Super Nibbles Update

Yesterday, Hannah and I drove to daycare to pick Mikie up from preschool. When we walked in, Mikie dragged us into the classroom to show us the toy I'm "going to get him" (his words, not mine). After looking at some kid's Nintendo Gameboy Advanced, I noticed Hannah had a crowd of admirers surrounding her. One little girl was trying to remove the blanket and look at her hands. She looked up at me and said "Does she REALLY have suction cups?"

Needless to say, I had to fight back tears to explain that, no, she doesn't have suction cups for hands and then explain the story to the owner. And, unfortunately for Hannah, the kids seemed a little less interested after they realized she couldn't climb on the ceiling.

Love, The Trahans

And the Winner is

Because lack of sleep has zapped my creative juices, we ran a contest to rename the blog. And, until this week, we only had one entry: "Thing 1 & Thing 2: A Day in the Lives of the Trahans." My only issue with "Thing 1 and Thing 2" was referring to my children as Things. Plus, I was fearful Hannah would then turn into as big a troublemaker as Mikie, since Things 1 & 2 weren't exactly angelic. However, since I love Thing 1 and Thing 2 (and since it was the only contest entry) I was about to go live with the new header designed around this.

Until this morning. This morning, I found a comment from our friend, Kristine, suggesting the title "The Adventures of Trouble & Super Nibbles". Which, I think perfectly epitomizes both children and my life on a daily basis. So, congratulations to Kristine, proud winner of bragging rights and Crabtree product.

Honorable mention goes to Christie, who not only came up with a very creative name, but also an entire design to go with it.

Love, The Trahans

All Nibbles, All the Time

There is a small group of followers who have requested a live web feed of Nibbles (not to mention names. . . Katie & Marta). And, while we take our readers requests seriously, I'm not sure this would be very entertaining. Because, although EXTREMELY cute, Hannah's day is not exactly newsworthy. So, in lieu of video, here are some additional photos of Hannah, complete with insight into her daily schedule:1. Wake up. Stretch (while making cute/silly faces)

2. Have diaper changed. Pee and poop on mom/dad while having diaper changed.

3. Get a bath and new clothes so that I am not covered in urine.

4. Whine that no one has fed me yet.

5. Eat. Burp. 6. Look at the ceiling/lights/trees.

7. Make silly faces.

8. Stretch.

9. Cuddle. Fall asleep again. 10. Repeat, alternating length of time asleep to keep everyone on their toes.

Occasionally, we change it up by going on a trip in the car. In which case I don my cute little hat, get strapped into my carseat and head out with mom/dad/Mikie.That's it. I promise to be more diligent with pictures as she starts to do more during the day. In the interim, this will have to do.

Love, The Trahans

What's that Spell?

The power of suggestion. . . it's a dangerous thing around a four year old. All of the sudden, the mere mention of dinner prompts demands of a Spiderman toy. The chain of thought, for those who aren't four or don't have a four year old yet goes something like this: Dinner = McDonald's = Happy Meal = Spiderman Toy.

Like any normal parents, we have resorted to spelling to have conversations without Mikie chiming in. For example:

Lauren: "What Transformer is the E-a-s-t-e-r-B-u-n-n-y bringing Trouble?"

Mike: "B-l-i-t-z. . ." pause to look at the box "k. . ."

Lauren: remembering that Mikie asked for Blitzkrieg months ago "Got it."

It's great, not only can we communicate in peace, but it makes us expert puzzle solvers when we watch Wheel of Fortune.

Evidently, Mikie has noticed our new game. Yesterday, I was trying to get Mikie, Hannah and I ready for a trip to Target. I stopped to check for coupons on the Internet. Unfortunately, Mikie wasn't happy with this delay.

Mikie: "Mom, do you know what M-i-k-m-i-t-h-z-k-w spells?"

Mom: trying not to laugh "No, I don't. What does it spell?"

Mikie: annoyed "It spells 'I quit'. Because you are taking too long and we need to just go to Target already."

