7 Quick Takes Vol. 3

Has anyone else felt like my blog was getting book-heavy recently? You'd think I didn't do anything except read...which actually is probably pretty close to the truth if you only look at the few moments of free time I have. Free being a relative term.

Anyway, just to prove I do more than read, I thought I'd take advantage of Jen's super easy template to post something besides a book review.

--- 1 ---

Just before I got pregnant with Second Daughter back in 2007 I started an ambitious cross-stitch project: a Christmas stocking for First Son. I finally finished it in mid-January, in 2014.

 That black spot at the top is where I hid First Son's name, in case you were worried about the artistry.

 There are a lot of beads and French knots.

I intend to ask a friend to make it into a stocking for me. Everything was included in the kit and it looks pretty straight-forward, but I'm not willing to risk seven years of work when I have basically no sewing experience. In hopefulness, I'm waiting until closer to Thanksgiving because...

I immediately started one for First Daughter, the Holy Night Stocking, which she helped me select. In general, I anticipate it being less elaborate, though if you look at the finished product, you can see I have a lot of background stitching ahead of me. I assumed the cloth would be blue, but apparently just the stitching...

--- 2 ---

Second Daughter lost her first tooth on January 28th. She didn't just lose it; she pulled it out herself.

Yes, she pulled it out. While sitting on the couch.

It's hard to see the hole in the picture because the adult tooth was growing in behind it. It's on the bottom, the middle tooth on her right.

Exactly one week later, on February 4th, she lost her second tooth. This one was the middle tooth on her bottom left. According to Second Daughter, First Daughter helped this one come out. First Daughter claims she had just tapped Second Daughter on the shoulder. It's a little surprising how a tap on the shoulder can make a tooth pop out...

Again, it might be hard to tell because her adult tooth was already growing in behind.

What does seem clear is that our third child is going to need braces. Since Second Son has already lost his top two teeth, I give our chances of all four needing braces at about 90%. Our orthodontist is so pleased. They are always very nice and complementary to our family when I troop in with all the kids. Smart people.

--- 3 ---

Kansas Dad had two snow days last week and all our outside activities were cancelled. I was perfectly content to spend all those days at home and the kids didn't even think to ask for snow days from school. I was the one who was having trouble motivating. But we persevered and got most of our work done. I kept reminding myself I'd rather finish school early than have a few days off randomly.

My camera battery was totally dead, so I have no pictures of my own from the big snowstorm of the year. Then I remembered Second Daughter's camera. Kansas Dad ventured out to call in the girls who stayed out the longest and took a few pictures for me.

Then it got bitter cold and I didn't let anyone go out for two days. In theory I agree with the people who say there is no bad weather, just bad clothes, but we haven't invested in the kind of outerwear the kids would have needed to play outside on those days; we just don't have them often enough to justify it.

--- 4 ---

Second Daughter is currently obsessed with bird field guides, especially those that feature bald eagles on the cover. Kansas Dad picked up about twenty pounds of them at the library for her last week.

--- 5 ---

I recently signed First Son up for Khan Academy. It's a bit of a compromise on his daily math practice. I felt like I should try it out myself a little bit, too. Then Kansas Dad logged on and we started a little competition to see who could master skills faster. It's hard to say I've spent too much time reviewing my math skills, but I think it's possible I have. I've let it slide the past couple of days, so I'm pretty sure Kansas Dad is well ahead of me now.

--- 6 ---

First Daughter was inspired to make Valentines for all the kids in her Catechesis class, so we skipped some lessons earlier this week to make cut-out cookies for her to share as well. She did almost all of the work herself but I couldn't resist the urge to roll them out for her. We also tried out some mini-cookie stamps I received for Christmas and hadn't hidden away because we hadn't tried them out yet. They worked really well! They were easy to use, worked perfectly, and easy to clean. Plus, they make tiny cookies that you can pretend don't have any calories.

--- 7 ---

I've written before about our sponsored child with CFCA. Last month, they changed their name to Unbound and unveiled a new logo. I love to read their blog. Even if you can't afford to sponsor a child, I encourage you to check it out. Every post is full of hope, courage, and joy.


Happy Valentine's Day!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Teeth Twins

I haven't touched our picture files in months, so this picture is a little delayed. First Daughter lost both her top teeth over the holidays. (That girl always seems to lose teeth when we're visiting my parents in Illinois.) I worked hard to get a picture of First Daughter and Second Son, both missing both of their top two teeth back in January.

