Winter Wonder

Somehow, Harry got his hands on the camera this morning. I was running errands while Kevin played with the kids, eating Eggo waffles in the family room. I used the camera a little later to take pictures of the kids outside, and when I transferred the pictures I realized that Harry had taken about a dozen pictures of our Christmas tree, as well as four pictures of Harper's butt. 

We had our first significant snowfall about two weeks ago, but it was bitter cold. I was only letting Harry outside for 10 minutes at a time, and Harper was trapped inside completely, so here are our first pictures of playing in the snow this season.

1

It seems like I am always playing catch-up since becoming a mother of two, so I guess it's only fitting that my post about Harper's first birthday is three days late.

We had a big family party, and got to visit with people we don't see often enough. Harper refused to nap but remained charming. Harry helped open all of her presents and blew out her candle. We are now hip deep in adorable dresses and V Tech toys and balloons and leftovers, which I'm pretty sure is how one measures success when it comes to first birthday parties.

Our little family, getting ready for cake.

Getting appropriately messy with her frosting.

The doll that we gave her, on a cute little chair from Great Grandma.

In the yard with Harry:
I think this picture captures what it is like to have an older brother.

Here's hoping for many, many more birthdays like this one. . .

Fathers: Fixers of All Things

We whipped up some sugar cookies with a Father's Day theme this weekend, in honor of all the dads in our family who are, or aspire to be, handy. My husband is willing to tackle almost any project, and is remarkably competent, even though he is not always completely patient. I have watched or helped him tackle any number of projects, from drywall finishing and ceiling fan installation to painting and tree trimming, not to mention all of the child-inspired projects, like the most recent Resurrection of the Baby Gate (decommissioned in 2011 when Harry turned 3 and now out of retirement for a scooting and crawling Harper).

This is definitely my new sugar cookie recipe. It's from Food Network, specifically Good Eats with Alton Brown, and it's not too sweet and holds its shape beautifully. Other recipes have resulted in hammers that looked more like, well, nothing in particular. The kids and I ate a few while Kevin was at work, then shared a few more with Kevin, and packaged the rest up for my dad, who will have to wait until he's back from his drive along Route 66 before he can try one.

Happy Father's Day!

The Night Before Christmas

Harry has picked out four cookies for Santa, and we will pour a glass of milk before sending Harry off to bed. We scattered reindeer food on the front lawn, which has the barest covering of snow. Kevin is playing "Mele Kalikimaka" on his ukulele. 

I am off to work in a few hours and will be home just in time to put on my pajamas and open presents in the morning.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Sometimes I Forget

I was having one of those mornings where essentially every single thing my children did was getting on my nerves. Harper spitting up on my last clean pair of jeans? Annoying. Harry yelling at me from the basement for help with a video game while I was nursing Harper? Aggravating. Harry telling me wasn't hungry, then asking me to make his lunch two seconds after I sat down to eat my own lunch? Frustrating. Harper waking up while I was making Harry's lunch while my own lunch grew cold? The end of my rope. 

And then we went to Target. After putting the kids in the car, I climbed in, buckled up, and said to Harry, "I'm going to use this car ride to put myself in a better mood," and he said, "Me too, Mom." So we spent five minutes quietly in the car, then shared a pretzel as we strolled through Target and Harper napped. Thirty minutes later, everyone felt much better.

And once my mood had improved, I was able to remember how adorable and bright and fun these kids are, and how lucky I am to have them in my life and in my family.

She always looks this happy after spitting up. I guess it's therapeutic.

Looking pensive. Before the mood-improving pretzel, obviously.

Thankful

On the list of the many, many things for which I am grateful, these two precious bits of wonderful are at the top. Harry has been and continues to be the most amazing big brother to Harper, and Harper is such an easy, happy baby. They make being their mother a joy. 

It's hard to leave these two kids at bedtime to go work, but I am also thankful that I have a job that I love, and a wonderful husband who takes such good care of them while I'm at work.

We have one more day of work this week, then off to spend Thanksgiving with family. I hope you have safe travels, Dear Reader, and a thankful heart.

Prepare to Resume Non-Mom Activities in 3, 2, 1. . .

Let's just get this out of the way: Obama! Re-elected! Woo-hoo!

Moving on. . .

Forty-eight hours from now I will be helping my kiddos wind down for the night. Forty-nine hours from now I will be frantically getting ready to go to work. . . for the first time since Harper was born. . . and I will be gone for 12 hours. . . while Kevin is alone. . . with two children. I am way more nervous about this than anyone else (cough, cough, Kevin) is. I know he'll be fine, but I have discovered that I am a bit of a control freak where our kids are concerned.

I am also nervous to go back to work. My third-shift cohorts assure me that not too much has changed, but I feel like quite a few little lab nuggets may have escaped my brain over the last 10 weeks. Even though I have home stress and going-back-to-work stress, I really am looking forward to Friday night. The people I work with are awesome and hilarious and some of my best friends, and on slow nights we tell inappropriate jokes and listen to iHeartRadio and quote The Big Lebowski, and on busy nights we pull together and literally help save some lives: either way leaves me feeling pretty good.

