On the move...

This week, Ivy has taken to doing pilates.



She lifts herself up onto her hands and toes and I think before long she's going to be bear-crawling all over the place. This morning she started to lift up one hand, to wave or grab a toy, while she's on her hands and knees. And I do think that a few times she actually did get those knees going forward. Not motoring across the room, just yet. That may be tomorrow.

Motoring or not, her increasing mobility leads to weekly photo shoots that look like this:

She was loving it when daddy put this toy on her head and then it slid off. Giggles everywhere.

The boy is on the move, too. On skis. Yesterday Nat took him out to try them on and play around on the tiny hill in our front yard. This morning when I looked out his bedroom window and told him it was a pretty, snowy day, he replied with, "Oh good! That means we can go skiing today!"
Music to this mama's ears.

Here are some pictures from today's expedition. One of these days I will locate my own skis and boots and go down with him. Hey, that's a 4 foot vertical drop you're looking at! And, all natural snow, too...



We are currently enjoying a fairly low key weekend here on Superior. We each took a bit of time on own with a kid today, and got a bit of alone time to ourselves, too. Tomorrow we are attempting the first go at a "kid sharing" deal with some friends of ours who have a 2 year old girl. If our kids are not insufferable and make it the whole time, Nat and I will have 2 hours to ourselves. Whoa. We will in turn have three children to ourselves next weekend... but it will be worth it!

A couple of closing pictures for you.

Jack, in his favorite place-- watching videos on Daddy's computer. Current favorites: Word World and Super Why, which have (thank you!) eclipsed Hot Wheels as his video of choice. And, I must admit, we've noticed a huge difference in his word awareness and letter-sound awareness since he started watching these...



And the little lady. Pardon the orange tint to her face. Girl loves her food but doesn't love having her face cleaned off...

37 weeks

We are quickly approaching that marker of "out as long as she was in!" Unbelievable. This week I feel like the girlie has really grown up, in a tangible way. She's gained a couple of new skills this week that really do change the way she interacts with the world. No, not crawling, not yet. I keep feeling like she is on the cusp but she seems content, for now, with rocking on her hands and knees. What is new, though, is clapping. I am not sure why but somehow the clapping has made her interactions that much more, well, intentional. She really does use it as a way to communicate, looking at us and clapping and waiting for us to respond with a "yayyyy Ivy!!" and then flashing that jack-o-lantern grin with those two tiny teeth on the bottom, so proud. She also holds her hands up for "so big!" and has recently developed this habit of tipping over to the side in her high chair, with those arms up, and smiling coyly at us. And, in the way that moms read too much into things, I am also interpreting her arm movements as waving and, maybe just maybe, trying to sign for "more". She is still pretty crazy about food, this one. Today she grabbed at and then proceeded to eat with great excitement a piece of cooked broccoli she noticed on the counter. She adores pasta and all fruits and loves multi-grain cheerios. She really likes grapes and I tell you, if it's not a sign of love to peel and cut up a grape for someone, I don't know what is.

oh, and she's started saying "momomomomom"-and while I know she doesn't mean ME with it, it is still nice that she's not just a "dadadadadadada's" girl any more.

With no further ado, here's the little wiggle butt at 37 weeks.


And, a few more from this week.



Kids in the tub...


What is it about little kids in things that are too big for them??? We think Jack looks rather like a video game character named Ratchet with these gloves on.

And then there is this lovely girl. A bit depressed as all this wonderful snow mean she's not getting many walks. But still the best dog in the world.

Cardboard boxes

Some of the best things in life are free. Or, at least, free with the purchase of a $200 hot water heater.

After a week of leaks and various fixes, and 2 very long days of boiling water on the stove to do the dishes, we have the luxury of hot water in our home again. My wonderful husband installed the new tank on Saturday, and it's box moved into the playroom on Sunday. It really is a pretty fabulous box, roomy and sturdy and complete with a door that Nat cut a lovely round porthole into. Jack has discovered the box has the magical ability to be both a rocket ship (when it is standing on end) and a boat (when it is laid on it's side). The most magical part about the box, in my opinion, is that Jack has started to really play WITH his sister since it moved into the playroom. Strange coincidence perhaps but I'll choose the magic, thank you.

Jack has been inviting Ivy to go on boat rides with him. We'll pop her in there and there they sit together, each with a little collection of Hot Wheels, Jack narrating that it is taking a "reawwy" long time to drive on the trip, and opening and closing the roof which makes Ivy giggle to no end. And then he'll turn and ruffle her hair a little, or feed her a puff, or trade cars with her. Actual interaction, not just tolerating her presence. It helps that little miss is so very engaging these days, and that she adores her brother. She is like a lovesick teen who laughs a little to loud at every joke. She thinks he's hilarious, and he finds that pretty reinforcing. I just find it wonderful to watch.

