Hold-Me-Over Post

Just a few photos to share today. Mali, CeCe and I are all down with colds so I'll do a real post this week when we're all a bit more with it.

CeCe and daddy preparing for bed time earlier this week.

Mali focusing on one of her favorite toys (thanks Natasha!).

CeCe's love of "The Fresh Beat Band" seems to be wearing off on Mali. Lucky us.

We caught the last Brewers home game of the season with friends, Pat and Declan Manning. Obviously, CeCe LOVES Declan. Thankfully, he's very giving with his hugs.

My favorite daddy/Mali photo (courtesy of my mom). I came across it the other day and can't believe how big she's gotten in only five months.

An-ti-ci-pation

I've been on pins and needles most of today anxiously awaiting the arrival of the FedEx truck. Lil Bro gave into my not-so-subtle hints to use his camera felt sorry for my pitiful blog photos and offered to loan me his old Nikon D70. It's arriving from Dallas today. Yee-haw!

I'm optimistic that LittleStarky will soon be a lot prettier. I have a lot of learning to do before they look like Jake's, but he's a professional and I'm not. Anyway, all this waiting for the FedEx truck has been quite the distraction. I've literally jumped out of my desk chair every time I hear a loud truck coming down the street. Thus far, I've been faked out by a school bus, a loud construction van and a garbage truck.

In other news, the girls and I had a fun weekend together while Matt was away at a golf outing. We did lots of "fall" things, which, some have told me is jumping the gun a bit, especially considering it's 80 degrees today. But, I say, when the calendar turns to September 1, it's time for pumpkins! Speaking of which, CeCe found a biggie on Friday. This little beauty weighed 396 pounds.

Stop the presses!!!

I kid you not, look what just pulled up in front of the house (don't mind the grass. I won't let Matt use fertilizer or pesticide.):

In the process of ripping through the box using my car keys, I set off the car alarm. Oops.

Best yet, at the bottom of the box were paintings from our little Grey! They're going straight to the fridge.

Okay, back to the update.

The pumpkin farm was in Williams Bay, near Lake Geneva (which is beautiful, by the way). The farm even had a hay castle. (My mom went with us. She was afraid to let go of CeCe out of fear the bigger kids would push her off.)

On Saturday, we went to Lucy Coleman's third birthday party. What a great party! Her mom, Sara, did everything in an ice cream theme (Lucy's request). Adorable.

Don't you agree that I need a better camera? I've relied on my iphone as my exclusive photo source for far too long!

On Sunday, we went to the mall, Maggiano's and Betty Brinn with Dawn and Anna Kuhnz while the husbands were still golfing. Dawn and I are convinced that every store should have a tv for kids.

Maggiano's wasn't awesome, though. Trying to hold a baby and control a wild nearly-three-year-old is nearly impossible. Funny, they look so good in this photo.

At Betty Brinn, even Mali found something to do!

 

Meanwhile, CeCe decided to walk into people's shots in the tv studio.

 

And finally, while my mom was here she decorated the front of our house. She whipped up that wreath and the Indian corn swags like nobody's business! Doesn't it put you in the mood for fall? Thanks mom!!

Off to check out the camera!

Keeping Up is Hard to Do

Wow. Three months since the last post. This, after declaring that I was restarting the blog out of fairness to Mali. I feel badly, but life has been CRAZY these past few months. Things are finally starting to slow down now, as fall begins.

A quick recap of the past three months:

• Matt and several of his colleagues planned a series of events/rallies to generate awareness of the teacher layoffs that happened in MPS in June. For a few weeks, CeCe could be found nearly regularly on the news. She was such an active participant in the events that, for days, she would walk around the house chanting, "MPS teachers - care about the kids!" Here's a shot from the Journal Sentinel (the one that wrongly listed Matt as a laid-off district mentor):
• We spent the summer doing fun things like:

Attending concerts in the our neighborhood park (above) and Alterra for Musica del Lago (below, CeCe with her good friend Declan - isn't he cute?)


Going to Brewers games:

Painting in the backyard:

Going to the pool:


Swinging on the girls' playset:


Taking short road trips, including a jaunt "Up North:"

(This is how CeCe entertains us from the back seat)


(Posing with bears made by my dad. Aren't they cool? Check out Sawyer Stump.)

