A wild goose chase

Some of the time lately has felt like a wild goose chase. Like when trying to get two kiddos ready to go somewhere and Miles refuses to go potty, change diaper, get dressed, eat his snack, eat the snack that he asked for 2 seconds earlier, take the orange cup (not the green cup), leave the huge toy behind. Then he finally gets ready and it's Audrey's turn to have a blowout diaper (they usually sound worse than they look), spit up on her shirt, need to sit down to eat, then take 15 minutes to burp. So I've been learning that if we want to meet daddy for lunch at 11, we need to be awake and going by, oh, 6:45 a.m. :)

But Miles did go on an actual wild goose chase this weekend! We were partying with Mary Kate for her 3rd birthday a the cutest little zoo I'd never heard of before. They had donkey rides (Miles rode Cocoa, who had to poop while Miles was riding him), emus, camels, sheep, goats, even a kangaroo and a couple of zonkeys. No, not a typo, zonkeys. Miles LOVED it. He ran, skipped and bounded all over the place, but never once did I see him just plain walking. He was way too excited for a boring walk around the zoo.

Little missy was in attendance at the party, but she slept through all the excitement. She did have a big day Tuesday when she went to work with daddy. Well, actually she went to work with mommy too. I had to do a little end of 2007 clean up in the files (yes, I know 2007 has been over for a while) so we spent a couple of hours hanging out with Wayne. He was so excited to give her first lesson in the merits of excess cash flow and high returns on capital employed. Yes, she slept through most of this visit too.

Oh yes, happy Easter to all! Audrey made her debut at the 9 a.m. mass, sleeping in the Baby Bjorn the entire time (are you sensing a theme?). Miles and Audrey had a visit from the Easter Bunny too! He left eggs scattered all around our yard. They also had another visit, YaYa and B came in town and joined us for Easter services. Then following a quick stop for some hot fresh Krispy Kremes, they headed back home with Miles in tow. It is his spring break so he's spending a few nights with them and visiting his cousins. And mommy and daddy are planning on relaxing and enjoying some down time. Oh wait, we have a 3 week old baby. Never mind. At least I will be able to follow the "sleep when they sleep" advice for a day or so. At least I'll try too, it will be pretty tempting to "be productive" in that downtime. Maybe I'll be able to blog a little more? Or start scrap booking her baby album! Yes!!

quick update...

Two weeks! Definitely some change from last week's photo. While she was still slumpy onto the bear, she was much more, um, reactive, to being posed there. She had some good strong kicks and punches going. Thankfully Raven got some gorgeous shots of her on Sunday, so we have this time documented in a much better way.

We're all hanging in there! Our first day of mommy, Miles and Audrey went pretty well. I did have to whip out the Little Einsteins on Demand at the end of the day, and Wayne came home for lunch, but overall we did well and I survived. We had painters here that day or it probably would have been easier. Convincing Miles to stay put in the room with me while I fed Audrey took some creative thinking, but now that it's just us and we can be anywhere in the house it's better. The hard part today was keeping Miles from coughing all over her. Yes, the men of the house both have head colds and so far the ladies have steered clear. I've tried telling Miles that his big boy germs are just too strong for the baby, so he has to stay away from her. Not the easiest to sell when he just wants to be a sweet big brother and give her the pacifier!

Oh and the picture may give away the rest of Erin's story (read about her crazy week!!!) but we did make it to Cracker Barrel with the kids this weekend. Audrey slept through the whole thing but Miles and Eileen hammed it up for each other. Both of them were covered in anything sticky from the table: jam, syrup, mac n' cheese

On to some kitchen updates! We're done but for a few cosmetics: back splash, knobs on cabinets, and the breakfast area (table, cushion & lighting). It's fantastic and we love it!!! Here are the before & afters:

One week down

In addition to my photo-a-day goal (which I've been doing, just haven't organized February yet), I thought it would be fun to track Audrey's growth through the year like Heather Ann is doing with her son. We even have the exact same bear to use! It's the cutest, softest bear from Old Navy. In fact Miles has 2 of these bears - both named "Brown Bear" - which he has to sleep with every night. They are no longer soft and fluffy, but like the Velveteen Rabbit, they are both loved very much.

The photo "shoot" was hysterical. I don't know if Heather tried a one week shot, but most of the shots are of her sliding over onto the bear. I did several of her on her belly, but to see the change I wanted to have her sitting up. Then the poor thing sneezed and went face first onto the chair, so we called a wrap on that session!

