'Tis the Season for Family

Uncle E, Grandpa and Safta are in town for the week, to the delight of the boys. M has met U.E. before, but it was a year and a half ago and he, obviously, has no memories of that. It was the first time U.E. and B had met and they seemed to get along well. According to Papa Bear, I wasn't in the room at the time, B put his arms up indicating he wanted U.E. to hold him. When I entered the room, they seemed pretty cosy. Of course, B babbles to strangers in public all the time, so U.E. should not take this as an exceptional compliment or glowing personal reference:)

Last night, U.E. accompanied Papa Bear, the boys and me to dinner at a Korean restaurant. The boys were not on their worst behavior, but they weren't exactly shining examples of well-taught-manners either. M decided that it would be fun to transfer copious amounts of rice from bowl, to bowl, to bowl...leaving much mayhem in the process. B dropped utensils and anything else he could get his hands on all over the floor. At least there was no screaming on this particular outing...it has happened before. It is my personal opinion that U.E. might have left last night to schedule a vasectomy.

Grandpa and Safta showed up late this afternoon and the boys were thrilled. M ran to the door and said, "There's Grandpa. Open door, Mommy." Then he ran to show Grandpa his toys. The boys ran around between grandparents and uncle and seemed to have a fun afternoon. For some reason, they know that they get to be the center of attention with family. It must be some weird built-in genetic knowledge. Anyway, the boys were thrilled to be amongst extended family and that's all that really matters.

It's a Floater

Yesterday, we had gotten back from our "snow" trip...I'll write about that later...and Papa Bear and I decided that the boys were sufficiently stinky to warrant an emergency bath. I got the bath ready and placed M and B inside the tub. P.B. came in to watch them and take care of their bathing needs while I got their after bath essentials together.

I was just sitting down on the couch and booting up the computer when I heard, "Julie!!! Come quick!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!" It's possible that my heart leaped out of my chest, into my throat and took a flying jump out of my mouth. A mirage of horrific images slid soundlessly through my mind. Was one of my babies drowning? Had one of them banged his head on the side of the tub and was unconscious? What had P.B. allowed to happen to my angels?

As I ran towards the bathroom, which honestly felt a mile away, I heard B giggling and M say something to P.B., I knew that there were no life-threatening injuries. So, why had P.B. beckoned me so urgently?

Upon entering the hallway bathroom, P.B. handed me a towel-clad B and said, "Take B and put him in the crib and come back for M."

"Why?" I asked, "What happened?"

"One of the boys POOPED in the tub!" P.B. proclaimed, with a desperate and horrified look on his face. I have to say that at this point, I started to smirk. Yes, this was absolutely disgusting and awful. Yes, the imagery would never leave me. Yes, this was a nightmare in grossness. Yes, yes, and yes. But, I didn't have to clean this up!!!!! They say there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This was my pot.

B will no longer be allowed to bathe without P.B. being home, because anyone who thinks I will be cleaning up fecal matter from a bathtub is smoking something illegal.

I'd Only Heard of This

I have friends who had told me about this. I had read articles where the authors "bragged" about this. I had even over heard women in grocery store lines discussing this phenomenon. However, until this afternoon, I had never had a personal experience with just such an occurrence; the child who wakes up and then quietly plays in his crib. peacefully. non-disruptively. oh, so angelically.

The kids were tucked in and sleeping like angels for their afternoon naps. Papa Bear and I were relaxing and enjoying some down time when, P.B. signaled to me. I walked down the hall with him after he indicated that B was awake and had been chatting to himself and playing in his crib for some time. As we ambled towards B's door, I was amazed. Could one of my children actually be entertaining himself? Was that even possible?

As P.B. and I opened the door, we were surprised to be greeted by a huge, sloppy grin and the outstretched arms of our youngest. B had indeed been contentedly entertaining himself. It turns out that there are children who don't scream in their cribs/beds as soon as they wake up. Good to know.

Off to School...

