Boo Ha Ha

Happy Halloween! We're looking forward to discovering what Halloween is all about up here. Molly will be a buzzing bumblebee and Jack decided to have a wardrobe malfunction and thus changed from a cute orange and white fuzzy man into a cow -- I'll get those pictures up later.

In the meantime, boo!

Present Company

The weather here has been pretty awful so while I'm not missing much by staying mostly indoors, the crazy loon is getting her crazy on big time. No, she's been good -- loving Jack with the full force of her personality and head weight as she gives him lots of snuggles and continues to help when Jack's binky falls out (when she doesn't stick it in her own mouth and grin like a leprechaun who found a pot of gold). We've also been working on her dance moves -- she can now raise the roof, churn the butter, mow the lawn, and shake her bum bum. I see her mowing the lawn and cracking herself up fairly often. She and Jack had gotten each other some presents for becoming a new big sister and baby brother and the finger paints that Jack picked out have actually entertained her -- maybe there is hope for the little anti-artiste.

ohhhh, special presents.

her new big sister shirt

helping Jack open his lovey -- she didn't try to steal it (unlike his binkies), which was a nice surprise.

making her mom so proud by actually enjoying her paints -- most pictures are made up of red paint only but I'm willing to take baby steps on this one.


Here's just a random one of Jack

Big Feet and Fancy Free

We're continuing to do pretty well out here. Molly was very disappointed that her school was cancelled today but she got to have some other fun adventures that I'll write about later on (the fun out here is too much to handle in one post). In snooze-ola land, Jack continues to be loads of laughter and fun (or maybe cuteness and cuddles) and has enjoyed lots of snuggles from an over-enthusiastic toddler and 3/4 of his grandparents. It's been very interesting to remember all the newborn tricks from the wee ones... it's a whole lot easier the second time around (especially when you have helping hands).

Mostly, I just like how giant these socks look on the little guy's feet. I did see Fame when I was pregnant with him so I guess he latched on to the leg warmers right away.



Content baby. Actually, so far he is. He makes plenty of squeaks but he's not a big crier thus far, which his big sister is pretty happy about. If he was, he'd probably be subjected to this more often...

will the binky go in this way?

what about this way?

hmmm... a direct hit, perhaps?

Family Fun

Molly seems to be a big fan of her little brother thus far. She even shared Mr. Binks (aka her pacifier), which is some serious sisterly devotion -- this girl doesn't give up the goods for anyone. She is concerned when he cries ("ohhhhhhhhhhh, poor ting" or "why is Jack Peter crying") and has given him lots of kisses. She's still intent on hearing his heart rate but isn't as enamored of the stethoscope as she was of the doppler -- I think part of her still wishes he was on the inside where he was her personal entertainment once a week at appointments. On the other hand, she came home from tumbling today yelling for Jack Peter (no, we don't call him by both names, just her). We're all doing pretty well, especially with extra help, and wish we could introduce him to more people in person -- soon enough, though.

Jack is already even excited to celebrate Halloween with some help from his Uncle Chris. His first jack-o-lantern.

Jack-pot!

Jack is here!

John Peter Doyle - 8lbs. 3 ozs. 22" - 3:15 PST

Everyone's doing well. We'll be in touch soon.

- John

D-Day Plus One

Yes, I'm still pregnant. The awesomeness of that can't even be measured. While I'm still carting around the mini-peanut, the good news is that I've still been able to enjoy the last few days with just the crazy lunatic, although yesterday and today someone apparently snuck in and deposited ants in her pants because holy lord, she is out of control with the energy level. My mom and I went to this cute little shop (stress on the word: little) and she just yelled the whole time "ohhhhhh, so pretty" at everything. Nice. Not a soft talker, this child. We ducked out when other patrons showed up. It's so hard to tell who is going to find this behavior charming and who is going to be seriously annoyed.

We do have some quiet moments, though. We got our Sesame Street fix in the other day while we snuggled together. I love these times and am glad that she still wants her mama time.

