heinously overdue photos

I apologize that it has been ages since I have posted photos to my blog. I hope these are worth the wait.

The 4th of July parade.

The best part was climbing on the fire truck and getting sprayed by the fire hose at the end.

Life on the couch with a broken ankle.

Izzy the Builder.

I love that naked little bum. Nothing says summer like eating a snack in my birthday suit!!
Isabel loves her grandma. The Blake family.

ankle update

We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I get out of the boot in three days. Three days!! I am so excited. Andy keeps warning me that it will not be the pure bliss (and full functionality) that I envision, but I am excited nonetheless. When I got off the crutches and started walking on the boot I limped along for a couple days until I was able to sustain weight on my leg. I know that I will be sore and hobbling for a couple days, but I am hopeful that with physical therapy and persistence I will rebound quickly.
Our summer is slowly coming to an end. Devin starts Kindergarten next week. They stagger the kids start dates so each day 5-8 kids come in for a full school day and once all the kids have done that they bring everyone in together. So, he will go Friday the 22nd, and won't be back until the following Friday the 29th. I'm a little excited about the extra week, since I am kind of sad about him going to school five full days. My little man is growing up!
Isabel slept eleven hours the other night. Wooooooohooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is not consistent yet, but she is really starting to stretch out her overnight feedings. I am ecstatic.

BTW - this is officially my 100th post. Can you believe it?

crutch-free

I am officially crutch free. I have a couple weeks left in the boot and then I start physical therapy. My ankle flexibility is non-existent and I'm pretty sore, but I am so glad to be off the crutches! Actually, I think we are all thrilled. The boys are ready for Mom to be back at full force, and Andy is excited to have some help at night. We're finally getting closer to normal.

my sweet baby girl

O.k.
So she is making us a little crazy with the eating at night thing. I realize that we may have been spoiled by Devin and Alex, who slept eight hours straight by about three months old. But we are all very ready for Isabel to sleep through the night and she is instead getting up every three to four hours! Ugh!
But I still absolutely adore this little baby girl. We had her four month check up yesterday and she is getting big. She is 25 inches long and 13 lbs 11 oz. She is still pretty long and skinny, but the doctor said that she is doing great. Now if we could just get her to sleep...

pros and cons

There are a few good things that have come from my ankle break. For one, being in a cast and unable to walk has really lifted the pressure that I was feeling about getting back in shape after having Izzy. Now when I go to the pool, I really don't feel self-conscious about the extra baby weight at all (granted, I'm not in a bathing suit anyway since I can't swim). We live in an area where there are a lot of very fit 'soccer moms', which can be a little disheartening post-partum. Now I'm not really all that worried about it because there is nothing I can do.
Also, it has forced the boys to really step up and help me. Devin can now get most of his breakfast on his own (he needs help with the milk for his cereal) and Alex will hear me coming down the stairs and call out, "Mommy do you need help?". Then he will come over and carry my crutches down for me. They have always had 'jobs' to do, like take out the recycling, put away clean silverware, clean up their toys, but this has taken things to a new level.
The biggest down side of breaking my ankle isn't really the injury (although I am a little concerned about my skinny little peg leg, and about my lack of ankle flexibility) but the impact that is has on Andy. Isabel has been getting up to feed twice each night for the last couple weeks. That means that Andy has to either feed her or bring her to me and then put her back to bed once I'm done feeding and changing her. Plus, he needs to get up every time she loses her binki and needs help. For that reason alone I hope that I am able to get off the crutches at my appointment next week - so I can carry Isabel and let Andy get a decent night's sleep for a change.

thank goodness for Mom

My mom is such an amazing help. I don't know how we would have made it through Andy being out of town without her. The first day Devin spiked a fever and that night he threw up. It was actually kind of funny. At 3:00 am he came running down the hall crying and throwing up into a bucket. When he got to my bed (because I can't get around very well with the broken ankle) he handed me the bucket and said that his tummy didn't feel good (which I had clearly guessed already). Once we got his face wiped and my mom cleaned out the bucket, he was sitting on the floor waiting for me to get him some Motrin and he started singing, "Everybody dance now...". There was one more vomiting episode in the morning, but by the afternoon he was eating like crazy and playing basketball. However, the second vomiting episode coincided closely with me nursing Isabel and Alex splitting his lip. I needed three sets of hands and two functioning legs to manage it. Thank goodness I had Mom here. Then later Alex whacked himself in the eye with a hard plastic bat, so he looks like a boxer, or like social services should be called on his parents. Andy is back and my Dad is here too, so we have a better ratio going for the next few days. The kids are all loving the extra attention and affection from Grandma and Grandpa, and I think my parents are enjoying the little ones (especially that smiley little Isabel!).

Izzy's weight class

Andy and I are convinced that Isabel is trying to "make weight" like a boxer or a wrestler. She's trying to go from lightweight to heavyweight in a short amount of time, and eating like a machine to achieve this. The last couple days she has been eating every other hour during the day, and every three or four hours at night. This comes after she gave us a little taste of what life could be like by sleeping nine hours one night. What a tease! Needless to say, Andy is thrilled about the increase in nighttime feedings, since he has to either feed Izzy or bring her to me every time (and has to get up to give her the binki countless time each night after his crazy long day of working and taking care of the kids and the house). Her full cheeks and chubby legs sure are cute though. =)

