2 fabulous years.

2 years ago at this very moment, I delivered a little girl that changed the way I saw the world. In just 2 quick years (man, how fast they have gone!) she has taught me more than I had learned the previous 25 years of my life: how to smile through a crappy day, how to be understanding when every ounce of my patience is gone, how to love deeper and unconditionally. These two years with her have been the greatest blessing of my life.

Happy birthday, my beautiful little girl. Love you tons.

 

12th day.

 On the 12th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

12 sweet moments

11 special letters

10 lazy mornings

9 yummy meals

8 traditions started

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

Merry Christmas from me & the kiddos :)

11th day.

On the 11th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

11 special letters

10 lazy mornings

9 yummy meals

8 traditions started

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

It's not super easy to see but that is, indeed, a letter from Santa Claus himself. I still don't know for sure who sent it...you know, on behalf of Santa...though I have my suspicions. Regardless, it was awesome. The letter talks about how Santa knows that Brooke and Joe have been good and that he and the elves will be visiting us soon. It even talks about how Santa heard that Brooke wants a kitchen for Christmas. Super cute! Though I'm not sure she totally understood the magnitude of receiving a letter from the Big Guy himself, she certainly was excited to get mail!

10th day.

On the 10th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

10 lazy mornings

9 yummy meals

8 traditions started

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

9th day.

On the 9th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

9 yummy meals

8 traditions started

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

(In case you're wondering, yes he is too little to be eating real food already. But he's having some serious digestion issues lately and the pediatrician suggested rice cereal might help. So, at 3.5 months, the little man is already gobbling up 1 meal a day. Talk about growing up fast!)

8th day.

On the 8th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

8 traditions started

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

7th day.

On the 7th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

7 sibling hugs

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

6th day.

On the 6th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

6 memories made

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

5th day.

On the 5th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

5 reasons to sing

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

(This is just part of a 5-minute long video that proves that toddlers have more energy than anything on the planet. Seriously, if I could bottle up her energy, Red Bull would be out of business and I'd be a rich woman. She was slap-happily running all throughout the house being crazy a toddler - which is why she's out of breath and coughing throughout this.)

4th day.

On the 4th day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

4 tasty treats

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

Don't I have the cutest baking assistants?



3rd day.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

3 gleeful giggles

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

2nd day.

On the 2nd day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

2 gorgeous smiles

& a heart full of love and joy.

12 Days of Xmas.

On the 1st day of Christmas, my kiddos gave to me...

a heart full of love & joy. 

Priorities.

The kids say hi. They also say that Mommy just hasn't been able to blog lately because, well, life keeps getting in the way.

It feels like my to-do list doubles in size every day as we inch closer to Christmas. But I'm learning to prioritize. And, more importantly, to let go. To give myself a break. And blogging? Well, it's been pushed towards the bottom of the priority list for a bit.

And that's how it ought to be, right? Taking time to enjoy these two little nuggets of cute. Giving them my very best instead of stretching myself too thin. Making their Christmas as magical as I remember mine as a kid.

So, loyal blog readers (hi, Aunt Pat!), I'll do my best to get some cute pics up in the coming weeks. No promises. But I will do my best. And I'm sure my incomparable wit will be back in full force in January (which really should be renamed The Month When Nothing Exciting Happens.)

Happy 3 Months!

Dear Joe,

Hi there, Buster Brown (that's Mommy's favorite nickname for you.) What an awesome month this has been! Every month with you seems to be full of firsts, and this was no exception! You attended your first Flyers basketball game, something that makes Daddy proud. You went on your first vacation and met Mickey Mouse for the first time (first of many if Mommy has anything to say about it!) And just last week, you got your very first cold (you're still working through it, poor boy!) Between all of that excitement, you've been growing like a weed. You're up to 16 lbs 3 oz, which is right around the 95th percentile for weight. But you're so incredibly long that, despite your weight, you just seem like such a skinny boy! Daddy really hopes you're coordinated so you can take advantage of that height on the basketball court in a few years :) Not only have you grown a lot physically this month, but you seem to have blossomed intellectually, meeting milestones like finding your hands and using that sweet voice (you love to talk!) Here's just a little taste of what you're into (and not) these days:

