Saturday Family Time

Yesterday, we drove to Syracuse to look at a bridge one of his trucks allegedly hit and went to get something to eat afterwards. I have been hankering to try Five Guys Burgers & Fries. Todd said I could anywhere I wanted, but I couldn't think of something off the top of my hand...he drove us there remembering that I had brought it up.

Abbey looked so ADORABLE with her Daddy walking her in, people were going awwww through the window. Verdict? Burgers AWESOME ..fries...don't get the hype. Adam actually ate half a burger before he saw the fries. And Abbey swiped Adam's cup full of Hi-C, that I kind of swiped from the fountain, and yelled when we took it. Also, Adam did a really good job staying in a big boy seat. As we left, Todd commented that it was like Rudy's without the fish. Kind of, yeah....I would like to go back and get one of those burgers again!

When Adam got out of the car, he gave me a kiss. It made my day, usually I ask him and he gives me his cheek or I steal them. Then, later, after a late nap, he wanted to cuddle on my lap, which he usually doesn't do unless he's sad or moody. Then he leaned over all on his own and KISSED ME THREE TIMES. Made my heart melt.

Since we kept the kids out late, they napped late and then they stayed up late. Todd put a music video on...a new one from Adam Lambert...Abbey was so excited...she went up to the TV and started dancing It was ADORABLE...I joined and Adam, did, too. We put on other videos but no other one got her that excited.

PS This morning we had on Monsters Inc. before her nap time...she was falling asleep and we put Shrek on so Adam could have his complete "hour" of morning TV and she burst into tears. She stopped instantly. Sooo...Abbey has a favorite first movie!

Adam's First Trip to the Library

Last month, my Mom said she was dropping by. I got into my head this was a good day to introduce Adam to the library. I had had in my head for a while...something constructive for him to do and also, it was one of my favorite places as a child. We got there and I started to walk him around and BAM he saw the fish tank! He was ENTHRALLED. I tried to get him after 10 or 15 minutes to walk around as I knew Mom told me to she didn't have long, but it was hard. He'd look at the books and run back to the tank! The very first book he grabbed was the bug book in this photo; it caught his eye in passing as he was running back to his "fish". Then the librarian helped me pick out the rest. As we were getting ready to go and I was picking up the toys (which were close to the fish tank of course) he had played with...his favorite similar to his sister's princess cube (he just loves the analytical stuff).....he surprised me by running into the book stacks grabbing a book and jumping into the rocking chair....my heart melted a little... He did a few more rounds...grabbing books (and throwing some on the ground of course).....and climbing back in the chair. He was way too excited to actually read them! I saw this book as we were headed to the counter and showed it to Adam, who loved it of course. He insisted on carrying that one out and looked at it all week. I read him the other books, but his Digger book stole his heart. Just like he stole mine :)

Sunday Family Day

Yesterday we decided we wanted to go somewhere as a family...options are limited in February in CNY! I had the thought that I wanted to take the kids on the carousel at the Carousel mall. We parked in the parking garage and went in...Todd literally couldn't remember the last time he had been in the mall. I think he liked the elevator ride as much as the kids:) I got a pretzel for the kids...he accused me of using them as an excuse, but really they love them :)

We decided to stop back at the Disney Store. The mall had a lot of people but apparently Saturday late morning the HOT SPOT is the DIsney store!

We went back to the pile of stuffed animals and Abbey immediately started to react to something. She hasn't really done that to an item in a store yet so we pulled her up and I held up a couple of items...turns out it was Minnie Mouse she loved! She took it and hugged it ...it was adorable. So of course Adam had to get one. Initially he was drawn to the Toy Story ones again, but I took him out of the stroller so he could look for himself. He thought it was so cool...he wanted to crawl into the pile and I wish I could have let him but....! He was too young to choose it was too overwhelming. I held up the ones he seemed most attracted to and...it Was Lightning McQueen and Mater he just loved. So he got both. And Abbey got Mickey to go with Minnie. And we will NOT go back in the store anytime soon!! HA! I can justify this as I NEVER buy him toys when we are shopping!!

