Prepare for Cuteness!

That's right-- we went to see Santa today! My parents came down, primarily to help clean the living room carpet with their awesome machine (thanks Mom!!), and we thought it would be a great time to try and get the kids' pictures taken with Santa. And it was a great time-- since it's still early in the season, and a weekday, there was virtually no line to see the man himself.

I knew Nikos would not be a fan, but was hoping to at least get a picture of the two of them together, even if he was screaming his head off (like last year). Alas, that was not to be. Maya had no problem sitting with Santa, as evidenced by the adorable picture up above. She smiled and examined him and was just her usual, happy self. Nikos, however, FREAKED out! Worse than last year! He was holding on to me so tightly that I didn't even need to use my arms. He was literally clinging to me for dear life. Rather than torture him any more than I already had, we decided to take a break and try again after lunch.

We got lunch at a restaurant in the mall, and Nikos soon returned to being the delightful toddler we know and love. We thought we would walk around for a bit, then try to visit Santa again. However, the little guy discovered the mall play area, and we realized we were done. He had a GREAT time playing there, and we just knew that he would throw a fit if we tried to drag him away before he was ready. So, that was that. We got a great picture with Maya, at least! And years from now, if he wonders why he wasn't in the 2009 picture, well-- here's the explanation! He didn't like Santa this year, not one bit. It will be interesting to see how he feels about him next year!

In other news... I am starting to get into the Christmas spirit, even though Thanksgiving is still a few days away. Yes, I put up the Christmas tree! I couldn't help myself. I have this entire week off from school, and it was calling to me. Nikos was such a good helper, too, handing me ornaments and telling me where he thought they should go on the tree ("Up high, Mommy!" "Over there, Mommy!"). Maya seemed interested, too, sitting in her Bumbo chair and watching my every move. It was a ton of fun. For the first time, we will be spending Christmas entirely at home and having people come to US! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

In the meantime, though, Thanksgiving will be fun. We will be spending it at my parents' house with my brother, sister-in-law, aunt, uncle, and cousin. I just baked two pumpkin pies, and will be baking an apple pie tomorrow. The house smells so great. I love the holidays!! :)

6- and 24-month Appointments!

I nearly forgot! Our babies had their well-baby appointments today! Gus took both kids at the same time, earning some serious brownie points in my book. Here is how they measured up:

Maya:
15 pounds, 10 ounces (24th percentile)
26.75 inches (65th percentile)

Nikos:
27 pounds, 4 ounces (37th percentile)
34.5 inches (45th percentile)

WOOHOO!! Especially for Nikos, who has made quite a comeback since being labeled "failure to thrive" not too long ago. I am happy!

"Mommy is sad!"

This is what Nikos said to me yesterday when I fake-cried after asking for a hug and being denied. He then proceeded to giggle and run off, but I was smiling at his little sentence (especially his use of the word "is"). Gosh, I love that kid!

What he should have said, though, was "Mommy is tired!" Exhausted, actually. Let me catch you up to speed. Saturday morning was soccer class, which went GREAT! Nikos is finally starting to warm up to the whole thing, and he participated in just about every activity (yay!). Once we got home, I nursed Maya, then we piled into the car and headed for Orange County. We spent the rest of the day at Gus' parents' house. Nikos had a total blast, especially when Pappou took him to the pet store and McDonald's. Maya had a great time, too, though that fell apart at bedtime.

I still don't know what exactly happened. Maybe she wasn't feeling well, or maybe it was because she was in a new environment, but our little sweetheart was a miserable wreck. She would not stay asleep, and would wake up in hysterics on a regular basis. At 10pm, I finally said goodnight to everyone (Nouno and Nouna were over for dinner) and brought Maya to bed with me. She slept fine after that, though I did not (too uncomfortable).

Sunday morning, we had breakfast with Yiayia and Pappou, then headed to see my parents on our way home. We stayed there until Nikos woke up from his marathon afternoon nap, and then got home just in time for dinner.

Monday, I had to be at work by 7:15 to hold parent-teacher conferences. My first one was at 7:30, and they were non-stop for most of the day (I held 15 conferences yesterday, out of 34 students!). I had six more today, including one parent who burst into tears because her daughter feels unloved and it couldn't be further from the truth. Have I mentioned how conferences can be emotionally draining? Not only did my conferences run late today, but I felt like I needed a drink when they were over!

