5/30/2011 - Getting him prepared

In a week from today, I will be back at work. The boys will be at their daycares. Life is going to get busy . . . even busier than it is now.
Since we are still nursing our colds (yes we are still sick and it sucks), we stuck close to home yet again. In an effort to make the best of a yucky situation, I spent Liam's awake time talking to him a ton about what changes to expect as I start back at work. Finn is an old pro at it, granted he has had a 5 month hiatus from the early morning wake up, but he had been doing it previously for over 2 years and had adapted quite well to it. Liam does not know what to expect in these upcoming months. This sweet innocent toe-grabbing little bean will be subjected to early morning wakeups, followed by early morning drives to his Baachan and Jiichan's house. Will he forgive me for our crazy schedule eventually? Will he adapt well, or turn into an angry baby? I have to admit I already feel the guilt about it and it hasn't even happened yet.

5/29/2011 - Homebodies

From Drop Box

We are still nursing our awful colds. We forced ourselves to stay home from my aunt's surprise 80th birthday party to recover and keep our sickness away from the relatives. Jesse did take the boys out for a walk so I could take a nap. I had the best 30 minute snooze ever and still had time to tidy up the house and start a load of laundry. When they all got home after an hour and a half outing, the boys chilled out doing tummy time. Liam rolled over for the 5th time! New tricks every day!

5/28/2011 - Birthdays, Puppies and Babies

From Drop Box

We attended a birthday party for some of Finn's friends at Roberts Recreation Area today. A neighbor of the birthday boy and girl brought 6 little silken terrier puppies. Finn could not contain the joy on his face when he saw the puppies. He was too nervous to hold one, but he absolutely loved looking that them.
Liam was a big hit at the party once he woke up from snoozing in the Ergo Carrier. He was smiling at the ladies, being his usual charming self.

5/27/2011 - New Do

On my first free day sans both children at the end of my maternity leave, I indulged myself today with a nice haircut. Though I have loved having my hair hanging halfway down my back, the inevitable post baby hair loss has started. The thought of having super long hair and super short hairs growing back in was just yucky, so I chopped it to my chin. The hair was long enough to be able to donate it to Locks of Love to make wigs for kids with cancer. Good deed, good do (hairdo that is).

5/26/2011 - Finn's fave

From Drop Box

Finn's Baachan came over to help me out today. I have both the boys home with me on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Finn is finally recovered (except for the lingering cough), but Liam is nursing a cold and cough. I hate to keep him cooped up in the house after practically an entire week of being stuck in the house, so I asked if Baachan would come and take him to the park so I could let Liam sleep the day away in the house and recover. Baachan brought Finn a chocolate glazed donut to eat while he watched his breakfast Netflix on my Ipod. Finn is in toddler heaven!

5/25/2011 - Beanie Modeling Session

I took some time today to go through Liam's hats to try them on him. At first he had such a small head that he couldn't fit into any of Finn's hand me down hats(Finn had an stranglely large head from the start). He looks fantastic in his Iowa Hawkeye beanie. So cute!

5/24/2011 - Sick snugglebugs

From Drop Box

Everybody is still sick. It's the worse that we've experienced in awhile. The boys still took the time to snuggle together. Please note the dried boogies in Finn's nose that he refuses to let us wipe.

5/23/2011 - Sick Day

Finn is still sick. I'm sick too. It's been . . . brutal. I kept him home from school today because he is still suffering from a runny nose and watery goobery eyes. So, today we dropped Liam off for day number two of daycare, followed by a chocolate milk and a donut for Finny and a coffee and donut for mama. Then we went home and Finny vegged in front of the laptop for the day. I hate to use the laptop as a babysitter, but it is the one thing that keeps him mellow for long amounts of time. He needs mellow when he is sick. I need him to be mellow when I am sick. Papa got home early from work after a horribly sleepless night that led to an early jaunt to the gym and work. So, we headed out to The Emerybay Market for dinner. Finn seemed to be in better spirits so we let him ride on the merrygoround and jump in the ball pit to get some yaya's out. Simple pleasures. Poor guy. Hopefully he will be better today.

5/22/2011 - The Muffin Man

From Drop Box

Finn and Papa made berry bran muffins today. The muffins are pretty tasty. Maybe we will have a chef on our hands someday. He can keep up the Kelsey male tradition of being great cooks!

5/21/2011 - Toe Grabber

From Drop Box

Liam has discovered his toes! Everytime he lies on his back, he joyfully grabs as his socks and feet. I can't wait until he starts sucking his toes. Too cute!!

5/20/2011 - Pump it up

I would like to say that is is nice to see my old friend the Medela Pump in Style, but it really isn't that nice at all. Liam had his first day of daycare today. I dropped him off bright and early at 7:30 because we had a sick little toddler at home and I didn't want to deal with bringing both kids to school when only one of them would be staying. I cried. I didn't think that I would, but I cried when I dropped him off. But, for the most part I am feeling fine except for the fact that I have already pumped three times today. In fact, I am pumping as I type (Yeah hands free pumping bra). Eagerly awaiting the banana bread timer to go off and the toddler to wake up so I can drive to the school to pick up my little boy.

