Dylan's first word!

The verdict is in. After months of speculation on what his first word would be, he finally settled the debate yesterday. His first official word is ... drumroll please ...

CLAP!

We have been tell him to "clap clap clap" because he always responds with a big smile and a few chubby-handed claps. Yesterday, he started clapping and saying "cwap cwap!"

So cute!! And he said it several times, always accompanied by clapping, to assure us that it wasn't just a fluke.

(I have to admit I'm a little relieved that his first word wasn't a bad one. Especially since Kelsie has recently been fond of saying "dammit!")

Another year older

Had a very nice birthday yesterday, got some great gifts, Brian and I had an awesome dinner in SoHo. All in all a great day. As much as I loved all the gifts, I have to say this card from Kelsie was my favorite. She made it at school. It's nearly impossible to read on these pictures because her writing is so faint and the flash drowns it out, but on the front she wrote MOMMY and on the inside she wrote I LOVE KELSIE. Although, she insists that it actually says "I love YOU" and is signed Kelsie. She's just learning to write her letters and I know this required a lot of teacher involvement, but it's the most I've seen her write on one project so far and she was so happy about it. Nearly brought tears to my eyes.




Of course, she's most proud of the red heart.

This is kind of fun ...

http://www.dothetest.co.uk/


Cool way to get their message across.

Big questions

Most of the country is discussing big questions like how to cope during a recession, whether a black man can be president, how to protect the environment, etc. But here are the questions that are being pondered in the Pierce household ...

* Why doesn't ketchup melt? (Kelsie)
* Can I throw this at Dylan's throat? (Kelsie)
* Can we sleep in a hotel tonight? (Kelsie)
* What does that spell? (Kelsie - referring to ANY combination of letters ANYwhere)
* Can I have butter on this? (Kelsie - referring to ANY food ANYtime)
* What's inside the moon? (Kelsie)
* I didn't watch that cartoon very well. Can I watch another one? (Kelsie)
* Why didn't anyone tell us having 2 kids was so exhausting? (Brian & Corie)

Saturday morning cartoons

Fun with Aunt Betsy!

The kids love it when Aunt Betsy comes over. She babysat on Saturday and they played dress-up, much to Brian's dismay. (hee hee)




And in case you've been following along and are curious, Dylan didn't throw up once on Aunt Betsy this time!

Inside the mind of Kelsie

When left to her own devices, Kelsie comes up with some pretty creative ideas. (That's my mom version of saying she's a whack job.) Recently she told us she was going to get ready for her party. We were not aware of any party, but that's irrelevant. About 30 minutes later she comes out of her room dressed like a princess and invites us to her party. You have to look closely -- the picture does not give the full effect -- but notice that she put all of her books in stacks everywhere in her room (except on the bookshelf) and then topped the stacks with toys or fanned-out books. We were told these were the decorations. Clever.




On another recent day, she decided that the floor was a big puddle and she needed to create a trail of stepping stones from the living room to her room:





The most amazing part of this one is that she actually cleaned it all up by herself.

Dylan's on the move!

Click the green arrow to play.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Since I last posted ...

...Dylan was out of school for an entire week with a nasty stomach bug. Poor guy was miserable. Then I had an incredibly painful toothache that led to emergency oral surgery. Now the resulting swelling in my cheek has made me look like a chipmunk storing nuts for the winter. Or like somebody in a fat suit (Nutty Professor). Brian is calling my cheek my "lovely lady lump." But I'll let him since he has been an amazing help while I was laid out in pain/drugged up/grumpy/trying to sleep through it all. The pain is gradually going away and I have high hopes that I'll feel human again next week.

So, that's my excuse for not posting. There have been a couple high points in the midst of the craziness. Kelsie has started writing some words. "Stop" and "soccer" are her two favorites right now (it was S week at school). Dylan has started pulling up to standing everywhere he goes and he's trying to cruise around, and he now claps on command. Kelsie says she's "sooooo proud of him!"

I'll post some pictures shortly.

How perfect

Dylan's on day 3 of a nasty stomach virus, while I'm still trying to work. While I was drinking heavily to unwind, this cartoon showed up in my email. Perfect.

