ZZzzzz

While sitting in the living room reading while the kids watched cartoons, I realized it had gotten really quiet. Anna and I turned around to find this.

Isn't he adorable!?!

Cookie Monster

Eli is already following in Anna's footsteps. A few nights ago I heard one of the kitchen chairs scooting across the floor. I instictively knew what he was doing.... it was the same thing Anna did around his age. You may recall this video of Anna stealing cookies.

Looks like we have another cookie monster in the house.

Trying to get it open.

Uh oh, they've spotted me.

MMmmm

One, Two, Three.... Go!

Tonight Anna kept asking me to pretend sneeze. It soon became a contest to see who could 'sneeze' the loudest, with it always being preceded with "One, Two, Three, GO!" Here are two small videos of it, complete with messy hair and her bib on. But what else are home videos for?

Take One:

Take Two: Laughing Mischievously after shoving a handful of cornbread into her mouth.

And just a cute picture of Eli.

Where Does She Come Up With This Stuff?

I'm often wondering where Anna comes up with some of her ideas. It's as if she's a creative genius when it comes to ways to torture her brother. Mind you, she's only two, but the ideas she has.... Does anyone else have a toddler mastermind?

Mmm Cookies

Twice now I've had to get on to Anna for helping herself to the refrigerator ... which houses a big tub of chocolate chip cookie dough. MMmmm. Really, I can't blame her. She truly is a girl after her mother's heart. :)

She probably ate the equivalent of 10-12 cookies - literally.

But isn't she oh so cute!?

Mess Makers

Instead of singing "Match maker, match maker, make me a match" it's more fitting to sing "Mess Makers, Mess Makers, Make me A Mess". It seems like here lately they've become quite an unstoppable team. They can each hold their own, but together, their creative geniuses blend into a whole other realm.

Eli's main messes deal with food - which is to be somewhat expected from a 14 mo. old. He now enjoys getting mouthfuls of milk and then opening his mouth and just letting it run out. My niece did the same, as did Anna. Is this something common I failed to learn about? He also enjoys throwing food in the floor, which I'm not sure how to deal with. I guess it too is a phase, as Anna also did this and eventually stopped. Twice now I've caught him playing in the toilet as well as indulging in the decadence of crayons. He refuses to let me feed him anything anymore, which also leads to more messes, as was the case in the following picture when we gave him a spoon and a bowl of banana pudding.

Clearly, he enjoyed it..

Anna has an ever increasing fascination with being pampered and prissy. She loves shoes, purses, lotion, having her toe nails painted, brushing her hair, and anything girly. Did I mention shoes and purses? Twice now she has ruined a tube of chapstick trying to put it on herself.... or eat it. She's also not only covered her baby doll in what she thought to be lotion (Cortisone cream) but also her brother as well. But her newest found affection is make-up.... my make-up. The make-up she knows is off limits. But she does it oh so well.

While watching TV last night, both the kiddos made a mad dash out of the living room. After a few minutes, we began wondering what they were up to. We snuck quietly to the little laughters bellowing from the kitchen and immediately began seeing small objects flying through the air at random. As seen below, they evidently thought it would be funny to help themselves to the refrigerator, eat grapes, and have a ball throwing them about the kitchen.

Note that both of them look like a little chipmunk with all the grapes stuffed in their mouths.

Surely we're not the only ones with mess makers. :)

She's Anna

Anna always seems to have something funny to say. The following could've been overheard in our kitchen this morning.

Me: Are you my beautiful girl?
Anna: No. I Anna.

Reach for the Moon

A few nights ago we had just finished grocery shopping and were on our way home when Anna spotted the moon. She began reaching towards the sky saying "I reach it, I reach it." When I tried to explain to her that she couldn't reach the moon, she said "I get my chair." I thought it was so cute that she thought standing in her chair would enable her to reach the moon. Once we got home, Mark threw her up in the air to get her a little closer to the moon. Surprisingly, she still wasn't able to reach it. :)

Funny Sayings

Anyone who knows Anna knows she is a lot like her daddy - full of energy and quite the character.

Earlier today she brought me her stroller and said "She bite my finger. Bite. Bite. Spanking." So, I 'spanked' the stroller, told it 'No, No. Biting is bad." and told it to go to its room. Without missing a beat, Anna said "Say you're sorry. Give hug. Give kisses." How funny that she knows the routine so well .... hmm, what does that say about her??? And yes, she's gotten in trouble multiple times for biting Eli.

We're also working on potty training. After discovering she pooped in her diaper today, Mark asked her why she didn't go in the potty. Her response? "I busy." Mark said "No you're not busy. You get up and go to the potty." I of course died laughing which didn't help the matter, but hey, she's quite the little cut-up.

Lipstick: A Girl's Best Friend

I had just gotten Anna undressed for bathtime. While I lingered in her room picking up puzzle pieces, she dashed for the bathroom - as usual. She loves bathtime. Just a mere few seconds later, she came in there holding my lipstick saying, "Mommy Look!!" Not too bad for a 2 year old....

