Two Months

My, how we love this girl!

And none of us can get enough of her.

When God planned a perfect surprise for us, he knew Greta would be a precious addition for our family. We couldn't agree more. I can't imagine having to wait any longer for her. Meek and mild, she definitely is child #4 who takes in all around her but isn't bothered by the looming chaos. To add to perfection, she even decided to start sleeping through the night by 6 weeks. Yes, God is good and knew exactly what we needed.

Our little sweetheart had her two month check up today and weighed in at 11 lbs. 7 oz. She's a growing and healthy little girl whose blue eyes and big smile light up the room...and our lives. She most definitely is our 'Baby Gem'.

How To Tame Your Toddler

She squeals and screams.

She wiggles and squirms.

She tosses, turns and flips.

She walks and runs.

She clings.

Welcome to the 'hood: Toddlerhood.

When life brings you to the place where one resides in your home, there are a few things to keep in mind.


* Let her stand on the couch for endless amounts of time (keeping her within your reach of course, because you know what happens if you don't) staring out the window and pounding violently gently tapping on it. There are so many things to see in the outside world, even if you can't be out in it right at the moment.

* When she is old enough to walk and make the decision to walk right out of your church pew, hand her over to daddy and let him be the pew police for an hour. Many fathers have grown buff with this simple workout routine. On top of the Catholic calisthenics (stand, sit, kneel), the twist-turn-flip-flop-don't let me drop additions give him a well rounded workout.


* No matter how much you baby-proof your house, a toddler will find plenty of ways to get into things. She will explore and therefore find new ways to scare you half to death when she shows off her new findings. When you got rid of the coffee table because of the dangers it posed and replaced it with a cushy ottoman, you probably didn't realize that one day it would be her new favorite climbing obstacle.


* Don't let her innocence fool you. The cute look is either disguising
a) the bug she just ate off the dining room floor
b) the poopy diaper she is waiting to surprise you with later or
c) her plans for yet another toddler tornado in the near future

* Give her a book to quietly read (because she's brilliant for her age, of course) in the corner because it makes you the best parent ever for giving her the love of literature at an early age. If you find that she's grown tired of her cardboard and paper diet, feel free to move all of those beloved books to a high bookshelf.


* Introduce the sippy cup as soon as possible and by all means keep that thing full throughout the day. Many a problem is solved with the lure of the sippy cup and it serves as a much needed diversion on many an occasion daily.


* Be careful not to introduce the use of screen time too early for your toddler, but when the day is rough and it's only 9 am, technology is your best friend. Free children's apps (hint: Color Drops is colorful, makes sounds and lets your toddler doodle) on your iPod will take priority and you will soon rid it of anything else. It's ok, because your sanity is worth it. You're trying to keep her busy while you teach your two students, after all.


Lastly, remember that it hasn't always been this way nor will this last forever. Be happy that she is healthy and thriving. And especially grateful when it's bedtime and she goes to sleep. Quickly jump in to bed yourself because tomorrow you're gonna do this all over again.

Lately

Back in the day, I felt like I had it all together. I was on time, my kids' clothing matched even when we were just around home, their faces were washed and fingernails clean.

Now, I'm just glad when I can get out the door and it takes less than fifteen minutes. I'm proud of myself when all kids have been bathed within the same 24 hour time period. I'm almost down-right giddy when we've made it through a day when Margaret didn't have a poop 'blow out'.

It's funny how more children in your care demands that you let go of all of those crazy ideals you once held. It's not about perfection any more, but more about survival.

I had to take Gianna in for her one year doctor check up the other week. That particular day she happened to have a huge knob on the corner of her forehead (from the toilet), a scratch under her eye (from falling and hitting the edge of a plastic mixing bowl that was laying on the floor)and a big scratch by the side of her nose (whereabouts unknown). I reassured the doctor that we weren't really in as rough condition as Gianna would lead him to believe and that she was in no way neglected. lol.



The weather has been so nice and unseasonably warm that we are enjoying it as much as possible. This leads to jackets full of mud and numerous wardrobe changes if we go out several times in a day. Sometimes that may lead to a certain boy wearing the only spare pair of mud boots, which just happen to be pink and purple. Thankfully, he didn't really notice and didn't care when I pointed it out either.



It also prompted hubby to take the kids outside one evening as a quick impromptu post-supper outing. He even grabbed the little girls, threw a hat on Margaret and stuffed her in his coat. She didn't mind a bit and he was proud of his creative ingeniousness. Who needs one of those fancy-shmancy carriers?



