This is Food?

Really, this is what it's all about? Why the heck are Grandma, Pop-Pop, Nonna and Aunt Lacey so excited about this stuff?

A Real Fan

This morning, I came downstairs to find Andy sitting in front of his computer with tears running down his face. When I asked him what was wrong, Conor yelled out: Ron Santo died. The voice of the Cubs died this morning and Andy tearfully told me that he couldn't believe Santo would never see them win it all and he couldn't believe we'd never again hear Santo's ridiculous stories.

Conor then told me that Ron Santo died and is going to see toucans with wings. When I asked if he meant angels, he said, no, kids are angels, when you die you see toucans.

Working Mother

Today was one of those really busy days...up early, pumped, changed/fed the babes, 7:41 train/meeting/pumped/training session/conference calls/pumped...same ol', same ol'. So, at about two o'clock this afternoon I finished pumping, went to a meeting, stopped by to say hi to my boss and then headed for a quick bathroom break. Rushed into the bathroom and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror--well, it's normal that my hair might look a little frazzled, my pants a little tight...you know, normal working mom stuff--but today, I found my t-shirt hiked up past my boobs. Yup, shirt was still up from the last time i'd pumped...all gathered up with nursing tank hanging out. Probably been like that for an hour or so. Stylish.

Grandma and Conor Adventures

Grandma had a great day with Conor today. It's parent teacher interviews today and tomorrow so C doesn't have school so Grandma got to spend the whole day with him running around Evanston. Funniest part of their day was when they got on the bus to come home and C fell asleep--mum didn't want to wake him up so she just kept riding the bus...two hours later they pulled into the bus depot and Conor looked at her and said: Grandma, I have to pee...

Funny Mouth

Madeleine's latest discovery is funny mouth noises which Conor likes to imitate.

And here's another picture that Lacey took of Madeleine and her little friend, Emily. I'm so jealous Jennie gets to spend every day with these two little things!! Not that I don't love pushing toilet paper...

2 Year Old Humor

Want to make Conor laugh these days? Say anything that ends with poop or bum and he'll go into hysterics. Good morning, bum. Hello, poop. Sadie is hungry...BUM! Hi, Mummy, POOP! The possibilities are endless.

Post dinner, pre-bedtime is a particularly wild time. Case in point:

Storyteller

I dropped off Conor at school yesterday and his teacher told me that she thinks he's going to be an author when he grows up. He has this vivid imagination and is constantly making up random stories. Current favorite topics include dinosaurs (naturally), wooly mammoth, animals of any kind and anything that recaps his day. This morning when we were driving to school:

Conor: Mummy, it smells in here.

Me: Why does it smell?

Conor: I think it's because an elephant came in the middle of the night and pooped in our car.

Me: Hmmmm...why don't I see any evidence of an elephant in the car?

Conor: Well, that's because a werewolf jumped off our roof and killed the elephant.

Scary Dinosaur

Playing catch up on some posts...but refusing to feel badly about it anymore. If I didn't let the whole guilty blogger thing go then every post would start with: it's been a while since my last post...

Ok, so last two weeks have been really busy. Mum arrived a few days before Halloween and joined us for Conor's first school concert. Conor definitely had the most support of any of the kids--grandma, grandpa, grammie, aunt lacey, jennie, mum, dad, madeleine...yup, he was that kid. :) He got all dressed up in his t-rex costume, grandma painted his face (amazing what a little brown eyeshadow will do for a store-bought costume!) and off we went to Barbereux. It was so cute--all the little kids parading out to stand on a little stage and sing Halloween songs. Amazing how they were all so different. Some were scared, some smiley, some showing off, some crying uncontrollably...conor had no qualms about getting up in front of everyone. He stepped into his classroom with the other kids and let out a series of loud roars. It was so funny. Reminded me of when he broke away from the other two ring bearers at Jeremy's wedding and went tearing down the aisle yelling--Daddy, I'm running, I'm running.

Lacey got some great pics of the day.

Mum is loving being here. Every night is snuggling and stories with Conor and every day is chats and hugs with Madeleine.

Little Mice in a Field

Yesterday I took the morning off and chaperoned Conor's first field trip. 20 kids on a school bus was probably the best part--I sat in the back and every time we went over a bump I went flying in the air and almost threw up (another sign i'm getting old: in my opinion, the back of the bus is no longer the cool place to sit.) All the little 2-4 year olds snug in their seat beats, however, thought it was about the funniest thing ever. The squeals and yelps of glee were so funny to hear; every kid on that bus had a smile plastered on his/her face.

