I thought I would give an update to all of our family that is NOT experiencing this once in a lifetime storm in Chicago right now. It is actually very exciting to be half way through storm that will drop 18″-24″ of snow in our area over a 16 hour period. Who wouldn’t be excited about a snowstorm that comes with thunder and lightning? It doesn’t get much cooler than that! As long as we don’t lose power, I hope to maintain this calm level of excitement and enjoy the time stuck in the house with everyone tomorrow.

Mike’s site is closed tomorrow as are most businesses in the area. Travel is pretty much impossible at this point, as visibility is down to .2 miles with 50 mph winds blowing 12″ of the snow that has fallen so far. The famous Lake Shore Drive downtown is closed, as traffic came to a standstill and many drivers started to abandon their vehicles. All shelters are open to those without tonight, and the city has also opened all police stations, fire departments, and libraries for the same folks. 1300 flights are cancelled out of O’Hare and the airlines aren’t expecting to resume flights until Wednesday afternoon. Chicago Public Schools are closing for a snow day for the first time since 1999. When it is all said and done, this will be the worst storm Chicago has seen since 1979.

We started our hunker down with baking chocolate chip cookies and letting the kids stay up until 9:30. We will find out tomorrow if that was a mistake or not! They think the storm is the “lizard” so every time a wind gust blows they say, “Oh! It’s the lizard!” I stopped correcting them with “blizzard” after about the 10th “Oh!” Both kid a do have a cough/cold right now, so a forced day in will probably do us good as long as they don’t get any worse. Tomorrow we plan to play trains, set up a new racetrack for Joshua, do some stamping, and probably watch some movies. I do hope to get out somewhere tomorrow night. We don’t go too often 24 hours without leaving the house. If nothing else, I’m sure we will get out and play in our winter wonderland!

I did try to take some pictures and video but don’t quite have the equipment to see through white out conditions, but you can see some cool pictures of the storm at this link: http://useeit.abc7chicago.com/ChannelGallery.aspx?c=4983 Enjoy!

Family & friends,
Oh, how we’ve missed you! We hope you are all doing great and hope to hear from you soon! Time goes by too fast these days, but we want you all to know that we think and talk about you often. We tell the kids about you and show them pictures of you, so don’t be surprised if they act like they’ve known you forever when you see/meet them next!

We’ve had a summer packed full of fun and memories, including:

• a 16 hour road trip to Pensacola
• a family reunion in Wisconsin Dells
• a “live-in” with the Stewgles (our neighbors that moved to New Jersey earlier this year)
• a Day Out With Thomas (the tank engine, of course)
• a garage sale
• the potty training of Joshua (finally!)
• the Dave Matthews Band concert at Wrigley Field

I’ll cover some of these adventures as I take the fall to get back in the groove of updating this blog (notice some nice changes in design?), but first I’d like to quickly get you up to speed as to where we all are right now….

Mike (aka “Big Daddy”)

Mike is chugging along at P&G’s North Chicago site. He tends to work 50-60 hours per week and likes it well enough. The site is continuing (yes, still) to transition into P&G systems and it has been a ton of work for him and the rest of the site. He’s proud of his results as the Plant Engineer, but is ready to move on to a bigger and better role there.

At home, Mike really is the model husband/dad. He helps with house chores, namely the dishes and trash, and is very active and involved with Joshua and Addison. Both kids are “Daddy magnets”, since he is their treat at the end of the day. They often go to the park, sing songs really loud, read books, and wrestle in the living room. Because of all of this, he often falls asleep on the couch shortly after they go to bed, all so that he can get up and do it again the next morning.

