Mouths of babes.

Dani:  " I wish Daddy wasn't sleeping so he could have dinner with us tonight."
Tori: "Yes, Daddy has a good moustache."

"Can I be a lawyer like you when I grow up mommy?  Will you share your dresses with me, because I will need them to be a good lawyer?"  (Dani)

"Teeth are white because they've been in your mouth."  (Dani)

While watching Sprout last night, I pointed out to Dani that the host was pregnant.  Dani asked how I knew and I told her to look at the woman's big round belly.  "But mommy, you have a big, round belly.  Are you pregnant too?"  When I told her that I was not pregnant, but that when you have had a number of babies in your tummy, that sometimes it can still be big for a while.  With an apologetic face, Dani told me, "I'm really sorry we did that to your belly, mommy."

Back to Normal.

I haven't posted in a bit.  We had a rough week last week--sneezy kids and mommy and daddy had strep.  I've never seen Big Man so sick as he was last week.  Lucky for us, the kids didn't get it.  So, now that we are back to normal, here's a little update.  Tommy has been cutting a mouthful of teeth.  He's been a little fussy from time to time, but I would be too if 8 teeth were trying to pop out of my gums all at once.

We've turned into a creative little bunch.  Dani and Tori love to sit for hours and draw and color.  Dani drew this last week--she said it was our family.  I expressed concern that there were only four people in it.  She pointed them all out, "This is Dani, Tori, Daddy, and Mommy, with Tommy in her belly".  So, she didn't forget anyone after all.

I thought the one below was a teddy bear, but Dani said it is her and daddy.  Every day, the kid does and says things that absolutely amaze me.  I should do a better job of writing it all down.  Tonight at dinner, we were having spaghetti, which was cut up for her and Tori.  When she had finished her bowl, she asked for more, but not cut, "like mommy and daddy have it".  We gave her some, with a fork, and watched as she twirled the spaghetti around the fork, and put it in her mouth.  Then she'd grab a napkin and wipe her face, after each bite.  When she finished, she proudly showed off her belly and remarked to us that she had been careful and there was no sauce on her shirt.  She was so proud of herself!  I'm ashamed to admit that when I was putting the girls to bed, Dani said something so brilliant that I scooped her up, and told her I was so proud of what a smart little girl she is...however, I cannot remember what the heck she said.  Bad mommy.

And some things are just silly, because they are, the frank observations of an almost four year old.  Watching Sportscenter last week, Dani notices Herman Edwards doing some commentary.  She gets very serious and leans over to me, "Mommy, do you know who that is?"  I tell her I can't remember (because his name was escaping me), and she leans over and says earnestly, "Its the president."

And, Tori, she's the comic relief as always.  She wanted to show me how much she was enjoying her broccoli.

We took the family to the opening of a veteran's park this weekend.  The girls had fun--there were planes flying overhead, and lots to see.

Tori loved the planes!  And there were flocks and flocks of geese overhead as well that just captivated the kids.

Tommy was a little harder to manage.  He's not a fan of the stroller, so Big Man had to miss most of the ceremony, and instead corralled Tommy in the ballfield, where he could just run and run.

Spooky kids!

Halloween started out with a grumpy little ghost.

 

 And ended with happy crayons.

 And the cutest bumblebee ever!

 Daddy took the girls down the block for a bit of trick or treating.  They were back relatively quickly, and took over handing out vampire teeth and lollipops.

 We took the glass out of the storm door so they could just pass the candy through.  Dani was literally yelling to kids on the street to come over.  She was telling kids they looked cute, and had a blast.  She was a tad slow in the handing out of candy, not realizing the kids were there for the loot, and not to be her friend.  Tori was more interested in what kids had in their buckets and tried to help herself to it a time or two!

 Even Tommy had fun buzzing around and watching all the kids.  We had tons.  I had over 750 items to hand out, and in less than 90 minutes it was gone!

Cutest Halloween ever.

The bug in my tummy.

 Dani's had a rough few days.  She couldn't keep anything down yesterday, and had a low grade fever.  By midnight, her temp was about 102, and she could not sleep.  She was up, in my room just miserable, until about 4am when she finally got a few hours of sleep.  And that means, I got even less, as there was a Tommy feeding after Dani finally slept.  Welcome to the house of zombie.  The fever, slightly lower, raged on today, and she was out of sorts, exhausted, and still pukey.  No signs of a cold or anything else.  So Daddy told her yesterday that it must be a stomach bug. 

(No wonder she couldn't sleep, she was probably scared of the bug...thanks Big Man.)

 

Tonight, after she puked up her dinner, while snuggling with me, she told me that she was ready to get the bug out of her tummy.  "I just want myself to feel like myself again," she insisted.  I wrote that one down so I wouldn't forget it!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, everyone else is great.  Tommy climbed the stairs today!  He also said "ut oh, spaghetti o" mimicking Tori in his mumble speak.  Adorable!

Pole dancer. No!

Dani is always asking me to take her picture.   We did a whole shoot of emotions, "happy", "sad", "upset".  This was my favorite of the bunch.

 Big Man and I escaped for a night to attend a Halloween Party.  His costume was sooo appropriate, because we hadn't escaped together in months!

 And then I blinked, and Tori learned how to work a smartphone.  And to talk fluently, like a big kid.  Where'd my baby go?

 And this one?  If I told you she was loving first grade, you'd believe me!  All she needs is her own cell phone in this picture and you'd think she was 8.  She's not even old enough for Pre-K! 

Where the hell did my little kids go? 

 I am really hoping this is not a foreshadowing to a future career.  She loves the radiator pipes. 

There's never a dull moment here.

Silly monkey.

Tori got ahold of a fun hat tonight, and pranced around the house in it all night, even during dinner.

 

 She was quite the ham.

