Impromptu

This bowl was on the table . . . then, while thinking of ordering crocheted hats for photographing babies, I remembered I had this hat . . . which then made me run out to the garage and get my blue backdrop . . . and strip down the baby and grabbed my camera.

All while Jim was trying to do the dishes from lunch.

An impromptu Saturday afternoon photo shoot.

What will I do when there is no longer a baby around here to practice with?!

Favorite Photo Friday

Remember this? Let's see if I can rekindle the flame.

Kate & Meg, January 19, 2008, Marietta GA

I knew I would love them. I knew I would love every ounce of each of them, from head to toe.

But I had no idea how much they would love each other. When I see these smiles, I feel like the luckiest mom alive.

The Final Birthday Blog

Home Tuesday with a sick and coughing Kate . . . bound to happen, considering that Meg had her battle with a cold last week. It seems like the days of sharing germs between the sisters has begun.

Wednesday I ran off to visit my parents . . . an impromptu voyage that ended up with everyone staying over night. Thursday back home, catching up with the work I should have done Wednesday.

But, alas . . . I have not yet finished the birthday story . . . so today's blog won't be about Kate or my parents, but about a now 30-yr old Jim.

Where was I? Oh yes, the birthday surprise was leaked . . . Jim knew of Will's trip to town . . . but we were all super excited about spending the weekend celebrating Jim's birthday.

Saturday morning came, and Jim had to rush off early in the morning for his WW meeting and -- blech -- work. Yes, on the day of his big event, Jim had to work. It was 'Bonus Day' at Power Plan . . . the one day of the year when the company holds it's annual meeting and distributes bonus checks. The meeting/check distribution was actually supposed to happen on Friday, but with all the consultants and their travel, it wasn't going to work. So, the owners of PP just decided that everyone would love to come to work on Saturday.

Who's gonna argue? They were holding our big bonus check in their hands as incentive to actually come to the meeting. Suffice to say . . . everyone -- every employee -- attended, even on a Saturday morning.

Back at home, we spent the day getting ready . . . exactly what we were getting ready for, Jim still wasn't exactly sure.

I had spent the past 2 weeks organizing a dinner party for us at a local restaurant -- Chicago's. 19 guests were to arrive at 8:00pm to enjoy a fun birthday dinner for Jim. I made menus, we bought wine, decorations . . . it was all going to be perfect. After dinner, everyone would make the 5 minute drive from the restaurant to our house for cake, ice cream, and a little Wii action.

And this is not going to be one of those "it should have been great BUT . . ." stories. It WAS great. The whole thing was awesome.

Jim's family and I were enjoying the excitement of the day. There was much to celebrate -- Jim's birthday, his dad's birthday (which is the same day as Jim's!), Will was coming, we'd all worked hard to get everything ready. And then we found out that Jim had gotten a smokin' bonus . . . it was a great day!

Jim came back home mid afternoon, and we continued to do little things in preparation. Jim still really didn't know what he was preparing for. I told him what to wear. Will and his family arrived. The babysitter came for the girls. And it was finally time to leave for dinner.

Jim thought we were going to a different restaurant . . . but when we arrived at Chicago's, I think he said, "Hey, look at this . . ." He was surprised at the location -- and I was just glad that at least a little of the surprise was actually left. And when we entered the restaurant, he was even more surprised to find our entire party waiting for him in the lobby.

"Surprise!" someone said.

We all greeted each other as we waited (far too long -- but that's another story) for our table to be ready. Everyone sat, everyone ate. The dinner was fantastic and fun, and I think Jim enjoyed every single minute. He was surprised that we'd put everything together . . . all he knew was that we were going somewhere for dinner.

As dinner was ending, I said to Jim, "Okay, let's go . . ."

"Is everyone coming to our house? Is that the plan?" he asked.

I laughed. A little more of the surprise was left than I had expected . . . I thought he'd figured it all out by that point. I did tell him that everyone was coming over to our house, and he was very excited.

The rest of the night was just as great as dinner. We sang Happy Birthday to Jim, had cake, then retired -- 17 of the 19 guests -- to the basement for the rest of the night. Lots of bowling and guitar hero action . . . which everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy. Jim's friends were very gracious with gifts, providing us with even MORE Wii games and accessories to make our night fun.

The entire event went off exactly as planned. Jim had a blast, which was the more important part of it all.

I was so excited that Jim was able to enjoy a weekend devoted to just HIM. He deserved it -- I wish we could do things like this for him more often. Jim's actual birthday was Sunday, and we woke up that morning and had a great breakfast with all of our company. We did a little shopping, then ended the day at Julie and Greg's for Jim and his dad's birthday dinner. With two extremely tired girls, we headed back home . . . . and I think Jim and I both took time in the car to think about what a perfectly fantastic weekend it had been.

So that's it . . . sorry for the long, drawn out description of Jim's birthday. I've been getting emails all week about what the surprise was, when I was going to post. I didn't mean for it to be so suspenseful!

Happy Birthday to you, Jim. Seems like we 'do it up' every 5 years (Jim's 25th was a BIG blow out, too) . . . so I'm already looking forward to celebrating your 35th :) I love you.

(

A Very Merry UnBirthday

Today is the day AFTER Jim's birthday . . . and the day that we are going to attempt to get back to 'normal' around here. The dust is still settling . . . the kids (and grown ups) are still catching up on sleep . . . but BOY what a fun weekend it was.

The big fun started Thursday, when I got home from errand-running and found a red light blinking on my answering machine.

"Hey . . . yeah, Heather? This is Will. Give me a call back when you can. I want to talk to you about coming up this weekend."

Eyes shifted left, brow furrowed . . . WHO? I had no idea who 'Will' was, and I didn't recognize the voice. And how did he know about this weekend?

Then it hit me, and I grabbed the phone and started dialing as fast as I could to return the call.

Jim's best buddy from college -- his long time roommate, best man in our wedding -- lives in Fort Walton Beach, FL. And his name -- you guessed it -- is Will.