We also are continuing to multi-task. She likes her book on being a big sister and is dutifully telling us that sometimes babies cry and that they are too little to walk. Other take-aways from her big sister book are that a boy is going down the slide and the daddy painted the walls of the baby room. Huh.

Also, Molly continues to be a fan of the hippo speak. You know if you normally say "see you later alligator", most people respond with "in awhile crocodile"? Not her, she responds with "in awhile hippopotamus". Luckily, she does this with everyone so I don't feel like the hippo comments are directed at me.

Grammy Comes to Town

Not sure if anyone noticed, I barely have, but I'm still pregnant. The good news is that Wednesday is my due date and babies ALWAYS come out by their due dates, right? Suuuure. Actually, it hasn't been so bad since my mom showed up last week. I've found that as excited as I am to meet Doyle 2.0, I'm enjoying these last few days with just Molly with all the extra help that I now have (have I mentioned that moms are saints? And good cooks and good laundresses and good small toy retrievers?). Despite not knowing that her world is going to be rocked sometime in the next several days (or weeks. Boo), Molly is pretty excited to have Grammy here too. We've been showing her our activities, been going grocery shopping with no meltdowns, and getting some last minute baby stuff done (which Molly assumes is a toy shopping experience for herself). John got to spend his weekend painting Molly's room (I'm not really "detail oriented" and thus not a good painting partner. I painted some windows shut once and I've been banned from the brush since) and it looks great. Good stuff. We're eagerly awaiting the arrival of all the other grandparents too. Judging by the good times the divine Miss M is having now, she won't even notice a tiny little critter moving in.

Ohhhhh, Grammy brought bubble wrap. I'm surprised she didn't giggle this baby out.

The shape sorter is pretty fun. The pentagon and star are big hits. I mean, BIG hits.

Sharing a moment.


Whoopee! Slinky! The funny thing is that the slinky only does one stair at a time. Does it matter? Nope, still entertaining.

Panty Raid

Molly has gotten more helpful around the house (helpful being a subjective term, but overall, she can lend a hand more often than she used to). She's no Mr. Helpful like Ethan, but she will pitch in, especially if there's a song to accompany the chore. She picks out her plate at dinner and helps me wipe the table, cleans up some of her toys, and will sometimes help with the unending piles of laundry. Lately, it's been great when she can bend down and hand me stuff to hang out on the line or hand me shirts to fold. Not so great when she wants to unfold stuff or takes off with some of the goods. The other day, she not only absconded with my underwears, but decided to get herself gussied up in them too. I'm pretty sure having my underwears on display is more embarrassing for me than it ever will be for her but, as a parent, I'm used to sacrifice for the greater good, right?

Monkeying Around

Molly likes to put herself in some unusual places... despite feeling a bit under the weather for the past few days, she's still managing to be a monkey. We're doing a tumbling class (it's perhaps as good a workout for me as it is for her). Her favorite activity? Jumping on the trampoline. She's surprisingly good at it -- jumps up with both feet and will happily bounce around until she's forced off to share with someone else. She also loves yelling "bum drop" after her "coach" tells her to do one. Her least favorite activity (aside from previously mentioned arts and crafts)? Doing any sort of posing/standing/balancing activity. Stork pose and tree pose haven't gone over so well. She will happily contort herself but just don't ask her to be still while doing it. If she can find an uncomfortable place to climb into, though, then she's game.

Birthday Wishes

The cool kids (aka Molly and John) wanted to wish Hannah a happy (belated) birthday! Happy #2!

Any creativity I may have had before has temporarily left the building until Doyle 2.0 arrives. Considering that Molly spent her last arts and crafts class hula hooping instead of making pumpkins and turkeys (today is Canadian Thanksgiving), I'm not sure she's going to be too terrifically helpful in filling in for me. For a short duration, posts may include pictures but not so many stories, although I will try...

