We put Eve to bed at 8pm last night and
she’s still sleeping! I didn’t even have to get up during the
night to replug her. I, of course, am up at 6am with Lex. Oh
well. Eve has started sleeping on her belly. We put her down on
her back and at some point during her sleep she rolls onto her
belly. I’ve found her that way for the past 5 times she’s
slept. She’s such a sweet sleeper! :)

Lex fell asleep in the car on the way home
today (more on that below) and I brought him upstairs. This
used to work well, but not so much lately. In the process of
changing his diaper and closing the shade, he woke up. I left
him there anyway and went down to nurse Eve. I brought her up
to bed about 10 minutes ago, very tired and ready for sleep.
Lex was still awake. A few minutes later I hear Lex over the
monitor saying, “Lex and Eve woke up. Yeah!” over and over. I
left them alone for a few minutes then went up to find the
light on, the fan off, Eve grinning with her arm out of the
crib reaching for Lex and Lex just walking around. When I went
in he was very excited and told me again that they woke up and
“Want mommy and Lex and Eve to go downstairs.” Funny boy. I
explained the difference between being awake and waking up and
that he has to fall asleep before he can wake up :) Now they
are up there and both of them are talking and I’m pretty sure
the fan is off again. I sense a no-nap day today :/

I headed over to the Shoetorium today to try
to buy Lex some shoes. Grandpa and Grandma met me there to tend
to Eve while I shopped (a very difficult job, I know). I picked
that store because they have a very good reputation in the area
for accurately measuring shoe sizes and working well with kids.
The poor sales guy didn’t stand a chance with Lex. With great
patience and persistence we were able to get a size
measurement, but Lex would have no part of trying shoes on. He
cried and kicked and screamed and said over and over “want no
shoes, want no shoes.” He honestly sounded like I was torturing
him! So he’s either wearing too-small Crocs all winter (not
really an option, of course) or I’ll do what I did last time he
out grew his shoes — buy the exact same ones a size bigger :)
I’m in trouble they day the stop making Lex’s favorite
shoes!

The playground is a funny place. When we
go I always hope there are other kids for Lex to play with, but
at the same time, the more kids there the more vigilant I have
to be. We went today and there were a bunch of kids (most of
whom we know) and I had to watch him the entire time. Makes it
tough for me to socialize! :) There was a boy we know that
started pushing Lex from the minute we walked in the gate. Lex
took it for awhile, watched as the kid took his hat, poured
sand on his arm, and generally acted annoying. Then, at one
point, the kid pushed Lex and Lex apparently decided it was a
game and yelled (playfully, but a yell nonetheless) and ran
towards the kid. I’m not sure what his goal was, but the kid
put up his hands and pushed into Lex. I interjected at that
point and took Lex away for awhile. It’s funny because you want
to let the kids kind of figure stuff out on their own, but at
the same time I don’t want to allow or condone pushing and
unfriendly behavior (which he’s been doing a bit lately). On
our way out he was running around with Dylan having fun and
then suddenly pushed him over and made him cry. No fun! I
strapped him into the stroller and told him that he can’t play
with Dylan if he’s not going to be friendly. Of course, this
was also a punishment for me because I then had to push an
extra 30lbs up the hill to the car! Oh, the sacrifices we make
;)

I went to the dentist yesterday morning.
Let me tell you, there is nothing like a drill in your mouth to
remind you of the importance of flossing :/ Lex didn’t want to
brush his teeth last night, so I got to remind him how mommy’s
mouth hurt all morning and if he brushes well every day he
won’t have to have his mouth hurt when he’s older. He thought
about it for a few seconds then got up and walked into the
bathroom and grabbed his tooth brushes (yep, he brushes with
two brushes). And speaking of teeth, we made more teething
biscuits yesterday – we’ve been out for about a week and Lex
was going through withdrawal. He was thrilled to have more and
I gave one to Eve too. I’d forgotten how they become slimy,
gummy messes when baby is just starting to teeth on them. Lex
pretty much eats them like cookies, since he is way past
teething. Eve seemed to like it though. I also started giving
her Cheerios, but she is still figuring them out. She can’t
pick them up herself (too small) and when I put them on her
tongue she sort of moves them around and then spits them out.
Just last night she actually swallowed one.

