What happened to September?

Oh dear, I've done it now. For the first time since starting this blog, I've gone without posting even the smallest of updates at least once during the month. Sorry October, don't take it personally. You and your friend September were just far too action-packed for me to stop and smell the roses mums.

No time for excuses. Let's jump right into the updates, shall we?

**Sifts through hundreds of photos to figure out what the heck we've been up to for the past two months.**

Hmmm, I think we're going to need a bigger page to fit all this stuff. Looks like we're splitting this into two posts.

So first things first, the big indoor renovations are nearing completion here on the homefront. First, we have the long-anticipated kitchen reveal. Ta-da!

Now, in case you're all wondering, the paint beneath the cabinets is not some poor attempt at modern art. For the time being, we are sans backsplash. Being broke and lazy frugal and efficient, we opted not to paint that area. I'm sure I'll post updates ten months after the tile backsplash has been installed.

As if all that kitchen work wasn't enough, we had new windows installed in early September.

Here are the exterior and interior views (complete with the cutest little decorative accent you've ever seen).



With all the house work winding down (notice I have not said it's actually done?), we decided the best way to celebrate was to get the heck out of Dodge! Nearly every weekend in September was spent traveling. I know, I know. "What else is new?"

Rather than giving you a blow by blow account of every little thing we've done, I'll just jot down a list and (if applicable...or rather, if accessible on my hard drive at the moment) I'll include some pics.

Sept 11-12: Celebrating Liam's (a.k.a. Eily's betrothed) birthday in Virginia.



Sept 17-18: Irish2000 (I2K) in Saratoga, NY. Andy, Liam, and Jim (Papa-Daddy) made the journey with us. We met up with my dad and stepmom, good friends Jim & Natasha & wee Rory, and Kevin & Kelsey & the very brand new Miss Rayleigh. For the first year ever, the music was more of a backdrop and not so much the main event. Not because it was unenjoyable. Rather, we learned how quickly a festival can change when everyone has a baby in tow. Still, kudos to all of us for being awesome and exposing the kids to some culture!

GAAAAHHH!! Oh, it pains me to say that I have ZERO pictures from that weekend. I'm stealing some pics from Andy's facebook page, so the photography credits go to him. (Thanks Andy!)



The whole gang, Friday night

They're harder to dance with the bigger they get!

These two were filthy by the end of the show Saturday. At least they had fun!

Ah, young love.

Alright, before you all yell at me - that last one looks much worse than it actually was. See the shoe off to the right? That's me. I saw everything from there. Eily actually had her chin on Liam's shoulder, and he kissed her cheek. Fooled you, though, didn't it?

Okay, that took up more than it's allotted space. Gotta keep moving!

Sept 24: We hit up Celtic Classic in Bethlehem, where Eily danced like a wee banshee to the tunes of Enter the Haggis. It was the new drummer, Bruce's, first show with the guys. While we certainly missed James' smiling face, we were very impressed with his replacement.

Sept 26 - Oct 1: Eily's Great-grandma Bev finally got to meet the little lass. Auntie Kiki, Grandpa Rick, and Aunt Dottie and Matt all got to spend time with Eily as well. Here are some pics from Aunt Dottie:



As you can see, our little cherub certainly knows how to enjoy her food.

And that does it for September. Somewhere in the middle of all that, Jesse managed to lose one vehicle and gain another, I somehow kept my sanity while juggling the mommy/school/work schedule, and Eily continued to become more and more like a little person. Next up: October fun and Eily's 15-month stats!

Traditions Old & New

Christmas is the ninja of all holidays. Or at least it is in our house. One minute I'm peacefully going about my business, half-heartedly thinking about gifts, a tree, mailing cards, etc. The next minute BLAM! I've got 48 hours in which to complete my shopping, wrap the presents, ship them out to those who live far away...forget the tree, no room in the house anyway. We'd have to leave it on the porch.

Okay, so it wasn't quite that bad this year. One of the fringe benefits of staying home with Eily has been having the time to prepare for things like Christmas without feeling like I'm in a race I'll never win. I finished purchasing and wrapping gifts over the weekend, cards were sent out in time to reach everyone BEFORE Christmas, and I've already gathered the ingredients for Christmas breakfast. I was serious about the tree, though. There's just no room.

