Not so well children checkups

We finally have rain in Hillsborough. As Louise watched rain fill our street, she declared, "I want to go ride my bike!" She got thoroughly soaked. She laughed with delight as she wedged her training wheels in the mud in such a way that when she peddled, her bike did not move and water spurted up the rear tyre. After she fell, it was gently suggested that it might be a good idea to go inside and have a bath. "No, Mummy - I just need to wipe my legs on your trousers." It's nice to have a purpose.

Charlotte & Claire had their 18 month check-ups yesterday. Claire is still 3 lbs heavier than her sister. Both girls are developmentally normal, but we learned that they both have double ear infections. The paediatrician also gave some advice about teaching Charlotte to soothe herself to sleep. We're optimistic that within 3 weeks, both toddlers will be weaned and go to sleep quickly and quietly.

Their vitals:

Charlotte - 23 lbs, 15 oz

33 in. tall

48.5 cm head circumference

Claire - 27 lbs, 1 oz

33.5 in tall

50 cm head circumference

Grandparentpalooza 2

We've had another great weekend, with not one...not two...but THREE grandparents all at once. Our neighbourhood had a block party - there was food from the grill, lots of kids to play with, and even a flat-screen tv showing a SEC (American) football game. Pops, Claire, Louise, & Mummy visited the Museum of Life & Science, where they saw bears, danced in the sound room, and generally experienced both Life and Science. But most exciting of all: Louise got a new bike! Although Louise was great on her balance bike, preschool peer pressure beat Daddy and Mommy's opposition to training wheels.

Sadly, Nana and Granddad went home to Derby today - we all will miss them, particularly Mummy, who enjoyed having someone else do all the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and ironing.

Neighbour Peter arranged for a mountain of mulch to be delivered to the tree island between our houses - Louise loves it and is sad that Granddad, Daddy, and Peter have been so effective at shrinking it:

Happy Birthday, Mummy!

Louise donned a party frock yesterday morning, danced downstairs, sang "Happy Birthday" to Mummy, and gave her a big birthday kiss. She was very happy to proclaim to everyone she saw that it was Mummy's birthday. "Mummy is 33 today!" she told her preschool classmates.

Louise's day got even better yesterday afternoon - Daddy was the Mystery Reader! Louise giggled with delight...for nearly a minute.

After dinner, there was chocolate cake...Mummy had a perfect birthday. Sadly, today she felt every one of her thirty-seven years. A congested Charlotte decided at 3:30am that horizontal sleeping conditions were unacceptable. She was happy to sleep in Mummy's arms or a carseat in a moving vehicle driven by Daddy, but the crib met with very loud opposition.

From the mouths of babes...Louise & Mummy were discussing the upcoming neighbourhood grill party. Louise was very pleased that hot dogs were on the menu, but she added "and chicken nuggets too, right?"

No, we'll have chicken - chicken nuggets are a preschool food.

"But we don't have chicken nuggets at daycare!"

You have dinosaur nuggets, though - what meat goes into dinosaur nuggets? Dinosaur meat?

"They don't have meat. They are just nuggets. They just taste like nuggets."

And our self-aware daughter proclaimed earlier this week: "I'm a Louise, and I do what I want."

Slip slidin' away

BJ & Katie came over this morning. Louise was beyond excited. At 7am, she did not want to eat breakfast; she simply wanted to stand at the end of the driveway, looking expectantly up the road. Three hours later, when all the kids were playing outside, toddler Luke spied us through his window next door and demanded to be allowed to join the fun. We all went to the "big kids" playground at the end of the street. Charlotte & Claire enjoy pretending that they can't read the sign that says that the slide is for kids 5 and older!











































We also have some more pictures of yesterday's adventures at the museum, courtesy of David "Granddad" Griffiths. Daddy explained to the family that the creature in black is a "Tie Fighter." Mummy is confused - if he fights against ties, he should be called a Greenpeace activist; if he fights whilst wearing a tie, he should be called a lawyer.

Born to be wild

Louise thought that Huggy Bear needed to meet the Museum of Life & Science bears last weekend; she also showed Huggy to the poison dart frogs (she's keen on cross-species education).

Today, we went to the museum in the morning, and this afternoon Louise, Nana, Granddad, and Daddy went to the neighbourhood "End of Summer" party - there was barbecue and a bouncy castle. Really, life can't get any better than this.

Grandparents!!

Nana & Granddad have come to visit for a month; we are enjoying their visit very much.

Charlotte has had a language explosion, in spoken and signed words, since their arrival. She can say "baby", "please", "down", "boom", and (sure to be a favorite in the coming days & years) "no". She and Claire seem to communicate with each other. Yesterday, Claire had a cup and Charlotte wanted it. Mummy told Charlotte to say "please;" to Mummy's surprise, Charlotte did so. Claire smiled and took a few steps towards Charlotte, cup held in outstretched arms...and then changed her mind with a grin and scooted away. Claire has learned the sign for "baby", but she seems uninterested in communicating beyond babbles, grunts, and gestures. (She's skipping the toddler stage and going directly to teenagerhood, we suppose). Louise is doing her best to help teach her sisters. Whilst sitting next to Claire in the car, Louise noticed that her baby sister was pointing at things. "Trees!" Louise explained helpfully. "More trees! Stop sign. Trees!" (Louise became bored fairly quickly, unsurprisingly).