Laura + BlackBerry = Disaster

My boss, Carmel, decided I needed to have a BlackBerry for work. I cannot seem to use the thing correctly. It has spent its first day sitting next to me on my desk, buzzing infernally every time a new email arrived in my Outlook inbox. I tried to stop the buzzing and accidentally shut it off. Now I can't figure out how to turn the durn thing back on.

You'd never know I was such a techno-lover. How can a woman who owns five iPods be unable to figure out how to turn on an electronic device? I feel like a geriatric!

I'll post when I figure out how to use the silly thing. I hope it doesn't accidentally fall out of my pocket into the toilet. That would be *such* a tragedy.

Two months away from TWO years old!

Rory is 22 months old today! Amazing. Seems like just yesterday!

Her verbal skills continue to expand at a frightening rate. Popular phrases include:

- "Here you go!" (this is used to mean both "here you go" and "give it to me")
- "Mama/Dada, what's this?"
- "No, no, no!" (I am sure this is unusual for toddlers ;->)

Words include (this list is not complete) porcupine, airplane, outside, yogurt, hot dog, milk (many food items - too many to list), sleep, elephant (sounds like "happy feet"), rhino, baby, Wee Fee, Fiyaya (her other name for Fiona), diaper, walk, and so on.

Rory is really sweet right now. When Lizzie left, we didn't put away her air mattress right away, and Rory loved it. She wanted Fiona to lie on it with her, and kept saying, "Wee Fee, lie down!" Then they'd lie there together, and Rory would kick her feet and go wild laughing. She likes her sister, and enjoys life.

Rory sings constantly, and it is my personal goal to videotape her singing, "Itsy Bitsy Spider." I think only like five actual words are used throughout, but it is hilarious!

Aunt Lizzie comes to town!

Liz, Laura's sister, came to town today to visit us for the long weekend. She flew in from Arizona, and the girls couldn't wait! Well, Rory couldn't wait - Fiona doesn't yet realize when visitors come and go.

Liz had not yet met Fiona, so after picking her up from Dulles Airport, we drove to daycare to pick up both girlies. Rory said "Lizzie" right away, which almost made Liz cry, and then we went into the infant room to fetch the newbie. She was passed out in her crib, and Liz just gazed in at her, no doubt wanting to pluck her from the bed's confines but knowing that wouldn't be a good idea. =>

We took the girls home so Fiona could eat, and then re-incarcerated them in the Subaru and headed to Wegman's to pick up a few things. Liz and Rory couldn't get enough of each other. Liz couldn't even go to the bathroom without Rory screaming, "LIZZIE" under the door, and sticking her fingers and toes in after her. It was very sweet!

We had a nice, relaxing visit. We went to a few playgrounds, ran around and did some shopping, and generally hung out. A great time was had by all, and it went by WAY too fast. Next time, we are going to chain her to the stairs so she can't leave. Hah!

Table climber!

Last night, I was in the kitchen making brownies to bring to work. It was 6:40 pm, Rory had eaten her dinner, and Fiona was due for a feeding at 7:00, so I had a narrow window in which to get the brownies mixed and thrown in the oven. I was buzzing around the kitchen like a sparrow with an overactive thyroid, monitoring Rory (with my ears) as she raced around the main level of the townhouse, and smiling as she shouted, "SIT DOWN!," which usually means she is standing on the couch (a no-no). Fiona was smiling and cooing in her bouncy seat, which usually resides on the kitchen table.

I went to the sink to wash my hands, and gazed out into the dining room/living room area. Guess what I saw?

Rory had pulled out one of the kitchen chairs, had climbed up onto the table, and was on her knees, looming over Fiona and waving a pacifier at her. There were SO many things wrong with this scenario. and I started to holler for her to get down.

In a rare moment of clarity, I stopped myself, fearing that if I shrieked she would scramble off the table and fall. I calmly walked around the counter and over to the table and hoisted her down, saying, "Never, *never* get up on the table again. Ever."

Then I went back into the kitchen to finish my baking, and my hands had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. What a little imp!!!

And me without my car seat...

