Funny, very funny

You know how it is with second children. You have to be purposeful sometimes with taking pictures and videos. You just don't sit around ogling them like you could with the first one. Well, that is what I was doing with Matthew tonight. Erik had taken Grace up for bath time so I pulled out the camera.

"Man, I am on fire tonight! He thinks I am hilarious!"

"Oh, right."

Whose toy is this, anyway?

The "Week of Fun"

Yes, I know. We are terribly creative when it comes to naming our vacations. But last week Erik took a week off from work to bond "with Newborn and Child." We declared it the "Week of Fun" and let caution fly to the wind. Out went the schedule. Out went regular naps and bedtimes. In came yummy, bad-for-you foods like chocolate croissants, hot dogs, Chik-fil-a, and Sonic drive thru. (I mentioned it was the week of fun, and nothing spells fun for this family like good food!)

Monday: We started the week off right and drove up to IKEA. For those who have never been, imagine a mall full of low-priced, quality everything and that sums up IKEA. They also serve yummy Swedish meatballs and fries on the cheap (did I mention how food factored into the week?). Because we were already up in Tim-Buck-Tu, we also hit Jungle Jim's, a Cincinnati institution of imported food and wacky decorations like full size animatronics.

Tuesday: A rainy day, so we headed to the Krohn Conservatory for their annual butterfly show. Unfortunately everyone else had the bright idea to also head inside (hence a few dead butterflies on the floor- maybe they should rethink letting a bunch of kids loose in a room full of butterflies). With Grace as wimpy as she is, we actually had more fun in the rest of the quieter conservatory, watching turtles and fish. She enjoyed the butterflies, but we couldn't catch one, and when a little boy tried to give her one, she shriveled back into her Daddy's legs. Don't think I'll ever catch my daughter eating bugs.

Note Grace's new "fake" smile she does for the camera. You can imagine how our family portraits turned out!

Wednesday: The office gave Grace a Build-a-Bear gift certificate after Matthew was born. There are a few advantages to driving to Pittsburg for a day of meetings 6 days after your wife has a baby! :) Her favorite part was finding fuzz on the floor of the store and then realizing that there was an entire machine full of fuzz (which they stuff the animal with). That's right, our daughter loves fuzz. She picked out some from a hole in one of her stuffed animals, and somehow it became very dear to her. One of the grandmothers tried to throw it away once and couldn't believe how devastating it was going to be. Grace can be heard at various times throughout the day "Where's my fuzz?". It sometimes even has to go up to bed with her. But I digress....

Here she is putting the heart inside her bear after it was filled with fuzz.

She named the bear "Gracie Bear" (so creative- just like her parents!) and picked out the dress. Erik tried to steer her towards the boy clothes but she would have none of it!

Thursday: Family picture day- need I say more? Somehow it took two hours, but with Grace's inability to smile normally, if at all, it really narrowed our choices down considerably. My favorite picture was probably the one of her kissing Matthew that we turned into black and white. I'll try to post some of those later.

Friday: We played in the pool in the backyard and attempted to go to story hour at the library, but my mommy brain somehow mixed up the dates. We still had fun picking out books though. Grace declared for the first time that it was "maybe too hot" to go outside.

Saturday: A much deserved jammie day at home, except for Erik who went running (how that fits into a week of fun, I'll never know!).

Paradise found

The sun is shining.

We are in our swim suits.

There is a breeze blowing.

The water is clear and glistening.

Strawberry daiquiris are delivered pool side.

There are afternoon chips and salsa.

Where are we?

In our backyard, of course!

Future theologian

Grace: "Mommy and Daddy love me."

"Yes, we do!"

Grace: "God loves me too."

"Yes, you are right."

Grace: "But, where is He?"

Ah, the deep ponderings of a 2 1/2 year old. I was wondering when the tough questions would start!

(P.S. Grace just assumes that those who love her most- Mommy, Daddy and grandparents come and dote on her. I'm sure she is wondering when God is going to show up and do her puzzle with her like everyone else!)

The little day

Future and Mr. Josaih Richard :)

The other night I told Grace to go to sleep because we had a big day tomorrow.

"What's a big day?" she asked.

"It's when you have a lot to do or a big place to go," I said.

"How about a little day instead?" was her answer.

Our Big Day started with a 6:00 feeding for Matthew, then shower for Mommy, breakfast for everyone, and then a 9:00 feeding for Matthew. (No wonder Grace is always asking if it is time for Matthew to eat or sleep. That's really all the kid does.)

Then we loaded up the last few items (I have learned to pre-load the car the night before, and have a list of anything else, like drinks, that need to be put in last minute) and headed off to the... ZOO! The plan was to meet up with two of our friends and their kids for a few hours. We have a zoo pass, so I wasn't too concerned if we didn't last long. You see, I had two things against me:

1. Matthew had only taken one bottle before, and was rather particular about which brand, so I didn't have high hopes that he would easily take his second try. And I haven't quite re-learned the knack to nursing in public yet.


2. We don't own a double stroller, so poor Grace was going to walk the entire time. I thought about putting Grace in the stroller and Matthew in the baby carrier, but it was hot and sunny and he doesn't have a hat (note to self- get one!) and I didn't want him to get sunburned. I also didn't think he would sleep in it since he hasn't been carried in it before and will not typically fall asleep in someone's arms.

So off we went. Bless that child's heart- both of them- Matthew took his bottle and Grace walked the entire zoo, never complaining and happy the whole time. And this is Cincinnati, so it is a hilly zoo! We ended the day with ice cream and the kids both promptly fell asleep in the car ride home.

Once home, I transferred Grace to her bed and fed Matthew again. Erik called to say he was stuck at work, and would be home late, as in late. At 6pm I woke Grace up from her nap (hey, she walked a whole zoo for crying out loud!). Turns out she had wet the bed, so we did the world's quickest bath because we were supposed to be at small group at 7:00 and I still had to feed both kids. Grace and I scarfed our mac n' cheese (I told you Erik was still at work so this was my dinner idea) because Matthew had just woken up to eat, again. He decides to take his time with this one, instead of being his characteristically quick nurser, and we arrive at small group at 7:20. Hey, we made it. Grace decides to cry going in with the other kids, and I have pity on the poor kid (hey, she walked a whole zoo for crying out loud!) so she does her sticker book and entertains herself with my purse while sitting with the adults.

At 9:20 Matthew decides he has had enough of his pacifier and would prefer the real thing, and lets the world know by screaming his head off. Grace and I hurry home, to find that Daddy is still MIA.

OK, what does a modern mom do with this dilemma of a tired child past bedtime and screaming infant? Give the toddler a cookie from small group, stick her in front of a 'Mister Rogers' that has been previously recorded on TV and let the baby eat. At 10, we finally head upstairs to get Grace to bed, although she thought watching Mister Rogers with a cookie was fine by her. At 10:15 I have a crying baby again who would also like to be in his bed, and a crying toddler who would like to stay up later and do who knows what. Maybe that cookie wasn't such a good idea.

Enter Daddy, who saves the day, er night, by getting home and taking care of the toddler. Baby goes to bed. Then, Mommy and Daddy get to eat a McDonalds flurry that Daddy picked up on the way home, courtesy of Towers Perrin. We fall into bed sometime around 11. I think I remember Erik talking about something but I was already in dream land.

Yes, Grace, how about a Little Day tomorrow?