Mama SheShe

My darling mother came to stay with me and the little ones while Keith was away for work. She fought back her desire to come right when Marshall was born and opted to come three weeks later when I needed her most. I'm still not really able to lift or hold Remington, so I desperately needed someone around that could.
After a scheduling nightmare with United Airlines, she arrived a day late but anxious as ever to meet our newest addition. I think it was love at first sight! When one holds Marshall, time has a way of flying by. Many hours melted away snuggling, singing and humming to him. M loved to be held by SheShe, and she truly turned him into a spoiled baby. She brought him a very special gift: a hand-stitched baby quilt that took her ages to piece together. It's a beautiful addition to his new room!
True to form, Remi warmed right up to her especially after a promise she made about going to the mall to ride the elevator! He adored being chased and tickled, and for some reason became unusually aggressive and wanted to hit her and stab at her fingers with a fork. All in good fun. He willingly let her change him and put him to bed, a great relief after all the stress of having a new brother!. Mama SheShe taught him how to answer "TWO!" when asked "How old are you?" They spent countless hours wandering around in the Great Backyard, eating M&Ms and sharing treats. She even got him a new pair of Easter shoes!
Listening to Dada play the bagpipes:

Practicing saying "TWO!"
Besides having fun, she nearly broke her back using my heavy vacuum and arranging our front flower bed with new impatiens and a rock splash guard:
Luckily, the boys and I were feeling well enough to cart her down to the Antique Center of Texas. She is one of the few people I know that would enjoy that place more than I do! We roamed up and down the aisles, guessing prices, looking for clocks to delight Remi, and picking out trinkets. She also got to spend a bit of time with Callie's family during the week, a first since they moved here from Utah. We had burgers and roasted marshmallows, YUM!
It was lots of fun to see her out of her element. We stayed up a little too late and had lots of good conversation and laughs. She only left yesterday (after another United scheduling nightmare) but I miss her already!
It's a really special feeling to be so loved by her. What's even better is to see how much she loves my boys!
Thanks for all of your help Mom! You are the best!

Goofball

Remi watches Arthur as often as possible. This is what Arthur looks like:
This is what Remi looks like when he watches Arthur. He borrowed Mr. Potato Head's glasses...


I offered Remi a beater covered with frosting. Do you think he likes it?

Then he discovered his love of pudding...

Cozy

Now THIS is cozy!

Bright-eyed

Big Brother Remington

Hello all, Keith here.
Remington needs some recognition for being such a great big brother. We were a little worried about how he would react to another baby, but he has been perfect. He is very soft to little Marshall and always wants to tickle his feet or give him a kiss.

What a sweet boy!

Remington is still a champ at bed time. When 8 o'clock rolls around he is ready to hit the sack. However, we are still having a problem with him wetting the bed. He doesn't seem to be awake in his bed long, but he finds time to somehow pull his junk out of his diaper. We have tried onesies on the outside, footsie jammies put on backwards, etc. Yet it seems like every time he wakes up, his clothes are wet and there is a Texas crib snake sticking out the side of his dry diaper. Any suggestions? Crib sheets are a bear to change and we are running the washer way too much.

Story time before bed.

Last minute wiggles.

A belated wish

Keith had a big birthday on Friday! He didn't really get to do anything fun except take care of the three invalids of the household. I made him a pile of lemon cream cheese cookies instead of a cake and he let Remi blow out the candles.
Sorry your birthday was lame, babe!
We love you more than you know!

This is a video of Remington's 2 year birthday extravaganza. I did my best to annoy Candice the whole time, and I think I succeeded. It was a pretty lame birthday. But we are going to edit some pictures to show him on a pony and going on a trip and all sorts of things that didn't actually happen. That way it will appear that he had an expensive, huge party in his scrapbook. Ha Ha!

Mr. Marshall my mutt

Our crazy old neighbor calls his dog "Mr. Milo my mutt" so we have dubbed little nugget with the same name...

Oh Boy!

Remington is such a boy that it is scary. If he is not running around outside, playing in dirt or kicking a ball, then he is inside terrorizing the house. Some of you may think him too adorable to be such a hellion. May I submit to you some evidence to the contrary.
Caught in the act.


