The Suburban Zoo

"Her (His) name is Rio and she (he) dances on the sand,,,"

2010-06-13T19:32:00.004-05:00

I love this shirt...on Owen especially, since he is the "petite" one...this shirt is old school...this once fit me, can you believe it?! My parents vacationed abroad when I was a little squirt and brought this back for me...and now, it fits one of my "babies"...When they have outgrown it, I want to keep it and make it into something cute...but not a quilt...ideas?!

"Oh Rio Rio, dance across the Rio Grande..."

Awe...

2010-06-13T19:27:00.002-05:00

There is really, truly, completely...fascination in these boys towards everything Daddy does...

Boys in Bins

2010-06-13T18:56:00.005-05:00

Boys in Bins: A Series

Dylan's doing something goofy again, sitting in a toy bin...and then you can almost see the question mark pop up above Ethan' & Owen's heads...who will get this one!?

Dylan is tight-lipped about his vote...

Alas, we'll have to wait for another day to see who would conquer in a fair duel...Ethan jumps in on his own, and Owen goes off to do some very important tractoring...

John Deere man...can't blame him...if I had my pick, I'd play with the tractors over $6 IKEA bins too!

The victor looks pleased!!!

There were a bunch of great pics in the "Dylan bin series", but this encompassed him best...super excited and open-mouthed with a drool-soaked shirt...I love this little guy!

Dylan would call this picture, "Let's break shit"...or maybe not, because thankfully he doesn't say that word yet. This is a picture of his amusement after he got over the initial shock when the bin cracked open on both ends and made a huge snapping sound. We just threw out a few of the broken bins. Still glad I won the "plastic furniture vs real/expensive furniture" discussion...there is a day for pretty things, and it will be in about 18 years.

If you can't join them, pull them all over the place...or, about an inch from where you started, if you are a little man.

Misc June

2010-06-13T18:28:00.000-05:00

Miscellaneous pictures from the beginning of June...

Our Harley guys...

Owen in the only orange jump-suit I hope he'll ever wear...

Gramma appropriately titled this picture "Don't mess with Dylan"...take that! Tough guy.

Diggin' with Linnie at the park...

Holy crap...Owen & Ethan almost look like they are the same size in this picture!

That's my girl...my niece is pretty as can be, but can still be one of the boys!!

Owen's newest thing is walking around in Ethan's big boy shoes...and he does it pretty well!

Just look at how excited he is!!

Ethan trying out Gramma's shoes...Andy could not have been more right when he said the caption for this picture should be, "When did he turn 15?" Is there a "pause" button on this guy?!

School's out for Summer!

2010-06-12T10:35:00.003-05:00

In the end of May, Ethan's preschool had an end of the year picnic. Daddy was able to go with Gramma, and they took some pictures...

I can't believe Ethan is already done with his first year of school. I have a feeling I'll say something similar to this at the end of every school year! Wasn't his first day like yesterday?!

And Owen and Dylan are such big boys too...playing at the Park with all the kids!

Owen & D love their hats. Even when we are inside, they will take them off the coat hooks by the front door and bring them over to us so we can put them on for them. My favorite combo is when they are wearing their hats in the morning with their pajamas still on...super cute!

D is such a boy! He looks like a little man here...marching around in his long shorts!

Break time!

Preschool Spring Concert - May 25

2010-06-03T19:57:00.003-05:00

"Ethan, get your hands out of your mouth!" we said...Ethan is always a little nervous at first...

But he was sitting next to his little buddy, Keller, (and his crush, Madison) and was having a great time before too long. Maybe too good of a time...before the end of the concert, Ethan was plucked from his spot by a teacher's assistant, and placed in the top bleacher row, away from his buddy. They must have no sense of humor! Ethan participated throughout the concert...a total 180 from the Christmas Concert when he sat still and silent. At this concert, he sang (I could hear him from our seats!) and did the hand motions to the songs. He looked like he was having a blast! I laughed and smiled the whole time. What a sweetheart!

Parents came up to the stage to collect their kids...Mommy was a little teary in this picture, which is why my eyes look so weird. Yes, I am a total sap, and no, I'm not embarrassed about it!

Pictures with Mommy and Gramma Leslie after the concert.

Then Mommy & Daddy took Ethan to the store so he could pick out a special cupcake (Red Velvet, that's my boy!) to celebrate!

Get in my belly!

2010-06-03T19:33:00.002-05:00

We let the kiddos run around in their "undergarments" before pajama time... I know they aren't really babies anymore...toddlers after 12-months or whatever "they" say, but they still smell like babies, and they are still pinchable like babies too...tell me you could refrain from pinching these cheeks, thighs and bellies!

There are just no words to sum up the cuteness of Owen....

My curly-red D heading for the door...gotta keep an eye on this one!

Dylan's like, "Enough of you and your camera, MOM, I'm bustin' out of here!"

New shirts!

2010-06-03T19:12:00.002-05:00

When we were in Kentucky for the Derby, Gramma Nana sent us home with these great shirts for Dylan and Owen. Kinda like those plywood boards where you stick your head in and suddenly look like a body-builder or a Disney character. In this case, put on a t-shirt to become a jockey or a baseball player...

I love how Owen tries to look crabby when he is really the sweetest little thing on Earth. It looks like he's pulling on his t-shirt, but it's really his "softy"...

See, sweetest thing...

Dylan has his hold on Ethan's "cremote" for the TV. As usual, he is accessorizing with drool...

The drool is still hanging on...could this little guy BE any happier?!

Derby: pre-Derby

2010-05-15T18:52:00.009-05:00

We probably would have taken this many pictures anyway, but especially since it was raining and we knew that all of our beautification efforts would soon be spoiled, we posed Prom-style in just about every permutation possible.

The challenge for every Derby-goer....how to sneak the booze into Churchill. This year, because of the rain, an obvious solution presented itself...the poncho. The irony of Andy's pat-down at the security gate still makes me laugh. He opens his jacket, gets patted down...all the while, his booze is wrapped up in the poncho that he has folded up...in his hand! Success!

Derby: Day 1

2010-05-15T18:30:00.007-05:00

We went to the Derby this year! First time for me...third time for Andy...although this time he classed it up with box seats (thanks Mom and Dad!)...although, that is just to say that we had tickets with designated seats and dressed up in hats and coordinating outfits galore...but we probably still acted like we were in the infield...I mean, Andy still snuck in some booze, and I changed into my flip-flops and swigged out of the 5th of Jag...so, you know...we're just not all that classy. Period. My Mom scored 6 box seats on the first turn...right around where we sat in 2006 when we went to the Kentucky Oaks. Ethan was there in 2006 too...in my belly. This year, Andy and I flew in on Friday, as did my sister and her husband. It was a fast and furious weekend, filled with lots of rain, lots of good food and drink, and great company.

Mom picked us up from the airport and we had a nice lunch before heading back to the loft. My Dad got home from work and we all hung out on the balcony listening to and watching the goings-ons of 4th Street on Derby weekend. I just had to take pictures of the guys who stopped on a downtown street, right in front of my parents' loft, to sell food!

That nigh, we went to Z's Fusion, a great restaurant down 4th Street from my parents' loft. Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo were there...so it's kind of like the place to be.

My boys

2010-05-15T12:58:00.005-05:00

Did I post these already?!...so hard to get a picture of all my beautiful boys looking at me and giving me genuine smiles at the same time...I'll take what I can get. Either way, I still think they are all beautiful...

I love Ethan's smile in this last one, and Owen looks like he is trying TOO hard...

It's meeeee.....

2010-05-15T12:42:00.004-05:00

Yeah, it's been awhile..."been busy" is the understatement of the Year.

I'll be posting a few updates to get everyone caught up...likely, they will come as a series of photos, with captions...because as I type right now, I have 3 kids hanging off of me, one yelling "Mommy, Mom-meeeee, Hey, Mommy, Hey, Mom-meeeee!", one trying to ascend my leg, and one obsessed with sticking his finger in my belly button...you know, everyday stuff...just not a lot of time for text.

So, let's start back in April...when I put my kids in the laundry baskets...because it's funny...

Owen wants everyone to know that while Dylan might be known for his drool production, he's not too shabby with it himself.

16 months!!

2010-04-08T19:49:00.001-05:00

Today, my "babies" are 16 months old...

It looked like they were up to something, so, like any Mommy who has given up all hope at keeping her house neat and organized, I grabbed my camera to document the destruction...

It was an assembly line deal...Dylan would pull something out of the pantry and hand it to Owen...then Owen would hand it back and Dylan would put in back in...

Owen gives the brown sugar a try...Mommy now realizes she has 3 bags of brown sugar...maybe she should bake something?! I know a certain little boy who loves to make banana bread...but it's hard to get enough "yucky bananas" to make banana bread when the boys eat so many every day! Puts a new spin on the "monkey" nickname for all my boys!!

Rejected by Owen...the brown sugar bag doesn't taste as good as the real thing...

Next up...taste testing the brown grocery bag...he doesn't look too impressed...

Maybe this is a better use...

Mommy's been spotted...

D continues his work...

Seems he was trying to make room in the pantry...for himself!

Had to look back to a year ago...these two are so cute together!!

Dylan (left) has the same "deer in headlights" look in both these pictures!

I remember this being one of the first times I saw them really look at each other.
Melt my heart.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T09:10:00.006-05:00

It's Easter weekend and Grampa Dode is in town! After a fun trip to the Park yesterday, we had a snack, and Grampa Dode and Ethan built a "sport" (fort) before naptime.

The Easter bunny brought the kids some jelly beans, chocolate, and sippy cups...for Ethan, a "big purple St Olaf cup" which was really not from St Olaf, but is just like the "big blue St Olaf cup." The Easter bunny ate way too many jelly beans and Reeces while putting together the baskets, so she needs to be good today!!

Ethan was SO excited to see his basket from the Easter bunny!

And Owen and Dylan were pretty cute with their new bunny cups...even though they were a total milk disaster on the floor...

It's a beautiful Sunday morning! The forecast from a few days ago was showing rain for today, and as Mommy talked to Ethan about how wonderful it was that Sven was wrong about the rain, he said..."It's sunny out so it's Sunday. When it's cloudy out it's Cloud-day, when the moon is out it's Moon-day and when the darkness is out it's Dark-day"...we've been working on the days of the week...looks like we have some work to do, but Ethan's concept makes sense too!

Happy Easter!

Closing March with pictures

2010-04-01T21:11:00.007-05:00

Scenes from March...

Dylan and his "softie"

Owen and Mommy in March 2010...reminds me so much of...

Ethan and Mommy in April of 2007

Late to the game, but ready to go...Owen is WALKING!!

WHAT is this face? It cracks me up!!

Dylan is such a big boy!! Reminds me of...

...these little Ethan cheeks from March of 2008

Dylan accessorizes just like his big brother does with beads

Owen is ready to go on our first "family walk" of the year!

So are D & Ethan

Mommy and D have a morning snuggle

Gramma Nana and Ethan build a "sport"...otherwise known as a FORT!

Owen is definitely saying "E E!" in this picture...his way of saying his brother Ethan's name.

Ethan did great at his preschool's trike-a-thon!!

He loves to accessorize

2010-03-22T19:45:00.002-05:00

Ethan likes beads. Even when it's not Mardi Gras. He is truly his Gramma Nana's grandchild.

Spin, 2, 3, 4, Spin, 2, 3, 4

2010-03-22T19:40:00.002-05:00

Ethan has been talking about exercising at preschool lately. We really need Spring to come, so we can get outside. A few weeks ago, Ethan put his head down on this chair, started spinning around and declared that he was exercising. We need to get outside!!

The new girls

2010-03-21T19:29:00.001-05:00

Just when I thought he hadn't noticed, Ethan said to me at dinner tonight..."Mommy, you know those clothes you are wearing? You are kinda too big for them"

So, I have a confession to make. Most of my readers already know, because most of my family and friends already know...but I recently bought myself a new pair.

My girlfriends said it best with this wonderful cake...

Yes...I have new boobs.

It's been a long road getting here. I mean, I've only talked about this for like 10 years. But I knew that I didn't want to do anything until after I was done having kids. And now I am...so, now I did.

I took the first step last Summer by doing some research and getting a couple consultations. I found a place that I liked and was ready to schedule my surgery for around Christmastime. I knew I'd need some extra help with the kids (and with myself), and my parents usually make an extended visit around this time, so I thought it'd be perfect. As I sat in the office after my consultation, we talked details, money, timing, etc...and then the kicker...can't lift anything heavier than 5 lbs for 3 weeks. Seriously. I still had two non-walkers. I left without an appointment.

A month or two later, I confided in my Mom and told her about my plans and the roadblocks I was running into. She wisely suggested that I wait until Spring...by that time all the kids would be a little bit more mobile and she could come up and help us out. Genius.

I put it out of my mind until February, when I scheduled a second consultation with a list of possible surgery dates, and dragged my husband along. You see, I have one of these amazing husbands who loves me just the way I am. Like I said above, I've been talking about this enhancement for 10 years...for as long as I've known him...so, it didn't come as a surprise when I actually decided to do it. But he's not one to push in either direction...he just wants me to be happy. So, he was hesitant coming along and voicing any sort of opinion on size...I'm actually still not really sure what he thinks! There's one thing I'm sure of though...I'm sure he's glad that I won't be talking about it for the next ten years!

After meeting with the Doctor, we scheduled my surgery for March 10th, which worked with the timing of my Mom's Triple Crown racing schedule. She would come up from the 9th through the 15th. Tick tock tick tock....I followed all the pre-surgery guidelines, nothing over the counter for 2 weeks, no drinking for 1 week...I was ready to go!

Except...then came the pie-eating contest.

Tuesday the 9th, pre-surgery day, Dylan greeted us in the morning with a crib full of puke. Everyone else seemed fine, even D at that point, so I thought it a fluke...the babies had their bottles, Ethan had breakfast, Andy got ready and headed out for work. Tuesday is one of my work-at-home days so I made my coffee and waited for Gramma. When Gramma called and asked if everyone was okay there because a couple other people in the family, including herself, were sick, I had a moment of internal panic. I immediately called Andy and he turned around and came home. For the rest of the day, we tag-teamed with work and childcare. I monitored my water-intake...I was supposed to drink at least a gallon to be hydrated for surgery the next day.

When Owen vomited on Andy's head after lunch, I still refused to admit "stomach flu"...we were still thinking some sort of food poisoning had been contracted at the birthday party a few days earlier. Ethan and I went to pick up Gramma Nana from the airport...he was cheery and excited to see Gramma. All the boys went down for naps when we got home. Owen screamed the scream when you know that something is just not quite right...so I went upstairs and was greeted by another crib full of puke...and a still-puking child. When Ethan woke up and was no longer smiling, even when he saw Gramma Nana, I knew we were in trouble.

As Andy said in his last post, we were each granted with strengths and weaknesses in our parenting. He has the "hold the puking child" strength, while I am much more comfortable with the "clean the puke-filled sheets" role. I'll clean the clothes/towels/etc, fill the pedialyte bottles, wash out the bucket...but dealing with the actual puking...um, not my forte. Granted, with 3 kids I still did my fair share of dealing with the puking, but if I can hand it off, I will. Love ya, babe!

Tuesday came and went..by midnight, we had 3 sleeping, non-puking children. I had called the Dr's office late in the day to tell them what was going on...they said to just see how I felt in the morning...if I wasn't sick I should still come in and they'd evaluate me there. So, I went to bed that night nervous...but not as much about the surgery than that I would get sick.

I woke up feeling okay...surgery was a go! But, at 9:15, about 15 minutes before we were planning on leaving, the office called me and said that they needed to cancel...the Dr had a family emergency...first time in 18 years that he would need to cancel surgery.

I didn't ask for details, it wasn't my business...I had a hard time not feeling bad for myself...but tried to keep myself in the right mindset...this man had had a family emergency...he could have lost a loved one...my surgery will wait for another day! I had some tears, and a cup of coffee, then went out to breakfast with my Mom. I felt instantly better, and got some perspective.

Long story, trying to get shorter...turns out I have a guardian angel of sorts. That night, after dinner, I ended up getting sick too...and I was up all night. Just imagine how dangerous that could have been for me had I had surgery that morning. I was able to reschedule for Tuesday morning, the Dr's office offered to pay for my Mom's rebooking fee, she was able to accommodate staying until the Friday after my rescheduled surgery, I was able to shift around my PTO....and I was healthy. It truly did work out for the best! (And, I'm still not sure what the family emergency was, but when I said I hoped everything was okay when, on my actual surgery day, he apologized for the cancellation...he said that everything was fine...so now I feel like I can actually be happy for everything that happened).

I have an incredible support system...friends and family have been supportive physically and emotionally, which I know is not always the case when elective & cosmetic surgery is chosen. I couldn't be more thankful for the people in my life!

And I'm thankful for my new girls, (and Vicodin) as well.

Sunday morning

2010-03-21T12:32:00.001-05:00

Boombabba boombabba boombabba

2010-03-16T21:24:00.009-05:00

A here, trying to fill in for my highly talented wife.

Of the movies of my youth, certain ones and particularly specific scenes stick with me. Stand By Me was an instant classic as far as I am concerned. Within the great film, we are introduced to young Davie Hogan. For most of us, he is best remembered as "Lardass". I will not go through the whole story, because if you don't already know it you are a lost cause, completely beyond any help I can offer. Why am I talking about this you may be asking? Well, my wolf-pack made me feel like I was at the pie-eating contest recently.

Let's start from the beginning. We had a lil' get together recently to celebrate a birthday in the fam (happy big 1 Linnie-lou). It was a crazy and fun event, and we all went on our merry ways. In a day or two, it all went down the drain, literally. Word quickly spread that people were getting sick in several of the households of the families involved. We speculated that it could have been food poisoning, and the hostess with the mostest went on a quest to document what each person did or did not eat in order to triangulate the culprit. There was even a call to a government agency to report the impending pandemic that would surely ensue.

This is the point where we talk about the little Lardass wannabees. As our trio fell victim one by one like dominoes, we had to comfort them and clean them constantly. As a couple we complement each other well, each possessing separate strengths and weaknesses. Damned if I wasn't the one stuck with the "hold the violently ill child" strength. It became comical at times. I was changing my clothes and showering whenever I wasn't bathing or changing the clothing of a child. The highlight was a maneuver where I was lifting O over something, at which time he proceeded to projectile vomit on top of my head. No free hands to cover up, nor any ability to wipe the remnants of lunch off to prevent the flow down my face. Is this the joy of parenting thing I've heard so much about?

We will spare any actual vomit pics, but this was the general scene. Gramma Nana picked a great day to start her visit!

I actually think I got the better end of this thing somehow. My darling bride was one of the many who were stricken by this thing. She got to spend a full night curled up on the tile floor in one of our bathrooms. I'll take the Lardass treatment, which at least I could cure with a shower and spend my night in a bed.

In the end, we learned that it must have been a contagious bug rather than the suspected food poisoning. Unfortunately it took someone who was not at the event getting the illness to confirm this. Way to take one for the team Liz. I'm sure the vacation was just as much fun with the whole projectile vomit thing added in to all the other sights and sounds of Sin City.

One more Stand by Me quote, just because: "Chopper, sick balls".

Saturday morning...this was better than my coffee.

2010-02-28T19:11:00.001-06:00

There are a few people that I need to credit with the highlight of my weekend...

Ok, so we went out on Friday night with neighbors and went to the MOA today with the boys, both of which were super fun too...but what was less exhausting yet slightly more expensive, was our new POT RACK!!

Andy and I have been talking about buying one of these for awhile. We had a small one, that was just a single length 3-4 ft long hanger, in our townhouse years ago, but the only place to hang it was on the outside of the cabinets that divided our kitchen and dining room...and the back of the cabinets was technically our dining room. Quite the way to decorate.

That one didn't work in our current house, especially after the greatest idea ever (knocking out the wall between the kitchen and previous living room/new dining room) resulted in everything being moved around in our kitchen. So...this has been our pot/pan solution for awhile now. I swear I actually cook less than I would otherwise just to avoid the hassle of moving this pan and that pot off the pan/pot I need to take out, and then putting this pan and that pot back in the closet. Ugh. Plus, moving pots and pans around is loud...and after 6 or so, when D & Owen go to bed, we can't be that clangy in our house. We eat a lot of frozen pizzas. And now my excuse is gone.

This isn't even full!

We shopped around a lot online. Sticker shock.

And then...a certain family member (I don't want to out them...employee discount is a sacred thing that is shared sparingly!!) started working at a certain retailer (They once shipped me my order of children's cooking utensils...and a wine cooler. Now, I want a wine cooler as much as the next person...but I called THREE times to get them to come pick up this item that, from reading the shipping information, appeared to be a WEDDING gift for someone else. I just couldn't live with myself if I'd kept it. But I was kinda secretly wishing they wouldn't have come to pick it up after the third time I called...I'm sure the person in California was thankful I have a conscience...I digress...) and the solution arose.

Mind you, it still wasn't cheap...but paired with self-installment (thank goodness my husband and his dad are so capable...it took them under 2 hours!!...what do other people do?!), and it was about as good as you could get. I can't stop staring at it.

First step...find the trusses (that's what they're called, right?).
I love that Dylan is in this picture...he's like, "When do I get to be like Daddy and Grampa?"

Andy considered climbing through the crawl-space, through all of the insulation to find the trusses, but then they came up with this solution...measure and make your best guess, and then drill and stick flags through the ceiling...they are SO clever! Seriously, how does your average person install this stuff? The Sandberg men have years of experience! There was hardly any swearing and I was so impressed!!

The drills were made and they hit on every spot. Time to commit to the location and hang it up!

We decided to get the low profile pot rack because we didn't want it blocking our view across the island it hangs over...or want any of our monkey-children grabbing hold and swinging around. It works...on my tippy-toes I can reach everything that we hung up.