Heather (aka “Mommy Everything”)

Heather is still home with the kids, though has taken on quite a bit of Web work, namely building websites and doing social media consulting with small interests. She mostly likes helping local bands, moms, small local businesses, and individuals and families. She maintains three blogs:

• this one, The ChicagoActons, focused on the four of us and keeping in touch with our distant family and friends
• a personal blog, Heather Acton – At the Intersection of Mom and Web Entrepreneur, which is focused on the issues encountered while being an at-home mom and establishing a business
• a professional (geeky) blog, ActonWeb, which is going to be focused on my business helping small interests get present and active on the Web

With all this going on, Heather doesn’t get much sleep. But, she couldn’t imagine not pursuing the Web business at this point. She’s found something she loves to do that could potentially be a family business in time. And, it helps her keep her sanity after all day with the little ones =)

Joshua (aka “Spike”)

We call Joshua “Spike” because of his straight and spiky hair. The poor kid is going to have to become a big fan of mousse if he ever chooses to keep his hair longer than a crew cut. Example (um, ignore the watermark on these…I’m cheap!) is to the left!

But really, Joshua is everything a three year old little boy should be. He loves the movie Cars and Thomas the Tank Engine. He loves being outside and going to the park, and even has the courage to do the “fast slide” that Mommy is afraid of. He begs to go to Target and the mall (Mommy LOVES this!), and hangs in there on some very long shopping days!

Joshua also loves his little sister! They are often seen holding hands, kissing and hugging, and chasing each other around the house. And, yes, he also loves to antagonize his little sister =) They play the “mine” game often!

Recently the little man became potty-trained (much easier than Mommy thought!) and started three year old preschool. Preschool has been bittersweet. I have been happy to have some one-on-one time with Addy, but I miss my little guy. He’s been teary often when I’ve left, and is already telling me, “I don’t like school.” I didn’t think I’d hear that for a good 10 years! It’s only two days a week for two hours a day, and is a play-based school, so I’m pretty sure we’ll make him stick it out

Addison (aka “Snorts”)

We call little Addy “Snorts” because of the way she snorts her blanket. She’s done this since she was given a blankie at about one month old, but the sound has only become more piggy-like as she’s grown. It’s a laughing matter for all of us, and she knows it and eats up the attention it gets her!

Addy’s got the cutest little blonde super-curly hair. Yes, blonde. We often get asked where she got both the blonde and the curls, and the best we can figure out is that she is blonde like Mike was at a young age, and she is curly like I was at a young age. It’ll be interesting to see how her hair changes through the years!

Addy absolutely adores her big brother. She mimics everything he does, and as a result speaks very well at not even two years old. She is also such a cuddler, which I absolutely love. It is not uncommon for her to come up and give us hugs and kisses, and she’ll sit on one of our laps for extended amounts of time, just to be kissed, loved, and cuddled.

She currently loves singing the ABC’s and Twinkle Twinkle all around the house (and loves the applause that follows), and also seems to love just about all of the TV shows and movies that Joshua does, including Cars, Thomas, and Caillou.

We do say that Addy is our “flower child”. She is usually pretty happy and goes with the flow. However, cross that girl and you will get a shrill shriek and a pouty lip (and if you’re Joshua, possibly a swipe to the cheek!).

So That’s the Actons Now!

Well, I hope this gets you all up to speed and that you feel “in the loop” again. I do enjoy writing these types of posts because it also serves as a little marker in our kids’ (and our) timeline. I know these are some of the details we’ll quickly forget.

If you haven’t already, go ahead and subscribe to these updates. You’ll get each new post sent straight to your email so you won’t have to remember to come back and check for new updates.

And, please keep in touch by sending us a note about how you’re doing. We love to hear everyone’s stories!

Love and miss you all!

-the ChicagoActons

LONG delay between post 2 of 3 and post 3 of 3 of our Memorial Day Weekend adventure. In a nutshell, we went out to Woodfield and had Maggiano’s for lunch. Joshua leaked out of his diaper (pee-pee) so bad that it made a puddle on the floor underneath his high chair. I sopped it up and did the right thing and told our waiter, but how embarassing.

I don’t remember much more about this day, except that it was nice to get out and shop for a bit. I know we hit the Apple Store (my fav place at Woodfield these days), as I had planned to get Kevin the iPhone for a late graduation gift, but the parents poo-poo’d that idea =)

So that’s all I have to say about that. Made this more to finish an open story, and also to test out the new blog. More to come at this new home!

