Happy Easter, happy spring!

Oh, Eden, we miss you!

We were lucky enough to have my niece here for most of her spring break last week. Cece was crushed when we dropped Eden back off at the aiport for her flight home. Fortunately, we'll get to see her again in just two months when we head to Yosemite together. But I suppose to a 4-year-old, those two months will pass a lot slower than they will for an old fogey like me. ;)



Poor Eden was unlucky enough to catch a miserable cold from Marino during her visit (and then Nico caught it, too) -- so her vacation ended up being a lot more low-key than we'd anticipated. Most days she and I would stay up far too late (except for those nights when I accidentally fell asleep while putting Cece to bed!) and since she was sick and is free from parental responsibilities, she had the luxury of sleeping in until well into the afternoon ... usually just as Nico was going down for a lengthy nap. None of this was very conducive to getting out & doing much of anything. But we DID manage to get some scrapbooking done like we'd hoped, had some good talks, and took plenty of pictures. :)



We also had an early Easter egg hunt last Thursday after staying up till after midnight coloring the eggs the night before. Can someone please explain to me why every last one of the 36 we dyed ended up with two horizontal white rings around them? I seriously need to google that. I've never had that happen before. Nico is still too young to help "shoot the eggs" but Eden and Cece had a great (though intensely competitive) time scouting them out.



"Shoot the eggs" is our little inside joke. Back when I was about Cece's age, I went to my first Easter egg hunt at my grandmother's house. All week leading up to Easter my mom had been telling me how much fun I'd have at the hunt -- but apparently didn't give too many specifics. So Easter day we were all over at Grandma's, eating & visiting, and I piped up with, "So when are we gonna shoot the eggs?" :)



Guess who's eight months old today? Yep. The sick little boy in our house. The poor baby's got SUCH a cough & his nose just won't stop running. Benadryl and the cool-mist humidifier seemed to help him sleep much better last night -- but we'll all be glad when this bug moves on.



For such a little boy, he's amazingly daring & brave. He'll try to climb anything, and doesn't flinch if he takes a fall or bonks the crap out of his forehead (which he does several times a day). We keep joking that we should've named him George -- as in Curious George. But if you wanna scare the crud outta him, turn on the vacuum. The kid is terrified of them. Most every parenting book I've ever read has touted the calming effect of the white noise of a vacuum; but my kids are not your typical kids. (Yes, Cece was vacuum-phobic, too.) Poor Nico literally trembles with fear and emits the most ear-piercing, plaintive screams whenever I turn on the Hoover. Unless he outgrows this fear soon, I can see it working to my advantage during the terrible twos ... "Nicolas, stop hitting your sister. Don't make me get the vacuum!" (Before anyone calls CPS, I'm only kidding!)



The Easter bunny mercifully brought only candy, books, and gardening tools for the kids -- no vacuums. Not even a Dirt Devil. (Phew!) Cece was excited to find her basket this morning, and spent time counting the precise number of bags of Jelly Bellys, chocolate robin eggs, and whopper eggs she received, while Nico was happy just to chew on his plastic garden trowel. :)



Oddly enough, it SNOWED here the night before last. It's already melted, but today was a very cold Easter. I knew it was bound to turn cold again as soon as I saw Marino putting all our winter coats away for the season. What was he thinking? He'd better not even THINK about setting up the hammock! ;)

Happy Easter, happy spring -- cold as it may be today.

Just pics

My two sweeties

Cece Grace


Nico & Daddy


Swinging on a spring-like day

Chillin'

I'm a big boy. I'll get my own toys.

Come HERE, dump truck!

Proud of (and pretty in) her new dress

Playin' dump truck

Hey, you have some hair that needs pullin'

More Cheerios, please!

Why do you make me wear these, Mom?

Our little bear all bundled up

Sitting pretty

Look what I made on my Lite Brite!

Look close & you'll see my 1st tooth!

Whatchya doin', Mom?

Days of Our Kids' Lives

Sheesh, six months since I last posted ALREADY?

It's late, I'm tired, but I desperately want to let everyone know I haven't been intentionally neglecting this blog. It's just hard finding time. But now that I've got my new laptop (happy birthday to me from Marino), I'm hoping it'll be easier. (Case in point: I'm typing this from the comfort of the "chair and a half" in the living room while everyone else is sound asleep.)

