Poor, neglected blog

Dear Loyal Blog Readers,

Apparently I'm averaging monthly updates. This is a good thing because it means that there is nothing overly dramatic/traumatic going on, but it amazes me because there seems to be so very much going on. Talia and Grayson are busy, busy, busy being toddlers and this entails a lot of running around, bruises and (currently) joyfully tossing cds out of the changer. It's hard to not to laugh at their not socially acceptable antics. It was especially difficult when I caught them pulling cds out, came towards them full of righteous parental indignation and Grayson scurried backwards and pointed his finger accusingly at Talia. She looked up at me with a face full of joy and pride and tossed the cd to the ground.

Grayson has an imaginary cat friend called Nemo. He has also named the bulldog on his pajamas Duckie. This is a big step as all previous dogs were called Walter after Tony's mom's dog. Talia is fascinated by eyes, teeth and her own belly button. She is due for her first haircut as soon as we have a weekend when we can go as a family. Grayson will likely not need a haircut until he is five.

My friend Rachel had a beautiful baby girl this week. While she is on maternity leave, I'll be working some extra shifts. I realized today that this will put me back on the schedule I originally had as a sprightly new veterinarian. It'll be interesting to see how these next 2 months go as I am optimistic, but no longer sprightly! I'm really happy to help her have the time with her family.

That's all all for now and I'll catch you again next month!

Amy

P.S. Have some cute pictures!

Snowy Day

Our neighborhood is blanketed. The kids are at daycare. The house and its surroundings are quiet and still. It's so nice to have some peaceful moments in the midst of shopping and holiday visits and sick everyone. I'm feeling hopeful for the new year.

NaNoWriMo

So, Tony and I are crazy. Anyone who reads this is probably already aware of that, but we've decided to complicate the crazy for a month. NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write 50,000 word novel in the month of November. It does not have to be good. It probably does not even need to be coherent. It does need to be 50,000 words long and finished by November 30. That's how you win. Usually there's no prize but bragging rights. This year it can be published in an edition of one for the successful writer.

I've tried NaNoWriMo twice before (pre-kids) and have yet to win. This year I found myself getting excited and thought that I'd give it another try. I don't plan on winning, I just enjoy the process. Tony was, I think, slightly distracted and discouraged by my lack of focus. So, after finishing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (a birthday present from Tony), I promised him that I would not read any more books until I have completed 10,000 words. Not there yet. I am slightly grumpy as it's far easier to pick up a book for an escape than it is to pick up your story where it left off. Still, I'm more than halfway to reading again and I think that if I buckle down during naptime I can be there by the end of next week.

If not, no-one will want to see me for Thanksgiving.

Whew!

There are not many things worse than getting a call at work from daycare. I came out of an exam room this morning to a message from a specialist who I'm consulting on a case and the daycare on hold. Since head bumps and Talia are frequent companions, I expected that she had run into a table again. No. Grayson was going down the slide and got his foot caught. He was very upset when he reached the bottom, non-weightbearing, and the lower part of his left leg was swollen. By the time I got there he was relaxing in his physical therapist's arms and calmly advised me, "Knee hurts. Shoe hurts." I didn't feel any instability in the tibia, but off to the emergency room we went. Poor little guy was radiographed from pelvis to toe, but thankfully no breaks were found. Chicken nuggets and a chocolate milkshake seem to have provided some therapeutic benefit and hopefully the Tylenol will have kicked in by the time he wakes up from his nap!

Talia's Big Birthday

Although I am a month late, here are some pictures from Talia's first birthday party. She was a bit perplexed at first but a good time was definitely had by all!

Sweet potato pound cake

What's this all about?

Cards are just very short stories.

I got a pony!

Birthday Girl

First bite of the birthday cake.

She had a great time, was surrounded by family and is refining her walking, talking and dancing skills.

Next week she leaves the infant room behind and joins the toddlers!

Craziness on the Road

Sorry that it has been over a month since the last post. As usual, things have been hopping around here. As unusual, we've taken our craziness on the road - twice.

We made a trip to Wizard World Chicago in early August. The Con wasn't quite as good as it has been in the past (DC, Marvel and Image didn't even have booths this year), but we got to spend some time with our friends Chad and Michelle. We also got some alone time and our first kid free night thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Bauer! The kids enjoyed being spoiled and seemed to enjoy meeting Lia (Jen and Jason's daughter) as well. After a stop at the Field Museum to see the Harry Potter exhibit, we were all ready to be home.







For Labor Day we traveled to Atwood Lake in Ohio for the Robison Family Reunion. Talia started walking on Friday morning. After that nothing seemed to go right in preparing for this trip. Grayson got sick and feverish so a free morning for packing turned into a trip to see Dr. Galanes. Tony's brake pads and tires needed replaced so we had to share my car on Thursday which blocked lunch hour packing attempts. By Friday morning both Tony and Talia had the creeping crud, so out noon departure time was delayed so that they could visit Dr. Galanes. It was a very efficient doctor visit, but then we had to fill their prescriptions and feed the little people. We ended up leaving about 2:30. Once we got to Ohio we had a great time. Grandma Robison seems quite pleased about her 90th birthday and has decided to go backwards from now on. It was great to see my aunts and uncles and all of the cousins that were able to make it. Talia really bonded with her second cousin Lilia - we'll have to try to get them together more often. Grayson enjoyed playing, running up and down a steep hill and running away from me to check out all of the cars parked by the cabins. He determined the pool to be a "nice pool" and discovered that it is possible to go 3 days without a PopTart.

Right now everyone is slowly recovering from the creeping crud. I caved and called Dr. Galanes' office this morning after coughing up yellow chunks so I'll be the last on in the house on antibiotics. Hopefully we'll rest up and be ready for Talia's birthday party this weekend!

Updates with pictures

Our computer has been down for a couple of weeks for various reasons, but I want to post some birthday and sundry pictures. First, Grayson's second birthday:

Birthday Cake


Boy seeing birthday cake:


Boy enjoying birthday cake:


It's also amazing what being 2 has allowed Grayson to do:



Talia is crawling like a pro

She is also studying geometry.

And considering taking up basketball.