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Well it's been awhile since I've posted (my apologies.) It's not like we haven't been busy doing fun things. However, I've spent the last two weeks trying to survive the binky removal process. I'm proud to announce that Livy has been without her beloved binky since Monday before last. It's been a rocky ride. I'll spare most of the gory details. She's finally napping and sleeping again without a 1-2 hour fight and a littany of demands including: Elmos, purple blankie, bug pack warmed up, hot chocolate, dinosaurs (all of them-don't dare forget one because you can't fool her) and her magical mask (an eye mask that I sometimes use to sleep.) Once she made sure we had gathered the entire assortment of items, the excuses began: "I can't do it! You didn't give me a hug. You forgot my kiss. My hands are sticky! I need to poop and my ankle hurts." When she finally relented and stayed in her bed, she refused to wear any clothes or a diaper insisting "they make me hot." So, no matter how hard we tried to keep her pjs on, when I'd go in and check them before bed, she'd be undressed and her diaper would be on the floor beside her bed. Invariably, she'd wake up in the middle of the night due to a wet bed. I have to admit, I kept ONE binky just in case. I almost caved a few times and wondered outloud many times if we were doing the right thing. We survived though! Hallelujah and Praise the Lord!
So, on to the good stuff!
George had today off and in the spirit of Good Friday we decided to make sure the kids had a good day with dad home from work. We traveled into Philadelphia's Fairmount Park and spent the better part of the day at the newly re-opened Please Touch Museum. We've been hearing great things about this place and it didn't disappoint. In fact, we took 150 pictures of all the fun the kids had. I think I'll split the pictures and stories up into a series of blog entries instead of trying to cover everything at once. Let's get started!
The first exhibit the kids "dived" into was "River Adventure" which is a series of water play stations. Boats, water wheels, faucets, wave makers and rubber duckies make this area almost more fun than a day at the beach.
There are waterproof smocks for all the kids to wear while playing (Nate still managed to get wet) and even automatic hand dryers posted at just the right height for little hands. That was my first clue that this place had thought of everything! Check back tomorrow to see pictures of our little pit crew enjoying all things automobile!
For your viewing pleasure, I would like to introduce our American Idol, Olivia!
Olivia's new favorite show is Scooby Doo. She always wants to watch the episodes via "on demand" which she calls "on command." We also recently found a few cheap Scooby DVDs that she's always watching. She claims they are too scary for her "aliens, gobble-ins, and scary clowns" but continues to insist on watching them. The other night while we were watching the movie for the first time, she said something really funny. At some point, Fred and Daphne become protoplasmic heads that float around. I asked Livy what happened to them and she giggled and said, "they turned into jellyfish!" Here's a picture. I thought that was a very insightful description.
She loves to sing the Scooby song in the car, and asks George to "play Scooby Doo" all the time. She asks him questions and he has to respond in either Scooby's or Shaggy's voice. He tires of that pretty quickly but plays along to appease her. Next thing you know, she'll be calling our car the Mystery Machine. She's funny. That's no mystery to those of us who know and love her!
It's been awhile since I've written a standard entry about how the kids are growing. I feel bad that often it seems that I'm writing about all the things Olivia is doing, when in reality, Nathan is changing and developing as rapidly. His vocabulary is really expanding. Now he can say "bye bye" and wave, "ni night," and "I love you" sounds more like Dory speaking whale "ahh oooh." All done sounds like "da don," apple is "app," and waffle is "wafffff" with plenty of emphasis on the f. He's so strong too. He's walking up the stairs just holding our hand, not crawling up them anymore. He likes to hop (or try to), dance, and clap. He has a really good throwing arm and loves to play with any ball he can get ahold of. At the park, his favorite things to do are swing and slide. He's fearless. Like his daddy, he has a big heart. What a sweetie. Kisses and hugs are the best. When he hugs, you can feel him patting you with his hand. He loves his puppies and can often be found laying on Charlie or resting his head on Riley. He refuses to leave the dogs' water bowl alone and also sometimes sneaks a piece or two of dog food. It's not unusual for him to spend quite awhile transferring dog food from the bag to the bowl piece by piece. He's very patient in that regard. He's also entering the dreaded tantrum phase. Definitely dramatic, if he doesn't get his way, he throws himself face first upon the floor. If he's hungry and I'm not putting lunch together fast enough, he gets between me and the cabinets and tries to push me around. He's great with a spoon and fork, actually, just as proficient with his utensils as his big sister. He's about 18 months old now. It's hard to believe how big he's getting. Time flies.