Traveling and getting yelled at

I haven't posted in several days -- I've been in San Francisco for work this week. It's hard leaving the kids, but I have to admit I really enjoyed having "me time" in a nice big hotel room. And the kids always behave perfectly for Brian whenever I leave. I guess that's good -- helps alleviate some of the mommy guilt.

I took the redeye home Thursday night and arrived Friday morning during a snow storm. Then I stood in a snowy taxi line that was about 30 people long, without a single cab to be seen. And that's when I got yelled at by grown men.

A cab driver finally showed up and asked for people going to Hoboken, which is right by us. So another woman and I got to bypass the line to get in the cab. Well, then the dispatch guy starts yelling at the driver saying he has to take people at the front of the line. Meanwhile, 3-4 men at the front of the line started yelling at me saying I cut in line, it wasn't fair, I had to wait my turn. They sounded like they were in first grade. ("But it's my turn on the slide, I was here fiiiiirst!")

So they wouldn't let us get in the cab. The driver drove away empty while we had to return to the line! Most people in the line were on our side -- ridiculous to send a cab away empty when that many people were waiting in the snow.

But, we got some redemption. The driver snuck into the bus lane so we could get in his cab without technically cutting to the front of the taxi line. So we got to smile and wave at the people who yelled at us and who were still standing in the snow. Ha! The whole scene was quite amusing.

And this was after my taxi to the airport a few days earlier got pulled over because it was a stolen car. At least it wasn't a boring trip.

Saturday night ... sigh

Brian and I had a great date night planned tonight. His sister, Betsy, came over to babysit and we were going to dinner and a show. We had tickets to see Avenue Q, a Broadway show that keeps getting amazing reviews. Earlier today Dylan threw up but we were in denial that he was sick. Kept telling ourselves he just ate too much or got jiggled too much. (Sidenote: we were at Baby Boogie, the dance club for kids, when Brian lifted Dylan up in the air above his head and Dylan puked all over him. I hate to say it, but it was hilarious! Looked like something on a sitcom.)

Anyway, it's rare that we have a date night, let alone one with non-refundable tickets, so we hoped for the best and went. At dinner I started to feel queasy and could barely eat, which just served to fill me with guilt that we had clearly left our sick child. Then Betsy called ... he had thrown up twice already.

So, here we are. At home. Missing the show. In the hour that we've been home, he has thrown up an additional two times, once ALL OVER me. Gross. Now he's asleep, so I hope the worst is behind us. But this is definitely not the way we had hoped to spend our Saturday night.

Damn babies.

Kelsie-isms

Kelsie says some funny things. Brian's convinced she has impeccable comedic timing and will be doing stand-up at her school talent show. I don't know about all that, but I have been keeping a mental list of some of her better lines. Enjoy:

* After being quiet in the back seat for a while: "(sigh) That was hard work getting all those boogers out."

* After I told her I had to finish what I was doing before I could get her a drink: "Mommy, I'm going to count to three, and then I want some milk. Okay?"

* After Brian asked if he could have one of her chips: "Yes you may, if you're good."

* While holding a balloon between her knees and standing in front of a room full of our friends: "Hey everybody! Look at my vagina!" (pronounced, "Hey errybody. Look at my bagina.") Apparently she was pretending that the balloon was her you-know-what and thought we should all see it.

* "I'm gonna be a mommy because I can cook." Not sure where she learned that logic. I sure as hell haven't set that example!

* Through tears: "I wanna see the Statue of Liberty! I wanna see the Statue of Libertyyyyyyyy." (We have yet to take her to the Statue of Liberty, so I have no idea where that came from, but it was a major tantrum. A sure sign that she is adapting to our new hometown.)

* On a related note, and through even more tears: "I wanna go to LSUuuuu. I wanna go to LSU right nowwwwwwwwww!" A tantrum has never made me so proud.

* "Mommy, your booty is bigger than daddy's." (no comment)

* Overheard from the next room: "Look Dylan, see my booty crack? It's pink!" (We're working on the whole exhibitionist thing. Not much luck so far.)

I'm sure I'll think of more and will update this.

