+ 3 - 2 | § ¶Nine Months! And Cake.
Do you know what tomorrow is? Yes it's my birthday, but it's also Zane's 9-month birthday! 3/4 of a year old! He's practically a grown up. So here's the 9-month-old rundown....
* He loves to sing. Often, if he starts crying, i can just start tapping his mouth and he'll start humming and forget what he was crying about. When he's happy, if i hold my finger near his mouth, he'll lean in to the finger and start humming. If I stop tapping his mouth with my finger for him to say “babababa,” he uses my shoulder by rubbing his mouth back and forth. My shirts are always messy, especially at the shoulder.
* He has recently started "talking." His current favorite word is "Ba ba ba ba."
* He is totally amused by people. He loves to watch people, and loves his family. He will turn his head like crazy if he thinks something is happening behind him. He's constantly alert, and wants to know what's happening.
* But he doesn't necessarily want to GO by the people he wants to watch. He is a bit of a Mama's boy, and is always happiest when he is being held by me. Sitting close enough to touch me is a distant second. In a completely different room where Mama cannot be seen is occasionally ok. Across the room is unacceptable.
* Zane loves to fly. Loves to flip upside down. Loves to be turned in circles and gently tossed about.
* And he loves to jump. He wants to jump on the floor, on my lap, on the couch. The jumping is one of the main deterents to his actually standing or walking so far.
* He's working on crawing, but so far he mostly scoots backwards all over the place. The past day or two, he's learned how to actually crawl backwards kind of.
i'm still talking...
+ 2 - 2 | § ¶A Sidewalk Full of Aliens
A brief rundown of my day:
1. Interpret for insanely, ridiculously fast-talking preacher, who REALLY needs to learn to speak slower and with less mumbling.
2. Go to the parents' house for dinner. Let the kids eat outside, which makes the grown-up meal infinitely quieter. Discuss subjects like "Is global warming real?" and "Is it environmentally irresponsible to use lots of oil?" Disagree a lot. Eat yummy ice cream pie for Mom's birthday (and mine).
3. Go to Jim's hockey game, which is MUCH more enjoyable when we're not freezing our butts off like last time. Let Houston and Katrina fill their pockets with rocks from the huge pile.
4. Come home and play outside for ages. Houston spends his time sorting out his rocks, drawing aliens and messages on the sidewalk and the tires (that stands for Houston, Mama, Daddy, Katrina, Zane), and getting incredibly dirty. Zane spends his time watching everything, playing with toys, and practicing rolling, sitting, and trying to crawl. Katrina spends most of her time curled up on the blanket next to me, exhausted, but dabbles a bit with bubbles and chalk.
5. Feed the seemingly starving kids - especially Zane, who acts as though he hasn't eaten in a month. That baby can pack away amazing amounts of food.
And through it all, take a zillion pictures - yet again. (If you skip them, no one will know. I won't be offended.) So...Houston, Juanito and Katrina, Zane, Zane and me, Katrina, Katrina, and Katrina.
i'm still talking...
+ 2 - 3 | § ¶Sensitive
Back when Houston was only 1 or 2 or so, he was really quiet and sensitive and would cry if another kid near him screamed. He was physically really tough - he'd fall down and slam his head into the ground, blink, and then get up and continue playing - but emotionally he was pretty easily upset. As he's gotten older and wilder, i think i've kind of forgotten how sensitive he was. Or i just kind of assumed that he had outgrown the fragile emotions. Recently, though, there have been moments that remind me that, "Oh yeah. He was/is a pretty sensitive little guy." When we went to the kindergarten open house, Houston fairly clung to me. While we were sitting, he was practically in my lap. When we were in the rooms, he was never more than a foot or two away. And the times i suggested he maybe not lean on me quite so heavily, he gave me a tremendously sad look. Then, of course, there's the day i made him cry a couple of weeks ago. And at the playground the other day, when we'd only been there a short time and he came to me with big teary eyes and told me, "I would like to go home now." Because there was a big boy who wouldn't let him go down the slide and hissed at him when Houston tried to duck past. And...well, several other times.
But today was the deciding factor. Juanito was outside with the kids, and Houston got really frustrated and tossed his bike onto the grass. Juanito asked what was going on, and Houston came to him with tears in his eyes. When Juanito asked what was wrong, Houston told him, "Sometimes i just feel SO SAD!" Aw. Poor little boy. Juanito says that when he was that age he remembers being in kindergarten and thinking, "When i get home, i want to cry!" because he felt sad for no particular reason. So sad.
i'm still talking...