Welcome to Part 2 of 3 of our Labor Day Weekend 2009 adventure log! This part will give you a glimpse into a normal weekend day at our house, as it was our lazy day of the holiday weekend.

Still tired from our day in Chicago with the Sina’s, we decided to take a much needed day of rest on Sunday. This involved a fairly normal routine for our family for the day, starting with kids waking up at about 7:30am, cuddling in bed in our room for a bit, and finally heading down to breakfast. I didn’t make anything special (Sunday’s are typically eggs and waffles at our house), as we had plenty of leftover goodies from the morning before. There were plenty of bagels, coffee cake, fruit, and yogurt for all of us. The coffee tasted especially good that morning, though!

We watched Toy Story during and after breakfast, as this is usually on the television during all of Joshua’s waking hours. Shortly after breakfast we enjoyed lazy time on the couch. Well, Mike and the kids did, but I had some “work” to do in fixing the Kozlowski family computer. So I retired to the office for a bit while the rest of the family enjoyed Daddy being home.

At about 1:00pm we headed out to our restaurant of choice on the weekends – Moe’s Southwest Grill. We all ordered the same meals we order every time (a Joey Bag O Donuts for Mike, a Funk Meister for Joshua, a Joey Jr. for me, and a Ruprict for us all to share). Addy got to enjoy some special combination of a meat and vegetable, Gerber style. I can’t wait until she can enjoy Moe’s with us; it shouldn’t be long! As per usual, Joshua regularly shouted “Welcome to Moes!!!” as new customers entered. We even got a chance to chat with Bill (one of the owners that we have become friends with) for a while.

Joshua just about fell asleep in the car on the way back to our house, but we were barely able to keep him awake. Both kids went for a nice long needed nap when we got in.

Addy got up first around 4:30pm or so, but Joshua kept on sleeping and sleeping! This gave Addy a chance to army crawl around the family room and have free reign of all of Joshua’s toys while he was not around (if he sees her in his toys, he continually takes them away, says “NO, Addy!” and eventually goes into a tantrum). I think she appreciated it! Joshua finally woke up around 6:30pm and we headed over to my Grandma’s house to spend time with the Schoonhoven side of the family.

The normal group was there – my folks, Kevin, Debbie, Tom, Tommy, Kellie, Julie, Robin, and the dogs Tootsie and Gracie. We were missing Ashley, as she stayed at school for the long weekend. As per usual, there was great conversation at the big kitchen table, and Joshua played with the special toys on the floor in the living room while the boys watched some sporting event.

We got in a few good hours over there then had to head home to get our tired kids (yes, still tired even after all that napping!) to bed for the night. Mike and I were not far behind, as we had another big day planned for Monday  including REI and Woodfield in Schaumburg.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of 3 of our Labor Day Weekend 2009 adventures!

The Acton Family “North” had a magnificent Labor Day weekend filled with sightseeing, shopping, eating, and napless days for the kids. I will cover the weekend in a multi-part blog, beginning with our time with the Sina’s in downtown Chicago. Forthcoming parts will include our “lazy day” and lastly our day out shopping in Schaumburg with my folks and Kevin.

The weekend started with a visit from our old friends from Packerland, the Sina’s. I have been friends with Sara Sina since 2000 when I started with Procter and Gamble in Green Bay in Charmin Converting. She was my internal sponsor in the department and we were quick friends. She and Jim were married already at that time, but I hadn’t even met Mike yet. When Mike and I started dating and later got married, they quickly became one of our favorite couples in Green Bay to hang out with. Pre-kids, we used to play cribbage through the wee hours of the night drinking our beverages of choice. Now that both of our families have two kids each and we no longer live in the same city (us in IL and they are now in Milwaukee, WI), we have fun in different ways, like family sleepovers and days out in downtown Chicago (our activities of this weekend).

