They Say No One's Ever Beaten The Van Wyck

I love that face. "Now Mother, how many times have I had to ask you not to photograph me while I'm still in my robe?" She's nigh edible. Except at 3am when I'm dragging into her room for the third time and she's smiling up at me from her crib like, "Hey Mom, missed ya! I think I need another snack, and maybe let's rock a bit, too. Oh, and a diaper change! Sound good to you?" Actually, she's nigh edible then too, it's just my weary, weary eyes can't take in all the cuteness at that particular moment.

last week I decided to go crazy and try to get my Nibblet to take her morning nap in her crib. Just her morning nap, mind you ... the rest I still had her swinging away. Not only did she have me waving the white flag by the end of the week, she decided to make sure any such notions were fully banished to the depths by waking up 3-4 times per night on top of it all until I finally stuck her in the swing during the night as well.

Last night I tried putting her to sleep unswaddled, wondering if having her wee arms free would be a comforting and happy thing, but the tired lass could only think of clawing out her eyes, thus the free, flailing wee arms went back into the swaddling blanket. So this is how my girl is spending a great deal of her time these days:

But other than the whole sleep thing, she's been so happy and sweet! And big! At her 4 month appointment a couple weeks ago, she weighed 14 lb. 5 oz. (75th percentile)and 25.25 in. (50th percentile). She is tracking right where Andrew was as this age. It also appears she and I are losing our hair together. The hair right down the middle of her head and at the back is holding fast, but the sides are getting thin, creating what Phil calls her "mo-mullet." I, on the other hand, am losing fist-fulls every day from all over my head. It looks like the Yeti has been using my shower. Good thing I like wigs!

Precious is still complaining about his tummy, I'm sorry to say. For the last 2 weeks I've taken gluten out of his diet, but that doesn't appear to be the answer either. It did amuse me, however, when Andrew asked this morning if his plum had gluten in it. "No, no gluten in your plum." "So you could say it's gluten-free?" he replies. He's taken the removal of dairy, then gluten from his diet in stride, but does get excited when favorite foods are re-introduced. And other than his fairly mild complaints (and his runny nose this morning), he seems to be feeling fine. Diapers are still questionable, but I don't know at this point if I should continue to explore other possibilities or assume he's OK and perhaps just uncomfortable when he needs to go but doesn't want to.

I made him a little job chart on Monday and he loves it! He now helps with breakfast dishes, waters the plants, picks up his toys before bed, and puts his clothes in the hamper. I think I'll re-do the chart next week to include mopping the kitchen floor and ironing clothes since he's so excited about housework.

Our weather has been super nice for August in Georgia, so we've had a few fun playground days. Marjorie Stewart-Baxter was there this last time, which made it all the more fun.

He was even inspired to ride this sea-saw (is that how you spell that?) and loved it, which is unusual for him. Miss Cutie Stewart-Baxter can be very convincing.

And here's a little snippet of dinner conversation with the boy for the grandparents and aunties who miss his little voice.

Be not alarmed that I put off his deep, spiritual question (Phil was offended). I have answered it - best I could - several times before, and tried again that night. It's funny to me how he still sounds so young with those lisped S's and L's that sound like W's, but then I'll find myself trying to explain what "the glory of God" means or listening to him explain that the glass door to the deck is transparent while the door to the pantry is opaque. Because of him, I now know the proper definition of "translucent." I imagine I'll learn a lot from this little guy over the years.

Kettle Chips: The Perfect Snack ... for Revenge!

Well, My Precious and his whopping three years have been fully celebrated. Balloons and streamers were arranged, hot dogs were grilled, and cake was consumed. Andrew was violently opposed to having the birthday song sung to him (when we tried to sing it during playgroup, he ran and hid in the hallway), but he allowed everyone to (silently) watch him blow out his candles. His first attempt at flame ousting was a bust. I told him to try again and, much my amusement, he decided whispering the word "fast" near the candles worked really well. I don't know where that came from, but it was funny.