We spent the morning at the Emily Oaks nature preserve where C's class learned about life as a field mouse. Never one for subtleties, Conor declared he was not a mouse, but rather a scary rat (good to see his days living in Wicker Park have stayed with him...)

Latest Obsession

Madeleine's latest obsession: her tongue.

Busy Week

It's "only" been 10 days since my last post, but so much has happened in the kids' little worlds and now I'm never going to do the updates justice and I honestly forget all the best stuff about 20 minutes after it happens. But, here goes...

Madeleine's 4.5 month check up was last week (yes, supposed to be 4 months, but we got distracted. The good news is that I actually showered that morning and conor had on underware and his hair was brushed so i looked like a presentable parent.) Our little girl continues to be a not so little girl. At more than 16 lbs and 26 inches, she's in the 95%+ in all categories. But, overall Dr. Lechman said: "she's a perfect beauty." :)

Had a great visit with my dad. Conor loved having Pop-Pop here and he now tells his animals stories about the imaginary world of the goofy people.
This is my attempt to get a nice fall pic of dad with the kids. Poor Sadie looks like she's in a head lock. And of course, Madeleine is just perfectly behaved.

I couldn't get any of them to stay still enough to even get a picture that was in focus!
So, dad left and a few days later my friend Kristen came in with her daughter Kaylin. Like when Carrie and Paige came in April, it was fun, special and super bizarre to be hanging out with our kids. OUR KIDS! Seeing my old college friends just brings back these waves of memories of fun, carefree times and now when we get together we're in a completely different place...an amazing place, but very different. Conor and Kaylin had a great time together. Conor ran around the entire weekend...showing off for Kaylin by running in circles around the yard, the kitchen, the family room, the hallways, the aquarium, the field museum all while screaming something along the lines of "I'm a dinosaur" or "I'm a lion" or "I'm a shark" etc. etc....basically his version of flexing his muscles for the cute girl at the bar. :)

Conor learned to spell his name last week--insert very proud smile here. It was really interesting to see the progress over the last week until he finally put all the letters together. Every morning at school the kids have to find their name on a piece of paper and mark that they're present that day, so Conor has been coming home and telling us "K is for Kasey", "S is for Sam." Then he started to name the different letters in his name and finally, this weekend put them all together. At first he was really proud of himself and thought it was so cool (probably more because of the reaction he got from us more than anything!) but now his attitude is more like "whatever, sure i can spell my name, who can't?!"

Madeleine's "no rest for the weary" phase seems to be coming to an end. After a brutal week of few naps and lots of nighttime wake ups, she seems to have figured out that she doesn't HAVE to roll over and talk. We even got a fabulous 8-6:30 stretch the other night! Of course I didn't sleep because I was so freaked out that she hadn't woken up. So I complain when Madeleine wakes up that I'm not getting enough sleep and then when I have the chance for more sleep it doesn't come.

Mum comes on Thursday so guest room sheets are in the washing machine and we're ready for round four in four weeks! See you Thursday, Grandma.

I Don't Need a Dentist

First visit to the dentist this morning for Conor. I took him to see me get my teeth cleaned and just sit in the chair and get used to the office before he gets a cleaning. The last few days we've been getting him all psyched up for it. Andy's been talking about the superhero dentist who fights cavities.

When we walked into the office, Conor was obviously a little nervous and decided to take the proactive approach. He looked at the hygienist and said: "I won't get in the chair. I don't need a dentist. I brush my teeth every day and don't have cavities."

Cheeky

My dad arrived this week for a visit and went to pick Conor up from school. When they were in the car coming home, Conor kept staring at him.
Pop-Pop: Conor, why are you looking at me so intently?
Conor: I want your cheeks to be smaller.

Dad's joining me on my squishy belly diet.

UPDATE to Roll Over, Roll Over

Jennie managed to capture this video of Madeleine while I was at work today. BTW, it's almost 9pm and the rolly polly is upstairs lying on her back wide awake just chatting up a storm.

On a totally separate note, my dad is visiting. Of course, every time Madeleine even makes a peep he's saying: let me go get her. He babysat last night and when I called to check in at 9:30 he told me Madeleine was wide awake sitting on his lap. Sucker. :)

Roll Over, Roll Over

This week Madeleine starting rolling over and she thinks it's about the coolest thing ever...in fact, it's so cool it's keeping her up at night. Last night she laid in bed for two hours "talking to herself." Every time I put her down on her belly to go to sleep (the only way she'll sleep) within five seconds, she'd scoot her little butt up and roll over. Then being totally impressed with herself, tell the world all about it through coos and babbles and even some strange deep grunts.

