Monday, March 24, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
rompin' around
lee-lee got the boys these darling rompers and hats for easter. they just looked so darn cute i had to do a photo shoot. thanks lee-lee!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
meme-squared: lucky seven!
okay, okay. i've been tagged twice now for two different memes by dawn and liz. and given that each have seven elements, and since that number is very lucky for me, i'll get to it.
First meme:
1. Where I was 10 years ago:
Ten years ago...that was 1998! I was a sophomore at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign, thank you), still living in the dorms - Allen Hall to be precise. I wouldn't have been living in the dorms if I had my way, but I was on the gymnastics team (see second meme) and they had some stupid rule that you had to live in the dorms for two years. But I really loved Allen Hall. Back then it was the artsy-fartsy dorm. You had to apply to live there. Everyone there either painted, threw pots, did photography, and/or played an instrument. Not like those silly jocks who lived in the six pack. HOLY CRAP! I just wrote all of this and realized that I really wasn't a sophomore in college, but was actually in my second year of grad school in Eugene, Oregon. I do this all the time (again, see second meme). You know, think that I'm actually four years younger than I really am. So for real, I was in Oregon getting my masters in Historic Building Preservation and Urban Planning. That's right, two of 'em!
2. 5 things on my “to do list” today:
a. Take a shower (check!)
b. Go to Costco (check)
c. Make lamb meatballs for the boys (lamb went bad because this was on my "to do" list for a whole week without me doing it)
d. Watch Lost
e. Call my sister-in-law
3. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Oh man! Build our dream house. A killer contemporary masterpiece perched on Lake Austin or overlooking the greenbelt. Furnish it with amazing mid-century pieces, including the womb chair in, like, every single room. Then build another killer contemporary masterpiece in Brazil as a vacation home. And then travel the world. And of course donate a bunch of it outright to great "changing-the-world" non-profits, probably set up my own foundation, and give all my family members and close friends a million a piece.
4. 3 of my bad habits:
a. Talking to J as I'm walking out of the room, or from across the house
b. Reading in the dark
c. Taking the boys for walks in the morning in my pajamas
5. 5 Places that I have lived:
a. Chicago, IL
b. Dallas, TX
c. Eugene, OR
d. St. Louis, MO
e. Austin, TX
6. 5 Jobs that I have had:
a. Gymnastics coach (high school)
b. Bookkeeper for a Health Food Store (college)
c. Nightclub Photographer (five years ago, don't ask - WORST JOB EVER!)
d. Fundraiser
e. Golf Caddy (for two weeks in high school)
7. Something most people don’t know about me:
As if you didn't get enough, see below for more than you bargained for!
Second meme: Seven Random Facts
1. I have a time-warp tendency that makes me about four years younger at any given moment. It really happens mostly when I think about high school and college. I graduated in 1992, but for some reason I always think it's really 1996. Trust me, my husband is quick to remind me (see below).
2. I married a guy I went to high school with. We met (again) at our 10-year reunion. He was the sweetest guy ever. Our sophomore year we kind of had crushes on one another and he invited me over to his house. I brought over Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (best movie ever) and made him watch it. For some reason I was riffling through his drawers (come on, people!) and found a "Stevenson High School Bench Press Champion" t-shirt that he had won. I stole it. Before the 10-year reunion I found it at the bottom of my dresser and started wearing it as a sleep shirt. He was reunited with his long lost shirt soon thereafter.
3. I was captain of the University of Illinois gymnastics team my junior and senior year.
4. I've always had a tendency towards weird food binges. In high school it was turkey sandwiches with sauerkraut and horseradish mustard. I ate it every day for lunch for 4 months. In college I was obsessed with Krunchers jalepeno potato chips. I would eat a big bag in one sitting, almost every day, for more months than I care to admit.
5. I met Duran Duran twice. Once at the Green Room in Dallas and once walking down North Michigan Avenue. I also was in love with John Taylor in 5th grade. Lucky me!
6. I broke my left arm twice in the same exact place. The first time I was six and my brother catapulted me backwards off his bed. The pillows we had set up didn't do much to soften my landing. The second time was in sixth grade and I fell off the uneven bars. I went on to later have surgery twice on that same arm. Poor arm!
