Christmas Craziness

This year we decided to travel up to visit my parents for the Christmas holiday. They all have come down to see us multiple times since Lincoln was born so we felt like we kind of owed them. But that's a 5 1/2 hour car trip on a good day, so needless to say I was dreading it with a 2 year old and a 5 1/2 month old who generally hates the car. Hates the car? I thought babies were supposed to love the car?! Yeah, no. Not Lincoln. But, all in all the travel went pretty well. We managed to only stop twice on the way up, largely due to the portable DVD player we got to entertain Pippa. And entertained she was! And Lincoln was easily entertained in between naps if I would pop back there for a while. I felt like a little monkey going back and forth between the front seat and the back seat scrunched between the two car seats. I had an emotional moment at one point when I let Lincoln chew on one of my fingers and realize he'd cut a tooth and a second was on the way! I swear I checked the day before! I felt silly for getting choked up, but he's just growing so fast. I wasn't expecting teeth yet. The way home was shaping up to be even better. We made it half way until making a stop and it looked like we had the rest of the trip in the bag until we hit some construction traffic at the same time Lincoln had a major poop blow out in his car seat. Nice.

Since we were able to spend a few days there we had time to catch up with a bunch of good peeps that we don't get to see nearly enough. Dinner with Maggie and Jeremy was a blast. And the fact that it started with a delicious dragon fruit martini had nothing to do with it! Then, on Christmas Eve, a bunch of the cousins got together. I was really excited to have the opportunity to catch up with a bunch of people I don't see nearly enough of. I even tried not to talk about the kids all night....but they kept asking. Ok, stop twisting my arm. I'll tell you another cute thing Pippa did the other day. (Wink)

Christmas morning was fun for everyone. We instituted one of my family's traditions where the kids wake up to their stocking, full of presents, at the end of their bed. Or, in Pippa's case, at the end of the pack n play. We eagerly went in to get her up and found her amongst tissue paper and stickers in her 'special bed'. The day was starting out right. Then we all get dressed in our Christmas finest and headed over to my parents' house for present opening and brunch. By the end of the day we were all very full and the house was littered with wrapping paper and toys. Sure signs of a good holiday! We even managed to snap a family photo or two. And it was especially nice to be able to include my brotha-from-anotha-motha, Evan, this year too.



The following weekend we got together with Sto's side of the family at home. This is when the true Christmas morning chaos happens. They came over with piles of gifts. Pippa had so many to open, she actually started to get bored! (I'm sure that will never happen again!) It was like a wrapping paper bomb went off in our living room. But, true to form, my mother in-law had every scrapped picked up, every box broken down, and every bow collected to use again next year.  We seemed to get a lot of electronic toys this year, something I'm not a huge fan of as you know. But I'll put them in a closet and I'm sure I will be thankful for them sometime in the future. Like the next long car ride!

Pinterest = Inspiration

I have recently joined Pinterest. If you don't know what that is...get with the program! Just kidding. But seriously, it's pretty cool. It's an on-line community where you can gather ideas and links for just about anything. I've been getting a lot of great home decorating tips and DIY ideas. I find it very inspiring. Now, as I've stated before, I'm not a very crafty person. But I want to be. Not sure I'll ever be at the level of cutting glass with nail polish remover or anything, but I do get inspired to try new stuff. And I want to be one of those cool DIY people, not a corny one. So you are all welcome to hold me accountable and let me know when I'm loosing my perspective...if I haven't already.

I have a running list of things I want to accomplish and am slowly ticking them off. The owl hanging art (yes, I called it art) was the first. Now I'm moving onto our play room. I have a big shelving unit that I don't quite know what to do with. I want it to look pretty while serving to store toys and other kid gear. I decided to find storage containers that are different shapes and sizes but that blend with each other. I think I'm getting there but it's not quite done yet.  I found a wide, wire basket that fit the bill but it was not enclosed and I didn't want to necessarily see the mess within. So, being the newly crafty DIYer that I am, I wove ribbon threw it and even broke out my glue gun for the first time since I was a kid. (My mom would be proud!) I think it turned out pretty well, though I'm sure I won't be selling any of them on etsy any time soon.

Next up: a reading nook.