We went over to the Carousel but it was closed for 45 minutes and the food court was packed. So in the end, I decided to do it another day. BUT while we were there, we decided to get Miss Abbey's first real pair of shoes. I realized recently the poor kid couldn't walk when we left the house...she had to be held at the barn and was walking around in socks at the library. We went to the over-priced Stride Rite to get her really good shoes while she learned to walk in them (Her foot once measured was found to be normal width unlike Adam's XX width...so in the future I can get her shoes at Target!). When the woman went to put them on she kept curling her feet...she was NOT interested. Finally she let her put them on and when she tried to stand she was pretty funny acting like her feet were so heavy!

We stopped for late lunch/dinner at Smokey Bones in Clay. Todd and I had ate their once a couple of years ago and didn't like it, but it was pretty good. Todd ordered a HUGE order of ribs not realizing HOW big it would be and it came with a side (Beef brisket....we both were curious to try it...kind of gross) and was basically stuffed all day!

Date With Adam

Last week, I knew Adam needed some one on one time with me. He actually needs it more than Abbey usually does. Guess it's first child syndrome. He gets very aggressive and ornery looking for attention. Funny for a kid who wanted to be left alone until she was born!

I took Abbey to my mom's and drove Adam to Target. The funny thing is that he cried on and off the whole way sniffling "Ab-bay Come". I almost turned back, but I think he does need to learn a little independence from both of us! We got there and he was miserable...I think he was hungry. So I took him to the little food cafe. While we were waiting for food he found a high chair and pushed it to the table, so excited. But then I let him sit in the big boy chair. He was in his glory, twisting back and forth. Drinking his milk from the bottle with the straw was also very exciting for him! And for once he was smiling for my photo...he looks a little goofy didn't quite capture the real smile...but I'll take it... We sat there for like a half hour while he ate 4 nuggets, but he was so happy. My instincts were right...he needed some one-on-one. And he was happy while I shopped, too. Love that kid...love my moments of just me and him time. With Abbey, too, of course. But it was just me and him doing everything together the first 16 months :)

Bullseye & T-Rex

Took the A-Team to Carousel Mall today. I've been wanting to get a chair for Abbey since she loves Adam's and is always stealing it. I mean it reached a high point the other day when I ran into the living room after hearing her break down. Turns out she was mad because she couldn't kick Adam of it. We had seen ones we didn't like at Christmas time at Toys R Us...found one on Pottery Barn Kids online I liked but decided to hike up there to see it in person. Cute. And they could monogram it the way we wanted.

I decided to head into Disney Store and let Abbey pick out a toy or doll for her birthday. Adam's face lit up when we got to the back where all the stuffed toys are in a mound. He rarely gets excited by toys or other stuff. It was Toy Story characters. Oh yeah, loving Toy Story lately. He was hugging Ham, Jessie and T-Rex with a big grin...Abbey was holding Bullseye. So it took ten minutes, but he chose Rex (not surprised). He never let him go until we left all the way home...making him roar at random people. Pretty freaking cute. When we got home, I gave Abbey Bullseye to hold while I got him out of the car. He started to cry. I picked him up and brought him into the house. I brought Abbey in and he immediately stole the stuffed horse from her. I took it back and he punched me in the nose. He was punished enough to where he didn't try to steal it constantly and where he didn't punch me again for giving it back to Abbey. He actually took both toys when I wasn't looking and threw them behind a chair in a "If i can't have it, no one can" effort HA! I was frustrated because something that started out cute had turned into an issue. But he chilled out about it and didn't flip when I took the horse from him the last time.

