Daily Daisy (and Caleb, too!)

March 2

2012-03-02T20:48:00.000-06:00

Today was one of those days.

Is it just me, or have we been having a lot of those lately?

Anyway. It was one of those days. Grumpy, whiny kids. Short naps. I spent most of this afternoon frantically trying to devise plans to keep them entertained, because they just weren't happy. So. We played outside. We painted with paint. We colored with markers. We folded laundry. We read books. We painted with yogurt. We went outside again. Do you notice how everything is "we"? Normally, I would be able to let them do some of this on their own. Well, Caleb at least. And Daisy is usually content to play by herself to a certain extent. But not today. Today, it was all Mommy, all the time.

I am exhausted.

But yogurt painting was a big hit! It started out as a Daisy-only activity to keep her occupied while Caleb painted with the real stuff. But Caleb wanted to have some, too.

I just used plain Greek yogurt with a few drops of food coloring, but you would have thought I had used ice cream the way Daisy gobbled it up!

Caleb was surprisingly meticulous and neat with his yogurt. He thought it was especially fun that he didn't have to use a plate; I plopped the yogurt down on some waxed paper.

Daisy, surveying her creation and licking her fingers.

Fun!

(BTW, I love this bib. I was thinking today that it was possibly one of my best online purchases ever. I highly recommend.)

March 1

2012-03-01T20:33:00.000-06:00

Hello, March!

My mind always equates March with springtime, but in our area we seem to always have that one rogue late-March snowfall. So even though the sun is shining and the daffodils are blooming and the windows are open, I keep telling myself that it's not spring yet.

Someone is going to have to tell the weather that, though.

Caleb enjoyed a barefoot lunch on the deck.

Daisy enjoyed playing with Caleb's toys while he was busy eating.

Oop! She's about to touch the basketball hoop! Good thing Caleb was engrossed in his PBJ.

Mid-scoot, just so you can get an idea of what it looks like. The girl is fast!

My mom came over later. Out of the blue, she offered to come over and play with the kids so that I could run errands or just have an hour off. How nice is that?

Caleb and Daisy were so excited to play with Grandma. But they were also thrilled to play with each other. Mom held Daisy so that she could "get" Caleb. They both thought it was hilarious!

Got him!

(The funny light is the afternoon sun shining through the tree right in front of the window. It gives everything a nice dappled quality that looks odd in photos.)

Mom also brought me some daffodils. While I was gone, she and Caleb picked the forsythia from a bush on the side of our house.

Perhaps spring has sprung, after all!

February 29

2012-02-29T21:39:00.000-06:00

Have I mentioned that Daisy adores Caleb?

Most of today's pictures feature her gazing adoringly at her brother. And why shouldn't she? Kids this cool don't come around every day.

This is what mornings look like in our house: a groggy boy with crazy hair in his pjs and... Mommy's shoes?

(Side note: this photo isn't entirely factual. Most mornings, Caleb gets up when it is still dark outside. Lately it's been around 5:45. So when this picture was taken, he had been awake for nearly two hours. I suppose that would explain why, at 10:00 this morning, I put Pandora on the computer and let Caleb sit on a chair to watch the video-less screen. Minutes later, I returned to find him nodding off, almost falling off the chair.)

See? Gazing adoringly at her pajama-clad brother.

Guess who this loving look is directed toward?

Yep.

But again, can you blame her? He's pretty cool!

Girl is totally into her play table. Still won't pull up on it, but totally into it nonetheless.

Later, I opened up our big sliding door to let Caleb run on the deck. I turned away for a moment, and when I looked back, Daisy had scooted right out the door. She loves to be outside, and boy is she quick!

"Who, me?"

She got into everything out there!

More adoring gazes at her brother. She's mimicking him, too. See the gumball in her hand?

Caleb, meanwhile, decided he was Diego and needed to rescue this monkey. His tricycle became his "rescue motorcycle". I'm not making this up.

"Clap your hands with me! Clap, clap, clap!"

Diego says that. I had no idea Caleb would repeat it verbatim! He's getting to the stage where it's scary what he notices and repeats. I think Chris and I may be in trouble soon!

February 28

2012-02-29T20:35:00.000-06:00

I know. You worry about me when I haven't posted by 10:30 pm. And to post a full twenty-four hours late is just cruel. But I have a reason, really. I was at book club pretty late last night, then got home and Daisy needed me rightthissecond and then we had the house re-appraised today (long story; the outcome of the appraisal doesn't affect us at all) so I spent the day cleaning and organizing and trying to make it look like we aren't living in a hovel (though sometimes it feels like we are...).

So. A post that is twenty-four hours late. Sorry.

How about some cute pictures of the kids to make up for it?

Tooth #2 did not make its appearance today, despite Daisy's best efforts. Maybe tomorrow.

I just want to squish her sweet little face!

She is in love with her "Who Loves Daisy?" book! It's the only non-touch-and-feel book she likes.

I love her face and the face she's making on the cover of the book. Too funny.

(Also, she's wearing a dress with BabyLegs. I generally don't prefer this because there's always a patch of exposed skin between the diaper and the top of the BabyLeg, but we had to do it because she had no clean pants to wear. She only has six or seven pairs, and this scooting thing gets them dirty so quickly. Plus, she's kind of a messy eater, so she can go through three pairs a day easily. So no pants today, and she got her one pair of sturdy tights dirty, too. She can't wear thin tights because she'll just scoot a hole in them. What's a mama to do?)

See glimmer in her eye? It's because she's about to scoot toward me at lightning speed and make a move on my camera. Don't worry - my cat-like mama reflexes still beat her baby reflexes, and she didn't get her grubby little hands on my camera. But she's determined, and I have no doubt that she will soon get the camera.

Later, we enjoyed the beautiful weather and went on a walk to the lake.

Caleb insisted on getting out of the BOB so that he could go "see" the geese.

Apparently "see" means "chase and generally harass" in Caleb's world.

On the way home, we stopped at the playground and had a major play-breakthrough:

This non-climber climbed up and mounted the bouncy horse all by himself.

Can you tell how proud he is?

I sat on a bench and talked him through how to mount the horse, and he did it! All by himself! Once he got on, we just looked at each other with shock and amazement. It was a pretty big moment for both of us.

February 27

2012-02-27T20:56:00.000-06:00

So far, so good.

Caleb and Daisy seem to be (mostly) done being sick. My stomach has hurt all day, but I've managed to refrain from emptying its contents, so I'm hoping I've avoided The Sickness, too. And aside from a cold, Chris is fine.

So maybe we're ok?

I forgot to take pictures today, which is funny because we did a whole lot of nothing.

But can I tell you how Caleb woke me up this morning?

Caleb and Daisy both woke up around 5:30 am. Chris took charge of them while he got ready for work; I got to attempt to sleep. When Chris had to leave at 7, he handed Daisy to me in bed and left Caleb playing in the living room. I tried and tried and tried to stay in bed as long as I could, but then...

In my groggy, sleepy stupor, I heard Caleb coming down the long hall, dragging something heavy. He entered my room, unceremoniously flipped on my lights and began banging on his toy drum (thanks, Sara), yelling, "I'm like the red monster on Muppets!"

And with that, I was awake.

Dinner tonight was equally fun. Caleb refused to eat his beef stroganoff. He smelled the egg noodles cooking and thought we were having macaroni and cheese.

As if.

Sorry, kiddo.

He asked, "Can we have macaroni and cheese? Can we have macaroni and cheese from Bread Company?" When I told him no, he said, "I will go get it. Here is my quarter. I will go get it."

Then he went into the living room and whipped up his own batch of macaroni and cheese.

Pink play-doh in a little pot. He even brought it to the table so that he could eat it.

Caleb may not have eaten it, but Daisy liked the beef stroganoff!

As we waited in vain for Caleb to eat, we played the Clapping Game. It's a game Daisy and Caleb invented. Daisy randomly starts clapping, and the whole family joins in. We all love it.

See? Daisy claps,

Caleb gets excited and decides to start the game,

And we all join in. It's pretty fun.

Daisy loves being the center of attention, and also loves being able to control what everyone else is doing!

Yay!

(Now she's excitedly waving her hands in the air. Guess what we all did?)

Yep. We waved, too.

So. Much. Fun.

Just a normal Monday night for us. You know you're jealous of our awesomeness.

(Also, Daisy's tooth #2 should be making an appearance tomorrow. Stay tuned for details!)

February 26

2012-02-26T19:48:00.000-06:00

I've been hearing about the nasty stomach bug that's been going around, and today it hit the kiddos.

Daisy was sound asleep at 5:45 this morning and just started puking. Ugh. Poor baby. And this time, she was in our bed. So the bed, the baby, and the mama were all gross. After two more episodes in the next hour, she was totally fine. No fussing or anything!

Daisy and I stayed home from church, but sent Chris and Caleb because it was our Sunday to work in the nursery. We couldn't leave them with no one to watch the babies!

Caleb came home, ate lunch, napped, woke up, and wanted to snuggle. That's when I knew it was going to hit him, too. I enjoyed our snuggle, but made sure to keep a trash can nearby. Boy, did we ever need it!

I know it's just a matter of time before it hits me, too...

Daisy, dreaming of life in a home where the children aren't vomiting.

Checking to see if anyone is watching...

the attempting to escape.

As if.

Sorry, baby. You're stuck here in this sick house!

February 25

2012-02-25T22:02:00.000-06:00

Why does Daisy love her daddy so much?

Because he can do things like this:

He's caring for both children so that I could have a break (they both took crummy naps and I was at my limit). But rather than just playing with them, he took them outside and did yard work.

Can you say "Dad of the Year"?

February 24

2012-02-24T22:18:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday to me!

What a great day! Chris and the kiddos woke me up this morning with presents; I was groggy and half-awake, but Caleb sweetly helped me open every single one. Funny boy. Then we went to breakfast. Daisy fell asleep in the car on the way to the restaurant and - miracle of miracles - stayed asleep when we brought her inside! She must have been really tired. Caleb was an angel the whole meal, and drew admiring glances from every person within twenty feet of us. Daisy eventually woke up and was also a delight. Really, that alone was a perfect birthday gift. Adorable, well-behaved children at a restaurant for a yummy breakfast? Sing it with me: "These are a few of my favorite things..."

Later, we had a little (tiny) family celebration, involving a pizza smorgasbord and this amazing triple-chocolate mousse cake. It was more complicated than most recipes I make, but well worth the effort for a birthday dessert. It was on par or better than most restaurant or bakery desserts!

Caleb took advantage of all of the adults willing to indulge his outside-y longings. He and Jenny walked to the sewer lid to make it wobble and hear its funny noise, then ran back to the house.

Our pizza and salad feast. We each brought a pizza from a different place. I'm famously indecisive when it comes to food (and many other things), so this method satisfies my longings.

Daisy loves Grandad!

Blowing out my candles. I was woefully out of practice because I typically outsource this job to Caleb or Ryan. But Ryan was home sick (poor kid has pneumonia!!) and Caleb was busy snuggling with Grandmother, so I had to do my own candle-blowing. It took me four or five tries!

Emily and Max

I called upon Caleb's suddenly-impressive gift-unwrapping skills, and he was eager to oblige.

I love my sweet boy! He wasn't sad, just curious about this yummy-smelling candle from Sally.

What a good day!

February 23

2012-02-23T22:22:00.000-06:00

Finally our empty kitchen is not so empty - we have a banquette!

OK, I know it doesn't look like much in this picture. But that's because it only shows 1/3 of the situation. I took this before our neighbor brought over the other half of the bench and the table he built. Also, it still needs to be painted, installed, and have cushions made for it.

But let me tell you: it is pretty fantastic, and I think it will turn our little kitchen into one of my favorite rooms in the house. I'll post more about it on the house blog when I get a chance.

This girl is finally feeling back to 100%. And now when she bites my nose, I can feel her sharp little tooth. Hooray!

This boy? I asked him to show me a handsome face, and he gave me this:

Then this:

And finally this:

While Daisy napped this morning, he kept asking, "Mommy, can we go on a 'venture?"

It broke my heart to tell him no, especially since it ended up being right around 70 degrees today. Tomorrow is supposed to be yucky, but Chris is taking the day off work in honor of my birthday (really, it should be a bank holiday anyway, don't you think?). So maybe we'll find time for a 'venture then.

February 22

2012-02-22T20:30:00.000-06:00

Today, naps were had.

The sun shone.

There were no runny noses.

No one was vomited upon.

And that, my friends, makes it a good day.

Lunch today was so fun that I had to get out my camera, despite the raging headache that made me want to crawl into bed, pull the covers over my head, and ignore the children. (I did none of those things, by the way.)

Daisy ate broccoli, Cheerios, and string cheese.

The girl was crazy about the string cheese - as soon as she saw me tearing a piece for her, she would begin wiggling her legs and lunging in my general direction. When I handed her a piece, she gnawed and slurped and gobbled in a most unladylike way. It was entertaining.

Happy about the string cheese!

(She gets it from her daddy.)

Once the string cheese was gone, she resumed eating in a ladylike manner.

Yum!

(Have I mentioned that she signs "more" now? It's very rudimentary - more of an excited hand-waving than anything, but then it settles down into a clap which is clearly her interpretation of the "more" sign. She also signs "milk". Unfortunately, she often signs "milk" when she's sleepy, because I'm a terrible mom who still nurses her baby to sleep instead of teaching her to put herself to sleep. It's just easier. So "milk" equals milk, but it also equals nap.)

Caleb has taken to disassembling his sandwiches and then smearing his face with the contents during lunch. It is not pretty, and it is quite messy. But there are no tantrums at lunch.

After naptime, my headache was gone and the sun was shining, so we headed to the playground. As we walked, clouds started gathering, so that by the time we arrived it was dark and gloomy instead of bright and sunshiny. But it was still above sixty degrees, so I can't complain.

Have I mentioned that these kids love to swing?

I'm sure I haven't posted any swing photos lately.

Oh, I have? Sorry.

Caleb also wore his snazzy hat today, but I didn't manage to get a picture of him in his whole dapper getup. But, can I just tell you? We put on the button-down shirt, rolled the sleeves, and donned his snazzy hat. I looked at him and said, "Wow, Caleb! You look handsome!" Then I busied myself with getting Daisy ready for the park. A few minutes later I found him in his room, standing in front of his mirrored closet doors, inspecting his reflection. He looked happy and proud and it was so, so sweet.

February 21

2012-02-21T21:20:00.000-06:00

OK, I think everything is better today.

Miraculously, we all found our groove after a rough three-day weekend, and a really, REALLY rough night. (It involved Daisy crying most of the night, despite the fact that she was pretty much asleep. Weird.) Daisy took her naps, we went to the library, we even managed to walk to the playground!

