We Wish You a Mary Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Another Yandek Family Christmas has come and gone, complete with all the family, food and gifts that make Christmas so much fun, so enjoyable, and so ridiculously crazy. Libby enjoyed everything about the season, although judging by the gifts she received it was more of a Feliz Navidad than a Merry Christmas! While we encourage Libby to speak American, she really loves Dora and Co., thereby adding a decidedly Latin flavor to Libby's Christmas.
Mary's first Christmas was not as eventful as was Libby's. For Libby's first Christmas, she was able to get around, rip paper, and generally make a mess. Mary, on the other hand, slept, cried, spit up and slept some more. She made out like a bandit in the gift department. Although, regardless of what the gift tags said, all gifts were Libby's gifts.
Christmas Eve began with breakfast with Grammie and Papa Hanna. Mommy was actually off work this year on Christmas Eve, so it was family all day! After breakfast, Uncle Tony and Aunt Nellie came over to cook while Libby and Mom delivered Christmas Cookies and Cheer to some relatives nearby. In the evening, it was off to Grammie and Papa Yandek's for fish, presents and a visit from one sad-looking Santa Claus (sorry Papa!). Christmas Morning was full of presents at home, Mass at St. Pat's, more presents at Grammie and Papa Yandek's and dinner, presents and cousins at Grammie and Papa Hanna's. The Yandek Ladies did so well in the gift department, Daddy actually had to go home and unload the car and come back. Everyone must have been very good this year!
As eventful as Christmas was, New Year's was the exact opposite. Everyone in the Yandek Household was sick with colds, ear infections, etc., so New Year's Eve and New Year's Day were spent at home, in pjs. The only reason anyone actually saw the ball drop is because someone was up crying. It's okay, though, after all the foolishness and mayhem of Christmas, it was nice to have a few (relatively) quiet days at home together. Happy New Year!

Cookies, Santa and Other Christmas Stuff

As the build up to Christmas continued, Libby and Mary had an extremely busy week. In seven days, they went to two different Breakfasts with Santa and met Santa at a family Christmas party. That's a whole lotta Santa for one week. Libby does very well with the big guy, until it's her turn to sit on his lap... When he makes his grand entrance, Libby makes sure EVERYONE in the building knows that HO-HO just arrived. She'll follow him around the room pointing and yelling "HO! HO! HO!" It's as if she's letting the world in a little secret that only she knows!
The first Santa was a lounge singer at Dad's work. He sang songs and read stories. Libby ate it up. When it was time sit on his lap, however, she covered her face and wouldn't even look at him (or the camera). Santa number two was at Mom's family party. This went much better. Libby wouldn't pose for a picture, but she did sit down and have a nice talk with Santa. Santa number three was at Aunt Holly's work. He was kind of creepy, so no one blames Libby for not wanting to hang with him that much.
Mary did much better, getting pictures with Santa on two different occasions. It was probably silly for Mom and Dad to think they could get a picture with both girls. But, word on the street is that Santa is making a cameo at Grammie and Papa Yandek's on Christmas Eve, so one never knows!
The rest of the Christmas season has been spent making cookies, watching Dora's Christmas adventures ad nauseam, and wrapping (or un-wrapping, in Libby's case) presents. Libby definitely gets excited at the sight of Santa and knows something is up. Can't wait to see how she does on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. It should be pretty entertaining. And maybe, just maybe, Mary Frances will be awake for some of the festivities!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!

From decorations, to cookies, to outfits, to snow, it's definitely starting to look like Christmas! Libby is loving everything about the season. She got to make cookies with her cousins on Sunday (after a delicious pancake breakfast), she is totally into the Christmas tree, and she is obsessed with the Santa Express Christmas train that goes around the tree.
And did we mention the "Ho, Ho, Hos"? Any time Libby sees anything even resembling Santa Claus, she lets out a lusty "Ho, Ho, Ho." It might be too early to be certain, but it's a good bet that Libby has inherited her Mom and Dad's love of the Christmas Season! Of course, Libby and Mary have their fair share of Christmas outfits (some of which fit better than others!), as well as pretty dresses for all the holiday parties and gatherings.
Speaking of gatherings and parties, Libby and Mary got to celebrate Dolly's birthday on Sunday with a special party at Grammie and Papa's house (Dolly is Grammie's dog). Libby is pretty much non stop around her cousins, while Mary and Declan sit around and drool and smile.
There are more parties on the horizon....most importantly, Libby and Mary have a date with the Big Guy on Sunday morning. Hopefully this meeting goes better than last year's. If not, there will still be plenty of time for Libby and Mary to plead their cases for being on the Nice List!