A Year In Review: 2011

Crap. I must have blinked. Why didn't someone tell me not to blink?! This year went by so fast it's almost not fair.  Just last Christmas Pippa was not quite walking and Lincoln was just little blob making me nauseous. So much has happened in this year it's hard to know where to start. We said goodbye to my Grandma Fran unexpectedly and we miss her very much. But we know she has been watching over us taking pleasure in her grand kids. Other memorable events include surviving Hurricane Irene (and the subsequent basement repairs!) and a great Myrtle Beach vacation with Ben's family.

And, of course, we welcomed Lincoln Fredrick Poblete into our world on July 7th. He's been unpredictable from the start, deciding to stay put 5 days past his due date and then arriving in a whirl wind, 1 hour and 15 minute labor. We planned to have him at home and it turned out to be the best decision we could have made! Those first few weeks are a little foggy for me but now we are loving life with a happy, smiley baby who's current favorite activity is flapping his arms up and down like a baby penguin trying to fly. He's also working hard on his bathroom humor, a trait that is apparently genetically written into the male species. The other day we were having some nice, snugly, one-on-one time when he let rip a huge bunch of gas. He apparently thought this was a riot because he spent the next 10 minutes mimicking the sound, all the while with a 'look what I can do' expression on his face. He loves to give baby kisses to anyone whose face gets within range and thinks his Ate Pippa is totally hysterical.

Pippa is a doing great also. It amazes me to see how much she's grown over 12 short months. She has gone from being a baby to a kid. A crawler to a walker. And a definite talker! She loves having a brother around and is very 'helpful' with him. Since she is extremely verbal and repeats a lot of the things I say to him, it's hysterical to hear the things that come our of her mouth. It's common for her say something like, 'What are you doing, baby boy?' or 'Don't cry, honey.' or 'Don't gag yourself, baby!' (Lincoln seems to like to shove his entire hand down his throat.) It was also the year of a bunch of firsts for Pippa. Her first hair cut, her first dentist visit, her first sushi, and her first music class. She loves music class! She has most of the songs from class memorized and we will often hear her singing them to herself while she's in bed. Her second birthday party was a total blast and now she is primed and ready to go for Christmas morning. She even picked out all sorts of random gifts for her Ninongs and Ninangs. (i.e. God parents, i.e. Sto's brothers and sisters.)

Sto's practice has been going very well, keeping him busy but not too busy. We are expecting another surgeon to be added to the practice this next year which will alleviate some of the burden of being on call and therefore make vacationing a little easier. We love vacationing with family and hope to do more of it in 2012. Other plans for the up coming year include me going back to work part time. Pippa should be starting preschool at some point, and we will be celebrating another 1st birthday! Who knows what else the next year will bring us but I am so lucky to be in it with and absolutely wonderful husband and father. I am so full of gratitude for being surrounded by so much love and heap blessings upon blessings upon Sto, Pippa, Lincoln, and all my family and friends. I love you all. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Me? DIY?

I'm not usually one to DIY. Well, I always like to thing I will but never really do. But a few weeks ago we were at a friend's house and their daughter's room had the cutest mobile. It was a twisted branch with some dainty flowers and a dragonfly hanging from it. It was hanging from the ceiling in a corner and it looked so great. I thought, No really! I can do that! So when Joel gave Pippa a pretty paper mache owl for her Birthday I knew it was meant to be. I found some sticks, though not as twisty as I'd wished for, some dainty flowers, and some wire. Here is the finished product. I'm pretty pleased with myself.

                                        Watch out Martha Stewart!

The Big 2!

Pippa turned 2! WaHoo! What a blast her party was. And besides having way too much food (but when do we not?) it went off without a hitch. She even napped like I wanted her to (which, as you've read, never happens for special occasions!)




We had been talking about the party for weeks now. Pippa, how old will you be on your Birthday? Thinks about it. Puts up all of the fingers on one hand and declares, TWO! and Pippa, what are we going to do at your Birthday party? With no hesitation at all,  Eat cake! We even practiced blowing out candles. She was set. Sto and I got her up from her nap together and got her dressed in her special party dress, hair clip, and sparkly shoes. She had this impossibly cute grin on her face and ran into our bedroom to look in the full length mirror. She smiled at her reflection and turned side to side to get a better look. It was so cute I had tears in my eyes. She really likes getting dressed up and was excited that her party was finally here!

