precious baby girl

penelope has been growing growing growing!

month 1 (may):  the first two weeks she was easy peasy...sleeping and eating and sleeping and eating...she started herself on a three-hour schedule with very little intervention.  she would wake up, eat (which took 20-25 minutes), be awake for 15-20 minutes more while being held and patted, then she would lay down and go to sleep for 2 hours.  at about 3 weeks, she started getting a little more challenging, waking up more often and not wanting to go back to sleep.  mix that with a growth spurt and 2 weeks of sleep deprivation on my end and things got a little gummy for a while.

at her 2 week appointment, she was 20.5 inches (gained 1/2 inch), and was 7 lbs 11.5 oz (gained 1.5 oz and was in the 60th percentile for weight).

the third week after getting home from the hospital, my mom came to stay and we began painting our main living space.  a little too ambitious, i think, when trying to juggle a newborn and a toddler...didn't realize that until my mom left and the room was only half-finished.  won't lie, the other 3 walls took over 3 more weeks to complete.  and i still have touch-ups to go back and do.  probably won't happen before we move out next summer and have to paint it all back to white.  just being realistic.

after my mom left, we moved penelope to the living room to sleep because she was so dang noisy in the middle of the night, making grunting noises and squirming all night long.  because she still gets up at night to eat, we haven't moved her to her crib in atticus' room yet.

at about 4 weeks, she slept for five hours in a single stretch for the first time.

month 2 (june): things began to get much easier around five and a half weeks.  she started smiling at 6 weeks and hasn't stopped since!  (not to brag or anything, but she rolled from her back to her tummy at five and a half weeks...not that she's done it again since then, but seriously, she's strong.)  every week or so she began adding an hour to her first stretch at night.  she would eat at 9:30 and go to bed around 10.  by seven weeks, she had slept for a seven hour stretch one night, and a few nights later for an 8 hour stretch.  then, for some reason, she went back to waking up every 3 hours...that was a long week!

if she wakes up any time after 4:30 to eat, she starts her day...luckily she's still only up for about an hour total, so it's not like i have to stay up from 4:30 (or whatever time) on, but it's still early.

she slept through the night for the first time at eight and a half weeks. (9:30p - 6:30a)

at her two month appointment, she was 23 inches long (76th percentile) and weighed 9 lb, 8 oz (20th percentile) right after feeding...she's a long, skinny little peanut!

guess what i've been up to?

hey all. it's atticus "the toddler" v.v. i would call myself "the todd" for effect, but that might get a little confusing.

anyway, i've pretty much been absorbing all the information that exists. or has existed. or will exist. get this: i can say over 20 words and counting. (well, i'm not the one counting...i guess i haven't mastered all the information that exists...note to self: learn how to count.) don't believe me? that's just the jealousy talking. get ready for this...

"mama,"
"yeah,"
"hi,"
"puppy,"
"baby,"
"belly button,"
"ball,"
"bird,"
"poop pants,"
"grandpa,"
"kitty,"
"no, no"
"nuk,"
"book,"
"sister,"
"thank you,"
"car,"
"truck,"
"choo choo,"
"bear,"
"baseball,"
"brown bear,"
"uh oh,"
"uh huh,"
"cheese,"
"excuse me,"
"whoa,"
and more (and literally, "more"), but you're you're not privileged to that information. (granted, i have to have an interpreter - i.e., mommy or daddy - for anyone else to understand what i'm saying, but still.)

i LOVE animals and can say, "woof," "meow," "baa baa," "neigh," "whoo whoo," "rrrrr" (that's a lion) and make an elephant noise. i have been known to say, "woof, woof, puppy" over and over. and over. and over. it's a thrill ride, it really is.

i also communicate with gestures, like waving; making gestures for birds, crabs, and fish; signing thank you, please, all done, and more; signaling i want to be tickled; hugging and kissing my baby sister; and...the ever classic mommy-slap any time i'm unhappy with her decision making. word to the wise: feed me whenever i tell you to or watch your back.


i love bath time, my nuk, my lion pal, and my books. my favorite books are 'brown bear, brown bear,' 'the very busy spider,' 'the belly button book,' 'moo, baa, lalala,' 'blue hat, green hat,' and 'biscuit visits the pumpkin patch.' oh yes, and 'goodnight gorilla.' i don't think i could live without having that book read to me about 20 times an hour.

i love climbing onto the kitchen chairs and the couch. i like pretending to do pushups like daddy does. i love all things with wheels and love balls. i LOVE being outside, even though we can't go far since we usually just play on the patch of grass by our apartment while penelope is sleeping.

i love helping mom to take care of penelope - let's face it, she's in pretty sorry shape and needs my expertise. i also love helping mom to vacuum, take out the trash, and eat all the cookies.


i do NOT like coming inside after playing in the 'yard' (or really, the 'patch'), sitting on my bottom while on the couch or chairs, not being read to, and not being treated like the adult that i am.


at my 18 month appointment i weighed just under 23.5 pounds (23rd percentile), was 33.5 inches tall (85th percentile), and played in the biohazard bin.

okay, well, anymore information and people magazine won't have any motivation to pay me for an interview. so i'm going to clap my trap, go grab my nuk and lay down for some beauty sleep - i'm outtie. (so is my belly button - yes, you're seeing that picture correctly.)

dad life.

oh my word.  this video single-handedly popped me out of a postpartum funk.

Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

america's favorites go head-to-head

oh my, oh my. have i got a recipe for you.  [you], i'd like you to meet tammy's creamy macaroni and cheese.  tammy's creamy macaroni and cheese, i'd like you to meet...[you].

now don't get me wrong, i loved mac 'n cheese long before this little treasure.  but this is not even in the same category as normal homemade mac 'n cheese, not even to mention kraft's...or worse, aldi's.  this mac 'n cheese is like the airbrushed version of britney spears.  sure, if the normal version is all you have, it definitely wouldn't be grounds for killing yourself or anything, but seriously.  airbrushed britney v. n'ere-a-shower britney? i'm sorry, but it's not even a competition.

and may i say, this macaroni has never done any of the following:

..worn latex.
..yo-yo dieted.
..been investigated by dhs.
..had a baby or otherwise associated itself with kevin federline.
..shaved its head.
..looked to jamie spears as its leading financial authority.

i'm just saying.

granted, it also didn't put out the single 'baby one more time,' which may or may not be a strike against it...i'm just giving you all the objective facts here, folks.

anyway, back to the mac.  i'm seriously considering opening a restaurant called "mac 'n more."  the more being more mac, of course.  and maybe some cookies.  because i have a great recipe for those, too.  i'll be a freaking millionaire.  then i'll finally be able to afford fake nails.

thanks, tammy's creamy macaroni and cheese, for making this little girl's wish come true.

summer fun

what we've been up to the last few days...

baby sister's bath-turned-water fun day

reading books...upside down.

collecting rocks in our brand-new howdy doody lunch box

coveting the neighbors' bikes

and general, all-around, outdoors fun.

(oh, and messing around with our new camera and software.)

see what i mean?

the writing of my last post on forgetfulness was prompted by a specific incident...which, ironically, i forgot to include in the actual post.




i forgot to call in for jury duty.

that's right.  i'm a criminal, contemptuous of court or whatever.  i specifically wrote in my planner "call for jury duty" on monday, june 8.  i look at my planner, realize june 8 has come and gone, and panic.  of course, i have misplaced the slip of paper with the jury...person's name on it, so i look online.  i find the number, call the girl, and apologize profusely.
me: i'm so so sorry.  i was supposed to call in for jury duty last night and i totally forgot.  i'm really sorry.

jury person: you were supposed to call in on monday.

me: yes.  last night.

j.p.:  no, monday.

me: what day is it?

j.p.: it's wednesday.

me: oh, sorry.  i'm so sorry.

j.p.: do you have your sheet with your juror number on it?

me: ....no...i misplaced it...i'm so sorry.  i just had a baby 6 weeks ago and i'm a little scattered.

j.p.: (TOTAL change of tone) oh really? congratulations.  do you stay home?

me: yes.

j.p.: are you nursing?

me: yes.

j.p.: i'm sending out a sheet right now that says you're excused.  thanks so much for calling.

whoa.  who knew it was so easy to have a crime erased from your record?  i wonder if it's so easy to get out of other crimes...

"i'm sorry for speeding, officer, but i'm a stay-at-home mom who's nursing."

"yes, i realize driving my car through the neighbor's window is a form of vandalism, not to mention the fact that i've been drinking, but see? baby attached to my boob."  (side note: this actually happened to our next door neighbors...well, i don't think the drunk girl was also nursing at the time, but other than that, spot-on.  another argument that our apartments are super ghetto.) 

"vandalism? spray painting my gang name on the side of a train car?  i didn't realize i would get in trouble for it, seen as how i'm nursing this here baby."

i should really see how far this 'nursing mother' thing can get me in life.  or at least in the criminal justice system.

as for the planner that apparently served to be no help at all in the memory department....well, i seem to have forgotten where i put it.

who? what?

gah.  pregnancy brain was nothing compared with my new, sleep-deprived "mommy brain."  the other day, the bank called and asked for my maiden name. 

