Baby

Meet "Baby".  She's Miss C's best friend in the whole world.  Has been ever since she was 9 months old.  Miss C got Baby from her Nana for her very first Christmas.  Baby accompanies Miss C during nap and bedtime everyday.  Often you can hear her talking and singing to Baby, no doubt telling her all her secrets.  Eaves dropping on their conversations is one of my most favorite things to do.  I only wish I had some of them recorded....

Miss C also has another baby doll that she is allowed to play with during the day ("Baby" must stay upstairs so we don't lose her).  She's never really gotten the concept of giving anything a name (hence, "baby").  I've asked her several times the name of her baby doll, and she typically replies "baby doll".  Last night I asked her the name of this particular baby doll for the one millionth time and she replied, "Debbie".  I couldn't help but roll on the floor.  Wonder where she came up with that one?!

And just for kicks, here is Miss C torturing her brother.  She ordered him to get into the stroller, buckled him in, and took him for a spin around the dining room.  But it wasn't really torture, he had a smile on his face the whole time!

Flashback Friday

This flashback Friday is dedicated to Goompa.  He hasn't been feeling so well lately, so hopefully this will cheer him up.  Little J has such a special bond to his Goompa.  For some reason, Goompa has that magical touch.  As you all know, Little J was.....shall we say.....a difficult baby.  For a period of time, Goompa was the only one that could get him to eat without a struggle.  If Little J was fussy, we'd hand him over to his Goompa and within minutes he was calm again.  Maybe it was Goompa's patience or maybe Little J liked the way he looked.  Whatever the reason, that little guy just loves his Goompa.  Here is Little J meeting his Goompa for the first time...

And exactly one year later, Little J and Goompa sharing a special moment.....

Love you Goompa!

**breaking news**

Little J just cut another tooth today.  Bottom left.  Looks like bottom right is about to follow....

Now a little tidbit about Little J today.  He's fascinated with shoes.  If you leave a pair of your shoes laying around, Little J is going to put them on and walk around in them.  It reminds me of this little boy in our neighborhood.  One evening we were over their house for dinner and the little boy (must have been about 3) came down the stairs in a cape and his mom's high heeled shoes.  All the men snickered at the time.....but I can see Little J doing this in a year or two.  Payback is a b*tch isn't it?

Randomness

As a parent, most of us have wondered why in the world do we buy expensive toys when they would rather just have the cardboard box.  I mean, we all know this.  It's lesson #1 in the Parenting 101 class that we all take.  I personally think it's a big conspiracy from the toy manufacturers.  They have us all believing that one day our kids will snub those cardboard boxes and actually play with their toys.  Those dang toys are so annoying too.  I mean, how many of us have put masking tape over the sound mechanism because if we hear that annoying tune one more time we just might lose it?  **side note, if you haven't learned that trick, then you slept through lesson #2 in the 101 class**  Anyway, case in point people.  They really do prefer the cardboard box.....

J put this together for them one day.  Easy peasy.  Step 1:  Flip massive cardboard box over.  Step 2:  cut out windows and a door.  Optional Step 3:  Decorate by drawing window boxes, shutters, and a big "welcome" over the front door (gotta love when a dad decorates).  And Voila!  No 10 page instruction manual in 5 different languages.  My two have played with this thing for days straight--and it's empty!  Imagine the fun they will have when we make a cardboard couch to go inside :)

Another fun event this week was storytime with Curious George.  What a madhouse!  I swear, every child in town was there.  Before the story, the children all lined up to meet George.  My crafty Miss C decided she wasn't going to wait in a line.  Oh no.  She decided to pull a stealth maneuver and sneak up the side and around the back.  She makes me so proud.  I was kind of surprised she did it.  Usually she isn't one for being so bold like that.

Once the meet and greet was over, all the children sat down and listened to the story.  Miss C must have been in rare form that day, because she decided position herself right in front.  She stood there the entire time.  As the story progressed, she inched closer and closer to George.  I'm surprised she didn't climb right into his lap.  She's been getting so much more confident these days.

Ten on Tuesday

Ten has become Miss C's favorite number. Who knows where she got this from. But anytime you ask her about a number, the answer is pretty much always 10. As in, "Mommy, I'd like 10 crackers" or "I want to swing for 10 minutes". My favorite is if you give her something she always replies, "How 'bout 10" like she's bargaining with you. And the number 10 is always stressed. Like it's the equivalent to eternity. She always holds out her two hands and shows you her 10 fingers too. Just to make sure you understand she wants 10 of something. One day I'm going to ask her how many minutes she wants to sit in time-out.....wonder if 10 will be the answer then?

