The fortnight of visitors

My mom arrived Wednesday night to help me wrangle the kiddos while Jeff goes to Vegas with his buddies. Bastard. Anyway, I am VERY glad to have her help, as Lily has been going on a feeding strike and is pissed all the time. I don't know what that girl's problem is. I gave her one bottle...ONE bottle...with this new type of bottle and she LOVED it. So now she is on a breastfeeding strike. I WILL win this one, little stinker. You may be stubborn as a mule, but you can't feed yourself, so I am in the power seat for now.

Anyhoo, so Mom is here until after Easter (poor thing), and next Tuesday my in-laws and granny in-law come in for a day and a half, and then my dad shows up next Wednesday, and then my aunt and uncle are coming for Easter weekend.

So please understand if I don't blog much. You'd think I'd have more time, what with all the extra people to watch Lily and Andrew. But it doesn't seem to work out that way. I spend all my extra free time catching up with them!

Oh, and an update on the GD fish. Andrew is less and less excited about them each day. He happily accepted that Nemo and Jack ate their babies. Dumb fish, eating their babies (that's what he says). I still have 3 quarantined babies in a bowl, that I'm waiting to grow or die. We'll see. This experience has prompted a lot serious discussions with Andrew about death. Which makes me really want to join a church, because God is such an easy way to explain death. (Andrew actually asked Jeff the other day "Who is God?" Yikes. I think they may kick him out of his Christian pre-school if he asks that question there). So yes, these stupid fish may actually indirectly get us to go back to church. Maybe. What a weird reason to get religion.

Enjoy the spring-time weather!

We have roll-off...

First of all...how cute is Lily in pigtails???

Second of all...Lily rolled over!!! From tummy to back!!! She actually did it the first time yesterday, but she just did it again...so now I know she has figured it out.

See, when I posted that picture of Andrew at 5 1/2 months old, I realized that he rolled over just before he turned 6 months old. How is it even possible that my little wiggle worm was going to be out-rolled by her lazy brother? Perhaps because her mother never puts her on her tummy. That's right, people. I'm a loser mother. I was pretty good with Andrew, and I am terrible with Lily. About tummy time, that is. So after realizing that I was stunting Lily's development, I immediately put her on her tummy yesterday morning (much to her dismay. Lily, I will have you know, has NO problem with the lack of tummy time). Her response to the torture...she rolled herself over. She was as shocked as I was. Couldn't repeat it...mostly because she was so IRATE that I dared to turn her back to her tummy...and just after she had miraculously flipped over.

But she given me a repeat performance...so it must be true. My baby is on her way to growing up. And she does it so effortlessly. Watching Andrew trying to roll over was like watching a beached whale try to get back into the sea. Lily just flips like she's been doing it her whole life. Or she screams with her face buried into the floor. That's actually what happens most of the time.

Gotta love her...stinkin' cutie pie.

BTW...we have had a mass birth in the last few hours. Our tank is filled with teeny tiny baby fish. They are hiding in the rocks at the bottom of the tank. Is that good enough to keep them safe? I've watched a few dumb babies swim around in the open water and get gulped. I've also scooped out 4 babies and put them in a bowl. What do I do with these itty bitty baby fish now? Do I feed them? Do I change their water frequently? How is it that I can be trusted to raise 2 HUMAN babies, but I am completely clueless as to how to care for baby fish? Please don't call social services. Doesn't my baby look well fed and happy?

Dumb Mommy

Have you ever said something only to instantly wish you could grab it right out of the air? This happens to me several times a day. It hardly ever happened. Until I had a pre-schooler. (as a side note, I am having a hard time calling Andrew a toddler...as he looks huge and old, but he isn't technically a pre-schooler yet. I don't know what to call this stage other than weird and crazy, but that makes people look at me funny. -sigh-)

Here's a tip for those of you smarter than me. Toddlers and pre-schoolers should get information on a "need-to-know" basis. In other words, they should just be able to go about their day, uninformed about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING, until there is an immediate need for them to know about it. I have a problem with running my mouth off. This is not a new problem. But the definition of dumb is unteachable. At least I think it is...knowing the actual definition would require some brains.

