May 2009

May 01

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACIE!!!!

One year ago today we held you for the first time and were overwhelmed with how lucky we were to have such a perfect baby girl!  On year later you:

• are trying to walk
• are learning new words
• are playing with Elijah
• will play independently
• love to dance
• can climb
• are sneaky
• smile easily
• love to cuddle
• still have eczema
• are night weaned
• love broccoli
• love chicken
• refused to every eat baby food
• can drink from a straw
• have a few signs down pat
• is very tolerant of Elijah's games where you are the dog...

Grace and I have had our first argument.  It went like this:

me: Look Grace, it's a plane.

Grace: bird?

me: Well, it flies like a bird, but it's a plane.

Grace: bird.

me: It's a plane sweetie.

Grace: Bird!

me: It's a plane.

Grace: BIRD!

I'm pretty sure that I lost.  Of course, she was riding in the car with Jerry and said, "plane."  (punk!)

Anyway, Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  I hope that you are as happy with us!  We sure love you!!!
 

May 02

First Birthday Party -- Gracie Style

We had cake!

and more cake...

and more cake

and played

and ate

All surrounded by friends!  It was really windy, but warm.  Overall a pretty darn good birthday!!

May 18

Grace's Well Child Check and VACATION!!!

I wrote a huge entry about Grace's Well Child Check Up, but stupid Windows Live Writer froze and it got lost in cyber world... sooo the gist:

Grace weighs in at 20 pounds (25-50%), is 29.5 inches tall (75%), and I can never remember her head size, but it's in the 50%.  She is all around well.  She does have low iron so we are on a Multi-vitamin with iron for her.  Her eczema is really bad, so we (after lots of talking!) broke down and got her a steroid creme.  I now feel like a total jerk for not getting it for her six months ago.  Overnight her eczema is gone.  We can only use it 5-7 days at a time and then have to take her off it for 4-5 days, but keep her lathered in the thickest lotion one has ever seen.  So far, GREAT!  So, I've made peace with it.  Two days after her appointment Grace took many independent steps, while on the ferry on vacation, she took off!  She is officially a walker now!

Okay VACATION!!!! WAHOO!!  (This is a REALLY long entry...but it's our whole vacation...so sorry in advance!)

We went to the Outer Banks hanging out in Kitty Hawk, to be more specific.  Here's how our week went (I will add an album of our week shortly!):

Saturday:  Got up bright and early to be on the road by 7:00 a.m.  We had to be at the ferry gate by 10:00 and made it there by 9:52.  Luckily we had pre-ordered our ticket as the ferry was full and if you didn't have a ticket, you were out of luck... or at least stuck waiting for the next ferry 3 hours away!  Elijah thought the ferry was the cat's meow and we spent the 2.5 hours wandering around talking about how the waves were generated, what a life buoy was, and why channel markers are VERY important!  We also saw a bunch of HUGE jelly fish (to which he informed me that it was okay, because the turtles will eat them...thanks Diego!) and some dolphins.  Grace found her sea legs and loved wandering around in the air conditioned part of the boat.  Afterward walking so much, Jerry and Grace took a nap in the car while Elijah and I explored the ferry yet some more!  Once we got off the first ferry, we raced to the next one.  This one was only 30 minutes.  So we hung out in the car.  Then it was a 1.5 hour drive to Kitty Hawk.  After unloading the car, Elijah, Grace, and I went to the pool and the playground on the grounds while Jerry went grocery shopping.

Sunday: We lazed around and explored the grounds a little more.  We went to the main rec area and checked e-mail and played around.  After lunch and a nap, we went to the beach for some afternoon playing.  Elijah got to stay up a little later and watch Finding Nemo (thanks for the movies Kristie!!!)

Monday: It was rainy and chilly.  So we decided to hit the aquarium.  Elijah was excited to see the "diving boys" in the tank and when we arrived we rushed to the big tank.  The question/answer time with the divers was over, which actually worked in our favor.  All the big groups were gone, but the divers were still in the tank cleaning.  So we got a front row seat to see the divers and the HUGE sharks.  I'm not sure you could pay me enough to be in there with those sharks.  Obviously the sharks knew what it was all about, they seemingly would swim by where all the people were standing and SMILE, showing off all 8703245 teeth they have!  My kids were FACINATED!  They loved it.  So after the divers finished cleaning, we went back to see all we had missed.  It was a good day.  Elijah and Grace were awesome!  So we stopped by the gift shop and Elijah got a souvenir of a truck with sharks on it!  cost: $23

Tuesday: The rain was gone, the sun was out and the temp was perfect at 67.  We hit the Roanoke Island Festival Park.  This is by far the best day we had!  This park has a replica of the Elizabeth II ship.  Complete with actors in New World garb and speaking in Old English-ish style.  This is all well and good, but I always don't know how to react...  Anyway, we had a nice visit with the boat, but that wasn't the end of it!  We walked a little way down a forest path and into an English settlement with tents and a blacksmith.  We were given a tour of the tents and then got penny nails made for us from the apprentice black smith.  (Fun fact: 100 nails cost a penny then...sounds cheap... not so much... one penny then is worth 100 DOLLARS today.  So nails were only used to hang doors.)  So THEN we walk up the trail a little more and there is a GREAT hands on museum.  We were greeted here by a museum worker who was thought that Elijah pretending to be a puppy was cute and totally played along.  She guided us through the whole museum, personally.  This museum ROCKED!  There were dress up clothes, boats to climb on, tents to walk through, a pirate that told funny stories from his ship, a general store, and a house.  There were interesting things for the parents to read and no one was saying, "NO DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!"  In fact, there were little hand prints and foot prints that led through the museum for kids to follow and to know that it was indeed ENCOURAGED to put their little grubby paws on things!  THEN we went out to a fossil digging area where you are encouraged to dig and sort through dirt to find sharks teeth and other various things.  Apparently there was even more to see, but we had to get the kiddos fed and napped.  The pass is good for two days and next time we will go back the second day for sure!  It was worth every penny!  cost: $16 (kids under 5 are FREE!!!)

Wednesday: Again, the weather was sunny and warm.  So we packed the kids up and headed up the coast to Corolla to the Currituck Lighthouse.  After a brief screw up in directions from yours truly we arrived at the lighthouse.  Elijah and I decided to climb to the top.  All well and good in thought... not so much in reality.  First, I forget how much I really don't like places that are high up.  Secondly, I had a 3 year old to worry about in addition, which was rather nerve wracking.  Walking up the stairs you can see through to below.  There is a space in between each stair and I was left wondering if it was indeed big enough for Elijah to slip through and down many stories... It didn't help that it goes around and around, making me not only wary of the height, but also rather dizzy.  But it was fine.  Elijah was GREAT going up.  He climbed all on his own (mostly with me holding onto his hand.)  We stopped at each landing that had a window and looked out.  When we got to the top we waved to Jerry and Grace.  Then we walked around the top.  Elijah was excited and wanted to stand on the bottom railing.  This left me wondering why the hell there was no plexiglass covering the whole top of the lighthouse.  So, of course, when I tried to pull him back, he had a massive breakdown.  I explained that it was very dangerous to be that close to the edge and it made mommy VERY nervous.  He then decided it was time to go back down and I was more than willing to oblige.  Of course, we had to wait for 5 of the slowest people in the world to finish climbing (there is really no room to pass at the top.)  Then it was down the lighthouse for us.  This started out okay and then Elijah realized that he could see all the way to the bottom and FREAKED out!  He got scared.  He wanted me to carry him.  My legs were already sore from climbing the 8 million stairs to the top, no way was I going to carry him all the way down.  So we stopped on a landing and I hugged him and reassured him that it was fine and I would hold his hand.  What tickled me was what got him to agree to walk down.  I told him we could count the stairs in between each landing.  This seemed like a great idea to him and he made it all the way to the next to the last landing, where he suddenly declared (very loudly) that he had to pee!  Screw the tired legs, I scooped him up, waited for some dazed looking children to hurry the hell up the stairs and ran him down the stairs, stopping only to pick up a sticker that said we climbed to the top, and ran him to the bathroom, where he peed in the toilet without incident!  We then walked back to Jerry and Grace and I went in to the gift shop and got a little snow globe for Elijah.  I was very proud of him!  We took a stroll out to the sound and then headed for some food and back to the condo for some naps.  cost: $12 (including admission to the lighthouse and souvenir)

