At last

It took a little over three months but the damage Mette did to me while learning to nurse is finally healed!!! For those who might not know I will spare you the gory details but lets just say there was major soreness and pain on my end that I thought would not heal until she weaned. For a while when she was 4-6 weeks old I actually thought I wasn't going to be able to nurse her it was so bad. But I stuck it out because I am super stubborn and it paid off. The healing process was slow due to being re-injured every two-three hours but it happened. I was hoping to celebrate with a pedicure but I can't get in before we head out of town next week:(. I am having a girl's day out tomorrow with Mette and Rachel though so I can still celebrate.

Perhaps the biggest present, Mette slept until 3 this morning, nursed and then slept until 7:15!!!

Don't take for granted

When you are living the charmed life like Otto and Mette it is important not to take things for granted.

Like running into your friends at the store and being able to catch a ride without even asking if it is ok.

Having mom-mom and pop-pop so close by we can visit on a whim, like we did this Memorial Day. ( I have to remember to take more pictures when we visit with them, I tend to take it for granted that we will have photos, and then look back to realize we don't)

Having your own personal seamstress and an amazing Japanese fabric store downtown. Rachel has been making amazing clothes for Mette. This is the latest installment. There are more to come.

Summer Fun and making Mette look dainty

We have been taking some impromptu day trips this week. The first was a trip to Chocolate World at Hershey Park and the Wittaker Center children's museum in Harrisburg. I don't have any pictures from Chocolate World because it took all my concentration to keep Otto next to me. We just went and rode the tram ride where you get to see how chocolate is made. I was glad to see that not much has changed since I was a kid other than the fact the the annoying chocolate world song that would always get stuck in your head has been much improved. Our idea was just to hit the children's museum but for some strange reason it doesn't open until 11 and since our kids were up a little after 5, that seemed like forever away. Chocolate World opens at a much more sane hour of 9:30 so we stopped there first. Otto really like the tram ride and the trolleys they had parked outside.

I got some great shots of Mette chillin' in the obstacle course checking out the giant mobile they had hanging from the ceiling.

Otto in the tunnel

There were some really nice older kids that Otto had a great time playing with.

How to make Mette look dainty.....

Photograph her next to Reese who is a mere 6 weeks older but MUCH bigger. That is saying something too because Mette is bigger than Otto was at this age. In fact today she is wearing an outfit that he wore in October. This was Mette's portion of playgroup last week. He didn't move the entire time while Mette just about squirmed off the blanket from kicking her legs while smiling so much!

This was an attempt at a group shot. We took a ton of pictures and some of the kids are looking at the camera in each one.

Otto and Freya riding the tricycle together.

KNOEBELS!!

we took what is sure to be the first of many day trips to Knoebels last week as well. It was a perfect day to go. School is still in session so it was quite empty. Otto didn't have to wait to get on any rides. Last year when we went he was a bit unsure of the rides and going on them himself but this year there was no hesitation. He had such a blast and was so well behaved.

Mette was very good and enjoyed hanging out in her stroller and watching the world go by.

Goings On

Things are going quite well here. Spring is slowly starting to stick around and we are enjoying the extra sunshine. But lets get get down to what you really want (Kristin), pictures.

Otto trying out one of our iPods. He is a big fan of a good dance party.

Pure Freud. Otto being "baby Otto" in Mette's chair, complete with vibration and music.

Mette filling out a Hello Kitty onesie from Nonna Jen.

Eric had a moment of clarity this week. Otto does not like loud sounds and is scared of things like the vacuum cleaner, dust buster, mixer etc... He wanted to use the dust buster and in an attempt to keep Otto from freakin' out he suggested that Otto wear his headphones. It worked immediately and allowed him to clean while Otto sat by and played. Later I wanted Otto to help me make whipped cream and again we put the headphones to good use.

Note: so far the sleeping curse has not been broken. :)

3 Months and the Big Apple

Somehow, and to be totally honest, I have no idea how, Mette is 3 months old. In fact 3 months and one week. It has taken me a full week to come to grips with the concept before I could post about it. How did this happen? How is the BABY 3 months old? I remember thinking we would never get to 12 weeks with Otto and it has flown by with Mette. I know everyone says it goes by so fast, but I think it is happening even faster with Mette. I think there is something about knowing that each phase will be the last time we go through this phase (we are done at 2) that makes me enjoy each moment more. Even the fussy moments.