Fall Is Here

Fall is definitely here (for now I'm going to forget that fall proceeds winter and that this beautiful crisp air will soon turn to holy crap it's cold air!) and this weekend we headed a little north to a family farm to pick out a pumpkin and go for a hay ride. Conor had a great time with country life-- feeding the animals, exploring the corn fields, eating apples. Apparently he also learned a thing or two ... when we got home that night I found him trying to milk Sadie... she wasn't pleased.


Mary left on Monday and we already miss her. She had a great visit with the kids. One of the best things she did was go to Conor's school to read the kids a story and have lunch. It was great that she got to see Conor and all the mystery of his school day since whenever we ask him what he did all we get is: nothing. And when you ask what was your favorite thing about school today he responds: all of it. I guess it's better than getting a response of "none of it" but either way I'm not getting much info. I want him to give me a laundry list of activities and tell me every detail of what he learned that day. It would also be cute if he wore a little uniform with a tie... ok, dreaming now. :) Anyway, great visit with Mary and she was so incredibly helpful. THANK YOU NONNA.
Tomorrow Pop-Pop arrives from Ottawa. Now, he's the real "story from your mouth" guy. I told him that he could follow in mary's footsteps and make an appearance at school, but that all stories needed to stay G-rated. I don't think all parents would be ok with some random grandpa coming in and telling their kids stories about the garumpf--aka the monster that eats the bubbles from the farts in the bathtub--like Jeremy and I used to hear.

Teeth Time

Madeleine's top two teeth seem to have broken through! Like Conor, she's getting teeth pretty early. Also means that what I thought was a lingering cold was probably teething.

Definitely Diet Time!

Yesterday at about 6:30 AM Conor woke up and crawled into bed with us. He sat on my lap, pulled up my pyjama top and put his hands flat on my belly.
Conor: Mummy, does your belly hurt?
Me: No, why do you say that?
Conor: Because it's all squishy
(cringe...could it get worse...um, yes, it could...)
Conor: Is your belly big because you're having another baby?

Sweet.

Notice no photo accompanies this post.

Boys vs. Girls

I'm one of those parents who prides herself on trying to raise kids in a kind of gender neutral way. I mean, I'm far from perfect...conor has a blue room full of trucks and madeleine has the most gorgeous new pink and red roman shade (just put it up and love it!) but I feel like I'm pretty good at sending a message that males and females are equal... So it's been much to my surprise that Conor has suddenly started defining gender roles. Last week, he was pushing his tricycle around the lawn and told me that he was mowing the lawn and that I couldn't help because it's a job for Daddies and Conors only. I'm finding that he's defining all these tasks into boy tasks and girl tasks or types of play. For example, he told me that only boys are allowed to rough house. No idea where he learned the term rough house or who told him it's only for boys, but he's decided that it's unacceptable for girls to play like boys. It's actually pretty funny how is little mind is working and trying to categorize things.

Sick and Still Sweet

You can barely see this picture (click on it to see if it's any better larger), but I couldn't help but take it. As I mentioned, both kids were sick last week. For three nights Madeleine slept in our bed in this little co-sleeper that kept her head elevated (thanks Virginie!). Between little coughs and sneezes, Madeleine would just look over at me and burst into smiles and laughs. Even sick, this little girl is so so sweet!

Swimming Lessons

Last Saturday Conor started swimming lessons at the YMCA. These SailFish lessons are in exactly the same pool that Andy learned to swim in. C has taken to the water pretty well. Truth be told, he's not Mr. Athletic (yet..Pop-Pop has hopes we'll have another Stevie Nash on our hands...)and he has a little bit of the reservation/fear of new things that I have so we weren't expecting him to be doing back flips off the edge the first day! But, he's really enjoying being in the pool and hasn't freaked out once--which according to Carrie's experience with Paige and Grant is pretty good! Next weekend Andy is traveling so I'll be taking C. Oh god, the thought of being in a bathing suit.

