David and the Broom

David loves to watch me sweep, and will come running to find me whenever he hears the scratchy sound of my broom. Now that he can stand and walk a bit, today he got his own.

Today While Carmen Slept

Today while Carmen slept, David and I snuck out to the porch to enjoy a snack of apples and cucumbers. This was the first time for us to use the toddler table. (The cucumber has a hole in it because I extracted the seeds, which are a little bitter.)

David enjoyed his snack, BUT . . . he kept slipping under the table. Why is that, I asked myself. Carmen sat on the chair for a very long time on Sunday without slipping. Why is David slipping? So I looked under the table. I noticed David's feet were not on the floor, even though they could reach it. Perhaps David did not want his tender little feet touching the rough concrete. So I stuffed a blanket under them while David dipped his snacks in the cup to see . . . I don't know, if they would float? If they tasted better wet? I guess I will have to ask, someday.
Anyway, the blanket felt a little better, but
very soon David was slipping under the table again.
We clearly have something to practice this weekend.

Pitter, Patter, Plop

She would probably have better success if she just focused on walking, and not flapping or hopping (which she actually managed to do before falling, but I didn't catch it on video).


If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again. Even David gets involved with some supportive arm-flapping (but then notice later how he grabs the objects that he thinks she might want before she gets to them).


I'll see if I can catch her hopping up and down later. Crazy baby. She needs a set of bunny ears for Easter, I think.

I wish I had a picture (or a video) for . . .

. . . the time earlier today when Carmen was kissing the Waldorf dolls my mom brought this weekend. She was air-kissing them, saying, "Mwah! Mwah!"

. . . Carmen saying "Do-yeeee" (dolly) and "Bye" and "Hi," because she stopped saying them (like all her other little words). When will they come back?

. . . Carmen's first steps (of course, now she has stopped walking . . . she'd prefer to climb or stick her finger in Matt's belly button).

. . . Carmen telling Matt, "Yeah!"

. . . Carmen walking circles around us or holding on to our pant legs and following us as we do our tasks around the house.

. . . Carmen foot hoisted up just about any place she can put it. God have mercy on us and her head when she figures out how to climb the furniture.

. . . Carmen testing me. She does things she doesn't supposed to, like sticks leaves in her mouth, or puts her fingers on the blinds next to the changing table, and then throws a defiant smile my way. I have to try very hard not to laugh.

. . . Carmen brushing her hair with the wrong side of the hairbrush.

. . . Carmen discovering that she can stick her finger up her nose.

. . . C&D's floppy baby-style waving.

. . . C&D scrambling toward the door when I say, "Let's go shopping!"

. . . David's first steps last week.

. . . David's towers, three blocks tall.

. . . the little baby chirps and baaaas that David made a year ago. I miss them.

. . . David "petting" the cat and "playing" with his tail.

. . . David playing catch, and getting so excited to get the ball back that rather than wait for us to throw it, he just chases after it himself.

. . . David playing fetch with himself. It is how he practices crawling and standing.

. . . David's first cruising (sideways, vs. Carmen's straight forward).

. . . David crawling with a peg man. Maybe I can catch a picture of it before he stops.

. . . David with his hands pressed up on the glass door of the washing mashine, watching the clothes go around.

---

David has his first cold this week. He is in great spirits, but his nose is very runny. Today he was supposed to have his lacrimal ducts probed, but I'm sure he'dl be happy to know that because of the cold I had to postpone the procedure by a week.

A Toddler Soundtrack

In the spirit of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo happening this time of year, here is a (semi-)musical version of what the babies have been up to these past few weeks. If you don't know these songs as sung by Bob Wills (Happy Birthday, Bob) or Asleep at the Wheel, fire up those MP3 search engines, because you don't know what you're missing. And, anyway, then you'll be able to sing along to the lyrics below.

David really clapped for the first time today, when listening to Roly Poly. I guess he needed a catchy tune to clap along to. Carmen today started imitating Matt's "yeah." As in, "All done? Yeah!" "Yeah!"

