Update: The babies are old af

You guyyyyyys, it seems like they're not even babies anymore! :(

... OK OK OK, maybe Robs is still a baby.

But for real, Ana is turning 3 on Saturday and Robs turns 1 like, three weeks after that. Wahhhhh.

Wanna know what's up with these little nuggets? I took some notes in my iPhone, per usual, so here, let's do a lil update! Since it's me, you know this will prly be long. (Should I do a TL;DR version? Maybe next time).

Ana:

Is *in* on the "Bob" jokes. Just the other day, she called him BOBBBBBBY, and then she's like, constantly correcting us if we call him a version of Bob in which she doesn't approve. For example, around Halloween, he was Dinosaur Bob to us, and one day, she approached James and me very seriously, saying, like, in a firm but calm way, "No, he's NOT." We thought she was pissed for a sec, but she broke into a small smile and said, "He's Spaghetti Bob!"  Haha and she'll do the same thing with Banana Bob. Some days she'll just insist that he's only to be called Banana Bob (which is pronounced, if you're Anz, "Bee-anna Bob!" We laugh and laugh at this crazy girl.

She says the funniest things. (I know, says every toddler mom, right?). But like, recently I asked, "Isn't Robby getting SO BIG?" And she answered v enthusiastically, "He's getting to be a RILLY BIG BOY, mommy!"  Haha we kinda pretend he's "our" baby, especially when Jim is working weekends. She's my little helper, and she loves pretending to be his mom. <-- which is weird but like, helpful? So I'll take it!

Grabbed this from the dollar bin at Target and thought, "If I could get ONE pic in this silly headband, it'd be money well-spent!"

She's also a little sass ball at times, although, as always, a sweet one. Like, she'll say rude things, but she doesn't mean to be malicious, if that makes sense. I'm not sure where she hears these expressions, but one day she kept yelling, "GET YOUR OWN TOYS AND GET YOUR OWN FRIENDS, WOBBY!" Yet, she had a smile on her face. She didn't even seem mad at him; she was just spewing that Haterade. OMG it was so hard not to laugh. My mom was even like, "Where'd she hear that?" Also, "friends? She doesn't have any friends either!"  (haha I'm sure she said it a little more gently than this. The point being, without day care, my children aren't really socialized). Yes guys, for clarification: She considers her stuffed animals to be her friends (is that sad or cute? You decide).  So basically, she wanted Robs to GTFO of them.

Other funny sayings: She saw a baby in the waiting area at gymnastics class recently and ran past him yelling, "A baby? Ohhhh we got one of 'doze at home!" Or, in reaction to the news that we would be having pizza for dinner, "Ahhhh, PIZZA? Sounds so good! Delicious! In my tummy!" Like, same, girl. Saaaame.

Or when Candace was over and used the bathroom: (Ana stands outside the door, listening in like some kind of creep) -- and then calls out, "I hear pee-peeeeeee!" and then runs over to me, clapping her hands in support. OMG we were dying.

I kinda forget the context here, but I had to ask her to put something down recently, and she was all, "But I want to be just like YOU, mommy!" and even James said something like, "Lord, that's seriously heart-melting." She watches our every move. She notices. She wants to be like us. She is such a tiny human.

I couldn't love her more if I tried. I've said this before and I'll say it again: the 2s have notttt been terrible for us. Not even a little bit. And that's not to say she's perfect; she's still 2 and she has her moments. But like, overall, this has just been such a lovely year and I'm really sad to see it go! I've cherished a ton, and the development has been astounding.

The most loving big sister

I'm also here to report back on the potty-training front: I could look, but I don't feel like it. I think last time I blogged, I said it was going better, but still a bit hit-or-miss? MAN has it ever improved. I'm now 100 percent in the camp of people who say you can't really teach them, or make them, go. They just do it when they're ready. It sounds simple, so why do people try to rush it or make it happen?

Like, oh, your kid isn't potty-trained yet? He's just not ready. Ana wasn't for awhile. I was kiiiind of starting to sweat it out, but we had decided we'd read the books and take more drastic measures once she turned 3. And now it appears that the day will never arrive. Because outside of overnights and occasional #2s, she goes. And it's been AWESOME. She had been showing interest for almost a year but wouldn't go consistently. The next thing you knew, basically overnight, she was excited about the potty. So I'll say it again, just like, with regards to our experience here: There's no magic age. There's no magic trick (although M&Ms help). I think it depends on the kid and I'm just gladddd to say we've finally (mostly!) arrived.

Girlfriend also loves ... Shrek. The original and the musical, thank you, Netflix. I love listening to her talk about Shrek. "And the brave knight and the don-keh and Princess Fiona, MUMMA." Also loves her ballerina skirt, dancing, the Grinch, treats (she will BEG you for fruit snacks), and milk.

She's still so focused on the concept of time. "Haven't seen dat in awhile." Or "you me-member that?" ... "We do that tomorrow? Yesterday? Is it evening?" Sometimes she's a little off, as in, "Shrek? We haven't seen dat in awhile," when it's like, "No bear, we watched Shrek an hour ago, let's take a few plays off." But I think it's so grown-up that she wants to know how to navigate the world and interpret time like the rest of us. I also called out to Jim the other afternoon, "Babe, what time is it?" And she came barreling down the hallway like a tiny drunk, yelling, "Two nine forty!" Like, did I catch a niner in there? Oh my goshhhh, the entertainment never ends.

A few weeks ago, I took Anz to Great Lakes Crossing, where she loves to play with this toy car (one of the kind where you put quarters in, but she'll still go sit and pretend, even without the thing turning on) -- and she kept slamming the "car door" and yelling, "USB! Play podcast!" And well, it took me a second to make out that second part, but then it dawned on me that she was "being mumma," haha, yelling at the Siri-type woman in my car to play the Podcast app through Bluetooth. She honestly picks up on everything!

The singing and dancing are truly next level. I heard that sweet little voice signing "Try Everything" by Sia while driving back from my parents' and I just thought it was so sweet, like, to actually recognize a song that she's singing, and a song that isn't quite "Itsy Bitsy Spider," at that.

She's big into the idea of Christmas and Santa coming, and lovvvves to look at lights and sing holiday songs, so I have to imagine this is going to be a really exciting month for her. For her birthday, we're taking her back to Crossroads Village ("train party," we're calling it), which is where we went last year too. The train takes you all over and there are a bunch of lights set up and I think she's gonna love it even more this time around -- although, is that the kiss of death for any experience? Our own expectations? Ha that feels like a separate blog!

I already feel like I'm sharing way too many Anz snippets, so I'll try to cap this in a sec!

Matching PJ friends

One morning, she decided she was playing the recorder, and kept holding this toy up to her face as if it were a real recorder. James and I were like, "We don't even know where you heard about a recorder. What?!" Oh, and we have SO MANY instances like that. We're constantly just like, Anz, where'd you hear that? Where'd you learn that? What expression did you just use?

You can talk to her about anything. She understands everything. I'm not sure when we stopped having a language barrier, but like, even if a concept is over her head, she'll make a joke about "that's silly," or say like, "but what does it meannnnn?"

Here are some final Ana quotes. I hope I never forget her saying ... "c'monnnn, yittah buddy!" (to Robs, of course). "You not wearing any socks, mumma? You only wearing you toes?" ... "Mumma, you look like Dipsy!" (when my hair's all piled on top of my head). "By JANE MARCO-FAN MEESE." <--- Yeah, I realize that one might not make a lot of sense to anyone else, but she's big on reading the author's and illustrator's names when we're reading books, and sometimes she'll just ... make up a new name for an author. She thinks that's the funniest. Some go-tos would include Mary Foofdee, Mary Murphy and the aforementioned Jane. Like, why is she the weirdest human already? (That is pretty funny though, I'm not gonna lie). Same sense of humor, clearly!

