HEBeautiful

You know what I love about kids? Their complete lack of filter. They'll say absolutely anything, any time. Take, for example, Milo on our trip to HEB this morning. I noticed a pretty foul smell and bent down to whisper to him, "Milo, do you have poo-poo?"

Milo turned up his nose and replied, "No, Mommy. WHY?" And then I saw it register.

"EWWWWW, Mommy. What is that smell? It smells like eggs!" Now, if you had made that smell, you'd probably already be turning a few shades of red, right? But he wasn't finished. No, he started turning to the customers around us in the aisle and asking each one, "Was that you? Did you do that? Did YOU?"

I had to turn tail and run out of that aisle, and I'm pretty sure we left without at least three things on my list because there was no turning back.

And then there was sweet Lucy, asleep on me in the little front carrier. Lulu is just like me in that, when she's good and peacefully asleep, she looks like an angel. An angel with her mouth wide open. We passed a little old Southern woman who said, "Oh, ain't she sweet? Lawd, they grow up too fast. I remember when mine were that small."

She paused and said, "Oh baby, shut her mouth for her."

I laughed, thinking she was joking, until she said, "No, really, shut that baby's mouth. It's open so wide ALL the germs are going to get in."

Great trip.

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures

Hi! Hope you aren't tired of seeing pictures of these little people, because I'm quite the fan of both. We spent some time with Nate's Dad yesterday, and I always mentally pair him with a cowboy hat. I bribed Milo with three M&M's to put the hat on and take a picture. He was a bit skeptical, but I thought he looked pretty cute.

 

Lucy is doing a great job sitting up by herself. I pad the area with pillows because she still gets really excited and tips herself over every now and then, but it's like the technique just clicked for her. Can you believe this little cutie is 6 months old today? And Milo will be 3 next Sunday. EEEEEK! Time is going entirely too fast for me. And no, she's not wearing pants. Don't judge.

We took a hiatus from letter-learning for a bit because we would make craft after craft, talk about the letters we learned, and then Milo would promptly refuse to tell me what letter it was. But this child loves a craft, so we're back in business. Learning the letters will just be an added bonus.

Look at my dynamic duo. They absolutely adore each other, and it shows.

Last but not least, Lucy thinks this Scentsy hippo is the best thing ever. It's hands-down her favorite toy. Now Nate and I just have to decide on a name for her. I'm fairly confident we call her something different every single time.

Snowflakes and sunshine

Happy winter season to you...

The Daddy Robe

There's nothing more cozy than snuggling up in a good robe... Unless it's snuggling up in a good robe with your little people. Nate has the perfect robe for this, and it's good to know that his Daddy Robe works wonders with both kids...

Nate and Little Milo

Nate and Sweet Lucy

Lucy update

Were you wondering what this little nugget has been up to? Well, she decided to start sitting up on her own, roll over from her back to her tummy (and just keep rolling and rolling and rolling), and say "Mama" all in the same day. Overachiever!

Miloisms

Remember how fantastic my little man is? Sometimes I have to remind myself, especially when he's having an off week or two like he has this past little while... He's been a little less sunshine and a little more raging tornado, but he's always my sweet peanut. So, just for fun, I thought I'd put together a few little Milo'isms.

1. Yours, hers, and thems. Milo loves a possessive pronoun. Somehow all of his have an s on the end, though. For example, "Yours car." Or "hers shoes." But my favorite is "thems." As an English teacher and lover of proper grammar, I used to cringe when he used his own made-up word. Now I just have to smile every time he tells me, "Them's house." And he even shortens it to "ems" sometimes, too. But he makes up for this with...

2. I'm doing well. If you ask him how he is, he tells you, "I'm doing well, thank you." If it's been a rough day, he'll tell you, "I'm not so well." Thank you, Milo, for being over-the-top in everything. If it's improper grammar, it's really improper. If it's good grammar, it's perfect.

3. Non-stop drama. No, that's not the phrase he uses. It's more like, "Mommy, I can't get my pants on. This is a disaster!"

4. Fores-head. As in, "Mommy, put this sticker on your fores-head." And then wear it to the grocery store or it will hurt my feelings.

5. My tummy says... Milo will hear his tummy growl and then give us the translation. Usually it goes something like, "Mommy, my tummy said," (then his voice drops into a low growl) "Let me watch Jonah!" Fill in the blank with whatever he needs right then and there. It catches me off guard and makes me laugh.

6. My Spanking Chair. Oh yes, in Milo's mind, the rocker in his room has become the spanking chair. Never mind that he also gets rocked, sang to, and cuddled in that chair. Because I tell him to go wait for me there when he needs a spanking (which, let's be honest, isn't all that often), it has become the spanking chair. Today he decorated it with about 25 stickers and was heartbroken when I told him we don't put stickers on the furniture. I guess he just wanted it to be pretty if he was going to spend any sad amount of time there.

7. I need you to read... Insert whatever book has caught his fancy right then and there. My child loves to read. Oh, how he loves to read. It makes my heart so glad. The first thirty-five times through the book...

8. Because I'm two. This is the reason for all things. Why do you like red the best? "Because I'm two." Why won't you go pee-pee in the potty? "Because I'm two." Eat your spaghetti. "I can't. Because I'm two." You get the idea.

9. Tink Top. Milo loves to wear a tank. In fact, he'd be delighted if I would let him wear a tank top, shorts, and socks every single cold day. I just can't do it, no matter how adorable it is that he calls it a tink top.

There are a plethora of things I could write, but I'm going to cut this short because Milo has decorated his floor with the above-mentioned stickers. I admire his logic, though. "Mommy, I have to put stickers on the floor because my floor is cold. When I get out of bed, I will step on the stickers and not be cold." (sigh) What do you say to that?

