No, not the babies. They've been doing that for months, although lately teeth and ears have caused some disruptions. I mean every single living being in the house - 3 babies, 2 dogs, 2 adults (if there are other living beings here I'd rather not know about them) slept the entire night. And to narrow that down, I mean ME. I slept 8 hours. Without waking up once. If you know me, you know that this is very close to miraculous.
I remember checking that everyone else was asleep, turning on the tonight show, reading on my ipad (yes, I know that I do all the wrong things to create a perfect sleep environment), and then the next thing I know it is 6:30 AM.
So the logical thing to do would be to repeat the evening pattern from last night to see if this can happen again. First I played with the babies, then I went to book club, and then I had my fantasy football draft - not sure this is repeatable. Whatever the reason, I'll take it and maybe it will happen again sooner rather than later.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Science Experiment
Maybe because I am analytical by nature....or I love science....or I am taking an independent study course right now on childhood development....but I am FASCINATED by the personality development of the girls. Or maybe I am just a doting mother. Probably the case.
Anyhow, I find it amazing that the girls are in the exact same environment with the exact same stimuli and exact same parenting and have such different behavior. Add to the mix that two have the same DNA with some major similarities as well as major differences and I have a serious science experiment on my hands. I feel the need to pretend I am a researcher and document my findings so that I can see if behavior now is indicative of future behavior.
Back in December, when the girls were just 6 weeks old, I blogged about about this in Nature vs Nurture
So far what I said about them back then is still very true (the only thing I was wrong about was when I said Irene "doesn't put much effort into her cry". Definitely wrong, that girl is LOUD when she gets mad).
So now I am going to blog about how they play at this age.
Whether playing or not, Brooks never stops moving/talking/grabbing/banging/general noise-making. The interesting thing is that she always goes for the things she can take apart. She spends most of her time taking the floor puzzle apart or finding the actual puzzles in the room and taking out the pieces. She breaks a lot of toys. I wonder if that is just a phase or if it means she is going to like to put things together or take things apart? She also steals toys. If I put her in the middle of the other two and give them all toys, within 5 minutes all toys are in her lap and the other two are toy-less.
Anna is like the toy explorer. She goes from toy to toy to toy to toy to toy. Never spends more than about 10 seconds on any one toy before she moves on. She will go to a toy, press a button, hear the noise or whatever it does, look satisfied, then go on her way. Occasionally she takes breaks by rolling to her back and "running" (i.e. kicking her legs rapidly on the floor). She does not like it when Brooks steals her toys. She is still very dramatic and craves attention, especially from the dogs. You would think she has seriously hurt herself when it is clearly just her feelings.
Irene loves to sit and quietly play. She is very deliberate about what she picks up and decides to play with and she will happily play with one toy in one place for a while. Occasionally she will drop it and start clapping and laughing. I will catch her with a huge smile looking at the TV and realize she is smiling at a person on a commercial for something random like Nasonex. But when she is over playing, she is OVER IT. She actually doesn't mind too much when her toys are stolen. I think she may be the peacemaker.
Anyhow, I find it amazing that the girls are in the exact same environment with the exact same stimuli and exact same parenting and have such different behavior. Add to the mix that two have the same DNA with some major similarities as well as major differences and I have a serious science experiment on my hands. I feel the need to pretend I am a researcher and document my findings so that I can see if behavior now is indicative of future behavior.
Back in December, when the girls were just 6 weeks old, I blogged about about this in Nature vs Nurture
So far what I said about them back then is still very true (the only thing I was wrong about was when I said Irene "doesn't put much effort into her cry". Definitely wrong, that girl is LOUD when she gets mad).
So now I am going to blog about how they play at this age.
Anna is like the toy explorer. She goes from toy to toy to toy to toy to toy. Never spends more than about 10 seconds on any one toy before she moves on. She will go to a toy, press a button, hear the noise or whatever it does, look satisfied, then go on her way. Occasionally she takes breaks by rolling to her back and "running" (i.e. kicking her legs rapidly on the floor). She does not like it when Brooks steals her toys. She is still very dramatic and craves attention, especially from the dogs. You would think she has seriously hurt herself when it is clearly just her feelings.
