Two Little Monkeys

We had an absolutely wonderful Halloween! We started the evening off at my friend's house, where Delaney and Elliot had a great time playing in their bouncy-house (see super cute video!). We then went trick-or-treating at the Governor's Mansion and at a few homes in the historic district. Delaney loved it and was a real trooper--walking right up to the houses by herself and grabbing her candy; she loved all of the people and commotion-she would be happiest if she lived in a three ring circus.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

LOVE, MOMMY'S LITTLE MONKEYS

Fall Evenings

This week has been absolutely beautiful-I think that I had forgotten how much I love fall. Dave came home 'on time' tonite and raked up leaves in our front yard for Delaney and Elliot.

Delaney loved 'wading' through the leaves and picking up big leaf piles and throwing them.

Elliot was his usual little-boy-self, playing with sticks and trying to eat every leaf in sight. He loved watching Laney run around.

Notice Delaney's outfit-yes, she picked it out all 'by yourself' as she says-she confuses 'myself' and 'yourself'-it's pretty cute.

What A Mug!

This little boy has the most wonderful smile. He's crazy busy and sweetness personified. He claps for his sister when she does somersaults. When he disappears for a minute or two, I can usually find him trying to play with the water in the toilet (I know-gross) or throwing himself head first into the bathtub. He crinkles up his nose when he smiles and laughs. He gives the best hugs and slobbery kisses. He puts everything into his mouth-everything--sticks, stones, lint, dust-that-I-don't-even-see.....the list goes on and on. He has just started to have little 'fits', when we take something from him or don't let him do something, but he's really not too convincing and needs to take a lesson or two from his sister. He loves to hold onto my hand and rub his little face into my shoulder.

Walking Along

Delaney's been spending more and more time out of her stroller and walking next to mom and dad. She LOVES to walk and really loves to walk like a big girl, while Elliot (and doll, of course) sits in the stroller!

Delaney is super challenging and super cute lately. Last week, Delaney informed me that I have a 'biiiiiig, biiiiiig hiney' and that I drink 'wine, wine, wine, lots of wine'. I can only imagine, with horror, what she'll be telling her preschool teachers in a couple of years!

This morning, Delaney kept telling daddy to change his pants-he was wearing his 'work pants' and she wanted him to wear his jeans, so she could be sure that he would be home for the day.

Delaney is really bossy and is always sure to let everyone know exactly what is 'hers', which usually includes everything-her house, her car, her table, her couch.....

Elliot repeatedly goes after Delaney's favorite posessions ALL day, and up until a few days ago, I really thought that he just was being a baby, but now I have a hunch that he is trying to torture her-or, put another way, he takes a little pleasure in her flipping out. Elliot always seems to touch / take her favorite toys when Delaney is like right in front of him. I'm certainly starting to notice a quietly mischievous side to his personality!

Obama Rally

Dave needed to cover the Obama rally in Reno for work this morning, so the babies and I tagged along. I was a little nervous and Dave was very, very nervous about taking Delaney and Elliot to a not-super-baby-friendly event, but it really was wonderful. Besides Delaney vehemently yelling-'NO, NOO, NOO'-at the security guard who used a wand to pat her down and Elliot eating lots of turf (from the baseball field where the rally was held), the morning went off without a hitch.

Delaney danced to the music, clapped and cheered-I think that she thought that she was at a baseball game, and Elliot crawled around like a maniac, trying to pull out all of the power cords for the cameras, mikes, and who knows what else. At one point, Obama's mike lost power and Dave looked at us in horror, but Elliot was sitting safely in his stroller, far away from any power cords!

If McCain comes to Reno, we'll take the babies too---you know, equal time and all. And who knows how Delaney and Elliot will feel politically or personally as they grow up, and I really don't care, as long as they question their beliefs and realize that everyone ultimately wants the same things, but I do think that it'll be neat for them to know that they saw the first African American presidential nominee speak.

Little Moments

This is what Elliot does when he is absolutely and totally exhausted-covers his eyes and rubs his head--as if to say, please, please just put me to bed! Elliot is super busy and not so snuggly right now, so I certainly appreciate any and all quiet moments that I have with him. Within the last month, he's been rejecting his bottle-only big boy cups for him-I guess that he is a pretty big boy now.

