Three Milkfacés

2012-03-27T17:08:00.002-07:00

I haven't updated in AGES. We had a fun weekend, with an aunt, uncle, and cousin coming to visit. The kids loved having their cousin around! Especially my Little Miss, who was utterly enamored and kept trying to give her hugs and kisses. They played inside and at the park. They were so busy!

The nice weather held through yesterday, so we broke out the swings and played in the yard for at least an hour.

The Plague

2012-02-21T08:59:00.003-08:00

I've been pretty quiet these past few weeks because we're on week three of being sick. Just when we'd all pretty much recovered from one cold, we got hit by another. Little Miss E came down with it first, and since yesterday was day 9 for her without improvement, I took her to see the pediatrician to check for infection. It turns out that the ear that concerned me (due to her not wanting to lay on that side and nurse, plus her poking her finger in that ear while eating), has a big ball of wax shoved way back in there by the eardrum. The doctor said she could flush it, but doing so would cause a lot of pain if the ear was infected, and since baby girl was acting so sick (her appetite and wet diapers have decreased drastically over the past few days) at a time when we should be seeing improvement, we should assume she has a sinus or ear infection and treat it accordingly. Probably most upsetting for me is that E lost almost half a pound since last month! She weighed in at 18 lbs, 9 oz, down from 19 and a some change at her 16 month weigh in. Petite as she is, I hate to see her lose any weight. I hope she gets her appetite back soon.

The boys and I have all been sick for about half as long, and we're feeling crummy but it appears to be just a nasty head cold for us. Daddy is the only one who has escaped illness thus far. Which makes me think of a news article I read awhile back about how studies have shown that individuals are more attracted to mates who have different Major Histiocompatibility Complex genes, which are linked to the immune system. Nailed it! I don't think I could have found a man who gets sick less than my husband. It's rather unfair, but of course also a great help when the rest of us are laying around, groaning, holding tissues and feeling like our sinuses are about to spontaneously explode.

Photos of Our Zoo

2012-01-28T10:08:00.000-08:00

5 minutes in my life

2012-01-28T09:42:00.000-08:00

Five minutes ago I was fielding a round of questions from Moo. Typical three year old lines of interrogations: Why can we go to the store later? What does later mean? Why does it mean that?

Little sister started crying, so I scooped her up and carried her to the nursery to be changed. Both boys followed me, Moo asking questions the entire time. I did not really want to field more questions while wrestling a squirming 15 month old, so I told him I needed him to stop talking to me for a few minutes. This was the wrong thing to say. Cue an epic meltdown, replete with huge sobs and cries of, "Why can't I talk? I want to talk!" Meanwhile, little brother was trying to show Moo a toy car, which led to sobs of, "I don't want to see it! Don't show that to me!", to which his little brother responded, "Hi!" in the cheerful manner of an oblivious 15 month old.

Since my daughter was, at that very moment, shrieking in protest while trying to claw my arm off as I wrestled her into a clean diaper, I decided the next order of business was to clip her nails. She disliked that idea and tried to bite me. The boys had moved to the hall, where Moo had taken the toy car from his brother and flung it toward the back door before turning to me and yelling that he was hungry and wanted something to eat. I got after him for taking something from one of his siblings, then told him I'd feed him (again, as breakfast was less than two hours ago) after I was finished with his sister. Oh, and his brother. Who was, by then, clinging to my legs making noises of complaint.

There you go. That is but five, very typical, minutes of my day. Somehow, this blog post just doesn't seem to capture the reality of it. I love and adore my brilliant, funny children. I just wish that their daddy wasn't working this morning and that someone else was fielding the questions, poopy diapers, screams, scratches, and requests for food this morning. Mommy would like to be sleeping still. ;)

Photog

2012-01-09T23:26:00.000-08:00

Quite possibly the cutest thing ever, someone decided to share her Cheerios with daddy. Very generous. She kept stuffing handfuls into his mouth and was so pleased with herself.

