As Time Goes By...

Time is a funny thing.


In fact, I spend all of my time just thinking about how best to utilize my time. Can you imagine? I spend time thinking about how much time I have left to hold onto my kids before putting them to bed. How much time Lincoln will spend awake at 4 a.m. to drink a bottle. How much time I have to run to the grocery store and not be missed. How much time my kids have left before they outgrow all of their summer clothes and shoes. How much time do I really need to sleep at night or should I just try for that last attempt at even a somewhat entertaining blog entry.


So, you get the idea. I spend a lot of time thinking about time. And after 8 weeks, my time has come. The time to get clean, dressed and hustled out the door before 8 a.m. The time to kiss every square inch of my kids faces before turning them over to Nancy to do the very same for the remainder of the afternoon. Time to put on my big girl panties and face the day. I have to go back to work.

And here I sit. Asking myself, "where has the time gone?" Is it really possible that my sweet almost-7-pound baby boy has turned into a nearly 12 pound bundle of sheer bliss? And how much time did it really take me to fall in love with this little stranger whose needs I easily put before my own? And finally, where did the time go between Elaina learning to crawl and turning two?

As the saying goes, " Time is a gift; that is why it's called the present!" All I can say is, what a fabulous gift! Day after day, my kids have provided me with love, laughter and a never ending sense of awe. Only two days, in all of the 8 weeks I was on maternity leave, I wanted to glue my children to the wall. And they both picked the same day to be cranky. Their bouts of the fussies were easily mended with a little more sleep and a lot more patience centered around their care. I loved being off work and facing the challenges of the day only to bring on even bigger rewards. Eight whole weeks to get to know my new son and witness the evolution of a big sister. There's really nothing that will ever compare to this time we've shared. I loved it!

But as time keeps rolling on, and the bills keep coming in and my shopping habits have yet to dwindle, I must return to work. I chose to go back to work after the 4th of July holiday of which everyone was off and start my work week on Thursday. I figured that if I could make it through 2 days straight, there was hope for me yet to restore my once-rational-brain which has suffered for the past 2 months accumulating a fine assortment of cartoon songs and Dr. Seuss rhymes. There might be a chance that my fingertips may remember all of the fine details associated with my job and function accurately. I had to return to work before I fooled myself into believing that this stay at home mom job is easier than an office job. High-ho, high-ho, it's off to work I go...

And to Lincoln and Elaina; don't give all of your smiles away before I get home to hold you!

Fleeting Loyalty

4 Months Ago: Elaina was crazy about Sesame Street. Jumping up and down, screaming with excitement when Elmo came on. Mom was happy to see her interest blooming and bought Elmo books and videos.

14 Weeks Ago: Elaina decided to give old Noggin and PBS a break and made constant requests for her "bunny hop-hop" movie and "hattin-hat" video which translates to The Cat in the Hat collection of short stories.

12 Weeks Ago: Does everyone know who the Big Red Dog is? And how about that Curious monkey named George? She loves, loves, loves them both.

10 Weeks Ago: All of the animals hit the skids. Elaina was all about everything Dora. She would even sit in front of the TV and recite the destinations for Dora to travel according to The Map.

8 Weeks Ago: Elaina dumped the explorer for her jungle safari trekking cousin, Diego. Total crush, in love.

6 Weeks Ago: Diego who? Nothing can compare to Little Einsteins. Good music and adventure obviously go hand in hand.

4 Weeks Ago: We have discovered Pooh. Winnie the Pooh that is. And Tigger too. Elaina goes bouncing through the house like Tigger and reaches her hand down into cups like she is digging out honey like Winnie the Pooh.

2 Weeks Ago: Who needs a yellow bear when all you have to say is "Miska, Mooska, Mickey Mouse!" and a giant clubhouse unfolds from the ground? She nearly pees her pants (diaper) with excitement and shouts out each character as they appear on the opening segment.

Currently, Mickey Mouse is taking a toll on our home. Elaina loves that show and tried her hardest to sing a song that Daisy Duck sang to help earn her pretend doctor's sticker. I will have to have the video recorder handy at Elaina's next viewing.

Too bad that I bought all of her birthday themed merchandise approximately 10 weeks ago. The child could really care less about Dora right now. And while I'm not so much in love with licensed characters per se, I really wanted to make Elaina's second birthday party fun for her and letting her get excited about seeing Dora's face underneath her cake and ice cream. Silly Mommy! What was I thinking?

Can't wait to see who's next on the cartoon fan club roster!

My two shining stars!

And, yes, I realize that every picture I have taken so far with Elaina holding Lincoln, Lincoln is crying. I swear that Elaina isn't squeezing him or causing him to cry, I just have relatively poor timing when it comes to capturing them happily posing. I need to work on that.

Our 4th of July celebration was spent as a family day. An amish man that Eric has been working with on a job site had told Eric about this great auction that is held in the heart of amish country, less than an hour away from our house. The proceeds of this annual auction benefit the school system there and brings crowds from all around.

We set out early in the morning to take in the sights just as the auction was beginning. The pitfall of such a great auction for us, was that we didn't really need anything. And they had everything. The great finds were the handcrafted wooden furniture pieces. If we had any place to put another dining room table or bedroom furniture, this would have been our lucky day. The rest of the stuff was just gravy. Probably nice to have, but still not able to justify the price or throwing something out to make way for new.

While Eric snagged 3 items totalling a whopping $35 bucks, we enjoyed our family day and the kids were great. They took turns napping in the stroller and there was plenty of recreation (i.e. wooden playground sets) to keep Elaina occupied in intervals. I packed our day trip bag, prepared for anything and everything, (maybe swimming) but the weather was cold and a thunderstorm even rolled in mid-afternoon. Not quite the picture perfect day that we would have wanted. Our family time, however, was very close to perfection!

Trifecta!

Our perfect miracle...
How we have enjoyed our first year...
Looking forward to enjoying all that age 2 has to offer...

Not- a- Party, Party

So, pretty much everyday I sit here and gush about how much I adore my wonderful children. It's my job. And they're lovable. So why not?

When one of my lovely children has a birthday, wouldn't you expect the gushing mother and father to go all out for some fabulous, extravagant celebration for such an occasion. My answer: Sure, why wouldn't you?

Hold onto your seats... we didn't do anything special. Eric had to work and then had made plans to go to a race that he has had to forfeit going to for the past two years. (First year, the phone rang letting us know that our baby was about to be born just as he was leaving the house for the race and the second year, his wife would have hung him by his ears if he would have missed his daughter's first birthday party.) But this year, all of our family had previous plans or commitments or work that they weren't able to make it to a party for Elaina this past weekend, prior to her actual birthday. Easily enough, we switched her party weekend to the following weekend, coming soon.

