A Big Day...

This has been 18 weeks+ in the making, folks... CASEY WENT TO DAYCARE TODAY!!! (And Mommy, Daddy, and Baby all faired well, thankfully.)

Months before Casey arrived, Tee Jay and I visited Chesterbrook Academy near my work with our friends Ken and Carrie. Their infant Owen was already enrolled in the facility, and they were impressed with its teachers, setup, environment, and curriculum. By the time we left the Open House that evening, we both felt very confident that we could entrust Casey's daytime care to Chesterbrook as well.

Last night, we checked and rechecked our list and bag to take with us - two extra sets of clothes, a little sweater, spare socks, a binkie, diapers, wipes, A&D ointment, her bottle caddy (complete with four bottles of Mama's milk), additional frozen milk, a homemade blanket, and some rings with a teether for her crib. We were ready!

This morning, we told Casey where she'd be going for the day, and just take a look at the mischievous grin that ensued... I'd love to know what she was thinking, what impish ideas were running through her head:



We took a quick family picture outdoors...


...and then headed out to Chesterbrook. By the time we got there, Casey was napping:


She woke up when we went inside, and while I got her things situated, Tee Jay put Casey in an exersaucer, where she began to have fun right away. We said 'good bye' to our grinning girl and headed out for a date day.

After breakfast and reading the newspaper at a cafe, strolling through little Main Street shops with fresh lemonade, hitting up the movies (we saw Away We Go), and then having jerk chicken at a Caribbean restaurant, we were ready to go "rescue" Casey.

Unfortunately, she was crying when we arrived... but had just started being fussy and was due for a bottle (she got Mama instead). Casey hadn't eaten as much as expected and had barely napped throughout her first day at Chesterbrook (so fussiness was to be expected), but we think she'll get more and more into their routine and adapt to having other babies around her soon.

Tomorrow we do it all over again! In the meantime, she's happy to be back at home and having fun with Daddy:

Patty Duke's Update...

Here's a better pic for "when cousins are two of a kind!!!"

MJ to Tee Jay...

Tee Jay has been engrossed in Michael Jackson-related news coverage over the past day, and I've been slightly (or highly) less interested. I've even marveled at the number of Facebook statuses about MJ... thereby adding one of my own specifically about the ridiculous influx for this wacko "Jacko."

Besides a little bit of Sesame Street this morning (Casey was sleeping, so yes, it was I who was watching!), the TV wasn't on today. Tee Jay got home, however, and while he perused the channel guide, he saw that MTV was playing Futurama. He questioned, "Do you think they're doing Michael Jackson stuff instead?" and selected the channel. Sure enough, Futurama wasn't on, as it appears that MTV is playing MJ videos 24/7.

I asked Tee Jay, "What would you say if someone asked what Michael Jackson meant to you?"

"I don't know... He was an amazing singer, and I loved listening to his music and watching his videos. He inspired me to dance. [I laughed. Tee Jay laughed.] He really did, though!! He was the person who made me want to dance... even though I'm not good at it."

The Way You Make Me Feel started on MTV, and as I was changing Casey's diaper, I couldn't help myself. My hips started swaying, my feet got moving, and I began singing to the baby... who started kicking her legs, flailing her arms, and laughing.

She was loving it ~ and I'll admit, I was loving it, too. Neverland Ranch and three kids with "Michael" in their names and every crazy antic and poor decision aside, he still makes us want to dance.

The Patty Duke Show...

Let me start by saying that I find it funny when a show is named after a real-life person, but is a sitcom with another personality: The Patty Duke Show being one, The Cosby Show another. (After all, Patty Duke didn't have an identical cousin and no one in the Huxtable household was named Bill.) I digress...

So, like Patty and Cathy Lane on The Patty Duke Show, Casey Susanne and her older (by one month) cousin Violet Grace are nearly two-of-a-kind. (Can't you just hear the jingle in your head??)

Though Violet is already five months old, we noticed during our vacation that she and Casey appeared and felt pretty close to the same size. They both had pediatric checkups this week, and here's how our girls measure up:

Head circumference:
Violet and Casey are both 40cm
(that's little; the 7th percentile for Violet and 10th for Casey)

Length:
Violet is 25.25 inches (50th percentile)
and Casey is 25.00 inches (75th percentile)

Weight:
Violet is 14lbs, 8oz (50th percentile)...
and Casey tips the scales at 15lbs, 6oz already (75-90th percentile)!

Yes, yes - our girl is a porker! No wonder she looked about the same as Violet (height-wise and whatnot), but felt a bit more solid.

This most recent picture (but not necessarily the best of the kids) was taken at my sister's house. Big sister Clare is holding Violet; Simon has snuck away from the couch just in time for the click of the camera; and Jamie is holding his little cousin Casey.

Four Months Old...

...and No Place Like Home...