In unrelated news, if anyone has potty training tips about how to get a three and a half year old to poop in his potty chair, I am all ears. We've been dealing with this for half a year now and it's getting old. We thought we'd just let him figure it out in his own time, but after about four months of that we took a more hands-on approach and we've been encouraging him more and more (instead of just putting him in a diaper when he needs to go, which is what he'd prefer). We've been bribing with some pretty serious stuff too- candy, ice cream, Thomas the Train toys...! He's only gone in his potty chair on accident, when he couldn't hold it in anymore. Ugh. We're so tired of this, but don't want to make him constipated by freaking him out even more. He got the book, "Everyone Poops" for Christmas, and loves having it read to him, but still thinks it'll hurt if he goes in his chair... and doesn't believe us that the only reason it ever hurts is because he's trying to hold it in. Advice? Anyone? Before I lose my mind from spending all day prompting him to please go sit down and try, while he dances around holding his behind and saying, "NO! I don't need to go!"

Happy Holidays

2012-01-01T09:44:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas and Hanukkah have come and gone, and now it's 2012. I'm a bit behind in posting, as we've been very busy here between visiting Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas, and having Bubbe come and stay with us for about a week. We've really been spoiled! Here are a few pics:

Mister Moo on Christmas day.

My 3 monkeys with their adorable cousin, all in their matching pjs.

Cousins giggling together while playing with Grandpa.

Baby Updates

2011-12-22T09:31:00.000-08:00

We had a very exciting development one week ago- on December 15th, while I was talking on the phone to my mom and sitting on the floor of the nursery, Little Miss E crawled over and used my knees to pull herself up to standing! FINALLY! At 14.5 months old, my baby girl is finally standing! I had just begun worrying again, and telling people that I regretted declining Early Intervention's services for her at 12 months when she qualified. I feared that we'd hit the 16 month deadline and she still wouldn't be standing or cruising.

Now this may seem a little weird, especially since our pediatrician says there's nothing physically hindering E's mobility (though the physical therapist said her extreme flexability/loose ligaments could make standing more of a challenge for her), I still wonder if her tiny little feet make balancing difficult. Probably not, since she's just a tiny girl all over, but even strangers have remarked upon what little feet she has, haha! She's about a 3.5 in shoe sizes. Her boots, the only ones that stay on her feet right now, say "3-6 months".

Wordless Wednesday - Here Comes TROUBLE

2011-12-21T13:53:00.000-08:00

Baby Brawls

2011-12-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

My babies have such sweet little faces, you'd never know the kind of demonic fury that's lurking behind those bright eyes and chubby cheeks.

Do these look like the faces of children who would gladly claw each other's eyes out over a toy phone?

This week we entered a new stage: baby brawls. What used to happen is that one of them would carelessly pluck a toy out of the hands of the other, oblivious to the upset this would case in their twin, and then go about their merry way. The baby who lost a toy would look at me and scream or cry for a few seconds, then move on to something new.

What happens now? One of them tries to take a toy from the other, but the other fights back. So far this week I've had to deal with pushing, scratching, slapping, and attempted biting. My current solution is to intervene quickly when I can, before things get out of hand, and move the toy thief away/redirect him or her. When there's a super desirable object, like the box the mini books come in (I know, right?!) I end up removing the object completely. Which usually leads to epic, five minute tantrums complete with flailing, screaming, and rolling around the floor. Mister Manatee is particularly adroit at making sure everyone within earshot knows how furious he is, and he cannot be easily redirected.

This is a new adventure for me. I've never had to deal with two furious toddlers simultaneously.

Uh-oh, I sense a baby brawl about to happen.

What's Annoying Me This Week

2011-12-10T13:16:00.000-08:00

One of my pet peeves, especially since I had kids, has to be rude and/or thoughtless neighbors. I have a few of them. We have new neighbors (renters) with dogs who stay outside all day and bark at the slightest provocation. The UPS driver can't deliver a package anywhere on our street without the dogs barking like he's breaking into their house. I can't venture into my backyard while the dogs are out without them thinking I'm about to climb over the fence and burgle their house. I haven't talked to the new neighbors about it yet because we honestly haven't been spending that much time out in the backyard this winter. If it's still a problem in the Spring, then I'll address it with them. It's particularly annoying because we had a problem with crazy dogs at that house several years ago, with the boxers who not only barked all night, but broke through the fence multiple times.