Health care wishes

Baby, it's cold outside - part 2

Brrrrrr. Okay, it's freakin' cold. Even to people used to this kind of weather. Monday was 12 degrees. Yesterday it warmed up to low 20s and snowed. I had my first snow-driving experience in our little Jetta (that Kelsie has inexplicably named Tico), which felt a little more like sledding but with seat warmers. It took me over an hour to pick up the kids, which usually takes about 30 minutes. Traffic was crawling because of the slick roads and an accident in front of Kelsie's school. The pedestrians here are so rude -- they just walk right in front of you with no regard to right of way -- and the snow didn't stop them. I almost skidded into a couple of them, which might have served them right. (I wasn't going fast enough to really hurt them, but a little bumper tap to the knee might have taught them a good lesson.)

Today it's in the low 40s and raining, turning the snow into a lovely slush and prompting flooding warnings. Here's our backyard. Notice it was too cold to actually open the door for the picture. (And yes, the backyard needs a lot of cosmetic work -- it will be beautiful come summer.)



And these pics are actually from December, but just pretend they're from yesterday:

Snow bunny

Boy in the bubble!

Baby, it's cold outside

Do you remember that scene from A Christmas Story when the kid is so bundled up that he can't move his arms and can't get up when he falls?


Welcome to life in the northeast, kid.

So much for writing every day

I knew I wouldn't keep up that schedule, but it was a worthwhile goal. So, once or twice a week might be more realistic. I think we're almost back to normal after the family trip to SF. Dylan is growing like a weed and starting to pull himself up to standing. Kelsie is becoming more like Brian every day. Yesterday she was making fart noises with her mouth and saying "if you spit, it sounds like a toot!" So I told her that wasn't a nice way to talk and she paused for a minute and then with a mischievous smile said, "but it's funny!" And I got outnumbered because Dylan laughed hysterically everytime she made the fart noise. I'm screwed.

So, as you can see, not much new is going on here. But I did see this interesting tidbit about something new in Mississippi. They are trying to pass a law to ban restaurants from serving obese people! Can you imagine? All the restaurants in MS will go out of business! (okay, that last part was mean, but c'mon). I'm not making this up: http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/01/no-fat-people-allowed-only-slim-will-be.html

And here is a totally unrelated picture that I'm pasting in solely because I think these posts are more interesting when they include a picture.

The kids are never traveling again

We just got back from a fun but exhausting trip to San Francisco. I worked while poor Brian was on daddy duty for two days during a major rain storm. Fortunately, we stayed in a hotel that had a Kids Suite loaded with toys and all kinds of activities.



Kelsie was introduced to her first karaoke machine. She's terrible at it.



But she apparently is already fluent with a computer. She sat down at the computer in the room (pre-loaded with kids' games -- so great) and immediately started using the mouse to manipulate the game. How's that for a generational gap? We just stared in amazement:



The room also had building blocks, coloring paper, musical instruments, and dress-up clothes. But Kelsie was a little prima donna about getting her photo taken. Here's her first paparazzi shot (and probably her only paparazzi shot, unless she discovers a talent other than singing to make her famous):



And, most importantly, we got to catch up with great friends. We had a babysitter Friday night for my company party. Free flowing margaritas and no kids -- dangerous combination! We were like college kids again, even moving the after-party to the W hotel. Then the next day we went to the East Bay to see friends and their kiddos. Here are Jake and Lexi Reeves ...



And Colden Hooley ...



But as I said in the subject line, the kids are never traveling again, despite the great hotel. Nevermind the toll the time change took on their little bodies and the offensive amounts of crap we had to travel with. The plane ride was pure torture!! Both kids were in good spirits and technically "behaved" but Dylan never stopped moving. By the end of the flight both kids were naked, Cheerios covered the floor in our aisle, crumbs were ground into the seats, my hair was sticking up in every direction (because when Dylan pulled it he'd hold still briefly -- a worthwhile sacrifice), Kelsie was convinced that the flight attendants had oranges that they weren't sharing with her, and Brian and I could barely see straight. We would have taken a picture but that would have required removing one hand from Dylan, which would have given him the opportunity he had been waiting for to jump out to the aisle and crawl into the cockpit, trailing mushed up crackers and screaming along the way.

As we were leaving the plane one kind woman told us our kids were very good during the flight and Brian and I both shot her evil "go to hell" looks and told her she was crazy.

I'm still recovering.

