Heave ho!

Emma is 19 months and - knock on wood - has NEVER puked. She rarely spit up as a baby - I think I can remember 3 times - weird, I know!

Ben, on the other hand, in his 5 short weeks has vomited twice. He, too, is not much of a spitter-upper, but let me tell you - when he decides to vomit, he holds NOTHING back.

This morning was vomit #2. I was mucho exhaustedo when he wanted his 6am feeding, so I 'cheated' and laid him in bed next to me and he nursed on his side and we slept and he nursed and we slept... Well, I am guessing he overate because when we finally got our sleepy butts out of bed, he belched the scariest of noises and started vomiting like the chick in exorcist. My bathrobe and my nursing top caught the brunt of it - fun! And needless to say, Ben got his bath a little earlier than normal today. Mama, too.

A Blessing on our House.

I've decided Emma's "Dank oo" from yesterday's post is more of a "Kank oo" - still adorable and she is still using it properly.

Today she added a new unsolicited phrase to her repertoire. Apollo, our dog, sneezed and Emma - without missing a beat - casually offered us a "bwess shuu!" I looked up from a mountain of laundry to see her playing with her legos as if this is a blessing she has been offering forever...

Ben is also developing the first of his 'language skills'. Daddy and I have noticed his cry is moving away from that newborn squawking and becoming more hardy - that is when he cries, which is rare. Have I mentioned how much I dig this 5 week old? He is starting to coo more and more, too, and still squeeks like a crazy mouse while nursing - too funny!

Binky Thief

Emma, Emma, Emma. You bring us so much joy. Her discovery of language - especially.

My favorite moment today (and there were way to many to blog about) was when she wanted to watch tv. As I mentioned before, when she thinks it is tv time, she will grab the remote and wave it at me and say in her cutest of cute toddler voice, "Oswald?" Well, today was no different. She went through all her favorites, "Oswald?" "No, Emma, no tv now." "Daisy?" "No, Emma, mama's sorry, but no tv now." Now with a pitiful sad voice, "Dora?" "No, sweety, you already watched some tv today." Then - and here's what got me - in the sweetest voice with those damn long eyelashes batting at me, "Me good girl!"

How do you say NO to that? She is a good girl - other than stealing Ben's binky in the blink of an eye - she is a sweet good little girl.

Lord help us that she is only 19 months and is already realizing how to use that to her advantage!

Music to my ears.

"Dank oo!"

"Dank oo, mama."

Emma, today for the very first time, tossed out a few unsolicited words of gratitude. She used the phrase appropriately when I gave her a snack, "Dank oo, mama." And she used it a few times on the fly - like she was testing them out - for example, when she knocked over her tower of legos and it broke into a million pieces, "Oh, no! Dank oo!"

Funny part about it is, anyone who knows me knows I have a habit of delivering my speech in a sing-songy way, and I hear Emma doing the same with all her new phrases. She has an ear for inflection, too. Maybe she is destined to do Voice Overs like her mama...

A Streetcar Named Emma

While watching the Oscars tonight I had Ben in my lap. He was enjoying his after dinner binky when his loving sister decided she wanted to join us on my lap. She behaved for a few minutes before she got a little too touchy feely for Ben and he started to fuss. Daddy came over and snatched her off my lap and in true Oscar fashion, she cried out reaching for the baby as daddy was walking away with her, "Beeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnn!"

Marlon Brando would have been proud...

And the Academy Award goes to...

I got a call yesterday afternoon. I didn't recognize the number so I let it go to voicemail. Turns out it was Emma's agent. Yes, Emma has an agent. Actually, I was dropping off headshots to MY agent with Emma in tow about a year ago and the Agent from the Children's Print Department got sight of Emma and signed her up immediately.

She has only had a few auditions in the past year. To be honest, she does not perform well on demand. She is an amazing actress, tears and all, when she wants something and we won't give it to her - but in that casting office she has left me hanging, no smiles, no laughs, uninterested and bored on a few occasions.

Until today.

