We're Back! (Sort of)

A belated Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate it.  We just got back yesterday from our week-long stay at Papa and Nonna's house in Alabama.  We were supposed to get back Sunday, but something called a blizzard prevented us from doing so.  So, we got an extra day and a half with the grandparents!  They gave all their kids and grandkids a wonderful Christmas.  The house was busy from morning until night which is a lot to handle.  Thanks, Dad and CJ for a wonderful trip!


I planned on having reviewed all my photos by now, but when I got home to download them to my computer, I found that the memory card was empty!  Not to worry... all the pictures are on my dad's computer.  Now, I just have to figure out how to get them to post them.  However, I did have my video camera, so here are two videos for your entertainment.  Enjoy!

Matt and Vanessa's Wedding

In Time Flies, I referred to Matt and Vanessa's wedding.  Here are some pictures from the fun event!

It's difficult to get a clear picture when the bride and groom are on chairs!

Love my friends!

I love this picture of 1 Liberty Place

Upcoming event: Christmas trip to Alabama!  To our surprise, we are leaving on Wednesday morning.  We thought we were scheduled to leave on Thursday, but Jill realized this morning that we had it all wrong!  What a disaster that would have been!  We'll be there until Sunday, and I hope to get some pictures online while we are still there so you don't have to wait a whole week.  Merry Christmas in advance!

Early Christmas from Sara

Cousin Sara came over this weekend and gave the kids Fisher Price Little People Royal Coach Ride-Ons!  They love to build the castle in the front and press the sound buttons.

Olive

Poppy

2 Crappy iPhotos

That's right.  I said crappy.  I took these with my iPhone at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ.  It's so dim everywhere in there!  That didn't stop us from having fun, though!  

Jill with Poppy, Olive, and Rudolph

The shark tunnel

Washable Crayons in the Tub

These tub crayons are so much fun and easily wash off.  The girls did not want to get out of the tub!

Olive

Poppy

Olive and Poppy

Can you tell who is who in this picture?

Time Flies

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted something.  I guess being sick and the kids being sick then me being sick again makes me forget about blogging!  And, we went to Jill's work holiday party and Vanessa and Matt's wedding.  And, Mom-mom Diane and Pop-pop Lewie were back from Florida for a week.  And, Grandmom Rosalie and Pop-pop Joe made a visit or two.  And, we made 13 different types of cookies this weekend.  So, until I get my thoughts and pictures together, here are some videos.  Enjoy!

Stuck

First, an update on Early Start to the Terrible Two's?  I Hope Not.  After Monday night's ordeal, I was worried about Tuesday night.  "Crying it out" went MUCH better.  Jill had to work late, so when it was bedtime, I took the girls and their bottles upstairs.  Olive grabbed the bottle and laid down on the floor to drink it.  Poppy started crying and crawled behind the rocking chair.  I ignored her and eventually she came out and grabbed her bottle.  I rocked Olive while she finished up, and I put her in bed without a problem.  I picked up Poppy and rocked her while she finished up, and she wouldn't let go of the bottle.  I pried it from her grip, and she whimpered.  I could tell she wasn't happy.  We snuggled for a minute, then I put her in her crib.  She laid down and was fine.  Phew!  Then, Olive started crying as I left the room.  Maybe she heard the front door open when Jill came home.  She cried for 20 minutes, then I changed her diaper.  She cried for about a minute after that, and then fell asleep.  We were in the clear!

Around midnight, they were up and crying.  They usually get up for a bottle between 2 and 4, so 12 was early.  They wanted nothing to do with their bottles.  After they calmed down, we put them back in their cribs, they cried for a minute, and they didn't wake up until 7:30!  I could not believe it!  Does this mean that they won't be needing their overnight bottle anymore?  I'm not going to hold my breath!  We'll see what happens tonight.  

Here are pictures of Olive stuck in the Learning Tower which was featured in How Embarrassing.  Enjoy!

"I made it!"