Shortcuts for helping others

I really do want to do good things -- volunteer, donate, etc. But I always seem to find something more pressing to do with my time and money. Separately (you'll see how this thought is related in a sec) I love to find short cuts. I don't like any recipes with more than 5 ingredients -- even better if they come prepared or can just be dumped into a crock pot, most of my "beauty" products do double duty like foundation with spf in it, soap with anti-wrinkle cream, etc.

So, taking those two characteristics I found these super easy ways to do some good without taking much time or any money. Thanks to Critter and Redbook for doing the research for me!

www.freerice.com -- it's a fun vocabulary quiz, for each word you get right it donates rice through the United Nations World Food Program.

www.goodsearch.com -- a search engine that gives one cent to the charity of your choice each time you do a search. It's powered by Yahoo Search, so the results are good. The hard part is picking a charity from the thousands of participants.

www.thebreastcancersite.com -- all you have to do is click a link and sponsors donate money toward free mammograms. It's part of a family of sites that follow the same model to donate money toward world hunger, child healthcare, literacy, animal rescue, etc. So easy.

www.care2.com -- I haven't played with this one yet but figure I'll mention it anyway. You sign online petitions on any number of issues.

Hope y'all will find this info useful, too. Click away. It might make a difference in someone's life.

Thanks!

Our child, the exhibitionist.

There I was, innocently filming Dylan making funny noises and faces (I promise, he was being more interesting before I turned the camera on) and then ...

Click to watch the video.



Wait for it ... 1/19/08

Couple Dating

This video is a hilariously and sadly accurate description of our life:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/b776c00c54

Outsmarted by a 3-year old

Here's the conversation Kelsie and I just had:

Kelsie: Mommy, what eats flies?
Me: Frogs.
Kelsie: No. What eats flies?
Me: Frogs.
Kelsie. No! Mommy, tell me what eats flies!
Me: Frogs.
Kelsie: (Big huff and roll of the eyes.) Mommy, please tell me what eats flies??
Me: What do you think eats flies?
Kelsie: Frogs.

Sigh.

She's getting good at outsmarting us, which is slightly embarrassing. Yesterday was one of those days -- cloudy, quiet, Brian and I weren't feeling well (especially Brian), and Kelsie was pushing her limits big time. So, it was finally bedtime and she was doing everything but what we told her to do. Brian finally managed to get her in PJs and teeth brushed and told her to come say good night to me while I was getting Dylan ready for bed. So, she comes into Dylan's room and starts playing with his toys instead of saying good night. Brian got his "I'm a big bad scary daddy" voice ready to snap her into shape when she sensed the end of the rope and came over to Dylan, gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek and said, "I love you so much, Dylan." Of course, Brian and I both melted and she was no longer in trouble.

She's good. And we're suckers.

Oh happy day

Dylan slept till 6:30 this morning!!!!! To non-parents that may sound hideously early or entirely un-impressive. But to a groggy mommy who has been woken up at least once between 1:30am and 5:30am for 9 months straight, it was a glorious way to start my day.

It wasn't his first time to sleep through the night, though. The little SOB (and yes, I realize that by calling him that I'm actually insulting myself, but I'm too tired to think of a better insult -- turns out 1 full night of sleep doesn't make up for months of interrupted slumber) slept all the way through the night 3 nights in a row in August ... while we were house-hunting in NY and he was staying with Brian's parents. But the night we returned, he went back to his sleepless ways. I still haven't forgiven him for that. I try to tell myself it's a compliment -- he just wants to be with me so badly that he screams till I come hug him. But it's not really appeasing me. Even when Brian goes in to get him back to sleep in the middle of the night, I'm still awake until everyone is snoring away again.

The good news is that if I ever become a POW and my captors try sleep deprivation as a form of torture, I'm good. They got nuthin on me.

All that night waking got him so tired he crashed while playing on the floor the other day. They're so cute when they're sleeping. (Notice gravity's effect on his cheeks when his facial muscles are fully relaxed.)

Brian got a job!!!!

It's a dream job for him -- he's getting paid to watch TV. Seriously. He just accepted a position with Viacom's legal department to review TV for copyright infringement. (Viacom is the parent company of Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, etc.)

It's a temporary position, though. Full time for 6-8 weeks, with a possibility that the project might get extended. But maybe that's a blessing -- it will be an interesting experiment to see what that much TV will actually do to a person. Wish me luck.

