Mommy's Blog

We are gearing up for our annual Memorial Day BBQ this weekend.  We are going to have a full house…6 kids and 15 adults!  At least we outnumber the kids.  It is always fun to have everyone over.  Zoe is excited about seeing all of her cousins, and the parents are excited that there will be  6 grandparents here to watch the kids.  The pool will be open and the weather is supposed to be nice. Zoe’s already had several sprinkler days in the backyard, and has declared that summer is here!

By the way, whoever coined the phrase “terrible twos” must not have spent any time with a three year old.  I think the threes are far more challenging than the twos.  What’s awesome is when your daughter throws herself on the floor at the mall and proceeds to scream about getting on the train one more time.  Even more awesome is when your mom leaves you there to deal with the situation.  Mom says she thought it would be better if she wasn’t there.  I say she was around the corner laughing.  We’ve had some pretty crazy meltdowns.  I guess it’s all about the power struggle, and picking and choosing your battles.  Brian and I are still working on that one.  I guess from Zoe’s perspective we control everything, so anytime she can assert independence, she does.  It is a good thing….most of the time.  Then there are those times when it’s not so good.  I just keep telling myself that this is preparation for the teen years.

I am looking forward to the end of another school year…#15!  Zoe and I plan to spend some time at the pool this summer.  She will probably take a dance or gymnastics class too.  Whatever the case, I’m sure we’ll keep busy.  Take care.  Over and out…

I can’t believe it has been this long since I posted a blog.  Let’s see if I can recap the last 6 months!!  We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with the family.  Zoe really got into her presents this year and the whole Santa thing.  Too bad we can’t use the “Santa’s watching you” throughout the whole year.  We’ve enjoyed a few big snowstorms! Still need to get my hands on a sled.  It seems like I’m either too early or too late with my shopping.  Good thing none of the snow happened on her birthday.  We celebrated Zoe’s 3^rd birthday here at home.  We had an awesome ice cream cake with princesses. For Zoe’s birthday we moved her into the guest room.  It’s decorated with pastel pink and purple walls with a Rapunzel theme.  She has lots more room to play and for sleepovers.

Zoe is now in the 3s room at school.  Her teacher from the 2s classroom also moved up, so that was a plus.  It was a very smooth transition.  Zoe is one of the younger kids in the class, but her teachers say she is very vocal and active in class.  We can attest to both…vocal and active.  This girl loves to talk, talk, and talk some more.  I think the only time she isn’t talking is when she’s sleeping and watching a movie.  She has become even more independent.  Zoe likes to pick out her own clothes and herself dressed.  She even likes to get things out of the refrigerator.  Zoe is such a little helper around the house.  Last week I was cleaning, and she wanted to help dust and vacuum too.  We’ll see how long that lasts!  She’s learning lots these days, and always seems to come home with a new song.  She knows many letters and numbers..I promise I’m not counting or assessing.

A few weeks ago Brian and I had our first overnight trip without our little princess.  We headed to Georgetown on a Saturday for a relaxing stay at the Savoy Suites and a delicious dinner at a great German restaurant.  Grandma and Grandpa stayed with Zoe, and we all had a great weekend.  Zoe only asked for us a few times, never with tears, and the grandparents didn’t have any wild parties while we were gone.  Looks like we’ll have to do this again. This weekend we are heading over to the McCabe’s for a belated St. Patrick’s Day celebration.  Due to several bouts with stomach viruses and Zoe’s ruptured eardrum due to an infection, we’ll finally be enjoying our annual feast of corned beef and cabbage.  Looking further ahead, we are headed to a birthday party at the beginning of July, and Oma is coming for a visit during spring break.  I am hoping to post more frequently, just like I am hoping to get to the gym more often.  Hope this finds everyone well.  Take care.  Over and out…

It has been some time since I last posted.  School and home have been keeping me busy.  Currently, I am working with 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 7th graders.  It is quite a range so the prep takes some time, but it makes for interesting days.  Zoe and Brian keep me equally busy.  :) I had to look to see when the last time was that I posted.  Just about 3 three months ago.  Since then Brian and I celebrated birthdays with family parties at the house.  Zoe loved helping with cake making/decorating and the singing/blowing out of candles.  We also celebrated Cousin Erin, Grandma, Uncle Tim, and Cousin Emma’s birthdays!  Zoe knows that her birthday is in February.  I am hoping for a vomit-free, snow-free party this year!  I am thinking about renting out a place for the kids to run around….less mess and less cleanup!