You're From Texas
Pardon me stranger I hope there's no danger
You'll think I'm getting off of my range

(David 23 January)

Oh but I calculate that you're from my state
And though you may think its strange
I allow as how you're from Texas
Because the lingo I understand
I'll bet my cale that you hail from Texas
There's no mistaking the brand

(Carmen 23 January)

You've got a smile like an acre of sunflower
Your eyes are blue bonnet blue

(David 22 January)

Shake hands its grand that you're from Texas
'Cause I'm from Texas too
You've got a smile like two acres of sunflower
Your eyes are blue bonnet blue

(Carmen 22 January)

Shake hands its grand that you're from Texas
'Cause I'm from Texas too!

---

I n t e r m i s s i o n . . .

(Carmen temporarily content after climbing a package of toilet paper, 17 Feb.)

(Part of the morning routine: standing on tippy-toes at the front window, watching the cars and buses on their way to work and school, 20 February.)

(Hey, what's Mama doing outside?)

(I see her, too!)

---

Roly Poly
(A tribute to C&D's vanishing baby chub!)
ROLY POLY, eatin' corn n' 'taters
Hungry ev'ry minute of the day
ROLY POLY, gnawin' on a biscuit
Long as he can chew it, it's OK.

(I don't know where Carmen learned this. Is she imitating us, roaring like a lion, trying to demonstrate her sense of delight, or is it just a successful trick to catch our attention? We had to encourage her a bit to catch her little trick on camera. She is even more exuberant-looking when she is not being filmed.)

He can eat an apple pie
An' never even bat an eye
He likes everything from soup to hay

(Experiencing the new playground mulch in the screened-in porch, 5 March. It was fun to put in our mouth (but not eat because it tastes and feels nasty!) and throw out all over the floor.)

ROLY POLY, daddy's little fattie
Bet he's gonna be a man some-day.

ROLY POLY, scrambled eggs for breakfast
Bread n' jelly twenty times a day
ROLY POLY, eats a hardy dinner
It takes lots of strength to run and play.

(Two weeks ago after rocking Carmen for about five uninterrupted hours, I decided that I wanted a small nursing stool to take some pressure off of my aching back. When I brought the stool home, Matt assembled it and noticed that C&D wanted to climb it, especially Carmen. He placed it against the futon, and, well, you see what happened. I thanked Matt for assembling the stool, but did not bother to thank him for helping Carmen learn this new trick.)

Pulls up weeds and does the chores
And he runs both ways to all the stores
He works up an appetite that way

(It didn't take long--the time can be measured in tenths of a second--for C&D to realize what a water table is for.)

ROLY POLY, daddy's little fattie
Bet he's gonna be a man someday.

(Enjoying the new water table right away, 5 March.)

Wow.

I just realized this morning that I am nursing two toddlers. Wow.

Altruism in Babies

New study shows altruism as early as 18 months. I actually think it begins a little sooner; C&D offer their food to me a lot (even if they've already chewed on it). At first they offered it when they were full or didn't really want any more, but often they'll eat something, like it, offer me a bite, then take a bite for themselves. They will even give each other toys, but that happens less often. Sweet babies!

I accidentally fell asleep and didn't get to check my e-mail earlier tonight. I did that (nothing good, though) so now I can go back to bed.

Magical

A magical day, Matt said. This evening, after having only walked an occassional half step all week, Carmen walked 11 steps when Matt pulled her to standing. She clutched in her left hand one of C&D's favorite toys, a little peg man from their Galt pop-up toy. Later she practiced standing up and sitting down, standing up and sitting down, still holding her little man.

David frequently crawls around the house with a little peg man in hand, and the auditory effect on our wood floors--thwap, thwap, clunk, thwap, thwap, clunk--sounds a little like a peg-legged pirate.

While Carmen was learning to walk in the living room, David was practicing his throw in the kitchen. He found he was able to bend over from standing, pick up a ball, and throw it. How coordinated he looked! So we played catch for a bit.

David just ate a piece of trash off the floor (and Daddy and I were too shocked to do anything about it). Back to playing jefe and supervising.

---

Water table comes tomorrow. Hoo-ah!

Milk and More Apples

Came across this today: Not Milk?