Olivia. What can I say about Miss Olivia? She's smart as a whip. I don't know where she learns everything she knows. I wish I could take credit. Tonite, she's eating a tangerine and spitting out the seeds. George asks her what would happen if she planted the seed. She said, "it would grow a flower." When he asks her if the plant grew really tall, what would happen, she replies, "it would grow fruit." She's very expressive when it comes to her emotions. A bit bossy and demanding. She's often telling me that she's frustrated or angry, or telling Nate what to do. A funny thing she started doing a few days ago is sticking her butt out and saying, "say hello to the butt."
Potty training has taken a turn for the worse. She was doing really well with her #1 and all of a sudden, she started peeing in her pants again. I haven't pressed the issue. She's back in Pull Ups until she decides to start going in the potty again. Nate, on the other hand, is starting to show an interest in the potty. It usually starts with him running around without a diaper. It's just a matter of time before he starts to pee, at which point, I shriek and run him into the bathroom. The first time he sat on the potty but didn't produce. The second time, he actually started to pee after a minute or so and even pushed my hand away so he could point his own little weiner into the potty. Because he sees sissy wipe, he wanted to use toilet paper too. At this rate he might be potty trained before Olivia!
As far as Olivia's binky, I thought we were really making progress a week or so ago. I've been talking to her about the binky fairy for the last year. The story is that she would hang her binkies in a bag out in the tree and the binky fairy comes and gets the binkies for new babies and leaves a present. Up until a few weeks ago, if I mentioned this, she would get really mad and yell that the fairy couldn't have her binkies. All of a sudden, she seemed open to the idea of babies needing her binkies and getting a present in return. We even picked out a bag at Target to hang in the tree. She's backsliding a little now though. Today when I mentioned it, she suggested we BUY the babies some binkies instead. She's clever and is usually working every angle to get what she wants.
We've been keeping busy doing fun things so keep checking back for new posts!
Last Saturday was a big day. Olivia's party was scheduled to begin at 1pm and needless to say, I had plenty to do before our guests arrived. George went out that morning to buy ice melt for the bottom of our driveway. While he was gone and I was cleaning, I set the kids up with a craft project to keep them occupied. The first thing we did was personalize the party treat bags with glittered initials of our guests. While the glue was drying, they wanted to do a little painting. Nate got really "involved" as you can see.
As soon as daddy got back from the hardware store, it was into the tub for my little artists. It was about that time that we realized our new adopted dog, Riley, had escaped the yard. George walked around the perimeter of the property and up and down the street to no avail. We were worried sick but had guests arriving soon. To say we were a bit distracted during the party is an understatement. We were all gathered in the dining room enjoying some munchies when a crash was heard coming from the kitchen. I knew right away what it was: THE CAKE! I rushed in to find Olivia's beautiful Nemo cake upside down on the floor. "Olivia!" I called out. She was hiding in the living room. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to take a peek." Fortunately, we were able to save the cake, and our guests were very gracious about eating it.
Olivia enjoyed the frosting and the ice cream but wasn't very interested in eating the actual cake. It was a nice little party with a few friends we've made since we arrived. Our friend Tim took some great pictures of the kids. After the party was over, I drove around a bit hoping to find Riley. No luck. But later that night, Olivia found a hopeful sign on the kitchen floor...a little ladybug!
I considered this an omen that the dog would be found. Afterall, how often is it that you find a ladybug in your kitchen in the middle of winter?
We spent the next two days hanging flyers, and placing "Lost Pet" reports with the SPCA and local police departments. Monday morning, we visited one of the SPCA shelters hoping she had been turned in. Although we didn't see her there, a lady who saw the ad I placed on Craigslist emailed me at the end of the day that she had seen a puggle listed on the SPCA's website. George called, they asked him a few questions, and they told him that it must be our dog. He stopped there on his way home from work and brought Riley home.
So, this tumultuous weekend did have a happy ending. Despite smushed cake and a lost dog, everything turned out ok. Olivia still got to blow out her candles, and we're all back together again.
Lately when people have been asking Olivia how old she is, she says, "three in February."
We had a mini-party for Olivia on Monday to celebrate her third birthday. We had originally scheduled party for her on Sunday, but we had to postpone that because Olivia came down with a cold earlier in the week. We didn't want any of the party attendants getting sick so we pushed that party back to next weekend. She got to have some cake and open some presents. Nate enjoyed the festivities also. A big thank you to our family members that sent cards and gifts. She had a wonderful time opening everything.
Hot Chocolate! Just what I always wanted! Just kidding, that was just the box that Nanny wrapped her cow rain boots in. They even have little cow tails on them. She also got stickers, a rain coat, a new outfit, and some card games.
