Some business to take care of...

So I have a few things to mention about the last week or so that I kind of didn't. Not because they are super exciting or anything...just too distracted by meeting Little Giselle. ;)

First order of business...we are not moving. Right now anyway. I am mostly relieved. Because we kind of figured he wasn't going to get it (they told us the person had to start Oct. 1 at the latest...and we didn't hear until the 2nd week of October), and it was just nice to officially close the book on that one. Now I can get back to just pretending that we're going to be here forever. Until I look at something major that needs fixing with the house, in which case I conveniently think, "Oh, we won't need to worry about that...we'll be gone by then." It's sometimes a nice fantasy that I live in. ;)


Second order of business...birthday pictures:

Nothing like bad hair and birthday presents delivered in a laundry basket to make the pictures more special and magical. No cake pictures...because why do I need even more photographic evidence that I ruin box cake mixes?

Third order of business: Last weekend we drove 2 hours to visit Big Pocono and take a hike. The drive itself was a thing of beauty. Lily complained the whole time...and we knew she was crazy when she actually complained about having to watch a movie in the car. The trails shot off from this incredible parking lot at the top of the mountain...with 360 degree views. We marched the kids through picturesque rocky landscape with peek-a-boo views of the lower lying valley. Incredibly beautiful. We were probably a week or so too early for the fall foliage display. Lily complained the ENTIRE TIME. Mikey was a trouper and walked quite a bit of it...although he really just wanted to climb up on every boulder he saw (there were a lot of boulders). We sang songs, collected acorns and leaves in our beach buckets and enjoyed some beautiful nature. In the end, we think the hike was about 2 miles. So I'm proud of them...complaining and all. At the end, as we sat to eat our picnic lunch, Lily "The Whiner" exclaimed, "This was such a great day!"

Le-sigh.

Some of the view from the parking lot. The brush you see in front of the kids is actually the tops of trees heading down the mountain. This was literally the flat top of the mountain.

Lily and Andrew early on in the hike...before we were cajoling them to move, they were running ahead, eager to get lost in the woods without us.

My camera skills suck. It was beautiful...trust me.

Mike was determined to fit all these rocks in his bucket.

Fourth order of business: Andrew has been playing soccer. He is really fun to watch. And he is holding his own in the 6,7,8 league. He loves being goalie...and never asks to be offense (too tiring, he says).

Fifth order of business: My friend Elizabeth was invited over for dinner last Sunday. She wanted to make a princess cake for Lily (knowing that Lily's mother is cake-retarded). I instead got a little stomach virus on Sunday and spent the day sleeping and worshipping the porcelain God. Elizabeth brought the cake over Monday night...and couldn't even enjoy it with Lily. And apparently I can't even clear off the counter to take pictures of this incredible cake.

Sixth order of business: Pictures of the inside of the mansion at Smith's Play Place:

Seventh order of business: Is this girl looking grown up, or what? She went to the doctor for her check-up this week. 50th percentile weight and height. She was a completely different kid at the doctor than at her 3 year old appointment. Agreeable and following directions. Took her shots like a pro, easy to reason with. I was so proud of her and it was amazing to think how far she's come. We are going to the optomotrist in a week to check her vision...it wasn't terrible, but with her inability to place her feet, we want to make sure her clumsinest is just genetic and not also vision related.

New for me

Yesterday, while Andrew was in school, Lily, Mike, and I traipsed down to Smith's Play Place again. We picked up one of Lily's classmates and her mother to come with us. It was a glorious day...60-ish, sunny, breezy. The park wasn't crowded even though there was a large daycare center visiting.

And then something happened. That has never happened to me in 33 years of life.

I was standing at the bottom of the large wooden slide, attempting to get a picture of my friend and her daughter coming down. Lily and Michael were happily eating popcorn in the stroller. And suddenly I hear a stranger yell from behind me,

"GISELLE! STOP! STOP RIGHT NOW!"

My head whipped around so fast I think I hurt my neck. I quickly realized that I was being yelled at by a day care teacher. And that she was yelling at her line leader, little Giselle.

The teacher was looking at me strangely. I explained that I am Giselle and not used to hearing my name. She laughed and told me I looked like I'd seen a ghost or something.

I have never met someone else with my name. I've met people who have met other people named Giselle. But I have never been in the presence of another. And here was this adorable little 3 year old...my name buddy.

And, MAN, was it annoying. Little Giselle is apparently a trouble-maker, because all day I kept hearing, "Giselle! Get back here!" and "Giselle! Giselle! Where did you go?" etc etc. I don't know how you people with more common names can even STAND it. I am of course not conditioned to ignore my name, so there was so much head-whipping going on, I can't even tell you.

I thought about getting a picture with Little G, but I thought the day care would frown on a strange white lady wanting to pose with their little mischievous cutie.

And my mother also pointed out that she probably spells her name "Jyzal". Whatev'. I'm not a purist.