7. I would love to be on Survivor or have J and I compete on The Amazing Race. We almost put together an audition tape for TAR, but ended up being pregnant with twins!
First meme:
1. Where I was 10 years ago:
Ten years ago...that was 1998! I was a sophomore at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign, thank you), still living in the dorms - Allen Hall to be precise. I wouldn't have been living in the dorms if I had my way, but I was on the gymnastics team (see second meme) and they had some stupid rule that you had to live in the dorms for two years. But I really loved Allen Hall. Back then it was the artsy-fartsy dorm. You had to apply to live there. Everyone there either painted, threw pots, did photography, and/or played an instrument. Not like those silly jocks who lived in the six pack. HOLY CRAP! I just wrote all of this and realized that I really wasn't a sophomore in college, but was actually in my second year of grad school in Eugene, Oregon. I do this all the time (again, see second meme). You know, think that I'm actually four years younger than I really am. So for real, I was in Oregon getting my masters in Historic Building Preservation and Urban Planning. That's right, two of 'em!
2. 5 things on my “to do list” today:
a. Take a shower (check!)
b. Go to Costco (check)
c. Make lamb meatballs for the boys (lamb went bad because this was on my "to do" list for a whole week without me doing it)
d. Watch Lost
e. Call my sister-in-law
3. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Oh man! Build our dream house. A killer contemporary masterpiece perched on Lake Austin or overlooking the greenbelt. Furnish it with amazing mid-century pieces, including the womb chair in, like, every single room. Then build another killer contemporary masterpiece in Brazil as a vacation home. And then travel the world. And of course donate a bunch of it outright to great "changing-the-world" non-profits, probably set up my own foundation, and give all my family members and close friends a million a piece.
4. 3 of my bad habits:
a. Talking to J as I'm walking out of the room, or from across the house
b. Reading in the dark
c. Taking the boys for walks in the morning in my pajamas
5. 5 Places that I have lived:
a. Chicago, IL
b. Dallas, TX
c. Eugene, OR
d. St. Louis, MO
e. Austin, TX
6. 5 Jobs that I have had:
a. Gymnastics coach (high school)
b. Bookkeeper for a Health Food Store (college)
c. Nightclub Photographer (five years ago, don't ask - WORST JOB EVER!)
d. Fundraiser
e. Golf Caddy (for two weeks in high school)
7. Something most people don’t know about me:
As if you didn't get enough, see below for more than you bargained for!
Second meme: Seven Random Facts
1. I have a time-warp tendency that makes me about four years younger at any given moment. It really happens mostly when I think about high school and college. I graduated in 1992, but for some reason I always think it's really 1996. Trust me, my husband is quick to remind me (see below).
2. I married a guy I went to high school with. We met (again) at our 10-year reunion. He was the sweetest guy ever. Our sophomore year we kind of had crushes on one another and he invited me over to his house. I brought over Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (best movie ever) and made him watch it. For some reason I was riffling through his drawers (come on, people!) and found a "Stevenson High School Bench Press Champion" t-shirt that he had won. I stole it. Before the 10-year reunion I found it at the bottom of my dresser and started wearing it as a sleep shirt. He was reunited with his long lost shirt soon thereafter.
3. I was captain of the University of Illinois gymnastics team my junior and senior year.
4. I've always had a tendency towards weird food binges. In high school it was turkey sandwiches with sauerkraut and horseradish mustard. I ate it every day for lunch for 4 months. In college I was obsessed with Krunchers jalepeno potato chips. I would eat a big bag in one sitting, almost every day, for more months than I care to admit.
5. I met Duran Duran twice. Once at the Green Room in Dallas and once walking down North Michigan Avenue. I also was in love with John Taylor in 5th grade. Lucky me!
6. I broke my left arm twice in the same exact place. The first time I was six and my brother catapulted me backwards off his bed. The pillows we had set up didn't do much to soften my landing. The second time was in sixth grade and I fell off the uneven bars. I went on to later have surgery twice on that same arm. Poor arm!