Sledding!

We embraced winter this morning,bundling up the troops and going to our little park to find a little hill to do a little sledding...



And to make some snow angels and throw some "'now balls" and have some good old fashioned winter fun...

We had a really wonderful time. Except for the time when Nat threw a snowball from the top of the hill which hit Jack squarely in the face. When he had his mouth open. It was really funny except for all the screaming...Ivy loved her first sled ride. She appears to love anything and everything about the outdoors. She also, for the record, loves to tear apart paper snowflakes. Second new middle name: Shredder.Got a nice tough ring to it, doesn't it?

We also made a valiant attempt to get her 36 week photos. I have a feeling that this sort of behavior during photo shoots is only going to get worse...

She's crazy about getting onto her tummy from sitting these days. She also flips over in her crib, all the time, and even has been caught sleeping on her tummy a few times. She is most often found rocking on hands and knees when we come to get her up. And today she flipped over IN her swing so I guess it is officially retired now...

Here are the best 36 week pics of the lot:


And, just for fun, a few other photos discovered on the camera phone today..

Look! A time when the world was not covered in snow!!


Finally, look what girlie can do now!

8 months

It's been 8 months now as a family of 4 (5 if you count our faithful pooch). Ivy's 8 month birthday coincided with a busy busy weekend; today's the first moment I've found to talk a bit about the girl. (Yes, on a Tuesday. I am playing hooky from choir. Bad roads, at least on the way home from work, and a twice-as-long commute home leads one to not want to head back out into the storm one hour later. Even though its not even snowing now. But it COULD be, at 10.... Protestant guilt! oy.)

So, the girl at 8 months:

*Her middle name has been changed to Octopus. Her arms, they go EVERYWHERE. Nothing is safe. And if she can grab it, into her mouth it goes for a good chomp. Unless its finger food. Then it gets carefully held between thumb and forefinger, briefly regarded, and then dropped in favor of using both hands to clear whatever surface is in front of her. I see destruction of property in our future with this one...
*Especially as she is really threatening mobility these days. She is quite effective at scootching backwards on her tummy. She rocks on her hands and knees. She goes from sitting to tummy, and pulls up onto her knees from sitting. Nothing in a forward direction yet which leads to plenty of frustrated yelling. As does her newest trick-- rolling over to her tummy in her sleep. When this happens (about 3-4 times a night) she alerts us to the danger with some brilliant screaming.
*She's a side sleeper and prefers to fall asleep on her side with her taggy blanket shoved against her face, chewing on some part of it. She likes the sleep sheep, on the "rainfall" setting. She likes some ambient light in the room. When all these things are perfect and she is feeling well, she only wakes up 2-3 times a night.

Yep. 0 for 2 on the sleeping.

*She's crazy about daddy and her doggy and I really do think she's trying to use various combinations of "da" and "ga" and "gee" to refer to them. That or those are her favorite sounds.
*She loves Jack more than anything else combined. You should have seen her face tonight when I held her by Jack so she could give him a goodnight hug. She leaned in and put her head on his head and snoogled right in with this blissed-out smile. She adores that boy.

A side note: Jack, on the other hand, tolerates her. Most of the time. Unless she tries to put one of his toys in her mouth. This evening at dinner we were, as Jack aptly noted "all sharing the one water!" (why dirty more glasses?) and of course Ivy wanted in on the action (she loves water from a big glass. This is probably #4 in her list of preferred items, actually). Jack exclaimed, "Oh, IVY!! Oh NO! You'll get all drooly into it!!!"

*She prefers "found objects" to actual toys, unless of course the toys are Jack's hotwheels.
*She is very calm outside. Sadly due to the snowiest winter ever, we don't get out too much. But when we do, much like her brother at this age, she is unfazed by cold or snow or wind and just gazes out at the world...
*The rest of the time she is moving as much as possible. Kicking, bouncing, flailing or waving, she is in constant motion. A little athlete in the making? She also loves music and is beginning to try to clap and dance along to songs.

