Cassidy - 2 Months of smirking

We have survived 2 months as a family of 4. Well, really 3 considering that I am just getting around to blogging about month 2. Things have been moving along swimmingly with the girls. More to come on their interactions with the month 3 post, but for month 2 they are getting along.

We have gotten out and seen the sites, hit swim class, and even had a dr appt together. So far, so good. At this point, Kendall is more of a handful than Cassidy - but that is just because she is the only one that is mobile. We'll see what happens when Cass gets her walk on - then we are all in trouble!

Cassidy at 1 month

Weight - 10lbs 15oz

Height - 22 inches

Sounds like - a snoring bear (kid is constantly snoring and grunting)

Likes - The ceiling fan, her big sister Kendall, being swaddled, eatting, her swing

Dislikes - dirty diapers, loud noises (which is rough living with Kendall), anytime the car slows down or stops (constant motion is a must)

Things she can do - eat, poop, spit up, pick up her head and move it around (has some control - just like Kendall did), grab onto shirts/hands/toys, sleep by herself in the pack-n-play (she is a good sleeper already, she started doing 5 hour stretches within 2 weeks).

 

Cassidy at 2 Months
Weight - 12lbs 13oz (80%)
Height - 23 7/8 inches (95%!)
Sounds like - Cass is a chatty one when she is awake. She even tries to answer when you say hi! Sounds more like a coo - but she looks at you while she does it. When she is sleeping, this kid sounds like a buzz saw with all the snoring.
Likes - hanging out in the baby Bjorn, napping in the swing, bouncing on the exercise ball - both sitting on your knee as well as wrapped up in a swaddle for sleeping
Dislikes - dirty diapers. Really, that is about it.
Things she can do - eat, poop (but thankfully she does it rarely), smile (BIG), watch a little TV (yeah, I know, bad parenting), look you in the eye, turn her head in both directions, hold up her head while sitting on your lap (assisted in the sitting, of course), and tries to pull herself up to sitting if you let her hold your fingers. Strong girl.

That smirk. This picture kills me, everytime. Cass is a happy little thing and makes us all smile. She loves her big sister and her big sister loves her too. She is such a little character already - no telling what kind of trouble my 2 girls are going to get into.

Here is Kendall's 2 month post for comparison.

The New Weekend Norm

 

 

 She is like her own comic strip.

 

 

Staycation 2012

When I had Cassidy in early August, I was able to take off work immediately. Pretty much because having a baby is like being put on the physically unable to preform list. Not that I am complaining, 12 weeks at home with the kids is a good thing. But Nate was not able to take the time off right away and really was pretty busy at work those first few weeks. So, after a lot of grumbling from me, Nate took the first week of September off, and we did a staycation.

A staycation? Yes. Taking a 1 month old to Mexico is not a good idea - or so I am told. So we did the Chicago/Milwaukee thing and took in the sites. Little did we know going into this is that the week after all the kids go back to school is the absolute BEST time to hit the city. Everywhere we went was wide open, and that was awesome.

We took it easy at home the first couple of days, hanging out with the girls, going for walks, relaxing stuff. Then we headed out - which is a lot more complicated with an infant in tow.

First on the staycation agenda was a trip to the Shedd Aquarium, which I forgot the camera for. That's okay, it is hard to take pictures in there anyway. We are Shedd members, so we go a lot, but that first week in September was a new experience. The place was dead. You could get right up and see all the exhibits. We even got seats by the Caribbean Reef and took in the feeding. Cassidy LOVED this. There is what is essentially a light show on ceiling in that room while they do the feeding of the fish that she checked out. We explored areas of the exhibits we usually skip because it is so crowded on weekends and we hate crowds. Going during the week rocked!

We then decided to spend a day up in Milwaukee and hit our favorite zoo. I did manage to remember the camera this time, and we got some cute shots.

By this time it was Friday, so we figured we might run into more people. We were so wrong - the zoo was empty. Again, this made it all the more exciting. We were able to get right up and see the animals as well as navigate a lot more ground not having to dodge people. I even learned that you can purchase a ticket to feed the giraffes. I was vetoed on doing it for this trip, but I am so feeding the giraffes next time.

View from the giraffe feeding platform. How cool!

I also learned that elephants swim under water. Seems like I should have known that, but I didn't and I was shocked when an elephant jumped into a pool of water and went under. Somehow it did not register that an elephant could swim.

We, of course, did a through tour of all the birds, including the aviary where the birds are free range. Freaks me out, but Kendall loves. We also saw a flamingo that appeared to have OCD. It kept spinning around picking at the ground, all the other flamingos were giving him a wide birth. Kept us entertained though.

Cassidy woke towards the end of the zoo trip and spent some time hanging out with us as well. Being a month old, she was not too interested in the zoo.

The day ended when the sky opened up and poured rain. Put a damper on wandering the zoo, but we were all tired after all that walking anyway.

We rounded out that trip to Milwaukee with the necessary stop at Pizza Shuttle - but by then the girls were asleep and ready to head home.

A successful staycation - and now we know when the best time of year to repeat this fun!

Trains, trains, and more trains - Our visit to Thomas

So, Thomas came to town. You know, the Tank Engine. He hit up the Illinois Railway Museum in Union Illinois. You say, where is Union? I say the middle of nowhere, aka halfway to Rockford.

Anyway, there is a large train museum out there. A train museum you say, and I say yes, and it is exactly what you are thinking. Lots and lots of old trains. Initially I thought it would be a couple old trains you could check out and climb on, but they even have trains that still work, and you can ride on them. Lots of trains you can ride on. But I digress.

