Thursday, December 31, 2009
happy new year!
We are celebrating New Year's in Greenwich Mean Time so we can still go to bed at a reasonable hour (which, these days, is around 8:30.) Nate is ringing in the new year by screaming that he doesn't want to eat dinner, and Thad made the great parental mistake of saying he had to eat two bites before he could leave the table. Thus, they are having a blast (ha!) in the kitchen while I have dismissed myself to hang out with the computer. Cheers!
Monday, December 28, 2009
holiday pictures
Christmas photos, part deux! Here are a few materialistic highlights (we're trying to help the economic recovery):
Nate got some real safety goggles, so he no longer needs to wear his invisible pair
Anja got diapers and diaper cream, and a frog lovie from Nate
Thad got a coffee roaster, so we will be well caffeinated
I got a bunch of chocolate covered cherries, most of which I have since eaten
Before Santa's arrival, we made some cookies (they are the rolled sugar cookie recipe from The Best Recipe and in my humble opinion, they are in fact the best recipe.) Nate decorated the cookie woman (or cross-dressing male, depending on your viewpoint) and announced that the green stars were her tears. I'm not quite sure what to make of that!
Nate got some real safety goggles, so he no longer needs to wear his invisible pair
Anja got diapers and diaper cream, and a frog lovie from Nate
Thad got a coffee roaster, so we will be well caffeinated
I got a bunch of chocolate covered cherries, most of which I have since eaten
Before Santa's arrival, we made some cookies (they are the rolled sugar cookie recipe from The Best Recipe and in my humble opinion, they are in fact the best recipe.) Nate decorated the cookie woman (or cross-dressing male, depending on your viewpoint) and announced that the green stars were her tears. I'm not quite sure what to make of that!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
a christmas miracle
Anja slept in her crib all night on Christmas! She still woke up to eat, of course, but she spent the night in her crib, rather than on Thad. And, not only that, but she did it again last night too. You could knock me over with a feather (partially because I'm so exhausted!)
Belated happy holidays to everyone. Not only did we not get cards out this year, but I didn't even blog early enough to send well wishes your way. Sorry! I hope to be sleeping more a year from now and back into our usual end-of-the-year holiday groove. More holiday pictures to come soon. I plan on using them in a few months as a reference tool to remind me what happened in Anja's first few weeks. Related to my sleepiness, right now it's our household nap time, so I am off to bed. Too bad they phase out nap time by kindergarten. I love it!
Belated happy holidays to everyone. Not only did we not get cards out this year, but I didn't even blog early enough to send well wishes your way. Sorry! I hope to be sleeping more a year from now and back into our usual end-of-the-year holiday groove. More holiday pictures to come soon. I plan on using them in a few months as a reference tool to remind me what happened in Anja's first few weeks. Related to my sleepiness, right now it's our household nap time, so I am off to bed. Too bad they phase out nap time by kindergarten. I love it!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
a balancing act
Do you know that scene in Chicago where Billy Flynn does a tapdance in the courtroom? I feel like we're in a similar situation but doing more of a tightrope act. In some ways it's easier having two kids - we can't focus entirely on how exhausted we are and have to actually keep living our lives (except during nap time). On the other hand, we have to balance the needs of two kids, not to mention ourselves. It's been great having Thad home for these early weeks, and he's been balancing a lot.
[booming ringmaster voice]
Ladies and Gentlemen! A tightrope walk!
[booming ringmaster voice]
Ladies and Gentlemen! A tightrope walk!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
photos!
First off, happy birthday Lucia!
Okay, now that she's had her few seconds, please redirect your attention back to my kids. At last, patient readers, I finally downloaded some pictures from the past couple of weeks. We start you off with Courtney and Ethan's giant baby, Madeleine, who is two months older than Anja:
We bring you next to photographic proof that Thad has left me for another woman (alright, sticklers, she might be a bit young to be classified as a "woman"). Thad has slept approximately two hours in our bed since returning from the hospital. Since Anja won't sleep elsewhere, he is most frequently found here:
Nate impersonating a lion:
And the grand finale, a mishmash:
Okay, now that she's had her few seconds, please redirect your attention back to my kids. At last, patient readers, I finally downloaded some pictures from the past couple of weeks. We start you off with Courtney and Ethan's giant baby, Madeleine, who is two months older than Anja:
We bring you next to photographic proof that Thad has left me for another woman (alright, sticklers, she might be a bit young to be classified as a "woman"). Thad has slept approximately two hours in our bed since returning from the hospital. Since Anja won't sleep elsewhere, he is most frequently found here:
Nate impersonating a lion:
And the grand finale, a mishmash:
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
on the first day of christmas
We celebrated wave one of Christmas with the Vermont Carlsons (which includes Aunt Holly, who technically lives in Arlington but is a part-time Vermonter, due to her semi-regular travel schedule up north). Nate is in present heaven these days. Since his birthday in mid-November he has been bombarded with a regular stream of presents. It's gotten to the point where if anyone comes to visit, even if we saw them a day ago, he asks if they are bringing him a gift. January's going to be a big downer. But January isn't here yet, so Nate's Gift-a-Thon continues!