 She was so happy she indulged me in a photo shoot, something she usually runs from!

 This one's at the dinner table.

 She is our little ray of sunshine.

Our little Tori-nado.

Big girls.

 The girls and I took a trip to the salon today.  Dani needed to relax her re-growth, and Tori was scheduled for a bit of texturizer--just a bit of curl loosening to make it easier to comb.  They were so excited!

Dani had been to the salon once before...it was Tori's first haircut.  Dani was poised and excited.  Tori cried and wailed, quite loudly at times, every minute the stylist was near her and she was in the chair.  She did end up with a cute new haircut though!

 

And Dani had a blowout after the cut--it will never be this straight again but she loved it.  I swear, she looks about 5 years older with straight hair!

 Here's Tori's new cut.  A layered, shoulder length bob.  Cute!

Thought this was a great shot of the just-got-home energy burn.  Dani had been still and good for so long, that the instant we got home she was a little banshee!

In other news, Tori is walking around saying, "You disgust me," because I let them watch Looney Toons last night and apparently Daffy said that a few times.  Nice, huh?  Thankfully she didn't tell anyone that at the salon, but she certainly enjoys saying it.  They literally watched the show for 15 minutes....so what gives?  When I was a kid we used to watch that crap all the time and we never said crazy stuff....she has a few minutes and is telling people off?  Damn you Daffy!

North Country.

We took the kids up north on Saturday to Dave & Gail's second home.  Dani was so excited, "Why do they have two houses, mommy?  Can we get another house?"  They couldn't wait for the rain to stop so they could check out the deck.

 

 Tommy had to enjoy the deck from behind the glass doors.

 The kids got to rip and run around a different house.  Dave and Gail cooked us an awesome meal, and we had a great time.  With Wes' schedule, and all the kids, we don't get out much.  We really don't get invited too many places...probably because of the chaos we bring with us.  It was a much-needed night out.

 Little Tori didn't have a nap--by about 7pm, she lets us know she was getting ready to go home and get to sleep!

 Meanwhile, Tommy was quite excited about buttons!  Buttons on his shirt!  Perfectly chewable buttons!

I got to look at his little belly all day...adorable!

Romper room.

Lawdy, lawdy, it's chaos here!  Three kids running in different directions and one of me!  At any given time, I don't know what I'm going to discover, from the benign, like a ripped pillow, to the random puddles of fluid that can be drool, a spilled cat water bowl, or any manner of toddler secretions.

Dani and Tori are eager to "help" us feed Tommy.  They take turns at dinnertime in the seat next to him so they can dole out (and sneak bites of) his finger food.

Tori the 'nado, basically refuses to smile for the camera, so I've got to catch her by surprise, or she likes to make ridiculous faces.  Not only has her language exploded, but she's mastered the art of polite.  Give her something and you're bound to get a "thank you"; she's pretty good at "excuse me" if she burps, but still announces, "I tooted" with a smile.  If she forgets "please" when asking for something, I give her a look and get a dramatic "puh-puh-puh-pleeeease"; on the occasions that I ask her for the magic word, the answer is always "abacadabra".

The girls helped me bake brownies tonight.  Their favorite part was the licking of the mixing spoons.

Batter face!

Frankenbaby and other silly tales.

It's Tommy...but with the scratch on his head, I've been referring to him as Frankenbaby.

I think we've got a solid Halloween idea there, no?

And this is Tori.  We had grilled shrimp last night (and broiled fish and tons of veggies--my kids will eat anything!).  Tori declared the shrimp to be whistles, and spent most of dinner making music with the shrimp!

This picture of Dani is unremarkable, except if you saw a picture of my mom at the same age, you would think they were twins.  I need to dig up a photo and put them side by side.

 Dani thought shrimp whistles were the funniest thing ever.

In pediatric gastroenterology news, Dani's headed to Albany Med for an upper GI series tomorrow.  Here's hoping we can figure out why she's such a little gaggy kid.  And while Big Man takes her, I'm taking Tommy to the doc for a wellbaby visit.  I hope he doesn't need a shot.  I've never had to do a visit with a shot...

One day. Two parks.

We took the kids to the Sassafras Park at the old Bacon School Saturday.  Sadly, now that the school has closed, the park isn't terribly well maintained; in fact, there were parts that didn't even seem that safe.  It always always surprises and disappoints me when people litter, especially when there are garbage cans around.

 The kids had a blast, however.

Tommy needed a nap, so we brought the kiddos home, but Dani and Tori still wanted to play outside, so I took the girls to the park down the street.  What a difference a neighborhood can make.  Here's Tori in the slide--good thing she can't read, or appreciate pictures of penises.

Not to mention the swearing, smoking teens paying no attention to the children in their care, who basically pushed and ran my kids over until I decided it was time to go.  Kind of a bummer.

We'd been to that park before and never quite had such a bad crowd there.

Funny words of the week.
Big Man and I are going to celebrate our 8th anniversary in a few weeks.  Dani is just getting the hang of dates and days and times and such.  A few days ago, she looked at him and said, "Daddy, you don't look that happy.  You haven't looked happy in eight years."  He chuckled and asked if she was sure it had been that long.  "Yes, Daddy, you haven't been happy for eight years."  Big Man erupted in laughter.

Dress Up!

We were given a bunch of dress up clothes and shoes for the girls!  Tori was as excited about the bin I put them in as she was the clothes.

Dani rocked the heels, dress, and hair bow, and thought her soccer participation medal provided the necessary bling to complete the outfit.

Tommy, always game, sported the pink tutu.  (You should have seen him last night in the leopard dress, gloves and hat--the girls loved it!)

He was happy to reestablish his manhood with a cool strut after dress up was over.

Daddy was happy about it too...he's not such a fan of Tommy in drag.