I have some things to say

And pictures to post. But I am tired, tired, tired. Chava is going through some weird sleep regression thing that involves resisting bedtime and then waking up in the middle of the night insisting that we do ridiculous things like look out the window ('cause there is lotsa, LOTSA snow, Mommy!) or read The Napping House or just generally be awake. Last night she was up from 2-3 and I know she was swearing at us even though she doesn't know how to swear. We are doing a round of cry it out and it's horrible.

It all started on Christmas morning when she woke up at 4:28 for the day. I think she was channeling all the energy of all the kids who celebrate Christmas. I said to her, "Holy Moses, child, your name is CHAVA, does that tell you nothing?!?" She just looked at me and said, "Get Dolly and other Dolly and Bobby and Sally and let's make eggs."

and yet, there is more

Some new additions to the family

This is Sally:














And this is Dolly:














But don't confuse her with Other Dolly:



















This is Arf Arf:














But Chava likes Arf Arf to be wrapped up, so he doesn't get cold:














And this is Bobby:



















This is Big Dolly:



















But she's not very popular:














And just in case you stop over, the best place to look for a dishtowel these days is on the floor:

Some Maddox-isms to remember

Fire exstinguisher = fire stingray
Smoke detector = fire protector
Clogging the toilet = plogging the toilet

I think we're in the joke-telling phase

Maddox's first joke

The Vernie comes to visit

Chava and Maddox worship Michela (especially Maddox). Except that Chava insists on calling her "Eli." I wish she lived next door - she would be the PERFECT mother's helper.

Fast learner

Things Chava has learned, since turning two:
1. How to be disagreeable. All the time.
2. How to hate her coat/snowsuit with the fire of a thousand suns.
3. That if going boneless doesn't keep Mommy or Daddy from doing something you don't want them to do, going rigid might work.
4. If Maddox is screaming, trying to scream LOUDER is a good idea.

Overheard, in the car last night:
Maddox: Chava, when you and I grow up, we can get married and you can be the mom and I can be the dad.
Chava: (.)
M: Chava, kids or no kids?
C: Kids.
M: Okay, then I will put a seed in your belly and the baby will grown and then you will have to push it out from your bagina.

Holiday card outtakes

Holy Moses. It will take us til about Passover to have a usable holiday card picture. This one is entitled, "Who the hell is that weirdo sitting next to me?!"































This is what happens when you urge Maddox to smile.

Birthday redux

Sorry it's sideways, and sorry for my (loud and terrible) voice.


Last night we celebrated at home with cupcakes from Lyndells (free! because it was their birthday, too!). Video coming soon.

Chava is 2!

Chava's birthday started last night with a Hanukkah/Birthday party over at Aunt Jill's. Madeleine and Maddox competed for a chance to blow out the candles, but from the look on her face, it was clear that Chavie figured out this was all about her.

Can't post, barfing

Sorry my Thanksgiving post is lame. We really did have a nice day, and a nice weekend (well, except for the moment in the MFA where both kids were melting down and one of the guards looked at me and said, "The Children's Museum is better."). And I did yoga twice, and got a massage, and we had some sleeping in there, too. Trying to maintain the trend, I went to yoga last night and it was great, but then at about 10 p.m. I started feeling bad. Like, barfing bad. That lasted until about 11 when I started finally barfing in a great, big, ball of cold sweat. It was awful. I must have eaten something bad because it was the only actual barfing but I sort of feel like I'm a dishcloth that's been wrung out. It doesn't help that Maddox had screaming nightmares all night and Chava was up no less than four times. Seriously, how is it that I wound up with kids that don't sleep?

p.s. I blame Annie and Jayme since Chava INSISTED on sleeping in the purple Northwestern t-shirt which is short-sleeved, so she probably woke up because she was cold. Yeah, it must be their fault.

Turkey Day

We had a great Thanksgiving/Birthday-palooza. I'm just a little worried that now the kids think it is tradition to get a shitload of presents on Thanksgiving.


I think Eli and Michela rigged up some lottery system for the couches. Otherwise I can't explain the rotating cast of characters.

Longing

Last night I was lying down with Maddox as he was falling asleep. We had chatted a bit about the day and had sort of gotten to that point of quiet when I begin to wonder if he is nodding off. All of a sudden, he let out a long sigh and said, "I miss Maryland."

I asked him if he wanted to go back next year and he paused to think, and then said, "Well, is Eva going to be there?"

