6 months/ 3 1/2 years

The children's half birthdays are today.

Will I ever get over the fact that they were born on the same day? Probably not.

Henry told everyone all day that he was 3 1/2 years old. I sang Happy half birthday to you, happy half birth---
NO, says henry. Just sing Happy Birthday.

Marnie's day started off lovely, but by the end of the day she had a slight fever, runny nose, and slept a lot, and only wanted to be held. Teething.

We went to the Science museum to meet friends, which in hindsight was a bad idea, but I can never say no to a good outing. Marnie screamed all the way to the bus stop, and all the way from the bus stop home. She was asleep and tolerating the outing in between the screaming. She never screams or fusses really, so I got flustered and stressed out. But now I'm sitting here writing this and realizing how lucky I am to have a baby that hardly screams or fusses. She's mostly just pleasant as can be, and curious about everything, and always looking around for someone to smile at. What a dear.

I thought of making a little cake for their half birthdays but then I realized I haven't slept in 6 months and who am I trying to kid. Instead I bought a box of ritz crackers and cut up some pineapple to share. Nothing says party time like American crackers and tropical fruit, right? ;)

I love my babies. Love their friendship. Love the way they can't wait to see each other every morning. Love how Henry gets mad at Marnie when she grabs a toy he puts in front of her or pulls his hair if he lays next to her (she just loves you, Henry, I always say). Love how Marnie's arms and legs flail wildly every time Henry comes into the room. Love how they understand each other. And I LOVE when they both let me snuggle them at the same time. Basically mom heaven.

Marnie is 5 months

Marnie June is 5 months today. I need to document this sweet little girls life before she's walking and talking!

I'll just do a quick top 5 favorite things about Marnie.

ONE // She is the spitting image of her big brother, but his complete opposite. Everyone, still to this day sees Henry and says, oh he's so serious. But Marnie will smile and laugh at anything moving. She loves people, and lights up when people look at her. It melts my heart to see the way she charms people. Sometimes I'm just walking around the room, doing whatever and I look over at her, and she's just been staring at me, waiting for me to look at her. She'll break into the biggest, gummiest grin and kick her legs, or jump if she's in her jumper.



TWO// She is in that amazing chunky snuggly baby phase. She's just started rolling over, so not quite on the move yet, but loves to be snuggled and cuddled, so I put her on my lap and she grabs on tight to my hands and starts chewing on my fingers. It's so cute, I honestly can't get enough of her roly-poly body. I've been doing baby massage with her, and it soothes her so much. She starts to coo and give me the most loving looks when I lay her down for some baby massage. I've tried some baby yoga with her, too, and recently tried a move that puts her upside down and she started laughing so much. Just loved it.

THREE// She's a great daytime napper, which I'm very grateful for. Sleeps well in her crib or in the carrier. She is so pleasant since she is typically well rested, and she falls asleep usually without crying. I just sing her a little song or two - I can't help but sing to her, she lights up whenever she hears singing - she smiles and then she falls asleep. It's crazy. We just stopped swaddling her and switched her to this transition sleeping bag thing that makes her look like a starfish. It's so cute, and she loves it. 

FOUR// Marnie loves her big brother. They already have this cute little relationship. I always make Marnie "talk" to Henry and he's started to do it, too. I'll say, Oh Marnie do you want to go to the park? And Henry will say, Marnie says yes mama! I love the park! And he talks to her, too, oh Hey Marnie wait for me - I have to go get a toy, I'll be right back. He loves to smother her, which I'm working on with him, but she actually seems to think it's funny. If she doesn't, she'll scream and let you know. Henry isn't a fan of the Marnie scream, but she gets her point across.

FIVE// She's just started grabbing and reaching for things, best of which is Mark's beard. She likes to play with my teeth when she's eating, and she tries to pull Henry's hair now if he gets too close, which is hilarious because Henry always gets mad at her, like she's doing it out of malice or something. KIDS.

Marnie is a really great little baby. I can't wait to spend this summer taking her to all the parks and playgrounds of London, and letting her feel the breeze on her bare legs and arms. These winter babies just spend their whole lives bundled up, they don't even know what their bodies can do without all those layers!

Nowhere to nest

Ohhhh friends, nesting. I'm 26 weeks this week, just a couple weeks shy of that third trimester (already!?) and my nesting instincts are in super high alert mode. I tried to ignore it, because after all - we are MOVING soon (I'm the dumbest person for doing this), but last week I couldn't put it off any longer. I sorted through old baby clothes, completely moved everything around in the living room, and we (Mark) cleaned out the fridge. It's not much, but it's all I could do.