Leftover Turkey

With Thanksgiving already over, the Christmas season is in full swing for Libby and Mary! The little ladies are growing up fast, and Libby is totally into all things Christmas. For example, she "Ho, Ho, Hos" all over the house, she plays with her Little People nativity set, and will gladly pull ornaments off of any Christmas tree and share them with family and friends. She was even using the ball ornaments as soccer balls at Lowe's on Saturday afternoon. The employees had to love that display!
Libby really does love the winter weather--she always wants to put on her new coat, she doesn't have to be told to wear a hat (especially her sweet Browns hat--Dad is so proud!), and loves wearing her "sleep shoes" at night (better known as footie pajamas for those of you who aren't fluent in Libbyspeak). Oh, and Libbyspeak is in full effect! She is constantly asking for "Papa", "Holly", "Mommy", "Sissy" and "Daddy" (sorry Grammies!). And the best is when she reads books to herself. Libby will sit and go page by page, yammering aloud until the final, understandable, "The End." Super cute!
Thanksgiving was a fun holiday for the ladies, as they had breakfast with Grammie and Papa Yandek and Aunt Holly. Then, it was off to Grammie and Papa Hanna's for dinner with the whole family, including their crazy cousins. By far, Libby's favorite part of the meal was the whipped cream. Her dinner consisted of one slice of pumpkin pie with three separate servings of whipped cream. Loved it!
Mary has been doing some growing as well. She tries to sit up all the time, she is sleeping pretty much through the night, and she is really starting to vocalize. While she won't have any clue about Christmas, and all of her presents will invariably become Libby's presents, it's going to be a great Christmas for the whole family!

Mary's Baptism

Mary Frances was baptized on Saturday night at St. Patrick's Church--the same church at which Libby, and cousins Claire, Corinne and Declan were baptized.
Along with Mom, Dad and Libby, Grammie and Papa Hanna, Aunt Reen, Uncle Jerry and Aunt Lauren, Claire, Corinne, Declan, Grammie and Papa Yandek, Uncle Tony and Aunt Nellie, and Aunt Holly were all there to celebrate.
Uncle Jerry and Aunt Holly were there as Mary's godparents, and Fr. Mark DiNardo did the honors, which included the traditional St. Pat's bib and showing off of the baby. Which, I'm pretty sure, makes everyone just a little bit nervous. For her baptism, Mary wore the same gown worn by Libby, Daddy, Uncle Tony and Aunt Holly. Aunt Fannie brought it back from Italy before Daddy was born way back when...
With five kids under the age of six in the family, there was a pretty good chance that some one would have a meltdown during Mass. The good news is that everyone was pretty well behaved. Of course, Mary cried during the actual baptism. And Libby decided she wanted to walk/run all over church. She chatted up the parishoners in the pews, played hide and seek at the back of church, and tickled Jesus' feet on the giant crucifix hanging in the back of church.
After Mass, everyone went back to Mary's house for some more celebrating. It was a good night, a good party, and another important milestone in Mary's life!

Halloween 2010

The Fam

Libby the Lion

The Flying Monkey, The Tin (Hippo) Man, Scarecrow and Dorothy

Libby, Will, Henry and Bryce

Mary's Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Birthdays, Tutus and Halloween!

As usual, it's go-go-go for Libby and Mary. Since the last post, Mary hit the two-month mark, Dad turned 34, Mom went back to work, and Libby has taken to speaking Spanish. Most importantly, Mary is two months old and going strong. At her two month check-up, she tipped the scales at 14 lbs. 1o oz. Needless to say, Mary hasn't been missing many meals! She's doing great keeping her head up and making eye contact. According to the doctor, she wants to crawl and she wants to do it now! Probably a little ahead of ourselves, but it won't be long...
Things are going well for Libby, too. She's settled back in to the daycare routine, and she really enjoys time spent outside kicking the soccer ball, playing in the falling leaves and flying kites with Dad. She has also taken to dressing herself (note the tutu). Likewise, her affinity for Dora has started to manifest itself. Every time Libby plays outside, she points up to the sky and says "moon." The other day, when she got outside, she looked up, pointed to where the moon should be and said "la luna." Um, okay. No habla Espaniol!
Libby and Mary really have been getting along very well. Libby still asks for "Sissy" every morning when she wakes up and she still goes to give her a kiss every time she leaves the house or goes upstairs to bed. Unfortunately, Libby has shown a renewed interest in some of what are now Mary's toys. Not the end of the world, but she could use a little work on her sharing skills. We'll get there at some point...
Halloween is right around the corner, and of course the ladies are ready. Libby absolutely loves her lion costume. She has worn it to the park on a few occasions now. The other kids get a kick out of the lion on the swings. It's really pretty funny. Especially when she roars at the kids pointing at her. Mary is obviously oblivious. But she looks cute in her outfits, if not necessarily thrilled.
And did we mention Libby is growing up. Yeah. Last weekend, she decided she wanted to have cereal for breakfast with Mom and Dad. Grown-up cereal. With milk. And she was going to do it all by herself. Dad was pretty much floored. By the next post, she'll have asked to borrow the car!