Prayers for Second Son

This morning, Second Son slipped and fell while he was climbing out of the baby pool while the older two were in the midst of swimming lessons. Normally, this would not be such a big deal. Toddlers slip and fall all the time. But poor my poor baby boy (who will be two on Monday) fell right on his top teeth, cracking one horribly and damaging some others.

We took him in to see the pediatric dentist where they told us he would need to be put under sedation for one tooth to be extracted. (It's broken right up into the nerve within the gum line and has a dangling piece so we were not too surprised.) One of the other teeth is chipped into a sharp point and will be filed down a little. The other big front tooth may need a crown or may be alright without one; she'll know more when Second Son can't feel her moving it around to check on it.

The very wonderful dentist and all those who work with her are coming in early to do his surgery at 6:30 am tomorrow (Wednesday). I am so thankful as just getting through this day was very difficult;  he wanted to eat and drink but everything he put in his mouth caused pain. We poured enough liquid in him to get through the night, but I'm sure he is still hungry.

I am nervous about my little guy being sedated tomorrow. And I'm mourning his adorable baby tooth smile. It's just a tooth and we'll all get over it; but tonight I am sad.

Please pray he gets through surgery well. Please pray his mouth heals quickly so he can eat, drink, and be merry again. Please pray for the other kids who are suffering a little from the chaos that was our day today and the anticipated stress of tomorrow. Please pray for the very dear friend (and her family) who graciously said we could drop off three sleepy kids at 6 am on our way to the surgery. Please pray for Kansas Dad who had a lot of work to do this week and is instead driving kids around, sitting in waiting rooms, and coercing a toddler to drink a sip of water now and then. Finally, please pray for me. I have a tendency to cry in sympathy with my children rather than being strong for them and helping them through rough times.

Hopefully, we'll get through the next few days and will be ready for a birthday party on Saturday for Second Daughter and Second Son and it'll all be a good story for Second Son's baby book.

What I Loved About Last Week (22nd Ed.)

On Monday, we met Grammy at a department store and picked out a suit for First Son's First Communion. He looks so sharp in it! (Thanks, Grammy, for the perfect First Communion gift!) We then met Kansas Dad for dinner at one of First Son's favorite restaurants. He survived the shopping pretty well, all things considered. (The girls did wonderfully.) His First Communion is now less than two weeks away!

On Tuesday I was able to spend a few hours with my goddaughter (and her brothers and sisters). She is such a joyful four month old.

Last Thursday was a beautiful day. I had planned on spending the afternoon making two dinners (one for us and one for a friend) and doing nothing else, but I was compelled to take the children on a little nature walk. So, I made the dinners while Second Son napped then took everyone for a drive to deliver them before we stopped at a park. Second Son is really the only one who enjoys such things. The rest are merely along for the snack. Since I spend most of the time chasing Second Son as he tries to jump into the creek or run the other direction, there are more enjoyable ways to spend an hour or so, but it's good to be out in the sun.

Obligatory picture before we cross the bridge

Posing by the creek

Second Son pulling the wagon

In bigger news, First Daughter lost another tooth - her second in as many weeks. She is very excited to see the dentist this coming week to show off her new gap.

On Saturday, the kids and I visited with a dear friend and her children. It was wonderful to see them and catch up a little.

Another dear friend has surgery this week and is doing wonderfully well. It was truly a joy to see her looking so wonderful at church on Sunday.

What I Loved About Last Week (20th Ed.)

1. First Daughter lost her first tooth! Last Wednesday night, Kansas Dad started to brush her teeth and realized it was missing. She hadn't even noticed. She thinks it fell out while she was eating dinner and was consumed. The Tooth Fairy left a dollar for her anyway.

2. Second Son has developed a habit of exercising with Kansas Dad and me. While we're working out, he'll try to march with us or raise his hands when we do. When he gets very excited, he runs circles around us until he falls down dizzy, giggling away.

3. Clean laundry! Our washing machine, which was less than four years old, died a premature death this week. After almost three full days without washing anything (in a house with six people, one of whom wears cloth diapers), I ran the new machine for an entire day.

4. While the girls spent a night with Grammy making cookies, Jello jigglers and watching a movie, Kansas Dad and I took First Son (and his brother) out for a special dinner and then watched the three original Star Wars movies one right after another with just a break for sleeping a bit in the middle of the second one. It was remarkably fun to watch First Son watching them for the first time. It was also a nice quiet dinner. It's amazing how civilized dinner can be without a three year old.

