The Surprise

Like I said, I wanted an uneventful and monotonous year... so I thought to myself:

"Hey, you.  Ray starting his new job on Monday sounds beyond-boring, why don't you kick things up to regular-boring by flying across the country with a toddler and a newborn by yourself?"  

So, I did.  I could bore you with all the details (cue stories of a 3 hour airport delay, a 1 hour in-plane delay for "mechanical issues", the 72 year old man who lugged Roscoe's car seat across O'Hare for me (shout out to Ron and Arleen!), the double blow out (one each) right before boarding our plane home, a travel day with no toddler nap and no toddler sleep till 11:30pm, the flight attendant who brought Rocs a warm chocolate chip cookie from first class, an inconsolably crying duet till 4:30am, me wondering (while biting my nails) when I ate mustard because of the yellow under my thumb nail and realizing I hadn't but I had recently changed Luka's diaper *yak*...) but really, who wants to hear all that crap (pun intended)?  Instead I will tell you that it was worth all of it to spend a few days with my brother.  

I loved just hanging out with him (and his roommate Mick by default) and whoever else happened to be visiting.  I loved getting to see the gym where he has been working out and learning his "new tricks" as Heather likes to call them.  I especially loved seeing him hold newborn Luka and interact with Roscoe.  

This was such a different trip to Chicago for me.  I normally run around a lot more seeing friends and family.  I also always have pizza.  And NEVER visit Mom without a haircut or color or highlight.  But I didn't do any of that.  I saw my parents (some), but really I just took care of Luka (and Roscoe when he wasn't entertained by Ahmoo or his cousins) and hung out at the hospital.  It was exactly what I needed and I was not ready to leave him.  Nothing like cornering your brother while he is stuck in a bed/wheelchair in the hospital and subjecting him to whatever thoughts popped in your head to deepen that sibling bond.  I will always treasure the memory of the look on his face when he saw me walk in the room.  First shock, then confusion, then understanding and tears (all around).  When I booked my tickets I didn't know where Mitchel would be or what a visit might look like.  And I definitely knew I wouldn't be much help with little ones in tow.  My only mission for this trip (besides the selfish one of seeing him myself) was to show Mitchel how crazy much I love him.  I hope he felt it.  Because it is SO TRUE.

He wouldn't even take his jacket off or eat lunch at Ahmoo's - he was mesmerized by that toy box.  And Skokie-Cat:

Hogging Uncle Mitch's hospital bed.  Better than what Roscoe did pushing all the buttons and sending Mitchel up and down and then unlocking the bed so it slid across the room.  Oops.:

Thankfully Ahmoo did trim the mullet (and Roscoe loved it!):

Someone found Ahmoo's brush stash and figured out how to turn on her mirror... got to look GOOD for the cousins!:

Not in my arms and not crying - this is exciting people:

Cousins!:

Proud Uncle of a burrito Luka:

One of his therapist's challenges - playing Jenga while balancing on one leg:

Cousin Kyle is a pro at baby-holding:

Date night (with me and Luka as third and fourth wheel):

Auntie Heather sure knows how to win over kids:

Brynn chatting with Luka:

The Little Ladies in their Jammies:

Rocs and Troy.  And yes, this was the best of the four I took:

Loving Uncle Mitch's chair:

Grandpa meeting Luka:

Heather surprised Mitchel and brought the kids to visit:

Luka and Jayce hogging Mitchel's bed.  My bet is that Jayce will grow into that head about the same time as Luka grows into that hairdo:

Happy 1 Month, Luka!

I can't believe it's been a MONTH already.  I can't believe it's ONLY been a month.  I can't believe I have a daughter.  It is all so life changing and yet the change was so subtle as she just tucked into our family like she'd always been here.  It has been an exciting month with the birthdays and Christmas and Uncle Mitch's accident and all.  Here are some other little family tidbits from the past few weeks:

* Roscoe has definitely acted out more for our attention, but has shown nothing but love to Luka.  He loves to "carry" her and give her kisses and tell her he loves her.

* At her 1 month appointment with Dr. Donna, Luka is still holding steady in the 80th percentile.  She is perfectly healthy and now tips the scales at over 10 pounds.  She even got her first acupuncture treatment (Dr. Donna is also a licensed acupuncturist) for her gassy belly, which makes her so restless and fussy and prevents her (and us) from sleeping.

* Roscoe knocked out Basi's front tooth (disclaimer: it was already loose) playing "a little too rough" (i.e. normal for Roscoe).

* I rang in the new year changing Luka's poopie diaper - I glanced at the clock and noticed it was 11:59pm as I started.  Welcome to 2012!

