Best wishes to everyone this new year!  Brian and I were just talking about what a beautiful, fun, exciting decade we’ve had.  (Yes, we’ve been together for almost nine years…crazy, right?)  We’ve been so blessed by having so many great friends; fabulous, caring families; good jobs; amazing overseas vacations; a comfortable (now a little too cozy) home; a fun and cuddly dog, and, of course, our two adorable children!  Ahhh…  Ok, sentimental moment over.

Brian and I brought in the new year by staying home, watching a movie, and drinking a bottle of wine.  Actually, I think he was the only awake at midnight…oops!  But the following night, we were able to get out of the house for a little bit, thanks to Kelly and Dave.  The rest of this weekend has flown by in a whirlwind of cleaning, running errands, and holding/chasing our little ones.  That pretty much sums up most of the days of break, except last Wednesday we went to Shedd’s Aquarium with Grandma and Grandpa Carro (and then out to dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe with the rest of the Carro clan).  For those of you who don’t know, Brian loves the aquarium (and zoo), so we’ve been meaning to take Olivia for quite awhile.  Brian talked up the trip so much that when Olivia awoke in the car as we pulled into the aquarium’s parking lot, she burst into laughter and squeals:  “babies,” “fish,” “babies.”  She was ridiculously excited by all of the kids, but she loved looking into the tanks at all of the fish..so much that we had a hard time corralling her to move onto the next window.  It was almost like she didn’t believe that there were more fish or turtles anywhere else.  Unfortuantely, we didn’t get to see the dolphin (or “dolfish” as Olivia says) show or the beluga whales since it was so crowded.  But it was wonderful to see her pure excitement and joy with each exhibit.

Olivia makes us laugh everyday.  One of her new things is asking the question “why” all of the time.  We’re not sure if she’s really asking the question or just saying a letter, but we give her an answer every time.  She really is repeating everything we say, too.  I’m starting to understand why my parents used to refer to each other as “mom” and “dad” because a couple of times Olivia has said Brian’s name repeatedly when I was trying to get his attention.  She still loves to read and now has most of the board books memorized.   When we read Snuggle Puppy, Olivia starts saying the “ooo” and giving us kisses right before we get to that part of the story.  She also still loves music and dancing.  We have do to “Head and Shoulders” at least once a day, and yesterday we learned “The Monkey Dance.” Olivia enjoys acting like a grown-up, too, whether it’s cooking food with her kitchen, talking on the pretend phones, caring for her babies, or starting to dress herself.  It’s funny and very humbling to watch yourself be impersonated by a toddler.

My little Connor is so cute, but he’s still not rolling over.  (We practice all of the time, and Olivia loves to show him how to roll, too…but nothing yet.)  We have put him in the exersaucer a couple of times this weekend, and he seems to enjoy it so far.  He’s definitely strong enough to stand on his own. He doesn’t fall asleep on us very often anymore, but he did yesterday and again this morning, so I enjoyed the moment (see pic below).

Let it snow!  Let it snow!  Let it snow!  What a beautiful snowstorm we’ve had the past two days!  I really hope we get another one on Jan. 4th and 5th!    …If you don’t already know, that’s when I have to go back to work, and I really don’t want to.  If you would have asked me in November, I probably would have said, “Sure…no big deal,” but now that the date is approaching, I am getting extremely sad (and even a little stressed) about it.  Of course, just looking at my beautiful kids’ pictures below will explain why.  I’m going to miss them so much!  And Brian’s going to miss having me home, too.  In addition to keeping the house and laundry clean, I actually cooked some dinners.  Plus, I agreed to almost everything he said/wanted to do because I didn’t have to worry about grading papers.

Connor went in for his 3 month check-up before Christmas.  He now weighs 17 1/2 lbs. and measures 26 1/2 in. long. While that’s only in the 97th percentile, he is a big kid, proportional yes, but still big.   Connor is the sweetest baby, though.  His smiles floor me–they’re so big and precious!   I just wish he slept more.  He still hasn’t slept through the night–usually only a 4-5 hr. stretch from 8ish-12ish and then he wakes up every 2 hrs. to nurse.

