Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Let it snow!

Well, we have been very busy around here, as you may have guessed due to the lack of blog posts! Paige's little brother, Adam Joseph, entered the world on Thurs Oct 16th at 8 lbs 8 oz and 20.5 inches long. He is growing so fast! I can't believe we marked his two-month birthday yesterday!

We had visits from all the grandparents after Adam's birth. We're so happy they got to meet him, and so grateful for their help with all the daily chores of life (like cooking, dishes, and laundry!), which I took a hiatus from while nursing Adam every 2- 3 hours, and sleeping in one-hour intervals. Ugh. Fortunately, he is eating a little less often, so I now have time to fix the occasional meal (hot dogs and macaroni and cheese counts as "cooking", right?!).

Adam started smiling about two weeks ago. He now has a couple of "happy times" every day, when he likes to stare at the nearest human face, smile, and coo. As sleep-deprived parents, we are eating this up! It is so exciting to have him interacting with us!

During our blog silence, we also celebrated Paige's second birthday. Photos below. Paige has caught on to the gift tradition & is now eagerly looking forward to Christmas! Among her favorite birthday gifts were the magic-writer doodle tablet (think etch-a-sketch, but with a magnetic pen) and her refrigerator alphabet letters ("L, L says LLLL! Every letter makes a sound and L says LLLL!"). She likes to play letters first thing in the morning while I'm fixing breakfast. Some days, that first cup of coffee can't come soon enough! On a positive note, she memorized the alphabet song after having this new toy only two days. She can now sing her ABC's even if she doesn't know what they all mean yet.

The title of this post refers to the six inches or so of snow we've gotten in the past 24 hours. Paige loves playing in the snow, although she dislikes wearing mittens. This causes a problem, so we limit our snow time to short stretches.

Paige continues to make us laugh on a daily basis. Her latest trick is to say how much she LOVES everything. "Paige LOVES Elmo!" "Paige LOVES Play-Doh!" "Paige LOVES baby Adam!" Of course, that always make us smile!

She is also still imitating much of what we say and do. The other day, I was cleaning the bathroom while Paige watched. The next morning, we had this conversation:
Paige: Paige need the big brush.
Mom: What big brush?
Paige: Paige need the big brush.
Mom: What do you need the big brush for?
Paige: To clean the toilet! Paige wanna clean the toilet!


Paige got a kitchen for her birthday



Paige loved her birthday cake



Family of Four



Adam dressed as a cat on Halloween



Paige as a duck and Adam's first Halloween

Monday, October 6, 2008

On Books & Reading

I'll have to stretch just a little to make this post about Paige (see promo below).
Paige is currently requesting the following to be read to her (over & over again):
Ten Apples Up on Top (Dr. Seuss)
Just In Case You Ever Wonder (Max Lucado) - note Paige calls this book "God"
Any of the Sweet Pickles books (Jacquelyn Reinach and Richard Hefter)
Whistle for Willie (Ezra Jack Keats)


Promo for Open Books:
Are your bookshelves bursting at the seams? Do you have books you'd like to donate to a good cause? Open Books is making it easier than ever for gently used books to benefit others by presenting The Great American Book Drive™. Let us find your used books a new home! A large percent of the profits from their sale will fund reading programs in the local Chicago community. It's about literacy, not landfill.
Sunday, October 26
10 am - 4 pm
213 W. Institute Place
Chicago, IL 60610
Open Books Link

Monday, September 1, 2008

Grandma & Jaja's visit

Can't believe I didn't post about our visit from Grandma Joy & Grandpa Joe! Here are some highlights in pictures.

Cream Puff at the Wisc St Fair



Posing as Cows at the Wisc St Fair




Paige with mom, dad, grandma, and jaja




Paige with second cousin & new best bud Allison

Bathroom bonanza

If you are not a parent, you may want to skip this post-- it will be graphic!

Paige got her own potty at the beginning of the summer and began using it occasionally when prompted back in June. Then we remodeled our bathroom, and this threw her off for a while while the bathroom was under construction. Lately she has been trying again, with prompting. Today she went in her potty FOUR TIMES!! Three pees and a poop! I am SO PROUD!! Granted, it was only the poop where she told me she had to go. For the others, I just took off her pants & sat her on the potty at logical times (after nap, after dinner, etc). And she did the rest. She might be somewhat motivated by the new foaming Elmo soap that Dad bought her recently. She now LOVES to wash her hands with it. And I did reward her with watching a few episodes of Thomas and Friends tonight... We will have to think of alternate rewards besides TV, since there is a limit to that!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Zoo and Sneezes

Paige and her new nanny, Rose, went to the zoo yesterday. Paige came back chattering about monkeys, zebras, snakes, goats and more. The weather was great and they had so much fun! Paige found the bus ride to the zoo just about as exciting as the zoo itself. However, on the bus ride home, she fell asleep.