So I mentioned that we were gone basically all weekend... Which means that I wasn't able to go grocery shopping. We had NO food today... The kicker was that we were out of milk, which is just not good with a toddler in the house. So after my hectic and emotionally taxing day, I ran home, nursed Maya, then loaded both kids into the car for a quick supermarket trip.

Luckily, the stars were aligned for us, and a "car-cart" was available. Nikos LOVES these carts, and will happily steer for an entire extended shopping trip. Hallelujah! Long story short, we were able to get the basics and still get home in time to cook dinner (barely!).

But yes. I am exhausted!!! Only three more days, and then I have the entire week off. WOOHOO!!

Conversations

On my lunch break today, I mentioned to my coworkers that I have just recently become aware of the fact that Nikos can actually carry on a conversation. Of course, he's responded to questions for a long time now, but he generally answered them with one or two words. But all of a sudden, I really feel like he listens to and understands everything I say... and it is AWESOME! I love having conversations with my little guy! Here is just a sampling of some recent chats we've had (for posterity, of course!)...

#1
Me: So what did you do at Bonnie's house today?
Nikos: Friends! I see Teagen, and Brady, and Jenna, and Mattias, and Hanna...
Me: Oh, so you played with your friends? What else did you do?
Nikos: I color.
Me: You colored? What did you color?
Nikos: I color Spider-man! I like Spider-man!

#2
(sitting in the high chair)
Me: Niko, get down. That chair is for babies.
Nikos: No, it's MY chair.
Me: No, it's Maya's chair. Time to get down.
Nikos: No, it's NIKO'S chair. DAT's Maya's chair (pointing at his booster seat)
(it was hard not to laugh at that point!)

#3
Nikos: Mmmmm... Nummy nummy pizza!
Me: Is that good? You like the pizza?
Nikos: I like it! It's nummy, Mommy?
Me: Yes, it's yummy!
Nikos: An' I got milk and juice, too! Tank you, Mommy!
Me: You're welcome, baby.

Christmas Shopping: Done!

Today was Veteran's Day, which meant that both Gus and I had the day off of work (yay!). We elected, however, to send the kids to daycare so that we would have time to get all sorts of things done that would have been very difficult with them around. And my task of choice was Christmas shopping for the kids!

I have to say, it was incredibly fun to spend hours and hours wandering through various stores, buying lots of goodies for the two kids I love more than life itself. And I am so proud of my haul! I had been making lists for the past week or so, coming up with ideas for both kids, researching good deals, etc. I also realized that I had $33 in credit at one store, and a $25 gift card to another. Combined with a $100 AmEx gift card we recently rediscovered, I ended up spending very little money and getting quite a bit!

A few highlights from my expedition:

• Target's dollar bins. I always peek to see what's in them, but they had some great stuff in them today! I bought a bunch of books, as well as 4 wooden cars and a wooden airplane for Nikos. They will go great with the next gift I got him...
  
• Which brings me to Home Depot. I went in there to buy Nikos a rug that has roads on it, for his cars and whatnot. But instead of ringing up as a $20 item, the computer said that it was $0.01. Yes, a penny. I told the cashier that wasn't right, and she knew it couldn't be right... But she let me have it! I guess she just didn't want to deal with it. But that was nearly a 100% discount!
  
• At another store, I went in looking for clothing. I walked out with quite a few great books and a high-quality wooden puzzle that were deeply discounted but in perfect condition! Score!

I also bought Christmas outfits for both kids, and a Thanksgiving outfit for Maya that was only $3! And I capped off the shopping trip by buying a new artificial Christmas tree to replace our old one. It's 7.5 feet tall and looks great-- I'm so excited to put it up!

At any rate... Can you tell I'm ready for Christmas? And only a few more weeks until Thanksgiving, too! I just have to get through parent-teacher conferences, and then it will be here. Hooray!! :)

Short Stories

"Working"
Sadly, Black Fishy passed away earlier this week. Instead of just replacing him, Gus and I thought it would be better if we purchased an actual tank to replace the fishbowl, thinking that a lack of proper oxygenation might be the culprit. And I didn't want to set up a new tank AND introduce a new fish at the same time.