Worst Blogger Ever

So I've been a serious slacker on the blog lately. Honestly, work is really getting in the way of life! And on top of that, the kids were sick for the last two weeks. Oh yeah, and for some reason I thought it would be a great idea to have a garage sale (total failure) and redo the basement (will share pics shortly!). Thank goodness Andy's mom has been in town for the last two weeks. She was an amazing help as Andy was traveling and we were dealing with major runny noses and coughs.
Last Sunday night I just burst into tears and after 15 minutes Andy was saying: just quit, just quit... After calming down, I came to my senses, and realized that I wasn't going to walk into HR in the morning and give my notice. I think the constant tired is finally wearing on me. Sleep is short (my god when will this kid sleep through the night?!?) which makes patience shorter ...the commute back and forth to work is really the only thing that seems long! I am constantly wishing that I had more time in the day or less to do in the 24 hours I do have! Scary, but I'm starting to feel like one of those cliche target profiles that we talk about in planning meetings: Meet Brenda, a busy mother of two. Constantly multi minding, we're going to connect with Brenda by meeting her need to feel less guilty... Ugh.

Anyway, that's the reason for my infrequent posts. Hopefully I'll pull it together enough to at least post every week! Stay tuned... To make up for the last few weeks, I'm going to do a few quick posts to update everything.

What's this all about?

Um, I'm not so sure about this whole sitting up thing...


Don't worry, I'll help you...

Choices

One thing that has become abundantly clear now that we have two kids and I'm back to work, is that life is all about choices. Yes, I knew it before, but in the last two weeks (since what I've been calling D-Day, September 1, the Official Return to Work Day) every day has been a constant battle of what choice am I going to make to ensure the day goes smoothly and everyone gets a little attention. For example, this morning Madeleine woke up at 5:30 to eat. While she was eating, Conor woke up and Andy crawled into bed with him hoping that he'd lull him back to sleep for just a little bit longer (oh, please just a little longer....arghhhh). I finished feeding Madeleine, put her back down and so badly wanted to just crawl into bed for another half hour and then take a shower before heading to the train. But, Conor was definitely not heeding Andy's advice of more sleep (or pleas more like it) and I remembered that he'd had kind of a rough day at school yesterday (teacher's email at the end of the day said he'd had two accidents and was really quiet... :( poor guy) So at 6 AM the two of us headed down to the kitchen and had a fun morning making pancakes and having breakfast together--no stressing out, battles over a rushed breakfast--just the two of us chatting over pancakes. So today's winning choice was a great morning with my favorite little guy in the whole world and what lost out was a shower..something I'm only slightly regretting as I sit here at my desk looking less than attractive in a pony tail and leggings...but with lipstick on. :)

On a separate note, meant to post this before, but here's a little video of Conor and Olivia telling Jennie about their first day of school. Then a little dance post brownie dessert. Ahhh sugar.

No Lack of Opinion Here

Some funny Conor stories from the last week...
Last Saturday night, Andy and I celebrated our six year anniversary. We were headed downtown (still so weird to say/admit that...) so I managed to clean myself up, brush my hair and put some makeup on. I came downstairs and Conor was sitting on the couch with the babysitter. When he saw me he said: "Mummy, you look pretty. I like you more now than I did before." I've worn lipstick every day since.

On Sunday morning at about 6 AM, we heard this little voice on the baby monitor from Madeleine's room: "Hi baby, are you awake? You awake? Yay...you're awake!" Click, light flicked on. Cue Andy running into the nursery to shut off the light and quickly tell Conor to get out. Conor then comes storming into our bedroom and says to me: "Daddy was just rude to me. I'm not something to be pulled, I'm a kid."

Who??

One of the funniest (and weirdest) parts of Conor starting school is that he suddenly knows people that the rest of the family doesn't. He'll see something he thinks is cool and say--I'm going to tell Graham or he'll tell stories about Miss Fawn (not his main teacher so I don't know her)...reminds me that he's growing up so quickly and suddenly (well feels like suddenly) knows people I don't!

Back at Work

Today is day two back to work. :( Definitely a step in the right direction (nothing went right yesterday...) but still so sad to leave conor and madeleine and realize that my summer of being a full-time mummy is done!
It was just so amazing to be able to spend every moment with madeleine and I know I took it for granted. Now I've just fallen right back into work...it's so bizarre how you go off, have a baby and have this life-changing experience and come back and it feels like nothing has changed, that your three months of emotional and physical ups and downs was just this little blip on the screen of life.
Jennie is great at keeping me going during the day though. Just got this pic with this caption "Miss You, Mummy!" :)

OMG, tomorrow is my last day of maternity leave. arghhhhh!!!!

Day at the Beach

Also, just pulled some new pics off our camera. Last Thursday, we spent the day at Lighthouse beach for Jennie's last day with the kids. It was a beautiful day and Conor and Olivia had a blast. Charlie (with Amy and Maggie) came and met us there. Great day.

