Happy 60th, Grammy!

Grammy turned 60 on Sunday, August 6. One way we celebrated was by having a party for her!




Connor was beside himself waiting for the party to start. He helped greet guests as they arrived, and was on his best behavior the whole night. He was really proud of his "party clothes" (he had on pants instead of shorts!) but was most excited about helping Grammy open presents.





Chloe was also well-behaved, even letting people other than Mommy hold her as necessary. She batted her big blues eyes and smiled patiently until it was time to get out of her party dress and into bed.


All in all, it was a fun night. Here's to another 60 years!

Love them cars

(That pic has nothing to do with this post. It's just really cute.)

Connor has taken to identifying cars while we're on the road.

"Daddy-- what's that car in front of us?"
"Umm, that's a Chevrolet Cavalier."
"Ohhhh... I LIKE Chevotay Cabaliers!"
"Umm... I don't. One of the worst cars known to man."
"Ohhhh... well, I LIKE Chevotay Cabaliers."

Or his favorite:
"Hey look, Daddy, that car matches Mommy's car! That's a Honda REcord!"
"That's right, Connor-- a Honda ACcord."
"That's what I said, Honda REcord."

On the Contrary

6:30 am:
Me: Here's some chocolate milk.
C: I don't LIKE chocolate milk!

7:45 am:
Me: Thanks for getting right in the car! You're such a good boy!
C: No I'm NOT a good boy!

8:00 am:
Me: Who should we take first, Connor or Chloe?
C: Connor!
8:05 am: (As we drive past Chloe's school)
C:Why aren't we taking Chloe to school??!!!

8:10 am:
Me: Let's look both ways before we cross the street.
C: There's a car!
Me: It's moving away from us.
C: NO! It's coming for us!

5: 15 pm:
Me: Did anyone bring anything cool for show and tell?
C: Max brought an airplane!
Me: That sounds really cool!
C: It's NOT COOL!

5:35 pm: (At Chloe's school)
Me: There's my sweet girl!
C: She's not a sweet girl! She's a GOOD girl!

5:45 pm:
Me: There's a Honda Civic, just like Grammy's!
C: That's not a Honda Civic! That's a HONDA!
Me: (For the 847th time) Right, a Civic is a kind of Honda, like an apple is a kind of fruit.
C: An apple is not fruit!

6:15 pm:
C: What's that on Chloe's leg?
Me: Those are just sock marks.
C: They're not sock marks! They're sockie morks!
Me: (Sigh)

6:20 pm:
C: What are you fixing?
Me: A salad for me and Daddy.
C: I don't want a salad! (side note-Duh) I want chicken nuggets and applesauce and cheese.

6:25 pm: (presented with chicken nuggets, applesause, and cheese)
C: I don't want APPLESAUCE!
Me: (exasperated) You are just disagreeing with me for the sport of it! You're driving me CRAZY!
C: NO I'M NOT!

Pictures at an Exhibition

Just wanted to share some pics...


It's amazing how much he loves her.


Hey, I had that same outfit when I was a kid! Well, I think I was 10 when I got Vans. Connor has a head start on coolness. Or maybe he'll have issues when he's older because his parents always dressed him in a manner that THEY thought was cool.

Chloe Out On the Town

We took Chloe to a restaurant for the first time and told Dining With Monkeys all about it.

Progress

Chloe has become a lot of fun lately. She can do all kinds of new things. Here are a few of her favorites:

She loves to laugh!

The purple chair is still the number one toy- she likes to use her feet to play with it, and we have added things for her to grab with her hands.

We finally got the purple saucer out of the attic. It won't be long before it is as important as the chair.

Grabbing her feet is probably her favorite pastime. She isn't sticking him in her mouth yet. (Don't worry- when she does, we will photograph and blog appropriately.

Check it out! She's going to roll over!

"Okay, I'm on my stomach. Now what?"

Car Talk

Connor spent the early part of this week in Nashville with the Chockleys, allowing Chloe to imagine what life would have been like if she had been born first and didn't have to share our time and affection with Connor. I'd say she would have enjoyed being an only child! She spent three days cooing and smiling and impressing us with her early attempts to roll over. (She totally did it today! She rules.) I told anyone who would listen that she wasn't missing Connor at all.