Papa Bear took the day off of work today so that the family could spend some together. We couldn't get our act together early enough, so P.B. took M to school. Today was pajama and movie day...seriously, what am I paying the school for? I could keep him home and do the same thing, but whatever. Anyway, I gave P.B. some p.j.'s for M and sent them off to school with M's pillow (as his teacher instructed).

After B woke up from his nap, we hurriedly got our stuff organized and rushed off to school to pick up M. When arrived in the parking lot, I made a comment about how funny M must look in his p.j.'s and rain boots (M is currently obsessed with green frog rain boots that he insists on wearing every single day. rain. shine. or other. He refuses to wear any other shoes). P.B. said, "I didn't put boots on M. They wouldn't fit over his p.j.'s, so I just didn't put any shoes on him." I sat there, mouth open and speechless...I know, hard to imagine.

Me: "Seriously? No shoes?"
P.B.: "Yeah. Why?"
Me: Again momentarily speechless. "Uh, they aren't allowed to go to school without shoes on. He could step on something sharp or dirty. It's written in the school manual." (I actually only thought the last two sentences.)
P.B.: "Did we get any phone calls requesting that we pick him up?"
Me: "No."
P.B.: "Then what's the problem?"
Me: ...

B's Ever Expanding Vocabulary

Yesterday morning, I ran to take care of some...err...business after I had given the kids their breakfast. I could hear B screaming for me, which made me feel a little guilty, but...well, duty calls. I came back into the kitchen in time to hear B say, "mooor. mama, moor." My little baby wanted more food. This was so shocking for me because, not to compare, but M never really caught the concept of language until pretty darn close to 18 months. B is just such a surprise to me.

Along these same lines...
About a week ago, I showed B the sign for milk. I sort of forgot about it because he's pretty good at getting across what he wants/needs without using the signs. At lunch yesterday, I gave M a cup of milk and then went to sit down. B started chattering furiously and seemed to get more and more frustrated. Suddenly he put down his fistful of tangerine and started showing me the sign for milk. It took me a minute to figure out what he was doing...I thought he was waving bye to me because that's how he waves. However, I figured it out and quickly accommodated him while singing his praises.

I hope that in years to come, while reading these entries, that the boys are just as amazed with themselves as I am, currently, with them.

WHAT did YOU say?

Me: I'm sorry that you're upset, but I'm not letting you use scissors right now.
M: Baba be home. You go Target!

I have to be honest, my heart broke a little...HE KNOWS WHAT TARGET IS!!!!

My Little Turtle

As the mother of a child who LOVES all things animal, I have had the pleasure (or misfortune, depending on how one views these things) of visiting the zoo many, many, many times. On one of our visits, M took the time to calmly watch the tortoises as they slowly moved around their habitat, eating, observing us, or just relaxing. The other night, late at night, I was watching a show on turtles and how they go into their shells if they feel threatened or scared. This brought to mind my little M. For the first few years of his life he has been an exceedingly cautious and observant fellow who frightened easily and, to complete the analogy, spent a generous portion of his time inside his shell. I don't state this in a negative manner or as a criticism, just as a fact. M has been an observer from the sidelines and has, like the turtles and tortoises, been eating, observing and relaxing from the cozy perch of my lap. He was slow to walk, slow to talk and slow to socialize...which was a constant source of worry from my part.

Over the past month, M has begun to emerge from the safety and security of his shell and is developing into an amazingly different person. He has emerged as a person whom I barely recognize. He has turned into an energetic ball of excitement with a yearning for more adventure. Rather than calmly sit and read his books, he now jumps and runs around the house like a maniac. He crawls over his little brother and grabs toys from both B and his little playmates. We went to a Kindergym activity and he followed the instructor around the room, acting like an elephant. He helped the teacher lift up the parachute...you know the same kind that kids have used for years at preschools across the country...and ran under it when it was high in the air, and giggled uncontrollably when it fell down upon him and the others.

At playgroup on Monday, M not only readily jumped in to playing with the toys, but eagerly showed B how to use other toys. Yesterday, when trying to leave Kelly's house, he said, "Bye, Mommy. I want to stay with Kewy. Bye, Bye B." Of course, I had to drag him out kicking and screaming, but the point is, he no longer needs me exclusively. M's head has popped out of his shell, and he is no longer leisurely and calmly observing the world around him...he is jumping in, sometimes head first.