5. Second Son has decided it's funny to point to himself and say "Dada" or "Mama." He just laughs and laughs.

What I Loved About Last Week (14 Ed.)

1. Early this week, Grammy treated us to the movies: The Muppet Movie. It was surprisingly good. The 8 year old, 5 year old and 3 year old loved it. The one year old loved running up the aisle and diving into rows near the front, hiding from me. Luckily there were only a few other people there and they seemed very forgiving. (He was quiet, but it had to be distracting.) I've never gotten that much exercise watching a movie before.

After the movie, we did some charity shopping. The girls went with Grammy and picked some gifts for a little girl whose name I picked. The boys went with me and Kansas Dad. The girls did a great job focusing on their goal, but First Son was terribly distracted by the Lego aisle. He only makes it to a store two or three times a year, so I'm not sure he realized there was such a thing as the Lego aisle. It was cute and I didn't chastise him too much; he did help pick a few things and he didn't ask us to buy anything for him. (He has a substantial amount of money now that his birthday has passed, but he's not allowed to spend it until after Christmas since he'd just buy many of the things he's going to receive as a gift.)

2. Second Son has two new teeth! They're just peeking through, his second two on the top. Everyone say a quick prayer that means he'll be a nicer toddler over the holidays than he has been this week. (Now he has eight teeth, which seems a bit low for 17 months, but we'll hope that just gives him less time to get cavities, right?)

3. We finally set up our Christmas tree. I had intended to have it up before the third Sunday of Advent. The older two were so excited to get out the ornaments. They each remembered some of them, asking for them before I even found them in the box. We hung all our homemade ornaments as well. I love those!

4. I received my first teacher gift. One of our families brought something for each of the Catechesis teachers. It's funny because I don't even think of myself as one of the "teachers" since the other two ladies present nearly all of the lessons. What's the policy on thank you notes for thank you gifts: required, acceptable or too much? One girl in Catechesis wrote me a thank you note and another colored a picture for me, too. How cool is that?

5. Story hour Christmas party - watching a Christmas bear version of Duck Duck Goose. Second Son running around the gym.

6.  We started handing out our annual Christmas ornaments, though I can't tell you what we made this year - yet. Some of the recipients read the blog. We made a lot this year so there are plenty to go around for all the family members, teachers and pastors. The more years we do this, the more I love them. I'm already considering some ideas for next year. For the first time this year, we had enough for each child to pick one to keep for our tree. I think we'll try to do that every year. I wrote their names on them and they can take them when they grow up and have their own trees (though then mine will be very sad, won't it?); at the very least, it relieved some of the unhappiness we had last year when First Son wanted to keep all of his ornaments.

7. Kansas Dad and I went to a party on Friday night without kids! Thanks to Grammy for giving up her Friday night for us. The kids, of course, would rather have her than us any night, especially when frozen pizza is involved, so they were thrilled.

8. We made a peanut butter cookie man for Kansas Dad's birthday. He he! I received this Gingerbread Boy Kit a few years ago. No one here on the Range cares that much for gingerbread, but we love this pan. I made our favorite peanut butter cookie dough and pressed about two-thirds of it into the pan then baked it up. Delicious! The kids love decorating it. (They often ask when we're going to make a cookie-man, but since it involves eating a lot of cookie, it's a special treat.)

9. The Nutcracker - I loved it. The kids had differing reactions. Though it took a whole afternoon during a busy month, I hope very much we can make this performance an annual tradition.

10. While I was doing the dishes this week, the girls stripped the Christmas tree of all its ornaments. When I asked, dejectedly, what they thought they were doing, they replied they were playing "earthquake." It was really funny. But also a bit distressing. We've already broken two ornaments this year and all the more fragile ornaments I'd put near the top are now scattered about, many low enough for Second Son to reach. (I made the girls put them all back, so now the tree is decidedly bottom-heavy.)

11. Ok, this is such a little thing, but I bought the third wise man for my Nativity set. I've been watching for it for years and it's always been outrageously expensive, but I found one on ebay and just bought it. I felt weird about it all day, which just goes to show how infrequently I buy something for myself. Now I can consider my set complete and I'm foolishly happy about it.

12. Kansas Dad's birthday was last weekend and I think he had a good one. I'm not one to get all gushy on the blog, but there's no doubt in my mind that Kansas Dad is the best thing to ever happen to me (outside of Jesus-was-born-died-and-rose-again-for-me, of course). I thank God for him every day and wish him much love and many blessings in the coming year.