Favorites
Rattles - You are mesmerized by rattles. If we shake a rattle about 6-12 inches in front of your face, you'll happily stare at it for quite a while. And you get so excited while you do it, kicking your legs and waving your arms wildly.
Your Hands - You have discovered your hands this month! It's absolutely adorable to watch you examine them. Every time you put them in front of you, your eyes get wide as you realize you are controlling those fingers. And you love, love, love to eat them!
Chewing on Things - You are slowly easing into the Put Everything Into Your Mouth phase. Those hands of yours are your most favorite things to gnaw on, while Mommy & Daddy's knuckles are a close second.
Mommy - You are a straight-up Mama's Boy. You love your Daddy and all the rest of our family and friends, but nothing soothes you like Mommy does. It's like a flip switches when Mommy takes you from someone else - not sure if it's my smell, voice, or just the way I hold you, but you just melt when I take you. We are hopeful you get even more comfortable with others soon so Mommy can get a few more breaks.
Cuddling - Your favorite way to sleep is cuddled up next to a textile of some sort, be it a burp cloth, a blanket, one of Mommy's shirts, etc. We'll have to get you a little stuffed buddy to cuddle with soon (maybe that will help comfort you when Mommy's not around, too!)

Not-so-Favorites
Riding in the Car - Oh, the screams! If you're awake when we get in the car, Mommy braces herself for you to just erupt. You hate being in the car - morning, noon, and night! You get so worked up sometimes that you are just dripping in sweat by the time we reach our destination.
Being Bored - You get really bored really easily now. You're in that unfortunate stage where you want to be entertained by things (like rattles), but you can't hold onto things for longer than a few seconds. It's only a matter of time before you can hang on to Sophie and give her head a nice chew :) You will sit in your swing or lay on your play mat for a bit, but only if you have recently napped and eaten. If you're the least bit hungry or tired, it takes a lot more entertainment to keep you happy.
Lotion - Apparently it's a universal baby thing to hate getting a lotion massage after a bath. And because you have some killer eczema covering yours arms and legs, you're gonna have to suffer through an awful lot of being lotioned up in the coming months. Sorry, dude!

You are entering the really fun, playful stage which we just love! You are already ticklish, giving us your version of a laugh (kind of like a silent chuckle) when we get you in the right spots (like up at your neck.) You are spending so much more time awake these days, so we have lots of time to play with you! You are such a joy to be around, a very calm & even-tempered baby (the nightly colic sessions are pretty much over...HOORAY!) We often get asked "Is he always this good?" and the answer is always yes. You just make us so proud, baby boy. We love you to the moon & back!!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Back to reality.

We're home from The Happiest Place On Earth. {insert sad face here}

It was a fantastic trip, full of unforgettable moments. There were adorable moments, like when Brooke met Cinderella and left the room with a bright red lipstick kiss on the cheek from her. And crazy moments, like when Joe had a poo-splosion on the airplane right as we were taxiing towards the runway. And super-fun moments, like when my entire family (all 19 of us!) had a dance party on Main Street U.S.A. right in front of Cinderella's castle during a parade. And frustrating moments, like when Brooke's diaper leaked for the 80 billionth time on the trip and pee came out the top of her diaper like a fountain. LIKE A FOUNTAIN. (Pretty sure we had a bad batch of diapers. Pampers was called first thing Wednesday morning and they have already put a check in the mail for the batch.) And heart-melting moments, like every time Joe gave me a smile because he was having so much fun on his first vacay.