Then he came home, and I found out I was wrong. She lit up at the sound of his voice! Thursday morning, for the first time ever, she didn't fall asleep on the way to school- she stayed awake to talk to her brother. I told Connor she was asking about his trip, and he started telling her about it. I interrupted with a question about something he did in Nashville, and he said, "Mom! I'm talking to Chloe!" He then proceeded to lower his voice so that only his sister could hear. I turned down the radio so I could eavesdrop on their intimate conversation about fireworks, Bonnie and Claire, and Cars, trying to keep my heart from melting into complete oblivion. (I had to drive! I needed all my internal organs.) Then when Connor was done regaling her with tales of his Nashville adventures, Chloe let out a long, satisfied coo. My heart melted further as Connor's face lit up. "She's talking to me, Mommy!" Looks like he missed her too.

Tree!

So Connor turned the big 3 this past weekend. Friday, Steph and I went to his school to do the whole cake-n-ice cream thing with his class. It was fun sitting at the table with Connor and his friends, in those little chairs that are 10 inches off the ground. Christian, the ham of the table, amused us by applying the ice cream to his nose and cheeks like makeup. There's something about the way that kid talks that really cracks me up-- he's a born comedian. Of course, Connor inspires a gut laugh on a regular basis too.



After that, Steph went back to work, but I took Connor to his first movie-- Cars. He has been going on about "the movie where the cars talk" for weeks now. I guess the promo blitz did him in. Anyhoo, he was beside himself. He loved it. (Me too-- worth it for adult viewing.) He paid attention for the entire 2 hours. We only had two problems-- one, he kep getting swallowed up by the movie theater chairs, so he spent lots of the movie on my lap. And he ain't light anymore. And two, he was so excited that he was... loud on several occasions. He'd yell at me, at the top of his lungs, "DADDY, YOU SEE THAT CAR?????" with a corresponding volume drop on the movie to dead silence in between the "YOU" and "SEE." I actually saw a couple in front of us give dirty looks and eventually move to the other side of the theater. (I should add that they didn't have kids.) Yeah, so now I'm "that parent" in the movie theater who can't control his kids. Whatya gonna do? Anyway, let's just say that "Cars" has been a BIG part of our lives since then.

The next day (his actual birthday), we started the day with breakfast in bed, which was a big hit on Father's Day a few weeks ago. (Acually, we still have crumbs in the bed from that...) Then, we took a trip to the Peabody Park sprayground. I'm ashamed to say, this was Connor's first trip there. (I could write some long-winded excuse about living in east Memphis, but I'll just leave it.) After about a half hour of uncertainty about getting wet, he dove in and had a blast.





After he developed a good case of raisin fingers, we went home to greet Mimi and Bwana, who had just arrived for the big day. Grammy, Tiff and Cullen joined us for a frenzy of consumerism, mostly directed toward broadening Connor's transportation choices-- a bike, a Razer scooter, and roller skates. The skates were especially funny-- he of course couldn't even stand up in them, but it was serious business to him. As we all giggled at his spaghetti legs, he scolded us all with a "DON'T LAUGH!"

Chloe participated too:



After that, there was the usual ritual of us all standing around watching Connor make a huge mess with his cake and ice cream. Including taking the car for a few laps around the top of the cake.



Wait, do I really have a three-year-old? Ohhh jeezus, Mary and Joseph, my sciatica...

Three Months!

I can't believe I have a three-month-old and an (almost) three-year-old! I still feel like a new mom- like I just had Connor not too long ago. Somehow he's become a grown-up big brother, although I still think of him as my baby.

Chloe is starting to be a lot more fun. She laughs, she stares cross-eyed at her fist, and she does a good bit of talking. She still will have nothing to do with "tummy time," prefering to smother herself rather than lift her head. However, when we put her in a reclining position, she tries her best to sit straight up. I guess that means her neck muscles work, but only when she wants them to! I don't know how big she "officially" is, but she had definitely grown a great deal since her two-month doctor visit- and she was already huge then.

