The Crazy Month of August

Just so nobody can say I didn't post for a month, here's a cheat! My sister wrote an adorable blog post (complete with pictures) about the weekend she came to visit. So here it is for now. I'll catch up once I finish my book (hopefully before my deadline!) in a week or so. By the way, I turned 30 this month! Woohoo!

Oh, and quick details from Maddie's 6-month checkup: 13 lbs, 14 oz (11th percentile) and 26.5 inches long (77th percentile). Quinn's 3-year: 33 lbs. (69th percentile) and 37 inches (40th percentile). The doctor calls him Chatty Cathy. Maddie is sitting up by herself now and scooting all over the place. We're getting closer to potty trained. Not there yet, but closer. That's all for now, folks. Love, Us.

Congratulations Are in Order

I would just like to brag on my brother-in-law for a moment. Today he received results from his last test, meaning he has earned his GED!! I am so proud of you, Wade, both for all your hard work and for giving the glory to God. And I am proud of my sister for supporting him through the process and helping him to prepare.

In other news, Miss Maddie is teething up a storm and proving that her lungs are as strong as her legs. That makes this very interesting when Quinn jumps up every 15 minutes and says, "I gotta go potty! I gotta go potty!" However, he did wake up this morning with a dry diaper, so I'd say that's progress. We're moving ahead. And we still have a week and a half before he turns three!

We just got back last week from a week-long vacation to Orlando. We are so cheap. Last year we went to Sesame Place at this same time to take advantage of the free admission for kids under 2. This year we went to Disney and Sea World just before Quinn turned 3, at which point Disney tickets would have been $70! So we put up with 100 degree heat and 100% humidity to save a few bucks. We spent a few hours with my grandmother, who took an immediate liking to Maddie, and the feeling was mutual. We spent a lot of time with my mom, who was willing to drive to Orlando a couple of times to see us. Jalal and I even went out for the evening while Mom watched the kids. We went around to a few different restaurants and had a drink and an appetizer at each bar, starting with sake and sushi. Yum. Our day at Disney was a blast. Disney does a great job of keeping guests cool despite the heat. Quinn got to meet some of his favorite people.




We waited until almost 1:00 a.m. to see Mickey and Minnie. Still not sure that was worth it. Because Quinn got his mouse ears when we went to Disneyland two years ago, we had to get Maddie a pair. Check this girl out.



Could you eat her up? She was such a doll and even had fun on the Tea Cups! Quinn is a mad man, though, and I nearly got sick we were spinning so fast. A couple days later, we got to see "the big giant whale" at SeaWorld, despite the fact that thunderstorms shut down a fair number of the shows. Trish and Wade came down and hung out with us for the weekend, which of course made my heart happy. Even my cousin Sara came and had dinner with us in Orlando. It was a great trip, but we were certainly glad to be home. Love, Us.

I Lost My Underwear!

No, not me. Quinn woke up from a nap today and came to the top of the stairs. "Mama, can I please come downstairs?!" "Yes." "Oh, Ok. Thank you. Oh, wait! I lost my underwear!" Haha! We've obviously been potty-training around here. We had a huge fight before that nap about underwear versus a diaper. I told him I didn't think he was ready to wear underwear for a nap yet, but if could prove he could stay dry through a nap, he could try tomorrow. He was so upset, and he kept crying "my underwear!!" Finally he agreed and went to bed. (FYI, he was not dry when he woke up.) I think we're getting there. Love, Us.

