Superbowl Champs

These pictures are from Sunday, the day the Packers brought the Lombardi Trophy home. Sad to say but we don't have any Packers clothes for ourselves or the kids so this is the best green and gold I could do. These pictures really have nothing to do with the Packers or the Superbowl but I just wanted to sound like the newscasters and everyone on the TV talking about bringing the trophy home again.
I don't often get pictures of all three playing together but our little natural leader, Addy, was serving food to Beckett and Eloise at the table.

Oops, little tantrum by Beckett when Eloise stole from his plate.

Yumm, this is why I'm so skinny. This is all I eat- fake food.

Love the picture of the girls standing next to each other. So different from each other.

I've taken back control of Addy's hair. Now I mist her hair in the morning with Johnson & Johnson's No More Tangles. It just curls right up with just that touch of moisture and is soo much better. I should have started it a long time ago but I'm not really fond of putting product in kid's hair. I may try just water and see what that does but I'm kind of enjoying her beautiful curls right now. She likes it too. Or actually likes to sit on my lap while I comb and spritz her hair. She thinks it is pretty funny.

Eloise's hair is getting really long in the front and back. Seems the sides aren't growing. I always try to put a barrette in the front because her bangs are really long. Pretty much a totally awesome mullet. But I'm NOT cutting it.
Inevitably when playing at the table, someone ends up sitting on it. I'm just glad they are sitting and not standing. Addy tried to spin circles while standing on it the other day.

Eloise's turn.

Addy supplying the pregame entertainment.

Hey Uncle Isaac, just calling to make sure you are ready for the big game down in Texas.

GO! PACK! GO!

Happy Birthday to a Superhero

This post is a little old but I've been very busy... well not busy so much as not motivated to do too much. Kind of a combination of the winter blahs and cabin fever. But I've perked up a little bit now that the Packers won the Superbowl, spring is around the corner (yeah right, we probably have 3 more months of cold), it is time to start house shopping and we started to plan our summer vacation. So back on track.

Two weekends ago my Dad and Bambi had a family party for Oliver's birthday. At that age it is hard to pick which is your favorite- Star Wars or Superheros so his party was a combo of both. He had spent the weekend at Papa and Bambi's and when Sarah and Jim showed up for the party he started to cry because he thought they were bringing him home and he hadn't had his "party with my cousins yet!" So sweet. I think he is over wanting to send them back to Texas.

At our house the kids sit in a feeding table but at Papa and Bambi's they sit in booster seats at the table with everyone else. They are also not used to a table with a tablecloth and the table being set. That's probably why Beckett is peering over the table to figure out what is going on.
I know, sounds like we live like a bunch of animals at our house. The truth is that they they eat in the kitchen at the feeding table, we eat at a different time and we only have a little tiny table in the dining room because the rest of our furniture is in storage. When we move we are going to have to change our eating schedule AND get a new table where the whole family can eat without fear of ruining chairs or scratching the table. That is code for we are going to have to sell our dining room furniture that I spent months looking for. I actually was thinking we were going to have to move to booster seats and trays immediately because they are pretty close to each other in the feeding table and Addy was always getting picked on with hair pulling and poking. I've since changed up the seating arrangements and now the middle person is no longer assaulted.
At Papa's when they catch sight of the booster seats around a real table they think it is time to eat and want in immediately. Sometimes before every one else is ready.

After dinner was the big show. Four years old is a great age for birthdays.



Good choice, one of each kind.

Beckett can be an extremely picky eater and Rich and I are a little concerned that is is not really gaining any weight. We had no idea he liked cake and ice cream. Most of the food he prefers are what I call diet food- things like peas, black olives, cucumbers, rice and juice.His lack of ability to gain weight comes from Rich but his ability to throw back a few pieces of cake with ice cream comes from me.Who cares that he didn't eat any real food. I eat cake and ice cream for dinner as often as possible