Typical guy, watching TV with one hand on a cold drink, the other hand on his, well, you know whats.

Sometimes he gets confused as to what species he is. What a clown.

A classic toddler tantrum.

I suppose I shouldn't complain. I am sure that with the addition of another boy to the Sano clan, Remington's screwball antics will remembered as quite tame compared to the madness that will most certainly be inflicted on us as the boys get bigger, stronger and more devious. I can't imagine the adventures that lie in store for Candice and I. I am sure we will love every minute of it.

Private vs. Public Schools

As some of you may know, I play the bagpipes. I do not claim to be good, but I have been taking lessons and I really enjoy playing. I heard of a private school, St. Thomas Episcopal, that has a pipe band. St. Thomas is a K-12 parochial school located in Houston. The founder of the school was proud of his Scottish heritage and wanted to do something unique. He decided to make Scottish music and dance a major emphasis at the new institution. The band has done so well that they have won 5 world juvenile championship titles, competing in Scotland.

They had a concert last night that I was able to attend. Lets just say that I was blown away.





I sat next to a very friendly guy in a kilt. His son is a piper in the band. He told me a little about the school. The boys start in the band at fourth grade. The girls start dancing at about the same age.
The academics are rigorous. He told me that the boys and girls are segregated until the 9th grade, saying "people here have enough common sense to know that boys and girls learn differently." Amen. Another thing that I was impressed with is that the kids are required to take Latin from the 6th-12th grade. LATIN! From their website:
"We believe Latin is important for many reasons. The major language of the Western world for more than two thousand years, it is the parent language of French, Spanish, and Italian, among others, and is a cousin to Greek, Sanskrit, and the Germanic languages. Thus, a good understanding of Latin facilitates learning both the Romance and the Germanic languages. English itself is overwhelmingly indebted to Latin."
All I can say is that public school kids are screwed if they are going to try to compete in the professional world with St. Thomas alumni.

It's that time of year already?

Leprechaun in Alabama

Newsletter: Month 24

Nicknames: Kid, Al-Kidda, Terrorist (lovingly)

Current Obsessions: Clocks, Baby Marshall, pots and pans, The Price is Right, PBS show Arthur, Snoopy, M&Ms, The Office, coloring, chapstick, anything with buttons (remotes, microwave, DVD player, car dashboard) elevators and escalators, any motion-sensitive doors esp at Target, cats,

Major Events: Birth of baby brother, turning two!

Dear Remi,

Today you turn two years old! What turmoil we have created for you these past couple months! The most significant chink in your chain has been the addition of one Marshall H Sano...He has brought you a lot of joy but a lot of heartache too. I can't pick you up while recovering from a c-section, and this has brought both of us to tears on multiple occasions. However, the arrival of Marshall means the arrival of many visitors, first Grandma Sano, who spoiled you beyond your wildest dreams, taking you to the park almost daily, letting you play outside in the wild backyard, blowing bubbles, hiding Easter eggs, making cookies and playing pretend. Even though you haven't seen her since September, you really hit it off almost instantly. She took such good care of you while I was in the hospital, I never needed to worry whether or not you were okay. We were so sad to see her go after what seemed like such a short trip.
After Grandma left Aunt Katie rolled into town! I have never seen you have SO much fun with anyone besides Dada. You were quite nearly in hysterics every time you played with her. Your bond with her is special, and she spoiled you with peanut butter covered pretzels, some cool new kicks and a Betta fish we named Tim.

You've grown very particular these days. Blankets have to be just right in your crib, music must be played before nap and bedtime, you don't like different foods to touch on your dinner plate, and you live and die by your daily routine. It makes life nice and predictable for all of us! You wake up by seven every morning, two hour naptime around one o'clock, and off to bed at seven thirty.

You are trying so hard to communicate with us verbally. We know you understand 95% of what we say to you so we are just waiting for words to come spilling from your lips. So far your vocabulary consists of mostly "Dada, Mama, Clock, Yum, Yes, Pup-pup" You are working hard on "More, Grandma, Katie, Help, Meow, Please" I can't forget to mention that you randomly yell "T!" in a sweet high voice, something you learned to mimic from Wheel of Fortune. You finally started calling me "Mama." For months I was "Dada" followed by "Baba" which then morphed into "Da-BA!" We call to each other in the morning. When you wake up you say "Mama?" or "Dada?" depending on who you want and we echo back with "Remi?" until we make it to your bedroom. Perfect way to start the morning!

