One Month Old

This is still his favorite activity.

Ah . . . Life in the Midwest

Tonight, I had the distinct pleasure of serving Trader Joe's corn dogs, crinkle cut potatoes, and apple slices to two little people seated on the floor of our basement. Why the impromptu picnic, you ask? Because of the wailing tornado sirens and the violent thunderstorms passing through our area. I thought it best to head to the lower level when the weatherman on TV said, "Take shelter IMMEDIATELY if you hear tornado sirens." I also thought it best to evacuate to a quiet area in order to avoid a further meltdown by Miss who was growing increasingly nervous because of the melding sounds of thunder and siren.

As it turns out, our home was not leveled and we did not end up in the land of Oz. It also turns out that Mommy becomes rather cranky when she has to schlep dinner down the stairs, and then try to keep the littles seated and eating while simultaneously comforting a crying baby and keeping one ear attuned to the weather report on the radio. Mr., as you may have gathered, was working one of his night shifts this evening.

All part of the never ending weather adventure that is Minnesota. On the bright side, leaves are starting to change, and a beautiful Fall is on it's way. Let's just hope it gets here soon. I am so very *over* thunderstorm season. Can you tell?

A Few Random Remarks

*None of our babies have enjoyed the pacifier. Miss tolerated it for one day and then decided that she preferred her thumb. Master did not want it at all. Baby Peanut was initially receptive to the idea, but has now decided that the thing is good for nothing and should be spat across the room.

Here he is, during those good old receptive days.



*Why, dear reader, oh why, do toddlers feel the need to play with their poop during their nap/quiet time?? Why must it be found all over the room? Embedded into the area rug? Smeared across the bed sheets? Ground into the wheels of the Tonka truck? Miss did this as well at the tender age of two. Why, oh why? Or, maybe it's just my kids.

*Cousin W mentioned one of our favorite children's books in the comments from my last entry, and so I thought that I would heartily recommend it here. We love, love, love . . .

Sweater Weather

We've had an early burst of Fall weather in the Twin Cities, prompting us to dress Baby Peanut in a hoodie that first belonged to his sister, 4 and a half years ago. Each of the littles has worn it, and it will be one of those small things that I just might have to keep in a box somewhere after he has outgrown it. Someday I'll look at its tininess and remember their soft little heads and their little cheeks that I spent so much time kissing.

The rest of the family is looking pretty cute in their sweaters, too:

Yes, I Did Survive the Birth of Baby Peanut

I know, I know. The child is nearly one month old and this is my first post since his birth. I *do* deserve some grace, however, due to the boy's immense size (which led to a long and draining delivery and now has resulted in long and frequent nursing sessions throughout what used to be my usual blogging times).

Speaking of which, the little guy has just begun to cry for me and must be answered.

Suffice it to say, we love him terribly and already can't imagine our family without him. We all spend quantities of time each day gazing upon him just like this:



I will be back to regular blogging . . . I promise. The entries may be short, but the pictures will be plentiful.

Saint Paul Saints

We have long been wanting to attend a St. Paul Saints baseball game, and on Saturday night we had our first opportunity. The Saints are a minor league team, and we had heard that the games are very fun, in a somewhat-lame, over-the-top, minor league sort of way. They play at Midway Stadium, a colorful little spot very near our church. In fact, it was friends from our church who offered their season tickets for Saturday night, and we jumped at the chance.

All in all, we had a great time. Master was loving the whole experience. He was taken with watching the baseball, with the trains that pass just behind the outfield fence on a pretty continuous basis, and with all of the general silliness and hysteria that took place between innings. He especially loved a man with a horse head mask who would come and dance in front of our section. He danced along excitedly and then asked "Where horsey gooooo???" for quite a while after the baseball resumed.

Miss also enjoyed the game . . . though she was a bit nervous at the outset. She wasn't quite sure that she was going to enjoy the crowds or the loud music that periodically startled her as it blasted from a speaker directly behind us. As the night went on, though, she couldn't help but enjoy all that there was to see. Her favorite Saints tradition was the trotting of a *real* pig onto the field throughout the night. She loved the pig. Thought he was so cute. And, of course, is now asking repeatedly why we can't have a pet pig. Or maybe a horse. Or a cat. Or, how about a pig?