We're now really "home," back in Philly and ready to get back to our normal routine... which feels nice in most ways!

The vacation was long, busy, and soooooo wonderful (and we'll post pictures soon). Casey seemed to mature by leaps and bounds while we were in Rhode Island, clasping items with her hands more accurately, putting everything (everything, I tell ya!) in her mouth, starting this new "game" by sticking her tongue out, and consistently sleeping for at least one seven-hour-ish stretch each night.

When we arrived in Philly this evening, the maturation was even more evident when Casey reached out for and grabbed our cat Wendy (who was a little too surprised to be upset about it). And then... exciting, exciting... we realized that Casey fits in and enjoys her Exersaucer finally!

We're spending the rest of the night watching a lot of what we DVR'd during the trip and recovering from downing a pint of Chubby Hubby ice cream (eaten in celebration of Tee Jay's first official Father's Day).

Happy Father's Day to Casey's Daddy, Grand Dad, Loopy, Papa, Great-Gogron, Great-Grandpas, Uncles and Great-Uncles, and Godfather!

No Place Like Home...

...to Tee Jay and I, Rhode Island very much still feels like "home." To Casey, we don't know if it ever will be.

But it sure is nice to have her here in the Ocean State for her first real vacation!!

Varying Degrees...

Watermelon Cookies:

Cute (and tasty!), but really more trouble than they're worth...


Casey Susanne:

Losing our bedroom to all things baby...


Plenty of feedings and nursings (most in our PJs!)...


Many sleepless nights...
Lots of hard work...
Tons of sacrifice...

Worth every single second... and so much more!

Two Years and Counting...

We were married two years ago today... how time does fly by!!

(A special thanks to our friends and family members who supported us, helped with preparations and stress-relief efforts, and who attended our nuptials!)

We shared sentimental cards with one another, but didn't buy presents. Instead, as the two-year anniversary is a "cotton" one, we're going to soon shop for fabrics to recover our dining room chairs and make a matching tablecloth.

Dinner was at a local Mexican restaurant (delicious!), and then for 'dessert,' we've realized that we ALMOST have a laughing baby on our hands... any day now, and we hope to hear giggles!!

A Philly Weekend...

As previously mentioned, Tee Jay's sister was in town a couple of weekends ago, along with our (now-)5-year-old nephew Alex. They were in Philly to babysit Casey on the Friday night so that we could attend the Longwood Graduate Program's annual Appreciation Event, on the eve of the 2009 fellows' graduation. It was a great night (our second one out sans baby!), but we were excited to spend the next day with Casey (Mama missed her on Friday night) and our visitors.



We hit up Philadelphia and checked out Love Park, Tee Jay's Center City work building, several statues and fountains, the art museum, and of course the infamous Rocky statue. It was a loooooooong walking day for Alex (who was such a trooper), but Casey had it easy. Her view from the stroller was a sleepy one for about 99% of the time.

Bargains 'R' Us...

I have a lot to post about, but I will start with this quick story.

In Rhode Island, K-Mart seemed to die a long time ago. But here in Philly, we have a "Big K" within walking distance to our home. And that, my friends, is a godsend when you're home all day with a baby who likes the outdoors, walks, and napping in her stroller.

In addition, our local K-Mart has been offering double-coupon deals throughout this summer, often doubling up to $2 coupons (which is practically unheard of). Being a stay-at-home mom (for the time being) and therefore having a household down to one paycheck, both coupon-cutting AND double deals have come in handy.

Today, Casey refused to nap, so she and I took a stroll down to K-Mart, where for $12.90, we purchased:

~deodorant for me
~deodorant for Tee Jay
~a four-pack of razors
~Lysol bathroom disinfecting spray
~snacks for Tee Jay's lunches
~a pack of size 3 diapers
~a tub of baby wipes

Now, if you do your math, you'll realize that the above shopping cart should have cost us about $40... and that it was like I bought the diapers and wipes and got everything else for free! I do love my bargains...

New Digs...

When we moved to Philadelphia, the tiniest (and yes, we mean TINY!) room in the house was already painted a pale green color. We knew it would be perfect for the green-and-blue "Love Grows" gardening-themed fabrics we had bought for the nursery, and so the project began.

Casey's bedroom was a work-in-progress for awhile. We had to find and purchase old furniture, paint and hang things, work tirelessly at the sewing machine for the crib skirt, bumper pad, and curtains, etc.! But it's been finished and awaiting her arrival for quite some time.



Last night, that time came. We laid Casey down in her crib, turned on her little Wonder Aquarium (which plays Pachelbel's Canon in D), switched on the monitor, and walked out. I was a teeny bit teary, but everything went well... and if this is the kind of smile that greets me on most mornings, I have nothing to complain about!

Fashion Statement...

And it's too bad, since we could take the little genius on the talk show circuit and make some good money...