DECEMBER IN RHODE ISLAND.

we spent almost the whole month of december down at touisset point, RI at my grandparent's house. it was just wonderful to spend this christmas season with two year old rorie and six month old jake. and SO much has happened! i'll start with jakey...

when we first arrived we helped my grandma put up the christmas tree and decorated it. rorie decorated the bottom and jacob wasn't so sure about the texture (see photo above). 

we saw a lot of changes with mr jake since thanksgiving...

he has learned how to sit, crawl, pull himself to standing, and walk around things. all within less than a month's time. it's really incredible to watch him navigate the world around him and watch his face explode with the cutest grin when he knows he's mastered a new feat. 

he is also starting to comprehend and listen to what we are saying. i think the first thing he started to really "get" was the word kisses. and boy, if you say that word, you better be ready for an open-mouthed slobber fest complete with the sound effect "muah". because he's not shy about laying a big fat one on your cheek... or nose... or forehead... really anywhere. seriously. beware of casually throwing around that word. 

he's also got "jump" down pact which can end very cute or very bad depending on the location of the boy when said word is uttered. jumpy-exersaucer=good. holding onto a coffee table=bad. not fully comprehended yet. eh, you'll get there dude.

and lastly, he totally says "hi" and "mama". not quite on cue yet, but it's still cute. i've found him giving a breathy "hiiiiiiii" to elle. which is adorable. and then just last night he yelped "mama!" when he was stuck under a chair... so that happened. he's seriously developing at lighting speed. make it stop!

rorie and i did A LOT of christmas crafts this month. and i love, love, loved it. we did watercolors of the newborn baby jesus in the manger, mistletoes for a present, painted birdhouses, and made bead necklaces. and she loves to tell you that "J" is for jesus. i don't think she quite gets it yet, but we've got a year to keep trying. 

(p.s. last night she asked if she could do christmas again... sweet girl... you have a few more days to wait.)

rorie and i were a busy pair this year in the kitchen. here's what we've done: made cinnamon ornaments, created a gingerbread house, made and decorated sugar cookies, made spritz cookies, and homemade green playdough. her attention span wasn't really long enough for the whole baking process, but she is a great mixer, cookie-cutter, and a fantabulous eater of fresh, warm christmas cookies. oh... and she loves rolling pins. her grandma d got her a baking set from ikea which included a rolling pin. here's the conversation between her and aaron when she saw it:

r:  "is that a rolling pin?"

a: "yep."

r: (elated face) "I LOVE ROLLING PINS! rolling pins, rolling pins!"

i did not make that up.

oh my gosh! was that a picture of my FATHER?! yes! you don't need to make an optometrist appointment. my father was indeed in the flesh on u.s. soil. and it was perfect. i was sure i wasn't going to see him until the summer, but his presence was requested in d.c. and he made a quick four day stop in new england before heading to chicago and then back home to bangkok.  

christmas eve was a success for our family. both children were wonderful during the service. rorie loved holding her candle while i whisper-sang silent night into her ear. i could tell she was soaking everything up in that moment. i felt very close to the christmas story this year and purposefully made a point to invest all my energy on being in the moment and thanking god for every small detail. because he is the one who created the small details. and i am forever thankful for that.

our family party after the service was a blast as well as one of the most tiring nights. rorie's nose had turned into a snot faucet and could not be tamed. i think more germs were passed around this year than yankee swap gifts. jacob was up WAY past his bedtime and was also coming down with the faucet-nose. he cried a lot and didn't sleep long. rorie wowed the world with her cuteness and changed the yankee swap for good. you can no longer decide which present to pick- little-elf-rorie will pick one for you. it was really funny and slightly gross (considering the snot and all).

the highlight of the night was when santa claus came to visit. i can't even put it into words, so here's a video of exactly what happened:

i mean... this is just two minutes of our life with her *happiness for life*

umm... best photobomb ever? good job grandpa! and grandpa... if you don't know what photobombing is check this or this out :) and if you do...still check them out.

we got home around 11pm on christmas eve and our kids both had a screamfest and passed out in the car. we left some cookies and milk for santa and headed to bed. both kids fell asleep the moment their heads hit the bed. a moment i will forever cherish and think of often... like every night. 

and when i came down to make a bottle for jacob... i saw that santa had come!!! 

and christmas morning was so wonderful. two is a marvelous age to celebrate christmas. my favorite so far. rorie loved her sled and was totally smitten that "santa left one cookie for me!" among other cute things said that morning.

it's been a fantastic december. and a fantastic year. thanks for joining the ride.

