future cat lady

Anya is in LOVE with cats. Every time Herman walks by she screeches. He runs like the wind from her high pitch squeal. She chases him in the walker and if he is somewhere she can't get (see picture of him on the stairs) she will just sit and look at him and chirp. It is hilarious. When we are eating dinner together at the table, Herman sits in the window in front of the table. When Anya sees him during the meal she yells out at him at the top of her lungs. I'm not kidding when I say the top of her lungs. Tonight it almost hurt my ear with its volume. Today we went to Meg's house for a play date. Anya noticed one of her cats and was doing her squeals while staring at her. Every time the cat walked by Anya would laugh and yell. I brought her over to the cat and she pet her so nicely. She is going to grow up to be the crazy cat lady.

rain rain go away

I don't know about you but Anya is sick of this rain. Luckily, tomorrow will be sunny and warm.

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

As we quickly approach Anya's first Easter I find myself reminiscing about what Easter was to me as a child. It involved chocolate eggs, pastel clothing and mary janes. A couple weeks before Easter we would color eggs. I remember the dyes and stickers spread out over the newspaper covered kitchen table. We would also visit the Easter bunny. Sometimes he would be at the mall and sometimes he would be at a friend's party. We have pictures of us with him and his head looks the size of one of us. How did we not run screaming?

(I got this picture off the web.. made me laugh)

On Easter morning I would wake to Jill calling my name or tapping me while whispering, Holly.. Holly. Since she was older, she knew the magic of special holidays before I did. It was itching under her skin the moment she fell into a bit of wakefulness. If our parents weren't up yet Jill had already woken them up herself or we would wake them up together. The best way to wake dad was to tickle his feet. He hates his feet being tickled. We would all tumble downstairs in our pajamas, bedhead and all, to spot two large Easter baskets on the coffee table or in the middle of the floor. Jill and I would rip them open and dig in the green plastic decorative grass. We would hold up colorful tin wrapped candies and a fuzzy bunny or soft lamb stuffed animal from the Easter bunny. My favorite was the hollow chocolate easter bunny in the box with the candy eyes. You know what one I mean, right? Those were the best.

After we finished our baskets it would be time for our egg hunt. At our house the Easter bunny hid the small chocolate eggs wrapped in colorful tin wrapping. Jill and I would run around picking up eggs. She always found more, she was older. My parents have a high sloped ceiling and there is a window waaaaay up in the corner. There were always a couple eggs hiding up there. We used to say "woooooah the easter bunny must jump really high!". ;)

Later, we would all get into our Easter clothing. Whatever happened to little girls in Easter dresses, white hats, socks with the frilly lace and mary janes? Every year we would be dressed up as little dolls in our Easter best as we piled into the car. Even my parents were looking sharp. I think that everyone should dress up on Easter, don't you? I don't remember the getting dressed part, just the getting into the car. Mom had dressed everyone in the house, including dad. Those mary jane buckles are a pain and a half, not to mention little girls tights. Soon we all hopped ourselves in the car shining like Easter ornaments, food cooked and in the back, Easter lily for Nana. Mom had pulled it all together herself. Thank you mom, what are you a saint?! Anyway, we would be on our way to Nana and Grampys house. Jill and I would start fighting about something because that is what siblings do. We would get mom and dad mad and all of us would be bickering back and forth. Dad even threatened to leave us on the side of the road once. It was years later when Dwight and I spent our first Easter together that I found the humor in all of this. It was the spring before we were married. We were arguing in the car on the way to spend Easter with family and I started crying only to burst out in laughter when I realized history was repeating itself. We were fighting on the way to spend Easter with family, go figure.

So back to my story. We would get to Nana and Grampys where everyone was talking over everyone. We are Polish and loud. There would be laughter, jokes, and Grampy would be complaining about how nothings free any more, or something of the kind. The house would be warm and smelling of ham, potatoes and onion. Nana's house always smelled of yummy food. We would find our cousins and if it was nice outside we would run around in the fresh spring air. The snow was finally gone and sometimes there would be buds on the trees. You could feel the anticipation of a new season. The adults would get some pictures of all the children in their white and lace. Once it was time for dinner, Jill and I would crowd around the children's table with our cousins and giggle and talk the way children do. We would have ham, potatoes and kielbasi. We are Polish so there is always kielbasi. There would be a bowl of hard boiled eggs in the middle of the table too.

