Shopping, what a snore.

We had a busy morning around here: an early run, a visit to the allergist, and then grocery shopping. Moses usually naps mid-afternoon these days so I wasn't worried about encroaching on his schedule but boy was I wrong.


And, while we're checking out he takes the opportunity to get more, er, comfortable.

Our own little Mater

For the past three weeks, I've been telling this story to anyone who will listen so I figured I'd finally put it down for posterity.

The other day, Moses and I were playing with a battery-operated car in the driveway when it fell off the driveway into the grass. I heard Moses say something under his breath and then he bolted into the house. He reemerged, with his tow truck, and proceeded to tow his car onto the driveway! It. was. the. cutest. thing.

By the way, Moses calls tow trucks "car ups."

Literal vs. Figurative

Moses loves to run. If he so much as hears the word, he gets in a tizzy about the prospect of running, and racing (or "waycing") is a common mode of bodily transportation around our house.

When we went to the park on a school day a couple weeks ago, Moses saw the kids from the nearby elementary running the mile around the park. That was all the motivation he needed. He said, "I run," and then took off from the playground to join their ranks. Milo and I followed close behind in the stroller. Moses ran his little legs off for 5 minutes and then stopped and walked with me and Milo. When another group of kids passed us a couple minutes later, he started running again--pumping his sweet little toddler arms. This time, he had some fans in the running elementary kids, and they cheered him on. He stopped a few minutes later after the kids out ran him and we walked back to the playground. That's how much he loves running.

I just need to remember that when I choose my verbs.

I had to go to the store for a few items yesterday morning so I told Moses that he had to get dressed. He grunted to let me know he wasn't going to make it easy so I said, "We just have to run to the store and we will come right back home." He was suddenly excited and didn't fight getting dressed. We went out to the car, but he said "run," took off towards the sidewalk, got in his runner's stance and said, "race." Oops. It was then I saw my error. I had to correct the misunderstanding and tell him that we weren't really running to the store but driving. He was not happy. I will have to choose my verbs more carefully from now on and consider the literal versus figurative ramifications.

How to blow a toddler's mind.

Show him pictures of himself as a baby and tell him it's him, not his baby brother, in the pictures.

Will. not. comprehend.

(We actually gave in and said, "Yes, it's baby Milo," because he wouldn't drop it and was getting very, very upset by the disconnection.)

Then, introduce him to a webcam.

A boy and his bike

Moses loves his tricycle these days. So much so that this was the scene at nap time today:

I thought I saw a puddy cat.

Moses "helped" make dinner tonight by sitting on the washer and sampling the raw elements I assembled. When I was dividing the stick butter I needed, he said "cheese" and held out his hand for some. I told him that it wasn't his precious cheese but butter instead and that he shouldn't just eat it plain.

Then, while I was washing an onion, he took 1 tablespoon of that butter and stuffed it into his mouth.

Are those canary feathers, Moses?

I made sure he had some real cheese to snack on after that.

Halloween

2008. I thought I should specify the year these photos were taken since so much time has lapsed since my last post. 2009 could have been a possibility.

Our family kept Halloween low-key, but we still enjoyed the usual costuming. Moses reprised his Yoda role from last year, and we slapped a Monkey hat on Milo. Voila! Halloween.

Since both boys are too young to really trick-or-treat, we visited Gran and Granpop's house for one treat - a toy monster truck. I really hope Moses doesn't think future trick-or-treating will yield such prizes or he's in for a real let down.



We then went to our friends' house to hand out candy with them and enjoy the holiday. They have two daughters, Vivian, who is 8 months older than Moses, and Olivia, who is just a month older than Milo. Moses and Vivian enjoyed handing out candy, but Moses threw in the towel after spotting a kid in a monster mask. The ensuing freak out was legendary. Since he wasn't the same happy kid after that, they shed their costumes and played to their hearts' content.

Sleep Mode

I'm no stranger to seeing Moses asleep in his chair after having a meal, but on Sunday, Moses climbed into his chair solely to nap.

The two boys and I were playing in the living room but then I left to change Milo's diaper. Not even five minutes later, I returned to find Moses asleep in his chair like this:

If we lived in a world of robots, this is how I imagine they'd look when powered down.

A big bottle o' catch-up!

I've been gently reminded recently by a few readers that I haven't blogged in awhile. It wasn't my intent to abandon the blog for more than two weeks but time just seems to fly with two kids occupying my time--before I know it, the day is done and I'm too tired to string sentences together, let alone type them. Dave also took the lap top back to school with him so blogging mobility is no longer possible, and Moses' interest in the keyboard makes typing at the desk impossible while he's awake since all my sentences would undoubtedly contain extra letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. Ah, the woes of motherhood!

Despite my inability to blog, I've been writing down topics as they come to mind and these jewels to share with you today:

1. Milo's 1-month-old!
2. The characteristics of a first born
3. Fernando
4. Amigos de Fernando
5. Finger painting
6. Sickos
   
7. RIP TV
   

So, please, sit back, relax and let me regale you with the my tales o' family.

