tricked ya!

So Emerson, my "yellow lab" eater because she has always eaten absolutely everything we've set before her, has recently gone on an eating strike. Every meal has been a struggle in the last week. She won't even eat her snacks. The only things on her approved list have been peanut butter and honey sandwiches, fruit snacks, and any and all types of dessert. This has made for some very tense meals and one very crabby, hungry girl.

Last night, I had the idea to ask HER what she'd like for dinner. Without batting an eye, she said "plain pasta with no sauce. Just cheese." {I'm sure my mom is chuckling now, as this sounds vaguely familiar to her.} I promised to oblige her (knowing that I'd put some pureed yellow squash in with the cheese and butter...thank you Jessica Seinfeld). Then, I took it a step further. I cooked some peas and chopped some ham and put them into bowls on the table so that people could serve themselves however much they wanted.

She. Loved. This.

She was eating something she wanted, and also felt quite big because she got to do her own "toppings." I was happy because she got 2 good veggies and some protein, and we all were happy because dinner was not a battle. I promised to do this weekly (for the time being, anyway) with a different selection of toppings each time. Maybe turkey and broccoli or chicken and roasted red peppers. And because I'll always sneak some veggie puree into the pasta, I'm not going to fight with her about putting toppings on.

Win win.

Oh, and Pete? He would happily eat cat food. Or dandelions. Or dust bunnies. Or chalk...

a cacophony and a menagerie

It seems like my kids are both of these things of late; Pete is a cacophony of sounds and babbles and words and shrieks, while Emerson is a menagerie of animals, mostly stemming from The Bearnstein Bears and Franklin books. Today, I was Beaver and she was Franklin while we played baseball. Often, I'm Mama Bear or Mrs. Turtle. And she flip-flops between Jackrabbit, Sister Bear, Franklin, and Harriet quicker than you can catch on which story you're acting out. But I LOVE to see her imagination at work. I'm fairly certain that I used to have an imagination like that, once upon a time. Wonder at what point it faded to black?



Love these 2 pictures of the kiddos. They're totally, completely engrossed in Thomas on TV. I believe it's the only time either of them stopped moving all day. Pete was so captivated that his thumb and toes were flexed with excitement. So cute.

language explosion

So Mr. Pete is talking. Like really talking. Not in full sentences or anything, but he's making {at least some of} his thoughts known and it's so, SO cool. I had forgotten how amazing it is to be able to communicate with my child in these early stages.

Most of his words are proper nouns, but he has some others as well. Here's a few off the top of my head:

Mama- he uses this for me, Jeff, and Emerson. It's a bit confusing but so sweet.

Go- Jiko, our cat

Dah, dah, dah- Down, down, down, which he chants when I lower the shades in his room or shut (and come to think of it, open) the garage door.

Gah bah- golf ball. He is frequently found around town clutching one of his many golf balls.

ga GAH- I like to pretend this is "please," but it's probably more like "I WANT THAT!" He says it when he sees food, his bottle, or some fun toy.

AH dah- This is thank you. He'll hand you something and chant AH dah, AH dah. I guess he's a little mixed up on who is supposed to say thanks. Still, so sweet.

Gah Gah- Bye bye

Dah- dog

Minnie- he uses this for both Mickey and Minnie Mouse

Manny- Handy Manny

Danah- Donald Duck

Hi- hi

Haaoo?- hello

Ow- Ow, which he'll say after drawing blood on you with his fangs. He thinks this is really funny. I fail to see the humor in it.

And he's a mimic; if you bark, he'll bark. If you roar, he'll roar. And Emerson walks around pretending to sneeze. So Pete copies her. He can't do the "choo" yet, so it comes out "Ah, ah, ah, ah, ahhhhh. Seriously funny stuff.

And if you ask him how he's doing, he'll often respond "Gooh," which I swear is "good." He's the smartest baby ever. And it's SO awesome to be able to communicate with him as opposed to at him.

the kid/bird conundrum

I have a friend who astutely pointed out to me (I believe we were in Milan, in fact) that kids love birds. Specifically, large clusters of city birds. Find a large group of pigeons, and there's sure to be a kid somewhere nearby chasing or squatting for a better look or trying to feed them. I have a similar thing going on at my house. MY kids love food. Specifically, my food. Whatever I'm eating is utterly fascinating to them, and consequently, they both squawk like hungry pigeons until I give them some. Or most, as the case may be. And since I don't always get to eat with them at mealtimes, I sometimes eat my meals by myself {read as: not at the same time as AS OPPOSED TO alone} And when I eat said meals, I usually have one grabbing the utensil out of my hands and another scooting and climbing on me for a morsel. In the last 2 weeks, I've had about half a dozen people tell me that I'm looking thinner these days. Now you know my diet secret....have some kids. The more kids you have, the more weight you'll lose. (edited to say that I DO know how to break my thoughts into paragraphs, I swear. But Blogger is not allowing the breaks, for whatever reason. Super sorry!)

