A New Season

Opening day for the MLB season!  Alexa donned a St. Louis Cardinals shirt for school today to show her pride for our beloved team (Ani's too tiny for her Cardinals gear).  She was geeked to find out her favorite player, Yadier Molina, hit a home run and led the team to victory.

Unfortunately the three-hour time difference did not bode too well for being able to watch the game, but we didn't let it dampen our Opening Day Spirits.  After gymnastics tonight, Alexa and I made my favorite baseball treat - the soft pretzel.  Over the weekend, I had searched the Internet for soft pretzel recipes, but they all looked a little too complicated...dough hooks, water at a specific temperature, etc.  Thankfully Auntie Annie's makes an at-home kit with instructions tailored for people who spend little to no time in the kitchen.  Sold!

When I told Alexa of the plan to make pretzels, she was very excited to know that "my oven" could also make pretzels like her Easy Bake Oven.  It doesn't take too much to impress her in the kitchen if the Easy Bake Oven represents the baseline!

I had envisioned making the pretzels into fun, baseball-oriented shapes and the StL logo, however, that was before I realized there was a 30 minute proofing required.  Instead of the time-consuming shapes, once the dough was ready, I morphed into an Auntie Annie's employee, cranking out traditional twist pretzels as fast as I could.  Alexa did craft one pretzel in the time I made twelve; she intended for it to look like a Hershey's kiss but it ended up looking like a chicken drumstick. Once I covered it in cinnamon-sugar, she could have cared less what it looked like...the power of sugar.

The pretzels turned out to be really good - even Damon was impressed when he came home to his own personal pretzel stand.  Unfortunately this culinary achievement may be short-lived, as Alexa wants to make cotton candy next.....

Excited to be celebrating her sixth Opening Day :)

Purplelicious

Since we have limited time on Saturdays before Damon heads into work, we usually adopt a 'divide and conquer' method to accomplishing our tasks for the day.  This morning Damon agreed to take Alexa to swimming lessons, so I took Ani with me to run errands.  I have to admit, it is a heck of a lot easier to run errands with Ani; she never asks me to buy her anything and we're never side-tracked from the task at-hand.

It's always an interesting experience to take Ani with me when I run errands.  She garners a lot of attention, and I field a variety of questions about the little peanut.  As one would expect, I get a lot of questions about her age.  At this point, I'm ready to get Ani a shirt that says, "I'm x weeks-old, and yes, I am small for my age"  or I could give the Alexa-answer when she's asked how old Ani is, "She's zero." :)  Age-related questions are pretty standard, but I think my favorite question has to be, "Is she yours?"  I assume it's a compliment, but it is a rather peculiar question, as I don't know too many people who run errands with a random newborn.

I did venture out this afternoon with both girls, as we needed to go to Target (of course) to swap out a pair of sandals for Alexa.  While we were there, Alexa and I were looking for some new outdoor toys to take advantage of the beautiful weather.  I showed her a velcro paddleball set, figuring it would be fun and a good chance to work on her hand-eye coordination, and she was very intrigued and wanted to get the set.  However, her enthusiasm was dampered when she realized it didn't come in "girl colors" (pink and purple), but rather a neutral navy and yellow combination.  Oh the horror!  For a girl who is convinced that she is going to get a purple car when she turns sixteen, it was a harrowing decision to choose between the neutral-colored set or nothing.  When I assured her that she could decorate the back of the paddles with stickers, that seemed to make the decision easier, and we left Target with a new paddleball set.

Before she would play with the new set, Alexa diligently applied Easter stickers to both paddles.  Once the paddles were finally "girlified" we had a blast playing paddleball in the driveway as Ani sat watching in her carseat.  The two of us played for at least an hour, although I realized Alexa was playing more of a game of fetch than catch when she tossed the ball to me.  Oh well...I had a blast chasing down the balls, and Alexa was getting better and better at catching the balls with the velcro paddle.  Always ready to perform, Alexa was thrilled to see our neighbors pull into their driveway so she could show off her new-found skills.

As I put the set away, I was pretty proud that not only had Alexa's coordination improved but she had also overcome her color stigma.  I patted myself on the back too quickly - - when we were inside, she was talking about giving that set to her cousin Xavier when he visits us over the Easter holiday in hopes that the Easter Bunny would bring her a pink and purple replacement.  Oy!

Sisterly bonding - enjoying a beautiful day outside.

