Surf's Up!

Thanks to our generous hosts -- my uncle John and cousin Gail (and their families!!) -- Noah, Lily, Anna and I rounded out our holiday weekend with a fantastic trip to Rehoboth Beach, DE.  Not even the daily afternoon rain storms extinguished the fun.

Highlights include (in no particular order):

1. Ocean, ocean and more ocean...complete with DOLPHINS!
2. Sand, sand and more sand (I'm still finding sand falling out of the diaper bag, along with a particularly scary looking spider I must have picked up along the beach somewhere)
   
3. Great fun, and good late-night visits with extended family
   
4. The YUMMY cherry pie we made from the tart cherries we picked on the 4th
   
5. Watching Lily play with her twin cousins
6. Watching Anna smile up at anyone and everyone who held her...and she definitely was passed around (I think she especially bonded with Pete!)
7. GUITAR HERO -- completely obsessed at this point!!
8. Wii Fit -- oh how we're hooked!
9. No traffic on the trip to the beach
10. Insanely good peaches and tomatoes that we bought from a roadside stand on the way home

Lily with cousin Katie

Lily and Katie -- running from the waves!

Lily burying Julian -- no many how many times they did this, it never got old (got to love young imaginations!)

Sleeping Like a Baby

I've been afraid to say anything out loud before now lest I jinx myself. But it's official. I have a baby who sleeps through the night. For real. Not even a fake "real night's sleep" (according to some people, anything over 5 hours in a baby this young is considered "through the night"). For the last two weeks Anna has been sleeping for 10-12 hours a night. I feel like singing. And dancing. But I'll refrain from both for fear that I'll wake her.

Lily slept for 8-9 hours a night starting at 7 weeks. By two months she was doing the 10-12 hour thing. And even though Anna's been doing well, she couldn't quite make it past 5/5:30 without a quick snack. I don't know about you, but I am just not programmed to be up at that hour. Jamie, HOW HAVE YOU GOTTEN UP FOR WORK AT THAT TIME FOR THE LAST DECADE??? It's a horrible, despicable, rotten time of day that no one should have to experience!

Suddenly though, for no apparent reason, Anna started sleeping. What a tremendous sleeper she's become! And as awesome as it is that she sleeps all night long, she couldn't be more adorable when she wakes up. She's happy. And I never tire of watching that first morning stretch when she's released from within the confines of her blessed Miracle Blanket (like the name implies, it does bring about miracles!).

Of course, the awful irony is that now that she's sleeping so well, I've never been more exhausted. I guess now that I've had a taste of sleep, I realize how starved for it I really was. But I'll take my new found exhaustion and not complain. Because I know that I have several friends with babies who either aren't sleeping now or older children who didn't sleep for forever...and those friends are now sticking pins in to voodoo dolls with my name on it!

Oh Say Can You See

In what has become a grand Fourth of July tradition, and in honor of Anna's upcoming start in the blueberry room at Huckleberry Cheesecake, we started our "Festive Fourth" by making the trek out to Butler's Orchard in Germantown, MD.

We managed to pick about 25 pounds of blueberries and tart cherries in a little over an hour. Lowell's girlfriend Komal managed to survive her first encounter with our gang (congrats my dear!). Anna managed to sleep through the entire outing, snug as a bug (or the bugs that were crawling up my legs) in her sling.

Hope you're having a wonderful holiday "celebrating America" as Lily's been saying all day. Happy Fourth!








PS -- I promise more frequent blog postings next week. SO much to tell you about...too busy of a week to get to the computer before now. Although, sadly, you should get used to more infrequent postings...preview of coming attractions once I go back to work.

Then There Were Six...

One of the special gifts in life, I think, are friends who "knew you when."  Friends who remember when you sucked your thumb, or lost your first tooth, or peed on the floor by accident.

Lily is lucky enough to be growing up with a wealth of "knew you when" friends surrounding her.  While life gets busy and we're not able to see each other as much as we'd like, the kids always seem to pick right up where they left off.  It really does melt my heart.

