Ellie has a wicked accent

Today I took the kids to the Science Museum with Kate and Enrique, who is up this weekend for Ellie's party. We spent some time trying to get her to say a few things like "four more doors", which comes out like "foah moah doahs". We could make a whole vocabulary lesson from her funny words. She is going to have the full accent if we don't stop her.

Tiny Little Memories

We took the kids to the Walpole fireworks tonight. It was fun, Ellie announced that the fireworks were "tiny little memories." We thought she was being very philosophical but then she said "little squares like my memory game."

Sweet Little Ellie... or not

Today I said "I love your dress, you look so pretty."
And she replied "well you don't mom."

Hardware

For the next couple of weeks, he will look like Eric did at this age. Not as severe though.

Raccoon Hair?

Tonight Andrew and I had wine with dinner and Eric thought it was juice. So I let him sniff it to prove it was wine and he said "eeewww that smells like raccoon hair." Where he came up with that I don't know.

Cry

Eric told Ellie if you don't give me a turn in that chair I'm gonna make you cry. She didn't move so he looked at her and said "cry" so she did.

Did I mention they were fighting over James' baby bumbo seat!!!

Afternoon Drinks

With the basement fridge accessible from outside now, Eric asked if he could go in and get a water bottle and I said sure could he get me a root beer. He came back a few minutes later and said "we're all out of root beer so I got you a beer." I didn't think a Miller Lite was appropriate for 2 pm on a wednesday but it was thoughtful of him anyways.

Long Afternoon Ahead

Ellie just informed me that naptime is canceled for today!

James' Foot Update

**James is getting his first leg cast or "boot" as we call it on June 25**

Went to Childrens today for James' appointment with Dr. Zimbler, the ortho who sees Eric for his clubfoot. James has clubfoot too but not as severe. It is called metatarsus adductus, defined as:

Metatarsus adductus is a foot deformity. The bones in the middle of the foot bend in toward the body. This is exactly what we saw on the xray,

Eric has true clubfoot or "talipes equinovarus" which is defined as:

The common ("classic") form of clubfoot. Talipes is made up of the Latin talus (ankle) + pes (foot). Equino- indicates the heel is elevated (like a horse's) and -varus indicates it is turned inward. With this type of clubfoot, the foot is turned in sharply and the person seems to be walking on their ankle. Eric's achilles tendon was actually too short and needed to be stretched.

While Eric had surgery, corrective shoes with a bar and casts for 5 months, James outlook is 1-2 months of casting and no surgery. James also has Torticollis, where one side of neck has weaker muscles, causing his head to slouch toward side which could develop a flat spot. Eric had this too, all we need to do is position him correctly and physical therapy.

Eric's doctor called him a "poster child for Children's hospital orthopedics" so hopefully James will be too.

All of these problems are attributed to "position in the womb" so I guess as a mother, it's one more thing for me to feel guilty about :)

Today James weighed 12 lb. 6 oz.

Harmonica

Actual song lyric: "I play the HARMONICA"

Ellie's Version "I play the KERMONITER"

Eric's Response "Ellie, it's not Kermoniter it's FRAMONICA"

Purple House

Ellie: When I'm bigger I'm gonna have a purple house and you can come visit me there."
Mom: "Wow! Are you going to have any kids in your purple house."
Ellie: "I'm gonna have kids when I'm big but I'm not sharing my toys with them."

Monitor

Eric made a drawing that looked like a rainbow with all of the lines red. I asked him what it was and he said "That's Ellie crying on the baby monitor."

Sweet Baby James

At 9 weeks old James is 11 lbs 8 oz. and 23.5 inches tall. He has grown 4 pounds since he was born. He is still nursing every 2-3 hours which is tough for me but I know he needs it. He is a sweet baby who loves to be held and being warm. He likes the swing, has no interest in toys yet. His favorite calming activity is staring out the window or going outside. He likes to be carried around in the Baby Bjorn and taking baths.
The ortho (Dr. Zimbler) thinks James may need a few casts like Eric had because he is too strong for his brace and can move his foot inside it. Whatever happens we know how great Eric's foot turned out so we aren't too worried.

Finally Some Sleep

James is on a more normal schedule these days, so there is some sleep to be had. Unfortunately I am up doing stuff until after 12 every night, so I am always tired.

Eric's Special Night

The Celtics are in the playoffs and Eric is getting into watching sports more. Lately he has been watching baseball and basketball, understanding the names, and memorizing the players by number. He know every member of the sox and most of the Celtics. Today I told him that if he behaved and took a nap, I'd take him to watch the Celtics at Jon and Lindsay's place, because i knew they'd watch. So he did what we told him and then asked about it and clung to me all afternoon, waiting for the game to start. We went over to watch and he pretty much paid attention the whole time. As the game went on, he got more interested, and by 11:15pm he was jumping up and down in front of the TV yelling "score" when they made a shot, and even during replays. Even though they lost, he didn't stop cheering until we left. Even in the driveway and the ride back, he was talking sense. At one point he reminded me that "college kids go to bars" and told me he already knows everything. Now let's see if he sleeps any later than 6:30 tomorrow.

Science Museum

Took E&E to the museum today while the house got cleaned up. They of course loved it and dragged me all over, never spending more than 30 seconds looking at the same thing. I got us tickets to the butterfly exhibit and the 3-d theater, both of which were fun. Ironically the most iteresting thing all day was the magnetic bead art, wich wasn't really scientific. I had to make excuses up just o leave than station. We had a snack, ran up the musical staircase, weighed ourselves on Jupiter, then left. So far the membership seems like a good idea.

1st Sleepover

Tonight we went to Lindsay and Jon's to celebrate Lindsay's 26th bday. We put their PJs on before we left and Andrew joked that we'd pick them up tomorrow. The kids liked the idea and so they stayed over on a mattress. They had sooooo much fun and didn't miss us at all (sniff sniff.) Lindsay and Jon are great babysitters... of course the kids cam home spoiled and wanting a dog :) The kids can't stop talking about how much fun they had. Thanks again guys!

Boy Wonder

Eric never ceases to amaze us. Today we were playing on the computer and not only did he take over using the touchpad mouse, he was able to navigate through the entire webpage and reached the highest level of the puzzle game he was playing. Then he amazed us even more by reading numbers like 752, 345, 621.. all of the scores in the game.

All 3 Sleeping

As a mom of 3 I don't have much time these days. Amazingly, all 3 are asleep, fed and bathed. I can finally have my tea and I feel accomplished having swept the floor, put the toys away, and set the coffee pot for tomorrow. Lots of caffeine these days. Having 3 kids is so rewarding and I really feel like James has been a perfect addition to our family. I was very scared and am still overwhelmed on an hourly basis but I actually do have peaceful times like now. Maybe I can squeeze in a shower before James wakes up... big maybe :)

Ellie's Typical Phone Call

Hi (Kate, Enrique, Nannie, Denise and Linda, Grandmom, etc)
I'm doing good.
My mom's doing good.
My dad's doing good.
Eric's doing good.
My baby named James is doing good.
Bye.