End of an era

After Alyssa's 3 year check up this morning she and I went to Build-A-Bear to make a "Binky Bear". I've been struggling with "binky removal" options for several weeks/months ... years, I guess, honestly, but yesterday when I was in Build-A-Bear the saleswoman was telling me about people that would bring their child's binky in and put it inside the bear and then sew it up so that technically they still had it. I thought it was a really sweet idea and fell in love with it immediately, so I bought Alyssa a Bear "charge it" card (gift card),which came with a little box that we named her binky box. I told her that since she was going to be 3 years old on Friday she was a really big girl now and that meant that she would get to have a binky bear, so she put all her binkies (okay 4 binkies ... I wasn't going to have them stuff it with 7+) in her binky box and after a visit to Dr. K's office we were off.

And of course her scrapbooking mama documented the trip. :)

Ready to get building

Stuffing with binkies

Kissing her binkies goodbye (insert mommy's tears here)


Ready to go home

Alyssa's official binky bear (complete with her own binky accessory)

I never dreamed that I would cry when she gave up her binkies, but its just one more sign that my little girl is growing up.

Times they are a changin'

Last night our next door neighbor's kids came over selling various items for a school fundraiser. As I was looking through the catalog they were talking about the "prizes" they could earn from what they sold. Top prize for selling 200 items was a Nintendo Wii. T & J were aiming for 50 items so that they could earn ... are you ready for this ... free text messages to share with their friends. Back in my day I think we tried to earn bookmarks. Or MAYBE a t-shirt if we were REALLY the little salesperson. lol

Too many toys ...

Do you think its a sign that you have too many toys when you're looking through the Fisher Price catalog with an almost 3 year old and on each page in the first half of the book she says "I have that toy" or "There's Joel's toy!"? I think I might be on to something here ...

Look Ma! It still fits!

When I was pregnant with Alyssa I tried really, really hard to avoid buying anything "girly" or "boy-y" things since we weren't finding out the sex of the baby. But on one shopping trip with my mom I broke down and bought this really sweet little dress with duckies on it. When I came home and showed it to Adam he declared that he wanted the baby to be a girl (not that he didn't feel that way before. lol). And he got his wish, but who would have known that that dress 0 -3 month dress would last for almost 3 years ...

First Thanksgiving ~ approximately 6 weeks old


9-16-07 ~ some odd days short of 3 years


She's such a goon!

Good to know

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Greasy Magician. Where You Lived: Egypt. How You Died: The Plague.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Milestone week!

We've had a couple big milestones in our family this past week. On Thursday Alyssa had her first dance class. She's taking combo tap and ballet once a week. All day Friday she kept asking to go back, so I think its a hit. She thinks she's pretty hot stuff with her new tap and ballet shoes. (excuse the quality of the picture; it was through the "viewing glass" during class)


Our little Joely bear has mobility of the crawling kind! Or at least scooting, I guess. I *thought* that maybe he was getting there on Friday, but we had the official "thumbs up" from Dee yesterday afternoon, so that sealed the deal. No crawling pics, yet, but this one is awfully cute. :)

Congrats Jeff and Megan!

A little premature, but a big HAPPY WEDDING DAY wish out to Jeff and Megan tomorrow. We really wish that we could be there for the wedding (and to get an East coast fix), but it just wasn't in the cards for us. We'll be thinking of you and I hope the day is absolutely perfect. Wishing you all the love and happiness in the world ~ you guys deserve it!

It came early and from an unexpected place

I have been waiting for and/or dreading the stage where my kids see something on TV or in a magazine and start begging for it incessantly. I keep hoping it is a long ways off, but I'm afraid I'm probably mistaken.

I got a small dose of the "I want it"s when one of my daycare kids came up to me with the fisher price catalog and asked me if we could get a baby and bathtub. Ask your parents, kid!

She probably can see the true pushover that I am when it comes to cute, girly toys. ;)

I am ...

either a) the coolest mom in the world or b) the worst mom in the world.

We've had a disappointing afternoon. Flights have been delayed, canceled, rerouted, and turned upside down only to get our visitor from the East stuck in Dallas for the night. We *thought* she was going to make it into town around 10:45 tonight, which totally bummed Alyssa out because I had told her after her nap we would go to the airport to pick up Aunt Paula and see the airplanes. She looked completely crushed when I told her that we weren't going. And then the rest of the afternoon whenever Paula's name was mentioned she started wailing for "plaaaaannneeessss" (aka planes).

After talking to the airline and realizing that she was going to miss her connecting flight here and probably wouldn't be in until tomorrow morning, I resorted to my college comfort food: Taco Bell (okay, it was Taco John's in college, but its in the same family). After putting Alyssa back in bed for about the 4th time, I decided I would just let her stay up. Thus we had a mommy/daughter bonding experience tonight as I initiated her into the world of Mexican fast food comfort by taking her in her jammies at 9:45 to Taco Bell and buying her a taco. In her eyes I'm probably the coolest mom in the world ... but to the rest of the world ... its up for a vote.