I am kind of dying inside that I've put us in this position to move right when I'll be getting tired and won't be able to get things done as quickly. But I keep telling myself that it's much better to be a little tired while moving into a new place than to try and flat hunt with a newborn and toddler and get anything done with the soon-to-be little gang!

I've been so focused on researching neighborhoods and hunting for that perfect unicorn flat that doesn't exist, that I've hardly been thinking of how life will change so soon with a new little baby girl in our arms. Funny, because she kicks all day long, she's a wiggly thing, and Henry always reminds me of the baby - wants to kiss my belly, invite the baby out to play kickball with him, and feel her kick. She's a constant reminder of why I'm working so hard right now to get us all settled and happy before she joins our family.

When we moved into our current flat, we had no idea where we wanted to live, and we only had one day to look at about 15 flats, and less than 24 hours to choose a flat after seeing them. It was a whirlwind of a day. I was looking at old emails I sent our relocation specialist, and I requested we look for flats in: Islington, Clapham, Notting Hill, Highgate, and Fulham. Those neighborhoods are all over the map! We had no idea what we were doing! Now that we've lived here for a year and I've figured out my own routine and abilities as a stay at home mama, I've realized Highgate is a little further away from everything than I want to be. It's easy enough to get on the tube and zoom down to central London, but I find myself wanting to spend more time in the huge (and free!) museums in South Kensington, and it takes us an hour of buses and trains just to get there now. So I'm hoping we can find somewhere with an easy bus ride to museums, close access to parks, and a good family-friendly neighborhood. I basically want to find the Capitol Hill (DC) of London, is that so hard to find? :)

I'm looking in parts of West London, and hopefully we'll find that perfect flat! We've seen four already, and nearly put in an offer on a flat in Ladbroke Grove, but going to hold off for another week just in case something else becomes available. I'm so ready to make this happen, and get my nest on so we can really get ready for baby girl, who doesn't even have a place to sleep or a place in the pram. So much to do!

Happy news!

I am pregnant. It feels so great to be sharing this news with you all, but it has also been very nice to have it as our own little secret for all this time. I had a really rough first trimester (much worse than I ever remember with Henry), and only started feeling like my old self again in the past couple of weeks. I'm grateful for that.

I'm almost halfway through the pregnancy, and we expect this little person in early November, right around Henry's 3rd birthday (we've got the Scorpio thing going on pretty strong. Help.), and I'm excited (I think) to have the baby in the UK. So far, my experiences with the healthcare system here have been very positive. I am loving that they provide so many resources for women, whether you want an epidural or not - it's up to you and all available. We are going to try for the natural route again, since they provide a doula (free!), private birthing tubs (free!), private and comfortable rooms in the birth center (free!), and lots of other little things that should make for a good place to have a baby. 

Henry likes to talk to the baby every night. He tries to show people the baby by pulling up my shirt, and when people ask about the baby, he points to his tummy and says "baby in my belly". The other day he tried to pull the baby out of my belly button, "baby needs to come out and kick the ball with Henry". 

We have been waiting for this baby for a long time, and it wasn't an easy road to get here, but I'm grateful for every little thing that happened that made me feel that much more lucky to be a mother.

sisters and babies.

Ok, so this is just the first of many, I'm sure, group pictures of my sisters and the baby cousins. Can you believe four of us sisters/sister-in-laws had babies within 8 months of each other? I cannot. I was begging my sisters to get pregnant when I found out I was...and well...it just took them a little bit longer than I wanted, but I got my wish! I'm so spoiled.

Without further delay, I present to you...the sisters and the cousins! (We are missing Jodi and Jake who recently moved to Oklahoma. We miss you guys!)

Mary and Ronan, me and Henny, and Jen and Lincoln

Yes!!
Doesn't Hen look HUGE? Geez.

ps paci magic going on with Henry
pps remind me to stop taking pictures where we're sitting on couches. so unflattering.

all the babies are here!

My sister had her baby early this morning (10 pounds 3 oz! stick that in your pipe!), which brings the Year of Babies to a close.

Henry George - November 2011
Jacob Matthew - December 2011
Lincoln Richard - June 2012
Ronan Joseph - July 2012

(notice a trend in middle names as grandparent names...)

I just keep imagining all those little boy cousins growing up together, digging in the dirt together, going off to kindergarten that first year, growing up and sharing experiences and being best buds. I picked a good year to have little Henny boy.