We're celebrating Christmas with Kansas Dad's parents tonight to accommodate holiday travels. There are lessons to do, cookies to bake, presents to wrap and all sorts of other things like an eye doctor appointment and First Son's baptism anniversary.

(Sorry for the lack of pictures this week; I don't want to take the time to get any off the camera.)

What I Loved About Last Week (6th Ed.)

1. Second Son's sixth tooth came in. I was hoping we'd get a break from the grumpiness but he's still chewing on his hands constantly so perhaps more are on the way. Baby teeth are adorable, aren't they?

2. I just love second grade. First Son is a much more diligent, focused child than last year. We don't always finish everything I plan for the day, but we usually do and often with very little whining, once we get started. He even cheerfully told his grandma he couldn't come outside to play because he wasn't done with his lessons yet. (We did finish early so he could play outside with everyone else.)

3. First Son reading along on my Kindle as we've started A First Book in American History. I have a free version downloaded on PDF on my laptop in which the brief definitions of some of the words appear at the end of the chapter. In the Kindle edition, they appear just after the word defined. First Son will often interrupt to interject the definition. This behavior may be frustrating before we finish the book, but now I love it because it shows he's paying attention even when it seems to me that he's not even looking at the Kindle. (As a side note, I'm tying his narrations for this book and the chapters are a bit difficult for him to narrate very well. He did like how the sailors wanted to throw Columbus overboard, though.)

4. Pumpkin patch field trip - everyone should have one every year. Second Son picked a baby pumpkin, but rolled it off the trailer before we made it back to the van. He didn't seem to mind too much.

A very messy Second Son after his cookie snack

The kids and the pumpkins

Second Son and his pumpkin

5. After our faith formation class this week, which only meets once a month, two other moms and I chatted for over an hour while our children played in the wet grass and on the playground. The children were wet and muddy before we left, but it was a beautiful fall day and I loved watching them play and talking with my friends.

6. Watching Second Son walk around outside. He loves to walk and walk and walk. He's fascinated by the borders between sidewalk and grass. He'll often step on and off the sidewalk over and over again.

7. Second Son also loves the slide. He doesn't understand why it ends or why he has to be lifted to the top or has to climb the stairs to the top. He just wants to slide down and down and down. His laugh is wonderful.

8. Parties! A housewarming for Second Son's godparents who have moved near-by and a birthday party for a sweet little girl who has a new baby sister I was able to hold for a while.

9. Second Son's scratched up face. Well, I suppose I don't really love that he fell on his face and got all scratched up (especially as I had been intending to take some 15 month pictures), but I do love how the bumps, bruises and scratches of toddlers speak to their increasing independence and forays into the world beyond Mama's reach.

What did you love about your week?

Second Son Is Eleven Months

It's been a long time coming, but we are approaching Second Son's first birthday. I cannot possibly express to you how sweet, wonderful, and delightful he is now. I watch his lovely chubby arms and legs as he explores toys and whatever else the others leave on the floor and want to scoop him up and kiss him all over. I watch him drop everything and crawl frantically and hopefully toward open doors to the bathroom, the office or the master bedroom and laugh along with him. Oh, it is good to be Second Son's mom!

I did take some picture on his 11-month-birthday, but they're still on the camera. I am very very close now to having a new-to-me laptop with a functioning battery and thought it would be better to wait to put the pictures on it. Hopefully they'll be posted here later.

Second is eating nearly everything we eat now. He wants to eat everything we eat. He'll look directly at something in my hand or on my plate and screech to show that he sees I have something he doesn't have. Sadly, he's not quite ready for raw vegetables or raisins, yet. We try to keep the choking hazards and sweets out of his diet.

Speaking of meals, Second Son easily eats more than First Daughter and Second Daughter at nearly every meal. That boy can eat nearly as much roast beef as I do.

He's night-weaned. It wasn't something I'd really planned. The other three babies all nursed at night much longer than they did during the day and I was not too distressed by it. In fact, with First Son I was working full-time and pumping three days a week, so was much happier to give up a daytime nursing than an nighttime one. Second Son was sleeping through the night almost every night, though, so one night I just decided I wouldn't nurse him when he did wake. We snuggled him then put him back in his crib. That was about three weeks ago and he hasn't woken during the night since. He usually sleeps until 7 or 7:30 am, but I'll get him and nurse and snuggle anytime after 5 am.