On the up side, Alyssa does get to go to the airport to see the plaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnneeeessss (and Aunt Paula) tomorrow.

Today's the big day!

One of my closest friends in the world is flying in to visit us today for the weekend ... the catch is that I've never met her in person. Yep, I'm one of the crazies that meets people on the internet and invites them into their home. To be their son's Godmother no less! And I can't wait!!!

Cautiously announcing ...

Alyssa seems to be well on her way to being daytime potty trained! She's doing so well and I'm SO proud of her. She has far surpassed my expectations of what potty training would be like. And its a lot more fun to buy cute panties than it is diapers!

We're having us a party!!!

A pool party! This month's "theme of the month" for daycare is "Summertime Fun", so today we celebrated with a pool party. The girls had lots of fun and neighbors Sophie and Braden came to join in the fun. We spent the morning playing in the pool and throwing water balloons (the fence was the most successful target) and finished up with some fruit umbrella straw/kabob snacks.

Cute Kid Pictures 8-9-07

I took these pictures today and thought I would share. I love the one of the older girls... almost as much as the one of Joel getting "goosed". :)

Miracles Happen!

Sung to the tune of "Accidents Happen" from "Elmo's Potty Time" DVD.

Miracles happen; that's what they say!
Miracles happen, not every day!

All 4 kids are napping/resting right now. I keep hearing peeps from Kinley, but hopefully she'll put herself back to sleep. Or maybe I'll go get her and plop her in the swing; that usually puts her out.

Now I have to quickly decide what to do with the 10 minutes or so of peace that I might get ... I know I *should* clean up, but I think I might relax with a book instead.

What I should have said

Tonight at Target I was glancing down the picture frame aisle as I walked past it and I saw something that made my heart stop. Or rather, I should say, I saw someone. Had this happened 4 months ago I was have happily ran down the aisle and greeted her with a huge hug and a smile. Tonight my first instinct was to run.

Four months ago I considered this person one of my best friends. And then she disappeared. I found out several weeks after she "disappeared" that she had left her husband and moved to her own apartment. I was floored. Thinking that she just couldn't find a way to tell me the news, especially considering I was the matron of honor at their wedding, I e-mailed her to let her know that I knew hoping that would break the ice. I heard nothing. I e-mailed her to let her know that I wanted to support her in whatever way she needed; I just wasn't sure what she needed and asked her to reply even if it was just to tell me that she needed space. Nothing. On a whim about a month ago I called and asked her out to coffee/lunch. I was shocked when she answered her phone and even more shocked when she agreed. She told me that she would call me later in the week to decide on a time/place. I heard nothing. I called and texted her asking if we were still on. Nothing.

And then tonight, there she was. I got up my courage and went over to talk to her. Ridiculous considering she knows me almost better than anyone else in the world. She kept saying that she knew that she didn't handle the situation right and she never meant to hurt me and that she just didn't know what to say to me. I told her it was okay; that I understood.

But its not and I don't. I don't understand. I was hurt. I am hurt. She didn't handle it well. She treated me like crap and treated our friendship like crap. Meaningless crap. Forgettable. Able to be discarded at a moments notice.

I never thought that would happen to us.

I think she is truly happy. And I think I'm happy for her. After all, what kind of friend would I be if I weren't? And maybe on some level I'm a little jealous because she's free to do or be whatever she wants. But I'm also really sad. Because I honestly don't think our friendship can survive this.

Ones for Alyssa's baby book ...

* Saturday night after Angie's birthday dinner we stopped by Sonic for some ice cream. After Adam ordered, Alyssa kept rolling down her window and yelling "ICE CREAM, PLEASE" and then rolling the window back up as she would laugh hysterically.

* She's really starting to notice how much attention Joel pays to her ... so much so that she's taking to screaming at him when he's falling asleep in the car because she doesn't want him to miss anything that she might do. Just short bursts of "AH!" like when he squawks at her.

* Normal reply to anything that I ask her to do lately "no, please".

* Today at lunch I was peeling myself a peach when I offered some to Alyssa. She LOVED it and ate almost the whole thing and was really upset when I told her that we had eaten all of it and there wasn't any more left. Off she went to open the fridge on her own, find a peach in the fruit drawer, and come back to me to say proudly "one more, mommy!". Tonight I was retelling the story to Adam and spelled out p-e-a-c-h. His reply was "what you can't say peach around her?". She wasn't even really paying attention to us, but her radar must have gone off when she heard the magic word peach, because next thing you know she's pulling another peach out of the fridge and telling Daddy that there's "one more!".