The Sina’s arrived Friday night just in time for dinner at Moe’s Southwest Grill (their first time there since leaving Green Bay over two years ago!). It was delicious, as usual, and we followed up the nice meal with some conversation at home before all putting our kids to bed (kind of…) for the night. The new and exciting sleeping arrangements made it interesting for the two year olds Joshua and Julia. Addy was in her own room so knew nothing was amiss, and Evan wasn’t phased at all by borrowing Joshua’s bed for the night. Julia, however, was very excited to be sleeping in a new home in her blow-up sleeping bag, and Joshua thought he was hot stuff sleeping on a McQueen’d-out air mattress in Mommy and Daddy’s room. After a bit of singing from Julia and some crying from Joshua, all of us did get some sleep.

We were up bright and early on Saturday to catch the 9:58am train to Union Station. We made it with several minutes to spare (quite a feat with only four adults to get four little kids ready!). It was Joshua’s first ride on the Metra train (which goes MUCH faster than Thomas the Train that we rode at the Illinois Railway Museum a few weeks ago), and he loved the ride down to the city. He actually stayed seated for much of the ride, and even smiled and pointed out all of the wonderful sites (machines! tweet tweet! ‘nother train!). The cheese cracker snacks that I packed helped…

Joshua is loving his first ride on the Metra to Union Station!

The Sina family also enjoyed the ride to downtown

Daddy and Addy enjoying quality time on the Metra

Our first stop after arriving downtown was Pizano’s Pizza and Pasta, proclaimed the best thin crust pizza by Oprah last year. Mike and I had been there once last year and enjoyed it, so since it was on our way to our next destination we decided to have our meal there. Lunch with four kids is never very relaxing, but we all managed to stuff in some pizza and soda before heading out to see the bean.

For those who haven’t seen the bean at Millennium Park, it is definitely worth seeing if you are at the lakefront area of Chicago. It is a giant reflective bean that gives alternate views of the skyline, of the lake, and of you! Folks crowd around and underneath the spectacle, laughing at themselves (once they finally find themselves!) and others, and snapping pictures of all of the sights. We all checked out the view from underneath. Joshua especially enjoyed it this year, as there was a group of two-year-olds under the bean towards the edge where they could touch it. They all loved touching the distorted images of themselves in the bean.

Joshua playing under the bean at Millennium Park

Next we continued on to Navy Pier. Once there, the Sina’s took their kids to see Cirque Shanghai (Chinese acrobats – amazing, I hear!). We would have loved to have taken our kids too, but Addy was sleeping sound in the stroller (which wasn’t allowed in the show), and Joshua just doesn’t have the attention span yet to sit through a 70 minute production, exciting as it did seem. Instead, we walked the length of the pier and let Joshua ride on the Thomas the Train ride that he had seen on our way in. Best $2 we spent the whole day; he was in little boy heaven!

Joshua riding Thomas on Navy Pier

We also got some carmel corn (Joshua ate nearly the whole $4 bag!) and shortly after the Sina’s were out of their show and it was time to trek back to Union Station.

The 2.5 mile hike back seemed LONG… Not only were we on a time crunch (only 50 minutes ’til the train went back to Grayslake), but we were all a little tired from the day we’d had to that point. I couldn’t believe that six-year-old Evan hung in there as well as he did. We probably logged over 6 miles total that day, and the kid never complained a bit. Joshua and Addy had it easy in the dual stroller all day, but poor Julia (almost three years old) had walked most of the day and just couldn’t do it anymore. We four adults took turns carrying her throughout the last leg of our journey, and I think she was very thankful (at least that’s what I thought based on the big hugs she gave while being carried – how cute!).

And if we thought the walk to Union Station seemed long, then we were really in for it on the ride back to Grayslake on the Metra. Tired and crabby parents mixed with napless two-year-olds is quite the deadly combination, as anyone in our train car would tell you. We exhausted the snacks, songs, and funny faces about half-way through the ride home, and the remaining half was mostly filled with reprimanding and tantrums. I won’t go into the gruesome details, but the Grayslake stop couldn’t come any sooner. By the time we were 10 minutes from our stop, Julia, Joshua, and Addy were all in full-out scream. We, as the parents, could only laugh.

