Plug...

I have to give kudos to BLURB.COM. I just received my published "blog book" and it's better than I ever imagined! I published the first year of my blog into a 300+ page book and it's like a fine coffee table book. I am so impressed.

So, any of you bloggers out there that really want to preserve the awesome blog memories (for you or your kids), check out www.blurb.com and you will not be disappointed. The price is too good to be true and the finished product is well worth the work (it takes a good bit of time to format), and the wait.

They also do photo books, and any other kinds of books you might like to create. What a great site they have...check it out.

Cole Rocks!

My littlest peanut is tired of being treated with kid gloves...so he's rebelling! Yesterday he began to refuse baby food suddenly - as what his brother is eating looks much more interesting. Despite the fact that he still has trouble eating solids, he eats them anyway. He has a super sensitive gag reflex so anything remotely chunky causes him to gag and lose anything else that might be in his belly. BUT, yesterday's display of eating seemed to be much more satisfying for him and I was absolutely AMAZED at his determination! He ate strawberries, waffles, mac-n-cheese & peas. I know that might not sound like a big deal for a 10.5 month old but for him, IT IS!

He's also sitting up on his own now - which is a HUGE milestone for him. He's moving around a lot on his belly; following the same path as JD did. Although since Cole has some catching up to do, he's making up ground incredibly fast. He's trying to keep up with JD now.

We have two hand clappers now - it's their latest trick and they do it all of the time; with huge smiles to go along with it. I just need to catch it on film. And Cole actually waved bye-bye yesterday on demand. Seeing them learn each day is quite amazing.

Cole's sleeping has done a 180 though; which is killing me during the night. He's decided that 4am might be a fun time to get up for the last several nights. I can't figure out if he's hungry or just not tired any more. We're trying to nip this as quickly as possible...he used to be my sleeper of the two and they have switched roles. JD loves his sleep now and many times I have to wake him up from naps to eat.

We've had to separate them during sleep time - they are just very different sleepers and if we don't, they keep each other up babbling. I'm hopeful that this will change again with time and they will be able to go to bed together again - but for now, for everyone, it's best to separate them until they are fast asleep; then Cole goes back to his bed.

That's the latest...here are some fun pictures from our pool day this weekend. JD seemed to have the time of his life! It doesn't take much to entertain him.

Bye Bye Bats

Well, the bats are on their way out. We haven't had any more visitors inside, as of yet. We're hoping that they are finding a new home, as we speak. The one way net was installed on Monday so when they went out to feed on Monday night, they couldn't get back in (supposedly). After 10 more days, they will return and inspect the attic to see what is left, if anything. It's kind of a weird feeling knowing that we were hosting a bat family. I do feel a bit sorry for any babies that might be left behind though...

Bats in the Belfry!

Meet our little brown bat friend! Yep, that's right. The Licameli home is hosting a bat colony! How convenient! Last Monday night I was suddenly awaken (and so were the kids) by C.'s screaming downstairs in the basement. As I went running and approached the top of the stairs, I saw C. madly ducking and dodging something erraticly flying circles around the light in the basement. Yep, it was a bat. And as we know, they are blind and fly by radar. Therefore, quick movements near them make them fly very erraticly and out of control like. Which explains why C swinging a large pillow at it didn't help the situation at all - and further, was causing it to hit him in the head while trying to find a way out...talk about an adrenaline rush!

Long story short, after several minutes C was able to capture the damn thing and get it outside. But here's the kicker. They are endangered species and are protected in the State of MD until September 1. Being that I'm not a "bat fan" and I don't care to have them shacking up with us indefinitely, I contacted an exterminator immediately to come assess the situation and find out if we have more where that one came from. Low and behold, we've got an entire colony, including babies. They are living in the attic, getting in on the side of the house where we had no idea that there was an unprotected opening. The way the "bat man" knew this was by the excessive amounts of GUANO (which is toxic and soooo dirty) on the side of our house which indicate a large number of visitors up there. Great.

So for the last few days, I've been sleeping with one eye open waiting for the next "young and stupid bat" to fall out of the attic and take a tour of our residence. Apparently the ones that get into the house made a wrong turn on their way out and don't know any better, according to the bat expert at DNR. We have received special permission from the State of Maryland DNR to have the bats removed since we have seen them in the home and have small babies. Otherwise, we would have had to live with them until the protected period is over, and then have them removed. On Monday next week, which can't come soon enough, we will have a one way door installed at the attic opening so when they fly out for their nightly feed, they will not be able to get back in. After 14 days of the one way door being up, they will go in and disinfect and remove any remaining "renters". Just call our house wildlife central. We had 2 bouts with 6'+ black snakes & a trash eating fox earlier this summer...what next?

