Laundry is Not a Hobby...

Bed Hog

2013-05-16T17:02:00.003-04:00

Steve was off on an out-of-town three day work trip earlier this week, and Brigid managed to find the silver lining behind missing him by telling me several times during her bedtime routine that the big bed was just my bed, since daddy wasn't home, then sidling into my room while I was trying to work at 9:30PM to weasel her way into sleeping with me.

For my own good, of course. I'm sure she just didn't want me to get lonely.

Of course, Tuesday night, she slept RIGHT NEXT TO ME, with her legs draped across my body, following me around the bed in her sleep when I tried to put some distance between us, before waking me up at 3AM to tell me she didn't want to cuddle with me anymore, like it had been my idea to have her sleep on top of me all night.
She looks like she feels bad about the whole thing, doesn't she?

Christmas in May

2013-05-14T17:25:00.001-04:00

On Friday night, Brigid wanted to wear Christmas pjs and read a Christmas book before bed. I mean, who am I to tell the poor child no, when she wants to celebrate the awesomeness that is Christmas, year round?

(I swear to you, if I can get Caitlin on board with this, too, I am THIS CLOSE to convincing Steve that we should leave a Christmas tree up for the full year. It's coming. I CAN FEEL IT!!!)
(That story, while completely true and awesome, may or may not have just been my lazy attempt at justifying my reasons for throwing out more adorable pictures of my girls just hanging out together. Maybe.)

(Possibly.)

(Definitely.)

Pffffft

2013-05-10T16:25:00.001-04:00

Steve claims the baby has been giving him all kinds of grief today.

Then he sends me pictures like this...

(In his defense, I think this is the only five minutes she's slept all day, but you know...likely story and all of that.)

Tea With Mom

2013-05-09T17:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Brigid's preschool held a 'Tea With Mom' party for Mother's Day. The classes had all learned songs to sing for the mothers that were there,* and there were snacks and cards and presents involved.

I am a fan of any event that gets Brigid as excited as she gets when a family member goes to school with her, and if you offer me cheesecake and presents, on top of that? Then I might just start asking for one of these parties every week.

Except. Well. Brigid's teacher had made these cute little cardboard teapots and filled them with candy. And when Brigid got her little hands on it?

'Mommy, I don't know if Miss Peggy made this for you or for me. But...she probably made it for me. So I could have some candy.'

Whatever, kid. It's just a good thing you made me the greatest present EVER to make up for stealing all of my candy, ok?

(HANDMADE TODDLER GIFTS! WITH HER PICTURE ON IT! I don't even care that she obviously had very little to do with the painting of the box. I'm guessing she picked out the color, and she helped glue her picture inside of it. And you know what? THAT IS OK WITH ME. I am SO EXCITED about the age of the handmade gifts. She's just the best, I swear.)

*Brigid's class did 'I'm a Little Teapot' and the I Love You song from Barney...and they were WAY more entertaining than the older class that sang a five minute song that sounded like nothing more than one long mumble after they all started singing at different tempos 2.5 seconds into it. And I'm not complaining about the kids, here, because they were cute. And they were giving it their all. It's just...I feel like maybe the teachers should have known better than to try it. Who expects 10 four-year olds to keep it together during a song that has 15 verses? And who expects the even younger kids to behave during all of that, too? I thought the two and three-year old classes were going to make a break for it...

I want to remember these days when they share a bathroom as teenagers...

2013-05-07T16:23:00.003-04:00

When Steve and I finally decided that we were ready to try for a second child, one of our main concerns was how our darling first child was going to react to the news that she wouldn't be the only baby of the family anymore. I mean, after all, Brigid is...

Well, Brigid is spoiled, if I'm being completely honest. She was not only our first kid, but she was also the first niece AND the first grandkid on BOTH SIDES OF THE FAMILY. And we all tell her that she is beautiful and funny and smart, and she is just generally adored wherever she goes. She was the center of attention for the first three years of her life, because that's just how things go when you're the only one in the room who isn't old enough to understand what the word 'no' means, yet. Almost anything she wanted, she got.
So, yeah. I don't think I was wrong in wondering how well she was going to respond to sharing everyone's attention with someone else.

