HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMMA!!

Happy Birthday Gramma! I can't wait to see you in Chicago. Mommy and Daddy are packing my stroller so that we can walk along the river...maybe we can share a burger from Billy Goat Tavern?

I can't wait to show you where my piggy toes are and how big I am. I know I am super great at putting my thoughts down in the blog, but sometimes when we talk on the phone I can't tell you everything I want to. But I hope you can at least see how happy your phone calls make me...

I hope you have a fabulous, wonderful, joyous Birthday...I can't wait to see you in 4 days and give you presents and tons of kisses.

(Oh yeah, Mommy and Daddy say Happy Birthday too....and they can't wait to see you either!)

Goulash is good

As we are approaching Addison's 1st birthday (yep, you read that right, she'll be ONE a week from today) I am trying to get her more adjusted to finger food and less reliant on her bottle and the purees I take such pride in making. By a year old she is supposed to be "eating what we're eating" and goes cold turkey off soy formula and on to whole milk. I feel like that's a lot for a one year old to handle, but she's pretty tough.

Already she munches on peas, rice, cheerios, real small pieces of chicken, bananas, and goldfish crackers. She seems to really enjoy feeding herself, but it takes twice the time as when I feed her, and it is at four times as messy.

Today at Aunt Sue's pool party, after a dip in cool blue water, I introduced Addie to GG's goulash. GG's goulash is a staple at all family gatherings and is addictively delicious. It is spiral noodles, some kind of super yummy meat sauce and melted cheese...so good.

Addison inhaled it.

It was all mushed into her hands. It was smeared across her face. We found some behind her ear and in her hair. She got it on her shirt, her skirt and, of course, my shirt. Obviously this full body eating extravaganza shows how much she likes her GG's goulash. But I think the point was driven home when Andy took the plate to throw it away while there were few pieces of goulash still on it and she screamed and flailed her arms until he gave it back.

And then she smiled and dug in for another mouthful.

Dominance

I mentioned awhile ago that Addison and Michelob are working on their relationship.
Michelob is doing a great job of letting Addie poke at her, pull her ears, paws and tail. She doesn't seem to mind being woken up from her sunbeam nap by an over excited baby. However, two nights ago Addison locked in on Mich snoozing by the fireplace. She gave Andy and I one of her devilish little looks and then turbo crawled over the cat. She then proceeded to back herself up and sit on Mich's head. We thought that was hysterical....but I thought it was even funnier when the next night she did the exact same thing to Andy.

Okay, so blogger.com finally published my video of Addie scarfing down a banana....it posted before the "Splish Splash" entry. I am not savvy enough to figure out how to post it for today.

Here's the first dip in the pool....Gramma thinks the earlier picture shows a baby not having fun, but I can guarantee you, she had a BLAST! Perhaps the whole experience was just a bit perplexing for her....she is awfully little and that pool is awfully big!

Splish Splash

I've been trying all day to upload some videos, but blogger.com is not cooperating...stupid technology.

Quick update of the day...Two big things happened:

1. I got into a bathing suit and did not dehydrate myself crying. The Aunts did not run away screaming covering their eyes. I did, however, avoid full length mirrors at all costs. Oh boy, the beach is going to be painful. Then again, I did push a huge baby out less than a year ago and even before then I was no beach bathing hottie.


2. Addison made it into a swimming pool and her heart did not explode...although I am pretty sure she thought it might.

We went with Aunt Nikki, Aunt Kimmie and Rylan to Andy's Aunt Sue's house to enjoy her pool on the first 90 degree plus day we've had in a while.

I put on Addie's swim diaper. She cried. I put on Addie's bathing suit. She cried harder. I picked her up, she calmed down. I put on Addie's sunhat. She glowered at me. But the real dramatics didn't occur until I put her piggy toes in the pool. Blood curdling, terrified screaming followed by uncontrollable crying.

We decided to sit at the edge of the pool for a bit. Addie slowly sneaked her toes in. I tried swishing her up to her belly twice, she freaked both times. Finally I made the executive decision that Addison was going to be a brave little girl. We walked right into the pool and I plunked her into her new inner tube, as she screamed and cried...for a second and then she realized how AWESOME it is to float in a cool pool on a hot day.