When planning the big birthday festivities over the past few weeks, I had stuck a card in the mail to Will's family, telling them about our event and inviting them to come. I had no other way to reach them without Jim knowing . . . no phone number, no email address . . . so I just sent them a note. I stuck the card in the mail 2 weeks ago thinking how fun it would be to surprise Jim . . . but also how unlikely it would work out, considering that Will and his wife have 2 young girls.

After mailing the card, I found out that Will and his family had MOVED right after Christmas, foiling my plan. I had chalked it up to bad fortune and forgotten about the whole thing.

Imagine my surprise when the card DID get to Will's house in time (after being forwarded) and they WERE going to come up for the birthday!

I called Will back. Yes, they had gotten the card -- only last week -- and YES, they were all going to come for the birthday. Will, his wife Gina, and both of their daughters, would hop in their car Saturday and arrive at our house sometime late afternoon. The plans were made, and I was stoked. Jim came home from traveling on Thursday evening, and it was all I could do to contain myself. I kept smiling, Jim kept asking, "WHAT?" . . . . like something was wrong with me. I'm sure with the goofy grins I was giving, I probably looked like something was wrong with me. I was so thrilled to have pulled off a surprise like this for Jim.

Fast forward 24 hours.

Jim's mom, dad, Julie, and Greg all came over Friday evening, and I told them all about what we had planned for Will's family's arrival on Saturday afternoon. Sleeping arrangements were made (their family would take over Meg's room) . . . baby sitting details for Saturday night were discussed . . . the whole thing was set. I was SO excited. Everyone was excited. Jim knew something was in the works, but I knew he had NO idea what was going to happen.

As we all sat around on Friday evening drinking wine and chatting, Meg busted out some new Mickey Mouse stickers she had received in the mail. She has this new thing about making pictures -- drawings -- then hanging them on the underside of her top bunk so she can look up and admire her work while lying in her bottom bunk bed. These stickers were perfect for that type of picture . . . but getting all the arts and crafts out to make a picture right THEN wasn't really perfect timing.

"Here, Meg. Let's put these stickers away with all your crayons and things, and we'll make a new picture for your bed later this weekend," I said in an attempt to diffuse her request for arts-and-crafts.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Oh, I bet Will and Gina will LOVE lying in your bed looking at your pictures!" Jim's mom excitedly said to Meg.

All of the adults in the room quickly turned to stare at Paulette with the biggest eyes possible. The room went silent. Jim's mom's hand went to her mouth. JIM stared at everyone with the most confused -- and excited -- look on his face.

The surprise was busted.

In one quick comment, there was no more surprise about Will and Gina coming to help celebrate the big 30th birthday with us.

"Surprise!" I said, throwing my hands in the air.

"What?" Jim was still quite confused.

We filled Jim in on the details of his friends' arrival, and he was so happy about the plans. He had NO idea that I'd contacted Will, that they were coming . . . and he was very excited to hear about his plans. I don't think Jim cared in the least that we had busted his surprise. He was just so pleased that his friend was coming to town.

I wasn't mad at Paulette . . . honestly, it could have been any one of us that had busted the secret. It was HARD to keep it from Jim, even for only the 24 hours we had known. I, myself, had almost mistakenly told Jim . . . or asked him a question about something related to hosting more people in the house . . . I really didn't get upset about the mistake Paulette had made. It was an honest one . . . I know she certainly did not do it on purpose.

She felt bad -- man, did Paulette feel bad. She must have said, "I'm so sorry!" a million times.

But, it was OK. It was still a surprise for Jim -- like I said, you should have seen the confused look on his face when he heard Will's name mentioned in our conversation. The surprise may have been leaked earlier than we'd planned . . . but it was still a BIG surprise for the birthday boy.

Jim ended up calling Will Friday night to let him know he knew that they were coming and to tell him how much he was looking forward to it. Jim was able to share all the details about where everyone would sleep, etc., so that Gina could plan according for her family's trip. See . . . it all worked out in the end. (Doesn't it always?)

And the birthday was a BLAST. I have gone on too long about the pre-planning excitement in this blog, so I'll have to continue with the actual party details in another entry . . . but the whole thing was awesome.

Happy UnBirthday to Jim . . . one day after the big day.

To Be Continued . . .

The Weekend

Jim turns 30 this weekend. I married a younger man. Call me a cradle robber if you want to.

We have big plans. Big SURPRISE plans . . . so I can't tell right now because Jim reads this blog. Jim -- remember what I said -- you might need your swim suit or your dress suit -- I'll tell you on Saturday.

Nana Dahlby and Papa are joining us for the festivities. JuJu and Greg are already helping with the plans. The girls are already enjoying the extra company in the house, as am I. Tomorrow will include a trip to the mall and some pre-birthday shopping . . . and a hair cut for me while I have an extra person around to watch the girls.

Birthdays rock. Happy Birthday to Jim, 3 days early.

Anyone for Lunch?

Glance at the clock. 11:42 am.

I guess I should start making lunch. I'll ask Meg what she wants . . . at least if I let her choose I know she'll eat it.

"Meg, what's for lunch today?" I ask.
"Ummmm . . . Chicken Nuggets," Meg replies.

Of course. Well, at least the are easy to make. I'll give her something 'healthy' to go along with it.

Open refrigerator.

Cheese. Cheese is good. She'll definitely eat cheese. And strawberries. Cheese, strawberries, and nuggets. And milk. Now for Kate . . . let's see, she has some broccoli in here . . . which she hates . . . so I'll give her this 1/2 container of broccoli and some sweet potatoes. At least I know she'll eat the sweet potatoes.

Remove items. Close fridge. Open freezer.

Chicken nuggets. Oh, and here is a bag of frozen peas I could throw on the stove for Kate. She needs more baby food, anyway. Will I have time to blend them . . . sure, while they nap. I'll cook while they eat and then finish making the baby food when they nap.

