As yet unnamed!

Here comes trouble (and other stuff)

Oh my gosh, Charlie has gone from trying to get about to getting about so fast that if you turn your back for one moment, you just see his legs as he leaves the room doing his army crawl. I swear we had Noemie first as fate knew that if we had Charlie first, he would've been an only child. I guess it's typical boy behavior. He is so mischievous and cheeky it's hilarious and irritating at the same time. He gets this look on his face and you can almost read his mind as he decides what he is going to do next. His favorite thing at the moment is the door. He loves opening and closing them. I ended up closing the kitchen back door completely to stop him from playing with it so he just went up to it to try and work out why it wasn't moving anymore. I am sure we will have many fingers in the door moments coming up soon. Gone are the days when you can leave him and expect to find him in the same general area. He also isn't big on sleep at the moment. Wakes up most nights in the middle of the night for more milk despite eating massive amounts each day and drinking tons of milk as well. I don't know what to do but I'm guessing it's the typical sleep getting messed up when he's hitting developmental milestones. Noemie did the same thing herself.

After dinner tonight, Kirk baked some muffins with Noemie's help. Her favorite thing to do when I bake is to put the paper liners in the muffin tin. I buy them with pretty designs so Noemie enjoys looking at them. She's very good at helping though we do have to remove several liners as she puts around 5 in one spot! While the muffins were baking, the three of them decided to entertain me (while I folded laundry, fun!) with some music. Noemie on the flute, Charlie on the drums and Kirk on the tambourine I think? It was quite a tune. 

Today we didn't get to do too much as it was raining most of the day. In the afternoon it was okay for a bit so we all went out for a walk. Tomorrow might be zoo day but both our strollers are having tire issues. The tandem is totally flat and requires a specific tire that I have to order from the manufacturer and the Bugaboo just started losing air last week and we pumped it and I noticed it getting low already today so it's a slow leak. I think we can get that fixed at the local bike shop so maybe we'll do that tomorrow and go to playgroup or Harrods for some shopping at the toy department and also Kirk is planning on an ice cream maker purchase. In any case we're having fun just hanging out and laughing together.

Oh my goodness!

Noemie sat still for about 10 seconds today so I managed to snap some photos. I have to laugh at how stereotypically they are dressed though... all pink girl and all blue boy. Down to the cups they are holding. Charlie has been working some more on his crawling and also had been working toward hitting his head on something daily. Luckily he doesn't seem to bruise too badly but it's still not fun to watch him scream as I'm sure it hurts. Poor little fella. 

We have both our nannies on holiday next week and Kirk has the week off so we're going to have some family time. Haven't had this much time without help in a very long time so it will be fun and also interesting! I have to admit that when you have full time help, you get so used to having someone else do things for you that it seems so much harder when you have to do it yourself. Totally spoiled! We're going to do some fun stuff locally as I just wasn't ready to travel with both the kids. Hopefully once Charlie is drinking normal cow's milk and eating more unpureed foods it will seem less daunting. I'm probably being a big wuss but there you have it. Next summer we will go some place fun! Kirk teases me and says he's on holiday but I'm working for the next 9 days as I'll have to actually do what the nannies usually do for me! It'll be good for me and perhaps I'll appreciate my nannies even more!

Hope to have some fun photos to share during the week!

More Charlie...

Charlie adores anything that is related to his sister so when he found her water sippy cup he was thrilled. He wasn't sure what to do with it at first so he tossed it around and such but then he saw the straw, stared a bit and then put it in his mouth and sucked. He actually got some water out so he tried again. He was thrilled with himself. 

Today he also managed to crawl one pace forward. He's generally been crawling backwards or doing the army crawl thing with his arms but not today. He got up on all fours and moved his right knee forward but then when he was moving his left one he tumbles onto his tummy. He keeps trying though so it's any day now. 

 Still no photos of Noemie as she won't stay any one place long enough. She's a flurry of activity, super cute and her current thing is to repeat everything I say. So, needless to say I am careful about what comes out of my mouth!

