a groovy kind of love

i was uploading pictures from a few weeks ago and came across these. i was trying to get them to both look at the camera so i could get their head-gear. i was trying that headband on nola to see if it fit (it clearly doesn't) and avery felt left out and found an elastic to go around her head but wouldn't sit still for me to put it on right. now looking at the series of shots, i would love to know what they were thinking about each other :)

(A: hmm, i'm kinda jealous that nola gets to wear that thing.)


(N: hey, what's on her head?! she looks like a hippie. she needs a haircut. but she's my idol, i'll smile at her anyway!)


(i have no idea what to even guess with this one)


(A and N: oh, this is so fun! mom keeps clucking at us, she's silly)


(A: quick, nolya! while she has the camera, follow me up the stairs!)

and before i forget. this morning i got up and went to the bathroom before getting the girls (the only way i'm assured a bathroom break before naptime). from both of their rooms i could hear different variations of "mama, come get me!" avery's version was "maMAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" in a high pitched shriek, that i've started to ignore in favor of a quiet "mama?", which can take her anywhere from 1 minute to 20 minutes to figure out. nola's version was "mamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamama-pause-bounce-bounce-bounce-mamamamamamamamammamamamamama".
it was overwhelmingly lovely to have both of them wake up and think of me shortly after :)

the latest favorites

avery and her little companion, matthew. at a playdate last week they climbed in this chair all by themselves and got comfy :)


trying her hardest to master this walking stuff. she's successfully taken a few steps each day, but i'm not sure she really knows what's going on! one day she got a hold of this toy and took off across the deck :)


some pre-wrestling snuggles


they were playing peek-a-boo under the table, then popping up and giggling hysterically at each other. maybe one of my top 5 moments of the two of them playing together.


the bear being her silly little self.


LOVE these girls and the fun and happiness they bring to this house every single day!

a year later...

last year i went on a tirade about the discomforts of late pregnancy in hot spring weather. this year, instead of swollen ankles (i'll spare you the picture from last year) and loose si joints, we had our 2 little girls with us to enjoy the memorial day parade and festivities. (fyi, avery definitely enjoyed the parade more last year. and nola LOVED her first parade)

2009


2010


2009

2010


we had an exhausting and wonderful long weekend all together! got the front ready for our new plantings, went to a bbq with college friends and babies, watched 2 movies at home, watched sex and the city not at home, made a birthday cake for my mom, grilled out and enjoyed the sun and each other :)

today's email

To: Walsh, Zane
Subject: nola's

first step!!!!!!!! 8:20 this morning, in the kitchen with mama and avery present. i was walking with her holding just one hand. she let go, started to sit, then squatted, stood back up and i told her to come and she wobbled a bit, took one step, tried to take a 2nd and sat herself down! yay nola!!!!!!!!!! and avery was there to witness it!

"WE-WANT-SWORDFISH!" and other weekend tales

*avery's new song she made up tonight "everybody has gums...e-i-e-i-o". future dentist? hmmm.

*avery rode her first (TWO!) ponies. only one stepped on my toe and made me cry.

*the girls enjoyed playing "dada" for much of today (ie going shirtless as much as possible)

(ps, would you ever guess that avery's ribs were once covered by as much yumminess as nola's belly sports?)

*we celebrated our newly appointed phd friend, dr cressey! wish i got pictures!

*yet another weekend that we had good intentions of getting avery's hair cut. but it just didn't happen.


*nola has more fun at the sandbox than i could have ever imagined. i figured it would be great for years to come, but it's a favorite spot already!


*we went out to eat tonight with grammy, gramps and mema, and avery ate as much (if not more) swordfish as anyone else. she was popping it into her mouth like it was candy. we told her to tell gramps "we want swordfish!" when we saw him. she did. and she got it.

*avery sneaks bites of fried dough, in hopes that nola doesn't see her and attack her...


