Sibling tour & Trunk or Treat

Ellie's arrival must be soon as this morning we took C&M to the hospital for a "sibling tour" of the maternity ward. C was very interested in looking at the babies. As he observed, "They're small." He also became our nurse guide's helper--anything that needed to be distributed to children or adults, he was there and had it done in no time. He also won the "diaper your stuffed animal" contest easily (photo below). He had diapered "mommy doggie" before the nurse had finished her instructions. He left everyone else in the dust. T observed that he must be paying attention when we diaper M as he certainly knew what to do!

C has been asking for a pumpkin, so we got a medium-sized one after lunch. C and I carved it when we got home. It was my first pumpkin carving since I was a kid. And it really made me feel like a Dad to do one for, and with, my son. I remember Mom always did great carvings--with expressions, teeth, I think I remember eyebrows too. I didn't try anything complicated but followed C's instructions for small eyes, a triangular nose and a round mouth. It won't win any artistic awards but it's competent, esp. for my first one. I didn't have to cover up any gaffs and both C and I retained all our digits (or, for cousin A, phalangies!!!). Since I'm likely to be carving a pumpkin yearly for well into the future, I'll have plenty of opportunities to hone my craft (or lose my fingers...).

This evening, Advent had its fall festival and Trunk or Treat. Attendance was great. They had lots of activities and games for kids. C, of course, loved the inflatible slides and bounce house. M liked the bounce house too. She couldn't walk on its floor but enjoyed just rolling around on it and getting bounced by the jumping of the bigger kids. C dressed as Iron man, M as Winnie the Pooh (see below). T made sure C collected candy for M too, though as M doesn't eat candy yet, it explains why C was consistently instructed to choose the candy that T likes. After dark, they had a fire pit and smores. C did a great job toasting the marshmellows as I tried to keep M from diving into the fire. I'll give her credit for persistence if not prudence! She also is refusing to let others feed her so she grabbed a smore and got gooey marshmellow over both hands and was fascinated by her ability to generate long strands of goo stretching between her hands. Some got wiped on me as I tried to get it off of her hands.


What a fun day! And tomorrow, the kids will go on the CROP walk with me, and then Trick or Treating in the neighborhood in the evening.

A fun day w/ Ba...

Well, C was in a "Mommy, take our picture" kind of mood...so, of course, I oblige. When the camera came a courtin', Miss M turned into a major ham & made her mission in life to become so fast that I would be unable to capture her digital image for posterity. Fortunately, the camera has a relatively quick shutter speed, so in the immortal words of Leo from Little Einsteins, "Mission Completion."

On a side note, today proved to be an interesting outing for the family. Our close friends, John & Wendy (aka Uncle John & Aunt Wendy to the kids), are moving to Savannah (*insert C pouty face by me*). So, to celebrate, we went to lunch at a local restaurant (very family friendly, w/ yummy food).

Miss M decided that absolutely no highchair could keep her contained, resulting in Ba (aka Dada) having to keep a squiggly toddler (who seemed to develop additional limbs, taking on an octopus persona) on his lap, feed said toddler, all the while trying to eat his reuben. Miss M rapidly decided lunch was done and chose to go on the lam - several times. With a rapidly expanding waistline, I have been unable to keep pace or remain on the lead lap with Miss M. Therefore, Ba bounced up and down (much like a weeble, wobble), laid chase to the heir to the Nascar Points Cup and chased our Speed Racer throughout the restaurant.

Laps led our driving diva behind the counter, as well as an attempted breakout through the front doors. Thankfully, Miss M turned on the charm. The counter employees were very understanding as Ba sprinted behind the counter and extricated Miss M before additional havoc could rein. C summized the situation best by saying (referring to Miss M and the employees), "Maybe her wants to help them work."

Miss M earned a new nickname - the Toddler Houdini, Miss Monkey, or Octo-toddler - take your pick.

Happy 1st Gotcha Day Mena!

We celebrated our one year anniversary with M today. She got two special treats: a piece of cake and a baby doll we got for her in Ethiopia. (When going through the bag of Gotcha Day gifts, I noticed the gifts are almost all for older children. So, while she's too young to remember receiving the same doll before, she may get it for a few more Gotcha Days. My grandmother would be proud: She loved to give recycled gifts and cards--and then would deny it and pretend to be insulted when you pointed it out.)