I'm doing okay- there are good days and bad days. I go feed Chloe her lunchtime botle a couple of times a week, and that helps. But someday I'm going to show up back at the office with a baby in my arms!

Random stuff

Inspired by Stacey over at Fertile Ground, here are some ramblings. . .


Yesterday was my first Monday back at work, so I really feel like a member of the workforce now. Everyone keeps asking me how it is, and I'll tell you- it's horrible! Not actually doing the work- I like my job and my coworkers, so that doesn't upset me. It's everything else that goes with it. I am spending about two hours a day in the car now! Two hours! And Chloe doesn't sleep well at daycare, so she's awake for maybe about an hour total when we're at home. Of course, her awake time usually falls during my mad dash to get ready in the morning, or while I'm making dinner at night. But worst of all is Connor, who was fine with having a baby in the house until I started commuting with both of them. Sharing the ride to school seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Did I mention he's in a new classroom on top of it all? So every morning it's a crap shoot as to whether he'll be happy to see his friends, or crying and clinging to me. But there's no guessing game in the evenings- he's going to be a total turd no matter what! I'm hoping the nightly freak out/hissy fit is a phase that will end soon, but for now it is making our evenings pretty miserable. Lucky for him he's still irresistibly cute.

Also, getting dressed for work with this post-pregnancy body is pretty depressing. I miss my cute clothes! It's been so long!


Chloe's like, "You're sending me to school now? I didn't even notizzzzzzzzzzzzzz."

Connor's way of talking has gotten pretty funny lately. He's over "Imam" (I'm am) and has moved on to "because." He starts most sentences with "because," as if he is explaining something to us proactively. "Because that car is red!" Um, okay! He also "just wants to" do everything. "Can we go outside?" "Not right now, Connor." "I just wanted to go outside, Mommy!" Of course, he often combines those two, "Because I just want to watch Little Bear, Dad." (Just reading it doesn't accurately capture it- imagine a little bit of a whine with that.) He is suddenly more confused about pronouns- he still mixes up he and she, but now he will say to me, "You and Daddy and Mommy need to go for a walk with me." His verb tenses are pretty entertaining too, although he is clearly following the right pattern. It's just that "I walk/she walks" works, but "I do/she dos" (pronounced dues) doesn't. Then this morning at Chloe's school, he said, "Let's go, Stephanie." Ha!


For the first time, Connor is really aware that his birthday is coming up. He wants, in no particular order, a car, some swings, a bicycle, and a scooter. He tries to convince us each day that he's grown some, and is therefore big enough for a bike. And not a toy car, but an actual car. He told me he wanted his own swings while we were on our neighbor's swings, which are pretty much in our backyard. Apparently he needs to have some he can call "mine." I think I can handle buying him a scooter, though. At least I'll get one thing right!

Finally, Chip's dad tried to take some pictures of me and the kids on Mother's Day, but they didn't turn out so well.

Only the beginning

Connor doesn't mean to smother Chloe when he greets her with a hug, or blind her when he pokes her in the eye, or wake her up when he screams in her face- he just wants to interact with her, and doesn't know how. So I couldn't be mad when he wrote all over her face and clothes- it was just a coincidence that he had a marker in his hand when he leaned in to kiss her!

Back in action

Thanks to everyone who called or emailed to let me know you were thinking about me on Thursday. I think I did alright, although I left work early both days! But I stayed later on Friday than on Thursday, and actually felt like I was back in the thick of things by the time I left for the weekend. Fortunately, I like my job and the people I work for/with- that helps a lot! I think I will have a bit of a setback on Tuesday, when Chloe starts at her daycare and Connor starts in the Koala Room. (I've said this before, but the one-year-olds are Unicorns, the two-year-olds are Toucans- did they just give up when they got to the three-year-olds? No Triceratops Room, not even a word that starts with "t"- just Koala?) Anyway, I imagine I'll arrive at work that day in tears (which I did not do on Thursday or Friday) and then run out soon after lunch to rescue my children from the confines of their new classrooms. Classrooms that I'm certain they'll enjoy, but it will take me some time to be convinced of that!