I digress. I really need to learn to filter what I tell Andrew. Seriously, people. It's been 3 1/2 years. You'd think something would sink in. Daily, I still mention to him what my plans are for the day. Why? Why do I feel the need? At 8:00 am, when Mommy is refreshed and energetic, it sounds like a great idea to go to Target and get an Icee that afternoon. By the time the afternoon comes, Mommy thinks she is too tired and frazzled to handle a young child in a crowded, unorganized store. But she has already told the young child, so now she has to choose...tantrum at home because we're NOT going to go, or drag your sorry butt to the store because you were dumb enough to set an expectation. Yes, welcome to my life.

It could be so much simpler. Just don't say anything. Then if you swoop in during the afternoon with a terrifically fun idea...your toddler is pleasantly surprised and happy. If you change your mind...not big whoop...no one knew what you were thinking in the first place. So simple. So easy to implement.

My latest violation of the "need to know" rule is a doozy. I told Andrew that Nemo is having a baby. I can hear all of your collective gasps and shouts of "why?!?!" right now. I know. Dumb. The moment I told Andrew, my more intelligent side of the brain protested, "Now WHY did you go and tell him that?". This is definitely something Andrew DOES NOT need to know.

-sigh- It's not easy being a dumb mother. Now Andrew is telling everyone that there is going to be a baby fish. I have not, however, explained to him the cannibalistic nature of little sweet fat Nemo. I think cannibalism in general should not even enter his fragile psyche for several more years. -sigh-

Looks like I'll be making a little trip to the pet store on the sly. One morning he'll just wake up and -Ka-zam!- there will be 3 fish in the tank. He's too little to notice that "Baby" is the same size as Nemo and Jack, right?

Miss Picky? Already?

Our little Lil' was introduced to "solid" food about a month ago. Rice cereal. Breakfast of champions. She was interested...even enthusiastic...for about a week. Then she was over it. We have since introduced barley cereal and yesterday, oatmeal. She wants nothing to do with it. She is less than impressed with these offerings. We have also tried introducing some formula, because, let's face it, Momma wants some freedom. I have not spent more than 2 hours away from my little darling since the moment she was conceived. Which is delightfully wonderful...but as she approaches 6 months, I thought maybe we'd each have some alone time. Lily's response? Formula...blech. Bottle....blech.

Lily wants one thing, and one thing only. Warm. Yummy. Milk. Delivered while cuddled up next to warm Mommy. Poured into her mouth through a warm yummy nipple...not some cold plastic thing.

-sigh- Next week we start on veggies. Let's hope she gets more interested in real food. I'm just not up for nursing until she starts elementary school.

BTW...this is something new for us. I have posted a picture of Andrew at 5 1/2 months just below. Now there's a boy who never met a food he didn't like!

We're expecting...

First of all, thank you for indulging my curiosity in the last post. Not too many surprises, but I didn't know some of you from Moosechats read and of course I didn't know my BIL Chad reads. BTW...Happy 27th b-day Chad...what was I doing when I was 27...hmmmm.?

Okay, now to address my intriguing title. That may be a bit generous to myself. Anything in this blog is hardly "intriguing". I can't even spell that word. Anyhoo...

Jeff, Andrew, and I are happy to announce we're expecting. Expecting baby fish, that is.

We went to get our freaking fish today. The countdown was complete and Andrew was soooooo excited. He took us right back to the tank with the Mickey Mouse fish (thank God they still had them). We decided to get 2. Nemo and Jack. Andrew decided on these names with no help from us whatsoever. (I don't know where the name Jack came from...but it was better than "Clocker" which was also one of Andrew's ideas). The lady fishes out two...and one of them doesn't have the Mickey Mouse mark on its tail. So I become that obnoxious customer they surely hate, and asked her to try and switch it for one with the Mouse tail. I mean, we're shopping for a 3 year old. We have different priorities. She successfully gets one and ties them both up together. As she is marking the plastic bag she says, "Oh, and it looks like you're going to have another fish adventure soon."

