Dinnertime shenanigans

Claire got her first Barbie...

And Rosie loves her too.

more eating

Two in, three out

We have had an interesting week in terms of teeth. Gavin now has two bottom teeth. The emergence of his teeth have made me more comfortable offering him little pieces of food to eat on his own. So far it has just been banana rolled in ground flax seed, but we'll expand our horizons soon. Here he is going at it, with some help from his sister, of course:




In other dental news, Rosie managed to pierce her upper lip with her lower canine. The hole couldn't heal becauses her tooth kept sliding into it and it became an infected mess. So, out came the tooth, along with two additional top teeth that were poised to cause problems as they seemed to be migrating toward the back of her throat. Shane asked the dentist to save the canine tooth. I kept my thumb in the pic to add perspective. It's huge! (the tooth, not my thumb) Gross. Poor Rosie. Poor pocketbook.

A Perfect Moment

So today was Claire's first day at her new school. She went for a few days this summer, but this was her first "real" day. She was excited, her teacher seems nice and very well-organized (which will make a nice change from her mom!) and things went very smoothly at drop-off. For a brief moment she clung to my leg and said she didn't want us to leave, but then a little girl ran up and said, "Are you going to be my friend?" Claire said yes! and off they went. (I wish it were that easy for grown ups)

Gavin and I did the grocery shopping then came home so he could nap. I got a few things done, but spent most of his nap time chatting with my Mum which was much better than unloading the dishwasher anyway!

Go out to the garage and press the button to open the door and hear a terrible noise, and see the garage door stop about a quarter of the way up. The hatch on the van was open!! Apparently when I closed the garage door after lugging in the groceries and neglecting to close the back of the van, it pulled the hatch door down, but it wasn't able to pull it up again when the door was opening. In the battle of garage door vs. van, I would say the garage door lost. It is dented inward on the top section so doesn't close properly at the top. Fortunately it is still functional, or I would not have been able to pick Claire up! The van has yet another scar, about 3 inches long ...before too long the thing won't have any paint left at all. Shane said if I am campaigning for a Mini, it's going really well. Truly I can only blame myself, but in reality, I blame the fact that the two-car garage has two tiny openings instead of one big one. Although, I suppose this time, that argument doesn't really work since I just didn't close the stupid hatch. Ugh. I have almost done this a bunch of times, I guess it actually happening was inevitable. Let's hope I don't do it again...Shane will be much less forgiving. He really is wonderful...laughing at me a little, but not mad. He knows I am hardest on myself.

Onward to pick Claire up. She really enjoyed her day and was excited to show me around the classroom. I got another chance to speak with her teacher and am pleased so far. Good for day 1 I suppose.

We then went to Windmill Run, a county park nestled in a nearby neighborhood. Gavin is so accommodating when we go on these little adventures, even though he more or less gets carried around like a sack of potatoes while I follow Claire and chase her and watch her do all the amazing things she can do. This particular playscape is all wooden and old and pirate ship-y with tires and rickety ladders and all. Probably not the place I would let her run around by herself, but a nice change from the standard issue playground. It has some big tunnels that I was able to let Gaving crawl through so he was able to be an active participant this time. At one point we were all in one of the tunnels and I decided to sit the way you do in a tunnel with your back on one side and your legs up on the other side. The way you do when you are 10 years old. Instead of the comfy reclining position I recall, I was basically in a full pike position, in a tunnel, in the August heat with the van on my mind. Claire decides she wants to lay on top of me...the logistics of how this was going to work weren't immediately clear considering my feet were somewhere near my ears and my knees were...also somewhere near my ears, but she found a way to snuggle in and Gavin was curled up with us and that sweaty pile, just for a moment, was perfect. Then Claire shrieked and no Gavin wasn't pulling her hair this time, he was "just squishing my neck. I mean my throat, Mama".

It was hot, it was uncomfortable, it was seconds long...but it was a perfect moment.

The photo shoot

Babu is representing their future school by wearing his Harvard t-shirt. No pressure.

I am a pretty little dutch girl...

At 'Salon Babu'

Boys are nice

As I was taking Gavin's diaper off this evening before his bath, and after the requisite examination of his poop (Claire likes to check it out whenever possible) the following conversation ensued:

Claire: Why do boys have those things?
Me: Well, boys and girls are different and that is how boys look.
Claire: Is that where his neenun comes out? (neenun=poop...baby Claire-speak that has been adopted)
Me: No, but that is where his tinkle comes out.
Claire: Can I touch that thing?
Me: No, Sweetie, we are just changing his diaper...no need to touch it.
Claire: But I like to touch those things!
Me: (biting my lip to keep from laughing) Why, Claire?
Claire: Because boys are nice!

The conversations we will have, that girl and I! I am not sure I am prepared.

No more photos..