We went to Wintergreen a few weeks ago.  We visited a few wineries, an orchard, and a pumpkin patch.  The orchard made hard cider which we enjoyed while Zoe tasted the various apple varieties.  The condo we rented has amazing views at 3000 ft.  The weather was great and the foliage was beautiful.  We are thinking about returning in the spring.  The rest of our fall has been spent watching football, visiting a fall festival,and dressing up for Halloween.  This year Zoe was Sleeping Beauty.  She had a costume party at school the Friday before.  On Sunday, Brian and I took her out.  She had a blast!  She walked right into the first house.  We hit quite a few houses before heading home with a heavy candy bucket.  I think she was ready to come home.  She took her costume off, ate a tiny Twix bar, and called it a night.  Brian dressed as a Pats fan and I was a Bruins fan.  Next year I think we’ll have to take it up a notch for our costumes.

These days Zoe is totally into the Disney princesses although Toy Story is still a huge hit.  She is quite independent these days.  She wants to dress herself, brush her own teeth, and make her own rules!  She is so much fun, yet totally exhausting!  She definitely knows how to push our buttons.  She loves to sing and read books.  She has heard certain books and songs so many times that she has them memorized.  She keeps us on our toes and now has us reading The Happiest Toddler on the Block to help us understand her development as well as how to deal with her outbursts (which totally come from her Dad’s side).  I have to believe that the twos and threes are preparing us for the teens.  Anyway I’d better post before it’s 2011.  Hope all is well.  Take care.  Over and out…

Summer is coming to a close…and little Miss Zoe is pretty much potty trained.  I bought her some underwear about two weeks ago.  Since then, she’s been doing number one and two on the potty!  She’s had very few accidents.  Soon she’ll be wearing underwear to school.  What a huge milestone!  It’s amazing how quickly she moved from pull-ups to underwear.  I didn’t think it would happen that quickly, but I’m not complaining.  Now the challenge will be when we are out and about in public.  We are getting back into the school routine.  Since we have to start getting up earlier, I think I’ll let her pick out her clothes at night…don’t want to deal with that at the crack of dawn.  :0 She’s growing up so fast.  She loves to talk and even stop us at times to say, “Hey, I’m talking now!”  She is still into Toy Story, music, and books.  She can do a somersault!  I find it funny that at times she just loves to run back and forth.  She says, “I’m running!” She has a sense of humor like her Daddy…both are very silly.  Zoe is full of energy and curiosity. What an awesome age!

We have been up to lots since I last posted.  We went to Maine for a week at the end of July.  We had great weather and good times with the Carey family.  Zoe and Emma loved swimming in the lake.  We visited a wildlife park and got to feed bears.  We saw bobcats, mountain lions, and a huge moose. It was great to see the extended family. We enjoyed a BBQ at the Carey camp with Nana, Uncle Mike, and Aunt Carole. Zoe enjoyed spending time with Uncle Arthur and Uncle Mike.  On our way back, we stopped to see Tim and his crew.  Colin was busy sitting up, and Zoe and Erin played quite well together.  It was great to finally get back home.  Luckily we managed to miss most of the super hot days.

Zoe and I have kept busy this summer with a trip to my school and lunch together in Old Town.  Zoe loved the library at my school.  We also went out to Tara’s house for a play date.  The kids made sugar cookies and later decorated them.  Zoe loved using the cookie cutters and wearing an apron.  She was at it for over an hour!  She didn’t want to eat her cookie, but she did enjoy licking off the frosting and eating my cookie.  As a family, we went to a pool party at Kevin and Elaine’s and a birthday party for Kacey and Pam’s son Ben.  We enjoyed Toy Story 3 twice so far. Pretty sure we’ll see it lots when it comes out on dvd.  Both times Zoe thoroughly enjoyed herself.  She was glued to the movie.  Since then she’s gotten Barbie and Ken dolls courtesy of Daddy. Last weekend we enjoyed dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

This coming weekend we are celebrating my birthday and going to a work picnic.  We are looking forward to football season and the fall weather. We’ve already booked out annual fall trip to Wintergreen.  I am looking forward to a new school year. We are all happy and healthy. Hope this finds everyone well.

