It runs in the Family

I like to think of myself as a fairly organized person. (however, you wouldn't know it by looking at my house as of late). And there are many times, some of which I have posted, about how Celie would organize her "people" or toys in funny and interesting situations.

Well, it must run deep in the gene pool, because today, I caught a few things that Anna has done. I know that it was Anna because Celie is off shopping with Bob and Anna & Jake are here with me.

Here are her people, sitting in a line waiting to go somewhere. I am amazed at the precision and such. Mind you, these people were in a container - straight. So, she gave them their sitting position and lined them up.

Here are some Disney figures lined up - holding hands - if they have them. Notice the 2 minnie's together - Hmmmmm.

This is scary. No wonder some of my friends think I am crazy.

While Mommy is Posting

In trying to keep the many adoring fans of this blog happy, I am trying to post a few more pics and post more often. However, What happens while I try to post a few things to the blog? This:


The cushions off the loveseat and sofa. Toys EVERYWHERE and yes, taht would be the girls, still in their nightgowns and it is almost 3pm. (they view them as dresses and scream to high heaven if I want to put "clothes" on them. So, I have learned - to pick my battles, of which, I don't try to have many). Celie saw the camera and her first instinct was to say "CHHEEESE!!"

On the other hand, Jake is totally unphased by the screaming and comotion coming from the living room. Ahhhhhh!!!!

Jake's doggy bank

Since Jake's room is done in a puppy theme, I thought that I would continue the theme as much as possible. Prior to his arrival, I made him 3 puppy themed, flannel backed blankets. I also decided to make him a "piggy" bank in my ceramics class.

It took me a while to figure out what shape his bank should be. A puppy bank? A bone bank? A dog dish bank? Nope. I finally decided that a Dog House would be the best and quite frankly, the easiest. So, I made him a Dog House Bank. And yesterday, he got his first cash to deposit in it.

I am going to work on some castle turrets a.k.a. princess balconies, etc. for the girls in my upcoming classes. Watch for photos.

Oh, One other thing on my plate

I have been asked to be a Board Member for the Brecksville Center of the Arts.

I am actually pretty excited about this. The BCA - Brecksville Center of the Arts is an art center in our little suburb that offers showings of artists' work as well as classes for kids to adults. I have been taking a ceramics class there for almost a year now. I love my class. I am not making any "masterpieces." But I am enjoying learning some new things and all of my lucky family has gotten ceramics for x-mas. :)

I am going to try to keep my mouth shut the first couple of meetings. From what I understand, the Board of Directors does most of the fundraising for the center. Which, I am glad to hear that the Board is involved. However, they do pay a director for the center and I haven't figured out exactly what he does. And I have met him on a few occasions and he isn't the most friendly person either. So, we will see how this goes.

The first event - a Board Meeting tomorrow night - but also Art from the Heart - a HUGE fundraising event for the BCA put on by the Board. Isn't that fantastic? I am donating 4 dozen cookies for the event that I just heard about - where is the marketing? where is the publicity for this thing? Oh, yeah, I said I was going to keep my mouth shut. Hmmmm. This may be harder than I thought.

I must be Crazy!

Celie asked if they could paint. Even though I was dog tired, I agreed. I think that I may be crazy for agreeing, but I was hopeful that all would be fine.

I changed the girls into some "play" clothes and gathered the supplies.

Jake decided that he needed to supervise this activity and make sure they doing o.k. He was trying to get pointers for when it is his turn to participate.

Both Anna & Celie started out doing a great job with their paintings. Of course, they really haven't figured out when to STOP painting on their painting. Trying to convince them that they should move onto another canvas didn't work. I really liked some of their "earlier" creations - before they muddled all of the colors together into 1 big blob.


After each of them had painted 2 -3 paintings, I thought that it was time to clean up. I gave them fair warning that we were going to clean up in a few minutes. Jake started fussing because he was tired of not being an active participant and wanted to be fed. So, I announced that it was time to clean up. Both girls had a fit. Thank goodness that most of the paint that I had in the little cups were now mostly on the canvases drying in the dining room. Anna decided that she wanted to sweep her arms across the table to make the paint cups go everywhere. Thank goodness for my quick hands as none of the cups or paint reached the floor. By now, both girls are screaming/crying and I am quickly trying to remove all traces of paint from the table and the girls. With both girls crying, Jake joined in on the fun as well. I swept up Anna and took her to her room. She cried herself to sleep. Celie finally calmed down and I fed Jake and he was happy.

If I wasn't crazy before letting them paint, I think I am now.

No Sleep for ANYONE!