Anyhow, Nikos came home from daycare that day, and immediately asked to see his fishies. And he quickly noticed Black Fishy's absence, and inquired about it. What did I say to my little two-year-old? "He's working." It was the first thing that popped into my head!

He seemed to accept that without problem. After all, Mommy and Daddy go to work, so why not Black Fishy?

Black Fishy #2 was in the tank when he came home the next day. All is right in the world! And they are really liking their new home, too.

"Soccer"
Today was Nikos' second soccer class, and it went better than last week! There were still some tears, mostly when it was circle time and he did not want to sit down (he wanted to run laps back and forth across the field... could we have a distance runner here??). But overall, it went better. He played Red Light, Green Light, he played with cones, he kicked the ball a few times, and participated in the group cheer at the end. He still didn't want to play with the parachute, but he got a little closer to it, at least!

"Sickness"
I didn't really post about it, but our littly lady was pretty sick last weekend-- to the point where I thought it could be H1N1 and spent 40 minutes on hold with the Pediatric Nurse Advice hotline. She was horribly congested, had a fever, wasn't eating a ton, and basically just whimpered most of the day. Sunday (her half-birthday!) was the worst. Gus actually stayed home with her on Monday, and took her in to see our pediatrician. Luckily, she was already acting better by then, and the doctor said that it wasn't H1N1 and that we just needed to let it run its course. And I'm happy to say that she seems to be back to 100% now-- hooray!

Exposed!

Well, one of my worst fears was realized today: one of my students walked into the classroom when I was pumping! Yes, you read that correctly. Ever since I returned to work after having Nikos, I have told my students time and time again that they needed to learn responsibility, and that they would NEVER be allowed back into the classroom during lunch. Ever. If they asked what I was doing in there, I would tell them that I was making very important phone calls and getting some work done, and that I couldn't be interrupted. I always locked my door, closed the blinds, and made sure all my neighbors knew what was going on so that they wouldn't let my students inside while I was pumping (their key opens my room, too).

But alas, one teacher forgot.

The teacher next door happened to be walking out of her room, just as one of my students was returning to my door (to find it locked, of course). He told her his sob story: he had left his wallet in his desk, and it contained his lunch money. Being the kind person she is, she agreed to let him in so he could get it. I heard the key turn in the lock, and a surge of panic washed over me. I quickly did my best to cover up-- luckily, I was wearing a big sweater over a nursing tank top, so it wasn't too hard (this is not always the case!). I got down as low as I could in my chair. As this little boy walked in, I told him to get out. He looked at me, very confused, and started to explain that he needed to get his wallet. Honestly, I was a little hysterical at this point. The adrenaline was pumping (no pun intended)-- I pretty much screamed for him to get out. That was when my coworker suddenly realized what she had done, whisked him out of the room, and then came in to apologize profusely (while I was still pumping, which is actually sort of funny, in retrospect... Her kids are all around my age, and they all have young babies. I don't think she even thought twice about the fact that I was pumping. Especially since I was covered up!).

At any rate, there is no way that this kiddo saw anything, except for possibly the pump itself (no nudity, thank goodness!). I'm sure he was mostly just very confused. I emailed his mom, who I have known for years now and who also happens to be my Room Parent. But I think that it's pretty much a nonissue, at this point.

Still... My heart was pounding so hard. I felt so completely vulnerable! I almost thought I was going to pass out right afterward. I hope that was the first AND last time that sort of thing ever happens!

6 Month Letter

Dear Maya,

Wow. Just wow. You are half a year old already, and I couldn't for the life of me explain how that happened. But here you are, a sweet, wonderful little half-year-old. This past month has been a really busy one for our family, but we haven't failed to notice all the growing you've been doing!

For one, you are getting really close to being able to sit on your own. Actually, you can sit on your own for a little while-- but then you get excited about something and like to launch yourself backward or to the side. You have also become quite the little grabber. We are constantly looking to make sure that certain things aren't within your reach, because we know you will grab them if they are! The other night, I was giving you your bath when you accidentally dropped your rubber ducky over the side. Next thing I knew, you were launching yourself over the side after it-- and you successfully retrieved it, I might add! You grow stronger by the day, and I know that our days of you being immobile are short-lived. You love doing your baby push-ups on the floor, and sometimes pull your knees up underneath you. It's only a matter of time before you put all the pieces together and start to crawl. sigh...