"page." no, wait, that's my mom's maiden name.  i mean my daughter's middle name...they probably think i'm restating my first name... "i mean, page."

at least i remembered something.  a few days prior to this, someone asked me what my daughter's name was - and i couldn't remember.

oh also, i swear i saw a seagull flying over our apartments like a week ago.  but that actually happened.  i think.

but then i smell penelope's little head, which smells like burt's bees shampoo - kind of spicy and milky, like a cookie - and i forget that i can't remember anything.  and i get really hungry for an eight-pound cookie.

a little family-friendly fun with the v.v.'s

looking for a little date night fun?  while it didn't receive two thumbs up from ebert (or roeper...but i think he died, so it shouldn't reflect on the film that he withheld his thumbs), i have a GREAT movie recommendation for you: sunday school musical.

yes, i typed that correctly.  being big 'high school musical' fans AND fans of sunday school, todd and i knew we couldn't go wrong when we saw this little gem staring us in the face in the kid's section at the library.  we were sold when we saw the tagline, "we put the 'hip' in worship!"  good, i was thinking worship was getting a little old school and could use a little pick-me-up.  needless to say, we checked it out.  and a little more necessary to say, we actually watched it.

want to know what your life has been missing without this beaut?  besides the fact that you obviously don't know the words to 'you're not the boss' and you've never heard zachary's rap about a manhole, you can't possibly experienced suspense on this level.

biracial zachary is torn between his old, KICKIN, multi-ethnic church choir and his new, lame, white-kids school choir - both of which will be competing at the states competition...AGAINST EACH OTHER.  bum bum bum.  will he betray his old friends?! will his dad come back from the military in time to see him perform?!  will he say anything insensitive to the girl whose mom just died?!  why is he watching himself breakdance in the mirror in the school bathroom?!  will the choir judge go against the what the bible clearly says about choir competitions and forbid them to compete?!

also, the lady from the 1-800-BETS-OFF commercial cameos as zachary's no-nonsense bible class teacher - you've never seen her in a role like this before.

you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll watch it over and over again.  or just the once.  whatever, your life will never be the same.  so if you like semi-inspirational, mildly-christian boyz II men karaoke,  this movie is for you.  check it out at the library - they have two copies.  (i'd hurry, though; after this review i have a feeling the queue list will back up for these babies.)

still not convinced? check out the trailer.  it's the BEST AT EVERYTHING.



it also inspired some profound dialogue between my husband and i - always welcome, since we've been married for nearly three years now and have run out of things to talk about.

todd: he's like usher.  you know like an usher....at church. HA. HA.
paige: ha.ha.
todd: he's the christian usher.
paige: he's CRUSHER.
todd: if you don't blog this, you would be very wrong.

and, after seeing zachary sporting a striking black-and-white striped hoodie, todd was like, "what are you, the hamburglar?"

and there's the real suspense of the movie: what IS he, the HAMBURGLAR?!?!  seriously, edge-of-your-seat kind of stuff here, people.

modest is hottest.

i feel privileged to be "in the know" about fashion this season.  last year i bought this one-piece swimming suit - mostly for modesty reasons, but also because i'd had a baby the previous winter and stuff settles back in differently.  not to mention the fact that i got a REALLY dark line down my belly when i was pregnant and it took about 6 months to fully fade.  nothing screams "hot bikini" like a dark stripe connecting the top piece to the bottom piece.

anyway.  one-piece swimsuit.  THIS season, i have heard the phrase "modest is hottest" in regards to swimwear.  not only do i back this campaign 110% (no one cares about your belly button ring - put some clothes on), but...i also thought of it.

i'm a PC (paige chorpening) and 'modest is hottest' was my idea...last season.

a compelling argument against co-sleeping.

last weekend we took the kids down to my parents' for a little change of pace and to introduce penelope to family who hadn't met her yet.  i have a really hard time sleeping in the same room with her (she's INCREDIBLY noisy in her sleep) so i let her sleep in one room, and todd, atticus and i slept in another room.

around 6:30 on sunday, atticus was up and ready for the day, making all kinds of noise in the pack and play.  (i think they should rename those things to 'sleep and keep on sleeping'...it gives kids mixed signals to include the word "play" in what is mostly used for a bed.) so i got up to lay him back down, hoping it would give him the hint to go back to sleep.

because it was still dark in the room and my eyes were all dried out from 4 weeks of sleep deprivation, i couldn't see super well, so when i looked in the bed and saw these dark spots everywhere, i was understandably confused.  then i remembered that he had this scab on his knee that he would sometimes scrape and it would bleed everywhere, so i determined it must be blood.  everywhere in his bed.  fantastic.

then, though bleary-eyed, i figured out that he was bare-butt...he had figured out how to take off his diaper and those dark splotches were not blood.  and what in the world was that wet puddle on the floor?

yes, he had pooped his pants, taken his diaper off, stepped in the poop, then walked all over the bed.  then, standing against the side of the pack and play, he had peed through the mesh.

thank goodness we got to him before he tried to pick it up...it would have been all over his hands and in his hair.  gag.

and, call me selfish, but thank goodness it didn't happen in a shared bed.