5/19/2011 - Preschool Luau

From Drop Box

Finn's preschool held a luau today, complete with "grass" skirts and leis! It was too cute for words! They sang cute Hawaiian songs and danced. I was gushing with pride despite the fact that my sick little boy just stood in the back and wiped his nose with his sleeve.

5/18/2011 - Sick sick baby round 2

From Drop Box

Liam has his 2nd cold in his short short life. This daycare sickness stuff is starting to get me down. Jesse is sick and now I am starting to get a sore throat! Brutal!

5/17/2011 - Hand me down heaven

From Drop Box

Finn got a ginormous box of dinosaurs from him generous cousins. At the same time, we got another box of stuff to make room for in the boys' room. The pure joy on his face when he plays with the dinosaurs makes it all worth it.

5/16/2011 - Bumbo Baby

From Drop Box

Our baby is about 2 weeks from being 4 months old and getting stronger each day. Almost time for him to sit freely in the Bumbo. Crazy to see him growing.

5/15/2011 - Uncle Joshu's Visit

From Drop Box

Jesse's friend Joshu is visiting from North Carolina for his brother's wedding. He made a special trip out to the East Bay to hang out with us and meet little Liam. Liam had fun, you just can't see it by the expression on his face.

5/14/2011 - Kids these days

From Drop Box

We had brunch at my friend's house yesterday. Finn amused himself by watching Netflix on her ipad. Hilarious. This is the modern kid ... chilling out on his beautiful camel colored couch with matching pillows in his dark wash jeans and indie rocker shirt watching Netflix on his Ipad.

5/13/2011 - Staycation

These days, this is what I define as a vacation. Finn is playing outside with the neighbor kid. Jesse is toting around our sleeping baby in the front pack outside. The only sound in the house is the dull swish of the washer and my fingers typing on this laptop. This is how I define relaxation.

5/12/2011 - Orderly disorder

From Drop Box

This picture defines our life right now. Finn busily plays by himself. Either Jesse or I holds Liam. Very rarely are we static. The house is super messy. It's pure madness, but we manage to be getting by okay right now. I can't even begin to think about when I head back to work in 3 weeks. Madness, pure madness!

5/11/2011 - Tummy time

From Drop Box

Liam is starting to like his tummy time. Look he's even smiling!!!That neck is going to be super strong yet!

5/10/2011 - Dapper Capper

From Drop Box

Finn looks fantastic in his new fedora. Too bad he wouldn't let me take a pic of his pretty face headon. Oh well, that is just the way it goes with a busy 2 year old.

5/9/2011 - Even better than the real thing?

From Drop Box

Liam won't take the bottle. He screams and screams and cries and absolutely refuses to take the bottle. With less than 2 weeks until he starts daycare, I am getting stressed. What's a mama to do?

5/8/2011 - Mother's Day

Oh, the two greatest joys in my life, my Finn and Liam spoiled me with the help of their generous and thoughtful father. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have such an amazing family. Somedays, when I feel beaten up and exhausted, I need to remind myself of special days like this. Raising these kids has been the most difficult and rewarding job of my life.

5/7/2011 - Figuring it all out

I finally feel like we are starting to figure him out. We have spent the last 14 weeks trying to translate his language and his needs. I think that I am getting fluent in Liam-ese. He eats every 2 to 2 1/2 hours or so, announcing it with a pained cry. After 15 minutes of sitting up to prevent spitting up, he lets us know that he wants to play with us. After about 20 minutes, he announces that it is time to walk around the house and bounce him. About 2 hours after he awakens from his nap, he exclaims that he must be rocked, strolled or nursed to sleep. As long as we listen to his commands, Liam is pretty much a happy boy. Hopefully these next 3 weeks at home with him will be a breeze! Hope I didn't speak too soon!

5/6/2011 - The Royal Treatment for Mother's Day

It's my first Mother's Day with a kid in preschool, therefore it's my first mother's day with the lovely school-produced artistic present! I love it! I would have worn my beautiful crown all day if my head weren't so large. Move over Duchess Catherine, there's new royalty in town!

5/5/2011 - Nothing sweeter

Nothing like the peace of a sleeping baby. Savoring my last few weeks of leave with lots of snuggle time.

5/4/2011 - Breakdancing

From Drop Box

Finn is breakdancing. Oh man, nothing cuter!

5/3/2011 - Stomping Game

Finn is 100% better today. We stomped around the carport for an hour or so getting some good suntime. Spring is sprung and the weather is phenomenal. Love it when it is sunny and 78 degrees! Love you CA, if I didn't tell you that enough!

5/2/2011 - Feeling Better

Finn went to sleep last night with a fever and awoke throwing up. Poor kid. Only seemed to last a couple of hours, as he was all better by noon. You can see he got his energy back as he rolled around on his back kicking his legs merrily. Resilient!!

5/1/2011 - Discovery

From Drop Box

We took Finn and Liam to the Bay Area Discovery Museum care of Groupon. It was a perfectly sunny day in Sausalito with a slight breeze. Finn had a blast playing with the dump trucks, exploring the pirate ship and painting. Mom and Dad enjoyed a sunny day in the North Bay with gorgeous clear views of the Golden Gate Bridge and beyond.