Teeth?

Last Friday night Teddy was a bit more cranky than usual.  In fact, for most of the weekend, his favorite place was on someone's shoulders, walking around.  He was fairly calm until you sat down to take a break from all that walking.  Oh, well he's having a fussy night we all said. There was also a slight increase in drool.  And he's been putting his fist in his mouth like crazy.  Looking for his thumb we all presumed, kid's going to be a thumb sucker.  This afternoon his teacher mentioned an increase in spit up for the day.  We've changed nothing as far as feeding goes.

Could it be???? It seems way to early to even talk about such things.  But maybe, just maybe Teddy is cutting a tooth.  He's been sound asleep pretty much the whole time we've been home tonight so I haven't been able to check.  But every time I think about, I push the thought away...he's too young to be teething already!

Day One: Check

Day one of work post maternity leave is done.  And all in all things went well.  Dropping Teddy off for his first day of daycare was a completely different experience than it was with Katherine.  I also think the edge got taken off a bit because I forgot the bottles in the fridge at home.  I realized this just as I was bringing in his box of stuff.  Thank goodness we use a daycare in town now.  Off I went, driving like a mad woman (minus the baby) to get those bottles, all worried that Teddy would suddenly announce in his own special way that he was hungry and he couldn't eat until I brought those bottles.  When I walking back in the room, bottles in hand Ms. Mary had unpacked the box, set up his crib and Mr. T was sitting in a chair having a conversation with her.  Clearly he was having a grand ol' time.

The feedback I got at pickup was that he had an excellent day and was a "very good baby".  Not only did he eat on a good schedule he also slept in his crib.  Yup. That's right. The baby that I haven't been to get to nap in his crib AT ALL slept soundly in his crib the first day. Go figure.

I should say that everything was a bit easier because Katherine was not with us. We're hoping to get his routine all settled before she gets back. While we were heading back to the office, she was headed to Sesame Place with Papa and Gram.  They were kind enough to call at lunchtime to let me know that while I was cleaning out my email inbox, they were having a blast.  Jealous? I sure was.  I can't wait to see the pictures.

Their on the road, headed to Sesame Place. A certain 3 year old is beyond excited to go see "Sesame Street."


-- Post From My iPhone

Oh the cruel irony of it all...

Katherine is downstairs eargerly awaiting the arrival of Papa and Gram Meagher, would should be in the next hours.  Teddy is in his swing sound asleep for what I hope will be his long afternoon nap. And our new downstairs air conditioning system is being installed.  All is right with the world.

Wha? Yup, that's right.  You may remember (or maybe not because we didn't have a blog then) that when Katherine was about 18 months old, on the coldest week of the year, our upstairs heat/AC system broke, requiring a replacement system to be installed.  We were just finishing up our kitchen remodel with one final item remaining on the list...extending our hardwoord floors from the dining room into the kitchen.  The account we had set aside for home repairs had enough money left to cover this expense...until that cold week.  Two years later, I'm still looking at linoleum. Not to worry we said, slowing but surely that account will get built back up.

Flash forward to this week. Hottest week of the year thus far (can you see where I'm going with this?) Try as it might, the temperature downstairs would NOT go below 80 degress, no matter how hard the AC tried.  We called someone in who checked the system and said the freon level was low...very low.  Now in all honestly, we had been informed last summer that there was a slow freon leak on that system but we thought, hey maybe we can get a few more seasons out it.  Not so much.  The guy put some freon in but said that even with what he put in, it was still very low.  AND wouldn't you know, that account had been built back up a little bit, enough so that we could see that maybe, just maybe there could be some hardwood floors in our future.  Um, yeah, right.

Nope!  Instead, that money is going straight towards a new system for downstairs.  Now I should be thankful that we have that account and we are smart enought to contribute to it on a regular basis so that when things like this happen we don't have to worry about where the money is going to come from.  But, can you see the irony in all of this????  Not just once, but TWICE this happens.  At least after this, there's not more heat/AC systems to replace in this house.  But you better believe that anyone who comes to visit and gets the grand tour will be sure to be shown our beautiful "hardwood floors".  And we'll keep staring at the linoleum in the kitchen while that account gets refueled. Let's hope the third times the charm.

