Tired but blessed

The last few days have been exhausting.

We live in a two bedroom townhouse. We have no attic or garage. Storage is a constant battle. Other than a closet under the stairs we have no storage space. With two kids and lots of baby gear, we’ve had to get creative at times. I decided a couple of weeks ago that a ‘real’ entertainment center would help make the most of the space we have. I’d been scouting out Craigslist for a while and Friday I found two good possibilities.

Saturday morning the Irishman had to work. We kept e-mailing and phoning about the Craiglist ads. The one we really liked was a bit more than we had to spend, so we e-mailed them and made an offer within our budget. Our offer was a fair bit below what they wanted, but to our surprise they accepted it. Saturday night Uncle Ken and Morgan headed out to pick up our new furniture acquisition.

The thing is huge. I was a little worried when they first brought it in due to the size, but it really is what I had in mind. We were up until 1:30am getting it in place, but we still had books, DVDs, and the like all over the place. The last two days have been spent putting our house back together. We have swapped out three bookshelves, a coffee table, and a side table for the entertainment center and still gained storage space. (This also meant I had to arrange for a local charity to come and take away the now unneeded furniture!) We took down Caitlin’s play area in exchange for a more open plan. It has been a lot of work. I like what I see, but I am ready for it to be finished!

I had big plans for the week. I figured I would work on the house today while Caitlin was in school. I scheduled play dates for Tuesday and Thursday. It was all looking great!

Saturday morning I noticed that Caitlin’s lingering cough had gotten a little worse. We skipped a birthday party on Saturday and took her to the doctor on Sunday. It seems to be a sinus infection with a lot of congestion and drainage. She has not run a fever at all and is doing okay, but she just can’t quite shake this cold that she has had for the last month or so.

We kept her home today. On our walk to see the ducks this morning I noticed a rash on her arms. This led to our second trip to the pediatrician’s office in as many days. Fun times. They are pretty sure the rash is related to the cold/infection/ yuck that she has and not an allergic reaction to the antibiotic. We are going to keep an eye on her tonight and tomorrow.

All this means that we are moving into our fourth day of quarantine. Between the sick toddler, the new furniture, and the getting-out-of-the-bed-at-naptime issues, I am worn out. I managed to turn on the computer this afternoon but never even sat down. (As I discovered after bedtime when I found the pile of stuff I cleared off the table then they came to take away the furniture!) My guilty pleasures – blogging, Pinterest, and Google Reader - are calling my name, but I have to time to answer them!

Tomorrow is not looking to be much easier. We have been up late every night for the last week or so. I am tired, but it is a good tired. I look at what I have and I feel blessed. I can see the work around the house paying off. Several times today Caitlin has taken my hand out of the blue and given me a kiss. I may be worn out, but I am fortunate. A month from now when I am back at work I know I will miss these moments!

So, for now I’ll leave you with some birthday photos. There are SO many more to go through…these are just before bath time on the big day. The balloons were a huge hit. Caitlin opened all her birthday presents with one hand because she wouldn’t let go of the balloons. With Elmo AND Mickey you can’t go wrong! It was so darn cute to watch her with them!

The shirt was a gift from Ruth. It is a personalized Elmo shirt. Caitlin LOVES this shirt. She actually went to bed tonight wearing the shirt. I was getting her PJs out when she found it. There was no way she was going to wear anything else!

Ruth also got her personalized Elmo pillow cases. (They were in the dryer when these pictures were taken, but they are now a permanent addition to the bed!) Seriously adorable!

Sean was also dressed in his Sesame Street gear for his sissy’s birthday. I wasn’t sure if she would notice, but it was the first thing she said to me!

It was a lovely day!

I’m starting with the end first. I’ll post more later about the goodies she got, the cupcakes I made, and our picnic lunch with Daddy. Eventually.

For now I am off to bed!

The Zoo, Part 2

I won’t even begin to tell you how many pictures I took from Caitlin’s birthday yesterday. We had a lovely family day. I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the photos actually, so I figured I would finish the zoo trip instead!

After the splash pad we came across the gorillas. As the Irishman was looking through the observation window, one of the gorillas came right up and sat in front of the window. It was amazing to see such a large animal up so close.

Caitlin wasn’t really into the petting zoo this time, but she was impressed with the birds. This one said, “Hello” and blew kisses.

By this point we were all tired. The zoo is HUGE. We should have rented the bike things, but we didn’t. We all got our exercise though!

