Friday, October 31, 2008

My son, the Halloween philanthropist

Connor decided about two months ago he wanted to be Elmo for Halloween. Mommy couldn't find a decent costume pattern so I bought one that was billed as super warm so he wouldn't have to wear snow pants AND a parka over it or underneath. He's been wearing it for a month as an Elmo pelt/cape...it is quite warm, so he ran around with just the arms and head on, legs streaming in the Connor generated whirlwind. He ran upstairs daily, asking to "wear Elmo!"

I prepared him for a few days with the standard Trick or Treat line..."tickohteet!" was the closest we got with an "ankh oo!" for "tandy". We talked about it for days, and he seemed really excited. We got him dressed in long undies, jeans, shirt and were about don Elmo when the first trick or treater showed up. And that was IT. Connor thought giving away candy to oddly dressed children was the most fun ever. We offered him a piece to eat; nope, he held it until the next one showed up and gave it the tiny princess in a parka who came to the door. Elmo is lying in a forlorn red fuzzy heap on the couch and Connor is hanging puma like in the window, ready to pounce as children round the corner.

He is at the door before Charlie and I can get up. After two skidding falls in the hallway, he learned that if he grabbed the wall pillar and swung his weight around it he could slingshot down the hall at even greater acceleration with no injury. He flailed wildly into the foyer, candy clutched tightly in each hand, and wrenched the door open to greet the goblins with an exuberant "Hewwo! Tickohteet! One for oo, anudder one for oo...ankh oo, bye!" Charlie and I can hardly help collapsing in giggles every time.

Our child is a freak. What other two year old turns down candy to throw it joyfully into the bags of other children? What other two year old decides that he greatest joy in life is to give things --toys, candy, clothing -- openhandedly to anyone he meets? We have waited and waited for months for the proverbial "mine!" affliction to start, but still no sign of it and meanwhile he's totally tickled to stay inside and dump his favorite candy on other people. He actually carefully picks his favorite ones to give away, as if to say, "Here, these are good, believe ME!" We're not sure if he'll be a Carthusian monk or follow mom and dad into national service or join the Peace Corps; whatever gives him the most selfless thrill I guess! Connor is a giver, no doubt...and his best gift is always joy and laughter for Charlie and me.

Oh and Timmy was adorable in his pumpkin outfit, but had zero interest in the -5 cold wafting in the door, so he cuddled inside with off duty candy parent. Check him below!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Friday, October 24, 2008

4th of 4th

My friend Jen tagged me today...I'm fulfilling my tagging karma!

THE RULES: You have to post the 4th picture in the 4th folder in your pictures folder. Then give a brief description before you tag a few others.


Here's mine!



These are our friends April and BJ Fry at our squadron Halloween party in October 2005. This is quintessential Fry humor at its best! I think BJ makes an outstanding naughty nun eh? Of course, my favorite part is the clearly plastic belly showing through.

Amy, Brianna, Sarah and anyone else reading this in the blogosphere, consider youself tagged!

Reason #637 Alaska ain't so bad

Because THIS is something you won't see here.



This is a pic I received in my email of a giant golden orb weaver spider in Australia eating a bird. Yes, a BIRD. That, my friends, is a bad ass spider. The type of spider that would be guaranteed to have some atrociously bad B movie starring John Goodman or Steve Guttenberg developed around it, the kind that would cause me to run shrieking in dog whistle-pitched manner if it were within a mile of me.

We get some spiders of course but most are smaller than your pinky nail and never seem ambitious enough to attack wildlife. We also have no snakes up here, which ranks second behind giant bird eating spiders on my list of "slithery creepy things the world could do without" list. Nine months of winter is almost worth the promise that I will never see a bird being munched by something that should only feature as a smear on my shoe.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Ad for Erinco products

Have you ever thought to yourself, "I need a personal alarm that weighs ten lbs and poops at slightest pretext?" Well, I have got the product for you! This multi featured wonder will also act as an alarm clock (preset for the ever convenient hour of 5 am!), workout device, a laundry generator, and sleep apnea preventer -- after all, if you don't sleep, you don't get sleep apnea! It's BRILLIANT! All for the low low price of 7 hour labor, vaginal tear and price of year 2025 college education...can you believe it??? What a deal! But that's not all...

As an added bonus, we'll throw in the extra snuggles, wiggly smiles and adoring eyes while nursing for FREE! If you call right now, we'll even throw in hugs, "wuv yoo, mommy" declarations and chubby sweet smelling freshly bathed limbs. (May take up to two years for delivery for some bonus items) What are you waiting for? Call now!

