Milk Beard

The milk mustache is a milestone Ryan won't hit till he's drinking out is a big-kid cup. For now, the best he can do is a milk beard.

Strollin

Learned a valuable lesson today. The double-wide lifestyle only rocks if you dont have to fit through the doors of Walgreens :(

Sunday She Said

Recently, Brooke refers to her "work" on a daily basis.  When she doesnt want to do something, or doesnt know how to explain something, her "work" comes into the picture.  Here are a few examples:

Mom: Let's change diapers
Brooke: I change diapers at my work

Mom: You need money to do that
Brooke: I have money at my work

"Work" is also a cool place where she is very grown-up and neat things happen:

"I have a sink at my work"
"I take a bath at my work"
"I put my shoes on myself at my work"

She also has a pretty strict boss.  She informs us all the time she has to "be at work in 5 minutes" or that she is "late for work".  Often she tells us this at 6 or 7 at night. 

Finally, I decided to get a better understanding of what she does at work.  She started talking about it tonight, and how she "does it at work with my friends".  This was the first time she mentioned friends and work in the same sentence, so I decided to snoop around.

Mom: Who are your friends at work?
Brooke: Kitties.
Mom: Kitties?  Anyone else?
Brooke: (Says or makes up some random words, which is also common)
Mom: Sounds like you work with animals.  Are you are vet at work?  An animal doctor?
Brooke: Yes.
Mom:  What do you think Mommy does at work?  What is Mommy's job?
Brooke: Taking care of Brookie.
Mom:  What is Daddy's job?
Brooke: Taking care of Mommy.

She is a pretty smart cookie.  I'm still not sure how I feel about my 2-year-old devoting so much time to her "work", but she seems to be handling the work-life balance quite well so I'll let it be for now ;)

Breakfast Al Fresco (Ryan Is 7 Months Old)

Last night I got three hours of sleep (and it wasnt consecutive). I can blame three people for this: my future sister-in-law and double trouble (of course). I got in late last night and knew I was going to be short on sleep, and I accepted that fact because it was for a good cause. BUT, Ryan and Brooke BOTH got me up in the middle of the night, and both woke up early. Which, of course, I should have expected to happen :(

I'm pretty tired. I'm having a hard time functioning, in fact. I was worried I'd fall asleep while taking care of the kids today (Daddy isnt home this morning) and needed something to keep me awake and keep the kids happy. So, we walked to Starbucks and picked up some goodies and then ate breakfast on the front porch. It worked. The kids were happy and it helped me wake up a bit. Yay!

Ryans 7 Month Check-In
Weight:21 lbs 9.5 oz
Height:? inches

According to What to Expect the First Year, at 7 months Ryan... should be able to

• feed self a cracker X
• razz (make a wet razzing sound) X
• coo or babble when happy X
• smile often when interacting with you X

will probably be able to

• sit without support X (still wobbly though!)
• bear some weight on legs when held upright X
• object if you try to take a toy away X
• work to get a toy that's out of reach X
• look for dropped object ? Not sure?
• rake with fingers an object and pick it up in fist X
• turn in the direction of a voice X
• babble, combining vowels and consonants such as ga-ga-ga,ba-ba-ba,ma-ma-ma,da-da-da X
• play peekaboo X

may possibly be able to

• creep or crawl
• pass a cube or other object from one hand to the other X
• stand holding on to someone or something X

may even be able to

• pull up to a standing position from sitting
• get into a sitting position from stomach
• play patty-cake (clap hands) or wave bye-bye high five
• pick up tiny object with any part of thumb and finger
• walk holding on to furniture (cruise)
• say "mama" or "dada", indiscriminanately

X means Ryan can do this at 7 months