C was so excited when he got home from school today. His class had their first trip to the library. And he could not believe that they let him take a book home with him. But he also made sure that T and I understood that we had to return it next week. He and I sat down on the couch to read it right away. Until he decided that he wanted to look at the pictures first (though he did tell me what was happening). By the time he was done looking at the pictures, he was ready to play on the computer. But M had just arrived downstairs from her nap and plunked herself in my lap. So at least I got to read about Clifford to someone!

Labor Day at the Zoo

M has been very interested in animal flash cards and C's Big Backyard magazine so we decided to go the zoo for entertainment today. As we've already been to the NC zoo a few times, we went to the Riverside Zoo in Columbia, SC. It's smaller and more compact than the NC zoo which was generally a positive on a very hot day with young kids and a pregnant wife.

The kids had a good time, though C was consistently ready to see the next animal rather than the one we were actually viewing. He especially liked lion, the tiger, and meercat (oh my; wait, that's not how it goes...), and the fish--especially the sharks--at the aquarium. He was amused by the "laughing" macaws. The funniest scene occurred at the tiger area. The tiger was apace about and roaring regularly. So C, and then M, roared back him. He'd roar, they'd roar back--loudly. Cute. Lots of good pictures to see below.


M has discovered belly buttons and now randomly pulls up any of our shirts in order to poke our belly buttons. Her own is not as interesting for whatever reason. C is mystified by the innie vs. outie issue. T has attempted to save us from the one of the most important mysteries of life by explaining it to us. Fortunately, I didn't understand so it can remain a mystery to me. Maybe C understood as he hasn't asked again; or maybe he realized he really didn't want the answer. Many mysteries in life are that way...they are much more interesting when they are mysterious.

First Day of School! Ever!

C's big day went very well. Fortunately, we arrive at the bus stop early as the bus arrived six minutes early. Two other boys from the neighborhood got on at the same time and this gave C confidence to follow them up the steps and onto the bus. He had been telling us for weeks that we was scared of getting on the bus. We called goodbye to him and he turned to wave (see the photo below). Somehow we got through it without any of us bawling all over the place or C hanging onto our legs! It's one of those events in life that you seem to anticipate for so long, with such a mix of emotions and then it's over so quickly. The yellow bus swings around the corner. "There's the bus." The doors open, the kid gets on the bus and has to wait for the people ahead of him to get up the stairs. Then, zip, the bus is off and around the next corner. Probably 30 seconds max.

He brought home some drawings, said they played outside before lunch, and watched "Franklin." For lunch, he had chicken nuggets, chocolate milk, french fries and KETCHUP! As long as they have ketchup, we're okay...

The last few days M has crossed her arms and stuck out her lower lip when she doesn't want to do something. It is quite humorous, nevertheless, it is a sign of what is to come...

One day of school done, somewhere between 13 and 22 years to go. Here's to a long and fruitful voyage!

Happy B-day, C

Today was C's birthday--though he denies it because there were no "candles". The candles and the first eating of the cake were last Saturday when Oma, Opa, Maw Maw, Kristy and Hannah could join us. We had a fun time feeding the animals at the Lazy 5 ranch. C's favorite animal was the ostrich because they came right up to the wagon, put their heads over the railing and ate right out of the buckets.

We had lunch at the Chik-fil-a in Mooreville. The staff was great, allowing us to bring in a cake. They brought the cow (who appreciated the chance to come inside the air conditioning after a few hours waving at cars outdoors). M screamed and giggled with delight at the sight of the cow, but would lean away as he approached. C, who is usually scared of costumed creatures, was full of high-fives for the bovine. The manager allowed C to ring a cow bell and led the patrons in singing Happy Birthday.

After a year of claiming that he would be 5 on his next birthday, when several people asked him today how old he is, he replies "4." When I gave him a look, he revised: "6." Somewhere in there. Math was never my thing either.

M was pleased to receive a visit from Bella in her room today. As Bella left, M followed her. This is not unusual. The twist was her singing the song we use to find C when playing hide and seek (to the tune of Frere Jacques)--and the words were almost clear: "Where is Bella? Where is Bella?"

This will be funny when you're 12

We were scheduled to have the first showing of our house tonight so spent a considerable part of the day recleaning and decluttering an already clean and decluttered house. The showing was 6-7 pm so we went out to dinner. About 6:30, Aunt K calls to say the ADT had called her to say that our security alarm had gone off. T turns to me, "Did you set the alarm on?" Before I can say no, C chimes in enthusiastically "I pushed the button!" Doh! He had wanted to push the button to unlock the car doors and apparently pushed buttons on the other fob as well. I've pushed the buttons on the wrong fob myself so its easy to see how this would happen. Nevertheless...groan...