Seeing CeCe's FAVORITE movie by the river (it was a mommy/daughter date and oh-so-fun):

We even held our first annual Firefly Party ("Night of Light") at which more than 20 kids and plenty of fireflies came out to play in our backyard:

And, of course, there was all the usual summer festivities, like Fourth of July fireworks and parades:

(Above, at the Tosa parade and below, waiting for the Lakefront fireworks to begin.)

• As usual, CeCe has done plenty to keep life interesting (and us laughing). Here she is after painting a picture for Kari, our friend and her old daycare provider:

She's also developed an obsession with shoes:

• Meanwhile, I've become friends with my sewing machine and have learned that I LOVE making clothes for the girls. Here's my first project - a skirt for CeCe, which she was all too happy to model. This is her go-to face, lately, if there's a camera around:

• She also learned to use chopsticks, courtesy of a visit to PF Chang's. All that work for one measly noodle . . .
  

• As for Ms. Mali, she's as sweet as ever. She still hasn't slept through the night (well, there was that one time but it turned out to be a fluke); instead choosing to wake every three hours to eat. Can you tell? She's the size of an eight months old. (She's currently almost five months old.)
  

She's the happiest and sweetest little girl. Simply smile at her and she pays you back with the biggest grin. Here's one of her first smiles. We've eaten up each one up since.


She was baptized in July on the heels of the entire family coming down with the flu. It was a beautiful ceremony presided over by my cousin, Fr. Erich Weiss. CeCe's godparents are my cousin Nick Weiss and his wife, Laura.


Don't you want to eat her? I love that baby!


CeCe got a poofy flower headband, too:


By the way - Mali's baptism cake was out of this world delicious, not to mention beautiful. (Few people got to eat it since the post-baptism party was canceled, thanks to our family being on the mend.) If you're ever looking for a baker, I suggest you call Sweetness by Alice.

• Finally, we got some happy news at the dermatologist last week. It looks as though Mali's hemangiomas on her toe are fading pretty quickly, while the one on her forehead is showing the early signs of involution (the process of going away). Yay! We've become so used to them that we hardly notice their presence anymore. In fact, I've become fond of her unique "mark." However, Matt and I agreed that we want to intervene if they haven't gone away by the time she goes to school. Our amazing dermatologist, Dr. Drolet, has assured us that there's a lot we can do to fast-track involution closer to that time, if necessary.

So, that's the past few months in a nutshell. Until next time, I thought I'd share the recipe that has become a favorite in the Stark household within the past few weeks. Yes, these did indeed turn CeCe into a monster. One who repeatedly asks, "can I have another cookie, mom?," "MOM! Can I have another cookie?!?"

Paula Deen's Monster Cookies

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup raisins, optional
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.

Hokey Pokey!

Check it out: Daddy and CeCe do the Hokey Pokey.

There's More than One Little Starky Now!

As Matt and I became increasingly devoted to Facebook, the blog seemed unnecessary. After all, what would anyone find here that they wouldn't learn from a daily FB update or photo upload? Since we last updated, Cecelia has gone through a myriad of developments. In fact, just yesterday she learned to ride her tricycle; I mean REALLY ride. That kid takes corners like Mario Andretti. We're beyond proud of the spirited little girl that she is.

So why are we back to the blog? Because it seems unfair to Amalia that we wouldn't be reporting her every development, just as we did for CeCe. And given that she's such an extraordinary little girl, we expect there will be plenty to report.

So to catch you up to speed, here is a summary of the first six weeks with our "Mali-Pop:"

• Mali was born on 4/21 at 3:29 p.m. with a full head of beautiful dark brown hair. She weighed 7 lb, 14 oz and measured 20.5 inches - the same length as CeCe at birth. We can't even begin to tell you what a sweetheart she is. She's a very calm baby and loves to be cuddled.

• CeCe has taken extremely well to the big sister role. She coos to her and kisses her constantly. At first, Mali was obviously oblivious to CeCe's presence but in the past two weeks we notice she gets really excited when CeCe is around. She kicks her legs and waves her arms around.