If you get nauseous over puke stories- skip this one

Thought I'd give fair warning because I know not everyone likes bodily function stories as much as I do.
Last night we had very short baths or really none at all because Addy had a massive explosion in the bathtub before everyone could get scrubbed up. Lately she seems to have gotten over her fear of poop in the bathroom. Any sort of lint or strand of hair is still dangerous but she really loves the bath. But last night was a different story. I don't know who was more scared, Addy or Rich. He started yelling and scooped Eloise out and scared her so much she cried for 20 minutes. Beckett loves poop in the tub. He likes to stand by the bathroom door and point and tell anyone who will listen about the poop in the tub, in his own language of course.
I don't really care that they didn't get clean because they are not really dirty but it is just an annoying addition to my nightly cleaning to add all of the bath toys and bath mat. And once I start cleaning the tub I end up cleaning and organizing their bathroom. I know, my fault, nothing to do with the poop.
So last night I headed up to bed around 11:30 and as soon as I got about half-way up the stairs my stomach sank. I could smell puke.
When I looked into the kid's room I could see Beckett sitting up in his crib and from the light of my phone I could see his crib was a total mess. Poor kid was covered in wet and dried puke as was the entire length and width of his crib. I stripped off his sleeper and pajamas and brought him into our room to get a good look at him meanwhile he still hasn't made a peep. Oh my goodness. The whole back of his head was matted dried puke. I got Rich up and we tag teamed cleaned him up eventually putting him in the shower.
I stripped off his sheets and mattress pad but it still smelled in the room so I ended up pulling out the mattress and wiping that down. I won't get too graphic but there was at least two meals on the sheets. I had to scrape everything off before I put it in the wash machine. From what I could make up from the scene I think he got sick a few times earlier in the night and went back to sleep. We have baby monitors on in two rooms and neither Rich nor I heard anything. He didn't cry at all. I'd still be crying if I was covered in that much puke.
From the smell I knew there was still puke all over in there but every time I went in, Addy would sit up and look at me and I didn't want to risk having two kids awake in the middle of the night so I figured cleaning his crib was sufficient and would see the rest of the damage in the morning. While I was cleaning Beckett kept trying to go back into his room, I think to go back to sleep.
I wanted to put him back in his room to sleep but Rich thought that was a bad idea. We have a pack n' play in our bedroom where Addy naps so we tried to put him in there but he wouldn't have that. He ended up sleeping in bed with us which probably hasn't happened since they were really little and eating in middle of the night. It was a tight squeeze with 2 adults, 2 dogs and 1 toddler in a queen bed. Not a terribly restful night but I think he was pretty happy up until about 5 am at which time he would only wanted to be held and that is when it seemed that he had a fever.
When the girls got up I checked out the rest of the damage and he got puke on 2 walls, Addy's crib and sheets, the carpet and dripping down one wall into the air return vent.
He had a fever of 99.5 which quickly went away with Tylenol and no more vomit. Beckett did spend much of the day either on the floor with a blanket and pillow, on Rich's lap reading books or crying because he wasn't on a lap. It was a long day for everyone but we got two packages in the mail from Aunt Laura with presents which helped. Beckett now walks around playing the harmonica and even felt well enough to chase Addy and try to steal the recorder she was playing. Can you tell we got musical instruments?
All day Rich and I kept thinking we were smelling puke. Rich even thought his Chipotle burrito smelled. After Beckett's shower AND bath tonight, his head is still stinky. How many baths is it going to take to get rid of the smell? I had to wash the sheets, mattress pads, lovies and stuffed animals twice. I assumed he was the same. Guess not.
So that is it. Our first real puking incident. It wasn't terrible and could have been much worse. I think the anticipation of waiting and knowing that this would happen one day was worse. Actually, the worst part was during the day because we all were tired (except the girls) and knowing that he didn't feel good and trying to make him more comfortable. He ate a little dinner and drank tons of juice so I think he is on the mend. I probably should have given him something like non-staining apple juice rather than blueberry in case we have a repeat...
-One last thing, sorry no pictures this week, I left my camera at my Dad's house. You probably wouldn't want to see pictures of this anyway.

