Saturday, August 31, 2013

Pearls and Curls.

Ellie really enjoys anything that allows her to be like mama, as many little girls do. She likes when we wear our matching jean skirts, she likes wearing nail polish, she likes helping me put on make up (she especially likes curling her eyelashes.) Well, you cannot believe how thrilled she was the other day when I told her she could wear one of my pearl necklaces, just like me. She's been wearing it basically nonstop since, though she has paused to allow Lexi to take a turn (an actual turn even! Not one of those two second turns that ends with Ellie screaming and trying to rip back whatever she was "sharing.")

This morning despite the hot temps, I went out front to do some yard work, by which I mean the annual cutting down of all the invasive saplings on our hillsides. Any yard work that requires a hack saw is a little much, but I actually sort of enjoy it.

Ellie enjoyed it too. Especially because she looks so fabulous.

Mama, you made a big mess

And of course, please note that she's rocking her sparkle shoes too. The most fabulous, helpful of girls.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

New Stereo System

...means GREAT dance parties!


Monday, August 26, 2013

Paddling Pool.

We had a low key weekend around here. Mimi and Pa took Ellie off our hands Saturday morning and kept her overnight (hooray!) so we had a relatively easy time managing our one, easy going baby. I did what anyone would do when they had some down time - I scrubbed my house! Who doesn't love a freshly vacuumed couch? (the cats don't, that's who.)

Before supper, when our backyard had gotten a little shady and cool, we pulled out the wading pool and went for a swim. At first, Ellie was content to just splash around and pour tea by herself, but then she asked if Adam could come in too. He'd been giving the water a hard stare, so I said sure.

He thought it was a pretty good deal.

Even when Ellie and her "bunny tail" squirted him. Please note that he is not sitting in the pool because he refuses to sit when he could be standing. I guess that's why they call it a wading pool.

FORCED SNUGGLING.

And speaking of bunny tails, here is what happens when we go to buy cat food.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Five Months.


Time is going so quickly, and all of a sudden our little sweetie man is five whole months old. He continues to be a good natured, go with the flow kind of baby. If he wakes up at night, he eats quick and then puts himself back to bed. Nap time is similar - he may cry for a few minutes, but once he flips to his stomach, he finds his thumb and is generally good to go. He'll nap in the ergo for miles and miles, and while he doesn't always sleep in the stroller nowadays, he at least has stopped screaming about exercise. Instead, he chews his lovey or Sophie and chats to himself, in his usual loud, emphatic cutie voice.

His favorite thing is to be held so he can stand (I fear he will never learn to sit up at this rate!) and rolling over and over. He also likes to drool like crazy and blow big spitty raspberries. If you pat on his mouth, he will start making noise so that he can whoop it up (observe below.)



Basically, he is a tiny baby dream boat. I cannot believe how fast the time is going though! Five months seems like no time at all, and yet it feels like he's been a part of our family forever. I am so glad we added him as our fourth and final member.


Like his sister, he hasn't quite mastered sitting up on his own.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

All Growned!

It was a momentous morning! Ellie woke up dry after a full 24 hours in underwear, and we declared that she is DONE WITH DIAPERS! She is so proud of herself, and I am so proud of her. It seems like such a big, grown up thing, and today she was my big grown up girl, especially with all of her hair in a pony tail to go swimming. What happened to my chubby little baby? Who is this long legged Muppet?

Also sort of mind blowing - the other day I fell down the rabbit hole of watching old videos on my computer, and found one of Ellie and Lexi at the summer concert series in the park in Dana Point. Please to observe this video from last weekend:


And compare these two ladies to last year:

LOOK AT THEM! So pudgy and cute. And this was back when Ellie referred to Lexi as "baby La."

One last funny thing: so, when I was desperate for Ellie to show some interest, any interest in potty training, I told her that when she was big enough to use the toilet, she'd be big enough to start holding Thor. She has remarked on it since (in fact, the other day in a store told me that some grade school aged girl probably pooped in the potty, and so probably got to hold her kitties) but thankfully for Thor, she hasn't gone after him. He's the only one she could probably haul around (though mom also told her she could hold Petunia. If she could hoist her.) Ellie has been smart enough to not show any interest in picking up Lulu. It's the quickest way to earn a good facial scar.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Growth Spurting.

