Monkey See, Monkey Do...

Simon was just not himself yesterday... and then coughed all night long. He also woke up at 5a.m. screaming, which is not something he normally does. Since our pediatrician isn't on call this weekend and I didn't recognize the name of the doctor who WAS on call, we just took him to Patient First.

Double ear infection.

(sigh)

How? Why? Will this ever end? :(

Interesting Evening...

We played outside yesterday from about 3:30 until 5:45, during which time Ben swam and ran and rode his bike nonstop. That is, until 5:45 when he abruptly stopped his bike in front of me on the neighbor's lawn and said, "Mommy. I want to go inside."

(record scratch sound effect)

"You want to go inside? Why?"

"My ear really hurts."

Seriously?!

Never, in all those first two years of ear infections prior to the tubes did Ben say or act like his ears actually hurt, so this must have been REALLY bad. I leapt into action and ran him back across the street. Thankfully, Tom was on his way home and by the time I had called the pediatrician (who by some divine miracle was still at the office at 6p.m. on a Friday?!) and was set to walk out the door, he was coming up the front stairs. I threw Simon at him and sped off with Ben.

15 minutes later the diagnosis was confirmed. The familiar song and dance of ear infection, antibiotics, see you in two weeks, Walgreens to drop off and back again to pick up.

By 8:15, Ben had his first dose of medicine, plus some Tylenol to top off the Motrin he had had 2-1/2 hours before.

Sheesh. Just when you think life is uneventful...

I should add that while the tubes were absolutely wonderful when they were functioning, now that they are in the process of falling out (as they are supposed to do), it seems we are back to square one. This is the second ear infection he has had since the tubes started to come out. I think he's just going to continue to get e.i.'s with every cold until he grows out of it or gets the tubes replaced... honestly, neither option sounds particularly appealing. I'm thankful we had a couple years there where he wasn't on antibiotics so often and I didn't have to have this worry though, so I do still think ear tubes are worth it. But (sigh)....

Friday! :)

Yay for Friday! :D

We have a birthday party to go to on Sunday for Lily. Ben is pretty excited as it is at the gymnastics place.

So we went shopping for a gift yesterday at Target and of course, had to stop in the Star Wars aisle so Ben could look at the figures. As we were standing there and Ben was babbling away about this guy and that guy and the guys he wanted to save up for, a woman about my age came up behind me and said, "How old is he?"

Seeing as there were two "he's" in my cart, I asked, "Which?"

"The talker, how old is he?"

I replied that he had just turned four and she pounced. "Great! Perfect! What would he like?! I have to buy a birthday gift for my nephew who is turning four and he LOVES Star Wars." So I let Ben tell her all his favorites and chimed in with some suggestions. She walked away with a set of all the most well-known SW guys. I tried to say that if her nephew was that into Star Wars, he probably already had those...but oh well. ;)

I then wandered over to the aisle of all things pink, sparkly and fluffy to find Lily's present. I really wished there had been a mom there with a two-year-old daughter to pounce on for help. ;) Because in THAT aisle? I feel like a stranger in a strange, pink, frosted, My Little Pony-filled Barbie Dreamhouse Princess land.

Cultures...

So I have this neighbor. She started wandering over to our little moms group that hangs out outside recently with her two-year-old. She is very sweet, very generous, kind to all the kids and jumps in to help child-wrangle any way she can.

The moms I hang out with outside, they couldn't be more welcoming of whoever wants to come play. It wasn't long ago that Ben and I were the newbies to the group and we never felt like we were intruding or not wanted. So I do my best now to pass that kindness along to whoever else wanders over. Moms need to stick together and support and help one another, whether you are at home all day, part of the time, or work outside the home full-time. And we have quite a mix of all of the above.

Anyway, so this neighbor. She is Indian. As in, just came here a few years ago from India on her husband's student visa indian. As in, arranged marriage, going BACK to India in a few years Indian. She speaks perfect English. In fact, she apparently speaks EIGHT languages and her little boy speaks a crazy number of languages already at age two. No problem...

Except that none of us know what to do say or do with her. I mean, the rest of us will sit around whine about our husbands working late or how hard our days have been, how we're throwing chicken nuggets in the oven for dinner and the husband will have to fend for himself that night. She rarely contributes to our conversations... it's just hard to engage someone whose life is SO very different from the one you live. But in trying to understand her and find someone common ground, I've asked a lot of questions lately...

