Lorelei was baptized today....she was the only baby, just like Anya! It was back in the main church, so the decorations were very similar to Anya's, which was also the weekend after Christmas. Amazingly, we all arrived right on time, but as we were changing the baby into her Christening gown, she starting SCREAMING. Usually, L is a very mellow kid, and when she cries, it's easily quieted with a bottle/boob or eliciting a burp. This crying was very different than ANY cry I've ever had from her. We quickly took her dress and onesie off to see if she was scraped or something, but we couldn't find anything. I think George and I were thinking the same thing...noting the irony of the happiest kid ever pitching the biggest fit of her life (tears included!) the first time she's brought into a church!

Anyway, she eventually did make a tremendous burp and a few farts and was soon back to her happy self. Whew! The service was really nice and the deacon remembered us and didn't really comment on how rarely (never) we attend church. I'm happy that we got it in before L outgrew the gown that Nana bought- it really is beautiful and looked great on her!

Now I've got to start packing up for our trip to Grandma and Pap-Pap's to celebrate with them. These holidays seem to go on and on and on and having a sick kid did not help at all! Thankfully, she's completely recovered and fingers crossed she's the only one to get it!

George's bday

Friday was mostly a recovery day for me....Anya was still sick, which kept her in bed most of the day. She still didn't want to come out to the couch, so I just ran back to her bed when she called to me. This turned out OK because Baz happily played with his new toys throughout the house and Lorelei jsut happily babbled and cooed away no matter where I put her. I had several good photo ops that day, as seen in the kids website.

Besides hanging with the kids (which I really don't get to do that often), I managed to straighten up and work on the MOUNTAIN of laundry that had accumulated.

I suppose I should elaborate on the toys that the kids got this year.....Bolt and Mittens were huge hits....both kids have taken theirs everywhere since they arrived. Baz loves the Claw game, even though he usually scores a candy by reaching his hand up and in! He also LOVES his mini-tool table and tools- they really are cool toys! His other faves are the Screaming Banshee and his motorized digger.

Christmas 2008

I suppose this should be labelled "The Christmas of Puke" since that's what it really was....early in the day on Xmas Eve, I spoke briefly with Ben as he changed Miles who was actively puking and that did it.... while we were at Jerry's house for his yearly Christmas Eve party, Anya complained of her belly hurting. She assured me that she didn't feel sick or like she was going to puke, but she was insistent on going home. I thought she was bored, but we did have a lot to do that night, so we packed up and left.

WHAMMO....halfway home, the barf started flowing. Lovely......now, in addition to wrapping and arranging all of the kids' prezzies and stockings, I have to change and bathe Anya and prepare her bed for a puking kid....I also have to get her puke-covered carseat out of the van to minimize the stench.

Luckily, that was the last barf of that night, but there were still 2+ more days of puke to come....poor kiddo!

Christmas morning was pretty subdued....Baz enjoyed opening all of his prezzies and didn't seem upset that Anya wasn't there to join him. She felt so awful that she didn't even get out of bed and wasn't interested in opening her presents in bed! Once Baz finished opening his gifts, George offered to make up some pancakes, which led us to a lovely discovery.....

The kitchen sink drain was clogged! Not what you want to have when you've got 12 people coming over later!!! So after being covered in puke, we now were covered in dirt, etc as we took apart the pipes under the sink to snake and drano the drain. Thankfully, the plug opened up, but it took some doing!

So after warning everyone that we had a barfing kid and giving them the out (I don't want to make anyone sick or be blamed for such!), we set about cleaning up and getting ready. Talk about 2 tired parents....I have no idea how we managed to do it, but we got our house together and dinner on before everyone arrived (except Maureen and George, who were a big help!).

The celebration was good....Anya did venture out of bed for a bit, although her puking continued...and everyone left by 8. George was asleep ont he couch by 8:15 and I was in bed by 9.

