12 Days and 1 Million Memories

For 12 days straight we had company at our house. The entire 12 days was fantastic! I am so grateful that our family is willing to face the frigid Pitty just to spend time with us! Bubbie and Zayde arrived to windy, snowy weather that didn't improve much during their entire visit.

We did manage to get out and have a little fun despite the weather. And when Bubbie and Zayde are around, everything is fun. Doodle had their undivided attention for a whole week. SJ got to know them again. I think that is going to be the hardest part about being this far away. Everytime SJ sees her grandparents she will have to get to know them again. We went through it with Doodle, and it sucked, but we also went home much more frequently. I dread the inevitable visit when SJ refuses to go to her Bubbie or Zayde. So, in the mean time, we all enjoyed her ambivalence to new people!

Doodle and Zayde spent a lot of time playing balloon toss!

Bubbie and SJ practicing sitting up and playing with one of her new toys!

After a couple of days stuck inside because of the weather, we were all ready to get out. Shawn suggested we head downtown to the Pittsburgh Holiday Market. So, we bundled everyone up and hopped in the car. We had no idea what to expect, but we were all ready to get out of the house. I never thought I would take my 5 month old out for a stroll in 30 degree weather, but there here she is!

The market had about a dozen or so wooden sheds with merchants in them. There were some really cool things for sale. Doodle and I each got a treat for our stockings:) We also wandered down to the PPG building to check out the gingerbread house display. It was pretty cool. Hundreds of clubs, scout troops, families and businesses made gingerbread houses to display. The room was huge and filled with houses!

After our trip downtown, we spent Christmas even and Christmas Day at home. Just hanging out!

 

 

Jenny and Stephen snuck into town in between the two snowfalls. They drove for 16 hours or so to get to us and had just as long of a drive home. I will never be able to express how much I appreciate their visit. It was wonderful to see them both. It was even more wonderful to see them invest their time in our children. When My Favoritest and I got married, I told him that Jenny and MK would be spending time with us. I don't know if I will ever have any nieces or nephews, and I wanted to have a relationship with them. I also wanted them to have another set of adults they could go to when they didn't want to go to their parents. On several occasions both have called me looking for help with a sticky situation. Everytime they have said thank you for our role in their lives, I have teased them and said, just do the same for my kids. They spent 4 days doing just that!

Of course, Doodle wanted to take them and Bubbie to one of her favorite Pitty spots.... the children's museum!

 

 

Before Bubbie and Zayde left for warmer climates, we all went out for a nice dinner. Doodle behaved and was pleasant company. SJ stayed quiet and slept. We all ate our selves sick and then had delicious dessert. We tried to get a picture of all of us together, but this was the best we got!

New Years Eve we spent the day at the science center. Doodle had lots of fun showing Jenny and Stephen around the museum and exploring the new exhibits on space.

Doctor Doodle making sure that Stephen is in perfect health.

The doctor area had an apron with velcro and all stuffed internal organs to stick on in the right place. We could not convince Doodle to do anything with it except to put the large intestines on her head!

Doodle and Jenny doing the weather forcast!

Doodle and Stephen playing on the piano and watching the sound waves.

Doodle checking out the astronaut potty. The flush sounds like a vaccume.

Shooting hoops with the robots.

Doodle and Stephen having a deep conversation about the trains!

 

We had lots of fun showing our family a little taste of our new city. I had even more fun watching my children spend time with their family. I hope they will always know how much they are loved by their family!

 

 

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Matches, Tramps, & Lamps

When My Favoritest and I celebrated our first Christmas together, I insisted we start our own tradition. My suggestion was to open new pajamas on Christmas Eve. I imagined our unborn kids tearing into wrapped boxes with eager anticipation to see their new jammies. What I couldn't have imagined was how this tradition would evolve into my favorite thing about Christmas. MATCHES!!!! It started the first year we lived in VA. I happened to find jammies for Doodle, Bubbie, Granny and I that matches. They were a huge hit with Doodle. She loved matching the grown ups and the pictures were priceless. The following year, I found "matches" for the whole family, including Bubbie, Zayde, and Granny. And ever since, we have all had matches.