I think she takes after her Daddy...a real water baby. Unfortunately, I also think the has my incredibly burnable skin. I had to reapply her SPF50 while still in the pool as she splashed and giggled.

A special bonus...an hour at the pool equals an exhausted baby who takes a quality afternoon nap. Ahhhh, quietness.

Breakfast

I didn't realize that I had captured Addison and Grandpa sharing breakfast on video.


Doesn't she just make you want to eat healthier? Mmmm, so good!

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

A few weeks ago I bought the book Daddy's Girl by Garrison Keillor. It's cute and rhythmic and every once and a while Addison will sit still through the whole book. One of the stories in the book celebrates a baby's love of bananas and talks about all the foods that a baby will try, but says that bananas are always number one. Beftter than french fries or shepherd's pie? I think not, but I digress.

When I first started feeding bananas to Addie she wasn't quite sure about them. She spit out several spoonfuls of mushed bananas and gave me a look as if to say "What kind of fool do you take me for?". Nowadays, however, they are a staple and a celebrated favorite.

Before Addison came along I used to buy bananas because I felt like it was the healthy thing to do (kind of like how I buy milk consistently but drink it rarely). Usually the bananas I bought would rot and be thrown in the freezer for the distant day when I actually got around to making banana bread. Now I buy a bunch and they are always gone by the end of week. They get mixed with yogurt, with sweet potatoes, with avocados, with anything little missy might be weary of trying.

While my Dad was visiting two weeks ago he and Addison shared a banana each morning. By shared, I mean she would beg for his breakfast and he would give in and let her take sloppy little bites of his banana. I am pretty sure she ate an entire banana one of the mornings he was here.

This morning I was having my coffee and english muffin and had half a banana on my plate. My intention was too share with her, her intention was to devour the entire thing. She won. Addie sat on my lap and leaned in for bite after bite of the banana, eventually she got impatient at the process and grabbed the fruit right out of its peal and finished her early morning snack with out the hindering assistance of her mom.

By the end there was smushed banana on both hands, all over her face and smidgen in her hair...but she was super satisfied, and perhaps a bit proud.

Such a big girl feeding herself.

My Kitchen Window

I had a wonderful weekend in Chicago, but am thrilled to back in my own bed. However, Karen's couch is quite comfortable and what a difference it makes when the windows are shut and the blinds are closed. I didn't at all feel like an El train was running over my head this time around.
Seeing friends, celebrating Keelin and hanging out with a gaggle of girls was just what I needed. There were lots of giggles, lots of hugs and lots of wine...do weekends get much better than that?
This was my second trip back since we moved, and while I love Chicago and always will, it no longer feels like my home.


That was a very hard sentence to write.
The view from my kitchen window, however, explains it all:

While I was away Addie perfected throwing her hands up over head when asked "How big is Addison?" and grabs her toes when asked "Where are Addison's piggy toes?". So freaking cute it's ridiculous. Also, this time when I returned home, she smiled, giggled and reached for me.


Ah, to be loved.

4 days with the Brooks Baby

Addison is sitting on the family room floor flipping through her "Chicago Friends" photo album and playing with her toys. She seems a little bored with out Evan around.

Addie and Evan played pretty well together. It fun to watch them both move around the family room and kitchen at lighting speeds and remember that just a few months ago they would simply lay on the floor and stare at each other. Addison shared her toys, by sharing I mean she would let Evan play with some of her toys, and when she was done with him playing with whatever it was, she'd take it back...sometimes by force. That seemed okay with Evan, however, as long as she shared the remote control, the camera case and the phone.

We went down to Fountain Square on Tuesday with Kim and Rylan to check out the new farmers' market. We decided it wasn't so much a farmers' market as it was a place to buy chocolate chip cookies and homemade hand soap. I guess I should stop expecting Green City Market to open a branch here. For some reason a camera crew seemed to be following us around the market...probably because of our super good lookin' kids.

