kind of walked around trying to figure it out. Then a more experienced kid came in and started leaping around, and that was all Dani needed to get rolling.
Tori was too little for much, but we bounced her on the wall of the toddler bounce house while Dani was playing. She was screeching and waving and saying hi to everyone and everything.
Dani insisted in going in the "Go Diego Go" bounce house. She was alone for about 5 seconds, and then an older toddler came in. Of course, they bumped heads in less than a minute, and two crying toddlers rolled out of the bouncer.
Undeterred, she continued to play and eat and have a blast!

Valentine's Day.

2011-02-14T20:34:00.002-05:00

Mommy, we don't care if it is Valentine's Day and we are wearing matching t-shirts. We want to play. We will sit still for one picture, but we won't smile. So there! Okay, plaaaaaaaaaaaaaytime! Time for climbing on chairs! And spinning! And since we're not posing for you mommy, we will be sure to smile!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Need to custom print? BuildASign.com

2011-02-09T20:33:00.004-05:00

Well, as you know it's a very rare day when I post about a product or a service that I've used or been asked to sample. And, it's only when I think stuff is particularly awesome.

The folks at http://www.buildasign.com/ contacted me and asked me whether I'd be interested in seeing what they had to offer. Since I do printing for political campaigns, the law firm and just silly personal stuff, I thought it was a great idea.

I decided to create two very different things, each featuring one of the kids. I'm only going to share one of them with you tonight.

These guys http://www.buildasign.com/ can print all kinds of stuff from banners to window clings to political signs--full color, and reasonably priced.

The best part is that you can design your own stuff right on the site and it's really easy.
Anyway, they even have different art, that you can modify to add text and pictures. So, for Dani's buildasign.com project, I chose Van Gogh's "The Scream."

As you can see, Dani is WAY cuter than the actual screaming guy. The print is 24" by 18" on artboard, which I will frame for Dani's room.

When I showed it to her tonight, she thought it was the coolest thing ever. And, it was easy--I was able to import a photo and crop it to size right on the screen and place it wherever I wanted. And the prices are super-reasonable. So, this cool pic is a keeper, thanks to the folks at http://www.buildasign.com/.

Stay tuned for Tori's project. It's for her birthday and it's awesome--even Big Man was impressed. We will definitely be back to buildasign.com for more cool projects soon!

Snow day!

2011-02-02T20:27:00.003-05:00

Hurry up, mommy! You are too slow. We need to plaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

There are snow angels to make! And snow hills to slide down!
And snow to eat! Yay!

The snow is taller than me! I hope it stays like this forever!

Mommy's little helper.

2011-02-01T20:34:00.004-05:00

Dani is very interested in helping mommy these days. Every time I start a task, I hear footsteps and a little voice saying, "Help mommy!" When I'm making dinner, we pull up the Costco stepstool and Dani "helps" me pour or mix or something (generally it just exponentially adds to the mess). When it's time to change Tori, she shrieks, "Go on Dani dock!" Dani dock is a Dani-invented phrase for the covered radiator next to the changing table that Dani insists on standing on to help me change Tori. Helping, on a good day can consist of Dani assisting me with the baby powder, and on a less good day, tickling Tori's feet or tummy while I'm changing her. Oh, did I mention that she is usually repeating, "big nasty poop" regardless of what's in Tori's diaper? Yep--no idea where that came from; I blame Big Man.

Tonight, the girls got to sit on the changing table and watch daddy snowblow. Dani wanted to "help daddy shovel".The cutest "help" she provides nightly is sneaking into the kitchen to feed the cats. I never see her do this, but usually once I've put her to bed, I find this in the service stairwell:

Apparently, my talented cats can open cans of food all by themselves. But that's Dani's way of helping, and I think it's adorable.

Oh yes, the other kiddo. She's fearless and trying like heck to walk!

We're supposed to get about 18" of snow tomorrow, so I hope to have some good snowy pics in the next day or two.

When the contractor's away...

2011-01-30T21:15:00.003-05:00

Dani will play!

