Who needs a "Do Not Call list"?

Sunny Sunday....

We had a busy weekend, topped off with a 12 hour stomach bug for Ms. Lilly. It was temperatures and vomiting all night last night. Jeremy and I had flashbacks to long nights with awake babies. She slept on each of our chests for part of the night. She slept most of the day today and barely ate, but like a lightswitch, after her afternoon nap, she was fine.

Addy continues to RUN EVERYWHERE...the girl never walks. During one of her spins around the house this morning, she faceplanted on the tile and immediately got a goose-egg that resembled the last head injury--I tell you, it is always something around here!

Dancing before "school" on Friday--Lilly's dance consists of twirl after twirl after twirl until she topples from dizziness....

Addy's dance has started to resemble the Monster Mash--she mixes a bit of Frankenstein with hip-hop, it's an interesting combo, but working for her....

"Excuse me--I said I was feeling BETTER, now get the hell out of my way!"-Lilly

"Daddy's been slacking in the yard department, so he called in reinforcements..."--Addy

During Lilly's long nap, Grandma Linda was planting flowers and our neighbors (ages 8, 8 and 4) came to ask Addy to play...she was such a big girl, waved bye-bye to me and trotted off to play with the "big kids". Each time I checked on her and asked if she wanted to come home, she said "No, please". She thought was was seriously cool. She may be 2 going on 12....

Lastly, a HUGE congratulations to Brooke & Brian who welcomed twins last week. Brooke was a total rockstar, delivering both without a c-section and carrying those babies to 34 weeks--I am so proud of her!

Addy & Lilly (mommy too) can't wait to meet you, Jaxson & Dakota!

Guest Blogger--Aunt Cat Visits Again!

My nieces have grown so much since I saw them at Christmas time. I saw so much of myself in them at Christmas, but not so much anymore. I feel as if Jeremy has brainwashed them to hate shopping, just to annoy me! But they do not like to shop - they find the playground so much more enjoyable. And while I too had fun at the playground (although not quite as much as I usually have at the mall) I did not relish getting filthy and eating mulch and dirt. The girls love getting themselves covered, absolutely covered in dirt, leaves, grass, mud, mulch and they seem to not mind the taste of any of it. On Saturday afternoon they went next door to help the big kids dig for worms and were eager to peer into the bucket of worms. This is not an activity that I endorse, as I am not a fan of worms. Something that has not changed, however is their adoration of waking up at the crack of dawn. The morning is like crack to them - they love it - they want to sing and dance and carry on. I have developed an unhealthy dislike for Elmo and his world. So my nieces love waking up early, hate shopping, love worms, love dirt, love Elmo. So Jeremy has won this round.

I am not down for the count. I plan to reverse some of this before I leave on Monday! We have had a really nice visit. I was able to see their school - and it is so nice. They love it, and they have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with school buses, whenever we see one they go berserk in a funny way. We did the Race For The Cure on Saturday and I think they were a little bit overwhelmed at first but they were content. We saw lots of dogs which was fun for them (not so much for me as I am not an animal lover). I am not great at driving their double stroller and kept hitting the curb, but it did not seem to bother them too much (probably because they are used to their mom's driving;).

I think my favorite part of this visit has just been playing with them - outside on their little slide and in the playgrounds nearby and inside while they dance like no one is watching. They play with such abandon and joy that it almost makes me want to live with them. But then they scream for an hour before bedtime and scream at 5 AM and scream during time-outs and I think maybe I am better suited to being an Aunt who visits;) I adore my nieces but they are strong-willed and stubborn, qualities that I always thought were quite admirable, but am finding not quite so admirable in one year olds. Addy is such an imaginative thinker, she is so interested in how everything works and fits together, but she can also break down "Who built the ark - Noah built the ark" like no one else. Lilly is such a good reader and I think she has a future in medicine as she is very interested in fixing boo-boos. Lilly is more of a singer, but she does dance especially to her favorite song - the "Itsy Bitsy Spider".

I will miss these remarkable little girls. Maybe not the screaming;) But the laughing, the giggling, the noise, the chaos, their world I will miss tremendously. It is certainly a world worth visiting.

Aunt Cat and the early philanthropists, right before the Race for the Cure

The view from the stroller....Mamma, Mamalouise, Becky, Katy (Becky's mom, who we walked to celebrate) and a family friend

Aimee & Lilly

Lilly at the mall playground, also known as the place where germs go to die according to Cat....

Lilly & Addy

When the time-outs don't work, there is always the kitchen cabinets....

Lilly, my supermodel in training...

Addy, my inquisitive little thinker....

Easter 2009

Jeremy is privileged to work for a company that continues to put family first. During a time when most companies have cut these gatherings from their budgets a long time ago, they host a variety of family-friendly gathering over the year and Easter is no exception. We went to the Easter party a few weeks ago. The girls got baskets and as it turns out, Addy and Lilly like the bunny as much as they liked SANTA. Maybe this distaste for people in costumes may save us in the long run, making us avoid Disney until they have kids of their own?

