October 2010 - December 2010

It's been quite a while since I've caught up with things in a long-term kind of way, so I decided to back-track a little bit in order to keep track of our memories.  It looked like October was the month where I started to lose hold of recording the days.  So I'll start in October and finish up the year in pictures. 

 

 Jacob turned 7 at the end of the month.  I made his cake again this year and stuck with the baseball theme, but this time I think I got it right.  The year before he'd asked for a baseball cake, so I made it in the shape of a giant baseball.  Jacob explained to me that when he asked for a baseball cake, he's wanted a baseball themed cake.  So I waited a whole year to redeem myself, and this was the result.

 We asked again that people not bring presents for Jacob's birthday, but instead could bring a donation for the animal sanctuary.  After his birthday we took our annual trip to the sanctuary and turned in our donations.  We took a tour and Jacob sponsored a rabbit named Harvey.

 For Halloween, Jacob wanted to be Jorge Posada.  I found a decently priced jersey at Target, and then had a hell of a time getting the letters and numbers on the back the right way.  But it was worth it, I think he looked pretty cool.

I always try to match the kids up somehow for Halloween.  Since Jacob was a catcher for the Yankees, Sabine became a baseball.  I found a used homemade baseball costume on ebay for six or seven dollars, and it was just the right size.  It was a nice, warm outfit for another frigid and rainy Halloween.

 My brother and his girlfriend, Katie, got engaged.  Congratulations!  More family drama to come, I'm sure!

 Jacob and Sabine are both still taking gymnastics lessons.  Sabine takes a class on her own now (no longer parent and tot).  She's awesome; taking classes with four year-olds but doing just as well, or better.

In November we hosted Ace, a black lab puppy, but huge nevertheless.  We pet-sat for the better part of a week and it was chaos.  Zach and I decided that we were definitely at our max with kids and pets; we were full-up at two kids and six animals.  It was just a few days later that I found out I'm pregnant.

  

We also played host to a number of the kids' fantasies.  Little Baby (in the foreground) started joining us at the dinner table on most nights, as well as certain Lucky members of Bob the Builder's crew (Roley, Dizzy, Muck and Party Muck can be seen in the background).

 Years after his obsession with his animal friends began, Jacob is still enjoying setting up dinner parties and luncheons for his crew.

 

Sabine provided me with many photo opportunities.  Here she had just gotten into my makeup and discovered the enhancing effect of lipstick. 

Just being a ham.

  

Little Baby got the thrill of her life when she was asked to be a stand-in for Baby Jesus at Christmastime.  I find that her pose is actually quite conducive to filling that role.

 Sabine got to spend lots of time with her cousins around Christmas.  Here she is finally coming out of her shell and warming up to twins, Nicholos and Christopher, respectively.

 I attempted a from-scratch gingerbread house.  While our efforts started out strong...

...The final result ended in disaster.

 For Christmas gifts this year, we use all home-made wrapping paper.  My favorite design was Jacob's reindeer.

And then it snowed and snowed, and snowed some more.  The end.

Thirty

So I turned 30 yesterday.  Yikes.  If you'll notice, I changed just a few small things on the front page of my blog, including the brief description under the blog title.  When I started this blog I was still sort of a young mom; 23 is young these days in terms of having kids.  But now most of my old school friends are having kids and so 30 is not really such a young age to have kids.  I'm still a mom of young kids, but not so much new at it anymore.

Also, maybe some of you noticed that I stopped posting my daily pictures a couple weeks back?  Or most likely no one really noticed.  I didn't mean to stop so abruptly like that, I meant to make it official and sort of announce it, but one day I got caught up deciding which picture to post and I never got around to narrowing it down to one.  Then I realized that summer was actually over (that was the original challenge - one photo per day all summer long) so I was off the hook.

I really enjoyed putting myself to the test of posting every day like that, and I plan to continue - just needed a little break.  As I was explaining to someone the other day, though, the challenge for me was not in coming up with a photo to post every single day, the hard part for me was narrowing it down to just one picture.  In that way I think I've really condensed our experience of living through this summer and revisiting that time period by going back to old posts will be a much more easier thing to do.  I feel like I've boxed up our memories, the things that were most important, and I'm so happy for having done so.

So I will continue with my project for the fall of 2010.  I wanted to start fresh on the first day of October, but I was too occupied with becoming old turning 30 and whatnot.

Day 90: Protective Gear

This is Jacob (in case you couldn't tell) during the sanding of the floors. What a mess that was and thank God it's over! Zach's dad came up a couple days to help out. Thank you again to him. We're slowly cleaning things up and moving furniture back in. Today we got our living room back into shape, but slightly rearranged. We almost switched the dining room and the living room, but ended up not doing so. And thank you to our moms for helping out with that process!