This is the 'smile' that Laney gives us when we ask her to smile. It's super-cheese; perhaps, she's getting ready for her Uncle Mat's wedding next month! She is very particular about what she wears and her hair--today she had me put in about six barrettes (at the same time - of course), including Christmas barrettes, Halloween barrettes, flower barrettes..... She was pretty happy with the result. AND, DELANEY PEED IN THE POTTY TODAY!!!!!!!!!!

Taylor Creek

At the suggestion of a friend, Dave, Delaney, Elliot and I headed to Taylor Creek at Lake Tahoe to see the spawning run of the Kokanee Salmon. It was absolutely beautiful-the lake, the salmon, the trail, the creek, the trees, everything... We're so fortunate to live so close to Lake Tahoe, and every visit amazes me.
We put Elliot in the backpack carrier, which he tolerated fairly well, and Laney walked on her own. For a little girl, Laney has quite the stamina.

However, about halfway through our little hike, Delaney decided that she needed a water bottle and then proceeded to stop and take a sip about every two feet. Of course, she wouldn't use a 'little' bottle, and insisted on carrying an adult-sized water bottle, using both hands and having to concentrate very hard to make sure that she didn't spill any water. She was so preoccupied with carrying and drinking water that she kept veering off of the trail! But she was super persistent (as usual)!

She really behaved at the creek, resisting the urge to try to catch a fish and throw rocks in the water.

Elliot flirted with the older ladies (meaning older than 11 months), smiling and babbling away. He's so precious.

On the way home, we stopped to eat at Chili's (one of the few restaurants that we would dare to take the babies)-it was pretty much total chaos, but at least we didn't have to do any dishes when we got home!

Afternoon Brownies

Not much beats homemade brownies at 4:30 PM. Elliot and Delaney agree.


Elliot and I went out to run a couple of errands, so Daddy and Delaney made brownies. They were ready to be eaten when we came home, and were soooo good.

More Halloween Fun

Well, actually, it really wasn't that fun-at least not for me-but the babies had a good time. I managed to get lost on the way to the Tollhouse Pumpkin Patch in Reno-surprise, surprise-so, a 30 minute drive turned into an hour long drive. Elliot liked playing with the trucks and climbing on the haystacks, and of course, eating the hay.

Delaney played on a super-big bouncy house with super-big kids (they were probably 5 years old, but twice her height and three times her weight). She got knocked around a bit, and I almost had a stroke-a number of times-but Laney survived and had fun!

Sooooo Big!

Elliot shows off......
his two new front teeth!!!!!!

Pumpkin Patch

The babies and I headed to a local pumpkin patch today with the Carson City MOMS Club. We've been so lucky to find a bunch of mommy-and-baby groups here.
Gramps and Daddy had taken Delaney and Elliot to the same patch a few weeks ago and thought that it was 'small'; I thought that it was perfect! There were about 15 hyper toddlers running around, a very steep hay-slide (which Laney went down by herself about 10 times!), a bunch of pint-sized pumpkins, homemade cookies and warm apple cider.

Luckily for Elliot, the pumpkin patch wasn't very 'stroller-able', so Elliot was free to roam, crawling around everywhere and munching on hay and who-knows-what-else, while I ran after Delaney, going up and down, up and down, and up and down the hay-slide.


Delaney ate a yummy chocolate cookie and drank apple cider from a big girl cup while sitting on picnic bench with all of the other 'big' kids, while Mommy chased after Elliot, pulling him off of haystacks and removing numerous foreign objects from his mouth. This little boy will put anything in his mouth. He reminds me of a little puppy, chewing on cords!

Addiction

Delaney has now made it 36 hours without her binkies. I'm so proud of her-and of us for sticking with it. I did get her binkies out of my dresser today-just to look at them-it felt weird not to see them! An end of an era.

Dave claims that the babies are my addiction---they can drive me absolutely crazy (and I mean certifiably insane) until I swear that I can not take a second more and need a break away from them. But then after an hour or two alone, I desperately miss them, feel somewhat panicky, can't concentrate or enjoy myself and want more than anything, to be with them. I suppose that everyone has an addiction to something or someone.