Except...

Well, I was wrong, I guess. Because Brigid has been absolutely the most wonderful big sister we could have hoped for. She is completely in love with her baby sister, and I am completely in love with the two of them together.

The other morning, Caitlin was in her exersaucer when Brigid went downstairs. I stood on the landing above them, watching as Brigid went to her sister, said 'good morning baby baby', kissed her on top of the head, then kept shaking toys in front of her face to try to make her smile. She's never more excited than when Caitlin smiles at her.

She is constantly hugging the baby, or patting the baby's head, or kissing the baby's foot, or grabbing the baby's hand while telling me how much she loves the baby and how much the baby loves her, too.

She helps us bathe Caitlin at night, and she's just so gentle when she takes the washcloth to rinse Caitlin's hair, I would buy her all of the ponies in the world, if I could. Because...yes. She deserves them all.

I don't doubt that we have some rough times ahead of us. There have been several gifts of toys and books that Brigid has taken to her own room to hold onto 'until Baby Caitlin is older...cause she's too tiny to play with these right now'. What happens when Baby Caitlin isn't too tiny to play with the presents she's given remains to be seen. What happens when Brigid becomes a teenager, and hanging out with her little sister isn't a top priority anymore also remains to be seen. And, yeah, it could start getting ugly.

But, when that happens, I will show them these pictures. I will tell them the stories about just how sweet they were to each other when they were younger. I will remind them that at one point in time, nothing made them happier than hanging out together.

And if all of that fails?

I will make them stand in the front yard and hug each other, for all of the neighbors to see, like my dad made my sister and I do when he got tired of our fighting.

So...you know. At least I'll be entertained either way...

Brigid's Best Friend

2013-05-02T16:57:00.003-04:00

Brigid has taken quite a shine to our female cat over the past few months. Because Gracie is less excitable than our dogs, but friendlier than our male cat, Brigid can lock the poor cat in her room for naptime or bedtime, and Gracie is ok with this plan. But...then Brigid got tired of just sitting next to the cat. Instead, she wanted to pet her. And pick her up. And carry her from room to room.

And that doesn't even include the time she slammed Gracie in the door. I don't think that cat came out from under my bed for something like two days. Not that I blamed her, as Brigid was standing there in my bedroom waiting for her, yelling about how she needed Gracie to come out because 'I need to tell Gracie I'm sorry, mommy! I didn't mean to hurt her!'

I don't think Gracie quite understood what Brigid wanted to say.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I've noticed a little more reluctance on the part of Gracie to spend quality time with Brigid these days. And then? This morning?

I found this in my bathroom while Brigid was running around my bedroom:
I'm not going to lie...I've tried something similar myself. But it never seems to work for me, you know? They always find me in the end...

Brigid Says...

2013-05-01T16:32:00.000-04:00

This morning, on the way to school: I really wanted to see Stephen before he left for work this morning. I really miss him. (Why she insists on calling him Stephen instead of dad is beyond me.)

The other night, while Steve was putting her to bed (and after he hadn't shaved for several days): I like shaved mustaches. I don't like fuzzy mustaches.

Eating ice cream at Skyline Chili, where we'd stopped while driving home from Indiana: I am a BIG fan of chocolate. (You and me, both, kiddo...)

Saying goodbye to my grandmother last weekend: See ya! Wouldn't want to be ya! (Thanks a lot for that one, Auntie Kate.)

Last week, when Steve asked her if we should have another baby: I love baby Caitlin. We should keep her. But two babies would be not enough. (She meant two babies, in addition to herself, would be too many. I think her and I might be on the same page, here.)

While watching the scene in Brave where Merida tells her mother she won't know she doesn't like fish if she won't even try it: You've got to try new food cause it might taste good! (Thank you, Daniel Tiger. I'm pretty sure he's single handedly convinced her to eat vegetables again, even if it IS only carrots that she's added back to her diet.)

