Add One More; And Now We're Four!

Emilie Mae- Nine Months Old!

2012-02-18T07:39:00.000-08:00

9 Month Stats

18 lbs. 3 oz.
28 inches long

Emilie turned nine months old on Valentine's Day. She remains a very happy baby with an enormous grin from ear to ear. She is pure joy.

Although Emilie still does not have a single tooth, this doesn't surprise us one bit, considering Marin didn't get her first tooth until her first birthday. However, like Marin, Emilie is learning to chew despite not having any teeth. We have recently started giving her some soft solid puffs, that she can grab and put in her mouth. She is a much better eater than she has been, and will eat almost everything that we give her. Although, when she is full, she is definitely done and she lets you know it!

Emilie isn't quite pulling herself to stand, but she does stand with aid, and walks when we hold her hands. She loves to stand!

Emilie loves animals! She loves to snuggle up with the dog, and sweet Norah just lets her crawl all over her and grab at the tags on her collar. Emilie also liked crawling after Jake's kitties last weekend, but they were so fast, and she didn't particularly like when they scampered away so quickly.

Emilie now waves bye-bye. With her tiny little hand, it's adorable. The first time I saw her do this was before Marin's birthday party, to Aunt Vee. I got all excited and announced, "She's waving! She just waved!!" And then Jason piped up in the kitchen, "Oh yeah, she did that yesterday." Poor second child.

Emilie is a good sleeper. She doesn't go for the paci like her sister did, so when she does occasionally wake up, it's a little tougher to get her soothed back to sleep, but she usually sleeps about 14 hours a day- 12 through the night and then a nap or two.

Emilie got moves like Jagger. Just kidding. Sorry, that was lame. But she's crawling all over the place and she moves quickly. Baby gates are definitely up. What is appealing to babies about the stairs that they will perch at the top of the them staring down a long set of wooden steps, and think, "Sure, why not. Let's try this out?" She gets so mad when we put the gates up. Like, "Oh man! I really wanted to try that today! I almost got away with it!"

Emilie says "da-da". I'll say, can you say "ma-ma?" And she just smiles and me and says, "da-da!" We'll keep working on it.

Emilie likes to read books, and then reach out and touch the pages and put it in her mouth. We have started a library class for her, and she loves it! We sing songs and read stories and she watches very intently, and bounces her legs for the stories. Marin goes along too, and tries to steal the show from all the babies. Oy vey.

Speaking of Marin, she is Emilie's favorite person on the planet. She absolutely lights up around her. When Marin acts goofy, Emilie just giggles and giggles. Marin is starting to play with Emilie a lot more now too. Emilie just goes with the flow and follows after her on all fours.

Life is good.

And speaking of Valentine's Day, we spent most of it in the doctor's office after Marin developed a nasty cough that was diagnosed as RSV. She's on the nebulizer and is feeling better, thank goodness! Here are some pictures of the happier points of the day!

Daddy/Daughter Dance

2012-02-17T13:21:00.000-08:00

Our Park District hosted its annual Daddy/Daughter Dance the Sunday before Valentine's Day. You have to be a big three year old in order to participate, and Daddy was so excited to take Marin this year.

Marin picked out a special boutonniere for her Daddy a few days earlier. When the florist suggested that a red rose might be nice Marin responded, "Um, actually I think my Daddy's favorite color is blue." So Daddy got a blue and orange boutonniere. Daddy brought Marin a beautiful wrist corsage with a pink sparkly ribbon. She loved it!

Marin and Jason met friends Parker and Josh and B and Mike at the dance. The girls all had a blast dancing together and spending the evening with their daddies. Marin came home and told me all about it, and before she closed her eyes that night she told me, "Know what?! Daddy said we can go to the Daddy/Daughter Dance next year, too!"

Princesses Dance on Ice!

2012-02-17T05:41:00.000-08:00

For Marin's birthday, Uncle Jake and Aunt Katy took Marin (and Jason, Emilie and me) to Disney on Ice. Or, as Marin calls it, "Princesses Dance on Ice". They pulled out all the stops, and Marin truly had a magical evening.

We met at their house first for pizza and special fancy birthday cupcakes from a cute cupcake shop down the street from their apartment. True to form, Marin ate a little pizza and a lot of cupcake frosting. And an orange and about three bowl fulls of strawberries and blackberries. The kid loves fruit.

Both girls and all of the adults had a great time. It was a great show, and Jake and Katy got us fabulous seats! Emilie was bopping around in our laps, smiling ear to ear dancing along to the music. Marin was in heaven. Her eyes were fixated on the stage and she clapped along and pointed out all of the princesses. But the true highlight was when "Cinderllella" came out. Her mouth unhinged and she watched her every move. Then, when Cinderella danced with Prince Charming at the ball, Marin literally leaped out of her seat, and very seriously, started dancing like a princess. Arms gracefully at her sides, and then over her head to twirl around and around. It was as if Cinderella channeled into Marin's body; she truly felt that she was a princess. It was a priceless, adorable, and hilarious moment that I'm sure will be mentioned on the day she gets married. The people behind us were also cracking up. It was so very sweet.

After the show, Uncle Jake bought Marin two souvenirs that she picked out. Princess Marin was truly spoiled. Mommy and Daddy would have hit the deck, and ran as fast as we could have past the gift stands hoping and praying the whole way that she hadn't spotted them. Marin picked out a crown and a Rapunzel cup, and promptly filled it up with milk.

The icing on the cake for Marin was that she got to have a sleepover after the show at Jake and Katy's apartment. Which meant that she chased the cats around and ate more cupcake frosting before rolling out her sleeping bag and ending a great day. We all had a great time! Thank you Jake and Katy, for a magical evening for our princess.

Marin's 3rd Birthday Day!

2012-02-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, the 8th, was Marin's actual birthday. She had a great day. The most exciting part was that Daddy decided to take the day off to help her celebrate.

We woke up and snuggled for a little bit in our jammies before we got ready for ballet. Marin was so excited to have Daddy go to ballet with us. Jason loved watching Marin in her ballet class. Since it was her birthday, she got to be the leader in the line, which she loved. After ballet we all went out to breakfast at a new little french restaurant by our house. Marin had banana and nutella crepes. And then she said they were too sweet, so after we polished off our own breakfasts, Jason and I ate her crepes and Marin had a blueberry muffin and fruit.

After we got home from breakfast we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather, and take a walk. Marin rode wanted to her bike so we bundled up and took a little stroll. When we got home from the walk, Marin dressed up like a princess and danced around the family room. Of course she did.

After naps we took another walk/bike ride to Graham's for a birthday treat. Naturally, Marin chose ice cream. We were there for about three minutes before Marin made friends with twin five year olds, also enjoying ice cream. After about another four minutes had passed, she'd told them both her life story, including, (as I was I was snapping away), "My mom is taking my picture all the time!" Busted.

After ice cream, it was time to go home and get ready for Aunt Lindsay to come for dinner. After Lindsay arrived, we watched a video montage of the day Marin was born, that Marin called "the born video", giving a whole new meaning to the Bourne Identity. Marin specifically requested "basketti" for her birthday dinner, since it's her "favorite dinner in all the world." So Daddy made her special dinner extra special, and we all ate dinner together. After dinner, Marin opened her cards and a few presents. We topped dinner off with cupcakes, and then we played "night games", which are what Marin calls games that we play at night. We usually only play night games on weekends, but it was a special occasion, so we played a few rounds of Old Maid and Go Fish before it was time to call it a day.

We had a great day together and loved celebrating our Marin Jane all day. I still can hardly believe that she is THREE!

Marin's 3rd Birthday Party!

2012-02-15T13:42:00.001-08:00

Since Marin loved her trip to the circus so much this fall, we thought it only fitting that she have a circus birthday party! She invited all of her friends and their families to join her under the big top, and we packed in the fun all afternoon long!

It wasn't a health conscious party by a long shot, because what good circus is? Add birthday cake, cupcakes and a candy bar into the mix and you can imagine that Marin, who isn't even normally allowed to drink juice because of the sugar content, was bouncing off the walls by the end of the night. Plus, her cousins and her friends and a little birthday magic made for one happy girl. She slept like a champ that night and was in fine form the next day, so no harm no foul.

We hired a clown to come and make balloon animals and do face painting for the kids. This was a huge hit. She really wasn't creepy acting. And she was great with the kids. Even the neighbor kids who were once afraid of clowns loved her. Except poor Kai. He told me after the fact, "That clown scare me." So sorry Kai!!

We cleared out all of the toys from the playroom downstairs and made a carnival in the basement. We asked one of our favorite babysitters and her friend to come and run the carnival games, and the kids had a blast. I wanted every child to go home with a fish, as you do at a real carnival, but Jason drew the line at that one. Probably a good idea. We'd have ended up with 32 fish to take care of at the end of the day.

I had a lot of fun setting this party up, and Marin loved it. She had such a great time with her friends and family. She is still talking about it. In fact, we drove by a TGI Fridays the other day and Marin pointed out the red and white striped awnings by yelling out, "Look!!! That store has a circus tent on it!" She loved having all of her friends here, and for days afterward she recited every friend that was at her party for anyone who inquired.

I love that Marin loves a party as much as I do. She bopped from one friend to the next, and rarely came up for air. I think I only saw her a two times the entire party. This will be fun until she's 16 and the cops are at my front door. And apparently Emilie has inherited the love of a party too, because she just smiled the day away as she was passed from grandparent to aunt to any willing arms. But now, what you've been waiting for, Jake. Pictures galore.

Marin at 3!

2012-02-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

Marin:
At three years old you...
... want to be a doctor and a mommy when you grow up
... know all of your letters and numbers and shapes and colors.
... like to point out that K is for Katy, L is for Lindsay, E is for Emilie and M is for Marin and O is for Ostrich. In all books.
... can count to 23... and then skip to 30, 40.
... know how to spell your name.
... love dressing like a princess and dancing around the house. You ask for music and watch your reflection in the big window in the family room, while you dance.
... call a seat belt a "belt seat"
... don't always like to wear pants.
... jump up and down when Daddy gets home.
... say your favorite meals are "basketi" (spaghetti) and mac and cheese
... have many stuffed animals, though your favorite is pinkie and you have 17 dolls named Emilie.
... sleep with a minimum of six "guys" every night. They are: pinkie, newbie, raffie, booboo, lambie and crabbie. And usually two or three more that you carry in with you on the way.
... are very generous and love to give hugs to all of your friends
... often announce, "This is the best family ever!"
... often tell each us that we are the best by throwing your arms around us and saying, "Mommy/Daddy/Emilie/Norries, you the best!!"
... say, "Know what?!" and " I have an idea!" Or, "That's a great idea!" or "Shoot. I 'got about'__." Which means "forgot about".
... are potty trained but wear a diaper to bed.
... like to be "nice and cozy". You love to snuggle with blankies.
... love to go to grandma and grandpa's.
... have a kind and generous heart. When Norah had her surgery you offered her your favorite blanket so she would be comfortable.
... say "may I please" and thank you with out hesitation or needing to be asked.
... say the prayer every night
... sing along in church- the alleluia is your favorite
... LOVE music and dancing
... love to sing and perform. You sing twinkle twinkle little star by sining, "twinkle little star, how i wonder what you are. up so high. like a dream up in the sky. twinkle little star, how i wonder what you are." and you sing Ba ba blacksheep by singing, "Ba ba blacksheep, have you any more..."
... like to do "sack of tatters" with daddy, which is when he throws you over his shoulder and says, "sack of tatters!" You do this to your dollies, too.
... ask to be excused from the table and thank whomever prepared the meal.
... negotiate everything
... nap for an hour and a half each day
... like to play "night games" which are games we play mostly on weekend nights. Your favorites are old maid, go fish, candyland, and matching games. And actually, you are really good.
... carry around a hard cover copy of Anne of Green Gables from your bookshelf, though you call it your "special fancy tea set book" because it has pictures of tea sets all over the cover
... love reading books. Sometimes you read to Emilie in your room. You close the door and say that it is school. We always read books before bed and no matter how many we read, you always ask for just one more.
... ask for "moon and stars" when you go to sleep. This is a projector that projects rotating moons and starts on the ceiling. You also listen to music from the same machine to fall asleep, as you have all of your life. You listen to "twinkle, twinkle little star" on repeat for a half hour, which is what we have the sleep timer set to. You used to call this mookicks, then muse-kicks and now you just call it music. We're glad you know the correct pronunciation, but it was admittedly adorable the other ways.
... ask to have your friends over to play downstairs (the playroom) with you.
... like to snack on "pirate booty" (pirate's booty) and "red sticks" (fruit leathers).
... proudly announce "I'm growing up!"
... dislike sticky hands
... like Greek yogurt unstirred for "bress-kiss" (breakfast).
... when you stir something you say you are "cooking it".
... know Daddy works in "cah-jo" (Chicago).
... get to watch an hour of TV a day (tops), and like watching "Lil' Steinsteins" (Little Einsteins), "George" (Curious George) and Mickey Mouse on TV. You say that Mikey Mouse is your "favorite show in the world."
... also like watching "'Livia" (Olivia) and "Princess Show" (Princesses) and "Toy Tories" (Toy Story) on DVD.
... ask to watch "a little news". You would watch the entire Today show if I let you.
... sometimes like to watch Ellen with me and we call it "the dancing show" because Ellen dances.
... call Emilie "'Lil Sweetheart" and "Sister Emilie". We're sure people think you are addressing a nun.
... order for yourself at restaurants and love to stand in line and pay for your own milk at starbucks. (with mommy's money, of course) :)
... chocolate milk is your favorite treat
... call the horizons milkboxes that you take in your lunchbox "school milk"
... love to make a new friend. Whenever we see someone your age, you address them as "friend" and aren't shy to talk to them at all. You tell them you are "Marin Jane Pa-erson" and that you are "free" (holding up three fingers) and that your sister's name is Emilie!
... know the first names of all your family members (ie- Mommy's name is Johanna, but daddy calls her Jo)
... like to wear your sunglasses whenever there is a tiny bit of sun.
... say you love us "to the sun and the moon!"