My other annoyance is people blocking the sidewalk. We enjoy taking family walks in the afternoon. I bundle up the kids, load the babies into the stroller, and we take a walk downtown or around a few blocks. There is one nearby street that Moo always wants to go on, but I hate it. People leave their trash cans on the sidewalk (you're supposed to put them in the street), there's a portable basketball hoop in front of someone's house, taking up the entire sidewalk, and there's a psychotic little chihuahua frequently tethered in front of one house on a line that is just long enough to allow the little monster to cross onto the sidewalk. The last time it was out, Moo just about had a panic attack when it lunged at him, even though I was between them, and I was *this* close to seeing how far the little dog could fly if I kicked it. It's difficult taking a walk with a double stroller and a preschooler when I have to cross into the street several times and deal with uncontrolled animals. Yesterday one of the houses had a truck parked in their driveway completely blocking the sidewalk. They'd left their lights on. I almost turned around and knocked on their door to let them know... but then I thought, "Karma's a bitch!" and walked on. It might have been petty of me, but I felt a little bit better. :-P

Ok, rant over. Next post will feature cute photos of my kids.

The Black Hole

2011-12-09T17:42:00.000-08:00

Things my 3 year old was last seen with, which have since disappeared:
- The stereo remote control
- My cell phone case
- A cloth diaper pail liner

It feels like I have looked EVERYWHERE for these items! The remote and my cell phone case have been missing for several months. If you were a 3 year old, where would you stash things?

A Daddy & Moo moment

2011-11-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Pete took Moo to the grocery store while I stayed home with the little two (and Aunt Amy). As per usual, Moo said some funny things. I'll let his daddy tell this one:

We were almost done with the shopping when I realized I still needed to get Cheerios, so turned the cart around and Moo said, "Now where are we going?" I said, "Well, we have to get Cheerios for your sister." As we entered the cereal aisle, Moo said, "Oh, we need to get closer to the Cheerios!" and I said, "Moo, I like the way you think!" To which Moo replied, "I like the way I think too!"

Afternoons In The Park

2011-11-18T17:06:00.000-08:00

I'm still being incredibly lazy about updating this blog. I don't know how other parents do it, especially those with multiple young children.

The big news around here is that my little Manatee is almost walking! He's begun taking three to four steps to get from one piece of furniture to another, and sometimes he'll simply let go of the couch and take a few steps toward a toy on the rug before dropping to his knees and crawling (since it's so much faster). Moo walked at 14 months, but I would not be surprised if his baby brother walks sooner. Then again, I've been saying "he could walk any day now!" for the past two months.

Little Miss has advanced to pulling up until she is on her knees, which is such great progress from where she was two months ago when she wasn't even crawling! Sometimes she gets up on her hands and feet too and does a butt-in-the-air move that I think must be the first move toward eventually standing. I can hardly wait to see what she'll do once she does get to her feet. It seems like everyone we meet comments that she "was born a dancer". You can hardly have your phone ring without E bobbing her head and wiggling her shoulders to the beat. She definitely got that from her daddy's side of the family!

We've taken advantage of some relatively dry weather recently to go on walks to a little neighborhood park. Here are a couple of photos of the twins- Little Mister is not a fan of swings (just like me!) and cries if it's anything but the gentlest, tiniest push. Little Miss, on the other hand, is a daredevil baby who shrieks and giggles the higher she swings.

A Photo

2011-11-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

No time for posting lately! After weeks of crappy sleep and extreme crankiness, E finally popped two molars. TWO! One on the top, one on the bottom. One day there was just a bit of tooth poking through, and two days later the entire tooth was visible. Poor baby. No wonder she was so angry all the time. Our sleep has improved greatly.

Here's a photo of the little monster:

3 year olds are such a blast!

