Poop.

I know it's not a very creative title.. but considering my day, and the state I am in now, poop seems pretty accurate.  

Raya was in extreme, excruciating pain last night; culprit? Constipation.  She was sobbing, I've never heard her cry like that, it was utterly heartbreaking.  She was only content if I was holding her (not Jeff) and slept cradled in my arms, of course until I had to move and then  she would wake right up and start sobbing again.  It was a rough night.

The boys woke up at 6:45 am and woke everyone up with them (including a sleeping Raya), asking for lucky charms, their vitamins, water with crushed ice and everything else under the sun, those boys. As Jeff left to go to work it was at a peak in my day,  Seth was on the toilet asking to be wiped, Raya's poop plug had come out, and Levi was lying on his bedroom floor saying, "Change my diaper!" -- 8:15 am.  Does anyone else have their days go in waves of calmness and then turbulence? 8:15 was turbulence.  Signing Time brought calmness and a cleaned up mommy.   9:00 we were out the door for swimming lessons.

Swimming lessons... everything was calm, Raya slept, it was good.

Turbulence when we came home.  Seth was asking for lunch at 10:30, Raya is awake and hungry, feed Raya -- Leave Raya in living room with the boys entertaining her while I clean up everything I wasn't able to do this morning (which was a lot: unloading dish washer, dishes, beds, living room, etc).  Look and notice that Raya had pooped all over my new white Rug in the living room.  I wont go into details, but it was a lot.  Clean up, start laundry (Seth's still hungry), get lunch and boys fed 11:40 (an hour later than Seth wanted).  Feed Raya and myself, clean lunch, Raya poops again.  2nd outfit for the day.  Clean up, clean up living room, feed Raya, put Raya down for a nap.  Seth peed on the bathroom mat. Finally get around to putting Levi down for a nap and he lies down again, "Change my diaper." -- Then notice Levi got poop on his sheets.  Another load of laundry. And Levi is down for a nap.

Some days are so stupid. Today was a stupid day, there's no other word for it, the amount of laundry and poop and times I've gone to the trash can has been ridiculous! But at least my kids are asleep now, and my house is clean, -- now just laundry to fold, lots of laundry.

Two Peas in a Pod

I'm not sure if you're aware, but Seth and Levi are best friends. 

And I couldn't be happier.  It's something I've worried about and prayed for since I was pregnant with Seth. 

Suffice it to say that I am overwhelmingly overjoyed when I see Seth and Levi together.  It's what I really, really wanted.

Speaking of my boys ... couple of funny stories.  

The last couple of nights Seth and Levi have been staying up until NINE (we put them to bed at seven). There's a lot of thumping and giggling and singing, and Jeff and I just let them be in their own little world.  After a fairly large thump, however, I decided I should make sure that they were being safe.  I open their door, and to my surprise they had transformed their bedroom into a fort.  A cascade of blankets forming barricades on their beds, babies hiding, socks everywhere ... and a half naked Levi standing on his dresser with the most bewildered look of shock on his face.

"Levi!" I gasp...  In his surprise Levi scampers across his dresser and jumps into his bed with a huge thump.

Mystery solved.

The next morning cleaning up, making their beds, I was surprised to find more socks than originally anticipated.  When I asked Seth what they were doing with the socks he replied, "Oh, just planting socks." -- they were planting a sock garden.

"The boys" also have their own language.  Example, they both like to race and they make sure that their "chaungs" -- or arms in a ninety degree angle, are in position for running.  Apparently it makes them run faster.

Levi has a new game he likes to play -- locking mommy and daddy out of the house.  I've been able to catch him before his creeping little fingers are finally able to push the dead bolt into locked position, but Jeff was outside for quite sometime.   He had taken Levi's diaper out to the dumpster in the morning, Seth and I were still sleeping, and neither of us could hear him banging on the door.  Levi eventually woke Sethy up.  It was pretty funny; Jeff was in his red hot chili pepper pjs.

ok, ok more Raya.

Raya is just so much easier to document than my boys.  For one, she can't move, so I don't have to bribe her with chocolate chips to take a picture, and two -- she's changing so fast!  She waved today.  It was the cutest wave ever. She might have signed "more" today -- I'm pretty sure she did because she kept batting her hands together after we would do the more sign.  AND she learned how to scream a couple of days ago.

 

We've been laughing and encouraging her... we might be stopping that now ...

 Reaching the high note here.
Raya's smile has changed over the last couple of days as well.  You know how some people blow a kiss?  Raya blows a smile:

It's the goofiest face.

And... this just cracks me up, I don't know what type of a girl she'll turn out to be.

Eating a lizard in style.

Sethy got a hair cut..... can you tell they're related?

And I just didn't have the heart to give Levi one :)

Raya baby.

My little girl is 6 months!

sitting up

started eating solid foods, besides rice cereal

Ate an entire jar of baby food peas.  I don't think my boys have EVER done that.

She's sleeping fairly regularly from 7:00pm - 7:00 am (Hallelujah!!!)

I can put her down awake and she'll fall asleep.  

Raya's amazing.

says... "dadada" (pshh)

We have movement! she's rolled a total of three times now!

First movement was on the 9th, just in time for her doctor's appointment!

"Sweet" is definitely a word I would use to describe her.

Jeff and I can't get over how happy she makes us all.  We have like,... 30 minutes uninterupted-no brothers- alone time with her at night before she goes to sleep, and we dote on her.  We think she's pretty special.

Love you Raya! (Raya baby, CONK (seth's term of endearment), sweetie (Jeff's), Mommy, please move Raya (Levi's))

**Also I would like to add that The Ting-Tings, "that's not my name" calms her when she's upset, and that another term of endearment from Seth is "tiny-head-talker."

Vatican City and Ear Infections

Seth and Raya had check-ups with the doctor ... Raya is weighing in now at a hefty 19.7 lbs, and I think she's going to remain there for a while.  Apparently she has a raging ear infection as well; good thing she's such a happy baby.  I thought she might since she was batting her ears, but I'm not a fan of putting my kids on antibiotics for an ear infection.  Is it really the antibiotics that they have to take for 10 days that clears it up, or the fact that 10 days passes since the ear infection is noted?  Lets just say my diaper changing will be doubled now because of  antibiotics that might help.  Oh well.

Sethy was a rockstar.  With an attentive doctor listening Sethy dominated the conversation, and loved to show off his knowledge.  Might I add, that Seth has gotten really, really, loud.  He likes to drown out any possible alternative thread of a conversation by talking as forcefully as possible. Oh Sethy, he's so cute. So he sang his alphabet, counted numbers, drew himself playing, bunny hopped, wrote his name etc, etc.  All typical -- then the doctor asked where he lived -- "Pullman, Washington which is on the planet Earth.  -- But not in Oak Harbor, Washington because you have to cross the Columbia River.  And not in Vatican City, because Vatican City is not a city but a country."  -- and then he recited his address, "Our house is 243 Glenoaks Drive." Seth is really into geography, REALLY, REALLY.  He can name his continents and name more countries than most adults and list off major geographical landmarks.  What four year old spends his time using a map (a washrag) and travels throughout the house to meet the gorillas in the rain forests of Africa to the Sahara Desert, or climb the Andes Mountains and visit the Patagonian Penguins?  Suffice it to say the doctor was impressed and I was embarrassed.

The nurse also commented that she had never had a child of his age take shots so well.  As the nurse was injecting him he informed her, "Shots don't hurt, it just feels like a prick."

... and random ... sad that it's blogworthy ...but this doesn't happen to often.  I was crafty! modge podged a vase and finished up leg warmers

sick of Raya yet? --- NEVER!

 

I love this face.

Oh boys.

 

I walk into scenes like this too frequently.  I thought it was comical, until I had to rewrap the ball of yarn.  The boys are so funny, they insist that Raya needs her scepter and bring it to her throughout the day.  

Speaking of my boys ...

So dinner time has become my least favorite time of the day now.  We usually have to start dinner without Jeff, so it's just me verse the kids.  I cook and distribute dinner just for me to threaten the boys to high heaven and back again ... just to eat one ... little ... bite!  Some common pleadings: Stop playing with your food!... Cup in the center ... Please, use your fork ... Keep your hands to yourself ... Do I need to separate you two? ... Your cup is not a hat ... Stop dropping your cup! ... You're going to bed hungry --- and on and on and on. 

It's ridiculous!

Well, tonight was a real winner of a night. hahaha. I made Italian chicken cuscus.

Seth: "What is this?"

Mommy: "It's cuscus."

Seth: "You mean dumb-dumb."

Sethy says the prayer... it probably was a nice prayer. I couldn't hear it over Levi's "I don't want a prayer, I don't want a prayer, I don't want a prayer!"

After Seth's done saying the prayer Levi stops yelling and tells Seth, "I took your prayer and I ate it! Nam-nam!"

Seth in genuine distress looks at me with teary eyes, "Mommy, Levi ate my prayer!"

Levi: "I threw your prayer into the living room."

Seth: "I caught my prayer!"

Mommy: ...  ignoring the boys and scarfing down food.

An intermission of sound threatenings of hunger resumes, and the boys get a bit ballistic.  Seth is picking at his eyelashes saying, "I'm taking the carrots out of my eyes!" -- He is stuck on the idea that carrots give you good eyes.  And Levi is just shaking his head as fast as he can going, "ahahahahhaahaa."

Have I mentioned that dinnertime is my least favorite time of the day? 

At least it was dollar scoop Tuesday at Baskin Robins! -- And that Jeff took over when he came home and practically fed the boys their dinner.