K, let's pivot and talk about our BIG BIG BIG BIG BOYYYY, if anyone follows me on Snap and wants to murder me for saying that every damn day.   ;)

Robby:

This guy. Is so good-natured! That's like, by design, of course. He's just used to getting things ripped off him, all day long. "Oh, I'm loving this toy, ma!" his expression says to me as he smiles at the plastic Cookie Monster figurine. And then Ana will run in out of nowhere -- I swear, she sniffs out his happiness like a drug-sniffing dog -- and something in her brain says, "TAKE THE TOY, ANZ. DON'T LET YOUR BROTHER EXPERIENCE *ANY* HAPPINESS, NO MATTER WHAT." This is her one job in life. So Robs inevitably gets the toy taken, shrugs, and keeps it moving. We were at Jenny and Jared's around Thanksgiving time, and Robby, being the youngest of the pack, got a lotttt of stuff stolen. He was generally unfazed. What a good lil babe!

Baskets of Bob

Also, kinda funny how Ana parents him -- like, she doles out "lessons" that *she* needs. "You have to be more patient, Wobby. We don't rip books, Wobby." <--- Oh really, Anz?

Robs' laugh remains like, one of my all-time favorite things about him and I wish I could bottle it. It's just so chortley and old-man-like and funny. I swear, you can't just hear it and then keep a straight face. It's hysterical. Once Ana or James or someone has him going, the whole house is laughing.

He's not walking yet, but we do get that question a lot. For a few months now, he's been cruising the furniture, pulling up on everything, balancing on his own -- but we're still waiting for those first steps. I'm not worried about it; like everything else, it's like, one day they just start doing it and you wonder what life was like even a week ago. Plus, I think 12 months is officially average on the walking front, so it's certainly not like he's slow by any means. I think because he's always seemed so big and strong, we had a bunch of predictions that he'd be early. But yeah, he's pacing toward right on time!

He eats a TON. Like, way more than Ana, and some days, more than James. We're still doing baby-led weaning, for the most part, although I do offer some purees; mostly because he's known to toss his veggies off the high-chair tray. We tried this subscription-based service called Little Spoon, but I just canceled actually, because now we have 8 million little containers in our fridge and it takes him sooooo long to make his way through just one. He'll do a few bites a meal, but they deliver every other week, and it was just too much. Basically, the idea behind Little Spoon is that the baby food you see at the grocery store has been sitting there for months, if not years. Also, too often, it's loaded with sugar -- largely, natural sugar, like from fruit, but like, way too much of it. So, Little Spoon makes its baby food fresh, and offers super interesting blends. For example, quinoa, squash, flax, ginger, beets, etc.  Stuff that you might not find in other purees. Anyway, like I said, we kinda signed on to supplement fruits and veggies. He doesn't love taking food off a spoon and I don't love the idea of pre-loading. But whatever; I can largely get these down the hatch, even if it's a slow process (dude actually loves beets) and in some ways, I wish he'd take the blends more!

Looking skeptical, tbh

Robs turns into an absolute animal -- for real; super ferocious -- if you're not feeding him/loading up his tray fast enough. He'll yell, pound his fists, the whole 9 yards.

And did I tell you he got a TOOTH? Two in one, really! The bottom center two popped in on the same day. This was probably only a few weeks ago, so we've been waiting on this moment.

Baby boy loves: food (as mentioned; mostly eggs), the bright lights coming off the TV (sorry, that's just what happens what you have an older sibling), his sister, GRANDBOB, the sound of his own voice, esp when it echoes, climbing the stairs (and escaping from us so that he can try to do it alone, phew that's a nightmare), laughing, sleeping (most days), changes in scenery/leaving the house, staring down strangers, and trying to steal Anz's sippie cups.

Baby boy hates: his life when he wakes up in the morning, his car seat, and letting anyone feed him (he'd rather do it himself, BYE).

We laugh because he is the all time happiest baby boy, but he wakes up so mad every day, without fail. Like, the absolute saddest cries and then we go in and he's making the angriest faces. Also, see above, he sleeps *great*. Like, I'm not even gonna talk about how much, for fear of jinxing it. He can't be upset over quality of sleep -- notttt an issue. So what makes him all riled up? He does this after naps, too. We used to go into Anzie's room after a nap and we would be greeted by her excitement -- a huge smile or squeal. With Robby, it's the same upset face.  :(

But then you get all, "MR. ROBS! WHAT'S UP DUDE, WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE BOTHERING YOU THIS BAD?" And you make a big scene (well, if you're us), and he finds himself unable to hang onto the cranks. He's smiling in no time at all. Similarly, sometimes that crank face will come back if he's having a good time being held, and then you set him down. Guy lovvvves being held.

I love them so much. I'm scared to even get a word count; this was excessive af.

More stories coming though -- you know I have to do the birthday posts, obviously.

Big changes over here! I'm v sorry that I write long and you'll never get those 20 minutes back. ;)

Baby talk on a Friday! ("I'm a big girl," Ana would clarify).

It happened again, you guys. I haven't blogged in three months because it just got TOO DAUNTING.

I thought like, "Ohhh I should write about our trip! Nah I'll wait." And then I got slammed with work and I trained for a 10-mile race, and I waited, and I waited, and I waited some more ... and now it's been so long and I feel like I need to catch you up on all the cuteness!

There is an insane amount of cuteness. Evidence below.

Like dis

Last time I blogged, we were getting ready to go up north with our extended family (my mom's side, for the record). I had about 50 fears tied to this trip -- like, not stuff I was *actively* up late worrying about, but more like, things in the back of my mind that I knew could go wrong. For example, what if Robby wasn't sleeping well in his Pack n Play? We were planning on being up there an entire week. And sharing this lodge with ... 20 people? So, that could kind of make or break my sanity, if Robs wouldn't sleep ... or like, maybe Ana would kind of rebel, being around so many people? I wondered, would she get super overstimulated by the end of each day and crank up the fit factor? Eesh.

You guys. The trip was amazing, for real. And I hate when people overuse the word amazing. But both kids slept all through the night (every night). They both NAPPED, which is really saying something for Ana. I think she napped every day. And long ones, too! They were synced up on the afternoon nap, and they'd both go down for like, 3 hours. James had to come back to Flint on the Monday-Tuesday for work, and I swear, one afternoon, I just like, took the standup paddleboard out on the lake and then dozed while someone else listened for A&R up at the lodge.

WHAT.

Anyway, that was legitimately in July. I don't even know where the summer went! Which is a cliche thing to say, but just like, true.

We didn't really do any other big trips or anything ... a lot of days, we just spent grilling up dinner and playing in the sprinkler till bedtime! My job has really been kicked into overdrive lately, so we've been busy-busy-busy just trying to survive. I can't believe it's October already! Robby just turned 9 months as of Monday.

