The "Ga" Ha Moment

Things are busy here, so my entries have been short and sparse (not unlike my eyelashes), but this story is a must-share. If you've been following this blog at all, you know that Carly's best friend is froggy. It's a little half blanket/half stuffed frog that has been her constant companion since she was about 6 months old. It's ridiculous how much she loves this guy.

Last fall, seemingly out of nowhere, froggy acquired a name. All of a sudden, she started calling him "Ga" or sometimes even "Ga Ga". It was an odd name, slightly babyish for a 2 year old who speaks well and who previously had named her favorite dolls "Greg" and "Sara", but we just went with it. We couldn't figure out if she picked it up from a new tv show (whooops, now you know, my child watches tv) or a book or from a friend. Maybe she just made it up in her imaginative little head? In any case, she made it clear that we should all call froggy "Ga" and we followed in suit.

Fast forward through fall, through Teddy's arrival and the Christmas season, all the way to preschool starting up again in January. On the way home from school last week in the car, I asked Carly if she enjoyed her lunch. She said, "yes mommy, I ate all my graham crackers and my cottage cheese." She was lying and actually only drank her juice, but that's beside the point. I said, "was it yummy?" and she said, "yes, but first we said our saying."

"What saying Carly?"

"The one that Father Dan says: God is great, God is good, thank you for this yummy food."

"That's nice Carly. Now, who is God?" I asked this question because, as a Catholic who hasn't been to church in awhile, I've been looking for an opportunity to bring up the topic.**

From the backseat, I hear, "Mommy! Ga is froggy!!!"

Ah HA! So, my child deduced from the rest of the prayer that whomever this "Ga" person was, he was both great and good, and, of course, it must be froggy.

So, I may not be proud that Carly worships her frog every time she says grace at preschool, but I do find it hilarious.


**If you are not my mother or my mother-in-law or father-in-law, you should know that this is actually not true, I was just making conversation.

Comparisons

It has only been three and a half weeks and, although I know they are different little human beings, I already can't help myself from comparing Carly and Teddy. Carly never needed to be burped. Teddy is a puker, constantly burping and spitting up. Carly was either crying, eating, or sucking on her binky at 4 weeks. Teddy will have periods of just chilling out and he sometimes snoozes without the binky. Teddy snorts a lot, Carly did not. I freaked out when my go-to baby book said that babies should be able to react with a social smile by 6 weeks and Carly would just look at me confused. Teddy is already smirking when I say his name. Carly would go for week long stretches without pooping, Teddy is very different.

So you can understand my excitement when, lo and behold, we finally found some evidence that they really are siblings.

Teddy's first bath:



Carly's first bath:

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.