Somehow, I think his angry rant would be more impactful if he actually knew how to spell. But, it was pretty amusing none the less.

Love, T-h-e T-r-a-h-a-n-s

Super Nibbles

Mikie ADORES Hannah. The first thing he asks in the morning is if he can go see her (assuming she is still sleeping) or if he can give her a kiss (assuming she is awake). If she is eating, he comes over to kiss her hands. If she is sitting in her chair or carseat, he kisses her head (or nose). When I'm burping her, he comes over and pats her back. When she's crying, he screams at me that "Nibbles is crying" and then runs to comfort her. Every time we drop him off or pick him up at preschool, he walks into the room and yells "Who wants to see my sister Nibbles Hannah Reilly Trahan?"Evidently, Mikie's love has elevated Hannah to super hero status. On Tuesday afternoon, Hannah and I went to pick Mikie up from preschool. By the time we arrived, Hannah was hungry. Not wanting a gaggle of children surrounding me, we snuck in a different entrance and I fed Hannah her bottle in the director's office.

I thought we were stealthy, but Mikie had noticed my car in the parking lot. When we walked into his classroom, he was waiting, anxious to know where we had been hiding. Then, his teacher told me that Mikie told the class that "Nibbles has suction cups" to climb on the ceiling (ironically similar to his Spiderman toy). When we didn't show up, the teacher joked that maybe Nibbles had used her suction cups to climb onto the roof and I was trying to catch her.

I can't wait for them to read this when they're older.

Love, The Trahans

Priceless

During my senior year of college, one of my many esteemed professors told us that if we only owned one reference manual, we should all own Perry's Chemical Engineering Handbook. Needless to say, being the obedient student that I was (yes, a dork), I fully intended to purchase a copy immediately. Until I discovered that this "bible" for my profession cost a few hundred dollars (in my head, I remember it being close to $500, but it is listed as much less today).

As if the fact that I wanted to own this wasn't bad enough, I asked my mother to buy it for me for CHRISTMAS. Yes, it was my big present Christmas of 1999. I couldn't have been happier (as I said, I was a dork). And, I did use it a few times that last year of school. But, never could I have imagined just how useful it would become. . . Yes, 10 years later, my expensive reference manual is being used to help my infant daughter's sinuses drain. I don't remember which professor insisted we buy it, but I am sure he never anticipated it would end up elevating a crib mattress. And, when I received it Christmas morning, I never knew how incredibly useful it would be.

Love, The Trahans

Wee One

They say everyone's a little Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Some of us are ACTUALLY Irish all the time. In case her middle name and red hair didn't give it away, Hannah is one of the latter. So, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, we dressed in green and took pictures of the world's cutest little leprechaun:I think she wanted to change her shirt to read "Kiss Me, I'm Being Tortured", especially since we tried on multiple pairs of pants before we found ones that fit (sort of).Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Love, The Trahans

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far

Yesterday, I bravely ventured out to Babies 'R Us with both children in search of new bottles for Hannah. It should have been a quick trip: drive to store, grab three packs of bottles that I preselected before leaving the house, go to cash register, pay, drive home. Since Mikie was in toe, we had to look at the toys, which added to the time in the store (in spite of the fact that the toy section consists of a limited number of toys, geared mostly to children under the age of three).

We eventually made it to the cash register. The ONLY register open in the store. We were behind a couple who appeared to be finishing purchasing items off their baby registry. I was surprised to see a couple in the store in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday (hello, don't they have jobs?) The wife kept trying to use coupons that weren't valid yet. Then, she argued that her breast pump should be on sale (which prompted pulling a circular out of her purse). When they finally agreed on sale prices with the cashier, her husband pulled out multiple gift cards to pay with. Since I wanted to get home and sterilize the new bottles before Hannah's next feeding (and patience is one of those virtues I lack), I was quickly getting annoyed. But, I tried to maintain my composure.