Sigh...as tired as I am, I think I'd buy it.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Timmy's Birth Story

I have been wanting to post this...I sometimes think that's there's not enough positive birth stories online and especially home births; they really tend to get bad press and I can't imagine why because once you stay home you almost never go back to the hospital! I've seen lots of births at homes and at hospitals and there was never any doubt as to which I was going to do with either of mine. So here's the story of my wonderful boy's birth!

I had a pretty bad night's sleep the night before...not hugely new, but the rushes keeping me awake felt slightly different this time. I got up with Connor at 715 am, and felt this crazy burst of energy. I cleaned the kitchen up and picked up toys, but kept getting interrupted by bathroom trips with an upset stomach.

I kept putting on shows and movies for Connor because I was having a hard time concentrating on playing with him. At 10, there was a rush that around the underside
of my pelvis and up into my back. That's when I started paying attention. They weren't hard at all, just definitely noticeable.

At 12 I noted they were ten minutes apart and a little more difficult to talk through. At 1230 I called Charlie and told him it was a baby day today! I have officially interrupted meetings twice in my entire life...once when Connor shredded the bottom of his feet with broken glass and needed stitches and now with baby news. He was glad because he and the DO were squabbling over who would take afternoon meetings and baby definitely trumped the DO's "I don't wanna" excuse! I called the midwives too, just to give them heads up, thinking I could always cancel baby alert if the contractions petered out. I was so restless, and just wanted to walk and walk...Connor and I strolled around the block once waiting for Charlie to get home. He arrived, changed and we headed out. He started timing the rushes, and
they were 5-7 minutes by the time we got home and I couldn't walk or talk...just tons
of pressure, no pain though.

We got home around 3 from walking all over the base (Connor played at the park for an
hour while I paced the perimeter), and even though the contractions were harder and
closer, I was sure I was wasting the midwives' time in calling them. Charlie started filling the birth tub while I fussed at him for jinxing it! They listened to me in the background as Charlie explained what was happening, and decided they'd come out.

Dana and Joy arrived at around 415 -- I was SOO glad it was Dana, she and I really clicked and Vanessa and I never really did -- and headed upstairs to check me out. I was running a slight fever with elevated pulse and blood pressure from the bouts of diarrhea so they made me drink two glasses of juice and water while they checked my cervix. I was so upset when they said it was only 3 cm...I felt like I was working too hard for just that! They confirmed though that I was indeed laboring, and Dana said she thought some hydration and peace was the best thing for me. I was handed a huge water bottle and told to drink it all in an hour while they went for a long walk to give me and Charlie privacy.

I sat and bounced on my big blue exercise ball while we watched the Return of the King -- just drinking water like mad. The rushes picked up, and by the time the midwives came back, everyone ate dinner except me (I heated up chicken noodle and toscana soup for everyone, and got out a loaf of French bread with cookies) I was REALLY ready to get in the tub...rushes were 2 minutes apart and really intense at 630.

I would NEVER labor without water again. I want to keep that tub and treat it kindly
the rest of its natural shelf life. I grew inordinately fond of it and named it Reliable Jane. I LOVE that tub. The contractions eased up a bit when I got in, and I just hung there, with my shoulders on the edge, free floating and rocking my body weightlessly through the water when rushes came. They spaced out, but got a little stronger; I could totally get ahead of them, moan a bit and talk to Timmy to cheer us both on.

Charlie was a total champ, sprinting up and down the stairs multiple times to fetch me things and keep Connor's videos going. Connor was happy as a clam watching videos and playing with his airplane toys, but he required some attention and mine was elsewhere for the most part. He would come up the stairs every 30 minutes or so, and call, "Mommy okay?" I would say "I'm okay baby doll, mommy's fine!" and he'd trot away happy again.

Dana came and sat in the doorway of the bedroom, then Joy, then Charlie. We'd chat and tell stories in between contractions...I was really needing to moan through them and it was so nice, having everyone just talking normally and chatting like nothing was happening. I got out once or twice to pee...I have a serious mental block about peeing in water, swimming pools gross me out like you read about because I know I'm floating in other people's bodily waste...and at 900 or so, I really needed to go, but hated being out of the water for contractions so I ran in and tried to hurry so I could beat it back. I was shaking and shivering really hard, and a really intense and for the first time painful rush hit. I cried out and the midwife came in and draped me with more towels and stroked my face to help me focus.

