Joseph and his Friends

Joseph has been excited about having friends over to our house lately. He had been asking for weeks to have someone over, so last Friday his friend Morgan came over to play and join him for dinner. He was so excited when she arrived, that he did not stop talking for a solid 20 minutes. He pulled out every book and every toy he could think of and told her exactly what it was, and did she want to play with this or did she want to do that. Then when it was time to eat, for the first time in a lonnnnnng time Joseph ate all of his dinner without complaining (Morgan had already finished her vegetables and had started on ice cream, which was the perfect amount of motivation for Joseph to finish his). And when it was time to wash up and go potty Joseph told her "You don't have to go poop Morgan, only pee. You don't want to make a big stinky poop in there like I did". We'll see what fun things come out of his mouth when his friend Drew comes home from school with us tomorrow. He and Grover are enjoying their last "bedtime" before the big event. Apparently everything is measured in how many naps one has to take before a fun activity is scheduled to occur.

Hannah & Leah 15 Month Stats

Hannah and Leah are officially toddlers in case you didn't know. They are in the first toddler room at daycare, and are learning to use spoons, do more projects, and before you know it they will be sitting at little tables to eat. Leah has four teeth on top and four teeth on the bottom, and has started answering yes or no questions by shaking her head. Hannah has two teeth on top with a third about to pop through, and four teeth on the bottom, and is trying to learn how to run (right now it's just a really fast power walk). Their hair is getting longer, but still very thin, so I am torn between going to get it shaped or just letting it go until there's more to cut. Both girls had colds over the last week, and Leah has now had a fever off and on since Sunday which the doctor says to just keep an eye on and let it run its course. We saw him on Tuesday for the 15 month checkup and our MMR & chicken pox vaccines, and in a bizarre turn of events Hannah screamed off and on from 11:30pm-2:30am that night. (Now that, was fun.) When she stopped I was tempted to go into the room and check on her, but I was too afraid I'd wake her up and she'd start shrieking again. Other than that rare event, the girls are still sleeping from 6:30pm to 6am and eating five times a day. Though Leah seems to either have not felt like eating as much over the past two weeks either due to her cold, or due to some weird texture preference she is developing (she picks up the food as though she's going to eat it, and then puts it down and feels the next item on her plate). Hannah ate both hers and Leah's helping of fish sticks and tator tots the other night, whereas last night Leah at both hers and Hannah's portion of spaghettios and meatballs. Both are refusing to eat peas lately, but will still chow down on green beans and anything in the fruit family (well, except the really nasty ones like grapefruit). Homemade pasta sauce with meatballs are always a big hit and they both love Jay's pancakes with sliced bananas. Their weight gain seems to be slowing down though, especially for little Leah, but we think that will change once she decides she likes food again. But now, onto the stats!

Hannah
Height: 32.25in (93%)
Weight: 24lbs 10oz (80%)
Head: 47cm (80%)

Leah
Height: 31.75in (85%)
Weight: 23lbs 6oz (60%)
Head: 46.25cm (60%)

Pisces? Please!

While I certainly understand things changing over time (going to the bathroom inside instead of outside, Constantinople becoming Istanbul, even Pluto not being considered a planet in our solar system) but this is ridiculous. My zodiac sign has not changed. Read the description of an Aries and then read the same for Pisces and tell me which one you think captures my essence. Good thing I'm a westerner and the tropical zodiac which is based on seasons, still as me categorized as such. (yes, I had to do research on this subject) I mean, it's not like i check my horoscope or anything like that. I just don't want to be incorrectly labeled. So if you get me any gifts monogrammed with my zodiac sign, please be sure it's the big strong ram and not two tiny fishes.

Joseph's Favorites

Joseph had a pretty fun homework assignment last weekend, which was to decorate and fill a brown bag with his favorite things. It didn't take Joseph too long to answer questions on his this subject, he spent about 10 minutes with Jay documenting all of his favorites and then I went to work on the computer finding pictures and adding items to my grocery list. I then of course plotted the perfect design for the outside of the bag, but let Joseph put stickers and things where he wanted and had him write his own name and a few other things that he's learned. He also got to practice with scissors and glue, and drew a nice portrait of Rosco to put in the bag along with the treats for his friends. Another thing we talked about was what he wants to be when he grows up. Answer: Ironman. A few days later Joseph asked Jay what he's going to be when he grows up. Jay said "how about your daddy?" To which Joseph replied with "no daddy not what you are, what you are going to be when you grow up!" And so Jay is also going to be a super hero, Batman. And I'm going to be a cowboy girl. These are all Joseph's ideas of course. He continues to amuse us with his seriousness. For example, this morning when we were struggling to get him into the bathroom to go potty and I busted out the "Joseph if you aren't in that bathroom by the time I count to three then no tv after school" and just as I started counting he matter of factly in a very sweet voice said "well that's good because I don't want any tv after school". I got nothing if the 1-2-3 doesn't work anymore. But I digress.....now onto the list of current favorites!