Sisters!

Sisters!

Although both Yandek Ladies were a bit under the weather, the past week was another good one for the Yandek Family. In what will probably be their only appearance due to size, Libby and Mary broke out the "Big Sister"/"Little Sister" gear. It was very cute, but also very difficult to get the ladies to pose for a picture--Libby was too interested in what was on TV and Mary can only hold the upright position for a few seconds at a time. It's a shame, really, because, as you can see, Libby really did spend a lot of time doing her hair for the photo shoot.

Libby in the pumpkin patch.

On Friday, Libby got to spend a little alone time with Mom and Dad at the Lake Erie Nature Center. There was a pizza dinner, a hay ride that looked fun (Libby wasn't interested), a planetarium show that was probably pretty awesome (Libby wouldn't sit still), fun fall crafts that would have looked great decorating the house (Libby couldn't be bothered), and snakes, opossums, and owls that Libby wanted to hold (Libby wasn't allowed). Despite the minor setbacks, it was a lot of fun. It was good for Mom and Dad to get out of the house and it was good for Libby because it was something new.

Sitting upright...for a second.

The best part about Friday, however, was Libby's reaction when she was in the car with Mom and Dad and realized that Mary wasn't coming with us. She was very concerned that we had forgotten "Sissy." It's pretty clear that Libby is quite attached to her sister. She always asks for her first thing in the morning and whenever she comes home from daycare. Very cute.

"If we concentrate the power of our red-eyed stares, we can control their minds!"

On Saturday, the fam went to pick out pumpkins and other fun fall decorations. Libby enjoyed playing in the pumpkin patch and checking out all the cool fall stuff. Libby and Dad also spent the afternoon playing soccer at the park. Dad is happy to report that Libby is well on her way to earning that DI college scholarship! And finally on Sunday, Libby and Mary went to breakfast with Grammie and Papa for their 35th Anniversary! In all, another great week!

Fun Fall Weekend

Mom, Dad, Libby and Mary dodged rain drops this weekend to take part in some fun Fall activities. On Friday night, Libby got her first taste of a parade, as she got to check out the Rocky River Homecoming parade. She didn't seem overly impressed. She seemed to enjoy running around the grounds of Rocky River High School more than the actual parade. In fact, when some kids threw candy in the crowd, Libby just threw it back. Oh well, she has a good arm, at least!

Mary just spent the time hanging out in her stroller. She decided she would have her fun this weekend in the wee hours of the morning. Mary was pretty much up all night all weekend. Which, of course, is pretty awesome for trying to catch up on sleep.

On Saturday, Libby went to Mapleside to pick apples. She did a great job picking out the perfect bagful. She got up on her tip-toes, picked each apple one at a time, and she even tasted each one! She wanted to be sure there wasn't a band apple in the bunch, so to speak.

Libby also got to check out the bakery and sample some of the cookies and other good stuff to be had. The weather didn't allow for Libby to go on a hay ride or play in the pumpkin patch, but she definitely enjoyed her new fall experiences.

It's Been A Month

Mary officially hit the one month mark last Thursday. It's funny how fast the time goes, even when there isn't a whole lot of sleeping going on. At Mary's one month appointment on Monday, she tipped the scales at over 12 pounds and measured over 24 inches. Like her older sister, Mary is firmly entrenched in the 97th percentile for her measurements. If this keeps up, it looks like Libby and Mary are going to grow into a pretty formidable front line for the Rocky River Lady Pirates volleyball team (that is, assuming they don't inherit their dad's hops!).

Mary has been much better about sleeping at night, but she still has her evenings during which she'd rather sit up all night and blabber nonsense, drool, cry and spit-up. Mom and Dad really can't be mad, because Dad used to do the same things at night. Of course, that was in college. But Mary is eating well, and she is definitely more animated with each passing day. It won't be long before she's chasing her sister around the house raising hell for Mom and Dad.

Libby has managed to have some fun of her own, while Mary gets most of the attention. Last week, Libby got to march with the Rocky River High School Marching Band. She played her fish maracas, in perfect sync with the music (of course, it was the music in her head, not the music coming from the band). She also got to try her hand at cheerleading.

