Things

I'm going to be an Auntie times TWO!  Both of my sisters-in-law got married this year and are both now pregnant!  They are 5 days apart due next July.  How crazy is that?  So 3 of the 4 weddings I went to are already adding to the family.

Yesterday Maddie said "bye daddy" clear as a bell more than once as Chris was leaving the house. His heart just melted. If I'm remembering correctly I believe this is the first two word phrase for either of them. They do repeat I Love You but it's more like "ah-woo" so I don't think that counts. I think they think ILoveYou is one word.

Jackson has started this hysterical pout thing. We are forever saying "no" to him or as I like to do; tell him what TO do like "leave the cup on the table" rather than saying "don't throw the cup" 1000 times a day. Until now he would just continue doing whatever it was that we didn't want him to...like he couldn't even hear us talking. Now when we correct his behavior he stops what he's doing, squeals "NO", then proceeds to lay down on the floor on his belly with his face to the floor. He lays there for about a minute then gets up and moves onto something else. We have never made him do this so I have no idea where he got it. It's so funny though and so hard not to laugh at him.

Today the kids were occupied for 45 minutes playing with baby wipes.  It was fabulous!

The kids have been pretty good with the ornaments on the tree.  The first day it was up there was a lot teaching going on and by teaching I mean us yelling NO!  But the next day was better and so on.  Today I went to the bathroom and heard some clanging.  I yelled "You better not be touching the tree!!!"  I came out as quickly as I could to find the kids not near the tree.  I thought, "oh good".  On closer inspection I found they were each clutching a coveted red ball in their hands.  They gave them up without a fight but I found that one was broken!  I think I found all the glass.  Since then they haven't tried to touch it again.

Holiday shoot

Head on over to my photography blog to see M&J's christmas photos.

The tree is up!

Photos

I finally bought potties last week.  They enjoy sitting on them for a snack but refuse to sit on them naked.

Watching Mickey

2nd Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a busy day.  We went to Mike and Kristen's in Gloucester around 10:30am and hung out until our feast was ready around 1:30.  M&J were having a ball with Raffe.

Out of nowhere yesterday Maddie and Jackson started saying "cheese" when you point the camera at them.  

{Maddie's cheese face}

{Jackson's cheese face}

"Excuse me, there was talk of turkey?"

Auntie Kristen is doing her magic in the kitchen

{Papa carving the turkey}

Jackson absolutely adores Raffe.  M&J both say his name now and they say it with such enthusiasm.

{Maddie and Roxy}

{Uncle Mike, Auntie Kristen, Raffe, and teeny tiny baby on the way!!!!}

After dinner we all went to Great Aunt Joan's to see the Gloucester crew.  We got there at 4:30 and neither baby had slept yet.  Jackson ended up falling asleep in my arms and I was in absolute heaven for an hour while he slept there.  Maddie was up entertaining everyone else.

Then we went up the street to Uncle Billy and Aunt Deb's.  We were supposed to stay there just a few mintues then head to my Aunt's in Salem but we just couldn't get out of there.

Maddie was turning this light on and off.  She knew when she pulled the chord it would turn on but every time she pulled it she would be surprised and close her eyes.

NYC part III

We didn't get to bed until around midnight. I slept in the comfy tempurpedic bed with Jackson and Chris slept on the futon with Madison. They both cried because we were trying to confine them but the were quiet and asleep within a minute. It took me a while to fall asleep and at 12:30 the roommate next to the room we were in came home and we could hear her through the wall which didn't bother me but I was so worried about them waking up in the middle of the night or too early for her. Probably an hour after Jackson falling asleep he started screaming like he was terrified. I looked at him and he was still asleep. I was so sad to think that he could have scary dreams. What could he possibly be dreaming of??  He did the same thing two more times through the night then they both woke up at 7:30. Somehow we got them to go back to sleep until 8:15. It was still too early for the roommates so we tried to entertain them in the room. I had snacks for them and they played with the things in Chris's toilet article kit. 

