Caricature

Yesterday we attended Delta's company block party and had this caricature done of the kids.  The last time we had one done was when we only had two kiddos; Abby was 3 & Em was 2.  Can you correctly label who's who, L to R, top to bottom?

I'm still chuckling as I look at Courtney's calm, serene face here...she was far from it at the time...2 hours past naptime, hot,  & sick of waiting in line for an hour.  As she squirmed and flailed & tried to paw the artist's sketch board with her grubby chubby little fingers, I just kept feeding her cotton candy and chips to keep her still long enough for the artist to catch literally even a 2 second glimpse.  I'd say he did pretty good.  :)

Happy Father's Day, Wade...from your 4 beautiful blessings & your adoring wife!

Children Are People Too?

Nathan:  "Mom, why are there two boxes of Cheerios out?"
Me:  "Well, I'm giving Courtney the rest of this box and then we'll open the new box."
Nathan:  "Oh, cause da other one is eatable for humans?" 
Guess he thought the old ones were fine for his baby alien sister.

What Babies Do

Emily got to bring and 'share' her baby sister for show-n-tell at school this week.  When the teacher asked "And what does your baby sister like to do?"  Emily replied "eat scrounge off the floor."  Guess we should have done some prepping beforehand.

9 Months

Been having problems with my computer...was supposed to post this a couple weeks ago...
My baby's 9 months old.  Where does the time go?  (Sniff sniff.)  And the shirt she's wearing...Abby wore the same one on her 9 month birthday over 8 years ago.

No Waste

I try to teach my children not to waste...you know--you can still color on a piece of paper with a bent corner; you can wear jeans several times before washing, and you can make a meal out of leftovers, etc. 
Today during Courtney's diaper change I discovered a muticolored, shiny treasure of sorts and Nathan thought the principles of resourcefulness and frugality should apply here as well.  I had him bring me a Q-tip just so I could see what it was that she had ingested.  "Huh, it's just a puffy letter sticker...she ate a sticker, Nathan!"  I then proceeded to wrap up the diaper holding the poo, the dirty Q-tip, and the petty treasure we'd discovered.  I then saw the alligator tears forming..."But Mom!  Aren't you going to save it?...I thought we could wash it off!"  I tried to explain why it was unnecessary to save a digested, poop-covered letter 'J' sticker, but some things are just hard to understand when you're 3.  I did remind Nathan that when he was a baby, he swallowed several Polly Pocket shoes--and we didn't save those either.  That brought a tiny bit of comfort.

And now onto lunch...

Plugged

My little peanut's got a plugged up pooper...peaches, pears, peas, and prunes...and maybe a little glycerin suppository--but that doesn't start with "p."  Poor little pumpkin!  What a way to celebrate your 7 month birthday!

Hugs

Came in the room to find Nathan giving Courtney a big bear hug.  Knowing he doesn't know his own strength when it comes to babies, I cautioned him to "not hug the heck out of her."

"Yeah, I won't hug the neck off of her," he replied.  Well, that works too.

Where Do Babies Come From?

 

Conversation between the girls today as they came home from school and loved on their baby sister...

Abby:  Ooooooh wejustloveyourbabychub...justlovethatchub...ourlittlechubbers...

Abby again:  All that chub comes from Mama's milk!

Emily:  Naw-aw...her chub comes from dirt.  Daddy says we all come from dirt. 

Caption Me

Poop Happens

So we went to the zoo last weekend. My sister, Bria, myself, and the kids. It took forever to get everybody ready and out of the house. By the time we got there it was already time for lunch. Finally we got everyone fed, pottied, and washed up. Got Baby in the Baby Bjorn and we were set to hit the tropics trail. First stop, the turtles, just 10 feet away from the bench we'd been camped on. The kids were oohing and aahing when suddenly I heard a loud, wet "SPLAT." I looked down to see a huge puddle of poop on the ground, as well as spattered on my new running shoes. I immediately looked up to see what kind of animal just crapped on me from the branches above...nothing obvious, and what bird poops that much at once...