Oh, she keeps life interesting!

Dee ~ this one is for you!

I put Joel down in his crib this morning to watch his mobile while I was putting laundry away. I came in a few minutes later to find this:


he had scooted his way around until he found his blanket (thanks again ~ its the best!!!), cuddled up with it, and fell asleep (he NEVER sleeps on his back, by the way). So sweet! Hope this story/picture helps you feel better soon!

I'm in business!

Tonight marks the eve of me accomplishing one of my long time goals/dreams. Tomorrow morning I officially open my own in home daycare. You name the emotion, I'm feeling it tonight, but mostly I'm really excited. I hope its a great experience for Adam, Alyssa, Joel, and me as well as my daycare families.

I have will have 4 additional kids total. The first family that is starting tomorrow has two girls ages 5 and 3. They will be coming two days a week. My other family starts in August. They have two girls ~ one is 3 years old and a baby who is about 6 weeks younger than Joel. The babies are going to be my biggest challenge, but I'm really excited about the fact that both families have girls close to Alyssa's age. The second family will be coming 2 1/2 - 3 days a week. So both are part time, which should leave me a day or so each week to run around and be "free" (or as free as a mom to a 2 1/2 year old and 5 month old can be!)

Wish me luck!!!

Dear Joel ~ 5 months old

It seems very cliche to start off by saying that I can't believe you are 5 months old already, but I'm sitting here flabbergasted that my little baby boy is quickly turning into a not-so-little baby boy! In the past week you have gotten 2 teeth. Teething was pretty rough on you (and mommy and daddy for that matter), but you were a trooper. Yesterday you tried cereal for the first time, which didn't seem to be a huge hit. I doctored it up with a little apple juice tonight and that seemed to suit you a little better.


You are such a smiley and happy little guy; I can't imagine our family without you! Thankfully you are also a very patient little person, with the exception of when you want to eat. Your patience comes in handy when Alyssa wants to "help" with you or "love" you. Already you're starting to show some signs of stranger anxiety, especially around people who tend to hold back a little to see how you are going to react to them ~ such the intuitive, smart one you are!


Your favorite toy seems to be a little play piano that has 4 keys on it; second only to your toes! Daddy and I both cheered the day you FINALLY got your toes in your mouth because you were working on it for weeks. There's just something really squishy sweet about a baby with toes in his mouth.


We need to work on your sleeping habits at night because you're still getting up two to six times a night. Thankfully you aren't up for long, but as much as I love to see you and cuddle you, we could do without all the wee hour visits ~ I promise you will get plenty of cuddling and loving during the day, too, don't worry. Maybe you figure the middle of the night is the only time that you get me all to yourself. :)

Its been a fantastic 5 months, buddy bear. I love you more than you'll ever know.

Love,
Mommy

Celebrating in style . . .

We celebrated the first day of summer by hitting the sprinkler park that is a few blocks from our house. Alyssa was a little unsure about it at first, but she warmed up pretty quickly and made a couple new friends. Mommy learned that she needs to watch where she's walking as there are buckets that dump water and sprinklers that shoot out of the ground without warning! ;)

Parental Influences

Out of the mouth of Alyssa . . .

Most parents try to pass on words of wisdom to their kids like "treat others as you want to be treated", "always say please and thank you". MY husband frequently tells Alyssa "always use a condom". Now, good advice, granted, but you can imagine how proud I was when my 2 1/2 year old came running up to me to say "condom, mommy!".

Almost as proud as when she told me "BEER, WOMAN!" in a growly voice.

And she's also picked up her daddy's tendency to grunt frequently, so throughout the day I get greeted with sweet little "manly" grunts from her.

But its not only Adam that is teaching her these things. Thanks to me she now says "Oh TOOT!" whenever she farts. Or she'll say "Oh, _____ toot!" when someone else farts. I can totally see that one backfiring when I let one loose in public.

Ahhh kids!

Bring on the mountain hikes!

As of about 10AM this morning I am the *proud* owner of a backpack carrier. Never in my life did I ever think that I would buy one of these. They were for those super outdoorsy, athletic, nature freaks that went on 20 mile hikes several times a week and camping on a regular schedule. My camping schedule goes about once every 7 years. And about 8 years ago I did a 7 mile hike up a mountain; I have no desire to do that again any time soon.

My midwife was the first one to suggest to me that we get one. She told me that its great for strapping on husbands and letting them have "bonding time" with the baby while mowing the lawn. I think I could handle that. ;) Then I started seeing a couple of our neighbors walking around the neighborhood with their kids in a backpack. I started getting interested ... I might want to do that someday. Then at Joel's 4 month check up his pediatrician recommended getting one. Joel does love being in the baby bjorn, but sometimes its just a pain to have to reach around him, so I started seriously thinking about getting a backpack.