As for Easter day, we've been busy!

Opening Easter baskets this morning and getting a surprise from Auntie Joyce & Uncle Norman in England--the girls got little backpacks! They are so darn cute and will use them to pack up toys to take with them on day trips and to Grandma & Grandpa's house! Thank you!

Getting all dressed up for the Easter service at church and realizing why we go so infrequently...the girls were certainly not well-behaved and after bribing with snacks and toys, we ended up leaving early....

Gathering for brunch at the location where Jeremy and I had our hometown reception almost 4 years ago (to the day!). Above we have 3 uncles, 2 girlfriends, 2 grandmas, 2 grandpas, a great-grandma, a great-grandpa and us. Nothing like Easter to realize how blessed we are!

We hunted for eggs in the backyard!

And got lots of special Easter goodies!

Phew...what a day! Thankfully it's almost bedtime!

Kids in motion....

One thing about this age...they never stop moving!

We checked out a place called "Recreation Unlimited" last week--a giant showroom for playset equipment. You would have thought I'd taken them to Disney World! The loved it!

Tigers to Time-outs?

Grandma Linda came last week to help me out as I got a lot of work done, both for my job and my family! The spring cleaning bug hit me and I got closets organized, clothes and toys organized to sell and more. It was so nice to have her--thank you Ga Ga! We even made it to the zoo last week....

Ga Ga and her peeps at the first zoo outing of the season

"He looks just like my stuffed animal at home--but bigger....way bigger...."--Lilly

Loving the dolphin show and the shark exhibit, we may have a marine biologist on our hands! (Addy)

As we near the 2-year mark, the girls have begun to give me a glimpse of the terrible-twos. I've done time-outs with them for almost a year now, starting when punishing them for biting, pulling hair, etc. Now we try and enforce it for tantrums, throwing toys, running off in public, etc. Mostly things that I consider dangerous or that make mommy need a time-out so I don't lose it. We started giving the time-outs in their crib, lastly only 1 minute. Now, they'll do them just about anywhere and know I mean business. A couple weeks ago, after running away from me Addy did hers on a park bench, I've also done the front door step when they run onto the street when playing in the driveway and our dining room chair has become the timeout seat for the first floor. Here are a few rules I've tried to follow...

1. Be consistent, tell them why they are going in time-out, put them there and when your done explain again, hug/kiss and let them go. If they get up, put them back and set the clock again. If the behavior warrants an apology, make them "say" it, even if they can't say it.

2. Don't use time-out as a blanket threat, if you say they'll get a time-out if they throw a toy again, and they look at you and throw the toy, you need to follow-through (yes, even grandmas)

3. Try to keep a straight face when you go back after a minute and the arms are outstretched and they are ready for the kiss...Pavlovian response? (disclaimer, I was not in the room while filming, arm was going around the corner of the wall, but notice how she looks directly at the camera...can we say drama queen?)

Another funny story...when the girls were in the NICU, Jeremy and I used to sit through feedings and talk about what we thought they'd be like as they got older. One day, I was feeding Lilly and Jeremy was feeding Addy. Jeremy told me that Lilly would be just like her mom and LOVE ketchup on everything. Addy would be the condiment queen, passing on ketchup and using "better" condiments like honey mustard, bbq, etc. (I know, we did a lot to pass the time). As it turns out, Addy is my ketchup queen and reaches over to dip off others' plates if she doesn't have her own. Here's Addy...(we are still working on the deal with Heinz...free ketchup for life?)

Last item for this blog, Brooke tagged me for 7 favorite things (in no particular order)....Lilly's bear hugs, Addy's sloppy kisses, a bubble bath, wine with friends, uninterrupted sleep, Michelle's cupcakes and a back rub from my hubby. (Tags--Mamalouise, Amy Wagner, Brooke Kline)

The tubes are in!

6:30 a.m. "Road trip in my pajama's with my Elmo video, what could be better?"
7:10 a.m. "My mom & my dad, all to myself...awesome....Addy, who?"
8:05 a.m. "Hey mom, these nurses and doctors around here LOVE me!"
8:30 a.m. "What the hell?"

Lilly's tubes went in yesterday morning. The torture of starving my child with no food or drink for 12 hours wasn't as bad as I thought. We had to arrive at 7 a.m. and the surgery was at 8:15. I dreaded not giving in to her sippy of milk addiction first thing in the morning, but with all the attention she was getting, she gratefully forgot about missing a meal. The morning started out quite nice actually. The aftermath, was literally awful. 90 minutes of non-stop crying, thrashing, totally inconsolible as the antistesia wore off. It was awful to endure and thankfully when it was over, it was like a switch went off and she was done. Now it's over, I'm just thankful we didn't have to do it for both of them! Thanks for the prayers and well-wishes!