Next I hear a rumble in the Bronx...and realize that MY CHILD is the culprit. To my horror, I then see the yellow pooh oozing and squishing EVERYWHERE...down my shirt, down my shorts, all over Courtney's shirt and pants, all over the Baby Bjorn, and--as I'd mentioned, all over the floor and my new shoes. Bria, who gags at the sight of poop, helped me hoist Courtney out of the Bjorn, and there she dangled in all her poopy glory. Time froze. I said I thought I might cry; I had no idea where to begin. We were right in the aisle, too. Mothers were shooing their children to the sides to avoid the neon goo. It honestly looked like puke.

At that moment, Nathan turned away from the turtles and headed toward us. We both warned him of the poop puddle. But Nathan, seeing a great opportunity for puddle fun, STOMPED right in it, now splattering it EVERYWHERE, including on Emily's bare legs and feet. It was all I could do to restrain myself at this point.

Eventually we hauled all of us, poo and all, to the bathroom for a good long wipe down and rinse out. Finally, about 2 hours after we'd originally planned to start the zoo tour, we were on our way. I still had poop stains running in a streaming stripe all down the front of me, but oh well.

It wasn't until later that I realized I never even explained myself when I ran into an old high school classmate that I hadn't seen in 15 plus years. Again, oh well. She's got kids. She's got to understand, right?

I can look back now and find it funny. But honestly, it was not funny at the time. But hey, poop happens. We ended up having a great time, the highlight of which was feeding the giraffes! I'm going to miss our zoo membership when it expires at the end of this month.

So...humor me. Share some of your own best poop stories, please.

Two Months Old

I take my kids' pictures on each month birthday for their first year of life. Wade helped me with theses. Got Courtney to smile briefly...and then her mood quickly turned sour. She knows she's got a lot of picture taking to put up with as she grows up!

And a Few More Pics :)

Once again, photos courtesy of kelleejeandesigns.com

Portraits

Photos Courtesy of kelleejeandesigns.com (P.S. She's my cousin, and a great photographer! She came to our house and took these in our basement.)

Jest Like Dem Heiffers

Nathan is positively fascinated by watching Mom pump breast milk. Sits with his face 2 inches from the apparatus and the goods. Yesterday he watched, mesmerized, and exclaimed "It's dis wike da cows on Gwampa's farm!"...Yeeeaaah...just like that...or not.

Nathan also asked me if the milk is kept in my saggy tummy. No, in fact I'm trying to get rid of my saggy tummy sweetie. No milk's in there fortunately.

Courtney's Entertainment Plan

6 week old baby Courtney's got a good line up for the folks in church to keep 'em entertained during the service, and she tried out her tactics this past weekend in the cry room--which was fairly full this week I might add. Here are her strategies:

1.) Nurse loudly--must make slurping noises, too.
2. ) Sit up to burp, then immediately arf all over self causing the need for an outfit change on Mom & Dad's lap.
3.) Resume nursing but pause to fill pants. Be careful or someone might mistake you for a cappuccino maker in all its bubbling glory. Don't hold back now.
4.) Enjoy a diaper change. While lying down, urp again--this time all down the side of your head and leave a puddle for Mom to mop up & wipe out of your hair. Show everyone what you look like with half your hair dry & sticking up like a peacock while the other is wet and matted to your head. If they were any closer, they'd get a nice fragrant whiff as well.
5.) Once changed and cleaned up, let out a good rip-roaring fart that could put a grown man to shame.

Courtney's tactics must have worked well, because someone...(er um, Erin, nottomentionanynames) said "boy, that baby's got some gastrointestinal issues going on tonight."

Babies Don't Keep

Well...the kitchen floor hasn't been mopped in who knows how long, and the toilet's been collecting grime for weeks...but my dear friend Danielle sent me this poem that speaks to some of that...

Poem by Ruth Hamilton, October 1958

Mother, of mother, come shake out your cloth!
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up the bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery blissfully rocking!

Oh I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peek a-boo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Oh, cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
But children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby. Babies don't keep.

P.S. Thanks Danielle.

Booger Ball

I have just one word for these...USELESS.