While part of me is excited for M and oh, so proud, there is a small part of me that misses my turtle...

Yogurt

How many times does this have to happen before I learn not to let B feed himself?

"Don't make me get ugly! Hand over the yogurt!"

Monster Mystery Solved

For weeks M has been scared to pieces over the "monsters" in his closet. I have questioned everyone involved in his life...adults only, of course...to no avail. No one can seem to figure out where he has learned about the dreaded "M" word or how he "knows" that they live in closets. Quite honestly, this has been one of the most trying of stages because he just can't seem to get past this fear and I've tried everything from calmly explaining to using a "monster catcher" to capture the loathed creatures. All. For. Naught.

Well, last night Papa Bear was out at a hockey game with his boss, so I was left with bedtime duties...sigh. M has a MOUNTAIN of books on his bed that he expects to be fully perused before he will even consider night, night. This is mostly due to the fact that Papa Bear has caved in this area and allowed M to rule the roost. Anyway, I digress. While widdleing away the Kilimanjaro-sized mound of books, I came across a book that I had never personally read to M before. It's called "Things Daddy's Can't Do" and it features dinosaurs. M, excitedly, starting yelling, "Those monsters in closet there." I looked at the cover, and seeing only dinosaurs, explained that the characters were dinosaurs. M continually insisted that there were monsters, so I ignored it and began to read the book. About halfway through the book, I stopped reading and almost began laughing. Right there was a page about monsters in the closet and under the bed. Aha, so that's where M was getting this idea from. Papa Bear and I will be having a looooooong discussion tonight. It should be good times.

I'm Faklempt

For some, there is an immediate bond formed with ones child at the instant of conception. Others feel that first stirring of attatchment when they feel the first flutters signaling the movement of their babe developing in their womb. Still others know an instant and deep love the moment their eyes set upon the helpless wiggling creature at birth. For me, the love for my children has been a slow and steady progression day by day. Each time one of them has cried or smiled, rolled over or crawled, cringed from a sour taste or splashed in the bath, the deep and abiding love has grown and grown until I am now deeply and permanently in love. Each one for his own strengths and sweetness, has a permanent chunk of my heart.

For awhile now, B has been calling me "mom" or "mommom" or "mamamamamamama". Yesterday, however, B crawled up to me, raised his arms in the air and proudly proclaimed, "Mommy." How could my heart not melt on the spot? I scooped him right up for a big snuggle and lots of kisses. The sounds of his giggles are still ringing in my ears, and a slightly bigger chunck of heart is now permanently in his possession.

Oh, the joys of motherhood

I left the boys to their breakfast this morning and ran to take a quick shower. After showering and throwing some clothes on, I walked into the living room in time to see a naked M, he had been fully clothed when I left him, running towards me yelling, "I need go poo-poo on potty! I need go poo-poo on potty!" To which I, of course, said, "Go ahead." Then I started thinking...a little late, I know. M has never asked nor attempted to go #2 on the toilet and the living room is starting to smell a bit ripe. I screamed...yes, I really screamed. "M! Where's your diaper?" No answer.

I ran to the living room and saw p.j.'s and diaper on the floor. Nothing was in the diaper. Phew!!! I thought to myself, "We just dodged a gross one here." I proceeded to pick up the used diaper and throw it out. As I came back into the house, I saw the horror and was too late to stop it in its tracks. My sweet little boy. My youngest and most helpless was poking his fingers into a "log"...yes, you know what to what I am referring. I screamed, "NO!!!! B, stop it! Don't touch!" The poor baby startled and started crying. I quickly picked B up and scrubbed his hands until the skin was probably about to come off. Nastiness. Of course, I then had to clean up the "log". I probably would have started yelling at M at that point, but I guess I started to see the humor. At least it would have been really funny had it happened to someone else...