He isn't walking yet, and I know a lot of you predicted this month for that benchmark, but admittedly, he's getting pretty close! All he wants to do is stand, and he's working on his balance a bunch lately. If he lets go of the furniture, he can hold himself steady for maybe like, 3 seconds? 5 seconds, tops? He's getting better! And he's not like, cautious, like Ana was. Ana would only steady herself or even ATTEMPT to take a step once she was truly ready. Robby is just not that dude. He's very physical, and excited about moving, and probably a little bit too risky. He crawls at rapid speed around the house (no more inchworm!), beelines it to the stairs at least 27 times a day, and cruises the furniture nonstop. This makes him pretty tired by the time 8:00 rolls around. He's a great sleeper! He's been at consistent 12-hour night-sleeps for awhile now, which is really nice, to be able to have something to rely on in that department. Plus, he's still napping twice a day, for anywhere from an hour to three hours each time. BALLINNNN. (Watch, I just jinxed it).

Sleepy Bob!

For the record, we still put Ana down for quiet time every day during Robs' afternoon nap. Sometimes she sleeps, sometimes she plays, but she'll stay up there quietly forever, some days! It's a gift, really. And we're so thankful.

These babes are just everything.

James and I love calling Robby variations of the name BOB.

Like, we were eating Italian food for dinner recently, and he was loving it, so I called out, "Spaghetti Bob!" and James came right back with, "Bobby Noodles!"

Some days he's being an extra Stand-Up Bob, or a Bobby Troubles, or a Bobby Sads, or perhaps Crawl-Around Bob or Bobby Wiggles or Psycho Bob.

It's been 9 months, and we've decided that this will never NOT be funny.

Look at this tall guy

Robby loves ...

• MAMA (and Daddy, of course!)  But I'd say he's a mama's boy first and foremost. Still, he and James really have bonded SO MUCH over these past few months.
• His big sister. They laugh and laugh together. Did I already say this last time? I feel like I always say this: People always told me that there'd be a payoff in having them pretty close in age, because they'd be able to play together. Um, I thought we were talking like, ages 4 and 6. They play together already! And it's the sweetest thing ever. My heart has never melted like it melts to see the two of them loving on each other. I swear they even have their own language. They are the sweetest boops.
• FOOD. Bobby-Eats-A-Lot, how are you only in the 35th percentile when it comes to weight? Some of his favorites include yogurt, scrambled eggs, meatballs, sweet potatoes, blueberries and Kodiak cakes. I would say, "he eats more than Ana!" But that's not so hard these days. He eats more than James, is more like it.
• Squealing, babbling, canonicals.
• Pulling up on everything, standing at the sliding glass door and talking to squirrels.
• Being a Dare-Devil Bob.
• Smiling at people.

Robby does not love ...

• Getting his diaper or outfit changed. Holy hell, this takes me about four times longer than it should, and by the end, we're both sweating and winded. He twists and contorts his little body and fights every step of the way. Sweet Jesus.

Ummm, also, I keep racking my brain, trying to come up with a second bulletpoint for this side of the list, and I seriously cannot. He is the HAPPIEST little guy and we just love him to pieces. He does this hypey noise, as we call it, when he knows one of his favorite foods is coming, or when he's on the stairs, and he gets like, breathless. James and I were just talking about it on the phone during his dinner break; we were like, "I hope we never forget how cute that is!"

And you guyyyyys. He finally stopped spitting up! I don't think I wrote about that last time, did I? He'll spit up like, maybe once a week, but ... this is life-changing. I can't even tell you in how many ways I'm grateful.

Andddd for our Ana bear. Good lord, she is the cutest creature I've ever encountered.

She went through a big phase where she'd call Robby her baby. "No, mama, he is MINE." And she likes to problem-solve when something's wrong. "I think he needs a bottle! How about a nap, Robby?"

She is still fiercely protective of him, but in an older sibling way, where she's allowed to push him over when I'm not looking ... but no one else can, you feel?

She is such a little mama. When she's not babying her brother, she's doing it to her stuffed animals. I love listening to her play. She assigns everyone roles and identities. "Now this is Ana and this is Robby and this is Mommy!"

And just like, around the house, some days she'll decide to be me. Example: "Ana, can you put your shoes on, please? We're leaving in a minute." ... "NO, I'M MAMA." ... "Mama, could you put your shoes on, please? We're leaving in a minute."

We were in Royal Oak semi-recently and I asked, "Mama, have you seen Blue?" And my mom was like, "Nope." I was all, NOT YOU. lololol.

It's so funny.

Real conversation we had earlier today: "Mama, I just talked to my car. But my car doesn't talk back. Because THAT WOULD BE SILLY!"

Ana really tries to love on Robby, but she doesn't know her own strength sometimes. She's definitely known to choke him, fall on him or otherwise injure. You really gotta keep a close eye!

She mashed dirt into his hair a few weeks ago at RO Tuesday, and didn't even really get why we were annoyed. She really wants to feed him, sit with him, "play" with him, "share" (meaning, steal his toys), but he's often confused and doesn't know how to interpret the actions of this big, emotionally fragile toddler-sister of his. Again, they really do play so nice together at times ... but yeah, she's still 2 1/2. So there's all this!

We're on a big kick this week of doing everyone's hair. She loves to brush Robby's, or mine, and she says things (that we tell her), like, "just sit still one more minute!" ... "You're so beautiful!" ... "This will get it out of your face!"

OMG.

My whole heart.

It's just now dawning on me that she's not calling him Baby Wobert anymore. Gah that makes me a little sad! But she will still say things that make us laugh (again, copying), like, "What are you doing now, GUYYYY?"

Last week, she asked me, "Can you put him away now?"

And she shows such empathy! I think I wrote on the Analisa-Robby FB group about this, but one day, she was very bothered by the fact that his tears weren't resolving as quickly as usual. "Can you help him, Mumma? Robby so sad!"

Everyone told us to make sure we take her on special outings, just like, one on one (to which I was like, obviously). But it's really funny -- she doesn't wanna go on special outings. Zero interest. I took her out to breakfast recently, just the two of us, and the whole time, she was like, "Why Baby Robert not here? Is Daddy watching him? Can they come, too?" Haha, the confusion was real. Or I'll take her to gymnastics, and it's typically just the two of us while Robs is napping, and the whole car ride back, she was like, "Robby come next time. He want to see me jump on the trampoline!"

She loves her "Mama-Dada-Robby-Ana-HAPPY FAMILY!" as she'd say.

And I know I know, I say it every time and I'll probably keep saying it, but her language is just incredibly impressive. She remembers like, every little thing I've ever told her, and I'm not even sure I'm exaggerating. We went to grab Robs from a nap the other day, she asked if he were crying, and I said yes. We could hear him; we were like, one wall over. She paused and thought about it long and hard, then responded, "Well, it more of a whimper!"

Um, yes, actually. It really was more of a whimper.

We passed Great Lakes Crossing the other day en route to Royal Oak, and she yelled out, "Look, mama. I see the aquarium! We go there tomorrow maybe?"

Umm, you recognize the aquarium from outside your car window?

She often starts sentences with, "How aboutttttt ..." which is hysterical. "How aboutttt NO!" she'll say if she's pissed.

She's honed in on people's feelings, and not just Robby's when he cries. If I look worried, she'll ask, "Are you happy, mama?"

And she's even linking concepts. We had this moment where we were talking about her wearing a new dress, with her new haircut, and she was all, "Just like Dandelion?" (The lion -- like the book, if anyone's familiar!)

Gosh. Every day, I'm blown away.

She doesn't call things like, "go see fishies." It's the aquarium. It's not "Daddy went bye-bye." He went to the grocery store. And she wants to know which grocery store, for that matter. "We go to Trader Joe's, Mumma?" No more "Watch Bunny Movie?" She requests Zootopia by name. She memorized her latest favorite book in probably two weeks.

Crazy.