As a tribute to Miss C's favorite number, here's my 10 on Tuesday:

1. Jack is getting so much better about eating with a spoon. He started about a month ago and I think he's got the hang of it. He can actually eat without spilling if it's something chunky like applesauce.

2.  It's been a hot summer and we have spent a lot of time at the fountains.  Little J is actually quite brave....

3.  Little J cut two molars last week.....finally!  It's the bottom two.  Man, he has had the hardest time with teething.  So now we are up to 10 (how fitting) teeth.  Two top molars, four front top teeth, two bottom molars and two bottom teeth.

4.  Miss C is getting so confident at the pool.  She's mastered the baby pool and was brave enough to go down the big slide the other day.  After the first time she did it, she wanted to do it 10 more times.  She even did the little slide all by herself.  She loves to show you how to blow bubbles and even will tell you she can go underwater.  Now, going underwater to a 2 year old is turning your head to the side and dipping your ear in.  But hey, she's one proud little girl.

5.  We really don't live in the sticks, but there are a couple of farms nearby.  Miss C loves pointing out the cows and horses.  You would think they were made of gold by how excited she gets.  "Look mom, I see some coooooowwwwwws!"  "Look Little J, do you see the cooooooowwwwws?"

6.  For some reason, Miss C is so afraid of burning herself.  Before she sits anywhere, eats anything, touches something, she must ask "is it hot?"  Every.  Single.  Time.

7.  We recently took a trip to Nana's house.  Miss C loves Nana's kitty cat.  Here's a pic of Nana and the kids.  At least two out of three are looking at the camera.

8.  Man, coming up with 10 things is actually quite hard.  This might be my last 10 on Tuesday.

9.  See above :)

10.  Just because this is a total crack up.  

MWAC

For those of you that may not know, MWAC=Mom With A Camera. Apparently that is the most disliked type of mom out there, at least according to my kids. I swear, all I ask for is a decent picture (you know, one where they are actually *gasp* smiling). Is that really too hard to ask?! I'd like to look back on these memories one day and think my kids were actually happy. And forget about getting a shot of the two of them together. I think the planets have to align for that to happen. I've tried everything too, from a simple "pretty please" to all out bribery. Nothing works. I've even resorted to barking like a dog and yelping like a hyena to get them to look at the camera. Trust me, I do look like an idiot. And it sure makes people passing by laugh. But my kids? Won't even crack a smile. For other MWAC's out there, you know what I'm talking about. For those who have children that cooperate, I give you Exhibit A:

Seriously?!  This was the best of the bunch.  At least one of them cooperated.  But with Miss C, if looks could kill....

And Exhibit B:

This is typically what I get from her.  The "Come on Mom, I'm sooooo sick of this" look.  I've come to love it.

And just to add insult to injury, Exhibit C:

Aren't they little gems? These are the memories that I get to treasure.

At least this one has eye contact.  But forget the smile.  Just forget it.

But it's all worth it. Because out of the 99 shots that look like the above examples, you get rewarded with these.....

my job is done

I have officially taught little Miss C probably one of the most important lessons in life. She has made me so proud. Yesterday I overheard this conversation as we were getting the kids in the car to go to the pool...

Miss C: Daddy, I want some M&M's

J: Miss C, I told you that you could have some M&M's if you took your nap. But you didn't take your nap

Miss C: I didn't nap because I got out of my bed

J: That's right, so you don't get any M&M's

Miss C: Daddy

J: Yeah

Miss C: I love you

Bwaaaahhhh, I nearly spit out the water I had in my mouth. She's 2 1/2 and already figured out how to wrap her daddy around her little finger. Young Jedi, I have taught you well......

Flashback Friday

Well, I've been in a "beachy" kind of mood lately since we will be taking our family vacation to the beach in a couple of weeks.  I can't wait.  This trip has become an annual event with our great friends the "P" family.  To pay tribute to our beach trip, here are a couple of photos from beach trips past....

This was the summer of 2006 and Miss C was about 6 months old.  Can't you just eat her up?!  Love, love, love the baby chub.

Here is a picture of Little J in the summer of 2007.  He was about 3 1/2 months old.  This summer he will be 15 months old and I think he'll enjoy it so much more. 

And finally here is a family picture from the trip in the summer of 2007.  Probably the last family picture we've taken.  Sad, but true.  

We have family photos scheduled for a couple of weeks, so I'll be able to update then.  In addition, there is a new family joining us at the beach and the hubby is into photography too.  I expect great pictures this year!  I'm really excited to have a photography buff join us.  I hope to learn a lot!