And then it just so happened that our neighbor Amy had one on her garage sale this morning, so I think I got a pretty good deal, even if we don't use it that often.

Adventures in potty training: Chapter 1

This week I've been slowly working on potty training with Alyssa. More because I can't get the girl to keep a diaper and/or pants on than really feeling ready to tackle potty training. I think she's ready; just not quite so sure about mommy.

Tuesday: She pooped on the floor in the living room and a little bit in her potty. When I saw it she said "Oh poop, Mommy. Daddy pick up home work" Meaning that Daddy would pick it up when he got home from work. I guess she figured that Daddy cleans up Lexi and Joey's poop out in the yard, so poop detail must be his job.

Wednesday: Successful poop in the potty! We called Daddy and both Grandmas to announce the news. BUT . . . while sitting on Daddy's lap after he got home, Alyssa peed through her panties, shorts, and Daddy's shorts.

Thursday: Two successful pees in the potty, which resulted in 2 stickers on her potty chart!

Have I mentioned I'm not sure if I'm ready for this yet?

Sick? Or just plain smart?

Thursday afternoon Alyssa started running a fever between 102 and almost 104. A motrin/tylenol combo seemed to do the trick and she was acting normal, so I didn't think much of it. Yesterday afternoon when she got up from her nap she seemed warm again, so I took her temp and it was 102.2, so back on the motrin we went. She LOVES her motrin. Especially now that she gets to drink it out of a medicine cup like a big girl. After she took it, I started asking her if her ear hurt every once in a while because I'm supremely paranoid about ear infections (even though she's only had 2 in her life). Last night before bed she got all excited because she thought she was going to get medicine. I told her I had to take her temp first to see if she needed it. Her temp was around 99.2, so I told her that she didn't need it because she wasn't sick and the little stinker started crying and saying "Ear hurt, ear hurt". I looked at Adam in disbelief and asked him if she was smart enough to figure out that I would give her medicine if her ear hurt or if he thought he ear really did hurt her. Either way, I figured better safe than sorry, so she got her beloved motrin before bed.

She's growing up waaay too fast.

Myspace/Blog Scattergories

Since scattergories IS one of my fave games, I felt compelled to play along. But I don't blog on Myspace, so I'm sticking it here. In the words of Chris Dowd . . . "wanna fight?"

Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...They MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

. Your Name: Christi

. Famous Artist/Band/Musician: Christina Aguilera (sp?)

. 4 letter word: Crud

. Color: Cobalt

. Gifts/present: Can opener (I gave my brother one once, along with a bunch of cans of ravioli)

. Vehicle: Century (as in Buick ~ my first car *sigh*)

. TV Show: Curious George (can you tell I'm a mom?)

. Country: Canada

. Name of a boy: Carter

. Name of a girl: Candice

. Alcoholic drink: Cosmopolitan

. Occupation: Cattle Rancher

. Flower: Columbine

. Celebrity: Cindy Crawford

. Food: Chicken

. Something found in a kitchen: Cans

. Reason for Being Late: Car crash

. Cartoon Character: Clifford (the big red dog . . . did I mention that I'm a mom?)

How cute is my husband?

Look what I got for my Mother's Day breakfast . . .

A first for Joel

Last weekend as part of Lenka's first birthday festivities Joel got to experience his first time in a pool. Granted it was REALLY crowded and only lasted about 5 minutes (because there were too many people, not because he didn't like it), but it was special! I'm looking forward to getting him in the pool/hot tub again when we go to Ohio for my cousin Jeanine's wedding.

Some pictures of the "memorable event" ~

In his "cool dude" shades on the way to the pool
With mommy
Proud big sister watching from a distance
Family picture

Special thanks to Julai for the sunglasses and swimming apparel!

Her new 'do

Alyssa, Joel, and I went to visit Grandma and Grandpa N yesterday and before we left we made a trip to Ms. Sharon for Alyssa's first PROFESSIONAL haircut. Sharon used to cut my hair when I was younger, so I was really glad that she was able to do Alyssa's, too ~ I'm such a sentimental fool! And of course, I cried. I could have just sobbed watching her get her haircut, but I didn't want to worry her, so I held it together as best I could. I was sitting there looking at her with one side of her hair cut short and looking all grown up and then other side long and unruly and looking like my baby and it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I kept thinking "that hair has been on her head for as long as she's been alive". Sharon gave us an adorable little soft plastic zippered bag to keep all her hair in for the baby book/scrapbook.

And now for pictures (I know there's a lot, but I took about 30, so be thankful I'm trimming it down!) . . .

Before:

Ready to roll:
First snip:
Counting her curls:

All done:
And thankfully she still has curls!

Do you know how weird I am?

Jeff tagged me for this latest "get to know you" game ~ 6 weird things about me and then I have to "tag" 6 people.

