It Ain't Easy Bein' Green...

Little one was in a green diaper on a green blanket this morning.  What a little leprechaun!

And while he was being Irish, Ingrid was being British.  We watched the royal wedding this morning (DVRed it, was not about to wake up at 3am...) After the wedding she had to put on her princess dress and crown.  Oh lord.

Yesterday was fun, too!  We went to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum and Ingrid got to run loose.  We got a membership that will come in handy on rainy days and in the winter.  When we got home, Otis, who had been asleep in the Moby the entire outing, woke up and was nothing but smiles.  Yay!

Cuteness.  And now it's the weekend and it's supposed to be nice and sunny and we have lots of plans for walks, parks, and coffee with friends.  Awesome.

Baseball With Otis

Last night we went with our friends to a Brewer's game.  It was awesome--we left Ingrid at home with Grandma and Grandpa, we tailgated with the babies, and we got really good seats.

Unfortunately, Otis was not having it.  When we brought Ingrid when she was a month old, she just slept and hung out in the front pack.  Otis was wide awake, would not or could not fall asleep, and ended up getting really freaked out.  Seriously, he looked like he was on a bad trip or something, eyes wide open, sucking madly on his pacifier.  Luckily our friend Jess had some kiddie sized earmuffs we could borrow.  Look how freaking cute Otis looked in them!!

Jess and I were joking that we were going to nurse right at our seats so we'd get on the jumbotron, but we didn't.  Instead we were shown to the first aid room, where they were really really nice, pulled curtains for us to give us some privacy, and even gave us a little certificate saying it was Otis' first baseball game.  How sweet!  Even though I couldn't sit in my really close seat (I was swaying back and forth trying to lull Otis to sleep in the walkway instead) I had a lot of fun and can't wait to take both kids to a game this summer!

Hanging Out

Today has been great.  We hung out at the house all morning, taking it easy and playing and watching Charlie and Lola and doing laundry.  This afternoon we took a nice long walk through the neighborhood to go to the store and the post office.  Lovely.  Once we got home, Ingrid played with Otis on his playmat.  They're cute.

 

Happy Easter, Everyone!

The Easter Bunny showed his fuzzy little butt today.  Hooray! 

It's only 7:45am and Ingrid's already eaten a chocolate bunny.  What the hell is today going to be like??  We are going to hang out at home this morning and then go celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa later.  Looks like it's going to rain so perhaps there will be an indoors egg hunt. 

Hope you all have a great Easter!

Four Months!

Man, the second kid sure does get forgotten sometimes.  Otis turned four months old FOUR DAYS ago and I'm just getting around to posting it??  Bad mommy.  I posted Ingrid's on the day...

Otis is doing well, he started to giggle and loves to smile and coo.  He loves his sister, and it's super sweet to see her interact with him.  The other morning he was in our bed sleeping and I hear her go in and jump on the bed.  "Hi, little peanut butter!  Are you waking up now?"  It's funny because whatever I say to him she says too.  So he's the Bub, Peanut Butter, Punkin Pie, etc.  Which all sounds cuter coming from an almost three year old's mouth.

We put him in the Moby facing forward yesterday.  He loved it!  It doesn't look like it here, but really, he dug it. Such a big boy.

Last night we had a major MAJOR meltdown from Ingrid.  Usually I do all the bedtime routines but I have had it!  I just want to be able to relax for ten minutes after a long day, not deal with both kids and their bedtimes.  So...it was Daddy's turn last night.  This did not settle well with Ingrid.  She was sassy!  Telling Brendan no indeed he was NOT going to put her to bed, not listening, running away from him.  So finally after a half hour of this bullshit I went in and said okay, enough, no books, good night.  Oh my god, she lost it!  We've only done that one other time and it was the same thing--screaming and crying so hard she was hyperventilating, it went on forever, she couldn't calm down.  Tough night.  I finally went in and rubbed her back until she calmed down and she passed out in seconds. 

Meanwhile...what was Otis doing?

Snoozing away like World War III wasn't going on in the other room.  Good boy.

It's Sunny! No, It's Cold. No, it's Snowing...

