And That's the End of That

For the past 4.5 years, I have been either pregnant, nursing or both. Since May 2005 I have had to think about everything I put in my body - food, medicine, vitamin, nutritional supplement, alcohol - and how it might affect a little person that I loved.

And now that's done. As of today, my body is my own again. Greta has weaned.

I've known this moment was coming for a while, so I've been preparing both Greta and myself for it, but it's still a bit harder than I expected it to be. I always knew I would breastfeed my babies, but I never really expected nursing to be something that became such a part of how I saw myself. It's a little weird to think that whole part of my life is just over.

My introduction to breastfeeding came with some challenges. Fin was a preemie, tongue-tied at birth, hard to keep awake long enough to nurse, tired too easily to get full feedings until he was several weeks old, etc. We had to give him formula in the NICU until I could learn how to pump, then we had to supplement with bottles of expressed breast milk until he was strong enough to nurse on his own. As he grew, he was a biter and a bit of a scratcher. We did end up having a very good nursing relationship, but our start wasn't the easiest. He nursed until about 19 months old, when I was pregnant with Greta and my milk supply vanished with the growing pregnancy.

When Greta was born, she nursed within a few minutes. We had the usual sleepy newborn challenges, but after she was a couple of weeks old, we never had any issues with nursing at all. She only ever bit me a couple of times and always by accident, never for amusement. She went through the typical growing baby stages of looking around a lot and being easily distracted, but for the most part, when she would use BabySigns to ask for "milk" or say "Nur be" (nurse please) or "Me nur" as she got older, she knew what she wanted and that was that. Her most recent request was always, "Me nur other side," regardless of which side was ever offered to her first.

So now she's 25 months old. I always planned to nurse her until her 2nd birthday if she was interested and then we'd evaluate how we were feeling about things. If the decision had been left solely up to me, I would not have pushed us toward weaning yet. However, I have some medical tests for myself that require her weaning and I have been putting them off for a year already, so my doctor and I decided it was probably time.

I have been trying to mentally and emotionally prepare both of us for this day for a few months now. I've been telling Greta that mommy's milk would be going bye-bye soon and she's seemed to understand and be okay with that, though part of me has always wondered if she could actually fathom what that might mean when her world has never been without mommy's milk.

For the last couple of weeks, I've been debating on when to close that door. I'd originally set Christmas as the deadline in my mind, but we all had colds over the holidays and I couldn't imagine adding that kind of insult to an already congested and miserable little girl. Besides, I knew she was still getting the antibodies I was producing through the milk, too.

So I told myself we'd end with 2009. But yesterday morning, the thought of starting the new year by telling her no was just too much for me. We did our usual wake up nurse, skipped the naptime session and then did one final bedtime nurse and cuddle. As we snuggled, I told her the milk would be gone after that and she replied with a sad little, "Otay."

She did ask to nurse this morning, but I reminded her that the milk was all gone and she just went about her day. At bedtime she forgot to even ask about it until we'd already been cuddling, reading books, telling stories and singing songs for almost 45 minutes. (Yes, we have a long bedtime routine.) When she did ask, she cried for a couple of minutes, then she told me she had to use the potty. She's getting to be such a big girl.

We managed to overcome some obstacles in the past two years and I'm proud that I was able to provide her with this relationship for as long as I did. I have been working fulltime since she was only a few months old and I pumped milk for her at work for her entire first year. When she was a few months old I had to have an MRI and it required me to pump and dump my milk for a full 48 hours after the procedure. I was able to build up enough of a stash that she never needed formula.

When she was about 8 months old I had to spend a weekend away from her for a leadership retreat. A couple of weeks before the retreat, Dave accidentally left the entire freezer supply of milk on the counter overnight. After getting over the shock of seeing all of my milk thawed on the kitchen counter, I was able to pull together enough of a supply in a few weeks that she never had to go without even when mommy was away for a couple of days.

I never expected this relationship to mean this much to me. I know it wouldn't have been this easy if she wasn't ready to wean. Mentally I am fine with this decision, but emotionally, it's a bit harder than I expected it to be, not just because I would have happily kept nursing her for a few more months, but also because this is a whole period of my life that's just OVER now.

I'm not having any more babies. I won't ever be nursing another baby again. I won't get that special snuggle and closeness that comes from nursing. I won't have that magic cure-all to offer for an ouchie, a scare, a bad dream, or a bad day.