Well, now that I'm making peas, is there anything else around here I can make? How about I throw a couple of potatoes in the oven . . . those take about an hour. I'll blend those after the peas.

Turn on oven. Get potatoes out of the pantry, rinse, wrap in foil, throw in the oven.

What was I doing? Oh yes, chicken nuggets. Meg's lunch. That's right.

Put frozen peas in a pot with water. Set on the stove to boil. Put nuggets on a plate and into the microwave. Rinse and cut strawberries. Retrieve nuggets, add strawberries to the plate. Unwrap cheese stick.

"Meg, your lunch is ready . . ."

What do I want for lunch? Sandwich? Ugh, I don't feel like making one. What's in the pantry? No better options. Okay, I guess I'll make myself a sandwich.

Go to the table, get Meg settled. Grab a 'sputtering' and complaining Kate, put her in her high chair with some Gerber Puffs to hold her off. Put her broccoli in the microwave to take the chill off.

Phone Rings.

Who calls at this time? Anyone who knows me knows that I'm busy at noon. I don't have time to answer . . . ugh, I'll answer it anyway.

Stop everything, grab the phone. Microwave beeps. It's Grandaddy (my dad), calling to ask Meg a question. Take the call, forget about Kate's lunch . . . Kate starts to complain.

"Well, it sounds like you guys are pretty busy at your house, I'll just talk to you later . . ." Grandaddy says.

Thanks. Good. What was I doing? Kate's lunch, that's right.

Hang up. Give Kate more puffs, desperate to hold her off for another minute.

"I need some milk," Meg requests.

Of course you do. Could you at least ask nicely?

"Can you use some kind words when you are asking me to do something, please?" I say.
"Please. I need some milk please," Meg says.

Pour Meg's milk, deliver it to the table. Give Kate a couple more puffs. Grab her lunch out of the microwave and collect her feeding items (bib, spoon, food, sippy cup). Sit down with Meg and Kate.

I guess I'll eat later. Let me just take care of them now, and I'll eat in a little while.

Start feeding Kate.

"I all done now. You say it's all right for me to push back from the table?" Meg says, plate nearly empty.

At least she ate most of her lunch. But, yet another wasted glass of milk . . .

Water is boiling on the stove, and spills over just enough to hissssss through the kitchen. Jump up, move the peas off the burner.

Kate cries.

"I all done," Meg says again.

"You need to stay at the table with us until we are done with lunch. I can only do one thing at a time, Meg," I respond.

Return to the table. Continue to feed Kate. Meg eats a little more and is very patient for a while. We chat about what's going on, what we are going to do after naps.

She's doing so well. She's so big. I think it's been long enough . . . I'll let her get up now.

"Are you sticky?" I ask Meg.
"Nope."
"Okay, it's OK to push back from the table now," I say.

Door bell rings.

"Somebody is here!" Meg bellows and runs to the front door.

Drop everything (again), go to the door to find a package from Fed Ex waiting outside.

Ugh. All that commotion for a package. Really, I should tell them no to ring the doorbell. It's just a photo delivery.

Kate cries from her chair. Meg jumps and bounces back toward the kitchen.

Man, I'm hungry. Kate's nearly done . . . I've almost made it to nap time.

Finish feeding Kate. Collect all the dishes and pile them in the sink.

I remember a day when I never left dishes in the sink. Now look . . . breakfast AND lunch are staring me in the face. Maybe I'll take care of that during naps, too.

Girls go upstairs for nap. Return downstairs to a very quiet 1st floor.

I have all of that in the kitchen to do . . . and I need to eat something . . . but let me just stop and check my email for a minute . . .

It's 2:30pm

I just raised my hands in the air and said, "WHY is everyone awake so early?"

Kate is babbling from her bed. Meg is chatting away in hers. Naptime is over, at least a full hour before the ususal time.

UGH. This makes for a loooooooong afternoon.

A Day in History

I know. I know. Today is an historical day. Blah. Blah. Blah.

I already turned off the TV for the day. I just can't take it. Yes, I'm a very sore loser.

I'm just hoping and praying that this guy does some of the things -- brings some of the change -- that he's promised to so many that are bowing at his feet. And if not, you people that voted for him better get ready for a BIG "I Told You So!"


In other news, Meg stayed home sick from school today . . . just a cold. Tylenol masks her crummies, but every 4-ish hours she becomes pouty and whiney. Gotta love the Tylenol high.

Kate had her 2nd flu shot this morning, and I convinced the nurse to weigh her -- just for fun. 15 lbs, 8 oz. Holy Moly! We have a big 'un here! That's a 2+ pound gain in just one month's time. Hooray for the calories in rice ceral and veggies!!

Ahh, the life.

Happy Obama Day. :(

Want an HD Portraits Session?

Okay, my friends . . . I'm not one to solicit business, but here goes anyway . . .

If you are at all interested in an HD Portraits session in March/April/May, please let me know sooner than later.
My dates are filling up ridiculously fast . . . partially because I'm reserving many days off for my family. I'm leaving time for maybe 5 or 6 sessions a month, and those seem to be going like hot cakes.



Again, I'm not one to solicit . . . which is why you aren't getting an email about this . . . I just don't want to miss out on working with the ones I love because my calendar is filled with the ones I don't even know.



http://www.hdportraitsonline.com/

Stand Off

We had a stand off at dinner tonight.

Meg didn't want to eat what we were serving. True, it was a new dish . . . a WW recipe that Jim pulled off the internet. And true, maybe it didn't look as pretty as some other things we've eaten. But it was basically an italian version of Shepard's Pie . . . ground turkey with tomatoes, potatoes on top. I told her the tomatoes were ketchup and reminded her how much she loves potatoes . . . but still no go.

She took one solid bite. And she ate the one bite, no problem. Swallowed, no gagging, no protest.

"I gonna get down now . . ." she said.

"No, you'll stay at the table with the rest of us." This is always our rule; Meg does not get down until the majority of the family is done eating.

