Constant Beginnings

Claire lately has been trying to figure out humor. She'll laugh when we laugh and make comments like, "Momma funny." She definitely knows her stuff. Anyway, she has her share of comedy routines. The latest is putting things on--glasses, undies, or dress bottoms. We think she's funny too.

After the celebration, a reporter asked to interview me on our experience with his deployment, etc. I declined. She then asked Chris who agreed. He actually made the news with a comment and a couple of appearances. It is viewable online http://necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/06/26/Hanscom-heroes-honored-for/1246065887.html Every 6 months Hanscom AFB throws a celebration for troops who have returned from deployment. Friday was Chris' celebration. The kiddos and I packed up in sunny skies, but when we arrived on base, they quickly turned to rain. Again. It was an outdoor celebration. After sitting in the rain for 15 minutes or so, the rain cleared and the sun returned--along with it came the blistering heat. I was sweating profusely by the time the parade and festivities began. It was a lovely celebration after which was a carnival. Claire had a blast. They had a moonwalk, this huge slide and a few toddler type carnival rides. She especially enjoyed driving the race cars. Chris and ...

My excitement for the 30 Day Shred has changed to misery now that we've officially begun. I shouldn't really say that as it is awesome, but really quite challenging since my body hasn't seen exercise in nearly 10 months. Ugh. The routine is circuit based, which I love. However, thinking I was capable of so much more, I jumped right into level #2. She doesn't believe in resting, but merely exercise modification when you are beyond your limits. It was tough, but good. I was sweating profusely. I am not thinking I'll do it each and every day, but definitely 5 days per week in addition to my daily routine. Results should be manageable.

Yesterday was finally our first day of no rain in nearly 5 days. Ugh. Needless to say, we were all loving the warm weather and decided to head to a local pond area near our house. Chris has been dying to get Sophie in the water, so this was a perfect opportunity. We were the only ones there, which was fantastic. We let Sophie off her leash and she ran and ran--in and out of the water. Claire loved it too. She went into the water up to her shorts, watching and laughing as Sophie swam, splashed and ran. It was a fun little evening activity. I think this is my favorite. Claire loved Sophie splashing her. She giggled with glee each and every time. I, on the other hand, was holding my breath, just waiting for Sophie to topple Claire down and toss her into the water.

ahhhh. there is nothing i like better than having nothing on my list to do. let me correct myself, on my need to do soon list. i have my 6 week post delivery appointment today, so claire went to daycare to play with her friends. this little visit is long overdue for her. she misses them dearly and says their names often. i think she says their names so she doesn't forget them. anyway, she was thrilled for her day of excitement and i was equally thrilled for my day of doing whatever i choose. those who know me well, know that i wouldn't be laying around, sleeping or relaxing. instead, i've been cleaning, doing laundry, writing thank you notes, organizing, and fixing a few things that k've been meaning to do for awhile. it feels great. to top off my super great day....i am wearing prepregnancy jeans! yahoo!! i still have weight to lose, but it definitely is rewarding to see some success. hopefully i'll get the okay to resume exercise and normal activity today, so i ca...

Mya had her one month well baby check today. I still can't believe she is already one month old. She is doing very well. She has gained two pounds. Her jaundice has completely cleared, but has been left by a birth mark. Okay, one didn't leave the other. I just happened to notice the birth mark yesterday when I was giving her a bath. I was feeling a bit like a neglectful parent as I hadn't noticed it until now, but her NP said they often appear gradually, and it most definitely wasn't present at her last two exams. Phew--feeling a bit better. Anyway, the birthmark is a "cafe-au-lait," which is hereditary. You are welcome, kiddo. I happen to have a very, very small one and I know at least one of my sisters have one as well. So, unfortunately, she got this from my side. Oh well, one not so pretty thing certainly doesn't outweigh the many lovely qualities :)... We just need to watch it making sure it doesn't increase in size or more do not appear. Other th...

Nothing says love like a daddy and his girls. We love you, Chris! You are an amazing daddy and husband.

The second little activity I planned for our day was a festival on Boston Common. Claire LOVES Stevesongs on PBS. He basically just sings and some kids join him to dance along. I discovered that he was performing at this festival (Life is Good) and researched it a bit further. It was a great little find and the best part was that it was FREE. Yes, you heard it...free and on the east coast. Those three words are never synonomis. Mike Lowell (Red Sox) was even there, but we just missed seeing him. We did get a picture of Bert Jacobs who co-founded "Life is Good." Mya chilled in the stroller while Claire had a blast. She got her face painted, got inked, completed an obstacle course, and outsmarted a tossing game (she was supposed to stand and throw the ball into the dish, but she simply walked over to the bowl and tossed the balls in.) The weather was beautiful and the rain held off. On our way out of the park, we stopped at a playground/sprinkler park. Despite our encouragement...

one thing i love about living in new england is the u-pick farms that are everywhere. we go at least once per season to pick whatever is in season. i think i like them so much because they are a little taste of home. we always had a garden and of course, farming is in my blood. today was our day to pick strawberries. yummy. claire enjoyed eating them almost as much as i did; however, she generally picked her delicious berries from the box vs. from the vine. on our adventure today i spotted a baby bunny. claire was rather curious about the little fella. although the patch was a bit damp, it was a great harvest.