Thankfully, that did't work out so well; Libby seems to be much more interested in playing sports rather than watching/cheering for them. Dad can handle soccer games or volleyball games or softball games or tennis matches or lacrosse games. Dad cannot handle cheerleading competitions, cheerleading moms or cheerleaders in general (present company is excluded!). In other exciting news, Libby starts story time at the library on Wednesday night. This could go very well, as Libby loves books and reading. It could also go very badly, as Libby also loves being in charge and being the center of attention. Here's hoping Bookworm Libby shows up and not Destructo Libby! That would be bad.

We're Still Here!

Libby doing her best Superfly Snuka

It's been almost a month since Mary Frances joined the family, and in that time Mom and Dad haven't had time to post on the blog, weren't really able to celebrate their third anniversary, and certainly have not gotten any sleep! But, this is to be expected with Libby and Mary ruling the Yandek Household. As is the case with newborns, Mary is growing and changing faster than any of us want her to. She has already gained two pounds and is growing taller by the second. While she still has her days and nights mixed up, she is doing more interacting and is far more alert than she was her first few days at home.

Mary after a bath

Libby is doing a great job at taking everything in stride. After some initial trepidation on her part, Libby has accepted her sister with open arms (sometimes too open!). Libby still won't say "Mary"; instead, she calls her "Sissy." She wants to share everything with Mary--milk, goldfish, blankets, picture frames, etc. Likewise, she is always willing to lend a hand in changing her diaper and she has become very protective. Whenever Libby senses "Stranger Danger" near her sister, she points and screams and yells.

"No pictures, please!"

The only time Libby doesn't really care for Mary is when Mary screams during "Dora." When this happens, which is quite often, Libby will yell "NO!" at Mary, as if this will solve the problem. It's cute, but it's also a tad bit distracting when Mom or Dad is driving the car and trying to pay attention over Dora's singing, Mary's screaming, and Libby's yelling. Good times!

Chillin' out

Libby and Dad have been spending a lot of time together, since Mary monopolizes most of Mom's time. They've had lots of fun going to the park, grocery shopping, going to the pool, taking long walks, and watching football! Libby and Dad still like to read books and wrestle on the living room floor, as well.

Cutie or Troublemaker?

The good news for everyone is that Libby's new bedroom is almost done! Once that happens, Libby will get to move into her very own new bedroom (thanks Papa Yandek and Dad!) and then Mary can move into the nursery and out of Mom and Dad's room! This will be a very good thing for all members of the Yandek Family. It's been a long time since our last post, but everyone has been healthy and happy, and while we may be overtired, we are all enjoying the Fall weather!

The First Week

Mary dressed to go home

Lots to report in the week since Mary has joined the Yandek Family. Mary has already had official pictures taken and she successfully completed her one week check-up. Measurements after one week--9 lbs., 5 oz., 20 1/2 in. So, in her first week, Mary gained 4 oz., which is good news, as she is not having any of the same digestive issues that Libby had during her first few weeks. Mary has tolerated every type of formula she has been given and seems to be a very healthy eater.

Libby showing Mary a little love

Mary pretty much sleeps all day and is up for the better part of the night. However, she is a very laid back young lady. Even when she's up in the middle of the night, she utters nary a peep unless she is absolutely starving. The benefit of being a newborn? Mary gets to sleep in Mom and Dad's room, which is the only air conditioned room in the house. Take that, Libby!

Is that Libby or former All-Star Catcher and World Series MVP Darrell Porter?

Libby has done her very best to adjust to all the craziness at her house. There have been some tough moments for her, but overall, she has done very well. Libby is acknowledging the existence of her sister, and she even kisses her goodnight when she goes to bed. Libby is very gentle with her sister when she points out Mary's eyes, ears, nose, hair and when she tickles Mary's feet. Likewise, Libby has shown an interest in helping change her sister's diaper. This is very cute, except when Mom or Dad catches Libby taking off Mary's diaper for no reason. Oh well, there could be worse things...like spending a night in the Emergency Room, which Libby did early Monday morning when she had a severe case of bronchitis. Poor Libby. It's not bad enough that someone moved in on her turf, but she had to get shots and IVs as well.

These aren't the droids you're looking for.

Overall, the first week was an adventure for everyone involved. Mom and Dad did their best to maintain their sanity and regular sleeping hours, Libby tried her hardest to be nice to her sister and to accept that she wasn't going away, and Mary tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to stay awake for more than fifteen consecutive minutes.