Thundersnow

Our first big blizzard was not just the biggest of the century so far but there was thunder and lightening to boot. Cloud to ground lightening is very unusual but also a little freaky when you see it. I was watching TV last night and out of the corner of my eye saw a huge flash which I thought was a transformer blowing. All I could think of was last year when we lost our power during a snow/ice storm in Dallas. My biggest concern then was of course how to keep the kids warm but also I was freaked out about losing all the frozen home-made baby food and how was I going to give bottle with no thickener because I had no power to grind the rice cereal? How times have changed. We didn't lose power by the way- because it was lightening in a snowstorm. Freaky.
I know a good portion of the country got hit with this storm and I don't think that Milwaukee was hit as bad as say Chicago. I think we got 14 inches overnight but the big problem was the wind with the blowing and drifting snow. You can look out the window and part of cars barely have any snow and then others are just totally buried. My dad and Bambi had 3-4 foot drifts against their front door and literally had to shovel themselves out of the house.

All morning we have been watching people dig their cars out or clear their driveway only to have them plowed back in when the plows (really garbage trucks with plows on the front) come through. We live 1 block away from a shopping area with a grocery store, Starbucks, Panera, and Chipotle so there is a lot of foot traffic in front of the house. There is one lane plowed right down the middle of the street with cars plowed in on either side and everyone is walking right down the middle of the street. There is something about a blizzard and the day off that people just want to get OUT so lots of people with Starbucks and playing with dogs and of course shoveling and snowblowing. Also lots of young people walking back from the store with lots of beer and liquor. Ahh, those were the days. Those are also the ones who really didn't start to dig out their cars until late in the afternoon when the news was starting to warn people the temperature is dropping and the cars are going to get frozen in. A girl knocked on the door tonight at about 7:30 and asked to borrow a shovel to get her car out.
Typically there are lots of cars parallel parked on both sides of our street but I noticed one side was a little sparse last night. Then this morning I noticed a sign that said "No parking when snowfalls 4 inches or more" which would explain it. Those poor people that didn't pay attention. We watched these cars get tickets but the person giving the tickets had to shovel in front or back of the car to get the license plate and then shovel off the windshield to put the ticket on the car. Then we watch a huge bulldozer and tow truck stop in front of these cars. When I say "we" I mean the kids. They have been wild all morning watching the dogs, snowblowers, garbage trucks/plows and even just the shoveling has been mesmerizing to them. Back to the tow truck. Wait I should check the Truck Book that I read non-stop to Beckett to make sure I have the name correct. It was not a bulldozer but a front loader that I think they were going to use to dig out the cars and then tow them. But for some reason they didn't and just conversed outside the cars for awhile and then drove away. Too bad for the kids but probably good for the owners. I mean it would have probably been a full 30 minutes of tongue-wagging, draw-dropping entertainment for the kids but a bummer to come outside with a shovel ready to dig out your car and all you find is an empty spot. Guess they will have to shovel out their cars themselves. I took these pictures with my phone from a window.
This last picture is the car that almost got towed- twice!!

This is a good day to be in a rental house with a two car garage. When we were looking for a place Rich was completely adamant that we had to have a two car garage. He was so right. Our front steps, sidewalk and driveway are completely clear and ready to go. And I'm exhausted. Just kidding- the management company had been plowing and shoveling all night. Not that we have anywhere to go or could get anywhere because some of the streets are still pretty bad.
This afternoon Rich took a trek to Starbucks and said it was just packed, the roads are mess with stuck cars and the floor of Starbucks is "disgusting" with slush. I thought that was a hoot. Our kitchen floor could be "disgusting" with thrown food, milk, juice, utensils and the dogs running around in it and I'm not sure he would notice. Or maybe he does and doesn't say anything knowing I will tell him to do something about it.... Hmm, interesting.
My family has been calling to see how we weathered (haha) the first big blizzard in WI and this is basically what I tell them, not to be sarcastic or anything.
-As long as I have milk, diapers, food and the power stays on, the blizzard or large amounts of snow are only good as far as I'm concerned. We don't go anywhere in the cold and generally don't NEED to be anywhere and the snow just adds an entertainment factor to our daily schedule of playing, eating, changing diapers, and thankfully napping.