I've learned Her husband leaves for work every morning, taking the only car. She is home all day long with the two-year-old. She cooks two full-on homemade, from scratch meals a day, breakfast and dinner.

She never ever complains.

On one hand, I feel badly for her. We all know how hard it is to be home all day long alone with the kids. But to not have the CHOICE to go anywhere? To HAVE to cook TWO meals a day, no matter what? To be here, in a country where everything is completely different, with a husband you probably STILL don't know very well... your only company, this group of girls who sit around whining because their husbands are ten minutes late coming home and trying to decide whether to throw in the frozen pizza or order carryout.

On the other hand, I wonder if she would be insulted that I feel sorry for her. She's just doing what she knows... what her mom did and her grandmother before her.

I want to be welcoming and accepting and find ways to show her kindness. But, I just find myself at a loss for what to do or say. I don't want to be offensive or presumptuous.

I'm mostly just thinking out loud, but if anyone has any thoughts of suggestions, I'd love to hear them...

Good Post...

Rachel over at Simple Family is on a roll this week... read this one and then come back to discuss... I know some of you have worried, wondered, and thought about this topic from time to time. I know *I* have... how much should we PLAY with our kids? How involved do you have to be every minute of every day? How much should they be left to their own devices to play and imagine and figure things out? I know I'm not the only one who gets bored after 50 block towers and an hour of Star Wars guys scenarios or feels the need to actually get things done around the house while the kids play.

As I write this, Ben is in the bathroom "washing his hands" and probably the rest of the bathroom as well... perhaps I should end this and send you on your way.

So, go read... But come back! :)

Closet Walker...

By my best estimate, Simon walked five or so steps this morning to get from the nightstand in our bedroom to the vacuum cleaner in the middle of the room. That's a guess, however, because I only caught the last two steps before he saw I had spotted him and promptly sat down.

The sneaky little guy is becoming a closet walker, a term coined by my mom's friend Hope, whose grandaughter (same age as Ben) used to walk all over the room until someone came in and then she'd sit down and pretend she couldn't walk at all. I don't think she "came out" until several months after her first birthday.

Simon will do positively ANYTHING to avoid walking, including crawling on his hands and the tips of his toes outside so he doesn't scrape his knees on the sidewalk. He will also leap from object to object even if they are ridiculously far apart for cruising purposes...

At this point, I'm very curious to see just how long he can draw this out. I'm really thinking he might go as long as the end of the summer or even September. I figure the longer it takes the more money I'm saving on shoes, right? ;) LOL! These days, it's all barefoot, all the time!

I Went to the Eye Doctor Today, But it Was All a Blur...

badumbum.

Anyway, so yeah, I went to the eye doctor this afternoon for the first time since I was pregnant with Ben. I've noticed since I was pregnant with Simon that far-off things are a little blurry. It's just enough to make me squint a little when I'm driving and looking for a sign or trying to see the Orioles score in the little box at the top of the tv screen. The verdict? Glasses... but only to wear when the blurriness REALLY bugs me.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little happy to walk away with a glasses prescription. (especially when I found out they were fully covered by our vision insurance) You see, I wore glasses from the time I was 18 months old until the time I was 10 and, when I didn't need them anymore, it was like something was missing from my face. Frankly, I've never really gotten over it. ;)

Park Pics...

Just a few pics from our visit to the playground yesterday afternoon...

My monkey


Simon wanted Ben's juice so badly that after Ben walked away and left it on the bench, he picked it up and figured out how to drink through a straw! Luckily, I had brought an extra...


Please can we go over there with the big kids?


Mommy, the wood chips really hurt my feet. Pick. Me. UP!


This particular playground contraption scares me to death, but daredevil Ben mastered it last year, so now I just let him go and cross my fingers while I keep Simon from hurting himself. Other moms are always trying to spot him, and then I feel like I have to go over and explain that he's four and really CAN do it alone... I'm not just being a neglectful parent. ;)


The swings seem to be our favorite playground equipment right now though... for both of them. This is very convenient. Two swings. Two arms. Two boys. Maybe I should just stop while I'm ahead. ;)

Outdoor Blogging...