Oh, Tannenbaum

The Christmas tree went up this weekend with the help of Grandmom Rosalie.  We usually cover the tree in small glass ornaments, but for obvious reasons that did not happen this year.  By my standards, it's a bit bare.  We also put the child-friendly ornaments at the bottom of the tree.  Poppy and Olive are having a blast playing with them!  They were a little confused by the presence of a tree in the house, signing the word "tree" over and over and over again.  It's so cute!  Here are some pictures of Olive confused and Poppy hanging ornaments.

Early Start to the Terrible Two's? I Hope Not.

About 6 months ago, Jill and I made a concerted effort to let the girls "cry it out" when falling asleep.  "Cry it out" has different meanings to different parents.  To us it means let them cry and check on them after about 15 minutes if one or both hasn't fallen asleep.  Usually if one wasn't asleep within the first 15 minutes, she probably needed more milk or had a dirty diaper that needed to be changed.  She would usually then fall asleep after being changed or eating.  Over time, we started folding under the pressure.  Sometimes, Jill or I would stay in the room for a while holding the crier, sometimes falling asleep in the rocking chair.  Sometimes, we would let the baby sleep in our bed.  And, sometimes, we would take the baby downstairs to play and get more tired.  Each of these scenarios could last HOURS.  

This past weekend, Jill and I endured so much crying, we had reached our limits.  I told Jill to buy earplugs (partly joking), and after ensuring that the children were feeling well (no teething pain, gas, hunger, etc.), we let them "cry it out" again on Sunday night.  Poppy fell asleep pretty quickly, and Olive needed a diaper change after about 15 minutes.  Finally, all was quiet.  Peaceful.  Serene.

Then, last night came.

We got the girls ready for bed as usual.  Warm bath, playtime, maybe a video, quiet time in nursery, bottle, and...  an hour long tantrum, care of Poppy.  Actually, she didn't even make it through the bottle before she started screaming.  I think she had a sip.  Jill was trying to hold her, but Poppy knows how to slip out of anyone's grip.  She went limp, then stiff, then limp, then stiff.  Finally, she fell onto the floor.  I whispered to Jill (so as not to disrupt Olive who was drinking so nicely), "Let's switch babies.  Maybe that will help."  Wrong move.  Poppy knows I have the patience of a saint, so she screamed even louder to try to rattle me.  I took her and her bottle into the guest room.  I tried everything to calm her down: rocking, walking, swaying, singing.  She wouldn't give up her bottle, but also wouldn't drink it.  So, after an hour, Jill tried to calm her down.  Jill rocked her and moseyed into our bedroom where the TV happened to be on.  Then, silence.  Jill put Poppy on our bed, and Poppy just watched whatever was on and fell asleep in 20 minutes.

Seriously.

Was she crying for TV, or was it just a distraction at the right time and place?  I felt so defeated.  We really try to limit TV exposure with our kids, so I am baffled that she wanted it so badly.  

So, if Poppy screams at lights out tonight, where do you think she's going to end up?  I'm putting her right in her crib.  It might sound cruel, but bedtime is bedtime.  If they don't sleep, I don't sleep.  If I don't sleep, it really affects my parenting.  I can't play and interact with them as well as I otherwise could.  We spent almost a year catering to their needs all night long.  I know that it's part of having children, but there comes a time when it needs to change.  Let's see how tonight goes, and if I have the time and energy tomorrow, you'll get an update!

Playing on the Stairs (Olive, Poppy)

"This is like a roller coaster!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I am thankful for my wonderful family.  Jill and I are sick and won't be celebrating in the traditional way.  We'll be thankful for what we have and not worry about the lack of turkey.  We have our own little animals to keep us occupied!

Kisses and More

The kisses come later.  First, I want to update you on some cool stuff.  The first update is that Olive can say "big truck"!  It's not a surprise since we have gotten anywhere from 1-8 packages every day for weeks.  And, how are packages delivered?  By big trucks.  Of course, the packages are holiday goods.  Jill organized gift giving for families in need... with 17 kids in all!  If each kid gets 3 gifts, that's 51 gifts total.  Our UPS guys must think we are nuts.  They come to the door and say silly things like, "There's only one package for you today," or "I'll get the other 29 boxes from the truck," or "Uh, Merry Christmas, I guess."  