I put Rex in his bed with him for a nap. Shockingly, he threw him out...twice. And shook his head no. I put him on his dresser and he smiled and jumped up and down (adam for yes). So as much as he likes him....it's not enough to shake up the precise way his bed is set up! (Two blankets at the bottom...the one Tammy knitted for him and a pink blanket with a monkey that was meant to be Abbey's that he swiped when she was s newborn I think he thought with a monkey, it should be his. His jungle comforter that came with his crib set is all folded up for his pillow...he sleeps covered with his monkey blanket that his Daddy picked out for him before he was born. And there are three animals allowed: Mon-kay(how he says it), Donkey (from Shrek) and RUdy (a stuffed reindeer he kept pulling off the shelf in Hallmark store when he had just turned one). There is no disrupting this balance! Not even for T-Rex! My little MONK.

Dad's Photo

I have been working hard to catch up on photo storage on CDs and print out those I want (which is too many) and put them in albums I just downloaded the last ones of my Dad and it hurts way more than I could imagine. It's like he's a part of life and then POOF gone. Right this second, it hurts like I just lost him. Damn me and my photos.

It's almost Abbey's birthday and Dad won't be in those pictures either. Ouch. It physically hurts to think that...to say that.

The last photos I have of Dad are him with Abbey. Just three days before he died. I can't remember if I posted any of these I don't think so but maybe I posted the one of them holding hands but I can't find that post if I did.
This world lost an amazing man with a heart so big he needed two. Miss you Love you Dad.

Brave Abbey

On Tuesday morning when I put Abbey in her high chair breakfast at like 7:50 am I saw her left hand pinky. It was swollen and purple..truly black and blue on the underside. I caught my breath and the butterflies in my stomach, wondering what happened and did the "black" mean the nerves in her finger were gone?? I racked my brain...if this had happened last night, wouldn't I have noticed when I put her pj's on? Her and Adam were playing in his room for 15-20 min before that and she had come out crying once, got a hug and got back down and went back to play. It was my best guess. I called Todd and he said he'd come home and look. It was swollen enough where we decided to call the doctor and her lack of tears made us feel it wasn't an emergency.

They told me to come right down and Abbey didn't really cry when the doctor examined her, so she recommended an x-ray as she couldn't be sure the bones under the finger weren't broken, something that would need a cast. While we were there, they did her one-year exam which basically comprised of a couple of measurements on top of what she had to do anyway (thought we will have to go back in March to see a nurse for shots). Abbey is 29 inches tall and 21 pounds....right at the 50th percentile....

Anyhow, I took her to Oswego Hospital in a snowstorm for the x-ray. They were really nice. She was sleeping so I tried to carry her in her carrier. It was so heavy....too snowy though for a stroller. A volunteer met with a wheelchair and "wheeled" her to x-ray. They got us right in. I was impressed. I held her and they taped her little hand twice...flat and on it's side to do an x-ray. Do you know she did not cry or whine at all?? I felt teary, but little Abbey was just so interested looking at everything particularly the machine.

Dr,'s office called at the end of the day (despite the "hour" estimate...ha!) and she has a franctured pinky :( Orthopedic surgeon confirmed the next day she was too little to do anything. The nurse commented that most adults would be in a world of hurt for a couple of weeks. But you know what? Abbey is still the same...this barely put a kink in her busy schedule of stealing Adam's toys, swiping his sippy cups and trying to pet Bailey. It looks a lot better now....I'm impressed with how brave she is. I hope she has the courage to face all of life like this. Better than me.
'

A-Team "Horsing" Around

So two Sundays ago, Todd suggested we help the kids beat their cabin fever and take them out to see the horses at his brother Charlie's house. His daughter (Adam/Abbey's cousin) Jillian and her husband Danny run a busy stable, including the SUNY Oswego equestrian team. We have taken them couple of times but it's had been since last spring. Both kids were pretty excited. Adam, reserved of course at first, but Danny came out and showed Adam how to give the horses treats. One kind of sucked his finger, which he hated, and it was funny because you could see him struggle with wanted to do it and NOT wanting his finger to get licked or sucked. Meanwhile, Abbey was sticking her fingers up the horses nostrils when we held her close to pet them!

