Fuzzy Love

Our Christmas, In Pictures

We had a great Christmas. On Christmas Eve we mostly cleaned and cooked, and of course the house is a mess now. But anyway, we even got in the making of a small batch of real Christmas cookies, so by the time the evening arrived, everything was set. Check out the Jackson Pollock cookies Liam decorated.

Now, for weeks I've been telling Liam that Santa would be coming to bring him presents. When we asked him what sort of presents he would like, Liam would reply something like, "Red ones" or "Blue ones." So he really didn't get the concept. It wasn't until Christmas Eve bathtime it occurred to me that what Santa really brings are toys. "Toys? A me?" Now he was excited. And what toys did Liam want? "Music box. Fire f*ck. Ducks." I guess Santa didn't get that list, as all Liam got from it was a matchbox fire f*uck. I mean truck.

Anyway, that night Liam put out a plate of cookies and a cup of milk for Santa, along with eight carrots for the reindeer. He was so excited about it that he did a little happy dance.

Last thing before bed, we read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (in pop-up book form).

Liam's face on Christmas morning was priceless. He was so excited and immediately began to play with all his toys, giving Mark and I plenty of time for breakfast and tea and coffee and whatever else we felt we needed to start the day. And the day continued in a very low key sort of way; each time Liam opened a gift he wanted to play with it for a while, so we'd open each box and assemble each toy and take a little break. It was three hours before we were done. And Olivia? She slept through the whole thing.

On my lap, for the most part. At least she missed that Liam laid claim to many of her presents.

Liam did get a hold of the camera at one point and took this picture:

Not too bad, is it? We really did have a wonderful morning. I think we went slowly enough that Liam didn't get too overwhelmed, as the day was pretty much breakdown-free. Now that's a good day in our book. But check out the aftermath.

That night, for dinner, we went to a family gathering at Mark's aunt's house. Olivia dressed up, but was horrified to discover that the other baby in the family (12-week-old Lily) was dressed in pretty much the same dress. At least Lily's tights fit her (sorry Olivia).

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too!

Oh My

I just got back from the mall. Normally I wouldn't be setting foot anywhere near a mall this close to Christmas, but I haven't been able to get out much lately, at least not to anywhere that requires waiting in line. Liam doesn't do lines. Mark was off work early today, so the second that he came home, I ran out. Well, after tidying up a bit and getting Liam some milk and putting him down for a nap and feeding Olivia. Turns out it wasn't the lines that were a problem, it was the traffic. And the parking. And the cranky people. After stalking a family for miles, I parked at the far ends of the earth and walked through a virtual windstorm (it's warm today, but gusty) to get to the mall, picking leaves and, I'm afraid, garbage out of my mouth that had blown there in the wind. And the sales people were tired and the mall was packed and everyone seemed irritated. Thank god that I knew exactly what I was buying. Not a very Christmasy atmosphere overall, although I noted that one sales person actually did wish me a Merry Christmas (why else would I be in that mall today?)

So we're ready. Mark made the last grocery run on the way home from work, so tomorrow I think we just have to wrap, clean, and put together some toys. And do a bit of baking for Christmas Day. So can the fun begin now?

By the way, last night Olivia decided that four thirty was time to play. She was fairly cranky for a while (tired, no doubt), but then settled down, so I laid her next to me in bed and closed my eyes (absolutely no doubt I was tired). I opened them again and again, hoping against hope that she'd be asleep, but she just kept staring at me with those big eyes. Finally, when I looked again, she flashed me the biggest, most beautiful ear-to-ear smile. It totally woke me up. God I love her smiles.

One Month Old

Olivia has been here for a month already; I can't believe how fast it's gone by. Liam's first month seemed to take a year. By this point with Liam, we were supplementing with formula (as we would for four more weeks), Liam and I rarely left the house, and each day seemed to take forever as we waited for Mark to come home. As I've mentioned before, this time around I'm much more calm and things are going much more smoothly. And best of all: Olivia has just started smiling. The smiles are still few and far between, but there's nothing better after a month of stony faces (none have been captured in pictures yet, but they will).

In the meantime, our house continues to deteriorate. I do manage a load or two of laundry a day, the dishes are getting done (more or less), and the bathrooms are clean out of pure necessity, but things like vacuuming and dusting are falling by the wayside. At least the kids are clean. But, in the midst of the nuttiness, we did manage to do a few Christmas cookies. So what if they're the kind you find in your grocer's freezer? And that they got a bit over-cooked because Olivia got hungry? After all, no cookie tastes too badly when covered in icing. Liam had a ball decorating them - he was in charge of sprinkles.

And, since the weather has been in the 60's lately, Liam, Olivia, and I were able to go to the park yesterday. It was our first outing down there with Olivia, and I was a mite bit nervous, and here's why. First I packed Olivia in her car seat (the bucket) and then she and Liam into the wagon, but the short trip down the gentle slope that is our driveway convinced me I couldn't lug them both to the park and back like that. So I put Olivia in the stroller and made Liam walk. Liam has never walked all the way to the park and back before, he wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the idea, and the last thing I needed was a melt down over not being carried. But we played Dora the Explorer ("School, bridge, park!"), I let him bring a backpack and a laminated map of Colorado, and he did just fine. He even found himself a cute girl at the playground and pretty much left me alone to walk Olivia around in the stroller (babies must keep moving at all times).

And Liam is getting more excited about Christmas. The presents are accumulating under the tree, waiting for Christmas to come to be opened, and he checks every day: "Present a me? Open?" For some reason he doesn't say "for" but "a," like he's french or something. That reminds me; Liam also can't seem to say the "tr" in truck lately, although he manages to say "tree" and "train" just fine. So now truck comes out beginning with an "f." And note that he talks about trucks all the time. The other day, Liam and Mark were playing with Matchbox cars when Liam offered Mark a tank: "F*ck a you Daddy!" He sounded like a little Italian. Then, of course, Mark came to ask me what sort of things I've been saying around the house.

