Bunny Bloopers

I got these cute bunny ears at Target, but I never got really good pictures of the kids in them.


I did catch Nathan playing with them out on the deck Friday morning (Amelia is in his lap and Seth is out of the frame)...and poor Colette wore them one day, too (notice she's trying to hide under the bed...yes, the ears are on her rump).

swiped from an email

I just got these words of wisdom in an email...and I had to share:

And my personal favorite:

What I learned over spring break

Seth has an occasional imaginary friend. His name is "the other Seth". Which is not so weird, when you consider of the 15 kids in his preschool class, there are two Jacks, a Jackson, a Jaxon, an Aubrey, and Aubree, a Kaitlyn, and a Peyton. Of course his friend is the other Seth!

Amelia talks in her sleep. When I came home from work Monday night, she was talking to her "bubba" (Seth).

Amelia has become a climber. Exhibit A (where she stands and screams "NANA! NANA!" because she can see the fruit): Exhibit B, trying to climb over my footboard. I have also caught her trying to scale the baby gate and the outside edge of the stairs. This all started when she realized that she could climb up on the couch if she could step on Nathan's sneaker first. No surface is safe.

When a 32+ pound boy runs into the bedroom door frame (specifically the metal piece where the lock latches), the house will win. It looked like extreme whiplash from my point of view, and when I went to try figure out where he hit, there was a bunch of blond hair stuck to the metal. He pretty much scalped himself. In his hairline he has a lovely scab shaped like South Carolina. He was really tough about it, but it's significant enough that he brings it up to everyone he meets. (Are you placing bets yet about which one will end up in the ER first?)

Amelia is learning the fine art of negotiation. One evening it actually wasn't raining last week (because it is a cruel joke to have that much rain when the kids are out of school for eleven days straight), I wanted to take a walk before bathtime, because it messes up Amelia's evening routine if she takes a bath too early. She's usually so messy at dinner that a nightly bath is a necessity. A: "Bath?" S: "No walk first, bath later." A: "No. No. No. ......bath?" She tried getting sweeter each time she asked, like maybe she'd get her way.

Try as I might, I cannot get Seth to nap anymore (although he MAY be asleep as I type this). We've had various degrees of quiettime over the past week. The result?
Seth has been going to bed earlier than Amelia this week, most nights crashing on the couch without much notice. Oh, Amelia walked twice at the library last Tuesday but has yet to truly repeat the performance, but she has been trying a little more, so I think her staying up later is because she's wound up about almost walking, if the parenting books are to be believed. She will stand up unsupported for long periods of time if she has something in her hands. Empty hands? Kaboom on the floor.

By the way, Seth is growing like a weed right now. His whole life, he has been proportioned like Nathan, with a long torso, but right now he is ALL legs. I've had to buy 4T pants and cinch them in as far as they will go, and if this keeps up, they won't fit in the fall. Thank goodness it's almost shorts season...Amelia's first lollipop: she had gotten a little booboo, but quickly forgot about it when she thought she was getting away with something! Her hair is out of control, especially in the afternoons, but I'm trying to keep a clippy in as much as possible because there are about 4 hairs that actually hang down in her eyes. I'm waiting for the day she can have a Pebbles pigtail on top!

It was a beautiful weekend and we got to spend a lot of time outside. Seth is an excellent helper with yardwork, and has become our personal worm relocator. All four of us have started battling spring allergies, and it looks like Amelia might have bad ones. But it might be teeth too, since she has no less than five fighting over which will come in next (she only has four right now, she could use a few more). I took Zyrtec yesterday and felt great...I couldn't take allergy medicine last year, it's going to be great not feeling miserable every time I go outside!

Spring break was fun, but now I'm ready to get back in the routine again tomorrow...hurray, preschool!

March for Babies 2009

I didn't register as early as I usually do, but if you feel so inclined, please sponsor me (and the kids) as we participate in the March of Dimes' March for Babies on April 18th. I believe you can click on the toolbar in the right-hand column of the blog to get to my page. Thanks!

Boonebeerys

We have played with our last names since before the tabloids starting doing it for celebrities. Black-berry, Mayserby, Liseal Blackbeery? (Did I get that one right?) Anyways, introducing the Boonebeerys. Lisa and Michael found out today that they will spend the next academic year in Boone, NC for their internships. The Mayse household is thrilled that they will be half their current distance from us. We are already thinking about a fall trip to Tweetsie, a winter tubing trip...and then Lisa reminded me that there is an outlet mall there. Yippee!

