A day at the park

These pictures are from a spontaneous park trip after going to an Arts/Farmer's market a couple of months ago with my mom. 

We walked from the market which is held under a bridge by the river, to a nearby park. The girls had a blast even though there were no swings or slides here. 

I can remember coming to this same park when I was 11 weeks pregnant with Elizabeth on my 21st birthday. Patrick and I had gotten bagels from Einstein's (their onion and chive cream cheese is so good) and ate them together under an old tree on a bench. It is fun to see my girls playing together here. 

In the far background of this picture, there are some people having a picnic. There was a little girl around Elizabeth's age, so she had to crash. It is so sweet seeing her make friends.

Ballet

At the end of August, Elizabeth started a ballet/tap class. We were both a little nervous on her first day, but she did really well. No tears. She had a really good time. Other weeks, however, there has been crying. For over a month, she would freak out every week before we left for ballet. She would cry and give me all sorts of silly reasons why she didn't want to go. She didn't want to wear her tights or leotard. She didn't like to brush back in her tap shoes because she felt like she would fall over. 

If she could give me a good reason why she didn't want to do it, I wouldn't have continued to make her go. After every class, she would come out smiling. I would ask if she had fun, and she would tell me that she did indeed have fun. She said she wouldn't fight it the next week, but she still did. 

It's December now, and she usually doesn't fight it anymore. She has friends in her class and she wishes it was Monday a lot so she could go to ballet. 

Choking

Today was scary. I know I recently posted about a couple of close calls with Elizabeth. Things that could have turned out so badly but didn't. Today we had another. Tell me that other parents have these, too. We can't be alone in this. Elizabeth and Adelaide were having a snack of strawberries and blueberries at the table today. I was in the kitchen, about to swap a load of laundry, when I heard Patrick ask Elizabeth if she was okay. Her back was to me, but I could tell she wasn't. She was choking. 
The girls have choked before, a little. I have had to remove Elizabeth from her high chair when she was younger, turn her over and pat her back hard. That was always the extent of it. She was fine after that. I actually felt relatively calm about choking, but I had never really experienced full. on. choking. She could not breathe. Patrick and I took turns holding her and banging on her back. I reached in her mouth, but didn't feel anything. I am always afraid of that part though, because I don't want to push anything farther down. Patrick was doing the heimlich on her. Her body was trying to get it out. Little pieces of strawberry were coming out, and she was sort of trying to throw up. She was panicking. I was freaking out. I yelled to Patrick that she was turning blue. I was debating whether or not to call 911. He put his finger down her throat, did a sweep and pulled out a big hunk of strawberry. That did it. He put her down in my lap and went to sit in a chair in the living room. All of this happened in the span of less than a minute. Patrick thinks it was less than 30 seconds, but I think it was a little longer. 
I was shaking and holding her. After a couple of seconds, she sat up and told me, "I thought I was never going to breathe again." I thought the same thing. It was terrifying. A stupid strawberry not fully chewed almost brought down my beautiful 3 year old today. I am so grateful that my husband was there, that he was so in control of the situation. Honestly, if it were just me today, I don't know if our ending would have been as good. What if I hadn't even noticed her choking because of the laundry? What if I couldn't get enough control to get the job done? I don't want to think about the guilt and pain of what could have happened, but it keeps coming back to me. I am so grateful tonight for my two healthy girls and one strong husband. 

What happens when your husband is away.

So my husband went to an Austrian Economics study student conference thingy for a week at the end of July. I missed him, but my mom came and stayed with us (she doesn't live far, but I don't like being without another adult at night... don't judge). If you know my mom, you know that where she is, things get done. Like the hutch that we meant to paint for a long time. Ta-da.

The garden that we had been meaning to plant. Shazam!

We also went to the beach, to Adventure Landing (a water park), and the downtown library. We had so much fun, but by the end... I was ready for my honey to come back, and my mom was definitely ready to be home. She didn't sleep well here, (thanks upstairs neighbors) and she was getting grumpy... but we did have fun!

It happened.

A ponytail. It's amazing.

It didn't last.

Our godson!

Isn't he the sweetest?

Clearly, Elizabeth thinks so. She reminds me of me as a child. I wanted to hold any baby any time, and she is the same way.

She gets a little upset when I try to help, but it's for the safety of whichever little blessing she is gripping/squeezing/holding.

This is our third godson. The first two are the twin sons of my best friend. They became our godchildren the first year we were married and remained our only godchildren until little Maximilian, pictured above. Apparently we make girl ourselves, but only get godsons. I love being asked to be a godparent. It is such a privilege and a hard decision. You are asking these people to be a part of your life for the rest of it. To be there for your child even if only to pray- the most important part. Thanks for asking us, friends.