Tuesday night Evan's Gramma Rose came down from Dayton for a visit with the babes, bearing gifts of toys, cheese, homemade mustard and jellies, quilts and more. Shortly after dinner, Rose headed back to Dayton, Renata and I meant to go to bed but instead got sucked into hours of American's Funniest Home Videos. Yep, we're kinda losers.

Yesterday, we packed up the Tuscon and headed to the zoo for a few hours of outdoor entertainment. Evan slept through most of it, and the place was crowded (darn summer camps!) but it was a nice outing. I swear the babes had a lot more fun than picture shows! After a quick trip to the Green Papaya for some Thai food, we headed over to to the Neyers so Evan could meet his beach pals.

Throughout the visit our darling babes decided that naps, and bedtimes for that matter, were optional. In an attempt to wear them out yesterday we logged some quality backyard time. It didn't really work, but at least we were in the sunshine.

Once the little ones were finally asleep Renata and I sipped a glass of wine on the back patio, chatted a bit and then acknowledged the obvious : We were EXHAUSTED. By 10:30 we were both snug in our beds.

This was a great dry run for the beach (22 days and counting) and I think vacation will be a ton of fun...and that we'll be in bed quite early!

Evan and Renata came to visit

and Addison is quite sure if she would like them to come back...I don't know why.

Our visit has actually been absolutely wonderful. There are lots of updates to come, but Renata and I are far to tired too do any updating. The lesson we have learned is that getting two babies to go to bed is virtually impossible. When one falls asleep the other cries until the sleeping one wakes up. Then they cry at or with each other, sometimes in harmony, sometimes as a competition.

Dear lord.

Eviction

Last week I mentioned that one of Addie's newest tricks is that when she is put down for a nap, and she doesn't think she needs a nap (which she always does) she chucks everything out of crib. After she's finally fallen asleep we'll peek in her room and all her stuffed animals are on the floor. That is, all stuffed animals except Mr. Sock Monkey. Andy and I decided that Mr. Sock Monkey must be too big for her to throw.
Today I put her down for her afternoon nap and I heard the eviction begin...Bunny Foo Foo hit the ground so hard I went upstairs to reassure myself that Addison had not gotten out of the crib. As I peeked into her room I found Mr. Sock Monkey being swung by his tail above her head like a set of numb chucks. She had the most excited look on her face and I think was genuinely heartbroken when I interrupted his exile from her crib.

Of course I laid her back down and she screamed and cried for about 3 minutes. When I checked on her a few minutes ago I found her laying on top of Mr. Sock Monkey with giraffe under one arm and Bunny Foo Foo in the other hand.

I guess all is forgiven.

Father's Day Weekend

Our weekend was busy, exhausting and fun. It began when Andy walked through the door Friday night with a case plus of wine from The Party Source, apparently his new favorite store. We knew it would be a weekend of wine, as Grandpa and Grandma Johnson drove down with Uncle Kevin for a visit. Unfortunately, Addison did not have the energy to wait up for them, but she did decide to get up extra early both mornings they were here (lucky me). Saturday we wandered down to Findlay Market to pick up some goods for dinner (mmmm, flank steak, Smitty potatoes and red wine mushrooms), but for some reason, none of us felt the need to go to the wine tasting. Maybe it was because we were up the night before until 2 a.m. and polished off almost 5 bottles of wine??


Needless to say we enjoyed quite a few bottles of wine and some wonderful grilling over the weekend. For Father's Day Addison got her Daddy a Webber Grill, grill cover, starter, BBQ set and a UNC steak brander. Very manly, daddy gifts.



For some super sad reason I don't have any shots of Addie and Andy together on Father's Day, but here's a quick peak at our weekend anyway:

Addison has been a little snippy these last couple days. I think she is still recovering from our move, is cutting a couple new teeth and maybe is going through a growth spurt. Naps are no longer the garaunteed thing they once were nor is bed time.

Addie will now lay, sit or stand in her crib and complain quite relentlessly if she is not in the mood for sleep. That complaining ranges anywhere from moaning and babbling to shreiking and screaming. I also discovered yesterday that she is taking out her sleep frustrations on some of her best friends. I walked in her room to discover her finally sleep, but Baby Puppy, Bunny Foo Foo, pink Baby Doll and Giraffe had all been chucked out of the crib and were laying abandoned on her bedroom floor. Ouch.