*nola goes haywire with naps, probably because i woke her up from this one...


this is just a taste of the weekend. lots more to come this week :)

the things you can't teach

there are funny things that come out of avery's mouth that we couldn't coach her through or teach her if we tried.

"what's happening to avery's house?!?!" -after spinning around the living room and getting dizzy

me: i think nola needs to go to sleep now.
avery: not yet...maybe in 3 hours!

then there are not so funny things that nola has a hard time with that you just can't teach. last night she woke up at 1:30, crying. she stopped after a few minutes, then started again a little after 2. this time, she didn't quiet down, the crying intensified and i could tell she was standing up in her crib. she eventually stopped and after a few minutes i crept to her room and slowly opened her door. i could see her sitting in the corner of her crib, and her head kept slumping forward. she had fallen asleep sitting up, because she apparently has no idea how to lay herself down on her back to go to sleep! she can go from sitting to standing, back to sitting, to laying on her belly. but she obviously hasn't figured out to roll herself onto her back, how she always sleeps.
after 2 hours of off and on crying out/falling asleep, i went into her room (where she was still sitting in the corner), changed her diaper, fed her 2 oz (she would have been LIVID and would not have gone back to sleep if i didn't feed her something) and layed her back down.
i tried rolling her onto her back today when she was playing/crawling, but i don't think it really sunk in. what do i do?

the great weekend conundrum...

so i started a post yesterday, about nola being 11 months (!!!!!) and a look back at the insane adjustment from 1 kid to 2. but then i thought about the weekend we just had and all the adjustments and transitions didn't seem to matter much and i just wanted to document the fun we had.

towards the end of the week i had told zane that i didn't care what happened over the weekend, i was going to clean out/clean up/organize the upstairs and whatever downstairs wasn't done already. but then it was the weekend. the family was all together. it was sunny out. let's just say there's still clean laundry everywhere and the fridge is no more organized than it was on friday.

instead, the girls wrestled,

we played on the back deck and nola finally tried to eat sand. we bought some zhu zhu pets, a swimming pool and nail clippers. had taco bell for dinner. we walked to the center to get breakfast. we walked to grammy and gramps'. we had a picnic lunch at the park and let the girls run around. we figured out the flowers/plants/shrubs for our front yard. zane and i went on a little date and filled our downstairs fridge with cold drinks and our bellies with ice cream. i went on a little date with avery. we got panera for dinner.

each thing wasn't necessarily extraordinary or new. but we were all connected. and happy and more relaxed than usual. and that made it pretty easy to let go of what i thought the weekend was going to hold.

but seriously. the weekend is really the only time i have to get things done with out babies underfoot. but it's also the only time we have as a family to relax and enjoy each other fully, without rushing for dinner time and then bedtime. since being sick (me, the kids, everyone), things have slacked off and i need to get back on track. how? when?

(i guess i should still try and get that "from 1 kid to 2" post written, it might help me ;))

ps, the above picture shows the latest game the girls like to play. avery grabs the back of nola's shirt, and instead of that stopping nola from going anywhere, nola plows ahead and half-drags avery across the floor, both of them laughing until one of them (usually nola) tires of the game. :)

shoulda woulda

i should have titled my last post "i got nothing...except a big ole resistance to codeine."

i should be taking advantage of the fact that both girls are down after a morning of running around grammy and gramps' and either laying down myself or getting stuff done around here. or taking a shower for the first time in days.

i should be dragging the trash cans back to the house.

i should be uploading the cute videos we have of the girls playing together the past few days.

i should be preparing myself mentally for the fact that in a month our baby is turning 1.

instead i'm paying bills, enjoying coffee, daydreaming about the sunshine predicted for this weekend and rejoicing in my medicine finally kicking in and feeling slightly human once again. yay!

i got nothing

wait, is she 2 1/2 or 5? i can't believe how fast she's growing up!!


the funny thing is, i was sitting almost right next to her when this happened, and i have no idea how she did it.