This experience does make me feel bad about giving my kids some of the most common names out there. Seriously most annoying park day in my life. :)

Heard around here...

Michael is going in for his 2 1/2 year old appointment next week. I am going to ask for a speech evaluation referral. He is progressing...just more slowly than I think he should.

Now, having said that, you should HEAR him when his siblings aren't around. 3 days a week, for a little over 2 hours, Michael has me all to himself. And he NEVER. SHUTS. UP. He points out letters in the grocery store, and talks about the cars he sees on the road. He does the motions for songs in the car. And the minute Lily is back with us...she's interrupting him or talking for him, etc etc. It is abundantly clear why this boy is behind in his verbal communication.

He does have some new things he is saying:

"No I Not!" In response to anything...Michael put on your shoes, "No I Not". Michael please get off the table, "No I Not". Michael did you hit your sister, "No I Not." You get the idea.

"Whaaaaat?" In response to any question Lily asks him...and only Lily so far. She'll call out, "Michael!" and he'll yell back, "Whaaaaat?"

"Sink Bu" Pointing out each and every stink bug that is clinging to our screens and in our house. When we flick them off or catch them and flush them, he cheers and stomps his feet in joy.

Jeff carried him upstairs the other night to put him to bed.

"Michael, are you my baby?"

"No!"

"Are you a big boy?"

"No! I a GIANT me!"


And not to be left out;

Andrew was scribbling on the windows with window crayons (worst. invention. ever.). I commented, "Andrew, do you think you could draw an actual picture and show your brother and sister that they don't have to just scribble?"

Andrew responses calmly and respectfully, "You know, Mom, artists don't always draw objects. Sometimes they make art with colors and patterns and things."



And one more:

Lily came out of the bathroom that same day while Andrew and Michael were scribbling on the windows. She stood there half naked, holding her underpants and skirt in her hand, cocked her head to the side, and said, "Awwww. Look at those boys playing nice together. So cute."

Birthday wrap-up

Yesterday's timeline...a birthday review:

5:45 am: Lily comes into my room. I invite her to crawl into bed and cuddle with me. I tell her I can't believe she's a big 4 year old. She adamantly yells at me that "I am not 4 until I go downstairs!"

6:00 am: I tell Lily that we've decided she can't open her gifts until this evening when Daddy gets home. But that we picked one special present for her to open that morning. She requests to see all her presents. I reluctantly show her the *huge* pile in our closet (Grandma and Memere went a little hog-wild). She points to each one asking who it is from. Then she walks out and goes downstairs. Amazing restraint. She sees the present she's allowed to open on the kitchen table. I tell her it's okay to open. She says, "I'll wait until Daddy comes downstairs. Can I have some chocolate milk?"

6:30 am: Lily pounces on her present the second Jeff's feet touch the first floor. Andrew wakes up at about the same time. He immediately runs to her and hugs her and makes a big fuss about it being her birthday. I swear; Best. Brother. Ever. She graciously shares 1/3 of the figurines in her new set with him and they play happily for an hour or so.

8:00 am: We rush to get dressed and ready. We head to Dunkin' Donuts to get a breakfast treat and pick up some for her little party later in the morning.

8:50 am: Put Andrew on the bus.

9:30 am: Head to the local park. I sent a flyer home to every student in Lily's class asking them to join us for a playdate in the park. I brought donuts and juice boxes and a few other snacky items.

10-11:45 am: 8 or so of her friends showed up and they all had a great time running around like crazy people. The mom's had a good time getting to know each other. Lily felt special as her friends ran up to wish her a happy birthday. There were no presents, no messy cake. It was my kind of party!

12:30 pm: Andrew had a random half day of school. So he came home, and played nicely with Lily for...wait for it...THREE HOURS.

3:30-5:30: Everyone was sick of each other, over tired, crazy...etc. It was a long 2 hours.

5:30-7:00: We ate dinner (chicken nuggets and peas, per Lily's request). Then we opened presents. Michael was confused that the gifts were all for Lily, and then got into it...trying to hand her the presents. Lily kept throwing them down saying, "Not YET!" She didn't understand how remarkable it was. Then we had cake (which I somehow ruined AGAIN...seriously), which Lily happily ate only the icing off of. While she was eating it, she thanked us for a wonderful birthday, and then thanked everyone for each of her gifts. To balance out the sweetness of it, she threw in "And remember, Andrew, it is MY special day, not yours." Nice. Then off to bed she went!

Midnight, October 7th: I wake up to the sound of Lily's door opening. And closing. And then opening. And closing. I went to see if she needed to go to the bathroom. I find her standing in the doorway holding her new Pokemon toy (kudos, Andrew, on picking her favorite gift). She tells me, "I'm just waiting for morning, Mom." I (not so) gently led her back to bed and told her she had a long time to wait, so go back to sleep.

A successful day! Although in the 364 days until her next birthday, I will be working on her phone skills. Her grandparents and aunts called to wish her a happy birthday, and she was either uninterested or down right rude.