That's right. Nemo is pregnant. Hugely so. Or maybe it's Jack.

Why? Why? Why? I just wanted a freakin' fish for my 3 year old. Not an aquarium. Just a simple little fishie swimming around. But lucky us got a preggo fish. I hope she doesn't die in labor. I certainly am not inserting an epidural for her. If I could do it without drugs, my $1.19 fish can.

I'll keep you updated on our impending stork arrival. Egads.


(my apologies to any grandparents that were excited by the title of this post as an indication of future grandchildren. Quite frankly, I'd be insulted if you were excited that we were having another child. Because if I was pregnant, instead of the fish, I would surely kill myself...)

Roll call

Okay, so I already think that blogging is the most egotistical thing ever. I mean, really. Presuming that your life is interesting enough that others would want to read it. Publishing it on the web as if you were an important political figure or had a great impact on humanity. Seriously. That is why I've tried very hard to not think about who reads this blog. It just doesn't matter. I'm writing these stories for myself in the future (because, quite frankly, I am important to me). And for the grandparents that live far away. I just don't think about everyone else.

But lately I've been getting comments in my everyday life from people who say they enjoy my blog. People that I know, but I had no idea read this blog. And I'm not sure how they found out about it...not from me certainly. And so I find myself very curious...

So...ROLL CALL. If you have commented on this blog, then of course I know that you read it. If not, why not say "Present" or "Here"...you know, just like in grade school. All you have to do is look at the bottom of this post. You'll see "Posted by Giselle @ 2:20pm" and then "0 comments". Simply click on the 0 comments and a message box should open up for you to write a comment. Don't worry about having an ID or anything, just be anonymous. Okay? Just for kicks. You don't need to write anything else...just let me see who you are.

Exceptions: Creepy lurkers who I don't know in my real life. You can stay hidden. Or if you are my sister's sister in-law's step-uncle-in-law's child from his 3rd marriage, I probably don't need to know either. I'm just curious who I actually know in real life that read this.

Whew. I'm wordy. Scroll down for some cute pictures of Lil and Andrew.

Let's catch up on pictures

Countdown to....
....filling this empty fishtank.

Andrew and his "Easter snake." I love that he looks like a biker showing off his new tattoo. This kid just won't smile for the camera!

Lily in her usual spot...the Baby Bjorn. Best invention ever. Lily must spend several hours in it a day. And I wonder why her verbal skills are so behind what Andrew's were. And why she can't roll over yet. Hmmmm?

But I swear, she is happiest in the Bjorn. Go figure.

The only shot of Andrew smiling this month. Loser. Just moments after this shot was taken, he requested I take a picture of him peeing in the potty. I am kind enough to not put that on the blog. I'm saving it for torture during the teen years.

I love me a naked baby. So stinkin' cute!

G.D. FISH

Andrew FINALLY earned his fish. I swear, his chart has been almost full for weeks. He just won't try new foods. He could give a crap about his reward...he would rather stay a picky eater. But I couldn't just chuck this chart, right? Follow through and all that parenting garbage? File this under "Failed parenting strategies".

So FINALLY, he tried some corned beef on Saturday night. Amen, Hallelujah. Let's just clear off that G.D. chart already. Sure, meat isn't much of a "new food" for Andrew. But it's better than his last suggestion (when he tried pineapple Jello for the first time...he's had Jello...just not pineapple...smarty pants).

So we made a big deal about getting this stupid fish. Andrew was PSYCHED. We thought of a name for this little fish (Nemo...aren't we creative. I voted for Herman, but Nemo won out). We get all dressed and showered and out the door. Okay, so Jeff and I showered. Poor Lily and Andrew get to parade around dirty. Their skin, people. They have dry skin. ;) We get to the pet store and Andrew is literally jumping up and down in the fish aisle. He picks out the fish he wants. A very easy to kill, hard to maintain fish. Of course. We persuade him to get a goldfish. Until we talk to someone who works there.