New words

Most families make a big deal over a child's "first word." This is proving somewhat difficult for us as T and I are unable to reach consensus on the standards for an utterance constituting a word. T counts "da da" as the first word. I reject this because, for a long while, M called any object "da da." I was "da da" but so was C, the neighbor's dog, birds outside, etc. By my reasoning "duck" is the first word--although the uncertainty here is that she isn't refering to a web-footed quacker, but patting her head to play "Duck, duck, goose" (see earlier post). Regardless of which word counts as first, we do agree on the order of the words that have followed: ball, Bela (pronounced Bel-Wa), and most recently, dog. Bela of course is the cat and T is most unhappy that M has said the cat's name before "ma ma". (Despite T's coaching her to say "ma ma". M's response to such coaching is to shake her head no.)

M has discovered where Bela's cat treats are kept in the pantry and when the door is open will grab them, hold them over her head and march to the couch in den--behind which Bela is usually sleeping or hiding--and wave them around. M's logic, I suppose, is that a cat will come to play with a shreeking baby waving a plastic container in hopes that the baby will be able to open the container and provide a yummy cat treat. Genetically a cat, Bela is able to ignore such logic, resist the temptation of a treat, a look at M with mild annoyance ("you woke me up for this. I would pity humans but it's not worth the effort.")

C's new word is girlfriend. He took a fancy to one of the high school girls who taught his class at Vacation Bible School this week. Fri afternoon he drew her a picture. Unfortunately, she wasn't in church this morning for him to deliver it. We asked him why she was his girlfriend. He replied "She's bootiful and she's nice to me." Two excellent reasons! The Vietnamese Valentino is now stateside.

To Shake or To Nod? That is the Question

Ms. M has started to communicate. A few days ago, she started to shake her head "no" in response to questions. Most of the time, we suspect she meant "yes" so we showed her how to nod to say "yes." She seems to get it as now she both nods and shakes and the head movement generally matches the answer we'd anticipate. It's cool to know that she understands what we're saying and is very helpful to be able to get feedback from her.

She's also started to join us in prayers before meals by reaching out to hold our hands. Previously, she would get quiet and would stare at us but would usually withdraw her hand or avoid our attempt to grab her hand. Now she'll actually reach out for our hands.

Despite rarely wearing shoes in her first year, M has developed a shoe fetish. (Dad's editorial comment: OH NO!!! There goes the college fund...) She sees shoes and she sticks her foot out and points her toes, in essense, asking to try them on. She even wants to try on C's shoes, mommy's shoes, daddy's shoes. Her own shoes are either too small or a bit too big and she walks out of them. No matter, she continues on with a shoe on one foot only. Onward and upwards...

Duck, duck...

C likes to play "Duck, duck, goose" and chase me (or be chased by him) around the lower level of the house. M has taken a fancy to it too. When C asks to play, M will get a big grin, pat herself on the head and say "duck, duck." It is really cute. Also cute is her singing, which she does nearly constantly. She started with "Twinkle, twinkle" but now mostly sings "Frere Jacques" which is the tune she and I use (with our revised lyrics) when searching for C during Hide and Seek.

She is now walking (quickly!). She still stumbles but has the gist of it. She mades the loop around the downstairs in little time. If the bathroom door is open, she makes a beeline there as she enjoys splashing her hands in the toilet. Yikes! She had her first serious spill yesterday morning, falling face-first into the corner of the bathroom wall. A huge Goose egg swelled up within a minute. She screamed for a while but seemed to be more upset about us trying to hold an ice pack on her head than the wound itself.

She also has four teeth and a strong preference for feeding herself--even if much of the food ends up on the chair or on the floor... She's starting to drink more from her sippy cuts and less from her bottles, though she also likes to dump the milk out of the cup onto the tray of her chair, the carpet, etc.

At bed time, she and C have been giving her other hugs and kisses. More precisely, C gives M a kiss on the forehead; M piles on top of his torso and tries to wrap her arms around him. Her "kisses" tend to be mini-licks. Tonight, C and M were playing with a neighbor who has a red, battery-powered car. C drove and M rode in the passenger seat and seemed to have the time of her life.

C and I went to the pool at the local Y several times last week. He now puts his face in the water and even dives under the water and under the water sprays in the kiddie pool/fountain area. He also wrote a letter to Oma and Opa last week and was very exited to put it in the mail. When we talked to them on Sunday, he wanted confirmation that they had received his letter.