Sleep-wise, yours is a history of constant improvement and then regression. We weren't as strict with the sleep training this time around as we were with your brother, and that may be part of it. It's just easier to go in and feed you or give you your pacifier than it is to listen to you cry and worry about waking your brother. At any rate, you tend to still wake up once at night for a feeding. The problem is that you've been waking for the day at 5am lately, which means that we've been bringing you into bed with us for that last hour before our alarm clocks go off. We long for the day when you realize just how awesome sleep truly is. Once you and your brother figure that out, then we've got it made!

I mentioned before that it has been a busy month. The past week alone has been a big one for you! First, your brother turned two, and we celebrated all weekend long. We had family portraits taken later in the week, which was a lot like herding cats-- working with a toddler and an infant is tricky! Finally, you celebrated your very first Halloween by going trick-or-treating with your big brother. You didn't collect any candy (since you have no teeth!), but the consensus was that you were quite the beautiful little flower.

Basically, you are an incredible kid. The word that keeps popping into my head is "synergy." It describes a situation where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And with you in our family, that's just what we have. You aren't just the fourth member of our family, but you are the missing piece of our puzzle. We simply can't imagine our life without you. You are the sweetest, most amazing little girl we know, and that will never change. We love you!!!

Love Always,
Mommy and Daddy

Happy Halloween!

So much to post, so little time!

Long story short: Nikos had his first soccer class this morning. He was excited about it up until we got there... then it took him about 20 minutes to get warmed up to the whole idea and start participating. Later in the day, he and I baked Halloween sugar cookies. And after dinner, the four of us went trick-or-treating to a few houses on the street. Nikos, our shy guy, decided he was done after that. He was thrilled to strip out of his costume and check out the kids who came to our door instead. Maya did just fine (and looked incredibly cute in her $8 costume!), but she had a rough day because she's been sick (appears to be a common cold, like what I've had all week-- but obviously we're keeping an eye on her to make sure it's not H1N1).

Anyway, that about sums it up! And without further ado: pictures!

Three Things

1. Nikos has finally figured out how to open regular round door knobs. For the longest time, he hasn't really had the dexterity to turn them, and we were just fine with that (since all our knobs are round!). But times have changed... The other night, he surprised Gus by opening the bathroom door and escaping before his bath. And then today, he showed me that he could easily open his bedroom door when I put him in there for a time out. Doh! Our days of feeling secure are over... Time to invest in some doorknob covers (and find the ones we already have... somewhere!).

2. Today, I did something I feel like you only see on TV. I bought a replacement for Orange Fishy who, quite sadly, passed away overnight. Yes, I was that mom at Petco, looking in the goldfish tank for one who most closely resembled our dearly departed Orange Fishy so that Nikos would never be the wiser (until he reads this, many years from now!). I hereby vow not to do this when he's older, but for now, it seems to be the right thing to do. He has no concept of death, and would have thrown a fit if he had noticed one of his fish missing. For the record, Orange Fishy #2 seems to be doing quite well, and Black Fishy continues to thrive. RIP, original Orange Fishy. And welcome to your new home, #2!


3. I got Nikos to wear his Halloween costume for about 5 minutes today! I have no clue if he will wear it tomorrow, but this was an improvement. My, that child can be stubborn! If he doesn't want to do something, he WILL NOT DO IT. Period. This is a quality that might serve him well later in life, but is very frustrating when Mommy and Daddy are just trying to help him. At any rate, here is a picture! It may very well be the only one we get, so enjoy it! We will certainly get pictures of Maya in her costume tomorrow, since she doesn't have a lot of control over that. So we'll save those pictures for tomorrow. :)

Patting Myself on the Back

I just wanted to take a minute to brag about myself, haha!

For the past two months, I have cooked a family dinner every single weeknight. This may not seem all that impressive to many people, but it's a huge change for me. It used to be that Gus would come home late and fend for himself. Which left Nikos and I on our own to eat. I'd fix something quick for him, and then something else for myself. Three people, three separate dinners. I knew that this would have to change at some point, since I really wanted us to have family dinners, but I wasn't sure when it would happen.