I got up and tried to hurry back to the tub, but Dana asked me to lay down first and try a couple out of the water. I scootched into bed on top of some chux pads and the next one hit...it was a DOOZY. That one was actually painful too and I drew up my whole body around it and just couldn't get ahead of it. I was still freezing and shaking, and Charlie walked in to hold my hand and try to help me focus again and vocalize well. I just kept saying loudly that I wanted the tub...Dana told me two rushes, then a check and I could get into the tub again. I said I didn't want a check because if I was only a 6 or 7, I would be discouraged. She said she thought I was in transition and the number didn't matter...it was just for her and she wouldn't tell me what it was. I gutted out one more of those mindblowing rushes still crying for the tub. (I would have sold Charlie to the gypsies for a dip in the tub at that point!) Charlie had to go hug Connor because he was worked up, hearing me cry out.

Dana flipped me over on my back as soon as it was over and checked. She announced, "Well, honey, no wonder you don't feel good, you're a ten!" She was withdrawing her hand when the water exploded out of me...it gushed about two feet away. That was honestly the worst moment -- we figured out later that when the waters broke, the cervix snapped tight around Timmy's head which accounted for the sharp dizzying pain. I yelled at her for breaking it (I think I said, "What the hell?? I don't like you at all right now!"), and she said she didn't over and over again, and said my treat for letting her feel was to get back in the tub.

I hustled to get back in, I tell ya. It was about 910 or so then. As I got in, the urge to push hit like a Mack truck. I never felt like that with Connor -- I think by the time I was ready to push with him, my uterus was already so tired from the powerful but short labor that the pushing contractions were never strong or helpful -- so it was really new and intense. The only way I could describe it was like throwing up downward, where you can't stop yourself and it's completely irresistible. I pushed a bit, but it took me a couple to get into a better rhythm and work with the rushes instead of against them. The only good part about them was the breaks in between. I just kept apologizing to everyone for being loud, for being mean, for bothering everyone. They laughed and told me how great I was doing and how impressed they all were with my vocals and control.

Charlie came in then and told me he got Connor down asleep on the couch, and his presence was like a huge boost. I grabbed his hands at the edge of tub and knelt with my legs spread far apart and pushed with all my might. I reached down and checked, and Timmy's head was only two knuckles' deep inside. I told everyone that and they were praising me big time. I pushed again and he came all the way down to one fingertip length away, but slipped back up. I kept my hand down there and pushed with all my might through two more til his head was right there and stinging like mad. The third one, I pushed harder than ever as I threw one leg up and balanced kneeling on the other and yelled for someone to help me. Charlie asked me what I wanted help with, which was really his only duh moment. I shot him a dirty look and didn't even bother saying, "Umm, the baby coming out of me?" He was my hero really, he just expected two more hours of pushing like with Connor, and didn't realize Timmy was nearly out!

Timmy's head popped out just then and the midwife got a hold of his neck and told me really firmly to push again. So I arched and pushed and his shoulders spun out of me really fast, giving me just a little side tear. The rest of him followed like a bullet and I saw her rolling him over and over in the water -- his cord had wrapped around his neck pretty tightly and he was a little purple. As soon as she had him disentangled, I pulled him up on my chest and just cried over him. That was 948 pm.

I'll spare you the gory afterbirth details but I did indeed bleed a little too much right after the birth so I got some meds to stem the tide.

Charlie went downstairs and laid down with Connor when he woke up at 11, and the midwives did the newborn check. Surprisingly, they said they thought he was not quite 40 weeks because he had so much vernix and a little lanugo left (according to my not so certain dates, he was 1-4 days overdue). He scored 7/9 on Apgars (the cord around his neck didn't help) and measured out 22 inches long, 15 inch head and 9 lbs 3 oz. We just laughed and chatted and had a good time...I was so glad Dana was there, it was like having a girlfriend, mom and real professional all in one to help me through.

