Wiping noses

So I've been thinking a lot about my blog. And not writing a lot.

I have a bunch of ideas for posts: some reflections on being newly married; some thoughts about how birth order affects parenting and children; the potty training journey we have traversed this month; the one facet of house-wifery I do well; the other twenty facets I don't do well; my attempt to learn to use our camera.

But this posts isn't about any of those things. All I have to say is that I've been wiping noses and rocking babies. The last two months has brought us a constant stream of colds, runny noses, and ear infections. Coupled with Caroline's vomiting and difficulty sleeping, this has been a challenging month. This has probably been rougher than the first few months of having two kids (and that was ROUGH). We are thankful for love and support from our families and friends.

Anyway, we're getting through it and making it and just trying to remember that winter doesn't last forever; neither does their infancy. Our babies are growing and learning, even through the mess. And they are healthy in general. Caroline has five teeth and is crawling like a champ. Catherine can tell you the opposite of most any word she knows and knows all of her letters. She knows her right and left. After night after night of minimal sleep, I'm glad I have her to remind me of which is which.

Runny nose. Yes, I took a picture.

Sad, tired, don't feel so good baby (and Daddy!)

So we'll be returning to public contact . . . maybe in June? Maybe I'll get a chance to write some of those posts before then.

Funny Girl

"My silly face"

 Not like the Barbara Streisand kind of funny girl . . . well, she does like to sing.

A few goofy stories about the way things are around here right now. Our big girl Catherine has developed quite a sense of humor. One of her favorite expressions lately is, "Oh, that's funny!" Sometimes she uses it in appropriate context, other times, not so much. But then, it's funny to us when she uses it wrong.

"My goldfish face"

Catherine's favorite pastime these days is singing. Her singing voice has one volume. It's very loud. When I'm lucky, I get a medley of all Catherine's favorite songs. If you're happy and you know it, Jesus loves me, Frosty, Jingle Bells, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the Grand Finale the ABC's. Now, I think she can carry a tune fairly well for a two-year-old. But still, much of the melody is lost in single note repetition. Did I mention it's really loud? It's one thing in the car, but she's also taken to doing it in public. Hobby Lobby, the grocery store, even Home Depot last week. "Mommy, I said touch your nose!!" I guess I just must not be happy. Or maybe I don't know it. No, my finger does usually end up on my nose.

"My tongue face"

 So one of the things she's been saying lately is, "____ made a mess!" I guess she hears that a lot. We've had a really rough month around here. We've had six ear infections, two colds for each girl, and a round of RSV for Caroline that seems to linger on and on. Unfortunately, when Caroline gets congested and then cries, she tends to vomit. That's been happening way too much this month. So that is so unpleasant, but each time she does, it is met with Catherine exclaiming, "Ca-wo-wine made a mess, Mommy!" She also said "I made a mess," when she dropped a large pyrex bowl, which shattered into a thousand pieces on the kitchen floor last week. Don't you love understatement?

Other funnies:
When Caroline is crying, she often says, "Mommy, she's just falling apart." Or she'll repeat other expressions we've used. "She needs a nap!" She regularly refers to Flash as "Buddy." As in, "Don't eat my food, Buddy."
She feels compelled to name the color of each article of clothing you are wearing. Also to point it out if anything is different about your wardrobe. "Gasses, Mommy!! Mommy is wearing gasses!" (Glasses, of course.) 

Her baby dolls are named "Alabama" and "Julie." The family of stuffed animals that live in her bed are Tigee (he's the baby, she says), Lamb (the big brother), Pink Monkey (the mommy), and Brown ("bown") Monkey, the daddy. They have all sorts of adventures. Most of which involve using the potty, putting the babies down for napses (her expression), kissing boo boos, and making lunch.

Catherine is cutting her two-year molars. It's a whole different game when they cut teeth after they have gained the ability to communicate. Yesterday, she said her mouth hurt. And could I please kiss the inside of her mouth. In the back. Please? Please?

And this "silly face?" I looked up from feeding Caroline lunch today. And this is what I saw. Catherine, why aren't you eating? Because this is my silly face. Readers, was it one of you who taught her this? I'm pretty sure I didn't. Or the goldfish face.

"My silly face again"