7. I would love to be on Survivor or have J and I compete on The Amazing Race. We almost put together an audition tape for TAR, but ended up being pregnant with twins!
priddy interesting
the boys LOVE my little word book by roger priddy. they can sit in front of that book for hours pointing to every picture and have me, dutifully, pronounce what each thing is. and, for the most part, i like this book too. it's great to say, "where's the truck?" and have them enthusiastically point to the truck, etc.
but i have noticed some interesting things about this book, especially since it boasts illustrating 300 "essential" first words. first off, there is a whole page dedicated to birds. now, ozzy happens to be a bird fanatic. the kid loves stuffed animal birds, his favorite being "b-b" the yellow and black bird that i don't even know the technical name for. so i'm all for having a page of birds. but come on now, kookaburra? is this really an essential first word? and macaw? hmmm.
and then, looking closer at the book, i notice some funny things. like the teddy bear is fluorescent pink. the car is a vw (new) bug. the snake is a coral snake, one of the most poisonous snakes you can find. the food page shows jelly beans, oreos, cupcakes, ice cream and a monster sub sandwich. the funniest, though, is the picture of the house and the school. the house is a 1860s gothic revival farmhouse in this picturesque rural setting. the school is a tranquil historic little red schoolhouse, even topped off with the cupola and school bell. while i would love this to be the "typical" house and school that my kids would recognize, i think most of america is a far cry from this. unfortunately my kids will identify more with a suburban ranch and brick or concrete box monstrosity of a school, probably with a dozen portable buildings littering the landscape to accommodate for overcrowding.
so who is this roger priddy anyways? i look around the boys' bookshelf and notice TONS of their books are by this guy. their "touch and feel" book are by him. their animal books are by him. so i do a "who is roger priddy" search on google and learn that this guy has produced hundreds of books for kids. hundreds. but i couldn't find anything about him. who he is as a person. what would drive him to include such seemingly strange/interesting things in a book of first words? i guess this is a good reminder to read, with great interest, all the books that my kids look at. and i do, but i never look at them with a good critical eye, like i should. because they spend so much time sitting with their books, just flipping the pages away, pointing to all the different images. and i'm sure these images make real impressions.
so i guess, in a way, i owe a debt of gratitude to mr. priddy. because it will be great if these images, in some small way, influence the boys to think that a car should look like a vw bug (and not a humongous, gas guzzling SUV), that a house can be over one hundred years old, and that a school house doesn't need to look like a prison. priddy cool, if you ask me. now we just need to work on that food page.
but i have noticed some interesting things about this book, especially since it boasts illustrating 300 "essential" first words. first off, there is a whole page dedicated to birds. now, ozzy happens to be a bird fanatic. the kid loves stuffed animal birds, his favorite being "b-b" the yellow and black bird that i don't even know the technical name for. so i'm all for having a page of birds. but come on now, kookaburra? is this really an essential first word? and macaw? hmmm.
and then, looking closer at the book, i notice some funny things. like the teddy bear is fluorescent pink. the car is a vw (new) bug. the snake is a coral snake, one of the most poisonous snakes you can find. the food page shows jelly beans, oreos, cupcakes, ice cream and a monster sub sandwich. the funniest, though, is the picture of the house and the school. the house is a 1860s gothic revival farmhouse in this picturesque rural setting. the school is a tranquil historic little red schoolhouse, even topped off with the cupola and school bell. while i would love this to be the "typical" house and school that my kids would recognize, i think most of america is a far cry from this. unfortunately my kids will identify more with a suburban ranch and brick or concrete box monstrosity of a school, probably with a dozen portable buildings littering the landscape to accommodate for overcrowding.
so who is this roger priddy anyways? i look around the boys' bookshelf and notice TONS of their books are by this guy. their "touch and feel" book are by him. their animal books are by him. so i do a "who is roger priddy" search on google and learn that this guy has produced hundreds of books for kids. hundreds. but i couldn't find anything about him. who he is as a person. what would drive him to include such seemingly strange/interesting things in a book of first words? i guess this is a good reminder to read, with great interest, all the books that my kids look at. and i do, but i never look at them with a good critical eye, like i should. because they spend so much time sitting with their books, just flipping the pages away, pointing to all the different images. and i'm sure these images make real impressions.
so i guess, in a way, i owe a debt of gratitude to mr. priddy. because it will be great if these images, in some small way, influence the boys to think that a car should look like a vw bug (and not a humongous, gas guzzling SUV), that a house can be over one hundred years old, and that a school house doesn't need to look like a prison. priddy cool, if you ask me. now we just need to work on that food page.