When we first moved in to our house we had a newborn and things we in a lot more disorder than they are now. I've always sort of felt because Jacob entered the world into a house of chaos, that the chaos naturally spilled over into the way we were with him. I feel like he didn't have a lot of routine and that's carried over into the rest of our years with him. I'm hoping that the disorder of the past few weeks (which coincided with him starting school) won't mark the rest of his school career. I'm hoping I can calm down soon and get to a point with the house where I feel like it's done and then concentrate on all the things I've volunteered to do for his school.

Dear Jacob, Dear Sabine

Dear Jacob,

It seems like lately every night when the day is coming to an end or you've just fallen asleep, I start to think about the day and feel bad for being too hard on you. I feel like that most days, and I'm so sad for it. We're constantly butting heads, and I'm always walking on eggshells around you. We have really awesome times in between all that, but the rough patches somehow always creep back in.

There are multiple theories from multiple people, but I guess sometimes it just comes down to a normal part of growing up. After a certain fight has passed and I've had time to reflect I usually come up with something that feels a little like a revelation and gives me hope. In the past, I've decided we had too much time together and we needed a break, or we didn't have enough alone time with each other. I've come to the conclusion that you're bored, or we've been home too much, not home enough, etc.

This time I've realized that you and Sabine hardly ever get away from each other. Even when you're away from me, you're usually together. And even though you get along really, really well, I think it's starting to become too much, because, yes, Sabine has become an extremely (at times) annoying two year old. So I realized the other day when she took a really long nap, and you played for two hours straight with your little animals and did voices for them, had them set up all around the house, that you don't get to play like that anymore - completely uninterrupted and in your own world because Sabine is always butting in. This realization didn't come too late, but I wish it had come a little sooner in the summer.

I've learned so much from being your mom, I'm sorry sometimes it takes me a while to catch on. When you were Sabine's age I discovered the way to get you to do things was to pretend that we were animals, you the baby and me the mommy, and we would pretend our way through what we needed to do. When you got a little older, I figured out I just had to use a funny voice or accent and you'd do what I wanted. These are techniques I'll surely use on Sabine, thanks for helping me learn them!

You're starting first grade in a couple weeks and I am incredibly sad to see you go. You're so excited about school. I think the time away from me and Sabine will do you good, but sometimes I wish it could be just you and me again.


Dear Sabine,

I started a post for you way back before you turned two in June. I was including things like how many words you used and different milestones. I never finished it and now none of it really matters because you are a completely different person. There is so much about you, I never know where to start. These days you can get pretty annoying. You talk a lot when we're at home, but hardly ever around other people. Even though you're talking more now, I still think of you as a kid who doesn't talk yet. Maybe it's because so much of your communication is through gestures and signs, and more of your personality comes out in that way.

You're definitely a caretaker, always worrying about what the animals and if they've been fed, or where they are in the house. You really look out for Jacob, sometimes acting like a little shepherdess, herding him to me when I'm trying to get his attention. You are a little boss. You like to point things out to us and you like everyone in the room to see what it is and comment on it.

You're also really cute and cuddly, maybe just slightly less snuggly than Jacob, but that's only because he is the king snuggling. You really like to read books with us now. I love this, the three of us sitting there reading books, it's just started to become a thing. You are really going to miss Jacob when he's in school. I'm looking forward to seeing how we traverse through our days with him gone.

Anyway, the two of you are right here next to me now, and in this moment it's mostly Jacob who won't be quiet. He's talking about something random - wanting a box of poison. He's trying to get a reaction from me - and he just won't stop. So I have to end this before it goes sour.

I don't think I'm going to try to do anymore of these posts (even though it's been several months anyway) because it's too stressful to capture all the dimensions of you guys in writing. Maybe I'll come back to it someday.

I do, however, want to post these pictures I just took of the two of you. I had this #2 that a lot of the kids in our club have had in their possession for their second birthday, and I couldn't pass it along yet because I hadn't taken your picture next to it with your birthday dress on. I'd been meaning to all summer, and decided that today was perfect because you're two years, two months and two days old today. So before I put you in your jammies, I put you in that dress that will still probably be your birthday dress next year, and we took pictures. You got really into it, as did Jacob. The pictures are so cute, I'm going to post as many as I can so that I can remember how cute and loving you guys can be!

