4 Months (and change)

At 4 months, William:

- weighs 16 pounds, 11 ounces, and is 25 inches long (big boy!)

- is almost too big for the sink bathtub - sigh

- hates the bottle (poor Mommy, no breaks)

- coos, smiles, and giggles at the slightest hint of attention

- sucks his hands constantly - new trick, putting hands together and then sucking. Baby Bliss.

- loves grabbing toys and trying to get them into his mouth

- has discovered blowing raspberries, and entertains himself endlessly with them

- is enjoying his exersaucer (thanks for the reminder, J.J.!)

- is fascinated by our cat, Ellie

- adores his big sister, and pulls great big handfuls of her hair whenever she gives him hugs

- can't wait to see Grandma, Nana, Papa, Aunt Melisa, Uncle Jay, and Quenny next week!

- is growing up way too fast for his Mommy's liking

You have only been here 4 short months, and I can't imagine our family without your sweet presence. We love you, little man.

Uncle John

My Uncle John, Aunt Pat, and cousin John came down for dinner Sunday to meet William for the very first time. We feel awfully lucky to have family close by since we are so very far away from everybody else we love.

My Uncle was my dad's identical twin brother. It is pretty special to see him holding my child and to get a glimpse of what it would have been like for my dad to be a grandpa. He would have loved Caroline and William so much. Caroline would have had him completely wrapped around her little finger. :)

I really want my Dad to be a part of my children's lives through stories and pictures. I want to talk about him frequently, casually, lovingly. I want them to know how special he was and how much he would have adored them. But it's hard. It's hard to just bring him up, especially now that Caroline is older and starts to ask questions about where he is, and I struggle to answer her questions. So I'm glad my uncle is here, and we all get this tiny taste of my dad.

I know my dad would have loved this sight.

Costume Changes

Anybody who has spent any amount of time at our house knows how much Caroline loves to dress up. She changes her outfit many, many times a day - our house is usually littered with discarded dresses, tutus, and tiaras. We have two older girls across the street who kindly gave Caroline all of their old dance recital outfits, much to her delight. Grandma is also a big supporter of her princess habit, so it's safe to say Caroline has a lot of options when it comes to dress up.

A big reason I decided to start this blog is that I want to capture the stories and spirit of our children as they grow up. I have many nicely maintained photo albums, but after awhile, the stories, which were once so vivid, start to fade away. It's hard to imagine a time when Caroline won't be running around the house as a constantly changing princess, ballerina, or bride. Because this is so totally who she is at 2 years, 9 months.

When Caroline is in costume, she likes to refer to herself in third person and narrate her activities. For example, this morning I heard her saying "Cinderella ran sobbing into the garden." It's hard to keep up with exactly who is in our house at any point, since the character is constantly changing. I might call Snow White downstairs for a snack, just to be informed that Sleeping Beauty is currently in residence. I usually get to be the stepmother. :)

The Next Generation of Wildcats

One of the best things about being back in New England has been reconnecting with many of my old college friends. It has been so much fun to meet all the new little ones who have been born in the last 9 years!

Cathrine and Tarah brought their kids for a playdate today. We have six children (number 7 is on the way!) between us, and it was amazing how well they all did playing together. Thanks for making the trip, ladies!



The picture isn't great (getting 6 kids under four years old to cooperate isn't so easy :)), but I know some of you will enjoy seeing the little ones. That's Tarah's Ainsley and Camden, followed by my Caroline and William, and then Cathrine's Christopher and Thomas. We're looking forward to having Jackie and Dylan next week!

Keeping Cool

Here's how we've spent our summer:

Happy Birthday!

Steve and I have shared 13 of his 31 birthdays together, although we were apart for many of those. It is amazing to celebrate together, after all of these years, with our two children. Happy Birthday, Steve! We love you.

For our 1st anniversary, I made a lovely, homemade lemonade layer cake. Our anniversary is less than a month before Steve's birthday, and he started asking almost immediately for a "regular" yellow birthday cake. From a box. I guess my efforts were wasted on him. :)



Here's Steve's requisite yellow cake from a box with chocolate frosting. Guess who asked all day long when we would eat the cake? Guess who ate the most cake of any of us? Here's a hint: her name starts with "C." And yes, Clarks, there was ice cream, too.

