Happier Food Critic

...but fortunately sweet potatoes:

and carrots:

ARE fabulous!

Food Critic

Rice cereal:  apparently not so fabulous.

Next Stop, Broadway

Tonight at dinner:

Abby has had her sweet potatoes and is done being trapped in her chair, so Bret holds her while Gabe and I finish eating. 

Bret sits Abby up on top of his head and asks Gabe, "Hey do I have a baby on my head?"  Gabe is eating and smiling looking at Abby on Bret's head but doesn't answer, so Bret turns to me and says "Babe, do I have a baby on my head?"

I look above Bret's head for a few seconds and say "Uh, no" and turn away.  Then a few seconds later I turn back and say "Oh, but you have an Abby on your head!"

Gabe starts laughing and says loudly "Mama, you funny!"



So obviously I am quitting my job and we are moving to Hollywood so I can be discovered!

"Mama, what yong?"

In our dining room a little while ago:

Gabe:  "Mama, cack!"   (Let me interpret:  "Mama, snack!")

Me:  "Ok, go get in your chair.  You can have the rest of your yogurt from breakfast."

Gabe:  "Fyacks?"  ("Flax?"  ...my mom started giving him flax on his yogurt a year (ish) ago and now he requests it whenever I suggest yogurt to eat.  In fact, he will eat a couple of the top bites of yogurt with the flax on it and then request more...Bret has started asking him if he wants yogurt with his meal of flax!)

Me:  "Yes, I'll put more flax on it."  So I go about getting him his yogurt/flax and then sit down at my laptop with him eating at one end of the table and Abby happily spitting up on her bib at  the other.  I decide that since I haven't been on Facebook for a while, I will log on and peruse through the 7 million comments about the snow.  (note - I underestimated, it was 8 million)  In the course of my Facebooking, I saw a comment from someone I went to junior high with and said aloud, "I'm friends with him? I didn't know that."  And then from his page I rabbit trailed to the page of someone else I was in band with in high school, and after looking through a few pictures and contemplating the strangeness of 20 years having passed since high school, I said aloud in a reflective manner:  "Wow.  Oh my gosh." 

Gabe's response:  "Mama, what yong?"  ("Mama, what's wrong?")

I tell ya...I really think God gave two-year-olds the capacity for extra adorableness to combat their penchant for tantrums and the desire to wage epic battles. 



Enjoying his "cack" of "yo-guut" and "fyacks"



Since he has a tendency to pose for pictures now with his eyes squinted
shut, I asked him to open his eyes for this shot...this is what I got!

Cautionary Tale

Tonight I was still inside Target at 10:55 pm.  I went out to run a couple of errands after the kids went to bed and since I was blissfully alone without an infant or a toddler to keep entertained, I was taking my time and pointlessly browsing the store.  You don't realize what a luxury pointless browsing is until you haven't done it in a while. 

Finally, at 10:57 pm I decided I should go up to the front to check out.  Being (for the most part) a rule-follower means that if I were to actually wait until they announced that it was 11:00 pm and the store was now closed before I went up front, I would feel both irresponsible for waiting until the last minute and anxious that they would tell me that they weren't going to allow me to buy anything since the store was now closed. 

As I'm walking toward the front, I hear someone say "Just to let you know, we're closing in a couple of minutes".  I turn, thinking they're talking to me and ready to reply that I'm headed out, when I hear someone say in response "I know - can you direct me to the baby section?  This is an emergency run...she can't find her blanket and she won't go to sleep without it.  I need one with a silky edge and it has to be big."

My first reaction was completely judgmental:  'Wow lady, your kid is WAY too attached to that blanket if you're making a trip to the store at 11:00 pm for a replacement.'

On the heels of my reaction was an echo of Gabe's voice in my mind, asking for his "bappie":   his blanket with minky dot fabric on one side that he likes to rub his face on.  His blanket that when he bumps against something or otherwise gets hurt, he immediately asks for and runs to get and then touches his blanket to the spot that's hurt as if it has magical healing powers.  His blanket that he faithfully hands to me first each morning before climbing into our bed to cuddle.

And then I realized:  'Wow lady, your kid is way too attached to that blanket.'

Because Bret told me last week that...

...he was having a bad day at work and checked our blog to look at pictures, but was disappointed that I hadn't posted anything new in a month.

So Babe, this post is for you:



Gabe showing off one of his "houses"

Our smiley 4 month old, growing up so fast!



Long-arm shot from Christmas Day.  I like this one
because the shirt you got me brings out my eyes.
Good job on the Christmas shopping!



But I think I like this one better because:
a) my head doesn't look so huge, and
b) you have a snowflake coming out of your head



Gabe diggin' his new Cars t-shirt. 



Damage to the roof after the New Year's Day windstorm, which you spent your holiday off work fixing.


So there you go...next time you have a bad day and come here looking for a boost to your spirits, remember that you have:

- an endlessly entertaining toddler who thinks you're the coolest thing ever

- a wife who laughs at your jokes (usually), doesn't mind losing ping pong games to you (sort of), and who thinks you're the bees knees (always!)

- an adorable baby girl who one day soon will consistently sleep through the night and stop spitting up (right????)

...and that you are the kind of guy who can fix his own roof after a windstorm.  Shazam!

Love you babe!