G and G

More crawling

One more

More beach pics...

Some beach pics

Crawling P II

Crawling-ish

Getting Ducky With It

Our hillbilly vacation began with our drive to Ft. Worth on Saturday. Eventful mostly in that Gavin pooped out of his diaper and all over his car seat. (Consider this a not-so-subtle foreshadowing of future events...) We went to Dr. Suessical, The Musical on Saturday night. It was performed by kids who have been in musical theater camp this summer and they did a fantastic job. Very impressive. I had visions of Claire's debut dancing and singing through my head throughout the performance.

We arrived in Hot Springs later than planned on Sunday, but with the large crew of varying bathroom schedules, it was not surprising! In the van was Shane and Granny in the front, Claire and Gavin in the middle and Zoe and I in the back. Farrah's CRV was a kid-free zone. I can't even remember what that kind of peace must be like! The van was fun, but a bit chaotic.

Once we arrived at our condo (which is very nice) Granny and Shane went off to the grocery store while the rest of us got settled. We scoped out the soon-to-be construction zone for the quartz which is abundent in Arkansas. We also had a quick swim in the pool before dinner. (Gavin was already in bed.)

The following day, Shane had to do some homework so the rest of us went into Hot Springs and went on a Duck Tour...one of those amphibious vehicles that toured around Hot Springs and across part of the lake. It was fun, but to be honest, I thought Hot Springs was going to be more scenic.

Here are some pics of the girls with their duck quackers. The funniest part of the tour for me was Claire matching the driver's "quack-quack" after every bad joke with a loud quack of her "quacker". I am not sure the other passengers enjoyed that as much as I did!

With our duck tickets we also had entry to the wax museum. We did the quickest run through of that place ever, as the wax figures scared Claire. Every day since, she has asked to go back, because says she is not scared anymore. I thought they were kind of scary too, so we won't be returning.

We also went to an old hotel, The Arlington, which was frequented by gangsters back in the '30's, and has Al Capone's bullet-proof car in their lobby. Claire and Gavin were suitably riveted. Claire liked the revolving door and rolling around the floor of the hotel. Gavin hung out in the Bjorn and was generally good.

Barely worth mentioning is our visit to the crappiest aquarium ever. It was like a fish store that charged admission. But, they did have a big tortoise wandering around that you could pet, so it was worth the $5.50.

Gavin enjoying the ride on Uncle Mo's lap:

Gavin enjoying the "quacker" the next morning.

First Day "Off"

I took advantage of the kids still having a couple of days of school paid for to try to get some things done.

This is how I spent my day:

• Got up at 7 with Gavin
• Did a 10-minute yoga show while Gavin watched and laughed
  
• Got Claire up and ready for school...breakfast, packed lunch etc.
• Took Claire to her new school
• Took Gavin to the old school
• Drove to campus to drop off a donation of frozen breast milk
  
• Went and had blood work done to make sure that donated breast milk is safe for the little preemies that need it
• Drove back to this side of town to Honda to get oil change
• Went to post office to pick up passport forms
• Went to dentist to have teeth cleaned - no cavities...yay! (Although after the most recent tooth problem I had, a little cavity would be the least of my concerns!)
• Go pick up Gavin
• Go pick up Claire
• Take Gavin to the doctor.
  
• Claire claims to have a "nose stomach ache" in retaliation to Gavin going to Dr twice in one week
  
• Go to Walgreens to drop off prescription for Gavin's ear infection
• Also get antifungal for his ringworm
• Also get polysporin for little rash on his mouth
• Wonder why my kid has so many dermatological issues...doesn't bode well for his teen years.
• While waiting for prescription, have passport photos of kids taken at the Walgreens photo Center.
• Claire asks in loud voice if lady with super-short shorts, long bleached hair and high heels is Barbie.
  
• Prescription ready finally and we're on our way.
  
• Walgreens celebrates our departure
• Put Gavin down for his 3pm nap at 4pm
• Play monsters with Claire
• Talk to Gummy and Babu
• Panic about not being even close to ready to go on our week long vacation
• Take shower while Claire plays in bathroom
  
• Shane gets home to be told there's nothing for dinner and I am going out
• Go to the homeowners association annual meeting until 8:30.
• Put kids to bed
  
• Go to HEB to buy yogurt to help Gavin's stomach
• Watch SYTYCD and eat HEB sushi.
• Now this.

It was a long day and I am going to bed now.

Since the last two posts have been about me I thought I better include some gratuitous photos since I know that's what anyone reading this really wants!




Good night!

Clarification...

...in regards to my previous post. The people who know me best understand the conflict I feel about leaving work. My broad generalization was based on acquaintances, stuff I read and the odd been-staying-at-home-forever neighbor. I didn't want to sweep my nearest and dearest into that general observation.
All right. Later.