Sunday, May 31, 2009

Amazing!

We watched Slumdog Millionaire this weekend...amazing movie! I wasn't sure if we'd like it, but we had heard such good things from Amy's husband, Jason, that we decided to give it a try. So glad we did! And now I'm addicted to this video:

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Emily has been pulling out her hair for the past six months. She twirls it around her finger as she sucks her thumb, and it eventually turns into a little knot. That knot either ends up breaking off, or I end up cutting it off. When I asked the doctor about it, he said that the best way to break her of this habit would be to cut all of her hair off. It was tough; since she was born, her hair was the thing everyone commented on. But, on Tuesday we went up to Mel to get it cut. It's growing on me (pardon the pun), but I still miss her long curls and hope it grows in soon. Some pictures:




Wednesday, May 27, 2009

My chunky monkey

Owen had his 2 month checkup today. His official stats: 12.8 pounds, 24 inches. He is growing so much, it's unbelievable! Already we have had to get out some of his 3-6 month clothes; his 3 month outfits are beginning to get small on him. He's also smiling a lot more, and it's such a wonderful sight to see! His personality is starting to come out, and one of his favorite things is being rubbed on his (bulging) tummy. He's continuing to be a good eater, and he actually slept for 7 hours straight two nights last weekend. I can't believe how fast my tiny little newborn boy has turned into a strong little guy!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Emily's 2 year stats

Emily had her 2 year check-up today. The good news: no shots! That didn't mean that Emily didn't start crying as soon as the nurse tried to weigh her. In fact, she cried and snotted her way through the entire physical, but Dr. Williams, who I love, was really good with her. She weighed in at 23 pounds, 4 ounces, which puts her still in the 5th to 10th percentile for weight. She was 34 inches tall, and her head was big enough to be around the 50th percentile. Basically, Emily is shaped like a lollipop.

The doctor also advised us to cut off her hair to break her of the habit of twirling it. If you haven't seen her lately, her beautiful hair is getting thin and brittle. This makes me so sad...since the day Emily was born, her hair has been the feature that gets the most attention. It used to be dark, thick, and beautiful. About six months ago, she began twirling it when she sucked her thumb. Now she twirls it so much that it knots up, breaks off, and looks terrible. Next week is haircut time; I will be sure to post pictures.

Monday, May 18, 2009

House Hunters

I'm not sure how many of you watch this HGTV show. I've been a fan for a long time, and I always thought that when we began looking for a new home, this show would help guide me in the right direction. When Dan and I first moved into our current home, the goal was to be here 5-10 years before buying a larger single family home. Our more recent plans had us thinking about moving in a year or two. However, a baby who doesn't interact with me every minute of the day had me bored and browsing the internet for houses. Suddenly, I came across one that seemed perfect for us: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a pretty backyard, and an open floor plan. The biggest surprise, though, was that it was right in our price range! I emailed it to Dan with the message that it was too bad we weren't looking now. Minutes later, Dan emailed back: schedule a showing!

So began what is now a full-fledged house hunt. It's like we can't help ourselves! That original message led me to schedule showings for 6 different houses (although we only could see 4, since one declined and one - the original house! - had a contract on it). We also went to some open houses yesterday. Did we find our dream home? Not quite.

Several homes were perfect except for one thing. There was the house that was beautiful, but the backyard was almost non-existent. There was the huge house that was moved out of in a hurry...very dirty, but very inexpensive...I would have ripped out the carpet, painted the walls, and been a happy girl. Well, except for the fact that power lines ran right through the backyard. Somehow, I couldn't envision Emily and Owen swinging on a swingset under the humming electrical lines. Then there were the not-so-perfect homes. The one that boasted several different wallpapers in each room. The one that I thought I'd love - I'd coveted the neighborhood for quite some time. Then we went in. Someone should tell these owners that cleaning the mold off of showers, the toothpaste off of sinks, and the dirt off the floor could work wonders.

We've picked up packets from two different builders putting up new neighborhoods, and there's a third one that we are interested in. We are meeting with one of these builders to discuss options and how much they would add on to our model's price. And tonight, a realtor is coming to look at our house to figure how much we could sell it for. Nevermind that we wanted to get new carpet on the second floor or redo the basement. We'll see what we'd get selling it as is. Chances are, we may wait until next year anyway, but in the meantime, we are having lots of fun doing our own version of one of my favorite shows.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!

For my 3rd Mother's Day (but the first with two kids), we had brunch with everyone at the Old Country Buffet. Dan's parents, brother, Donny, my mom, Ron, Ron's son and his family, and my grandparents all trooped in to eat. The only downside was that I woke up sick and throwing up; I think I caught what the kids had. I powered through, though, because this was MY DAY :) After brunch, Dan's family went back to my mom's with us. We put Emily down for a nap and hung out before heading into the York Street Fair, which is becoming a bit of a Mother's Day tradition for us. We walked around, got some junk food (I was feeling well enough to partake of some yummy funnel cake), and finally got home to relax around suppertime.