You are a smart little cookie and a firecracker for sure. You are also super loveable and sweet, but boy do you stick to your guns. What a joy you are, Miss Marin Jane!

Three

2012-02-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

Three years ago today my life changed. Three years ago today I discovered a kind of love I never knew existed; the kind of love I didn't even know was possible. Three years ago today, we met our beautiful baby girl, and I became a mother.

It was a Sunday. I'll probably never forget this because Jason was so excited that everyone got free parking at the hospital. The night before, five days before my due date, Jason made us a nice dinner after which we sat down to watch Pineapple Express. About four minutes into what I found to be the world's stupidest movie, I said aloud, "I hope that I don't go into labor now, because then this dumb movie is going to be in our lives stories forever." Sure enough, about an hour later, after witnessing Seth Rogen toke his billionth dubbie, I felt a contraction that hurt and was very different from the rest that I'd felt. Jason packed his bag, and suggested we go to bed to try to get some sleep. Both of which I doubted were necessary- after all, who has their first baby early?- but we did anyway. Neither of us slept a minute. The contractions continued, and we timed them and read the books and when it all matched up like they said it would, we read the books again and timed them again just to be sure. At about 6am we called the doctor on call and she confirmed that we should in fact come in. So we both took showers, tidied up the house, called my parents, threw a few last minute things in the bag, washed the dog, took some pictures, and then went to the hospital. We called Molly on the way, and she was so excited that she and Bri took a cab from Wicker Park all the way to Evanston. I'll never forget that. She was the first to arrive and she stayed all day. My parents were next, then Lindsay, and Jake and Katy, and Jason's dad and Aunt Vee and Uncle Bob. Everyone stayed all day keeping me company, playing games and wagering bets on whether "the baby" was a boy or a girl.

I pushed for a hour, Jason and I were laughing and cracking the jokes the whole time. Jason was incredible. There was a SNL skit that year that was a satirical spin on McGiver called McGrover. Jason kept singing "McGrover" and we were cracking up. My doctor arrived at the very last minute to deliver Marin in his street clothes, and at 9:14pm, Marin was born. Jason turned to me and said, "It's a girl!!" I will never ever forget the immediate pride in his voice at that moment. Doctor Miller asked if she had a name, and Jason replied, "This is Marin Jane." I held her immediately and was awestruck by her teeny tiny wonderful features and fell head over heals in love with every single wrinkle right down to her fingernails. I held her close to me and promised her aloud to be the very best mom that I could be.

After Marin was weighed and measured and cleaned off, Jason went to the waiting room to announce that she was here! Shortly there after everyone came into the room to meet her, and we passed her around and snuggled her and introduced her to the most important people in her world. My mom immediately started planning shopping trips and outings to the American Girl store. Jason started calculating the costs of proms and her wedding. :) We all stayed there for a long time all together, admiring our little miracle, giving her all the love in the world. It was the best day in my life to that point.

Somehow three years have passed and today that little baby is a bundle of energy who literally dances everywhere she goes with a spring in her every step. Marin loves being a big sister and entertaining her friends. She is a happy little sweetheart who loves big and has a bit of a dramatic streak. Can't imagine where she gets the from.

My due date with Marin was February 12th. During my pregnancy with her, everyone would comment on how it might be a Valentine's Day baby. We honestly never thought of Marin as a Valentine, but she is definitely our little sweetheart.

It has been an incredible three years. Becoming a mother has been my world's most amazing, most challenging, most rewarding journey yet. Three years has gone so quickly. In three more years she'll be SIX! But today I'm not thinking about that. Today I'm taking the day to just hug and love and okay spoil just a little, my amazing little three year old miracle, Marin Jane.

Emilie is Crawling!

2012-01-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

Emilie has been doing a lot of army crawling, but yesterday while we were all playing in the basement I looked over at Emilie and she was crawling across the (icky, cold, concrete) basement floor like she had done it all her life. It's a funny crawl- more on her forearms than hands, but her stomach is off the ground and she can really move!

Marin got really excited about it and grabbed her play camera to take a video of it too. Like mother like daughter. She kept telling her, "Good job 'lil sweetheart!"

Break out the baby gates and the running shoes. There are two babies and dog loose in our house!

What I want my girls to always know

2012-01-23T10:06:00.000-08:00

I realized the other night as I was feeding Emilie and literally whispering sweet nothings in her ear as I rocked her, as I do most nights, that if something were to happen to me tomorrow, my girls would have no memory of me at all. I can nearly recount, in detail, every minute of their sweet little lives, and yet if I died tomorrow they wouldn't as much as recall the sound of my voice, despite them having to hear it more than they probably wish on some days.

I know it's morbid, and I have no plans for that to happen; that's why just before the tears fell, I pushed the thought out of my head and went on to blissfully sing to my baby girl as she cooed back at me. But then this morning after a gigglefest with Marin and a sweet moment with both of my girls around the breakfast table, (where Marin told me, "These eggs are extra good, Mommy!"), I dropped Marin off at school and decided to go to a little coffee shop by our house with Emilie. And as she was sitting like a big girl in the highchair beside me, slapping the the table with her open hand, and proudly spouting out da-da-da-da-da and ah-ah-ah to me as if we were two old girlfriends catching up, the thought hit me again. This time, hard enough to make me actually cry big alligator tears right in the middle of the coffee shop.

I couldn't help but think, if something happens to me, will they ever really know how totally and completely crazy ga-ga I am over them? Will they ever know how lucky I feel to be their mom? Will they ever understand how much I love that I get to be home with them every day? Will they ever learn that the fork goes on the left and that the knife and the spoon (in that order) go on the right? Jason could fill an entire lifetime of stories about how much I loved them, but let's face it- he's never going to teach them how to set a table.

If you've been reading a long time, you may remember that right before Marin was a year old, I wrote her this list of things I think every girls should know. Emilie, ditto. But I'd like to add a few more personal things. So girls, here goes. Listen up.

If something were to happen to me tomorrow, I want you both to know...

- That being your mom is the single greatest joy in my life.
- That I love you in amounts you will never understand except maybe possibly when you have your own children. And yes, this includes those moments when you have thrown yourself on the floor kicking and screaming because you don't want to wear pants.
- That I love your Daddy very much. And that he makes me laugh as much as he makes you laugh. And that I think he's fun and smart and handsome and adventourous, and yes, sometimes stinky.
- That even though I may never let you know it, putting your arms around me and telling me you love me can get you out of any time out, no matter what you've done.
- That I notice you caring for your friends and it makes me extremely proud.
- That I love listening to you talk to yourself as you play and imagine.
- That I love to dress you up and comb your hair.
- That you can do anything in the world that you want to as long as you put your mind to it and believe in yourself. I believe in you and I am proud of you. (and I'd want you to know that I've whispered this to each of you before you go to sleep each night for nearly your whole lives.)
- That I don't consider anything that I do with you or for you a chore.
- That I love to celebrate you. On your birthdays or on a Tuesday.
- That even thought it may not always seem like it, I am never to busy for you.
- That nothing is more important than either of you.
- That I love to read to you.
- That when you learn something new, every fiber of my being beams with pride.
- That the days that you were born, and the moment I first laid eyes on each of you were the very happiest moments in my life.
- That your smiles make my heart skip a beat.
- That the sound of your laughter is better than the music of the finest symphony in the world.
- That nothing makes me happier than when you snuggle with me. Even if it means I have to watch some ridiculous kids show.
- That you are beautiful, precious little girls with giant hearts and beautiful manners. And I hope that the world never tarnishes that for you.
- That many times I can not get enough of you- so much so- that I want to eat your cheeks and kiss your face a thousand times.
- That I am always thinking about you. Whether it's things to do together, or ways to work on your development, or strategies to parent you the best that I can. I want the very best for you every single day.
- That Daddy and I never go to bed without checking on you each first and kissing you goodnight one more time before the day is done.
- That you make me happy over and over and over again every single day.

I'm not planning on going anywhere. And hopefully we're reading this together someday after your own children are having babies and you're wheeling me in to meet them. But just in case we don't get that chance, now you know- that never were there two beings on this planet, more special to me than you.

Emilie- Eight Months Old!

2012-01-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

Eight Month Stats:

17 lbs. 7 oz.

It's no surprise that this month flew by as quickly as the others. What has been really fun is that this really was the month of Emilie! She has really changed and (for lack of a better word) blossomed this past month. She is really developing more and more of her little personality every day, and so far it is completely joyous and fun, and sunrise to sunset chock full of smiles!

* Emilie is doing a lot of army crawling. Although she gets up on all fours, she doesn't do much of her moving that way. She is beginning to try to pull herself up, which means that soon we will be lowing the crib mattress- a true sign that there is no longer a tiny baby in the house (sigh). Although Emilie does move her feet to "walk" a little when you hold her hands, she definitely doesn't seem in a hurry to walk.

* Emilie is doing a lot of "talking". She says da-da and ba-ba. Ba-ba her first "word", and da-da came very shortly after. She says da-da a lot. It seems as though she has full conversations with herself and I just love to listen to her! It is the very sweetest sound.

* Emilie is still completely enamored by her sister. I think I have said before that watching the two of them interact together is the greatest joy in my life. This remains true, and is only getting better. Emilie is reacting much more to Marin now, versus just Marin reacting to Emilie. Emilie just completely lights up around her sister. Marin is starting to play more with Emilie and I'll catch her asking Emilie sweetly, "Emilie, may I please play with your little Minnie?" and then, "Mommy, Emilie said I may borrow this!" Whatever Marin does, Emilie wants to do too.

* Emilie is holding her bottle. She holds one hand on the side, and the other at the end of the bottle. It's a pretty good idea, and it cracks me up.

* Emilie really knows her name well and responds well to it when you call her name. In fact, she turns and smiles when you call her name. And she loves the camera!

* Emilie is really laughing now. It's not really a squeal, but she is really giggling, and remains the happiest baby on the planet. Recently she went sledding with her sister (just down a little hill) and I could hear her laughing from the top of the hill. Emilie kicks her legs whenever she is excited about something. And she can really get those puppies moving!

* Food still isn't a priority for Emilie. She will eat solid food, but she's not thrilled about it, and she's pretty picky. As I did with Marin, I am making her food. Emilie is very particular about the consistency of her food. If it's not just right she won't eat it. I always keep some Earth's Best baby food on hand just in case I'd run out, and she gobbles that stuff up right way. She even leans forward for more. Here I am, making her food and packaging it all away and then she's lunging for the stuff in the jar.

* I think she's teething, but like her sister at this age, not the slightest sign of a tooth. She chews on anything and everything in sight, however.

