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.