Dinner Conversation

M: Did you eat dinner (knowing you hadn't)?
G: Yes!
M: What did you eat for dinner?
G: (thinks hard) Yeti.
M: You ate Lefty for dinner?
G: Yes. (big smile)
M: Really?
G: Yeah.
M: What did you have for dessert?
G: Ummm, kanga.
M: You had a kangaroo for dessert?
G: Yeah....NOOOOOO.
M: Nooooo, that's silly.
G: (Big smile)

Tee Toes (Commonly Known As Stickers)

Caught With Your Hand In The Peanut Butter Jar

Sweet Faces

The Other Boy Next Door

We have decided that you and Dominic are going to be best friends. Dominic is three months older than you, but you're the same size. You like to giggle at each other, drool on each other's toys and cause mischief (at least that's what we expect once you're both mobile).

The Boy Next Door

Zachary's school was closed on Good Friday, so he hung out with us while his mommy and daddy were at work. Zachary is really good for you because he won't stand for your bullying. He'll give you a well-deserved dose of your own medicine. We're hoping he's the remedy to your hitting.

Retired

Love Those Skinny Legs

Free Stickers In Yesterday's Mail

It Fits!

Your daddy's old Daisy Duke shirt fits you! He wore it in the first grade, so it's a little big for you. You wore it to school last week and your teachers asked if you got your shirt at a vintage store. They were pretty impressed that it was your daddy's. We've got a few more t-shirts stored in your closet just waiting for you to grow in to them.

Wanna Rock 'n Roll All Night And Potty Everyday

Foot Fetish

Evening Bath Cut Short By Unexpected Baby Leak

"Bebe Pahmer poddy juhjuh baf updair." Translation: "Baby Palmer (went) potty (in) Georgia's bath upstairs." THis is the longest sentence you've said to date, and I am so impressed.

I love to listen to you. Let me rephrase...I love to listen to you when you're not whining. For some reason you think that speaking in loud, glass breakingly high pitches will get you what you want. I will admit that it's tempting to give in to your demands just to quiet you. But the books all say that that only leads to more whining. I really shouldn't complain because I was an expert whiner. I guess this is payback.

Size these days is, to you, familial. Trucks are daddy trucks (or big daddy trucks), little cars are baby cars, etc. You're also very concerned about the location of mommies and daddies. Your current favorite book is "Giggle, Giggle, Quack" and everytime you see a picture of the trouble making duck you inquire about the location of its parents. This poses two problems for me: one, the duck is on every page of the book, so you ask the question with every turn of the page. Two, the duck's mommy and daddy don't appear in the book, so there's never an answer to your question. I spend most of the book making up places where the duck's mommy and daddy are hiding: in the barn, in the field, etc.

You've become quite the singer lately. You're constantly singing "ABCDs" ("ABCDEFG, next time won't you sing with me?" is the abridged version), Where Is Thumbkin, and the Bumble Bee song. Sometimes we'll be quitely driving along and you'll say "I need more." So I ask "need more what?" to which you respond "I need more ABCDs" very matter of factly. You love BINGO and call it "BINGO Jump" because you like to jump up and down when I sing it to you.

You're so eager for your baby brother to grow up and play with you. You're still rough with him and you hit him a lot, but we're learning to read your mind and catch you before you smack him (sometimes). Today Palmer was lying on your bed and you decided you wanted him to be on the floor. So you grabbed his foot and started pulling him off the bed. Luckily your daddy caught him mid tumble before he face planted on the floor. That's the closest call we've had to date to an ER visit for Palmer.

4m

You're nearly five months old so it seems appropriate that I'm just now getting your four month stats posted. You measured 26.5 inches tall (90%) and weighed 14 lbs 8 oz (75%). You're still 1/4 taller than your sister at this age, but you're a little lighter.

We've started you on solids and you LOVE them. Your sister wasn't a big fan of cereals, but you devour rice and oatmeal cereal. You get so excited at dinnertime. We can hardly get the spoon to your mouth fast enough. You squeal, kick, flail your arms around and smile. Last night you were so animated that you kicked the bowl of oatmeal out of my hand. Messy but cute. The solids are really helping you sleep longer, too. As long as we fill you full of a couple of bowls of cereal at dinner, you'll sleep until about 5 a.m. It's heavenly.

You're rolling over like a champ these days, but only from back to front. You used to hate tummy time. Now we can't keep you on your back. You're really diggin' your exersaucer. You don't have a ton of endurance for it just yet, but you're good for ten or so minutes at a time. You're still a happy, cuddly little guy. I think your cuddliness is my favorite part about your right now. I hope you're always that way.