Given the fact that we hadn't planned anything particularly special for the day, I wanted to spoil Elaina in a fun, little way to make her happy. I was going to let her help bake a birthday cake or take her out to eat at "Donoles" (which is McDonald's, the one with the playground) or invite some friends over to play. The day, however, met me with a cranky two year-old who whined and was hard to please for most of the day. I actually put her back to bed for a second nap to sleep away the crankies and become more pleasant. I was about to glue her to the wall if her crankies didn't cease. After more rest and a full recovery, she was back on board as my sweet, little birthday girl. Her birthday celebration, which made her the happiest was going to the playground and meeting 3 new friends to play with. It was a happy day indeed.

My 2 Year Old

Dear Elaina,

Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet girl!

I can hardly believe that two years have already passed by so quickly. I'm writing you this letter to commemorate our second year as a family and to let you know how much joy you have brought to the hearts of your family and friends.

In the past two years, I can honestly say that not a single day goes by that I don't look at you and see what a perfect miracle that God has blessed us with. An enormous and amazing blessing at that. You continue to be all of our joy and happiness and reason to smile every single day. The love that you have given us and that we have for you is beyond compare. You have always had a presence about you. I have yet to determine if it is more from your sparkling, blue eyes or your gorgeous smile alone that convey the most perfect innocence and beauty that I have ever seen.

I remember when you were only a few months old and a friend of mine, Ali's mom, said to me about Ali, "There are times when I am rocking her to sleep and I just look at her and want to cry at how much I love her." I find it amazing that I felt the very same way about my newborn daughter even though I hadn't carried you in my womb. What's even more amazing is that I still feel the same way about you to this day. Just thinking about you and talking about the miracle that brought you into our lives makes me well up with tears and emotion. You were meant to be our daughter. Even my bones know that to be the truth. Often, I swear that if you were to pry us both open, our DNA would match by some supernatural coincidence. Every single day, you make me proud to be your mother.

As a parent, people are constantly reminding you to enjoy your kids while they are young because they grow up so fast. Already, I know that to be true. I want you to know that your father and I have savored every last minute with you at every age. We thought you were incredible the day we held you in our arms for the first time. We thought you were great when you began to crawl and utter new sounds. We were thrilled when you learned to walk and were able to return a hug. And just when we think that our lives couldn't be any sweeter with loving you, we get a new tomorrow with you. You get even better by the day and we are enjoying every minute of you!

And so Elaina, I just want to leave you with a final sentiment from my heart. You are my love. You are my world and all of the beauty that surrounds it. You continue to be an incredible blessing and inspiration to me. Lincoln has made you a big sister and a loving one at that. I admire your tenderness and your ability to return love and kindness happily. I look forward to all that "2" has to offer and promise never to classify you as a statistical "terrible two." You're going to be my Terrific Two year old! We only have 364 more days left to enjoy our incredible 2 year old evolve. I don't want to miss out on a single minute with you!

Thank you for being the wonderful child God created you to be and filling our hearts with faith, hope and love along the way! May God always bless you and keep you in the palm of His hand my beautiful angel!

Love,

Mommy

There's No Place Like Home

Yes, my daughter is using her Maisy book as a pillow as she sacked out in her activity play garden on Monday after coming home from vacation. Apparently, our quick vacation weekend had really caught up with her little self. Eric and I were relaxing in the living room, exchanging stories about each kid that we had missed for the past few days and next thing we knew, Elaina was snoozing without even a warning. At 5:00 in the afternoon! Even though her pillow was a hard cover book, I found myself envious of her napping, peacefully in the late afternoon. J-E-A-L-O-U-S.

Although it had only been 2 full days that I hadn't seen Lincoln, I came home to a bigger kid. Really. Who knew that my baby could grow into a bigger, fatter baby with dark hair growth coming in on his head and dark eyelashes to match in only 2 days? Seriously. I spent plenty of time squeezing him before I left to know that this kid had changed. Even Eric commented on Lincoln's rapid hair growth. Now mind you, it's not to the point that he's looking like a rock star yet, it's just much, much more obvious and brown. Let's hear it for my brown haired boy!

Here's a picture of my little chubbo-legged-child who is enjoying his mobile in his crib that he has yet to sleep in. But, really, doesn't it just look pretty and cozy? Since I'm so far behind with my blogging and regretting every moment that escapes my record keeping, I've been trying to make a mental list of all-things-cute and momentous for each of the kids. ( Confession: I LOVE using kids, plural!)

Very noteworthy for Lincoln is that he gave me his very first reaction smile. He's secretly been allowing some involuntary smiles to escapes his sweet lips, but on Thursday night, I was making eye contact and talking to him in the silly mommy voice which every mom has and he smiled back at me! Oh melt me! And of course, holding back my drippy tears of gladness, I kicked up my voice a few more octaves to try to make him smile at me again. Not so much luck the second time around. I think he may have been frightened of his overwhelmed, excited mommy squealing in his face.

Since I last mentioned, Lincoln has adjusted to his lactose free formula very nicely. For Eric. Eric reported that Lincoln has been drinking 5 ounce bottles now and kept every one of them down without any spit-up issues like he had before. He even slept 5 hour stretches during the night while I was gone. Happy to hear this news, I snuggled into the sofa to feed my hungry baby the same night I got home and he yacked about 3 ounces out of his nose and mouth all over both of us and the sofa. Way to welcome Mommy home, son. What a better way to make Mommy feel completely and entirely helpless to make things right for him. Talk about worry...

The last thing on Lincoln's progress report is that he is doing so well at beginning to hold up his head. His neck muscles are strengthening and he is much less of a bobble head than just a few short weeks ago. One more thing, just because I have yet to mention it, Lincoln loves his baths. From his very first bath on, he loves the water. I like to think that I am doing a good job of making him comfortable, but he doesn't ever yell, cry or even fuss when it comes to me giving him a bath. He is such a good boy all around! Especially around his little rolly belly and thighs!I am so happy to see how he's filled out so nicely. It makes me feel like Eric and I are doing a little something right by this kid! (that is, aside from loving him to pieces!)

What would my blog be without some Elaina stories? I've got more than plenty. Little Stinkerbell is absolutely priceless these days.

Oh where to begin... well, she has begun to call her new Lily Leapfrog doll, Winkin'. I told her that the frog's name was Lily and that her brother's name was Lincoln. She looked at me like I had three heads and giggled and said, "No Mommy, this is Winkin'," as she clung onto Lily the frog.She still thinks that the answer to every question about what color is this or that- everything is always "Or-annj." Daddy is orange. Our house is orange. Keegan is orange. Mommy's eyes are orange. She sounds safely intelligent when we ask her what color Zoe from Sesame Street is. "Or-annj!" it is.

