in the bath

This is one of my favorite pics of Avery. It's still on the fridge.

Here is Vivi striking the same pose!

After looking at both of these pictures, the first thing I can say is that I LOVE my DSLR camera. The picture of Avery was taken with my old point and shoot, the picture of Vivi was taken with the new camera - there is no contest. My DSLR changed my photo taking world and it is by far my favorite possession!

Avery is a couple of weeks younger in the bath picture than Viv, but she is still much more filled out than he was. It's funny, everyone thought Avery had A LOT of hair, but that girl has him beat. I'm trying as hard as I can to remember what Avery was like at that age (I had no blog back then), but more importantly what he felt like and what it felt like to hold him. It's amazing that in just a few short years one's body forgets what holding a newborn is like even though new moms spend much of our day doing so. I'm trying to imprint on my memory what it feels like to hold Vivi, how it feels to have her in my arms, to have her next to me in bed at this age and cherish every single second of it because I know too well that it doesn't last long.

first day of school

My school boy.

It's a family affair (Scott was still getting ready).

Walking in by himself.

This way!

Both Scott and I got a little emotional.

Classroom 7 is at the end of the hallway.

Nikki came too. She helped us get out of the house on time.

Putting his backpack into his cubby.

Avery had his very first day of school today. Wow. I'm still in disbelief that my baby is old enough to go to school. As I type this, the house feels weird and it is very quiet (Vivi is sleeping).

Avery did great. He has been so excited for school ever since we attended orientation last week where he proclaimed, "I want to stay here forever!" It's a good thing I've taken him to the drop-in day care a handful of times because otherwise I would have been a mess. He was ready to go the second we walked in the door. I guess it was all of the new toys to play with. He went potty, got a Skittle from Ms. Peggie and said good bye. There were no tears (even I didn't cry) and he was on his way - the first day of the next 22+ years of education for him.

I wonder what he's doing right now?

So, I will try and find things to do to get me to 12:30 when I get to go pick him up and take him for frozen yogurt to celebrate. I'm sure it will get much easier to have this time on my hands as we make the transition to having a school boy living in our house.

I'm so proud of him and delighted at the little boy he has become.

My school boy.

smiles magoo 2.0

She's getting more smiley by the day and she definitely recognizes her mama. These smiles are exclusively reserved for her...oh, wait, I think these were for Avery.

check your head

The famous Avery in the Beastie Boys t-shirt photo (it captured one of his first smiles).

Vivienne already following in her brother's footsteps.

Finally. Both of my children have successfully been documented on the brown chair in the Beastie Boys t-shirt. This will probably be the first of many comparisons between the two...I know, we should cherish each child individually, but hey, it's fun and it will give them one of many things to talk to their therapists about.

the butt post

Last week, my sister must have been bored because she texts me, "Text me something neat."

So, I convince Avery to let me take a picture of his butt and send it to her. He then wants to see the picture and when I show it to him he says, "Mama, I have a vagina back there!"

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After I helped Avery go potty, I was wiping him and he says to me, "Mommy, I left some poopy in my butt for you. Wipe it gently." Thanks.

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Avery was wearing his 4T jammie pants which are a little big and after I picked him up, he says to me, "Mommy, there's something wrong with my butt." I look behind him, see his pants in his crack and say, "Avery, that's called a wedgie."

water world

Just before I force him onto the family water slide.

Too bad you can't see Avery, but he didn't have fun anyway.

Vivi sleeping on Nikki's lap in her cute pineapple swim suit.

Vivi sleeping on mommy.

Vivi sleeping.

Nikki and Avery having fun.

Jon finally got Avery to enjoy the water.

He even mastered going down the kiddie slide by himself...over and over and over again.

We the respectable ratio of grown-ups to children of 2:1, we decided to brave Water World for the day. I think all 6 of us had a pretty good time even though it took Avery most of the day to realize that this place is actually fun. The first thing we did was take him on the family water slide and he hated it. I'm thankful that he just hated it rather than actually traumatizing him. He was willing to go in the lazy river with me afterwords because it was slow. "Mama, I like this slow ride." Crazy, he is not.