We finally had the ancient, original door and side lights replaced, well technically it's still a work in progress. Having a new door and more insulation makes a huge difference in warmth in our downstairs. And, with an ancient house like ours, every little bit helps--especially when we spend so much time on the floor.

Dani has been enjoying her "drumsticks" and has been banging out solos since the project started!

9 months???

2011-01-27T21:02:00.002-05:00

Dear Tori,
You're 9 months old today! Where did the time go? I blinked and you went from a screamy little newborn to a fiercely independent baby trying to keep up with your big sister.

You've surpassed Dani in some milestones, and you're certainly bigger than she was at 9 months, my little hoss. 27.5 inches seems to be the 9 month norm for you girls, but you weighed in today at 20 pounds 1 ounce, while Dani was a wee little 17 pounds, 9 ounces at this age. Keep growing, and smiling and keeping me on my toes!

Daddy said you didn't even flinch when you got your shots at the doctor today. Way to go! We love you little Tori!

Crushing defeat.

2011-01-24T20:55:00.002-05:00

Dani and Tori dressed up for the Bears playoff game, but were so disappointed in the poor performance they had to find something else to do:

Stuff I did today, a Dani guest post.

2011-01-22T20:32:00.004-05:00

Hi everybody, Dani here. Mommy told me that I could write to you tonight to tell you about some new things that I did today. The first one kinda makes me feel shy.

Today, I went potty on my froggy potty. I told mommy I had to go, and she put me on my potty and I just did it, like a big girl. It was a little scary at first, but mommy just told me to relax and take my time. Then, mommy gave me a lollipop and clapped for me. I love lollipops! I hope that I can remember to tell mommy when I have to go again, tomorrow. She said I could have a lollipop every time!

I also went over to my friend Mary's house today.

She had so many toys I never saw before. She had this stuff called Play Doh. It was squishy and you could make shapes with it. Mommy played with it too! It was really fun. I tried to eat some, but it tasted really salty and yucky. I asked mommy if I could get some Play Doh for our house. She said maybe we should wait until Tori is older. Sometimes I like to feed Tori. I promised mommy I wouldn't feed Tori Play Doh, but I still have to wait.

That Tori's really cramping my style. Babies can be such a pain. Tori did learn to do one fun thing though. She can screech really loud. We have this game. She screeches, and then I do it and then she does it and then I do it until mommy begs us to stop. It's really fun.

Did you know that we are going to have a new baby too? Mommy asked me if I wanted a brother or sister and I said sister. She asked me what I would like to name the new baby, and I've decided we should call her "New Baby". Every day I pat mommy's tummy and say, "Hi New Baby". I can't wait to meet her but mommy said it will be a really long time before New Baby comes. I'm excited--I will have two little siblings to boss around! Well, mommy says that I have to go now, bye bye! This post was brought to you by your big girl who pees on the potty, Dani.

When mommy isn't looking.

2011-01-17T20:21:00.003-05:00

Mommy, what are you talking about? No, I don't have white stuff all over me. You're silly.

I've just been sitting here at my table coloring while you were feeding Tori. Really, I have.

Well it's not exactly my fault you left the baby powder on the changing table. In fact, it's your fault. You created like an attractive nuisance or something. That's what lawyers call stuff that people should know better than to leave just lying around because grown ups should know that kids will want to play with it. So really mommy, it's your fault. I was just giving in to my toddler impulsiveness. But I'm 2, you should expect that. You're 37--shouldn't you know better by now???

And, I only poured a little onto the changing table, anyway.Pleeeez, don't be mad mommy! Pretty please?
(Heh, heh, the cuteness wins every time!)

Dani's thoughts.

2011-01-11T20:52:00.002-05:00

Hmmm, I'd really like to get that toy from Tori, but mommy yells at me when I grab stuff, and she's totally watching.

I guess I'll have to use my powers of distraction--babies are so easy to trick.

"Hey Tori, look up here!"

Got it. That was totally easy, and mommy didn't even seem to mind.

I am like, the smartest 2 year old, ever.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2011-01-08T22:01:00.003-05:00

Last winter, Dani was too little, and I was too pregnant to really get outside in the snow. But this winter, she's been talking about snowmen and such. FINALLY, we got some snow! I got home Friday and there were just a few inches, but I bundled her up and went outside, in my work dress no less, just to catch the last bit of light so Dani could play.