Catching Up

There has definitely not been a grace period in my return to work...no time whatsoever was wasted to get me back into the swing of things.  Aside from Alexa's 7::30am doctor's appointment on Monday, I have left the house no later than 6am everyday this week, even having a few conference calls on the drive to the office.  Thankfully I am enjoying my new position - - it's out of my comfort zone right now, but I'm brushing up my Applied Materials after the girls go to bed at night.  I knew my maternity leave was a thing of the past as I climbed onto the treadmill at 10pm the other night to begin my run....no more "lady of leisure!"

One person helping to make the transition easier is little Miss Ani....she's been an absolute dream baby.  In the past two weeks, she's had quite a few instances of sleeping through the night (yeah!).  Even her transition to Montessori school has been seamless, as I only get reports of how perfect the little peanut is.  Damon and I know how blessed and lucky we are to have such an easy baby; I'm sure our little guy has something to do with it ;)

Speaking of our little guy, he seems to be on the forefront of Alexa's mind these days, undoubtedly influenced by reminders of Granty through Ani.  Yesterday I picked up Alexa from gymnastics on my way home from work (Damon had the day off and had picked up Ani), and she was very excited to show me the giraffe sticker she received at the end of practice.  When we pulled into the garage, she asked me if I could reach the "Grant Hovannisian Memorial Golf Tournament" banner that hangs proudly on the wall.  When I asked her why, she said, "I want to put my giraffe sticker on the banner so he knows I'm thinking about him and I'm also doing a good job of sharing with him."  Needless to say, I got out the ladder to reach the banner :)

Hanging out with mom bright and early this morning;
Ani chilled in the monkey seat while I got ready for work.

Added Meaning

Although this weekend was busy and filled with a lot of fun activities, I have had a very heavy heart, as one of my mom's younger brothers, my Uncle Mike, passed away on Friday night.  I have been in frequent contact with my mom to check on her, as well as to find out how my Aunt Joyce and cousins are holding up.  This morning I went to the website of the St. Louis newspaper to read his obituary, and I could only smile when I read one of the causes for which donations were requested - - The St. Louis Zoo.

The St. Louis Zoo has always had a special meaning to me, one that has only grown over the past two years.  Growing up in a family of five kids, the zoo was one of the few places that satisfied everyone...I don't ever recall any arguments (except maybe which exhibit to see first) when The Niehoffs went to the zoo.  Led by my father's frugality, we would always arrive early, not only for the prime (free) street parking, but also to make sure we could take advantage of the waived admission fees to the Children's Zoo within one hour of the zoo opening.  My parents would make sure everyone was able to see their favorite animal and exhibit, mine being the elephants.  No one even complained when a visit to the elephants required going into the foul-smelling Elephant House!

Animals were not the only highlight of the zoo, as my Uncle Mike worked at the zoo (I believe in the Facilities Department) for a number of years, so seeing him was also a must-do for each visit.  If we didn't see him as we toured the animal exhibits, we would always make sure to stop inside The Living World before leaving the zoo, as that building usually provided an Uncle Mike-sighting.  The visits were always brief, but seeing him became synonymous with a trip to the zoo.

When I decided to adopt a giraffe in honor of Granty, it was a no-brainer that it would be at my beloved St. Louis Zoo.  No visit to St. Louis is complete without a trip to the zoo to see Granty's giraffes, and I love that Alexa and Ani will have fond, meaningful memories of visits to the zoo.  Visits will be even more special now, as the memory of Uncle Mike is also ingrained in the St. Louis Zoo.  I'm sure Granty's giraffes will have some very well-maintained digs inside The Antelope House thanks to my Uncle Mike :)

Priceless memories of the St. Louis Zoo...
our private tour & giraffe feeding session (Dec'12).

Wiped Out

I pride myself in my high energy level, but this past week has gotten the best of me.  As I tucked Alexa into bed tonight, I could not wait to climb into bed myself....this has been a very long week!

My delayed trip to Los Angeles only got better when my cab driver to the hotel began screaming at me when he discovered his credit card machine was broken and I had no cash on hand....fun stuff!  I didn't get to my room until 2am and had to wake up just a few hours later to begin the two days of all-day meetings.  It was quite an adjustment from hanging out with my girl Ani to sitting in a conference room for 12+ hours of PowerPoint presentations and lively discussions followed by group dinners.  I definitely missed the bonding time with my little peanut.

By Friday afternoon, I could not wait to get back to Arizona and pick up the girls from school...I genuinely missed Alexa and Ani after the 2.5 days in Los Angeles.  Ani was enjoying a bottle and fighting to stay awake when I entered her classroom, but as soon as she heard my voice, she opened her eyes enough to see me and give me a little smile.  Alexa was much more enthusiastic to greet me, but she was a bit torn when it came time to actually leave Aftercare, as I interrupted Friday Movie Day.  Thankfully, the appeal of Mommy trumped Movie Day, and we headed home to make dinner.  Alexa serenaded me with the Pharrell song "Happy" on the drive.....it was definitely a happy reunion!