Walking, Talking and Monsters

B has really started to walk, although he still prefers the easier mode of movement: crawling. When he is standing and needs to get somewhere, he "forgets" to crawl and will walk to the next place. B is actually pretty sturdy but, like his older brother, excessively cautious and when he realizes he's walking he'll plop to the ground and crawl. Sadly, I have been less than diligent about capturing these "first steps" on camera and I fear B will be running before his new skill is stored for perpetuity.

B has begun "talking" up a storm. He chatters nonsensical sentences all the time and imitates words that I say to him. B points to an a toy. I say, "That's a truck. Truck." B says, "Tru," with a proud smile on his face. I say, "Book," as B points at one. B says, "Bu." I guess it's the kind of cuteness only a mother gets excited about.


M is deathly afraid of his room at night, these days. He cries hysterically at bedtime and wakes in the middle of the night crying about monsters in his closet or "scary" spaceships on the ceiling which are created by the shadows from his nightlight. I have tried explaining that there are no monsters or spaceships...to which I get dubious looks as if he is saying, "What you talking about, mommy?" I have tried using a "monster catcher" and pretended to catch them, on the advice of a friend. M just smiled and gave me, what can only be described as an amused look. I am at a loss and worried about his intense fears. I've been doing a great deal of research on the web regarding this and have found that this is normal and tends to peak around 3 years of age. Unfortunately, it can last up to a year...hopefully, we will all survive this. I'm still trying to figure out where he learned about monsters...I am furious with whomever he learned this from and would gladly go back in time to erase this encounter. Lacking this ability, I pray for the monsters' early demise.

First Lie and First Words

Yesterday, M opened a DVD case while playing with it...it was completely intentional, I watched him do it. I said, "Matthew close the DVD! We don't play with DVDs!" At this, M innocently batted his eyes and exclaimed, "Mommy, DVD fell open. I not open it." My mouth dropped open, did my sweet baby just lie to me for the first time? Oh. My. G-d. As a mother, I feel like I should be appalled and disappointed, but I have to admit it, I'm proud and impressed. Does that make me a bad mom? Probably. The thing is, M took his sweet time in the whole language development area; added to that, he's really such a sweet child (I'm his mother, I can say anything I want) that it's just thrilling to see how far he has come in such a short time. So, if I'm proud over M's ability to lie...yes, I said it again, PROUD...then I have every right! It's an exciting new stage and I can't wait to catch him in the many fibs that I'm sure he will try out over the many years to come. If you are reading this, it would just be mean to remind of this when I lament over this very issues in the future. No one likes an "I told you so-er".

I believe I have mentioned that recently, B has been trying to imitate words. Today we were playing with this Eric Carle animal cube that Safta and Grandpa gave him. When pushed it says the animals name, the sound it makes or another phrase. After hearing purple cat, B kept saying, "pupple", which I, of course, cheered the next ten times he repeated the word. Then, right before nap, B pointed at a picture on his wall and I told him, "picture". I think I actually saw his mind sucking that information in, and then a cute little "pidja" came from his mouth. I wasn't sure, so I repeated the word and he again said "pidja". Could that be any cuter? I agree, there's no way it could have been. Again, a mother's prerogative.

Thanksgiving and pretend Hannukah

Last Thursday we had Thanksgiving dinner with the grandparents. Safta bought a 20 lb. turkey for 7 people. Andy and Grandpa enjoyed the turkey, Safta doesn't eat fowl, I don't think Auntie R (from now on to be referred to as Roofie; per M) ate any, I had a little bit and M and B did not enjoy the bird at all. Needless to say, there was quite a bit of the Thanksgiving bird left over. The boys both enjoyed the bread rolls...carb-a-holics!!!!

Later that night we celebrated the first night of Hannukah, a little bit early, so that Grandpa and Safta could share the holiday with the boys. We lit the candles and sang a little...though none of us could really remember the words to the songs. Safta showed Matthew how to spin a dreidle and then he practiced with Roofie...B practiced stuffing the tops in his mouth. A (from now on known as ba-ba) gave M a garbage truck and he squealed with excitement. It was awesome.

Auntie R and the boys spinning dreidels.