+ 1 - 4 | § ¶Words of Wisdom
Wisdom from Houston from today -
On the fog:
H: "I think the whole world needs to be dusted!"
On bugs:
H: "Ok, Katrina. What do you want me to tell you a story about?"
K: "Um, bugs."
H: "What kind of bugs?"
K: "Ants."
H: "Oh NO! We can't do ants, because ANTS are not BUGS! How about spiders instead?"
i'm still talking...
+ 2 - 3 | § ¶Sixty
This is, perhaps, the busiest day we've had since...well, at least since Zane was born. I woke up the kids and dragged them out of bed at around 8:30, got everyone dressed, and headed out to Mops. We left Mops early to go to Katrina's class. (Incidentally, she started out shy again, but about halfway through she opened up and started getting involved whole-heartedly. Afterwards she told me, "I love my class!" Her favorite part? "My sticker i get.") After Katrina's class we zoomed home and quickly fed everyone, and as we were finishing up lunch my sister and cousin and the kids arrived for homeschool group. That ended and everyone left, and we zoomed off to the library. By the time we left the library it was about 5:00, so we stopped off at McD's (as i had no idea for dinner and almost no energy to cook anyhow) for dinner and playing in the playland. And by the time we got home, it was practically bedtime.
A side benefit of being out and about all day? The house stays totally clean!
i'm still talking...
+ 4 - 1 | § ¶Time to babyproof the house
Zane doesn't crawl yet, although he does get up on his hands and knees occasionally. And he doesn't walk or stand, although he will stand for a second or two before trying to jump - which makes him fall. But he does do a good job of getting around lately. He mostly scoots himself backwards or sideways or he rolls back and forth. So he's basically able to get wherever he wants to go and reach whatever he wants to get...as long as it's not directly in front of him, just out of arm's length.
He was exceptionally happy today, and had a fabulous time scooting himself all over the dining room floor. Apparently it's easier to move around on than the carpet, so i kept finding him under chairs. Katrina kept finding him under chairs too, and then she'd try to drag him out - humerous to watch, but not thrilling for Zane.
Have i mentioned that i'm not looking forward to the day he learns to crawl all over the place and get into everything? It looks like it's about to start.
+ 4 - 3 | § ¶Kindergarten
For the past few years, we've planned to homeschool the kids. We always said, "Well, we'll take it a year at a time and see how it goes." But i totally expected to homeschool for kindergarten at least. Then, a week or two ago, Juanito suddenly popped the question: "So...what if we sent Houston to a charter school for kindergarten instead?"
After my brain exploded a little bit from the complete change in plans, i started thinking about it a little more logically. And there are some compelling reasons to send him to an actual kindergarten. The opportunity to make friends his own age - and then see them every day - being the biggest reason. And then there's the fact that i have never taught someone to read and write, while kindergarten teachers have taught dozens and dozens of kids to do just that - so there's more likelihood that they'll succeed. (And while i am confident that i can teach history and geography and literature and that kind of thing, i'm not as certain on the early basics.) Plus, it would be a lot easier - i could have some time to spend with Katrina and Zane while Houston is in school.
So i started applying to charter schools. And the immediate problem that arose...the lotteries for the schools had just happened a week or two before. So i applied anyhow and Houston is now on waiting lists for about 8 schools.
The next problem that arose...Houston was entirely opposed to the idea of actually going to kindergarten. He wanted to stay home and have me teach him. Nothing i said could convince him. He was so opposed to it that when we went to that carnival, he wouldn't even get onto the school bus for fear that it would take him to school. So this evening, Houston and i went to an open house at one of the kindergartens. He got to meet the teachers, see some pictures of some of the things they do in kindergarten, and see the classrooms.
He is now much more willing to entertain the notion of going off to kindergarten. So now we wait to see what happens with the waiting lists. And, in case you didn't already know, i am not a good waiter.