• You may notice in some photos that Mali has a red spot on her left forehead. It's a hemangioma that started developing about three days after she was born. She also has one on her big toe. Hemangiomas are benign tumors; basically a buildup of blood vessels. Apparently they're common and happen in 10% of births. It will get bigger throughout her first year but will involute and eventually disappear by the time she's school age. Despite them being harmless, however, we wanted to treat it versus simply watching it grow. Therefore, we took Mali to a pediatric dermatologist who specializes in hemangiomas. She's currently prescribed a steroid ointment to try to control the growth.

• Mali started smiling this week. It's been a lot of fun to try to get one out of her. So far, we notice she gets a kick out of CeCe and likes it when we lightly blow on her face. Funny noises seem to work, also.

Mali with her godparents - Nick and Laura Weiss. Her baptism is on July 25.

Passed out after a long day. She's not a big fan of her sun hat unless she's sleeping.

In general, we've settled into life with two kids pretty well. We're certainly calmer - probably due to the combination of Mali being generally easy to please and the fact that we've done this before. That's not to say we haven't had moments of chaos. Just a day after coming home from the hospital, Matt was filling the kitchen sink up with water when he walked away to help me with something. He left the water on for about 15 minutes and flooded the basement. (I doubt he'll appreciate me sharing that but c'est la vie. He was sleep deprived.) And last week on the way home from visiting my parents in Madison, we stopped off halfway home so CeCe could go to the bathroom. When we tried to start the car to finish the drive home we realized the battery was dead. Moments later, CeCe got sick. And then Mali started crying uncontrollably (which rarely happens). All of this at 9 p.m. Somehow we managed to get CeCe cleaned up, Mali fed and changed and the car started again. We made it home and promptly bought a battery the next morning. I'm proud to say we rolled with it.

While life is a lot busier with two kids but we're going to try to keep the blog updated monthly for awhile. We hope you enjoy getting to know our little darling.

Three Months at a Glance

Thanks to those of you who have called or email to express your dissatisfaction with us for not updating the blog more often. Since October (the last update) I got a new computer, which means photos are now saved on the old and the new. It's makes updating a bit more time consuming. In addition, we've come to rely on our Facebook pages for easy photo uploading. And since most of you are on there anyway, well . . . enough with the excuses.

For brevity's sake, here's an abbreviated run-down of the past three months:

1. 11/14/08 - CeCe's first birthday party. Two parties and a whole lot of cake made for one extra-spoiled little girl.

2. Swim lessons! CeCe completed her first swim class at the end of 2008. Despite my trepidation, she's become a pro at going under water.

3. Thanksgiving - Hosting the Big Feast with two toddlers at the table (CeCe and her cousin Greyson) certainly wasn't easy, but it added to the excitement. At the Grandma and Grandpa Stark's house CeCe reveled in the extra attention she got for practicing her walking.

4. Speaking of walking, CeCe took her first steps toward the end of October. She continuously improved, then regressed, and in December started really getting it down pat, thanks to a bit of assistance from her toy stroller (a birthday gift from Aunt Lisa and Aunt Emily). She's now practically running. All that mobility has forced Matt and me to be constantly "on guard."

5. Christmas - CeCe loved all the holiday festivities. She loved, no LOVED, the Holiday Parade. She danced the entire time (a CeCe dance involves standing and squatting repeatedly with a few head shakes thrown in for good measure). Santa, however? Not so much. She saw him at the mall and again at Breakfast with Santa at the zoo. Both times you would have thought she was being kidnapped. She got lots of fun gifts, all of which she has since become uninterested in.

6. New Year's Eve - CeCe managed to wake up at 11:57 p.m. (of course) and therefore got to ring in 2009 with mommy, daddy, Ian and Angela. She didn't really care much.

Here's a quick medley of photos:

First snowfall.

CeCe at the Holiday Parade.

Breakfast with Santa at the zoo.

At Breakfast with Santa. CeCe would have enjoyed breakfast just fine without him.

CeCe and Grey playing at her new table.

Maracas!

CeCe LOVED Greyson's Hot Wheels Jeep.

With Grandma, cousin Lily and mommy.

Opening Christmas presents.

Pushing "Pat" in her stroller.

CeCe and the Jeep again.

With Oma and Papa at Greyson's 2nd birthday.

After realizing that CeCe had been awfully quiet for a period of time, I found her trapped in the bathroom basket holding the toothpaste. She loves the toothpaste tube, for some reason. Don't mind her mis-matched outfit. We didn't leave the house that day. :-)