First Post!

Okay, well I decided to start a blog. That ofoto site was just getting too cumbersome and I really wanted to be able to share my thoughts about the pictures I was sending to people without it having to be a big drag.

Here are a few that I am belatedly sharing from Penelope's first trip to Fire Island (she was 3 weeks old--were we nuts or what). I can't remember the car ride home at all, which makes me think I might be blocking it out...

She actually did really well on the car ride down. I do remember that. There was a lot of reminiscing on the ferry ride about how I was first brought out to the beach when I was 3 weeks old also. I asked my mom about the car ride back then, and guess what...she can't remember it either...

Uncle Jason and Auntie Jessica meeting baby Penelope for the first time.

I was right to be worried that mom or Maggie might lose a kid in the surf, wasn't I.

We went up to NY for the New York Sheep and Wool festival at the end of October. It was totally wonderful with lots of amazing yarn and crafts, animals, good food and beautiful foliage. Somehow we managed to spend two days there and half a day with the alpacas at Eric's and not take a single picture. Not even of the brand new baby alpaca who was nursing (much to Diego's amazement..."Him havin' milk? Why him havin' milk"--he really does talk like that, I swear). We got to see the site for the new house, where the footprint was laid out with stakes and ropes. It looks really small! Joyce said that footprints always look small... Al and I are both really excited about the new place and think that we will use it a lot. Although the drive home that weekend was SUCH a FUCKING nightmare (can I curse on my own blog...you goddamned right I can) that I decided that we would actually never go up there again. Picture traffic as far north as Southern County, a deranged GPS guiding the route, a screaming baby and a dead deer and you will start to understand. I asked Al what he would think about drugging the children with Benadryl the next time we make the trip. He thinks I should put earplugs in and take the Benadryl myself...hmmm.

Here are some more recent pictures of the kids. Diego picked out the green yarn for that hat himself.

Penelope is trying to learn to suck her thumb...she hasn't been successful, thus far, but seems to be enjoying the process. The bottle is another story though--no luck and no joy there. I am trying to keep the anxiety at bay (what good does worrying do, after all) but I have my hospital orientation November 27th.

Here's one that Diego took. Not so bad, huh?

Below, you will find a picture of the kids on Halloween. Sadly, I fell of the maternal bandwagon with a loud thump this year at Halloween and neither of my kids had a real costume. Diego was wearing his "working man" tool belt with a cool striped shirt from Hanna Andersson (he's into stripes). Although no one in our family has much of a relationship with Bob the Builder, apparently he's a pretty important guy in the world of 2 year old boys, and somehow we managed to capture his essence with D's "costume". Yes, sure, he's Bob the Builder... I'd say the best thing about Halloween was the wagon. Don't they look cute? (In case you couldn't tell, Penelope was a princess...)

Having 2 kids is so great. Al and I were talking last night about whether things are harder or just different. He thinks a little bit harder, but that it's not going to be harder for long. I think things are actually easier (no one ever said that was a possibility). I think it's easier because having one kid brought out the worst in me as an overbearing, overprotective mother, and in Diego as a whiny, clingy, needy kid (although still fabulous and funny of course). Having 4 people in the family seems like such a better balance. It's also been so amazing to find that Penelope is her own person...not just another Diego, which I guess I sort of expected her to be (that sounds idiotic, I know). And it has made me see Diego as his own person too--in comparison to her.

Diego is like Al (I always sort of thought so--laid back, mellow, easy to get along with) and Penelope is like me: easily stressed out, hating noise and needing lots of time alone to decompress...

It makes me want to have more kids--lots more--because this process of watching them develop is so amazing. And, as I say to Al all the time--we made them! They're alive and we made them! I can't believe that happens every day.