Outdoor Family Photo Fun

Since we have very few pictures of me with the little people on my own, Nate's been working on getting some shots of us lately. And I can't resist getting shots of him and the kids since they're all so beautiful. Now if only we could figure out a great way to get our camera to self-time AND make silly faces we'd have a shot of the four of us...

Hanukkah Hats!

I took a teeny little break from my 10-hat knitting order (EEEEEEEK!) to whip up a few little things for my little people. I couldn't say no, especially when Milo specifically asked for a hat with this fantastic blue yarn... And the result was perfect. I used the same brown for the stripes in Milo's hat and the body of LucyLu's hat, so they're complimentary but not matching. I couldn't be more pleased, and they were both so delighted that it made my late night last night finishing them completely worth it. In fact, Milo hopped out of the tub tonight and put his hat straight back on (with nothing else, mind you - got to keep that head warm).

Look at my gorgeous family!!!!!

Never mind my disheveled hair and non-makeup look. I wasn't intending to be in a picture at all but Nate insisted since I was the creator.

Anthro Pommed Peak Beanie

I have been in a bit of a knitting frenzy lately. I've had orders rolling in for all kinds of hats and headbands, and I've spent so much of my time making all kinds of things for other people. In fact, that's what I always do! But I saw this hat in the Anthropologie catalog and knew that I absolutely had to have it. At $38, though, I knew it wasn't happening any time soon...

 

 

It's gorgeous, right? If you absolutely have to have it for yourself, click here.

So, with nothing left to do but figure this thing out for myself, I grabbed some knitting needles, the Anthro catalog, and my favorite plum yarn and got down to business creating my own copycat pattern. I think it turned out all right. And since I was actually wearing some (leftover from yesterday) eye makeup, what a perfect time to take a picture.

 

The cable knit detail is my favorite part.

Voila! Copycat hat.

I've realized that all I need is a bigger pom on top and I'll be good to go. And all that for the cost of a $6 ball of yarn and my valuable time and effort. Now let's see how long I can hang on to this without giving it away...

Impromptu Photo Shoot

I have been horribly neglecting something so fabulous. A few weeks ago our friends Calen and Kristy were in and we hung out with them at the park (so fun for our little people). Kristy asked if she could bring her camera and snap a few shots of our beautiful children, and who am I to deny anyone the delight of shooting these gorgeous people? (wink wink) As always, I was thrilled with the results. We are so incredibly lucky to have so many talented friends!

 

 

Just so you know, that's MY hand with the navy blue nail polish, not Nate's...

These two little people... I feel like this photo captures them perfectly without even showing their faces.

This captures them as well... Lucy always has her eyes on Milo.

Attached at the hip

So, on Friday I vacuumed like this...

 And then like this...

Let's just be honest - Milo enjoyed it more than Lucy. He's going through a little phase right now where he wants to be attached to me at all times. While in Illinois he mastered the phrase, "HeyMommyHeyMommyHeyMommyHeyMommy," and has been using it constantly. There are days I wake up exhausted and wonder what I could possibly have left that I didn't give the day before. And I always find something new to smile about with these little people. So here's to a new week. Hope it's a grand one!

5 months

 Milo at 5 months old



Lucy Lu at almost 5 months

Just doing a little comparison today of my little people at the same age. Very similar... And at the same time very different. And really, at five months Milo looked so much like my baby pictures. And Lucy looks just like Nate's baby pictures right now. Strange how that works, isn't it?

Four Generations of the Same Mouth

Nate saw this picture and remarked, "Well look, Kate. It's four generations of the same mouth." Just had to add it.

Road Trip Recap

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written anything. You might have thought I had forgotten all about this blog. But it's just been a busy time and I've seldom even had the chance to check my email. And then there was my road trip to Illinois with two little people and one Ann (who is amazing for riding 18 hours there with us and then riding 18 hours back a week later...) to see my Grandma. It was a fantastic trip and these little people did an amazing job. So now you get to see the longest picture post EVER to make up for over two weeks of not posting. Ready, set, GO!

Carpet picnic (or "pinkpink") in the hotel room on the way up. We drove about 12 hours, then stopped overnight.

Milo had to check out Grammy's walker right away, so he just got right in and helped her push. And look at gorgeous Grammy - you'd never know she's sick, would you?

Lucy LOVED Grammy.

Lucy also loved Uncle Mike and couldn't stop cooing and talking to him.

Chloe and Jen met us for a few days and we had a blast!

Milo and Auntie Jen. Two peas in a pod.

Quick trip to Lino's to see our Geiger cousins. We had SO much fun!!!

Lucy and her sweet little cousin June Margaret, who was 6 weeks old. What a size difference a few months makes, right?

Milo was so excited to meet his cousin Eli. The two had fun running all over and playing for an afternoon.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... The Baby Whisperer.

Sweet Milo.

We had to bundle Milo excessively because if he got cold he immediately wanted to be held. This poor little Texan boy wasn't sure what to do with temperatures under 50.

Yes, we did it. We made a quick and fabulous trip to Edward's.

A little trooper in the car.

Ann's hot mask - just to make sure Grandma didn't catch her scratchy throat.

Milo was non-stop thrilled with Ann. Who wouldn't be?

My two little people. They became even more enraptured with each other on the trip.

We took Milo for his first train ride ever. He absolutely adores trains, so this was a dream come true for him. We just rode the Metra a few stops from Elgin to Bartlett, where my mom grew up. Then we missed the train back and had lunch in an adorable little diner. It was a fantastic adventure.

Lucy loving on Grammy.

Do you see a little man who's ready to go home?

Is it just me or do Mom and Grandma look just alike?

 Okay, so there's a little trip recap. I have a hundred more photos I'd like to add, but small steps, right? Plus I have a lot of knitting to do... Happy Tuesday!