Ta-DA!

We were so spoiled with PJ, and we took for granted that it would be the same for Lily. She has been climbing out of her crib for several months now, but somehow I had her convinced that she could only do it if I was in the room. So she would wait in her crib until I came to get her, sometimes for awhile, and then she'd climb out and we'd go on business as usual. Sometime last week, she decided she didn't have to wait, and would climb out and start exploring her room, including under the bed.


Did I take those months of her staying in the crib to safety proof her room--heck no! So now she is finding all the goodies, including her dress shoes that are in her dresser. She did get them on the right feet so good for her, but they were also, fashionably, two different colors.

Ta-DA!

Buildin' Man

PJ's has had his "quiet play time" for awhile now, with a few toys in his room, so I can have a little time to myself. I have always had to pull out some toys from the bins and shelves in the bookcase because he has difficulty "planning" what he wants to play, so he doesn't know to get particular toys from there. One of his favorite toys from Christmas was a carrying case to hold all his Disney cars, so he can play with them both upstairs and downstairs. On this day, I discovered that he had his usual line-up of cars on his dresser, but he had also incorporated legos from a bin in his bookcase, which I had stopped pulling out because he didn't seem as interested in them. I asked him what he had made, and he said, "This is my garage!" And he was so proud, as I was of him.

Our Christmas Story

This year's "Mad Christmas Dash" was much tamer than last years, but it was a little sadder.

We started some new traditions for our family, and we will be saying goodbye to some old traditions. Santa was really noticed this year, and PJ and Lily picked out at the store what they wanted to ask him--PJ's was Mack and Lightning (from Disney "Cars") and Lily's was My Little Ponies . Mommy also explained a little more about what Santa means: he brings us presents at Christmas-time because he is so grateful that we are good helpers all year long. And we give presents to each other because we are thankful for all the help we get. It was really great saying "Santa likes good helpers, and he's watching right now!" Another tradition we started was on Christmas Eve, both kids got new pajamas to wear for Santa to see when he came to visit our house. PJ was so excited when he opened the present, he put the pajamas on over his clothes! The kids also loved to snuggle in their new blankets made for them by Grandma "CJ" Carol.

When we got home from the "Christmas Party" on the eve, we put out cookies and milk near the stockings for Santa, and the next morning, they were eaten! We also found gifts in our stockings, and presents under the tree from Santa in special wrapping paper that only Santa could make. We stayed in our new pajamas all morning, while PJ played with Mack and Lightning, and Lily played with her ponies (so Santa must have thought they were good helpers!).

Next was a quick breakfast, and then we scooted off to the next two Christmas Parties. We started off at Grandpa John's and Grandma Carol's for opening presents and a delicious Christmas brunch. Grandma Carol also had a brilliant idea to bring with Lily's nap stuff and have her sleep there (if she was going to). That saved a lot of going back and forth (and stress) for us, but it had kept mommy and daddy up until 1am the night before wrapping presents. The hightlight was when Lily went down for her nap and we put a movie on for the rest of the kids in the other room so the adults could exchange gifts as adults. We did put a crimp in the parents wonderful idea as the "adult" kids started a wrapping paper fight, and Paul magically became a woman.

After Lily's nap, we then scooted over to Grandpa Paul's and Grandma Nona's, well rested and looking forward to more Christmas cheer and merriment. We had an absolutely delicious dinner that we ate too much of (and cashews were missing from the menu), and then more opening of presents. We let the kids open theirs so they could play with their new toys, while the adults were able to continue their tradition of opening presents in turns (which is so enjoyable to be able to see everyone's reaction to your well-thought out gift). Things did get a little cramped at the end because the kids were done, but it was still a very enjoyable Christmas overall.

We saw lots of family, and really enjoyed spending time with friends from both coasts that we don't get to see very often. It was wonderful to see Jackie and Jeff (PJ's Godparents) and their beautiful twin girls, Madelyn and Sydney. I really enjoyed having Madelyn fall asleep on me, and then be able to give her back to mommy when she got fussy. Sydney was fun to play with, and the exhausted looks on the parents faces reminded us of why we are done with the baby phase. We also got to spend a whole day at the Shedd Aquarium with Rob's friends Jay and Sally and their son Ethan. The kids had fun looking at fishes, and then we ran around outside with the beautiful Chicago skyline as the background.

One funny story to note: Rob's and Erika's Christmas presents were a little late because Erika hid her's from Rob so well that she couldn't find it before Christmas Eve in order to wrap it. She was a little surprised on Christmas Eve to find that her mom and her had the same idea when they bought him the same t-shirt. It took her until Little Christmas to realize that she had hidden Rob's present in a bag that she gave to her mom with her Christmas present. Erika's mom then wrapped it up for Rob, and he got his present twice! And Rob had a great idea for Erika (had been planning it since August), but didn't order the Star Wars Soundtrack Trilogy online until three days before Christmas (because he couldn't find it in the stores). It too came on Little Christmas, so appropriately, they opened their new-found presents together on the last day of Christmas.

