It's that time of year

The time when the holidays seem to come faster than you can believe. It seems like once Labor Day is over it's a mad dash to the end of the year. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and suddenly it's New Year's Day and we are sitting around in a stupor wondering what happened to the last year of our lives.

Now that it's officially fall it's time to get in gear for Halloween. I must admit this is not one of my favorite holidays. But it's fun to see the kids dressed up and pass out candy. And as our kids grow it'll be great to see them enjoying the day. Last year Allison was an adorable schmetterling (butterfly) for Halloween.


This year we have 2 to plan costumes for. I have dreams of being one of those moms that makes adorable creative costumes at home. And then I realize that I am a full-time working mother of 2 kids under 2 years old. Not gonna happen.

So it is decided... farm animals. There are plenty of years ahead for the kids to decide to be princesses and doctors and other "cool" costumes. This year I still want them to be my cute babies - while I still have dictator-like authority over the costume choices. I'm sure by next year at this time Allison will have very distinct opinions on her costume. And the winners of the costume selection process are....

Allison the squiggly pig


And Peter the pumpkin

Back to Work

My first day back from maternity leave. So far, so good. They've been keeping me busy. I managed to get my email inbox down to just a handful, attend a meeting, and take an online training course all before lunch. Honestly, it feels like not much has changed. Things move very slowly around here. I would bet I could be gone a year and not notice much difference. The one exciting thing is that the online training course I had mostly completed development of before I left is now up and running. It's very cool to see your work actually rolled out across the company.

I was definitely tough to say goodbye to the little man this morning. He was all smiles though. And he got his first stroller ride over. Well, his first one where he didn't make the return trip. Speaking of... I think I'll call and check on him.

Privacy

After much consideration I've decided to make this blog invite only. I know that's a pain for some of you because you had to register. I'm sorry about that. But I really think it's in the best interest of my kids. I'm creeped out by the idea that random strangers can check out their pics.

If you know someone who would like to continue reading that I forgot to invite (mom)email me.

These Sneakers Were Made For Walking

And that's just what they'll do...

Since the spring Allison has gotten a stroller ride to daycare courtesy of her daddy. Lately we've been making it a family affair - taking both kids in the double stroller. The weather this summer has been great in the mornings and it's been a nice way to start the day. We see lots of animals - bunnies, birds, dogs, the occasional fox - sometimes hotair balloons. Most mornings we pass the same people most mornings. I think we get a few funny looks on the way home with an empty stroller seat. I know D got several comments when he was walking alone about pushing an empty stroller. I think people thought he was on the prowl to kidnap someone.

Saturday in the Park

We had a full weekend. This weekend was the local hot air balloon festival so we headed down to the park to get a few pictures. Allison had fun playing on the swings after the balloon show was done. Sunday we went to the zoo. Allison loves the tropical fish. She also really enjoyed seeing the hippos and riding the carousel. It was really the first visit that she's paid much attention to the animals at all so that was a lot of fun.







On another topic - I cannot believe Peter is 8 weeks today. Time is just flying by! Soon it'll be back to work for me and off to daycare for him :-( He's getting big - already 12 lbs and still growing. Allison was only 10 lbs at 2 months so it's strange to have one growing so quickly.

We gearing up for our big trip to visit Nana and Papa and the rest of my side of the family. It'll be our first time on a plan with kids so I'm a little nervous but I'm sure it'll be fine...right?

Congratulations!!

There's been a bit of a baby boom among my friends the last two months. I just want to say WELCOME to all the new babies that have recently arrived and CONGRATULATIONS to their exhausted parents.

Matthew W is the new little brother in my cooking club friend Sara's family
Joselin F joined 2 older siblings and my ND friends Mark & Dana
William B is already plotting ways to annoy his older sister and my old coworker Amy - "Who needs sleep?"
Matthew G is the latest beautiful child of ND friend Kim - now that she has 3 kids I think she's officially an "old geyser"

Add our own Peter to that list and Joselin is going to have a great selection of cuties once she gets to ND!

Tidbits

Lots of things to report since my last post.

Allison is WALKING!! Yay! She took her first unassisted steps on July 8 and since then has been taking off whenever she can. It's adorable. She is so excited about walking.

And in the 3.5 weeks my mom was here Allison also learned to High 5, blow kisses, give kisses without using her tongue or teeth and hug her baby doll instead of biting her foot. It's been a big month!

Peter had a 3 week check up on Tuesday. Current stats:
weight = 8lbs 3oz - 25th percentile
height = 20.5in - 15th percentile
head = 13in - 10th percentile

So he grew a pound and a half since his first weight check 2 weeks ago. It's great progress. And just like his dad and sister he has a small head.

We've started doing a combo of nursing and formula. I nurse during the day but we're giving him bottles at night. I just found that staying awake for a 40 minute nursing session in the middle of the night wasn't working for me. He's doing great with the bottles. And it's had an unexpected but nice side effect. Daddy has been doing the bedtime bottle at 10pm. I have been expecting to have to wake for a feeding between 1-3am. However, the last three nights he's slept straight through until 4am, 4am and 5am, respectively. Yes that's right... my 3 week old went 7 hours between feedings and I actually got a full night of sleep. I'm guessing it's just a fluke and we'll be back to night wakings soon but I'm enjoying it. I think it helps that I'm very diligent at feeding on demand during the day but never letting him go more than 3.5 hours during the day. I also cluster feed in the evening - 4, 6, 8 and the bottle at 10pm.

As for the colic... I don't think it's really colic. I do think that Pete is a very cuddly baby. He really wants to be held a lot, he loves his mama and makes it hard for others to comfort him and he's a little more sensitive than Allison was. I guess I was just so used to having a textbook baby that I'm still figuring out this one who's a little more touchy.