The Big Man's Arrival

The big day came and went so quickly, but the girls, as always, were beyond spoiled and had a fabulous day from morning until night. They got all they wanted and some of their favorites from Santa were: the figure playset from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, a portable CD player with microphone set (for our listening pleasure), Leap Frog Driver, an "Annie" doll, a cleaning set (my girls like to clean as much as i do!) and a pink Leapster.

We went to Mema and Papa's house in the early afternoon and exchanged presents with them and Aunt Kimmie & Uncle Andrew....what fun! Mema always goes above and beyond and we all left feeling overwhelmed!

Tonight we are having Christmas with the Lanigan's and Kaufmann's.....pictures to follow!

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear....

Christmas is upon us way too quickly this year....maybe it's because we have 2 children now, but it sure seems like there wasn't enough time to prepare. With all that said, we got just about everything done in time for Santa's big arrival.

Before that day, John's cousin Lisa and her son (our godson) Jake, spent 2 days with us. We had a great time and it was great to see the kids interact.

We spent Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Reilly's with John's Uncle Rich and his cousins Richie (and girlfriend Melissa) and Tara (and boyfriend Kris). We had a great time and even managed to get everyone in a picture using a timer on our camera. It was VERY late, way past bedtimes, thus poor little Jake's face!

Baby Dominic

On December 15th, I helped host a baby shower at Stephanie & Alan's beautiful home in Towson, MD. Baby Dominic is due in February and boy oh boy (pun intended!) we can't wait to meet this baby! Stephanie and Alan were overwhelmed with gifts and all the guests had a blast! Steph and I were roommates in college, so this is a milestone in our relationship - from keg stands to baby showers!!!! I must say, she is looking beautiful----all baby!!!

It was the first time I have been away from the girls for more than 1 night....it was tough, but I did enjoy the "quiet" time.....John and the girls had a party at home and a great father/daughter weekend. They met me right outside of security at the airport (what a great surprise!) and we even attempted to go out to dinner, not something we try with our energetic 19 month old!

The Sound of Music....

Miss Skylar had surgery today to put tubes in both ears....everything went perfectly! After having visit 4 different hospitals with her over the last year, we can confidently say this, by far, was our best experience yet. The process went smooth and Skylar made it through like the strong baby she is! We are looking forward to seeing progress and for her to get relief of chronic ear infections. We'll keep you posted!

SURPRISE!!!!

Well boy was I fooled. First for my engagement. Then for my bridal shower. Then for Kaitlyn's baby shower. Then for Skylar's baby shower. Now, with a few notches under my belt, you'd think I wouldn't fall for some of the tricks, but I was completely surprised for my 30th birthday!!!

John, Mom and Kim helped organize my friends (even Allison from VA!) and family surprise me at a local pub "Fatty McGee's" on Saturday night - and OH WHAT A NIGHT!!! Typically I am asleep by 10pm and I think I lasted until almost 4am....needless to say I was wiped out by 7pm on Sunday!

Mema created a fun photo show - check it out!

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/JQ2mQ3MK

Reilly's in the Christmas Spirit!!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1128106984

St. Jude's Preschool

We received Kaitlyn's school pictures and here they are! We aren't thrilled with her individual photo, we don't think it really "looks" like her, but her class photo is cute. We think the photographer needs to stick to a word like "cheese" instead of "toy".....note the tallest child in the class!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving...surrounded by family and friends, it was perfect! First we went to Mema and Papa's house for dinner, then off to Grandma and Grandpa's for dessert. We really need to start investing in elastic banded pants for this big day....

The Reilly's, The Lanigan's, The Gigante's, The Kaufmann's, the Harris' and the Cheeseman's!

Three generations of Reillys!

This week we are keeping busyas usual with John working extra long days and dance class for Kaitlyn, etc. Skylar is going through an episode this week, so we are hoping and praying that she passes all the testing this week for her scheduled procedure on December 4th. Tuesday is John's birthday and Skylar has her pre-surgical testing. Wednesday Jennie is having a "gold" party at Mema's house where guests bring broken or mismatched jewelry to receive cash! We figure there's no better party than one leaving WITH money rather than spending it!

