Santa and the Girls

So no tears this year from Zoe this year, but she definitely was very shy with Santa. She didn't cry, though, but she didn't smile either... Fiona woke up just enough for the picture and then went right back to sleep. I LOVE that Zoe is staring to be into Santa and all that goes along with Christmas, and I know Fiona won't be far behind her! Everything from decorating the tree to noticing Christmas lights outside has become fun again through Zoe. She even has a Santa and Snowman salt and pepper shaker set that she likes to talk to and share her food with at meal time - so cute! I'm SO happy to have the Christmas spirit back in my life!!!!!

Cookie Time!

Zoe helped Papa and Gramma make Christmas cookies today while Mommy and Daddy went shopping with Fiona. By all accounts she had a blast! She helped add the ingredients and even used the mixer and the food processor. And of course got to lick the cookie dough! Gramma said her favorite part, though, was eating the sprinkles one by one:). Here's to more holiday traditions for my sweet girl!

Who says infants don't smile?!

Fiona is the happiest baby! She smiles SO big SO often! You can't tell me it's not real! Sometimes she'll look right into my eyes and her whole face lights up, it melts my heart. She coos too!

Take Your Baby To Work Day

I have two great bosses that allow me to bring my baby to work. We used to have an office in the house, so it was easy enough just to turn on the baby monitor and go downstairs...but now we have another external office and no monitor will cover that distance:)! Fiona comes with me to Office #2 when I am needed there. It will work while she is immobile and sleeps alot, but not forever (unless Mom and John plan on opening a daycare in the future!). So for now, I "commute" to work a little farther some days, and work from home on others. I am so lucky and thankful to have such a great working situation - no other job would EVER be as flexible! Thanks again Mom and John! (And I know that Gramma and Papa LOVE having the grandbabies stop by here and there to brighten their day!)

I did it!

Today was Keith's first day back to work since Fiona was born. I was extrememly nervous for this day even BEFORE she was born, and as time went on I had relaxed a bit about it but still was anxious. In the end, I'm pretty happy how it all went today. The girls napped very well, I was able to make dinner and apple pie, gave both girls a bath, and I cleaned some on top of it all! Granted Mom and John were downstairs today if I really needed help, but I tried not to depend on them to prove to myself I could do it. I KNOW every day won't go so well, but it is always good to start out on a high note:)!

Cloth Diapers

We never were able to get into cloth diapering with Zoe because she started out so small, and then by the time she was big enough, we were too used to disposables (I know, exuses, exuses...). So this time we decided to use them with Fiona. One plus was that there now is a diaper service in town that will pick up the dirty diapers and drop off clean ones so that makes it a lot easier! Best of all, we will be keeping a ton of diapers out of the landill with this choice. It's definitely something to get used to, but they are a lot easier than they used to be (velcro instead of pins, better covers, etc). Hopefully it will work out for the long run this time!

Zoe's Personal Entertainer

Daddy has been on main Zoe duty since the baby came and she is thrilled! She gets full on, 100% attention for most of her waking hours because of this. They visit the neighbors, go on bike rides, make breakfast, watch movies, and just play constantly. I'm afraid Zoe will be very dissapointed when Daddy goes back to work and she just has me and Fiona, but I will try to be as fun as I can (while still cleaning, doing laundry, taking care of the baby, and preparing meals). I know Moms around the world have done all of this for centuries with more than just two kids, but I am learning here! At least Zoe has as a great Dad who is completely in love with her and her sister and has no problem playing, changing diapers, and doing whatever Daddy duty comes his way:)

The Brodogg Girls

As often as I can I tell the girls, "I love you SOOOOO much!". I hope they always know that....

Ian was here:)

Zoe's favorite boy in the whole world came over yesterday. She was thrilled! He is the only person who can get her to giggle as hard as her Daddy can without even trying! Yay Ian!

Mama's Big Baby

Just after her two week check up, Fiona weighed three whole pounds more than Zoe did at birth! She looks so tiny to me now, but compared to Baby Zoe she is a monster!

Baby in the mirror

One thing that almost gurantees a happy Fiona (besides holding her 24 hours a day!) is putting her on the changing table and letting her look at herself (and you) in the mirror. It's instantaneous happy baby!

Baby Fia's first Bath

And she loved it! Though it's amazing the things you forget so quickly as a parent. I forgot how to give a bath to a newborn and it hasn't even been that long! Luckily it's pretty much like riding a bike...once you jump on, it all comes back to you!

Our Family Christmas Ornament for 2009

Every years since Keth and I have been married, we have gotten a personalized ornament for the tree. The first year it was just the two of us, the next year I was pregnant, the next year we had Zoe and this year we have Fiona! It seems to get bigger every year...I'm assuming it will stop growing eventually!:)

Poppy came to visit!

My Dad came from Texas for a visit. In the short time he was here he was able to meet Fiona....

Spend some much overdue quality time with Zoe.....

Got to hang out with me and my brother....

And even got some good family shots in between!

(this shot is a favorite of mine because I haven't had my parents and brother in the same room in many years!:)

So glad he could come and hope to see him again soon!

