things I say...

Dedicated to Mel. Thanks for our talk today.

-Don't put cheese on your sister's head.
-I don't have a tissue, wipe it on your shorts.
-We don't "flip" sister like a pancake.
-Let's touch sister softly...not like that!
-Don't put ranch dip on your sister's head.
-You can't jump on the bed when sister's sleeping there.
-We don't touch our mouths after we use the restroom. (aka "wash your hands!")
-Don't push sister's swing till it hits the ground (travel swing).
-She doesn't like it when you bend her (body part) like that.
-Don't put cookies on your sister's head.
-I don't think she wants you to blow on her belly.
-Don't put that in your mouth...it's been on the bathroom floor.
-I can clean her bottom by myself, thanks.
-Please don't sit on your sister.

And this just in...
-Don't put your feet on sister's head.

I think I've said most of these during the last 24 hours.

double the baby, double the fun

Miss Z. has doubled her birth weight! She's really trying to sit up by herself & smiles are many these days...I even got a slight grin on camera a day or two ago! Oh, and speaking of size...all our cloth diapers were dirty one day (L. sleeps in a Fuzzi Bunz or BumGenius at night) & so I put a Luvs size 3 on BOTH of their bums...& it fit both of them! Ha, ha! I'll do it again just for a pic. Enjoy the pix of my 16ish lb. baby girl (with Fraggle Hair..."down at Fraggle Rock")!

Television, Kids, & Speech

A while back Kelly asked me what I thought about "leaving the t.v. on for background noise." I vote "NO WAY" for this for anyone, as it is an energy waster, it gets in the way of good conversation, & it tends to allow people to tune out what they are doing, hence slowing the progress of whatever activity is going on. That's been my personal experience anyway. That said, I truly believe that it can be harmful for kiddos on various levels. First & foremost on speech. Here is an article explaining the hows & whys that might happen.
www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20050405/noisy-places-may-delay-kids-speech
Secondly, here is a frightening article on t.v. & autism. Now, there are plenty of flaws in a study like this. And I'm glad they mentioned indoor air pollution & various other factors. Our kids are really growing up in a toxic world & we need to be aware of how to detox them for the most part. But here's the low-down on that idea.
www.slate.com/id/2151538/
Okay, now I'm not looking down on all the t.v. watchers out there. Langston gets his hour of daily something on the computer (Noggin, Playhouse Disney, Netflix, DVD from the free section of Family Video). There are rare days when he doesn't beg for more, but mostly we stand firm w. that hour. The exception has been "sick days" (a week ago Sun. he got strep, followed by croup on Thurs...his meds gave him loose stool; his coughing caused some vomiting...& he's still coughing & taking meds.). Needless to say, he didn't feel like riding his trike outdoors most days. And I put Zora in her bouncy seat or next to L. for a min. as I run down to get laundry or catch the phone sometimes, so she gets an eyefull of whatever he is watching, but she hasn't been sat in front of the t.v. to act as a sitter. There is a pic for proof. :)
Also, I will say that we havediscussed how L.'s behaviour seems worse on the days he gets "more" computer time than usual. And after babysitting in MANY different homes, I will say that, in my experience, the most articulate & well behaved kids are those with a strict t.v. limit as opposed to not. In conclusion, let's be aware of what & how much is going into their little minds. It does make a difference.

Say What?

Two great things that Langston has said within the last month:
"I like wedge-a-cational things. Signing Time is wedge-a-cational. I could get a wedge-a-cational workbook."
"Zora, this bug is E-live. Don't touch it....it's tremendous. That means really big."

Green Eggs & "Ham": an attempt to get L. to eat b'fast

20-12: my hubby's happy birthday

For my Barclay's happy birthday (32nd or 20-12, as he says), we decided to take a trip to Going Bonkers. This was at B's suggestion (which makes him a great dad) and I think we all had a fun & exhausting day. :) 'Bonkers is much akin to Chuck E. Cheese, yet much cleaner & with way more equipment to play around in. (Much less arcade junk) Zora was mesmerized by all the lights & music & refused to eat, but aside from that all went well. We then shopped (I nursed for 30 or 40 min, shopped for 10-15 & tried on for a few...not buying a thing *sigh*...baby weight is bothering me more this time.) for a while. Barclay found a belt for $0.97, which totally made his day, since he is in need of a new belt and a dollar is a deal, to say the least. So, for home we headed, pizza & napping kids en tow. Oh, and one of the pix is of L. attempting to look at his glow-in-the-dark security #. He said, "Hey! I wanna' see!" when the guy was checking our #s. Curious George...just like his dad.