Thursday: Warm, sunny, and WINDY!  We headed to the Wright Brother Memorial.  I have to say, that this is not a great place to take kids.  Well, I shouldn't say that...it's not a great museum to take kids.  Elijah wanted to see the big plane.  They were giving a lecture where the big plane was... we had to leave the area, Elijah broke down.  BUT I got him excited by (foolishly) coercing him into a race to the top of the monument.  So, once he agreed, I had to actually do it!  SO, Elijah and I raced to the top of the monument.  I am still feeling the soreness in my thighs from the lighthouse climb and the shin splints from running up a big-ass hill...sigh... Anyway, it was fun.  Even more windy at the top.  But great view.  After hanging out up there for a bit (read, catching my breath) we RAN down the hill to meet Jerry and Grace at the airplane sculpture.  This is where you should go if you bring children here.  The kids can climb on the plane and hang on the figure and all around get all the sillies out.  In fact, had I known it was back there, we may have forgone the museum all together.  Though there are some interesting things in there and SOME hands on stuff, but not a lot.  So the day redeemed itself at the end.  cost: $14 (including a 7 day pass to the park (wish we had known this beforehand as well.  We would have gotten it at the beginning of the week and gone a couple more times for the kids to play) and a souvenir.)

Friday: This was our last day on the islands.  What better way to spend the day than climbing up Jockey's Ridge.  The climb is tedious and there is no easy way to get up on top.  Don't be fooled.  But I think it's worth it.  You climb up these huge dunes and really see how thin these islands are.  From the top you can see the sound and the beach.  And regardless that there were three school groups there, you can completely feel very isolated.   We took some sand toys up.  This is where people hang glide as well.  We happened to be there on the first day of a hang gliding festival.  Unfortunately, Elijah got antsy so we only got to see some practice flights as they tested where the best take off place would be.  Some of the high schoolers that were there were sliding down the dunes.  Elijah wanted to slide down SO much.  So I thought, what the heck.  I walked down in front of him and since he didn't have anything to slide down on except for his tush, he scootched down the whole way.  But he thought he was something else!  He smiled the whole time and laughed!  So it was good.  At the bottom, he wanted to go back and do it again, but with bribes of going to the beach, he left willingly enough.  cost: free!

Saturday: Our trip home was uneventful (thankfully!)  We drove all the way back and for this I'm thankful.  1) it is really hard to schedule the long ferry ride.  If you don't make it you are stuck for 3 hours and that's saying the next ferry isn't booked.  You can only get on and off of Okracoke Island by boat.  2) it was raining and rough water...not so much for Erin.  So we drove.  It's only about 5 hours, but that's a bit of a trip with kids and only a few rest stops.  Nevertheless, it was fine.  Elijah entertained us the last leg of the trip with made up songs about: bedtime, bears, a twinkle twinkle little star remix, good and bad dinosaurs, mama and dadu raccoons, peeing and pooping.  He also made up some stories that he "read" from some construction paper that he had in his little pack (can I just say this was a handy little investment and I filled it with things for him to do including: coloring books, chalk, crayons, dry erase markers, books, lacing cards, and toys!  Got one for Grace too!)

Overall VERY good vacation.  Busy, but you have to be with kids or they get bored and then you go crazy.  We also utilized the resort's indoor pool a few times, as well as their video rentals.  The costs I included did not included the MANY times we ate out, but I thought that we did A LOT of stuff for not a lot of money!  Best kind of vacation!!

May 24

Another good week

my folks left yesterday morning.  They arrived last Sunday for a visit.  It was a quick adjustment to come home from vacation then to dive into hostess, but my folks stayed at a hotel this visit and this allowed for a little more downtime in the evening and waking up time in the morning.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't as nice as it could have been, but it's all good.  We hung around the house on Monday.  Tuesday we had soccer, so mom and dad played with Elijah and Grace for the morning.  Right before we left for soccer mom and I went to get the right sized bolts for the baby bike seat.  Wednesday was a HUGE day.  Elijah had his first dentist appointment.  I was very nervous since he would NOT open his mouth for the doctor at his 3 year old well child check.  I also thought that they would simply look at his teeth and count them and make sure everything was okay.  HE DID GREAT!   I was SO proud!!  I seriously almost cried! not only did he let them look at his teeth, he let them polish them, and floss them!  We decided to just bring him to our dentist instead of a pediatric dentist because of insurance and convenience.  They said that if there were any problems then they would refer us to a pediatric dentist, but his teeth were perfect!  He got to choose two toys from the treasure chest and got a new toothbrush.  My folks then took him down to a local cafe while I had my teeth cleaned.  Turns out that I had a cavity.  But the scheduled me in for 8 the next morning.  So Thursday I went in and had the filling, then I went to the cafe until about 9:15.  At 9:30 I had an appointment to tour the preschool where we may send Elijah.  We are looking for a year from August.  But I want to start looking now so we can start putting money in Jerry's flex spending account at work.  This one is in a church about 10 minutes from our house.  It's 9-12 (or 1 if we pay an extra fee per month) 5 days a week.  Our biggest thing is to get him comfy around teachers and other peers.  They do a lot of learning through play which is a big deal for us.  I'm excited for him, and a little sad since it means my little guy is growing up. Thursday was also our 9th anniversary! Friday morning was spent at the beach.  Mostly because it was the first day that it wasn't freezing cold or raining.  My daughter has no fear!  This child LOVES the water.  We had to bring her out after about 10 minutes because it wasn't THAT warm yet, but she was fascinated.   And her confidence wore off on Elijah a little bit.  He came into the water as well.  I decided, though, that it would be really hard to take them together on my own.  So it will be a rare day that we go by ourselves.  Not that the beach is that fun without at least another adult.  So we got back, ate lunch, and I sent the kiddos off to nap while I got ready for an actual DATE!  Jerry and I went to see Angels and Demons while mom and dad took the kiddos to a local free family concert.  We met up afterward for dinner and ice cream.  Elijah did not fall asleep until 10:00!!!  And then woke up at 6:45 on Saturday...WTF?  SO anyway, with grouchy toddler in tow we met mom and dad for breakfast before they hit the road.  I got my lawn mowed.  Dad weed whacked my back yard.  I ALMOST have the pool rid of algae.  Overall life is good.  We have ordered a new mower, an electric one with a cord.  I love our reel mower, but it's already getting SO hot...so this is another option.  I really wanted a battery powered one, but the one I want is REALLY expensive, so this is something that we know how to use and it will be easier than the reel mower and still low emissions.  So hopefully it will all be good!  Our garden is looking better.  It rained so much that all the nutrients in the soil washed out, so we fertilized and sprayed the worm poop on there a few times and it's looking much better.  I'll get pics soon!  okay... I'm going to go enjoy the fact that Jerry has an extra day off this weekend and watch a totally brain candy movie!!!

