Sunday Afternoon Tea

Yesterday in Pictures

This is technically from the day before, but this is pretty much a daily occurrence in our backyard, so I think it's legit.

The crib never fails to be a source of entertainment and joy.

Check out the HAIR!

Also in the spectrum of never-ending sources of entertainment and joy are the guys who come to mow the lawn next door. They may or may not also be the source of my first question/answer with Maggie about cigarettes.

After literally three months of ONLY saying "Hi," Howie's communication seems to be taking off this week. And by taking off, I mean he's doing more than saying hi. Yesterday and today he started shaking his head "no" in response to me doing things or asking him questions. I feel like we bonded on a new level today now that we can communicate!! But I digress...while giving him lunch today it became obvious that he did not want me to feed him, he did not want the spoon, he wanted to feed HIMSELF. Obviously he is quite proud of this accomplishment.

And I am quite proud that a half-container of self-fed yogurt only resulted in this face. (Granted, it was a closely-supervised and assisted self-feeding session...)

Clearly yogurt is not the only scoop-worthy thing now.

Over vacation (post still to come), Maggie would say "CHEESE!" in the loudest, most hideous way whenever someone took out a camera. When I told Howie to look at me today, he looked up and said "CHHHHEEEEE!!" Not necessarily the most practical word he's learned, but we'll take it!

He's also working on "ball," although "cheese" is definitely more consistent.

In an attempt to keep each other sane during the (sometimes frequent) nights our husbands are away, my friend Aimee and I have become big fans of the late afternoon/dinnertime play/dinner/bath dates. It is total chaos with five kids, but way better to experience total chaos with someone else than by yourself, right? Maggie and Charis are big fans, too. (Yes, Maggie is wearing Howie's newborn bath towel.)

After Howie went down and our friends left, I promised Maggie a one-on-one game of Dora Candy Land. She is a highly skilled cheater at the ripe age of 2.75, and wins every time...as she should. Note her sorting through the cards to find the one she wants. I also love the purse slung over her shoulder. Not documented are the 20 times she reached in to reapply her new "lip gloss."

That's a good day in my book.

Legs

Other noteworthy news...

Howie is on the MOVE!

About a month ago he finally ventured away from the furniture. As expected, within the week he had completely given up on crawling and was RUNNING after Maggie.

(Please note: We HAVE had his hair cut since this picture. He looks much less like a girl now...although we're still digging the curls.)

Pull the Plug

The latest breaking news in our house this week is that Maggie is now sleeping without her plug (pacifier)!!

After dropping it behind her bed on Monday night, Gary informed her that it was gone and that the Pluggie Fairy would have to come and get it.

We have been trying for MONTHS for her to decide it was time for the Pluggie Fairy to come. She told us that she wanted her to bring her a purple car (specifically Holly Shiftwell from Cars 2 - she has never seen the movie, but her friend Charis has one, and isn't that good enough?). Not really a great trade, but I don't think she fully understands that concept yet. I'll take it...I know incentives will only get bigger and more expensive all too soon...

Thankfully, I had it sitting in my closet just waiting for the right moment.

Please note the time on the clock. This was when she finally fell asleep the first night. 

And she was up at 6 a.m. the next morning...ecstatic to find the car and the note.

Fortunately, things have gone much better than anticipated since then. She still asks for it and fake cries for it, but no true meltdowns.

I would like to take this moment to thank Sesame Street for not only teaching my children the alphabet and vocabulary words like "metamorphosis," but also giving us the GENIUS idea of the Pluggie Fairy. (Similar to the Tooth Fairy, for those wondering.)