Scenes From a Ballet

2013-04-24T16:12:00.001-04:00

I'm not technically supposed to be taking pictures during Brigid's ballet class, because the studio where she takes her class frowns upon that sort of thing for various artistic and class-disruptive types of reasons, but, I'm sorry....

You tell me how I'm supposed to NOT want to capture every moment of this absolutely adorable event on film? Or whatever the equivalent of that action is when I'm using a digital camera instead of actual film?
I'm going to progress to video, next, I think. A super secret, stealth video, so you can hear Brigid shout about how she wants to put princess sprinkles and chocolate chips on the cookie she is making when the class is stretching (I don't get it, either, but the class seems to love it, so apparently the former ballerina-turned-teacher knows what she's doing, here...). And you can watch her FREEZE when the teacher shouts the magic word of the day. And you can see her truly terrible plie form.

(She gets it from me, I'm sure. But Jodie Sawyer had terrible turn-out, too, and she was a fabulous dancer, so I still have hope. Also? I should maybe stop relating everything about this class back to Center Stage. Probably.)

And, uh, you can maybe see how many times the teacher has to call her back to attention, when she starts to lose focus on whatever it is they're doing at the time. There's a slight chance that she might get that from me, too, since my mother was told that she was wasting her money on my ballet lessons when I was a kid because I never listened to anything the teacher said.

But whatever. She's an artist, you know? And artists have to follow their own path...

The first step to mobility...

2013-04-23T16:59:00.002-04:00

When I took Caitlin in for her four month check-up, the pediatrician informed me that 'as soon as she decides she's ready to roll over, she'll start rolling over'.

So, you know. Helpful advice from our trained professional, right there.

I love our pediatrician. I do. I just...what does that even mean? Because, honestly? I'm not sure 'want' had a whole lot to do with last week's crossing of the milestone that led to my loves-to-be-swaddled baby no longer being swaddled at night due to the fact that I found her facedown and ANGRY in bed on Friday morning.
And don't let these pictures fool you...
This kid was not any happier spending time on her stomach when she got herself there in the first place than she's ever been when I've been the reason she's spending time on her stomach. And yet, every time I told her it was all her fault she had to hold her own head up for any significant period of time, she gave me the angry face.

She's just lucky her angry face is so cute.

I can't tell if they're working for me or against me...

2013-04-19T15:22:00.002-04:00

On a near daily basis, I go back and forth with myself over whether I'd rather have the chance to stay home with my girls full-time or keep working in a job where I can actually get people to listen to me (or, at least, pretend to listen to me) more often than not.

This week, the pendulum had fully swung into the SAHM territory. Between the terrible things that were happening across the country that left me wanting to do nothing more than sit at home and sniff Caitlin's head, and some beyond stressful work deadlines, by Wednesday, I was just done. DONE!

Then, I got home. And Steve was out of town for work, so it was just me and the girls for the night. And Brigid had picked some dandelions at school, and someone had told her that you should blow on the white fluffy ones while making a wish, and I had to stop her from doing just that in the middle of my kitchen, because cleaning up dandelion fluff was not on my list of things to do that evening.

Instead, we headed to the back porch, so Brigid could make her wish and blow her dandelion fluff.

And then she wished that mommy and daddy would stay home forever. When I asked her what, exactly, she meant by that, she told me that she wished we didn't have to go to work and the store and places like that.

Well, then.

Of course, Caitlin countered that pretty compelling argument by waking up four times over the course of the night, so that by the time I left for work the next day, I was just happy that there was a pretty good chance that for the next few hours, I wouldn't be hearing any more indignant screaming coming my way because I'd had the audacity to NOT BE IN THE ROOM WHEN MY CHILD WOKE HERSELF UP at 2AM, and yeah...

I still don't have an answer for myself.

Saturday Snuggles

2013-04-17T16:23:00.002-04:00

It's hard to be mad about getting up early on a Saturday morning, when these two are the reason that you are up early on a Saturday morning.
The look so darn proud of themselves, don't they?

Happy Friday!

2013-04-12T16:41:00.003-04:00

There is absolutely nothing wrong in running around with a flower as big as your head in your hair.

Especially when you don't have any hair yet...