The gym

I'd like to thank Beth for inspiring me to go to the gym when she was here over Thanksgiving. I've actually considered it, but never thought they'd have childcare. In fact, the closest gym has a kickass daycare room and the kids love it. The only problem now is that they start at 6 mos, so i've got a couple of months before I can take L and go more than twice a week.

Since George was off this morning, i bribed the older kids to come with me so he could do some Santa duties. What I didn't do was look closely at the daycare hours...I even called yesterday to make sure they were open today, but assumed that they opened at 8. SO when I showed up for my 8:30 class with 2 kids in tow, I had to figure out what to do. They were agreeable to sitting just outside the classroom, so as I (and the 15 or so other ladies in the room) stepped away, there they were entertaining us. Thankfully, they were super well-behaved and waved to me as soon as the daycare room opened, but it added a new element to my workout!

Christmas Eve!!!

Wow, does time just fly by....I can hardly believe it's Christmas Eve already! Thankfully, I've gotten all of my shopping done and I'm just about done with baking for tomorrow..just have to finish roasting my candied pecans for the salad *drool* I got the pies done yesterday and finished the potatoes and lasagna rolls today so I hardly have anything for tomorrow- yay!!!! Thank goodness for cleaning people prior to them, I'd be rushing to clean and organize the whole house today. Instead, I got to go to the gym this morning, so I can eat with a little less guilt tomorrow..

Lorelei had her followup with the cardio today and he said her echo was just fine. So that's one more kiddo who hopefully never has to see a cardiologist again! On the other hand, I asked about Baz going on rides at Disney and he said that's not a problem, but SVT does sometimes reoccur when the kid hits pubertory. And to prove his point was a young teen girl sitting in the waiting room talking about how long her episodes are lasting. Of course, MOST kids outgrow it and it's really not that serious, but still not something you want to worry about.

I also realized today that for some reason I really hate seeing/listening to my kids' hearts. I think it's just that paranoia that somehow it's going to stop while I'm looking or listening, but I was not loving watching Lorelei's heart pump away on the sono machine.

the baby

Boy, is it hard to believe that Lorelei is 3 months old already.....although the pregnancy seems forever ago, I still feel like she was just born the other day. She's definitely gonna be a talker- she's constantly babbling and smiling away. she's also such an easy baby....she came with me to work the other day and it was sooooo easy....feed her, burp her, interact with her a bit, then put her down and she sleeps. Unfortunately, she's up 3-4 times at night so I can't catch up on my sleep, but besides that she's a gem.

The bear

On the way to Nana and Dada's, there has been a bear statue carved out of a tree trunk that also functions as a mailbox. For the past 6 mos or so, Baz insists that we go that way up the hill so we can see the bear. (He also wants to see the "building", which is a house that was being refinished so it had lots of work truck around it all summer).

Last week, the bear took a dive.....poor little guy spent the week on his side. This week, the bear was gone. Baz's first comment was "he wanted his mommy"...awwwww. I don't really know what Baz thinks happened to the wooden bear, but he seems happy that the bear is now with his mommy.

Baz's latest "issue" is whining....he's still the sweetest little guy and is always eager to share his food or toys, but he's really into the whining. Once we break through and he hears us telling him to stop, he immediately cuts it out, but it does get old quickly.

The best way to enjoy the snow....

without a doubt is in the hot tub!!!! It's been hard for me to get in lately because I've been trying to work out so that's my "free time" activity, so when I get the opportunity, I take it. Well, today both kids asked to go in during our snowstorm. The prep was obviously more than usual- I had to shovel a path to the tub and clear the snow off the cover, but it was so worth it. When we first got in, it was barely snowing but after a few minutes, the big heavy flakes were coming down and it was beautiful! Luckily, I thought to put baseball caps on all of us so our heads stayed warm and dry and the kids had a ball. The only problem was keeping the snowballs they kept making out of the water. Getting out wasn't even that bad- I left the towels in the house to keep them dry and I didn't even get cold carrying both kids to the house.