The long sleepful nights are awesome. I lay him down around 8 pm and he often sleeps eleven hours. Very impressive! Naps, in consequence, are much less impressive. Sometimes he'll take a morning nap from about 10:30 am to 11:15 am. But sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes he'll sleep for about an hour in the afternoons starting around 3 pm, but not always. I am willing to sacrifice daytime sleeping for nighttime sleeping.

He has three teeth! The third one came in on June 19th (Father's Day) and the fourth is just under his gums. Soon he'll have two teeth on the bottom and two teeth on the top. They are, of course, adorable. Hopefully we'll also have a little while without teething pain.

When I'm changing his diaper, I'll say "How big is [baby]?" and he always throws his hands up above his head. Then I tickle him under his arms. I'll repeat it and he'll raise his arms again. After a few times, he'll start to giggle before he even raises his arms. He never tires of this game.

He also never tires of peek-a-boo. I cannot understand how fascinating that is for babies, but I've heard it's universal. The older kids love to play peek-a-boo with him and he laughs and laughs.

Second Son is obsessed with electrical outlets, electrical cords, the bathroom, my Kindle, the Wii, the buttons on the TV, the yeast dispenser on my bread machine, the dog's water bowl, pencils, books (not the board books, oh no, books with paper pages!), Wii remotes, the Wii balance board, doors (he likes to open and almost close them), the plug for the cordless phone (which, when unplugged, disables the cordless one and sends me racing over the baby gate and through the kitchen to grab the one off the wall), pulling my hair, grabbing eyeglasses, grabbing anything on the kitchen table, and (most recently) pulling up my shirt and chewing on it. I'm sure he'll find more favorite things as he discovers more we say he should not have.

Have I mentioned he's adorable?

He's wearing mostly large diapers. I hardly use the prefolds anymore because he needs two. He usually wears toddler or size two fitted diapers with Duo-Wrap Thirsties covers or Knickernappies pocket diapers (the old version one) stuffed with Super-Dos. No regular insert for him, oh no!

He had his first cookie this week. A delicious sugar cookie recipe I hope to share here eventually colored for Trinity Cookies for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. He wanted one and I relented. Please don't judge me.

He says "dadadada" and "mamama" and all sorts of other cute baby syllables, but we're still waiting for the official Dada or Mama.

I remember when he first started really crawling to get from one place to another how he would giggle to himself as he moved along, delighted in his new skill. He will often crawl for a few feet, then stop to sit up and look around. Perhaps he wants to know someone is watching him. He'll smile and move on.

If he's crawling toward trouble, Kansas Dad or I will call his name. Second Son will sit back, wiggle his chubby legs and grin at us, then continue on his way.

He will sometimes pull himself up, but he loves it when someone stands him next to something like the futon. Kansas Dad says he saw him cruise a little, but I'm going to pretend that didn't happen.

One more month and my little baby will be one year old! I haven't regretted a moment of this first year, but I admit to being terribly happy to be right where we are.

Teeth!

Here's a recent picture (really recent - May 1st!) of Second Son and his perfect new teeth.

Teeth!

Second Son has two teeth! One came in on the bottom yesterday, joined by the little ridges of the second one today. He's been fussing all week, so I'm very pleased to see them. Plus, baby teeth are cute.

Hopefully we have a little break before he gets any more, though.

I have some pictures, but they're still on the camera. I'd promise them tomorrow, but I think the past two weeks (with the last day of basketball, Easter, Second Son's well-child appointment, choir dress rehearsal, last story hour, story hour graduation, an afternoon at the zoo and our choir concert) have worn me down. Soon, though, soon.

All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

My Small Successes XXXI

It's Thursday again and time to recognize the small things we do.

1. Second Son went in for his two week check-up and he's doing very well. So well we don't have to bring him in at one month.

2. I took all four kids to the dentist yesterday morning. The two oldest had cleanings and no cavities! Second Son is getting some permanent molars. The two younger ones did not destroy anything, run away, or scream uncontrollably the whole time. We have a wonderful pediatric dentist's office where they are very understanding. They always say such nice things about babies, too. Of course, those babies are future patients, so they have good reason to be gracious. I still like them.

3. I registered our homeschool! In Kansas, you have to fill out a form that includes the school's name and address. That's about it, but I just hadn't gotten around to it. I figured it was time since the public schools in our area are all starting up in the next few weeks. In other homeschooling news, I finished ordering the last few books I wanted and First Son's Blue Knights materials. We also bought some cabinets to store the homeschooling supplies away from Second Daughter and Second Son. Hopefully Kansas Dad will have some time to put them together for me. It's not really my kind of thing and would be even harder hampered by that pesky Second Son who thinks he needs to be held all the time he's not eating and being held.