When one door closes...or maybe it just stays open

After a relaxing Father's Day weekend, I am well into my last week of maternity leave.  Next week at the this time I will be settling back into the office, probably going through the mountains of email in my inbox.  Honestly it's a bittersweet feeling.  I've really enjoyed my time off and wouldn't mind staying at home, a completely different experience than I had at the end of my maternity leave with Katherine.  Maybe it's the confidence of doing this the second time but I also think it's because I'm more plugged in this time so I don't feel as isolated at home. Unfortunately the budget doesn't allow for this.

When I started back to work after having Katherine it was a BIG MOMENT to me.  End of a chapter, stop the presses, Beth is going back to work.  Funny how this time around when I think about it, it's more of a "Oh yeah, I have to show up at work on Monday."  Kind of like I also have to pick up some diapers this week and Katherine has to go to the dentist at the end of the month.  It's a date on the calendar and life continues before and after it.  My ever running to do list will continue, the baby I feed at 3am this week will be the baby I feed at 3am next week. Placing Teddy in daycare seems slightly less traumatic than with Katherine, probably because he'll be there with his big sister, they know us, we know them and they seem genuinely excited to have him.  And you know what?  It's a wonderful feeling.

It's also nice to know that that I can actually start using my vacation leave as, well, just that.  From the moment I started working, fresh out of graduate school, I started stockpiling my leave, knowing that we would be starting a family at some point.  I am fortunate that I am able to "bank" my vacation and sick leave at this job.  Any leave I had accrued could be using for maternity leave (we won't get into the issue of the current status of paid family leave in this country...at least in this blog post).  So for the past six years, I've been rather stingy about taking any sort of leave.  Vacation leave was used exclusively for family visits.  I had to been REALLY sick before I would even think of staying home for the day (again, topic for another blog post) because well, that time needed to be saved.  The result of this was that all but 25 hours of Katherine's maternity leave was paid and all but about 3 weeks of Teddy's leave was paid.  Not too shabby.  Now, of course, the clock starts back at zero...(another blog post...another blog post).  But at least I know we can actually start thinking about taking some family vacation time.

And while my maternity leave is ending, Katherine's summer is just getting rolling.  Papa and Gram Meagher arrive this week for a couple of days.  And when they leave their taking Miss K with them for a week and a half of fun in Massachusetts.  There will be a side trip to Sesame Place on the way up to there house (which, I checked out the website and boy am I jealous, that place isn't just for the little ones).  They'll return with her some time after the 4th.  We're also hoping to get Katherine back up to Papa and Gram Coberly's house this summer for swimming lessons.  The timing of the lessons in June was not the best for us due to the WV/OH trip and K's upcoming trip.  We're hoping she can catch them in July.  August will bring another trip up to WMass for her birthday and Teddy's Baptism.

So how is Mr. T doing?  Quite well.  I know he's probably still too young to expect him to roll over but boy has he been practicing in the last week.  Lay him down on the floor or in his crib and he will immediately go onto his side.  Ted and I have both commented that it doesn't seem like it will be long before he figures things out:

I'm feeling the need to have the camera ready at all times so we don't miss the big moment.

Nice and ripe

First two tomatoes ready for picking as soon as our little tomato lover gets home! She'll be thrilled.


-- Post From My iPhone

Chapter Books

I decided that we would read some books at bedtime last night, a quick decision to avoid watching more Phineas and Ferb (newest TV show obsession that I have to admit is a lot more palatable than anything on Nick Jr....hooray for Disney Channel in realizing that adults have to watch this stuff too).  Katherine picked out a few from the bookcase and off we went, under the covers for some end of the day reading. 

