What a week!

Maggie got her first tooth on Easter Sunday! We were at dinner at Rodizio in Denver and she was going crazy for this piece of really hard toast. She would scream every time she dropped it. In the car on the way home she was crank-0, so I reached back to rub her gums, which she likes. There it was, her first tooth! Bottom front right tooth!

Ian gave up napping this week... then started napping again. He did something like 6 days without a nap- not counting the one night he fell asleep in front of the TV at 5:30 and slept for an hour! He also fell asleep both times we got in the car after 4pm, but we didn't let him sleep longer than 15 minutes for fear of being up til 11pm. He was also sleeping restlessly at night, acting out every 2 minutes, and pushing every last button I have. Well, yesterday he started to snap out of it, and he emerged speaking in tongues- mastering a new level of language which we'll understand in a few more days or weeks! These developmental and physical growth spurts are painful for all of us, but we always emerge appreciating our sweet boy:-)

The most amazing news of the week.... Tiff, Jay, & Nora's house has gone under contract, and they are officially looking for a new one much closer to the action! We are so happy that they will be nearby... making playdates and everything else much easier and more frequent.

We picked up the CDs of our two photo sessions with Stacey, and there are so many amazing pics it's overwhelming. I have to figure out what do do with all of them, or at least my 100 favorites;-)

Mary

Cousins!

We were lucky enough to have another photo shoot with my amateur friend who is very quickly turning pro! She really has an amazing eye, and technical talent too. I think we'll be paying her next time! This time Tiff and Nora came along too, and miss photogenic was a star as usual. So here they are: http://staceypotter.blogspot.com/2008/03/blog-post.html

ObamaMama

Well I just watched Obama's speech from today, and am reminded why I have grown into a staunch supporter. If you'd asked me six months ago, I'd have said that I love Hillary, I loved the Clinton era, and would love to have Bill back in the White House. That's all still true, but I guess I've caught Obama fever because he has a way of restoring faith and hope in this country that I and so many others have lost belief in. I guess to sum up my feelings, there is nothing wrong with Hillary, but there is something so right about Barack! If you missed this speech, take the 15-20 minutes to read it or watch it. It is so refreshing!

So, back to the everyday happenings on North Street... Maggie got a new toy today- it is actually an exersaucer borrowed from our friends and neighbors, Lisa Sean and Wren. Ian was so excited about it that tried to drag it in the front door himself, and then when he woke up from his nap he could not stop talking about Maggie's big new toy. He helped me hose it off, dry it, carry it inside, and show Maggie every inch of it (to her delight, mostly).

The other night, after Ian stopped crying and complaining that Mommy was trying to read him books instead of Daddy, he told me he was hungry and wanted "maucamole" and chips. After trying to convince him otherwise (it was 9 o'clock at night, after all) unsuccessfully, i made him guacamole. He ate almost an entire avocado's worth, in bed. When he was all done, he leaned back on my legs, let out a little toot, and then we both started giggling uncontrollably. What the heck kind of bedtime ritual is this? Oh yeah, we have no ritual, because our little man is always shaking things up.

Sick-O

Maggie and Mom seem to have escaped a nasty stomach bug that has been hanging out at our house all week. Ian started throwing up ("spitting out" as he calls it) last Saturday night, and then started in with awful diarrhea for the rest of the week. Matt came home from work on Monday and then got hit that night- it was not a fun night! He was home from work for two days- even missing class- something I can't remember him doing any time in the recent past. They are both better now, but still not 100%. The boys did make it to a basketball game with Grammy and Pops last night, while Maggie and I hung out at home and caught up on HGTV (so pathetic, I know).

A highlight of this week was discovering that Maggie now LOVES the Ergo! I had tried it a month ago and she was just not big enough for it, but now she is as happy as a clam in there- and my back is happier having a break from the Bjorn.

Another highlight- one evening this week, Ian asked Daddy if he was ready to crash at bedtime. That night, his first good night's sleep of the week, he woke up and said "I had a dream about my whole life- it was really nice". If that doesn't make a parent's heart swell, what will?

Anyway, just a quick note to document the week of the sick boys. All plans cancelled, and many movies watched- we did get The Bee Movie though! We're hoping for a healthier and much more fun week coming up.

