You're Never Fully Dressed Without a...

...Smile! My sweet little 'un is grinning and as of yesterday, cooing. It is almost more than I can bear. He smiles for all of us--me, Dad, and Big Brother. He got terrifically close to giggling today. Pinch me! How did I get a kid this cute?













Did I just find a ticklish spot?
We play the "I'm about to tickle/kiss/zerbert you" game. He gets so excited and kicks so hard!


"Aw, Mom, you are just hilarious! And did I mention, gorgeous?"



"Stop making me laugh so hard, I'm going to pee in my diaper! Oh, wait..."


Many of you have asked how KiSA's job is going. For the past seven months, the most appropriate answer would have been, "frustrating." Bottom line, it's taken this long to get enough training to do what he was hired to do. But when he got back to work on Monday, he was able to conquer a project that had been driving him up the wall. Now, he's able to tap into that brilliant, mechanically gifted brain and "git 'r done!" He has been so happy to finally--FINALLY--have a sense of accomplishment. I knew he could do it.

We were able to re-join the gym, thanks to our adorable, newest tax deduction. I am soooo excited. Assimilating with my Ipod and working up a sweat is some serious mommy-alone time. It clears my brain, relaxes me, it's gooood. And, I just realized, I could shower there and actually GET to take a real shower, without worrying about who's about to wake up and demolish something or throw up. Me and SK like to play basketball in the kid's gym, which basically means that we chase each other around and play keep away, interspersed with me lifting him up to (try) to make a shot. It's fun. We like to go swimming, too. But I'll have to buy a new swimsuit and some pants, because all I had was maternity clothes!

I like to hold my sons. One of my friends thought SK couldn't walk at 16 months old because I was always carrying him! Alas, all too often my hands must be otherwise occupied. Even the sling or wrap, as much as I love them, won't cut it when veggies need chopping or water boiling. Enter the vibrating musical bouncy chair. He loves it, which means I do, too. Not only is it fun, it keeps him upright and vibrates out the bubbles, which really helps the spitting up.

I have fallen into a bad, naughty, awful, terrible habit of late. I let SK watch entirely too many movies. Yes, I know he's not seeing all the commercials like he would on TV, and yes, it is monitored and screened material. But it still turns his brain to mush. It's not that I don't have ideas for things for him to do otherwise, but just that they require close monitoring, and I do mean close. Which is hard to provide while nursing or cooking. Playdough, coloring (even Color Wonder), puzzles, Legos--all fun, all things we like to do. All things that he manages to make into an abominable mess. Now, he's good at entertaining himself; has prolific creativity and imagination to spare. Acting out his fantasies, however, usually entails enlistment of found household items such as my spatulas, keys (still can't find them), toilet paper, pillowcases and the like. Now, it's not that I need to have the house perfectly clean all the time. FAR from it. But we need to be able to walk through it.

Oh, yee wise teachers and parents, I need ideas. How to engage the preschooler safely, without requiring close supervision?