Supper sillies

The boys ate before Dad came home last night and had the sillies.  It started when I looked up to see Asher painted in technicolor in his Palak Paneer and Dal Masala (some TJ's Indian food I had on hand for when cooking is Just Not Possible) and started laughing.  Asher looked at me with his cherub smile and said, "What so funny, mama?" and then Owen joined in with 'cheeseball' faces :}  Asher got to eat his plum cobbler (which he and I made earlier in the day while Owen was at preschool and Eden was in the carrier...hmm, pie-making and babywearing, not the easiest combo) after inhaling his food, and Owen, my temporarily picky eater, said he would not take more than his obligatory tasting bite, and would eat his foot instead.  Which he then demonstrated :)

Bribe

So, Owen is perfectly capable of taking the next step in his reading skills, but not usually that interested.  We don't push too hard.  Just a little here and there and we keep it fun.  Reuel just relayed this conversation to me and I have to record it.

R:  Owen, how about we get out one of your reading books?
O:  I don't want to.
R:  But I'll give you a quarter if you read one to me...
O:  Well...I've got enough quarters.
R:  Owen, how much money would it take to get you to read me a book?
[Long pause]
O:  A googol.

(googol, noun: a number that is equal to 1 followed by 100 zeros and expressed as 10 ¹⁰⁰ )

(Context:  Owen had been asking earlier about the BIGGEST number and is unsatisfied with the answer inifinity.  So Reuel explained the concept of googol.  At least his comprehension is good, if the reading skills not quite as far along.)

Movies

No time to edit, so I can't vouch for the interesting-ness of the entirety of these clips...

Hide and Seek
Life is just fun with our two little guys on the weekend when everyone's home.  Heaven on earth some days!  What a privilege to share life with them.

Indoor swimming
Saw that the swimming back had been found in the closet, ransacked, and then came downstairs to find this!  What else are boys to do all winter??

Bathtime
Just some uneventful footage of the boys and Eden...and her gaze which always rests on her brothers when they are nearby!

On the differing temperaments of brothers, as observed while at play

Owen and Asher were playing outside together without supervision because I was tending Eden (Yes, I am well aware of the riskiness of this situation.  All I can say is that I have weighed the risks and benefits, and for short periods of time in which I can pop out every 10 minutes and take a look, I have deemed it more important that they get some fresh air than that we have zero risk of something going wrong.  How many burning bush berries can a 2 year old eat in 10 minutes?  I didn't count).  We had a 'meeting' before I went back in the house, in which I instructed which parts of the yard were off-limits, and I drew a bold line in chalk on the driveway to indicate the required stopping point (when I'm around, they go right down to the bottom of the drive with their bikes).  "Yes Sir!" say the boys.  (They are so cute saying Yes Sir to me, that I don't correct them to Yes Ma'am most of the time ;)

3 minutes later as I'm parked in a chair getting Eden to sleep, Owen comes running in at full tilt...

"Mommy, Mommy, UH-OH!  Oh no!  I was riding my three-wheel scooter and I was going so fast and not thinking very hard and I went over the line just a little bit!  Oh NO!"

"Owen, that's OK.  If you accidentally go over the line just a little bit, it's no big deal.  Just do your best to stay inside."

[Repeat 2 more times throughout afternoon]

On a check when I popped out to see how they were doing, I see Asher over toward the line and move in for a closer look.  Here he is with his little toes right up on the line doing a micro-shuffle, ooching his toes over til they are a few inches past the line.  Then, steps back behind and repeats.

Oh, birth order!  It's like me and Debbie all over again!!  So funny.  And why I only let them play outside like this because Owen is the elder, and very reliable as a tattletale ;)

Flirt

Eden cannot actually *be* this smart at 9 weeks, but her behavior would make one think so.  She must just be naturally loveable.  Lately when it's nap time and I wrap her up in her swaddle, she shrieks bloody murder for about a minute, and then when that doesn't result in her release, she stops crying abruptly, looks up at me and locks my eyes, gives the biggest grins and coos from her throat.  She persists in that for a minute, and I am like putty in her straight-jacketed hands.  Then, I recover my wits and place a light blanket over her eyes, and she drops off.  It's so nice when a blanket is all it takes to win!  Well, at least the falling asleep, if not the putting down.  What a contrast to toddler Asher...egads, the battles are harder-won.

