we survived the travel to dallas (barely). day one - santa.
matt and i attended bailey's thanksgiving rainforest breakfast. here's the performance we got. :-)
we successfully got the tree and trimmings up. but that damn elf on the shelf. how are we ever going to remember to move him every night especially since we are getting zero sleep? already, bailey had an existential crisis when she saw him curled up in the ornament box.
"oh my gosh, mommy! the elf! he's in the box!!! what do we do?"
awesome. i thought quickly and moved him with chopsticks as not to disturb his magic. but of course, the next morning, another freak out. we forgot to move him the night before. matt explained that he was probably still sleepy then quickly hid him (creating yet another freak out). where'd the elf go?!
so... i made a postcard from the elf featuring a pic of him and santa. the elf (named aff) explained to bailey, bryn and cooper that he had gone back to be with santa till after thanksgiving. all the little touches i had put into the postcard (real postage, etc...) were lost on her. but perhaps we've suspended disbelief a little longer? or perhaps we've done the opposite. because bailey (sharp as ever) picked up on the fact that the left pictured in the postcard had blue eyes not brown.
parenting is always bringing new surprises. just because you've had a kid, doesn't make you an expert. and i've learned this week that just because you've had 3 kids, certainly doesn't make you a superior, know-it-all parent.
now that none of us are at the apex of our colds (thank god), we still have had a few setbacks. bryn had a bad case of diarrhea which led to a REALLY bad case of diaper rash. she was in so much pain she would shriek and scream every time she peed. luckily, i'm still on maternity leave so i was able to whisk her to the doctor where they made sure she didn't have a urinary tract infection. there she cried herself to sleep (at which point i was able to cry and let down my "it's ok baby, mommy's got this" guard). if you know bryn, you'll know she's super tough when it comes to pain. she'll fall at the park and dust herself off. she'll get 2 shots in a row and not shed a tear. so, i knew she was hurting when she was wailing this time around. fortunately, we got her the creams she needed and the probiotics for her intestines and is on the mend.
but then, the very next day, i was clipping cooper's nails (perhaps a bit too nonchalantly). i thought i was a pro at nail clipping. 2 kids down and no bleeding yet. but then... he started shrieking.. and then the blood.... i felt SO awful. it's one awful thing to have a sick/hurt/injured child. it's wholly another thing to be the one who inflicted their pain. UGH. i still shudder at the thought of what i did and can't look at his thumb without choking back tears.
last night, it was bailey's turn. i know i jinxed us when i commented earlier in the week, "you know it's funny. bailey has never had diarrhea." sure enough, bam. fingers crossed she kicks her stomach bug quickly.
perhaps all the guilt and crying is a result of post-pregnancy hormones. but any way you cut it, parenting is bitch. curve balls guaranteed daily.
but this article helped and rang true.
fun was had by all (except for cooper who slept and might have suffered hearing loss). bryn actually enjoyed the performances and pointed and clapped. bailey was waning from lack of nap and from not eating enough lunch. but… she perked back up post-popcorn. hooray for the big apple circus (which is now just a stone's throw away from our new apartment).
forgot to mention in the cooper post that at 4 wks of age, he had a tongue-tie procedure done by dr. haddad. it literally took 2 seconds and i was more freaked out than he was. but we got through it and now he will hopefully not have speech issues in the future. p.s. grandma merry (who also had the procedure done as a baby) and paw paw were there to provide moral support (for me). :-)
bryn has successfully peed twice in the potty! now it's on us to follow through.
given our current schedules though, true potty training likely won't begin till spring.
the last couple years, we were able to coordinate family costumes (muppets in 2012 and fruit in 2011). this year, i simply didn't have the energy. AND bailey REALLY wanted to be princess sofia (which left the rest of us with not many options). so here you have it, a princess, an owl and a skeleton. i decided that for the next 20 years, i will be a banana bc i already own the costume. and in the sweetest gesture that brought me to tears, matt bought a monkey costume. he told me he wanted to be the monkey to my banana for the next 20 years. awww. i love my monkey.
happy halloween!!!!
i can't believe it's been over a month since the newest member of the lillvis family was born. though things have been topsy turvy, as sleepless life with a newborn usually is, things have also been pretty amazing too.
mr. cooper lam lillvis was born on september 17, 2013 at st. luke's roosevelt. he was the biggest of the 3 kids, weighing in at 6 lb 14 oz. and in one month, he gained a whopping 3 lb.
