No Apologies

Eric was playing and ended up hitting Tia (Uncle Jon's mom Patty's dog) yesterday. We said it was ok but he had to say he was sorry and he pointed out "why would I apologize to a dog."

Potty Day 2

Ellie potty training! Hooray... finally!!! Yesterday was "U Day" (underwear day) I've had the day on the calendar for a couple weeks so she knew it was coming. I put underwear on her yesterday but she wouldn't pee all day until Eric, not me, went into the bathroom with her. She had a couple accidents but I stuck to my guns.. no more diapers! Today we did the same thing and she peed and pooped on the toilet, even peed at the Chateau and Nanny's house. 2 accidents today but she isreally starting to announce when she has to go.
Not to be outdone, Eric just got out of bed to tell me he went to the bathroom at night.. usually he does this without an announcement.
They are getting so big. I am so proud of Ellie and relieved too!

Ellie is 3 Now

Ellie turned 3 today. She had a huge party with lots of friends and family. She got a dollhouse and a bunch of girl toys. The best thing was making the cake with her, she loves baking. Daddy refilled her sandbox with new sand, she would spend forever in there playing. One of my favorite things about Ellie is that she can sit in the sand in a gorgeous dress without a care in the world.
We also got to show everyone our new kitchen today! It was a big hit. It is amazing with all the space and places to put things. It really has made a big difference.

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!