Have these people never worked with parents before? Aren't fish the traditional pet of kids? Shouldn't they be a bit seasoned? This pet-store-working-dude goes on and on about how goldfish get too big for small tanks, and recommends the $50 fish tank to go with some smaller, less orange (aka less Nemo-ish) fish. Huh? I'm going to spend $50 on the frickin' TANK for a fish my kid will forget about in a week? Seriously.

We ended up poring over the tanks and we selected a much smaller tank, a cool little statue for the fish to swim through, and some red rocks (what a surprise...Andrew picked red). We convinced Andrew to get these smaller, easier to care for fish. This one variety has spots on it's tail that looks like the Mickey Mouse head. Sold! To the cute, still-jumping boy in Aisle 9. With our arms filled to the brim with fish products, we wave down another employee. THIS employee (of the chick variety) says, "Oh, you should take that tank home and run it for a week before you put fish in it. I feel so bad. No fish today."

What? You were standing there 15 minutes ago when your colleague gave a dissertation on tank size. Couldn't one of you have mentioned THEN that my little boy would not be bringing home a fish...just an empty tank.

Long story a little bit shorter, we left sans fish. To Andrew's immense credit, he didn't even cry. He almost did, but he pulled it together (I love 3 year olds...so long 2's). We took him to McDonald's as compensation.

And now we have a fully functioning little fish tank...empty as can be. What to know something even sadder than this story? Andrew spent 10 minutes watching the empty tank.

Worse yet...the fish saga isn't over. We have to go BACK to the G.D. store next week. Arghhhhhh!

Easter bunny breakfast

So I have friends again. ;)

Okay, so technically I have always had friends...they just don't live near me anymore. Let me start over so as not to insult these far away friends and end up with no friends for real.

So...I have friends in PA now!

I haven't mentioned the MOM's club lately, but I am still a bit disappointed in it. It is poorly organized, and they insist on following all the asinine rules that the "official" MOM's club insists you follow (only 1 evening event a month...whatever...limiting playgroup size...whatever). When I was co-president ever so briefly, I was astonished at all the rules. This is supposed to be a social club, right? So we should be able to make our own rules, right?

Anyhoo, not impressed with the MOM's club here. And there seem to be a few people who just rub me the wrong way (see my entry about the Oscar pre-party). But one very positive thing has come out of the MOM's club. My little playgroup.

It is a playgroup of rejects. Everyone who was not welcomed into a playgroup got together and formed a little Friday playgroup. Andrew is the oldest child by 6 months and Lily is the youngest child by 6 months (although Sharon is adding to our brood in August). I LOVE these ladies. There are 6 of us, and everyone is fun, understanding, has good kids, you name it. And one of the ladies is super organized and keeps organizing activities for us. The Easter bunny breakfast was at a NJ mall this morning.

I got Andrew all psyched for it. It was frickin' 80 degrees 48 hours ago, so I never imagined that sleet and snow would cause problems for us this morning. But we followed a NJ native to the mall and all was well. Andrew was all about the balloon animals...he stalked the lady making them and ended up with 4 total. His favorite? The sword. Yea...that's a great idea. You should have seen all the little boy swashbucklers. Then they had a facepainter. There were all these cutie little kids walking around with butterflies, chicks, eggs, you name it...Easter fun! Andrew refused. Until I told him that he could have whatever he wanted on his face. He perked right up and asked for a snake. Yes, a Happy Easter snake. Gotta laugh. He loved the Easter bunny, giving him many thumbs up (little dork). Andrew had asked me this morning if it was going to be the real Easter bunny. I told him we'd have to wait and see. When the big brown bunny appeared, Andrew turned to me and said, "It's the real thing I think" The Chick-filet cow made an appearance, to which Andrew said, "Why is that cow here?" Why indeed.

