Pearly Whites

Alex cut two teeth within a couple days from each other--the first was the bottom left center tooth and a couple days later its counterpart on the right side came through. This was a bit of a surprise and he is the youngest any of the kids have been when they cut their first teeth. It makes me a bit sad to think he won't have his toothless Muppet-like smile much longer.

Progress Report

This week has been busy with parent-teacher conference and a well baby check-up so it seemed appropriate to give a quick rundown of how everyone is doing.

I met with Eva's teacher on Monday for a parent-teacher conference. Eva is doing really well in pre-Kindergarten. "I wish we had a room full of Evas" and "The next time I'm gone, I'm going to have Eva be my substitute" were some of the glowing things her teacher had to say. Eva is working above and beyond where they expect her to be. Go Eva!

Alex had his 6-month well baby appointment today. He weighs 20 pounds 7 ounces and is 27.5 inches tall; that puts him at the 90th and 80th percentiles respectively. Since his 4-month check up he grew 1 inch and gained 2 pounds. I'm hoping that his growth rate is starting to slack off a bit. Most babies double their birth weight by 6 months and he is just a pound shy of tripling it!

Developmentally, Alex is doing really well. He still doesn't roll over from back to front but the doctor isn't concerned (he either doesn't care or maybe it's just a lot of weight to move around). He is strong and wiggling around the floor, sitting up, vocalizing well, transfering objects from one hand to the other and even started banging two objects together. He is just fine.

Cora is now two and a half years old. We decided that enough was enough and this kid needed to potty train over the long Thanksgiving weekend. She is doing really well and I feel like the pride and confidence she is feeling by being potty trained just might be lessening her not-so-fun behavioral traits as of late. She is two and, man, she is REALLY good at it.

When Cora isn't yelling "NO," she is incredibly funny. She is also observant and a problem solver. Today, when we were waiting behind some cars at a red light she was suggesting that I go different directions. I told her that we had to go straight to get to where we were going. She said, "But you can't go straight because the cars are in the way." We'll work on her understanding of traffic laws next.

Literal

Cora: Goodbye, Brody!
Eva: That's not Brody.
Cora: Goodbye, Not Brody!

Why I Love This Man

Matt is a great husband. He works 40+ hours a week, brings home the bacon and fries it up (literally). He does housework and home improvement projects. He reads to and plays with the kids every day. Most importantly, he does all these things with a smile.

He is not a macho man and has nothing to prove. He is not materialistic in the least and is never caught up in appearances. He is always looking out for our family and making sure we are taken care of now and for the future. But this is why I really love him:

This is Althea Mae. Back in December 1984, when an 8-year old Matt was dreaming of an Optimus Prime Transformer (like most boys that year), he found this under the Christmas tree instead. The story is retold every Christmas and it never gets old.

Eva and Cora now play with Althea and with my old Cabbage Patch doll (Carla Marie, in case you were curious). Eva was playing with them one weekend last month when we realized it was October 1 and Matt remembered that it was Althea's 27th birthday.


Matt hammed it up for the camera.

I wish you could have seen it in person because I laughed so hard that I cried. This is why I love this man--he is HILARIOUS!

A man and his Cabbage Patch doll.

Eva's Journal

I stumbled across this link the other day--it's the site where we chronicled Eva's first year.
http://www.babysites.com/sites/babyeva/default.asp?page=home&seq=1

I had forgotten all about it and it was a fun trip down memory lane.

More Cora Funnies (again)

While taking Alex's temperature she said to me, "You are a very good doctor, Mommy."

Warning: Vulgar but funny
Cora had an incredibly long and loud toot (Matt and I were staring at her with our mouths open due to it's duration and volume). Afterward she said, "Oh, I burped!"

She also said of this song http://www.musictogether.com/ListentoOurSongs (click Hello Song to hear a snippet), "This is my favorite song!" Listen to it 5 times in a row and see if you wish you would suddenly lose your ability to hear.

Full Hands

My aunt has said in regard to the number of children one has, "One is like none and two is like ten." If that math is correct, then three kids is actually like 15 (or would it be 20?). It sure feels like it sometimes. The frenetic pace that three kids has brought is a little crazy (sometimes it's a lot crazy and I actually think I'm losing my mind). Matt sat down one evening recently and said with exasperation and exhaustion, "Somebody always needs something!" Gee, really?

I get why three kids might be a springboard to agreeing to have four, five or more children (though we are done!). I think it's that tipping point between manageable and plain nutty--once you've crossed over into nutty, you might as well stay the course.

Having Cora really rocked my world and I had a hard time "starting over again" with another newborn (no sleep, no schedule, no life). Adding Alex has been much easier. Maybe I was more prepared for the upset that was going to occur? Or maybe it helped that Eva can do a lot of her personal care and is very helpful around the house? Either way, adding him to our family was not too much of a shock.

Even though I have some days that I just want to put all three of them in a box with a sign that says, "Free to Good Home" I would obviously never trade them for anything. Each of them is so different and so special and have already taught me so much in their short little lives. I met a woman recently at Eva's school and she told me, "You have your hands beautifully full." And I truly do.