our top chef claim
anyone see top chef chicago last night? all of a sudden, in the middle of the show, appears cafe brauer, the place where j and i were married 3.5 years ago. so cool! the lincoln park zoo soirée "challenge" was held in this space that took our breath away - and still does. those top chef folks really have some great taste!
a view from above at our wedding:
even the boys have been to cafe brauer! here we are just a few months before the boys were born, reliving wonderful moments:
a view from above at our wedding:
even the boys have been to cafe brauer! here we are just a few months before the boys were born, reliving wonderful moments:
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
busy busy boys
i feel like i need about eight eyes around my head these days. the boys are having a blast playing, and i try to give them their space some of the time, until they say that they need me or want me to play, hug or cuddle with them. of course, lots of times i can't resist jumping in on the fun, but i've noticed that sometimes it interrupts their groove.
yesterday i looked over at the boys reading their books by the media center. oz pointed to the DVD player and smiled. i noticed it read "no disk," and i saw the DVD that had been in there sitting next to him. he was very proud that he opened the player, pulled out the disk, and then closed it!
we're gradually getting them used to the child care center at the health club. yesterday was their fourth time and i came back after 25 minutes to see them sitting in a row with 6 other toddles - calm, happy and totally mesmerized by baby einstein on the big screen. we never have the tv on at home, and it was clear these kids were into it!
j came home early from work and we took the boys to the playground after dinner. oz has mastered walking in the pea gravel and that boy was working the playground like i've never seen. he was climbing the jungle gym, going back and forth in the tunnel, and then he decided to go down the slide by himself. for some reason, he wanted to go down face first, but i grabbed him and flipped him to a seated position at the last second. j was sitting at the bottom of the slide with abie, and oz starts to go down, but decides that he really did want to go down face first. so as he starts to slide, he projects himself forward and literally did a somersault down the slide. j almost had a heart attack. oz ended up at the bottom of the slide like, "what! what's the problem, people?!" gotta watch that kid, i tell you.
abie is really into hammering things, especially his work bench with the four balls that he can hammer down. this morning i heard the boys laughing and i looked over to see abie lightly tapping ozzy's head with the hammer. they both got the biggest kick over it. i turned away, then looked back to see abie hammering ozzy's head with all his might, and seconds later oz's laughs turned to screams.
i can't wait to see what the rest of today brings!
yesterday i looked over at the boys reading their books by the media center. oz pointed to the DVD player and smiled. i noticed it read "no disk," and i saw the DVD that had been in there sitting next to him. he was very proud that he opened the player, pulled out the disk, and then closed it!
we're gradually getting them used to the child care center at the health club. yesterday was their fourth time and i came back after 25 minutes to see them sitting in a row with 6 other toddles - calm, happy and totally mesmerized by baby einstein on the big screen. we never have the tv on at home, and it was clear these kids were into it!
j came home early from work and we took the boys to the playground after dinner. oz has mastered walking in the pea gravel and that boy was working the playground like i've never seen. he was climbing the jungle gym, going back and forth in the tunnel, and then he decided to go down the slide by himself. for some reason, he wanted to go down face first, but i grabbed him and flipped him to a seated position at the last second. j was sitting at the bottom of the slide with abie, and oz starts to go down, but decides that he really did want to go down face first. so as he starts to slide, he projects himself forward and literally did a somersault down the slide. j almost had a heart attack. oz ended up at the bottom of the slide like, "what! what's the problem, people?!" gotta watch that kid, i tell you.
abie is really into hammering things, especially his work bench with the four balls that he can hammer down. this morning i heard the boys laughing and i looked over to see abie lightly tapping ozzy's head with the hammer. they both got the biggest kick over it. i turned away, then looked back to see abie hammering ozzy's head with all his might, and seconds later oz's laughs turned to screams.
i can't wait to see what the rest of today brings!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
hill country sunday
we took the boys to pedernales (per-da-na-lis) state park today. abie loved searching for the little shells in the sand, so much so he tried to eat the them several times. now if i can only get him to try a piece of actual fish! oz-man was a bit more adventurous and had a blast running around in the sand and trying to chase matilda.
the apple doesn't fall far from the martial arts tree. ozzy demonstrates that his opponent's eagle claw is no match for his tiger fist: 
Saturday, March 15, 2008
International Men of Mystery
Here's the boy's Chinese Blog debut! We met a really sweet guy and his son, Aidan, at the park yesterday. Oz was completely fascinated with Aidan's hair, as we all were, and couldn't stop touching it. He was remarkably gentle exploring his new friend's face, unlike how he is with Abie. Billy, the father, took some pretty hilarious video of it all, so I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up on his blog. Anyways, it was pretty funny that at the end of our playtime, we exchanged blogs and were on our merry way. Is a blog the new calling card?