Stay tuned for pictures from John's birthday!

Rings on her Fingers, Tubes in her Ears!

Skylar had her follow up with the ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) doctor on Tuesday. He confirmed she does have at least a 20% hearing loss and that tubes would help her tremendously. Considering she has had over 13 ear infections (in addition to her pulmonary issues) the past year, this was an easy decision for John and me. The procedure is scheduled for 12.4.07, pending blood work and clearance from her pediatrician. Please send healthy vibes our way! We don't want to have to reschedule!

Some pictures from the summer....Mema and Aunt Barbara (Mema's friend) took the girls to a local butterfly farm. They had a blast!

Tricks and Treats

First things first, PICTURES!!!!

Princess Fiona (the ogre Fiona...) and Tutti Frutti (the chiquita banana girl)

What an exciting day....if you're a kid! Kaitlyn had a party at school which Pop and Skylar got to attend. Then off to East Islip where they visited Grandma and Grandpa and Mema and Papa (thanks for the pictures Mema!). The girls had a great day, filled with LOTS of candy (boy did John and I have fun picking out our favorites!) and excitement. They ran from house to house! Kaitlyn got to give out the "treats" at Mema's house (who gets almost 200 treaters on this day!), but she had RULES. "And who are you?" well, the teenagers thought this was funny as they were standing in flannel pj pants filled with shaving cream! Then she would ask, "and what do you say?" I think the trick or treaters laughed more than we did!

Skylar vs. Witchcraft

Skylar had her first visit with the alternative medicine doctor on Friday.....I know that many of you may have been as skeptical as me, so let me give you an example of one of his patients.

A family friend's best friend stopped getting her period around age 20. She also suddenly had gained a large amount of weight. After seeing several doctors, she was told that her body was going through menopause and that they would try hormone therapy to trick her body to get back to its regular cycle. Dr. Capuano had a different theory (after he tested her); He said that her body was allergic to Vitamin A, Vitamin D and was actually allergic to her own hormones. Her body's reaction was to turn the Vitamins she was allergic to into fat, causing her to gain a sudden amount of weight. His practice is to reverse the allergy (that is where the skepticism plays a role). Within a short time, she lost all the weight and now has a regular cycle.....

With that said, John and I felt we had nothing to lose but to see what Dr. Capuano had to say about Skylar. He evaluates patients biomedically. To give you a picture, she had to hold a medal rod in her left hand that was connected to a machine, that made a pitch noise and had a meter reading. He sat facing Skylar and held two "pens" connected by a wire. He had THOUSANDS of vials (similar to what an apothecary's office would look like), each one containing a "reactor." As Skylar was holding the rod in her left hand, he would touch her right hand with one pen and hold the other pen over a vial. If the meter's pitch changed, then her body was reacting to a reactor (this type of alternative practice was founded in theh 1800s in Germany). After going through several hundred reactors, he determined her allergies to be:

wheat, gluten, dairy, salt, sugar, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, corn.

Essentially, everything that Skylar was eating, her body was allergic to. Her body's defense mechanism was to build mucus to protect itself and after similar testing (of her body parts) the only body part affected was her lungs. Again, to see this type of testing in his office is to believe it. It was (literally) awesome.

So now what?

He needs to reverse her allergies with a form of acupuncture (she is too small for needles). Since she has so many allergies, it will be a 3 step process. The first step, which was on Friday, was to reverse the salt and sugar allergy. After the acupuncture treatment, she was not permitted to touch or consume salt and sugar for 25 hours. This was the hard part! Try and tell your baby no milk bottles! Her diet consumed of only: meat, chicken, eggs and distilled water. NOT EVEN A BATH, since tap water has salt in it! Successfully (we think) we did it. God bless our little Skylar bean for being such a great patient. Let's hope the reversal worked. We have our next appointment on November 17th.......

Van Gogh....I mean Kaitlyn!

