Thing 1 and Thing 2

Remember The Cat in the Hat? Well, Thing 1 and Thing 2 seem to have been personified anew in my two charming daughters...

They have removed a handmade doll from grandma's dresser, and destroyed the fishing pole which had been attached;

Scattered every item of doll clothing and playmobil toys around the house;

Picked tomatoes immediately after being told not to;

Picked big holes in the bedroom window screen, so as to push their toys out to plummet down two stories...

And locked the cat in a trunk...

Ahh...vacation!

A Homer Hello

Greetings from the frigid north! The kids and I made it safely, and more or less without incident last Wednesday. We hit dinner at the Moose's Tooth in Anchorage before tackling the 220 miles to Homer, all buckled into the big ol' company van.

Weather has been pretty grey and dreary...and highs reach about 55 degrees (half of the temp at home). In big news, there's now a stoplight in my hometown! A real, honest-to-God traffic light with all three colors!!

The girls have been playing with the neighbor's daughter, who is 10. They think she's pretty cool - but sadly she leaves on vacay tomorrow.

Baby L is a trooper. Still sleeping and eating as always...charming the grandparents and all the folks he's met.

That's news from the north. Stay tuned for updates over the next three weeks...

Handmade presents!

 

Thanks a million to S, a co-worker of D's...look at the adorable sweater with the extra-special touch of the lamb buttons...get it? L.A.M.B. - and I don't mean Gwen Stefani's line... Big sis sports her pretty new scarf...but other big sis was being a stinker (*no...not her*...lol) and wouldn't model hers.

Two Months

 

Doin' the baby-dance:

 

And drumroll please...
As of this morning, Baby L weighs 12 pounds, 9 ounces!

That's a gain of five pounds, three ounces over his birth weight, and a gain of five pounds, twelve ounces over his lowest weight...that makes an average gain of 10.2 ounces per week, 1.5 ounces per day...or 1.74e-5 ounces per second! All fueled of course by that miraculous wonder-food...breastmilk :)

Now really, one might ask why the constant weighing of the baby...and truthfully, it's just because I can. I have a digital postage scale, so it's fun for me to put him on it every once in a while to admire the concrete evidence of what the human body can do - both the infant's and the mother's!

Gettin' chubby!

...and sorry these are dark. I'll take some more tomorrow for Baby L's big 2-month mark!

Six Years of Wedded Bliss

Our anniversary was yesterday, Bastille Day, July 14. Auntie B and Grandma S took the girls for the afternoon, overnight and this morning, so D and I could have a "date" for the big day. We saw Harry Potter (!) and went out for Cuban food at the Havana Cafe. Baby L was his sweet, cooperative self - fell asleep during the movie, fell asleep at dinner - and stayed asleep until 5:30 this morning. He woke, fed, was changed...then went back to sleep, cuddled up with daddy, until 8:30. Can I just say: we were in heaven!! I can't tell you (a) the last time we slept in past about 6:30; and (b) the last time we went to a movie together!

As we were sipping champagne late in the evening, we started talking numbers since our wedding six years ago...here are some, just for fun:

3 - kids we've had (duh)
3 - states we've lived in
4 - houses we've lived in
2 - houses we've owned
3 - countries we've been in
1 - master's degree earned

And...places we've been (just since the wedding):

Alaska
Hawaii
Yukon Territory
British Columbia
Alberta
Saskatchewan
Manitoba
North Dakota
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Illinois
Iowa
Indiana
Ohio
Missouri
Kansas
Oklahoma
Texas
New Mexico
Arizona
California
Sonora

I have a new phone number!

So anybody who might be calling me...send me an email and make sure you get my new number. I'll try to send out some mass emails tomorrow to update everyone...but I wouldn't want to leave YOU out. So shoot me a message and help me get my act together!

Fun with Etsy

What happens when three kids and a husband are all sound asleep and I have the whole house to myself? Why, what better to do with my time alone...I play on etsy of course! Below are some of the items I've found and marked as favorites. When is the last time YOU bought handmade?