1. Milo's 1-month-old!

Time certainly flew for us. We can't believe how quickly we reached the 1 month milestone with our boy. His sleepiness and contentedness wore off almost as soon as I blogged about it and he's now awake more and grumpy/fussy for 90% of the day. I wouldn't say he's colicky but maybe fool's colicky since he exhibits all the signs of a colicky baby but inconsistently so (I'm think I'm going to copyright that).

I meant to take a picture of him at one month, but he wasn't being his cute self on camera. This was taken during his nap a couple days before.

2. The characteristics of a first born

Moses' personality is shining through increasingly more these days. The funniest (and most irritating) part to manifest lately involves his need for things to be just-so. He'll let us know something's not working for him with a pointed finger and "oh, oh, oh." He's suddenly very concerned with the cleanliness of his highchair and its tray and will point out anything that's askew. He'll alert Dave to parts of the lawn that weren't mowed. A spill on his clothes could spark WWIII, and if Milo's spittle so much as dribbles down his chin, we know the instant it happens.

This was all very cute for awhile but now it's a teensy bit annoying since there's little we can do to stop his concern but take the time to correct the offending item. Thankfully, I'm a fan of Kevin Lehman's The Birth Order Book and know this little quirk is a typical characteristic of any first born child and we've essentially created this nit-picking monster!

But what an adorable monster he is.

3. Fernando

You may remember that, while I was suffering from insomnia, I discovered that a mouse was enjoying the comforts of our kitchen . Well, shortly after that discovery, we left for Dallas and when we came back, there was no sign of the mouse (who I dubbed Fernando) so we forgot the issue. Then, a couple months later, I noticed the tell-tale signs again so we bought a no-kill trap and placed it on our counter. We caught Fernando that night and released him far, far away the next day.

Meet Fernando:

Cute, right? Moses enjoyed watching him, and I enjoyed pretending he would wear clothes and talk when we weren't looking.

4. Amigos de Fernando

We've since caught three others. Eek. The aren't so adorable in these numbers.

5. Finger (er, brush) painting

I'm trying to incorporate more activities into our daily routine, including arts and crafts, so we tried our hands, nee fingers, at painting. While we started out using our fingers, we switched to brushes because Moses was too tempted to eat or lick the paint from his hands. The Crayola finger paint was a little disappointing though because it looks like a translucent gel instead of your typical paint. All in all, we had a great time and I look forward to more art projects. Next up--stringing fruit loop necklaces (if we can avoid eating them for long enough).



(no, he didn't paint that tree but rather confiscated my painting)

6. Sickos
Since school started up again recently, it was inevitable that the sick season would start. Two weeks ago, Dave started feeling some cold symptoms and soon after Moses and I had them, too. As with any illness that comes through our door, I got the worst of it and rode the couch as much as Moses would let me. I'm hoping this winter is better than last and that Moses can stay ear-infection free for as long as possible!

7. RIP TV
Last week, our living room TV decided to stop working. That was a rough morning for me because Moses usually watches TV during breakfast so that I can get ready for the day and start chores.

The worst part is that the TV is not even a year old but outside its warranty (don't buy the Wal-Mart brand, ilo). We can't exactly buy a new one so we're stuck with Dave's old 19" set and my fifteen-year-old 13" one that needs rabbit ears. We were used to having a nice large set and pretty HD pictures so this is a bitter pill to swallow. I've already requested an HD converter box coupon though. Sigh.

Well, that covers the last two weeks. I hope to get my rhythm back soon!

Swing kid

While Milo was still sleeping this morning, Moses and I went outside to swing, mismatched pajamas and all. Moses wanted me to swing, but having recently learned better, I told Moses I couldn't because I was too big (read: fat-from-recently-carrying-a-child-for-9-months) and it hurt to squeeze my adult rear into that small swing. Upon hearing that unpleasant news, Moses decided to designate two more "kids" for me to push (notice the bubbles in the other swing). Nevertheless, Moses, the bubble twins, and I had a nice morning.

Proud Papa

While I was out grocery shopping, I received this text message about Moses from Dave:

"He totally got in his chair and started watching Primal Grill..."

If you know Dave at all, you know he loves his barbecue and is a loyal follower of all things Steven Raichlen--so this development made him one doting dad.

Com(id)a

Well, it's that time again. Moses fell asleep while eating. I think I'm going to start a whole new blog just for those pictures since it's all I seem to post lately. I might just start adding captions, too, in the same way icanhascheezburger.com has done with LOLcats.

This is probably one of my favorite asleep-at-the-meal pictures so far because he was obviously still eating when he fell asleep--hand on fork, hand in bowl.

(yup--Moses is still in his pjs--for the first time in awhile we didn't have anywhere to be today so we're having a lazy day.)

My daily dilemma

Most days the boys will nap at the same time and I'm met with the same daily dilemma: Do I clean? Do I nap? Do I waste hours online? It's so difficult to make a choice because various parts of my mind are itching for different decisions.