...and just hoping that Ben doesn't splash my laptop!

So a family friend (Heidi's father-in-law)just came over to take a look at our deck situation. We're going to tear down our existing deck (before it falls down on its own) and build a new one with another deck on the bottom. My neighbors who read my blog will understand why it did not come as shock to learn that our current deck (built when the house was built, we think), does not comply with any sort of code. Good times. I suppose I should consider myself lucky that it has not come crashing down on our heads already. ;) Anyway, so yay. I'm giving up any hope of replacing our kitchen counters/cabinets this calendar year in favor of this project so we can have a nice place to spend time outdoors. I think it's the right decision and now I'm getting excited about the idea of finally having a pretty backyard.

I took the boys to the playground this morning and ran into a girl from high school turned Facebook friend who I also ran into LAST summer when I was at the very same playground. Not that we had any kind of real conversation since she was chasing her two-year-old and I was chasing Ben and Simon. (who were going in opposite directions). Anyway, she just had her second baby (another boy), so we did get to chat a little about the trials and tribulations of all that...

Sitting here pondering how I need to plan my days better... Rachel's most recent post discussed something I've been struggling with myself and need to start dealing with. I plan meals some weeks, but don't always follow through. Then at 5:30 I'm running around trying to decide what to make for dinner. I also need to start prepping for the week's meals on Sundays because honestly, it's all the darn chopping of things that kills me every. single. time.

Anyway, enough rambling... and it just seems wrong to have a laptop outside. ;) I have to draw the line somewhere with this addiction... ;)

Weekend Recap...

Friday night - the aforementioned party in the 'hood. Good times. Tired kids.

Saturday morning - Rain. Much rain. Went to grocery store. Got soaking wet. Spent the rest of the day in the basement. Wait, sun back out! Outside! Yay! Played with our friends' Stomp Rocket. Simon thinks Stomp Rockets are a riot. Glad the Stomp Rocket lives at someone else's house though. ;)

Sunday - More outside. Ben "adventured" in the "woods" in our common area. Lots of "Rah bah!! Rah bah!!!" Fruitless visit to Home Depot for more planks to floor the attic. Apparently, (despite my protests to the contrary) my husband thinks planks are just automatically available in 2' x 4' size. Didn't ponder that we might have to stand in a ginormous line to have them cut. Dollar Store for pool toys. Home. Rain. More Rain. Torrential Rain. Worried it would rain out the 3p.m. bday party we were going to at the pool. Rained stopped at 2:59. Pool party! Yay! Good times. Tired kids. Rain! More rain! Ran from pool party to car. Home. Dinner. More outside for "Rah bah!!!" "Pah pah pah" ("splash splash splash"... in mud puddles) Baths. Bed.

And, it's Monday again. However, my parents are having 50 bags of rubber bits delivered to their little backyard play area this morning, so there is opportunity for digging later! Boys inherently love digging. And trucks. And digging WITH trucks. How is it that a one-year-old already knows that trucks are something cool? He already plays with them the way the way they are supposed to be played with... and says "vm! vm!" when he drives them across the floor. Is this a gene?

A Brothers First...

Today was the first time both boys rode in the car shaped grocery cart together. ;)

I wish I had had my camera because it was extremely adorable and quite funny. Even strangers kept peeking into the cart and giggling. It happened because Simon spotted the firetruck out front and practically dove out of my arms to get to it. He loves riding on the little bikes and cars outside and sits very still, so I figured we'd give it a try. He happily "drove" with Ben for probably half the grocery trip. Then all heck broke loose when Ben got a lollipop from the bank and Simon wanted it. There was a pushing incident and some crying, which resulted in Tom and I having to trade off carrying Simon through the rest of the store. I don't think I'll be trying this on my own anytime soon, but it was glimpse of things to come (both good and bad). :)

I'm Not Sure They Could Have Played Any Harder...

We had a little neighborhood party last night... it started at 4, and, though I brought Simon in around 7:45, Ben didn't come in until 9... I think there was quite a bit of happy summertime fun had by all. ;) Here are a few pics... many not of my kids, but I think you'll appreciate the summery cuteness anyway. ;)

What's a party without a bouncy house?