One of our favorite holiday traditions since moving to Pennsylvania (gasp!) 4.5 years ago is joining the Hartman/Shilliday family for their annual Cookie Swap. Don't let that cutesie little name fool you. Sure, everyone joins in to decorate and bake a huge batch of roll-out sugar cookies. But in truth, this is an all-out, every-man-for-himself cookie baking competition. The mission: Choose your cookie, then bake a dozen for each of the families competing, along with an extra batch for the competition itself. On competition day, your cookie is entered in three categories: best looking, best "newcomer" OR "back to basics" cookie, and best tasting (grand prize). On average, about 9-10 families partake in the event. That's a heck of a lot of cookies!
(As a side note, don't make the mistake I made one year in choosing to make a sandwich cookie of any kind - I didn't think about the fact that I had doubled my work until I was halfway through baking. The cookies weren't finished until 4 a.m. the morning of competition. Lesson learned!)

I have absolutely no bragging rights when it comes to this competition, as I have yet to win in any of the categories. But when you're competing against people who begin training for the event in January by testing every last one of Martha Stewart's cookie recipes, there's going to be some real contenders. Needless to say, we always come home with some very yummy loot.

This year was Eily's first Cookie Day. While she did nothing to really help (other than sleep long enough to give me time to bake my cookies the night before), I think she still had a good time. She was more excited about playing with pals Liam and Mia than the cookies, though. This ended up being a good thing since Jesse and I ran away with Nic and Andy that evening to go see New Moon . (Please keep all comments to yourself. We are well aware that the Twilight saga is not "high art.") Debbie and Gary were nice enough to babysit the kids for us, and even snapped a few pictures on my camera while we were gone.




Eily: What the heck is this thing??
Liam: I'm not sure, but let me hold your binky while you figure it out.




Liam: Just taking a pit stop between play times.
Gary: When are these kids going to bed? I'm pooped!
Debbie: Aw, the baby fell asleep in my arms.
Eily: Sweet! If I just pretend I'm sleeping, maybe she won't put me down in the pack & play!




Gary: Seriously....when are the kids going to bed?


The rest of our usual Christmas traditions won't happen until this coming weekend, when we go to visit my family in CT. My niece's birthday is the 28th, and we always stick around to celebrate with her. I've already been informed that she is having a princess-themed birthday party. Guess I need to dig out my tiara.

As for new traditions, we're going to make things up as we go along. Christmas Eve will be spent here at the house. We're going to order Chinese food for dinner and maybe sit around watching movies together. After doing presents and breakfast (I'm thinking chocolate chip pancakes...mmmmm!) on Christmas morning, we'll head over to the Nog at Noon celebration hosted by our friend Nathan's aunt, Carol. We attended this event on our very first Christmas in PA, when we were too poor to travel home to see either of our families, and it was a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again as we haven't been back since that year. Next week we'll be heading down to Virginia for the annual New Year's at Nic & Andy's place, giving Eily the chance to hang out with her main squeeze, Liam, for a few days.

That's the plan anyway...check back soon for any corrections to the agenda! I'll leave you all with a pic of the Christmas elf staying with us this year:

Odds & Ends

Hello once again. We're going to skip over the usual introduction of "I'm lame. I don't post enough. So busy. Blah, blah, blah." By now, you should all just expect a very long wait between posts. Instead, we're going to dive right in and discover just what's been going on around here for the past (eek!) 3 weeks. (Here's where I let you in on a little secret. I can barely remember what happened yesterday, so the only way to accurately recall anything is to dig through the past three week's worth of photos on the camera. Thank the stars for digital technology!) Is everyone ready? Well then, put your safety belts on and get ready for the adventure.

3...2...1.... Lift off!!



So, a few days before my last post, we traveled out to Cherry Hill to hang with the adopted family (the Hartman/Arcani/Shilliday clan) for a little Nic & Julie birthday fun. What better way to feed an army of people than to serve up some awesome Mexican food (thanks Debbie!)? Still a better question, what better way to enjoy a Mexican meal than to pop open a bottle of Mezcal? The trouble with such ideas, however, is the sudden need to prove one's masculinity in front of a crowd. Not mine, of course. I'm man enough without needing to prove it. Umm....anyway, moving on.

Jesse, Andy, and Andy's dad Jim decided to prove themselves by eating the Mezcal worm. First of all, let me tell you - that sucker was huge! Second, it had a strange, almost armor-like shell. And third, after chopping it into thirds, the guys were told they actually had to chew it. Sounds like fun, right? Jesse's face describes the experience better than any words in my lexicon, so I'll let that speak for me.