we're getting by

Everyone is asking how we are doing, so I thought I'd post a quick update. All things considered we are doing really well. I am able to get around more now that my pain has significantly subsided and I am getting much better on crutches. Andy is unbelievably busy taking care of breakfast and dinner every day, doing laundry, bathing everyone (much as he is nervous bathing the little slippery baby, he thinks he's a better candidate for the job than I), cleaning up the kitchen, putting the kids to bed and carrying Isabel anywhere that she needs to go. Oh, and he's working full time too. The boys are both being very helpful, but their help is sometimes terrifying. Today Devin got a band-aid from the bathroom cabinet for Alex. When I went to the bathroom a little later I discovered that he reached the band-aid by climbing on a stool that he put on top of the toilet. While I have to give him props for his ingenuity, I clearly have to review with him which items are acceptable for climbing.
The person most enjoying my lack of mobility is Isabel. She loves hanging out on the couch with Mom. She even takes all her naps on the couch, since I can't carry her while I'm on crutches. Any guilt that I was feeling about her getting shuttled around to all the boys things and spending too much time in her car seat is long gone, since she is getting more time with me than I ever thought my third child could get. I think we are both enjoying that though.
I am extremely grateful to my friends who have been absolutely wonderful about helping us. We have friends who are driving my kids to camp and swim lessons, bringing us dinner, inviting the boys over to play, picking up groceries for us, and even coming over to help me get Izzy into the car when I need to go somewhere. While Andy and I both feel bad about being so needy, we recognize that we truly cannot manage on our own right now. Even though we have babysitters coming daily to help with lunch and things around the house, we still rely heavily on our friends, and we feel so lucky to have made some wonderful friends in such a short amount of time.
We are calling in reinforcements this weekend though - Grandma is coming! Andy has to travel next week, so my Mom moved her trip up (she and Dad were planning to come later in the week) and has extended her stay until I am (hopefully!) off crutches. I hope that she is able to give Andy a little breather, since he has been pulled in a lot of directions lately and he definitely needs (and deserves) some down time. I know that I'm not the only one counting the days until I go to the ortho again.

four weeks

Sometimes four weeks seems like it passes so quickly, and other times it feels like an eternity. I wonder how fast the next four weeks will go by, since I need to stay off my ankle the whole time. The doctor put me in a boot (that I can remove only to shower) and told me to use my crutches and don't put any weight on my leg for four weeks. Then I will get to wear the boot for two more weeks when I can start walking on that foot. So I will spend the remainder of the summer in a hot, sweaty boot, hobbling on crutches for most of the time.
As my mom put it, I guess it was time for me to slow down.

unbelievable

Maybe I tempted fate, or jinxed myself. See, I mentioned that we had an easy July ahead of us, with no vacations, no big house projects, no real plans other than my parent's visit later this month... but July will be anything but easy now. Yesterday (in an attempt to return to a normal fitness routine and get in shape again) I went for a run. I was less than half a mile from the house when I fell. My foot came down on an uneven part of the pavement (where the street meets the curb) and my ankle twisted and I went down hard. I limped about a block before I waved down a passing car and asked for a ride home (thank goodness we are in a friendly neighborhood!). Within half an hour the outside of my ankle was the size of a tennis ball. We waited a couple hours (but followed the ice/elevation/motrin protocol) before going to the ER. So a couple Xrays later we found out that I broke it. To be specific, I have a hairline fracture of the fibula. They immobilized my leg, gave me pain meds and crutches, and told me to stay off of it until I can get in to see an Ortho (hopefully Monday!). The ER doc thinks that I will either be in a walking cast or a boot for a few weeks. I just know that taking care of two kids and an infant while on crutches seems impossible. At this point I am not a whole lot of help with anyone other than Isabel, and that is because she is very content to hang out on the couch with me. Andy has been wonderful and our friends and neighbors have been very helpful. However, this will be a challenging week.

amazing photos of my boys

The last morning of our trip I grabbed my boys and my camera and headed down to the beach. The result was a series of the most amazing pictures of Devin and Alex. Some of the pictures are just cute, and some of them really show the close, fun-loving relationship that these little guys share. Here are my favorites.

three months old

Isabel is three months old.
I know that she is still a little baby, but this feels so big to me. When Devin was three months old I went back to work, which was difficult for me. The only thing that kept me sane was knowing that our friend Kristen was taking wonderful care of him.















I am really enjoying Isabel as a little baby. I guess it's because I know that she is my last baby, but I am in no hurry for her to grow up. That being said, I love the stage that she is in right now. When she sees me or Andy or the boys she absolutely lights up. Like Alex, she smiles with her whole face, and she just gurgles and laughs; it's adorable.



I can't decide which of my babies is cutest in this picture. They all seem to have a little something sweet about them.

vacation photos

We had a wonderful time on vacation. The boys went from the beach to the pool to mini-golfing and back to the beach. It was pretty much a kid's paradise. I think the adults enjoyed themselves too. After working much of Father's Day, Andy decided to leave his Blackberry at the condo when we went to the beach (woohoo!). He also played a little golf, but not as much as I would have thought. Aunt Jo read two books and I managed to watch a couple movies and go for a few runs. But we mostly hung out on the beach playing in the water with our two little fish. Izzy was such an easy-going baby. She chilled in the tent on the beach with us every day with few complaints. She's such a sweet girl.

In this picture the kids are all hanging out in Alex's bed in the morning. Devin and Alex shared a room and loved climbing into a bed together to watch TV in the morning.







Some pictures of us playing on the beach.













This picture provides a glimpse of the gear required to take care of three small kids on the beach. We have a tent for Izzy, but both boys are napping in the tent in this shot.
















Beach front dining. There's nothing finer...

Happy Birthday Devin!!

Can you believe that I have a five year old now? Seriously. Five years old.