She has also been a little picky about eating. In a way Andy and I find that to be a relief, as we were convinced we could put shards of glass and old batteries in her bowl and she'd chow down happily. Three times this week she has smacked the spoon (with a spoonful of food on it) out of my hand. She has refused to open her mouth or has shoved her fingers in it instead of her spoon. I don't know what is going on...perhaps she is just staring to form her own opinions.

I don't think I am prepared for her to have an opinion of her own.

And as always, when Addie is voicing her ideas and opinions Michelob feels the need to chime in. As much as she has always been my shadow, she now is becoming Addison's shadow. She often slinks out from under Addison's crib after nap time. She is usually laying in a sunbeam not far from where Addison plays. These days she joins us when it's lunch and dinner time, supervising quietly from the window sill.

Morning Routine

In our last two homes, on Spaulding and in Norwood, in the morning I would hear Addison start to wake up. I would normally go make her bottle and then go grab her. She'd get her diaper changed and then we'd head back my bed where she'd get snuggled in between me and Andy for her morning meal. Andy would usually have a standoff with his alarm clock and I would tune into the Today show to find out what was happening in the the world. Addison would chug down her bottle and then play in bed with a stuffed animal.

All that is different now that we don't live on one floor. Now in the mornings when I hear her waking up I get up, get her and change her diaper and we head downstairs for a bottle. She sits on my hip eagerly awaiting breakfast while I shake up some soy milk goodness. We then amble over to the family room, where she lays on the floor bathed in morning sunlight and chugs down her bottle. I flip on the Today show and start brewing a pot of coffee. By the time I am headed back to the couch with my coffee, her bottle is drained and she is either standing up by the couch eagerly awaiting my return or she is head first into her bin of toys.

And that's how we sit, she and I, each morning. Me thanking god that coffee is part of my life, she thanking god that one little girl can have so many toys.

James Taylor on the Banks of the Ohio

Last night Aunt Kimmie, Uncle Rick and Baby Rylan came over to babysit Addie while Andy and I headed off to see James Taylor in concert at Riverbend.

I warned the babysitters that my sweet daughter had been a bit of a pill all day, and the only thing that had been making her happy was my lap. I also warned them that she was stinking up quite a few diapers. Stinky, messy, runny diapers.
To further illuminate this point to them (as I am now to you) I explained how she had squirted out of her diaper on to the living room carpet. And that while I thought I cleaned everything up - her, the floor - I discovered poop stains all over baby puppy and another smear mark on the carpet under baby puppy a half hour after I put her down for her nap. Lovely. My dainty dainty daughter and her dainty dainty digestive system.

Anyway, I met Andy downtown at Party in the Park, we had a drink or two and then headed off to the concert. I was hoping to grab dinner there, but all they really had were giant pretzels and popcorn ~ so that was dinner. Fantastic! We shared a blanket and a beer or two with Brian and Kelly and settled in for nice summer night.

The concert was wonderful. I can't help but love James Taylor, I am pretty sure he has accompanied me on every road trip I've ever taken. Of course he played "You've Got a Friend" and it was gorgeous. Of course he played "Sweet Baby James" and it made me miss the Berkshires. And of course he played "Carolina in my Mind" and that made me darn ready for vacation.

I had to call my mom and let her know that the concert was wonderful. After all, the last time I went to a JT concert was in 1996. My stupid high school boyfriend had just smashed my silly 18-year-old heart and my ridiculous friends thought the answer was to drink as much beer and liquor possible. Needless to say, when I got home from the concert my mom was not very proud of me. Maybe it was because I had ring the doorbell to get in since, for some reason, I couldn't work the screen door handle. Maybe it was because she had to hold the trash can while I ralphed into it. Maybe it was because I was a mess over a boy who really wasn't worth it.

Either way, I had a much better experience at this concert. No ralphing. No hangover. No irrational tears.