The thrill of that wore off and Jackson tried to escape the room. He could open the door himself because of the type of doorknob it was and there was no lock. And god forbid we try to stop him from opening it. He would just squeal. Chris ended up playing south park episodes for them on his iphone. We were able to keep them in the room til about 9:30 when Chris went out in the living room and saw that my cousin was awake. So we let them loose but the roommates were still sleeping and we just couldn't get them to be quiet. Even on demand episodes of Mickey didn't work. 

{Watching Mickey}

They were so loud when trying to resist getting dressed that we had to take them upstairs to the top floor where there is a common area to get their clothes on. 

{They liked all of our elevator rides}

We knew we couldn't stay there so we quickly got our stuff together and went for a walk. 

{Trinity Church at the end of Wall Street}

We went to the WTC site which was just a few blocks away. The whole area was blocked off so there wasn't much to see. As we were walking on streets where traffic wasn't allowed anymore I couldn't get a horrific thought out of my head. I was thinking that the people that had to jump from the buildings probably landed right where we were walking. It's hard to be there and not put yourself in the moments of that horrible day. Even as were walking down streets I had the images you see on TV of all the debris billowing up into the air and the pedestrians running. It must have been absolutely horrifying to be there that day.

After that we walked south to Battery Park, caught a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty,

 then made our way back to Wall Street passing the Bull. 

{Self portrait of Maddie and me in front of Tiffany on Wall Street}

By then it was noon so we packed up our stuff and said our goodbyes to Cousin Chris. We walked back to the garage and got our car. Again there was a mishap with the GPS directions and we had precious little gas so we were sweating a little (where do people in Manhattan get gas anyway????). We made it to the Brooklyn Bridge 

and followed the directions to Queens to our friend Ron and Kasha's apartment. We pulled off their exit with zero miles to empty and thankfully a gas station right there. It was great to see Ron and Kasha and Kasha's little sister Victoria. We hung out at their place telling them the woes of how noisy M&J were. They didn't believe us because there they were perfect angels. They kept threatening to steal them. They took us out to a shopping area called Atlas which was so beautiful! We ate at Chili's where our devil children emerged once again. They didn't want the highchair. They didn't want to sit in a lap. They wanted to RUN and be free. 

{Kasha and Victoria}

On the way back to the car we stopped in the middle of the complex outside and ran around a bit and took some pictures. 

{Kasha and Jackson}

{Maddie, Chris, Ron}

We said our goodbyes and headed back to Boston. M&J were asleep 10 minutes into the ride. We left at 6:20 and they slept until 9:45 when we pulled into Nana and Papa's house. Nana 

was heading to California the next morning for the week so she wanted to see them before she left. We hung out there for about 45 minutes then went home. They ended being up til midnight againbut it was ok.

Overall it was a great trip. I think next time we go somewhere we'll stay where we don't care about the kids bothering other people :-)

NYC part II

We made our way into the building and up the elevator to the 11th floor.  My cousin, Chris greeted us at the door to his extremely large 5 bedroom apartment.  He shares it with 4 people that he met on craigslist and I hope they are still speaking to him after our tornado swept through.  Chris took us to his bedroom which was very large and I don't mean just by Manhattan standards.  It had a double bed and a futon with a ton of floor space left over.  We let the kids loose and they ran down the incredibly long hallway to the living room.  They usually take a little while to warm up to new places but not that day.  They were off the wall even bouncing on the couches and climbing onto the coffee table.  There was much to do there that they shouldn't have been doing so we were constantly telling them no.  It was a little stressful for us and probably not enjoyable for the roommates to listen to either.  

We all got bundled up around 2:30 and headed out to meet our friend Shirley and her boyfriend Steve at a restaurant in the village.  Chris mapped it on his iphone and it said it was only 1.5 miles so we decided to walk rather than have a possible hassle on the subway with the double stroller.  It was a long walk but not bad although it was COLD!  When we got to the restaurant the kids decided they were going to be shy and refused to sit in a chair alone or let anyone but us hold them.  So we scarfed down fajitas while holding whiny babies (and drinking a margarita).  Of course as soon as we were done they decided to come out of their shell and were flirting with the entire restaurant.  Madison was really enjoying the salsa which was WAY too spicy hot for me.