Here's a pic with a few things hung up. Now that everything is visible, I'm so glad we took a hit to our checking account years ago when we got the All-Clad pots and pans. But I really need to scrub these babies up!

And now I'm left with this. And I said to myself, could it be? An empty shelf in my kitchen?! I'm sure it will fill up fast.
(I like to sneak movie quotes into my blog posts...anybody catch it?)

One of my favorite snaps from the day...Mr D and his Grampa Pete

Is this seat taken?

2010-02-27T09:51:00.003-06:00

This series of pictures cracks me up...Owen usually gets a little bullied by Dylan...but the tables were turned here.

I didn't have the good camera nearby, so I missed the sneak-attack. Dylan was just sitting in this little chair, when Owen decided that he would like to sit in that chair. He climbed right behind him and they sat together for a moment (mental snapshot....SO cute!) until Owen apparently started feeling a little cramped. I know, I know...Dylan was there first, but there's so few times when Owen takes charge...I just let him.

He might let Dylan take his toys and shrug it off, but this little dude is no pushover!

**I clearly need more of these chairs!!

The victor!

Ethanisms

2010-02-24T20:58:00.007-06:00

Oh, I try so hard to keep a straight face, but this kid is seriously funny...but I don't think he's trying to be!

"My Uncle Marty...you know him? Well, I'm going to make him a Valentine because I haven't sent him one yet"

This is especially funny because Uncle Marty is my Uncle, but that's cool...Ethan's memory is incredible. He has seen Marty, who lives in AZ, a few times...and still remembers exactly which cars he brought Ethan as a gift. As far as the Valentine...well, it's February 24th, so maybe we'll just send an Ethan original drawing instead. Hi, Marty!!

"Emma realized something. She realized that she had a green St Olaf cup"

Seriously, do 3-year-olds use the word "realized"?? The "St Olaf cup" is really a small Nalgene bottle with a sippy top. Ethan has one that has "St Olaf College" on the side. The other day, I was at Target and picked him up a Nalgene that looks pretty much like it, and now he calls it his "New St Olaf cup" even though it doesn't have "St Olaf College" on it anywhere. He went on to say that he needed 4 blue St Olaf cups and that next time I go to Target I should get more and it would fill up many bags. And then he told me that there were red, green, and pink St Olaf cups, be he only wanted blue. He was so serious while telling me all of this...it was hard to act like I was taking him seriously, so I just had to crack up afterward.

A few nights ago, I was laying with Ethan in his bed at bedtime and we were discussing our Springtime plans (Ethan says often, "I'm sick of Winter and snow!" Amen!) and he was listing off the things he thought we should plant in our garden (we're going to make a better effort this year!)...apparently, amongst our tomatoes, carrots, and peas he wants to plant bananas. I think he understood why we still had to buy bananas at the store, but it sure would be fun if we could grow bananas in our backyard!

Whenever we are telling/asking Ethan to do something, we usually make sure he's heard us by asking him if he understands....recently I asked him, "Do you understand what I'm saying?" and he replied, "I understand, but I don't know what you are saying" So funny.

I can't believe that's all I have written down for Ethan gems. He is so funny and is constantly making us laugh, and pull our hair out at the same time. Three is such an interesting age. He's so smart and trying so hard to figure out the World, and we're trying really hard to help him do it.

I love this picture...he's all wound up playing football with his brothers and he has those crazy eyes!!!

Catching up with D & Owen!!

2010-02-13T14:52:00.001-06:00

This one is about the "little" guys, but I just can't risk forgetting to document this little gem from last night. Ethan was sitting on one of the island chairs playing with his cars, dropping them from the island into his Cars suitcase, which was open on the floor below. One car missed the target and landed on the floor...so Ethan said to me, "Mommy, can you put that car into my suitcase? That would be very helpful!" I immediately looked over at Liz and I think both of us were simultaneously trying not to laugh...or cry. It was so sweet. I went over and put the car in his suitcase and he said, "Thank you, that was very nice" I made sure to thank him for asking me so nicely, and for being so polite. Oh. My. Gosh. That totally makes up for some of the other things he's been yelling lately...like, "Leave me alone. I know what I need to do" Okay, are you 3 or 13?!

*****

D & Owen were 14 months old on Feb 8th!! This is a total hodge-podge with no rhyme or reason, but here is the latest!

I'm going to pinch those cheeks, Owen!

Dylan looks so cute in a hat, I can't wait for Springtime!!

*****

Dylan is 100% walking now. I think since about early January...maybe late December. It seems like it's been awhile now. It's so cute. He's actually starting to really pick up some speed too...coming in for running hugs. It helps that he's now bending his knees when he walks...for awhile there it was a stiff-leg waddle, but it got him from A to B.

Owen could walk if he wanted to. In fact, the past few days he has been taking a few steps here and there when prompted. He can free-stand, and walk along objects, but I think he's a little too cautious. He's a speed demon with the crawling though!

There has been a LOT of talking lately. They are big on the "D"s so of course, they can say "Dada". Dylan will say "Mama" clear as day sometimes, but not as much as other words. They do a lot of "Mum"...but it's usually when they are blowing bubbles...you know, with all their drool....cute?? They also say "Uh oh", and "bye bye". One of my favorite things right now is when they climb into their little play-house/tent and wave while saying "bye bye." They are clapping lots too, and playing "peek a boo"...so cute. For the most part, there is just a ton of babbling, yelling, screeching...they definitely have something to say. A favorite game of mine is to ask Ethan what he thinks they are trying to say to us, and he will typically come up with something very funny, or sweet, like "Dylan is saying he wants to hug me."

We throw a blanket over the play-house tent and it's like a cave...they love it.

They are so snuggly and affectionate...crawling or walking over to check in and give us a hug, before going off to play again.

They are super physical...one thing that I could live without is them climbing up on the couch. Owen just recently started doing this and he is SO proud of himself when he gets up there. He doesn't yet really respect the edges of the couch though, and has to be watched really carefully. We usually put up our flexible play gates to block off the couch, leaving us nowhere to sit!

They are just like their older brother in that they LOVE vehicles. Playing with the little cars is fun for everyone if Ethan decides to be good about sharing. We have like 500 little cars...I'm trying to convince E that there are enough to go around for at least 3 boys!! They like to drive them around on the floor and I swear they are making car sounds now. Owen cracks me up when he drives two at once, because he is just a little boy on wheels and knees crawling around. We also have 3 riding vehicles in our house (crazy!)...a tractor, a motorcycle and a Spiderman-mobile. D & Owen are getting big enough to get up on these and ride them around a little bit. But, they aren't that great about the dismount...and sometimes think it's fun to stand up on them. Another thing to watch out for!!

Owen standing on the motorcycle and making Mommy nervous!

Owen makes the funniest faces...he is super expressive. One of the best (and most comical) is his cranky face when he furrows his brows and makes an over-the-top pout. He is such a even-keeled kid these days and so smiley, that it is just hard to take the pout face seriously. Owen is also an eating champ. I can't believe I just wrote that!! It used to be so hard to feed Owen when he was a baby. He oftentimes drank less formula than Dylan and was really finicky about it...feedings took forever!! Now that they eat all "real" food, he's a monster. Sometimes I get worried about how fast he eats, but he never seems to have any issue with too much in his mouth at once. He's like a chipmunk with room to store food in those cheeks of his! He's not very picky and will pretty much eat whatever is on his tray...I think he might close in on that 3-lb difference to Dylan sometime soon!

Owen's cranky face

Dylan still has a great appetite, but is pickier. He will simply turn his head away and refuse to acknowledge the spoon...or, if it's finger food, throw it on the floor with authority! If he keeps this up, Owen will definitely close that weight gap! I like to refer to D as my gentle "giant"...he is really sensitive, needs a lot of attention, will hang on my legs and check in for hugs more often than Owen, who is pretty comfortable doing his own thing. D is really into his blankets, or "softies" as we call them (because that's what Ethan refers to his blankets as). He is usually carrying one around, or draping it around his shoulders or head (Confession time: the other day he had the blanket draped over his head and walked right into the garbage can...and I laughed...he wasn't hurt, and it was kinda funny!), and then he does this thing with his tongue that I can only describe as sucking on a pacifier without the pacifier. Whatever it is, it's adorable.

Dylan with one of his "softies"

They are into "reading" books, playing the piano, listening to music. They also put Ethan's music players and play-phones up to their ears. They know how stuff works and they want to do EVERYTHING!!

Owen's favorites are the books with the googly eyes...it's true, they are fun!

They are pretty good sleepers. Still rocking the nighttime sleep, and taking two naps, most of the time. I think we are right in the middle of the two-naps to one-nap transition. That was closer to 18-months with Ethan I think, but they can really protest their afternoon naps some days, and then I have some REALLY tired babies on my hands. And, as much as we try to push back bedtime, it still falls around 6/6:30. And they get up around 7 (but it was 6am a few times last week...oy!) Owen sucks his thumb when he's going to sleep, and Dylan does his "tongue thing."

Like I wrote above, they are pretty good eaters and are eating "real" food...we still do some Gerber Graduate meals and Gerber fruits and veggies, but for the most part they are eating the same food as us. What limits us now is that they can't use utensils yet...I guess I just haven't been that brave yet. SO much mess!...like there isn't enough now with finger-food eating! I think their hand-eye coordination is probably getting close to being good enough to try this out. I can't wait!! Dylan drinks whole milk, and Owen drinks 1% now. Owen was having some spitting up issues when we switched from formula to milk, so we thought that he might be lactose-intolerant or something. So, we switched to Lactaid. Still had issues. So, we switched to Soy Milk. Then he got a fever and broke into a rash...could have been coincidence, but why risk it?! One day there were no other options in the house, so Gramma tried 1% and we've been good ever since!

Lunchtime was a disaster today...Mommy let the boys eat her pasta bake...with red sauce!! Sometimes you have to get messy!!

Each of the boys is so different and it's amazing to see their personalities! It will be interesting to see if our theories pan out...Ethan, the musician, Owen, the thespian, and Dylan, the jock. Whatever it be, each one of them has their own way of just making me melt to pieces!

Last post?

2010-02-10T22:13:00.005-06:00

Going on hiatus until I figure out what to do with this blog...it's not like I post often, anyway.

Until then, here are some pictures of Ethan and his snow-man, "Snow-Bob"...that he built with his best friend, Liz, last week when we got some good sticky snow.

Could these two be any cuter? I submit that they could NOT!

Random bits

2010-02-02T19:05:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was February 1. I thought nothing was noteworthy about that date (besides it being the beginning of a new month...and a chance to start over on my "resolution") until I was getting ready to go to bed and remembered that this was the day that Deb was supposed to return to work from maternity leave. That realization sucked. I miss her, and think about her lots.

I'm so uplifting.

Moving on...

I'm working on a Christmas post, although it is SO ridiculously long that I might break it up into "Pre-Christmas Chaos", "Christmas Eve", "Christmas Day", and "Christmas 'Vacation'". It's February, is anyone even thinking about Christmas anymore? I mean, Christmas 2009?

One of Ethan's new phrases is "You know what?..." There's no pause, he just keeps going. And it's usually something incredibly fascinating, and hilarious.

Now that my organization system is up, I've received about 3 things in the mail. Ugh, catch 22...too much paperwork and no system, or no paperwork for a great system. Win some, lose some.

Ellie is becoming somewhat of a "family cat" at last. She is tolerating the kids and it's so great! I think she might have a little thing for Owen...I realize she's behind the safety of the gate in this picture, but she's really coming up to him and letting him pet her. Now, just a little caveat here...she's actually coming up to him when he's held by me...because she's kinda a Momma's girl, but still...she lets him pet her and he absolutely loves it!! Cutie pie.

There's an overdue post about D & Owen coming up also...they are changing SO much these days and I just can't keep up with everything!

Nerdville...but there's kid pictures too!

2010-01-30T19:29:00.000-06:00

A few days ago I received a huge package in the mail and I knew right away what it was! My seejanework order! I mean, there's only a few box sizes that a 3-tier file system fits in! Andy was out of town when it arrived and, since I defer to him for all things requiring a power tool, I had to wait until this weekend to get my organization system up and running.

It went up this morning and I am SO happy! Now I know that this makes me a huge nerd, but the relief of having my paperwork under control eliminates a ton of the stress that I lug around with me each day.

Behold, a system for sorting incoming paper.

Top is "To File", middle is "To Pay/Address" and bottom is "Misc". The "Misc" folder is probably my favorite part...finally, a place to put the preschool handbook, the ECFE policies & procedures, Ethan's class lists, the First Aid reference book.

My original idea was to put all of my seejanework organizational order in one central spot. However, the place where I ended up hanging my file folders (on the outside of our computer desk...aka, typical spot for the refrigerator in custom cabinets) didn't really make sense as a place to keep the "Gro/Target" and "To-Do" lists. So, I used the magnetic clips (that I ordered to hold the tablets) in the only spot where I could...the side of the fridge. **Side bar: Does anyone else have a refrigerator that isn't magnetic on the front? I have never seen such a thing until now!** It will actually be a great spot to have these lists...open the fridge and there's no milk? Add milk to list. Perfect! I think I'll hang a pen/pencil on a string tied to the clip...I mean, seriously, if I have to make my way across the kitchen amidst the chaos to get a pen, I will have forgotten what I needed by the time I get back. Hence the list-making...I can't remember anything for longer than 30 seconds these days!

Also, putting the lists in this spot means I have to find something new to do with our recycling. Our current system is putting a brown grocery/Target back on the counter-top next to the fridge until it's full (like 5 minutes) and then bringing it out to the garage, but since it's always overflowing, it's never very pretty (I removed it for this picture). Andy & Ethan are at Target right now picking up some things, and something for the recycling is on their list. I'm excited to see what they come up with.

Next to the two pads of white paper is a super fun birthday gift from Kristy...a "Don't Kill the Kids...and other babysitter basics" tablet where we can list our contact information, kids' nap/bedtimes, meal plans, emergency numbers, etc. So great! Usually I just jot this stuff down at the last minute on a scrap of paper...but now, I have a system...which is the point of all of this!!

And, since I've bored the heck out of everybody who doesn't give a crap about being organized, which is probably 90% of my readers...pictures of the kids...

BEFORE the Vikings game last weekend...all full of hope...eager faces...and that's all I have to say about that right now.

Mr E on his new Spiderman-mobile. I found out this morning that one of the "noise" settings on this plays the "Nee Song"...otherwise known as "Waltzing Matilda" by the Australians...which is Ethan's favorite song, learned from the World Playground CD.

Owen is such a Harley dude. Minutes before this picture he was crouched up on the seat with his feet on the seat like he was going to stand *heart attack*...Evil Knievel wannabe in the works. OMG.
(Yes, he's not wearing any pants...why don't they make 15-month clothes?! 12-mo is too small, but 18-mo falls off...I gave up putting them back on around 4pm)

I'm wondering when this drool stage will be over with Dylan. He's like a Saint Bernard...he needs a drool towel...strings of drool fly around as he plays. It's amazing how we've all become accustomed to this...we all just swipe the drool away, wipe it on our shirts/pants like it's no big deal...just a part of life. You can't see in this picture that the whole front of his shirt is drenched. He might go through 2-3 shirts a day...we try to keep a bib on him, but he typically rips it off in protest. Even if he drools until he's 17, I still don't think he'll have any trouble with the ladies...look at those blue eyes!

Ethanisms and random Ethan tidbits

2010-01-25T21:04:00.000-06:00

'Member how I used to write all those "Ethanism" posts with word-for-word quotes from the big man himself? Well, I have just about given up all hope at recording the funny things that come out of this kid's mouth. I mean, I'd just have to walk around with a notepad and pen around my neck so I could jot it down right when he says it. He's super funny...some things he says are funny because they are Ethan originals, and others are funny because he is repeating something he picked up from someone who is over 5 years old.

Right now, he is starting most of his comments with "Well"...like, "Well, I would like a peanut butter sandwich"..."Well, we should go downstairs and play" Sometimes there are multiple "Well"s....such as, "Well, well, Mommy, you should make dinner."

Another good one is "First of all"..."First of all, I will put my cars in my basket and then we will go over there"...

The one that makes me giggle every time..."OK? Okay"...answering his own question. Like, "I'm going to run upstairs quick, OK? Okay."

Then there's just throwing in words that are funny to hear a 3-year-old say in any context. "Actually" is one of the best. "Plenty" is also a good one.

There's also the intonation & seriousness of things he says...why, just saying an affirmative, "Uh, huh" can bring him all over the octave and last about 20 seconds.

Then there are the observations of what is currently going on, and the recollections of things that have been said in the past...and seriously, that might have been like 3 weeks ago and he will still remember all of what was said....

These are two recent ones...

"My family likes to drink coffee...except for Josh and Gramma Leslie, and Liz too. They don't like the taste of hot coffee that the rest of my family drinks" This came up last weekend, I think, when Andy and I were having our morning coffee. He asked if everyone likes coffee as much as us, so we told him who does and doesn't like coffee in our family. I guess he just wanted to let me know that he knew.

Also..."Dylan is banging his head on that thing over there and if he does it too many times he will have to do to the Doctor"...he said this very seriously and dramatically, which made it even harder to not laugh. And for the record, Dylan was just bobbing his head against the back of the island, which is a very lightweight wood and was not in any way hurting himself.

I guess he was on a comedic roll, because he also told me that his cars were driving to "The town of Leslieville"...usually the cars and driving to Louisville...but I'm sure Gramma Leslie will appreciate the invention of a town named just after her!

That's all for quotes, folks...

I'll wrap with a few things...

Preschool registration for NEXT year was already this past week. Our first pick is 3 days a week in the 3/4 year old class. The 2nd and 3rd picks were just the 2-day option. I REALLY hope we get the 3-day class. Thankfully, Gramma Leslie was able to go to the pre-registration last week when I was out of town, so we have a good shot. He loves school and would do so great in their 3-day program! I just can't believe that we are already doing registration for September while in January!!

Ethan's bed is complete. Check out the new bedding. Now, just the curtains need to get finished and we're done. I have until July before I have to say this room took me a year to complete. Sad.

Ethan got a cool gift from his Daddy for Christmas...a Cars shaving kit. Now, he can make his own "funny beard"

Nerd alert!

2010-01-19T20:04:00.002-06:00

Other Type-A'ers might enjoy this website as much as me...I just spent most of my birthday money ordering stuff at www.seejanework.com.

I'm taking a class, and last month the leader mentioned a system she uses that simplifies her life. I was intrigued and emailed her later for more details!

The basis of the system is a wall-mount organizer with 3 baskets. I didn't order the exact same one as her...she is more fun and her's is red, and I went for basic silver. The premise is the same. She labels them "to be paid", "to be filed" and "misc". Right off the bat, that's better than my mail-sorting system of "open & place on top of the computer, and then move around the house from place to place until finally addressing"...that doesn't sound very Type A does it?! Such is the result of TOO much paper!!

Above the file system are two clipboards: one for groceries/household supplies, and one for household to-do's. I'm not exactly sure yet where I'm going to set up this whole system, so I opted for something I thought would take up less space, just in case. I bought some basic clips, and some little note pads that I can clip in there for making my lists. The clips are magnetic, but I'm hoping my do-it-yourself-savvy husband can figure out a way to adhere these to the wall.

The whole idea of this is to touch paper coming into the house as few times as possible...I think twice will work...once to open and file into system ("to pay" or "to file"), and once when completing the task (paying or filing).

The whole idea of class this month was to work on your support system, which really can be more than the people around you (thankfully, I have that and they are awesome!)...initiating this organization system is one of the things that will "support" me day to day, I hope!!

Big girls don't cry...about beds.

2010-01-18T20:50:00.000-06:00

One thing that always surprises me about Motherhood, is that seemingly simple and ordinary events, are now worthy of tears. For example, a new bed. Getting a new bed is no big deal, really. But when your baby, your first baby, gets his second "big boy bed"...well, that is just about enough to make me cry hard enough that it's embarrassing...thankfully, I was able to control myself until later in the day, where I had a moment to myself and let out a tear, or two, or three...hundred.

It dawned on me a few weeks ago, after Ethan asked me to lie in his bed for a little bit one night at bedtime, that maybe the reason he was getting up frequently during the night is because his bed was hard as a rock. Poor guy. So, shortly thereafter, I asked him if he was ready to get a bigger big boy bed (which we now call his "big big boy bed")...he told me "Yes, maybe next Tuesday"...maybe next Tuesday the movers would come and take his race car bed away. But, he eventually agreed that instead of having movers take it, we should save it for one of his brothers because the race car bed is so cool. He cracks me up.

A few weeks went by with "buy bed frame for Ethan" on my to-do list. This weekend I decided that we just needed to get it done. I mean, geez, I started the whole "big boy room" transformation last July...and it has taken me months to get each step done. I didn't even finish the painting (the closet) until just before Christmas!! I still need to get some blackout blinds so I can put up his new curtains (white) and valance (Cars theme in red). Part of my New Year's resolution is to start cutting myself some slack, so I'm not going to beat myself up about the completion of his room taking this long...that is just the way things go now!

My wonderful husband went to IKEA (that's a huge deal for those that don't know Andy) yesterday morning and bought the frame. We decided to do full size since we already had a box spring and mattress in that size. It ended up being a little too high up with the box spring, so today Andy went back to IKEA (twice in one weekend is an even BIGGER deal!) and bought the roll of slats to use in place of a box spring, and the height is much better. I still need to get a bedding set...we got him an extra pillow and we had a sheet we could use, but he's still using just a bunch of blankets that he used in his race car bed (right now it's the huge fleece one that took me like a week to make!). I'm debating between going Cars theme, or just doing something red that wouldn't clash with his bright blue walls.