Chava

It dawned on me the other day that maybe I am subconsciously compensating for how frustrated I was with Chava for the first three months of her life with the fierce love I feel for her now. I still cringe a little bit when I remember going to visit Al at his office and having his co-workers ooh and ahh over her and I just responded by saying, "Yeah, she looks cute NOW, but really she is a total pain in the ass." But you know what? She was very, very tough. And she's going to be tough again, I can tell. She is incredibly stubborn, does a killer pout with her bottom lip stuck waaaay out, can charm the pants off anyone, and is painfully lovable.

Also, check out her luscious locks in that last picture. If only we could bathe her in the morning every day, she would win the "best hair" prize at daycare for sure.

I learned from the best

Let's face it, I'm a worrier (thanks, Mom!). I really try to tamp it down with the kids because I figure two generations of worriers is enough, and I don't want them to carry the worry gene. I am very proud to say that I have never turned around and followed a fire engine going in the direction of our house (although I have paused long enough to think, "Huh. Did I turn off the stove?") but then again, so far I have never left either of the kids home alone, either, so really, if everything burned down we'd be psyched to rebuild with the insurance money (well, it would be a drag, but you get my drift).

I secretly perseverate, though, on the kids' health. Secretly, because Al is an anti-worrier and thinks I am ridiculous for worrying. And says things like, "Yes, he's going to die, do you feel better?" which doesn't really help me much. So, you know, their yearly checkups always stress me out and luckily Al usually takes them and I don't have to freak out our very level-headed pediatrician with my anxiety (like I did when I burst in to hysterical tears when she told me Maddox had Lyme Disease, which is sort of like saying, "you're kid has an ear infection," in retrospect).

But really, if this news was relayed to you, how would you feel?

Maddox has some odd little bumps on his neck that periodically grow in size and then break open and ooze... something. So I told Al to ask the doctor about them. They're small, and I wasn't really worried. The doctor couldn't even find them. But she told Al that it may be the remnants of primordial gills. So my kid is like..... fishman?

Also failed the hearing test in one ear. Now that, I can stress about.

It's nature, stupid, it's all nature

It is so interesting to have a boy and a girl. Now, I know that even if Chava was a boy, she would be different from Maddox in many, many ways. But there is just such a caretaking aspect to her that I don't think we would see in a boy. If I get mad or upset, she comes right over to say, "That's okay, Mommy!" (well, it sounds more like "dats otay, Mommy!"). When someone (anyone) is crying she remarks on it and wants to know why. She gets very concerned when you have a boo boo (although, to his credit, Maddox is quick to notice bandaids, too). She loves to play with dolls - push them around in their strollers, change their diapers, feed them in the high chair Sal made. Maddox has been enjoying smacking at everything in sight with a roll from wrapping paper and Chava is simultaneously carrying around a purple balloon to protect it and comfort it from Maddox's violence.

Maddox's birthday party

We invited 5 kids. One girl came 20 minutes early with her older brother (although I had mentioned to the mom that this was okay) and the mom did a dump and run. The other girl's parents called to ask if it was okay to drop her off. I said it was fine if they thought she would be okay - but then I got worried when she declined to eat lunch because "I was sick this morning and so I'm going slowly." WTF?????

Anyway, I think Maddox had fun. We started off by making pizza (too much chaos to take pictures) and then went outside for "donut on a string" eating (thanks, Cat, for the idea) and pinata battering. Then back inside for pizza, followed by 20 minutes of crazy jumping around in the living room and then cake (train cake, for which Al did most of the decorating). I must admit, it was some of the longest 90 minutes I can remember. And this was only 6 kids. Thankfully, Jill was there (the only other parent, which meant we had a lot of Bob's sandwiches to eat) to help play ringmaster.


Chava quickly elected to eat her donut in a more efficient manner.

Maddox turns 4

Of course, the only pictures I took of the day involve eating. But how else would Maddox elect to celebrate his birthday? We started out with the traditional Eckhouse family waffles and ice cream with chocolate syrup. I have to say, though, that Maddox prefers plain yogurt and maple syrup, so he ate my waffle and I ate his. He also has not put down the three trains that Uncle Seffie, Aunt Catherine and Cousin Henry sent. Big winners.





We finished the day with candles in a piece of Iggy's bread pudding (Maddox's choice). Delish.

I'm a little choked up that he's 4. He just seems so big. Except for the fact that the damn kid still insists on crapping in a diaper.

Halloween

Maddox wanted to be the cow again, from last year. We had hoped Chavie might wear the pumpkin costume handed down through Michela and Eli but she wanted no part of it - although she really did want to take both her pocketbooks along with her trick or treat bag with her, so we told everyone she was dressed up as a bag lady.




















She keeps her arms up so the bags don't fall off.



















Enjoying the loot.