Daisy didn't want to wear her sunglasses; she just wanted to chew on them.

Due largely to the influence of Amber's kids, Caleb chose to walk/run all the way to the park and all the way back. It was probably good for him to get all of that energy out, but it was hard for me to adjust to a toddler's pace and distractiblity. I'm used to popping him in the BOB and doing my thing. Guess I'll have to adjust!

It was a bit chillier than I anticipated, and Daisy was woefully under-dressed, but she didn't mind.

This kid was pumped to be playing!

And this girl has a tooth!!

Can you see it? Probably not. The actual tooth hasn't come up yet, but her bottom-right-center gum is perforated where the tooth is. If I press down on her gum, I can feel it, and the skin is broken, but it hasn't come all the way out yet.

Yay, Daisy! Your first tooth, at nine and a half months old. You're faster than your brother, at least! Caleb was eleven months old when he got his first tooth. (Did I mention that the childcare workers at MOPS were worried about feeding her Cheerios because she has no teeth? I didn't have the heart to tell them that Daisy eats more than her two-year-old brother and that she could eat Cheerios in her sleep.)

I guess that tooth explains why the weekend was so rough, huh?

And can you tell the girl is feeling 100% better now?

At home, Caleb wore Daisy's shades. That boy is something else!

February 20

2012-02-21T13:39:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the late post - Google suddenly decided that it no longer wanted to support my browser and I couldn't get Blogger to work and it had been a long day, so I gave up. But now I'm using Google Chrome, so Blogger works. I just have to get sued to this new blog interface, which feels very barren and empty.

But. Yesterday was a fun, if long, day.

Except for the part where Daisy puked on me - AGAIN. She was sick and fussy all day and all night. But that didn't stop us from taking advantage of the bank holiday. Around Christmas, Groupon ran a special on Busch Stadium tours, so I nabbed it up and stuck it in Chris' stocking. Since he was off today, we decided to use our tickets. Our little family of four had a fun tour of spaces in Busch Stadium that we'd never seen before, for only $10. I call that a win!

I cannot adequately express how excited Caleb was to go to Busch Stadium, Cardinals game or not. We parked on the street nearby, and Caleb almost exploded in agony as we drove away from Busch Stadium. He thought we weren't going to stop!

On game days, we never get to park this close or stand in the middle of the street for photos! See the statue of Stan Musial waaaay behind Chris and Caleb? When we walked to the gate, Caleb looked up at the statue and said, "Hi, Stan!"

He remembers.

You can't tell, but he was one happy boy.

But his happiest moment was

when he got to go on the field.

He really wanted to go out to the pitcher's mound, but we were expressly forbidden from even thinking about touching the grass.

Happy boys!

Making a footprint in the dirt.

Then checking out his handiwork.

I love his little shadow on the green, green grass! I think that, aside from the U2 concert at the stadium last year, this was our first time ever to be on the field at Busch Stadium. It's pretty cool - the stadium feels so intimate when you're down there.

Our little family, in the Cardinals dugout.

Poor Daisy slept in the Ergo almost the whole time, so you only get to see her little striped leg.

The boys, talking baseball.

Caleb will not understand why two of his favorites - Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa - won't be around this season.

And one picture of my sick girl.

The cat was sitting in the window sill, so Daisy chased after her. Unfortunately, she's still a bit too slow.

February 19

2012-02-19T21:41:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I wrote that Daisy was sick; I had no idea how sick she really was. She made sure I was aware, though, when she vomited all over me at 3:00 this morning. Thankfully, she and I were both awake when it happened, and I had taken her into the bathroom to give her some ibuprofren for her fever. I had just turned her around to face me so that I could give her the medicine when - BAM! All over my chest. But. It was straight breast milk, which is much less disgusting and stinky than other options. And, none of it hit the floor, so I only had to clean myself. Also, it only happened the one time. That's the kind of vomiting I can handle!

Since some of you think that I'm faking the Daisy-sickness thing (I mean, I am an attention-seeking drama queen... actually, there's some psychological ailment where mothers fake illness in their children... Van something syndrome... hold on while I google it... Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome. Named after Baron von Munchausen. Aren't you glad you read this blog so that you can learn these things?), here's a picture of sick Daisy:

I know - sad, isn't it? The poor thing has a runny, stuffy nose and a fever. She's generally miserable, unless I get some pain reliver in her. Then, she's more like this:

That would be me, pretending a pen is a mustache. Daisy loved it!

Then she would try to grab my pen-stache.

What fun!

(When I'm not feeling totally defeated by the fact that she needs me every. single. moment, I really enjoy the fact that my baby adores me as much as I adore her.)

What a difference some ibuprofren makes, huh?

Well, that and more flattering lighting.

Then Caleb woke up from his nap. This is his groggy, just-woke-up face. Also, I gave him a haircut yesterday and now I think he looks a little like Tom Cruise? He has Gatorade in his sippy cup, but he insists on calling it "Alligatorade". Love him.

I also love that he now gets up out of bed all by himself in the morning and after naps. I love hearing him knocking on his bedroom door, then his little footsteps as he runs down the hall to find us, then his announcement, "I am a-WAKE!"

Later, Chris and Caleb ran to the hardware store to pick up some paint. I was cleaning up the kitchen when I looked out the window and saw this:

Can you see them? Five deer, just hanging out in our backyard. They actually came closer - they were grazing near that tree on the right side of the picture - but I didn't get a photo of that. I was so disappointed Caleb wasn't home to see them! It is so thrilling to have such great wildlife here, but I'm already bracing myself to fight the deer once I begin planting my vegetable garden. It should be an interesting spring and summer!

February 18

2012-02-18T19:39:00.000-06:00

Don't let the smile fool you...

this girl was not feeling well today.

I'm not sure if it's the fact that she's so very close to finally having teeth, or that she picked up a cold at MOPS on Thursday, but the girl was fussy and tired all day. At lunchtime, all she wanted was to be snuggled up next to me. I put her in the Ergo on my back so that I could make lunch for Caleb and me, and she fell right asleep. She stayed asleep - on my back - for almost two hours.

Now she's sound asleep, and I'm hoping that good night's sleep will find her back to her old self in the morning.

February 17

2012-02-17T21:15:00.000-06:00

First, I would like to wish a happy Longer-Out-Than-In Day to Daisy. Today she is 41 weeks and 3 days old, so she has officially been out in the world longer than she was in my womb. Hooray, Daisy! You are taking the world by storm!

We had a great day today - a walk and playground time in the sunshine with friends, an award ceremony for my dad, and then more sunshine and playground time. I'm pretty sure it doesn't get any better!

Amber and two of her three darlings (or three of her four, if you count Baby #4 who is just in development) came out this morning to hang out with us. I'm pretty sure Amber was a bit concerned by some of the posts earlier in the week, so she came to offer moral support and parenting wisdom. Thanks, friend.

Caleb was absolutely smitten with Amber. While I was nursing Daisy, Caleb asked me to put him in a swing. I couldn't so Caleb turned to Amber and said, "Hey, can you put your cup on the blue table and ... and..." Amber patiently waited while he wandered off, gathered his thoughts, and returned. "Hey, can you put your cup on the blue table and put me in a baby sah-wing?"

Amber did just that (paying special attention to put her cup on the blue table), then gave him big pushes, then hopped on a swing herself.

Can you see in that picture above how ecstatic he was? Caleb does NOT get like that very often, especially with someone he only sees once a month or so. Amber has the magic touch.

Happy boy. Any guesses about who the recipient of that adoring gaze is?

Yep. It's Amber.

Then the award ceremony.

My dad was being recognized by the State High School Athletic Association for his many years of distinguished service. It was a pretty big deal for him - he's worked really hard, for a really long time to make their swimming and diving events go well, so it was nice to be recognized for his work.

Way to go, Dad!

My mom snapped this shot of me with her phone; I like it because it pretty perfectly sums up what my life is like.

I love that Daisy isn't phased by anything that is happening. Of course she's strapped to me while I take copious amounts of pictures. It happens every day.

The whole fam was able to be there for Dad's award, which is a pretty impressive feat. We're a nortoriously difficult group to corral.

(Side note: Can you tell that Daisy only took a thirty-minute afternoon nap? Girl was exhausted.)

Dad was so happy, and Mom was so proud. It was good.

Then we went to a tile store in a fruitless attempt to pick tile for our master bathroom, again.

This time, we wised up and Chris wore Caleb in the Ergo on his back, while I wore Daisy in the Water Wrap on my chest. That way, we didn't have to worry about Caleb breaking anything. It was a good choice.

To reward the kiddos for their patience, more park time!

This girl loves swinging and sunshine!

Two happy kiddos. It's not often that Daddy gets to take them to the park!

I wish that I could adequately explain how delighted Caleb and Daisy were to be playing with Daddy in the sixty-degree February sunshine.

I tried to snap our family photo in a random convex mirror on the playground. I think I was moderately successful.

Chris took these shots of me with the kiddos. The sunshine did me good, too.

Loving my babies!

The only way we got Caleb to leave the park without a fuss was reminding him that he could run his fingers along the fence. Then, leaving was a breeze!

February 16

2012-02-16T22:21:00.000-06:00

Today was a MOPS day. MOPS days are always hectic, especially since MOPS starts at 9:30 and Daisy usually naps from 9:00 to 10:30. Today, though, Daisy was willing to go down for her nap a little bit early, so she got in a good hour of sleep before we had to leave.

During that hour, Caleb and I had playtime.

1. Caleb insisted on wearing this shirt today. It is a jammie shirt whose matching bottoms are in the mending pile. I guess he loves it too much to let it sit, unworn, while it waits for its mate to be fixed.

2. We went to the library this week and checked out Knuffle Bunny Free, by Mo Willems. It was our first Knuffle Bunny experience, but Caleb is smitten. We have no stuffed bunnies in our house, but he has decided that this plush bunny mask (courtesy of GREAT Aunt Mag) is his very own Knuffle Bunny.

3. I have Knuffle Bunny on reserve at the library. I can't wait to read it - these are sweet books!

I can't even begin to tell you how excited Caleb was when he found this mask in his toybox today. He made the connection between it and the book, and he was overjoyed!

"I love you, Knuffle Bunny!"

(Yes, he's wearing big boy underwear. For some reason, right as I was about to put Daisy down for her morning nap, he decided he wanted to wear underwear. I was nervous, because the last time I put underwear on him, he promptly had an accident and made a big puddle on the floor. And I was about to go into Daisy's room and put her down for a nap. That involves me shutting the door and focusing only on her for fifteen minutes. Despite the fact that I had visions of pee-puddles dancing through my mind, I helped him put on his underwear. Last time, it was my idea; this time it was his. He has been pretty resistant to any idea of underwear for a few months now, so I couldn't say no when he suggested it! Maybe it would be OK this time.

Before I went to put Daisy down for her nap, though, I showed Caleb where an old towel was. I carefully explained, "If you have an accident and make a mess, you can use this towel to clean it up."

But my big boy didn't need it. He was fine. He kept his undies dry for 45 minutes, until he announced that he was done, used his potty, then asked for a diaper. How about that?

After MOPS, both kids took late naps. Daisy woke first, so I popped her in her high chair so that she could watch me do the prep work for dinner. As I chopped the veggies, I gave her little bites to try. She was particularly fond of the mushrooms; she also enjoyed the crunch of sugar snap peas.

Mostly, though, she liked the bowl.

She liked the bowl a lot.

Then Caleb woke up and we got ready to go enjoy some late-afternoon sunshine.

Daisy was pretty anxious to get outside!

February 15

2012-02-15T21:32:00.000-06:00

Today was so, SO much better than the past few days have been. There was no fussing, hardly any crying, and no sign of Angry Mom at all. I'm pretty sure every one of you prayed for us today, because it was actually a good day.

Well, I write that, but then I have this photo to show you:

Baby's First Head Injury

It belongs in the baby book, right? Now, I can't tell you for sure how this happened because I had stepped into the other room for a moment. And I certainly wouldn't want to point any fingers of blame. All I can say is that it seems that something small, hard, and sharp must have come in contact with Daisy's head. Something, perhaps, like a Matchbox car?

And I know that Daisy wouldn't do that to herself.

And I know that Caleb was playing right next to Daisy, with his ... Matchbox cars.

But I'm not placing any blame, here. Just connecting a few dots.

Daisy took it like a champ, though. She wimpered a little, but then she was fine. It looks much worse than it really was.

This thing was great at distracting her from her pain. When Chris' mom gave this to the kids for Christmas, I was pretty sure she had forgotten what it was like to be the mother of little ones. I mean, really. An annoying toy that sings an annoying song and dances and wiggles its eyebrows?

But after living with this guy for a few months, I can safely say that Chris' mom absolutely remembers what it's like to be the mother of little ones. They LOVE this guy. Caleb carries him around by his hat, Daisy has figured out how to make him sing his song, and he is perfect for interrupting any tantrum or crying fit.

Thanks, Gayle. You were totally right about this purchase.

See? Daisy totally recovered from her head injury. And those scraggly bangs cover it perfectly.

She is working really hard on those teeth, though. It looks like two might be coming in at the same time.

She loves the baby in Caleb's bedroom! I hate those mirrored doors, but the kiddos sure love them. Guess they stay, for now.

Also, for your viewing pleasure, here is a video of Caleb singing "Mockingbird" while playing his guitar and dancing:

I. Love. This.

It almost makes me forget how rough he's been the past few days.

February 14

2012-02-14T20:52:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I tried so hard to make this a good day for my kiddos; I love Valentine's Day. To those among you who often get cards from us: we made you Valentines, but somehow I never mailed them. They involved messy paint and red construction paper hearts and stickers. Please know, loved ones, that we were thinking of you. I just couldn't get around to writing and stamping and mailing.

Why did those Valentines never get mailed? A series of rotten, rotten days. Today was one of them. I won't get into the details; let's just say that it involved screaming and crying from both the children and me. But it's over now.

We started out right...

Caleb was tickled by his special Valentine's Day breakfast.

Whole wheat toast with Nutella, strawberries, and an egg white with red food coloring in the shape of a heart.

Daisy gobbled up her strawberries, but wasn't too keen on the heart-shaped toast. Maybe she was waiting for her Nutella.

Dinner tonight was filet mignon, roasted brussels sprouts, and twice baked potatoes with an old-vine red zinfandel. I heart keeping it simple.

