Christmas Catch Up

Biker Boy

The E likes to ride. He and B got little trikes for their birthdays. B is content to explore the world on his own hands and legs, but E has taken to riding. He and H play a game which is a close cousin to 'GO' whereby H follows E around the circle... destruction in their path. E occasionally takes a detour to chuck books off the shelves, creating a little obstacle course for them. E also likes to place objects in the little basket on the front of the bike-- the TV remote, magnets from the fridge, a couple of goldfish (in case he gets hungry on the road and needs to stop for a quick bite).

And man is he fast. Scoot scoot. The only problem that we've encountered is that E seems to think he's invincible on his bike. He spent the first couple of days pissed that his bike couldn't drive up stairs, bellowing at the bottom of the steps... but since then, he's also driven his bike out into the garage, face planting at the bottom of the steps. Poor baby, road rage and road rash all hardships of being a biker.

Blue Steel gets a haircut

B got his first haircut the other day. I had been holding out until he turned one. After a few more times of being complimented on my 'adorable daughter,' I decided it was high time for a trim. B did quite well at the kids' salon... and as you can see, his curls are no longer (i.e. they're shorter).

B hasn't seen Zoolander (well at least not that I know of) but he has managed to perfect the main character's signature modeling pose: Blue Steel. For him, it's an expression that translates into, 'I am utterly frozen in anticipation and delight' or perhaps, 'My parents?!? Do something fun and entertaining?! Shocking!' haha. Nevertheless, it's become quite amusing 'round these parts when B encounters something he's excited about. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to completely capture the expression (the second of the two photos) but it's close.

B attacks!

Sorry, it's been awhile- things have been unbelievable hectic with the end of the semester. However, a quick posting to say, Hi! And check out our attempt to capture our sweet boys in a jolly Christmas photo. B took it upon himself to express the sentiments of the group. Can you tell they were less than amused? We had a great Thanksgiving and I'll get a few pics up shortly. Hope you had a wonderful holiday.

Birthday Babies

The babies, well, they are well on their way to no longer being babies anymore. Today, they turned one. Although they are both officially one now, it has been a cummulative two for some time- the additive power of two little boys crawling in opposite directions, pulling up, climbing over and on, and babbling, makes them the both of them as challenging as a two year old. Please keep us in your thoughts when they do turn two... haha. But truly, they are speeding towards toddlerhood at breakneck pace. Dad and I are enjoying the ride.

B likes to sing 'Ee-I-Ee-I' whenever he hears music. He's picked up on the refrain of Old MacDonald and it is certainly his favorite. E likes to point. He points at everything, Balloons! The attic string! Lights!

*******Happiest birthday wishes my sweet babies********

Halloween

Behold the lion costume purchased for H this Halloween but noooo, no, no, no, the boy had no interest in an adorable lion costume. When I gently pointed out that everyone had a costume, B was going to be a Duck and E was going to be a dinosaur. 'I do' H announced with certainty. 'Great' I said feeling relieved that we reached agreement. But well, no, I misunderstood. H was agreeing to wear a costume, as long as it wasn't a stinky lion... rather he'd be willing to squeeze into the dinosaur suit thankyouverymuch. At least, the roar we practiced was useful in either case.

twactor

Well, it was a few weeks ago, but Mimi the boys and I went to a local farm to celebrate fall and get out of the house. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun. The highlight for the boy may have been a tractor ride.

A few months ago, Dad stumbled on a veritable playground at Sears: the riding lawn mower section. He and H spent over 45 minutes 'driving' the tractors. Now, H mentions 'twactors' and the 'mall' frequently. Alas, with summer long over and mowing an infrequent activity, the mowers have been replaced with Christmas decor (yes, already). So, no more tractors at Sears, making this tractor ride all the sweeter.

Paco

'Paco!' H announced to us the other day. And then insisted for a few minutes, 'Paco.Paco.pacopacopaco!'

Dad and I look at each other in confusion... 'Paco?' Does H have a new classmate? He certainly has a diverse class, perhaps Paco has joined the mix?

The mystery was solved a few days later as Dad passed a construction site. 'Paco!!' H exclaimed with glee from the back.

Dad reported back, Paco = Backhoe. Duh, of course.

What I really wish for sometimes is a pocket translator for this kid.

Leaving... on an airplane

Actually, we aren't going on an airplane any time soon much to H's chagrin. Every time he hears the one pass over, the campaign starts:

'Eh, eh,' he eloquently suggests.

'Oh, H. You'd like to go on a plane?'

'I DO. I DO.' H screeches, as if finally you've comprehended his most fervent desire.

'Well H, we'll be visiting Lala and Grandpa in Minnesota this Christmas and we'll take an airplane.'