Yesterday, I desperately wanted to sleep but Moses was being stubborn about napping. Despite acting tired, he just wanted to PLAY! WITH! CARS! Finally, in early afternoon, he crashed while playing with those cars.

Thankfully, I still was able to get in a power nap before the craziness set in again.

Night Cap

There's nothing like a little yogurt before bed...

Week 1 Mash Up

I've started several posts over the course of the week but haven't completed any due to the overriding need for sleep, food, or child care. The following is a mash up of some of those incomplete posts:

I knew there'd be an adjustment as we transitioned from one child to two, but I didn't realize how much easier one child is in comparison. Now, I find it difficult to find the time to sleep, clean, and even eat. I've heard people say that pregnancy weight comes off much quicker with a second child, and now I know why! I'm constantly on the go and rarely have time to indulge in anything except Moses' leftovers. Every moment of craziness is worth it though because we have these moments to enjoy:

On Friday, we had our first (and last!) trip to the grocery store as a threesome. Between the nearly two hours of prep work required to leave the house with two children in tow and the chaos that ensued towards the end of our shopping trip, I must have burnt 2000 calories. If the Steeplechase can be an Olympic event, shopping with two should also be a sport. Moses did well standing in the basket of the shopping cart but found the grocery goods at his feet too tempting not to step on them. Once we had that issue resolved, Milo woke up. Let me say that steering a shopping cart, minding a toddler, and feeding a newborn is not a task for the weary. Checking out got even hairier. I think I may have scared the young woman behind me in line into lifelong abstinence. I've since resolved to take only one child to the store with me for now until I have better mastery of two (and maybe a third arm).

Moses is using a spoon like a pro now, and this week, he mastered eating yogurt, cereal, and soup with minimal mess. As a cereal fanatic, I couldn't be prouder of my little Cheerios eater. There's nothing like enjoying a breakfast of toasted oats together in the morning while his little brother snoozes. His obsession with yogurt is a little scary at the moment, but I guess there are much worse foods he could be addicted to.

Moses has also started climbing tall furniture and reaching counter tops with the help of a toddler-sized chair he's had for ages but only recently found worth his time. I've had several mini-heart attacks this week as I've found him on top of our desk, laying atop our console table, and (once!) at our butcher block with a knife. These recent events have me reconsidering our household layout and I expect we'll be doing a lot more toddler-proofing in the coming days.

Dave's parents and niece also stopped by on Saturday to see Milo and Moses (and us, too). Milo enjoyed all the attention from his grandparents and Moses was giggling non-stop with his cousin, Jasmin.

I aim to start posting regularly again soon and will be sure to post more pictures of the boys, too. Poor Milo's life hasn't been chronicled nearly enough as it should have been at this point, but I'm going to make an earnest effort to get the camera out more these days.

Just like old times

Thank goodness Moses hasn't let the recent changes in our household affect his tendency for inopportune sleeping.

Just for belly laughs

I consider myself a stoic person as it usually takes a lot to solicit an out-loud laugh from me so I have to give Nicole kudos for this comment on my last post:

"Gahhhhh, you are still pregnant? You are going to give birth to a MAN."

Maybe it's just my delicate state (is a 205-pound pregnant women still considered delicate?) but I had a good laugh at that remark because I do, in fact, also think I'm going to give birth to a MAN.

Thanks, Nicole, that made my still-pregnant evening.

Pasta la vista

We knew he was getting tired, but a hungry belly was keeping him from his daily siesta. It was nothing a little Newman's Own and noodles couldn't resolve.


Sweet dreams my bearded boy.

-Lindsey

Speed bump

Well, Dave and I are still getting this house into shape for the arrival of our second son, and our first, Moses, is lending a hand anywhere he can. All his helping leaves him exhausted, so exhausted that he fell asleep in the middle of the living room this afternoon (clutching a glue stick)--one minute he was playing, the next sleeping. If he weren't my quirky son, I would think something was wrong.


Now, I love watching my boy sleep but having a snoozing toddler in the middle of the living room does not make for a productive afternoon so Dave carefully moved him to his room where he's currently sleeping, still clutching my giant glue stick.

-Lindsey

The poor man's bubble machine

Any parent knows what a thrill bubble blowing is for children and is aware of the relentless requests to produce them. Sure, there are bubble machines available these days, but Dave introduced Moses to another way of making bubbles by turning Moses' water table into a bubble table with the help of soap and tinker toy sticks. It's been a smashing success and unburdened Dave with the task wand-blowing. The only downside is that Moses enjoys an occasional sip of his bubbly water.




I have to take a moment to give my sweet hubby a shout out. He's been such a huge help to me these past few weeks as I get bigger, more tired, and less mobile. I just don't know what I'd do without his help this summer and it warms my heart to see how much fun he and Moses have each day.

Is this not the face of a boy smitten with his father?

-Lindsey