First Day of School

Today was Conor's first day of preschool and Madeleine's first day with Jennie. C's day started with a breakfast of waffles and picking out his own outfit (who says you can't wear a scorpion shirt with doggy shorts?!) and making sure monkey made it into his backpack. He was super excited and was wiggling away in his car seat the whole way there. When we arrived, he walked straight into his classroom, put his stuff in his special "locker" bag and then turned and faced the room...suddenly a little quiet. But, after a few minutes he seemed to gain his confidence again and headed over to play with the other kids. Definitely helped when Olivia came barreling into the room. Then, with barely a glance in our direction (I did steal a hug) C said goodbye and we headed out.

I know Andy and I were way more of a mess than he was. All day we kept asking each other what the other person thought he was doing at the moment, how he was, man do we wish they had a web cam ...

When I went in to pick Conor up at 5, he was in the little bathroom with a few other kids all washing their hands. He looked like such a big kid with all the babyness in him gone. Overall he did great--his teachers left a little note saying he was happy, well behaved, ate all his lunch and was quiet during nap time...so quiet in fact that he didn't want to get up to go potty and had a little accident. :( Oh well, that's why they bring a change of clothes!

The day ended with a pizza party at the Stanczaks where Conor and Olivia got to tell Jennie all about their day.

Meanwhile, Madeleine got to hang out with her new BFF Emily at our house. Definitely a different pace for Jennie going from two active toddlers to two mellow babies!

On a totally separate note, if you thought Andy was dorky with the mosquito scotch tape remedy, you should see him outside right now watering the lawn in the dark with his LLBean baseball cap/headlamp in one (ingenious yes, but definitely not cool.)

Conor and Jennie

Tomorrow is Conor's last day with Jennie as he's starting preschool on Monday. Olivia and Conor are starting at the Barbereux School and Jennie will now look after Emily and Madeleine...another set of best friends in the making...
For the last two and a half years Jennie has been a second mom to C and we can thank her for putting such a positive imprint on our kid..."may i be excused?" "clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere..." We're so lucky to have someone so wonderful taking care of our kids and I know Madeleine will end up loving Jennie as much as Conor does. Tonight as we were in bed telling stories, I reminded Conor that tomorrow is his last full "real" day with Jennie and asked him what he'll say to her at the end of the day. His response: I'm going to say I love you sooooo much and don't be sad, you're a good girl." :)

Since I go back to work on September 1 (ugh), at least I go back knowing Madeleine will be well cared for and given lots of love.
Monday is the big day for the little man and we're trying to get him all jazzed about the new arrangement. I think he'll do great, but still have reservations about having him in school for such a long day. On the other hand, I know he's going to be an eager learner and he'll love being around so many kids, making friends and learning new things.

Let's Get Some Runs

The four of us went to the Cubs game yesterday. Conor totally o.d.'d on hot dogs, fries, nachos, super rope and Andy and I added Cracker Jacks to the mix. C's favorite part of the day was the seventh inning stretch.



When we got home, Conor saw a clip of Digger Phelps singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and at the end, Digger said: Let's seal the deal. Conor looked at me and said: "Why he no said let's get some runs?" Oh, he's falling into Cubs fandom already. Poor kid.

Mosquito Remedy

Mosquitoes are up by about 800% this year--no joke. It's like a rain forest in our backyard. Evanston has been named "Tree City USA" for the last 20 years and with record rains, ridiculous trees and a park across the street, the mosquitoes are insane. So in true Andy fashion, he did a little Internet search and found a home remedy for the itching--put scotch tape on the bite so it helps coagulate the "wound" and therefore stops the itching. Andy is now walking around with scotch tape all over his arms and legs. Great way for us to make a good impression with our neighbors and meet some new friends! And he's passing on the weird practice...Conor woke up this morning and said: I've got bites, I need tape.
...
Conor after a time out this morning: "Maybe a dragon will come and burn Daddy because he's not being nice. And I think maybe I need a special treat."

Beachy Keen

Made a last minute decision to head down to Lighthouse Beach for a picnic last night. Unfortunately the water was closed so we got to explain what E Coli is to Conor after which every kid who came onto the beach, he yelled out--hey, you can't go in the water, there's gross stuff in it! Andy made a stop at Mustard's for hot dogs and fries and we had a quick evening picnic. There were more seagulls than people on the beach so one hot dog became a victim. Conor had a great time chasing the gulls...btw, ignore the "chasing pigeons" title. Andy was up way too late playing with his new video editing software and apparently had a bird identification mishap!





