Bits and Pieces: January

I had a dream the other night that it was August. In the dream, I was totally distraught because I had MISSED summer. It was going to be winter again soon. So I guess I was happy when I woke up and it was still January? I guess?

We did manage to get outside for a bit last weekend. We took Clare ice skating at Groveland Recreation Center. She absolutely loved it. I was pretty impressed with her skating talent, too. She'd never done it before, but she could go about 20 feet on her own. (Okay, she was wearing the double-bladed skates, but still. It is my job to be overly impressed with all of her accomplishments, right?) We had to drag her off the ice; even the promise of Snuffy's for lunch couldn't convince her to stop skating.

Christopher and I mostly hung out in the warming house.

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Clare is taking a tumbling class. It mostly consists of the children running back and forth on the mats and jumping over slinkys, but Clare is enjoying it. She is Very Serious during the class, but she does everything the teacher says and always wants to go back. After the first session, I thought she hated it, because she was so nervous about everything. She told Ben she had fun, though, so what do I know.

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Ben took Clare to a Gopher women's hockey game. She wasn't happy at first, because she didn't like the noise. (She is still bothered by loud noises of any kind.) However, she changed her mind once she got a taste of a soft pretzel. And now she sings the Rouser.

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We are working on potty training. I am finding it all rather frustrating, but I keep reminding myself that she is only two. And she (probably) won't wear a diaper to her Senior Prom. I mean, I don't know what will be in fashion then.

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Clare is going through a bit of the terrible twos, but sometimes she says things that make me forget all of that. The other day, Ben came in just as we were sitting down to dinner. "Daddy!" she screamed. "Look at this yummy dinner that Mommy made!"

I'll take what I can get.

Clare "helping" Christopher make a snow angel.

New Year's Resolutions: 2014

In my Year in Review post I wrote that I didn't have any New Year's resolutions in mind for 2014. Since then, though, I've come up with a few things I'd like to work on this year.

Stop Yelling At Other Drivers While in the Car: At least when Clare is in the car with me. We had some stressful driving situations this week, including a horrible trip to downtown St. Paul where it took me 20 minutes to find a spot in a parking ramp. Christopher was screaming the whole time, and I lost my cool and uttered a few choice words. Clare was upset because Christopher and I were upset. It was decidedly unpleasant. When we were driving a few days later, Clare asked me if I was going to "bonk the horn" at the cars near us. The realization that I have been letting my road rage get the better of me came today, though, when we tried to turn into our alley and came face to face with a garbage truck. Clare immediately clasped her hands over her ears, afraid that I was going to yell. Ouch. Not good. I know this week has been extra hard driving-wise with the bad weather, etc., but it is something I am going to be more mindful of from now on.

Eat Less Sugar: I have been very moody and tired lately. I know a lot of that has to do with the fact that I have a 3 month old and that it is winter blah blah blah. However, my habit of eating an enormous dessert (curse you, Lunds bakery) during Clare's nap is not helping. Also not helping: my lack of exercise. I am hoping if I eat healthier, and move a little bit more, my mood will improve and maybe I can finally shed the remaining baby weight I am carrying. (In the spirit of moving more, I joined a basketball league. If anyone would like a night of hilarity, I'll let you know when the games are.)

So that's it. Other than these, I am going to just take it day by day for 2014.

Three Months (And One Day)

You guys. This winter! THIS WINTER. I am not sure I am going to make it. We are all antsy, tired of being trapped inside. It makes Clare bratty. It makes me crabby. It makes Christopher...well, Christopher doesn't know the difference. We try to get out of the house every day, but a HIGH of -12? COME ON.

Ahem. I know, I am a cliche. Complaining about the weather! Maybe I should complain about Christopher's sleep schedule now. How it varies wildly - we never know what we're going to get. Seven and a half hours in a row? Great, I'll take it! Only 2 hours in a row? No, thank you. This is not cliche at all.

Clare did have a funny comment the other day. We were discussing the ride she went on at the play area at Rosedale Mall. "Christopher doesn't go on rides," she announced. "All he does is cry and drink milk."

In reality, though, Christopher doesn't cry that much. He is usually a very happy baby. So at least when he is up at 3 a.m., he is grinning at me rather than crying. He is a spitter, but a happy spitter. He is starting to get hair - light brown. His eyes are a deep blue. He weighs well over 15 pounds, close to bursting out of his six month clothes. He is so alert, babbling constantly. I just know he has something to say. You can see it in his eyes. He continues to adore his sister. He is a little flirt, too, charming all of the women in my ECFE class with his smile.

His heart is doing well. His blood pressure is still slightly high, but we are slowly weaning him off the blood pressure medication. He doesn't go back to the cardiologist until March.

He rolled over for the first time today. Clare didn't do that until she was four months old. Of course, Christopher is bigger than Clare was at 4 months. And 5 months. And 6 months.

The other day I was in the bathroom getting ready for the day. Clare and Christopher were on my bed. He was fussing, and she said, "Don't worry, Christopher, Mommy will be right back." And then she started reading him one of her favorite books. He stopped fussing. It was so sweet. I thought: okay, this type of thing is what makes it all worthwhile. The cold, the lack of sleep, I can get through it, as long as I have a few moments like these.

We had Christopher Baptized today.

His Godparents - Ben's cousin Missy and her husband Nate.

He wore Ben's Grandpa's gown. It is from 1910.  His middle name was Ben's Grandpa's name.

Meeting his future girlfriend Miriam. Also: yes, he is wearing a Vikings track suit. Please note the Packer sleeper underneath.

Clare helping with the photo shoot.

She wanted her baby to get in on the action. Not creepy. Not creepy at all.