* Roscoe has taken up a new, er, hobby... extreme nose picking.  Not only has he been known to double finger pick during storytime at the library, he also digs for blood.  The other day when I went to get him from his nap he had leaked through his diaper and his sheets were soaked and his face was covered in dried blood (not the only time this has happened) and I did have the fleeting thought - is this really normal?!  Well, it is for him.  He also used his new toy screwdriver to pick his nose and then played with the blood drips on the tile.

* I have discovered The Most Annoying Sound in the World: someone else snoring while your over-tired self lies awake.  The other night Ray was snoring so loud that I was practically shouting his name to wake him (and looking for something to throw at him).  When he finally woke up he sleep-talked two things: "It wasn't me" and "I wasn't even sleeping."  He is lucky I had Luka in my arms or he would have woken up with a black eye.  After he had made me coffee the next morning we had a rolling good laugh about it.  

* Luka is a champion hiccuper.  If such a thing as a hiccuping contest existing, I think she would have a good shot at winning.  She hiccups often and they are huge - her whole body jerks and shakes.  She accepts them for a few minutes and then starts to cry in protest and I can't say I blame her.

* Roscoe has developed a Robot Accent in his speech.  Especially with commands.  HOLD IT.  EAT IT.  CATCH IT.  One day, as the words "Small Wonder" popped into my head, Ray said "remember that TV show where the girl was a robot..."  Yeah, that is our son.  (And, seriously, what a creepy premise for a show!)

* Luka is smiling more often these days.  When her belly is full and her butt is clean, she loves to give a sweet and lazy smile.  Baby smiles really do have magic powers.

* Speaking of, Roscoe has learned the magic power of batteries.  I believe this happened when he got the Red Car for his birthday and the batteries made it run.  Since then he has wondered (aloud) what else batteries might help.  When the water hose doesn't squirt water when he presses the button - batteries?  When he tries to blow up a balloon to no avail - batteries?  You get the idea.  Love seeing the wheels turning in his mind and the connections he makes.    

A month left before I go back to work and I am soaking up the days...

Rocs' Second Birthday!

I can't believe our little Roo is already 2.  The years really do go by so quickly.  Ray was joking that, even though Roscoe was born on Christmas Eve, his birthday is more like Hanukkah because we celebrate it for weeks!  The morning of his birthday Roscoe didn't even know what the word "present" meant.  We had to try and get him excited to open gifts and he was completely apathetic.  (Fast forward  24 hours and he was running around yelling "PRESENT!  TOYS!"  I guess this is the end of innocence in that regard...)  He got some Mega Blocks, a train, a CAT truck, Veggie Tales DVD and a doctor kit.  We had to keep reminding him to open the other presents because he was too focused on the ones he had already opened.  (Note to self - one present is plenty).

What exactly am I supposed to do here?

Ahhh, now I get it:

After his nap we went to his family party at Lala's.  He didn't really know what to do with the birthday cake and candles either.  Lala had made him a cake with plastic animals on it and he just wanted to play with the animals (pushing them in and out of the cake...)  When she tried to get him to blow out his candles he grabbed them instead of blowing them out (hence the scream face).  Once he recovered he was back to playing with the animals and didn't have much interest in the actual cake.  Although he did eat all of the blackberries off of the top (with Diwa's help) so no one else got any!  

And guess what he got for his birthday from Lolo and Lala... a trampoline (as if he doesn't hit his head enough!).  You can imagine he LOVES it.  Here is some synchronized cousin jumping, complete with birthday hat:

One more of him building "castles" with his new blocks:

Then a couple of weeks later we had his friend birthday party, which included mostly non-walking kids, but Roscoe still had a blast.  For posterity, the friends that attended were Nachi, Adam, Xander, Logan, Basi, Diwa and Arya.  His buddies Oliver, Dario, Jordan and Maxwell had other plans...  We did a brunch with crepes (Ray's specialty), bread pudding and breakfast muffins.  Plus coffee and mimosas for the adults!

Lovely Nani coming to play with Rocs even on her day off (and his beloved Red Car from Sercio & Ava):  

Sam, Arya, Patti & Nachi:

Lisa & Logan (Uncie had her in head-to-toe Tap Out gear!): 

The cake (still more interested in the animals than the candles or the cake):

Confused?  Overwhelmed? Basking in the attention? of the Happy Birthday song:

He must have dreamed about his amazing party and playing with his friends and eating Daddy's crepes because when he woke up from his nap, while still laying in bed he asked "soccer ball? berries?"

This kid has perpetual Bedhead-of-the-Year hair:

The 3-piece from Jeff & Tati!:

Such a handsome little ham:

Kissies:

He also had his two year doctor appointment with Dr. Donna where he got to do a complete exam on her stuffed horse as she did her exam on him (he loved it).  He is still in the 50th percentile for height, but only the 16th (!!) percentile for weight.  If the boy would EVER sit still and eat he might pack on another pound or two.  Something to work on for year three...