We've all been enjoying having YaYa here this week helping out - especially Mommy!! While Miles has been a fantastic big brother, I think it's been great for him to get adjusted to the idea of sharing mommy while still having another person around to play with. YaYa has to leave tomorrow, so Friday will be the big First Day of me, Miles and Audrey together all day. I know it seems to Miles that I'm always feeding her, which means always holding her, but at least I'll be able to do that wherever he is, his room, the playroom, wherever.

Speaking of the big boy, he has 3 of his 2nd molars coming in!!! Only one more and he'll have all of his baby teeth.

Off to sleep now. Audrey's been a real champ on the feedings, taking them closer together during the day and spacing them out at night. I think we even had one 4 hour stretch - which means about 3 hours straight of sleep for me by the time I get her changed, fed, burped, swaddled and back to drowsy sleep. Just praying that she keeps extending those night sleeps!!

Hanging out

Here are a few more shots from Miss Audrey's arrival. I also added more to the Shutterfly link at the right (or click here). I haven't uploaded January or February, but hey, I know what you really want to see!

Miles is doing great with Audrey so far. He wants to be around her all the time and has the sweetest grin on his face when he says "baby sister!" I guess calling her that for all these months is a hard habit to break, but he's starting to get used to calling her Audrey. We'll have to work on some other names in the house too, as "daddy!" has now become "Wayne!" screamed throughout the house. At least he hasn't tried to call me Nicole yet. Although he did call me Aunt Nicole once...

We're on our own tonight. PawPaw and Mimi headed back home this morning. They made it safely despite the 6(!) inches of snow predicted for Memphis. For the last few nights I've been getting up to feed the Sweet Pea and then calling Mimi down to burp and rock her back to sleep. I think she was fairly easy to get back down... guess I'll learn in the next several hours. Hope I have the same touch Mimi did... we got a couple of 3 hour stretches between feedings last night, which seems like an eternity when she'd been doing 90 minutes to 2 hours all day. But at least she's eating well. And I need a new nickname - Pamela would be appropriate - and theme music by Kelis.

Found a song named Audrey by Dave Brubeck. Got to have that jazz connection to Miles! Click here to listen.

Off to sleep while I can... tomorrow YaYa comes over to help out for the first part of the week. Not sure I'm ready for a full day home alone with both kiddos. That would require mucho nap time for mommy!

Overdue...

Overdue seems to be the theme for all things Audrey, but I am overdue on letting you see our beautiful angel!! Of course we've been a tad bit busy, so sitting down to blog has taken a way-back seat to sleeping, eating, etc.

She's doing great... slept a lot the first night home and is now waking up a bit more to eat. We learned our lesson and used the hospital nursery as much as we could at night - take heed new-moms-to-be: they will bring them back to eat and you will sleep MUCH better!!

This photo is day 3, first full day at home. We had 2 big outings!! First was to the pediatrician where she had a great check-up. She'd already regained almost all the weight she lost, so we don't have to go back for 3 weeks. Our next outing was a very short walk to enjoy the gorgeous weather. We weren't the only ones loving the sunshine. We ran into Audrey's first boyfriend, Fenn, who lives next door. He's almost three months old. Then we saw the mommy-to-be across the street and learned she's having a boy this summer! Our little street is becoming baby-central. We also passed several other neighbors who were excited to see that Audrey had finally joined us.

Anyway, think that's about all the blogging I have in me now. Miles is a bundle of energy and is still figuring out this "share the mommy" thing. Could be an interesting next few weeks.

She's here!

Announcing the arrival of Audrey McLean!!! I know, I know, Audrey wasn't even in the poll. That's why we had the disclaimer in there. The name came up last week and we really started liking it. We asked Miles about it and he was sold instantly. Evelyn was his fave by far, but as soon as we added Audrey, there was no wavering. "I like Auuuuuuu-drey," he says.

Anyway, we were scheduled for induction Monday but I started having contractions Sunday. By the evening they were getting pretty strong, so we went on in. By 5 a.m. when they would have started the induction meds, I was already 5cm! So I got my epidural and rested through a few hours of contractions until it was time.

She took a little more work than Miles, but not too bad. We started pushing at 9 and after about 4 contractions decided to wait about 15 minutes to try again. That time it took about 3 contractions and she was here at 9:50 a.m. We quickly learned why she took a little more effort that her brother - she's 8 pounds 8 ounces, 20.5 inches long! He was 7 lbs. 11 oz and 20in. That extra week of cooking gave her a slight weight advantage. It also gave her time to grow in a thick head of dark brown (reddish?) hair and some fingernails! Girlfriend needs a french manicure!!

She's doing very well, snoozing away on daddy's chest while I type. We're on wi-fi from the hospital and didn't bring our camera cord, so no photos yet. Soon, I promise (as if there's any doubt.)