David and Carmen still haven't had dairy (what's the point?), but they recently had apples for the first time in many months. Carmen's body seems to have matured past its problems with them. This is a good thing, because David loooooves apples. The only time he has ever signed "more" is when he wanted another piece of apple. Just the sight of an apple on the table sends him atremble. He raises his eyebrows, waves his arms and shifts his gaze from apple to Mommy, apple to Mommy. He watches each move of the knife, down, cut, down, cut, then shaving the peel from the pulp. He takes a cool, crisp wedge and bites down hard, sending juice and bits of fruit dribbling down his chin and onto his shirt. Today he ate a whole apple after dinner, and then began work on a second before throwing everything off his tray and deciding he had eaten too much.

I think his second favorite food is the clementine, tied with spaghetti sauce. Or pinto beans. Or arroz con pollo. He likes all of these things very, very much.

Carmen is an enthusiastic eater herself, but I don't know that she's found her culinary Nirvana yet. Nothing has driven her to the sublime like apples for David.

How amazing to think that just over a year ago, we were measuring the babies' nursings ounce by ounce to make sure they were eating enough, and now I can't fill their plates fast enough.

Tempting Fate

Tempting Fate, but I'll do it, anyway.

After last night's post, Carmen woke up. I rocked her as she rested her shoulder against my chest and watched the shadows from the television flicker against the wall, rocking until nearly one in the morning.

Then she woke up to start the day at six. So maybe I am tempting Fate with this post. I will be on the verge of finishing it, and she will wake up, and I will have to rock her half the night again.

I didn't want to go to the ranch. I wanted to stay at home and nap, and get Carmen's sleep schedule back on track.

But after a 45-minute nap from the Carmen and no nap at all from the David, I put on my jeans and loaded everything up. We would go to the ranch. Maybe they would sleep in the car.

Of course they didn't sleep in the car, but it turned out to be such a warm, sunny, magnificent day--and even better on the ranch--that I am happy Matt dragged all us sleepyheads out there. I have many other pictures to show you (including Carmen being very clever and using a stool to climb on the futon, so she can jump up and down on it), but here are a couple of ranch pictures:


The babies with their first horse. C&D liked him very much until his bristly chin tickled David's hands. David cried, and then Carmen cried, and I apologized to the horse and we moved on. I forget that David feels very vulnerable in the stroller; he really does feel more secure when he is worn. He can hold on tight to us when he feels scared, and look away when he feels overwhelmed. But today since the park is so open--and I was so tired--we brought it. In fact, later today at Babies R Us (buying another baby gate while Matt stayed at home and used the scary vaccuum . . . earlier in the week I decided to section off my house like cattle have different pastures) a woman stopped to admire C&D and when she bent over to touch David's face he screamed sad, scared tears until we rolled toward the next aisle. "He's hungry!" she said. "You're scary!" I wanted to say back, but I just smiled and nodded and slid away. I don't blame him, really; it must feel very strange to have tall strangers bend over, block the overhead light, and make him feel as if he is about to be smothered. (That's one of the reasons that, way back in the few days when I thought I would be having a singleton like everyone else, I wanted an Xplory . . . better view for the baby, isn't it?).

Anyway, I digress.


Playing with chickens. After we visited with the white horse, we made friends with a red horse named Rooster. David prefered that he keep his distance, but Carmen enjoyed touching Rooster's nose. We talked to Rooster's cowboy friend (eh! Babies' first cowboy!) for a little while about cattle and ranching and land, land, land. (Hey, John, he said AgriSeek had some great jobs on it!). He and Rooster rode off to check on their cattle, and we strolled on over to our favorite place, the Dogtrot House. There we chased the chickens, practiced walking, and then rested inside while we watched the crackling fire in the open oven.

---

Oh, here's another picture . . . do you have an idea of how big this horse was compared to little bitty David?
And hey, the George Ranch is hiring . . .

The Pitter Patter Begins!

David walked four wide, wobbly steps today, in lieu of his regularly scheduled nap. He still crawled the rest of the day, but this week should prove interesting.

Going to try to make it to the George Ranch tomorrow, so I'm off to get ready.

