Gobble Gobble, Happy Turkey day!

Kisses for Papa since he shared his frozen custard, a true Wisconsin treat Kaleigh all bundled up for traveling around in the cold weather of Wisconsin

Maeve's first snowman

It's the week of Thanksgiving and we are lucky enough to be able to spend it with family and friends. I am taking advantage of the last few weeks of my maternity leave and Jonny is able to work remotely so we flew up to Milwaukee on Saturday. We have been staying with Lolo and Papa, entertaining them with a rambunctious toddler and a lovable but needy baby. Maeve just adores Papa. Every time we leave and come back to the house, the first person she asks for is Papa.

I've been lucky enough to see some friends I haven't seen in quite awhile. On Sunday I saw my friends, Katie and Bridget, from my first job at Penfield Children's Center. Then on Monday, I met my roommate from grad school, Kelly, who lives in Chicago. She has two adorable little boys 19 months apart and just a little bit older than Kaleigh and Maeve. Her oldest, Jack, and Maeve had fun playing together.

We have also been over to the Fox's to visit and meet the new Fox addition, Louie. Pete and Mel are doing great and really enjoying him. Louie is just beautiful and seems like a good baby. Today we are visiting Jonny's high school friend Nikki and her husband. (she sang at our wedding).

Monday morning we woke up to snow. It is so pretty and Maeve got to make her first snowman with Lolo and Papa. Jonny and I have even found time to go running together, which is nice and not something we get to do at home.

Tonight Uncle Al, Aunt Teener, and the twins, Nadia and Tommy, come over from Minnesota. I can't wait to see the twins and Maeve play together. Last time they saw each other was over Memorial day and they were still a little young. The week is going by fast. It will be a busy and crazy Thanksgiving day with all the grandkids!

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

10 weeks

Kaleigh has discovered her hands. She loves mouthing them and is reaching out and batting at toys. She really likes the lights on her bouncy seat and she is all smiles for her big sis. She is still sleeping great, from about 10 pm to 6:30 am. I hope she continues to spoil me this week. Jonny is out of town until Friday. It's a girls week!

Some more of my thankfuls

1. Morning time when we can all cuddle in bed

2. A fun neighborhood where great kids and moms come out to play in the afternoon

3. A great playgroup

4. A bouncy seat...to keep Kaleigh entertained while I feed Maeve

5. The little whimpering noises Kaleigh makes while she sleeps

A 20 month old's prerogative

Maeve is getting more and more opinionated. She is already deciding what she wants to wear or not wear (such as the sweater when she really needed a winter coat). She loves lollipops, cheese, and her little sister. Some of her new words this week are running, march, quiet and noisey (she is a screamer lately so we are talking A LOT about quiet). I must say "cute" a lot too, because whenever she puts on an outfit she say "cuuuuuttteee". Another fun thing she does when she is getting ready to go down the stairs, which she is trying to do forward lately, I tend to tell her "turn around first". So she will stand up turn around in a circle and again attempt to go forward (instead of on her belly like I want her too). Kids are so literal! She also keeps talking about a turtle we saw on a walk last week. I encouraged her to touch it but she was kind of nervous about it. Now she keeps saying "turtle"......."touch"...... The other topic she keeps bring up is Emmie and our visit to Atlanta. Emmie is a feisty little girl who likes to push every once in a while. She never even pushed hard but obviously Maeve had an issue with it. Two weeks later she still keeps saying "Emmie"......."push".......while she pushes her own stomach. O' the drama!

Thankful for....

After reading a friend who did this on her blog, I got inspired. Today I had many things to be thankful for....
1. a husband who comes home for lunch so I could go on a run by myself
2. belly laughs from Maeve when I kiss her neck
3. bubbly smiles from Kaleigh
4. slobbery kisses from Finnegan
5. freecycle so I can get rid of our junk and feel like I am saving the earth for my kids
6. Craigslist so I can buy fun toys for my kids and again feel like I am making a difference (and saving money)
7. keurig coffee maker...for the much needed cup of coffee in the morning FAST
8. Tivo so I can always keep up with my favorite shows
9. Facebook so I can keep track of friends and acquaintances
10. 7 pm, the most relaxing time of the night after the kids go to bed
11. Elliot in the morning (when Maeve isn't around)-it's where I get all my "hard news"
12. dark chocolate M&M's in the freezer. Mmmmmmmm
13. Fridays, Trader Joe's $2 buck chuck and my breast pump

It's been a good week. Kaleigh is 10 weeks old. She slept for 10 hours last night and didn't get up until 6 am. It's amazing how you learn to survive on such little sleep and have so much fun during the day with two babies. I really do love my life.

Kaleigh's 2 month check up

Kaleigh had her two month check up yesterday. She is doing great and growing like a weed. She weighs 13 lb. 12 oz (90 %ile) and is 25 1/4 inches long (95% ile). Her head is "average". (They must not have measured her double chins =).) She was not happy about the 6 shots in her legs. However, her pain was my gain . She slept all day and I actually got to take a nap for the first time in a month. At least she didn't get a fever and when she woke up last night, she was smiling and happy.

Kaleigh's got acne!

Poor Kaleigh. As adorable as she is, and wow is she getting cuter by the day, she got a bad case of baby acne and cradle cap (no breaks for the girl) that was pretty rough looking. Luckily, it is already clearing up, thanks to the stuff Annika shared with us. Kaleigh is all smiles and she can really get vocal. Today I am worried she has torticollis. We go for her 2 mo next week, so I'll be able to get the doctor's opinion. But I already have plans to see one of my PT friends check her out too.

Halloween 2008

Maeve was a rather pathetic bunny. At one house, someone actually asked if her costume was homemade. But anyway, we went trick or treating in Annika's neighborhood and Maeve enjoyed going up to the door, picking out the candy and dropping it into the bag. She got a lollipop at the first house and ate it the whole time we were out. Talk about a mess. She definitely added "candy" to her vocabulary with this trip. Kaleigh, our pea in a pod, was happy to sleep in daddy's arms.

Our trip to Atlanta

What an adventure. Our family piled into our Escape (too small with 2 car seats, luggage, and a dog!....I think it might have convinced me and Jonny of the value of a minivan) for a 10 hr + drive down to Atlanta to visit Annika and her kids. The girls did great (we broke it up into 2 days each way) but I am a true believer in a DVD player for car trips. Emmie, Hayden and Maeve had so much fun playing together; I wish we lived closer. Even our dogs, Svea and Finn, got along great. Too bad Finn, in his typical fashion, couldn't be left alone without being destructive. But that's another story.

-One of Maeve's favorite activites at Annika's.....playing in the minivan

- daddy and Kaleigh getting in a quick nap (poor Jonny had to travel to Dallas and back while we were there)

- Maeve in the packed car with an Elmo video to entertain her (Jonny was ready to burn the DVD of Elmo....one can only take some much of la la la la....Elmo's world)

-Playing in the backyard; Hayden found a snail, which intrigued everyone. It was a nice break from the girls fighting over the swing. We had lots of screaming over that activity.




-Kaleigh content in one of her favorite places....the baby bjorn

-Emmie and Maeve in pigtails.....so cute (although Maeve's stayed in for approximately 30 sec.)