+ 7 - 2 | § ¶Scary books should not have happy covers
I am usually insanely careful about what books and movies i expose my kids to. Before they watch a movie, i watch it and make sure it's not too scary or naughty or whatever. Before i read books with them i either read them myself or get recommendations from people i trust. So. Today i kind of broke that rule. We needed new books on CD for Houston to listen to. I searched the library, but all the good books only came on tape, and the books on CD were either books i didn't know or books i know but are too old for him (like "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," which i'll totally read with him in a few years, but which is still a bit too scary for the time being). So i asked my mom if she knew any of them. She pointed out a series called "The Magic Treehouse," and said that she's heard good things about it. The cover revealed very little about what was inside, but it did show a couple of little kids, one of whom was riding on a dinosaur. So far, so good. I brought it home, tucked the kids into bed, and stuck it into the CD player. A little over an hour later, Houston came padding down the stairs and said that he needed the next CD. I asked him how he was liking this book.
His eyes welled up with tears and he got the face he gets when he's trying to be brave but something is too scary. "Well, it's a little bit creepy," he told me. As i tucked him back into bed, i asked him why it was scary. "It just has lots of dark, mean guys and they are doing bad things." Sad, scared little boy. I put in "Peter and the Wolf" instead. Before i came downstairs again, i told him that i was very sorry. He implored me, "Next time, can you please make sure to look through it first to make sure that it's not too scary please? Can you please read it first? Please can you look inside and make sure that it's ok?" I feel terrible.
On a slightly less sad theme.... Today my children (who have plenty of Little Peoples) were playing with the dollhouse taking turns. One would be Eddie (the blonde Little People) and one would be the rock. And they were actually arguing over who got to be the rock. "Well, i will be the rock this time, and then next time you can be the rock, ok?"
+ 3 - 4 | § ¶Another beautiful, sunny day
It's become kind of a theme for us to do whatever during the majority of the day, but then between 6:00 and 7:30 to be outside for one last hurrah before baths and bed. Often, the baths are VERY needed. I can hardly believe how filthy my kids can get in the course of one day. So if you are ever looking at my pictures and see my kids with dirty faces and hands, just assume, "Right. That's because the kids have been rolling around in the dirt. Not necessarily because Karen is a negligent mother."
A few pictures of the little ones from today, and then i will continue the stories. Houston, Katrina, Zane, and Zane again.
i'm still talking...
+ 2 - 5 | § ¶My second marriage proposal
My friend called me up this afternoon and told me about a carnival going on at a nearby college. Sadly, she called at 2:00, just as the kids were starting their naps, and the carnival ended at 4:00. So at 3:00 i woke up Katrina, changed Zane, and threw everyone in the car. We got there just in time to see everything as they were starting to put it away. But we saw most of it on the way out. There was a helicopter, several big trucks, a pig and a donkey, an army truck...stuff like that. I wasn't terribly sorry about not being able to go for longer - Katrina didn't want to get very near the animals or climb into most trucks (she did get into one that promised a sucker afterwards). Houston wouldn't go into the school bus and told me that he didn't like it at all. Except for the helicopter and the army truck and the pig and the donkey. But other than that, he didn't like it at ALL. Sigh.
From there, i brought the kids to a park...except that we couldn't actually get to the playground because there was a regatta just finishing up and they weren't allowing cars through. So we had a little picnic and watched all the trucks with rowing boats drive past. And then we fed the ducks and geese (which made me a little nervous, as my kids got really close and the geese started hissing at them). Eventually they were all gone, and we went to play. Houston was clearly out of sorts, because a little boy just his size came over and asked, "Hey! Do you want to play with me?" And Houston said no. Actually, he initially said yes until the kid said he wanted to play tag, and then Houston said, "Oh. I am not good at playing tag," and then avoided the kid for the remainder of the time there, even going so far as to run across the field to avoid him. Katrina, on the other hand, ran around with a huge smile from one toy to the next.
And then, as we were walking back to the car, Houston was being all silly and cute, running on ahead. And then he may have seen a big yellow thing that needed exploring across the field, and he might have gone running off to check it out. And the ground might have been totally muddy and slippery, which could have caused him to slip and fall and get covered with mud. But i don't know anything about that, because he didn't want me to tell everyone. Why? Because it made him "so sad and disappointed." Poor little kid. He was all covered in mud and i was trying so hard not to giggle at how hilarious it had been.
So then we just came home and played here.
Um, and Zane was feeling much, much better today. He spent his time either chewing on anything available or sitting around playing with toys or giggling his head off and rolling around and figuring out how to get up on his hands and knees.
i'm still talking...