Of course, I know I'll still provide comfort to her for all those things the way I have for Fin since he weaned, it's still just a little weird to think about just being done now after all this time. I no longer have to read every label on medication to see if I can have it while I'm pregnant or breastfeeding. It's not something I have to mention to doctors or pharmacists when I have a cold. I can wear dresses and not worry about whether she will expect to nurse when we're out and about somewhere. I can buy pretty bras again.

This is weird. And somewhat freeing, too, but I suppose I'll be able to focus on that side of it more in the next few weeks. And I know I will enjoy having my body back to myself again, if I can even remember what that's like. But for right now, this is a very bittersweet moment.

And Now He's FOUR.

Four years ago yesterday, I became a mom.

Fin's arrival was nothing at all what we expected and about 6 weeks earlier than planned, but it made me a mom, gave me the sweetest, funniest, cutest little guy to call my son, and changed my life in ways I never could have imagined.

We celebrated last night with family, cake and gifts. I let Fin pick the menu and all he wanted was Mac & Cheese. He helped me decorate his cake and we all had a blast. Pictures will come soon.

Saturday we will be hosting 18 of his friends (not sure WHAT I was thinking when I agreed to that plan) and their parents at our house. There will be a Batman bounce house in the backyard to entertain the little people. I hope my sanity is intact afterwards.

I am so blessed and lucky to have these amazing little people call me Mommy.

Fin's Plans for the Future

For a while now, Fin has been working out some plans on what he wants to do with his life. For several months, he's told us that when he grows up he's going to live in Hawaii. He even says he's going to build a treehouse in his backyard so Mommy and Daddy can visit him and "stay in it like a hotel!" I can't wait to see this treehouse.

But more recently, he's been working out some professional decisions. The conversation tends to go like this:

F: "When I'm a grown-up I'm going to do EVERYTHING."
M: "What do you mean?"
F: "I'm going to be everything!"
M: "Oh yeah? What are you going to be first?"
F: "First I'll be a doctor. Then a fire chief. Then I'm going to be a Mario character."

Somehow, our conversations usually come back to a video game reference, but it's still pretty sweet to think that this little guy already has plans to be a doctor and then try to be everything else in the world that might be fun to be.

I hope it's a long, long time before his dreams and hopes get any smaller.

Wow, Am I Glad I Wrote That Down!

From time to time when I'm away from the computer and the kids do something incredible, adorable, or incredibly adorable (which seems like all the time, honestly) I grab a scrap of paper and scribble down what I can remember in the hopes that I will be able to record it more fully at a later time.

I happened to stumble across one of these gems this evening and have to share it. This was from February 27, 2009 - so about 9 months ago. I wrote it out in pretty thorough detail at the time, so I'll just paste it here. Around this time, Finny and I would often have "convernations" and the kid would say some amazing things.

2/27/09 Bedtime

F: Maybe someday I’ll be a Daddy. And a teacher.
M: Maybe. That would be nice, huh?
F: Yeah.
M: What kind of teacher would you be?
F: A baby teacher!
M: You’d teach babies?
F: Yeah. Babies like Greta.
M: You’d teach babies like Greta?
F: ALL the babies in this town!
M: (laughing by now) That sounds like a good idea.
F: And the next day when baby Colin comes from Texas. I’ll teach him, too.
M: You’re going to teach Colin, too?
F: Yeah.
M: You were teaching Greta today, weren’t you? What were you teaching her?
F: Covering oranges with the grass!

This is exactly what he was doing in PopPop Doug’s yard earlier in the day. We picked oranges from the tree and Fin had put his in the grass and was pulling up pieces of grass to hide it in the yard. Greta saw him doing it and also started pulling grass and holding it over the orange in her hand. When I told Fin that Greta was doing everything he was doing, he told me, “I’m her teacher!”

(Soooo glad I wrote that one down and found it again!)

Some Said This Day Would Never Come

Finny has slept in his big boy bed for the last three nights!

I have been in no rush to move Fin out of our bed - partly because I feel like I never get to see the kids since I'm at work all day, partly because it's really sweet to snuggle with him, and partly because when we did try about a year ago, I ended up being up with each kid 2-3 times a night.

But a few nights ago, I'd gotten Greta down in her room and as usual, returned to find Fin and Dave reading and cuddling and ready for bed. We turned out the lights and tried to get Fin to settle down. He did the usual asking for more books, more stories, etc., then he suddenly said, "Let's get our Heat Suit Batman costumes so we can get through the lava to my big boy bed and sleep there!"

Um, huh? (Yes, we have played LOTS of Lego Batman in our house. They finished the game last weekend and have now moved on to Lego "IndiAN and Jones".)