Son Shine

Steve likes to grumble that William has replaced him as the most important man in my life. Anyone who has spent time with me in the last 3 1/2 months knows how much I gush about my baby boy. I adore his smile, his coos, his cuddles. I have enjoyed his infancy in a way that makes me want to have a house full of babies. But here's the thing: I love girls. Within minutes of finding out that Caroline was a girl, I was at Gymboree buying the pink-est, flowery-est dress I could find. I spent the rest of my pregnancy day-dreaming about tutus, tea parties, and wedding dress shopping. I can't wait for all the wonderful mother-daughter moments we have ahead of us, both big and small.

When we lived in Colorado, two of my very dear friends had boys, and I always thought they must secretly be a bit disappointed not to have a girl. I just didn't think the relationship between a mother and a son could be as special as the relationship between a mother and a daughter. I didn't get it. But now, thanks to this guy, I do.

I fell instantly, hopelessly in love with William the minute he was born. I love him extra because he is a boy. I probably could have lived the rest of my life without trains and t-ball, but I couldn't live without this boy, this son. Isn't it amazing how God knows exactly what we need?

P.S. - I was so excited to find this onesie from the Gap, because I tell William he's "my main man" about a million times a day. :)

Miss Independant

I just finished arranging a play date for Caroline for tomorrow - the kind where she goes all by herself. All of a sudden her life consists of go-it-alone classes and play dates. Preschool starts in two months. Now when we go to parties, instead of passing her back and forth ("here, you take her while I eat") she's off playing with the other children the entire time. When I was a new stay-at-home mom holding my brand-new baby that refused to take a bottle and I felt like I would never have any freedom ever again, I just didn't believe these days would ever arrive. Yet somehow I have this beautiful, independent, confident little girl who is just starting to explore the world on her own. I'll admit I enjoy the extra free time, and I think it is the best thing in the world for the two of us to have some time away from each other. But I also know this is just the beginning of her moving slowly away from me. This precious, precious time of having babies in the house will be over before I even know it. And I'll miss it like crazy.

I love you so much, big girl.


PS, Oh my goodness, getting this child to cooperate for a picture. I even offered a bribe of M&Ms. Still couldn't get her to look at the camera and smile. Sigh.

Sleeping Through

Ladies and Gentlemen, it finally happened: William slept through the night for the very first time last night! Eleven straight hours of blissful sleep. I am one happy, well rested mama today. I know from experience that one night means nothing - in fact, he was up six times just one week ago. In one night. I know it could be months before he is sleeping through every night. But I'm celebrating his accomplishment today. Way to go, little man!

More of Melisa

Melisa flew home and I'm sad. We had a really, really nice visit. Although I missed my nephew and brother-in-law, it was great to have my sister to myself - she got a nice break, and she really had time to get to know my kids better. We walked around Newton, one of the nice towns here, took the kids into Boston, ate lots of yummy food, and stayed up too late talking every night. Thanks for giving up your bed, honey. :)

Here's Melisa with my kids:

All I Want For Christmas. . .

. . . is a healthy niece or nephew. My older sister Melisa is visiting this week. Her second child is scheduled to join his or her big brother Quentin just two days before Christmas. I had fun taking some maternity pictures of her outside today - isn't she beautiful?





When Erin was here taking my maternity pictures in March, I was pretty sure I was the worst portrait subject ever - I'm very uncomfortable having my picture taken, especially when I'm feeling large and pregnant, and I complained endlessly about having them done (what a nice way to thank a great friend for doing me a favor, right?). Well my sister can have that title. She kept making terrible faces and complaining until I got her to think about Quenny dancing - then I got some pretty great shots.

I love my big sister. I am certain that Caroline will have a great relationship with William someday, but I am sort of heartbroken that she doesn't have a sister. Cause I love having mine so much.

