Gisela
I can't believe my little man is four months old today! The time is passing by far too quickly! In the past month Erik is starting to be able to support himself more. He can now hold his head up 100% so he is able to enjoy his Jumperoo. Some days he just sits in there and watches his brother play. Other days he jumps and bounces his little heart out!



Erik also enjoys sitting in his Bumbo. Before we'd put him in the bouncy seat on the kitchen table while we ate dinner. Well, he was trying to sit up on his own (it looks like he's doing little baby crunches) so we broke out the Bumbo and now he's part of the family. One of these days I'll actually order his high chair. We're not planning on starting solids any time soon, so I'm really not in a rush.

Here is my handsome guy- Happy Four Months, Erik!
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Gisela
So yesterday was the big playdate. And I have to say it was a success. The kids had fun, there was minimal crying (from the kids, not the moms), and my house is still in one piece!

There were seven moms, 4 toddler boys, 1 preschool aged girl, 1 crawling girlie, and 6 babies. Yes, there was a baby boom, and it seems many of my friends and family were pregnant when I was.

Nicholas woke up yesterday morning asking when his friends would be over. He thought they would be there immediately when he woke up. Waiting the four hours until 11:00 was PURE TORTURE for him. Alas, he managed to keep himself occupied while I cooked lunch. How did he keep himself occupied, do you ask? Oh, by sneaking up to my bedroom, opening the tub of diaper rash cream, and painting me a lovely picture on my closet mirror. He came into the kitchen with white hands, and white around his face. I originally thought it was shaving cream. (He likes to "shave" with Daddy using a spoon, so this is what first came to mind.) Then as I was wiping it off I realized it was thicker, so I was a bit confused. Nicholas then asked for a paper towel to clean my mirror- so I went to investigate. I wish I took a picture. It was quite a mess. I managed to get the mirror clean- still working on my carpet.

Anyway...the playdate went well. I brought Nicholas' train table and cars to the living room on the main floor. They had fun playing with those, along with the LeapFrog letter magnets on my refrigerator. Oh, and they thought it would be amusing to spill popcorn on the floor. No big deal- they're kids. So as I was cleaning that, Nicholas decided that the remaining popcorn in the bowl would best be placed on his head. Yes, my son poured a bowl of popcorn on his head. He gets his strangeness from his father, not me! lol

Erik enjoyed watching all the action. He definitely is an abservant one, and was for the most part content just to sit and watch the older kids play. Although I think the excitement got to him at one point, and he fell asleep in his Bumbo! Poor guy! I put him upstairs for a nap, but it didn't last long- he wanted to be part of the action!

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So, it was a fun time. I didn't take a before picture, but here is a picture of the aftermath. Not too bad. The hosue is still in one piece, nothing was broken, and the kids got to run out some energy. Heck, Nicholas didn't even fight me on naptime! That doesn't happen too often!

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Gisela
So, as I was reading through the numerous blogs I follow, I came across a post by my friend, Dani, and a little game she was playing. I decided to play along, and she gave me the letter H.

Just so you know, here is how you play. A blogger friend (that would be moi, or someone else if you choose, but in the words of Donkey from Shrek- PICK ME, PICK ME!) gives you a letter and then you have to come up with 10 things that you like with that letter. So, I have H...here goes!

1- HEALTH. In fact, I love it. Before having Erik I took my health for granted. I've never really been one to watch much of what I eat, exercise, etc. And then when I had Erik and all the complications that arose I realized I had a lot to be grateful for. So since then I've been consciously taking better care of my health, and NOT taking it for granted.

2- HOME. Anyone can have a house, but IMO that is just the physical structure. I love the home that my husband and I have created. It is full of love and laughter. It may not always be clean, but we are happy, and that is what matters. (And, I do have to say the location of our home/house is pretty good, as we are blessed with some awesome neighbors!)