Devin loved being at the beach for his birthday and asked if we could spend his birthday at the beach every year. Wouldn't that be nice. Happy birthday Devin! And Happy Father's Day to Andy too. The last time Andy shared Father's Day with Devin's birthday was the day that Dev was born... and what a life changing day that was. Happy birthday you big five year old boy! I love you.

I miss my friends!

We had a wonderful visit with Annie and Loretta. It was so great to spend time together and to catch up. I loved introducing Isabel to her 'Aunt Mo' and I really enjoyed spending time with Annie for a few days (it felt too short!). Of course we have stayed in touch via phone and email, but there is nothing like spending time together. The only thing our weekend was missing was John (and Caroline, of course). We are really looking forward to seeing them in August.
The boys talked about Loretta for days after she left, and Devin wanted to call her to make sure that she knew we are coming to in August "so she won't miss us so much." How cute is that? Even Andy commented numerous times that it was a great visit and that he misses the Tarnuzzers a lot. It is hard to be far away from such good friends.

This week was mayhem. Between getting ready for our beach vacation and having contractors working on the kitchen for days, things have been a little crazy. The kitchen looks great though. We still have some cleaning to do (since every cabinet gets nasty when counter tops are being replaced) and the dust is still settling from them cutting the island wall and the granite for the cook top, but I am quite pleased with our updates. We have some detail work to do, like re-grouting the line between the counter tops and the back splash and touch-up painting, but that will happen later. July shouldn't be too busy for us, so we will probably tackle those projects then. Aunt Jo arrives tonight (fingers crossed, since she has already been delayed) and we head to the beach tomorrow. We are all excited. The boys already have their back packs in the car and have been 'helping' Andy and I get ready since this afternoon. They can't wait. I am hopeful that there will be some R&R for us this week, although juggling three kids on the beach may not allow for that. =)

Summer is here!!

The boys finished school two weeks ago and our summer season is fully underway, complete with hot the weather and with me taking on three kids for the next three months. So far we have been doing great, but I have had a lot of help. Last week Andy's family visited and the boys were thrilled to have the extra attention. Andy and I even managed a date night too! This week has been all about the pool (especially since the temperature has been in the high 80's and 90's) and getting ready for Annie and Loretta to visit (on Friday - can't wait!). Next week our kitchen work will commence. We are replacing our counter tops with granite, changing the island configuration, adding a hood and running a gas line for a new gas cook top. The following week we are going to the beach (woohoo!) and the week after that the boys go to day camp at their preschool. After that the Shaffer's (Phil, Karen & Samantha) will visit us right before the 4th of July. This will be a very busy month; it's a good busy though, with all kinds of fun things happening.
Today we are planning to take the boys to a triple-A baseball game (Pawtucket Red Sox vs. Charlotte Knights), weather permitting. The game is at 7:15, so I hope it won't be too crazy hot by then. We'll see. This morning we are headed to the gym for a Mommy yoga class (the boys will go to childcare, but this class is one of three weekly pre/post natal classes offered at our gym where the instructor makes modifications for growing bellies and babies are welcome to stay in the gym near Mom while she works out. How cool is that?). After my workout I will likely take the kids to the outdoor water park at the gym for an hour or so. They love it! It has a shallow area with some little slides and a huge spray area that both boys can use, and then there is a lap pool with two sets of water slides that Devin can use.
Isabel and I mostly hang out in the shade, but I have put her little feet in the water a couple times. Izzy is doing great and sleeping a full six hours at a time most nights. We are nowhere near having a predictable schedule yet, which makes for some difficult planning sometimes (like yesterday morning when I wanted to swim before Andy went to work. Our neighborhood pool opens at six am for adults only lap time and I planned to get my first swim in after nursing Izzy, but she slept until after seven!), but she is great.
I now have Alex in my lap while I type, Devin is standing next to me with a book ready for "story-time" and Izzy is starting to stir in her crib. My time is officially up!

not such a big girl

Isabel had her two month check up (already she's two months old!) and she is doing great! She is 10lbs 5oz and 23.25 inches. She no longer looks like a newborn at all, and everyone comments on how long she is (75th percentile... not bad). Since I am in no hurry for this baby to grow up, I am a little sad that she's already getting so big. But I am absolutely thrilled that she is healthy, of course. When I got home I checked the boys' growth stats, and realized that she is not that big compared to her brothers. When Alex was two months old he was the exact same length as Izzy, but he was two and a half pounds heavier (many of you remember those amazing rolls in his thighs, I'm sure) and at two months Devin was 3/4 of an inch longer (24 inches) but he was three and a half pounds heavier. So she's not such a big girl after all. =)

Speaking of big girls, today is Loretta's third birthday! Happy Birthday Retta!!! Devin and Alex wanted to call her this morning to sing, but I knew Loretta would be at daycare and then I completely forgot to call this evening. The boys will be anxious and excited to call tomorrow, so I hope the Tarnuzzers are ready for an early morning phone call complete with some enthusiastic singing! We love Loretta in this house.