Thursday, March 13, 2008
curiouser and curiouser
this is one of my favorite ozzy faces. it's the face that says, "hey, whaddya' got over there? is that something i should be interested in?" it's just such a nuanced expression. and he does it all the time, because he just has to know what's going on.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
just like that
last week j and i talked about stopping the last morning feeding. we've been in a rut with the boys' sleep lately. i don't want to complain because they are excellent sleepers - at least 11 hours straight every night. i know we have it lucky. but we've also known for a while that they just need a little bit more. for better or for worse, our boys need PLENTY of sleep to be well-oiled machines. around their first birthday, they'd get up at 5:30ish, nurse, and go back to sleep until 7am. this was at a bedtime of 6pm. beautiful. but for the past month they've been nixing that last sleep push. and we've been feeling the repercussions with crabby boys and inconsistent naps. we knew nursing was getting in the way. once we got them out of bed, that was it. so last week j and i were at our wits end and after an early wakening, said, "let's just give them a sip of water tomorrow morning and put them back in their cribs." that night, as we were putting the boys to bed, j said to them, "this morning was the last time you'll nurse." i gulped. it was like the conversation in the morning didn't exist. was i really ready for this?
so i decided to give it through the weekend, i guess so i could make peace with this ending. it wasn't glorious or anything. i didn't have any epiphanies, other than i feel incredibly privileged, a little bit lucky, and a lot proud of sticking with it for this long. man, we had a rocky road at first. but it straighted out and served us all well, and after this weekend i had the strong feeling that we were all ready to move on. and then yesterday morning, when oskar nibbled instead of nursed, that feeling was more than affirmed.
so this morning when abie woke up at 5:50am (and that's with the new bedtime of 7pm thanks to DLS), we checked to see if it was a poo, gave him a sip of water, and put him and the awakened oz-man back to bed. they slept until 7:15am, happy as clams. when they woke up, we gave them their cup of milk and started breakfast. no complaints, no "what's going on here?" looks, nothing that would make you suspect anything was out of the ordinary. it happened just like that.
so i decided to give it through the weekend, i guess so i could make peace with this ending. it wasn't glorious or anything. i didn't have any epiphanies, other than i feel incredibly privileged, a little bit lucky, and a lot proud of sticking with it for this long. man, we had a rocky road at first. but it straighted out and served us all well, and after this weekend i had the strong feeling that we were all ready to move on. and then yesterday morning, when oskar nibbled instead of nursed, that feeling was more than affirmed.
so this morning when abie woke up at 5:50am (and that's with the new bedtime of 7pm thanks to DLS), we checked to see if it was a poo, gave him a sip of water, and put him and the awakened oz-man back to bed. they slept until 7:15am, happy as clams. when they woke up, we gave them their cup of milk and started breakfast. no complaints, no "what's going on here?" looks, nothing that would make you suspect anything was out of the ordinary. it happened just like that.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
like all good things...
today was abie's day, and it was worth the wait. i knew he was on the verge and today he showed us his walking chops. he is so unbelievably cute when he walks, it's too much. it's almost like a little shuffle. we've got mr. marcher and the shuffler. i love it! he loves his new skilz so much, he was practicing all day with a huge smile on his face. you'll reach the goods around the 30 second mark, so you'll just have to be patient, like we've been!