 

They were all thrilled with me trying 10 times to get a picture of us all together! But this is what "matches" are all about!

Christmas morning was filled with same excitement and mayhem found in any living room that morning, ours just might have had a little extra bounce!

Santa brought Doodle a yellow trampoline!

Rhythmic Gymnastics team in 2020?

 

Doodle's other favorite present was an ER crash cart. She is loving playing doctor. She has a whole clinic set up in her room (post of that coming soon). When she opened the box from Bubbie and Zayde, she immediately insisted on taking it to her room and getting it set up. She was super excited.

And in case you were wondering if L.L.Beans marketing campaing for the headlamp worked

She loves it so much, we had to take it to a restaurant "in case she dropped something under the table and needed to find it"!

Bubbie got some fancy bracelets and the first thing she does after oohing and ahhing is let my 4 year old try them on?!?! Seriously! I wouldn't trust that kid with real diamonds!

Doodle has since decided that she doesn't like peeps because they make your hands sticky! I am questioning her maternity!

The day was filled with smiles and laughter

 

Included a few naps!

 

And ended with a nice family dinner! And SJ even managed to stay awake and participate in some holiday celebration!

 

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Feathered Frienemy

The Pitty is growing on me. It's a slow growing affection and I would be lying if I said the onset of winter hasn't slowed the pace even more. But as I keep telling my friends and family, I don't hate it! One of the things that I love about the city are all the things to do and see. We have made our rounds at the museums and the zoo. We are always ready for something new to do! So, when one of My Favoritest's coworkers invited us to visit the National Aviary with she and her son, we said sure.

Now before I go any further I will admit I don't love birds. I think they are beautiful and I love to look at them.

 

I do not however like it when they fly anywhere near me. They are unpredictable and erratic and they make me nervous! And right about now, you are wondering why I agreed to go to a place where birds fly free. The answer is I have no idea. I guess part of it was that I don't want to pass on my fears to Doodle and SJ. The other part of it was that I want us to start making friends and putting down roots. So... of to the aviary we went.


It is a really neat place and I am sure a bird lover would have had a perfect morning. As for me, I enjoyed the company and the rooms where birds didn't really fly. It was a little stressful worrying about running over birds with our stroller and dodging their dive-bombing flights in a few places. These little boogers were very guilty of the dive-bomb!

 

I was also a little unnerved about the flying birds, because SJ was taking her maiden voyage in the top seat of the stroller!

 

As for the birds and Doodle, I think she is a little to busy to really enjoy them. She doesn't really see the point in staring at birds. So pretty much we made a high speed pass through every single area. She did slow down enought to participate in the children's activity they had set up. The kids picked a card with a bird at the top. The card then listed all the things that bird ate. The kids had to gather all the things and put them in a bowl. Of course it was lots of fruits and veggies, but Doodle's bird also like to eat mice. It totally cracked me up that they had a stuffed rat/mouse for the kids to put in their bowl.

The only other area that Doodle was willing to slow down and enjoy was the lorakeet feeding room. I was totally suprised that she was willing to go in and get that close to birds. Needless to say, I made My Favoritest take her!

This moment alone would have been enough to make me pee my pants and flail like a wild person all at the same time!

Santa also happened to be there that day. Doodle was totally against sitting in his lap, but did agree to talk to him if I held her. She only agreed to that because she wanted to see the penguin that Santa brought with him!

And speaking of the penguins, that was my favorite part of the whole thing. And my favorite part of the penguin exhibit is that they are all named and wear bands with their names on them:)

 

All in all, we had a nice morning with some friends. I didn't get pecked by a bird. Doodle talked to Santa. SJ proved she is big enough to ride in the big girl seat. And we escaped the gift shop exit without purchasing a stuffed bird purse (which Doodle was begging for). Not to bad for a morning spent in my own personal hell!