* Emilie had her first antibiotic this past month, for an ear infection after a cold. Poor baby. She seems to be fine now though, and we'll go for an ear re-check next week.

* Emilie loves reading books with us. She loves to reach for the pages and flip up the flip books or feel the fuzzy pages. She loves to snuggle with her soft animals and she still loves her Sophie giraffe.

Emilie is an absolute joy all the time. She hardly ever cries and is extremely laid back. She totally goes with our (sometimes crazy) flow and smiles at people along the way. I love watching her become a little person. It goes without saying that we love her like crazy.

RIP White Fish Emilie

2012-01-13T08:21:00.000-08:00

Well, our remaining white fish, Emilie, was either unhappy with her conditions on the counter of our second floor bathroom, or she had just watched Finding Nemo where she learned that all drains lead to the ocean; because sadly, she took her life early Thursday morning.

Jason found her laying in the sink next to her bowl early on Thursday. She was last seen alive Wednesday night swimming in her bowl just a foot away.

When Marin woke up I gave her the news that White Fish Emilie had died. She stuck her lip out and said, "Mommy, now I just have no fish left in my bowl." I told her that White Fish Emilie was probably happy to be in heaven with Orange Fish Marin. She agreed and was over the entire issue about 30 seconds later.

Gotta love (almost) 3.

Ho Ho Ho

2011-12-23T20:26:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous Christmas that, wouldn't you know, lasted right up 'til New Year's Day. I'm cheating by backdating this so that the Christmas events stay under 2011.

We had a great week leading up to Christmas, and even managed to squeeze in some Christmas cookie making on the 21st. Marin was a great help with the mixing and the taste testing. Natch, we wore our matching aprons, compliments of Molly. Emilie bopped along side us in her excersaucer the whole time, happy as could be.

Marin and I had a fun playdate at her friend Olivia's house on the 22nd where the kids frosted cookies and afterward, we all sung Christmas carols in their living room around their grand piano. The kids danced and had a ball. Marin didn't want it to end!

Marin and Daddy had a special fancy lunch date the first day that he was off of work for the break. Marin got all dressed up and Daddy reported that she was very well behaved. And, about two minutes into lunch she told him what she got him for Christmas. And then she told him that Mommy said it was a secret.

On the 23rd I hosted the First Annual Christmas Tea for a few of my girlfriends from college. The kids came too, and we drew names ahead of time so that they could open a gift. Logan brought Marin a princess dress up dress complete with matching wand and crown. I didn't think she'd ever take it off. The tea was so much fun, and a special time to spend with my girlfriends as we kicked off the Christmas festivities. We decided to make it an annual event. My mom joined us this year, which was fun as well, and she gave all of the children an adorable bear benefiting St. Jude's. I loved when we piled all of the kids on the couch to take a picture. By now you know that I love to entertain and I love to celebrate a special occasion. To me, there is just nothing better than the laughter of loved ones gathered around your table.

That evening we went to Jason's Aunt and Uncle's house in Woodridge for a Christmas dinner. Jason's Uncle Jim and Lindsay were there as well, and as always it is a treat to be together. Marin said the dinner prayer, asking God to bless, "Baby Jesus, Mary, Jofess and all the cows." Dinner was delicious and the company was wonderful. Aunt Jean and Uncle Don gave Marin and Emilie darling gifts that they love and we had dessert before it was time to head to my parent's house to begin our Christmas celebrations.

Every year, my mom gives everyone new Christmas PJ's and we all have a sleepover together. Even though we have our own house 1.4 miles away, it's just not the same as waking up all under one roof. We had a beautiful Christmas brunch together and then exchanged gifts. Everyone was spoiled- Marin and Emilie definitely no exception. Marin's favorite was a princess castle with furniture and people. She's played with it nonstop. Emilie received lovely things as well and she's chewed on them all. After our gifts were exchanged we went home, where Lindsay met us before we all drove into the city for a beautiful and meaningful Christmas mass. After mass we went back to my parent's house where we had a delicious Christmas Eve fondue dinner and then played games. Lindsay learned very quickly who does not like to lose (not pointing any fingers, mom).

Once the winners and the losers were sorted out, we headed back to our house where we left cookies and a note for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph. Then we sprinkled reindeer food on our front lawn so they wouldn't have any trouble finding our house. While we were outside sprinkling the food, Marin spotted Santa in the sky, and knew that he wouldn't come to her house until she was snug in her bed fast asleep. We quickly got into bed and Jason read The Night Before Christmas before we turned out the lights on one very excited little girl.

Marin woke up first on Christmas morning, although you could argue that Aunt Lindsay was really the one up since she slept with Marin in her bed and really never went to sleep. We'll have to adjust the sleeping arrangements for next year for sure. Marin came down the stairs to find that Santa had in fact come during the night and that he'd left lots of presents for both she and her sister. Marin didn't waste any time getting started with the unwrapping Emilie woke up after a little while and waited very patiently to open her presents. Everyone loved everything and there was a flurry of organized Christmas chaos. I read a quote somewhere that day from Andy Rooney that said something like, "It's a wonderful mess that's created in the living room on Christmas morning. Don't be too quick to clean it all up." I really love this quote. I hope I remember that every year.

We had mimosas and cinnamon rolls for breakfast after the gifts were opened, and then I did try to gain some organization to our house once I realized the the cleaning lady was coming in two days and that we were leaving in the morning for Jason's parent's house. But organized or not, we all headed back to my parent's house a few hours later for Christmas dinner. My grandparents and my Uncle John were there as well as Jason's Uncle Jim. Lindsay joined us again as well, and we were delighted to be celebrating with a few new additions to our Christmas table this year. What a special treat!

The next morning we headed to Jason's parent's house to celebrate with his family. Marin had a great time playing with her cousins, Brady and Cammi and Emilie hung around the big kids just content to be in their company. Brandon and Holly made a great dinner for everyone, and then we exchanged gifts. Everyone got great gifts again and the kids opened their toys right then and there to play together. Marin and Cammi took a bath together before getting into their new matching Minnie Mouse Christmas PJ's and calling it a night. After all the kids were down, Debbie and Derek agreed to watch them all so that the big kids and Bill could try out a new bar in Jason's home town. We had a good time but we headed home after a little while to finish catching up and snack on all the leftovers.

Marin was sad to say goodbye to her cousins the next day, but she sure was excited to see baby Calvin at Aunt Vee's the very next day! We headed out to the farm that afternoon and enjoyed another great dinner together and exchanged more presents. Marin got a Cinderella princess dress which she put on immediately and kept on even as she played with her second present, a toy tractor. Emilie got a handmade blanket from Nicole just as Marin did on her first Christmas. It's sure to become a favorite. Marin and Emilie both loved baby Calvin. I think it will be especially fun to watch he and Emilie grow up together. Calvin is a strong little guy and he's growing so very well. I can't get enough of him. After Aunt Vee's feast, we all settled in played a game that if points were awarded for laughing, I would have won for sure. Of course we woke up the next morning to another Aunt Vee feast. And after spending the first part of the day together we arrived back in Geneva with a full car and new memories.

The next day Jason and I took both girls to see The Muppets, their first movie in the theater. Marin loved it, she even bopped along to tall the songs in her seat. She said that her favorite part was "Hermit" but I think she meant Kermit. Emilie was so good and made it through the whole movie. That evening Jason and I enjoyed dinner at our favorite restaurant in town with two friends who came out from the city. Grandma and Grandpa watched the girls, and they had a blast watching movies.

To repay them, we have my parents over for dinner the next night, and we played a fun new card game. You guessed it, Miss can't-stand-to-lose won again. Drats!

The next day, New Year's Eve, we woke up to find that Santa had come to our house again! He delivered a special present for Marin that she waited so patiently for, as his elves needed a little extra time. Marin was so excited to get this sleeping bag that she had asked Santa for all season long. It matched the sleeping bag Santa brought her for Pinkie on Christmas Day.

That evening, we went to some friends house for a low key night of fun. We played with the kids and ordered Chinese food, and after the kids went to bed we played catch phrase until literally I almost wet my pants. The girls lost miserably. When I talked to my mom at midnight, she claimed it must have been since she wasn't there to win it for girls.

On New Year's Day, we had our final Christmas celebration. We all headed to my Aunt and Uncle's home on Lake Holiday for the Martin Christmas. With seven little kids, it was fun for everyone. Marin loved running around with Skylar and Avery- playing ring around the rosie, and dancing to Christmas Carols she sang herself. Emilie loved meeting Andrew, her little cousin who is just one month older than she. At dinner, my Uncle Reed gave all the kids sparkling cider in a fancy glass, and that made Marin's night. She even asked him for seconds. Amy taught us a new game that the kids played also, and when it was time to go, Marin cried saying she didn't want to leave. A true sign of a good time (okay, and an exhausted baby girl).

The next day was Jason's last day of his glorious two week vacation with us. We decided to have a family day with just he four of us, and we took the girls to the DuPage Children's Museum. It was so wonderful. Marin just loved all that there was to do there. She played with sound and light sticks, she wrote on the wall with a black light, she made giant bubbles, she played at the enormous water table. She even got to go with Daddy to hammer real nails into wood! Then we went upstairs where they had shapes and counting and a huge train set and train car where she got to be the conductor! We had such a great time.

It was a wonderful first Christmas for Emilie. And it was a wonderful two weeks together visiting family and spending time together. There is just nothing better in the world. We hope that you had a fantastic holiday with your families as well. And we wish you a very happy New Year. Can't wait to see what 2012 has in store!

Casson, our Elf.

2011-12-22T12:09:00.000-08:00

Meet Casson. Casson is our Elf on the Shelf. For those who many be unfamiliar with the concept, The Elf on the Shelf is a elf doll with coordinating story book, who comes out during holiday time and watches over the children in the household to observe their behavior. At the end of each day, after the children are asleep, the elf flies back to the North Pole and reports back to Santa about how the children behaved that day. You can tell your elf Christmas wishes but you can't touch him or his magic will disappear. The elf flies back just in time for the children to wake up and each morning he is in a new spot, making it a game for the children to find him. Brilliant. They are everywhere. And at $29.99 a pop don't you wish you had thought of it first? ;)

When the elf first comes to live with you, the children must give it a name. Marin named our elf Emilie (exactly what she names everything; hence the fish Emilie and 25 dolls name Emilie). When we told Marin our elf was a boy she said she wanted to name him Casson. No clue where that name came from, but we think it was maybe derived from Calvin, her baby cousin. In any case, Marin has had a blast finding Casson every day. It will be sad when Casson has to go back with Santa on Christmas Eve, but he'll be back next year after Thanksgiving.

When my sister-in-law and brother-in-law came to visit at the beginning of the month, their elf followed them here. Wouldn't you know it, Casson and Marvin (their elf) got into a little bit of mischief. They had a snowball fight and left evidence (mini marshmellows) for the kids to find the next day. They also left a note saying that they were having so much fun together.

Casson left a gift for the girls one day (Prep and Landing on DVD) but otherwise has been pretty quiet. My cousin's elf, Beethoven, has had all kinds of adventures like zip lining through the kitchen and bungee jumping off the couch. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law's elf has left snow angels on the counter, and even sported some Mr. Potato head glasses for a while so he could keep an extra careful eye on their behavior. The elf on the shelf is really fun, but the best part is Marin running down the stairs every morning, subsequently searching the house before finally squealing, "I found him!!! Theeeeeer's Casson!! That silly Casson!"

Whilwind December

2011-12-20T05:13:00.000-08:00

I blinked yesterday and today is December 20th. What whaaaaat?!

We have been packed to the gills with parties and festive holiday cheer every day since December 1st. Don't believe me? Here's the breakdown:

On December 1st Marin and I kicked off the holiday season with Moms Together/Kids Together. Marin made a craft (a "Jesus is King" crown that I later had to wear to the dry cleaners because we were playing princess and queen) and played with some friends while I listened to Christmas carols and sipped hot coco stirred with a peppermint stick. That night I attended a Christmas party with my mom and her neighbor friends. We had a fun gift exchange and a delicious sit down dinner.

