The Best Christmas Gift

On December 10th at 4:44pm, we welcomed Theodore Gregory into the world. We are thrilled to have another boy (Sully being our first "boy") and Greg is already demanding some redecorating of the nursery. This little guy has a lot to learn before he starts choosing sides, but let's just say if Teddy has to choose between the Patriots and the Lions, well, it's not hard being a child of 2008.

It has been two very quick weeks and it already feels like he has been a part of our family forever. Things are busy around here, and it's Christmas, so I'll keep it short. Below are some new pics of Carly & Teddy. Merry Christmas!!



Some people have been asking us who Teddy looks like...



Anyone who remembers Carly's performance last year will understand how happy we were with the Santa visit this time around. The morning of her visit, she even referred to Santa as "a scary monster," setting our expectations low, way low.



And it had nothing to do with Christmas cookie bribery. I swear.



Christmas Eve was the pinnacle of excitement.





Everyone enjoyed their gifts today too.




I hope Santa was good to all of you too!

December 9th

The significance of today is twofold: it's my dad's birthday and it's the last day that Carly and I will be hanging out just the two of us (tomorrow is Induction Day). As I'm currently completely hormonally overloaded and anxious about the impending hospital visit, I thought I might take a deep breath and comment on how much fun I've had with Carly over the last 2.5 years.

The kid is hilarious, which I knew upon first meeting her in the hospital. Check out her face in this photo:



I knew I was a candidate to be a stay home mom the first day I left Sully as a puppy and thought entertaining him would be a better use of my time than reading contracts. Hanging out with Carly involves a bit more than entertaining her, but honestly that's a big part of it. Today we danced to several itunes selections, including a few of her favorites ("Sweet Caroline" and anything mentioning the ABC's) and a few of my favorites, some of which I'd be condemned by Parents Magazine for exposing to my toddler. The girl can really throw it down. I also read her a few books, she read me the "Go Irish" book and got most of it right, we chased each other around the house, we kicked around some leaves outside, we went and got "milkshakes" (smoothies) and I got to explain to her why Michigan looks like a mitten (not a glove!) and how Santa will come regardless whether it is snowing outside or not (thanks, Charlie Brown Christmas). We discussed in what order Santa would visit all of her friends and, somewhat related, which of her friends are boys and which are girls (Greg needs to stop chanting "I'm a MAN, I'm a MAN" everytime he does some household job involving the teeniest bit of strength or this gender discussion will never end). In any case, admittedly, my new role entertains me just as much as it demands my David Brent talents.

Many people have asked me whether Carly is ready to be a big sister and whether she understands the idea of a new baby. A few months ago, the answer probably was no. Today, I think the answer is yes. Tomorrow we will find out.

38+ weeks

What does it feel like to be this close to delivering? Well, it sort of feels like I'm getting ready to run a marathon, but I have no idea when the gun is going to go off, and it could be at any second. When we sat down at a local Mexican restaurant last Wednesday, the waiters clearly were terrified of me. I shave my legs every day, just in case. When I call friends and family (even Greg, the notorious screener), people pick up, sometimes on the first ring. As I waddled around the playground this morning, I got knowing nods of empathy from other moms. I told Carly this morning that the reason it was taking me a bit longer to hop out of bed was because "mommy is kind of like a cow, with a big tummy, and it takes cows awhile to stand up when they are lying down" (at, which point, she promptly went into her bedroom and grabbed her cowgirl hat and said "Carly's a cowgirl too.").

The only thing I know for sure at this point is that we are going to have a December baby.

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Turkey Day! As Carly would say, "you DID it mom!". That's right, for the first time in 12 years or so, Greg and I (and Carly, and much to his delight, Sully) stayed home and cooked Thanksgiving dinner ourselves. We've been freeloading off our respective families for so long that it actually took some serious research effort to figure out how to pull off a meal worthy enough of such a fantastic holiday, but we did it. Greg chopped a few onions and grated a little gruyere cheese and I made the garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gruyere chive biscuits, my mom's stuffing, gravy, sauteed green beans, roasted turkey and, well, we bought the sweet potato pie from a local bakery. All in all, it rocked.








Of course, we had our share of drama...