 

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8 Crazy Nights

When I was a kid, I remember awaiting Hanukkah with eager anticipation. I loved lighting the menorah. I loved opening one present each night all my presents on the first night of Hanukkah. I loved the latkes and the family and the time each night to be together. I loved having Bubbie come to school and teach my classmates about the holiday. I remember making menorah and dreidel shaped sugar cookies each year to take as a snack (before the days of healthy only school snacks).

As I got older, I loved giving presents. I remember the Hanukkah the year that Zayde was in Desert Storm. I was determined to make the holiday special for Bubbie. I spent all my babysitting funds to purchase Bubbie enough presents that she could have one to open each night. Of course, I was so excited to give her the presents I made her open them all in one night!

As I grew up and left home, Hanukkah lost some of its luster. The glow of the candles didn't seem quite so warm when I was the only one home lighting them. More often than night, I forgot to light them each night. When Doodle was born, I was determined to make the holiday special for her. Thankfully, Sisterwife and the boys also celebrate Hanukkah and we started a tradition of frozen latkes (we are lazy) and pizza for one night of Hanukkah. Last year, the holiday season was full of hustle and bustle, travel, and first trimester exhaustion and worry over SJ. We were on the go so much that we used and iphone app to light candles one night. I know, a little sad.

This year, I am proud to say, the magic and warmth of Hanukkah was in full force in the West house! This was the first year that Doodle understood anything about Hanukkah and wasn't terrified of the candles. She was excited to light the menorahs (3 of them each night to be exact). She loved opening presents, and was just as excited to see what was in her packages as what was in SJ's. I found lots of joy in watching her enjoy the holiday! Here are some pictures from the fun with had with friends and family near and far!

We spent the first night of Hanukkah at New Sarah's house. She outdid herself and stuffed us all with matzoh balls, homemade latkes,brisket, and green beans. Doodle and Boo ran around like wild banchees from the minute we arrived until the tearful goodbye! Bear hung with the big girls for most of the night, and SJ slept. After dinner, the girls put on their jammies and we lit candles together. I love that Doodle is dressed for the tundra and Boo is ready for a siesta on the beach!

Thanks to technology we were able to FaceTime with Bubbie and Zayde one night. We lit candles together and then they got to watch Doodle open her present. I love that even when they are so far away, they can be part of our daily lives!

Doodle trying out her new dance mat while holding SJ's new toy.

The remaining nights of Hanukkah were filled with lots of merriment. We went to a Hanukkah at preschool. I only managed to take a couple of pictures and they weren't so good. The kids sang some songs. My favorite were their additional verses of "Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel". They included such hits as

Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel

I made you out of mud

And when I tried to spin you

You landed with a thud

The kids helped to write them and they were really cute!

The last night of Hanukkah was a bit hectic at our house. We spent the morning at the National Aviary (my own personal hell, and pictures coming soon). My Favoritest broke his phone and promised Doodle she could go with him to get a replacement. By the time they fought the holiday crowds and got home, it was almost 8:00 at night. I decided that rushing through Hanukkah was just not worth it. We decided to light our candles in the morning.

This allowed Murphy (out elf) the perfect opportunity to bring us a special treat for breakfast. Donuts and pastries from the bakery.... yummy!

We filled the menorahs and lit all the candles.

And Doodle opened her presents and SJ's presents.

And yes, we gave Doodle a real "step-a-scope" as a Hanukkah gift. She couldn't have been more thrilled! The best part about our Hanukkah Breakfast celebration is that Doodle had time to play with her presents. She didn't have to rush off to bed! It may not have been the most kosher observance of Hanukkah, but I wouldn't trade the memory for anything in the world!

As for SJ, least you think we ignored her, Hanukkah is just not a holiday intended to be observed by infants. She was asleep almost every single time we lit the menorah! Next year she will get in on the fun!

 

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