wild*life

Yesterday was May 1st– Nate’s two month birthday.  He’s not even remotely little anymore, what happened?  It also happened to be the day that the government announced they have finally killed Osama Bin Laden.

And on the exact same night that the United States finally cornered its nemesis, Nate slept through the entire night…  coincidence?  Perhaps.  He slept from 10-something to 7-something. Yes, I have completely lost track of time and you should be impressed that these approximations actually include numbers.

Now that Osama’s a goner, Baby Nate says he can finally sleep easy.

Last night after dinner we’re playing on the living room floor and Jake starts asking about jellybeans.

“Mama, jellybeans go?”
“Jellybeans?  What jellybeans?”  (I’m pretty sure I covertly emptied all jellybean filled plastic eggs into the trash during nap time… before they could be burned into his memory.)
“No, Mama, I want jellybeans.”
“Oh, the jellybean stickers?”
“No.  Ca-Carrot.  Carrot jellybeans, Mama.”

Uh, oh.  Now you’re thinking, carrot jellybeans?  Despite their marked creativity, that doesn’t sound like a JellyBelly flavor.

I know exactly what he’s talking about.  His Easter basket at Grandma’s had Reese’s Pieces, aka Carrot Jellybeans.  Thanks Easter Bunny.

As my mom put it after the Easter weekend extravaganza, Jake seems to have all the words he needs to communicate.  I have to agree, there doesn’t seem to be any point he can’t get across…

And you’ll know if he doesn’t understand you.  He’ll either repeat back exactly what you said to him, potentially several times, or you’ll get some variation of “Eh?  Uh?  Huh?  Hmmm?”  It’s like talking to a little granny that is hard of hearing.  My mom used to hate it when we’d say, “1-800-MiracleEar!”

Sometimes after you’ve had to repeat yourself several times he’ll say “Oooooh” like “Yes, now I see” or “Aaah, your meaning is crystal clear.”  I’m not so sure.

Earlier this week I was putting him to bed which, truthfully, is almost always Jake at his sweetest.  I cannot complain when it comes to putting him in his crib where he basically gives you hugs and kisses, rolls over, and is out like a light.

He was on the changing table and I was zipping him into his “special blankie” which is essentially a sleep sack that keeps him warm… with the side benefit of hobbling him like a horse so he can’t climb out of his crib.  Look, you do what you gotta do.

He wanted to shut off the light switch before I got him zipped in and I said, “First we put you in your special blankie and then we turn off the light switch.  You know the drill.”  And he says, “Huh?  Mama, what’s that talking?”  And I say, “What talking?  You mean what did I just say?”  And he nods, “Yes.  What’s that talking?”  I repeat, “You know the drill?”  He nods again.  “Oh, that means that you know what we do.  First the blankie and then the light switch.”  “Oooooh.”

The little granny seems to be listening to more than one might think.

Yesterday we went to Nate’s 2-month doctor’s appointment, one week shy of two months.  As I suspected, his percentile stats are very similar to his older brother and he’s right on track to becoming a real chunkster!

Weight: 13 lbs 3.3 oz: 89.92%
Height: 23″: 64.30%
Head Circumference: 39.5cm: 46.81%

At this point, I wouldn’t recommend a pure liquid diet unless you’re looking to be compared to squirrels and meatballs.  But I think you’d agree, the look just works for Baby Nate.

Luckily this bunny wasn’t made of chocolate… otherwise I might have had to eat this little one for Easter brunch!

Bunny Nate

Easter Sunday bunny breakfast… the definition of good mommy or bad mommy?  You decide.

Today the thought occurred to me: Are there other people in the world named Oprah?  If so, why haven’t I run into a single one?

Given this thought, now you’re thinking I’ve been on maternity leave too long, huh…

Birdies.  We are all about birdies.  Chasing more than watching.  Jakey knows that eggs come from chickens and that a variety of birds make an array of sounds.  A few of his favorites include:

Rooster: Cock-a-goo-gooooo
Chicken: Buck buck
Crow: Caw! Caw! (He spends a lot of time trying to get crows to come to him by yelling “Caw!  Caw!”  One time he tried to get them to come over by throwing little bits of stick off the porch for them to eat.  All I can imagine is Jake standing like Snow White and having a huge crow swoop down to land on his arm, knocking him to the ground…)
Ducky: Quack quack
Mingo (flamingo): ?
All other birdies: Tfeet! Tfeet!

A couple of weeks ago we went to Wing Stop and sat outside.  Jake had the best time chasing the birdies and trying to get them to eat peanuts that he found on the ground.  “Eat peanut birdie!  Eat peanut!”

He especially likes to blow at birdies when he chases them… as though the gust of wind exiting his mouth is what makes them take flight, not his sporadic movements and the fact that he throws in quite a few lion roars.  “I blow it, I blow it.”

James and I love to bust out a “Tfeet!  Tfeet!” when no one is looking.  You should try it– it just feels good.

Last week our microwave gave up the ghost.  It was exactly 18 months old.  I’m pretty sure my parents are still using a microwave that is 22 years old…

I like to think the microwave lasted such a short time due to overuse as a time-out time keeper.  It was used for so many time-outs that it just collapsed out of pure exhaustion.

In actuality the motor burned out, but I’d rather memorialize it as the hero that it was, lasting just one month into the terrible two’s.  An eternal time-out; may you rest in peace.

Ever since Jacob was able to see past the end of his nose, he has been highly attuned to PDAs: Public Displays of Affection.  Only between Mommy and Daddy.

When he was little he would yelp if we hugged or kissed.  As he got older, his face would take on an extreme look of alarm and he would yell or grunt to get our attention… if we’re hugging, he’ll quickly wedge himself in between our legs and say “No Mama, No Mama, No.”  James and I are not allowed to touch.  All affection must be directed toward those 3-feet tall and under.

Last week Jake was riding in his car seat and James was driving.  Without thinking, I rubbed the back of James’ neck.  From the backseat I hear, “No Mama.  Hands in lap!”

Clearly an exact quote from one of his teachers…