Taking Professional Photos

Taking professional photos of a four year old and a one year old (at the same time)is pretty much impossible, or at least that is my opinion thus far. I took G-Ro and Hugh to Picture People last Friday morning and it was a nightmare. Georgia was relatively cooperative, but she didn't get that she had to be "on" the whole time and so when Hughie would finally smile, she's looking off to the side. If she was looking and smiling it was her cheeser grin (even though we practiced "nice" smiles before we went). Hughie was in a bit of a mood, so that didn't help either. This weekend he had another ear infection and it was probably bothering him Friday, I just didn't realize it yet. Regardless, I was getting so unbelievably frustrated that I thought I might run out to the middle of the mall and scream at the top of my lungs. The photographer was pretty bad too, so all in all it was a brutal experience. I knew there wouldn't be any good photos of them together. There was one that was ok, but it was taken from so far away that I wasn't interested in purchasing it (hello, photographer????). I did get one really cute one of Hughie. I will post it here eventually. So now that is 3 professional photo sessions (we tried two at Christmas time) in a row that I couldn't get ONE good picture of my kids. Ugh. I think I'll stick with my point and shoot for a while.

Brown Tooth

A few weeks ago Georgia was fooling around on the sofa and she smashed her knee into her mouth, hurting her front teeth. There was plenty of screaming, but no blood, loose teeth or swelling, so I didn't think much of it. I noticed a few days ago that Georgia's right front tooth is now completely discolored!! It's a baby tooth and needs to stay in there at least another 3 years, so I'm not sure what the dentist will do. I'd rather them not do anything, but then Georgia will be walking around with a brown tooth. ARGH! I'm such a freak about keeping her teeth clean (and her dental hygienist has been VERY impressed with our efforts) and now she'll have a brown tooth.

Hughie is talking a lot more these past few days. This morning in my office he pulled a cone from the water cooler and looked at me and said, "water?" Plain as day. I didn't even know he knew the word! And last night his babysitter Brandon (Hughie LOVES him) said that he said "bubbles" too. Vocab explosion. Well, a vocab blast anyway. I think he'd be talking up a storm if he didn't have a binky in his mouth all the time.

New Camera Pics

So I've been taking pics with my new camera (nothing fancy, just want to make sure that it does the job). The video clipa are MUCH better than my old camera and have sound. I wish I wouldn't have waited so long to get a new one.

So I've been taking pics with my new camera (nothing fancy, just want to make sure that it does the job). The video clipa are MUCH better than my old camera and have sound. I wish I wouldn't have waited so long to get a new one.

Like Peanut Butter and Jelly!!!!

I just witnessed a very beautiful thing. Stevie Nicks covering Dave Matthews 'Crash.' Lauren, are you LOVING it???? A little piece of heaven.


You have to cut and paste:

http://perezhilton.com/2008-07-25-and-the-goddess-twirls

THE HEAT!

We've had a brutal heat wave this past week and no AC. Horrible!! We have fans everywhere, but it hasn't help much. Thankfully, we had our new AC unit installed today, so I'm setting the thermostat for 65 the rest of the summer. Did you ever try blowdrying your hair in 98 degree heat? It's a lot of fun. Especially when the sweat drips off your freshly showered face.

On Friday evening we took a family trip to Dutch Wonderland. We pretty much had the park to ourselves and got to go on the big rollercoaster and log flume with no line! That place has been a godsend this summer. We even got to see the Frog Prince show with the high-diving frogs. We sat in the front row of the "splash zone" and got pretty wet. Georgia love it but Hughie wasn't so sure. He's hit or miss with the water fun.

Hughie is talking a lot more these days. Here is his vocab list:

Mama
Papa
Daddy
Mom-mom
Hi
bye
ball
Georgia (Ja-ja)

Having a binky in his mouth most of the time isn't helping!

Last night was one of my most trying nights as a parent thus far. Georgia got a metal splinter in her foot and I had to take it out. After TWO hours of non-stop screaming, to the point that I actually considered taking her to the ER to have her sedated to remove the stupid splinter. She was beside herself with fear and screaming so loudly I CANNOT believe that the police didn't show. And it wasn't that the splinter hurt, it was that she was petrified that it was going to hurt when I took it out. We tried calmly talking to her. Rationalizing with her. Bribing her and then, ultimately, having Chris hold her down (kicking, screaming and thrashing) while I removed the splinter. Two seconds after it was out she was like, "oh, that didn't hurt." Meanwhile, her body was literally covered in a rash from screaming. Good times.

Escape Artist

Last night was an interesting one. Chris came home from West Virginia and was putting the kids to bed and I went across the street to my neighbor Liz's house to watch the movie 'Shag' with some friends. At about 9:30, as we're sitting there chatting and laughing, I hear a muffled, "MOMMY!" come from outside the house. Liz opens the door to find a hysterical, hyperventilating, barefoot, nightgowned Georgia. When she comes in I ask her, "does Daddy know you came over here?" She says, "yes." I figured that maybe she really wanted me so Chris walked her across the street and told her to come to the house. In retrospect, that didn't make a lot of sense considering that Liz's house is several hundred feet from ours, it was dark and Georgia was barefoot. Regardless, Georgia calmed down, ate some popcorn and ran off to play with Camden and Tucker. About 15 minutes later Liz spots Chris run-walking down the street. She runs out to tell him that Georgia is here with us. It turns out that Chris had put Georgia to bed and was upstairs unpacking in our room. When he went out to the kitchen later, the front door was wide open and Georgia was gone. I can only imagine the rush of adrenaline that he must have had!!

