Blueberries

This weekend we went to the cabin to visit with my Aunt Linda who was visiting from Idaho and to enjoy the cool mountain air. We had a great time, such a great time in fact that Mette couldn't pull herself away from the company to sleep. We clearly need to go there more often so she starts feeling comfortable enough to sleep there. Oh how we will suffer. While we were there we went out to pick wild blueberries. Otto and I went last year, but this year he had the drill down. He was quite good at finding the ripe ones!!

I didn't even bother giving him a bag, he just eats all of his haull.


Mette was good at kicking the branches and losing her hat.

Shame it's not beautiful.

Mette also spent some quality time with Grandma while I was laying on my back under the sink uninstalling, reinstalling, uninstalling, reinstalling..... the kitchen faucet. Being small has it's benefits, fx, you fit under sinks really well. :)

Where were we?

So I was all full of motivation to post more often, and I was, and then this week hit. I don't know what happened this week. We had some playdates lined up, but nothing too major. The kids have been in good spirits. It just somehow never really got into a good groove. Maybe it was classes starting again and a end of summer, end of sabbatical cloud hanging over the house. I not once but twice went to the store this week without taking my wallet. So helpful. The first time I realized before I made it out of the car, though I was in the store parking lot. I was able to swing home, get said wallet and return with relative grace. The second time I was at Target with both kids and had the cart full having dutifully found everything on my list before I realized I had not put my wallet back in the diaper bag. They were both good sports about it but I was fairly peeved with myself. Ugh. On top of my forgetfulness both eric and I got the ever dependable classes are starting again cold. Luckily the kids don't seem to have been bothered by it, but it is slaying both of us. I'll admit Otto has watched more PBS the last few days than he usually does since it requires no work on my part. Taking care of two kids when you don't feel well is not my idea of the best way to spend a day. Despite not having the most productive week, I did manage to get some good pictures which I will now share with you.

This was what I found when we got back to the house after a walk early in the week. I kept looking at Mette from the window in the top of the stroller and since she was sitting up and holding onto her toy, I figured she was still awake. Not so.

Having some rainy day adventures in the backyard.

A big day, Mette's first day wearing tights!!! I am pretty psyched.

And this is Mette when she realized I am taking her picture. One flash and she is all smiles!

Otto taking inspiration from the rainy day and watering the dirt. Because what the dirt needs on a rainy day is some water.

Holy adorable Batman

Before Mette was born I made her this hat. I made one for Otto as well before he was born, but his was blue and black. I knew it wouldn't fit her this past year (despite being a newborn size, our kids have tiny heads). I was digging through yarn today looking for scrap pieces to knit some toys and fun small things for her and found it. It is fantastic! Mette, the ever jolly soul, was quite cheery and fun during our try on the hat and take pictures time. When reviewing the pictures tonight with eric we were commenting how she really looks like both of us. One thing I noticed though is in every picture I take of her lately she is making the same huge grin that is plastered on my face in every one of my baby pictures. Too cute for words, this girl.

a first

so I have never used this blog for anything much beyond tales of children, but that was before I saw this and had to share it with you.

http://emmas.blogg.se/2009/august/new-collection-from-decormaison.html#comment

how wonderful and lovely are they!!

-phoebe

hope you are all enjoying your saturday. I am hacking away at the mounds of produce that rain down on my kitchen this time of year. I got all caught up this morning, then went to the farm to pick up a new load. There are worse problems to have then too much good food I am aware. I just want to make sure I do it justice.

Gentle Mette

Note: No animals were harmed in the making of this video. It should also be said that the cat featured has an entire house where he can seek refuge from small hands yet he continues to throw himself at their feet. We have lost sympathy for him.

401k

Who needs to invest when you are sitting on gold like this.

First, Mette trying on a hat for this fall. Uh, yeah, she is wearing that!

And if I can keep it on his head, Otto is wearing this!
Here starts the retirement fund. Otto "pointing it down."
Showing off his underwear like daddy's.
And this is just darn good light.

Oh, Oh here she comes, watch out toys she'll chew you up

You can thank me later for getting that song stuck in your head.