I did so much better after Timmy's birth than Connor's until two weeks postpartum. I ended up hemorrhaging, had a course of methergine and ultimately needed a D&C at 4.5 weeks. It was sucky, but I had a wonderful MIL who flew to my rescue and both boys and I have thrived since we got my issues fixed up to some extent. Timmy is our last baby and I'm so grateful it was an ideal experience to remember fondly.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Connor's memory quilt....ah, the memories

My grandma is a pretty cool lady, a thing I had not fully appreciated til I was much older. When we were little, she was always sewing neat dresses and rompers for me and my cousins, and when I was twelve, she presented me with a Dresden Plate quilt (my favorite pattern) that had many of the scraps from those sewing projects incorporated in them; including some from a set of bathroom vanity curtains I very proudly helped with when I visited one summer. That quilt has seen much love and wear and tear...it was one of the first things I got at the Academy once restrictions on personal items let up and the whole family still likes to cuddle under it when it's cold way up here in the north of nowhere. I've patched it a couple times (constant use and carelessness as a teen were not kind to grandma's quilt) but it's very special to me, and has become more so as the years went on. In case I never said it the way I should have, grandma, you're a special lady and I'm lucky to have you and grandpa!

Aunt Diane has carried on the quilt traditions of the family to some extent and both my boys have lovely little lap quilts that, despite the fact that they were made before my boys were more than in the wiggly gassy smile stage, are oddly fitting to their personalities. Connor's quilt is soft sage green with airplanes all over it and his all consuming love of airplanes can be sated even at bedtime. Timmy is obsessed with warmth...he loves anything soft, snuggly and cuddly so the ultra soft flannel moose blanket is perfect for the first Alaskan Crean baby! Mom's incredibly soft blue afghan is one of his favorite wraps too...I come from a talented lot of women and I've always wanted something of my won to contribute to special memories with my children.

With that in mind, I always had in the back of my head that I would preserve some of Connor's special little outfits in a "memory quilt" the way grandma did for me. Not only does that cut down on clutter -- a must with the peripatetic life we lead as a military family --but it makes a strong statement about which outfits were special enough to preserve and that I treasured that time enough to memorialize in a concrete way that will not embarrass Connor when he's older. At least that's the goal; he may hate those naked bath pics, but the quilt he can show to girlfriends without fear of mortification. We had a few outfits that just tugged the heart strings every time we put them on. One of my favorites was a little teething dragon and he was so cute! See???



This also happens to be my number one favorite picture of him, and won us $100 of free stuff in a photo contest. See, the nation agrees, Connor's the cutest!

I loved this one...by the time Connor was six months old, Las Vegas was crock pot hot all the time and we were hard pressed to get him into clothes at all (we still have that problem even though it's ten below -- maybe it's the kid not the temperature?). This little soft jersey romper had a nametag printed on it that said "Hello! My name is Snuggable!" and it was one of the few we could always get him to wear without a fight. It helped if he got a plum to steal afterwards...and he was extremely Snuggable.



I wish I had a picture of his most special outfit; it was Charlie's absolute favorite and had stars scattered all over it with a patch that featured a knight and the legend "Sir Hugs-A-Lot." I think he would still be wearing it if it were possible to stuff him in it but he outgrew it by three weeks old.

I also incorporated pieces from sewing projects I did for him...slings, mei tais, his tee pee, a truck patch he just had to have because it went "vroom vroom" (his first car sound at 15 months), a packet of frog buttons he was obsessed with and plays with to this day, and honored a few other things that really meant something during his babyhood -- my wonderful friendship with my girlfriend Kellie is enshrined with a scrap from the sling I made for her, for example. I threw in a few of his special receiving blankets, some soft fleece and green cotton I used to make a changing pad for him, and even some of his favorite pajamas that he just recently outgrew. It seems impossible that my sweet baby boy is well on his way to being a preschooler and even though he's only 2.5, I've realized that those fleeting little moments of mommy bliss are going to pass so quickly -- I need to record them in a personal and hopefully very special way.

So here it is. Not a very professional job -- man, those little jersey and cotton outfits are a PAIN to sew together, they ruck up and make seams impossible to keep straight! -- but hopefully, someday Connor can see past the shoddy workmanship and realize the love and mommy angst that is in every single stitch. I already miss the baby he was, but can't wait to see what an amazing little man he will be.



I plan on doing the same thing for Timmy once we have had time to build sweet little memories like these with him. Maybe his will be a little neater, but the love poured into it will be the same. Being a mommy is such an amazing, exhilarating and ultimately heartbreaking thing isn't it?

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Belated moose farting story

I found this post in my queue, and realized I completely blew posting it! It's funny (to my twisted little mind anyway) and so I thought I would share it with my blogger universe. This happened about four days before Timmy was born, which explains my otherwise inexplicable oversight...

Tonight I refilled the bird feeder. Now, I didn't know this; but apparently sunflower seeds are the equivalent of moose crack, because I barely got seated at the front window when a big old mama moose trots out of the woods with twin moose babies in tow, delicately nosed the top off the bird feeder (without even knocking it from the hanger!) and proceeds to snake a long purple tongue down in there to swipe up all the bird seed I was putting out for the migratory birds to tank up on.