Because of the new bed location, I had to move some of the Cars stickers that we'd put up on the wall last Summer. But, I mistakenly moved them while Ethan was in the room, so he learned that they peel off and can stick back on. Can you tell me what's wrong in this picture? And poor, poor Sheriff! He must have had a lot of fun during naptime today.

He looks happy in his new bed, right?

So, why does Mommy cry about all of this? Sometimes pictures say it better than words...

June 2007

Standing up in the crib, July 2007

He can crawl out...time for a crib tent...August 2007

Washing out his race car bed after we bought it (used)...August 2008

The new bed hung out in the guest bedroom so Ethan could "acclimate" and try it out when he wanted to...September 2008

The race car bed moved into Ethan's room, but he insisted the crib tent stay on...September 2008

The crib tent is off, the safety rail is on...October 2008

Ethan's big boy room...July 2009

New blanket made by Mommy...November 2009

Ethan's bedroom today...January 2010...what a big big boy!! Mommy cries again. Happy tears.

The happiest place on Earth...

2010-01-13T14:43:00.005-06:00

For the record, Disney World is the absolute worst place to be without your family for a few days. No reminders of happy families here...geez!

I've been in Orlando since Sunday night...which is just slightly warmer than Minnesota. But hey, no snow. Tomorrow, our departure day, it's going to be 70...then mid to high 70's this weekend. The timing was not to our benefit. Still, it's comical to hear the Floridians talk about the "deep freeze"...at the airport, the guy at the shuttle service was wearing a ski mask! A ski mask!! In 35 degree weather. It's easy to pick out the people who are natives to this State and those who are visiting...an amusing mixture of shorts and parkas passed me by as I was sitting out on the Boardwalk yesterday. Also, a plethora of happy families with cute little kids...which brings me back to my first point...next time I'm here, I'm bringing the fam...and spending the days with them instead of in the Conference Center attending an Actuarial & Underwriting Training Seminar.

Being away for 4 nights is tough for this working Momma who isn't away very often. I would say that I was probably ready to come home by noon on Monday. It's too quiet here...not enough hugs...not enough craziness...not enough smiley faces. Well, actually, those things are all around me...but they just aren't my people. I miss my people.

You know you're 30 when...

2010-01-06T21:46:00.003-06:00

You know you're 30 when...

You aren't hungover on your birthday, because you didn't celebrate "power hour" the night before
Your birthday morning is complete perfection with a cup of coffee and a birthday hug & "Happy Birthday" from your favorite 3-year-old
You tell absolutely no one in the office that it's your 30th birthday...for fear you will be mocked when they realize how young you are
You forget it's your birthday several times during the day
You sing yourself "Happy Birthday" solo because your 3-year-old claims he doesn't know the words, but insisted on lighting the candles on the cake he made with Gramma (too sweet!), and it just didn't seem right not to sing when the candles were lit (Daddy wasn't home yet to participate)
You go out for dinner on a Wednesday night and it is a really big deal
You yawn through most of dinner, but not because of the company...but because you are really, really tired since your 3-year-old had an "accident" at 3:30 am and you were up until 5 am trying to fall back asleep
You get a little bit jealous of the 20-something's sitting nearby who are also celebrating a birthday...but are drinking martini's, taking pictures, and are full of energy when they sit down for dinner starting at 9pm. Um, hello, that's bedtime, people.
You consider asking for the manager when service is terrible, instead of having another drink and forgetting about it
You have to be home by 9pm to relieve the babysitter
You get home and consider logging on to work again because the excuse "I didn't review the contract last night because it was my birthday" doesn't typically fly in the real world
You have learned just enough during your 20's to know that some things matter more than that, write a quick blog to document, and log off to cuddle with the hubs

Happy Birthday to me. Look out 30's...here I come. Cheers!

2010, here I come!

2010-01-03T14:51:00.002-06:00

I decided to forego recapping 2009...when I started writing about going back to work in March, and going to Court for Crazy's appearance in April, I realized that there are several things about 2009 that I don't need to relive...so then, moving on to 2010.

This Year's resolution is seemingly simple. For the past few years, each year has had a "theme" of sorts. 2006 was year of pregnancy. 2007 was year of Ethan's abuse and health issues. 2008 was another year of pregnancy. 2009 was "year of survival". 2010 is a year of opportunity that I am going to call "Year of Mommy". Ok, so it can't be all about me, obviously...nor would I want it to be. But, my resolution is to simply be better to myself....eat better, start working out again, give myself a break every once in awhile, say no when I need to, cut myself some slack...simplify. As of January 3, I'm optomistic.

A year in review...installment #2

2009-12-29T20:09:00.002-06:00

Moving on to February...

Feb 1: Superbowl. Ethan and I wore 3-D glasses for most of the evening, which made me pretty dizzy.

Feb 5: Court 8:30am. I can only imagine this was one of the many times Crazy was supposed to appear and did not. Who knows, who cares.

Feb 6: Ethan and I drove to Northfield to get Dylan & Owen's cross-stitch framed. I'm fully aware that there are several framing places within the Twin Cities that I could patron rather than driving to the greater Twin Cities for framing. But it takes SO long to make these cross-stitches, and my mother-in-law has trusted this guy with hers for years, so it's worth the drive for peace of mind. And...it turned out great.

Feb 9: Went to a Mom's of Multiples support group with the mom of Ethan's twin friends from ECFE. This was interesting, but as my twins were 9 weeks old and I was in the 0-6 month group, we talked mostly about transitioning to solid foods, and I was nowhere near. I needed to talk about how to get some sleep. The better support turned out to be the conversation over drinks the two of us had after group.

Feb 10: Toddler Tuesday. Ethan wanted nothing to do with the singing event that was going on, so we went to the train table at Barnes and Noble and I drank copius amounts of coffee. Delightful all around.

Feb 11: Twins 2-mo well-baby check; Oak City for dinner and drinks with two of my best buds from college.

Feb 13: A high-school friend gets married. My in-laws do an overnighter with our kids, two of which are not anywhere close to sleeping through the night. Bless them. I go a "little" overboard with my temporary freedom, drink at least a magnum of Chardonnay, and do not sleep well. Oh, the regret I felt the next day (I felt other feelings in addition to regret, as you might imagine!). We spend Valentine's Day at home, very low-key. We watched There Will Be Blood...that was disturbing.

Feb 16: I place my first Let's Dish order...to pick up the next day. I should really start doing that again. Dish N Dash is the service they have for those of us that find no thrill in doing our own meal assembly...or are rather too busy to make time to do so. Pay $20 and they do all the assembly for you and give you a time at which it's ready to pick up...ready to go into your freezer! A meal serves 6 and you can request them to be split, which was ideal for the number of "real"-food eaters in our family at the time.

Feb 17: My first Girls Night back, at which I was not the "pregnant one". Yay.

Feb 21: Sandberg sibling dinner. Mancini's. I had a full-fledged panic attack on the way there. It was cold outside...really really cold. It smelled like toilet in the area of the bar where we sat after dinner. I was designated driver. Despite all of this, it was an awesome time. Andy's siblings and their significant's are all fabulous.

Feb 22: My mom came back into town for my last week of Maternity Leave. I was sad...she made me happier.

Feb 25: Pepitos 6:30. I believe this was a dinner out with my Mom, sister, and aunts.

Feb 28: "Olaf Black and Gold Winter Gala" is scratched out and "Dinner @ 6pm" is written in. Appears that we bailed on the Gala in favor of something else. Were we with you? What did we do? I guess I can't really remember it all!

Looking classy in our 3-D glasses.

A common scene. I miss having sleeping babies on me. They are always on the move now. But I love that they cruise over to give me a hug when they notice I'm watching them.

The infamous wedding. I don't really remember taking this picture, but at least I don't look a mess. Empire-waist is pretty forgiving at 9 or 10-weeks post-partum. I planned that on purpose.

Making banana bread with my favorite big-brother.

A year in review...installment #1

2009-12-28T21:05:00.000-06:00

I have a hard time throwing away calendars, planners...anything that has recorded parts of our lives. So, to alleviate this issue this year, I'm documenting 2009 here at the Suburban Zoo...

Sandberg 2009, a year in review...in installments by month...I've added in some details that only I, Hilary with the steel-trap memory (unless I've been imbibing), can recall. Why, just today, I was telling my parents and Andy that Ethan's favorite blanket is the one that my parents' friends gave to us while I was expecting Ethan in August of 2006. It's just a blue fleece blanket that says "Baby" on it, but strangely, I remember that kind of stuff.

Disclosure: If this bores the crap out of you, I promise a wonderful recap of possibly the most wonderful Christmas Eve/Christmas Day, in the near future...promise.

Jan 6 - My 29th birthday - Mom and I went to the MOA with Ethan and had lunch at Ruby Tuesday's. A woman in the elevator had a newborn baby and I commented that I had 4-week-old twins and she said she couldn't believe it...and I instantly felt better about the maternity jeans I was wearing.

Jan 7 - Mary came to clean. Remember this bitch? Oooh...is that too harsh? She was our cleaning lady...and a good one...who had started working for us when I went on bed-rest the August before. One day, she just stopped showing up. We'd always paid her, we (or my parents, actually, because they were subsidizing the cleaning person at that time) gave her a fat Christmas bonus, she oohed and aahed over our kids, I always asked her about her new grandson...when she didn't show up the one day, I called to see if I had marked down the wrong day...she never called me back. My mom and I theorized about what could have happened to her...I even checked the obits. We settled on witness protection. Just a month or so ago, I heard from the friend who had recommended her that Mary almost started cleaning for them again. Guess it must have been something I said. I like Annette better anyway.

Jan 10 - My Mommy went home. That sucked. She had stayed with us for over two weeks after coming to visit during the Holidays. She was an amazing help...assisting with middle-of-the-night feedings, doing laundry, cooking...we couldn't have made it through these initial days without her.

Jan 11 - Party to celebrate my god-daughter turning 2. This might have been the first time out for a significant number of hours without D & Owen. Even I, with my steel-trap mind, was too sleep-deprived to recall much from this event...except that Emily shared her Blues Clues cake with her sister, Lauren, and Ethan and it was hilarious.

Jan 13 - 6-week check at the OBGYN. Clear. TMI? Sorry.

Jan 22 - Happy Hour with SV friends at Don Pablo's...I do believe this was my first time out kid-less since the twins came home. I was shaking with nervousness (excitement?) when I arrived. I had two beers. I felt human again. I dried my hair for that event. It was a big deal.

Jan 23 - Must have felt good about getting out the night before, because I did it again. Andy and I went out to dinner with my sister and her husband as our Christmas gift to each other. We went to Luci Ancora. Earlier that day, Andy bought me a size-up pair of Joe's jeans and surprised me with them before dinner. A zipper, a button...I felt even more human on this day.

Jan 27 - Timber Wolves game. Looks like I was really getting into the groove of leaving the house. I don't recall much from this evening...must have had a couple.

Jan 29 - The first Synagis (RSV) shot for the twins. Good Lord, those were a pain in the tail...and expensive too. But I brought it upon myself. One of the twins wasn't even recommended to have them, but I made a crazy fuss about it and had my ped call Option Care to get them to recommend it, and for my insurance to cover it. Still, couple hundred bucks a pop...preemie boys born in the Winter with an older sibling that goes to a weekly ECFE class with other germy kids...I slept better at night (wait, who am I kidding?! I wasn't sleeping at night in January, but you know what I mean) knowing they got these shots each month during the Flu season. Worth every penny.

Jan 30 - Went to a party to celebrate a friend turning 30. There was all sorts of drama earlier in the evening before this party...but it eventually turned out to be the catalyst in repairing a long friendship that had been on the rocks for awhile. And that reminds me that I have a lunch-date to schedule.

Jan 31 - Baby shower for my sister-in-law, Emma. I co-hosted this event with my mother-in-law. It was a great time...good food, fun games, great people...we didn't even know it was Linnie in there at the time. That seems crazy now.

There are other things about January that I'd like to remember. "School 10:15" is a weekly appearance on the calendar. While I was on maternity leave, I got to go with Ethan to his ECFE class almost every week...that was so FUN! It was great to meet his teachers and little classmates.

There are also lots of "Cec"s and "Anne"s on the calendar...My sister, Cecily, was unemployed by choice at the time and one of my besties from college, Anne, was on break from her MBA program...both of them were able to come by frequently to help with D & Owen and give me some much-needed adult conversation. That was fantastic!!

Oh, 2009...the "year of survival", as we called you. It seems silly to be thankful that it's almost over...because we should be thankful for every year that we have...but still, I'm thankful that's it's almost over. I came into the year with a sense of fear...of the unknown, mostly. Do we have any idea what we are doing? Will we sleep ever again? Will the stress destroy us all? It's easy to say in retrospect that it wasn't as hard as we thought it would be...but really, as I think about every month of the past year, it really wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. We are blessed with truly good kids...and, as the Hillary with two "L"s says..."it takes a village"...and we definitely are a part of one.

Sleepy, but happy, Daddy.

Mommy, Ethan, Dylan, Owen...early morning...but it looks like I'm showered and dressed...way to go, Mommy!

I love this picture...Ethan with his rosy cheeks. Owen on his left, Dylan on his right.

7-week-old twins. Owen & Dylan. They are so still. At almost 13-months, this idea is totally foreign..

Dreaming of a white Christmas?

2009-12-24T09:37:00.003-06:00

A again.

I should not jump to conclusions all the time, but I will assume that most of you reading this are from MN, or have some connection to the tundra at a minimum. If you're like me, you just got in from dealing with almost a foot of new snow, part of an estimated 16-24" dump we are in the middle of. As much as I like the song noted in this title, I don't think Bing Crosby did much manual schlepping of large volumes of snow at the point in his career where he sang that one.

"For my next set, let's start off with 'I'd like to dig a ditch and get blisters'. Hit it boys!"

There are of course silver linings though. Whether it is a bunch of snow to dig out of or a storm that knocks trees down or whatever, our neighborhood is picturesque. It is really what I want our kids to grow up seeing, and I don't think it exists everywhere anymore. If you looked out there today, you would have seen members of several households going from house to house digging out each others' driveways. We don't ask each other, we just do it, because that is what great neighbors do. We all have each others' backs, the Golden Rule in action, and I don't want to live anywhere else.

So much to be thankful for this year. Here are a few:

The first Christmas with the five of us at home together
The first Christmas for my niece
Gainful employment in a tough economy
Seeing my buddy Paul alive and well this morning out in the snow
Christmas eve with H's family (everyone has printed programs for Xmas Eve, right?)
Christmas day tomorrow with mine at our house, and watching E open presents
Oh yeah, and of course, Santa Crunch (MN Timberwolves mascot for you non-NBA fans)

Well that's it for me. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...........

I'm here

2009-12-21T20:31:00.001-06:00

Oh yeah, so I like, um, have a blog still, right?!

People, I'm sinking...sinking, sinking, sinking. There is too much to do, too much going on, too much stress, not enough sleep and not enough time. 'Tis the Season. I'm trying to focus on what is truly important, and not get stressed. Work will get done...it always does. Tomorrow, my parents will be in town, we have several FUN Holiday gatherings coming up, we are hosting Christmas Day...our first Christmas Day that the 5 of us will be at home for, and I am TRULY excited for all of this. Andy and I each have the week after Christmas off from work (and hopefully we will not log on more than 3 times a piece!)...and I am hoping to just hang out and soak up time with my boys.

I just have 3 more days that I need to make it through. I need hugs from my Mommy and Daddy...and thankfully, they will be here tomorrow.

Moving on...I have been writing down quotes from Ethan so I could write an "Ethanism" blog post, and wouldn't you know it...I can't find the piece of paper...figures. But, I remember some...

The best I've heard recently was when I was talking to Ethan last week about getting a big boy bed...trading in the race car bed for a twin. I asked him when he might be ready for that, and without hesitation he said, "Maybe next Tuesday" I just about peed my pants. But since he was still talking, I held it together. He said, "Maybe next Tuesday. Next Tuesday, the movers will come and pack up my race car bed, put it in their moving truck and TAKE IT AWAY!" Okay, I really thought he liked that race car bed. Sometimes, he's very dramatic.

On a similar note, I just asked him tonight when he thought he would see Gramma Nana and Grampa Dode and he said, "Maybe on Tuesday"...in fact, tomorrow IS Tuesday...so that worked out well. But, he definitely has a crush on Tuesday.

Recently he told Liz that she could stay here and live with him, Dylan, Owen, Mommy and Daddy, and then asked, "So, do you want to or not?"

Another new thing is blaming things on his body parts...."My fingers wanted to pick my nose"..."My feet wanted to kick Dylan"....Um, no, these excuses do not work, but I give him an A for creativity.

****

Daddy forgot to mention the 1-year stats in the last post. Dylan is 24 lbs, 75th percentile for height and weight. Owen is 21 lbs 4 oz and about 35th percentile for height and weight. Still maintaining the 3 lb spread in weight and Dylan is slightly taller. They are both in the 90th percentiles for head circumference, in true Sandberg fashion.

We've moved on to whole milk. We've stopped buying pureed baby foods. They are eating most real foods...I even tried miniscule pieces of apple tonight and they loved it. The flexibility...oh, the flexbility. The poop...oh, the poop. There's just a difference. And within the next year, I'm hoping to be done with that too. And on that note, I can absolutely not believe that they have been in size 4 diapers for awhile now. When Ethan was potty trained he was in size 5 diapers. I have a huge box of leftover size 5 diapers in the garage, and I'm betting that we will be using those soon. Are they really that old already, or are they just bigger than Ethan was...or is time just flying by at an abnormally fast pace?! Slow down, babies...don't you know this is Mommy's last time with "babies" (in quotes, because they will always be my BABIES!)...and I don't want you to outgrow your chubby baby cheeks anytime soon. Here, eat a cookie.

And since it's unlikely that I'll post again before Christmas....Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Feliz Cumpleaños niños

2009-12-12T08:45:00.006-06:00

"A" here.

?Por que es el titulo en español?

Well, when reflecting on life's noteworthy milestones, I often reflect on the genesis of our little familia. Anyone who was around us while H & I each ventured to South America back in Jan 2000 probably has a feel for the transformation we have had. Not to say we were worse people back then, that is for the rest of you to say. I will just say we are different now, and yes, probably for the better.

So the opportunity to reflect in this post has been brought to you by Owen & Dylan. Babies, no mas. That's right, we have toddlers. Tuesday was their first birthday, and we will never have a "baby" again. That is an odd thing to think about. At my old age of 30, up until now there have been so many firsts, and this is a last. I can't help but think how fast it has gone since that very first awkward moment of waiting for the results of the first home-pregnancy test. It's cool though, cuz' we have 3 perfect and healthy kids, a gift that very few get to experience. They just no longer happen to fit the infant category.

Enough with the sappy Daddy talk, and on to the good stuff. Here is the terrible twosome, 1 year old. Of course, H baked a cake. That's what good mommas do.

There are rules people, and one of them is you let the babies eat the cake, I don't care how healthy you try to be. Just give the kid(s) the damn cake.

So this is where I am in life. I first met H in October of 1999. 10 years, 3 boys, and zero regrets. My family, circa December 2009. Hasta Luego.

New blog headers...and new blogs

2009-12-04T20:35:00.002-06:00

New blog header...couldn't keep logging on here and seeing these babies that I don't even recognize anymore. I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for the 1st birthday coming up on TUESDAY!!

My amazing sister-in-law started this blog....www.divorcedbefore30.com...she is an incredible writer, and an incredible person. Check her out.

So productive, so tired

2009-11-28T17:59:00.017-06:00

We got a bunch of stuff done today...and because I often feel like I cross nothing off my list, I need to document to make myself feel better!!

#1 Something I've been meaning to do since the great room swap. I finally fixed the whole curtain situation in D & Owen's room. Granted, it is still ghetto, but it works.

BEFORE: I tucked the "fort" sheets over the curtains to keep the room dark. Even the blinds behind the curtains didn't cut out the Summer Sun for daytime naps and early bedtimes. This was only meant to be temporary, as we are working our way through the house replacing windows/trim and I was planning on doing black-out blinds at that time. Also, I'll replace the curtains (thanks, Mom!) once I re-do this room into more of a "boy" room when the kiddos are a little older. And...the window to the right (which is not visible in this "before" picture) might not exist once we add on to the house. That's a blog post in itself...

AFTER: A relatively quick fix that I have been meaning to do for a long time!! The blinds on the window to the right (you can just see the very left of the curtain) are broken, so I took the curtains down and then took the blinds down for good. I nailed up the black sheet against the trim...see "BEFORE"...I don't care about nail holes!...and then put the curtains back up. No sign of tacky black sheets, but the room is still darkened. The window behind the cribs was pretty tough. Those cribs are packed in there. It's quite the puzzle to move them around. I got them out ok, but needed Andy's help to get them back in. He laid on the ground and used his feet to push against the leg of the left crib to get them back in place. Not kidding...they are really in there. I'm pleased with how it turned out...it's cute again!

#2 We completed a toy and book purge, just in time for Christmas! We have two full construction-grade black bags filled with toys and books, etc in the garage. I don't know where they are going, but they aren't coming back in here!! It feels good to get rid of some of the old stuff that is broken &/or outgrown...but somehow it still seems like we have a LOT of stuff left!! We know lots of people who have babies or will be having more babies...and it's always good to donate too! The toy purge allowed me to clean my basement, and besides still needing to give the carpet a good steam-clean (the huge white remnant given to us free from my parents was awesome to have, but I'm thinking the play-room might need something darker soon!), I'm super happy with how it looks now. I disposed of the beans in the "bean table" and I'm hoping that takes care of the weird bug issue...these tiny fruit-fly-type bugs were falling from the ceiling, and they were definitely centered around the bean table. I'll be checking tomorrow to see if they've returned now that it's gone. My basement now looks like this...I might not let the kids come down there anytime soon :> Too bad I don't have a "before"!!