Less than a week. . .

I can't believe that this time next week I'll be at work! I am trying not to panic.

The appointment with the cardiologist went fine- it hasn't gotten better, but it also hasn't gotten worse, which is what really matters. We go back again in six months.

We had an orientation meeting at Chloe's school yesterday. It seems like a nice enough place, and the teachers in her room have been there for about 10 years each, so I feel as good about it as I can.

There are still two lottery drawings before my first day back at work- keep your fingers crossed!

Two Month Progress Report

I can't believe my baby is already two months old! She has certainly grown and changed a lot in that time. My heart is broken that I have to go back to work next Thursday, but so far I'm keeping it together. My friend Kerry is going to keep Chloe for the first couple of days, then she starts daycare on May 30. (That happens to be the same day Connor moves up to the three-year-old room, so expect the "keeping it together" to end that day!) This week we will go for an orientation meeting at her school, which is at Union Avenue Baptist Church. I'm nervous and excited at the same time! Unfortunately Idlewild, where Connor goes, doesn't take children until they are a year old, but I will move her over there when the time comes.

Our other excitement this week is two doctor's appointments. On Wednesday she goes to her cardiologist, Dr. Vijaya Joshi. (I had to include his first name for you Grey's Anatomy fans.) This morning we went to her pediatrician for her two-month check-up. Apparently, she's perfect! (Well, other than the hole in her heart, but we won't dwell on that. . .) She is 24 inches long and weighs 13 lbs, 12 oz. And yes, that is above the 95th percentile in both categories. Yowza! I got me a big girl! She got four shots, which pissed her off but good! I didn't cry over it like I did with Connor (Is that a recurring theme or what?), but I still feel pretty bad for her. She is sleeping it off right now, which is why I'm able to type this much in the middle of the day!

Here are some answers to other frequently asked questions:
After about six weeks of being sick and often on antibiotics, I've felt great for the last couple of weeks. Thanks to everyone for your concern!
Chloe usually sleeps from about 9-3, then wakes up just long enough to eat and go back to bed- usually not more than 20 minutes- then she sleeps until about 6:30. Chip and I alternate nights when we get up with her, so this schedule doesn't bother us.
She loves to have someone right in her face talking/singing/interacting with her. She will stay focused for a long time- last night we played like that for about 45 minutes straight! She smiles and coos and talks, and sticks her tongue out in response to mine. It melts my heart- I could stare at her all day long!
Her personality reminds me of Chip at this point. She is really laid back, and usually pretty quiet. I think she will end up being a big talker like me, though, if for no other reason than that she will have to compete with Connor.
Other fun facts: she loves the fancy swing we borrowed from Kerry and Grace, she still loves her purple chair, she doesn't love the car, the back of her head is comically flat, her eyes seem to be staying blue, and her hair is darker than Connor's was. And did I mention that she's perfect?

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. It started Saturday morning, when I convinced the boys to put on matching outfits. Well, Connor didn't take much convincing. He thought it was pretty cool! I knew he would, which is why I bought him this outfit. Plus I wanted to be able to take this picture!

That afternoon Chip's parents came to town, much to Connor's delight. Roy and I went to a wine tasting around 2:00, where we got to meet Dan Philips, and then we had a nice bottle of Mr. Philips' wine for dinner.

On Sunday I went to church with Mom while the boys (Roy, Chip, and Connor) cooked lunch. We enjoyed a wonderful feast, and I didn't have to cook or clean one bit! After lunch Connor hung out with the mamas while the daddies straightened up. This led to the proclamation, "You girls are fun!" You got that right, son!

