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.