2011-08-23T11:59:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile since I updated, but what can I say- I have two kids under a year old and a very active three year old (my gosh, I haven't updated the blog since before Moo's birthday!). He's a real character these days. He likes bossing people around, so I guess it's a good thing he's the oldest? Here is one of our latest incidences of three year old bossiness:

To set the scene- *Raffi is playing in the CD player*

Moo, singing: "It's time for us to sing awhile..."
Me, singing: "Hey, hey, hey!"
Moo: "You can't sing!"
Raffi, singing: "It's time for us to clap our hands..."
Moo, singing: "Time for hands to clap awhile..."
Me, clapping, "Hey, hey, hey!"
Moo: "You can't clap!"
Me, ignoring Moo: "It's time for saying hi and hello..."
Moo: "Nooo! You can't sing!"
Me: "I think I can!"
Moo: "No! Make a sad face! Mommy, make a sad face."

So I did.

:(

Then later, listening to De Colores, I tell him, "This song is in Spanish."
Micah: "No. It's not in Spanish."
Me: "Oh, it's not?"
Micah: "It's in circles."
Me: "Really? I thought it was Spanish."
Micah: "No, circles. Can you say it? Can you say it's in circles?"
Me: "It's in circles."
Micah: "Yep!"

Solids!

2011-04-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been awhile since I found time to update this thing! None of the kids are sleeping well these days and it's taking it's toll on everyone. The babies had their 6 month well-child visit on the 5th.

The good doctor declared them both healthy and perfect! E was pretty grumpy during the visit. She recently started exhibiting stranger awareness, making her wary of people she doesn't see often (her Bubbe), and she was not too keen on being examined and cried when the doc tried to take her from her daddy. M, on the other hand, spent the entire visit looking at the doc with a big, dimpled grin. His expression seemed to say, "Are you talking to me?! You're talking to me!"

They did well with their shots. They both slept a lot that night. M seemed fine on Saturday, but E was rather grumpy. Difficult to say whether that was a byproduct of the shots, or simply because she's teething.

Oh, and M is getting his first tooth! The doc confirmed it. You can see the little white nubbin below his gums. Two of them now, actually. Neither has come through, but both the lower front ones are on their way. E has both of hers.

The babies had their first taste of solids the following day: a ripe banana! M was pretty excited, but E didn't know if she should bother with it. She cried a bit when I held it up for her to suck on, since she refused to hold it herself. We're letting her wait. She's tasted a bit more banana and some applesauce since then, but wasn't sold on either.

M LOVES solids! He now eats bananas, apples, pears, oatmeal, and sweet potato. He has yet to meet a solid food he didn't like. He constantly surprises me with how much he'll eat, even if he recently nursed. He doesn't even make the funny faces like E does, or like big brother Moo did when he was first starting on "real" food.

That's all the news for this week. I'll try to get some photos up soon.

Two cute stories

2011-03-15T11:31:00.001-07:00

These ones are from two weekends ago:

Last Friday Moo ran up to me while I was nursing a baby on the couch and we had this exchange:

"Can I?"
"Can you what?"
"Can I?"
"Can you what, Moo?"
"Can I?"
"Can you do what?"
"Can I look at you?"
"Yes, you can look at me."

So he did.

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On Saturday Moo was in a great mood all morning. At one point he walked over to where I was finishing my coffee and took note of my empty water glass. We had the following conversation:
"Mama, you need more water?"
"Why yes, I do."
"Daddy's going to get you some."
"Is he now? That would be nice of him."
"Can I take your cup?"

I let him take my empty glass out to the kitchen for Daddy to refill (and bring back to me, since I'm not silly enough to let Micah carry a full glass through the house). After I had my water, Moo stood next to me again.
"Do you need another hug, Mama?"
"Why yes, I do!"

As I leaned down for a hug, I said, "This is the best morning ever! Is it Mother's day and I just forgot about it?" Moo lit up at this!
"You're a mother."
"That's right, I am a mother!"
"You're my mother."
"I sure am."
"I'm a mother too. We're both mothers!"

I could have died from the cuteness. Having a two and a half year old is frequently difficult, but there are definitely these moments that remind me what a joy this age can be.