Where is my pitter patter?

David has taken a half step several times this week, but still prefers the security of the futon, the wall, the shelves, the diaper pail, the edge of the bathtub. Just as when he learned to crawl, he tests himself by throwing balls or other things a distance away, and then tries to chase after them for another throw. Or he tries to chase the cat. Poor, patient cat.

With one hand clutching our shirt, Carmen happily walks circles around us whether we are sitting or standing, and walks very well when we hold her hand. She hops and tries to climb anything with any vertical height, be it a shelf or a pile of blankets.

Despite this, when C&D have somewhere to go, we still hear the reliable thwap-thwap-thwap of chubby hands and knees on the floor.

I have some pictures to share, and a long list of notes on my bathroom mirror that needs transcribing; let's hope C&D are cooperative tomorrow.

Happy Valentine's Day

This morning we all showered and marched on over to Picture People to take a Valentine's Pic (I had a coupon, I had Cupid wings, all I needed was a big plastic candy heart prop and a photographer!), but apparently a lot of other mothers also thought it would be neat to surprise Daddy with a Valentine photo tonight. No available sessions until 8:20 this evening. So I drove home, set out our bath rug (David didn't like the feel of the grass on his nakey butt!), brought out the wings, and took pictures with one hand while I wrangled babies with the other. The pictures aren't perfect, and my neighbor's wall is not exactly seasonal, but you the get the idea.

And the babies had fun, and afterward celebrated with a messy lunch, complete with sticky chins, hands, and hair.

Not many posts because I still have babies pulling down on my pants. Not walking, yet. I think they can, actually, they just don't know it yet.

Oh, well

Having fun over here with the crazy sense of baby humor. Earlier I went to bed thinking, "What a fun stage. Can't they always be this way?"

Then David woke up, and woke Carmen up, and then while I got David back to sleep Carmen waited with Matt about an hour before I could rock her. And feed her. And potty her. And rock her again. After rocking her while watching about half of the Bean movie (good thing I think it's funny) I put Carmen down and snuck off to the kitchen for a drink of water. I returned to the bedroom to find Carmen crawling across the bed and giggling.

She's still awake.

Fun stage, alright. Can't wait 'till they grow out it!

Torched Roof

This is the roof that Salvador and his roofing friend thought would work best on our porch, given the pitch. I like it because it has a low profile and won't clash with the nice red shingles on the house. We received a lot of rain yesterday and no leaks, so I think it'll work!

Tomorrow we select lighting for inside and out, ceiling fans, and paint.

Mo'!

Did I share this one with you? Toby likes the jogging stroller, too. Maybe I should have gotten a triplet stroller so he can ride along with the babies.

Fed Carmen and David some roast beef at lunch yesterday and Carmen kept saying "Mo! Mo! Mo!" I guess she liked it!

Zoom Zoom

Carmen racing down the Galleria's Nordstrom/Foley's wing early one Friday morning.

Zoom, zoom, babies are in, out, up, down, hanging on my pant legs and each other. No time for blogging when babies are busy exploring the house and their abilities. In fact, this is the second time to write this particular entry; I lost my first version after a typing mishap while I was multitasking and nursing David earlier today.

And as for photos, it's difficult to run for the camera when you've got a baby around your knees, and the most spectacular moments are often fleeting. Change is under way, inside and out.

For instance, in a few weeks we will be enjoying a new screen porch with a child's table and a sand area and even rubber mulch for bouncing. We started work earlier this month by removing a large ash. The roots of the ash interfered with the foundation of the proposed porch as well as our new drainpipe for the washing machine (the old one collapsed just after New Year's). The trunk also interfered with the new porch's proposed roof. C&D watched the workers use ropes and climbing gear to take out the top and then, after their morning nap,
grind the wide stump into mulch. The next day our marvelously handy neighbor, Salvador, replaced the washing machine drainpipe that collapsed two weeks before. (While he did this, one of his sons planted an egg in my front yard, but that's a different story.) By the next weekend, someone was working in the rain finishing the concrete foundation while David watched. Soon after the workers left, a cat (who shall remain nameless) walked over the wet concrete from the southwest corner of the foundation (incidentally, the corner closest Paul's deck, where the nameless cat likes to sleep) to the back kitchen window (where the nameless cat scratches at the window so we can let him in). Said cat then walked along the back wall (probably on his way to try his luck at the front door) and then all over our nice new concrete stoop. We don't have imprints of the babies' feet in the concrete, but now we will always remember our cat. While everyone was sleeping I did manage to scratch in our names with a toothpick just beneath the kitchen door. Yesterday Salvador began framing the porch, and today he completed part of the roof and even some of the Hardie Board interior (the soil section is where the rubber mulch will go). We should have a great screen porch early next month, just in time for spring (not like we're having winter weather, but you know what I mean).

