I just can't help myself.

Should I warn you that this will be picture heavy? Or is that just a given? Also, is that why you still come here?

Can I talk about Lucas for a bit?


He loves phones, and remotes. As is typical of this age.

He will scream bloody murder if you take it away. For a long time. And maybe try to bite you.

If you ask him to do something that he does not like, he will raspberry at you. He especially does this to Matt.

He is NOT a snuggler.

But I still force him to do it anyway.

He looks cute in silly hats?

I had to work that picture in somehow because it slays me.

He's very attached to his mom.


Very.


I mean, a lot.


Like, way too much.


His sisters fight over him, as though he's their plaything.

He loves it. And works it.



He plays favorites. Which sometimes leaves his other siblings feeling left out.



But don't worry, he lets them love on him.


And despite his pinching (ow!) and scratching (ow! ow!) and biting (ow!!!!), we still love him. LOTS.


We think we'll keep him. And his new teeth too.

The nerdiness of my husband reigns supreme.

My friend noted that today she reached 300 posts on her blog. Congrats!

Which lead me to wonder exactly how many posts I had... you know, to be competitive and all that. So I clicked over to my blog and noted this:

I started this blog on January 5, 2007. As of December 31, 2008, I had EXACTLY 300 posts. I pointed out the coolness of this (almost exactly 2 years and exactly 300 posts) to my sweet husband.

His response: "ZOMG!" Literally.

Are you an internet dork? If so, you know what OMG (Oh My Goodness!) means.
Don't know what ZOMG! means?

Why does he have to be so mean?

And don't worry Maleen. You'll overtake me soon. You post with much more regularity.

MishMash

*So, it's finally dipped into the 40s overnight here. Which means it's about 62 degrees during the day. Ah! Finally! Jacket weather! Yay for jacket weather! Matt's actually sitting here in our house right now with a scarf on. We've become total wimps.

*Matt's work had layoffs today. We were NOT among the 40 people they laid off, thank goodness. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who did get laid off.

*Lucas had his 9 month well-child check yesterday. Can you believe it's been 9 months?! HOLY FREAKING MOLY! He has gained 14 ounces in the last 6 weeks. Which is twice what he had gained in the previous six weeks, but still less than they would like. My pediatrician agreed with the Endocrinologist that he's perfectly healthy! Yay!


*Abbie can officially ride a two-wheeler. Finally. She's almost 7. She probably would have learned sooner if I had had the patience. She now spends every day after school riding her bike up and back our little strip of sidewalk. Anna and Miles join her and they wear themselves completely out. This works to my advantage. They're in bed asleep by 7:30p.

*We had some good friends over today for bike riding/scooter scooting/roller skating. It led me to believe that we may have too many forms of locomotion. 3 bikes (2 with training wheels), 2 scooters (1 three wheeled), a tricycle, 2 pair of roller skates, and 3 "baby" cars. Why do I get the feeling that it's only going to get worse? I was kindof thinking about getting a bike myself.


(Totally not my kid. But the cutest thing ever that wasn't mine.)



*Poor Miles. It's not that he's clumsy necessarily. It's just that he's excited. He has skinned the same knee 3 times in as many days. And then yesterday it was the other knee. Good thing we're well stocked on Band-Aids.


*My kids are so cool.

One for tonight.

The cutest Sunbeam in all the land. (Except for each of yours, of course.)

Need BabyProofing Help.

You see, this youngest child. He's a wild one.

We've never lived in an apartment or house with stairs before. And especially not with a highly mobile yet unstable child. I think you can see where this is going.


3 times today, I caught him halfway up our 12 stairs (there is a "landing" in the middle). And while I'm thrilled he can go up, I'm not so thrilled with the one time a couple of weeks ago when he flopped like a rag-doll down the stairs and onto the tile. Yes, mother of the year! So, obviously coming down is a problem.

And boy, does he love those stairs. If you catch him on the first step or two, and start to get close, he'll speed up. Racing up the stairs as fast as he can. Gah! What's a mother to do!?

Babyproof, you say?

Well, here's the deal. I have no problem putting a baby gate at the top of the stairs. Two sturdy walls, and I've already got a gate! Woo!

The problem is the bottom of the stairs. They look like this:


There's no other side to support a baby gate. I'm totally stumped.

And so, dear internet of wisdom and love, I turn to you.
Any bright ideas?

Q: What's better than having a baby?

A: When 6! SIX! of your sisters/sisters-in-law are having babies in the next 9 months.

I'd better get my little fingers stitching and crocheting and knitting.

I've got 6 new babies to outfit!

These are the faces of:

Happy Kids.

I don't know about you, but I always feel like a good parent when I let my kids lick the beaters.

Sugar High.

Doesn't he look just a tad crazed after all that cookie dough?

Fun.

This kid has so much fun with his brother and sisters.

Friendship.

Really and truly. They're friends.

Fatherhood.

I can only speak for me here, but I think Matt likes it.

Happy.

She has had a great (3 week long!) vacation. I've played more "Guess Who?" and "Ticket to Ride" and "Farkle" than any one person should have to play in a lifetime. But it's been fun (hurry up Monday!)

Allergies.

Matt's been miserable for many days now with allergy related issues. Poor guy.

Distraction.

She was very intently drawing and was kindof annoyed that I made her look at me. Nice hair, eh?

Nerd.

This poor child has a lifetime of nerditude ahead. I can already tell.

What? Appalled that I've not made an appearance. Take it up with management.

HAHAHAHA!