#3 Andy put some mud on Ethan's wall where the drywall came off after we took down this TV cord cover thing that we had in that room when it was the guest room. He needs to patch some additional spots around the new window & trim and then I'll paint. Since I'm getting new curtains for his room that won't tie in the purple that's on the wall in the closet, I'll have to paint that blue too. Another project on "the list"....but we're headed in the right direction.

#4 Andy steam-cleaned the carpet in the living room...I can't even tell you how much that needed to be done, and you would have felt as sick as me if you'd seen what was sucked out of there. Ugh. Gross. Blech. I feel like I need to bleach myself...I was wrestling on that carpet with D & Owen just this evening before their bedtime.

#5 The Christmas tree is in the house, as are some of our decorations. We're letting the tree branches settle (it was a great pick by Ethan and Andy!), so Ethan and I will decorate tomorrow...with some of our Frosty the Snowman sugar cookies in the oven...I can't wait.

#6 4 loads of laundry washed at our neighbors and dried at our house. I can't even tell you how awesome our neighbors are!!

Shamefully, I haven't posted any pictures of the kids recently....

Remind me to thank the people at Sonic for not neglecting any detail of a ship....Um, constructing this "build your own ship" took me about 30 minutes (Andy suggested that they might have outsourced to IKEA for this...ha!)...fending off "helpful" preschool fingers, and the "Are you done yet?"s...It broke about 10 times within the first 5 minutes, predictably...it's basically made out of paper...so now it's sitting on top of the toy shelf.

Waiting for Thanksgiving dinner...give us the grub! Dylan looks like he's salivating, but that's just the way he likes to sport his shirts.

Dylan says, "Give me some more cranberries and nobody gets hurt"

Ethan was so ready for a nap, and did not want to take this picture...I bribed him, and I'm not afraid to admit that.

After Thanksgiving special...after we recover from the tryptophan, everyone has lots of energy for tackling Mommy...don't be fooled by Owen...he may look innocent, but I think he just doesn't want to be caught on camera.

Those curls, those eyes...Dylan just kills me sometimes.

Owen...so beautiful...so pretty...."man-pretty" as Daddy would say.

Wrapping up November...

2009-11-28T07:24:00.002-06:00

I need a new blog header....who are these little babies!?

We have made it through our first week without a clothes washer. Have I blogged about that here? I know I've mentioned on Facebook. A little over a week ago, the washer stalled in the middle of a delicates cycle. 4 pretty expensive items, that I had a minor meltdown over until I just decided to pull them out of the washer and hand-wash, were ust sitting in soapy water overnight. We tried the reset, tried unplugging, etc. The set was from my parents as a housewarming gift when we first moved into this house. I have probably used them more than they were intended to be used!! We scurried out to Home Depot last Saturday as they were having an incredible appliance sale. We bought a Maytag Performance Series front-load washer and dryer with the pedastals....the catch is that they aren't being delivered until December 7th. We have the best neighbor in the world and she is letting us wash at her house (she has even done a few loads, dried, folded, and delivered...I'm brainstorming on "thank-you" gifts). The kids have all had colds and the "re-wear" thing doesn't really fly with the drool and the spit-up, so it's been kinda interesting. I believe we have about 3-4 loads to do over there today. Worse things could happen, but it's been inconvenient. Can't wait for Dec 7th!!
I felt like an official Mom a few nights ago. Ethan has had a really nasty cold and was coughing really hard one night. He kept asking for sips of water and milk, but for a boy who sleeps in underwear now, we didn't want to give him too much to drink before bedtime. I remembered the Vicks Vaporub that my Mom used to use. I rubbed some under his nose, and put some on his chest...he was out like a light. Could have been that it was 9pm by that time, but it made me feel like only Mom can make it better. I might have created a monster though, because there have been frequent requests for "that stuff" since then.
We had a great Thanksgiving, opting to stay in just the 5 of us. I really felt like we should have some semblance of a "normal" Thanksgiving dinner even though it'd really only be me, Andy and Ethan that would be eating it, primarily. Andy bought all the ingredients and did all the cooking. Does this happen in other households, or am I the luckiest person on Earth? He had some timing issues and was TOO hard on himself, but the food was great. D & Owen had most of the dishes too, and they loved it. I got to play with my kids and drink wine...watch a little football and take a 20-minute nap. A great day and I am truly thankful!
Ethan was funny while Daddy was cooking...he kept asking, "Are you making the Happy Thanksgiving Day lunch?" We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and he loved most of the music (who are all these teeny-boppers, am I old?) and the floats and balloons, of course.
On T-day, he was laying on the couch watching the parade, and I was at the edge of the kitchen and could hear him telling himself this little story, when he didn't know anyone was watching at first...."Once upon a time there was a tall, handsome boy named Ethan who lived in this house that I'm inside...Once upon a time there was a friendly Owen who lived in this house that I'm inside....Once upon a time there was a friendly Dylan who lived in this house that I'm inside...." the story continued to include "a handsome Daddy", and "a pretty Mommy" I just can't get over this one....it's too sweet.
Christmastime is upon us and Ethan is overly aware. Yesterday, Ethie, D, Owen and Daddy picked out a tree while I was at work. Today Ethan and I are going to make some cookies and start the decorating. Ethan got his picture with the Mall Santa last night. He looks kinda goofy, not really smiling, but it's better than 2 years ago (we missed last year because of all that was going on with D & Owen) when he screamed his little head off.
Ethan knows all about the "list for Santa" and it seems like every commercial he is saying he wants that toy and he will either state that he will put it on his list for Santa or ask one of the grandparents to buy it for him.
Yesterday I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, and he said, "More colored cruisers, a helicopter, an airplane, and a squirrel....oh, and a chipmunk" For real? I ordered a bunch of books for him from the book drive his preschool was having, am planning on buying Pinnochio because Daddy sometimes says "Jiminy Cricket, babies" and Ethan thinks it's funny, and am planning on getting some new curtains for his room. Not sure about the babies...I am so anti-more-toys right now, but want to do something!

Reflections, by Hilary

2009-11-23T20:34:00.003-06:00

I was working after dinner tonight (still not done!), so Andy put Ethan to bed for the second night in a row (working last night too!)...

About ten minutes later, he called for Daddy, but Daddy had already been upstairs once after bedtime...so I took my turn. E greeted me at his bedroom door and asked in the sweetest voice ever, "Mommy, would you like to have a little snuggle in the rocking chair with me?" Would I ever?!

Sitting there, squeezing my little (big!) boy to pieces, rocking him in the plush green chair that I used to rock with him in his baby room...I was euphorically happy.

I think about Deb a lot. I think about the crazy moments of each evening, I think about the serene moments like the ones spent with Ethan in his rocking chair tonight...and all the moments she will never have with her baby girl.

It puts it all in perspective for me. I am stressed and overwhelmed, and I think that's still legit, but every day, whether it be good, bad or ugly, is one that I'm sure she would love to have.

There will never be another moment when I'm asked to share a "little snuggle" where I sit in that chair with him and think about all the work awaiting me back at my laptop (like I may have done a few times before 2 weeks ago)....never....because those moments are so priceless, and I'm thankful for every one of them.

And since that was really heavy....I feel I should share the conversation between me and my little Angel as I was tucking him post-"little snuggle"...

I told Ethan that he should try to sleep well, because good rest, good food and lots of liquids are what help us feel better when we are sick (colds in our house!...but only the kids so far). So he asked about the shot with medicine and asked if that helped get the yucky stuff out (he got the first round of H1N1 last week...which I decided to refer to as a "little pinch of medicine" instead of a shot, but he's on to me now)...and I said that the shot was for really yucky stuff, but there wasn't much we could do for a cold except to rest, and eat and drink well. He listed off his favorite juices that he would drink lots of to help him feel better. And I mentioned some healthy foods that he could eat as well. Then he threw in a random observation, "And suckers are really tasty?"....Um, sure.

So, I tucked him in and said I love you as I was closing the door so it was open just a crack. He replied, "I love you too. Thanks for talking about healthy food with me". Oh my gosh, this kid is just too funny. Love him.

Bullet points to catch up!

2009-11-17T20:04:00.003-06:00

When blog posts have this much lag between them, it's time for bullets...

Ethanisms:

Random thought..."Inside my head, I have a brain"
Wrapped up in a blanket...upon exiting, "I was in an egg and I cracked out"
Talking about D & Owen's upcoming 1st birthday (OMG, did I just write that?!), "They were in your tummy and they came out because just like me they didn't like it in there because there's GOO in there!" Emphasis on the "goo"...
Mommy to Ethan, "Ethan, you are cute as a button"...Ethan to Mommy, "Mommy, I'm your button"
While doing my hair yesterday, Ethan was watching me and declared, "Mommy, you are the prettiest lady that I ever seen in the whole wide world"...who taught him this and how much do I owe you?

Now for the rest of the bullets:

Dylan has started clapping! For awhile now he's been doing this thing with his hands like he's brushing something off of them, but he's definitely officially clapping now. It's so cute! He has also said both "Mama" and "Dada"...and today, Gramma Leslie and I could have sworn we both heard him say, "Bye bye, Gramma"...or at least he was trying!
Owen is a maniac with the "real" food. Yesterday I made them a grilled cheese for dinner, gave them each half cut up in little pieces. Now...Owen has just two teeth, on the bottom, although the top two look like they are just about to pop. Dylan has 6! Two on bottom and 4 on top, although the pointies are just starting to really come out so they might not totally count as useful with eating. Owen had his half of the grilled cheese down in like 2 minutes. We'll have to teach him how to pace, as stuffing handfuls of grilled cheese in your mouth is a. not safe, and b. not such a hit with the ladies. Dylan had a tougher time with it...although he does just fine with the other "real" foods we are giving them such as sliced deli meats, crackers, breads, little pieces of cheese, tiny tiny little cut-up grapes.
Dec 8th is the big 1st birthday. They become official toddlers. What the...? This year was hard, no doubt, but where the hell did it go?! It went SO fast! I haven't planned a party...and frankly, not sure if I'm going to. I mean, seriously, they don't know what's going on, it's stressful for me (and Andy?), it's nearly impossibly to find a window of time for a party with their nap/bedtime schedule, and we don't need any more toys in this house. But you've got to do the first cake pictures...so maybe Ethan and I will make cupcakes, because he loves to do that...and we'll do the honorary "go crazy and get messy" pictures!
Andy and I just returned from 4 days in Vegas on Sunday. We planned this trip early in the year, somehow predicting that we might just need a vacation near the end of 2009. We were right and it was impecably timed. Work has been crazy busy for both of us...and, I can only speak for myself, but I was ready to crack for sure. We had a good time...walked the Strip, had some great dinners (Delmonico and CUT...OMG, CUT is the best ever!!), Andy played craps and a bit of blackjack switch, hung out with Skipp and Liz who were also in town over the weekend, stayed up too late, took a couple naps, laid in bed later than 6:30am (though neither of us is capable of actually sleeping past 7am anymore, regardless of staying up until 3am), I took a Stripper 101 class for fun with Liz, and Andy and I saw the best fight ever LIVE on Saturday night (although we bet on Cotto and he didn't win, it was still incredible to be there!). All in all, a nice time away...no hangies and Spillary did not appear, rare for a Vegas trip...but it was just what we needed.
Probably one of the reasons I was relatively mellow in Vegas is that I got some terrible news just as we were about to board the plane on Thursday morning. My boss called me and they had just been told that my co-worker, and friend, Deb, had died during childbirth. She was due on Monday the 9th and induced that day, her daughter was born on the 10th and Deb died on the 11th...something went wrong, still not clear on the details...but we went to the memorial service last night and did learn that she got to meet her daughter, and there was a lovely, albeit heartbreaking, picture of the two of them together. I am lucky that in my nearly-30 years I haven't had to mourn a lot at all...and I just don't know how to do it very well. I keep replaying conversations we had and it seems like just yesterday...Tomorrow will be my first day back in the office since learning about her passing, as I worked from home today as part of my usual Tues/Thurs schedule. I am dreading tomorrow. I'm her "out of office" for her "maternity leave" and am getting all sorts of emails despite the news being sent out to most people at work. Each time I get one of these emails, I start crying all over again. If only I'd known that her last day in the office on Oct 30 would be the last day I would ever see her.... Tomorrow I'll sit across the aisle from her empty cube.

Sorry to end on that note...but it seemed better to close with depressing news than to start with it and continue on with my analysis of Owen's eating skills, and recollections of Ethan's wit.

Guest blogger: King of the castle, master of his domain

2009-11-02T20:03:00.008-06:00

Hello world, it's Zookeeper A. You knew they couldn't keep me down forever.

It has been a while since I made an appearance here. Let's be more specific........I wrote the inaugural entry into this thing you people read, and this is #3. I truly am a model of consistency.

So what's new 'round here? Plenty.

First, the star attraction(s). The terrible twosome continue to enhance their skills. They already had bow-staff skills and num-chuck skills, but now they can both feed themselves their bottles. If you have survived having twins yourself, I know hearing that probably takes you to a happy place. For those of you who were never traumatized, take my word that this is sweet relief.

The critters also ventured out to a festive gathering at our neighbor's house on Saturday ever so briefly. It seems that a crowded house and a well developed pelt may lead to overheating. Who knew?

Now the big boy. You all know that E has lots of skills. The girls won't stand a chance with this one, especially now that he has Trick or Treating skills. That's not to say that everything was easy here. Like I said, we went to a neighborhood gathering next door. E is super comfortable there. He would happily spend whole days there "helping" neighbor J water the flowers and running around her yard with the local cubs. Halloween appeared to be a different case. The mommy/daddy cling was in full effect and efforts to separate were met with screaming Spidey. We survived long enough for him to realize these were just our friends and everything was fine.

Trick or Treating was explained many times. Many discussions of the process and procedures. I don't think 2+2 equaled 4 until the first time the kids gingerly approached a door and propositioned a friendly neighbor. Then, euphoria. Wait....Daddy...she gave us candy! Time to run full sprint to the next house. Lather, rinse, repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

The craziest part? They didn't even really seem that interested in eating the candy. The thrill of the hunt.

We have lives too, although they are not nearly as dynamic and evolving as our pack. I did however take a new job recently, so the busy life has become busier. But, about a year ago we tagged 2009 as being "The year of survival". If this is surviving, thriving is going to be pretty fantastic.

Pumpkins and Elephants

2009-10-27T18:25:00.005-05:00

Because it's so hard to find the time to blog...two blogs turn into one.
Next on tap: Ethan's pumpkin train ride. Stay tuned...

First up: Ethan and his elephants. His "guys" as he calls them.
Left to right is Horton, Africa (originally named by Ethan), Ernie (originally named by Andy), & the big man himself.

Next up: Last Sunday's project...buying and carving the pumpkins. We bought 5 mini pumpkins from Byerly's since the past couple weekends were either too cold or too busy for a trip to the apple orchard, which is where we typically pick our pumpkins. Our 6th pumpkin was the pumpkin that Ethan selected on his pumpkin train ride a few weekends ago. It was the biggest, and the best for carving out Ellie the cat.

I decided to just do the first letter of each of our names on each pumpkin...5 carving-size pumpkins would probably take up our entire front steps! In a few years I'm sure that Andy and I will forfeit our pumpkins so that the boys can have bigger ones to carve faces in...but until then, I think these turned out pretty cute. I only cut myself two or three times with the utility knife to cut the skins off the pumpkin and make our letters, so I'm calling it a success! Thankfully, Andy is a remarkable carver and he did Ellie cat and the slits in the letters so oxygen could get in to the candles.

Check it out! Mommy is in a picture!!

Ethan: Halloween preview

2009-10-25T15:38:00.003-05:00

Spiderman, Spiderman. Does whatever a spider can.

I love the built-in muscles!!

Ethan has a fall party at preschool this Thursday and all the kids can wear their costumes...without masks. Actually, I'm surprised we got him to wear the mask at all when we did our practice run last night!

This year will be Ethan's first year of trick or treating!! Our neighbors are having everyone over on Halloween at 5pm. Not sure if Andy or I will accompany the trick or treating group, but one of us will do that, and the other will put D & Owen to bed (at least we will have an hour prior to bedtime at the party so they can wear their costumes....monkey and lion) and hand out candy. I'm thinking about dressing up. One of our friends from college used to have a Halloween party each year...and even though I don't drink wine out of a bag anymore (from within the box!), I really miss dressing up!

First haircuts!

2009-10-19T20:03:00.027-05:00

Owen and Dylan were getting a little hairy.

All my babies were born with lots of hair...just like their Mommy.

I've got quite the volume in this picture. And um, could my Mom get any more gorgeous?! Wow!

Ethan on Day 2

Dylan & Owen at 3 weeks

But then they began to get male infantile baldness worthy of Nelson's Baby Toupe es around 4 months old...so we shaved them.

Ethan pre-shave

Dylan & Owen pre-shave...Owen is rocking a serious receding hairline in this pic!

Ethan cleanly buzzed. And OMG, look at those rosy red cheeks! I want to pinch you!

Owen and Dylan no longer looking ridiculous...and pretty cute in their little buzz-cuts!

Before long, their hair began to grow back to stay and I was loving running my fingers through Owen's thick dark hair, and playing with the little curls that grew above Dylan's ears. But recently, it began to get less cute and stylin' and more unkempt and shaggy. We're big fans of the home haircut (not for me, but for the boys, sure!), but Andy wasn't sure he could trim the bottom while keeping some of the length on the top and not make it look like a reverse mullet, so we opted for the Kid's Hair "salon".

I made appointments for this past Saturday morning. We had lots of things we wanted to accomplish that day, so Andy suggested we divide and conquer. I quickly called "not it" on the haircuts. Let's face it, Andy's braver than me with taking the kids anywhere on his own...so he didn't have any issues with it and quickly offered to draw the short straw and take D & Owen in for their first haircuts on his own. He even brought a camera...and took pictures...and got their first haircut certificates and "hairs". I'm a lucky lady, I know.

So, with no more ado....

Before:Mr Owen

Dylan and his tongue

During:

Owen looks a little red-faced so I suspect there might have been tears, but he looks like he likes getting his hair "did" here!

Apparently Dylan did not want to part with his curly locks....neither did I. Thankfully, they'll grow back!

And....After:

Owen's hair is no longer obstructing his vision...hurray!

And Dylan is looking SO much like his big brother, Ethan. What is with that pointy tongue?! Always sticking out!

They look so old to me now...real BIG boy haircuts!! They were a success. And turned out much better than Ethan's first official haircut.

Lloyd Christmas, anybody? Lesson learned. Spend the extra cash on the kids' hair "salon" instead of choosing the nearby women's salon that specializes in blue hair dye, if you catch my drift.

You know you've really arrived when...

2009-10-17T17:15:00.002-05:00

you start covering your furniture in vinyl....

I purchased toddler booster seats for Dylan and Owen last night. A few years ago when we bought this dining room set with off-white fabric on the chairs, I wasn't thinking about how dirty it would get when we had kids. So I found these sweet chair seat protectors at Bed Bath & Beyond this morning. And now it smells like shower curtain in my dining room...but it's worth the ease in clean up! Red sauce, here they come!

The house already looks more spacious without those two gigantic highchairs blocking our natural light from the picture window.

Dylan says, "Hey, what's on your tray?"

Oh fun...they can see out the window from their chairs...meals with a view!

I'm loving these little green trays...they snap right off and they both fit in the drying rack at the same time...with other items too! The highchair trays were bulky and odd-shaped and were a serious pain to clean...which is why I left them dirty so much. Hey, a Cheerio from today is just as good tomorrow!

**Look at those haircuts!! Will post before and after pics soon.

Rollin'

2009-10-16T20:45:00.001-05:00

This picture cracks me up....

10 months

2009-10-13T18:39:00.011-05:00

Ethan & Owen

Dylan on the move. Next time I'll set the camera to the setting for sports or something...he is FAST! He reminds me of somebody else when they were 10 months old....oh, tear.

ROAR!!!

Owen is as sweet as a lamb, and roars like a lion.

I meant to post last week...on Thursday...but you know, time gets away from me.

Last Thursday, my BABIES were 10 months old. Suddenly, their babyhood is slipping away from me, and fast. Officially, they aren't toddlers until 12 months, but it doesn't feel like there are any babies in this house anymore. We have boys....toddler (and preschool!) boys!! Some things get easier as they grow up, and I appreciate that, but all of sudden their first year is going WAY too fast for me. Earlier in the year, it was all, "I can't wait until x month because then they'll probably sleep through the night", "I can't wait until x month because then they will smile and laugh", "I can't wait until x month because then they will be able to play with Ethan"...and now I'm trying to flashback to those middle-of-the-night feedings because then they were so little and it was just me and them, in the quiet, snuggling over a bottle in the middle of the night...and I miss it.

Don't get me wrong though, I LOVE this stage. I love the giggles, the hugs, the absolute amazement in their expressions when they discover something new.

Dylan is a cruising crawler. He has been pulling himself up for awhile too, and every so often, he'll free stand. I'm sure he'll walk before his first birthday, if not yet this month. He is super physical, wants to climb up everything, pull on everything...he has super-human strength...for a 10-month old.

Owen is still army-crawling, but he's incredibly fast...like a snake, really. He's so limber and graceful. He gives the best hugs. He's comfortable doing his own thing when his brothers are demanding more attention...but then he'll slither his way over to you and pull himself up and give you the biggest hug...he's too sweet.

Both of them are SO vocal. Yelling, singing, babbling...and Owen roars...it's awesome, and fitting because he's going to be a lion for Halloween. Dylan is going to be a monkey.