Saturday night was an absolute wonder. Jake only got up once throughout the night and both girls slept threw the night which meant - that EVERYONE actually got some sleep Saturday night. How naive Bob and I were to think that it might be an upward trend. Last night was a nightmare.

Jake was up from 12:30 am until about 4 am - that is when I heard him and told Bob that I would take over since I had been up since 2 am because Anna decided that she needed to be awake. Bob went to see if a change of person would calm her down and get her to sleep. I fed Jake and he fell asleep in my arms. So, I took him back upstairs and put him to bed and then I went into Anna's room to sleep (who ever is on Jake duty has been sleeping in there to hear him better). Then about 1/2 hr. later, Bob came in with Anna. She was still up & now Celie was up too. We put Anna to sleep in her bed, sent Celie back to her bed and Bob and I actually slept in the same bed for a change (that is a long story). It was hard for me to fall asleep because Bob was snoring, but we managed to send Celie back to bed 2 additional times. The time 5:30am. Bob and I managed an hour or so of sleep before he was up to go to work and Jake was waking up with Celie announcing his every movement. Anna was still asleep.

We are definitely hoping for a better nights sleep tonight.

Fun in the Sunny Snow

We experienced a heat wave on Sunday. Bob took the opportunity to take BOTH girls outside to go sledding. The run that they had developed earlier was on the slick side from the melting snow. Bob actually was running down with them down the hill so that he could keep a grip on the sled as they went down the run.


Yes, that is Bob in a T-shirt. He was sweating up a storm while outside with the girls. I think the high of the day was in the low 40's but it was like a summer day to Bob.

He and Anna made snowmen for the front walk way. Anna actually made it longer than Celie did. Of course, as soon as Celie was inside and saw Anna still outside, she wanted to go back out.

Feeding Jake

The girls wanted to help Bob feed Jake. Celie went first.

Then Anna wanted her turn.
And she got it.
I wish they could change diapers.

1 Month old

Little Man Jake is 1 month old today.

I told Celie that this morning and she suggested that we needed to make a cake for him. Though that sounds like a GREAT idea to me, I don't think any of us, except for maybe Anna, could use the extra calories right now. So, we will celebrate in great spirit today.

Jake is doing very well. I think that he definitely has grown. We have had some difficulty with him sleeping, spitting up and being a little on the irritable side. I called the Dr. and she suggested that I switch him to a soy based formula. It seems to have done the trick. He is spitting up FAR less - no projectile spitting and he is sleeping much better than he was. Bob and I are actually getting a little bit of sleep at night. YEAH!! Now, we are just hoping for a little more time sleeping at night and less during the day.

Happy 1 Month Jake!

Misc. Pics

Trying to get a family picture. Can you tell that they were watching Kung Fu Panda? I had to stand in front of the TV to get the girls to look at me. Still didn't work - at least for Anna!

Dorky picture of me with a great picture of Anna. This was taken by me - so not bad for the Howie method of taking pics. (long armed).
Celie and I looking weird in our own ways.

Jake - that is what he looks like when he is hungry and lately, unfortunately, he has been hungry every 2 hours. We think he is going through a growth spurt.

Chicks Dig Him

I cried today

My brother and I some times comment on the ease in which our father can cry, kind of like those sappy Hallmark commercials. However, we love him for it.

I wish I could blame it on pregnancy hormones, but I am not quite sure how long AFTER delivery that I can actually use that as an excuse. Therefore, I will have to face the facts that it might be genetic and I am more like my father than I thought.

For today, I cried. Bob asked me why I was crying and all I could say was I am not sure why.

I have to admit that I was pretty much glued to the television today. No, there were not all new episodes on HGTV or FoodNetwork, but I was fascinated by all of the Inauguration events that were taking place.

I know that I have not lived as long as some, but I do not remember a time when there were so many expectations, so much celebration, so much media surrounding the festivities of the president elect. I also never thought that I would see what happened today in my life time - not only an african american president elected and sworn into office, but the hope that many have placed upon his shoulders. Many have been calling this an historical event. Yes, I would have to agree. However, what really made me cry today was seeing the mall filled to the brim with people. For some/many that have never been to the mall, it might seem pretty trivial. I had to explain to Bob why I was so amazed at the sight of it. Even on TV it looks pretty massive, however, I have been to the mall on several occassions and found it a wonderful, peaceful and LARGE place. However, every time I have visited, it was during the spring or summer when their were leaves on the trees. The foliage does provide one with the sense of intimacy. The feeling that even in a vast area, there is a cozy, safe feeling. Seeing the mall without the foliage, you could just see the never ending sea of people. People who came from all over to witness the historical moment. It was seeing all of those people, people hoping and wishing for a change, that made me cry. Maybe finally, our country's top officials can work together for the good of the people - for it is the people that put them where they are. I some times think that those in Washington forget that. Actually, I think that many politicians starting from local government to Washington forget that.