But, Caleb and I made that fancy cake (with strawberries instead of the recipe-mandated raspberries. We had strawberries on hand.). I haven't tried it yet - Chris and I are waiting until after the kiddos are asleep - but I confess that I've tasted each individual component and it is delicious. Caleb helped me make the cake part. I told him that he could have a piece if he ate his dinner. We eventually compromised that he could eat two bites of brussels sprouts and three bites of twice baked potatoes, but he didn't do it. So we said no cake.

And then began the biggest tantrum ever.

Thank God this day is over.

February 13

2012-02-13T21:39:00.001-06:00

At 4:30 this morning, I came to an important conclusion:

Our children hate us.

Their primary goal is to see us suffer.

I came to this conclusion after Daisy woke up at 4:20 - again. Lately she's been waking up at this time ready to play. But this morning, I was able to nurse her right back to sleep. Praise the Lord! And that's when I heard a creeeaak and the sound of a few drowsy, stumbling footsteps. Then Caleb's little whimper. I tried so hard to call out to him quietly enough to keep Daisy asleep, but it didn't work. Chris called out to him, too, and then Caleb pranced into our room and annouced, "I'm awake!"

And then Daisy was, too.

They hate us.

This theme continued throughout the day: Caleb took a short nap, Daisy woke every fifteen minutes during her afternoon nap, Caleb was fussy and whiny and challenging... It all left me feeling discouraged, depressed, and angry. Yep- ANGRY. I feel Angry Mom rearing her ugly head. Lord, please keep Angry Mom at bay.

So I didn't take any pictures until bedtime. Here's my beautiful daughter who seems to hate me mercilessly:

I set her down in the middle of her room and she promptly scooted right out the door.

"What? You expected me to stay there?"

Uh, yeah. I guess I should revise my expectations.

Doesn't she remind you of Beethoven on Snoopy?

Maybe it's just me.

Sorry for all the woe-is-me drama.

I'm sure tomorrow will be better. Right?

This is just a phase. Right?

This is just a season in our lives, and in a few years we'll look back on it fondly.

Right.

February 12

2012-02-12T21:00:00.001-06:00

Today was baby dedication day at church, and we were finally able to dedicate Daisy. It's taken us nine months because they had their first one four days after her birth, then another the day I ran my half marathon. So today was it for us! In our church, baby dedication is a way for parents to commit to raising their child in a Christian home and for the church body to commit to support, encourage, and pray for that family. It's a low-key thing, but it's really important to us.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera. Fortunately, I realized halfway to church and was able to call my parents and ask them to bring theirs. Unfortunately, my dad hasn't been able to share the pictures with me yet. As soon as I get them I will edit this post to include them, so check back in the next few days!

Update: have a few pictures! Scroll down for them.

One of the things the church asked us to do before the dedication was choose a verse for Daisy. Chris and I thought long and hard about this, and spent quite a while searching the Bible for something that was perfect for Daisy. For Caleb, it was easy - we chose Numbers 14:24 "But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it." When we chose the name Caleb, it was because his Biblical namesake was a man with an unshakable confidence in the Lord. He followed hard after God, even if that meant being different from everyone else. We've always prayed that Caleb would have that same spirit in him.

But Daisy doesn't have a Biblical namesake. Have I ever written here the story of her name? I never would have chosen the name Daisy on my own. But flash back four or five years ago... When Chris and I got married, we talked often of being on a "five-year plan". We would spend the first five years of our marriage getting settled and building a foundation, then we would have babies. It was one of our smarter moments. But when our fifth anniversary came around, we found that we still weren't quite ready to be parents. We still wanted to travel Europe, finish paying off my student loans, finish my Master's degree... so we decided to put off babymaking for a while. My head was totally in agreement with this plan, but my body wasn't. I wanted babies. Though I could see the logic in our decision, I was having a hard time with it emotionally.

But one night, I had a dream. It was one of those vivid, hyper-real dreams; you know, where you can feel every sensation and see every hair? In the dream, I had just given birth to a perfect, beautiful baby girl. Her name was Daisy. The dream gave me such a sense of peace about the whole situation. I felt like God was using the dream to tell me that my time to be a mother would come, and when it came it would be perfect. And then I was ok with waiting.

When we got pregnant with Caleb, I knew for sure he was a girl. I'd had the dream, after all! But he wasn't a girl. When Daisy was born at home, and when she was a perfect baby girl, we knew right away that she would be Daisy. So even though her name technically means "flower", we like to think that it really means "promised flower", because God promised her to us. He's so good.

Boy, that was a long segue. Sorry. What I was trying to say was, there are no verses in the Bible about daisies. Other flowers, yes, but not our flower. So Chris and I ended up choosing Proverbs 31:30 "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

We chose this because we think that Daisy is so beautiful and charming. More than anything, we want her to know that though our society values beauty and charm, they do not define her. What defines her is her love for God. Chris and I pray that we can raise our daughter to see that while man looks at the outer appearance, God looks at her heart.

My poor dad tried valiantly to take photos, but the lighting in our church just isn't great. But. Here's our pastor, John, with Daisy, Chris, Caleb, me, and Stacie, who is in charge of the little kids' programs at our church.

Daddy and Daisy. Yep, she wore jeggings, legwarmers, and sparkly shoes for her dedication.

After church. Daisy was exhausted!

Our happy family!

Thanks for the photos, Dad!

Also, some pictures from today that aren't of the baby dedication:

Playing in the sunshine with Daddy.

Peek-a-boo in Caleb's tent.

*sigh*

Love her.

Strong girl, lifting the tent!

And me, snuggling with my sweet little boy who was still groggy - and sweat - from his nap. Do other kids get sweaty during naptime?

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll have baby dedication photos soon!

February 11

2012-02-11T21:15:00.001-06:00

Busy, busy day.

Chris played with Caleb and Daisy this morning while I worked the ACT. I was home by 1:15 - just in time to nurse Daisy and put her down for a nap. (She is now completely refusing milk from any source other than Mommy. It's ok for now, but hopefully I won't ever have to be gone for more than a few hours at a time until she's totally on solids!) Then I went to the grocery store to restock on produce, then home to get things ready for my mom, who kindly agreed to watch the kids so that Chris and I could both go to a baby shower for our friends Chris and Amber.

In the midst of that, I managed to grab a few pictures of my darling Daisy.

Scooting in the sunshine. Girl is getting fast, too. She really enjoys her newfound freedom, and likes to explore all over the house.

Oh! She sees something she likes! What is it?

Scooting, scooting, scooting to get to it...

It was the kitty! But just when Daisy got close, Tigerlily ran away. I love how disappointed Daisy looks! (Ouch. That sounds pretty mean, doesn't it? I don't love that Daisy is disappointed; I love the sweet expression on her face. I'm not heartless, really.)

Going for the kitty again. Look a that little tongue sticking out! She's so excited!

Face off: Tigerlily vs. Daisy.

"Heerrrreee, kitty kitty kitty!"

But Lily ran away again. And Daisy chased after her again. This was highly entertaining in person. Are you entertained by the photos?

Scooting...

Looking for the kitty, but no luck. She was gone.

Daisy loves the cat so much. It's a shame that the cat is so unfriendly!

While we were gone, my mom snapped this photo of Caleb's silhouette.

Isn't he sweet? I'm pretty sure he has his great-grandmother's nose and chin.

Before grandma left and it was time for bed, I told Caleb he could listen to one song on the computer. I expected him to choose James Taylor, but I was wrong. He chose Madonna.

Madonna.

I was worried that none of her YouTube videos would be appropriate for a two and a half year old, so we watched the video of her Super Bowl halftime show.

Caleb was entranced. He kept saying things like, "Madonna is pretty!" "Madonna is funny!"

Oh boy.

February 10

2012-02-10T21:24:00.000-06:00

Oh, Daisy.

We met with our Parent Educator for the first time in our new district today, and she wasn't happy with the fact that Daisy doesn't crawl. All the parenting books say that it's ok if your baby doesn't crawl, as long as she finds a way to get from place to place. But I've read recently, and our Parent Educator confirmed, that crawling does really important developmental things for Baby - things like strengthening hand muscles and encouraging brain development when it comes to crossing the midline. So.

After naptime, I put Daisy on her tummy and tried to help her crawl

She immediately went from her tummy to sitting for the first time ever! Guess I need to put her on her tummy more. But she didn't crawl. She did, however, scoot herself under the crib.

She wasn't so sure about her predicament.

"Help me, Mom!"

Her scooting took so much work that she had to take a little rest.

We paused for some self-portraits, too. They're blurry, but they show a happy mommy and baby.

Mostly, a really happy Mommy.

Then I stopped forcing Daisy onto her tummy and let her scoot around a little bit.

Happy girl! Why?

A trash can to empty!

Luckily, it only had a few tissues in it.

But Daisy still expected to find something exciting!

February 9

2012-02-09T22:20:00.000-06:00

These kids. Oh, these kids. I love them so much, even when they frustrate me. I woke up with a headache this morning, and things were all out of whack. Daisy woke up somewhere around 4:30. I tried my best to nurse her back to sleep, but she was having none of it. Chris got up, ran, and showered, while I stayed in bed with Daisy, half-asleep, half-awake. Then he took her to play with him while he got ready for work. At 7, he handed her off to me. I took her into her room and nursed her right to sleep.

Just as she was dozing off, I heard Caleb knocking on his bedroom door. That's his new thing; we finally have convinced him that when he wakes up, he doesn't have to lay in bed and yell for us or kick the wall. He can get up, open the door and come find us. He's getting pretty good at the whole thing, but the funny boy will stand at his door and knock ten or fifteen times before he opens it. So I heard Caleb knocking, put Daisy in her crib, and went to find Caleb.

We went into the kitchen to make his morning coffee. Caleb was really excited when I let him sit on the counter while I warmed up his coffee on the stove.

Yes, it's out of focus. Sorry.

And yes, our counters are still that horrible mustard yellow. What was it called when it was trendy? Harvest gold? Soon we will begin the task of painting cabinets and countertops, but not yet.

Daisy napped for nearly two hours, and was really excited when Caleb came in to wake her up. Who am I kidding? I love when Caleb wakes her up, too. He goes into her room, tiptoes to the crib, and says in a sweet little voice, "Good morning, Daisy! How was your nap?" I melt every time.

My darlings played together with the activity table. Daisy is still uninterested in pulling up or standing at it. Caleb is interested in the Spanish feature. He's gotten all confused with his ABCs and now sings, "Ah-bay-say-day-eh-effe-hay", then garbles the rest of it.

My headache worsened through the morning, so I fed the kids an early lunch and climbed into bed with an ice bag once they were asleep.

The downside of Caleb knowing that he can get out of bed? No more three-hour naps. Now we're looking at ninety minute naps. Hopefully it's just a fluke, but I have the feeling it's normal. Anyway, I'd only been asleep an hour when I heard Caleb's little hand knocking on his door. I called him into my room, and he climbed up in bed with me.

He was pretty interested in the ice bag.

"Oh! I have a headache!"

Later, Caleb shared his animal crackers with his sister. What a good boy.

Daisy can now scoot using only one hand.

She can also scoot using no hands, but it's more of a bounce with a forward motion. It's pretty funny, really.

I would like to point out how dire our flooring situation is. Behind Daisy, you will see:

hardwood floors

marble floors

a rough remnant of carpet, acting as an area rug

original, circa-1968 linoleum

the inch height difference between the marble and the linoleum

the baseboards that are painted half white, half beige because the beige part was once covered by carpet

The situation is visually apalling, but everything is functional. Also, I have no idea how to proceed. I hate that marble, but it's brand new, expensive, and nice. And what to cover the linoleum with?

Luckily, Daisy has learned to navigate the one-inch step pretty well.

She also handles an animal cracker pretty well.

February 8

2012-02-08T20:44:00.001-06:00

I almost didn't get a picture of Daisy today. The kids were wonky, I was busy, we were all crabby, and I just didn't take any pictures of her. As I was nursing her to sleep, I realized that I hadn't taken a picture. Crap! But there was so way I was disrupting my finally-almost-asleep baby to get a picture.

Thirty minutes later, I crept into her room and snapped this photo of my sweet Daisy, sound asleep:

The striped shadows and poor lighting are due to the fact that I wasn't willing to use the flash or turn on the lights in her room. Instead, I turned on the hall light. The sweet girl didn't even flinch as I snapped away.

Caleb has been absent from the blog for a few days, but very (VERRRY) present in the house. Today I bought a few moments of uninterrupted sewing time by giving him these gel window-clings that my mom got for him last Februray, when we were in Mexico. (Remember that? It feels like a lifetime ago!)

A light dusting of snow on the deck, and hearts everywhere...

including on Caleb's belly!

February 7

2012-02-07T21:13:00.000-06:00

Daisy had her nine-month checkup today. It was... ok.

She weighed 16 pounds, 1 ounce. That's a gain of half a pound since last month; pretty good for my skinny girl! But our doc said that put her in the 7th percentile, and I had to try not to pee my pants. Single digits? Yikes! But then I went home and plugged her weight into the WHO-created program I use to document her growth (What? I'm not neurotic. Every parent does that. Right? RIGHT???) and I found that the World Health Organization puts her weight in the 15th percentile. 15.1, to be exact. She's right on her curve. And then I wasn't afraid I was going to pee my pants anymore.

(The discrepancy is based on the fact that most American pediatricians use growth charts generated by the CDC, which uses chubbier, formula-fed American babies as their standard. The WHO uses skinnier, breastfed babies from across the globe for their percentiles. I like to think that the WHO is more accurate, and that the issue is that Daisy just refuses to be a fat American. She's more of a European-type baby, don't you think?)

She got one shot, and our doctor asked the string of development questions... and just like Caleb, Daisy seems to be a little slow on the gross motor skills. She should be pulling up, standing, cruising, getting to sitting on her own, etc. by now. She's not. But that's ok. She'll get there eventually.

Anyway, her gross motor skills don't matter because she's so stinking cute.

See how sweet she is as she scoots around?

She found a lone BabyLeg and became totally engrossed in it. She waved it in the air, played peek-a-boo, tried to wear it like a hat...

She even spun around in circles, gleefully tugging her little BabyLeg behind her head.

Then she snapped out of her hosiery-induced reverie and noticed that I was not only watching her, but also taking pictures.

That's when she turned on the charm. What a silly girl.

See? Who needs gross motor skills with a smile like that?

And then she scooted off to empty the trash can. She's a busy girl, people.

February 6

2012-02-06T19:55:00.001-06:00

Oh boy. What a long day. There must be something in the air, because both kiddos were just a little bit... off today. Fussy. Whiny. Unpleasant. Caleb was particularly uncooperative and defiant today. I know some of you (*ahem* Sara *ahem*) are chuckling to yourselves and thinking, "about time". To you meanies, I say hush. Who am I kidding? I'm thinking something less kind. Today was the kind of day that leaves me still feeling raw, even after a glass (or two) of red wine and a double chocolate cookie (or two). I think I'm just tired, all the way down to my bones.

