Making Lemonade!

This morning, we walked by a lemon display at the grocery store and Madeline suggested that we make lemonade! As we squeezed lemons and dissolved the sugar, I realized I had never made it from scratch before.

The kids had so much fun peeling the stickers off the lemons, washing them and then transferring them between the pitcher and strainer for about 10 minutes like it was the most hilarious game in the world. While it cooled in the fridge, we went outside to play, then came back inside and sipped our sweet homemade treat.

It is truly spring here. The daffodils are in full bloom and we're running around in short sleeves. Last night, we roasted hot dogs with our neighbors well after the sun went down.

The gender differences between Mads and Charlie continue to amaze me. As Charlie rode around on his tricycle (wearing his puppy dog backpack), he stopped to pick up every rock, drag his hands through the dirt and exclaim, "More rocks, mommy!" Meanwhile Madeline layed on her belly in the grass, quietly humming to herself while she picked flowers and clovers.

But then again, maybe they aren't all that different after all; a little bit ago, Charlie told me he has a baby in his tummy. And Madeline's usually the one out there scratching in the mud, climbing trees and out-sprinting the older neighbor boys.

Feeling Grateful

Shortly after we moved to Nashville, I realized I was short of breath. Friends and family would tell me that I was wheezing on the phone. As a former marathon runner, I sometimes felt a panicked lack-of-air during dance parties with the kids, and I would have to stop and take breaks during a morning stroll pushing the double stroller. I saw a doctor of internal medicine. He did a physical and told me maybe I had GIRD (I knew I didn't and moved on). Then I saw an allergist for six months. He told me I had asthma, so I tried five different medications; none of them worked. He told me subtly that the problem was psychological and has since written a kind and very humble note expressing regret.

In November, when I found out I was pregnant, my OB was alarmed by the sound of my breathing and referred me to a pulmonologist. Within minutes, he was sure the problem wasn't my lungs, but in my throat. He consulted his partners and sent me to an ENT. A week later, that doctor threaded a scope down my nose and pulled it out with a fascinated expression. "I've never seen anything like this in my 25 years of practice," he said, and referred me to a Harvard-educated specialist at Vanderbilt.

Last week, I had surgery on my throat. Scar tissue had closed 75% of my windpipe; it needed to be removed quickly while I was still in my second trimester to avoid the possibility of an emergency tracheotomy during labor or throughout the remainder of my pregnancy.  Andi dropped everything to watch the kids during my surgery and help me with my recovery. As I was wheeled into the OR, I was admittedly scared; scared for my baby of undergoing general anesthesia while pregnant; scared that I could be aware during the procedure (pregnant women don't receive some of the anesthesia drugs that other patients get); and scared of needing a tracheotomy during the procedure (the surgeon's parting words were that he hoped we wouldn't need one). The cause of the fibrosis is unknown, but the doctor thinks it's a fairly rare autoimmune disorder; it will continue to grow back every six months to two years.

But the operation was a huge success! The before and after photos are staggering; I was breathing through a straw and now my windpipe is wider than a quarter. Every breath I take feels deep -- I'm drawing so much more air and oxygen than I have in years. Breathing is exciting! I love going for walks and singing lullabies to the kids. There are so many silver linings that I feel incredibly grateful for. The greatest is that this experience put a mirror up to our lives and showed me what incredible and deep friendships we have made here in a short amount of time. People's generosity -- meals, flowers, cookies, babysitting, even popsicle deliveries! -- has affected us deeply and I hope I have the opportunity to repay everyone's kindness.

Southern Belle

Madeline and I had a very special Saturday morning. We sipped white truffle tea, wore elegant hats and nibbled on scones and cucumber sandwiches at the Savannah Tea House in downtown Nashville with a group of our mommy-daughter friends.

Madeline choose a red feathered hat and a dainty peacock teacup and saucer, then carefully dropped individual sugar cubes into her tea with tiny tongs. She was so intent on using ladylike manners ("Mommy, can I run here?")...until the sherbet came out after our finger sandwiches and then she slurped up hers and mine.

I told her it was a day I'll never forget, and I meant it. After sweet outings like that, for just a moment, it's fun to think forward about about proms, first dates, wedding showers, pedicures and back-to-school shopping trips. We have so much girly fun ahead, Miss Madeline May!

Choo Choo for the Two-Year-Old!

On Saturday afternoon, we had a small party to celebrate our little guy's second birthday. When Charlie woke up from his nap and saw his train cake set up on the dining room table, he literally gasped, then pointed at it all night long, saying "choo choo tayn take." Eventually, the temptation got the better of him and when no one was looking, he grabbed a blue fistful and smeared it around his face.

The weather was gorgeous, so the adults had a happy hour on the back deck until sunset; then everyone came in for Chicago-style hot dogs with all the fixin's...or at least all of them that we could find down South (no poppy seed hot dog buns or sport peppers around here).

We all sang happy birthday to Charlie and watched him spit all over the cake...I mean, blow out his candle. We were having so much fun, I completely forgot to open gifts, so we opened them in our pjs like it was Christmas morning the next day.

What a blast! Now we're all geared up for Madeline to turn four next month!

Charlie can't help himself!

A train named after Charlie!!

Playing with their new parachute from Papa and Ning

Happy 2nd Birthday, Sweet Charlie!