The book she wanted read to her was Unicorn Crossing, an oldie from my book collection when I was a girl.  It's a small chapter book so I didn't think she'd be all that interested once I started reading, mainly because there's no pictures to look at. I informed her of this and told her that she would have to imagine the pictures in her head.  I figured that after the first chapter she would have enough and want to move on to something else.  Instead just the opposite ocurred, after each chapter she asked me to read another one.  We got about halfway through the book before I declared that it was time for bed and we would read the rest tomorrow.  When she woke up this morning and wandered into our room she had the book with her.  And she asked if she could take the book in the car with her on the way to school.  I am amazed and a bit giddy. 

Katherine has already received a few chapter books as gifts, Charlotte's Web, Little House on the Praire, and Alice in Wonderland. I even spied the Judy Blume Fudge books a couple of weeks ago at a consignment shop and thought about picking them up.  I've dreamed about the day when we could start reading them together.  That day may be closer than I think, although I probably shouldn't get too far ahead of myself.  For all I know, she will have no interest in finishing the book tonight.  Let's hope I'm wrong and she's eagerly waiting to find out whether Jenny sees a unicorn!

Quilts

These are too beautiful not to do a quick post about them and I have been meaning to for quite some time.  Right around the time that Teddy was born Ted's coworker gave him made two small quilts, one for Teddy and one for Katherine.  Katherine's has a butterfly theme to it and Teddy's has safari animals on it. Not only was this extremely wonderful, it was so thoughtful of her to think of Katherine as well.

Katherine's butterfly themed quilt:

Teddy's baby safari themed quilt:

I know these will be cherished for years to come.

Happy Birthday Ted!!!

Today was Ted's birthday.  Katherine has been excited for a good week about this now, partly because its a birthday and that means cake, presents and decorations and partly because she knows that after Daddy's birthday is Mommy's birthday and THEN her birthday so at the point there's only one more to go before hers.

We started preparations on Friday with a trip to the dollar store for decorations and the supermarket for cake supplies.  Since I knew she would not like the chocolate cake that Ted requested I let her pick out another flavor to make cupcakes.  We made those first on Friday afternoon during Teddy's nap (more on that later).  After baking, I let her do the frosting and decorating. I didn't plan on it, the project sort of evolved over time.  She had a blast.  Yup, quite a mess was made but honestly it was worth it because the whole project cost me less than $4.  Check out the finished product, Cake Boss has got nothing on her.

On Saturday, in between swims in the pool we made Ted's cake.  We'll just say that the frosting job was less than ideal but the end result was still mighty tasty.  Of course, we had to have party hats and candles with the cake!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!

Vet Time!

Ted and Katherine just left to take Reeses for her annual checkup. She's thrilled, obviously. Katherine has taken on the task of consoling her: "It's ok kitty, it will be a really quick checkup."

Playing Hooky

Katherine is hanging out with Teddy and me today.  We had a busy morning preparing for Daddy's birthday on Sunday.  There were decorations and cake ingredients to buy.  This afternoon, during the little man's next nap we'll get busy baking.

Teddy had his two month appointment yesterday.  Here are the stats:

Weight: 13lbs, 7 oz (75%)
Height: 23 1/2 inches (70%)
Head Circumference: 40 cm (50%)

He is doing quite well and the doctor commented that he was one healthy little man.  He got four vaccinations, one orally and three shots which he took like a trooper.

Besides the birthday celebration there's not much in store for us this weekend, just time relaxing at home. With forecasted temps in the 90's it's a guarantee we'll be spending a good amount of time poolside.

We're back!!