So Meg sat there. Usually, after the first request to get up is declined, she'll eat a little more. Not tonight. The entire plate of food -- minus one bite -- stared her (and me) in the face.

After about 10 minutes, she finally was able to get up. And she never ate anything else.

Jim said, "Should I fix her something different?"

I've always said -- NO -- we don't make special meals for our kids. I'm not a short-order cook. You eat what we make or you don't eat. I don't have the time or energy to start a habit of making something different because Meg (or Kate) won't eat the dinner the rest of the family is eating.

But this was the first time my hard and fast rule had ever been tested. I'd never actually sent my kid to bed without dinner. We had never had a stand off like this one.

Tonight, I stuck to my rule. Meg went to bed without dinner. I keep telling myself, no kid ever died of going to bed without dinner.

Meg was totally fine all evening . . . was great during her bath and bedtime routine. Nothing weird. No complaining of hunger. I guess she's ok.

Does that mean I won the stand off?

A New Greeter

It's new. Anxiously awaited. Desperately wanted.

A new table in our foyer.

There has been a gaping hole in our foyer for the entire 17 months we've lived in this house . . . a spot crying out, "PLEASE put some kind of furniture here!" A table, a bench, whatever. I have been saying for months and months, "Don't spend money on that . . . we could use that money toward my foyer table."

As a matter of fact, when we brought home the Wii and started unpacking the games, I said to Jim with a little sadness, "Well, here is our table in the foyer . . ." The Wii (and accessories) cost about as much as my much beloved table.

For my birthday, Jim gave me a table in our foyer. I guess he didn't exactly give it to me . . . he let me pick it out . . . but the sentiment was there. See, I hadn't exactly picked out a table yet -- I just knew what I had in mind. It took about 25 minutes of shopping at Nadeau here in Marietta, and I'd found it.

I'm so excited. I can now spend time arranging and rearranging pictures, figures, seasonal accessories . . . whatever I want on the new table. And the time you come over, something new is here to greet you.

Crotchety Old People

Out at dinner tonight, as Kate sat in her high chair babbling away, I noticed an old lady sitting in the booth behind Jim continually craining her neck to see what was going on at our table.

Kate "da-da-da"ed off and on again, just being her cute baby self and making others around us smile, while Jim and I finished up our meals.

Through my last few bites, I kept noticing the old lady shifting her head and looking in our direction as if something was wrong.

I said to Jim, "I think Kate is bothering those people behind you."

"No . ." he scoffed. "She's not crying. She's just talking. She's not bothering anyone." And true, the restaurant WAS very noisy. I doubted many people could even hear Kate's baby sounds, so how could it really bother anyone? Who doesn't like to hear a baby cooing? Even if they don't like it -- who is bothered by that kind of sound?

A few more minutes went by, Kate gave a couple of long growly-type noises, and we laughed at her. Our waitress brought the check, and Jim and I began to pack up and put Kate in her car seat. STILL, the lady was looking at us.

This old lady -- and I don't say that in an affectionate, "cute little old lady" way -- looked mad. Her furrowed brow gave little room for question -- Kate was clearly annoying her.

Jim went on to get the car from the valet, and I buckled Kate into her seat. The waitress came over and said her good-byes to the baby. I threw her car seat over my forearm and smiled at the old lady and her husband as I turned toward their table.

"We'll get her out of here . . . I know she's being kinda noisy," I said very jokingly. With my cutest smile and proud mother posture, I turned Kate's car seat toward them so they could admire our little bundle.

"We appreciate that. Thank you. We appreciate that very much," the old lady said. NOT jokingly. NO comments about the baby. A very firm, get-the-hell-outta-here-would-ya? type of response.

I couldn't believe it. I just nodded and turned to leave, with what I'm sure was an F-U type of look on my face.

What the hell had just happened?

Our waitress quickly ran me down.

"WHAT did that lady say to you?" she asked. I explained to her the transaction that had just occurred . . . still a bit shocked. The waitress was just as shocked as I was and told me that I had nothing to worry about -- Kate was just being a baby.

I have never had someone be so rude to me about having one of our children out in public. It was 7:15pm . . . not even late or at an hour when children were considered to be inappropriate. It was a very family oriented restaurant, filled to the gills with kids and their parents. And Kate was not anywhere close to crying . . . she was playing with a toy, jabbering, and being (what Jim and I thought) an excellent dinner companion. I could not believe that some crotchety old woman had the nerve to thank me for leaving with my 'noisy' baby.

After leaving the restaurant lobby, I found Jim outside waiting for our car. Of course I immediately started telling him the story -- including the fact that the waitress had chased me down to hear what had happened. He was in shock, too.

"What's with the crotchety old people?" Jim asked.

Good question. I hope that crotchety old lady crawls into her crotchety old sheets tonight and thinks for just a minute about how rude she was to our family. I hope she thinks back to her time as a new mom, taking a little one out in public. I hope she feels bad for being so ugly to us. Then I hope she falls into a crotchety sleep and has herself one crotchety old dream. Bah humbug, old lady.

I just hope I don't grow up to be old and crotchety some day.

Is it bad . . .

that I've watched that little 'sisters' video at least 2 dozen times since I made it on Wednesday night?

It just cheers me up (and I'm not even sad). And I can watch it and remember those moments . . . how I felt, what was going on. **Sigh**

I told Jim we need to video our girls more often than we do. Watching this makes me sad we haven't used our camera more. We get it out maybe every 6 weeks or so . . . but I told Jim we need to make an effort to get some video of our kids at least monthly. His solution: make a spot for it to stay on the charger on our kitchen desk area. Great thinking, daddy-o. That way we'll have it right there to grab when the moments are good.

I feel like we've missed so much between Kate's birth and now . . . and I desperately want that time back. I feel this need to make up for it by 'videoing' a lot thos week . . . which really does not help rewind the kids and give me time back. It just gives us a lot of video from this 6 mos/2.5 yrs stage of our lives. Oh, well . . . at least I'll have a lot from NOW to look back on in a year or two :)

Get out your camera today and catch your kids just being kids . . . laughing, eating, sleeping. Those moments are so fleeting. We all want them back . . . and with video, it kinda feels like you can have them back, if only just on a screen.