a little pre-mother's day celebrations nap


hmm, boxes or shoes? boxes or shoes? i LOVE how her humor and personality is coming out more and more everyday :)


our little adventure girl. avery still won't crawl under tables, :)


LOVING the new magnetic chalkboard that dada made in the sunroom. nola's only tried to eat the chalk a couple times and avery can spend hours (well, it just seems like hours) coloring, erasing, coloring, erasing. zane is excited to be able to use it as a punishment board someday ;)



that's all. just waiting for my "good" cough medicine to kick in. i have a sinus infection, which is miserable enough on it's own, downright hellish with little sleep and 2 little ones to keep happy. thanks mom and dad for all you've done to help the past couple of days!

it's a mom's world...

...for a day at least :)

spoiled. that's me. today. not only did i get real coffee (ie not homemade), i got homemade breakfast, a load of heartfelt cards, a load of beautiful new plants and flowers, lots of hugs, kisses and "happy mudda's day!'s", a hot shower with no time limit and a houseful of family here to celebrate.

(oh, and nola said her first word: "buh-bye!" while waving at people leaving. we all got to witness it and it was awesome!)


(oh, and roo came home tonight for the first time in over a week! she must know what day it is ;))

i had almost no voice all day and my throat felt like there were shards of glass in it, but the best distraction in the world was family all around...as well as food :)


avery had so much fun running around with henry and getting to be the "little sister" for once. we put both girls down tonight without so much as a peep! thanks henry for wearing them both out :)


us with our moms and our girls :)

it was such a wonderful day and now that the girls are down, it looks to be an even more relaxing night. happy mother's day to all you moms and moms-to-be out there! there is no job like it in the world and each and every one of you deserve this day to celebrate all that you do :)

ps, i know today is all about moms, and my mom and mother in law are two of the best. but i want to acknowledge zane and all that he did today to make it a great one for all of us! from letting me sleep in, to cooking breakfast, to bbqing for all of us, to being appalled that we were all in the kitchen cleaning up at the end of the day, to just being a solid support system for everyone most days of the year...thank you, love. can't wait to celebrate you next month! ;)

the good with the bad...edition: sleep

so for months (avery) and for weeks (nola), everyone was sleeping through the night. it was beautiful.

and then it stopped. and it was far from beautiful.

but we always had something to blame it on; teething, fever, long naps, no naps, rainy boring days, sunny active days, etc.

then the crying before and during the night routine started (avery) and things seemed even worse. and nola was still waking up multiple times a night. one morning, after we were up and down with each kid more than twice, zane's first words to me were "can i just run away?"

one day, i had had enough. and as soon as she started her screaming fit during the naptime routine, i put her in her crib, kissed her head and walked out of the room. she cried for 5-10 minutes (and i mean, cried, screamed, yelled and screamed a little more). and then all was quiet and she slept for over 2 hours.

i had read somewhere that any attention you give an undesirable behavior is still attention. (which sparked me to remember reading once "they'd rather be praised than punished, and rather punished than ignored") even if the attention you're giving is you repeating "stop" or "no" or "you're not getting out of bed again, it's time to sleep". avery was still getting our attention and presence, even if it wasn't the warmest or most understanding. she'd rather have us with our arms crossed, telling her no, than have us leave the room. heartbreaking, frustrating and touching, all at the same time.

but it's worked like a charm. and within a day the screaming fits during her routine were over. then it only took one night of her crying at midnight for 20 minutes to fully get it. night time is for sleeping. not asking for another tissue. or help with putting her blankets back on. or just another round of "twinkle little star".