anniversaries

This is a week of anniversaries for us. First was our wedding anniversary (our seventh). Sometimes I can't believe all that Andy and I have done, been through and accomplished in a mere seven years. We're on our third house, third child, third job for me (if you count staying home as a job - which I certainly do!) and third job for Andy (which is an accomplishment in itself, since he was changing jobs far more frequently before our wedding). With the multitude of things that need to happen and people who need something from us in our daily lives I think we sometimes lose our focus on the love that brought us to this place, and I am glad for a chance to regain that focus. Plus we get a date night, and I'm always happy for a reason to spend some additional quality time (i.e. kid-free time!) with Andy. =)
The second anniversary that we recognize this week was the third anniversary of Brianna's death. My sister and my family in Illinois maintained their tradition of sending off notes to Brianna on helium balloons. Annie and John maintained the tradition that we started of participating in the 5k road race to benefit Children's Hospital in Boston. And I think I have found a new tradition. I spent some time alone with my thoughts while walking in a beautiful wooded park near our house. It gave me a chance to really reflect on Brianna's life and all the wonderful things that it brought to my family and to many of the people in our lives who were touched by Brianna in some way.
I also watched our wedding video for the first time in ages. It was so wonderful to see all the images of our families at such a fun and celebratory time, but also it is among the only videos I have of Brianna. There are scenes of her walking Andy's parents down the aisle, dancing and hamming it up for the camera and even trying to touch one of the chickens that escaped their pen during our reception (very brave!). But the image of Brianna that touches me most from the wedding is one of her cuddling Andy as he was holding her. Then she smiled at me and said, "Maybe I'll marry Uncle Andy."

I miss you Punkin, and love you forever.

dream baby

Isabel is still a wonderful baby. The last couple nights she has been sleeping five and a half or six hours a stretch! If only we could keep her brothers in bed then Andy and I wouldn't be so exhausted... but she's doing great. She started smiling a couple weeks ago and has been stealing all of our hearts with her little smiles and gurgles. It is truly adorable.

I loved this series of pictures and couldn't pick just one to post, since they each are cute in their own way.

This one is my favorite.

Tummy Troubles and misc...

We think that the dream baby has tummy troubles. It started a week and a half ago, but really got intense this weekend. Izzy would start nursing and then a couple minutes later she'd drop the latch and start screaming, arching her bad and hitting me. This would happen once or twice an evening. Not exactly a fun way to end the day. It was clearly upsetting for her and rather stressful for Andy and I. I took her to the doctor yesterday and they think she may have a mild case of reflux. They likened it to heartburn, which doesn't sound like fun at all. So Izzy is taking a low dose of Zantac and so far it seems to be helping.
Tomorrow Devin has the follow up appointment for his eye. It looks so much better already. I hope he gets the all clear to go swimming soon, since our neighborhood pool opened early this year and he is already asking to go. Not that we won't have ample opportunity to swim this summer, if I can figure out how to get them to the pool while keeping Izzy out of the sun. I can't believe that we only have three more days of school (actually one more day for Alex). I'm not sure if I'm ready to have these hooligans all to myself all summer long. In some ways I am looking forward to it, since we all enjoy mornings where we don't have to hurry out of the house. However, on these lovely schedule-free days the boys often get tired of entertaining themselves by late afternoon and they start getting "creative". Which means that I am counting the minutes until reinforcements (i.e. Andy) arrive. I guess that is where the margarita machine comes in handy. =)

Happy Mother's Day!

What a wonderful day! My day started with a sleep in morning (other than nursing Isabel at 5:45 am, of course). Then the men in my life woke me at 8:30 with breakfast in bed. Devin, Alex and I devoured Andy's creme brulee french toast, chicken apple sausage and the fresh cut strawberries and bananas. The only thing I didn't share with the boys was my coffee. =) Each of my children presented me with presents (even though Andy and I said we wouldn't do presents for Mother's/Father's day this year. His argument was that the gifts weren't from him...) and I love them all. After breakfast was digested I jogged down to the neighborhood fitness center to lift, came home for a shower and left for church with Devin. Those of you with three small children (or with a baby of any age) know that getting a workout and a shower in the same morning is an unbelievable luxury! After church, Devin and I went to lunch and did a little shopping (since he needed a new bathing suit and none of my shorts fit me yet). When we came home and I puttered around the house, played outside with the boys and held my little girl a lot (Izzy is going through a growth spurt. She nursed seven times today and had two bottles. Wow!)
This day was more relaxing and fun than I had anticipated. I have to thank my kids and my amazing husband who made it all happen! I am one lucky Mama.

Pirate Devin

Devin's surgery went well. The doctor said that it really couldn't have gone better. Other than the vomiting in the car on the way home, he did great. He had to wear an eye patch yesterday, and that really bothered him. We tried to talk up the whole pirate angle, but that only appeased him for a while before he decided that he really wanted the patch off.

There were tears, but he was much better this morning when the doctor said he was doing well and only needed to wear the plastic eye shield at bedtime. His eye is red from the trauma of surgery, but the doc says it should look better within a couple weeks. He doesn't seem bothered at all about it now.

quick update on goals

Hi there,
Aunt Jo and Eileen are here and we are having a great time. Since I would rather spend my "leisure" time with them than online, I'm just doing a quick update on goals.

Here is how I did on my goals for last week:
1) Finish Alex's thank you notes - done!
2) Clean bathrooms & vacuum before my sister and Aunt Jo arrive - done & done!
3) Catch up on email - blew that off again
4) Get some exercise - two walks, one pilates tape and one run! woohoo!!
5) Assemble and print labels for Isabel's announcements - done and sent
6) Get through to Alex about his behavior at school - we had a better week this week, so maybe?

This next week I want to get more exercise and catch up on email. Other than that I'm planning on laying low, what with company here and Devin's surgery and all. Dev is having eye surgery on Wednesday to remove a red bump (that the doctor likened to a mole) from the white part of his eye. Hopefully things will go well and the pathology report will come back with good news. =)

closure

It's official. We no longer own a house in Massachusetts. This was supposed to happen months ago, but we ran into an issue with the title and had to wait for the builder and the Shrewsbury conservation committee to sort things out. Luckily Wachovia was great about it and continued to reimburse our mortgage until the close, and the close finally happened today.
Andy and I are both breathing a sigh of relief. It's a little strange though to know that the house there is no longer ours. We really are Southerners now.

one for Grandma

My mom has been after me to post some new pictures of Isabel. This one is for Grandma; check out those chubby thighs! I guess I must be producing heavy cream instead of milk. =)

This picture was taken after Alex's birthday party. It was the first time Izzy wore a dress.