A few notes about the boy:
*After being sick with one thing or another for upwards of 3 weeks, he appears to be on the mend. I think I'd forgotten what fun he can be, resigning myself to the task of mothering the whiny, mopey, non-eating thing he becomes when he's not feeling well. Turns out, Jack-when-he-feels-good is pretty amazing. He's smiley and silly and so very very expressive these days. He can compare and contrast and categorize and do it all with lovely articulation (if you don't count initial /l/ and /s/ sounds, that is) and so much expressiveness in his little voice. He can be quite opinionated and he does not hold back from telling us when we are wrong-- and giving his opinion as to how we can improve ("Mommy, you need to cook the quesadilla SWOWER next time, OK??"). He loves helping to cook (even more than TV!) and has recently discovered games. He is crazy about those hot wheels and carries a rotating collection of 10 favorites in his car armor. His most recent acquisition is a green car with "two vroomers" that is apparently being driven by Taro (a character from the Hot Wheels videos he loves so much). He has named this car Fruuchie. It was, for a brief moment, "Banooki" but Fruuchi seems to have stuck. Sunday night, after our playroom had hosted 4 toddlers and 4 babies during Soup Supper, we could not find Fruuchi. Can I tell you the feeling of love that welled up in my heart as I watched this little boy walk around the room saying "Fruuchi??? Fruuchi? Where are you???"
He loves preschool and is a whiz with using the mouse (chooses all his own youtube videos these days and can play a number of online games on PBSkids all on his own. Better watch him or he'll be ordering things off Amazon soon! He sings now, pretty well. He gave me a lovely rendition of Frere Jacque the other night. In French of course. And he makes silly songs as he plays, too. He loves using his big tape player to listen to books on tape in the background, particularly an ancient copy of "Frog and Toad are Friends" (Grandparents, wouldn't you like to record yourself reading some favorite stories for him??) He has these bright, twinkling, ornery blue eyes that I can't get enough of...

Oh, I could go on forever about him, I think. I am falling back in love with this boy after weeks of wondering why I became a mother in the first place (two sick kids in alternation for 3 weeks'll do that to you...) Best to wait on the blogging until these moments of love, don't you think? (Credit for the good mood also goes to the amazing father of my children who's been having me sleep upstairs in my office these past few nights. Far from being cruel as it sounds, this means he handles all but one of Ive's night wakings while I snuggle in to what is actually a very lovely spot to sleep, there by the window looking out to the trees in the backyard, with a nice combination of pillows on the bed. This morning, I woke up feeling almost well-rested...)

Nestled in now, in Nat's office, Hotwheels on the computer, boy dancing as he watches, Nat editing his dissertation introduction as coffee percolates and the dog sleeps at our feet. Baby quietly asleep downstairs, for this moment at least, and a powder-snowy wonderland outside. Goodnight all.

35 weeks

2011 has not gotten off to the smoothest start around here, I have to say. Grandpa Bill was hospitalized just before New Year's and went into kidney failure and passed away this past Wednesday. It was rather unexpected as we had been to see him for Christmas and he seemed to be doing wonderfully. At the same time it was not unexpected, considering his life these past three years. We really lost him in 2007, you know, at least the Bill we knew. The one my mom fell in love with, the one who was a true father to Becca. The one who ministered to so many people and served so many people and brought joy to so many people with his singing and jokes and love. But to have him fully gone... He was a wonderful man and he will be so very missed.

Well, and as if this weren't enough to start off our new year, our children have continued to flirt with illness and refuse to sleep. So I've started off the teaching year on a severe sleep deficit and have been pretty exhausted. Hence the lack of posts.

I am refusing to give in to the crumminess of the year-so-far, however. Today we embraced life and friendships and the cooking of large vats of food, hosting book club and Second Sunday Soup and dinner swap, and having a pretty lovely time with our children while we were at it.

Must head to bed, 5am and a 5 day week approach quickly. At some point I need to ramble on about the kids, update you about their shenanigans, development, funny little quotes. Many of those to tell about, even in the midst of the snotty noses and laxatives that have defined this week. (oh yes, it HAS been nothing but fun around here...) In the meantime, here are a few pictures to tide you over...

34 weeks

My how they fly.

Girlie was on fire today, I tell ya. Sick again-- we are going to be a snotty house this winter, I can tell-- but that didn't stand in the way of this girl boogeyin' around all day. She can get onto her hands and knees from sitting now, and last night, while we were hanging out at M and W's for New Years Eve dinner, she "hopped" her knees forward a bit. Mobility's a coming...

Thinking of last night... quote of 2010, perhaps?

Jack, about his dinner: "I want REGULAR meat!! I don't like New Year's Meat!!"

Jack, also, is apparently ringing in the New Year by morphing into a boy who talks back, argues, whines, and appears to be unable to hear any question or choice I say to him.

I thought I had a bit more time before his teenage years. Oy.

Oh, and for gemineye-- Red hat. :)


And, a random bit of happiness from last week's trip..