Baby IVY

I have the two cutest girls in the world, but this post is devoted to Ivy. "Baby Ivy" as we all still call her and probably forever will. I'm sure she will love that at 16! Anyhoo... I don't write enough about Ivy. I think it is because I am afraid it might sound like I am bragging all the time so instead I just don't say anything at all. That's not right. The fact is, Ivy is truly an amazing kiddo and she deserves some love. You know that she has been crawling for months now. That's old hat. What is really crazy is that she is now trying to stand. She is pulling herself up onto furniture and cruising is just around the corner. CRAZY! She is so so strong. She pulled herself up on Cliff's tool box the other day and just hung out for a while half standing/ half squatting and THEN she let go! And DIDN'T FALL! Ahhh!!! I know you all heard me say how excited I was for her to crawl and to sit up on her own, and truly I was! STANDING, though??? I'm not ready for that. She is soooo little! Little babies can't do that can they??? Well, yes, apparently they can. I know that Cliff walked early. I think Ivy might walk early too. Keepin' up with Big Sis I guess. Speaking of which, Ivy still thinks Lilia is the best thing since sliced bread. We were at the playground the other day and I had Ivy in the carrier. I was blowing bubbles for Lilia who was running around like a mad hatter trying to pop every bubble she could and Ivy was hysterically laughing. I have never heard her laugh so much. It was just so... joyful! I love to see her watch her sister with such adoration and joy. If Lilia is laying on the floor playing with toys or watching a movie and I put Ivy down on the floor too, the first thing she does in beeline for Lilia. She LOVES to touch Lilia and Lilia in turn loves to kiss and cuddle her. I just love watching the girls interact. I don't think there is anything better as a mother than watching your children play together. I hope this last for a few years.
Because Ivy is so mobile she is also quite the explorer. I thought we had our house pretty "baby proofed" from Lilia's baby years. Turns out that Lilia was a super sedate kidddo. She was content to just sit most of the time and didn't really start getting into things until she was well over a year old. "Sedate" is the last word I would use to describe baby Ivy. She is rather daring and adventurous. I'm sure she will be a real climber. I mean, she already is! She likes to drum on toys, climb on toys, chew on toys, chew on fingers, chew on toys, chew on me...
She has huge smiley eyes. Cliff and I always comment on how happy her eyes are. Sometimes you only see her eyes peeking around the corner of a chair or over the top of a stuffed animal, but you can still tell that she is smiling.
In other news, she is now sleeping in her own room! She has taken too it swimmingly. Much better than Lilia did at first. Or, maybe not, but we've been through it before and are old pros now. Cliff puts her to bed now around 6:30pm and she goes right to sleep. She wakes up once or twice a night. I only feed her once, though. Usually if she wakes up, we hear her and she has fallen back to sleep before we even get to her. Cliff brings her in to me in bed in the morning when he leaves for work and we usually go back to sleep for another hour or two or until Lilia gets up. It's pretty great considering what the first few months were like. I'm all for co-sleeping when it works, but after coming back from Oregon we just never again achieved the harmony we had before the trip. I think all of us are enjoying our own beds. Especially mom and dad.
Ivy is really smiley, but it is usually a closed mouth pursed lip smile, (as pictured above.) Pretty cute.

So Ivy is also quite a mama's girl. She is content to play by herself while I cook or clean until she sees me... and then she isn't. In the evening if she is fussy there is only me to console her... usually with the boob. Pacifiers don't do it. Daddy doesn't do it. My milk is like crack. It was with Lilia too. Kid can't get enough! It's actually a little frightening the way she attacks me with her voracious appetite. I'm a little wary of those teeth that are on their way in. We shall cross that bridge when we have to...

Ivy is also still plowing through the solid foods. I will admit that I am a little lazy and don't feed her solids all the time because she still nurses frequently, but when I do she is all about it. Veggies, fruits, yogurt melts, rice crackers, it really doesn't matter. She loves it all and is devastated when the food it gone. I mean full on nuclear meltdown devastated. We will have to work on that. She is growing like a champ, though, and hanging out in the 70th percentile for weight. The May girls don't starve, that's for sure.