When she opened Cookie's present, she shouted, " Dora Saves the Three Little Pigs!" She was so excited to finally get a Dora DVD.
Grandma and Grandpa's package was packed with a Backyardigans guitar that Nate loves, a microphone, a quacker, a slinky and some gummy treats. She was so excited about the Jelly Bellys that she didn't want to eat her cake.
Here come's Daddy singing to his girl.
She started blowing out the candles before he even set the cake down.
When the cake was safely on the table, she leaned forward and took a big bite out of the frosting!
Nate enjoying his cake. Both his Nanny and his Grandma sent him a present. That was so nice.
This was a fun birthday. She really got excited about opening presents, blowing out her candles, and eating the cake. I asked her, "how does it feel to be three now?" and she replied, "great!"
Maybe it's the fact that Olivia's 3rd birthday is a few days away. Or maybe it's because we've been visiting pre-schools the last few days. I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the neat little girl that Olivia is becoming and I see a lot of me in her. Not so much in her outward appearance; more so in her personality and behaviors. She is definitely a momma's girl in those respects. She woke up this morning before Nate, which is a true rarity. When I went in to get her, she asked me, "Momma, will you rest with me?" So I crawled in to her toddler bed for some morning cuddles and per her request, eskimo kisses. As we lay there together, I began to think of how much like me she is. We both love to sleep in. If Olivia could sleep all day, nestled among her blankets and her Elmos, she would be in heaven. She's slow to wake up. She loves her tv programs. She's bright and independent. Bossy, yet gentle when she needs to be. Yesterday morning, Nate woke up grumpy. As he and I were sitting at the foot of her bed, she started making funny faces at Nate to cheer him up. When that didn't work, she took her hand and began to rub his cheek, saying, "It's OK Nate. I know it's hard to wake up." When that didn't work, she did the mother of all kind gestures in her little world: offered up her Elmo. She sure does love her baby brother. Oftentimes I'll go in after a nap to find his crib littered with Olivia's things, like her sippy cup, her favorite blanket, the random stuffed animal, or even Fuzzy Elmo. I think she must toss these items into his crib when he's having a hard time falling asleep. And, like her mother, Olivia has a special knack for buttering up daddy when she wants something. She'll go to him and with the cutest little head tilt, say something like, "I'll get you some Coke, ok "fweetheart?" She tries to make us think she only has us in mind but she's as transparent as a window pane. It's so hard to resist her.
She's fearless, outgoing, imaginative and artistic. It's so hard to believe that she's turning 3. In some ways, it seems like forever ago she was born. I think that's because I can't fathom what life was like before kids. And in some ways, it seems like just yesterday we were waiting to meet her. I think that's a reflection of how fast they grow up and reinforces that time does fly when you're having fun. Three years ago seems like a blink of an eye. Where will we be three years from now? Olivia will be in kindergarten and Nate will be 4 1/2, maybe we'll be in a different state or possibly a different country. What an interesting journey it has been. I'm so proud of my firstborn and feel blessed to have her with us as we meet head on all the challenges and adventures that life will bring. Our little Livy is growing up. She says it best...when I tuck them in for the night, right before I close the door, I say "goodnight babies." I hear her voice correcting me in the darkness. "I'm not a baby. I'm a big girl." Goodnight, big girl. Momma loves you sooo much.
George called me last Friday with a surprise: he had purchased reduced-cost vouchers at work for the Adventure Aquarium. We decided not to tell Livy exactly where it was we were going the next day, though we knew it would be a big hit.
The first thing we saw was 2 hippos happily lounging. If you look closely, you'll notice that the hippo in the foreground is actually laying his head on another hippo that is submerged.
Then it was on to shark school. The kids were most interested in climbing in the big shark mouth.
We also got to see a caribbean exhibit with my favorite: seahorses. Then it was on to get Olivia's face painted. Here is our "Mermaid Princess."
There were also some hands-on exhibits that Olivia went wild for. She got to touch sharks, jellyfish and sting rays. I think she would have liked to do that all day long. After lunch, we went outside and saw the African penguins and seals. Here's Nate trying to get a better view of the penguins.
I love this picture of the penguins. You'll see them all posted in front of the door waiting patiently for their next feeding, which wasn't for another 75 minutes. They were super cute.
At last, it was time to go. The kids were tired and overstimulated. Olivia was not happy about this, as you can see.