Lookin' In The Fountain With Lauren

Pensive

Finally! A Picture of You Together!

Phamily Photo

Our friends, the Lewises, were in town last week so we all got together for a photo shoot. Their lives seem to parallel ours with a thriving photography business, a beautiful two-year-old girl (Lauren) and a newborn son (Noah). The terrible twos were in full effect, so we were pleased when we found one picture of the four of us with you behaving.

Instant Friends

I've been wishing for this your entire life! Let me explain...Jessie is the four-year-old daughter of one of my greatest friends, Carol. She and her parents used to live in Austin but moved away right about the time you were born. They recently moved back to Austin, and my dream of the two of you being able to play together has been realized.

Jessie hung out with us while her mommy and daddy unpacked their house. It was the first time you two had played together, and I was a little nervous that you wouldn't get along. My fears were squashed the second Jessie walked in our front door. She walked right up to you and started playing. You were instantly smitten with her, and I couldn't help but tear up while watching you two play together.

It was also the first time I've seen you play "with" someone. You usually play "near" someone, but you were actually interacting with Jessie. I guess you've grown past the stage of parallel play. Watching and listening to the two of you play is such a hoot. You two played upstairs while I made lunch. All I could hear were running footsteps, lots of giggles and a few friendly collisions. It was such a wonderful day for both of us.

While you and Jessie play like best friends, you fight like sisters. Jessie was upset when you were holding a tape of hers at her house last week. Instead of just handing it over to her, you slowly stuck your tongue out and licked it! I remember the whole thing in slow motion and could see your mind working out the most maddening response to Jessie's request that you return her tape. Jessie's mommy and I had to swallow our laughs as we tried to convince the two of you to share.

I can tell you and Jessie are going to be great buddies. You talk about her everyday, and we remember her in your nighttime prayers (when you sit still long enough to say them).

Playing In Sissy's Big Girl Bed

Almost Fits

Your daddy got a hole-in-one playing golf a few months ago, so to celebrate his (self-proclaimed) awesomeness he got himself a huge ring. He recently let you try it on.

Phases

I try really hard not to wish away your littleness. It's so easy to think to myself "I can't wait until..." or "things will be so much easier when...." Instead, I try to remember that you'll only be my sweet, soft, cuddly little baby boy once. Before I know it I'll be wondering where the time went (grown ups do this a lot).

However, there is one phase that I absolutely CANNOT wait for you to outgrow: overnight feedings. I am SO tired! I don't mean tired like "oh, it sure would be nice if I could catch a few zzzz's while you take your afternoon nap." I mean tired like "should I be driving?" or "do I have a brain tumor or a terminal headache?" or "maybe the reason I've been sick this ENTIRE year is because I haven't slept more than four hours in a row since you were born."

I realize you are a growing boy and that you need to eat. And getting up with you once in the night isn't all that bad. But this four to five times a night MUST stop. I promise that you will experience a much higher quality of life if mommy gets some sleep. I'll have more energy to take you fun places, do laundry so you have clean clothes to wear, vacuum so you don't have to play on fur-covered carpets, and other activities that I'm too tired to remember right now.

A Real Stand Up Guy

Breakfast For Dinner

Drooler

Super Palmer!

Awesome Family Photos

These were actually taken about six weeks ago. Our incredibly talented photographer friend, Stacy Cross, took them. I'm still in love with these photos. We're taking photos again in March with our fellow photography family, the Lewises. I plan to be significantly thinner for that shoot.

Car Fash

After dirtying myself several times by brushing up against my filthy car, I decided today was the day to get the car washed. I usually take one or both of you to the car wash (or, as Georgia calls it, the "car fash") where we sit in the waiting area while the good folks at Genie Car Wash do a mediocre job washing it inside and out.

Today, since we were near one, I went to one of those car wash places where you stay in the car. Georgia, you got all excited about going to the car wash (at least that's what I assumed because you said "car fash, car fash" about 300 times in the two blocks we drove to get there). Unfortunately, you and your brother were both frightened by the noises all the brushes and water made on the car. You flailed your arms around in an unsuccessful attempt to reach me while the belts on your car seat kept you stationary. Your brother cried out loudly several times, but he could have just been gassy. The experience turned out to be three of the more terrifying minutes of your lives.

Interestingly, you cheerfully declared "car fash" as we drove away from the horrifying contraption.