helping. ummm--yeah. enough said. Checking out her big sister. Look at these eyes--taking it all in. i think she wants me to put down the camera and give her some food... We only have about 3 pictures from Chris' childhood, so we don't have alot to compare our children to, but this picture screams Chris to me. Oh what a week we have had. Here are a few key words to clue you in...mastitis, rain, constipation, whining. I think those are some good indicators of what our week has been like. It all began with a little visit from a very painful critter known as mastitis. Let me say how fortunate I feel knowing that this is kiddo number 2 and only my first horrific case. It was awful. Awful to the point that I actually called Chris at work on Monday morning, asking if he could come home. I thought I was going to die---chills, sweats, body aches, aching, aching bubbies. I am pleased to say that a quick phone call to the doctor, some strong meds and I was back in order the next day--not...

yes, i am a speech pathologist. yes, i am fully aware these productions are developmental and normal. yes, i still think they are soooo adorable. mail man--manmail sandwich--samips lay down--may now holy crap--holy cwap--even used in appropriate context (steam coming out of pot while cooking..."holy cwap, daddy--fiuh" (i'm convinced she gets this from chris--he'd beg to differ) sophie--soapie ambulance--ambance love you--wubyu ice cream--i keam when we take a bath, i sing to the tune of the Backstreet Boys' "Everybody," "wash your body." claire nows responds to her directions of taking a bath as "time to was you body." her biggest desires in life are "read a sory," "go fo wide," or "go fo walk." when we ask her where she wants to go, claire either responds "tahget" or "i keam." that's my girl! whenever my phone rings or i am talking to someone on the phone, she immediately thinks i...

Ok, so i was all set to potty train claire earlier this spring, but honestly, it or i kind of lost my sense of urgency. i sort of came to terms with the fact that she isn't even two years old and also the fact that she will do it when she is ready. so...i've laid off. well, chris has picked up the desire to get this kid trained. we decided to make a strong attempt today. we had everything-candy, shopping bribes, a party, etc. nothing seemed to work. in fact, claire got to the point where she didn't even want to sit on the potty. poor thing. anyway, after several attempts, i finally broke down and told claire that mya was going to use the potty. i stripped off her diaper and held her on the potty as we all sat and stared. i should include a brief side story before i continue--when claire was an infant, my sister lisa called to tell me about some granola type mommas in boston who were listening to their infants and potty training them. we laughed about it as she asked if i wa...

Last Saturday we ventured up to Mount Major for some hiking. Chris and I hiked this mountain a couple of years ago and thought the view from the peak was gorgeous. Time helped us forget how difficult the hike actually was--not to mention the first time around neither of us had extra weight in the form of an infant or toddler. It was quite a challenge, but well worth the blood, sweat and tears. Three weeks post surgery, I don't think this is exactly what my doctors had in mind when they told me "no strenuous activity." Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mya turns four weeks tomorrow. I really can't believe how quickly time has passed. I think I say that in every post, but it truly is amazing. It seems to slip by more quickly than it even did with Claire. Mya is doing great. She is getting bigger and stronger every day. She can hold her head up pretty well all by herself. She is awake for longer periods at a time and loves to look around and take in her surroundings. I find so much of her personality to be similiar to Claire's as a baby. It definitely is sweet to experience it all again. I am not sure what I ate the past day or so, but something has not been so kind to precious little Mya. She has had an upset tummy and has let us know it. As a result, her sleeping segments have been shorter than normal--3 hours or so. Hopefully, we get back on track soon--Chris and I are tired. I took pictures to give you a taste of the face we've been seeing more often lately. The other picture is her laid back, analytical look. She is su...

Claire sat through all of Sophie's puppy training classes and evidently she picked up a skill or two. A couple of days ago, she was digging through the cabinet where we keep all of our dog supplies. In her search, she came across the clicker used during the classes. She slipped it around her wrist and began commanding Sophie like nobody's business. Tonight was a repeat performance, so I got a couple of pictures. I really have to get it on video as it is pretty fun. Sophie was a good little student, following the requests of her trainer. I think I would too if you had heard Claire's tone. She definitely meant business.

i am finding it difficult to write a cohesive post as of late, so here is another one filled with randomness. with the addition of mya comes the addition of yet another stroller (we already have a travel system and single jogger). after much research, questioning others and debate, we decided on this double jogger. thus far it is awesome. claire continues to be full of love for both her little sister and sophie. the past few weeks we'd been debating on whether or not to keep sophie. she is a smart dog who follows her commands quite well, but she is full of energy. we actually got to the point where someone i work with was going to take her. we sadly decided we couldn't part with the crazy dog, so she is here to stay. hopefully we all stay sane with this decision. so far so good. we have a decent routine which gives her the exercise she needs and tires her out too. i hope it continues. mya is such a little honey. she is starting to smile when she sleeps. granted these smiles are...