H listens thoughtfully and then suggests, 'Wake?'

'Yep, you'll have to wake 57 more times before we go.' This satisfies him.

H is developing a sense of time but it's focused on the future.

Pee, I dooo!

H has taken it upon himself to start using the potty. 'Pee.... Pee? I do. I do.' he'll announce. As we found out this weekend, if he's only wearing a diaper (and no pants), he'll whisk his diaper off and proceed to demonstrate his peeing skills. However, if we are able to interceed before the de-diapering, then we march off to his small potty to behold the magic. H pees in the potty. He is very pleased with himself. And so are we.

We haven't made much of potty training yet. We casually will mention it as a nebulous idea for the future. 'One day, H, you'll pee in the potty too.' As I joke with the pediatrician, we are in the diaper business right now, what's one more to change? But I think that H will be making the transition on his own. I'm sure it will take some effort on our part, but for now, doing it at his pace is working just fine.

Enamored

H is loving school. Loving it. He can't wait to 'wake' so he can go to 'cool'. He runs into the classroom every morning-- shouting 'bye-bye dad' before they even step foot into the building. He loves his teachers and he has made friends. In particular there is one little girl with whom he is totally enamored. He talks about her at bedtime when we're reading- pointing to pictures of curly haired girls and repeating her name, 'Neenah' (his pronunciation of it anyways).

When I was suggesting to him that we could go to the pumpkin patch last weekend (pictures to come), I listed the participants to him: 'Momma's going and H and B and E and Mimi' H chimed in 'Neenah' No, no alas, no Neenah this time.

Thus, H's class picture came as no surprise to us. H, in the center, has eyes only for his teacher and his Neenah.

High on the Hog

Little E has recently expanded the climbing campaign. He's all over the place: on H's new toddler bed, on the shapes truck (see above), up the stairs, on to the step stool... he's a maniac. And look how pleased with himself he is.

monkey house

SuperNanny has captured a few pictures of the boys in action. We have a small butcher block/island that the boys think is a giant climbing device smack in the middle of the kitchen for climbing practice. As they are becoming more physically agile, they spend more time clamoring around and getting into trouble. But lordy, they're cute doing it.

yuck.

B has a word of his own. 'Yuck' which he says with every bit the emphasis of disgust. I have to admit he learned this word from me. As B spends a lot of time trying to investigate yucky things: the toilet bowl, eating dirt, chewing on the A&D ointment tube, taste testing all types of paper products, and generally grossing me out on a regular basis, he hears the word a lot. 'B, Yuck!' I point out as I haul him away from the toilet. 'Yuuuuckk!' he happily agrees. 'yuck, yuck yuck' It's become a mantra for the boy. He repeats it over and over again as he goes about his day playing with toys. When I arrive home from school, he greets me with a 'yuck', a giant smile and a little gleam in his eye.

A Year Ago

It was almost a year ago that this picture was taken in front of Mimi and Poppa's house. Halloween is fast approaching again... and this year we have two more pumpkins in the mix. It's hard to tell how gigantically pregnant I was, but you'll have to take my word for it-- although it's been a year and lots has happened since then and now, somethings are indelibly imprinted in my memory (and on my belly). Other permanent marker moments include: the babies birth, the wonderful valentine's dinner I had with A, H dancing, E's grin when he stood for the first time, B splashing wildly, fake nose blowing, and many other snapshots in my mind.

b's balloon

B had fun attacking a balloon the other day. He was trying to bite it but fortunately, he wasn't able to get his sharp teethies into it. I know the noise of a bursting balloon wouldn't have gone over well.

Uh Oh, E

E has said his first word, 'Uh Oh' this morning. He was crawling around with a little plastic widgety gear (one of Henry's toys) and he dropped it. 'Uh Oh, E' I said and retrieved the toy for him. He looked at me as I handed it back to him and broke out in a big smile. 'Uuh oooh' he mimicked and chucked the gear down laughing uproariously. uh oh is right...

Who's afraid of the big bad Dark?

H has developed a terror of the dark. This weekend he spent the better part of 4 hours remarking on the fact that it wasn't dark. Dark? He questions, Dark!?! As night approaches, marked by dinner and bath time, the hysteria mounts: DARK? Poor guy.

He does have a night light, but we ran into the initial dilemma that the first one was too bright. He had trouble falling asleep. Its replacement is an exceedingly low watt indigo night light. The last few nights we have awoken (multiple times) to H's sobbing. When we go into comfort him, he is usually shaking. The solution is generally to bring him into bed with us (after several attempts to settle him back in his own bed).