Liam's also been doing much better with Olivia. Although I still get daily requests to ditch her ("Mommy, put baby on the carpet peese"), he runs to her when she cries and pats her head gently, telling her, "It's okay Oweia" and "Shh shh shh shh." That's the best approximation I can give of how he says her name: O-we-i-a. Lots of vowels in a row there, and they're all pronounced. He just can't pull off the L sound, even in his own name, which he says as "We-um." And something else he does: every night, when Mark comes home from work, he greats Liam with a big hug and kiss and a "How are you?" And every night Liam answers, "I'm We-um!"

Loving Livvy

Remember this serious concern?

Turns out I just do.

By the way, Olivia always gives us this look, kinda like she thinks we're all nuts. At this age (pre-smiling), Liam always looked so wise to me, but Olivia looks more scared. Then again, maybe she is the wise one.

I'm Free!

Liam finally managed to escape from his crib last night. Since Olivia arrived, bedtime has been trouble. So, Mark when put Liam down to sleep last night and left the room amidst a lot of complaining, we were surprised when everything went silent very quickly. Unless you are sure he's asleep, Liam and quiet is usually a bad sign. Sure enough, he soon appeared at the top of the stairs, smiling from ear to ear, annoucing loudly, "I'm free! I'm free!" He was so proud of himself, it really did break my heart to put him back to bed.

Today we have to get out of the house, so we are going to try going to the Wildlife Experience. Liam really wants to go to the zoo, but it's too cold out for that. This place seems to be more of a diarama-type animal experience (a dead zoo?) so I'm not sure if he'll be into it. At least he'll get to run around.

Ch-ch-changes

Well, the frequency of posting has gone down since Mark's parents left, hasn't it? They left a week ago yesterday and since then it's been hard to get the time and brain power necessary to post at the same time. Especially since Mark went back to work on Monday. But today, by some miracle, both of my babies are sleeping at the same time, each in their own beds, so I'm taking the opportunity to update you all on our happenings. First of all, here's how they look today:

and

Damn cute kids, aren't they? Anyway, life has been a bit tough without Mark's parents. Somehow, when they were here all the laundry got done and good meals were cooked and all kids got attention, and now it's up to us (or just me, during the day) to make all that happen. The kids are getting attention (for the most part), but meal quality has gone way down (toast now qualifies as a hot meal) and I'm living in sweat pants and t-shirts (but do understand, that is more exciting for me than the same old maternity clothes I've been wearing for months). Thank you, thank you Mary and Neil. : )

We did manage to get a tree in the midst of all this, but it took us three days to get the decorating done. Voila:

It is a perfect tree. We literally saw it and thought: "Aaaaaaaaaaaah! The perfect tree!" and bought it without noticing that it is really too big for our house. This seems to be part of the sleep-deprivation-brain-power shortage. So it's a bit tricky to get into the kitchen.

Anyway, so far Olivia has been a good sleeper. I noticed from about day three that she was more of a loner than Liam was, who needed to be held all the time. Meaning all day and all night. Olivia actually needs Olivia time, and, at times, will cry until you put her down. Unlike her brother at this age, she will sleep somewhere other than on my chest. This is so unknown to me that I still don't trust it, and have to check on her every few minutes. I feel almost compelled to pick her up at times. This morning she napped in a crib for an hour and a half, giving me some Liam time, which was so easy that I can't believe I ever complained about having just one child (oh, how life has changed).

She is also chubbing up nicely. It is such a nice secure feeling when babies get all those knee-elbow-finger dimples. Olivia isn't there yet, but she does have some nice thigh rolls developing.

As for Liam, he is continuing to adjust to a life where he isn't the center of the universe. Poor kid. But he's doing well, and even seems to like his sister a bit. Mark and I he isn't so thrilled with all the time, but that's kind of part of being two-and-a-half.

We also have another new addition to the family:

Yes, that's a minivan. A Honda Odyssey. Don't make fun; it's the most comfortable car I've ever had in my life. And it fits more car seats than we will ever need (knock wood).

A Bunch of Pictures

We are still doing well, still under the help of Mark's parents, and loving that we have two kids. And the older of those two kids is really starting to accept the newcomer. He insists: "My baby!" and agrees to hold her while resisting any interference. This is a relief. He is still rough (by accident), but that is to be expected, seeing as he is only two and a half. At least there have been no acts of deliberate violence. The clinginess is going down as well, although that may be because we've had lots of outings for him this week, and he's had lots of one-on-one time with Mark and I.

Olivia is doing well and seems to be chubbing up nicely. Seeing as she's 100% breast fed (so far so good), I'm typically paranoid that she doesn't get enough, at least until she begins to develop all those dimples that babies get on their knees and elbows and even fingers.

And our Christmas prep goes on. We took the two of them to see Santa yesterday at the mall. I was too paranoid to allow Santa to hold Olivia, so I insisted that she stay in the bucket, even though I admit it looks a bit silly. But all in all, I'm pleased that this picture didn't turn out like last year's.

Liam was reluctant, and I think that his only response to all of Santa's questions was, "Hi Santa," but I'll take it. Note that, unlike last year, we got casual Santa this year.

We also tried to take a Christmas card picture today, seeing as the weather is turning cold soon, and we all had had showers. Unfortunately, a great picture was not in the cards as Liam was not interested. But look at the fun time we had taking them:

Make no mistake, of course Olivia is crying.