I am telling myself that everything will be alright. And it will. Right?

Falling for Fall

We took advantage of really gorgeous weather to make our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We got there later in the morning on Sunday, before the after-church crowd showed up. We paid one dollar each to ride in a tractor-pulled wagon around the grounds. We bumped along the dirt tracks and made stops while people with the $8.50 wristbands were dropped off at the corn maze, the apple cannons, and the Back Forty, which included steer-roping (sitting on a sawhorse and throwing a rope around another sawhorse), a petting zoo (one mule and two miniature horses), and Corn Hole (tossing bean bags through plywood targets). I do not profess to know much about measuring acreage, but I'm reasonably sure the Back Forty was two acres, tops. 

Tip: Always have someone standing
in front of you for post-baby pictures.

Farm-made doughnuts, fresh from the oven.
We totally ate all six right at that table.

Harper slept the entire time.
She has no idea she went anywhere.

False advertising aside, we had a lot of fun. We ate delicious doughnuts, snagged a second ride on the tractor, and brought home our Halloween pumpkins. And we did it before NFL kickoff at 1:00. 

16 Days

Harper is 16 days old and has been home for exactly two weeks. Other than still being slightly below her birth weight, she is doing great. She's even sleeping for three-hour stretches at night sometimes, which is completely awesome for me. She does want to nurse constantly from dinnertime to bedtime, but if it fills her up enough so she sleeps, I'm happy to comply.

Harry and Harper are also getting along really well. More accurately, Harry is very excited to have Harper around, kisses her and tickles her and "reads" to her, while Harper tolerates his attention without much fuss.

It's About Time, Harper Louise!

Forty-one weeks is a long time to be pregnant. Even so, I was still a little apprehensive about having my labor induced on Thursday. Would the Pitocin work, kick-starting my labor? (Yes.) Would it send me into active labor quickly? (Yes.) Would I break down and get an epidural? (Yes.) Would I do the same thing I did with Harry, which was to decide I was ready to push and then literally be waiting for the doctor to get her gloves on so someone was ready to catch the baby, because I am just that awesome when it comes to pushing? (Yes.)

Harper Louise arrived at 1:59 pm on Thursday, August 30th, almost exactly six hours after Kevin and I showed up for our 8 am induction. 

One of her first portraits: 

Day 2 -- Pinker and happier:

Day 3 -- Home with her big brother:

We are so lucky to have had two uncomplicated pregnancies and deliveries, and especially thankful for our healthy little ones.

Any Time Now

I'm getting a little impatient for the arrival of Baby Girl. We are past 38 weeks (just barely) and everyone around here seems ready. I, for one, do not mind going back to work Monday and Tuesday nights, but I sure don't want to work another five in a row starting next Friday. Kevin is, of course, just as excited to meet, see, and hold the new baby as I am. And Harry starts every morning lately by climbing into bed with us, patting my bump, and asking, "How's baby doing in there?"

Harry was born one week before his due date, and I hope this one decides to show up a little early, too.

Tea Party

My sister brought her adorable family to visit this week, and our last hurrah was a tea party at a local shop I love that specializes in loose tea and gourmet chocolates. Lucky for the kids, they also do a pot of hot chocolate that is delicious and only four bucks and big enough to share.

Harry sipping cocoa on a 90-degree day, on the outdoor patio, of course.

I assure you, these children actually had a very good time, despite this picture.

 

Harry smashing cookie pieces into his mouth.

Me -- operating on five hours of sleep and seven months pregnant -- my mom and my sister.

I Probably Should Have Mentioned It Sooner. . .

. . . but we're expecting our second baby.

The ultrasound was today (we're sitting at 20 weeks, 1 day), and Baby Girl is doing great. I would have put money on another boy, which goes to show just how much intuition I have when it comes to this sort of thing. Harry, on the other hand, has been referring to the baby as Baby Girl for as long as he's known there even was a baby.

Anything blog-worthy happening to anyone else this week?

I'm Still Here

Sorry if my last post left you hanging, worried that perhaps I had not survived a minor league hockey game and a day at the amusement park with Harry. All is well, life goes on, and this sums up how we spent our day today:

Ninety flipping degrees today, after two days of rain, so I will let you estimate the relative humidity yourself, Dear Reader. My adorable niece and nephew are in town this week, and we spent all today with them and Grandma and Grandpa, feeding the fish at the fish hatchery, eating McNuggets, and playing in our backyard. It was too hot to be outside, but it was too nice to be inside.

Number 9

Today is our ninth anniversary, and I am thinking about all of the things that have happened to me and for me in those nine years: things I could not or would not have done if I hadn't met and married Kevin.

First and foremost, I wouldn't be the mother of an adorable, brilliant, hilarious little boy.

I also would not have seen Bob Dylan in concert twice, or ever watched Dr. Zhivago, or listened to Elvis Costello, or been to Cleveland, or hiked at Pictured Rocks. So thanks, Kevin. I love you.

Wait. . . it's April?

