The FOUR of Us!

Oh man oh man-- this post is overdue.  Considering the learning curve, though, of parenting two (!!) children- I'm giving myself a pass.  It's been a whirlwind of a few months.  Since I last wrote, we've welcomed beautiful, cuddly, snorty Emily Harper into our lives.  She was born three months ago yesterday and we were beyond thrilled to meet her!  It's been really nice to have more confidence with a baby this time around.  TJ and I are old pros (ish!).  Just when we were starting to get overconfident that we had it down the second time around, Em kept us on our toes with a few small health hiccups.  She's totally fine now thankfully.  It's not a good feeling to watch your teeny baby be uncomfortable!

Big sister Sydney is remarkable.  She welcomed "her baby" with open arms and always leans down very close to her to say "she's SO cute", "she LOVES me!", or "sweetishka" (we think this is her way of saying sweet in Russian, the first language of some of her teachers at school).  No one makes Emily smile and "talk" as much as Syd does.

As I write I am gazing across the room at a sleeping Miss Emily.  She seriously looks like an angel- so peaceful and sweet.  I've been savoring my one on one time with her during the days and I have about another month of doing that almost full time before I return to working.

THANK YOU so much to our parents, siblings, and friends for your support over these last few transitional months.  Your visits, meal deliveries, calls, cards, etc. mean more than you know!  I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such loving, caring people and am so glad that my children were born into this local and extended community.  A special shout out to Bubbe, Poppe, Grammy and Pop Pop for being here for almost 5 weeks total to support us with the transition!  We know how lucky we are to have that support and help.  Thanks to you Sydney had so much love and attention as she shifted from being an only child to having a little sister! 

SO much love to you and happy holidays!!
Annie

p.s. You may wonder how I'm finding time to write this- Sydney is in Omaha with her cousins and grandparents!  Bubbe came to get her because she said she was missing her cousins.  Lucky girl!  We just hope she wants to come back after a fun-filled, action packed week!

p.p.s. Emily already did her first flight! We went to Memphis over Thanksgiving and were there for 10 days.  Grammy and Pop Pop even threw a "sip n' see" for her!

 

 

 

Guest Bloggers: Grammy & PopPop!

Grammy & PopPop got to spend some quality time with Sydney and as usual she amazed us with things she says and does.  Syd has a vivid imagination. She assigns everyone a character, sometimes a princess other times an animal; but it seems like she always hides from the "monster", that would be PopPop!!  Mommy and Grammy would hide with her and protect her, "go away monster leave our (Syds's character) alone".

We were visiting her neighbor and when it was time to go home she comes up with " I'll be broken hearted if I have to go home" once home she decides " Home sweet home, no place like it."

Sydney nicely asked mom if she could hold a stem of fresh flowers. She proceeded to tear off all the petals. After mom cleaned them all up she claps her hands and says "good job!!"  She also reverses the praise for sleeping through the night and gave mom two stickers!

She and PopPop work on addition using fingers and thumb, 4+1 is 5!!

Mommy and her friend Amy are giving Syd a bath and catching up, Syd said, "excuse me, could somebody talk to me!"

As always, we had an incredible visit, can't get enough of her!!

The 3 1/2 of Us

In very early January we found out I was pregnant with a second!! Even though this is something we were trying for, I'm not gonna lie- my first reaction was fear. I now know this parenting business is no small job and soon enough we'll have two!! To add to that, the idea of maintaining a pregnancy and having a healthy baby seems like more and more of a miracle as I know it does not come easily for so many. But, the first time I saw the baby's heartbeat and the outline of the face in an ultrasound the fear morphed to pure excitement! Another human being to look forward to with its own personality traits, mannerisms, and piccadillos.

We told Sydney the big news when my stomach was noticeably bigger (this time around that happened way earlier!). At first she looked very confused then she proceeded to bend down touch my stomach and say to it "I will protect you from all around".  Todd and I melted. It was a Tarzan quote used at the perfect moment.  Our neighbor was pregnant at the time and she told me Sydney would point to her stomach each time she picked her son up at school and say "my mommy has a baby in her belly too!"

To demystify this process wherever we can we decided to learn the baby's sex again. Todd had asked Syd if she wanted a little brother or sister and she said matter of factly "I want a sister- it's a girl" as if she knew it to be true. Sure enough Sydney was right about this 50/50 guess!

We get to see this tiny baby pretty often on the big screen.  About a month ago I had the most delightful ultrasound technician I've ever had. She kept telling me how "cute" this blob on the screen was and said the baby was so cooperative it was almost as if she was saying "Hey- look at this!"  Usually it's so cut and dry.  This was a blast!


Now I'm 6 months along and I'm far enough in the process where I feel like I can blog about it.  We're having fun making room for the baby in our home and I'm enjoying feeling her kicks!  She may be a very active one!  Due date is September 23.


Lots of love,
Annie aka The Bloggster (thanks JB for the nickname)

p.s. Speaking of nicknames, you may remember that Syd was called "Shorts" when in utero.  We've thought and thought for nicknames for this one while she's living in my tummy.  Top runners are "Pocket", "Short shorts", and my personal fave "Unds" short for undies.  None have stuck quite like Shorts did.  We still have a bit of time.

The Many Roles of Sydney Reese

It's been a while- time for a blog post!  Lately, Sydney has shown us even more layers of her adorable 2.5 year old personality (I'm not biased or anything). Now we know Sydney...

1) The Advocate: When my doctor walked in the room the other day, without even saying hi she said "My mom don't want any shots".  I had mentioned nothing about it but it was of course true!  Thanks, Syd!

2) The Politician: Sydney is kissing babies and shaking hands.  Literally.  When we walk down the street in our neighborhood she'll introduce us and her grandparents both to people she knows and people she doesn't know.

3) The Investigator: A full fledge investigation happened last week.  Sydney was looking for several pennies that were strategically laid out- each on their own brick- on our block.  When they were no longer there, she got the whole block involved trying to solve the mystery of the missing pennies. 

4) The Tree Hugger: When in doubt of who to be, Sydney is always Tarzan.  The obsession continues and- I must say- it's a breath of fresh air from the pretty pretty princess stuff.

5) The Linguist: Syd learned some yiddish from Grammy and Pop Pop last month.  Now she likes to "plotz" and talk about her Grammy "Faygalah"

6) The Salesperson: We parents need our sleep and apparently we are not above bribery.  Now that Sydney knows she can get some tv and treats if she sleeps through the night, we're all sleeping much more. YAY!  Syd asks not just for a treat but to go pick out her own special treat.  She then likes to try to negotiate for more than one.  A chip off the old block of her daddy.

That's all for now!  Hope everyone is doing well!

Love,
Me