But, next year and maybe even yet this year for a last spring snowfall we will be on our own and we will buy a shovel and most likely the proud owners of a new snowblower. The house hunting has started.

The Dog Days of Winter

Winter in WI can get long and I'm still too chicken to take the kids outside much in the cold weather which makes us all a little stir-crazy. The other day it was fairly warm- in the 20's and I thought I could get them bundled up in their beautiful down snowsuits and take them in the choo-choo wagon to the post office down the street and then to the park. But through a series of events which I'm sure you can imagine I was plain exasperated so I ended up putting them into the car and googling the nearest Starbucks drive-thru.
I never realized how important drive-thru's are to my sanity. Unfortunately there are significantly fewer here than in TX. I don't have to get the kids dressed appropriately for the weather and I don't have to get them in and out of the car, yet we can still get out of the house with a purpose. That purpose being getting me caffeine. They are pretty happy in the car for about 45 minutes but much longer than that I run the risk of someone falling asleep which is a killer to the schedule. So I do everything I can to stop them from sleeping like talking loud, pointing out trucks and buses where there are none, taking away lovies (this is mainly Eloise the little lovie hog), and poking them in the feet. The poking is last resort because it doesn't really work and is dangerous when I'm driving.
Although we are not technically under RSV restriction like last year we still have to be careful and curtail some of our normal activities. For example, I took the kids to the Milwaukee Art Museum (the scene for this weeks American Idol) in the morning and there were tons of school kids there. The triplets were in the stroller and not touching anything but elementary school kids LOVE multiples. They stop and point and stare. And I guess the school kids like the same exhibits as the triplets- American Folk Art because of the large number of animal pieces so it got a little crowded. Taking the elevator was a little scary too because each time we shared with a group of kids.
I also got one of those famously strange comments from a teacher that day. As we were all leaving the elevator she said to me, "I'd take my 35 over those 3 any day." I know people are not trying to hurtful but I didn't think that was very kind to my sweet babies that were sitting in the stroller with their eyes wide open not making a peep.
Anyway, I've been trying to come up with ways to keep us entertained in the house and each day is a challenge. One day this week I dressed all the kids in clothes that had dogs on them. I know that sounds silly but a great way to avoid a meltdown is to say, "Eloise, do you have a doggy on your dress?" She would stop in her tracks and look for the dog and generally forget the previous insult. I need to keep that in mind when buying clothes in the future. Who am I kidding, I mean when my mom buys clothes in the future. Did you catch that Mom?
I also remembered we had a few pop up play tents that were put away because we don't have the space to keep them up an a regular basis. I set them up in the nursery and hall.
These pants were coming unsnapped all day but it did not appear to bother him. He was going wild popping in and out of the green car tent popping open the snaps with each step.

Hey Eloise, can I get a picture without 6 lovies in your mouth?

Guess not. This is what happens when you take away lovies (which is why I take them away to keep her awake in the car.) Mean I know but if you think that is mean, you should see me when they don't nap and I have 12 hours straight with no break. That's mean.

Hmm, maybe I can play now that I have my lovies back. Addy and Beckett were hysterically running in and out.

You can see the dogs on both girls dresses. Look at her face. These are not the dogs days of winter.


I'm trying to incorporate more art projects for entertainment but I'm not yet willing to try try finger paints just because of the mess factor. This day they were using stickers which I think was very good for Beckett's fine motor skills. He was very careful about putting each sticker on top of the previous until they were all stacked up. Addy was so mad that they were were in one pile. She took his paper and unpeeled every one from the stack and spread them out on the paper.

This is more Beckett's style- climbing.

And this- dreaming about a house filled with croissants and trucks.

And this. Just kidding. Rarely these days does he want a barrette in his hair like the girls. He may have gotten over that phase or Rich had a secret talk with him.

He pulled that barrette out of Eloise's hair. Her hair is getting really long and really looks ridiculous without a barrette as you can see. She probably could use a little cut but I refuse. You can also see that we have a new favorite toy. Little jars. Really the girls only like the Aveda lotion jar to carry around. The other is a cheapo travel thing that they will accept in a pinch. But this day Eloise refused to put either down. She was struggling to carry around both with the tops off so I guess she figured out an easier method of transport.