Caitlin insisted on walking most of the time, but as closing time came closer and we realized we were no where near the exit she didn’t have much of a choice but to get in the stroller!

This sign was such a sweet sight. At one point we were not sure we would ever get out! We had to rush past the giraffes and other family favorites as the time flew by. We will have to head back another time.

So that is the end

of our trip to the zoo -

part two!

Two Years Ago Today

Happy birthday Caitlin!

Daddy put together a little video looking back at the last two years. Believe it or not that baby in the pictures is YOU not Sean! You have grown up so very much. We are proud to be your parents and look forward to watching you grow and learn. You are our amazing girl and we love you so very much!

 

Happy birthday sweetie!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

The Zoo–Part 1

The Irishman was recently named employee of the month at his place of employment. As part of his prize, he was given an extra day off. We’d been talking about taking a trip down to the Miami Zoo, so the day off was put to good use before Nana and Granda headed back to Ireland.

It was a LONG day, but we had fun! We left the house at about 11am and didn’t get home until 8pm. Let’s just say everyone slept well that night! We’d packed a picnic lunch that we enjoyed before we headed into the zoo. A passerby offered to take our photo on the way in. Notice we are all still fresh and ready for fun at this point!

I have a thing for flamingos. I love that they are the first thing you see when you come in. Caitlin was all excited and wouldn't stand still for a photo!

Our little girl’s new favorite animal is the elephant. She learned on this trip how to say ‘elephant’ and she has been pointing them out to us ever since. You’d be surprised how often a toddler sees a picture of an elephant!

Mid afternoon there was a slight tantrum, but Granda came to the rescue with ice cream for Caitlin. Dipping Dots will fix anything…even a cranky toddler!

Sean agreed to take a picture with the lions. He had lions on his outfit, so it seemed only fitting!

Thankfully we came across the splash pad at just the right time. Sean needed to nurse and we all needed a break. I’d packed a suit and swim diaper for Caitlin, so we turned on the water and let her go!

She had a blast! After our break we were all refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the zoo!

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(Part 2 to follow…probably Friday. Tomorrow is a big day for a certain little girl!)

3 Months

I’m playing catch up, but a certain little girl has a birthday this week so I thought I better post her brother’s three month photos before then! The trip from the zoo two weeks ago will have to wait…

Sean is SUCH a good baby! He is very easy going. He nurses like a champ, and thankfully he will now go two hours between feedings! (That eating every hour and a half thing was wearing me out!)  He may eat a lot, but he has been sleeping through the night for the last three weeks or so, so I have NO complaints!

(The miracle blanket is wonderful by the way! Best. Swaddle. Ever.)

I have a confession. We have been REALLY bad about tummy time.  We are getting into a bath time routine though and that should help. We fill the tub and put Sean in first in his little bath chair and then switch off. I bath Caitlin and Daddy coaches Sean in his tummy time. Listening to them makes me smile. “You can do it, Sean!” Good boy! That’s it! Turn to the other side! Way to go!” The Irishman is a great father!

Sean is a very happy baby. He is very alert and makes all sorts of lovely baby noises! His coo-ing, and laughing, and giggling will warm your heart. He left a voicemail message for his Grammy last week to show off his “talking” skills. Sean very rarely cries – usually just our way home when he is hungry and tired of the car seat. The boy recently found his thumb though and he finds it far superior to any pacifier we could offer him.

As far as Caitlin and Sean, she doesn’t seem to remember life before the baby. She still gets a little jealous from time to time, but it has gotten much better! I love to listen to her talk to him in the car when he gets upset. Big sister is also very generous with her kisses for Sean.

Caitlin also has a newfound love for her baby dolls. They are all named, “baby” right now, but she feeds them, burps them, puts them in Sean’s swing, and covers them with blankets. “Shhh! They’re sleeping!”  It is funny to watch her mimic how we care for Sean. It has been going really well, but we’ll see how she does once Sean moves into her old crib. I suspect that might not go over so well, but they are going to be sharing a room shortly, so she’ll have to get used to it!

For comparison sake, here is a photo of Caitlin at the same age. The outfits are almost the same – just different holidays. I’m a sucker for a cute design on the baby’s bum! I think they really do look alike.

Our little man is growing so fast! He is comfortably in 6 month clothes. (I’ve even put in in a few 6-9 month outfits already!) He is a little angel!

We are so very blessed!

