Much Better, Mom...

If I had categories of posts, this one would belong under "Kids say the darndest things..."

Wolf has pretty regular bowel movements. Usually right after breakfast. This morning was no exception. I was feeding August and Wolf was standing at the end of the chaise part of the couch when I noticed he was having his morning poop. After he was done, he looked up at me, smiled and said, "Much better, Mom, much better".

Marlena's First Trip to Disneyland

Back in March (March 19th to be exact), I took Marlena to Disneyland for the first time (it was my 2nd time). She LOVED it. LOVED LOVED LOVED it. We met up with my friend and her daughter and had a great time.

Marlena keeps asking when we can go back. My answer is usually "Not anytime in the near future". Poor girl.

Anyway, here is a video of our day - it was a long one and for everyone's sanity I didn't include all the videos, just the highlights.

Wolf's 2nd Birthday

Here is a short little video of Wolf's 2nd birthday. He certainly enjoyed the cake - that was probably his favorite part. Marlena was thrilled to open the presents that came along for her and August, so a little clip of that is included as well.

Wolf's First Haircut

I see that it's been ages since we've added anything to our blog. Not even an update of August birth! How sad...

But here's a video of Wolf's first haircut. Don suggested cutting Wolf's hair and I took him up on that offer right away, as I've been dying to take a razor to Wolf's hair -as a few close family members know, I am somewhat scissor happy, altho' it doesn't always turn out well. Anyway, here's a video - I left out most of the screaming since Marlena was holding the camera and spinning in circles rather than actually filming.

Some Updates

Marlena's drawing skills have improved. Don now thinks her drawing skills are starting to surpass his! This particular picture is of me, with the new baby in my tummy. I'll admit I grabbed the picture away from Marlena before she could totally scribble over it. I find myself thrilled to actually be able to recognize what it is she is drawing. Not so thrilled about the mean expression on "my" face...

And here is a recent picture of Wolf. I took it yesterday. Wolf is enjoying books at the moment, and sitting on chairs. He's also starting to scribble, but mostly he just likes to dump out the crayons and markers and scatter them.

Let's Make it Official

We need a new car... come end of January (or maybe beginning of February), our family will no longer fit in the car we currently have. I'm currently petitioning Don for an 8-seater mini van, either Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey. With those cars you can fit 3 car seats in the 2nd row, and you'd still have a 3rd row for the grandparents, friends, soccer teams, volleyball teams, etc. Alternatively, once all three kids start fighting, you can split them up. Or I can move all three of them way to the back and then I'll be able to ignore them better.

So, what am I making official? Don and I are expecting baby #3. And this time I promised Don I wouldn't find out the sex, so it'll be a total surprise. Actually the fact that I was pregnant came as a total surprise, too.

This baby is due January 29th, 2010, just after Marlena's 4th birthday and before Wolf's 2nd birthday, so next year should be a lot of fun...

Marlena's Fashion Sense

Tonight, Marlena put together a marvelous outfit... well, she thought it was marvelous. My only contribution was tying the strings of her hat into a bow. Then I had to take some pictures - maybe these pictures can be used to blackmail her during her teenage years...

Marlena and Wolf

Got a nice picture of the two of them today, just before lunch. Trying to get a nice picture of Marlena and Wolfie together is worse than trying to brush Marlena's teeth. I did manage to get one picture where they're both looking into the camera and Marlena, at least, is smiling and looking happy. Wolf doesn't smile on command yet.

One of my Favorites

Hullabaloo is a local kids' band that sings some great songs. Marlena enjoys their music and they have a lot of concerts around here. One of my favorite songs is called "Sippy Cup", and they have videos, which Marlena loves to watch.