I have hopes for a new era. I know it will be hard, but I am hopeful for our future and the future of our children and our children's children.

I know it might sound cliche, but it is the truth. It is how I feel and that is why I cried today.

Celie the Snow Bunny

The weather outside is too cold for me, but not for my Polar Bears. The temp out is about 23 and with the "real" feel of about 16. Bob bundled up Celie and the two of them were outside for almost 2 hours. I captured some of their adventures through the warm comfort of the dining room.

My Polar bears coming up from the sled run that goes between our house and our neighbor Jim's house. Bob created a sledding run that has banks along the edges so that riders can avoid the trees and the creek. Yeah, thank goodness.


Celie taking a break from sledding and helping Bob shovel the snow off of the driveway and sidewalk.
Here is video of Celie sledding down the hill toward the ravine in our back yard. I was pretty shocked the first time that I saw her do this. I thought for sure that she was going into the creek. Thank goodness for the embankment Bob put in place.

Dress Up Girls

Celie decided that she wanted to put on her Cinderella dress. (I think she is too big for it, so I think she won't be wearing it much longer). So, of course, Anna had to put on one as well. She started out with the Aurora dress on. However, it was too big for her. Then I found her Snow White dress and that was more to her liking. Then we went all down stairs for their princess photo op. Had to snap a few of Jake as well. Enjoy!

Anna with her best princess proper pose.


Celie NOT striking a princess pose.


Anna saying "cheese" for the camera.


I know she is thinking - why won't mom let me watch WALL-E again today.


Jake unphased by the princesses.


Twirling princess Anna.


Stinker princess.

Jake's 1st Bath

We have given Jake a few sponge baths, but we had to wait for his umbilical cord to fall off before we could give him a "real" bath. However, since we cannot find the small baby bath and I didn't feel like cleaning out the sink and such to give him a dunk type bath, I decided another sponge bath would be just fine. So, I cleaned and cleared the island thinking this would be a great photo opportunity as well. It could have been. However, Bob was upstairs doing something while I was bathing him, so I wasn't able to grab the camera until after I was finished with him. He was tolerant of the bath, but didn't like it very much. He doesn't like to be cold. He does take after me, I think. :)

He is not happy about all of the pictures that I am taking.


Look at Mr. Lanky here. You would never know that he is that long because he bunches his legs up inside of his sleepers. I am sure that will change soon. I still have to remember that he is only 2 1/2 weeks old.

2 weeks Old

Jake is 2 weeks old today. Therefore, he had his 2 week check up at the Ped's office. He has regained all of the weight that he lost in the hospital. And he has grown a 1/4 of an inch. The Dr. said that he is doing really well. She did give us a rec to have an ultrasound done at 6-8 weeks for his hips. Even though it is uncommon for boys to have hip issues, she said that with Celie's and Anna's history, she would rather be safe than sorry. No shots for him today, but he will have a series of them at his next visit - at 2 months.

Our Last X-mas

We had a great time visiting with Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom. They braved some pretty icky weather to come see us. It took them over 9 hours to drive to OH. But we had a great visit and were able to celebrate our last x-mas with them, Mr & Mrs O and Mike.

Mike made it back from Manchu Piccu in one piece and without any sniffles or ills. He had some great pictures and it was wonderful to see his slide show and hear all about his trip. It sounded like he and Ezra, his friend that went with him, were the most prepared travelers, besides the guides, in the group. He had a wonderful time.

For our last x-mas meal, I made a beef tenderloin, roasted potatoes, steamed carrots, and a frou frou salad. It was very yummy and there were hardly any leftovers.

It was good to visit with everyone and the girls had a great time chasing and being chased by the Uncs.

Christmas #5

We are heading into the home stretch of our celebrations of X-mas this year. Tomorrow Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom will be coming into town to welcome Uncle Mike back from his hiking trip to Manchu Piccu. On Sunday, we are going to celebrate x-mas with Aunt Sue, Uncle Tom, Uncle Mike, and Mr. & Mrs. O. It should be a lot of fun.