She'd get this look of pain on her face then dive back in for more!

We bundled back up and started walking north.  None of us knew the city overly well and no one had any preference as to where we went.  I said "how about Time Square?  I've been to NYC at least 10 times and I don't think I've ever seen it."  We looked on a map and all decided it was too far to walk.  But we continued to walk and talk.  The kids fell asleep as soon as we left the restaurant which is what I was hoping for.  We walking and walking and next thing we

 knew we were in Time Square.  

It was cool but I was a little disappointed and I didn't get any great photos.  The kids woke up as we got there and we decided to go into ToysRUs, you know, the one that has a FERRIS WHEEL in it!  

The place was a mob scene.  It was almost impossible to drive the double stroller around in there and the kids were NOT happy at that point.  We ended up going to the big barbie house area of the store and let them out of the stroller and having a snack.  Jackson screamed like we were trying to cut off his arm with a butter knife when we tried to get him back in the stroller.  Poor kid.  I don't know how but we all made it out of there alive.

After Time Square we walked quite a few more blocks past Rockefeller Center to Shirley and Steve's hotel.  We hung out in the lobby for a bit and let the kids run around.  They had a blast and all the people thought they were adorable.  Steve and Shirley were going to stay in at that point but we convinced them to take a walk to Rockefeller Center with us.  

It was very beautiful even though the tree was still being decorated.  

Shirley was good enough to take a photo of Chris and me where we got engaged.

It was great to see Shirley and meet Steve.  

It really is too bad they live in Scotland.  We said our goodbyes there and tried to find a subway station because there was no way in hell I was walking back to WALL STREET from there.  So Chris decides that he really wants to go to Grand Central Station.  

I called my cousin and he said it was close to there so Chris maps it out on the iphone and 

we start walking.  It was only a couple blocks away.  Next thing I know, we're in effing Time Square again!  Chris pulls out the iphone again and admits that we followed it the wrong way!  I said it was ok because I was pretty sure there would be a subway station there but he said he really wanted to see Grand Central.  I wasn't happy but we ended up walking back toward Rockefeller to Grand Central.  It was very cool.  There was a big stairway that we had to get down.  I'm sure there was an elevator somewhere but Chris decided to just roll the stroller down the stairs.  

The kids were belly laughing the whole way down and everyone around us was laughing at them.  It was so cute and funny.

Once I determined where we needed to go we got on the subway.  

{Their first subway ride:  Chris was THRILLED I was being such a tourist and taking photos on the subway}

It turned out to be an express train.  Chris was worried that it wouldn't stop at Wall Street so he made us get off at Brooklyn Bridge just in case which was two stops away from Wall Street.  As we were getting off the train we heard the voice say "next stop: Wall Street".  UGH!  So we walked another 6 blocks back to Wall Street.  

We got in around 11pm with the kids still awake!

More later!