Or sidewalk chalk to draw with eat?
(at one point, Simon had a chalk handprint on his head, unfortunately, I didn't get that picture)




I keep telling Simon that he really shouldn't talk on his cell phone while driving... but he does it anyway. ;)


Can't. Get. Simon. Off. This. Bike.


There was lots of bike riding and scootering... the lawn looked like a parking lot. ;)



And junk food...




Beep beep!


His head barely fits in the frame. ;)


Exchanging insurance information

Simon Says...

"Roo" (for the little kangaroos in his Little People ark.) He also makes them hop and says "pah pah pah"

There is also some approximation of "bike" and "ride" he's working on, but lately, most of what he says sounds like bah, buh, or beh or rah. The only way you know he's talking about wanting to ride the bike is that he is saying these things whilst pointing frantically to the "Bah!" and also saying "Rah?" If he says "Behhhhhh?!!" or "Buh-RRRRRR" while banging on Ben's closed bedroom door, he's saying "Ben get the heck out of bed and play with me!" If he says "Buh Buh!" it usually means he has spotted his blue puppy, which we call "Pup Pup" There are several others too involving "Bah buh beh", and frankly, it's amazing how versatile B sounds with subtle variations can be. ;) (and how, when you are the one listening to it everyday, you can actually hear the difference!!)

His clearest and most obvious word is definitely still "ball". I'm anxiously waiting for him to discover the "ee" sound, which will open all kinds of word doors for him. ;) You know, the important ones like "MOMMY". ;)

Backyard Fun...

The swing's hung. (okay, so yeah, we ever actually take it down) The sandbox is filled. So is the kiddie pool. It's summertime! :)

Ben insists he isn't too big for the baby swing yet... he also insisted I take his picture.


He also wanted a picture of his toes.


C'mon in, the water's fine! (That's a lie. It was freezing in there yesterday. But I left it overnight, so it should be a tad warmer today) ;)


He spent probably three hours in total out here yesterday. Simon was napping during this particular photo-taking escapade, but he too spent a good bit of time in the baby pool/swing. They are loving summer thusfar and now we REALLY can't wait to get to the beach at the end of June! :)

I Feel So ... LOST Today! ;)

Season finale of Lost tonight!!! Weeeeee!!! And then it's gone again for what, another year? ;)

I Win!

Tom and I had a competition today at the allergist to see who was the most allergic. We decided to let the doctor make the call, instead of basing it on who had the most hives (me!) and/or whose hives were the biggest (Tom!). I thought for sure Tom would be the clear winner, as he actually feels dreadfully SICK and just dead to the world when his allergies are bad. Mine are just kinda year-round low-grade sniffles, sinus headaches, itchy eyes and sneezing.

I was so very wrong.

According to the doctor, I won by a landslide. I'm allergic to every tree pollen and grass pollen they tested for, as well as ragweed, dustmites and cats. Who knew? I knew about the cats, and assumed the dust mites because I sneeze every morning and have attacks in the middle of the night; but I thought my seasonal stuff was pretty minimal.

Tom had a most of the tree pollens, a couple grass and two outdoor molds. But the doctor said Tom will only need meds from July - October, whereas, apparently I will need year-round stuff, plus a catscan to see if my sinus issues have become chronic, which would mean even more medication. All to prevent sinus surgery which would eventually be necessary, and probable asthma that would develop. Good times. He also said we should strongly consider taking all the carpet out of our house. Hrm... if I can only figure out a way to bill that to the insurance...

After all is under control, we are both going to start getting the shots to cure all of it completely. (which is a long LONG process that involves many copays...)

I just dropped off half a dozen prescriptions to Walgreens!

Oh, yeah so and when Ben remembered where we were going, he asked Tom if he was going to get a treat. Tom said no, but then asked what kind of a treat he SHOULD get if cooperated at the doctor. Ben answered...

"Beer!"

Heh. ;)

Little Tow-Head...