The crying continued 30 minutes into our drive home. Willing to do anything to make her happy, George pulls into a McDonald's to buy her a cone. Much to our dismay, he was told, "Sorry, we have no ice cream today." Hearing this, Olivia begins to scream louder. "Don't worry" he tells her. "There'll be another McDonald's right up the road." Sure enough, a few blocks away, he pulls in and attempts to order a cone. "We don't have any ice cream today" was the answer again. What's the deal? It drops below 40 in Philly and no one makes ice cream? She's somewhat comforted by the apple pie and the crying stops. Eventually the car falls silent as both kids begin to nap. The day at the aquarium was definitely an adventure!
Planning to leave for our drive down to Florida on Saturday the 20th, we became concerned when the weather reports were predicting huge snow storms in the northeast. By Friday morning we had decided to leave that afternoon instead, trying to get far enough south of the storm to be safe. I spent the morning packing while George finished up at work and by 1pm, in the middle of almost freezing rain, we packed up the kids, the car, and the dog and got on the road. We weren't sure how far we'd make it the first day. The first part of the drive went pretty quickly. It wasn't long before we were in NJ, then Maryland, then heading towards DC. We hit DC traffic around 7pm which was brutal. We kept ourselves entertained by debating whether or not the first lady should reserve a paycheck. My vote: yes. George was getting aggravated with my "bra-burning" attitude and said the first wrong thing they did was give "us" the right to vote. "It's all been down-hill from there" he said. It's was quite the heated discussion (all in good fun, of course) and helped to pass the time while we crept through our nation's capital. I don't remember much of NC but I started driving around 10pm. The kids were sleeping by then and we were getting closer to Myrtle Beach so we decided to just press on to SC. We had a hotel reservation for Saturday night, so we checked in to the same place around 2am with plans to see our friend Frank after some much needed rest. We met Frank for breakfast at a local joint with the saltiest pork products we'd ever had and after hanging out at Frank's house for a while, decided to take the kids to the beach. This was Nate's first time at the ocean, and Olivia's first time since she was a baby. They had a ball! We got so many cute pictures of them playing.
Nate dipping his toes in the Atlantic for the first time.
Olivia dug herself a hole and surrounded it with sticks.
Nate saw how much fun she was having and decided to roll around in the sand too.
Astute observers may have noticed that Nate has on a different outfit than in the first pictures. Well, we were playing in the surf and a 2 inch wave came up, caught Nate off guard, and he fell down and got drenched. What happened next was so cute that I wish I could post the pictures: I took the wet clothes off him and he began to run around naked on the beach. Livy, seeing how much fun he was having, decided she should strip too. She took off her pants and went about her business, naked from the waist down. They played like this for about 15 minutes, until I was able to corral Nate and get him dressed. When we got back to the hotel and started looking through all the naked pictures, I realized that I actually caught Nate peeing in the sand. It was the funniest picture. Frank said he was telling Nate, "write your name in the sand!"
It's a sad thing that a mommy has to think twice about sharing innocent naked baby pictures online. I'm worried that either I'll get charged with child pornography, or even worse, some sicko will find the pictures and get off on them. Anyways, we had a great time on our Myrtle Beach stopover and headed for Florida on Sunday morning.
Wow! I can't believe it's 2009 already. 2008 brought yet another cross-country move for us so this time of year always makes me wonder what's in store for the next 360-something days ahead. Whatever happens, we'll embrace it with the same "the only thing constant is change" and "bloom where you're planted" attitude.
As for resolutions, I haven't really made any, but I do have a few things I'd like to accomplish in the new year. First, I need to resume my elimination diet (no corn or soy) which should be easier now that I'm living close to a Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. I see a new gastroenterologist in March who specializes in Eosinophilic Esophagitis so I want to make sure I've been corn and soy free so he can order another eotaxin-3 test to see what kind of progress I've made. The one I had done in September (when I wasn't on my diet) was off the charts. Normal is 17 or below and I scored a 278. Clearly, this is something I need to pay close attention to. My second goal is to finish my application for Irish citizenship by descent and submit it to the consulate in NYC by the end of January. I've been working on acquiring all the required documentation for the last few months so it will be a relief to get it completed. It has been an interesting process though. If we end up with a transfer to Ireland, being a citizen of Ireland would make it much easier to work in the EU.
We had a wonderful Christmas in Florida. After 5 years of either rainy Christmases in Seattle, or really cold Christmases in Montana, we really enjoyed wearing shorts at Christmastime. Keep checking back for pics and antecdotes from our road trip down the East Coast. Have a very Happy New Year!
There are waterproof smocks for all the kids to wear while playing (Nate still managed to get wet) and even automatic hand dryers posted at just the right height for little hands. That was my first clue that this place had thought of everything! Check back tomorrow to see pictures of our little pit crew enjoying all things automobile!