A new first for Miles

So if you haven't thought about it in a while (or don't have a toddler) it is really difficult to master holding up two (or three) fingers on one hand. When Miles turned two we had to teach him to hold up the index finger on each hand and say "I'm Two!". Lately he's been working on the one handed 2 and 3, even explaining the mechanics to Wayne: "Hold down dis finger with th' thumb. No daddy, like dis!"

Now he's practicing all sorts of counting and demonstrating his skill. This morning while watching Saturday morning cartoons in bed with us I hear, "hey Mommy, hey mommy, what dis?"

I raise my head from my pillow and try hard to tell him he's holding up one finger, while not laughing too hard. My son is flipping me the bird at 7:15 a.m.

Day 286... and counting

Yep, still here. Hopefully the suspense of my not posting yesterday didn't get anyone too excited!!

Checked in with the OB this morning and lost count of how many nurses, sonographers, receptionists and doctors asked me if I were still pregnant. YES!!!!!!! I!!!!!!!!! AM!!!!!!!!!

But not for much longer! We scheduled to go in Monday at 5:30 to be induced, if nothing happens over the weekend. I had dilated a whopping 1 cm since Tuesday, so who knows, I could be on a roll. They stripped my membranes to see if that helps move things on, but it's no guarantee. We did learn that the OB on call all weekend is the same who delivered Miles - we loved her, so happy about that. And if we make it to Monday, the OB on that day is the cool one who told me to get a massage - she should be great too.

We got another ultrasound while we were there. They wanted to check the amniotic fluid level, which was great. They also wanted to see her move around a bit, but again she was napping. Stubborn little thing wouldn't wake up for anything! Maybe that's a good thing - she'll be sleeping through the night in a month. (Hope I didn't just jinx myself). They ended up pulling out this buzzer cattle prod thing to try to annoy her awake. That finally worked and she's been up punching me in the bladder ever since. Thanks, sweetie!!

Snow!

I won't even say it, but since I'm blogging, you know what I'm NOT doing at this time!!

But I had to share that we got snow today!! Miles has seen snowflakes maybe 3 other times in his 2.5 years, but this is the first time any accumulated. I made him some pancakes and tried to use the snowflake mold, but after the first one the really didn't turn out.

We had to get out and play right after breakfast because it started melting pretty soon. But Miles was singing Frosty the Snowman and had a blast just shuffling through it, watching the dogs go crazy running around.

Tune in tomorrow, maybe there will be some more excitement....????

Still pregnant... (how many days will I have to use this title?)

I can't complain too much at being 2.5 days late. Since both Ellie and Eileen were 9 days late, I don't deserve much sympathy from their mommies. I can complain about my day at the O.B. office, sheesh! The doctor in the office is also the on-call doctor for the hospital and they just had an onslaught of deliveries and emergency surgeries. So while waiting, the nurse hooked me up for a non-stress test. Basically they strap some sensors to my belly and chart the baby's heart rate and activity for 20-30 minutes. It would also track contractions, if I were having any! Since my appointment was before lunch, the test measured her heart rate but she was asleep, so there wasn't much activity. They had us leave to get lunch and come back to do it again.

The second time she was more active, so she passed the non-stress test (yay!). I however didn't do so hot on the "how are we progressing" test. I'm not dilating and am only slightly effaced. So since I'm generally doing well & the baby is fine, they don't want to push induction. I guess if my body's not ready, there's a greater chance I'd end up having a C-section. So we'll head back to the doctor on Friday and see what's happening.

Unless something happens between now and then, which is a total possibility. With Miles I went from zero to "he's here" in less than 2 days. And it is expected to snow tonight, so when better for me to need to rush to the hospital?

UPDATE: day 281

KNOXVILLE, TN. As of 1:30 pm February 25, Miss E. is still staging her live-in. Experts believed that her protest wouldn't go past February 24. Unfortunately it appears she has supplies to let her go for two more weeks if left to herself. The authorities at Women's Care Group, however, state that they will not let this protest go beyond the end of this week. If she refuses to appear they will step in.

Observers speculate to the reason behind her refusal to leave. Some site the fact that she, as of yet, has no official name - although there are some very strong contenders. Others comment that maybe she knows mom's singing will only get worse when not muffled by placenta and amniotic fluid. The reasons unknown, we all must wait until she decides she is ready to appear.

More news to follow as this situation develops...

