The Newest Addition to our Family

Me, blogger, and the Internet have been fighting. Our Internet has been working randomly at best (the new modem has taken care of the 15 minutes of Internet access until the modem gets too hot then unplug it for 3 hours to cool off problem/solution). And for some reason blogger thinks its appropriate to take an hour and not post anything. Grr.

My boys have been obsessed with fishing lately. I think fishing is boring, however, I like eating fish so I allow the foolishness. They have yet to catch any "keepers" which is a bit annoying because I'm hungry for fish.

I also broke down and did the Build-A-Bear thing. We went for the first time last year. I got a $5 off coupon, so I let Baba pick out a $10 bear. He joyfully built a brown bear whom he named Nacki. Thankfully, Josh insisted that bears do not wear clothes thus Nacki would be much happier naked. Then for his birthday he got a free bear coupon because he shares a birthday with the Build-A-Bear founder. A blue bear named Tink came to live with us (named after my cuz whom we call "Stink").

For the last few weeks Baba has been insisting that Rudy needs a bear and he'll pay for it. I didn't let Baba use his own money; we used Rudy's birthday money instead. So Baba built a pink bear whom he named Baba-Bear. Baba-Bear cannot be naked because girls cannot run around naked like boys can. So I had to buy a T-shirt for Baba-Bear (as I type, Baba is running around in his underwear, his clothes having "falled off" again. I wonder why that happens). Rudy LOVES her bear. When I go to pick her up from her nap or in the morning, she races to whatever side of the crib Baba-Bear ended up on and grabs her.

Rudy

We got Rudy's one year pictures back on Friday. I feel like I've accomplished something now that she's a year.

Baba has been super funny about pictures lately. He does not want his pictures taken. Period. End of story. But, before we left for Rudy's one year pictures, he said he wanted to be in the pictures. I didn't believe him, but let him pick out some nice clothes to wear in Rudy's picture.

When we got to the picture place, I figured he'd change his mind about being in the pictures. I told the picture taker person that he didn't really like getting his picture taken, but I wasn't opposed to having him in the picture. He wanted to be in every pictures.

Later that week, we were at Wal-Mart. He saw the Wal-Mart picture taker place and said, "Mom, we need to take pictures of me today." I said, "We just took pictures of you." Then he said, "I counted on the wall, Mom, and we don't have enough pictures of me."

This morning with the boy

Baba said to me this morning, "I was thinking, Mom. When we get our new house we should have 3 dogs."

I said, "3 dogs?"

Baba said, "Yes. I was thinking about 4, but then I thought that might be too many. So I need a little black dog named 'Toto' and a dog to be a friend for Toto. And dad needs a hunting dog. So we need 3 dogs."

"Talk to your father," I replied.

After the dog discussion, Baba was climbing over to my lap to finish my cereal. He had only eaten one bowl of cereal and one jelly sandwich, so I could see how he was still hungry. He bumped his knee and said, "Oh! I hurt my patella. I need you to read the Star Wars cookbook to me, that will make me feel better."

'Tar Wars 'Tuff

We brought home one blue plastic storage bin (3 more remain at my parents house) of my Star Wars stuff because Baba is SO into 'Tar Wars right now. We watch at least 2 'Tar Wars movies a day. He's seen them all except Revenge of the Sith. Zippy and I think he needs to be a little older because its the darkest of all of them (and Anakin becomes Darth Vader) but Baba keeps trying to to "trick" us into watching it.

Baba wanted to play 'tar Wars. Zippy got the plastic storage bin down and asked me if there was anything in there that Baba couldn't play with. I said that everything in there was okay, thinking that Zippy would pull out the Star Wars stamp markers and my Millenium Falcon scissors. My mistake. Never assume.

Baba played happily for a long time until I noticed he was quiet. Too quiet.

At least he only wrote on his hands.

Mom! My socks are stuck!

On the coldest day in 5 years....

Generally, it is an up hill battle to get Baba out of his pajamas. He is just not interested in getting his pajama's off because pj's are so comfy, cozy, and other things among his 9,574 other excuses for not getting dressed.

I was eating my Kix and Reece's Puffs mix for breakfast this morning (I highly recommend mixing cereal. Yum!) and I turned around. The boy was darn near naked. I laughed so hard cereal almost came out of nose.

I said, "Why are you naked?"
Baba said, "I'm not naked. I have my undies and socks on."

I said, "Why are you in your undies and socks."
Baba said, "Because my pj's came off!"


Its the coldest day of the year and my child is running around in his under-roos. He says he's not cold because he is a polar bear, but he did mention the chair was cold when he stole my cereal and sat down to eat it.

PS I brought down clothes for him to wear and have been nagging him to get dressed for the past 30 minutes or so. Now his clothes are missing and he isn't sure where they went. I can only conclude his clothes have a mind of their own.

Baba Babysits

Rudy is obsessed with the steps and is a quick little bugger so you have to watch her constantly. You turn your back for 2 seconds and she's halfway up. Baba is obsessed with "watching" his baby and loves volunteering to "watch" her so I can go to the bathroom, start supper, make a snack, etc.

