the flying baby

Merry Christmas

... and Happy Channukah, Michelle!

Thank you to everyone for a wonderful Holiday! We wish a fantastic 2009 to each of you!

Christmas celebration

Josh, Adrianne and Ann came over for Christmas Eve Eve dinner. I think a good time was had by all. The kids opened gifts, made a mess and enjoyed themselves. We ate too much, laughed a lot and went to bed happy people.

NEW PICTURES!!!

Chloe and Chelsea made a Gingerbread house this weekend. It turned out really cute. Nice job, girls!

Chloe and I went to see the Nutcracker. I think we will start this annual winter tradition. She really seemed to enjoy it. After the show, the had an opportunity to take pictures with the dancers.

Charlie's new trick is to get completely under the coffee table where we keep his toys and play.

My kids are so cute when they play nice with each other.

New Picture

2008 in review

January brought a big change to our lives. Charlie was born unexpectedly on the 15th. He was supposed to come 2 days later via a scheduled c-section, but he had his own agenda. Great Aunt Ann got to be there when he was born, which was pretty exciting.

In February I celebrated Groundhogs day by turning 25 (again). We got together with our "extended" family for a yummy birthday dinner at a Japanese Hibachi grill that soon after went out of business. Bummer. We then took baby Charlie on his first airplane ride to Texas. Happy Leap year!

In March, Chloe had her 5th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Her gift from her pediatrician was an echo cardiogram. Yes, it was fine. Apparently she has an innocent heart murmur. We were also in a car crash in March. Some jerk ran into the back of me and pushed me into the car in front of me. Then DROVE OFF! GRRRR, it still ruffles my feathers to think about it. Luckily everybody was okay and I was on maternity leave at the time so we didn't really miss the car while it was being fixed.

Unfortunately, in April I had to go back to work. Actually, I was ready. I was getting a little bored being home and was really tired of playing Polly Pockets and My Little Ponies. The week before I went back, we decided on a whim to drive to Texas. It took us about 14 hours with a 5 year old and a 3 month old. I usually pride myself on making that trip in less than 10 hours. Then on the way home, Chloe got car sick. I think it will be many years before we take a road trip again. In late April we had a minor earthquake. It was pretty exciting. I don't ever recall feeling one before. There was no local damage and no injuries.

In May Charlie was baptised. Thank you Josh and Adrianne for accepting that responsibility, and being Godparents! Good luck!

In June Chloe started t-ball. We miss you, Dillon. Hope you are enjoying kindergarten! See you next summer. Also in June, Chloe lost her first tooth. The tooth fairy brought her $5.

We Celebrated the 4th of July at Curt and Amy's. We are all very lucky to be alive. Curt is a pyrotechnic maniac! That month Charlie got his first tooth. He currently has 5 1/2. At the end of the month, we visited South Carolina. What a fun trip!

In August, Chloe started dance and then kindergarten. She loves both of them. Recital is in June 09. Be there or be square!

In September Big Charlie turned 35 and little Charlie started cruising. He now gets into everything!

This October, for Halloween Chelsea dressed up as a medieval princess, Chloe was Cinderella and Charlie was a dragon. We went trick-or-treating with friends and got tons of candy. We are still munching on it. I have taken 3 bags to work in an attempt to get rid of it. Sugar anyone?

Chelsea became a teenager in November. She really is a good kid. Very smart, and has many wonderful talents. We are very proud of her. All of Chuck's campaigning for Barack Obama paid off, hopefully he will get us all on the right track in 2009. For Thanksgiving we were all sick. We each took a turn with a GI bug. That was not fun! I can't believe that nobody wanted to come over for my cooking :)

December has just begun. I'm sure we make more memories this month to blog about. Hope everyone has a wonderful 2009!

Charlie's brother from another mother

Decorating for Christmas

Today we visited Santa at Chloe's school. Chloe told him how she was a very good girl this year and is expecting a Barbie doll house under her tree. Charlie looked at him and obviously wanted his beard and all the candy in his basket. Then we came home so Chloe and I could decorate. She has been asking all week to put the tree up. I can't wait for it to get dark so we can see the lights outside. They are going to look so pretty!

Also, Chelsea had her middle school musical this weekend. They did Honk! The Story of the Ugly Duckling. Chelsea played one of the geese and it was very well done. Mel and Sean went to see it with us.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honk!

We had our first snow last weekend. Only about 3 inches, but it was enough to play in!