Beautiful Anna, even with lipstick everywhere.

And just a cute picture of my handsome Eli.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I've previously posted about how much Anna watches me throughout the day. Instead of saying Monkey See, Monkey Do I might as well Anna see, Anna do. It's quite amazing to watch her and notice just how much time she must actually spend in observing what I do throughout the day. Here are some of her latest attempts at replicating things I do.

Can you tell we're working on potty training?

------------------------------------

The next 3 pictures have to do with Eli having Eczema. As a result, I periodically put lotion on his head to treat it and keep it from worsening.

This is about 1/2 tube of Aveeno lotion on top of his head.

Not exactly the cheapest stuff in the world....

Clearly she used way too much!

Of course, he doesn't seem to care.

-----------------------------

She's obviously seen me do this a few times.

This is just another one of her baby dolls that she did this to.

Everybody Dance Now

A few months ago, we posted about Anna loving to dance. It's been really difficult for us to get a good video of her dancing because everytime we get the camera out, she suddenly is camera shy and stops dancing. Fortunately, she seems to be outgrowing that a bit and actually allowed me to capture some of her funny dance moves. She's too cute and ever-so-entertaining.

Now, for your viewing pleasure....

This is by far the best one. Please disregard the laundry everywhere. It was laundry day.

This is of her clapping and then attempting to jump.

One Smart Cookie

Last night I decided to make Mark some of his favorite cookies - no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies. We've recently just begun giving Anna peanut butter, so this was her first time having these kind of cookies. She really liked them. Of course, I think she likes anything chocolate. After 4 of them and us telling her she couldn't have anymore, she took matters into her own hands. She managed to escape out of the living room, get to the kitchen, get her booster seat, use it as a step-stool, and score another cookie. We got there in time to get it on video and to take a few pictures. Needless to say, she's one smart cookie!

Like Mother Like Daughter

A few weeks ago, I began noticing that Anna was doing a lot of 'motherly' things. This further confirms how much she in fact watches me throughout the day. I began taking pictures of the funny things she did and have now come up with enough for this post. The pictures are from oldest to newest.... she becomes more sophisticated as the weeks pass.

Baby must be hungry.

Anna's attempt at changing the baby's diaper, although it already has one on.

Giraffe in the swing.

Baby in the swing, all snug and warm.

The 'do not touch this giraffe' is hungry too. She even put her bib on him -then got in trouble for removing him from the coffee table.

Her attempt at helping put a dishwasher tablet in the dishwasher.

She must have thought it was an incredibly dirty load.

Mr. Potato Head in the Jumperoo.

Monkey needs a diaper change.

She must have thought Giraffe needed a bath. And yes, she turned the water on all by herself.

Feeding the bear.

Feeding the bear while sitting on her brother.

And my all time favorite that she did last night - The dog must have been hungry. Those are the green beans she threw in the floor and then decided to feed to the 'dog'.

Anna's Dance Attempt

We have been trying for months to catch Anna dancing, but she always stops when the camera gets close. Here are a few seconds we did catch though.

Oh Pooh! (literally)

I learned a very valuable lesson last week: You can in fact feed a baby too many prunes. Silly me thought that since Anna was constipated and she loved prunes, that I would feed her the entire jar. That turned out to be a costly mistake. While visiting family way past her bedtime, we had a blow out. It blew out of her diaper, out of her sleeper, and all over the car seat. Needless to say, regardless of it being midnight, she had to have a bath. See below for verification of just how disgusting this in fact was!

Disgusting things seem to come my way. While giving Anna a bath today, she decided it would be a nice time to use the bathroom. I immediately took her out, took her to the changing table and put a diaper on her to catch the rest. Meanwhile while she finished her business, I drained the bathtub, cleaned it out, and refilled it. Having been several minutes, I changed her diaper and started over again. Evidentally she wasn't finished and poohed in the bathtub a second time. Teetering between being frustrated and thinking this was funny, I decided to simply find it humorous, drainded the tub, and started for a third time. Oh the joys of parenting! :o)

Now that's Funny...

We were visiting our friends Aaron & Anita last Saturday night. Their 3 year old was talking to Anna and helping take care of her. Abby kept asking "Is she hungry? Is she hungry? Is she Hungry? ... I think she's hungry." I guess Anna thought she was funny and let out a laugh. It didn't last long, but it was a sweet little laugh. We tried several times that night for her to do it again, but she didn't.

Abby was right. She drank all the milk

Errands (Ugh!)

Errands. The word I am growing to despise. I had to run out today for a number of reasons. Wal-Mart was last on my stop. On my way there, it began to rain. I told myself, “You can do this. You’re already out, so let’s just get it over with.” Big mistake. Anna was already hungry and tired and by the time we got parked, it was coming a torrential downpour. I sat in the car trying to decide what I was going to do. Carrying the car seat with her in it, plus an umbrella was out of the question. I can barely carry the car seat by itself. So, I decided since I only had a few items to get, I would just carry her in, get one of those small blue baskets, and be on my way. Yet again, big mistake.