While Noah teases me that I stole his MBA buddies, Meera, Lisa and I were all pregnant at the same time back in 2004, and that's a bond thicker than even GWU grad school presentations and finals.  I'll never forget Sonia and Graham's birthdays.  How could I?!?  Sweet Sonia was born September 3rd, Lily was born November 2nd, and darling Graham was born December 1st.  I was lucky enough to have a built in mom's group during my maternity leave with Lily, and the three moms with our three babies met regularly for coffee, pancakes (hooray for the Original Pancake House!), lunches and dinners.

Lily (2 months), Graham (1 month), Sonia (4 months)

We all graduated from infant carriers to high chairs together, and soon the kids were teething, talking and potty training...and we were simply trying to keep up with them.

The tushies belong to, in order of appearance, Sonia, Graham and Lily

Graham was the first to gain a sibling; Grace joined the group in August 2006.  Kiran, AKA Kiki, came on to the scene in January 2007 making Sonia a proud big sister.  And now, of course, Lily has Anna, thus rounding out our gaggle of kids.

The original trio -- I cannot believe how big they've gotten!

...plus Gracie...

...and Kiki...

...and Anna.  Then there were six!

Spilt Milk

Since I really don't spend enough quality time with Lily these days, and since Lily can now regularly be overheard talking about "boobie milk," I thought that I should rope her in to helping me prepare my precious liquid gold (AKA breast milk) for freezing.  I know that this kid is bound for motherhood -- hopefully LATER rather than sooner -- so she might as well realize what goes in to feeding a baby.  Perhaps she'll appreciate me that much more for doing all this for her for ten long months.  Nursing.  Pumping.  Freezing.  Sterilizing...  

I had 3 days worth of pumped milk in the fridge, and Lily did an outstanding job of portioning it out in 4 ounce increments....pouring those in to freezer bags...and squeezing the air out before sealing it tight.

We had so much fun together that I guess we didn't notice the 9 sealed and labeled bags, sitting on the counter, until we got home seven hours after our little milk maid experience.  I can't remember if the phone rang or if we were just in a hurry to leave, but those precious little bags never made it from counter to freezer.  

Now I don't know what the La Leche folks would say, and perhaps they would encourage me to make pudding out of the milk (as did a lactation consultant when I had 160 ounces of quickly defrosting breast milk during a power outage when Lily was still tiny), but I'm just not going to risk feeding Anna some potentially spoiled milk.  Even though I'd rather stick a knife in my side than throw out 36 ounces of my precious milk, in to the trash it all just went.

So I'm now in mourning.  I want to go eat something incredibly caloric and then go curl up in bed...  

Instead, I'm going to go drink another gallon of water so that I can, once again, become engorged...attach myself to my pump...and then turn on the TV to something nice and mind numbing and pretend like I'm not actually getting milked.

Ah, all for the love of our children.

But I do believe that Baskin Robbins is in my future tonight.  Because, of course, when I replace those 36 ounces of milk I'd like for them to be nice a creamy...with a hint of mint chocolate chip!

Boob Babes

My friend Amy, who is only two weeks post partum, brought her boys to meet Anna and me for lunch today. I was definitely still unshowered, dressed in PJs, and sterilizing everything in site when my girls were two weeks old; I'm hugely impressed that Amy got both of her kids out of the house, in the car, and to the restaurant ON TIME (I'm still running 10-15 minutes late for everything, 2 1/2 months later).

Amy and I met when Lily was about 7 weeks old and her older son, Andrew, was only about 2 weeks old. Like many of my special friends, Amy and I met in an unusual spot -- the "lactation lounge" at Fairfax Hospital (other spots include the bathroom in my sophomore dorm; baggage claim in the Sydney, Australia airport; through a Washington Post housing ad). It was love at first sight when we realized that we were the only two people there who were using a nipple shield (please don't make me explain it to those of you who haven't nursed a baby...too humiliating!). We became fast friends, often meeting for lunches or heading to the baby movies together.

