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High Compliment

"Mama, I love you bigger than an elephant."

 

(We went out for a walk yesterday, and I had Sully in the sling. Eva decided she needed a sling as well--to carry her duck, of course.)

Happy Friday!

Drooly McGee

I believe we've officially hit the bib stage:

 

If he's anything like his sister and his daddy, this could be a very, very long stage.

Little Joker

After weeks of "almosts," our little Sully laughed for the first time the day before Halloween. And the best part was Mike, Eva, and I were all there to hear it! (It's cute.)

The Spiderman hat is a super special hand-me-down from our pal Gideon. Thanks buddy!

Many, Many Costumes

Her pumpkin carving outfit:

Ready for trick-or-treating:

...and on Sunday morning, she asked me to paint kitty whiskers on her cheeks. I think it may be Halloween at our house for quite a while!

Introducing...

Evie-Bat!

 

And Sully-Bot!

 

Tonight: Trick-or-treating at the downtown businesses and pumpkin carving. Tomorrow: Trick-or-treating in our neighborhood and handing out candy to the little goblins that knock on our door. Two days of Halloween fun! 

Happy Halloween, everyone! Have a fun (and safe) weekend.

Whew!

It's kind of been a melancholy week for me. We've been having lots of fun--many, many visitors lately, the return to play group, gearing up for Halloween...but that means I've been scrambling more than usual trying to keep all the balls in the air.

I've mentioned this a bit here before, but I'm a person who just plain functions better when I've had some time to myself each day--time to be in my own head, even if it's only five minutes at the end of the day while I'm falling asleep. And unfortunately, that time's been sacrificed as of late.

I know this will correct itself soon. Our lives are resettling a bit as we get used to new routines, as it always goes, but I've been feeling an odd effect of not having time to sort my thoughts: despite the fact I spend all day, every day with my kids, I miss them. I'm finding it difficult to achieve balance. I'm so busy tending to Sully that I'm grieving for the one-on-one time I had (for three years!) with Eva. And she's growing and changing and I feel like I'm missing it. 

Meanwhile, our little guy is three months old already (!) and I can't help but remember how many long, leisurely hours I had to play with Eva when she was just a babe herself. Most of my time with Sully is spent nursing him or rocking him or changing his diapers. And he's growing and changing and I feel like I'm missing it. I just want to pause them both until I have a chance to catch up! 

I've decided that a lot of this is due to the fact that I haven't had enough time in my own headspace. Without some quiet, introspective time to process all this, I'm--in a sense--on autopilot. Go, go, go, go, fall into bed and crash. Wake. Repeat. Which does a number on this mama's emotions.

So I have big plans this weekend to find time to just sit. And think. And there may be hot cocoa involved. There will most definitely be ice cream involved.

Sorry to be such a downer today. I needed to get all this sorted out somewhere, and I guess it fell here. We actually have a fun day ahead of us--my friend Kim and her boy Gideon are coming to visit for the day. Eva's so excited to have a buddy coming to play for the WHOLE day, and I'm thinking that having an extra mama around for the day can only be a good thing!

Have a happy day, everyone! I'll be back tomorrow with the big Halloween costume reveal.

Return to Playgroup

I signed Eva up for a playgroup class again this year, and it started yesterday. Whew! It's significantly more difficult getting us to and from the Family Center on time now that there's an extra kid around. We did it, though, and all three of us had a great time. Here's to getting out of the house!

"Is that kid ever NOT happy?"

Um...not really.

Sully's Favorite Toy

This weekend, Sully discovered Eva's "duck wand." He kinda likes it.

 

 

An Open Letter to My Husband

Yesterday, I had this conversation with our daughter:

Eva: My name is Eva Marie Paulus.
Mama: You got it, Kid.
Eva: But now I have a new name.
Mama: Oh?
Eva: Yes. It's Meow Sugarbowl Paulus.
Mama: I see. And what's your brother's name?
Eva: Wayne.

Clearly, we're doing something right with these two. And I really, really did something right five years ago when I promised we'd stand by each other always. I'm so glad you agreed.

I love you. So very much.

Happy Five Years!

(And to the rest of you--Happy Weekend! See you Monday!)

Checking Out Her Bat Wings

Eva's latest animal fascination is with bats (thank you, Halloween!) The other day, she brought me this play silk and asked me to make her some bat wings. I must have done a pretty good job, because she wore them for about three hours.

Three Month Birthday

One month ago:

Yesterday:

He smiles. A lot. Big, open-mouth smiles. He ALMOST laughs (any day now, seriously). He kicks his feet and swings his arms with so much enthusiasm that it's contagious. He has perfected a high-pitched squeal which is VERY effective in getting our attention. He is quite possibly the happiest baby ever. And he is ours!

Love you, Sully-Man!

Multi-tasking

Snuggling one babe, while stitching a blanket for the other one.

The pizza was pretty good too.

On Friday nights, after we snuggle Eva into bed, I make a pizza, and Mike and I enjoy a dinner together without ever having to cut up someone's food or clean up spilled milk or answer 27 questions in a row about what would happen if we lived underwater. Or if we had a face on the back of our heads AND the front.

Except this Friday, when pizza time rolled around, I just didn't feel up to it (revisit the end of that last paragraph, multiply it by 12 hours, and you'll begin to understand why). This meant we were left with pizza dough in the refrigerator on Saturday, and, since Eva's recently decided she actually does like pizza (up to this point she's had no use for it), we decided to upgrade to a family-sized cookie sheet pizza (anyone else eat this as a kid?) and make pizza night a family affair.

And really, what goes better with Family Pizza Night than a movie? Nothing. That's what. Except maybe beer, if you're Mike. Or not nursing an infant. Sigh.

Anyway. Eva's never seen a full-length movie--Sesame Street is about as "full-length" as we get--so Mike and I thought maybe Pizza and a Half-Hour Kid's Show might be more her speed. I headed out to the library, hoping to score a copy of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown or some other seasonal treat, but I quickly changed gears when I saw sitting on the shelf THE most perfect movie for my daughter. Ever.

Remember Milo and Otis?

This movie was made for Eva. It's about a cat. And a dog. And it's live-action. And they're friends. And they "talk"! And frolic! And there are problems to solve. And a little bit of danger. And OhMyWhyDidn'tIThinkOfThisBefore??

It was good, people. Really good. She watched the whole thing from about 4 feet away, and she kept turning around and giving me this excited, shiny-eyed grin. She made us watch the credits because she wanted to hear the whole song that was playing, and when it was over, before Mike could even turn the TV off, she'd assigned Milo and Otis roles to us all (I'm Sandra, "wife" to Otis), and we've been in one big perpetual game of Save Milo From the River ever since.

Needless to say, Family Pizza Night was a hit.

(Though I'm not sure we're ready to give up our Friday night dinners just yet.) 

I hope you all had wonderful weekends! Maybe some pizza and a movie?

The Voice Behind the Photos

Here's a little audio to go along with all the smiley baby pictures floating around this joint. It also serves as a small taste of what life is like with Eva. Namely: the constant string of words coming out of her mouth, regardless of what else might be happening in the room. She's lucky she's cute.

Oh! And Happy Friday to one and all.