This was lunchtime. Daisy was particularly messy as she ate her shredded chicken and cucumber and whole wheat bread, so when she was done eating I took her clothes off and let her scoot around the dining room until Caleb was finished.

Then she figured out that her diapers Velcro closed.

Then she figured out how to un-Velcro them.

That's bread and chicken and yogurt (?) in her hair.

Yep. Pretty funny, kid.

I might add that Caleb has just figured out how to open his diapers in the past few months. Guess I was pretty spoiled with him - he's never even thought of getting into some of the situations that Daisy gets into on a daily basis.

I also might add that right after I took this photo, I re-Velcroed her diaper, then went to change her a few minutes later. It was poopy. Thank goodness I didn't let her keep scooting and tugging at the diaper!

Daisy dressed up for a visit to her cousin Max. Poor kiddo was standing on the couch yesterday and decided to leap off, but landed on his elbow. He ended up dislocating his elbow and fracturing his humerus right above the elbow. He's only eighteen months old, but has already broken two bones. Poor kid, but poor mama, too. So we went to visit Max and Emily and Ryan and my mom to bring some dinner. Daisy didn't like the flower in her hair, though - that was gone pretty quickly. And she didn't want to cooperate with my photos, so this was all I got.

Before I forget, I want to write about how Daisy has been falling asleep lately. (Did I already write about this?) I still nurse her to sleep for her naps, but bedtime has been different. When she's done nursing, she gets all squirmy. I try laying her down in her crib, but she fusses, so I kneel next to the crib, put my hand between the slats, and touch her hand. Her little fingers find mine and grip tightly and she stops crying. So I kneel there, listening to her breathing slow until she's finally almost alseep, then sneak out. I wish she could fall asleep on her own, but I'm touched by the sweetness off my little girl needing to hold my hand as she falls asleep. Love her.

And now, maybe another glass of wine. Or another cookie. And maybe some Downton Abbey. Curse you, Facebook friends, for getting me hooked!

February 5

2012-02-05T21:14:00.000-06:00

This Super Bowl Sunday was actually pretty fun! Perhaps it was fun mostly because I spent most of the evening in the kitchen cooking while Chris played with the kiddos and watched the game...

Before the game, Chris and Caleb raked leaves in the back yard.

When we bought the new house, the whole front yard was covered in leaves. Chris' dad and my mom spent a lot of time raking and blowing those leaves into a giant pile in the back yard, which we then ignored. For two months. Oops. We realized that if we didn't deal with it soon, we would kill all of our grass, so we've been working to scoop up all of the old, wet, yucky leaves and put them in an empty retaining wall/bed area as a makeshift compost pile. Today Chris and Caleb pretty much finished the job! Yay!

After raking, Caleb went "fishing". All by himself, he found a long stick and went over to an area where the previous owners clearly had a swimming pool. It's a round, muddy, grassless area. Caleb determined that this was a pond, and stood there waiting for a fish to bite.

Oh! Got one!

Can you see the surprised look on his face? He really thinks he caught a fish. Funny boy.

While Chris and Caleb finished raking and fishing, Daisy and I took her nine-month photos.

She has a checkup on Tuesday, so I'll be able to tell you then how ~~small she is~~ much she's grown.

At nine months, Daisy:

takes two naps a day - 9 am and 2 pm

naps for an hour and a half at a time

gets the same food as Caleb at most meals, and generally eats more than him

has me really convinced that she says both "hi" and "bye-bye", with corresponding wave

She is pretty much the sweetest thing ever. I took her grocery shopping with me today. Since it was just her with me, she got to ride in the cart for the first time. Unfortunately, she definitely isn't ready to ride in the cart full-time; she kept slouching down in the seat and pulling her legs out of the holes and spreading them wide like Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton.

But, she got so much attention! So many people stopped to talk to her or smile at her. Three different people even walked past, then turned around to come back and talk to her. I love that complete strangers even notice how sweet Daisy is.

This nine-month-old girl is nowhere near sleeping through the night. She goes down in her crib around 7, then wakes around 10. I go in , feed her, and put her back down. She'll wake again around 11:30, and then I'll bring her into bed with me. She nurses pretty much throughout the night, and then decides to wake up around 5. Only I'm not down with that, so I try to coax her into sleeping until Daddy is ready to take her to play with him so I can sleep more. We need to work on our mornings.

I'd really like to work on getting Daisy out of our bed at night, but I'm still worried about her skinniness. If her weight is good at this next checkup, we may work on some sleep training.

Daisy is also totally on the move now. It's no big deal for her to scoot herself out of a room, down the hallway, and into another room. She is all over the place!

There she goes!

Daisy also loves being the center of attention. We have so many videos on our Flip camera of Daisy, staring silently at the camera. Since she's not doing anything, I'll pan over to Caleb. But as soon as I'm focusing on someone else, Daisy starts grunting or squawking until I focus on her again.

Yep, I'm talking about you Miss Thang!

After Daisy's photo shoot, we settled down to Super Bowl watching. Chris and I decided that half time would be bedtime for the kids, so when the first half was over, we shepherded them off to the bath. But apparently Caleb was really paying attention to the commercials, because he started fussing that he wanted to watch the girl with the guitar and the fire at the half time show.

He wanted to watch Madonna.

So we rushed through his bath so that he could sit like this:

naked, damp from his bath, and totally fixated on Madonna's (disappointing) halftime show.

He was disappointed that there was no guitar and no fire, but he was appeased by the smoke and explosions at the end.

February 4

2012-02-04T19:52:00.000-06:00

Hmm. Today is Daisy's nine-month birthday, so I really intended to take some great photos of her. Unfortunately, many things conspired against my plan of a nine-month photo shoot:

1. My wonderful husbando let me sleep in until 9am, when Daisy was ready to eat and go down for her morning nap.

2. It was rainy, gray, and gloomy today.

3. In the afternoon, I put Caleb down for his nap, put Daisy in a sweet little outfit, took a few pictures and... she started fussing. She was ready for an early nap.

4. Michael's had a today-only, $5 off your $5 purchase coupon. Couldn't let that one pass me by.

5. Fussy Daisy didn't even make it through dinner. She was ready for bed at 6:45.

So. All of those things meant that I only got these two pictures of Daisy today:

"Don't let this sweet smile fool you. I'm about to start pulling the clip out of my hair, rubbing my eyes, and fussing. Just wait."

"Mama, it's a good thing I can't crawl. Otherwise, I'd be crawling across this couch and pulling that camera out of your hands. Let's go to bed!"

Maybe I'll take her nine-month photos tomorrow? But tomorrow is a church day, which throws everything out of whack. Maybe Monday. We'll see.

February 3

2012-02-03T21:02:00.000-06:00

Today was grocery shopping day. That's right: theday I bought (most of) the groceries for a month's worth of meals. I still need to get a few things, and I'll need to refresh our produce selection every week, but still. It's almost completely done. This is largely due to my mom, who came over and hung out while Caleb and Daisy napped so that I could do my big shopping trip baby-free. What a treat! Thanks, Mom!

Also a treat? Playing with Daisy while Caleb napped this morning. This girl is bright, and she has figured out that when Caleb is asleep, she can play with all of the toys that he doesn't let her touch the rest of the day.

"OOH! The Big Red TowMater!"

"Vrrrm, vrrm, Mr. The King!"

Reveling in her complete control over Caleb's toys...

Oh, how Caleb would freak out if he saw her chewing on his Rusty Old Car! He'd shout something like, "No, no Daisy! Don't get my cars all sah-lobbery! Don't eat my cars!"

My mom came over right after I got Caleb down for his nap. I went shopping, and Mom put Daisy down for her nap with no fussing at all. Amazing! Then she got to revel in two solid hours of naptime before Caleb woke up. She reported that Caleb was cheerful and happy to see her, until he realized that it was Grandma but NO MOMMY. He got a little fussy then, and just wanted to get back in bed. Funny boy. Then Daisy woke up. Mom brought Daisy into Caleb's room, and he insisted that Mom put Daisy in bed with him. Then he was happy. Caleb held Daisy's hand, she patted his face... and then I got home. How sweet.

Right as Mom was leaving, Jenny came over to have dinner with us.

Caleb pretended that this little silver box was a piggy nose (he watched some of Muppets Take Manhattan last night - perhaps he was thinking of Miss Piggy? He never gets her name right, though. Instead he calls her "Missy the Pig.) and kept putting it on Jenny's face. They both thought it was pretty funny.

February 2

2012-02-02T19:54:00.000-06:00

Not a lot happened today - MOPS, naps, then a little bit of afternoon fun.

While the kiddos napped, I began planning for my latest endeavor: planning and shopping for a month's worth of meals. It's tricky, but I think the time and money savings will make it worth the effort in the long run. I got to the point where I had a grocery list template made, a calendar printed, and two weeks' worth of meals planned when Daisy woke up.

Of course, she wanted to help me.

(That's my trusty old Betty Crocker cookbook.)

"This one looks good, Ma!"

She's an avid reader of recipes. As soon as she can stand, I'm sure she'll be an excellent cook.

February 1

2012-02-01T21:28:00.000-06:00

Hello, February!

It was another good day. As I type this, I have babies sleeping in their rooms, a chocolate pie baking in the oven, and a wonderful husbando washing the dishes. Can you hear my contented sigh?

Speaking of contented, Daisy woke up from her morning nap today so smiley and happy that I had to run and grab my camera. This is what she looks like after waking up from a good nap:

"Hi, Mama!"

(Side note: I swear she now says "hi" and waves. Her "hi" is more of a "ha", but still. She does it. I promise.)

Love, love, LOVE this picture. She is so sweet!

Later, we enjoyed some February sunshine in the front yard. Caleb and I drew with chalk and met the neighbors, while Daisy sat on her blanket and laughed and bounced and smiled.

I'm sure the neighbors have already realized that we are some strange folk.

"What do you mean, "we"? I'm not strange!"

(See those white spots on her gum? Teeth are coming! They're not quite imminent yet, but there's enough development in that area that I've stopped being concerned that she will be toothless until she's twenty-five. Kidding. I only had that fear with Caleb. Once he finally got teeth at eleven months, I realized that all babies will eventually get teeth. With Daisy, I just kind of figured from the start that she'd be a late teether like her brother.)

After dinner and bathtime, Chris and I split bedtime duties like we do every night. I nursed Daisy and put her to bed while Chris read Caleb eight million books. And like every night, once Daisy was asleep I peeked into Caleb's room to say goodnight. Only tonight, I peeked in, laughed, and grabbed my camera.

Caleb is wearing his Rescue Pack. You know, the orange backpack that Diego wears on Go, Diego, Go!

We got a Diego book at the library yesterday, so Caleb is in the Diego mindset. He insisted that he wear his Rescue Pack while they read about Diego. Too funny.

You may also notice that Caleb and Chris are reading a book about Cars 2. My mom got it for Caleb for Christmas. I don't think it has a title, so Caleb calls it "Lightning McQueen and Mater Take a Wild Ride". It's now a staple in our bedtime/naptime reading regimen, along with Little Bible Stories and Big Bible Stories.Also, he is holding a car in each hand. Every night he's allowed to tuck two of his toy cars inside his pillow. His current favorites are DJ and Wingo, two of the souped-up street racers from Cars.

Are you loving all those links? Just thought I'd immortalize all of Caleb's current fixations.

And now for some pie...

January 31

2012-01-31T20:10:00.000-06:00

It was a good, good day.

Really, I think the kids and I just needed a good dose of Vitamin D. Well, Daisy gets Vitamin D supplements every night, so she's fine. Maybe that's why she's so cheerful. But Caleb and I really benefitted from the fresh air and sunshine.

But before the fresh air and sunshine, there was my sweet little sunshine, who woke up at 5 am. And stayed up. Chris' alarm went off, and boom - she was up. He hit the snooze button and went back to sleep, but not Daisy. She and I were up until 6:22, when Chris was finished with his run and shower and he took her from me and I buried my head in the pillow and slept... for thirty more minutes. *sigh*

Then Chris went to work, Caleb woke up, and we had biscuits and gravy for breakfast.

Caleb loves biscuits and gravy for breakfast.

That's when I knew it was going to be a good day, after all.

Daisy "helped" me make breakfast by attempting to pull the diaper bag off this sweet little bench that my dad got for the kiddos. She didn't get the bag off, but she somehow managed to swipe my wallet and chew on the zipper pulls for a while.

Daisy went down for an early nap, and Caleb and I played outside while she slept.

Well, really, Caleb played and I raked and scooped and dumped leaves. It was hard work with very little results, but I'm still proud of my effort. Occasionally Caleb abandoned his play and tried to help me, which was sweet.

Then Daisy woke up, and we headed back outside.

Give the girl organic kale and spinach-flavored rice puffs, and she's a happy camper.

"Yum! Thanks, Mom!"

And this kid is just too cool for school in his shades and Jimi t-shirt.

After naps, I popped both kids in the BOB and we walked to the library. I clocked our time there and back; we live sixteen minutes from the library.

16 minutes.

By foot.

LOVE IT.

It's one of my favorite things about this new house.

Hooray for walking to the library! And the playground! And the pool! It almost makes up for the fact that the house ~~is a dump~~ needs a lot of love and there's nowhere nearby to buy affordable groceries. Almost.

January 30

2012-01-30T20:00:00.000-06:00

Well hello, 65 degrees in January! I'm happy to see you!

It was a good day, starting with breakfast.

Caleb is in a slow-eating phase right now. We've started keeping a timer on the kitchen table; when everyone else is finished, we ask him how much longer he would like and then set the timer for that amount of time. When it goes off, we're done. Funny, isn't it, that a kid will argue with his parents til the cows come home, but he takes a timer's beep as the end?

Daisy and I were long finished with breakfast, so I let her scoot around while Caleb ate. This is where she ended up. Eventually she found Caleb's feet and started patting them.

Then she found the newspaper, which I had haphazardly tossed on the floor for some reason.

The girl is an avid reader. Not so interested in the ads; more interested in the sports page.

She might also be shopping for a new car.

After perusing the paper, she was off - she started scooting down the hallway.

Later, playing, reading, singing, dancing, naps, and then - finally - outside time!

Daisy was so happy to scoot around on our giant deck!

Caleb ran around singing.

The kids played while I cooked my very first pheasant. And you know what? It turned out alright!