Zoe is almost 2 and a half!  Looking at pictures of her at this time last year shows quite a change!  Last year she was still toddling around, working on mastering walking.  Now she’s swinging on monkey bars, jumping like a frog, and talking in full sentences! Here’s what we’ve been up to for the last month. We celebrated Cousin Patrick’s 4th birthday!  Zoe enjoyed running around on the playground while Mommy chased after her.  She was more interested in swinging and sliding than pizza.  We did get her to take a break to sing Happy Birthday and enjoy a cupcake.  Later in the month we went to New Jersey for Cousin Colin’s baptism.  At one point in the ceremony, Zoe decided to move herself to the floor right in front of the altar.  There she sat listening to the reverend say his sermon while snacking on Cheerios.  Zoe and Erin had fun playing together.  It’ll be nice when they are a little older and understand the concept of sharing.  Even though there were two swings on the play set, they both wanted the same one!  I think the grandparents enjoyed watching us figure out how to deal with those situations and meltdowns.  While up in New Jersey, Zoe picked up a little friend outside.  After her bath, we noticed a black speck on her upper thigh.  I thought it was a piece of dirt and tried to brush it off.  No dirt, it was a tick.  We managed to get it out with minimal freaking out on everyone’s part.  Never a dull moment! We kicked off July with a visit from Oma.  We went to the pool, had a 4th of July BBQ, visited friends, and took Zoe to see her first movie in the theaters.  Zoe absolutely loved seeing Toy Story 3 in the theater.  I think we’ll have to go see it again.  She was so good.  I don’t think she talked once.  She sat for a while in her own seat eating her popcorn.  Later she moved from lap to lap, but that didn’t break her concentration on the movie.

At the end of this week, we are heading to Maine for a vacation.  We are looking forward to getting away from Nova and hanging out at the lake.  Until then, take care.  Over and out….

May has come and gone!  As always we had a busy month.  To start off the month, Zoe helped us get rid of some junk at the community yard sale.  Then we had a wonderful Mother’s Day celebration at our house.  The Dads were in charge of cooking.  All ended up well, the house is still standing and there was only a small mess in the kitchen! The Dads made scrambled eggs, waffles, home fries, and bacon.  The whole gang joined us.  Emma, Colleen, Patrick, and Zoe had lots of fun playing with each other.  At school Zoe made me a very cool wooden flower with her picture on it!

Zoe also started swim classes at a local rec center.  Cousin Emma is in the class too.  The girls are learning how to float, blow bubbles in the water, and jump into the pool.  Zoe really enjoys swimming.  I am looking forward to taking her to the pool this summer.  I’ve even put her under a few times.  So far so good!  Her face when she comes up out of the water is pretty funny!  She does a great job kicking her legs and moving her arms in the water.  The lake in Maine this summer is going to be a blast!

At the end of May, we had our annual Memorial Day BBQ.  This year we had a potluck dinner which was great.  Not too much cooking for Brian and me.  The whole crew was here.  The cousins had fun playing out back.  We took a visit to Arlington earlier in the day to visit Opa.  It was great to have the everyone together.

June kicked off with Race for the Cure.  We headed to DC early in the morning to walk in honor of Grandma and in memory of our friend Beth.  The kids did well despite the fact that it was super hot and humid.  We did decide to take the short route as we were not too confident in being able to complete the 5k with three kids (and my broken toe)!  Afterwards, we enjoyed lunch together in Shirlington.  Next weekend we will be celebrating Cousin Patrick’s 4th birthday.  I remember when he was the only kid.  Time sure does fly by…

While the twos are very challenging, Zoe is super fun these days.  She is very independent…wanting to get dressed, cleaning up, and helping to change her diaper.  She still loves her movies, right now she’s into Shrek, Monsters Inc, and Fantastic Mr. Fox.  Zoe is very excited about the new Toy Story movie that is coming out later this month.  We are planning to take her to the movies for the first time! She loves singing and makes up songs using the tunes from Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or ABCD.  Sometimes after we put her to bed, we hear her making up songs!  Too cute!  Until next time, take care.  Over and out…

Quick update:  On Monday, Zoe peed in the potty!  She was sitting there reading books and it happened.  She said, “Uh-oh!” and then smiled.  Totally awesome!

 And while we are on the subject, last weekend she had a poopy diaper that was diarrhea.  She heard me say that word.  Later when she was outside she was singing, “Diarrhea” and making fart sounds.  No question about who she got that from!!

