Family Time

Harry can't quite participate in mealtime yet, but he refuses to sit on the sidelines.

Elmo joins us for dinner.

We finally found a good use for the Elmo swim diapers.

Brice's birthday

We celebrated Brice's second birthday this past weekend. Our little man turned two years old. It hardly seems possible. It feels like a few weeks ago that we brought him home from the hospital and sat on the couch to watch Grey's Anatomy while he slept peacefully on Seth's chest. Now he's two. The days may drag, but the years fly by. We got him a (what else?) Elmo cake and Nana and Papa got him a tricycle and a Rockin' Elmo. When I brought the cake out, right after this picture was taken, he stuck his hand in the candle and managed to put out the flame with his index finger. Woops--didn't see that one coming!

Seattle ( i love you )

Bainbridge Island

lunch

Harry and me in front of a delicious Russian bakery (when you see a picture of a smiling Anthony Bourdain with the staff, you know it's good. and it was.)

the iconic shot

We had a great time in Seattle--such a cool city with a really cool vibe. The whole city smells like a faint mix of coffee and patchouli. It was supposed to rain everyday, but we managed to get in -- and out-- without seeing any. It did, however, snow one day. This was more of a shock to the locals than to us. Apparently they're not used to snow in the winter (why don't i live there??). We stayed downtown and had a view of the bay and mountains from our bed. We ate raw oysters at the same restaurant where Tom Hanks and Rob Reiner had their "tiramisu conversation." We bought a couple crabs and had a picnic of crabs and beer in our room while Harry slept. We visited the best bookstore in the world, then rode the ferry to Bainbridge Island and had dinner down by the marina (where Harry sampled his first garlic and mashed potatoes dish). Perhaps the best thing was being forced to be on Harry's schedule. We shared a room with him, so while he slept, so did we--15 hours a day.

Vacation's all I ever wanted...

Vacation had to get away!!! (brings back memories, doesn't it??).
So, yes: we're going on vacation. And by "we" I mean me, Seth, and Harry. Since Brice isn't in his most easy-going stage of life, and since he adores his grandparents, we decided to leave him here and have Nana and Papa come and stay/play with him. We jetting off to Seattle on Wednesday. We originally had this planned in mid-January when it was freezing outside (not that much has changed). We figured even though Seattle isn't exactly Cabo, it has to be a little warmer, right? Sort of. Latest weather prediction is that it will be about 5 degrees warmer ... and raining everyday. But we're getting away. We're going to strap Harry into the Ergo and just walk in the rain. We're going to visit the MotherShip (the original Starbucks), watch them throw fish in Pike's Place, go that big ole bookstore, maybe to a coffee crawl. We're going to sleep lots and eat local, and have a good time with the little bean.

What is up with my children???

Raising Brice is killing me. It really is. He turns two tomorrow and has the attitude to prove it. We're entering the "I want to do everything myself" phase. Except that he can't actually say this. He does talk, but it's more like he says things that only we can interpret. He mostly screams and yells and throws tantrums. And his newest thing is that he does not nap. He's exhausted, but he stands in his crib and talks, then yells, then screams. For hours. I refuse to get him up, so that he can bug me and cry and cling and scream when he should be sleeping. So I leave him. And he usually falls asleep after 2 or 2.5 hours. This sucks. Harry has been screaming through the night recently. Now that he's 8 months old, I (and Seth and the good Dr.) think he should start sleeping through the night. Harry does not agree. This week I had three nights in a row where I slept maybe 4 hours combined. And i'm so stressed out by the lack of sleep and the general existence of Brice that even when I could sleep, I can't. Someone please remind me. Why did I have children????

Recent shots of the boys

Harry finally sitting up on his own and enjoying some delicacies.

Brice shows Harry how to make the music play. Good big brother.

Brice gets a big boy/"i'm not a girl" haircut. Cute!!

Helping dad get dressed in the morning.

Delicious, isn't he?

"Winter in Chicago" or "How to be sick for three months straight"

Before I had children, I never minded the winters in Chicago. The bitter winds, occasional blizzards, neverending freezing temps. Now, it is different. Besides the whole being stuck inside a small-ish condo with nowhere to go if I did manage to get everyone coated up and down the stairs and in the stroller/car, I forgot to factor in the sickness thing. I didn't realize how often kids got sick in the winter and how quickly and tenaciously it spreads to the rest of us. Last year, Brice got one cold that lasted a week. No biggie. This year, we are on our third major illness. First, Brice got a nasty cold that went on and on and on. Went to the doctor who examined Brice and pronounced him "sick but basically healthy." (Brice was so out of sorts and so NOT into being examined that when the doctor tried to listen to him breathe, Brice donkey kicked him in a very sensitive area. Once the doctor recovered, he made a comment to the effect of "he's a strong one, isn't he?" Yes, he is.) I don't remember the date, but it was the day Rod Blagoevich got arrested.
Then, two weeks into January, Brice got another nasty cold, complete with phlegmy cough and drippy nose and goopy eyes and sour attitude. Harry then contracted the same thing with an added bonus: ear infection. This lasted two weeks. We had a week or so of relatively good health, then Brice, Harry, and Seth got some nasty GI bug. Seth was better in 36 hours, but the boys are still fighting something. They've stopped throwing up, but still have diarrhea. Bad. And they're not eating much. And while Harry remains pretty happy, Brice is back to his old ornery self. And I am still doing laundry, disinfecting everything they come in contact with and praying I don't get whatever they have. Because it's ugly.
But we've almost made it. It's almost Spring. Warm weather. No more big puffy coats. And hopefully no more sick, hacking, poopy, ornery children.