Saturday, March 01, 2008
just a spoonful of...
we entered the world of self-spoon-feeding this weekend and it's been hilarious! the boys, as you can see, have very different approaches. the messier the better for oz. and he gets seriously offended if you try and help him. don't ask me how abel manages to stay so clean. and he's getting yogurt in his mouth and everything!
lucky 13
i had just gotten used to the fact that they were one, and now they went ahead and added a month to that in no time flat! i realize that i've been woefully neglectful keeping up with their monthly profiles, and never even wrote one for 11 or 12 months. shame, shame! honestly, i think now that they are one, i'll probably give myself some slack and just talk about major things that are going on, instead of trying to do some kind of regular character analysis. because realistically, they change so fast that they call me a liar half the time.
on the big picture front, we're down to nursing one time a day, first thing when they wake up. it honestly feels so liberating to not nurse them during the day anymore. i can wear real shirts again! the boys did an amazing job weaning themselves. it started just after their one year birthday and it happened so seamlessly and naturally. i was nursing them three times a day, and they dropped a feeding a week. they just had better things to do then lay on a nursing pillow for even 60 seconds. i think this remaining feeding will probably last for another week or so. i've noticed it getting shorter and shorter. so i've officially achieved my goal of breastfeeding these guys for a full year - hoorray!
on the big picture front, we're down to nursing one time a day, first thing when they wake up. it honestly feels so liberating to not nurse them during the day anymore. i can wear real shirts again! the boys did an amazing job weaning themselves. it started just after their one year birthday and it happened so seamlessly and naturally. i was nursing them three times a day, and they dropped a feeding a week. they just had better things to do then lay on a nursing pillow for even 60 seconds. i think this remaining feeding will probably last for another week or so. i've noticed it getting shorter and shorter. so i've officially achieved my goal of breastfeeding these guys for a full year - hoorray!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
abelicious
there's one thing about our abel that does not budge - he is just sweet as sugar. he's got the gentlest demeanor for a child. the way he pets matilda just melts my heart. he'll just take one finger and rub her face ever so lightly. that's right before he gently sticks his finger in her eye ball, an obsession of his for several months now. i can't tell you how many times i had to create a barrier between him and oz when they were nursing because he would constantly try and touch oz's eye. it was too funny!
abie j takes a few steps here and there, but hasn't put it all together yet to start "really" walking. i feel like he's on the verge of a breakthrough. you can tell he's thinking about it, and he'll venture the few steps between chair and door, or wall and table, but that's about it. he doesn't seem to be bothered the least bit watching his brother cruise around him on two feet, though.
abie loves to feed other people. he will alternate between putting food in his mouth and then holding his hand out for me to eat the cheerio. that counts for matilda, too, and he somehow knows that when he's done, he can feed matilda the leftovers from his plate. mati takes food so gently from him, and it never ceases to amaze and crack up the boys. abie is more of a methodical eater and will take his time between bites, surveying his plate and choosing what he'll consume next. when he's done, he takes great delight in lining up his leftovers on the side of his placemat. he LOVES kashi waffles with butter. all i can say is thank god for these healthy, frozen, convenient goodies. if it weren't for waffles, i don't know what the boys would eat half the time.
abes is pretty strategic when it comes to playing with his brother. for the most part, they do really well together, but oz has a bullish way about him when it comes to toys he wants. sometimes he crosses the line and abie gets pretty bent out of shape. but often, he figures out a way to keep his toy, whether through diversion (letting oz have the toy, playing with a new toy that oz will be interested in, oz takes the new toy and abie gets his original toy back), or through keep-away. abie will rotate on his butt, turning his back on oz so he can't get to the toy. he's super fast and oz just can't get to it most of the time. or he'll do the side throw. he'll see oz coming and just as he's about to grab, abie will throw the toy to the other side so oz can't get it. it's just hysterical!
abie's favorite game, besides peek-a-boo (of course), is chase. he will crawl towards the other room, look back with a big ol' smile to get ozzy's or my attention, see us coming and then crawl away, laughing hysterically, as fast as he can. he also loves to touch faces and him and oz will just crack up as they touch each other's nose, mouth, hair, ears, etc. my glasses are an endless source of fascination for him, and i let him push my glasses up, then pull them back in place. it's like an alternate form of peek-a-boo that he loves.
abie shows his affection through head butts nuzzles. j taught him to head butt a few weeks ago and abes has taken it to a whole new level. he butts, and then continues to nuzzle into you for a few seconds. and then, of course, is his trademark move - the ray charles. just say the words and he starts wiggling his whole body and swaying his head from side to side. this guy has got some serious moves!!!
