Then there were five!

We're so thrilled to welcome Charlotte Grace to our family (almost 7 months ago - gasp, I'm slow!)

More soon...

Aaron's 5th Birthday!

Aaron's 5th Birthday!, a set on Flickr.

Almost five

Well, I figured I'd jump back into blogging the easiest way I know how - with a story.

I was driving Aaron's to a play date at a friend's house this morning, and we were talking about what life will be like when the new baby arrives. I was explaining that it would take me a few weeks to fully recover from the birth, and I would be tired because I will need to wake up a night to feed the baby. His response:

"That's bad that babies don't sleep at night. I'm glad I'm not a girl because I'll never have to wake up at night to feed a baby."

I told him that was true, and explained that I planned on taking naps so that I could get enough rest.  He said, "That's okay, mama. I'll watch Hannah for you while you and baby sleep."

Friday morning

Strawberry smoothie, Tiger headphones, and "Are you going to be my girl? by Jet."

In a box...

Hannah tried on real underpants for the first time this morning.  She was so excited and proud.  Paul and I kept checking with her to see if she need to go to the bathroom. "Nothin' comin'," was her answer.  Then we made a total rookie parent mistake.

The kids often play in our basement on their own while an adult is in the kitchen.  It's easy to hear them down there, and it keeps most of the toys our of adult spaces in the house.  Hannah asked to play in the basement, and we agreed. (There's that rookie parent mistake.)  Ten minutes later, she came climbing up the stair with wet underpants.  I took her to the bathroom to get her cleaned up while Paul went to the basement in search of the puddle. 

Meanwhile, Hannah - sitting on the potty now - tells me, "Wee in monkey box."  It took me few tries, as well as hearing Paul's laughter in the basement, to realize that she found a cardboard toy box in the basement and peed in that. Not far off, I guess. But we're back to diapers today.

Happy Birthday, Dear Hannah!

Let's try this again...

My little girl turned two this week. (Gasp!)  It's funny, I read something the other day that struck a chord with me. It said, "First time parents will see their 2 year old as all grown up. Second-time-around parents will see that their 2 year old is really still a baby."  It's so very true.

Certainly, Hannah can pour on the tantrums with the best of them. She can wine, cry, and tattle on her brother like no other. But she is the sweest girl - quick to apologize when she's done something wrong, always ready with a kiss, and coming out with new things to say all of the time.  Her favorites right now are: "Wait a minute!" when she has a new idea; and "Have it?" when she wants something but is not sure it's okay to take it.

This girl of mine is an animal lover. She is giddy over the dog that we occasionally care for, and is always excited about the pets at her best little buddy's house.  We'll have to get a dog or cat for her someday, to be sure.

For her birthday, she wanted balloons, cake and ice cream. And she wanted to be sung to at every meal - easy breezy.  Here are two to check out.

 (Notice the icing on her face from sneaking a fingerful while I put the candles on...)

A look back: Christmas

Since I posted nothing about Christmas 2012, let's step back and relive some of the magic.

My kids are at the age where Christmas really is magic.  We had some friends over for drinks and appetizers on Christmas Eve, which was a fun way to capture some of that Christmas spirit and burn off some of that anticipatory energy.  The kids went to bed a little late, and Aaron took quite a while to fall asleep.  Luckily, he konked out just before Santa arrived.

Christmas morning, Hannah was first out of bed.  (It had nothing to do with Christmas - she's the first one up at our house everyday.)  She played with her gifts from Santa while we waited for Aaron to get up. (Sleeping in on Christmas morning has been a reoccurring theme for Aaron.  I'm sure someday, I'll miss it. But for the past few years, it's Paul and I waiting downstairs all antsy for him to get up and open presents.)

When Aaron came downstairs, he was awestruck - yes! - and fun was had by all.  Hannah was the most enthusiastic, ripping open everything, including some of Aaron's gifts. She got so excited that she tired herself out and was back in bed for a nap before 10 a.m.

The rest of the day was spent eating, relaxing, playing and talking to family afar - a really perfect way to spend such a special day.