You've learned the meaning of defiance and what an effective tool it is to have at your disposal. You started hitting when upset (something that is starting to subside, thank heaven!) you take to throwing yourself on the floor to escape our evil clutches, and you scream in protest a little too often. You also just realized that you are not confined to your crib by an invisible force field, and it only took falling out of your crib once during afternoon naptime to understand that force fields are there for a reason :) It gave me the scare of my life so I'm glad that we are in agreement that the crib is a lovely place to be.

The outdoors are full of wonder for you. Looking for squirrels, airplanes, and birds is a necessity when outside and you must have super sonic hearing because you can detect a airplane flying overhead long before anyone else. It was a bit frustrating at first because I didn't know why you were shrieking and pointing the the sky.

Remi, we love you so! Even though I feel tremendous guilt over not being able to give you my undivided attention with a new baby at home, you have mostly been patient with me, and you've earned a lot of points in my book. The love we feel for you grows ten-fold everyday. I think and talk about you long after you go down to sleep every night.

You are such a joy and I can't wait for the next adventure!

Love,
Mama

The proudest Big Brother Ever!
New train set from Ikea
Turning two is awesome!
Katie always keeps you in stitches:
Birthday breakfast of homemade waffles!
Coolest kicks in the world compliments of Aunt Katie:

A few random pics

Marshall doing what he does best, chilling out and being cute.



Remington and Aunt Katie tearing it up at the mall's playground.



Daddy teaching his boy to drive.


I love my life.

Ode to Grandma Sano

I must take a minute or two to express my gratitude for my mom. She just left us after over a week of incredible service. Remington and her had so much fun together. I honestly do not think that he even missed us. After watching a toddler all day, she still found time to cook all sorts of food (I will be eating leftovers for a week), she cleaned, she even did yard work! At the end of the long days she always has encouraging words and wise advise for me and my young family. I am continually inspired by her generosity and love. From the bottom of my heart (stupid cliche, but whatever) Thank you and I love you.

Crazy Days

Who is who?


Hi everyone. Just a quick update. Everyone is doing fantastic. Marshall is eating well and is being super good. He hardly cries and pretty much is content with just sleeping eating and pooping.

Candice is recovering well, she is such a trooper. She insisted on getting up often today just to walk around. They say it helps to recover faster if you move around. She is my hero.

Grandma Sano and Remington are madly in love with each other. He is being soooo good. Grandma and him make a perfect little team. I can't say enough about my mom, we couldn't do this without her. She has been incredible. It is so nice to be able to leave Remington with someone you trust completely.

Sorry for the lazy blogging. We should be heading home tomorrow afternoon. I am sure that the blog postings will pick up after that. Till then, Keith

Answer - Top Remington, Bottom Marshall

Marshall Hunter Sano

Hi everyone, sorry it took so long to get to a computer and post some pics. Here is how our day went.
At 0530 we went to the hospital, surgery was scheduled for 0730. The staff was great and made Candice very comfortable. At 730 they took her back and prepped her. At about 0800 they grabbed me and at 0806, Marshall was born with a very healthy set of lungs (he came out screaming).
He weighs 8lbs 5oz and is 20.5 in long.
It is hard to see who he looks like because he is so chunky, he is over a pound bigger than Remi was. Baby and Momma are doing great. The recovery is going very well. Candice reports that this experience has been infinitely better than the last time. Having the C sectioned planned and not being afraid of the unknown really made a difference. More to come. Keith

Pictures of Marshall

This is Beth, Keith's mom. My assignment was to post some pictures on to Keith and Candice's blog but something is techno malfunctioning. Until Keith comes home and can figure out the problem, feel free to see first photos of baby Marshall at www.sanofamily.blogspot.com. We are so happy to have him here, at last!!!

Ta ta for now!

Tomorrow is the big day! By 8:00am we should have a new addition to the household. Keith will be posting pictures as soon as humanly possible but for now you will have to endure looking at this:
Yes, that's me. But no one needs to see my tired eyes or puffy skin just yet!