Sisters

Thanks to my friend at www.momgenes.com for the inspiration.

A Very Disinterested Toddler . . .

Meg sings. A LOT. In the car, at the breakfast table, in her bathtub.

But, when I want her to do it as a 'party trick' or for the camera, forget it. Like all toddlers, she likes to pretend she's shy when the limelight shines in her eyes.


Yesterday, she was particularly disinterested in singing for me. I tried and tried, but she just wasn't going for it. She seemed confused about the video camera and kept telling me to stop taking pictures. It was a tough battle to convince her I wasn't taking pictures . . . all I wanted her to do was sing.

In the end, to get her to cooperate and sing on camera, I used what I know will always work with Meg . . . her vanity.

Once she realized she could see herself in the camera screen . . . well, you'll see what happened . . .

Schedules, Schedules, Schedules

As I write, it's 9:30 am, and my nearly 7-mo-old is babbling away in her crib.

She should be napping.

And she was napping . . . in the car, as we dropped big sister off at preschool. She napped for about 20 minutes, the popped those eyes WIDE open as soon as we pulled into the garage and turned off the car.

And now she is awake, refusing to drift back off for her much needed morning nap.

This seems to be the case around here nearly every morning that we take Meg to school. I can't seem to keep Kate awake long enough to get back home and into her crib for her morning nap. The consequence: a vicious cycle begins. She misses the morning nap, so she's awake (and generally cheerful) until about 11:00am. Then she lets me know it's time for some sleep. At that point, I know there is not enough time for her to get the kind of nap she needs because --dang it -- we have to leave again to pick Meg up at 11:45am. I either (a) put her down and then have to wake her up again (blast!! ) or (b) fight to keep her awake, and she promptly goes to sleep in the car and wakes up AGAIN when we get home for lunch. Either scenario generally leads to a melt down and a totally crabby baby by about 5:00pm.

And now we've thrown swimming class into the mix, so any kind of schedule on Tuesday or Thursday is just out of the question.

When I faced these conundrums with Meg, I always turned to some baby book for advice . . . Happiest Baby on the Block, Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, Baby Wise. They all had great information, and I usually found some combination of their advice worked to solve my problem.

I've come to learn that those books -- and nearly all the baby advice books -- were written for people with only ONE child. Or they are only to be used by first time parents . . . the authors must figure that by the second kid, you've got it figured out. They don't take into consideration the juggling that occurs with there is more than just a baby in the house.

There is no solution to this morning nap problem, I do realize that. I can't keep Meg out of school, and I can't change the time I drop her off. I won't wake Kate up earlier or later to try and readjust our nap timing. I just have to let Kate sleep when she can and not worry about schedules, routines, or what she 'should' be doing on these preschool mornings. She seems to be hanging in there OK. I might as well save my worry for some other, more dramatic problem around here.

Poor second born children . . . now I know why they grow up to be so different from the first borns!

It's My Birthday

My birthday has been fantastic. So fantastic, I don't want it to end.

It started when we picked up Meg from an over-night with Aunt Juju this morning (her first spend-the-night party with Julie and Greg). She had a wonderful time, was an angel, and couldn't wait to show me the monkey she made at Build-A-Bear. A pink monkey with looooong pink arms . . . and a Snow White dress. Precious. Almost as precious as Meg.

From Aunt Juju's, we went to have lunch with my cousin's family at their home. The visit wasn't really for my birthday -- we just wanted to visit each other, and it happened that today was a good day for everyone. But they sure did make my birthday special . . . treats, lunch, and my very own birthday balloon and cake. They were so good to me. It was a perfect way to spend my birthday day.

On the way home, we called another friend and invited her and her family over for pizza and Wii. I couldn't think of a better way to end the day -- especially since Julie and Greg gave me an awesome new game as a birthday present. My friend and her family came over, and the kids played in the play room while the parents played in the media room. We all had pizza . . . and they brought me my own birthday cake, too. Perfect perfect birthday evening.

The evening ended with Meg helping me open my gifts and then taking a bubble bath with me. It was a true treat for both of us.

Now it's 9pm, both girls are OUT from a day full of fun, and I'm off to the basement to play some more video games. I have work to do . . . dishes in the sink . . . but it's my birthday, so that will all have to wait until tomorrow.

It's funny . . . when blowing out my candles today, I didn't know WHAT to wish for on this 31st birthday. I used to always wish that I'd fall in love . . . and then I found Jim, so I didn't wish for that anymore. My wishes then changed . . . I started wishing for heathly, happy babies. Oh, I remember how much I wished for babies for a few years. Now I have my love and my babies, so what should I wish for?

I think my life is pretty good to be worried about what to wish for when I blow out the candles. So far, all of my wishes have come true.

I think I'll wish that nothing ever changes . . . that we stay as happy as we are right now. That will be my wish from now on.

Happy Birthday to me.

Saturday

Not having a great Saturday.

Accidentally stood up a client this morning. Not quite an accident . . . but totally my fault, just the same. When I got the "Are you coming?" call this morning, I felt horrible. Pit-in-your-stomach kind of horrible.

It appears that I can no longer drink at all. I have been getting headaches from wine lately, no matter how little I might drink. So last night I decided to have a couple of beers at dinner with some friends . . . avoiding wine and the possiblity of waking up feeling bad. Didn't work. I woke up with a headache. Blast. I guess I'm just meant to stay sober . . . or deal with the crappy hangover feeling the day after.

Got some sad news from a good friend. Life is not fair, and I am thinking about her all day.

Tonight we are going out to dinner -- just Jim and I -- so I'm hoping to turn things around with a little night out. And tomorrow is my birthday . . . fun lunch plans with family on the schedule . . . so hopefully I'll wake up to a better Sunday!