Irene loves to sit and quietly play. She is very deliberate about what she picks up and decides to play with and she will happily play with one toy in one place for a while. Occasionally she will drop it and start clapping and laughing. I will catch her with a huge smile looking at the TV and realize she is smiling at a person on a commercial for something random like Nasonex. But when she is over playing, she is OVER IT. She actually doesn't mind too much when her toys are stolen. I think she may be the peacemaker.
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| Brooks, Irene, Anna |
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| Brooks = examining dirt. Irene = over it. Anna = loving the attention. |
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| Brooks trying her best to push Irene over. |
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| Anna striking a pose. Head tilt and all. Oh boy. |
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| Brooks looks like she is up to something, as usual. |
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| Sweet Irene (this is about the look she gives people on TV too, so don't think I'm special getting this expression). |
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Countdown
Jack and I have been married for 10 years today
The girlies are now 9 months old
Multiply 8 x 4 x 3 and that is the number of ounces of formula we go through a day
I would love to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, every night
The girls have 6 cousins
I probably average 5 Google searches a day of things like: "why is my baby______" or "what do red spots on (insert various part) mean"
We have 4 strollers, each with a different purpose
There are 3 teeth that have appeared in the last month (but all on the same baby)
We love our 2 original (four-legged) babies, Ginger and Maggie
1 baby holding her own bottle may be the best anniversary present ever...major life changer for us...can't imagine what it will be like when all three can do this
Some 9 month pics
The girlies are now 9 months old
Multiply 8 x 4 x 3 and that is the number of ounces of formula we go through a day
I would love to get at least 7 hours of sleep a night, every night
The girls have 6 cousins
I probably average 5 Google searches a day of things like: "why is my baby______" or "what do red spots on (insert various part) mean"
We have 4 strollers, each with a different purpose
There are 3 teeth that have appeared in the last month (but all on the same baby)
We love our 2 original (four-legged) babies, Ginger and Maggie
1 baby holding her own bottle may be the best anniversary present ever...major life changer for us...can't imagine what it will be like when all three can do this
Some 9 month pics
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| Irene |
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| Brooks |
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| Anna |
Monday, July 30, 2012
Always Learning
Things I've learned so far from the Olympics:
1) The guy on the synchronized diving team from Mexico has one of the most impressive manicured unibrows I have ever seen. But I think he may have cleaned it up before the medal ceremony because this pic does not do it justice.
2) I LOVE watching gymnastics but I am so distracted by the commentators. I can't decide whether they are hilarious or just make me mad. Maybe as a former gymnast I just don't take their criticism very well.
3) Bob Costas needs a new makeup artist.
Things I learned from a super fun weekend at the lake with high school friends:
1) It is not really a successful girls lake weekend until someone falls in the water in the dark (sorry Meg B)
2) Dance Party USA never gets old. However "old" does come to mind when the coffee table is full of water bottles instead of beer cans at 2 am when the dance party is over.
3) If your lights go out on the boat, 8 cell phones held high up in the air are just as good.
4) It is amazing how much you can love 48 hours of lake, sun, boat, food, drinks, and friends. My cheeks hurt from laughing.
5) Equally amazing is how much you can love your kids AND your family who volunteers to keep them so you can have some time away.
6) We all agreed - thank GOD facebook, texting, and other social media outlets did not exist when we were in high school. We just had plain old dial up AOL chats back then.
I was too busy having fun to take pics. Plus there is an unspoken "no pic on the internet unless approved" rule from a girls trip. But Anna Ruth put cute pics of all the kiddos on her blog.
1) The guy on the synchronized diving team from Mexico has one of the most impressive manicured unibrows I have ever seen. But I think he may have cleaned it up before the medal ceremony because this pic does not do it justice.
2) I LOVE watching gymnastics but I am so distracted by the commentators. I can't decide whether they are hilarious or just make me mad. Maybe as a former gymnast I just don't take their criticism very well.
3) Bob Costas needs a new makeup artist.
Things I learned from a super fun weekend at the lake with high school friends:
1) It is not really a successful girls lake weekend until someone falls in the water in the dark (sorry Meg B)
2) Dance Party USA never gets old. However "old" does come to mind when the coffee table is full of water bottles instead of beer cans at 2 am when the dance party is over.