As I'm writing this Carmen and David are talking to each other in silly little raspberries and babbles. Last week they enjoyed screaming at each other (eek! eeek! yaaaack! gaaaack!); the baby babbling is much more pleasant to hear.

What else was I supposed to tell you? Oh, yes, I was supposed to tell you about their birthday. My parents came and we sang Happy Birthday to Y'all. My mom brought an orange juice cake (I found the recipe in The Joy of Cooking) and C&D devoured it by the fistfulls after enjoying corn tortillas from San Antonio's Sanitary Tortilla Factory for lunch.
The babies didn't get their Waldorf dolls. (My mom wanted them to be perfect. I hadn't realized I had assigned her such a challenging project . . . thanks for being a good sport, Mom.) But C&D did get a pair of birthday dolls, after all--Matt's mom surprised us with a large Raggedy Ann and Andy pair that she had sewn herself. Carmen liked the dolls' soft, squishy bodies and David liked the way they flopped about when they danced.

---

The babies are full of tricks, lately.

Carmen started standing on her own many weeks ago, then stopped. Soon after David starting standing on his own, she started doing the same, and is in fact more comfortable on her feet than her brother. Maybe her sense of balance improved and she was ready to try again? She can stand for quite a long time, now, and can walk along with us if we hold her hand, or let her hold on to a loose-fitting pant leg (just make sure you're wearing a belt or tied that drawstring!). She has gotten strong enough that when she is happy she makes little bitty hops with her feet flat on the ground, as if she were still in her bungee bouncer.

Now that he can stand, David is learning dance. Earlier in the week I played a happy accordion polka from a Kindermusik CD and he bobbed up and down to the beat. I took his cue and danced right along with him. We won't be on any reality shows any time soon, though.

Meanwhile, David has also been busy working with his hands. A couple of weeks ago he started stacking our plastic drinking cups into each other. Last week he mastered stacking a set of pretty alder cups (thanks, eBay!), and this weekend he made his first two-block tower while playing with the Mother Goose blocks that Matt's sister Karen sent down with John. I wonder what comes next?

I also wonder if David is an optimist, or perhaps just a little hardheaded (I have no idea how he would inherit such a trait!). Once he put his index finger in Carmen's mouth. Maybe he was counting her teeth. Maybe he was trying to stop it up and keep her from babbling. In either case, she bit down on that sweet little finger. David screamed in shock and pain, and Carmen cried at the insult. Then David put his finger in her mouth again. He has put his finger in her mouth no less than a half dozen times, and always with the same painful result. In fact, Carmen doesn't wait for David to actually put his finger in her mouth anymore. As soon as he begins to point at her face she does him the favor of meeting his finger halfway and snaps.

But not like David doesn't bite Carmen. Like his sister, it's clear that he has no intent to hurt her when he bites, it's just that she's so juicy. She might be sprawled on the floor and he'll bend over and bite her turkey leg with a look that says no less than "oh, yum."

So, more than ever, I am mother, gadfly, referee.

And speech instructor. David is increasingly talkative, and Carmen's progress in both signing and speaking has taken a very roundabout path. Carmen has not said a clear "all done" in a very long time, and no longer says "ca" at Toby. Most things are lately "da-da," "duh-duh," or "day-day." Last week Matt and I were playing with her and handed her a ball. "Ball!" we said. "Bahwl," she answered, deliberately and slowly. Matt and I looked at each other and then back at Carmen. "Yes, Carmen," we said, "ball, ball!" "Da-ba-bo-da-dja-ja!!!" Carmen responded. And that was it. No more "ball."