I guess the plan is to get a brighter night light- in the meantime, H has got tired parents. Parents, who aren't so sure they like the dark themselves lately.

to the beat of his own noggin

B has recently taken up head banging in his crib. It first start during our trip to NH when he had an ear infection. It certainly relayed that he was in pain (or if he wasn't to start out with then he possibly was afterwards). But after his ear infection cleared, B continued to bang.

Apparently, he finds it a soothing way to calm down before falling asleep and it is mightily effective for getting mom and dad to wake up in the middle of the night and pick him up. Lordy. From the noise that it makes, we always expect to go in there and find him with black and blues all over his face, but not a one. Perhaps he's analyzed the crib and chosen the location with the greatest resonance so as to get the most 'bang' for his bang so to speak.

Regardless, the behavior itself I don't find concerning but the noise and perceived headache are disconcerting.

mow now!

H likes to mow the lawn. He regularly suggests that it just might be time to mow. He spends lengthy amounts of time in the garage communing with the mower. He even got his own mower for his birthday and when dad mows, H mows. And he is all business when it comes to mowing. I think that if dentistry doesn't work out (H has a passion for brushing his teeth), that he may find success with landscaping.

Tubing

Today was T-day. The babies got PE tubes placed in their ears. They were angels and the whole thing went better than predicted- granted Dad and I have gotten better at pinpointing the reality of any undertaking involving the boys and babies (plan appropriately and then add 30 extra minutes so as not to disappoint yourself).

Honestly, we were expecting little E to be nearly in a food deprived coma and the Bopper to be projecting his (and E's) displeasure in loud measure. But both babies were fairly happy, despite the lack of morning meal (or their usually elevensies). They were groggy and unhappy after the surgery but bounced back nicely. While it may take a couple of weeks to know how the tubes are working, we are pleased that everything went well. And of course that none of us was too traumatized by it all.

Beach Babes

We escaped for the weekend leaving a messy house, a forlorn dog, tests and textbooks in our wake. Armed with antibiotics for what is hopefully the last ear infections for a long time, we made our way to Litchfield Beach in SC. It was a perfect place to go for kids. They had an elaborate pool setup replete with kid friendly items such as a Dr. Seuss inspired sprinkling submarine, lazy river and wading areas. And even a Starbuckles (or Star-yucks as Dad lovingly refers to it) for mom (me). We were also a short hop from the beach so we spent several hours walking on the beach and playing in (or eating) the sand. It was wonderful.

Cruising

The babies have started pulling up and cruising around. As of this morning, E has broken his first tooth. And with good timing, as he has taken up a strike against baby food. He only wants real food- none of that liquidy stuff. As far as he's concerned, it's only good for making raspberries.

B has also taken to climbing the stairs. He was anxious to get in the bath yesterday and was at the second to last step when Dad swooped him up.

The boys spent some time at the pool yesterday. H was a fish. We had to drag him out of the pool. He also got a haircut yesterday which he protested greatly.

I don't have a picture of the new do or of the fast growing babies, but this picture from a few weeks ago will have to suffice.

Oh and H's first day of school is today!

One.... Free!!

H has taken to counting. He counts for two occasions: the game GO and leaping down the stairs. Hmm, you think, what does that mean?
I may have explained previously that GO is a game in our house where H screams GO! GGGGOOOOO! And then you are supposed to chase him around the little circle created by the wall that separates our kitchen and living room. Ah, but GO has a new twist. In an effort to delay the inevitable 20 minutes of dizziness that is GO, Dad started counting to three before giving chase. H has followed suit, except two is proving to be challenging. Actually, why bother with two. H probably thinks start with one and jump to three: faster gratification. As with many of H's words however, three comes out a little garbled: thus: "onnnne, free! GO! GO!"

H's other favorite game is to leap down stairs. Generally 4 at a time. Hopefully, you've got a hold on his arm as he launches. But there are time when you'll be balancing babies in both arms and suddenly you'll hear, "One...." "No, no H I don't have an arm free to hold onto you while you leap to your death."

This happened to Mimi the other day when she and Poppa took the boys to the museum. As H made his way to the stairs exiting the Caboose. He looked back at Mimi, announced, "One, Free!" And jumped landing on his tailbone one step from the ground. Poor Mimi, she only had a moment's notice before realizing, probably at the instant he was jumping, that this was a game she was supposed to be in on. Actually that she should be actively participating in. Oh well. Maybe if he adds a two to the mix it will give us more chance to react....

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have... a tooth!

B has big news! His first tooth broke through on Saturday (yes today is Thursday... my breaking news is a little late) but regardless, he is no longer toothless. E's got a very swollen gum and I think his tooth will be making an appearance in the next few days!