NOVEMBER RECAP IN PHOTOS & TEXT.

i'm going to let you in on what went down this month. first... i got another great photo of my two babies. these are tough to achieve, but boy am i ever thankful when i get a winning shot! plus- i've never seen such an enthusiastic little boy! kid loves picture taking.

this little dude turned 5 months. i can't even believe how much he's accomplished in one month... since he'll be 6 months in three days. during this photo shoot, with one fell swoop of his hand, he managed to swipe all the letters off the couch. these are getting more and more difficult as he gets bigger.

we've had our last nice warm snow-free days here in NH. we went all lots of walks to the library and around the neighborhood. we have a killer hill next to our house and i try to power up that beast at least once a day. we've also been doing squat challenges the past two months. as well as babysitting two one year olds and a three year old. 

the drool is spot-on. a straight shot to the quilt below. this will probably gross a lot of people out, but i made his mohawk with his drool. yep, i sure did. and look how happy he is!

this month rorie and i made cookies! isn't baking with your kids the most amazing thing ever? i mean... who cares about the possibility of salmonella when there's sweet, creamy, dough to lick off of a batter creating an ultimately way-more fantastic childhood than before that first sugary lick!

we had our first snow!!! it may have been a light wet early morning dusting that melted by 10am, but we got rorie all bundled up and threw snowballs right at that cute little target we call our daughter.

this kid watches. he watches his sister and i think it's safe to say he adores her. in this photo his grin is just enormous because his sister is sitting on that chair being a goof. his smile is already dreamy, but when he's smiling at her- i'm a puddle.

 

for thanksgiving this year we went to touisset. i think i can count on one hand the number of thanksgivings i've had with extended family, so this was a treat for me. we stayed a few days before thanksgiving too and are headed back there for most of december. when we are in RI, breakfast with grandma is a must.

this boy went from being up on all fours to crawling to pulling himself up to standing- all in one week. since he was born he showed this innate motivation to figure out how to move his body. he works so hard "training" his muscles and figuring out how to balance. it's really cool to watch. and he's so proud of himself. with all the progress he's made he's also had a few rough spills, but he seems to bounce back quickly.

in case there was any doubt if these were his children... here's aaron and his two carbon copies.

p.s. disney junior at grandma's is the bomb!

of all the photos i've taken of these two rascals there's always one or two reeeeally funny ones. #1 rorie's face is so weird! #2 jacob looks like i'm taking the photo with a chicken hat on. he's so shocked he has to hold onto his sister and the pillow for dear life.

officially getting into everything now.

mr. ladies man with all my little cousins! they all loved holding him. he's such a flirt.

you'd think rorie was 6 when you see how she keeps up with this crew. they had a blast playing outside with the pool noodles. they have all made movies on the ipad together starting on rorie's 1st birthday. the one they filmed this visit was called "the thanksgiving games". a spoof on the hunger games. 

i am extremely lucky to have such strong women as role models and aunties in my life. i have silently learned a lot about being a mother, friend, sister, daughter, and wife from them. 

"the thanksgiving games" featured this little turkey. and she was nothing but pumped about it.

 

back in NH we had gotten some snow, so of course roro had to play in it. this is obviously "olaf". today his head fell off. how do you explain that to a sensitive two year old?!

this kid. drooling. needy. but smiley. pretty sure he's getting some teeth. he's been very lethargic. slight rise in his core temperature. and sleeping WAY more than normal...which i wish was just normal... maybe these teeth will make their appearance just in time for christmas. "all i want for christmas is my two bottom teeth"...sing it jakey. christmas is a go. we decorated with one single strand of twinkle lights. i can't bring myself to do anything else because we will be in RI... so the santa pants and burgh babes made drooly bandanna will have to do.

and that's a look at our november. so excited for the christmas season!

THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY.

THE GOOD:

baby boy smiles all the time. and everyday i'm so thankful that he's not sick like rorie was. he only fusses if he has a bubble or needs to eat or sleep. other than that he's smiling at everything. which includes smiling at absolutely nothing (so weird...why do babies do that?) and now he's full blown talking and having conversations. he's also super active and very strong, just like his sister. moving like crazy. almost figured out rolling over onto his back...eating his hands constantly. he gets super smiley and then bashful, which is the cutest thing ever! i'm already proud of the little man we created.

as a family, the summer has been great. lots of family and friends. LOTS. lots of traveling for us. a bit of relaxation at camp and touisset. it was just great. we are slowly getting into the swing of things at home and making new routines and grooves. hoping to make some friends and maybe get out more?

baby girl had a fantastic summer. and it ended with her paci's being taken away from her cold turkey. day one there was screaming and crying at nap and bed. day two and beyond... nada. really glad that it wasn't a big to-do. she will proudly tell you that there are "no pacis in MY bed".

aaron and i are not as tired as we were two months ago. (but we are still tired. see the "ugly" section).

rorie says "arts and craftses".

baby girl has almost 100% potty trained herself. she decided to do this the week we went to camp (so fun! nope not at all)...and we haven't really looked back. she also often sleeps dry at nap and overnight. not sure how that happened, but i'll take it.

baby boy is growing like crazy pants! having our first baby not put on any weight was rough, so every morning when i pick him up i am amazed at how heavy he is! and long! he's not a chunker, but he's very tall and has filled in quite nicely. i think he's around 13 pounds? rorie hit that mark around 7 month... and that's just crazy to me.

my last visitor is here: my bro bro, sam. and i love every minute of his existence in my life.

photo by Kelsey Stevens Photography.

