Surviving Hurricane Sandy

We were very fortunate to avoid any excitement from Hurricane Sandy.  It's heartbreaking to see the devestation sustained along the Jersey Shore in towns like Ocean City and Avalon, where we spent time this summer. Most of my family in New Jersey is without power and likely will be for the next week.
 

Our basement flooded, of course, but no more than it usually does when we have a heavy downpouring. The lights flickered a bit, but it was well after all the kiddos had been put to bed.  For us, the storm experience consisted of too much local news, lots of soup eating, and a stir crazy husband (much moreso than the kids!).  Adam worked until noon on Monday and had Tuesday off.  One of the downsides to working from home - I didn't get any time off!

 

On Monday morning, Pauline & Oliver baked cookies.  After nap, Oliver & Daddy attempted to decorate them, but both lost interest pretty quickly - less than 10 cookies decorated!  On Tuesday, Adam struggled to come up with an activity for him and Oliver out of the house.  Although there was little-to-no damage within the city, everything had shut down in anticipation of the storm.  They ended up at the Nest play gym in the morning, followed by pancakes at IHOP.  After nap, we built a fort in the basement.  Good thing Mommy stepped in to help - it was clear that Daddy did not build forts to pass the time during snow storms when he was a kid!

 

 

Welcoming our New Au Pair Soon!

I completely forgot to mention this....

We matched with our next au pair a few weeks ago!!!  We are all so relieved to have this process behind us - it's extremely time consuming to search and interview au pair candidates and we knew that this time we would need to be the pickiest, since this coming year will likely be the most challenging for our au pair (as the babies learn to eat, crawl, walk).  

 

Our new au pair is Julia and we are so excited for her arrival!  She's German, about to turn 27, and has been working at a daycare center for the last few years.  We feel like we hit the jackpot!  She lives in Berlin, which means she shouldn't have any trouble adjusting to city-life.  The only wrinkle in the plans is that because Julia turns 27 on Thanksgiving, she needs to be in the country before then (visa rules - au pairs are from 18-26).  So, Julia will be joining us on November 16th and it will be a bit of a tight squeeze in our house, since Pauline is working through December 7th and won't fly home until December 18th.  This means Julia will be stuck sleeping our basement for a few weeks and things will be a bit cramped, BUT, it also means that Pauline will be doing most of the training for us, and we will have oodles of childcare hours at our disposal -- Adam & I plan on doing lots of socializing and sleeping in during those weeks of overlap! 

 

Welcome to the family, Julia!



Julia at Checkpoint Charlie

Oliver: Our 2.5yr old Devil!

Oliver turned 2 1/2 earlier this month.  I think this is the first time I can honestly say I will not be sad when this phase is over.  Yikes!  He was such a cute and adorable 2 year old - what happened?  We never know what to expect out of him these days.  What he thought was silly/funny yesterday could set him off today.  Explosive is the best way to describe his personality lately.  We are very much living with a tiny Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde and it's exhausting!   

POTD: Alex loves his feet

Now that he's found them, Alex doesn't want to let go! Even for diaper changes.

POTD: Delightful Toddler Entertainment

I love how the simplest thing can entertain and delight a toddler. 

 

This morning as we were getting ready to leave the house, I noticed a guest name badge in my bag from yesterday's trip to NYC that I had forgotten to return.  I clipped it to Oliver's shirt and he was tickled pink!  While he was eating breakfast, I scribbled his name on a piece of paper and slid it in to the name badge.  He was so excited to go to school wearing it. 

 

 

Double Cuteness Update

Two cute Oliver moments today I don't want to forget....

This morning he and I were snuggling in bed while Adam was showering and he was in particularly good spirits.  We were talking about daycare and Oliver mentioned something about "Clare-bear" I explained that one of his teachers must have given her that nickname and I asked if he had a nickname too.  He does!  He is Oli-pop!  Very cute! 