Daisy's funny little face here reminds me of our nearly-two-year-old friend, Michael. He's the master of faces like this.

As we ate our pheasant at our normal dinner time, I noticed that finally, FINALLY, there was still a hint of light in the sky. That, plus this amazing weather, was just the reminder that the dark, dreary days of winter don't last forever. Hooray!

January 29

2012-01-29T20:16:00.000-06:00

While Caleb and Daddy slept this morning, Daisy helped me make blueberry oatmeal pancakes.

I might be using the term "helped" loosely.

Also, Chris didn't stay asleep once Daisy figured out that metal bowl + fridge magnet = really fun noises. Oops.

January 28

2012-01-28T23:08:00.000-06:00

Hey! Today is my 800th post! How about that?

(please no snarky comments about how ridiculous I am. I know.)

What happened today?

Chris and Caleb went for a run.

Even though Caleb just rode in the BOB, he did some pre-run stretching with Daddy.

Oooh. Stretch those hammies!

Have I told you about Caleb and the Piston Cup?

That roll of toilet paper? Caleb thinks it's a Piston Cup. In case you're not down with the Cars movie lingo, the Piston Cup is the big race that Lightning McQueen wants to win. Doc, the old racecar, won several Piston Cups and had them hidden in his garage.

One day, after watching the movie, Caleb looked inside our linen closet, saw the toilet paper rolls all lined up, and said, "Oh! It's a Piston Cup!"

Now it's our family joke, and Caleb keeps a Piston Cup in his closet.

While Caleb napped, Daisy chewed on a shoe and scooted around. I tried all of Daisy's shoes on her today, and have determined that she is a size one. Though she is nearly nine months old, she is nowhere near fitting into size 6-12 month shoes. Most babies her age wear size two or three; Daisy wears a one. So she's tall, skinny, and has little feet. Hope she doesn't tip over once she starts walking!

Pshht. Ma, you are so silly.

Love this girl!

Chris and Daisy played guitar together, too. While Caleb sleeps, Daisy gets free reign with Caleb's toys. Hooray!

Also while Caleb napped, I was cleaning up some toys when I found this:

His tractors, all lined up and "tipped".

What a silly boy we have!

Caleb was totally into his Cardinals hat today. He insisted on wearing his hat during his nap, all afternoon, and to bed.

Then my mom came over to watch the kiddos so that Chris and I could go to a work event. We were all gussied up, so Mom took our picture.

Now we're home, and we all had a great evening. Thanks, Mom!

January 27

2012-01-27T20:05:00.000-06:00

These kids.

Do all siblings love each other this much? It is so unbelievably rewarding to see how much Caleb and Daisy enjoy each other. Of course, Caleb is still learning how to interact with his sister, and he makes mistakes every ~~day~~ hour, but still. He genuinely adores her and wants her to be happy.

Daisy was having naked time today (to help with her yucky diaper rash) when Caleb woke up from his nap. He immediately insisted that he have naked time, too.

I had no reason to tell him no, so my two diaper-less darlings rolled around on the floor together. Caleb gave Daisy snuggles and kisses and made her giggle.

Isn't it funny how their outfits (or lack thereof) ended up coordinating? Caleb demanded to wear BabyLegs, just like his sister.

Giggling and snuggling into each other.

In a few years when they're fighting and arguing, remind me of these moments? We are so blessed.

January 26

2012-01-26T22:07:00.000-06:00

Tonight was another out-late, I-get-to-be-a-grownup night. Ok, so I wasn't out that late. But I was out past bedtime. My husband is amazing.

What did we do today? Not much of anything.

Daisy has a wicked diaper rash, so she had lots of naked time. She peed on three different blankets.

Caleb and Daisy both took crummy afternoon naps, and both woke up crying at the same time. It looked something like this:

I showered, cleaned the kitchen, and finally sat down on the couch with a steaming cup of coffee, a cookie (or two), a Bible, and my book for tonight's meeting. I started reading, then was startled by something in my peripheral vision. I looked out our BIG sliding glass door into the backyard to see the fluffy white tails of four deer bounding through our yard, up the hill toward the pond.

I gasped.

cool!

and then Caleb started crying. Shrieking.

and then Daisy started crying. Wailing.

and it was all gone.

So the kids played in Daisy's room while I tried to get started on a sewing project. Caleb wanted to color, so I got out his markers, then went back to work. Then I looked up to see him scribbling furiously - on his hands.

See? On his knuckles? And also possibly on his nose?

He was pretty proud of himself. I started to take the markers away, but then I realized that we've never had the "we use markers on paper, but not on our skin" talk. So we had the talk, and I gave him another chance. He complied.

Meanwhile, Daisy emptied her shelves.

"Who, me?"

Then Caleb handed me a scarf and asked me to make it a tie.

So I knotted it loosely around his neck and told him it was a tie. He walked into the hallway and said, "I wearin' my tie. Now I go to work. I go to my bank to work."

Sweet boy wanted to be just like his Daddy. Doesn't it make your heart melt?

And Daisy was still working on clearing those shelves.

January 25

2012-01-25T21:21:00.000-06:00

Chris came home from work today and asked me how my day was and... I couldn't remember. Today felt like two separate days, not one. But the kids were cute and funny, took good naps, and performed admirably for the dear friends who came over for dinner. Overall, a good day.

Caleb played his guitar,

And Daisy played doctor.

(This was the first time she wore this sweet royal blue shirt. The color looks A-Mazing on her. Too bad I already know that anytime I put her in it, people will assume she's a boy.)

But she doesn't care!

January 24

2012-01-24T22:49:00.000-06:00

I just got home from "Book Club" and I'm scurrying to write a post before Miss Daisy decides it's time to wake up and eat. She wasn't willing to eat much for Daddy tonight while I was gone.

But boy, oh boy, was she in a good mood today! This was lunch time:

Give the girl a cheese stick and a piece of whole wheat tortilla with hummus, and her grin will be so big that you'll worry her face might split. For breakfast I gave her a kiwi. I'm pretty sure that she thought it was the best thing I'd ever given her, EVER. Daisy gobbled it up, then cried for more.

Later, an impromptu dance party with a golf ball. Because all the best dance parties have golf balls. I'm glad she doesn't throw like a girl.

January 23

2012-01-23T20:44:00.000-06:00

1. I officially no longer look like death. I am still puffy and yucky, but I am nearly healthy. Hooray!

2. Caleb slept until 7:24 this morning. It was beautiful.

3. Daisy loves her brother. A lot. She was really excited to go in and wake him up this morning. Or maybe she was just excited to play with the things in his room this morning.

She scooted across his room, grabbed his toothbrush, and immediately stuck it in her mouth. That furtive look shows that she knows Caleb would be unhappy if he caught her using his toothbrush.

This is her "my-brother-is-so-funny-and-smart-and-handsome!" face. I'm not sure what Caleb will do the first time he meets a woman who doesn't think he's funny, smart, and handsome.

Then Daisy scooted to Caleb's closet to talk to the baby in the mirror. She was fascinated.

Later, we went to the playground. In retrospect, this probably wasn't the best idea. It was kind of cold out, andI don't think I had the kids dressed quite warmly enough. But they didn't complain...

Do you like Daisy's BabyLegs that clash with her pants? I only have one pair of girly ones, and they were dirty. So the red and silver stripes it was! It was my attempt at layering so she wouldn't get too cold. Plus, the girl is just so tall and skinny that I need BabyLegs to fill that ankle gap. Or maybe I should get her a pair of tall boots...

Caleb loves swinging, but he loves it even more when Daisy is in the swing next to him. It warms my heart that these two love each other so much.

Cute, huh? I'm pretty pleased with Caleb's new shoes - $8ish on clearance at Target. Hooray!

Daisy, clapping because she loves the swing. Or because she loves to clap. Or because she was trying to wave but ended up clapping instead. I think her brain is still finalizing those connections. Sometimes she tries to wave or clap, but ends up wiggling her feet instead.

(Have I mentioned that I think she says "bye-bye"? She doesn't say it when we're leaving or anything, but I keep finding her randomly waving and saying "bah-bah". It happens so frequently that I'm almost convinced it's intentional.)

Caleb loves this frog. I asked him what its name was, and he said, "Kyoto". No kidding. I guess one of his storybooks features two frogs named Kyoto and Osaka. I haven't read the story with him, but he has explained this to me.

(Note that Caleb is now wearing my mittens. Because I was a bad mom and didn't think 45 degrees was that cold, so I didn't bring his mittens. Or a real coat. Honestly, the kid is lucky that he even has a hoodie on, because I almost took him out wearing just a sweater. I failed the weather test today.)

Yep. Daisy eating woodchips. Because why not?

She was happy with the arrangement.

Dinnertime. Caleb has figured out that if he eats his dinner, we'll give him a treat. "Treats" can range from fruit to cookies to pretzels to fruit snacks to raisins. But the kid has gotten smart. If we ask him to take a bite, he replies in a wheedling voice, "Caleb can have a spesssshhhhhul treeeeaaat?" If we say yes, then he asks, "What will it be?" He's not going to eat his dinner for just any old treat.

I think this will not end well for us.

But at least he's eating what we're eating, and we're not making special meals for him. Right?

Daisy still eats more than Caleb on most nights. Tonight was Tilapia, snow peas, au gratin potatoes, and blackberries. She and Caleb were both particularly pleased about the blackberries. And then Chris and I made the executive decision that this regularly scheduled non-bath night should become a bath night. It was a good call.

January 22

2012-01-22T21:39:00.000-06:00

Today:

Church. Chris and I worked with the babies, Caleb went to his classroom. When I picked Caleb up, his teacher said that during worship he gave little Miss Harper a hug and a kiss, and later he tried to hold Harper's hand. I asked Caleb about it, and he smiled and laughed, "Yeah. She's nice." Harper's mom says that Harper is pretty independent, and was pleasantly surprised that she tolerated Caleb's affection, rather than responding by biting or hitting him. We'll see how this pans out.

Lunch. Naptime. Oh, naptime. See, naptime was important today. We had a birthday party for a very special five-year-old at 2:30, so it was essential that Caleb go to sleep in a timely fashion so that he would be well-rested for the party. Instead, the child literally spent at least forty-five minutes like this:

Only most of the time, he didn't look this pleasant. Most of the time, he was crying and screaming, "Caleb should go poopy! CALEB should go POOPY!" After giving him time, then battling, then fighting, Caleb was appeased when he finally worked out a teaspoon of pee into the potty. Then he went to sleep.

While he slept, we worked in Daisy's room. I bought fabric to make her curtains last night, but haven't yet hemmed or sewn them in any way. Chris and I hung them up anyway, just because they have blackout fabric behind them and it helps with naptime. Then I got to work making this mobile for Daisy:

They're little felt bird ornaments I bought on clearance at Target. Cute, huh? Add some white wire hangers and thread, and boom - it's a mobile. I'm excited that Daisy's room is starting to take shape, instead of being an empty box. Next up: hanging pictures on the walls.

Party time. We were so excited to be on the guest list for a beautiful, rainbow-themed birthday party and celebrate with some fantastic people and hear their amazing news.

Dinner. Tried this recipe. Not a keeper. Oh well - not everything is a winner.

Bedtime. That means naked time in our house.

Those are Daisy's new curtains, but they're not really that yellow.

Focus on the baby, not the background. There is nothing inappropriate in the background.

What a sweet girl.

January 21

2012-01-21T20:16:00.000-06:00

Today I:

Slept until 8:30

Got my hair cut

Spent too much money at Target (but got some GREAT deals!)

Bought two gallons of paint

Spent too much money at Jo-Ann (but saved over 50% on everything!)

While I was out spending money and getting great deals, Chris played with our darling kiddos. Things went swimmingly, and they didn't miss me at all. I can't even begin to express how wonderful it is to be gone for 5 hours and have everything go perfectly. Freedom! If only every day were Saturday...

Since I was gone or sleeping most of the day, I missed almost every photo op that may have happened. But I did manage to capture this:

All three of them have strings tied around their heads. I think they're pretending to be ninjas. Daisy doesn't look fully convinced that this game is fun.

Caleb tried to use his wooden toy knife to go VanGogh on Chris' ear. Thankfully, he was unsuccessful.

I chose to marry and procreate with a wonderful man.

This is how I like him best: arms full of babies, scheming up wild plans.

January 20

2012-01-20T20:51:00.003-06:00

Today was a good day, and a Friday too!

For some reason, I woke up this morning before I needed to.

Our normal morning routine is this:

Chris' alarm goes off at 5:15; he hits "snooze".

It goes off again; he gets up, showers, and starts getting ready for work.

Though I could easily sleep through it, Chris' morning rustlings wake Daisy up.

I try desperately to get her to go back to sleep, but it doesn't work.

Chris takes Daisy with him so that I can sleep a little longer.
When he's ready to go, Chris wakes me up by tossing Daisy in the bed with me.

Sometime after Chris leaves for work, usually around 7, Caleb wakes up.

Since I was up early, I grabbed my camera to show you how Chris and Daisy spend their mornings:

Daisy used to sit on her play mat with a basket of toys, but now the girl scoots right off the mat. No, she is not playing with the iron cord. Chris is way too much of a worrywart to let anything like that happen. She's patting the ironing board leg because it makes a nice noise.

After Chris left and Caleb woke up, Caleb was drinking his morning "coffee" (warm milk with honey). He looked at me and said, "This is called coffee because it makes you cough!" and then he faked a cough. I laughed so hard - it was Caleb's first pun!

Two weeks after we put up our bird feeder, the birds have finally found it. Caleb's little chair is the perfect spot to view all of the birdy action. The feeder is so close to the window, though, that we have to be very still and quiet or we scare the birds away.

Caleb likes the boy cardinals the best because they look like his beloved baseball Cardinals.

At lunchtime, Caleb reminded me that he knows his memory verse.

"With God all things are possible!" Matthew 19:26

Of course, Caleb really likes hamming it up for the camera, so we had an outtake, too:

What a sweet boy. I love, love, love that our church encourages the little ones to memorize God's Word! I never would have thought a two and a half year old could do it.

After Caleb went down for his nap, I found this:

It's the hole in the wall that we need to patch (maybe we'll get to it this weekend...). Apparently Baby Jaguar felt the need to explore the hole? I love imagining what must have been going on in Caleb's little mind when he did this.

Later, Daddy came home, and Caleb wandered all over the house in his boots.

Daisy was entertained.

(No, she doesn't take a pacifier. She just likes to gnaw on it.)

Oh. And there's Caleb in my boots. You can't tell, but they're tall, zip-up boots with a heel. He managed them pretty well!