Today was THE audition for Emma. You see, Emma has lovely blonde hair, and she is not afraid to be a Breck girl and shake those golden locks. The audition was for a shampoo ad for Johnson and Johnson. They wanted a toddler with blonde hair and big blue eyes. Check and check. Also, one who loves to take a bath. Check? She's 50 - 50 on the bath thing... it really depends on what toys she gets to bring in with her!

So now we wait and see if they call her back.

blogspeak

Questions that occurred to me today:

What the heck is custard made of, and WHY is it so friggin tasty?

The fact that the cookie mix we like requires half a cows ass of butter to make had nothing to do with it being on sale buy two get THREE free, right?

Why DO we park on a driveway, and drive on a parkway?

How is it that my wife is more attractive to me now, after bearing two children than EVER before?

Will I get smacked for actually typing that last sentence?

If you were a hot dog stranded on an island, would you eat yourself?



It's a very simple question....


Daddy

Murphy's Law

I was still pretty tired after nursing Ben at 6am yesterday, so I climbed backed into bed hoping for one final hour of sleep before Emma woke up. Emma gave me the hour, but Ben who normally just wakes to eat as many newborns do, would have nothing to do with sleep. Kiddo was wide awake and alert like I had never seen him which guilted me into wanting to engage him and stimulate his growing brain.

We played for about 45 minutes when his eyelids started to get heavy. I watched him drift back to sleep and tried to do the same - but as Mr. Murphy would have it, Emma decided it was time to start her day. She climbed into bed with us and upon seeing the sleeping baby, gave me a whispered version of my daily anatomy of the face lesson (nose, eyes, mouth, hair, ears - her favorite words next to Oswald, Daisy and Weenie). I was very proud of her decision to be quiet so I allowed her lean in and kiss her sleeping little brother, which apparently brought her so much joy that when she leaned in she yelled, "Hi, bebe!!!" Scaring the bejezus not only out of Ben but me, as well!

Then, of course, possibly because I am sleep deprived and mostly because my funny bone is enlarged having a toddler in the house, I got the uncontrollable giggles which lasted throughout the day everytime I thought about what happened.

every day should be

A day where I thank my wife for everything she does to make my life simpler. I revel in sneaking in here to post stream of consciousness, but I especially love sneaking in an I Love You to the mother of our two splendid children, the person whom I look forward to growing up with. If I didn't say it today, I am eternally grateful that you are in my life!

There was nothing more important to say than that.

sleep

by daddy

Mr. Mom

Today was Mr. Mom day. Yep, Mama booked herself a Voice Over gig so Daddy was lucky enough to stay home with both kiddies and enjoy a day of solo fatherhood.

About 90 minutes into my job I got a picture text from Daddy. Apparently he was washing dishes when he realized it was way too quiet in the house. "Emma, where are you?" He came into the living room and found a toddler all covered in red marker - ala the Joker. (I keep a nursing journal by my comfy chair and she got her hands on it and the marker.) Thankfully it wasn't a permanent marker and he caught it fast enough that it wasn't too dry and he could wipe up her face and hands with a diaper wipe (the cure-all for everything, btw!).

Ben faired much better, he is still in that sleep most of the time stage, although we are noticing him more alert for longer periods of time. I do have some good news to report, Ben seemed to actually ENJOY his bath tonight! He didn't cry or whimper, and most importantly, HE DIDN'T PEE ON ME.

Cold feet?

I made my first real solo venture out into the real world with both kids today. We went to the - dum da dummmmm - Supermarket!

I 'preplanned' it all out in my head (because I am anal technical like that) starting with parking next to one of those shopping cart return slots so I didn't have far to retrieve or return a cart. That worked out perfectly. I put Emma in the child sitting spot first then strapped Ben into the baby bjorn and we were on our way...

Except I forgot to put socks on Ben and his 22 day old feet were just a-dangling from the legs holes in the carrier and EVERY little old lady in the grocery store let me know it. "Oh, the poor thing! Where are his socks? It's very cold in here!"

"Yes, thank you, I know I am a terrible mother - but look at my toddler, she has socks AND shoes on, and if you know anything about toddlers, that is a huge accomplishment."