On a separate note, Madeleine slept through the night last night! She went all the way from 7:30pm - 5am!! Such a nice surprise to wake up and see 5 on the clock rather than 2 or 3...although it does freak you out a little too...

On Wednesday we got back from a few days in Denver. We were there for GG's memorial service--a beautiful day organized by Mary, Pinina and Stephanie and such a fitting tribute to Jill. A jazz quartet playing GG's favorites, beautiful flowers and wonderful personal stories shared by family and friends of her strength of character, intelligence and love of life. Overall, there was just amazing sense of love and admiration for Jill that was present in the room.
Andy gave a very moving "speech" about his grandmother and talked about the lessons that he taught her that he'll pass along to his children--specifically that you face each day with a can-do attitude, no excuses and just positivity in everything you do. He also put together a video tribute that includes a little song dedicated to GG by Conor:

We had such a fun visit with Mary and Lacey--museum, the zoo, swimming and drinking too much wine and eating too much birthday cake! Conor got to see his cousins Alexander and Charlotte whom he just adores. He was like a little whirling dervish running around in excitement. What's amazing is that whenever we go on a trip and get out of our routine, it seems to just open up a whole new world to Conor that takes his imagination and vocubulary to a new level. This week he has started making connections and saying things that just amaze me. Andy and I were in the hot tub and Conor was sitting on the edge dangling his feet and chattering his teeth. Andy asked him if he wanted him to put some water on his legs to warm up. Conor's response was: "No, Daddy, that's not necessary." And the funny part is that he'll mix very baby things with very adult things. Like this morning he said in a very baby way: Uppy Mummy. When I responded, no you're a big boy you walk he said: No, it's very strenuous, I need to go uppy. WHAT?!?

Conor also decided while we were out of town that he no longer wants to use the Bjorn training potty. I followed him into the bathroom and he just pulled down his pants and stood over the toilet explaining that he's going like Daddy and it's sometimes tough to hit the water without dripping. :) He is also no longer wearing a pull up at night. Nice.

Birthday Style

Today is my 35th birthday. I seriously cannot believe I'm 35. Crazy! We just came back from a few days in Denver visiting Nonna for GG's memorial service...more on that later... Back to 35 for a second... The wake up call that I'm definitely 35 and not nearly as cool as I used to be just happened. I'm wearing my new pair of "boyfriend" jeans that I thought I loved and looked really cute in. Conor just looked at me and asked if I pooped my pants. Nice. Happy Birthday old dumpy lady.

On a more positive note, Andy planned a great birthday surprise. On Friday afternoon at 2pm, he came downstairs and said he was taking a half day and taking over with the kids. Amy Bird then showed up at the door and Andy sent us off to go get massages. Such a nice surprise! Amazing. Then when I got home, Andy said get dressed nicely we're going to dinner. Thanks to a little styling help from Jennie, I overcame my earlier fashion woes and actually ended up looking like a pretty decent 35 year old! We went to a great Latin fusion place called Carnivale and Bill/Jessica, Mark/Virginie and Amy/Alex surprised me. Such a fun night. Great husband. :)

Two Little Monkeys

When Conor was born, we gave him Monkey. He adores Monkey (yup, simple little man with simple tastes in names) and carries it everywhere. In fact, we had to buy a backup stunt monkey for the days he forgets lead monkey at Olivia's house. So, yesterday we were at the toy store and Conor saw the "girl" version of his monkey and said he wanted to buy his baby sister Madeleine her own monkey...likely both an offensive and defensive move on his part!

Little Voice

Madeleine really discovered her voice today...at about 5 a.m. We woke up to little squeals and cooing and utter excitement that included flailing arms and attempts to roll over. Thinking she would want to eat soon, I brought her into bed with us only to realize that all she really wanted to do was "talk". So for an hour she just lay next to me smiling, grunting, and doing these big dramatic sighs. It was so sweet that I almost forgot it was 5 a.m.! ...Almost! What I'm realizing now is that with baby number two you just reach a whole new level of fatigue. Seriously tired.

He Shoots, He Scores...Well, at least he skates...

Andy and his friend Alex tooks the boys skating for the first time today. They got all geared up in cozy pants, bike helmets and knee pads (and of course his Canadian gear!) and hit the ice on a beautiful 85 degree day. I think Andy has big dreams of the boys playing ETHS hockey together one day just like he and Alex did so this was the first step. Conor loved it--came home so excited and full of stories of ice, holding onto Daddy, falling down--said he wants to go again tomorrow.

