Nesting with Niall

Baby Brendan Is Here!

2012-01-27T20:06:00.003-05:00

Elated, exhausted, delirious, melting with joy and disappointed all at the same time... Baby Brendan is here- happy and healthy and cute as can be, but he came into this world by the dreaded c-section. I'll give the full birth story next week, when I have a chance to sit down and do it right (after some much needed rest).

We're all safe and healthy, so I know that's all that matters. It's just that it's going to be a long, rough recovery- especially when Niall wants me to pick him up all the time and I'm trying so hard to give him extra attention and love.

Anyway, I'll get into all that later. For now, enjoy some photos...

STATS:
name: Brendan Michael McCullough
birth date: Saturday, January 21
birth time: 6:06pm
weight: 6 lb 15 oz
length: 19 inches
family consensus: looks just like big bro, Niall :)

Niall was definitely a little skeptical at first, but now he loves his little bro...

More to come soon :)

Niall loves your votes!

The Home Stretch

2012-01-16T15:22:00.002-05:00

Well, this is it. Game time. 4 days to go until my due date and I'm completely in the zone.

I'm trying to visualize every detail and hoping that my undeterred focus will help Brendan to get his little cute butt moving. I don't want a repeat of what happened with Niall.

For those of you who don't know, I planned a natural, drug-free birth for Niall, but was forced to be induced when he was 6 days past due. I lasted 24 hours with cytotec-induced contractions but soon found out that I had only made it to 1 cm. That's when it was time to crank the epidural and the pitocin. 20 more hours later and I had almost made it to 2cm. What a sick joke, I remember thinking. It was c-section time... and let the waterfall of tears begin.

It all turned out ok, but I was not about to let that happen this time around. I took a hypnobirthing class to help with relaxation, meditation, breathing and visualization. I really feel ready this time, even though I did take a similar class (Bradley method) last time. I think part of me saw the whole birth thing as so completely surreal, that I never really believed I could do it. I knew all the methods, all the steps, all the facts, but the confidence was lacking.

I'm still not quite 100% cool, calm and collected this time, but I have really come a long way. Of course, there is some nervousness about the risks of VBAC, but those same risks are involved with major surgery. So it's a double edged sword, really.

I've worked hard to talk to Brendan every day over the last month, telling him what was going to happen, where to position himself, etc. And I've been telling myself every night before bed what I need to do to achieve a successful natural birth. I can't wait for him to come and I've decided that tomorrow is going to be the big day, so please send your prayers and good vibes my way.

So far, my attempts to visualize have been wildly successful! I was checked at my last midwife appointment and found out that I"m 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated-- exactly what I had pictured in my mind that whole week.

Anyway, I have the whole day tomorrow planned out in my head and I'm hoping that my continued determination will manifest itself physically. A lot is riding on the success of this birth. I want to have 4 or 5 kids, so I can't just keep having c-sections. This natural birth has to happen because after 2 c-sections, natural birth becomes more risky.

I know I can do this. My fortune cookie told me so:

How much more encouraging can it get?! This baby is coming out and it's not going to be through a gash in my stomach this time! Wish me luck :)

Niall loves your votes!

Quality Time

2012-01-12T15:59:00.001-05:00

I realized last week that the time is really ticking for some QT with Niall before baby Brendan arrives. So yesterday, we went for a really special outing-- one that probably wasn't the best idea for a 9 months pregnant woman to take on with a couple of 2 year olds.

My friend and I took our boys to their first movie in front of the big screen... but not just a 'hop in the car and go to the nearest theater' movie. We made a full day of it and rode the metro into DC (another first). Double whammy-- trains and movies! Doesn't get much better than that in Niall's world.

No carseat!? Jackpot!

I have to admit, I'm not really that motivated (or crazy) to take on a journey like this by choice. The reason we went all the way into the city was because it was the only movie time that started before noon. But it ended up being a really fun experience. They were both angels the whole time- on the train and in the theater. I guess when there's this much stimulation and entertainment, how could you throw a tantrum, right?

Yes, let it be noted, the lucky selection for Niall's first movie ever was Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. I'm not gonna lie, it was actually pretty entertaining. But not quite as entertaining as watching him...