3- HOCKEY. If you know me, you know I LOVE hockey. Specifically the Philadelphia Flyers. LOVE THEM. (In fact, I just finished watching the Flyers kick the LA Kings butt!) Anyway, Ken and I bought ourselves season tickets to the Flyers as our 1st anniversary present. Forget jewelry...this girl wants hockey! We no longer have a full season, but we do have partial season tickets, and it makes for great date nights. Last week we actually took Erik to his first Flyers game- gotta start 'em early!

4- HAIR. Not just any hair, but my hair. I really like my hair. I'd say it is my best feature. It is a great color (auburn naturally, and no grey so far!) and it is fairly easy to style. For the longest time I wore it long. Super long. Like to my butt long. It was almost a security blanket. And in the past few years I started cutting it a bit shorter, and then back in December I went and cut it above my shoulders. And I love it!

5- HAMBURGERS. Yes, hamburgers. With cheese. You may call them cheeseburgers, but then they wouldn't start with an H. So I'm calling it a hamburger with cheese. I love a good burger. Nice and juicy. Preferably with cheddar cheese and bacon. Did I mention that I was a vegetarian for about 7 years? Looking back I don't know HOW I did it. I like meat way too much now!

6- HISTORY. Call me a dork now. I'm a history nerd. It was my major in college. Well, for a second it was. And then I said, "What am I going to do with a history degree?" So I became an education major. Secondary Education and Social Studies. AKA- History teacher. I love learning about different people and cultures and how things came to be. I've been known to sit and just read a history book for fun. Yes, BIG DORK! I accept it.

7- HIPPOS. As in hippopotamus. Yes, they are my favorite animal in the zoo. I've loved them since I was a kid. So much that I used to tell my mom that they were my cousins. Don't know why I thought that, but to me the hippos were my cousins. Since then I've loved them. When I heard the song "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" I thought it was perfect for me. Now you all are realizing just how strange and crazy I am. But I'm being honest, what can I say.

8- HONESTY. Speaking of being honest...yes, honesty is something I like. It is admirable. I'd rather someone be honest and straightforward with me instead of lying to me in order to spare my feelings or try to protect me. That never works. Give it to me straight- I'm a big girl, I can handle it.

9- HOT CHOCOLATE. One of my favorite things in winter. Nothing like having a big mug of hot chocolate after coming in from playing in the snow. Or, since we never seem to get any decent snow, I'll just have a big mug whenever! I really enjoy Dunkin Donuts hot chocolate with whipped cream (but NOT the white chocolate kind...ew!) but Swiss Miss Marshmallow Lovers is pretty darn good, too! And I've got Nicholas drinking it as well. Funny how I like hot chocolate, but hate chocolate milk. Again, I know- I'm weird!

10- HUSBAND. I don't just like him, I LOVE him! Ken is an awesome husband. He is kind, respectful, loving, playful, a great hands-on father, and my best friend. I could go on and on bragging about him, but I'll just sum it up by saying he is the best!

So, there you have it. Ten "H" things that I like. If you want to play leave me a message and I'll give you a letter! C'mon, it's fun!

Gisela
Well the obvious answer is yes, I'm crazy. It's a given. Nicholas tells me all the time! But tomorrow I decided to host a playgroup at my house. My house is not large. Quite small in fact. Especially because I'm trying to keep this shindig confined to the main floor of my house. About 700 square feet, give or take. And in that 700 square feet I'll have (as of this moment) 6 mommies, 4 BOY toddlers (between the ages of 2y 9m and 3y), 1 girlie newly turned 1 year old (who is not YET walking), and 5 babies. That's 16 people. And I'm still waiting to hear back from a few people, and that could add another 10 people. I think it will be pure chaos. Hopefully a lot of fun. I'll be sure to take before and after pictures. That is if I'm still in one piece when all is said and done! I've never done this before!

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Gisela
Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.





Well, I will start by saying I DID NOT start a Not Me Monday post last week and then totally forget about it and abandon it. I mean, I am a faithful blogger so I certainly would not have done something like that!



Last week I also DID NOT ask my husband to watch the kids one evening so I could relax and instead cleaned the house for three hours.