the poor little guy already got a cold (in his 2nd week of life, no less) thanks to bailey's preschool germs. his newborn cough was so sad and his projectile vomiting so scary, that i cancelled our trip to california. instead, i ended up taking him to the doctor every 2 days. oh and did i mention that the whole family got the cold in the course of the last month? matt, bryn and i have gotten 2 rounds. cooper is threatening to get it again. grandma merry, grandma carol and paw paw all got some form of it too!
this time around, grandma carol was here to help out when cooper was born. my c-section recovery was much quicker than the other 2 times. i was up and walking the same afternoon. the only setback was the coughing from my cold (which frankly, still hurts my insides. ugh.) bryn and bailey have both been great big sisters. initially, brynny was ECSTATIC that we had a new baby in the house. at the hospital, i'm pretty sure she was convinced we had this baby just for her. she wouldn't let anyone else touch him and sang a song that went like this, "baby, baby, baby, baaaby, babeee!"
now, i think it is starting to sink in that this baby is ONE- not hers alone, TWO- taking away precious attention from her, and THREE- not going back.
uncle john and aunt denise came to visit after grandma carol left. then grandma merry and paw paw came to visit after that. having all the extra hands around (including and gaby's <- thank god!!) have been a godsend. i can't imagine how we would have gotten through it without all the help. in fact, i'm scared sh*%less about figuring out the juggling act now.
though life with 3 kids is no doubt going to be tricky, our love and joy has now been multiplied by 3.
i think i was more anxious than bailey. new school. new teachers. new friends. BUT as i mentioned in my earlier post, i should never doubt bailey. she did GREAT and had a lot of fun. meeting time. snack time. lunch at school. although today was a truncated day, i think she'll really enjoy her full days (starting on the 23rd)!
GO BAILEY GO!
at 19-months of age, bryn's vocabulary is still somewhat limited. although, the words she DOES know, she certainly says with FORCE.
to date, her go-to words are:
• SHOES - she says this almost every morning with desperation and brings each of us our shoes because she wants to go outside.
• BYE - she says this while waving to dogs/birds/people in the street
• HI - similar to usage of "bye"
• BALL - she likes to point out every ball she sees (especially at the toy store around the corner from our new apartment)
• GRACIAS - she actually uses this correctly when she means to say "thank you".. it's pretty cute.
• NO - she says this a lot because she is actually QUITE independent
• MAMA - maybe it's my pregnancy hormones, but she usually says my name with distress and wants to be carried after she says "mama"
• BABY - she points to all babies in the street and says "BABY". also, she refers to her dolly as "baby." compared to bailey, she's actually MUCH more interested in dolls and babies. let's hope this trend continues post-arrival of baby boy lillvis.
• LALA - ok, this isn't a real word... but this is what she says when she wants water. i think because she's trying to say AGUA.
other TOTALLY random words she says (with less force and with less frequency):
• APPLESEEDS (a nearby playspace we just got a membership to)
• JORGE (our nanny's boyfriend)
• MOJO JOJO (the villain from the powerpuff girls)... apparently as of this morning, she also says "buttercup" - another powerpuff girl
addendum: i keep forgetting a lot of other words brynny knows. bailey keeps saying, "add that to the list."... so here goes... she can also say SIT, CHEESE, PLEASE, EYE, STUCK (sounds like DUCK), DADDY, SHH and i'm sure i'm forgetting others. but have no fear. bailey will remind me to add it to the list.
sausage fingers, swollen feet, and heartburn for 2 more weeks. then — sleepless nights. WOO HOO!
kathie (bailey's first nanny) asked her to be a flower girl in her wedding this weekend. it was VERY fancy and a chance for bailey to dress up like a princess. there was no rehearsal and VERY LITTLE instruction as to what to do. BUT the lesson for me (that i've been taught over and over again) was to never doubt bailey. she did a FANTASTIC job. she sprinkled rose petals down the aisle perfectly so there were only 3 petals left by the time she hit the front of the altar. she walked at a steady pace and stood smiling the whole time (even though her tiara of flowers kept falling off her head and even though her brand new shiny shoes were a little uncomfortable).
so.. like bailey, brynny's hair has not been super abundant. nonetheless, it was starting to grow to a point where the wisps were getting in her eyes. so we made the decision to get it trimmed.
here's a pic of her first time at the salon.
she now looks like the little dutch boy but is much happier!
we started talking about leaving our 38th-st apartment awhile ago. knowing that a 3rd baby was on the way meant it would be ideal to have more space. also, knowing that bailey would be starting kindergarten in a year (and that it would be ridiculous to pay for private school for 3 kids), finding a better school district also made a lot of sense. what this translated to was a fair amount of surfing streeteasy and trulia AND visiting neighborhoods on the UWS, tribeca and even westchester. nothing seemed to be a good fit until we saw an apartment on 67 and amsterdam. it seemed to be the right mix of price, location (for commuting to work), school district, size and amenities (washer/dryer fiasco aside).
