Abby & Jack... Tabled...

I'm going to funnel my blogging energies to my normal blog www.burntfudge.blogspot.com for I don't know how long, though I may put special things up on this blog now and then... But I knew my mom would never speak to me again if I left the last picture up of her indefinitely... so this is my place-holding post instead.

Some Randoms

Abby will now and then tell ME to go run and get the camera if she wants something immortalized

Abby and I discussing what she can say to the evil people in her nightmares to make them go away or become nice:

"I think I'll use the words inside my head."

Jack is not convinced on this whole walking thing yet.  Pulling up on things, climbing relentlessly - that he gets.

I am holding down the fort tonight until I wake up Steve at midnight, so I'm keeping Jack with me while he "sleeps."  Groggily he wakes up a little, sees me, pulls out his binky and leans in for a big wet smootch on my lips, puts the binky back into his mouth and smiles a little as he drifts back to sleep.  

Steve and Jack have a game where they both suddenly drop their heads to the couch or a pillow when Steve says, "naptime!"

Abby's First Lost Tooth!

Abby lost her first tooth tonight!

I don't think it's normal to lose teeth yet but this was expected per dentist due to her great face plant into the stone step back during the "Hammerheads" shoot. 

As Abby has been having super-nightmares recently we thought it not a good idea to suggest a mythical fairy would be visiting her room in the middle of the night whether or not said fairy bore money - so if any of your kids are big into the tooth fairy - make sure they don't discuss it with Abby who understands the tooth fairy is just pretend and mommy and daddy are going to give her a treat.

Mommy: breathing pictures

From day one of mommyhood I have loved, adored, treasured, inhaled, absorbed my babies when they slept in my arms, or cuddled with me in bed.

I don't know what fills me with such total happiness.  Maybe it's just the peace of having such kinetic little creatures at rest.  Maybe it's because of the stillness that everything around me slows down and when I stare down at those adorable faces it's like being able to have a living photograph in my arms.  Maybe it's just how open and trusting and beautiful the are when asleep.

I don't know, but it feels like I'm counting the days now - until they won't want to cuddle and snuggle and that recognition of their very skin will move on as the grow and we all let go a bit.  

I think any sleeping baby is pretty precious, but there is something breathtaking about MY sleeping babies... because, of course, they are mine.

Abby: Tell Me More...

Abby has become a veritable sponge for knowledge. It doesn't seem to have much rhyme or reason, a subject will just completely take possession of her. But it's not nearly as knee-jerk as the good ole "why" question which, it must be said, does tend to be more of a "I ask because I can."

No, this just hits her. Like when we were driving home from the grocery store and she started asking how the stuff gets there and why we need to pay for it and why are their grocery stores. The sweetest but most frustrating part for both of us is when she can't quite figure out how to ask what she wants to know. Her vocabulary fails her. So she'll start with, "So when does the stuff come" and I'll say an answer and she'll get frustrated, "No, but I'm asking what's the time." So i try a time. "No, WHEN is it coming."

It can all get very confusing.

Then, when she does start getting somewhere she doesn't want to stop. "Tell me more about the grocery store."

or

"Tell me more and more and more about how the people died" (Steve was watching a History Channel thing)

or

"Mom, let's talk more about this olden times. Can you tell me MORE about it?"

She become very agitated in an excited sort of way when she's on a line of questioning and really would rather not let it go until she's run out of questions.

Which is never... if you were wondering.

Jack: I Did It!

Jack's first word was Dad... followed shortly by Daddy.  I definitely think there is an attachment with the word and the person even though "Dad-EE" is said often throughout the day.

I also think Jack has a version of "up" ... like "uh"... 

He has a hilarious mimic of my "Oooooh" - but alas it was lost on the lost laptop.  

AND he seems to have a word for his own name, "Yachk"

I know, I know, this is all very subjective.

But SERIOUSLY he has a new phrase now people.

"I did it!!"

And the only way it sounds different from a person who actually knows what words are is that its all run together, "Ididit!!"

NO I don't think he understands he's saying a sentence.  I'm sure he's mimicking me even though I usually say "You did it!"  so, what do I know, maybe he is a genius.

Either way it's a triumphant sort of phrase and it is freaking adorable.

Oh, and I know you all think I'm crazy - as has everyone I have told about this - and then they stick around for five minutes and he says it.  And I am no longer considered crazy for this particular thing.

I'll get video of it somehow.

Jack: Peekaboo

My boy likes his games

Abby's 5th Birthday Party

Samantha ordered the balloons though she was AWOL (ok, not without leave)

Abby chose her own outfit of course.
We got the coolest simplest party favors ever super duper clearance at Target
Noni and Becky came all the way up from San Diego
There was pool chaos, as always.

And cake got everyone OUT of the pool.
The Ariel and the sprinkles just screamed "Abby" (Zoozy got the Ariel topper - it twirled and made music... oh yeah.)