We came home in worsening weather (is worsening a word?). Many many cars flipped over and crashed in the median and side of the highway. Yikes. We were very glad to be home. Well, at least I was. Andrew was happily playing in the back of the car. We don't have tv in our car, so he is left to his imagination. He "made" me about 15 balloon animals while we drove 40 mph down the freeway. The conversation went like this:

Andrew- "Mommy, would you like me to make you a balloon animal?"
Giselle- "Yes, please --oh crap-- What can you --watch out moron!--what can you make me?"
A- "Whatever you want"
G- "How about a butterfly --Mother hubbard!--" (mother hubbard is my favorite mommy-cuss word. Instead of Mother f...you get the idea)
A- "Okay" pause as he waves his hands around "Here's a yellow butterfly. But it's the last one. If other kids want one I'll have to say that you have the last one"

So stinkin' cute.

Our other playgroup adventure in the planning stages? We're going to New York City to see Wicked on Broadway. And have dinner and stay the night. Just the mommmies. I am sooooooooooooo excited. It's not until July, so hopefully Lily won't be attached at the breast quite as much by then.

Grabby Grabberson

Lily is such a good baby. But so so different than her big brother was. So different. How can two different people BOTH be good babies? I'm just lucky, I guess.

Andrew was THE MOST laid back baby ever. After he ate, I could do anything to him. Cut his nails, pick at his ears, you know, all the "mommy-monkey" grooming activities. He could have cared less. Andrew loved to lounge on us. He'd just hunker back in our laps and lay there for hours...reading books, talking with us...you name it. He was huge and smiley and lazy and social and gigantic and hungry and just generally a happy little guy.

Lily (whom Andrew now exclusively calls "Lillian"), is a busy-body. She NEVER relaxes on our laps. She is always straining to sit up away from us or twist her body around. No grooming with this girl...unless she is zombified by the tv. Books? You've got to be kidding. No way is she going to sit still long enough to read a book. She is very happy...as long as you don't treat her like a baby. No cradling, no cuddling. Face her out so she can be part of the action. Don't you dare leave her alone in a room...she wants to watch what everyone else is doing. This girl has been ready since day 1 to grow up. It makes me sad. I want her to be a baby...I love babies. Lily wants to be a big girl. Screw this baby crap. Andrew looks like he's having a ton of fun...and she wants a piece of the action.

HOWEVER...she isn't rolling over, propping herself up on her arms during tummy time, or any other various advanced physical activities. She fully expects her servants to keep her up to speed.

The one area that she is way ahead of Andrew is her hand-eye coordination. This girl can grab! She spies something she wants, and first try she's got it in her hand. She has gotten food off our plates, toys, Andrew's hair, Shadow's tail, etc etc. Beware of Grabby Grabberson! Just when you think she's calmed down for a minute...she will grab something away from you (or a body part--Ouch!)

A few things...

First of all, I just posted about 4 new posts. I am terrible about posting, so I usually do a few at a time and then just back date them. I am seriously catching up, so there are lots of posts down there. And some cute pictures. So I thought I wouldn't deprive my dedicated readers of pictures. Lord knows you have to read enough of my boring garbage...you should at least get to see my cute kids. And I'm NOT prejudiced. At all.

Let's see...Andrew went potty at the grocery store yesterday. I saw him kind of hold himself in the yogurt aisle (you've all seen the little boy potty hold...quite different from the little girl potty dance). So I suggested we try the potty at the grocery. Just imagine...me with Lily strapped to my chest in the Bjorn, trying to balance my little son atop a disgusting public toilet. It must have been a funny sight. And then washing hands without a stool...interesting. Try turning on the faucet, picking up the 40 pound kid one handed, trying to convince him to pump the soap by himself (didn't happen), putting him down, turning off the sink, only to find that there were no towels...only blowers. Argghhhhh! I'm bringing Purell everywhere from now on. Poor Lily got really jostled around. But we had success! And then later at home he ASKED to go potty and then went a ton. Never before have bodily functions felt so much like winning the lottery.

