Hannah Highlights

When Mike and I first got married, we planned on having two kids, three years apart. Then, Mikie turned one. And the thought of voluntarily giving him a sidekick to recruit in his plot to overrule the household had very little appeal. When I became pregnant with Hannah, Mike and I both said that we already had one troublemaker, so it was only fair to get an easy child. Actually, I think our exact words were "God owes us an easy one." Although she made life miserable while in utero, she has been a blessing. She sleeps through the night, she eats her food, she's generally happy, especially if Mikie's around.

Unfortunately for her sake, Hannah is so pleasant, it is easy to neglect her in the chaos that is her brother. I spend such a large amount of time arguing with Mikie, catering to Mikie, working with Mikie on homework, trying to multitask and feed or entertain Hannah at the same time. She doesn't seem bothered by this (unless I stop feeding her breakfast in order to help Mikie with something. . . this girl is serious about eating). But, looking at the blog, I realize how little attention is given to our super sidekick. And, so I devote this post to Nibbles and her amazing new personal eccentricities that light up my day.

Like me, Hannah loves to sing in the car. Also like me, Hannah doesn't seem to know all the lyrics (although it may have something to do with the fact that she can't talk yet). When I turn on the radio (instead of books on CD), Hannah starts "singing" along. I managed to record her one night on my iPhone. Unfortunately, Blogger does not support audio. So I made a slide show of Hannah photos with her singing in the background.

In her effort to be as independent as Mikie, Hannah is desperately trying to walk. She has tried pulling herself up on toys (unfortunately, since they weigh less than she does, she typically succeeds in pulling the toy down on herself). I started putting her in Mikie's old walker. As you can see in the video, she succeeded in walking, albeit backwards.

Occasionally, she will attempt to crawl, usually when we have left her to her own devices and she is desperate to move to a new location. Alas, I have not succeeded in capturing this on video. Mostly, because I find her so pitiful, I run to rescue her. She looks like a sad little inchworm, scooting her legs up underneath her, then flailing around until she has succeeded in pushing her face forward along the carpet (a task which usually involves whimpering for added effect).

To take after Mikie, she has also learned my least favorite trick. . . splashing mom during bath time. I have to admit, I have a slightly higher tolerance for splashing when it's Hannah because she is so amused by it (and, while she is always happy, it is difficult to make her giggle). The amusement stops when my sleeves are completely soaked.

And, her quirky characteristic: she eats with one leg in the air. Like a puppy peeing on a tree. It's like she is demonstrating her flexibility. Between this and her love of the little ballet barre at school, maybe she'll be a dancer. Assuming she didn't get my coordination and grace. Ha ha.

Love, The Trahans

Chaos and Cake

I got in a very bad habit of throwing multiple parties to celebrate Mikie's birthday. I don't even know how it happened. We started out innocently enough. Having spent much of his first year dining out with his working parents, we feared that he wouldn't understand it was his birthday unless people came out singing to him. So, the day before his birthday, we took him to TGI Friday's the day before his birthday so that the entire wait staff could sing to him. Then there was the obligatory birthday cupcake for breakfast on his actual birthday (Mike was leaving town on business, so we couldn't have it at dinner). And, one party, with all our family and friends in attendance.

By Mikie's second birthday, we were trying to sell our house and move to New England. So, we had one combined birthday/goodbye party with anyone who was available.

The third birthday started to get out of hand. First was a party with my mom and sister on Labor Day weekend. Second, a party with Mike's mom's family, Mikie's friends from daycare, and our neighbors. At that party, one of the kids took chalk to our new television while his older brother threw Mikie's $80 toy piano down the stairs. The third party had Mike's dad's family, my dad, plus our friends from college. Three parties. Three cakes. Three days of cooking and cleaning.

Evidently, we didn't learn our lesson by Mikie's fourth birthday. In keeping with the trend, four years old = four parties. One party in Connecticut at the daycare, for the convenience of Mikie's school friends. Thankfully, the staff came to man the party, planning games and art activities, and decorating. So, all I had to do was bring the food and goodie bags. One party with my parents on Labor Day weekend. One party with Mike's mom's family and our neighbors. And, the last party with Mike's dad's family and our friends. Four parties. Four cakes. You basically spend an entire month celebrating one child's birthday.

With two kids, I saw the handwriting on the wall. If I continued throwing four birthday parties per child, we would be having eight parties for two kids. At risk: loss of money, sanity, and an increased chance of spoiled children. And so I convinced myself it would be easier to invite everyone over for one big party, forgetting that there was a reason we switched to having multiple parties in the first place.