abie j takes a few steps here and there, but hasn't put it all together yet to start "really" walking. i feel like he's on the verge of a breakthrough. you can tell he's thinking about it, and he'll venture the few steps between chair and door, or wall and table, but that's about it. he doesn't seem to be bothered the least bit watching his brother cruise around him on two feet, though.
abie loves to feed other people. he will alternate between putting food in his mouth and then holding his hand out for me to eat the cheerio. that counts for matilda, too, and he somehow knows that when he's done, he can feed matilda the leftovers from his plate. mati takes food so gently from him, and it never ceases to amaze and crack up the boys. abie is more of a methodical eater and will take his time between bites, surveying his plate and choosing what he'll consume next. when he's done, he takes great delight in lining up his leftovers on the side of his placemat. he LOVES kashi waffles with butter. all i can say is thank god for these healthy, frozen, convenient goodies. if it weren't for waffles, i don't know what the boys would eat half the time.
abes is pretty strategic when it comes to playing with his brother. for the most part, they do really well together, but oz has a bullish way about him when it comes to toys he wants. sometimes he crosses the line and abie gets pretty bent out of shape. but often, he figures out a way to keep his toy, whether through diversion (letting oz have the toy, playing with a new toy that oz will be interested in, oz takes the new toy and abie gets his original toy back), or through keep-away. abie will rotate on his butt, turning his back on oz so he can't get to the toy. he's super fast and oz just can't get to it most of the time. or he'll do the side throw. he'll see oz coming and just as he's about to grab, abie will throw the toy to the other side so oz can't get it. it's just hysterical!
abie's favorite game, besides peek-a-boo (of course), is chase. he will crawl towards the other room, look back with a big ol' smile to get ozzy's or my attention, see us coming and then crawl away, laughing hysterically, as fast as he can. he also loves to touch faces and him and oz will just crack up as they touch each other's nose, mouth, hair, ears, etc. my glasses are an endless source of fascination for him, and i let him push my glasses up, then pull them back in place. it's like an alternate form of peek-a-boo that he loves.
abie shows his affection through head butts nuzzles. j taught him to head butt a few weeks ago and abes has taken it to a whole new level. he butts, and then continues to nuzzle into you for a few seconds. and then, of course, is his trademark move - the ray charles. just say the words and he starts wiggling his whole body and swaying his head from side to side. this guy has got some serious moves!!!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
all about oz
at 13 months, oz-man has really taken off. he took his first steps 10 days before his first birthday and now is a bona-fide toddler. i'd say he's vertical about 90 percent of the time and loves to walk just for the sake of walking. often you'll find him traversing the room with b-b and scarlet in each hand (stuffed animal birds that chirp from the audabon society...his favorite!). it still catches me off guard sometimes to look over my shoulder and see my little baby walking around!
ozzy's nickname is peter-pointer. man, he loves to use that index finger! he must point out EVERYTHING to me. the lights, the trees, matilda, ally, the high chair...the list goes on and on. it's so much fun to know he understands so much and knows so many things by their name. he's not calling many things by their name, though. he says dada, mama and nanana (go figure, see below). and he also says, "didi," which i think is for diaper.
if i didn't know better, i'd swear oskar was part monkey. he loves bananas that much. you say the word, or better yet show him one, and you'd think he would burst out of his skin with the excitement of it all. he can easily eat two bananas to himself in one sitting. and now i know why i craved fruit so much during my pregnancy! oskar eats fruit for every meal. we call him a fruit-aholic. and any fruit will do. add some cheerios, kashi waffles, tofu and cheese to to the mix and you've pretty much nailed his diet. the kid eats like a wolf, just like his father. he can't shovel it in fast enough. it really doesn't matter that his cheeks are about to burst, he still can get another bite of waffle or mango in. i've resorted to dolling food out for him or else it's a serious choking hazard.
as far as play goes, he's adventurous and aggressive. he loves to climb the big kids jungle gym to get to the yellow tunnel up top. that's when i go into high gear and whisk up abel (who is attempting to climb the little slide) and run up the jungle gym to meet oskar at the end of the tunnel, which also happens to be at the top of the tall slide. yikes! sometimes there are some hairy logistics when it comes to one mom and two kids at the playground! oz is a master at stacking rings, all sizes and shapes are welcome, and is getting pretty good at building blocks. he also loves books and can sit in front of the book shelf for a good 30 minutes just flipping pages and looking at all the pictures. i give him a book to occupy him on the changing table (or else he's flipped and standing in a nanosecond), or while he's in his crib waiting for his turn with mama before their nap. it cracks me up because it's like he's already learned the pleasure of reading on the toilet and before bed!
