ET 9 Months

ET turned 9 months old on the 6th, so I'm almost a month late, these pics were taken on the 11th, though. I wanted to get some more that weren't so impromptu, but you see how far that got me (we'll do organized photos for 10 months?). ET looks a lot like his brother, but he does have his own look. He's not nearly as big as "W" was, so they look alike at ages they were the same size, rather than the same age. He's got these prominent eyebrows that "W" didn't have and he squishes his nose when he laughs hard and has a raspy voice. His head is pretty small and that makes him look a little different. He only has his 2 bottom teeth, maybe more on the way? He doesn't make many word noises, but he took his first steps on the 16th, 9 1/2 months (a month earlier than "W" did.......didn't crawl until 2 months later than "W") He stands freely for about 20 seconds. He's said Momma for a while now (couple of months or more) and he said Daddy for the first time yesterday (29th). I have a hard time convincing his brother it's mean to beat on him because ET won't stop laughing hysterically. His favorite place to be is looking out the sliding glass door and if you can hear motorboat noises, you know he's close. If he can see his cousin, CPK, he's chasing her, pulling her hair and crawling over the top of her. He's been sick for the past month and has not been sleeping well (ear infection). After we got him on an antibiotic he did better for a couple of days, now the antibiotic is upsetting his belly. Hopefully he will be doing better when he finishes his antibiotics.

Ups & Downs

My goal before writing this post is to come up with more ups than downs about being "homeless" for the past 11 months.
UPS
1. My mom lives next door
2. The monitor reaches next door
3. I can leave my sleeping babies in their beds while I run errands
4. I get to see my baby niece everyday
5. No utilitity bills (except when grandparents leave)
6. No mortgage/rent payments (we give expensive Christmas gifts instead)
7. Less housework
8. Less yardwork
9. My babies have a close relationship with the grandparents
10. I rarely feel alone, even though PBTB is gone A LOT
11. I borrow things from my mom and grandma all.the.time
12. I can pick up my mom's wireless connection
13. We eat over at my Mom's and MIL's A LOT
14. My grandparents have cable (never had it before)
15. My parents have TIVO (never had that before)
16. My grandparents' stairs are carpeted (I'm notorious for falling and ours were wooden)
17. My grandparents like to keep the house warm :)
18. My grandparents are snowbirds (we'll see them again in April)
19. My kids have a huge yard to play in (hurry up spring!)
20. I have a garage during the winter (while my grandparents are gone)
21. I have a kitchen, even if it's not mine, for now
20. I do have my own fridge and freezer
21. I have very generous Grandparents
22. I have very patient Grandparents
23. I have very tolerant Grandparents
24. I am very lucky to have a place to live

DOWNS
1. The term "put it away" does not exist here (we live on surface tops, all "aways" are taken)
2. I miss housework/yardwork of my own
3. I have constant anxiety about my kids/husband breaking something
4. My kids are too close during the night (they wake each other up), probably single biggest complaint
5. I have to pick up messes as soon as they are made, no exceptions, I can barely keep up and probably fail most of the time
6. It's impossible to clean or pick up when there's no space
7. I am dying for my own space
8. I miss my pets (some live at the construction site, others took up residence at a nearby barn)
9. I can't have parties
10. I have horrible guilt if the house isn't spotless
11. Doing laundry before my grandparents left was a nightmare
12. I hate putting our clothes away, because they're more accessible in the laundry baskets
13. I am in EVERYBODY'S way all.the.time
14. My stuff is in EVERYBODY's way all.the.time

Boy, that felt so good. I am so relieved and feel so good that my "ups" outweighed my "downs", by a long shot and without even trying.

Captain Underpants

So, as suspected, potty training isn't the most fun activity for a mother, but you have to admit, pretty hysterical.

Build a Bear

The boys needed to get out of the house last Saturday, Build a Bear was having a sale, off we went. "W" picked out a wolf and I picked ET out a black bear. "W" liked filling his wolf up with stuffing, but mostly he loved brushing him and giving him a "bath". He wasn't so interested in dressing his wolf. He chose a hard hat and some big boy underpants. ET's bear got a flannel shirt. (Not the most exciting post, but we aren't the most exciting people right now. PBTB's always either at work or working on the house, and he's kinda the life of the party, especially our party.)

Original Instant

We all have them, photos from our camera phone. Not the best photos, but always capture a "moment". The modern day equivalent of polaroids. I recently got a new phone and it took me 3+ hours to e-mail all of my photos so they wouldn't be gone forever on the old phone. Luckily, my new phone takes a memory card, so no more of that. But, I think I will resolve to start e-mailing as I take them, 'cause what good are they on the phone? (I mean after the initial picture message that you send to relevant contacts) These are some of my favorites that I recently re-visited. Some of "W" look exactly like ET (There are only three pics of ET here).

Dear Sister...

I love this pic of my sis, courtesy of Jagerhaus. And, the headband's not too shabby either, courtesy of myself.

Fuzzy Butts

My MIL always talks about a dog she used to have named Fuzzy Butts........It just seemed fitting. I knit these pants for the boys for Christmas. You can make fun of me, but I LOVE them. (Matching shirts compliments of Great Grandma Maurine)