Cece is officially four and a half now, which, as we've learned, is old enough to fall in love. Yes, you read that right. Our conversation went a little something like this:

Mom, when I get married, can I wear your wedding dress?

Sure, honey. I would love that.

And can I break the law and throw rose petals like you did, too?

You betchya.

I want to wear my hair up like this (pulling her hair up on top of her head with a few strands hanging down).

Don't worry, you've got plenty of time to grow up, meet a nice man, fall in love and plan your wedding.

But Mom, I'm already in love!

Oh, really? With who?

Jack P.!

And how do you know you're in love?

Because of his cute little laugh!

Which, I gotta say, is about the best reason I can think of to love someone.

Cece and Jack P. recently had a playdate together at our house. Here's a pic of the momentous day:
Jack P., by the way, has been the only Jack at her school ever since Jack A. moved away last summer -- but to every kid there, he's still Jack P. ;)

But it doesn't end there. Just the other night at the dinner table Marino and I were talking to Cece about the importance of being polite to people -- especially people you care about. She chimed in with, "Yeah, I know. Jack P. and I almost broke up the other day because I was being rude to him. But thank goodness later that afternoon we got back together."

Um, yeah. She's 4 1/2! Since when did watching Days of Our Lives become part of the accepted Montessori teaching method? I don't even think they have a television at the school ... I seriously need to check on this. ;) But honestly, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that my daughter is boy-crazy already. My cousin Brandy and I used to organize throngs of girls in our preschool class to tackle and hold down the object of our 4-year-old desire, Danny, every recess so we could cover him in kisses. So yeah, she comes by this stuff naturally.

Meanwhile, the littlest boy in our household isn't so little anymore. Nico is 7 months old today! He's now eating baby food, crawling, beginning to pull up and cruise, and just two days ago his lower-left front tooth broke through the gums. (The lower-right should be through any time now, too.) He babbles and laughs all day long -- especially at his big sister -- and is still our easy-going, happy boy.

Ah, but he has such determination and persistence! He often grunts and growls at his toys, and gets visibly (and audibly) pissed if he's unable to master something on the first try. When Cece was a baby, I remember it being easier to distract her. If she wanted to play with a forbidden object, you could show her another toy and she'd forget about the other. Not Nico. In a room full of toys, he wants the remote control, the telephone, our shoes and socks (the dirtier the better), the CDs, Dad's can of Coke Zero, the laptop, and the electrical cord. I've told Cece that we don't need a puppy -- we have Nico. He wrestles our shoes while rolling on the floor with them and growling, just like a puppy would. Fortunately, since he's virtually toothless (for now), our shoes make out better than they would with a puppy, though.

He crawls or leaps head-on into furniture like a pigeon flying into a window. He's currently got two bruises on his forehead and a scrape beneath his nose. I have a feeling he's going to be one of those kids who's always sporting a cast ...

He discovered the stairs tonight. I'll be VERY surprised if they aren't the first thing he crawls over to tomorrow morning.

Now we are four!

Nicolas Marino
August 8, 2006
3:40 P.M.
8 pounds, 13 ounces
21 1/4 inches long

One month ago today we welcomed our son into the world. After hours of deliberation, we decided to name him Nicolas ("Nico" for short -- and please, that's pronounced NEE-co, NOT NICKO-o).

Nico's entrance couldn't have been more different from Cece's. Labor was quick, painless, and filled with laughter -- literally. After just 25 seconds of pushing, my doctor instructed me, "Just giggle," and out he came, followed by a huge gush of water that totally drenched the doctor, who just laughed and said, "I swear, I already took one shower today!" The entire room errupted in laughter, and there on my belly lay our son, looking like, well, as I immediately thought, Mr. Magoo. (But hey -- don't all baby boys look like little old men?) Oh, but he's so darling!

I still can't get over how easy the whole thing was -- or how easy and sweet a baby he has been since the very beginning. His second night home from the hospital he slept for 9 hours straight through the night. We had to start intentionally waking him to make him eat so he'd be sure to gain back his birth weight. He has now, and is waking on his own about every four hours at night, and every 2 or so during the day to chow down.