This Sunday will be Anya's first Easter. The Easter bunny will be coming to our house to bring her a basket. We are then heading down to celebrate with Dwight's side of the family. Anya will wear an Easter dress, tights and white mary jane shoes. No hat or frilly socks, although I thought about it. Maybe next year. There will be some yummy food, family and friends. Anya will be creating her own holiday memories with us. As she gets older the Easter bunny will leave eggs for her to hunt at our house. I hope for no arguments in the car, but I'm not promising anything. It is so special that we are starting our own traditions that she will look back on one day and recount to her own children. I only hope that she looks back as fondly as I do of my Easters.

So, what was your Easter like?

Uncle Eddie comes to town

Dwight and I each have one sibling. He has one brother and I have one sister. What a unique bond there is between siblings. Irreplaceable. I am amazed at how our brother and sister in laws have become our own siblings, in a way. There is that special comfort level that only parents and siblings get. An example is that his brother came over to spend the weekend with us on Saturday morning. He walks in to all three of us still in pajamas. Dwight is swiffering the floors and I am feeding Anya breakfast. We give our hellos and hugs and continue to chat with him, not stopping what we are doing. He blends into our every day. It's not easy to just blend into someones every day. For the usual company we are at least dressed. My sister and her husband are the same way with us. We are just us with them.. messy or clean house.. pajamas and all. I love that about siblings.

We had an fun filled weekend with Ed visiting. On the first day we brought him to Redhook Brewery in Portsmouth where they were hosting restaurant week. We had a fantastic 3 course meal for an equally fantastic price. We took the tour of the brewery after lunch and we were all impressed. There were a bunch of other babies and children there as well so I didn't feel bad about having a baby in a brewery. ;) On the way home Anya was cracking me up with her raspberry faces and noises. Here is a picture and a video:

This same weekend was maple sugar weekend. Maple sugar houses in the area open their doors one weekend in March to tours and free samples. We decided to go check one out on Sunday. When we pulled in I was a little apprehensive. It was a small shack with only a few people around. I had a quick vision from the movie Deliverance. Once we walked in my fears diminished. They had free maple coffee and cookies. You can't go wrong with free coffee and cookies.. ever. The owners were a family that do maple sugaring as a hobby. A woman came over to coo and smile at Anya, telling us how lucky we are (so sweet, sigh). A man came over to give us samples of the yummy syrup. Other people like ourselves started to flood through the doors. There was a demonstration or two and we walked up into the woods to see where the trees were tapped for the delicious sugar sap. You could see the smoke coming up from the little sugar shack. It was a cool day and Anya was smiling away at her chance to feel the fresh air. We bought some syrup to take home. I know I will think of that little sugar shack every time I pour it's deliciousness over a pancake.

Our weekend was filled with laughter and stories. We did a lot but we also cozied it up in pjs to watch a movie after Anya's bed time. Anya's uncle was able to see her exploring and getting into things in her walker. He heard her huge shrieks as she chased Herman around the house. He was a great help in the car rides feeding her a bottle in the backseat and wiping her little chin. When he fell asleep in the backseat Anya smiled and stared at her uncle. I think I even saw her chuck a toy at him in hopes of waking him. I love having Anya grow up around her family. I come from a close family so I want that for her as well.
Anya's new thing is not wanting to be fed her pureed food. I'm not sure if she's not enjoying the food, being fed by someone other than herself, or both of these things. She does like the finger foods and once in a while seems to enjoy the pureed meal. She does love yogurt. I have noticed that it is really hard when we are out to lunch. I'm thinking we will have to stop bringing pureed foods and only bring finger foods. On Saturday I shared pieces of noodle and chicken from my meal. She didn't want anything to do with the applesauce I brought. I guess she is becoming that independent little lady.

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Orange ball

You may have to turn the volumn off on the music for this one. She does some of her cute laughing. If you scroll down the music box on the bottom left has a pause button. This is a video from when I gave her the new orange ball.

Herman's seeker

Anya chases Herman around the house and even searches him out. This video is her finding him hiding behind the curtain.

Carter's online

It has come to my attention by the Foster family blog that you can now buy Carter's clothing online at http://www.carters.com/. Omg! I'm repeating over and over must not buy, must not buy... as I am sitting here drooling.. free shipping on orders over $50..
Look at this stuff...





Okay I am shutting my laptop and walking away before I do damage, Dwight you should be proud ;)

my quick little shadow

I took this video of Anya in her walker this past week. She loves to chase you in the walker. :)

Foody Friday: Parmesan Fondue

Parmesan Fondue

recipe and photo from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups milk
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cubed
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 (1 pound) loaf French bread, cubed (or bread bowl like I used)

Directions
In a large saucepan, cook and stir the milk and cream cheese over low heat until cheese is melted. Stir in Parmesan cheese and garlic salt; cook and stir until heated through. Transfer to a fondue pot or mini slow cooker; keep warm. Serve with bread cubes.