And that brings me to the selfish aspect of all this ... I've been very lucky that since we became parents he has always had a schedule that allowed him to help with the kids at pick-up time, dinner, bath, etc. And since my job often keeps me working past 6, that's been a lifesaver. But with this new position, he will probably not get home before 7pm. That's doable -- he'll still be here in time for baths and bedtime. But it will definitely be an adjustment for me. At least if I plop the kids in front of a cartoon I can justify it by saying that they're connecting with daddy's professional life.

My workout plan: have a baby boy

The good news about having an active boy is that I can skip all that nonsense about new years resolutions to exercise more. Dylan is an exercise plan that I can't cheat on or forget about by Jan. 31. He's not quite crawling, but man, he can get around. Even his teachers have commented on how fast he can scoot around on that big belly of his. When you hold him, he expects you to be walking, bouncing, dancing, or throwing him. He's also standing well as long as he holds on to something for balance. But I think the only reason he stands as long as he does is because he doesn't know how to get down. Unless he falls.

Going...


Going ....

Gone.

GEAUX TIGERS!!!!

National Champions again!!! First team to win 2 BCS national championships! Brian and I had such a great night. Betsy (his sister, who lives in Manhattan) babysat so we could actually go somewhere without worrying about bedtimes and feedings and hauling kids, strollers, diapers, bottles, snacks, toys, books, etc. We went to a bar in NYC where the local LSU alumni association hangs out. Honestly, I don't think we could have had more fun if we had gone to the actual game. The place was PACKED with LSU fans. The DJ played the LSU band songs after every down, so it felt like we were there, and fun music during every commercial break. Such a great sense of camaraderie - high fives with total strangers, dancing and singing/yelling at the top of our lungs, staying out too late (did I mention we didn't have the kids with us?!?!?!!), drinking a little too much (and we had a babysitter?!?!?!?). So, now we have to find a babysitter every Saturday next football season so we can do that again.

I know there's controversy about the BCS and whether we deserved to be there and all that crap. But we played by the rules, got to the national championship game, and dominated against the #1 team that supposedly had the #1 defense (yeah, right). Les Miles said it best - we went to the Sugar Bowl last year and didn't make a single complaint about whether we should have been playing for the national title. Unlike some whiners this year (ahem, Mark Richt). I have tons of respect for Georgia -- I'd love to have a playoff against them! Maybe one day there will be a playoff system. And while we're at it, let's add a BCS rule that OSU is never allowed in the national championship game again. Until then, shut up and let us bask in the glow of being national champions again!!!!!! Geaux Tigers!!!!

(by the way, I stole that pic from deadspin -- full disclosure to keep those copyright police at bay since SO many people are going to be viewing this)

In da club

The Pierces are clubbin'! We went to Baby Boogie the other day -- it's a dance party for kids in an actual dance club, but during the day. Kelsie spent most of the time staring in awe, while I tried to convince her to dance with me to Push It (is that wrong?) and other great 80s and 90s music. She did get her groove on eventually. Dylan tried his hardest to dance, but mostly just waved his arms in the air (like he just don't care). They do this once a month in Hoboken and we'll definitely be going back. So fun!

Welcome to Pierce Post!

What a difference a year makes. This time last year we were happily living in Shreveport, Louisiana with one kid (and one on the way). I worked remotely from home, Brian was a social worker with Volunteers of America, family lived nearby. We had - and still have - great friends that we got together with at least once a week. Life was good -- perhaps a little slow at times, but good.

Fast forward to January 2008. Here we are in Jersey City, NJ, just outside of Manhattan, with two kids. We moved in October 2007 with my company during a harrowing couple of months. We spent the last part of 2007 getting settled in a new city, new condo, new neighborhood, new school for Kelsie, 2 new daycares for Dylan, trying to make new friends, Brian finding a new job, adjusting to the shocking cost of living here, etc. We're still getting there, but we're starting to feel a sense of community. Life is still good, just dramatically different.

So, I made a New Years resolution to start a blog. Partly to help stay in touch and share photos, thoughts, and reports with friends and family as we find our way. Also to indulge my writing hobby (at least I think it's a hobby - I enjoy writing but have never really taken much time to explore it).

I hope you'll check in every once in a while and leave some comments, and I hope I keep up my end of the deal and update this thing frequently. 2008 ... here we go!