So I have a couple great shots of Mette stalking all that she sees. She is up and rocking and about to lurch forward at any minute. I really hope this dear sweet adorable little gem of a girl moves beyond this physical milestone soon because we could all really use some sleep. Last week she wasn't sleeping because she cut both her bottom teeth. Now she spends her time rocking on all fours instead of sleeping. She is waking up all night long and when you go into get her, there she is, rocking away. If she sleeps with me I can snuggle her enough to get some "longer" stretches, 3 hours? sometimes, but for the most part there is not much sleep happening. She is totally charming and delightful though so it could be much worse.

I am also hoping to post some of the priceless photos of Otto we took over the last couple days but they are taking their merry old time finding my inbox through the sea of intertubular madness. He has been an absolute angel lately. When I ask him something he answers with a song in his voice, "yes Mommy." Last night when I was putting him to bed he told me three times he loved me. He is even saying please, thank you and may I please. Who knows, we might civilize him yet.

He took the kids to play while I ran to the liquor store

Here is a glimpse into my day.

Both kids woke up at 6 which was too early for them, but they wouldn't go back to sleep. This made them both crabby, Otto more than Mette. We had a pretty good morning with a few minor lack of sleep bumps. When it was time for naps, both went down fairly easily so I thought I was in the clear. Then Mette woke up screaming after sub 20 minutes. She is cutting her second bottom tooth so I gave her some Tylenol and tried to rock her back to sleep. A little over an hour of intense screaming on her part and walking, rocking and singing on my part I got her back to sleep. No sooner did I stand from the rocking chair to put her in her crib did I hear Otto crying. He had only been asleep for 1.5 hours and he usually sleeps for 2 or 3 and he never wakes up crying. He had to pee and wanted his train downstairs. UGH. So I let him go downstairs and told him he had to play quietly since really he should still be taking a nap. He was pretty good and I was able to get a little embroidery done (pics soon) which was nice. Then eric came home. He took the kids to play while I ran to the liquor store. I didn't even make it out the door when he called for me to come quick. I had spent all day playing with Mette and watching her every move and no sooner do I head out, she starts to crawl. She was up on all fours and starting making forward progress. Again, Ugh. THEN, for the first time ever I didn't get carded at the liquor store. We live in a college town, I always get carded. On the walk home I noticed that I had walked all the way to the liquor store with my shirt on inside out. I put on a clean shirt before leaving since Mette had spit up on the one I was wearing, I just didn't bother to see if it was on properly. Nice. Now we are having friends come over for drinks and I am going to have some fruity alcoholic drink. And it will be good.

random thoughts, not deep thoughts

why do they always sleep when you have places to go or eric is home?

teaching a toddler to pull his pants down has it's ups and downs.

when potty training a boy, clear the area in front of the potty.

who's brilliant idea was it to put snaps on the back of babies outfits? There is no good way to reach them.

Is it possible that I will go a day without having the Thomas theme stuck in my head in the future?

As long as we are thinking about things that sound impossible, when will I be able to wear the same clothes more than once and have them still be clean the second time?

I am not ruling out wearing them more than once, I just think they could stand to be A LOT cleaner. No pee or spit up perhaps.

Home again, home again jiggity jog

This past Tuesday eric packed his bags and headed to Hollywood as he tells Otto. He had some interviews to do for his book, pavement to pound for film studies and friends to visit. He is now as I type this somewhere on Rt. 80 headed home from Newark via Hoboken for dinner with Ben. That left Otto, Mette and I to entertain ourselves for the week. Really, Otto could keep us all entertained all day every day you just really have to like playing with trains and Hot Wheel cars. We had a lot of fun stuff planned and were lucky enough to score some dinner invites from friends. To be fair, at the beginning of the week I thought I was going to be exhausted and so tired of the kids by now, but I'm not. I'm tired, but no more than I have been for the last 2.5 years. And I have had such a good time with both of them that I can't wait to see them in the morning. Or Mette sometime in the next couple of hours... They were both very well behaved. Poor Mette had a bit of a tough time with getting 6 month shots and a tooth in the same day but it was nothing lots of cuddling and Motrin couldn't fix. Her second bottom tooth is looking very close and I wouldn't be surprised if it came in soon as well. Otto wowed me with his cuteness everyday and mastered potty training. What more could I ask for?? It's a good thing it all went so well because not only was eric gone, Rachel, Isaac and Nathan left today for a 3 to 5 month trip to Uruguay. We wanted to get as much time in with them before they left. If the kids were having a tough time this week it would have made it hard to visit with them.

