Seriously?!?

I would love to know what possessed Owen to do this.  Unfortunately, it's not an isolated incident as he seems to have decided his body is a canvas.  *sigh*  Here's hoping this phase is short lived.

Hair

I'm not sure if it's because Kellie does hair and he's had some fun with her, or what has made him so interested, but lately O is all about his hairstyle and what kind of haircut he has. He was a bit grumpy about going to church today, but the promise of a tie and spikes made his day.

A few days ago, Andrew had done Owen's hair and it had it all slicked down.  After about an hour, O told me he needed to fix his hair so it would be regular again. He took his index finger and swirled it around his cowlick in back, then said, "Ah, good, now it's sticking up like it's supposed to."  This kid cracks me up on a regular basis these days.

Macey's Ice Cream

Macey's has yummy chocolate-dipped ice cream cones for cheap.  How can you go wrong with that?

Swimming Lessons

Owen loves swimming lessons like nothing else in this world.  He's been having such a fun time and it's great to watch him because he obviously enjoys himself so much.  I just need to remember to bring a real camera.

Sleeping Beauty on the Mend

Claire, thumb, tv, fever free.  The world is improving.

"Snow White needs a hug."

Or so Claire tells me.  She clearly looks like it's true, but even when the mom doesn't whine and cry, she still wants a hug, too.  We're all tired of sickness.

The Big O falls

And the poor guy fell hard.  He's hitting fevers of 104, losing his voice, coughing, and generally being miserable.  It's particularly disappointing when you love, love, love your swimming lessons and you can't go.

Happy Valentine's Day

And almost birthday to Kellie.  O has really gotten into his birthday card making this time around.

More sickies.

Claire has fallen to the gunk.  I think O is ready to go, too :(

So in love

Oscar is in serious, undeniable, head over heels love...with me.  I'm blaming it on pregnancy pheromones or something like that, because Oscar has never, ever had this level of need to be with me.  If I watch TV, he's on my lap.  In bed at night, he's on my side (not my side of the bed, my actual side of my body), or my head or my legs or snuggled right up under my chin.  He follows me around the house and looks sadly up at me when I don't pick him up.  Strangely, Andrew isn't jealous.  I guess he's just not taking Oscar and his interspecies love affair very seriously.

It's still a boy!

Claire is mainly excited by the balloons we brought home.  She liked the ultrasound pictures, though I'm not sure they made any sense to her.  And she finally believes there's a brother in mom's tummy.  She also believes there's a brother in her tummy.  Making sense of a baby is tough when you're two.

It's a Boy!

Sickie Pants

Poor Ella has been hit with one of those nasty cold and cough combos that seem to go around this time of year. Owen is perfectly happy to have his Ella home for so many days in a row.  I guess that's our silver lining.

"I want it like a sandwich!"

Claire's wish is our command.  Waffles, bread, tortillas--if they can be folded, then that's how Claire wants to eat them.  Ironically, they're usually plain, so it's not like being folded in half serves a purpose, though it does seem to make her happy.

Other current Claire quirks include:

A sudden interest in wearing pants (but not shirts) after months of dresses.

Explaining to family members repeatedly that Oscar is a cat and a boy, though we all know that.

Wearing her shoes on the wrong feet and calling them slippers (like Cinderella).

Telling people, "I lost my father," with an incredibly sad and dejected look on her face.

Firmly believing that Andrew is not her father.  He's dad or daddy or dada.  Father is the name of Belle's dad.

Sleeping with her pajamas zipped down to her waist, but no, she won't just sleep in pants.

Cupcake Birthday Party

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I know it's been a few weeks since her actual birthday, but at least we did throw her a party. Ella had her friends over for a cupcake decorating and eating party.  They made frogs, sleeping kids, worms in dirt and general fancy pants cupcakes with sprinkles.  Of course, when you're nine, no party would be complete without some free for all, use as much candy and frosting as possible, decorating and eating in there, too.

For me, the most entertaining part of the party was the gifts.  It seems Ella had made a point of how much she loved and wanted Zhu Zhu pets, and that's pretty much all she got.  She's perfectly happy with it.  So is Claire.

Dinner--His and Hers

Andrew made his own dinner tonight, and I made mine.

His--Disgusting hot dogs and tater tots.

Mine--A disgusting amount of asparagus.

And never the two shall meet (not even photographically).

Demon Child

It couldn't be further from the truth, but look at this picture!  You'd sure think so.  I'm not sure I'm going to let Bryn play with the phone if this is what I get back.

Zhu Zhu fun

Claire is the only kid in our house that doesn't own a Zhu Zhu pet, and yet she is the one most delighted and entertained by them.  Now we just have to convince the big kids that Claire is not a threat to the lives of their little battery-powered pets.