Come again?

Addie has started branching out her words beyond the usual Mama, Dada, and dog (Dohh.) She has learned a great number of signs and is able to communicate easily what she wants. A while ago instead of just making the sign for cracker she decided to verbalize the request as well. "Cack-aih" she says, beaming. She also got out a "Gah-ba" for Grandpa last night.
A week or so ago I was in the living room while Steve was feeding the kids dinner. Everything was going fine until I hear Steve say, "uh oh" (presumably in response to food being dropped on the floor) and then a sweet "Oohh gudniss!" I was stunned at first, did I hear what I just thought I heard? And as if to confirm, another "Oohh gudnissss!" with even more enthusiasm. Could this kid be any more adorable? I think not.

Snow day fun

A rare snowfall came to our town today and dropped around 5 inches. The kids spent much of the morning with their faces pressed to the windows, eyes wide and mouths agape. After lunch, we bundled them up in their snowsuits, stuffed Addie's suede boots into ziploc bags and headed out the door. It was a lot to take in for the kids, the snow blanketing everything they could see, and the depth of the snow made walking a challenge. After several face plants we trekked out to the road where they could walk with ease and headed to the neighborhood playground. They had a great time wandering around and exploring. They loved going down the slides, slipping down quickly and landing in pillows of snow. Although they lacked the ability to stand up after, their faces were shinning with rosy cheeked smiles. All in all, a good and beautiful day.

Surprise, Surprise!

Many of you have known for a while now that my lack of posting has been due to exhaustion and morning sickness. Yes, that's right, we're having another baby! This child is such a blessing, making it's way into this world without the help of fertility medication, which in the past was the only way were were able to conceive. While we are sure things will be hectic, we couldn't be more excited to welcome this new child into our family.

Ahh, hormones

Scene: husband spraying out the tub before bathing the children sprays a bit too high and gets his wife wet.

Her: (snapping) Keep it in the tub, Steve!!
Him: (in his comically sarcastic tone) There's no laughter here! There's only miiiissssserrrryyyy!

I'm so lucky he puts up with me.

Sweet, sick babe

This past Saturday evening Steve took Gabe to the hospital. He'd had a fever for 2 days that was hovering in the higher-than-we-like-but-he's-doing-ok area. That evening though it shot up to 104.5 so daddy whisked him off to the ER. He was given a dose of tylenol and a bit later one of motrin and his fever started coming down. He was put in a gown and given a bracelet and stayed in a private room with daddy for 4 hours as the nurses kept an eye on him and ran some tests. As to be expected he charmed all the nurses with smiles and waves, exploring the whole floor and making every nurse go gaga. I mean really, have you ever seen something so precious?

All the tests came back negative and he was discharged around midnight. The Dr said that most likely this was a delayed reaction to the vaccines he'd received about a week earlier, that we should keep an eye on him but he should be fine. He slept better than he had in days and the next day he was full of smiles and giggles. Today was another good day and he seems to be back to normal.
Addie is most happy to have her playmate back. While he was sick he spent much of his time laying with me on the couch and Addie spent much of hers coming up to bring him sippies, pat him on the back and nuzzle her head next to his. This evening she was sitting near his head while I was changing him for bed. I asked her if she'd like to give Gabe a kiss and she gave a big smile, leaned over and kissed him 4 or 5 times, both of them giggling.