We were playing store the other day, just on our front porch -- we'd like, never even done that before. But we were pretending to have a transaction at the end with money, and she yelled at me, "KEEP THE CHANGE!"  I was rolling!

And she still lovvvves to make people laugh. Sometimes I have to wind her down a bit before bedtime, and she'll get all, "But I want to be funny, Mumma." She tries out her jokes on new people, and she's a little perplexed when they don't immediately understand her sense of humor. But she really is funny ... we laugh with her all day.

These 2s have been incredible. Cannot recommend enough that Harvey Karp toddler book, and just ... treating your toddler like she's a real person. I do feel like we're getting into the 3s a bit more lately, just like, walking on eggshells a bit when it comes to the emotions, but I would weather any storm with this sweet little lady. She is so full of love.

Look who's not even chubby anymore?!

"I watch your Snapchat, Mommy? Is 'Leap' on Netflix, Mommy?" <--- these are the questions your 2-year-old could ask in 2018, btw. Like, is this real life?

Oh, and she's finally a little more social (not that she's ever NOT social, just that we don't go to day care), and anyway, we've been doing gymnastics lessons. She's shy at first, but really great overall. She also talks about school, sees it on Peppa Pig, asks for ice skating lessons (lol) ... needless to say, if we can move back in the right direction with potty training (we've stalled), we'll likely do preschool this year! That's so hard to believe.

Anyway, that's life with us right now. I'm glad I could bring this rambling back to your Friday feeds. As my mom would say, "These are the good 'ol days!" And well, they really are! Even if we're a lil sleep deprived, as well. I love this sweet family of mine. The hearts over here are oh-so full.

xoxo!

Ghost-ridin

Frid-HEYYY

It's Friday, y'all!

Eeeeek!

I skipped out on a post last week because I was off work. If I'm not werkin, I'm NOT sitting down at my laptop. Anyway, we went to my cousin Sarah's high school graduation party and then visited with Amanda and (baby) Sarah before coming back home (WAY too late) and then packing for up north.

First thing Saturday morning, we headed up to my parents' boat in Cheboygan -- can you believe it was Ana's first time? Right when we moved back to Michigan, it was winter. And then she was tiny that first summer, and I was all, "but where would we set up the Pack n Play?" (The boat is narrow). Last summer was just ... busy, and surprisingly not hot. I think we meant to come up north, but then like, the next thing I knew, it was mid-September and the season had passed. Whoops.

But now, I just feel like, it was time. We're in a *little* bit of a routine with Robs, he's a pretty reliable sleeper, we have the Dock-a-Tot so he can nap anywhere (no P&P setup needed), Analisa is super fun ... so in the words of Ana, I was all, "let's do it!"

So yeah! We arrived at the boat club and jumped in the pool. It was so hot, even up north, which is pretty rare. We played in the pool area for ... an hour? Two hours? Probably two. I didn't really watch the clock. After that, we walked over to the boat and went on a quick sail. Ana was definitely guarded. I think it was really overwhelming for her. She hung out down below in the cabin, and refused to even sit up top. Oh, and then she fell asleep for awhile.

My forever baby.

Robby was a different story. He napped -- just a quick one -- and then I took him to sit with me as my dad sailed. He seemed to like the breeze! It felt really good out on the water. It was a lot cooler than just sitting on the pool deck.

James napped too for a bit (I swear, it's a thing. The boat is relaxing when you're down below!) but he also hung out. We came back to land soon enough, docked the boat and (my brother) Robby picked up pizza from a really delicious restaurant in town. Robby was coming in from Petoskey, where he lives, so the timing worked out for him to snag the food.

Ana was all, "Uncle Robby, Baby Robby! Uncle Robby, Baby Robby!"

After dinner, the four of us (Ganleys) headed over to Boyne Highlands, where Robby works/and had gotten us a room. I briefly entertained the idea of all of us sleeping on the boat, but like, with my parents and Winnie and two babies and me and James ... it would have been a tight squeeze, and just like, stressful if a babe were struggling to get to sleep. We figured it would be easier to stay at Boyne, despite it being like, 45 minutes away.

We set up (baby) Robby's P&P in the far corner of our room (which was ginorm), and then shared our bed with Ana. She was so excited about sleeping with us; it was really cute actually! I was getting in a pump before bed, and she kept leaning over and whispering, "I yuv you, mama!" ... "Ey, mama! I see you!"

Like, yep. I see you too!

We stayed at the Highlands for a good majority of the day Sunday. I'd never really been there in the summer, despite Robby working at BH year-round and the countless number of times we visited, growing up. But it was a great place to sleep and hang, considering our two littles. We did brunch, the pool, and we played outside (they have this huge yard right in front of the hills, with like, mini-golf and games and tennis courts and a big open space to run around). At some point, we got Anz a grilled cheese, sat outside, etc.  Robs went down for a nap, which held the room hostage for a bit, but we had plenty of options to kill time.

It was over to Petoskey for dinner (and way too much money dropped at American Spoon), although we also stopped in real quick at (brother) Robby's house.

We grabbed a drink with Rob and Emily about an hour later, and then (kind of impulsively) decided to pack up and head back.

(Is my timeline all over the place? Prly).

Anyway, we paid for our hotel through Sunday night, and the original plan *was* to come back home Monday morning, seeing as neither of us works until 3 or 3:30. Butttttt the room was super cheap and we were just like, "why prolong the inevitable?" So we packed up as fast as we could and hit the road by 9p-ish. The kids were chill. We just kinda went for it.

Then we were home by midnight! Living an hour closer to all our fav up north destinations is seriously the best.

It was pretty nice to PTFO in our own bed. Even though we were only away for one night! Robby just wasn't sleeping that well in the P&P, and bed-sharing with Ana was kind of exhausting, and at one point Saturday night, all four of us were sharing the bed, and Anz kicked Robby awake, and just like, ... K.

Up north was a lot of things. And it was really fun, don't get me wrong! But RELAXING wasn't one of those things. I think we forget, sometimes, that traveling/existing with two kids under the age of 3 can be a serious haul.

Still, I don't wanna be the people who hole up at home all year just because we have tiny dictators running our lives. It's just a balancing act.

Anyway, we have another trip coming up next! We're heading back up north with my extended family pretty soon here, so I'll just have to figure out how to make the P&P less ... slippery, if that's the right word. I think Robby's still a little young for the P&P mattress, so I'll have to concoct some plan or mattress pad or another cozy option. The Dock-a-Tot is great, just like, not for overnight.

Speaking of Robs!

(Is it confusing yet, with the baby Robby/Uncle Robby situation?)

My guy!

Baby Robs had his 6-month checkup yesterday. He was such an angel baby. Here was the sitch: He had justttt fallen asleep in the car, and then I dragged him into his appointment -- but did he wake up crabby? Nah, not this guy. He was so smiley and happy to see all the nurses and the doctor, and even the girl at the front desk. He is SUCH a joy, seriously. The one nurse felt super guilty giving him his vaccines; she didn't want to be the one to bring down his chipper mood, lulz.

He's growing so well, and the doctor always comments on how strong he seems. She predicted he could be a 9-month walker, but like, how do you even predict these things? Dr. T was kinda full of shit (my ob-gyn), so like, I always kinda take this stuff with a grain of salt.

Regardless, Robby is definitely up in the crawl position, on hands and knees, and he looks like he's ready to take off -- even if all he's REALLY doing is rocking back and forth. He is very busy, working on his crawl game.

If Ana is any indication, I feel like this next part is about to go SO FAST. Ana went from rocking in the crawl position, to crawling, to crawling FAST, to pulling up, to cruising along the furniture, to walking. I swear that was just a few months ago, right?