Since my time at home for maternity leave, I have been having Elaina take her afternoon naps in what was to become her new bedroom. This bedroom has since been painted (pictures to follow) and decorated exclusively for our little girl. The wall colors look like pure cotton candy! Yummy! The day finally came last week that I was able to put all of her bedding together and clear out some clutter and she was able to transition into a new full-sized bed of her own in a new bedroom without a hitch. I still have a tough time peeling myself away from her bedside as all I want to do is stare at how sweet and angelic and little she looks lying in this giant bedroom of girly pink and purple.

On Sunday, friends of ours who live at a nearby lake invited us to enjoy the day at their place and out on their boat. Elaina was so excited about her first boat ride and stood on the bank patiently waiting to wear a life jacket, which she properly requested, and cautioned everyone to be careful as she held out her arm in warning. Maybe Mommy has rubbed off on her just a little bit in her 2 years. She was excited and scared all at the same time as we started off. As more time passed, her comfort level grew until our driver/friend decided to kick it up a notch and tear out, full speed racing across the water. At this point she was sitting in my lap as we clung to each other and she left me with a warm, wet puddle in my lap as all of her fright leaked out of her swim diaper. We decided to leave Lincoln is his carseat aboard the boat and safe on the floor covered in towels, clear of the sun. The boat ride must have agreed with him as we didn't hear even a peep from him until I pulled him out while the boat wasn't moving. All in all, we enjoyed our day of play and Elaina's fright only lasted a very short time without any negativity toward the water or boating in general. She did well.

So there, I've been wracking my brain trying to think of any little details that I have missed that I have wanted to remember, but all I can say is that we've been enjoying ourselves and taking advantage of my last days of freedom before heading back to work this Thursday! Pooey.

Florida Fun

Since it's been such an incredibly long period of time since I posted last, is anyone still interested in hearing about our trip to Florida? Well hold onto your seats, it's your lucky day to hear all about the fun Elaina and I had at her great-grandparents' house.

After covering Lincoln and Eric's faces with goodbye kisses, Elaina and I set out early Friday morning for our 2 hour drive to the airport. We arrived in the right amount of time to check ourselves through security and wait in the cattle herd which they called the "gate." While I would never claim to be a frequent traveler by any means, I am accustom to the layout of most airports which accommodate a handful of coffee shops and other miscellaneous restaurants and news stands just past the security checkpoint. My intention was to get where we needed to be and enjoy our wait with a rich, warm cup of cappuccino and share a breakfast danish with Elaina. You can just imagine my shock/ horror when then gate number wasn't even listed on my ticket when we received our seating assignment. Oh yeah, the reason is because they only had ONE GATE! Comprised in that ONE GATE was approximately 200 stinky-rolled-out-of-bed people who had been herded into a tiny square of a room with seating for about 125. Nice. It was just this moment when I began to question, "Is this really a certifiable airport? Really? Seriously?"

Prior to boarding the flight, I had told Elaina that we were going to take a ride in the airplane and since they don't have beds on airplanes, she would need to sleep on Mommy's lap. Airplane rides are meant for taking naps. We shared a granola bar, a far cry from a cappuccino and danish by the way, and she snuggled down and slept for the entire flight. Granted it was her regular nap time hour, I was just thrilled that she actually got her rest before starting our day with grandma and grandpa.

Grandma met us at the baggage claim (at a real airport) where Elaina warmed up to her rather quickly and we were on our way out to grandpa waiting eagerly in the van. Elaina was a little timid around her grandpa upon our last visit in February, but greeted him with a warm hug, just as well, this time. Since it was already going on the 3 o'clock hour and Elaina and I had starved most of the day, grandpa treated us to a middle of the day meal, being neither lunch or dinner, just something to fill our bellies. Once we arrived to their home shortly after, Elaina was intrigued by the pool and asked to go swimming. My girl. Asked to go swimming. Who knew she liked swimming anyway? Grandma, Elaina and myself suited up and enjoyed the enormous, 80 degree bath-water-pool all to ourselves. Aahh... true love. Needless to say, Elaina slept well her very first night being away from home. On Saturday, day 2 of our vacation, we didn't have a single thing planned. Isn't that the beauty of vacation? We played in the pool as Elaina's comfort level grew by the hour, we made a trip to the store for dinner that evening, and we all took an afternoon nap. I was wondering if I could move in with grandma and grandpa at this point. Alas, I would miss my boys too much to stay away much longer. On Sunday, there was more swimming left for us to do. Even grandpa enjoyed the pool with us, despite his trepidation regarding how he might feel after exerting himself. It was great that he was able to splash around with us and enjoy some more silly time with his great-granddaughter. I was more than pleased that the swimming pool agreed with him and appreciated that he put forth the effort to enjoy more time with us. In the heat of the daytime, we went to the mall to enjoy the indoor play area and check out the over the top pet store which Elaina was able to pat the sweet little puppies with grandma. Finally, we rounded out our visit with a lovely dinner out with my Aunt Sandie and great food all around. So that's our visit in a nutshell. Now for the rest of the funny, memorable moments along the way:

* While looking for the sand hill cranes through grandpa's binoculars, I discovered that Elaina had been pretending to use binoculars of her own for weeks now. When she said the word and held her hands up to both sides of her face, I was left with confusion of what she was trying to say. Finally, I caught on that she had been using "ninoccoolers" all along. Duh, Mom.

* With all of our prune time playing in the pool, Elaina learned to blow bubbles, shout through the end of a water noodle and enjoyed a tea party with grandma in the water. With one hand held up in warning and shaking her head, she told grandma, "don't drink the water; tea time." Also, she began referring to the steps in the pool as her home. She gradually allowed me to take her from her home base to swing around in the water and play ring around the rosey and bounce, but she knew that she liked playing at her home just as well. On her first day out, despite grandma and myself being just an arms reach away from her, she managed to step off of her home step too far and went underwater for all of 3 seconds before grandma swept her up. For Elaina's sake, neither of us reacted to the situation with fear, and Elaina cried for all of about a minute before her full recovery and back to playtime. I was glad that this incident didn't scar her comfort level in the water and that she went on about her play. I was possibly more scared than her.

* Elaina was sheer pleasure throughout our entire stay. She was impressively well-behaved and full of entertainment. Every single time the phone rang, she yelled, "I get it!" Every single black pick-up truck that we passed, she pointed and shouted, "Daddy truck!" And every baby we saw or picture of a baby, she called Winkin'. At one point, we were talking about getting ready to go swimming and Elaina asked to "get Winkin' too." Apparently the both of us girls, missed both of our boys just the same.

Monday morning came very early (5:45) and it was time to say farewell. We had a great vacation with happy, enjoyable memories made with great-grandma and great-grandpa. While I didn't take nearly enough pictures, I have plenty of memories to treasure and quality time spent with the ones I love!