Exhibit A: The chaos

The party was SUPPOSED to be a Transformer themed water party. We bought kiddie pools, water balloons, water guns, water slide. And then, it rained. So our outdoor party was forced to move indoors, and with it, the chaos. Two hundred and fifty balls later, and one of the kiddie pools was converted to a ball pit. I think it was the highlight of the party, and the biggest mess ever.Exhibit B: The cake

Mikie doesn't eat actual cake, and store bought ice cream cakes aren't large enough to feed the number of people in attendance. So, working mother who feels the need to overcompensate for the fact that she isn't home during the day spends her evenings making an ice cream caking from scratch.On the plus side: everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, Mikie and Hannah slept fabulously, and we only had to clean up once. And, as an added bonus, our TV escaped unscathed.Happy Belated Birthday, Trouble.

Love, The Trahans

Labor Day

Labor Day weekend has become more and more chaotic since we moved North. Yes, there is Mikie's birthday (which I think is more labor intensive now than it was five years ago when I was IN LABOR!). But, there is also the pride and joy of Woodstock, Connecticut: The Woodstock Fair.

Yes, every Labor Day weekend, the local fairgrounds in Woodstock become overrun with carnies, rides, animals, tractors, go carts, music, and the scent of fried food. The question on everyone's lips is not "Are you going to the Fair" as much as "What day are you going to the Fair." Because, just as most civilized people recognize that there is only one "City", to locals, there is only one "Fair".

And so, in spite of last year's debacle, I agreed to go back for more. And, it was well worth the money. Mikie has grown a lot in the last year, and was now tall enough to ride more rides. So, while Mike and Mikie ran from ride to ride, Hannah and I had a fabulous time people watching. Well, Hannah's concept of people watching is really smiling/flirting at her adoring fans. And, oh the fans she has. Random children from town came running towards us yelling "NIBBLES" followed by "Where's Mikie?" I'm not sure which of my children is most popular. . .

Unfortunately, we didn't bring the camera or video phone (which would have been one more thing I had to lug around). So, the only picture we have is of Mikie mugging it up in the fun house:

At 7am on Sunday morning, Trouble woke up, happy to inform us that it was his birthday and demand his presents. Hannah graciously allowed us to interrupt her beauty sleep to bear witness to the craziness. And, for our family members who weren't able to travel to celebrate with us in person, we video taped the entire event. I know, try and contain your enthusiasm. The video is ten minutes long. However, if you survive all the way to the 7 minute mark, you are rewarded with an amusing royal wave to Grand Da (whom he originally thought was sleeping in the next room) in thanks for his present.

Immediately after filming this video, Mike had to begin construction on the Temple of Doom Lego set. Two hours and fifteen minutes later, he had completed his masterpiece. Unfortunately, I can't show you a picture of the finished product, because Mikie decided it needed to be disassembled fifteen minutes after it was complete. Lucky for Mikie, it was his birthday. Otherwise, I think Mike would might thrown him out of the house in frustration. . .

The combination of Fair and presents, coupled with party hopping in Rhode Island and swimming with friends in New Hampshire was enough activity to make Mike and I long for a vacation from our vacation. Sadly, every weekend this month is occupied with as much activity, so we're not sure when we will get a break. Maybe October. . .

Love, The Trahans

Bust a Move

Since Hannah's arrival, it is more difficult to take Mikie to the movies. Primarily because if I am paying for a babysitter, I feel I should get my money's worth and go out with my husband, not my five year old (no offense, Mikie). Mikie doesn't seem bothered by this. In fact, I think he enjoys "making a movie theater" at home more than going out. We pop popcorn (we each have our own bowl), turn down the lights, and stay up past our bedtime watching a movie, just the three of us.

On Labor Day weekend, the feature presentation was "Underdog". Fabulous live action movie based on the cartoon, featuring Jim Belushi and Jason Lee as the voice of Underdog. Mikie loved it because he seems to love all live action movies with animals (Stuart Little, Hotel for Dogs, etc.). Mike and I liked it because, as family movies go, it was amusing.

At the end, Mikie was on a high (Underdog having saved the day). As the music blared and credits rolled, he couldn't sit still. He started dancing around, in the amusing way a five year old does that reminds me of a cross between "Kung Fu Panda" meets Elaine Benes dancing on "Seinfeld". In his free time (the five seconds it took us to start video taping him), he invented a new move called "The Twistie". Check out the video below. . . I promise it is very entertaining.



I can't wait to show him this when he's in college. I'm SURE he will appreciate it.

Love, The Trahans