When I came back from my doctor's appointment this afternoon, I had a band-aid on my arm where I had a blood sample taken. Paige is fascinated with band-aids and immediately spotted mine. She reached for it and tried to pull it off, but I said "No, mama has a boo boo. I need to keep the band-aid on." Paige said "boo boo" several times, then bent her little head down and kissed my arm! Talk about melting my heart!

Tonight while I was fixing Paige a bedtime snack (of Cheerios and milk- what else?!), I sneezed. Her little voice said "bless you!" I was so surprised, I almost forgot to say "thank you!" Then she proceeded to repeat back to me "sneeze, bless you, thank you" several times to be sure I understood the sequence of events. She often signs "thank you" at the same time as she says it, for added effect. She is absorbing more every day - and not just words, but also their meaning. She is starting to make connections from books to real life, and from one situation to another. What a miracle and a joy to watch!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

July Summer Fun

Our valiant efforts at blogging have dropped from weekly to monthly, but we hope that's still better than never! Over July 4th weekend, we hosted Uncle Mike, Aunt Molly and Paige's cousins. We took them on the El train for the first time, showed off our local parks, and hosted a great July 4th BBQ. Paige attended two birthday parties that weekend as well!

Paige with cousin Payton



July 4th BBQ



Kids at the BBQ



On the second July weekend, we all drove up to the north suburbs for a family picnic on Steve's side, where Paige rode on a tire swing for the first time. She had a blast playing with the "big girls" and great-aunt Sharon's house.

On the tire swing



Then we hosted Grandma Karen & Grandpa Joe (AKA Pop-pop) for a 5-day visit, during which Paige kept them playing at the park & walking with the stroller & bike as much as possible. We had HOT weather, but a very fun visit!

With Grandma and Pop-pop

Thursday, June 19, 2008

June Summer Fun

We've set up the sprinkler a few times in the back yard, although Paige prefers a bucket of water with some scoops to play with instead. ice cubes are also very popular on hot days, just to hold & watch them melt in her hand. Here she is in the sprinkler.


Paige loves to have playmates these days. Here she is hanging out with Loren (12 months younger).



And finally, a doll story for Grandma. Grandma sent Paige home from Ohio with a box full of dolls that were mine when I was younger (see photo below). Paige has enjoyed playing with them. Lately she is starting to "care" for them more too. This morning, she put a doll in her stroller, then gave the doll her sippee cup & said "drink drink." Tonight when I was putting her to bed, she said, "baby baby" so we had to hold a baby doll in the rocking chair with us while singing our bedtime songs. Paige picked up the doll & held her face close, so I thought she was going to kiss the doll. But instead, Paige rubbed her nose on the doll's nose for an Eskimo kiss! Then she handed me the doll & said "night night" so we put the doll to "sleep" on the bookshelf. Very sweet.

May wrap up

Oh dear, I've done it again! Let May slip by without posting all that happened! We went to Ohio to see the grandparents. Paige got a new bike. We went to a pirate birthday party, where Paige had fun dancing!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Zoo Visit

I took Paige to the zoo last weekend with another mom & her son, who is 3 months older than Paige. What a blast! She is finally old enough to enjoy watching the animals & imitating their many noises. She especially enjoyed the petting zoo. You can bet we will be visiting the zoo again soon!


Monday, May 19, 2008

Dirt!

Paige helped mom plant flowers in every available pot last Friday. We had beautiful weather. With good help like this, we may have to get more pots & more flowers!


Digging in the dirt!



Wearing one of dad's old t-shirts to keep clean. Ha ha.



Mama's helper

Thursday, May 8, 2008

What happened to April

You know, the month between March (last post) and May (current date)?! We knew it would be busy before it even began...

On April 1, Beth returned from a long weekend trip to Las Vegas with a friend (and no baby!) for some fun in the sun.

In front of a fountain at The Wynn



Two weeks later, Grandma Sara and Grandpa D arrived to help care for Paige while Beth flew to NY for business. The grandparents left just before the stomach flu struck our household for the second time in two months. Paige & Beth got it bad; Steve got it just enough to feel queasy.

Our family before the stomach flu. Photo credit: Grandpa D.



Days later, Steve packed his suitcase for a 6-day training session in Orlando, leaving Beth on single-mom duty and still recovering from the flu. We slept a lot that week.

On April 23, Paige & Beth flew down to FL as well to meet up with Steve & visit with his parents, brother, sis-in-law, & nephew. We had fantastic weather & a really fun visit with the family. Paige loved chasing their cat. For days after we got home, we heard "meow meow" all over our house (even though we do not have a cat).