His arms were tucked behind his head like this the whole time, except when he pulled one hand out to shovel popcorn into his mouth every 30 seconds-- a boy after both his mommy's and daddy's heart. Matt and I used to go see really bad movies at the theater just to get the popcorn. One time, all of the half-decent movies were sold out, so Matt had to convince the ticket collector to allow him to go up to the snack counter, buy a bucket of popcorn and then turn around and leave without even seeing a movie.

A word of advice for parents attempting to take a 2 year old to the movie theater: bring lots of jackets and maybe some medicine balls/ 5 pound dumbells. You know how our big butts hold the folding seat down, no problem? Well, their little tushies don't even come close. Both boys were literally eaten by the movie seats-- totally stuck in the crevice because they weren't big enough to hold the seat down. It was pretty hysterical.

Nothing that a little reclining and popcorn can't fix ;)

Niall loves your votes!

True Love at the Aquarium

2012-01-10T15:29:00.001-05:00

I hope this never gets old. The whole "My kid's having so much fun that I'm having fun" thing. I was probably more excited to be at the aquarium this weekend (as a 27 year old) than I ever was as a kid-- just by watching Niall's reactions to everything.

Like, for instance, this is pretty cool-- a sting ray that is bigger than a person. I didn't even know they could get that big... but something about Niall yelling "WOOOAAAHHHHH" made me appreciate it that much more.

And you can imagine the "WOAH"s I got when we stepped up to the shark tank...

The reason we attended such a spectacular underwater show this weekend? True love... I mean, Niall's little friend's birthday.

But seriously, I hope they get married one day because they are so dang cute together.

She was a little freaked out by some of the displays, which I can't blame her for...

But Niall would excitedly try to hold her hand and run up to each window. And when he realized that she hung back for one particular window display or another, he would get really upset and look all around for her, yelling "Pypuh? Pypuh?" (translation: Piper)

Some of the stuff was really awesome to look at. Niall could have stood in front of some of these glass barriers all day.

Niall was even lucky enough to make another little friend while he was there...

This guy would follow Niall's every move. He would swim past and then immediately turn around and go right up to Niall's face. Which I'm sure made Niall feel really special because turtles are one of his favorite animals.

The catfish was kind of fascinated with him, too. I guess the animals got a show, themselves. Works on both sides of the glass ;)

But this was, by far, Niall's favorite display:

This really cool (and poisonous) blue tree frog was just sitting on top of the snake (Niall's other favorite animal) and the snake didn't do anything. I don't know if it was the amazing bright colors or just the fact that Niall is obsessed with snakes, but he cried for a little bit when we had to move on.

So we tried to make it worth his while after leaving the snake and frog exhibit and busted out the dolphins. I think he was pretty happy with that trade.

I'd say our day at the aquarium was pretty awesome.

But I think their day was even better (get lost, mom!)...

Niall loves your votes!

What happens in the chimney stays in the chimney

2012-01-06T13:39:00.000-05:00

After sitting by such a lovely, crackling fire at my in-laws' house over the holiday, Matt just couldn't let another year go by without lighting a fire of our own. The only problem: our 65 year old house has never once hosted a warm winter fire. How would we know if it was safe?

The people who lived here for 60 years before us said they were too afraid to ever light one because some neighbors down the street had a house fire caused by their fireplace. So last year, Matt asked me to have the chimney people come out and do an assessment-- which ended in a $3,000 estimate to fix all of the damage in our chimney. Bottom line: unsuitable for lighting fires in its current condition.

But Matt, being the chimney sweep expert that he is, decided that this evaluation was a scam to get money out of us and that our chimney was perfectly fine.

As much as I would like to believe him and let him have his simple little dream of sitting by a warm fire come true, I have a 2 year old and an unborn child to worry about these days. Those pipe dreams of risking our own lives are no longer a luxury we have.

So after expressing these concerns, what do I come home to one sunny Saturday afternoon? Matt is vacuuming out the chimney. Apparently, the obvious solution to a chimney unsuitable for holding a fire. Just vacuum it out, right?