Okay, so I recycled that news brief from when Miles was being stubborn in August 2005. But the evening after I sent that e-mail I started contracting, so maybe this will trigger something later today! If not, we go see the OB in the morning and we'll at least schedule something in case she really decides to hold out. So that leaves the decision: do you choose February 29th for a birthday? I'd think it would be pretty cool and special! I looked up some famous Feb 29th babies and they include Ja Rule, Tony Robbins and Dinah Shore. So it's no Elvis (me), but a little more relatable than Yasser Arafat (Miles).

Since we're been waiting around, PopPop has been able to finish the floor installation! We used cork flooring and are very happy with the look and feel of it. And the carpenters got the bench built, which Miles LOVES. Still not painted, but you get the idea. We'll have a cushion made to fit the seat, but we tested out some sofa cushions for comfort. The wall colors are below - the kitchen will be the sort of Robins' Egg Blue (actually named Woodlawn Blue) below and the walls in the adjoining den will be Monroe Bisque. I'll eventually get some full shots of the finished kitchen up, but I hesitate to do so now. I've stuck 1st grade -style labels (trash, plates, silverware) on all the cabinet doors so that the grandparents (and Wayne) know where everything is! So when those come down and the backsplash is in we'll be ready for some final shots.

(no we didn't clone Miles in real life, just digitally. One of him is all the fun we can handle right now!)

We're failing as parents

I guess I should start by saying, yes, I'm still pregnant. Any calls to grandparents lately have been answered with anxious "hello? are we on?" questions. But no, not yet.

As I've been instructed by most of the men in the family, I'm now not allowed to go into labor until midnight tonight. Why the blackout on Saturday the 23rd? If you live in Tennessee, you shouldn't need to ask. #1 Memphis is playing #2 Tennessee in Memphis tonight at 9 p.m.

GO BIG ORANGE!!!

Apparently this is turning out to be a bigger ticket than Hannah Montana! But alas, our son has been warped by the visiting BeeBe & PopPop. If you're a Big Orange fan, you may not want to play the clip below. Wayne and I are working on deprogramming all day today.

counting down

Still here.... didn't I just say that last week? Went for the check-up yesterday and nada, zilch, nothing progressing toward labor at all. Of course with Miles I was like that at the full 40 week point and 2 days later he was here. So no worries yet. They did say they wouldn't let me go past 41 weeks, so that means March 1 is the latest she should arrive. Overall I'm feeling pretty good. Sleeping generally well, getting around fine. The most annoying part right now is the kickboxing session going on in my belly. I mean look at that baby floating around over there with 4 days left. No way, that is NOT accurate! She is all wrapped up on herself filling every available cranny and STILL punching and kicking like a champ. In fact when the OB was listening for her heartbeat (with the doppler near my bellybutton), I suddenly got a tumor-like protrusion there, about 2 inches outward. She was elbowing the doctor right back! Feisty one, I do believe.

quick ones

Okay, I just posted, but I have to get these Miles-isms down before I forget....

~ "tickle mine arm, mommy" - he loves for me to lightly brush his forearm with my fingertips. And then he usually says "mine back, too"

~ "mommy, say 'mmmmmm'" - when I feed him a bite, I'm supposed to say "mmmmmm" as he eats it.

~ we're working hard on please and thank you, but sometimes when I say "how do you ask nicely?" the response is "Can I have some grapes, yes ma'am?". Oh well, at least he's picking up on the ma'am and sir part too!

Grrrr!

That's a happy grrr! from Miles the Leopard. Since I'm not much for getting on the floor and playing these days, I'm having to entertain Miles in other ways. Cousin Evan shared some costumes he'd outgrown, so we're trying out dress-up this week. He likes hats of all sorts, but I was curious how he'd respond to a full suit (it wasn't fun the last time we tried). He enjoyed it, though he didn't want to wear it for very long.

So despite the fact that I'm still pregnant (I go tomorrow to let them tell me that again), no grouchy grrrs from me yet. I've definitely slowed way down and am enjoying these last days of relative "peace" and "quiet". BeeBe and PopPop are coming Wednesday to be here for Miles whenever Wayne & I rush off to the hospital. Then after Miss E graces us with her presence, Mimi and PawPaw will come stay with us for a few days. And of course YaYa and B will be up visiting right away, maybe with a longer stay to follow. I'm very interested to see how Miles responds. I know he's excited, but I've been trying to prep him with the "babies do 5 things" talk: eat, sleep, poop, cry and lie there. So little yet it seems like so much....