Kate called...and Lily wasn't patient enough to wait for her cousin to sing to her. I heard her yell into the phone, "JUST TALK TO ME." And then throw it back to me.

Sara called...and Lily answered the phone by saying, "What do you need to tell me?"

Pepere called...and Lily barely listened.

Etc etc. Nice. Something to work on ;)

Four

Lily is 4 today. Four.

(As a side note, that means we have survived have a 2 and a 3 year old at the same time. Woo-hoo! And I only have one more 3 year old to struggle through. I'm 2/3rds of the way finished with the terrible 3s! Double woo-hoo! )

How is it even possible that she has only been around 4 years? Her personality, her quirks, her opinions...they feel so ingrained that it cannot have been only 48 months ago she got here.

With Lily I will always have guilt. Guilt that I didn't want a girl to start with. Guilt that I was screaming obscenities as she took her first breath. Guilt that I was totally wrapped up in moving during her first few months. Guilt that I was stricken with morning sickness and obsessed with baby #3 when she was only 10 months old. Guilt that I am too hard on her. Guilt that she is never alone with us. Guilt.

I hope that she grows up knowing how loved she is. That she is the child who is earning me my parenting stripes. That I wouldn't have it any other way, because her stubbornness and strong will and opinions make her unique and wonderful. That she is so beautiful sometimes it takes my breath away. And that I am frustrated I cannot capture that quality on film. Pictures don't do her justice.

As you can see, I couldn't pick just one picture each year of her life. I don't know what else to say. Happy birthday to my favorite girl. You make me a better mom and I love you to pieces every minute of every day. Even when I'm yelling ;)

Still safe and happy in my belly.

We had no idea what a sweet and powerful woman was about to join our ranks.

Just born!

Andrew is officially dethroned...this lady is in charge!

Last few days in her home state of Kentucky...

I'm a Philly girl now! Look how happy I am about it!

Lily requested that I put this photo in...Andrew was in love already...

Favorite Lily photo of all time:

I found out I was pregnant just days after this photo was taken. Look at what a baby she is. No wonder I was freaked out ;) On the move! She liked crawling so much she wouldn't walk until 8 months later.

Seriously couldn't pick just one photo... but there are none that I could find of her 1st birthday. -guilt-

Lily at 2 years old!

Lily at 3 years old!

Lily at almost 4!

I swear I put more of the recent shots in...I think Blogger ate them. I'll try and get some good shots at her birthday ;)

I think they may be related

I was looking at old picture files to pick photos for Lily's birthday montage tomorrow and I was astounded at the pictures of Andrew at 2 1/2 years old. Turns out he and Michael are related afterall.

(** sidenote: tune in tomorrow for cutey baby pictures of Lily...do you remember those cheeks???)

Andrew 2.5 years old

Michael 2.5 years old

Weather changes

Like most of the country, it has suddenly decided to become fall around here. Actually, September 29 was humid, hot, and miserable. I had my air conditioning on. October 1...we were wearing flannel pj's to bed. Lovely.

Here are some pictures to share...and you can tell how the weather has changed just by the kids' wardrobe changes.

First, a preview of what our Christmas card will probably look like. Wonderful.

The two cuddle bugs pose together:

I capture Mikey despite his best efforts to evade photography.

We went apple picking on Saturday. It was beautiful and clear and only slightly muddy.

Obligatory "head in vegetable" photos:

My favorite shot of the day...Andrew and Lily pulling the wagon down the row of apple trees

Mike was a delight. He loved picking apples and didn't eat any before we paid. He gently placed them into the buckets and never ran away from us. -sigh- I think he's growing up.

Why Lily looks away from the camera when she is posing, I'll never know. Perhaps when she is a contestant on ANTM, this will be her signature look.

Andrew was ready to fill bucket after bucket. He was disappointed when we only left with 2.

Back at home, and exhausted Mikey sleeps hard. Of course, this was before the cold front came blowing in...note the Hawaiian shirt. Isn't he sweet?

Fire house!

Friday, my MOM's club went to the local fire station. I picked up Andrew from the bus stop and rushed over, despite the fact that Andrew has been to fire stations approximately 3,004 times in his life. But it was at 4:30 pm, and I knew Michael couldn't miss it.

Michael was not disappointing. Every time the fireman said anything, Mike would turn around and smile this huge smile...occasionally putting his hands up to his cheeks a-la-HomeAlone.

Once he got a hat, he refused to take it off. I've never had a kid that didn't get annoyed by the little elastic strap. Just look at the joy in his face:

Andrew had a good time too...he answered a lot of questions without being too annoying. And he was a sport and posed for a picture with the hat on.

I also let him have the camera for a little while. Which is why we got stellar shots like this:

And this:

I finally got all 3 in the truck at the same time. And this is the best shot I got:

It was all fun and games until they closed up the truck and told us we had to leave. Michael was not happy...he was ready to join the company and live at the fire station.

Only 14 more years or so, buddy.