Well, Gus was able to adjust his work schedule slightly, making it home by 6pm every night. And I started doing weekly menu planning, coming up with a list of meals that were quick and easy to prepare after working all day. And I've managed to stick with it!

It's been great, too. We all sit down at the table together, and Maya joins us in her bouncy seat or the jumperoo. In general, it's such a nice time. Nikos seems to relish the attention he gets from both his parents at dinner time, and I enjoy just sitting with my family all together.

In other words, it's a good thing. I can definitely keep this up, because it's totally worth it. But I'm still proud of myself for making it this far! :)

His "Real" Birthday Party

We have had such a great day with our little guy today. He slept in late (thank goodness, after yesterday's crankiness!) and woke up in a really happy mood. He was so happy to see his new play kitchen out in the living room, and almost instantly began "cooking dinner" (his words). He spent most of the morning running between his various new toys-- mostly the kitchen and the train table and his new fishies from his auntie (who he has named "black fishy" and "orange fishy/Nemo's Daddy" and we're sticking with that). After Maya had taken a nap and nursed for a bit, we headed out to our favorite local breakfast place to have brunch, just the four of us. Nikos had lots of fun snuggling with me in the booth, building towers out of coffee creamer, and inhaling large quantities of food. After we finished there, we walked a few doors down to Petco, where he looked at the fishies and the turtles.





We hung out at home the rest of the day, capping it all off with a spaghetti dinner (his request). Our light eater had three helpings! We listened to a CD of kids' music, he looked at his fishies some more, and then he made a bunch of phone calls to say thank you for his gifts.

Overall, it was a good day... He seemed to be a lot happier, which was a nice change. The only downside was that I left my fancy camera on a low table, and Nikos, being a curious toddler, pulled it off... totally smashing my 50mm portrait lens on the tile floor (yes, I cried). But I will be getting a new one soon! And at least the body of the camera is still working fine (whew!). I'll just have to use my other lens in the meantime, even if I don't like it as much...

Two Year Letter

Dear Nikos,

It's been so long since I wrote you one of these letters, and I just don't know where to begin! How, exactly, does one summarize a year in the life of an ever-changing toddler??

These days, you hardly resemble the Nikos we knew a year ago. Not only are you a walker now, but you run, jump, stomp, kick, and do all sorts of crazy and highly-mobile things. Not to mention the fact that your vocabulary seems to grow exponentially on a daily basis. When you were one, you had quite a few words, but you tended to clam up when you got around other people. Nowadays, you spout out multiple-word sentences on a regular basis: "No, Charlie, MY toy!" or "I want Thomas, pweese! Tank you, Mommy!" We used to have to repeat words over and over for you to learn them; these days, we are careful what we say, because you tend to learn and repeat them almost instantly. Many times, you will say things that cause Daddy and I to look at each other and say, "Where did he learn THAT?" But that's part of what makes you so wonderful-- you are forever surprising us and making us giggle with your developing language. In a weird way, I don't look forward to the days when you speak in full, grammatically-correct sentences. I am truly enjoying speaking Nikos-ese. :) ("I wike it!")

The real turning point for you this year was the birth of Maya, your baby sister. You weren't allowed to come and visit us at the hospital, which caused me to shed many tears and scare a poor nurse's assistant. But it was incredible to watch you meet her for the first time. In that instant, you went from being a baby in my eyes to becoming a little boy. And it wasn't just in my mind-- you really grew to fill your new role. And while there have been moments where you wanted to blink her out of existence, you have, on the whole, really relished your role as big brother. You are so sweet and gentle with Maya, bringing her a blanket or a pacifier whenever you find one. You are sometimes possessive with your toys, but after a little gentle reminding will often bend over backwards to offer them to your baby sister to play with. For her part, she worships the ground you walk on. Just walking into the room is enough to make her smile, and the slightest bit of silly behavior from you sends her into fits of giggles.

Long story short, we love you, we love you, we LOVE you! Picking you up from daycare is the highlight of my day. You run over to the door, yelling "Hi Mommy! Hi Mommy!" and proceed to hug my legs and tell me a million things at once ("I color!" "I play trains!" "Turn on lights!" "I hold it!"). Add to that the smiling and cooing on your baby sister, and my heart feels like it could burst. I am a proud mommy, and I know that your daddy feels the same way. You give the best hugs and kisses in the entire universe, and can make the worst day feel like something special. We love you, baby boy, just as we always have. Some things will never change!