And, while we certainly have our share of goo-goo-gaa-gaa moments with little Margaret, she is our fourth. Sometimes the attention she gets is in the form of her watching the other kids more than of them watching her. She's kind of getting used to it.



When I think about our lives lately, I'm happy for the imperfections, the running late and the less than perfect impressions. I couldn't care less, because lately our hearts are full and happy at our house.

We're playing in the mud...



Enjoying the fresh air..





And just plain lovin'...



We wouldn't want it any other way.

Wordless Wednesday: New 'Do

Unwanted Attention

I turned off my comments a couple of weeks ago since some people were having problems with the word verification. I thought I'd experiment and see what happens.

I've now had several spam comments left on random posts written back in 2010.

Thankfully, these are Anonymous comments so they aren't posting and I just receive notification in my email. But, it's got me wondering how best to screen this unwanted traffic toward my blog. Is the only best way to do it via the word verification when leaving comments? Anyone know?

While I love traffic here on my blog, I'd really rather not attract any 'ol Tom, Dick or Harry to my little corner of Blogville.

Finding My Mommy Legs

No, I'm not going to show you my post-pregnancy legs. Even though I'm sure you'd all love to see them.

Instead, this is more of a post about settling in and getting readjusted and acclimated to slowing down again. Now that we are almost six weeks postpartum, life seems to be moving back into the direction of normalcy and routine.

We're fine tuning and tweaking all of the to do's that command the day, but we're making steady progress. That's a good feeling.

I'm feeling like I CAN juggle and keep things going each day. It probably helps that I'm not as tired and weathered as I felt during the first few weeks. I've mastered the fine art of carrying both little girls as once, picking up one of them while already holding the other and so many other contortionist maneuvers than I care to mention.

Of course, all of this is made do-able by an extremely helpful husband, two older kids that are helpful to some degree and a baby that only wakes once during the night. All of those factors definitely contribute to helping mommy find her place in motherhood again and feel confident in doing so.

I'm a little unsteady on these legs some days, but I get by. I remind myself often that I am in the company of some very heroic and amazing women who manage many littles every day.

Step by step and day by day I'm granted the grace to do the very same thing.

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With those thought provoking words, let me now turn to discussing my actual physical legs on which I daily stand.

These back-to-back pregnancies did a number on my legs in the spider vein department. Please tell me you can commiserate? And while you're at it, please tell me you have found a miracle cure/way to fix these things that does not involve a medical professional. Is that possible? Any and all suggestions, as always, are most welcome.

Not that I'm being vein vain, but I would like to still look like I'm in my early thirties not well beyond. I'd like these legs to look decent for another 100,000 miles or so, even if it is just for me (and my husband) that see a good portion of them.

First Birthday Girl

While this post is almost three weeks late, I felt that I couldn't let Gianna be outdone by her sister's monumental post. So, albeit late, it will at least get posted.

Gianna's actual birthday, February 17th, we celebrated just a bit with my mom who came to visit/help out for two days. A couple of gifts and some cake were all we needed to call it a small party.

The birthday girl on her big day:

She really didn't care a whole lot about the gifts, but had lots of fun with the wrapping paper after someone else unwrapped the gift for her:

The following Sunday, when we held Greta's baptism, we decided to also celebrate Gianna's big birthday as well. Heck, why invite the same people over twice? And plan two parties?

After baptism, we all headed back to our house for a little lunch and cake, of course. Deciding on a cupcake theme, I found the giant cupcake pan at Joann's and bought it half off with coupon. I then made a few dozen cupcakes, complete with pink frosting, for everyone rather than an additional cake.

With all that was going on and the guests to visit with and entertain, I didn't get as many photos as I could have. I guess she will understand one day, being she's the third child and all. Thankfully though, I handed the camera over to Gianna's Godmother and she snapped some photos and I even got in a few.

We totally forgot just to put Gianna in her highchair and let her plow through her cake. Instead, Gianna got to be all proper and daddy fed her the cake. Sure, it's not as dramatic but the clean up is so much easier!

Gianna didn't really care a whole lot about gift opening that day either. Thankfully, our little great-niece #2 was there to help out and totally enjoyed herself. The birthday girl was a little too busy toddling around and playing with her little girl peeps.

It was a special day to celebrate our long-awaited Baby Blessing, Gianna, and the numerous ways her first year brought us all so much joy. How quickly the time as flown this year and my, how our family has changed and grown as well. We love you, our little Boo-Boo!