Charlie reading his book

It was one of those moments where I wish I had the video camera as it was so cute to watch Charlie actually turning the pages one by one in Noemie's old kitten book. It used to have a teething toy attached to it but it was broken off this weekend. Hope Charlie grows out of the book destruction phase quickly. Noemie went through it too and I hated it. Charlie's face is a bit of a mess as he had just finished his dinner. He is a boy that loves his food. He isn't a big fan of breakfast but today he had some cheerios so it's more a case that he doesn't like porridge type stuff. 

I'll need to try for more Noemie pictures in the next few days. She just rarely sits still long enough for the camera these days!

Charlie the pickle

We think Charlie might be teething, based on how he is chewing on EVERYTHING. If he gets close enough to your arm he'll chew on that as well. I hope he cuts a tooth soon. He was vying for a spot on the doorstep most of the weekend as well. Actually it started Thursday night with him waking up at 11pm and refusing to go back to sleep until 2:30am. No reason at all. Just was awake, happy and wanted company. Kirk and I were both exhausted on Friday. He woke up over night Friday again as well but at 4am. Luckily he went back down pretty quickly. He just wanted some milk. It's amazing how much food this fella has each day in addition to how much milk he drinks. I seriously need to go get him weighed soon as it's been a while since we last went when he was 6 months old. 

He's also definitely showing us he's a little boy. He is really rough, throws things around and is very grabby. I remember how we used to say Noemie was like a boy as she was a bit rough but in comparison, no way. She is gentle and sweet! Considering he's only 9 months, we're often shocked at how strong he is. Noemie takes his toys away often just because she can (we teach her not to and to at least give him another toy if she is taking one away from him, she's getting better about it). Today she tried to take away his favorite toy, the Ball Popper, so he grabbed her arm before she could get away with it. He also got into a tug of war earlier in the day with something else and she gave up. It will be amusing to watch them as they get a bit older. Noemie still does everything she can to keep Daddy away from Charlie as well!

Potty Training

I had bought this potty for Noemie several months ago and put it away and totally forgot about it. As she says "wee wee" anytime people go into the bathroom, we figured perhaps she was gearing up to being ready. So, out came the potty today and though nothing has happened in it yet, she loves it. I think she sees it as a new toy of sorts but she knows what it's for and says "wee wee" and wants us to help her get her pants and diaper off so she can sit down. It's a cool potty which makes an important sounding jingle when she sits down and then if she were to do something in the potty, another tune plays. She spent a lot of time just putting her hand in the potty as well when she wasn't sitting on it. She carried it around and I figured to get her used to the idea that it's a toilet, we put it in the bathroom. The thought of it in the kitchen was not appealing either (it's where we unpacked it though).

She insisted on getting out of her bath extra early tonight so she could sit on the potty. She then decided she was cold and wanted her diaper and PJ top on and then she stuck her face in the toilet to get a closer look at the laser motion sensor detector thingie. It looked like she was up chucking after a hard night of drinking (not that *I've* ever experienced that, but just going on what people tell me of course). I ran for the camera and asked her to do it again so this is staged but she did it repeatedly until we decided it was time for her to go "wait Daddy" in the kitchen instead. I foresee hours of her sitting on the potty over the next few days. This is going to take some time and patience but we're not training her as such yet, just letting her get used to the idea of it all and she can train herself when she is ready.

It's MY lap

We were all hanging out in Noemie's room after she woke from her nap today. She was a bit sleepy and grumpy and wanted to cuddle on Daddy's lap but Charlie was already there. Noemie wasn't amused to say the least. She climbed back off of Kirk's lap, found a burping cloth and laid it out neatly on the floor. She then turned to Kirk and said "Charlie" while pointing to the burping cloth. Kirk asked if Charlie was meant to sit on it and she nodded her head yes. So Kirk put Charlie on the cloth, sat back down and Noemie climbed back on his lap and cuddled. I think you can see Kirk cracking up in the photo. I guess as Noemie sees us putting a towel or blanket down for Charlie when we put him down on the kitchen floor, she figured if she put something down for him in her room, he'd sit there. 

