He's 4!!

Since the weather predicted a massive snow in, we celebrated the Boy's birthday a day early. He wanted to do it all himself this year. So he picked out his own...


...breakfast and dinner...


...presents...


...balloons (a Roxy favorite)...


...and cake. Make a wish!

They're Here

...and making our lives a little bit sad from time to time.

The More the Merrier

This was the Boy's attempt at making the Girl happy.

That's What I Like to Hear

Hear's one of my new favorite things to hear:

"Mom, I'm not ready to come out of quiet time yet."

It leaves me with deep sighs of great satisfaction.

I'm a Believer

The Man bought these BOB books for the Boy when he was two and worked with him most every night on them. He has been a pretty good reader for about a year now. I continue to be impressed with him, though. Today I was watching a news show, which said at the bottom of the screen that it was being broadcast from D.C. Without prompt or any help (and I'm pretty sure no exposure to the word before) he read outloud, "Washington".

Not bad, huh?

Pbbbbbbbbbbt! @ You

This is her new favorite trick. She did this for 15 minutes straight today. Unfortunately, my phone only records in 14 second increments and has horrible picture quality. The Man has been trying to get me to upgrade for a while. Oh well, you'll get the idea. Probably will need to turn your volume up.

Cutie

I was and still am concerned that I'll have no idea how to dress a little girl. Why? I don't know. I'm weird. But I think she looks not so bad here. Maybe even adorable? Someone tell me it will be alright.

Christmas

We spent our Christmas Eve at home having our traditional "Bethlehem dinner" and then opening our stockings.

The kiddos got PJs - the Boy's glow in the dark and the Girl's are about 3 sizes too big for her despite the tag indicating 6-9 months. So she won't be wearing them for a while.


The next morning the Boy did most the present opening. Including dumping out the Girl's giant bag of clothes.

She looked on, possibly knowing that she was getting the short end of the stick due to her inability to use her hands like a human.


Thanks to all who contributed to my new, fabulous wardrobe. xox Lil Diva

The Boy was excited to get new games, a Mr. Potato Head, new movies, a pretend doctor's kit (which has come in handy so many times already I tell ya), and books.



He also got this little (not so little) remote control car, which gave the Girl her first goose egg on the head a few days later. This sucker is crazy and the Boy adores it.


I hope you all had a good Christmas and do have a Happy New Year!

Playing Catch Up

Here are some things we've been up to around the holidays.

We ate some turkey in Virginia.


We learned to sit....sort of.


We played superhero.


We slept.....on top of luggage.


And we made a snowman that might be better placed in Halloween than Christmas.

Good Intentions and Merry Christmas

I was planning on doing a Christmas card this year, but then...I just didn't. The good news is, I don't have to choose just one picture of the kiddos that I love - I can post them all! So here's what we did in 2010:

The Man: served as Chief Resident again this year. He worked hard to pass Boards and secured interviews at a number of prestigious fellowship programs for Musculoskeletal Radiology, but decided to accept an offer from Washington University in St. Louis. So we're leaving New York after nine years. But that's a post for another time.

The Boy: learned to swim this year and has also become an excellent reader. I am always surprised at his willingness to try new words and impressed with his level of accuracy. He loves his preschool co-op and pushing mom's buttons. He also loves, loves, loves his little sister. He was born to be an older brother.

I: had a baby. Did I need to do more?

The Girl: is nearly 6 months. She is almost nothing like my first child. She squaks like a baby eagle and grumbles like a grizzly bear. You can easily taunt a smile out of her, and it is so very sweet. She weighed in today at a whopping 13 pounds 8 ounces, putting her in the 11th percentile for her age. She did, however, break all family records by pushing the 50th percentile for height. We do not expect that to last.

We are grateful for our family and friends who love and support us in all we do. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a pleasant New Year.

He Had a Hard Day at Work

Growing

Loves to smile.

Loves her play mat.


Loves her brother.

What We've Been UP to Lately

I'd say about seven feet.

Halloween

Finally getting around to posting Halloween pictures. The Boy decided he wanted to be Buzz Lightyear this time around. I thought going on Ebay to find a costume would be a brilliant idea. So did 3,000 other people. I lost a lot of bids before snagging up this baby.

This one was much easier. Ain't she sweet?

Just a Good Day

Did anyone else enjoy the 74 degree weather today? The Girl and I spent the morning with the Boy at his preschool. After nap time we ran a few errands and then came home. I put the Girl down for her late afternoon nap and the Boy and I headed outside.