Date night

Date night. How amazing are those two words? I'll tell you: SO AMAZING! we had our first date night... maybe ever- in July. My in-laws came over to watch the girls, and we went to dinner at Outback and to the movies to see The Amazing Spiderman (which was awesome). 

It is soooooooo nice to go to a restaurant and be able to sit and eat and talk and take as long you want. It's nice to go to a movie and not have to worry about keeping a baby or toddler quiet. It's nice to be able to give my undivided attention to my husband for a little while and talk and joke and laugh. It's nice to help remember why I chose him to be with for the rest of my life. 

More often, I say! More date nights! Luckily, we have no shortage of people willing to watch our little boogers. My mom or my husbands parents or siblings... maybe we should call someone up this weekend...

Friends and godparents

In the middle of July, we had two extra children for a few days. We were asked to be godparents for our close friends' new baby. Oh so much excitement! While they were in the hospital, we watched their older boys, so for a couple of days, I had a 5-year-old, 4-year-old, 3-year-old, and 1-year-old. It was busy, but fun. In some ways, having more is easier because they entertain each other really well. In other ways, like the mess-oh the mess, it's harder. We went to the zoo while they stayed with us because I wanted them to have fun and they really missed their parents. Don't worry, I brought my brother-in-law and sister-in-law to help me. It was good though, and the boys told their parents they had fun with us. They also told them that they were left here too long!

A couple of close calls

I was reading a story about a pit bull attacking another pit bull today. The mean dog went for the other's throat and caused some damage. It wanted to fight. It could have killed the other dog had someone not stepped in.

Last week, Elizabeth and I went outside to water her plants that we planted when my mom stayed with us for a week while Patrick was out of town. I ran back in to fill up the watering can again and heard Elizabeth screaming out of terror. I can see from the kitchen all the way past the patio into outside but our couch is right in front of the sliding glass door. I ran outside to find a pit bull in her face. All over her face. I grabbed her and brought her onto the (closed in) patio where I realized that there was no blood, no marks, no pain. The dog had been licking her. Praise God. I don't generally see dogs without leashes in our neighborhood. Pit bulls aren't even allowed here. This one had chewed through his rope and I don't know where he was from. Since it was so hot out and he didn't eat my daughter, I gave him some water. I had to water the plants for a few days by myself. Now, she will do it, but if the water has to be refilled, she waits on the patio.

But I'm not done. This post is called, "A couple of close calls."

We went to a new friend's house to go swimming with some other friends as a last hurrah before the one friend went back to teaching this fall. I could not go swimming for girly reasons, but I let Elizabeth go in with everyone wearing her puddle jumper floaty. She was having fun and doing fine. We all got out to eat some lunch. I took her floaty off so she could eat comfortably. When she was done, she kept walking over to the pool. She was wearing her crocs and thought it was fun to walk along the edge just in the water. I kept telling her that she needed to stay away from the pool because there was no one in it and we weren't paying enough attention for her to go swimming. She came back every time I asked her to, but she kept making her way to the water. I was sitting in a chair with a sleeping Adelaide on my lap when I noticed it. Her head bobbing up and down in the water. Thankfully, I had read a post on what drowning looks like, so I recognized it. (Although I would have gotten her out of the water regardless, because she wasn't supposed to be in it.) I got up, fully clothed and carrying poor sleeping Adelaide and walked into the water to pluck Elizabeth out. She was fine. She wasn't even coughing because she had been holding her breath. It was terrifying. The other moms were freaked out too. I am so grateful that I was sitting in the chair I was. So thankful that I looked up and into the pool. So glad that I had prayed that very morning for help keeping my girls safe because I have heard too often how dangerous pools can be.

The next morning Elizabeth apologized for going into the water alone. I think she realized, at least a tiny bit, how serious it was. We are starting swimming lessons on Thursday. I know they won't be magic, but I figure that they can't hurt. I was talking to Patrick who wasn't very freaked out, presumably because he didn't see it. I told him that I realize there are a ton of ways that your child could die any day... but that day I saw a specific way. I saw the potential... I don't want to see it again.

Dress Up

Isn't she gorgeous?

A couple of months ago, Elizabeth and I went through the costume jewelry collection my godmother passed down to me when it became clear that she would be the mother to a son and not a daughter. Most of it is awesome earrings that Elizabeth can't wear without pierced ears. But we managed to put on mostly everything else. 

