And the winner is...

Now THIS is funny.

Remember my appeal last week for family members to send football paraphenalia to Evan from their various alma-maters? Well folks, we have a winner. And it's not ANY of the usual suspects. Drum roll please....

Score one for the Fightin' Engineers at Rose-Hulman!

And the crowd goes wild...er, wait... the crowd goes, WHO? Huh? Whaa?

A little known fact is that my Uncle Warren attended Rose-Hulman, a small school, known for engineering, in Terre Haute, IN. My first question was, Do they even have a football team? Yes, and in fact, they currently stand at 2-0.

So watch out Notre Dame, Purdue and Virginia Tech... Evan's now rooting for Rose-Hulman!

Are these kids cute or what?

I might be slightly biased, but I think these boys are pretty darn cute. I mean, this whole blog is devoted to showcasing their cuteness. What follows is a shameless amount of pictures of my two boys.

Subliminal messages. Jason hopes that just by listening, Grant will become the world's youngest UFC fighter.

I have no idea what Evan just said to Grant, but it must have been good!

This pic shows off Grant's cute little profile and his sweet right-side-only dimple.

On most days around the house, Evan's ensemble is exactly this: a t-shirt and underwear. It's just so much easier with potty training. The shoes, however, are a new addition--he loves to practice his new skill of putting his own shoes on.

Who says the Backstreet Boys can't make a comeback?

Not a great picture of any of us, but it shows family dinner time.

So color coordinated! And exactly WHAT color are Grant's eyes?? Jason and I are stumped. Some days they look perfectly blue, sometimes they are slate grey and then other times they look brownish green. Maybe they're not done changing?

Bullit manages to find a way to sneak into the family album.

Edible art not age appropriate

When Evan first brought this cute piece of artwork home, each bear had 3 Cheerio buttons.

Sucker

We bought all of these



And all he wants is this



P.T. Barnum said there's one born every minute!

Yeah, what she said

As I surf posts from other blogs in my free (ha!) time, I sometimes find snippets that echo how I feel or what I'm experiencing, but this one really struck a chord:

Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

Excerpted from the Nie Nie Dialogues.

I hope that, by reading and re-reading this, I will remember to slow down a little more and smell the roses.

Calling all family football fanatics

It's that time of year again...football season. And, in our extended family, there are quite a few strong ties to certain school football teams (I'm not mentioning any names lest I be considered biased). Now is your chance to convince our children to root for the best team. Evan has long since outgrown the various t-shirts, onesies, etc. that you all gave to him when he was younger. So, if you're at all concerned about Evan's team allegiance, send him some gear! First come, first served.

Edited to add that Evan's shirt size is 3T.

The Dream Team

Last weekend my grandparents stopped into town to visit with us, and of course, help with any household projects. Their visit turned into an all-day-affair of installing doors. Jason and my grandpa installed new doors between the kitchen and garage and between the garage and back yard. No pics of the doors, but I can assure you they look great. Just a quick pic of Grant & Grandpa (I didn't get a chance to take any pics of Grandma or Evan).

The "Look at" game

Today, the boys and I went to the grocery store. For the entire trip inside the store, Evan played the "Look at" game. It went something like this:

Look at lights Mommy, Look at fans Mommy, Look at blue Mommy, Look at clocks Mommy, Look at yogurt Mommy, Look at red Mommy, Look at computer Mommy, Look at 'nother computer Mommy, Look at TV Mommy, Look at milk Mommy, Look at [I have no idea what he said] Mommy, Look at nanas Mommy, Look at..... Look at...... Look at...................................................................

AH!

Out-takes

I took the boys on Friday to get their pictures taken. Seeing as how Grant is already 4 months old, I figured we were past due! Our portrait session was quite the experience. Trying to get two boys under the age of 2 to not only settle down and sit down, but smile too, is an extraordinary feat. The photographers worked their darndest and were mostly successful. Evan, who needs very little coaxing to smile, was his typical hammy self. Grant was a little less cooperative. He was tired and cranky, and gave us very few big smiles. It's a good thing he's cute no matter what.

Below are some of the out-takes from our session (Copyright Portrait Innovations). For those lucky ones on our mailing list, we'll be sending you the real pics.

