Happenings-mama.

Things are really changing around here. Henry is every day becoming more animated and clever.

While papa was working late, we decided to have a big starchy supper of blueberry pancakes. Henry was thrilled to help out with his new kids sized cooking tools from Aunt Molly and Uncle Michael.

We've also decided to give potty training a shot. Henry hasn't been averse to sitting on his potty, but let's just say nothing has happened. I actually think he's going to make himself sick because he's holding so much in, so to speak. I don't think he wants to do it except for we work on sticker books while he sits on the potty and he gets a new tattoo when he sits. I think we might give it a rest for a couple weeks since he doesn't seem to be too interested. Even though we have multiple packs of matchbox cars sitting around the bathroom, promised to be open if he just pees once. We even have an elaborate sticker chart with an awesome grand reward of his new GeoTrax plane set and the new Loopy Loco plane we bought at the store.

June is also changing at a rapid pace. Although good-natured and eager to please, she is proving to be a much bigger hassle than Henry ever was. Henry was a very task oriented baby and toddler who would spend long periods of time playing with toys and generally keeping out of trouble. June is a little more mischievous. She appears to know the rules because she always looks over her shoulder with a grin as she prepares to knock over a trash can or try to yank a cord out of a socket. Even as a toddler, Henry could be left alone in our room while one of us took a shower and you could trust that he wouldn't get into trouble in the while. June, on the other hand, can't be trusted. You can bet she will first rip apart any piece of paper she can find and stuff it in her mouth. When she realizes that you're in the bathroom, she'll spend some time trying to get the toilet bowl open and reach inside (we may actually have to invest in toilet locks for this one). Eventually she'll scoot behind the shower curtain and spend the rest of your shower laughing at you (works wonders for your self esteem) and trying to knock things into the water. Our tubs are much lower than standard tubs, so already June is tall enough lunge over the edge in pursuit of any bottle she can reach. So you spend about 10 percent of your time actually washing up and the rest of your time trying to catch June before she cracks her skull diving head first into the tub.


But despite the health hazards, we're really enjoying the differences in raising a girl. Whoever tells you there's not a difference between boys and girls is lying. Henry could really care less about people pleasing and would rather spend all his time parking cars. June spends all her time seeking attention and approval. You already know she's going to be a huge show-off, as you can see in the video of her dancing to the music from Henry's racecar. At this age, Henry was deathly afraid of strangers and even the parents of the kids at Miss Dina's house (whom he saw every single day). Because it was the dead of a Wisconsin winter, we realized that Henry probably wen weeks without being out in public, so we would actually go to the mall to watch people walk around to try to desensitize him. June, while she prefers her mama, will pretty much take anyone else who is willing to give her attention.

So much for being prepared for the second kid...

Long weekend- Henry.

It was a pretty quiet weekend. Mama pawned us off on papa as much as she could so she could hit the gym. It's funny how great a two hour workout sounds when it means some alone time.

Mister Paul and Miss Susan came over to watch football with us (I hate seeing the Steelers in the Super Bowl). While mama was making some great Thai food for supper, Miss Susan volunteered to give Juner a bottle. I wanted to help so we all climbed in for a tight squeeze.

The mood shifted for the better when Papa and Mister Paul gave into their urges and bought the 50 pack of chicken nuggets at McDonalds. They wanted to buy two but mama said no because she was already making supper.

It's all over the news tonight that the Piedmont is expecting 1-3 inches of snow within the next day. As you can imagine, the entire area is in hysterics. Mama is trying to fit in with the local culture so she also undertook her usual presnow routine. Which involved dressing in a few layers of fleece, heading to the basement (but since we don't have one, the TV room will do), and warming up with a choice libation. In this case, a cherry brandy Old Fashioned made with the brandy soaked cherries from Aunt Jenni and enjoyed in the great Old Fashioned glasses we got for Christmas. Mama's hoping that this guarantees a snow day tomorrow, but we're not holding out hope that it won't just rain all night.