Love,

Mommy

Day 65: Dutch Wonderland

I'd been waiting a whole year to go back here and take a picture like this. Click on the photo to see the one just like it from last year. Last year they look all bright and cheery; this year they look tired and sullen.

We really loved Dutch Wonderland last year, and it's a good thing that we did have an enjoyable first experience because if this year's trip was our first time, we probably wouldn't go back in the future. Last year we were there on a weekday, so it was much less crowded. Also, we had arrived the night before and purchased out tickets for the next day after 5:30pm, which allowed us to get into the park that evening with the next day's tickets. Having those extra few hours there really made a difference. Not to mention the fact that this year we were alone, as opposed to last year when we traveled with my mom and Jamie. It just wasn't the same without them.

We did have a good time, but after the car ride the day before and then the late-night tent set-up, we were all exhausted. It's hard to enjoy something to the fullest when you're that worn out.

Day 63: Yes, we take our camera in hot tubs

This is just one of the great shots that I wanted to post of the April trip but this is the last day I'd prepared to be posting them. This photo won out because I liked the title I gave it. It's from the hotel in Virginia on our way back home from Myrtle Beach. We like to get our money's worth when we stay at hotels so we squeezed in this visit to the pool and here is the cuteness Zach captured from within the hot tub.

If everything went as planned, we got home last night, and if I can upload, and touch-up and all that, our photos fast enough, I can start posting the Cape May photos for tomorrow.

Ahh, it feels good to be home (that's funny because as of this writing, I haven't left yet).

Day 62: Bessie

I can't remember is this ole girl actually had a name, or if I was just calling her Bessie. Either way, I think sitting atop this cow outside the ice cream shop was the highlight of the trip for Sabine. She freaking loves animals and sitting on a cow was the end all, be all for her. Not to mention the fact that it's a really, really cute photo of my kids.

Day 61: Curly Girl

Here's Sabine playing in the sand. She was so cute and peaceful, and her hair was blowing in the breeze; I absolutely love how her hair curls up at the beach and in the humidity. This was one of our favorite photos of Sabine at the time. Zach took this picture (she actually just in the sand of the volleyball court) while I was playing tennis just a few yards away. He was so proud to have gotten a shot that I really liked.

Day 60: Will Trade Sister

Here we are back at the miniature golf course. This picture was taken after we were done golfing, after I'd almost thrown the kids in the water half a dozen times.

We bought this shirt for Jacob last year in a Cracker Barrel while we were traveling to a wedding in Virginia. As soon as I saw the shirt I knew they'd made it for Jacob; aside from the fact that he would never actually trade her. But he is such a good sport that he totally jokes around about it with everyone who comments on the shirt. And it is the most-commented piece of clothing thus far/

Day 59: Wild Goose Chase

Here we are again back on the golf course, but I liked to think of it as the backyard. Sabine was really into the geese and she liked to follow them around. This is my brother again in the photo, he followed her following the geese. He just thinks Sabine is the best thing since sliced bread - I've never seen him like that about a kid. I am trying to figure a way to get his affections for her funneled into paying for her college tuition?

Day 57: Reflections on Sunglasses

This is the one and only picture you'll see of me on this trip because I was always the one taking them. So this is Jessica, daughter of my step-sister, Kelly. And if you can't tell, that's me in the reflection. I take a lot of sunglasses reflection pictures. I don't know why.

Day 56: Beach Building

OK, here's a picture of Jacob, along with Marisa and my brother. He got up from the sun-bathing for a few minutes to participate in the obligatory Uncle Time. I don't think they built anything really amazing though because otherwise I would have taken a picture of it.

Day 55: Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach is where we went in April (with my family) and since I never posted pictures of that trip, I am doing it now, while we are at another beach (with Zach's family). This photo was taken from the back patio of the place we rented, it looks out onto a gold course. Here's my sister playing with Sabine. I wanted to post a picture of Easter Sunday when everyone was dressed up, but none of the pictures were decent enough. This is actually Easter, just later in the day. I just like the quality of this photo and it's a nice stolen moment...or something like that. I'm worried that all of these Myrtle Beach photos are going to end up being of Sabine (and not my other child) because, well, she was really cute on that trip, and Jacob was always off playing with Marisa.

Day 54: Road Trip

This picture was taken back in April, while we were driving our way down to SC. I'm posting it today because this is pretty much what we're going to be doing today. Not much has changed since then. Sabine is still rear-facing in that carseat, I just stitched up the outfit she's wearing because it's still too big on her, and that John Deere hat has officially been passed down to her from Jacob. In this photo Sabine is being silly doing funny legs things while wearing Jacob's hat. And I was probably nauseous from having to ride in the back. My kids don't often sleep in the car and a lot of entertaining has to take place, so this image could just as well be from today. I will give them credit though, they are good travelers. And I really hope that comment doesn't come back to bite me.