+ 2 - 6 | § ¶In which i am Un
Juanito got home from work at about 11:30 today, and took over taking care of the kids for me. So after i fed Zane, at about 12:45, i took off and left Juanito with the three darlings. Lovely. So i went to the downtown library (which was not entirely inviting), then to Target (where i walked around for a while before deciding that i'd much rather be curled up somewhere being quiet), and then to Panera - where i curled up in a chair by the fire and read a mindless book for a little over 3 hours. It was SO relaxing and awesome. (Thank you, thank you, thank you Juanito!)
When i finally got home, i grabbed the kids and let them run around outside for an hour or so. We did bubbles, and they rode their bikes for ages, and then Katrina got a "flat tire" and spent a good long time fixing it. Her method of fixing it is to come request tools from me - and when i pretend to hand her things, she uses them to fix her bike. She cannot actually fix her bike unless i give her the pretend tools. Eventually Houston got in on the game as well. I spent a while untangling Houston's slinky (which was tangled into a ball), and the rest of the time snuggling with Zane.
Poor little Zaney has been acting cranky and has had a really runny nose for the past couple of days, and today he woke up with what i am almost certain is pink eye. His little eye is all teary and goopy. I think that Houston and Katrina have each only had pink eye once. I think this is Zane's third time. Sad.
i'm still talking...
+ 4 - 4 | § ¶Way too many pictures
This morning Katrina had her first class. It's called "Kid Kix," and is basically just a "hey, let's learn how to do some basic gym-type moves" type of class. So we got there, and it's in a gym, but we were among the first ones there. So Katrina stood in the middle of the gym and waited patiently and silently. And eventually another little girl came over to her to say hello - and Katrina just looked at her. She was in shy mode today. The teacher came over to introduce herself to Katrina - and Katrina just looked at her. But when the teacher started to actually give directions, Katrina obeyed almost immediately. Silently, but carefully watching to do what the teacher did so she could do the same thing. Occasionally she'd look over to make sure i was still there, but i was all proud of how well she followed along. That lasted through the stretches and the running and the jumping and the galloping...until they got to hopping. Katrina cannot hop. It was fairly heartbreaking to watch - all the other kids (who are mostly older than she is) went happily hopping across the gym, and Katrina just stood there looking devastated, like she might cry any second. After that, she participated only minimally. Sad little girl. Her favorite part, according to her, was the sticker she got at the end.
So today was a perfect spring day. I jumped all over that, and we spent AGES outside. I may have taken a few (hundred) pictures. (Not many of Katrina, though, because she was with Juanito during the picture-taking spree.) Here are some of them: Houston, who runs over to get in on the picture taking when he sees someone else getting all the attention. And also? Who is just totally adorable (in my opinion). And Zane, who loves being outside in the sun. And who tries everything he can to eat the dirt...but is content to chew on his socks instead. (Can you imagine yanking your socks off your feet and shoving them into your mouth like that? I can't.) He's cute too.
i'm still talking...
+ 6 - 3 | § ¶So, so hungry
There may be this belief out there that i never feed my kids. This belief is supported when Katrina says things like, "My so HUNGRY for Grandma's house!" So just for the record, let me tell you what Zane ate for dinner - just dinner alone! - tonight. One full baby food container of sweet potatoes, an entire banana, a few strawberries, part of a loaf of French bread, and two pieces of wheat bread. It was in the middle of his second piece of bread that he finally started slowing down and not screeching at me for more.
Katrina, on the other hand, picked at her food, ate her yogurt and a teensy bit of chicken, and declared herself finished. One hour later she was "so, so hungry!" Sigh.
i'm still talking...
+ 2 - 7 | § ¶It's a Beautiful Day (Don't let it get away)
It was another beautiful day today, so i took advantage of it and brought the kids out to a park for a while. Houston and Katrina ran from toy to toy, playing and climbing on everything (and getting wet butts at the bottom of all the slides). Zane is still to little to, y'know, play. But! This playground had baby swings. (The one we went to the other day didn't! What's up with that? Baby swings are a pretty basic thing to have.) So i put Zaney into the swing for the first time ever, and he loved it. (I know that's not the best-framed picture ever, but look! You can see his little tooth he's smiling so big!) At first he was all unsure of the whole thing, but before long he did that lean-forward-so-you-feel-like-you're-flying thing, and started cracking himself up. And then he got all "Yeah, this is old hat" and started looking all pleased with himself. And eventually he got tired and gave me that "Ok. I'm finished" look.
i'm still talking...
