I think we all felt a bit like this after Thanksgiving dinner. OK, not the kids. But the adults, definitely.
November 30, 2010
After Turkey
I think we all felt a bit like this after Thanksgiving dinner. OK, not the kids. But the adults, definitely.
I Promised I Would
Here's Jeff's Thanksgiving at his parents' house. Not unlike his Thanksgiving at my parents house, only with less reclining couch.
November 16, 2010
Too Exciting
After eating pear-ple sauce with green beans, Gabe suddenly realized he had been awake since 7 am so he decided to take a nap. He almost napped in the highchair but Mommy saw the telltale signs of rapid nap syndrome and rescued him from uncomfortable slouching just in time. This picture was taken literally less than a minute after he finished his lunch.
Oh Dear...
Yesterday I put up the first baby gate. It's at the top of the basement steps, and is really the negligent parent gate. It prevents Gabe from sneaking past us while we're busy in the kitchen and going for an epic tumble. Not that he'd ever silently crawl as fast as he can toward a forbidden goal or anything. Certainly not several hundred times a day, as evidenced by the tiny brush burns on his knees. Well, practically speaking, we have had a few few fires in the fireplace, and I'd imagine that, as long as something's burning, he'll probably have a very enticing goal that outshines the basement steps. But still, safety first.
Of course, Alex refuses to learn how to use the gate. As per usual, she prefers to whine, I mean, ask for help. Everything is more fun when it involves Mommy having to stop what she's doing to help with something that Alex can do by herself but just doesn't want to do.
So, the addition of the gate was exciting enough, but also, far away from any camera, Gabe decided to do something simultaneously impressive and horrifying. He stood up by himself. That's right, with no assistance but cheering (and expressions of dread over things sure to come soon) he pulled himself away from eating Simon R. Green books on the bottom shelf and somehow managed to navigate his way up the side of the ugly living room chair and got himself into a standing position. Granted, it wasn't a particularly stable position, what with one leg far forward and the other far back in a way that surely would have ended in a split if it had not been for a watchful set of parents spotting him, but it was standing nonetheless. Coordination being his worst enemy, he just sort of slumped over after a few intense seconds, but still, it was a successful foray into standing.
It makes me want to cover every hard surface in foam or blankets, and makes me wonder how trips to the playground will be in the not so distant future.
Of course, Alex refuses to learn how to use the gate. As per usual, she prefers to whine, I mean, ask for help. Everything is more fun when it involves Mommy having to stop what she's doing to help with something that Alex can do by herself but just doesn't want to do.
So, the addition of the gate was exciting enough, but also, far away from any camera, Gabe decided to do something simultaneously impressive and horrifying. He stood up by himself. That's right, with no assistance but cheering (and expressions of dread over things sure to come soon) he pulled himself away from eating Simon R. Green books on the bottom shelf and somehow managed to navigate his way up the side of the ugly living room chair and got himself into a standing position. Granted, it wasn't a particularly stable position, what with one leg far forward and the other far back in a way that surely would have ended in a split if it had not been for a watchful set of parents spotting him, but it was standing nonetheless. Coordination being his worst enemy, he just sort of slumped over after a few intense seconds, but still, it was a successful foray into standing.
It makes me want to cover every hard surface in foam or blankets, and makes me wonder how trips to the playground will be in the not so distant future.
November 14, 2010
November 10, 2010
QotD
"Take it away please because I'm naughty." - Alex, referencing her fork that she stuck into her kitchen chair and then dipped into her milk glass. Good to know that she knows her limitations and is able to ask help to change her evil ways. And I did warn her several times about her misdeeds with the fork, so this was not an entirely unprompted response.
November 9, 2010
OK, so it wasn't a blizzard. But here's our very first snow at the new house. Alex was very anxious to make a snowman, but somehow that never quite happened. Could have been the rain that washed the snow away, or maybe her extreme lack of clothes. Maybe next time. Gabey was suitably unimpressed as per usual.
The Things I Have Forgotten
I forgot how babies like to move in straight lines, shunning the option to go around in favor of going over and through. Coffee table legs should move for them. Laundry closet doors should open at the insistent, repeated bashing of tiny shoulders to allow easy access to that little door to the washer drain. Sisters are merely objects in the way of the coveted orange balloon. Glass doors do not even exist even if baby foreheads say otherwise.
And cat tails are truly the most irresistible things that swish. No amount of hissing and skittering will dissuade babies from their goal of making all tails sodden with copious amounts of drool. Even though tail fur is one of the world's most gag-inducing substances, it must literally be embraced and cherished as often as possible.
Cheerios and spoons are for jamming into the back of your throat. The more dramatic the coughing, gagging and general distress, the more Daddy worries, and the more Mommy has to reassure Daddy that sudden spoon-related death is not about to occur in the Cheerio-encrusted high chair.
Cords are just natures way of encouraging babies to stretch and reach for the stars. With a brief moment of chewing on the way.
Independent playtime is only good when Mommy's watching. She shouldn't actively participate, but she also should never sneak off to check email or *gasp* do the dishes.
Sneezing only occurs when there are huge mouthfuls of oatmeal, preferably with sweet potatoes or something equally colorful, in baby's mouth. The splatters will always reach the person feeding the baby, every article of baby's clothes, every nook of the high chair, at least half of the kitchen table, and hopefully at least one cat.
And cat tails are truly the most irresistible things that swish. No amount of hissing and skittering will dissuade babies from their goal of making all tails sodden with copious amounts of drool. Even though tail fur is one of the world's most gag-inducing substances, it must literally be embraced and cherished as often as possible.
Cheerios and spoons are for jamming into the back of your throat. The more dramatic the coughing, gagging and general distress, the more Daddy worries, and the more Mommy has to reassure Daddy that sudden spoon-related death is not about to occur in the Cheerio-encrusted high chair.
Cords are just natures way of encouraging babies to stretch and reach for the stars. With a brief moment of chewing on the way.
Independent playtime is only good when Mommy's watching. She shouldn't actively participate, but she also should never sneak off to check email or *gasp* do the dishes.
Sneezing only occurs when there are huge mouthfuls of oatmeal, preferably with sweet potatoes or something equally colorful, in baby's mouth. The splatters will always reach the person feeding the baby, every article of baby's clothes, every nook of the high chair, at least half of the kitchen table, and hopefully at least one cat.
November 7, 2010
Leaves!!!
Alex is very helpful with the leaf raking. She makes sure they're piled up properly and then escorts each tarp-load to the future veggie garden. Gabe helps by not helping, which is, really, the best way to help sometimes.
Siblings Sitting
It's a bit fuzzy, as are all the action shots, but Alex is holding Gabey in her lap. Sort of. This is after she tried (very, very unsuccessfully) to pick him up. (He's clearly only gaining weight as a self-defense mechanism, and it seems to be working.)
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