Twins

Last night Ryan was looking through some old photos of us. I can't believe how much we've aged in the last 7 years! People are always telling Ryan he looks like Will Arnett, and in this one I think he especially does. What do you think? Is he Gob Bluth's twin?

A Bicycle, a Sucker, and Spilled Milk

Ava is 26 lbs (almost 25th %tile) and 36.5" (75th %tile).


While I'm getting ready for the day, Ava likes to play in my make-up bag. This is her favorite item:

The ladies will recognize this as an eyelash curler. The guy probably didn't know such a thing existed. For me it might as well not, because I never use it. On to my little story. Ava drives it all over the place and calls it her bicycle. Do you think maybe she's been over-exposed to bicycles? I guess it does have a bit of a resemblance.

This is her other favorite item from the make-up bag. It's liquid eyeliner. But to Ava it is a sucker. She walks around with it in her mouth and says "I got a sucker!" This is early morning so forgive the raggety hair.

And lastly, this week Ava has gotten a little too involved in her shows. She was watching a cartoon where they poured some milk down a drain and she started yelling and crying about them spilling the milk. I tried to explain that it was a cartoon and not real, but she was inconsolable. A few days later we were watching UP! and we thought she'd love it because of her obsession with balloons. Instead, she was distressed and almost in tears the whole time because first she thought they were going to lose a balloon ("my ba'oon! my ba'oon!") and then when the bird, Kevin, ate a balloon that was another fit. And when a bunch of the balloons popped... I think her world nearly came to an end. We are probably bad parents because we sat behind her silently cracking up.
A few other words that come to mind: octopus = "opopus" ; cupcake = "pucake"; pancake = "pacake"; favorite bedtime song, Child of God = "Chil' a Gaaaaawd"

Ava and the Alphabet

Ava really likes the alphabet. She watches Super Why on TV, which teaches reading and spelling and such, and she loves the ABC song, and the Sesame Street Alphabet CD. She loves her foam bath letters and numbers, and loves to have mom and dad write letters for her on paper. About a year ago I got these dry erase flash cards and I think she's old enough to handle the markers now, so I pulled them out. She tries to traces over the letters and identify each one. She does pretty well too.

Ezra's 7 Month Report

Ezra is busy crawling himself into a corner right now.

I took him in for a well-check today and found out he has an ear infection.

I had taken him in last week for a persistent cough and they checked his ears then too, but no infection then. So in the last 6 days this has developed. They checked him for RSV too, and that came back negative, thank goodness. But he does have Bronchiolitis. Today the doctor (different Dr.) was a little more concerned with his wheeziness and congestion. He asked about family history of asthma, and gave him a nebulizer. Do you know how hard it is to hold a squirmy 7 month old in your lap with a nebulizer in/near his mouth for 8 minutes? It's hard. Anyway, hopefully it's not asthma.

 Every nurse and doctor that has ever seen him has said the exact same thing—"Wow, he's really active." Yeah, try changing his diaper, it's a wrestling match.

Some things about our little big guy this month:
He weighs 19 lbs. I think he carries most of it in his cheeks.
He gets all excited when daddy comes home. He kicks and squirms and waves his arms all over with a big smile on his face.

He likes to do a closed mouth cry—I think it's for when his teeth hurt, but I'm not really sure.
He has two teeth that have broken through, and there must be more close behind (judging by his fussiness and aggressive chewing of the binkies).
He's a grabber. Much more than Ava ever was.  And everything goes in the mouth. We're going to have to watch out for choking hazards with this one. And poisonous plants (had a little scare with that one).
He doesn't spit up quite as much now, unless Ryan is holding him. Then he just lets it all go. This week at church he was doing just fine so I passed him over to Ryan and before my hands had even made it back to my lap, he had spit up all over Ryan. Maybe he's allergic to his dad?
He's a fast and furious kind of kid. When he grabs at a toy he often knocks it out of reach because he just launches himself at things.

I couldn't keep up that diet, but I am still trying to limit certain things. That's a little easier. Mostly I just feel guilty now when I eat something I shouldn't, and I think to myself, "Is it worth it? A day of cranky baby for a few bites of spaghetti with sauce?" Of course it's not worth it, but that's how little self-control I have. He has had more good days this month though.

When I look at this picture, I can almost see him as an 8 year old boy.