Art playing a bugle two years ago.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiAORWoK_8s?fs=1&hl=en_US&w=640&h=385]
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I like this weekly moment.
Every Tuesday we put our bag of dirty diapers on the porch and sometime during the morning a man from Do Good Diapers comes and swaps them out with a bag o' clean ones. After I unload the bag onto our diaper shelves I get to enjoy this brief site - 140 diapers stacked up high (thanks, Nan!). The girls are so "productive" now in their eight week-old age we actually run out before the week is over. get Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5
"This is the best present in the whole world."
We heard variations of that sentiment all day today after Art received his cornet this morning. Jessica and I had decided long ago that we'd give Art the instrument for his birthday. A year or so ago he played an old trumpet at the cottage and seemed quite natural at it and clearly had fun. On the advice of MN Orchestra principal trumpet player Manny Laureano (Jessica's friend and former youth orchestra conductor!), we wanted to start Art with a cornet. And Jessica's Uncle Dick, a fine musician and musical renaissance man of sorts, offered to give us the old (and working) one he bought a garage sale years ago for his daughter. Which was wonderful and saved us a great deal of money and gives the instrument even more meaning to our family. Thanks so much, Dick! Anyway, Art has opened and closed the case more than 20 times today and played it on all three levels of our home. His nap was cut short as he came down the stairs looking for his cornet. And his tone and sounds have ...
Art's fifth birthday.
Bubbe's delicious chocolate birthday cake. Aunt Ashley sewed Art a lovely scarf. A gift.
Netta and Bailey IN MOTION!
I post this only for the hardest of core fans of Netta and Bailey. It's just a long boring video of them being babies. Jess and I and Bubbe just watched the whole thing as if it was some intense drama we couldn't take our eyes off... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hma5qGL65cU?fs=1&hl=en_US&w=480&h=385]
A cool marble train Art and I made.
Pre-knock-down-desrciption: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrDBu7v0NE4?fs=1&hl=en_US&w=480&h=385] action sequence (soundtrack provided by Lewis and his harmonica): [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IJT02Qmuiw?fs=1&hl=en_US&w=480&h=385]
Cousins with baby fever.
All my Minnesota cousins came over the other night. And Amy (left) and Sarah were particularly hungry to hold babies (and have their own). They picked them up as soon as they walked in the door.
An affectionate Lew.
"He's so affectionate," said Bubbe about Lewis. And it's true, lately he's be more huggy and touchy, which is really wonderful when his body is as squishy and fun to hug as his.
Please pass the baby.
We had a lovely Thanksgiving at Nance and Brian's big wonderful home in St. Paul (Jess' Aunt and Uncle and the house--or backyard--where we were married).
Art likes a part in this Outkast song...
"Hey Ya!" is one of Art's favorite songs. He just told me, after watching a high school video of the song, "I like the part where he says Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor! " (cue sheepish laugh...) here's the video we had posted a while back : [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPTd8MgAeqI?fs=1&hl=en_US&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6&w=560&h=340]
We don't have two girls, we have two babies.
I was talking with Jessica yesterday how it feels like we have two babies in our house. Not daughters, not really even Bailey or Netta. They're just babies and we take care of them (and yes, love them). At night in the dark we rarely call them by their name. Rather, I got a baby, you got a baby, I'm going to change this baby, I think that's your baby crying, my baby is nice and quiet, I think your baby made a poop, no, that was my baby, or was is just a fart? etc, etc. I feel sorta bad for folks all excited about having a baby and then when it's in the world it just cries and poos and keeps you up at night. In my view (and I'm enjoying letting myself be entirely cynical right now) babies aren't all that fun. In fact, they're often a pain in the ass. And doubly so for us. But that's OK, I can take the long view. I know how much fun they'll be when they can smile, react, laugh, talk, walk, be girls . I'm really excited about the latter. How are gir...
Poorly transcribed voicemail.
As I've done before, below is the text from a voicemail Jessica left me as transcribed by Google Voice. Funny stuff...Gotta stop buying Jessica daisies! "Hey baby, it's me. I'm going to bed. Hopefully, it has to speaking on it. I don't want to go to bed an hour and a half ago but the girls has not been corporate defendants Susi, or anything, just if i wanted to. They come down, he's. Talk to you down. So I guess. I just told him for a little. 45 minutes I don't want them to you. I'm really bored of daisies today. Hey please take to spend the whole day in the house species, and a week going to...