It was every bit as magical as it should be...yet the most exhausting trip of my life. And I haven't come close to recovering sleep-wise. I came home to 5 loads of laundry, a house that's only a quarter of the way decorated for Christmas, several pending bow orders to fill, Christmas presents to buy (b/c Christmas is in 3 weeks! omg!), and a husband + 2 kids with awful colds. Oh, and I forgot, we're also potty training. (Yikes. Pass the wine.)

I guess I'll just have to relive the trip through the 615 pictures I took. (I know what you're thinking: so many pictures and I'm only supplying you with this one family pic we took at dusk at Magic Kingdom. Sorry, but I just don't have the time to go through them all right now.)

A huge, gigantic, enormous thanks go out to my parents for taking us on this fantastic family escape. The kiddos had a blast...and so did the adults :) Brooke is still talking about seeing Mickey and all of the things we did there. We'll do our best to make sure she never forgets (cue the 615 pictures...) And Joe couldn't possibly have had a better 1st vacation than to Disney World - how perfect considering how much his Mommy loves it! We had so much fun and can't possibly thank you enough!!

"I go to class?"

Brooke & I spent the last 10 Monday & Wednesday mornings at her "class", the preschool classes offered down at the Rec Center. The classes involve lots of playtime and not a ton of structure, the perfect scenario for a toddler. To say Brooke loved to go to class would be an understatement. I know this because she was more than willing to leave Grandma's house to go to class, a feat that typically requires some serious negotiating. She very quickly took to her "teachers" (I use that term loosely here), knew all the other kids' names, and ended up learning a thing or two throughout the term.

This is how each class would go:

First, we played for entirely too long. Brooke was a big fan of the puzzles and playing with the play kitchen. But even she was bored after about 20 mins and would start asking the teachers if it was time to clean up.

Clean up time. (She's actually helping the kids put this away, not trying to steal it.)

She was a pro at cleaning up, mostly because she knew what came next...

"Brooke, Brooke, jump up and down, jump up and down, jump up and down. Brooke, Brooke, jump up and down, now it's time to sit back down." Our girl is not much of a jumper, but she VASTLY improved as the weeks went on. Still keeps at least one foot on the ground, but at least she does more than just bounce her little legs. Loves loves loves this song.

After all the kids got to jump, each child got to pick a song for us to sing. Some of the kids needed their mom to pick or at least suggest a song, but Brooke always knew which one she wanted. The last 3 weeks or so, she refused to sit with me and wanted to sit with the teachers during song time. She's already too cool for her mom.

The only thing that distinguished the Monday & Wednesday classes was what we did after song time. On Mondays, we listened to a Mother Goose rhyme and did a craft (i.e. we colored something and sometimes used glue - by the way, toddlers LOVE glue.) On Wednesdays, we sang a couple extra songs that had dances associated with them. Everyone knows how much I despise organized-dance songs (think Cha Cha Slide), but these were actually pretty darn cute :)

She followed instructions really well, learning terms like "inside", "outside", and "around".

Next up? More play time. This time, we'd either go outside to the playground (weather permitting) or stay inside to ride bikes and play with balls in the gym.

I didn't get a picture of the final activity of the day: snack time. Probably because I was too busy opening a juice box (and shielding myself from the inevitable squirting) or stealing some of her Goldfish (sorry, but toddlers do not need 55 fish a piece - we'd be there all day if I waited for her to eat them all!)

Considering most of the other kids in the class were a whole year older than her (age range for the class was 18 mos. - 3 years), I was so proud and super impressed with how easily she fit in. Classes are over for the holidays, but the next session resumes in January. I'll definitely be signing her up for at least one of the two days.

Friday smiles :)

6 reasons to smile on this lovely little Friday:

1. Brooke enjoys watching "Pinnie the Wooh". Yep, she says it just like that. Say it to yourself that way and try not to smile laugh hysterically.
2. Joe gave me a sweet little laugh this week. Music to my ears.
3. The husband is off every Friday for the rest of the year.
4. Joe's wearing a Thanksgiving sleeper today with a turkey on the butt. Too adorable for words.
5. We will be in the Happiest Place on Earth in one week. Like literally sitting on Main Street at Magic Kingdom staring up at Cinderella's castle & watching Brooke's mind be completely blown by the awesomeness surrounding her...in just 7 days...from right now. (!!!!!!!)
6. This happy face:

Happy Friday!