We have one spot on our driveway that is designed to make a puddle. I filled that over and over with water and let the Boy go to town. I thought about breaking out the camera, but opted to just enjoy the moment rather than trying to capture it. (Boring for you, but so nice for me.) He got soaked and the passers by seemed to enjoy it as well. Since the Girl is still asleep in his room where his clothes are, he is now playing quietly with his marble track in his birthday suit.

Not bad for a Fall day.

He Told Me

One morning this week I was explaining to the Boy what our agenda was. I said,

"I am going to shower and get ready. Then after the Girl wakes up from her nap, she will eat and then we'll go to the PlayPlace."

To which he responded,

"Mom...(theatrical pause)...that's not a very good plan."

The Girl's Blessing

We blessed the Girl last Sunday.

True to form, she screamed through the whole thing. At the time, I thought an exorcism would be more appropriate, but this last week or so she has settled nicely into a daily routine and is a very happy and talkative little girl.

Unholy

It's a pretty low moment when you're dragging one kid up the stairs by his arm for a nap while singing a hymn to the other one screaming in your arms. I'm pretty sure that would not be considered "a song of the righteous" at that point.

Bittersweet

Saturday was the Stake Run for Mercy 5K. We spent a lot of time putting it together this year. For a little while, it looked like we may have gotten in over our heads.

In the end, we had over 200 registrants and many more pledges than we expected. The day was a little hectic and crazy, but in a really good way.


I was really happy to be a part of it again this year, but also a little sad that I won't get to do it next year.

First Day

The Boy had his first day back to preschool last week. I can't believe how big he has gotten. He'll always be my baby, but ain't he just a little man now?

Lil Diva

When she's mad, she's really mad. But give her even a little bit of attention and she'll flash you one of these.

Swim Class

Guess who learned to swim this summer?



I am so thrilled and so proud of him. Thanks Miss Libby!

Bret Michaels

I have a crazy older sister who loves Bret Michaels and a crazy middle sister who is willing to dress up like him at a girl's weekend. She has also done Paula Dean, Britney Spears, and made hand puppets all in the name of entertainment. She is absolutely hilarious!

Anniversary Present

It's not our anniversary yet, but we went ahead and bought tickets as a gift to ourselves. We are going to see this guy in September.



Come with us!!! Get your tickets here.

Has It Been a Month?

Here she is at one month old.

Some facts about the girl:

She can poop with the best of them.

She goes to sleep well at night, but it's a struggle in the day.

She has gained 2 and a half pounds in her one month, now weighing in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces.

Her little head still looks a bit ridiculous in the giant headbands I bought.

I think we'll keep her.

She's a Yankee Doodle Dandy

She's a Yankee Doodle Dandy

A Yankee Doodle, do or die

A real live niece of her Uncle Sam

Due on the Fourth of July (but showed up early)

Now I've got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart

She's my Yankee Doodle joy...

The Birth...in Short

Here's the story. I went into labor around 12:30 am on Saturday morning. I woke up The Man around 1:00 am to inform him I might be in labor. I spent the next hour in denial until the pain was a bit too much. So we called the Holmes' at 2:00 am to come stay with the Boy.

I spent two plus hours in triage because the woman next to me decided to have her baby then and there. When I got to the hospital I was dialated to about a two and by the time I got my epidural an eternity later, I was already a seven. Holy pain. I was not made for labor. The Girl's heart rate dropped shortly after the epidural. My room went from having three people to about ten people in a matter of seconds. A few shots of this and that along with some fast acting staff and things went back to normal quickly, though. She was born at 6:12 am - delivered by Dr. Duguid, Nurse Tracy, and friend and medical student Stephanie (who had her baby the next day!).

Big brother is happy with his little sister, and so are we.

She's Here

The Girl

June 19, 2010
5 lbs. 3 oz.

19 inches

It's Okay Mom...

While driving to a friend's house today, I had a little Braxton-Hicks moment, which has occurred through this entire pregnancy with regularity. So I put a hand on my stomach and bobbled the steering wheel. I then said outloud something like, "Whoa Anna, nice driving." To which the Boy replied, "It's okay, you're having a contraction."

A few minutes later the lady driving in front of me was having a difficult time staying in her lane. I like to talk outloud to people who have driving issues. So I said something like, "Pick a lane, woman". The Boy gave her the benefit of the doubt informing me that, "She's having a contraction" as well.

Thanks, buddy.