1. I am completely anal about how my bath towels are folded.
2. I can't stand to use wooden spoons ~ they give me the heebie jeebies.
3. Toilet paper has to go a certain way in my house (so that paper goes over the top). I used to even change it at other people's houses, but then I realized that some of them put it the "wrong" way to keep cats from unrolling it all, so I stopped. Sorry to anyone I "paper changed" in the past. ;)
4. When playing solitare on the computer my aces have to go black, red, black, red or red, black, red, black ~ the same colors can't touch each other.
5. I will make the bed right before bed if I haven't gotten around to making it throughout the day. There's just something special about a made bed.
6. My husband doesn't own a cell phone (just for you, Adam!)

I tag Angie 6 times so that maybe she'll FINALLY update her blog.

Deal or No Deal

If I were ever picked to go on this show, there is no way in HELL I would take Adam with. I would get offered $10 and he would start screaming "DEAL! DEAL! DEAL! We can hit Taco Bell on the way home!" And I would say no deal and no matter what amount of money I came home with our marriage would never be the same. So in this case ignorance would most definitely be bliss.

My first choice to take would be Angie. Especially if she had a couple drinks in her. ;) So, Angie, this is your official invite if I ever get picked on Deal or No Deal. We'll bring Eric along, too ~ he's a good team player. We could take Adam, too, he'll just have to stay at the hotel.

"JOEL" ~ A photo collection by Alyssa

Joel was hanging out on Alyssa's bed yesterday and she wanted to take his picture. Since I'm highly amazed, I mean amused, by her photography skills I let her go to town. The second picture *might* be Joel since he was wearing red; although so was Alyssa now that I think about it. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Adam!

Dear Adam,

Happy Birthday to my handsome hubby ~ 30 years young today! :) Hope you have a wonderful day and we're looking forward to celebrating with you through the day. Lots and lots of love!!!

Your silly ww and kids ~

The Girls Next Door

I hate to admit it, but I'm completely fascinated by this show. (For those of you who don't know, its a reality show following around Hugh Hefner's 3 live-in girlfriends). Its like a car wreck. I don't WANT to watch it because I can feel brain cells disappearing by the second, but I just can't stop. I'm dumbfounded by the relationships. I constantly am wondering how it "works", how the girlfriends get "picked", why someone would want to be in that situation . . .

Mommy time

A year ago, when it was just Alyssa and I, and I would trying to get out of the house by 9:10 in order to make a 9:30 jazzercise class I would get sooo stressed out and have such a hard time getting everything together. And this was only getting Alyssa dressed ~ I would just throw my hair up and toss on some comfty clothes and be ready to go. And more often than not Alyssa would eat breakfast in the car while we were driving.

Fast forward a year . . . earlier this week, Alyssa, Joel, and I were leaving the house by 9AM to run errands. We had each been fed, showered, dressed, etc.

I always worried that it would be midafternoon by the time I was ready to face the world with two kids, but its actually the opposite.

Of course it helps that Alyssa gets up about an hour earlier than she used to, hence mommy gets up a lot earlier.

You want WHAT?!

I found out this morning that Alyssa has a hard time pronouncing her "p"s . . . when she asked me for "mancakes" for breakfast!

Then and Now . . .

Alyssa and Joel when Joel was almost a week old . . .
Alyssa and Joel when Joel was almost 3 months old (ignore the spit up, please ~ it was the best picture I could get of the two of them! lol)

Home is where the heart is

We're approaching the one year anniversary of living in our "new" house and I'm kind of surprised that it still doesn't feel like home. I drove past our old house after church Saturday night and as soon as I turned the corner and saw the crab apple tree in the front yard and the green house that Adam and I painted ourselves (okay, I was 7 months pregnant, so I didn't paint, but I did have a say in the color!), my heart started bubbling with wonderful memories and love. I'm sure I'll feel that way about this house someday, but it reminded me again how much I miss our "home". In a way I still feel like I'm playing house or on a vacation; like this house is too big and grown up for me to own and at times I long for the small, coziness of the house on Bauman Ave. But, then I see things like this


the tulips that Adam and I planted together last fall and this place seems a little more like home.

Mommy's night out ~ we all survived!

Last night I went to a scrapping crop with my friend Angie. It was the first time I had left Adam with both kids for longer than running quickly to Target or the grocery store, so I think we were both a little nervous. Alone time with Alyssa when she was a baby was always really stressful for Adam, so I was afraid with two kids it would spell disaster . . . and I find him awfully brave because even I haven't had both kids alone at bedtime yet. But wouldn't you know that my little munchkins were complete angels for Daddy. *whew* I might actually get out of the house again before they are both in school.