I just love my little girls. The days are getting warmer here in beautiful Crozet, Virginia and I am so excited to get out and do things with my two little sweeties. Add Cliff to the mix and life is truly grand :)

5 year Anniversary!

Our fifth wedding anniversary was this past Friday (the 17th.) Can you believe that Cliff and I have been married for 5 years? Me neither! Well sometimes I can. We have been through a lot together! Moves, international moves, deployments, pregnancy, children, life threatening illness, family crisis, earthquakes, evacuations, buying our first home, etc... I think what I am most proud of, though, is all of the changes we have weathered in each other. We have grown individually these past years, but we have also GROWN TOGETHER. We have been through ups and downs, good times and bad times, and through it all we have learned more about each other and I for one have grown to love Cliff even more. I feel like every trial we overcome, every obstacle we triumph over, every victory we have is all the sweeter because we win together. Marriage is tough. You HAVE to be able to say you are sorry and even more importantly, you have to forgive. I thought I could never love Cliff more than the day that I married him, but that is so wrong. That was just the beginning and things have gotten so much more exciting! since that wonderful day.
That day I began a journey with my partner. My teammate. My best friend. We have laughed and learned together. We have cried and prayed together. We have come to DEPEND on each other.

Cliff got me tulips to change things up this year. Very seasonally appropriate and beautiful! I have always loved getting flowers from him. We got snow two days after our anniversary and it was nice to have the tulips to remind me that spring is just around the corner...
We also went out to eat Friday night! A date! What a novelty! Now that Ivy is sleeping in her own room it should be easier for us to get out more. It was so hard to find sitters when Ivy was in the throes of her colic. No one could handle her except my mother - and she lives in Atlanta. We left the girls with a whole FAMILY back in November thinking surely four people could handle her and she screamed the entire time. Oh well. We know that dates are on the horizon. Time and a season and all that jazz. Anyway, we went to an exquisite restaurant right here in Crozet, (actually Ivy,) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
I meant to take more pictures of the food and of ourselves, but what can I say? I was just caught up in the evening and the fact that we were OUT!! We went to "Duners," a place we had been trying to visit for months. There is always a wait and we could never steal away. We finally remedied that by my dear friend's generous offer to babysit with her daughter. We arrived at the restaurant just after 5 and while the place was busy we were still able to get a table before the mad rush! Cliff and I split a couple of appetizers, (fried oysters with red pepper aoli, and cremini, goat cheese and roasted tomato flat bread with arugula pesto and balsamic reduction,) and then we split the local trout for dinner. YUM! The foodies in both of us we well satisfied. We will be returning to Duners again!
Afterwards we drove to Charlottesville to try and catch a movie, but we were too late to see what we wanted to see. We opted to go shopping sans kids instead and just chatted and shopped and held hands and enjoyed each others' company. It's the simple things :)

Here is to another wonderful year with my sweetie and eternity to follow!!

Lilia Says...

Tonight Lilia is not feeling well. She is sitting downstairs with me and coughing up a lung while I try to get her to drink some fluids. For not feeling well she is still quite the chatter box...

Lilia: " Mommy I LOVE avocados! They are my FAVORITE! They are SOO yummy. They are yummy in my tummy. Mommy I can put them in my tummy with a big girl fork. Mommy I can STAB them. They are so special. I love them. Mmmm, avocados are my favorite..."

Me: "Yes sweetie. I love them too. They are good. Go to sleep."

Lilia: "Papa and Mimi are so happy to see me. Mimi loves me THIS MUCH *spreads her arms wide apart." "Mommy are you my friend?"

Me: "Of course I am your friend! I love you very much, but I am also your mommy and I need you to go to sleep."

Then she coughs and chokes on the gunk in her throat and we sip on some more water and I help her blow her nose.

Lilia without missing a beat: "Mommy you are a good mommy. Mommy I have a baby in my tummy!"

