Probably shouldn't say this...

(WARNING: grandparents, don't read any further)

But....I think I like my children again. The first trimester of this pregnancy was pretty challenging. In the past feeling tired and sick only impacted me/John or me/john/dylan, but this time with 2 little ones it seemed like a fate worse than death feeling like total hell. I just COULD NOT KEEP UP. I was so self-absorbed during weeks 4-13, all I could focus on was going to bed and not feeling nauseous. POOR JOHN!!!!!!!!!!!! He did SO much. No wonder I keep him around. :)

So, now I feel like me again. I stayed up till 10:30 all week, haven't taken a nap, and haven't been very sick at all. In a nutshell, when I feel better I like my kids. I was scared for a couple of months that there was no way I could handle my 2, let alone a 3rd.

Thanks to Mom, Ash, and all my brave friends for daring to ask, "How are you feeling?" only for me to launch into a 10 min explanation of,

"I feel like shit. What the hell was I thinking? How do you forget this feeling and get pregnant again and again? And...why is it that when you feel nauseous you still can eat and gain weight? Seems like it should be the opposite, uggghhh. blah, blah blah........"

I can now see the light of day (in week 14), and as a mature adult realize that this is why we do it... :) aren't they adorable?

AT LAST!!!!!!!!!!!

After over 16 months of life on this earth, Olivia has decided that walking is her preferred method of travel. We should have suspected that LaLa was a little on the 'relaxed' side physically when she didn't start crawling proficiently until she was 12 months old. This was so refreshing in contrast to Dylan that it wasn't concerning AT ALL to us. In fact, it was cute and fun. Then, around 14 months the pediatrician thought that we should seek professional help from a neurologist. You would think I would FREAK out and rush her in, but I thought this was crazy. Developmentally, she was ahead of every milestone except for walking/crawling.

After stalling and cancelling 2 appts. with the neuro, I scheduled a consult for the day she turned 16 months. Then...as Murphy's Law would have it....she started walking (a little like Frankenstein) 2 days before the appointment. We are now 2 weeks into walking and Olivia has almost abandoned crawling.

Reminder for parents: kids do things at their own pace. This can be frustrating for control freaks such as myself, but I guess we are raising little independent future members of society so individuality should be encouraged!??!. (Scary!)

Easter fun

For Easter this year I thought I would relive my childhood through my children. (Very unique, right?) So, as I did about 18 years ago for Ashley.....I did again for Dylan and Olivia. Using a stencil & baby powder I put Easter Bunny footprints on the carpets next to the Easter baskets. Then I ripped up little cotton balls to leave Easter Bunny fur as further evidence.

Then, the kids woke up. I ran into the living room and got the camera ready. I was SURE that Dylan would be amazed by the Bunny remnants in our house. Then, I let the kids loose to check out their loot. Dylan walked right over the footprints, went straight for his chocolate-packed Lightning McQueen basket and started inhaling candy. Olivia was trailing Dylan, cautiously avoiding the footprints (probably out of fear) screaming, "PEEEEASE!" begging for his chocolate.
Lesson learned, Mom's get way more into this stuff than kids. They just want the presents! :)

(NOTE: Bunny evidence in the background.)

Honesty...courtesy of Dylan

Background Details: About a month ago, Dylan was flexing his 'muscles' and when he asked if I had big muscles like him I said what any good Mom would say after a LONG day, "No, Mommy just has fat."

Story: Yesterday, after dinner was over Dylan explained that he had HUGE muscles because he ate all of his dinner. He then explained to me that I must also have big muscles because I ate all of my dinner twice. (nice that he noticed that, right?)

(This is the part that I like to call the set up.)
Dylan: "Mom, I bet you have really big muscles because you ate sooooo much dinner. Can I see them?"
Me: "Not right now buddy."
Dylan: "Come on Mom, show me. I want to see them."

So, I give in and roll up my sleeve to flex my bulging biceps. :)

Me: "See Dylan, big Mommy-muscles"
Dylan (laughing): "No, those are NOT muscles. I have muscles...that's just fat!"

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! Kids are like miniature tape recorders with instant replay buttons at the most perfect comedically timed moments.

Bwess Ewww!

So cute....I had to add this. Today I sneezed and little Olivia said "Bwesss Ewww". I laughed so hard I cried. She is still a baby in my mind, but I guess not! I can't believe she will be 16 months old in 2 weeks.

On the not-so-cute side, she is really great at shrieking "MINE!" and grabbing things from Dylan. As he is the older brother, she clearly learned that from him. (At least that's what I was told being the oldest sibling as I grew up...right Nana?)

OH, and last night at dinner Nana met us for a quick bite. When she arrived Dylan yelled, "Nana's here!"...and little Olivia followed in suit saying "Na-Na" for the first time.

Mommy, your hair looks beautiful!

Driving to school the other morning, after the usual stress and chaos of loading up the kids and getting ready...Dylan was really quiet. Then, out of nowhere he said, "Mommy, your hair looks beautiful!". It really made me smile from ear to ear. Not because it really looked great, because it looked like hell, but because Dylan is growing into such a sweet little man. I am so proud!

Martha and Kunaal's Wedding Weekend

This weekend we took a trip to Los Angeles, California to celebrate Martha/Kunaal's wedding.
The weekend was filled with lots of new experiences for us all!

The trip started and ended with 7+ hours of air travel, and the kids were 60% well behaved...which is acceptable ;) Then we took a bus and train to the rental car station to get our 'NEW CAR!' as Dylan proclaimed. We spent Friday-Sunday meeting with the Elder and Khanna families and friends for various wedding festivities including a Sangeet, a Hindu wedding ceremony, and a Christian ceremony.

Congrats Aunt Martha and Uncle Kunaal. Thank you for the wonderful experiences.

Beach Time

This time of year is great, just before the heat of summer kicks in. You will see in the photos that Olivia wants nothing more than to climb in Dylan's lap. It really seems that they love each other, but their timing is usually way off. Sometimes Dylan tries to SQUEEEEEEEEEEZE her, and she (for some reason) wants no part of it. Other times, she tries to kiss him, and he tells her to 'Go away!'...let the fun sibling rivalry begin.