Kid Update

Nora

Nora has been talking up a storm and asking lots and lots of questions. In fact, she's asking so many questions and so constantly that I'm about to go completely bonkers. It really needs to get warm so we can run around outside (because I think that might help solve some of it). I suppose it's wonderful that she's so inquisitive, but I get a lot of repeat questions within the same three minutes. That's enough to make a woman throw up her hands and say things like, "I just answered that question! Accept my answer!"

She's also been obsessed with twirly dresses (which are in short supply around here) and princess-type things since February. I think she picked that up from cousin Reagan at the Dill Family Christmas that we had in February.

She's also learning how to share with Henry, and she's learning that she doesn't like it much. This (above) is a typical face when she kindly passes off a toy to Henry (after he's asked properly, of course).

Nora loves to take pictures with my camera, and she's actually pretty careful with it. I should probably wash that mirror, eh? Gross.

She also likes to take pictures of people taking pictures. It's a "thing."

Nora has also been doing some serious boundary and patience-testing. We're getting a lot of push-back when it comes to just about everything. She's generally a really sweet kid, but she is having her moments. I'm blaming it on serious cabin fever. We need to be able to get outside and breathe in some fresh air. I think that'll remove the crank, post-haste.

Her memory is nearly too accurate (and long-term) because we can't catch a break when it comes to hoping she'll forget about something (for example: if she gets a balloon from somewhere, we typically throw the balloon out after a couple of days. When she realizes the balloon is gone, holy crap. God, help us). We have to be sharp, like, all the time when it comes to that sort of thing.

She's also very nearly potty trained now. (Now that I've acknowledged it in print, I'm sure she'll regress.) She's been sleeping at night without a diaper which is HUGE. Most nights have been dry. I've been having to get up with her in the middle of the night quite a bit (she wakes up before she wets the bed a lot of the time). I suppose that's all well and good since I have to wake up at least once in the night right now, anyway.

 

Henry

This guy is both stinking sweet and cuddly and terribly rough all in a tiny package. I recently had to buy a special cover for the switch on our HVAC system, if you know what I mean. (The little dude was shutting it off every single day. Sometimes, thrice.)

There's been a lot of this going on (above). He really likes to pick on the dog, and the dog loves to lick his face off. So, it works out for both of them. It grosses me out pretty well.

Henry's also been chatting up a storm lately. My favorite thing that he's been doing lately is informing me that he is, indeed, "being a bad boy."

I'm not even kidding. Here. Check it out. He says it in this video (below).

So, not only does Nora tattle on him all the time, but he's tattling on himself. It's working out at the moment.

He also might have yes and no confused. We'll ask him a question, and he'll say, "Nooo."

Then, we'll ask, "Do you mean yes," and he says, "YES!"

Sometimes, we think he's being funny, but sometimes, I'm not so sure about that. He does seem to know to yell, "NOOO!" when something is happening that he doesn't want.

He also gets all dramatic and funny when he needs a diaper change. He always informs either Willis or me of his "situation."

So, that's handy, too.

The kids have been playing together really well lately, and I can only hope that this continues as they'll share a room soon and this baby boy will arrive.

Also, it just needs to warm up outside. Desperately. For so many reasons.

Gotta run!

The Dark Ages

While we were sitting outside for the first time of the season, Willis mentioned that as he ages, he really enjoys the transition between the seasons more than the actual seasons. I mentioned that I enjoy the transitions, too, but I was complaining that we haven't really had transitions in the last two season changes. Then, I said something like, "I guess I should feel grateful right now that this transition between winter and summer is long and ridiculous, but for some reason I'm not."

Willis said, "Some people call that transition, 'Spring.'"

I said, "Some of us call it, 'The Dark Ages.'"

So far, this Spring has been fairly ugly. I've seen better.

Brown Bear and Animal Sounds

Yeah. We're all sick.

Sluggish Shots

Here are a few photos from the camera from the last week or two.

Nora wanted to take my picture, and I did not want. I was feeling pretty horrible that day. Obviously. This is, quite possibly, the worst photo of me ever, but the face really says it all with regard to how terrible this cold virus thing has been.


And then, like, a day later, Nora got sick, too. She looked like this for about two days. The dog always looks like that. (Guilty.)


Henry's got the sickness, too (as does Willis), but this is the extent of his "relaxing." He absolutely has to be wearing shoes all the time. He comes up to me with them, and he goes, "Shoes on! Shoes on!" The little dude has on footie pajamas, and he wants shoes.

I'm okay with putting this week behind us. You know it?

A List of Requests

Here is a list of current, general wants/requests. Is it selfish? Yes. Is it needy-sounding? Probably. Fun, okay, and harmless, it also is.