Stay tuned for the update on my guys holding down the fort on the home front in our absence!

The Buzz About My Worker Bees

And I may as well refer to Elaina and Lincoln as my "worker bees" because they stay so busy at being busy.


Here is a brief rundown of some events that unfolded last week just before I skipped town to soak up the sun and fun of Florida.


About Lincoln and his diaper rash; it has healed up like a dream. I am a true believer that a little sprinkle of powder upon his tiny hiney will keep any further rashes at bay. It's such a relief to see his sweet fleshy colored hiney rather than his bright, red burning hiney. Even better than that, I know that he is over his suffering with his burning butt.


And about that issue with the formula; he had previously been on the standard hospital issued milk-based formula. We hadn't really noticed that he was having a problem with the formula until the past few weeks of watching his behavior, counting his spit-ups and noting his stinky diapers. Given the fact that we're still learning one another, it took me a little while to catch on that his gas seemed to pain him more that it should and more frequently too. He has been arching his back, stiff as a board and would yell with discomfort. Soon, two bottles of gas-relief drops became a staple in our home; one for each floor. On Monday, I talked with the nurse at the pediatrician's office and after consulting with the doctor, she suggested trying lactose-free formula.


Monday night was the big crossover in which we encountered a few bumps in the road of switching. He spit up about three out of five feeds yet didn't seem to mind to much and was still hungry for more. His stools have become slightly firmer and not occurring at every. single. diaper change. Whew! Now that we've gone over the one-week mark, he's doing pretty well and only spitting up (like a geyser) only a few times a week. Although it's still unnerving, feeling so helpless to make my baby feel better, it is still less common than before. I feel comforted knowing that he'll be going for his next well-baby check in only a few short weeks to follow up with the doctor then.


And now for Elaina... oh, where can I begin with Elaina? She has been cracking me up!

Our here-and-there-houseguest which I referenced earlier is an imaginary fly named "Fido." See, I knew she was watching too much TV. Fido is the imaginary fly from this show, which I loath. Their only saving grace is that my child has learned imagination from viewing their program and she is completely entertained by their nonsense. I'm just not in the loop I guess. At this point, we have to be on our toes as Fido will just suddenly pop up from out of nowhere. Elaina always managed to catch Fido and we pass him around between our fingers and he will sometimes sit upon our shoulders. He obviously likes it here since he's managed to stick around as our most-convenient pet for all of about 3 weeks now.


Anther fun thing last week was going puddle jumping in a nearby parking lot following a torrential downpour. This video just reminds me to take time to enjoy the sweet and quiet moments of our normally busy lifestyle. For Elaina, it was sheer enjoyment despite the growing blisters that were welling up around her ankles from her wet, rubber boots.

Aack!

That's what I've been saying to myself for the past couple days while being at home with two kids and no Eric. His paternity leave of 6 weeks was up on Monday and he had to return to the working world. The time we've spent home with the four of us together has been absolutely priceless.

So, the reason I am saying Aack, usually followed by a deep breath and an eye roll is because I have been a little more busy than normal lately. In fact, it's funny that I say "normal" because we haven't really established a norm of any standard routine or schedule for any one of us just yet. All of that aside, I still have much catching up from the beginning of this week and since Elaina and I are headed to Florida in the morning, I'll be even deeper in the hole of blogging. I really hate to be behind since Lincoln and Elaina have had so much going on lately. There is so much to tell about switching Lincoln's formula, our new house guest that has been staying with us on and off and my days of being a single mom between 8 and 4p.m. Lately, I am even more happy to see my husband walk through the door when he comes home from work than usual.

And now, about our Florida trip! I'm so excited! Recently, my grandpa's doctor's have not been offering him particularly encouraging news about his health and since my grandparents weren't able to come to Ohio this summer, we're making a quick weekend trip down to visit. After exhausting all of my sick and vacation time off from work to be on maternity leave, I'll be going back to work with exactly zero hours to spare until I accumulate more. Basically, this boils down to having no time off until Christmas and no chance of another time to get to the sunshine state. So, all factors considered, I decided to whisk Elaina and myself off to Florida to spend some time with my grandparents and allow Eric and Lincoln some time at home together. The bonus is that Lincoln gets to enjoy his first days at the baby sitter's house on Friday and on Monday. Nancy, the babysitter, is so thrilled to finally get her hands on him and begin to spoil him to pieces just like his big sis. This will be a nice time for the two of them to get acquainted and keep him off an airplane and out of the Florida heat while we're gone. Those are the benefits I keep reminding myself of so that I won't miss him so much. And, in my mind, they are in fact, realistic.

Here is a picture of my sweet boy so that I can see him anytime I want and I can see how much he's grown in the 3 days until I can squeeze my arms around him again.

My Babies' Daddy!

Every day I write about what great kids I have that have blessed my life beyond words, but it's high time I recognize what an awesome husband I have that is the father to my lovely darlings.

This is my husband in all of his glory...

How lucky I am to have found everything I had always wanted in a husband in one handsome package!

So, where do I begin to give Eric the recognition he so righteously deserves this Father's Day and every other day of the year?

I don't know. How about a list? Brace yourselves!

Eric/ my husband / my babies' daddy is... Loving, faithful, strong, intelligent, funny, practical, hard working, provider, supportive, genuine, kind and true. He's the kind of dad that will do anything for his kids which includes getting up to feed a crying Lincoln at 4 a.m. and falling asleep with him on his chest until 6 in the morning to ensure a peaceful night for mom and some bonding time with his son. The kind of dad who taught his daughter how to count to ten and reach their arms as far as they can stretch to show how much they love each other. Eric is the kind of guy who fixes and builds things from scratch. He's been known to work 80 hour weeks to provide a comfortable lifestyle for his family without so much as a single complaint. My husband provides the exact amount of love I need everyday to feel important in his life.

Oh seriously, I really could go on and on but, how much more convincing do you really need?

Eric, you are a wonderful husband, a great father and my best friend. Happy Father's Day!

The Predecessors

What would Father's Day without recognizing my own special set of Father's?
To my dad, father-in-law and grandpa... much love to each of you! Happy Father's Day!

Graduation Party

Congratulations to our beautiful niece, Brogan on her high school graduation!

Since we went to her party to this evening, you would expect that I may have snapped at least one picture of her at her party. Nope. Unfortunately, I never had my camera ready when she was within an arms reach. Maybe it's because she had almost 100 guests to greet over the course of the evening. What a great turnout to help her celebrate!

And here is how Lincoln and Elaina enjoyed their time at the party...

Lincoln being held and adored by everyone! I think he may be getting used to that by now...

What a great party!

Cooling Off!