It's warm!!! And Lily has lost her wind aversion!!! So we've been outside a ton. Love it. Makes everyone tired and happy. Love it! We discovered a local park (it's huge), and we are so excited to buy bikes so we can explore it. The longest covered bridge in our county is located somewhere in it...and you can only reach it by horseback or bike. An adventure! Yippee!

Andrew has one stinking sticker on his chart until he earns a fish. A real live fish! And he won't do it. It is a "new food" sticker. And he just refuses. So much for the chart helping to motivate him. Grrrrrr....

Lily is feeling all better. She is just cute as a button. And hates to be home. She is never happier than after we've had an outing. Thank God she likes to be outside. But with two kids I feel like I'm always waiting for the perfect time to go out. With Andrew...if he was awake, we could do what we wanted. Such freedom! Now it's, wait for Andrew to eat, wait for Andrew to get dressed, oops, now Lily is sleeping, wait for Lily to wake up, wait for Lily to finish eating, now Andrew is in the middle of a cartoon, wait for tv to end, wait for Andrew to get shoes on, oops, wearing underpants, wait for Andrew to go potty, ...and so on and so forth. It's amazing we ever get out. But the rewards are ten-fold...Lily gets so happy.

Lordy...I thought I had some interesting snippets for this post. I think just the potty thing. And let's be honest. That's not interesting. Huh. I really thought I was inspired. I think I'll post this crappy collection of paragraphs just because I like to torture people.

Andrew, the rock star

Meet Lily:



Lily is a typical girl. She loves to squeal about her favorite rock star. Every time she sees him, she is mesmerized. Not matter what dumb thing he is doing, she thinks it is cool. All she wants is to be with him and get some attention from him. If he just glances in her direction she smiles so big it's like she's swooning. What's her rock star's name? Andrew. And Andrew LOVES all the attention. (I believe that when Lily was 4 days old he told me he hated Lily. When I asked why, he said, "She doesn't pay attention to me")

My mother-in-law once told me that one of her favorite parts of motherhood was watching her kids together. I now understand completely. How could we ever have felt complete without this little girl??? I thought we were one big happy family with just the three of us. Now I can't imagine life without my TWO little munchkins. Aren't they cute???

Top 40 hits

Do you remember listening to Kasey Kasum Sunday mornings? America's Top 40? My sister Kate and I used to always catch the last part of the program after church. And we'd make up our own top song lists.

That program may still be on the air. I wouldn't know. Our top song list is very different now. Here are the top 10 songs listened to in our house.

5) Anything from the Cars movie soundtrack. I got this for Christmas and Andrew promptly fell in love with it. I loved it...the first 45 times I heard it. The last 98 times have been a little repetitious. I'm starting to request Raffi again in the car...that's how much we've listened to it.

4) The tune of "Lullabye"...words slightly changed to sing: "Go to sleep, Lillian, you are driving me crazy"

3) "Rubberband in the band", by Andrew. He saw a rubber band on the newspaper, and composed this delightful little ditty. You hear it once, it'll be in your head.

2) "Lil' the Builder", by Jeff. You try listening to Bob the Builder 10 times a day. It's a damn catchy tune...just ripe for rip offs. Lily's favorite is Jeff's rendition of "Lil' the Builder". Giggles galore.

And the #1 song at our house.....drumroll...

1) "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm"...Jeff humming. It is the magic that Lily cannot resist. If you hear this song, the crying is about to cease.

Bye bye Memere...

...until the end of the month, that is.

My mom left yesterday after staying with us for 10 days. Living far away can be kind of cool...my mom has to schedule time to come and visit (so nothing bumps us off the schedule) and she gets to know her grandkids really well on these long visits.

After this visit, we'll see how often she comes.