Once one of the girls get their hands on them they will not put them down for fear the other will take them. Addy even napped with both of these they other day. I actually called my mom in desperation looking for more little jars because they are so popular.

The rest of these pictures I've named the What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up series. Beckett is crazy about stacking blocks. But he only wants them to be stacked up high one on top. I can see where this is very good for motor skills but very bad for his frustration level because once the girls see blocks stacked Addy comes to help which makes him mad and Eloise (or The Wrecking Crew as Rich calls her) tries to knock it down with the stroller. A genius engineer works much better when his sisters are not bothering him.


The talking dolls have a little panel on their chest that when you push it, or theoretically hug them, activates the talking. It reminds me of the mannequins you use during CPR class; it has the same feel and noise. When Addy is playing with the talking baby dolls she frequently is found doing something that the nurse in me calls pumping their chest or what looks like giving chest compressions. So this was the sequence of events...
Addy is running with the doll in the stroller. I'm guessing she is taking her to the hospital or someone called a code.

Starting compressions

Rescue breath

Help has arrived. Addy saved her and the Eloise is giving her orange juice. Addy knows better than to give chest compressions when someone is awake and drinking orange juice so I'm guessing she is trying to get her to talk.
Think I miss working? I mean, working at a hospital?

If I can't see you I can't hear you

Where do kids come up with these things? Just today I noticed something funny with Addy. When she was getting reprimanded or asked to do something she would close her eyes and turn her head away from me. It happened twice today.
Once at lunch I ASKED her if she threw her food and fork on the floor (she just did) and then TOLD her that throwing food was not allowed, blah, blah, blah. The minute I started talking she closed her eyes, stuck her chin out and turned her head to the side until I stopped talking. WHAT? I ignored her behavior. She stopped throwing food which was the point.
Then about 30 minutes later she did it again. I told everyone to go upstairs for naps. She had her back to me sitting on one of the riding toys and didn't budge while Eloise and Beckett scooted up the stairs. I got them in their room and came back down for Addy and she was in the same spot. I came around to her front and she was sitting there with her eyes closed and a big smile on her face. I told her it was time to go upstairs for nap. She kept her eyes closed and turned her head to the side still smiling. I picked her up, she started to laugh and kick and tried to bite me in the shoulder. I carried her upstairs explaining the whole way that I knew she heard me and she needs to listen when I ask her to do something.
Really? This is starting now? I thought I had at least until they turned 2. It was pretty funny though. My mom made a good point. Maybe it was not- If I can't see you I can't hear you BUT If I can't see you with my eyes closed then you can't see me. She was hiding and thought she was pretty clever.
No hiding that naughty I'm-up-to-something smile

And 5 seconds later...
And hiding from me 5 seconds after that...Seriously, what am I going to do about this hair? This is even after I put in curl conditioner.