FYI, in case you are curious, Caroline is convinced that Melisa's baby is a girl, and she wants to name it Bea or Zucchini. Or possibly Bea Zucchini (get it?). I can't wait to hold you in my arms, sweet baby. I love you already.

Mr. Green Thumb

When William was born we received some radish and "sweet William" seed packets from our close friend, Colleen, and Steve decided that starting a small garden would be a great project to do with Caroline. Steve's parents came to meet William for the first time in April; since we like to keep them busy while they are here (we don't really let any visitors rest!), John built us two raised garden beds. Steve and Caroline got busy right away planting radishes, tomatoes (two kinds!), blueberries, lettuce, spinach, beans, leeks, pumpkins, sunflowers, and carrots. Those of you who know us well know that Steve has been really, really busy on his current work project, but tending his garden during his few free minutes has been a real source of joy for him this summer. And a source of lots of teasing from me. I mean, the man asked for a pickling kit for his birthday. :)

Here is Steve in his "happy place:"

We've been enjoying lots of fresh spinach and lettuce at dinner, and many of his other crops will be ready to pick soon. By coincidence, Steve's two best friends from Colorado, Brent and Rich, have also been gardening this summer. I'm not trying to start a fight or anything, but let's just say that when we started this blog, Steve suggested "my garden is better than your garden" for

a title.

Speaking of gardening, do you have an herb garden? Steve's mom got me started last summer, and I'm totally hooked. I don't know why I didn't think of this years ago. Here's mine, with chives, parsley, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and dill. I have seperate pots for basil, because I use so much of that, and mint, because it would take over the whole pot if mixed with the others.

Grandma

My mom was in town all last week. I love it when my mom is here, because in addition to spending time with one of the people I love most in this world, I get loads of help. Caroline thinks her Grandma is just about the best thing ever. When Grandma is here, I could probably fall off the face of the Earth and Caroline wouldn't even notice I was gone. They have all kinds of special things that they love to do together, and no one enjoys Caroline's girlie side more than my mom. William's love affair with her is just beginning. He pretty much lit up every time she so much as smiled at him. I guess we all think she's pretty special.

William sitting on Grandma's lap while Caroline swam in the backyard.



Caroline and Grandma at our town's 4th of July parade.



We love you, Mom. Can't wait to be home next month!

If It's Tuesday. . .

. . . it must be ballet day! We started a couple of weeks ago, and Caroline is in little-girl Heaven. I have to say, seeing all these tiny little girls in their leotards, skirts, and slippers is just about the cutest thing, ever. This is the first class that Caroline has taken where the moms don't participate - we get to sit outside and watch through a long window. As much as I am enjoying this new-found freedom (especially with a small baby in tow) it is sort of bittersweet. My little girl is growing up. :)

Here's my little ballerina:



I'd love to post some shots from her class, but I'm hesitant to put up pictures of other children without their parents' permission. Any thoughts on that?

Father's Day

We visited the Public Garden and rode the swan boats for Father's Day.




Caroline had a ball, and William was at his easy-going best. Steve and I constantly marvel to each other how easy this baby is - he's pretty happy to do whatever we are doing. In fact, during dinner that night, William took a nap right on the bench of our booth.

Caroline checked out the Make Way for Ducklings statue:



For the past several months, Caroline has had two main passions: princesses and ballet. She discovered a whole new love on our outing, however - brides. There were about eight weddings taking pictures in the Public Garden that day, and Caroline was fascinated. We spent half of our time there walking around and looking at the brides. She was in love with the "bride dresses" and "bride crowns." We've spent countless hours since that weekend watching "mommy's bride dvd" and looking through our wedding album. Caroline was particularly amazed by the little flower girls, and she is now desperate to be one herself. So if you or anyone you know is in the market for a 2-year-old blonde-haired, blue-eyed flower girl, let me know. :)

Catching Up

We've had a busy summer already! I'm going to share some of my favorite pictures from the past few weeks in the next few posts.

First, we visited Steve's parents in South Carolina.
Here is William hanging out with his Nana and Papa.






Our Family



Caroline

I Said I'd Never Do It. . .

. . . but here you go. I'm blogging. And here's a picture of my main man.