Mr. and I would love to go back and see an entire game alone (we left in the 4th inning due to squirming Master and the late hour). I would especially enjoy this when no longer super-pregnant, because of the oh-so-comfy bench seating.

Here are some pictures of the outing, for your enjoyment:

The littles wanted to wear "baseball hats" to the baseball game. Master now thinks that, if he puts his hat on, we can go back to the game.

In front of Midway Stadium. Trust me, they are more excited than they look.

This is the maneuver I had to employ most of the night to keep Master from running away and exploring *all* of Midway Stadium. Yes, those seats around us were all eventually filled.

Behold "Muddonna", the team mascot. I was unable to capture an image of the real pig, whilst performing the Master-holding maneuver illustrated above.Taking it all in.

Pregnancy Insomnia

Perhaps it is the heartburn. Perhaps it is the fact that a crow bar is needed in order to roll my gigantic self over in bed. Perhaps it is all of the thoughts racing through my mind. Whatever the cause, I am having a lot of trouble sleeping lately. It is always this way for me during the final month or so of pregnancy. It is annoying and difficult, especially when the two littles will be wide awake at approximately 6:30 AM, ready to enthusiastically tackle another day. At least it does prepare one for the rigors of late night feedings once the baby arrives. It won't require much of an adjustment for me to function on very little sleep.

Thankfully, my kids are thoroughly enjoying the beautiful summer days we have been having in the Twin Cities. They happily entertain themselves in the back yard with the wading pool, the wagon, and a couple of cups in which they can collect dirt, leaves, and weeds. Master's favorite toys right now are a couple of sticks he found that look something like airplanes. It's the little things, and inevitably the cheap/free things that make all of the difference, folks. While the littles are enjoying these diversions, I am able to plop into a yard chair with a glass of iced tea and exert very little energy. Come to think of it, maybe I should get up from said chair and run a few laps around the yard with the kiddos. Maybe that would help with the sleeping. Then again, maybe I would keel over in a heap, requiring Miss to dial 911. I think I'll stay in the chair.

I can also rejoice that the children continue to be easily entertained by yours truly. This is the response I can elicit merely by crossing my eyes:



Yep. Even when I'm cranky, frumpy and frustrated by lack of sleep, they still think I'm great. I know it won't always be this way, and so I'll be thankful for it right now. And I'll be glad that it can help to sustain us all through some tiring times in our immediate future.

Happy Birthday

Today is his birthday. My closest friend. The Daddy that they can't wait to meet at the front door. The hard worker who provides, daily, for our family's needs.

As Miss would say, I'm a lucky ducky.

Happy Birthday.

Catching Up Again

This summer has been filled with activity and visits from family. We've had a great time, but all of the activity and the pregnancy exhaustion has led me to neglect this blog. With many apologies to those of you who bother to check in here regularly, here are some highlights from our summer thus far:

We celebrated a lovely father's day by going to church, listening to Mr. teach the adult Sunday School, and then by hanging out at Lake Minnetonka.

We celebrated Master's second birthday with my parents. We went to Como Park Zoo (a fabulous, free destination), and relaxed at home with cake and presents.

One of Master's favorite new presents has been thoroughly enjoyed in the back yard.

Just last week, Mr.'s family arrived after driving out from California. They made the trip in 3ish days with our 3 year old and 1 year old nephews in tow. A brave lot, my in-laws. We were able to enjoy much fun and frolic before they headed back west.

Today, we celebrated Mr.'s birthday a tad early with a trip to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and Sawatdee Thai for dinner. Here we have the littles' favorite sculpture.

Enjoying fine art.

And finally, here we have our reflection in one of the sculptures. That's the most detailed shot you're going to get of me at this stage of pregnancy.

I will be making a valiant attempt to return to regular blogging and keep all interested parties up to date as we anticipate the arrival of baby #3.