I also did not know that sunflower seeds are the castor oil of the moose crowd. Only a minute or two later, she swung her butt toward the window and from a scant 18 inches away, farted loudly and wetly, spraying flecks of turd all over my front window. Ew is an understatement. She startled herself, jumped nimbly around to stare accusingly at me (apparently I MADE her spew grass-laden detritus out of her massive butt) and dropped an enormous steaming load directly under the feeder. That set off a chain reaction and both her twins felt the need to do the same under my pine trees. They trotted off after destroying my last remaining mulberry tree in the backyard. They are hungry this time of year!

Now I have three huge moose dookies and a goobed window to clean up. Once Charlie stops rolling on the ground laughing over my horrified expression, I'm sending him out there with a shovel, the hose and the bird seed. Yeah, laugh it up fuzz ball...we'll see who is laughing the next time the sunflower seed poachers come to town and crap it up again. I already pointed out that the turd flecks on the window are simply too high up for lil ol' me to reach -- moose butt is higher than you would think off the ground!

I am soooo glad I moved to Alaska!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Cute pics!

Connor is getting more out of Timmy's playmat than Timmy is, but they both love to stare at the singing star above their heads. Cross your fingers that this isn't the start of trite "what if the universe is just a grain of sand in a bigger universe" musings.


Connor is going to be Elmo for Halloween! He loves the costume but it's hot...mommy bought the deluxe extra warm costume so we can hopefully trick or treat outside.


Connor loves his brother! Whether Timmy reciprocates remains to be seen...sometimes it looks like he's plotting to do highly unpleasant things in retailation for enforced endearments.


Timmy is a very smiley baby but they're tough to catch on film. Here's the elusive 1 month old smile! Crikey, it's a big fella!


Connor plays baseball with a basketball and foam bat...and football while wearing pop's baseball cap. Whatever gets him that sports scholarship...

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Our tire odyssey...for the Odyssey

I was not aware -- until I ended up contemplating death by hypothermia in a ditch last February, that is -- that Honda Odyssey stock tires are absolute crap on ice and snow. Therefore, on Monday, Barb and I hied ourselves and the kids off to get new snow tires for the Honda Odyssey. Barb got her nails done while I took the kids to Alyeska Tires to get a spankin' new set of Toyo Observes which are comparable to Blizzaks. (Don't I sound like a true Alaskan, kicking my snow tires and discussing their relative merits? I need a sourdough pancake and a set of Carhartts over here please)

Anyway, we got them installed with relatively little pain. The guys at Alyeska (particularly Chris) were very sweet and helpful and gave me a nice deal on the tires. Their waiting area was not particularly kid friendly, but they had big displays of tires and didn't seem to mind the two year old manhandling their tire displays for two hours. I could have skipped the display of super caffeinated chocolate candies...if Connor had gotten a hold of one, I would still be scraping him off the ceiling! They actually had a diaper changing table in their restroom which was a pleasant surprise...the bathroom wasn't very clean, which was a not so pleasant expectation. What can you expect in a tire shop filled with guys though? Most importantly, we left confident in our ability to stay on the road now that we have massive amounts of snow and ice everywhere.

Then...Tuesday. We decided to go get a few things at the commissary and stopped to have lunch at Burger King first. We came out to find my rear right wheel flatter than a pancake. Oh nooooo. After the Charlie Rescue Force showed up and fixed the flat, we headed home and made an appointment to go to Alyeska Tire again. With all due respect to them, we strongly suspected incorrect installation caused the problem.

So Barb and I packed the kids up Wed morning for a subarctic expedition, white knuckling it all the way to Fairbanks on my doughnut. After a long wait, we determined that my wheel itself was actually damaged (not caused by tire guys, my apologies), so we had to go over to Honda and get the tire ordered under warranty. Because we live at the end of the world, it takes 3-5 days to get the wheel up here. I will say, Auto Services was fantastic and Darlene was particularly great ad was really responsive to my "duh" request later that afternoon. Overall, a long couple days in waiting rooms with not great results, but great customer service. We broke even!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Connor and Grandma Playtime!


