14 Nov
Despite high afternoon temperatures, the mornings are a bit chilly here now. Over the weekend, I made the girls each a set of handwarmers—little, heart-shaped packages filled with jasmine rice. After just a minute in the microwave, these sweet little things snuggle into jacket pockets to keep my sweet little girls warm. Ava reports they’re still a bit toasty come recess . . . too bad it’s 60 degrees outside by then!
11 Nov
Ava: “Olivia, did you get my rainboots?”
Liv: “No…”
Ava: “I asked you four times! Wow, now I’m living in Mom’s world.”
Liv: “What?”
Ava: “Nevermind. You will understand when you’re older.”
9 Nov
Olivia, the self-proclaimed “best bird knower in the family,” is relishing the return of the Dark Eyed Juncos this fall. Bryan recently spotted a Red Breasted Nuthatch and a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (a name that sounds more like an insult, if you ask me), but I think I have the best spot of the season in this rather handsome Barred Owl.
Last night, Bryan had a dream that he saw an American Redstart here, but that hardly counts.
What’s flitting about your yard lately?
8 Nov
Owen measured 27.5 inches at his four month check up this week, a figure that literally put him off the (growth) charts.
He’s one long baby, and he has more than outgrown the bassinet. I’m still not ready to move him to his own room, and so he’ll sleep next to me in a pack and play until he outgrows that. We should have at least four or five days, I think…
By all accounts, everything is going (growing?) as expected. The doctor began to ask if he was eating well, glanced at Owen’s chart, and laughed given his 16 lb 5 oz weight. Indeed, he nurses like a champ. He’s sleeping from 8 pm until 5 am most nights, leaving us remarkably well rested.
Owen is full of sweet smiles and has retained his very calm demeanor. He loves to snuggle—not that we give him much choice: Unless we’re taking photos or sleeping ourselves, there’s a very good chance one of us is holding him. As such, we haven’t seen him roll front to back, but Diane assures us he’s well versed in this new little trick. He’s really starting to appreciate rattles, and his favorite toy is Waddles, which just happens to a be a hand-me-down from another sweet baby.
We have a couple of small hurdles ahead of us: a clogged tear duct (which we hope will resolve on it’s own) and a pretty impressive case of eczema. A few weeks ago, Owen started a prescription cream—it worked beautifully for two weeks, then just seemed to stop. Now, he’s a mess of breakouts, and our doctor said she’d never seen anything quite this bad. She referred us to a dermatologist, and so hopefully we’ll know more next week. In the meantime, we’re doing our best to keep this cute little guy as comfortable as we can.
6 Nov
Olivia was disappointed; she thought we said we were going “boating.”
5 Nov
Ava: “Mom, is it true a high voice can break glass?”
Bec: “Yes.”
Ava, immediately excited: “Do you have a glass I can break?!”
—
Liv: “See my ‘O’ shaped rock, Mama?”
Ava: “That’s not a rock. It’s a Crinoid fossil….oops…”
Liv: “WHAT HAPPENED?”
Bec: “Well, now you have two ‘U’ shaped rocks…”
Liv, wailing: “AVA BROKE MY ROCK!!”
Bry: “That’s okay. It will only take 300 million years to make another one.”
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