And now for a little background. Craig and I have been transporting both kids to and from daycare for three days now. When Fiona was born, I invested in a new infant seat. The one we used with Rory was inherited from friends, and as the experts say you shouldn't use previously used car seats, so off I went to buy a new one.

Infant seats typically come with one base - it attaches to the car, and the seat clicks into it. The new car seat is a bit wider than the older model; we tried to fit the new seat onto the old seat's base to no avail, but didn't really worry about it much at the time.

With both kids going to daycare, we were faced with two different car seats. Craig drops the kids off in the morning and I fetch them at 4:30. He installed the old car seat's base in his Saturn, brings Fiona to daycare using the old seat, and I pick her up using the new car seat (which stays in my car, empty in its base, waiting to be occupied with a baby butt).

This plan works fine unless you forget to bring the empty car seat to your car, as I did today. I arrived at daycare, went in to get Rory in the toddler room, led her to the infant room to fetch Fiona, and realized that I didn't have the car seat in my arms. No worries. I could put Fiona into the seat while it was IN the car.

The troika left the building, and as we approached the car, I realized that the seat was not there. I felt the blood drain from my body. I called Craig, and he had to bring the seat to us. We just sort of hung out in the daycare parking lot, with the employees mocking us a bit, until he arrived. Our savior!

Tomorrow I am going to buy another base, and we will be leaving the infant seat AT DAYCARE. Every day.

Fiona starts daycare!

Today marks Fiona's start at daycare. She is attending The Children's Place in Herndon, and joins Rory, who has been here since she was six months old. The ladies who run the infant room, Khalida (in photo) and Nafissa, love these little babies, and reported that Fiona had a good day. She ate some, slept some (in her crib, which is helpful because not all kids sleep in cribs this early), excreted, and even learned a few things.

She told Mommy all about it on the way home. Apparently, they read "The Foot Book" and sang songs, and the ladies reported that Fiona was happy all day. She even did seven minutes of much-dreaded tummy time. In the "How did I feel today" section of her daily report, the ladies checked "Happy," "Playful," "Sleepy" (hah!), and "In a good mood." Excellent first start!

Tomorrow Rory will be back at daycare in the toddler room (she played hooky today to hang out with Nana), and drop-off and pick-up become more infinitely complex for Mom and Dad. More kids, more prep time, and more stuff to carry in! It should be interesting, and we are up to the challenge (we think!). =)

Fiona is three months old!

And happy Mother's Day, 2007!

Fiona is all smiles these days, and talks and coos her heart out. She currently enjoys squeaky and shakey toys, books, and staring at all the things in her world which have only just come into focus. We think she is in love with the smoke detector, because she stares up at it with love in her eyes whenever she reclines in her bouncy seat.

Fiona is a very happy and mellow baby, and is a joy to be with. Rory is enjoying her, too, and likes getting up in her face and talking to her - Fiona smiles her head off every time, and Rory thinks that's pretty fabulous!

We had a nice, mellow Mother's Day, and celebrated with Kay/Nana/Craig's mom, who is in town for her annual Spring visit.

Fiona starts daycare tomorrow! More to come!

Pictures of Fiona's three-month birthday can be found at: http://homepage.mac.com/lauramuck/

Happy Cinco de Mayhew!

Today is our 5th anniversary! It is amazing, all the things we have done and accomplished in five short years. Travel, kids, and then some. We love each other more than ever, and look forward to countless more years of fun, happiness, and excitement.

We recently bequeathed our "wedding sombreros" to another couple getting married in Cinco de Mayo - the tradition continues! We hope they enjoyed using them in their wedding, and that they pass them on to another couple down the road. Ole!

Nana comes to visit

Craig's mom (aka, Kay/Mom/Nana) arrived today for her annual off-island, D.C. Spring fling. Her trip this year is revolving around her 50th high school reunion at National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. She attended Cathedral for all four years of high school, typically taking the train down from Connecticut. Her first year there, 1953, she went home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas; in subsequent years she only went home for Christmas. She hasn't seen most of her classmates in decades!

More on her time at Cathedral in later posts, in her own words. => Here is Nana with the girls.