Dip, a Dani guest post.

Hi everybody, Dani here. I wanted to tell you about something I learned! Have you ever heard of ketchup? It is super yummy and you can dip your food in in and it makes everything taste all ketchupy and yummy. It even makes your fingers taste yummy. At dinner tonight, mommy and daddy let me have my own bowl of ketchup.

It was so yummy I rubbed it on my arms and face so I could lick it off. Some might have gotten in my hair too, and on my clothes. I heard daddy tell mommy that it was a bad idea for mommy to give me my own ketchup, but he was wrong--it was a great idea! Afterwards, mommy made me go in the shower with her to get the ketchup off. I sure love ketchup!

And, look at this--Tori's not crying. In fact, she was smiling at me so I took this picture. She still cries a lot, but when she smiles it makes me happy. Almost as happy as my own bowl of ketchup.

Older sister wins, today.

Tori spent some awake time on the couch today, snuggling with Dani's stuffed chicken. I wondered how well Dani would handle Tori's first time with something of Dani's. To date, Dani hasn't been too interested with Tori, other than to say baby, or kiss her, but the attention span is brief. Here's Tori with Dani's chicken. Dani notices that Tori has the goods and tries to grab the chicken!

Mommy tells Dani to share with her sister. Dani says ok, looks to be sharing per mommy's instruction.
Dani tries to distract mommy with shows of affection for the baby. Dani, the girl with the ulterior motive. Dani says, SUCKA, I got the chicken!!! (Tori smiles at the irony...she really just wanted Dani's love and didn't care about the chicken.)

Fun times.

Weekend wrapup.

The weekend was kind of a washout, but Dani and I spent some time outside on Friday evening. She's talking up a storm, and keeping us on our toes.

I took some videos outside--I've been trying to get her to master saying "grandma" and "grandpa" for my folks' visit in a few weeks.

And in the front yard:

Here, Dani had just woken up from a nap, ad I plopped Tori into her crib...it looks like they are sharing secrets.

I know they are going to have so much fun together when Tori's a little older!

A typical dinnertime.

Took some videos at dinnertime tonight, of our fun little circus. Dani, the perpetual star of all videos, is 18 months old today. Can't believe how fast the time flies. It seems like just yesterday that I was blogging about little Miss Fussy, and talking about Dani as the fussy one..instead of Tori. Now, she's tearing through the house, talking her head off. She charms the pants off of everyone she meets, and laughs all the time. She's got a hair trigger temper, but can be distracted into giggles quite easily. I adore my Dani.

Tonight, Dani decided she liked ketchup, so Big Man put a little bit on the high chair, and instead of dipping things into it, she leaned over and just put her face right into it and licked it up. OF COURSE, as soon as I got the camera, she decided she didn't want to do it anymore. But, there's still much cuteness to be seen in the two vids.

Here's the second one, a few minutes later...little miss chatterbox.

She certainly makes our dinnertime entertaining!

One month stats, a Dani guest post.

Hi everybody, Dani here. Mommy said I could do this post about my baby sister, Tori. She just had her one month doctor's visit, and as I suspected, I still win. More on that later.I'm pleased to announce that Tori is 9 pounds and 14 ounces and 20.5 inches long. I'm also pleased to announce that, back in the day, at my one month visit, I was 10 pounds and 1/2 ounce and 21.5 inches long. Clearly, I win. I'm the bigger, badder baby! (mommy's note: Tori was almost a pound lighter than Dani when born, and is clearly the winner in the weight gain category)
So, please join me as I raise my bottle to the best little sister ever. I love you Tori, even if you cry all the time. I can't wait until you are bigger and less fussy and can play with me. But remember, I'm the big sister, so I am always going to be in charge.
Kisses for you, my favorite little sister. (Now, hurry up and grow and play with me. And, stop crying so much, okay?) Really, could you please stop crying so much? I am sure I didn't cry this much back when I was a baby. Even my kisses don't make you stop crying.

I took this picture of Tori and mommy this morning. Tori was fussy and wouldn't smile for me, but mommy smiled!

I know you guys probably don't believe me, but Tori is fussy. Way more fussy than I was when I was a baby. If you don't believe me, just watch this. It's really like this all the time. I think that is why mommy says she doesn't have time to update this blog anymore. So, readers (grandpa) don't blame me for mommy's failure, blame Tori. Always blame Tori.

