The resemblance is uncanny.

The baby was oddly fussy tonight (I think it's a developmental stage), so this will have to be quick.

This child looks NOTHING like me as a baby. She does look like her brother at times (which is odd, because Teddy looked like me), but not like me. Who does she resemble? Her eyes are blue and may stay that way (Teddy's -- like mine as a baby -- were slate grey until they went brown) and the look like those of my mother-in-law and her family. One of her sisters is named Veronica, though she goes by Vonnie; she is Dave's godmother. As for the rest of her face...

The moment my Dad saw her (at 8 hours old), he pronounced: "She looks like Flo", my aunt for whom she was named (Veronica Floriana). My Mom agrees, and ever member of my Mom's family -- in particular, my Uncle Sergio who was 17 months younger than Flo and with whom he was always super close - comments on how much she resembles Flo. I think it's wonderful that she looks like the woman for whom she was named and who would have adored her.

My favourite movie

We're chilling out on the couches this evening, showing my Mother-in-law my favourite movie. Astoundingly, she's never seen Casablanca before so we're rectifying that.

I saw this movie for the first time right after Dave and I got married. I was under the impression that it was really dull (Dave had tried to watch it in high school with a former girlfriend and couldn't get past the first 10 minutes). But I think he'd watched it during University and had really liked it because he owned a copy. My parents came up for a visit (this was before they moved up here) and since neither my Mom nor I had seen it, we decided to watch.

And oh! Were we ever transfixed, mesmerized and heartbroken. Had I seen it a month or two prior, our wedding song would likely have been 'As Time Goes By' ('The Way You Look Tonight' is a solid pick, but still). It's so witty and one can sympathize with all the main characters. I adore Humphrey Bogart, and Claude Rains is hilarious. And it's so sad, but satisfying. When we were in Los Angeles last year, we saw the studio where it was filmed, Sam's piano and a bunch of costumes from the film; I was thrilled.

(Aside: The scene with Viktor Lazlo leading 'La Marseillaise" is on and it still makes me tear up. Vive la France!)

I recently read "Round Up the Usual Suspects" - a book on the making of this movie. It's funny -- it was another movie cranked out at Warner Brothers during the height of the studio system in Hollywood. A number of writers (all very talented) worked on the script and it was tweaked even after primary filming ceased. The cast were lukewarm on the project. The studio was focused on larger films. No one anticipated its success neither at the time nor over time. But it has become an enduring masterpiece and one of the most quoted movies in American cinema.

If you haven't seen it - do!

Apparently, in addition to daily posting, NaBloPoMo will involved my movie recommendations. :)

Still sick, but (hopefully) on the mend

Not too much to report today. It's cool and rainy, and the kids are ideally on the mend. Poor Veronica is SUPER congested. But Teddy seems to be perking back up, so that's good. When they are feeling better, I hope to write posts with more substance. Until then - it's stream-of-consciousness city.

My parents spent the day in Key West, visiting with Hemingway's cats, buying Dave his favourite bourbon at some hole-in-the-wall liquor store, and basking in the 29 deg C weather. As Dave replied "Bookers, a sketchy liquor store, Hemingway, cats,...and 29 degree weather… I don’t care what happens for the rest of your trip, this is officially the day I missed being there the most.

You know things are quiet when I am writing about my parents' adventures!

But I watched "Rudy" for the first time tonight. I knew I'd like it -- I am a sucker for sports movies -- and I did. But I'd heard it likened to "Hoosiers" and people. It is no "Hoosiers". Just thinking about that movie gives me goosebumps. If you haven't seen it - run, don't walk.

House full of sickies..

God bless my Mother-in-law. Her presence has been amazing since we are dealing with a house filled with sick inhabitants.

It's primarily the kids. Teddy appears to have Rotavirus (or some other form of gastroenteritis). There was puking and now there's...other stuff. Plus, he is battling a cold so is super snotty (he may also be teething. Awesome!) So far (knock wood) Veronica has avoided the gastro but has caught the cold. The poor little monkey is so very congested. Dave and I are feeling poopy and run down. Boo!

It's crazy -- Teddy didn't get a cold until he was 8 or 9 months. This is poor Veronica's 2nd cold. I guess those are the perils of having an older sibling who passes on illnesses.

Let's hope that we're all on the mend soon. More substantial posts will have to wait until then.

Early November Odds and Ends

My MIL arrived today for a week-long visit. The timing was perfect, as Teddy is a bit under the weather so it's nice to have to have another set of hands to help out. Plus, she is a lovely lady, so a visit is always nice.