Once again, I reiterate that I LOVE my hot tub!

Even more tantrums.....

Thank goodness for my mommy friends who have 5 year old daughters or I'd be going insane. After a bit of a break from tantrums, they are back in full force lately. The past 2 nights have been whoppers and over NOTHING!!! I suppose it's just Anya asserting her independence and testing her boundaries (she usually concludes the tantrum with "I don't like your rules" or something to that effect), but it's enough already! Baz's little mini-tantrums have nothing on Anya's.....I'll happily take the "terrible two's" over the f-ing fives!

When she's not tantruming, Anya is a delight, however.....she's still into "wolfland" in the evenings. I'm still not sure where or why this started, but she likes to dress up and act like a wolf and she playacts wolf school and wolf house, etc. Baz happily joins in and when we're not managing tantrums, we're a happy wolf family!

We're starting to really progress on the reading front, although when we push harder, the tantrums start. She's good at recognizing her "star words" and tries to guess words using context a lot. However, she can sound out words and is starting to do that more.

Disney or bust!!!

Disney or bust!!!

We just watched this and it definitely got us in the Disney spirit!!!!

Baz slept all night!!!

Of course, he woke up coughing and hacking (he's been relatively healthy for the past week), so who knows if it was the cough coming on, but I don't care. Lorelei was still up multiple times, but I still got a better nights' sleep than I have in a while- yay!!!

Here's hoping for a repeat tonight......

Anya's giggle

Somewhere along the way, Anya has picked up a little giggle that she adds after most comments. I assume one of her friends at school does the same thing.....wonder how long it'll last?

Anya, like most 5 year olds (I assume) has recently taken on a fascination with teenagers. So far, it's limited to girls (that she wants to model herself after). The other day she was wearing a sweater with a camisole underneath it. When she came home from school, she was "burning up", so she took off the sweater and I noticed that the cami was riding up on her belly. When I attempted to fix it, she pushed it back up and informed me "no, mommy, I'm dressing like a teenager". AAARGH!!

Our little man

Despite being in the throes of the terrible twos, Baz has remained sweet and giving. He's excelling in the fine art of whining and now fights back when Anya gets physical with him, but he's always willing to share with anyone (well, except maybe Anya :) ). He loves getting thing (food, for instance) when he knows somebody likes it. He loves giving Pap pap his oreos or Dada his special cookies (what is it about grandpas and their cookies?).

He has been known to throw a whopper of a tantrum, but unlike Anya's, his end fairly quickly. In fact, he almost runs to time out when told and stops crying in a heartbeat.

Our latest issue with Sebastian has been doorlocks. A few months ago, he locked himself in his room while home with my parents. Pap-Pap was quick to break out the screwdriver and remove the handle then and wisely turned the lock around so the door locked from the outside. Unfortunately, he couldn't foresee the events of last week. One night, we were having storytime and all 5 of us were in the big kids' bedroom. George was reading a story to Anya while Baz played around the room. He decided then to go over to the door, turn the lock (which was now on the outside of the door) and close it. Yep, we were all trapped. Nothing worked in the hole in the handle on our side, so George started working on taking the door off the hinges as I began to climb out the window. I hesitated because I was barefoot and I couldn't quite remember what was on the ground below me and I knew I'd have to drop at least a foot or two. George jumped in and offered to go and so he did. Needless to say, that door and now the bathroom door are sans handles and locks!

Kindergarten issues

This is a little one, but worth jotting down since I know I won't remember this in the long run. This week Anya had her first "I don't want to go to school" tantrum, which was closely followed by her first time being dropped off after missing the bus.

This tantrum happened because of her friend Olivia. Olivia sits at Anya's table and they usually are great friends. This week, they had silly hat day because they were working ont he letter "h". Anya's hat was decorated with pompoms and pipe cleaners. At the end of the day, Anya was in her "bus room" which is shared with the bus that Olivia rides. According to Anya, Olivia deliberately pulled some of the decorations off of Anya's hat which hurt Anya's feelings so she told the teacher.

