Monday, December 31, 2007

Fangs


Wednesday, December 26, 2007

if Alexander had been a mom

I dedicate this one to Kris and Kristin in solidarity through thick and thin (poop).

I went to bed with a cold in my nose and when i woke up there was a cold in my head and chest and also a fever with aches all over. B.R. thought the day should start at 4:30 and in the dark I stumbled over the clean laundry basket that had tipped over into a pile of dirty laundry and the shower was broken and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.
At breakfast L. spilled hot cereal on the rug and A. knocked over her juice and I didn't have time to eat any breakfast at all. In the car, A. cried and hit L. then L. cried and hit A. and then they both wailed. At B.R.'s checkup I tried to convince the Dr. that BR was "just teething" and then she diagnosed an earache-in-need-of-antibiotics and they ran out of flu shots. We only got an hour parking validation but it took an extra 20 minutes to talk the kids into their carseats and L. forgot all her words except "why?" and the power was out in the underground parking garage at the pharmacy and the kids were too scared of the dark to get out of the car. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
That's what it was because we had to wait 45 minutes to fill the prescription rather than the promised 20 even though the store was empty, and so we killed time with a snack and some games and everyone was happy until I turned my back to sign for BR's medicine and that's when the grocery cart tipped and fell on top of A.'s fingers and L.'s toes. So then a crowd of other shoppers in the store came running to see what happened and they all talked but no one helped, and A. sobbed and I had to carry her and try to push the cart with one hand and everyone stared and clucked but still didn't help.
I found an ant invasion in the kitchen, L. slammed her fingers in a door and A. pooped in the tub and on the bathmat. It was a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.
I guess some days are like that, even when the sun is shining and it's 70 degrees in December.

Christmas Camping


L. and mommy & daddy started a new tradition this year. She got out her sleeping bag and slept under the tree. We opted for the (much softer) futon nearby.

christmas collection

friends and family


new toys

messy little angel



ready for the (Children's Place) runway

Monday, December 24, 2007

it's Christmas Eve and I'm ready


Santa Claus

first glimpse

You can tell how much in awe she is by the way her hands are folded. (What does she want for Christmas? A candy cane.)

these are my words...


A. also speaks, from time to time. She is getting much better at it, although it's usually just single words here and there. She informs me, for instance, when a helicopter flies overhead (probably about once every ten minutes): "Hockader!"
Then once in awhile she will surprise me with a full sentence. Last night she walked into the kitchen where I had the radio, and calm as can be (as if we always conversed on this level), "What song is that?"

We flipped through a Christmas sticker book the other day and asked her, "Who/what's that?" and got all kinds of answers:
sticker of christmas tree: "santa claus!"
reindeer: "christmas tree"
candle: "can-doll" (allright, got one right at least)
angel: "Aunt Mer" (two!)
random carollers: "snowman" or "grandpa and grandma"
and, my personal favorite, Santa Claus: "Mickey Mouse's Daddy"

L. dumped a whole cup of water on me the other day and I jumped up and hollered (really dramatically) then went to change my clothes. I came back in the room and found A. repeating, "ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!"
here she is, learning to dress herself:

mommy, why can't I move.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Smiles (Part II)

I will NOT smile for the camera....


well....

maybe I will...


smiling sweetly...sort of


"Cheese!"

Saturday, December 15, 2007

little savages



do these children have parents?!?

Friday, December 14, 2007

hamming it up for the camera

standing and proud of it



putting it all together

Today at breakfast our conversation was about how our next door neighbor's great-grandpa had passed away. We talked about the funeral, how Uly's grandmother traveled to Mexico for the funeral, and so on. Then she asked, "But how did he died? Who squished him?"
It took me a second and then I realized: until now her understanding of what it means to die has had to do with scoldings for stomping on bugs.

Then we continued on, talking about how after we die we go to heaven to be with Jesus, but Jesus also lives in our hearts. "In here? But what does Jesus hear in there?" pointing to her chest. What do you mean, L.? "Like later (=earlier) when L. was sleeping and she was coughing--did Jesus hear that?"
Theology lesson: check. Now, moving on to colors and numbers...

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

O Christmas Tree


Look at our cute little tree! It is up on a table where BR cannot reach it, or eat it, or pull it down on top of his head... the kids LOVE it and decorated it with the homemade ornaments they made with Grandma "Gaga" D.'s help.
Naturally, this was a totally effortless endeavor: get (fighting, screaming) kids' jackets and shoes on, get them and carseats buckled in, arrive at store to buy tree, unload kids into stroller, sling, etc., start walking toward store, realize forgot wallet, reload everybody, go home and get wallet and snacks to sustain us, go back to store, try to act casual about A.'s black eye, buy tree, come home, move furniture around, set up tree, find decorations, locate more decorations in storage, load up kids and boxes and take them up the stairs in shifts, keep BR from gnawing on strings of lights, and so on.
After everything was set up and I had explained and re-explained about Baby Jesus, the wise men, presents, shiny plastic ornaments, reindeer, Santa and traffic jams at the mall (and their proper relationships), L. realized something: "Wait a minute, Mommy! We don't have a chimney!"
Doh.

Friday, December 7, 2007

i was just so hungry, mom


get with the program, p-roc. green beans are where it's at.

you should see the other guy...


Tuesday, December 4, 2007

first tooth


BR got his first tooth on Friday, and crawls around--yup, crawling now--with his tongue sticking out. Even when under kiss-attack!

Sunday, December 2, 2007

and sometimes, L. joins in...

(i believe the tragedy in question was the absence of lemonade from our fridge)

our sweet little A.

usually this is A., just kicking back and taking it all in...


...but some days can be so tough!