+ 5 - 2 | § ¶He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
A few quotes from Houston the past couple of days:
Houston: "I think that when Zane grows up he will be a science guy. I will not be a science guy because i want to live here with you and Daddy. I love you. I will be a fireman instead." (I am not sure why being a science guy means you can't live with us. When asked, Houston asked if then i would also be a science guy. I guess it's an all-or-nothing venture. I'm also not sure why being a fireman means you CAN live at home. But Houston has been pretty clear, over and over, that he wants to live with us forever. I'm also not sure why Zane is not allowed to live with us when he grows up.)
Juanito: "Mama is pretty."
Houston: "Mama is not pretty."
Houston: "I am a winner because i was so nice at the library, and Katrina is a winner because she did not whine at the library, and Daddy is a winner because he is working really hard to make a dollhouse and that is really nice, and Mama is a winner because she is big."
Sometimes, having kids is not exactly an ego boost. But they're pretty cute to make up for it.
+ 7 - 1 | § ¶Let's Go Fly a Kite
Today was quite an awesome day. It was sunny and warm enough to be outside, so after church we packed up a picnic lunch and headed out to a park. Hurrah! The first picnic of the year. It was perfect kite weather too, so we got to use the new kite i bought. For $2.00, it was a great kite. And the best part was, i wasn't at all worried about it getting broken, because it was only $2.00. You want to run around like crazy, laughing your head off at the kite behind you? Be my guest!
All three kids were quite wonderful - there was no whining, no too-rough-ness, no fighting. I took loads of pictures, and i tried to pare them down, but there were too many that i really liked. So i made one of those Web Album thingies, and if you want to see the pictures, you can go there. Of course, i also wrote all about what we did there, so ... that's about it for the blog today.
Oh. Except also? I interpreted both the 9:00 and the 11:00 sermons this morning, where Pastor Rob was talking (and he talks super-incredibly fast), and by the time the second service was finished, my arms were so tired! But i can say with some certainty that the 11:00 sermon is considerably less crazy than the 9:00 sermon. I almost died in the 9:00 one.
+ 2 - 5 | § ¶I'm whiney too.
A few final pictures and goodbyes, and Rick and Ashley are now on their way back to Germany (via Ohio). Sad. We will miss them. And the little baby who will be born far, far away from us all. (Um, and Ashley doesn't like this picture, but i think it's adorable, so if you're Ashley, don't click on it, ok?)
i'm still talking...
+ 3 - 4 | § ¶Some quotes and other stuff
A few quotes from the day:
The kids were all watching Dora. Someone mentioned what they wanted to be first, and they all went through their future professions. Houston wants to be an astronaut. Wyatt a soccer player. Kelly and Cheyanne will be teachers and artists. Ashley turned to Katrina and asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Katrina replied, "A soccer ball."
Some of Rick and Ashley's friends came over to say goodbye. Houston asked one of the girls, "Who are you?" She said, "I'm Sarah." "Oh," said Houston, "I'm Houston. Do you remember my name?"
While we were at my parents' house, Houston spent a lot of time working in his new kindergarten workbook (which he loves). Alisha helped him do some of the math pages. On the way home, i asked him, "Did you have fun doing that book with Alisha?" He replied, "Oh yes! I wish Alisha was my mom!" I said, "But...i'm your mom! Do you want to have Alisha be your mom instead?" He thought for a moment and then said, "Well, you can both be my moms."
On the way home, Houston asked me to tell him about all the different kinds of governments in the world (kings, dictators, presidents...). I explained, and then asked him, "If you could vote for a president, who would you want to be the president?" He thought about it and then said, "Mr. Pete!" Pete is one of the guys i used to work with, who Juanito works with now. Houston always talks about him even though he hardly knows him. Apparently he'd make a good president.
And Zane's contribution to the conversation today was a constant refrain of "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah aaaaaaaaaah aaaaaaaah." For about an hour straight. And off and on the rest of the day. He likes to sing and make noise.
i'm still talking...