She Thinks She's So Smart

"Look Meg, all the snow has melted," I said as we drove home from one of our Christmas outings in Iowa. The day had been unseasonably warm -- mid 40s -- so the massive amounts of snow and snow drifts were turning into puddles and minature lakes all around town.

"Yeah. It melted. Just like the Wicked Witch," was Meg's response.

Guess we've watched The Wizard of Oz around here a few times.

__________________________________________

"What happened when Sleeping Beauty ate the poison apple?" Papa Dahlby asked Meg while playing together one morning last month.

"No! Not Sleeping Beauty! That's Snow White!" Meg exclaimed, very exasperated.

Please, don't mix up your Princess stories around Meg. She can't stand the ignorance. God help you if you think Ariel fell in love with the Beast.

_________________________________________

On a recent visit to my parents, Meg wandered out of her bedroom in the middle of the night and found a cozy piece of hallway carpeting to sleep on. My poor father was terrified when he woke up to find her sleeping in the hall the next morning. All was well . . . but she'd gotten up, turned on the bedroom light, put on her slippers, grabbed her baby, and wandered into the hall way. Who knows why she fell asleep just outside of my parents (wide open) bedroom door.

The next night, my dad put a kid-proof doorknob cover on the inside of the bedroom door to prevent more late night excursions on Meg's part.

The following morning, my dad asked Meg, "Did you wake up in the middle of the night again?"

"Yeah," Meg answered.

"No you didn't . . . Grandaddy didn't hear you," my dad said, thinking Meg was exaggerating and not really telling the truth.

"I did. I did get up," Meg assured him.

"Did you try to leave the room?" Grandaddy asked.

Meg's retort: "Yes, but you put something on the door."

Oh JEEZ. She had gotten up after all. Glad the kid-proof knob cover was actually kid-proof.

__________________________________

A screaming Kate was terribly hungry as we pulled into a Wal Mart parking lot during one of our holiday shopping adventures. She was due to eat . . . we'd been running around . . . and Kate had had enough of the waiting for her meal. She was not going to let up until she was satisfied.

"Meg, Mommy's gonna have to feed Kate before we do our shopping," I said to my buddy in the back seat as we looped the aisles, looking for a parking spot.

"Well, you're gonna have to find somewhere to sit down," Meg informed me.

I laughed out loud. I've fed Kate enough in public that Meg now knows our routine.

__________________________________

"I want to put on my fairy wings," Meg requested as we played dress up together earlier this week. I say 'together' because I help her in and out of the outfits . . . not because I dress up with her. I would, but she barks at me every time I try to put on her crowns or her plastic jewlery. I guess she doesn't want to see me in her garb (or doesn't like sharing is probably more like it).



I helped Meg into her wings . . . and her fairy skirt . . . with a tutu on top . . . and two boas . . . two plastic bracelets . . . some Cinderella plastic shoes . . . and a Belle crown. And one plastic ring to top it all off.



"You look so pretty! What do you want to do now?" I asked as I giggled at her get-up.



Meg turned toward the Media room and said, "I want to play Guitar Hero now."



Crikey.

A New Found Affection

I seem to write a lot about Meg. What she's doing and saying, how she is blowing me away with all that her little 2.5 yr old brain is processing. Kate, I feel, sometimes hides in the shadows of a big sister that can DO so much more than her right now.

At 6 months, I think Kate is coming into her own . . . stepping into the spotlight. Her personality is ripening, her whole little self is shining through. And, as her mom, I feel like I'm responding and getting to know her in ways I haven't until this point.

I'm not sure if I bonded with Kate as instantly and with the same tenacity as I did with Meg. That's the truth, as harsh as it sounds. I must be honest: the VERY first thing I thought when I got a good look at Kate in the delivery room was, "She doesn't look like Meg!" I've loved Kate -- every nook and cranny of her little body -- from before she was born, don't misunderstand. But, having an older child seemed to affect the way that I connected with her in the very beginning.

But now, in the last few weeks, I really have discovered this new found affection for my younger daughter. Something has changed, something is different between us. I can't seem to get enough of her.

I wonder if it has something to do with how responsive she now is . . . how, in the beginning, I tended to focus my efforts on Meg to some degree because she asks me for things and interacts with me on a completely different level than can was even capable of. Kate was easy; I knew how to meet the needs of a newborn. Meg felt so much more demanding to me. Poor little Kate got drug around for must of the summer and fall . . . going with the flow of what our family (including her big sister) needed her to do. She didn't mind, so I kept doing it. I didn't stop to get to know her, to cherish every single second as I did with Meg because I had no time. It seemed that any chance I got to bond with Kate was pushed to the side for other things . . . or I'd sit and hold her while my mind raced with all that I needed to do. I missed out on a bit of that bonding time when she was fresh and new because I was so busy getting used to our new family.

I also wonder if Kate and I just didn't 'click' right away. Maybe that is what happened back in the summer . . . I just didn't 'get' Kate the way I did Meg in those first few weeks. I've heard of this from other moms -- or in some of the 'mom books' I've read. When I've read or hear that, I didn't understand or really think it was possible. I connected with Meg instantly. Some Moms don't bond with their babies from the very first touch? I wondered. How can that be? But then again, I also thought How can I possibly love another baby as much as I love Meg?

Maybe that isn't the issue. I'll never know. And it doesn't matter, really. What matters now is how much fun I'm having being Kate's mom. How precious she is, how she fills my heart with love each time I see that big smile of hers. My heart is so full . . . with two girls . . . I didn't even know it was possible.

Now that Kate is sitting up, playing with toys, mimmicking me . . . eating solids, desiring regular naps . . . I feel that her needs are increasingly important and valuable, too. Meg isn't the only one I am considering when I go about my mom-life these days. And even more than before, I'm finding that time to stop and just be with Kate. It's such precious time. I'm a little more used to the hustle and bustle around here . . . I now feel comfortable making time to do nothing with my littlest one. I am realizing how much more important it is than anything on my to-do list.