May 31

Curiosity Killed the Cat...

but satisfaction brought him back right?  I hope the same is true for little boys.  Elijah has entered the question stage.  This is all well and good, I really try to encourage questions asked and finding answers... but there really should be a limited on questions asked before 9 in the morning!

It's actually all good.  Here is a sampling of the questions we have been getting lately:

• What's that?  (pointing to random things... most frustrating is while in the car and I can't see what he's pointing to... the question increases in volume and intensity until I, thinking my head is going to explode risk the lives of myself and our children to see what the hell he is pointing to only to find that whatever he was pointing to is gone since he started pointing to it 5 minutes ago.)
• What's that train/plane/truck/car/bird/bug/tree (you get the idea) does? (Yes, the grammar is bad, I try to restate the question correctly, but he doesn't get it...yet... sigh, this question seems to be easy right?  Not so much.  I have tried saying the following, "What do you think it does?" (response: I don't know mommy, what it does?) "It takes people places." (response: WHERE?) and finally, "I don't know!" (response: why you not know mommy...) sigh... also, Air Force One does touch and go practice once a month here.  I made the mistake of telling Elijah that it was Barack Obama's plane, so through in the mix of this, "Mommy is that Orock Omama's plane?" "Yes it is." "Where he going?"  lather, rinse, repeat....)
• Why? (I ask myself this question often... At least, thus far (KNOCK ON WOOD) it is usually just one why, I try really hard to come up with good answers as to nip the 9835769 whys in the bud, but we'll see...)
• Where does steam/smoke/rain/thunder/lightening come from? (again, try to answer as best I can... have had the Why question follow these...)
• Will you/Gracie/Dadoo play with me?  (I love this question, because he really just wants you to sit on the floor with him.  But he comes up with the best stories during his playing.  You will get dressed up as a fire boy or ride in a plane or build a dumping trash garage, but it's totally worth it!  Grace ends up getting distracted within a few minutes.  He will also ask me if others can play with him.  I tell him it's not up to me.  He needs to ask that person.  This is probably my favorite question.)

This stage is definitely keeping me on my toes, but I love that he gets it and remembers things we tell him/he sees.  At the same time, it makes me a little sad.  He's growing up (literally and figuratively) SO quick.  He really has only been speaking understandable sentences for a year.  It's CRAZY!  Sigh... My little guy...

July 2008

July 01

Made it 2 months!

Grace is two months today!  That's pretty exciting!  She is growing (up to 3-6 months clothing wise) and smiling and all around pretty decent kid.
Her brother (I will say) in order to celebrate decided to spray the inside of the dining area with a hose that he was told to keep outside.  I take partial blame for this, as I was working in the kitchen and (heaven forbid) turned my back on him for .00004 seconds, which is apparently enough time to  decide the garden no longer needs water, but the dining room floor (including, but not limited to: the table, three chairs, Grace's car seat, my cell phone, part of this computer, my brand new tennis shoes, and some craft supplies I had on the table.)  I must say that my initial response was that of death to toddler, but I was very impressed with how calm I stayed and I supervised his cleaning up every drop of water.  Grace calmly stayed enthralled by her mobile (I might really have lost it if she were screaming...) while the clean up took place.  Elijah has apologized (and immediately asked to play agua again... don't think so kiddo...maybe when you are 16...) and has given hugs and all is forgiven and I will probably be laughing in a few days time about this...still...  what possesses a almost 2.5 year old to do such things...sigh...
So here are my two favorite pictures of my two favorite kids.
This shirt needs a little change:
Party
in mom's bed
4 AM
At least she's happy at 4, but I would rather it be 7...oh well...beggars can't be choosers right?

Elijah's thing when he sees me feeding Grace, he thinks it's fun to feed his baby "elijah's milk."  How sweet!

I'm uploading pics to the album as well.  Happy Grace's two month birthday!!!!
July 03

Hot, but oh so much fun!

So the rain gods kept the day dry and rather hot, but we had a blast tie dying this morning.  There were seven moms and our kids.  I wasted a ton of water with the sprinkler pool and the baby pool, but it's just one day.  Jerry and I set up the tent and the moms all ended up over there after the dying was done.  I hope that everyone's projects turn out nicely.  It was nice to hang out and talk and not really worry about where the kids were (thank you fence!!!)  Elijah kinda kept to himself and Grace was just as charming as ever winning people over with her smile.  I also got rid of 6 jars of jam!  No one was allowed to leave without taking a jar!
Over all, it was quite fun.  I have a ton of dye left over, so I either have to pour it out or go get some shirt.  Jerry found this new site so maybe I can put some things on there and sell them as a test market.  Though Carmen mentioned that there maybe a place for some tie dyes in her store... we'll see.  I had cobalt blue, fire red, dark purple, and a denim blue.  10 bottles of dye in all.  It was a lot, but I wanted to people to make sure they were able to dye what they wanted.
SO now, I'm exhausted, but I can't sleep.  Elijah is napping peacefully and Grace is here in my lap talking to me, fighting off sleep...silly girl... and that's all she wrote...hehehehe!
July 04

About Elijah -- a 2.5 year retrospective

Conversations in the car:
E: Here comes the choo choo track.
e: 'ijah ride choo choo?
E: One day maybe.  You had your birthday party in a caboose.
e: 'ijah ride choo choo?
E: One day you will ride a choo choo.
e: (long pause) no 'ijah ride caboose choo choo yesterday. (didn't even know he knew the word yesterday.)
E: You rode the caboose yesterday?
e: uh-huh.
E: (giggling) Okay.
e: 'ijah ride engine choo choo NOW.
E: You want to ride in the engine now?
e: uh-huh.
E: Where are you riding the engine to?
e: Ride choo choo to airtport (not a typo, he puts a t in the middle of air port.)
E: That's not a long ride. (as the traintracks run right beside the airport.)
e: Ride choo choo to airtport.  (very final.)
E: Alrighty!
Later while passing a McDonalds:
e:Mommy Mommy Mommy Mommy!!!!
E: Yes Elijah!
e: chickenfries
E: Not today buddy, sorry.
e: (long pause) Mommy? Chinkenfries pleeeease?
E: I like how you asked, but not today buddy.
e: (sighs) okay.
The newest songs:
"The wheels on the bus go round and round, up and down, wah-wah, shhshh, move on back, beep beep. Twinkle Twinkle little staaaaaaaaaaar."
"Row Row Row Your Boat. Twinkle Twinkle Little staaaaaaaar."  (Do you see a pattern?)
"Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Twinkle Twinkle Little Staaaaaaaaaaaar."
"Lassy, lassy, this way and that way. twinkle twinkle little staaaaaaaaaar."
"Happy momma (instead of happy birthday) happy momma, twinkle twinkle little staaaaaaaaaar."
Pretty much anything he starts to sing, ends in a rousing rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  And it's oh so top-of-the-voice-rousing!  But it never fails to crack me up.
He still is having trouble with the beginning sounds of some words.  We thought it was just "ch" "th" and "sh", but it's many letters.  The thing that I don't get is that he can say the letters in other sections of the words.  For example, he says "'uppy" for puppy.  Obviously he can say "p", he just doesn't on the beginning of the word.  He still is new at the whole speaking thing, but we will talk to his doctor about it if it doesn't improve by the time he's 3.
I can't believe that he is going to be 2.5 in 9 days.  It's amazing actually.  So I am including two pics of the kiddo.  One from two years ago, a year ago and one from yesterday...sigh...