The last time I posted Zoe was making the transition to the big girl bed.  Overall, it has gone well.  I’m not saying there aren’t early mornings when she ends up with us.  We are making sure that all of us are getting the sleep we need.  :)  Especially since Zoe keeps us on our toes!  So far she’s only stealthily crept into our bedroom twice.  The first time I was very surprised to see her standing next to the bed, pacifier in month, and blanket in hand.  At least I didn’t freak out and scream.  Lately, it has been hard getting Little Miss Sleepyhead out of bed in the mornings.  As well as getting her to get dressed.  Good thing Brian and I are both here most mornings so we can use the tag team approach.  Zoe likes to help pick out her clothes, and most days she lets me put her hair up.

It has been a busy past tow months.  We finally had Zoe’s birthday celebration at the end of February.  Her first birthday was overshadowed by a stomach bug, the second one was buried in snow, wonder what #3 will bring!  At the beginning of March, we headed up to New Jersey to meet the newest member of the family, Colin Arthur.  Zoe and Erin enjoyed playing together while Brian and I helped prepare some meals for the family.  We are looking forward to seeing them at the end of May.  Later in March, we headed up to visit friends in upstate New York.  Sharif and Kate have a 3 1/2 year old girl, Lily and twin 4 month old girls, Camille and Ella.  It was great to spend a few days hanging out.  The last time we saw them I was pregnant. Zoe had a blast playing with Lily.  I thought having one was tough!

In April, we took Zoe to the circus.  Aunt Kim, Uncle Jim, and Patrick joined us.  Let’s just say it went okay.  I think the whole thing was overwhelming for Zoe.  Our seats were all the way up at the top, so that was a little scary at first.  We almost made it to the intermission before the meltdown ensued.  After having her kick, flail, and scream, we got her calmed down and made it through most of the second half.  (Cotton candy helped too!- just don’t ask Brian the price.) The next day we enjoyed an Easter celebration at the McCabe house.

Hope this finds everyone well!  Over and out…

This weekend we converted Zoe’s crib to a toddler bed.  We made sure to make it a special event.  We headed to Target to look for a pillow, and a special sleeping friend.  Zoe picked out the Toy Story set.  She has a new pillow, sheets, and comforter with her favorite friends Buzz and Woody.  She also got a Buzz doll!  On Saturday night, she climbed into bed and I sat on the floor reading to her.  We locked down all the doors along the hallway just in case she decided to wander.  Although she ended up in our bed later in the night, prior to that she stayed and slept in her new bed.  Zoe really wants Zam to sleep with her.  She keeps saying, “Come on Zam, come on.”  I think Zam will eventually find her way there…probably when she’s fast asleep.

Now we are into day two with the big girl bed.  She took a nap and stayed there!  So far so good.  We’ll see how tonight goes.  We’re just glad we don’t have to worry about her climbing out of the crib.  Now we’ll just wait and see if she gets up and wanders at night, or stays in her bed like a good girl.  Either way, our little girl is growing up!!  Hope to post pictures soon! Take care!

UPDATE! Zoe slept all night long in her big girl bed!

Wow, it has been a crazy two weeks!  Lots of snow, lots of shoveling, AND lots of attitude from Little Miss Two Year Old Zoe!!  We had to postpone Zoe’s birthday party due to the huge amount of snowfall we got over the first weekend in February.  Despite the snow, we had a small family celebration starting with homemade waffles with whipped cream for breakfast and ending with chocolate cake for dessert.  Hard to believe that two years ago Zoe was born.  Glad the snow storms didn’t happen that year!  Colleen’s first birthday celebration was also put on hold.  Guess we’ll have to have snow dates for the girls’ parties. Maybe Zoe can have a half birthday celebration at the pool in July.

We’ve kept busy during these snow days painting and coloring.  Zoe created lots of cool pictures to decorate her room.  She seems to really like painting…very serious, very focused.  We brought out a table we bought her some time ago.  She likes to do her art there as well as have tea and cake with Yoda.  Speaking of Yoda, we showed Zoe parts of Empire the other night.  She loved it…we hear all about Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, Yoda, R2-D2.  Zoe is now in the 2 year old preschool room.  Once again no problem with the transition to the new room.  I hope her transition to the big girl bed goes the same.  That will be happening soon.  We don’t want her climbing out of the crib.

Today we got to celebrate Cousin Colleen’s first birthday.  The cousins had a blast playing together.  It will be awesome to watch them grow up together.  I wonder what they’ll be like as teenagers…We’re going to celebrate Zoe’s birthday at the end of the month, and at the beginning of March head to New Jersey to visit Uncle Tim, Aunt Cheryl, Erin, and Colin.  Looking forward to warmer weather and being able to take Zoe out and about to places like the zoo. Well I’d better post before it is March.  Until next time, take care.  Over and out…