We made it home in one piece (ie, my guts didn't fall out) and I felt I had fulfilled a great task considering I am not supposed to be lifting my 28 lb toddler for another 3 weeks after having the c-section. She is pretty good at getting into her car seat by herself, but into the shopping cart is a different thing...

Who needs a coloring book?

Hmmmm, Emma gets more joy taking the crayons in and out of the box over and over than she does in actually coloring.

As a matter of fact, when you try to color with her, she will take the crayon from you and say, "No." When she takes a crayon out of the box, she says proudly, "Alright!" Then she will color for about .005 of a second, put the crayon away and say, "Alright!"

"Alright!" is the word of the day...

What will tomorrow bring?

decisions, decisions

Our little family is starting to outgrow our little living room so we had to make a choice. Ditch my beloved coffee table or get rid of the kids and their toys.

After much deliberation, we chose to put the coffee table in our storage space (i.e. converted garage) freeing up much needed play space in the living room. I decided to blog about this big decision so when you come to visit me I don't have to explain why my living room looks so strange without a table in front of the sofa. But you probably wouldn't notice anyways because there are so many toys in front of the sofa and you can use one of them as a coaster for your beverage.

One o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock rock

I hate that I feel like I always have one eye on the clock.

Was it always this way? Or is this something I am more conscious of because I have two mini people depending on me for so much. Breakfast at 8ish, snack at 10ish, lunch at noonish, nap at 2:30, dinner at 5, bath at 6:30, bed at 7:30, me in bed by 8:30... Up every three hours to nurse.

I wouldn't trade places with anyone right now. I am incredibly blessed that I have the ability to stay home and care for my kids and when I do work, my husband is the one staying home or taking them to his office.

I look forward to every morning wondering what Emma is going to do to make me laugh that day as she develops her personality but I equally look forward to bedtime when I can have a few minutes to myself before passing out!

...Ben and I shared a nap on the sofa this afternoon. He was snuggled in on my chest like a warm little heating pad and it was soooo awesome. Then tonight while giving him a bath he peed all over my kitchen wall. Again. Can someone tell me how to bathe a baby boy without him peeing all over? : 0

Don't quit your day job.

Daddy missed his calling as a stand up comic. I was washing dishes tonight when I overheard him say to our 18 day old, "Well, yes, Benjamin, in some countries it is perfectly natural to french kiss your father."

You see, when Ben is hungry he doesn't care where the milk comes from, he just WANTS TO EAT and will attach himself to whatever is close hoping for sustenance.

Oh, no!

Aaaaah, the developing language skills of an 18 month old...

Yesterday afternoon Emms-a-doo was emptying my pots and pans cupboard - as a toddler is known to do - and she came across my metal veggie steamer. Fascinated with how it opens and closes like sea anenome (sp?), it occupied her for the entire time I was washing dishes.

That is until I heard, "OH, NO!"

I looked down at her sitting on the floor. She had ripped off one of the steamer 'petals' and was holding the piece in her hand. She looked up at me bewildered and said, "What did I do?" - no doubt a phrase we have used a 1000 times when she had done something she probably shouldn't have!

milking belly button...

I am sitting here nursing Baby Ben trying to upload pics on Snapfish and I looked over at Emma and this is what I see...

She has opened up the box with my old breast pump in it and taken out the breast shield (the part that you attach to your boob to 'milk' yourself). She currently is walking around with it on her belly button. Does she know something I don't?

Wow. They really do pay attention to what we do!

Family Outing

We had our first 'family outing' today - a 9am doctor's appointment for both kiddies. I always try to book the first appointment of the day so we don't have to wait too long in the reception area... somehow that never seems to work to our advantage, we still didn't see the doctor until 9:45!

Thank goodness Brian was willing and able to come with me. Where Baby Ben is a happy camper to just hang out in his car seat, Emma is a toddler wanting/needing to explore every nook and cranny of a new environment. She is also in her climbing phase - so one must keep a constant vigil lest she take a tumble from upon high (which she did twice today at home after the doctor appt. but I am way to exhausted to go into those events...).