Olivia is still adorable, but she is getting an attitude!  She’s kind of like a toddler version of Jeckyl and Hyde.  One minute she’s the happiest, sweetest girl who adorns and protects her brother, and the next, she’s screaming, crying, and hitting everything in sight.  She’s also testing our discipline skills.  After we tell her not to jump on her bed, or hit her brother, or throw toys, she’ll do it again to see if we’re serious.  After two warnings, it’s time-0ut time!  More crying ensues throughout time-out, but after 1-2 minutes in a corner, Olivia is back to her helpful, caring self.  Olivia’s speech skills are continuing to grow; she’s repeating almost everything, even 3-4 word sentences.  This weekend she said “I love your cookies” and “Where are your keys?” clear as day.  She still loves to read, sing, and dance, often requesting more of all three.

Anyway, I just wanted to post some pictures of my kids.  Many of them are of Olivia and us in the snow, sledding.  She LOVED it yesterday; even after she did a couple of face plants and couldn’t get up due to her big snowsuit, she didn’t want to go inside.  Neither did Keira.  When it snows, our dog Keira follows us around the house until we take her out.  Then it’s all about playing in the snow–she doesn’t care if we play soccer, throw snowballs at her, run from snow pile to pile, walk, or shovel.  She’s up for anything snow-related (well, except for salt).

I love many of the pictures below.  For instance, doesn’t Connor look adorable in his Sunday best–almost like a dressed-up taxi driver with the hat?  Olivia put herself in time-out the other day (first picture in second row); I still don’t know why she wanted to punish herself; perhaps it’s best that I don’t know.   I also love the picture of all 3 of kids (3rd pic in 2nd row)!  And notice Connor’s shirt in the 3rd pic in 4th row; it says “Mommy’s lit’ Superhero” with a Batman symbol.  I found it at Gap and HAD to buy it for my little munchkin and my own mania.

After attending a beautiful, joyous Christmas Eve mass, we celebrated Christmas Eve with the Carro family and Christmas Day with the Marciniak family.   The only snag in what we consider another great celebration was that Olivia didn’t take a nap either day, making her cranky and clingy.  Not a good combination, especially for a 20-month old.  But, of course, after some food and time to warm up to everyone, Olivia entertained the crowd.  The Schraub girls definitely got a kick out of her showing off her tummy to everyone.

Olivia and Connor were both spoiled rotten by everyone this year, but I think Olivia’s favorite gift is a kitchen from Grandma and Grandpa Carro.    Brian and I like it, too, because she can entertain herself.   (Brian’s favorite gifts were Connor’s GeoTrax stuff; he spent an hour putting all of the tracks together last night, making sure all of the signs and trees were in the exact right spot.)  Watching Olivia open gifts was amusing since she wanted to open the box and play with whatever gift was at hand, ignoring the rest of the wrapped presents.  And Aunt Kelly was right–Olivia really is the best when it comes to receiving clothes.  She holds them up to herself, “oo”ing.  So cute!  Having kids really does make one appreciate the simple things in life!

The Carro group shot with matching shirts is for Aunt Karen in Arizona who sent her kids the shirts but made us wear them.    I think we look pretty good.  And please check out Uncle Kevin’s footed pajamas.  Can you believe he wouldn’t wear them to his grandma’s house?

Brian and I were expecting the worst weather conditions and terrible tantrums on our way to and from T-Town this holiday season, but we were pleasantly surprised–no snow and the kids slept pretty much the whole way.  (Thank goodness!)  Our Christmas with the Hastings family was wonderful!  Olivia took to everyone pretty much right away, especially her Uncle Aric.  Brian and I were excited to spend time and play Wii with the Bozdechs the following Monday.  Olivia was also much more comfortable at my parents’ house this time, which meant more sleep for all of us and less temper tantrums/mommy holding than last time.  Grandma G probably sang “Frosty the Snowman” a billion times while Olivia danced and then demanded “more.” We had to hide Frosty and Santa Claus (who played another tune) a couple of times.  And Grandpa G had a great time with his grandkids, snuggling up and rough-housing.  Aunt Amy and Uncle Aric even baby-sat one night so Brian and I could go out with friends.   Good times!  **Notice the pictures of Connor sleeping with Brian and Uncle Aric.  I think almost everyone we visited has fallen asleep with Connor this holiday season.