The next night we celebrated the second night of Hannukah and Grandpa and Safta brought out the old record player with the old Hannukah record...yes, I said "record"...from when we were kids. Anyway, the record player no longer worked...a shocker, I know, so Grandpa brought out the drums and other musical instruments...again from my own childhood...and let the kids have at it. Safta also sang "Oh Driedle" and spun around with Matthew. I wish I had gotten that on tape.

Zimmer and Los Feliz lights

This morning Andy and I took the boys to the Zimmer museum, a Jewish themed children's museum near Beverly Hills. Upon pulling into the parking lot of the museum, which happens to be housed in the Jewish Federation building, we were asked to turn off the car's engine, pop the trunk and were subjected to a guard checking under our car with a mirror...I assume it was for a bomb? Inside the building, it felt like we were going through airplane security as we were required to walk through a metal detector and place our bags, etc. on a conveyor belt. Seriously, if Andy had any doubts before, this sealed it in concrete...the boys will never attend a Jewish school. He said something about it not being worth risking M's and B's lives.

Anyway. The boys had a stupendous time. They "cooked" food for us, which funnily enough included a bagel with lox and cream cheese on it. I'm totally serious...there was actually a play bagel with lox and cream cheese...I wonder if there's a special Jewish play-food factory where one orders stuff like this. I made Andy hold it up for a picture and if I ever get around to posting pictures, I'll post that one. But, I digress. They played inside an Israeli emergency vehicle, a miniature synagogue, put "money" in a donations area, built with blocks, splashed around at a water table, played with Lego's, colored, "flew" an airplane to see the elephants (this was where M said he was taking us), and even fueled up the plane. They had so much fun.

Around 7pm, Grandpa, Safta, Andy and I took the boys to walk the street where the Dept. of Water and Power hosts their annual holiday light festival. They both seemed to enjoy that. At first M pointed out animals and inanimate objects that he recognized, then either the cold numbed him or tiredness FINALLY settled in because he became much more subdued and actually wanted to ride on the stroller. It was nice to see them both so focused on the display, though. The only thing that was a bit bothersome about the event was the earsplitting level of the music. I'm not sure if the DWP was hoping to create some business for doctor's and hearing aid companies alike, but at the very least, Advil consumption likely increased in the greater Los Angeles area tonight.

L.A. Zoo

We went to the zoo today with Grandpa and Andy. I'm not sure if it would be too drastic a description to say that I was seriously ready to poke my eyes out as soon as we arrived. It's not that the zoo is way, way, way too big (it is), or that there are so many kids there that one could quite literally drown in them (there are), or even that half the animals there are completely uninteresting to observe (koala bears sleeping in a tree...come on!), it's just that we have taken Matthew to the zoo so many times that it has literally lost any of it's enjoyment.

The entire drive to the zoo this morning, okay so it's only a five minute drive, we were beseached by a list of the animals we were going to see. That wouldn't have been so terrrible except for the fact that there were only four animals on the list. "Mommy we going to see elephants and giraffes and kangaroos...oh, and bears. We go zoo and see elephants and giraffes..." I think you get the picture.

Once we arrived, Matthew took off with Grandpa and the rest of us followed. Brody happily munched away on his snack while Andy and I looked at each other with mutual sympathy and dread. How long would we have to stay? It turns out we only stayed for about an hour and a half because it was close to lunch time and honestly, how long can one stay at the zoo? If left up to his own devices, I believe that Matthew would never leave. He might find a comfy place to curl up with the elephants...or giraffes, or kangaroos, oh or bears.

Brody's First Sign

When Matthew was around 13 months or so, we went out for ice cream and he tried some for the first time; of course he loved it. Well, using ice cream on that day, we were able to teach him his first sign language sign; the sign for more. This past Friday night, we were all at Costco and got some frozen yogurt; it was Brody's first encounter with it and I'd have to say it was an absolute success. He kept whining for more, so I thought I'd see if we could teach him the sign for more. What do you know? It, of course, worked as my kids are apparently the biggest pigs in the world. Brody started flailing his arms like he was a retard, or trained lab rat, trying to get us to give him more yogurt. Since then, he has used the sign every time we don't get the food to his mouth quickly enough. PIG!!!