then it was on to nola. it was harder for me to commit to a plan with her because she's our baby. and i didn't want her crying to wake up other members of the house. but we did something similar with avery at almost the exact same age. nola seemed to have set times she'd wake, but suddenly started staying awake after a quick change and few ounces. it seemed like it was more habit than need overnight. finally, one night she woke at 10:30pm and i fed her. less than an hour later she was awake and fussing again. and that was my breaking point. she cried off and on for 30 minutes and then slept soundly throughout the night. the selling point was her greeting me with a big smile and claps the next morning. we haven't been back in at night to feed her since, though she occasionally wakes up and fusses/talks but goes back to sleep. (and tonight she has a fever, so there's a good chance all this will be set back a day or two, and that's fine by me, when my baby is sick, all bet's are off.)

anyway, this whole idea of staying in bed all night seems strangely new to me. it's exciting. and welcomed. and much needed for everyone.

the "little" one

my mom was over the other day and i said something about nola and referred to her as "the little one". my mom said, "what? there's a little one here? i don't see a little one." i realized she's right, nola is growing leaps and bounds and i forgot how amazing it is to watch them do something different and new every day!

*she suddenly loves cleo. (and i bet she'd love roo if roo ever came home :) that's a post for another day) she squeals whenever the cat walks by and actively seeks her out if she wanders into another room.
here she is trying to pound on the glass to get cleo's attention outside


*as of yesterday (or some time this week) she officially has 4 teeth! 2 on top, 2 on bottom

*she adores bathtime and would probably stay in the tub for hours at a time, just splashing. can't wait until it's hot (and i find her a bathing suit!) and we can get her in a little pool.

*she loves snuggling and resting her head as she says "awwwww". on the floor, on a ball, on elmo, on a blanket, on a shoulder. it makes my heart melt everytime.


*she still sleeps flat on her back with her left hand shoved under her back. and now whenever she's tired (and not in bed), you'll see the hand creep under and stay there. on the floor, in the car, in her high chair. random and sweet.


*she's starting to copy us (mainly avery) more and more. and now says 'uh-oh' when we drop things too.

*she crawls, pulls up, cruises, climbs stairs and just realized she loves to walk holding hands. when she's really distracted by a toy, she'll stand on her own for a few seconds :)

*she and avery chase each other around the house, crawling. and they squeal and giggle and laugh. it's AWESOME!

*just like avery did, nola is obsessed with zane's glasses. and every day when he comes home from work and goes to give her a kiss, she goes to grab them.

*she signs "more", "all done" and "like"

*she dances. all the time. we play music while we're eating dinner and she's usually the first one to start grooving. then starts to giggle when we all start to copy her moves.

i can't believe we're almost a month away from her first birthday!! it's been an insanely challenging and beautiful year and i can't wait to celebrate all that she is and all that she has accomplished :)

goodness

thank goodness we're in a streak of amazing-ness, because i don't think we could have endured much more of last week's mood.

last night after dinner, we let the girls down from their chairs and told them 5 minutes until we headed upstairs for bedtime. and then for the next 15 minutes we watched them chase each other, play with each other and giggle. we didn't have to do anything. we just sat on the couch and smiled at them, smiled at each other. and realized once again that these times are becoming the norm, and that's just awesome.

then they both went to sleep without a peep. and we sat on the front steps and remembered just how awesome the sunsets in front of our house can be. (and i captured just how awesome zane is at shaping/pruning our hedges)


and even today, when there seemed to be a lot of complaining, a lot of fussing and nay-saying. there were 2 little lovebugs that are learning that they simply love each other's company 99% of the time. i even captured the first time they watched a movie together ;)

nola completely flopped and lounged and enjoyed. avery had woken up from her nap with a much lower temperature, but still wasn't herself. when i told her they could watch snow white before dinner, you would have thought i gave her tickets to disney world.

and to complete the day of goodness-the day that i've been longing for finally arrived. i didn't have to carry nola up the stairs once today. she climbed up after avery every time and it was GLORIOUS! do you know how taxing it is to carry almost 30lbs of dead weight up and down and all around everyday? answer: extremely. so i'm all to ready for her to start doing some of the work on her own :) and she loves doing it, so it's win-win.

hoping for, but preparing myself for the opposite, a silent night with soundly sleeping, fever-free kiddos. cheers.

not.

just to give a little taste of life with a 2 year old around here lately...

we're in the car on the way home from the drug store so i could get some sensitive skin sunscreen for nola (went to the dr's and they said it's a non-specific rash and to cut out blueberries and see if that helps) it's a GORGEOUS day out, so as we're driving i say:
"hey! we're going to go home and go in the house. get some sunscreen on. go on the back deck to play in the sandbox. and have fun in the sun!!"

avery's response: "or NOT!"