I put it in a bread bowl instead. I liked this idea but I didn't like that it cooled down and became thick. I think I will add white wine to it next time to give it more of a 'bite'. Very yummy and if you like cheese fondue this is a quick and easy way to make it.

Eggs and Sippys

Every year I try to find the time to color eggs. I am one of those geeky girls that loves arts and crafty stuff. I even take classes here and there to learn to crochet, make wreaths, jewelry, etc. I can't wait to share this stuff with Anya. I will be just as excited as her when we break out the paper, crayons and glue. Last weekend at lunch we gave Anya a crayon and paper. The restaurant we were at must have thought she was old enough. She only tried to eat it, she isn't ready.

I am hoping that Anya gets the hang of the sippy cup. We have about five different types and I have been giving her one every day. So far she likes the one in the picture which has a straw and another with a soft spout from the brand Nuby. She does seem to understand how to work the straw and it looks like she is drinking from it. After a while I will look at the level of water and it seems to be the same. Not sure what's goin' on there. The other cup she likes involves having to tip it up and she seems to be doing better with that. If she is 'playing' with her sippy don't go near it or she will get angry with you. She becomes very attached to these little cups, ha!

I brought Anya to the park again yesterday because the weather was nice. She loved the swing again and I pushed her higher. She was laughing away and watching all of the 'big' kids.
I ran into Walgreens with her after the park to get a jug of water and we saw this orange ball. She loves it and she thinks it's hysterical when you bounce it. :-) What a little monkey.

Three little videos coming this weekend, stay tuned.

It's a bird, it's a plane.. it's super dad

We are finally there. It only took ten months for us to figure it out. What's that you ask? I'm talking about how to work as a team for 99% of the time as parents. It has been wonderful but it has been hard. I'm not going to lie, I am an honest person. It has been the hardest thing we have ever done as a couple. Two people who live together do things differently especially if one is male and one is female. However, this isn't taking out the trash or doing the dishes. This is raising a person! It is the most important thing in the world. When we had Anya I had visions of how I wanted things to go and so did Dwight. Were they the same? No, of course not. We grew up with different parents, in different houses, in different towns. How were we expected to do things the same? The thing is that everyone warned me about this. I would hear, when you have a baby it will be hard because your husband will do things differently.. but just let him. Ha, easier said than done! Now I know you are all calling me crazy but if you have ever been a new mom you have to agree that you are slightly psychotic after having a baby. No one can do it as well as you. Including that wonderful man you married.
But on to the good part. I think we have the hang of it. Yes, there are times where I tell him that Anya needs a bottle or is trying to get his attention. I am her mom so this wont ever change. Watching her play with him is a whole new realm of motherhood. She is in complete love with this silly and loveable man that is her daddy. He wakes up and gives her a good morning and a kiss first thing. He sits across from her at the dinner table and shakes his head so that she can shake hers back at him. They have started to wave at eachother too. She will sit up and look for him when she hears the door open. She loves to hear him sing silly songs and she laughs away at every one.
We really feel like a family now. I feel like we took our wedding vows and created a family, a new life from it. Now we have a whole new reason to work together and continue to make eachother happy. We have a baby to promise forever to. If that isn't enough of a reason, I don't know what is. It makes me fall more in love with my husband every day. Every month did get easier but now at 10 months I think we are smooth sailing. I wish that they had prepared us in our baby classes. There should be a marital class before you have a baby. Screw telling me how to swaddle I should have heard, don't worry, you may want to kill eachother at moments. This is all in the process of becoming super parents. Because honestly this man I married should wear a cape. He comes home after a long day of work and tells me the house looks nice, says thank you for cooking dinner and gives me a kiss. I get to be with our daughter all day and then get a reward of praise at the end of the day? I wish I could go back to the days before when I was a hormonal new mom. I would tell myself, simmer down you will catch on. I would tell myself, every day it gets easier and soon enough our little family of 3 will not only be adjusted but we will be happier than ever.
Now, I feel like I am the luckiest girl in the world. I have my beautiful little cupcake and super husband/dad.. whether he wears a cape or not.

Music

I added music to the blog. If you are one that likes to read without music or you find it annoying you can turn it off. If you scroll down the music box is on the bottom left. You will also have to turn it off when I post videos and you want to hear the adorable little voice of Anya. I am trying it out for fun. We listen to music throughout most of our day at home so I figured I would add it on. :-) *Hint: If you want another song to play just click on the blog title and it will refresh to a new song.. pretty neat.