Andrew and Lily, just after their first birthdays

Our biological clocks must be in sync because not only are Lily and Andrew a few weeks apart in age, but the newest arrivals are as well; her second, Jacob, was born 9 weeks and 2 days after Anna.

Anna (11 weeks old) and Jacob (2 weeks old tomorrow)

Today's outing included a trip to the ladies lounge at Nordstrom's, as just about every trip of mine to the mall these days does. We must have happened upon nursing rush hour because there were two other voluptuous moms feeding their babies when we arrived, and a handful who came and went while we were there.

Poor Andrew, who really was a good sport through it all, had to hang out and amuse himself while we fed the little ones. While we could tell that he was bored, the irony was not lost on us. Here was a guy (albeit a 3 1/2 year old one), the only one in sight, surrounded by bare-chested women. While I'm sure he was dying to get out of there today, in about 13 years or so he'll be dying to get IN to such a room!

Totally Screwed

Hello my name is Courtney, and I'm an addict. A supreme addict. Oh heck....I'm doomed.

A few days from now, Sunday to be exact, marks the first anniversary of my blog. Originally started to streamline the distribution of Lily's weekly school newsletters, this online medium has evolved over the past year in to something that I love. Something that I'm actually staying up at night to post to rather than going to bed (stupid, stupid considering I still have a newborn). It's something that you, my friends and family, have told me that you look forward to reading....and has contributed more than a few laughs. The Fox Israel family blog has also inspired several friends to, in recent weeks, create their own family blogs (rock on Amy and Ellen!!).

So, not only have I been trying to mentally draft my memorial posting on Sunday, but I've also been trying to figure out how I can continue to evolve the blog in its second year. Last June I started with baby steps....but now my baby is ready to graduate from the tot lot to the big kid playground.

Enter, stage right (or the right column of your screen), the TWITTER. Heard about this relatively new phenomenon? Following someone's "twits," "tweets," or senseless real-time ramblings?

If you haven't heard about twitter, please look it up on Wikipedia. I'm too technologically ignorant to actually explain it and make sense. But there's lots (and LOTS) that happen in our "lives with Lily and Anna," and not all of it is necessarily worthy of an entire blog posting...but it's completely relevant to our lives. Quite frankly, it's the little one-liners, quiet loving moments, looks out of the corner of their eyes, smiles and hugs that make our lives so rich. But even that wonderful richness isn't always blog material. I want to tell you stories, but I don't want to bore you with bizzaro and random details. And I want to catch things as they happen/before I forget, which isn't always (in fact, rarely is) when I'm near the computer and can jot down an entry.

I will now both praise and curse the creator of Twitter...someone nameless out there in the Internet who is allowing me to open the door just a bit wider as you follow our lives....and someone who now just turned my enthusiasm for blogging in to a full blown obsession.

Ladies and gentlemen, I can now blog from my phone. I can TEXT MESSAGE -- from the car, the grocery store, a public restroom -- "Tiny Treats" and post them on the blog.

I'm doomed. I'm SO totally screwed. I can already envision my new cell phone bills each month....not to mention my utilization once I return to work.

Oh well. I mean...it's all for you. Not for me. Because that would mean that I'm a total geek.

Enjoy the treats! And happy anniversary, a few days early, to Life with Lily and Anna. I just couldn't wait.

Princess Mania!

I don't know what it is, but three and four year old girls seem programmed to love princesses. They worship princesses.  They firmly believe that they ARE princesses.  Noah and I certainly haven't encouraged this princess addiction in Lily, although we haven't exactly discouraged it either (case in point, our trip to Disney World...yes, we're suckers).

Princess Lily with Ballerina Megan

Lily hadn't seen twins Charlotte and Max since she was 14 months old, and she hadn't seen Megan since last August.  But because all things princess seem to be both the least common denominator and a bonding agent, it took mere seconds before she ran off with her newly discovered Vermont friends with squeals of delight.  I only hope that 10 years from now the kids are this excited to see each other...