Mary

It's time to be rational...

When we woke up this morning, and Ian told me (mom) that "it's time to be rational", we decided that it is most definitely time to compile a list of Ian-isms....

The other day, Matt made a play-doh cell phone. Ian picked it up, and cradling it between his ear and his shoulder, said "Hey babe, how's it going?".

Last week, when I asked him if he wanted me to get him a bagel and some warm coffee (as opposed to hot coffee), he said "that would be lovely". That same day, as I tried out a new pair of clogs around the house, he said "Mommy, you have darling shoes". Where does he get this stuff?

At Grammy and Pops' house yesterday, he found an over-sized rubber duck on the patio. He sat on it and said - in a British accent- "Rita, I'm sitting on the duck"- as in a scene from his current favorite movie, "The mouse one" (Flushed Away). That brings me to movie titles.... "Move it Move it" is Madagascar (for he and Nora), and "Squirelly get the nut!" is Ice Age, the Meltdown, of course.

Ian's little sayings are getting more complex all the time- his sentences are often more than a dozen words now, and they make sense! His grammar is usually correct these days (when asked how he slept last night he'll often say "I slept well, I feel good now"). But it seems like just yesterday that his sayings were as simple as "rhino scary too?" (elephant scary too? glolilla scary too? polar bear scary too?.....). I think it all started with "Hey Dave, Hi Tom" in reference to our beloved contractors that worked on our siding, porch, and kitchen remodel. He then graduated to "yike it", while shaking his head no and scrunching up his little nose (likely to indicate disgust at something green on his plate). "Oy self", "See that again", "Mooooooooore" (with an upward lilt that might have caused some hearing damage), and "you ARE???" were other favorites along the way.

But we'll never, ever forget the famous "Guy Scary, 'POW'". This gem, that we heard over, and over, and over, was born when some admittedly creepy tall and skinny guy with a German accent, dressed up like a wild cat of some sort was dancing at the farmers' market one Wednesday evening last spring. To this day, I have not heard an equivalent blood-curdling scream from him. It darn near ruined our Wednesday evening meet-ups with Daddy at the farmers' market for the whole summer! But the "POW" part of this Ian-ism was created by Grammy, who, Italian to her core, offered to off this guy the next time she saw him. Thank God we never saw him again.

Every time Ian has a rough sleep and/or behavior patch, we are rewarded with new vocabulary and new acts for his repertoire. Now, little Maggie is trying her darndest to be heard amidst all this chatter. She is the LOUDEST baby you've ever heard! Her squeals are turning into consonant sounds now, and her giggles are contagious. I can't wait for the Maggie-isms to emerge!

I can't believe he got the egg...

The cadbury egg, that is. When he wanted that egg sitting so sweetly on the counter, I told him- facetiously- that he could have it if he took a nap in his Lightning McQueen sleeping bag. He said "Oh, I can do that", and he crawled into that sleeping bag and fell asleep all by himself! Now, if you know Ian, you know that this is not something he has ever done, nor did we have hope that he ever would. It's one day, one nap, but a huge milestone. So we took a proud post-nap and post-cadbury egg picture!

The other thing we have to be proud of (and another milestone prodded by the promise of "chloklate") is that for three days in a row now the big man (Ian, not Matt) has gone pee-pee in the big potty (don't worry, Matt has too, but has gotten no chocolate for his accomplishment)! Our little man is growing up. Notice the double chin in the picture- he's been eating like he has a hollow leg, and that always means we're in the middle of another growth spurt. He's going to be taller than me soon.

Not to be diminished by her amazing big brother, Miss Maggie-bel has had her own accomplishments lately. She first sat up on Superbowl Sunday, but now, a month later, she's solid as a rock. She loves her new vantage point, and never complains when she topples over! She's also added baby oatmeal, bananas, and just today, applesauce to her menu. I can't believe how fast she is growing. We never had that "fog" to emerge from, like we did after our first 3 months of parenthood when Ian was born. This time, we had a toddler that just kept on going and so did we. It's been a totally different newborn and baby experience, and Maggie is so full of her own wonderful big personality that we just may have to do this again (just kidding Matt):-)


Proud Mama, signing off for today!