New Jammies and Standing

I think she looks like an Easter egg.


She's inching toward mobility.

Song

On this very rainy day, this quirky song I found last night made me smile. Thought I'd share it with you.

Look What I Can Do

The Boy wanted to show you all that he has learned to cross his eyes.

This cracks me up every time he does it.

Make a Wish

I just took the Boy to the mall to get him a new hat and an Easter shirt.  While we were there he wanted to throw a penny into the fountain – so I gave him a penny.  He was about to toss it in when I reminded him that he needed to make a wish.   And here it was…

”I wish I could throw this penny into the water.”

What do you know? It came true.

Updates on the Girl

It's over. Finished. Through. Ended. No more breastfeeding for me, ever. Once the girl grew in her top teeth, it became impossible to nurse. So as of today, she is on the sippy cup. I am not the least bit sad about it. She also learned to do this... The mohawk continues to get taller and taller. When we are in public people often comment on it. Most are surprised to hear that it is au naturel.

I love those baby blues.

Quotes from the Boy

A few days ago the Boy came up and hugged me and said, “Don’t worry mom, I’m getting enough attention”. 

Today he was in the bathroom but awfully quiet for longer than normal.  I asked, “Boy, what are you doing?” He replied, “I needed a pit stop”.

What Would You Do?

I bought the Boy a Buzz Lightyear today. It was on clearance so why not? When we got home, he realized it was not the kind that had moving wings.  He started to whine and cry that he didn’t want it.  So I told him throw it away or I’ll give it to someone else , but he was not getting a new one.  He pitched a fit all the way to the trash can and chucked it in. 

Now I know there is a teaching moment in here, but I cannot see past the annoyance and disappointment to find it.  What would you do?

Luck of the Non-Irish

I own this shirt. I wore it today.  It totally saved me from a ticket.  I was definitely speeding. So was the guy in front of me.  The officer knew it.  He turned his lights on, and I pulled off into a parking lot. He started to follow me, but stopped mid-turn.  I could see him trying to decide whether to turn and get me or get the guy in front of me who had kept going straight.  A pedestrian crossing the parking lot entry at that very moment made him decide to go after the other guy.  Lucky me!!! I may never take this shirt off again.

Civics Lesson

In the drive thru at McDonalds last night the Boy saw our Tax and Total on the screen. So he asked me what tax is.  I explained in some detail about the role of government in our lives and how we have a president to “make rules” and have taxes to help pay for things like schools and firefighters.  After my 3 or so minute discourse, I got in return a very monotone response of, “Wow. That’s amazing.” 

This is what he gets for having a mother with a Political Science degree.

Here Goes Something

The house goes on the market this week.  We’re both stressed about it. I offered everyone in my Primary class the chance to buy it for $1.  They all declined.  Four-year-olds are pretty stingy with their money it seems.

Wish us luck!

Repeat…Repeat…Repeat

I may have stumbled upon something wonderful.  The Boy found the digital voice recorded a few days ago.  He’s been playing with it almost constantly since.  Today, I decided to put it to use in a way only a nagging mother could.  After the Boy comes down from quiet/nap time, it can be a struggle to get him to get back into his pants.   Okay, honestly, it’s always a struggle to get into his pants.  Here’s where the recorder comes in.

I recorded me saying, “Boy, put your underwear and your pants back on”.  I said it to him one time after he came down today.  When he didn’t comply, I hit PLAY.  The great thing abut the digital recorder is that you don’t have to rewind. It cues up to the beginning of the last recording all by itself.  So I hit PLAY again.  All the while, I’m enjoying chips and salsa.  He got dressed, I spared myself the agony of having to repeat and repeat and repeat.  Victory!

PJs

Kids in PJs are to die for, aren’t they?  And aside from their semi-outrageous price, Gap PJs are so, so cute. I love it when they love each other – especially in coordinating star jammies.

Our Sweet Little Boy

Oh sorry….this is our sweet little girl.  You just can’t tell because I put her in an old sleep sack.  She doesn’t mind.  We’re progressive in this house.  Anyhow, this is her first encounter with finger food.  I love Baby Mum Mum and she took to it pretty darn well.

Just a Quick Rant

…about the English language.  As I read with my four-year-old, it becomes more and more apparent to me that the English language is, in a word, ridiculous.   Here are four of the MANY  examples.  Pronounce these words to yourself.

Now          Cow          Mow
Rough      Tough      Though
Later         Hater       Water
Go              So              Do

See what I mean? Don’t even get me started on the silent K.  I wouldn’t be too incredibly sad if Spanish ever takes over as the official language of the United States and spelling bees became a thing of the past.

A Sunbeam

The Boy gave his first talk in Primary today.