Simon's hair is filling in a bit and I can now see that it is a different color than Ben's. All this time, I thought it was going to be the same reddish dark blond that Ben and I both have... but it seems my second born is going to be a REAL blonde. His hair is actually coming in yellow! (which might explain the extended period of baldness we've got going on) Interesting! A head of blond curls! Oh, how sweet! :)

Happy Tuesday. :)

I love three-day weekends. It's the perfect amount of time to get lots done while still spending tons of fun time together. I told Tom he needs to figure out a way to have Mondays off all the time. ;)

We worked outside on Saturday, (or Sunday, it has all run together now) after a trip to Walmart to purchase one of those trademark "I have kids!" Green Turtle sandboxes. We decided against filling it with sand because Simon eats sand and Ben has a habit of throwing it. Instead, we filled it with three bags of those rubber mulch bits (a la "Storyville", for those of you who have visited there!). They love it, they can dig in it, the mess is minimal.

We also cleaned up our backyard a bit. Sadly, because we have no patio, it's just naturally kind of a mess back there because we can't grow grass under the deck. I decided to postpone any more kitchen projects until next year in favor of putting a bottom deck on under there, as well as rebuilding our scary, rickety top deck. Hopefully by the end of the summer it will be transformed into a really nice place to spend time with the kids...

Yesterday, we joined some of our neighbors at the pool for a couple hours. The boys had a blast in the kiddie area, which is so ingeniously fenced in. (woohoo!) And Simon is a little waterbug! He didn't even seem to mind that the water was frigid, as long as he didn't accidentally sit down.

During Simon's nap, I mixed up our dinner, which was this awesome mac and cheese my mother-in-law made a couple weeks ago. It's heavenly. Really. Give it a try!! I didn't use the homemade french bread crumbs, I just used regular canned italian bread crumbs. I also used skim milk because, omg, with three different cheeses, do you really need more fat? But anyway, it was still wonderful.

I also dug out the ice cream maker Krystyna got me for Christmas. I looked up a few recipes on the Food Network website and let Tom choose the one we'd make. He picked Pineapple Jalapeno Sorbet. I'm a little wary of it but it did get great reviews. Anyway, it's mixed up and I'll churn it later today when the bucket is frozen... I'll let ya know. ;) But really, I'm scared. Pineapples and peppers?

Later, we headed over to Tom's parents' house for an hour or so to say hi to his aunt who was in town. Ben had fun running around with Pap and Simon stuffed his face with cheese nips.

Busy weekend! I'm so glad the weather was beautiful. My children have been completely worn out at the end of every day from spending so much time outside. Their little cheeks are sunkissed and they both have little farmer tans on their arms. (despite the 50 SPF baby sunblock!) I think it's safe to say that summer has arrived... even if it doesn't technically start until June 21. ;)

Introducing... Kermit the Almost Frog

This is Kermit.


He is a tadpole who is temporarily residing in our aquarium until he becomes a frog. We thought it would be a fun thing for Ben to get to watch. The guy we bought him from (for $1.49 at Valley View Farms if any of you locals have an aquarium* and want to go adopt one of Kermit's siblings) says his transformation should be complete by the end of the summer.

He's earning his keep by eating algae, which is more than I can say for the Plecostomus fish we bought to do that job who lived for approximately 8 hours before kicking the bucket.

I'll put all Kermit-related posts under one label so you can all follow along on his fish-to-frog progress. ;)

When he is officially a frog, we'll take him down to the marshy place that is in one of our neighborhood common areas... he'll find lots of friends there. :)


* if you don't have an aquarium, but still want to play along, there is some good "how to keep a tadpole" info here

Funny Ben...

Tom was watering some herbs we put in our window box yesterday afternoon... Ben stood next to him, just watching...
Finally, he said:

"Oh!!! Is THAT how you grow mud?"

Yesterday....

So I never did disconnect the internet yesterday... I was a big failure on that one. But I'm going to do it today. ;)

I also didn't get outside until 4p.m. I kinda got "trapped by the nap". I hate when that happens. You rush to get everyone dressed and then oops, it's naptime. There go two hours. And then you feed everyone lunch (another 45 minutes), clean them and their mess up (another half hour), find shoes, jackets, diaper bag, sippy cups and wallet (another 15 minutes), change poopy diaper (5 minutes), and before you know it, you only have an hour until it's naptime again. It kinda has me looking forward to the days of one nap. (almost).

I did manage to get out for that hour yesterday. I dragged the boys over to Kid2Kid, which I have heard so many good things about from various people. It was a little smaller than I expected, and the selection for big boys was kinda eh. But I did score Simon two really cute shirts plus a little shortall set and some jeans for $12. So I was happy. I now trying to decide if it's worth it to dig through my collection of baby clothes for some things to consign there. I'm thinking not, because if they are only charging ME $1.00 for a really nice pair of 12-month baby jeans, how much could they possibly have given the mom who brought them in?

