So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye

It's been a lovely 3.5 years, Deloitte, but it's time for Jeremy to move on. He really enjoyed the continual 70-hour work weeks, and he sure loved seeing his kids only on the weekends. He knows you tried hard. He did appreciate the vacation time given to help him recuperate after 5 hard months. And El Gaucho was nice too. But really, it's you, not him. He's ready for something new. Thanks anyway.

Starting Monday, Jeremy will be working at Standard Insurance in their SEC reporting division. He is really excited about this new opportunity. I am too. I hear that the people who work at Standard eat dinner with their families!

The dangers of being a well-behaved child

We went to a going away party for a family in Carolyn's nursery class tonight. She had so much fun, but it was a bit of a hassle wrangling her out the door. I finally got her off the climbing structure and over to say goodbye to her friend. Since we were off the toys, I thought it would be best to head straight for the exit and make a clean getaway. At the door an employee was comparing stamped hands to make sure I wasn't stealing any children. I would never steal someone's child. But I will forget one of my own. Maybe the calm, never fussy, sleeping boy that was just chilling in his car seat on the other side of the room? Yup, that one.



Sorry, Blake.

Time flies

So Blake is officially not a newborn anymore. He likes to grab for his toys above his head and give smiles to anyone who talks to him. Today he got the music playing on the swing all by himself. I'd like to pretend I'm not impressed with him, but I really am. It seems like he is reaching these milestones faster than Carolyn did, but then I think about it, and I realize that I am just not hovering so much over him. With Carolyn, I couldn't wait for each new step because she was all I had to focus on. Now I am lucky if I see Blake trying new things because I am busy chasing after his big sister.





I needed to include these pictures for comparison's sake. The size difference isn't obvious because of Carolyn's gigantic sweat suit. Except in the head. Blake has a big noggin.
One thing I am so grateful for with Blake is his ability to sleep in places besides his crib. He was wide awake while Angel, Carolyn, and I were in my room. One second later, he was out. I love it. He is much more portable than she was. I am really hoping this trait lasts a long time.



Blake isn't deriving much pleasure from this situation. The grin on Carolyn's face though...she has a lot of love to give.
Today I actually put on makeup. I was using my concealer under my eyes (desperately needed because of her inability to sleep at night...and Blake's too) and Carolyn asked what it was for. I explained to her it was to make that skin look the same color as everything else on my face. She screwed up her nose, looks at me, and says, "that's silly, Mama."

Last night Carolyn wouldn't stay in bed. I was up and down the stairs every 15-20 minutes to take her potty or fix her blankets. In between trips, I was chowing on some delicious homemade Chocolate Hazelnut ice cream our friend brought over. I went to kiss Carolyn goodnight (again) and she asked what I was eating. " Nothing." "It's chocolate! You eating chocolate!"

And it comes to our house...

I am not sure why there is a connection to having tickets to see Wicked and children getting the barfs. But apparently, there is one. Lucky for us, our tickets are for tomorrow and Carolyn barfed today. Or, in her words, "I was choking." While cleaning up what I thought would be the first of many gross messes, I decided I didn't think I could leave her home sick tomorrow. But, I have a fabulous babysitter who just happens to be Carolyn's aunt and who insists I go. At first I was hesitant, but that one incident is all we've had so far. We are being very cautious because she's complained of her stomach hurting, but no more barfing. She just needs extra loves. In fact, Jeremy is sleeping in her room as I type this. Wish us luck. Or actually send all your well wishes to Blake. I would really appreciate it if this skipped him by.

One last thing: I was trying to sing Carolyn some songs to help her relax and fall asleep tonight. I asked what she wanted me to sing, fully prepared to belt out verse after verse of her usual request, Chandler's World. But today when I asked she responded with "Child of God." It really touched me because I sang her that song every night for months before bed, long before she could talk well enough to ask for songs. We quit because Carolyn can't just do one song (or story, or hug, etc.) and so the singing of that song is very sporadic now. I didn't even know she knew its name.

My Giant Busy Box

With Blake around, Carolyn does a lot of TV watching. And now with the TV tuner on our computer, we record the PBS show Word World everyday. This means, right now, we have at least 20 episodes ready to play with just a few clicks. I can't even tell you how many times a day I hear Carolyn say she wants to watch Word World. Sadly, she knows which episode she wants to watch too.

Yesterday, I had had it with the TV and the attendant whining that occurs whenever we try to redirect her attention. Then I remembered this wonderful present Grandma and Grandpa Horner sent recently.

