Potty Time???

Because our lives weren't chaotic enough, we are now potty training R. It wasn't anything we planned (although she's overdue), but she decided it was time, and who are we to argue?

But, like everything else she has done, R has to do this in her own, special, perfectionist way. Normal, oops, other kids can't wait to try out their new pull-ups or training pants. Not our daughter. While she loves trying them on, she is refusing to wear them until she can go accident-free. So for now she is practicing. Every time she has to go, she runs in the bathroom and sits on her little potty - with her diaper and clothes on. She goes, and then she requests a diaper change. She and her dear daddy were at the mall the other day, and when there wasn't a little potty to use, she ran and hid in the corner of a sporting good store so she could have some privacy while she went. Last night she even stayed dry all night. As soon as she got out of bed this morning, she froze next to the bed. I asked her if she was going, and she said, "Yes!" then squealed, "Me no pee in big girl bed!!!" She was so proud of herself! I said tomorrow we could go on the potty as soon as she got up. She gave me a patronizing look and shook her head, "no." Of course we can't do that Mommy. We're not ready for that step yet.

Perhaps someday, before she graduates from high school, she will be able to use the potty in a more, um, conventional way.

Three Months

I think it's pretty natural with a first child to compare his or her development to a milestone chart (and every other baby you encounter). With the second child, you compare the little one to the older sibling as well as the milestone chart and peers. And we're finding that with two at once, we compare the poor little guys to the milestone charts, their sis, and each other. Further complicating matters, the boys development is not based on their actual age, when they were born, but on their corrected age, based on when they were due. They just can't catch a break! Thankfully, for now they are doing just fine, and here is where they stand (or lay, to be precise) three months after their birth.

Since we haven't been to the doctor since their two month well-baby appointments (hallelujah!), we don't know exact weights and lengths. But M is still our chunky monkey. The boy loves to eat, and it is safe to say that he is well over 10 pounds. He was the first to coo, and he still gets mad when we catch him cooing. We're pretty sure he's just embarrassed to be caught acting like a baby! He is the more physical one, and he is in constant motion when he is awake. If he's sitting in his bouncy seat, he kicks and punches like mad. When he is on his tummy, he is often in a push up position looking around. Well, for the first few minutes, then he starts screaming.

L is still noticeably smaller, although we're not sure he's that much shorter in length. He has finally outgrown his newborn clothes, and the sleeves on some of the clothes in the next size are even a little short. He still spits up a lot, but he is keeping more food down, and we're finally noticing at least a little bit of chub on his arms and legs. He was the first to smile, and when he is happy, he gets a huge grin on his face. He likes to sit back and observe the world around him, and when he is in his bouncy seat, he generally is busy trying to process all that is going on around him. He was doing very little when we placed him on his belly, to the point that I was concerned because he wasn't even trying to lift his head. Then, out of nowhere, on Thursday night he got angry and rolled from his front to his back. He, like his brother and big sister, is full of surprises!

Baby Blues

We have a Baby Blues treasury that I got eons ago. As our family has grown, we have loved reading it. We seem to struggle with all the same things as Wanda and Darryl. In short, the comics are funny because they are true.

R is also a fan, and we've found this to be both a blessing and a curse. While we hate to discourage a child who loves books, and it's fun to watch her tear through a newspaper looking for the comics, the kids aren't the best role models. Zoe seems to teach R an awful lot about how NOT to behave. But, R loves the comics, and so we read them over and over to her. In fact, R can also recite some of them, and it's pretty amusing to listen to her recite a comic, including the silent panels in which characters are thinking.

Yesterday, while she and her dad were at Barnes and Noble, she decided to recite one of the comics. In this particular strip, Darryl is holding Hammie, who is still a baby young enough to nurse, and Darryl is trying in vain to get Hammie to open his mouth. Zoe, the always helpful big sister, tells Darryl that if he wants Hammie to open his mouth, he should do what Mommy does. Darryl inquires as to what that is. R was quite proud to shout out the punchline in a nice, clear voice. Zoe then says, "Show your nipple!"

Last night, as we read the comics, we could really relate to the ones about the kids humiliating their parents in public...