Anyway, to my little sister, Tori....it's on. Keep working hard to get big and strong so we can play. Just remember that I'll always be the bigger, stronger, sister...so you better do what I say!

Kids say the darndest things.

Dani is talking up a storm. She runs through the house naming objects, and parrots back most everything we say. It is absolutely adorable, but there are some things, I don't quite know how to address.

She refers to all men as "daddy". This means that when we are at the grocery store, or anywhere, she points to people and calls out "daddy". Kind of makes for some awkward moments.

Today, at breakfast, Dani was using her fork, pretty successfully. She was managing to poke her eggs and sausage and get it to her mouth on most attempts. She was waving the fork in the air triumphantly after every bite and saying "f*ck". We know she meant fork, but it sure sounded like she was throwing f-bombs at the table. This should make for interesting glances from strangers in the event we take her out to eat.

To keep with the awkward theme, here's a shot taken at dinnertime last night. Dani's less than thrilled about the baby on her lap.

Sadly, I'm missing a party that friends are having as I type--a big one--30th, 50th birthdays and a MSW graduation! After multiple unsuccessful attempts, Dani has still not taken a nap, and she would be a train wreck if I tried to take her anywhere until she does. I'm not letting her out of her crib again until she sleeps--which should be for a few hours when she finally gives in. She still hasn't taken a bath today, so by the time she gets up, gets clean and dressed for going out, and eats something, it will be dinnertime or later--factor in a 30 minute drive and we're almost at bedtime.... Sorry Tom and Ali--wishing you all the best on your big day!

Camping.

Well we didn't actually go camping. We drove to visit our friends who were camping. There was a whole big possee of folks we knew with their campers and motorhomes, and we popped in for a few hours. It was a great excuse for Dani to play in the dirt with a bunch of other kids, and for Big Man and I to talk to other adults. And a great opportunity for other adults to get to hold our baby, who was decidedly non-screamy while we were there.

Dani had a blast! She got to eat tons of food and play with dogs and kids! Here she is with my Aunt Renny.
It was just nice to get out for a few hours; we even grabbed a soft serve cone on the way home-- my first since Tori was born.

Things have just been kicking my butt this week. Work's slamming busy, a good thing. Dani is talking up a storm. But Tori.

Oh, my little Tori. She seems to have a fussy period that coincides from the minute I walk in the door until about 10pm. The unconsolable kind of fussy.

It looks kind of like this.

I'm sure you can imagine the corresponding wailing. I don't remember Dani being this fussy for no reason. There was always some cause--gassy, or we missed her sleep window and she was overtired, etc. Tori doesn't need (or have) a reason to fuss and fuss and fuss.

I've instructed Big Man that he has 5 weeks to fix it...because this will be hard to handle flying solo. Send my baby some calming thoughts, kay?

Long weekend, a Dani guest post.

Hi everybody, Dani here. It's so sunny and warm outside and I'm having so much fun. I love having my daddy home with me and my baby sister Tori's not too bad either. Mommy got me a pool, and she takes me in it every day!

Sometimes, I don't even wait to put my bathing suit on. Grandma Deb came to visit this morning and she and mommy were taking me outside to play on the swingset, but I marched right into the pool in my clothes. Then my diaper got really big and huge and everyone laughed at me.

So far, summer is my favorite season. I get to eat popsices and wear dresses and ride my bike!

I have 3 bathing suits and a great big ball that I bring in the pool. Mommy sits in the pool with me, too!

I love to sit with mommy when she is feeding Tori. I'm also a really good helper. When mommy changes Tori's diaper, I throw it away for her. Then, everyone claps for me!

I can also say any word I want to. Mommy and daddy get so excited when I talk to them; I don't see what the big deal is, but they sure seem to like it. Yesterday, mommy let me have some of her seltzer, so I said "bubbles" because there were lots of bubbles in it. Mommy sure got excited, you'd have thought I'd won a Pulitzer or something.

I get to stay up later too. And when mommy says it's bedtime, sometimes if I snuggle up with daddy she lets me stay up even longer. Daddy's a really good snuggler.

So far, being a big sister's pretty fun, but babies are boring. They just sleep and cry. I can't wait until Tori is bigger so she can play with me. OK, I'm going outside to play now. Bye bye.