Meanwhile, Eily was practicing her plant whisperer skills. This girl seriously has a vegetation obsession. I think she gets it from her Grandma Mary, who possesses the most powerful green thumb in the world. Eily needs a little work, though. Currently her only abilities are grabbing, smooshing, and attempting to eat any plant she sees. Sure, it's an effective means of heavy pruning, but I'm thinking a more gentle approach should be cultivated in our future little gardener.



Back on the home front the following week, I decided the time had come to tackle the next project on our never-ending list of home renovations. The kitchen. (Gulp.) Daunting though it seemed, I somehow managed to empty our kitchen of all its contents and relocate everything to the dining room. Here's the proof:



Now, I know. It looks a bit "busy." But when you consider everything from our kitchen short of the stove and kitchen sink made it into this room, I say it's pretty darn impressive. (Note, the refrigerator is, of course, not in the dining room either, but since it doesn't reside in the kitchen to begin with, it doesn't count.) Next step? Rip up the ugly linoleum floor and refinish the hardwood underneath. Then onto the fun demo - tearing out the existing cabinetry! Oh, how I love a project!

Alright, this brings us to the week of Thanksgiving. (Look, I know the post is long, but seriously, there's a lot to talk about! Go refill your coffee cup, grab a snack, and get back here to finish the story. You know you want to.) Two big milestones were reached this week. First, Eily rolled over from back to belly. Of course, I don't have any video or pictures because she insisted on only doing it when I wasn't looking. I could literally be sitting right next to her on the floor watching and waiting without so much as an attempt on her part, but as soon as I turned my head for a couple of seconds, she would roll. This put her in the much abhorred position of being on her tummy, however, so she would promptly flip right back over again onto her back.

The second big milestone is really a two-parter. At the beginning of November, at 4 months old, we began feeding Eily rice cereal. Her introduction to solids was due in part to her constant interest in my and Jesse's plates of food whenever we ate. The cereal satiated her desire to eat big people food for a time, but being the genius my daughter is, she soon figured out that her cereal was not something Daddy or I would ever willingly put into our own mouths. So on Thanksgiving, we introduced her to the world of vegetables. Or butternut squash, at least. She couldn't get enough! We somehow missed out on getting a photo of the experience (read: we are the worst parents ever), but here's a picture of the little miss in her super cute Thanksgiving outfit (thanks Nic!).



Yes, I know, she's flashing us. It's quite obvious she's Jesse's daughter. Sigh....

The next night was my (gasp!) ten year high school reunion. We had a really good turnout, but I was surprised when Jesse (who had a great time, go figure) befriended a guy named Jeremy, whom I never really spent much time hanging out with back in the day. When you graduate in a class of 99 people, it's pretty hard not to know everyone, but seriously, it was like these two had grown up together and I was the outsider. Ah well, at least I didn't have to feel bad about dragging him to the reunion. I enjoyed catching up with everyone - most of whom I lost touch with after high school because, let's face it, I'm really bad about that sort of thing. More importantly, however, Eily survived her first babysitting experience with Grampy and Mémère. Apparently, she decided since she was old enough to be left with others, she was also big enough to hold her own bottle. Kathy sent me this photo with the tagline, "I'd rather do it myself."



That brings us to the last week or so. This past weekend we found a great way to spend the Sunday together as a family. Baby Loves Disco! Originally, I found the event on the calendar for a mother's group I just joined. I didn't end up meeting anyone from the group while we were there, though. Still, it wasn't a total wash. Tons of people showed up, and Eily even made a little friend named Rosie. They had a lot to talk about, as you can see.



Daddy enjoyed getting out and dancing with the wee lass, too.



And finally on the list of things to tell you all about: Baby Story Hour at the Yardley Library. Not exactly an earth-shattering, life-changing event, but we went for the first time yesterday morning and Eily loved it. I've been thinking lately that we need to get out of the house more and spend some time near other little kids so Eily can get some socialization, and after yesterday I'm only more convinced of this. She loved the stories, which were geared towards kids her age through maybe two years. But more so, she had a great time watching the slightly older kids - one year to about 18 months - walking, clapping, and talking. She couldn't take her eyes off of them! I think this is just the kind of thing she needs, since at home she only has me to talk to (boring!).

The nice part was that they gave everyone there a copy of last year's One Book, Every Young Child story, entitled "If You Were a Penguin." When Daddy got home last night, he sat and read it again with Eily, which she greatly enjoyed.