Ethan is enjoying preschool and got his school pictures back today. Gramma Leslie and I were skeptical that they would turn out well. Not that Ethan isn't incredible handsome, but when asked to smile for a picture, he gets kinda goofy. I thought we'd get some crazy smirk, but the pictures were just wonderful! He's even smiling in the class picture. Just as Gramma and I were admiring the pictures and I commented on how I was going to keep all 10 pages for the $70, Ethan spilled on them. Gramma kept me very calm, and we dabbed them off and let them dry flat and I think they are saved!

Ethan: belated 3-year check-up update

2009-09-28T20:31:00.013-05:00

Love that green frosting on the birthday cupcakes!

Enough about me...back to the kids!

Ethan had his 3-year check-up last Thursday. Just as I'm writing this, I'm realizing that I don't have any percentiles to post...oh no! Maybe at this point, they don't check kids on the percentile chart...who knows. They were never given, and I forgot to ask. But, he's tall. Tall, tall, tall. Lots of people assumed he was turning 4 at his last birthday.

39 3/4 inches and 34.8 lbs. They no longer measure head circumference...bummer...that's always a fun one for the Sandberg kids and their big heads. Dr Paul did said that after a certain point in development, they expect BMI to go down, and his is. Not like I was worried or anything...Ethan is a healthy boy, but he is a bean-pole...tall and lean!

There wasn't much to the appointment. However, it was noteworthy to me, just the difference between taking Ethan to the pediatrician last week, and taking Dylan and Owen with Liz the week before. With Ethan, I snatched him up early from preschool and we headed to the clinic. No diaper bag (though I probably could have had the foresight to bring a snack!), no stroller, no planning around a nap or meal...a fantastic difference. I need to reiterate that I am NEVER wishing away these baby days, but some things get easier over time.

When we were called in, I talked to the Nurse while Ethan went with another Nurse to get his hearing and eyesight tested. Ethan was unsure about going with the other Nurse at first which reminded me that I need to be a better Mommy and have the "don't go with strangers" talk...Ethan is so capable of communicating and understanding, that I/we really should have had this talk with him awhile ago. Anyways, I assured him that he would be brought right back to me after a short trip with the Nurse, and he was. He got undressed and into a robe (that was new!) and then Dr Paul came in to talk with us.

I think I might have pushed him over the edge with my "What do you think about the Flu?" questions, but hey, I have a right to ask. Children's Clinic is like the only place on Earth that doesn't have the seasonal flu shot available yet. I'm so annoyed. If any place should get them, it should be the freakin' hospital for kids! But he told me that they don't have as much buying power as say Walgreens or Cub, and that makes me sad.

Ethan was shy during the exam, so when Dr Paul asked me if he could talk in sentences I tried my best to explain just how off the charts he is...but you know, every Mom thinks their kid is amazing.

Since they didn't have the flu shot, he only had one shot to get. He had to lay down on the table and we held hands...the Nurse didn't say when she was going to give him the shot and so he was surprised. He cried, hard, and gave me a look like I had betrayed him before he threw himself into my arms for a hug. He kinda milked it by limping around on our way out of the exam room...but it worked, I'm a softy. Now he talks about the shot like it was no big deal..."Just like a little pinch" he says.

Each visit comes with the pamphlet of what your child might be doing at this age. Let's recap:

Nutrition:

Your 3-year-old can sit nicely at the table. Yes, but only when someone else ISN'T trying to talk.
Eating and drinking aren't quite the mess they used to be. No, but just tonight Ethan stuck his hands in his milk glass...why? Just to see what would happen.
You may also find your child prefers the same foods day after day. After day after day after day. Peanut butter and jelly (both grape and strawberry!) in "triambles" for breakfast, lunch and dinner...if we'd let him

Toileting:

Around age 3, children may be able to tell you when they need to go to the bathroom. Ethan has been able to tell us since early Summer...but now he takes it to a whole new level of telling us..."no pee or poop is coming out of my pee-pee or butt"...I'm sure that his preschool teachers don't find this very amusing. We're working on when "bathroom talk" is not appropriate. Work in progress.

Sleeping:

Toddlers are usually sleeping 10 to 12 hours at night. Yea! Ethan is very good about sleeping at night. Every so often he'll come into our bed in the middle of the night claiming bad dreams...we remind him most nights at bedtime that he should stay in his own bed until morning-time, but really, I don't mind the snuggles.
Many 3 year olds stop napping in the afternoon. Sweet Jebus, NO!!! Daddy, Gramma Leslie, and Liz would join me in this protest. Granted, some days his nap is very short...like an hour. But you can tell that naptime was short for the rest of the day. He NEEDS it. It's not a battle anymore, he doesn't protest it...let's let this happen for awhile longer!

Growth & Development:
At 3 years, children may:

ride a tricycle
draw shapes and use crayons
be curious about body parts
know their full name and age
have imaginary friends
use sentences
learn to use pronouns
brush their teeth
have more bladder control
follow instructions and make a game out of daily routines and tasks
be ready for preschool

Looks like we're right on track...and then some!

He never fails to amaze me, this one!

Ethan gems & Hilly's big day

2009-09-27T20:02:00.006-05:00

My niece Linnea supported me with this cool onesie! Thanks, Linnie!

Ethan cared more about his crackers, but I'm pretty sure he was proud of me in this picture...right after my finish.

Rounding the corner into the home-stretch. I was not a happy camper here (in pink), but then this lady yelled and me and so I kept going!

Oh, Ethan...you make me laugh, sweet boy.

Ethan collects stuffed elephants...before you know it, he will have a whole brigade, like in the Jungle Book. Ernie was the first. Then he received Horton as a birthday gift. And we recently found a blue elephant in the twins' room in their toy bin. For awhile he was known as "Blue Elephant" until I asked Ethan one morning if he wanted to name him. He said, "Yes, his name is Africa"...I thought he said "Apricot"...and when I said that, he firmly told me, "He's not an apricot Mommy, he's Africa!"

Also during this conversation on elephants, he told me, "Horton gives a hoot"...and while I'm sure he does, I think he also "hears a who" as the story goes.

This morning, I was out...doing something...which I will recap below. While I was gone, Auntie Emma came over with Linnea to help Andy with the boys (because we had predicted, and we're ultimately correct, that he might have a hangy after a wedding that we went to Saturday night).

Emma recorded some good ones...

Em: "Your brudders are looking at you, Ethan"
Ethie: "They want to eat me for breakfast!"

Em: "Mommy's going to be running and biking as fast as she can. Doesn't that sound exciting?"
Ethie: "Really, really exciting! I'm going to bring my glove...to catch a ball."

So, aforementioned above...I did something today that I never really thought I was capable of doing. But last June, I was ambitious enough one day to register myself for a race in the end of September. "Hey, it's June 1, I have plenty of time to train for a dualthon in the end of September!"...uh huh, right.

Anyways, I registered for Aflac's Iron Girl in Bloomington...a 2-mile run, 22-mile bike, 2-mile run (the bike route was changed last week to 19-miles, all hills, which I am very bitter about for a multitude of reasons, one being the amount of training I did on the original route) as my "get your ass in gear" motivation to get in shape after having babies, and after a number of years of being....well, just lazy.

I trained, though not as much as I would have liked, but I did train. I ran when I could, I did some long bike rides with Kristy and by myself (on the original course...ugh!!), and started to feel good. The previous times that I have tried to get in shape have bombed. I'd work out regularly for like 2 weeks, get frustrated that the workouts were still kicking my butt, and I wasn't seeing any results...and quit. I got to that stage this time too, but you can't quit when you've spent $95 registering for a race, made a promise to yourself to complete said race, and told everyone on God's green Earth that you are participating in said race. So I plugged forward...and how about that?! When you actually keep going with the workouts, they actually do get easier, and you actually can fit into your pre-pregnancy pants (comfortably, even while sitting! :>)

Recently, I've had a ton of axiety about the race, and the training sessions began to get less fun and I began to get more bitter about the fact that I had put myself in this position...I was afraid. But damnit, there was no way I was going to bail out on this...I would have never been able to live with myself. I had to do it for me.

We went to a wedding last night and I would have loved to have stayed past 9:30, but I didn't. I let myself indulge in a couple glasses of wine, and drank a lot of water too...and then headed home. Slept like crap, got up at 5:15, left the house at 5:30 to bike to Normandale Lake to set up in transition. The energy was amazing...even at 5:30am, in the cold of a MN late September morning. I was there solo, and felt like the only one who was, but found lots of people to chat with...which helped keep my nerves at bay. But next time, I am definitely roping a friend into doing this with me!!

I was in the first wave. I felt great during the first 2-mile run. I don't run fast, so I had a 9-minute split. Then on to the bike...hurray...the part I feel confident about! Those who know the Bloomington area will appreciate this whining...when the bike route changed from 22 to 19 miles (because of construction on Normandale Blvd), the new route changed to start going up the hill on E Bush Lk Rd (by Chalet Rd & 84th) instead of finishing going down it. I made it up without getting off my bike the first time through the route (it's two cycles), but the second time, after 10 miles of hills the first time around, I had to get off and walk it up for a few feet...it was brutal. But the rest of the ride went great. A few raindrops and some nasty wind (which never seemed to be at my back!), but for the most part, it went well. I finished in 1:27. Just like with the first (and second) run, there's room for improvement here...I know I can go faster next time...I just need more training.

I practiced the transition from bike to run once...last Wednesday. And I didn't bike 19 miles before running. I really underestimated how my legs would feel after the bike. Tree trunks comes to mind. I jog/walked the first 1/2 mile...then I saw Ethan and Andy...what a great surprise!! And just when I needed them!! I ran until about the 1 1/2 mile mark, walked for a bit and finished strong, but it took me 24 minutes to do the last run. So, in total, with the transition times, I made it in 2:17:27. For a first time, I'm REALLY happy with that!

I'm so glad it's over, but at the same time, am totally pumped to do something like this again! This post-race high is absolutely amazing!! And now I can call myself an Iron Girl...and that's pretty cool too.

They say it's your birthday...

2009-09-21T21:06:00.013-05:00

Is there ever a point in time when a Mom stops reflecting about their child's birth on their birthday?! During the past week I have reflected so much on where I was/what I was doing/what he was doing, just 3 years ago. On the 15th...the day I went into labor for the first time; on the 18th...the one and only day of official bedrest (since I worked on day 2 and day 3); on the 20th...the day my water broke and I went into labor again, for real this time; on the 21st...the day my beautiful first son was born and whisked away to the NICU. It was a whirlwind and yet I can remember so much of it (despite the adrenaline and drugs!)

At 5:03 today I happened to notice the clock and I yelped, "It's 5:03, Ethan...it's 5:03!!!" And he looked at me like I was nuts. I explained that at this very minute, 3 years ago, he was born. It was official, he was now exactly 3 years old! Yeah, yeah, Mom...let's go have another cupcake.

Ethan is such a big boy. He started preschool this past Thursday after we found out that the nearby church accepts kids at 33 months by Sept 1st if they are potty-trained. I had been thinking that he'd have to be 3 by Sept 1st, but one of his ECFE friends' moms told Gramma Leslie that wasn't the case...and lucky for us, the preschool had a spot open. He is so ready and loved his first day. I was working from home last Thursday and so I got to take him in for his first day. Class is Tuesday and Thursday from 9-11:30. 2.5 hours felt like a long time...to me. He seems to really like it!! They are going to celebrate his birthday tomorrow so he had a "homework" assignment....a worksheet to fill out all about Ethan. He helped me with all the questions and I printed/cut/pasted the pictures. We're quite proud! He also gets to bring two items in the "sharing bag" that was sent home with him last Thursday. He'll be able to talk about his items to the class and tell them why they are important to him. Parents are invited. I'm hoping he won't be too shy. We've practiced. Tomorrow is also picture day!! It's so real...this is "real" school....homework, picture day...my baby is growing up!

If Mommy doesn't plan a party, there will be no party...note to self for next year (or...note to Daddy! :> hint, hint, wink). So this year's celebration was small in group size...me, Daddy and Ethan...but we had a great time! Last night we went to the Mall of America and went on a few rides. Then we got dinner at Ethan's requested restaurant..."the place where Gramma Leslie gets soup bread"...which happens to be Tucchi Bennuch, so that works great for us too! Then we headed home and opened some presents. Ethan and I had made cupcakes earlier in the day, and Daddy decorated some of them with green frosting and "big red balls" like Ethan had requested. We sang "Happy Birthday" and Ethan ate the frosting off his cupcake. My cousin, Teresa, had been babysitting Dylan and Owen while we were out so she had cupcakes and sang with us and we had a little mini party. It was fun!

This morning the birthday boy had more presents to open. Mommy went to work and didn't cry all day...Go Mommy! Mommy did cry around 5:03 though...Ethan was already looking at me like I was crazy, and so I just let the tears out....whatever. I'm starting to embrace the fact that I'm sounding more and more like my own parents. I used to roll my eyes when they'd talk about time going by so fast and me and my sister growing up. You know what?!...it's so true! As Dylan and Owen are developing and doing more and more "kid" things...I remember so much of Ethan at that time...and it was so long ago, and just like yesterday at the same time, and I just try to remind myself to hang on to every minute...minutes with them that I just don't have enough of. And now I'm sad.

Happy Birthday to the not-so-little-anymore amazing boy that made me a Mommy!!

9-month well-baby

2009-09-18T19:11:00.001-05:00

Dylan and Owen in the tub like big boys...no more bath-insert!! One more baby thing to get rid of (or, um, toss in the garage with the rest of the stuff!)!

I think in my last post I declared that the next post would be all about Ethan...crap. Well, Ethan started preschool yesterday, and frankly, I am just not ready to write about it yet. He's such a big boy...and he turns 3 on Monday! Too much for me in one week.

Andy was out of town for work Monday through Wednesday, and Dylan and Owen's 9-month well-baby check was on Wednesday. One should never attempt to take twins to the pediatrician on one's own...I did so around 4 months and was clearly insane...though I survived. Thankfully, Leslie and Ethan had their ECFE class during the time of the appointment, and they were able to take Linnea, so Liz was able to come with me. Thank God!! I scheduled this appointment way back in the day when they were taking 8/8:30 am naps versus the current naptime of around 9/10am...and the appointment was at 10am. On Wednesday they decided to get up at 7am, which is typically a good thing, but not when you have an appointment at 10am, and they eat every 3 hours. So....

We drove hungry, tired babies to the appointment and they did just fine. The nurse called us in, we got them undressed, weighed and measured and then did a power-feed in the stroller. I love how we have all come up with our own lingo this past 9-months...there's the "double-feed" (which expired a few months ago) and the "power-feed" (a new favorite). The "power-feed" entailed two babies strapped into the double stroller (to supplement for the lack of high-chair)...Liz and I fed the babies half of a jar of food and then swapped jars. Yes...sometimes we feed them out of the jars and with the same spoon....let's face it...if one gets sick, we all get sick. Your germs are my germs, vice versa...unless you have the flu...keep it to yourself! And get your flu shot/mist before you touch my kids!

So...the stats....throw out your guesses....

Seriously...guess....

Write it down...don't cheat...

Ok....

Dylan is 21lbs 4oz...60th percentile unadjusted (that's birthdate, not adjusted for prematurity)

His height is 28.7 in which is also 60th percentile...and the noggin...well, the Sandberg head proves true in this one as well....90th percentile.

Owen maintains his 3lb variance at a lean and beautiful 18lbs 9oz, which is the 20th percentile unadjusted. His height was measured incorrectly the first time and the new measurement was not written down, but the percentile was 25th...so, very proportional. And his head...his head is like his brothers'...90th percentile.

They really don't look like they have big heads...or maybe I'm just used to it?!

No shots this time...no immunizations at 9 months, and Children's Hospital doesn't get their flu vaccines until Oct 1 (a serious pain in the ass since Walgreens and Cub won't shoot up kids this young...not even Ethan!). But they had to have their blood tested for something (I was paying attention, I swear...maybe iron or hemoglobin?) so we went down to the lab. Dylan didn't like being restrained, but didn't even flinch when the technician stuck the needle in his arm and took blood. Owen was less pleased. Later that night I gave them a bath and took off their band-aids and Owen had a big bruise/red-mark on his arm where the needle was (he was also very crabby the next day) so I think he just must have narrow veins and it bothered him more....poor kid. No word yet on the results, and I was told if we didn't hear from them that was a good thing.

Dylan crashed out in the car about 2 minutes before we got home (at noon!), and Liz and I made the transfer to the cribs for naps and then took a breath. Wowsers...I can't imagine if I would have had to do that on my own....Thanks, Liz!!

Dr Paul has twin boys too...a couple months younger than ours. At one point during the appointment he looked and me and said, "You know how lucky you are, right?"...I do.

9 months!

2009-09-08T07:36:00.007-05:00

In Ethan's "car"...
Ethan, Dylan, Owen

Owen & D...you can see Dylan's teeth

Dylan making his great escape...if it weren't for that head....he'd have made it! Yikes!

I can't keep up with this blogging thing...or anything else for that matter...here are some recent
Ethanisms/updates...

"Mommy, it's really hard for me to wait for my birthday to come to my house. Then we can eat cake with big red balls on it. Emily and Lauren will be there...Cec & Chris will be there. And some other people will be at my birthday too." The same type of sentence was used prior to our trip to Louisville..."Mommy, it's really hard for me to wait for the airplane to come to my house and take us to Louisville to see Gramma Nana and Grampa Dode"

E: "Did I come to you?"
H: "You did, you came to me the day you were born. You were in my tummy, and then you came out"
E: "Did I not like it in your tummy?"
Guessing from his 8-week early arrival, I'm guessing he did not like it in my tummy...so sad.

Playing "car" with the play-tent...
"Cooperate, Dylan!"
"I have one bad thing in my car and it's Dylan"
"Dylan is making his way out of the car. Go back in, Dylan"
Poor Dylan...he really got picked on this day. While Ethan is typically very lovey with his baby brothers, I think this is a glimpse of days to come...

"Is that potty automatic?"...Wow. At he airport this past weekend, he was fascinated with everything that is automatic...sinks, hand-dryers, potties...though most of it either doesn't work, or is too overactive!

While on a walk...
Gramma Leslie: "Ethan, can you talk to Linnea?"
Ethan: "Hi Linnea, what's your deal?"

Also on a walk...
Liz: "Ethan, I think you should push and I should ride in the stroller"
Ethan: "Um, Liz, you are not funny"

After watching the "Arthur" episode where they go visit Francine's dad's job in the dump, I asked Ethan if he knew what his Mommy and Daddy's jobs were. I asked "What does Daddy do?" and Ethan said, "My Daddy grinds up coffee" Ha!

*****

Dylan and Owen are 9 months today. Wow! I can't believe it. They are so interactive and involved with all of us now. They love to look at each other and laugh and smile...and oh my gosh, do they love their older brother!!

Dylan is crawling really well now and has two teeth. Owen is up and rocking, but still content to roll to his destination. He just popped his first tooth while Ethan and I were out of town this past weekend in Louisville. There are now two on the bottom!

There's been some effort to hold his own bottle by Owen...we're practicing with sippy cups with handles, and they can more or less use the 6-oz bottles when they aren't filled all the way up...I think the issue is more the weight than the ability to hold it and bring it to their mouths. That will be an exciting day!

They are doing this little tongue-clicking thing lately...if I do it, they will mimic me and they think it is hilarious. Little bushmen in practice.

We've demoted the exersaucer and jumparoo to the garage. We have 3 walkers on the main floor of the house, and Andy just washed off the playpen gates this morning from their storage spot in the shed. Once those are clean, we'll be able to block off the living room which is completely child-proof, from the kitchen and dining room, which are also child-proof but just a little more prone to trouble. Dylan recently slid himself through the bottom of the baby gate to the stairs leading downstairs, and was only stopped by his large melon. It happened so quick...one second he was in the middle of the living room and the next second....?....there he was...wedged into the gate.

We need to dig the crib-tent out of storage as well, and hopefully find another one on craigslist so we don't have to fork over $70 for another one for the second crib...Owen is getting his legs stuck through the slats pretty much every time he's in there...despite the mesh-bumper. I think he's waking up prematurely because of it, and we need all the sleep we can get!

D & Owen are eating all sorts of combinations of food now...chicken and veggie puree, pasta puree, etc...but I've given up on making my own. Time is at a premium, and I have none. Seriously, there is not enough time for everything I need or want to do...such is life. But when there is time to do anything, I don't want to be in the kitchen cooking and pureeing. So, we're paying the price for organic jarred baby foods. Now that the babies are popping teeth, hopefully we can move on to some "real" foods soon.

*****

Next post will be devoted to Ethan and all of his amazing-ness!

Pics from yesterday

2009-08-22T13:09:00.004-05:00

New blog header!

Ethan got the suitcase/backpack I ordered for him from Amazon...it's an early birthday present from us...he's been practicing packing for our Labor Day trip to Louisville. Can you guess what item he has packed? (Clue: There are MANY of this item in his backpack...and a certain basket is empty!)

Dylan has two teeth...it's so fun to see his toothy grin. Once they break the surface, they come up so fast. It's fun to check them out each morning.

Owen...oh, Owen. How did you get so beautiful? Owen is sitting up like a champ, and has been pushing his butt up in the air and getting his knees up underneath him while laying on his tummy...it won't be long before he's army-crawling/crawling like big D.

A few Ethanisms

2009-08-19T19:39:00.003-05:00

Just a quick note...

Dylan is just getting his first tooth...teeth, that is. He's got 2 just about to break through on the bottom. Poor dude. Although he doesn't seem to mind. He's been drooling for months, but Owen's been the cranky one during the night...I would have expected him first. Maybe it's Dylan drive for REAL food that prompted this!

So, there's all sorts of Ethanisms all the time now. Too many to write down. We write them down when we remember, but I may just give up pretty soon here...