When we finally got in to see the pediatrician, Ben for his 2 week (!) - has he been in our lives that long already!!! - and Emma for her 18 month visit, Emma was pretty much done and wanting to go home. Ben went first with the doc and scored well on all his exams. He seems to be thriving and is back to his original weight after losing so much in the hospital. Emma on the other hand is not fond of her doctor's visits and screamed the whole time. Daddy was there to wrangle her during the exam and immunization, something I just may require until she grows out of this stage of freaking out at the ear examiner thingy, etc... When does that happen - age 13 or so?

We made it home in one piece, but we all took long naps this afternoon and I am heading to sleep now. (This is actually the latest I've stayed awake in days!) I'm looking forward to the challenge of heading out into the real world with 2 kids on my own in the next week or so - funny how something so simple seems like such an achievement when you get home...

Destined to be dirty...

All I wanted was a quick shower and to actually blow dry my hair instead of letting it dry naturally (i.e. curly and fuzzy...).

So, I put Ben safely in his bed with baby bach to entertain him, and let Emma watch some tv while I was in the shower... It worked - both survived my 8 minutes of getting clean!

Now the blow dry my hair part. I have lots of hair. It takes a good 20 minutes to blow it out straight. I left Ben in his crib and turned off the tv figuring Emma could entertain herself for 20 minutes, right?

Oh she entertained herself allright. She:
1) Emptied the entire contents of my nightstand drawer onto my bedroom floor.
2) Tried to put my hairclip in Ben's non-existant hair while he was in the bassinet.
3) Remembered how to use the spout on the Arrowhead water dispenser dumping three kitchen towels worth of water on the floor for me to swab up.
4) Somehow climbed up the gate I put up in the doorway of the kitchen after the waterfall incident and it came tumbling down on top of her leaving her laid out on the hardwood floor staring at the ceiling in a dumbfounded, "WTF?" way.

My 20 minute blow dry took 45 minutes and my hair is still fuzzy. And wow, is it grey. I need to go to the salon... But that takes like 3 hours - I can only imagine the trouble the toddler could and would get into.

Gramma Lou come back!

all play and no work make me very happy

I had no clue. Seriously, not even an inkling as to how spiritually cleansing it is to simply indulge in the play of a 18 month old child. It feels like my soul was spot-free rinsed. Don't get me wrong, I knew having kids would be fun, because well, I'm a pretty fun guy. But that's not what I'm talking about. I ran around the backyard today pushing Emma in her car like a cabbie on the way to the Met. We laughed as the dogs chased us and each other. We stopped to listen to the wind rustle the fronds of the palm trees, her face pensive as she took in the backdrop of the blue sky. I was struck by the words of scripture "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven", and then we were off again, to catch our show. The tires were never louder than her squeals.

I find myself daydreaming about the uncontrollable giggle/squeals from Emma as we roughhouse, to the point where I feel a magnetic pull back to the house just so I can see her sleep, knowing that she will wake up with nothing but sheer unadulterated joy, and that by just being near to her, my attitude and thoughts will be cleansed as though I had walked through a waterfall. I watch her sleeping as a child would watch the fireplace on christmas eve, desperately waiting for santa to make his appearance and with him that rush of endorphin driven excitement. I simply had no idea that being dad would be this visceral. I carry her throughout my day. Reminders that I should be excited, I'm alive, I'm awake, and there's no obstacle too big or pain too sharp that a simple joy can't cure. She helps me define my simple joys; the way her hair drapes perfectly over her eyes, the pitter patter as she runs to hug mommy, the look of understanding as her mind flexes its growing muscle when she speaks a new word, the spontaneous yoga...

One day she will wake up, and the youth will have given way to maturity, and the innocence will be suppressed, but not lost. But it is my calling to remind her of what she is capable of, by never losing my belief in her, since I was witness to her gift. I hope one day she reads this, a parent to her own children, and understands the healing power of her their laughter.

I'm excited to see what part of me Ben is able to develop.

daddy