And that brings us to this morning. Eily had a miserable night, mostly due to the stupid tooth/teeth she's getting that have yet to actually make an appearance. I really hope by my next blog they'll be here because she is very cranky about the whole process. BUT, she's learned how to give hugs recently, and she does it every time we pick her up, so she's still pretty darn cute despite the grumpy moments when she's aboard the Fuss Bus. Kisses aren't far away either, I'm thinking, since her new trick is to press her open mouth on my cheek and suck with all her might. Kind of like the "kiss of the algae eater" - a little wet and slimy but I'll take it!

Until next time, here's one last shot of our little half-pint, taken last night while hanging out with Daddy. (Pardon the avocado she somehow managed to get on her sweater despite wearing the biggest bib ever.)

Eily's 2009 World Tour (Part 1)

Okay, perhaps the title is a bit hyperbolic. Eily didn't exactly tour the "world," but I think the northern half of the eastern seaboard is pretty darn close when you're only three and a half months old! So here it is, the post you've all been waiting for (though I hope you weren't holding your breaths in the process).

We embarked upon our adventure on Friday, October 9. Eily, as usual, was a perfect traveler. Unfortunately, traffic held us up a bit. We made a quick stop in Stafford to introduce Eily to her Great-great-auntie Ellie before zipping up to Ashford to spend the night at Dad & Kathy's. This gave Eily a break from the carseat and Jesse a break from driving. (Side note - I LOVE the Honda Fit, but the rear-facing infant carseat takes up a ton of space in there. As a result, the passenger seat remains in what I like to call the "Look, I can lick the windshield!" position. Needless to say, I'm the lucky one who gets to sit there all of the time. On a positive note, I never have to drive when the three of us travel. Score!)

Saturday morning found us waking at an obscene hour, something I'm sure Kathy agrees to. But hey, we had an 11 a.m. wedding to get to in Maine (or should I say, northern New Hampshire?). Contrary to popular belief, some new parents can and do make it places on time, and we wanted to make sure that was known. We arrived in plenty of time and had a heel-clicking good time at the nuptials of Rich & Amy, where Eily made her rounds on the dance floor and flirted with her future husband, Liam. The day's highlight? I'll have to say it was the surprise of hearing Enter the Haggis piping through the speakers and the immediate storm of dancers hitting the floor, whether they knew the song or not. Rich & Amy, you guys rock!

Now, those of you who know my track record for weddings, you're probably asking, "Where's the picture of Jessa catching the bouquet and the picture of Jesse's face looking on in horror?" Well, I'll admit it. I didn't partake in the bouquet toss. Not that I wouldn't have enjoyed marching out on the floor and sticking with tradition. But the life of a mother is not always conducive to keeping some traditions alive. Sure enough, Eily decided just minutes before the bouquet toss that it was time to eat. Nicole even ran into the ladies' sitting room to tell me to get out there. Something about catching the bouquet with Eily latched on just didn't seem right to me, though, so I stayed put. (I wonder now, however, would anyone have fought me for it? Probably not!)

The crazy fun of the wedding was followed up by an after party at the home of Amy's parents. This would have been tons of fun, had Eily not decided it was suddenly tantrum time. I spent the majority of the time there trying to convince her to go to sleep. Apparently, I'm not very convincing. She decided crying was a better idea, so we left early and made it back to the hotel by 9p.m., along with our roommates for the night: Nicole, Andy, and Liam (who quickly became the source of Jesse and Andy's entertainment, as you can see here).




So here's a riddle for you: What do you get when you cross two sets of parents and two babies with a long day of partying?

Any guesses?

Okay, I'll tell you. You get six people in bed before 10p.m. On a Saturday night. At least we had the decency to recognize the fact at the time and admit to our complete and utter lameness. We made up for this the following day, however, with a trip into Ogunquit where we walked the Marginal Way.

(And here's the spot in the blog where a
picture should be, but for some reason,
I don't see one in the folder Jesse created
for our pictures from this trip. Grrr!!!)

After parting ways with the Shillidays, it was back in the car to make the trek north to Bangor. But not without a pit stop in Freeport for some shopping, of course!

And here is where I leave you for now. Coming up in the next blog: Do we make it through the wilderness of Maine to Bangor? Does Eily survive her first climbing trip? And what happens when a recently fed Eily is played with by Curtis? Tune in next time to find out!