It has been a long couple of days. Pork Roast has been a little fighty on going to bed, then wakes up in the middle of the night, then wakes up at 6am. And during the day he's tired and whiny and fighting naps like crazy. I'm not quite sure what it is - growth spurt, sleep regression, teething, his big giant brain trying to get the whole rolling over thing completely figured out - but it's exhausting. It's a good thing he's cute.

And meanwhile, people point out "well, he's better than Ellie." He is, but you know, she still lives here. So when I'm desperately trying to nurse him to sleep, she's right at my elbow asking me what he's doing or yammering about what she's doing or crying because I'm not holding her/feeding her/reading to her/opening her playdoh container. Oh, that girl. 

Somedays, there are too many children in this house. And if it's not the kids, it's the cats staring at me and trying to occupy my lap. EVERYONE STOP TOUCHING MOMMY.

Thank goodness for preschool, and grandparents, and rum. And seriously, it's a good thing they're cute.

Adam giving Rocky some pets. 

And Ellie doing some excellent pool time. There is never a place where you can't be a bunny.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Cha-Cha-Changes

Lately I cannot believe how big the kids are getting. Ellie seems especially long and leggy now that she's in underwear and no longer has a big poofy diaper butt. She is so tall and grown up. I'm constantly amazed by the things she comes up with, the words and phrases she knows. She can be like talking to a tiny adult, and then sometimes she says the funniest little kid things, like when I served her a plate of tortellinis and she said "these are called jewels." My other favorite thing is when she tells me I look "so fancy." Our new fun challenge is the fact that she tries to request specific songs in the car, but she has no idea what the titles are, and her descriptions of the songs leave something to be desired. Occasionally I will get her to sing part of the song to me, and then I can sometimes figure it out. She is really loving the bluegrass songs off the new Steve Martin and Edie Brickell album, though last night she told us that a song about a woman drowning herself in the river was "a fun song" and the Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feeling" was a "sleepytime song."

Last week I painted my toenails during her nap, and she noticed them straight away when she woke up. She was so excited that I told her I could paint her toenails too if she wanted, and she was off to the bathroom like a shot, waiting for me.

She was so thrilled that we had matching pink toenails AND matching jean skirts.  She loves that jean skirt.

She also loves her stripey rainbow shirt, which is rapidly becoming too small for her. Friday she had pigtails AND a sparkly headband. Very Olivia Newton John, I think.

Yesterday after nap time she asked that Tim and Adam curl up with her "in a big cozy pile." She loves to tell us that things are cozy. Towels, blankets, pig-piles. All so cozy!

Meanwhile, Adam is bigger every minute. His legs are really starting to chunk out (hooray for fat babies!) He reaches for a lot of things now and knows what he wants. Mostly he wants to be in the same room as us at all times, be held so he can stand, and be allowed to drool on everything. He is also starting to eye us while we have dinner - it's hard to believe that it's almost time to start solids. Who authorized him getting so big? When he lays on my chest at night time, before I go put him in his crib, I am amazed at how much space he takes up now. What happened to the little tinykins tucked under my chin? Sometimes it's hard to believe he will ever be big enough to walk and talk like Beans, and it's hard for me to believe that she was ever so small.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Moments.

Potty training is going well around our house - so well in fact that we are attempting nap times in undies (lord help me, and my washing machine.) Last night Tim went to see a movie with his boyfriends, so I took the kids to the mall. It's a cheap date - Ellie loves the escalator, the play area and running around like a chicken with her head cut off. PERFECT. We got dinner at the food court and then visited two different bathrooms a total of four times on our way out. At one point I'm holding her on the toilet as she uses it and chatters at me, and I look down and Adam has woken up in the Ergo and is giving me the most enormous, delighted smile. I mean, who wouldn't be excited? My life is so glamorous.