The past few days have been pretty crazy, weatherwise.  We had some super nice sunny days, where we were out in our tshirts and loving the backyard.  We enjoyed the flowers, took nice long walks, felt like winter was a bad memory.  And then this morning we wake up to...SNOW?  Huh?

Good thing we took advantage of the nice weather while we had it.  Our backyard is pretty great.  We have a nice big cement patio, great for drawing with chalk and riding the trike.  There's also a pretty good amount of grass and trees and flowers for exploring and rolling around. 

Saturday was our good friend Poppy's first birthday party.  Cupcakes, balloons, and babies, oh my!

Ingrid had a ton of fun, as usual.  That girl loves her cupcakes!  And I liked the fact that most of my mom friends here in Milwaukee are cloth diaper, baby wrap using crazies like me!  It was nice to sit and chat and compare which diapers our babes were wearing.

Otis was worn out after the party.  He and I cuddled on the couch afterward and I managed to sneak my way out of the blankets to take this picture.  He slept like that for an hour at least.  It looked so cozy.

And in sewing news, I finished my Sound of Music inspired dress for my friend's daughter's Sound of Music inspired birthday party coming up.  It turned out so cute, if I do say so myself!  Can't wait to see it on her.

But now it's snowing, and I have to get groceries, which means I actually have to get out of my pj pants and put on real clothes.  *Sigh* 

Our Spring Days

Oh the lovely weather puts me in such a good mood!  Yesterday we got out bright and early and went to the lake.  We threw rocks in the water and enjoyed the sunshine.  I love that no one else is around on these chilly days, we get the park all to ourselves.

Today we played out in the backyard.  We got our slide and trike out, and busted out new chalk that was supposed to go in someone's Easter basket...All the crocuses are up, the daffodils are almost here, and the tulips are making their way as well.  After a snack and coffee outside, we came in and enjoyed our sunshiney living room.  Otis was wearing an Ingrid hand-me-down, the tattoo shirt our friend Michelle made!  It has my tattoos printed on the tshirt, it's so cute.

We also did some painting.  I found a paint with water book at the thrifts, completely untouched!  It's so much less messy than any other painting.

While Otis was sleeping, Ingrid and I had quality time together, building block towers just like old times.  She was very happy about having mama all to herself!

Tomorrow is another lovely day of having no plans.  It's supposed to be nice again, so I'm sure we'll find something to do outside.  And most likely coffee will be involved.  I love spring.

A Very Busy Saturday

Yesterday was chock full of action!  We were having friends over from out of town, but we had a couple hours before they got here to go test drive yet another car.  This has been an ongoing process and it's hard to do with two kids.  Ingrid was hugging every car in the showroom, wanting to get in and lay down in all the seats (thus getting them filthy) and Otis was...well, he was okay.  He zonked out in the Moby.

We have test driven four cars, the Honda Element, which I said no to right away, the CRV, the Subaru Forester, which we have an old version of, and a Chevy Equinox.  You know what?  They're all the same pretty much!  There are little tweaks here and there, but they all cost about the same and drive about the same and have about the same space.  So...we couldn't decide.  So one more trip to the Honda dealership and I had had enough.  Let's just buy it, I said!  We like it, it's a good color, it's a good price, let's just do it! 

So we did :)  An hour before expecting guests, lol!

Then our guests came, and boy was that fun!  Brendan went to college with all these lovely people, and our get togethers have changed quite a lot in the past few years!  It used to be meeting at a bar to watch the Wisconsin game, or going to a Brewers game, and drinking a lot of beer.  But yesterday was the first family friendly get together and it was awesome, in my opinion.  I don't drink much and can't stay up late, so those bar nights were never really my thing anyway! 

Ingrid fell in love with five year old Ellie the minute they stepped in the door.

The girls played and ate, and screamed and yelled, and jumped and ran.  It was so nice to see Ingrid playing so well.  Here in baby-town she doesn't get to play at playdates, she just gets yelled at to be gentle with all the babies...The weather was nice and we went to the park.

The girls watched They Might Be Giants videos on youtube.

And then they all got their pjs on and had a drum circle with Ingrid's bongos. 

It was exhausting.

And Otis was a model baby, of course!  He was happy and cooing and smiling, then he'd pass out for a couple hours, then he'd get up and be happy again. 