Superkids.

We've got a little bit of a superbaby theme going on today.

And, supertoddler, too.

And a supertired mommy and daddy complete the set.

Bike!

You may recall that we got Dani a first walk on bike type toy for her birthday. She was not quite ready for it at that time, despite the cute pics we took. It's been packed away until now. I broke it out tonight---enjoy. Notice she's saying "bike". She is trying to say every word we do--and understaning everything we say. (folks on facebook: apparently my blog won't automatically upload videos to FB, and I'm lazy... so go to: http://www.betsyboothhill.blogspot.com to see the video)


I swear, we do take pics of Tori--just not as much (sorry Tori). But she came to my office today and I posted a pic to facebook. We love her just as much, but she isn't great for action photos!Anyway, so tired. Don't know what I'd do if Big Man wasn't home on paternity leave. I'm at work every day, and he's home. We share time at night and the overnight with Tori (I get to pick the early feeding or late feeding) but we are just so darn tired. He's used to being tired because he works all night and used to hang with Dani all day......I'm used to, and apparently need, much more sleep. By about 8pm he's snoozing in the upright position on the couch, and most nights I am sleeping by 10, knowing she will wake me up by midnight, but saying little prayers that Tori will sleep through the night....unrealistic I know. But, Dani did it by 9 weeks, so I'm hoping by the time Big Man goes back to work, Tori's broken in...or I'll be in big trouble!

Tubby time!

It took surprisingly longer for us to give Tori her first bath than Dani. We were so scared with Dani, and it was winter and cold, we filled the bathroom sink with water that was lukewarm and she just screamed--no doubt typical new parent fear of not scalding the baby. With Tori, it took much longer for her bellybutton cord to fall off--perhaps because the latest hospital security trick is to put the baby security button on the cord........so if a baby stealer comest to the hospital, and tries to leave with a baby....hidden baby button will trigger the firing squad or something.

Part of it was that we are now seasoned parents, and know that our little floppy newborn doesn't need baths every day, and we were in no hurry. We totally buy in to our doctor's philosophy that we only need to bathe Tori when she is stinky, because we don't want her to get dried out.
And, we realize that babies only have the "new baby smell" for about 12 seconds, and then they burp or fart or spit up or poop up and ruin it. Then they smell like sweaty, formula cheesy baby. And trust me, the wet washcloth doesn't cut it..so you need to bathe them.

But first, here's Dani....our little sweetie, always loving the bath!

And our little Tori, who was great for her first bath--and is a good baby all the way around. (I guess. Sleep deprived mommy fussy baby rant to follow when I have the energy).

And here she is all wrapped up after her first bath:

**Note for those of you who recall Tori was born on 4/27 and think we waited 3 weeks for a bath...not so. We did the really shallow sponge bathy things at first because she still had the cord after a week and she needed to be cleaned!

Family visit, a Dani guest post.

Hi everybody, Dani here. I had a really fun weekend with Daddy's family. It was a lot of work entertaining so many people, but since I'm the big sister, it's my job. Tori's way too little to play with guests. She just sleeps and eats and cries. Mostly cries. Did I mention the crying?

Everybody wanted to hug me and kiss me, it was like, take a number folks, because they were all wanting some Dani time. They were just lining up for snuggles from me. I let my cousin Justin go first.
I also let my cousins Jason and Justin read books to me. They played with all of my toys with me, too. They especially liked my sit and spin.
I even took them outside and let them play on my new swingset, and shared my ball. I know, pretty nice of me, huh?

I also them to a really cool playground called the Sassafrass. Aunt Angie had fun chasing me around. She couldn't catch me because I can run really fast!
So, I guess it's fair to say, I'm a pretty good hostess. I'm a good big sister too.

And, for sure, I'm the coolest toddler on the playground. But you already knew that.

Which is which?

These pictures were taken at about the same age. The thing I notice first is the sheer size of Big Man's hands in relation to the infant. If the dates weren't on these pics, could you tell which picture was Dani and which Tori?

So big, yet so gentile.
It's amazing how two babies can be so different. For example--Dani, eyes open, missing nothing--powering down her bottle so she could move on to more fun and important things (kinda like mommy). And in comparison--Tori, eyes closed, looking totally relaxed, calm and in the moment, just like daddy. I couldn't really imagine anything but Dani when I was pregnant with Tori. I imagined giving birth to another Dani. But, only two weeks in, it is apparent that they are different in so many ways...some good, some not so good (from an overtired mommy perspective).