Cousin Jill came out and put Abbey right on a horse. Man, she loved it. She grinned ear and ear and rocked front to back to get it to move. Adam was immediately taken with the thought, though reserved. Todd teased Danny that Jill was the fin one! Adam got up there and I knew he loved it, though he doesn't show it the same way as his sister. I ran to get my cell phone, the only camera I had (Thankfully, I am getting a new camera phone soon I think). You can't tell how much they love it because they were practically falling off by the time I got there to take this picture haha....

A couple of times after, he got Jillian & Danny to put him back on. It was so cute...he kept trying to "slide" the gates open to the stalls himself. He went down the entire barn "trying" each one. He knew they worked....he would put all his might into it! I told him no so he charmed Jill by taking her by the hand and got her to put him back on the horse a couple of times. Also, he didn't want to leave the stall I think walking on the hay seemed pretty cool.

The helper was getting all the horses buckets full for lunch and Adam decided it would be fun to take the little bales of hay and feed the horses. But...he had not forgotten that he doesn't like them slobbering all over his hand SO he would take one through it through the bars and run off laughing. Oh, Adam!

Behind Closed Doors

Last night, Adam decided the A-Team needs privacy. After trying to "lock her in" all week and realizing she isn't like him...she could care less, he seemed to decide it was more fun to join her. He kept shutting the door while they were in there, no matter how many times I opened it. And this morning, 8:22am, they are in there again. As a mom, I am torn. I worry about Abbey's safety at 11 months. But here's the thing...no crying or yelling and whenever I go in there they are both sitting on the floor playing with the pile of toys taken from Adam's toy box, which is apparently all a part of this "game". It's like they are big kids. Tugs at my heart...babies are growing up *sniff* but also, I love when they bond.

But whenever I go open the door, he starts harassing her. Hmmm....I don't get it!

Wait...I think they're knocking to get out!

Adam is Off

Adam has been off this week. Not feeling a hundred percent Adam. Three days, he woke up from his nap crying and wanted to be held by me. Tylenol/Ibuprofen seems to help. Yesterday, when we had to pick up Uncle Bobby and bring him home, Adam started crying hysterically, assuming because his uncle was in the car, I was leaving. After he FINALLY calmed down, he even fell asleep in the car at 1pm, something he hasn't done since last May, I guess because he didn't feel good! He fell asleep with his book holding his face up....he was kind of cute when he moved his head he had drool from his mouth being held open. Right now he is lying on the floor watching Cars. He seems a lot better today, but the problem seems to get worse as the day goes on, so we will see. Adam has been a healthy kid, so I don't always know what to do!

Last night he put my hand over his eye twice when I asked him what hurt. Best we can figure is teething (he chews on EVERYTHING which is funny because most of his teeth came in so easily) or has headaches. He has been pale, too. And his appetite is off.

But not so off, he can't torture his sister. He kept "accidentally" locking her in his room this morning...not realizing that unlike him, she could car less. Or also this morning, he realized he had a Mater book and sat at the table with his Rexy looking at it for 20 minutes. SO CUTE!

Christmas Night..Butler Style!

The Butlers is a big family -Todd is the youngest of 8 kids. The one time a year where the ones who live local get together is Christmas evening. Partially, Chuckie informed me, for Todd's birthday when I told him Todd didn't want a cake this year. As older brothers do, he said too bad. I didn't get many good pictures that evening. Todd's eyes were closed in most and I was experimenting with 'modes' BUT this picture is funny to me...Abbey is super into her Dad's birthday cake! AND don't you see an Abbey-Todd resemblance here?