A few nights ago we were having dinner and two of our neighbors walked by....neighbors who we didn't know. They were walking by and Ethan asked, "Who are those people walking?"...I said, "Those are our neighbors"...he asked their names and I said I didn't know. So, he said, "We should name them 'Sayso' and 'Gogo'" Well, that just about made me pee my pants. It sounds remarkably like things that Mommy says.

One morning, Ethan was laying in bed with us while we fed the babies. Andy took Dylan and Owen downstairs and it was just me and E....he said, "Now I'm going to go downstairs and say 'Woo hoo!'" Then he proceeded to tell Gramma when she came over, Liz when she came over, and several other people over the phone. When he gets a laugh after saying something he knows he's got a winner and sticks with it!

I was telling Ethan about something (can't remember what) and then told him to go tell Gramma what he learned. He ran across the room and said, "Gramma, I've landed"

Liz asked Ethan if he had to go to the potty and he said no. She asked, "Are you sure?" and he replied, "No, I am not sure about that"...we are asking him if he's sure about a lot of things, and he typically replies that he is NOT sure, so I'm not sure that he knows what that word is all about!

Gramma took the boys to her house one day and thought she'd try getting Ethan to nap there. After an unsuccessful attempt at sleeping in his bed there, Gramma asked, "Ethan, could you take a nap on the couch?" and Ethan said, "I wish I could, but I can't" What sass.

One of Ethan's newest words is "interested"...Recently he left a message on our neighbor's voice mail (after Daddy dialed) asking his babysitter if she would be interested in babysitting him tomorrow night. Another time, he stated, "Gramma Leslie, Owen and Dylan are very interested by the music in this movie" (it was Fantasia)...he is such a hoot.

Ethan can get dressed mostly on his own, but sometimes has a little trouble with the pants. After putting on clean shorts in the bathroom, he said to Gramma, "We've got issues"...she looked down and he had both lefts in one pantleg and couldn't move.

So, that's what I've got for now...all this talking, these words, these SENTENCES...he's just so wonderful at communicating (most of the time...he's still 2!)...but the one that gets me the most is the little grin and hug he gives me while saying, "Ooooooh, Mommy" That's all I need.

8-months!

2009-08-09T20:44:00.000-05:00

Mommy would like to know when Ethan became such a BOY!

Out of desperation, when they were refusing a nap they desperately needed today, Mommy broke out the Baby Einstein...they were amazed. Owen multi-tasked...

Dylan had his mouth shut for a moment...as in, his lips were actually touching each other (see pictures below and you will see how rare this is)

Dylan and Owen...cutie pies.

I was trying to take a picture of Ethan and Owen and O lunged at me and I caught him...this picture shows how beautiful his eyes are!

Dylan and Owen...caught in a moment.

I can't caption this picture...too busy tearing up...
Brothers...Owen, Dylan and Ethan

D rolled himself right under the couch!

Dylan tackling his penguin friend.

Owen in the Bumbo while talking with his hands in his mouth...so talented.

Ready to go...finally! Ethie and Daddy were up North and the little dudes and I decided to go for a walk to the lake, around, and back...took me about an hour to get ready to go...

Dylan cruising around in his walker...hand-towels hanging on the stove handle are quickly captured for eating.

OK. I totally have more pictures of Dylan...but he just does funny shit....I can only take so many pictures of my beautiful Owen, just being beautiful...because he is.

*****

I'm such a bad blogger these days...but such an occasion needs to be marked by a blog update...

Dylan and Owen were 8 months old this past Saturday!!! August 8th...8 months from December 8th...the one year mark feels so close. Could it be that we've made it this far, relatively unscathed? Could it be that we only have 4 more months of formula? What will we do with that $300+/month? (Though that's not every month...we've had generous help along the way!!!)

8 months...can't decide whether that sounds like a short amount of time, or a long amount of time...whatever it is, I can't imagine our lives without these dudes...so glad they are part of our family now and I can't picture it without them!

At 8 months old, Dylan and Owen are doing all sorts of fun things...here's the rundown...hope I don't forget anything....

Drool....there is drool everywhere....everywhere. Yet no teeth. I feel around in their mouths (with clean hands) and I don't feel a thing...rock hard gums, but no pointies...where are you teeth? Let's just do this, already.

They are on the move. Well, D is on the move, at least. Owen is our little introspective guy and is perfectly content to lay on his back, maybe do a roll or two, but he likes to lay...kick his feet up, pull his feet into his mouth and suck his toe, and clap his feet together. As long as he has his feet, he's good. Though I am pretty sure that Owen is just learning by watching, and one day, he will pull himself up using a piece of furniture or something, and then just walk away.

D is seriously all over the place. Can't leave him for a minute (see above picture with his lower-half under the couch)...he will roll, fast, across the room, push up on his arms and scoot around dragging his legs, or get up on his hands and knees and kind of push/crawl backwards to get where he needs to be...which is typically wherever Ethan's toys are. Doesn't matter how many times I take away E's matchbox cars from him (I just don't want him putting those in his mouth, and inevitably, that's where all the toys he plays with go) and replace with a "baby" toy or even one of Ethan's blocks, he wants to be around those cars. And suddenly, I'm picturing the sound of 3 boys making "vroom" racecar noises...

Owen likes to sit in the Bumbo (but....bad mommy moment today, I went to grab a glass of water while he was in the Bumbo in the living room and returned just in time to see him squirm his way out and plop onto the floor face-first....he was not happy...and I felt really bad!)...and he likes to sit up on his own between my legs or propped up on something, but would just much rather lay than sit, if it's totally on his own. Whatevs...so would I. Dylan is sitting pretty well right now, but he has baby-ADD and will get distracted very easily and topple over...he doesn't really seem to mind...he can get right back up into a sit (at least he did, 3 times this weekend)!

Owen is "talking" a lot...baby babble....ga ga ga ga....no "mama"s or "dada"s yet, but he studies our faces as we talk to him (well, any time, really...even when we are just sitting together in silence)...again, learning by watching. It's pretty cute. Dylan doesn't do as much of that babble stuff, but he does yell at the top of his lungs...not a cry...just a victory yell or something.....Ahhhhhhhhh! Ye....ahhhhhhhh! My ears. My ears.

Still sleeping through the night....5:30/6 to 6:30...angels. We had a bit of trouble with afternoon naps this weekend...but typically they are taking a short morning nap about 2 - 2.5 hrs after getting up, and a longer afternoon nap...but some days there are 3 shorter naps...it all depends. I find them in the cutest/funniest positions while they are sleeping. They each have their own thing. Each of their cribs have the mesh crib bumper...thank goodness...because these kids are all over the place and we'd definitely have more incidences of leg-through-crib if we didn't have this...both of them did this on Saturday afternoon and freaked out! They each have 2 blankets...Dylan likes one over his face...I don't put it there, but every time I place the first blanket on him, he pulls it up over his face and then I put another one over his body...maybe it isn't dark enough in the room or something?! Anyways, whenever I check on him, he always has it pulled up on his face. When I check on Owen, he's usually rolled over to his tummy and has his arms straight out to the sides. This does not look comfortable, but unless he's really close to the crib rails, I don't move him. I do, however, always find him up against the crib rails in the morning. I don't care where they move to...as long as they sleep well (and us too!), they can do their own thing!

We're still making our own baby food...I'm not really sure about the benefits of doing this...it's kind of a pain in the ass. We're not buying all organic food, so probably not any healthier than the jarred stuff we bought for Ethan, but it's got to be cheaper. We can make quite a load of applesauce meals out of one bag of apples. We've tried a lot of different foods...carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, brocolli, sweet peas, pears, apples, bananas, papaya....I'm sure I'm forgetting some...but they are good with most items. Sometimes have to mix in a little formula or water or rice/oatmeal/mixed grain cereal to get around texture issues, but they are good eaters. We're also doing Puffs, and teething bars.

What else? Lots else, I'm sure...they melt me....they are so cute. Dylan's open-mouthed smile makes me laugh every time I see it (which is often!)...and the way Owen smiles will his whole body makes me want to cry it's so sweet. So in love.

Ethan's latest

2009-07-31T15:30:00.000-05:00

"Ethanisms" as promised. This post has been a work-in-progress for awhile now, so all the mentions of "today", "last night" and other such time-stamps are all irrelevant...replace with "recently"!

*****

Target trip a few Sundays ago...

"Is the wind blowing the hair off your head?" while driving home with the windows down.

Picking out shaving cream for Daddy and going down the aisle by the women's shaving cream..."What's that?"..."Shaving cream for ladies"..."Are you a lady?" in front of a woman and her daughter...the woman said, "Oh he's so cute...don't you love the questions at this age?"...oh, you mean all the obvious ones that he already knows the answers to?....yes, I love those....because I like to mess with him...

"Is that my brother, Owen?"..."No, that's Sam"...."Noooooo....that's Owen!!!!!"......"Is that my brother, Dylan?"...."No, that's Max"....."Noooooo...that's Dylan"....."Is that my kitty, Ellie?"...."No, that's your giraffe, George"...."Nooooo!!!!!"...

In the cookie aisle...."Ethie, tell Mommy to get out of this aisle"....at the top of his lungs, within earshot of at least 3 people...."Mommy, get out of the cookie aisle!!!!!!"....and we did not buy any cookies!!!

Picking out yogurt, we parked our cart and took our time trying to find exactly the right yogurt that Ethan likes which is strawberry with absolutely no texture (Yoplait)....a man came over by us, and Ethan whispered loudly, "Mommy, there's a man next to me!"...I assured him it was a nice man...said man did not seem to hear, or perhaps didn't find it funny like I did.

When we were leaving the red store, we had many bags packed into the Focus. I stopped at a stop sign and Ethan said, "Oh no, I don't want the food to fall on the ground. I will keep the bags from the floor"...and held onto the sides of the bags the whole way home.

*****

Notes from Liz and Gramma Leslie...

To Liz while on a bikeride..."You're doing a great job on that bike, Liz"...at least he appreciates the effort!

While attempting to go potty, "I love you Liz, you're my favorite"...Ethan, we've caught you...you're 5-timing, at least....Anne, Mommy, the Grammas and Teresa, etc have all heard you say this, you ladies' man, you.

"Grampa's coming to my house, I really love him"....need a tissue, Pete?

"That must be a really good feeling"...don't know the context, but it makes me smile.

Ethan took one look at a picture of our friends' new dog on the computer and announced, "That puppy wants to lick me!" I think he misses Maddie...though he sees her often since she just lives down the street! We'll revisit the dog topic in a few years.

*****

Ethan's latest game is "dark garage"...when Andy or I lay down and put our knees up so our legs make a "V" and then drape a blanket over them...creating the "dark garage"...and then he can drive his cars from one end of the sectional couch to the garage and park the cars in there. This is a great game...we get to lay, and Ethan is entertained.

Ethan is very much about sequences these days...this will happen, and then this will happen...so on and so on. For example, at dinner tonight, "I will stop eating my sandwich and then I will take a sip of my milk and then I will set my cup down and then I will eat my sandwich again"..."and then...and then...." One of my recent favorites was about our planned trip to Louisville over Labor Day...."Mommy and I will fly in the airplane. The airplane door will open and then we will walk through the door and then we will fly to Louisville and then the door to Louisville will open and then we will walk into Louisville and then we will close the door to Louisville and then we will see Gramma Nana and Grampa Dode" I try to listen seriously, but I can't help but laugh...he laughs too.

*****

Some days after work, when it's just me and the boys, Ethan says/asks the funniest things and I just wish there were someone else around to witness it...it's definitely not as funny written. It just can't be captured here....

I pretend to "eat" the babies sometimes....like on their tummy, or their arms or something with "yum yum yum" sounds...Ethan is used to this...I'm not the only one who does it...but one day, he was horrified and exclaimed, "Don't eat Owen!! He's my BROTHER!!!" Then he promptly told me, "He was already in your tummy"...and then the lightbulb went on and he asked the question, "How'd he get in your tummy?"...and I replied, "You can ask your Daddy that"...

Ethan is doing pretty well with the potty-training. Mostly for #2...is that the way it typically goes? I think he just gets lazy or forgets if he isn't reminded to try often. But when #2 comes around, he knows it..."There's something coming out of my butt"...and "I feel like I need to poop" are my favorite announcements. It makes me giggle...although, I try to be very conscious about making him feel comfortable...he knows we are very proud of him for telling us when he has to go. And if the words don't get the point across, Swedish Fish do. He likes to remind us about the potty too....recently he told me, "Tell me when you feel you have to pee and we can go to the potty together." Hey, at least he's listening...this might be verbatim what I say to him!

As I was saying...

2009-07-26T20:04:00.003-05:00

Owen fit the entire head of the seal on the exersaucer in his mouth...whoa.
What do you think of the hair-do? After bathtime, I just ran my fingers through it and let it dry and voila! Mohawk style.

I heart you, Owen.

Dylan is up on his hands and knees and rockin' out. Today, he reached his arm out and I thought we were going to witness the first crawl, but then splat...flat on the tummy. He's SO close.

D says, "That's ok, I'll keep trying. Big brother, Ethan, tells me I can do it!"
Also playing with some 'do's on Dylan. He's got some wave/curl in his hair and it's just a bit longer than Owen's. I can just run my fingers through and up, and it dries so cute up in the air like that. I may not have girls that I can do ponytails or pig-tails with, but eventually I will be able to use hair-gel on the boys and I'll have fun with that....ha ha!

Ethie loves Gamma's blueberry and strawberry pies (I did too!)...He ate a piece of each, with whip cream on the strawberry and ice cream on the blueberry...after he ate a good dinner, of course! Yummmmm! Strawberry leftovers in the fridge won't last long!

And people ask me how I do it...this is why...

2009-07-25T18:12:00.001-05:00

Dylan - Reminding me so much of his big brother, Ethan, in looks at least, but he is such his own person. Always giving us that huge grin with his mouth wide open...he is SO happy (though high-maintenance too!)...D is on the move...rolling everywhere and is up on his hands and knees, rocking. I give him 2 weeks before he starts to crawl.

Owen - This little angel is baby-Mommy's doppelganger, though less feminine and with less curly hair! (according to Gramma Nana). Owen is less physical than Dylan, but is such a sweetheart. Sometimes I catch him just starting at me, and when we make eye contact, his face just beams into a smile. He's our "thinker" I think, busy taking it all in. I think he'll be first to talk.

My heart is about to burst, I'm in so much love right now. Ethan is off at Byerly's with Daddy, picking up some food for grilling tonight. Owen, Dylan and I were on our own for bedtime...nothing too different than the norm, but typically I don't get to dedicate myself to them because Ethan is here too, and he's high-energy at all times. We had fun. Dylan got up on all 4's and Owen stuck the entire head of the seal on the exersaucer in his mouth...both challenging feats!

D had his bedtime bottle first...he was so tired, but never wants to miss a minute so he was fighting off the yawns. He started singing to me while I carried him upstairs slowly. So sweet. I laid him down in bed without a peep from him. He pulled his blanket over his head, as usual, and that was that. Minutes ago, I checked on him as I laid Owen down...he had flipped over on his tummy, his blanket underneath him, so I laid another one on top...he stirred and open his eyes, smiled at me, and then went back to sleep. Oh my God.

Owen was singing his sleepy song too, so then I gave him his bottle. He fell fast asleep in my arms. I wasn't in any rush to lay this sweet sleeping baby down, so I went into Ethan's room and we sat and rocked...I admit, I drifted off a bit too...I remember doing this with Ethan in the evenings...and as the mom of an almost 3-year-old, I know these moments don't come as often when they turn into big boys...I knew Andy and Ethan would be home any minute...and Ethan always announces himself loudly, so eventually I decided to put Owen down in his crib. I tucked him in, laid another blanket on Dylan and just took a minute to look at both of my sleeping babies. I'm prone to crying easily, but wouldn't you?!

*****

I have pages and pages of "Ethanisms" that I need to blog about...I can't keep up with the funny, and downright intelligent, things that he says. Liz and Gamma Leslie are very good about documenting things throughout the day...and I catch a lot on the weekends/evenings. I don't have a lot of 2-year-olds to compare to, but I'm pretty sure his vocabulary is off the charts...especially for a child with no older siblings...seriously. His latest that makes me laugh is "Mommy, come here quickly!" The way he says "quickly" is like "quickIly"...pretty cute.

Shout out to Grampa Dode...Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Room Reveal

2009-07-16T20:04:00.024-05:00

Lots of pics...I think I can dig up a few of the "before's"...a few weeks ago, Ethie went camping with Gramma Leslie and Grampa Pete....and Andy and I (mostly Andy) painted the kids' rooms and switched around their stuff (that's where I pullled my weight). We've done some additional things with Ethan's room since then...his ETHAN letters, "Cars" stickers, hooks, pictures, growth chart, things we've avoided putting up for awhile because we knew this move was evident...but it's done for the most part. Andy got a little "destruction-happy" one day and pulled off the trim to the window when it was still Dylan and Owen's room, thinking we'd replace the window soon, but we still have not bought a new window and the trim is still off....the window is cracked on the bottom, so this is definitely the first one to get replaced. We also need a light/lamp for his room...Lightnight McQueen's red aura from his bedside table is just not going to cut it...although it's great for mood-lighting when he entertains...

Ethan's current room when it was Dylan and Owen's room....fire-hazard! Try carrying a load of laundry through this entryway...or a baby OR TWO!

Same point-of-view...Ethie's room. I decided to keep the same black-out curtain that my Mom made for this room (oringally for D & O) because #1 It's awesome and blocks ALL light and #2 we decided to move Ethan's plush green chair (another awesome gift from my parents when Ethie was born) into his new room and the curtain ties together the sage green and bright blue! I swear that Ethan probably sleeps an average of about an hour more per night with this curtain in his room...either he falls asleep earlier or sleeps later...either works for me.

ETHAN...or NAHTE...Ethan doesn't want to believe me that you read from left to right...dyslexia?...OK, might be jumping the gun. That red thing hanging from the wall is Ethan's growth chart and he's half way up that thing. He's TALL! Also on that wall are ALL the cars from the "Cars" wall stickers sheets because Ethan felt very strongly that all the cars should be together because they are friends. What a sweetheart.

View from by his bed, towards his closet, which at first I was too lazy to paint and now have decided it does NOT need to be painted blue. It's purple, like before, and guess what?! The awesome black-out curtains not only tie together the sage green and blue, but the purple is in there too. Thanks Mom, how did you know?!

And of course, on this wall, my blood, sweat and tears, quite literally...in my first sizable cross-stitch...Pooh and friends...E is for Ethan. I finished this thing like 2 days before returning to work during my maternity leave...I might remind you that he surprised me with being 8 weeks early! It matches perfectly.

Moving on to Dylan and Owen's room.
Oh. My. God. Apparently, the last picture I have of Ethan's old room is from Feb 08...this can't be right, can it? Look at him. He's so little! This was the evening of the day that Ethan climbed out of his crib and hit the floor during naptime...cribtent time! Ok then...scrolling down very quickly...can't it look at it...choking back tears...wasn't this like, yesterday?

So, the green on the wall looks darker in these pictures, I think...but it's the same. Probably looks darker because of the ghetto-fabulous curtains I have rockin' in this room right now. The same beautiful green curtain my Mom sewed for me, but they were pre-black-out-curtain brainstorm so I had to throw a lovely black sheet over each window. No, I don't have black sheets for any of our beds...these were old sheets from somewhere that were kept for future fort-making...really, I promise. Same set-up as above...Ethan's dresser/changing-table...add a crib...swap out a rocking chair...it's the same deal. On the wall is more Mommy blood-sweat-tears...serious cross-stitch #2...it was pretty much the only form of stress I had during my bed-rest...will I, or will I not, finish this cross-stitch before the babies were born?...the answer...everything but the names, weights/heights, and date...but by like 3 days...phew.

I had lots of stuff on these 6 shelves when it was Ethan's room...now, I'm taking the simplistic approach...

Ghetto-fabulous curtain #2...and the closet...packed with clothes/blankets/diaper/wipes/my paycheck...

TBD: Hanging of the baptism frames I made for D & O...they are leaning up against that table with the fan...on the left side...all that hard work, just to lay on the floor...So...do I make this into a "boy" room now, or wait until later, when I know their personalities?

In closing, some Ethanisms...because they are frequent, and funny!

Liz calling Ethan, Ethan-poop-poop-a-doop...Ethan says "No, I'm not that name, I'm just Ethan"...flashback to me calling Ethan a big boy and him saying, "No, I'm just boy"

A few mornings ago, Ethan rested his head on my hand and said, "I'm crushing your hand with my head"...and I said, "Yeah, your big melon head"...and he said, "I don't have a melon head, I have a hairy head"

Andy gave Ethie a haircut tonight...we've come a long way. He used to be freaked out by haircuts and it was a whole morning ordeal just to convince him to sit on my lap while Andy cut his hair. Tonight (and the last few times), he sits by himself...in his "little" chair...and tonight he actually cried when Andy was done! Whoa!

Ethan very rarely calls me Mommy anymore...I am now known as "Um, Um, Mommy"...he puts "Um, Um" before pretty much everything now...it's pretty cute...I try not to laugh.

Call me slow, but I just realized a few days ago, that the pictures of my kids that I have displayed in frames around the house don't even look like my kids anymore...Ethan does, sort of...but Dylan and Owen do not. look. like. that. So, today I've been trying to pick the cutest of pictures to order...and let me tell you, that's harder than you think. Which do I choose for the 5x7s that I keep on the top of the piano, which 5-10 do I pick for the 4x6 frames that I have in the living room. I have some uploaded to snapfish, but this will be a painful process. There could be worse things than having kids that are too cute.

Right on, little dude.

2009-07-11T08:25:00.002-05:00

Ethan's interpretation of my explanation for why I am working out.

