Another milestone reached

Yes, that's our girl, sitting up by herself. Quite wobbly, but effective.

This and that

Glory hallelujah, there is sunshine today! Days of cold wetness and barren trees and skies have made me positively irritable. I can hear Steve muttering, what was your excuse the other days? Sigh. Two more months of this miserable winter-ness.

Mia had her 6-month checkup today--she's a healthy 16 lbs and falls comfortably into the "average" zone for weight and head circumference. Slightly above average for height. We've got the go-ahead to start allowing her to have pick-up foods like Cheerios or diced cooked veggies. Doctor Jeannie also suggested we introduce sippy cups with water. Big girl! Mia had four shots this morning, bless her bones, and a finger-stick, but she's somehow managing to remain cheerful. Connor was concerned for her. He marched into the office and announced, "My sister's gettin' a flu shot!" Everybody laughed.

We're gearing up for Mia's big day Sunday. She's going to be baptized. My M.I.L. emailed me this morning that a friend of hers offered to give us some of the water she brought back from the river Jordan for us to use in the ceremony. That's the river where Jesus received his baptism. I'm sentimental, since the same thing was done for me when I was baptized as an infant. My little girl will wear my gown and cross, too.

Don't get too excited.

I feel compelled to clarify my last entry. Despite our bias to the contrary, we really have a very typical two-year-old. Among his fine tastes are preferences for wearing buckets on his head and crashing into walls (Ever seen the movie Parenthood?), coloring in his sister's baby book with permanent ink, and shampooing his hair in the toilet.

Hope that makes everyone feel better. I need a Tums.

Here's proof

We've been met with varying degrees of skepticism when we tell folks our two-year-old is beginning to read. Well, friends, here's our little dog-and-pony act. Jump thru the hoop, Sparky! Smile, Baby! Ha ha.

When did I find time to make these? Good question.

Mia's infant baptism is coming up. In the fine tradition that I started with her brother's milestone celebrations, I decided to hand-make invitations to the event. Last night I put the finishing touches on them. Turned out mighty cute.

No! No! I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!

First blog of the new year!

The fam's still in recovery mode after a wildly successful, mildly overtraveled, loot-packed Christmas at Aunt Everybody's house and beyond. Am I glad it's over. Now what are we going to do with all this junk?

This year was Connor's first foray into the magical world of an American childhood Christmas. Sure, it's his third Christmas, technically, but this year he started "getting it." He marveled at the twinkling lights, bounced around the house singing Connorized versions of carols ("...so be good for goodness STEAK!"), and rehearsed his interface with Santa Claus ad nauseum. He was positively irresistible. And we went all out. Of course, we had the standard "let's not go overboard this year" conversation. Still, somehow, glaring at the top of the crayon/construction paper "list" Mommy helped him scrawl out, was a three-hundred-dollar Power Wheels Gator he had spied and subsequently drooled over at a friend's house in November. That's what he wanted from Santa. That and Shrek III. That's it. Two items. One would cost a second mortgage, but essentially all the little monkey wanted was a yard toy and a DVD. So (many thanks to a particularly handsome Elf who muscled the monster into the Sedona, then dragged it into the basement, then went to work assembling a thousand plastic components and slapping on a half dozen goofy decals), at around 1 am, Santa's helpers surveyed the magnificent scene. A shiny motorized vehicle sat poised for action beside our tree, and tucked in its payload compartment was the third Shrek film. We were absolutely giddy imagining him coming downstairs in the morning to see it. Heck, if we'd been about a hundred twenty pounds lighter, we might have crammed ourselves behind the wheel and attempted a test spin.

Fast forward seven hours.

No. Fast forward about two weeks.

"Connor, how about let's watch your Shrek movie?"
"I don't wanna. I wanna watch A Bug's Life."
"Er, I think that one's missing."
Lie.
"Are you sure you don't want to see Shrek III?"
"No, I don't like that one."
"All righty. Connor, how about let's go outside and drive your Gator?"
"No, just sit in it."
"In the garage? You want to just sit in it and not drive?"
"Yes. And watch a movie."
"Baby, you haven't driven it once. You want to just sit in your Gator and watch a movie?"
"Uh huh."
"Any chance you want to watch Shrek III in your Gator?"
"Not that movie. I don't like it."

So.