Adventure

So, we went camping - all four of us - with some new friends who are so much fun.  I will admit, I had my doubts about this trip. It was October, and rain was forecast for the entire weekend. The lows got into the 30s one night. And while we have a very nice tent, it is still just a tent.  But by the time we realized the forecast wasn't going to change, the car was already packed.  And Paul wasn't about to unpack the car without giving it a try, so we set off.

The short story is, it was a success!  We did have one rain shower, but it only lasted a few hours.  We were cold some of the time, but the day we hiked to the bottom of Pine Creek gorge, the sun even came out and the boys got to splash around in the river.  While there were some uncomfortable moments, we will certainly give it another try (when the weather warms up in the spring.)

A letter on a 4th birthday

Dear Aaron,

You turned four years old this week - a milestone that you are so excited about.  Your birthday fell on a Saturday this year, which was a special treat because it meant you could spend the whole day with Daddy and have a party on your actual birthday.

For your celebration, Nana inspired us to throw a pirate party and, man, was it fun!  We dressed up with eye patches and tatoos, and had a big treasure hunt to find a pinata, which was filled with gum and chocolate gold coins.

Before the big day, you only had two requests: gum and lemon cake, even though you never had lemon cake before. ("But I like sour things, mama." For the record, you had one bite of cake and said you didn't like it.  We did have mint chocolate chip ice cream on hand for this exact situation.) But after you opened the Lego space shuttle Daddy picked out, you told us that was exactly the present you wanted. You and Daddy are truly two peas in a pod. He can walk into a toy store and know exactly what you will love. You've slept with that space ship every night since you opened it. And right now, you're laying on kitchen floor next to me imagining some wonderful space scenario. You love anything that flies and you are full of questions about planets, and physics and the sky.  (Where does the sky end and space start? Why can't you see air? How big is space?)

I do feel like you're growing up before my eyes.  The phrases you use and the questions you ask continually astound me. Today when I tried to hold your hand walking down the street, you told me, "Mama, we can hold hands at home."  But when I drop you off and pick you up from school, you always want a kiss and a cuddle - a request that I'm happy to grant for as long as you like.  I feel so lucky to guide you along this wonderful journey of growing up.

All my love, buddy.

Mom

And...

...we have a soccer player in the house.





Thankfully, he still likes to sit on my lap.

Yes, Michigan!

I should be emptying the dishwasher, but I have to put some of these up! 
Kids + extended family = super fun.
More coming when I can get my act together. 

A day of first attempts

(Photos from our amazing Michigan trip coming soon.)

Growing up

This morning, I hear Hannah chanting "Maaaama" from her crib and went in to get her.  As I lifted her up and laid her on the changing table, it suddenly dawned on me that she's not a baby anymore. She's officially a little girl.




This little girl-ness comes with some new developments.  She's learned to say "no."  (It was only a matter of time, right?)  And suddenly she has preferences about what she wants to wear.  No kidding.  You'll notice below the latest number is a tutu from Nana.  And she loves.  (And so do I, but, shhhh, don't tell.)

Aaron is having a great summer.  Today is the last day of camp at a little nature center up the road.  He LOVES it - making new friends, hiking everyday, and always coming home wet.  I don't hear much about what he does - it's like kids have a secret code to keep camp to themselves.  But I had to go back today because I forgot to drop off his snack, and he was yucking it up with some new friends.  As I was leaving, I could hear him say, "Hey guys, my mom forgot my snack!  Isn't that silly!" 

His sense of humor is blossoming, and it reminds me so much of Paul.  He loves the road runner and super heros.  And racing.  Every chance he can get - bikes, running, you name it.


Standing in front of the fan


Hanging out on our front porch is currently my favorite way to pass that witching hour between dinner and bed. The kids seem to appreciate the fresh air and shade as much as I do. Right now, I can't imagine winter and snow and darkness at 6 p.m. Yikes!