I asked if he wanted to sleep in his big boy bed and he said yes, jumped out of bed and opened the armoire. At this point, I thought he was just stalling bedtime, so I asked what he was doing and he said, "I'm getting my Heat Suit! My room is all filled up with lava and we need the suits to get to the bed."

I watched with amusement as he pretended to put on a suit to protect him from the lava and then did a little tightrope walk at the foot of the bed. But when he headed into his room, I realized he meant it, so I jumped up and followed him.

He crawled right into bed, snuggled under the covers and was asleep within 10 minutes. Bedtime usually takes 30-45 minutes after turning the lights off.

Once he was asleep, I got up (as usual), did some stuff around the house and then went to sleep in my own bed. At one point in the night he started coughing and I bolted out of bed because he wasn't next to me and I was very confused. An hour or so later he had a bad dream and started calling out in his sleep, so I went to him, rubbed his head (he was still asleep) and he rolled over and slept peacefully.

The only drawback was when he woke up. I was already nursing Greta in my bed and suddenly heard a big whine from his room and the accusation, "You were supposed to stay with me all night!!!!!"

Dave and I decided to just tell him I was nursing Greta and that's why I wasn't there with him rather than let him know he'd done all night by himself already. On the one hand, I wanted him to know he could do it (and HAD done it) but he also seemed to feel really betrayed by me not being there, so we decided to just be vague about it.

I had no idea if this was a one time request to sleep in his own bed, but that night, after books and stories, he just climbed right out of our bed, walked into his room and announced, "You have to stay here with me all night this time."

That night went great (aside from me sleeping in a twin bed with a wiggledy three year old) and he actually woke up giggling to himself. He laughed, rolled over and said, "I had a dream with balloons!" Then he announced he had to pee, got up to do so and went straight to the other room to play with Legos.

Last night was night three. Again bedtime went very quickly in his own bed. Dave and I debated whether I should stay or not. We don't want him to feel like he's being tricked when he sleeps in his own bed, but we also want this transition to stick. (Well, part of me wants it. Part of me misses my snuggle buggle boy. LOL But I have to let him grow up sometime and if he's ready now then I have to be, too, right?)

I laid with him until he was asleep, then got up to do things around the house. I went to sleep in my own bed, but he had two nightmares again. The first one just had him crying in his sleep, but when I went to comfort and hug him, he started screaming, "Don't DO that!" over and over until I just rubbed his back, then he was deeply asleep again in about 2 seconds. A few hours later he was crying again, so at that point I just crawled into bed and slept next to him to keep him comforted.

I did tell him this morning that he spent most of the night alone in his big boy bed and he was very surprised and proud of himself when he said, "I DID?!?!?" It was pretty cute.

So, I think this thing is actually happening. I'm still a little sad about him growing up so much so quickly, but then again - he is almost 4 and we've been cosleeping this whole time. I knew he'd want his own space eventually. My only concern right now is that he seems to have more nightmares and sleeps poorly when he's on his own. But I also have no interest in cosleeping in a twin bed.

My little boy is getting all growed up!

Talking With Teacher Linda

We had Finny's first Parent-Teacher Conference this week. Dave was a bit nervous about how Fin might be fitting in, but I was just excited to hear about his skills.

It came as no surprise to us that Teacher Linda said he has exceptional math and verbal skills. She said it was obvious that he spends time around people who like numbers, to which Dave and I both just laughed and agreed. She also said that he had some trouble with a few large motor skills like kicking or catching a ball, which was also no surprise to us, considering who his parents are. (Afterwards, Dave commented that if someone gave him a ball, he'd be happy to turn it in to a spaceship or bury it in the dirt, but it would never occur to him to try to throw it to anyone. Yeah, I think the kid has a natural disadvantage on that athletic front...)

Overall, he's doing great in school and Teacher Linda told us to just keep doing what we're doing with him. He is a little behind (but still in the normal range for a three year old) on writing skills, still using a fist grip on pencils and such, but was off the charts on being able to use scissors, logical thinking and being able to follow directions in order. She said he has a great imagination and she is impressed with his vocabulary. When he said he was Robin for Halloween, she asked if meant a bird. He replied, "No, Robin the sidekick!" She was very amused by him knowing the word sidekick.

Teacher Linda told us that socially, he is a little less connected with the other kids - he will notice when someone is upset or hurt, but he will not stop what he's doing to check on them or comfort them as some other 3yr olds will. But looking over the list of peer interaction skills, they are all things he would do with Greta or Liam (cooperative play, not just parallel play) so it will just take a bit of time until he's comfortable enough with his classmates to show those behaviors at school. She did say he would approach her and talk to her directly when she asked him questions, but is a little quieter with his classmates.