Oh, and what was Chloe doing while we were enjoying this feast? The same thing she did most of Sunday:

But enough about food and drink- you want to know what kind of loot I hauled in! This story starts on Wednesday, when Connor and I saw a JC Penny's commercial about Mother's Day gifts. I figured it was time for me to start hyping Mother's Day and let him know that I expected lots of hugs and kisses come Sunday. Connor saw a necklace on the commercial and said, "I want to give you a diamond necklace!" I like how this kid thinks! "That's a great idea Connor- you should definitely let Daddy know. . ." Hee hee. Connor runs through the house screaming, "Daddy! I want to give Mommy a diamond necklace!" Suddenly I hear Chip speaking to him in hushed tones, "Connor, we talked about this and we don't give Mommy her present until Mother's Day, which is a few days away." My heart skipped a beat- a diamond necklace! Sweet!- but I almost immediately remembered that Tuesday was "Necklaces for Mommy" day on Connor's school schedule. He spent the rest of the week telling me, "I made you a diamond necklace, Mommy, but Daddy won't let me give it to you." I couldn't wait until Sunday when I finally got to open a beautiful, painted noodle necklace with four clear beads right in the middle- my diamonds. I wore it all day, even when we went outside to play frisbee. But the best gift I got was lots of hugs and kisses from my two most valuable jewels. I love being their mother!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mamas out there! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

I Do All My Own Stunts

At school, Connor loves to run full speed towards the double doors at the end of the hall, and then hit them and fall backwards. Other moms always look at him in amazement and make comments like, "Someday he'll be one of those basketball players who pretends to get fouled." My son, the next Manu Ginobili? No thanks! I have higher goals for him, and decided he needed to dress the part. So last week, when one of the other moms was standing over him at the end of the hallway, fretting over whether he had hurt himself trying to run through the closed doors, Chip said, "He's fine- just read his shirt!"

Happy Girl

Chloe has suddenly started smiling and interacting a great deal. We have lots of fun sticking our tongues out at each other! She is also starting to tolerate her brother's "affection," which makes him very happy. (She used to just cry whenever he got in her face to say hi or tried to hug/smother her! He took it very personally.) She is also cooing rather than just grunting. Is there a sweeter sound in the world?

What are the kids up to?

Chloe is doing well, growing and changing every day. She is awake and alert for most of the daytime, which is a lot of fun. She enjoys the purple bouncy chair as much as her brother did when he was a newborn- love that vibrate button! She is also figuring out that her fist belongs to her and can be stuffed in her mouth when life gets tough. I can't believe she is almost 6 weeks old!



Connor is a wonderful big brother. He wants to help and wants to pet her and hug her. And poke her in the eye. We don't know why he always wants to do that, but he seems affectionate about it so we aren't too worried!



He imitates the way we talk to her, which is pretty funny. When I feed her he says, "Good girl, Mommy! You fed the baby- you're a sweet girl!" If she fusses he says, "It's okay baby!" and "What's wrong, Sissy?" The other funny thing he says these days is "Imam" as in, "Connor, be careful," "Imam being careful!"

Here he is making Grammy and Uncle Shannon crack up.

All Clean

Nights

The periods of sleep at night are getting longer, which is a great thing for Steph and me. I still don't get the superhuman power that Connor seems to have-- in four weeks, he hasn't gotten up in the middle of the night even once, despite all the commotion that we make.

Well, I take that back-- he had a bloody nose in the middle of the night a few days ago, and it freaked him out. His bed looked like a scene from a horror movie! I don't know what caused it-- bonked his nose on the bedframe, or maybe sleep-booger-picking, who knows.

So anyway, here are some more Chloe pics.

This romper can rock...

Connor saw fit to use our hearth as a stage to put on a raucous rock show for Bwana and Mimi this weekend. He's taken to writing his own tunes now. Though the lyrics are sometimes a little hard to make out, I'm still proud that he's moving out of the "covers only" phase. I didn't do that until college...


I'd also like to state that I didn't pick out the shirt combo there. I would never abide clashing greens.

Cheese!

Chloe and Mommy's Big Day Out

Thursday was the first day I drove anywhere, and the first day Chloe and I went anywhere besides a doctor's office.

First we went to Bhan Thai restaurant to celebrate my friend Kerry's last day at work at Rhodes. Chloe slept the whole time, of course.

Then that evening we went to a record store to meet Daddy and Connor and hear Garrison Starr sing a few songs from her new CD. It was pretty loud, but Chloe still managed to sleep the whole time!

It was a big day, so obviously I forgot to take any pictures to remember it by. To make up for it, here's a picture of her that has nothing to do with Thursday's activities.