Here she is trying to throw a snowball I made. She helped me shovel the walk, and did not want to do in. In fact, I had to fireman carry a kicking and screaming Dani inside. She would have played outside for hours if I'd let her.
I promised her that we'd go out this morning, and overnight a few more inches fell. I think we had about 6 inches total. I pulled her on the sled, she ran around, happily falling, eating snow and clapping her snow-filled hands so snow would fly everywhere.
It wasn't great packing snow so we couldn't make a snowman, so we took a sled ride down the street, and then a short walk.

I wised up when I wanted to go inside today. I mentioned that if we went inside she could have a lollipop.

Surprisingly, she was also willing to share the lollipop with Tori.
Here's a short video of Dani that ends abruptly when I realize she needs help getting out of the sled, and I didn't want the camera to get snowy.

I'm already looking forward to the next snow storm!

New Year's Resolutions, a Tori guest post.

2011-01-02T19:48:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year's everyone! It's my first New Year! I've heard that you're supposed to make resolutions every year of stuff you want to do better in the upcoming year. I've already made pretty amazing progress for a baby.

I can stand up. And, I'm only 8 months old. Look at me!

I would like to learn how to walk, though. That can be my resolution. Sometimes when I stand up, I try to walk but my belly is all wobbly and I fall down. So, I am going to learn to walk.

I also resolve to keep working on my one handed push up. As you can see, I've almost perfected it. And the cat. I'm going to catch him one of these days. He always comes close, but then runs away before I can hug him. He and I are going to become good friends this year.

So, I think those are all my resolutions.

Mommy said I should add a few more. She says I should also resolve to sleep later in the morning, and not to cry in my sleep. I think she should just learn to get by on less sleep.

A Christmas surprise.

2010-12-26T19:51:00.002-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. The weekend began when I was getting out of the shower on Friday and the doorbell rang. It was my parents, who had flown in from North Carolina to surprise us. They wanted to see their grandbabies for Christmas, so just booked a quickie weekend flight. The kids went nuts! Dani had just layed down for a nap, and heard the doorbell, stood up in her pack and play and saw them. There was no hope of a nap after that.

Grandma and Grandpa had a blast. It was just so nice to have my mom and dad here for Christmas. And it's so fun that the kids are old enough to really enjoy them.

With Skype, we're able to have a live video chat a few times per week, so that really helps Dani and Tori stay close.

Dani opened nearly every present on Christmas morning. She was so cute. She was opening Tori's gifts and giving them to her. She had quite a few packages of clothes that people had sent, and by the third gift that was clothing, she started to rip it open, and said, "More clothes." and promptly dropped it to open something more interesting.
Tori looked absolutely adorable as a mini-Santa.

It was a weekend filled with lots of laughs and hugs, exactly what a holiday should be.

Thanks Mom and Dad; you really made our Christmas wonderful.

Santa came early.

2010-12-21T20:36:00.004-05:00

Santa came early. Santa, this year was one of my bestest buddies from college, Chang. Last night we came home to this huge box, delivered from Sears. Unfortunately, it came without the second page of the pack slip, and we had no idea who it was from. I called Sears, and believe it or not, they couldn't track the order by recipient, so they were just like, yup, someone sent you a huge gift, but you will never know who it is because we are incompetent schmos. So, Big Man and I brainstormed, and decided it was either Chang or one of our other pals, who has also sent some huge kid gifts in the past. I called Chang and emailed the other guy (who probably now thinks I was shamelessly fishing for toys for my kids) and Chang fessed up. Stupid Sears. Funny thing is that today, we got something from Best Buy with gift cards in it, with NO gift note either. So I had to call Best Buy and say, someone just sent me a crapload of giftcards, but I have no idea who. They were able to look it up, and so I learned it was Chang again!

I am now trying to convince Big Man that we should name baby 3 Chang. At least for the middle name. Don't you think that Tommy Chang would be a kick ass baby name? I do. Big Man just shakes his head.