Gratuitous Cute Baby pics!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a pretty quiet Thanksgiving this year. Uncle Dave and Keith's friend Larry were our only official "guests". We had tons of great food and of course tons of thanks for a great year and our new addition!

Mommy AND Daddy Time!

We have to make sure Fiona gets not only special Mommy time and special Daddy time, but also special Mommy AND Daddy time. We found that in the beginning when Zoe was born , we were swapping off baby duty and she never had us together as a family. So we started making special effort to do things together. Now we try to do the same for Fiona. When Zoe is sleeping, that's when Fiona gets both of our attention together!

Big Sister

As soon as we brought Fiona home, Zoe was insistent on sitting in a big chair, not her high chair. She now has a booster seat that she is very proud to eat in. She still tries to just sit in the regular chairs at the table, but she can barely see what she is eating that way, so it's not too hard to coax her to her booster seat from there:)

Mommy and Daddy love Fiona

We love our new baby and are so excited to have her here! She has already shown herself to be sweet, adaptable, smart, and easy going! Fiona is the perfect addition to our happy family. We weren't sure that we could love someone as much as we love Zoe, but we now know it is possble at least this one more time!

Sleepy Time

So far, Fiona has been a decent sleeper. But of course I know I will probably jinx myself as soon as I say that!!! A few nights she has gone to bed around 11pm and not woken till 4am...I'll take that from a newborn any day! Of course there was one night where she didn't fall asleep until 4am though! She sleeps better in bed with me and especially in the boppy, which I know is setting myself up for having to break a bad habit, but we're doing what we can to get through the night here people!:)

Papa and Gramma love Fiona!

Papa and Gramma moved near us to be close to Zoe, and never knew they were going to be lucky enough to be close to another baby they would love so much! With most of our family spread across the country, the girls are lucky to have such loving grandparents so close by!

Big Sister Time

Obviously a lot of attention needs to go to the new baby in the house in the beginning. We have to take extra special care to give Zoe her fair share as well. In this picture, Uncle Dave and Daddy are giving Zoe her favorite kind of attention which she refers to as "Rocky, Rocky". She looks pretty happy!

Fiona comes home...

Fiona came home from the hospital today and met her big sister. Zoe was very interested and was quick to kiss her and want to hold her ( "Zoe hold it!", she would say). She calles her "Mimi" (Zoe's word for baby) or "sister" or "Fi" or "Fia". Can't wait to see them grow up together!

Fiona Louise Kellogg-Brodeur - Born November 18, 2009

Fiona is finally here! I went into labor on Tuesday evening and by Wednesday morning at 8:46, 7 lbs. 14 ounces and 20 1/2 inches of Fiona had entered the world. She is beautiful and wonderful and we love her so much!

Touch a Truck Day

This program is the coolest ever! They have every large vehicle a kid could ever dream of (fire trucks, helicopters, tractors, school busses, etc) and they can actually get in them and play! Zoe was in heaven! She LOVES "beeg tucks" and just kept saying "in, in , in , in!" And she could actually go in this time. There was also a moon bouce, which she went in all by herself in and loved - and it was very hard to get her out of! And then there was the piece de resistance....a motorcycle (her favorite)! She also had popcorn for the first time which was just the cherry on top to her perfect morning. And people think little girls only like princesses and dollies!

Coloring

Zoe has finally expressed and interest in coloring. Well, more specifically, crayons. She can "color" on a paper with the crayons. She preferes, though, to bite off the ends, mush crayon under her nails, or dump them on the floor repeatedly. It's a start to my my budding artist - she is interpreting her own forms already!

Wicked Big Pats Fan

You have to stay true to your roots, right? Since Keith is a born and bred Massachusetts boy and I claim Mass as my home (even though I was technically raised up the entire east coast), by default Zoe is therefore a fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins! So this shirt is a perfect fit and she is even wearing her Daddy's Red Sox hat! Go team, go!

Mama's Baby

As I have said before, we started talking about the baby in my belly for a little while now. We finally got a big sister book for Zoe, and have been talking about the baby's crib, and the baby's toys, and how it is all different from Zoe's things. I've given her the "talk" about how she is my favorite girl, and how a new baby is going to come and be her "sissy" , and how we are all going to be a happy , loving family (not that she has any idea about what I am talking about, but I felt that I had to say it all out loud to her). We are officially due Novemeber 5th, but I have to say , I had been expecting this baby for over a week now. Each passing day is harder and harder to deal with. I'm pretty comfortable (so far) for being so pregnant, so I'm not complaining about that. It's just that I know the next few months are going to be tough figuring things out and getting on any type of sane schedule, so I just want to get on with it, so we can get past the tough parts and on to living again! I am excited to meet this baby and see who she is going to be. I'm very interested to see how Zoe will deal with it all as well. We hope all of our family and friends will be able to come and visit our new addition soon!