Seth's first concert

First, let me say I totally jinxed us in the last post. Saturday afternoon we were all totally stir-crazy and got on each other's nerves. But Sunday was a new day, and Seth and I had big plans. We headed down to Charlotte mid-morning and walked around Uptown to find something to eat. Nathan and Amelia stayed at the condo, and Seth and I left for our date. We had third row seats to Laurie Berkner! I receive email alerts from Ticketmaster for kid shows, I guess because we went to see the Backyardigans show last summer. Anyways, I never saw this concert advertised anywhere else, but it must have been because there were a ton of kids there yesterday. Laurie doesn't tour often, but I highly recommend her show if you have a young one who's into Noggin the next time she is out your way. Totally worth the (slightly pricey) ticket!



Who knew Laurie had a Victor Vito book?

Why kids' events (and doctor appointments) never start on time is beyond me, but luckily we had our trusty digital camera to play around with...

Being in the third row, Seth was one of the first kids to get in the kiddie mosh pit below the stage (thank goodness for the hat, he was easy to spot), but in true Seth fashion, he got scared when too many kids got up front. Oh, and the hat hid a tissue that he used throughout the day to wipe his allergy-stricken nose. His idea, not ours! And of course, kids were peaking up on the stage, and as the show went on, kids were sitting on the stage, so of course, Seth HAD to do that:

A shot from our actual seats:

Bye Susie, Adam, Laurie, and Bobby, we had a great time!

When we got back to the condo, we picked up Nathan and Amelia and headed back home. Amelia can't understand why she had to ride in the car that much to eat some pickles and take a nap. I promised her that someday she'd get a big solo adventure, too.

Here is a playlist (not necessarily in the right order, I kept notes on the ticket stub in crayon) for all you other Laurie junkies out there (and I have attached videos): Victor Vito/Walk Along the River/Rocketship Run/Mouse in my Toolbox/Bumblebee/I'm Not Perfect/Running down the hill/Thunderstorm/Jump and Fly/Five Days Old/The Goldfish/I'm Going to Catch You/Shady Tree/Going on a Hunt/Pig on her Head/I Know a Chicken/We Are the Dinosaurs/Telephone/Goodbye Song

My favorite part was when they segued into the Beatles' version of Twist and Shout during "The Goldfish"...if you ask Seth today what his favorite part was, he starts singing "We are the Dinosaurs" (which was cool because they played a birthday surprise on Laurie during that song), because it was the first song they played in their encore, and he REALLY REALLY wanted to hear that one. But yesterday, I thought he was going to have a heart attack when they played "Victor Vito" as the first song. It was a great way to start his spring break.

late March misc.

It has done nothing but rain since we woke up on Wednesday. We're not stir-crazy yet, but hopefully the sun will come out again soon. We can't wait to use our swingset again. Nathan filled up the sandbox Tuesday. It's a hit!

Seth has not stopped talking since I picked him up at school on Tuesday. It is amazing. I thought my head would explode before Nathan got home that day, but I guess I've gotten used to it. The friends we've seen this week have commented on how much more conversational he is. I know our families have noticed a change recently, but this week there has been an exponential change.

Seth was the "Wonder Worm" at school this week, which meant he got to bring in snack, a favorite book (he picked Yertle the Turtle), and pictures/artwork to put on the bulletin board.

Some more preschool projects:

Amelia is trying to cut out her morning nap, but can only tolerate life without it about every third day. She is sleeping about eleven hours at night now, and waking up around 7am! It's sickening the amount of sleep I've gotten this week. I know I can't possible catch up on the hours lost over the past year, but I'm off to a good fresh start!

Swingset!

We bit the bullet and bought a swingset for the backyard. Save money, shop at Walmart. This is a really good swingset for a couple hundred less than the "R Us" variety. Plus it comes from a sustainable forest, if you're green like that (we try). Eric came over to help assemble the swingset. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Eric! Since Eric makes custom cabinets and adirondack chairs and the like on the side, Nathan gladly took on the sidekick position, being all sorts of useful, like this:

The kids not-so-patiently waited for the project to be complete, and there were five eager testers when they were given the okay to play:

Nathan built the ladder/rockwall and the slide earlier in the week, and I was his handy sidekick. I also made sure all the lumber and hardware were sorted for the appropriate steps, but that was the extent of my involvement.