Next is Poppy's apparent love for coloring.  No more coloring on boxes for her!  I bought some actual coloring books, and she took to them right away.  She even has a good crayon grip for a toddler.

As promised, here are the kisses or the "almost kiss" I should say.  Olive is on the left, and Poppy is on the right.

"I love you so much."

"Psych!"

"Not the forehead!"

"That's as close as were gonna get."

Bounce Dancing

Guess the Smudge

"I wasn't eating a crayon."--Poppy

How Embarrassing

The girls had a doctor's appointment Tuesday to make sure they didn't have ear infections or anything.  They'd had low-grade fevers on and off for over a week, and I was starting to get worried.  They're fine.  Now, for the embarrassing story...


Late Monday night (8:30 is late by the way) the phone rang, and I didn't recognize the number.  An embarrassing dialogue ensued.  Keep in mind, my pediatrician is not Dr. B., and Chuck is a very funny friend.


Me:  Hello?


Man:  Hello.  This is Dr. "B".  I'm calling about Olivia, um, Olive and Poppy.


Me:  Oh, ok.


Man:  This your child's pediatrician.  Is this Mr. Argo, um, Agro?


Me:  Yeah.  Who did you say this is?


(Meanwhile, Jill is looking at me like I have two heads.)


Man:   This is Dr. B., your child's pediatrician.


Me:  [Silence and confusion]  No, you're not their pediatrician.  I've never even heard your name before . . . .  Is this Chuck? (It sounded just like him.)


Man:  [Silence and confusion]  No, this is Dr. B. calling.


Me:  You're not their doctor.  My kids see Dr. "D."


Man:  Dr. D is my partner.  You have an appointment at 2:40 tomorrow, right?


Me:  Yeah...? [Blubbering]  Oh my god I've never heard your name before you sound just like a friend of mine that's why I didn't believe you I'm so sorry yes yes Poppy and Olive have an appointment tomorrow with Dr. D.


Jill: [Laughing hysterically]


Man:  She's not available tomorrow, so you'll see me when you come in.


Of course I would have to see him after making an ass of myself.  The conversation ended somehow, and when I see him Tuesday with the kids, what's the first thing out of my mouth?  


Me:  [Blubbering]  I'm so sorry I thought you were playing a trick on me last night on the phone I've never heard your name before you sound just like a friend of mine that's why I didn't believe you I'm so sorry.


Dr. B.:  Oh, it's OK.  I called a bit late and caught you off guard.  So, what seems to be your concern...?


How embarrassing.  But, I'm glad he was so professional about it.  I will be sure to learn the names of everyone in that office.


I usually take some pictures when we go to the doctor's office, but I went solo this time.  Here are some pictures of our new Learning Tower.  They love it!  We bought it to prevent the girls from climbing the stools and getting onto the countertop.  Olive is in the purply pink PJs and Poppy is in the blue PJs.

Finally! (Part II)

You've seen them vacuuming, now see them cleaning the ottoman!  Man, I'm lucky!

Best Seat in the House

To tell you the truth, I'm not a huge fan of Olive and Poppy sitting atop the ottoman.  However, I'll be pretty sad when they can't fit in the trays anymore.  I better enjoy it now.  Stop growing!

Olive

Coloring Gone Wild

Just a Note and a Video

Tonight while getting dinner together for the kids, Poppy climbed the stool at the counter (see video below from 5 days ago of her climbing all the way onto the counter), sat down, and waved at me.  Then she said, "Hi, daddy."  Not, "Hi, dada," or "Hi, da," but "Hi, daddy."  It made my heart melt.  Here she is discovering the new world...





Any bets as to when Olive will climb onto the counter?

Two Cute Pictures (Two of Mom-mom's Favorite)

To celebrate fall, Poppy wore a leaf in her hair.  Look at how much hair she has now!  Some days it's so out of control that she needs two hair clips to keep it at bay.  

 This is a picture of the queen tipping her hat.  I couldn't figure out who it is a picture of, but with some help from Mom-mom, we figured out it is Olive.  Looks like Poppy, huh?