Click on a picture to go to the listing. Play around by seeing what a seller's favorites are. Enter something into the search. Browse by category. Get lost in the site - see what some creative folks out there are doing! And no, it's most definitely not all kids' stuff.

Yard work and babywearing

First: yardwork, AZ style! And no, we didn't create this carnage ourselves...we hired some guys to come hack away at the cactus and palms. The girls really enjoy watching the men climb up the huge tall palm to "trim" (read: eliminate) the fronds (seen here all over the ground).

See the big mess of cactus in the top of the next pic? That's gone now. The palm to the left was cut back too, so instead of five branches, there are only three now.


Out front, they took out some of the giant prickly pear...but it costs a fortune, so more will have to wait.
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Next: babywearing, in my latest aquisition - a Yamo carrier.
See the versatility?
Baby L at 12 pounds:

And big sis at 35 pounds:

E really likes being carried around - either in this one or in a mei tai. I haven't yet tackled wearing both little ones at the same time...but it should be doable.

In Memoriam

Grandma J

7-7-07
Mother of four
Grandmother of eight
Great-Grandmother of six

(pictured with one of the great-grandchildren...)

Seven Week Update

Baby L is now 11 pounds, 14 ounces. He is still a great sleeper, eater, and smiler, and is very strong:


We find him particularly charming:


He loves being worn around - which is a great reason for me to find all sorts of fancy babywearing gear! Baby L can typically be found happily wrapped in a Moby, riding in his Rix-shaw or OMT Mei Tai carriers, or as of today, cruising in my new Yamo soft structured carrier (think backpack). I'm very pleased with my Yamo, as I can actually wear him snuggly on my back. I will be able to use the MTs on my back soon, but they don't really offer the tightness and the head support that he still needs.

Big sisters are in school today; just got a notice in the mail that E's preschool will start on August 30; C's kindergarten starts August 15. We have a busy next month - preschool for one more week, then we leave for Alaska on the 18th for three weeks. Upon our return, we only have a few days to prepare C for school - yikes!

That's news from the desert. Stay tuned for more soon - if we don't all melt in the next few days (115!!).

Dino Princess

Leave it up to C and E to come up with this combo! I had to share...

Activism for the week

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The following is a quick summary of why, courtesy of Baby Milk Action:

According the the World Health Organisation Authority (WHO)1.5 million babies die every year as a result of inappropriate feeding. Despite this Nestlé continues to push its baby milks in breach of international standards. Monitoring by groups on the ground around the world shows Nestlé is responsible for more violations than any other company. That's why it is singled out for boycott action. If you don't boycott Nestlé already, I ask that you consider looking at the evidence and giving up Nestlé products for one week, at least. Boycott groups around the world have declared 2-8 July to be International Nestlé-Free Week. The boycott has forced some changes from the company, but it is still a long way from complying. Campaigners are also working for laws. Nestlé can comply when it is given no choice. It is not being asked to do something that is impossible, but without pressure it continues to put its own profits before infant health and mothers' rights. You can find out more information and look at the evidence yourself on the Baby Milk Action website at: http://www.babymilkaction.org/resources/boycott/nestlefree.html
You can sign up there to support the boycott. It is important to tell Nestlé you will be boycotting it, whether it is just for the week, or until it accepts and acts on the plan put to it by boycott groups for saving infant lives. You can telephone Nestlé on the freephone number 0800 00 0030 or send a message via its website at http://www.nestle.com/

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Here is a list of the many names of Nestle, and here's the list of big brands I recognized:

Drinks
Nescafe
Taster's Choice
Arrowhead water
Ice Mountain water
Perrier
Poland Spring water
San Pelligrino water
Vittel water
Carnation
Libby's
Nesquik
Nestea
Coffee-mate

Desserts
Dreyer's
Haagen-Dazs

Baby Things
Gerber baby food
Good Start

Convenience Foods
PowerBar
Stouffer's
Lean Cuisine
Hot Pockets
Lean Pockets
Toll House

Candies
After Eight
Baby Ruth
Butterfinger
KitKat
Oh Henry
Rolo
Smarties
Laffy Taffy
Nerds
Runts
SweeTarts
All the other "Willy Wonka" candies too

Pet foods
Alpo
Beneful
Dog Chow
Fancy Feast
Friskies
Purina
Tidy Cats

11 lb 4 oz

I was close - only one ounce off. Pretty amazing what a diet of pure breastmilk can do to a little guy, isn't it?