The Fam

Godparents!

This past weekend, Jason and I became first-time Godparents to Hayden, the fourth and youngest child of Ty & Rachel McDonald. Jason's relationship to Ty goes way back to when he attended Valley Forge military academy. Throughout the years, they've kept in touch and attended each others' weddings, sent birth announcements back and forth, etc. We were honored when they asked us to be Godparents to their son Hayden. We drove up to their house in the Louisville area and spent a wild and crazy weekend with 6 children under the age of 5!

Is "rotating" a milestone?

A few days ago, I went into the nursery to retrieve Grant from a nap and found this:


What's so strange about this picture? I put Grant down to sleep with his head at the end of the crib (about 90 degrees to the left). I remembered back to the time when Evan started to "rotate." I went into his room to feed him in the middle of the night and found his head 180 degrees in the opposite direction! Being that I had never seen him do this whilst awake, and this was my first child, I freaked out! How did he get like that? I started to convince myself that his room was haunted and that the spirits moved him in the middle of the night. Although, I'm still not sure exactly how it happens, I now know that the nursery is not haunted.

Life with Evan...

...is non-stop. Just ask G&G Terreri who spent a few days with Evan recently. I often tell people that, in the mornings (no matter how early), Evan is 0 to 60 in two seconds flat. The two seconds being the time it takes him to get out of bed and cross his doorway. His non-stop-ness is not so much activity as it is his voice. The kid talks ALL THE TIME. It's as if he's narrating the world around him, play by play, checking in with me (or whoever else is unfortunate lucky enough to be standing around) for affirmation.

Don't get me wrong, he's a really good kid. He says please, thank you and even excuse me on a regular basis. Melt downs are becoming few and far between. And nowadays, his level of comprehension is so great that we can actually start to reason with him. And when that doesn't work, our fail safe is, "it's broken."

Lately, I've been tickled with some of the things that Evan does. For instance, last night, when he caught Jason & I standing near each other, he grabbed us both in a big hug (albeit at knee-height) and said, "famiwee!" It was so cute and sweet and totally surprising! And today, he was pretending to change the diaper of one of his stuffed toys (actually, it's a Teletubby. I know, I know, don't say it. But it was a gag gift from my college days). I asked if he was going to feed "Tubby" and he pretended to nurse him. Ha! I thought it was adorably funny. I'm sure later in life, he won't find this story as amusing. We're also in the stage of Pete & Repeat these days. He'll go on streaks of copycat-ing everything we say. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but it's only a matter of time before he repeats the wrong thing.

And one more funny story to leave you with.... I found out today, that at the ripe old age of 2, Evan is embarrassed by his mother. As I was singing along to one of his CDs in the car, Evan said "Go away, Mommy." After explaining that it wasn't nice to say that, but instead he could tell me to stop singing, he said "Ok. No singing Mom." And there you have it.

Shameless plug ---->

I've added a banner to the right sidebar that takes you to the new 40 weeks Lamaze e-newsletter for moms-to-be. As many of you know, Lamaze is one of my [favorite] clients. I helped review the content and provided input on this new e-newsletter and am very proud of the end result. So, if you're in the baby market, sign up (it's free)!

Stuff we do when we're not at home

This past weekend, we took a trip to Hilton Head to visit "Grandmon [Soon] & Pawpaw" and spend some time with our friends Kevin & Amanda. It goes without saying that Evan had a blast and came home exhausted. Jason and I also had a great time, and came home feeling a little more rested and revived. Grant is Grant. He came home and was just as happy as when we were not at home. A few pics from the weekend...

Grandmon set Evan up with his very own cooking show. We're hoping to sign a deal with Food Network.

Mommy & Evan (doesn't he look sweet? don't let him fool you!)


My two boys


Kevin & Amanda steal a pose with Grant for this year's Christmas card


Evan started every morning with a swim and breakfast by the pool, courtesy of Grandmon


Grant learns to love the water


And last but not least, we have a picture of Daddy & Grant

Stuff we do at home

Just a few of the things that happen in the Terreri house when both boys are home...


Chillin' in the Bumbo


Snack time


Swinging


Tummy time


"Hangin" out in Mom & Dad's room

Cute pics

Nothing much to write here, just some pictures of my cutie pie boys.