I really don't realize how incredibly dull my life is until someone else lives it. I suddenly became aware of how little we do each day. A REALLY exciting day means we've accomplished two of the following: bathing one or both kids, fixing dinner, going shopping for groceries or other not fun shopping, going to the library, getting Andrew to school and picking him up. Yup...that's about it. Thrilling.

So not only was my normally busy mother probably bored to tears by this lack of activity, but I got sick and then the kids got sick. This shrank the number of activities even smaller. Oh, and I keep my house really cold. Poor mom. She was bundled up like an Inuit, drinking enough hot tea to cleanse her system well enough for a colonoscopy, and then she literally didn't leave the house for 48 hours. She then had to bite her tongue as she watched her daughter bumble around trying to make lunch (yucky water-added tomato soup), entertain the boy (Bob the Builder...again?), and get lost while driving around a town she's lived in for 4 months.

This, folks, is the definition of a mother's love.

Luckily for me, I have 2 very cute and entertaining people living in my house. Andrew kept us in stitches singing his spontaneous songs and coming up with his funny little sayings. Lily kept Memere fit by making her pace the house holding a 15 pound (squirmy) weight.

We can't wait to have you back at the end of the month!

Terribly funny

Andrew was running into the kitchen and almost tripped over my feet. He did this elaborate balance dance to keep himself from falling. It was funny. My mom, Andrew, and I were laughing pretty hard about it. Andrew, in the midst of his laughter, said, "Oh, that was terribly funny."

? I don't know where he gets these things...but they ARE terribly funny!

BTW...Andrew pooped on the potty yesterday! I recently acquired a big package of marbles as rewards for potty time (I know, candy isn't a motivator...it's like he literally doesn't share any of my genes). So he is very excited to get marbles. He goes potty so much during the day it's kind of ridiculous. Once yesterday, he sat atop the commode and pushed so hard to get pee to come out...that some came out the other end! He was THRILLED that he got 2 marbles for pooping. Look for eyeball hemorrhaging in future pictures...I envision this child pushing his heart out for these damn marbles.

Hair-do

Way back in May of 2006, I was shocked to find out I was having a daughter. I still find myself shocked sometimes. Not all the time...just when I'm faced with "girlie" duties.

I thought I'd have some time. I thought it would be a while before the differences between a boy and a girl really reared its ugly head.

But no. I have spawned a hairy beast. Not really. She is actually delightfully hairy. Only on her head. With some extra sprinkled above her eyes. Not on her back or shoulders. A little on her bum. Not much...but a little.

Her hair is fine and soft and staticky. And in her eyes. At 5 months. 5 months, people. It's like God is playing a practical joke on me. I can't do my own hair...now I'm responsible for keeping it out of someone else's face?

So you can see above my first attempts to ponytail Lily's hair. It sucks. In a word. She hates being pinned down...the rubberbands are the size of a hangnail, which somehow I'm supposed to fit around my fat fingers and twist a few time around a squirmy fine-haired baby. Yea, right. This from a woman who still owns her hair dryer from high school...because I use it just that frequently. If I do nothing, it hangs in stringy bits in front of her eyes...making it look like I just picked up a homeless child out of a dumpster. Combine this with the fact I only manage to bathe my kids once a week...you get the idea.

-sigh- I love you, Lily...but would you mind it terribly much if Mommy just shaved your head?

Catch up on some photos!

Andrew really wanted a cup like the adults. Result...Andrew's innocent strawberry smoothie looks an awful lot like a daquiri next to our margaritas. I promise we don't stoop to that to make him sleep. Yet.

Isn't it a beautiful day in this shot? I couldn't believe I was standing in front of this building. Andrew's school trips are going to be so much fun!!!

Memere and Andrew run around while we wait to get into Independence Hall. Security is so tight, you have to check in for your free tour 30 minutes before it begins. Then you get to just kill time in this enclosed area. Sound boring? I think it was Andrew's favorite part!