Priceless...

WOW, is it really July 18th already? Summer seems to be flying on by, like usual. It’s definitely my favorite time of the year and I continuously ask myself why I live in a place where my favorite time of the year is only 4 months long…when we COULD live somewhere that it is like this ALL of the time! Truth be told, I wouldn’t live any place else; being a Marylander all of my life, we’re not going anywhere. At least not until retirement – then we might consider moving South. If it were up to my husband, we would have moved south 12 years ago when we got married. At this point in our lives there is no way he’s getting me to move anywhere; including out of this house, even if it would be local – we love our family & friends too much to even consider leaving…no matter the weather.

I mention this because yet again, my husband is convinced that we’ve grown out of our house and if we don’t add on, we’re going to have to move. I could not DISAGREE more. I love where we live. I love our house. I love our neighbors. I love our yard. People with 5+ kids live in homes much smaller than ours. They make it work. We will too. We just have to keep cleaning out the junk. The community dumpsters are here this weekend so I’ll be making MANY runs to the dump. Most of which while C. is not home since he has a problem parting with old things. Why after all, wouldn’t it be smart to hold on to golf clubs from 20 years ago? Or the old lacrosse pads (smelly at that), helmets and sticks from his glory days at BHS? Or the weight lifting set from high school? As he says, our kids might really enjoy playing with these things someday….right? Ahem...not so much. I will probably regret sneaking these things to the dump but we have to make room for all of the plastic stuff for the kids that we have accumulated over the past year so something’s gotta go. I’m not a pack rat – in fact, I often regret my actions when I’m looking for things later that I wish I had saved.

All of this discussion was spurred from the fact that last weekend, C. had to part with the last remaining “free” room in the house – which was his “guy room” where his weights, golf paraphernalia and other items which were not approved to be anywhere in the rest of the house, were stored. This included the sports pictures from his college apartment that decorated the walls (Orioles and Redskins from the 80’s). Knowing that his days were numbered, I could tell he was very sad to have to give up his last place of solitude where he could crank up the tunes, grunt and do guy things whenever he wanted. He looked at me a bit bewildered on Sunday when he went in to start packing things up. The only thing of "his" remaining is the beer frig (from college, mind you) - which ended up on top of the full size freezer, for lack of anywhere else to put it aside from the dumpster. If that thing could talk, we surely would have our children in "ear muffs"; it's been through a lot, the trusty old frig. Game over. His room is now the new playroom.

I’ve been working on it this week in my “spare” time (staying up until all hours of the night painting, sewing curtains etc.). It’s coming a long nicely. It’s a small room so I’m trying to use my space wisely. I'm just happy to be able to move all of the toys to one place and not trip over them constantly. The amount of toys that the kids have already is borderline ridiculous; it’s only going to get crazier. Especially with their 1 year birthday quickly approaching. And the toys get bigger, the bigger they get…

So, back to this birthday thing. In a little over a month, we’re going to be celebrating one year since the little munchkins were born. Holy cow. I remember wondering what it would be like when my babies started to grow up; and do things. I couldn’t really imagine what it would be like. We’re there. NOW. They are growing up. Before our very eyes. I can’t wait to celebrate this special day with them. And have their family there to show them how special that they are. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it. The biggest thing I have to worry about right now is making sure that Cole learns how to eat solid foods so he can enjoy the biggest, richest, dreamiest CHOCOLATE CAKE he’ll ever have. There must be nothing like that first taste of chocolate when you’re a kid! And the sugar high that follows…

So, we’re on to investigating new car seats. What a task. JD’s feet are hanging out of his carseat – I guess it’s time to move him into something bigger. Not to mention that getting him out of the car in that infant seat is starting to be hazardous to my health. The bruise I have on my thigh would scare anyone who saw my naked leg. The convenience of the “bucket” has ended now. Sad. I’ve been looking at some things on line trying to figure out what to buy. The britax gets the best ratings, no question. But when you’re buying FOUR (yes, I said 4) carseats, boy, that’s a punch in the gut at $260 a pop. We need one set for my car and another set for floaters (nanny and C’s cars). I just saw the Eddie Bauer 3-1’s at BJ’s for MUCH less than that…those are looking pretty good at this point. I will not compromise safety for price but when reading the reviews, I am surprised to say that I’m actually finding just as many pro’s and con’s for the britax as I am for the E Bauer one. I’ve never been one to be too cheap with things but I’m having a hard time justifying paying $260 for a car seat when the other one has more versatility and the same safety ratings. There is nothing in writing telling me WHY the Britax is the best. Is it comfort? safety? good colors? what?