Clarification: I'm not sure how many clean stories I can actually share publically because someone has become a little obsessed with body parts. And not hands and feet... my midwife suggested that I explain and show Molly about nursing with a baby doll so that she's prepared when Doyle 2.0 arrives. Hmmm... for most kids this might be an excellent idea. For one who latches onto new words very quickly but may not have the best contextual understanding, this isn't necessarily the awesomest idea in the land.

BAM!

I guess it's at my own peril that I just try and finish one more email before we get ourselves started for the day. Little Emeril just couldn't decide what was for dinner...

Oh Baby Baby It's A Wild World

Molly's best bud in Newburyport, Sadie, became a big sister early this morning! Not going to lie, it made me pretty homesick (I think it was this news coupled with our friend Sarah's big engagement news this past weekend that made me really miss home). Jessie and I used to see each other or talk almost every day since we became friends nearly two years ago, first meeting at a new mom's group. We have almost two-year old (gulp) daughters who are ten days apart, and now will have second kids very close in age (our due dates were/are exactly one week apart but Jessie cheated and went a whole week early. Maybe the luck will hold for me?? Please??). In any event, despite missing being able to share in all the latest big events in person, we're thrilled for everyone who have experienced these significant milestones and we send all our hugs and well wishes for happy marriages, happy babies, and happy families. Now, to all the kiddos out there, please stop growing for awhile.

An oldie but goodie -- the new and soon to be new big sisters on the block.

Molly was trying to help us all understand where babies reside before they come out and cause all sorts of trouble. Thanks for the tutorial.

Speaking of where babies reside... I had a couple of requests for the latest belly shot. Here you go, a hippo in all her glory at 38 weeks.

And some shots of Doyle 2.0's little changing room.

Laugh In

Someone doesn't get tired of cracking herself up... and it always helps when she has a willing audience to laugh back. I think she'll groom her little sibling to be a captive audience for her one woman show pretty much from day one. Judging from her fascination with one of her friend's baby brother, I think she'll also try really hard to give a little back and take good care of her own wee brother or sister. Sometimes the "help" may be subjective but the effort will be there. She's nothing if not hardworking.

Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater

We adventured closer to home this weekend, heading up to Kelowna for a day at the pumpkin patch. There were also lots of animals: horses, the most adorable pot bellied pigs, sheep, a donkey... and Molly cared most about the dogs. She did like to giggle at the horse, who very patiently came close to be patted on the nose and then endured giggles and no pats. John was a willing participant in the outing because there was a corn maze there as well (I never knew he was a maze junkie but this is, in fact, our second maze adventure since moving out here).

We also picked out four little pumpkins, which always makes it really seem like fall. We initially let Molly pick out the pumpkins for all of us but she seriously picked some of the ugliest pumpkins on the lot so we revised her choices when she was off running and she never knew the difference.

Directing us through the hay bale maze. Being in charge (like she's ever not) was a hoot and a half to her.


She especially enjoyed when we would hide in a dead end and jump out (or waddle out) and say boo.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Molly.

The corn maze was actually pretty impressive. It felt a little horror movie-ish with these big swarms of birds taking off overhead.

Hunting through the lot of pumpkins, apparently looking for all the green, brown, and yellow ones despite the fact that orange seems to be her favorite color at the moment.

Italian Stallion

Molly's Italian heritage may not be the first thing you notice about her, am I right (come to think of it, you may not notice it if you look at my dad or me either)? Despite Molly's recent appointment as the goodwill ambassador for the land of the pigmentally challenged, her great-grandfather was, in fact, a full blooded Italiano.

Since she likely won't ever look the part, she has started chatting like it. I noticed this trend this morning when she said "I turn-a da page". She also says "Mama, I like-a this" (usually she says this about dinner and it melts my heart. A little appreciation goes a long way at the end of the day). There are a couple of other ones that escape me now but boy they make me giggle. Long live the I-talians!