THE BAD:

we've had three bats in our apartment. not cool. i captured one. aaron the next. and the third... i called 911. seriously. i'm home alone at 2:30am with two kids. my two year old wakes up right after i feed and get the two month old back to sleep. i walk to her room and the third bat is swooping in the living room right outside her room. i race through the door and i'm pretty sure i yelled "crap". but i can't really be sure because my adrenaline was pumping at that point. rorie was crying about wanting milk? she never gets milk in her bed... but she has a water bottle, so i gave that to her and left- hoping it would do. i ran to my room to put my figurative big-girl pants on and a hoodie to protect my head. ran back to the living room and balled up a blanket and began swinging. by the third bad i no longer wanted to let it free outside. i wanted to kill it. long story short. i became unbearably exhausted and i didn't know what to do. i just knew the bat needed to go. i called the only people i knew would come to my rescue no matter how silly it was- the police. and the nice policeman saved the day just in time for jacob to wake up again to eat and then not go back to sleep. i was very tired the next day.

jacob is sensitive to caffeine. enough said.

THE UGLY:

i absolutely hated saying goodbye to my mom, dad, and gracie this summer. for some reason i've been ugly crying like my first semester in college. i miss them so much. trying to pull myself together, but also letting myself be sad... because it means i love them so much (:

my children are on opposite schedules. the days and nights i'm alone with both of them are very hard, but it can only get better right? i mean, "going to bed" at 9pm, getting up almost every hour some nights, and always starting the day at 4am doesn't really make for an easy start to the next "day"... lets be real. there are no days. it's one continuous day that hasn't stopped yet. my two have a nice nap together in the afternoon that seems like it's pretty consistent, but after that they are on total opposites and i feel like i'm a chicken with it's head cut off (plus i'm watching game of thrones and now i'm picturing lots of severed heads. people's. not chickens. yuck). so my day usually begins at 4am. that's when #2 wants to eat and become unburpable. literally has unending burps. which means he won't go back to sleep until 5:30am. which is when i can finally change my probably soaked from spit-up pjs, pee, wash my hands, lay down, pull the covers up, and listen to rorie yell to me that she's awake from the monitor. see how it doesn't end? i think they're testing me.

thrush. if you don't know what it is you can read about it here. i'm putting this in the "ugly" section of this post because it was ugly and long lasting and really tested my limits as not only a mother, but a human being. it absolutely sucked. jacob and i battled it together for a whole entire month...and it can and might come back. which sucks again. right now i don't think we have it, so it could go in the "good" section. but i'm still mad about it, so it's staying here.



and there you have it... the good, the bad, & the ugly with two kids during the summer of 2014.

and i just noticed photos of our cats are in the right side bar...yeah... they are still alive.

FAMILY PHOTOS.

right after jake was born, kelsey stevens asked if she could take some newborn shots to add to her portfolio. of course, i was game. i was completely exhausted by the last full day of camp, but we managed to get the kids slightly together, in clean outfits, and to the edge of the lake for kelsey to discover the joys of photographing a two year old and a seven week old.

kelsey has done it again folks. last summer she was able to capture twenty of us beautifully. dare i say that this summer might have been even harder? i mean... there is only four of us in my family... but a two year old and a seven week old- they're no joke. and they're not going to be like, "oh i heard you wanted to take my picture...let me just follow your lead". nope. it's mostly the complete opposite of that.

rorie was sporting a sweet runny nose and was ready to call it a night at 4pm. she was exhausted and really wasn't into sitting for pictures or listening. the slide was calling her name and there were two older kids, who desperately wanted to play with her, hanging around us as we tried to take photos. but you'd never know that... because kelsey worked her magic.

jake was a doll. he fell asleep right before we were supposed to shoot, so i thought we'd be toast. turns out he's the model of the family (after his dad of course). we moved him around, changed positions, took his paci out, and then he woke up and struck more poses and was all around a complete gentleman. rorie...take notes (nah, it's ok... you're two).

a million thanks to kelsey.

p.s. if you are in chicago and need a photographer... grab her up.