Well, karma is a B--blundering experience, because as Matt was laying face up on his back, cleaning out the "twigs" and debris from in between the bricks, this fell right on his face:

The perfectly in-tact, fossilized remains of a 45 year old squirrel with some kind of stab wound to its side. Hopefully, Matt won't need a rabies shot from this one. But he did get his precious fire, finally. After I installed 2 carbon monoxide monitors on each floor, replaced all smoke detector batteries and forced Matt to dump a pitcher of water over each already-dead fire after it went out.

I have to admit, it is really nice to be able to snuggle up by a nice little fire on a chilly night. It makes you appreciate the winter a little more... and have nightmares of your house burning down, but whatevs.

Niall loves your votes!

Wordless Wednesday {Firestarter}

2012-01-04T13:43:00.000-05:00

How many dudes does it take to start a fire?

Niall loves your votes!

Cookie Monster

2012-01-02T08:59:00.001-05:00

It's been kind of tough since Christmas cookie season has officially come to an end. I find myself wandering around the kitchen, wondering "what am I going to do after breakfast, lunch and dinner now?" "WHERE'S MY COOKIE??"

But I know this is a good thing. 2 straight weeks of 5+ cookies per day probably doesn't bode well for avoiding gestational diabetes. Or getting back into shape after the baby comes. So I'm switching to tea, which tastes exactly the same as Christmas cookies ;)

But in the spirit of looking back on happy Christmas memories, here is a little glimpse of our cookie season this year...

A little tidbit of important info I learned this year: you can spend 12 hours making, rolling and refrigerating your own sugar cookie dough, or you can get the pre-cut, ready-to-go, already decorated sugar cookie dough that tastes exactly the same (or if you're me and not very good at baking, the refrigerated dough will actually taste better).

The exception is chocolate chip cookies-- I don't think the refrigerated dough does the trick... but the solution here is to get the bagged mix where you just add butter and an egg. Bottom line, don't bother with homemade cookie dough.

And another perk of the pre-decorated cookies was that Niall liked looking at them so much, he ran around the house holding his prized possession for an hour and wouldn't eat it.

Until the cookie melted into a million pieces in his clammy little hands, when he made a mad dash to shove the whole thing in his mouth as quickly as humanly possible. He really made the most of that cookie, God bless him.

Never waste a cookie around here, that's our motto.

Niall was just as devastated as I was when the cookie tin turned up empty. I quickly put the empty tins in the basement in the hopes that he would forget if he didn't see them. But I never forgot, no I don't think I ever will. Here's looking forward to next year's cookie season.

Niall loves your votes!

Lights

2011-12-29T15:07:00.003-05:00

I've seen more Christmas lights in the last month than I probably have in my entire childhood. Unfortunately, capturing good footage of all these magical strands of color means you have to know how to operate a camera at night... which is just not my thang.

Just FYI, for all the other amateurs out there, the flash is not the answer. But I did my best to get the gist. This was at the Mormon Temple down the street from our house. It's such a beautiful building- I thought it was a castle when I was a little girl and I still do.

And this was "Lights at the Zoo." It was basically light displays that were in the form of zoo animals, but they also had a gingerbread house competition and a train display, which gained major points with Niall.

And the icing on the cake: the train ride around the tiger pit. Enough said.

What about our house, you might be wondering? Once again, we flopped. Last year, I busted the tangled lights out of the basement... but they only made it as far as the guest room, where they remained until I put them back in the basement promptly on January 1st.

This year, it was important to me to make the effort, since Niall really seems to appreciate it and know what's going on. So I wrapped them up and over the railings and around the door, and even made them reach into the outlet right inside the house so I wouldn't have to deal with extension cords outside.

I was fully prepared for the Chevy Chase "Christmas Vacation" experience, complete with cursing Santa, kicking decorations and making a scene in front of the neighbors. But when I plugged them in, to my complete shock, they worked! Until 2 days later... when half of the strand stopped working for no reason...at which point, I sighed, unplugged them and and just ignored them until I took them down and put them back in the basement yesterday.

So once again, we had no Christmas lights of our own. But we certainly made up for it with our lights around the city extravaganza. I'd say Niall has gotten his fair share of Christmas spirit this year.