THEN I got both kids bathed and in bed by 9pm. I am the best! I have started putting Adam in his little tub inside the big tub with Ellie because he likes to kick wildly and splash half the water out, then squinch around so that it's hard to wash him. Trying to get all his rolls soaped and rinsed is like trying to put a buttered cat inside a corset dress.

They are both getting so big so fast. Adam is rolling over really well now - he gets his second arm out easily and then is pretty happy on his tummy. At nap times he cries for a minute, then flips himself and is generally out. It's so different than when Ellie was that age (let us not talk about her naps. It is a painful memory! A series of painful memories, really.) I find it especially rewarding that he's starting to look for me and smile at me across the room.

We started putting him in his exersaucer this week, and he really enjoys it. He's actually tall enough to put his feet down, and so he scoots around and grabs his toys and looks startled when they make noise at him. Today while I cleaned the bathroom I put him in the exersaucer in front of our bedroom mirror and he was just delighted to watch handsome mirror baby chew on some items. Ellie likes playing with him in the exersaucer too.




Tuesday, August 13, 2013

32

It's my birthday! (almost over now.) The older I get/the longer I'm a mom, the more I feel like my birthday should be about my own mom. I mean, she's the one who did all the work lo these many years ago, and she's the one who still has back problems as a result of bringing a nine pound baby into this world. And the gray hair from then having to raise me.

But I've had a good birthday! I woke up to my family singing and dancing for me, and then the kids and I went for a great run. Came home and cleaned up really fast, and Eileen came over to hang with the kids so I could get a massage. Jake gave me a gift card for a spa in Irvine last year, but I wasn't able to use it, being pregnant and all. Today I took full advantage! It's a Korean-style spa, which means that you spend a lot of time sitting around naked with a bunch of other naked ladies, and the "massage room" has low walls, so really, you are basically nude for a good two hours - a half hour to soak in the hot tub before hand, and 90 minutes of the body scrub and massage. It was the best massage I've ever had - I felt like a scrubbed wet noodle when all was said and done.

I got home a little later than I thought I would, and Ellie immediately started hollering about cake, so we sat down (with Sara and Gigi, who had come by as back up) and had some of the lovely cake that Mimi brought (they had also had lunch, which I had after cake time.) Ellie sat down with her plate and Gigi offered to get her a spoon, and Ellie goes "that's okay, I can eat with my hands." Umm... you CAN, but that was not being offered as an option.

I got all the kids to take a nap, and then we went over to mom and dad's house for dinner. Dad opened a little split of champagne for me and mom, Tim picked up pupusas on his way over, and we had salad and strawberry shortcake.

And whipped cream


What more could you want?
Adam and Rocky dressed in their best tuxes for my big day

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Mini Me

It's no secret that part of the reason Ellie and I butt heads so much is that we're very similar, sometimes in the worst ways - bossy, whiny, petulant, impatient. I'm sure Gigi could think of ten more adjectives to list, ha! But sometimes, she is so fun to have as a mini me. Today I went to the gym in the morning, and when I came home Ellie started crying and said she had to take a shower with me because she was stinky. She wasn't actually stinky, but I humored her and gave up my private shower time to bathe with my little exhibitionist. She didn't even wash herself, she just stood under the spray and gabbed at me (another way in which we are the same. NEVER STOP TALKING.)

I got dressed while she ran around the house in her undies, and then when I went to feed Adam, Tim got her dressed. She came out and proudly told me "I'm wearing my jean skirt just like you!" Oh my heart, she is so cute.

Tim and I brought the kids over to Mimi and Pa's so we could go out for a hot date. We saw a movie, bought a bunch of $5 CDs at Best Buy and had a lovely dinner, all using gift cards! FREE HOT DATE! Then we went to the grocery store and got a little cake for my early birthday celebration with those crazy Fockers. When we got back Ellie was out front riding her bike, but she quickly decided she could come in for cake and a cookie (the cookie said happy birthday, we had to buy it.)