Me: "Oh you do?"

Lilia: "Yeah. Baby Ivy is in my tummy."

Me: " I think what you mean is that baby Ivy was in MY tummy. Mommy's tummy."

Lilia: "Yeah."

Lilia: "Mommy, baby Ivy is a good little sister. She is my friend. I like to play with her. Baby Ivy likes to do tummy time. I love her."

Me: "I love her too sweetie. She is a good baby Ivy."

Lilia: "Mommy I have phlegm." "It's coming out of my juice."

Me: " I know sugar bear. It's coming out of your throat. Just cough it up. It's ok."

I have already forgotten half of what she said, but it is so interesting to hear her little brain work work work. Love my Lilia :)

Videos!

Now that she is mastering the art of crawling, Ivy has discovered that she has new territory to conquer - solid foods. She has taken to other-than-milk foods with great gusto. Watch her devour a mum-mum (rice cracker). These were favorites of Lilia's back in the day.



This next one is shorter. We decided to try squash for dinner. The result? Ivy loves it. Until I take it away. Check out the video footage.



We plan on introducing other foods to Ivy in the next few days. Based on her eating today, I don't foresee any resistance.

Ivy's 6 Month Update

My poor forgotten child. Well, forgotten as far as this blog goes. Let's remedy that, shall we? Ivy is 6 months old today! We have updates! Kid is OUT OF CONTROL! We call her Super Baby Ivy, because - no joke - she is! Here is what she is up to:

Ivy started scooting around over a month ago and is now full on crawling on her hands and knees and getting faster every day. She can get to just about any object that she wants as long as it is on the floor. No distance is too great when girlfriend has her eye on something. Favorite toys and objects right now are Lilia's shoes, Lilia's blocks, and Lilia's sippy cups. Lilia of course is not as impressed as we are. She (Lilia,) is taking more interest in Ivy, though. She absolutely loves to play with Ivy now and calls her her little "sugar plum." I love to see them interact.

Just last week Ivy started sitting up from her tummy. She pushes herself into sitting like she has been doing it for years! She is such a pro. I never even showed her what to do! She just figures things out for herself. Very independent. She and Lilia are complete opposites in that respect. She spends all of her time sitting now when she isn't crawling to get something.

Ivy also had her first solid foods last week. We didn't bother with rice cereal. I didn't have any on hand and I have always thought that it looks and sounds gross so we skipped ahead to avocado. Ivy had been reaching for food for the last two months and she about jumped out of our arms with excitement at actually getting food this time. So the verdict? LOVE. Ivy LOVES solid foods. She ate a quarter of mushed avocado on her first go and was begging for more. We had to physically remove her from the kitchen when it was all gone so that she didn't have a complete meltdown. I think I am going to be making most of her food from now on, so it should be interesting to see what else she likes.

Lastly, for now she is talking up a storm. Her favorite thing to say is "dada" of course, but she has other sounds in the works too. I am impressed with her diction, though. She pronounces her consonants very clearly. We love to hear her sweet little voice. She is so serious when she speaks to us. We try to listen very carefully and make sure that she knows that she has our attention. She is also quick to laugh and smile. We just love our little baby Ivy. I just hope she waits a little while before she starts WALKING!

Holiday, Vacation, Kids, Etc.