And so concluded the adventure with the Sina’s. We arrived home and said our good-bye’s (except for Joshua, who had fallen asleep not 2 minutes into our drive home, and never woke up again until 7:30am the next morning) and let the Sina’s return to Milwaukee to continue their adventurous holiday weekend. We really appreciate them making the trip down and getting us to go downtown – an adventure we likely would not have undertaken had it not been for them (AND we couldn’t have done it without them!).

Thanks for reading Part 1. Parts 2 and 3 to come as the week progresses!

Yesterday, June 5, 2009, was Mike’s and my five year wedding anniversary! Congratulations to us!!!

In the past five years, we have moved from Green Bay to Lake Villa and had two beautiful children, just to name the highlights.

To celebrate this special day, we…………did NOTHING!!! That’s right! Nothing out of the ordinary, at least, except that there was a “no laptop” rule after the kids went to bed.

Here’s the course of events:

At midnight leading into June 5 (so really late Thursday night) I gave Mike the anniversary card that I made. It was cute, if I do say so myself =) Here’s what it looked like:

This is the front of the card; I'm "Tweeting" him =)

On the inside, there was this picture, that I created by editing through the free Gimp software (awesome FREE substitute for Adobe Photoshop, by the way):

Then there was this poem, that I proudly authored:

I count the years one to five
Just the thought makes me feel alive
I can honestly say I now love you more
Than on that beautiful day in June of ’04
We’ve traveled and had adventures
But I just can’t wait to see you in dentures
We’re bound to grow old together
Because you’ll never get rid of this little Heather
I love you the most with all of my heart
Even if you close the car door and fart
HAPPY FIFTH ANNIVERSARY, MY SWEETEST!!!

I thought it was all pretty cute, and I think he did too.

Inside was his ticket to Andrea Bocelli at Allstate Arena on June 12, 2009. I got one ticket for him for our anniversary and another for his mom for her birthday coming up later this month. When she heard Andrea Bocelli was going to be in Chicago, and coincidentally on the same timing that she will be in town for Addison’s Baptism, I knew they had to go see him together. I hope they have a great time!

So back to the course of events…

After I gave him his card and gift he went to sleep and I played on the Mac a bit more.

Friday morning I took a walk with my neighbor Jill while Mike got Joshua up and fed. He played outside with the kids until I got back. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day. We showered and had pizza rolls for lunch, then put the kids for their naps. Mike took the cars to get detailed at Park Place (they look AWESOME) and I played on the computer until the kids got up. By the time they woke up again it was really too late to do much more than just go out to eat. We went to Saluto’s for pizza, then drove through Oberweiss for shakes. We were both stuffed to the rim. By the time we got home it was time for Addy to go to bed for the night. I put her to bed, then Mike and Joshua both got haircuts, Joshua got a bath, and he went to bed. He loved the haircut as usual….lol…

After the kids went to bed the “no laptop” rule went into effect. On normal nights the kids go to bed and Mike and I both grab our computers and have the TV going in the background (at least we sit in the same room and chat intermittently!). But today was special, so we let go of that habit. It was nice! We both cuddled on the same couch like we did before having kids (and before I gained 30 lbs), and popped in our wedding video. Mike had the great idea earlier in the day to watch it and I thought that was a perfect way to spend our anniversary night! It was so nice to relive that day. We had so many great family members and friends there, and everyone had so much fun. The video ended at midnight and then we went to bed.

So, true to Mike and Heather form, we didn’t do any extravagant dinner or vacation (as we kind of intended to), but we still made a memorable day and reflected back often on our past 5 years as a married couple. And I just don’t think I would have felt right if we had chosen to spend that day away from our kids, as they are such an important part of our life and of our marriage. We really are lucky to all have eachother. What a beautiful life!

=)

*This post is a work in progress…doing research and making notes here.*

What are other families choosing to do given this BPA scare?