Yesterday we also made zucchini cheddar bread
and apple sauce. I’m trying to use up the garden stuff my
neighbor brought over and the million apples we picked in 10
minutes a few weeks ago. So far I’ve made 2 pies and a double
batch of apple sauce and I have about enough left for 2 more
pies. Alan is very happy! I feel like a regular Martha Stewart
these days… or maybe a farmers wife, since Alan is always
working and there are always children at my side. :)

We got home from our trip to Franklin Friday
night. About 20 minutes from home Lex started crying and saying
“Does your butt hurt?” (His statements are usually in the form
of a question these days) I felt bad for him, but I wasn’t
about to pull over when we were just 20 minutes from home. He
cried and fussed until we came to a train crossing and had to
stop for a train to cross :) That made him happy. It was a
really long train too!

On Saturday,
Alan’s parents came to visit. Unfortunately their truck broke
down on the way here. Alan went to help get it to the dealer
and they ended up taking our Saturn home until the dealer can
fix their truck. We finished the day with a lovely visit and
yummy dinner. We also got a visit from a neighbor up the
street. He came with a basket filled with goodies from his
garden. He left a whole bunch of greens and herbs and other
stuff and (I’ll confess) I had to have Alan’s mom give me a
little help on what to do with it all. Glad she was around! Lex
had picked a big tomato from our garden and was eating it like
an apple when the neighbor stopped by. He gave Lex a purple
pepper and Lex put the tomato down and bit right into the
pepper instead :) He’s so funny! Glad he’s eating his veggies
though!! The 3rd picture down is him biting into the pepper and
the 4th picture shows his reaction, and Eve’s finger. She is
VERY grabby these days and was trying to “help” me with the
camera. She has lightening fast hands now and nothing is safe
within her short little reach :)

Today
was a fun filled day of grocery shopping (the bill was huge,
but then I realized that I haven’t been shopping in 2 weeks, so
I guess it was ok), working, and cooking a yummy lasagne dinner
(I even made one to freeze for later!). I ended today (so far)
with a short fall down the stairs. I had Eve in one arm and
stuff in the other and I slipped on one of the bottom-ish
steps. Luckily I fell on my non-Eve arm and just scraped it
against the bottom newel post. We are all fine, I’m a little
sore and probably bruised and Eve thought it was a fun little
ride :)

Tomorrow we are going to MA to
visit Julie for the day. Hopefully we can get in a little
shopping at the big box stores they don’t have ’round these
parts. Maybe we’ll slow down on Tuesday. Or maybe we’ll have
someone over for a playdate. Time will tell :)

For now I’m going to go read the newspaper
(I’m only a week behind!) and wait for Alan to come watch some
3rd Rock with me :)

It’s late and I’m tired, but I wanted to
post a few quick pictures. We went for a long walk this
morning, over the hills and through the fields. It was
beautiful. Then we went to visit Aunt Rosy and played at a
pretty cool place called The Discovery Center. Both babies had
fun. Better still, both babies came home completely worn out
and fell right asleep! So hard, in fact, that Lex fell out of
bed and it didn’t wake him up!! That’s a good vacation :) Here
are a few pics.

I know it’s hard to guess, based on
toddler behavior, what a person will be like as a grown-up, but
sometimes it seems like you get little glimpses. Lex is usually
pretty easy going, non-confrontational, and helpful. At
playgroups, when other kids take stuff from him, he normally
just walks away. Even at our house he usually doesn’t care. (Is
he going to be a big push-over??) Yesterday, however, we had
Nate over and Lex knocked him over a couple of times! Very
intentionally and meanly. Lex was wearing a new shirt with
buttons and a collar and is a good several inches taller than
Nate (Nate is 19mo) and he just looked like a brute. What’s
worse, after the first push, every time Lex went anywhere near
Nate, Nate coward away from him and cried… which just made
Lex appear even worse. I felt bad for the whole situation. In
the afternoon Lex was trying to share his toys and give Nate
things, but Nate kept cowering away and crying. (Or is he going
to be a bully??) It was a rough day for everyone. (Or just a
toddler?? :) )

Today will be better. I’m
packing (well, typing at the moment, then changing diapers,
then back to packing) and we are headed to Franklin!
Yay!