Stay little, Mr. Robs!

For reference, Ana walked at a pretty standard age: about 2-3 weeks after her first birthday.

What else ... Robby is eating solids! We were planning on doing baby-led weaning, just like with Ana, but I have a feeling we'll do a modified version (well, which is also just like what we did with Ana). I jumped straight to avocado, green beans and blueberries with Robs ... and he spit them up, like a LOT. Yet he did pretty well with Cheerios. Because he's a reflux-y guy in general, Dr. C advised sticking with the dry stuff -- like the Cheerios. She said maybe give him some baby oatmeal on a spoon, and maybe even mash up some fruit and veg in there, if he'll let us. The weight of it might help with his tummy probs, is the thought here.

But yeah, other than some barfy talk (per usual), our appointment was pretty uneventful. He's obviously keeping something down, because baby boy is still in the 50th percentile for weight (and nearly the 90th for height. You tall, old fella, you).

And I'm not gonna lie: I kinda love shots day. It hurts my heart *so bad* in the heat of the moment, but then he's forgotten about those vaccines a minute later and he proceeds to nap all day. That part's kinda nice.

As for my darling Anza-bear, she is just ... OMG insane. In the best way ever. The sweetest girl I've ever known. Back to her cuddly ways (!!!) which makes my heart melt and ooze. And she's so funny! Did I talk last time, about how she has the best sense of humor? K, I'm sure you're like, "Right Michelle, you're officially that mom, I'm suuuure your 2-year-old is *super funny*." But she just IS and there's no denying it.

She also appreciates humor. If she knows she's doing something that's making us laugh, she'll do it like, again and again and again. She nails her timing. We'll laugh together about the silliest stuff.

That girl loves life.

I walked in her room this morning to grab her and bring her downstairs, and she like, told me a seven-part story. She was like, "I bump my elbow! And it really hurt! And I almost cry! But no cry. I read Blue One Truck! I see toad's booty. Where Dada? Kiss my elbow now, Mama? See baby Robert now, Mama? Feed Baby Robert?"

I hope I never forget when we taught her how to say, "Bonjour!" and she was yelling it to passers-by at Boyne Highlands. People knew what she was saying, too, because they were calling back, "Oh, Bonjour!"

Oh and then yesterday, James was like, "if we could just freeze her like this, for the rest of our lives, I would be happy with that." <-- And I'm not even kidding, because I thought it was precious and typed the quote into the Notes part of my phone. I swear, we lovvvvve having a 2-year-old and talk about it all the time!

Does this not melt your damn HEART?

My final Anz story will involve our babysitter Olivia, and how earlier this week, she was just jumping into a reading of The Pout-Pout Fish, without giving the cover the proper love that it deserves. (I always make a big show of presenting the title, author's name, and sometimes even the illustrator).

No shade though -- like, I'm not sure that's standard, to present the cover, and we lovvvve Olivia.

Anyway, I heard Ana yelling something from the other room where they were reading (I was working at the time). It was muffled, so I peeked in to investigate. Finally, I understood. Ana was insisting that Olivia say the title of the book, followed by the words, "BY DEBORAH DIESEN." Olivia was all, "I'm not sure I understand." And I came in and explained with a laugh. We were rolling. Olivia was like, "She know the author's name?" all incredulously. I was like, apparently so! Then she asked Ana, "Who wrote Little Blue Truck?" And I wasn't even sure Ana would know, offhand. So I re-phrased, since Ana didn't seem to get the question. I was like, "Ana, who is Little Blue Truck by? Alice ...?" And she yelled, "ALICE SCHERTLE," no joke. We were dying.

Potty-training is still happening! Anz definitely doesn't pee in the potty every time, but it's probably getting a little better every day. Also, she's pretty opposed to wearing underwear, so we're still hanging in the diaper, but I think I'll get that one book everyone recommended on my FB two-ish weeks ago. No rush, really! I still think she's right on time. Our new fav thing is when Ana needs a second alone to pee, and she'll be all, "Have a yittah privacy?" She asked my mom that on Tuesday, and Meese was all, "Did Ana just say 'privacy'?"

Oh and Tinky-Winky (who you're familiar with if you follow us at all online) is officially her baby. Today she had him doing tummy-time, down for a nap, in several diapers, etc.  But when she tried to feed him a bagel (which, she tries to feed Robby food ALL THE TIME -- like, things he shouldn't be eating, such as pennies), Anz was suddenly a bit of a know-it-all. She's so cute when she narrates her playtime (which is constant). I heard her saying, "Nooooo, Tinks can't have a bagel. Tinks a baby. DAT WOULD BE SILLAYYYYY."

OMG that girl.

K I said "one more Ana thing" and now I've given you five. It's clear that I'm not that into my kids.

I'm outta here! xoxo

Checking in on a Friday!

Friday check-ins, you guys. I think this could be a THING.

Not every Friday, but let's try for every other? K, it's a date.

Ana, 2 1/2 -- and Robs, nearly 6 months

Ah, I was dyinggg earlier over the cuteness of Analisa's little voice. She doesn't just talk in sentences these days -- they're paragraphs at this point. She was all, "Let's find Tinky-Winky. He in the garage! I left him in my pink car car. C'mon, Mama! Let's do it! Get yo shoes!"

And then at the table on our back deck this morning, she was all, "I am sitting with Mama and Dada! We are all sitting together! Mama sit, Dada sit, Ana sit, Baby Wa-boot sit!"

I could not be more proud of that big, loving, SWEET sister.

Other lol-worthy sentences she's said:

"It's simply impossible!" <--- OK, Peppa Pig. LMK.
"I remember going to Meese and Bob's yesterday!" <--- Which, debatable. She knows "yesterday" refers to "in the recent past," but sometimes she's a bit off. She'll be like, "Dada, we went to farmers market yesterday!" And I'm like, "errrrr, nah we didn't."

But she gets the idea!

She's known her ABCs and how to count to 20 for the past year now (no exaggeration -- I was watching vacation videos from last June, and I have her on tape, doing all of the above), so anyway, I'm trying to teach her how to count past 20. Oh, and she's been realllllllly into her books lately, especially Little Blue Truck (called "Blue One Truck!") and Pout-Pout. Lately, she likes reciting all the words along with me, and it's just so surreal. I swear, I was reading those books to a tiny Anz just the other day. Now she's all, "Hey Mr. Fish, you kaleidoscope of mope! How 'bout a smile? A little joy? A little hope?" I mean, she doesn't really pronounce all those words THAT well, but you feel me.

It's really hard to believe we'll be picking out a pre-school in another year or so!

OH AND YOU GUYS.

She's been using the potty. Definitely not every time, and she's still wearing a diaper for the most part. (We tried underwear for about an hour on Wednesday, but she flipped out a bit).

But it kind of started on Tuesday. She told us she needed to pee, and she peed! And then she's done it again about every day since. Just once or twice a day, but it's definitely a start! We were kind of at a stalemate there for a bit. It was like, she was into the concept of the potty. She loved reading Princess of the Potty. She loved sitting on the potty, fully clothed, and pretending. But whenever I tried to take her diaper off, she got all, "nopety nopety nopety NAH." And I wasn't trying to force the issue, because I heard it can become an ever bigger issue if you push it before they're truly ready.

An aside: I hate when people get all, "Well, she won't be using a diaper when she's in college!"

Like, thanks a lot, SHARON, but there's still some middle ground between 2 and COLLEGE, so I'd like her to get there eventually.

