(Stickers courtesy of you know who.)
No more big holidays til 4th of July. :-( When you have kids, holidays bring about more excitement, even if it's just to buy them a cheesy outfit. So, now that Easter has come and gone, we just wait for the hot weather and the next celebration. Memorial Day and my birthday come before July 4th, but....ehhhhh, neither is that exciting, especially for the kids.
Nolan has slowly incorporated laughter into his bag of tricks. He's always been a smiley baby but, until this week, we haven't heard any outright laughs. Even now, we have to work pretty hard (and look really silly) to get them. My goal this week was to figure out how to upload video clips to the computer and this would have been a great clip, but.....yeah.....didn't happen. Ya know how there are just some tasks that seem soooooo overwhelming that you just put them off, sometimes FOREVER?! This is one of those for me. Calling the Best Buy support line to troubleshoot Jason's mp3 player is another one of those things. I really just wasted $100 at Christmas, plain and simple. Or Jason could call them.......oh no, that won't happen. So, we're back to wasting $100.
Anywho......
The following pictures were taken one night after Bailey's dance class. I love the one with her reading to Nolan, but I couldn't quite get the picture snapped before he smashed his face into the blanket. But, I assure you, nanoseconds before, he was listening intently. :-) And, Bailey went without her tights to class because I failed to have them clean and in her bag on Tuesday. Hey, I'm not perfect.
We had Nolan's 4 month appointment last week. As you may recall, I've been writing about how chubby he's getting and my love for calling him "fat boy." Well, it turns out that he's not so much chubby as not so chubby, at least according to the good ole' growth chart. He's 12 lbs., 12 ozs. which is 10% on the chart. He's 50% in his length. I was really surprised. The doctor wasn't concerned or anything, just said that we might go ahead and start him on some cereal at one meal per day to increase his caloric intake. Of course, I've always heard that the longer you wait on solids, the less likely they are to develop allergies. Anyway, Nolan just isn't the kid that demands more and more food. He's hungry at times, of course, but we haven't yet gotten to that point I remember with Bailey (and other moms talk about) where the kid just simply can't get enough milk and seems dissatisfied with it.
Bailey had her 2nd dentist appointment a few days ago. She did just great, as she did the first time. She's funny, though, as she'll talk up a storm with the hygienist, but then gets nervous around the doctor. I took a few pics - doesn't she look so big?! I don't know why the picture is fuzzy on a couple of these. Anyway, the doctor told us we should probably start saving for the inevitable orthodontist bills. Great....
I also mentioned some problems with Bailey in terms of her behavior around Nolan. The poor girl just loves her brother, but that term "I love you to death" is something I don't want to play out in real life. The other day she was up on the bed with him while Jason and I were getting ready. She was singing to him and rubbing his belly. She always has a tendency to be too rough - squeezing his little face and whatnot - so we're constantly checking on them. Good thing. I peeked my head around the corner just in time to see her grab the bed pillow and put it over his head. I let out the biggest movie style, slow motion, "Nooooooo, Baaaaaaiiiiiilllleeeey." She promptly stopped and looked at me like she was going to cry as a reaction to my reaction. I had to have a heart to heart with her about the potential repercussions of that kind of action. Poor thing doesn't understand, which is why you just can't take your eyes off of them. I was telling someone after this incident that parenting is so difficult because so many situations like this ARE learning opportunities for them, but it's so exhausting to think about all the things you NEED to teach them. So many things have to be taught within the context of an "incident." A few weeks ago, I had to demonstrate what happens when you put a plastic bag over your head because she was playing and tried to put a ziploc over her face. It makes my head spin.
Now for some personal commentary. Every once in awhile, a movie or book moves me to a great degree and I feel compelled to tell others about it. Books on that list are "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold and "One True Thing" by Anna Quindlen. Those are must reads. This past weekend, Jason and I watched "Gone Baby Gone." This is Ben Affleck's directorial debut and, thus, I don't think I was attracted to it in the least bit. Movies of actors turned directors never seem to shout THIS IS GONNA BE GOOD. But, my mom said I should watch it. So, I did. I have to say that I am still reeling emotionally from the content of the film, and I can't seem to get the various messages out of my mind. The whole film is about choices - both good and bad - and how they affect various outcomes, with the premise of a kidnapped little girl as the foundation. Of course, parents will have a hard time with the kidnapping content, but that's really not the core of the film. At the risk of saying too much, I'll stop there. Just watch it. It does have bad language - beware. But, in my opinion, it's one of the best movies I've seen in quite awhile.
Peace....
Why is there a flashlight in bed with Nolan? The answer? I don't know. There just is. Maybe there was a storm and we were worried about the lights going out the night before. Maybe someone's throat was sore so someone else needed it to check the tonsils. Maybe Bailey got under the covers and read a book. Who knows!
Yes, this is laundry piled on my bed. And, yes, it is a load of underwear. Nothing like showing your goods via the world wide web. 
Cute girl, messy messy closet. At least there isn't overflow onto the floor, which is usually the case. I think this picture is pre-Nolan. Somehow a teeny tiny baby has added a great deal of laundry to our lives. 
Scout's cage is set up in the background. Poor dog can't be trusted to roam the house anymore when we're not home so this lovely item has become permanent decor. You'll note it is flanked by a basket of toys Bailey never plays with but won't let us throw away, and our treadmill. Eye sores galore! And this room smells lovely (with a trapped dog and people running on a treadmill, why wouldn't it?).
This picture struck me as heeelarious since it's a recent one and I haven't even NOTICED (in real life) that we have a candle perched atop one of the coffee table decorations. Bailey is the resident duster and she obviously decided that this was the look she was going for upon placing the items back. In addition, the weird little white things are "Tattle Tales" which have historically kept Scout off our furniture while we were not home. I guess I can put those up since he's no longer allowed to roam freely.