Apparently, Kirk and Noemie saw this hat the other day at some store near our house. Kirk and Charlie went out for a walk today and returned with the hat. Not sure Charlie liked it all that much but he humored me for a few photos. Haven't managed to get Noemie to wear it just yet.

Fun time in the park

It's been a long time since I've gone to the park with the kids. Laziness I guess as the nannies deal with it all during the week and usually on a weekend, Charlie naps when it's time to go out for a walk and it's usually in his bed. Today the timing worked out better so we all went out. Got a sweet photo of Kirk and Noemie. She is such a Daddy's girl and spends most of her time being carried around by him and the rest of the time she is dragging him around by the hand. 

Charlie loves going on the swings. He makes funny faces now whenever the camera comes out. He is such a little character. He's gotten to be very shouty lately and also throws things a lot. Any object put in front of him gets dropped on the floor. He likes to smack the spoon out of your hand while you're feeding him so food is constantly flying across the room. It's really irritating and when you get mad at him he just smirks at you. If you try and hold his hands down and then feed him, he will turn his head away and refuse to open his mouth. No amount of forcing him makes any difference. No joke, this kid is SO cheeky and BOTH of our kids are very stubborn. Gee I wonder who they take after? I also think he prefers finger foods these days rather than his pureed foods. His food isn't all that pureed anymore, most of it has chunks that he has to gum but he really likes bread crusts, baby biscuits and anything else that lets him hold the food. He had some of Noemie's quesadilla yesterday! It took him a while to eat it though as he has no teeth. 9 months old tomorrow and NO teeth. Noemie had four teeth by this stage I think so I wonder what Charlie is waiting for? 

Bed time for me. I've been up since just after 6am with Charlie and was up at 2am when some drunken idiots screeched their way past our house. Hope to get better sleep tonight. Am off to a friend's to quilt for the day. I'm looking forward to it!

Happy July 4th and a few photos

Happy 4th of July! 

Here's a photo of someone we haven't seen much of lately. Mimi isn't all that fond of the kids so she stays away. She was happily laying in her sunbeam this afternoon in our bedroom and I loved the lighting so had to take a photo. She must've wondered what was going on as it's not often the camera follows her around these days. I still have hope that she realizes that the kids are pretty cool and that they will pet her if she will let them. They both squeal when they see her though which doesn't help matters much. 

Here are my two monkeys in the kitchen last night. Noemie loves being swung around and Charlie seemed to enjoy it as well. I tried some photos on the action setting but they didn't turn out too well so here are the best two. Not great but it was a lot of fun so I'm glad I got something. There were a few moments when they crashed in to each other and giggled.

Just keeps getting hotter...

Here's hoping for some rain soon for a bit of relief from this heat and humidity. I know I used to live in LA but it was a dry heat and we had AC EVERYWHERE so it was bearable. Noemie spent just about all day in her pool and Charlie spent all day with super curly hair as a result of the humidity. Not sure how much it shows in these photos but it was insane. Like he had a tight perm! I gave him a frube in the afternoon (it's kid's yogurt that comes in a tube that you can stick in the freezer) and he loved it. These photos are of him right after his first taste and looking at me like "enough with the camera, gimme some more of that stuff" and then once he had more "mmmmm, yummy." I swear he says yummy when he likes something, almost like he is imitating Noemie and how she says "yummy yummy yummy" so fast that it sounds more like "yummummyummyummy." 

I bought some bread for Noemie for lunch and thought we'd slice it for her but nope, she had other ideas. She helps me unpack stuff from the bags and when she found the bread she got a plate, opened the bag, sat down and started eating. She then asked for some butter and looked for her little (kiddie) knife. So cute! Reminds me of a photo when I was around 3 or so I think, chewing on a large bread like this while sitting on a chair.