Grant fought his afternoon nap until bed time. I don't know how I'd get anything done without my sling!

New activity

This idea was stolen directly from my creative friend Emily Poulin. She gets about an hour of free time by letting her little girl Maggie (who is almost the same age as Evan) play in the sink with water, soap and various kitchen utensils, bottles, etc. Sounds so simple, but the amount of pleasure it brings to a 2-year-old (and therefore, Mommy) is amazing!

Blogger posting logic

It seems as if every time I post something that one of the kids is not doing, the very next day, he does it. For example, right after the post about Evan not going #2 normally, he started doing it, and right after the post about Grant not sleeping well (which he's doing again right now), he started sleeping great. So, following that logic, here's my list:

I'm NOT well rested. Grant is NOT sleeping through the night. Evan is NOT tired of listening to his kids music CDs. We are NOT millionaires and have NOT won the lottery. Our lawn is NOT mowed right now. The house is NOT clean. The laundry is NOT folded.

I could go on, but let's see how this goes first.

Trip to DC

Last Friday, Grant & I travelled to DC to see family, friends and for a meeting at my office. Grant was mostly a great traveller on his first airplane ride and hopping from house to house. He met for the first time his "Nana" and his Aunt Rachel and Uncle Nathan. We also spent some time with Uncle DJ & Aunt Heather, and our friends the Rincons, the Poulins and the DiSciullos (there are of course other people we wanted to see, but time just didn't allow!). It was a very busy but fun trip! Everyone oogled over Grant and was disappointed they couldn't see Evan (especially Grandma!). Grant spent his first whole day away from Mommy while I went to my office. I learned two things that day--Grant definitely drinks more than 3 oz in one feeding, and I am SO glad that I don't have to pump milk in an office everday!

Nana, Uncle Nate & Grant.


Aunt Rachel & Grant.




Aunt Heather & Grant--their dog Bailey decided to jump in at the last minute. He was very intrigued by, but a little unsure of Grant


A quick pic of Evan to show that his hair is SLOWLY growing back in (and it's still blonde, yay!).

Updates, etc.

I realize that I sometimes don't follow up on certain issues written about in previous posts. So, (if you care) read on to get an update. Otherwise, scroll down to some new pics.

Potty training - I know you're dying to know how this is going. It's going about as smooth as a bottle of gritty Metamucil. Ok, it's not that bad, but we are still working on going #2 like a normal person. And, from what I hear, there is no easy fix, but "it just takes time." Fan-tas-tic.

Evan's haircut - It's growing--on Evan and on me. Maybe we'll do this cut again, but about 1/4 inch longer. It is nice for summer. And everyone else seems to think it's cute. Or they're just being nice.

Grant's sleeping - We've had our ups and downs with this one. One week he sleeps great, the next he's up 2-4 x a night. Thankfully, after Evan moved into his new room, Grant finally got a room to call his own--with his own crib. Prior to that, he had been sleeping in his car seat (what, I didn't post about that? It must have slipped my mind). He now sleeps in his crib every night and wakes up only once or twice to be fed. And, just like Evan, he sleeps in the swing for most of his daytime naps. I can't live without that thing!

Evan's asthma - From what we can tell, he seems to have outgrown his asthma--yay! We were told that we won't really know until the cold season sparks back up. However, he has a cold right now and so far, so good-- no wheezing.

Grant's personality - For the most part, he's an easy and happy baby, just like Evan. But, we have noticed that he is slightly more needy--wanting to be held more, hard to settle down sometimes, etc. In his defense, however, his cries are sometimes left unanswered for longer periods than when Evan was a baby. That's because our super-needy 2-year-old demands so much of our time!

Brotherhood - Evan still really likes his little brother. He greets him in the morning and says goodnight, and even asks about Grant when he's not around. He likes to remind me--often--that Grant is crying or that he needs a diaper change. Grant also seems to enjoy getting to know Evan. He loves to watch Evan while he plays. And there have even been times when Evan can soothe Grant after a crying jag. Now, that's what I like!

Ok, enough chit-chat. Here are some pics.


Grant's new sleeping quarters.

A very sleepy Grant who doesn't want to be put down or else he'll cry.