Teeth, Glorious Teeth!

After several long months of crankiness, they have finally come! During the first week of July, Anderson cut one of his side top teeth, then last week (Happy Birthday to me!) he cut one of his top middles which was closely followed by the other top middle at the beginning of this week. He didn't cut them symmetrically like Carter did--in pairs--which is a little funny but just reiterating to me again that every child is different and he is definitely not exactly like his brother, though looks are deceiving. That being said, I'm not sure the crankiness is going to subside seeing as he cried and fussed in his bed for quite a while last night, but maybe the fourth top tooth is coming through too and it just doesn't look that close!

I love this picture--he looks so concerned!

Nature vs. Nurture

The other day I caught Anderson with his nose in a book--apparently he's been watching me the last few weeks with my own nose in the same place--first it was Anderson Cooper's Dispatches from the Edge. Then it was Left to Tell by an author whom (who?--can't quite remember the grammar rule I learned way back in English 329) I am unable to pronounce or spell her name but is a survivor from the Rwandan Holocaust. Now it's We Were the Mulvaney's by Joyce Carol Oates. I can, without a doubt, argue for nurture in that regard. I firmly believe you have to set a good example for your children if you want them to love reading. This other photographically captured behavior (I had to have proof for Marc just in case Anderson never performed again, though he has every meal since) I might argue from the other side. I know I can catch Carter slurping up spilled yogurt or applesauce off the table in like fashion and that Marc taught him this behavior, but I'm also pretty confident in saying that Anderson has not really seen this behavior, or at least I'm not sure he's old enough to be taught this, but none the less I turned around on Friday to find him slurping up goldfish from his high chair tray. I simply had to laugh. He's slurped strawberries, grapes, pancakes, chicken, and more goldfish since. I'm wondering if our second born came out knowing how to slurp food off a surface. Is it in his nature?

Incline

Last weekend my parents and I hiked what is called the Pikes Peak Incline. It is a portion of the mountain that a cog used to take passengers up--now only the rail ties remain. There are no pics of me (I got these off the net) because it is definitely not a hike I'd want to lug my camera on and like my mom said--"it's not a hike for the faint of heart. You just have to shut up and do it."

Here are the stats:

• Total distance--1.02 miles


• Elevation--begins at 6500 feet ends at 8500 feet


• Average incline--46 %


• Steepest incline--68 %

It took me about 49 minutes to finish. Then we ran down Barr Trail to our car.

Friday Ritual

It has become our Friday ritual to visit Marc for his lunch break. The boys get to play with their Dad while I get a short break from being their primary care taker. It's something we all enjoy. There is a Sonic, Subway and Wendy's nearby so we usually treat the boys to lunch (as if it's a treat to go out--we probably go out way too much) and then play with all of the cool 'toys' at the clinic. They especially love the mini-tramp and these colorful medicine balls. (Medicine balls are weighted so we don't let Carter throw them, though I'm sure he'd love to!) Today I had the genius idea to go and run on the treadmill there to get my work out in while Marc took the boys. I might be doing that more often--it's a great way to get a Friday work out in that I would usually let slide.

Confessions of a Housewife & Mother

I am a stress-case. So much so that Marc's favorite phrase could easily be "relax." Carter has coined his own version of this word and says it quite often--"bewax."

I stress out when. . .

• I waste money. For example, among other things I bought a $5.00 block of cheese yesterday at the grocery store and in the craziness of lugging in two gallons of milk, a few grocery bags, and two kids (Anderson is 25 pounds alone, mind you) it was left behind in the trunk until this afternoon when I realized it wasn't in the fridge. Marc went to find it and I was ticked off with my stupidity. Also, in an attempt to relax after a LONG week, I went to get a pedicure yesterday on Marc's lunch hour which turned out looking really pretty. This morning what did I do? Stubbed my toe, cracking my toe nail which required super glue to save the pedi!
• I waste food. I grilled 4 chicken breasts and 2 small steaks at the beginning of the week with great ambitions of having salad a lot this week. There's still approximately 1 chicken breast left and 1/2 of a steak. I also threw away almost an entire pan of stuffed shells that I made for dinner last Friday, and it really is a fab recipe from Giada de Laurentiis, but for some reason (and no I am not pregnant) my stomach changed and I just didn't ever want them for leftovers.
• Carter hurts his brother a million times a day. I can turn my back for 2 seconds and in the mean time Carter can smash Anderson's fingers in the front door, shove his head in the carpet, push him down from his cruising state, scratch him, pinch him or any other form of big brother torture.
• Marc works a 60 hour week--yes I really did need that pedicure.
• Anderson whines and whines. It's either when his teeth are bothering him, he's thirsty or he's been in the car for over 10 minutes. Seriously, the child is a terrible traveler/errand runner.
• Carter has a melt down. Yes, my perfectly mellow child isn't so perfectly mellow anymore.
• The kids get sick or are acting sick but I don't know what's wrong with them.
• I have any sort of moderate to severe pain.
• I get behind in posting my blog ideas or events.