The Joys of Home Ownership

For the most part, our almost-one-year of home ownership has been an enjoyable one. We like our house. We love our neighborhood. We enjoy having a bit more space, and we've *really* enjoyed the sense of permanence that we have here.

Unfortunately, however, we are now in the midst of our first major repair project in our little house. Our bathroom is currently destroyed, as contractors are cutting out drywall, replacing tile, and putting it all back together again for us. This project grew out of a problematic leak that damaged the drywall behind the shnazzy green plastic tile (installed by the previous owners) in our shower. As we pondered fixing this problem, we decided that it would be best to go ahead and remove all of the shnazzy green plastic tile that covered the *entire* bathroom. And so, a pretty major project was born.

Losing the use of the primary bathroom in the house (if even for a few days) is not terribly fun. Especially during the potty training days. And, especially because Miss is terrified of every bump, thump, and drilling noise that escapes the work site. Our hardworking contractors promise that the job will be done soon -- perhaps tomorrow. That would be a wonderful, wonderful thing.

In the meanwhile, I had a lovely afternoon with the littles in our backyard. They experienced the thrill of running in a sprinkler on a hot summer day for the first time. And so, even in the midst of stinkin' home repair trouble, I had reason to be grateful for our house. And for sprinklers.

Summer

The Third Trimester

Today marks the beginning of the third trimester of pregnancy. I am feeling the desire to clean, organize, and complete various household projects before this little one arrives. I am also feeling rather . . . how does one put it? . . . LARGE.

Miss verified my largeness today, by make the following observation as we strolled about the neighborhood:

"Mom, you're walking funny. I think it's because you have baby brother in your tummy. I think that you need one of those strollers for grown-ups. You know, one of those chairs with wheels that people use who can't walk. Then I could push you. Yeah, that's what you need."

An Update . . .

on the potty training, for all of you out there holding your breath in anticipation. I know, I know, you have scarcely been able to sleep as you wondered how little Master was coming along. You have been picturing him with this look on his face.

Perhaps you had also concluded that, due to the lack of follow up posting on the blog, his mother had thrown herself out of the upstairs window due to the stress of it all.

Well, I am overjoyed to say that *major* strides have been made in the realm of Master's potty usage, and his mother is (amazingly) quite calm about the whole process. The little guy is proving to be a little champ in this area, and he is quite pleased with himself. I am more than quite pleased because he is doing *so* much better than I could have wished for, only 6 days into the process. There is a lot of clapping, rejoicing, and chocolate eating going on around here, let me tell you.

Happy, happy, happy is the Peanut household. Master is the master of the bathroom. Miss continues to be happily encouraging the process. Mr. is home, home, home for the next two days. It all is enough to make Mommy very happy, indeed.

Potty Training Fun, Day 2

I am pleased to say that today was a very encouraging day in the potty training realm. The little fellow is already showing much better control, and seems to be catching on to the concept. His sweet voice crying out, "I go POTTY!" and "I tell MOMMY!" does a lot to lighten the mood and remind me of what a treasure he is, even when we must face unpleasant tasks together.

While I have been concentrating on this effort with Master, Miss has had some special bonding time with Daddy. Yesterday, they went to the Children's Museum in St. Paul (one of her absolute favorite destinations) and out to lunch. Today, she provided valuable assistance with lawn mowing and flower watering before Daddy had to depart for work. She has now launched into her role of head cheerleader for her brother's potty progress, and is very sweetly hugging and kissing him whenever he is successful.

This, of course, may be due to the fact that I have allowed her to participate in Master's M&M rewards for a job well done. Hmmmmm.

California

We've been back from California for over a week, and I am only now catching my breath enough to sit down and write a post. It was a fun trip, though I always feel like I need another vacation by the time we survive the plane trip back to Minneapolis. The kiddos were over-tired, and Miss was overly-nervous about every bump and jiggle on the plane. I must have said "It's okay" 500,000 times in that three hour period.

In order to add to the fun of our mundane life, I have decided to begin the potty training process with Master, so that he *might* have a clue about using the toilet before baby #3's arrival. So far, so horrible. He has no idea what I am asking him to do, and is horrified by having accidents. I loathe potty training. It will go down in my parenting memory as the worst of experiences. It must be done, but I *so* just wish that they could figure it out without my assistance. Oh well, as my grandmother used to say, "Wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which one gets full first."