We mentioned that he does talk about the kids at school and tells us who his friends are and who he plays games with. She was happy to hear it and said it was all moving in the right direction. In fact, after school today he personally invited 3 of his classmates over for a playdate this week - his idea!

When she asked if we had any questions about his development, Dave mentioned that he NEVER wants to go to school, no matter how much advance warning he has about the transition. He's started faking illnesses in the mornings to get out of going to school and even yesterday told us he wanted to stay home from school to watch the Lightning McQueen movie and eat Halloween candy. (No dice, kid.)

She said that behavior was common in gifted kids (yea!) because they get so focused on whatever they're doing, so involved in their activities that they do not want to stop them. Yep, sounds like Finny all right. However, she also said she did not see any issues with him transitioning between activities in the classroom, so it's not a concern right now.

In all, there was no major surprise in the meeting, which is good. He's a bright, funny, imaginative kid and she said he was great to have in class. He was behind on a few things, but at a 5-6yr old level on some other skills, so he's doing well. And the things he's a little behind on (socialization) are all things being in school will help, so we're on the right track!

In a few months she will evaluate him again using the 4yr old standards, so we'll have another conference in the spring. In the meantime, more books and play and fun with Fin! Y

I Heart Bedtime

Well, I've pretty much always loved bedtime. I'm sure there was a time in my life when my parents would have argued against that statement, but for the most part, I am a fan of sleep whenever and wherever I can get it.

But my current affection for bedtime actually has nothing to do with sleep, nothing to do with the peace and quiet that comes after the little ones doze off for the evening and absolutely everything to do with those little ones themselves.

As a full time work-outside-the-home mom, I generally feel like I don't get to see the kids enough. I still wish I got to spend more quality time with them throughout the day, but I have to say that lately, we've stumbled into a really sweet and fun bedtimeroutine .

Sometime after dinner, whether there's a bath or not, we all end up in our bedroom. The kids may need to be led in there against their will or they may make their way in there by playing "hide seek" (Gretish) after dinner. Either way, there is playtime in the bed that usually involves jumping, tickling, reading books, snuggling and lots and lots of giggling.

Sometime in there, jammies get put on, a diaper gets added, hands and faces get washed (if it's not a bath night), and teeth get brushed. Eventually stories get read and the lights get turned off for stories in bed for Fin while I take Greta to her room for nursing and snuggles. One of the sweetest highlights, however, is Greta's almost constant request for singing.

Last night I was reading a counting book to Greta. I'd turn the page, ask her the animal and we'd count together. On the page with 5, the picture was of beluga whales. Greta saw the animal and immediately ordered, "sing."

It had been a while since we'd read this book together - maybe a few months - yet the girl remembered I once sang Raffi's Baby Beluga to her on that page.

Well, I made up some words and sang it to her, then tried to continue with 6. Nope. She turned the page back. "Sing. More Baby Nuga."

This went on for a while until I decided it was time to get her to her room. Even there, once she seemed to be dozing off, she raised her read and said:

G: "More Baby Nuga"
M: "No baby, it's time for sleep."
G: "Sing."
M: "No baby, it's time for sleep."
G: "Backin" (Thumbkin)
M: "No baby, it's time for sleep."
G: "Nemo"
M: "No." (laughing because I don't know a Nemo song anyway)
G: "Dory"
M: "No."
G: "Me." (pointing to herself)
M: "No baby, it's time for sleep."
G: "Me sing."
M: "You want a Greta song?"
G: "Uh-huh"

Well, how could I resist that? I sang her one of the love songs I made up about her and have sung since she was tiny.

G: "One more."

Oookay. I'm a pushover.

G: "More."
M: "No baby, it's time for sleep." (laughing again - she is persistent)

She finally seemed to be dozing off, until about 5 minutes later when she suddenly raised her head and said again:

G: "More Baby Nuga."

Well, it worked before, right? :) I snuggled with her a bit more - no more singing - and finally put her in her crib where she chattered to herself for a few minutes and went to sleep.

I returned to our bedroom to find Finny and Dave still reading superhero stories. We turned off the lights and settled in with a few kisses and goodnights and such.

Just when I thought Fin was dozing off, he was suddenly squirming and fidgeting and I rolled over to see him doing downward dog in bed. When he gets wound up like that, we've discovered it's easier to let him get the energy out (and try to tire him out) rather than continually telling him to settle down. So I suggested some exercise.

F: "What exercises should I do?"
M: "Jumping jacks."