This is a pretty busy year for my parents, to be sure. 

laura + babies come to town.

a few weeks ago, my sister laura came to visit us from minnesota and she brought her funny and adorable babies, elijah and evie. they are such a cute duo, and we wish they lived closer to us! she came down to throw a double baby shower for my sisters, due in june and july - both with little boys! i just love talking about all things baby with all my sisters and watch them dote on henry, and see them prepare to bring their own little baby boys into the world. i know henry will make an excellent rabble rouser and gang leader. or at least he will be able to plot a curve of how to have fun for the other boys (nerd joke - my sisters tease me that henry will be a smartie pants boy, i don't know where they get that idea...).

babies! (what, did you think this would be about something else?)

my office mates threw a baby shower for me yesterday. i tend to get a little nervous when i'm the center of attention at large group gatherings (hello, awkward lingerie wedding shower - seriously what was i thinking??), but the baby shower yesterday was perfectly lovely. i think it's because the shower is really about the baby, and everything at a baby shower is so darn cute that it's hard not to fall in love with everything and everyone.

they brought in crazy amounts of cupcakes, ice cream, and sweet little baby presents. they planned a onesie design activity - everyone got a white onesie and some fabric markers and drew little designs on them. some of them were really so cool and some of them were um, poo related. blech. but then we opened the star gift - the ergo carrier! we tried it on TH and i can report that while successful, it was also hilarious.

it is really nice to like your job, but it is REALLY nice to like your coworkers. and i think they are pretty great.

and speaking of babies, my sister is in town for a week with elijah and evie baby! talk about cute little kids, i cannot wait to hang out with them all weekend.

babies make the world go round.

i held a new baby at 4pm today and it was the best reason i've ever had for leaving work early. there is nothing so soothing and sweet as a newborn babe. congrats to the new mama and papa! they are the cutest with little baby. and little baby has the most tiny little toes and fingers. i know TH was really nervous about holding a newborn (his first time!), but he was a natural. we had baby glow for the rest of the afternoon. how lovely.

ps walking through the halls of the delivery and labor floor is strangely peaceful considering all the labor going on. it also made me really nervous to even think about the process of having a baby. i held on to husbands hand and he told me about his new product idea to distract my mind from the scariness of childbirth (not that we are anticipating this happening to us anytime soon, people):

earphones that play loud rap music on the outside, so people think you are listening to cool music, and they're actually playing smooth jazz or radiolab or something. haha. (it totally worked - i forgot all about the scary.)

turns out i can fit around 20 people in our living room.

well, we did it, a baby shower. and nobody even went into labor! yay naomi! (though i have a sneaky suspicion she would not have minded too much.)

i really didn't think that was possible to fit 20, let alone 10 people in our little apartment. but look! we did! and the mother-to-be, miss naomi. if i could look this good pregnant, i'd have tons of babies by now.

food. i love an excuse to eat breakfast food.

this is christina and hannah. they were miracle people and made the whole shower seem effortless. muchas gracias!

(that is josh. he came later.)

the matriarchs, wise with babies.

it was a really fun day. i've never been to a baby shower where the mom-to-be was so close to the due date, and the anticipation of knowing baby davis is so close to joining the world was so special and exciting! we are so excited to meet little baby, and can't wait to see naomi and josh be new parents. it's so cool to see your friends turn into parents. i just love it.

oh hello, portland.

so i was in portland, oregon last week. it was magical. not only did i get to eat the best donuts in the world...

...but i also got to hang out with some of my favorite people in the world: the rickters. heather and i went to USU together and were college roomies for a few years before she married Jathan. Now they have 2 new beautiful babies - gwen and little oscar - and I finally got to meet them! we went for a walk down to the river in Portland with cool views of the city and drove around for forever looking for a good cafe. like the true night owls they still are, they stayed out till midnight with me, and even little gwennie was still awake. what a trooper!

i love this last picture. oscar makes the best faces.

thanks for showing me a good time in portland, rickers!

youngest sister has some exciting news...again!

laura always keeps me guessing. i always thought i was the wild card of the family, but now i realize i'm just rather boring.
i...
sit in my office day after day and
pay my student loans and
make excel charts to track my budgets and
go to bed at a reasonable hour and
get to work early and
stay in a stable relationship with a good boyfriend and
watch the same shows everyone watches...

anyway.

point is, she is way cooler than me. (so is the rest of my family for that matter.)

at 19: pregant, married
at 20: has cute elijah baby, husband baptized
at 21: pregnant with #2 and talks of a big move

WHAT? who IS this girl? the great part is she is totally cool about it all and not all control freak like i'm afraid i would be. cool as a cucumber, that laura.

plus i just found out this morning via her blog. i was shocked and SO SO happy! i love my sisters!