Happy Halloween

Maggie somehow lucked into two costumes this year. Okay, it wasn't luck; it is because her mom is horribly indecisive--a fault which I think I may never overcome. Nevertheless, Maggie asked to be a princess (she is a true girl), so I refashioned an old leotard that I found at Salvation Army into this little princess dress, and I am proud of my efforts so that I must share it with you. She looked ADORABLE! She wore the dress to all of the pre-holiday parties and our trunk-or-treat. Also I picked up a little spider webb (ha ha) costume because I couldn't resist. Then, when Halloween night was freezing cold and wet (in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and also we live in upstate NY so of course it was freezing) she had a nice toasty spider suit. It turns out that Halloween pretty much rocks with a two year old. Trick-or-treating is SO MUCH FUN. Maggie was ready to quit long before I was. Also, she likes suckers and smarties and leaves all the good candy for us. Or me. Jack also had two costumes. He served as her prince charming (you can check out his highness in the blue and white laying next to his little buddy), but he donned a much more weather appropriate monkey suit lent to us by some friends for the Halloween night festivities. 

Do you think they are related?

I find it rather odd that these two look exactly like each other and not a bit like either of their parents. When I took this picture I was for a moment, overwhelmed with a feeling of great blessing to have two such cute, healthy kids sitting happily on my (messy) bed while I folded a mountain of laundry. 

Maggie pretty much thinks she owns Jack. I think this is probably the blessing you get when you have a girl first. Maggie calls him "my baby" or "my Jackie boy." She is very possessive and sweet when it comes to her Jackie boy. She pushes him in the baby swing (I think shooting for an underdog--luckily she can't quite make that happen) and shouts in his face, "I am rocking you to sleep, Jack! I am rocking you to sleep, Jack!" She has yet to get him to sleep with her method, but she gets lots of smiles and laughs. I think the affection is mutual.

Looking at that picture I see one half of my two year old. It is the half that is sweeter than sweet, fun, silly, and happy, and it melts my heart. The other half is independent, bossy, and super stubborn, and is making me want to pull my hair out. It is hard to believe that the second half can peacefully co-exist with the first in such a tiny person. Still, she makes me smile. Except when she doesn't. Jack on the other hand, pretty much just smiles. I like these two.

Blessing

We blessed Jack in our church on Sept 30. As Joe was carrying Jack to the front of the chapel, I had a horrible moment of dread when I thought Joe might "accidentally" name him Jackie instead of Jack. The origination of this fear dates back to the beginning of our marriage when Joe informed me that we were going to name our first son after his childhood hero, Jackie Robinson. Joe and I debated this name for 7 years (with many family members and friends weighing in) before we happily compromised with the name Jack. Still, with the nickname "Jackie-boy" floating around our house Joe could have easily claimed had a slip of the tongue. Luckily my fears were unjustified. Joe said he actually worried that he might slip up too. We were lucky to have Joe's parents here for the blessing and really enjoyed their company during their visit.

A rare shot of all four of us

I love this picture--didn't know it was being taken, but it makes me happy

On his blessing day

A few things about Jack right now (Nov 4 . . . only a month later . . . yes, I am behind)

--Jack is a super sweet, happy baby! He hardly ever cries. Whenever I get in his face just to say hi I am rewarded with a great big smile.
--He loves chewing on his hands; not sucking on his fingers, but really gnawing on them.
--He gets really animated and talkative during diaper changes. Sometimes he gets hyper and starts kicking his legs really fast. Cracks me up!
--Usually he wakes up to eat once during the early morning hours (sometime between 4:30-6:00)
--He is pretty quiet most of the time, except during diaper changes when he is really chatty. He has also learned how to really squeal.
--He has kept most of the hair in the middle of his head leaving him with a bit of a mohawk. His hair is brown and right now his eyes are a dark, gray blue. He has the perfect amount of chub; just enough to make me want to squeeze him and kiss his little cheeks all. the. time.

A moment that made it (potty training that is) worth it and why being a mom is great

Well, I have a lot of catching up to do on this blog. But, it is so much more enjoyable to write about my life right now so all the catching up will just have to wait.