Bummer the pic from Andy's phone is out of focus. And I'm going to have to chat with Andy about how you put on a helmet--poor kid!

Going Like Sadie

Now that Conor is potty trained you kind of have to figure out how to let him go when he has to go. A few weeks ago, while out gardening he told Andy that he "wanted to go in the bushes like Sadie." Since we were in the backyard, it wasn't a problem...now he does it all the time. This morning Andy took Conor to the putting green and at one point, Conor suddenly dropped his club, walked over to the closest tree and dropped his drawers... here's the visual Andy got. I guess we're going to have to curb this whole pee like your dog thing. At least it was the public course. :)

Big Brother Love

Every night when Jennie drops Conor off, he breezes by me and heads to either Andy or Madeleine. Since Andy was out to dinner with clients tonight, Madeleine got the love. Conor lay down next to her and said: "Hello baby sister, I'll take a nap with you. Mummy, take a picture." He's very sweet with her and very aware I think so. Let's revisit this post in a few years. :)



Every night, I tell Conor a story and he gets to dictate the elements that need to appear in that story. No matter how random they are (the other night the list was lion running through a field, worm and potato bug, earlier this week it was Jennie, Olivia, Charlie, Jack, Paige, monkey, cereal and a pool) if you miss one of the items on the list he'll be sure to let you know. It's really sweet that Madeleine is increasingly making appearances in Conor's "story from your mouth"requests. Tonight she made an appearance in a very subtle way--only one thing on the list tonight: baby poop. Anything else you want in tonight's story besides baby poop Conor? Nope. Ok, then.

Big and Healthy

Madeleine had her two month check up today. No surprise based on her birth weight (9 lbs 7 oz!) but she continues to be on the "huge side" (doctor's exact words.)
Length--24.25 inches
Weight--14 lbs 3 oz
These put her off the charts in both categories. Amazingly, Conor is two and a half years older and only double her weight!

Here's a pic of the "little" girl after her appointment--obviously as happy as she is big. :)

It's No Problem

Like any kid, Conor goes through random catch phrases he picks up and then repeats endlessly. These have included "What happened?" (said with intense drama in his voice) and "What you said?" (upon which we say "excuse me?" Conor rolls his eyes and again with intense drama, says: "What did you say?!?") Note that drama is key for him right now.
So today he came up with a new one: "It's no problem." In Conor's mind this is obviously the perfect excuse for any desire or behavior. For example:

1. After lunch with Mark and baby Wade Bishop, Andy took Conor to the car. Conor: "Dad, I want to stay at the Bishops. Dad: "No, you have to go home to take a nap. Conor: "No, Dad, I can stay with Mark and help with Wade, it's no problem."
2. It's nap time (or so I think) and I hear Madeleine crying. I go into our room where she's sleeping in her crib and Conor is standing next to it looking very suspicious. Before I can even say anything he says: "I just spoke very quietly. I didn't wake her up. It's no problem."
3. We get ready to go out to the backyard to play. Me: "Conor, put on your shoes." Conor: "No, I don't need them. It's not wet so it's no problem."

The funny part is that my mother says that all the time and while she hasn't been here for more than a month, Conor obviously picked up on it. Another reminder for me that he's like a little fly on the wall that hears everything without you realizing it!

Trip to Millennium Park

On Friday we headed down for a great morning at Millennium Park with our friends Amy, Charlie and Maggie Bird--saw a concert, played at the Bean and in the fountains and then had a picnic. Conor adores hanging out with Charlie and Maggie...so nice to see a second generation of Evanston kids becoming friends.

New fave activity for Madeleine is lying on the Boppy watching Conor play.

Budding Artist

Today we set up an artist's studio in our driveway so Conor could do a painting for his new big boy room. Following in the steps of his Pop-Pop, he took paint to canvas and created a modern masterpiece he titled simply: "Dino."






And the result in his room (not hung up yet...hopefully that part won't take as long as hanging the pictures in our bedroom and office...) Also note the horrible shade of turquoise blue that I chose for Conor's walls--I was nine months pregnant (I have to have an excuse for this so I'm claiming MAJOR baby brain) and as soon as I saw the painters putting it up, I should have told them to stop and headed to the paint store. Oh well.

Funny Conor Conversation...they're really unlimited...