Thanksgiving was a BUST!

Charlie's first Thanksgiving....

Poor Chloe had her first real trip to the nurse's office on Monday. She came home sick for the first time from school. We originally planned to have Turkey Day at our house with Ann, Josh and Adrianne over. Unfortunately, Chuck came home from work sick on Wednesday so we postponed until Saturday. Good thing, because Charlie got sick the same day. As karma would have it, I got the 'bug' on Friday. No festivities at our house. Now what am I going to do with this 7 pound tainted turkey breast? I went ahead and cooked on Thursday, since everything was thawed and ready to go. Charlie ate a little and I made Chloe choke down a bite of everything. Chuck ate a roll and a bite of turkey.

Now, on to our goal of Charlie sleeping in his bed. The score as of today is Charlie 5, mom and dad 0. With everyone being sick this week, it just didn't happen. After day 3, we decided to try again another time.

On Friday (before I got sickie) we went downtown St. Charles for the parade of Santas with Amy and her nieces.

http://www.stcharleschristmas.com/

Night 1 of Ferberization... FAILED

I have almost a week off for Thanksgiving, so I thought that this would be a good time to train Charlie to sleep in his own bed. He started off in his crib last night, but ended up with me. I used the excuse that Chloe had been sick the evening before. She was sent home from school early for an upset tummy. I'm not really sure how that relates to where Charlie slept, but this morning at 1 AM it made sense.

We have been trying sign language with him. The theory is that if he knows a few signs, he can tell us what he wants. Thus eliminating the screaming! We started it over the weekend, and I have learned quite a few signs. Charlie has not. Probably the most common sign that I use is: BRAT!
http://www.dictionaryofsign.com/main.php?g2_itemId=6096&g2_myThumb=

Dr. Richard Ferber

We have got to do something to get Charlie to sleep all night... and stay in his bed! We started this mess by bringing him into our bed in the middle of the night because it was so much easier to nurse. I could fall back asleep andhe could take care of business as needed. Then it got to be habit. He then got to come into our bed to 'keep the peace'. We all slept better when there wasn't a piercing scream breaking the silence at night. Now my newest bed partner is going on 10 months. He still wakes up at night and can't fall back asleep without nursing. I have tried just using a pacifier- no go! Someone suggested I give him a bottle of water when he wakes up- apparently he was highly offended and insulted by that. It just made him cry harder.

In comes Dr. Richard Ferber. Dr. Ferber is director of sleep disorders at Boston Children's. He has suggested a method called FERBERIZATION.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferberization
Ferberization is essentially letting your baby 'cry it out' while checking on him at certain intervals. This guy is a genius! Not for his method of sleep training, but for his marketing skill. He took a theory that has been used probably since the beginning of time, put his name on it and has most likely made millions. Man, why didn't I think of that?

Regardless of the origin, we need to try it on my son. Unfortunately, Chuck has already said he will be spending the week in a hotel when we try this. I predict that it won't be pretty.

No matter how wonderful they taste, margaritas are BAD for me

So, someone at work proposed a "Happy Hour" yesterday. Sounds great, right? Well, I know that there is no such thing. It is always at least a "Happy 3 or 4 Hours". Yesterday was no exception. Also, as usual, I made a complete fool out of myself. The event started off fun enough. It was me, a couple friends and a pitcher of Jose Cuervo's best. I knew the evening was going well when I developed this profound love for everyone. I had to announce my love of those that knew, as well as complete strangers in my 'not inside voice'. The best decision at this point would have been to cut myself off . Unfortunately, this was not the decision made. I then began to suffer from verbal diarrhea. I made sure everyone knew my true feelings on every subject imaginable. I was certain that everyone at the table shared my extreme opinions. A bit of advice... don't try to discuss politics while under the influence. It just makes you look more stupid. I also had the false belief that I was the ultimate comedienne. Wow, I need to do some Mia culpa's when I go back to work. By the time I left, I had probably offended 2/3 of the 20 or 25 people that ended up coming out. WAY TO GO, DAWN! Luckily, I work with a fantastic group of people and most of them will forgive me. Hopefully one of them will give me a ride home after the other few slash my tires :}

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

Please send LONGHORN attire!

Love,

Charlie

Some new pics!

Can you find the BABY?

I watch ESPN with my dad... and Discovery Health with mom!

Chelsea and Charlie

Chloe in the leaves

I said, "HEY"!

watch the progression

I'm tired of sitting here!

