The Boy in the Barbie Car

I was thinking this morning about what it's like to be a mom of two children and how your perspective can change when there's two instead of one. I believe I still have this intense determination that I will provide my children with my very best (unfortunately my best, isn't always that great). I want them to be confident and independent while having compassion for others and of course through all this I hope they will have a sense of humor.

What sparked this is I was looking back through some pictures and came across this one of Jack having his hair cut a couple of months ago. Yes, he's sitting in a Barbie Car because all the "boy" chairs where occupied. What's funny about this is that if it had been Will I may have even waited until another chair opened up. But with Jack I find myself thinking "it's no big deal". What I'm curious about is to see how my much more laid back approach to certain situations may effect Jack's outlook. With Will I was able to concentrate solely on his wants and needs and I'm unable to do that now. I also wonder how far back my boys will remember things when they are grown. My earliest memory is of Erin being born and going to the hospital. I was about 31/2. Does that mean I have a free pass until they turn three? I have another year to get my act together?

The Writing is on the Wall AND Will's First Day at Preschool (4.18.06)

One of the funny things about parenthood is that just when you think you KNOW your child, they go and do something you would never expect. For example Will drew all over the dining room wall with a permenant marker. How did he find the marker you may be wondering? Of course I left it out on the counter and didn't even think of the trouble it could cause. The funny thing is that Will uses crayons and pencils all the time and he's never drawn on the wall. He must have known just how "special" that marker was. Thankfully we still had some leftover paint and I was able to cover the "masterpiece".

Will's first day of preschool was the day after we got home from Palm Springs. The preschool is run by the same person who runs the childcare both boys have been attending since February. Will was the oldest at the infant/toddler house so they decided he was old enough to move to the "big kids house". There are 16 children ranging from 2 1/2(Will's the youngest) up to 5. He is doing really well! He's interacting with all the kids, follows directions really well and is even sleeping on his mat during nap time. He's even brough home a few art projects, and of course, they are so darling!

Happy Easter! (4.16.06)

I know I'm totally behind on blog entries (it's the last day of April!). Here are pictures from Easter Day in Palm Springs. We started off with Easter baskets (bags really, they travel better) and then went to Mass. Jack lasted about 15 minutes and then I had to take him outside. Everytime I'd start to head back into the building he'd start fussing and getting louder. Will stayed quiet for almost half of church and then he had to be taken outside. Will is at this stage where running (or being chased) is really fun. Of course it scares me to death because I'm terrifed he's going to run into the street. Let's just say he's faster when I'm running in three inch heels, not very praticle for a mom.

After church we went to Thunderbird for Easter brunch. It was so good! Will ate 5 waffles and a pint of strawberries, no joke! We had a nice time visiting with everyone. During brunch there is always a magic show which is very entertaining, and a puppet show. Will watched the puppet show and was pretty intrigued for about 15-20 minutes. Then he hopped out of his chair and said, "no more puppets". We finished out the morning with Will's first easter egg hunt. He did pretty well, I was very impressed. Unfortunately most of the eggs had chocolate eggs in them which had become very soft while waiting in the sun/heat. What a mess! After all the activity and excitement the boys took long naps and I read. Doug played golf and we started to pack up. What a great holiday!

Palm Springs, Easter Weekend (4.13-17.06)

We had the greatest vacation recently. We were in Palm Springs for a long Easter weekend. We stayed at Thunderbird Country Club in the cottages so we were close to all the action. Doug played golf everyday and the boys and I enjoyed the sun, pool, food and visiting with family. Everyone was there except Uncle Allan and Aunt Pat's family and Mary Jane. There were still 23 of us at Easter brunch, not bad!

Will loved riding/driving the golf cart and this was Jack's first time in the pool. He LOVED it. He just hung out in his raft and play with toys. He even feel asleep at one point - he was so relaxed. We feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to see everyone and get to go somewhere so nice and warm.

More Birthday Party Pictures (4.9.06)

Phew! What a day!

The Party (4.9.06)

We celebrated Jack's birthday with friends and family on Sunday, April 9. Turns out our second child not only loves cake, but doesn't mind getting a little dirty. Such a tease and a bit of a clown, Jack entertained his guests by smearing cake all over his face, and rubbing it into his hair. We had lunch and cupcakes. Jack received MANY nice gifts, and thoroughly enjoyed playing with all the gift wrap (isn't that always the case?).

