3 Months Old

Yesterday, Maeve turned FOUR months old, and it occurred to me that I hadn't shared her 3 month pictures!  Father Time keeps marching forward dragging me along behind him, much to my chagrin.

 

It took Herculean effort to get her to sleep for these pictures, but it was worth it!  She is so rosy-cheeked and long-lashed, I just want to kiss her all day long (oh, who am I kidding here, I *DO* kiss her all day long!)

 

 

 

 

Three months old was BEAUTIFUL for Maeve.  Aside from her distaste for her car seat,now that her reflux is under control she's been perfectly manageable, though manage you must.

 

During the day, we follow The Baby Whisperer's EASY routine...

Eat - Activity - Sleep - Your time! 

When Jack was born, MY time, actually WAS my time. 

Now "my" time means laundry-folding time, dinner making time, basement purging time, etc.

 

But the EASY routine has always served me well because it saves you from the trap of nursing the baby to sleep, which is a total quagmire.  Maeve's "activity" these days consists of a diaper change and a rotation through all her favorite spots.  First she hangs out on the changing pad on the kitchen counter (buckled in snugly of course) and talks to the artwork we've drawn for her and taped to the underside of the cabinets for her to enjoy.  Then she heads over to her bouncy seat to stay semi-upright while she digests her meal.  When she lets me know she's done there, we move on to her activity mat, and if she still has energy after that, to tummy time. 

 

On a good day, this can occupy her for the better part of an hour. 

Then when she's good and tuckered out, she gets swaddled from the waist up, buckled into her papasan swing, the white noise gets cranked up high as the swing gets going at top speed. 

 

If all of these things are not done in the proper order and with the proper timing or if, God forbid, we actually need to leave the HOUSE...well then, manageable Maeve becomes a bit of a basket case.

 

But she's still the cutest basket case around!

The Week Through Diptic

1. Baby girl gets gild star for going 5 minutes in the car without crying. It's her new personal record.

2 My favorite coffee shop closed this week. Thank goodness for K-Cups. I'm going to clean Costco out before they disappear forever.

3. THE Glennon Melton from www.monastery.com came to Naperville and signed my copy of her book. Color me grateful!

Daddy's Girl

 

 

 

 

 

I forgot to mention, Cameron is TWO!

I was so completely convinced that I already blogged about Cameron's birthday this year that it's taken me a week of searching my own blog to convince myself that I actually had not.

So here is a belated blogging of the celebration.  We had SO MUCH FUN!!

Here is the fabulous invitation...

 

 

It was a train ticket!!  How perfectly perfect for a boy who LOVES trains!

 

Being a bear of very little brain these days, on our way up to the door I was thinking "Are they prepping for some sort of faux paint treatment on the walkway?"
 

 

No, those are TRAIN TRACKS leading to the party!

How do you spell genius? U-L-I-A thats how!

 

 

Cameron was so excited to have all his favorite people there to celebrate with him.

He was all decked out in his color-coordinated themed birthday tee.

 

"CHOO CHOO, I'M 2!"

it says.

 

 

All the little details were so amazing.  From Cam's cool kicks...

 

 

To the cookie favors Ulia made (the train is the letter "C" - are you kidding me??!)

 

 

 

 

Even the drinks and forks had adorable labels...

Chugga Chugga...
 

 

Chew Chew...

 

 

But this wasn't all theme and no substance...the food was to die for!  Ulia made a huge variety of Mini Strombolis that were out of this world delicious. 
 

 

Tina brought homemade Tiramisu, which Jack and I lapped up like we'd never eaten food before...
 

 

And the Oreo cupcakes were a party in your mouth

(especially for those of us who just got off Gestational Diabetic diets...oh, that would just be me!)

 

 

My favorite detail besides the birthday boy himself, was the CAKE!

 

 

 

 

Cameron liked it too...