I love how interested she was in every little ziploc bag I opened. I love knowing that I did this when I was little with my godmother. I love that my daughter and I dressed up with the same jewelry. 

A sweet girl

We try to go to Mass daily.
The other day, we were taking our car into the shop early, and we weren't going to Mass. When Elizabeth found out, she was not pleased.
She told me, "Jesus will be sad if I don't go to Mass."
"Oh, I'm sure He will be sad."
"And I will be sad, too."
With that... my heart melted.

Another Birthday

We have another baby. She is our first baby, and her birthday just passed. To celebrate it and mark the occasion, we brought flowers to her grave. We lost her at 9 weeks 2 days. It was a miscarriage early in our marriage. We were renting a condo and didn't know what we were going to do with her little body. My in-laws knew of a cemetery where they have a garden of innocence for any baby lost before 2 years old. They buried Felicity there, and we just recently got her a stone.

It is important to us that the girls know about their sister in heaven.

There was another family there whose daughter had the same birthday. Her name is Maggie. They took our picture all together. This is the first one we have like this of all of us.

The other family also brought cupcakes and balloons. They gave Elizabeth a cupcake and a balloon. We left the balloon for Felicity. Their daughter had only been gone a year... I was very touched that they went out of their way to give to us. I appreciate it.

Happy birthday Felicity. We love you.

She is one!!

It happened today... sooner than anyone expected. Our little Adelaide turned one. One year ago... I was in pain, I was in labor, I was exhausted, I was ready to meet my baby. One year ago... I held her for the first time, I told her she was funny looking (I will only say this because she is beautiful... if I still thought it, I would keep it to myself), I nursed her, I snuggled her, I loved her face to face.

This is the same dress that Elizabeth wore for her first birthday. (see below)

She got a big kick out of the tissue paper... it took a while to get her to move past it into the present.

We are going to have a small party on Saturday to celebrate our Adelaide... but it was important that today be just a little special.

Patrick took the day off and we went to Mass this morning together. Happy feast of St. Thomas, by the way. We opened her present from us. We decorated the house with streamers and a banner. In the afternoon, we went swimming in the pool by the pond. We made dinner and prayed the rosary. We gave the girls a bath and now our precious one year old is sleeping: worn out after a hopefully wonderful birthday.

Confirmation

A little over a month ago, Patrick and I were both sponsors for Confirmation. 4 years ago we were also both sponsors for his sisters. This time Patrick was asked by his brother, and he felt pretty special. He was a little let down when I too was asked to be a sponsor by the daughter of friends of our family. Again we were both sponsors and we were excited. It is amazing how much easier it is to pay attention at Mass when you sit near the front without any kids. My sponsee picked the name Agnes, and the Bishop read part of her letter aloud! I was so proud of her for choosing such an awesome Saint. Neil also chose an awesome Saint with a cool name: Sebastian. Congrats to our new adults in the Church!

Happy father's day!

This is one of the first father's days that I actually tried to make something special. We usually don't do much for mother's/father's day for each other, but this year (and from now on), I really wanted to do something cute/fun.

I don't know if you can tell, but in the first picture, you see the tie we traced handprints on for Daddy. I traced the girls hands on construction paper, then traced the paper hands with glitter puffy fabric paint onto the ties. We did two: one for Daddy and a red one for Papa. I got the idea from Pinterest (duh), but changed it a little to make it better (easier). Then we glued the paper hands to a card that Elizabeth drew.

Inside the card we wrote reasons why the girls love him. Elizabeth helped me come up with her list. I loved the last one, "because he says prayers." She came up with that one on her own. So sweet. Her other reasons included, "because he's my daddy, he makes up stories and songs, he snuggles with me, he's a mean bear sometimes, and he builds tents. Adelaide's list was guesswork. I used things that Daddy does that make her laugh/smile. "He kisses a lot, he lets me play with his badge and phone (I was later corrected because he does let her play with his phone!), he crawls away and hides from me."

I love this picture. I love these people. Happy Father's day to my honey.

Family!!!

This is the girls with my cousin, Dylan.

This was my dad and Elizabeth watching Finding Nemo. She only watched for a few minutes, there was too much playing that needed to happen.

My Aunt Patty holding Adelaide. It looks like Adelaide liked her.

This is Taylor and apparently this is the first time she ever held a baby.

They had so much fun together. Taylor was so good with Elizabeth.

My Aunt Kathy from California is

 giving Elizabeth an underdog.

Gigi or my Gram was holding Adelaide. She started crying a few seconds after this picture was taken. Adelaide, not Gram. It was so nice to see everyone even if just for a couple of days.