Ready


Set


Go

Strummin'

We're still here, makin' some music with A's new guitar.  It's a bit big, but he refuses to put it down anyhow.  He even started to get blisters on his fingertips from strumming.  Today he walked up to me, held up his hands, and said, "Mama, which hand is available?"  Meaning which one doesn't have blisters.

Falling

I took a pretty hard spill this week on a run and scraped up my hands and elbow.  Aaron is fascinated with my injuries.  He'll ask to look at them and then say, "Oooooo, that's a bad one" multiple times a day.

Out of the blue, he's come up with a few comments about my fall that have me in stiches.  The first day he told me: "I think you should go on another run where you were, and pick up all of the pieces that you lost. Then you can tape them back in there."

Yesterday he said: "Mama, when you fell, did the whole world shake?  And then all of the other runners fell down too?"

This kid of ours - he's constantly cracking me up.

My babbler

P.S. - My little one is obsessed with bike helmets. I'm going to pin that one on her dad and brother. :)

Moseying along

It's been a long time since I've made it to this space. With both kids on the move and busy, I have some time of my own, but it's definitely a matter of choosing how I spend it. And the blog hasn't made the list lately.
But things are moving along just as you would expect - preschool, swing sets, teething, a great impromptu birthday party for Hannah. You get the picture.

Hannah is walking with ease now, even over terrain outside. She's adding new words to her list everyday. The favorite is "Waaaa" for water, or anything to drink, really.  "Baa" is book. She knows exactly which one she wants and will let you know if you choose the wrong one. She's a very sweet kid, bestowing kisses on everything and everyone - books, dolls, and her big brother (to his dismay). Her baby dolls must have a blanket at all times, so I'm finding kitchen towels and face cloths in the living room regularly.

Aaron is growing leaps and bounds as well, and asking lots of big boy questions like why can't we see our bones and what would happen if the moon fell down. I always try to answer with as much honesty as possible, although I do have a little fib going about how a leprechaun has been turning our breakfast smoothies green.  A little spinach in the morning is a good thing.  :)

Here's a few more recent shots.  I'll be back soon, promise.


An Easter dandy  

Sibs (Note my new craigslist chair waiting for re-upholstery.)

Hannah's M.O. - Big brother's hat, Hello Kitty, blankie

Birthday cupcake, complete with learning-to-walk forehead bruise  

Big kid table  

Parents keeping it real

One!

Dear Hannah,

It was a year ago today that I held you in my arms for the first time.  You looked up at me for the longest time without making a sound - so quiet that your dad got a little worried something was wrong.  You're certainly not silent anymore, but you have a happy-go-lucky way about you that's certainly been there since your first day. You are a loving child, with lots of sloppy kisses and cuddles to hand around to family, friends and cuddly toys alike. You LOVE playing with other children, especially your big brother when he'll humor you. And you'll wiggle your little head and clap your hands to music of any kind. You learned to walk this week while we are visiting Nanny and Granpy in England, and your little swagger makes me giggle every time I see your strutting away.  You bring so much light and happiness to our days.  I feel lucky to be you mom.

All my love!
xoxoxo

Walking!

Milestones

Our little Hannah took her first steps on Saturday morning. I think they were accidental, but it was still a reason to celebrate. Paul was holding her hands while Aaron and I watched. He let go and there she went - two steps, and then straight onto her bottom! We all cheered. But she hasn't repeated it yet.

We leave for England on Saturday, and I'm quite convinced it's the worst timing for Hannah to ensure a 7-hour-flight - she's so excited to move, that sitting still for that long is going to make for an unhappy baby. I just hope we have understanding flight attendants and fellow passengers.

Aaron, on the other hand, is at a perfect age for this sort of trip. He soaks in everything, a new country will certainly be an exciting experience for him. I'm sure he'll notice details that I never have before. That's the beauty of traveling with kids, right? The first words out of his mouth this morning were, "That was one more sleep. How many left?" (We count days in sleeps around here. The answer was 5.) He's got all sorts of questions about where he will sit in the car, and when we can go to the "ball pit." It's sure to be momentous.

Maybe I should just bring a big package of wipes on the plane and let her pass them out