The princess theme was a tad catching:
We hired a storyboard artist from Spongebob to do chalk drawings. We paid him in churros.


It wasn't easy saying goodbye to such fun and frolicking...

Jack The Explorer

crawling through the jungle searching for danger:

He loves to eat dirt, have I mentioned that yet?

He waves like a champion

And he does this all the time - it's the funniest thing. It's some sort of victory/war cry. He does it when he's particularly into a game of "gimme those keys" or when he's upset... or really happy. I'm thinking Steve must do this a lot:


I don't care if you all think its nurture and not nature for boys to be boys - I am certainly notices differences in gender. This boy of mine is so flippin' cute. Yes, it's true. But he is so hilariously baby-aggressive. He cannot keep still. He just adores all sorts of drumming. He continues to crawl under the coffee table if it is the shortest distance to what he wants despite the fact that he bumps his head periodically as he passes under the table AND when he gets out and two times out of five gets stuck unable to maneuver the final foot's distance through his annoyance at the head-butting he receives from the table.

I have jokingly been calling him a hunter "roar" but my dad has decided Jack is much more an explorer. Fair enough... I can see that now that I'm watching for it - but trust me, as he explores, he'll be bringing a spear.

Right now the "new thing" around here is that he's finally figured out he can use the scooter thing Zoozy gave him to walk around. He spontaneously did this by himself I just saw him strolling by tonight. Cute? Yeah, sure.






The problem? He is bitterly disappointed when he steers himself into an obstacle.

Jack: Gosh Darn It, People Like me

you're gorgeous, baby, gorgeous!

Abby: Thank you Babystyle

Whelp - they are finally too small. I bought countless number of these babystyle comfy pants for Abby when she started pre-school two years ago. They've weathered it all - these were the last and they are off to goodwill...

Abby & Me

Abby Is FIVE

She did it. She turned five. Abby is such a good five year old already.

We had a very nice party - all family and (a very few) friends... that's all I can handle at this point in my life. Maybe when Jack is five I'll be ready for a more all encompassing party.

Abby made out like a bandit - got everything she'd ever wanted. She had a great time (once I found her watershoes). She got an awesome cake. And mommy didn't force her into TOO many pictures (it was HER birthday after all).

After a long day of partying, she spent the rest of the night in her room - her dolls and she participating in a very serious, very intense scene of make believe.

Abby & Jack - Summer Lovin'

Abby: Cleaning Out the Closet

Everyone should know by now that Abby has the memory of an Elephant. A special memory talented elephant.

Well, just in the last few days she's been saying some VERY interesting things.

Tuesday, on the way home from some event or another Abby said:

Mom?
When you were in the hospital, having Jack?
I didn't want you to sent me to Gramma's house.
I wanted to be with you.
I wanted to be part of the family.

Wow. That was deep, I think. I tell her, I'm sorry, I explain a little about hospitals and kids, but otherwise I let it go. I figure, obviously, if she is as emotionally awesome as to recognize all this and be able to articulate it - then nothing I say is going to advance her any further.

Then, today, when she was alone with Steve she says,

"you know it wasn't my idea to go in the pool, it was the little girl's idea"

Steve had no idea what she was talking about. He asked questions to figure it out and finally realized she was talking about when she'd gotten in trouble at our Small Group BBQ... in July. Robert's niece (older than Abby) got in the pool before we were there and Abby followed her in... and got in trouble for not waiting for an adult. Steve nicely replied that he agreed that it hadn't been her idea and that he'd known it even then. BUT it still wasn't ok to go in the pool without her adult present.

Just fascinating.

Abby & Jack - reunions

When Abby went to Coronado LAST week (we're here again now) - this was the reunion between she and Jack.

Jack: Will Starve For Fun

Jack was over at my mom's last night while I did some errands (I know, I'm spoiled rotten). He was there with Gramma, Poppa, Abby, Bronx, Megan and Aaron. Needless to say - excitement was not a problem.

What was the problem is that he was so intent on everyone and everything around him that, even though he was starving that he refused to eat. OR nurse.

I didn't know that that is what was happening until I got him home and he drained two bottles, then snacked on two more before midnight. Sheesh.

Jack's Eye Color

Jack's Eyes turned truly brown TODAY

Jack's Teefers

In just a few short weeks Jack has gone from choking up on anything that came too close to the back of his throat to chomping happily on graham crackers, pizza crust and tortillas.

Abby's Great Adventure

There she goes!

She's been so excited for this overnight with Noni and Zoozy all week (since she was told about it) - counting down the days impatiently. She packed and decided what she would want for the train and what to wear.

She wavered only once - her little face looking at me as I waved goodbye. But she didn't say anything or reach out and I haven't heard from them since - so implies no problems!