Marlena's (Not So New Anymore) Haircut

What happens to you if you have a frugal dad and a scissor-happy mom? An at-home-haircut! Marlena's hair was hanging in her eyes and since she always pulls out any hair clips, it was time for a hair cut. She was supposed to get a basic bob - like Dora the Explorer, if you know who that is. Well, she wiggled and moved and the hair kept getting shorter and shorter. Finally Don held her head in place and I tried to fix it. Here is a picture, a few weeks later, of the end result:

Not too bad, if I do say so myself. Marlena was pleased as punch with her haircut. Since I'd cut my hair short she's been asking for me to cut her hair short, too. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

One unfortunate side effect of Marlena having short hair though, is that she is constantly being mistaken for a boy, no matter what she seems to be wearing... OK, so I dress her in jeans and t-shirts a lot... but the jeans have ruffles and pink stitching, and her blue shirt has pink buttons. Can nobody pick up on these details?!?!

Wolf, on the other hand, doesn't have enough hair for cutting.... yet. He'll probably just end up getting buzz cuts since we happen to have an electric razor handy. So, no big image changes on his part, but here's a fairly recent picture of him anyway.

Happy New Year!

Wolfie feeds himself lentil soup - mid November 2008 - 6 & 1/2 months. Just getting comfortable with this eating thing.

Wolfie plays the Cymbals

Also from November, Wolfie learns to play the cymbals.

Wolfie's sleep-aid

This is a little out of order date wise (it's from November), but here's what we get when we wake up Wolfie when he has had a good nap . 

Merry Christmas!

Pictures of Wolf from yesterday

So far Wolfie has been a little shortchanged with the number of pictures we've posted of him. But, just because we haven't posted any pictures of him doesn't mean we don't have any. We do. We just haven't posted them. But I took some pictures of him yesterday and thought I'd post them. Especially since my sister Desiree was displeased with the picture of him with the fake hair. She said she couldn't really tell what he looked like.

Hopefully these pictures will satisfy....

Marlena and Wolfie Bonding

Here is a little video of Marlena and Wolfie. The first little clip is from April, the second from May and the last one is from August. Enjoy!

Marlena's First Visit to the Dentist

At the beginning of October, Marlena went to the dentist for the first time. A pediatric dentist, they had TVs on the ceiling. The Backyardigans were on when Marlena's appointment started and it kept her attention throughout the whole visit.

Here are some short clips of her experience.

Video from Halloween... finally

Here, finally, is a video from Halloween. Well, a video of Marlena hollowing out pumpkins, and some pictures of Marlena from Halloween Night. The videos from that night didn't turn out too well. And then she peed in her costume.

She got a bit of candy, not enough, in my opinion, since I was the one who ate her booty. Still, I think she had a good time and will be looking forward to it next year.

What is that on earth?

"What is that on earth?" is the newest phrase Marlena is trying out. I think she's trying to say "What on earth is that", but isn't quite getting it right. I do think the phrase is quite appropriate for this picture of Wolfie.


We were at a friend's house last week and her daughter had a head band with the long blond hair attached. Marlena wasn't interested in trying it on, poor Wolfie didn't really get a say in the matter, but I thought he looked quite funny. Like one of those troll dolls. The joys of having a baby.

In reality, he isn't quite as bald as he looks. At 6 months, Marlena had male-pattern-baldness going on - lots of hair around the ears and back, but none on top. Wolfie, on the other hand, has a more hair. It's quite light so you can't really see it, but it's growing everywhere on his head in a consistent manner.

Other milestones include sitting up, but he doesn't seem to like to roll over. Not from front to back, not from back to front. He's done it a few times, but doesn't show much interest in doing it regularly. He does manage to move around his crib quite a bit. I'll lay him down with his head pointing north and when I go to pick him up at the end of his nap, his head pointing in a totally different direction.

He has discovered banging things together and seems to get a lot of enjoyment out of that. I'll have to post the video I have of him banging the lids of Marlena's toy pots together. Actually I have a lot of videos I need to post... I'll start soon... I promise...

In the meantime, here is a picture of Marlena, from the same day we took the picture of Wolfie above, with her friend rocking out with her tennis racket guitar.