Anyway, because we are the coolest parents in the world, we decided that we could have an indoor playground for the winter, so Dani woke up to this: It was a big hit. Tonight, she was even letting her stuffed animals have rides down the slide.

She's just getting so big. I told her that we were going to have another baby, and she kissed my tummy and said "hi baby". We also drove around to see holiday lights tonight, and she really enjoyed it, shouting out colors and saying "Santa", "snowman" and everything else she saw.
Oh, and lest I forget, the other one...Tori. She has decided that at less than 8 months old, she can do this:

Yes, that would be pull herself up to standing without help. She's trying so hard to catch up to Dani. Every minute the two of them are together is laughing, squealing, screeching and just chasing each other around. It's adorable, even if it does induce mommy-headaches.

And, while I'm still bitching about mass retailers and their holiday failings. A big thumbs down to amazon.com . I ordered a super cool gift for Big Man, and they sent it today with a window envelope that displayed exactly what was in the box. So the rare Dr. Who video, is no longer a surprise. Thanks amazon, for nothing.

PARTY!

2010-12-19T20:09:00.003-05:00

Last night we had Dani's second birthday party! We had a house full of folks. And, Dani had a blast! Tori did too--here's she's getting some snuggles from Aunt Renny.

The party had a Mickey Mouse theme. Dani's obessed with Mickey Mouse. Here she's rockin' the Minnie dress.
Dani's Mickey cake, made by a high school friend of mine. (If anyone needs her contact info, let me know, she makes an awesome custom cake!)

Dani had lots of gifts to open.

Miss Ruth gave Dani a guitar. Guitars were a popular gift, Dani got three different ones. We rocked out with them today.

In other news, Tori popped her second tooth, and is trying desperately to walk. I also found out that I'm pregnant again. Yep, prego with number 3. Really hope it's a boy. Due in August. So we'll have 3 under 3. Nice! I told Dani, and she kisses my belly and says "hi baby". She told me it's a sister....keeping my fingers crossed that she's wrong, because there will be no 4th try!

It's what big girls do.

2010-12-15T19:13:00.003-05:00

Dani had her 2 year check up today. Big Man didn't really get all the stats because he was using every known trick to keep Dani from flipping out. Apparently she starts to cry when they pull in to the parking lot, every time. Kind of like a puppy at the vet. He did recall she's 27 pounds and in the 95th percentile for height but only the 15th for weight.

She is, officially, our big girl. And, did you know, big girls sit on the potty? They don't always (or ever in our case) do anything on said potty, but they try.
Big girls share their toys with little girls. Sometimes, at least.

Big girls talk in sentences, and find creative ways to say no!

Big Man says that during the day Dani and Tori are inseparable, like a little wolf pack.

Oh, and Tori, my little not even 8 months old Tori, crawled up to me tonight and pulled herself up to standing. She did it over and over. She is trying so hard to catch up to her big sis!

In case of emergency, a Tori guest post.

2010-12-14T21:27:00.007-05:00

Hi everybody, Tori here. I thought that, since the holiday season was upon us, I should give you all a gift. I'm going to teach you how to do CPR. You know, with all the egg nog, and cookies and prime rib dinners this time of year, you never know when somebody's just going to keel over from all the fatty grub. So, I'm going to tell you exactly what to do if it happens to you. Well, if it happens to you, just hope someone you know read my blog so they know how to help you! But this should help you help someone else.

Now, the new school of thought with CPR is that you don't have to do the rescue breathing, just chest compressions. Start by putting your hands on the victim's chest. Lean over the victim, and press 100 times per minute. If you remember the Bee Gees, you can sing the Stayin' Alive song in your head for the tempo. (I don't know who the Bee Gees are, but mommy likes them.)

You probably want to have someone call 911. Keep pumping and pumping at that pace until the paramedics arrive.

Good work. If you need to borrow my puppies so you can practice, just let me know. I'm good at sharing.

Birthday Girl.

2010-12-12T07:24:00.017-05:00

We semi-celebrated Dani's birthday. Big Man was out of town most of the week due to the death of his brother. So, Dani will have multiple birthday celebrations, as it was just us girls on the 9th.