He Didn't Learn THAT From Me

Seriously, I love my son. He is the funniest, most outgoing, smartest boy I have ever known. I left him home with Jalal this morning while I took Maddie with me to Bible study. The dear boy was evidently pretty upset when he realized I wasn't there. He didn't cry but he did keep asking if they could come find me. So I guess that made him a little more affectionate and appreciative of Mama today. At lunch and dinner, he insisted on sitting next to me, which is rare. He doesn't sit still when he eats, and having someone try to squeeze their head underneath my bottom and say "I'm stuck!" with ketchup smeared all over their face and hands isn't my idea of a good time. Go figure. So anyway, we tried to take the poor kid to the playground early this evening. It was too hot, though. I mean, it was 95 degrees out, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that the playground equipment was all "too hot" to the touch. Poor kid. He asked if he could sit next to me on a bench and drink water instead. So we took him to a bounce house. He had a blast, of course. Made some friends, cried when we had to leave. The usual. (Speaking of friends, he saw a little boy in the mall the other day, said a few words to him as we passed, then turned around and called "see you later! I love you!" as we walked away. Hmmm.) Anyway, we went to Jason's for dinner and decided to get him the salad bar for dinner. Jalal piled his plate with shredded cheese, a cornbread mini muffin, cherry tomatoes, peas, baby carrots, cucumbers, and pasta salad. Let's just say he wasn't crazy about the pasta salad. When he realized he had almost the entire cast of VeggieTales on his plate, he was super excited. Bob the tomato? Squish in his mouth. Larry? Chomped on him a while. French peas? Scooped 'em up with a spoon along with some cheese. But Laura Carrot? You were his great love tonight. In fact, when he finished, Jalal surprised him with ice cream. He took one small bite and could not eat it. It was too cold. I tried to get him to try some of the chocolate mousse (my favorite part of the salad bar!), but it looked too much like ice cream. So what did we do? Like any good parents, after begging him to try his dessert, we asked what he wanted. "Should I get it for him?" Jalal asked me. "Sure, why not." So Quinn enjoyed himself a heaping bowl of carrots and cherry tomatoes for dessert. I'm talking six or so tomatoes and probably a dozen baby carrots. Who are you? "There's no way you came from my loins." I'm not complaining, just confused. Oh, and he's getting really good at reading. He read the sign (all by himself) that said, "Good Food." I'm getting to the point where I'm not even impressed anymore. After he read the label on his sister's cereal box the other day (Beech-Nut), I just shrug like it's old hat. I just love that kid. Oh, and on a totally different subject, my small group was praying at the end of a meeting the other day and I heard him say to Maddie, "Close your eyes!" Tee hee. Love, Us.

Mopping Up Puddles

Well, I was so ready to say how much I HATE potty training when Quinn maybe, just maybe, seems to have gotten the hang of it. We spent all day today (while we were both awake and at home) keeping Quinn naked from the waist down. When I did try to put underwear on him, he peed on the floor. One other time he peed on his chair at the dining room table, but he also managed to do it right a few times, including "number 2"!! We've hit plenty of other milestones recently, too. Maddie rode in her stroller sitting up (not in her carseat) for the first time yesterday. She seemed pretty happy with it. She's also rolling over now, mostly from the back to front. She "talks" a lot more now, much louder, too. She eats rice cereal, sweet potatoes, peas (not a fan), pears, and squash. She's a very neat eater, too, not nearly as messy as Quinn was. Thanks to the solid food, she seems to be putting on a bit of weight. She is still not fitting into her size 0-3 month pants, for the most part. But she's outgrowing her pajamas and rompers in that size because she's the longest baby in the world.

Quinn buttoned his pajama shirt last night, which was a big step for him since we haven't been practicing that at all. He pretty much knows his right from his left, and he's really good at singing "Jesus Loves Me." He loves to help with the laundry, which is great for practicing his color sorting, and is especially helpful when Miss Maddie is screaming her head off and won't let me put her down. Everybody thinks she is such an angel, but that girl has a set of lungs you wouldn't believe. She has got to be teething, and she better cut her first tooth earlier than Quinn did, or I will go stark raving mad in the next 6 months. Well, I know that is a sad excuse for catching up, but it will have to do for now. My paychecks have been on a ridiculous delay lately so I am trying to work really hard to finish my current book ahead of deadline. Plus we are planning a trip to Florida to visit family and hit Disney before Quinn turns 3 and costs a fortune. Gotta go now. Love, Us.

The Power of the Media

Quinn cracks me up (when he isn't busy making me want to strangle him). Tonight, we were coloring together and I colored a chimney (the kind that runs all the way down the side of the house). I said, "Do you know what that is? That's called a chimney." He replied, "Huh. Looks like a wall." Smart aleck. Then he looks up at the TV, on which was a Progressive commercial, and says, "Need car insurance?" Hah! What a great kid. The other day, he tried to drink a cup of water that had been sitting in the car, and Jalal told him that was probably warm. He said, "I need a real drink. Daddy, you need a real drink?" Oh boy, does he. Mommy too sometimes. Well, just wanted to write those down before I forget. Love, Us.

Wordless Wednesday