The next day we really kicked it into gear. Jason took a vacation day to stay with the kids while my mom, Aunt Vee, 2 of her friends and I hit the Geneva House Walk, Friday afternoon. We toured five gorgeous professionally decorated homes all decked to the extreme with holiday goodness. Always a favorite day for me. That evening we all met up with Jason, the girls and my dad, and walk up town Geneva for the Christmas Walk. The Christmas walk is a holiday tradition in Geneva stretching back longer than I can remember, where the merchants stay up late, and the street is bustling with carolers, roasted chestnuts on the open fire and carriage rides. Santa comes to greet all of the children, and light the 50 foot Christmas tree in the center of town. Santa Lucia, a Swedish custom, arrives by horse drawn carriage and hands out treats to all of the children. There is ice carving, and a candy cane pull when Graham's makes homemade candy canes and presents the first official candy cane of the season to the Mayor. There is also a live nativity with real animals- a favorite of Marin's this year. In fact, even with all the candy and hot chocolate she consumed, at the end of the night she said her favorite part was "the baby Jesus." Maybe she'll be a nun. Probably not. Emilie stayed snug as a bug in her stroller smiling away and didn't make a peep all night.

The next day, Saturday the 3rd, all four of us loaded the polar express for the North Pole. The elves that took us there lead everyone in Christmas Carols on the way, and our seats were all decked out. Every child received a jingle bell when they loaded, and they jingled them the whole way there. When we got to the North Pole, Marin saw Parker was there too! Together they made a craft with the elves, a stuffed dog that they dressed up in a Santa suit. Then we headed over to meet some of Santa's reindeer. I don't know who was most in awe- Jason and I, or Marin and Emilie. They were really cool. Then we headed over to see Santa and tell him what we wanted for Christmas. Emilie happily sat on his lap smiling, but Marin was happier to stand nearby. Marin told Santa she wanted a sleeping bag, a firetruck, some tools, and dollies. We said goodbye to Santa and headed inside to meet Mrs. Clause where we all had a cookie and listened her read us the Polar Express story. What a great day!

That evening, Jason's brother Brandon, his wife Holly, and Marin and Emilie's cousins, Brady and Camdyn arrived! We all walked to dinner down the street and while we waited for our table, walked to the popcorn shop. After a yummy dinner, we headed back home where all the kids hit the hay and the adults stayed up way too late, having a lot of fun. Highly regretted the next morning, but so fun!

The next day we all went to Chicago to the Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier. The kids loved it! Aunt Lindsay met us there, which was an added bonus. They jumped and played and slide and rode the carousel. Marin and Cammi decorated a sugar cookie and took a train ride. We headed home exhausted from a great weekend.

Monday night, December 5th the girls and I went to an ornament exchange at my mom's house with her former teacher friends. Marin was thrilled to be a party, and Emilie got to play with two other sweet babies, both born within weeks of her. That night we put our shoes outside our bedroom door since the next day was St. Nicholas Day. St. Nick brought the girls a Elf on the Shelf plate and bowl. (more on our elf in another post).

December 6th we got a real thrill at dinner time, when Santa called our house! He asked to speak with Marin, and there were jingle bells in the background from his reindeer. Santa told Marin that she had been such a good girl helping her mommy and daddy with her sister, Emilie. He told her to be sure to keep listening to mommy and daddy so that she could get that sleeping bag she's been wanting. He even said to say hello to her dog, Norah! Marin was thrilled!!!! She talked to him, and thanked him for calling and then told everyone she knew that Santa called her.

December 8th, the girls and I headed to my grandparents house to help my grandma make Christmas cookies. This is a fairly new tradition, but one that reminds me of making Christmas cookies with my grandma when I was Marin's age. We frosted over 200 cookies that day, and made a triple batch of another favorite that my cousins and I know only as "the apricot ones". And we ended the day together with a tea party- even Marin had real tea!

Our plans to meet Ross and Emilie in the city for dinner on the 9th were derailed when Ross' flight was cancelled. But, my parents were already set to watch the girls after one of their holiday parties, and the kids were so excited, so the girls were able to enjoy some time with Grandma and Grandpa while Jason and I went out for a quiet dinner, just the two of us.

The next day Marin was invited to Violet's 4th birthday party, and loved spending the morning decorating gingerbread men with all of her friends, in their personalized gingerbread man aprons. This was Marin's first birthday party without Jason or I there, and she did great and had a great time! We picked Marin up from Violet's party and headed to Joy and Lily's birthday party at the recreation center. Marin loved seeing Joy, Lily and Olivia, and had a ball singing and dancing along with the children's musician they brought in for their party. Even Emilie got in on the bopping and dancing.

That evening, Jason and I headed to our neighbors house for a Christmas party. It was so festive, had a lot of delicious food, and we had a great time chatting with all of our neighbors.

The next day, December 11th, we peeled ourselves from our beds once again, (I swear we don't have problems; just, you know- 'tis the season! ), Marin and I met three other neighbors and their children, plus my mom and dad in St. Charles to see "Scrooge, The Musical." It was a great musical at our small but fabulous community theatre. Sydney, one of our neighbor children, was one of the few children in the production, and she did an amazing job! She seemed much more like a 20 year old, than the poised 10 year old that she is. I loved taking Marin to her first play, and she loved all of the music and pointing out Sydney everytime she came on stage.

Monday, December 12th Marin had her last Monday school for the year. They had celebrated and sang songs all day long, and talked about the story of Bethlehem.

A few night later, on Wednesday the 14th, I hosted an ornament exchange at my house for our Geneva friends. There were about 17 of us, and when Jason had to be out of town at the last minute, the girls were here as well. Marin really wanted to stay up for the party, but she was exhausted, so my mom helped me put both girls to bed, and they didn't make a peep for the whole party. We had a great time together. I love throwing a party! What is better than your friends laughter filling your home?

The next morning we headed to Mika's house in our jammies for what I hope will become our first annual Christmas PJ playdate! Such great fun! All of the little babies were there in their pj's and my friends and I wore ours, too. Perfection! Still in her jammies, Marin earned a trip to the cupcake store with Grandma and Grandpa for being such a good little pumpkin during my ornament exchange. That night we met Abby and Jeff and Erica and Craig at a new wood fired pizza place in town. Food was delish and time with friends was the best part.

Friday was my mom's birthday, and we spent the day together starting with breakfast together that morning, where Emilie had her first "real" food, bananas. We took Marin to school together, and then shopped along Third Street until it was time to pick Marin up. After we picked her up, we all went out for what Marin called a "fancy lunch". A great day spent together.

After naps for the girls, Jason and I and the girls headed downtown to Molly and Brian's house for our 8th annual Conti/Patterson Christmas dinner. Molly cooked a delicious meal as always, and gave both of the girls perfect presents that they have been playing with ever since. Molly surprised me with a home made pillow made out of her bridesmaids dress from my wedding. The night ended on a high note when we all cracked up when Marin, so exhausted, peed right on the floor. Nothing like leaving our mark.

The next day, Saturday the 17th, we headed to Chuck E Cheese for Alex's 2nd birthday party and when we were all played out, headed straight to Little Monkey Bizness for Finn and Tripp's birthday party! Our friends rented out the entire facility, and the kids had a great time playing with their friends and eating yummy treats. When Santa arrived for a surprise visit, that was truly the icing on the cake! Marin told us that she'd already talked to Santa, but when he called she and Emilie by name, she headed right up there and listened when he said they'd been good girls this year. Although Emilie almost landed herself on the naughty list when we kept pulling Santa's beard.

With all of the nonstop events, Jason and I decided to forgo the three holiday parties we had been invited to that night, and instead used our babysitter to see a movie together. We got a few drinks together afterward and came home to happy little munchkins.

Sunday, the 18th, we woke up to snow! Marin asked to play in it right away, and Jason jumped at the chance. They made a snowman, appropriately named Frosty (truth be told, Marin first named him Daddy). After frosty was complete they came inside for hot chocolate, and together we all headed to see the Nutcracker. The dance company where Marin takes ballet put it on, but Marin's class was too little to participate. Still, with children aged 3 1/2 through high school participating, it was adorable and we even got to see many of our friends performing! Marin and Emilie loved it; watching the stage very intently, and even dancing along to the music at parts. In fact, I expected Emilie to just sort of be along for the ride, but she bounced and smiled and had the time of her life.

We came right home from the Nutcracker to put the finishing touches on hosting my mom's birthday dinner. A few minutes later, Uncle Jake, Aunt Katy, Great Uncle John, GG and OG, and Grandma and Grandpa came over for a fun celebration of my mom and a nice dinner together. The perfect way to spend the afternoon!

That night, Marin was invited to a Christmas sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and she got to open a new present from Mommy and Daddy for the occasion. When she opened her Grinch PJ's, she screamed, "OH MY GOSH!! I LOVE IT!!!" and hugged them tightly to her chest. Grandma and Grandpa started their Christmas sleepover by driving all around to see beautiful Christmas lights. Then they all jammied up, and watched the Chipmunks Christmas. A huge hit with Marin.

Yesterday we had a mommy/daughter casual lunch at Panera. Today we had a playdate with Kai in his awesome basement playroom! Then we finished up our Christmas shopping in front of the big tree!

We've been busy (on top of all of this I've shopped for and wrapped over 150 presents), but we love packing in the fun, and feel so lucky to share the season with the best friends and family on the planet. We've had so much fun listening to Christmas music. Marin has learned all the words to all of her favorite songs- among them is Jingle Bell Rock.

Of course the fun will continue in the coming weeks! This week we have a cookie making playdate, a Christmas tea, and even a special lunch with Daddy. And then, as Marin says, "To Sunday, Santa's gonna come down our chimney aaaaand.....leeeeeave....PRESENTS!!!!!

Emilie- Seven Months Old!

2011-12-15T16:26:00.000-08:00

7 Month Stats:
16 lbs. 6 oz.
27 inches long

Biggest news this month: We're off the high fat diet! (Cue happy dance!) We went back to the doctor for Emilie's weigh check the other day and were overjoyed to hear that she gained four pounds! She's right back at the 50th percentile now. Now we can focus much more on other exciting stuff like the following.

* Emilie loves her sister so very much. She watches her every move with an enormous smile. Marin reciprocates every smile and is already asking if Emilie can sleepover in her bed with her. Emilie also loves Norah. She loves to reach out for her and pet her ears. Norah is such a saint. She cares much less when Emilie yanks on her ears, than Marin cares when it is her hair Emilie's pulling. We are trying to explain to Marin that she is just trying to reach for her to say hello.

* She's an awesome sleeper. Once the poor thing got enough food, she has literally never once woken up in the night since. She sleeps from about 7:30pm to 7:30am or 8:00am.

* Emilie is strong. She sits up very well, and although she isn't crawling, she wants to so badly! She lays on her stomach and kicks her legs up and down while she reaches her arms out in front of her. It looks a little like she's trying to swim on land.

* Food really does not seem to be a priority for Emilie. Hence the whole falling off the growth chart thing. I'm hoping that as she has more "real" food, she will be more excited about eating.

* Emilie is very quiet. I know it's shocking since the rest of us never shut up. But Marin was like that too, and then one day she just started jabbering away non stop.

* Emilie's literally the happiest baby ever. People are constantly asking us, "Is she always this happy?!" And she is. She wakes up smiling, and literally smiles up at me from her crib before I kiss her goodnight at the end of each day.

*Emilie loves to bounce to music like she's dancing. Marin runs around singing and dancing, and Emilie does not miss a beat. She watches her and bounces right along with her.

* Emilie loves her bright board books. She reads with Marin and I every day, and I try to snuggle up with her in her room and read "her" books as well every day.

* She's a cuddle bug. Emilie loves to be held closely and tightly and she loves to lay on our chest and snuggle her head in the crook in our neck. Who doesn't love baby smell?

* Emilie loves her sophie giraffe. That thing drives Norah a little nuts at times with all the squeaking, but Emilie loves to chew on it and hold it. It is so darn cute that Sophie.

Life is moving so quickly. We are so smitten with Emilie and have loved watching her turn from less of a a baby-baby and into more of a little person. She's such a sweet baby and we love her so very much. And we're so glad that she's healthy and gaining weight again! Hip Hooray!

Emilie's First Thanksgiving!

2011-11-30T12:25:00.001-08:00

We had a nice Thanksgiving last week, especially loving the time we had with family. Jason and I ended up hosting our first Thanksgiving at the last minute, after my Grandpa spent a few days in the hospital with some chest pains. Luckily, he is okay. Jason really sprang into action at the last minute, and threw together a delicious Thanksgiving with all of the fixings, for my parents and my Uncle John and us in less than 24 hours. As my mom put it, he saved Thanksgiving.