I also certainly DID NOT bribe Nicholas with the promise of buying him popcorn in order to get him to come with me to the grocery store without a struggle. And then I DID NOT also buy him lollipops because he saw that we passed the bank in the parking lot and he knows they always give him lollipops. No, NOT ME!



I also DID NOT lose 6 pounds last week and celebrate by indulging in cheesecake over the weekend. Of course not, that would defeat the purpose of losing the weight, right? Definitely, NOT ME!

Now I'm sure there are plenty more things I DID NOT do last week, but I certainly DID NOT get only a few hours sleep last night making my brain a total pile of mush this morning. But head on over to MckMama's blog to check out what everyone else has not been doing this past week!



Gisela
Anyone who has a child knows how important sleep is. Nicholas was a terrible sleeper as a baby. I don't think he slept through the night (and by that I mean at least 4-5 hours straight...not the 9 I'd like!) until he was 8 or 9 months. And even then- it wasn't a regular thing. I was a walking zombie. He was born in May, and it was 97 degrees the day we brought him home from the hospital...he did NOT want to be swaddled in that blanket. And later whenever we tried to swaddled he'd fight and wiggle his way out. I figured he just was one of those babies who didn't like to be swaddled.





Fast forward to sometime in 2007. On one of the forums I participate in I heard of the Miracle Blanket. I check out the link, and thought to myself that it couldn't possibly be that great, especially for that price. Then I had enough people tell me that, no- it is a great blanket and worth it, that I HAD to try it. Ok, I bookmarked the site for when the next baby came along. And when I got pregnant with Erik I did in fact remember, and received one as a gift.





So, along comes Erik, and the first night we brought him home from the hospital I used it. Not difficult to use, and kept him nice and snug. Pretty cool, I thought. He still woke to nurse every 3 hours or so, but I figured at less than a week old it was normal. I continued to use it though, and by the time he was 5 weeks old he was sleeping through the night. To the tune of 6-8 hours a night! Yes, six to eight hours of STRAIGHT SLEEP from a FIVE WEEK old baby. I completely credit this blanket. It really is a MIRACLE! Ken agrees! He talks this blanket up to everyone, and must be a good salesman, because at a party at his parents' house I had someone come up to me asking for the website information to order one. I actually ended up placing the order since I was ordering one as a baby shower gift! Which, by the way, this is now going to be my staple baby shower gift. The mom-to-be that I gave it to is excited to use it, and thanked me for the gift of sleep.





Erik is 16 weeks old and I still am using our Miracle Blanket. He still fits in it, but I don't think it will be for much longer- he's a big baby! Here he is, all wrapped up for the night a few weeks ago!



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Gisela
It was a year ago today that I started this blog. A year ago that I learned that I'd be welcoming a new love into my life. How quickly a year passes!

I am so blessed to have Erik as a son. He is such a sweetheart. I've told Ken that if I could get a guarantee that every one of our future children would be like him then I would have a million. Seriously, he is THAT good of a baby. He only really cries when he's super gassy, and fortunately that is becoming more infrequent. He is always super content, loves to smile, and already adores his big brother.

This past year has been amazing. I loved my pregnancy, and although I did not have the ideal birth experience I was hoping for- I have a healthy baby boy, and I am healing. I look forward to what the next year will bring, and what I will blog about. Who knows...maybe there will be a new babymaking adventure!

A Year Ago-
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Today!




















Gisela
Poor Nicholas had been waiting and waiting for snow to come to Philadelphia. Unfortunately all we seemed to get were flurries or a dusting. This week we finally got a few inches of the white stuff. And that was enough for me to have a VERY happy little boy.



So when Daddy came home from work we headed to Nana & Opa's (because Opa had bought Nicholas a sled) and Nicholas went sledding with the neighbor and then walked around with Daddy & Opa. He had a BLAST! And now we're hoping for more snow!

Checking out the snow-
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Throwing snowballs at Opa
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Checking out the hill
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Sledding for the first time!
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