One Year

Today is Jack's 1st birthday! How quickly time has passed. Jack brings complete joy and fun to our family. He's a busy boy, not sitting still for very long. Loves to move and has been pulling to stand for the last two weeks. He's silly, likes to laugh and play. He's great at wrestling with Doug and Will and loves to pet Gus. He still likes to cuddle and will lay his head on your shoulder and snuggle. It looks like his auburn hair may be here to stay. He has six teeth with a few molers starting to poke through. It looks like Will and Jack are going to be very different, but they seem to be good friends (aside from the hair pulling incident) and enjoy playing together. We feel so blessed to have such a healthy and vibrant son. Happy Birthday Jack!

A Little Angel

He's so peaceful when he sleeps. And my goodness, what I won't give for those eyelashes!

When Mom's Away...

Doug and Will play dress up...

Perfect Children

So, as a mother I've always had this vision of my two sweet boys playing nicely together. Sharing trucks and blocks, reading books together - you know wonderful sweet things like that. I'll admit I've even seen glimpses of it. So the other day I was in the other room and I heard Jack crying (which really isn't that odd he's be going through a cranky phase) and Will laughing, really hard. So I went in to check on them and you can imagine my horror when I found Will pulling Jack's hair. And not just pulling but almost dragging Jack. Yes, Jack's hair is long and soft and now I'm seriously thinking of cutting it for his own safety. Will got in big trouble and it was explained to him many times how that hurts Jack. The next day I saw Will standing next to Jack and he put his hand on his head. This time he only petted his hair.

Crawling!!

Jack has finally started crawling. The real kind, on all fours, moving forward and making his way across a room with lightning speed. He started at exactly 11 months. Will started at 9 months, so it will be interesting to see how long until Jack starts walking. I don't think I'm ready for a walking Jack at least not for a few more months. He's my baby and I'll be the first to admit I'm still trying to stuff him in 6-12 month pajamas he outgrew months ago. If only I could stop time...

Jack can also do "downward dog" (a yoga move) just like Will used to do. The best part about this trick we never taught it to Will or Jack, they just picked it up on their own.

One More Golfer

I must relay the events that took place, leading up to these pictures. Whenever I return home from running errands and Doug has been at home with the boys, almost without fail his putter and a couple of golf balls will be out. Of course Will is usually running around with the putter and we are all ducking and trying to protect Jack from an unintentional blow. Anyhow Jack sees his brother and dad with the putter on a regular basis. The other afternoon, Will was taking a nap and Jack was scooting around while I was cleaning our bedroom. I promise I'm not making this up...Jack wiggled (he's still not crawling) himself all the way across our room and into Doug's closet, where he pulled out the putter! I was amazed! He played with the club for a good twenty minutes. I swear I even saw him working on his grip!

Sunriver Winter 2006

We were recently in Sunriver for a long weekend with our friends the Knights, Hovdes and Steven Eggleston. Of course this year there were lots of kids as well, four to be exact. What fun we had! Doug and I skiied Saturday, Will went to daycare at Mt. Bachelor and Jack stayed with Dianne and Evelyne. The next day I stayed at home with the kids. There was tons of snow in Sunriver, on the back deck and around the hot tub the snow was piled almost as high as 5 feet. Here are a few pics from the weekend.

And yes, Will is wearing Evelyne's pink boots, she's also wearing his sneakers.

Cousin Matt

I was going through my pictures and came across this one from last month. We had the pleasure of watching my cousin Matthew while Marcie and Dennis were in Chicago. We had so much fun while he was here. Every morning Will would wake up and say "play with Matt". As you can tell by the picture Will didn't want to let him go.

First Week at Daycare

We have all survived Will and Jack's first week of childcare. I've started working part-time so we need childcare 2-3 times a week. First let me say I'm pretty sure I found one of the best places in the Portland Metro area. It's an in-home location but with the perks of a facility. It's an infant and toddler daycare with 16 children and 4 care providers. Some of the children are part-time as well so usually there's no more that 12 children at a time. The home is beautiful and perfectly set up for babies and toddlers. There are real bedrooms with full size cribs and soft bedding. There are absolutely no gates anywhere and the kids are free to roam just like at home (only we have three gates!). They provide all meals and snacks and in general run a very organized and clutter free establishment. My favorite part...my children are always clean and smell good when I come to pick them up.