chef mickey's

We started our first morning at Chef Mickey's. Emerson has been talking about it ever since she found some Mickey-shaped waffles in a picture in one of my travel planning books. She was so excited to get one-on-one time with her favorite friends. She even had a bit of love to share with her brother. I'm so glad I caught her as she planted one right on Pete and said "I love you, Buggy." So sweet. The characters come around to all the tables as you eat your meal. They'll take pics, give hugs and autographs, and generally bring out tons of smiles. Emerson. Was. So. Excited. She could hardly contain herself. It was so darn cute!

This was the stuff that Em's dreams are made of. Donald is her absolute favorite of all the Mickey buddies.

Pete kept touching Donald's beak. He was just trying to figure out how the characters from TV had come to life at the breakfast table.

Goofy came by first. This was Pete's reaction.

Look closely at Emerson's face. Total bliss!

disney's wilderness lodge

Here are a few from around the Wilderness Lodge. Although they could have been taken at a Ramada for all you know. For someone who prides herself on capturing the "whole story" with photos, I really blew it. Guess I'll have to use Google Images for the scrapbook pages. See this smile? Only one thing could bring a smile like this. Disney, baby. And this was just from the excitement of walking into our hotel room! Let the gluttony begin. Sharing an orange milkshake with Grandpa @ Whispering Canyon Cafe. Mama also gets a huge Disney-induced smile when I'm in my happy place ;) Pete is one cool dude, isn't he? Especially in his sister's Little Mermaid sunglasses with the flowers on the lenses. Poor Bug.

There were a couple of pools at the resort, including a huge main pool with a water slide. Em tried it once, sank at the bottom, and then stuck to the wading pool thereafter. {Mama note: we have since signed up for swimming lessons.}

This is one of my faves from the whole week. You'll hear me say that a lot.

Grandma loved swimming with Emerson and was tireless!

This was the first pool taken on the first afternoon. She was pretty pumped. I almost think we didn't even need to go to the parks. Almost.

That's all for now.

384

That's the total number of pictures I took at Disney World. And I finally finished editing and whatnot. I'll try to get a few up this week. But here's a teaser for you now.

You can't see the ear to ear grin on Emerson's face, but trust me, she was over the moon.

I LOVE this picutre. Look at Emerson's face. Pete's grin was just as big. We were so blessed to be able to go to Disney World!

i have a problem

Warning: You may become addicted. Consider yourselves warned.

I'm fortunate to live in an area with a large, diverse ethnic population, and can get my hands on all means of international goodies. I found these little lovelies at the grocery store last Monday. That's where the trouble began.

These are good. Deadly good.

Emerson and I nibbled one or two when we got home from the store. And then, I snuck a few as I put away the groceries.

And then a few more while I made dinner. And maybe a few more after the kids were in bed.

Repeat on Tuesday. And Wednesday. Aaaaaand Thursday. Good grief.

Go get yourselves some. Now. And if coconut is not your thing, try lemon, chocolate, vanilla, hazelnut, tiramisu. Just try them.

stream of consciousness

Here's what's rattling around in my brain right this second. * Pete, if you saw my to-do list, you'd do Mama a favor and take a 6 hour nap. 30 minutes isn't gonna cut it, Bug. * Just put $70 of gas in my Monster Mama Mobile. Eek gads. And it's only going to get worse as the summer approaches, I fear. Sigh. I SO miss my cute little BMW. It could fit in the trunk of my 7 passenger SUV. * I watched the shirts going around the hanging spinner at the dry cleaners yesterday {those are handy little gadgets, right? Love to have one in my closet} I came to the conclusion that all of the men in my town has the same 4 dress shirts- a solid blue, a striped/checked blue, and 2 white. Kinda like Stepford. Creepy. * Mr. Clean Magic Eraser should be standard issue in all hospital New Mom bags. But what is in them that makes them work so well? And do I really want to be using it in my bare hands? Double creepy. Ok. Now my head is cleared of these things and ready to fill up with other nonsense.

any guesses?

Anyone want to venture a guess as to how many pictures I took last week? I don't think it's a particularly astronomical number, but that's just me.

home again, home again, jiggity jig

Howdy folks. I've been conspicuously absent for the last week or so, but with good reason. We just got back last night from a vacation to Disney! I promise to share pics once I get them off the camera. Right now, I'm knee deep in dining reservations for my fall clients and cruise quotes, but hopefully I'll have something to share soon. Peace out~