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.