the most wonderful time of the year (sort of)

december was a packed month for us moynihans.  fresh off a post-thanksgiving brush with the flu, 

we entered the season of advent with hopeful hearts.  

first, grammy and poppy moynihan came to visit on will's birthday weekend, along with uncle andy, aunt erin, and cousins danny (five) and patrick (almost three).  there were lots of presents that weekend, lots of games of hide and seek, lots of mouse trap, lots of pizza and chocolate and most importantly lots of love.  will had a bit of a cough and a low fever but it seemed to dissipate. 

the following weekend we threw will a race car themed birthday party at home for his friends. more presents, more chocolate, more joyful chaos tearing through the house.  at this point will's cough had taken it up a notch, and he needed to be reminded to slow down to avoid a spasm.  

still, he was all excitement and energy, and his party meant the world to him.  

i held him home from school for two days before his holiday party, because of the cough, but by wednesday morning it seemed under control, so we did attend the class holiday party.  nana even joined us and it was a delight. will sang and danced and presented me with the most beautiful christmas gift i've ever received.  i was so proud to see my boy with his classmates,
confident and joyful as he's ever been. 

he posed with his best buddy, ava, before the party.

and i tried to get a couple of shots with quinn before we left.

this last shot belies a truth that i was not yet aware of at the time i took the photo: 

the plague was coming.

quinn spiked a fever shortly after we arrived home from the school holiday party, began complaining that her "eye hut," and developed the saddest, croupiest cough i've ever heard.  in the meantime, will's cough went into overdrive, and we had many emergency sessions in the steamy bathroom to calm his chest and help him breathe.  his nose began to fill up and he'd wake up in the morning with one eye stuck shut.  after two days of this i dragged my poor sick children to the doctor, where they were collectively diagnosed with pink eye, double ear infections, croup (quinn), and bronchitis/sinusitis (will).  after filling seven prescriptions at walgreens and spending near three hundred dollars, i thought we might finally be on our way towards wellness. but the antibiotic and inhaler prescribed for will seemed to do nothing for his cough, and the spasms were getting worse and worse, more and more frightening.  a second trip to the doctor on monday morning yielded a stronger antibiotic,
 a nebulizer, and an inhaler with a steroid in it.  

this is my brave boy having his first round of "magic mist."

fortunately, after several days of quarantine, the miracle of modern medicine happened: 

my children got better, just in time for christmas. 

and so, they were able to experience the magic of it all 

with not just full hearts but also healthy bodies.

i snuck into the living early christmas morning, before the sun began to rise, 

and snapped a photo of santa's work.

he ate all the cookies, and his reindeer enjoyed their carrots, too.  

he even left will and quinn this special note.

quinn melted hearts with the adorable outfit she wore to christmas eve mass,

and i'm not sure whether she has her papa or daddy in a bigger puddle.  

either way, she's got them both in the palm of her hand.

so, overall, antibiotics saved christmas, magic was in the air, and the kids were happy.  

but, because i parent like this:

i, too, now have the plague.  got it just in time for christmas.

i'm thankful for

these turkeys. well, duh. 

i'm thankful for the matchbox car that will calls crazy hicks, for thomases that don't talk with cars and without cars, for docmcstuffins and stella and sam, for chocolate chip pancakes and applesauce squeezies.  i'm thankful for quinn's boots and binkies and bows and boogie wipes. i'm thankful for love for your tummies and will's accent and craft kits from michael's. i'm thankful for dog boppies and regular boppies and dog boppy's favorite boppy. i'm thankful for bean. i'm thankful for colin. i'm thankful for the hour i get every night to watch law and order before i go to sleep and start all over again. i'm thankful for this season, both of the year and in my life, for the challenges and chaos and constant feeling of "i can't possible do this," followed by just doing it, again and again. i'm thankful for the moments i can step back and breathe and look at it all and feel amazed. 

because it is really, really amazing.  

i'm thankful for right now, because i haven't been able to feel that way enough lately, though of course right now is all we ever have, and right now happens to be a uniquely special and beautiful and hard and sweet and funny time in my life, in my family's life, and 

i know that some day i will miss it with every fiber in my being.  

i'm thankful for those two turkeys.  now and forever. 

fall catch-up

october blew right by me, along with most of the leaves on our trees, and 

i think i better post these photos lest the memories slip away, too.

early in the month we went to didier farm to pick out pumpkins.  nana and papa met us there.  

there was a petting zoo, a train ride, a spinning apple ride with papa, a giant slide with daddy, 

and lots of hay for climbing and jumping. it was a perfect fall day.

 i joined my little race car driver for his class halloween party on wednesday.  here he is with his best buddy, ava.  in the next shot, he stands next to mrs. darnall, his favorite teacher, who was, coincidentally, auntie katie's favorite teacher about twenty-five years ago.  

will and quinn celebrated halloween with that cute little lion pictured below, baby nilo.  nilo definitely liked partying with will and quinn. come back soon, baby nilo! we love you!

this was quinn's alternate halloween look, "party girl." lately, she's more party girl than pumpkin.  her favorite songs are "shake it off" and "all about that bass," and man, can that girl dance.  

it's the cutest.

and finally, a picture i took of colin during a walk through the botanic gardens, 

as he took a particularly life-changing phone call.  it's a moment we don't want to forget.

next up on the blog: epic moynihan/hauth weekend number three.  coming soon!

summer leftovers

lots of fun stuff happened this summer and we sure don't want to forget it.  