3) If your lights go out on the boat, 8 cell phones held high up in the air are just as good.
4) It is amazing how much you can love 48 hours of lake, sun, boat, food, drinks, and friends. My cheeks hurt from laughing.
5) Equally amazing is how much you can love your kids AND your family who volunteers to keep them so you can have some time away.
6) We all agreed - thank GOD facebook, texting, and other social media outlets did not exist when we were in high school. We just had plain old dial up AOL chats back then.
I was too busy having fun to take pics. Plus there is an unspoken "no pic on the internet unless approved" rule from a girls trip. But Anna Ruth put cute pics of all the kiddos on her blog.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Put it in a Bottle
If I could bottle up a weekend to replay sometime in the future, I think I would choose last weekend. First of all, it was not unbearably hot. Second of all, we had no big plans or events. I love to walk. And I love my babies. And I love food. And I really love when all three are combined.
Friday night we walked up to South Depot Taco Shop and sat on the patio with the girls. Saturday morning we walked to the farmers market and hung out for a while. Then I had a massage (not a relaxing one, it hurt, but good and needed). We played with the girls and they spent a lot of time jumping. Saturday night we had a pajama party (pics below). Throughout the weekend we cooked and ate. A lot.
Unfortunately our lovely weekend was followed by a trip to the doctor for shots. Seems like we've spent our life at the doctor in June and July with 9,000 ear infections. Brooks is getting tubes Monday. Anna just finished antibiotics for her second (recent) ear infection and we discovered Irene has (another) double ear infection while at the check-up.
Friday night we walked up to South Depot Taco Shop and sat on the patio with the girls. Saturday morning we walked to the farmers market and hung out for a while. Then I had a massage (not a relaxing one, it hurt, but good and needed). We played with the girls and they spent a lot of time jumping. Saturday night we had a pajama party (pics below). Throughout the weekend we cooked and ate. A lot.
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| Brooks |
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| Irene |
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| Anna |
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| Say "cheese" |
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| Irene thinks Brooks is so funny |
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| Pajama Party |
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| Lunch |
I'm a little too in love with food. Always have been. And now I'm in love with taking pictures of food while trying to figure out how to better work my camera.
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| Some of the goods from this week's crop share and the farmer's market. |
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| Tomato basil sauce |
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| Margherita Pizza |
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| Eggplant fries, pizza, salad |
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| Fajitas with homemade salsa, guac, and chicken marinated in an onion/lime/honey/garlic concoction. |
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| Part of this meal included a roasted squash and eggplant dish that turned out really good. |
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| I love toasted pimento cheese with Wickles and fresh tomatoes |
Unfortunately our lovely weekend was followed by a trip to the doctor for shots. Seems like we've spent our life at the doctor in June and July with 9,000 ear infections. Brooks is getting tubes Monday. Anna just finished antibiotics for her second (recent) ear infection and we discovered Irene has (another) double ear infection while at the check-up.
Monday, July 16, 2012
New Study: Movies and Songs Minimize Roadway Fear
Last Sunday I was driving back to Oxford from a night of celebrating Sarah's upcoming nuptials to Mike. I drove through a horrible thunderstorm and instead of focusing on my potential impending death from hydroplaning, I perfected my list of favorite movies and songs. Jack and I play this game a lot and also at Sarah's dinner the night before we were having some "name your favorite" discussions. The rule I use is that it has to be something I am so excited about when I randomly find on TV or the radio and would never change the channel. There are more that fit that category but I tried to stick to just 5 on movies. That limit was too hard with songs so I justified that I could pick enough songs for a good playlist.
I also inspired Jack to perfect his list.
