three months

Meredith's favorite things at 3 months:

1. Thomas

2. All night chats with her parents

3. Time on her tummy

the party favor

We went to a very fun birthday party for Thomas' friend, Santiago, yesterday. Good live music, several birthday cakes, face painting (Thomas opted for a very cool spider on the back of his hand while Meredith passed), a pinata full of goodies and many friends added up to a fun time. Among other things, Thomas brought home this blower party favor which he entertained Meredith with this afternoon.

Meredith loves the party blower. In this photo I can almost hear her saying... "Props to you, big brother. You sure can rock the blower party favor! Nice work."

cousins

around and around

Is this the biggest grin you've ever seen or what?


Meredith watches her brother run around, jump and chatter up a storm. I'm sure she's taking it all in so she can do the same very soon.

[Note: She's a 10! Today she weighed in at 10lbs., 1 ounce. And last night she gave us one 3 hour and 45 minute stretch of sleep. Oh joy!]

future architect?

I'm always looking for hints as to what Thomas may become years from now. Look at this structure he constructed using his lunch - maybe a future architect like his mama? [I can see his dad shaking his head at that one.] One thing is for sure, he has some mad organizational skills like his mama.

Oregon Coast

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The best thing about living where we do is how easily accessible the mountains and the ocean are. I woke up this morning, saw that our day was wide open and totally decided on a whim to take the kids to the beach. It's been triple-digit-warm here the last few days and a cool day at the beach sounded like a great respite from the heat. Less than an hour later, we were packed up and on the road.

Gearhart is this wonderful, quiet little beach town just two miles north of the busy and loud Seaside, Oregon. We love Gearhart for many reasons, one of which being that you can drive onto the beach which made it very easy for me to manage the two kids on my own today. I'm sure we were quite the sight as I loaded up the wagon with Thomas and carried Meredith in the sling. It was easy to find ourselves a quiet little area to eat our lunch and play in the sand. Very relaxing and enjoyable for this mama!

Afterwards we stopped in crazy Seaside for a minute and Thomas caught sight of the carrousel. He said he wanted to ride it but when it came right down to it (and fortunately just minutes before it started to move), he passed. Maybe we'll do that on our next visit.

two decades ago

I had to laugh when I saw our own little Meredith "walking like an Egyptian". Do you remember The Bangles' hit song in 1987? That was 20 years ago! You know you can't resist singing the song either when you look at this photo so sing with me now...

All the school kids so sick of books

They like the punk and the metal band

When the buzzer rings (oh whey oh)

They're walking like an Egyptian

We're having a baby? Let's remodel!

Because having a new baby just isn't enough, we also recently updated our kitchen. Finally! This was one of the items on our TO DO list 8 years ago when we bought our home, but the thought of actually doing it did not appeal to either of us. No kitchen for a period of time, the neverending accumulation of dust throughout the house, the noise, the general disruption of it all...? We put it off for as long as we could, but earlier this year we decided it needed to be done and it needed to be done now.

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The schedule was tight, but we had hoped to have it all done before Meredith arrived. As you know, she came earlier than expected and it sort of threw our plans out the window. We brought our new baby home to a house without a kitchen. We have the good fortune of being surrounded by good friends and family who all pitched in to help us during those first few weeks home with baby, sans a working kitchen. The contractor has long finished the work we hired him to do and yet there are still some things that need to be done. There's no rush, but we're hoping to have it completely wrapped up by the end of summer.

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An updated kitchen means, among other things, new cabinets! And new cabinets mean a new organization in our kitchen as far as where things are stored. Thomas loves that the canned food items are now within his reach. He can sort, count and stack them to his heart's content. It keeps things interesting for us both but really, aren't those early math skills anyway?

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before (gross) & after (ooohhhh!)

napping

When Meredith is napping on the floor like this, Thomas enjoys cuddling up next to her. So sweet!

Count with Me!

Thomas has recently started counting to ten. After we praise him, he starts skipping around and asks to "do it again". Of course, we oblige because it's so darn cute and he loves to count. So tonight in the bathtub we counted from one to ten while filling up a bucket with water from a cup. After several rounds of counting one to ten, I asked him if he'd like to do it in Spanish. I've just started counting one to six with him in Spanish so I started us out "Uno, dos, tres... Thomas, what comes next?" And his reply? "...paltro, cinco..." I was floored. It has been a few days and although he didn't quite get four correct (it's cuatro), how close was he?? This kid never ceases to amaze me. Seriously.

first baby vs. second baby

Thomas couldn't resist joining in on the fun! He asked me to photograph him just like I was photographing Meredith.

