Questionnaires

I'm filling out a questionnaire for the twins.  One of the questions is:

What age did your child say his or her first word?  And what was it?

For a second, it crossed my mind to write.  She's not my first born so how am I supposed to know.  But I figured that's not the answer they wanted so I"ll just leave it blank.

At least I can kind of answer the walking question.  I can't give an age and date like with Jory, obviously, but at least I have an approximate age.  I know for the twins it was over a year.  Rowan it was around 13 or 14 months.  Layla, closer to 18 months.

But how cute, what was age of your child's first word?  Obviously someone with no kids or only one wrote this questionnaire.

It's like the time the woman at the dentist office asked me, how old one of the twins was when they got their first tooth.  I must have given her the most puzzled stare.  Then she said, "Oh, you have more than one.  That's fine."  Smart woman.

I'm sharing this with Rowan's One before he marries her

"Mommy, will Santa be able to find us on the ship?" Rowan asked, as we were driving work and school.

"Yes," I answered.

"How will he get on the ship?" she questioned.

"He's Santa," I responded vaguely.

"Maybe he will bring me my puppy on the ship," she continued.

"You can't have a dog until you are grown and out of the house," Layla reminded her Irish twin.

Oh, my beautiful baby.  She remembered.

"I don't want a dog," Jory interjected, "you have to clean up his poop."







"Yeah, I don't want either.  I don't want to clean up anyone's poop," the baby agreed.


"My husband will clean up after the dog.  And he'll change our baby's diapers.  And he'll cook," Rowan informed her siblings.




"He's going to leave you if he has to do all that," the baby told her sister.

"No, he's not.  I'm going to sit down and relax and hold the baby."

I want my future son to know what he's getting before he proposes.  :)  The things that run through the mind of seven-year-old blonde girls named Rowan.

Layla vs Liam aka Jack aka Maybe Jack

Layla so wants to be like her big brother and older Irish twin.  She wants to be able to hold Liam, carry him from room to room, or carry him outside to the car.  But I don't let her.  I tell her, he's half her size.  But I am more than happy to let her sit on the sofa or on the bed or on the floor and hold him.  And she does, until he starts crying, fussing, or she loses interest.  Usually the later happens first.

So anyhoo, we went to the doctor and four-month-old Liam weighed in at 18 lbs and 10 ozs.  He's not as chunky as Teddy was.  When Jory weighed that much, he was walking.

Layla goes to the doctor and she weighs in at 39 1/2 lbs.

There is an 11 pound difference between my baby and Liam.  There is six and a half year age difference between the two of them.

Our doctor is young and so sweet.  He won't call Liam fat.  Uh, he is.  And he basically said, my baby can't afford to miss a meal.

It's a good thing I don't let her walk around the house holding him.  One throwing back of the head and they'd both topple to the ground.  (Not that he throws back his head, but in case he did.)

MLK Weekend

So I put Liam at the end of the baby's bed, while I supervised the girls cleaning out the drawers, since no one knows how to make sure clothes are actually folded properly and laying in the drawer and not sticking out of the drawer.  I looked down and Liam was in my lap.  I thought that's odd.  Did he move up here on his own?  Nah.

I turned him around facing the opposite end of the bed and waited.  Next thing I knew, Pinky and the Brain was on the move.  Friday night of MLK weekend, he lived out Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's cry, "Free at last!  Free at last!" 

My Pinky is on the move.  God help us all.

The difference between the first and the fourth

When Jory did new things, I was so excited.  I wanted to tell the whole world.  I called Mona at 6AM to let her know her three-month-old nephew rolled over from stomach to back.  She thought someone had died or was hurt.  Really a 6AM call makes you think death?  And not my first nephew from my only sister just rolled over?  Bygones...


I put Liam on his back on his little activity center thingy so I could get ready and take Jory to guitar lessons.  When I walked back into the family room, Liam was on his stomach.  Wait, I put him on his back right?

"Did I roll over by himself?"  I asked his Oma, who was sitting on the sofa behind him.

"Yes," she answered.

He can roll from his back to his stomach to his back. "Ugh.  Now he's dangerous," I said to myself, under my breath. 

And there you have it, the difference between being number one and being number four.  Jory rolling over from back to stomach - -  YIPPEEEE!!!  My baby is a genius.  Liam doing it - UGH!  This combined with his other new skill, really?!  Why can't he stay a cute, non-moving, non-talking baby?

There are tons of perks with being the first.

Francesca Battistelli, "This Is the Stuff"

I was watching UP and this video came on and the song perfectly describes my next few posts and sometimes my life in general.



I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please 'cause I can't find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
Might not be what I would choose
But this the stuff You use

45 in a 35 sirens and fines
While I'm running behind
Whoa ho ho

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess,
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
Might not be what I would choose
But this the stuff You use

So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I've got a new appreciation
It's not the end of the world
Whoa ho ho ho

Oooooh This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff
Someone save me
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
Might not be what I would choose
But this the stuff You use

Whoa whoa ho ho
This is the stuff You use.

I think Sarah would get this story, but I don't have her email and we all know I'm hopeless with FB so someone please...

pass this story on.


We're driving in the car, Layla sees a billboard and says, "That's the cowboy."

"What cowboy?" Rowan asks.

"The one from the show.  The one who sings 'Drunk on a Plane.'"

My heart sinks.  Crap!  I'm glad we listen to country, but I don't want my six-old year saying phrases like "Drunk on a plane."  But on the other hand, yeah, she recognizes Blake Shelton on The Voice billboard.  Sadly, he doesn't sing "Drunk on a Plane." which by the way is a great song.