My own parents, the lucky ducks, are on vacation. It will surprise no one who knows them that they are on a cruise. This one is a round trip from Baltimore visiting US ports primarily (Charleston SC, Key West and Miami FL) as well as Nassau and Coco Cay (RCI private beach). We will cruise again, though, once Miss V is old enough and has a passport. Yep - American children can get into Canada and back home with just a Birth Certificate. Canadian kids, though, not so much. Now that V can hold her head up, perhaps we can get a photo!

Veronica is 10 whole weeks old today! We're getting a kick out of the verbalizing ("Ugoo!" "Yeeee!") and her neck strength is excellent. Her hair continues to stick straight up. Poor kid.

Day 2 and my posts are already all over the place. I should use this month to finally write about the birth (only 2 months later; with Teddy, it was 9). Yes - that is what I will resolve to do!

Strangest. Hallowe'en. Ever.

Saturday night, driving home from a visit to family in Kingston, the temperature kept dropping as precipitation fell. As we neared Ottawa, it became clear that it was happening - we'd have snow for Hallowe'en.

The high for the day was a balmy 3 degrees C (the heck?!?), which may have accounted for the fact that we had a grand total of SEVEN trick-or-treaters. Our street is just sedate, I guess. Our friend Isobel (who lives behind us...well, across the park and behind us) had the happening street. We ended up doing an emergency candy run to her place as she was running out of candy. Oh well - less for us to eat.

We did, however, let a mystified Teddy wander around outside after dark. He was really good at saying "Dank u", less consistent at "Tick o t'eat". He prowled around as Tigger. He wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but he warmed up to it, as you can see from photo 2.

He was adorable with his loot, which he thought was "Cheese". He placed it in a toy school bus one piece at a time, then wheeled that around. Mmm...cheese bus. Or bus cheese. Both are totally adorable and totally unappetizing.

As for Miss V, she dressed up in a 'Little Princess' outfit. But since it was freezing, she went outside in a teddy bear bunting bag. Check her out in all her chubby glory.

Let's hope that next year is a tad warmer!

Two months

Miss Veronica is 2 months old today, while her brother turned 21 months earlier this week. Life with them has been awesome, but juggling two under two has made me an even WORSE blogger than normal. Though I would like to write about many of these things in more detail (and will try to later), here is what I have been up to since I last posted:

• Cloth diapering both children. I LOVE it. HUGE props to Isha, who has shared her wealth of CD knowledge and let us borrow a bunch of diapers that Rory has outgrown. Additional props to several Facebook friends and all the twitter peeps (like Arwen and Lauren) who answered all of my questions. I will blog about my stash and CDing experience soon.
• Breastfeeding. Knock on wood, it is going MUCH better this time. Veronica has chubby cheeks, arm and leg fat rolls, and eats like a champ. When she was weighed 3 weeks ago, she was just over 11lbs 4 oz. She's headed to the doctor on Tuesday, so I'll be able to report on her 2 month weight, but she's outgrown all of her 0-3 clothes (and some of her 3 month stuff) so I think we're a-ok.
• Watching a lot of TV. What? I spend a lot of evenings on the couch. We are FINALLY watching "The Wire" (brilliant) and "Modern Family (LOVE!). I am all caught up on lots of current shows, too, like "Glee" and "Mad Men" and "30 Rock".
  
• Amusing Teddy (and/or being amused by him). His vocabulary is exploding, and he is mastering skills left and right. He is obsessed with the music of "Glee". And he is so funny. He is also so gentle with his sister, whom he calls "Gonka!" or "Baby". One highlight has been his use of both definite articles ("A 'quirrel" when he sees a squirrel or "A car!" "A ball!") as well as personal pronouns ("I danth!"). My favourite? He now alerts us "I poop". I mean, it isn't hard to tell, but today, we asked him "Teddy, what did you do?" "I poop," was his immediate response.
• Snuggling with Veronica. She has been an amazingly laid back baby who rarely cries and sleeps for decently long stretches. She is cooing and smiling and snuggling. Mmm...little babies.
  
• Taking our first road trip as a family of 4. We visited my inlaws in Georgetown (with a stop in Kingston) as we were headed to the wedding of my oldest friend, Tanya. She, Dave and I all went to the same grade school (St. Francis of Assisi) and she married a guy we knew in high school after they reconnected over a decade after graduation. At this wedding were THREE of my ex boyfriends. It was HILARIOUS to see them all, and we had a blast. Veronica was a total doll, too.
• We also celebrated Dave's 35th birthday on Sept. 12th, my 33rd on Oct. 2nd and our 6th wedding anniversary on Oct. 9th.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank my parents and inlaws, as well as my amazing husband, for their support. My friends have been wonderful, too (I Tan, I am looking at you). We are so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful folks.

So - that's the gist of the past month or so. FYI - the shot above was taken on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Not my best work, but there you go!

I am contemplating doing NaBloPoMo again, just to force me to write. We will see...

I hope that all is well with you!