Whew... today was a hot one!Grandma and Elaina found a nice way to cool down. A couple rounds of ring around the rosey never hurt anyone. Throw a 100 pound lab in the middle and you get to play ring around the roley-poley! (Sorry Mom, I know Tanner is my step-brother after all) I know, I know - he needed to cool off too.

Check out my girl, always accessorizing!

Elaina loved her little pool and loved the company that joined her.

The Power of the Powder

In the hustle and bustle of which has been this week, I have failed to mention a few new things going on with Lincoln. Unfortunately for him, they aren't particular pleasant or comfortable new things.

Lincoln has diaper rash. A burning, bright, red diaper rash. Also, he has baby acne which has persisted now for about 2 weeks.

After a long day of 3 adults, (my mom, dad and self) juggling 2 kids and a 9 hour long garage sale marathon (too many hours!) I packed the kids up and headed over to visit my in-laws. Upon learning of Lincoln's diaper rash, my mother-in-law suggested I try a powder on his bottom to keep him dry and his rash at bay. Admittedly, I was a little skeptical since it wasn't specially formulated and advertised to heal diaper rash, but at this point, the alternative I had been using wasn't even beginning to tame his burning hiney. Since Grandma's always know best, I decided against my doubt and used it faithfully from then on. Amazingly, by the end of the evening, Lincoln's rash was already beginning to look less inflamed.

I have been most concerned about Lincoln's diaper rash and the fact that we have been going through diapers like it's our job, (fresh one every 2 hours) but also, I have been interested in trying to clear up his baby acne as well. My mom and I are on a mission to soak our baby boy's little hiney in the sink every evening while I am visiting. Cleaning his face and taking the burn off his bottom... this is going to be a good week for us all.

Hooray for Grandma's!!

Lincoln's First Road Trip

So you know that when your baby demands to eat every three hours, and you have a 2 hour and 45 minute trip ahead of you, you have to be somewhat meticulous when it comes to traveling.

I thought I was.

This afternoon, I loaded up the truck, the girl, the dog and Eric loaded in almost 5 ounces of milk into Lincoln's little belly just before we hit the road destined for grandma and grandpa's house. I took the kids and dog by myself as I wanted to allow Eric some time at home to complete more of his garage remodel and finish some painting in what will become Elaina's new room. In addition, we have a busy weekend scheduled which includes a Thursday thru Saturday garage sale at my parents' house. Since I just happened to have two enormous totes filled with my best junk that I intended to sell, I was recruited to help.

Our drive had gone beautifully- just as planned. We got on the road just before Elaina's nap time, just after Lincoln's last feeding and Keegan- well, Keegan lays down in the back of the truck before we even make it out of town. We were well into our second hour of travelling and then came the screaming. The crying. The yelling. Fussing and whining. Lincoln's belly timer was going off 40 minutes early. My time table for travel went out the window. Worse yet, Lincoln's car seat was positioned in the middle of the back seat, Elaina on one side and the 2 ginormous totes-o-crap flanking the other. Nightmare. I was forced to let him cry the kind of hungry cry that makes a mother's heart hurt for all of 20 minutes before we reached my mom and dad's house like a tornado touching down.

Nothing says "Welcome" like a crying, hungry baby and a toddler who begs to play at every child's backyard swing set we see out the car window.

Let our vacation begin!

Tea for Everyone

By 1:00 this afternoon, I suspected that I was already in over my head for as many things that I needed to do and the amount of time I had to do them in. In other words; the usual.

At that point, I made a decision to shock the socks off of my Type A self and threw my to-do list aside and enjoy a tea party with Elaina. Obviously, my 2 page list of chores, etc. would still be waiting for me as they always do. What a better way to unwind than an imaginary cup of tea and pretend cookies that bake in 2 minutes flat. If only baking were really that easy! Elaina invited only the most important guests to her party and when Lincoln began to make grunting noises as he woke from his nap, Elaina tugged at my arm saying, "Mommy, get Winkin!" So of course, Lincoln joined our party, still in his groggy, sleepy slumber but accompanied by a baby doll at his side as his date with his cup of tea on his lap.

I already know that we'll be enjoying tea much more often. How lucky I am to be a guest at such an exclusive party with such an exquisite hostess!

Glued

This is what watching too much TV looks like.

It's after 5:00 in this picture. With Lincoln not feeling well and wanting to be held, Eric working on projects outside, and me trying to balance it all... let's just say that Elaina was allowed to enjoy a jammie day in front of the TV most of today. Eric finally took her to the park (dressed) and burned off some energy. She was unbelievably content the whole day long.

What a trooper!

1 Month Old!

I took my big, little guy to the pediatrician today for his one month well-child visit. Here is what we learned.

* Lincoln is 10.2 pounds (Seriously, can you believe that!)

* He is 21 1/2" long

*** He was prescribed infant antibiotics due to some congestion he has been experiencing for a few days now. He has not presented with a fever or drainage, but audible congestion as he sounds snorty from time to time. He has a cold. Also, he has thrush. Apparently, his congestion has been causing him to spit up more frequently and the formula deposited in his mouth has begun to create a baby yeast infection in his mouth.

It really isn't as bad as it sounds. Neither are very severe and both are easily treated with meds. I'm anxious to get our little guy feeling better and love all of his 10.2 pounds to squeeze in the meantime! 10 pounds!! Look at that belly rounding out!!

The Party That Wasn't

Just picture this:

Friday. Gorgeous sunshine. Warm 80 degree temps with a gentle breeze. Pontoon boat rides on the lake. Potluck dinner. Friends from work. Picnic hosted by your boss. Bring the family.

Seeing it? Nice, right?

Now, try this one:

Friday. Dark grey skies at 4 pm looking more like 9 pm. Roaring thunder. Pounding rain sideways. Tornado warning in neighboring county. 2 kids & mom stuck inside car in torrential down pour while dad is getting prescription filled. Boat trip cancelled. Chasing toddler around your boss's house-void-of-toys before she breaks something. Must restrict toddler activities to front porch filled with only adults or garage filled with nothing but trouble. Toddler dumps full bottle of bubbles onto self. Must bathe and change said toddler at boss's house. Feed picky toddler ice cream cake and cupcake to keep happy and occupied.

Now guess which one was our reality for the bulk of the day. Um, yeah, that's the one.

Ugh.

We all managed to enjoy ourselves despite the nasty weather conditions and the bubble soaked Elaina. The storm finally came to an end and Elaina had her first attempt at playing hopscotch!!

Courtship

One month already? Can anyone really believe that our baby boy is one month old?

To me, Lincoln still continues to be a fresh new miracle and I can hardly contain my joy in having him in our family.