Ah, so many choices these days. I’m convinced that the amount of choices we have in today’s world is responsible for the high stress and anxiety that so many people suffer from. Things have gotten so complicated haven’t they? Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have choices. But sometimes too many make life so much more complex and hard.

JD has finally cut his first tooth – yay! And he is quickly eating us out of house and home. He has a fondness for food, that is for sure. He's hit the 20 pound mark. Cole is learning to get in on the mac-n-cheese now too b/c he is realizing that if you snooze, you lose. He is coming right along with his eating repertoire. His unofficial weight this week is about 18 pounds. And he's mobile now too. The hatches are battoned!

Here’s a cute picture of JD today while he was over at Grammy’s for a few hours. Think he was having fun? That smile is priceless.

And this is where I found him after his bath this evening.

Weekend Fun

The boys love to swing! Although it was a HOT day...it didn't last long.

And big cousin Emily got her first car this weekend! We can't wait for a ride!

Friday the 13th

Yes, call me superstitious...but I have to have some minor skin surgery today and I just realized as I woke up this morning that it's Friday the 13th. Hmmm...not such a good day to plan surgery huh? Oh well. It's an easy procedure so hopefully all will be fine. Needless to say, my sun worshiping days are over - for two reasons; the obvious one (kids) and the fact that my moles are now becoming suspect. I guess I figured as much - when you spend your life growing up as a water rat in the pool and sailing all summer long (with NO sunscreen and even worse, sometimes using BABY OIL), it shouldn't surprise anyone that us 30 somethings are spending more and more time at the dermatologist and plastic surgeon's offices having suspect moles removed. Such as life. We'll just be happy that we catch them early before they turn into anything worse...

Here is a fun video from this morning. They are really interacting and playing a lot now.



Things are getting exciting around the Licameli house - both babies are VERY mobile now. JD is crawling and Cole can scoot at a pretty good clip.

Both of them are into trouble in no time...we've eaten plants, toppled over many glasses and bowls, pulled the cats ears and tail, been stuck under numerous pieces of furniture and the list goes on. Here's trouble maker #1 himself...

The kids are finally eating three meals a day now - with mashed potatos at the top of the list. Cole is doing much better with his foods now and slowly but surely, we're increasing the texture so he can tolerate chunky things. JD is eating cheerios like they are going out of style.

Cole is clapping his hands and singing on demand. JD's sound repertoire increases more and more each day saying various consonant sounds and babbling all of the time. Cole makes noise all of the time but it's more of a singing noise than it is babbling. They both laugh all of the time and really enjoy being around other people. They particularly like bigger kids now and are fascinated with watching big kids play.

It's amazing how much they are changing every day. Each day is a new gift, waiting to see what new things they are going to come up with. Have a good weekend all. I'll post some more photos this weekend! Cheers!

Mom, please? It's faster than a tricycle?

Daddy, where are you?

OK, so this might be one of the cutest photos I've taken in a while. We had a fun little photo shoot while waiting for C. to arrive home last night...UNTIL

I suddenly saw Cole doing that gagging reflex for some unknown reason. I immediately dropped the camera and grabbed him, knowing that he was about to projectile vomit on whatever was in his path. By the time I grabbed him, he was throwing up all over the couch, the rug, my hair, my body, his body, the toys on the floor below, the blankets and Gus (the cat). NICE. Everything he had just eaten came back out...

In the meantime, JD was flailing on the couch and had fallen down so he was hanging BACKWARDS off of the couch, head dangling toward the floor, smiling at me because that must have been fun to see me upside down dancing around the room with puke all over everything. Just as I noticed him, he fell the rest of the way, on his head, onto the floor. AYE. Thank God for the thick rug that broke his fall. He fell into a heap and proceeded to crawl toward the mess.

Needless to say, we marched straight up to the bathroom for baths - all THREE of us. It's amazing how such a fun little photo session can turn into utter chaos within seconds. Daddy arrived home just in time to miss most of the event - but he saw the remenance at the bottom of the stairs, on it's way to the laundry. We're all clean, no casualties...until the next time!


Here are a few more from before the "incident"...

COLE WAITS PATIENTLY...

I Would Die for That

This goes out to my fellow IF friends - those who are continuing to struggle to have that little miracle; and those who have been down that road for however long. Grab the tissues...(thanks Cilla for the link!)