It doesn't mean you shouldn't try, just because like, COLLEGE.

Plus, it'll be super nice when we only have to buy diapers for one of our babes.

OMG, she asked us for some privacy today in the bathroom, and I just listened to her from the other side of the door. She was honestly talking to her stuffed friends, like, "I'm a big girl now!" <--- A line from her potty book.  She is so funny when she plays. She just babbles, and it's totally stuff that we tell her. "No, Blue. You're making a mess. We don't like messes! ... Careful with the baby! ... Shhh, it's OK, baby. Baby is SEEPING!"

She is such a mama to Robs. I announced to the living room the other day, "I'm going to put Robs down for a nap!" And Ana was ALL like, "No, he need a bottle first!"

Like, OK. Tell me, girl!

Ugh I could just eat her up.

Speaking of Mr. Robby James!

He is just the most precious guy ever. He is so sweet and so happy, like, he just wants to snuggle and be held, and walk around and coo at things. He does a lot of "talking" for his age, I think. Lately he's big on da-da-da-da (because of course). Oh, and he has the same crinkly smile that Ana rocked at that age. Still so many similarities between them.

He's learning the world through his mouth these days -- seriously, pulling EVERYTHING up to chew on. Poor guy is a teething monster. I've been giving him ibuprofen for some relief. Hope it's helping!

He also likes to climb whoever's holding him, kind of like a tree. It's so funny. He's just an excited guy! He wants to wiggle and see the world.

Andddd I think it'll be time to eat soon! As in, real food. Gotta figure out if we're gonna try to borrow the high chair from my parents', or if we should just buy a second one for our house. Glad it's garage sale season!

I'm excited to give Robs some snacks. Gonna do BLW again because it's just so much easier than baby food or purees or any of that bullshit.

Robs is on the brink of sitting up, unassisted. And man, for someone who can't quite crawl yet, bruh definitely gets around. I'll drop him on his tummy while I grab something from the kitchen, come back, and he's across the room. He just kinda worms his way all over the place. He's so big and strong!

And Robby loves Ana back. You can tell already! He just follows her around the room with his eyes. Tell me you saw the Snap or Instastory from yesterday where Ana was pushing him in his door-jumper. OMG, he was half-terrified, half loving it.

We're gonna go sailing soon! I won't tell you when, because that's when people break into your house, but can you believe Ana's never even been on my parents' boat? That first summer we were back in Michigan, I just feel like she was too small, or maybe I was overwhelmed, or nervous about her Pack n Play having nowhere to go. (Boat's a little narrow for it). And then last summer we were just busy. But I finally feel like we're in a spot where we can enjoy! Plus, the Dock-a-Tot will be clutch if we wanna put Robs down below for a nap. No need to set up the P&P! I think I just need a life-jacket for the little guy and we'll be all set.

On the US front, I'm finally starting to wean, which is nice, lifestyle-wise. I said my goal was 6 months, and it's hard to believe, but we'll be there next week. I've also gotten out running a bunch more lately, mostly because Can, Nats and I committed to a race later this summer, and I was scared I'd be unprepared. I did just under 5 miles yesterday, which is the longest I've completed in ... years? It was tough, but do-able! Kinda took a week or 2 off for a work trip to Orlando.

So yeah. All is good over here! I just made a list of things to accomplish around the house this summer. And it finally FEELS like summer, which is nice (well, when I'm not running). Can you believe I still haven't really set up Robby's room? I see these moms on FB who are like, "slacker status! The baby will be here in a few weeks and we're JUST finishing up his room!"

I'm like, you wanna see slacker status? My babe is 6 months and he's still sleeping in my home office.

K, I'm outta here!

Long time no see!

Hi friends! I'm just jumping on for a quick hello.

Memorial Day littles!

Here's the sitch: I have about 30 minutes to kill while I pump, I just finished work, and I realize it's been forEVER since I last blogged.

And I'm sorry! Not sorry as in, "I've let down all my followers! They've been waiting with bated breath!"  No, I realize I have like, five of you who read this thing. But either way, maybe it's that I've let myself down? Who knows. I do feel a sense of weird sadness that I haven't been writing or posting updates.

I'll think to write a quick entry sometimes! I have like, 12 half-written posts and some notes in my iPhone on all the latest phrases Ana's saying. I would kill for an empty afternoon to just catch tf up. But honestly, if I had an empty afternoon right about now, I'd probably take a nap. Or go get a pedicure and read Us Weekly with a really fatty Starbucks drink. I don't know. I'm so unmotivated to sit at a computer when I have free time -- I know I've talked about that struggle before.

Also like, I'm kind of a perfectionist about this type of thing. I don't want to share half-done, or half-assed blogs (even though this is probably gonna be one of those). Still, it's not a comfortable space for me. Does that sound snobby?

Like, even though my platform is ugly and I *still* haven't redesigned, or fixed my URL, I still have to share quality posts with nicely edited photos and entries that reflect who I am as a writer. It's hard being Type A in situations like these, it really is.

BLAH BLAH BLAH, I should probably give you an update if I'm here to give you an update, right?

I'm like, the best I've ever been, and the messiest! I cannot keep up with laundry. I have a pile of clothes in our room the size of a small mountain. My brain is scattered in 50 different places. We lost our two regular sitters within the past month or so, so that's been a transition, to say the least. I'm being pulled in a lottttt of different directions, just with like, a 2 1/2-year-old, and Robs, who is still very much a tiny babes, and my job, and trying to swing occasional daytime shifts, and MAN, sometimes I just wanna hang out with James and unwind and not take care of anyone for an hour. Is that horrible?

And then there's always this feeling of like, "What can I be doing around the house? Should I log an hour of work in case I get sidetracked during my shift later? Should I be blogging? [No.] Editing the 9,000 pics I just snapped on my phone? Reading about the latest Teen Mom 2 drama just to get 3 seconds to myself? Preparing dinner for later?"

At the end of some days, James and I will be like, "WHAT did we get ourselves into?"

Life is just busy. It's a busy season. But all bitching aside, like I said, things could NOT be better. I've never been happier with the state of my life. I cannot even begin to describe the love in my heart for our two littles, and my sweet husband. I wouldn't trade one second of this for the world (OK, well, maybe a fewwww seconds, but you get my point).

Analisa just like, loves Robby. It's truly the best thing I've ever witnessed. She is the sweetest girl. I mean, she defffffinitely has her difficult toddler moments, but I feel like people warned me that (age) 2 would be the all-time worst.

Is the worst still around the corner?

I mean, maybe. I just think to myself -- probably once a week -- this isn't so bad! The good SO outweighs the bad. She is so full of life, and talkative and loving, and it's like, she's beyond just words and sentences at this point. She tells stories. She has a clear concept of time. "No, I saw Meese YESTERDAY." She tells us that she loves us. She is the most joyful little thing I've ever been around. We cannot get enough of her. I definitely speak for James when I say that too, no doubt!

Now, Ana ALSO peered into her pillowcase the other day and noticed that Mickey Mouse, while on the pillowcase, did *not* adorn the pillow itself. And there was truly no talking her off that ledge. She was pissed off, and we just kind of had to ride out the storm together. "Want Mickey ON THE PILLOW. WANT MICKEY ON THA PILLOWWWWW!"

It's hard not to laugh.

It's kind of like when she spotted the Caldicott seal on the back of one of her books, and she thought it was a sticker, and she kept yelling, "take sticker off!" and she would not ACCEPT that it wasn't a sticker, and finally, James just tore that corner of the book off, handed it to her, and she proceeded to get even more mad because the "sticker" wasn't sticky.