Baba wanted a snack this afternoon and volunteered to watch his sister while I fixed his 87th snack of the day. I said okay, but to let me know if she started on the steps. He agreed.

I fixed his snack and came around the corner. "Where's your sister?" I asked.

"On the 'teps!" Baba yelled.

I said, "I thought you were watching her."

He said, "I was. But I needed a break."

He had been "watching" her for about 30 seconds.

I rescued Rudy from the steps and they happily went back to playing with the cat toy (which I got on clearance at Target for 29 cents. Next year, Santa is bringing boxes, cat toys, and more boxes).

Baba's New Pet

Shortly after Rudy was born, Ditty and Poonch II got a dog named Buster (or is it Busta?). Anyway, I asked Baba if we could get a dog instead of 5 more sisters. He politely told me otherwise.

Today while we were watching Franklin the Turtle for the 9,958,877,392 time (Franklin could count by 2's and tie his shoes. He could zip zippers and button buttons....) and eating popcorn, we had the following conversation:

Baba: Mom, can I have a popcorn seed for a pet?
Me: A popcorn seed for a pet?
Baba: I was thinking it would be a good pet, it won't poop anywhere.
Me: That's true. You better ask Dad.
Baba: (holding up the popcorn seed, admiring his pet) I will name him Pacos. Let's call Dad.

So we call Dad, who for some reason thought a popcorn seed pet was funny. I'm certainly not opposed to getting a pet for the boy. Pets teach responsibility, but how much responsibility does it take to take care of a popcorn seed?

Postscrip: Pacos the popcorn seed got thrown in with his brothers in the bowl and got tossed. So far, Baba is unaware that his precious pet sits in the bottom of the garbage can, waiting for someone to bring him to the curb. This could get ugly. Especially, since his Halloween pumpkin still sits on our counter, uncarved, because the pumpkin is his friend and he didn't want to cut it with a sharp knife.

Things heard around the house....

"Mom, I hit the baby with my ball and now she's crabby and I'm going to get swallowed by a whale."

"You love your big brother, dontcha baby? Yes, you do."

"Mom, I took her plug away and she's not crabby."

"Mom. I know I'm not supposed to be in her crib when she's napping, but I wanted to see her smile."

"I think I heard my baby. Let's go get her!"

"Dad! Bring Mom!" (apparently, I wasn't moving enough for him that night. He had only called for me twice!)

"Mom, I have an idea! Let's move Rudy's crib into my room and then we can put another baby in Rudy's room." (this was at 1 am)

"Let I see what's the matter."

"I already see-ed, Mom." (in response to any time I say, "We'll see."

"It's bedtime? That's awful."

"Mom!!!! My butt is cracked."

"How is a whale born?"

"When I grow up, I'm going to be a bee. I just have to grow a stinger and fill in my crack."

"Don't let my baby sleep, Mom. I want to play with her."

Me: Tomorrow is Saturday so Daddy doesn't have to work. Baba: No, Mom, Sad days are when Dad has to work.

Baba: Did someone forget a washcloth? Me: Did someone forget his manners? Baba: Did someone forget a washcloth, please?

"Mom! Let's name our next baby, 'Baby Skunk!' "

"Can I go back to day-care so you can have another baby in your tummy?"

"C'mon, Wili. Let's play bat-the-ball!"

"Make me something I've never ever had for lunch before."

"Spinach! I want spinach on my lunch."

"I don't think I've watched enough TV."

Child Labor

Why did they make child labor illegal? They look so cute doing it.
Note the hearing "selection." He is safe while laboring.

And Rudy makes such a good supervisor.

Uff-da!

I "rented" Finding Neverland from the library (I love Peter Pan, one of my all time favorite stories/movies/plays/etc) because I still haven't seen it. Instead of watching that, we are watching Mr. Baseball. Not my first or last choice for the evening. I've seen it once. Once was enough.

I've come to the conclusion that Baba is a Minnesota boy. In the past few days he has said, "You betcha," and "Uff-da you are a heavy kitty, Wili." Zippy and I almost peed our pants laughing at the uff-da. I didn't realize that Zippy or I said uff-da on a regular basis.

Baba and I were going through Rudy's closet this afternoon, switching out the 3 to 6 month clothes for the 6 to 9 month clothes (yes, she isn't quite 4 months old yet). I was packing up the clothes that Rudy outgrew and/or never wore because they are off season. Baba started to throw a fit because his baby hadn't worn those clothes yet. I said we couldn't dress his baby in shorts in the winter. He thought about it and decided the only solution was to have another baby sister and proceeded to run downstairs to tell Zippy we needed another baby. On a happy note, he has lowered his number of sisters he wants from 5 to 3. As Zippy said, I'm only one set of triplets away from that. The odds of spontaneous triplets is one in 8100. It could happen. I hope it doesn't.

And the great naming debate continues.....

Trying to name a baby with the help of a very stubborn 3 year old is no easy task. While Baba was in the tub, Zippy and I were going through our list.