Palm Springs

We went to Palm Springs on Sunday and Monday with the boys and Grandpa and Safta. It was HOT, but we had fun walking around their one main street. Then we took Matthew and Brody swimming in the really, really cold pool at the hotel. We put them into their floatation devices and swam around with them for about two hours. They had so much fun laughing at each other and splashing in the pool. They were so tired, from lack of naps and too much activity, that on Sunday night they passed out at 6:30pm and slept for thirteen hours; I can't say as this was disappointing for us.

On Monday morning we put the boys into Brody's portable crib and I heard Matthew reading a book to Brody. "Brody, this is panda. See Brody, touch this. See Brody, this is elephant; you touch this. Good boy Brody." Hilarious. We then packed up and walked around El Paseo St. in Palm Desert. Matthew had fun running around and holding Grandpa's hand. "Where's Grandpa? Mommy, I don't see Grandpa." With Matthew getting progressively more anxious.

After lunch, we stopped off at an outlet mall to do some shopping and let the kids run around after a half hour of driving. M and B played on the "cars" that you're supposed to put coins in...but of course we didn't; Jewish and Chinese kids really get screwed. Anyway, when we saw a dog, I pointed it out to Brody and told him dogs say woof, woof. Brody tried to copy; it was sooooo cute. "Wef, wuf, uf," followed by big smiles. Then I kissed him and he smacked his lips at me. I guess we'll keep him.

Around 5:30 we stopped again in Ontario at a mall there and stopped off at the Rainforest Cafe. They have huge robotic animals there that move and make sounds. Needless to say, M and B were fascinated. M a bit more so than B. There were life size elephants that really freaked Matthew out. He wanted to see them, of course, after all they are elephants, but from a distance. He held onto me as though his life was in danger and said, "They not gonna get you. Right, Mommy? They not gonna get you." He was also immensely fascinated with the moving and grunting alligator. M stood there in awe for a good 20 minutes. Good times.

Painting, Pointing, Blankies and a Scare

Matthew has this obsession with everything art. He loves to take a pair of scissors and just sit at his little table and cut paper for hours at a time. He's actually starting to get quite creative in his cutting; he started out just cutting randomly, but has recently moved on to shapes and squiggles. I'm impressed. Well, I got tired of him spilling his water every time he water colored, so I bought him these paint brush tubes that hold paint in the brush tube themselves and let him go to town. He had so much fun painting the paper, the table, his clothes, his hands and...Brody's face. Thank goodness the paint comes out so easily or I'd be a little less amused.

Recently, I believe I mentioned how Matthew is having a hard time differentiating fantasy from reality. This morning I went into his room to get some clothes out of his closet. Matthew said, "Mommy, you go in Matthew's closet? You see monsters? Careful, mommy." I wanted to laugh, but explained that there are no monsters in his closet and then showed him how there were only clothes and toys. He still looked skeptical, but it explained why he always wants his closet door closed lately. Also, last night he was taking a bath and we heard this odd sound from outside. It was like a whizzing sound and I honestly have no idea what it was. Matthew asked me what the sound was and I told him I didn't know. He asked if it was a lawn mower and I told him I didn't think so, so he tried to climb out of the tub...he was totally freaked out!!! So, I took him out of the tub and put a towel around him and tried to bring him to his room to diaper and dress him. He wanted none of this and ran out naked to the living room where Andy's parents were waiting. I then heard squeels when they saw him running around naked. Quite funny. It took Matthew about half an hour and Andy coming home to comfort him, before Matthew finally calmed down.

Brody has recently begun pointing at everything. Horses, cows, birds, trees; anything that he sees he points at and then babbles totally unintelligibly but he gets so excited. Very cute.

Brody has also become extremely attached to blankies lately. He used to try to grab Matthew's blanky and then crawl away with it as quickly as possible with a wicked little smile on his face. As one might imagine, this did not go over very well with Matthew, so I started giving Brody his own blanky. Brody LOVES this and complaines, loudly, if Matthew has a blanky and he doesn't.