After a nice celebration at our house, and a good walk to burn off all that we'd stuffed ourselves with, we headed to my Grandparent's house to bring Thanksgiving to them. My Grandpa is doing much better and although it was different, it was nice to spend time with my grandparents on Thanksgiving. And, although against doctor's orders on Emilie's high fat diet (my dream!), it was here that I gave her her first taste of mashed potatoes. Since I made them myself, I can assure you there is nothing low fat about them, although I wouldn't normally serve her what is in the potatoes, either. Chalk it up to being the second child.

My mom and I did get in our annual shopping and lunch day the next day. It was such a treat to spend time with my mom one on one. Can you believe I didn't take one picture?! That's a first.

We spent the rest of the weekend visiting with Jason's family at his Aunt Jean's house. Marin had a great time running and playing with Jason's cousin's kids and it was great to have everyone together. A lot of fun moments playing Wii. For some reason Marin decided to strip down and play in her undies, which made it hilarious for when she'd squat and jump to play the skiing game.

And now Thanksgiving has come and gone and like the rest of the world, we are in full Christmas mode. But we had a very nice long weekend together, recounting all that we have to be thankful for. Mostly, family, friends and each other.

Bathing Beauties

2011-11-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

Definitely thankful for these two at the end of each day.

Mashed Potatoes according to 7 year old me

2011-11-21T07:34:00.000-08:00

Molly recently unearthed the Thanksgiving cookbook that we made with our 2nd grade class. Feel free to use my recipe for Mashed Potatoes at your Thanksgiving table this year. Be sure to triple check the recipe before you head out to the grocery store though- you don't want to forget the cherries. After all, what are mashed potatoes with out the cherries, beans and mushrooms?!
Molly's recipe for cornbread makes a lot more sense. We should have known that between the two of us, she'd turn out to be both the most logical and the better cook. Apparently I cared more about the very specific way that the food was decorated, than the way the dish would actually taste. Ah, something never change.
Happy Thanksgiving!

The Circus!

2011-11-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

The girls spent the weekend with my mom and dad last weekend, while Jason and I stole away to Chicago for the weekend. Heaven. The girls had a fabulous time with Grandma and Grandpa, the main attraction being the circus on Saturday afternoon!

Ever since then, Marin has been walking around pretending to be on a tight rope and is even teaching her dollies to tight rope. She loved the animals and the "silly clowns" and the lights and the music- and of course, the enormous snow cone. What are grandparents for, if not to spoil? :)

Emilie loved it too- especially the bright lights and the music!

Both girls came home with a souvenir stuffed animal, and Marin is still asking to watch the video clips of the circus on the computer to relive the experience. What a thrill!

The girls rounded out their weekend with Grandma and Grandpa with church downtown Chicago, lunch with GG and OG, bubble baths and making popcorn on the stove. Great memories made for sure!

Emilie- Six Months Old!

2011-11-16T20:12:00.001-08:00

6 Month Stats:
12 lbs. 10 oz.
25 inches long

Well, the biggest news with our sweet little Emilie at six months, is that girlfriend needs to gain some weight. And quickly. Her six month doctor's appointment showed that she has fallen off the charts in the weight department (and actually lost weight from her four month check up). I feel horribly terribly awful. Her doctor thinks that she may get distracted when she eats, and because she's so easy going, she doesn't really let me know that she isn't exactly full. This likely decreased my milk supply and since she's more active now, she is burning more calories than she is getting. Let's hope that's the only problem anyway. So now she's on a high calorie diet of breast milk, followed by formula with the addition of rice cereal and PediaSure. I am basically force feeding her around the clock. She'll go back for a weight check in a month, and if this solves the problem, we can move on with life as normal. Fingers crossed for that outcome.

Otherwise, life is moving quickly. I can't even begin to tell you how quickly the time is flying by. I know that I say that every month, and that it is the biggest cliche in the world, but literally I can't believe that my baby girl is half a year old already. Didn't we just bring her home?

That's not to say that we're not busy! Emilie has a lot of tricks up her sleeves these days as detailed below.

* She is sitting up for a few seconds at a time. I think the longest is only about five seconds, but she's getting stronger and trying to hold her balance for a little longer every day.

* Emilie remains the happiest little baby. She just smiles all day long, especially at Marin.

* She loves to "stand" and bounce and play in the excersaucer as much as she loves to be held and snuggle and smile up at whomever has the pleasure of holding her.

* She loves soft animals and toys, and sleeps with them every night.

* Emilie is reaching out and pulling for things all the time. She loves all books, but Marin has showed her how to feel all the textured pages of the books with furry animals and these are Emilie's favorite.

* She is sleeping much better. Probably because she is finally getting enough to eat. Ugh. Bad Mommy! Our little routine is bath, jammies, sleep sack, book, feeding, prayers and a little snuggle while I sing her "Let me call you sweetheart." Marin always kisses her goodnight before she goes to bed. We lay Emilie down awake with her paci and her lovies and she puts herself to sleep within minutes.

* Emilie loves to pet Norah, and feel her ears. Norah rewards her with kisses back.

* Like Marin was at this age, Emilie is quiet most of the time. When she does babble it is the sweetest little sound, but she doesn't talk just to hear her voice. I am pretty certain that she is just taking in the world, and will soon be talking up a storm; whenever her sister lets her get a word in edgewise. ;)

Emilie, you are a little love bug. Your daddy and I love watching all that you are learning and are delighted to see you change as you do something new all the time. We check on you at night before we go to bed, and watch you sleeping so peacefully snuggled up with your giraffe and blankies, on your side. Your sister is amazed that you are growing so quickly, and already asked me if you could have a sleep over in her big girl bed with her. I assured her that you'd jump at the chance someday. You are a joy and a delight, and we couldn't be more proud of you. We love you so very much!

One Fish, Two Fish, White Fish, Orange Fish

2011-11-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, we inherited two fish- or should I say, we rescued two fish- from my grandparent's house. My grandparents had been to a benefit, and a fishbowl with fish served as the centerpiece at every table. Near the end of the evening, the M.C. asked everyone to look under their seats, and sure enough, my 91 year old grandpa had the sticker under his seat for their table, and they went home that night with four fish.

They tried to pawn them off on my cousin, but she is a smarter person than I, and ran like the wind. So, my grandparents kept them hoping to find them a good home. Now, it should be known that my grandma is the nicest woman alive. I know this isn't generally a stretch for a grandma, but let me just put it this way: At nearing 94, my grandma cleans with her cleaning lady, Anita, and serves her a full course lunch when she comes every other Monday. And we're not talking about cold meat sandwiches- she makes the works, and has grown to know Anita's favorites, and fixes them for her often, and sends her home with leftovers. The best part; my grandma can't believe that no one else does this for Anita. However, as nice as my grandma is, the woman clearly was not meant to have fish. She was feeding them bits of club cracker. One day, she told me, my Uncle Reed fed the fish some bits of cookie. Oh boy. Believe it or not, only three survived on that stellar diet. So naturally, when she asked me during a visit to their house if we wanted some fish, I had to save them. Marin got all excited, and named them Marin, Emilie and Norah. By the time we left that afternoon, Fish Norah took a swim down the sewage system. On the way home, I told Marin that GG and OG kept one of the fish, so that's why we only brought Fish Marin and Fish Emilie home with us. Fish Marin is orange, Fish Emilie is white.

Also on the way home, we stopped to buy the poor fish some proper fish food. And, because with two small children, and a big ole dog I have nothing else to do, I know feed the fish three times a day, and clean the bowl and change the water every other day. I'm such a sucker. I told my brother that he owes me, because he was next on my grandma's list, and I'm positive he would have taken them. That kid is such a softie for animals, its almost embarrassing. He sings to his cats. Made up cat songs just for them. He's sorta weird. (Love you, Jake!)

Meanwhile, every morning I was rushing to make sure Fish Marin and Fish Emilie weren't floating on top of the water. I knew for sure I didn't want Marin to discover this as she told them, "Good morning, fishies!" as she loves to do. If she makes it through the getting ready process every morning without any whining, she gets to feed them. (Side note: I can't believe this works as well as it does!) One morning, I discovered Fish Marin having a little trouble swimming. Panic set in. Marin would be so sad if something happened to Fish Marin or Fish Emilie. I'm pretty sure no one has ever willed a goldfish to live quite like I did. Knowing the inevitable, I told her that Fish Marin wasn't feeling so well. And a few mornings later, I found her floating on the top of the bowl. I scooped her out, flushed her down and braced myself to tell Marin after she woke up.

She took the news pretty well. I asked her if she remembered that Fish Marin wasn't feeling well, and she had. Then I told that she died that morning and went to fish heaven. She just said, "Oh." And then perked up, "Prolly if I go sing to her, she will feel all better!" I told her what a sweet thought that was, but that unfortunately it wouldn't work. Then I suggested maybe she could sing to Fish Emilie, because she might miss her friend. Marin loved that idea, and sang to her right away.

Fish Emilie seems to be doing well. Our friend Rob, once won a goldfish at his elementary school carnival, and it lived until he was in college. I'm praying to the fish gods that I don't have to take care of this fish for that long. But I'm also equally hoping that she lives long enough to where Marin loses interest, so we won't have to replace the fish with a likely longer living, healthier one.

Without further ado, I introduce you to Fish Emilie and, (may she rest in watery peace), Fish Marin.

Yummy, yummy, yummy! Rice cereal in my tummy!

2011-11-08T11:54:00.000-08:00

Emilie joins us at the table for our meals every day and just watches the utensil from our plate to our mouths and back. It was time to start this girl on some "real" food. Although, I'm not sure you can consider completely liquefied rice cereal as a gourmet specialty exactly, she gobbled it right up.

As you'd expect, she's a little confused by the spoon. She tries to lick the cereal off the spoon with her tongue like a cat. It's pretty funny. But when we can get the spoon past her tongue, she does keep most of the cereal in her mouth.

I can. not. believe! that we are at this point with Emilie already. Time is going so quickly. But she's ready, and she definitely likes getting in on the action. She was grabbing at the spoon, already wanting to put it in her mouth herself! When I said we should try giving her some cereal Marin was quick to tell me, "No, baby Emmie's too little for cereal." She's growing quickly. I don't know who is in more disbelief- Marin or me.

In retrospect, I maybe could have spruced up a little (like, out of my pj's) for the sake of recording the milestone, but it was early Sunday morning, and let's be real. I'm not really sure the girls will be exactly shocked to remember me like this some day. :)

Halloween M&eM's!

2011-11-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

After six parties, Halloween 2011 is behind us, making it almost as celebrated as Christmas. When did that start happening? No skin off our back though- you know we love a good party.

Marin and Emilie were M&eM's for Halloween. Jason had the idea after they were born and we got a present from Mika and Joey from a store in Glen Ellyn called M and Em's. Until then we hadn't realized that their names were M and Em. The Amazing Molly found time between, helping people in need, running marathons, being a triathlete, cooking amazing meals every night, and taking awesome pictures- and oh yeah, she also has a big time full time job- to make the costumes from scratch. Molly is literally the best person I know. For some reason she decides to keep me around- probably for when she decides to slum it with someone who showers four times a week and spends half her life talking about time outs. And, because she is super woman, she surprised us with a matching costume for Norah, too. I die. We are eternally grateful to Molly for making our costumes once again. They were the talk of every party and every outing. All props to you, Mols. Thank you SO very much!

The fun started in September when Molly came to measure Emilie and Marin for their costumes. This meant we got to see Molly for a bonus visit, which is rare, since, when we moved to Geneva two years ago, I broke our unwritten rule to never live father than five miles apart. Molly asked Marin what color she wanted to be and what color baby Emilie should be. After Marin said red and green, and I tried to sway her in a different direction, Molly stopped me, saying that what Marin wants, Marin gets. This is what Marin thinks too, sometimes. Hence my aforementioned talk about all the time outs. The girls and I met Molly downtown for lunch to pick up the costumes and were instantly in love.

Marin was excited to help me make these treats to give to all of Marin and Emilie's friends.

