Prepping.

Been kind of a crazy day around here. Woke up because Ellie had an accident. Then Thor peed all over me out of sheer terror when we were getting him ready for a return trip to the vet to check his glucose. Poor guy. Poor me. My poor washing machine.

But we've managed since. Went for a walk, got an over tired Adam to take a nap and then Ellie helped me clean the bathroom and make biscuits.

She loves to help.

Meanwhile, we are starting to gear up for our trip to Tahoe this weekend, where we will see Jacob become an Ironman. When we originally booked our hotel all they had available was a room with two queen beds or the Presidential Suite. I, being an optimist, booked the single room and figured we'd make do, but as the date approaches, I was beginning to claw my skin off at the thought of four of us in one room for four days. Don and Eileen have a suite, but there's no guarantee that they'd be near us and that we'd be able to use a baby monitor or what have you. I imagined Tim and I getting ready for bed at 9pm and laying silently in bed, willing both children to close their eyes and go to sleep. But thankfully, I called to follow up and they said they had a suite available! Not a valley view, but a forest view. As if I care - at this point I'd be ready to take the Presidential suite even if it meant selling an organ to do so (surely some Ironman contestant would need a kidney after what they put their body through.) We leave on Thursday morning and will drive drive drive until we arrive there, or until I get out of the car and give up, laying down in a ditch of dirty water by the side of the road. GO ON WITHOUT ME, FAMILY.

I just enjoy my quiet time and my space, and family vacations are not the best places to find such things. It's going to be great though. I've never been to Tahoe and everyone has been telling me how great it is.

I call this series "chit chat with old dudes."

New.

Today was Ellie's first full day in her big girl preschool classroom. We've been discussing her move out of the "twos" room for over a month now, and she's seem psyched about it. Seeming and being of course, being two very different things. Miss Kayla took her over there for an introduction on Monday, but she didn't last the whole morning. Her new teacher Miss Nira was impressed with Ellie's verbal skills, and her negotiating talent (Ellie lobbied to be sent back to her old room, and in return promised to spend the whole day today in her new classroom.) When I left her, she was red faced and screaming and trying to negotiate with me ("I want to see Miss Laurie! I want to go see Landon! I'm tired!") but when I returned she was happily sitting in her seat, eating her lunch, and she did not immediately burst into tears. PROGRESS! She seems so big and also so little in her new room. She's with kids who go up to kindergarten age, and there are 24 kids in the classroom versus 12 in the twos room (there is also an assistant teacher.) Less time on the play ground, more work time. She apparently did well after a few more minutes of hysterics. I did reassure Miss Nira that Ellie cries about EVERYTHING (I wonder where she got that from.)

Afterwards, we went over to Starbucks and had a beverage (me) and a scone (her.) She was so cute, demanding we sit on the couch and put our drinks on the coffee table and then standing up to do some dancing. When a lady asked me about how old Adam was, Ellie piped up "and tell her how old I am!" Almost three kid, or so I've heard (now that her birthday is next, all I hear about is her birthday.)

Meanwhile, when we came home I put Adam in his play mat so that I could get Ellie ready for a nap. We went to the bathroom, read a book and snuggled for a minute. Probably ten minutes in all that he was left alone. When I came back out to the living room, I couldn't immediately find him. Then I noticed how far he'd migrated:

Got himself all the way through the play mat (his feet were facing the couch when I left him) turned 90 degrees and flipped to his belly. He's going to be crawling before I know it.

Game Day.

Sadly, the Packers lost today, but at least the kids looked adorable:

And we had friends over for the game and served brats for dinner. My little sous chef helped me prepare them.

As you do.

Words, Words, Words.

Adam is starting to babble more, and has recently graduated from weird throat singing into actual consonant sounds (Kate, does this mean he's a genius?) Of course, he has started with the ever popular "da da da da da," the little turd. And he looks so funny doing it - like a dog with peanut butter stuck to the roof of his mouth. He'll get the hang of it eventually, and I look forward to when he starts calling explicitly for his dad in the middle of the night. I will laugh as I roll over and go back to sleep.

Sadly, he's also got a baby booger nose. We had a busy play date yesterday morning and he didn't get in a great nap, and so by afternoon nap time he was damn near hysterical. I finally put him in the moby wrap and walked the halls until he fell asleep, and then was able to lay him back down in his crib. Mama knows best, little man. Last night he was a little feverish, and he happily chewed on an ice cube. So it may be a cold, it may be new teeth, it may just be the pain of being a baby, growing and changing.

Meanwhile, Ellie is learning some new phrases, which cracks me up. Her favorite new thing to do is to be insolent or defiant until she gets reprimanded, and then she immediately bursts into hysterical tears (I think she gets that from Tim) and says "I'm sad! You yelled at me! I need a hug!" Basically, any time she gets called out on her behavior lately (even if it's in a calm, rational tone) she immediately says she needs a hug. Little suck up. She also likes to tell me before bed "you can't love me, I need daddy to love me." Fine then!

At least Lulu still likes me.

Beat the Heat

It has been a long, hot week around here. First of all, we are bereft of our morning activities. Music class is over, there isn't any preschool, Mimi has a mean boss who told her to go to work instead of spending time with her grandchildren - you get the picture. And it's approximately a million degrees, so while I walk every morning, I grow a four foot long beard of sweat and then come home, take a freezing cold shower and continue to sweat for the next hour. It is revolting and a little crazy making.

The good news, as always, is Grizz's pool.

It is the best concrete hole in the ground ever!

The Cutest Two Minutes You'll Have All Day.

Circus Baby.

Another member joins our acrobatics team!