By the way, seven months after my ridiculous display I started dating Andy. And my mom ran into that boyfriend of mine....he was working as the popcorn maker at a rinky-dink movie theater. I have no idea what he is doing now or where he is, nor do I particularly care. But I do know that I had a lovely night listening to beautiful music on the banks of the Ohio River under clear starry skies with my wonderful husband.

I think I will make that my new James Taylor memory...not that my mom will ever let me forget 1996.

Landscaping and Lawncare

Turns out homeownership is kinda a lot of work. Andy and I took a break from the great indoors to tackle the super overgrown outdoors. Andy mowed the front and side yards....in about 2 hours. The back yard will be confronted later in the week. I spent about 90 minutes weeding. No I did not get the whole back yard done, just the elevated patio area.

We are far to young and able bodied to hire people to do these tasks, but damn, they are time consuming! We didn't get dinner off the grill until almost 10 p.m. ~ my bed time is 10:30 p.m. Needless to say I am heading to bed with a full tummy - and an aching back.

Elise & Addison

The beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Lapse in Judgment

When we got our new laptop it came with a web camera installed. This was very exciting, particularly for Gramma Kathy since we could web chat, and she and Addie could see each other.

Karen kindly told me about Skype, a free web call site. Now Addie and Gramma try to talk at least once a week, a wonderful way for them to connect.

Well, Andy and I foolishly decided that it would also be a wonderful way to connect with our dear friend Sean. For some reason, we thought it would be a great idea to sit at our kitchen table while Sean and his mom, Cheryl, sat at their kitchen table and play "high low black red" over Skype. Or what Sean had dubbed as "Skype Drinking". We discovered that we can only video conference with one contact, which put a damper on our plans to have a multi-state drinking video conference (Christie in North Carolina, Sean in New York, Us in Ohio and everyone else in Illinois). Good thing, because it turns out that drinking with Sean was more than enough. Also turns out that I am not a good high low black red guesser.

I cannot hang with Sean....he's like a human version of scotch and I forgot to remind myself that I am mommy, not a rock star (sorry Keelin, I know I should have known better). Sunday was spent praying for the pain to go away. I clocked a lot of good nap time on the couch and in my bed....Andy took good care of the babe, and Bob thoughtfully delivered some Advil.

Thank god for father-in-laws!

I was fully functional today and got the dining room hutch completely unpacked, made it to Costco and Babies R Us, vacuumed, whipped up a couple batches of baby food, did six loads of laundry, bathed, fed and put a baby to bed, made dinner and did the dishes. Perhaps that was overkill, but it made me feel that my wasted Sunday was atoned for.

It's a Jungle in here

So my mother does not come through the phone line and kill me I am posting some pictures of Stinkerpots' room. It is, pretty much, the cutest most wonderful little girl room. There is so much space to play and the jungle animals make everything super bright and cheery. All credit goes to Genna, for being so creative and generous (my only contribution was painting the walls such a bright yellow and filling in the giraffes' spots...but damn, those spots look good!).

Home Sweet Home

We are officially westsiders now. We have bid a fond farewell to Norwood, to our apartment, to Mr. Squirrel.

The movers got the van packed up in 2.5 hours and unpacked in one. Impressive, considering it was well over 95 degrees out, and after taking just one load down the stairs I looked like I had just stepped out of a sauna.

We spent all day Friday and Saturday unpacking. Her room is done, the kitchen is done and the office is done.

We have had our first home-ownership snag ~ our garage door broke, with the new car inside, and we can't get it fixed until tomorrow.

We have quite a bit to go, but due to an unfortunate video phone date with Sean Phelan, productivity came to screeching halt today.

But we'll discuss that lapse in judgment later...

On Friday while we were unloading the truck our next door neighbor and his two young sons came over and offered to help. We thanked them profusely, but were just about done. It was such a kind gesture and the kind of thing that I think we are going to have to get used to. Last weekend the neighbors who live behind us brought us over cupcakes. Yesterday the neighbors down the street brought over a tray of sandwiches. Pretty much every car that heads down our street will spot us outside, honk and wave. Rumor has it there is a neighborhood phone tree, email distribution list and calendar of events, including everything from block parties to cornhole tournaments to golf outings.