He did jumping jacks - which at three years old is really just jumping up and down while waving his arms around - and regular jumping and rolling side to side and sit ups and backbends and bicycle kicks and reverse crunches before finally deciding he was tired. He snuggled into bed and then asked, "Can I tell you a story?"

Again, how could I resist that?

It went something like "*whipser*whisper*whisper*" (no idea what he was saying) "and there was a big splash *whisper* in front of Liam's house and there was a flood and it wasn't from rain and we got stuck in the mud and it was SLIPPERY! *whisper*"

Then he rolled over, said "Freckle," put his hand on my chest and was asleep in about 3 minutes.

I know our bedtime rituals are not exactly conventional. We don't make the kids fall asleep alone. We cosleep and allow the kids access to our bed for snuggles and family time. I might feel differently about these things if I felt I got to see the kids enough during the day, but I treasure our bedtime conversations and our nighttime snuggles.

Every night I get to marvel at their creativity and humor and share the wonder of their discoveries. Their personalities are so amazing and our bedtime rituals and games are so much fun. I've long been a fan of bedtime, but these days, it's definitely my favorite part of the day.

I Think I Nicknamed the Wrong One Monkey

Among the kids' many silly little nicknames, Finny is often Monkey and Greta is often Peanut. Fin was a climber before he could walk and Greta has always been a tiny little thing, so the nicknames have made sense for the last 22 months or so.

I realize now that in the true sense of "monkey see, monkey do," Greta is the one we should be calling Monkey.

I know it's very common for the younger sibling to mimic and imitate everything an older sibling does, especially when they're only about 2 years apart and especially when the younger one is a toddler. Heck, look at my sister Kiza and me - if it weren't for her relenting to my demands and teaching me EVERYTHING she learned at school every single day, who knows how I would have turned out?

Greta has long been quick to mirror Fin's every action, whether it's a silly face at the dinner table, a dance around the house, jumping on the bed, etc. We've joked that she has no idea she's little and has no fear. If she sees Fin do something, she's going to do it, too, or yell and yell at you when she can't (or, God forbid, you don't *let* her for her own safety and your sanity).

For the most part, this has been an adorable and fascinating part of their siblinghood. Fin is very patient with her and will usually help her if he sees she's struggling with trying to copy him. But in the last week, we've encountered a somewhat scary aspect to this behavior and a very useful one.

Last week Fin was cutting out some artwork. He's been using scissors for a very long time and is quite adept, so these days he usually requests the scissors and gets them with only a quick reminder to be careful. He carries them correctly when he walks through the house, he cuts only the things he's allowed to cut, and he's very methodical and precise with them.

That evening, he decided to lay down on the couch while he was cutting things and sadly, caught his finger. He didn't scream and cry, just balled his little hand into a fist and came into the kitchen where Dave and I were making dinner. He said he had cut his hand and apologized for getting blood on the couch. I turned to see his little fingers curled in a ball of blood and was amazed at how calm he was being.

We washed and cleaned the cut (it was very minor and needed only some neosporin and a bandaid - he declared it "all healed!" the next morning), and luckily Dave thought to go retrieve the scissors from the living room before Greta came upon them.

Sure enough, when he walked into the living room, Greta was standing at the couch holding the scissors and trying to figure out how Fin had made his finger bleed with them. Yikes.

The scissors are once again a "sit at the table and cut where we can see you" toy for Fin. Not because of his behavior (if anything, he's more careful with them than before his cut) but because we never know when Greta will grab them and try to do whatever she last saw Fin do with them.

She does keep us on our toes...

But yesterday I also discovered, quite by accident, that her desire to be Just Like Fin can work in our favor, too.

She wanted to use the potty, and after our usual "Mommy, 'way" (go away) commands and "Are you done yet?" back and forth, she declared the trip a success, and it was. She let me clean her up, with her help, of course ("Me wipe!" Fuuunnnn.) and then tried to run free through the house.

I grabbed her back into the bathroom and told her she needed her big girl panties back on and we went through the usual debate about her desire to be naked all the time. (What can I say? She is my child. LOL)

Finally, without even thinking about it, I said, "Finny always puts his big boy pants back on after he uses the potty."

The struggle immediately ceased, she stepped right in to her panties and even helped me pull them back up, then she happily went to see what Fin had been up to while she was away.

I'm a little surprised the tactic hadn't occurred to us before, but I can guarantee it will be used again. If she's going to try to do everything she sees Fin do anyway, we might as well use it to our advantage now and then, too, right?.