We didn't have a trip to the hospital, thank goodness. We did still have a lot of "mad" and crazy and stress. We also had illnesses before and after, and we are very happy that it skipped over the holiday. Rob thought he had food poisoning the week before, but it turned out to be a nasty stomach virus, that waited for the rest of the family until we were run down from all the Christmas dashing. This is one reason why this was the last year for the tradition of attending extended family celebrations. It is something that has been a part of Rob's and Erika's lives, but we now realize that its time to make our own family traditions. We look forward to visiting with our extended family at less "mad" holidays throughout the year, and where we might actually get to visit with them.


We did have tears this season, as there was one special person missing from our celebrations. Erika' grandma passed away the previous March, and it just wasn't the same to have someone else say her famous line, "Well, that's another Christmas shot in the a$$!"

I could burst!

He has come such a long way, my little boy. I just wanted to relate a moment that still warms my heart. It was such a simple thing, but it filled my heart with such joy, like the first smile, the first step, and hearing "mommy." We were working on dinner and the kids were already in their chairs. Lily asked to play with "amamuls" so we gave her two and PJ two of these little farm animal toys. For awhile now, Lily's been taking anything from her "ponies" to her dolls to pieces of her food and animating them so they have conversations with each other. What made this moment so special was that for the first time we saw PJ doing what I have seen the therapists working on with him for the past two years.

I paused what I was doing and just watched as PJ had the animals facing each other, and he started saying "Hi, I'm a horse. Hi, I'm a pig." Then he had them answer: "You're big. You're small."

There was no stimming by tracing the outlines or lining them up; it was pure and simple playing, but for PJ its been one of the most difficult processes for him to develop. I was so proud of him, I could burst. And it can be a sign of more hope, and I can't wait to see what he does next!

Best snow day by far!! I made a snow day breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs and OJ (yummy until PJ spilled his OJ). Then it took me about a half hour to get everyone ready for the outside, but then we spent an hour and a half playing! We even took a walk because its really nice outside. I pulled out some sand buckets and shovels from summer and Lily went to town. I think her new nickname is "digger." When it was time to clean up and go inside, the kids decided to white wash each other, which was fun until Lily's boot came off!

Oh, and I found another use for the Swiffer Sweeper... I had to use the long handle part to fish out a shovel that fell into the storm drain. Should I let Swiffer know?

And so it starts...

This is a weird moment of bliss for a parent, but it is surely one we all share...

Lily peed on the potty!!

A day at the zoo

So we now know that the kids can handle an all dayer... What a great day! Last Sunday (7/13/08), we decided to seize the gorgeous summer day (low humidity, low 80's) and head to Brookfield Zoo. Rob and I divied up duties, and we somehow got out the door after only an hour and forty-five minutes, and no fights! That's a great start.

Two free passes and happy that PJ looked young (2 and under free) later, we were in the zoo. After slathering ourselves, we hung out by the carousel to get our bearings, then we headed on our trek to find animals.

We stopped by the lions and tigers, but they were sleeping in the shade, so the kids were like, "so what?" The next stop was the underwater viewing of the dolphins, and we were close enough to the next show time that we just brought the stoller down to the window and hung out with snacks. Oooh, that was neat! I think it was much better than seeing it up top. No crowd, no sun, and free! And you could see the whole dolphin up close. That actually kept the kids occupied for a whole 20 minutes!

Rob told me that when he was getting the kids ready, and looking at pictures, he asked them to pick one animal that they most wanted to see. Lily picked a giraffe, and PJ picked snakes. Interesting. So, we decided to go on a hunt for each animal. When we found a sign with their animal, we'd all get excited because we knew we were getting close. And of course I took pictures of the signs for future scrapbook pages. It was so exciting when we caught our first glimpse of the giraffe! The snakes, we found out, no longer had their own building, but it was still great to discover the ones hidden here and there. To finish our hunt, I found in one of the gift shops a toy snake and giraffe for the kids to take home. That was a hit!

We picniced our lunch and snack near the playgrounds, and for the whole day, we just took our time. The day ended with the monkey houses, and we met a very nice lady, who appreciated our creative way to keep the kids interested while standing in line (we had to park our stroller). Her name was Terry, and she took a great picture of the four of us (a rare photo of me!). (will post photos I promise!)

Well, the kids made it until 4pm, but boy did they crash in the car! A whole day of bliss...