our new pals

I met Jennifer at a mommy's night out a few weeks ago (7 or so). When we realized that we 1. lived really close to one another 2. had kiddos about the same age 3. get along very well, we began hanging out. :) It's been wonderful getting to know them. Jennifer has 2 boys, Preston & Chase. Here are some pix of us at a traveling petting zoo. The kids had fun while the moms lamented the poor, sickly animals...and then bathed our boys asap.
I will confess that I enjoyed seeing the little joey in his mama's pouch. L. used to pretend to be my joey & I'd hop around & hold him low on my belly. He loves kangaroos...and dinos...and gators...and to google any other animal we read about.

3 months old!

We took a trip to the library yesterday, so these were made in the children's section. L. has had strep & we've been home since Sunday after church (aside from seeing Dr. Lin & picking up the essentials, i.e. meds & movies), so a tiny "field trip" was needed.
Miss Z. didn't care for her "hat" this month, but she was tired & hungry & refusing do eat or sleep...babies! Anyway, this is her squished into a 3-6 mth. outfit. ;) It actually came w. jeans...that don't go over her thighs. :)
She's a sweet girl. She smiles at all of us, goes to friends, sleeps 6-7 hours at night (usually), & allows her brother many games of rough housing (despite my attempts to watch them every minute...he usually gets to her first). We are in love! And I cannot believe 3 whole months have gone by already.

Just shy...

of the camera...
of 15#... (with her legs hanging off the scale)
of 12 weeks...
Zora Gwendolyn Sweetie-pie
She is such a happy baby. I wish I could get one of her smiles on camera, but alas the kid hates being photographed. I know that she will most likely end up following in Langston-the-ham's footsteps & cheesing someday, but I'm missing these toothless grins! Any wisdom on how to capture one of these grins?

Uncle Logan & Aunt Leslie

Uncle Logan & Aunt Leslie visited for a short weekend tour of Macomb. We loved their company, as always. We watched the fireworks on the 4th, which were pretty good. And Logan got Langston a Spongebob icecream (pictured above), so L. had a wonderful night. ;) Most of the stores were closed on the 5th, when we attempted a tour of downtown Macomb, which was a bummer, but we had a good time with them anyway. Zora was having a rough go of it (for about 3 days the girl didn't want to sleep & fought eating, things got better Sat. night/Sun. morning--babies!) & L. got a few time-outs, so we think we have prevented them from wanting kids for a few more years at least! :) Thanks for visiting, y'all!

the sand turtle transforms into a pool

It was finally warm enough in Macomb to chill outside in our "sand turtle"...turned "pool." Barclay mowed & I tried to nurse big girl, who wore a bathing suite (size 18 mths.) for the 1st time! (I'm sure that thing is sized incorrectly...she's only in 6-9 mths. clothing this week! ha, ha) :) A good time was had by all. And some of us did some more dance moves...enjoy! Oh! And he is saying, "full diapa'" while patting his tush at the end of the video.

Langston & Amir post-parade

Thank you, Bekki!

Grandmother & Zora (in hand-me-downs & bow that didn't make it out of the house)! :)

My girlfriend, Bekki, sent the cutest bag for Zora (& mommy) a few weeks ago. I love it! I've carried it since the day it arrived! Thanks, Bek! You always have the best taste & send the sweetest things! And while I'm feeling thankful...I will get to those thank you cards, y'all who haven't gotten yours yet. My mom keeps getting on to me about it. Things are taking a lot longer to get done these days! I do appreciate all the wonderful gifts, friends. And I haven't forgotten one of you. Pix & cards will come....

A visit from the Gray's

My fam came to visit from Wed. to Mon. this past week. Barclay was in Nashville doin' the academic thang. (Paper, people, etc.) He did get to hang out w. fam, too. Logan-N-Leslie are there now, so he stayed w. them. We missed Dad, though, here in Macomb, as we had the biggest weekend for this little town. Heritage Days came complete w. fair, parade, lots of music, an antique car show, ...& more that we chose not to wrestle kids through. ;) Here are a few pix of our weekend advenure. ** Thanks to mom & Dave for all the home repair/freshening up. Zora's room is finally read for her to move in! Thanks to Spence for hanging out w. L. while all this was going on. I didn't get to do as much as I wanted to help...unless you count lots of breastfeeding helping. ;)