+ 4 - 3 | § ¶April Showers
Have i mentioned that my brother and sister-in-law are having a baby? Because they are! A boy! So Zane will have at least one little boy cousin to play with. And look at Ashley's cute little tummy. Aww. But i digress.
So tonight we had a baby shower for Ashley (and Rick and the baby too, of course. Except that they weren't there. Well, technically the baby was there, but since he wasn't an active participant, i'm not counting him. And here i am all distracted again). We played the a few games - because you have to play games at a party, right? The ones we played were the best ones we could find. We raced to match socks. We made Ashley figure out who brought which bib (which was actually quite difficult). And we all guessed how big her tummy was. Some (like my Aunt Alma, who cut the ribbon exactly the right length) guessed better than others (like my 6-year-old neice who cut it long enough to wrap around Ashley 3 times). And we ate cake. And had decorations. And talked. And had fun.
i'm still talking...
+ 2 - 4 | § ¶Enough, Already!
Hey! It's still April, right? So what's the deal with all the snow? Where do i lodge my official complaint?
Houston asked me, "Did summer go away already?" And Katrina just kind of wanders through the snow looking very forlorn. Zane just keeps gasping and sputtering at the snow and the wind when we go outside. And i am getting VERY TIRED of being indoors. Houston declared the weather "jelly weather." I tried to explain that it was called "slushy," but he insisted that it was "jelly."
And i feel all sad for the little flowers that waited until they thought the snow was gone, then grew. Then the frost hit and they persevered through the frost. And then! They get six inches of snow dumped on them. Poor little things.
i'm still talking...
+ 6 - 1 | § ¶Golf.
The kids and i spent almost the entire day over at my parents' house, visiting with, well, everyone, but especially Rick and Ashley. A whole ton of us went out for lunch together, and then we just kind of hung around the house, talking and playing dominos and talking some more. Meanwhile, the kids ran around making tons of noise and making us all a little crazy. And then eventually Ashley left and Rick went to play hockey with Jim.
And so we went to watch them play. What we didn't expect was that it was going to be as ridiculously cold as it was. Even so, it was really fun. There was an enormous pile of rocks, which entertained Katrina until she had her pockets full and got too cold. Zane eventually fell asleep, even though the wind kept blowing and making him gasp. But it was Houston who really loved it. He watched and cheered, and every time they paused for a second, he was out there on the pavement with the stick, hitting the ball around. He had a grin plastered on his face the entire time. He kept calling it a golf ball and telling everyone they were really good at golf and "Hey! You are great at using that golf stick!" I don't think he believed me that it's called "Hockey." Not "Golf."
I hadn't seen my brothers play since they were quite little, so it was fun to watch them again. Rick hadn't played in ages, and was just joining in for fun while he's visiting. But Jim plays or practices a couple of times a week, and he's really good. I'm sure we're going to be going to watch a lot more frequently.
i'm still talking...
+ 4 - 2 | § ¶What Zane's Been Up To
It's been a while since i've talked about what Zane is actually doing these days. Since he's little, he actually does learn and change fairly rapidly, so i feel a little bit guilty about that. Especially since i'm eventually going to have to come back to this blog to figure out what he did when for his baby book (because i'm terrible at keeping up with that).
So.
* On Friday he cut his first tooth. He's now got a little tiny bit of tooth sticking up through his gum on the bottom left. Cute. So now when he's chewing on things like crazy (as he LOVES to do), i can say, "Yes, well. He is teething, you see."
* Last week Monday he got up on all fours and rocked back and forth for a few seconds, amid vast amounts of cheering from the entire family. He looked around smiling and looking all proud. He hasn't done it since, though.
* He's starting to find things incredibly funny. Some of his favorite "jokes" are being held up over my head and jiggled a bit, having me shake my hair at him, tickling, rubbing my face into his tummy, and being bounced on my knees. In the right mood, those things make him collapse into giggles. And when Zane giggles, he flings himself forward. I have to always be careful, if i am doing something that requires close proximity, to keep my head far enough away when he starts to laugh or we bonk heads. He doesn't find that funny.
* He is allowed to eat just about anything that is deemed baby-safe now. No honey or eggs (or sweets), and no choking hazards, but everything else that the rest of us are eating. His favorite things are carrots, bread, cheerios, applesauce, and cottage cheese.