Things haven't slowed down too much since being home.  Alexa had swim this morning, followed by lunch with Damon's cousins who are in town this weekend and tonight was a highly-anticipated showing of the Disney movie "Frozen" at a friend's house.  Alexa had been looking forward to tonight for weeks....I cannot count the number of times she asked me if it was 6 o'clock today.  Mental note:  Teach Alexa how to tell time. :)

Tomorrow should be a little more laid back before starting back to the grind on Monday morning.  Let's hope Ani gets the memo and has a good night of sleep tonight.  I could use a little rest!

One happy girl....with a doting big sister.

Whew!!

My business trip has not started off too well....my 9:55pm flight to Los Angeles (the last flight of the night) is now delayed until midnight.  Ugh.  I would much rather be killing the time at home than at a pretty desolate Sky Harbor airport.  At least Ani has me well-trained to function without too much sleep; I've already canned my planned workout before the 7am meetings.

At least my day started out much better than it's ending.  Ani had a pediatrician appointment this morning for her two-month checkup (a couple weeks late).  Through Grant's ordeal, we became very close to the kiddos' pediatrician and nurse (Granty's "girlfriend", Nichole), so the visits to the doctor's office are practically a social outing for me.  I'm sure Ani would not exactly agree with my sentiments after she received two shots today!  Prior to the shots, Ani was being her normal self, staring, smiling and chatting it up.  Nichole even took her to the nurses' station to show her off a bit...I still forget how small she is.

Thankfully everything went well at this appointment, as Ani's following her own steady growth curve - she's a whopping 7 lbs 13 oz!  It's hard to believe she's the size of an average newborn at 10-weeks old, but the pediatrician does expect her to be pretty petite.  As we left the appointment, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.  It was Grant's two-month appointment, when he did not put on the expected weight between one and two months old, that provided an early indication that something wasn't quite right.  Even though Ani's weight gain is pretty obvious, I was still pretty nervous for this appointment - - I would have run her straight to Phoenix Children's for an MRI had her weight not progressed as expected (yes, I am becoming THAT parent..lol).  Hopefully a few more appointments will help these worries to subside; I know everything is likely fine, but it's still hard not to have a few underlying worry beads.

I will be back at the pediatrician's office bright and early on Monday morning for Alexa's five-year visit.  I'm even bringing the Starbucks for our morning coffee...err, doctor's appt ;)

It was hard to leave my two girls behind!

Separation Anxiety

Reality came back with a vengeance today - - I returned to work for the first time in 10 weeks and Ani began the Infant program at the Montessori school.  The week is going to get even tougher when I head to LA for business tomorrow night until Friday.

Over the past few weeks, I had become pretty lax about preparing Alexa for school the night before, so I made sure to get back into the swing of things last night.  In addition to packing Alexa's lunch and selecting her outfit (sadly she has no green clothes, but she does have green hair clips!), I prepared enough bottles to last Ani through the day.  It was strange to prepare bottles for childcare - - I hadn't done it since Alexa was an infant at the Montessori school in New Jersey!  In accord with the new routine, I left the house around 7am, leaving the drop-off duties to Damon.  He affirmed how tough it was to leave Ani behind, but Alexa, who was beaming with pride to have her baby sister attending school with her, accompanied him through the process.

We are trying to ease Ani (and ourselves!) into childcare mode, by gradually ramping the hours she spends away from us during the first few weeks.  I made it until around noon before I was itching to pick up Ani; however, I reminded myself that she was in capable hands and stayed at the office until 2:30 like I originally planned.  I felt like a first-time parent when I arrived at the classroom and eagerly awaited the teacher's feedback of Ani's first day.  Apparently Ani did amazingly well, as the lead teacher commented that it seemed like she had been in the classroom for weeks instead of hours.  Whew...I felt so relieved to hear that!  Ani must have been busy taking in her new surroundings, as I have never seen her nap so soundly in the afternoon.  Tonight she was grinning and laughing, a very good sign of a happy girl.

This little girl has me completely smitten.  For the first time, I seriously contemplated not going back to work to stay at home with the little peanut.  I never envisioned myself enjoying 10-weeks away from work like I enjoyed this maternity leave with Ani.  However, I know myself way too well; I need the challenge of work and constant activity.  Besides, my Target bills would be out of control if I had 8-hours a day to shop there ;)

Yawn!  Wiped out after her first day of 'school'