Blagojevich!

Disgraced Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich.
Serafina.

Addison, day two

Addison came to stay with us again today. Her mom and baby sister will be going home from the hospital tomorrow.

We started the visit by exploring my closet and trying on some shoes. Addison is rocking some pumps and you can see a little of Leo working a pair of red Mary Janes.
Everyone gathers for lunch time.
After lunch, I put Serafina down for a nap and took the kids in the pool. Tom was having his heart broken by the US soccer team, so I dealt with them on my own for a bit. They both loved the water and Tom got in after the game, but it was getting late and I needed to try to have them nap. My plan was to have Leo sleep in his room and have Addison lay down with me in my room. It didn't go as I had hoped, but everyone got a little shut eye - Leo in his room and Addison in the car seat during a scenic drive. Better than nothing.

Honestly, the whole experience was challenging and there were some really tough moments, but I wanted Cara to be able to focus on recovering and bonding with little Riley.

Here's my little baby, not looking very little any more.
She's holding on with just one hand. She'll probably be letting go before I know it. Doesn't she kind of look like a retiree in Boca Raton ready for an afternoon of shuffleboard and flirting with the octogenarians in her senior living facility?

Mother of three (temporarily)

If I ever wondered what it would be like to be a mom of three kids, today I got a little taste. My dear friend Cara went to the hospital today to be induced after going overdue with her second baby. I took her older daughter, Addison. I've been a little stressed anticipating today. Plus I was having sympathy anxiety for Cara since I know how it can be going past your due date and being at the mercy of the hospital to get the baby out.

When Addison and I would talk about her staying at my house, I promised I'd paint her nails. Very shortly after arriving, we got down to business. Leo, of course, had to get in on the action.

Having a snack.
Doing some gardening.

Nap time was pretty much a disaster. I had the kids in Leo's room together and they worked each other up. I was concerned about them being too loud and waking up Serafina. But it quickly turned from fun to sad and poor Addison got very upset crying for her mom and her own bed. All I could do was hold her (and Leo, since he was crying too) and assure her that her mom was doing something very important and wonderful. I said, "what can I do to make you happy?" After a few suggestions, she chose to watch some Thomas the Tank Engine. So both kids got up and watched a little TV. Then we made some art work for the new baby.

Here are the kids playing in the travel crib.

Bless my husband, who came home very early from work to help. Since I could leave Serafina with him, I thought a ride in the bike trailer might put them both to sleep. Not even close, but everyone enjoyed it.
Cara had a ridiculously quick labor and was ready for Addison to visit by 6pm. I took her up to the hospital to meet little Riley Eden. Here she is checking out her baby sister for the first time.

So incredibly cute!
Her dad took her home for the night, which was good because I have no idea how I would have gotten those kids to go to sleep short of strong cocktails. We'll have Addison tomorrow but Tom will be here to help and I will definitely be separating them at nap time.

Birthday present: Bike trailer

A couple weeks ago, I bought a bike off craigslist. It was a great price for a nice cruiser with seven gears, fat tires and a super comfy seat. Perfect for me. It needed some work and had to visit the bike shop, but now it is fully functional. I bought it with the intention of pulling the kids in a bike trailer. Last Tuesday, when I arrived home and opened the garage door, inside was a beautiful bike trailer with a bow on it. My very thoughtful husband had acquired it for my birthday. Tonight, the bike came home from the shop, the trailer got hitched up and we got to go for a test drive.

Here I am with Leo in the trailer. Since I'm just in the cul-de-sac, I'm not wearing my helmet, but I will be wearing it on the open road.
Leo loved being in there so much. He threw a huge tantrum when he had to get out.
Serafina wasn't so thrilled. I don't think she like wearing her helmet, but once we started moving she was content.
Tom gave it a try and looks a little funny on my bike.
Here's a video of me cruising. I'll tell you now, nothing really exciting happens. No big crashes. Just a happy momma realizing that I don't have to push a huge stroller or load up the car every time I want to go some where.



Oh and I ordered a tall safety flag from the bike shop so the trailer is more visible to cars.

Watering can

I'm not sure if you can see it in this picture, but Serafina's hair is wet because Leo watered his sister. I guess he wants her to grow.
Here's Serafina - dirty and about to eat a leaf.
Didn't taste as good as she hoped.
Here's Leo playing with Tom this evening. You can see how good his haircut looks.
It took some adjusting for me, but I'm liking his hair. He seems so grown up. Coincidentally, the haircut came at the same time that Leo started posing questions in a more sophisticated way. Instead of saying: "I want a peanut butter sandwich"; he now says, "Can I have a peanut butter sandwich?". It's so polite and much harder to say no to him when he asks. Not sure if this is a milestone, but is amazing to hear my little baby speaking more and more like a little adult.