I took a few days off from posting to get things back together around here. That means lawn mowing, cleaning and TONS of laundry. I've now learned that when traveling with an infant and a 3 year old, not only does the laundry go with you but it also follows you home. How can we possibly have this much laundry to do when I swear we did a load practically every day while we were gone? In between loads I was dealing with this hot mess:Our neighbors actually called us while we were gone to warn us that the pool was deflated. It didn't stop me from taking one look at it once got home and thinking CRAP (actually I thought that the whole way home but seeing it in person took on a whole new meaning). Nothing to do but blow it back up, fill it with water and see what happends. Turns out a few holes had developed in the ring, I think from a little girl pulling out the vacuum all by herself (why I felt the need to vacuum it right before we left for the week I have no idea). First and last time that happens. I got VERY lucky in finding all 6 of the holes, some just as big as a pinhead. Once they were all patched I set to work clearing up the cloudy water. I am happy to report that this is the current state of affairs:Ha HA! The water is crystal clear thanks to a whole bunch of clarifier and shock as well as two days of filtering. Katherine's been in it for the past two evenings.

So the trip. We had a great time. The last time we took the same trip, Katherine wasn't even a year old. This time around I realized how much she's grown. Case in point...July 2007

...and June 2010Is it just me or is this kid becoming all legs and arms? There's lots more pictures, I'll probably post a few more over the next couple of days and save the rest for the June album (yes, I know, May album is ready and is going up soon!). We didn't take all that many pictures at the big party on Saturday as we were juggling two kids and trying to catch up with family at the same time. However, Ted's Aunt Kathleen took some great pictures of the kids and she has promised to email them to me. I'll add them to the album when I get them.

Both kids did EXCELLENT in the car. We didn't even use the DVD player that much, Katherine didn't watch at all on the way home, which was a 9 hour ride. Teddy slept for the bulk of the time in the car. Clearly we have two little travelers on our hands.

Four Generations of Ted Coberly

Taken yesterday...almost home...had a great time!


-- Post From My iPhone

Ohio

Almost to Uncle Scott and Aunt Kathleen's house in Batavia, near Cincinnati! T is sleeping, K is watching Tigger.

-- Post From My iPhone

Having fun at Great Grandma's

Ted was outside with Katherine this morning showing her the things he used to do at Grandma's house when he was little. This was the result.


Oops! The casualties of having fun. A warm bath, some Neosporin and some TLC and she was no worse for the wear. Teddy slept through the whole incident.


-- Post From My iPhone

Hi Great Grandma!

-- Post From My iPhone

Beautiful sights

Going through the Shanendoah Valley in Virginia.


-- Post From My iPhone

On the road

On our way to Great Grandma's house in West Virginia!


-- Post From My iPhone

Hot tubbin' it

Katherine's new favorite place at Papa and Gram Coberly's house.





-- Post From My iPhone

Time for those lazy, hazy days

Suddenly it's summer. Where did the time go? One minute spring was just springing and I was just about to give birth and now the weather is warm and toasty and I'm sitting with an 8 week old baby. Wow.

It's been a great couple of days. My toes are painted, the May Shutterfly album is ready to upload, and I've been able to go for a walk or run every day. On top of that, I've read a book. A WHOLE book. This normally wouldn't seem all that surprising coming from someone with a PhD, I've read a few books in my time. But when 2 small kids enter into the picture, time for reading anything more involved than The Cat in the Hat goes right out the window. I might even have time to start another one.

Katherine had a great accomplishment on Sunday. We ventured down to the community pool where she very corageously swam (with a tube of course) from one end to the other. It was all her idea and I was surprised and excited that she wanted to do that. But her favorite place to be has been in Papa and Gram's hot tub. They turned down the temperature so it would be just right for her.

Teddy has made great strides in the sleeping department. He now pretty consistently (until I type this post) is going for a 5 to 6 hour stretch right at the beginning of the night. Last night he was down by 9:30 (as was I) and wake up didn't occur until 2:47. Back down by 3:30 and up again at 5:30. Most mornings after that wake up he'll fall back asleep on me for at least an hour. I'm starting to remember what being rested feels like.

We're at Papa and Gram Coberly's for one more day. Tomorrow we all pack up the cars and head west to Grantsville, WV to visit with Great Grandma Hamilton. The last time we were there Katherine wasn't even standing up on her own. I'm sure this time she'll want to explore both inside and outside.