It's a bunch of crafts for young children. Everything you need for each project comes in its own kit and is set up nicely for a toddler's skill set. We haven't busted it out much because it requires me to be involved as well, and usually I am trying to nurse/change/wash Blake. I had some time to focus solely on Carolyn because Jeremy was making dinner and we started in on a project. It was so much fun and Carolyn loved it.

Here is the much-loved puppet "Frog" (Carolyn is not very creative when it comes to naming things).


Here is her tissue paper fish.


Today when I came downstairs, Carolyn said "I want to do something fun" and pointed at the box. I love that her first request wasn't for TV.

Baby Photos

Miscellaneous

Carolyn's first cousin on Jeremy's side of the family was born this week. She's seen me getting his baby gift ready, so she always asks about "Noah in Melissa's tummy." We've had talks about just what the doctors do to help deliver the baby. And now she tells us several times a day that she wants to go see him. Very sweet. But Noah and Melissa live in Pennsylvania. I tried to explain to her that Noah lives close to Grandma and Grandpa, who live very far away, and we would have to get on a plane to visit.

She doesn't think this is a problem. "I want to go on a plane, too, Mama."

Today we had this conversation:

Carolyn: Noah out of Melissa's tummy?
Me: Yup.
Carolyn: I want to see him.
Me: Well, sweetie, they live far away. Remember we talked about this?
Carolyn: Yeah, let's go after nap.

I don't really think she understands geography yet.

Last night I went to the Brad Paisley concert with my friend Elyn. There are no pictures to prove I was there except on my cell phone. Apparently, my cell phone is still in the dark ages when it comes to camera abilities. My picture of the stage is mostly just lights running into each other. People around me had very clear pictures of Brad Paisley singing and you could actually make out details, like his face, and guitar. I need a new phone. Or just to learn how to sneak a camera into a concert.

Blake is getting so big. He had his two month appointment last week and is 13 lbs 4 oz. It took Carolyn over 4 months to reach that mark. And that was before she took a precipitous drop off the growth chart. Blake gives the biggest smiles when you talk to him and they just make my day. I really forgot how wonderful it is to snuggle a little baby and make them happy.

Anyone see anything similar in these pictures?

I'll give you a hint. I am not a stylish mom--I do not buy my daughter capris to go under her ruffled skirts.

So is it any wonder all the 2T pants are too big in the booty for her when she fits just nicely in Blake's 0-3 month pants? I know I'm not buying shorts this summer. She just gets all the pants Blake's outgrown already.

Smiles

Proof that my baby isn't always swaddled in the swing

The dangers of falling asleep with a big sister around

Tuckered out

If I want Carolyn to behave well in an unusual situation, like Mom and Dad leaving for days to bring home a baby, I have to give her plenty of time to prep. We talk about it well ahead of time and explain everything that is going to happen. We tell her where she will be, where Mom and Dad will be, when we will come back to get her, etc. and ad nauseam.

I had a doctor appointment today that fell right in the middle of nap time. So I started prepping her as soon as I woke up that she would be napping at her cousin Chandler's house. She was so excited. She asked about every twenty minutes if it was time to go. I asked her what she would do there, and she always told me, "sleep!"

She was wrong. What she did was cry. So she skipped her nap, which is never a good thing for her temperament. I had to carry her out of Chandler's house and take her straight home for a time out. This involved more crying. After she was done, she came next door to where I was talking with Angelina, requesting a trip downstairs. I told her we could go, and inexplicably this set her off crying again and she went back to her room.

A short five minutes later, I peeked next door to find this:

My kid who won't even fall asleep in a car or watching a movie made herself comfortable on her floor for a short nap. She couldn't even be bothered to move the extra five feet to be in her bed.

My daughter's weird

My sister passed her RN boards, so we went to dinner last week at PF Chang's. I absolutely love their mongolian beef. Carolyn surprised us by eating well, but her favorite was stealing the green onions off my dish. She chowed down approximately half of them. I thought this was weird, but not really noteworthy. She used to eat raw diced onion while I prepared dinner.

But I was still surprised to see this while trying to get the groceries put away:

Babies and Sisters

Time flies. I can't believe that Blake is one month old. His first few weeks were a whirlwind because my family descended on Portland for the holidays. It was the first time in two years we had the whole family together, and it was a lot of fun. Here's everyone at Blake's baby blessing, hours before they all left.


All of them except Angelina. Did I mention she moved in with us? She starts her job in the next week or two and will be in Portland for the foreseeable future. She'll only be with us until she figures out where she wants to live and all that jazz, but until she moves, I am enjoying being able to take a shower whenever I want and run to the store across the street without packing up two children. It's helped this month feel a lot more bearable and less stressful.

It's been four weeks

and they still love each other!