Mommy's food is the best food

2011-03-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

After he saw me making a bagel with cream cheese yesterday, Moo requested a burrito for his lunch. I heated one up, cut it, let it cool a bit, and served it with milk at his table. Two minutes into eating it he came over and stuck his finger in my cream cheese, asking, "Will you eat this?"

I said I would and then popped the last bite of that half of the bagel in my mouth. He tried poking the other half and asked again, "Will you eat this?"

OMG, yes! I am going to eat it! Leave me alone!

I actually said something along those lines. I asked if he was going to finish his burrito and he said no, looked mildly offended, and then tried putting his fingers in my food again. I told him to go away and he looked hurt. Why does Mommy's food always taste better than the food on Moo's plate?

Phrases I use too often

2011-03-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I updated the blog. The kids have been keeping me busy. M decided not to sleep for two weeks (or at least it felt like it) and that has made for a fairly cranky household. I have a few Moo gems I've jotted down though, so I'll share some of them now.

Last Wednesday E was having a tough time. She cried and fussed all morning and didn't want to nurse. I gave her the nuk and put her in the swing, after which she quickly conked out. When she woke up I took her to the couch to nurse, but she was only interested in looking at me. I said, "Are you all done, little girl? Do you not want any milk? Do you just need a diaper change?" Moo walked over, looked at her for a moment, then said, "What are we going to do with her? Oh E, what are we going to do with you?"

More Things Moo Says

2011-03-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

Recent gems we've heard from Moo:

"Mama, you're a good helper!"

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"I farted."
"You farted?"
"Just a little. I went potty too!"

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"Don't go too far, Mommy! I need to see you!"

This was after we got back from the store, where must have told him not to go too far at least 10 times.

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This submission is from Pete:

Moo and Daddy were driving were driving back from Costco when Micah decided it was time for a little review.

"Amy is a girl."
"Yep."
"And Mama is a girl."
"That's right."
"Grandma is a girl."
"She is."

Micah continued on and made it through most of his family before realizing he was forgetting someone important.

"Kirby is our friend."
"Indeed."
"He's a cat boy."

My Life is Poop

2011-02-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

I've seen some people doing "day in the life" type posts recently on their blogs. The only thing anyone needs to know to get an idea about a day in my life is this little glimpse right here:

I'm changing M's diaper. It's a poopy one, and prevented him from drifting off into a late-morning nap. As I'm slipping the fresh one under his bum he spits up. Something about tipping his lower half higher than the upper half, right after a meal, made the milk come right back out. I should have known better. I should be grateful it's only spit-up and not something out the other end. I finish diapering him, carry him over to the crib, strip him, and change him into a fresh pair of pjs. Then I peel the cover off the changing table, since it's now soaked, and replace it with a clean one. I carry M out to the living room. As we enter the room I hear the unmistakable sound of E pooping. She gives me a gummy grin. I deposit M on the playmat and scoop E up, carrying her into the nursery for her diaper change. Moo follows, zooming one of his toy cars along the wall. "Whatcha doin', Mama?" he asks. I tell him I'm changing E's diaper because she pooped. "Yes, you pooped!" I coo at E, because that's what mom's do- they coo descriptions of every little thing they do at their babies. "M pooped, then E pooped!" And that's when I catch a whiff of something much more pungent and ten times nastier than a breastmilk poop diaper. "Moo," I ask, "did you poop?" He runs his car along the toy box in the nursery a moment longer, then stands up and says, "No... I'm just going to go hide in my room for a little bit." Code for: I'm just going to go finish pooping in privacy.

Yep, that about sums it up.

4 months - We did it! We survived!

2011-02-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

The twins are officially 4 months old, and yesterday they had their "well baby" appointments (with vaccinations). As a result, they had a miserable night and are still pretty cranky today.

The visit went well. We had a nice nurse, which immediately reduced my stress level. The check-ups were, for the most part, uneventful. Except for one thing.

