Miscellany

So far, a mostly uneventful week. We did host playgroup on Tuesday, and a good time was had by all. Even better, for some reason the kids were uncharacteristically neat this time. The house has never been so clean after a playgroup.

Last weekend we--and by "we" I mean Mike--began preparing for our big basement remodel by removing a cabinet and taking down some of the plywood ceiling panels. There's a lot of junk to get rid of, too, even though we've already made three large Goodwill donations this year. Anybody want a Schlitz light fixture?

In closing, some new Dominisms...

unwet (dry, obviously)

par, har (pear, hair)

ope-ten (opened)

seed, doed, goed, broked (His past tense needs some work, doesn't it?)

mize, mees (as in "That one's yours, this one's mize.")

stuck together (Kashi GoLean cereal, which has some little stick-like pieces that can be single or fused in groups of two, three, four or six; "I want string cheese and stuck together.")

last night, yesterday (anytime in the past)

...and a new video. Our laptop suddenly insists that it has no audio device, so I haven't even been able to listen to this yet, but it should be pretty good because it involves a laughing baby.

Happy Birthday, Mike

Today is Mike's birthday. Dom and I decided to set up a little family celebration to surprise him when he came home from work. I made a cake, and this afternoon Dominick and I frosted it. Actually, I handled the frosting and he licked the beater, then the spatula, then used his finger to scrape out the bowl. Somebody likes sugar! It was the first decorated cake that I made without help, and I think it is a respectable effort. We're going to be celebrating lots of birthdays from now on, so I'd better get some practice. We also put up streamers in the dining room, blew up a couple of balloons, and made the birthday sign you see above. Noel even contributed to that. The longer crayon marks in the top left corner are his. The other marks are Dom's attempts at letters, some better than others.

It turns out I spoke a little too soon about Noel's weight being an improvement. The nurse from the pediatrician's office called today to say that the doctor had looked at his weight and, while Noel has gained some, it's not as much as she would have liked. Percentile-wise, he's right at fifth, whereas before he was slightly above, so he's not catching up. The nurse asked me a series of questions about what he's eating, how often, how much at a time, how often he nurses, etc. She said we're doing everything right, and the doctor doesn't recommend changing anything, so we'll see her in August for Noel's nine-month checkup.

Seven months

Yet another month has gone by. It's a little distressing how quickly the time is flying. Noel won't be a baby much longer. Here he is at seven months:

Mmmm, toes.

When I did these photos with Dominick, they started out fairly easy, but as he got older, he refused to stay still or keep his hands off the paper. The same thing is beginning to happen with Noel. Here's another photo from tonight's session:

I took Noel to the pediatrician today for his weight check. He's gained eleven ounces since last month and now weighs 15 pounds, 1 ounce. The nurse said he looked great. Before weighing him, she said he looks bigger. I think so too, but I see him every day, so I may not be the best judge of that. But his thighs seem ever so slightly chunkier.

Sunday at the Garden

Today we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go to the Missouri Botanical Garden. We'd been there fairly recently, but this time we visited areas that we didn't have time for in April, like the maze, Climatron, and the new Children's Garden. Dominick loved playing with the boats and running through the fountains (see photos and video below). I was really impressed that Dom went across the rope bridges without any fear or hesitation. I don't know if I could do that! He did fall into the little stream where the boats were and then got soaked in the fountains, so of course he had to ask Mike to carry him after that. Some smart people actually bring towels and extra clothes for their kids.

Dom at the Climatron

Going over the rope bridge. He must not have inherited my fear of heights.

Playing with the boats

Noel has started making some rudimentary vocalizations. I'm pretty sure he's said "ga," and today he said "da" quite clearly. It's very exciting. He's still eating well, so we'll find out on Wednesday whether his weight gain has picked up or not. Noel has liked everything I've given him so far, and he cries if I take a little too long getting his next bite ready or when the food is all gone. He's as impatient as his big brother, who, incidentally, is going to drive me crazy with his constant refrains of "Let's have a snack" (starting 20 minutes after a meal or snack) and "I want something else" (i.e. something additional) and "I need that!" Will we be able to afford to feed these two when they're teenagers?