Adisson's Alias

Adisson is convinced that she is Wonder Red, an animated character on the PBS series called SUPER WHY.  The show is excellent at helping kids learn letters and other such reading skills.  Whenever the show comes on Adisson sings the theme song and as soon as the characters introduce themselves, Adisson pops up and says, "Look!  That's me!"  Do you see any resemblance?

Laugh Out Loud (LOL)

For the past week I have been moody and irritable.  At times I thought that I just needed to get out of the house and have some alone time at a store (i.e. Kohl's) totally convinced that I would not buy anything.  But putting me in a store to merely look without making a purchase is like putting a kid in a candy store with free samples and expecting them not to try a single one.  So I would go to Kohl's and stroll the aisles and almost always come out with something that I needed and let's not forget to mention that the article of clothing was on the 80% off clearance rack.  Then later on I would check the status of my checking account, notice the dwindling account total, and end up more moody than I was before I had "alone time."  Cross that moodiness solution off the list.  

Adisson is excellent at approaching me when I need to be shown love the most.  Often a simple sigh is a sign to her that Mommy needs some cuddling.  Unfortunately, because of my moodiness the attention she received back was an artificial hug and more of Mommy's frustration.  Most of this frustration was triggered by episodes where I have to ask Adisson to do something five times before she finally responds, "What did you say?  I can't hear you."  She would say it in the sincerest way as if she really did not hear me, but I was not convinced.  The fact that I had to repeat myself so many times that day upset me to the point that I ended up yelling, "put away your toys!"  Stunned, Adisson put away her toys, came back to me, and stroked my back with her little hand.  Who could turn away such innocent and genuine attention?  Me.  What a shame... but I did.  When I laid in bed that evening I felt so awful for the way that I treated not only Adisson, but the rest of the family too. 

So I came up with another solution to this moodiness: laugh out loud.  Yesterday anytime I needed Adisson to do something I put myself into a position where I could make eye contact with her and calmly gave her instructions.  This counteracted the former "I can't hear you" response and got things done quicker.  Not necessarily in a timely manner, but quicker than the day before.  I laughed out loud every opportunity I got.  I began this in the morning and could not escape the laughter for the rest of the day.  Quiet frankly, the girls were surprised to see this side of Mommy and were happy to oblige me with more reasons to laugh: a big smile, the sweetest coo, a funny face, or a silly dance.  By the time my husband got home from work, his girls were all smiles and giddy from laughing.  He could not help but to chime in with the laughter.  The atmosphere at home completely changed.  There was not a cloud of moodiness and irritation over our household anymore because I chose to excuse it and exchange  it for joy and laughter.  Note to self: Add LOL to list of "TO DO."

LOL: One good pic out of 5 takes.

Life with Two

Big Sister & Little Sister

Adisson is a wonderful big sister and enjoys the presence of our newest addition.  Throughout pregnancy I was told by many that parenting gets easier after the first child because parents have the assistance of the older siblings.  I have yet to experience this so-called ease of parenthood.  Don't get me wrong, much credit is due to my 4-year-old for helping Daddy & Mommy with the new baby.  She is, after all, only 4-years-old and the assistance she is capable of giving at this stage in life is helpful... to a certain degree.  For instance, Catalina at the age of nearly 6-months-old was introduced to applesauce.  This baby's version of applesauce came in the form of mashups- the revolutionary organic squeezable fruit.  I pulled the mashup out of the refrigerator and set it on a table in the family room.  After changing Catalina into a clean diaper I grazed back to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of water before feeding time.  During this task I heard Adisson tenderly reciting words of praise to her little sister like, "great job, Catalina" and "that's a good girl!"  I relished in the sound of sisterly love when I suddenly snapped out of the moment when I heard, "you want more apple sauce?"  I hurried to the family room and saw apple sauce spread all over Catalina's mouth, cheeks, nose, ears, bib, and clothes.  I was upset that I had yet another big mess to clean but Adisson looked like she felt so accomplished and Catalina looked very pleased at the taste of apple sauce in  her mouth.  So on the one hand, yes, I have the help of the older sibling.  I just have to appreciated that the assistance comes at a 4-year-old level.

Lucky Charm

When I was pregnant Keenan continuously joked that our baby would come at a time that would allow his paternity leave to be when the San Francisco Giants go to the World Series.  Sure enough, Catalina honored Daddy and upon her arrival, the Giants won the National League West and eventually ended years of torture (they had not won a title since 1954) and won the World Series 2010.

Adisson showcasing AT&T Park- Giants territory.

Our family (Catalina still in the oven).

Princess Catalina

On September 20 we welcomed our second beautiful princess, Catalina.  The labor itself did not progress as speedily as I'd hoped, but Catalina's delivery was completed in two pushes in less than 5 minutes.  My husband and I looked at each other with tears welling up in each of our gazes as we heard the first cry of our newest addition to the family.  I wanted to burst into exhausted and gleeful tears as he cradled my head and cried, "You did it, baby!  You did it!"   

Catalina. 7 lbs 1 oz, 20.5 inches