This is a far cry from when I first moved to Chicago, and LU staff instructed us not to leave our car unattended or accept help from any of the locals. Quite different from when we moved to Albany Park and our building was graffitied.

It feels great here...the yard makes me want to garden (I figure, I knit. Why not garden? I said that to Andy and his reply was the pseudo mini-van would have more fitting for me. Jerk.). The patio begs for cookouts and glasses of wine. Addison is settling in wonderfullly, she loves crawling all over the great room and kitchen. As her pictures show, she enjoys peeking out the back door, she likes pulling herself up on window sills and peering outside at the birdies and flowers. Even the cat feels at home, and has not stayed in hiding like she usually does after a move.

We are home.

I am reminding myself that this is a work in progress and our house forever, so I haven't hung every picture or arranged every little thing "just so" ... we'll be here for the next 30 years, I've got time.

Synopsis

I'm too tired and too sweaty to put much effort into this post. I know, you're right, I should just drink my wine and go to bed. Instead, however, I am going to give a brief update:

• Addison and Michelob continue to work on their relationship. Today Addie only pulled Michelob's fur two dozen times, yanked her tail twice, squished her paws a bit, and grabbed at her ears repeatedly. Mich put up with it. I guess she decided it was better than what Addie tried to pull earlier this week. Much to her parents' dismay, Addie tried to put her finger in Mich's behind. Amusing? A bit. Gross? Completely.
• We did not get the pseudo-minivan. Thank god. We thought about it, and it would have been a sensible buy, but in the end, I couldn't get over the sliding rear doors. We now are proud owners of a 2008 Hyundai Tuscon. It's white with a beige interior and I only feel a smidgen like a soccer mom in it. Really am I any more a soccer mom in my Tuscon than Karen is in her CR-V or Michelle in her Explorer? Not really (except for the fact that I actually am a mom).
• Andy's cousin Genna (she's on the right) came over yesterday to make Addie's sunshiny yellow room into a jungle....and it's AWESOME! I am meeting her back at the house tomorrow so she can detail all the painting she's done...I can't wait to see the finished product. Awfully fitting that my zoo pal (and really only pal in Cincinnati) is painting a jungle, don't you think? I forgot to take a "before" picture, but will be sure to post an "after" picture.
• I have been packing like crazy and feel confident that we'll be ready for the movers on Friday. Let me tell you, it is not fun to pack when the humidity is 96 percent. It is not fun to pack when you have no energy. It is not fun to pack when your "11" month old is being helpful. Helpful, as in whatever I pack away she wants to get out. Helpful, as in the sound of the tape being pulled across the boxes is startling and makes her pseudo-cry. Helpful, as in "I want to pull all of my hair out", but I won't because I am standing up in two weddings in the next three months. Helpful.
• Ohio has kicking thunderstorms. I mean these suckers make you move away from the windows and wonder if you should seek shelter. With any luck our brand spanking new roof has kept us dry....

Wine glass is empty. Time for bed.

We are sticky. We are tired. We are totally over painting.

Andy and I were able to get our dining room, living room and Addison's room painted this weekend. We accomplished this largely because Addison spent 36 hours at Grandma & Grandpa Neyer's house. We didn't think it was good parenting to expose her to the plethora of curse words that we were mumbling while sweating to death in her room. Just getting the not so pretty flowered border off her walls took all Friday night and all of our patience.

Addison's room is "fruit compote", or what we are calling "holy freaking sunshiny yellow". Our dining and living rooms are now whatever gold/mustard/peanut butter color the previous owners painted them and Cincinnatian Hotel Vandersall Red (a fancy name for "adobe").

Our dining room isn't maroon and gold like we had initially planned, but our Rambler pride still lives on in our hearts - just not in our dining room

Thankfully we also set up the patio set, where we sat late last night and enjoyed a few cold brews (and maybe a glass of wine or so). We're done painting for now...Now we just have to scrub the 4 gazillion paint splatters off our bodies.

And, oh yeah, maybe do some packing.