She did get her "yellow Mickey Mouse shoes".
We had cupcakes!

There were tears. Overtired babies were at the sitter's for three days with minimal naps. All in all, Dani had a good birthday. They were over the moon yesterday when Daddy got home.

Tori was really bummed when he was gone. I know it sounds crazy, but even the sitter said there was something off. She just didnt' smile, but she wasn't sick or anything. The minute daddy came home, she was a different baby--just happy and smiley.

Oh yeah--and she can sit up by herself too!

To Dani, on the eve of your second birthday.

2010-12-08T19:45:00.003-05:00

It seems to me that there is no better measure of the passage of time than a child. Two years ago tonight, I was packing to go to the hospital. You were literally trying to kick your way out of my belly. There was a wicked snowstorm.

We left the house at 4:30 am to get to the hospital for check-in. You were the first scheduled baby delivery of the day. Your daddy got to put on scrubs and was in the operating room the whole time. He got to see you first, and hold you first, too. You were a little red screamy thing all wrapped up in a blanket. When I got to the recovery room, and the nurse brought you to me, the first thing I said to daddy was, "she's so pale". I didn't really know what babies looked like when they were first born, but I thought you'd be browner. I'm sure you understand why.

You had a little personality from the start. And a little temper. You spent the day with daddy and me, but we sent you to the nursery that night. In the morning, the nurse told us, "that one's got a temper on her". You were quite the little screamer.

We figured it out, eventually. What you needed when you fussed. What your different cries meant. What made you laugh and what you didn't like.

What I never expected was how much you would change me. I'm a different person than I was before I had you, in a million ways I could never explain. Just better, I hope. With each day, I just grow more fascinated and more in love with you, little Dani.

I just can't seem to figure out when my little baby girl, turned into a kid. Really. You climb stairs by yourself. You sing songs. You know your numbers and letters and colors. You even know Kornheiser and Wilbon by voice, and love Chicago Bears Football. I never knew a little kid could laugh so much, or make me laugh so much.

You've been asking for "yellow Mickey Mouse shoes". They should be here tomorrow. You're a tad obsessed with Mickey Mouse, but at least you don't know who Justin Bieber is.

Know Dani, that you are loved. Not just by daddy and me, but by your whole family. By the many friends that we have that ask about you and read about you on this blog and see your pictures on facebook. Mommy's clients all know who you are and ask about you. You're just a bright little light that shines on all of us.

So, as you enter your second year, I don't know what you'll do. You've already hit almost every milestone our pediatric book says you should hit at the end of your second year. We're going to work on the potty thing, and then maybe algebra? Just kidding, we'll wait until you're three for algebra.

So, my little snuggle pup, happy birthday. Happy 2.
We're going to have a great year!

Bully in the making.

2010-12-01T20:58:00.007-05:00

Little Tori is developing quite the little personality. Quite the tough guy personality. Maybe a sense of fearlessness just develops in the second kid because they are trying to catch up to the first kid.

Dani was always a cautious baby. She crawled and walked safe, short distances and if it looked risky, she'd crawl. Until one day, she walked and never really crawled again. No nasty falls, or boo boos, she just waited until she could do it well and then did. She began to crawl typically too--on her elbows like a little soldier.

Not so, our Tori. She was pushing herself up on all fours at 5 months--like she was trying to do military pushups. She never bothered with the elbow crawling, just straight arms, and lots of face plants until she got it. Last night, she tried to pull herself up on one of Dani's toys. The kid has no fear--with anything. You may recall that Dani had a love-hate relationship with talking toys when she was a baby.

Tori stares them down.

She also likes to crawl after the cat.

And Tigger? Remember Dani's fear of Tigger? And then the love/curiosity of Tigger which would always end in crying? We put Tori to the Tigger test, and she just owned Tigger. She didn't even flinch when Tigger started talking and moving.
Pretty soon, I think she's going to be taking Dani's toys and telling her who's boss! Here's a video of the kids with Tigger. Dani has a growing booty obsession. (sorry FB friends--you actually have to go to my blog to see this because the videos don't import)

Time to get working on photos for the Christmas card...stay tuned.