Sounding It Out

A couple of weeks ago, the kids and I were reading bedtime stories together as usual. Greta had picked out a big ABC book and Fin was reading the alphabet to her.

He started strong and went through A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, and M. When he got to N, he sat for a moment and tried to sound it out, "nnnnn, nnnnn, nnnn." Finally, he whispered to himself, "F....I....N!" and then announced, "N!" and proceeded to complete the alphabet for his sister.

His little brain amazes me.

Quick Finny Catch Up

Unfortunately, I don't have Finny's first preschool photo to share yet, but I'll post it when I get it, I promise. Still a good lookin' kid in this one, though.

In the meantime, this kid is getting HUGE! He's so tall for a 3 yr old that most people assume he's at least 5. He's maybe one inch shorter than his uncle Liam, who is 5.5 yrs old. He is still so very sweet and funny, and of course I think he's a genius, but again - there's that mom bias, right?

He is now in preschool 3 mornings a week. He NEVER wants to go to school, but he also NEVER wants to leave once he's there. He likes his teachers and new friends, but he generally never wants to stop anything he's doing to start anything else, regardless of how much advance warning you give him or how fun the new thing will be. The kid just doesn't dig transitions much.

He is an amazing big brother and is very patient with Greta - most of the time. He lets her help him build Legos, he always assigns her a character in his pretend play (Batman, Bloat, whoever), and he loves to read books with her. A few weeks ago when she would still say "kack" when you pointed to a duck, he would tell her, "Greta, say 'duck'" until she did. Y

Fin's drawings are really starting to look like the things he intends them to look like (which is way more than I can say of my own drawings, but I digress) and even his teachers have been impressed with some of his artwork. The other day he drew a very nice rainbow, then added a leprechaun, and then drew raindrops all over the back of the picture. I love how his little mind works.

Quick Greta Boo Catch Up

I can't believe this sweet little girl is almost 23 months old. She is one of the funniest, sweetest, smartest little people I've ever known, but I do recognize my bias as her mom. She is really growing up and is all the things you'd want your daughter to be: fearless, independent, confident, a little bit headstrong. LOL The only bad part (occasionally) is that she is often all those things toward us, too. Yep, she's approaching two.

One of her very first sentences was, "No, Mommy. Me hep!" (me help) Yeah, that pretty much set the tone right there.

She is talking up a storm, has a huge vocabulary and almost always speaks in sentences. She started potty training herself at about 19 months and now typically only wears diapers for naps and bedtime. She loves to draw and will happily pretend with Fin for hours or even days. They have been Nemo and Dory all week (though Fin really wants her to be Bloat and me to be Dory, but she claims she's Dory when he's not paying attention). And her favorite color - for EVERYTHING - is purple. She always wants the purple anything and no matter what she tells you she wants, she will then tell you to make hers purple. Shoes? Purple. Jammies? Purple. Eggs? Purple. (Dave did this a few times, then decided eggs are yellow for a reason. But she still asks.)

And of course, she's beautiful. (Again, there's mom-bias, but look at her! LOL)

She's been doing the one day/week parent-toddler interaction class at preschool with Dave this fall. She loves it. My friend Michele Stange (http://www.michelestange.com/) did the school photos and sent me a sneak preview of Greta's (above).

So, now that she's getting a bit older, one of the things you'll hear from her most often is, "Look me, Mommy! Look me did!" (which, if you don't speak Gretish is "Look at me, Mommy. Look at what I did!") She is very proud of all of her accomplishments, and is also very polite, peppering her conversations with "Deku, Bubba" or "Deku, Mommy" (thank you), and of course, "Beeeeee!" (please). When she really wants something, she will add the baby sign of rubbing her chest to say please as she begs. And of course, I still get "Nur be" (nurse, please) every morning and every afternoon when I get home from work.

The other morning as Greta and I were enjoying our wake up and snuggle nursing session, I realized I'd been staring at her in wonder and adoration for a while and hadn't actually spoken to her much. So I smiled and said hi. She returned a huge grin and said, "Hi!" then went back to nursing. I cracked up laughing and told her I love her. She replied, "Mm-hmm" and threw her top arm way out. Then she sat up and said, "Other arm. BIIIIIIIG!" and threw both arms wide. Yep, this kid knows she's loved.

Y

And Now He's Three

My sweet little Fin is THREE!

I don't quite know where the time has gone, but the last three years just flew by so quickly. What have I been doing with my time?

We've been telling stories and reading books, pretending to be various characters and tickle monsters, building forts and "hospitals" out of couch cushions just to knock them down and giggle, having messy days and writing letters to penpals and ourselves, making wonderful creations out of playdoh and trying to keep Greta from eating it all, snuggling and cuddling and giving lots of kisses, "blowing" hugs and asking so many questions and learning and laughing all day long.