Isabel is five weeks already, and she's starting to look so different to me. She's getting rounder cheeks and chubby legs and she looks so long! She started smiling for us last week; it's adorable. With her smiley eyes and her big open-mouthed gummy smile, no wonder we are all in love with her.

Well most of us... Alex asked tonight why Isabel is always here. Andy and I explained that she's part of our family and will always be with us, just like Devin and Alex. He seemed to be okay with that, but who knows what he thinks. He loves when Isabel and I say goodnight to him though, because I let her lay in bed with him while I kiss him goodnight and he thinks that is great. Devin tells me how cute Izzy is about two or three times a day, and has decided that he likes girl babies more than boy babies. Clearly I'm not the only one who is going to spoil this little girl.

I made it through alive!

I am quite proud to say that I made it through my first week and am still relatively sane. I have a few good friends to thank for that. Overall things went well.

Here is how I did on my goals for last week:
1) Finish thank you notes - Izzy's are done and mailed. Alex's are nearly done
2) Catch up on email - totally dropped
3) Send the boys to school with lunch each day that they go - I did it. yeah!
4) Re-hang the pictures in Izzy's room - not only done, but also hung her letters. woohoo!
5) Do laundry - ongoing. always
6) Nurse Isabel 4-6 hours each day - a gimme, but I wanted at least one goal that I knew I would accomplish
7) Go for a few walks - two walks and one pilates tape.

Here are my goals for the coming week:
1) Finish Alex's thank you notes
2) Clean bathrooms & vacuum before my sister and Aunt Jo arrive
3) Catch up on email
4) Get some exercise
5) Assemble and print labels for Isabel's announcements
6) Get through to Alex about his behavior at school

The last one may be a challenge, but I am optimistic.
Goodnight all!

call him trouble

One of my favorite family stories is about the time that my twin nephews dug a tunnel under the fence and escaped from their kindergarten playground. In fact, they didn't just tunnel themselves out of kindergarten, but they took another kid with them. I think that most of the stories of Connor and Ryan are examples of how two little minds can work together to create big trouble. In our house, we only need one little personality to create big trouble, and that is Alex.

On Thursday Alex was sent to the principal's office (well technically the assistant principal's office) for talking "potty talk". Apparently he had been talking nasty for some time, and when the teacher corrected him, he'd give her a big smile, sit through his "time out", and then go right back to the potty talk. I think she finally decided too engage the higher authorities when he graduated from the basic potty talk and started telling his classmates, "eat my poo poo". I have no idea where he got this, since we haven't heard either boy use this gem at home. My sister thinks that he's simply combining two of his favorites; eating and potty talk.

I'm sure that the parents of the other preschoolers are simply thrilled that Alex is basically introducing the phrase "eat shit" to their little ones. But I am still hung up on the fact that a mere week and a half after Alex turned three he made his first trip to the principal's office. I think Connor and Ryan have met their match in this little trouble-maker.

that's what I like about the South...

When I was leaving my doctor's office today I noticed a sign posted on the building entrance stating, "No weapons allowed". At my doctor's office. I know that I live in the South, but this is a nice medical building in an upscale suburb. So next time I', going in for a physical or to figure out my allergy meds or whatever, I'll be sure to check my handgun at the door.
After the doctor, Isabel and I picked up a salad at the deli a couple doors down from the doctor. I was leaving the deli carrying a bag with my salad, a drink and Izzy's car seat when, in the span of three minutes, I had offers of help from two different people. I wonder if these are the same people who need to be told not to bring their weapons to the doctor.
Regardless, this made me laugh. Weapons and unsolicited offers of help. Southern hospitality at its finest!

single-handedly

I truly believe that whomever coined the term "single-handedly" must have done so with the mother (or father) of an infant in mind... because clearly the other hand was occupied by baby. Isabel is in what I refer to as the "hold me, love me" phase where she wants to be held most of the day. Hence, I can honestly say that I have tackled numerous tasks single-handedly. I have made two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, poured two glasses of milk and cut the stems off of strawberries single-handedly. I have single-handedly read books, cleaned up toys, washed faces and yes, I have even single-handedly wiped bums. I have single-handedly loaded the dishwasher, paid bills, surfed the internet and tonight I can honestly say that I have officially blogged single-handedly. However, many of these tasks were not only performed single-handedly, they were performed single-handedly while the other hand (well, arm actually) was swaying and bouncing, as newborns often enjoy. Pretty impressive, I know. =)

big week ahead

Tomorrow is a big day. My mom has been back in Chicago for a couple weeks now, and at 7:00 am tomorrow Andy will be going back to work. That means that I will be playing the zone defense (3 kids vs. 1 Mommy) from 7:00 am until about 5:30 pm tomorrow (assuming Andy leaves work a little early). I'm slightly terrified, but part of me is excited to just get on with it and start figuring out how to manage my brood. I have to get Devin to school and then take Alex and Izzy to their respective check ups with Dr. Jamie. Other than that we don't have much planned, maybe we'll take a walk or a trip to Trader Joes. We'll see how the day goes.
I do have a couple goals for the week. Since I really cannot predict how my days will be, I tend to plan a few things to tackle each week and hope I accomplish something! Here are the goals for next week:
1) Finish thank you notes
2) Catch up on email
3) Send the boys to school with lunch each day that they go
4) Re-hang the pictures in Izzy's room (since I never seem to get things right the first time)
5) Do laundry
6) Nurse Isabel 4-6 hours each day
7) Go for a few walks

I am fairly confident that I will accomplish at least half of those tasks. Wish me luck!

happy birthday Alex!!