As a mom of a 2 year old and a 5 month old, I’ve been doing a fair amount of research on BPA, its effects, and products containing it. I’m not gonna lie…I’m a little freaked out. It’s in their bottles, cups, bowls, and pacifiers. And, it’s in the water bottles (Nalgene) that Mike and I drink from daily.

No, the evidence is not 100% conclusive that our kids (or we) will have health issues in life due to exposure to this chemical, but who wants to expose our kids to any more risk than they’ll already be exposed to? BPA has shown negative effects to animals exposed to the chemical. That’s all that I need to read to know that I don’t want it in my kids or in my family.

So, tomorrow I’m going to purge our house of all plastics that I am not sure are clear of BPA. This will include all of our current baby bottles, pacifiers, sippy cups, water bottles, bowls, Gladware, plates, etc. We’ll stick to glass where we can right now, and will purchase BPA-free to replace what needs to be replaced.

I’d like to know what you are doing in response to these reports. Are you purging? Or are you riding out the debate? Leave a comment and let’s discuss.

Notes to myself:

- from zrecs.blogspot.com: “plastics numbered 3 (PVC), 6 (polystyrene) and 7 (often polycarbonate) should usually be avoided, others, like polypropylene and polyethylene (numbered 1, 2, 4 and 5 based on type and density) contain no known harmful chemicals in them”

- Josh’s pacifiers are silicon nipples, but shields likely contain BPA

- Avent Magic sippy cups are BPA-free (though year of production not specified)

- Gerber Fun Grips cups are BPA-free (though year of production not specified)

- Munchkin Spongebob sippy cups are BPA-free

- Gerber Sip & Smile cups (with trucks & frogs) are BPA-free

- Avent bottles DO CONTAIN BPA

- Dr. Brown bottle DO CONTAIN BPA, but vent pieces are BPA free

- Nalgene bottles DO CONTAIN BPA

- Medela breast pump is BPA-free

- Lansinoh breast milk storage bags are BPA-free

- Medela breast milk storage bottles are BPA-free

- Gladware appears to be BPA-free, but is old so probably still should be tossed

- Here’s what Pampered Chef says:

Polycarbonate Plastic Product Inquiries

Recent media reports question the safety of products made with polycarbonate plastic and specifically, Bisphenol A (BPA), which is used in the manufacture of polycarbonate products. Rest assured, all Pampered Chef products designed to come into contact with food meet or exceed all current and applicable regulations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are food-contact safe. The FDA has studied and approved the use of polycarbonate plastic and BPA for many years. We will continue to monitor any and all FDA developments with respect to BPA to ensure the continued safety of our products.

Some of our products are made from polycarbonate and contain BPA. These products are listed below. No other Pampered Chef products contain BPA.

* 1105 Microplane Adjustable Grater (cover and food holder plunger)
* 1188 Gravy Separator (main bowl)
* 1665 Baster and Cleaning Brush (basting tube)
* 1684 Pastry Cutter
* 1785 Salad/Berry Spinner (lid only)
* 2157 Wine Bottle Opener
* 2158 Dripless Pourer/Stopper
* 2175 Easy Read Measuring Cups
* 2177 Easy Read Mini Measuring Cup
* 2190 Salt and Pepper Mill
* 2225 Measure-All Cup (outer sleeve)
* 2228 Easy Adjustable Measuring Cup
* 2229 Easy Adjustable Measuring Spoon
* 2236 Mini Measure-All Cup
* 2241 Pocket Thermometer
* 2305 Juicer (bowl)
* 2590 Easy Opener
* 2779 Rice Cooker Plus (outer locks)
* 2781 Chillzanne Rectangle Server (lid only)
* 2826 Outdoor Tumblers
* 2827 Outdoor Utensil Set
* 2829 Outdoor Serving Set

Helpful links:

http://safemama.com/2007/11/22/bpa-free-bottle-and-sippy-cup-cheat-sheet/

http://www.zrecsguide.com

How to Avoid Phthalates in 3 Easy Steps

This week held two more firsts for my kiddies.