All our Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Birthday Party

I wish I could call today a smashing success, and say that Nikos enjoyed every minute, but that really wouldn't be in keeping with his character. I don't know if I have ever mentioned it on here before, but while our boy is very happy and outgoing when he's in a small group, he does not like crowds or parties. He just gets completely overstimulated and falls to pieces. This was the main reason that we kept today's party on the small side: it was just us, all four grandparents, two aunts, an uncle, his great-aunt and great-uncle, his godparents, and Bonnie (our daycare lady and next-door neighbor). He knows ALL of these people, and loves them, and (in theory) shouldn't have had a problem. And as people started to arrive, he was fine. But as soon as the crowd got a little bigger, with lots of people calling his name and wanting his attention, he pretty much lost it. He wouldn't eat lunch, didn't want to blow out his candles or eat cake (though he did blow out the candle, anyway-- a minor victory!), didn't really want to open presents, and (basically) didn't really want to be there. A few times, he went back to his room and climbed onto his bed, probably to escape the sensory overload. I felt so bad for him, and sorry that our guests couldn't enjoy the Nikos that they know and love. And, true to form, as people began to leave, he managed to get happier and happier, ending the day on a high note playing in the backyard with Uncle Grant and Aunt Melissa (who he found hysterical when they were playing soccer). Note to self: With Nikos, less is more. Maybe next year we will just do something as a family, or spread out the celebrations over several days with very small groups of people. We'll see.

That being said, he was lavished with attention from all the people who love him today. I didn't get a ton of pictures, between attempting to play hostess and keeping an eye on two kids, and the best ones were taken after most people left, but here they are...
Before the party...

Two aunties

Ready? Get set...

BLOW!

Hey, there's a train on this cake! I LIKE trains!

Lightning McQueen, who he didn't want to put down after opening

Gift grom Grandma and Grandpa

Gift from Yiayia and Pappou (okay, mostly Pappou)

Cruising in his Cozy Coupe while playing bubbles with Uncle Grant and Aunt Melissa

Bubbles! (and a happy birthday boy!)

Maya, checking out the motorcycle

Free wagon rides from Uncle Grant!


Finally, here is the gift we got for him this year... He hasn't seen it yet, but will get it first thing in the morning. I can't wait to see his reaction!


And I should add that I don't have any pictures of him playing with the train table he received as a gift from his Nouno and Nouna, but he ADORES it and has already spent hours with it. It is seriously the most perfect toddler-sized train table EVER! :)

Cake!

I have to brag about Nikos' birthday cake. Not only is it going to taste incredible (lemon cake with raspberry creme filling and buttercream frosting with a hint of almond), but I am very proud of how it turned out! This was my first-ever attempt at a "fancy" cake. I had lots of advice from experts, and I think it turned out pretty well, all things considered! Nikos hasn't seen it yet, and I'm looking forward to seeing his expression tomorrow when he sees that there's a TRAIN on it! Not just any train, either-- it's the special edition Percy "Happy Birthday" train! I love that he will be able to look at it and recognize Percy right away. It's going to be great!

Evacuation Night

Almost two years ago (plus an hour or two!), we had to evacuate our home. I could see flames on the ridge not too far from us, and they seemed to be creeping closer by the minute. We waited for a while, debating whether or not to leave, but I was freaking out and eventually made the call to evacuate... I knew that there was no way I would be able to sleep in the house that night. We had already packed our belongings into the car earlier that day, but we then packed up the animals and headed to our friend Tony's house in an area of San Diego unaffected by the fires. And what a night it was! It was so hot (unlike tonight), and Tony let us sleep in his room, along with both the cat AND the parrot. He had a brand-new puppy at the time, and it just wasn't wise to keep either animal anyplace else in the house. We slept decently, until about 4am, when Charlie jumped up onto Corky's travel cage and knocked it completely upside-down! Talk about a rude awakening!