Cece loves him, and from what little we can tell about a month-old baby's emotions, it seems Nico loves her, too. He's always quiet on the way to Cece's school in the morning, but on the way home after dropping her off, he usually whines a bit as if to say, "I miss my sister."

Cece spent the month of August home with me, and Marino had two weeks of paternity leave immediately after Nico's birth. (WARNING: Here's where I get mushy.) I can honestly say that those two weeks were positively blissful for all of us. I'll always remember the four of us walking to the pool club together, and Nico sleeping soundly in his stroller while he and I sat poolside as Cece and Marino took turns diving off the board into the deep end. My only regret is that I won't be given clearance to swim until six weeks post-delivery, so I missed the end of the pool season, but watching Cece continue to improve her swimming & diving skills, with such joy so apparent in her face, is treasure enough for me.

So, just 2 1/2 weeks after our family of three became a family of four, Cece had her own fourth to celebrate -- her fourth birthday! We had a small celebration with just the four of us at a local lake (an annual tradition for us), and she'll be having her party with all of her buddies in another week or so. Looking at Nico and Cece side by side, I remember her being small and helpless, and find it hard to believe that she's grown so much in such a relatively short time.

She's such a big helper to us, and loves pitching in with Nico. She's very protective of him, too, and will scold me if I happen to keep him crying for even a minute. "Mom!" she yelled one night as I was trying to put a load of laundry into the washer, "The baby is CRYing! Don't be mean to him; come and get him!" (Well, yes, Miss Cecelia -- right away!) :)

Overall -- and I fear jinxing it by stating this here -- the adjustment to parenting two kids has been surprisingly easy. Sure, we're unlikely to be on time for anything (though we DID make it to school with 5 minutes to spare this morning -- woo-hoo!), and spontanaeity is completely out of the question ... and sleep is interrupted, if not by crying (he doesn't do much of it), then by his funny little baby sighs & grunts throughout the night ... but really, Nico is an easy, easy baby. And Cece, small bouts of sporadic jealousy aside, is a fantastic big sister and Mommy's Helper.

It helps, too, that Marino and I are both much more relaxed this time around. After all, we're seasoned vets now. And no offense to our wonderful daughter -- but um, if we made it through her first six colicky months, we can make it through just about anything. :)

People see us in the grocery store, at Cece's school, or at the pool club and immediately give that sympathetic look and say, "So, do you miss sleep?" or "Oh, how are you adjusting?" I feel like maybe I should humor them and say, "Well, you know, it's been really rough, but gosh, we're hangin' in there."

But dude, I'd be lyin'.

Only YOU can prevent Gulliver

With just two weeks left before I have to push this baby out, everyone -- family, friends, and total strangers alike -- wants to know, What are you going to name him? The short answer is: We just don't know!

If it helps ease your agony any, we're just as frustrated by the situation as you are. Really. No bull. While I have always felt that I need to see the baby to really know what the right name is, I'd feel a hell of a lot better if I at least had a finalized list of possibilities at this point. As it is, I seem to keep adding new ideas to the mix, changing my mind about others, and just generally driving myself crazy as I lie awake in between late-night bathroom trips. (And in case you're keeping track, I think I went FIVE times last night. I mean, I know this baby is really low now and pressing on my bladder full-force, but COME ON!)

So, if any of you are wondering how you can be helpful to us in the final days before our re-entry into parenthood, then by all means, name our baby, please! If things aren't sorted out soon, we're going to have to fall back on the name that we told everyone early on just to mess with all of you: Gulliver Cromwell -- "Gully" for short. You don't want that one on your conscience, do you? I didn't think so. So get to work, people!

How to take a compliment, or Why I am an Earth mother

Last night as I was kneeling in the dark beside Cece's bed, patting her back before she fell asleep, she suddenly turned to me. Her face was awash in the soft blue light from her globe nightlight atop her dresser.

"You look beautiful, Mama," she said in her sweetest sleepy voice.

"Thank you, sweetie -- so do you," I told her, touched by my daughter's neverending tenderness.