Creative Solutions

2013-04-11T09:50:00.000-04:00

Wearing gloves to bed does not, in fact, discourage thumb sucking, when said thumb sucker takes her glove off after you leave the room. We're moving on to the nasty tasting thumb stuff, next.

Brigid is thrilled.

Running the Roost

2013-04-10T17:47:00.001-04:00

Last night, as I was telling Brigid that her third post-bedtime bathroom run of the night was going to be her last, she told me to 'take a chill pill'. And while I was giving her my best mom look, and explaining that we are NOT, in fact, allowed to tell our mommy to do anything of the sort, she laughed in my face, because she'd busted me trying to hide a smile when the words first came out of her mouth. And she had NO PROBLEM calling me out on it.

Earlier in the evening, she told Steve she didn't know if Santa Claus was going to come visit him, because he was being a bad boy. It seems that Santa does not approve of us getting angry at Brigid when she doesn't listen to us.

And in between those two incidents? She conned Steve into giving her dessert, even though she knew she wasn't supposed to have any because she'd stuck her foot in her watermelon bowl, after I asked her not to do that anymore.

(Don't even ask. These are the kinds of requests nobody tells you that you will be making someday...)

I...I don't even know anymore. There's not even any point to this story. THESE ARE JUST THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN MY HOME NOW THAT BRIGID IS THREE.

I've got nothing.

They grow up so fast...

2013-04-09T13:53:00.001-04:00

When I got home last night, Brigid was playing out in our front yard with two of the neighbor boys, including the two and a half year old next-door neighbor that she's been referring to as her 'boyfriend' for almost a year, now. Whenever those two get together, each one of them tries to scheme their way into the other kid's house, because, you know...it's always better to play in someone else's house with toys that you don't have access to on a daily basis.

But because we were closing in on bath and bedtimes for both kids, I left Steve to stop Brigid from pestering Mrs. Neighbor, while I took Caitlin in for the night. Brigid, of course, came home sobbing because we'd dared to stop her from doing something she wanted to do, even though we promised she'd be able to play with her friend again today.

And I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that whole incident had something to do with her telling us, while getting a bath later in the evening, that she wanted to go live with our neighbors now. And when Steve told her that we would miss her if she left, and that poor baby Caitlin would be sad without her big sister?

'I'm going to miss baby Caitlin.'

So. Yeah. Guess that settles that, then...
(Also, there was that moment this weekend when Brigid claims Steve said it was ok to kiss a boy when she turns five, apparently having missed the 'thirty' part of that conversation. And this little story will someday be used to explain to Brigid why we locked her up in a convent at such a young age. The end.)

Baby's First Cereal

2013-04-05T16:49:00.001-04:00

At Caitlin's four month check-up on Monday, the doctor told us we could go ahead and start her on rice cereal if we thought she might be ready to make the move to solid foods. When Brigid was four months old, it was beyond obvious that she was ready, because she was eating her weight in formula on a daily basis. But Caitlin? She just hasn't had the same appetite as her sister. So, we kind of pushed that recommendation to the side at the time...

(Of course, we mainly put it to the side because we kept forgetting to go out and buy some rice cereal for the poor kid, but also, she just didn't seem to need it, ok? That's the story I'm going to go with here.)

Fast forward to a measly THREE DAYS LATER when Caitlin just couldn't get her fill of formula. She was up last night at 11:15pm, 4am, and 7am, which...doesn't seem like a big deal, does it? It's not, really. But when she's been known to sleep from 8:30pm-6am on a good night? AND it takes her an hour (minimum) to go back to sleep? AND I have to get up and go to work on a stretch of four hours of sleep?

Well, then it becomes just a slightly bigger deal.

(I know. You hate me. I've lucked into a good baby who sleeps for longer than two hours at a time, and I should just quit complaining. I'm sorry. I KNOW.)

Then after a morning when no amount of bottle feeding was going to make Princess Cait a happy baby, Steve decided to give the cereal a shot.

Caitlin had...mixed...emotions.

Steve facetimed me at work, so I could see how Baby's First Cereal went down, and I couldn't resist grabbing a couple of screen shots, because 1) LOOK HOW SWEET AND CUTE!!! and 2) I am a terrible parent who laughs at the unhappy faces of her children.