You're probably wondering how the boys did. They did great! So far Will walks right up to the door and into the house and could care less when I leave. Jack is doing really well, no crying when I hand him off, though he gets really excited when I come to pick them up, which makes me feel good. Will takes his time when leaving and seems to really enjoy being there. There are four women who work there, one has been there for 9 years, another 7 years, another 5 years and the fourth one was recently hired since taking on more kids.

So how am I feeling about it? Pretty good. It was really weird dropping them off because this is not a situation I ever pictured myself in. However, I get so much work done by the time I pick them up I get to really enjoy spending time with them. Plus I really like that Will's having a chance to interact with other children and is learning how to share and behave in a group. We feel very lucky to have found a place we really like and feel comfortable and confident bringing our children to.

"mmmmom"

Jack has started saying mom. As you may imagine I'm quite thrilled and flattered. He's making lots of mmm sounds, but the mom is very clear.

What's new with Jack...he turns 10 months on Saturday. He's rolling and wiggling around like a maniac, but still no signs of crawling. He's eating really well. I finally gave up preparing "baby-like" food and have been giving him the same things I make for Will. Everything is cut up much smaller of course. Today he ate waffles and bananas for breakfast and grilled cheese and oranges for lunch. He's still drinking his formula (four 8oz bottles a day) and Cheerios or the Gerber "puffs" are his snack of choice. I swear he'd eat all day long if I kept putting food on his tray. He has five teeth (the latest is the upper (his) left next to the middle teeth, I think the one on the right is about to make an appearance). His personality is definatley developing. He's easygoing until you make him mad (how convenient). He's enjoying playing with toys and already has learned to hang onto anything Will wants because the sharing rule is now in effect at our house. To sum it all up - Jack's perfect in every way.

Chicken-Hawks

We have always referred to the Seattle Seahawks as "chicken-hawks or sea-chickens" in our house. Unfortunately my worst fears seem to be coming true, they may actually have a good football team. For those of you who know how much we love the Oakland Raiders you may understand the totally anguish and frustration we've been dealing with when it comes to the this year's NFL season. So, the dilemma is...do we root for a local team (you know, jump on that band-wagon) or continue to totally and completely despise them in the name of rivalries and sheer competition? I say "boo" to the Seahawks may you never win a Superbowl! However, "yea!" to all the fans out there who are enjoying seeing their team do so well.

Recognize the fan pictured? If not, it's Sara Peppmeier at the Seattle/Houston game this past October. Her boyfriend Jason just happened upon this picture while checking out NFL.com. Pretty cool, huh? Curious who I'm hoping will win the Superbowl this year?? Pittsburgh...another classic rough and tough team. Plus, they say real men wear black...

Like A Champ

Jack is at this great stage where he is sitting really well. He'll sit and play with toys for about 15 minutes without making a peep. He's really interested in blocks and generally any of Will's "big boy" toys.

Ringing In the New Year

Doesn't Jack look like his been out all night and part of New Year's Eve festivites? Actually he and Will went to bed at their normal time with no idea that the world around them was welcoming the new year.

Welcome 2006! I must admit I've been looking forward to this year because I find the "6" to be so much easier to write than the "5". Aside from that small detail I'm looking forward to a year filled with new challenges and adventures. I am getting ready to go to work part-time which means Will and Jack will be trying out daycare. I'm excited for this new adventure, but also somewhat unsure what it will be like to have someone else watching the boys all day.

What's new with the boys?

Will is talking so much. He can tell you what he wants, what he wants you to do, and what Jack and Gus are doing. He knows so many words I won't even bother trying to count them. He climbs on everything and enjoys playing with his trucks and golf clubs. On the other side I'm hoping he has hit full toddler mode with the sporatic tantrums, screaming, crying and occassional hitting. He also knows all about timeouts and is reluctantly learning how to share.