Kate is so very precious . . . I can't help but want to curl up with her and bury my face her her sweetness. Like I said, I can't get enough of her these days.

Yesterday, she and I started mom/tot swim classes . . . just like I did with Meg. I loved spending that 30 minutes in the pool with Kate yesterday morning. It reminded me of times with Meg, and it made me that much more aware of how I need to carve out MORE of my time to do these things with Kate. I loved it. I love her.

They say that you always have a favorite . . . depending on the moment, time, phase. I am finding that to be true, that sometimes I do favor one over the other. Meg was A-#1 for a while, but these days I think I'm favoring Kate a bit . . . favoring her smiles, her smile baby giggles.

But then -- tonight at bedtime -- Meg crawled up into the rocking chair with Kate and I as I rocked Kate to sleep. Meg curled up next to me, very snug, put her freshly shampooed head on my shoulder, and said:

"I love you, Mommy."

I think they are both my favorites . . . and will forever be.

(Portraits from Kate's 6 Month session . . . and one of big sister b/c she couldn't stand me taking pictures of someone else.)

A Year in Review

2008 was really very good to the Dahlby family. We added a member, remained gainfully employed, spent time with our families, finished the basement, settled into our home, successfully potty trained our first born, and even managed to take a couple of trips among all the events we had going on. I think I'll look back fondly on 2008 for years to come. To me, it seems like the year I came into my own as a true, bonafide "grown up." It was a good, good year.

This time last year, I posted a blog of what I wanted to accomplish in the year 2008. Silly things that I wanted to change about myself or wanted to do around our house.

With all the other wonderful things that happened around here, how did I fair? Let's revisit the list:

*Get a business license/tax ID/bank account for HD Portraits. Also, follow all the business/tax rules I should be following to make my company ligit in 2008.

Okay, so I didn't go all out with everything . . . but we also found out that having just a tax ID and being a 'sole proprietor' was really all we need to keep the feds from knocking on our door. Check, done. Now it's up to Jim to file the taxes appropriately . . . Mommy doesn't do math around here.

Done.

*Be less judgmental. Stop worrying so much about others . . . and realize that it really doesn’t matter, anyway.

Still trying on this one. I don't know if this is something I'll ever be able to say that I've totally 100% accomplished. I try very hard never to judge -- especially especially especially when it comes to being a mom or someone else's mothering techniques. In that arena, there just isn't room to be judgemental, in my opinion. But, I've been known to let a little quip fly about someone's outfit or something someone else has said . . . and those are the things I'm trying to stop. What a waste of time, really.

Work in Progress.

*Do more with the décor in the house . . . kitchen window treatments, plantation shutters, front hall table, pictures in the front hallway, repaint kitchen cabinet doors.

Oh, how sad. We have kitchen window treatments, and Jim painstakingly hung pictures in the front hallway late last January. Everything else on that list remains unfinished. The kitchen cabinet doors are at the top of the list these days, as is the table in the front hall.

Unfinished.

*All three “kids” bedrooms upstairs need work . . . Meg needs a new big girl room in time for New Baby, New Baby needs a nursery, and we need to decide what to do with that 3rd room. This “work” also includes getting Meg to sleep in her new room, when it’s completed . . . I’m hoping that won’t be too hard.

Rebound! These are ALL done! Meg slept in her big girl bed from night one with no problems at all . . . although for some reason, she's taken to wondering the house at night when not staying at home. Kate's nursery was done in April, and Meg was in her room well before then. The middle bedroom is now painted a soft yellow in anticipation of another Baby Dahlby one day (way in the future).

Done.

*Finishing the Basement. Well, I have nothing to do with the actual WORK, but I’m sure it’s going to take up a bunch of my time here in the next several months as we get the project started with a contractor.

95% done. The contractors finished the work in July, but they have still not come back to do the 'punch list' of items that need some tiny touch ups. We keep calling, they keep saying they are coming, they keep not showing up. I can't call anymore. We (I mean JIM) are about to tell them that we are going to hire someone else (with the money we still owe them) to finish the unfinished tidbits that are driving me bonkers. Still -- that aside -- the place looks rockin' and we are using it a lot these days. LOVE the basement. Money well, well spent.

Done.

*Eat at home more – even when I’d RATHER go out. Try new recipes, too.

Whether or not I want to, we eat at home nearly all the time. With two kids, going out is rarely worth the effort these days. It's so much easier to order in or just fix something here. The trying new recipes thing . . . that line item I really could do better on. We eat the same thing so many times . . . often I can't make up my mind about what to eat because I don't like any of the choices. So then I don't eat . . . and there you have it. The key to losing your baby weight -- lose interest in food all together.

I should try new stuff more, since we are eating at home so frequently. Maybe then Jim and I wouldn't argue about 'what's for dinner?' so much.

Work in Progress.

*Smile more – especially in public.

I think I've decided that my mouth just naturally turns down when I'm not talking or actively smiling. Ok, that's what I'll tell myself . . . I'm naturally a frowner. That's my excuse for not smiling more . . . I didn't do too well on this goal.

Unfinished.

*Do nice things for Jim – little, surprise things to let him know I love him. He does stuff like that for me all the time, and I know how good it feels. This year, it’s my turn.

Yikes. Crashed and burned here. About the only nice thing I did for Jim that comes to mind is that I picked up and returned his tux for the wedding in December. Oh, and I made his appointment for his teeth cleaning back in November. Dude, I had a second kid for him -- and I take care of both kids daily -- does that count for anything? (kidding, of course)

I really do want to be nicer to Jim. This is acting as my reminder to do those things for him . . . to be the good wife he deserves.

Needs MUCH Work.

*Convince my parents to suck it up and buy a car seat. THAT would make life easier, for sure.

They got off easy on this one. My cousin and his lovely wife donated their car seat to my parents when their son outgrew his. Yes, it makes life much easier. But what will they do come summer when they want to have both girls for the night?