The Theory of Effective Play

I wrote this awhile ago and then didn't post it because it made me sound neurotic but you know what? If you have been following this blog you probably already know that. So here it goes...
I don't know if I just made this up or read it somewhere or it is my own neurosis leaking into my parenting but I have this theory of "effective play" or at least that is what I call it. Effective is really not the right word. It should be more like efficient or productive or some other word beyond my grasp right now but here is an example of how I use my theory-
When I'm giving Rich a reason as to why we should clean up the toys I say, "They can't play effectively in such a mess." or "How could they play effectively when they are falling down from stepping on toys" or "(insert name here) it sure is hard to play when you are dodging toys. Please help me pick up the toys."
They can take all the objects that are movable by those little hands and spread them all over a room in a matter of minutes. It can be toys, stuffed animals, books, magazines, pots and pans from the kitchen, laundry pulled out of baskets, chairs, balls, strollers, boxes of wipes, whatever. If they can move it or reach it, it is fair game. I need to video tape exactly how this happens because we can come downstairs to a totally clean living room. I go into the kitchen for as long as it takes to make toast and come back to total destruction. I understand total destruction is expected with 3 19-month olds. But I just don't understand the exact method because when I'm watching it doesn't look that destructive. Are they just throwing things in the air when I'm not looking? Are the pugs helping in dumping out buckets of toys that would normally be too heavy for my kids? Do they have super human cartoonish speed when my back is turned?
Anyway, back to the theory. I just don't think that they can play without getting frustrated or even hurt if they can't even walk or push a baby stroller without running over or tripping on something or can't find an item they are looking for.
Here are a few examples-
-We have 1 spoon and 1 juice box that make the baby dolls say, "umm, umm, umm, umm" and then something in Spanish that I don't understand. Eloise gets super freaked out if she wants to feed the dolls and can't find the proper utensil to make them talk.
-When I am washing dishes or cleaning up the kitchen I have them do learning tasks like I name various animals and they have to find that animal magnet on the fridge or I name a food like a banana or grapes or bread and they bring me that item from the fake food bin or I ask them to pour me tea into a cup. I always ask things that they know and I know we have. When they can't find that item they sometimes will bring me something different but many times get frustrated and have a meltdown.
-Two weeks ago Beckett tripped on a toy and fell into the window ledge and gave himself a huge shiner that immediately puffed up next to his eye. Because the injury was so close to his eye, it became black and blue and now still green surrounding his eye. It looked really bad and made me second guess the decision to take him to see someone.

I know kids are clumsy and fall down. Still, I feel like they should be able to walk around and know where to find things without frustration in order to foster their imagination and creativity and have productive play time. I'm not a total freak, I understand at this age that some disorder is good because that in itself fosters creativity and problem solving but it has to be balanced with consistency and boundaries.
So, two sometimes three times a day I put every single little toy back in place. I don't just scoop up the mess and throw it back into bins. Every little person goes back in the bus, every piece of fake food goes back in the food bin, every dish from the tea set goes back on the shelf, every baby doll goes back in the stroller, every book goes back in the bin, every Matchbox car gets lined up back on the window sill, every block goes back into it's bin, every rubber reptile goes back on top of the kitchen set, all the animals magnets go back on the fridge and every truck gets lined up back in the corner.
I just think that they should come down the stairs when they wake up or after nap to a fresh start. They should know where to find the toy food, know where the baby bottles are to feed the baby dolls, and know where to find the tea set or whatever. I also think this helps because then they know where things go when it is time to put the toys away. They do help put things away if they are not distracted by the next activity and they still think that doing tasks is fun. They haven't figured out the "chore" aspect of it-yet.
Maybe I've concocted a theory to dismiss my need for order. Or maybe, their "playroom" is actually our living room/dining room space that is shared by 2 adults, 3 children and 2 snorty pug dogs. But what I really think is that this "theory" is a way of giving meaning to something that consumes so much of my time and energy on a daily basis. Okay, gotta go. The kids will be up from their nap soon and I have a room to clean!

Little Boy Blue Eyes

I did a post on the girls so it was only fitting to do a post on the boy- Beckett.

One of the most frustrating yet lovable things with Beckett is that he does not talk yet is still very verbal. He is constantly jabbering, babbling, grunting, whining, and pointing. I know he gets as frustrated as us when he is trying to make a point we don't understand. He is probably the most verbal when just playing or walking around with his own little gibberish.
He is nuts about books and wants you (or the nearest adult) to NAME everything in a book for example his truck book. He will point to a truck and say, "ughh" and if you don't say, "cement mixer" or whatever the truck is, he will say, "ughh" louder and louder until you respond. And you better know your trucks because if you say cement mixer and his is pointing at a skid steer, the grunting doesn't stop. If you fail to respond sometimes he will move on to a new truck and start over or it might escalate to whining but I usually ask him to bring the book to me so I can see what he is pointing. He is a eager little guy and will pop right up and bring his book over to me, walk backwards a few steps so he can back up into my lap, plop down and start the "ughh" and frantic pointing all over again.
This little scene was pretty funny because it looked like Eloise was reading to Addy and Beckett. What a good little student. I asked him to smell the flower and he found the flower on the page and smelled/licked it.

