Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The Last Lake Photos

As Sophie told me today when she got home from school:" Did you know Mommy, that tomorrow is the first day of Fall? Do you know what is in the Fall? First my birthday, then Noah's, then the babies', then Halloween!" She got more and more excited as she went down her list of Fall happenings, after all, Halloween and your birthday in one month is pretty exciting. As an ode to the last day of summer, here are some more pics of our great summer vacation. My sister Mary just emailed these to me.

Sophie and Dave make the trek from the dock back up to the house



Sophie on one of her many jumps from the slide into the water



Kelly shows Sophie how to give Emily the "tornado top" made famous by yours truely. This photo is now my new wallpaper, it makes me laugh out loud.



Carly driving Rhonda the Honda with passengers Alex, Kelly and Sophie

Emily has reached a milestone of her own, and I was surprised when I first saw her do it, and thought it was just a fluke, but she has now done it several more times today. She is standing on her own! She will pull up on me with one hand, keeping the other one out for balance, then once she is balanced, will let go and stand for about 10 seconds. It is pretty funny to see this tiny thing standing on her own. Michael is getting braver too, he can now cruise with just one hand holding on to the furniture. The race is on to see who walks first!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Just Stuff

I don't have any new pictures to post, and nothing too exciting has happened this week, but here is an update anyway......

I have added the link for my nephew Frank's blog, it is Carpe Diem. Frank left last week to go to Taiwan for a year. He will teach English to grade school children, and will also introduce them to American culture. He graduated from Appalachian State this past spring, and plans on going to law school. Frank is our oldest nephew, and first grandchild, as he is fond of pointing out. He and his father came to Atlanta for the Notre Dame/Tech game last weekend, and we were able to spend some time with them. Sophie LOVED Frank, and was very disappointed when he left. I haven't seen much of him in the past few years, and was impressed at what a well rounded young man he has turned into. I know he will have a lot of adventures in Taiwan, and look forward to keeping in better touch.

In baby news, Emily has had a horrible diaper rash...yes, this is the excitement in my life. It got so bad I had to take her to the pediatrician. Turns out her varied diet is to blame, and the output from that is irritating to her skin. (Tried to be as delicate as possible in my description of the problem!) I have been making their food since they started on solids, so she is getting the real thing and sometimes that can be more abrasive. The doctor told me to make a paste of Vaseline and cornstarch, and use it with every diaper change. It looks like Crisco, but has worked really well. Overnight the change was incredible. She still has some blisters, but nothing compared to what it was a few days ago. And to top it off, my mother was right...AGAIN. She had been touting the virtues of cornstarch, but I was reluctant to try anything new before we saw the doctor.

The other thing my mother was right about....the playpen, or as we call it these days, the pack and play. She has been subtly hinting that I should be using it, but I just hadn't seen the need, as they are pretty good at staying in the family room. With Emily's rash, she needed to "air out" and the only place to contain her was the pack and play, lined with a waterproof sheet. I put her in, gave her some washable toys and she had a blast. So much so that Michael crawled over, pulled himself up, and fussed until I put him in with her. They played and laughed with each other for 40 minutes; I was astounded. So, now we have a new place for containment, which also serves as a barrier between the family room and the kitchen.

And I have learned that yes, mother does (sometimes) know best!

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

One Day She'll Thank Me

I sensed a bit of "Oh Mom, do I have to?" when I brought out the sign for Sophie to pose with on her first day of school. I think she just wanted to get there, never mind posing for pictures, bring on the playdoh and creative moment, for goodness sake!!

Here she is in all her glory:



We also had to get a shot of her with Michael and Emily, and Miss Sity. Miss Sity is a wonderful lady, and has been taking care of the babies one morning a week since January. That is my day to take Sophie to school myself, walk her in unencumbered, and then get tons of errands done before picking her up. The kids all love Miss Sity.....as do I!

Michael and Emily have a new pastime, it is one Sophie loved at their age. It is called: Stand at the window and see what's going on. This can occupy them, especially Michael, for 20 minutes at a stretch. As soon as they are down on the floor after breakfast, they make a break for the window in the family room. Can you tell who is who is this photo?

Michael's other big accomplishment.......drum roll, please....he can sit unassisted!! Granted, he would rather not sit still, there is too much to see and do on the move, but he can do it if necessary.

Another fun pastime for the twins, stealing whatever toy the other one has. They do not get mad about it, they are laughing as they swipe it back and forth. So far so good in that regard, no screaming matches yet.

Notice how unfazed Emily is when Michael ends up with both the spatula AND the leftover dish. She knows there is more to life than Mom's old kitchen stuff.....

And of course, the ever popular "baby in a box". Childhood wouldn't be complete without it!

As you can see, they are so much fun right now. 10 months old and almost walking, just like their big sister. We have lots of bumps and bruises between the two of them, I think Michael has a bruise on his forehead constantly. But that doesn't slow him down. He barely even cries anymore when he "bonks" as Sophie calls it. I can't believe they will be a year in less then two months, time does fly.