Chit chat

Anya's favorite word is duck. She will say "duck, duck, duck" at the most random times. It's pretty funny. This morning Dwight walked by her bedroom, waved and said hi to her. She looked up and waved back! Her newest word is uhoh. She drops something and she says uhoh. The cat runs by fast and she says uhoh. Sometimes she gets on a roll and says uhoh, uhoh, uhoh in her little voice. She also says, mama and dada. She has also said mum and dad (never the two together). She loves to say mamamamama. She tries to say cat but it usually sounds like caa or c..t. She will still try and say book but it is usually cook. She likes to say baba but I don't think she associates it with anything (like her bottle). She has favorite sounds. She likes to practice the sound of s, t, k, m, d, g, and sometimes h. Watching someone learn to talk is pretty amazing. Every time I hear a new sound I am in awe. Now, we better watch what we say around her. I would hate to hear, uhoh shit I dropped my cook.

my heart on wheels

After seeing how much Anya loved the little walker on Sunday we took it home with us to borrow for a bit. I put her in it yesterday after clearing my wine glasses from the wine rack. She started walking everywhere in it. I started having heart attack after heart attack. She found the drawers and she found the cabinets. Luckily the tray on the walker prevents her from opening the cabinets completely. She tries and tries but can't get in and you hear open, shut, open, shut, open, shut. She then found the trash can which I don't really want her hands touching. I guess we will have to buy a small can to put under the sink. All these things to think about. Next she moved over to the hallway and started walking towards the night light I have there. I removed it only to notice the open outlet I created. I moved her back to the dining room while I put the safety covers on. I would be fixing things while looking over my shoulder at her getting into something new. It was funny, but scary! Next, she found the table runner on the coffee table. I was in the kitchen as I saw her pulling and pulling. A candle that was on the runner was getting closer and closer to her and fast! I screamed "No!" and got there just in time. The runner is gone now. She discovered that she can 'run' after the cat now. She is psyched about this. I'm not sure if Herman isn't pleased or he considers it a game. He doesn't seem thrilled. The look on her face while walking towards him is priceless. She loves coming into the kitchen and grabbing at our legs. She was pulling on Dwight's pants last night as he was making dinner. It was cute. She also loves to look at her reflection in the stove and touch the walls. There were moments of me wanting to get rid of the walker really fast. They are dangerous even though I have my eye on her at all times. I have the doorway to the basement shut (obviously) but I want to get a lock as well because I just don't trust that the cat wont open it some day or we will not be paying attention. Worst fear right there. I did have those thoughts of hiding it away from her and there will be moments where I will do that. Watching her wave her arms in excitement at me because she was having the best time.. well I just can't take that away from her.

Walker

Yesterday we went to my parents house. My mom had knee surgery this past week and I wanted to visit and see how she is doing. She is recovering wonderfully. My mom borrowed a walker from my aunt when we had Anya. We have used it but Anya always has just sat in it and played. Yesterday she started pushing herself backwards and in minutes was moving around frontwards as well. She was getting everywhere and it was so fun to see her moving all around the deck.

My dad was worried that her feet would get cold so he gave Anya a pair of his socks. It was too funny to see her feet in a pair of mens socks.

Anya's grampy adores her!

10 months

Dear Anya,

Happy 10 months! You are the cutest, silliest and happiest girl in our life. I love spending each day with you, you make me so happy. You love to babble and your new saying is "Oh oh!" You say it all of the time now and your little voice sounds so cute. Now that you are getting bigger and able to do more it feels like you are your own person with a personality.

Daddy and I like to play with you together and say Did you see that? That is something new. We think you are brilliant because you are our special girl. We are amazing by you and how every week brings a new development. I love when we give you kisses and tickles and you scrunch your face up in a huge smile and tuck your chin in to hide.

When I got married to daddy and said my vows I didn't think I could love him any more than on that day. Every day brings challenges but it seems that you have made me love daddy even more. We are a family and it feels so wonderful to have you in our life. Living life with you two is the most fun I have ever had. We are looking forward to watching you grow and change in the next months.

I love you forever and ever,

Mommy

Swingin'

beautiful weather, beautiful weekend

Yesterday my friends Danielle and Becky came to visit and we took Anya to the park. She loooved the baby swings. :)

We had lunch on this picnic table with a view of the water. The weather was beautiful.
When we got home I put Anya down for a nap and we celebrated our day with chocolate strawberries and champagne on my deck. So fun!