Niall loves your votes!

Christmas Recap Part I

2011-12-27T15:35:00.000-05:00

We've seen lights, we've watched movies, read books, baked cookies, written letters, trimmed trees, drank egg nog, stuffed stockings, lit fires... a little too much to squeeze into one post. So let's cut to the chase and talk about the big day.

We worked really hard on Niall's letter to Santa- to make sure that he conveniently/ coincidentally asked for all of the things I had already bought for him around Thanksgiving.

Then, we put out the cookies and milk and woke up to see that Santa had gobbled them up! (AKA the pregnant lady in the red pajamas-- they look very similar).

Then came the best part-- the part where Niall actually learned a lesson from the ridiculous amount of hours of Christmas TV/ movies I've been letting him watch over the past 2 weeks. I can't help it- Christmas time seems like it should be an exception to the rotting brain rule; holiday spirit just can't be overstimulating enough in my eyes.

Anyway, Niall was absolutely obsessed with the Grinch who stole Christmas, which also happens to be my favorite. And I think he learned from Cindy Loo Hoo that giving is much better than getting, because he spent a good 15 minutes handing out everyone else's presents before opening a single one of his. He was so proud to go up to the tree and find out whose presents were whose and march up to that person, holding their special gift.

But then, of course, he got busy and wrapped up in opening some of his own...

Remember those power tools I was so excited to give him? The weed whacker, power drill and tool kit? Yea, didn't go over so well. He was seriously petrified of all of them except the tool kit. When I tried to show him how they worked, he would slap them out of my hand and kick them to the other side of the room, like he couldn't get far enough away from them. Go figure.

Anyway, this was my favorite present:

If you don't own this book, you need to. It's written like a children's book, but is obviously for parents. I was just about crying from laughing so hard when I read it. My favorite verses:

The eagles who soar through the sky are at rest
And the creatures who crawl, run and creep.
I know you're not thirsty, that's bulls**t. Stop Lying.
Lie the f**k down, my darling, and sleep.

The giant pangolins of Madagascar are snoozing
As I lie here and openly weep.
Sure, fine, whatever, I'll bring you some milk.
Who the f**k cares? You're not gonna sleep.

And it was so fitting since Niall refused to sleep for the last 4 nights. It just makes you feel a little better to know that other people are drowning in their misery at 3 am, too :)

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Niall loves your votes!

Wordless Wednesday {Pimped Out Ride}

2011-12-21T15:01:00.000-05:00

Just hangin out in my new pick-up truck. No big deal.

Niall loves your votes!

Mischievous

2011-12-19T16:16:00.004-05:00

Here's how a mischievous toddler gets what they want without your help...

Step 1:
Spot a giant glass bowl full of candy tucked up against the window sill on the kitchen counter (laser vision?)

Step 2:
Attempt to reach for it.... fail

Step 3:
Drag chair from 20 feet away in the dining room and climb up there yourself while your mom is changing in the other room.

Step 4:
Enter the room where your mom is changing, holding the last few pieces of candy (since you've eaten all the rest of it) with a mouth full of chocolate teeth, just to let her know how smart you are and that you've won this battle

Too-shay, Niall. Or is it touche? Either way, he's outsmarting me a little too fast & often these days.

Niall loves your votes!

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-15T15:41:00.001-05:00

Niall has surprised me a lot in the last few weeks with the things he knows. He's repeating pretty much anything we say (which could be a really bad thing), he somehow knew how old he was on his birthday, and he now fully understands the concept of receiving toys/presents for certain occasions (which is also a scary thing).

So I really wanted to pound in the idea of Santa this year to fully enjoy all of the festivities that he didn't quite "get" last year. I've been telling him that Santa brings presents once every year and that he rides in a sleigh with reindeer and climbs down the chimney. Gradually, he started to grasp it-- he would start pointing out Santa on TV, posters/ pictures, books and sitting in his giant throne at the mall.

The point is... I've been gearing him up for breakfast with Santa. Last year, we stood in line outside on a freezing cold day for almost an hour to get his picture taken-- for reasons he couldn't understand, so he was not thrilled about sitting on ol' Santa's lap. I got lucky, though, because I caught a photo of pre-meltdown that coincidentally looked like he was smiling.