July 07

Grace's 2 month well check!

My little girl is 12.6 pounds (90%) and 22.5 inches long (50%) and I don't know about her head circ, but it must be okay since they didn't say anything about it...
She is a healthy little bit.  She has eczema (big surprise there) and cradle cap.  Both are nothing to worry about.  She smiled at the doc the whole time...well, until the doc messed with her hips and then not so much.  She handled her four shots as well as can be expected.  I nursed her immediately after and it was a little pathetic with the sniffling and tears, but she is fine and happy once again.  We didn't dose her with Tylenol and so far she has no fever, so I'm thinking that she may not need any at all, we'll see.  We decided to forego the Roto-Virus oral vaccine.  If she were in childcare or around more children that were, then I might reconsider.  It's a newer vaccine and Elijah didn't get it.  Although, it's not one we can put off.  I don't want her sick and apparently roto virus is highly contagious.  I'm actually wondering if that's what I had last September (when we found out I was preggo with her.)  Elijah and Jerry didn't get it, but I was insane about washing hands during that sickness.  I don't know.  We have a two week window.  But I think we'll just hope for the best.  She is moving her head all around and responding to sound and sight stuff.  So all in all a perfect baby.  The doc did grumble a little about her sleeping in bed with me, but I just brushed by it.  I am aware of her at all times.  Mostly she sleeps on my arm because that's how we fall asleep at those midnight feedings.
So here she is in all her glory.

July 11

Naps, guilt, and growth, oh my!

Naps:
Or lack thereof.  sigh... I have had to fight Elijah down for his nap lately and it's been getting later and later.  Then he totally didn't go down for a nap at all on Wednesday and Thursday.  I need that break.  Both days he ended up in his room until I told him he could come out, but he was not quiet and I got no rest.  I don't need a nap, I just need down time.  Grace is low maintenance.  Even if she isn't sleeping, she is chill... I mean seriously, she's 2 months old... not a whole lot of trouble.  But when she's crying and I'm trying to get Elijah asleep... sigh...
So I was beside myself.  I don't like being in a bad mood in the afternoon and I don't like being snappish toward Elijah, who was crying at the littlest thing because he was soooo tired.  Anyway, Jerry came home today and I took Grace and laid down with her and Jerry got Elijah to fall asleep in his own bed.  Sigh...  At least our afternoon was better because we all three got some rest.
Guilt:
So the issue seems to be that Elijah won't go down for a nap because he wants some undivided attention.  I want to give it to him, but I also want to give undivided attention to Gracie.  I feel very torn.  On one hand, I feel like I haven't gotten to bond with Grace as much as I want and on the other hand when I give her complete attention, I feel like Elijah acts out because I'm not giving him enough.  I know it's not going to be easy.  I know that the kids are fine.  I'm not neglecting either one.  I know that Elijah will get over it, it's an adjustment to suddenly have to share your folks (I had trouble sharing my folks with my friends when I was in middle and high schools, I can't expect a 2 year old to adjust super quick...) but I still feel guilty about it.  I feel like I'm not being the super mom that I should be.  It's an unrealistic standard that I have set for myself.  I did this with Elijah and I've done it again with Grace.  I need to relax and not worry so much about what's going on around me and be the best mom I can be.  There are days when I let Elijah watch too much TV, because I am just beat.  I function best on a schedule and I'm thrown when I have really busy weeks, like we have the last week or so.  But today went well and I hope that these days continue.  I know that eventually the guilt will pass and I'll feel better about being a mom and chill a bit.  Things will either get better or they won't and I will be the one that will adapt.
Growth:
On a MUCH lighter note...the girl child apparently grew overnight... we put her in a sleeper last Friday.  It was a bit big, we had to roll up the feet and the arms.  We put the same sleeper on her on Tuesday and no rolling was required.  I really forgot how fast they grow!!!  I'm going to add a video as soon as it finishes uploading... for now, there are new pics in a new folder...
July 16

Wednesday Friendsday

We have had a great two days!  Yesterday Angela came over and we finished up the dye from the tie dye party.  And today was Wednesday/Friendsday with Kristie and Kate.  We had a very nice time.  We love our Thursday playgroup too, but this is just the three of us (a fourth may be added) and we get a little more of chance to sit and talk.  With our Thursday playgroup it gets a little more difficult to do that, but still it's manageable.
My parents (and possibly my aunt) are coming on Sunday!  I'm excited to see them.  We're going to the beach and play lots while they are here.  I hope the weather holds and nothing tropical comes our way.  They are doing a house exchange with a friend of mine, so it's nice they don't have to pay for a hotel.  Though mom mentioned bunk beds.  Right now we have no place for them.  I think that when Grace is in her own bed we will move her into Elijah's room and move all the toys across the hall as a separate play space...we'll see.
Jerry got his summer bonus at work the other day and we are talking about things we need for around the house.  We both realized that for the past bonuses/tax returns/stimulus checks we have gotten things for the house or for the kids (i.e. fence, play set, yard tools....) and that we should do something for us.  First we are doing something for Grace, by setting up a savings account for her.  Then we are buying something for just us...
i have exciting news, but I'm waiting until my folks get here first...no I'm not pregnant...  I'll post on Sunday I promise!!!

T-minus 4.5 hours and counting....

...I honestly am making this out to be bigger and it is... hehehehehe... I made my mom promise to not look at the blog after tonight, so I'll probably post tomorrow.  It's a big deal to me...probably not so much for the rest of you... but hey, it's my blog!!!!
July 18

Okay... I simply can't wait...

Okay...so the big secret, which in all reality isn't that big...
I decided to donate my hair to Locks of Love.  10 inches.  That's allot for me.  I was really really nervous, but I think it all turned out okay.  I belong to a mom's group that will be doing a fundraiser in March and I think I will donate again. So here are the pics:
BEFORE

DURING (that's 10 inches... doesn't look like it, but it is)

After

After tucked behind the ears.

I like the cut.  I'm a little worried abotu what's going to happen when I wash it and then don't take the morning to flat iron it, but the stylist lady promised it would look okay curly.  So we shall see.  But I'm happy with it.  Jerry likes it and neither of my kids are too scared of me.  Though Elijah kept looking at me all weird when I came home...ahh, well, he'll adapt.
So that's the big news.  I hope it wasn't too anticlimactic.
July 26

What a week!

