Never Too Late for Christmas

Yes, so I am a little behind on the blogging. All I can say is GET USED TO IT. As most everyone who reads this blog knows, we were down in Chattanooga for Christmas, and the festivities began December 23 with the Cranwells.

The only thing better than a baby at Christmas is two babies -- especially if one of them is not yours! We had a lot of fun this year at Dad and Sharon's because Susannah's cousin Willow was there with her parents, Jodi and my stepbrother Brad. Willow and Susannah are only a few months apart and they were great playmates. They didn't pull each others' hair and even shared toys!

Here they are sharing tips on how to manipulate their parents.














The girls with their grandparents -- getting all four to look at the camera at the same time was impossible.













Using Uncle Dakin as a play gym.













S and Uncle Brad













Cutie pie cousins













S patiently waiting for her turn on the cellphone.



















December 24 was spent at the Collins, where Susannah, as you can see, had a number of wardrobe changes and ALL the attention.

Girl never says no to a banana.














Tell me more about this Santa guy please Moonpie.















Is that a picture of me in there?













She's good at throwing crayons, not so much drawing (yet).




















Christmas morning we started at the Aplins with Jill's fabulous brunch. Clearly, mom hasn't had her coffee yet.



















This is what S looked like after she finished her second breakfast of the day. (And to think, this time last year she hardly ate anything!)













checking her text messages.




















We finished the day with Christmas at the McDonalds. I'm sad to say that our camera never made it out of the diaper bag though I am certain that someone somewhere got a few shots. Nevertheless, here's S with her great grandmother, the inestimable Mimi.















Though Ben and I got many great Christmas gifts, the best one came a few nights later, when, for the first time, we left Susannah with a group of her grandparents and spent a night at a beautiful spot called Gorham's Bluff, about an hour away from Chattanooga. As you can see, it was pretty awesome.

Messing Around

Merry Merry Merry Merry Merry

Feeling Better

Week in Review (12/07 - 12/12)

7 atomic diapers
3 projectile vomits
5 calls to the pediatrician
2 visits to the pediatrician
3 loads of laundry
2 sheet changes
2 new prescriptions
80 viewings of Baby Einstein's World Animal Adventure

1 baby finally feeling better

On and On

Grandma Moonpie letting me reach for something I am probably not supposed to have.



















Cruising the hallway at Pat and Peter's on Thanksgiving














Checking out my auntie's boyfriend













Making myself at home with the hors d'oeuvres



















Getting into the one kitchen cabinet that mom doesn't want me to get into.



















Now I can rock a ponytail, sort of.


Well I wish I could say that we've been too busy to update the blog because we've been having too much fun, but the fact is it has been a rough around here lately.

It didn't start out that way. Mom was here the weekend before Thanksgiving, and Susannah recovered from her UTI went shopping and had lots of fun with Grandma Moonpie. Thanksgiving Day we had a fabulous dinner with Pat and Peter on the Upper West Side. Susannah was a total rockstar and stayed up til nearly 10pm. We snoozed and played and enjoyed a completely stress free weekend.

that Sunday though, S came down with a runny nose and by Monday morning her chest just didn't sound right. One doctor thinks she has asthma while the other thinks it is too early to tell. At any rate, now we have a nebulizer at home and Susannah was on all kinds of medicine for several days. A week later she seemed much better but her appetite was still down. Then she started having some diarrhea, which I thought was just her body expelling the mucus, but then she threw up last night and this morning and so I was back on the phone with the doctor.

She seemed better by the end of the day and hasn't thrown or had anymore diarrhea, and she was able to eat some breads and fruits. So I think whatever this is is on its way out, at least that is my fervent prayer.

People, I don't know what to tell you. I really miss the fun, robust, eating everything Susannah. My nerves can't take much more of this.

Ups and Downs

This week Susannah is recovering from a urinary tract infection. She started a new medication Wednesday and has been feeling better every day since. Sunday through Wednesday were not so fun and her fever was making me very very nervous. But she's on the mend now and we're back to enjoying her.

These pictures are from last week when Grandpa Jim and Jill were here. S was a walking machine and even took about a dozen steps in the hallway all by herself! (Though during a repeat mission she butted her head on the wall and wasn't too happy.) Every day could be the day that she lets go of our hands and walks off, so we are watching and waiting.

So Much Fun

Playing, babbling, laughing, climbing, cruising, crashing (then sometimes crying), troublemaking and almost walking, Susannah is very much the toddler these days. We are having the best time with her.

Lately our favorite thing to do is get our coats on and walk outside. She can almost walk all the way to the playground just by holding my finger. It takes forever because she wants to stop and stare at every person we pass, pet every doggie that walks by, or touch every piece of trash on the sidewalk. But it is still a lot of fun and she charms a lot of people. She likes to walk up to our favorite bodega and knock on the door. It's pretty cute.

Hard to capture all that with a camera, but her she is mugging it up.



Cheering for the Yankees



Hearing that it is bedtime.




Out for a spin at the playground


Dad put her in a pile of New York City leaves.....



Some snack for me



And some for the baby.



Baby yoga!