He's such a big boy. Phil and I have been noticing his conversation becoming more and more mature, which is so very cool. We're working on getting those pronouns straightened out ... he's the only 3-year-old ever who has never screamed, "Mine!" When someone snatches a toy he's playing with, he cries out, "It's yours!" He says really funny things all day (which I promptly forget as soon as Phil walks in from work), and he's gotten very intersted in understanding what everyone is talking about around him. He's so sweet and affectionate, often looking up at me and saying, "Mommy loves you so," before giving me a huge hug.

So here's to you, my darling boy! You have made my heart so full. Mommy does love you so.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Spider Pig, Spider Pig, Does Whatever A Spider Pig Does

We just had the most fun weekend ... our house was full to the brim with Phil's brother Jeff, his wife Jessie, their darling baby girl Anna-Kate, and my mom. (At first this might seem like an odd grouping of people, but somehow it felt very natural for my mother to be hanging out with my brother- and sister-in-law. However, she might be going through some detox this week after being forced to watch hours of Michael Jackson footage.) Having babies only a few weeks apart has kept us from getting together before now, but we all decided it was time for the girl cousins to meet. Aren't they so sweet in their matching dresses from Nannie and Papa?

This photo below was their introduction, and they both appeared a bit concerned. Soon enough, though, Anna-Kate was brushing Elsbeth's mullet while they discussed which outfits best disguised their diaper pooches.

All of us aunts and uncles loved getting in some quality time with our respective nieces.




Somehow I neglected to get a photo of me and Anna-Kate onto my camera, but I did get to snatch her up quite a few times and we're already planning our first tea party.

And in big, big news, My Precious turned 3 this past Thursday! It was a pretty low-key day, but I think he enjoyed it. Here he is devouring his cinnamon roll for breakfast, a new favorite goody.


And he really wanted to try his hand at photography, so I let him take a picture of his birthday present all by himself. He and Daddy have been having big fun with this. So have I, now that I think about it ....


Andrew decided to throw in a picture of Lenny while he was at it. This is what he wanted to do the entire morning of his birthday, play with his basketball net and watch Wonder Pets.


In the afternoon we went to a class at Gymboree. We've been trying it out for a couple weeks and he's loved it! And it's 3+ year-old class, so he was finally official. We're having some friends over this Saturday for a more formal celebration.


Funny story about that day at Gymboree ... at the end of the class, all the kids find a spot to hide, then the parents go find them to take them home. Andrew was hiding in a big red plastic tunnel and I had the video rolling as I came to find him. He jumped out and said, nonchalantly pointing back inside the tunnel, "I had an accident in there." The boy hasn't wet his pants in months! I think I'll pull that video out for his rehearsal dinner in a couple decades.

I was really glad my mom had stayed home with Elsbeth so I could have 2 hands to clean up the wettie sprinkled plastic. I was thinking that was a low point in the gross department until, about 24-hours later, I found myself crouched on the bathroom floor, delicately scooping diarrhea out of a pull-up with a baby spoon to fill multiple vials for lab tests. (As you may have deduced, Andrew's still having tummy issues ... the lab work came back fine, and we're meeting with the doctor yet again on Monday.)

Our Nibblet has been such a happy girl this last week or so, smiling and laughing all over the place and enjoying activites even out of mommy's arms. Her favorite is the play mat, but she also enjoys her bouncey and bumbo seats, especially if someone will sit and talk with her. She's also been napping very well in her swing (don't tell Dr. Weisbluth!) and she even fell asleep in the stroller she has, until now, declared odious.


Melvina & Carrothead Update:

The love birds spend a weekend with my Aunt Leslie and Uncle Dusty at a woodsy getaway spot they refer to as "Camp." Sounds like a double date to me. The four of them sat around a campfire, strolled through wildflower speckled fields, and visited this bridge that was used in the movie Night of the Living Dead. Melvina got a little freaked out and clung tightly to her darling root vegetable, much to his delight.


And here's my Uncle Dusty giving the 2 of them a lift back to their lodge. This picture made me laugh out loud. It would make you laugh out loud, too, if you knew my Uncle Dusty.