She then continued, in a hushed nighttime voice, very slowly, as if to be sure to choose just the right words, "You look like a big ... big ... big ... big ... round ... round ... round ... round ... Mama. You look ... like a globe, but you don't have that black line around your middle."

"You mean an equator?"

"Yeah, you know that black line in the middle of the globe?" she said.

"Well gee, thanks honey," I said, trying not to laugh (or cry!) in front 0f her.

So the moral of the story is this: When someone pays you a compliment, thank them and RUN! Don't stick around and allow them to elaborate. I did, only to find that I bear a striking resemblance to the planet Earth. This gives whole new meaning to the term "Earth mother!"

Sign us up for the blue team!

Today was the 4D ultrasound. The tech first spotted what she "thought" looked a lot like a scrotal sac. Then minutes later she announced, "Yep. There's his boyhood laying on his leg. Congratulations."

I couldn't help but wonder whether she was commending us on the confirmation that we're expecting a son, or on his apparently rather sizeable boyhood. ;)

So, while we were able to confirm what's cookin' between the baby's thighs, we weren't able to get many shots of his face. Unfortunately for us, the baby who rarely stops moving decided to take a nice long nap during the ultrasound. Most attempts at getting a facial shot were made virtually impossible by either his hand up over his face, or by him snuggling up against my uterine wall. In any case, we got a couple that show him (kinda, anyway). In the full shot of his face I think he resembles Cece ... in the profile shot, not so much ... so it'll still be a surprise when he's born -- 10 WEEKS FROM TODAY. (Yikes!)

Meanwhile, it's hotter than a mother-effer here (92 and humid to boot). I can't wait to go swimming tonight. And yes, I AM sporting a swimsuit at nearly 7 months pregnant. You would too if you had to withstand this heat while having a virtual basketball tethered to your abdomen and the equivalent of an extra 2.5 liters of blood coursing through your veins. I'm hot all on my own, people! Throw me out into this weather & I'm likely to catch fire!

Andrew has arrived! Anyone have room for a pony?

Congratulations to my youngest sister Katie and her husband Jeff! They're now the proud parents of Andrew Lawrence. Andy was born April 21st at 7:21 P.M. He weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz. and was 20" long.

Having just visited them, I can tell you he is an absolute doll of a son! The kid never cries. He sleeps almost all night long, with just a couple brief wakings to eat or have his diaper changed. He's a dream baby. I tried rubbing his tiny hands on my belly in hopes of him giving my baby some of his "Good Baby ju-ju" ...
Guess we'll have to wait another three months to see if it worked!


The running joke is that he's so good that he keeps earning ponies. Katie calls me at least every other day and says, "I swear, I've gotta buy this kid a pony." I think he's got a couple dozen in the bank so far -- so if anyone has room to store a couple for Katie & Jeff, please let me know!

Marino, Cece & I had a nice visit with everyone in California. Cece was thrilled to get to see most of her extended family (her grandpas were notably missed). And we were all so excited to arrive just two days after Andrew was born. I think Cece now has a better idea of what to expect when her little brother is born. Before Andrew, she'd only been around older babies. Now she knows that they really ARE helpless when they first arrive. There won't be any tandem swinging in the backyard for a while!

Speaking of her baby brother, he'll be born just three months from today. Hard to believe. This pregnancy is going by so much faster than when I was carrying Cece. I suppose that with Cece in our lives, we just don't have the time to dwell on the pregnancy. We're always on the go.

But I feel fine ... I tire more easily, especially if I haven't been drinking enough water, and I feel pretty darn fat (thanks, Daniel, for assuring Michael that my complaints were merited), but I refuse to give up ice cream: It's the only thing that calms my late-night heartburn! :)

Everyone in CA wanted to know What are you naming the baby? We had a good time telling everyone that our top choice is Gulliver Cromwell ("Gully" or "Liver" for short), and then watching their reaction. Most didn't seem to know whether we were joking or not. The best response was from Steph's boyfriend, Josh: "Well, you could keep looking. You've got a lot of time left, and that's a lot of name."

To seriously answer that question, I'm leaning toward naming him "Dude." After all, he'll be the only one of us not born in California -- so a name like Dude would give him a sort of honorary status. And how cool would it be to call your son in from playing with, "Dude! Dinner!"