Global warming, I heart you. Okay not really. But kinda.

It was a balmy 65 degrees out this morning (Zachary got outside and proclaimed it to be "sixty hundred degrees").  So Zachary had a quick breakfast, and we took the babies out with us on a Bulldozer and Bus Hunt before we had to go off to daycare.

 

   

Whenever we go on a Bulldozer and Bus Hunt, we have this conversation:

Me:  Bulldozer and bus starts with a....
Zachary:  B!
Me:  Right!  What else starts with B?
Zachary:  Bulldozer, and bus, and baby, and bum, and bear, and book, and bum, and boy, and bum!

Today, Zachary pointed out the circles and O's that he saw on the road.

We went to the pond to watch ducks and geese, and Zachary stopped to pick flowers for me.

He also showed off his shiny new shirt (the shirt was a compromise -- when we were at Target the other day, he saw a sparkly purple tutu and he said, "Oooh, that's beautiful.  I want to wear that shirt!"  We opted for something that better matched his complexion.). 

And we finally saw two buses.  He got so excited and waved at the drivers.

It seems that getting outside is an excellent cure for the blahs, and this morning was simply perfection.  Spring, get here quickly!

Is this normal?

I've been wondering lately if I'm sad.  You see, I've been having these moments with the kiddies.  These moments where they'll do something -- and it's not much, really -- but I will feel this pang.  It's a gush of love, followed by this gut-tightening sickness, almost like nausea.  It's an understanding that this moment will pass too soon.  It's nostalgia before the moment is over.  And then I get all teary and annoyed that I'm an overly sentimental sap.  A sap who can be taken down by a smile, a giggle, a misspoken word.

But it happens so often now, with all of them, but especially with Zachary whose face and words have been turning me to mush.  Like when we were making quiche and his job was to tear up pieces of cheese to put into a bowl.  The cheese didn't make it to the bowl.



And then there's the way he greets me when he sees me at daycare - he runs and jumps off of the stairs and into my arms as though there is no way I could possibly drop him when he runs at me like that.  And the way he always asks me (and his dad, and Roar), "How was your day today?" and then waits patiently for a response.  And the way he says "fwee" instead of "three" when we're reading counting books, and how he asked me tonight, "How is that even possible?" when we read a book with a fly sitting in a trash can. 

 

And the way his face lit up the other day, eyes open wide, literally shaking with excitement when I told him that his friend David was going to be at daycare that day; this despite the fact that he and David had just played together at daycare the day before.  Can you imagine that?  Being that kind of excited to see a friend again?  I gush.

And then there's my girl.  That thumb still kills me.  I know I'm going to regret at some point not pulling it out, but her thumb in her mouth, her head resting against my chest, brings her so much comfort that I can feel it.  And that bit about her being content to sit and play now?  Ha!  That lasted a week.  When I sit her down, she lowers herself to the ground and effectively Army crawls everywhere.  If I am out of her eyesight, she will come and find me.

And Conor -- sweet, sweet Conor.  Just writing his name has warmed my chest.  That can't be normal, right?  Little boy has caught his third cold in a row, and despite the snot everywhere, despite the fact that he can't breathe, somehow he can still laugh.  Nothing is going to get this darling boy down.  How I made such a sweet, warm little person is beyond me.


And Roar too.  You'd think that a teenager would be the cure for gush, but he's not.  He had the day off of school the other day, so I took the babies to daycare and had him watch Zachary while I worked downstairs.  I came upstairs once and they were coloring with crayons the model rocket that they had built. 

 

Then later I came upstairs to make lunch, but Roar was already on it.  It turned out that all his brother wanted to eat was Moo Goo Gai Pan (courtesy of a Veggie Tales video), so Roar was attempting to make it from scratch for him.  And then Zachary and Roar hugged so tight when launching that rocket in the backyard.  Gush, gush, puke.

I can't stand that these moments will end.  But of course they will.  And they'll make way for more beautiful moments.  I know this.  But it doesn't stop me from being sad, or sappy, or sick.  Is this normal?  It can't be.

After sleeping on this post overnight, I think I may understand where part of the panic is coming from -- my memory is not what it used to be, and the thought that these moments may fade into oblivion, as if they never happened, is frightening.  I've been working hard and exercising in the mornings so I haven't had time to blog, but perhaps that's the problem: I haven't been documenting.  So I'm going to try to post more, even if it's just a line, or just a picture, so that I can capture the overwhelming sweetness that surrounds me.

This is what my office looked like today

The children need to get better pronto.  One can only handle so much Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Six-Month Update

Samantha and Conor turned six months just (mumble mumble) days ago, so it's the perfect time for a six-month update.

The big news is that they started sitting up this month.  Samantha started a bit earlier than Conor, and at the moment, is more steady than he is.  They're now content to sit for minutes at a time, playing with their toys or posing for pictures.  This makes their mama very happy.


Another awesome development is that they're over their hatred of the car.   No more attempting to sing over the sound of screaming babies on the way to daycare?  Priceless.

This week -- on the same day no less -- they both pulled themselves up to almost standing when in their bassinet and cribs (Zachary advised me that Samantha was going to fall out of her crib and bonk her head, so he suggested that we get a ladder so that she could climb down instead).

When together, their favorite activities are (1) annoying each other, (2) stealing toys, and (3) mauling each others' faces. 






(Trust me, Conor does it too, he's just more stealthy about it.)