• Make my sore throat go away.
• Make this cold go away. I'd like to not be a mouth-breather at night.
• Let's go ahead and make it nice enough outside so I can let my kids and dog get out there and run a couple of miles (stir crazy) and deep spring clean my house and cars. And have the windows open.
• While you're at it, go ahead and clean up the five months' worth of dog poo so we can more easily do that latter request.
• Convince my three-year-old that peeing in the potty is always awesome (not just part-time awesome).
• Take my dog to the vet to get his toenails clipped so he can stop tap dancing all over tarnation. (Yes. It is impossible to trim my dog's toenails without a full staff of trained animal handlers. Tranquilizers don't even seem to help.)
• Watch my kids so I can get a haircut.
• Actually, just go ahead and vacuum my car, and don't judge me by anything you see/smell. Then, clean out my shop vac. Hah.
• Reseal the parts of my basement that need it.
• Bring me some: Arni's deluxe pizza and a Junior, Chipotle, some decent sushi (no raw fish stuff until I'm done being pregnant, of course), or even some fried rice and crab rangoons . . . and hot and sour soup.
• A coffee maker. (It doesn't even have to be new!)
• A blue ray player. (Okay. That one is super frivolous.)
• A van. (It doesn't even have to be new!)
• A hard floor steamer.
• An awesome vacuum cleaner (canister vacuum would be preferable, if they make one that is really, really awesome).
• Some medium-sized Prorap diaper covers (our hand-me-downs are disintegrating). Sad face. (They don't even need to be new!)
• Seal the driveway for me.
• Paint my fence. Oh, and paint my house, too.
• Clean my gutters. (You're going to need a ladder that's bigger than any ladder, ever. And some life insurance.)
• Get rid of some of my kids' toys and organize the ones that are left in some sort of neat, IKEA-awesome-like fashion.
• In fact, just go ahead and watch my kids so I can go to IKEA.
• The missing side board for Henry's upcoming big-boy bed.
• Re-grout part of my upstairs bathroom.
• Seal the grout in the two bathrooms.
• A vacation. 
• A decent point and shoot camera that I can slip into my pocket.
• A giant, protective hamster ball for my highly, highly active son.
• Some patience (and time) to get through the ridiculous amount of actual work that I have to do in the coming week.

I think that sums up the most important wanty wants for now. Proceed.

What's on the Camera?

I just uploaded some photos, and I have a lovely hodge podge to share.

Henry likes to set up a little "table" on the floor. Every day. He's quite meticulous about it, actually. Oh, and he's practically a grown-up now.

The dog doesn't get in on many photos these days. Poor guy.


Henry has just awakened from a sad, lunch nap. I was hoping to capture the moment. I failed.


Nora decided to take a sweet picture, which is kind-of rare right now. She also had let me do her hair that morning, which is also rare right now.


He's still sort-of falling asleep at the table, and he is not pleased that I'm taking pictures of it. (And, yes. I gave up on bibs long ago.)


Willis found a Cheesecake Factory cheesecake recipe online, and I tried it. It was scrumptrilescent.


Here's the little jerk that almost died over the weekend. He seems pretty okay right there, doesn't he? That was taken on Sunday. Also, note that he matches the cheesecake. The Graphic Designer in me wants to juxtapose those pictures in a more serious fashion than I did (which was really on purpose).


There's always a self portrait by Nora in every camera batch.

Gotta go start makin' some brinner!

Hey, It's Okay . . . Friday . . .

I got this idea from Sara who got this idea from Amber, and apparently, it's completely okay to do this on any day that isn't a Tuesday. That's all I have to say about that.

Hey, It's Okay . . .

If, early in the day, you discover that your male cat is lingering a lot longer in the litter box than what is typically acceptable, and you know that it is going to screw up the rest of the day. (Oh, wait. No it isn't!)

To really, really hate shoving a cat into a pet taxi. Really. He hates it. I hate it. Then, it all ends with me standing in a cat hair cloud with cat hair stuck to my lip gloss.

If your kids go absolutely bonkers while you're waiting forever to get in and out of the vet. (Late morning is never a good time to take the kids to new places that are boring.)

To hope (and pray) really, really hard that your cat pees before 5 p.m. ('Cause if he doesn't, he's either going to die soon or things are potentially about to get really, really expensive.)

To not even be surprised that in the midst of all this, you've managed to shatter another of your daughter's dresser drawers (we're at two of four, now).

To not even be surprised that in the midst of all this, your wee, climbing son managed to snap (and completely break and destroy) a crucial door on your downstairs bathroom cabinet. (I had been wanting to replace it with shelving, and now, I guess I have my excuse. It was a bit premature, though. We're talking maybe a year premature.)

To not even be surprised that in the midsts of all this, you managed to unknowingly cut your finger and proceeded to fold a bunch of laundry.

If your largely pregnant self draws stares from everyone at ACE Hardware because your kids run away from you while you are paying for the brackets to fix your daughter's stupid dresser drawer that you shattered. (It's especially okay if you pulled them out of the cart just prior to this because you were afraid they'd flop out and land on their heads on the floor.)

To wish that sippy cups came with homing devices. It'd be cool if they all at least came with a beeper thing in them like a cordless phone has. That'd be nice. I need to install something like that in the bunny and the penguin, too.

To not even be surprised that both kids woke up screaming from their nap today (and freaking refuse to shake it).

To know that it can't all be wedding cake. It can't all be boiled away.

To know that if you had an inkling of how terrible this day was going to be, you'd have found a way to stay in bed all day—even if that isn't really possible. (I suppose that's why we can't see into the future, eh?)