And then there was Mikie. Bless his heart, he turns to me and yells, "Why are these people taking so long to pay?" (Evidently, he inherited some of my less desirable traits. Let's hope Hannah only inherited my physical appearance. . . )

As any mom whose child just said something embarrassing would do, I laughed and said in my best school teacher voice, "Mikie, we need to be patient. It will be our turn soon." Luckily, they opened another cash register, and we were soon exiting the store.

Happy shopping.

Love, The Trahans

Brotherly Love

On Monday, Mikie went back to preschool for the first time since Hannah was born. Ever the proud big brother, he insisted on showing off his baby sister to his friends. As Hannah and I signed him in and hung up his lunch box, I could hear him yelling to his friends, "Everybody, come see my baby sister, Nibbles Hannah." Yes, we can't get him to call her "Hannah", he continues to call her "Nibbles" or "Nibbles Hannah". But, I digress. . .

I brought Hannah (who was sleeping soundly in her infant carrier) back into the big room for everyone to see. All the kids huddled around, while Mikie put his face into the carrier to show everyone "her little hands". Then, he turned to the other kids and announced (or rather, yelled, since that is the only volume Mikie has) "BUT YOU HAVE TO BE QUIET BECAUSE SHE'S SLEEPING!"

Thankfully, Nibbles doesn't seem bothered by the whirlwind of noise and energy that is Mikie. Either that, or she inherited Mikie's ability to sleep through anything. Hopefully, a little of both.

Love, The Trahans

Auntie Nibbles

Try as we might, we cannot get Mikie to refer to Hannah as "Hannah". He continues to call her "Nibbles" or "Nibbles Hannah". What's worse, is I find myself referring to her as Nibbles when I talk to him. While I call her Hannah when I'm talking to her (or anyone else), I'll ask Mikie to "give Nibble's her pacifier" or "get Nibble's her blanket".

Last week, we went to the pediatrician's office for Hannah's two week check up. It was a family affair: Mom, Dad, Mikie and Hannah. Mikie had zero desire to sit in the room waiting for the doctor to check Hannah. As he whined about wanting to leave, I told him "We can go home when the doctor is done checking Nibbles." The doctor laughingly warned "You better watch out. Those are the type of names that stick. One day his kids are going to call her 'Auntie Nibbles'."

Let's hope Hannah really likes her nickname. Because I think "Auntie Nibbles" is hear to stay.

Love, The Trahans

Only Mikie

While Hannah is content to eat, sleep, and go through packs of Huggies a day, Mikie continues to amuse us with his sayings. Here are a few anecdotes from the last couple of days:

1. The other night, while putting Mikie to bed, Mike started to tell Mikie what a good big brother he was. Mikie cut him off, saying, "Okay, Dad, I'm tired now, so leave me alone."

2. Last night, Mikie fell asleep early, in the clothes he was wearing all day. This morning, noticing that he was STILL wearing the same clothes from yesterday, I told him to go change.

Mikie: "I can't change because I'm too sick."

Mom: "That's exactly why you should change, because those clothes are germy."

Mikie: "But I like these clothes."

Mom: "Don't you think you should put on clean clothes before Grandma Kerrie comes?"

Mikie: "No, because she hasn't seen me in these yet."

Neither Mike nor I could think of a good response. Although, we did eventually force him into clean clothes.

3. On hearing that his cousin was coming to visit, Mikie informed Mike and I that he couldn't play with his castle.

Mike: "Why can't you play with your castle?"

Mikie: "Because I had to destroy all of the fun games because you guys wouldn't take me to McDonald's for a Spiderman toy."

He hasn't realized that destroying his own toys isn't a threat to Mike and I.

Love, The Trahans

Ferocious Baby

Hannah has a very cute habit. When she is hungry, she gets very annoyed if you try and giver her a pacifier. She opens her mouth like she is going to take it, then violently shakes her head back and forth as if to say "No, I am not that stupid. This one doesn't have formula in it." We just had to attempt to capture it on video, so we can remember how little and cute she was when she's 13 and driving her father and I crazy.

Love, The Trahans