Happy Birthday, Mr. 3!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest and gentlest little boy we could have ever imagined. We love you so much and are so proud of you, Baby Duck - Zeph - P. B. Bear - Charley - Liam David.

With all our love,
Mommy and Daddy

Comments From the Thanksgiving Day Parades

Liam watches very little TV, but we let him watch some of the Boscov's and Macy's parades Thanksgiving morning. We told him the names of the characters he didn't know, which was a bit of challenge since I haven't kept up with all these TV characters myself. At any rate, here are some of Liam's more amusing observations:

1. About Pink Panther - "Mommy, he's not a panther. Panthers aren't allowed to be pink. He must really be a pink leopard."

2. About Dora - a close-up shot of the rain cascading off the balloon - "Wow, she can really pee!"

3. About SpongeBob - "Mommy, hold me. He's scary. I don't think SpongeBob should be allowed outside."

4. About Big Bird - "Hey! You won't believe your eyes - Yellow Bird can really fly!

5. About Humpty Dumpty - "Oh, no! He's too high! He's gonna have a great fall! Oh, NO!"

And with that we turned off the parades and went to dinner, but several times that afternoon Liam asked us, "Is Humpty-Dumpty OK? Is he OK???"

Oh, the suspense of reality TV...

Charley the Camel and the Very Bad, Horrible Afternoon

Charley the Camel loved three things:

1. Eating frozen corn. Still frozen, from a bowl on the kitchen floor Watering Hole.
2. His black dog Casey The Great Doggler.
3. Baking cookies.

Charley was having lovely afternoon baking cookies with his Mommy Camel. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spied his bestest friend, The Great Doggler, stealing corn from the Watering Hole.

"NO!!!!" cried Charley.

He leapt to rescue his prized corn, and in doing so fell off his stepstool, banging his head hard on the kitchen counter. Poor Charley! Mommy Camel picked him up, ran her sticky cookie-dough-covered hands through his hair, and put a cold pack on his head. Charley felt better, for a moment, but then realized that Mommy Camel had messed up his hair and left it very, very sticky. He was inconsolable.

As he sat in Mommy Camel's lap and considered the inherent unfairness of life, Charley realized there was only one activity in the whole wide that would restore his happiness.

"Charley wants to draw on himself. With red marker. Because camels like red. And because Daddy Camel will give me a bath and wash my hair."

Mommy Camel considered this strange request. (And tried to decide if the lump on Charley's head was serious enough to alter his mental status.) Finally, because Mommy Camel was way tired prized her son's happiness above all else, she handed Charley a (washable) red marker. He cheered up immediately, and decorated his face. He plopped back in his mommy's lap and said, "Mommy, you are my bestest Camel Buddy ever."



And (despite Mommy Camel's questionable parenting decisions) they all lived happily ever after.

Yet More Bits and Pieces

1. I'm really tired. And my brain is missing. Yada yada yada. Enough already, I hear you shout.

2. We had a great playdate this week with Suzanne, Sean, and Allie. Liam had a great time, although it was hard to tell it at the time as the museum we visited was a bit too loud for him and he kept wanting to return to the relative quiet of the toddler room. Sean and Allie were less impressed with the toddler room, but they are great sports and consented to spend a substantial amount of time in there anyway. Thanks for the fun time, guys!

3. Out driving tonight I saw what was either an otter or a beaver swimming in a local lake. I think it was too big to be a beaver, altough Kevin swears otherwise. Whatever it was, it was clearly an aquatic mammal of some type, which is very cool.

4. At the mall tonight all three of us were checking out Santa's quarters, when who should walk by but the jolly elf himself. Which petrified Liam, who has issues with people in costumes (hence the lack of Halloween postings here). He's willing to divulge his Christmas wishlist to the Santa picture in a Christmas book, but the "real" Santa at the mall causes him to beg to return home, poor kid.

5. What is on his wishlist? "A fire station for my fire engines. And helmets for the firefighters. And some firefighters for the station. And some ladders for the fire engines. And hoses for the pumper trucks. And some toy kitty cats for the firemen to rescue. Oh, and somezoomy mice. Yup. That's all."

And yup, that's all I've got. Nighty-night, y'all!

Hypothetically Speaking

Let us conduct a thought experiment.

Let us suppose that a mother changed her 2-year-old son's diaper. Let us further suppose that she then proceeded to the kitchen, five feet away from the child, to wash her hands. Now let us assume that the child had access to a marker. Would it be possible for the child to cover himself with body art in the time that it took the mother to wash her hands?

Since the child would have to work at essentially light speed for such an event to happen, one might reasonably conclude that there would not be enough time for the child to draw over large portions of his body. Not in the time needed for a quick hand-washing. Correct?

One would not expect the mother to be greeted by anything resembling the picture below, now would one?



Good. I'm so relieved to know that I am simply imagining all similar events from this afternoon.



"But I drawed on myself 'cause orange is the best color!"

Thank goodness Daddy is in charge of bathtime.

Hey in There!!

I was lying on my side last night. Liam was leaning against me, half asleep. The baby started moving:

P. B. Bear: "Mommy, kindly stop moving your tummy. It's bothering me."

Me: "I can't, honey. That's your baby brother moving around."

P. B. Bear (talking to my belly button): "Hey, baby brother in there? You really, very need to settle down. I'm trying to sleep. Kindly thank you!"

And then he rolled over and fell asleep.

Eh??????

You are 100%* Mom!

You are SUPER-MOM. You are the envy of every mother. You have perfect kids and balance it all wonderfully. You beleive in a strict schedule with every little detail worked in to a T. Your home runs like a clock and you like it that way.

What kind of Mom are you?
Quizzes for MySpace

I can hear my friends and family laughing already. Try not to hurt yourselves, folks...

Why Does It Rain?

Liam: "Why is it raining, Mommy?"

Me: "Well, it rains because the plants and animals need water."

Liam: "I think the basement needs water, too."

Me: "Why does the basement need water?"

Liam: "I just don't know, but I hear the Rain Fairies sprinkling rain in the basement."

Let's hope not, son. Let's hope not.

Enter the Sibling Rivalry

P. B. Bear: "Why do mommies make milk?"

Me: "Well, milk is what makes babies and little boys and girls grow big."

P. B. Bear: "I love mommy milk. But sometimes I only like soy milk, because I'm big."

Me: "Do you think your little brother will like mommy milk when he comes?"

P. B. Bear: "Yes, I think so. But! But??? Eh?"

Me: "But what, sweetie?"

P. B. Bear: "But I think my brother will have to find his own mommy for milk."

Me: "Hhhmmm. Do you think I could be his mommy?"

P. B. Bear (looking at me like I need a psych referral): "Oh, no, mommy. You are only MY mommy."

And the little brother isn't even here yet...

How Do You Fancy the Name of "Bandit" for a Little Boy?

P.B. Bear: "When is my little brother coming out of your tummy, Mommy?"

Me: "Well, he has a lot of growing to do first, so it won't be for a while yet."

P.B. Bear: "How big is my baby brother?"

Me: "Um, well, he's about the size of Miss Stormy or Miss Penny right now."

P.B. Bear: "Oh, Mommy, hurray! I'm so 'cited! My baby brother is a ferret!!!!"


Uh-oh...