Speaking of fussy moments, Mette is really starting to chill out. She was never as fussy as Otto but she gave him a run for his money a few days there. But, like the books all say, which with Otto I thought was hogwash, at 3 months she is starting to sort things out. She really is starting to like just checking out the world. She really likes being in the dream meadow and looking up at toys or just having time to chew on her fists and stare at the ceiling. Girl loves her some white ceiling! She is even big enough now to enjoy the wonders of the exorcist, one of Otto's favorite toys. Photos of that to follow. She still has some reflux issues from time to time, but a bland diet for me seems to be helping. Maybe next week I will start adding real food and we will see how that works. Her teeth also give her fits from time to time, but that is certainly understandable. She is also continuing to sleep well.

I have decided writing about sleep here won't jinx it because this acts like my kid diary and how else will I remember what is going on. During the day it is still pretty hard to predict. She mainly just cat naps here and there. Sometimes 20 minutes, sometimes an hour. It is hard to call. That will come with time, it is the nights where she really figures it out. We go upstairs to nurse and rock a little after 6:30 and by 7:30 she is usually asleep. Last night it took longer and it wasn't until after 8 that she was really sleeping but that is rare. Then she usually sleeps until 11:30 or 12:30ish. Last night she slept until 1:45. Then she gets up around 3 or 4 to nurse and goes right back to sleep. She then wakes up around 5:30 or 6. If it is before 6 sometimes I can nurse her and get her back to sleep. Last night she only woke up at 1:45, then slept until 6 when she nursed and slept in the bed with me until 7. It was glorious and if she wanted to do that all the time it would be fine by me. Oh yeah, did I mention, she is doing all of this sleeping in the crib. I know, crazy!! Who know little babies could sleep in their cribs? So now that I have told you I fully expect to be up all night, but if I don't record it here, where will I?

So in addition to Mette hitting the 3 month mark we also took a trip to Hoboken and NYC last week. We were able to see a bit of Uncle Ben and Shannon before they headed out of town to a wedding and we crashed their place. Hopefully next time we can see more of them. We had an absolute blast. Otto had a great time exploring the city and riding on the subway, and Mette seemed to enjoy the view. We took them to Brooklyn to the children's museum there for an afternoon of fun. Otto had so much fun he completely wore himself out. On the way home on the C train he seemed a little tired and eric said he could close his eyes (he was in the stoller). With that he promptly fell asleep. He fell so dead asleep he stayed asleep while we carried him up stairs, through train stations, through downtown Manhattan, into a Dunkin Donuts where Mette nursed, down into the Path station and into Hoboken where he woke up as we exited the elevator to ground level. It was amazing.

We also got stuck in a torrential down pour the previous afternoon in Hoboken while trying to go to the park. Luckily there just happened to be a cupcake only store around the corner. Guess where we went? Life is good.

Here is Mette in the ever famous exorcist.

Mette and her chins rule the world

Chillin' with Uncle Ben

CUPCAKES!

Otto on the subway, he loved it, not too surprising

Napping on the subway

Otto overjoyed at all the things to play with at the museum

Mette has graduated to being able to ride in the big stroller when Otto is otherwise occupied

Mother's Day

For Mother's day we headed down to see my grandmother, my mom and her sister MaryAnn, the moms in my family. We took quite a good number of photos before we left, this is the best one....

Great-grandmother Hope and Baby Mette Hope

Great-Grandmother Hope, MaryAnn, me, my mom Hope and Otto

We had a a wonderful day. Otto was an amazing traveler each way and Mette did quite well with a small bobble at the end. Nothing iTunes drone music and the visualizor couldn't fix. Otto scored big, the woman who looks after my grandmother has two sons and left a bag of cars and trains for Otto to play with. This kept him very well entertained. I was able to visit with my mom and aunt MaryAnn, good times were had by all.

The Cabin and More

I am too tired to do much more than post photos but they are some really good ones so I hope this will hold you.

I do have one excellent quote from Otto. A few nights ago I was trying to get him to ask nicely for something that he wanted during dinner. I asked him if he had a nice word for what he wanted. He paused and said "candy, candy is a nice word". What am I supposed to say to that?

So a last weekend eric was in Boston for a conf. The kids and I headed to the mountain to keep grandmom and grandpa on their toes. Otto, Grandpa and I went out to collect pine cones to use in cooking the bratwurst for dinner. It was a great chore for Otto. I have a few more pictures but Blogger is refusing to look at them now so I will post them later.

He really like carrying the bucket.

Otto also had a few excursions in the creek. Mind you, the only thing keeping this water from freezing is the fact that it is moving. You couldn't pay me to get in that creek in April. He didn't even flinch when entering the water.

Mette took a bath in the kitchen sink. She has some quality naked time before that on the kitchen table.

We had some friends over to play outside last week. The bubbles were a big hit.

Can you tell they are related?

Nonna Jen sent some Hello Kitty stuff for Mette, this hat fits Otto perfectly thanks to our kids having tiny heads. It is size 6-9 month. He loves it and wants to wear the "Kitty" hat.