Life changes at lightning speed

Last time I posted, we were a family of 5. Now there are 6 of us. Our little Monie joined the clan in January, and our hearts are full. She is truly a miracle and there's so much going on most days that I can barely breathe. Life has been beautiful and crazy and messy and amazing and I wouldn't have it any other way. A new puppy, Gambler, joined the fold as well. He's cuddly and ridiculous and fitting in nicely. I hope to let you know more soon! Thanks for sticking with me.

What Life Looks Like These Days

It looks a lot like this, actually:

And sometimes like this:

(Obligatory shot to show you the size of Cuatro to scale using Deandra as a benchmark.)

(This is only maybe 6 hours before Stenni's little brother was born. So we let her wear Papa's hat and shirt. I have to get used to the fact that this is what life used to look like)

This is soooo very different from how it was only two weeks ago. Our routine can hardly be called a routine at all. We eat when we can (thankfully we had a lot of stuff made ahead of time, and a lot of people brought food when they came to visit!), sleep when we can, and the rest? We just make it up as we go along. We try to still get Stenni to school on school days, and the Hubs makes sure to get out of the house to teach his guitar lessons, but other than that we haven't really kept track of the days. We are lucky enough that Hubs is taking off most of November from his "day job" to help us recalibrate our family life, and help me to get used to the flow of things as they are now. I couldn't do any of this without him, and having so much family time, especially around the holidays, makes this transitional period that much sweeter. So yes, that second picture down is us standing in front of our already-decorated Christmas tree. Yes, our Christmas lights are up and the garland is hung on the mantel and I love it. We've been doing silly stuff like going out looking for mistletoe as a family (we've been to 3 stores and haven't found any yet but will keep looking!) and having jello picnics and reading and cuddling together. I'm lucky that our little Cuatro is a very good eater and a great little sleeper, so with the help of the Hubs, I'm almost functioning like a normal human being again. Also, it's gotten really cold around here and I don't want to go outside, so I'm getting more cuddle time with everyone in the house, which is a total blessing. I'm feeling very loved these days, and it's wonderful.

My sister Shlee will be all up on this blog, updating for me at some point in the near future while I continue to cuddle and snuggle and nap and change a thousand diapers a day (I seriously forgot how many diapers little newborn babies go through, but it's a ton). Thanks Shlee! See everyone soon!

Living proof

Remember how I said that I had a really nice, romantic, almost perfect Valentine's Day? Yeah, about that...well, here's the end result:

 

For real. Coming this November.

don't bite your friends

sooo...i sing this song to stenni all the time. usually this ends with her saying "i'll bite..." and then listing the people that she'd like to bite. mostly mama. but she never actually does, she seems to know that we are just kidding. either way i thought that this message was getting across.


apparently, biting is not that problem i should be concerned with. at jazzercize today, she pinched two little boys today until she scratched them and drew blood. the babysitter said that it wasn't in a menacing way, she was just pinching their cheeks like old ladies do. so she asked me if we pinch her cheeks at home. we don't. but she's running up and pinching these kids so hard she draws blood by scratching. this is something completely out of left field, and i have no idea where she came up with it. it is obviously unacceptable.

so i had her apologize to the little boys. then when we got to the car i tried to explain to her that pinching is bad because it hurts. she thought it was hilarious. i tried everything i could think of, explaining why we don't pinch, getting angry, trying to reason with her, threatening time outs if it happens again (though this never actually happens. i'm not sure how to do a time out right. she LOVES her time out chair, which doesn't work out so well for me), and what was her response? she walked right up to me and pinched me in the tummy and said "i'll pinch baby!"

so we had a time out. and i clipped her nails, cuz it hurt. but i'm honestly kind of blindsided by this new pinching thing, and new to the world of toddler discipline. hubs says she's just "exuberant," but i think that she's kind of a bruiser from playing with papa and her older cousins so much, and don't know how to get her to be more gentle. this is a message we especially want to drive home before the new baby comes. any suggestions?

i am so not cut out for this new era of toddlerhood!

wish me luck...

i'm off to my first REAL playdate for Stenni! we are going to meet up with the wonderful crynthia (my boss in a former, working life) and her adorable son at the park in morristown! i am so excited but also kind of bummed...did you know that stenni doesn't really need me for anything anymore, except maybe driving? she can even eat by herself, and now she's going on dates? i hope that by the time she's one i haven't outlived my usefulness as a mother, or else i'll have to have another one of these things every year!