We kicked off our Halloween celebrations on Thursday afternoon, by trick-or-treating at the merchants in downtown Geneva. Marin's friend Joy, from ballet and her sister, Lily and mom, Lara, met at our house and we walked to the shops together. We saw so many of our friends there, and Marin just ran up and down the streets SO excited to see everyone in their costumes. True to her social roots, I think she loved seeing her friends more than she did getting the candy.

Friday we had a Halloween party at Kathy's Kid's, Marin's old daycare. Kathy invited a lot of alumni, so Marin got to see a lot of her old friends. Kathy went all out, as usual, with cookies and candy and hot cider for the adults, as well as lots of other treats too. Then we all went trick-or-treating in her neighborhood, which happens to include my parent's house. Marin loved ringing the doorbell and yelling trick-or-treat at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Friday night we invited my parent's over and carved pumpkins. Actually, if I'm telling the truth, Jason carved pumpkins, I supervised, and Marin "cooked" the guts with her play kitchen pots and pans until they fell and splattered everywhere, and that was the end of that. In keeping with tradition, we put Emilie in the pumpkin like we did with Marin on her first Halloween. (Refresher picture of Marin on the right.) Emilie, the happiest baby in the world, didn't seem to mind as much.

Saturday morning we took the train to Glen Ellyn to meet Mika, Tom and Tess for Glen Ellyn's costume parade. It was so much fun, and we'll definitely do this every year. How adorable is Tess, dressed as a pumpkin princess? I could eat her with a spoon. Marin loves Tesser, as she calls her, and was so excited to run in the middle of the street with her at the "hip parade" (which is Marin for parade- derived from hip hip hooray, which she thinks is pronounced hip parade, and thus calls parades, hip parades). Taking the train (just like Daddy does) was a huge hit, too. Add that to trick-or-treating after the hip parade, and you have the makings of a 2 1/2 year olds perfect day.

Saturday night, Lindsay came to babysit the girls, while this Girl Scout and her Eagle Scout escort went to a murder mystery Halloween party. Yes, that is my original vest from 1987. I was 9. You bet your sweet a that I earned all those badges. I also carried my badge book in my girl scout bag that I stenciled myself. Hot. Jason really was an Eagle Scout, and wore his original shirt from when he was 17. Insert nerd joke here. Marin took one look at my hairdo and said, "Mommy! You look beautiful with those ribbons in your piggy tails!!"

Sunday afternoon we had a family party at our friend the Szklarek's. Marin loved seeing her friend CJ dressed as Peter Pan (his mom and dad were Tinkerbell and Captain Hook!), Kai dressed as an adorable dinosaur, and Alex, the dragon. Abby made a lot of really good food for the adults, and adorable Halloween treats for the kids. Such fun! On the way to this party, we stopped to visit my Grandma and Grandpa, who were at my parents house, so they could see the girls in their costumes.

Finally, Monday was Halloween, the main event. We continued our tradition of trick-or-treating with all of our neighbors, which is so much fun! There are 18 kids total who run all costumed, giggling together. The adults trail along and hang back on the sidewalk to making sure the kids say thank you, and don't run through the yards. And okay, adult beverages are also consumed. The Nitschke's hosted us again- we all met there before hand, and after trick-or-treating we went back to their home for soups and cocktails and conversation. All the kids snuggled on the couch to watch a movie after they ran around and played doctor in the basement. At this age, that's still innocent. We all stayed up past our bedtime, and I went to bed so grateful once again for being blessed with such a fun group of neighbors.

Love handles

2011-10-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

Raise your hand if you eat your kid's Halloween candy. Go ahead. You know you do it. A few days ago I saw Jason eye balling Marin's candy bag and I shouted, "I call the milkduds!" There is literally so much candy in my house right now, it's insane. And the main trick or treating doesn't even start for another two hours.

During a recent lunch with my BFF, I mentioned that it turns out that I might have to actually exercise to lose the rest of my stubborn baby weight. Ugh. Major bummer. Especially because I don't own a gym membership, nor am I dying to take the time to work out during the very small window of time that I have to relax in the day- which is after both girls are asleep, and I am usually blissfully sitting next to my hubby on the couch, mindlessly shoveling cookies in my mouth. Oh yeah, that could be another reason I remain plumper than normal.

It's not like I just sit around on my duff all day. In fact, I rarely sit at all except to maybe write this blog and feed Emilie. And even that's not guaranteed. We walk everywhere when even remotely possible and I climb the darn stairs what feels like 1,000 times a day. Yet, you can literally grab fistfuls of fat at my waistline. Fistfuls. That's not good. Why are they called love handles, anyway? Is the fluffy name supposed to pull at our feminine heart strings and make us feel better about being fat? It's not working for me. You could call them cuddly little puppy handles. A fistful is a fistful. And I've got 'em.

I know, I know... I just had a baby, and I shouldn't be so hard on myself.... blah, blah, blah. I already know all that, and I'm not feeling even a second sorry for myself, and I'm certainly not asking you to. I just wish that I could blink my eyes and have Michelle Obama's arms and Reese Witherspoon's body. Is that too much to ask?

What's that? Oh, they both work their a's off for their bodies? Shoot. Don't moms go through enough to carry, birth and raise the baby? Shouldn't that warrant some kind of automatic free pass at the waistline? Like, "Oh, thank you for bringing a child into this world. From here forward you are allowed to eat limitless Reese's peanut butter cups, and never gain a pound!" How great would that be? One can dream. But it is a stretch, so I guess that means if I no longer want my rear to sprawl the width of the mirror when I am occasionally brave enough to turn and look, I am going to have to change some habits. And if I want to banish my muffin top, I guess I'm going to have to eat fewer cookies.

But at least Halloween is nearly over. Just in time for a holiday dedicated to a meal, and another one right behind it laced with cookies. Shoot again.

Dear Firemen:

2011-10-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Do you know those signs that people put in their windows: "Dear Firemen, in case of a fire please save our pets: 1 dog, 4 cats, and 2 rabbits" or whatever the case may be? Mine should say, "Dear Firemen, in case of fire please save: 2 girls, 1 dog, 2 handmade bookshelves. Allow me to explain.

My dad made both Marin and Emilie a beautiful handmade bookshelf for their rooms when they were born. Emilie just got hers the other night. There are so many pretty details that my sweet dad accounted for, and so much thought went into every cut. And the best part, he signed the back of them with a little note. If there is ever a fire, I will first save the living things. But then I'm going back for those bookshelves.

My dad hopes that they will carry them with them throughout their lives. He says that no matter how sentimental they are to me, someday one of them is going to want to put stickers on it or take it to college and paint it black. I would die. I practically polish them. He just wants it to be their own.

Thank you, Daddy. We love you.

Emilie's:

Marin's:

Pumpkin Patches!

2011-10-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

What is Fall without a trip to the Pumpkin Patch?! And when does Patterson bunch miss a reason to celebrate? You're right, never. So to the pumpkin patch we went! Twice.

First we joined our neighbors at Goebbert's Pumpkin Patch. The highlights here other than the absolutely amazing day, were feeding a giraffe, seeing a real live llama llama red pajama, Marin's first pony ride and picking our pumpkin right off the stalk! Marin ran like the wind with her friends Finn and Parker, rode on a hayride, and on the train, blowing her little train whistle the whole time. Emilie loved the fresh air, and being pushed around taking in the sights. What a fantastic day together!

A few weeks later, Grandma took the girls and me to Kuipers' Pumpkin Patch. When my mom retired in the spring, she said the thing she was most excited for was taking her grandchildren to the pumpkin patch. We were derailed twice by weather, but we got it in, and had a great day! Marin loved the games and swings- naturally, making friends with three ten year olds about five minutes into our day. She also got to feed the goats, (when it was time to go she told them, "Excuse me, goats. I have to go to see the horsies now. Okay?! See you later!"), and slide down an enormous slide staked on top of hay. We ended the day with fresh apples, apple cider and a homemade doughnut! Three cheers for fall! Three cheers for Grandma!

Who's Life is This?

2011-10-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

Ok Moms, do you ever find yourself mid- toddler on the pot yelling for help, dog running in circles, baby screaming her lungs off- moment and think, "Who's life is this?"

No? Just me? Here are some cute pictures that make me glad that although my quiet days are most certainly history for at least 17 more years, I'm sure glad this life is mine.

Emilie's First Illini Game and Marin's Show!

2011-10-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

Emilie went to her first Illini game this Saturday. The last game that we went to was a night game, so she stayed with Aunt Vee. But this game had good timing, and it was a pretty nice day weather wise, so we strapped her in the baby bjorn and took her with us. She slept for part of the game when it was nap time, and when she wasn't sleeping she was smiling, making friends and taking it all in.

On the way down to the game, Marin was singing her songs like she does pretty much all the time. Jason and I commented that we have to get it on video. I still need to take a video with the real video camera, but I caught most of her show here, with my camera. If you can bare with the traffic noise from the trucks in the oncoming lane, and the shaky camera work, you'll see that she's a crack up.

Emilie- Five Months Old!

2011-10-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

Someone needs to slow the clock down. The veteran moms of multiple children weren't kidding when they warned that everything goes more quickly the second time around. For real, how is it at all possible that Emilie is FIVE MONTHS OLD already? Well the calandar doesn't lie. Yesterday Emilie turned five months old.

Besides charming everyone every where she goes with her big beautiful constant smile, here is what Miss Emilie Mae is up to at 5 months:

* She loves music. Whenever I sing to her, which is often, she stops whatever it is she's doing and beams at me. Marin loves to sing to her, too. Currently she's teaching her all of the words for the Illinois Alma Mater and Let Me Call You Sweetheart.

* Emilie watches Marin's every move. She just smiles away at everything Marin does like she is the funniest, most amusing person on the planet. Marin loves her back. She always tells her, "Good Morning, Baby Emilie!" first thing.

* Emilie is much more interested in toys these days. She loves colorful toys that are easy to grab, and she loves to snuggle up to soft things. She also loves to look at the baby in the mirror, and as I did with Marin, I sing my made up, "Who's that baby in the mirror" song, and she goes bonkers for it.

* We're thinking about giving Emilie some rice cereal soon, as she seems really interested in eating food from a spoon. As we eat, she watches the fork or spoon go from the food to our plate and back again like she wonders what that is all about.

* Like her sister was, Emilie is very strong. She tries to pull herself to a sitting position when she's laying down, and she loves to sit and stand. When she's on her stomach she pulls her little legs under her torso like she wants to crawl. Gosh, when I have two kids who can move about on their own, I might have to institute mandatory happy hour as soon as Jas gets home from work.

* Emilie is sleeping better. She goes down very easily still- sleepy but not asleep- and falls asleep until about 3am when she wakes up. Right now I am getting up with her, but soon the poor little sweetheart will have to cry that one out. Ugh. Hate that. Luckily when she does get up, she eats and goes immediately back to sleep.

* Also like her sister, Emilie loves to swing her free arm around and hold onto my finger while she eats. I seriously love this. I also love to rub her little mostly bald head while she eats. She's getting more and more hair in, and I love to feel how fuzzy it feels as it grows. At five months, Marin had much more hair, but never fear, thanks to their special velvet lining, Emilie was able to start wearing the hair bows from the Pink Hippo this month.

Emilie has a sweet little laid back personality. She rarely cries, and just goes along with the flow of Marin's schedule and ours. She is so very sweet. I feel like with Marin, since she was our only child at the time, I was constantly in her face teaching her things, or talking to her. When I do have a moment alone with Emilie I am right in there in her face again, trying to give her as much one on one attention as I gave Marin at this age. I love our girls, and I love watching them together. Now, if I could just slow time down...

A trip away...

2011-10-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, (ah! I'm falling behind!), my cousin got married in beautiful Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. There were activities from Friday afternoon straight through Sunday afternoon, and since it was all situated in such a beautiful location at a five diamond resort, Jason and I decided to spend a few extra days. The girls divided their time between Jason's parent's house and aunt and uncle's house, and they had a ball! They jumped in the bouncy house, went to the apple orchard, cheered at the Illini game (Marin started the ILL- INI chant at a restaurant after the game when she spotted all the orange and blue clad patrons), went to the petting zoo, and hung around Aunt Vee and Uncle Bob's farm happy as clams (Marin pushed a little toy combine, and combined macaroni noodles- hmm, there's a first).

