tales from a far-land

So, I thought it would be fun to compare Madilyn and Aiden's six week photos.  Can you believe how different they look and, yet, somehow similiar?  Either way, they are both absolutely adorable!

This morning Aiden attended his first day of preschool with his big sister.  It wasn't as emotional dropping Aiden off at preschool as I recall when Madilyn started daycare at the same age.  Hmm, I wonder if it had to do with the fact that I was dropping two off instead of one.  By the time I got to preschool, I was exhausted.  I never imagined how much coordination it will take to get both out of bed, dressed, hair combed, fed, and in their carseats.  And remember, one of them is a toddler.  Wow, what a way to start the a day! Anyway, both of our kids had a very good day.  Aiden seemed to fair pretty well despite changing his eating pattern from every 4 hours back to every 3 hours.  The only major comment made by almost every staff member at the preschool was "Boy, does he have a good set of lungs".  Yes, our little man is a very loud crier, especially when he is hungry.  Madi, on the otherhand, didn't even really mind that her brother attended school all day with

That's right.  Our little man is 6 weeks old today.  I cannot believe how quickly the time has passed.  And wouldn't you know it, as soon as he is starting to get a little more active and independent, I have to go back to work and he has to go to preschool with Madi.  As of this week, he is starting to recognize faces, smile and coo.  His little smiles just make my heart melt.  It is so precious!  How can I leave this adorable little creature and go back to work?  I guess a Mom has to do, what a Mom has to do.  And this Mom has to go back to work. However, in these past six weeks, I have learned so much about Aiden.  He is so different than Madi.  It is like starting all over. He is not a sleeper.  He is a cuddler though.  He loves snuggling. He is not a binkie/pacifier man, yet.  He is noisy -- grunts all the time.  And wow, does he cry loudly! He is a mover.  Seriously, when he is not sleeping, he is moving his legs or arms constantly. He is strong.  He is very close t

When was the last time you spent some good quality time with a toddler.  It is crazy!  In fact, to quote one of my girlfriends, who also has a 2 year old, "Toddlers are bi-polar!"  Here is a description of 3 minutes during a typical day with Madilyn.  By the way, each of these “emotions” lasts about 3 seconds.  This makes 3 minutes seem like FOREVER.  Enjoy! I want to play with Daddy’s phone. Shoes!!!   I want to put on my shoes. GET MY SHOES OFF MY FEET NOW! I want to push my brother in his swing.   Wee, wee. I want to open and close the cabinets in the kitchen. Is there anyone here with a phone I haven’t played with yet? I NEED TO PUSH SOME BUTTONS. I want to sit on the dog's head. I want to throw all the blankets in the house on my brother. OH MY GOSH, I’M STARVING. CRACKERS. BANANAS, NO CRACKERS. I want out of my chair. I want to play with the iPad. I want to go outside. No, I want to go inside. I want to lift my shirt up to show my belly.

Yesterday afternoon, Madi had her 18 month well check.  I cannot believe my little baby girl is getting so big.  Madi wasn't very happy to see the pediatrician this time.  She cried almost the entire time and didn't want to leave my lap.  I guess this is typical for this age.  Her pediatrician says that she is progressing very well and looks very healthy.  Madilyn's stats as of this visit were: Head circumference - 18.5 inches (68th percentile) Height - 32.5 inches (67th percentile) Weight - 24.4 pounds (69th percentile) Here are some of the things that we are experiencing with Madi at this age: Food favorites -- bananas, hot dogs, cheese, "crackers" which are graham crackers or anything similar like cereal or cookies and "water" which refers to any type of liquid beverage. Favorite toys -- books, her "baby", her stuffed animal giraffe, and her finger puppets. Talking ... her vocabulary increases daily.  She is starting to repeat words

I do.  Most of us do.  It was the moment when our world changed forever.  Ten years ago today, our nation and our freedom were attacked in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.  I woke up that Tuesday morning and followed my normal routine.  After getting out of the shower, I turned on the television to watch the news as I prepared to go to work.  I remember it took me a while to figure out what the newscasters were talking about.  Something about planes crashing into buildings.  Then, I saw the footage.  I watched as two airplanes, small in comparison to the building, crashed into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.  Smoke billowing from the buildings entry wound and sheets of paper falling from the sky.  I was stunned and didn't know what to think.  What was going on?  Who was to blame?  What does this mean? There I was, home alone, just watching the event unfold from the edge of my bed.  Then around 7am, in real time, I watched as

Now that the dust has settled and all of our visitors have dwindled, I am finally able to collect my thoughts and start blogging again.  I realize keeping my blog updated will be an even bigger challenge now with two children under the age of two.  But I am up for it!  So, here is an update on our little baby boy and his first month of life. Aiden's stats as of his 2 week well baby visit -- The pediatrician was very pleased, as he already surpassed his birth weight.  We have a big, little boy! Weight: 9 pounds (92nd percentile) Height: 21.25" (98th percentile) Head Circumference: 14cm (80th percentile) Our son does not like to smile too much yet.  Mostly his facial expression looks like a grumpy old man, scowling with disapproval.  Although every once and awhile after a good feeding, he does share with me a small little smirk.  I cherish those moments. Unlike with Madi, being that we are secondtime parents, we were less cautious about taking Aiden out of the house on excu

When Josh and I discussed starting a family, we decided that we wanted to raise our children with some sort of religious/faith base foundation.  However, this became more complicated since my religious foundation is Christianity and Josh's revolves more around spirituality and self-discovery eventhough he is a decendent of the Jewish faith.  As you can see, we had several religions to choose from to have as our family's denomination.  After several discussions, Josh and I agreed on the Jewish faith as our family's credo.  So began my love affair with Judaism.  I started researching all of the traditions and holidays.  In fact, Josh and I often joke that I am more Jewish than he is since I have become more educated about all things Jewish.  Following the Jewish tradition, as soon as we found out our second child was a boy, we started planning Aiden's bris or also known as a brit milah.  The bris is a celebration, an affirmation of one’s Jewish identity, and a way to be

Several times throughout my pregnancy, I was reminded that every pregnancy is different and unique.  What you experience throughout your first pregnancy is not aways what you experience with your second.  This advice I found to be true.  I had two completely different pregnancies.  The same is to be said about labor and delivery.  Each labor and delivery is supposed to be unique and different.  Guess what!?!  Not mine.  Although the actual time of labor was cut in half from 27 hours with Madi, to just over 12 hours of labor, the events that unfolded throughout the day were eerily similar to my first delivery.  In fact, at one point, I started telling the nurse what the next course of action or treatment that would follow.  More or less, I have a stubborn cervix that did not want to open to allow our little one to enter this world.  He was ready and the rest of my body was ready, just not my cervix.  Crazy!  Anyway, this is how the birth story unfolds ... At my 39 week doctor appointm

This morning, as I was working on some household chores, a delivery man arrived at our front door with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers.  As soon as I noticed the flower shop's name on the delivery van, I knew they were from my wonderful, thoughtful husband.  He has his own special florist and the bouquets are always amazing.  The card was *super* romantic and slightly "mushy".  However, there is more ... the card also informed me that I needed to be dressed and ready by 5pm tonight for an adult night out.  Don't worry about the kids, everything else has already been arranged.  What a lucky woman I am!  As you know, "date nights" are few and far between when you have two kids under two.  Although, we have been trying to make them a more frequent occurrence lately. Thank you, honey.  What a great surprise!  The flowers are gorgeous and their poignant fragrance waffs throughout the room.  So excited to see what you have in store for our date night.  Love