Where did March go? Seriously. What happened? I guess things are happening a little too fast around here.

My internship is almost over. I'm in blood bank right now, which is pretty awesome. I kind of forgot how many different tests there were. It's not just types A, B, O, and AB. Well, those are the only blood types, but there are so many other tests: antigens, antibodies, crossmatching donor blood for patients, and the odd tests thrown into the department for no apparent reason, like mono.

And Harry will be 3 next month, so you know time is flying. Speaking of birthdays, my nephew turned 2 last week, and we celebrated this weekend. My sister brought her two adorable kids to town, and my brother-in-law came in a day later from a conference. Ny nephew's birthday cake had blue and green icing, which explains this:

Ice Age

After a few inches of snow, a half-inch of ice, and another dusting of snow on Sunday night, I was kind of amazed that we still had power when I woke up at 5:30 Monday morning. I got ready for work, said goodbye to Kevin and Harry, and got in the car after some serious ice scraping. As I drove down our street on my way to the hospital, I saw a blue light flash behind me twice. I thought I was being pulled over, but didn't see anyone behind me. I shrugged it off and kept driving.

When I went to my break at 8:30, I had a message from Kevin telling me our power had gone out one minute after I left: mystery solved.

So, below-freezing temps, but no big deal because Kevin and I were at work and Harry was at daycare.

But then I had another message: Harry threw up at daycare, and I needed to pick him up within the hour.

And another message: Kevin was scheduled not at the main hospital but an offsite with two doctors' offices and a phlebotomy/x-ray office, which had no power, so he was on his way home too.

We ended up spending the rest of the day and the night at my parents' house (thanks, Mom and Dad!), where there was also no electricity, but a gas fireplace in their bedroom kept us all cozy, so long as we kept the door shut. And sleeping in a warm room on the hard floor was definitely better than sleeping in a cold room on a soft bed. Happily, we had our power back by dinner last night, and things are getting back to normal around here. Not nearly as much fun as Blizzard of 2011, but at least we're plugged in again.

Snow Day

It's not very often that one gets to stay home from an internship due to inclement weather. It's even less often that a hospital employee is told not to report to work due to inclement weather. Of course, this is exactly what happened to Kevin and me today. And since we got a snow day, Harry got a snow day too. He'd probably have had as much at Grandma and Grandpa's house (thank goodness today wasn't a daycare day, as they were closed, too), but it was nice to have a day all together in the middle of week, and that we hadn't planned on.



So, despite waking up at 5:15 since Harry just could not go back to sleep, we had a pretty wonderful day. No work, no daycare, and plenty of time to enjoy the foot of snow we received last night. It's wonderful, light, powdery stuff, and after snowblowing and shoveling and sledding and generally traipsing around the yard, we came inside and ate chili and listened to The Beatles and took naps. All in all, not a bad way to spend a day.

And let me assure you that even though I am only days away from turning 30, snow days are just as good (if not better) now than they were when I was a kid.

It's Good to Be Mom

Both of my guys are asleep right now, taking a nap in Harry's room. It's well deserved, since today they've given me a card, a bath by myself, a trip to the park, and Hawaiian pizza for lunch. Apparently, making my day wears a body out.

I hope every other mom out there is having the kind of banner day I'm having, so to my grandma, my sister, my friends, and especially my mom, Happy Mother's Day.

Never-Ending Holiday

It was an extended Christmas this year, beginning on the 18th in our hometown, spending time with my grandmother, aunt, parents, cousin, and cousin's kids, as well as Kevin's sister's family, and ending on New Year's Day when Kevin's parents came to visit.

Christmas with my grandma means bread pudding (yum), and, as I've gotten older, Drinks. This year Kevin unvented a drink from a recipe on the back of a bottle of Malibu. It was pretty tasty, and feel free to try it yourself: equal (large) parts 7-Up and Malibu with a dash of cran-raspberry juice. And with three kids and seven adults in a two-bedroom condo, liquor can only make things better.

Christmas itself was spent at home, rising around 5:30 because that's just when Harry likes to get up lately, and my parents came over for lunch so Kevin and I could hook up the Wii than Santa (okay, I) got for Kevin. Turns out it was really for me. I've been on the Wii Fit every day since Christmas and am one pound closer to my 10-pound weight loss goal. All I can say is this: Rhythm Kung-Fu, people.

My sister, after working the night shift in the hospital, drove with her husband, 2-year-old daughter, and 8-month-old son for six hours to spend a wonderful long weekend with us and my parents. She should have been (and likely was exhausted), but since I don't have a picture of her looking frazzled and ready to crash, here's one of me:





This is kind of why I don't have two kids. Obviously, I need the free hand that one child provides to keep that annoying bit of hair out of my face. I also don't have two children because my child (L) has big jealousy issues, as evidenced by his attempt, captured on film no less, to knock my nephew (R) off of my lap.


Things were much rosier than I paint them, though, and we all had a great time watching Harry in his new sled. And even though the picture's blurry -- I prefer to think of it as "soft focus" -- we looked like the happy family we were this holiday.