March 10, 2010

Upright, Over and ARGH!

Michael is starting to hit various milestones at such a fast and furious pace that we can't keep up with him! First, as pictured, he is getting comfortable enough in a sitting position to reach out and do stuff. Granted, he often ends up flat on his face five seconds later, but he can usually at least accomplish a grasp or punch with satisfaction. Second, he finally got his toes to his mouth. He can now amuse himself for minutes at a time just sucking on and staring at his toes. If we could make a fake-toe mobile to put above his pack-n-play, we would. Which brings us to his latest and greatest milestone.....

The big guy is finally rolling over at will!! (We think this is in response to his California brethren, Teddy, but we'll let them sort that out.) Anyway, Traci discovered Michael awake after his morning nap on his belly. She then watched him roll over at diaper change time. Unfortunately for him, he's still at the stage where one of his arms gets stuck and he gets very frustrated. This caused MAJOR issues the rest of the day for his naps. Every time Traci put him down in his pack-n-play, he would quickly roll over, get stuck on his belly, and scream bloody murder. Traci would go in to flip him over and he would be too traumatized to sleep. They must have done this at least 3 times throughout the day. Katie NEVER, EVER caused this type of issue, so it's all new territory for these second-time parents. Any suggestions from the rest of you experts out there?

March 9, 2010

Big Sibs, Little Sibs

We've been waiting to take this shot since baby Madeline (1-month) was born...look how huge our Ox is next to Connor's little sis. This shot was taken during the hour-long process (kidding, slightly) it now takes to get 2 mommies and 4 kids out the door to the playground. There are naps, feedings, diaper changes, potty breaks, shoes, hats, coats, etc., etc. to get done all before we can go outside. Whew...


Once we got outside, the bigger kids, Katie and Connor (2.5 years-old), had a blast at our neighborhood playground. Katie showed Connor how to swing on a big-kid swing, and he did a GREAT job...until he took a bit of a spill backwards off the swing. After that, the kids just ran around in the fallen leaves, dirt, and playground area. What a great way to spend a 60-degree day!

March 8, 2010

Swingers

We celebrated the awesome spring weather with a morning jaunt to one of our favorite playgrounds. Traci is still figuring out how to juggle two kids out and about, especially when one still needs to nurse while the other is potty-training. We did OK today...Katie got a lot of her own swinging in while Michael happily sat in his carseat. Then, Katie offered to push Michael in his own baby swing. Boy, did he love that! Finally, Katie ran wild all over the playground while Michael bounced on Traci's lap. No meltdowns, no potty accidents, no trouble....for today! :) And the best part? They are both napping right now....and Traci is about to join them!

March 7, 2010

A-Puzzlin' We Will Go

Katie's really been getting into jigsaw puzzles lately. We think she really loves three things about them: 1.) conquering a challenge, 2.) getting to see her beloved princesses in the finished products, and 3.) attracting some quality one-on-one time with either of her parents. To that last point, whoever is working with her has to exercise an immense dose of patience. Katie likes to just put random pieces together, and you really have to work repeatedly with her to match colors, straight edges, etc. It sometimes takes her 10 minutes just to put two edge pieces together. But the finished challenge is worth the effort. However, she has A LOT to learn before she is the equal of her illustrious puzzling cousins, Julian (6-years-old) and Nicholas (5), who have been known to work on 500-piece puzzles together.

March 4, 2010

Go Irish, (We) Beat the Hoyas!

As promised, we now have some pictures from our ND-Georgetown basketball adventure. Thanks, Lisa, for sending us some fantastic shots! Please check out our mini-album to the right for some great shots of the entire gang, Katie with some buddies, and a good one of Michael and Daddy! Can't wait to see this whole crew again!

March 3, 2010

Buddies of Old

It's been quite a long time since we got pictures of Katie with her old friend, Max (3.5 years old). They used to play all the time before Max's mommy Asa went back to work teaching. Now two little brothers have entered the picture (Sam - pictured - almost one...and our Michael) and the families have begun playing again. Their family will always hold a special place in our hearts because Asa and Traci met at the vet's office when we were both tending to our respective greyhounds. Yep, we have Geno to thank for getting us together. Traci gets to have her hound fill every time we head over to Max's house for a playdate. Maybe someday their Sasha pup will inspire us to get another one....

March 1, 2010

Katie's Mommy Friends

Tonight was one of Katie's best nights of her life. Traci hosted Book Club, so almost all of Katie's mommy buddies came over for some food, drinks, and conversation. However, Katie thought that they had all come over to see her. She was so excited to see "her buddies" that she agreed to get bathed/brushed teeth/pj'd early so that she could come down and visit with everybody. And she didn't have to share their attention with any other kids. Everytime the door bell rang, she nearly jumped out of her skin. She even put on an impromptu ballet recital for her buddies. The only hard part was dragging her up to bed well past her bedtime. Maybe we can find her a preschool with just mommies for playmates??? As for the mommies in the pic, they are (L-R): Kim (Patrick & Colleen), Jamie (Rory & Maeve), Angela (Lyla & Anamarie), and Julie (Sam & Oliver).