Everyone hung around and chatted....and Adam spent a long time sorting through Aunt Missie and Uncle Chuckie's antiques in this corner with cousins Jillian and her husband Danny. Their house is like an collectible shop! My favorite piece is a giant Indian....I need to get a picture of it. Anyhow, Adam was cute because he was so into it! Nice to spend time with the Butlers...Abbey pretty much stayed with Mommy or Daddy...tired out from such an exciting day. And if I remember right, Todd's gut ache to the spicy sauce he had for lunch really geared up :)

The Little Things in Life....Christmas Decorating

Todd bought this for Adam the day after I had him and brought it to me in the hospital. It was the best present he could have brought. During the year, it hangs on a cabinet in the dining room because it is such a wonderful moment....and it was our first ornament together for our tree.
We went to Maine in August of 2009, before we got married. But I couldn't resist this lobster tree ornament...especially when they wrote our name on it! I love being a family...being "The Butlers". I decided then and there that I would try and get an ornament when we traveled for our tree. Neither one of us likes to collect stuff and I knew this would be a way to collect something meaningful. I loved that trip. The rest of the year, that Lobster also hangs on the doorknob of the cabinet in the dining room because I like thinking about it so much. For many years at Christmas, when I hung stockings, I pictured the day where I would have ones to hang for my children. All in a row, ready for Santa. It was something that after some time, I wondered if I would ever see. The minute Adam was born, I added our three. And found hangers on clearance at JCPenney.com...ordering a 4th...just in case. And look at this year...all lined up, it makes my heart feel full. It's the little things that dreams are made of....and don't worry...I can add a "mismatched" hanger if there's ever more little Butlers!! The day after Christmas, Todd hugged me and thanked me for doing so much for making Christmas special. He probably had no idea how much it meant to me, but it did. I want a lifetime of memories of fun Christmases where everyone feels good with fun surprises and no pressure. And although Todd isn't really into his birthday, it's important to me that he knows that I recognize it as a day worth celebrating him.

Christmas Morning

OK, so I just realized I never posted anything about Christmas day. Todd had set up Adam's new train set, actually "Cars" track set that was basically a version of what he had been staring at in the toy catalogue all month. When we got Adam out of his room, I could tell he knew exciting stuff was going on. I LOVE this picture of him when he basically saw his track all set up. It was the look parents go for on Christmas, for sure. I really like this picture of Abbey concentrating on her gift...officially called a "Princess Cube"...with her Daddy watching. She wasn't "taken" with one particular thing, but she was excited and into everything! Adam really likes the things on top of Abbey's cube...still messes with them at least once a day. Of course, having recently gone completely on the bottle, Abbey had to have hers first thing. She's so into it! Adam starting stealing Abbey's breakfast! But his heart belonged to that track all day...all week...he played with it almost every day for a month. I took it down last week, but I think I'm going to put it back after I spent two days obsessing over finding the missing piece....which he had apparently stashed in his pants drawer! Aunt Holly stopped by and Adam had to show her, too. Todd's stepdaughter Kelly stopped by in the morning to return the key to the corner house and left toys for the kids...Abbey was napping. Uncle Bobby came over around noonish...he had wanted to stop by I told him he could tell the rest of my family to come over, but I talked to Carolyn and they wanted to stay low-key, too. It's also Todd's birthday so I made him shrimp fra diavalo, a dish he saw on the Cake Boss:The Next Great Baker. It ended up being a bit too spicy! I combined a recipe from Emeril and my Sopranos cookbook :) He suffered from the hot baker all day hahaha Bobby liked it! Poor Adam had a taste, asked for more and then realized how spicy it was!!!

My Christmas present was my awesome camera. I got Todd a Cowboys coat...he had told me a couple of years ago when I told him I didn't like his old one to get him a new one. I tried a couple of years ago and it ended up being a spring coat....his birthday gift from the kids was late...and I knew it would be his favorite...a calendar that I had made with pictures of the kids from the previous year in that given month. And of course, when it came, he loved it.