Sage's Movies:
1. The Departed
2. The Princess Bride
3. The Neverending Story
4. Goodfellas
5. 16 Candles
(runners up: Almost Famous, Ferris Bueller, Love Actually and I'm anticipating/hoping The Great Gatsby will be up there soon too)
Jack's Movies:
1. Caddy Shack
2. Life of Brian
3. Road House
4. The Royal Tenenbaums
5. Billy Madison
(runner up: Stoned Age)
Sage's Songs:
1. Just Live Heaven - The Cure
2. Tangled Up in Blue - Bob Dylan
3. Wild Horses - Rolling Stones (also like Indigo Girls version)
4. I'll Stand By You - The Pretenders
5. In My Life - Beatles (on my playlist it is the Johnny Cash version)
6. Runaway - The National
7. Time After Time - Cindi Lauper
8. Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
9. Ready to Start - Arcade Fire
10. Brokedown Palace - Grateful Dead
11. Handle With Care - Traveling Wilburys
12. Waltz #2 - Elliott Smith
13. The Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
14. Danny's Song - Loggins and Messina
15. Space Oddity - David Bowie
16. Creep - Radiohead
17. Indigo Girls - Joking (could not find for playlist)
Sage's playlist on Grooveshark: Sage's Playlist
Jack's Songs
1. Highwayman - Highway Men
2. Don't You Want Me - Human League
3. It Was a Good Day - Ice Cube
4. Regulator - Warren G
5. Eyes of the World - Grateful Dead
6. Father and Son - Cat Stevens
7. Whatever You Like - T.I.
8. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
9. Kiss- Prince
10. The Diamond Sea - Sonic Youth
11. Creep - Radiohead
12. Mercy - Widespread Panic
13. Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (also like J Cash version)
14. Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine
15. Reba - Phish
16. TBD - Guns N' Roses (Note: previous song listing was incorrect and I was accused of censorship)
17. High Hopes - Pink Floyd
18. Africa - Toto
19. Papa Don't Preach - Madonna
Jack's playlist on Grooveshark: Jack's Playlist
(editor's note: Hey, I'm just the messenger here....my response to half of these is "really???" )
So now I want to do one of those blog tag things because I've never done that. I don't even know how so I'm just going to say I'm tagging these people to list their movies and songs.
An Unlined Page
Sadler Adventures
A Shower Fresh Garden
Just Roughen Along
The Metzner Family
I also inspired Jack to perfect his list.
Sage's Movies:
1. The Departed
2. The Princess Bride
3. The Neverending Story
4. Goodfellas
5. 16 Candles
(runners up: Almost Famous, Ferris Bueller, Love Actually and I'm anticipating/hoping The Great Gatsby will be up there soon too)
Jack's Movies:
1. Caddy Shack
2. Life of Brian
3. Road House
4. The Royal Tenenbaums
5. Billy Madison
(runner up: Stoned Age)
Sage's Songs:
1. Just Live Heaven - The Cure
2. Tangled Up in Blue - Bob Dylan
3. Wild Horses - Rolling Stones (also like Indigo Girls version)
4. I'll Stand By You - The Pretenders
5. In My Life - Beatles (on my playlist it is the Johnny Cash version)
6. Runaway - The National
7. Time After Time - Cindi Lauper
8. Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
9. Ready to Start - Arcade Fire
10. Brokedown Palace - Grateful Dead
11. Handle With Care - Traveling Wilburys
12. Waltz #2 - Elliott Smith
13. The Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
14. Danny's Song - Loggins and Messina
15. Space Oddity - David Bowie
16. Creep - Radiohead
17. Indigo Girls - Joking (could not find for playlist)
Sage's playlist on Grooveshark: Sage's Playlist
Jack's Songs
1. Highwayman - Highway Men
2. Don't You Want Me - Human League
3. It Was a Good Day - Ice Cube
4. Regulator - Warren G
5. Eyes of the World - Grateful Dead
6. Father and Son - Cat Stevens
7. Whatever You Like - T.I.
8. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
9. Kiss- Prince
10. The Diamond Sea - Sonic Youth
11. Creep - Radiohead
12. Mercy - Widespread Panic
13. Hurt - Nine Inch Nails (also like J Cash version)
14. Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine
15. Reba - Phish
16. TBD - Guns N' Roses (Note: previous song listing was incorrect and I was accused of censorship)
17. High Hopes - Pink Floyd
18. Africa - Toto
19. Papa Don't Preach - Madonna
Jack's playlist on Grooveshark: Jack's Playlist
(editor's note: Hey, I'm just the messenger here....my response to half of these is "really???" )
So now I want to do one of those blog tag things because I've never done that. I don't even know how so I'm just going to say I'm tagging these people to list their movies and songs.
An Unlined Page
Sadler Adventures
A Shower Fresh Garden
Just Roughen Along
The Metzner Family
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