Things Brooke says.

Some of my favorite Brooke-isms of late:

~ She loves to "get comfy" on "me couch" with a "blanquet." She has claimed our big couch as her couch; the loveseat is "Mommy's couch". Sorry Daddy and Joe, no couches for you.
~ When she's mad or frustrated or upset, her phrase of exasperation - and I'm totally not kidding about this - is the lyrics to the Baby Bumblebee song. She'll be mid-tantrum and you'll hear between cries "I'm bringing home my baby bumblebee!" This is one of the most hilarious/ridiculous things ever, and I laugh almost every time.
~ Full-blown sentences & conversations are goin' on these days. "Look Mommy! There's the moon. Up in the sky!"
~ Everything is "I need" these days. She uses it interchangeably with "I want." Most commonly it's food-related: "I need my milk" or "I need animal crackers".
~ For some reason I was floored when I heard her use the expression "soakin' wet!"
~ Disclaimer: the husband takes full responsibility for this one. One afternoon, I was holding Joe while sitting right next to Brooke's high chair, close enough that she could hear my stomach growl. Her response: "Woah, Joe's gassy."
~ "I be right back" is the phrase of the week. I've heard this, at minimum, 12 times today. The novelty of it hasn't worn off though - it still kills me every time.
~ "Sleeping Judy" is one of her favorite Disney princesses.
~ This conversation actually happened. Me: "Brooke, do you want to help me make banana muffins? What do you think we need to make them?" Her: "Flour, sugar, eggs, banas [bananas], milk..." Me: "Wow. Anything else?" Her: "Cinnamon, water, and butter." Though we didn't follow her recipe, her muffins sound pretty tasty. (Reminder: this child is not even 2 yet.)
~ The latest smile-inducing phrase she's come up with is "Good to meet ya, Mom!" She even sticks out her hand for a shake. I swear I don't know where she picks up some of these things.

Healthy boy!

This precious boy was checked out at the pediatrician today! His 2 month appointment went swimmingly :)

The stats: He was weighed in at 14 lbs 6 oz, putting him in the 97th percentile for weight (hooray! on the chart!) He's 25.5 inches long, taking him off the charts for height. They had to measure him twice because they couldn't believe the first measurement was correct. (For comparison's sake, I went back and checked out Brooke's 2 month stats. She was almost a pound heavier and almost an inch shorter. I knew this boy was longer and leaner!) His head measured 16.5 inches, putting him in the 92nd percentile for head circumference. Everything else was great! There were no concerns at this time other than some cradle cap and the beginnings of eczema. 

Joe was pretty upset about his double shots (2 at once, 1 in each leg) but quickly recovered. However, he has been mad as a hornet the rest of the day, screaming out in pain out of the blue. Such a sad little man! I've given him some Tylenol to help with the pain, which I can only assume is belly-related (she warned us that one of his shots might upset his stomach....great, just what we needed.) I'm hopeful that a good night's sleep will give us our happy little baby back!

Brooke tagged along so she could observe a doctor's visit without the fear of being poked and prodded, and also to get her flu shot. She was very interested in what our pediatrician was doing with Joe. We tried to really talk it up before we went and the whole time we were there, especially pointing out how "brave" Joe was being. We talked about how both she and Joe would be getting shots to make them "healthy". When Joe's exam was over, she wondered when it was her turn. We told her that the doctor was leaving but that a nurse would come in to give them their shots. She greeted the nurses with a very joyful "Hi, Nurse!", not knowing what they were really coming in to do. I asked that we do hers first, giving us the best shot (no pun intended) at her sitting still enough to do it. She cried, but not too terribly long, especially once we promised her a sticker (a real one, not just the one they put on her leg.)