Okay...
So I got my hair cut on Friday.  We had a tropical wave hit us on Saturday.  In between bans Jerry and I went out to Costco....and.... bought a Wii!!!!!  I'm so freakin' in love with this thing.  It rocks!   We wanted to get something for just us with Jerry's bonus.  The last bonuses/stimulus check/tax refund have gone to the house or things for the kids and we decided to treat ourselves.  We want the Wii Fit too, but it's sold out EVERYWHERE!  But regardless, I have lost 3 pounds on this thing just playing the tennis game.  I love it.  We only use it when the kiddos are asleep.  We are not letting them play...it's ours... not theirs.
Anyway, on Sunday my folks and aunt arrived.  They had been visiting a relative in SC so they only had a 2-ish hour drive up.  They all loved the hair.   And, of course, the kids!  I thought I would get so much done with three helpers here, but I really didn't do that much.  We went to the Blue Moon Galleries on Monday (since it was scorching hot!) and I think that a friend and I might start selling stuff there... we'll see (side story on that: Carmen is not accepting consignment sales anymore, so I had to pull all my stuff out of her shop...sigh... I hope that she can continue to keep the shop open, and I disappointed to not have an outlet anymore, but maybe this is for the best.  Depending on rent at the BMG, I may come out better...we'll see...)   On Tuesday, we hit the beach in the morning.  I'm always so tired after a beach day.  It's exhausting getting up and out the door with two kids.  My folks took all the beach stuff the day before, so it was already set up for us when we got there.  The water was perfect, as was the weather, but it was still tiring.  Our playgroup met there last week, but Elijah is still a little scared of the water, so it was pretty much paying 3 bucks for Elijah to play in the sand.  It's only worth it if I can get in the water...not that possible with two kiddos... but with extra hands to help out, it was worth it.  Wednesday we went to the Farmer's Market and got some yummy fresh veggies to grill out that evening and have with lunch.  Thursday, Jerry had the day off, so he and my dad did stuff in the yard, mom played with Elijah outside, Mavis held Grace and I made Grace a super cute dress!  It was so easy (the dress that is) and it's reversible.  So I will be making them to sell (if we go ahead with the BMG thing) with matching reversible sunhats (how freakin' cute will that be?)  I have a pattern for overalls that I'll make for boys (and girls too!)  Then on Friday they went home.  I was so sad to see them go.  My friend Amy and her fam switched houses with my folks for the week.  It was nice for them to not feel they had to stay in a hotel, and have their own space for sleeping.
After the folks left we took Elijah to Fit For Fun and let him play for a bit, picked up my stuff from Carmen's and came on home.  Today we took the (abundance of) recycling to the drop off and went in search for a Wii Fit.  No luck... but c'est la vie.  We'll get it eventually.
Okay... I'm going to add some pics...and yes, mom I got your e-mails (I wrote the thank you letters already) and the pics are on their way!
July 28

Big Yawn

I guess Miss Grace is hitting a growth spurt.  She wanted to eat alllllll freakin' night last night.  Oh well.  I shouldn't complain.  She went back to sleep after each feeding.  And really how hard is it to roll over and feed the child and then go back to sleep... not so much.  Elijah is still coming into my room to tell me that he's going to sleep with Jerry.  Night before last he came in to tell me it was dark (we usually leave a light on in the kitchen, but didn't that night.)  Last night Jerry left the light on in his room and had put a pillow over his head... Elijah was worried because he couldn't see Jerry... Helllllo do you not hear the snoring?  Silly boy!  Did I mention that Elijah can wink now?  Just one eye, but it's really funny!
ANYWAY, so we all slept in the big bed for nap today and it simply wasn't enough for me.  I'm exhausted.  And I have a heat/sleep headache that won't go away.  I think we will head out to play in the pool in a bit.
This weekend, I put on a piece of clothing that was given to us as a hand me down.  I just forget about our kid's skin issues.  I didn't pre-wash the clothes.  I didn't ask the donor what type laundry detergent they used... Grace broke out EVERYWHERE!   Poor thing.  SO now I am in the middle of a massive clothes washing!  One friend gave us 4 huge boxes of clothes up to 2T, so it's taking a bit.  I'm on the 18 month stuff now.  Sigh...  Oh well, better to do it now than later I guess.
Okay.  That's really it... I added new pics to the month 3 album as the girl child will be 3 months this week!!!!
July 30

Wednesday/Friendsday

We had a great day today!
We'll start with yesterday and move on...
We went to a baby shower yesterday.  It was quite a shower and nice to hang out with other moms in support of a mom to be.  Elijah ate WAY too much sugar, and hence no nap... BOOOO!  I also decided yesterday that I would sell my stuff at The Cape Fear Music and Arts Festival with my friend Kristie.  We will have a booth there and just chill.  I'm excited about it, but I have a ton of stuff to do.  I need to finish sewing on the faces of the snuggle buddies, make some hats to match the super cute new dresses I have, AND I need to sew the buttons on said dresses... then I just have to label and tag everything... Doable, but time consuming.
Anyway, today was a great day.  We met our friends Katie and Kristie at a local pool and had a great time.  I love hanging out with these women and their kiddos.  Elijah is the oldest of the bunch, but he's pretty good around them.  After a GREAT nap today Elijah and Grace and I have been hanging out in the nice AC.  It is just too hot to be outside right now.  I know that sounds horrid, but it really is too HOT!   95 with a heat index way above 100... not so much for the outside.  But we are playing and having fun inside!
Cute Elijah story:
Sometimes on the way home we go by the airport and over railroad tracks. Elijah is well aware of this and points it out every time we go this way.  The other day Elijah was playing with a toy that he was pretending to be an airplane.  Here is the conversation:
E:Where are you flying?
e: To the airport.
E: That's a good place to go.
e: Yup. Over the choo choo tracks and down down down to the airport.
It just tickled me that he thinks there RR tracks in the sky.
I LOVE MY KIDS!!

June 2008

June 10

On my own again...

My folks left this morning after a breakfast at IHOP.  Elijah keeps saying he wants to go to the mountains with Oma and Opa... I'd love to send him, but I think that after a night or so, he'd want his mommy and dado.  Maybe next year...

This week was good.  But the weather was so freakin' hot it made it hard to do too much.  We played outside as long as we could tolerate it in the morning, but the afternoon was spent inside.    We got to the beach twice, once in the morning, and once in the evening.  The evening was really nice.  It was low tide and cool and the water felt great!  We met up with Rachel, Erin, and the kiddos on Sunday morning at a park, but even that was rather hot.  My folks played a lot of choo choos and fire truck with Elijah.  My mom and I took Elijah and Grace on a short boat ride while dad made some super yummy cookies to leave with us.

Jerry and I worked on getting the office organized this weekend.  We made good progress, but there is still lots to do.  We are still considering starting a web site this fall, so I needed to get stuff organized in there to see what I had and what I needed to make.   So that was good.

I do have to say that Elijah's schedule is all out of whack, but I think that it will get back on track today.  He didn't nap yesterday at all, sigh.  I woke him up this morning so maybe he'll go down easily for his nap this afternoon.

I guess that's it really.  I'll post the pics of the week, then it's off to play with the kiddos!

June 15

Happy Father's Day!

I hope that all the dads out there are having a good day.  Elijah, Grace, and I gave Jerry some seasons of Family Guy, some chocolate candy sticks, and a gift card to go to the movies.  He is at the movies now.  I don't know what he saw.  He narrowed it down to The Hulk, The Happening, and Indiana Jones.  All movies that are on my Netflix list already!  I guess that's a downfall to breastfeeding...but it's one I'm willing to deal with.  I think by October we'll be able to go see a movie or two while we are in the mountains for Homecoming.  We were going to go for a picnic on the beach this evening, but the weather keeps threatening storms, so another day.  We'll have a picnic on the floor here...or at the table.

So, we are still up in the air about launching a web site to sell my stuff.  I have had a few new ideas.  I think I may have mentioned the snuggle buddies.  I haven't tested them at You Are My Sunshine, but I will soon.  I have an idea for a card table playhouse (goes over a card table, then can be folded up...so no space.)  I saw something like this at my friend, Stephanie's' house.  I have been thinking about it since I saw it (almost 1.5 years ago...) and more so lately.  It was super cute.  I also got an idea for a dress up doll.  Rachel's mom got one for MR at a store in the mountains, and I think I can expand on the idea and make it my own.  It's pretty much a very simple doll with a piece of velcro on the front and then clothes cut out of scrap fabric, backed with interfacing, and then the opposite side of velcro...very cute.  I thought I would expand with boys and and different races...we'll see.  Of course, I will have my hats (summer and winter)... I'm on the fence about tie dying, as I have a friend that has her own website that sells kid's tie dye and I don't want to compete...  so we'll see.  It doesn't seem to be enough to have a website.  I guess we'll have the flannel boards as well.  I may make pillowcase dresses too...  But all this is a lot to do in by November...we'll see.