Miss Kaitlyn is an avid artist....she spends (with no exaggeration) about 3 hours each day coloring. We think she is getting really good and Aunt Kim said she is definitely ahead of her 2nd graders! Check these out!

Miss Skylar is going through another "episode" this week and back on steroids (on top of her singulair and nebulizer - 2 different meds - treatments). John and I re-evaluated her care and are opting to see a holistic doctor. We have our first appointment Friday and are anxious to experience the exam and treatment process. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and hope this little angel gets a break soon!

Fall is rockin' and rollin'!

Speaking of rolling......Kaitlyn is really trying to get rolling skating down pat. Since the weather was so great this weekend, she practiced all weekend! Skylar found this amusing too. Instead of being a supporting lil sis, she decided it would be more fun to push Kaitlyn, make her fall and then laugh so hard, she'd lose her breath. Kaitlyn on the other hand, didn't it find it so amusing. I guess being the mom, the right thing to do would be to tell Skylar to stop, and "not nice" but I guess I was too busy laughing too. Sorry Kaitlyn!

Mema had a great birthday weekend last week. Aunt Kimmie bought her a new kitten, who she quickly named "Martie" short for martini (Kimmie has a cat named, "Quila" short for tequila). Martie seems to be adjusting to the Lanigan household, and has quickly become a part of the family.

John has been very busy on the boat, working all weekend. We miss him! Let's see how fun it was for him.....bachelor party on Friday night resulting in a 350 lb man puking everywhere......last night the life raft blowing off the top deck because the water was so rough resulting in a man getting knocked in the head....and today trying to fix the generator and fuel filters. I think the girls' weekend definitely topped his!!! Don't worry, I did make one of his favorite dinners, Aunt Shirley's camp stew (we used the final canned goods she sent!), and brownies for dessert. And tomorrow night, another favorite, meatloaf! Don't worry, John, I won't make mashed potatoes!

Skylar's Recent Doctors Visits

Like March, September is in like a lion and out like a lamb. The heat and humidity are gone, and that means our roses are happy and blooming again!


A quick update on Miss Bean. On Friday, she visited the audiologist for a hearing exam. Although she does not have permanent hearing damage, she does not hear 100%. We were advised to follow up with our ENT (ear, nose, throat doctor) for a thorough exam and to answer the "why" question. Then, over the weekend, Skylar developed (yet another!) double ear infection....which resulted in a visit to the pediatrician Monday morning. We were also lucky to get an appointment with the ENT this morning, so we got answers quickly! The ENT, who happens to be friends with our OB/GYN, recommended that Skylar get tubes in her ears, which is a very inevasive, common procedure. The only glitch is that she needs to be put under anesthesia, and with her pulmonary issues, she will need special attention. John and I are comfortable with this answer, since we think she deserves special attention anyway! We are confident that this procedure will result in many positive outcomes including less discomfort, less frequent ear infections, draining of her sinus cavity and more sleep (for her AND us!). By the way, 24 hours of antibiotics and she is more than back to normal, learning a new trick! She can take all the toilet paper off the roll, put it in the toilet and flush (or at least try to get it to flush). This new trick is particularly fun for John and I since we get to unclog the bowl often. And for those of you who are thinking "why not just shut the door" - good try. She's learned to open doors too. Looks like we'll be child-proofing even more this weekend!



Kaitlyn is of course doing a great job as big sister. Tonight, as i was trying to give Skylar her medicine, Kaitlyn suggested that i pretend to give it to her and then Skylar will want some. Well, it worked. Skylar took the antibiotic like i would do a shot of tequila! Thanks Toots!

PS - for those interested, I applied for "Design on a Dime" on HGTV for our living room! Wish me luck!

Feeling Itchy....

So....do you know where I was 7 years ago?? On my honeymoon! 7 years have gone by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday we were visiting photographers, and now we are going to meet the teacher night! It's amazing how our priorities have shifted.....from burgers and volleyball at Finagle Inn to, "how about chinese so we don't have to deal with the kids in a restaurant?" That was our anniversary dinner! And we loved every minute....really!