Favorite Color: yellow
Favorite Dinner: chicken nuggets
Favorite Treat: tinkerbell & toy story gummies
Favorite Movie: toy story 3
Favorite Place to Go: the zoo
Favorite Teams: buckeyes, steelers, penguins, pirates and brewers
Favorite Song: all the single ladies
Favorite Letter: A
Favorite Number: 100
Favorite Drink: apple juice
Favorite Stuffed Animal: grover

Favorite Snack: gold fish

Favorite Game: hide and seek

Favorite TV Show: backyardigans

Favorite Thing to do on the Computer: nick jr
Favorite Books: franklin, frog & toad, where the wild things are and dr suess stories

Weekend in a Not So Nutshell

Friday late afternoon/early evening I had a drink with friends after work at the Water Street Brewery they opened in Grafton, as Jay was having fun working on his year end review, and we both met at home with the kids as light snow was falling. We were greeted with shoveled sidewalks as our neighbor Henry had made the rounds before we had a chance (very nice...we love our neighbors), so we ran inside to get the kids set up for a quick dinner (which for us usually means chicken nuggets and veggies). Then Joseph and I headed across the alley to the neighbors behind us (he played with Ruthie while I enjoyed wine with John and Tiana) and Jay put the girls to bed and fired up the ole xbox. After Joseph was home and in bed at 8, Jay and I caught up on some football and tv. Saturday morning we had the usual breakfast, and Joseph and I ventured out to the library. Picked out a few movies, more than a few books, and just when I thought we were headed to the grocery store, Joseph decided to get frustrated. And so everyone in the children's section at the library got to enjoy our lovely argument over whether or not the book we agreed was the last book was really the last book and everyone in the parking lot probably wondered if the screaming child was getting tortured by some maniac or just being an upset three year old. And so we arrived back home with socks and shoes thrown about the car (Joseph's, not mine) and I ventured out to the store with Leah later that afternoon. I can't say I've ever taken one of the girls with me on errands, Joseph is usually so excited to go and they spend the majority of their time sleeping or eating, so I thought it would be a nice treat. She was super excited to get her coat on and ride in a different car seat (mayhaps her first time in the 4Runner?) but she was completely quiet and expressionless at the grocery store. Which is great right? Though disappointing to me of course, as I was expecting excitement and amusement. She only took her shoes off once (and I noticed so was able to save them) and attempted to crawl out of the cart just a few times towards the end (why I always have to circle the store for at least two things on the list and why there was no one to bag my groceries on a saturday I do not know. All and all it went well but since it didn't wow her next time it will be Hannah's turn. Jay and I had skyline chili for dinner (I thought it was disgusting for the first few years I knew Jay but now I love a good three-way), all the kids had baths, and after Joseph was winding down with some games on the computer (nick jr of course) I joined up with a few neighbors to head across the street for a quick stop in at a party. (gatherings and drinks are a bit of a theme in our hood) This morning we woke up to both girls crusted in boogers, but we all still enjoyed Jay's pancakes which included the letter J and a moose (Tyrone from Backyardigans). The girls have mostly napped, but Jay took Joseph to his first hockey game downtown at the Bradley Center. Joseph was just a little excited. He actually thought they were going to see the Penguins but we kept setting him straight. Didn't really matter who it was so long as their was popcorn and apple juice (the free hats were nice too). Pretty great idea Jay had actually, though it could have gone either way since it was during nap time. Now we're all hanging out in the basement and enjoying our last few hours of the weekend.....if only they didn't go by so fast!

Happy New Year!

Hannah and Leah are 1 year, 2months, 2 weeks and 6 days old and Joseph is 3 years, 8 months, 3 weeks, and 5 days old. The girls stayed awake past 8 o'clock last night (usually they are crashing and rubbing eyes by 6:30), but perhaps it was a sugar induced spurt of energy from the chocolate cake or all the excitement of running around with friends. And speaking of running, Leah actually has quite the fast dash. Especially when she doesn't want to get caught with something, like say for instance when she steals something from a cabinet or grabs her sister's pacifiers out of her crib. Leah shoots out of the room as fast as she can go and takes off down the dining room stretch before anyone can catch her. (and no, Leah does not actually use the pacifier since she very much enjoys her thumb, she just finds it amusing to steal them away from Hannah). Both girls have been making a lot of jibber jabber, but they've also started using more words. Hannah says drink, up, mama, dada, uh-oh, whoa, doggie, mange (Italian for eat) and sometimes will repeat things like cracker and shoe. Joseph knows many words of course, though now some of them are bigger and longer (like frustrated), and he has been emphasizing by using "very, very" lately (like I am very, very frustrated). He has also memorized quite a few books, and recognizes the letters that the words start with and uses his finger to trace them while pretending to read (amazing how many words he gets right). And let's see, what about Jay and I. I have almost mastered the Santori family lasagna (if only I could time things right to allow for it to set), I can pick up and carry two one year olds at the same time (not as easy as you would think), and as of today I now have glasses. Not officially or required by law, but to aid with seeing in the dark and far distances (I'm thrilled, really). Jay has turned into the best xbox kinect dance revolution dancer this side of the Mississippi and can race his car in hot pursuit which such skill and speed it would blow your mind. Much more useful skills that he has developed (though you never know when we might be in a dance competition or high speed chase) is the ability to transform a transformer (despite that they are apparently suitable for preschoolers I am not able to perform this task) and fix things around the house (leaky things, broken things, waspy things). Neither of us have yet mastered how to tame a tantrumous toddler, but hey, you have to have something to work on right? Let's just hope we pick up a few new skills before the girls turn 2 later this year. Happy 2011!