Angie and I had a great time hanging out and getting back into scrapbooking. I always forget how much I love it when I have these "lapses" and it was so nice to be able to hang out with her without husbands or kids (or Chad ~ lol) around. ;) I'm really happy with the way my pages turned out and I'm within about 6 pages of having Alyssa's book caught up until her 2nd birthday, which feels really wonderful.

April ~ The month of fantastic Fridays!

Last Friday Adam had the day off for Good Friday. I always love having him around ~ not just because of the extra set of hands around the house, but because I actually like the guy, too. ;) I took Joel to his 2 month appointment and overall it went really well (minus the fact that we were there for an hour and a half).

Today my parents had Alyssa all day. My mom actually took her home with her yesterday and then I picked her up tonight. It was so blissful getting to sleep in until 8ish with Joel, then I spent most of the day cleaning. I had forgotten how wonderful it was to clean/pick up a room and then walk into it 15 minutes later and find that it was STILL clean and not completely destroyed. And its a lot less stressful to clean if you're not thinking "what was that crash?! Is that the sound of a chair being pushed across the kitchen floor? Its awfully quiet in Alyssa's room . . . ", etc.

Next Friday night I get to go to a scrapbooking crop with at least one of my closest friends. I haven't been to a crop in at least a year and a half, so I'm really looking forward to it. Should be a good time to catch up on gossip with Julia and hopefully catch up on Alyssa's book and start Joel's book.

The following Friday my handsome hubby turns the big 3-0! My mom is coming to spend the night and babysit the kids so that we can go out with friends to the comedy club and then out for drinks at a martini bar. I'm not sure which I'm looking forward to more. ;) It'll be Adam and my first big night out in a REALLY long time. Probably since November when we went to the BNL concert.

Roly Poly Joel

Our big guy rolled over from him tummy to his back last night ~ TWICE! But I must confess, we made him do it twice because we all missed it the first time. I put him down in the crib so that I could go downstairs and get Alyssa some peanut butter crackers and then by the time I came back he was on his back, happy as a clam. He was quite accommodating when I put him on his tummy again to see if I could get a repeat performance out of him. Alyssa used to just wail and cry and scream until either a) all her flailing rolled her over on accident or b) Mommy would take pity on her and help her flip over. Joel is quite the determined little guy; he already seems like more of a "deep thinker" who will like to figure things out by himself. Guess that means I better start working on my patience skills.

Easter Pictures

Joel dressed in his finest ~ even a neck tie!

Baby's 1st Easter bib ~ passed down from big sister, Alyssa.

Our pretty little Easter princess (who has curls that I would have killed for when I was younger!)

Guess I'm a diamond in the rough . . .

Stolen from Amber's blog:

Your Personality is the Rarest (INFJ)

Your personality type is introspective, principled, self critical, and sensitive. Only about 2% of all people have your personality - including 3% of all women and around 1% of all men. You are Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Makes sense, but still kind of surprised me.

You know what sucks big time?

Thunderstorms less than an hour into naptime. And add to that suckage a 2 1/2 year old who doesn't understand why she can't go outside in the pouring rain and lightening. I foresee a LONG afternoon.

Gimme that Penny!

A few weeks ago I bought Alyssa a bunch of spring and summer clothes while out shopping with my mom. Most of the things that I bought were 2T, but after getting them home I realized that the brand seemed to run a little small, so I wanted to go back and exchange them for 3Ts. Which we did yesterday when my mom was in town again to do some shopping. Would you believe that the pair of overalls that I bought her was $9 when I bought them originally, but yesterday they were $8.99, so the sales lady had to jump through all these hoops to give me my refund. Of ONE STINKIN' Penny! The extra 5 minutes I had to stand there were not worth it at all.

Ode to Adam's Hair Gel

Occasionally (aka when I don't feel like REALLY doing my hair) I will borrow some of Adam's hair gel so that I feel like I can go out in public and not look like a total slob. Each time I bend over and start running it through my hair, I'm struck by the same thought.

The smell of the gel reminds me of the way my sister used to smell when I was in junior high.

Like cigarettes and AquaNet hairspray (she was a child of the 80s; her hair couldn't be too big or too "frozen").

Bizarre, huh?

I will add that not once have I smelled Adam's hair and had his hair remind me of Joni, so it must just be a "application" smell. ;)

What a difference 4 years can make

Stole this from a bulletin off of myspace because I thought it was kind of interesting.

