Parenting on Memorial Day = F

Yes, Tom and I flunked parenting on Memorial Day when we decided that if we stayed in the shade, it would be fine to drag our 6 week old baby and toddler to an outdoor Memorial Day picnic on a day with record setting 93 degree weather. What were we thinking, you ponder? We don't know either.

We spent most of our short time there alternating who should take Tommy inside the air-conditioned building while the other hurriedly shoveled down potato salad and shrimp that were baking in the sun. It culminated with me feeding Tommy in the car with air conditioning blasting in the parking lot. Still, Patrick got a balloon spider, I drank half of a pina colada before it melted, and no one had to go to the ER, so no harm done.

P.S. Exercise T.V. rocks.

Happy Birthday TWO You!

Dear Patrick,

Someday I hope you read this blog and think that you had a happy childhood-we are doing our best to help you grow into a great little person.

You love cars and trucks. You are the quiet kid in playgroups who likes to watch before jumping in. You have the most sheepish grin just before the word "No" comes out of your mouth in a whisper. You call everyone "man" (ladies, don't take it personally) and are still a horrible eater. You have started spitting out food, which is not an attractive quality. You say "I do!" in a way that makes us all smile. You stomp your feet and spin in circles when you don't get your way. You love ice cream cones and M&M's and peeps. You won't eat much meat, but would drink a gallon of milk if we let you. You still deny it when you poop in your diaper and are even learning to blame your brother when I ask you if you about it. You haven't stopped drooling since the day you were born. You truly love your new brother. All you want to do every minute of every day is swing.

You are our Patrick, perfect in every way to us. Happy 2nd Birthday!

This was P's gift from his Baba and Grampy-our present is slightly delayed due to technical difficulties and pool time...

That A Boy!

Nope, this is not a post on Tommy's first bath, although this picture did come from that non-momentous event (the kid just lays there during tub time-hasn't made a peep yet). Rather, I am bragging that this past Friday was actually the first time Tommy took a bath and didn't pee in the same water he is bathed in. Good job, kiddo!

Summer's Beginnings

I didn't have energy to drag out the pool (yesterday late afternoon/early evening Tommy was up for over 7 hours straight), but I decided it was time to introduce P to the sprinkler. Once he figured out he could drink from it, he was hooked. Do you remember playing outside all day as a kid and not bothering to go inside for a drink? The hose spicket worked just fine. Now it is all filtered and bottled water. (sigh). I am also in love with this Gymboree one piece swimsuit I got on clearance last summer for like $10. Love, love end of season sales as much as summer itself.

A Message for Daddy at Work

Cake and Corn

Yesterday was Patrick's 2nd birthday party and between the corn on the cob and the cake, he was a happy, happy kid. We had just the grandparents and our siblings over to keep things simple, but even so I was EXHAUSTED by the end of the day. Still, it was worth it, especially to watch Patrick's expression when he first saw his cake.

Patrick and his cousins, Jack and Nathan eyeing up the sugarfest...

My sister gave Patrick a whole ear of corn and he loved it.

The soon-to-be birthday boy just before we sang and had cake.

(This morning it was tough to get out of bed. After getting Patrick his milk and feeding Tommy, I made myself a much-needed steaming cup of coffee from the Keurig. Only problem was, I forgot the coffee cup. Oops)

Let the Festivities Begin!

A special, extra-giggly boy is turning two next weekend, but we are celebrating with a birthday cookout dinner tomorrow. If you are a loyal blog follower, you might recall that for P's first birthday, I made an Ernie cake that I was pretty proud of. I debated skipping making P's cake this year and buying one from my favorite bakery, but then I decided P deserved a fun cake, baby or no baby. Soooo... equipped with directions for an online recipe I found, I collected all the necessary ingredients-can you guess what it could be other than loaded with everything sugar?

From start to finish: One hour and 15 minutes.

It begins with a thawed Sara Lee frozen pound cake, cut into two sections, then covered with icing.

Add some donuts and we are almost ready to roll.

Okay, if you haven't guessed bulldozer after the next photo, you need to repeat construction vehicles 101...

And the final detail? Crumbled chocolate graham crackers. Here she is-the official Pohl second annual birthday cake creation. I can't wait for P to see it tomorrow (I made it during his nap today). While I would have liked for it to be a little neater, I was trying to also contend with a baby during assembly.

Bring on the birthday!

Do I Smell Like Baby Spit Up?

This was the question I posed to Tom yesterday as he hugged me upon his arrival home. The answer-yes (of course). Both my boys are spitter-uppers. Patrick has worn a bib for most of his short life for either spit-up or drool protection. So I began thinking about how Patrick and Tommy will differ in their preferences and physical appearances, or what similarities they will share.

Both boys are good sleepers, and neither really fussed much as newborns. However, Patrick immediately took to a pacifier and Tommy seems agitated when I try to put one anywhere near his mouth.

Patrick has always been at the low end of the weight spectrum for his age despite being born at over 9 lbs. Tommy had his one month check-up today and weighed in at a whopping 11 lbs (79th percentile for weight).