Today our little guy turned two. And he was so proud of it. All day long, he kept saying, "I two!" on command.

We started the morning by getting ready for church, but changed our minds after listening to the kids cough and hack, and went to Krispy Kreme instead. Charlie definitely knows what donuts (no-nus) are, and was very excited!

It was sunny and in the 60's, so we played outside nearly the entire day. Tonight, we celebrated with a fun birthday dinner, gift opening and a special birthday cake that Madeline made just for him. We re-lit the candles a couple of times just for fun. Afterward, we all played on the floor with his new train set right up until bed time, then washed all the mulch out of the kids' hair,  scrubbed the icing off their faces and said good night.

Charlie, honey...you're a little ray of sunshine in our lives with your silly expressions, the sweet way you say "I love you," and your streak of blond hair. You say thank you whenever we give you a kiss, and when you give us a kiss, you pucker your lips so far out that they touch your nose. You are a ham in front of the camera, and you're 100% boy -- every night, you wrap your arms around a race car to fall asleep the way your sister clutches her favorite doll. Your temper tantrums are impressive, but they are also heartbreaking to watch -- you have so much to tell us and you just get so frustrated. Since the day you were born, I have continued to be impressed by the quiet way you can entertain yourself; you're almost always singing (E-I-E-I-O, Twinkle Twinkle and The Wheels on the Bus are your favorites). We love you, dear sweet boy. You are a true gift from God.

 

Charlie has Stuff to Say!

My quiet little boy suddenly has words tumbling out of his mouth, though there's definitely some translation required. It's kind of like Pig Latin, only instead of moving the consonant to the back of the word, Charlie just drops it all together. Snow is no. Pillow is whoa-whoa. Umbrella is basically the sound you hear if you stick your tongue in and out of your mouth really fast. Thank you is the sweetest, slowest drawl of vowels that we made sure to get it on video so we could document his 23-month-old Nashville accent. But my favorite is, "Maple, where are you," which sounds like "Aa-poo, waaaa-r-ouuuu?"

As a first time parent with Madeline, I worried I should be doing more if she didn't hit milestones at the exact week or month mark that parenting books said. Then I learned that lovely, comforting thing that experienced moms always remind us of -- children do things in their own time. I didn't notice that my tiny Madeline was scaling fences and doing 50-meter sprints while some of her friends were still learning to walk and falling head first over curbs -- only that she didn't have the 20-word vocabulary kids her age are "supposed" to have. Her pediatrician at the time said "We won't worry. Yet." That three-letter word banged around in my mind from time to time afterward. So when her speech exploded like Charlie's is now, it was truly one of my first lessons in not only relaxing as a parent but also fully focusing on, enjoying and absorbing the present moment. This time around with Charlie, I never worried. I just kept a running list as his vocabulary grew, which is a joy for me to look at now as I write this post.

It's safe to say that my children seem to focus on physical development before the verbal, since Charlie was climbing trees before he could say "all done." During my last OB check up, my doctor had to chase our zygote with her Doppler to catch its heartbeat. She eventually asked it politely to slow down. Seems the Vlach kids are quite active before they're even born. And though Charlie has lots to say now, I'm guessing he'll still appreciate the peace and quiet that most men enjoy, but that every woman in his life will be happy to fill with lively and animated conversation.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011! As we think about the coming year, our minds are singularly focused on the third baby
that's coming our way this summer. We're starting now to prepare, getting Madeline excited about a new big girl room, planning all travel for early spring, buying a bigger car, and shuffling around our entire house to make room for the tiny eight-pounder.

My girlfriend Paige surprised me by proposing a day trip to the Atlanta IKEA to pick up some things we need. Little did she know Rob has the catalog memorized and is reorganizing every closet in the house, as well as the garage. I would call it male nesting, but it's not -- he lives for organization, while I live to try to be organized. We're converting our eat-in-kitchen (which we've never once eaten in) into another fun living space that may even double as extra guest quarters. Sound crazy? Come on down -- it's gonna be pretty cool! We already created a stylish office out of our large laundry room and we're in the process of turning our upstairs linen closet into a place for me to store all my things that have been displaced over the years (and now reside in random boxes scattered around the house). It's all happening...

We had a quiet but very fun New Year's Eve at home with just the four of us. Rob's department had to cover year-end deals, so he was at work on Friday and has Monday off in its place. This year, instead of fancy dinners or hotel slumber parties with friends and their kids, we ordered in Papa John's, put on sparkly party hats and silly glasses, and had a dance party. I got crazy with my mock-tail in a martini glass.

Here are a few other things going on:

• Madeline has decided. If the baby's a girl, she will be named Sophie. If it's a boy, he'll be elephant squeak. My family jokes that it'll be named Buck, inspired by the company my dad recently helped Caterpillar acquire. They all have a special ring to them...
• The kids have been packing their backpacks with random things from the coat closet and pretending to take plane rides to Italy. Charlie even said Ciao.
• Charlie ate pavement last week. I actually saw his little face skid and bounce against the asphalt. He busted up the outside and inside of both his lips, and was so swollen, it looked like he had a white marble under the skin. To add insult to injury, he has tripped and reopened it again three more times since then. Poor little guy. 
• Madeline, Charlie and I went on a coffee date at Starbuck's! The kids sipped their hot cocoas and felt so grown up.