H - E - double hockey sticks

Tonight we were watching the Super Bowl over at Donna's house when one of our fellow game watchers (a Giants fan) yelled out, "WHAT THE HELL!"

Maeve, who has become quite proficient at repeating every word she hears, echoed back in her little voice "HELL!"

I guess if there is any time to utter your first bad word, it might as well be right after Madonna was on stage.

Reilly's School Talent Show, 2011

Today Reilly had her talent show at school. She and a few friends chose their talent, routine, song, and organized a play date to practice. I thought that was pretty damn impressive for a bunch of 1st Graders!

You can watch their performance here.

I want to ride my bicycle...

For some time now, Reilly has been asking us to take the training wheels off her bike but Shawn and I were hesitant. We didn't think she had enough strength to master the weight of the bike. Besides, we told her, you really need a new helmet.

"Okay, well, let's go get one."

So we got one, and I loosened one of the wheels on one side of the bike and she rode that wobbly thing around the lake like a bat out of hell.

The next day I got out the wrench and pried off both wheels, grabbed the video camera and an audience of two, and we set up in the alley. The result is here.

Maeve's First Birthday

We had some close friends and family over for Maeve's first birthday. I was busy and trying to enjoy the moment, and so I only picked up the camera a few times. Thankfully, everyone else at the party was not shy about snapping a few photos, so I ended up with a great representation of the party through different eyes and from different perspectives. Here is the result.

Happy Birthday, Maeve.

Uncle Pete's 70th Birthday

The other night we went over to my mom's for a surprise party for my Uncle Peter. The resulting photos are here.

Islamorada Beach Vacation, 2011

We had a rockin' good time in the Keys. Check out the photos here.

It's that time of year...

Why so quiet you ask?

To begin, a very sick baby who was treated to her first ER visit at All Children's Hospital after spiking a 105 degree fever. She was not happy:

But the rattle and a big syringe of Motrin did cheer her up a bit:

The diagnosis: RSV, a 2-week long fever ridden severe respiratory infection.

Reilly, who had a 103.5 degree fever the day before, was fine. That is, until today, when she woke up with a full-body rash. Shawn, who kindly mothered and cuddled Maeve while she was sick, is now sick herself.

I was the proud holdout on the sickness bandwagon, but succumbed today.

Tis the season!

Lesson learned: Don't touch the baby's rusk.

Maeve is at that stage where everything goes in her mouth. Yesterday we thought we'd let Maeve color a bit, so we put her in front of a piece of paper and handed her a crayon.

Since Maeve has been doing so well with eating her peas and carrots lately, we thought we'd let her put something in her mouth that is actually food. Shawn picked up some rice rusks at Target the other day, so we broke open a package and handed it over:

She was eating it at such a rapid rate that I reached over to take it away. She yelled at me like a rabid baby raccoon, then shoved the whole thing in her mouth.

New tradition, first bite, heartbreak

I believe it was about three weeks ago that the cooler weather moved into the area, and like most Floridians, we now make every effort to get outside. The nearby park is full of walkers, bikers, dogs and strollers. We've dusted off the outdoor cushions and the deck is being populated by Overcasts. All the heat, the sweat, the high utility bills...forgotten. This is why we live here, right?

To capitalize on the nice weather, we have been packing up a picnic (Evos to go) and driving out to Pass-a-grille every Friday afternoon and getting our toes in the sand as the sun goes down. Reilly loves it.

Meanwhile, Maeve has been sampling her first foods. We started with rice cereal and have moved on to bananas and avocado and pears and sweet potatoes. Shawn has lovingly made each food in some fancy steamingblendingchopping machine that she got from our friend Cindy. It's pretty rad. She also used it to make hummus. But I digress. Here is Maeve's first bite:

Next up is one of the most painful things a parent might experience in the first year of parenthood: sending your baby to childcare.

The good thing is that the daycare is conveniently located at my place of employment. The bad thing is that we have to pay for it. The worst part is that Maeve cries when we drop her off, and we have to release control of the care of our daughter to strangers.

Now, it should help that this is a blue ribbon kind of daycare, that everyday we show up the ladies who care for Maeve have printed pictures of her day, have reports of her enjoying the outdoors and playing on a drum and shaking a tambourine.