I'm very grateful to have 2 healthy kids today, even if they aren't so happy.

2 Months!

Dear Joe,

Hi there, big guy! And I do mean big! You've grown so much this month, looking more and more like a big boy instead of our tiny little newborn. You are long and lean, without any fat rolls just yet. But you're still very heavy - around 14 lbs. You seem to have hit a growth spurt recently and just can't get enough to eat! You're still a great, efficient eater - Mommy feeds you about 5 times during the day and once at night (usually not until 5 or 6 am because you're still an A+ sleeper!) Everyone is amazed at how content you are. You are so calm and alert most of the time, letting very little bother you. These are a few of your likes and dislikes this month:

Favorites
Pacifiers - You are definitely a pacifier baby! Since almost Day One, you have been so comforted by a pacifier. You still haven't mastered keeping it in your mouth. But when we can keep it in there, you are happy as a clam!
Loud Noises - The hairdryer, the vacuum, the dryer - all make loud noises that you just love. You seem so fascinated by the sound, as if it's familiar to you. (We're told that continuous humming noises simulate what you heard while in the womb, so it makes sense.) Sometimes Mommy just lets the hairdryer run while trying to get ready to keep you calm.
Chats with Daddy - You and your Daddy have become good buddies this month. No one can get you to coo and make noises like Daddy can. He sits you on his lap, holds your hands in his, and you two tell each other all about your days. It's one of Mommy's favorite things to watch :)
Cuddling - You are such a cuddler! When you're tired, you just melt into the chest or shoulder of whoever is holding you.
Your Swing - You have a become a pretty big fan of your swing. You love to stare up at the bug and the sun that hang down from it. You will last up to 15 minutes in there before you get bored. Your big sister loves to come over and turn on the music for you while you swing.
Mommy's Sleeper Hold - Mommy has a magical hold that has about a 99% success rate at calming you down and getting you to sleep. You lay across her arm with your head nestled into her chest and one arm dangling down. Add in a pacifier and you can't keep your eyes open.

Not-so-Favorites
Bath Time - You still hate to be cold, so undressing you for a bath is the worst. The second we pull the diaper off and you are an official Nudie Judy (I promise I'll try to come up with a more manly term for this...), you let out an electrifying scream. And it doesn't get any better once you're dipped into the water! Only about 10% of the time are you actually okay with the whole process. Lucky for you, we only bathe you about twice a week!
Riding in the Car at Night - Boy do you dislike evening car rides! You do NOT like the darkness, and you let us know with some killer screams. Much to the dismay of your big sister, we often turn the interior car lights on to try to help calm you down (we have no idea why she doesn't like having the lights on.) I hate to say it, but this is only going to get worse as the days get shorter and the darkness sets in earlier.

Joe, your smile is absolutely the sweetest thing in the world. You grace us with smiles and almost-laughs all day long and we adore it. Quite frankly, we adore every last bit of you. The greatest part of being a parent is that the present and the future are equally exciting...we are loving this stage with you and can't wait to see what comes next. Happy 2 months, buddy! We love you to pieces!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Halloween '11.

I feel like we celebrated the crap out of Halloween this year. It was a month-long event for us (not really a terrible thing - I love my holidays, after all.) Mamarazzi was out in full force all month to capture the fun :)

We did some pumpkin picking at Irons Fruit Farm again this year.

 Joe slept through most of the pumpkin patch in the carrier, but he was awake for apple donuts :)

 All month long, he spent some time being super cute in festive sleepers.

Something tells me that getting a Christmas card picture is going to be a bit of challenge... (p.s. let's talk about how they are holding hands. can you handle the sweetness? because I can't.)

Happiest. Little. Pumpkin. Ever.

As you've already seen, we also carved our pumpkin. (Pumpkin singular because the other ones were rotting before Halloween. Thanks for nothing, pumpkin patch.)

Finally, Halloween arrived and our princess and her little frog were all decked out for trick-or-treating.