This year was totally different. Niall was excited and nervous and anxious all at the same time. He looked like he was facing final judgment when it was finally his turn to go up. He stood there, motionless and star-struck to meet the big man in red and contemplated what he would possibly say to THE Santa (even though we practiced before hand: "TWUCKS, TWAINS!")

And when he got up there, he turned totally bashful and had to put on his pursed lip smile to keep from laughing. No eye contact, no words, no telling Santa what he wanted this year. He just sat on the old man's lap and enjoyed his 30 seconds with the guy he'd heard so much about. And the pancakes and sausage weren't so bad either ;)

Niall loves your votes!

Sneak Peak

2011-12-13T13:12:00.000-05:00

Ummm, are you kidding me? This stuff is too hilariously adorable. It kinda makes me wish I was a little boy. Ok, that may have come out a little weird, but you'll see what I mean when you check out Niall's Christmas presents...

Mini (and safe) versions of daddy's tools that I know Niall is going to be completely obsessed with. He always wants to hold Matt's hammer and hand him the measuring tape and follow him along while he's doing yard work, so I know these presents are going to be a big hit.

The funny part is that these are all tools that involve housework that neither Matt nor I find to be very fun. If it were 20 years from now, I doubt that Niall would be excited to receive a weed whacker or power drill for Christmas, but for now, there's nothing better than being just like dad.

I can't wait to see his face when he opens this stuff!

Niall loves your votes!

Brunch

2011-12-08T15:40:00.000-05:00

I have to say, I've got some pretty great friends. My high school/ college girlfriends threw me a brunch last Saturday, despite my embarrassment over having a second baby shower for another boy. I didn't want anyone to make a big deal, but they went ahead and did that anyway.

Not only did we have a delicious brunch in the cutest little tavern, but they also got me the double jogging stroller that I've been eyeing like a hawk for the last 2 months.

Behold: The City Mini Double Jogger

It's so funny the way jogging strollers for moms become like different versions of the ipod/ipad for regular people. We just can't wait to get our hands on the newest, bestest, fastest, lightest version.

And so now, my heart's desire is complete. I can walk my babies in style and ease... and maybe eventually get the motivation to step it into a jog ;)

Thanks so much ladies, you're the best!

Niall loves your votes!

Oops, I did it again

2011-12-06T14:55:00.002-05:00

In my last post, I admitted that I may be getting involved in a little too much activity for someone who is 8 months pregnant... and then that same afternoon, I went out and did this all by myself (aside from my little helper, who *respectfully* may have made for more work than actually doing it myself):

Matt had to work on Saturday and I just had this vision that it was going to be December 23rd all of a sudden and we still wouldn't have our tree. So Niall and I went out and did it ourselves.

We picked the perfect skinny tree to fit in our skinny little corner and naturally jammed it into the car instead of strapping it on top (can you tell this was my first time getting a tree?). Niall was buried beneath a mass of pine needles, but I think he liked it.

Then, I pulled it out of the car, set it up in the tree stand and decorated the whole thing before Matt got home. A job well done, I must say. And for those of you who grew up with a fake tree like me, this is the toughest part if you don't have someone helping you:

You have to hold the tree in place and screw the four knobs in to hold it upright. I'm not gonna lie, I felt pretty skilled and talented when I pulled that one off. I am completely shocked that the tree hasn't toppled over yet. Will keep you posted...

Anyhoo, some of you might be wondering "Won't Matt feel cheated that he didn't get to help with trimming the ol' Christmas tree?" And to that I would answer, "You must not know Matt." He's no scrooge; in fact, he loves Christmas. But the whole Christmas-tree-getting-process is more of a check off the to-do list for him. He was very grateful to come home and see it all set up, lit up and decorated. (After he scolded me for doing things I should be doing at 8 months preggo).

Niall loves your votes!

33 Weeks

2011-12-03T14:46:00.000-05:00

Woah. 33 weeks. Seriously, how did this happen so fast? By January 20th (God, please don't let me go a week past my due date this time!), I will have 2 little munchkins runnin' this joint. That's only a month and a half away!