Tonight, as Adam was getting them dressed after swim class, Oliver announced that he was a "pollen jock" from The Bee Movie (our minivan DVD these days).  Apparently, Oliver was running around the men's locker room, half-dressed, telling people.  Very funny! 



Apple Picking Adventure

Call us crazy, but we thought it would be a good idea to take the boys apple picking this weekend!  Oliver had gotten us up at 5:45am that morning, after having been a challenge at bedtime the night before, making it the first family outing that I wasn't looking forward to and wanted to bail on.  Of course, you can't cancel plans that you have been hyping to a toddler, so we loaded everyone up and set off with low expectations.  We had invited Pauline to join us, and I was a bit worried about how exactly we would manage when she (wisely) decided to stay home. 

Lo & behold, all three boys were super cooperative and we had a really nice family day!  Adam had Alex in the Ergo baby carrier, I had Lukas in the sling, and Oliver rode in the wagon with our apple baskets.  We were quite a sight once we had to abandon the wagon.  Adam had the diaper bag, and Alex, while carryinhg 40lbs of apples, while I had Lukas in the sling and Oliver on my shoulders....  too bad there's no photo of that! 

POTDs: Working From Home Perk

Yesterday, Oliver came up in the later afternoon, as I was finishing up a project, and quietly colored on the floor next to my desk.  Today, Alex fell asleep while I was cleaning out my inbox. 

Getting to see the boys when things are quiet is a definite perk of my days working at home! 

 

A Look Back: Oliver's first 3 months

We didn't create this blog until Oliver was about 6 months old, so I thought it would be fun to dig up some old photos of Bubba from those first few months.  Check out those baby blues!  Doesn't he look a whole lot like Alex?  Oliver was a very good-natured baby, who really loved tummy time.  He was a smiley, chatty kid, except in the car, where his non-stop crying would bring me to tears on 95, since he was always the most hysterical at areas that were the least safe to pull over at...  

 

Alex 3 month

Alex was the smallest when he was first born, but by the second month check-up had passed Lukas in weight.  We occassionally call him Bubba Jr.  Oliver was the original Bubba, since he was a bit of a chunker early on too (all that changed when he started crawling - at 5 months!).  Alex is in a lower weight percentile than Oliver was at this age, but seems have more fat rolls.  Or maybe he's just got a dirtier neck so I'm more aware of them!   

Alex is happiest when he is where all the action is. If Pauline or I are in the kitchen, he likes to be in a baby seat close by watching what we are doing. He's generally unphased by Oliver's antics. 

Lukas 3 Month

Lukas is our lil' peanut.  He's the more good natured baby, and there was a period when he wasn't being held nearly as often because Alex demanded more of our time.  He's always been very alert and when you hold him he's always looking around surveying the land, which has resulted in more than a few fat lips as he knocks his unsteady head into your face.  He's a good head-holder-upper, but doesn't particularly care for tummy-time.  He's much better than Alex at "standing up" when you have him on your lap.

3 Month Photo Fun

They are getting so big!  One of the things I really enjoyed while home on maternity leave was making the time to take photos of the boys. Oliver really enjoys getting in the photo as well when he gets to hold the babies.  Lukas (L) and Alex (R) in all of the photos -- "Lukas-left" is a great way for us to keep tabs on the babies in their crib (so you know which baby you have when you grab them in the middle of the night) or which bottle belongs to who. 

POTD: Coordinated Outfits

Pauline just made my afternoon by sending us a picture of the day (potd).  She and I both really love put the babies in coordinated outfits.  They are growing out of 3mo clothes, so we're trying to squeeze in a final wear out of some of the cutest clothes.

POTD: Monkey Music Grandma

I've been trying to work from home on the days Pauline is caring for all three (Wed & Thurs) but it doesn't always work out that way.  Today I am travelling around Philly & Baltimore and Grandma's on hand today helping Pauline in my absence.  The perk of an extra set of hands is the ability to leave the house with all three (Pauline isn't quite ready for handling solo). So off they went to Monkey Music Jungle!