You can get the camera now, Mom

June 29, 2009

I was officially given permission to get the camera out this time and take a picture of Jack holding Carsten.  He actually asked to hold him and wanted it photographed!!  

We've come a long way from this picture (when he first saw Carsten.....)

A friend for life...

June 26, 2009

Grace now refers to herself as "Mommy #2" At least I'm still Mommy #1...

Either way she is so in love with her little brother and wants to do everything with him.  I really thought this picture captured that!

Last Day of School!

June 24, 2009

Grace finished Kindergarten today and is headed for 1st grade...scary!!  She broke down later in the afternoon crying how she will miss Ms. Malanga.  Luckily, it lasted about 20 seconds until she was distracted by something else.  We took a few pictures as we left today.  Looking forward to summer....yeah!!

Finally...a picture of all 3!

June 21, 2009

I guess my odds were fairly good.  I took about 385 pictures over a period of 3 days and found 3 that were ok.  They were looking in the same direction and there was no screaming...so I consider that a success.  It was all for Chris' father's day gift and he loved it.  I'm glad it's over....

Dad was treated to a breakfast of Fruity Pebbles and coffee (in his new mug) and had a relaxing day watching golf.  He got his 2 gifts (hand picked from the dollar store) a compass for the dashboard of his car (from Jack) and a New York keychain/can opener (from Grace).  I don't know if it compares with my ketchup/mustard bottles from Mother's Day but it put a smile on his face! 

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there. Hope someone put a smile on your face today! 

Let them eat....rice cereal???

June 20, 2009

Carsten had his 4 month check-up this week and all is well. He's weighing in at 15lbs 10ozs ( 75th percentile) and is in the 90th percentile for height. We are trying to tell him to enjoy every minute of being "one of the tallest" since we have a feeling this may not last much longer!!! The doctor said it was appointments like ours that made her enjoy being a doctor (funny thing was, I'm sure seconds later she was back to hating her job again as she heard him screaming like crazy during his shots!!)

I did get the ok to start the solid foods. The doctor said you can always tell the difference between first time moms and second & third time moms because the first time ones will keep asking when they can start feeding them! We know better....it's a heck of a lot easier when it's just a bottle. I didn't ask....hoping I could get by another few weeks but she said it was time! Oh well, I think he is ready and we'll make the best of it! He did have a good time with it and it was more fun than I remembered.

All I really needed to know I learned in Kindergarten

June 18, 2009

I believe the above statement to be very true, especially since I know have my own kindergartener.  I had Grace's end of the year parent/teacher conference (yes, she passed) and she shared some of her writing samples with me.  This one stood out for me and thought it would be a good lesson to pass on to President Obama...

"Which one of these does not look like the other?"

 June 14, 2009

Not too difficult to figure that one out, huh?  Carsten turned 4 months today and I thought I would take a look at some pictures of the other kids also at 4 months.  At first glance, of course Grace and Carsten look so similar but after a closer look, Chris and I began to see similarities between the boys too (minus the hair!!!) 

"It was like living as a King in my own castle"

June 7, 2008

The above is a direct quote from Chris in the few minutes I saw him as we crossed paths in the airport today.  I must admit, it wasn't exactly the reaction as I was going for when I asked him how his 4 day experience watching 3 kids was!!  How come he didn't look like me after a few long days with the kids by myself, ready to crash and this close to losing my sanity??  That would be the "mom factor".  Yes, I've been lucky enough to have my own mom on countless occasions these past few months and it has been heavenly and this time Chris got quite the treatment!!  His mom came to his rescue!  Here I am worried that he won't be able to get through it, and I hear he took the occasional NAP!! I'm pretty certain the last time I took a nap was when I was in the hospital and it was only because I had taken an Ambien!  I think I was secretly hoping he would have to deal with the early wake-ups, constant fighting, pick ups, drop offs, and temper tantrums all on his own, so he could get a taste of my life!! Oh well, it enabled me to go on a incredible mini-vacation and gave Chris some quality time.  It also just means I may have to do it again soon....

Thanks Mom (and Dad).  The house was perfect when we came home and Chris looked very relaxed and happy, which I am very grateful for ( I think?)

You're only here until Sunday?

June 7, 2009

If you had told me 2 years ago that I would travel to Germany for the WEEKEND because I MISSED it, I would tell you that you were insane!!  However, once the logistics were worked out, I really didn't think twice about it!  I had an incredible few days packed with good food, good drinks (mojitos!) and good friends.  It was such a warm feeling to come back to my second "home" for a few days, it almost felt like I had never left.  I got spoiled for a few days and all the kids treated me like a rock star as they all wanted my attention (but mostly wanted to talk about Grace & Jack).  I'm glad to be home but thankful I had the opportunity and grateful for good friends. Thanks girls (and guys!) for all the laughs and good long talks!  Much needed escape from reality and as always good for the soul!

For more pictures from the weekend, Click HERE

Laugh Often!

June 6, 2009

Thought this video Chris took while I was away of Grace entertaining Carsten was cute. It's always good therapy to hear a baby laughing...

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

June 1, 2009

Well it happened much sooner than we thought.  Carsten is on the move and rolls both ways now! He has quite the unique way of getting from his back to his front (it actually looks like he's beginning to crawl).  If memory serves me well,  this is the beginning of the "can't take your eyes off him, can't just leave him anywhere stage" which means it's also the "my life's about to change again stage"!! I'm not exactly sure I'm ready for that!!  Too bad it's not up to me...

It's always kind of bittersweet for me when they complete these little milestones...just one step closer to a toddler and one step away from a baby....