 

 

 

The party favors, in similar fashion to the homemade snowman kit Ulia gave out at last year's first birthday fete, was a big bag o'themed party happiness in the form of a train costume and whistle.  The kids were more than happy to play their parts!

 

 

 

 

 This is Cameron's cousin Sophia.  She was Maeve's age at Cam's party last year. 

This year she was WALKING!

Oh no.  Tell me this won't be Maeve in just ten more months?!

My heart can't take it!

 

 

The kids played a rousing game of "who can squish into the cabinet". 

(What, you've never heard of that party game before?)
 

 

 

 

We had so much fun celebrating our little buddy Cam.

He has grown into the most brilliant and adorable toddler!

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Cameron Angelo!

CHOO CHOO! We love you!!

 

 

 

Happy Easter!

Easter this year was only two weeks after St. Patrick's Day - it was a sprint to get the decorations from one down and the other up!  So I enlisted helpers...

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

The weather has been so deplorable and un-springlike that there was no way I could put out my forsythia wreath.  It wasn't even in the realm of plausibility, and would scream "fake flowers!  fake flowers!" at the neighborhood.

 

But pussy willows, I thought, could be pulled off.

Gotta love 50% off sales at Michaels combined with a gift card I overbought at Christmas. 

Score one for me!

 

 

 Then there was the issue of Maeve's first Easter. 

This had to be commemmorated and how else, but with a bunny ear photo shoot!

Sadly, we can now add one more thing to the LONG list of things that Maeve hates.

Bunny ears.  Hated them!

 

So I fooled the eye in these shots - the ears aren't ON her, they are BEHIND her.  It worked!

 

 

 

This next one wasn't a unique camera angle...she was actually falling over, haha!

 

 

 

 

 

And could you just die of cuteness overload at the bunny slippers?

I bought them on a HUGE clearance the year Molly was born.  In fact I bought two pairs they were so stinking cute.  The other I gifted to a friend, but these babies were saved with the sole intention of gracing a baby sister's feet someday down the road.

 

Tah Dah!  It's "Someday!"

 

 

 We pared down our Easter traditions this year, by skipping Church.

Nobody needs to listen to a baby scream in church.

And that's what ours does best these days, so we went to brunch instead at Hugo's Frog Bar and Fish House just like last year.

 

 

 

Brunch was a hit with the kids. 

When asked what their favorite items were, everyone agreed on two clear winners. 

Bacon, and dessert.

(well, duh!)

 

 

 

 

 

Maeve wasn't such a fan, though she screamed herself silly in the car and I finally was able to get her to fall asleep in the restaurant, which is why you only see her stroller in the pictures.  She in there, with jackets piled on top to muffle noise and light, with a white noise app blaring to keep her sedated.

 

 

 

 

Jack was a sweetie and took a few pictures of Marc and I.  He did a great job!

Then it was time for our annual walk downtown.

 

Note that by "downtown" I mean in downtown Naperville.

Here, when you say "downtown" everyone thinks you mean Chicago.

I call that The City. There ain't no "town" about it.

Beantown has some town to it.

That's why we say "We're going in Town" when we're going into Boston.

But Chicago? It's HUGE! Not even the littlest bit townish.

I digress.

Downtown Naperville had it's first sign of Spring saying hello!

Thank HEAVEN, is all I have to say.

 

 

We couldn't believe how deserted the place was. 

 

 

Everyone must have still been at church.

(cue the guilt!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look who woke up!

 

 

Daddy and his crew.

 

 

Molly loves all creatures great and small SO MUCH that she didn't think twice about throwing herself belly first in her Easter dress onto a sidewalk that has seen more than it's fair share goose poop all winter. 

 

 

Jack and Ben would not stand in the same place long enough for me to get a picture with all the kids, so we took two. 

 

 

 

There's Molly doing her Vanna White impersonation again.

Would you look at these shoes, Pat Sajack!

 

Well, I'm out of time for tonight.

Tomorrow, the final installment of the Easter photo-bonanza!

(like this wasn't enough?)