In my life right now we are potty training. This is a phase that I have been dreading. I don't want my baby to grow up (bad reason I know). Also, I like freedom (I just need to focus on the liberation that being potty trained gives Maggie). Also I don't like scrubbing up messes. But I have put it off long enough. Yesterday we embarked on the potty training journey with an intensive "training in one day" sort of method. As much as Maggie has been ready to be potty trained for awhile, the whole process is just not going super well.

Maggie is SUCH a sweet girl. She has been trying so hard. Over the last two days she has literally been sitting on the potty for 30-45 minutes at a time as I read her books and sing songs with her (luckily activities that she loves). When I suggest that she takes a break (she has been very determined) she would stand up, run around, and pee within 2 minutes. This has happened over and over with no evidence of progression. Maggie would tell me that she needed to go potty and sit down and wait and wait and wait. Nothing. We have tried running water, letting her play with her little hands in warm water, nothing. Tonight Maggie went to bed in a total fit because she was so exhausted; an hour later I hear her sweet little voice. "Mommy, I need to go potty." With a sigh (deep down I was sort of wishing she would have just used her pull-up) I brought her from her crib and set her on her Minnie Mouse potty. We waited, ran some water, and waited. I was debating how long to sit there (since I fully expected her NOT to go potty) when all of a sudden, success!! Wow, who knew that a little trickle could be so relieving. Pun intended. ha ha.

Anyway, after we celebrated a good deal, the best part of the night happened. I settled in a rocking chair with her to help her calm down before going back to bed. As I was snuggling with her and looking down at her, some of my hair (not in the best shape after these last two days!) fell into my face. She brushed it out of my face and said "There. Now I can see you. I love you so much!" Then she snuggled closer to me. What sweet words to hear. All of a sudden the last two days seemed practically painless. We stopped in to say goodnight to Joe on her way back to bed. When he scooped her up to hug her she said, "Can I keep you as my Daddy? Can I keep you as my family? I love you so much!"  Anyway, being a parent is amazing because two such frustrating days can suddenly feel worthwhile after a moment like that. I feel so blessed to be the mommy of two sweet little children. We are certainly going to have some more frustrating times before this whole potty training thing is done, but all of a sudden, I think that I could do it for a year. Okay... not a year. Definitely not a year. Let's hope it doesn't take that long.

This is how I feel 99% of the time

Some stuff we have been doing

Well, it turns out that it is really hard to get out of the house when you have a two-year old and a newborn. It seems like by the time I finish feeding Jack and getting us all ready to go it is time to start all over again. Luckily we have been able to sneak in a couple of fun trips lately.

The first was to a place called Flat Rock. Maggie has been (regularly) asking to go the beach. Sad, I know. She just doesn't understand that there is actually no beach here. So, we decided that she needed to at least have a chance to play in the water. Flat Rock is a portion of the river where the water is very shallow and passes over large slabs of slate. It is the perfect little swimming spot and only about 10 minutes from our house! Maggie had a blast wading in the water, throwing rocks, and standing on her hands while letting the current tug at her feet. Every now and then she would lose her balance and roll under the water. She would stick her hand up for help, stand up, wipe the water from her face and go right back for more. She really is a little fish!

Next we went swimming at Treman State Park. There is a swimming hole carved out by a waterfall. Even though it is very improved and you have to jump from a diving board instead of from the rocks, the water was cold and refreshing and the setting was beautiful! One of the highlights for me was  doing something marginally active (sad that I am that desperate to work out). Even though I only jumped  a few times it felt great to sneak in a little tiny bit of exercise. I am counting down the days (only 3 more) until my exercise ban is lifted.

Maggie'isms

I have started emailing myself (so that I won't forget) when Maggie says or does funny things, or things that just melt my heart. Here are a couple that I came across in my inbox recently:

While hustling around the living room and moving random things from here to there: "I need to clean this for daddy. It is so yucky in here." (No comment on whether this reflects my behavior or the general state of my house)

"Hi Jackie boy. You okay? I just playing soccer ball with Daddy. When you get bigger you play with me, okay?" (And yes, this did make me very happy).

I think she is a beautiful little girl.