Yes, I confess to all of these things. Can anyone tell me I'm not completely out of my mind? On the other hand, I am able to completely relax when. . .

• I can fix dinner then clean the kitchen in peace and undisturbed quiet.
• I can curl up with a blanket and a good book (with maybe a treat or a cold drink or maybe a hot one if it's winter)
• my house is clean.
• Marc is rubbing my shoulders.

Hmm, it doesn't seem balanced at all. No wonder my shoulders are always in knots!

The Hide and Seek Band-aid

It seems both of our boys are able to provide us with some good laughs this week. Just thinking about what I'm about to tell you turns the corners of my mouth up--way up! On Monday we made our first visit to our new pediatritian. Despite the shots that loomed ahead, I was at ease the second I walked in the door. First off, I was the only one in the waiting room--quite the contrast from the crowded office we were used to in LA. The office there had two appt. times--9:00 am and 1:00 pm. If you didn't go early and get your name on the list you were waiting for forever. Literally, forever. Our new office was nicely painted and decorated with a nice rug covering a pergo floor and rustic furiture--leather seated chairs and all--not to mention immaculate. It had a fantastic array of magazines for mom's (or dad's) enjoyment and a nice little toy area. I was significantly early to the appt. and they got me in within 5 minutes. In the appt. room we found a nice little toy corner for the kids to play with which made my short wait all that much easier. The staff and doctor were super friendly and took their time with us and we only ended up getting one shot! Can I say it was an almost relaxing trip to the doctor? Sorry for the tangent, this is where my story begins. The little details of this doctor and his practice made all the difference, even down to the circular green band-aid that covered Anderson's needle poke. (In LA my doctor only gave us the regular ones!) Well, I never took the band-aid off, but I realized the next morning that it was gone. I figured it was probably lost in his pants or in his bed and I'd find it when I did the laundry and I didn't think about it again. Another side explanation, this time it's relavent. The last two nights, we'll put the boys down and about 1/2 hour later notice this remarkable stink floating out of their room. So we go in and check diapers and it's been Anderson both times. Last night I was busily reading my book so Marc had diaper duty and when he opened the diaper he called for me to come see. I was caught up in my story so I didn't want to, but I did and what was in his diaper--the missing green band-aid. I laughed and debated on weather or not to grab the camera. Obviously, I decided against it, thinking it might be too vulgar. (This morning I am glad I made that choice.) Marc thought it was just gross. Way to go Anderson--I'm sure he'll be my son that eats bugs and dirt, too!

Like Father, Like Son

I've always been a little sensitive to what Marc calls me which dates back to our letter writing days while he was on his mission. He really liked to call me 'bud' which totally bugged me because it made me feel like 'one of the guys,' when I wanted so much to be so much more than that! So, when he got off his mission and we began dating seriously I was constantly reminding him that he could not call me 'dude.' I've relaxed a bit after living in California and realizing that wow, that term still lives strong out there even if we aren't living in the '80s anymore. And yes, I do use it some now, too.

Well, tonight the term became part of our first child's vocabulary. Carter had just finished his before bedtime milk and despite my best efforts, he still likes to chuck his sippy on the floor when he's done. I happened to be sitting in the line of fire this time and it hit me, though not hard. I looked back at him and he knew immediately he had made a bad choice (Ever since he hit a 2 week old Anderson in the head after doing the exact same thing I've told him that throwing his sippy is a no no.) and what slipped out of his mouth? "Sowwy dude." He said it like he'd been saying it for years. It was hysterical and Marc and I both cracked up laughing.

Brothers

It never fails, whenever we go out as a family someone whether it's a stranger or a friend will comment on one of two things, or sometimes both. It's either, "Wow! There is no question that those boys belong to their dad!" (or something to the effect that the boys are mini-mes of Marc) or "Your boys look so much a like!" Well, it is quite obvious and the pictures tell the tale, too. (The pictures on the left are Carter when he was 10 months old, the ones on the right are Anderson at 9 months old.) And just recently I started noticing that they not only look very similar, Anderson is developing some idiosyncrasies that Carter had when he was 9-10 months old. Like the fact that they both are scrunching their noses the same way in these pictures. Or like when Carter was a baby, he didn't like sitting on the grass so he'd lift up his left leg and balance like that so that as little skin as possibly was exposed to the prickly sensation. I never captured him doing that on camera, but the other night when we were sitting on the grass outside our place, Anderson started doing the exact same thing, with the exact same leg. I quickly grabbed the camera so as not to miss it the second time around!