Goodbye, old friend

You will be missed, especially in the morning.

Getting the shot

Got it!!!

More pics from the weekend

Harry's first birthday cake

Getting a little love from Brice

My sweet little guy; so much more cuddly than his brother. I love him for it.

Brice, despite all warning and threats, splashes Harry.

Harry would not sit still for a picture.

Harry's First Birthday, or We Made It!!!!!

This past weekend we celebrated Harry's first birthday (which actually took place on June 30th). I still can't quite believe we made it. I really can't believe it's been a year!!! I remember bringing him home from the hospital, Seth driving and me and Harry in back. It was lovely in Chicago and Harry was snoozing and I thought, "this is as peaceful as it's going to be for a while." And while, yes, I tend to look on the not-so-bright side of life at times, I was right on that one!

Harry was colicky just like his brother, and Brice, who has never been easy or remotely mild-mannered, took his tempers and attitude to new, dizzying heights. It was rough, rough going for a while. Even after Harry stopped crying, Brice kept on raging. In January we enrolled him (not even two years old!) in preschool. More for my sanity and to extend Brice's life expectancy than anything else. But it's done us all a world of good and it seems that his tantrums and raging are waning. He actually likes his brother, now, too. He hated Harry for a long time and we weren't able to get a picture of them together for nine months. NINE months!!!

Harry is the sweetest, happiest little guy now. He eats like a teenager and only screams if you put him in his highchair without immediately putting a dish full of food in front of him. I'm telling you, the boy can eat!!!! He only weighs just over 20 pounds (12%; not that we care) and he's in the 68% for height (really, we're not keeping track). He's only in the 40% for head circumference, though (but who remembers the percentiles anyway, right?) He's not walking, but he pulls up on everything and everyone and he babbles all day long.

We are hugely grateful to God and to everyone who helped us all get through this year: my parents who helped out whenever they could, especially my mom who came at the drop of a hat when I didn't think I could go on; Seth's parents who prayed us through this year and took over all care of the boys, the house, and myself when they came to visit; Caitlin, our part-time nanny who is the loveliest, most patient person you could hope to have helping care for your kids.
And here's a quick shout-out to the inanimate objects that we couldn't have done without, too: the BOB Duallie, the Ergo, and of course...Elmo!!

My cutie pies

I'm not crazy!

I was talking to my downstairs neighbor the other day and she asked if everything was okay with Brice. "Fine," I replied. As fine as they can be with a two year old. She went on to say that last Sunday, early afternoon, her husband came out of the office and said he could hear Brice upstairs. "Wow, poor Danielle," he said. Yes, I remember it well. We had just returned from church and Brice had one bee or another in his bonnet and was throwing one heck of a fit. Nothing out of the ordinary for him. It was so loud that the light fixture in the downstairs office was shaking!
I should have been embarrassed. Mortified.
I was elated. I felt justified. I've been telling people how Brice has these tantrums--not everyday, but just about--that just blow your eardrums. He screams uncontrollably. He thrashes. He wails. He goes completely over the edge and can't calm down. Sometimes Seth and I can talk him down from the ledge. Sometimes we can maintain our calm and let him scream it out (it can take as little as 15 minutes, or can go on for over an hour). Sometimes we jump off the cliff with him and we all end up screaming and crying.
This has been going on for over a year. We are tired. Someday this will change, people tell us. Sometimes we believe them.
But in the meantime, it's nice to have other people taste the madness and tell us we're not crazy.

Four years!!!

Four years ago today we took the plunge in Grand Rapids and got hitched. It's been the busiest, craziest, happiest four years of my life. Herewith, our marriage in numbers:

Two cities (NYC and Chicago)
Three homes
Two water leaks
One lawsuit (more on that at some point)
Two babies
Eight months of screaming (the kids that is)
Three jobs
Four strollers
Four carseats

Lots of traveling
Lots of visiting
Lots of family
Lots of meeting
Lots of leaving

Lots of Love

Happy Anniversary, baby!