So, in preparation for the celebration, I thought that I would take a cue from my friend Samantha. She decorated a gingerbread house with her daughter Mallory (who is 3 weeks younger than Anna & she is due with her 2nd in 12 weeks). When I read her blog about it, I thought what a great idea. However, I was still on "bed rest" and the thought of doing that type of project with the girls was a little overwhelming. So, on my latest trip to Joann fabrics to pick up a few things - o.k. a lot of things (because they were having some great sales), I found that they had a gingerbread house kit in a box - the house pieces already made, icing mix to make, and candies. AND it was 50% off. So, I thought it might be a fun project for the girls to do. Boy howdy was I right on that one. Of course the girls had to try the icing and the candies. I tried to limit them, but I know they snuck tastes in when I wasn't looking. I assembled the basic house together last night so the girls could concentrate on decorating without having to wait for the house to "set up." They were very into it.

I decided that it would be easier for them to work on it together if they could each have a "side." So, I figured it would be best for them to work at their little table. It worked out perfectly, well, as perfectly as a 4 & 2 year old can work on something together with frosting and small candies. And, yes, they are still in their PJs. That is because they are wearing their new Aurora nightgowns and won't take them off. Hmmmm. I think I have created some monsters with those nightgowns.


This activity occupied them for more than 45 minutes. That is pretty good in my book. I was very surprised. I had to bribe them with some mini chocolate chips so that I could finally clean up the mess and get them from devouring the rest of the frosting and candies.


I even took a shot at decorating a little bit. I enjoyed it very much - so much so that next year, I have some great plans for our own little village. Hmmmmmm.


Here is what Anna did on her side of the Gingerbread house. She also contributed some candies to Celie's side as well.


Here is Celie's side of the house. Once she got into the hang of it, she was all about putting the various candies on the roof.


Now we have a great centerpiece for our X-mas celebration.

Jake Update

Jake continues to be an awesome little man. (yes, I am knocking on wood right now). He has been sleeping about 3-4 hours at a time at night. And once he is changed and fed, he goes right back to sleep. That is AWESOME!! Especially, compared to his sisters who were up every 2 hours at least. At 1 week & 2 days, things are going along very well. We are truly blessed.

Big Sis

Celie and Anna are both developing into great big sisters. We are very lucky.

Big Sister Celie Feeding Jake. Don't you just love her "Cheesy" smile?

Miscellaneous items

Visitors

We have been blessed with visitors from out of town. Sarah & Kathryn drove from MI to us to visit with us for a few hours and then headed back. We had a great time catching up with each of them and the girls enjoyed playing and being chased by them as well. They were able to hold Baby Jake and he enjoyed the extra attention. Both Bob and I were very grateful for the effort they took to come and visit. Hopefully, the next time, they will stay longer.

My mom also came into town yesterday. She arrived in the late afternoon after a very lengthy drive from northern MI. She had car trouble that made the trip more difficult and we are currently waiting to hear the prognosis of her car. Depending on when her car is finished, she will either leave for home tonight or tomorrow.

Uncle Mike will return this weekend and Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom will be coming in this weekend as well. So, we will continue to have a stream of visitors in and out for a little while. That is always fun - especially now that I can do some things.

Forgotten

There are many things that I have forgotten recently. I had been able to blame it on my pregnancy brain, but I am not able to blame it on that any more. Both Bob and I forgot what today was. Our Anniversary. I did remember at 5 am, but forgot again. I did remember to buy him 2 cards a month ago, but forgot to get them ready - I guess I better go do that while he is still napping.

Happiness is . . . .

being able to fit into my pre-pregnancy pants this morning and they are even a little loose. It definitely gives me motivation to keep on my goal of getting into shape. That is my goal for 2009. I am not setting a weight goal - to be or to lose - but I am setting the goal of being in shape and being able to walk into any store and buy anything I want off the rack.

Jake

He is doing great on day 5. He is eating pretty regularly and is giving us at least 4 hours of sleep at night between feedings. He is pretty laid back otherwise. He is fabulous.

Celie & Anna

are wonderful big sisters. They are having possession issues over toys today. We had a lot of time outs today. Hopefully, that will diminish in the coming days.

Schedule

Now that I am feeling better, it is time to get back on schedule. In the next couple of weeks, we will be working on restoring order to our routines, our house, and our activities. Back to the grind now. Thank goodness.

We're Home

Both Bob and I were a little concerned on how the girls were going to react to their new baby brother.

We couldn't have asked for a better transition home - really. The girls were fantastic. Celie greeted us at the door and hugged both Bob and I. Anna was no where to be found. Bob had Jake in his car carrier. Celie peaked in to see Jake. And she said - "Is that Jake?" We said, "yes, honey, that is Jake." She responded, "WOW!"

Anna was totally into a movie in the living room and couldn't be persuaded to join us out in the foyer/hearth room. So, we took Jake in his carrier into the living room. As soon as Jake entered the room, Anna forgot about the movie. She went to the carrier and peaked in. She was very careful to move his cover over to the side so she could see him. She didn't leave his side for over 2 hours.We had to keep reminding Anna to be gentle because she wanted to squeeze and take him with her.