That was in preparation for smelling and picking (whoops sorry) rosemary at the nature center.

Here's the pointing. That little finger is always in motion. He wants to know the name of everything and can point at the correct object when asked again later.
I don't know where he gets the pointing from...
Actually when I look back, this was a really cool picture that represents a big developmental milestone for all three. In the far left you can see a snapping turtle. There were 2 other turtles at the nature center that we saw that day and Beckett really loved them. A few days later they were bringing me animal magnets from the fridge and I was naming them. Beckett brought me a turtle and I said, "That's a turtle" and he pointed outside and was insistently grunting. Ohhhh, he remembered the turtle from the nature center. So now when we name animals there is a lot of pointing upstairs or outside and we recognize other places that turtles or cows or horses or pandas or dinosaurs exist. Like the nature center, upstairs in the Little People farm, a stuffed animal in the other room, or in the toy box. A few days ago when Addy had one of her short nap days I put on a National Geographic show about elephants. She was looking at it for a few minutes, then hopped up and ran over to a chair with stuffed animals, picked up the elephant puppet and ran back to sit down and watch hugging the elephant. I almost fell over.

He liked the nature center but while the girls were trying to escape out the windows he found a magazine to thumb through. He would be thrilled if life revolved around books, cars, trucks, triathlon magazines, animals, milk, and croissants with strawberry jam.


We definitely still have weight issues with him. You may notice that he pretty much lives in bib overalls. That is because most pants fall off him. I have a few 12 month pants that fit but they are a little short and still even those may fall off. Just this week I put a pair of 12 month pants on him and the next thing I knew he was walking around pants less because they fell off. My mom bought him a belt that we will try but what I really want are suspenders which I have been unable to find. If anyone knows where to get some, let me know! He just never wants to eat because he would rather be playing and when he does eat it is things like black olives, pears, rice, jam and generally low fat items with the exception of croissants which he devours. This is why he needs more calories because he is an active little boy. Listen carefully and you can probably hear the characteristic Beckett jabber.

I love this picture. Beckett had just figured out that those were black olives on the toy pizza and they didn't come off!
He was sooooo upset that I ended up opening a can of black olives for him to eat even though I had just finished cleaning the kitchen and it was right after dinner. Is that the most pitiful face? What a sweet and innocent little guy. This is what I mean about The Heartbreaker.

A little bit of everything- The girls

This video shows a little bit of everything with the girls-
Usually stuff with Addy wearing sunglasses with only one lens
A brief glimpse of Eloise dancing
The girls sharing a MacDonald's Hotcakes container
Addy running into something
And the ever present chatter of the You and Me baby dolls in Spanish.
All in about 20 seconds.


I can't believe I captured Eloise sharing on video! She had rough couple weeks but this week she has been just great. Those evaluators should come back this week, I'll bet they would give her a few extra months in the social-emotional category. If they had a category for baby doll care, both girls would have graduated and teaching the course.
I never know if she is changing a diaper, undressing her or trying switch her on.

She knows to give her a hug to make her start talking.

Safety First! Addy is always concerned about the seat belts. She can fasten the seat belt but not unfasten which is frustrating for both of us. She yells, "mamamamamamamama..." until I come running to unsnap the belt. Then 10 seconds later I hear, "mamamamamamamam..." and I know just what the problem is.

Eloise enjoys the finer things in life- she's a clothes horse, loves all accessories like shoes and sunglasses and bracelets, is crazy about cars (Matchbox racers that is) and is bona fide foodie. Can you tell?


The little dolls have become quite the posers for pictures. They were pretending to go on the potty after baths. Pretending because I'm sure they both peed in the tub. In fact I can sometimes catch them peeing and I put them on the potty, they stop peeing, get off the potty and them pee in the original spot which is either on the floor or in standing in the bathtub.
(I don't THINK you could see anything in this picture but I don't want there to be any excuse in the future of them saying I ruined their lives for posting naked pictures on the Internet.)

Where is Beckett you ask? He does not believe in peeing in anything that is so perfectly suiting for storing toys or standing in.