Family portrait




Paige makes friends with Chow Chow the cat




Cousin JJ teaches Paige some rock star moves




Paige with Grandma Joy




Paige models her swimsuit

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Easter

We took Paige to church on Easter Sunday. It was of course crowded. The music was especially loud - trumpets & all. Church started at 10:30. Paige's usual nap time is 11:00. She STILL fell asleep at naptime, depsite the crowds and music!

We went out for lunch later that day to celebrate Easter and Daddy's birthday. The BBQ was very tasty! Paige made friends with two little girls at a nearby table, and they danced and twirled in their Easter dresses. I caught it on video before the battery died.


Here's another video of Paige trying on mom's slippers.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Honk!

Our little ham is at it again! In the bathtub tonight, she was imitating daddy by batting her eyes at him. Of course, daddy had his eyes closed to avoid getting bubbles splashed in his eyes. But watching Paige do it just cracked us both up!

During story time (part of the bedtime routine), she pressed daddy's nose & made him say "honk!" Then she turned to mommy and pressed her nose - "honk!" again! Paige alternated between mom's nose and dad's nose about 10 times each before we all cracked up laughing! Who would have thought that honking noses could be so much fun?!

Paige had her 15-month check up this week. In spite of ANOTHER cold, she passed with a generally clean bill of health and is meeting all her developmental milestones. Our girl weighs 23 pounds (50-75th percentile) and is 32 7/8 inches tall! (off the chart for height) There's no secret to what we feed her: just plain good food, and lots of it.

More photos coming soon.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Little Valentine

Paige and mom went out to a special Valentine's lunch last Thursday. She got a pancake & some of my omelet. Paige also cleaned up on the Valentine's cards! Thanks to all the grandparents for sending their love. The Minnie Mouse stickers were a big hit (and are still stuck to the back door & the toilet lid!). Here's a photo of quite possible the cutest Valentine ever (not that I'm biased...)

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Goodnight Moon

This has become one of Paige's favorite books. She often pulls it out for me to read to her. She points at the two little kittens and says "meow meow". When I read the line about "the quiet old lady whispering hush," she repeats "hush hush."

Last night, when we got out of the car, the moon was bright and high in the sky already. Paige pointed to it and asked "dat? dat?" her way of saying she wants to know what that is. I explained that it was the moon, like in her book. We read the book again when we got ready for bed last night. I hope this is only our first chance to integrate what she learns in books with the real world!

Gratuitous cute photo included below.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Chatterbox

Paige has been babbling for many months now, and most of the time, her inflection and rhythms mirror actual speech. We just have no idea what she's saying. Lately, she's adding high-pitched screeches and squeals to the mix, mainly when she is not getting her way. No, squealing will not get you more time in the bathtub or get you out of the carseat any sooner, but thanks for trying!

Her mastery of language now includes pig noises (snorts really) and cat noises (meow meow which sounds more like "mel mel") whenever a pig or cat appears in one of her books or on the CD with Old MacDonald Had a Farm. We have one book with both a pig and cat in it, and she provides background noise all the way through!

Another accomplishment is using the sign for "more" much more frequently. We get less pointing and grunting (and jumping and squirming) at the table, and more pointing and signing instead. She is becoming a pleasant table guest, and I think even Emily Post would be proud. Did I mention she loves her veggies, too?!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Hamming it up for the camera

Steve caught Paige on video on his phone - here are some fun clips. They do have sound although video quality is not quite as good as the regular camera. Still, they are worth watching! Enjoy!

In this movie, Paige is sitting in her booster seat. First she does her chicken move, then she plays along while mom sings Itsy Bitsy Spider. Watch those little fingers trying to make a spider!

In this movie, Paige models a hat, checks herself out in the mirror, and plays a little peek-a-boo with dad.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Words

Just a quick post to list all the words Paige knows so far: mama, dada, Hannah, up, hot, help, night-night, bye-bye, ba ba (bottle), all done, dat (that), dis (this), ahpen (open), boom. She often signs "more" especially for cheese, cheerios, and blueberry muffins. She's learning all the time-- amazing what a sponge her little mind is!

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

2007 Holidays

What a whirlwind the last month has been! We went out to lunch on Christmas Eve at Jury's as a family, then attended mass at 4:30 to watch the older kids at Holy Trinity act out the Christmas story. We each opened one gift at home.


Christmas morning started early (as every morning does with our resident rooster). We opened our gifts and enjoyed a quiet day at home. Paige got caught up in the bows, ribbons, and brightly-colored paper, so that it took her over half an hour to open her loot! We made our own delicious Christmas dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and home-made fudge for dessert.


We welcomed friends from Tampa, as well as local friends, for a gathering on Dec 26. The kids ranged from 6 weeks to 2 1/2 years and got along wonderfully. We enjoyed hosting and hope it's the first of many parties we'll have in our new home.


We traveled to Ohio to see family after Christmas. Paige loved playing with her cousins, and the grandparents just ate up all the energy running around!