Anyway, then we got home and it was naptime... again. So Little Dude napped. Ben played in his room while I sorted through his bookshelf for some things to put up in the attic since I currently can't fit even ONE MORE BOOK on that shelf and I don't see any end to the influx of children's books to this house. (which yes, is a good thing... but it's forcing me to reevaluate my book storage situation) ;)

After THAT, we finally... FINALLY got outside. And it was just sooooo nice. :) The 'hood was hoppin'. The kids ran and ran. Simon crawled and climbed and just generally made me chase him and keep him from hurting himself. Beth brought out coffee for the neighborhood 4p.m. "happy hour" ;) (Thanks, Beth!) Mr. Ryan brought out icy pops for the kids. I tried to snap pictures but they all move too darn fast. (I briefly sat and pondered getting a real camera with a cool suped-up lens and taking some photography classes) The daddies came home. It was just NICE.

I love this time of year.... :)

Outside...

Iron Man


He means business...


Smiley


He can totally pull off riding the pink and yellow Dora Car. ;)


Yummy icy pops!

Goals Today:

- Disconnect internet for the day

- Ignore laundry

- Get outside with the boys as much as possible (even though my allergies are KILLING me right about now... man oh man does Ben's Allegra look tempting)

- Take some pretty pictures

- Post said pretty pictures on blog later... after I start twitching and reconnect the internet

- Make fun of Tom when he gets home from his annual fishing trip.

- Make a yummy dinner... or order one.

- Go back outside

Little Perfectionist...

It has begun to dawn on me that one of the reasons Ben has been kind of anti-drawing/writing until recently is because he hasn't been able to do it "right". I promise he does not get this from me, (okay, maybe genetically, he kind of does)... but I certainly don't correct him when he draws pictures or tries to write letters. But the poor kid is really, REALLY hard on himself!

He was doodling on his dry erase board two days ago and wanted to play tic-tac-toe. I kid you not, it took him 30 false starts before he drew a tic-tac-toe board he approved of. He sometimes would only get as far as half a line before he would erase it with a frustrated "grrr!!!!" announcing that it "had a wiggle in it". Sometimes he'd say the boxes weren't big enough or that it wasn't on the right part of the page.

He'll also only write letters and numbers he is 100% confident he can write. The other ones, he insists on tracing... and if he thinks he messed THAT up? He'll angrily scribble over it to cover it up.

I don't know whether to think this trait will serve him well or make school very, very hard and frustrating for both him and his teachers. (and us!)

Glamorous, It is Not...

I've been trying to make myself do at least ONE annoying, tedious and/or and non-instant-gratification-type household chore every day these days. Today's is washing the sofa cushion covers. I know, exciting!

I'm doing this because I tend to only regularly do household chores that offer that instant "I did that!" result. Vacuuming is one. Bed making, don't mind that. Bathroom cleaning, I don't particularly like, but there is nothing I love more than a clean-smelling sparkling bathroom. Wiping down windows/counters etc.

I tend to ignore things like -- closets, windowsills, drawers, window washing (the annoying, outdoor kind) dusting of high places, dusting of blinds, fridge cleaning and the like. Out of sight, out of mind seems to be my theme. I've tried to put systems in place that sort of help me keep some of these things clean and organized in the first place... like closet systems. And it helps... somewhat. But eventually, chaos takes over and I have to take everything out, sort and put it all back.

Anyway, if you have any wonderful systems or routines to share for jobs like these, I'm all ears... how often do you do things like wash windows/sills, clean out closets and drawers... etc?

Back to sofa-cushion washing while I await your brilliant responses that I know are going to change my life!

For the Love of Sleep....

Ugh. Simon has been making a change to his sleep patterns the last three days or so and it is NOT a good one. He has been waking up at 5:30a.m. and NOT GOING BACK TO SLEEP.

This has wreaked havoc on the napping situation because he goes down way too early for his morning nap. Yesterday, he was so messed up from the day before that he slept until 9a.m. and then took his morning nap at 12:30 and it was his only nap of the day. This morning, he was back up at 5:30 again.