During her nap we had put up decorations and balloons. She was all, 'Huh! Wow! Look at dat!' when we came down stairs. And it did look pretty good if I do say so myself. (Props to Joel and Michelle!))(And Sadie and Silas for the balloons!) We donned party hats and started in on the huge spread and big bowl of punch (thanks to Sophia for that!) We wanted to keep this party small and it was just right. Basically it was a regular old weekend day with Sto's family coming over plus a few extras like my family. I love love love having my family stay with us. After eating, some of us went downstairs to our newly carpeted basement (thanks to Hurricane Irene) to play some games. There was pool for the grown ups, toddler bowling, and a toddler bean bag toss that I made out of a big box. My intention was to make a happy sun face on a big box and cut out a hole for the mouth to toss bean bags into. It looked much better in my head. I'll spare you the pictures. (Really, it was that bad. Clearly I am no artist.) And since Pippa was the only toddler at the party for the games, Silas, Sadie, and Sophia were kind enough to humor me and pretend to be toddlers. We actually all had a fun time with that stupid bean bag toss and it continues to be a favorite activity even 2 weeks later.

Then it was time for cup cakes! I put 2 candles in 2 mini cup cakes for Pippa and we sang Happy Birthday. She knew just what to do when it came time to blow out the candles and definitely knew what to do when it came time to eat! After that we opened presents. It was more fun than I was expecting. She was so genuinely excited for every gift! At one point we were just opening a card and she squealed, Open it! because she was so excited to see what it was. Wish I had that on video! (Lesson learned. Make sure someone has a video running!) Thank you to everyone who got her a gift. They were all very well picked out and not over the top (Which surprised me. Well done everyone!)

We are still talking about what a fun party she had...that is until the next birthday party we go to. Ellie? Connor? Pippa is looking forward to singing Happy Birthday to you!

4 Month Update

    Stats:
Height: 25 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 16.6 lbs (35th percentile if you can believe it!)

    Tricks:
Very vocal. Loves to squeal like a baby pterodactyl.
Mastered use of his hands, especially when it come to grabbing my hair.
Rolls over from tummy to back.
Very ticklish.
Laughs easily, especially at his big sister.

    Other Stuff:
He's pretty unpredictable with his schedule. Some days will nurse every 3 hours, but some days its every 2 or every 4. Sometimes it's from both breasts, sometimes only one. Sometimes he takes good 1 1/2 hours naps, sometimes 45 minutes. He like to keep me guessing. I think he just likes to do things his own way on his own time. He still get up 2 or usually 3 times a night which is annoying. I'm not sure he really needs to get up that often but think he's still too young to force a schedule. We are just going with the flow for a while longer and see what he settles into.

But he's become a very happy little boy and smile and laughs easily. Definitely over the colicky phase, thankfully. He loves his sister and his daddy. And, of course, he loves his mama! Still a total mama's boy. I'll take it!

Cute, but Silent

 This was the first year that Pippa went trick or treating. I didn't grow up with this Great American Tradition so part of me is excited about it and part of me could care less. But since I had to stay home with sleeping Lincoln and hand out candy, it's likely it will become a Daddy/Daughter/Son tradition anyway. I got Pippa a cute Zebra costume this year. That's right. No crappy princess sh!@t for us! (I hate princess sh!@t. It makes me throw up a little in my mouth.) She loved this costume even though the head piece was, surprise surprise, too big for her. I had to pin the back of it to the rest of her costume just to keep it sort of out of her face. Didn't bother her, though! She took her candy bucket and hit the pavement with Sto. I watched out the window as they slowly (very slowly) walked to our neighbors. After the first house I saw Sto decided it would be better if he carried her and later she ended up on his shoulders. It made me giggle.

Sto said they would practice saying 'Trick or Treat' all the way up to the door and then, of course, when the door opened she would be silent. Cute, but silent. They hit up 5 houses all together and came home with a surprising amount of candy for such a small number of houses. One woman was handing out full size candy bars and insisted she take more than one! As if we would let her eat a whole candy bar! As it was, she was allowed to eat 2 M&Ms. A great treat! Now she often starts the day asking for one. And for some reason she's decided that if she whispers it, it will have greater impact and therefore get her what she wants. So from time to time she'll look up at me with an impossibly cute grin and whisper 'Red M&M, please'? Which I swear is followed by a gleam of her teeth and 'ding' sound, like a cartoon character....and it usually works. Sucker.