HOW MUCH HAVE YOU CHANGED IN 4 YEARS
---- 4 Years Ago -------

1.) How old were you?
22

2.) Where did you go to school?
I had already graduated and was working in the "real world"

3) Where did you work?
TPG Telemanagement

4.) Where did you live?
On Bauman Ave

5.) Where did you hang out?
Julio's every Wednesday night

6.) Did you wear glasses?
Nope

7.)Who was your best friend?
Erin

8.) How many tattoos did you have?
0

9.) How many piercings did you have?
2 in each ear

10) What kind of car did you drive?
1998 Grand Am

11.) Had you been to a real party yet?
Yes

12.) Had You had your heart broken?
Yes

13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced?
Married

-------------2 years ago-----------

1.)How old were you?
24

2.) Where did you go to school?
School of life. ;)

3.) Where did you work?
At home, for Alyssa

4.) Where did you live?
On Bauman Ave

5.) Where did you hang out?
at home

6.) Did you wear glasses?
Nope

7.) Who were your friends?
Closest ones were Paula, Angie, Julia, and Christy

8.) Who was your crush?
Brendan Fraiser

9.) How many tattoos did you have?
None

10.) How many piercings did you have?
still 2 in each ear

11) What car did you drive?
1998 Grand Am

12) Had your heart broken?
yes

13. Single/Taken/Married/Divorced?
Married
--------------------Today--------------------

1.) How old are you?
26

2.)Where do you work?
At home for Alyssa and Joel

3) Where do you live?
On N 150th St

4.) Do you wear glasses?
No

5) Who are your best friends?
Paula, Angie, Julia, and Christy

6.) Do you talk to your old friends?
some of them, but not nearly enough of them and not nearly often enough

7.) How many piercings do you have?
still just the ears

8.) How many tattoos?
0

9.) What kind of car do you have?
2005 Ford Escape

10.) Has your heart been broken?
Yes

11.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced?
Married

12) What are you looking forward to?
Play with my new cell phone that JUST ARRIVED via unattractive FedEx guy! And warm weather.

Frustrated

You know what really frustrates me? Okay, a lot of things, but today its the fact that I've lost all of my pregnancy weight PLUS about 15 pounds and I still can't fit into my prepregnancy jeans. I know that when carrying a baby things get all shifted around and your body shape changes, but come on! I just want to wear a stinkin' pair of jeans! I'm tired of either wearing dress pants or comfty pants.

Maiden Voyage

Well, it took 5 weeks and 4 days, but I did it. And survived. I took both kids, by myself, out into the wild abyss. Okay, so it was a trip to the grocery store (to hit the bank branch inside, not actually grocery shopping) and the library, but it was still a giant step for me. And I came home with 2 kids, everyone had all their body parts and belongings, and mommy didn't head straight for the liquor cabinet, so I call it a success!

Favorite Picture of the Day

Amazing

Yesterday we received a very special package in the mail. Inside was an adorable little dress up outfit for Joel (complete with neck tie ~ ahhhhhhhhhhh!), a very generous gift card, and a fun little "magic" doodle pad for Alyssa. The special thing was that it came from a group of people I've never met in real life. It came from a group of women who I consider more family than friends, who have shared all the ups and downs of my life for the past 4 years and who I don't know what I would do without.

Almost 4 years ago, right after our wedding, I ended up joining eDiets in hopes of hitting my goal weight. While a member I started posting on a message board with a group of women that were initially hoping to lose weight before getting pregnant (or as the case ended up being lose weight after having a baby/preparing to have another baby). We've since left eDiets and moved from to various message boards over the years, but we've stuck together and they are a huge part of my daily life. Heck, they pretty much are my daily life! :)

Alyssa's present had a message on it welcoming her to the big "sibling" club from all the other big brothers/sisters in the group. As I read that, it brought a tear to my eye. Now, it may just be pregnancy hormones, but it made me think about how its not just the women of this group that are so important to me, but its their families, too. Their kids and husbands and pets. That's a pretty powerful thing ~ that through my computer these people could enter my life so completely.

Not as smart as Adam . . .

My cute 'lil man and his new best buddy

Who wants to be a toddler-aire?

As experienced today at naptime . . .

Alyssa: “Jammies, Mommy?”

Mommy: “You want to wear jammies for your nap?” (normally she just wears a onesie).

Alyssa: “Yes!”

Mommy: “Which jammies do you want to wear?”

Alyssa: “Purple”

Mommy: “Okay, purple jammies”

* mommy pulls purple jammies out of the closet *

Alyssa: “No, red.”

* mommy puts purple jammies away and gets out red ones and starts to feel like she’s being “played” and this is all a stalling technique, but is proud that Alyssa is using colors, so ignores the feelings of apprehension. *

Alyssa: “Purple!”

Mommy: * sigh * “Is that your final answer?”

* sarcasm is lost on Alyssa *

Alyssa: “Yes!”

* out comes the purple jammies *

And now she’s down for a nap wearing the red jammies. * sigh *

Liars!

You know the saying about the postal service delivering through "rain and wind and sleet and snow" or something like that? Its bull! We're now on day 3 of no mail because of the snow storm that hit on Thursday.