Ah the holidays... Christmas, New Years, etc... What is there to say? I have been putting off this post. I probably wouldn't say anything at all, but this is my only journal right now and one day I might laugh about it. This holiday season was tough on me. We had planned to go out to Oregon to visit Cliff's family since before even leaving Japan so that much was pretty set in stone. We hadn't been out that way for over four years and we were over due. Because we were going out for over two weeks I didn't really both with Christmas decorations or even a tree at our own house in Virginia and looking back now I think that was a mistake. I just wasn't feeling Christmas this year. I guess that after all of the turmoil of the past year, earthquakes and resultant evacuations, traveling all over the globe with small child/children, new babies, new house, new ward, new everything... I have just been waiting for things to slow down and they just haven't. I found myself at the end of this year just feeling tired to my bones. I wanted to just hunker down with my own little family and nest. Nevertheless I was determined to have a good time in Oregon with Cliff's family and make this a fun trip for the girls. Best laid plans, you know.
The day before we were flying out to Oregon Lilia developed a substantial fever. Girlfriend doesn't handle fevers well and she becomes rather sad and pathetic once they set in. I figured it was probably a little cold virus or bug that she had picked up from friends at church or over the weekend, but decided to give the doctor a call to be safe. Given her VU reflux history and the fact that we were flying out the next afternoon I wanted to make sure it wasn't a UTI. The doctor agreed that she should be seen and we were able to get an appointment the morning of the day or our flight. She had no other symptoms besides the fever when I brought her in so we all agreed that a urine sample was needed. TWO HOURS later there wasn't a drop in the little potty that Lilia had been sitting on and I was nearly in tears. The doctor we were seeing was confident that Lilia would have to "go" eventually, but the thing about UTIs is that it often hurts to "go" and Lilia is not potty trained yet. I'm pretty sure we could have sat there another two hours with no results and at this point we had been away from home almost three hours and I had not left Cliff and Ivy with a bottle. I asked them to do a catheter. Mean mom, I know, but Lilia was a great sport and only cried for a minute. The doctor did a quick analysis on the sample and said that it definitely looked suspect. We headed out with a prescription for antibiotics and Lilia got to pick out FIVE stickers. (The culture came back postive for e.coli so it is good that we went in.)
I was pretty bummed. Lilia had gone so long without a UTI and we were beginning to think that maybe she was doing better. To make things even worse we were supposed to be leaving in a little over an hour after we finally got home. The house was a disaster. Dishes need to be done, laundry was everywhere, babies needed to be fed, and suitcases were still being packed with last minute items. I couldn't wait for the day to be over and we still had a two hour drive to Dulles airport and a 5+ hour flight to Portland. Poor Lilia. Poor all of us.
So we survived the drive and the flight. We just did our best to keep Lilia on ibuprofen alternating with tylenol and hoped for the best while the antibiotics worked their stuff. We arrived in Portland around 10 or 11pm their time and about 1 or 2 am our time? After the hour drive to our hotel we were beyond exhausted. We got to the hotel and it was a piece of work. I fully take the blame. Cliff had warned me that the reviews weren't very good and I laughed him off. Surely it can't be that bad! We will save so much money! (We are trying to buy a second car right now.) Looking back today, it wasn't the worst place I have ever stayed but we won't be staying there again. It smelled awful, the sheets didn't cover the mattress, and it was in a shady area with shady guests. I broke down and cried. Everything I had been holding in just poured out of me in messy, soggy, blubbery streams. A horribly scrooge-y-ness set in and I had trouble bucking it for the rest of the trip. It didn't help that both Lilia and Ivy came down with nasty colds halfway through the trip and Ivy's actually landed her in the E.R. for an afternoon on oxygen. (RSV isn't that bad for adults, but babies can struggle with it.) The E.R. doctors were worried about her age and the fact that we were traveling so they put her on an antibiotic to cover their butts and this resulted in horrible diarrhea for my little Ivy for the remainder of the trip. They had CONFIRMED that is was a virus, but wanted to play it safe. I just don't do well when my kids are sick. I don't sleep well. I worry all the time. I am a nightmare to be around. I was so contrary this trip. Poor Cliff. Poor everyone.