But the kitchen and "keeping room" (how awesome is that description!) are coming along... kitchen only needs backsplash, paint and cabinet trim. Oh and flooring. Sounds like a lot, but the parts we need & use are done and fabulous, so I'm not too worried. The wall to the next room to it is gone, and we have new bookshelves with cabinets in there now. Today they are running the crown molding and building our little eating nook in the kitchen. So hopefully by the end of this week all that we'll lack is a good paint job. Thank goodness for low-VOC paint so that can get done even if Miss E. is here!! I've been laughing with dad about how long this carpentry part seems to be taking (other people are doing it). Seems 15 hour work days are NOT the norm in the contracting world, just dad's when he's building his little girl's kitchen!

Oh yeah, I've been forgetting to post the picture of our counters. I don't want to show much since there's no back splash to really finish it yet, but here you go. We used Yorkshire by Cambria and LOVE it. Wayne stain tested it the first night... I didn't realize when he made his smoothie that the blueberries had splattered on the counter. The next morning while making breakfast I saw all these little blue specks everywhere.... Argh!! but they wiped right up. Phew, would have been heartbreaking to ruin our counters on the 1st day. They are living up to the non-porous, non-staining claim!

>> swak! <<

Happy Valentine's Day!! Miles is gearing up for his V-day party at school Thursday. We've got all our goodies ready to go. I just hope he doesn't throw a fit wanting to eat them all before school!

He's back to wanting a goodnight lullaby, and the old favorite, "Mommy loves Miles, Daddy loves Miles, baby sister loves Miles very very much" his high on the rotation. We start with that verse then go through the extended family and roster of friends and classmate before singing the converse of the entire list. Whew! I sometimes try to get away with just the family but am soundly corrected with a yell of "Who ewse wuvs Miles?" as I back toward the door. The other famous stall tactic is the tangential conversation about baby sister. "We're going to rock her and feed her and be very, very quiet, sshhhh." And the discussion about her name ensues. I think we've asked Miles too many times, because he now just says both names. So who knows, it might be a completely new combination from the poll.

Today Miles got to dine among royalty! Well, almost. The Tiara Tea Society of Knoxville held its inaugural High Tea and Miles and I joined the ladies. Beebe is involved with the Memphis group and was in town to help with the start of this chapter. The basic idea behind the group is to dress up and have a tea party - tiaras and all - but with a purpose. This year they are raising funds to provide surgery for 2 little girls with congenital heart defects. (One, Sasha, has already had her surgery and is doing well.) So Miles got to enjoy a Tea Party and was generally well behaved. We had some moments when he realized he wouldn't be getting nuggets for lunch, but once we got a few bites in his belly he calmed down and charmed all. He really liked the strawberry scones! The local Style show was there, and Miles told Ms. April that she looked like a princess. Lock up your daughters, my friends, we have a ladies man in our midst! Style will feature the tea next Tuesday.

Still pregnant...

Not that I expected not to be. It's just funny going to these weekly appointments. Wayne always asks, "so what's going on at this one?" and I tell him, "they're going to tell me I'm still pregnant." That's really about it! Oh and tell me how much weight I've gained, but thankfully that's been about the same as it was with Miles so I'm not super stressed about it.

Saturday was our 6th wedding anniversary. We celebrated, but not quite with the fanfare that we did last year. With our babysitter roster completely depleted, we took Miles with us to our favorite mexican hole in the wall, La Paz - I mean Chez Guevara. The statewide smoking ban has made it much more family friendly - we were one of many tables with a toddler - yet it was still packed and there was a pretty good crowd waiting for us to leave. And the food was excellent, as always. Baxter - I had the Black & Blue nachos!

I think Miles is getting excited about baby sister. We've been talking a LOT about her, and he likes playing in her room, pulling out all her toys. He puts his bears in the swing, you know, for practice. Yeah, right. Hopefully he wasn't practicing for baby sister the other night when he bopped Chelsea on the head with his bedtime story. Just walked right up behind her and pop! on the noggin. Not that it hurt her, but that was the end of the bedtime routine and lights went out. He cried for a while and when Wayne went back in to see, Miles said, "What happened to me? What happened to Chelsea?" So Wayne went through the "we don't hit, we don't throw things" spiel and said good night. All was calm. Hopefully Miles really was thinking about what he did and the repercussions, but who knows. Maybe we're just in for a ride here in the next couple of weeks!!

Good golly Miss...

Ha! Just kidding! Not going to tell you yet. We're not really settled, and Miles has started waffling over the issue (of baby sister's name, that is). We had our ultrasound this morning... we're at 37+ weeks, so less than 3 weeks left, unless she pulls an Ellie on us. Since Miles was full term (and a little more) they fully expect her to take as long. But in perfect CYA form they tell us to "be prepared, it could happen anytime now!" Oh, and yes, we did do the double check... she's for sure a she! And like a good girl, she's head down, all set to deliver.