Poor, poor, poor Caitlin.

(She recovered nicely, I promise...)

Prima Ballerina

2013-04-03T16:43:00.000-04:00

Admittedly, all of my knowledge around how a ballet company is run comes from the movie Center Stage, and that's maybe not the most realistic representation of how things work. But then again, it may be exactly how things work. And if it's the reality?
Then Brigid is going to be the one ballerina all of the other ballerinas hate, because she will have been part of the Company's system for a million and a half years. SHE WILL HAVE THE INSIDE TRACK TO BEING THE PRINCIPAL DANCER OF THE AMERICAN BALLET COMPANY!*

*ahem*

I mean...the Atlanta Ballet Company, of course. The American Ballet Company is fictitious, and Peter Gallagher is not the company director, and I am not obsessed, and I should probably stop watching so many movies...

Look! Over there! Cute baby in a leotard!
*Of course, all of Brigid's future success as a ballerina hinges on the hope that she doesn't take after Steve and I in matters of grace AT ALL, because if she does? Poor kid is screwed...

Easter Babies

2013-04-02T16:34:00.001-04:00

Brigid had four Easter egg hunts this year. Four hunts. One at school, one at the neighborhood gathering, one at church, and one at her grandparent's house.

FOUR!

And yet, by the time the third hunt rolled around? She was still bypassing eggs that were lying on the ground RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER because she hadn't yet grasped the concept of the hunt. As my competitive nature was kicking in from the sidelines, and I'm yelling at her to JUST GRAB AS MANY EGGS AS YOU CAN AND QUIT LOOKING FOR THE PRETTY ONES!!!, I realized that, juuuuuust maybe, I was taking the church Easter egg hunt a little too seriously? Possibly? Probably?

I am a phenomenal example for my children, obviously.
Favorite Brigid-ism of the holiday (said with tremendous surprise and excitement after finding a golden egg at my in-laws' house): I always wanted to find a golden egg!
I'm glad we're helping her cross items off of her life list at such a young age...

Four Month Check-Up: Caitlin Edition

2013-04-01T15:04:00.000-04:00

Caitlin had her four month check-up today, and as I am the same person who forgot when Brigid's spring pictures were at school (and let Steve send her in that day wearing a sweatshirt and the messiest pony-tail, ever) AND when the school Easter party was being held (meaning my daughter was picked up from school that day carrying a paper bag with her name written on it instead of an Easter basket brought from home, like the rest of the kids, and also, possibly, that she ended up stealing eggs from those same kids, since I'm still not sure whether we were supposed to send her in with treats or not), I forgot that Brigid didn't have school today when I made Caitlin's appointment.
So, instead of taking advantage of the vacation day and planning something fun for Brigid to do, we had a family field trip to the doctor's office for shots! Just how every kid wants to spend her morning, right?

On the other hand, dragging Brigid along with us while Caitlin got her vaccines meant that I had the chance to hear her sing 'Rock-a-Bye Baby' to her little sister, trying to calm her down when she was crying after the shots, so...
Yeah. My kids are pretty awesome.

Height: 24 3/4 inches - 69th percentile (Brigid: 25/80th)

Weight: 13lbs 14oz - 56th percentile (Brigid: 14lbs 10oz/75th)

Cheeks: completely kiss-worthy

Four Month Development Checklist: perfect

Two Kids

2013-03-26T16:33:00.001-04:00

I'm going to make this my screen saver at work, because I'm going to need a reminder this week that things aren't as stressful EVERYWHERE as they currently are in my office...

Those two are my favorite people in the whole. entire. world.

(Yeah, we've told Brigid she needs to stop sucking her thumb because the dentist said it's time. Her response? She wants to go back to the dentist immediately because maybe she's changed her mind.

Oh, honey. I don't think that's how these things work...)

You'll never guess...

2013-03-21T16:14:00.001-04:00

...who picked out her own clothes today...

Three Going On Thirteen

2013-03-18T14:29:00.001-04:00

I can't even believe how big Brigid is getting sometimes. I mean, look at this kid...