This weekend Connor was baptized during a simple, beautiful ceremony at Holy Family.  His godparents are Aunt Kelly and Uncle Aric.  Both Connor and Olivia behaved pretty well.  Connor cried a little when he was sprinkled with the holy water, but he didn’t poop in his baptism outfit.    (We were very afraid that was going to happen since he hadn’t pooped in two days–and still hasn’t.)  The ceremony took place during Olivia’s nap time, so she was a little clingy throughout the afternoon, but she rallied several times.  We planned a light lunch reception at one of our favorite restaurants in Palatine.  While the food was good, it was definitely “light.”  Oh well…it beat cleaning our house and trying to jam 30 people into a living/dining room filled with toys and furniture.  We were just happy that our families were able to be with us for the special occasion!!!

Not much new to report…Olivia has had many temper tantrums lately; the babysitter told us that she’s going through a defiant “everything’s mine” phase.  We’re trying to be patient with her and trying several different discipline techniques, but sometimes her stubborn attitude gets the better of all of us.  But of course, her sweet nature and cute personality balance the trying times.  Connor is a happy boy.  He’s eating every 3-4 hours now (sometimes still 2) and is sleeping a little longer, 4-5 hour stretches at night, but I am really looking forward to one solid night’s rest.  Brian and I are great; I know he’s looking forward to winter break.

Here are pictures from the baptism and some random ones thrown in there from the past two weeks.  The only one (in the 3rd row) that has a story is the one of Olivia in Uncle Kevin’s hands (next to Aunt Amy), pointing to baby Jesus in the manger.  At church Olivia really wanted to pick up the baby Jesus doll and play with it.  In a moment of rationalization with a 1 1/2 year old, I told her that “you can’t hold baby Jesus; Jesus holds you.”  When she gave me a quizzical look, I told Kevin–her godfather–to explain. 

Hiya!  Not much new here besides the beautiful, wet snow, but I thought I’d post some new pictures of the munchkins.   I must say my kids are adorable!  Both of my kids are talking up a storm lately–Connor with his cooing, and Olivia is repeating so many words (and books) now.  And, of course, they’re getting bigger by the minute:  Connor is already growing out of his 3 month clothes–both in length and weight.  (Sometimes I call him “LB” for “little Brian,” but Brian thinks it stands for “pounds.”  Notice in the pictures below how he’s almost too big for the bassinet now.)   Olivia is now sleeping in a toddler bed.  (The transition went extremely well–only one bad night–my birthday no less.)  Even with Olivia’s temper tantrums and need to be picked up and held when Connor cries or is hungry, I am LOVING my time at home with them.  As my last month of maternity leave starts to dwindle, I am getting sadder and sadder about leaving them and starting to worry about leaving Connor in someone else’s hands.    (Big sigh)   So here are pictures of my little bundles of joy. Notice the one of Connor’s Harry Potter scar (in his swing); the boy is constantly scratching and beating himself.

My wonderful husband planned a night out for my 30th birthday.  On Saturday, Brian’s parents came over to watch the kids so we could go to dinner (first time we’ve been able to sit and eat dinner together in over 2 months!) and then the bars.  I knew what bar we were going to, but he didn’t tell who would be there to celebrate the new decade with me.  I was happily surprised by many of my friends–some of whom traveled from afar and some of whom I have seen in a year or more.  I had a great night, and I really appreciate everyone who came!   Here are some pictures of the night…

Oh–my actual birthday (Friday) was rather anticlimatic.  I had both of my kids all day (yea!!!), and both of them were in good humors pretty much all day, too, despite Olivia’s second onset of pink eye.  Besides her never-ending cold, Olivia also decided not to go to bed until 10:30 that night, continually getting out of her toddler bed, sneaking to the door, and laughing when Brian or I caught her.  We finally ended her “game” by putting her in the crib for the night.  Ah well…age is just a number, and birthdays are just another day, right? 