Checkup and 3 vaccines today...
Age: 9 weeks
Length 22.5 in (~50th %ile)
Head:  14.75" (~20th %ile)
Weight:  11lb 4oz (between 50-75 %ile)
Weight:length:  50%ile

Only cried for one of the shots!  The boys were gleeful watching her cry...sad human nature!  Asher was saying the whole way to the office and down the hall to the exam room, and while the nurse came in to jab Eden, "No fank you.  I don't want any.  No fanks very much."

Dolly

Since the resident little girl is not yet up to playing with the various toys she has received, her brothers are more than happy to play with them til she's ready.  Of course, this is how boys play with dolls:

Let's just say a prayer for Eden, that once she's ready to play with them, she'll fare better with her brothers than her doll has.

Whacker

Owen:  Mooooooooooooooooooooo-oooom!  Asher just hit me with his hard hat, HARD!!!
Me:  Asher, please come here.  Stand up right here.  No, on your feet.  That's right, now look in my eyes.
Asher:  Okay mommy.
Me:  Asher, did you hit Owen?
Asher:  Yeah, hit wif my hat.
Me:  Asher, we don't hit.  That is a no-no.  You may NOT hit Owen.
Asher:  Oh.  Sowwy Mommy!  Sowwy Owen!  [Runs over to Owen, gives hug, mumbles under breath]  It was assident. [We all know where he learned that phrase.]
Me:  No Asher, that was not an accident, it was on purpose.  Are you going to hit Owen again?  No?  OK, here's your hard hat.  If you hit him again, I will take it away and put it up high.
[Boys go running together back to basement, Owen turns back for a moment]
Owen:  Mom, I was showing him my striker and then he said he was going to show me his whacker, and then his whacker WAS his hard hat.  He will have to find a different whacker.

These two have an interesting communal imagination.  Another phenomenon is the 'jobber.'  They will carry out all manner of odd behaviors, sometimes including doing actual chores.  Once I found them each with their own bottle of Windex and a towel, giving the sliding doors a blue baptism.  "Boys, how did you get the Windex and why are you doing this?" cries their mom.  "Our jobbers told us to do it!" says Owen.  Apparently Owen's jobber is the remote control car, and Asher's jobber routinely changes.  I have heard of imaginary friends, but I have to say that imaginary chore-directors are even better!  Now, to get the jobbers to suggest useful chores :}

Uh-oh.  Finishing up this entry and Owen just ran in, "Mom, I just jumped down the stairs using the broom!"  Time for parental supervision we suppose?

Haiku Thursday

Slit eyes, lax mouth, sleep.
Soft sheet to receive angel,
Ha!  You the sucker!

Reread when I've slept

I feel like there's important things here, for the boys...and me.  Insulting our own intelligence and potential as a family with media, we do a bit too much.  I should be reading more to them instead of waiting for Owen to read to himself...as if he's going to want to watch less TV once he can read?  Doubtful!  OK, I'll put that on the list along with cleaning, cooking, organizing, disciplining, volunteering, doing something to the yard, reading more myself, fixing up the house, etc. etc. etc. and...blogging :} 

http://dominionfamily.blogspot.com/2010/10/literature-and-boys-affections.html

p.s.  and a follow-up, a link to above blogger's list of books to instill honor in boys: http://dominionfamily.blogspot.com/2010/05/literature-of-honor-for-boys.html

Little Eden

What have we learned about our new family member?  Let's see...