Samantha now weighs 14 pounds, 12 ounces and is 25 and 1/2 inches tall.  She's my sweet baby girl who likes to be held more than anything.  She lights up when she sees me.  She's easily bored, and craves new toys and things to look at.  If there's something that she wants, she'll slither to go and get it, so I anticipate that she'll be crawling soon.  When she's bored or wants attention, my girl will screech.  It's awe inspiring, really - she let loose in public once, and I heard a man say, "Oh my God."  He wasn't overreacting.  Although her impatience can be frustrating when I'm trying to do something other than hold or entertain her, it also means that she is extremely content when we're out shopping because of the constant change of scenery, and she'll happily look around from her car seat for hours.  She's also a dream to put to bed; she gives an obligatory half-hearted screech in protest for a half second, rolls over, puts her thumb in her mouth, and falls asleep.  She generally wakes once during the night for a feeding then goes right back to sleep.  One of my favorite parts of the day is holding her, rocking her, and singing her a lullaby before bed -- she lays her head on my chest and sucks her thumb contentedly.  I gush.  And while she often holds back with her laugh (unless I'm pretending to eat her feet), she is generous with her beautiful smile.  She is sweetness and love.


Conor now weighs 15 pounds, 8 ounces and is 25 and 3/4 inches tall.  He continues to be just happy to be alive.  He's got the world's best giggle, and it doesn't take much to elicit it from him.  He bounces so hard in the bouncer that he bounces it several feet away from the wall.  Although he will play in the bouncer or with toys for quite some time, he doesn't like being restrained without things to do for long periods of time, and thus is generally not content on long shopping trips.  Being awake, being able to move, eating, and being talked to are his favorite things ever, so being put to bed ranks among his least favorite things (next to sitting in poop).  It often takes him 20 minutes or more to work it out before he falls asleep, and we can almost hear him cursing us.  He wakes to eat and curse about three times per night.  All is forgiven by the morning, however, and he will light up and giggle on seeing our faces.  He is sunshine from his adorable head to his cute little feet.



So things are getting better around here.  While there's still a lack of sleep, there's an abundance of love.

The East Coasters Unite!

Shortly after Christmas, we were blessed to have more visitors.

We got to see (most of) those people that the Husband grew up with:

(we're missing the Husband's little brother, Jesse)

and (most of) the rest of us who joined the family:



They were able to join us for a low-key New Year's Eve celebration on the couch, snuggling with a sick Zachary:




(Nonna was singing along to Justin Beiber)
It was fun to see the cousins play together:





And as usual, awesome to have extra sets of hands around:

(Zachary was all over Pop, almost all of the time)

Sarah and Kayla had to leave on New Year's Day, but Nonna, Pop, Aunt Helen, and cousin AngelRose were able to stay until a couple days ago.  Unfortunately, during their visit, Zachary, Conor, Samantha, the Husband, Nonna, Pop, and I were all sick with colds.  (I'll spare you the boogery pictures.  Just know that they're out there.  And, in case you were wondering, Roar and Conor were around, they were just hiding from my camera apparently.)

Despite all of the ickiness, it was still so nice to have the family here.   Once a year is really not often enough.  We miss you guys!  Come back soon!

Happy New Year!

Looking back, we had all that we could ask for in 2012:  Healthy families, good jobs, two beautiful additions to the family, the Husband's master's degree, and save for the time I got on the train without a validated ticket, none of us were caught doing anything illegal.

Despite its auspicious beginnings (three sick kids -- four if you count the Husband -- and less than 2 hours of sleep last night for me), I have an inkling that this year is going to be even better.  After years of shunning the tradition, I'm making resolutions, or at least daring to dream.  Here's what's on my list:

(1) Lose the baby weight.  Fer real.  I know everyone makes this resolution, but what makes me different than everyone else is that I mean it. No, I really mean it.

(2) Become indispensable at work.  I like my job, and I am lucky to have it.  Not many people can do what I'm going to do today, and that is tell my boss that I'm going to nap on the couch in his office.  I am happiest when I feel like I've earned that right, so I resolve to spend less time coasting, and more time giving it 100%.  That will allow me to shut off my computer and not think about my day job anymore when quitting time comes. 

(3) Dream big.  I did it - I signed up for Mondo Beyondo.  After hearing the rave reviews, I'm open to and excited about learning how to live this life to the fullest.  I'll review the class when I'm done. 

(4) More, more, more photography stuff!  I've told you that I'm obsessed.  The truth is that I've just rekindled a passion I've had for a very long time, ever since I was a photographer at a portrait studio in high school.  I was one class shy of a photography minor in college, but didn't want to force my art to fit random assignment deadlines (read: I was lazy).  I thought this knowledge didn't transfer to the digital media, but the truth is that I hadn't taken the time to see if it did.  So I resolve to learn more (I'm taking another class this month), practice more, and ultimately take a page from the oh-so-inspiring-and-talented Laura Case, and start a business so I can take gorgeous portraits that people will cherish forever.  Until I get to that point, I've already started setting up lots of free photo shoots so I can work on my technique and develop my own style.  I forced sister-in-law Sarah and my nieces into being the subjects of my first photo shoot over the weekend.  I think they turned out pretty well, and it definitely helped me get a feel for what I need to work on and what I want my style to be.  I want it to be

Traditional:






Colorful:


And crazy:




This is going to be a good year!!  I have the same wishes for you as I do for my family:  I wish you good health, wealth, happiness, and that you don't get caught doing anything illegal.

Happy New Year!