Jerry just got back... he went to The Happening.   He said it was really good.  He said he can't tell me what happened without destroying the movie for me... sigh... oh well... we'll live.

I'm going to get ready to go pick up our food for our picnic.  Happy Father's Day!!!!

PS After the storms have all passed, I'll be reconnected to the main server in the house and I'll upload pics then... but I do have new ones of the little kids!

June 16

On My Way To Target Today

1. I saw a woman mowing her yard in a sports bra and sweat pants.  if you are hot enough to take off your shirt... (side note...when I was in 4th grade I wrote a note to my teacher telling her I thought she was sweet, but I spelled sweet sweat (because that seriously makes much more since...sw-eat...come on...) and she read it to the whole class... I was SOOOO embarrassed and never wrote her another note!)
2. I almost got hit by a Fed-Ex truck that couldn't make a right turn to save it's life.
3. I listened to Kathy Lee Guilford and Hoodia whatever her last name is make women everywhere sounds stupid.  Honestly, how can any person turn the tragically early death of Tim Russett into a self centered rant about who she knows and where she's been... what a jerk.  I really hate the new third hour of the TODAY show.
4. Almost ran off the road laughing at some kid whose pants were almost down to his knees and he was wearing bright red boxers... ON PURPOSE.... seriously, the STUPIDEST fashion mistake EVER!
5. Decided to start the potty training train back up.  Causing me to by buy Thomas and Diego big boy undies... can't stand either of those characters, but Elijah picked them out and was happy about it.
6. Remembered to remind myself to get baby oil.  How we could have two kids in our house and no baby oil is beyond me...but we need it for Grace's cradle cap.
7. Talked to Elijah about the airport for the 12734089758917 time...but he still cracks me up!
8. Was amazed how Grace can simply fall asleep within seconds of the car starting.
9. Watched yet another person attempt to text and drive... how scary is that?
10. Was thankful the heat wave has quasi-passed!

June 17

Some days make it all worth it!

Last night before bed, Elijah broke into a death metal version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.   Jerry and I were laughing at it and wanted to catch it on video.  I love that he stopped to wipe up spit up off of Gracie and that once her realized the camera was on him, he started hammin' it up with his closed eye smile!  So without further ado....

June 19

seriously?!?!

After Elijah only taking a thirty minute nap (SIGH) and being a total grump (he lost all the toys on his floor he refused to clean up and his Curious George video) I decided we needed to get out for a walk.  So I pulled out the sit-and-stand and loaded Gracie into the car seat and into the stroller.  I hooked Elijah in and we took off.  I must say that this stroller is the best work out.  With both of them and the stroller, I am pushing well over 50 pounds... ANYWAY, we are walking and I'm talking to Elijah about this and that (he apparently is going to take a choo choo helicopter to see Oma and Opa...go figure...after today's afternoon, I'm ready to send him!) and we go by this woman's house who is planning a block party for the 4th of July.  She has a super cute little girl and I always try to speak with her when I pass her.  So here I am pushing the kids, sweating, and trying to get home to let Elijah ride his trike before having to fix dinner... and this woman stops me by saying, "Oh my, are you pregnant again?"  SERIOUSLY?!?!?  I just saw her like two weeks ago when I was walking with Grace in the sling...SERIOUSLY?!?!?!  sigh... "No, I just had her 7 weeks ago..."  "OH, well congrats!  She's beautiful."

What is wrong with people.  I know that I have more weigh to loose, but seriously, I don't look that pregnant.  In fact, if I ran into someone looking like me, I would have trouble telling if they were overweight or preggers... I WOULD NEVER ASSUME.  sigh...  so that was a great blow to the ego... I think she felt bad, but still.  If someone is pushing a stroller with a baby seat and a toddler...seriously?!?!?

Okay...that's all...

June 20

Again...seriously?!?!?! kiddo...

So after a very productive morning of playing outside on the trike and in the "agua" (Elijah only says water in Spanish...funny kid) we come inside out of the heat.  Diapers need to be changed, snack needs to be fixed...so I put down the cherrios and raisins and go change Gracie's diaper.  I come back out to find the following:

• Elijah standing at his table

• With a bottle of juice

• With the top off

• Trying to pour the juice into his sippy

• With the sippy lid on

• I asked, "Did you get that out of the fridge?"

• he says, "Yes."

• I sigh...seriously?!?!

• I make a move to take juice away

• He immediately starts trying to drink out of the bottle

• SERIOUSLY!!!!?????!!!!

• SIGH...all this with a crying, hungry, infant child in arms

• I take the juice
• He screams like I have taken his kidney

• I put up the gate to prevent further access to kitchen

• He melts into a heap of toddler screaming, "JJJJJUUUUUUIIIIIICCCCCEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  'IJAH JUUUUUUUIIIIIICCCCCEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!"

• I remain calm (somehow) and say, "I'm going to feed your sister, if you can calm down then you may have some juice.  If you are going to scream, you may go to your room."

• amazingly (and this is the FIRST time this has happened) he calms down and eats his cherrios and raisins.

• After I finish feeding Grace, he asks (again amazing...) "'ijah juice please."

SERIOUSLY....this toddlerhood thing is a mystery to me.

June 23

If you are going to be an total racist...

Maybe you should learn to spell!  This qualifies as a HUGE WTF!!!!!  I gotta say that maybe I'm glad that this person isn't voting for Obama...but maybe should have paid more attention in school...or heck, even to FOX News... for the most part at least they can spell....

Jerry took this on his way to lunch in a parking lot for a local BBQ diner.  Whatever!  I'm all about free speech and whatnot, but seriously?!?!?  Gotta love the south... Apparently they are all about the previously coked up Yale wanna be running our country oh so well now... sigh...

June 27

There's stuff to say...

It's just that our power cable is doing funky things and the battery life of the laptop isn't great.  I have new pics, but I don't think I have enough battery to upload them currently.  I will work on that this weekend.

The kiddos are good.  Cute as ever.  Elijah is totally acting his two year old self and I'm trying really really hard to have patience with him.  Grace is doing great.  She loves to talk to her bears on the mobile in her bassinet and smiling at her mama and dado.  She's getting tall!

This week has been really hot, but we are surviving.  We get outside in the morning and play inside in the afternoon.

Apparently, I smoked some crack and am hosting our playgroup here on Thursday and we are tie dying with red and blue dye!  I think it will be fun, we just have a TON of stuff to get done.

okay, my low battery light is flashing.  I'll try to write more later.

June 28

Saturday's Jam Day!

What a productive day.  It's amazing what the prospect of hot dog day can do to motivate me.  We got up this morning and headed outside to mow and weedwhack the yard.  Elijah played in his pool and Grace slept while we got the grass under control.  I gotta say that the downfall of the reel mower is that if the grass gets too high it won't cut it...hence the weedwhacker.  Nevertheless, we got a large part done this morning.  We then went to KMart to get some canning supplies and other ends and outs...then to JETER'S HOT DOGS for lunch...yum-o!!!  After running into the grocery store to get the pectin and a quick trip to Home Depot we came home, put the kiddos down for a nap and I proceeded to peel and pit the plums.  Claire mentioned freezer jam a while back and I looked up a recipe on line for plum freezer jam.  I don't mind making the jelly and jam, it's the canning that annoys me, so this sounded great.... in theory.  I ended up with 9 cups of plums + 18 cups of sugar + 2 1/2 cups of water and pectin = 22 jars of freezer jam.... GREAT... in theory... It's the freezer space that didn't occur to me...hmmmm... I'll be giving A LOT of this stuff away in the next couple of weeks, but until then I have to keep it frozen... oh well, it can sit out for 24 hours, so I'll do some massive rearranging tomorrow.  Maybe if I'm really on top of things I'll make some bread for our party on Thursday.