Fall is in full effect. Kaitlyn (a.k.a. DRAMA QUEEN) is doing well in school and making new friends. She loves dance class and is anxiously anticipating Halloween. By the way, the answer to the poll is "Fiona" from Shrek!

Skylar (a.k.a. toughie) is doing well too. She is currently not feeling well, as were are in week 2 of what seems to be a 5 week cycle (2 weeks sick, 3 weeks well), but still very active. Friday she is going for a hearing test since she doesn't speak any words yet. It's hard for John and I not to compare to Kaitlyn who was already singing the alphabet at 16 months, but this test will put our minds at ease that she is communicating and not ready to speak versus having difficulty hearing. It's a simple first step.

Last but not least, we are so thankful that Mema is back to work! After a reported heart attack and week off to relax (yeah right!) she is recovering well, and hopefully learning to take it easy....

The Reilly's are looking forward their some of their favorite activities in the upcoming months....craft fairs, pumpkin picking, wine tasting, and homecoming! Stay tuned!

No More A/C!

This is it! This is the best time of year on Long Island. No more A/C, just beautiful, humidity free, weather in the upper 70s. And with this weather comes......THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

The teacher, Miss Eileen, is very nice, just not warm and fuzzy the way I like it. But I can’t always have my way (or so I’m told) so this will be good for Kaitlyn. When we walked in for orientation, Kaitlyn dug right into the toys and the teacher commented “well, I can see she isn’t shy.” Oh, Miss E has no idea! They talked about separation anxiety and if any child gets upset, they would help them write a letter explaining why they were upset. I know I’ll never got one of those! Then she had her 1st day of dance class - She loved it! She learned how to do a plie and she plied all night in my kitchen until John tripped on her and said, ‘ok, let’s call it a night for pleis.'

Then yesterday for her first day "alone" at school. Papa dropped her off and again she went right to the toys. He said to her “I have to leave now.” She said, “ok, see ya.” He got a little sad! Then he got home, realized Skye only had one shoe and had to go back. The custodian found it for him. When he picked Kaitlyn up, he got a letter! Evidently, Miss K was a little sad. She wrote Papa a note “I miss you very much and I’m very sad you are not here please come back soon.” When she called me, she said “I had the worse day ever at preschool.” But then she continued with “we had graham crackers and apple juice and it was really fun in the big circle.” So I think she will be fine……………..

Miss Skylar is doing well. She is fully recovered from her last "episode" and has been doing better sleeping - better means we only get up once to get her a bottle and here her cry 2-3 times each night. Boy were we spoiled with our first one! She continues to make us laugh by always playing with anything she shouldn't, eating everything she can, and torturing our pets who are consistently patient with her.

Can you believe it's almost over?

Just like almost every other family, we can't believe how fast the summer went by! It seems like winter always lingers and summers swims by as quick as the tide rises and falls (nice analogy, eh?).

We are patiently (at least trying to teach patience) waiting the first day of pre-school for Kaitlyn and her first day of "dance class" - she will do 1 hour of ballet/tap. To prepare, Kaitlyn's new past time is to put on shows for not only us, but anyone who is willing to watch. They always begin with "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CHILDREN OF THE EIGHTIES...." if she only knew how true that statement is! Then she proceeds to dance, spin, dramatically fall and even include audience interaction ("mom, this is very important you know") where a high-five is occasionally given, mostly to her biggest fan, Skylar. The show (by her rules) must end in a loud applause and a standing ovation. This is all fun of course, except by the 80th show of the day, where as John put it well "this is much easier with a little Beam."