This prompted Anya to tell the teacher on her, so Olivia told her she wouldn't be her friend anymore. What I don't get is why Anya had no problem being friends with someone who broke her hat, but Olivia didn't want to be friends after being told on. I suppose it just shows how forgiving Anya is.

Anya

So my first baby is now 5- how did that happen? It feels like just yesterday that I took that HPT and saw the second line pop up immediately. Of course, I can't imagine life without her, and I can almost remember life before her. As I look at Lorelei, it's just so amazing to remember all the phases that Anya has gone through since she was that small.

Her friend party was on the weekend of thanksgiving and was lots of fun! It was at a plaster painting place so all the kids picked out a piece to paint first. Anya loved being the center of attention and seemed to enjoy being surrounded by her friends from Colleen's, school and home! Baz joined in as well and painted about half of his cement truck.

After that, the party moved to the back where the kids ate pizza, danced the hokey pokey and limbo, and did facepainting and tattoos. Anya stuck with a butterfly this year, avoiding her fiasco of the skeleton face from last year.

Because these parties are so short, the kids take the prezzies home to open them and what a sight that is! It's like Christmas morning, but only one kids gets the gifts. Anya was quite gracious and allowed Baz and Isabella to help her. I had the hard job in writing down what each kid gave her so we could do thank you notes.

Infant cold

We've been dealing with colds in the big kids (and grownups) for the past several weeks- they get worse, then better, then worse, etc, but so far Lorelei has escaped them. Until this week :( She started coughing early in the week, but it was a dry cough that usually didn't last too long. 2 days ago, her cough turned wet. On one hand, I was happy because I hoped that meant it was breaking, but the past 2 nights have been rough for her. Her head is super-congested so at times she can barely breathe. I've been running the humidifier all night and sucking her snot like crazy....hopefully it passes soon- such a small baby shouldn't have to deal with feeling crappy!

Oh, and FTR, even as she's coughing and hacking and puking up her lunch, she still smiling!

10 weeks old

So Lorelei had her 2 month checkup this week. Technically she was 10 weeks old. She weighed in at 13lbs, 2 oz and was 24 inches long, putting her in the 90th percentile for both measurements. Wowsers! I don't think Anya or Baz ever topped the 50th percentile E.V.E.R

She's doing great with development, too....laughing and cooing all the time. I even think she was trying to grab the toys hanging down from her playgym today. She really is such an easy baby...other than the constant spitting up, she eats, sleeps, and smiles. There is no need to constantly hold or rock her- anyone can put her down on her mat or in the swing and she happily starts looking around. She adores her brother and sister and breaks out in huge grins for them.

I'm a little worried about how squirmy she is already- I hope that doesn't mean she'll crawl and walk early. Often when I prop her in her boppy pillow, I turn my back to come and find her lying on the floor!

On the sleep front, she's getting into a fairly good nighttime pattern- she's down in her crib around 8 or 9 and she'll stay asleep until at least 12, sometimes as long as 2! It takes about an hour to feed her (nurse, then bottle if she wants it), change her, and get her back down, but she'll then sleep for 2-3 more hours. if I could jut get Baz to sleep all night, I could so live with that schedule!

Ahhhh, behind again

So it seems that I'm back in the sleep deprivation game lately.....Baz was OK for the past 2 nights, but OK means that he was up once during the night and then up for good at 5:30 am. Prior to that, he was up multiple times each night and still up for good at 5:30 (at the latest). Factor in that Lorelei is up at least twice each night and is up for close to an hour each time and you've got one tired momma! My blogging is suffering because once we get the kids down in the evening, I've got about a half hour to sit and try to watch tv before I crash to get my only 3-4 hour stretch of sleep I'm going to get.

I've got a zillion things I'd like to get down, but I'm going to just try to get some of them down!