For some time now, I've been meaning to write about my thoughts on adoption, becoming a mother to a second child and the feelings that come with both of them. As of right now, Eric has taken Lincoln out for some guy-time watching the Cavs game at our neighbor's house. You guessed it, that leaves a quiet house for my sleeping daughter upstairs and some quality time with my neglected keyboard and myself. (and my bowl of ice cream, it helps me blog; try it sometime)

So, let me just jump right in. I've been thinking of the best way to explain my feelings on adoption and the only comparison I can offer is likening it to getting a new hairstyle. If you've never adopted, this comparison is only meant figuratively, hardly literally. I do recognize how superficial this may sound, but try to follow. It's not my heart and soul here people, just a fun comparison.

"I want a new hairstyle!"

How many of us have ever uttered a similar phrase?

"I want another child."

That's my line.

While saying that adoption is like a new hairdo seems pretty off the wall, let me explain:

Most women, (me, always) look in the mirror everyday and think, "I wish I had a new hairstyle. Something that I can do more/ less with. I wish it were longer/ shorter. I wish that it could get me out of the house faster in the morning." And so, said individual debates the advantages of a major change in her appearance, knowing how it will affect her lifestyle and decides to take the plunge and get it cut off, colored and styled. Here is where we have the parallel to adoption. After all of the time thinking and wondering how this new decision will work into her life, once it's done, there's no turning back. After the initial trip to the salon, you''ll find that your first morning left to do your hair on your own doesn't go just as smoothly as you would have liked. Not hard, but not the same routine pattern that you've grown accustom to and established over let's say, 2 years time. Throughout your day, you catch a glimpse of your new image in the mirror and have to do a double take to believe that this new-you has really reached fruition and is now a part of your life. Understandably so, a new hairstyle says a lot about you and you never know what you are about to end up with until you walk out the door. There's the possibility that you may not feel like you have the face for short hair after all. Maybe you'll love it and can't imagine how you ever dealt with such long hair for so many years. And the color? Who would have known that buttercream blond with red highlights would be just what you needed to give your self esteem a boost? See? Regardless, you rolled the dice, you took the gamble and it's all yours. Someone else's work, all for you.

Then, of course, there is the reaction of people you encounter. What would a new hairstyle (adoption) be without compliments? And who doesn't love them? And sometimes, the compliments need some further explanation. Like, "Yeah, my hair was passed my waist with 17 layers of natural curl and highlights before I got it cut, colored and straightened." While an adoptive parent may have to field generous compliments from strangers who dote over the lovely child and say, "Wow, he's only 2 weeks old? You look great!" or "Ooh, I didn't know you were even pregnant." There's the lateral explanations as you can see.

And lastly, the other way that adoption is like a new hairstyle is that you get so used to having it and you love the way it makes you feel and feels on you and you can't imagine ever going back and rethinking your decision. You feel like you've won the lottery with a single ticket and you get to cash in a million bucks everyday.

That's adoption!

Want more? (need more ice cream!)

Getting down my true feelings on adoption is more like a courtship. Remember dating? Yeah, dating. Going on your first date; a little nervous, excited, wondering if he really could be "the one?" Now that's a little bit like adoption too.

When you become pregnant with your natural child, you have 40 weeks to plan. Down to every last detail, you begin to tell your family and friends, decorate the room, buy new clothes and prepare your household for your new arrival. More than that though, you begin to fall in love. You bond with your unborn child. You dream about him at night, when he's not making his presence known by recurring kicks. Your motherly hormones flood in waves over your emotions, thoughts and your heart. For 40 weeks.

With an adoption, you know you want a baby and you'll take it if it's offered in two years or offered in two days. This is the heart of an adoptive mother with lack of alternatives. I'd have to say that the time line of our adoption was perfect timing for us. We had almost 2 months from learning of a potential child for us and seeing it all happen at lightning speed to holding our son in our arms for the first time. If it had been a longer period of time, that only allows for your mind to raise questions of doubt, fear and unnecessary anxiety. We had sufficient time to prepare our home, our jobs and our minds. We were having a son!

When we adopted Elaina, Eric and I realized how fortunate we were that her birth mom was simply incredible. We highly doubted that we would ever get that lucky again with our next adoption. Again, another gamble. Upon my first conversation with Lincoln's birth mom (Elle), I remember thinking, "She seems almost too good to be true." While everything thing is said and done, I have incredible stories to tell to each of our children about their birth mom's. That's a whole other blog though...

Back to our courtship with Lincoln... so now we have this little stranger in our arms. We look into his eyes with tenderness and wonder. We wonder what he'll look like. We wonder about his health. We wonder if he'll love us half as much as we plan to love him. And we wonder if he'll always be as gassy as he is.

I realize that all mother's share similar thoughts to an extent, but wrapping your arms around a sweet, little 6 pound stranger, knowing how much he is about to change your life is still a little bit different. And the courtship begins.

We are still learning about each other. Eric and I know that Lincoln likes to be fed approximately every three hours, not a minute past. We know that he struggles with gas, random bouts of constipation and the sneaky kind of spit-up when you least expect it. I'm feeling more confidant about changing his boy-diaper and he's been respectful of his gun-shy mother.

With this said, we still have the aspect that Lincoln is our second child. Being a second child myself, I know he's going to turn out just fine. At this point, as he is a wee one-month old, we're all at a disadvantage in comparison to our relationship with Elaina. Elaina is nearly two years old. We've had almost 2 years to learn her, to shape her, to learn her language and likes and dislikes. There's nothing like a new baby to make you feel totally inadequate as a person and a mother. It becomes a juggling act. The new-mom part of me wants nothing more than to hold Lincoln in my arms all day long and cuddle and coo with him as I look into his eyes. The part of me that is exclusively Elaina's-mom, wants to dive down on the living room floor and tickle and play and help her jump in the air and play ring around the rosey for the 789th time. Alas, I can't do both at the same time. Nobody can. So then, if learning about your new baby weren't enough, you have to learn balance. Balancing sleeping, eating, playing, laying and time to be yourself. Could someone remind me why I thought only 8 weeks maternity leave would be sufficient? I'm not balanced yet!

This is adoption. This is our life. Thanks for being a part of it as we're loving every minute of it!

*** Final Note: Not so sure why you can enlarge some pics with a double click and some not. Just wanted to point out that his onesie reads, "Hello, I am IRRESISTIBLE!"

Blog Time!

Eat Time!

Bath Time!

Change Diaper Time!

Potty Time!

Elephant Time!

Ca'yin Time! (every Mommy is in front of the computer it's to watch Cousin Colin, of course)

Binky Time!

Is anyone beginning to see a pattern unfolding here?

I swear sometimes that if I could open Elaina up and check out her DNA, ours would completely match. She likes routine and she likes to know what's in store for her next. She shouts out "Eat time!" as soon as she wakes up, knowing that is when we go downstairs for breakfast. Everything has it's own time and she's sure to let you know. Even when it's "Elephant time" and she needs some help lifting those darned elephants into the potty. We're still scratching our heads on that one. I can assure you, that didn't come from me!