In case you're new to the 4D ultrasound view, that's a right profile. Her eyes are closed, you can see the nose and the CHUBBY cheeks. That's her hand next to her face, she kept trying to get her thumb but couldn't quite get it there.

31 down, 335 to go...

I have been trying hard to keep up with the photo-a-day project. I'm not following any rules, just snap something. Some sites want it to be a self portrait, some say something "artsy" but that's not for me. I can't say I've been especially creative most days, but I try. I've learned a few tricks with the camera - and some more with Photoshop. It will help when we can unpack all the office/living room boxes and I find my camera manual again! So here is the wrap-up for January. I only missed 3 days, and one of those was before I decided to try.

This project may be an even better journal than the blog for keeping up with the small details. And I can't wait to see how he changes over this year. Baby sister too. I'll have to balance out the brother/sister shots after she comes along!

Miles has picked out his favorite name. I won't share it yet, but it's one we all like, so will probably be the one. We started by having him say all the names (too cute!!) and then asked "do you like....?" about each one. We got him down to a couple faves and started asking "this or that?" and "that or this?" randomly through the day. He has consistently said the same one for a while now, so it may have to be that! We'll let the poll go for a while longer before we say for sure... at least until the ultrasound next week when we'll double check that she's a she!

Oh yes, to address some questions about the names in the poll: all the names but Molly have some sort of family significance. Heck, Molly might if I read enough of my Grandmother's research! And Tiffany may have come up with the best name of all... Dijonnaise McButter!!

What's in a name?

We're getting ready for baby sister to get here! I started the weekly OB appointments today and next week we'll have the ultrasound to check her position. We'll have them double check "her" too - would hate to have all the girly stuff washed and ready only to be surprised by a he. Not to mention the turmoil of name selection that we'd endure. It's hard enough narrowing down the selection with only one gender to worry about! Speaking of, we've put our poll up! Vote to the right =====> and feel free to leave thoughts in the comments. [legal disclaimer: results of poll in no way determine the actual final name of the baby girl. so no need to stuff the ballot for or against any particular name. ahem. you know who you are.] Sorry to say, we found other options besides Dijionnaise.

Miles played hide and seek at The Little Gym on Monday and loved it. He was really into being quiet and still, waiting for Ms. Stephanie to find him. But we'll need to work on the concept of hiding. While at the Gym, he did get partly behind a mat; but tonight when hiding from daddy, well, he couldn't see daddy and that's what mattered!

Wide Open Space

Phase two-ish of the kitchen remodel has begun! While it has been a month since the first phase was in progress, we have had a functional kitchen and haven't been totally disrupted by mess. And even this won't be a total disruption, just a little messy with more drywall sanding, paint, etc going on. And look at the change with just one day! The wall is gone and the part that will become the banquette seat back is framed. The space looks huge!!!

When Wayne got home, the running joke for about half an hour was Miles shrugging his shoulders, saying "Where's the wall, daddy? Who took the wall?" And giggling. He was pretty amazed when he woke up from his nap and saw it done. Oh, the other thing to note is that the sink came in! (If you click on the photo it may enlarge enough for you to see.) It is set and the counter people came to make the template today. So fingers crossed for quick turnaround on that and then the actual "kitchen" part will be - dare I say? - done! We may beat baby sister here yet!

Speaking of baby sister, she's had a big week. Last Saturday several of my college friends came in town for a fun little shower. It was lots of fun catching up and reminiscing about life before we all had kids! Then at our Wednesday playgroup, the other moms threw a surprise shower. Miles has enjoyed seeing all of baby sister's new things, although I think he has wanted to confiscate a few items for himself.

a few odds & ends:

.: I almost don't want to say it for fear of a jinx, but my **ack-bay ain-pay** has generally gone away. I still have the waddle, no doubt there, but walking around is muuuuch easier.

.: Tuesday we had an ice-day from school. We played in our indoor fort and Miles texted all his buddies from school. Hee hee!

.: Miles just woke up in the middle of his nap and was so excited to tell me a story. It was about how his puppy dog picked and apple and shared it with black bear, and then brown bear put a piece in his (Miles') mouth. Oh, and one of the bears was riding on puppy dog's back. These are just some of the characters in his dreams, based on the stuffed animals he sleeps with. He also sleeps with an elephant, a fox and several construction trucks, so I can't wait to hear that story.

.: As I've been told by my friends, baby girl clothes mean trouble! I've needed to get Miles some bigger stuff, but just can't seem to walk out without cute stuff for her too. Help!! The only consolation is that it's deep discount after season sales.