The finished product!

Celebrating spring!

Friday we celebrated the first day of spring by having a pool party in the bathtub! Seth picked out Amelia's new suit: We also bought a new suit for Seth, but it was too big, so he had to wear his old one:

They had a blast!

"Are they yours?"

That has to be the most annoying question on the planet. Yes, not-so-sweet old lady at the grocery store. Yes, redneck Bojangles employee. I have the scar to prove it, and I came home with the same kids I met in the operating room. Twice in the span of thirty minutes yesterday I was asked this. I used to get asked it all the time when Seth was a baby, but lately I've only been asked where they get their blond hair from (which is a better question in my mind).

In last month's issue of Parenting, there was an article written by two parents, one who adopted a child from South America, one whose child is biracial, about their experiences with this same question. I wanted to write in and say I can understand how frustrating it must be for them, because it annoys the heck out of me.

leprechaun shenanigans

I guess the leprechauns stopped by our house on their way to the preschool. Seth woke up to find every book in his room standing on end... ...and his chair on top of the table!

Seth tells us there were footprints around the preschool, and the leprechauns came three times and messed up their classroom...the worst was when they found the kitchen set knocked over! They sent the leprechauns back to Ireland and locked the classroom door. Problem solved. Except now whenever Seth finds something out of place, he thinks the leprechauns did it. No Seth, Mommy is just lazy and didn't put (insert item here) away yet.

Here are my two kiddos in green...and my, how you've grown in the past year...

Amelia got beaucoups de compliments on her outfit yesterday at the gym and running errands. You know this is a loaner from Blair, I wouldn't know how to pick out something with bows!

mid-March misc.

Here are a few more pictures from our trip to Kings Mountain:

What I found in Seth's backpack this week:This is the preschool's latest fundraiser. They turn the kids' artwork into a magnet you could buy for $5. And who's not going to buy their child's marker and tissue paper caterpillar scene?

Just like Super Sudsy Bubblestein...

One of the first Jack's Big Music Show episodes we ever DVR'd for Seth was the one where Mel (the dog) was digging up trombones and needed a bath. Super Sudsy Bubblestein (Cheryl Hines) came to give him a bath, and they all played trombones at the end. Maybe that is why Seth was so interested in his daddy's old trombone in Kings Mountain this weekend. So interested, in fact, that it now has a home in our basement:

And so you can hear for yourselves:

Elise's baby shower

Saturday Marie, Mary (Elise's BFF), and I threw a baby shower for Elise. We had so much fun! (or at least I did) Here is the diaper cake I made (notice the sheep on top...Elise loves sheep, Chad does not...): The cake Mary ordered:

The little guy is going to have a St. Louis Cardinals themed nursery:

His cousins are jealous that his basketball has Rufus on it, because theirs all have boring ol' Raymond Felton on them...

Diaper bag that is manly enough for Chad to carry:

Elise has the cutest little belly, and hopefully she will keep sending pictures of it (hint hint) because we probably won't see her again until the little guy makes his grand entrance. Then Charleston, here we come!

we share so well

We're even sharing our misery! Amelia started showing signs of a stomach bug Sunday, and it has run its course through the entire family. I was the second one down, so luckily I was on the mend before the boys started getting sick. There has been a lot of washing and cleaning going on tonight. I haven't even been really watching the DWTS premiere! But on to more pleasant things...We had a fairly quiet week last week after all the craziness of the week before.

Seth was coloring while Amelia was having snack, she gave it a whirl...
Playing peekaboo with daddy at the playground Saturday.

Lots of outside time! The weather has been beautiful. It's hard to believe there was snow on the ground Tuesday.

Seth brought a whole assortment of toys out to play with (by the way, Amelia doesn't like hats like her brother does).

Playing chase in the front yard...Amelia crawls in slow motion in the grass, it's hilarious!

Seth helped us outside doing yardwork during Amelia's naps this weekend. So far we've transitioned smoothly to the time change, fingers crossed that we trick Amelia into sleeping a little bit later.