Entertainment!

Hey, finally a new video post!

Staying at home with two kids, this now qualifies for sheer entertainment in the eyes of their parents. Elaina is taking on her big sister role quite nicely and even kept Lincoln occupied while Eric and I got dinner prepared. Although I don't believe that Lincoln was quite enthralled with his sister's act, he couldn't take his eyes off of her!

Dependant

And yet another wonderful weekend has come and gone. Just for the record, this is the very first weekend since Lincoln was born that we haven't had company staying for the weekend. As you may recall, my parents came first when Lincoln was born, then the in-laws, then my parents again and then our friends from out of town. Don't get me wrong, I love company and entertaining- but that's just a lot of keeping the house cleaned up and fresh sheets on the spare bed. After all, that's why we have a big house and welcome company anytime. Ready for a weekend getaway, give me a call, I'll make the beds!


Along about Thursday, Eric and realized that we didn't have a single thing going on for this weekend. Remember that we're home everyday together (maternity leave) and decided it would be nice to invite some friends over for a bonfire on Saturday night. See "dependant." We ended up calling some friends and had about 8 couples of our closest friends from the neighborhood join us Saturday evening. The best part about our group of friends is that there are 4 other kids that are Elaina's age and another little boy who will be in the same grade as Lincoln. I love already being able to establish playgroups with the kids and know the parents and kids that our children will be going to school with. How's that for forward thinking?




Sweet girls with their cupcakes!








The artists latest masterpiece!













In other news...

Regarding the house- Eric is making progress on his garage renovation/ addition. He finished insulating last week and the drywallers finished the walls today. As soon as the finisher comes to mud the walls, he'll be about 85% done with the garage. Forever and ever. Amen!

Regarding Lincoln- You'll never believe which little boy gulped down 6 ounces of formula tonight? Unbelievable! Lincoln is doing his best at growing so big, so fast! I wouldn't imagine that he is quite ready to take 6 ounces at every feeding, but just knowing that his little belly is growing so quick to accommodate 6 ounces already is impressive. Speaking of impressive, he is also doing his best to begin lifting his head up. He's not quite there yet, but I love to see his drive to want to do something new. He's still amazing, incredible and got his share of hugs and holds from about 6 other women last night! He did so well!

Regarding Elaina- Still no progress on the potty training front. I bought her a book about using the potty only to discover that I hate that book more than I ever thought possible. And guess what? Elaina loves it! That would be the only reason it's still exists in our house. It's true that the message is informative and on her level, but seriously, after the 97th reading of this book, hand me the matches! That's why I hate it so much. You may ask, "What does she do in the bathroom if she's not going potty?" Well, after Elaina sits for the duration of two readings of the aforementioned book I despise, she hops down and kneels to the ground and shouts, "Elephant time!" (?????) My beloved little weirdo begins making grunting noises as she laces her fingers together in attempt to pick up the imaginary elephant that awaits at the base of the toilet. Without fail, after about her third grunt and sighing "Ugh, hea-by" (heavy) Elaina says, "Mommy, hep me." (more straining grunting- this is a seriously big elephant we are dealing with here folks!) My job is to help her lift all of the elephants into the potty. Notice I said "all of them?" Oh yeah, my daughter couldn't just be happy with plopping 1 or 2 elephants in the potty. Nope. I usually help her lift about 7 or 8. Elephants. In the potty. I would only love to know how in the world she came up with this idea of putting elephants in the potty. And who knew we had so many imaginary elephants in our house in the first place?



And now... a lovely picture of my tired twosome!

Short Stories

Anyone have some time for a quick little game of catch up?

I do! I do!

Let me tell you, being on maternity leave (sadly, only 4 weeks left) and being home all day long, one might be so inclined to think that I'd actually have more time to blog. Nope. I'm still somewhat baffled as to how I don't have more time, that I can't just steal away for a peaceful, little 20 minute stretch to fulfill my reporting duties as my kids grow and change so much every single day. The times I have thought about blogging, the second thought to cross my mind is "Where do I begin?" Seriously, the fact that I am home everyday enjoying our little sweethearts, I've experienced so many moments that make me just want to hit the record button on the camcorder and leave it on until they're teenagers. Just to remember these sweet days with our two kids and that they will never be this age ever again. In fact, tomorrow morning, they will both be even older. "Days older" is still pretty significant when you're not even a month old and your age is still counted in weeks.

Let me start with the disclaimer that this could easily be my most choppy, unstructured work of words ever recorded but I hope that you find some enjoyment out of it and that it still serves the purpose of recording these events to still hold dear in my own mind.

Let's Begin With Lincoln!!

Can I just start by saying that he is just about 100% full of sweetness? What did I do to deserve this wonderful baby boy? Honestly, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think that. And to get so lucky, so fortunate to have not just one, but now two children that are just purely amazing, just blows my mind. Everyday.

It's Elaina's fault that our dear, sweet Lincoln has taken on a whole new identity in his short little life so far. Since Elaina affectionately refers to Lincoln as "Winkin'" - you guessed it, we've been calling him Winkin' too. When you look into his sweet face - Winkin seems just fine. Don't get me wrong, afterall we did name him Lincoln because we liked that name and prefer to call him his given name, but... from time to time, he is just purely Winkin'.

So you remember that little 6.6 pounds of baby we brought home from the hospital? (He dropped some ounces prior to discharge) Oh yeah... he is growing! He is actually beginning to fit into some of his 0-3 month clothes. Previously, my friends, family and myself were all out scouring the stores gathering up as many newborn sized outfits as we could find so that we wouldn't lose the little boy in the 0-3 month clothes which looked like circus tents next to Lincoln. He is growing so much that I am beginning to think that I may have purchased my last pack of newborn Swaddler diapers for him. I would even chance a bet that he is possibly ready for the size 1 diapers that I bought for him almost 2 months ago. Since I'm on the topic of diapers... I am actually beginning to get somewhat used to changing boy-diapers. (Good thing for Lincoln and Eric, don't you think?) After my second "baby shower", courtesy of the baby, I've surveyed all of moms-of-boys-friends to learn the fine technique of changing the boy, minus the shower and realized that I just needed to alter my approach a little bit. Now, I am quicker, safer and use a little barrier to avoid the squirt gun effect. Never to soon for the "Ah-Hah!" moment to take place.