It's pretty unbelievable how much faster this pregnancy has flown by compared to the last one. I guess with your first one, you're just so anxious to meet the new little guy, you can't help but count down every month, day, week and minute. But now I'm so busy with Niall, I sometimes forget that I'm pregnant.

To the point where I forget to act like I'm pregnant. For instance, maybe I shouldn't have gone crazy re-configuring the house yesterday and moved a bookshelf, DVD tower, buffet hutch and 7 foot tall shelving unit all by myself because I just had to see my new vision of our home's layout before Matt got home from work...

But it just felt so good to have that out of the way and disperse some of the clutter.

It's weird how the nesting instinct has kicked in so much more the second time around. You would think I would have cared more during my first pregnancy. I think it's the pressure to make this house work for the 4 of us without feeling like we should be on an episode of "Hoarders." It's amazing how fast you can outgrow a 3 bedroom house.

I'm feeling good, though. I remember being really uncomfortable that last month when I was pregnant with Niall-- and even though I'm not quite in the last month yet, I can tell that it was more of the excitement for Niall to get here than actual discomfort. This time, I'm kind of trying to enjoy the time I have not getting up 4 times a night and being a total zombie.

But even though I know it's going to be a tough few months in the beginning, I absolutely can't wait to meet baby Brendan. It will be so exciting to have another one of these to hold:

And my big boy sitting right next to us :)

Niall loves your votes!

Niall's Birthday Recap

2011-11-29T15:17:00.001-05:00

Maybe a baby's first birthday is the most exciting event on a new parent's social calendar... but that just means you don't have a 2 year old. If the challenges of toddler communication are enough to drive you to insanity, hang in there-- the way they are able to express their excitement once they actually know what their birthday is totally makes up for all that. It will literally make you melt.

Niall LOVES construction, trucks, trains-- pretty much anything transportation/building right now. So I made sure that his cake reflected that. Especially since daddy is a construction manager. As you can see, it was difficult to actually keep the accessories on this cake once Niall laid his eyes on it.

But my cupcake spread was pretty much a moot point once he saw what Grammo and Grampo got him for his special day...

Nothing like your first set of wheels. I think I'm catching a scary glimpse of this boy's teenage years. I just wish I could catch Niall saying "pick-up truck" on video. It's Matt's favorite word of his. He repeatedly chants "HI, pooka-twuck!"

When we would ask him how old he was, he would proudly yell "TWO!" and hold up 10 fingers :)

And he even knew to blow out his candles, which involved a lot of spit on the cupcakes. A totally worthy price to pay for his cuteness.

If only I had known that I didn't actually need to make cupcakes at all-- he would have been happy with simply a jar of frosting. Live and learn.

And he got a few extra presents from mommy and daddy-- just a side dish; nothing like the pooka-twuck, but we tried.

Niall loves your votes!

Wordless Wednesday {Double Fisting}

2011-11-23T15:30:00.000-05:00

A glimpse of Niall's birthday... more to come :)

Niall loves your votes!

Vacation Recap

2011-11-21T18:10:00.001-05:00

Let me start by saying it was great to take a family vacation somewhere warm and sunny and on the water. Let me finish by saying we will probably never do it again.

Our vacation got off to an interesting start...

We showed up to the airport at 8:30am for our 10am take-off, only to find out that they had canceled our flight without informing us (not for inclement weather or anything like that)... and put us on the 7am flight earlier that morning (again, without telling us), which we were informed we had "missed." I found that information to be highly irritating and unreasonable and proceeded to lose it on the woman who was "just the messenger."

We eventually made it on the 5pm flight after being told that we needed to turn around and go home to get Niall's birth certificate because he needed identification. I didn't realize that toddlers needed to carry around their driver's license, my bad. At this point, Niall hadn't napped or eaten a proper dinner, and missed his bedtime while in the air.

All of those factors created the perfect storm: Niall screamed bloody murder for an hour and a half, broke out into hives from getting so worked up and scratched, clawed, hit and kicked Matt and I until we couldn't hold him anymore.