There we were, with me having just told our pediatrician that M can do a push-up for a long time and likes to hang out on his belly looking in the mirror, but that E doesn't, and that M has almost rolled over, but his arm acts as a brake because he keeps flinging it out beside him. E, on the other hand, hasn't even come close to rolling over. The doc then asked something like, "But she can lift herself up and move, right?" to which I responded in the affirmative. He suggested that perhaps E is like big brother (who didn't roll all the way belly to back until he was eight months old) and is so content as to not be motivated to do it. Then he flipped her onto her belly on the table and said, "Let's see what she can do." What she did was promptly lift her head and chest up, wiggle around, and strain until she'd essentially rolled onto her side.

I could see her irritation. It was as if her baby brain was thinking, "What the heck is this? I can't see anything laying like this!" So she rolled. She even moved her arm out of the brake position all on her own. She stopped moving once she could see us, proving the point that her lack of movement at home isn't about lack of ability so much as lack of motivation. The doc said something about suspecting she's perfectly capable of rolling, should she so choose.

It felt like that time we had Moo in for one of his well baby visits and told our pediatrician that he hadn't pushed himself into a sitting position yet. Then we put him on the table for his exam and he promptly pushed himself into a sit. My children like to make a liar out of me.

We also had a sweet couple of moments at the doctor's in which the kids, who were on the table together, stared into each others' eyes and cooed whilst playing with each others' hands. Usually just one is interested and the other is staring off into space or at a toy.

In related news, M is completely fascinated with his hands these days. I'll often catch him holding one out, staring at it like he just discovered it and it's the world's greatest toy. He has also been displaying a quirky sense of humor. Not only does he enjoy being tickled (the books say that babies don't like light touches), but he frequently laughs at me for no apparent reason. I guess I'm a fantastic comedienne, without even trying.

In unrelated news, Moo is supposed to be napping right now (the babies are asleep in their swings), but I can hear him talking over the monitor. He's putting his toys in time out. You read that right, they're in time out.

"You're in time out! You're in time out too. I'm in time out. No! *giggling* Time out!"

-------------------------

13 lbs, 1 oz and 25"

15 lbs, 5 oz and 26.5"

Not sleeping.

Dictators and sleep regressions

2011-02-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

You know why I don't always enjoy playing with my two year old? Because he's a tiny dictator.

"Mama, play with that car! Make him go fast! No, he doesn't go there! No, no, no, not that one! I put that one back in the toy box. Play with this car. No, he doesn't drive there! He wants to park behind the school bus. No, Mama, not like that! Make him flip. Make him flip!"

You know what, kid? I'd rather drink my coffee than play cars with a tiny dictator right now. If that makes me a bad mommy, well... I didn't get much sleep last night and that's my excuse.

Speaking of sleep... M is sleeping on the playmat at this very moment. I fed him, changed him, put him in fresh pjs (we do not wear daytime clothes in this house), set him on the playmat so I could finish my coffee, and within minutes he was drifting off. What the...? This kid has been unable to sleep more than two inches from me for the past three nights. So I guess at night it's unbearable to be away from the milk, even when not actually eating, but during the day it's "have a deep sleep wherever". Not cool, M. Not cool at all.

Gender Identity?

2011-02-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

During his first diaper change of the morning, Moo said to me, "I don't want to wear a dress."

"You don't want to wear a dress?" I repeated, utterly confused. When had I ever offered him a dress as a clothing alternative? Was this because E sometimes wore dresses?

"I don't want to wear a dress," he confirmed, adding, "I want to wear my 'jamas."

"Oh! You don't want to get dressed." Well, that made more sense.

Five minutes later I suggested we go out to the converted garage guest room and wake up Aunt Amy, who had spent the night. "I'm going to wake Aunt Amy!" Moo exclaimed. "I'm going out in the garage. You're not going out in the garage. Only boys can go in the garage."

Okay then.

Their eyes follow me around the room...

2011-01-31T12:42:00.000-08:00

Part of being the parent of a 2 year old is that you rarely get to shower alone. I'm not just talking about the little boy who wants to sit in the tub and draw with his tub crayons either. This morning it was announced that, "The cars are going to watch us!" And so they did.

I'm trying not to find green car's smile creepy.