NYC part I

We got on the road Saturday morning at 8:10 which was only 10 minutes later than we planned. I was pretty proud of that. I was worried about the level of whininess for the trip as they were driving me crazy before we even pulled out of the driveway. They were just hungry though so I kept passing cereal back to them until they stopped asking for more. We punched our destination address into the GPS unit we borrowed from Chris’s brother. There were two different options with different zip codes. It really never crossed our minds that we should confirm the zip code we really wanted so Chris picked one and it calculated a route that we followed. We didn’t see a map though. That would have tipped us off of our impending hassle. It said we’d be there at 12:10. We thought that was reasonable. About 30 minutes into the trip, Jackson fell asleep. Madison was content to look at a book and out the window. At 10 we stopped at a rest stop which woke up Jackson. Once we were back on the road Madison fell asleep and Jackson was content to read a book. We made our way past Hartford and Stamford and then soon came upon New York City. We could see it off to our right as we continued to drive south.  We knew that Wall Street was at the southern tip of Manhattan so we figured we’d continue on the highway we were on until we got closer to the southern part then take the Brooklyn Bridge. Eventually we passed the Brooklyn Bridge and the Battery Tunnel (the two most southern ways to get onto Manhattan). Then we were driving by the Statue of Liberty and further and further south. Our route took us over the Verrazano Bridge onto Staten Island ($10 toll).  At that point we were getting suspicious of the directions. The unit was telling us that we’d be at our destination in 12 mintues which just didn’t seem possible. Since we had no idea where we were we figured it was going to get us onto Manhattan from the west side so we continued to trust the GPS. Then we were driving through residential neighborhoods when the GPS told us to turn onto Wall Street. Sure enough, there was Wall Street…just not the right one. I called my cousin at that point and asked him what his zip code was which was obviously NOT the one we chose. So we punched in the RIGHT address and were back on the road back over the bridge and eventually to the Battery Tunnel.  We figured we’d follow the directions right to my cousin’s apartment so we could drop off all of our stuff then go park the car. So we followed the directions. Only problem is that GPS doesn’t know that most of the roads are just closed around there with the WTC site and security around the stock exchange building. So I call my cousin when we came across a road block right near his place. That’s when he told us that the roads were closed. Thanks for the heads up, Cuz!
We decided to just go ahead and try to find parking but by then Jackson had had ENOUGH of being strapped in a car seat and was screaming. I really was pleasently surprised how well the kids did being in their seats for 5 hours! We planned on driving around to find street parking but our nerves got the best of us and we just pulled in a garage. We were able to pile all of our stuff into/onto the stroller except one big bag that I rolled while Chris pushed the stroller. A few blocks later we finally made it to our destination…at 1:10.

Lesson #1: Vacation edition *edited

When typing your destination address into the GPS unit be sure you have the correct zip code.  Who would think there would be two different Wall Streets in New York City?  One in Manhattan, the other not so much.  Guess which one we ended up at?

The pink line is the route we took...

Total cost:  1 hour of time, 1/4 tank of gas, $10 toll on bridge that we never needed to go over.

Things

Today Maddie said monkey clear as a bell while repeating me. Next thing I knew she picked up a book, pointed to a monkey and said monkey on her own!



She also repeats I love you (ah wou).



I solved our housing crisis for the weekend. I was joking around with my cousin who lives on Wall Street about staying with him and his 4 roommates. He seriously offered his bedroom and he would sleep on the couch! I was not expecting that but gladly took him up on the offer. We will be visiting Rockefeller Center where Chris proposed to me almost 9 years ago. We haven't been back there together since.



Maddie is now on day 7 of refusing to go to bed. Chris has to get her up and she falls asleep in the chair with him. She is in no way soothed by someone going in to calm her down. She screams at the top of her lungs until she is OUT of the crib. I figure it's just a phase and one night she'll just stop. I keep thinking that maybe she's saying she really needs some one on one time with Daddy.

Nothing like waiting til the last minute

Chris and I are taking the kids to NYC this weekend. A friend from Scotland is coming in for a vacation and Chris told her we'd meet her there. Only problem is he didn't make any arrangements for sleeping Saturday night. Any suggestions?

Other Pictures from the 17th

It was hard to pick my favorite photos for their birthday post this month.  It was a beautiful fall day.  They were enjoying playing around in the yard and stomping in the leaves.  Madison had a black eye from an altercation with the wooden futon arm the week before then while we were taking pictures on the 17th she somehow fell on the cement and bumped and scuffed up her forehead right above the black eye.

Bath time

I've been wanting to get a picture of how long Madison's hair is when it's wet.    It's not easy but I got it.  I also got her adorable buns in the photo but I'll spare her on the internet.

I've been trying your ideas regarding head rinsing.  They absolutely refuse to look up.  I'm working on it though.  They don't mind pouring over their own head but they usually miss and I end up having to do it myself anyway.

Splashing

Nana's house

Sunday we spent most of the day at Nana's with Uncle Mike, Auntie Kristen and Raffe.  We had lunch, cookies, dinner, drinks, picked names out of a hat for Christmas presents, and played cards (texas hold em and I won!).  I got Uncle Stevie in the draw.

Jackson "getting" Raffe

Jackson feeding Uncle Mike.  Uncle Mike was very excited because Madison said Mike for the first time that day.