Andy and I both said that we can't believe that Alex is already three years old. He is getting to be such a big boy!!

Here is a quick video of his big day.

as promised

Andy sans-goatee (and totally hamming it up).

His dark beard gives him a pretty constant five o'clock shadow, but he seems to think that will fade once he gets some sun on his face.

Since I'm posting pictures, I'm sure that you all want to see some more of Izzy. In this one I think she was about four days old (and quite a looker, we think).

In this one she's almost two weeks old (already!!).

Here is a picture of the boys at the US Whitewater Center with Papa. This week has been packed full of father and son(s) outings that all the men in the family seemed to greatly enjoy.

Andy shaved his goatee.

Yes. Andy shaved his goatee. For those of you thinking to yourselves, "I've never seen Andy without facial hair", well you are in good company. Andy and I have been together for more than ten years and I have never seen him without a goatee, except the winter when he grew a full beard. He came down last night after a shower and the goatee was gone. I was shocked. He looks twelve, or maybe sixteen. I like it, but I still do a double take when I see him. It feels good though. Devin has said that he likes Papa without it, but Alex likes him more "with the hair on". I haven't decided which I like more (with or without the goatee), but he seems happy. I realize that this is certainly picture worthy, and promise to post one soon.

Isabel continues to be a dream baby. Last night she was having an issue keeping the binki in her mouth after her 3:00 am feeding... so after I got up to put the binki in her mouth a zillion times between 3:30 and 4:45 am, I finally took her to bed with me. We slept soundly until 8:30. I think she just likes getting some night time cuddles. Who can blame her? At her doctor's appointment on Friday we learned that Isabel is up to 7 lbs 10 oz, so she gained seven ounces in a week! Still our little girl is only in the 25th percentile for weight. She's 21.25 inches long, which puts her in the 75th percentile for height, so Andy says she's a string bean. I'm sure it won't take her long to get big, after all her brothers started out long and skinny too!

update

Just a quick update for those who are interested... we are doing really well. Isabel is a dream. She is a great eater and a great sleeper. She is up to 7 lbs 10 oz and is only getting up once or twice each night. Izzy is a mellow little girl except when she's hungry. When hungry this girl is a serious screamer!
The boys are in love with Isabel and are constantly kissing her and competing with each other to put binki in her mouth. Alex's behavior has declined a bit over the last week or so, but we are hopeful that he will come back to his own soon. Andy and I have been giving him some extra love and extra attention in an effort to help him out, so hopefully he will settle down. Devin is doing great. He seems to be taking everything in stride, and he loves his little sister. He has mentioned that he misses me on the days when he spends more time with Andy or with his friends (some of the preschool moms have been taking Devin home for play dates after school to give me a rest); it is a little heart breaking to hear that, but then I just give him some more lovin' and we all feel better. I am still learning how to split my time between all of these little people, and the big one too!

Off to watch a movie with my hubby... and my daughter. =)

Baby love

We are all smitten with Isabel. Seriously. Alex is hysterical because he is constantly trying to kiss her and gets right in her face and talks in a really high, soft voice to her. I am sometimes worried that he's going to "love" her a little too much, but his affection is very genuine and it certainly beats him trying to throw a truck at her or something like that. Devin is the ultimate big brother and is quick to help in any way. They are constantly asking to hold her and checking on her. It is really wonderful.

Andy and I are both sleep deprived but are really happy with our little girl. Andy holds Isabel all evening long (I think he really doesn't want to be back at work, but he'll get his two weeks at home once my mom leaves) and he is still wearing his bracelet from the hospital. =) I am just so in love with my baby doll. She is wonderful.

We would be lost without my mom here helping out with the boys, the laundry, whatever needs to be done and frankly I'm a little terrified for the time when she is gone and Andy is back at work... but that is another story.

Many people have asked me how we chose her name, so here goes: my grandmother's middle name is Veronica, and I have always loved that name, so we chose that for her middle name. We both also loved the name Isabel or Isabella. "Belle" was my niece Brianna's nickname, and while we will never have another Brianna in the family, we thought that calling our little one Isabel would be a great way to honor Brianna's memory (and Brianna would have loved it!). Also, Isabel's Aunt Belinda was called "Belle" when she was little, so Izzy is in very good company. And it's a cool name. =)

welcome little one

Welcome Baby!

Isabel Veronica Blake

Monday, March 24th 2:33 pm

7 lbs 7 oz and 20.75 inches long

Andy and I are thrilled to welcome Isabel into our family (after what was thankfully an easy labor and delivery!). The boys are so in love with their little sister and we are all doing well.

pictures of the boys

After a rough Sunday I was pretty sore on Monday. According to my doctor that is completely normal, since the uterus is a muscle and mine certainly got a solid workout this weekend. Here I go, over training for an event again! Will my competitive nature ever settle down? =)

By yesterday I was feeling so much better and I even felt well enough to go to a pre-natal yoga class today. It is pretty exciting to know that we will meet this little one by Monday. I am ready.

I am posting a couple recent pictures of the boys, since they are getting so big! Enjoy.

Devin and Alex playing pirates.

Alex hiking. Check out that red hair!