Conor woke up from his nap today and yelled out his normal--Mummy, I'm awake, where are you?!?! When I went up and opened his blinds he said: "Look, the world is awake and it woke me up too!" He then went into Madeleine's room to see her and proclaimed: "Ohhhhh, she's lovely."
Where do these things come from?

Daddy Is So Busted

Tonight at dinner...
I turn off the TV as we sit down to dinner.
Conor: Why are you turning off the TV?
Me: Because we don't watch TV while we're eating dinner.
Conor: Well then Daddy gets a time out.
Me: Why?
Conor: Because he's not being a good listener because he watches TV when he's eating his dinner.

A Life Well Lived

Last week, we lost Andy's grandmother, Jill Davidson. She was just a few weeks away from celebrating her 101st birthday...pretty amazing. GG, as she was known to Conor, was someone I liked from the first moment I met her 10 years ago when she unabashedly declared her love for Bill Clinton despite the fact he was embroiled in scandal at the time. A true and proud Democrat through and through, GG was always ready for a great debate, a word of advice or a recommendation of a good book. It was wonderful to see how proud she was of her family...of Andy and the man he'd become personally and professionally. We're so lucky that Conor got to meet his great grandmother--we'll all treasure the image of GG with Conor on her lap singing "patty cake, patty cake, baker's man..."

We certainly can't lament a full life lived to 100, but we can definitely miss her.

Here's the obituary as it appeared in the Denver Post:
Jill Davidson, 100, of Denver, passed away peacefully on July 18, 2010 after a brief illness. Born in Texas in 1909, she grew up on a farm with her 7 siblings and taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Guymon, OK during the Dust Bowl. She married AJ (Jack) Davidson in 1937 and settled in Denver in 1955. Jill always saw the best in every situation and in every person; she was a wonderful storyteller, a loyal friend, and an inspiration to all who knew her. She will be deeply missed by her many friends and family and the entire staff of the Heritage Club Mountain View. Jill is survived by 2 daughters, 3 grandchildren, and 4 greatgrandchildren. Contributions can be made to: Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, The Gathering Place, or the Denver Art Museum.

Update to Hot, Hot, Hot...

Finally convinced Conor to wear some short PJs...just in time for the AC to come back on.

Hot, Hot, Hot

It's hot as anything here today--heat index of about 100 and really humid. With the construction around the house, our AC is out...needless to say, we're roasting at night. And of course, Conor insists on picking out his PJs--a real problem since he currently has an affinity for footie fleece ones. The other day, I told him he should wear lighter pyjamas and he responded: "Actually I'm going to wear these because I'm a little bit chilly because there's a little bit of a breeze..." This kid will be selling swamp land in Florida or working on Wall Street!

So, I finally came to my senses and pulled all fleece PJs out of his drawer thereby limiting his choices. Last night he instead chose the cotton ones with snow flakes on them--of course he did. When he woke up in the middle of the night crying out asking for water and sweating (like a kid wearing snowflake PJs...) I asked him if he wanted to take off his clothes and sleep in his undies so he'd be cooler. Of course not. In the morning, he woke up and came into our room. Sadie was lying next to the fan panting. Conor looked at me and remembering our exchange from the middle of the night said: "do you think Sadie wants to take off her fur so she'll be cooler?"

On a separate note, Madeleine is starting to really look at me and smile...they're fleeting, but there and so fun to see. Here she is just hanging out in the hotbox known as our house--wide awake at 9pm.

And so I gave in...

Last night I was talking to my mum, telling her another funny story about Conor and she said: "you know, you should really write these down." So, today I gave in, pushed aside my "I hate blogs" attitude and picked up the laptop. I now vow to chronicle little moments (or big moments!) of our family's journey so we'll be able to look back and enjoy the memories. It's such a cliche, but as you're just trying to get through each day, you can lose perspective and forget the special little moments that happen.
Today as I start this, Conor is a rambunctious two and a half, Madeleine is a sweet seven weeks old and Andy and I are quickly approaching 35... Seriously, how did this happen??
And then came the tough job of actually putting a name to this blog. Growing up, my dad used to tell us fantastical stories--knights, princesses, special monsters who ate the bubbles from the farts in the tub (yup, you heard it right!). Jeremy and I used to call these made up stories "stories from your mouth." Conor has inherited that love for stories--both from books and from the mouth. At night, you can hear him telling stories to the zoo he keeps in his bed. So, what better name for this blog to take on. And funny enough, tonight at dinner, Conor started telling a "story from his mouth" and Andy was able to capture one of them on video.