The bright side to all of this madness was that Cliff's family was incredibly hospitable. They let us borrow sheets and pillows for the hotel room. They cooked for us every night, they had beautiful, thoughtful, fun gifts for the girls. They babysat for us so Cliff and I could have a little time to ourselves and they opened their home to us.
We did get to see some fun things while we were there. We had to stay in more than we would have liked because of illness, but we were able to go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory and buy some delicious cheese. Lilia loved the factory and seeing all of the cheese on conveyor belts. He favorite part by far, though, was tasting the samples at the end of the tour. She tried everything except the habanero jack cheese. She loved everything, even the extra sharp aged two year cheddar! That's my girl! We also went to Powell's bookstore downtown. This is the largest independently owned bookstore in the country. We always have a blast there and it was fun to bring the girls and let Lilia pick out a couple of books. We got to try some new restaurants and some old favorites and we got to see some friends that we hadn't seen in four years. Most importantly we got to see Cliff's family and spend time with them. Christmas Eve and Christmas were nice. We got to see all of Cliff's family and go to church together. We got to spend time with his grandmother which I always enjoy tremendously. We got to see his sister and her new baby, who also happens to be Lilia and Ivy's only cousin. Baby "Cali" was born three days before Ivy was born and it was a hoot watching them interact. Cliff's parents, Debra and Richard, were loving and welcoming as always and very doting grandparents.
To make a long story short, (OOPS TOO LATE,) traveling is hard. Traveling during the holidays is hard. Traveling with sick kids during the holidays is the hardest of all, but the end results are usually worth it. I'm grateful we have family that loves us and wants us around. Lilia and Ivy are very blessed. We all are.

The Best Pet in the Whole Wide World.

Life has been busy for the May family. I guess it is always busy, but these last couple of months have just been crazy. I used to be really good at keeping a journal and then I switched to blogging and that became my journal. Now I just think about journaling/ and blogging, but thinking about something doesn't really count even if you think about it a lot.
The update for now is that the girls are growing. Growing and growing and growing. Lilia just amazes me with the things she says and does every single day. Two year old children can be trying, but most of the time they are fascinating and hilarious. Lilia has such a distinct personality with very strong likes and dislikes. She likes/ LOVES cashews. If I want her to do something I can almost always coax her with the promise of a nutty little treat. She likes to swing at the park and play "Hide and go Seek." She can count... a little. Usually counts to 10 by skipping numbers 4-7. She has all of the numbers in order... she is just in a hurry I guess. She likes to color and to play in her room. She LOVES to look at/ "read" books and her favorites at the moment are the "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" books and "Curious George." She is obsessed with "Bubble Guppies."
She dislikes dancing. What? What toddler dislikes DANCING? Lilia. That's who. I have tried EVERYTHING to get this kid to move. The pediatrician thinks that Lilia could use some more physical activity so in addition to going outside and to playing at the park I have tried to get Lilia to dance and wiggle around during the day. We turn up the music and I dance around like a lunatic with Ivy watching in awe from her bouncy seat. Lilia isn't impressed and doesn't want to join in. I try ribbons on sticks. What little girl doesn't want to dance around with a ribbon like a fairy or... a gymnast? Lilia. She really couldn't care less. I leap around the house like an idiot and she just watches or worse ignores me completely. I have tried kids' music, latin music, Lady Gaga, and the Scissor Sisters. Nope. No dancing. *Sigh.* If there are other kids around Lilia will at least run and chase around with them, but rainy days are killing us. What kid doesn't like to dance????
In other Lilia news, she is funny. We having been talking about "pets" lately after watching a Sesame Street episode about the "Best Pet in the Whole Wide World." Elmo thought that his goldfish was the best and Telly thought his hamster was the best and Zoe thought her rock was the best, etc, etc. The other day Lilia exclaimed, "Mommy! Baby Ivy is the best pet in the whole wide world!" I guess to a toddler a baby could seem like a pet... As long as she doesn't try to drag Ivy around by a leash.
Lilia has also figured out that we always repeat what she says to us, (just to be clear - sometimes it is difficult to decipher Lilia-speak.) She has taken advantage of this in a funny way. Ex:

Lilia: "Mommy and Lilia go play in my room?"
Me: "Oh, you want me to play with you in your room?"
Lilia: "What a good idea!"

Lilia: "Lilia have a cashew?"
Me: "You want a cashew?"
Lilia: "That's a good idea!"