The boys are all better

I took Joel in Monday morning to have blood drawn again and his levels dropped from 15-something on Friday to 11.3 on Monday, which Dr. K was THRILLED with. I guess plopping him in the carseat in front of the kitchen window to work on his tan Sunday afternoon worked after all! He also went in for his weight check this morning and is up to 8 lbs 1 oz. So he gained 5 oz in 5 days, which again Dr. K was thrilled with and he's back up to his birth weight, so I can stop worrying (at least a little . . . for now). This morning also marked the first time that I've taken both kids out solo and it went fairly smoothly! I don't know that I'm ready to tackle Target or the mall, but its good to know that I can survive a trip to the doctor's office with both kids in tow.

My dad got home on Sunday and seems in pretty good spirits. I think the whole experience really ran him down, but hopefully getting home and back in his own bed will help. And getting back to breakfast and coffee with "the guys" will help, too, I'm sure.

Healthy? Bah humbug!

I took Joel in for his 2 week check up this morning with Dr. K. He's doing okay, but not great. Still not up to his birth weight (he was 7 lbs 12 oz this morning), so we have to go in for a weight check next week. Dr. K wasn't too concerned, but it was a little disheartening for me since I'd felt like I was doing really well with nursing this time around, but Alyssa was up almost a pound from her birth weight at her 2 week appointment, so I had hoped the Joel would be following in her footsteps. They thought he still looked a little yellow, so checked his billirubin (sp?) levels and they jumped up again, which again is disheartening. We take him back to the hospital on Monday to have them rechecked and if they haven't dropped Dr K wants me to stop nursing him for 3 days and put him exclusively on formula. I'm so anxious about what that would mean. I worry that I won't be able to pump enough to keep my supply up. I worry that after being on bottles for 3 days straight Joel won't want to nurse anymore. I worry that he won't take a bottle at all and it'll be a huge struggle. I had a lot of difficulty pumping with Alyssa, so I'm not sure that if it came down to need to pump exclusively I could physically do it. And it makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong because I chose to breastfeed him and that can increase a baby's odds of having jaundice. But on the up side, they did check his liver function and that checked out perfectly, so the jaundice is probably just due to all the bruising he had after birth and not a sign of a more serious issue.

During this appointment, my mom was at our house watching Alyssa. Both she and my dad were supposed to come down, but my dad hadn't been feeling well and was actually going to the doctor himself this morning. Which was a huge sign that he felt REALLY bad, because its like pulling teeth to get that stubborn Dane to go to the doctor. After I got home from Joel's appointment my mom said that my dad had called and his doctor wanted him admitted to the hospital immediately. All my dad could/would tell my mom was that the doctor said that he was really sick and needed to be in the hospital. They've still been a little vague with me (don't want to worry their "baby", I suppose), but it sounds like he just has a bladder infection, but the doctor wanted him on IV drugs to help him get over it more quickly. When I talked to him tonight the doctor had just left and had said that it was a really good thing that he came in when he did because if he had let it go even until later this afternoon Dad would have been in a lot of pain and in a lot worse shape. My mom says that he looks good and he's feeling better and when I've talked to him he seems in fairly good spirits, so I hope its something that passes quickly.

Funnies from Alyssa

Trying to be just like mommy . . .

Last weekend I was sitting on the couch feeding Joel. Alyssa climbed up next to me with one of her dolls in her arms, then proceeded to pull up her shirt and "feed" her baby. Adam went for the video camera, but thankfully Alyssa's baby was done eating by the time he got it all set up. It was cute, but I have to admit, it still makes me blush and I was a wee bit embarrassed.

We have a seat in our shower that I constantly will put my foot up on to wash/shave my legs because I'm too lazy to lean/bend over. Since we brought Joel home one of Alyssa's "fun" activities is getting to shower with me. She's started trying to prop her leg up on the seat in order to wash it . . . the only problem is the seat is about 20 inches high and she's only about 33 inches tall . . . a little bit awkward, but incredibly cute!

Anyone know . . .

what the weight limit for a Kick 'n Play bouncer is? I'm willing to bet its less than 30 lbs, but Alyssa won't believe me. ;)

Introducing . . .

Its old news for most of you by now, but thought I better do my official blog entry anyway. :)

We are thrilled to announce that Joel Norman joined our family Saturday Feb 3rd at 12:07 PM. He weighed in at 8 lbs even and was 20 inches long (not too shabby for a "premie" since he was 1 day shy of being 37 weeks/considered full term). Overall he's a really great baby so far. He did have some fairly serious issues with jaundice the first few days, so he was confined to a his own little "tanning bed" until yesterday afternoon, which was really heartbreaking, but I kept reminding myself that at least he was home with us and we didn't have to take him back to the hospital (or leave him there on Monday). Alyssa really seems to love having him around (knock on wood) and she is a FANTASTIC big sister.