Thank God you can hardly see the not-so-photogenic family in this picture. Andrew is pouting in the stroller...refusing to stand up. Lily is about to loose it. Lovely. But it was a pretty day, right?

Catch up

My mom is visiting, so I have been really bad about logging on and blogging. It makes me realize how therapeutic this blog is, because when I have someone to talk to, I don't feel the need to write ;)

So let's catch up!

Andrew has been doing GREAT with the potty training. I think he is only about a year behind now. Yea! He stayed dry in his underpants all morning yesterday...and peed in the public toilet at Jeff's fencing tournament!!! Holy crap!!! 2 weeks ago he wouldn't even put his toushy on our toilet!!! Today he ASKED me to go, and then peed a whole bunch...not just a little trickle. I'm so hopeful that we'll be there by pre-school time next fall (don't laugh...that's just a hope).

Lily is DRIVING ME CRAZY. She totally teased me by sleeping 11 hours a night last month. Now we're back to 6-7 hour stretches. Which is fine...I guess. But why give me 11 hours and then just take it away. That's just building resentment. She is also acting very frustrated while feeding...which makes me doubt my milk supply. I love breastfeeding, but there is an awful lot of faith involved. And having a petite baby who acts frustrated on the breast is really testing that faith. I'm not giving up yet! (I'm WAY too lazy to formula feed...so until the doctor tells me she isn't growing...sorry Lil!)

We went to downtown Philly last weekend. I've been dying to go, and the weather was nice enough to get out. Andrew and Lily were angels as we toured Independence Hall. I know I'm weird, but it gives me chills to think that George Washington, etc were all inside that very same building. I love all the history! I also saw the Rohm and Haas building...which is right across the street from Independence Hall. They should seriously be fined for having such an ugly building amongst all those beautiful historic sights. Ugly. Really ugly.

We watched Jeff fence yesterday. Mom, Andrew, Lily, and I toured New Hope for a while and then went right across the river to Jeff's fencing school. Andrew loved watching Jeff...and he had a crush on a red head that was fencing. He kept saying, "I didn't know girls could fence. She is pretty."

I hope my mom has been enjoying herself. She is probably just bored out of her mind. I don't realize how dull we are until someone else joins in the fun...or lack thereof. We are only fun and exciting when Jeff is home on the weekends...and to say we are fun and exciting then is really a stretch. Luckily, Lily gives her lots of gooey smiles and Andrew keeps her in stitches.

Andrew has been earning these little micro cars for peeing on the toilet. I bought these cars almost a year ago to try and entice him to go potty. The packaging is dusty and covered in some unidentified drips. Yikes. So I decided to just open them and give them out to him one by one as rewards. They last about 10 minutes and then they get lost. Andrew manages to lose objects as large as himself, so the idea that a toy the size of a thimble would last is ludicrous. He lost the first one just after he and Jeff had cleaned up the toy room. Andrew's response to losing his toy? "C'mon, Dad! Let's make a mess so we can find it!" We were laughing so hard. To which he said, "I am such trouble!"

Lily is woefully behind on her physical milestones. I didn't realize this, because I don't read any parenting books with her. Poor little second child. But at gym class, there is another 5 month old...and I was AMAZED at the skill level during tummy time. Pathetic. My child, I mean. That child was quite impressive. Lily...pathetic. Not that we expect any better. She is the spawn of Jeff and I, after all. Ain't no Olympians in this family! Heck, Andrew JUST learned how to hop...and he still won't jump off anything.

Okay...I think I've caught you up. Stayed tuned for a riveting post about Lily's hair. I know...it's hard to wait.

Lily's first cereal

STAGES OF EATING FIRST CEREAL:

STAGE ONE: Cool! I get to try something off a spoon for once. I've been so interested in everyone else eating...and someone finally got the hint. I'm not sure what I'm doing, but I'm excited!


STAGE TWO: Whoops! My tongue is pretty worthless at this. It keeps popping right back out of my mouth.

STAGE THREE: What IS this crap? Bring on the Montgomery Inn!