Sometimes, having her as my mini me is really fun. Especially when I encouraged her to just go at the frosting on the top of the cake with her fork. Raising a little hellion is fun! (sometimes.)

Friday, August 9, 2013

Selfies.

I finally got a new phone last week, after an initial misfire. Started with a Samsung phone, ended up taking it back and getting an iPhone 5. It took some getting used to, what with me being a confirmed PC and all, but I love the new camera.


Ellie very much enjoys taking selfies using the camera facing us. She is a loon, and she also makes me a bit worried for when she's a teenager. I will confiscate all cameras and camera phones at that point, I suppose.

We've had a good week. Tim and I got away for a date night on Wednesday night to see Madeleine Peyroux, the New Orleans Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Steve Martin with Edie Brickell and the Steep Canyon Rangers at the Hollywood Bowl. It was an amazing show and a fabulous evening, well worth the four hours of drive time. We were able to stop and pick up a picnic dinner at Bottega Louie, and the whole concert was great. I miss hearing live music on the regular now that we live behind the Orange Curtain, and I really appreciate Gigi and Grizz taking the kids (and in Gigi's case, staying up until 1:30am!) so that Tim and I could escape for a bit and jam out.

This is Ellie's new favorite song:

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Queen of the Bunnies.

Mimi and Ellie had a most excellent petting zoo adventure today!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Cuties.

This weekend we went down to the San Diego area to see a friend of mine from college who is in town from Europe with her husband and new little baby. Ellie insisted on wearing her flower girl dress, and who am I to stop her? She was delighted with the house and the swing that Katrina's parents have in their lovely back yard. My little elfin girl. She has been so funny lately - she told me the other morning that she "really appreciated" me helping her make pancakes, and reminded me that when I'm at the oven, I need to wear my "clubs" so that I don't burn my hands. And when we drive, she will sometimes point out how big and bumpy the "screenbumps" are. And of course, she loves being Adam's "big stister."

The rolling over is in full force lately, for better or for worse. Sometimes he gets so angry, and then the other day he rolled over in his crib and I found him with his butt in the area, his lovey under his chest and his thumb in his mouth. It's so fun to see him turn from a blob into a baby. He loves his toys and can reach for them and chew on them and all of that good stuff - it's nice to see him play after so many months of me putting stuff in his car seat with him and nothing happening. He's also found his feet, and so spends a lot of time trying to cram them into his mouth. He shares that with trait with Ellie. Not Ellie at four months, but Ellie at almost three. I know it's not fair, but I let him stuck his tooties in his piehole, and holler at her when I catch her trying to chew her toenails in the car.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Four Months.

Another thing that happened while we were out of town is that Adam turned four months old. Yes, he is wearing the same outfit in these pictures as he was wearing when he turned three months. It's his fancy outfit, and he was dressing for the rehearsal dinner.

Today was his four month check up - he's 50th percentile for height (25 inches) and weight (15 pounds) and his head is in the 95th percentile, no surprise there. He's hitting all of his mile stones and flashed the doctor a huge smile. Lately his favorite thing is hooting at his toys, drooling, and rolling around but not quite rolling over (most of the time - occasionally he'll do it, but usually when no one is watching. Like today when he was screaming in his crib and I found him angrily on his stomach, facing the opposite way from how I'd laid him down.) He laughs every morning when we pull his shirt over his head, which is super cute to me, and he saves his biggest smiles for me and his sister. Still will sleep well on the go in the Ergo, which is more comfortable than the Moby now that he weighs so much.

We're getting on a more regular schedule for naps, and I am so thankful that if he's tired and fed, he will sometimes soothe himself to sleep by sucking his thumb. Once it falls out, he's done with it, which makes me hope that he won't be a compulsive thumb sucker until he's forty years old.

He's really just a generally content little dude. Loves to snuggle, likes to stand and chat with you, doesn't mind if you lay him in his play mat while doing things around the house. Yesterday he laid on the bed and cooed loudly at the fan while I folded laundry.