Thankfully, Nikki got there just after the park opened and found us a primo place to set up camp, complete with chairs and generous shade. We all just took turns watching the babies and going on rides. Scott and I had a date on the Turbo Racer, which we thought was appropriate. Jon, at one point tried getting Avery to go on a "dangerous adventure" which involved getting him to the top of a water slide only to walk back down after the meltdown. The copious amounts of snot coming from Avery's nose was signal enough that he just wasn't ready. However, Jon did get him into the wave pool and to go down the kiddie water slides. He LOVED it, to say the least. I later took him back to the wave pool and he walked right in, into water over his head and I had to pull him out. The best part of the day was watching Avery go down the water slide. His expressions were priceless and I'm thankful that I had my camera to capture the moment.

Vivi slept the whole time, waking only to eat, and then it was right back to sleep. Luckily, there was usually a comfy lap ready to welcome her.

the hair (again)

I just can't get over her hair. Thereby it deserves another post.

It is exceptionally fluffy after a bath.

The view from the top.

friends

You have no idea how long I've been anticipating this picture!!!

Three terribly cute babies.

Our little group of friends is not so little anymore...can you imagine the chaos?

I love that Avery and Vivi are looking intently at one another and all of the footies.

Finally. The gang is all together. All of the anticipated 2010 babies are in the world. Hoo-ray!

The intent was to go to Jazz in the Park because it's only 1 measly block away from our house or "our home" as Avery would say (he rarely ever says house, but rather, home). However, getting 3 families of 4 packed up and over to the park seemed like such an insurmountable task so we just hung out at our ever shrinking home. Needless to say, everyone except the three toddlers were exhausted by the end of the evening.

Life certainly has gotten a lot crazier and louder, but also much more wonderful.

one month old

Vivienne, you are one month old today! Overall, you are still a very easy baby but you've been a little fussier lately, especially at between 6pm and 11pm. Initially, we thought that you were lactose intolerant like Avery was so I have cut out cheese and milk in my diet. You have no idea the kind of sacrifice this is :) In some ways, it has helped, but the last two days, you've thrown up a few times, despite me saying no thank you to grilled cheese. This makes me think that you might be suffering from acid reflux and I will be making a call to the doctor on Monday.

During the day, you have trouble falling asleep and like to be bounced in your bouncer, the vibrating option is not enough! You seem indifferent to being bounced in the bouncer to being held in someone's arms. When you're fussy, being held doesn't seem to help one way or another. I'm still hoping that you're a cuddly baby and will one day relish in being held.

You love looking at lights/sunlight as most babies do and there is something very interesting under the coffee table that I've yet to identify. You really enjoy your baths, especially when I rinse your head under the faucet.

Your sleeping patterns are definitely improving and at night you've started sleeping 4 hours, eating, then sleeping another 3.5-4 hours. This doesn't happen every night, but we're working on it. You are more alert and awake every day and can track mommy or daddy's face if we are playing with you.

I am just enjoying loving, cuddling and snuggling you, knowing that you'll only be this tiny for a little while longer. In some ways, I still can't believe that you're here and I look at you every single day and feel thankful that our journey has brought us to you.

the nursery

Here's a couple of shots of the nursery. I am really happy with how it looks. However, there is usually a "camping bed" on the floor surrounded by a smattering of books.

the silly man

What you are witnessing is Avery sporting his winter boots, gloves, tighty whities, and a collection of Vivi's bows

A close-up of the bows and ice pack

And one more for the folks at home

How could I not get my camera out for this little dress up show??? I was reorganizing the freezer to make way for the gallons of milk I have to freeze (go me!) and it got a little cold. So, I found a pair of gloves to make the task a little more bearable and well, when Avery saw that Mama was wearing gloves he needed his own pair, which I had to dig out of storage. Needless to say, one simply cannot just wear winter gloves when it is 90 degrees because that would just look silly, so he decided to put on his boots to complete the outfit. The bows were already in his hair, obviously.