She stopped signing "more," and prefers to show us she is all done by shoving her tray away or returning her food into our hands (or into our mouths, if she can reach them . . . add "human shape sorter" to my list of qualifications, please). But she has learned that if she grabs my hair, pulls my head toward her, and blows a raspberry, I will blow zerberts on her tummy. I suppose while she is busy learning so many things, she must prioritize which skills she must master first, and requesting zerberts is a high priority.

Another personal priority for Carmen is achieving her life goal of eating lint. She is like a vacuum cleaner, snatching up crumbs, leaves, and yes, lint. She eats it quickly because she knows that if I see her about to eat something off the floor I will ask her to hand it over (which she reluctantly will do about half the time), or at least quickly remove it from her chubby little hand and distract her with something else. I've gotten very good at a broken-record rendition of "Oh, no, Carmen, not for the mouth, may I have that please, oh, yes, thank you!"

Favorite foods so far are things like clementines, oranges, Snap Pea Crisps, turnips braised in maple syrup, corn on the cob, and various batter breads in the bread machine.

Favorite toys right now are the wagon, the stacking blocks (David), a ball tracker maze, a top, the shape sorter (David), the HABA fish, some blocks, the washing machine (David--can't peel him away when the spin cycle is happening), any remote control (David), and a Selecta marionette that jingles when they shake it (David). Carmen will play peekaboo with the playsilks now and then. And the new jack-in-the-box is always, always, funny. The rest of the time C&D just work on standing up using the rocking chair, the changing table, the wall, the shelves, the stereo cabinet, the futon, the diaper pail, the Learning Tower, a chair, an adult, or each other as props. Just watching them becomes exhausting. I guess that's why babies need naps, to give the adults a break.

A nap, actually, would be nice. I'm doing some things for the BTA and working on a hundred other projects when I can. Fiona is busy at UH now and comes in only a couple of times a week when she isn't weighed down by schoolwork. When I do finally allow my head to rest on my pillow at night, I know I've had a full, productive day.

Oh--the day after their birthday C&D went in for their 12-month checkup. I lost Carmen's statistics sheet, probably while I was running away from the hordes of runny-nosed children in the pediatrician's waiting room. David measured at 29.5 inches tall and 21 pounds, 11 ounces. I remember Carmen was about half an inch taller, and maybe 10 ounces heavier. So, there, now you know. I'm going to zoom, zoom over to bed. Good night.

Useful

David resting with Uncle John (can he stay another week?):


Early this morning I used a floor sweeper to pick up some crumbs off of a small rug in the kitchen. C&D like the floor sweeper very much because it's as much a push toy as a tool. This morning they were roaming free around the house and decided they could use it as well as I could.

We love business trips . . .

. . . because then we get to receive visitors from California. Uncle John came by for lunch today and we had a great time talking and playing (both babies and adults doing a little of each). If we're lucky we'll get to see John one more time before he heads back home.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY

Happy First Birthday, Babies.

January 23, 2005:


January 23, 2006:




More to come, if C&D will ever sit still long enough to let me type.

52 Weeks

52 Sunday mornings ago, Carmen and David entered the world small and fragile. Carmen cried when she was born while David made no sound, perhaps too surprised at the place in which he had arrived. This morning they woke up early, boisterous and loud and strong and silly.

Having a small little party today to celebrate the babies . . . and parenthood. Happy Birthday, babies.

Waldorf Doll Directions

Apparently this is a lot more complicated than it looks. Wish my mom luck; need two of these next weekend. (And remind me to keep these directions in a safe place, eh?)

Notes

Breastfed Babies May Become Leaner Kids. Interesting; C&D sure ain't lean, now, that's for sure. Although they have thinned out a lot. I know this from counting the snaps on their Fuzzi Bunz. I'll miss that chub when it goes away. Chubby hands, chubby feet, chubby thighs, chubby cheeks, I love them all. Yummy.