We thought you all might like a sneak peak at the result of this year's sunflower extravaganza. For those who don't know, i LOVE SUNFLOWERS! When we first looked at our house, our next door neighbor had several in her front yard. We later found out her mother had a passion for them as well and grew them every year and gave them out to anyone who wanted to take a stab at growing them. Our first spring in the house, we were saddened with the news of the sudden death of her mom, but a few weeks later, i was blessed to receive some of the sunflowers she had started to grow that spring. Since then, i have saved the seeds each year and now grow my own and give the seedlings to anyone who wants to try as well. This year's harvest is beautiful and also created a sort of "hybrid" flower (see photo). We also managed to lure a new bird to the neighborhood. The American Goldfinch who lives in our sunflowers. Last week the happy couple hatched their first brood and John and Kaitlyn witnessed the mom regurgitating seeds to its young today - gross i guess, but for a science teacher and his animal loving daughter it was a beautiful moment and i was glad to see their eyes light up in excitement.

Finishing up August with some Aquatic Fun!

August in like a lamb and out like a lion - anyone else think that it was weird to wake up to 58 degrees this morning? Hello? Don't we have October through April to wear pants?

Anyway.

We've had some fun times in August! I took Kaitlyn to her first baseball game! Although she was disappointed it wasn't the Yankees, the local minor league team did make a winning smile for her. Once again, it was FREEZING and raining, but we made our own fun! Since we were one of the first (and only) fans at the game we even received DUCKS hats! Unfortunately John had to work (yes, you can still fish in the rain!) but our neighbors came and the girls got to meet Quacker the Duck (like I said no one was at the game!).

This past weekend we took the girls across the LI Sound to Mystic, CT. We visited the aquarium as we are nautical geeks! Most families would tour the aquarium in about 4-5 hours, but the Reilly's spent 2 happy days with the beluga whales, sea lions, penguins and ray touch-tanks. We have so much fun together and enjoy teaching the girls as much as we can about aquarium life. Even teeny Skylar had a blast! We even managed to find a corner where you can "pet" an American Alligator (GO GATORS!) which amazed Kaitlyn.....But, Skylar was so happy to get home last night, she jumped in the bathtub with her clothes on!

Do they look alike?

Since many of our family and friends live some distance, we are often asked the question, "do the girls look alike?" Well, see for yourself! The two pictures above were taken this weekend while we were out and about. We have received a variety of comments from "they look like twins" to "they look like they didn't have the same parents!"

What do we think? Well, we think they resemble each other, meaning they look like sisters, but don't really have the same features OR personality. Kaitlyn typically wants to play with Barbies and check on the killie trap (bait trap we keep on the dock) while Aunt Kim & Uncle Andrew suggested they buy Skylar a football helmet for Christmas (as long as it says GATORS!)!

Summer Fun

Yesterday, Mema, Papa, Kaitlyn, Skylar and I traveled upstate to see Aunt Kim & Uncle Andrew. Believe it or not, Kimmie & Andrew have been married 2 years, but we couldn't see them on their anniversary since they were travelling in Italy (oh life before kids!!!).

We had a great time, and Kaitlyn has proven herself to be a great swimmer, on top and under the water and even taking the "plunge" and jumping off the big rock! Her eyes were pretty shades of pink and blue by the end of the day from opening her eyes under water.....

Skylar also had fun. In typical Skylar style, she tested all the rules and was thrilled at the size of this water bowl! She had so much fun, she couldn't even take a nap!

Of course a successful visit and we can't wait to get up there again (and Kaitlyn asks every day when we're going back!). There is nothing like good, quality SISTER time!!

Growing Up

On Friday night, I went to a happy hour with co-workers at a local bar for the first time in a few years. After an hour or so I ran into 2 guys I went to high school with. After some conversation, the one guy said, "look around - see all these guidos - that's why my girlfriend won't move to Long Island. I'm so past this happy hour stuff and just want to hang out at my house and get a few beers. My friends don't understand what it's like to have a mortgage and responsibility and just want to hang out at home." Then reality really struck - I am SO OVER happy hours. Granted, it was nice to be out and in adult conversation other than work, but all I could think about is "what are John and the kids doing?" "Did Skylar get her medicine?" "Did Kaitlyn eat all her dinner?"

I'd like to forego the mortgage responsibility, but other than that, life is just perfect. I mean, look at this face who is ecstatic at the thought of you splashing her with water!