Along with growing and filling out, Lincoln continues to be the most calm and sweet bundle of baby love ever. He rarely cries and it's always only when he's hungry. He has recently begun to finish 4 ounces of formula, as opposed to only 3 previously. In addition to that, he has been sleeping up to 4 hour stretches without a bottle. (This is where I do the happy dance!) But, boy oh BOY-- when his belly timer goes off and he's ready to eat, he will definitely be sure to let you know that you have exactly 1 minute to provide warm, milky nourishment to the starving child. That's all it takes, one minute until he starts to wail. Upon hearing this hungry cry, as both parents spring into action, Eric says, " Get him his bottle before he starts to billy goat!" Yes, if you have ever heard the shaky ah-ah-ah-ah bleating of a billy goat, you may think that is the noise coming from the within the mesh walls of the pack 'n play. Nope. It is our kid - just the baby boy kind. You can just about hear the milk hitting the pit of his empty belly as he is drinking it down. Poor little guy. I just keep telling myself that the bigger he gets, the more consistent his schedule will be.

Other than all of the growing taking place around the clock, he is still a good, sound sleeper. His hair is beginning to grow more obviously, more than just his fuzzy peach head. We're still debating whether it will come in blond or brown. My vote is decidedly light brown. His roots glow with a blond sheen and appear blond in photos, yet his actual hair looks to be dark brown. He's still got the cutest little face ever to compliment either hair color. There is no mistaking, he is all boy!

And Now For Elaina!

Oh, Elaina... my little clown. Lately, this little pipsqueak has been cracking us up! She is growing into her new role as the big sister quite nicely. I won't say that she loves her Winkin' just yet, but she is terribly fond of him. I'm guessing that for an almost-two-year-old to really love something, it has to pan out some kind of entertainment or tasty reward. Unfortunately for Lincoln, he is neither to her just yet. She sees Lincoln as the baby - not particularly fun for her since he interacts very minimally, (read: zero) and she has to sometimes wait her turn with mommy and daddy's time because of him. Yet, she still looks in on him every morning and pats his legs or butt gently and kisses him on the head before bedtime. She has not made any attempt to pick him up by herself or do anything to cause him harm. Without fail, she remembers to be gentle and soft and nice to her brother. Just this morning, I was holding Lincoln and Elaina sat next to me and told me that she wanted to give Lincoln a hug, "Okay?" I helped to hold Lincoln on her lap and she beamed with joy and fulfillment that she was able to give some of her love to him rather than just a pat on the leg.

Also, since becoming a big sister, we've been doing a lot of talking about how big Elaina is. She will quickly tell you that she is going to be "2" and that she is a big girl. Tonight at dinner, Eric asked her if she was a nice girl, to which she replied, "I a big-gurl!" Ahhh... nice- schmice, she's gonna be big! Along with our big girl talks, we've been talking a lot about sitting on the big girl potty and sleeping in the big girl bed and that big girls don't need binkies. Whew... only a few times I have seen her head begin to spin. Lots of changes we know. While Eric and I are both off work for the time being, we're trying to take full advantage of this time to make some transitions while we have the time to make them easy for her and gradual. So far, the only one we've had any luck with is the big girl bed. Very soon, Eric will be repainting what will become Elaina's new room as Lincoln will take over residence in her current bedroom in a few months. We're moving her into a full sized bed and a new bedroom which is much further down the hall. She has occasionally taken naps in there and does just fine. Only time will tell how she does overnight.

As for the issues of the binky and potty training... well... Let's just say that she would prefer to be a baby forever if that meant that she can have her binkies. In fact, she's actually gotten worse, not better, with the binky situation. She asks and sometimes demands 2 binka-bonks.
One day, Eric made an off-the-cuff rule for Elaina to abide by which was "No binkies outside." Beofre running out the door, she easily and willingly parts with her binkies as she lies them on the table and shouts, "No binkies owside!" So, maybe, I'm, thinking, we move her bed outside? No binky and she won't have to wear a diaper and she'll be grateful to have any bed, even though it doesn't have crib rails on it. (Put down the phone for Children Services... I wouldn't do that. I'd at least give her blankets and some clean underwear.)

I digress, Elaina has been a great little helper. She seems to recognize the shift in the household as she has wanted to be mommy and daddy's little helper every chance she gets. Regardless what Eric or I are doing, she'll pal up next to us and say "Help, Mommy?" "Help, Daddy?" She is most efficient at throwing away Lincoln's stinky diapers and putting the soiled bibs on the counter for us. I'm still not sure why her help spectrum of helping is so limited. Ask her to pick up her toys, do the laundry or wash bottles and she's all like, "What?" Very selective, that girl of mine.

Her most recent gold star worthy accomplishment (in her own mind) is that she has taught herself to buckle her seat belt to her booster chair at the dinner table. She kept herself happy as a clam for a whole 5 minutes straight, just hearing the little click of the buckle as she fastened her seat over and over again. So do you know how she was able to re-fasten it so many times herself? Well, she hasn't quite caught onto the fact that the same action will in fact release the buckle which leads us to mommy's newest job assignment. Mommy, The Unbuckler. Trust me, I am relieved that Elaina doesn't know how to release herself and I pray that we don't have to tackle that problem anytime soon. In addition to her fascination with the seat belt, any time she does something by herself, she happily squeals with an excited, "I did it!" We get an "I did it!" when she flushes the toilet, when she eats all of her food and even when she washes her hands. Really it is the little things that put a smile on my face every single day.

Elaina will forever be my sweet little girl who says, "Amen" at the end of a story, hugs the telephone when she is finished talking to daddy or grandma and grandpa on the phone and who possesses the most sparkly blue eyes and sweet smile I have ever seen.

Now, can someone tell me what I ever did to deserve these two wonderful children to call my own? We've truly been blessed by The Best and I wouldn't trade them for anything!

Waitress, Please!

Can you really stand one more story about our picky eater? And when I say "one more" you know that I hardly mean it- I can almost guarantee that I have hardly concluded any further entries on this subject.

So... today I decided that our little "nuggetarian" (which would be referring to Elaina requesting chicken "nuggies" as her main entree at each and every meal) had enough of eating processed, microwaved chicken parts. Today, I decided it was time to give her another shot at a peanut butter sandwich. I invited Elaina to join me as I pulled a big chair to the counter for her and be my big helper to make her sandwich. Parking her tushie at the table, she took a few bites, "mmm-ing" and making yummy noises for all of 4 bites. After that, I brought in the reinforcements in the form of strawberry jelly. She has recently developed an affection for "dippy" and has been eating ketchup, ranch dressing and cream cheese on occasion. I squirted some dippy jelly onto her plate for her sandwich and she was hooked. After 3 rounds of squirt jelly and a sticky mess of peanut butter and jelly fingers and hair and chair, she finished her entire sandwich. A few hours later, she was finally willing to try strawberries! Really! I know this sounds absolutely silly to most folks, but with such a picky eater, adding two more food items to her already limited menu is really a big deal.

So hooray for strawberry jelly! Hooray for dippy! And hooray for more food options to feed the muchkin!