Despite lots of travel (traffic, impatience, kids screaming, headaches, etc.), we had another wonderful Thanksgiving with the kids.  Last weekend my mom came up to Palatine in order to help me on the drive down to T-Town Sunday since Brian still had to work the beginning of the week.  We were incredibly lucky because the kids slept/were quiet the whole three hours (ok, so I sped a little)!  We had a good time in T-Town; I got to visit with my friends and immediate family.  Unfortunately, my grandma was sick and lots of people were busy working, so we didn’t get to spend time with many of our loved ones.  Olivia and Connor were spoiled, but they still exhausted me.  Being in a new place must really be hard on kids because even though Olivia reaped attention from my parents, sister, and brother-in-law, she was incredibly clingy and bossy towards me.  However, I was incredibly impressed at how well Olivia did sleeping on a real bed since Connor has inherited the pack-n-play.

On Thanksgiving we went to Brian’s Uncle Ken and Aunt Madelyn’s house for the annual festivities–always a good time with good food and awesome relatives.  Olivia took a little while to warm up to everyone, but by the end of the night, she didn’t want to leave.  She was saying goodbye to me and Brian; silly girl!  Connor hurt Brian’s feelings a little by taking a bottle easily from Aunt Kelly.  (Currently, it seems like Connor doesn’t like Brian very much–always crying in his arms, not taking a bottle without a fuss, etc.  I’m sure it’s just a phase, but it’s a tiring stage for the both of us.  Brian’s mentally hurt, and my arms and back ache because Connor is a heavy kid, and I’m holding/carrying him all of the time.)

One of Brian’s highlights from yesterday was receiving a GeoTrax–oops, I mean enjoying Connor’s GeoTrax gift.  Seriously, I have never seen a 30-year old get so excited about a kids toy before.  It’s really cute.  All through breakfast this morning Brian kept asking Olivia if she wanted to put the train together, and once it was assembled, they watched the train circle around the track for an hour. 

Most of the pictures are pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll mention a few things.  Of course, they’re in some random order, but in the first row I’d like you to notice my daughter’s amazing splits, my dad and Olivia admiring his windmill that he restored and put up himself, Olivia looking out the glass sliding door at my parents (there’s an identical picture of me in the same pose), and a sweet shot of Grandma Carro and Connor.  No explanation needed for second or third rows, but I do love the shot of Olivia and Connor lounging in their respective chairs.  In the fourth row, you’ll see how strong Connor is getting–lifting up his head and chest; next is picture of Connor and my T-Town neighbor’s (who I used to baby-sit) 4-month old boy Brody (so cute!); the next shot is one I took this morning of the “kids” setting up the GeoTrax, and the final shot in the row is of Grandpa Carro and Olivia playing the drums to Beatles Rock Band.

Before every doctor’s appointment, Brian and I like to make a friendly wager about our kids’ growth.  Yesterday morning Connor went in for his 2 month check-up, and he blew our weight guesses right off the charts.  Brian and I thought that he was in 12 lb. range, but oh no, Connor weighs in at 14 lbs, 13 oz!!!!  The nurse and I were so taken aback that we weighed him 2 more times.  That’s a 4 lb. gain in one month, which, to me, is absolutely crazy, but the doctor said I shouldn’t withhold any feedings because he’s still normal, especially given his height–now an inch longer.  In any case, Connor is truly a “big boy.”  But he is also extremely cute!  He’s started smiling and cooing a couple of weeks ago, and now he doesn’t stop.  I’ve had so many wonderful, endearing moments with him this week–just playing on the floor and “talking.”  He still isn’t sleeping very well, but last night was heavenly!  He slept for five hours, nursed, and then slept for another two, nursed, and slept for another two!  I felt so refreshed this morning!  Brian and I are hoping for a repeat performance, but we aren’t going to hold our breaths.