And he's just growing up to be the most amazing little boy. He's smart, he's sweet, he's inquisitive, he's impatient, he's silly, he's beautiful - and he's mine. And he's heard me say it, too. Every once in a while, he'll give me a great big hug and say, "You're MINE!".

This morning, he woke up, gave me a hug and announced, "I'm going to keep you for best forever!" The grammar is not quite there, but I definitely understand his sentiment.

And before I left for work this morning, he and Dave were drawing at the dining table. GaGa showed up and when she asked what he was drawing, he said as clear as day, "I'm drawing Mrs. Potato Head and Mr. Potato Head from Woody!" (Toy Story = Woody).

I got a little choked up and pointed out the Dave that he said PO-TA-TO instead of his usual "Ta-AY-To". Fin just laughed as said, "'Ta-ato?" That's silly! That doesn't sound like 'potato!'"

Yep, he's growing up so very quickly. I'm so blessed.

Greta's 12 Month Doctor Visit

This little girl is definitely following in her brother's footsteps. She's 30.25 inches tall (90%) and weighs 18lbs 12oz (25%). They're both taaaaalll and thin, like their dad.

She also cut her 8th tooth this weekend and is adding new signs just about every day. She had at least 6 when we met with her pediatrician (nurse, eat, more, all done, hat, cat, and one that can mean bird/plane/fan/light, depending on when and where she signs it) and then last night she signed "moon" on the way to the car, too. Still only two real words - Mama and Dada, but she loves to say them over and over and over and over.

It's so fun to walk into the house after work and hear her yelling, "Mama! Mama! Mama!" while she jumps up and down and tries to get to me as quickly as she can.

Sweet little boo.

Eleven months old!

I know time seems to go more quickly as you get older, but I had no idea how much more quickly time was going to fly with two kiddos.

Our Greta Boo is already eleven months old and I cannot begin to tell you where the last almost-year has gone. In fact, at this time last year I was laying in bed all day every day, hooked up to a machine several hours a day to monitor the contractions I was having, talking to the nurse twice a day, taking drugs every four hours to try to stop the contractions, and having a nurse come to our house every weekend to give me hormone shots in an effort to keep this baby girl IN.

Obviously, all that worked well and we had a healthy, full term, beautiful baby girl - who is starting to look more and more like a toddler every single day.

Apparently I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today.

So, here's our gorgeous, not-so-little girl!



Can you tell she has a thing about sticking her tongue out?



You can only expect a super-mobile baby to stay in one place for so long. She let me take a few pictures, then made a break for it, though she was happy to stand in the chair and dance for Daddy for a few minutes.



There's that tongue again.



Someone should really tell this girl's parents how unsafe it is to let her stand in a chair like that with a toy in her mouth. What kind of parents does she have???

Dancing for Daddy!

She's outta here, folks!

Success!!!

I certainly don't want to jinx anything, but I think Fin is completely potty trained!

He's been in big boy pants full time for at least a week and I think we've only had (maybe) 3 accidents. He's wearing big boy underwear all night, the bed stays bone dry and he goes potty as soon as he wakes up every single morning!

Dave and I were talking this morning and neither of us could remember when we last put a diaper on him, so I think he's finally done. Of course, he still asks what his "special treat" will be every time he uses the potty so we'll have to wean him off that, but he's going several times a day without being reminded and when we do ask him if he needs to go, he doesn't fight us at all!

And can I tell you how cute it is when he suddenly stops playing, pulls off his pants and runs naked to the bathroom by himself? LOL When I ask him if he needs help, he just yells, "NO!" and keeps on running. And he doesn't! He uses his step stool to climb right up on the regular potty to sit down, or just stands over his little potty and goes. But it is hilarious to see him trying to straddle the little potty, hold on to the wall and squat down a little to make sure he doesn't spray pee everywhere.

Anyway, I'm so proud of him and so glad it seems to have finally clicked! The other day in the car he suddenly said, "I'm a big boy now. I use the potty all the time and now I can go to school like Liam!"

Greta's latest accomplishments

I cannot believe how quickly this little girl is growing up. When I laid her in her crib last night, she squirmed and crawled a little in her sleep to get comfy and when she stretched out, I swear she had the long, lanky limbs of a toddler already. Sigh...

She's also had two fun milestones in the last couple of days!