Dad Day

It's Father's Day. A day for dad to sleep in and awake to kids and gifts. Tom received a goofy card that Leo picked out himself, a tomato mill to make sauce with our garden's bounty and See's candy to share with mommy.

It's important to celebrate dad because he works hard all year long. This particular daddy is always good for an eye poke
and a giggle.
So Leo's hair has been growing out into a luscious, curly ode to the 1970s. I love it and have been holding off any haircuts as long as possible, but I agreed to let a cut happen on Father's Day if that's what Tom wanted. Originally he proposed buzzing Leo's hair himself, but we realized that would be too dramatic of a change for everyone. So Tom took Leo to Supercuts with him for father/son cuts.

Here are a few pictures of Leo's mop top in all its glory.


Look at that bounce!

I wasn't there but Tom reported that Leo was a real trooper and totally earned the special treat I sent with them. Here's the operation.

All done.
Looking very grown up.
A picture of Serafina after dinner. Don't let that sweet face fool you; she's a little troublemaker.
And a picture of my colorful CSA beets, just because.

You say it's your birthday...

nah nah nah naaa nah nah. Yep, today is my birthday. It's also my dad's birthday. Happy birthday, dad; you make 76 look fabulous.

I'm thirty-five today and feeling a little down about it. My husband tried to give me a pep talk last night but started it off with "honey, it's all down hill from here". He continued on to say very loving things about how we'll get old together and take care of each other, but that starter was a bit of a downer. Anyway, I might feel better about the whole birthday situation if I felt better about myself. Unfortunately, I'm in an awkward postpartum phase still. My body is not in the shape I'd like it to be; after losing a lot of hair, it's growing back in strange, spiky patches; and...well, I have nursing boobs - all utility. I won't dwell on it any further, but instead, reflect on a time that I looked my best.

Wedding day, 2005.
Back to the present. I organized a park playdate so I could enjoy the company of my friends on my birthday. Everyone brought sweet treats, so awesome, and I had a pizza place deliver to the park. It was convenient and delicious and may just become a birthday tradition for our group.

Here are my kids at the park. Serafina about to eat a leaf. I swear this kid puts everything in her mouth that she can and it is disgusting and exhausting.
Leo jumping on the bridge. He had half a brownie and thought it was the best thing ever.
Both my kids crashed out in the car. I successfully transferred them to their respective sleeping places and then crawled into my sleeping place for a much needed nap. I was up three times in the wee hours to truly maximize my birthday hours.
Here's Serafina playing with a monster truck. What can I say, she's a bad ass. She's pulling up in this video and stays put, but on occasion, she'll do some side steps while holding on.

Employee Appreciation Week

It is Employee Appreciation Week at Tom's work. I'll spare you my sarcastic comments about when will I get an appreciation week. Anyway, today was "family fun day" and Leo was thrilled to go to daddy's work. We got there a little before the events started so we visited Tom's office. I think Leo was disappointed that dad didn't drive a construction truck of some sort. Tom's co-workers oohed and ahhed over the adorableness of the kids and said they look like their dad.

We had lunch at the Netapp cafe, which is totally gourmet and delicious, but Tom assures me that he gets tired of it. There were special "kids menu" items for the day. Here's Leo with his giant bowl of macaroni and cheese.

Leo and dad eating lunch.
Serafina eating lunch.
There were lots of activities for the kids. Leo liked the petting zoo.
We're not sure what he was telling this little goat, but he prattled on for a while.
Serafina watches with interest and envy.
Tom tried to get him interested in this adorable kitten, but he preferred to make little piles with the sawdust.
The pony ride line was too long (and I didn't think Leo nor the pony would enjoy the experience) so we skipped right to the rescue vehicles. Here he is in his own personal heaven behind the wheel of the fire truck.
He wasn't too thrilled to share with his sister, but I wanted the photo op. Right after this picture was taken, he pressed something in the truck and it started making a noise and the fireman said he needed to get into the cab to deal with it. Leo was already starting to panic a bit, but I made it worse by quickly scooping him out in a bit of my own panic for fear he had summoned the entire fire fleet. Of course, he burst out crying hard but I told him if he got it together, I'd give him a cookie. Excellent parenting, huh? Feel free to use that technique with your own offspring.
There were a lot of stations set up that we needed to avoid. Snow cones or cotton candy are not good pre-nap snacks. So we headed for the balloon animal booth. After a bit of a wait, Leo confidently told the clown he wanted a bunny with bunny ears. He was pleased with the results.
Overall it was a very fun experience and Leo passed out on the drive home.