Patrick was born with a strip of hair down the middle of his head that resembled a mohawk. Tommy on the other hand seems to have the least amount of hair in the middle.

Both kiddos have/had baby acne in the first few weeks.

Tommy is trying to set a new world record for longest umbilical cord stump attachment. He still has not lost it and therefore has not had a bath yet, so I can't compare bath experiences.

Still, despite the differences and the gap in age, these two already seem like best friends...

Big brother reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear to Tommy.

And what one is doing, the other will ultimately want to do as well...

And as for me, I am still exhausted most of the time. Tommy gave me a good 6 hour chunk of sleep last night and I am just waiting for the grunting I hear from his crib right now to stop before I climb into bed.

Stay tuned for some posts this weekend: we celebrate Patrick's birthday Sunday (a week early) and Tom is building his birthday present-a swing set-this Saturday! My son may permanently reside in our backyard once it is completed. I'll have to feed him breakfast, lunch and dinner there he loves swinging so much. Also, I am trying to top my Ernie cake from last year so Saturday I will be in the kitchen whipping up my creation.

Brotherly Love

It is Monday morning, and our little group has no intention of getting out of our PJs today-it is raining and cool out, and we have no place we must be. So instead, we our getting in lots of hugs and kisses between brothers.

Weekend Recap

Every spare minute this weekend was spent outside on the yard- we still have tons of weeding to do and lots of mulch to move, but we did check a lot off our to-do list:

Tom hung my hanging basket hardware and I finished the basket plantings-our deck is starting to look entertainment-worthy for the summer. I also created a flower bed in between the deck and stone patio.

This was my Saturday morning accomplishment- 2 hours of weeding and mulching and my front left flower bed is done!

The first thing you see when you park at the end of the driveway was this small slope that was pretty boring- we will see how these climbing vines actually do. This project would have been easier had I not been harassed by two cardinals who had a nest in a nearby tree.

Our goal is to be done with all the major lawn maintenance before mid June so we can enjoy summer. In reality, we should have all of our projects done in September.

P.S. I somehow have managed to get poison ivy (or poison oak) AGAIN. I wasn't even working anywhere near the suspect sites. Oh well.

Nursery

With all the excitement of having a new baby in the house, I realized I never posted Tommy's finished nursery photos. He has been sleeping in his room for a few days now.

I still need to fill in the frame to the far right with a photo of myself...

These embroidered prints were made by Tom's mom for Tom when he was born, so it seemed fitting that they make their way into Tommy's room now.

Looking at the images now, it doesn't seem like that much work went into this little room, but our manpower hours were definitely up there!

Ship Shape

These have been two productive days for our family-with Tom back at work, I ventured to the grocery store yesterday with both boys in tow, followed by the dry cleaner. Back home for laundry, dusting, cleaning toilets, changing beds, and homemade chicken pot pie for both us and our neighbors who our kitchenless as they go through full kitchen remodel with three young boys to feed (she is braver than me by far). I even stole a 40 minute nap somewhere in there.

On the downside, it was not very much fun for Patrick so today we visited our other neighbor who has given us an open invitation to use their swing set. Patrick must have sat in that swing for over an hour, happy as a clam. Afterwards we had lunch and a nap, then headed to the backyard for some yard work. Patrick was my "helper" and we tackled some minor projects to get ready for our summer plantings. Before I even realized it, we were out there over an hour and a half. It felt great to be able to physically wrestle with weeds, dirt and a toddler again, but boy am I zapped now. Tommy also fussed more than usual today and has been hungry all day long. Still, he slept 6 hours last night and I am hoping for a repeat tonight...

These are a few more photos from our Picture People shoot-the new blog photo above is our favorite of course. Patrick can completely be bought for a bag of mini M&M's and a lollipop (for future reference).

Are we boring you, little one?

Mimosas and Sleep

I'd like to say that on this Mother's Day, Tommy decided he liked pacifiers (the below shot is a rare occasion where he actually took one for two minutes), Patrick didn't put food in his hair, I got to get caught up on sleep/nap, and I did not get spit-up on. But that isn't quite my life.

I can say I was loved on a lot my both my boys, and I have a husband who bore my meltdowns today like a champ (getting dressed these days is a highly sensitive issue that usually brings tears). I got coffee in bed, and was rewarded with a tremendously sinful brunch buffet that I was able to share with my mom. I had my much anticipated mimosa. The weather was spectacular. Patrick looked adorable in his puppy-emroidered khaki pants and blue blazer that matched his dad's jacket.

But overall, I am glad Mother's Day is over. I much prefer the everyday norm to this pressure of having a perfectly pampered day. I also prefer sleep which is why this blogger is saying goodnight...

Getting Back

Everyday I feel a little more like myself-not recovering, and not pregnant. I think we may be getting back towards some normalcy. Today, I took Tommy to the doctor for a check-up while my mom stayed home with Patrick. Our little ham weighed in at 10lbs, 6 oz and received a clean bill of health. I can't say he slept much last night, so I am off to sneak a much needed nap...