oz definitely has a penchant for being attracted to anything his brother is looking at or doing and will walk over and swipe it right out of his hands (or push him out of the way). we're working on that. he now knows that it's not acceptable and he'll look over at me to see if i'm watching as he contemplates making a steal. more times than not, he'll decide to go for something else now. amazing!
the boys are masters at playing peek-a-boo with doors, a game that never ceases to crack them up. we have towels over every door to avoid little fingers getting crunched.
we've also entered tantrum land with oskar, who takes great offense to not getting his way. his style is to lay face down on the floor and cry. it lasts for a few minutes and then he'll notice abie and i playing and will snap out of it, just like that. it's pretty crazy.
oz-man is super affectionate. his play is punctuated with trips to me and/or jordan for a hug or snuggle. he'll walk or crawl over to us and dive into our laps or shoulders. it melts our hearts every time! he can also be very sweet with abie. their new thing is "head butting," which jordan first taught abie. now oz will go over and head butt abie or rest his head on his shoulder or lap! it's beyond adorable.
ozzy's nickname is peter-pointer. man, he loves to use that index finger! he must point out EVERYTHING to me. the lights, the trees, matilda, ally, the high chair...the list goes on and on. it's so much fun to know he understands so much and knows so many things by their name. he's not calling many things by their name, though. he says dada, mama and nanana (go figure, see below). and he also says, "didi," which i think is for diaper.
if i didn't know better, i'd swear oskar was part monkey. he loves bananas that much. you say the word, or better yet show him one, and you'd think he would burst out of his skin with the excitement of it all. he can easily eat two bananas to himself in one sitting. and now i know why i craved fruit so much during my pregnancy! oskar eats fruit for every meal. we call him a fruit-aholic. and any fruit will do. add some cheerios, kashi waffles, tofu and cheese to to the mix and you've pretty much nailed his diet. the kid eats like a wolf, just like his father. he can't shovel it in fast enough. it really doesn't matter that his cheeks are about to burst, he still can get another bite of waffle or mango in. i've resorted to dolling food out for him or else it's a serious choking hazard.
as far as play goes, he's adventurous and aggressive. he loves to climb the big kids jungle gym to get to the yellow tunnel up top. that's when i go into high gear and whisk up abel (who is attempting to climb the little slide) and run up the jungle gym to meet oskar at the end of the tunnel, which also happens to be at the top of the tall slide. yikes! sometimes there are some hairy logistics when it comes to one mom and two kids at the playground! oz is a master at stacking rings, all sizes and shapes are welcome, and is getting pretty good at building blocks. he also loves books and can sit in front of the book shelf for a good 30 minutes just flipping pages and looking at all the pictures. i give him a book to occupy him on the changing table (or else he's flipped and standing in a nanosecond), or while he's in his crib waiting for his turn with mama before their nap. it cracks me up because it's like he's already learned the pleasure of reading on the toilet and before bed!
oz definitely has a penchant for being attracted to anything his brother is looking at or doing and will walk over and swipe it right out of his hands (or push him out of the way). we're working on that. he now knows that it's not acceptable and he'll look over at me to see if i'm watching as he contemplates making a steal. more times than not, he'll decide to go for something else now. amazing!
the boys are masters at playing peek-a-boo with doors, a game that never ceases to crack them up. we have towels over every door to avoid little fingers getting crunched.
we've also entered tantrum land with oskar, who takes great offense to not getting his way. his style is to lay face down on the floor and cry. it lasts for a few minutes and then he'll notice abie and i playing and will snap out of it, just like that. it's pretty crazy.
oz-man is super affectionate. his play is punctuated with trips to me and/or jordan for a hug or snuggle. he'll walk or crawl over to us and dive into our laps or shoulders. it melts our hearts every time! he can also be very sweet with abie. their new thing is "head butting," which jordan first taught abie. now oz will go over and head butt abie or rest his head on his shoulder or lap! it's beyond adorable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