Today was another perfect weather day. The temps were in the 70s and Dwight suggested we take Anya to see animals. I told him that I didn't know of any places near us and he went online. He found a place called Charmingfare farm. It is a farm with llamas, horses, ponies, goats, sheep, pigs, and geese. They also have bears, wolves, a camel, reindeer, a lynx, a wolverine, a fishercat and more. It was great! Anya liked to look at the animals and I think she liked the pigs and goats the most. She also liked the geese. I would definitely go back again. They have a lot of seasonal events and special holiday events. In December they have a horse drawn sleigh ride through trails with lights and holiday scenes. In the fall they have a pumpkin festival. I am excited for all of the fun places we can share with her in the years ahead. I'm not gonna lie, I love living here and all of the fun places nearby for children (and adults like us who love it).

We were amazed that we can now hand her a bottle and push her around in the stroller while she drinks it. It makes things easier.

When we went into the goat petting area they swarmed Dwight because he had animal feed in his hands. I couldn't help but laugh while watching them follow him and even jump up on him.

Bring it on vitamin D

After a long cold New England winter having the sun out and the birds chirping feels AMAZING. Every year around March or April we get a nice warm streak of weather. I get spring fever. I want to go for walks, I want to grill, I want to sit outside with a glass of vino! Who cares that next week we will probably have freezing rain. After the snow and being stuck inside I want to run outside and yell, hallelujah. Um, but I wont because the neighbors might call the cops on the crazy lady yelling and flailing her daughter around in circles. I think that the spring and summer feel better when you have felt the wrath of a cold and snowy winter. This winter Anya was too little to bundle up and throw snowballs at (jk jk). But in all seriousness she is too little to appreciate the snow for it's sledding, skiing and snowmen building purposes. We would go to play dates, the art museum, out to lunch and the mall. We would run from house to car and then car to store. It was fine, at first. By the end of winter I would look around the house thinking.. what can we do noooow. It was getting old after two months of it. She can't bake, paint, use play dough, or do crafts. We played a lot with her toys and read books and even made a pot and pan band... but come on. I want to go outside! The time has come my friends! On that note.. I'm out of here. Well, after nap time. ;)

The talented Jill

My sister is a talented artist. Not only that, she uses her talent to teach children ranging from 5 years to 13 years. I don't know about you but when I grew up we had art teachers that taught a couple or a few grades, not nine grades! These students are so lucky to have her as a teacher. You can view her student's work on this website. The best thing about it (in my opinion) is that you can also view some of her own artwork at the site. I love that I can see what she is working on with her students in one click of my mouse. She is graduating with her Masters degree in May and I couldn't be prouder. I tell everyone that asks about her that she is getting her Masters, no joke. So go check out her site. It's still under construction in some parts but it is definitely worth it to see.

Handmade sweater set

Thanks to my aunt Donna, cousin Candice and her mom Janet who made this sweater set for Anya. It fits perfect now for Spring!

Beautiful St. Pattys Day

We went to a play date today that was also a St. Patricks Day potluck, how fun! Everyone brought something for lunch and the temps were in the mid 60s! We all headed outdoors after for some playing. Anya loves being outside and she was feeling the grass and trying to taste the leafs.

Anya's buddy Kai was there too!

What is this grass stuff?

When we got home we had time to go for a walk before nap time. It was so beautiful that I felt like we were on vacation. ;) The hat from Grammy Cindy wouldn't stay on but we tried. :-)

My mom is having knee surgery today so please say a prayer for her.

Spring pictures

I went to get pictures taken of Anya today. Here are my favorites. :-)

Try to catch me

During breakfast Anya and I played a new game. She tries to get my hand before I pull it away. We thought this was hilarious. Yes, I thought it was hilarious too because her laugh makes me laugh. Before I started taping I was laughing just as hard with her and my stomach hurt. I love this girl!

Why having girlfriends rules

Two of my bestest buddies Danielle (from grade school) and Becky (from high school) are taking the day off on Friday to spend it with Anya and me. How lucky am I that they will use a vacation day for us just because they want to?

The weather is supposed to be good.. and I asked them what they want to do.

This is the response, there is an agenda:

Meet at Holly's
Picnic lunch in the park
Grab a bottle of wine after to bring back to Holly's

Have some chocolate fondue and wine

Um, are you serious? How awesome does this sound?

Oh thank heaven for girlfriends. I'm so excited for our 3 ladies and a baby date!

snowbaby

Anya and I are laughing that the snow is all gone after the rain. ;) She says, "take that snowmen".