So far, I have not personally had any run-ins with the Tooth. It is only a matter of time I suspect before I get chomped. Interestingly enough, H didn't get his first tooth until about 9.5 months which is the babies' current age.

Not much else to report on the boy front. The babies will be getting PE tubes (ear tubes) on September 10th. Not soon enough but we'll manage until then.

B had his 9 month appointment yesterday. He's still very slender in about the 20th percentile for weight and he's in the 40th percentile for height at 28 inches. E has his appointment tomorrow so we'll see where he weighs in.

H is getting ready to start Montessori preschool. His teacher will be making a home visit so as to meet H in his natural habitat. ;) He'll be part of the inaugural pre-three class at this Montessori school. His class will have kids from 18-36 months. There will be 10 kids total with equal numbers of boys and girls. H will go from 8:30-11:30, Monday through Friday. I think the idea behind this is to maintain the same routine each day. And Montessori strives to instill self reliance, order and learning through play. Self reliance= getting dressed by oneself, learning to pick up before moving onto something else, and doing things by oneself. This is great, with three little boys, I'm pleased to be instilling these ideas early. But beyond that and more importantly, I think H will enjoy meeting new kids and learning new things.

a mover and a shaker

E is en motion- he has cleverly developed a distinct way to make it from here to wherever. Before the forward motion starts, his right foot begins to bang and knock against the ground. Perhaps a little warning signal to get out of his way because E is on the go. Once the engine is up to speed, he lets loose: his left foot scootching him along the ground while he pulls forward with bent elbows to the ground, and of course, the right foot maintaining its steady beat the whole while. It's hilarious but once again.. it works. Moreover, he is SO proud of himself once he's accomplished the trip.

Yeah E!

Our Hero

School has started back for me. While it was an intense week, it was made a thousand times times easier by Dad. He's amazing. He's been carrying the lion's share of the household work and caretaking. He made dinner every night, fed and bathed the babies and the boy and has been taking excellent care of all of us.

I think it's also worth sharing that H has a wonderful relationship with his dad. They are extremely close and H by far prefers his Dad over anyone else. At times, this is frustrating for me; yet, I recognize that it is great for H to have such a strong bond. And it's fun to see them interact together.

Ear Woes

Although you wouldn't be able to tell from his picture, B and E have had ear problems. Poor B has had an ear infection for going on 3.5 weeks. He's been a trooper. At first he woke up a lot at night. Crying and crawling up my front-- all good indications that he was in extreme pain. He's gone on a hunger strike, only drinking bottles when absolutely starving- I guess because swallowing also proves very painful. E has taken his ear infections more like H- a little crabby always wanting to be held, but otherwise fairly stoic though his infection hasn't been ongoing for the last month.

Poor babies, all we can do is wait for the inevitable referral to the pediatric ENT. But in the meantime, the boys are somewhat unhappy. Hopefully, we can persuade our pediatrician to send us earlier than H-- though on a positive note, H has been otitis media free since he got his tubes!

Home again

We're back from our adventures just in time for school to start for me on Tuesday. Yikes. But I'm pleased to be starting again and moving forward with school.

I have a few pictures to share and then I need to head to bed before screaming babies (ear infections seem to be back to haunt us) awake.

Trip up North

We're on the second of two family vacations this summer. It's been so nice to see family- and fortunately, there are lots of family members up here to visit. This means lots of hands and laps to hold babies, and lots of legs to chase H. It's been wonderful. Dad and I went to the science museum as a little trip away, leaving the boys home with Grandma and her sister and niece.

LOCO motion

I'm not sure I relayed the news that B has started crawling in earnest. It's amazing. He started doing this porpoise like maneuver across the floor while we were in NH. Although he could rock on all fours, he wasn't able to coordinate moving his arms and legs. Instead he lay on his belly, arched his back and thrust forward, dragging his legs behind him. Picture a whale emerging from the water and flopping down again. Well, despite looking ridculous, this was extremely effective. And then somehow or maybe inevitability this has opened the flood gates, within days B was alternating between crawling on hands and legs and belly flopping and for the last week, he has been all out crawling... everywhere. And he's fast. Very fast. Something looks dangerous and potentially like trouble, B is on the job. No place is too far, no destination not worth the trip.

Sometimes he meanders over playing a game of chase the ball with himself; other times, he is a man on a mission. And he has the memory of an elephant. His bellowing, squirming indignation is at times amusing, "What?! I'm not allowed in the bathroom, but someone has to inspect the bolts around the toilet! Who's going to do it, if not me?" And at other times, like the 15th time I remove him from the forbidden place, irritating.

I wish I had a picture with me of the B in action. But I will post one soon. In the meantime, he's started pulling up on everything. Oi.