Celie held him very well on her own. She did a great job supporting his head.
The girls and I holding Jake. Below - I am holding Jake while Anna HAS to have a least one hand on him.


I think the novelty of him is wearing off a little bit, but they are still a great help. We are very lucky to have 3 great kids.

He's Here!

Bob and I went to my Drs. appt. on Tuesday morning. I was monitored and checked out. My blood pressure was slightly up and some of my symptoms were still in existence.

After my entire exam, my Dr said that it really could go either way. She said that I definitely would not make it full term and I might make it just a couple of days more. She was confident in inducing if we needed/wanted to. So, we chose to go to the hospital and be induced.

Bob and I made our way to the hospital and we were admitted. To room #7, where we had been before. Once I got settled in, they put me on the monitor, started an IV and began the induction.

After a while on the drugs, they broke my water. My labor progressed and I got an epidural. After a while, I called for the nurse because the epidural seemed to be doing some funny reactions. I had strange contraction pressures/feelings. My nurse checked me and said that I was complete. She called my Dr. and called to get everything ready. There was a flurry of activity of nurses, Drs., etc. My Dr. arrived just in time. She scrubbed up and checked me - I think she was expecting me to be nearly ready - the expression on her face was priceless. "Oh, I see his head - it is right there - do not push until your next contraction." We waited for the next contraction, I pushed, I pushed again, I pushed again and there was Jake. It was amazing. I saw him come out. Bob cut his umbilical cord and he let out a HUGE wail.

They cleaned him up and then brought him over to me. He was amazing and tiny. Absolutely adorable.

He was born at 6:48pm. He weighed 7 lbs. and was 21 inches long. He has black hair and we are still trying to determine what color his eyes are. He opens them, but usually the lighting isn't good enough to really figure it out. However, I know that his eye color won't really be set until he is 6 months old.


We spent 2 days in the hospital. That is typical for a vaginal birth in the state of OH. Bob, Jake & I rang in the new year in our hospital room. 2008 was great because of Jake. However, we are looking forward to 2009 being much better.

Upcoming Celebrations

We have had 2 x-mas' so far and we are going to have 2-3 more, I think.

We are going to have the Ostroski X-mas with Mr & Mrs O and Mike on Monday night. Mike, Bob's brother, only has a short time off of work during the entire year, so we are very privileged that he is going to be able to make it to OH to see us. We usually try to incorporate an x-mas gathering when he is around. Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom were going to come into town too to celebrate. However, Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom have caught some kind of icky sick bug. So, they have decided to stay in Chicago - Thank you - we really do not want to get sick. So, we are going to do part of the x-mas celebration without them because a couple of us have gifts for Mike for his big vacation trip. He is flying from Cleveland to head to Manchu Piccu for 8 days.

So, when Mike returns from his trip, we will celebrate again, with Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom. They are hoping to be able to come into town the weekend he returns. Hurray, another x-mas!!!

Then, when Jake is born and the weather isn't so crazy, my mom is planning on coming and bringing the girls' gifts - so we will have another x-mas.

Celie loves presents so I am sure she doesn't mind all of the various x-mas'. So, we will have a lot to celebrate in the upcoming weeks/months.

Christmas Day

Christmas day was filled with excitement. More for me, I think, than the girls. We even had to wake Celie up because she was still sleeping when Anna decided to wake up and come down stairs.

Santa had come and eaten the cookies and milk we left for him.

Celie had to try her new bike. Santa also brought her a white wicker basket for the front and a pink bike bell for her handle bars. Notice the nightgowns that both girls are wearing.

Anna opening up her doll.Celie's Baby Chou Chou, Bob insisted that we must ask Santa for this doll for Celie. He insisted that Celie had been asking for it for weeks. She is opening a share present for the girls - the movie Wall-E.


Both Celie and Anna got some Disney figurines and a couple of board games. Celie got a scrapbook and some Mickey Mouse stickers. Anna got doll accessories that included a stroller, a pack 'n play, a diaper changing mat/bag, a bouncy chair, and a floor play mat.

Anna was so tired of opening presents and wanted to play with things, that she still has a couple of things under the tree that are still wrapped. We might get around to opening them in the next couple of days.

Celie sees her BIG Santa Present

Santa was good to the girls. Santa also had special wrapping paper that was much different then ours (definitely wanted to make sure that any pictures taken depicted different wrapping - I am sure that our smart girls would figure things out before their time on that one). However, Santa did not wrap one of the presents for Celie because it was just too hard to wrap a bike. So, here is some video of when Celie first came down the stairs.