* He is fully capable of standing up...except that he forgets to keep his balance and will let go and fall over if i'm not at the ready. I'm pretty sure that's because of his exersaucer, where he can stand and fling back and forth without falling down.
* He goes to sleep incredibly well at nighttime now, mostly going down without a peep. Naptime is a bit more hairy, but he will eventually fall asleep most days.
* For reasons i don't quite understand, Graham has decided that Zane's head is tasty. So whenever Zane is sitting on the floor - or anywhere that Graham can reach him, Graham goes over and starts licking Zane's face, hair, and any other part of his head he can find. Zane does not find that entirely amusing. He'll put up with it for a second or two, then starts making faces and pulling away, and eventually screams if Graham doesn't stop. Graham doesn't mind the screaming.
* Zane started wearing 12 month clothes at 4 months, and still mostly fits into the 12 month clothes. He is starting to outgrow some of them, but most 18 month stuff is too big. I'm looking forward to summer, when i'll have more clothes that fit him again.
* My parents have a wall where we measure and mark everyone at random times. I put Zane's first mark on the wall yesterday - and he is currently about an inch taller than his cousin was when she was a year old. Tall.
i'm still talking...
+ 5 - 1 | § ¶Happy Easter!
Today, for the very first time in almost two years, our whole entire family was together. Rick and Ashley are visiting us for a week, and we're so happy. This is the first time that Zane has gotten to meet his Uncle Rick and Aunt Ashley, and Katrina hardly remembers them at all. I am going to try to change that this week. Ashley's all cute and pregnant, and it's fun to be able to see her before the baby's born.
i'm still talking...
+ 3 - 2 | § ¶Tired day
Remember how the kids were awake insanely late last night? This morning they woke up only about half an hour later than usual, and skipped out on naps. Houston entertained himself with books the whole time, Katrina came down repeatedly to supposedly use the bathroom, and Zane just cried until i got him. So today, there was lots and lots of crying and pestering and breakdowns over absolutely nothing.
It was exhausting. It was an early night for all of them. So now they're sleeping. And i am going to go make one of my favorite desserts for tomorrow's dinner. Mmmmm..... I have to go before i drool on the keyboard.
+ 2 - 3 | § ¶Surprise Number 2
My mom's birthday is coming up in 20 days. Given the fact that we had a surprise party for our dad this year (60th birthday and all...), we knew that there was a good chance that our mom would start suspecting that she'd be having a surprise party as well. Today was Jackie's birthday (Happy birthday, Jackie!), so she invited us all over to her house for her own birthday party...which was really Mom's. Make sense? Since it was so early and on Jackie's birthday, Mom never suspected, and was very surprised. Hurrah! On a side note, i think this is the latest the kids have ever been allowed to stay up - it was 11:00 by the time we left - and they were perfect. Except Zane, who finally gave up the ghost at about 10:00 and demanded to be allowed to go to sleep. Understandably.
Today was Good Friday. There was a Good Friday service of sorts at our church. Kind of a come-when-you-will thing, with the crucifixion story being shown on the screen and music playing all evening. We were encouraged to bring some tangible symbol of something that we are "dying" to this lent season and put it up on the stage. I explained all that (as best i could) to Houston, who decided that he wanted to draw some pictures and put them on the stage as well. So he drew a picture of an alien and wrote "I don't want to be an alien in dreams," and drew a picture of himself in the dark and wrote "I don't want to be scared of the dark." He also told me, "Mommy, you can be sad because Jesus died and i will be happy because Jesus died, ok?"
+ 3 - 4 | § ¶Cows say Moo. Dogs say Arf!
The excitement around here today centered around the new car seats. Zane was outgrowing his old car seat (and by "outgrowing" i mean that he was entirely too long for the specifications), and Houston is soon going to outgrow the weight limit for the 5-point harness on his car seat. And so, there was a whole huge switch-around of car seats. Zane inherited the car seat that Katrina has been using (which was also originally Houston's). (Incidentally, doesn't it look like those two pictures were taken on different days? Nope. They were taken only minutes apart, but in-between Zane managed to poop all over his outfit and so is wearing entirely different clothes. This is the fourth outfit he's worn today.) Katrina moved into Houston's car seat, although i am hopefully going to figure out a way to make it more girly. And we bought a new booster seat for Houston, which will fit him until he's 100 pounds and do away with car seats altogether. He believes he got to pick it out, which he did...but he was heavily influenced by me. The kids were all shades of excited about the whole switcheroo, and we had a marvelous time bringing them all inside, vacuuming them out, adjusting all the belts, and declaring them "just right!" And regardless of how sad Zane looks here, he really likes his new car seat quite a bit.
