me to a T - Tracey Odachowski

Six years ago today, this sweet guy entered my life.

This handsome little devil made me a mommy. And, while it has most certainly been a challenge at times, I never regret it. Why should I? I get so many sweet lovies and kisses from this guy. Love that about him. He’s so very loving.

So today was all about him. He opened his presents before he went to school this morning - Cranium Hullabaloo game and a railroad light from us, and a plug-in Scooby Doo video game from Emily. His first ever video game. It has taken alot for me to finally break down and get him one, and OHHHHH, there will be limits.

Anywho, at 2:30 I got to bring cupcakes to his school for his friends, and we celebrated his birthday, along with another little girl, Nina, in his class, who also has the same birthday. Go figure, Gabe is 10 hours older. Then, we headed back home and some neighborhood kids came over for more cupcakes and playing outside for an hour. We already had his big party at the beginning of the month, but I just wanted another little something on the actual day. Mom and her friend are staying in Williamsburg this week, so they came over to take him out to dinner. He chose Smokey Bones because they have TVs all over the restaurant, and he can watch Cartoon Network while dining. A few pics from dinner:

He did get to talk to Daddy on the phone this evening. Poor Chris has missed another birthday. Why of all weeks did they have to send him to a conference to Pennsylvania THIS week? I can’t imagine how hard it is for him to miss them. He must be a stronger person than me.

And, well, since I haven’t written anything in a week, here’s something else…

I’m now a soccer mom.

Gabe started playing soccer a few weeks ago. There first game was Saturday, and, lo and behold, they won 4-0. Trust me when I saw that my son had no hand in the winning of this game. Well, he did stop the ball a few times, but that was about it. This was how he looked for most of it:

Clueless.

Poor guy. But he is learning. And that’s what it is about. And he’s enjoying it. So I hope he grows to love it and do well. Here’s a few more pics…at least he looks a wee bit more athletic in these:

Oh, and please note his jersey number. 27. His birthday. Gotta love him.

Ok. I knew Emily was a little big for her age. It’s pretty obvious by now that she and her brother have taken after Chris in the height department (thank goodness!) But, dude, I wasn’t quite prepared for today.

34 3/4 pounds and 36 1/2 inches.

Doesn’t sound too bad? She’s two. That puts her at 95th percentile for height, and about 115th for weight. **115th!!!** Yikes.

The kid loves to eat. I don’t really feel as if she OVEReats, she just eats. And she eats well; not alot of junk food. She loves salads, vegetables and fruits. She’s addicted to dairy, namely cheese. And while, yes, she’d eat any candy put in front of her, a lot doesn’t really get put in front of her. Now that she’s two, we cut her milk down to 2% instead of whole, so that should help. She just grew, quite literally, overnight.

So why the heck I’m I freaking over this?

Seriously, I wanna cry. I’m SO terrified that my children, especially Emily since she’s a girl, will have the same weight problems that I’ve had all my life. Getting teased. The whole nine yards. Dude, I got picked on for being overweight when I only weighed 120 pounds. I’d KILL to weigh that now. Kids are mean. And I’m positively terrified that my kids may go through that someday. I constantly worry that they won’t be cool kids (but still with good heads on their shoulders). I hate worrying about such things. I know she’s only two, that it will probably even out in the next few months, that her height will catch up with her weight and she’ll slim back down again, that her clothes will fit just fine.

But I worry.

I’m a little delayed on getting these birthday pictures done (or, I could be the optimist and say that I’m early on Gabe’s!) Erin and Traci met us at the park yesterday, and after the kids played for a while, we took some pictures. Here’s my little princess and prince…

The Princess:

The Prince:

A VERY typical picture of our two kids (Gabe looking bored and making silly faces, and Emily with her tongue hanging out; this is what we see every day)…

And this cracks me up. Traci was taking pictures of Will because he had turned over onto his stomach in the stroller. Gabe saw and said, “I wanna be in it!” Will gave him the most hilarious look, as if to say, “Whatchu doin in my stroller, kid?”

Ok. So I’ve been completely absent lately. Life really got in the way of blogging, and, well, quite frankly, I probably shouldn’t be doing it right now. But oh well. Sometimes a mama just needs to escape into the office for a few. Chris is upstairs sick & I have a bazzillion things on the to do list, but I just wanted to write a few things about…

my little two-year-old.

Emily, I can’t believe that you are already 2. And, woah, what a 2-year-old you are. You are a spitfire. You are headstrong, silly, vocal, vibrant, hilarious…I could go on for hours. You amaze me every day with how many words you already know, and how many you learn every day. You observe EVERYTHING, and then usually start copying it. There are already a ton of memorable experiences, from the ONE time you used the potty (and never again since), to your new obsession for everything Dora. You are my little chunky monkey…I think you grew two sizes over the past 3 months. Nothing fits. Everything is too short. So, already, you are starting to get into 3T clothes. Yikes. And yet, through the temper tantrums, crazy bed hair, growth spurts, and high-pitched little girl screams, I still love being the mommy of a little girl. I love the new curly pigtails, and the dresses, and the princess everything, and all else that makes you my little girl. I love you sweetie!!

I want to write more, but Gabe is arguing with me about eating his vegetables, and he’s killing my concentration. Oh well…

1 Tropical Storm named Ernesto
70 mph winds and 80+ mph gusts
1 shredded seat cushion on the patio
3 leaks (master br, laundry room, garage)
5 hours of sleep
1 birthday party for
2 children with
~30 guests
1 newly crowned 2-year-old daughter (TODAY!)
$730 generator
$6 oil
$10 gas
$25 extension cord
1 reinjured back and pins-and-needles right arm trying to start said generator

and

40 hours and 48 minutes without power (or internet, I might add)

and I’m finally back. The electric is finally back. Hallelujah.

…but most importantly, Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet Emily. Today is a day we will certainly never forget. I promise to dedicate a post to you sweetie, as soon as my eyes adjust from the bright lights after two days of candles.