This next week will be crazy.  I need to get a few more supplies for the party.  We are going to finally get the landscaping tarp down under the swing set...not the mulch yet, but it's a step in the right direction.  I gotta get new sand for the sand box arrange the yard for Thursday.  That's about it.  I'm excited about the party.  I just hope it's not 5000 degrees out.  We'll have the pool and sprinklers going as well as frozen fruit bars, but still... Ahhh, it'll be fine.

I will say that I feel good about getting stuff done today.  The yard was my biggest hurdle and there still is lots to go, but the fenced in back yard is done!

I really should make a list of things I want to blog about, I know there was more...alas, alack... Once I figure out why the computer is ignoring my camera's card, I'll upload the 120892345 pics I have...plus a cute video of Grace talking to the bears on her mobile!

Here are the finished products!!!

May 2008

May 01

WELCOME GRACIE!!!!!!!!

Grace Hannah Jones was born this morning at 10:02 a.m.!

I started having contractions at 3:30 this morning and we arrived at the hospital at 5:30.  We were 6-7 cm.  After not much progress we had the water broken at 8-ish and then progressed quickly.  Around 9:50 my midwife got me to turn over on my hands and knees and Grace thought that was the cat's meow.  She actually started to come out on her own much to everyone's surprise.  I rolled to my side and gave two big (and rather painful) pushes and Grace was born at 10:02 (Jerry called 10 give or take...)

We are all doing well.  I'm a bit sore as I had a small tear and well, she wasn't small.

So her stats:

8 pounds 9 ounces

21 3/4 inches long

13 inch head circ.

She was exactly one week early!!!

We'll add pics tomorrow after we get home!

May 05

2 day check (really four, but who's counting?)

So we went in for a check up this morning.  Grace is almost back up to her birth weight.  She is, however, having a little jaundice.  Jerry and I don't think as bad as Elijah, but it's hard to tell.  We've had her in the sun and what not and hopefully, the levels won't be too high.  She is a breastfeeding champ and, while I am rather sore (forgot about all this!) her eating habits are only going to help.

It's funny about your second kid.  You're not as concerned.  I've actually slept.  She wakes up and I roll onto my side and feed her (didn't get that down with Elijah until he was MUCH older!) and go back to sleep.  Granted she's only 4 days old, and things will definitely change, she's very good.  She likes to be cuddled, but is also content hanging on her own.

Elijah loves to hold her, though gets over it a little faster (unless it's bed time...) but he tells us "all done holding baby Grace."  At least he doesn't just stand up with her still on his lap.  not that we are ever far away, but still.  He is still adjusting to not being the center of attention, but this too shall pass.  Or not... (he just threw a straw at me... punk!)

Anyway, we are doing well.  I'll update about the jaundice after we hear from the doc!  At least it's nice out!!!!

May 06

yeah, so....

Her bilrubin levels were fairly high.  Normal would have been around 12... her's were around 21.9.  So we went to the hospital yesterday and into photo therapy we went.  I stayed the night at the hospital with Grace while Jerry was home with Elijah.  I have to say that both our kids were troopers.  Elijah was dragged around the whole day to the doc's and then to the boring hospital... though we did discover the really cool playroom on the peds unit and Elijah had fun playing in there.  So over the night her levels went down and this morning they took her completely off the lights.  She did so well.  She would come out to nurse and then back into the little case with her little shades on...really sad, but she did well.  It was great to be able to take her out permanently this morning.  We tried to keep her in the natural light of the windows as much as possible today.  her levels still dropped!  So we are home.  Tomorrow we have to go back to get her levels checked and meet with the ped.  I hoping, beyond hope, that this is over.  I'm ready to be home and work on adjusting to being a four person family.

Our playgroup has rocked and they are providing us with lots of yummy food!  So, that's that for now.  I'm beat and will probably turn in after American Idol (though I haven't been that impressed yet and I may end up passing out in the recliner... that would be okay too!

May 08

up and down and up and down

Grace's bilirubin levels went back up with yesterday's check.  SO this morning it was BACK to the doc's for the orders to have more blood drawn and then BACK to the medical mall (with all the sick people hacking up lungs and wanting to look at my baby...are you KIDDING me with this?) to have Grace's heel pricked AGAIN.  This afternoon the results are good.  The levels went back down.  They should have considering I was nursing her constantly yesterday and we had her in sun for the majority of the day.  So we are done until next Thursday when Grace will have her 2 week appointment.  I was so freakin' tired this morning.  I was having to talk to myself in the car to stay alert.

At the medical mall the lady who took Grace's blood told me her life story, or rather the story of her brother's life and how she is a great great aunt at 40-something because everyone starting with her brother is having babies at like 14 or something stupid.  I just wanted to tell her that I really didn't care and just wanted to go home and maybe someone should talk to these kids about condoms... I mean seriously... I'm 32 and both of our pregnancies were planned (though Jerry says he was tricked with Grace...WHATEVER!) and we feel like the timing was right.  Why on God's earth, would I want to hear about this woman's family?

ANYWAY, that's a quick update on the first week of Grace's life (Happy one week baby girl!!!)  I'll post pics soon.  I promise...

May 11

HAPPY MOMMY's DAY!!!!

Since my birthday, Elijah has been going around singing Happy Mommy (to the tune-ish of Happy Birthday) and today was no exception.  Jerry (and the kids) got me the complete Gilmore Girls series!!!  Wahoo!!!  I love Gilmore Girls!  We were going to go our for breakfast, but it is pouring rain, so Jerry went and got me cinnamon raisin biscuits from Hardess (Love 'em!!)  Which was nice, since I really didn't want to get dressed either....hehehehe...

Now we are just chilling.  Jerry's folks got Elijah this matchbox cars car wash toy thingy a while back, and we thought that he was too young at the time.  But he's proved he's a big boy, so he got to have it today (sans the bubbles...bubbles are for outside!)  And he is quite enthralled by it.  GREAT!

Grace is doing well.  She sleeps, eats, and poops, with a few hours of awake time thrown in.  Overall, so far (all 9 days of her little life) she's pretty mellow.  Her hiccups that she seemed to have constantly in utero have followed her into her little out of the womb life.  poor thing.  Though it doesn't seem to bother her really.  She's all wrapped up like a burrito right now and making little mouse-y noises... very cute!

so Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there!!

May 13

I'm the mother of a toddler and an infant...

How did this happen?  sigh...

Let me explain, that I was eating breakfast in the small window of Grace's morning nap.  Elijah had already eaten.  When he has markers and says he's "playing choo choo"  it usually means that he is putting them together end to end and moving them as one big unit.... not this...

sigh... what am I going to do when Jerry goes back to work?  I still haven't figured out nap time yet... I'm trying not to stress, but I NEED Elijah to take a nap, so that I can get some rest too... we'll see...

For now, I just have to laugh and be thankful that I spent the extra dollar to get the washable makers... At least he cleaned it up without a problem... why didn't we get a picture of that?

