Unplugged.

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....

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!

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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!

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

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

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.

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

Almost spring.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.