Sniff, Sniff

Elliot loves to sniff. It's pretty adorable-he scrunches up his whole little face and is VERY dramatic. Yes, I know, I still haven't figured out how to flip the videos.

He's such a good little boy-crawls all over the house and yard, happily playing. If he could only stay this content for the rest of his life....!

Housebound

Since Delaney came down with a fever Wednesday afternoon and Elliot came down with a fever this afternoon, we've been stuck at home a lot of this week. We've had some long days and longer nights but we're hanging in there. There's nothing like a bout of sickness to make you appreciate your children's usual good health. We are so lucky to have two healthy babies.



Delaney and Elliot certainly have their ups and downs, but I'm so happy that they have each other. I really think that having a sibling (or two, or three!) is one of the best gifts that parents can give their children.

Survival

I've never been much of a joiner and big groups are not really my thing. All I need are a couple of close friends-easier said than done. I certainly can not replace my Las Vegas friends (that's you, Jodi!), but I also certainly can not stay at home all day with no companionship. For a stay-at-home-mom with no family in town, meeting other moms is an absolute essential.

So, we've been getting out-meeting a lot of really nice moms and kids. I'll pretty much try any play group or baby activity under the sun. Even if I don't like the group (or God forbid, they don't like us!), it's worth a try.

I recently joined a mommy group that meets every other Monday at a church. I was told that the group is not religious or political; however, I was skeptical. I guess I worry that because of the location, the group excludes anyone who wouldn't feel comfortable going to that church. But then my friend told me that volunteers watch the babies for two hours while the moms eat breakfast, drink coffee, and have discussions about motherhood. Well, once I heard that a non-blood-relative would actually volunteer to watch my two babies for TWO WHOLE HOURS, I was like-SIGN ME UP NOW!!! The whole purpose of the group is to give moms support-a break from the daily grind and the chance to connect with other moms. Who would have thought???

I'm with my babies just about 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so let's say that I know them pretty well. And I was fairly certain (99%) that they both would scream the entire time that I was gone. And maybe I'm a 'bad' mom for doing this, but I kind of said to myself-'oh, well, they'll live' and decided to give it a try.

And I was right. Scream, they did. Delaney screamed so loud that I could hear her (ever so slightly) down the hallway through two sets of double doors. For 1 1/2 hours. Per his caretaker, Elliot cried or fussed for all but 20 minutes. When I picked up Delaney, the grandmotherly volunteer said--'wow-you have your hands full, don't you?'-And then actually told me to come back to the next meeting because I 'must really need a break'. So true.

I hate knowing that my babies are upset, especially when I know that my presence would soothe them. So, did I feel badly?--Of course, of course. But I feel guilty about something every day-guilty that I may not be making the right decisions for my family, guilty that one baby is more demanding of my time and energy, guilty that I don't want to make dinner, guilty that what I really want is a nap..... The guilt list goes on forever. But I do need time to myself and a chance to talk to other adults, and Delaney and Elliot certainly need to know that mommy always comes back and that they'll be okay while I'm gone.

I, on the other hand, was child-free for 1 1/2 hours, drank coffee and chatted with really nice mothers, so, all in all, I consider the meeting a success!

Love Bug

This is a picture of Elliot after reading the newspaper. In the mornings, he loves to crinkle up the newspaper-the print usually gets all over his face.

I never knew that a little boy could be so sweet. I call him my love bug-I write this with hesitation because Dave always reminds me that the internet is forever, and Elliot probably won't want his friends to know that his mom called him 'love bug'. Just a hunch. But he really is just too sweet.

Dave always says the girls in our family are the troublemakers and that the boys are the good ones. Delaney, Penny and I respectfully disagree; we're just 'spirited'-in the words of Grandma D.

The Chef

Delaney loves to help cook. During the day, she'll periodically drag a chair over to the kitchen counter and order me to 'cook, cook'!! She really is a good helper and follows directions well (when she wants to of course!).

When helping to wash veggies, she uses the following technique: wash carrot, take bite of carrot, throw carrot in bowl, wash carrot, take bite of carrot, throw carrot in bowl.... I'm just thankful that she'll eat veggies.

And He's Off!

Pretty much from the second that Elliot wakes up in the morning, he's on the go. We change his diaper and then put him down and he's off exploring. He's not so much into snuggling with Mommy anymore, but is busy, busy, busy. He always wants whatever is 'Delaney's', her binkies, sippie cups and coveted toys. He's just starting to fight back when Delaney takes something from him, AND he's starting to take things from Delaney. I do think that Delaney is finding Elliot a little more interesting these days; he's no longer a squirmy little baby but is a big boy who loves to play. I am a very busy woman these days, trying to keep Elliot from putting EVERYTHING in his mouth and breaking up fights.



I must say that I have mixed feelings about Delaney and Elliot growing up. I love watching them learn and enjoy the new stages of their lives. But I'm also a little heartbroken and miss my snuggly little babies.

Scribbles

Delaney has just started to love scribbling. She can actually sit for a half hour or so and work on her pictures. It's amazing-these few pockets of time each day when Delaney plays happily and contently are totally enough to get me through all of the difficult hours that I have with her.

Laney's favorite phrases right now are 'aaaaall gone' and 'aaaaall done'. She walks around the house determining what is 'biiiiiiig' and what is 'ittle, ittle, ittle'. She's decided that Mommy, Daddy and Laney are 'biiiiiig' and Elliot is 'ittle, ittle, ittle' (I guess those 3 lbs and 3 inches that she has on him make the difference between 'biiiiiig' and 'ittle, ittle, 'ittle')!

She's crazy bossy and demanding. She'll scream 'more apple (juice), more apple, more apple' for 45 minutes even though her cup is completely full. She's been trying to confine where Elliot crawls, keeping him away from 'her stuff' and I think also just trying to control where he goes and what he does. And she has a wicked, wicked temper and literally can scream and yell for hours (and I mean HOURS); as Dave says, her emotions and thinking just totally outpace her self control.

And then she's also so wonderful and sweet. Right now, she has a little bit of a lisp and says 'yesh, yesh, yesh' and calls her brother 'Ellie'. She likes to snuggle with me early in the morning and before bedtime. After a real bad day, we'll talk to her about why she was so upset and had so many tantrums and she'll look at us so sweetly and innocently with her big, round blue eyes and shrug her shoulders that I can barely remember what we're talking to her about!