Top 10 of 2010

Okay, so this is a little late. (I won't apologize.) In no particular order, here they are...

10) Sweet baby Norah Grace, born May 14.

9) Preston deciding to potty-train himself at the end of November. (stay tuned to the blog for a fascinating post on this)

8) Preston saying "cowet", pronounced COW-ETTE. It's how he says "quiet". Adorable, yes!

7) Norah consistently being in the 95th percentile, and Preston in the 25th percentile.

6) Norah's bottom two teeth finally coming forth on her 8-month-birthday (pics to come for this as well!)

5) Realizing I'll never be a perfect mother, but I'm the best mom the kids will ever have.

4) Hearing "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" repeated consistently, nearly 500,000 times a day, even when I'm standing one foot from Preston.

3) Having a boy AND a girl.

2) Admitting, and not being ashamed or feeling guilty, that sometimes being staying-at-home is boring and monotonous. NOT to be confused with "it's so easy I'm bored". ;)

1) Preston greeting his lincoln log when he pulls his pants down with a cheerful, "Hello, Penis!"

A New Year, A New Chapter

We're eighteen days into the new year and I'm finally on this blog writing. In the past I've jumped on here an updated the world every time Preston did something new and/or special. The blog started out as my personal journal through my first pregnancy. Once we moved across country it became a portal to keep our family and friends updated. Then, after Norah was born, and the postpartum hit, it became nothing more than a drag. Now, thanks to Lexapro and getting in a groove parenting two young children, I'm hoping to log on as I can, when I can, and when I want to. NOT when I feel like I have to.

Christmas was story-book. We baked and decorated sugar cookies for Santa. Left oatmeal and carrots in the front lawn for the reindeer. And gathered around the Christmas tree and fireplace while Jeremy read The Night Before Christmas. In the morning Preston was overjoyed. He first checked that Santa ate his cookie and the reindeer ate their snack. Then he wholeheartedly ripped into his gifts. It took us the entire day to get through everything, as he played with each toy after opening it. Norah, being only 7-months-old was happy with her dolls and play kitchen. Preston was super excited to get "Alphie" from Santa. We even managed to Skype with the all the grandparents in Ohio, too!

New Year's Eve was low-key. We took the kids to a local park on the water that had a Christmas-light display to walk through, ate dinner at home, drank champagne, and watched the ball drop. The fact Jeremy and I made it to midnight was a miracle.

This year so far has been fantastic. Norah is a delight. I've said this before, but I can't get enough of her. She gets sweeter and bigger everyday! She just turned 8-months-old and is wearing 12-18 month clothes. She's sitting up on her own, trying with all her might to crawl- up on all fours and revving back and forth; she's in neutral but not in drive. BUT, she does go in reverse! And her bottom two teeth FINALLY came in; the bottom right on the 12th and the bottom left on the 14th!

Norah is also an eater. Which isn't a surprise due to her size. She takes four 9oz. bottles a day and has a serving of cereal in the morning and a veggie or fruit with her dinner. Since her teeth came in the Cheerios don't stand a chance. So far she loves all fruits and some veggies, but refuses green beans. She shutters with each bite and then presses her lips together so tight I can't get the spoon in her mouth.

She's a little spitfire. Happy all the time, unless she's hungry. Naps great. Sleeps even better. And squeals at such a high pitch I bet she can talk to dolphins. Can you tell I'm in love?

[Wow...this post is starting to remind me of one of those brag letters people send out in holiday cards. Barf.]

Preston is a little man. Loves electronics, math and science, and all things boy. And luckily for me, he decided to potty train himself at the end of November. One morning he decided he wanted to start peeing in the potty. He's hardly had any accidents, and most of the time wakes up from his naps and bedtime dry.

The kid never stops talking. He's  turning into a real handful- boasting his young voice and determination on us parents. Preston is a grade-A manipulator. And has a better memory than Jeremy and I combined. His third birthday is Sunday and he's requested an airplane themed party.

[Oh hell, this IS one of those brag letters. Sickening, isn't it.]

I'll finish up this post with a couple pics/video, and will be back on shortly with my top ten happenings of 2010. (Better late than never!)

Best. Playdate. Ever.

Preston, at the young age of two (nearly three) doesn't appreciate the fact he just had the best playdate EVER. Parents were preoccupied with crackers and cheese, fruit and champagne. And the toddler girls had their shirts off, pillow fighting, and taking pictures.

One day, when he's sixteen, he'll appreciate this. As for now, he's sacked out napping, oblivious to the fact he's the coolest kid on the block.