When we came home I explained to Georgia how dangerous this expedition of hers was, she could have fallen in the dark, been hit by a car or kidnapped! "Or a monster could have gotten me, right Mommy?" she asked. Heaven forbid, I shudder at the thought. I made her apologize to Daddy for scaring him so badly and then she went to bed without books. I hope she learned her lesson!!

I still can't believe that she actually left the house and walked across the street in her bare feet at NIGHT BY HERSELF. It's completely out of character for her!! Now Hughie? We'll have to put a tracking device on him and deadbolt all the doors and windows.

The Big Apple

We had a crazy weekend with an improptu trip to New York City. My mom called Thursday night and asked if Georgia and I wanted to go with her to New York City for a night. Who am I to refuse a trip to the City? Mom made arrangements with Papa for Hughie (they did a lot of male bonding), got tickets to see the Little Mermaid on broadway and I got us TWO hotel rooms in the theater district for the price of one (thank you priceline). After cutting all of my hair off in the morning (pictures to come), we jumped on a train and were off. We were lucky and got a GORGEOUS weekend to walk around the City. The Little Mermaid was wonderful, as I'm sure you can imagine. Georgia about had a heart attack at intermission because she thought the show was over and PRINCE ERIC AND ARIEL DID NOT GET MARRIED!!!!!! After the show we had some crepes for dessert and met up with Bil. Unfortunately, we were all very tired, so we said good night to Bil and went to bed. After a some shopping in the morning we headed back home to REST.

On Sunday, Betsy came down from Buffalo to visit with us. We spent the whole day doing nothing except playing with the kids and chatting. It was heaven, as Betsy would say. For dinner, we went to my parents house for steaks and corn on the cob. When we got to York, Hughie started chanting, "Papa, Papa, Papa." It was interesting that he somehow knew where we were going. I hope we get to see Betsy again soon! She's invited us to Canada to visit, so now Georgia keeps telling me she wants to go to Betsy's beach in Canada.

I'm really going to do it this time . . .

This is my planned haircut for Friday (inspired my MTV Real World's Kimberly). I've been growing out my hair for years, so it's time to cut it off and start over. Kimberly looks like she could be my sister, no? I can't wait!

The Details

Last weekend we had the privilege of watching our dear friends Danny and Sheila get married in Philadelphia. Sheila was STUNNING (shocker there, I know) and the wedding was fabulous. Spending a couple of days with old friends (and without kids) was just what we needed! I took some pictures at the wedding, but they didn't turn out very well, so when I get some good pictures, I'll post them here.

After the wedding we headed to Wildwood. As much as I loved the break, I couldn't wait to see the kids. Georgia is absolutely obsessed with the beach and swimming. I don't think I've ever seen her as happy as she was when she was running in and out of the surf. Someday when I'm rich and famous I plan to have a house on the beach where I can walk the beach every day or sit and read a book. And that's all I plan to do. Well, that and maybe some margaritas. That would be a nice little addition to my fantasty, but I digress.

Georgia's also a LOT more brave and social than she used to be. She's definitely coming out of her shell. She loved the boardwalk and all of the rides. She REFUSED to go on any real "kiddie" rides, opting instead for roller coasters. Every time I would tell her that she was too small for one, she would burst into tears. She's a wild one, that Georgia! And a week in the sun (even slathered in SPF 50) brought out more of her olive coloring. She looks less like me than ever!

While Georgia got darker, Hughie got lighter. His hair lightened up quite a bit and I swear I did NOT put any Sun-in in his hair, although I considered it. I still think that he's going to be a "summer blonde" as a small boy. You all just wait, I'll have my blonde baby!! Speaking of Hughie - how freaking gorgeous is he? I can't even fathom what a stud he's going to be.

Hughie was pretty well behaved at the beach. He's so busy and into everything, but his temperament is very mild. That is, unless you take a popsicle away from him. Mimi gave him one and when it started to get too messy, she took it away and he ran after her in a fit of rage like I've never witnessed from a 15 month old. It was very amusing to watch. Hughie is also saying "Georgia" a lot more now and it's the sweetest sound ever. "Ja-ja?" He's also prone to goofy grins and running hugs. His favorite things in the world are his plastic golf clubs that he carries everywhere. Tiger Woods in the making? We shall see.

We also spent the week in Wildwood with my parent's "exchange" student from France, Karine. She loved the kids and was such a huge help to me while I was down there. I now know several ways to say "hot guy" in French.

Chris has camp the next couple of weeks, so I'm on my own with the kids. Looks like we're having McDonald's (or Old McDonalds's as Georgia's calls it) every night. Woo-hoo!

Great vacation

We had a great vacation in Wildwood. I'm very, very tired and must go to sleep now. Enjoy the photos and silly video of Hughie. I need a new camera that will take great video clips!! Working on that.

A video experiment

More Photos

Vacation Photos