I was feeling fairly burned out this evening, so Juanito went to the store for exciting things like dog food and brought the kids with him. I took a bath and read half of the new Mary Higgens Clark book and generally relaxed as much as i could. When they came back, it was nearly bedtime, and so i spent a while cuddling and giggling with Zane all by ourselves. And i was reminded how truly precious he really is. He just stares at me and giggles when i do silly things and smiles his head off when i let him touch my face. So darling.
And then i sat and read new library books with my kids, who were completely entranced and adorable. I used to just grab random books off the shelf at the library, and i got some good ones. But recently i've been more pro-active, looking up on the internet which books have received rewards and such, and then getting some of those. Yesterday, one of the books i got was called, "Bark, George." I read it to the kids once, and they were entirely delighted. So delighted, in fact, that today they spent a good half hour reciting the book back and forth to each other. I love that my kids love to read.
+ 4 - 3 | § ¶Winter's revenge
Hey! Remember when i was talking about how lovely the weather has been? How we could wear shorts and short sleeves and no coats? How we played outside like crazy and had so much fun? Well. Forget all that, at least temporarily. Because today? It snowed.
Like, SNOWED. It was cold and windy and made Zane gasp in dismay when i brought him outside. The snow actually stuck on the ground and accumulated! There's feet of snow out there! Or at least a light dusting. But really, when it's April and there's snow, who cares if it's feet or millimeters? It's SNOW.
So there was no playing outside today. Instead we went to the library and picked out loads of books to read. And we went to the store and got fun summery things like a jump rope! And a kite! And sidewalk chalk! I'm going to will the warm weather back into being.
+ 5 - 2 | § ¶Worms
The kids and i started cleaning up our backyard tonight so that we can go out there to play sometimes. I walked around cleaning up ridiculous amounts of dog poop while Houston and Katrina looked for toys or garbage that was lying around the yard. Or rather, they started out looking for garbage and toys until i moved a pile of leaves from the sidewalk and uncovered about 30 worms. There were some really fat worms, some tiny baby worms, and everything in-between. The kids were fascinated and spent the rest of the time outside watching the worms, searching for more, and moving the ones on the sidewalk to "safety." Using sticks, of course. Because they wouldn't actually want to touch the worms. I am not sure why. After all, when i was Houston's age i used to search for worms, pick them up, carry them around, and bring them home as pets. Houston was drastically opposed to the idea of touching the worms at all. We'll see if that changes during the summer.
i'm still talking...
+ 2 - 5 | § ¶Dreamland
I suspect that Zane thinks i walk around all day with food in my back pocket. He will get hungry, so he will fuss. I will put him into his high chair, and he will look at me expectantly. I'll start walking toward the kitchen (y'know...to get food), and he will start to wail. Until i return with the food, and then everything is hunky-dory again. Come to think of it, i think that sometimes Houston thinks i walk around with food and drinks in my back pocket too. We'll be in the car, and he'll say, "I'm thirsty! Can i have something to drink?" And i wonder where, exactly, i am supposed to produce this magical drink from, while i am driving. He always seems a little surprised when i tell him, "Um...i don't have anything right NOW, but when we get home...."
But that's not really what i meant to talk about today.
i'm still talking...
+ 2 - 4 | § ¶Sun, Rain, and Dye
The day started out bright and sunny and warm, so i put Katrina in her little summer dress for the first time this year. I took a few pictures of her, and immediately Houston ran over and posed to have pictures taken of him too. He doesn't want to be left out, after all.
As the day wore on, it got chillier and started raining, and the kids were all disappointed that they couldn't go out to play. I asked Houston and Katrina if they wanted to go play in the rain, and i got a resounding YES from both kids. So...i let them. I have fond memories of playing in the rain too, after all. They ran back and forth on the sidewalk, searching for puddles. I fully expected them to run in the grass mostly, but they decided that the grass was too cold. They both got wet and a little cold, but had a blast. Even Zane came out to watch them for a bit.
i'm still talking...