my precious little helper

I had an absolutely great Memorial Day. I woke up with my little man wanting to mop the floor for me. Who was I to argue? And it just so happened that the day prior, Daddy and I just discussed how we needed to let Matty do what he wanted to as long as he wasn't hurting anyone. Well, this was the day to put the plan into action.

He mopped to his hearts content until he couldn't any longer.... and then he mopped again.

my little veggie eaters

I've been meaning to post these pictures for a while, but been so busy. This was lunch a couple of weeks ago. On the menu: steamed brocolli and carrots with Gerber toddler meatsticks. Did they like them? Oh you betcha, they did.

Katie didn't slow down until her tray was empty. Jojo slowed down and got distracted halfway through.

Katie loves her brocolli!

Katie

What can I say, Jojo is a comic in front of the camera!

Aaah. All done! Notice the bits of meat stick on her eyelashes.

Katie's first bloody lip

I was spending time with the girls on the floor just having a great time. Katie now pulls up to full standing on her own and she enjoys trying to reach whatever she could get her hands on. Jojo is also pulling up, but she is not a pro at it yet.

Jojo was standing up holding on to the couch, and Katie was standing holding on to a wooden chair. Both their backs were against mine, leaning on me, using me to balance. But shortly after, Katie came tumbling back. I picked her up and saw blood in her mouth. She was crying, my sleeve was covered with blood, Jojo was crying because I had left her. It was insane!

When I finally got Katie's bleeding to stop, I saw that the frenelum (the connective tissue in the middle of the upper front teeth that connects the gum to the upper lip) was torn. I wasn't too terribly worried about it, but I thought I should call the pediatrician anyway. I don't want Katie to end up with a lisp or something worse because of it! The nurse took an hour to call me back and said this had just happened to her 3 year old son and everything should just be fine. I proceeded to describe the length of the cut and that I thought it looked deep. She then asked me if I thought she needed stitches. Um. Yeah, Ok. I'm not a doctor! Instead of answering, I kept on describing the cut. She told me to go ahead and bring Katie in.

The doctor took all of 1 minute to look at Katie's gum and said she'll be alright and sent us home.

Grrrr!! I knew that Katie would be OK, but I wasn't about to ignore a health professional. I just wanted to hear the nurse say "yeah, nothing to worry about". But in the middle of telling me that, she decided to call us in!

Interestingly enough, big brother's first bloody episode was 1 week before his 1st birthday. The twins are going to be a year old in 2 weeks.

and so it begins...

The girls have started to want and take each other's toys. Though Jojo is crying in this video, don't feel sorry for her because she can handle herself. Sometimes they play intercept all over the living room floor trying to what the other has.

The Twin Test Answers

Okay so here is the answer to the quiz..

A&C are both Jordan.
B is Katelyn.

It is quite a bit harder to tell them apart when it is just the eyes rather than looking at facial expressions.

-Mr.Dad

The Twin Test

Okay the wife doesn't see the humor in testing if you can tell the twins apart. By twins, I am referring to our daughters not anything else. So here is the test, above is a set of 3 pictures of just the eyes of our daughters, and yes there is at least one picture of each. So the test is, which pics are of the same twin, i.e. is A & C the same etc. If you are a grandparent I expect you to use names, or else. Please note, you can add a comment below by clicking on "post comment" to give your answer.

-Mr.Dad

maybe a hug can bring about world peace

I am ashamed to say it, but I am a yeller. Once I reach a certain frustration level, I yell. I feel awful about it, so I have empowered my son with what I hoped was something that would stop me in my tracks.

I told my son that instead of yelling and being mad at each other, we should just love and hug each other.

Shortly after our conversation, we had an opportunity to test my theory. Matty wasn't listening to whatever I was saying and I was about to pop a vein. He stopped, looked at me, and ran toward me. "Let's hug each other, Mommy!" Not one to reject my son's need for affection, I complied.

With a smile on my face, I went from 60 to zero (well, maybe not zero, more like 15) in 3 seconds flat.

Now the problem is that the power has gone to the boy's head. When we got to warning #2 last night at the store, he used it to wipe the slate clean. Hmmmm.

if it wasn't raining so often, these outfits would be great outdoors

Jojo is loving the hat.

Katie is getting extra rolls on her arms!

Jojo, Katie

Jojo, Katie

playing hookie

What is there to do on a Tuesday when you're stuck at home with Pink-Eye?

A shout out to youtube.com 's fire truck videos and sprouteonline.com for giving Mommy a little peace and quiet.
He-lah!!

I'm turning my son's brain into mush.

On the drive home from preschool, here's the conversation.

Me: (trying to stimulate my brain by singing) A-B-C-D-E-F-G, how I wonder where you are, Q-R-S ...

Matty: Mommy, there is no ABC in the sky!

Me: There isn't?

Matty: Nooooooooh!

Me: Are you sure?

Matty: I'm not sure!

Me: You're not?

Matty: I don't think so.

the newest additions to our already big family

Coco, Bubba, Zoe

(from left to right)

Meet Coco, Katie's bear and Zoe, Jojo's bear They have been in our family for a couple of months now. And of course, Bubba (center) is Matty's bear. Bubba is 3 years old and he's been through many-a-tantrums, and of course he's been through a lot - drool, stains, and grime. He has been told many secrets, but he is trully loyal (besides, he's probably the only one who understands half the secrets Matty tells him).

Kitchen Floor Time

(Click on the pictures to see an enlarged version.)

Katie and Jojo were having floor time this morning, barricated in the livingroom by the exersaucers, the couch, the chairs, and some pillows. But it didn't take Katie long to realize that she could escape by crawling under the exersaucers. And of course, after having done it once, she knows to keep coming back. We finally just let her explore the kitchen. She's so much faster on the kitchen than on the carpet!

It didn't take long before big brother joined in on the fun of crawling on all fours. He taught her the finer points of crawling by crawling under the table, the chair, the high-chairs. In the meantime, Jojo was all alone in the livingroom. She was content to just play by herself sitting up, until Daddy took her to the kitchen to join in the fun. She was a lot more restrained than Katie. She took in the new surrounding and took her time exploring one thing before moving on to the next.

With all these bodies on the floor, it wasn't long before there were casualties. Big brother slipped and somehow ended up with a busted lip, but the popsicle quieted him instantly. And then there was Katie, who was enjoying holding pulling up, but have yet to work out how to get her legs under her, so she ended up hitting her mouth as well.

It was a "free for all" morning, and I think it went quite well.

By the way, don't be thinking, "My, she's let her self go. Just look at those hairy legs!" Those are not mine. I swear!

Standing Up

Katie enjoys standing on her feet!

Jojo finds out that though falling on her bottom doesn't feel so nice, it's great to know that Daddy is there for a great lovin' when she does.

Jojo finds the courage to try again, with Katie beside her.

How could I have known it would be this messy

The box says biter biscuits are great for self-feeders. Great for who? Certainly not for me. Biter biscuits = two unscheduled baths. I thought Jojo was dirty, but Katie proved me wrong.

Trouble Makers

I was ready to rescue Katie from being pinned, but the looks on both their faces say, "How dare you disturb OUR fun!"