Me: Zalyssa?

Boy: No. That name is yuck.

Zippy: Maybe.

Me: Zjosh?

Boy: No. My sister's name is RudolphtherednosedreindeerFionna. That's a good name.

Zippy: We are not naming your sister Rudolph.

Boy: But that's her name.

How can you argue with that? Especially since his cuteness trumps Zippy and my combined cuteness.

HONK!!!!!

Zippy was in the bathroom shaving this morning and heard a door shut. He opened the door and saw Baba sitting at the top of the steps. Baba said, "I woke up Dad."

Baba then opened his bedroom door, pointed to his bed, and said, "See."

Baba raced to our bedroom where I was still sleeping (it was 5:58, I still had 2 minutes to sleep). He stood so his face was about 6 inches from my face and yelled, "HONK!!!!!"

I woke up. He thought it was funny. I wanted my two minutes of sleep. He then said, "C'mon Mom. Let's go watch a movie" and raced down the hallway.

I don't move as fast as he does especially after being awoken with a zealous honk so I didn't follow him (I still had 2 minutes, remember?). He made it half way down the hall, stopped, and said, "I forgot Mom!"

He high-tailed it back to my room and I was up for the day. There is nothing quite like a good honk to get you out of bed.

Super Human Strength

When I was super-pregnant with Baba (like 8 and a half months about to pop any minutes pregnant), I decided that I could no longer live with the way our living room furniture was arranged. My loving husband watched from his computer as his wife, the newest super hero "Pregnant Girl" moved couches, end tables, entertainment centers, and a super heavy steamer trunk that came from the old country around the living room. His only comment was about the temperature of the house when I became warm and turned off the heat so I could open the front door for some air. I fail to see what his problem was, just because it was January in Minnesota.

Today "Pregnant Girl" and all her hormonal glory and strength made her return. I could no longer live with the current arrangement of furniture in the living room. The boy kept asking why I needed to rearrange the living room (he was watching Toy Story and got a ride on the couch and the recliner while I was moving them). Rather than explain hormones and the nesting instinct to him, I just told him I was tired of the way the furniture was arranged.

This time, Zippy helped. I'm not sure if he didn't want his pregnant wife rearranging alone or if he was afraid I would get overheated and freeze Baba to the couch. Either way, I had help.

The Cat

I believe Mr. Wili misses Baba. My mom said she sat in this position for 20 minutes last night.

Don't worry, Wili, we will be home soon and Baba can't wait to see you. He misses you, too.

(By the way, Wili, the back view is not flattering, you look very big furred. Remember, the paparazzi is always watching you)

The Apple and other quick stories

Zippy heard Baba singing "Old McDonald" (always a favorite) in his room tonight when he was supposed to be sleeping. Zippy went in to check on him and found Baba sitting under his nightlight reading one of his farm books.

I so used to do that. When my sister and I used to share a room, we would take turns reading under the night light. And take turns tattling on the other for reading under the night light when we were supposed to be sleeping. Sometimes, he is so much like me, it scares me.

Baba mentioned tonight that he would like his Bob birthday party, please. I asked who he was inviting to the party - Ma, Pa, Mr. & Mrs. Zooker, Ziz, Zicah, Harvard Zosh, and Wili (the cat). It's going to be one heck of a party!

And, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Fionna is still, by far, Baba's favorite name for his baby sister. We have until May to convince him otherwise.

Baba's Rocking Chair

Baba has a rocking chair, which used to be my sister's rocking chair. There is a picture of my sister sitting in what used to be her rocking chair on the wall at my parents house. Baba didn't really notice it until Christmas. And then became obsessed with why Mrs. Zucher was in her rocking chair and "what can we do to get her out my rocking chair?"

The other highlight of Christmas was my handsome little man in his suit (refused to wear the tie - wonder where he gets that from) and him tearing the paper off every present at my parents house and then carrying it over to Great Pa to show him.

So my sister will get off my back....

Baba was supposed to be a cow for Halloween, however, Zippy's co-worker failed to locate the costume in time for Halloween. He was a farmer instead. Zicah went as a bumble bee, which oddly enough, Baba had been his first Halloween (I went as a homicidal maniac or a crabby pregnant lady - your choice).

At first, Baba did not want to go trick-or-treating. He wanted to stay home and watch Curious George. But alas, Curious George was done for the night and his other option was going to bed, so off we went.

After the first house he was hooked. Ring the doorbell, say "trick-or-treat," and get candy. Who wouldn't love that?

Fun with Pa

My child is not spoiled.

My father did not spend several days figuring out how to make his lawn mower run super slow without dying.

I wonder why Baba loves Ma and Pa so much.

Nursery Rhymes A La Baba

As overheard outside his door while he was singing instead of sleeping.

Dumpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Dumpty Dumpty broke. No horses.

Old McDonald had a farm. Ee-i-o. Horse here. Horse Everywhere. Hee-haw. Horse no say hee-haw. Baba funny. Neigh here.

Baba is funny. I had a very hard time not cracking up.