January 19

2012-01-19T20:56:00.001-06:00

It's official: our old home has a rent-paying tenant! Hooray for God's faithfulness! We handed over the keys and got the first month's rent check today; our first mortgage payment on the new house is due in a week and a half. Pretty perfect, if you ask me!

Another example of God's faithfulness: I am still alive. The past few days, I really thought I might not make it, but I think I'm finally getting better. I felt well enough today that I ventured out of the house for the first time this week so that I could go to MOPS. I think the kids and I both needed a break from each other.

We got home, I made Caleb lunch, put Daisy down for a nap, re-joined Caleb and to eat my lunch... and waited. Caleb took a full hour to eat his lunch. Not even kidding. So by the time I got Caleb down for his nap, I had ten minutes and then... guess who was awake?

Daisy and I had some good snuggles and I tried to make her go back to sleep, but then I gave up and we played. Girl is all over the place now. She will scoot across the room to get to me, and she's so proud of herself when she does it!

She's also into everything now.

She scooted away from her toys, across the room, under the computer desk, just to peer inside this little trash can.

Oops! Tipped it over!

(At first I thought she had one of my germy tissues in her hand, but it's not a tissue. It's the bow on the front of her dress. Whew!)

Rolling the trash can around. It makes a fun noise when you do that!

Speaking of rolling, at MOPS today we made a fun baby toy. I filled an empty coffee can with three jingle bells, then duct taped the lid on. I covered it with pretty paper, glued some photos on, and covered those with clear Con-tac paper. Then I duct taped everything one more time.

Daisy loved it!

It makes a really satisfying jingle/clatter when she rolls it, and it rolls really well.

Yay!

This boy was happy because he got to eat cucumber slices while I made dinner.

It's the only vegetable he'll eat, but it's better than nothing!

January 18

2012-01-18T20:04:00.000-06:00

So my sickness is just like when the kids are sick: during the day, I think things are getting better. Then nighttime comes, and we crash. Boo.

The day was mostly good, though.

At one point, Caleb had a dirty diaper that needed to be changed immediately. Since I'm a good mom, I placed Daisy in front of a basket of toys and went to change Caleb. (Hey, I could have placed her in front of the TV and left the room. Good choices here!)

She apparently preferred the "basket of toys" that I like to call "the diaper bag" instead.

She emptied the whole thing, then chewed on one of her little shoes.

While I was checking on Daisy, a diaper-less Caleb ran into the room wearing my slippers.

People, sick mama = crazy house.

Daisy just sat and watched her brother's antics from her pile of diaper bag goodies.

Later, Daisy showed me a new milestone: she dances now!

She doesn't even need music. All she needs is to see Caleb dancing and BOOM - girl joins in.

Want to see?

After a few dance party sessions, Caleb decided it was reading time and read a book to Daisy. This video is longer (80 seconds), but pretty sweet and priceless. Caleb is just getting to the stage where he has his books memorized and likes to "read" them to himself.

(For those of you who can't view this, I'm really sorry, because this mama thinks it's pretty sweet.)

I'm so blessed to have such sweet and loving children - it makes being sick a little bit easier!

January 17

2012-01-17T19:47:00.000-06:00

Still sick.

Days like today make me envy working moms, who have luxuries like sick days and daycare.

Unfortunately, I have neither. Thankfully, the kiddos were pretty patient with me, and Chris left work a little bit early as my fever rose and my energy faded.

When Daisy woke from her afternoon nap at 2, I brought her into bed with me and tried desperately to get her to fall back asleep. No luck. Then I thought we could maybe just lay in bed together and play, since Caleb was still asleep. Nope. Girl wanted to be up. Also, she showed me a new trick that was so sweet and so funny that I had to get up and videotape it, despite the fact that I really, really wanted to stay in bed.

Want to see?

She's been waving bye-bye for a few weeks now, but it's generally been a full-arm wave. But today, she demonstrated that she can also wave like the Queen of England. And she is seriously proud of it.

Even funnier is that at first when I asked her to wave, she would try to wave but get confused and start clapping instead. I could practically see the little wheels turning in her head as she processed, "I know I'm supposed to do something with my hands... now what was it?"

Here are some not-quite-as-cute still photos of Daisy's new wave:

"Wait, what do I do?"

"That's it!"

"Yay, Daisy!"

And then scooting around instead of sitting still for my camera.

Where did she scoot? Right to "B is for Bear". It's her new favorite.

Time for bed now. I'll be better in the morning, right?

January 16

2012-01-16T21:18:00.000-06:00

I love bank holidays.

I especially love bank holidays on sixty-degree days in January when I am sicker than a dog.

Chris and I took the kids to the zoo today; it was Daisy's first trip, and Caleb's first trip that I trusted him to be out of the stroller. Fun was had by all.

We arrived super-early to take advantage of the free carousel and children's zoo. Unfortunately, the carousel was closed. Jerky zoo people. But the children's zoo was open, and Caleb was really excited about the guinea pig.

Caleb eagerly posed as a river otter - too funny.

However, he was terrified by the butterflies in the butterfly dome. He kept saying that they sting. Daisy was fascinated by them, though. She was so fascinated by the zoo in general that she decided to forgo her morning nap, and stay awake until we got in the car to drive home. I really thought the stroller and the fresh air would put her right to sleep, but I thought wrong.

We had the stroller, but Caleb chose to run.

Everywhere.

He ran and ran and ran and ran. Up hills. Down hills. Through tunnels. He only fell once.

This kid loves water. This waterfall was better than any animal for him.

(We saw limited amounts of animals, though, because so many exhibits were "Closed due to icy conditions." It was fifty degrees out, and warming. Really? Icy conditions?

Caleb randomly started doing some ballet poses. Or karate moves. Whatever.

In the ape house, this orangutan came up to inspect Daisy. Daisy is that pink blob in the bottom right corner. (Yes, Mom. There's a pane of glass between them. No, Mom. She wasn't scared.)

See? That's how close he was. Caleb was pretty tickled by the whole thing.

So it's official. Daisy loves the zoo.

She is also officially the cutest baby ever.

See?

Sigh.

And my boys. Love them!

(No pictures of me because I look sick. Ugh. One of my eyes is even swollen and red. Hoping I feel better tomorrow.)

January 15

2012-01-15T21:10:00.001-06:00

These kids.

I tell you what - they're pretty fantastic. (Written after I just battled forty-five minutes to get Daisy to sleep. But she's still pretty fantastic.)

We went to church this morning. Caleb was so excited to see his friend Cooper and his teacher, Miss Rhonda. When Chris went to pick him up, he was playing with a little girl named Harper. They're about a month apart in age, so they've been in the same classroom since birth. Chris told Caleb to say goodbye to Harper, so he gave her a long, lingering hug. Then he walked away, came back, and gave Harper a kiss on the cheek. How sweet is that?

One of the things that I love about our church's children's program is that they encourage the kids to start memorizing scripture at an early age. I would never think that two-year-olds could memorize Bible verses, but they can. And Caleb feels so proud and excited when he knows his verse!

Here we're practicing January's memory verse: "With God, all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

The blue piece of paper has the verse written on it, as well as a description of the arm motions they use to help the kids remember it. We like to practice.

I'm feeling under the weather - a yucky sore throat, body aches, and the chills. When we got home from church, I climbed right into bed to nap while the kiddos napped. My wonderful husbando was tired too, but instead of napping, he took care of Daisy when she woke up and even took some photos of her for me!

Chris fed her lunch - banana and apple slices. She seems to be pretty pleased with the turn of events!

This girl loves her sippy cup. If for some reason I can't nurse her - I'm away, or I've taken medication or had a margarita :), she won't take a bottle anymore. She'll only take milk from a sippy cup.

Yay for sippy cups!

Yummy snack. Don't her big brown eyes melt your heart?

At church today, we were talking to a man named Kevin. He's our parents' age and not yet a grandpa, but has baby fever. He's kept up with Daisy and Caleb's growth and development. Chris and I were chatting with him about Daisy - how she's tall and skinny, 90th percentile for height and 15th for weight. His response?

"Well, she's 100th percentile for beautiful!!!"

I laughed really hard at that one.

Dinnertime. Daisy has a thing for tongues. She cracked up when I stuck my tongue out at her and waggled it around. For dinner tonight, she had brown rice, grilled shrimp, mango, cucumber, and oranges. Not bad for an eight-month-old, huh? Have I mentioned how much I love Baby-Led Solids? It may be messy, but it's way easier than baby food, and SO MUCH FUN!

January 14

2012-01-14T20:47:00.000-06:00

We took Caleb and Daisy out to the old house today. Our tenant moves in on Friday, so today was a chance for us to do some cleaning and repairing and let the kids say goodbye. We enjoyed what will hopefully be our last family meal there - Cracker Barrel pancakes to go, eaten out of boxes on the floor. Because we're cool like that.

Caleb approved.

Daisy watched us eat from her car seat. It worked for me - it meant that I didn't have to share my pancakes!

We actually got quite a bit done, but when naptime rolled around, I took the kids home and left Chris to keep working.

Sadly, Chris was still working at the house at dinner time, so we had to do dinner and bedtime without him. Caleb, Daisy and I are so lucky that this rarely happens. Thankfully, the kids were on their best behavior and we did fine.

As Caleb ate his bread, he said, "Jesus broke bread! Caleb breaks bread, too!"

Yep.

It made my heart feel like Jello.

Daisy devoured her dinner, and I was quite thankful for her new full-torso bib. It's basically a waterproof shirt-bib; perfect for Baby-Led Solids!

My happy boy grinned like this when I called Daddy to tell him about Caleb's Jesus-breaking-bread comment.

Daisy grinned like this at her brother. She kind of likes him.

Or maybe she was happy about her food. She definitely ate twice as much as Caleb did tonight. When Caleb wouldn't eat his dinner (we had potato soup, so I fished out chunks of potato, carrot, and celery for the kids. Everything was coated in a thick, cheesy sauce.), I pointed out that Daisy really liked her dinner. His response? "Should Mommy give Caleb's food to Daisy?"

This kid is trouble. It's a good thing he's so sweet!

January 13

2012-01-13T21:20:00.000-06:00

Did you know that today was Friday the thirteenth? I did.

Do you know how I knew?

Because my day was rotten. Rotten.

It all started after Daisy's morning nap. She woke up, and I got everyone bundled up so that we could head out to Target and the fabric store. I had all the windows measured and was finally going to buy fabric to make curtains. It was cold out, so I decided to start the car first and then bring the kids out. It was one of my few good decisions of the day. I went to start the car and... rev, rev, rev, clickclickclick, nothing.

My car was slow to start yesterday, but I had no idea the battery would be worthless today. So I trudged back inside to tell the kids that we would not be going to Target.

Caleb flipped out. "Should Mommy and Caleb go to Target? Should Caleb go to TARGET? SHOULD CALEB GO TO TARGET!!!???!!" And then the crying. And if Caleb is crying, Daisy assumes he has a good reason, so she starts crying too. Add that to my already-frustrated self, and... well, it wasn't good.

Lunchtime was good, though.

On the menu (and on Daisy's face): eggs scrambled with cheese, strawberries, and plain Greek yogurt.

Daisy loved it!

Lunch must taste yummier if it's smeared all over you.

Then I put Caleb down for his nap. Daisy was due for a nap too, so I put her down, looking forward to at least ninety minutes to relax.

Fool.

Daisy had other plans.

Plans like playing in Caleb's tent while he was asleep.

Yep. She's cute, but I wasn't seeing it this afternoon. I was just stressed and annoyed as I spent three hours trying to start dinner, but not being able to because someone was tired but not willing to nap.

But it's over now. New battery in my car, new garage door opener clipped to my sun visor, babies asleep, and a pan of brownies in the oven. And tomorrow's Saturday. Everything will be OK.

January 12

2012-01-12T20:47:00.000-06:00

Happy snow day to us! We woke this morning to find around two inches of fluffy white snow, and more continued to fall throughout the day. It was cold, windy, and lovely!

We stayed inside for the first part of the morning since it was so cold. Caleb spent some time painting:

At various times this painting was angels, Grandmother, and a boat.

Daisy woke up from her nap and we gave Caleb a haircut. To keep him still while I cut his hair, I gave him a set of pretend scissors and a stuffed duck. While I snipped away at Caleb's hair, he gave the duck a "haircut", too, commanding, "Sit still, Mr. Duck! Stop wiggling!"

When we were finished, I bundled Caleb in eight million layers of clothes, wrapped Daisy in a similar amount, put Daisy in the Ergo, and zipped my coat around her. I must have looked like pregnant, two-headed monster as we played in the snow!

Caleb was very serious about his snow-play. Though this picture shows him walking on the sidewalk, most of the time he ran in the grass next to the sidewalk. There was more snow in the grass, and I suppose he found that to be more satisfying.

Happy boy!

He bent over to get some snow to make a snowball, and face-planted in the snow. It was one of those times where something truly hilarious happens, but because you're a mama and it's happening to your baby, you try really hard to stifle your laughter. And then you fail completely because it's so stinking funny.

This was when he tried to get back up. He failed. Probably something about his eight million layers of clothes. It took him four attempts and some assistance from me before he was finally back on his feet.

We only stayed outstide for maybe thirty minutes before I decided it was time to come back in (sadly, or luckily, our sleds are still in the garage at the old house. We'll have to grab them - and everything else that's left - this weekend.). Caleb wanted to keep playing, but I bribed him with hot cocoa. While I made hot cocoa, he and Daisy had a "picnic" on the living room floor.

How sweet is this? Actually, they were fighting. Caleb had a toy cookie on his plate, but Daisy yoinked it right off. He was peeved, and unconsoled by the toy orange slice I offered him. Heck - I understand. An orange is not a fair trade for a cookie.

Yummy plastic picnic!

This girl. I know I say it a lot, but she is so good at entertaining herself! Give her a basket full of toys and put her in front of a window, and she is happy as a clam!

Yay!

January 11

2012-01-11T20:28:00.000-06:00

After breakfast this morning Caleb was playing contentedly, so I stole a few minutes to shower while Daisy was alseep. When I got out of the shower, I couldn't find the slippers that I had worn into the bathroom. Our floors are cold, so I needed them, but they had disappeared. I left the bathroom, went down the long hall, and found Caleb playing at the coffee table in the living room, wearing my fuzzy blue slippers. He had quietly crept into the bathroom, put the slippers on, shuffled all the way down the hall, and continued playing as if it were no big thing. It was the funniest thing I have experienced in a long time - so funny that I didn't mind how cold my feet were. Sadly, I have no pictures.