May 15

2 week check up

So the girl child had her 2 week check this morning.  She is weighing in at 9.2 pounds.  She has Mongolian spots, Stork bites, and Baby Acne.  All these are fine just baby things.  Her jaundice is better.  She's still a little yellow, but her eyes are almost completely clear which is really good!!!  She is healthy.  Elijah was more of a hassle during the appointment than Grace.  He's just got so much energy.

So we went to the park to meet up with the playgroup after the appointment.  Jerry came too so that was REALLY helpful.  I don't think I'll be up to going by myself anytime, but we'll see.  I'm really not supposed to be lifting Elijah, but as of tomorrow Jerry is back at work (though he is at home) and his schedule is changing for reasons that will be a whole different post at a later date, so he is now working four 10 hour days (Friday- Monday) and I'll need to lift Elijah for various reasons.  (That was a total run on!)  ANYWAY, it was fun seeing our friends.  Rachel and Erin also came with MR and the twins, so that was good (Erin and Jerry got to hang out and not be bored by the ladies.)  It was really nice.

That's about it.   Elijah's naps are not going well... but again another post.  I will leave with this picture.  It's in the album, but I just love it.   Elijah's baby holding time was cut short due to Grace wanting to eat and whatnot, so he got to snuggle her in bed while he had stories and songs.  It's just too freakin' cute!!!!

May 21

8 years and counting

Today is our 8 year anniversary!  Wahoo!  How are we celebrating one might ask... Well, Jerry is sick, as is Elijah and I fear that Grace may have gotten this cold-ish thing too...sigh...  Jerry is working today (long story about his schedule continuing to change... once it's all settled I'll post about it all...)Elijah is playing with Play-Doh and Grace is chilling on her play mat.  So that is how the day is going thus far.  Not really a big deal.  Since Jerry worked this past weekend, he is taking tomorrow and Friday off.  Maybe we'll do something fun.  We are going to a cookout on Saturday (pending the wellness of everyone in the fam) so that'll be fun.

That's it really.

I'm working on some gifts for Mother's Day (I know we're late), Father's Day, and my folks Anniversary (38 years!!!) And there's a little girl crying for some mama's milk...so I'm off!

May 23

Friday Friday!

So, Jerry is off today.  We went to Fit For Fun this morning.  It was nice.  We ran into some friends of ours.  It was a nice day outside, but I really needed to get out of the house and I had a ton of yarn to donate to them.  I went through all my yarn the other day and cut it down by half.  I needed the storage container for clothes that Grace can't fit into yet.  Also, I think it would take me years upon years to actually use all that yarn.  Anyway, they were thrilled to get it and gave us a free pass for the day.  Really nice!  The place was not crowded and Elijah had fun playing and I didn't feel like everyone was staring at me when I (discreetly) nursed Grace.

So some cute things that have been happening around the house lately:

--Elijah comes into my room at 1 in the morning (may not sound so cute, but wait for it) crawls in bed next to me and Grace and says, "mommy, hold baby," lies down and goes back to sleep.

--Elijah was watching the end of Reading Rainbow, in which there was a video of an older sibling reading to a younger one, Elijah jumps out of the chair runs to the library book bag, grabs a book, and says, " 'ijah 'ead baby 'racie."  Almost cried at that one.

--Grace makes little pterodactyl noises and if Elijah is holding her, he makes the noises right back to her.

--While lying in bed Elijah had his arm under Grace's head.  She started to stir and he reaches over and gently pats her tummy to soothe her.

--While putting Elijah to bed, we sing songs (Twinkle Twinkle and Row Row Row Your Boat) and sign them.  Elijah has been allowed to have Grace in bed during this time.  Last night, he picked up sleeping Grace's hand and tried to help her do the signs to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star... little teary eyed at that too.

--Elijah was in the room the other day while I was changing clothes.  He walked up to me and pointed to my chest and said, "Mommy!  Two mommy's milks!"  I about passed out from laughing to hard...he was soooo serious about it.

--Every time we pass a truck/train track/school bus/airport... Elijah says, "Oneday, 'iljah ride [insert mode of transportation]?"  I seriously doubt that by the time he actually rides the school bus, he will be as excited about it.

--Grace's acne is starting to clear up, she throws her arms and legs around and is overall, a peaceful baby.  She can hold her head up and look around while we are holding her in the upright position.  She is definitely gaining weight and is just a cute little kiddo.

--Elijah and Grace and I all take a nap in the big bed.  I love being in there with my two sleeping kiddos.  I've been watching Gilmore Girls while they sleep...but it's hard to concentrate on the TV, when I am surrounded by such cuteness!

--Elijah will come and tell us before he going to poop, whilst he is pooping, and after the fact, BUT still not on the potty...though I guess it's progress.

--Wanting to play in the pool is " 'iljah p'ay in the poos!"  Which is hilarious...and a little disturbing to an outsider... but seriously, he just wants to play in the pool.

I have to remember these moments when I'm about to loose it with Elijah.  I know that most of my annoyances with Elijah are due to being tired and having a newborn here as well.  Of course, it is also in part that Elijah is two and acting every bit of it.  His little memory is so good and he is really starting to push buttons.  I know that he really wants attention, regardless of if it's negative or positive attention.  There are things that I ignore, but if he is doing something that will hurt him or something expensive (like the computer) he does get 3 warnings/chances to make good choices and then it's off to time out.  We both try to give him undivided attention during the day, but that's difficult for me with an infant attached to the boob.  This too shall pass.  He is really good with Grace and wants to hold her and rock her and everything else.  I don't want that to pass.

May 28

there now...

new pics added...

the weekend was fun.  we went to a cookout on saturday and that was about it.  elijah and grace are doing well.  we're all tired i think.  but that comes with the territory.  that' it for now.  just wanted to appease some people that have been asking for them...ahem...

May 31

i survived!

I made it two whole days on my own!  We even went to playgroup on Thursday...with brownies I made that morning!  HA!  Friday my friend Amy came over for a quick lunch and to meet Gracie.  She brought Elijah sand pails with shovels and goldfish.  It's all he talked about the rest of the day!  Thanks Amy!

Today we went to see Erin and Rachel and their kiddos.  Man the twins got big!  I miss hanging out with them!  But as I feel more confident with both Elijah and Grace by myself, I can go over and hang.  Jerry helped with a computer problem and we had lunch.  Elijah and MR hadn't seen each other in sooo long, so that was good for them.  Grace was totally chill the whole time, which was good too!

My folks get here on Tuesday.  I am sure we will hit the beach a couple of times (if I can possibly function in the morning at all...) and hang out here during the heat of the day.

(Going backwards here!) Kate and Kristie came over on Wednesday with their kiddos to play and see Grace.  Kristie and her sister have an online store with the cutest freaking kid's clothes!  Check them out!  She brought me a tie dye, a long sleeved onesie with leaves on it, and another onesie with her name on it.  I'm sure I' will take pics of them sometime...  Anyway, it was a good day and the kids all played well.  Elijah talked about them the rest of the day....though he clung to me the first half hour they were here.

Jerry will be back soon with dinner.  We have been really bad lately, so this weekend is the end of it all.  Starting Monday we are back to only eating out once a week (he says on free kid day!) and eating more salads and stuff here.  I mean I'm losing the weight from the breastfeeding, but I need to eat better.  We were really doing well while I was preggo....then we just stopped.  Maybe my folks and I can go to the farmers market while they are here and I can get some yummy fresh veggies.  That would be good!

Okay... that's all...well, it's not, but for now.  I added pics...before anyone could say anything (anyone that will be here in a few days!!! WAHOO!)