Forty? Really???

Let me start this post by saying that I don't particularly like being the center of attention. And my good friends will also tell you that I don't like surprises. As a result, I requested a small dinner party for my birthday, complete with good food and good wine, and of course, chocolate for dessert.

Phase 1 of my big birthday celebration was held this past Saturday. While I don't like a fuss being made over me, I admit that it was fun to hear people guess the answers to trivia questions such as "What was Michelle's first car?" and "How many first cousins does Michelle have?" The food was, of course, delicious- the Bohl's always make a great meal. The decorations and favors, a production by Cincinnati Sophisticate (AKA Stephanie and Beth), were beautiful. And the company made for good fun conversation. Thanks go to Connie for watching the kids so we could stay out late.

After dinner, we retired to the Mariemont Inn, walking distance from dinner so we didn't have to drive. Beth went back to our place to stay with the kids so we could sleep uninterrupted and wake to have breakfast at our own pace. We enjoyed a child-free night on a Tempurpedic bed, and now we both want to buy one. John was particularly impressed with the tv hidden behind artwork, although the fireplace was fake. But by the end of breakfast I was missing the kids. We returned home and I spent Sunday doing absolutely nothing productive.

Last night when Charlie got home he could not wait to show me my birthday present, only the second gift he actually picked out all by himself (the first being the alligator for Liam's birthday last week). He's getting so big! I can't wait to display my new stuffed snowman for the holidays. I have a feeling that Charlie will be helping me use the stickers that he picked out to go with the snowman.

Phase 2 of Operation Big 4-0 started off this morning with all 5 of us in our bed, Charlie and John singing me Happy Birthday. After John left to drop the kids at daycare and go to work, I got to find out what it was like to be one of those people who sit in Starbucks, sipping their beverage, reading the paper or working on their laptop, while people like me rush in and out, stopping only to grab their chai tea latte on their way to a busy day at work or school. Unfortunately the time passed so quickly that by the time I got done perusing the birthday wishes on Facebook via my blackberry, there was no time to write the thank you notes that I had brought with me to work on, because I had to get to my massage and pedicure appointments. Taking today off was one of the best decisions I've made in a long time. Maybe this will become a new tradition for me.

This past decade definitely seemed to go by more quickly than the one prior. A decade ago, John and I just began dating, and now we've been married for 8 wonderful years and have 2 adorable kids. We've traveled together, bought a house, got a dog, struggled with the challenges of starting a family, drank a lot of wine, held annual Memorial Day weekend cookouts to kick off the summers, prepared countless pots of chili for Buckeye football games and Superbowls, played a lot of broomball, took tens of thousands of photos, said goodbye to loved ones, and made a lot of great new friends. For all of this I am thankful. Now on to the next decade, watching the kids grow up, and hopefully continuing some of the same activities that inspired us these past 10 years.

In 2 weeks I'll be packing for Phase 3 of the birthday hoopla. Beth and I will be continuing the new combined tradition of Black Friday shopping and football, this time in NYC. John thinks we're crazy, and maybe we are. Let's just hope the Bengals figure out how to win by then for my first live NFL game.

A nice friend reminded me that I spend a lot of my time focusing on taking care of others' needs, so I might just not load those clothes in the washer today, after all. Maybe I should abide by the answer in the party game trivia quiz about me and spend my precious moments alone in the house by catching up on the DVR and napping! Then again, as with shopping for Christmas gift wrap at the Container Store after my pedicure today, I just can't help myself! To the laundry I go.....

Cruisin' right along

Well, here we are, and another month has nearly passed us by. So much to report!

Charlie is learning his letters and numbers, even if he won't respond on cue when you ask him what one is. He and I participated in Cincinnati Walks, for Children's Hospital, and he recited the numbers on his walker bib, even remembering them several hours later. He sometimes starts reading out letters on a box or bag just at random.



Liam had his 1 year checkup last Friday. He measured 21 lbs, 14 oz (40th%) and 31 inches tall (85th%). His head remains Robenalt-sized at 19 inches (90th%). By this age, Charlie had started to drop in the height percentiles, so again we see they are very different kids. Liam is getting 3 new teeth on top, so he's finally starting to seem more comfortable with a variety of foods.

My parents came to visit for Liam's birthday party and to share Halloween with us. I finally broke down just before they got here and turned on the heat, which I'm sure they appreciated. While they were here, they helped me take both the kids shopping for new shoes. Charlie was just a half size too small for the Darth Vader shoes that John wanted me to buy (they looked pretty cool, I must say), and Liam's choices were limited in his size for a transition shoe (suitable for a child not quite walking on his own). But we found some good shoes and had a fun time shopping.



Liam's birthday party was a small affair. I experimented with making a honey ginger lemonade as a substitute for the standard party punch, and it tasted great, despite a near disastrous accident on the stove. Charlie went with Grandma and Grandpa to pick out a balloon for Liam and came back with Curious George. Charlie helped Liam open many nice gifts, but of course Liam was most interested in the tissue paper.

Halloween was cool and crisp and the weekend's weather was very pleasant overall. Grandma and I took the kids pretty far down the street in the wagon before heading back home to warm up. Liam looked adorable as a lion, and Charlie made a great Spiderman. Before Trick-or-Treating began, Charlie and Grandpa made a jack-o-lantern, which Charlie was curious to see with "fire inside" it. We all warmed up before and after the events outside with bowls of homemade minestrone soup that we had going in the crock pot all day.



The holiday of Reese Cups has afforded us (finally!) the chance to make sure that Charlie does not have a peanut allergy. After months of trying to get him to try a peanut butter cookie here or there, he finally shared some of John's candy. Not only is he apparently not allergic, but he loves the Reese Cups and Reese Pieces (which he calls M&Ms without the Ms). It's such a relief to not have to worry about that anymore.

Liam is (still) not sleeping nearly as well as Charlie at this age. Now that we're weaning him off the formula, he's also not interested in a bottle before bed most nights. No more rocking him to sleep with a full tummy. We've recently been through a series of nights where we've had to let him cry himself to sleep for 25 minutes, then 15, then 5-- finally we're at less than a minute. He still ends up in our bed before morning quite often, so I'm not sure I'm ready to declare victory yet. Needless to say, we're looking forward to the extra hour of sleep we'll get on Saturday when the time changes back.

Liam has been doing great in swimming classes. Just one more to go before the season is over. I managed to get Charlie enrolled in the Saturday morning soccer class that we'd been trying for last term, so that will start the week after. As soon as we knew he made the class, we went out and bought him the correct sized soccer ball and some shin guards for his tiny legs. He's already excited and talking about it.

It was a momentous day in our household on Wednesday when I stopped to buy the new Toy Story 3 movie on my way home. Upon seeing the case when he came home, Charlie said in his most excited voice, "Now we don't have to go somewhere to watch this, we can watch it at home!" Seeing the movie in the theater must have made a big impression on him. I still haven't been able to sit and watch it all the way through, but I'm sure I'll have caught most of it in bits and pieces by the time a week has passed.

Charlie's potty training goes well- and then not so well. John attempted the great underpant experiment one morning this week, letting Charlie go to pre-school in big boy underwear. The underwear did not make it home. We'll keep at it, and maybe I'll have exciting news to report soon!