He was most excited to sit in the special seat, which comes with the added bonus of being able to draw on the board.


When it was his turn, he got up there and performed like a pro. I was so proud of him.

It Takes Focus

The Boy was in the bathroom the other day and was awfully quiet for some time. So I decided to check:

Me: Boy, are you okay in there?
Boy: Mom?
Me: Yes?
Boy: I'm concentrating.

Right. Of course.

He's 4!!

Since the weather predicted a massive snow in, we celebrated the Boy's birthday a day early. He wanted to do it all himself this year. So he picked out his own...


...breakfast and dinner...


...presents...


...balloons (a Roxy favorite)...


...and cake. Make a wish!

They're Here

...and making our lives a little bit sad from time to time.

The More the Merrier

This was the Boy's attempt at making the Girl happy.

That's What I Like to Hear

Hear's one of my new favorite things to hear:

"Mom, I'm not ready to come out of quiet time yet."

It leaves me with deep sighs of great satisfaction.

I'm a Believer

The Man bought these BOB books for the Boy when he was two and worked with him most every night on them. He has been a pretty good reader for about a year now. I continue to be impressed with him, though. Today I was watching a news show, which said at the bottom of the screen that it was being broadcast from D.C. Without prompt or any help (and I'm pretty sure no exposure to the word before) he read outloud, "Washington".

Not bad, huh?

Pbbbbbbbbbbt! @ You

This is her new favorite trick. She did this for 15 minutes straight today. Unfortunately, my phone only records in 14 second increments and has horrible picture quality. The Man has been trying to get me to upgrade for a while. Oh well, you'll get the idea. Probably will need to turn your volume up.

Cutie

I was and still am concerned that I'll have no idea how to dress a little girl. Why? I don't know. I'm weird. But I think she looks not so bad here. Maybe even adorable? Someone tell me it will be alright.

Christmas

We spent our Christmas Eve at home having our traditional "Bethlehem dinner" and then opening our stockings.

The kiddos got PJs - the Boy's glow in the dark and the Girl's are about 3 sizes too big for her despite the tag indicating 6-9 months. So she won't be wearing them for a while.


The next morning the Boy did most the present opening. Including dumping out the Girl's giant bag of clothes.

She looked on, possibly knowing that she was getting the short end of the stick due to her inability to use her hands like a human.


Thanks to all who contributed to my new, fabulous wardrobe. xox Lil Diva

The Boy was excited to get new games, a Mr. Potato Head, new movies, a pretend doctor's kit (which has come in handy so many times already I tell ya), and books.



He also got this little (not so little) remote control car, which gave the Girl her first goose egg on the head a few days later. This sucker is crazy and the Boy adores it.


I hope you all had a good Christmas and do have a Happy New Year!

Playing Catch Up

Here are some things we've been up to around the holidays.

We ate some turkey in Virginia.


We learned to sit....sort of.


We played superhero.


We slept.....on top of luggage.


And we made a snowman that might be better placed in Halloween than Christmas.

Good Intentions and Merry Christmas

I was planning on doing a Christmas card this year, but then...I just didn't. The good news is, I don't have to choose just one picture of the kiddos that I love - I can post them all! So here's what we did in 2010:

The Man: served as Chief Resident again this year. He worked hard to pass Boards and secured interviews at a number of prestigious fellowship programs for Musculoskeletal Radiology, but decided to accept an offer from Washington University in St. Louis. So we're leaving New York after nine years. But that's a post for another time.

The Boy: learned to swim this year and has also become an excellent reader. I am always surprised at his willingness to try new words and impressed with his level of accuracy. He loves his preschool co-op and pushing mom's buttons. He also loves, loves, loves his little sister. He was born to be an older brother.

I: had a baby. Did I need to do more?

The Girl: is nearly 6 months. She is almost nothing like my first child. She squaks like a baby eagle and grumbles like a grizzly bear. You can easily taunt a smile out of her, and it is so very sweet. She weighed in today at a whopping 13 pounds 8 ounces, putting her in the 11th percentile for her age. She did, however, break all family records by pushing the 50th percentile for height. We do not expect that to last.

We are grateful for our family and friends who love and support us in all we do. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a pleasant New Year.

He Had a Hard Day at Work

Growing

Loves to smile.

Loves her play mat.


Loves her brother.

What We've Been UP to Lately

I'd say about seven feet.

Halloween

Finally getting around to posting Halloween pictures. The Boy decided he wanted to be Buzz Lightyear this time around. I thought going on Ebay to find a costume would be a brilliant idea. So did 3,000 other people. I lost a lot of bids before snagging up this baby.

This one was much easier. Ain't she sweet?