Nate's been telling us for months what a good skier he is. I'm not sure where he got this idea, since he'd never been on skis of any kind. But things change, and Gramma and Grampa gave him snow skis and the related accouterments. And, low and behold, Nate is a good skier! He trekked through the wilds of our backyard and after a few assisted laps he actually moved a few feet by himself. He is off to a good start and you might be seeing him in Vancouver shortly.
Other weekend highlights included making gingerbread cookies and a house with Gramma and Aunt Holly, and a new power tool - hedge trimmers (we are pleased to report that Nate is using proper safety equipment. He even uses invisible safety goggles. Or so he says.)
The family photo of us outdoors should be added to our "Where's the Baby?" gallery. Anyone know where Anja is?
Nate's been telling us for months what a good skier he is. I'm not sure where he got this idea, since he'd never been on skis of any kind. But things change, and Gramma and Grampa gave him snow skis and the related accouterments. And, low and behold, Nate is a good skier! He trekked through the wilds of our backyard and after a few assisted laps he actually moved a few feet by himself. He is off to a good start and you might be seeing him in Vancouver shortly.
Other weekend highlights included making gingerbread cookies and a house with Gramma and Aunt Holly, and a new power tool - hedge trimmers (we are pleased to report that Nate is using proper safety equipment. He even uses invisible safety goggles. Or so he says.)
The family photo of us outdoors should be added to our "Where's the Baby?" gallery. Anyone know where Anja is?
Saturday, December 19, 2009
the second child
People say not to compare your kids, but really, how can you not? Here are some musings on our first couple of weeks.
Poop
Both Nate and Anja poop a lot. This seems to be something they have in common. Buy stock in Pampers.
Eating
Anja is already a much better eater than Nate. Despite Yeastfest 2009 (which does seem to be improving - hooray!) we are already leaps and bounds ahead of where Nate and I were three years ago. Although Nate started off relatively well, we never really got the hang of things and it just went downhill from there. Anja and I seem to be more in sync, and she also eats much faster. I'm keeping my fingers crossed things stay on this path!
Spit
Anja spits more than Nate. Perhaps this is because she is actually eating and, thus, has something in her belly to regurgitate.
Noise
My, albeit fuzzy, recollection is that Nate sounded like a goat in his early days. Anja sounds more like a squeeky dog toy. She grunts too, though, so perhaps she's morphing into a farm animal.
Attention
Not surprisingly, it is challenging to balance two kids and their needs, not to mention my own (and Thad's). We have been trying to be diligent second parents, so Anja doesn't complain that we didn't pay as much attention to here, that there are no pictures of her, etc. But as much as we have been trying, Nate seems to have his own agenda. Here are a couple of Where's Waldo-esque pictures of Anja's early days (the pie is Anja's face, made by Nate and Sous Chef Pop Pop):
Poop
Both Nate and Anja poop a lot. This seems to be something they have in common. Buy stock in Pampers.
Eating
Anja is already a much better eater than Nate. Despite Yeastfest 2009 (which does seem to be improving - hooray!) we are already leaps and bounds ahead of where Nate and I were three years ago. Although Nate started off relatively well, we never really got the hang of things and it just went downhill from there. Anja and I seem to be more in sync, and she also eats much faster. I'm keeping my fingers crossed things stay on this path!
Spit
Anja spits more than Nate. Perhaps this is because she is actually eating and, thus, has something in her belly to regurgitate.
Noise
My, albeit fuzzy, recollection is that Nate sounded like a goat in his early days. Anja sounds more like a squeeky dog toy. She grunts too, though, so perhaps she's morphing into a farm animal.
Attention
Not surprisingly, it is challenging to balance two kids and their needs, not to mention my own (and Thad's). We have been trying to be diligent second parents, so Anja doesn't complain that we didn't pay as much attention to here, that there are no pictures of her, etc. But as much as we have been trying, Nate seems to have his own agenda. Here are a couple of Where's Waldo-esque pictures of Anja's early days (the pie is Anja's face, made by Nate and Sous Chef Pop Pop):
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