a half

Remember this raging party? I thought I would be just the greatest mom on earth and throw a similar shindig for the bug tonight. I don’t believe there is one thing about this picture that went right. The cake looked pitiful. I don’t need to elaborate. You have eyes. And Drew kept reaching for it, so the cake is barely in the same room as he is. And he hardly looks like the happy little chum that he is. But, well, so is life with kiddos. At least I’ve got it. Drew, on his half birthday, with a half cake, that he didn’t even touch. Well, except for when he face-planted into it 3 seconds after this picture was taken. At six months, Drew:

• Seems to really ENJOY eating solids. Zoom in closely and you’ll see the remnants of his sweet potato/avocado dinner on his cheeks. He loved it.
• Sleeping is going MUCH better. Still not fantastic, but a 9 hour stretch followed by another 3 is pretty good. Even his naps aren’t half bad.
• Rolls onto his tummy within 5 seconds of being laid on his back.
• Is pretty content to just chill, but appreciates a toy every now and then. He’s not too picky, either. Anything will do.
• Can fall asleep anywhere, but don’t expect anything longer than 15 minutes, unless it’s in his crib.
• He has his 6 month check-up this Friday, so I’m not exactly sure, but I’m pretty sure they’re going to tell me he’s the size of a fifth-grader. Cutest fifth-grader ever, if you ask me.

Well...

We finally up and bought ourselves a house! I realize people all over the world do this. And for many people, it happens before they reach retirement age, but it still felt so surreal to us. We kept asking, “are we really old enough to buy a house?” Maybe that’s what happens in old age. You start to think you’re young again. Anyway, we moved on Wednesday, and while most of our stuff is unpacked, the house is still very empty and decor-less, so I won’t post any pictures. As our house slowly makes the transformation into a home, you will see pictures pop up here and there, I’m sure. For now, settle for this one. I opened one of my boxes of China today for the first time. I love it every bit as much today as I did the day I registered for it.

Working it Out with Words

Lately we’ve been trying to teach the twins that screaming at each other is not a solution to their fights over toys and other little run-ins. We talk about using nice voices and expressing how things make them feel, like saying “that hurts my feelings.” They are making fine progress, as demonstrated by the following two exchanges today: Ethan (in a very nice voice, mind you): Kate, if you do that again...I’m going to poke you with these tweezers. ...later... Kate (also in a very nice and respectful voice): Ethan, you broke my heart. See, we teach our kids stuff.

Big day

No one cried. Not even them. Of course, it’s only been an hour.