Good times!  Everyone left around seven, Ingrid passed out, and I have to say, so did I.  It was a very busy day, fun and exciting, and tiring--so tiring.  Today will be nothing but relaxing I hope.  And driving my new car around the block again!

11lbs of Fun.

Otis had his doctor's appointment yesterday and weighed in at an even 11lbs.  Not too bad, he's gained more than six pounds in the past three and a half months.  The doc said he looks like he's catching up rather nicely.

Other things going on these days:  Ingrid has taught herself how to play the Wii.  Seriously, my mom and I watched her play table tennis and she totally won every time she played.  Now she knows how to do the bike game.  It's funny, but also a little worrisome to me since I think she's too young for video games! 

Today we had a playdate with some other Bay View moms.  So funny that they all pulled up in their Subarus!  As one mom put it, either there's a group of lesbians here or a group of moms :)  We had a buncha babies laying around snotting and drooling everywhere.  It was fun.

Milo was here again, and we were laughing at how much bigger he is.  Again.  That will always be funny.  Otis is 11lbs, Milo is one month older and 19lbs!  I dont think Ingrid was 19lbs until she was a year old!

Our friend brought us a play gym thing for Otis to lay on.  He's really into looking at stuff and is supposed to have more tummy time (am I the only mom that doesn't do this??  My doctor said I should be doing 15 minutes a day.  I ne-ver do it!)  Otis was pretty enthralled with all the things dangling above him, and I'm loving that the fabrics are cool and not so babyish. 

And one more fun thing--side by side pictures of Ingrid and Otis that Tia took.  Keep in mind that Otis is almost four months old and Ingrid was like 3 weeks old in these pictures!  Every time I think he's so big I get a reminder of how wee he really is!  But how much do they look alike here??  So cute.

Meeting Greta

Yesterday we had our friend Sally and her little girl Greta over.  I used to nanny for Sally's oldest two.  We were pregnant at the same time, and then ended up doing the whole NICU thing with our kids at the same time, too!  Greta just got out of the hospital recently, so we finally got to meet her!  She and Otis had fun looking at each other.

It's just so funny how my world is full of people having babies.  I swear to god everyone I know is either pregnant or just had a kid recently.  It's funny how that happens, isn't it?

Last night Otis was being extra smiley.  He was up on Brendan's shoulder and just as happy as could be.  I love that kid.

Cute Pictures, and a Giveaway!

Damn, she's good.

Also thought I'd mention that there's an Applesauce Crafts giveaway going on over at Modern Kiddo!  You can win a bib, burp cloth set, and bunny just in time for Easter!  You have until next Friday I think, so go make your comments and get your chance to win some cute stuff!

Sneak Peek

Tia posted some pictures from our photo shoot last week.  They are AMAZING!! 

Gramma's Here!

My mom came Thursday afternoon on the train.  I sure wish our train system was better here in the US because it's so much easier than driving...My mom got to relax in a cushy cabin and meet some new friends, which is what she's so good at.  Every time I've picked her up from the airport or when she took the boat over here, she always has made a couple friends on the way.  Such a social butterfly!  Instead of having to deal with super high gas prices and driving through Chicago, my mom got to just cruise on into Milwaukee and be welcomed by a jumping little girl screaming "Gramma!  Gramma!"

It started out slightly nice this weekend, nice enough to go to the park.  It's so nice having a great park three blocks away that looks out over Lake Michigan and has a great view of the city.  I am SO loving being back in Milwaukee, and especially Bay View!!

Friday morning was Minnie Mouse pancake day, which Ingrid loved.  Grammas are awesome.

Otis enjoyed a snuggle with Gramma here and there, when he wasn't crying for me.  Sigh, he's way more attached to me than Ingrid ever was, I feel like!

Brendan and I had to go to a work party last night, which is why we had Gramma come over this way.  We stayed at the hotel where the party was, so when it got boring for me (I didn't know anyone and Brendan sat all night talking chemistry--yawn.) I got to go up to the room and take a nice hot bath and watch a stupid movie on HBO while laying in a king sized bed.  Aaaaahhhh, relaxation!  We came home to find Otis crying for Mama and Ingrid bouncing off the walls.  I missed my little bubs, but it was nice to sleep last night!