I kept my composure while everyone around us huffed and puffed and turned their heads to see if our son was being beaten to death, and then I promptly burst into tears the second I stepped off the plane.

But things got better.

We went to the beach...

climbed the coolest tree ever...

went on a riverboat cruise, where we got to see BIG boats, BIG houses and BIG pelicans...

saw a crazy man wrestle an alligator...

got the best ice cream sundae from the coolest ice cream parlor EVER...

(ice cream coma)

took a stroll on a busy fishing pier...

And I even got to take a morning to myself and just watch the sun come up and the waves crash on the shore...

But then things got worse again. Niall woke up every single day at 4:30 am and refused to go back to sleep until his afternoon nap. And then the doozy came on Wednesday, when I got food poisoning and projectile vomited green bile for 12 hours.

It's been a lot of up and down and all-around craziness, but it was worth it this ONE time. I think we'll stay in the tri-state area on the next one ;)

The flight home was light years easier than the flight there and now Niall is waking up at 6 again, so I'll take it. Strangely enough, it's good to be home. And tomorrow is Niall's birthday, so we have lots of good times ahead this week with all of the exciting holidays and events over the next few days.

Niall loves your votes!

Pompano Beach

2011-11-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

I don't have much to say except that tomorrow, we will be here:

It can't come soon enough! See you next week :)

Niall loves your votes!

The Escape Artist

2011-11-07T16:33:00.001-05:00

Remember how I was saying that Niall's got some tricks up his sleeve with the remote control? Well, it turns out he's got a lot more tricks than that. That was just the beginning of his newly acquired skills this past week. See this?...

A crib, you say? With some stuffed animals in it. Good observation. But that's not what this is. This is the site of Niall's latest magic trick: it's called "the escape artist."

Niall woke up at 5:30 this morning, and even though I knew it was because of the time change, I also knew that I needed to help him adjust. I've been reading a lot about sleep training lately because of Niall's crazy patterns lately (screaming for an hour before crying himself to sleep each night and then waking up really early, etc). Anyway, they say to pop your head in after 10-15 minutes of crying and say something like "It's ok, Niall. Mommy's here, you can go back to sleep now. I'll see you in the morning." And then leave after 30 seconds.

So that's what I did this morning. After I shut his door and mine, I could hear him crying in the distance and set my alarm for 15 more minutes until I would go pop back in on him (if he was still upset). But all of a sudden, the crying got louder and closer.

It really freaked me out as I started groggily putting the pieces together. It was like my brain was struggling to keep up with reality in those 5 seconds or so. I remember thinking "Hmm, those cries sound weirdly close" and then "Wait, could he have?" followed be "OH MY GOD!" and jumping out of bed to the sound of my door handle jiggling.

Sure enough, there was Niall standing at my door. It was weird the way my 2 year old had the same effect on me as a good horror movie. I was totally shocked and scared when I saw him at my feet.

There is really no ledge or place for him to get his footing on the rails of that crib. I don't know how he got out of there without hurting himself or making a loud thud as he plopped to the ground. Then, even crazier, he managed to grab his turtle and his water cup to bring with him...

Then, he opened 2 sets of doors...

And that's about when I had my mini heart attack.

So much for the nursery paintings I finished and put above his crib. Now that will be baby Brendan's crib. Time for Niall to get a toddler bed and move across the room. Oh well, I'm sure there will be plenty more tricks to come.

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Tech Savvy Kid

2011-11-04T14:35:00.000-04:00

I have to give Niall props- he's learned more about technology in his mere 2 years on this earth than I have in 27. He's completely mastered the remote control without any help from us; and not just any remote control-- the thousand button remote control that took me years to figure out.

I've never seen him work his magic in front of me, but I know from witnessing some pretty bizarre occurrences...

The other day, I was making breakfast- a time during which Niall is typically clinging to my leg begging me to stop doing whatever it is that I'm doing. But on this particular day, he was completely silent. No clanking of trucks, no humming or chatting to himself, no nothing.