The boys with the Easter bunny at our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. They had a blast!!

no baby yet

We haven't met our little girl yet. My contractions continued to intensify and we went to the hospital at dawn but my labor proved to be false. Lots of contractions and no real progress with my cervix (I'm at three centimeters). The contractions didn't stop until mid afternoon, and that was with the help of a mild sedative. I had a good nap and felt much better, until the contractions started again about an hour ago. I know that my body is getting ready, but I really want the contractions to cease until its the real deal.

Fingers crossed!

body by baby

I have been meaning to post some pregnancy pictures for all the people who we haven't seen since November/December, and since we just got our new digital camera, here goes!





These were both taken this weekend, which I am starting to think was just in time.



I have been contracting on and off since this afternoon, but without any real intensity or regular pattern so I figured my body was just "practicing". However, I woke up about an hour ago and I think that this may be real. You would think that by my third child I would know when labor is starting, but my water broke both times, so that was a crystal clear sign. It would be pretty ironic if after all my well laid plans of mom coming in to help and an early induction this baby actually came earlier than expected... especially since all who know me well can vouch that being early would truly be a unique characteristic for this little girl. =)

More news soon...

the boys

I guess I'm not the only one getting ready for the baby. Today the boys were playing with two stuffed animals that they found in the baby's room and they were carrying them around like dolls. Devin had an elephant and Alex had a bear. They took turns cuddling them and pretending to feed them and carrying them around. It was so cute!
I know that I shouldn't be surprised, since they are aware that the baby is coming soon (especially since there are so many conversations about the baby these days and her room is nearly ready and we have received baby clothes from some friends), but I was. It was sweet to see them playing like that.

I realized the other day that Devin is just a couple months younger than I was when I met Annie. I couldn't help but wonder if any of the friends that he has made since we moved here would be life-long friends for him. I can only hope that he is that lucky, since Annie is clearly fundamental in my world. I miss her.

getting ready for baby

I think my body is getting ready to have this baby. Since Saturday I have noticed that I am having far more Braxton Hicks contractions and I'm getting the aches and pains in all kinds of interesting places. While I know that this is not a sign that I will be delivering anytime soon, I am getting more nervous about that happening. With my previous pregnancies I would have welcomed an early baby, but this time I am all about the plan.
My mom is coming to town the 21st (Woohoo!! Mom got clearance from her doctor to travel and drive and chase my boys. More importantly, she is really feeling like her old self!) and I will be induced on the 24th. I feel like I need a couple weeks to be ready (I have little projects to finish around the house and in the baby's room) and I really don't want to go early. For the boys I had everything done far enough in advance that I was just kind of waiting for the baby to come. That is not the case this time. Its all part of settling a new house, but Andy and I still fee like we have so many things to do!

That being said, I am getting quite excited about meeting this little girl. Yesterday I bought my my first little dress. =)

Lori McKenna show

I have been meaning to write a post about Lori McKenna since Andy and I went to see her (again!) last Thursday, but most things seem to take me a while lately.

Lori McKenna is a musician from Stoughton, MA whom I have grown to love (http://lorimckenna.com/). I first heard her folksy music when she was featured on Chronicle about five years ago (playing her guitar and singing while her baby was bouncing up and down in a little doorway jumper). Since then Andy and I have seen shows of hers at Club Passim in Harvard Square and even at the Paradise. She is an amazing songwriter and singer, and her musical career is truly a Cinderella story. A few years back some country stars (like Faith Hill and Sarah Evans) heard her music and started recording her songs. Since then she has toured with Faith Hill and Tim McGraw and has put out her first album on a major record label (although the four before that are truly amazing).

Imagine my surprise when we found that Lori was playing here in Charlotte (for what would actually be her first trip to NC). We were thrilled - my favorite local Boston artist here!! The show was far more mellow than the most recent one that we went to at the Paradise, and the crowd was far smaller, but Lori was awesome! I have to say that I wish she played some more of her older music, but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her (and to Mark Erelli who plays with her but is a fantastic musician on his own http://www.markerelli.com from Cambridge, MA). Per Devin's request, I have recently put her Pieces of Me cd back in my car changer, since he was asking to hear the song "Mars". There is something truly adorable about hearing my four and a half year old singing, "I see Mars reflecting in my little boys brown eyes, and he says 'Mama I'm gonna get there someday. Mama I'm gonna get there someday'." Devin's other favorite on that album is the song "Fireflies" (which Faith Hill recorded), although Devin calls it "Peter Pan and Tinkerbell" because of the lyrics. I adore that song, but it reminds me more of my niece Brianna than of the boys. Alex however is partial to another song that Faith Hill recorded called "Stealing Kisses" which is on the Bittertown cd. Andy loves that our little Alex sings "I was stealing kisses from a boy. Now I'm begging affection from a man..." but I think its cute. Its funny how they can identify her voice now in other songs. I personally am partial to the song "Falter" these days (which is on both The Kitchen Tapes and Unglamorous), but actually would recommend any of her cd's. There is a little something amazing on each one that she has put out.

House pictures

I have promised pictures of the house, and now that we have added memory to the pc, I may actually be able to post them! Here goes...

This is our house from the front.

Here is a picture of the family room. The room is two stories high and it has amazing light all day long.

Here is the view of the hallway from the family room. I included this because it shows how open the floor plan is. We love it!

Here is the dining room (which happens to be the only room we haven't repainted). We are still working on getting coordinating dining room furniture, but these things take time. We found chairs we like though. =)

Here is the toy room (complete with boys playing).

Andy suggested I wait on the pictures of the kitchen until we replace the counters (hopefully by summer). The boys rooms and the nursery are nearly done and I will post pictures of those rooms when I have them.