But, as parents we know she is not happy, we see the end-of-day report that shows she refused a bottle at noon, and that she only took one 20 minute nap. Yes, she is adjusting.

And yes, so are we.

Maeve's first day:

For more, click here.

Reilly's First Day of Kindergarten

Reilly's first day of Kindergarten was today. So as to not let that event outdo her, she also chose today to tie her own shoes for the first time. For proof, click here.

Maeve Brooks Overcast, Day 5

Today we went to the pediatrician for Maeve's first check-up. She was a brave little girl, making it through the dreadful weigh-in with aplomb (though she did pee on the scale).

Her stats:

Height: 20.25 inches - Percentile: 73%

Weight: 6lb, 4oz - Percentile: 10%

Head Circumference: 13.25 inches - Percentile: 18%

For more photos, click here.

Welcome!

We are proud to introduce Maeve Brooks Overcast to the blogosphere.

Maeve was born at 3:05am on April 2nd, 2010. She was 6lbs, 9oz, and was 20.25 inches long. Mom, baby, sister and father are all doing well. Day 1 photos to follow tomorrow, and stats, birth story, and other relevant details to come soon.

Stay tuned...

Skill Building

Last week, Reilly surprised us by learning how to snap. Interestingly, she first learned how to snap on her left hand, then a couple of days later, mastered the trick with her right hand.

We consider Reilly to be right-handed, but she has tended to learn how to to do new things with her left hand first before turning the skill over to her right hand.

I have to say, I was pretty amazed at her ability to learn how to snap so quickly, so imagine my surprise today when I came home from work and Reilly proceeded to demonstrate her newest skill: whistling.

To be fair, 75% of her effort is blowing air, but the 25% she gets right is really cool.

In other news, today we had our 39 week appointment, with no news or movement from BabyO2. I'm really surprised that the baby hasn't come by now. Somehow I had convinced myself that since Reilly was 8 days early, BabyO2 would be the same. Now I'm realizing that for all we know, it could be another three weeks!

Hang in there, Shawn!

I see a pig...

More reading:

There's no stopping her now.

Bedtime stories

The nighttime ritual for the past few years has been to bathe, brush, and then settle Reilly into bed. Like in the book Olivia, Shawn and I typically have to debate the number of stories we will read to Reilly, and more often than not, we settle on three.

Tonight was a little different.

Tonight, instead of reading a bedtime story to Reilly, Reilly read one to me.

The book is titled, "Biscuit."

It has 24 pages illustrated pages with 132 words, and I am happy to say that Reilly read every one of them.

To me.

I'm sorry

Most of my posts are pretty light on this blog--not too much under the surface, where the truth lies. And so...

Today was a tough day. Waiting for phone calls, 8 weeks or less until Baby O2 comes, too much to do. I was feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders, and yet when Reilly asked me to pull over at the playground on the drive home, I conceded and said, "Sure."

I got out of the driver's seat and walked back to her door, and when I opened it, Reilly was yelling, "NO DADDY! I WANT TO RIDE MY BIKE."

I should have said, sure, let's go home, get your bike, and ride to the park. Instead, I tried to convince her to get out and just walk over to the playground, while fully knowing that Reilly doesn't bend to peer pressure (which I'm sure will be a good thing one day) and wouldn't get out of the car. So, I literally slammed the door in her face, got in the car, and drove home.

Not my finest moment.

When we pulled into the garage, Reilly was sniffling a bit, so I got her out, gave her a hug, and put on her helmet.

"Let's go to the park."

She rode the whole way without looking back, at times leaving me 100 yards behind, which was a beautiful thing. Previously, she would ride 10 yards, stop to see that I was close by, ride 1o yards, stop again, and so on.

Taking a breath and letting her do what she wanted--ride her bike to the park--ended with a big reward: seeing my girl take a big step into "big-girl-hood."

Even now I'm emotional with guilt at losing my temper with her today, and at the same time smiling knowing that her stubborness should serve her well some day.

Why settle for a walk to the park when you can ride?

Why did the chicken cross the road?

In the bathroom once again (where everything interesting in our house seems to happen), Reilly turns to Shawn, and apropos of nothing says:

"Mommy, what do you call a bear with no socks?"

"I don't know Reilly, what?"

"Bear-foot!"

A moment of quiet ensues, and then Shawn and Reilly share a laugh over the successful delivery of Reilly's first joke.