Six weeks

Six weeks ago tonight, Baby L joined our family. He is a very happy, content little guy, who has been smiling for real for the last week. Today he pooped on his Baby Bjorn potty, and C and I each "caught" a pee! I'm not really doing EC, but the signs were so obvious for the poop, I couldn't help but try it...and as for the pee, he had nursed and was still dry when I went to change him, so I put him on the pot again. Success :) I just might have to run with this...

What else is new in our world (besides the excitement of a baby's bowels)? Not a whole lot. I went to a "crop night" for scrapbooking tonight, and drooled over my friend M's Creative Memories stock (she's a consultant). I didn't actually DO any scrapbooking, as I couldn't find C's book I started five years ago. I know it's here somewhere...probably in one of those boxes still not unpacked from our move. Yikes. Now with child #3, do I really think I'll catch up? Sure...since some of the moms are talking about a weekly crop night! Ha.

Look for baby updates tomorrow. I didn't get to weigh Baby L today, so I'll have to add that tomorrow. I'm going to guess he's up to 11-5 (he was 10-14 last Tuesday).

More pool stuff

So the pool guy was here this morning, and I guess he can quickly put in the new filter (for a mere $850), next weekend...so we'll do some quick comparison-shopping and get on it. The exciting news from my chat with Scotty is that we can easily convert to a "salt" pool whenever we want. I guess they're the latest and greatest - hardly any chlorine, no stinging eyes, no yukky chemical smell, nicer feeling water. We didn't know if it involved a whole different pump/filter/etc. or not. I now know that it's an add-on system to whatever exists - yippee! So when we hit the jackpot, we'll have a salt pool. Oh wait - hitting the jackpot would require actually visiting the casinos...well maybe salt will come next year :)

Missed the picture of the green pool? I added it to the bottom of the San Diego post. Check it out!

San Diego weekend

With temperatures forcasted to hit 115 over the weekend, we thought we'd escape to the coast and enjoy not only the cooler temps, but some extended family time as well.

We stayed at my aunt's house, where the girls were thoroughly spoiled! They went to the zoo, swam a lot, flew kites, and read books.

Baby L was introduced to great-grandma, great-aunts and great-uncles, and cousins (both once- and twice-removed!). Of course he charmed them all with his stellar personality and sweet smile!

Great-grandma (mother of six, grandmother of eight, and great-grandmother of three):

Great-aunt J:

Great-aunt E:

Great-aunt K:
Cousin C:

Now we're back in the big(ger), hot city...with a green pool!


And no, that's not thanks to any special groovy tile job. That would be algae growing all over it, most likely thanks to a bad pump filter which will have to be replaced...ugh. We were hoping to limp through the summer with it, but I guess not! And the best part is, see all the lighter spots in that picture? Those are my foot marks from my quick dip after the drive home, when it was dark and I didn't know just how disgusting our pool had become over the weekend - blech!

Future Babywearer

Ah, how we all love my Rix-shaw!
(And Rixa, hope you don't mind our new label for your gorgeous MT!)

Baby L passed out almost immediately, once C got him snuggled in.

Baby L's first swim

With temps in the 110s, and lows at night only falling to 80ish, we thought today was time to introduce Baby L to the pool:



He was ok with it in general, and really relaxed when snuggled with Daddy:

However...it was not all fun and games:

I think if the wind had not been blowing, and big sisters hadn't been mobbing him, he really would have enjoyed it a little more. Overall, he did seem intrigued by the water, and I'm sure will happily go back in...maybe when the pool climbs a few more degrees (it's about 88 right now).

Visit with Auntie A

Auntie A was in town for the week. We hit the dinosaur museum, the pool, and hung out in general. The girls are completely in love with Auntie - and it looks as if Baby L is following suit:

Isn't he cute??