so after our first broker viewing in mid-july, things proceeded pretty quickly. AND we found ourselves packed up and moving at the end of that month.
now, we've been living in our new hood for over a month, and we're finally settling in. the neighborhood is much nicer (much more of an actual neighborhood). and it is super kid-friendly. tons of playgrounds and museums and indoor playspaces for kids. i still personally miss the amenities of the old building and the 1 minute commute to work, but as matt points out, as i'm 9-months pregnant and i'm just grouchy. ;-)
when i rub away the veneer of grouchy pregnancy, i know we are TRULY truly blessed to have found such a good fit for us. oh, and did i mention, bailey is now enrolled in a pre-K directly across the street from our new apartment? oh right, and that our church is now within walking distance? there's a lot of upside. :-)
also, the move was good in helping us pare down again (all the crap we've somehow managed to accumulate over the last 3 years). here's a video of all the boxes we had. and here's a pic of our NEW playground around the corner.
this video (and more on youtube) courtesy of grandma merry.
so, brynny is clearly going to be tough. she will fight kids twice her size. she will eat things off the floor. she will bust her knee open till its bleeding and not shed a tear. we lovingly refer to her as "honey badger."
for daddy's birthday, we went to the central park zoo for a swanky goldman sachs event. "the fresh beat band" performed and blew bailey's mind.
fun times.
although the weather was more autumn than summer, we managed to relax yet still have some adventures over the weekend.
we got to watch a beautiful lab/pit mix that was super gentle with the girls. she snuggled in bed, played with the girls, was housebroken and cratetrained. BUT she was probably 45lb and too big for our building. that said, i realized i'm not ready for the responsibility of a dog again. i'll just try to get mentally prepared for baby #3.
on saturday we visited with cousins anita and rich at their beautiful upper west side home. bailey didn't want to leave and still asks when we can go back.
then yesterday we went to victorian gardens in central park, benihana and union square.
now, it's monday. and back to the grind.
baby boy lillvis in 3D. it was pretty bizarre seeing the baby in 3D especially since i was dozing off during the scan.
note to baby boy lillvis: i am sorry i slept through most of the sonogram. it is tiring with 2 kids! but don't worry, when i am in my old age, i will make sure bailey does most of the caregiving as i had more energy to stay awake for her sonogram.
what were the 3 musketeers (sammy, evan and bailey - all born within a day of each other)...
and then became the 6 musketeers (with the addition of nico, jackson and bryn), will now be down to the 4 musketeers. sammy and jackson are moving. i guess it's inevitable with the crazy public school issue in our zone, etc... we will miss them!!!
bailey did a GREAT job as the first student to perform in The Piano School's annual recital. she played 2 songs. for all her hard work, she got a medal and a certificate. hooray!
brynny did great at her 15-month doctor's appointment. she weighed in at 20.9 lb (10-25%) and is 31" tall (50-75%). she's drinking milk from a bottle like a champ and has blossomed into quite the goofy girl that is happy 90% of the time. 10% of the time though, she has quite the temper.
Just 1 wk after her first birthday. :)
little brynny turned 1 last thursday and had her first taste of cupcakes. YUM. she celebrated by having some of her friends over (xander and emilio) for a pizza party and cupcakes. then we went out to a japanese dinner with daddy where bryn ate a TON of salmon, rice and edamame (and her first taste of ice cream).
then that weekend, both bailey and bryn celebrated with their friends at kidville. it was mayhem with SO many kids but fun was had by all (and most importantly, we had a brief window of time where none of us were sick. knock wood.) the aftermath was pretty frightening for me. so many presents. EGADs. donations here we come. but how to teach humility and stop this trajectory of entightlement? something always in the back of my mind with no clear answers. breathe.
ok, not to diverge... back to TURNING ONE!
yesterday, bryn had her 1 year doctor visit. she was said to be quote, looking GREAT, end quote. she's 50-75 percentile for height and 10-20 percentile for weight (meaning she's not as "gordy" as gaby claims she is). what was SUPER CRAZY was that she didn't cry AT ALL during her vaccinations or blood draw (yes that was vaccinations plural). apparently little brynny is SUPER TOUGH.
next up bailey's real birthday. PARTY! PARTY! PARTY!
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addendum to my entitlement fears. a ha. just let 'em fail.
gaby took this video of bryn cruising by from the kitchen. it is one of my all time favs.