Perhaps not his happiest froggy moment, but still a stud.

By the way, did you know that princess wands and Halloween buckets are the toddler equivalent of liquor and gambling for adults? Because they are. Best $3 (total) I've ever spent.

Love her face. She loves her brother.

We did a little trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. She was so, so, so excited to do it, although I'm not sure she totally got it until that first piece of candy fell in her bucket. It took us 30 minutes to hit 4 houses, the furthest of which was 4 houses down. Oy. Why I didn't have the foresight to grab the stroller is still a mystery. Because that boy is heavy.

As we walked up to each house, we'd have this conversation:

Me: OK, so what do you say when they open the door?

Brooke: Trick or treat.

Me: And then they'll give you...?

Brooke: Candy!

Me: And then what do you say?

Brooke: Thank you.

And then when we got to the door and the person opened it, this happened:

Brooke: complete silence

This is how Joe trick-or-treated the rest of the night (we drove to grandparents' and friends' houses.)

How many more years do you think they'll let me dress them as a themed couple?

1 yr & 10 months.

Another month has passed. Brooke has been gracing us with that gorgeous little smile for 22 months. Here are some of her latest happenings:

~ The other day I was upstairs showering while my Mom was kindly watching the kiddos downstairs for me. My Mom tells me that Brooke sat down on the fireplace, put the Boppy pillow around her waist, pulled up her shirt & said "I feed Joe now?" Phenomenal. It happened again last night. Quite honestly, I'm shocked it took 7+ weeks for this to happen.
~ She has recently rebelled against eating. Um, I know. Craaazy. She has put herself on a diet, I guess. Eats a few bites and then it's "I'm all done." The pediatrician told me that as long as she gets 1 good meal a day she'll survive, so I'm not terribly worried. The only time I give her any grief about it is if she's not eating because she's distracted by something else. If she's just not hungry, that's fine with me...there will not be a "clean plate club" in this house!
~ Brooke has inherited her mother's love of, scratch that, obsession with holidays! Everything we do/read/watch lately is Halloween-related by request. Something tells me she's going to love Christmas just as much as I do, too :)

This is her scary witch face...or maybe it's just her "cheese" face. The 1st explanation is more fitting.

~ This just in: girlfriend can now reach the light switches to turn the lights on/off, walk up and down the stairs, and open doors (my worst nightmare.) Growing up seems to be happening a lot around here lately.
~ We've recently started Time Out with Brooke and it's going...okay. I've started counting to 5 as a means to give her a chance to correct her behavior. If I get to 5, she knows that means she's heading to Time Out. She has to sit at the bottom of the stairs for 1 minute (since she's 1 year old.) I think it's working pretty well. The counting works most of the time; we've only made it into Time Out a handful of times. And each time she has had to sit on the step, she cried the whole time - which, to me, says she knows she's in trouble. Consistency is going to be key, so hopefully we'll successfully keep up with it.
~ She just recently discovered how strong she is and now she is climbing up on everything! This includes, but is not limited to, our tall kitchen chairs, the TV stand, and the oven. Yep, the flippin' oven. We have the kind with a drawer under the oven; I watched her stand on the handle to that and pull up on the handle on the oven door. I immediately made her get down and very forcefully told her never to do it again. (Try not to worry - I am always very mindful of where she is when I'm in the kitchen cooking, so she should never be able to do it while the stove or oven is actually hot.) I have a feeling this climbing habit is going to get her in trouble...
~ I still find myself amazed at some of the things she knows. Examples: this morning she pointed out "polka dots" on a butterfly. Yesterday, she told the husband she saw a "red hydrant" while pointing to a fire hydrant. And a few days ago, after asking for more Cheerios in her milk, she said to me, "Mommy, these are crunchy." This girl is just a sponge - she soaks up EVERYTHING she hears.

That's all for now! 2 months away from being 2 years old...yowza!

Are we a hot mess first thing in the morning or what?

Wearing Mommy's shoes :)