Some Random

- I went to the OB today and I finally gained some weight! Six pounds in the last month...bringing my total weight gain so far to six pounds. I'm almost 24 weeks along now, so I'm happy to be gaining. I was getting sick every day during months three and four, and only in the last three weeks or so has that stopped. I feel stronger and more energetic lately, too.



- We are fairly certain that we will name the baby Josephine. When I told the kids this I said "I think that I'll call her Josie. What about you?" Gage piped up immediately: "Josephine Jellybean!" So she already has a couple of nicknames, all darling. She is measuring right on, as is my belly.

- Last night Mike took the kids to Wawa after Parkettes, as he often does. Gage picked out a treat for me, a package of Twinkies. I was surprised that Mike didn't steer him toward something else, because Twinkies? Not really my kind of snack. So suffice it to say they were still in their package today. Gage asked me why I didn't eat them and I said, "Oh, I'm not hungry. How about you and Lila each eat one?" He agreed, and I handed them out. (This marks their first packaged cake experience.)

They each took one bite and put their Twinkies down. Lila swallowed her bite and went about her business, leaving her Twinkie on the table. Gage chewed his bite, made a horrible face, and ran to the trash to spit it out. I heard him call from the kitchen: "I found that cake to be much too sweet!" I laughed and happily threw away the Twinkies. They tried them - it's more than fine with me if they don't like them.

- Gage turns four tomorrow. Four! He is excited for his birthday, but in his ever-empathetic way he made a card and wrapped a present for me so that I would not be left out of the festivities. He is storing both card and gift safely in his desk until his big day.

Here he is posing with his pizza, one that he made entirely with his own hands - from patting the dough into a big round to putting on the sauce and toppings. He and Lila love to help in the kitchen and they love to eat what they create. Gage was very proud of himself for this pizza, as was I.



- Lila is still convinced that she has a baby in her belly, and she has named it Judith. (Judith is Lila's new cousin's name - my oldest sister Sarah gave birth to her third child just over a month ago.) When you ask Lila about her baby she points very specifically to her bellybutton and says "See?"

Lately 'Baby Judith' has been apparently active...Lila will put her hand on her belly and say "Baby Judif kickin'!" It's too funny - a perfect imitation of her mommy.

Two Quick Laughs

Since Gage was a baby we've played the wildly popular 'Stinky Feet Game.' What's involved: Sniffing one of the kids' feet, making a face and saying, "Ooh, those are some stinky feet. What were you walking in?" The kids love it - they offer up the other foot and enthusiastically say "This one's even stinkier!"

Lila was flailing on the couch the other day - I was sitting, she was tumbling over me - and I caught one of her feet in my hand. I sniffed it, gave the obligatory snort of disgust and said "Ooh, those are some stinky feet!" Lila pulled away, glared at me and said with careful enunciation:

"My feet are clean and soft. Actually, they're fine."

She turned away with an indignant huff.

Well!

I guess she told me!



Yesterday I was pushing Gage on the swingset; on the one meant for two kids...the swing that has handles and a place to put his feet, and the kids sit back-to-back. I was pushing him pretty high and he slipped his feet off the bar. I stopped the swing quickly and asked if he was all right.

Gage: "Yeah. Can you push me again?"
Me: "I thought you were going to fall."
Gage: "Nope. I like to do that."

So I push him again and again he slips his feet off the bar. After the third time I said, "That makes me so nervous. Why are you doing that?"

And I swear this is exactly how he responded.

He looked at me slyly and grinned. "I like to live on the edge."

Hi, Baby.

You're an awesome chick already.

Manners Police

For a long time now Gage has had high standards for manners - for himself as well as for others. It cracks me up that such a little kid wants things so orderly, but that's how he's always been. I have a video of Gage at maybe 18 months putting his milk cup on a coaster on the coffee table, turning to leave, turning back and pushing the cup to exactly the middle of the coaster. Only when it was perfect was he satisfied.

Tonight he couldn't sleep and he heard me puttering around in the kitchen, making a blueberry coffee cake. He asked to come help me and it was one of those days when the right thing to do is say Yes. So he helped me sprinkle blueberries on the top of the cake, then cinnamon and sugar. After we put the cake in the oven we sat on the couch to share the last 3/4 cup of blueberries between us.

Gage likes the sweet ones, and I like the sour ones. We spent a good ten minutes snuggled together on the couch...he'd take a little bite of each blueberry. "Sweet" ones were popped into Gage's mouth and he poked the "Sour" ones into my mouth. While he was busily sorting through them I brushed his bangs away from his eyes, told him that I miss seeing his eyes because his hair is getting so long.

"I like it long," he said. "Sour." I accepted the blueberry from him.
"I know you do now," I said. "But you might change your mind."
"No I won't," he murmured in a sing-song voice. He took another little rabbit bite from a berry. "Sweet," he smiled. "I'm really good at this," he observed unselfconsciously. The next one was sour. He watched me eat it, and the Manners Police descended.

"Um, excuse me," Gage said.
"Yes?"
"You were chewing that with your mouth open a little bit. I could see a peek of it."
"Oh, goodness," I said. "I'm sorry for my bad manners."
"It's all right," Gage smiled supportively. "Everybody makes mistakes." He popped another blueberry into my mouth. He kept his eyes on me and pressed his own lips together, silently reminding me how to chew. I chewed obviously and with tight lips. "Good," he smiled. "Now you're doing a great job."

It makes me laugh that he's so parental at these moments. We are almost always happily secure in our roles. He and Lila know they're the children, and Mike and I know we're the parents. There's no doubt about that. But Gage won't hesitate to turn a teaching moment around in your face if you seem to need it.

He's such a sweet kid, and so empathetic. But if you dare to put your feet on the table in my house be prepared for a stern talking-to from my nearly-four-year-old.

And talk with your mouth full if you want. But do it at your own risk.