As you can see, we have paint on the walls, but that is about it! Andy is anxious to hang pictures, but I haven't yet figured out where I want things to go. We'll get there though. Andy said I should post a picture of the guest room, so everyone knows that we are sincere in saying that we want visitors. I will say that the guest room will be far more comfortable soon, since we are upgrading to a king sized bed and planning to put our queen in the guest room. Now taking reservations.... =)

mom is home

and seems to be doing well. she still has quite a headache and will be visiting her doctors quite frequently over the coming month, but she's hanging tough! woohoo!!

my mom

My mom was in a car accident on Friday. She was making a left hand turn onto a busy street and was broadsided. It was pretty bad accident. She is doing alright, but is still in the hospital for observation because she has a small subdural hematoma. For us non-medical people that means that her brain bled from the trauma of the crash. She has been in the ICU under close observation since Friday, since they want to keep tabs on her brain function (testing her every couple hours with questions and small physical tasks) and any swelling in her brain. The good news is that the CT scan that she had this morning showed that there is no more blood now than there was on Friday, and she was moved out of the ICU to a regular room. She has a bad headache and her neck and left side are pretty banged up, but otherwise she is doing well. We are hopeful that she will continue to improve and get home soon.

well the weather outside is awesome

Have I mentioned that the weather here seriously rocks? I have never lived somewhere as sunny as this. Its fantastic! I find it much easier to get in a good mood when the sun is shining and I'm not freezing cold. Lately most days the high is around fifty degrees (some warmer, some colder), but sunny and fifty is perfect - especially for February!! Now who knows how I'll feel about the weather in August, but so far it has been a wonderful change from New England.

Andy and I are working diligently to settle the house (and get the baby's room done) and good progress is being made. I had intended to upload some pictures of the house (since more than a few friends have asked for them), but the pc where we store photos is in need of memory and is god-awful slow and I am terribly impatient. But soon - I promise!

The saga of the potentially broken foot...

Alex has been limping since the Superbowl. I don't think he's just trying to show his support for Tom Brady, much as we all love number 12. We had some friends over that day and while many adults were outside when Alex went down, no one saw what happened. All we know is that he came in the house sobbing that he was pushed down and the limping began. After a couple days he seemed to be doing better (still limping some, but also running around with Devin and riding his bike), so we thought he was healing. Then we had a very active weekend; I'm not sure if it was the hiking or the jumping on the trampoline, but by Sunday he was limping badly again. Now this limping didn't stop him from running around and playing, but when he was walking he would limp. On Monday I took him to the doctor and we went for Xrays, only to be told that he had a small fracture on his left foot. The nurse set up an appointment with an orthopaedic doctor for this morning, and advised us that the ortho would likely immobilize Alex's leg for a while... and the panic began. How can we immobilize a child who doesn't sit? Would it be a cast or a boot? How long would he be in it? How will we explain this to him? How will I manage all of this in the last month of my pregnancy?
So today we went to the ortho, and she said that she does not see a fracture in the Xrays. The ortho was great. First she gave me a much appreciated anatomy lesson on how kids bones develop and the differences between "soft bone" (or cartilage) and "hard bone". Then she explained that what the radiologist thought might be a fracture in the left foot looked consistent across the right foot also, so she thought it was just how the bone is developing. She said that she thought his was more of a soft tissue injury, which should be addressed with anti-inflammatory meds and rest. She said that if he was totally hobbling or unable to put weight on the foot she would put him in a boot, but since he was getting around pretty well, she recommended motrin and rest.
Let's be clear that I am thrilled. Annie said it best when she said, "Alex and immobilize just don't go together well". But since my pediatrician told me that motrin and rest would be the treatment if there was no fracture before we ever went for Xrays, I couldn't help but wonder why I was even at the ortho this morning (after all, I have nothing else to do these days... right?). So while mildly annoyed, I am focused on the good news... we don't have to immobilize Alex. Woohoo!!

Two big boys

It's official. I have two big boys now. In addition to the facts that Alex (a) has stretched out and lost all of his baby fat and (b) speaks so well that I no longer need to translate for him to everyone except for the few who are proficient in toddler-ese, Alex is potty trained. Alex is potty trained!! This is not to say that we are completely accident free, but we're close. I am much more excited to deal with two accidents in a week instead of changing 5-6 diapers every day. He is so proud of himself and we are thrilled.

Yesterday we were "crafting" at the kitchen table, when Devin picked up a pencil and started writing out the alphabet. He got to "M" before he had to ask me for some help (maybe because that is the part of the alphabet song that's faster?), but he did it. He wrote the entire alphabet. He does this at a time when he is going through placement testing for Kindergarten. Recently Andy and I were considering whether Dev should go ahead to Kindergarten or if he should wait another year (as many of his friends with summer birthdays are doing). We decided that we think he's ready academically (and certainly physically), but we wondered if he's mature enough for Kindergarten. I think that he has solidified our thoughts on this. He's going; if we kept him back I think he would be absolutely bored with school.
My boys. I love my boys. Sometimes they make me so proud.

Brianna

Yesterday my niece Brianna would have been twelve. Twelve. I can't believe it. Twelve seems like such an enormous difference from the nine years that she was when I last saw her. I wonder what she would be like now. I am sure that she would still be smart and fun and athletic, since those characteristics seem fairly permanent. But what would she look like? Would she still be a little cutie or would she start looking more grown up? Would she be in that awkward phase where some of her features grow before others? Would she be gangly?

I like to think that she would still be energetic and fun, and a little boy crazy (since she was already starting to show interest), but that she would still maintain some of the innocence that we all loved. I can't imagine her at twelve. I guess she'll always be a little girl to us.