What Ben photographed last night.
HS state finals, Bemidji vs. Rosemount. http://photo.twincities.com/ssp/m/embed.js SlideShowPro({ attributes: { id: "album-3326", width: 800, height: 600 }, mobile: { auto: false }, params: { bgcolor: "#000000", allowfullscreen: true }, flashvars: { xmlFilePath: "http://photo.twincities.com/ssp/images.php?album=3326" } });
Domino Train!
Art is into making domino trains lately. We've been watching them on Youtube (our favorites are made by Flippycat , like the one posted below) and he's been making them himself. He's getting more creative all the time and he's quite adept at setting the wobbly dominoes steadily and in just the right spacing. The other day he was occupied for twenty minutes or so while I nursed just making domino trains. Here's one he worked on today... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC3GBCtoRDo&w=640&h=390]
Jessica's drawing.
A couple years ago I took a photography workshop in Berkeley and posted this photo of me during the booooring parts taken with the fancy built in camera on their souped up computers. Jessica has always been fan of this photo, laughing even at the thought of it. And today, without seeing the original, she drew it on Art's little magnetic drawing thingy. Not bad, eh?
The longest 3 hours of my life... Twice.
Well, that would be exaggerating, but I this has definitely been the most challenging daylight hours so far. Nights are good. The girls go back to sleep after nursing quite easily and there is a good three or four hours between waking times. But during the day they are nearly un-putdownable, and today I was basically on my own. In the morning it was just me and the girls with Lewis and I spent nearly every minute from 9am when Ben took Art to school to 12:30 when my mom came over holding one or both babies, and much of the time nursing (they're undoubtedly going through their six-week growth spurt and "putting in an order" for more milk). So 3 1/2 hours in the morning was spent with babies in my arms or at the breast while I made snacks for Lewis, made domino trains with Lewis, watched a show with Lewis or made marble toys with Lewis, all while Trudy from Two Betties cleaning scrubbed and mopped for us. By the time my mom arrived I was fried, and so ready for my daily...
a serious question jessica just asked lewis.
"Lewis, why is your butt so cold?" --sent from my handheld device--
Special time with Art!
Around our house spending time alone with a grown-up, without your brother, is called "special time". Yesterday Art was needing some with his mama so I told him we would make it happen. So our special time was going to the co-op together. I told him that we could get him a treat that we would eat it after the shopping was done. And so he chose gummy bears from the bulk section. I chose Hokey Pokey (toffee covered popcorn with almonds!). While I paid for the groceries Art parked himself at one of the tables and waited for me. Then we sat down together and ate our treats. I got Art a good half cup or so of the bears and told him he could eat them all at once or save some - it was up to him. I purposely did not mention Lewis or sharing or anything because i had read in a book that each child needs to have time when they can be solely the center of attention and not have to think about or be fair to their brother. Anyway, Art said I could decide if he should finish the ...
Snow day.
Some photos from this morning spent sledding at Powderhorn with Lewis, Art and his friend Silas.
Before and after.
Art and Si found a huge snowball at Powderhorn which, like all good boys, they immediately took to destroying.
1 minute 20 seconds of basement wrestling.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RKui3faRy8&w=480&h=390]
Our first snow.
We woke up to a blanket of thick wet snow. Art and Lewis were thrilled. Jessica heard Art wake up early and walk to the window. Then, "Lewis....LEWIS!" "What, Art?" said a sleepy, now awake Lewis. "Look, Lewis, SNOW!" Jessica has been going to sleep early lately. Earlier anyway. Her normal routine (when I'm at work) is to put Art and Lew to bed, feed the girls, then head to sleep by nine or nine thirty. No TV, no facebooking or emailing, just sleeping. and no blogging either. Which is why you may have noticed less posts by her as of late. I have time at work and at home late after folks are in bed to post stuff. Anyway, back to the snow. They kids got up, dressed, and played in the snow for a half hour before oatmeal was ready. We usually go to ECFE class saturday mornings but Art refused, instead wanting to play in the snow and go sledding. So I went on my first solo outing with the girls to ECFE and jess went sledding with the boys. And, as a tired J...
Uncle Dick's pix.
Dick just posted some photos on facebook from the brunch we had last week in celebration of Bubbe's retirement. I ripped them off facebook to post here. thanks, Dick! Bubbe and a baby. Lots of girls on a couch.