Now, obviously this first picture has nothing to do with Mother's Day, but it was taken that night. Dan was so proud...his little boy in his first Red Sox outfit! Thanks to Dan's parents, both kids now have an arsenal of Red Sox gear to wear so they can help their daddy cheer the team on to victory!

And now my photo with the kids on Mother's Day...I can't believe I've got two of them now!

Pictures from Emily's Birthday

Here's the birthday girl sitting like a big girl on the patio chair!
Present time...and of course Leo had to be right there in the middle of the action.

Emily kept Pepe busy playing in the yard. They threw the ball together, they picked grass, and I think he was explaining the finer points of the tree to her here.
More presents
With her cake...I was worried she was just going to bury a hand in it. She did really good until the last picture was snapped...then a finger went into the icing.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Paging Dr. Carter to the ER

Our weekend got off to a rough start. We went to bed late Friday night, knowing we had a full day ahead of us with Emily's party and our out of town family coming to visit. At 2:00 A.M. Owen woke for his first nighttime feeding, and he was burning up. Dan took his temperature (it's his official duty; I can't bring myself to do rectal temps), and Owen was running at 101.5. My handy literature from the pediatrician's office instructed me to call if he ever was over 100.4 this early in life, so that's what I did. I nursed the little guy while waiting for the doctor's office to call back, and I was rewarded by being puked on for the umpteenth time that week. Because his fever was so high, the pediatrician's office told us we needed to take him to the ER. So, mom and Ron came to be with Emily, and Dan and I headed off with Owen.

First of all, as a longtime fan of ER the television show, I was expecting something a little more. I'm sure that York Hospital's clientele is always a bit sketchy, but on a Friday night, you seem to get the real winners. There was the kid with the broken foot who was laughing because he ran into a tree with his car after leaving a party drunk. There was the guy who came in with 3 of his friends because he'd drunk too much and thought he needed his stomach pumped (although he left before he went back...I guess after throwing up, he felt better). My personal favorite was the woman who came in with a baby in a carrier. She put the baby and her diaper bag on a chair in the waiting room and then WALKED OUT OF THE HOSPITAL! That's right, I suppose the rent-a-cop manning the door was a reliable babysitter, so she left for a little while. All this time, there was no one in sight who resembled Noah Wylie, John Stamos, or George Cloony - what a letdown.

Anyway, after getting called back, we were told that because Owen wasn't vaccinated yet due to his age, he'd have to undergo an array of tests. This involved needles and catheters and x-rays, which seemed ridiculous since we were sure it was simply the same stomach flu Emily had earlier in the week. But, rules are rules...so we settled in for the long haul. After hours in a little room trying to ignore the bed that wasn't being used (Owen was in his carrier sleeping, and I had to physically look away from the blissful hospital bed - I didn't think it would look good if I was sleeping soundly in it when the doctors came back), we had our diagnosis....stomach flu.

In the end, although we were tired, Emily's party was a success. I will post pictures later. And after a night and morning on Sunday of me getting the dreaded sickness, I am happy to report that our family is now (mostly) healthy.

Friday, May 8, 2009

2 Years Ago...

Two years ago today, right at this time, I was knocked out to the world. I had just taken an Ambien to help me sleep after being at the hospital all day with bleeding and contractions. The doctors sent me home to get some rest (they also gave me some pharmaceutical help to sleep), and I was told I could go days before my daughter was born. Fast forward to the next morning, when at 5:00 I woke up, rolled over, felt a pop, and immediately realized my water had broken.

It's tough to believe that my "baby" is no longer a baby. She is a full-fledged little girl. As I type this, she is up in her crib singing herself to sleep. The past two years have flown by, yet it feels like Emily's been a part of our family forever; I can't even remember what it was like to not have her.

Tomorrow we will have family over for her party, and we will celebrate the day she came (reluctantly) into this world. But tonight, after I gave my little girl her very last goodnight kiss as a 1-year-old, I was a little sad. I know that as fast as these past two years have gone by, the next two (or ten) years will fly by too.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Flu of an Un-Swine Variety

I took Emily to the doctor today since she couldn't keep anything down. The diagnosis: flu. However, she made sure to specify that it was not swine flu (I guess there were a lot of confused parents since the office workers and anyone with a fever - yep, that meant Emily - had to wear a medical mask). I'm happy to report that we've been vomit free for almost 24 hours, and she did eat some crackers this afternoon, so hopefully we're on the road to recovery. The only worry is that apparently this is highly contagious, and we're planning Emily's party for this Saturday. I hope that my vigilance with the Clorox spray and my love affair with the hand sanitizer will help keep the rest of us healthy.

Monday, May 4, 2009

You know it's a bad morning...

You know it's a bad morning when 3 of the 4 people in your family are covered in vomit before 11:00 A.M. Emily's got some sort of stomach bug, and we thought it was a one night thing. But, after acting better yesterday, she woke up sick again today. Fast forward to mid-morning, when Emily, Owen, and I were cuddling on the couch watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. All three of us were covered, 2 kids were crying, and 1 mom joined them after getting them changed. It's going to be a long day...