Nana and Granda

It has been a busy few days around here! Nana and Granda headed back to Ireland after a lovely month or so on this side of the pond. The Irishman and I both really hate the fact that we live so far away from our parents. Caitlin is only just old enough to get to know them now…and the saying good bye part is that much worse when you have to explain to her that her grandparents had to go back to their home far away!

Nana really wanted to get some pictures with the kids, so we dressed them up in their matching Cork gear for a photo op before they left!

(We *might* have used food to bride Caitlin to join in!)

By this point a certain almost-two-year-old had had enough,

but she didn’t like me taking pictures without her. This is her “cheese” face. In the last week or two she has turned to me while doing something cute to ask, “Cheese?” That kid cracks me up!

She is a photographer in the making. This photo was one she took.

We had a great time with Nana and Granda! Now we are re-adjusting to life without the extra hands around. Tomorrow will be a big test. I am going to attempt story time at the library on my own with both kids. We’ll see how it goes!

Caitlin saw me editing these photos and starting waving to Nana and Granda. She misses them already!

Driving into Dreamland

I noticed a few weeks ago that Caitlin was trying to climb out of her crib. With the sleep sack on we were okay, but our days were numbered. I spent a couple of weeks looking for a toddler bed. Caitlin’s crib converts, but we’d decided that we would use the crib for Sean and get a toddler bed for Caitlin.

We were thinking that with them sharing a room it would take up less room that way.

My favorite consignment shop posted a photo of a bed on their Facebook page that caught my eye. The price was right, but I knew from the comments that there was another person interested in the item. I got there the next day when they opened. I examined it and almost waivered, but I ended up buying it then and there.

The Irishman was THRILLED. I paid $62 for the second-hand bed. It is in great shape, but there are a few scuffs if you look closely. My husband can’t find anything wrong with the bed. He LOVES it.

All of these photos are from his iPhone. I’m pretty sure he would sleep in the toddler-sized race car bed if I’d let him.

Caitlin is enjoying it, though truthfully I bought it for Sean. I figured that it will be his in time and he is using purple bath towels now. With that in mind, Caitlin can sleep in a blue race car for a while!

According to my toddler the front of the car is really a slide. I wouldn’t mind so much, but she makes us slide with her!

As for sleeping in the bed, it has gone okay. The first day she napped and slept through the night without getting up at all. Day two…I popped in to check on her during nap time and found that the had silently slipped out of bed and was playing with the wheel of the car. She was up at 4am Wednesday morning, but she went back to bed until 7 after I told her it was still night time. Wednesday she only napped for about 30 minutes before making getting out of bed a game. We’ll see what the morning brings!

This is how the Irishman found her when he went to wake her up on Monday morning. It looks like a rough night, huh?

She’ll be two in a week. I cannot believe how much she has grown! Thankfully the transition to a “big girl” bed hasn’t been has bad as I feared. Now I’m just hoping that getting rid of the Dodo and potty training will work out as smoothly…

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This post was brought to you by:

The bed is Caitlin’s birthday gift from Grammy. We could have picked out something new, but it wouldn’t have had wheels. ; )  Granda bought the wood board for the mattress to sit on. (Creating my soon-to-be secret baby clothes storage compartment!) The mattress is a birthday gift from GGB - though not having a mattress in the bed did not seem to bother them much! Daddy took Caitlin to Target over the weekend to pick out the new Minnie Mouse blanket.

Halloween 2011

We have had a very full Halloween! We started at Caitlin’s school festival. When Nana, Sean, and I got there we saw Caitlin waiting quietly in her spot for the fun to begin. They had a pumpkin carving contest, a storyteller, and a costume parade. When we took her back to the classroom after the fun she decided that she wanted to come home with us. I decided there was no harm in that, so we headed back to the house.

After naptime Caitlin put on her other costume and we headed to Daddy’s office.

There is not much in terms of Trick or Treating in the townhouses where we live, so the Irishman picked up candy and cracker/cookie snack packs. He handed them out to his co-workers so that Caitlin could come Trick-or-Treat for goodies.

The cowboy and his big sister were a big hit!

After dinner we headed over to show off the costumes to my grandparents.

Our last stop of the evening was to Trick-or-Treat at Sue and Bob’s house. We had some sleepy kiddos by that point, but it was great to see them!

It was a busy day, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It is even more fun now that Caitlin is just getting to be old enough to enjoy things like this. She is taking it all in and figuring it out, though at my grandparents’ house tonight she returned all the candy in her bag before we left. I’m sure by next year it will be a different story!