Thomas the Tank Engine made an appearance for 2 weekends in August. There were ads all over PBS for it, so we decided to check it out with our cousin and some friends the last weekend in August. The main draw of this day with Thomas is that you get to ride on Thomas, which as it turns out is just Thomas pulling a bunch of 100 year old train cars. Still cool if you are 3, or 30 something. Probably lame anywhere in between.

Note Thomas in the background. That is about as close as you get to the good engine. And yes, his eyes move. Creepy.

We did the ride on Thomas, and fun was had by all. Kendall loves trains, always has. The train runs by Grandma and Grandpa Gorman's house, and was always a fun activity to watch, so she knows her trains. The ride on Thomas was a good time and she enjoyed it, checking out the scenery for the whole 30 min ride.

3 week-old Cassidy even got in on the action. Because I apparently think I am superwoman, I was traipsing around a crowded train yard with a 3 week-old. It went well, but I was much more tired than I would have thought after. Not my most brilliant plan, but fun none-the-less.

We also had a chance to check out some of the other trains while we were there. Below is an old L car for Howard St that Kendall is checking out with her cousin Nora.

There was also some old signage and signals to check out. Green means GO!

And plenty of trains to check out and and explore. Both alone and together.

The train yard was super crowded with the Thomas event going on, so we didn't get to see as much as we wanted to (and Nate did not get to ask Sir Topum Hat his burning question about why he is always so cross), but we were interested enough to think about going back on a non-event weekend. I like it better when we have these places practically to ourselves and can explore.

Besides, we need to go back and find the spot where this picture was taken of Nate and his brothers back in the day. Apparently the train museum is a Greaney Family destination across generations.

Cassidy's First Month

I did a monthly update on Kendall and would like to do the same with Cassidy, and maybe highlight some of the similarities and differences between my 2 darling girls.

Cassidy at birth
Weight - 8lbs 8oz
Height - 22 inches
Sounds like - a cooing dove, or screaming banshee, depending on when you catch her.
Likes - Sleeping, eatting
Dislikes - None really, pretty happy camper
Things she can do - stare blankly at us, eat, poop, spit up, pick head up





Cassidy at 1 month

Weight - 10lbs 15oz

Height - 22 inches

Sounds like - a snoring bear (kid is constantly snoring and grunting)

Likes - The ceiling fan, her big sister Kendall, being swaddled, eatting, her swing

Dislikes - dirty diapers, loud noises (which is rough living with Kendall), anytime the car slows down or stops (constant motion is a must)

Things she can do - eat, poop, spit up, pick up her head and move it around (has some control - just like Kendall did), grab onto shirts/hands/toys, sleep by herself in the pack-n-play (she is a good sleeper already, she started doing 5 hour stretches within 2 weeks).

One big difference we notice between the girls is that Cassidy values her alone time. She doesn't need, or want, to be held all the time. She likes to do her own thing a bit. She is very chill. Not sure if this is just her, or some of being the second child with calmer parents this time around. Only time will tell.

For comparison, here is Kendall's Month 1 summary. The similarities and differences are kind of interesting to note.

I'll make another one look just like you

Nate and I get a lot of questions about how different the girls are. Who do they look like? Well, not like me. Actually, they look like each other. These kids are twins, almost 3 years apart. (And let me tell you, that last pregnany felt like it took 3 years). Let's do some comparison shots to explain what I am talking about.

Here are both girls on day 2. Kendall is on the left, Cassidy on the right.

Maybe not the best shot... Let's try this one.

Still a non-believer? How about this one? Both girls at about a month (you can tell that I now have a better camera in these pictures though). Again, Kendall on the left, Cassidy on the right.

In summary, Nate and I have proved Bill Cosby right, we can make another one that looks just like you. But, apparently they all look like Nate.


Hello World.

Now that we are settled, I'm trying to get back into the blog updates. It's been a while, and clearly, a lot has changed with our new arrival. It will probably take me a few posts to get caught up.

First up....

As you can see from the prior post, we welcomed a new addition to our team Greaney. Cassidy, like her sister before her, decided to show up fashionably late. With it so hot this summer, I was definitely not happy about extending the pregnancy at all, so we went with the Dr's plan to evict Cassidy via induction a couple days after due date.

Plus side to knowing exactly when you will have a baby is that you can get a sitter lined up and hit the town the night before. Well, as much as a past due pregnant woman can hit the town. So Nate and I went out to eat, and took the only belly pictures that exist from this pregnacy, and got a solid night's sleep (again, as much as I could sleep at that point). Below is the proof that I was pregnant, and just how uncomfortable this past summer was with all that heat. There are also pictures documenting just how badly I waddled around the house, but I will spare you those. It is not pretty. Looking back, I now see why people kept letting me cut in line at the grocery store - they were convinced I would go into labor.

Cassidy was here the next morning, 5 hours after we showed up at the hospital. She entered the world very rosy and screaming bloody murder. Apparently she was not in the mood to get out and see the world. Weighing in at 8lbs 8oz, Cass was bigger than Kendall by 9oz - which is a lot when you are tiny.

 

Our first visitor after Cass, Nate, and I got settled at the hospital was Kendall. I wanted the girls to have a chance to get aquainted without a lot of others around - so we did the family thing. Kendall took to her little sister immediately, and especially loved the wonder that is tiny baby fingers and toes.

We all went home the next day, exhausted, but ready to be out of the hospital. 24 hours was enough for me. We had lots of visitors, both sets of grandparents, all our aunts and uncles, and cousins. Kendall loved all the excitement, and Cassidy slept through most of it.

After that we spent our time adjusting to family as 4. More to come on how that is going...