Gramma

Today we went to the beach with Gramma and Papa John. Thanks to Gramma for running after Zoe the whole time so I could rest my very pregnant self! Gramma has been a great help these past two years....all the way from my being on bed rest when I was pregnant with Zoe..till the welcoming of baby number two! She has given up so much for us - time with her wonderful husband, her career, her home, her privacy, her life....and sooooo much more that no one even knows about. She is an amazing woman and we are lucky to have her! She truly understands the meaning of family and we appreciate her everyday. We could do this all on our own, but it would be a lot harder and a lot different without the love and support of such a great Gramma. I definitely know where she learned all this from, and my children are so lucky to have a grandmother in their life who is as great as mine was! I know we don't say it enough, but thank you Gramma for being such a great part of our family...we love you so much!

Happy Halloween 2009

Zoe went to her first Halloween party today with my mom's group. She seemed to have fun seeing the other kids in costume (especially the boys in their scary ones), getting candy(had her first lollipop today!), and playing. She even won first place in the girl's costume contest (thanks to Joelle for sharing her costume with us!). Daddy came too and we all had a good time! After nap we also went Trick or Treating and Zoe caught on quickly to the concept. Though, I think for a while she'll be figuring that we can go and get candy at our neighbors houses anytime we want!

Happy 5th haircut!

We are already on Zoe's 5th haircut! It is surprising if you remember how little hair she had for the longest time. Most kids her age haven't even had one hair cut yet. Zoe sits like a statue, the stylist was so amazed! This new place we found has race car and airplane seats and flat screen tvs with cartoons at every station! Even has a indoor play area with slides and toys - So crazy! All I care is that Zoe gets a good haircut - and she does - she even got her picture taken for their wall cuz she is so cute!

Fishie

We got Zoe a fish today. She even picked it out! Currently she is more interested in the rocks at the bottom of the aquarium (keeps talking about eating them - no idea why), but she does like to check on the fish every now and then. I thought it would be a cool special thing just for her before the new baby comes (and will also double as a night light and white noise). Hopefully she won't work her way up to a puppy or pony any time soon (though not sure if Dadddy could say No to her!).

Design on a dime...

Here is Zoe's new "big girl" room, mostly complete. Lots of used/old furniture and recycled items from her other room. Thank goodness for paint and fabric! It was fun to put together...since we didn't have to put together another nursery. Next time we redecorate though, it will all be in Zoe's true taste. I can't wait to find out what that will look like!

Rock and Roll and Rubber Duckies!

Keith let me sleep in this morning (yay!) and when I woke up this is what I found in the bathroom. Good thing Daddy is not in charge of haircuts!

Family Heirlooms

I love it when people make things for my children! Grandmothers have made blankets for the girls, aunts have made sweaters, cousins have made hats, and friends have even made dolls! It is so nice to have something that someone took the time to make especially for someone they love. It is one of the sweetest gestures I can think of. Thank you to all the people who have made such beautiful things for my daughters - they will be cherished for generations! (I know this because I still have things that people had made for me when I was a baby!) The cute sweater in this picture was made by Zoe's Aunt Margaret...:)

(and PS - this is the FIRST picture EVER that I think I might see a little bit of me in Zoe's face- finally!)

Fall Fun

We went to the local plantation for some fall fun activities today. Zoe went on a hay ride, sat in a real fire truck, pet some goats, jumped in a moon bounce, and even rode on a pony (I was very torn about taking advantage of the ponies like that, but she was really excited to do it so I couldn't say no! I'll discuss animal exploitation with her when she is a little older, maybe 2 years old! :). But I think Zoe's favorite thing of the whole night was watching the other kids run around and have fun!

Just like Momma

Since Zoe is so young, we haven't really tried explaining to her about the new baby, but we have started mentioning it in passing lately. We talk about the baby's room, the baby's crib, and the baby in Momma's tummy. If you ask her where Momma's baby is she will point to my stomach and says "shhhh" (implying that the baby is sleeping). Today I put her baby doll in her shirt and jokingly said something to the effect that she is now like Momma with a baby in her belly. She kept that doll in her shirt all afternoon and would even come to me for help if it fell out! She was so proud of herself! So funny... (if you look closely you can see the baby doll feet hanging out of her shirt!)

Getting Ready

Keith put together the new baby's crib yesterday (thank you to Papa and Gramma!) and as you can see by the background of the picture, we are still working on getting the nursery together. Zoe has been in her new room for about a month now and seems to understand that her old room is now the "Baby's Room". I have been sorting baby toys, organizing diapers by size, folding blankets and swimming in baby clothes up to my ears these past few days. I have begun "nesting" big time and have a "TO DO BEFORE THE BABY COMES" list that keeps getting revised and lengthened ~ and Keith is so excited about that:)! I hope we are ready because I think she is coming sooner than we think!

The Last of the Only Child

Lately it has really been hitting me that Zoe will not be an only child anymore. It makes me sad. She will no longer be the only sparkle of my day or the only love of my life - she will have to share those roles with her sister. I was an only child for four years and I think it had a lot to do with who I am today. I was able to be the one and only only one to my parents and grandparents for a good portion of my early childhood. I felt very special because of all of that. When my brother came, you would think all of that would have changed, but I never felt second best or that I had to fight for attention (thanks Mom and Dad!). So that is what gives me hope that Zoe will always feel that she IS the love of my life AND the sparkle of my everyday! Thank you Zoe for bringing such love into my life!