Sibling fun

I've said that Madeleine and Parker play together a lot now but I haven't shown it. Here are two examples. (As the videographer, I profess to stink at taking a clear, still video but I hope it's worth watching, depsite the slight sea-sickness feeling you may get.) Parker honestly thinks Madeleine is the funniest, smartest, cutest thing he's ever seen. The only other member of the family that competes with Madeleine for Parker's attention is Oreo and that's just because she's small and he likes to grab handfuls of her fur. It's fun to get small glimpses into what we hope will be the advantage of having two kids so close in age.

The sounds emanating from Parker in this second video make up the "Parker chuckle." What could be mistaken as the pre-cry for one baby is his way of letting you know that you are hysterical.

9 days later

I'm a slacker. Actually, I'm just a blog slacker. Ok, that's a lie. Does anyone else have those moments when they're walking around their house thinking, "How did I become a grown up?" I think back to how my mom used to practically beg me to clean my room which was at least a 3 day process and now, here I am, cooking dinner, cleaning up, gathering and doing the dirty laundry, running errands, putting kids to bed, feeding them and changing diapers, letting the dog outside to go to the bathroom...(Justin helps, of course)...and then there are days when I am simply out of gas and nothing gets accomplished.

While we have eaten pretty well the last few days (see picture below), as I described to Carol on the phone earlier today, there were--key word "were" because I cleaned this up while the kids took their naps today--(everything is on the floor in this list) 12 crayons, 5 sheets of paper on which Madeleine was coloring, 2 dishtowels, 3 of Parker's teething rings, Madeleine's basketball, two plastic pieces of silverware, a used napkin, two empty boxes of milk from Costco and an empty 6-pack beer container which sit next to the garbage can for recycling, two dead ladybugs which Madeleine discovered today, a cat toy, Maggie's water and food bowls, a rain jacket, a rattle, two socks, a pair of Madeleine's pants... you get the idea. I seem to have stalled out the last few days, despite being pampered on Mother's Day. Justin got me a gift certificate for a facial which I am instructed to use along with a massage gift certificate I have from a few years ago (no expiration date so I'm safe). So all this to say that I'm sorry for no blogging but I do have some things to share if you're still interested in reading.

Who knew homemade pitas were easy to make and incredibly yummy?!? No more last minute trips to the grocery store now whenever we're having hummus or flaffel!

First, Parker has jumped from having 3 teeth to having 5. We're waiting to see #6 any day now. He's also managed to figure out how to get up on his knees and rock back and forth. If he gets his feet planted he can even lunge forward. He was working on perfecting his push-up for a few days there too (video to follow later). I'm not quite ready for him to crawl but I'm excited for the increased independence that will give him. He's still not steady on his butt in the sitting position but I'm currently attributing that to his insatiable desire to be on his belly trying to crawl. We'll see what the doctor has to say two weeks from now.

Madeleine and I have our good days and our bad ones. When I'm really, really patient things go well but when I'm easily annoyed it's hard for us to communicate. She ends up in tears a lot those days which stinks for all of us, especially as I'm the adult and should control our environment better. It hasn't helped that we thought she might have a UTI (urinary tract infection). She was complaining of pain and crying when she peed so we got in to see the doctor yesterday. After a few hours of wearing a "pee bag" inside her diaper, we got a urine sample for the lab to analyze. The results were inconclusive so we're currently treating it as an exterior bacterial issue which means she spends time airing out a lot. She's still in diapers but if this continues it might help move us closer to potty training and underwear if she seems ready. She continues to increase her vocab and complexity of sentences. "Daddy is stinky" is a favorite sentence of hers as it incites tickles from Justin whenever she says it.

And it just wouldn't be spring in Missoula without flowers. We are again starting our wildflower tracking. It began on Mother's Day with a small stroll up Pattee Canyon where we found some glacier lilies (the yellow flower) and some trillium (the white one). I saw some tiny fairy bells starting to come out but they were in an inconvenient spot for pictures. The wild roses and lupine should come out in another month or so too.

I think that's all for now. I'll post again when my slackerishness wears off.

Baby love

Parker has hit an awesome stage: he loves other kids and especially babies (most of all himself). He became a giggle machine while looking at a magazine ad that featured babies. He laughs at almost anything Madeleine does. And seeing his own reflection keeps him hysterical. This happened one afternoon when the kids tag-teamed and I had some fun alone time with each of them.

Video frenzy

We've had the video camera around (and charged) more often these days, hence the video posts instead of old fashioned snap shots. Here you can see that Madeleine has become very interested in her latest favorite sport: golf. Because there's no more basketball on tv, she has decided golf will do for now. She really enjoys hitting her golf balls under the tv console and then getting on her belly and using the red putter to get them back out. It's an activity that can occupy quite a bit of time so I'm a fan! She isn't quite agile enough to hit the balls into the "holes" her little golf set came with but in due time I'm sure she'll be the best putter in the family. Watch out Grampy and George...she'll be ready to challenge you when you come visit!

Laughter

I've realized that we have posted very few pictures and/or videos of Parker and Madeleine together. It's almost as if I only ever have to handle one of them at a time. Usually it's more a matter of trying to hold Parker while wiping yogurt off Madeleine's face and my third hand doesn't tend to show up to take pictures of this happening. But here's a little show of how Madeleine says goodnight to Parker. Of course we don't end it there. It goes on to show her silliness, which includes her imitation of a character from a book Justin and I have read. I taught her the initial impersonation but she's taken it to a new level. I hope you get a kick out of it.

Eyebrows

Many of you may remember back when we first tried to get Madeleine to raise her eyebrows. That was over a year ago. She has grown in so many ways but this has to be one of the most entertaining ways to measure her growth both in skill and personality.

Belated Easter

Easter was almost two weeks ago but after reviewing the video we took of Madeleine looking for Easter eggs I am compelled to share. Her expressions of delight and surprise crack me up, as well as her ability to be imaginative.

I don't know if you can tell from the video or not but Justin and I were both very sick that weekend so we didn't make it to church and we don't have any pictures of frilly dresses, bonnets, or shirts and ties. Maybe next year. Instead Justin and I commemorated this Easter by taking naps while watching the Masters tournament. Fortunately we woke up in time to see the playoff. I think voluntarily watching golf and taking a nap while doing so officially makes us grown-ups.