I've also noticed that Big Man and I look much older in the 2010 Tori pics than we did in the 2009 Dani pics...

Mother's day.

He wrote

Life is perfect. I love you.

And it is, and he does.

Which makes every day feel like Mother's Day.

1 week stats.

We went to Tori's one week doctor's visit yesterday. She's gained 4 ounces and 1/2 inch, and is now 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 19.5 inches. And the doctor says she's super-strong just like Dani was. She can lift her head and torso and look around with her own strength. Big Man was proud at his ability to produce super babies! Here's Tori all undressed and waiting to be examined.

Tori, hamming it up on the exam table:

And, the weather's been beautiful...took Dani outside today. She has so much fun playing in the yard, picking flowers and playing on her swingset.Looking forward to a laid back family weekend!

Yum-O!

I have to pass along a super yummy drink that I recently tried. It's cheribundi! The nice folks at cheribundi contacted me and asked if they could send a sample of their tart cherry juice. Of course, I said yes, and they sent me a 4 pack.

All I can say is that it rocks! It is like drinking a cherry pie. And it's tart, like cherries should be and not sugary. All in all it's really good and good for you--Dani loves it.
It also is carried locally at Hannaford, so I'm psyched I can get more. If you want to read more about it you can go to: http://www.cheribundi.com/

Happy drinking!

My crazy kids.

Super fun toddler:

Super mellow new baby

Tired mommy and daddy. Tired, but happy.

The good, the bad, and the baby... a Dani guest post.

Hi everybody, Dani here. I thought I would fill you in on all that's been going on at my house. First, my mommy left. She just left me and daddy for almost a whole week. It made me sad. She came back, though. And she's been home with me and daddy and it's fun to spend so much time with her.
She also brought something home with her. A baby. I'm not sure what I think about this yet. So far, it seems like it's a lot more work for me, and to be honest, I'm not sure I'm seeing the upside.

When mommy first got home, she tried to hide the baby from me but I found her. Mommy's not very good at hiding things. Well, I guess she hid this baby in her belly for a long time, so maybe she's okay at hiding some things. See, I found her in the crib.

It wasn't hard to find this baby because I just had to listen for the crying.

The baby's not very much fun. All she does is sleep all the time. And, I have to be on my best behavior. I'm not supposed to touch her, or rock her swing for her. Sometimes when daddy's not looking I rock it anyway though. Don't tell daddy, but she likes it when I rock it really fast. I tried to show daddy where the baby's eyes were, and her nose, but he told me not to poke her. I tried to show him I could do it gently but he wouldn't let me. Meanie.

It's not fair because she gets to have as many bottles as she wants. And, daddy and mommy hold her practically all the time. Mommy won't even lift me up--she says her belly hurts and she can't but I think the baby just made her lazy. And daddy, he's all like "no", "no", "no" whenever I do anything fun. Even the kitty won't play with me anymore...he hides upstairs all the time. I don't blame him.

Anyway, this baby's name is Tori. She doesn't answer when I try to talk to her...seems kinda stuck up to me.

There are a couple of good things about having a new baby in the house. I get to watch TV. Mommy and daddy let me watch Sprout lots, and I sing and dance with Elmo and the Wiggles. Also, lots of people come to visit and play with me! Even the visitors know I'm way more fun than the baby is.

Today, after lunch, mommy let me put the baby on my lap. She's really little. And red. And squirmy. And warm. Not that cute though. I looked at my baby pictures and I was way cuter than she is. I'm just a cute kid, what can I say.

Having a baby around is hard work. I have to help get things for mommy, like diapers and blankets. (Why did I ever show them I understood what they were saying?) I have to spin the mobile in the crib so the baby won't cry. It's hard work. I think I'm going to have to negotiate an allowance, because I guess I have to train this baby--I'm going to teach her to be just like me. But since she's the little sister, she has to do whatever I say. Them's Dani's rules.

I'm hoping that the baby will be able to play with me soon. She sleeps more than the cats. Boooooring.

Mommy says I have to take a nap now. Bye bye!

Dani kisses.

Kisses for the baaaay-bee.