.: and I promise, a name poll is coming very soon. We're whittling it down and have some good contenders. Maybe this week!!

Yippee!!!

After almost a full month, we finally have our new oven!! Of course we haven't cooked in it yet because we had to burn off the new oven smell, but it's here. Also, the sink is supposedly in town, so we can finally get our counters in process... hopefully that will take on the short end of the estimated 2-4 weeks. Although I have gotten used to our nice wood counters, maybe we should just seal them and move on. Would be a lot less expensive...

Today was the last day of Miles' Little Gym class, and he beat all those other punk kids for the medal! Just kidding, they each got to stand on the podium and get their prize. Doesn't he look like such a big kid in that picture?? We start the new session on Monday, and Miles moves up to the Super-Beast class. Roar!

To celebrate our big day (and since I couldn't bake yet) we hit our fave pizza place for dinner. Miles enjoyed a PB & honey sandwich, which he dipped in ketchup. We stopped trying to talk him out of it after he downed a few sections - I figured he'd quit eating it if it were really bad. Maybe I just need to serve all his meals with ketchup?

Hangin' in there

So the back/leg pain is still there. It migrates around, but pretty much every step I take is a little painful. I finally got around to scheduling the massage, and I've been working on Miles climbing up into his car seat on his own. But now Miles has started saying that "baby sister is hurting mommy." Yes, but I don't want him to start being mad at her already!!

But when daddy gets home, mommy gets to go off duty. His favorite evening activity is holding daddy hostage inside his "house" - one of the cardboard boxes from the cabinets. They color and read and play trucks, as well as lean on th sides, caving it in. They also like to close the doors and say "Where's Miles?" which is the prompt for me to go "hunting" for my lost boys until they burst out and yell BOO!!!! But as you can see, it's a little tough for 6'4" daddy to stay scrunched in that box for too long.

After that, the reading marathon begins. Thankfully we're beyond the 12 readings of the same story in one night, but we do read 5-6 books at bedtime. Here are some of those in heavy rotation right now:
.: "Bad Dog, Marley" by John Grogan (every day, many times a day. He loves yelling BAD! DOG! MARLEY!)
.: "A Mud Pie for Mother" by Scott Beck (He can almost "read" this one to us entirely)
.: "Llama, Llama Red Pajama" by Anna Dewdney
.: "Momma Will You" by Dori Chaconas
.: "How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight" by Jane Yolen
.: and "If you Give a Mouse/Pig a Cookie/Pancake" by Laura Numeroff are back in favor too.

And finally, I am in no way getting into politics on this blog, but Goodyblog had a link to this great site that matches you up with the candidate whose views are closest to your own. The nice thing about this one is that when it asks your opinion on a subject, it links to the Wikipedia article explaining in more detail. It then breaks down your three closest matches by issue. Even if you think you know who you like best, give it a shot!

Spies Like Us

I found a video baby monitor at a consignment sale last fall and Wayne and I finally set it up. I hope I can capture some of the feed to post here, because watching Miles "fall asleep" this week has been hysterical. About three seconds after we leave the room, he pops up and starts arranging his pillows, bears, trucks, blankets, whatever. He shoves most of the items under the covers by his feet. He rolls the trucks down the mattress. He'll sit there playing and mindlessly call out "Mom-my, where ARE you?" over and over. Finally he'll just lay down and call out a few more times. We were cracking up.

It's a good thing he still stays in bed, though, as I can no longer pick him up to put him back. My back is in massive protest over carrying another child around. I'm no longer Igor, but the pain has migrated around to right around my tailbone. I called the O.B. and they had me come in just to make sure nothing was happening - like, oh, labor. All was fine there. Her professional treatment opinion? Go get a massage. Um, I can do that. Of course it will take a few days to get one on the schedule. Since my next stop was the mall (to replace all Miles' high-water 2Ts with 3T pants) I made a detour to Brookstone, and without any shame plopped down into the chair with the iNeed and iSqueeze. Ahh! It was sweet relief, but alas, only temporary. By the time I made it through Gap Kids and Children's Place, I was achy again. Oh well, nothing that having a baby won't cure.

What other big excitement is happening? Hmmm... New Hampshire? the other Nicole? my newest must-read? oh yeah, it's my birthday! Thanks so much for all the cards, calls and e-mails, everybody made my day so great. I was even serenaded three times! Once by my niece and nephew, Aunt Elizabeth and YaYa, later by my dad, and finally a few times by my wonderful boys. Miles drew me a pretty card and gave me some beautiful roses. Daddy (Wayne) cheated on our "the kitchen counts for everything" deal and gave me a beautiful amethyst necklace - baby girl's birthstone! Wow! And I didn't even hit one of the milestone years.