She's been pulling up and cruising on furniture for a while now and will often do a single hand hold to stay upright, but whenever she let go completely - plop! - down she'd go on her tushie. But two days ago, she was standing in GaGa's kitchen holding her hands and she suddenly let go and just stood there! She stood for a really long time (okay, about 10 seconds, but that's long when she's never done it before) before she sat down and we haven't gotten her to do it again since then, but it's progress! This one will be walking before I know it, I'm sure.

And since I posted about her signing "birdie" she's started generalizing it and using it whenever she wants to get anyone's attention or point to anything. So it may not really just mean bird anymore, but she has found a word she loves to say! If you ask her if she wants more of anything while she's eating or playing, she'll look right at you and say "buh!".

Now I know this sounds nothing like "more", but she definitely knows what she wants when she says it and if you offer her something more and she doesn't say "buh" she will not pick it up or play with it at all.

Finally, she's been sort of waving for a week or so, but this morning over breakfast, she was practicing opening and closing her hand like a wave. As I left for work, I gave both kids kisses and hugs and as I reached the door, I turned and waved and she gave me a HUGE grin and waved back!

We played that game of waving and saying bye for a few minutes and finally HaHa picked her up and brought her outside to the driveway so she could wave as I left for work.

It was a sweet morning having both of my kiddos standing in the driveway waving as I left for the day.

Signing and counting birdies

Greta is working on signing words to us. We're getting her in to a Baby Signs class next month, but we've been showing her the basics - eat, please, more, all done, nurse, kitty cat - for a few months now.

Every once in a while she'll sort of sign "more" to us, but for the most part, she seems to understand the signs more than she'll generate them to actually communicate with us. For example, if she's getting fussy and I sign "nurse" to her, she'll calm down because she knows what's coming.

But in the past week or so, she's developed her own sign! For birds, of all things.

I don't know why she chose "bird" to be her first real sign, but any time we're outside and she sees or hears birds, she does the same thing. It's not the "true" sign for bird, but because it's the same consistent sign and she only does it for birds, it counts. So, when she sees or hears birds, she looks around for them, waves her arm over her heard and goes "ffft" with her mouth.

It's very, very cute, I promise.

And with all the talk of birdies in our house lately, I was reminded of this awesome set of pictures of Fin. So I'm throwing in another Fin story from the mom-memory archives!

A while back (okay, it was February of this year, so Fin was 2yrs, 2 months old here) Fin and GaGa were having lunch at her house. They were talking about all the things they saw out the window and several birds were hanging out on the fence.




Fin was learning to count at that time, so they counted the three birds hanging out there.



Then, as birds will, they flew away.

Fin shouted out, "Come back birdies!" and one did! The look on his face was priceless.

I was so glad I was there with a camera to capture the pure joy and surprise on his face when that bird came back.

Genius Baby!

Okay, I realize that most parents probably think their kid is the smartest, sweetest, cutest most amazing child on the planet. Dave and I definitely fall into that category of parents. I try to temper my parental amazement and recognize that many parents feel this way, but then Fin does something like he did this morning and I am even more convinced that we are right. ;)

This morning before I left for work Fin and I were getting in some play time and he kept pointing at the row of hooks we have behind the front door. He knows the sign for "hat" but wasn't doing it - just pointing and making his "want that!" sound over and over. I finally asked him if he wanted to play with the hats (which he often does) and he did the "hat" sign and nodded.

I got the hats down - one for him, one for Baby Chewie and one for me - and he played with them for a few minutes, but still kept pointing over my shoulder at the hooks. I told him we had all the hats and still he pointed and demanded that there was something he wanted but could not communicate.

I realized he was pointing at the umbrella and told him that it wasn't safe to play with. He pointed and demanded, I gave him hats and tried to be silly and distract him. We had a couple of empty wrapping paper tubes nearby that we use as instruments and light sabers from time to time and I tried to get him to play with those instead.

Finally, realizing that mommy was not going to give in and hand him the umbrella he so desperately wanted to play with, Fin stood up, grabbed the wrapping paper tube and walked over to the umbrella. He tried to maneuver the tube under the umbrella strap and tried to push the umbrella up off the hook, all while mommy stared on in amazement!

He eventually gave up, dropped the tube and came back to jump on mommy's tummy, but WOW! This 15-month-old kid knew that he could use the cardboard tube as a tool to get the umbrella that was on a hook and out of his reach!

I swear, he amazes me every single day with all that he knows and can do.

He even put daddy's shoes on this morning and stomped around the living room for a while, giggling at how silly he was being with giant shoes on his little feet.

Smart, cute, silly, sweet - what more could a mother ask for?