So, I’ve been venturing out to the library’s storytime once a week with the kids.  It’s been quite an experience.  Last week Olivia was the “bad kid” at storytime.  Before storytime even started, she was grabbing toys, dragging them to one side of the kids’ area, leaving them, then grabbing different ones, and dragging them to another side of the area.  Luckily, Connor was sleeping, so I could follow her path, pick up after her, and even redirect/focus her attention from time to time.  Then when it was time for all the kids to go into the story room, Olivia started to follow the other kids and moms with me, but she veered off at the last minute.  I tried to catch her, but she doubled back and I lost her for a couple of minutes.  Of course, I started to sweat, but I could still hear her.  After what seemed like five minutes but was really only one or two, I found her inside Thomas the Train, waving at the little kids and their moms, shouting “Hi.”  Jeez!  We were the last ones to enter the story room; then Olivia wouldn’t sit down.  She tried running up to the librarian’s chair; she tried talking out of turn; she tried to scream.  After receiving a couple “looks,” I took Olivia out of the room.  We went back in after five minutes, and she did much better, but I had to hold her the whole time.  Fortunately, Olivia was much better this week at storytime.  She played nicely with the toys, didn’t run away, sat during most of the storytime, and read several books with me after storytime.  Ahh!  She’s a fast learner.

Let’s see Olivia’s speech is also improving, learning new words every day.  She’s saying a couple of 2 or 3 word phrases.  Her favorite is “help me.”  She pulled a “I want that” out of nowhere at Navy Pier.  She can count to ten and say the first couple of letters of the alphabet.  And in addition to her vocal skills, she’s very manipulative.  At Navy Pier, she got Grandpa Carro to buy her a panda bear by refusing to put the bear down and making sad little faces.  I can’t blame him since the day before she suckered Brian and me into buying her a stuffed moose.  At least she’s been carrying the two animals around everywhere. 

Last week was Brian’s first week back to school (boo!), and wouldn’t you know it…Olivia came down with a sinus infection and pink eye!  Thus, my mothering skills were put to the test, and thankfully, I triumphed with some help from my awesome husband and mother-in-law.  I’m so glad that I’ve never had pink eye, but I truly hope my kids don’t get it again either…it’s awful to look at; every time I glanced at Olivia, I winced.  See a relatively tame shot of her below.

Unfortunately, Olivia’s illness also brought back her need to be “babied,” which wasn’t so bad at first, but with jealousy of Connor’s attention thrown into the mix, temper tantrums entered the Carro household.  I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or scream when Olivia started rolling on the living room and following me into every room of the house howling, but I did none of those things.  I just called Brian and begged him to break the speed limit when driving home.  The other thing that complicated my life with two little ones all alone is that Olivia has learned how to open and close doors (and not just the refrigerator).  Now that might not seem so bad, but when I’m nursing Connor, she’s out of my reach and will sometimes ignore my “no’s.”  (We had to break down and put safety knobs on some of the rooms.)

Needless to say, we did not really celebrate Halloween this year; we just went to Grandma and Grandpa Carro’s house.  I did try to put Olivia in her puppy costume, but as you can see from the crying picture below, it didn’t go well.  Connor didn’t mind his “cow” costume until Olivia stepped on his arm.    And we did get our first trick-or-treater in all four and half years of living here!

So, the past week and half really haven’t been that bad.  I’ve got to spend lots of quality time with my kids.  Now that Olivia is back at daycare a couple days a week, I really miss her.  Update on Olivia:  She’s using so many words now; we have to be really careful because she repeats almost everything we say, including “crap,” “shoot,” and her personal favorite that she says all of hte time now–”oh jeez” and “oh man.”  Sometimes her voice is soft and sweet–just utterly adorable–and other times, she’s yelling or grunting her words.  It’s a riot listening to her.  Our hearts absolutely melt, though, when she says her brother’s name–”Non-nor.”  Oh–here’s something that’s funny and really odd–Olivia is scared of whipped cream.  We’re not sure why–the can?, the substance?–but she will freak out if it’s on her tray, yelling “no…clean” repeatedly.

Update on Connor:  he’s becoming more and more alert, staring at my face quite often.  Yesterday he grinned at me several times, but I’m still waiting for the big smile!  He’s also starting to sleep a little longer at night (3-4 hour chunks), but I have to hold him from 8:30-10:00 usually to insure any results.