Toddlerhood, man.

But you really have to take her seriously in times like these. The author Harvey Karp is so, so good. I know I've recommended "Happiest Toddler on the Block" before. You can't just offer other suggestions or distract, at some point. You have to acknowledge their feelings and make them feel heard and understood -- even if it's crazy. I mean, these tantrums might seem silly to us, as parents, but to toddlers, their emotions are big, and sometimes confusing, and I'm sure it's gotta be overwhelming.

Imagine you brought up a problem you were having to a family member, or some friends, and they were just like, "no, try THIS. No, try THIS. Or how about THIS INSTEAD? You need a nap! lol. This stage in life is crazy!" ... Like, nah. You'd get mad, too.

Sometimes you just want someone to acknowledge your problem or dilemma, even if there's no perfect solution, and get on your side. Doesn't it feel good when someone just gets in your corner? "Oh my gosh, that must be so hard!" or "I hear you. How frustrating!"  That's the idea here.

You have to match their tone, their passion, and repeat back what they're saying, in moments of a toddler crisis.

Anyway, like I said, the tantrums are seriously pretty few and far between. And for that, we are grateful! I couldn't love that girl any more if I tried. I am obsessed with being her mom.

And Robs. My sunshine boy! There has never been a happier baby. He looks like a little old man (is it the mouth? The chin? TELL ME), but his smiles just light up a room. He's rolling in both directions, has been for quite some time now!, babbling nonstop, and he is SO comforted by a quick mama snuggle. I would just hold him all day if I could (oh, and I try). I've gotten pretty good at writing news stories with that little friend on my lap! Working from home is LIFE.

And well, no one ever told me how spit-uppy a baby could be, but oh, I've seen learned. Phewwww does that boy know how to vom up his dinner! He's actually gotten a touch better in recent weeks, so I'll cross my fingers that that trend continues. It was pretty disheartening there for awhile, to spend so much time pumping breastmilk for him, only to get SOAKED in my own milk, when it projectile vomits back at me 15 minutes later.  :(

He's always been a happy spitter, as our doctor calls it, meaning he puts on weight well and the reflux doesn't seem to bother him. So we don't really do much about the problem except keep a towel handy -- and that, we don't even do too well. Hence, why I can't seem to keep up with all the laundry.

Robby has taught me so much about being a mom. Do you guys remember that one blog post I wrote -- here, I'll link it -- where I was like, "babies sleep all the time"? And "why do people gift you bibs? Do they really spit up all that much?"

OMG OMG lol.

Pretty sure God read that blog (did I write it while I was pregnant? I think so), and was like, Hold. My. Beer.

I kinda got schooled, to say the least. Don't write cute blog posts when you only have one kid (a trick baby at that), mmmkay?

Robby's 4-month sleep regression turned me into a crazy person. I was like, bleary-eyed and bloodshot, extensively Googling sleep-training methods for about two or three weeks there. And whimpering to myself at 5 in the morning when I couldn't get him to go back down. And then Ana would get up for the day, I'd realize there was no chance I'd get a nap in, and oh yeah, I work till midnight M-F.

COOL, ROBS. I now understand why they use sleep deprivation as a torture tactic.

Um yeah. The bibs? Everywhere.

The spit-up? Everywhere.

I was pretty relaxed when it came to Ana just falling into a schedule on her own. And Robby did the same -- probably just over the past few weeks, actually. But like, when you're back to work, I can now understand why people wanna speed this process up. Not knowing what to expect when you're also working 10-hour days ... sucks, for lack of a better word.

I knew a lot of this would be hard, snarky blog posts aside, but I guess I didn't know in what ways specifically it'd be challenging. It's the sleep. The balancing act. The feeling of being needed, and like I have to be ON, 24/7.

But I also keep getting reminded just how fleeting the days are. Robs just turned 5 months, can you believe that? Ana will be 2 1/2, officially, in a week. This isn't forever. They will only be this little and needy once. I do love being there for them. I have the best setup, with WFH. I mean, it's exhausting, but I really feel like I get to hang with both of those little loves all day long. They are so, so precious and important.

I'm sure I'll continue to learn, and adjust, and there will be easier times and more hard ones ahead. It's sometimes hard to put your partner first when you have two crazy tiny dictators running the show. But James and I really make an effort. We think that is soooo important, to prioritize one another as well as the babes.

It's hard to put yourself first, or really, ANYWHERE in the mix. And you wanna love on the new baby and keep the toddler feeling like all eyes are on her, and like, just lately, I really do feel like we've really hit our stride. They evolve so much, so fast, but so do we.

I'd give us an A (or at least a B+; maybe we had a bit too much screentime going on for a bit), almost every step of the way. We get out. We try things. We're always like, "what's the worst thing that's gonna happen?" and I think that's vital. I took them both to the aquarium solo probably with my stitches still in tact. I was proud, not gonna lie! But I'm also the kind of person who likes to get out quickly postpartum; flu season be damned. That shit keeps me sane; I can't hole up in the house all day like some kind of barricaded gunman (lol; back in local news mode, as you can see).

I haven't struggled with postpartum depression, really with either baby, and for that I'm grateful. But the PP period can be hard on anyone -- I really believe that. I was reminded of a lot of the ways our brain can gloss over the hard parts, once you're like, out of the woods and a few months clear. Ana was such a dream baby, I thought we'd nail it! And I mean, like I said: I think we've done REALLY well. Still, there are some days where I've been like, "Ohhhhh yeah, I forgot about how obsessed I'll get over the baby not latching!"

There's that, too. Robs is 5 months and I'm still pumping. I mean, just three times a day, so it's feasible. But I'm also ready to stop pretty soon. Aiming for 6 months at the moment, so stay tuned!

K, my half-hour's up. Glad we did a little check-in! Maybe that should be a thing. Check-in Fridays, where I do a stream-of-consciousness ramble about R+A, and anything else that's on my mind? Perhaps.

12 weeks, gone in a second

With my maternity leave drawing to a close, I thought I'd make a list of all the things I never want to forget about the past 12 weeks.

Like this moment.

Without further ado ...

Seeing Ana's little face (which looked huge actually, compared to Robby's) for the first time, as my mom walked her into our hospital room, right after I had Robs. I wanted to cry; I was so overcome with emotion. For real, my eyes well up even now, just thinking about it.  I knew how much was about to change for her, and I had missed her overnight, and I wanted her to be OK with everything, and love the baby, and never be confused or feel left out ... and I spotted her and my heart exploded. I knew that I *couldn't* cry, because she was in a phase where if I cried, she'd cry (and I didn't want to startle her), but like, I remember that moment so vividly. She walked in, looking so sweet and a bit timid, holding hands with my mom. Her hands, by the way, looked so big next to Robby's. Her cheeks were so full, her lashes so long, and she just looked so developed. Despite still wearing diapers, and clutching her beloved blue blanket, she was suddenly my big girl. It started in that moment officially, but I knew it would last from here on out. In the matter of one night, everything had transitioned. I cuddled her so hard on the bed (well, as much as she'd let me), my body still shaking a bit from the trauma of L&D -- and I didn't even mind that she didn't have an over-the-top reaction to baby Robs, or even want to hold him. (I suspected she wouldn't). She mostly just wanted to chat with her Teletubbies in the corner and eventually steal my lunch. I was just so happy to see her, and so happy for the baby to have finally arrived, and I had this overwhelming, out-of-body love for my firstborn baby/big girl. I wanted to protect her and reassure her that everything would be fine. Having her on my lap, even for a minute, made me feel "all things!", as she would say.