Meanwhile Jason and I dined and drank our way through five days of perfection and complete elegance, rarely having to take our eyes off the ocean. I really could have gotten used to turn down service complete with raspberry chocolates, and classical music playing as I entered my room every night. In the morning, a fluffy robe was always waiting right next to cozy slippers and the weather report for the day. At the Ponte Vedra Inn, a door man would see me coming 20 yards away, and hold the door open with a "Good Morning, Miss." as I breezed through with nothing to account for but my sunglasses. While, in real life at home, I pry open doors with my feet and hold them with my rear end while I push an extra long stroller through. We stepped out our door and were right on the ocean and took walks to collect seashells, and at night we sat on the beach watching the stars until well into the morning. Seriously, I could have gotten used to all of that. But, I missed my girls something fierce.

Still, with the girls in careful hands, we made the best of every moment. And although I had to drag my breast pump through every five star dinner and cocktail reception, and pump in some seriously only-a-mother-whose-done-this-would-understand places, we lived it up. We missed my mom and dad who were on a Mediterranean cruise they had booked before Drew set the date, but we had such a great time with my brother and Katy, and we loved spending time with all of my cousins, whom we don't get to see often enough. We laughed so hard, and danced, and partied- a little too much on more than one occasion- our way through the wonderful five days. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, we closed the wedding celebrations with a brunch at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday afternoon and got a tour of the famous tournament course.

As an added bonus, we got to spend time with Jason's cousin who lives close by in Jacksonville. We went to dinner with her in Ponte Vedra shortly after we arrived and spent a day and night with her and her boyfriend on the tail end of the trip. We enjoyed a delicious seafood feast on the water and visited the World Gold Hall of Fame.

When our plane landed, I was so excited to scoop up those girls of ours I was practically crawling out of my skin. But ahhh.... it was good to get away with just Jason and I for a few days of beach front sunrise and sunsets right out our door. And great fun with my family all day long. Fuel for the soul.

Fall fun!

2011-09-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't love fall? We have been taking in these gorgeous days in fistfuls with abundant walks, hours spent at the park, and wheeling our stroller through every stretch of this town. Here is some of what we love:

Marin plays "tea set" (tea party) and invites all her friends. She sets a place for each of them, and always matches the plate to the bowl to the spoon exactly. Her guests are always served soup and we almost always sing happy birthday.

Recently, GG gave Marin an antique tea set that Marin calls her "fragile fancy tea set". Marin adores it! You can see that she asks to play with it pretty much first thing in the morning.

At the park Marin climbs and hangs and jumps, squealing with the delight. She loves to steal my glasses and I chase her until I catch her and we crash into the grass with a tickle fight. I usually try to time trips to the park so that they coincide with Emilie's nap, and she sleeps peacefully in her bassinet stroller.

The best part of fall might be leg warmers. Or is it curling up with your sister on the couch?

Sometimes we just sit around and crack each other up!

We take two walks every day at the very least, and stop to find many treasures along the way.

Marin loves to stop and see the fishies and sometimes makes a wish in this pond. (Not sure you're supposed to do that, but one time she saw some pennies in there and asked me why there was money in there, and from then on, we've been throwing wishes on in.)

The three of us have a grand time stopping to pick up leaves, acorns (once we gathered enough to have an acorn party!), flowers and sticks- which Marin uses to conduct a pretend symphony.

Today is Norah's 7th birthday. (That's right; she was born out of wedlock- how very modern of her) We love our Norries and we love a birthday!

Sometimes we have lunch dates with Grandma. These are especially fun, and a great time to snuggle.

A few weeks ago we went to the Sandwich Fair with my parents and grandparents. (Sandwich is the town, its not a fair with only sandwiches.) It's an enormous fair and has as many exhibits as I have memories of going there as a child to see if my grandma won a ribbon for her flowers, or pies. It was especially special that at 91 and 93, my grandparents could go- they have been going for 90 years! But because of its size, we borrowed two wheelchairs and my parents pushed them. We had to take a picture of our two wheelchairs, and double stroller. Quite the site- but so fun to have four generations together at the fair!

A few weeks after the fair, we headed to Champaign for our first football game of the season! It was a night game against ASU (and a victory), so Emilie stayed with Great Aunt Vee and Great Uncle Bob, and the rest of us sat under the lights at that game while Marin cheered, "Go Illini!" and sang the fight song like her blood ran orange and blue. By the time we made it back to Emilie, Marin was fast asleep, gripping her stuffed football and her ticket.

Ballerina Class, School and the "Liebray"

2011-09-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

For us, Fall means the return of our weekly schedule, and activities abound.

Marin started school this week, and was so excited on the walk to school the first day! Three of her neighbor friends are in her class on Mondays, and Marin just talks about Parker, Finn and Chase constantly. Fridays she is reunited with Lea, her friend she made at school last year. She loves her teachers, and all of the songs and activities they do. Marin also loves taking her lunch to school, and insists on carrying her lunch box herself, and plops it right down in the correct bin when she gets in the classroom. Marin's favorite part of taking her lunch is the "school milk" that I pack for her to drink. I am still writing and drawing on her napkin every day, and probably will continue to do so until she is 18.

On Wednesday mornings Marin has ballet, or as she calls it, "ballerina class". I don't think in two and a half years I have ever seen Marin so excited for anything in her whole life. Ever since we signed up for the class she has been asking me if it was time to go to ballerina class. I have been telling her how many more sleeps until it is the day. On Wednesday morning when the day was here, I thought she'd bust right out of her leotard, she was so excited. She quickly made two friends while we were waiting for class to start, and after being the first in line to tell her teacher, "I'm Marin!!" she turned to her new friends and said, "C'mon girls!" Worried that she would hear the music and shimmer and run to her own beat, I had a special talk with Marin about listening to her teacher, Miss Katie, and sure enough, as I watched her from the one way glass she followed every move she made, looking up at her like she was the coolest girl she had ever seen. Marin can't wait to go again next week!

Our week rounds out with our Thursday storytime sessions at the Library. Classes begin next week, and Marin is already excited to go to the "Liebray" and listen to stories. Hopefully Emilie is as excited, because she's going along for this class too.

For me, one of the best things about being a parent is watching my girls learn. Our plates are definitely full of learning and exploring this fall!

Emilie- Four Months Old!

2011-09-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

4 month stats:

13.6 lbs.
24 1/4" long

Emilie turned four months old yesterday! Someone slow time down. Things definitely go more quickly with the second baby.

* Emilie is the happiest little baby. She will often times go a whole day without hardly making a peep, except a little cry when she is hungry or sleepy. She is so laid back, and a very good baby. (mom happy dance!)

* Emilie still isn't sleeping through the night. She has a few times, but not at all consistently like Marin was at this age. Oh well though; she's still little. We have established a bedtime routine and are putting her to bed sleepy, and she puts herself to sleep without any fuss at all most nights.

* Emilie loves books. We are reading to her alone more and more. Usually after Marin goes down for her daily nap, I try to read four or five books to her, and she just smiles and loves the colors.

* She loves when we sing songs to her. Marin almost immediately starts in singing to Emilie when she starts to cry. It's very sweet.

* Marin and Emilie already have a special bond. Marin tells her good morning every day when Emilie wakes up. The other day she leaned in really close to Emilie and said, "Good morning, sweetheart! I love you, baby Emmie!" Emilie just beams up at Marin and smiles.

* Emilie is rolling over a lot and has started to use this as her mode of transportation. She's rolling off her activity mat. She doesn't mind being on her stomach as much now, as she can hold her head up higher, but she still doesn't want you to leave her there like that for too long.

* She's trying to crawl! I'm sure it will be a long way away, but she squirms her little legs back and forth like she knows that's how she'll really get herself moving!

* Emilie is pretty strong. She holds her head up so well, that the doctor commented on it at her four month check up. She definitely wants to sit up.

* She is grasping and grabbing a lot. She reaches for toys and loves to hang onto soft objects. She also reaches out to grab onto our fingers to comfort herself; especially as she is going to sleep.

I am having the best time ever watching Emilie grow and discover. She and Marin are the sunshine of our lives. Their bond is the most wonderful little treat for me to watch and I am careful to help foster it. Marin remains mommy's little helper, and will often remind me in a whisper, "Mommy, shhh. Baby Emmie is sleeping." Marin proudly introduces "Baby Em-il-ie to strangers who inquire about her baby sister. She loves being a big sister, and is as proud of Emilie as we are!

A beginning and an end

2011-09-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

Last week we said goodbye to Jason's Grandpa Hinrichs. We gathered down state on the farm with Jason's family and filled four days together telling stories of this great man. Everyone who knew him loved him, especially his grandchildren. An obituary read that he had spent his life as a farmer, and that he loved visiting with friends. But the stories people told over those days, and the pictures that we poured over- are what really tell the story of a life.

Ernest loved to laugh, and to make you laugh.
He always had a smile on his face. Including the very last time we visited him in the hospital.
Ernest always asked about you first.
He was generous.
He loved his family more than anything.
He had many friends.
He loved his church and his community.
He was extremely kind.
He loved his birthday.
He loved ice cream.
Ernest was a good man.

We will miss him terribly.

That same week, Jason's cousin and his wife welcomed their baby boy, Calvin Hinrichs Clem. Arriving eight weeks early, he was eager to greet the world, but he's doing very well. He's breathing on his own, and has even drank from a bottle already. He was 2 lbs 14 oz when he was born, but he's 3lbs 8 oz today. Practically a linebacker. Little Calvin is so special. He's so very tiny and so sweet. And he's like a little ray of happiness and sunshine for Jason's family. We love him so much. I can't wait to watch him grow. Marin tells everyone that baby Calvin is just a little tiny baby, but that someday he's going to run and play with her. I can't wait for that day. Marin also tells everyone that she has a new brother. We have to keep reminding her that Calvin's her cousin. I think she's just about got it. She always remembers baby Calvin in her prayers.

Watching the beginning and the end of life in the same week is a reminder of the circle of life. To make the best of every day. To live life to the fullest. To surround yourself with those that make you happy. To do well. To be your best. Life comes and goes. Tell people that you love them. Squeeze each other tightly. Laugh. Live it up. That's the way Ernest lived. A life well lived.

What a difference a year makes!

2011-09-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

A year ago today we found out I was pregnant with Emilie. What a difference a year makes!

One Particular Harbor

2011-08-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

As we have for over two decades, beneath a cozy canopy of live oak trees dripping is spanish moss, we headed to Hilton Head Island for our family vacation last week. Nestled between white sandy beaches and beautiful green landscapes; among award winning gold courses, and miles of bike trails- it has been a favorite spot of my family's to the point of memorization of sights and smells. A perfect spot for Emilie's first vacation. And 874 pictures.

This year we borrowed Jason's Aunt and Uncle's van and drove, which proved really convenient since two little girls (okay and their mom, too) don't travel lightly. The girl did really well in the car until, with three of the 16 hours left in the drive there, Marin threw up everywhere. Even after we pulled over, cleaned up it, changed outfits, and febreezed the heck out of everything, it was a smelly last three hours. One of the reasons I don't travel lightly, is because I always pack medical supplies for the kids, and as it turns out, it's good that I do. Quick roadside check of her temperature confirmed that Marin had 102 degree fever. Luckily, after a dose of children's motrin she quickly rebounded and hit the ground running and jumping (literally) as soon as we arrived. Nothing says vacation like six loads of pukey laundry right out of the gate.

But nothing slows us down! We packed in the activities as always- biking, beaching, sand castle building, swimming, wave stomping (Marin's favorite), noodle fishing (pretend fishing with the swim noodle), kayaking, golfing, shopping, eating and singing. Every year we make the best memories and revisit old ones all the same.

I started every day in my favorite way, with my traditional walks with my dad. They have become some of my favorite moments of the whole year. Spending time with Jason and the girls day after day was such a treat! Marin loved that her Daddy was there every morning when she woke up yelling in her signature way, "A shunshine's out! It's up time!" We played cards most nights, and my mom and I always were the last to go to bed, when we could no longer keep our eyes open.

Marin and Emilie both loved the ocean. Emilie even put her feet in the sand and I held her as the water lapped up onto her little toes, and she smiled brightly. Marin ran circles around her, of course, jumping in the waves, completely submerging herself in the salt water, and then coming up for more. She and Jason built sand castles, that she said included elephants, horses, and an ice cream store. Seconds after Jason carefully dug a moat or built a wall, Marin would come and smash it all down laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. She loved playing in the sand, and getting it all over herself. I think we brought half the beach home with us, despite our efforts to clean everything ahead of time.