Walking, Pushing and Tantrums

On Thursday, Brody was walking around his little play table and he wanted his truck. Apparently he thought he was still holding the table because he took a few steps towards the truck sans table. It was awesome!!! He has done this several times since, but I have yet to catch this on camera.

On Friday, Brody sat on Matthew's push Pooh car. I pushed him around the house and he laughed hysterically. Matthew wanted in on this so he pushed me out of the way and took over pushing Brody around. I turned on the video camera just in time to catch Matthew shoving the car and thus, Brody right into the wall. Unfortunately for Brody, Matthew was fascinated by this and jammed Brody and his car into the wall again. Brody did not find this amusing at all and started crying...also on tape. One would think that I would have learned my lesson, but alas that was not the case. I allowed Matthew to push Brody again and there was another unfortunate collision.

Now for the unpleasantness. Matthew has been a monster of late; he's just plain intolerable. He falls on the floor in hysterics over every little thing that doesn't go his way and the tantrums last and last and last. Not a happy home lately. On Friday we went to the hospital to visit Peggy. When we left, even though I warned Matthew of our impending departure, he freaked out. He threw himself onto the floor, several embarassing times, and tried to trip me all the way back to the car. He's lucky there are laws against abandoning children because the thought did cross my mind several times.

Injections

On Monday, Brody had his one year well-check appointment with Dr. Levine. Brody weighs 24lbs and 6oz...what a pig:)...he's 30.5 inches long and his head circumference is 18.5 inches. He is at right around the 70th percentile all around, so at least his body isn't all mismatched. He did not like having the doctor probe him and screamed loudly enough to let astronauts visiting space know about his displeasure.

Following the appointment, both boys needed inoculations...fun, fun, fun. Matthew went first and as I wasn't able to hold him on my lap because I was holding Brody, he was VERY unhappy with the injection. He wouldn't even let the nurse give him a sticker afterwards; apparently he was worried that she would jab him again. Then it was Brody's turn. He received four injections with his screams getting progressively louder. I'm not sure if it was his intention to cause permanent hearing loss, but it's possible that I may never hear the same again.

Brody's injections really affected him negatively that day. After he woke up from his nap, I was unable to comfort him from his discomfort (or pain) and he just cried and cried. I gave him some ibuprofin and took the boys on a walk on the Iron Horse trail where Brody finally calmed down. Matthew, who is having a difficult time differentiating fantasy from reality, kept pointing out different elephants that were coming our way and the myriad of different animals in the trees...I believe pandas were one of the animals identified. I wasn't aware that they lived outside of zoos in North America, but Matthew set me straight.

Brody Took Three Steps

Yesterday, Andy and I sat in the living room about a foot from each other and took turns holding Brody up. I was holding Brody up and sending him towards Andy and Brody took three steps. He repeated this several times until he decided he had had enough and simply plopped down onto his chubby tush and wouldn't even support himself on his legs. It was really cute and I didn't catch it on video as I was too busy in the moment...so I'm capturing the moment in writing instead. I want to note that Brody has taken one step at a time over the past several days, but this was the first time that he took more than one step at a time.

Golden Gate Bridge

We took Matthew and Brody to the Golden Gate Bridge today. It was perfect walking weather and we were fortunate because there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Matthew was so excited to walk over a bridge and the see "all the water". However, I have to be honest, I think the novelty may have worn off after the first fifty feet. After that, Matthew seemed more intent on giving Andy a coronary worrying that he would either fall into the bay or into oncoming traffic. Altogether, it was quite amusing for me. Anyway, we only made it to the halfway point because of Andy's concern and also due to the fact that Matthew was getting...a bit fussy is the nicest way I can think of putting this.



Afterwards, we picked up some dim sum and picnicked at the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito. The boys loved the food and then had a blast playing in all the different areas. We tired them out...and ourselves in the process.



Later this afternoon, I somehow upset Matthew...not difficult to do. He told Andy that, "Mommy needs to go to sleep." I truly wish that I could have, but I'm guessing that that would not have gone over too well with Andy.



Anyway, nothing else of interest really happened today.