Mom, help me get up, please...

Okay, here I go. Now where did my pants go?

My confession

Okay, don't laugh... after the school bus picked Chloe up this morning, I came home and watched Handy Manny while I played Webkinz. You know, if I were single (and a drawn cartoon) I would find Manny a little sexy. He has a great voice. Where can I find a handy man like that?

I also think that anyone with kids between the ages of 4 and 10 needs to invest in Webkinz. They can provide hours of fun for either your child or yourself. oops, did I say that out loud? They are super cute little animals and fun games. Safe for kids, too. I don't worry about freaky adults trying to hack in.

... guess not

Charlie and I have thrush. Sweet Lincoln's mullet! Can we not all be healthy???

Evil Pink Eye

We must have an especailly virulent strian of pink eye. Now Chuck has "sand in his eye". Are little Charlie and I the only ones here with uncompromised immune systems?

We had a parent/teacher conference with Chloes teacher last week. Actually, her teacher is on maternity leave and will return the beginning of November. Chloe indicates mastery of 'staying on task and completing work in a timely fashion'. WHAT?!? The only way I can get Chloe to stay on task is to follow her around with a cattle prod.

Are you sure this is my Chloe? She has a alot of fabulous qualities and has masterd many skills, but staying on task is not one of them! She has also masterd communication. Okay, I'll agree with that. She will tell you everything you never wanted to know and always offer her opinion. I don't know where she gets that. There was never a question on her mastering 'talking'. Then she is on target, but not yet mastered everything else. This includes 'getting along well with others.' I don't know, I think she gets along with everyone... as long as they let her boss them aroud. Nobody ever questions her "leadership" abilities. She was pretty far above the average in naming her letters. She was tested against the national average, and I could never get an answer as to if that average was reflective of the class average. Later this year they test for the 'gifted class'. I'm curious to see if she qualifies. Sometimes I think she brighter than the average 5 year old, and ten other times I just think she is 5 going on 16 in attitde, not cognition.

streptococci

My new arch nemesis! Poor Chloe is on her second round of antibiotic eye drops for the evil Conjunctivitis (pink eye). For anyone who has put eye drops in a 5 year old, it ranks right up there with getting a bikini wax. Not fun! Chloe is tired of waking up with "sand in er eye". Pink eye is a nasty little bug. Her eye is all red and puffy and draining green puss. Nice, huh? Who wants pudding??? I guess we have now infected most of St. Charles county. The first time she was diagnosed (a week ago) we were at Chuck E. Cheese. I wasn't too concerned, though. Chuck E. Cheese is known as the bacteria capital of the kids' world. We don't dare enter without a full container of Lysol wipes. She was on antibiotics over 48 hours, so I sent her back to school. Unfortunately, on Friday she started showing symptoms again. Oops, I guess her entire class should be quarantined now. When I noticed the drainage the second time, we were at IHOP. Yuck, infected pancakes! We then went to get our nails done. I had already promised a pedicure, so I had to oblige. Infected nail polish... the worst! Chloe just doesn't understand why she can't go play at her friends' houses right now. The way this bug keeps coming back, one would think she goes around putting her eyeball on every shopping cart and door handle that she encounters. Hopefully, I won't be blogging about Charlie's pink eye next week.

Happy 60th B-day, MOM!

My mom is the one on the right. That is her dance instructor on the left. Hope she didn't pay too much!

How cool am I with my new webpage???

Ok, this is my new attempt at communication. As most of you know, I am not the most computer literate person. I attempted a myspace page, but that was a little too advanced for me :) I did like the little smiley face options, though. This looks much easier and as a bonus that myspace didn't offer... it has SPELLCHECK! Here are a few new pictures of my kiddos. I know that I am bias, but they truly are the cutest, funnest and best kids we could ask for. Enjoy!

Mrs. Cool. She is liking kindergarten. She has shown her true leadership skills at school. IE: she is extremely bossy. I don't know where she gets it. Certainly not me. We have parent / teacher conferences tomorrow. I'll certainly have more to post on then!

Crazy Baby. We are in trouble! He is standing and getting into EVERYTHING! He loves to cruise around, holding on to things or walk while holding your hands. Note his choice of toys. He has hundreds of baby toys, fun things like little caterpillars that wiggle, Elmos that sing and blocks that light up. The only things he wants to play with however, are power cords, hangers, water bottles, remote controls, telephones, the laptop and keys. AAARGH!