I got out of the car, the wind was blowing my umbrella to and fro, I was leaned in the backseat trying to get her out, meanwhile my backend was getting drenched. So, I decided to drape the umbrella over the door… didn’t work. By the time I finally made it inside with her, my purse, her diaper bag, the grocery list, and the umbrella, we were drenched. Should’ve just carried the car seat… Now I’m in the predicament of shopping while holding her and a blue basket. So, I decided that I would get a regular shopping cart and try putting her in the front like a big kid. Oh no, she fell over, screaming in the middle of the baby food aisle. So, here I am now holding her, trying to find baby food since I had a coupon: $1 off 12 first foods. So, since we’re soon fixing to tackle the task of baby food, I decided to go ahead and stock up – after all, it was like getting 3 free.

So, I pick up the rest of the grocery items, my pictures, and head to get soap and toothpaste of where Anna begins to throw a fit, as if to say "Give me food!" People are starring and I’m saying “Please, not now. Just wait five minutes.” Unknowingly I said it audibly because some lady was looking at me like I was the most horrid mother in the world. While toothpaste and soap could technicallybe done without for a few days, I’m quite sure that’s more than less desirable to those that we’re around. So, I just pick up the first things I can find, throw them in the cart, and head to check out – people still starring at me carrying a screaming baby while trying to get the buggy to steer in the correct direction with one hand.

I put my items on the belt thingy to be checked out and the lady says “This coupon is for Gerber. You got DelMonte.” By this point, I simply did not care, “That’s fine.” I said. Forget the 3 free, I had a crying baby, a sore arm, and still had to figure out how I was going to get all this stuff back to the car. The cashier was very thoughtful, asking “Do you need help to your car?” Being the stubborn person I am, I reply “No thanks, I got it.” Once again, big mistake. With her screaming the entire way, it was as if we were attention magnets. Haven’t you people ever seen a screaming baby?!? I finally get to the car, sit her in her car seat, and begin to load the trunk. I notice someone is waiting on my parking spot, so I begin to hurry even more. I shut the back door, get in the front, and realize I never buckled Anna in. So, I got back out, buckled her in, and listened to her scream the entire way home.

Needless to say, I won’t be trying that again for quite some time.

Stork Slowed By Snow

Still waiting . . .

We are waiting for Anna's birthday. Either the stork was slowed by the snow or Anna just doesn't like the cold. We will be back at the doctor's tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get more news.

I am off all week and Phoebe worked her last day on Thursday. We are just sitting around the house staring at each other.

As I said in our last post, the next post you'll see will have Anna's pretty pictures. Until then, here is a picture of mom --->

Our First Baby Shower

We had our first baby shower last Saturday (Dec 3) at the Matheney Home. We are thankful for them hosting the shindig.

Baby showers are fun moments of games, cake, punch, finger foods, gifts, and lots of paper tissue. In our society it has always been that usually the mother attends these showers while the dads attended to their daily duties such as plowing the field, hunting for food, or other manly things.

But our showers will be different, mainly because I will be there. I am an involved dad; one that wants to be a part of important family events. Not to mention that I was encouraged by my lovely 28 week pregnant wife. I knew I wouldn’t miss this exciting day.

There are those who still don't believe that I attended such an affair as this. But who would miss exciting games such as Baby bingo (which I came in a close 4th). I thought I would includes pictures with me to show and encourage other men to drop the plow and take off the coon fur cap and go with their expectant wives to these exciting showers.

The first picture was us and the cake. By the way, that was a very tasty cake. It was the kind with the whipped icing. I had about 2 pieces (okay 3) but whose counting anyway. Our main focus is to share our shower experience and my involvement with it. The picture to the right shows the special moment as the two of us held the cake together. It said “Congratulations Mark and Phoebe.”

Well that picture wasn’t the one I intended to use. I now realize that the picture with both of us is still on the Matheney camera. But truth be told, I am in this picture, just behind the camera. But the cake wouldn’t have had my name on it if I wasn’t there. No worry, I have more pictures of my involvement.

After the cake and goodies, it was time to gather around and open the gifts that the guest brought. I mean a lot to me that people cared out us and little Anna. I even chose to sit at the right had of Phoebe and help her open the gifts. I was even honored with the task of writing down the gifts and the gift givers.

Phoebe’s mom and sister (Sarah) drove 150 miles up to the shower. It was Sarah who took all these fine pictures of us opening the presents together. I am glad she did. It helps me to show that I was truly right in the middle of things.

Thanks to all that attend this shower. Thanks again to the Matheney’s. My hope today that other expectant fathers will see my example and be more involved in gatherings such as this.

In closing, I hope you all enjoy these pictures and postings. I especially enjoy posting them. We are glad that you are involved in this special time in our lives.

(Disclaimer: Phoebe takes no credit for this posting but was grateful for the shower and for those that attended.)