Alexa's baptism

This past weekend we had Alexa's baptism. Thank you to everyone who shared the occasion with us. It was very special to have you with us. An especially big thank you to Catherine and Tom for being Alexa's godparents (and for making the long trip Catherine).

The baptism itself was a special mass held on Sunday afternoon with one other family. Alexa was dressed in a Christening gown from our family. Mom is unsure if it was mine or Catherine's. It was a beautiful eyelet gown and bonnet regardless and I'm so glad it fit her. Per usual, Alexa was very good during the ceremony. She fussed a little bit out but overall I couldn't have hoped for better.

After the ceremony we had family over for a luncheon and cake at our home. Kids and toys (and a couple dogs) were everywhere!

Here is a picture of our family with Father Bova Conte.

More pictures from the afternoon;

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Moms day off

I believe it is important for moms to take time for themselves regularly. I try to take at least a couple hours each week. Somedays I can't get out the door fast enough, others I circle back for extra kisses from the kiddos. I miss them when I'm out but I know I am a happier mom when I get me time.

Since Jim was gone all last week I decided I needed something a little more than a couple hours at TJMaxx. I planned a day of massages and shopping at the outlets with Eve. What a fabulous day. Here are some of the highlights from the day, positive and negative.

- Able to listen to music other than 'Old MacDonald' and 'ABCs'.
- Enjoyed mimosas in the lounge pre-massage (don't say anything...we snuck them in).
- Pumping in the changing room of the spa, and getting walked in on.
- Enjoyed a meal without having to play 'airplane' with food my food.
- Shopping for 5 hrs straight with no interuptions or crying involved.
- Coming home to 2 kids who can't wait to see me.

I'm thinking this is going to become a regular event. ;)

5 for 5 (months that is)

Well, 5 months tomorrow. I can't believe Alexa is 5 months old already. It's all a caffienated blur to me. In honor of the milestone here are 5 stories about Alexa.

1. Alexa has a bad diaper rash which is not going away. It's been over a month, the poor thing! She's been to see the pediatrician twice and we're on our third type of medication to try and get rid of it. The problem is the rash is localized perfectly in the folds of her legs so it gets no "air time" unless I'm holding open her legs and have her adorable little chubby rolls pulled back. Thankfully it's not bothering her but the fact that she has dealt with it for so long makes me feel like a horrible mommy.

2. During breakfast yesterday morning I had Alexa on my lap and a plate of eggs and toast in front of me. In the moment I put down my fork to take a sip of coffee, Alexa grabbed my fork (held it perfectly, too) as if to say "let's eat". Looks like we'll be starting those solids soon.

3. Alexa loves watching her brother and tends to laugh at him constantly. I'm not talking about those tender smiles with a giggle, I'm talking full on belly hysterics which go on for minutes at a time. We don't know what it is about Nicholas which sets her off. One day just watching him eat breakfast was enough for a full 5 minutes of entertainment. Last night Nicholas was being his usual self and hamming it up in front of a mirror. Just watching his "play peek-a-boo with himself" routine kept her going for a while. Those are the moments I wish we had built in video camcorders.

4. Like many second children, Alexa wears a good number of hand-me-downs. Much to the dismay of her daycare providers her hand-me-downs are boys clothes from her brother. Whenever she's brought to daycare dressed in a girly flowered outfit Alexa's teachers squeal with glee (honestly). Talk about making a mom feel guilty. It's not that I don't enjoy buying and dressing her in girls clothes. I'm just trying to hold off a little until the point where she doesn't outgrow her clothes within a weeks time.

5. Alexa is not fully onboard with this sleeping-through-the-night routine. I have to admit I'm partially, if not fully, to blame. It's hard when you're alone for 5 nights straight and both kids are waking up 3 times a night (Nicholas from a cold and Alexa just because) not to give in to her demands to be fed whenever she wakes if it means I get an hours more sleep.

Here are a couple recent pictures of the kiddos;

Tummy time....

A real smile for the camera on Halloween morning.

Bed-head. All he wanted was juice when I wanted to take a picture. He was not happy with me.

"Are you doing something bad?", "Yeah"

Jim is traveling again and I am playing the part of "single mom" this week. Typically I don't mind when he travels since it's usually during the week where I have the refuge of work and daycare. This time he left bright and early Saturday morning leaving me alone with the kids for the entire weekend. When he told me his plans a wave of helplessness and fear overcame me. My unease was rooted in the fact that the "terrible twos" are upon us. On Nicholas' good days I can expect at least 1 tantrum. And I'm talking the full out screaming, tears, kicking, hitting, screaming, throw himself on the floor kind. The cause, at least this week, has been my refusal to allow him to eat chocolate or candy for breakfast. You shouldn't be surprised that he's been asking to go trick-or-treating and to Halloween parties almost daily since Halloween. Looks like he got my sweet tooth.

On most days it seems that Nicholas' vocabulary has been shortened to one word..."no". And I'm sure like most boys, Nicholas behaves more like a Tazmanian devil rather than a 2 year old child. So tonight when all went quiet except for a little russling behind the loveseat where only my purse resides, I had to ask, " Nicholas, are you doing something bad?" Imagine my surprise when my answer was not the old hat "no" but a "yeah". I still don't know what he was doing. My inquiry must have ruined the excitement of whatever it was because he ran away faster than I could move off the couch.

It's 8 pm now, both kiddos are in bed, and my fear of doing it all alone was for nothing. So while the rug still needs to be vacuumed and the bathroom desperately needs cleaning, I managed some Christmas shopping, grocery shopping, yardsaling, and clearing the leaves from our front yard on top of the normal routine, and we had fun doing it without a single tantrum all weekend.

All Hallows Eve

What fun our evening turned out to be. We had decided we were going to go trick-or-treating to a few (5 or so) homes for the experience and photo ops and just take a walk around the neighborhood. By the time we were dressing the kids into their costumes Nicholas finally got excited about going trick-or-treating. On our way out we ran into our neighbors who have two boys, one just a few months older than Nicholas. We ended up touring the neighborhood together and I think Nicholas enjoyed having a fellow toddler around. While Nicholas was a little shy and some of the more gruesome Halloween decor did not go over well (He's still talking about the lifesize mummy!) he did enjoy digging into the bowls of candy!

Alexa was her usual laid back self. Luckily her costume kept her nice and toasty warm as well. Not surprisingly she did fall asleep shortly after our depature from home and slept the majority of the time.

Here's Alexa dressed up as a monster although she is the furthest thing from a monster. Maybe she should have been a doll or a sugar cube. She is the sweetest thing!

Walking from home to home.

Nicholas digging into the candy basket a third time! The friendly neighbor kept offering so of course Nicholas would oblige.

Heading home...