Turkey Day!

2010-11-28T20:25:00.003-05:00

We piled into the minivan and headed up the hill to my cousin Dave's for Thanksgiving. For the first time in years, I didn't have to cook a single thing. We were assigned to make sweet potatoes, and since Big Man actually likes them, he made them. He also made a to-die-for chocolate pecan pie.

We have much to be thankful for. Each other. Beautiful, healthy kids. Family.
Uncle John spent some time with Tori before dinner:

As usual, Dani loved looking at the fishies:
Tori, now able to crawl, wants to play with everything Dani has. In this case, Dani was playing with "Murray Guitar" (every guitar is Murray's to my Wiggles-obsessed kid):
Gail showing Dani the wine opener. That got a lot of use!

And Dani, snacking on some pre-dinner mashed potatoes with Aunt Renny.
It was a good day. And, today, the Bears won, upsetting the Eagles, which rounded out our list of things we are thankful for.

Dani's turning two in less than two weeks. She is singing happy birthday to herself and asking when the kids are coming over. We're having a Mickey Mouse themed party, and she's going to have a blast!

Pssst.

2010-11-25T11:03:00.002-05:00

Psssst, down here. It's me, Tori. I'm supposed to be taking a nap, but I'm hiding behind the couch.
I just wanted to tell everyone Happy Thanksgiving. It's my very first one. Mommy said she would take a lot of pictures. I hope she lets me eat some turkey! Mommy says Thanksgiving is about being thankful for things you have. I'm thankful for warm bottles, banana baby food, and my big sister Dani.

Slow day.

2010-11-22T20:37:00.003-05:00

Did you know that pants can double as bunny ears? Yep.

And, someone is getting pretty good a sitting up. She still tumbles over, but can hold herself up for a bit on her own.

Big Man got some great video today of crazy baby laughs; promised him I'd put it on FB so his peeps could see it too.

Will work for cupcakes.

2010-11-20T20:33:00.002-05:00

We went to a birthday party today. It was for a 2 year old, so Dani was among her kind. They all took turns crying. Well, Dani didn't really cry, she was busy making kids cry by trying to play with them. Seriously--there was one kid who did cry alot...probably because she kept walking up to Dani with toys, and Dani kept helping herself to them.

The birthday girl's mom had cupcakes for all the little kids. I'm amazed to say that my little kiddo (who was channeling Jackie O with her faux fur neckline and cuffs) ate rather daintily while sitting in a big girl chair.
Really, she did. I knew that the hostess was planning the kiddie cupcake fest, and I brought a change of clothes because I figured Dani would be caked in frosting. Turns out, she prefers her cake with a fork.
Once she tired of the cupcake, she played with various toys, and then walked up to adults and stuck her finger into the frosting on their cake. It was well received. I had Tori on my lap, so could only offer the lamest of Dora references to Dani, "Dani, no swiping." I failed.

Lesson two for today was that kids whose parents buy them new toys have WAY better toys. Little Dani is perfectly happy in our second-hand toyland, but the birthday girl had a Mickey Mouse kitchen and Dora backpack and so many awesome toys that Dani never knew existed. I told her that her birthday was coming up and she would have a party soon, and she sang "Happy Birthday to Dani" all the way home.

In perhaps the best example of the fact that all our stuff is used or hand-me-downs, I had this sweet dress for Dani to wear. No black leggings or tights to go with it, so she wore grey leggings, grey socks and blue crocs, because that's what we had. Seriously every other kid there had shoes that matched their outfits and looked so cute. My kid just needed a sharpie-drawn cardboard sign saying "will work for cupcakes". I was really worried she's start opening presents or gift bags, because at home it's a free-for-all, but she just played very nicely near them, and when I told her not to touch, she didn't.

Tori, on the other hand, was adored by all. She was the only baby at the party. She happily sat on laps and had many a stranger pinch and stroke her chubby cheeks. My chubby mcdubbs was a big hit with the elders today.

It was great to see Dani and Tori interact with a decent crowd, because with the holidays and Dani's birthday coming up, this is a good indicator of what to expect.