One bonus I had the past few nights was the help of Ben W. eric's assistant. He was between houses and needed a place to crash for a few nights so he stayed here. Otto thinks he has been sent here to swing him and make funny sounds and nothing else. Otto got some quality air time and I was able to make dinner and put Mette to sleep knowing someone was watching Otto. Two priceless things. Having him here made a world difference. He even helped Otto go potty a few times which for a recent college graduate guy I think puts him in the saint hood realm. He also came to help while I gave both the kids a bath last night. Mette is now sitting up so well and I needed to bathe them both at the same time I decided to put them in the tub together. This was Mette's first big tub experience. Ben was kind enough to capture it on film. The smiles he got from Otto means if nothing else he has a job taking pictures of our kids!!

Mette has been making this face a lot since her new tooth came in. I think she is still getting used to the way it feels.

Safe travels friends

I've decided there not leaving, I'm staying. Staying, just like always, except it won't be just like always. While it still doesn't sound the way I feel it should, somehow not having the word "leaving" there feels better. Today is making me want to paint all the furniture and walls white. Leave the accent colors to Hot Wheels and books. A clean slate where no feelings can lurk in the distraction. They will be back soon, sooner that I think. But our children will be older, bigger, faster, smarter...new.

TOOTH!

Glory be, Mette finally cut the first tooth that has been giving her fits for so long now. I noticed it yesterday while Otto was taking a nap. SO exciting. I just went back and looked at the post about Otto getting his first tooth and it came when he was EXACTLY the same age. She just cut her lower left tooth and that was what he cut first as well. Otto has not had the easiest time getting teeth to say the least. I am very much hoping that it goes better for her.

She also had her 6 month check up so it was a big day for her. She weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds 12 ounces. She is 27 inches long. This puts her in the 75% for weight and 90% for height, also the exact same as Otto at this age. It's kind of amazing. Poor little girl, the combo of getting her first tooth and having shots made for a sad little baby. She ran a slight fever last night but did actually sleep fairly well. I was sure she wasn't going to sleep at all so I was quite pleased. Especially since I stayed up until midnight visiting with the moms from playgroup who came over to have a little going away party for Rachel who tomorrow is heading off to Uruguay :(. I am still in denial that she and family won't be around for almost 4 months!

We have been ticking milestones off left and right around here. Mette is officially up and rocking on all fours. She is trying to go forward but often ends up rolling over in the process. It won't be long though until she is off.

Otto is potty trained. I have been hesitant to say that out loud or write it in black and white, but there you have it. He still has a bit of trouble getting his underwear down on his own so you have to help with that (I don't care if that takes forever to master, it is super easy!) and he still wears a diaper for night and naptime but other than that he has been accident free. He even wakes up dry and want to use the potty as soon as he gets up!! It is amazing. He has totally led the whole process which is how it should happen, but I am still in shock. He looks so cute running around in his little underwear. It's a whole new era.

Visions of projects dance in my head

I live my life thinking of things to make. Not surprising if you know anyone (or are anyone) in my family. In fact compared to most of them I hardly make anything it all. The only reason for that being that I spend my days wrangling two small dictators who don't leave much time for my own projects. In the winter I love to knit when I have the time and in the summer stitching of many forms is very exciting to me. The idea of spinning and dying all my own yarn totally appeals to me. Lately I haven't been able to stop thinking about projects. There are so many things I want to do. I have been developing these adorable little birds that I am working into designs for clothing. Both the paint on fabric and stitch. I am also thinking about making patches of them. I am obsessed with Japanese fabric. A vise not helped by the fact that we have the coolest Japanese fabric store in town. To make matters worse two weeks ago my mom, Rachel and another friend and I took a Sashiko (if you are at all like me, you will love that website) class from the store owner and now I want to Sashiko everything I see. So while I am making sketches when the kids are peaceful and planning all the things I will make when I get time (HA!) I needed to do something to work on my craving.

So I did this...

I arranged all of Otto's books by color. I know it is not going to last because everyday he takes most of them off the shelf at least once to read them. But just look how fab. it looks! It makes me smile and happy. I am happy to put them back like this but I think eric will roll his eyes and laugh if I ask him to indulge me as well. I am working on some very hip patches on my favorite pair of jeans, embroidering a hoodie that was Otto's for Mette and I just pulled out a tried and true knitting pattern for a sweater for Mette. I think a pink cable knit pullover is in her future. I am getting some things done, but there is always more to do.