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Okay. So Meredith is now 10 weeks old and I still have not sent out a birth announcement. I have to wonder if there's some etiquette concerning when these get mailed? Is it too late at this point? A quick internet search says it's best to do it right away, but all sites agree that up to 3 months after a birth is socially acceptable. Whew! It looks like I'll be getting these out there just in time...

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Prior to Meredith's arrival, I remember thinking that I would document her every move and be totally on top of photos and things like birth announcements just as I was with Thomas. There was no question in my mind that everything I did for Thomas would also be done for his sister. And then the reality of having a toddler and a newborn set in.

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Her first year calendar isn't nearly as full of information as his, Thank You cards have fallen by the wayside (much to my dismay, but I seriously cannot remember who gave us what) and I'm just now getting around to birth announcements. Someday she'll ask me when she first smiled and my answer will be "...ummm, around 2 months, I think..." because I honestly don't know. And then I'll explain that I was too busy loving her and her brother every second of every day to write down each and every little detail...

Happy Independence Day!

Nothing says Fourth of July quite like a simple, family-oriented parade. There wasn't a single band, clown or horse. Instead there were dogs in bandanas and hats, hundreds of children on their decorated bicycles, toddlers dressed for the occasion riding in wagons, some very old cars, many balloons and a couple of boy and girl scout troops. And all of this was led by a fire engine and followed by a police car. Both our kids seemed to really enjoy the flurry of activity and all the fun things to look at. Thomas' favorite was the fire engine. Of course.

adventures in sleep deprivation

Not quite the finished product, but close! Thomas loved having his bed in this new position with his train dresser nearby and the new-to-him "bedside table" for his books.

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When I'm tired and am lacking sleep, I find it best to just keep moving. All. Day. Long. Oh, I nap with the baby when Thomas takes his nap, but I only nap for about 40 minutes most days and then I'm up and moving again. Slowing down, taking it easy, "resting"... all of that will just make me sleepy. It's best to keep moving.
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So, what to do? Today it was tackle the nursery. It feels funny to call it the "nursery" when Thomas isn't much of a baby anymore, but Meredith will be joining him in here at some point so "nursery" it remains. Thomas moved into this room at 9 weeks and she'd be here now, too, but I'm still debating which is worse - a mama who hasn't slept well or a two year old who hasn't slept well? Either way, it isn't pretty so she remains in our room until she can sleep for a longer period at night. [Note: Last night was the longest stretch yet - 3.5 hours. Yippee!]
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The nursery is an odd-shaped, small room that is easily divided into two areas which is great when setting up one side for Thomas and the other for Meredith. [Yes, kids, we are looking for another house where each child can have their own room and we can still all be on the same floor. Unfortunately, this will take some time due to our region's crazy housing market and our long list of "wants".] Anyway, Thomas and I spent some time after his nap moving things around in his room and getting rid of things we no longer need. He had a great time finding new homes for some of his things and he loved the new location of his bed. Several times he told me to "turn on his cars and go downstairs so he could rest" (translation: turn on the mobile and leave so he could nap). This was after a 3 hour nap! The kid is silly.
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We also made room in the nursery for this beautiful dresser. We picked it up this morning for Meredith's things. Isn't it pretty? At $45, it was a steal. Maybe someday I'll refinish it or simply paint it a different color, but it's in great shape for our use now. I love craigslist.

** Curious how our photo session went this morning with the two kids?? Thomas did a fantastic job! He posed, held his sister and followed the photographer's direction to a tee. Meredith, well, you know... She's 10 weeks. She never cried or fussed, but she's smiling in only one photo and it's the one photo where Thomas isn't smiling or laughing. Oh well. What can you do?

say cheese!

Tomorrow we are taking the kids in for photos (!!). My hope is to get one good shot of the two of them together. I have a feeling I'm asking too much of a two year old and a ten week old, but we'll see how it goes. Wish us luck!

fun day

Whew! What a fun day for Thomas. A trip to the Zoo with his cousins and their dads in the morning, his friend's second birthday party in the afternoon, and dinner with his cousin in the evening. Does it get any better than this?

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Thomas and his cousins enjoying an exhibit at the Zoo

silly kids

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Left: Dill pickle #4 and counting... [Could it have been my craving for dill pickles while pregnant that makes this child also love dill pickles? After finishing this fourth pickle, he asked for another.]

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Right: She's rocking and rolling. [Well, she's trying to anyway. She just got here, why must she already be trying to get away?? Oh, if only they could stay little.]

future veterinarian?

future photographer?

self-portrait taken by Thomas

Thank You.