C&D ate their first citrus today: navel oranges and clementines. They squished the fruit in their hands and winced when the juice sprayed in their mouth as they bit into the wedges I handed them. Sometimes C&D will smile and share a bit of their food by placing a morsel in my hand or into my mouth. They did not offer me any oranges or tangerines today.

David stood on his own today--on purpose. And he liked it. Way to be brave, baby boy!

Then he stood up while he was under the kitchen table, hit his head on a support beam, and decided he had experienced enough adventure for the moment.

Speaking of adventure, took out the Twinmobile (Under the Influence of TWINS, the license plate now says) in rush hour traffic to rescue a big box full of veggies from Gundermann Farms. I'm going to see if I can sort though it before Carmen realizes I am not in the bedroom. Last night I rocked her for nearly four hours--enough to watch two documentaries on PBS. My arms are tired. At least tomorrow is Thursday and I can watch Earl and The Office while I rock, rock, rock.

Clingy babies in this house, lately. Sometimes literally clingy; chubby finger by chubby finger, I pick one baby off just in time for the other to latch on. But that's okay. Some days I feel like I need to grab on to somebody, too. It's a big wide world, out there.

Good night.

Matt's Fun Thing for the Day

Directions for a "fun thing for the day," written by Matt:

So here's what you do:

1) Grab your nearest baby who can't quite walk but likes to push a little cart/wagon thing.

2) Head to your nearest mega shopping mall. We chose the Galleria, 4th biggest in the country, but we hear that [cousin] Timmy has an even bigger shopping palace available nearby...lucky baby!

3) Choose your timing correctly! We went at 11 AM on Sunday, with just enough people walking by to say "oh how cute" but not enough to cause trouble.

4) Now, start your baby at one end of the mall...and see how far you get before your baby gets so tired of walking that she just sits down and pushes halfhartedly at the cart.

5) In case of emergency, we found it helpful to have a second emergency backup baby available. Our "starting pitcher" could only get halfway down the mall, but luckily, we brought backup. Be prepared!

6) If you make it to the end of the mall, you all earn a nap!

---

We'll be doing that one again, for sure. Wish I had brought the camera; the proud smiles on C&D's faces were certainly worth remembering.

Every night is slumber party night

Cosleeping with a babe makes news . . .but what about two? And when is somebody going to make something bigger than a king size? They can call it Gigundo Size. We need it. With Carmen's sideways sleeping, David's flopping, and me between the two, there's not much room left for Matt when we're all in the bed.

Learning Tower

David loves to look out the window, so we bought him a Learning Tower so he can safely (relatively, anyway) stand and watch all the neighborhood goings-on on his own. When he is a little older he will be able to climb up into it himself, and we can take the tower to the kitchen table or the counter and use it as a nice booster step for making cookies or washing veggies. David very much liked standing in the Tower as soon as he got in it. He was able to reach the glass and slap it (a favorite activity), and then turned around and made a happy dance. He stayed in it a good hour, I think. Because it's possible for him to fall out the sides (he is still a little short for the intended size and age of an average Tower user) I might rig up some guard rails or something so he is extra secure. Carmen hasn't had a chance to get inside it, yet, but I'm sure she'll like it, too.

Oh, one more thing. When he's a little older remind me to tell David that I'm sorry about the "Little Cowgirl" bib. It's not the first time, either. I just grabbed for something clean, dry, and on top of the pile.

Matt's Song to Carmen

Carmen's been working very hard all weekend to increase her fiber intake. She knows that if she gets caught with something small and non-food in her mouth she gets it taken away, so she has gotten very fast at snatching nibbly little things up off the floor, stuffing them in her mouth, and then looking up sweetly with a "cat that ate the canary" kind of smile. Today after leaving her alone for no more than a minute, we found she had eaten a chunk off of the corrugated cardboard box she had been playing with. Matt sang this song to her:

There a big baby who swallowed a box
Stubbon as ox, she swallowed that box
She swallowed the box to hold the dirt
She swallowed the dirt to get more crumbs
She swallowed the crumbs after the leaf
I don't know why she swallowed the leaf
She's beyond belief.