"You stretched your tummy out and now you are trying to pull it back in. That was really funny."

Post-its

2009-07-10T21:17:00.004-05:00

A couple Ethanisms from multiple post-its on my desk that I am sick of looking at, although they make me giggle every time...

Gramma was mixing up mush (baby cereal)...she and Ethan were talking about the old lady that says hush (Goodnight Moon...bowl of mush, old lady saying hush), and Ethan asked, "Is my Mommy the old lady?" Ouch.

Also that day, he asked Gramma, "Does Mommy like beer?" And with that, I am done drinking in front of the kids...ever. I think something similar once happened to Grampa Pete with Ethan's own Daddy asking something similar to that question.

Some mornings Ethan will get dressed and talk about his "morning t-shirt, morning shorts, morning socks and mornings pull-ups"...but then just the other night before he and Daddy went to run an errand before dinner, I asked him to change his shirt and he went running off to get his "morning shirt"...it didn't really make sense anymore at that time.

Overheard by Gramma....

"I have a cookie for you if you can pee for me"...I'm not sure about the context here, but I'm assuming he was just thinking he was too busy to pee for himself.

"I took a big poop because I was strong"...no explanation needed.

Clarification on my last post...

I figured Daddy's "funny beard" was because he was shaving off parts of his face at a time and so it looked funny, but Andy told me later that he had a beard full of shaving cream and that's what Ethan thought was funny...ha!

Whirlwind...

2009-07-05T20:56:00.007-05:00

All text...pics to post soon!

We had a great July 4th weekend...celebrated on the 3rd, recovered on the morning of the 4th, drove to Northfield on the afternoon of the 4th with our whole crew, hung out with the Beaham's and their lovely little ladies, Ethan and Emily had their first kiss (the Beaham/Sandberg quest to pair up their daughters with our sons seems to be heading in the right direction!), headed home a bit late for the kids' bedtime (but they managed just fine), went to bed as we heard the fireworks outside, commented on our lameness, slept well, up early, lunch with RinMats before she heads to DC for her elected position of VP of NOW on Wed (she rocks!), went to Target, played with my kids, made tons of babyfood, grilled out, washed dishes (did laundry all day too), quick blog, cuddle with hubs and RELAX!

*****

So, I'm doing this make-your-own-babyfood thing, and it's going pretty well for the most part. Until today, I haven't really had a big cooking day, and even today, I don't feel like I accomplished that much because two of my purees were total busts. If anyone knows how to cook a peach (my cookbook is wrong!) please let me know. Melon disintegrates in a blender so I would like to know how that is really supposed to work. I made some more carrots, sweet potatoes and apples. The boys are really into all of those...sweet potatoes need to be thinned out a little after thawing or Dylan gags and pukes which is really not what I'm going for. New today was butternut squash. Should be good, it smells pretty yummy...at least it did, before I thinned it with formula. I've been using up the food I'd made recently pretty quickly after freezing it, but now that I'm starting to make more at a time, I'm wondering how long I can keep this stuff frozen before I shouldn't thaw it. Anyone, anyone? My book references "shelf-life" but fails to mention how long that is. Duh.

*****

Dylan and Owen are so cute. Just so CUTE! 'Course I'm their Mommy, but they are SO smiley and SO giggly now. It's awesome. Lauren had Dylan belly-laughing SO hard on the 4th...It was heart-warming...the whole scene. I almost teared up...but I know everyone would laugh at me. I had the same reaction to Emily kissing Ethan...SO cute!! He said, "Emily kissed me on the mouth and all the people laughed. That was silly"...he was still talking about it at bedtime that night! It's too much. D is getting even closer to sitting up on his own. He does fine in his little tri-pod stance until he gets distracted and turns to look at something and then loses his center of gravity, but he's close. They are both cruising around in the walker...they even know how to turn themselves around when they run into something. Ethan is having fun playing with them in that toy, but needs to be reminded to go slow when he pushes them. Sometimes I catch Owen just looking at me. Just sitting there quietly and looking at his Mommy. And then I turn around and he beams that dimply little smile at me. And I die, right there. They are 7 months this coming Wednesday. When I was remarking about this to Andy this weekend he said only 5 more months and they'll be toddlers and we won't have babies in the house again. It's bittersweet...

Ethan is the best big brother. Today I had Owen laying in Ethan's bed while Ethan and I were organizing his closet in his big boy room (next topic!). Ethan went to go lay with him and it was a definite picture moment so I ran downstairs (don't worry, Owen was safe!) to get the camera and when I came back up, Ethan had his arm around Owen's tummy and was sweetly and softly telling him he loved him. I died again, right there.

While we were at our neighbors' house on the 3rd, Ethan was charming everyone. They were all telling me how wonderful he was and if I couldn't find him, they'd kidnapped him. I had to remind them that he was still very TWO, but I was so proud of how well he behaved with all the people and kids, especially when staying up a bit later than normal. After getting in his PJs, he came back to the party to say goodnight to "all of his wonderful people"...my new favorite saying of his. That being said, we had a few moments today where we agreed that the neighbors could take him for a bit right then and there!

*****

Earlier this week, Ethan was camping with Grandma and Grandpa so Andy and I took on the great room-swap. Everything's pretty much all together now. I'll post before and after pictures soon. I love how Ethie's big boy room looks. And I love having more room to walk around in Dylan and Owen's room. It's a success. I was a bit nervous about it, but we really talked it up to Ethan before we did it, and I think he really likes it. Tonight, at bedtime, Ethan said, "Thank you for my room, Mommy!"...Daddy admitted he'd fed him that line, but still, it was nice to hear.

*****

In closing, an Ethanism that made me laugh hard tonight. I love overhearing coversations between Andy and Ethan. The boys were going to shower downstairs tonight and Andy went to shave his scruff off and Ethan kept saying over and over, "You have a funny beard, Daddy. You have a funny beard, Daddy"...until Daddy had no beard left.

*****

Tomorrow I am 29 1/2...closer to 30 than 29.

*****

All the hard work is worth it. My family rocks.

In this edition of The Suburban Zoo, we play...

2009-07-02T19:14:00.003-05:00

"Guess which choice word(s) came out of Hilary's mouth when I saw the below"...

We were hoping that the birds would thank us for their dinner, instead, this "fill-in-the-blank" squirrel jumped from the top of the shed onto our beautiful birdfeeder. We are now out of seed...and in serious need of relocation.

Garden time.

2009-06-28T18:46:00.005-05:00

It's not much, right now...but we're working on sprucing it up...

I've only had this little plaque for over a month now, but we just painted it this morning!

We also painted our bird-feeder, which I've also had for about a month...

We hung Ethie's sign on the fence on the side of the garden that is designated as all Ethan's...all flowers, per his request!

We hung his bird-feeder on the tree right by the garden...

Ethan and I were outside painting before 8 this morning. Yesterday, when it was raining in the morning, I figured it would be the perfect day to work on this project. But it turns out you should prime before you paint with acrylic paints. So Daddy primed a few times yesterday and our bird-feeder and sign were ready to go this morning. I put aside my need for things to be "neat and pretty" and let him paint on his own. Basically, all I did was wash out the brush between colors...and you know what?! it turned out pretty anyways. Of course, I did the stencils for "Ethan's Garden", but that was it! My little Artist!

Ethanisms and bullet points...boring

2009-06-27T11:35:00.005-05:00

I can't keep up with the funnies...I might just give up. But I have lots of scraps of paper with Ethanisms so it's time to catch up and document...

"Is this monster cheese?" asking about Muenster cheese. I replied "yes" and gave him a piece and he started dancing..."I'm doing the cheese dance"

"Are you not tall?" to Liz one morning

One evening after Andy got home from work, I tried to escape to go take 2 minutes to myself and lay down and have some quiet. I went upstairs and laid on our bed...Ethan ran after me. "Will you come downstairs with me?" I said, "I'm going to lay here for a second and then I'll come downstairs." He said, "I don't want you to lay here by yourself, that would make me saaaaad"

Ethan's been taking bike rides with Liz in the bike trailer. He likes to go...if she pauses, he yells, "I WANT YOU TO KEEP PED-A-LIIIING!!"

Ethan realizes the healing power of a kiss....when he "bumps" he says "I need to you to kiss it"...and then all is good again.

And there's this one, which makes me laugh so hard I could cry...Gampa Pete and Ethie in the backyard and Grampa says something like "You can't catch me I'm too big" and Ethie says, "You can't catch me....I'm the gingerbread man!"

There are so many funny things that he's saying right now...typing it doesn't do it justice...I promised myself that I would never be one of those moms that tries to imitate her kids when telling someone about them...but it's hard not to!

Other things:

*I've been making baby food...so far, potatoes, broccoli, apples, carrots and bananas. Both the boys liked carrots, and they love the fruit...Dylan puked after eating the potatoes. I expect this to change. Ethan puked the first time I gave him cheese...I was horrified. Potatoes and cheese are two of my favorite foods...my kids must like them! So far I've just tested out small batches, trying to see what works and what doesn't for cooking and storing...once I get comfortable with it, I'm going to do big batch days and hopefully this will save me time in the long run. I racked up quite the bill at Costco the other weekend when I went with Ethan to get all this produce!

*Dylan and Owen have been getting up at ungodly hours. True, I used to feed babies at 3/4am, but now that they sleep through the night I'm not used to seeing 5am. It hurts. Andy suggested we consult the sacred book...one know the one. Dr W says to start trying to stretch out bedtimes a bit later, by 20 minutes at a time. I'm not sure how to accomplish this. Most nights they are ready to go down by 5:30/6...it's early, but they nap multiple times and are still tired enough to go to bed at this time. It's a catch 22, but I'm determined that we'll fix it at some point. Mommy drinks lots of coffee.

*The flowers in our garden are sprouting! Andy and I just planted the rest of our seeds a few days ago...all vegetables. We're probably a bit late, but neither one of us has tended our own garden before, so we've determined that it's ok if this year is just for practice. Andy primed the birdhouse for E's part of the garden, and also the sign we're going to hang on the fence by his flowers. I've got some acrylic paint and I'm just going to let him go wild. Originally I wanted it to be pretty, but that's no fun for him!

*The filter was not the issue with our vacuum. I deconstructed the whole thing and found a nasty clog...apparently you are not supposed to vacuum over magnets...oops! So it's fixed and fabulous now, but now we have a new cleaning person and she brings her own. We love her...she's great...I'm still wondering what happened to Mary, but our new lady does a great job...and she's picky like me!

*Ethan's potty training is going great. We got new toilet seats...the ones with the little insert that you can keep down, or lock up. Much better than having potty chairs everywhere...although we still have one in the living room for emergencies...and I think I'll get one for outside. I'm hoping we're almost done with pull-ups during the day, although Ethan promptly peed his Mater underwear when he tried them out last night. Gotta start sometime! We're so proud of him, and he likes to remind us of that, "I peed, and you and Daddy are so proud of me!"

You would cry too...

2009-06-25T19:54:00.000-05:00

if you saw a giraffe...

All Ethanisms...

2009-06-20T08:31:00.000-05:00

Gamma brought the boys to the zoo on Thursday and Grampa met up with them. There was some sort of deal going on where you could feed a giraffe so Ethan went up on Grampa's shoulders to feed the giraffe. He was not expecting to see the giraffe's black tongue and it made him cry. Later that night he was telling me about it...
"I cried at the Zoo when I saw the giraffe had a black tongue. You would cry too if you saw a giraffe."

Ethan and I were drawing a few nights ago and I suggested, "Why don't you draw Mommy"...and he said, "No, I will draw something else"

Last night it was raining and he declared, "There are big rain drops falling into my little pond"...it's what he calls his little pool.

"I will have the rest of my milk after I finish reading my email"...while reading an insert from the newspaper that Daddy gave him while he read the big newspaper at the table.

"My poop looks like a banana"...potty training is lots of fun. Ethan woke up dry this morning!! Now he wants to go on the big potty instead of his potty chair. We need to get one of those little seats so we don't have to hold him to keep him from falling in!

This is funniest if you know me well. I was writing something down the other day and Ethan came up to me and asked, "Are you going to make a list?"...I love to make lists...my son knows me so well.

"I will push you out of the house"...this is Ethan's new thing. He wants people to stand in the doorway with the door open and then he'll push you out. I'm not sure where that started, but he wants to do it every time now.

A few nights ago I needed some snuggle with Ethan after I finished working, and Andy had put him to bed, so I went in to lay on the floor (his self-chosen bed) with him for a bit. He asked me to stay there until "wake-time", but I told him I could only stay for a few minutes. He replied, "You will sleep here with me for a second under my blankie and then you will go downstairs"...these sentences...he continues to impress me!

"Um, um"....Now he says, "Um, um" a lot..."Um, um, Mommy...."...."Um, um, Daddy"...it's pretty funny.

"I want you. I want you, Mommy. I want you and you want me"...Sometimes "want" is replaced by "love", sometimes "need"...I just think this whole sequence is so funny.

Ethanism per Grampa Pete:
Upon getting nearly all of his little cars, tractors, and "motorcycles" into the shed, Ethan tried to close the door. He couldn't. I asked, What's wrong? He said, "I can't close this door because I have too many vehicles in there."
At least he's self-aware. He does in fact have too many vehicles.

"Owen sounds like a dying kitty"...just this morning he said this to me...Owen is "singing" a lot...he's really trying out his voice. He does NOT sound like a dying kitty, nor has Ethan ever heard a dying kitty, so I think Daddy fed him this comment.

Here's the background. A few nights ago our electricity went out right after Ethan went to bed. His fan turned off so I went in and opened the windows and explained to him why we couldn't turn his fan back on. Completely randomly...we were watching "Word Girl"...he said,
"The 'tricity went out. The power went out. The fresh air came in. The 'tricity came back in. The power came back in. My fan turned back on!" What a memory. "'tricity" means "electricity" for those who are not familiar with toddler speak.

Lots of other things going on and tons of new pictures to post...next time.

Stuff...and LOTS of pictures.

2009-06-15T20:35:00.002-05:00

Ethan and Daddy at Canterbury on Belmont Stakes day

Ethan on the shed ramp on his"motorcycle"

I can't get over how beautiful Owen is...look at those eyes

Dylan's smile...Oh. My. God.

Solids...Give me that Banana!!

Owen doesn't know what to think...day one of solids with flavor

Cat in the Hat's buddies...in their birth order

Big enough for new toys...these are only two of them!

Dylan, Linnea and Owen...cousins. (Look at Dylan's chins!)

Ethan posing like a model at the park...

"Can someone come and get the bread out of my nose?"...after eating some bread one day.

Ethan on pooping..."It smells like a stinky plant!"

I should have followed him around with a piece of paper all weekend...so many things made me laugh out loud. After each I made a mental note to write that down as soon as I had the opportunity, because for sure I would remember something that funny...but in one ear and out the other...he's a funny kid though, and I am enjoying him immensely!

Big news in Ethan's world...he is doing SO great on the potty. Gamma told me he went the whole day dry today...just two pull-ups were used, because one was just a tad damp. He is now going pee AND poo on the potty. This is fabulous, though somewhat inconvenient as we readjust to making sure we remind him to go potty every so often, before we go anywhere, before we go outside, etc, etc. I plan to order a portable potty chair from my favorite catalog/website, One Step Ahead.

Owen and Dylan are amazing me every day. Dylan is rolling all around; pushing himself up from his tummy with his arms fully extended; jumping like crazy in the jumparoo; walking himself around in a walker; sitting up like a pro in the bumbo and pretty darn well inside a boppy pillow too; and is seriously obsessed with grabbing his toes. Owen must have heard me at the pediatrician when I answered the development questions the nurse asked me.

N: "Are they rolling?"
H: "Dylan is a lot, Owen has once or twice"
N: "Are they putting weight on their legs if you support them?"
H: "Dylan is, Owen not so much"
N: "Are they pushing up while laying on their front?"
H: "Dylan pushes up all the way, Owen crosses his arms in front of him"
etc
etc
etc

It's not that I was trying to bash my littlest man, but before last Thursday's appt, he just wasn't doing that stuff very much. But, oh my goodness....over the weekend, he started rolling all the time, and darnit if it isn't just the funniest thing in the whole world to him. He's started grabbing his feet and reaching for things out of his reach, and he can pretty much do the crab walk to scoot around while on his back. "I'll show you, Mommy!"...he must be thinking! I'm so proud! He's also "singing" a ton, although most of the time it's like nails on a chalkboard, but his little screeches are so funny, and I know he is just testing out his voice so he can start telling me he loves me...ha ha!

Speaking of telling me he loves me, Ethan is such a lover. He grabs onto me and says, "I love you so much, Mommy"...awwww. Last night we had Gramma Leslie and Grampa Pete over for dinner and he was talking all about how he loves them and how they love him. This is a good thing for children to know :>

I've found a new cleaning person. Mary stood me up a few weeks ago and never returned my calls. I have no idea what happened to her...it's the weirdest thing...and totally doesn't seem like her style. So I got a recommendation from a friend and our new person is coming over on the 23rd. She seems really nice...and she charges the same rate and can accomodate the 3 hours every other week that we had before...just a bit later in the morning, which is fine for us too. It's been really hard to keep up with the house the past few weeks. I don't have any idea what I used to do when we didn't have someone come clean....oh yeah, our bathrooms probably went a month between cleanings! Yuck.

My toe is still gimpy. I wore shoes to work today and that was a bad idea. I think I pretty much went backwards in my recovery. This morning I was hoping to bike tonight and that did not happen. Sandals tomorrow for sure...I will just wrap up my gruesome wound so noone can see it.

In closing, I was proofing this, and came across something that must have been inserted into my blog when I took a break to go upstairs and take out my contacts...

"Andy is wicked sexy, but you already knew that, didn't you?" Um. Yes.

No title...my toe hurts

2009-06-11T18:34:00.000-05:00

Couple tidbits, no rhyme or reason. I took a spill on the driveway as I was loading up the babies for their ped appt this morning (don't worry, I wasn't carrying anyone)...I was wearing flip-flops and tripped on a part of our driveway that isn't flush with the grass and now I'm missing part of the top of my big toe (just skin, but it's REALLY deep!)....anyways, my point is, now I'm feeling a little woozy, and can't think very clearly...need to write a few recent things down though.

6-month well-baby was today. Our Ped has twin boys himself, and they are a few months younger than ours...so we have a connection with him now. He's always been awesome, but I love him even more now. He gets it and praises us over and over on the job we're doing. Some days, you just need that. Anyways, D & O's percentiles were UNadjusted, meaning based on their birthdate, not due date. There was no reason to look at their preemie percentiles since they are so big. So, with that...the stats...

Dylan: 18lbs 15oz (75th...I'll say it again....UNADJUSTED); 26 1/2 inches (60th); head circumference (didn't get the stat, but same as Owen 75th...something like 17in)

Owen: 15lbs 11oz (20th...still maintaining that 3lb gap they've had for a few months now); 26 1/8 inches (45th); head circumference (75th)

They are doing great developmentally on everything, and they both charmed everyone with their giggles and smiles. We've been given the go-ahead for solids. I bought a few organic "Nature's Best" last night to have on hand because I haven't received my storage containers from One Step Ahead yet. I also ordered a cookbook. Dr Paul also took my email address so he could send me his recommendation for cookbooks recommended to him by a friend...he couldn't remember the name. I'm so excited to do this...I figure we can dedicate a day or two a month and just boil/bake/puree/blend and freeze. I ordered 3 dozen 2oz containers, and Dr Paul said his friend used freeze-safe plastic bags too.

I also was reminded that Ethan needs to go to the dentist before he's 3. Dr Paul gave us a recommendation for a pediatric dentistry practice in our area so we'll be scheduling that soon. And Ethan's due back at the opthomotrist in July too....SO many appts!! Just wait until they start sports/music/whatevs and we have to start shuttling them to those too! :>

We've been starting potty-training lately with Ethan. Actually, Gramma has been doing most of it since she is here...thanks, Gramma! Ethan has had a potty for awhile in our bathroom and we just bought another one to have in our living room. He also has some Cars pull-ups, and I recently bought him some underwear as an incentive too. The other day he had a playdate with his twin buddies and they are both now potty-trained. I don't know if that was the switch or what, but he's been peeing in the potty for a couple days now with very few accidents...even waking up dry from naps. He tends to be wet in the morning, and hasn't done the #2 in the potty yet, but definitely knows when that's happening. We've been using the treat method, although last night at Target I looked for a healthier alternative to Swedish Fish! Chocolate covered raisins are what I came up with. It works for me, and works for him!

Well, exploding vocabulary is mostly good, but when coupled with a unique imagination, or maybe just toddler creativity, is sometimes shocking and embarassing...behold the latest Ethanisms...

Grabbing his butt-cheek after bathtime..."I'm grabbing my back boobies"

Tooting with his diaper off..."I burped in my pants"

Liz: Stop digging in your butt (during a potty-training encounter)
Ethan: There's a wood chip in it!

Sitting on the potty...
Ethan: Can I have a Swedish Fish?
Liz: No because you didn't go to the bathroom yet
Ethan: I have a Swedish Fish and then I will poop. I will. I will.

It still surprises me how much he picks up from us when we don't think he's listening...He was in the bathroom with me the other day and said to himself...

"I just need to stand on my stool and wash my hands and then I will brush me teeth with water...that sounds like a good plan"...."That sounds like a good plan" is totally something that I say.

I would need to walk around constantly with a piece of paper and pen to document all the funnies this little dude comes up with.

Life is good. And funny.

Now off to medicate due to my toe injury.

June...woot!

2009-06-05T20:20:00.000-05:00

There's no time for blogging...no time, no time.

But things have been happening at home and the list is getting longer (you know I always have a LIST of something...lists for the blog, lists of thank-you notes to write, lists of projects/to-do's around the house, lists of projects/to-do's at work, Target list, Gro list...I need 48 hours and a lot of caffeine andI could master it all!) and I need to catch up!