Done.

*Stand up for myself and for my work with HD Portraits. Don’t let clients take advantage of me, and don’t be afraid to talk about money. My product is worth it.

I would say that I've made a lot of headway here. I've found confidence, faith in myself . . . I know that I do a pretty good job taking pictures after doing it now for over a year. I raised my rates for 2009 (sorry!), and I say no to jobs that aren't of interest to me. I'm very specific with clients about what I do and don't do on a session. I am booking only 60 days in advance so that I don't fill my calendar and miss out on family stuff. Don't get me wrong -- I'm still learning as I go. Every time I think I've figured something out, something else trips me up. But, it's safe to say that I learned a LOT in 2008. HD Portraits is doing well, and I have myself to thank for it!

Done.

*Play with Meg more. And more. And more.

If today is any indication of what is to come, than this is one item I'm getting better and better at. I mentioned yesterday that I wanted to slow our pace, stop and enjoy more time together. Less running, more hanging out. Today, the girls and I did nothing. But we did a lot -- all at the same time. Kate enjoyed sitting up and watching Meg and I play with her doll house, Meg read me some stories (ok, they are memorized, no real reading at 2.5 yrs old), we all ate lunch in the basement for fun. It was a good day. But days like this aren't too frequent around here . . . I always ruin them by finding more and more and more distractions to take me away from the girls. In 2009, I really want to STOP that. These girls are only little once.

And maybe if I slow us all down and play more, I'll have less to complain about. That's the hope, anyway.

Work in Progress.



I believe did pretty good, all things considering. 2008 was still a good year for us, even if I wasn't as nice to Jim as I could have been . . . or if I didn't smile very much when grocery shopping. There are always things to work on.

I should make a list for 2009 and see how much I can accomplish at 31 years of age. If I get half of the stuff done in 2009 that I did last year, I'd be proud of myself. This year I forsee us settling into our life as a family . . . so some of those other things might have to fall to the side for a while. And that's OK with me.

O.V.E.R.

Like a spoiled two year old, I really want to stomp my foot and scream: "I don't want Christmas break to be over!!"

I'm sad tonight. Tomorrow Jim goes back to traveling. Meg goes back to preschool Tuesday. Kate starts swimming lessons that morning as well. I have 3 sessions to edit, plus 3 more coming up later this month.

*Sigh* The holidays are officially over, and I hate it. Gotta get back to 'normal' at our house.

It's been so very nice having Jim here with us since the 22nd of last month. That's nearly 15 consecutive days of him . . . the most we've had as a family since the summer. I just love sharing everything with him. I love that we can climb into bed together at night and talk about the days events or what we want to accomplish tomorrow. I love that he gets to hear Meg's funny comments, see Kate's smiles. Tonight, Jim was kind enough to make dinner, give the girls their bath, and put Meg to bed . . . his last hoo-rah with them, I guess. Tomorrow it's back to girls only around here.


I've really tried to make a commitment to myself: I'm not going to spread myself too thin. I'm going to try and take it easy a bit more, stay home more days, do less running around. I really don't want to feel as ragged and stressed as I made myself in Oct, Nov, Dec last year. Ugh, it was a hard few months for us.

I need to really focus on Meg and Kate . . . they are my # 1 job, after all. I need to stop and pay more attention to what they need, what makes them happier kids. Routines have changed here . . . bathtime is MUCH easier now that Kate sits proudly in the tub, but mornings are harder because everyone eats breakfast at the table now. Kate needs to have more chances to nap like a normal kid . . . and by that, I mean in her bed, not the car seat. I just want to give the girls some down time to relax and just be kids. Doing nothing is often better for them than all the craziness I try to plan to keep us busy.

I decided not to enroll Meg in music class this session, hoping that one less hectic morning of trying to get everyone up, fed, dressed, and out the door would make us all happier people. Kate is doing mom/baby swimming, so adding that to the Tues/Thurs routine will make things different and busy, anyway. I plan for us to do more low-key things on Mon/Wed/Fri . . . library trips, playdates, and spending time here at our house. Dude, the girls got enough new stuff for Christmas to keep them busy well into the spring. We really don't need to go anywhere at all!


So, here's to a wonderful 2009. Break is over, it's time to face it head on. I'm hoping to make it a little less hectic than I made 2008. (And that means NO babies in 2009 -- no way, no how!!)

Even with all we have to look forward to this year -- I still want to stamp my foot just a bit. I'm going to miss Jim a lot when he leaves tomorrow. I don't wanna go back to normal. Our Christmas break rocked, and it's always sad to see such a good thing come to an end.

Pictures from Iowa

Somehow, I've managed to filter through most of our photos from our Christmas trip. Only glancing . . . no editing . . . just getting an idea of what we were able to capture. What I found was a million darling smiles, some silly glances, and some priceless moments.

See for yourself. Just click the box below to view.

Christmas in Iowa 2008

806

That is how many photos I took of our family when we were in Iowa for Christmas.

Eight hundred and six.

Um, it's going to take me a while to work my way through them all. Yeah, like a month or more, I'm guessing.

Here are just a couple from Kate's Baptism in Iowa on Dec 27th. There are all kinds of sentimental reasons we have baptized the girls at Silver Lake Lutheran Church . . .

seven (I think) generations of family have been baptized there
Jim and I were both baptized Lutheran as babies
Jim's grandfather was buried there when Kate was 2 weeks old

The gown is also sentimental. My grandmother made it before I had a single child . . . or even a boyfriend or fiancee. She was worried she wouldn't 'make it' to see my wedding, so she knitted a gown for my future baby well before the time was called for. I never knew if that was a stab at me or just my Grandma's worried ways.

The service was simple and perfect. The ladies of the church even warmed the water for Kate, so she was able to produce that winning and sparkling smile as it was sprinkled over her little head.

What a doll baby, if I'm allowed to say so myself.

Now I must dive into more pictures . . . at least I can find things to post and blog about for a while.

Happy New Year :)