Here are some pictures of happier times -- our trip to Southern Cal. We met new little cousin D, celebrated cousin L's birthday, and spent a lot of good time with our parents and siblings.

Buzzzzzz

In honor of our unseasonably warm weather, guess who got a summer haircut?

Me!

Mom thinks I look pretty cute. And she thinks my hair is so sweetly soft. She keeps rubbing it, anyway. Someone tell her to stop that.

Just DON'T Do It

DO NOT attempt to try on clothing at Target (yup, that's right, I'm a big spender), with two young children accompanying you to the fitting room. Master attempted to open the door, crawl under the door, and eat the plastic card indicating the number of garments taken into the room. Miss loudly exclaimed her approval or disapproval of the dresses I was trying on, much to the entertainment of the other patrons in neighboring fitting rooms. ("Oooooo, you *must* buy it. You could dance all night with the PRINCE in that dress! You must, you must!!")

Master then topped off the whole experience by pointing at me and laughing hysterically when I had my clothes off. Not good for the pregnant woman's self esteem.

I think I'll attempt to recover by making a snack . . .

Adventures in Hospital Tours

Tonight we toured the hospital where Peanut #3 will be born. The tour was wonderful, because it was brief and to-the-point. The hospital looks wonderful because it has gigantic labor and delivery rooms with private bathrooms (including tubs and showers), and it has great big *private* postpartum rooms. When Master was born, we were placed in a semi-private (translation: *not* private) postpartum room. This was beyond unfortunate, because Mr. could not stay with me overnight. Is it humane to ask a woman to push out a 9 pound 4 ounce baby, and then require her to care for said baby alone, overnight? No, I say, no it is not.

And so, we were quite pleased with our evening tour. To add to the excitement in the air, we chose to bring the children along, as the brochure said that they were most assuredly welcome. And welcome they were, and welcome they apparently felt. We were the center of attention throughout the tour, starting with the waiting time in the lobby, when both of the littles decided to do their best impersonations of baby kittens. At the top of their lungs. We smiled at all of the people staring at us, and quietly urged Miss to give the kitten routine a rest. Master does not respond to such pleas at this point, and therefore was a lost cause. Then, as the tour progressed, Miss designated herself as the official director of the elevator, and bragged to the assembled throng that she is "very, very good at pushing buttons."

Miss also entertained the group by jumping up and down for joy while explaining that she is going to have *another* baby brother. She ended her speech on this point with an emphatic "Goodness, gracious, sakes alive!"

We weren't sure if everyone was laughing with us or at us for having a third baby on the way. In any event, the tour was not dull, and Miss did not want to leave the hospital at it's conclusion.

Catching Up

The last weeks have been full of fun and activity around the Peanut household.

We greatly enjoyed a visit from Grandma and Grandad. Miss was especially thrilled to continue her tradition of looking through Grandma's purse at every possible opportunity. She inspects every *single* item, down to each individual card in Grandma's wallet. She requires poor, patient Grandma to tell her (for the umpteenth time) what each individual article is. Then, she places each item back into the purse, only to start this ritual over again. The unfortunate side effect of this activity is that Miss has been chastising me, since Grandma left town, about the fact that I don't have an Auto Club card. She has recommended that I remedy this perilous situation as soon as possible.

Miss also received her first bike as a birthday present from the grandparents. She was overjoyed and now just has to learn how to peddle it. Being the neglectful parents that we are, we never purchased a tricycle or anything with peddles for the poor child. And so, she has to start at square one. Unfortunately, she isn't a very patient student at this point, and will only peddle for a very brief time before exclaiming, "Give me a break!" or "It's no use!" and storming over to sit on the front porch. She really wants to be able to ride around the lakes, though, so she has some motivation to keep trying.

In addition to the purse and bike excitement, we also enjoyed a day trip to Red Wing, land of shoes and pottery, and various other jaunts around the Twin Cities. A very good time was had by all.