Then our little mermaids would hit the pool. Marin jumped way off the side all by herself over and over and over again. She swam to us all by herself using her arms and legs and she'd dunk herself underwater warning, "Watch me! I can go under all by myself!" I gave her strict rules on how to stay safe, and often heard her telling Grandma and Grandpa later, "'Memeber? Mommy says no jumping off the ladder." Or, "Careful on the stairs, okay?" Emilie floated in her little baby float happy as a clam to dangle her little legs below the water. She got splashed more than a few times by Marin, and just took it all in stride. She also spent a lot of time napping in her stroller on the pool deck.

Leading up to the trip, Marin kept talking about seeing alligators which we do daily, all over the island. On our first bike trip out to look for alligators with our "knockers" (Marin for binoculars), Marin got the thrill of her life. We saw a huge, usually still, alligator on the side of the water. Then it opened its mouth, climbed in the water and started swimming in our direction. We shuffled Marin back in her bike carrier against her wishes in case we needed to make a quick get away. We also saw tons of dolphin. On the beach at sunrise I saw pods of them together (most likely momma and her babies) and even saw them jumping out of the water like they do at the zoo! On our kayak trip, my dad, Jason and I saw them swimming right next to us. Marin fell in love with horses after a trip to the island stables, when a pony walked right up to her, and as she says, "wanted to be my friend!" She didn't leave the island without a horse purse, two new horse figurines, and a lecture from daddy about it being an expensive hobby.

One day we took a boat cruise over to a small, scarcely populated, desolate island called Dafuske Island, which is only accessible by boat. We rented a six person golf cart and spent the afternoon visiting what has been described as living history, and the Gullah people. It was a true low country experience, traveling between marshland, where, when Jason told Marin that's where marshmellows came from she responded, "No they don't! Marshmellows come from Grandpa's house!"

Marin loved watching and singing along to Gregg Russell, our favorite performer under the 200 year old live oak in Harbour Town. This summer he celebrated his 35th year of entertaining children and their parents alike. It was such a joy to watch Marin sing along to songs just as I did as a little girl under that same tree. Later she would say, "Gregg Russell sings that song! Wanna sing with me?!" and go on to sing about the green alligators and long neck geese.

It was a wonderful week spent together, enjoying one anothers company, watching the girls laugh and play. If I try really hard, I can still smell the familiar sea air, and see the brilliant blue skies laced with palm trees and beautiful tall pines. I love the memories we have made in this magical place, and I love that my girls are making their own memories there now too... to last a lifetime. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for a wonderful trip once again!

Emilie- Three Months Old!

2011-08-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

Emilie turned three months old last Sunday during our annual family vacation on Hilton Head! I just read back at Marin's three month post, and feel like just saying "ditto" to everything she is doing. I almost can't believe how similar they are. There are a few things different, however, and they are their own people, so I'll divulge below...

* Emilie is a good little pumpkin. She is very happy and SUPER smiley. We think she has the most beautiful smile and just smiles all the time. Until she's hungry- then she has the saddest, but strongest little cry that just breaks your heart.
* Like her big sister, Emilie likes to be held facing out the best. If you hold her facing toward you, she might miss something. She is her mother's daughter. Very social. This, combined with Marin's social skills could definitely be trouble in high school.
* She loves to "talk" to us. When we talk to her and ask her questions she beams back and makes little sounds and moves her mouth, like she knows exactly what we are saying and wants to add her two cents.
* Emilie also likes to put weight on her feet and "stand". I suspect another early walker. Pray for me. ;)
* She is rolling over. She also did this for the first time on our Hilton Head trip last week. Once she's on her tummy, she pulls her legs up under her like she wants to crawl. I don't think that she'll be doing that just yet, but wow, do they grow quickly.
* Emilie has quite a grip. She holds onto objects very well. When it's my hair it isn't so fun. She's strong. She holds her head up well, too.
* Emilie loves to be snuggled and held tightly. This is a sure way to get her to sleep.
* She's not quite sleeping through the night every night, but she has slept through the night a lot. Just enough nights in a row to tease me. We swaddle her up like a little bug and she sleeps long and hard.
* She sleeps well in her car seat and in the swing and her stroller, but also likes to sprawl out for her naps on her floor mat.
* She loves to eat both of her hands, and likes her paci.

Emilie is our sweet little Emmie Cakes. We love her, and her happy little smile and disposition so much. She's such a good baby. Definitely the apple of our eye.

Marin's First Haircut!

2011-08-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it. Marin got a haircut. It was just a trim, nothing drastic, but I bet you were starting to think I'd never do it. Especially now that it's done, I don't know why I waited so long.
Well, that's not true. I waited so long because I was worried about one or all of the following:
1. That once I got it cut all the sweet baby curls would be gone.
2. That they would butcher it.
3. Nightmarish combinations of the two.

None of the above happened. Not even close. Her hair looks better than ever, and she sat like a champ in the chair the whole time. In fact, when she was done she said to me, "I wanna get my hair cut again!"

I got a lock of her hair for her baby book, of course. She's officially a big girl now. Perhaps that was my biggest fear of all.

Emilie's Baptismal Day!

2011-08-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was Emilie's first celebratory day dedicated only to her! It was her baptismal day; and it was gorgeous from start to finish.

Emilie was baptized at 4pm at Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago, where Marin was baptized, wearing the same gown. Old St. Pat's is a very special church to our family, and I was overjoyed that Emilie was able to be welcomed into our faith at this beautiful church, the oldest public building in Chicago. It was a lovely ceremony, where four other children (all boys) were also baptized. Emilie did very well, and didn't cry a peep when the water was poured over her head. And, when the priest anointed her with the oils, she beamed up at him with wide eyes.

Since the ceremony was later in the day, and downtown, we celebrated with an 11am brunch at our house preceding the ceremony. We put a large canopy in the backyard and decorated tables to sit underneath it in the shade. But, at over 90 degrees in the shade, many people chose to be indoors as well. I made cheddar-dill scones, carrot muffins with an orange zest frosting, banana crunch muffins and zucchini bread, as well as ham and asparagus strata, yogurt and granola parfaits, asparagus spears, and a fruit platter. I also made a watermelon, lime and mint drink to beat the heat, and no brunch would be complete without mimosas. Along with cake, we had my moms famous lemon squares for dessert, and, just as she did for Marin's baptism, my sweet, sweet grandmother, at 93, brought an array of her famous sugar cookie cutouts, frosted and decorated to perfection.

It was a special day, attended by so many special people in our lives; a wonderful way for Emilie to begin her faith journey. We asked our dear friend Mike, to be Emilie's godfather, and Jason's sister, Lindsay to be her godmother. We know that they will be wonderful examples to Emilie, in both faith and character. She is a very lucky little girl to be loved so much by so many people!

It was a special day I know I'll never forget!

Look Quickly

2011-07-30T12:08:00.000-07:00

Look quickly.

Which one is the doll?

This happy girl is the human baby, and she's ready to go swimming!!

Front Porch

2011-07-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

Well, Emilie has survived her first home reno project. You know we couldn't stay out of Home Depot for too long. We went back at it to DIY our front porch renovation.

You know how I've talked about that list of ugly, ugly eye sores when we first moved in? This front porch was definitely on the list. When we first moved in the front porch was carpeted. That's right- carpet- on a front porch. Naturally, we ripped that out straight away. The previous owners had a riser built on the front porch because they were short. Gone. Ripped that out too. What we were left with was a non carpeted, non risen, but still ugly as sin, front porch. And it stayed that way for almost two years.

Under the carpet was a concrete floor in pretty good shape, except that it had been painted a terrible color. It took a little elbow grease to get the carpet adhesive off in the spot where the carpet hadn't been on the riser, but after we (read: Jason) did that, we had a blank (and ugly) slate.

Aside from lightening up the walls (it's actually two colors, but I'm not sure you can see that clearly in the picture), I knew I wanted to paint the floor a sideways checkerboard pattern, to make a diamond affect. Jason either really loves me, or really loves math, because it literally took algebra and geometry skills to get those diamonds the right size, and all taped off. I think his exact words were, "Honey, I love you; but I'd don't care how nicely you ask, I'll never do this again."

It was worth it though. I love the end result. I still want to add a few more pieces of furniture, but you know, it's all about the dolla bills ya'll. Soon enough.

The porch is the perfect spot to sit in the Spring and the Fall, and is the perfect respite from the mosquitoes!

One more look at the before and after:

Thank You

2011-07-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

Marin loves the show Little Einsteins. I try to only let her watch one show a day, but she watches it enough that I have the theme song memorized. At the end they sing, "Let's give a hand, and hear it for the team!" I was singing this the other day, (oh yeah, it happens all the time- often even long after the show is over) and realized I should give a hand to my "team", or at least those people and things that make my life a little easier. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an army to raise two and take a dog along for the ride.

Thank you, Geneva Cleaners for offering a Car Hop service to pick up and drop off my dry cleaning. Seriously amazing to not have to haul two hot and sticky babies- one in a 20 pound car seat, one insistent on traveling with no less than three dolls- plus 15 dirty smelly husband shirts into the store. Literally, this service makes me smile. If only I could do this everywhere.

Thank you, Costco for making carts with a respectable handlebar height. Why must I bend over the cart at Jewel? The Costco carts are nearly a dream to push.

Speaking of Jewel... thank you to the nice lady behind me in line the other day. As Emilie screamed her head off from her car seat in the cart surrounded by groceries and I frantically dug things out of the cart and threw them onto the checkout belt, the nice lady behind me in line said, "I know it probably seems loud to you, but that is the sweetest little cry." A sympathetic "I've been there" smile from a mom instantly negates all of the mean glances from well, just about everyone else in the store. Including the 21 year old bagger who literally said to me, "Um, I think it's nap time!"

Thank you, expensive hose. Almost the best advice regarding lawn care that I ever received: Don't skimp on the hose. I am thankful for heeding this advice every time I coil our hose up into tight uniform circles. The old one that was a jumbled messy ball of rubber seriously stressed me out.

Thank you, grill for making summer cooking basically effortless. This is how I prepare summer dinners: set the meat out to thaw in the morning, cook up some veggies as a side, possibly a salad and some fruit, and when Jason gets home he throws it on the grill, I pour us a glass of wine, and we sit outside recapping our day. I. LOVE. SUMMER!!!

After dinner, way too many nights we take a walk to get ice cream, or i-c-e as we have taken to calling it in our house, since we have to spell it in front of Marin so she doesn't demand it. And after we've spelled i-c-e, we pretty much know what the other is talking about, so we never bother to spell out the rest. Thank you, breastfeeding, for allowing me to burn 500 extra calories to compensate for the absolutely glutenous amount of i-c-e that I have consumed this summer. And thank you, Grahams, for your delicious homemade ice cream, without which I am pretty sure I would not be function.

Thank you, swimming pool. You are the only way we have beat the summer heat. Even baby Emilie finds you refreshing. Additional nod of thanks for having a zero depth edge, so I don't have to worry quite as much that Marin will jump to her death as soon as we arrive. Double bonus for all the kid friendly activities so we can stay for hours at a time and not get bored, and triple bonus for having fun things for mom, too, so when dad joins us on the weekends, I am able to sneak away for a ride down the slides.

Thank you splash park, for providing a great way to mix it up. Your highest scoring points are that you open early and that you are free.

I have mentioned it before here, but seriously, thank you to the inventor of the baby swing and velcro swaddles. Without you, Emilie would not sleep. We swaddle her up like a little burrito, just like we did with Marin, and Emilie instantly falls asleep and sleeps through the night most nights. The swing, is the only way I can type this blog and eat dinner without a baby on my lap.

Thank you playdates, from bringing the mess to someone else's home.

Thank you to Jason, for working so hard so that we can have this life. And thank you to Caleigh, our babysitter, for working so hard so we can enjoy
this life.

Thank you Grandma Aunts. For your loving arms.

I don't say it enough, but thank you to my parents, for helping watching the kids more than most grandparents, I'm sure, so that we can do most of what we do. You are so awesome. Lindsay, too- you have never once said no when we have asked you. Thank you to Jake and Katy, for loving my children as if they were your own.

Last but not least, thank you God, for the daily blessings of my family.