*She loves baths.
*She HATES being done with baths, and lets you know.
*She is exceedingly strong!  Tummy time is quite frustrating for her because she ooches herself into a near crawl position and then *bonk* goes her head into the floor ahead of her.  Ouch!  She can roll to her side from her back, and from her tummy to her back.  If her feet hit something solid, she'll push up hard, and woe to you if your head is near hers...mega head-butts with weeping and gnashing of teeth (well, gums).
*The smiles and coos are flowing, and especially after she gets a decent nap (rare)
*She LOVES her brothers already, that is obvious (and they are absolutely taken with her, especially Owen.  He stops whatever he is doing if he discovers she's awake and spends the entirety of his time 'playing' with her, kissing her and talking to her.)
*She is insanely curious and with that strong neck, cranes every which way to catch the noises and sights.  To get her to go to sleep I have to put a lightweight blanket on top of her eyes.
*She only makes me change dirty diapers about every 3-5 days.  Can't say I'm complaining.
*She is quite even tempered, except really puts up a banshee wail when you swaddle her and initiate sleep routine (actually, she only does that when she's overtired, which is becoming a lot more often :}
*She is doing quite nicely to 3-4 hours always between feedings, but...no longer sleep stretch yet.  Still 3-4 hours around the clock, and even at night waking more often than that sometimes (don't feed her more often, but why is she waking so often??).  The boys were actually way better about night sleep by now, and I can't believe I'm saying that.  We had heard girls were sounder sleepers.  Sadly, not so.
*I need more drool bibs.  She spits quite a bit after feedings and I'm changing a lot of clothes.  That reminds me I need to change the sheets...pretty disgusting what I must be sleeping on at this point :P
*Naps...don't get me started.  Since the parental help left the building, we have degraded to 15 minute naps.  I just can't give the attention to getting her down on time as we could with more hands.  She is definitely in an overtired funk, and there's not much I can do about it.  I sure wish she liked the swing like Asher did.  For a while she would occasionally doze off from an awake state in it, but no longer.  Today I carried her ALL DAY in the front pack for naps hoping to get her some more zzz's.  But I can't hack it...too draining to do that all day after being up with her all night.  And she still only took about two 15 minute naps and two 30 minute naps today.  I think we've had one or two naps >1hr. since Mommo left.  Folks, that is crazy.  She's not doing very well day or night and it makes me sad, but there's not much to do but get through it.  Tried some crying to sleep and she's not ready.  Bedtime is insane.  And here I was thinking I sort of knew what I was doing...HA!  Either that or we have the most un-self-soothing babies I know (this is a distinct possibility).
*Sleeping aside, we are just enjoying this little one so much!  She's a real cutie.

What am I doing??  There are about 50 things I need to do before life hits afresh tomorrow!  :)

Picture worth 1000 words

Enjoy your return to having personal space, Mommo!

p.s. don't mistake all these blog posts as indicating ease in the household.  Au contraire, I am stuck with this baby in the front carrier all day and just can't do much work that requires bending down.  Chaos ensues amongst the brothers as I type :}  15 minute naps max when set down at all...egads.

Pulling faces

Dora

I am cracking up that with the increased need for independence for the kids while I'm tied up with baby, Asher has added some vocabulary.  Usually it's just, "Help me, help me!" ad infinitum from the next room.  But now that my response time is increasing he's adding Spanish.  Now after a few help-me's I hear, "Anudame! Anudame!"  What he means is 'ayudame' and no doubt he's picked this up from watching Dora or Diego cartoons.

7 weeks compare

I think Eden is a real mishmash of Owen and Asher, but Reuel and I both think she favors Owen overall.  But not so strongly that most people we meet don't think that she more strongly favors Asher.  Hmm!

Mommo visit!

Oh I wish I had more time to write and perhaps compose an epic poem detailing the feats of the two heroines, Nunu and Mommo.  How indebted we are to their good and kindly care for us!  (A mother's job is never done...)  They were so selfless in playing with our meltdown-prone, naughty-prone, energy-prone, squabbling-prone kids (who are also cute-prone and sweet-prone at other times), and did chores to boot.  And held the baby.  And changed diapers.  And listened to me overanalyze.  And more!  What love in action, and we are so grateful.  Come back anytime :)

Shots from Mommo's visit:

6 weeks

Here's Eden's 6 week trick (in addition to some beaming smiles and beginnings of coos and giggles...she has a dimple on her right cheek which is quite delectable).  Yesterday every time I put her on her tummy she pushed up so far that she tipped over and the momentum carried her onto her back.  Not a roll initiated with abdomen, but still...have I another extremely active child on my hands??  Boy does she not enjoy doing this though.  The third time around I am rather insensitive to her fussing...more like, "Oh my goodness this is so funny, here do it again!"  Terrible.

She is in such an unsightly outfit combination because I had just gotten home with her from my book club, where she proceeded to cleanse her colon after a 3 day hiatus not once, but twice, and cover every piece of clothing, fabric and bib that I had packed for her.  At that point I just wanted to get to bed, and grabbed the first thing in the drawer in the dark where Reuel was sleeping.  Of course, she stayed up another hour and a half.  Where's Mommo??  Methinks we are about to get a little less sleep around here :)