I have also gotten into the habit of baking our own bread. Otto calls it Mommy Bread and loves it which honestly is part of why I love making it. I have a great recipe (thanks Rachel) for a simple dough and now I am starting to expand on it. That is a lot of fun as well and we get to eat the results which is always nice. Eating embroidery just isn't the same.

Speaking of eating, Mette, Mette, Mette. This little girl is desperate to eat all of her brother's toys. It's not like we don't have toys for her, we do. Great ones in fact. And every once in a while she indulges us and chews on them but really what she wants is Otto's toys. Otto's everything is cool to her. She lights up at the sound of his name. She def. knows her own name, if you call Mette she looks at you. Then this morning while she, eric and I were all in bed snuggling we started talking about Otto. As soon as she heard his name she had a huge smile on her face. When eric said "Otto" again she started laughing. He is the best thing she has ever seen. That being said, this afternoon she was doing her best to start crawling and made her way over to one of Otto's backhoes. She was in pure heaven and obviously proud of herself. And I let her chew on it. It is pretty clean, just as clean as any of the other toys she finds and eats. And really who doesn't want a good backhoe snack after nap?

Also, I am not making a bigger deal out of it because I don't want to draw attention to it, but Mette is 6 months old!! How did that happen? How is my baby half a year old? I don't approve at all. She is 6 months old and Otto is potty training!! I didn't think either of these days would come. Just to make sure we don't get too high on the hog, Mette has stopped sleeping. She is waking up a lot and needs nothing but Mama by her side. Hence all of us snuggling in the morning, she has been coming to bed with us as it is the only way we all get sleep. She is though taking a good nap in the afternoon if I lay with her. It adds to my not getting anything done, but allows me a good excuse to just chill for a little which I need too. Especially if we aren't sleeping at night!

Money Makers

Howdy!

It feels life forever since I have posted. I can't really say that I have been super busy with big events, but I still haven't found the time lately to get pictures uploaded and come up with clever things to say about them. One excuse is Mette is working on some teeth big time. It has made her somewhat good sleeping turn into not good at all sleeping and because of that I have been pretty tired. I pretty much just go to bed in the evenings without getting anything done post kid bedtime. We have also been trying to continue to take advantage of all the yummy food this time of year has to offer which is great, but it means much of my blogging time has been spent cooking. That or playing outside in the beautiful weather we have been having.

Here is Otto enjoying some corn fresh from the farm earlier this week.

Mette getting ready to go for a walk with eric. Despite cutting teeth she has been all smiles lately. Smiles and blood curdling screams, one or the other. The screaming seems to mean, "I am so cool, listen to me", "I am getting tired", or "I am hungry". So helpful that they all sound the same!
Now for the money makers.

Starting last week Otto has been showing real interest in the potty. At first he only was pooping on the potty. Mainly I think because physically he knows better when that is going to happen and could make it to the potty faster. Since he was doing so well with that I thought we could try for the whole shabang. He can't tell when he is peeing in the diapers since they are too absorbent. I tried some cloth training pants but he didn't like those at all. Being naked seemed to work the best. That way he can see when he is peeing and is starting to make the connection. To help keep him excited about the whole process we went to Target and picked out some big boy underware. He got Thomas, CARS, and some other misc. characters. He really seems to like them a lot and is doing great. Knock on wood. So far today he hasn't had an accident!!

The designs on the underware are on the back since that is where the most real estate is. He likes looking at them before he puts them on, but can't see the pictures once they are on. These shots are of him checking out his new duds and trying to see the picture on the back. I will say it is taking a lot to resist taking photos of him sitting on the potty playing the spelling game on the iPod Touch. That is his favorite way to pass the time, or reading books.

Last but not least, Mette. Not only is she working on teeth, she is also starting to get up on all fours. I have been trying to get a good shot of her up and rocking but I don't have one yet. This gives you an idea of what is to come. Looks like I am going to have a busy fall as well!!

Otto Quotes

Otto: I want to have this pig.

Eric: The pig on T.V.?

Otto: Yeah, but he's just stuck in that show.

Otto: What's mommy have? (while touching my leg)

Me: That's stubble, guess I should shave.

Otto: Yeah, it's all bumpy all over.

note: didn't really think he would care about that!