Thank you, Gymboree, for making clothes that truly fit a 0-3 month old when the tag says so. Thank you for making such cute clothes. And thank you, Katie, for giving Meredith such an adorable outfit. I love how this shows off her teeny tiny baby body!

two months

It's pretty amazing all that can happen in just two short months. They grow, develop and change so rapidly at this age that if you blink for more than a second, you're likely to miss something good. First smiles, first coos, first interests... We're still waiting for the "first 4 hour block of sleep", but we're enjoying every second just the same because we know this period will be over with before we know it.

I'm growing!

Stripped down at the pediatrician's office and loving it!

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Though she's not quite two months yet, Meredith had her two month appointment this morning. Everything looks great and she's doing very well. The photo above was taken before her immunization shots. She wasn't very happy after receiving four this morning - ouch!

length: 21" (20th percentile)

weight: 9lbs, 8.5ozs (25th percentile)

head: 15 inches (20th percentile)

Meredith gets cozy this afternoon for a naptime story with Thomas. Curious George is Thomas' current favorite so we read a Curious George story before every nap and bedtime, sometimes even two. He just can't get enough of that silly little monkey!

Feeding Meredith

I asked Thomas if he'd like to feed his sister this afternoon and he jumped at the chance. He did such a great job but the look on Meredith's face was hilarious. It's as if she's asking Should you really be doing this?? When she finished the bottle, he removed it and wiped her face off with the burp rag just as he sees us doing. I swear, this kid doesn't miss a thing!

Father's Day hike

Bela and Greta wait in the SUV while we stop at Starbucks to fill up.

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M, Thomas and the girls enjoying one of our favorite trails.

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Meredith enjoys her first hike snuggled in a sling.

why dads are fun

I never would have thought to show Thomas this fun trick, but his dad did. M was out of town this week and away from us for the first time since Thomas was born. Thomas sure did miss his daddy (as did we all)!

our #1 kid with our #1 dog

Bela is enjoying Thomas' company more and more these days. What's not to love? He feeds her his food, gives her hugs and kisses daily, brings her toys (even those that Greta is playing with) and is always trying to take care of her. If only every dog could be so lucky!

our baby girl

It's hard to photograph a baby! However, I realize I haven't posted many so I thought I'd get a few of Meredith on here so you can see how she's growing. Almost 7 weeks old already! Some photos from this afternoon...

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fun photos

Left: Thomas on his way to music class this morning with "rabbit" in hand. I picked out the shorts and he picked out the rest.

[Note: Yes, he really went out like this. We went to Starbucks, music class, the pet store and to the bank. He received quite a few smiles and compliments.]

Right: Thomas in his old vibrating/massage chair. M pulled it up from the basement today for Meredith and I set it down near Thomas' shelf of books in the living room. He seems to think it is his new little reading corner chair.

vroom vroom

I don't know why they call them the "terrible twos" (okay, so maybe sometimes I do) because we are having the most fun with Thomas at this age. He's such a happy and funny little boy. All morning he talked about going to the Rose Festival downtown and seeing the race car and boats. However, once we actually saw the race car, all we heard for the rest of the day was how he didn't like the race car. I admit it was a little loud for me, too, but to suddenly say you don't like it? Too funny.

sublime

I always wonder just how much of the background stuff Thomas is absorbing, whether it be music, television or the things we see while out. We recently learned that he is indeed listening to the music we listen to and picking out new words and phrases from the songs he hears. This week we've heard him singing to Sublime's "I've Seen Better Days". There are few things more funny than hearing "I've seen better days..." coming out of a two year old's mouth. Sometimes he'll even say "Thomas (has) seen better days..."

"Hi. Good morning. Good."

I love watching Thomas and Meredith together. He always greets her the same way - "Hi. Good morning. Good." It doesn't matter what the time of day is, his greeting is always the same. And she loves it when he talks to her. Even when he's just near her and talking, she'll turn his direction. When he's close enough, she watches him intently.

We're beginning to put some 0-3 month size clothes on Meredith! They are all the smallest of the 0-3 month clothes we have. It's really fun to see her in something that Thomas once wore or dress her in something that was given to us by family and friends.

[Pictured above, Thomas greeted Meredith with his usual greeting then proceeded to kiss her. He kissed her toes, her hand and her face. It was the sweetest thing. Ever. I'll have to remind them of moments like this when they are older and arguing about something petty!]

storytime

Thomas is an avid book reader so it really wasn't a surprise today when he wanted to read his new books from the library to Meredith. I hope his love for books continues to grow and lasts a lifetime!

Thomas: "Look, baby sister. Number one, blue race car. Up there. Number 2, purple race car. Oh, wow!"

Thomas is such a great big brother. He'll get her binky when she cries and tries to put it in her mouth. "Baby sister need binky." He'll put her used bottles in the kitchen sink. "Baby sister all done milk." He's a busy toddler and not always interested but we can tell he adores her when he does play with her.