My dear Joyce, and everyone else, I miss you
too. Are you telling me that a week between updates is too
long? You are, of course, correct. I’ve just been in a pretty
crabby mood lately, and not really motivated to write. I’ve
also been trying to update the photos.datdec.com site. It’s not
ready yet, but someday soon you’re going to get a plethora of
photos for your viewing pleasure :) Now its early and I’m
chilling (its 39 degrees outside, gotta turn on the heat soon!)
so I’m just going to copy and paste from an email I sent to
Grandma yesterday. How’s that for lazy? :)

Things here are going ok. I still have just the one kid
and just a few days a week. He’s 19mo and pretty easy. I have
to be registered to take more than 2 families, so I have that
in the works. I also had a visit from a woman at The Child Care
Project in Hanover. They are
responsible for home
visits and education and stuff like that. A great resource for
both parents and childcare providers. They typically do one
visit before you are registered and one after the
registration is approved. The woman was really nice and
had a ton of info, but also pointed out a few things that I
need to change to be fully up to snuff as a childcare provider
(different sleeping arrangements, fencing, age appropriate
toys, etc).

Meanwhile, I got a call from
King Arthur Flour about a position I applied for many weeks
ago. The position description sounds great, so I went in for an
interview last week. KA would be a sweet place to work, if I
have to go back to work. The HR woman I met with was nice
and things went well, but she said the position may have
morphed a bit since it was advertised. She also said they were
interviewing a few other people and would be in touch towards
the end of this week. Sooo…. my brain is going a million
miles a minute about possibilities and pros and cons and blah,
blah, blah. I give myself a headache :)

So, on that note, I’ve decided to take the kids to
Franklin for a few days. Packing up and running home to mommy
is a legitimate grown-up solution to life’s problems, right???
(Just kidding mom, it’s just a visit, I promise!) Alan has been
working all the time these days, so we’re going to leave him
home and go on a little road trip. I’m excited. I thought maybe
a change of scenery would do me good. At least give me
something else to think about for awhile.

The kids are doing great. He is so smart and funny, and
I’m pretty sure he just had a growth spurt. He looks like such
a little man now. She is growing bigger and starting to get
mobile. She turns herself around on her back and reaches for
her toys. They are so cute when they play together. He makes
her laugh. She is eating solids now (avocado, sweet potatoes,
baby cereal, and bananas). They also both like to talk, so
there’s never a quite moment in my house :) She’s on the floor
now jabbering away.

Ok, gonna find a
few photos to put here and then go get Lex (he’s been awake in
his room for awhile now). Love you all!!

For dinner last night Lex ate a mini bagel
with cream cheese, about 1/3 cup of green beans, Baby Bell
cheese, food cube of sweet potato, 4 pretzel sticks, about 1/3
of a banana, milk and water. Then we went outside and he ate a
grape tomato, green bean, and carrot from the garden. Hungry
boy!

THEN… I mentioned that the leaves
are starting to fall and soon we will have to rake them up. He
got so excited about this idea that he started running to the
garage saying “Wanna get the racks. Want to get mommy’s rake.
Want to get Lex’s rake.” In the garage he started chocking (not
good to run and talk with fresh green beans in your mouth) and
he chocked so hard he threw up all over the garage!!! I had Eve
in the hip carrier and I tried to keep Lex in one place
(contain the mess) while yelling for Alan to come out and help
us! Fun, fun. Alan threw him in the shower and got him all
cleaned up, then he climbed up in the high chair for more food!
He actually got in the high chair and said “Want to watch a
little bit of TV with dinner.” How can you resist that :) So I
gave him more green beans, pretzels and milk, which he ate
while we watched an episode of The Simpsons. :)

He cracks me up because he laughs at the most
random places. In the show a guy was banging on a drum and Lex
was cracking up. He watched Arrested Development with us the
other day and that made him laugh too. It’s not even like he
laughs when we laugh, he just laughs whenever he thinks
something is funny. Sometimes we are laughing, but usually not
:) He has a very toddler sense of humor.