oh, please don't swallow that!

Gabrielle has a new "trick" with her pacifier. She flips it sideways and pulls it almost all the way into her mouth then sucks vigorously. (If you look close, you can even see the drool dripping out of her mouth.) The first time I saw this, about a week ago, it scared me quite a bit. I thought she might inhale it the way she was sucking on it. Silly girl. It always starts out in her mouth normally but then sometimes she pulls it in farther so you have this:




Also, she puts everything, everything in her mouth now. She can't quite crawl yet, but she scoots and rolls everywhere, so we have to be super careful not to have anything little on the floor. And, she wants to eat everything, everything we eat. I'm trying to carefully introduce as many solids as I can so that she can soon start eating what we eat. She still doesn't have any teeth, but she gums things very well. Soon we'll be past the baby jars of food and on to regular food. She is growing way too fast. So far, she LOVES carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, peaches, and bananas. She likes rice cereal, pears and applesauce and thought squash was okay. She did not like chicken with chicken broth at all, but she'll eat it if we mix it with carrots or sweet potatoes.

too cute

Ella was on a hat kick this past week. She wanted to wear her Old Navy hat nearly every day. I think she is adorable with her hat on.

terrible threes

I don't know why people call it the terrible twos. I really think three is much harder than two. But I had a mini-epiphany this week. My Ella is a sweet girl, but she can be a handful. There are moments that she really challenges us and wears on our patience. I was thinking about this a few days ago and wondering if it was a) just her age, b) her own personality, c)something I'd done wrong, or d) all of the above.

The answer: e) probably all of the above plus the fact that in many ways she has had a difficult year. I worried a lot about how Michelle would react when Ella was born, but I guess this time I have been pretty busy thinking about how I would handle another baby. So a couple of days ago, it just hit me that part of her terrible threes are probably a reflection of the changes to happen in her little life this year. Michelle, her very best friend and playmate, started school and is no longer with her all day long. Gabrielle was born. Alfredo changed jobs and works Monday through Friday. Previously, he'd always been home with the girls 1 or 2days a week. And then in January, she changed from the only babysitter she knew to a new babysitter. That is a lot of changes for a little girl of only 3 (almost 4) years old. It doesn't excuse tantrums or bad behavior, but it has given me more empathy for her and patience to deal with it.

science fiction fan

Apparently, we have a science fiction fan on our hands. Quite often lately, after I've put the girls to bed, I go up to my room a little later to discover that Ella has snuck up to my room. She is in my bed, "reading" Ender's Game. Night after night, it has been the same book in the same spot at the same time. We have a fan of Orson Scott Card... or at least of reading... or at least of staying up past bedtime. Probably all of the above.

So Big!

I think the pictures speak for themselves on this post. Gabrielle has gotten so big, so quickly. She is now sitting up by herself. (Although, she still falls over ocassionally.) She is rolling. She squirms her way across the room. She does a million push-ups a day. If I did as many push ups and scrunches as she did, my abs and arms would look a lot better! :) By sweet baby is growing way too fast.

heartbreaker

Apparently,Alfredo needs to start worrying about the boys already. Michelle announced to me yesterday after school that Alexis loves her. Today, when I picked her up, she told me, "Alexis really does love me, Mom. He kissed me today." So I asked her to tell me what happened. Here is the scoop, in as close to her words as I can recall.

Well, see, today was Friday, so it was a short day. So after school, I went to after school program and we went outside on the playground. Alexis was there with his sister. I don't know why; maybe his mom didn't come to pick him up or maybe she was in the car letting him play for a little bit. I don't know. So we played with Alexis. Then he had to leave. As he left, he turned and did this. (Michelle puts her hand to her lips, and blows a kiss. I clarify: "So he blew you a kiss?" She nods.) He did that to me, Mom! Really! So see, he does love me. Well, I don't know if he loves me or just likes me. But he doeslike or love me.

As for Michelle's feelings on the matter? Who is to say? She can't decide whether boys are fun to play with or gross.

clean

just have to celebrate that i cleaned and vacuumed my car this evening. it is so nice and clean. that's all. it made me happy.