No offense honey, but probably the best gift of the day - at least the one that made me shriek with joy - was from a total stranger. Kitchenaid is replacing our oven!! It shorted out upon installation over TWO weeks ago, but they wanted to try and repair it first, despite my concerns over the unit's safety. A part needed to repair is on backorder, so they called and said they wouldn't make me wait and would arrange for the dealer to get me a new one!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!! Okay, yes that made my day because now I can quit stressing over it. I'd been on the phone all day yesterday with a bunch of people, even e-mailed a friend who works for Ferguson in Detroit to get on their case.

This is getting long, but I have one last quick thing - we had to toss out an entire baby name book tonight because I found the entry Dijonaise in it. No lie. The "meaning" was given as "Condiment; combination of Dijon and mayonnaise." Seriously, that nullified every other entry in the book. Sheesh!

a new start

Since we're not going to be just about gettin' more Miles soon, I've been trying to come up with a new blog name. I think I finally have it:

.: It's All Brand New :.

I was inspired partly by the new year, and also by some other bloggers writing about their word for 2008. We have so much *new* going on right now.... New Year: 2008; a new year of life for mommy starts 1/8; new kitchen in progress; new baby on the way; new sister officially on 4/12... the list can go on. But I also think being with Miles so much through the day emphasizes to me how we could all look at day-to-day life. I love when he discovers something and says "Oh, mommy, look!" Things as cool as a big excavator now working down the street; simple finds like a seeing new things in well-loved book illustrations. Just 2 seconds ago he ran up to me wearing daddy's cap, the biggest grin spread across his face. I hope everyday for him (and all of us) is filled with the joy of discovering new and wondrous things in God's great world.


Enough waxing poetic! Happy January 5th! Along with some other bloggers, I'm also making a goal of a photo-a-day for the year. I easily amass 365+ photos during the year (that could be in one month!), but they're often spread over events, not just day to day life. So we'll see how it goes, I've already missed one day (Jan. 3). I probably won't post my daily photo(s), but try to do a monthly wrap-up. But here's today's: lunch at Aubrey's. It wasn't our first lunch stop, both of the first two were closed!! Hopefully we're not jinxing our favorite places.

Happy New Year! (+3)

So I can't blog right on New Year's Day, I guess there's nothing wrong there. We were caught up in the fun! We had our Christmas visit from Mimi and PawPaw, and Miles got to open a second round of presents. His new favorite is the Jr. Doctor kit - he goes around poking us with the thermometer, taking our temperature then saying "Daddy, you're all better" as if he's magically cured us of whatever ailed us.






I can now share the "big" gift that the grandparents got this year - a Blog book! I had ordered one for us in the fall and we thought it turned out so well we wanted to share. The site I used made it really easy, I just had to add higher resolution photos so they would print on full pages like I wanted. I covered the start of the blog through Miles's 2nd birthday, and it was a pretty hefty coffee table book size. So for any of you other bloggers out there, I definitely recommend their blog slurping service!


Not much else happening right now. I've taken down all the Christmas decor, which Miles misses terribly. We had to tell him that everything had to go home to the North Pole, but will be back next year, which I think he accepted. He's starting to focus on baby sister quite a bit, but I can tell at times he absolutely does not want to talk about her. The best time is bedtime, when I start singing his lullaby. It's a round of "mommy loves Miles, daddy loves Miles, baby sister loves Miles..." etc. etc. through the list of extended family, then reversed to "Miles loves Mommy, Miles loves Daddy, Miles loves baby sister...." Whew, it can get long. But recently when I say baby sister, he pops up and states "Mommy gonna feed her? Mommy gonna carry her through the mess? Miles gonna hold her like dis." Then he scoops up his bear and starts to sway veeeery slowly. Very sweet. And a good delay tactic for bedtime! (Oh, the "carry her through the mess" bit is leftover from the early kitchen work, when we wouldn't let Miles near the demolition and insisted that we carry him through the mess!)

Speaking of baby sister, all is well there. I had been concerned that she was breech, based on the feeling of hiccups and kicks in different places. But now I'm pretty sure she's flipped down. We'll see in about 4 weeks when I get my ultrasound. The only bad thing happening is that she's riding my sciatic nerve so badly that I'm literally dragging around like Igor. Good times.

We are working on names, and will probably do our poll like we did last time. (Of course last time the highest vote getter wasn't the choice, so any results should be seen taken with a grain of salt.) Check back for that fun game!!