The Final Plunge

So, it's over, completely over. No more binkies for Delaney. A couple of weeks ago, we confined her binkies to the crib-only for naptime and bedtime, and today, we've taken the final step-no-more-binkies-at-anytime.

Delaney has done pretty well the last few weeks-with a few setbacks. But everytime that she gets upset or has a tantrum, she instantly goes to her room, gets her pjs, and tries to climb into her crib. She needs to learn a new way to soothe herself, and I just don't see that happening until she totally kicks the binky habit. So-I told Delaney that big girls sleep with their dollies and that binkies are for Elliot, and just didn't make a big deal out of it. I feel a bit cruel, and like I have kind of pulled her babyhood out from under her feet.

And I am very sympathetic towards Delaney. It's so hard to give up something that you enjoy. And I do think that binkies are more addictive than crack. The producers of binkies should seriously compensate all children (and mothers!) for therapy.

And I'll keep her binkies forever-they're such a part of her babyhood, and I have so many memories of her carrying the three of them around the house and rubbing the holders on her little sweet face. It's cute-she totally associates the number three with comfort-she'll take three dolls into the car or want three lollipops or three books. She's my crazy baby girl.

Survived The Weekend

The kids and I made it through the weekend while Dave was in Georgia, camping with his brother and friends. I'm a little more tired and bitter than usual, and the house is certainly a bit messier and dirtier than usual (and I thought that wasn't possible!), but all in all, we had a very smooth weekend. The babies played hard during the day and slept well at night.


This morning I went to my bimonthly moms' group meeting. When we pulled up to the church, Delaney started crying and pleading-'no mom, no mom, please, please, sorry, sorry'. It was heartbreaking. And I almost turned around and headed home. But I took a deep breath and got the babies out of the car. Elliot started bawling the second that I handed him off to one of the nursery babysitters. Again, heartbreaking.

I was amazed and surprised (and more than a little thankful) that I wasn't 'called' to the nursery to soothe my children, and had momentary hopes that perhaps they were having fun playing. Nope. When I went to get them after the two hour meeting, Delaney was standing by the door, screaming for me, and Elliot still was sobbing in his caretaker's arms. They had been crying the entire time. Both of them. Once again, heartbreaking.

But, I must admit, that I really enjoyed myself and it was so nice to talk with other moms and be able to have a cup of coffee and relax. So-is a two hour 'break' worth two hours of my babies' unhappiness?-I'm not sure. My gut tells me-'no, no, no-don't put them through that', but then part of me argues-'my God, it's two hours every other week, they'll live'.

Grandma Mary and Gramps Visit

Grandma Mary and Gramps came into town for a long weekend. It was wonderful to have some help, and Dave and I even got to go out together (TWICE!).

After having so much attention, Delaney has been suffering a little bit from grandparent withdrawal since they left on Tuesday morning. She's been demanding. And demanding. And demanding. And maybe I'm going through a bit of an adjustment myself; I get so used to doing everything by myself, and then have help for a few days, and then I'm back to being on my own.


As Delaney has been asking to sit on the potty, I bought her a litte princess potty seat. I thought that the seat would make it easier for her to sit on the potty and encourage practicing. Apparently, I was wrong (again). She has decided that Elliot should sit on the potty and only Elliot. She often wants Elliot to try something that she's a little unsure about--perhaps, she's thinking---'hmmmm.... If Elliot doesn't fall into the potty and die a horrible death, then maybe I'll give it a try'.


Delaney has also been having serious problems kicking the binky-habit. She did fine for over a week, but once Grandma Mary and Gramps left, she must have decided that she needed extra comfort. So-she's been having daily tantrums, begging to go 'nite, nite', so she can have her binkies. It's really quite pathetic. Yesterday, I put her in a well deserved time-out. When I went to check on her, she had pulled down her pants and up her shirt and was frantically trying to put on her pj's, presumably so she could go to bed and have her binkies. It was 2:30 PM. So-it's been a long last few couple of days.....



And about to get longer, since Daddy is headed to Georgia to go camping with the guys. I highly doubt that any blogging, laundry, showering or brushing of teeth will get done in the next few days. Life is fair, huh? :)