Jack is busy as well. Still not crawling, but he is rolling like a maniac. He's eating quite a bit and seems to enjoy most things. Also, he's working on finger foods and is getting pretty good at getting things into his mouth. His top two teeth have started coming in which brings his total to four. He is still quite easy going though in the last month he's begun showing signs of, to put it bluntly, being pissed off. Anytime something is taken away from him or you do something he doesn't quite like he starts screaming and crying like you've done something horrific. In a way I find it a bit funny, though I'm trying to be sensitive and understanding to his needs (that's the answer, right?). We are so blessed to have such healthy, darling and fun boys.

Happy New Year! May all you most important dreams and wishes come true!

Christmas Day 2005 (12.25.05)

What a wonderful Christmas we had. We slept in late (9a!) then exchanged gifts. My family came over for brunch and we sat around, visited and opened gifts. Will and Jack were given so many nice things, they are such lucky boys to have so many thoughtful people in their lives. During the afternoon we stayed at home and relaxed, napped and watched football. Then we had dinner with the McAuliffe family at Marcie and Dennis' new home in Lake Oswego. They live only two minutes away from us! Pictures include opening gifts in the morning, pretending to race at Marcie and Dennis' and Will wearing the reindeer antlers Mat and Danielle gave to him.

Christmas Eve 2005 (12.24.05)

Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve this past year. Every year we celebrate with Doug's mom's family. This year we were at Francie and Fred's and I think the total count was 28. We went to evening mass at 5p at our church then joined the family for dinner and gifts around 7p. We finished up exchanging gifts with the Peppmeier's at Sara and Jason's apartment. It was almost midnight by the time we headed home. What amazed me the most was that neither Will nor Jack fell asleep the entire time. I guess my social bugs don't want to miss out on any of the action.

Will Turns Two! (12.12.05)

Yes, our darling first child has hit this very important milestone. Two years has gone by so quickly. Will is very busy and talking all the time. This year we invited just family for his birthday and still had 18 people. The pictures include Will enjoying his new toys and snubbing the birthday cake with an airplane on it (make especially for him, of course).

I'm sure everyone thinks we've abandoned our blog, but it just isn't true! I promise you'll see new postings very soon!

We Love to Eat

I must be really lucky because so far I have two really good eaters. Since moving on from rice cereal Jack really got into it. He gets really excited when you sit him in his chair and smacks his lips until he gets his first bite. Fruits right now are his favorite (I'm assuming since they are sweet) but he has yet to reject anything. Right now Will's favorites are juice (preferrably apple) and crackers, nothing too exciting, however he does eat just about anything. Will has also taught Jack how to rip off his bib, not such a big deal with Will, but Jack is so messy that a bib is a must!

Christmas Card Reject

After what felt like an hour of trying to get a good picture of the boys this is the picture I almost put on our Christmas card. Every time I look at it, I'll be able to relive the whole debackle. Wow, I know getting a good photo of a toddler can be difficult, but add a baby who right now wants to be held all the time and you are asking for trouble. Not to worry, a perfect Christmas picture is in our future, I can feel it!

Our First Christmas Gift

The boys opened their first gift of the season. It was a cloth book of Rudolph th Red Nose Reindeer (the classic version we all grew up watching on TV) from Grandma Peppmeier.

Holiday news: Will has begun to identify Santa. Unfortunatly I think it's the beard he recoginizes because the other day while he was in a store with Doug he pointed to a man with a long beard and started shouting, "Santa, Santa!" And, if you ask Will what Santa says, he'll reply, "ho, ho, ho". It's pretty funny.

Also, I passed the Oregon Real Estate license exam on Friday. I am so thrilled and thankful to be done with all the studying.

'Tis the Season

We went to get our Christmas tree last Sunday. It had been raining on and off since Thanksgiving evening so when the rain stopped we decided to go out and get a tree. We went to Lee Farms off of 65th in Tualatin (the same place we went for pumpkins). They are running a pretty smooth operation out there. We decided to bypass the pre-cut trees and find our own. There are people from the farm driving by in tractors every 10-15 minutes, all you have to do is flag them down, they cut the tree and take it back to a staging area where they wrap up the tree in twine and put it on top of your car. Doug and I decided we like this process much better than visiting the boy scout lot (though they are very friendly) where they drag your tree across a parking lot and then anywhere from 2-10 boy scouts try and attach the tree to your car.

Don't mind the glasses Will's wearing. They are his sunglasses from this summer minus the lenses. For some reason he really likes wearing them, especially in public.