Lilia: "Daddy hold Baby Ivy and Mommy play with Lilia?"
Me: "You want Daddy to hold Baby Ivy?:
Lilia: " That's a good idea, Mommy!"

Slightly manipulative, no? She's clever. Turn everything around so it's "my idea." I can see her trying this at 16 too.

And finally, the other day I was explaining Santa Claus to Lilia.

Me: He's a jolly old elf that travels around the world on Christmas Eve and delivers toys to good girls and boys!
Lilia: *Puts a finger on her chin in deep though* "Hmm... That's weird."

She keeps me busy and entertained. Lately we have been crafting together. We made a holiday collage the other day and we did experiments with milk and soap and food coloring today. I am always trying to think of new things to do with the kids during the day. It's tough with Ivy being so little and still so fussy, but I am optimistic about the future.
I've been spending waaaaay too much time on Pinterest lately, but I have made some things for the girls and Christmas gifts for friends, so that's not so bad, right??
I wish that Lilia likes to wear things in her hair, but she doesn't. This lasted 90 seconds.
Ivy is getting cuter and cuter, but she is a fussy little thing. She doesn't cry as often as she did a month ago and every month is getting better, but man, when she does cry it's a bloody murder scream. We're talking red in the face, foaming at the mouth, RAGE. Heaven forbid I have to go anywhere during the day. This child HATES her car seat and just bringing her near the thing induces screaming. It's tough to hear, but often I have to tune it out. She is not my only child and laundry and dishes have to be kept in the sanitary "health code" arena at the very least and grocery shopping has to take place eventually. So we strap her in the baby bjorn at home and hope for the best. I'm not going to lie, I am dreading our five hour plane ride to Portland this Holiday Season.

Speaking of Holidays, we went to Atlanta for Thanksgiving and spent some time with my family. It was so much fun! Ivy screamed for at least half of the driving time, but thankfully we split the trip up and stayed in Charlotte on the way down and the way back home to minimize chances of Cliff and I jumping out of our moving vehicle. (We are all alive and well, so I say it was worth it.)
We went to the Georgia Aquarium with my WHOLE family. It was great.
Ivy loved looking at the fish. She is actually pretty happy in the carrier as long as she is facing out and can see what is going on around her.
Speaking of Ivy, she is very attentive to the world around her and she wants to be a part of it! Girl has been wiggle scooting her way across the floor these past weeks and she is STRONG. Even the doctor was impressed with her strength and especially her grip at her check up the other day. She is a feisty little thing. She is in the 67% for weight and height. That's nothing compare to what Lilia was, so I always feel like Ivy is really tiny even though she is actually above average.
She loves to be around her big sister. I'm not sure that the feeling is entirely mutual, but alas, that can be the way of sisters for sometime.... Any time that Lilia shows Ivy any attention at all, though, Ivy's entire face lights up. She just adores Lilia.
Lilia does like be with Ivy for "tummy time." and that is always fun.
Even with all the screaming I just love this little noodle. She has the brightest eyes. So pretty :)


In other non-kid related news, Cliff was officially accepted as a student at UVA! He will begin his Master's Degree in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering in January. Even MORE exciting is that he applied for and GOT the Government Education Voucher (Scholarship.) and ALL of his tuition and books will be payed for! Way to go Cliff!! I am SUPER proud of him. He is such and awesome dad and husband. He is holding Ivy right now while I type this. Marriage is all about teamwork and I have to say he really goes above and beyond for this family. I take the girls during the day while he is at work, of course, but when he gets home he takes Ivy from me and lets me cook dinner and clean and just have some time to myself. I love him to pieces and am grateful that we found each other. Raising kids is the most amazing thing that we have ever done together, but it is also the hardest and I am grateful for his patience and selflessness.

I guess that about wraps up our lives for now. We are still loving Virginia and our neighborhood. We love our Church family and all of the friends we have made here. We had a bunch of people over last night to celebrate a friend's birthday and it was great. I feel really blessed that we have encountered so many wonderful people in our travels and moves.

Hopefully my next post will be sooner than later, but for now this will have to do!