Connor and Grandma have been having a blast playing with Connor's new Playdoh. Mommy made a home version of playdoh but it was too oily and hence sticky feeling for Connor to care about much -- and it dried out very quickly. So we caved and bought the commercial version, and he LOVES it. Grandma's specialty is "nakes" -- aka snakes. In the picture above he's cracking up at Grandma's snake hissing. Connor also cadged a Grover figure out of Grandma. Grandma is learning all the names of the Sesame Street characters; she's getting savvy with Big Bird, Murray, Abby Cadabby and the whole SS gang. They are having tons of fun!

Want a Timmy professional photo session sneak peek?

Go to www.photosbybreanne.typepad.com and check out the two blog entries with Timmy's photos!

I'm always amazed and impressed by my friends' talents. My good girlfriend Breanne launched a professional photography business, and I think if you look at her work you'll understand why she's going to be a resounding success. I'm just melting at these pics...I can't wait til she gets them all proofed and done so we can ooh and ahh, and get a great start on our Timmy Wall of Adoration. His brother has an almost three year head start on his display wall, so we have to help Timmy catch up!

If you're local, consider getting Breanne to do a photo session for you...she does families, kids, babies, newborns, seniors and even boudoir if you want a racy but fun gift to give your loved one (great deployment gift...why not remind him what he's got waiting at home??). Even if she wasn't the awesomest friend in the world, I would rate Breanne's patience, professionalism and photographic skills as absolutely top notch. Here's her link... www.breannekesslerphotography.com Check it out!

Monday, October 6, 2008

My poor little buddy

Connor got a Notre Dame tee shirt from Grandma and Grandpa...see previous post for cute pic...and he loves it. It alternates with his animal tees for his favorites and I can hardly get him to wear anything else. He wore it last evening and loves to talk about the "epercone" on the front.

He was acting cranky and snooty, turning down tuna casserole for dinner -- odd, since that's an absolute favorite and one of the few ways I can get him to eat peas. He would sip from my juice and a little from his and then was just rather whiny and flinging himself around the table while grandma and I ate. He crawled up finally, took a bite and promptly started gagging. He ended up throwing up on himself, his shirt, his pants, grandma's plate (good thing she was done with it!), and the chair. He just kept crying "uh oh" and trying to get the mess off his beloved shirt.

Then the fun started. He stunk to high heaven so we tried to strip off his clothes and put him in a bath. Poor Barb had to haul him up the stairs kicking and screaming, while he fought to keep the shirt on. I put the baby down in his papasan and ran upstairs to rescue Barb...Connor had managed to escape and was sprinting down the hall with vomit covered clothes hanging half off his body while yelling "No WANT!" at the top of his lungs. Between the two of us we got him stripped and I barricaded myself in the bathroom with a massively distraught naked toddler -- grandma headed back downstairs for a much needed breather and some Timmy cuddles. She also threw the clothes in the washer because Connor only allowed us to take the clothes if we promised he could wear them again tomorrow...they're lying draped over his chair where he can see them first thing in the morning. It took fifteen minutes of level ten tantruming before he would finally consent to stand in the tub and let me sponge him off. Exhausted acceptance was all he could muster by then, but it just wrung my heart to see him so upset about ruining his shirt.

After that all he wanted was cuddling and for mommy to carry him, so I attached him limpet like to my front and got his teeth brushed and a new set of pjs on. He said he felt sick, but after half an hour's rest on the couch he was up and bouncing and chowing on some crackers and rice. He's a little restless in his sleep tonight...I hope it was just one of those random things rather than a true bug because vomiting children followed by vomiting adults is no fun. Thank goodness Barb was here! Charlie was at work until almost 9 for the exercise, and I would have been extremely hard pressed to get Connor up those stairs in that kind of meltdown mode; plus, Timmy started squawking part way through the whole debacle. How do single mothers of many children do it??

Oh and on a completely unrelated note, yesterday was the first time Connor said he loves me completely unprompted! I went to kiss him good night and said, "Love you buddy!" like I do every night and he piped up, "Wuv yoo, mommy!" I dashed back to cover him with kisses and I haven't stopped smiling about it since!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Pictures from Alaska

Barb brought the snow with her...we got a few inches on 30 Sep. Now we just have to wait til May for it to go away!!














Connor got a University of Notre Dame t shirt from Grandma and Grandpa and loves it! He likes to wear it over his pj top to keep extra warm. He loves the leprechaun!
















And Timmy passed out on my chair after a good long nurse...he was three weeks old yesterday. We went to a dr's appt last Thursday and he weighed in at 10 lbs even and had gained a 1/4 inch on his head. No growth length wise...he's focused on chubbing out.