(and no, she wasn't trying to be funny.)

my response (trying to be funny): "yes!! yes we ARE going to have fun! and you're going to like it!! yippee!!!"

avery: "or not! or not! or not! or NOT!!!!!"

(we came home, she flipped out over something unrelated and i said it seemed like she needed a nap. then she asked to go in her crib. she stayed there for 15 minutes and then was ready to get up and join the fun. i hear the 3's are even MORE fun?? yippee!!!!)

not.

;)

*update* this morning's "fun" was part 2 1/2 year old contrary-ness and part illness. took her temp before her nap and it was 102.2...of course she didn't want to go outside where it's hot out. she was already burning up! :( hope she bounces back quickly. and i'll be sure to take her pleas/demands/verbal attacks a bit more seriously next time...

here is the rainbow i've been praying for...

i wish i could have posted last week. really, i do. but we were caught in the midst of tantrums, sickness (3/5 people in this house were under the weather), sleeplessness and a few more tantrums. i think i can safely say it was one of the most trying weeks of parenthood so far. i think i can also safely say that we're on the upswing and we made it through!

a random picture/update post.

-we had just about the most perfect weekend we've had in a long long time.

-nola learned how to crawl up the stairs yesterday. well, she didn't really "learn". she just crawled over to them yesterday morning and went up like she's done it her whole life.

-we volunteered at a local consignment sale on thursday night to help set up. on friday, i got to shop the sale before the public. got the girls' entire summer wardrobe, some books and a couple toys for $100! wonderful! (i also consigned a bunch of old clothes, hopefully they sold and we made a little bit of profit)

-since it was 95 degrees yesterday, it was only natural that avery snuggle under a FLEECE blanket and watch yo gabba gabba on the couch (?!?!)


-a saturday morning walk before it got hot out. tried to find some inspiration for our front yard. got a coffee and some donuts. stopped by grammy and gramps' house to let the bigger little lady run off her donut :)

and the little little lady snuggled with dada.


-west of boston had a huge water main break. we're under strict boil water orders and urged to use water sparingly until they have it all fixed. if i can just remember before i start to brush avery's teeth that i can't use tap water, we'll be all set! seriously though, it's eyeopening to see how much we rely on tap water! they say it'll be a few days before they get everything fixed, so i see lots of boiling this week. (we did, however, stock up on nursery water at babies r us the other day when we happened to see it! all grocery stores were sold out within hours of the news of the break)

-while the girls ran out to get a new sand/water table, zane stayed home and got started on one of new projects: a magnetic chalkboard in the sunroom. can't wait to start using it!

once the girls went down for their naps, zane and i finished staining our deck table and chairs. love the way it turned out!

-went to a neighbor's 40th birthday party on saturday. not only did avery go off on her own to play and explore, when she joined us on the blanket she and nola wrestled, laughed, enjoyed and loved each other! it was probably the best family outing we've ever had with all 4 of us. no one was cranky, tired, hungry, etc. looking forward to more and more of these experiences!

-the girls watched yo gabba gabba yesterday afternoon while we tried to escape the heat and nola fell in love!


-as you can maybe see in the picture above, nola has some rash/skin thing going on on her forehead/face, hopefully it's nothing serious and it might explain why she's been uncharacteristically fussy the last week!

-grilled out a ridiculous amount of food and ended the weekend with delicious homemade margaritas :)