Por Favor

We have long known that R is a sponge, absorbing and repeating anything we say or do. While overall, this is a great thing and means she's learning, it also means we really have to watch ourselves. And sometimes we slip up, like the day I happened to use a great quote from Dazed and Confused over lunch, and she repeated the whole thing, potty words and all. But nothing is as amusing, or as surprising, as when she repeats something in a different situation.

Last week R asked me to open something for her, and she was pretty darn demanding. So I asked that age-old parent question, "How do you ask nicely?" and she replied with something that sounded like "por-pah-purr." So I repeated my question, and she repeated her answer. Finally, on the third try, I realized she was saying, "por favor," and that she was replying to me in Spanish. She got a big high-five for that one!

It's not like we've been trying to teach her Spanish. But we have been reading lots of books about Dora the Explorer, who happens to be bilingual, and R managed to make the connection that "por favor" in Spanish means the same thing as "please" in English. We are quiet impressed. And glad that Dora doesn't cuss!

Sweet Tooth

I have a sweet tooth. A really crazy, out-of-control sweet tooth. As I get older, it can be satisfied much more easily, and I find myself eating sweets in much smaller portions, but it has not disappeared. Of all the things that I wanted to pass on to my children, this was not one.

Before R was eating solid food, I read somewhere that if you don't eat sweets in your first three years of life, you will never really develop a sweet tooth. You may like sweets, but you won't crave them, and that third cupcake will just make you feel ill. So, in an effort to keep it under control, we gave R no sweets the first year of her life. For her first birthday she didn't even have a gooey, icing covered cake to destroy. Instead she had a fairly healthy coffee cake filled with berries. (For the record, icing or not, it was really good and she loved it and ate it, rather than smashing it all over her face.) Throughout most of her second year we were even able to keep her away from sweets. She was allowed a lick of ice cream when we were out or a bit of cake for birthdays, but that was it.

Then her second birthday rolled around and all R could talk about was cupcakes. Birthdays were cupcakes to her. And as the fall went on, we realized she marked most events with desserts. Halloween was chocolate. Thanksgiving was pumpkin pie. We didn't know quite how bad the holiday = dessert association was until last week. My dear husband and R do all our grocery shopping, and they had gone shopping for our little family Super Bowl party. Although we don't normally eat dessert, they had purchased chocolate chip cookies to have as a special treat with our other munchies. On Sunday morning, he happened to say, "Super Bowl coverage starts at noon," to which R replied, "Chocolate chip cookies!" She spent all day asking about them. When she finally got to eat one, she was in absolute heaven.

And the sweet obsession doesn't stop with the holiday association. She is always scanning the kitchen counter looking for scrumptious treats. I can't even sneak treats any more when she is up. A few weeks ago I ate a Hershey kiss and then went to play with her. Upon smelling my breath, she demanded a brownie. (Ya gotta admit, her nose is good.) I told her quite honestly, that we didn't have any brownies. So she then asked for an M&M, the next chocolate product she could think of. Thankfully I could also tell her truthfully we didn't have those either. At that point she wouldn't give up without a treat, but thankfully, she settled for a raisin.

Freak Show

Friday a week ago was a strange day at work. I couldn't go anywhere without being asked about the babies. And this was not from friends. This was not even from acquaintances. This was from all sorts of random people who worked in my building. It was like I was the local celebrity. It was odd and a little disturbing. (And didn't they all have work to do???)

Outings with the whole family bring a similar level of attention. It is like we are an awfully cute (or so I hope) freak show. When we are out people stare. Sometimes with their mouths hanging open. And they love to state the obvious by saying thing such as:

• There are two of them!
• You're so little to have twins!
• Things are busy in your house!

We also regularly hear things like, "So you're done having kids now, right?" Yes, person-in-line-at-the-grocery-store, I would like to discuss family planning with you! (A similar sentiment goes out to the woman standing behind me in line at Wal-Mart when I was pregnant who asked if we were going to get the boys circumcised. What goes through someone's mind to ask that to a stranger? Seriously???)

Last week brought a new twist to the comments. We now get to hear, "At least it's not 8!" Yes, at least it's not 8.

And I do know that people (mostly) mean well. Our family makes them smile and perhaps a little grateful that they are not us. They will never understand that we love our crazy little family and are okay with it. Which is why we are doing something silly like all going shopping together. If only we had some nice circus-style theme music playing wherever we went...