Day 37: High School, the 2nd Generation

A few weeks ago I had a playgroup here for some of my high school friends and their kids. I've gotten together with high school friends since we graduated, and I've spent time with high school friends' children since they've been in existence, but this was the first time this number of us had been in one place with all of our kids at the same time. Not to mention the fact that one of the moms present was my old best friend whom I hadn't even spoken to in 10 years.

There were five of us moms/former classmates, and eight kids between us. The extra two are my niece, Marisa, and Stella's granddaughter. It was a little mind-blowing. We kept throwing around phrases like, "How the heck did this happen?!" and, "How did we even have enough time to produce all these children?" and, "Look what we did." I like that last one the best, it was sort of a proud statement and it was so different for me than it is with any of my other mom friends. These are the girls who knew me before I had kids. Actually, Jacob is the age right now that I was when I met the first of these moms....weird.

Day 15: Sabine in Black and White

I don't really have anything 4th of July related to post today, but I wanted to do something special, so here's this classic-looking photo of Sabine when we were down at Tom and Chris's in May. Sabine ran around au natural for a while, and at one point plopped down in the walkway to pile rocks all over her legs. Perfect childhood moments.

Day 11: The Night They Lost

Here's Jacob looking all cool heading into the stadium. Zach took this because Sabine and I didn't go to the game. I told Zach I'd be much happier in the hotel room and would rather just have the cash that he wasn't spending on a ticket for me. Sabine and I headed to the Inner Harbor and walked around for a while before heading back to the hotel to read and have some quiet time. Of course I never saw the cash.

Anyway, this was the first game that the Yankees lost to the Orioles this season. For a long time the boys were really bummed that the game they'd been at was the one where their team lost. But now I'm told that the Yankees have lost to them again, so I guess all is well?

Making our own Indoor Fun

I posted earlier about all our outdoor fun this winter. Outdoor activities tend to set themselves up; they're there for the doing and they're pretty much the same from year to year, with just the details changing. It's being indoors during the winter that dictates the need for creativity. We did a lot of crazy things in the name of staying sane this year. I'll file them under the title 'Cabin Fever'.

We made it to Christmas in a pretty good frame of mind.
Here's some of the cousins at Christmas.
Everyone looks happy and healthy.

Jacob got a remote-control helicopter for Christmas,
and initially I was like, "Couldn't you have given
him something a little more educational?" But it turns
out this thing was a lifesaver many times. Jacob passed
many hours mastering this - I still can't figure out how
to fly the thing. He also enjoyed torturing the dogs and
scaring Sabine with it.

We had a lot of hot chocolate parties...Sabine really
got the hang of drinking from a mug. All in the name
of chocolate, that's my girl.

Sabine thought she'd take it upon herself to
claim some of her very own computer time.

She also stepped it up a notch in terms of
hiding places and fitting into small spaces.
(that's her behind the shades)

I cleaned out my old make-up and let Jacob
use it for some really creative projects.

Zach and the dogs even started going loopy.

A bakery truck must have crashed in front of our
house because one day I came home to find 50
baguettes laying in our front yard. The dogs discovered
the frozen bread on the front lawn and they spent
the next two weeks dedicated to the goal of
digging it out and eating it. Ginger
succeeded one day and came running into the house
with a full loaf of it sticking horizontally out of
her mouth. It was the first time I ever saw her
stick up for her food when Mango tried to take it away.
Must be some bakery.

Sabine kisses everything with a face. One night at
dinner she discovered the honey bear had a face
and it was all we could do to keep her from climbing
over her plate to get to him for a smooch.

She also spent a lot of time in that hat, at times
pairing it with sunglasses. She rocked that look.
And she knew it.

The most exciting part of my winter was when
the new recycling bin came and we could suddenly
get rid of the piles of plastic I'd been accumulating.
"But look at all the things I can recycle that I couldn't
before!" I said in disbelief as I was setting up this photo.

I was taking photos for an Annie's contest, to win
a basket of goodies. The kids thought it was the
coolest thing that I let them eat right out of the
box - they stuffed their faces in fear of me taking
it away. They may be skinny, but this proves they
can house an entire box of crackers in one sitting.

The little one discovered diaper cream.

Zach invented "the Bull"

This is the first thing that usually happens
when he comes home from work now. The kids
hardly give him a chance to get in the door
before they jump him.

The game, it appears, will continue for
generations to come. Thanks Winter.