1. On Thursday Addy rolled over for the first time. Not a big deal, but it left me wondering if this would be the last time one of my kids would roll over for the first time =( She was laying on the bed next to Mike on her belly when she rolled over onto her back to be closer to him. So cute. I was glad he got to see it (I was in the bathroom getting stuff ready for bedtime), since I think he was disappointed that he missed when Joshua first rolled over.

2. Last night was Joshua’s first night in his big boy bed. We bought the mattress earlier in the week and had it delivered yesterday. I was determined to get him in it as soon as possible, as we have been talking to him about it for so long, and because Addy had created a nice little imprint in her Pack N Play “mattress.” So I spent last week and this week shopping for mattress, buying mattress, returning mattress and buying another, buying sheets and mattress protectors, and washing everything needed to make him his cozy bed. Here it is!

Joshua & his big boy bed

Joshua looked SO cute and little in his big boy bed. It almost brought tears to my eyes how cozy and small he looked. Too out in the open =) I love my little man!

He slept PERFECTLY in his new bed the first night. I truly did not expect it to be a good night AT ALL, but he really surprised me. He knew that was where he was supposed to sleep that night (and from then on), and did not ask to go to his crib or anything. And, he slept ’til 10:30AM this morning!!! YAY JOSHUA!!!

3. This also means that it was Addy’s first night in her crib. She has been in her own room since 2-1/2 months, but just in a Pack N Play. Given that she is a 17 lb 4-1/2 month old, she was in desperate need of a supportive crib. I put her to sleep as normal in her swing in our room (it’ll have to be this way ’til she can sleep through her brother going to bed about 30 minutes after her…), and moved her to her crib at about 10:30pm. She cried when I laid her down, but stopped by the time I got to our room. She got up once to eat, and then again but whined herself back to sleep, and then finally at about 6:30am. Overall, a “good” night for her.

These firsts, especially Joshua in his big boy bed, make me realize how quickly kids grow. I wish I could freeze time, but at the same time can’t wait to see how they continue to learn, grow, and develop. All I can do is give all the kisses, hugs, and cuddles I can (while they still let me), and watch them blossom. I am the luckiest mommy!

=)

Could’ve been a snappier title, but I have a clean mouth and keyboard =)

But it’s true, karma got me tonight…

I’m kind of crabby due to not being able to have any Whoppers Robin Eggs today, so I boycotted doing my normal part of Joshua’s bedtime routine, even though we had the additional task of emptying his potty chair. I just wanted to sit and let Mike do it all.
Mike, on the other hand, thought when he sent Joshua in to me naked after he had peed in the chair, that since I was going to finish Joshua’s routine (put on his diaper, pj’s, and lotion) he would do the icky job of emptying the potty. He obviously was not aware of my plan…

But, the lords up above apparently were, as while I was sitting in the bowl chair laughing with Joshua about something (remember, he’s naked here) and Mike was cleaning out the potty chair, I hear someone pouring water….wait…it wasn’t pouring water….it was JOSHUA PEEING on our brand new carpet!!! Right after it happened I knew why it happened. Had I done the right thing and put on Joshua’s diaper and finished his routine, it never would have happened. So I put my tail between my legs and cleaned up the small puddle.

Mike is still laughing about it.

=)

Addy had her first experience with “solid” food today, if you can consider two tablespoons of single grain oatmeal baby cereal in two ounces of formula, “solid.” Up until this point, she’s only had breastmilk to “eat.”

She ate about half of her first meal, spitting out about half of each bite I put in her mouth. Not because she didn’t like it; just because she wasn’t good at eating from a spoon yet.

I’m glad we’re at this point. I really do enjoy breastfeeding overall, but the start of solids means the beginning of a little more flexibility for me in that area. Knowing that she can be spoonfed means that if I need to skip a feeding (note she won’t take a bottle) that she’ll still be able to get a full belly. I’ll likely have to utilized this strategy when I go to my first concert of the summer, Coldplay, on July 25.