Having no time is my nemesis these days...I started "running" last Saturday. So far, I've run Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. Sunday I was wicked hungover due to "date-date-gone-awry" (long story, but I had fun!), Wednesday I had softball and we desperately needed milk/bread so I had to go to Target afterwards, and last night I had a haircut (first since FEBRUARY!) and a phone date with my sister. But tonight Andy is going to help me find the time to get in a good bike ride around Normandale Lake. First, Bike 101 to learn how to change gears (it's been awhile since I've been on a bike) and then I'm off!! I decided to run/bike Bloomington's Iron Girl race in September. 2-mile run/20-mile bike/2-mile run. I can do it. But I'm out of shape and June is dedicated to being able to move my legs in a running or biking motion while still being able to walk reasonably well the next day, and not collapse from heart failure, before I start the 12-week race training program in July. I'm registered...I've got $95 and my pride invested in this thing. Ask me how my training's going sometime? Don't let me off the hook. I'm likely to make excuses and slack and I need all the help I can get!!

I got stood up on Tuesday...by my cleaning lady. What the heck?! Is my house that bad?! She's been with us since I was pregnant with Dylan and Owen...probably since August. She comes every other Tuesday from 8-11am and is a whirlwind through our house. She's good, and not crazy expensive. She helps me keep a tiny hold on my sanity. I called her on Wednesday and left a message and have not heard back yet. So weird. If she's missed an appointment in the past she has always been really good about calling us. So not only am I confused, but I'm worried too! On that topic...the topic of cleaning...I realized that I am perfectly happy to just pay her the $75 to clean the upstairs bathroom...cripes...I hate bathrooms. Do you think she will come back if I offer her that gig? Don't worry...we are not living in filth...the house is now clean, but I spent time I didn't have doing it and that stinks...wah, wah, wah. On a bright note, I think I may have fixed our Dyson. A number of expletives have been shouted as I've tried time and time again to use the attachment in the past couple months only to end up pushing around crumbs...this is a several hundred dollar vaccuum we're talking about. Dyson boasts it's product on the simplicity of having no bags and that hepa-filter thing...did you know that since it doesn't have bags, there is actually a filter/sponge thing that you are supposed to wash out every 6 months! I can't remember exactly when we got ours, but it was before we were pregnant with our almost-3-year-old son!!! "Wash with cold water until water runs through clean"....um, my hands got really cold, and I had to put on dish gloves. Stay tuned...the filter/sponge is dry now, and I can't wait to try out the vaccumm tonight. Loser.

Ok, now on to something more fun...my kids!

We are talking up the whole potty thing with Ethan a lot. We now have another potty downstairs in the living room where we spend most of our time. So now he can run over to it whenever he needs to without us having to make sure the babies are safe and then run up the stairs to the bathroom with him. I think he just wants to decide on his own when to do it...we're not pressuring him at all, but he's 2 1/2!! He could do it if he wanted...I mean, Gramma Leslie found him out in the backyard with his pants down peeing in a cup the other day...that's control!

Has your kid ever made such a huge deal about eating a food that he's made himself gag? Seriously, what is the deal with cooked carrots?! I happen to love cooked carrots, and unless my kids have a food allergy that prevents them from eating them, they WILL eat them. Ethan is pretty good about eating things he doesn't typically "like" (or thinks he doesn't like) in exchange for a special treat. Every parenting book under the sun will tell you not to do this type of thing, but it works for us and "special treat" means banana, or milk, so whatevs. He was not particularly happy about the carrots the other night, but was trying to eat them and actually THREW UP! So, I don't know, I guess it worked for him because we stopped requesting he eat the carrots and he got his special treat anyways.

Ethan has a tan already. He wears sunscreen (sunscream), but he's just outside a lot. I'm not...I'm jelaous. I need to go to the booth...I'm not quite worried about wrinkles just yet. I call Ethie my little brownberry.

Last night after work I was sitting outside with him on the back patio and he said to me randomly..."I like the color of your toenails!"...cute.

Monday is the 6-month birthday for Dylan and Owen. I'm kinda emotional about it...in fact, I found myself getting kinda choked up about it when I was talking about it the other day to Gamma Leslie. I forget that they are 6 months old a lot...I mean, they are 6 months developmentally...they don't eat many solids (we're just cereal still...I need to make some food this weekend!), can't sit up (although Dylan is REALLY close), poop their pants...but they are SO big. Dylan wore a 12-18 month shortsleeved onesie yesterday. I just washed all the 12-month clothes because the 6-9 month sleepers are just not long enough and the onesies pull too much...basically anything that has a designated length just does not work on them. I figure all my boys will probably tower over me by age 11. I had some serious flashbacks when washing and folding the 12-month clothes...I remember Ethan in them so vividly, and it doesn't seem like that long ago!!

I've decided to discontinue posting pictures to Ethan's babysite. It's just too hard to keep up with all this social-networking crap. So, I post the monthly pics (just posted May) to Facebook, and I'll throw pictures on the blog also. If you want to see the pics on FB...just comment here or send me an email or something and I'll accept the friendship (I'm not sure I know all readers' names).

May...good riddance.

2009-05-29T19:33:00.000-05:00

May is almost over...phew. This month has just been...something else. Andy has surprised me with a date night tomorrow night though, so I'm really looking forward to that. My dear cousin, Teresa, has graduated from college and is home for the Summer...she's coming over tomorrow to see the babies before they head to bed, and then we'll head out once they are asleep. Yay! I don't even know what to do with myself...where to go, what to do?! I don't think we've been out together since early April. It snowed that night.

*****

So, as usual, there are funny "Ethanisms" to share...

A few weeks ago, during a particularly gross diaper-change, I must have made a face because Ethan asked, "Are you sad Mommy?" I replied that I wasn't. Then he asked, "Are you mad at my poop?"

Ethie was being goofy after bathtime a few nights ago and while I was getting him into his pajamas I said, "You're crazy"...and he said, "I ammmmmm!"

This child has a memory like a trap. Ethan is very big into pointing out mistakes. I step on his hand (see previous post); I try to put a baby diaper on him; I spill a glass of juice...and he says, "Mommy made me a mistake"...this is an improvement from the first version, "Mommy made me a steak"...Every time Mommy "makes him a mistake" he talks about how Gramma Nana made him a mistake and drove her car into the snowbank....way back in March!!

Ethan loves to cook, and no matter what we are cooking, he announces, "We need the oil!"

I made the boys some fleece blankets for Easter and Ethan didn't like his. In fact, he declared something like, "Actually, I don't like it very much. I will put it on the floor at the bottom of my bed"...and it stung. Now, he wants his blanket at bedtime, and he wants it to be the first one put on top of him. I feel special.

Ethan is strong and when he says, "I'm going to hug/kiss you as hard as I can" he really means it!

Today, Ethan went to the arboretum with Gamma and friends. The plans to go were made a few days ago so we'd been talking about it with Ethan. It was interpreted as going to get a burrito. "Burrito"/"Arboretum"...Tomato/Tomahto...whatever. I heard he was pretty confused about not getting a burrito at the arboretum today.

"Suncream"...we wear it everyday.

Box Elder bugs...otherwise known as "soldier" bugs.

******

I need to take pictures of the baptism frames. I haven't hung them (or rather, requested that Andy hang them) yet because I don't want to put more holes in the walls before I do the room-swap because I will just have to puddy them up before painting. But at the rate I'm going with the planning for the room-swap, I might as well just hang them. Anyways, I'll post pictures of them soon...until then, here are the pictures I used for each of them. The frames also feature the baptism certificates, the church service program, and the baptism cloths. Dylan's and Owen's aren't shadow boxes like Ethan's so I couldn't get the baptism candle inside...I'm thinking about gluing on top, maybe?

Owen Gene Sandberg and his Great-Grandpa, Gene Schrader

Mommy lovin' up on Dylan...I really can't get enough of his cheeks.

Catching up from a long weekend!

2009-05-22T15:29:00.009-05:00

Ethan:

H: "You're my favorite two-year-old."
E: "My cat eats cat food."
Which immediately reminded me of one of my favorite Ralph Wiggum quotes, "My cat's breath smells like cat food."

Tonight we were eating broccoli and Ethan said, "Broccoli is like a little tree."

Several weeks ago, I stepped on Ethan's hand. It was a proud parenting moment. He was climbing up the stairs with his hands and feet and I was coming down the stairs fast because I had just run up to get a sweatshirt for him...it left a mark and he's still talking about it..."Mommy stepped on me. She didn't know my little hand was there." Nice.

I may have mentioned this one before...Ethan talks about some of his little cars as his "littles"...it cracks me up.

The other night I said to Ethan, "Give me a kiss on the cheek." and he replied, "You can give yourself one." Sass.

Another one I may have mentioned, because he's been calling me this for awhile, but Ethan calls me Gummy and Guppy sometimes...pretty much only at bedtime. If Daddy is bringing him up to bed, he will say to me on his way upstairs, "Goodnight Gummy. I love you Guppy"...or some combination of that. I don't know where it came from, but I absolutely love that he has a nickname for me.

Ethan had his first skinned-knee of the Summer recently. He let me put a Sponge Bob Square Pants band-aid on it (the first band-aid I put on him was on a blister on his heel, and he freaked out!) and then wanted one on the other knee as well, so they would match.

Speaking of "matching"...Ethan head-butted me in the thigh a few mornings ago. Daddy had a talk with him afterwards...I was too busy trying not to cry. This kid has a HARD head. I got an instant bruise and it was/is nasty-looking. I showed Ethan to show him that Mommy can get hurt too. He said, "Oooooh" all sad, and then got a huge smile on his face and said "We have matching owies" while pulling up the leg of his pants to show me his skinned knee. Do you think he got the message?

Ethan has been trying out the potty a lot, and talking about all sorts of potty-topic things...no need for detail. He tries to go on the potty himself a lot, without prodding or bribes. He's very excited about it. I think we'll be there before the end of the Summer...maybe sooner. I've heard that letting kids run around naked helps them be more aware of when they need to go...Summertime and playing outside will make that a lot easier.

Dylan & Owen:

I finished their baptism frames today! That's one week and one day past their baptism. Beats the two years plus it took me to get Ethan's done but whatevs.

Size recap: Reminder, Dylan and Owen are 6 months on June 8th

Dylan is solidly in to 9-month sleepers...I think he could fill out a 12-month in some brands. He is girthy, yes, but it's that he's SO long!! His clothes are all 6-9 months, but he doesn't fit the 6-month sleepers...they are too short for him.

Owen still fits some 3-month sweat-pants. Most of his clothes are 6-month...some are 3-6 month, but the 3-6 month onesies are getting tight. He's also a little too long for the 6-month sleepers, but he's still in there for now. He's catching up to his younger-by-one-minute-brother. He's definitely filling out a little bit in the face....there are some rolls in his thighs.

The 6-month well-baby check is on June 11th. Now that we are done with Synagis shots, I don't get the monthly weight update and I just can't wait to see what they're at. These boys are HEALTHY!! We're still just doing rice cereal before bedtime...but I'm getting ready for the next step. I recently bought some teething biscuits (I hate that, sounds like they're dogs or something), puffs, and am ready to order some food storage containers because I'm going to attempt to make my own baby food for them with our food processor. If anyone has any tips on this, please share!

Dylan is rolling all over the place. I swear, any day now he will crawl. It is exciting and makes me nervous as well. The days of being able to run into the kitchen to grab something quick are almost over...they move so fast once they get mobile.

*****

I'm still thinking about the great room-swap. I picked out 4 blue-paint samples to let Ethan pick from. I may let him pick...I have a favorite too. At some point I will get organized enough to do this. There will never be a perfect time, and it's complicated by the fact that my husband thinks it's unnecessary, and he's probably right. But I really want to give Ethan a big-boy room, and if I'm going to go through the effort of re-doing a room, I might as well switch him into the room that works best for the big brother.

We are building a garden this Summer. I picked out lots of flower seeds, because Ethan wants to plant flowers and nothing else...primarily Sunflowers. I got lots of different flowers, because I want variety...Andy and I are going to try and sneak in some vegetable seeds as well. I'm also going to plant some tomato plants in some beds where some hostas didn't transplant well a few seasons ago. Andy also bought a few lilac bushes for a corner of our yard, 4 dogwoods, and two birch trees. We've spent the last couple years (4+) in our house just trying to get the yard into shape because it had been a serious mess, but now it's time to spice it up!

I brought all the kids down to Northfield on Saturday morning for the Annual Carleton Rugby Alumni game. The weather wasn't ideal at first, but we had come prepared with a tarp for underneath our blanket and set up camp in an area well off the pitch. As I unloaded the car, I realized that I must be crazy to bring the kids to this thing...the first game started at 11am...it was right around lunch and would run over naptime. It went pretty well...my Mom helped me out while Andy played and Grampa Pete showed up and walked around with Dylan and Ethan while Owen napped in his carseat. I drank a beer or two. After awhile, the kids and I went home...they all crashed out in the car on the way home...the sun came out. Later, my parents told me that their friends remarked at how in control and calm I was handling all 3 of them...it's good that I look that way on the outside!!

We had a great Memorial Day weekend...it was 4 days for me since I had Friday off also. My parents were in town...we had lots of fun and also some time to hang out as well!! Pictures from one of our afternoons in the backyard are on my new homemade banner!

Ha!

2009-05-21T18:03:00.001-05:00

Wanna take a guess?

Let's play "create a caption"...no prize, just my nomination of "funniest reader"....ready...go!

Emerging from the haze

2009-05-16T20:46:00.003-05:00

It's been a long time. But I'm back.

May has been a little rough. Andy was out of town the first weekend, then incapacitated from "man-surgery" the second weekend...and it's not an exaggeration to say that I've been working around the clock. My laptop has been attached to my hip, and Ethan has asked me several times, "Are you still computering, Mommy?" Oh, the guilt. It ebbs and flows. It's flowing right now.

Thankfully, my parents are in town this weekend. Dylan and Owen are getting baptized tomorrow with their cousin, Linnea Rose. Today I let my parents and Andy run the show this afternoon. I took a nap. The best nap ever. In my bed. It was awesome. I fell asleep around lunchtime, slept until 3, and then Andy brought me lunch in bed. The only bad thing is that I slept through the Twins game. But I was awake by the time we lost. Again.

My Mommy is staying in town this week, my Dad heads back to KY tomorrow evening, and returns next Thursday for the weekend for the Carleton Alumni Rugby game. I'm in Heaven. I've missed them. I will let my Mom cook for us (Dad too...we got "letter pancakes" this morning!), and soak up every hug. I'm not gonna try to be the hero. I'm tired, and my Mommy wants to take care of me, and I will let her. ...and gratefully.

I'm excited for the baptism tomorrow. I think it's so cool that Dylan and Owen are getting baptized with their cousin, Linnea. Her parents are their godparents, and us, hers. That means I'm godmamma to two beautiful little ladies...Linnea Rose and Emily Ann. I could not be prouder. The baptism is at Emma's church, and we met the Pastor earlier this week. I think it's going to be a really nice service. We're having a little reception for our parents and grandparents afterwards. Andy bought Dylan and Owen matching polo shirts to wear tomorrow....I try not to dress them alike too much, but this is cute...and their pants, shoes and jackets (it was COLD today in MN) are different. Come to think of it, what the heck am I going to wear? TBD.

Speaking of baptisms...I've had something on my to-do list....oh, since about March of 2007. I have Ethan's Baptism Certificate, the candle from his baptism, the "program" from the service...for a long time I've wanted to put all these things into a shadow-box frame. Guess when I got this done....tonight. The night before my 2nd and 3rd children get baptized...over 2 years later. On the list of priorities, this was way down there....but it's done now, and I like it. I predict Owen and Dylan will have theirs done by 2014.

Ethan has been saying lots of cute things lately, as usual. They come out so often that I'm really having a hard time documenting them. This one, from last night, made me cry from laughter...as usual, it's much funnier in Ethan speak, but I'll share anyways....I was working at the island, when I went to check on Ethan, who was playing outside on his own (we have a fenced backyard that is only grass, shrubs and a plethora of plastic toys). I peeked outside and he said, "Will you come outside to play with me, Mommy?" Work can wait. I sat outside with him and I felt a raindrop. I pointed to the concrete patio and showed him the wet spots where the rain had fallen. "Oh no, we must go inside. Mommy got a raindrop!" It's the franticness of the way he says "must" that kills me. It's too funny. He's still very charming. Still very TWO...but never fails to make me laugh.

Dylan is producing a lot of drool. Not sure if it's the beginning of teething, or just his salivary glands kicking into high gear. He soaks through his shirts and the bibs that he wears throughout the day to try and keep his shirts dry, and he's got a rash on his chin from all the wetness...I remember this stage with Ethan. Nothing stays dry...I do laundry all the time. Ethan still drools. When does this end?

Dylan and O are so cuddly. Two out of the last three nights Dylan has woken up about a half hour after falling asleep in the evening. I never feel more important than when I pick him up and he instantly stops crying. We sit in the rocker and he melts into my chest. He sighs and catches his breath from crying and falls asleep in my arms. I'm Mommy. I have soothing power. Just a few minutes from any of my 3 little boys and everything is put in perspective. Life is busy, life is stressful, but it's so amazing and fulfilling as well. Ok, I'll lay off the cheese now.

Ethan picked the trifecta in the Preakness today. Remember how I said that he picked "Mine That Bird" for the Derby? If Andy would have bet the way he usually does, we would have won over $1M on a box trifecta. He didn't bet that way. Today, he bet on Ethan's horses...won...probably about $200. It's not $1M, but we'll take it....straight to Babys 'R Us.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T20:32:00.000-05:00

Rice cereal scenes from last night...or as Ethan calls it, "Mush"...like in "Goodnight Moon"!

When he keeps his hands out of his mouth, and when he stops laughing and grinning, Owen loves that mush!! He must think eating solids is really funny because he can not stop laughing during cereal time!!

Dylan complies with picture-taking so Mommy will put down the camera and GIVE him that grub! D pounces on the spoon and opens his mouth wide for each bite. I can't wait to see his reaction to food with flavor! Not to far away!!

*****

"Hil/Mommy, Thank you for being our mommy. You're a pretty girl, and you're skinny. We will always give you kisses. 'illegible scrawlings' (Ethan) & Andy"

My card, from Ethan and Andy, just moments ago, because I asked for one. Ethan wanted to give me his Mother's Day gift on Friday, so he hampered Andy's "plan". I got a fabulous suit (with skirt instead of pants...hurray!) and a lovely purple shirt to wear underneath! I have zero suits, so this was a very thoughtful gift. I'm assuming I might have to travel for work a few times this year so this will be great to have. Thanks, guys!!

I had worked most of the day (and Friday night and last night!), so I can't say that it felt like "my" day, but I got to spend some lovely time with each of my boys. Ethan snuggled up with me in bed this morning...Ethan, about 10 tractors, and I snuggled it up under our down comforter (still using it in May, with the windows open!). Owen and I took a super quick cat-nap on the couch while Andy and Ethan went to the park (and Dylan cat-napped in the swing). Dylan and I rocked and watched the Twins game. I gave the babies baths. I fed Owen rice cereal. I made faces at Dylan while we played tummy-time. D & O are SO smiley...belly laughs...I can't stop laughing with them. I did laundry, I washed dishes, I cleaned a toilet (Mary was sick last week...the house is SO dirty!!). Andy had a certain "man surgery" on Friday so he wasn't to full operating capacity this weekend, but he was much more helpful than I expected him to be. He's really awesome. He took Ethie to the park this morning and after naptime he took him outside so he could run around naked. I don't think I can post those pictures, but they are pretty funny. The point of having him being naked outside is two-fold. He's got a rash issue...outside the diaper. Lamisil and Desitin don't seem to be doing the trick...we're hoping the Sun can. Also, we are inching our way into potty-training. Ethan's had the potty in our bathroom for a long time and sat on it a few times. Today, he pooped and then told us he wanted to sit on the potty. So I took him up there and he sat on the potty for awhile. The deed had already been done in the diaper, but I figure this is a starting point. Andy and I have both read that being naked makes them more aware of feeling they need to go potty. It could be messy, and it's probably better to start on a weekend when Andy is more mobile...but we feel we should be moving in that direction sometime soon!!

I can't help but think about what a difference a year makes. On Mother's Day morning 2008, I took a pregnancy test. We had just been out the night before, at the Twin v Red Sox game, with Andy's siblings and significant others. I drank a lot of beer. On Sunday, I was 2 days late. We'd been trying again, so I decided to make sure before I drank any momosas at brunch. Before I even pulled up my pants, the EPT digital test flashed "pregnant" (no wonder, little did I know...it was twins!!...even at 4 weeks, my hcG levels must have been off the charts!)...I called Andy upstairs...he took a look at the test and said "Babyyyyy" to me. We hugged and then decided not to tell anyone for awhile. We were still fresh off the miscarriage in Februrary and a little hesitant to be celebratory. We celebrated Mother's Day with Andy's family. At that time, Ethan was the only grandchild and I had to share him. I'm still willing to share, but now there's 4 grand-kids!!!

It makes me wonder where we'll be next Mother's Day. Dylan and Owen will no doubt be mobile, and capably so I assume, at almost 1 1/2 yrs old. Ethan will be over 3 1/2!! One year doesn't sound like so long, but it's amazing how much your life can change within those 365 (or 366!) days. The changes seem to keep getting better and better for our family! I could NOT be a prouder Mom to Ethan, Owen and Dylan. They light up my life and I am thrilled to be their Mommy.

Uncanny

2009-05-09T20:11:00.001-05:00

Owen - 2 Months

Ethan - 2 Months

Dylan - 5 Months

Ethan - 6 Months