I'm hoping there is something temporary to blame it on because this is no fun!

Simey Language!

Simon is starting to pick up on a little bit of baby sign language! :) I haven't actually been using any of the signs I know on a regular basis(because the times I had tried, he just wasn't making the connection). But yesterday, I started using a made-up one for the word "no" (that I used with Ben too) and today, whenever I'd say the word "no", he'd do the little sign! (which is just too cute, btw) Time to start with the more useful ones now! "more", "eat", "milk", "all done" and "please" are my favorites. Fun! :)

He also started using a new "word" today but I can't figure out what he means. It sounds like "tat", which I would have assumed was "cat", but there was no "tat" or a picture of a "tat" anywhere... so it's a mystery. ;)

Ben and I Have a Guilty Pleasure...

When Simon takes his Tuesday afternoon nap, Ben and I go to the basement and watch all four TiVoed episodes of the previous night's John and Kate Plus 8. Ben LOVES this show, which I think is so funny. He also has a favorite J&K+8 family member... and it's Madi. If you have ever watched this show and if you know Ben, this makes TOTAL sense. Madi and Ben are so similar it's scary. (though she has a bit more of a mean/bratty streak than Ben does) I often thought this while watching the show myself and so was highly amused that she turned out to be Ben's favorite. He always wants to watch the Madi-centric episodes. John and Kate live not far from us over the line in PA, so I have a secret wish that they'll meet up someday. ;)

Hodge Podge...

* Today is Ben's school picnic. It is raining. Again. I am sad.

* Ben ate broccoli the other night. TWO stalks. For my mother-in-law. Willingly. Happily, even. I have to concede this food victory to her and her "just ignore him" method. I also need to get the recipe for the mac-and-cheese which was the currency with which she convinced him the broccoli was worth eating. (and then ignored him)

* We went to Lakeshore yesterday and got this really cool sand that can't get wet. You can mold it underwater and then when you spoon it out? Totally dry. None of us can stop playing with it.

* I am sneezing and now find myself jealous of my four-year-old and his newly improved, non-sneezing self. I am restraining myself from not swiping his allergy meds. (Tom and I are going to get tested next week! Yeehaw!)

* Simon's on just whole milk now. I forgot how annoying it is to keep the fridge stocked with two separate milk jugs at all times and look forward to the day he drinks skim with the rest of us. If I buy a half gallon, it's not enough. If I buy a gallon, we don't use it all. GAH. Where can I get a 3/4 gallon?

* He's also down to just the one bottle before bed. I've been trying to give it to him before he's actually ready go to sleep and instead, after pj's and when he's just winding down. First off, because I want to brush his teeth after it. Secondly, because I want him to lose the sleep/bottle connection. I hope to ditch this last bottle in the next month or so. Yay! I'm ready to not have bottles and bottle parts sitting on the counter for awhile... ;)

* Do you think Simon will EVER get the rest of his teeth? He's been stuck at six for months now.

* Ben's new favorite book is The Pout Pout Fish. The rhyme is on a loop in my brain all day long. "I'm a Pout Pout fish with a pout pout face! Spreadin' dreary wearies all over the place!" There, now maybe it will crawl out of my head and into yours. ;) You're welcome.

* Both of my children are still sleeping. I just enjoyed my entire cup of coffee. Alone. Ahhh....

Another One for the Baby Book!

(Ben's baby book, that is) I don't often get to update Ben's baby book anymore since it's mostly filled in, except for birthday #5 and the pages about kindergarten and first grade... in fact, this may be the last unfilled blank on the milestones page.

Today, we were all signing his Uncle Taylor's birthday card. Like I always do these days, I made his name in dots so he could trace over it. He announced that he didn't need the dots, that he could write his name himself. This was news to me! We told him to go right ahead... this is what he did. :)


Not bad, eh?

In other exciting news, not to be outdone by cousin Ben, my niece took her first steps tonight! I missed the actual steps, but I was there for this:


I believe she now holds some kind of baby record for going from crawling to walking! (two weeks!!)

Family Resemblence...

Back in December, my mom came across these old pictures of my dad as a baby. I stuck them in a drawer and just came across them a bit ago. Simon is now about the same age as my dad was in these pics...

Yikes! (and now we know where his giant melon came from! ;)