But I do have pictures of our cookie-making session that happened immediately after the slipper fiasco. Daisy's nap was really long (she still has a cold, but seems to be feeling a little bit better. Much less fussy. Thanks for asking.), so Caleb and I were able to make, bake, and eat three dozen snickerdoodles before she woke. (OK, we didn't eat all three dozen. We saved some for the neighbor as a thank-you for the raw milk she gave us last week.)

This was the first time Caleb had helped me with snickerdoodles, and he seemed to really enjoy the hands-on process.

I rolled the dough into little balls, then handed them to him to roll in the cinnamon and sugar.

We experimented with letting him roll the dough into balls, but he seemed to only be capable of smooshing it. Even when he rolled the balls in the cinnamon and sugar, he still tended to smoosh them.

Caleb soon determined that my method of spacing the cookies on the pan was inadequate, and took things into his own hands. He lined them up in a tight row and got very upset if I tried to move them.

While the cookies baked and I cleaned up, his cars went for a drive on the cooling rack.

After lunch, Caleb napped and Daisy and I played.

She was perfectly content to play with her toys and watch me as I cleaned the big back windows.

"Mommy! I love how you clean! Maybe you should do it more often!"

Quiet, kid.

Happy, happy girl. She's so funny!

Love her!

(Nope - still no teeth. I keep looking anxiously in her mouth, hoping to see some tooth buds. But still nothing. I know they will come someday; Caleb was eleven months old before he got his first tooth. I guess Chris and I just breed babies who like to hang out in the womb too long and take their time getting teeth. At least they're cute and cheerful!)

January 10

2012-01-10T21:57:00.001-06:00

Today we paid a visit to our fantastic doctor, due to a wicked rash on Caleb's leg. We've been battling this one rogue spot for over two months now; at first I didn't know what it was and tried hydrocortisone cream, then I realized it was ringworm and tried an antifungal cream, but that didn't work so we visited the doctor and she said stick with the antifungal, but it still didn't go away so we did prescription antifungal, but even the prescription didn't work so now we've decided it's eczema. It's not terrible or anything - just a half-dollar sized patch on Caleb's left calf that seems to be pretty itchy and looks really angry. Poor kid.

But the one who really should be visiting the doctor is Daisy. She has been so fussy! I didn't ask the doctor about it during our visit because I wasn't sure how that worked; is it ok to talk about your second child during your first child's visit? I'm guessing no, and I didn't want to put our doctor (who is also my friend on Facebook) in the position of having to tell me that we can't talk about that now but if I'd like to make an appointment... So I didn't ask her to check Daisy's ears for an ear infection. But now I'm kicking myself and wishing I had. It seems that with kids, they're always better in the morning and worse in the evening. So you don't call the doctor because you think they're getting better, but then once the office is closed for the day they start acting up again. Or am I the only one who's experienced this?

*sigh*

But, I did weigh Daisy. She is 15 pounds, 9.4 ounces. People, that's the 15th percentile! Up from the 12th percentile for the past few months! I think this is the first time in her eight months that she's actually gone UP a few percentiles! It could be a fluke, or she could be on an upward trajectory. Doesn't really matter. What does matter is that she has also officially doubled her birth weight! You know - that milestone that most babies reach between four and six months? The milestone that most people use to determine when their baby is ready for solids? Yeah. My eight-month-old just reached it. (Though to be fair, she surpassed it. She probably hit it around seven and a half months old. When we last saw the doctor three weeks ago, Daisy weighed just under 15 pounds, and was just shy of doubling her birth weight.)

In other good news, Chris came home at 5:00 today. See, that's how it goes now. His commute is only half an hour, so he can leave at his normal time and get home at 5:00! But I still expect his commute to take an hour and I'm surprised when he comes home so early.

Here's what he and Caleb did when Chris got home:

Caleb took his Lightning McQueen slippers for a spin as he and Chris went for a run to the fire hydrant and back in the almost-dark.

Later, my mom and Ryan and Max came over for dinner. Mom had the day off work and spent the whole thing by herself at our old house, cleaning. Yeah. I think she might love me just a little. To thank her, I made this for dinner:

(not my photo. Click on the photo to link to its source and the delicious recipe.)
Garlic-studded pork tenderloin

with Roasted Brussels Sprouts in a lemon-garlic dressing

(Come on, now. Do you really think that's my picture? Click on it to link to the source, as well as the recipe.)

Daisy devoured her mashed potatoes and pork, but wasn't keen on the brussels sprouts.

It was a fun evening, and now I'm desperately praying that Daisy feels better in the morning.

January 9

2012-01-09T21:56:00.000-06:00

Today was one of those not-quite-sure-if-it-was-a-good-day-or-bad-day kind of days.

Good:

I got a TV set up last night, and this morning Caleb and I snuggled in bed and watched thirty minutes of Cars while Daisy napped.

Caleb spent a good chunk of the morning pretending to make me breakfast while wearing this Christmas gift from GREAT Aunt Maggie:

"And we have coffee and milk and coffee cream and cinny rolls and bacon..."

He thought he was pretty cool.

Chef Caleb even cooked a few of his toys for me to eat as an appetizer. What a nice boy.

Daisy took a two and a half hour nap in the morning, and her two hour afternoon nap coincided with Caleb's four hour nap. (I know. Some of you are thinking, "Sheesh! And she has the gall to imply that it might not have been a stellar day???")

When Daisy was awake, she happily entertained herself in our sunshiny front room:

This girl is so content!

She loves looking out the front window! Tonight we used a Home Depot gift card someone gave us for Christmas to buy a bird feeder and songbird feed for the front yard. Hopefully we'll soon have lots of birds to watch!

It's official: Daisy definitely waves bye-bye now.

But the not-so-good:

We had a seven-hour nursing strike. She should have nursed three times during those seven hours, but Daisy angrily refused to nurse, even though she was clearly hungry.

I tried to fill her little belly with breastmilk in a sippy cup (she prefers that over the bottle now) and rice poofs.

She was happy with the rice poofs until she saw that I was eating something else.

I gave her one goldfish, and she loved it. When I looked away, she scooted over, grabbed the bowl and started eating them. Of course, I quickly cleaned up the mess and allowed her to do it again. This time, I had my video camera in hand.

Also, Daisy's new mobility means that she tends to get stuck now.

A stuck baby is a fussy baby!

Another thing that makes Daisy fussy? This rotten cold that she's had for over a week. I think it may be two colds, stacked end to end. See the snot bubble in her nose? (In case you're curious, she's eating a green bean from my homemade veggie soup.)

This evening she was so fussy that I'm starting to wonder if she's teething or has an ear infection. She's been uncharacteristically upset. Poor girl. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

January 8

2012-01-08T21:39:00.000-06:00

Today feels like it was especially long. Perhaps it feels that way because my morning went something like this:

In the dark, pre-dawn hours, Daisy woke up. I had no idea what time it was, so I tried to nurse her back to sleep. Nothing doing. Then I heard Caleb talking to himself in his bedroom. Because we had no power in our bedroom, I wasn't sure whether it was really time to be awake or not. So, Daisy in arms, I padded down to the kitchen to check the oven clock. 5:56 am. Shivering, I checked the thermostat. 65 degrees. Those two numbers do not add up to "time to be awake" in my book, so Daisy and I plodded back to bed and burrowed under the covers until our theromstat decided the heat needed to come back on.

Twenty minutes later, Daisy was definitely awake. So was Caleb. The heat still hadn't turned on. But I had to do everything in my power to make sure Chris stayed asleep, because he was cleaning at the old house until after 2 am. So I took one for the team and got the kids up.

We manually overrode the thermostat program, and set to work making coffee, bacon, and blueberry oatmeal pancakes. While I cooked in the kitchen, Caleb and Daisy played happily in the living room. Chris woke up just in time to eat breakfast before we headed out to church at 8:30.

Long morning.

While Caleb napped in the afternoon, Chris had some special "Daddy and Daisy" time. He would pluck a few strings on Caleb's guitar, and then

She would try to play the guitar with her feet. Funny girl.

Some of Caleb's cars. I think he lined them up for a race. Then I told Caleb that Grandad and Grandmother and Sally were coming over, so he needed to pick up his cars.

Usually, this ends up being a battle. But today, he completely understood. He looked up at me and said, "So they don't trip on them!"

Yep, that's right, kiddo!

Grandmother brought a special treat for us to enjoy.

Whoopie pies! Yum!

January 7

2012-01-07T21:12:00.000-06:00

We celebrated my nephew Ryan's fourteenth birthday today.

It's crazy, isn't it? I was sixteen when he was born, and now he's fourteen. I still can't believe it. After a late breakfast at The Golden Corral (his choice), the whole fam headed over to our house for cake and presents.

It was warm enough outside that the boys were able to play football in the back yard. Turns out, we have a pretty good back yard!

Ryan made lots of sweet passes.

Jason worked all night to make this masterpiece for Ryan. From scratch, he crafted a white/chocolate checkered cake with a banana/strawberry compote filling. He initially made fondant icing (also from scratch!) but it broke, so he had to resort to a regular icing.

Seriously, this dude puts all of my cake-making efforts to shame. I may never bake again!

Can we talk for a momet about what a good kid Ryan is?

Daisy stayed up past her naptime, so she was a little iffy. She was playing by herself on the floor, when she started fussing. I was busy, Chris was with Caleb, and no one else noticed, so Ryan just scooped her up and took care of her. Daisy was totally content.

I know it's a simple act of kindness, but I can't think of many other fourteen year old boys who would do that.

Nope. Still can't believe he's fourteen. Thirteen, I could handle. Not fourteen.

This proud mama loves her boys!

Caleb loved Jason's cake.

Caleb and I made this card for Ryan. Thanks, Amber, for blogging about how to make them over here!

Later, after everyone was gone,

Daisy scooted around the dining room.

Caleb, meanwhile, woke up from his nap and immediately asked in the sweetest little voice, "Should Mommy give Caleb another one more little piece of cake?"

I love him and his garbled semantics. How could I say no?

While we ate cake, Chris explored the attic. Hopefully tomorrow will bring us electricity in the bedrooms.

January 6

2012-01-06T19:58:00.000-06:00

I'm pretty sure it was nearly 70 degrees out today.

Good thing, too. I needed some sunshine and fresh air to help me regain my sanity. It was a rough day for me. Something about Daisy refusing to nap for more than forty-five minutes at a time, and then Caleb throwing a tantrum and waking her up when I had finally gotten her to sleep for what I was sure would be a great nap.

People, I almost lost it.

Luckily, I was able to pop them both in the BOB and head over to the neighborhood playground. The brisk (verrry brisk) walk did wonders for my frustration, and the sunshine was like a miracle drug. Plus, Caleb and Daisy were both so happy to be at the park that it was hard for me to stay angry.

Oh, boy.

Is he cool, or is he cool?

Those red socks and exposed ankles and crooked, too-big sunglasses... but boy, was he happy. And when I put that maroon shirt on him, he smiled and said, "This is a soft shirt, Mommy!"

Daisy was so happy to be swinging in the sunshine!

Happy Daisy. Distracted Caleb. (A bicyclist had just ridden by)

Daisy clapped her hands in delight. She really loved swinging!

"Yes, Mom! This is awesome!"

And my hip little man.

Later I apologized to him for being so frustrated. Thankfully, he accepted my apology.

January 5

2012-01-05T19:55:00.000-06:00

Our morning was filled with MOPS today and our afternoon was filled with naps, so I didn't take very many pictures. Daisy woke from her nap before Caleb woke from his, so we got ready to go for a run in the BOB. My plan was to leave when Caleb woke up. However, it seems that he didn't want me to go for my first run in two months (I know! Can you belive it? I'm terrible) because he didn't wake up until 4:38, as the sun was setting.

While we waited in vain for Caleb to wake up, Daisy helped me with some laundry.

Actually, I set her in front of her toys and ran downstairs to throw a load of laundry in the washer. When I came back up, I saw this:

Daisy had pulled a photo book out of her basket of toys, and was staring intently at a picture from Caleb's first birthday. It was of us, surrounded by the rest of Chris' family. Daisy clearly recognized, and was interested in, Grandmother and Grandad. How fun is that?

This happy girl loves her family!

(Also, I seem to love dresses over long-sleeved shirts and pants lately. Daisy has worn this combination for the past three days in a row. But hey - it looks cute, and expands her wardrobe. Why not!)

Caleb, Daisy and I all have colds. I'm off to bed now to sleep mine away!

January 4

2012-01-04T21:01:00.000-06:00

Daisy is eight months old today! It doesn't seem possible that she's closing in on one year old, but she is. We had a great day today; it was the perfect combination of fun and productive. Daisy was even cheerful and cooperative for her photo session.

This girl loves to clap, and seems to have figured out when clapping is appropriate. I'm pretty sure she's gifted, because she claps every time I do something well or say something funny.

Oh my goodness. I love every bit of this tall-and-skinny, crazy-haired, floor-scooting little ragamuffin.

Her hair is almost long enough for barettes now!

At eight months old, Daisy:

sleeps from 8:30 pm to 7:30 am most days

(some days she wakes up at 6 and plays with Daddy, then goes back to sleep)

takes two 90-minute naps each day

finally has her own bedroom!

will nap in her room, but prefers Mommy and Daddy's bed at night

still nurses all.night.long.

scoots to get things she wants, but doesn't usually travel more than a few feet

still puts everything in her mouth

adores Caleb. I hope that never ends.

is a ridiculously good baby

One of her favorite games is pull-the-sock-off-the-foot-and-chew-on-it. If you think it sounds exciting, you're right.

Holding the sock and scooting. I'm pretty sure she thought she had a chance at grabbing my camera, and was making her move. You thought wrong, baby!

*sigh*

love her.

The temperature climbed to the fifties today, so I popped the kids in the BOB and we checked out the neighborhood playground. It was one of the reasons we fell in love with this house and this neighborhood, so I was hopeful that it wouldn't disappoint.

Can you see the delight on Caleb's face?

Daisy was past due for a nap and feeling drowsy, so she watched Caleb's antics from the snuggly warm confines of the BOB.

I pushed Caleb in the swing, higher and higher, until he said, "Can Mommy get in the big boy swing? Can Mommy swing with Caleb?"

He didn't have to ask me twice.

I took this photo while I was swinging next to Caleb.

Right after this, he looked at me and said, "This is so much fun!"

And then my heart melted.

Then we checked out the basketball court and pool, then walked the trail you can kind of see in the background. Daisy fell fast asleep, and it was a really good day.

January 3

2012-01-03T20:52:00.000-06:00

Today I was digging through boxes in a vague attempt to organize things, when I came across Caleb's first year calendar. I flipped forward to his eighth and ninth months to see what he was doing when he was Daisy's age. Answer: beginning to talk and rolling all over the place.