Ana in the hospital lobby that day.

How much fun we had with James, as he had two weeks off work after Robby got here.  K, James has NEVER had that much time off! Well, except when he was between jobs, I guess.  Anyway, he was (is) the best husband of all time, truly stepping up to the plate -- making the best dinners (well, again, he always does); keeping Ana SO busy as Robby and I navigated the wonderful world of nursing; washing bottles once we eventually switched to exclusive pumping; making bedtime with Ana the most fun and special time; rubbing my shoulders; listening to me ramble about a million concerns and thoughts and considerations; keeping me laughing; always keeping my water glass full (like, figuratively and literally, now that I think about it); the list goes on and on and on. He is my best everything: friend, advocate, partner, spouse. I will cherish those weeks forever. What a gift.

SO many nights reading Tap the Magic Tree, Barnyard Dance, Princess of the Potty, etc.

The time I took both babies out in the snow (probably for like, half-hour TOPS; I'm no hero). And Ana belly-flopped in a puddle at the very end, which prompted me to get the house deep-cleaned the following week. Robs, despite being bundled up in the warmest snowsuit of all time anddddd being worn in a K'Tan, promptly PTFO'd the second we hit the porch. He was like, "I'mmmmm outta here." Also I hadn't blow-dried my hair that morning (well, or since 2011 if we're being honest), so the ends turned to icicles. The end.

That day!

The first time Ana said (completely unprompted), "I love you, Robby!"  (Which was Friday!)

Staying in our pajamas all day. Sometimes we'd change into new ones at like, 7:00 or so. 

BROOSH TEEF

Ana's pump dance (go follow me on Snapchat if you'd like to see; it happens about three times a week and it's the funniest).

Robby's arm slung around mine. He seriously does it every time I hold him, and it makes my heart the happiest. He is the No. 1 snuggler and I hope that never changes!

<3

Ana running around to "Let It Go," shaking out her hair like Elsa, yelling all the Frozen character's names, and then telling me what's happening: "Boat fall down!" or "All snow melted!" ... "Newwww outfit!"

The way Robby looks at Ana when she's running around or talking to him. He's very captivated, and I'm not just saying that!

Dance parties with Miss Anz. Her happy scream. The way we taught her to say, "Oh faSHO wit it." ... Sure, 2 can be a tricky age at times. But she is the MOST FUN bear ever, and we're loving about 97% of it!

What a little friend!

Probably half a dozen trips to the aquarium.  Last week, at the area where you can touch some of the sealife, the worker asked Ana if she wanted to touch a sea star (which is the new name for a starfish, apparently). Without hesitation, Anz reached her hand in the container and went, "BOOOOP!"  My daughter just boopsed a starfish, I thought. I just about died laughing, as did everyone else in our vicinity. Baller.

Annual membership  = so worth it!

Speaking of that, our first trip out, just the three of us: also to the aquarium, and it went so well! I felt brave even for attempting it.

Robby's little old man laugh, which sounds more like a courtesy laugh sometimes.

Cheeks!

The way Ana refers to him as Baby Robert. (Pronounced "Bay-bee Wah-boot!")

The first time Ana gave Robs a bottle all on her own. "Want it?" she asked.  I was upstairs and came upon that sweet scene. She had fished his bottle out from the diaper bag, I believe. I was so touched that she took it upon herself to offer! "Here go!" she said. "Want mo? Let's do it!" What a little mommy she is.

My uniform: Lou and Grey pants from Loft, a cozy T and one of my robes. Glasses on, ponytail in place, makeup once a week MAX. Ultimate coziness.

Shameless on Netflix. Killer show; def in my top 3 of all time (others would include Six Feet Under and Mad Men, for the record).

Sneaking upstairs to see what James and Robby are up to, only to find Robs curled up on his papa's chest, napping.

Not napping here, obvs, but you get the gist.

Bath time with Robs. He lovvvvves it! He gets so relaxed and almost seems to melt into the water.

The way Ana talks to her brother, always asking him questions, ("What's wrong, guy?"), rubbing his back, bringing him Blue, "helping" with bath time, wanting to participate in tummy time, etc.  "Show Wobby?" she loves to ask. She really sees him as a person, and I think she always has. And by that I mean, more of a person than an infant. The first time that he was really crying and I didn't respond quickly enough, she got all, "Baby CRYING!" as if she felt for him, and was trying to come to his defense. She was frustrated that I hadn't fixed it yet and it was almost like she felt the injustice of the situation.

Sibling love!

All the Royal Oak Tuesdays and Wednesdays we had while James worked long hours. My parents are the best. There's nothing like going to your childhood home and having your mom and dad take care of you, especially when you're being called upon by a newborn and a toddler 24/7. Can't tell you how nice it was to know that once a week, someone else would handle dinner, make me tea, bring me water, help chase Ana, hold the baby, let me have a few minutes to myself to take a shower, or pee, or just like, breathe. Meese and Bob da real MVPs.

Meese and Robs

Laughing so hard I felt like I couldn't breathe, when Ana proudly announced, "Dada SEEPING" on not one but TWO mornings when he was supposed to be on Anz duty! "Oh, so now youz a snitch, bear?" he asked the first time, from the couch. "Stopppp snitchin!"  To which she responded, "Snidge! SNIDGE!"  Verdict's still out on whether or not he was dozing.  ;)

Tummy time!

All the quality time with James.  We've actually had a TON of just-us time, which is surprising, considering we have two tiny bears now. But we've been able to enjoy a few brunches, a day date to Michigan State-Syracuse at LCA (sniffle), a coworker's going away party at a local bar, etc.  Making time for each other (and just each other) is so key, I swear.

Super depressing day, but at least we look good?

Saturdays at the farmers market. Which have become tradition at this point!

--

And here are a few things I *would* like to forget:

-- How many times we watched the Teletubbies DVD in that first week or so. (I wasn't trying to win any awards, you guys. It was like the NCAA tournament. Survive and advance!)
-- Boss Baby.
-- How many times I caved and gave Ana fruit snacks, or McDonald's for dinner. #badmama
-- Every moment in which both babies were crying at the same time.
-- The spit-up/all the laundry/the time I didn't realize that curdled chunks were in my hair and I went to Kroger like it was NBD and only noticed once I caught a glimpse of myself in the dairy aisle.
-- The night Robs woke up like, six times, and I felt like I had been stepped on by a horse the next morning.
-- All my attempts at getting a cute pic of the two of them together. See below for evidence.

Truly horrifying.

Spaghetti sauce on her face and Robby's all over the place.

Getting ... a little closer? Gotta focus, Robs!

-- The day the Netflix gods unexpectedly removed Zootopia. CAN I CALL SOMEONE TO BRING IT BACK? JESUS.
-- The day Ana's fav juice cup was in the dishwasher and she *needed* it. (In hindsight, why didn't I just take it out and wash by hand?) lolol.

Also, thank god for Shipt. I will happily pay a little extra for grocery delivery, rather than attempting to hit the store with these two crazies!

In conclusion ...

Life with two is crazy, but oh-so worth it. Some days I feel like we're killing it, others I want to curl up and forget everything and sleep for two weeks straight. I'm trying to be careful not to wish too many of the days away, though. They're so fleeting. I know I'll want to rewind time and remember every moment.

K and I have about a million half-written blogs that I should finish up and post soon. Now that I'll be back at work, hopefully I'll be more in the swing of things soon! xoxo