Spring has definitely sprung in the Twin Cities, as was evidenced by the appearance of a lone tulip in my flower bed this evening! I am hoping that more will follow, but I know that many of my bulbs have been dug up and eaten by ravenous squirrels. Annoying little rodents!

The littles are thoroughly enjoying the warm weather, and we are trying to spend a good amount of time outdoors. The simple opportunity to sit on the grass and run around the backyard is beyond exciting to them right now. We are seeing our neighbors for the first time in months, and are enjoying catching up with them. It turns out that one neighbor is pregnant and due within two weeks of my due date. Master is loving the playgrounds at the park, and is attempting all sorts of heart-stopping, death-defying feats on the various equipment. Miss is also enjoying the park, and is loathe to leave for home when the time comes. She made another mom laugh pretty hard the other day, by responding to my instructions to head for home in her usual, dramatic way.

Me: It's time to go, now. You can go down the slide one more time.

Miss: Oh, please! Please! I just can't go!!

Me: Go down the slide, and then come climb in the stroller.

Miss: (*HUGE* sigh) Very well.

Down the slide she went, and then took a sad, sad walk over to the stroller. If only play time could last forever.

A Sweet New Stage

As I ran hither and thither around the house today, picking up toys and scattered objects of various kinds, I paused to appreciate the sounds in our home. Specifically, I was enjoying the sounds made by two children happily playing together. As Master's verbal and motor skills increase, he and his sister are spending increased amounts of time playing with each other.

Lately, they have begun to close themselves into Miss's bedroom, turn on a CD, and just play. They laugh, they squeal, they jump around. They look at books quietly, they play with puzzles, and then they laugh and jump around some more. Miss is the queen of all things imaginary, and she assigns roles to her brother in her various made-up worlds. She creates obstacle courses with books and toys, and they take turns running through them together. I will often open the door to check on them, only to be greeted by Miss running toward me saying "It's OK! We're OK. We just want to play!" The door is then unceremoniously shut in my face.

But, she is right. They are OK. They are having a great time. There is no adult in that room to interfere, to tell them how to play, or to try to direct their activities. Since becoming a parent, I have found myself feeling more and more convinced that unstructured play is really very important for our kids. I am thrilled to see them growing and developing the independence to pursue it. And I am thrilled that I can *gasp* sit down for a few minutes, drink some tea, and listen in from afar.

Some Sun and Some Rain

A day at the park

The weather made the kids giddy. Master tried on Miss's shoes. Miss tried on my flip-flops. Yes, that is Angels gear Master is wearing. No, Mr. had nothing whatever to do with it, and was not home when I dressed the little guy.

This week brought our first warm temperatures and Spring-like days. We are now caught in the midst of several days of Spring rains, but we enjoyed the warmth while it lasted. We were able to visit our local park as a family, we were able to wear shorts, and were able to meet up with friends at Minnehaha Falls to enjoy a day with temps in the 80's!! We had to break out the sunscreen. I am appreciating the change in temperature, big time.

I cannot wait for full-on summer so that we can walk out the door without outerwear, and we can wear sandals. Oh how I love my flip-flops. How I longed for them these long winter months. How lonely they have looked, languishing in the back of my closet. Their day is coming. It is almost here. I can feel it in the air. The littles were like happy puppies set free to play at the park and in our backyard. They couldn't stop smiling as they ran, jumped, and kicked the soccer ball. It will be great to be able to get out with them again.

Go away, rain! We're ready for more sun . . .

A Birthday, A Visit, and Other Fun

We are looking back on the past week with thankfulness. Miss turned 4 on March 19th. She had a great birthday, and it was sweet to see how the most exciting part of it all for her was being called "The Birthday Girl" all day. She grinned and giggled all day long. Her birthday was made all the more fun by a visit from Grandma and Papa. She played, played, played with her willing companions *constantly*, each and every day that they were here. Master also enjoyed all of the extra attention, and perfected the word "Grandma" during their visit.

Of course, this great time led to some sad little critters when Grandma and Papa had to leave on Wednesday night. Miss was especially sad this time around. She vowed, "Tonight, I will dream of Grandma and Papa. And the Children's Museum . . . because I know Cinderella's song. The dream that you wish will come true."