Hmmm, that's strange, I thought. So I peeped my head into the family room to see what he was up to, and sure enough:

Not only did he turn the TV on, which requires pushing two different buttons simultaneously: "TV" and "Power", but he managed to find a cartoon channel (which it was not previously set to), and turned the volume down to almost mute so that I wouldn't know what he was doing. I know this because Matt and I watched a movie the night before and the volume was at a completely normal and audible level.

I think I've got my work cut out for me with this little stinker ;)

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Halloween x2

2011-11-01T20:58:00.001-04:00

The only thing better than celebrating a night of dressing up, eating lots of junk food and running around with dozens of other kids is doing it two nights in a row. Which is exactly what Niall got to do this year for Halloween.

We went to a family Halloween party on Sunday night with Niall's 20+ local McCullough cousins, including his absolute favorite: Angela, (or as Niall calls her, Aaanjjja!). He chants her name at least 67 times per day now, so we've made a habit of trying to visit her once each week-- which apparently is just not enough. But that's another story.

The infamous Angela

And the rest of the gang:

Then, Halloween night was spent with his two favorite buddies, Jack and Quinn. Niall may not have known or cared about collecting candy last year, but he sure made up for it this year. I don't think I've ever seen a 2 year old finish 2 whole tootsie pops in one sitting-- I can't even finish one of those things. It takes about an hour to do, but not for this boy. And then, of course, we had to open a piece of candy in between each house (and in between licks of the tootsie pops).

And we saw some pretty awesome houses...

I witnessed a side of Niall that I've never seen before, and I have to admit, it was a mix of uncontrollable laughter crossed with feelings of extreme parental neglect. I probably should have cut him off a lot sooner than I did.

The first sign was when he stopped walking from house to house and switched to non-stop jumping. Then, when we got home, he did about 18 laps around the house, giggling and throwing his shoes at the ceiling. I wish I had caught it on camera, but at that point, I was too jacked up on candy myself. It was about as close to drunk as a pregnant lady can get. Which I think means it was a successful Halloween night :)

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Flashback Friday {Puking Pumpkin}

2011-10-28T17:38:00.001-04:00

I tend to live by the motto "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Like when I go to a Thai restaurant, I know that I'm going to be happy with pad thai noodles, so I never bother to try anything else. And when I find a good park that Niall likes, we'll just keep going back there. So when I came across a winner of a pumpkin carving last year, why would I try anything different this year?

I tried to re-create the exact scene from last year, but naturally some little things were different. A) I'm pregnant and didn't put nearly as much effort into the details of the pumpkin face, B) I have a very impatient almost-2-year-old so I didn't put nearly as much effort into the details of the pumpkin face, and C) I have a very impatient almost-2-year-old who had no intentions of standing behind the screen door when he could be up close and personal with the puking pumpkin.

Either way, I think I'll call it another success. Niall even attempted a puking face for me when I showed him what I meant...

Not quite what I was looking for-- more like a constipated Santa face, but a very noble attempt ;)

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Halloween Practice Run

2011-10-24T18:10:00.002-04:00

I could not be more excited right now.

Back in August, I spotted Halloween costumes at the Old Navy outlet in Rehobeth and decided to be super diligent/ gutsy and choose Niall's fate about 2 months ahead of time.

The only problem was that, as much as he enjoyed pointing to it and shouting "DWAGON!! RAAAAR!!!", he was not thrilled about putting it on. Terrified is more like it. "Don't put that thing near me" pretty much sums it up.

So I hung it in his nursery, hoping that the more he saw it and we talked about it ahead of time, he might actually put it on for Halloween. As of a week ago, all signs were still pointing to 'no'. I was pretty confident it would remain hanging there until baby Brendan could fit into it about 2 years from now.

But today was different. It was my mom's group Halloween parade at the local nursing home and he was totally on board once he saw everyone else in their cute little costumes.

We walked around saying hi to everyone (AKA running past all of the friendly old folks and refusing to make eye contact) and collecting candy- except that any time someone tried to slip a piece into his bag, he got this really distressed look on his face and yelled "NO!"

So mommy, being the helpful and understanding person that I am, just took the pieces for him and swiftly ate 75% of it in the car on the way home. But I did convince Niall to try a couple pieces while we were there.

And on the way home...I don't think he was disappointed ;)

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