...and still.......no baby yet!!

Cold, so cold

First of all, I should mention that I started writing a whole entry about Sarah Palin and her controversial $150k wardrobe expenditures...clearly it wasn't enough to remedy the 80's prom updo, the broken earrings, the modified construction safety glasses...but then I looked in the mirror and decided it was best not to comment. I mean, I subscribe to "Vogue" because deep down, underneath the cheap maternity t-shirts and Banana Republic Outlet denim, is the soul of someone who actually does care what she looks like. You just wouldn't know it by looking.

November 23rd, 5:44pm, 48 degrees, the outskirts of my neighborhood: woman in her mid-30's wearing full length fur coat and pushing bugaboo stroller with child. Did someone score big at an early black Friday sale? Was she walking to the airport on her way to Moscow for Thanksgiving? Was she making fun of Sarah Palin?

For those who've been asking, I've got about two weeks left before baby #2 arrives, via induction if it comes to that. I will keep you posted. Suffice it to say that I would be cool with the baby saving me from ruining my favorite holiday with a poorly planned menu.

Happy Halloween & other confessions

Today is Halloween. The month of October is virtually gone and I'm a sleepless wreck. So as not to dwell on my pathetic physical state, however, I would like to announce that Carly Q is now officially in her new bedroom. It took a swift lie ("oh NO! the crib is broken!!") coupled with anecdotal evidence in the form of a disheveled crib mattress devoid of its usual cute crib sheet and haphazardly topped with an empty laundry basket (genius!). Greg doubted that this scheme would work and I was a bit tentative when, after I announced to Carly that the crib was broken, she gave a doubtful glance over her shoulder to the crib and said, "no, not broken, needs a new sheet mommy." Yet, the allure of the swanky new digs must have been secretly taunting her, for that very evening, she succumbed to the broken crib theory and made it through the night in her big girl bed and even slept in late the next morning.

So far, we haven't looked back.

On to the big Halloween confessions. I was up late reading Time when I came across an article about online confessions (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1853325,
00.html?iid=perma_share) (no, I can't figure out how to get this to convert to a link). Now, I think this is a fantastic idea, even if the Catholic Church doesn't. Since I used to be a good Catholic and generally buy into the idea of reconciliation and forgiveness (I'm married to Greg, after all), it made me think: what would I confess online if I could? As it turns out, I came up with many things sitting there reading at 3am, but I didn't write them down, so here are the remnants of what I remember:

1) I am a stay-home mom and I hate being at my house during the day.
2) Carly once walked down our steep staircase wearing my 2.5 inch heels and I didn't notice until she was at the bottom.
3) I envy (had to throw in that mortal sin reference) creative people.
4) I say I don't like dressing up for Halloween, but secretly I wish I had a reason to go nuts with a costume. (This year, I'd wear a green hat, green tights and a huge orange sweatshirt over my massive pregnant belly and go as a pumpkin.)

Anyone else have a confession or two you'd like to share?

Movin' on up - or not.

Check out Carly's sweet new room. Books, toys, new bed, tea parties, dress-up clothes...the works! Who wouldn't be excited to move out of a baby nursery into this fab room, right? As in all things I think I've got nailed down parent-wise, I am way off base. Don't get me wrong, she loves her new room as a playroom. The bed is a great place to practice jumping skills or to read books. She likes putting her dolls to bed over and over (more on that later), but as far as putting herself to sleep, well that's a no go. After we read books in her big girl bed every night, she quickly pops up and prances her pajama'd little self into her old room and demands help getting into the crib. We even caught her referring to the new bed as her "couch" recently, so clearly we are heading in the wrong direction.

I am soliciting any and all advice on getting her to make the move, so bring it.





With all the media hype over gender issues in politics these days, I'm proud to report that Carly does not yet recognize gender differences in her dolls. Hence, I introduce to you (below) Carly's doll "Sara" (to her far right, in the pink) and "Greg" (to her immediate right, also decked out in pink). She picked the names and let's just say dad isn't as happy about this development as I am (maybe because "Greg" looks smaller and weaker than "Sara"?). The good news is that she treats them both really well. Does this kid need a sibling or what?