She said it all with such conviction. The girl *believes* that Cinderella must know what she is talking about.

They always keep us smiling. Here they are, playing on the rocking chair together -- one of their recent favorite things to do.

Oops . . . Bonk!

Weatherman Paul Douglas warned the Twin Cities:

Be a little careful this morning, the puddles will have refrozen causing a few slick spots on sidewalks and driveways.

I can verify that this warning should be heeded. Yep, I slipped on the ice and fell as I was walking the kiddos toward the car for a library outing on Saturday. No serious injuries to report. Just a little bit of soreness. Miss was alarmed, Master (who was tucked in my arms, and therefore a passenger on the atomic seat drop) thought it was pretty fun. I was wet in unfortunate places from the ice and snow, and grateful that none of the neighbors were around to see my graceful moves.

Just a little picture of life in hazardous Minnesota.

The Name Game

Seeing as the newest Peanut will arrive in only 25ish weeks, Mr. and I have begun serious negotiations over the little tike's name. We have, in the past, kept the names of our children a closely guarded secret until their days of birth. This was intended primarily to avoid the experience of excitedly telling a friend or loved one our choice of a name, only to have them respond with either a) stunned silence, or b) "Oh. That's . . . . . interesting."

Knowing that very few people are tactless enough to criticize a child's name after he/she has already been born, we have decided to reserve our name revelations until the child proceeds from the womb into the world. Additionally, we have found that keeping the name a secret has added some fun and suspense to the having-a-baby process.

This pregnancy, however, is unique in that we have a third voice chiming in with name choices this time around. Miss has become quite concerned over what we are going to name the boy, and talks about it quite a bit. Mr. and I have encouraged her to give us some of her ideas, but she seems totally stumped. Her first insistence was that we give him Master's name. I told her that we could not do this, because it would be confusing, but she felt quite strongly that two brothers should be named the same thing.

Having finally relented on this notion, her new idea is that the child should be named "Little Teeny Baby Boy." She seems quite pleased with this choice. We do not plan to tell her the name of her brother before he arrives, because she would most definitely tell every living creature on earth and therefore end our fun with the name suspense thing. I just hope that, when our little one is born, she is not horribly disappointed when we do not introduce him as "Little Teeny Baby Boy."

Thought of the Day

“…the child’s most fixed and dominant habits are those which the mother takes no pains about, but which the child picks up for himself through his close observation of all that is said and done, felt and thought, in his home.” ~Charlotte Mason

So very true.

On another note, the littles are looking cute with fresh haircuts. Miss was so excited about the whole thing, that she decided to strangle her brother.


And, our snow is melting, but there are still some formidable piles here and there. We are expecting temperatures in the 40's this week, and I may wear shorts and sandals. It will feel nice and warm compared to what we have been experiencing.

With Piles of Snow in the Yard . . .

What have we been doing?

We have been . . . .

Reading:

For the Littles:

Uncle Elephant by Arnold Lobel

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Doggies by Sandra Boynton

Along with a *lot* of Winnie the Pooh from various books. These stories are Master's current favorite. He runs around the house repeating "Pooh! Teeeger! PoohTeeeeeeger! Pooh! Teeger!"

For Me:

A fascinating article:

How Not to Talk to Your Kids: The Inverse Power of Praise by Po Bronson

As my children's current and future teacher, this information on the effect of praising provides much food for thought.


Playing:

Cranium Hullabaloo

Miss's favorite thing to do right now is to set this up and play on the basement floor. It is beyond fun for her, and Master tries, in a very cute way, to participate with the rest of the family.

Listening:

For the Littles:

Frog and Toad Audio Collection

I loved this as a kid, and it is fun to see my little ones enjoying it, as well.

Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem and More

And, of course, the never-ending soundtrack inside Miss's brain.

For Me:

Beautiful and Treacherous Thing by The Spares

And, because of Mr.'s latest interest . . . a lot of Gram Parsons. Which I am enjoying, by the way.


And, Laughing: