R.I.P.

Our digital camera has finally bitten the proverbial dust. Michael has had this camera longer than he's had me, and it's seen a lot of changes and events over the past couple years. It started giving us trouble a few months ago - green pictures, pink pictures, then the screen would get scrambled and take a minute or so to warm up. We were really hoping it would make it to Christmas so we could add it to our Christmas list, but no luck. And since we're up on a couple months of great family holidays, we didn't want to be without camera at such time, so we decided to go ahead and replace Big Clunky with newer Slim Swanky. Let's just say that the girls' Halloween costume pictures are not technically taken on Halloween.... And have not technically been taken yet.... Cameras come without memory cards? Really?

Anyhoo, here are the last efforts of the sweet, old camera:

(These are Michael with the girls in his lap. Can't quite get there, though.)

Here are a few of the ones that made it out all right:

(Oh, Camille's cheese grin!)

(Talya is finally starting to turn into a bit of a chunky monkey. She's in the 95th % in height, though. We're thinking she'll be taller than big sis.)

(Fell asleep before Daddy could feed her!)

(Daddy grading papers and the girls helping!)

Thank you for all the memories, old camera!

It's Official

She's a crawler! This morning's trek was slow and shuffling, but darn it all if she wasn't gonna get ahold of that box of nails on the floor. I know, I know. Mommy should know better.... some of Camille's toys are just not fit for an infant....

And she's getting her first tooth! Oh, the milestones!

E.T. Phone Home

Camille and Talya share a room, and because we want them to grow up doing so, we’ve already started it. Of course being a 2-year-old and an infant, there is some finagling of schedules, but fortunately both girls are fabulous sleepers, so that allows us to put them together so early.

This past week marked the first time that Camille really played with her sister - which means she got right in Talya’s face and giggled insanely. Talya responded in like manner and reached up and pulled Camille’s hair. Camille brought her toys, sat with her to then take the toys back to show her how it’s really done, and hugged and “tickled” her. Earlier in the week Camille was playing with balloons and spent a good deal of time beating Talya over the head with one – which Talya loved. I’m pretty sure it means we’re beginning the era of how-can-big-sister-beat-up-on-little-sister-and-little-sister-adore-her-for-it. Good times.

Saturday was a major cleaning day. I got Camille involved, picking things up, sweeping the floor, and moving things out of the way of the vacuum. I had to get her over her fear of the vacuum first though, because too bad, the carpet is desperate for it. Talya showed hardly any response to the vacuum. She was just fascinated with the light on the front and would calmly watch it come up and bump her diapered bum. Move the baby. Vacuum carpet. Move the baby….

During the afternoon naps, Mommy got a shower and cleaned the upstairs bathrooms. While Camille didn’t actually sleep during naptime, she spent Talya’s 2-hour nap being “quiet.” I was almost done with the bathrooms when I heard both Camille and Talya laughing outrageously. Cutest sound in the world. So I let them be for a while so I could finish up. I may think twice about that next time.

When Michael walked in to get the girls up, this is what he found:


If you haven’t seen her yet, Talya is in the bottom left corner.

Yeah. Totally hilarious! And scary.

Sure enough, next time I heard crazy hysterical laughing and went to check on the girls, Talya was in the Exer-Saucer where I put her and Camille was tipping the whole thing on its side and setting it upright again. She then spent part of the evening teaching a new little friend how to unlock the front door.

All in all, it was a full day.

Here they are, the cutest little Mischief and Mayhem: (hmmm….Halloween costume idea?....)

Houston Strikes Again

I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. Construction follows me around this city. @!#%!!

I first started noticing it when I worked with middle school and high school students. I spent 2 years driving all over Houston, all the time, every day. And every time I would find a new shortcut or nice little back road or start a new driving routine, within a couple months those streets would be under construction.

When Michael and I got married we moved to an apartment that was 2.5 miles from my office. Within a couple months the main road I traveled was ripped up. That 2.5 mile commute took me 30 minutes.

When we moved back from Nashville, the townhome we rented was 3 miles from the very same office building, along that very same road. It took 9 months of me using that street when they started ripping it up again. Really? They just tore it up only 3 years before that!

We moved to another apartment 2 months ago. Last week I pulled out of the neighborhood onto the main road I use to take the girls to school and guess what? They’ve taken the top layer of asphalt off the street, in preparation for….. more construction!

SERIOUSLY?!?

My First Pair

Can you believe it's taken me this long? Thank you Sharon & Rick!!

So.......

So. Hmmm. It’s been a while. What’s been happening? Oh, nothing.

So we moved. The move was fine. Long, but fine. The apartment, however, was horrible. We spent the next 3-4 weeks pestering the apartment management to fix and replace all the stuff that should have been done before we moved in. Michael got to move us 2 more times (out for repairs and back in afterwards) while the management treated us like we were an annoyance to them for not taking the less than acceptable living situation they tried to put us in. Thank you, thank you for attorney friends, as much for advice along the way as for being able to say, “my attorney,” to people who need a kick in the pants in order to do what they should. Seriously? We have to resort to the A word?

So the apartment is, for the most part, pretty nice now. I even have curtains hung. That’s a first for us. But there is still a fair amount of not necessarily unpacking as setting up that needs to be done. I kinda lost the drive and excitement in the weeks of pestering the management. Family will be coming in town the first week of August, though, so I have a deadline goal before me….

So, on a happier note, Talya turned 6 months old last week! I know, I know. I’ve been terrible about sending or posting pictures. I’ll get there. And no, Talya is not the poor, neglected second child. She’s just part of a bigger, busier family than Camille was. Let’s see….she’s gotten very good at grabbing her pacifier and putting into her mouth herself. She likes to snuggle a bit more than Camille did at that age. She’s so laid back and sweet and smiley. She’s into the mommy-is-the-only-thing-I-want phase. She adores her big sister and Camille can make her laugh and giggle by simply running back and forth across the room. Her eyelashes are insanely long. Like, insanely long. She’s finally taken to eating her “solid” foods, so she’s sleeping completely through the night now. It’s glorious. She’s my picky eater so far. Maybe not picky, but more particular in how she likes her meals. Her hair has grown long enough that her natural mohawk is laying down by itself, and she has even more red than Camille does.

So Camille is half way through her 2’s. And still oh, so sweet for a 2-year-old. Really. She’s still cracking us up, too. She put one of her feet in time-out because it hurt the other foot. Occasionally she tries to be the boss and tell me, “No, Mommy, don’t talk to Daddy.” Sometimes she decides she doesn’t want her picture taken. Her favorite question is, “What are you doing?” (Repeat, and again.) Her favorite stuffed animal is a beagle her Grandma & Grandpa gave her. Really needs to be washed. Her favorite shoes are a pair of flip flops with bright colored balloons tied on the straps (made by her Grannie & Aunt Morgan). She is loving school, and now will tell me what she did during the day when I ask if she had a good day (she basically lists everything she played with). She is a wonderful big sister and shares her stuffed animals with Talya in such quantity that sometimes we’re afraid she will bury her in them. She and Talya share a room and it is a great set-up.

So, Michael will be teaching high school again this year – Pre-Cal and Algebra II. He’s at a new school, though, and while he would have liked to have stayed at the previous school (they gave him a deadline to accept their offer that was earlier than an number of PhD programs in getting back to him), he’s optimistic about the new school, too. He had the chore of working out the apartment mess and refused to accept ‘no’ from the apartment management – his little girls were not gonna live in that filth. At least once a day he voices his complete adoration of his two little munchkins. He’s learning to brew beer with a friend, and he recently had someone ask if he was ordained so he could officiate their wedding. While I thought it was a great idea, he was slightly weirded out by the idea that someone would want him to marry them.

So, that leaves me. Hmmm…. I am loving my two little girls. I am loving a full night’s sleep for the first time in several months. I am still really enjoying my job. Had a totally random 24-hour trip to Baltimore and back for work. It’s the first time I’ve traveled sans children since I’ve had children. I got to read. And carry only one bag! I’m looking to sit for the CPA exam again, which is a whole soap box rant in and of itself. I’m still in pursuit of the organized, cleaned out life, but not so sure it actually exists. I occasionally go slightly nutso, but that’s normal, I’m sure.

So. There you go.

My Little Manipulator

Camille does not really like baths. She used to like them. She played with toys in the water. She splashed everything she could and soaked me all the time. She was fascinated by the water coming out of the faucet and would practically sit under it. I don’t remember when exactly this changed, but now sometimes she refuses to sit down. She won’t play with anything. She’ll stand with her arms clenched to her sides and whimper or cry the whole time. Other times she’ll play for a bit, but then decide she’s done and try to climb out of the tub when she’s had enough.

The worst part is when we wash her hair. I think she may have realized she doesn’t like water in her face or her eyes or something. We’re working on trying to help her through this, and it has gotten a lot better with the use of washcloths on her forehead and telling her to ‘look up,’ but it still can be a battle with her. I’d love for her to actually enjoy baths, though, to take her time and play and experiment with stuff in the water.

Sunday mornings before church is usually the key bath time. As the weekend mornings go, we bring her into bed with us when we all wake up - to play and lounge and hang out for a bit before we all get moving. It’s some of her silliest and cutest moments, and it’s become a weekly routine that I cherish. A few months ago during this time, Michael tells her she’s needs a bath. The conversation went like this:

Michael: We’ve gotta get you a bath, Little Girl.

Camille: No bath.

Michael: Yes, bath.

Camille: No bath.

Michael: Yes, bath.

Pause.

Camille taps me on the shoulder, lovingly: Hi, Mommy.

Me: Hi, Sweetbug.

She leans in close, face to face with me, and whispers: no bath.