i figured i'd better throw these photos on here before it's christmas and snowy and cold 

and summer is just a distant speck of a memory. so, in no particular order, 

here are some of the moments that filled our days during the summer of 2014.

we spent saturday mornings at tower road beach,

and one of us dealt with a foot injury (hint: not will).

we played basket kids,

and enjoyed the train table that mommy found on the side of the road (and carried home!).

we went to lake forest days with nana and rode the children's train

and quinn learned to ride on the big kid swing.

will and quinn slept over at nana and papa's on our fifth wedding anniversary, and splashing in the baby pool quickly devolved into running around the yard naked.

we spent lots of mornings at the park,

like, a lot a lot of mornings at the park.

we rode in the fourth of july parade with our friends ava and ella,

the daddies bonded over beer and babies,

and quinn was patriotic and sweaty.  i mean, glowing. not sweaty.

she also made some special sand art with papa.

and will took the parade by storm.

                                      

ava consoled will on the first day of camp,

and will tamed the whale at the pool.

all the little buddies from mrs. darnall's two-day bears class road the metra and ate a special lunch at the lantern, where trains circled the ceiling around our table and meals were served with cake pops.

and quinn discovered her inner mama.

summer was a good one; you can probably tell.  but as sandy feet give way to crunching leaves and the days shorten and the mornings cool, we feel ready to embrace all the joys of fall.

 see you next time, summer.  and, thanks.

boo speak, nineteen-month edition

that's right, she speaks!

without further ado...

NAO!!!

as in,

quinn, woud you like a squeezie?
NAO!!!
okay, about about some banana?
NAO!!!
okay, can i just have a kiss?
NAO!!!

which brings us to

oh. yah.  

as in,

well then, would you just like your binky?
oh. yah.

she also has been known to say mama, dah, bee (bean), bo (will), gee (cheese and/or squeezie), yah yoo (love you), and beebee (baby). a frequent conversation goes like this:

quinn, where's your baby?
beebee? beebee!  
(finds baby)
oh. beebee. oh. yah.

little lady started mom and tot gymnastics yesterday, and begins music and movement at the nursery school in a couple of weeks.  her hair is long and curls at the ends, the binky obsession is stronger than ever, and she's never met a dog she didn't love.  but she doesn't love any of them as much as she loves her bean.

oh. yah.

little gymnast

a helping hand

me and my ducks

in the magical forest, on a summer evening.

chistmas in july

monsieur bug speak, age three and a half

me: (for the eighth time) will!  please come play outside with me and quinn!
will: ugh! fine! if it means that much to you!

will: mommy, do we have lots of kinds of teeth in our mouths?
me: yes, will, we do.  we have molars and canines and other ones too.
will: yes, incisors.

will: mommy, did you ever have a cavity when you were a kid?
me:  nope, not as a kid, but i did when i was a grown-up.
will: oh.  and did your dentist fix it?
me: yep, she did.
will: oh, that was so nice of her.

(when his sister bent over after a bath) i see quinn's toodey button!

i'm going to poop on your head! i tooted in your face! i have a stinky tush!  ahahahahahahahaha.

it's not fair.  (everything)

will: can i have some crackers, mommy?
me:  no, i'm sorry, but you didn't eat any of your dinner.
will: i don't yove you anymore! (followed by mean boy face and lots of unexplained blinking)

daddy: will, why are you making that face? do you feel sad? or mad?
will: no, daddy. this is just my unusual face.

(at a restaurant)
will: mommyyyyyyy! mommmyyyyy! (screaming and writhing on a couch as we sat at our table)
me: what! what is it!?
will: i want you mommy! come here! i want you!
me: will, i'm trying to eat my dinner.  you come here!
will: nooooooo! mommy! i want youuuuu!
me: fine, fine.
(i walk over and sit next to him)
will: mommy, can i pet you?
me: um, okay.
will: mommy, you're just too beautiful.

will: mommy, i fart quinn.

me: oh. what does that mean?

will: it means... it means... sisters need binkies.

will: i stalk quinn! hahahaha.

me: i see. what does that mean?

will: it means no hitting!

will: i wanna watch a show!!!

me: sorry bud. no show. we're about to eat dinner.

will: but i wanna watch a show and peace out!

the time we went to boston and maine

it was epic, this trip.  ten days of family, both sides, up and down new england, in a hotel and in a house, in a city and on the beach.  with a mini van. 

in boston, we celebrated auntie katie and uncle matt's engagement, spent lots of time with their precious pug, played in a beautiful park, ate a lovely dinner with uncle matt's family, and enjoyed a super special trip to the new england aquarium with uncle matt.  we also tortured the other guests at the brookline marriott in the wee hours of the night with our baby's screaming, which compelled the front desk to call and offer medical assistance.  we will not be returning to the brookline marriott anytime soon.  no matter.  our time in boston was priceless.

after a few days, we said goodbye to the city and headed north to the beaches of maine.  we stayed in a gorgeous house on moody beach in the coastal town of wells.  there was a trip to the zoo, a walk along the marginal way, and lots of play time in the sand.  there were also fevers, but there usually are.  i cleaned and cooked and chased and soothed and carried and built tracks and tracked down binkies and fought nap and bed time battles as i always do, as all mothers do, but in the quiet moments in between, i breathed in that salty sea air, and listened to the waves pounding the beach at night, and savored the sound of children laughing and playing, forming memories and bonds that will never leave them.  we can't thank grammy and poppy enough for our week on the ocean in maine.