What is Daisy doing now that Caleb wasn't?

Answer: scooting and clapping. She's a month or two ahead of him on those things.

Isn't it funny how each baby is so different?

Today my mom came out to help me get the house settled. She ended up staying home with Daisy while I made my absolutely horrible first shopping trip to Schnucks. It was terrible. They didn't have what I wanted, everything was in weird places, and it was all so much more expensive. I fought back tears the whole time. (Pathetic, I know. But people, I'm a smart shopper. Every week, the kids and I hit three stores in a row - wham, bam, ka-BLAMMO. We rock those stores. I'm swift and thrifty because I know those stores. We pay less and the kids are well-behaved because I KNOW those stores. And now I have to start all over. Ugh.)

But when I came home, I grabbed some bags out of the trunk and headed inside. I glanced up to the big front window and saw my mom holding Daisy. Daisy was grinning from ear to ear and kicking her legs in delight. Mom said she even laughed out loud. Why? Because she was happy to see me. ME. I don't get moments like that very often, and it was a salve to my wounded soul.

It was even better because she was dressed especially well today. Want to see?

Yes, the hair is crazy, but still.

Sweet BabyGAP dress was a gift from Grandmother.

Jeggings were a MonsterSale purchase from The Children's Place.

Santa bought the hairbow at Target.

And those sweet little bow-toed socks were from Grandmother.

She's not looking at the camera because she's gazing adoringly at her big brother.

He's so funny!

Love her.

"You can't fake chic like this!"

Lounging in her bouncer while I made dinner.

After dinner, we surprised Daddy while he was attempting to fix that blasted ceiling fan.

We did this:

It's probably the funniest thing I've seen in weeks.

(Don't you love that circa-1968 linoleum? It's cream and black with gold flecks. The closets inexplicably feature hardwood floors with nasty carpet over them. Then there's that hole in the wall behind Caleb. Look carefully; you can see that there was apparently a hole there before that was patched, then someone busted a hole in the patch. We are living in the lap of luxury, people.)

Chris and Caleb both enjoyed the paper-bag-over-the-head game.

Right now Daisy's sleeping in her own room as Chris continues to wage war against that blasted fan. Pray for a victory?

January 2

2012-01-02T20:43:00.000-06:00

I think Caleb only asked to go home once today.

Chris spent two hours last night trying to get our icemaker line hooked up; our plumber-friend Matt came by today and did it in literally thirty seconds. Talk about demoralizing.

But. Chris successfully hooked up our new gas clothes dryer, and I'm quickly getting caught up on laundry and learning how to use it.

Chris spent all day trying to install a new ceiling fan/light comboand wire it to two new switches in our bedroom. It's installed (wobbly, but installed) and wired, but it doesn't work. Neither does the electricity in our bathroom, bedroom, and Caleb's room. We have no idea why.

But. I made our first dinner in the new house. Gas ranges are amazing. And my new gas oven may be tiny, but it's pretty great, too.

Chris goes back to work tomorrow. I'm not worried about finding my groove with the kids, but I am worried about my ever-increasing need to go grocery shopping. The only stores nearby are Schnucks and Dierbergs, but they're kind of pricey for this Aldi/Target/Shop n Save girl. Do I drive twenty minutes to the closest Aldi/Shop n Save combo, or suck it up and try to make Schnucks work? Or should I just give in and do all of my shopping at the local 7-Eleven?

How about some pictures?

Today I showed Caleb how he can wear his drum around his neck and be the drummer boy.

Kid is really into his music.

No one taught him to do the big finish, he just does it.

When he finishes playing his guitar, he stands up, claps mightily for himself, and then takes a bow.

Where does he get this from? Certainly not me.

Daisy was impressed by her brother's drumming skills. Right before I took this picture, she was clapping for him.

She's his sister, but I think Daisy may also be Caleb's first groupie and the president of his fan club.

She adores everything he does, and I adore that.

Our two front rooms have large, beautiful windows. They don't open, but they provide a lovely view and let in insane amounts of sunlight. They're so big that the birds apparently don't realize the windows are there. Before we moved in I cleaned up a really big spot of bird feathers and blood on the front storm door; today I found two more feathery spots on the windows.

At least my windows seem to always win the battle! I wonder if homeowners' insurance would cover window repairs due to kamikaze birds?

Caleb napped. Daisy, who has a runny nose, snuggled with Daddy.

Daisy is a lucky girl.

So am I.

Last, have we talked about Caleb's cars fixation?

Yes, he's obsessed with the first Cars movie. But then our former neighbor Xander gave him the best gift ever - a crate full of Hot Wheels and matchbox cars. Some are from the movie, and some are random cars. Caleb loves them.

LOVES them.

Before naptime and bedtime, he always tucks two favored cars under his pillow.

Two sit on the toilet lid and watch while he takes his bath.

At dinner, two sit by his plate and watch him eat.

Here, he's sitting on our bed, watching Daddy fight a losing battle with the ceiling fan. Joining him are his Lightning McQueen slippers, a Lightning McQueen car, and the blue racer.

Funny stuff, people. Funny stuff.

January 1

2012-01-01T21:20:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!

Inn 2011, I wrote a grand total of 344 blog posts. Not too shabby! I think 2012 will be the year of the home. We plan to spend all of it working on our new house. Chris' friend Shawn and his family stopped by today on their way through town, and Shawn commented that the house is probably a ten-year project. I really hope he's wrong, but I'm afraid he's right. I guess I'm really hoping it ends up being a five-year or less project. A girl can dream, right?

Meanwhile, we still can't get our new gas clothes dryer connected, Chris tried to connect the water line for the ice maker on the fridge and it sprayed everywhere, and tomorrow we're going to attempt to install a new ceiling fan in the master bedroom and re-wire the light switch so that there's a switch for the light and one for the fan.

The first night in the new house went well, though. Caleb slept all night, despite the loud, loud, LOUD noises of fireworks and party horns and shouting and what were possibly gunshots at midnight. Daisy didn't want to sleep in her new room, so she stayed in bed with us. And Chris and I slept fitfully. We need our ceiling fan!

I didn't manage to take any pictures of Shawn or Rachel or their four darling children. I did manage to capture my kiddos eating some delicious Lion's Choice for dinner, though. (This house has a good track record: so far, I have done NO cooking here! I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow so that life can resume as normal.)

We're raising this boy right! He loves his real roasted beef!

The only in-focus picture I took of Daisy today. I never manage to take photos of the kids when Chris is home. Isn't that funny?

Out of focus, but happy!

This girl is growing! All of her pants are now too small. I had to get out several pairs of 12-month pants, and bought a few more at the Monster Sale at The Children's Place.

Today is New Year's Day, so it's still okay to wear the "Happy New Year" hat, right? The boys read a Lightning McQueen book at bedtime. Caleb was happy.

December 31

2011-12-31T20:27:00.000-06:00

Our family is preparing to ring in the new year in our new house!

As I type this, Caleb and Daisy are sound asleep. Chris is figuring out the thermostat and new washing machine. We're all adjusting to the new noises and smells and arrangement of our things. I have to admit: I'm terrified. Apparently it's not just the kids who thrive on routine; I need it, too. I know that we'll find our new normal, and I know everything will be ok. But we lived in that old house for six and a half years. I brought one baby home from the hospital to that house; I brought another baby into the world in that house. I worked there and slept there and played there. This move has left my world a little bit shaken.

The kids are a little shaken, too. All evening, Caleb kept asking, "Can we go home?" At one point I went to retrieve some items from Chris' car, and Caleb raced to the door, shouting, "NOW we can go home!" We tried and tried to prepare him, but he just doesn't understand yet that this IS home now.

Amazingly, things are mostly in their spots now. Yes, there are boxes to be unpacked, but we had a gabillion more friends and family helping us today than we did yesterday. It took them less than an hour to unpack the truck. It went so quickly that I didn't even have time to think about photographing the process.

Instead, here's what I have:

Caleb, playing a little guitar before bedtime.

Daisy was eager to celebrate the new year!

(That's orange and chicken pot pie smeared all over her face. And hands. And shirt. And pants. Oh boy. Better figure out this new washing machine soon!)

"Is this how we celebrate, brother?"

Caleb's a pro at celebrating the new year! Remember last year?

And the year before?

We had glow sticks and champagne and festive hats. Now, Chris and I are stumbling to bed. 2011 was an amazing year for us: a trip to Mexico, a beautiful baby girl (born at home!), a new home... maybe 2012 will be a little bit less eventful! Eventful or not, we are thanking God for His many blessings. What a good year it was! I know this next one will be even better.

December 30

2011-12-30T22:31:00.000-06:00

Well. We started the big move today. Got the big truck, prepared to load it up.

And only one person showed up to help us. (Well, two if you count her toddler, too.)

I'm torn between feeling like the biggest loser ever (Seriously? No one can help us move? Really? Are we such jerks/dorks/lame-os that none of the people we've ever helped could take an afternoon to help us?) and the luckiest person ever because I have a friend like Sara (who showed up before we needed her, and immediately dove into the packing and sorting and labelling and loading and lifting and never once acted like what she was doing was a big deal).

I was worried about having Cooper here. After all, we already had a toddler and a baby underfoot. Adding another toddler would be a recipe for disaster, right?

Wrong. Cooper kept Caleb and Daisy way more entertained than any adult could have.

The kids were stoked when Chris arrived with the big truck. They ran to the front window to watch him pull into the driveway, then all ran to climb up into the cab.

See Daisy clapping her hands in delight?

Yay for trucks!

Love this cutie pie!

To keep Caleb and Cooper out of the way while we loaded the big things, we put them on the stairs.

Two two-year-olds attempting to high five. Love it!

They loved stomping their feet together. What silly boys!

We're driving the truck over bright and early to unload. Hopefully a few more people will be able to help us then. If not, my pride may never recover.

December 29

2011-12-29T21:54:00.000-06:00

What a long day!

Caleb and Daisy have finally gotten the Daylight Savings Time memo, and are now sleeping until around 7:30 each morning. When they woke up today, I popped them into clothes and threw them into the car. We hit the McDonald's drive-thru and then headed to the new house. My mom and Ryan met us there to do some last-minute things before we move...tomorrow.

What?!?! Tomorrow? We're not even packed!

We have a frantic evening/morning of packing ahead of us; we're picking up a big truck at 3 tomorrow to begin loading. It's been a long road to get to this point, but somehow I'm surprised that this day is already here. It's terrifying to think about leaving our home of six and a half years. It's the only home Caleb has ever known, it's where Daisy was born. Starting all over is scary, and it's even weirder because we're not fully leaving the old house. The fact that we still own it and are renting it out makes hard to make a clean break. I'm sure it will be fine, and I'm worrying about nothing. Right?

Caleb eating his pancakes and sausage. Nothing but the highest quality nutrition for my boy!

Daisy, checking out the new dining room.

Those window sills are perfect for pulling up! Go for it, Daisy!

Also, a few of you asked for info about Daisy's board book.

At the recommendation of my friend Amber, I used Pint Size Productions.

http://www.pintsizeproductions.com/

I think Amber and I both did the Simple Board Book I. She was happy with a book she made for her nephew, and I've been happy with Daisy's book - with a few disclaimers:

1. It's not cheap. If you find a coupon, you can make a book for $25, including shipping.

2. Their software is not user-friendly. It's kind of slow, doesn't make it easy to save your work and come back to it later, and it doesn't allow for any kind of customization. You are limited to a certain format, font, and number of pages.

3. My pictures came out looking a little bit faded, and the print was textured. Not a big deal, but something to be aware of.

4. You need high-resolution photos to get best results.

(Amber, feel free to comment with your feedback, too!)

But, it's the only company I've found that allows you to create high-quality board books, instead of hard-cover books with paper pages. Daisy has definitely chewed on and slobbered upon her book, and it's still in great shape. In fact, her book is the only book that keeps her interest for longer than thirty seconds! If you're in the market for a custom board book, I'd give Pint Size Productions a shot!

Now, off to pack some more boxes!

December 28

2011-12-28T20:50:00.000-06:00

It's official: Daisy is a scooter.

I'm blaming it on the slick, carpet-less floors in our house. They make it way easier to scoot instead of crawling.

She's also working mightily to pull up, but isn't quite there yet.

(By the way, don't you love the little socks with bows on the toes? They were a Christmas gift from Chris' mom. Love them!)

Peek-a-boo!

The scooting only happens when Daisy wants something that's just out of reach. She lunges for it, falls short, and drags her little body forward.

See?

(She really loves her "Who Loves Daisy?" book. It was her main Christmas gift from us this year, and I'm grateful to Amber D for telling me about the company that could help me make it a board book. I feel much better about letting her chew and slobber on a board book than on a paper book.)

Most of the time she bends her little body so far that she ends up doing the splits. It kills me how bendy babies are! Want to see her in action?

Isn't she funny?

She's quite proud of herself.

Yay, Daisy!

(She's not actually smiling at me. She's smiling at an old McDonald's 3-and-under toy that is her new favorite. It's a little blue plastic camera that has a squeaking shutter button. She loves it.)

That squeak is really captivating!

The end justfies the means, though, and I'm really happy to have these sweet, smiley photos of my girl!

(Caleb got the shaft today - no photos. But you can imagine him running around in his Lightning McQueen slippers. I even let him wear them instead of shoes on a trip to the hardware store. At the store I let him - in his slippers - sit on one of the "tractors". Kid was in heaven.)

December 27

2011-12-27T20:17:00.000-06:00

We woke up this morning to find...

SNOW!

Caleb was so excited to introduce his sister to the beauty of snow.

"See, Daisy? It's snow!"

It was somewhere around an inch of quickly-melting snow, but it was snow nonetheless.

And it was -*sigh* - our last snow in this house.

But it was also Daisy's first snow!

She didn't mind it, but she also wasn't particularly impressed.

(Psst... do you remember Caleb's first snow? He wore the same bear suit!)

Caleb, meanwhile, was itching to get out and stomp around in it. Thank goodness I bought snow boots a size up at the end-of-season clearance in the spring!

After we played in the snow a bit, we hopped in the car and headed out to the new house. It's been nice that we've had this overlap time with the two houses, because Caleb is gradually getting used to the idea that we will soon live in the new house.

I intended to paint the master bedroom today, but only managed to wash the walls (the previous owners weren't very keen on things like cleaning...) and tape off the trim. Caleb and Daisy took their first naps at the new house, but they were pretty paltry: a mere 90 minutes for Caleb, and 30 for Daisy. I plan to head out there again on Thursday with my Mom. Hopefully I can accomplish more then!