Sunday

I got to sleep in until 8:30!! That's 2 whole hours! Then we went to Weiler's to have breakfast with Uncle Peter and Uncle Julian. The boys were extremely well-behaved and ate a ton of food - and they had already eaten breakfast at home so I was surprised. Then we went to the Farmer's Market. I didn't really need to buy much there but we went anyway because there was a petting zoo with llamas, a pig, some ducks, some bunnies, a mama sheep and her babies and a goat. We got to see the babies nursing from the mama sheep. That was neat. Brought back some painful memories though! Then we went to the other side of the market where there was a giant bounce house with a rock climbing wall and a slide. The boys went in there with Daddy assisting and they had a ball. D still needs some help getting up the rock wall but once he's up, he's fearless. It was a fun morning -- especially since it seemed like all they did was fight with each other on Saturday. I don't like it when they fight and I'm afraid I don't handle it well sometimes. It is just so nit-picky what they do to one another and I find myself telling them to just leave each other alone but of course, they can't. And it's such little stuff like one of them was saying "no" in kind of a sing songy way and it absolutely drove the other one crazy so he starts screaming and the whole time I'm thinking - just ignore him. It doesn't have to drive you so nuts! But then when the one realizes how much it drives the other one crazy, he does it louder and longer until it's now driving me crazy! You see what I mean? So, I really like it when they're getting along and being good to each other. I have to figure out a way to make that happen more often.

twenty

That's how many teeth J and D each have. 10 on the top and 10 on the bottom. They had their first dental appointment today. We've been prepping them for a few months now but even with that preparation, I am amazed at how well they did. She was able to do a complete examination on both of them, complete with whirring instruments and bright overhead lights. She's really happy with their teeth and said they're teeth are better than 90 percent of the 3 year olds she sees. Their jaws are developing normally, there's no overbite with either of them, and they're nicely spaced although D's are a little tighter. We treated ourselves to In 'n Out afterwards - well, that was more of a treat for mommy and daddy although J does like their french fries. They took very late naps today and didn't wake up until 7:30pm for J and 7:45pm for D. So, naturally they didn't want to go to bed at 8:30pm. I'm afraid we're losing the afternoon nap with them. Maybe not D but definitely J. It's 10:00pm now and they're both sitting on the couch next to us. Hmm - I just looked down at J and he's asleep! Not D though. He's busy playing with his Stanley colorforms.
Tomorrow my uncle Layne is dropping by with his friend Paula for a short visit on their way through town. I haven't seen him for 2 years and it's been nearly 3 years since I saw Paula. I'm looking forward to seeing them. First, we head to the Farmer's Market in the morning. I'm trying to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables and also support local farmers. The produce is so much better there and there's really no change in the price. Most of it is organic and I feel better about the boys eating organic foods. Now if I can just reduce our intake of animal protein, I'll be really happy. My cholesterol is far too high and T's is moderately high so that's my motivation. However, T is (and so am I) a carnivore. This isn't going to be easy!

Cousin M

I'm really behind in posting about our visit with C, J and M but you'll forgive me since I've spent nearly every day since they left with a feverish, whiny, clingy boy draped across my body. D was hardest hit though J certainly didn't get by unscathed. However, when J gets sick, he can still manage a smile. He isn't so needy. But D, who T has referred to as "Keanu" for his melodramatic flair, is so miserable when he's sick. One evening he woke up around 10pm and started crying so T brought him out to the living room. He moaned and kicked and screamed that he wanted his mommy so T gleefully handed him to me. He proceeded to moan and kick at me and when I asked him what was wrong he angrily whined, "I'm tiiiiiiiiired". To which I said - ok, what do you want to do? Him: Iiiiiii waaaaant toooooo gooooooo toooooooo beeeeeeeed. Me: ok, my bed or your bed? Him: MY BED!!!!!!! Me: off you go, can't get you there fast enough, why the heck did you get out of your bed in the first place???? - ok, I didn't say any of that but that's what was floating through my mind. So, you understand, right?
Well, here it is. We had a fanfreakintastic time with C, J and M. First of all, M is the most easygoing kid; very few meltdowns, goes to bed easily, naps easily - I'm so jealous. Plus, he absolutely fell in love with D and walked around saying "D?" whenever D wasn't in sight. J got a little jealous that M wasn't as enamored with him. I think his feelings were a little hurt but we didn't make a big deal of it. I was especially impressed with the way C and J handle M. I've never seen my brother be a DAD and it was really cool to see how instinctive he seemed to be. The first day we all had together we went to Travel Town to ride the train. Then we went into Griffith Park to have a picnic lunch and let the kids run around. Next, to get them to take a decent nap, we took a long drive through Hollywood, West Hollywood, West LA and Santa Monica until we got to Venice. There we walked the boardwalk to look at all the crazies and then went out onto the beach to gaze at the hazy ocean. Then we went to Marina Del Rey for dinner at C&O Trattoria for the yummiest Italian food. The next day was Super Bowl Sunday and we had Fish, Brooke and Eddie over for dinner. They left the next day and the fevers started the day after that! I'm so grateful that J and D didn't get sick until after they left. Especially since the last time C and J were supposed to visit (before M was born) D was hospitalized for pneumonia. The time before that was when I was pregnant and they were going to come out for the babies shower and I was hospitalized with preterm labor so they didn't come out. They did visit after the boys came home from the hospital but I was so sleep deprived and was just trying to keep it all together so I don't remember much. So, you see we haven't had much luck when trying to get together! Maybe that's what made this visit especially sweet. I will post pictures as soon as I get them loaded.

Idyllwild

This picture was taken
in our cabin in Idyllwild.

This photo of D on left was taken when we went for a 2 hour hike in Idyllwild. He walked the whole time and pretended to hack away at all the thorns, just like Prince Phillip does in Sleeping Beauty.











This photo of J was also taken while on our hike. J wanted to be carried alot but whenever we got near a large rock or boulder he had to climb it. The bigger the rock, the better.




J was asking us how to get in there.