Princesses Lily and Charlotte

Lily with Charlotte and Max 

(every princess needs a Prince Charming!)

We also made an important discovery on the banks of Lake Champlain -- You can find a princess almost anywhere; sometimes all it takes it a bit of tulle and a wide-brimmed hat. Behold Princess au Natural.

Girls Gone Wild

One thing we love most about our visits to Vermont are the wonderful childhood friends that Noah has and with whom we're still in touch.  All things considered, it's pretty amazing that, at age 37, Noah still regularly sees buddies from grade school.  What's even more amazing is that they all have kids the same age!!

Chris and Sara are a few years ahead of us in terms of family planning.  Sam, almost 7, is a ridiculously good Guitar Hero player; Megan, just turned 4, fell in love with Anna and was the perfect playmate for Lily....they both speak "princess."

My one regret from our dinner with the Dalys is that Noah and I got a taste of the Wii.  For those of you type-A personalities out there who have not yet tried your hand at Guitar Hero, DON'T.  It's addicting.  SUPER addicting.  After watching Sam put us all to shame (this kid could give Jimi Hendrix a run for his money!), Noah stepped up to the plate and caught on without missing a beat.  Me.  Well, not so much.  Knowing that my competitive streak is not far from the surface and always, always lurking, I tried to take a pass.  I quickly fell prey to peer pressure though.  And while my avatar got booed off the stage for too many mistakes, I got a taste of the game.  Super fun!  Since I'd never actually admit to wanting one, I may have to disguise myself and head to our local video game store to pick up a Wii.  

Perhaps even more fun was seeing Lily and Megan in their "Girls Gone Wild -- Summer Vacation Edition" impersonation.  Watching the two race around the living room, progressively getting more and more naked, I had awful visions of Cancun Spring Break in 2022.  Lord help me!  Lord help us all!!

Skinny Pancake vs. Chunky Monkey

Ok, so only in the Green Mountain State would one ever see anything like this.  But with gas prices being what they are today, perhaps these guys are really on to something!

The "skinny pancake" became our traveling companion (what's up with that name?!?), starting at the Shoreham Service Center, just a few miles outside of Middlebury, all the way through Vermont and on to I-87 South in NY State.  We lost the motley crew when we hit a wall of traffic -- roadside traffic monitors posted "extreme delay ahead" warnings -- somewhere north of Poughkeepsie, NY and had to bail in favor of some winding country roads.  Even though our new route of 9G (not to be confused with US 9 or 9W or 9S, but 9G...someone without an imagination was on duty the day those roads were named) only permitted speeds of about 35 MPH, at least we were moving and when you've got kids asleep in car seats, movement is critical!

Speaking of skinny...  On this trip to Vermont we decided to be tourists in Noah's home state.  Hey, lots of people pay good money to vacation in Vermont, so we figured that we would hit some of the hot spots.  Of course, the hottest/coolest/most calorie-rich spot would definitely be the Ben & Jerry's Factory in Waterbury, VT.  All I can say is YUMM-O!!

We watched a funny film about the genesis of of Ben & Jerry's genius.  We got a tour of the super secret factory where they produce 250,000 pints per day (on the day of our tour they were making organic strawberry and organic vanilla).  We got to taste one of the brand new flavors -- One Cheesecake Brownie -- which was pretty darn delicious.

Our shy and retiring daughter ordered mint chocolate chip in the scoop shop after the tour concluded, immediately declared that her ice cream "beat" our ice creams, and then ran off with her new best friend of the moment, some random little girl.

Of course, as luck would have it, just as I opened up my camera bag so did the heavens, A.K.A. the daily deluge that we got used to on this vacation.  Hey, if it takes a 10 minute thunderstorm every day to keep temperatures at a glorious 73 degrees, I say bring on the rain!!