Where did she even come from? I'd swear that it was just yesterday when she was a baby, and now she says things like, "Sooooo, how was baby Caitlin?" when I come into her room after putting Caitlin to bed for the night, like baby Caitlin and I had just been out for a night out on the town or something, and not like we'd both just seen Brigid thirty minutes earlier.

In two weeks, we start ballet, in a Mommy and Me class hosted by the Atlanta Ballet. She has little tights, and little ballet shoes, and we're going shopping for the official Atlanta Ballet leotard on Saturday, and Brigid is just so excited about it, I can't wait to see her in action.

It's just...I remember when her only cause for excitement was her next bottle, and it doesn't seem like it's been that long since that was the case.

And then there's this one, who goes in for her four month check-up in a couple of weeks...

Four months. I just CAN'T with all of the growing and changing and aging and whatnot.

Why is it that time seems to speed up, just when you want it to slow down the most?

Sweet Girl

2013-03-15T15:19:00.001-04:00

If you need me this weekend, I'll just be over here, snuggling this...

This baby is TOTALLY my favorite baby right now.

I love her.

2013-03-14T16:37:00.003-04:00

Caitlin and Brigid weighed the exact same when they were born and were only about a half an inch apart in length, but by the time Caitlin got into her last visit to the doctor, she was measuring in the 38th-ish percentile, versus her big sister's 75th-ish measurements. And obviously, I took this personally, because, come on. Brigid was an adorably chubby baby! Caitlin must toe the line!

I NEED BABY ROLLS!!!!!
Much better.

(Those cheeks. That pudgy little arm. The perfectly rolly little thighs that I must have photographic evidence of soon, because they are my MOST FAVORITE THINGS, EVER. She's coming along nicely, I think...)

Sisters

2013-03-13T14:10:00.002-04:00

When Steve and I found out about a year ago that Caitlin was on her way, our biggest concern was how Brigid was going to handle the changes in her life. Not only was she our only child, but she was the family's only child. She'd never had to share attention with anyone before, because she was the baby, full stop.

So, we made a big deal about how awesome it was going to be, having a baby sister. We talked about all of the things she could do as the big sister that the baby wouldn't be able to do, since she would be too little. We bought books, and t-shirts, and all kinds of 'yay! sisters are fun!' propaganda. We let her come to the hospital, where they gave her a bracelet just like the ones that Steve and I and the baby were all wearing, because we all belonged together.

Caitlin gave her a soccer ball at the hospital.

I don't know if any of these things worked. I don't know if maybe Brigid was just destined to be a great big sister to someone. I don't know if she's totally just manipulating us to get more candy for being so darn sweet. But this kid? She LOVES her baby sister.

I don't always get a kiss goodnight, but Caitlin does. Sure, Brigid is happy to see me when I pick her up from school, but who gets the big announcement when we walk in? Who does Brigid make her teachers come say hi to EVERY SINGLE TIME? HER baby Caitlin.

Brigid brings me the bags I use to throw away Caitlin's dirty diapers. She picks out Caitlin's sleepers every night. She helps me brush Caitlin's hair. If Caitlin starts fussing, Brigid gives her a toy to help make her feel better.

She gets SO excited when Caitlin is awake. 'Her looking at me, mommy! Her so cute.'

She comes up to us when I'm holding Caitlin, pats her head, and looks at me so seriously, 'I 'ove her mommy. I 'ove her so much.'
I know that things won't necessarily stay this way forever. I know that part of the reason Brigid likes Caitlin is because people keep buying toys for Caitlin that Brigid takes to her room to 'hold onto until Caitlin gets older'. When Caitlin does get old enough to play with toys, we'll have a whole additional level of sister interaction/competition that we'll have to navigate. And I also know that there is a very good chance that even the toy conflict will seem like nothing when compared to the teenaged years that might be hell.
But I'm not going to worry about that right now. We'll deal with those issues as they arise. Right now, I'm going to focus on the fact that these two girls? I love them more than I ever thought was possible.

I am a lucky, lucky individual.