We had to wake up early the next morning to get to the hospital for a non-stress test. I had been trying to get in touch with my doctor, with no luck-- my medical clinic was in the area of town that was hardest hit by the fires. In fact, my coworker who lost her home lived less than two minutes from my doctor's office-- it's incredible that the building didn't burn down as well! At any rate, my repeated calling to the hospital about my situation resulted in them scheduling the non-stress test early that morning, so off we went. Nikos was just perfect-- active as can be, and with plenty of fluid. That, along with returning to our undamaged home, was the highlight of my day.

I spent so many hours on the phone with people over the next few days, trying to locate my doctor and see what the plan was. Originally, I was supposed to have an appointment with him on the 22nd, where we would schedule my induction. On the 24th, I finally spoke with a doctor who "got it." Really, if I could remember her name, I would hug her today. Truly, I would. I was in tears on the phone, wanting to get the baby out and worrying that he would be in danger if he stayed in my belly too much longer. She said she would schedule my induction, then call me back. She did call me back-- and told me to come to the hospital right away. My induction began at 1pm, and Nikos was born via emergency c-section almost exactly 24 hours later.

Yes, I know that I am being totally sappy lately. But that week was the most incredible emotional roller coaster that I have EVER experienced-- it ran the gamut from tragedy and sorrow to incredible happiness. I will never forget a second of it. And most of all, I can't believe that my little baby is almost two. Wasn't he just born yesterday?

2 Years Ago...

Well, with Nikos' birthday a mere 6 days away, I have to confess that I am getting a little sentimental. But I just can't believe that this was me two years ago:

...and that this is me today:

Two years ago, I was three days past my due date, and was completely miserable. It looked like I would most likely end up being induced, and I kind of hoped that Nikos would end up being born on the anniversary of our first date-- both which ended up happening! I was bored to tears, home alone on my maternity leave, waiting for something to happen. I had no idea that only a few days later, we would be forced to evacuate from our home and that I would feel relieved to still be pregnant (it was much easier to evacuate with a big belly than with a newborn!). Luckily, our neighborhood was spared, and we were able to return home the next day. The day after that, I was admitted to the hospital for my induction. And the day after THAT, my beautiful boy made his arrival via c-section and my life changed forever.

Seriously, how can he be almost two already?!? And Maya, my BABY-baby, is already nearly six months old. This is just mind-boggling.

Happy Early Birthday!

Gus gave Nikos his first birthday present today (a week early). Nikos' room has desperately needed some more storage for a while now, so Gus has been working hard on making him a bookcase. It looks fantastic!! And Nikos is really loving the easy access to all his books (can you tell?). Way to go, Daddy! :)

20 Years Ago Today...

This is a complete departure from the normal content of this blog, but I saw a post from a friend on Facebook earlier that reminded me that today was what I like to refer to as "earthquake day." Not only that, but today marked the twenty-year anniversary of said earthquake. It's strange to think that it's already been twenty years since I was a little sixth-grader, sitting at my desk in my bedroom and fiddling with the batteries in my Walkman. I was leaning back in my chair, trying to switch the dying batteries around so that I could squeeze just a little more life out of them, when BAM! At 5:04pm, everything started shaking. I fell onto the floor, and watched as one corner of my room seemed to rise and fall for what felt like an eternity (turns out it was only 15 seconds).

Once the shaking stopped, I ran outside. My brother was out there playing with our neighbor, Travis, who just stood there looking dumbfounded. I remember yelling at him to go home (which actually makes me giggle, because Travis was kind of a doofus). We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting in the driveway, listening to radio reports and being afraid to go back into the house because of possible gas leaks. For dinner that night, we attempted to barbecue a can of refried beans (it was awful). And after dinner, we went to the ice cream social at my elementary school. They had decided not to cancel the event, and it really became the place where everyone got together to talk about what had happened. It was probably the most successful ice cream social ever! Not to mention the fact that the school had electricity, while most of the houses did not.

I remember hearing that the Bay Bridge had collapsed, which turned out to be somewhat of an exaggeration. I remember going to sleep that night, and being jarred awake by a multitude of very strong aftershocks that made my heart race. Really, I can't believe it's been twenty years... I feel like it was yesterday!

Best Kids Ever

I know it won't always be this way, but for the moment, my babies really do LIKE each other. Maya thinks Nikos is just about the most interesting person on the planet (she grins and giggles just looking at him), and he thinks she's pretty sweet, too.

Exhibit A:


and Exhibit B:


♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