20 Months

Dear Madison and Jackson,

Only 4 incredibly short month and you will be 2 years old. That is just wild. I'm still having a hard time with the passing of time. It really bothers me that we spend so much time dealing with life's daily issues (food spilled on floor, needing more milk, diaper changes, etc.) that I just don't get enough time to reflect on our experiences. For instance, I take a ridiculous number of pictures of you both. I get them off the camera onto the computer. I look at them. I post the best ones to the blog. The rest I basically never see again. Who has the time? I wish I did because I still feel like this is all slipping away from me. So I'm glad that I have this blog to record all of our memories.

We had a pretty uneventful month with the exception of your second Halloween. Your costumes were a big hit. Everyone thought they were so cute even though the significance of them was lost on the non Star Wars fans.

You both repeat most words that we want you to say. If it's a word that you can't say, you'll say "Da?" Sometimes we'll say big words just to hear you say "Da?" You both say airplane (eee peee)(now when you say it, I'll look in the sky and there will be one there!), more (murh), moon, apple, cheese, cup. I'm sure there are more but there are just too many to remember.

You both climb up to the top of a slide, sit down, and go down the slide by yourselves. Maddie's version of sitting down is throwing her feet out from under her and landing on her butt. She also does this while jumping on the futon.

Daylight savings time messed up our very good schedule. For about a week you were getting up an hour too early. After that we had a good normal week, then the last few days you have both boycotted bedtime. Your naps have been pretty consistent from 2pm -4pm or 5pm but for some reason going to bed at 9pm just isn't happening anymore. It's more like 10 or 11!

Eating is still an issue for both of you. Everything is just hit of miss with you. I think I've stopped worrying about it now because that's not helping anyway.

Dear Jackson,

You don't say as much as your sister but I know you understand everything we say and what you do say is so cute! We just love your voice. You like to say ear (eee) and LOVE to point out everyones ears. You'll even look at the tv and and point to the people's ears. Just tonight Daddy called me at work to have you say sheep over the phone. I thought you said something else and wasn't happy that Daddy would teach you such a word, but turns out you said sheep.

This month out of nowhere you have become glued to the TV. We really don't watch that much TV during the day mostly because neither of you ever seemed captivated enough by it for me to take advantage of it (like take a shower). Now you can't take your eyes off the screen. You mostly love Mickey. Today you woke up from your nap earlier than Madison so I brought you in the living room. You were very upset that Madison was still in the bedroom so in order to take your mind off it I sat in the chair with you and watched a recorded Mickey. I really should have taken a shower during that time but I was enjoying sitting with you so I just stayed. When that was over, you went back to wanting to get Maddie AND I had to take a shower before going to work so I put on the same episode again. You sat in the chair and didn't move a muscle. Daddy came home after that. Once you were done wrestling with him you wanted Madison again and I had to go to work. Daddy put on Mickey again! You didn't move.

You're wearing 18-24 month clothes and size 6.5 shoes. Size 4 diapers are getting snug on you.

I love you buddy!!!!!

Dear Madison,

You love to tell Jackson "no no". One night you were watching bambi, shaking finger at the tv saying "no, no, no".
You say a lot of words on top of the ones you say along with your brother. Nana (neena). You just recently said it to Nana as she walked in the door. You say owl, nine, two, purple, pink cup (pickup), knee, Mike, DB, Raffe (Rabby), bubble, cracker (caca), puppy, Mickey.
You have started to tell us right away when you have a stinky diaper by grabbing your diaper. Only once or twice have you not been stinky and I think that you are also telling me that you peed. I really have to get a potty for you. I've been meaning to for months now but you really seem to be showing signs of being ready to potty train!
You love to put things away and make sure doors are closed. You aren't all that interested in TV. You'll watch the first 5 minutes of a show then you're up and playing with toys or whining to sit in my lap.

You're just about growing out of your 12 month clothes. They basically fit you like a glove now. You wear size 5 shoes.

Last night when you boycotted bedtime. I got you up and sat with you on the couch. You laid there until you fell asleep and then I kept you there for another hour. I miss being able to hold you like that without a struggle.

I love you love you love you baby girl.

Love, Mommy