Head over to Faith and Family to read more small successes or share your own!

The Second Lost Tooth

On Monday night, First Son said he knew his tooth would fall out soon. And it did, about five minutes later!

I seem to have a problem with lost teeth...namely in "losing" them again. You may remember the incident after the first lost tooth. Well, on Monday night, as I was cleaning up after dinner**, I grabbed what I thought was a piece of brown rice and threw it in the chicken bucket. Thank goodness I didn't throw it away (or to the chickens) because I realized about twenty minutes later it was actually his tooth. Being the dedicated mother I am, I dumped that bucket onto the counter and squished everything that looked like brown rice (ugh) until I found it again. First Son will hopefully not know for many many years to come...

** After rereading the first post and this one, I'm beginning to think I shouldn't be in charge of cleaning up after meals anymore...

Some New Looks

There have been some big changes on the Range. First Son lost his tooth! (If you haven't read of Kansas Dad's heroics, go here now.)

Not to be outdone, First Daughter visited a salon last week for the very first time. She asked and I promised we would.

We had trimmed her bangs, but it's the first time ever that the rest of her hair was cut. I think she looks adorable.

The Lost Tooth

Otherwise entitled: My Husband Is My Hero

Today, First Son lost his tooth! He was eating a snack (popcorn and raisins) and suddenly said, "My tooth is gone!" I was certain he'd swallowed it, but he found it on the floor. He kept saying, "I can't wait until Dad gets home so I can show him my tooth."

As soon as Kansas Dad walked in the door, First Son was hopping in front of him, "Can you see anything different about me?"

The tooth was stored carefully on the kitchen counter so First Son could put it under his pillow. But tragedy struck. I was cleaning up after dinner, pulled the cord for the electric griddle and sent that little tiny tooth flying...right down the crack between the counter and the stove. Kansas Dad found me in tears and said he'd take care of it.

He pulled the stove away from the wall and carefully swept section by section the grossness that has accumulated in the past year until he found that tooth. Such relief for the poor mama who did not want to explain to her little boy how she'd lost his very first tooth!

As a bonus, the area under the stove is very clean.

The Loose Tooth, As Promised

A Loose Tooth!

First Son announced tonight he had a loose tooth! We know many who have already lost teeth, so he's pretty excited. He even called both grandmothers to share the news. I tried to take a little video of the wiggling (for those who can stomach such things) and will try to get it posted tomorrow if it turned out alright.

The Molars Are In

Second Daughter now has four molars poking through. Whew. That was a few tough weeks with all four breaking through at the same time. For her and for us. Let's just hope she starts sleeping better soon.

She also has a fat lip. That's not really going to help the sleeping.

And Two New Teeth

I almost forgot...Second Daughter has two new teeth - that makes eight (so far). Now, if only her teething pain will go away soon...

It makes her grumpy.

Portrait of Second Daughter at One Year and One Week

She weighs about 22 pounds (70th percentile) and is about 30 inches tall (75th percentile). She has six teeth (the last peeking through just a few days ago).

She signs more and all done.

She says two words, bye bye and baby. An unpracticed ear cannot tell the difference.

She scoops up each baby doll she finds, hugs it to her chest and rocks back and forth, soothing the little one. Sometimes she does this with other things she finds. Like the phone.

She crawls, pulls herself up and even cruises a little. In the past week, she has started walking if you hold her hands. But she loves stairs most of all. She'll climb stairs all day long, if you let her. (We don't.) She can't resist climbing. She's always climbing on top of the bins we use for toy storage, and then crying because she can't get down. She also loves to crawl up on her brother's toddler bed. And then cry when she can't get down. When you pick her up and put her back on the floor, she immediately climbs up again.

She dances when we sing, especially when she hears Veggie music or songs with her name. (We modify Pig On Her Head by Laurie Berkner, changing the animals and the names to suit us. We sing it every day.)

Her favorite foods by far are green beans, peas and blueberries. So far, the only meat she'll eat is bacon. She's the only one of our children to like watermelon. She loves to feed herself applesauce and yogurt, but that's probably partly because she gives herself facials at the same time.

She screeches when she wants something. It is a very unpleasant sound.

If you give her a cup with a tiny bit of water in it, she can get about half the water into her mouth. The rest goes everywhere else.

She hates the fly swatter. She'll cry if she sees someone pick it up.

She is, as you can see, practically perfect.