Yeah, I'm already finding the story funnier than gross, and I was there.

nothing seems to put me off so far, i must say. i just wanna have kids. simple as that...

This story is all Dweller's fault.

Well, sort of.

You see, aria was in a grumpy state a few weeks ago (before her surgery), and normal cheering-up tools weren't working, so (recalling Dweller's sig) I resorted to putting my hands out like a zombie, and chasing her around, growling "Braaaaainnnnnssss! I need braaaaaiiiinnsssss!" She found it most amusing, and that was the end of it (I thought.)

we were in for her post-surgery follow up on Tuesday, and I was reading a Winniw the Pooh book to her while the nurse recorded stats. I asked her what she thought Winnie liked to eat, pointing to the pot of honey on the page.

She thought for a minute, put her hands out in front of her, and said, "Braaaaaaiiiiinnnnnsssss!"

The nurse dropped the entire folder, her stethescope, and her ink pen on the floor.

So there you have it. Winnie the Pooh eats brains. (Heterosexual ones, I wonder?)

*laughs*

Credit to Randy Millholland for the story, then, as that's where I really stole my sig from. Great story, though, Monad. Is Aria doing well? Is the nurse?

Yeah, she's doing great. No more itching (well, very little) since the surgery. We're still getting used to having a drainage bag attached to her abdomen. But she feels much better, so I guess it's worth it (until she's a teenager and figures out a two-piece bathing suit is out of the question).

I talked to the nurse yesterday. It's her new favorite story.

Is Graeme well?

Graeme's doing very, very well, actually. In a growth spurt, so he's terribly sleepy most of the time. Well, I'm off. Glad to hear she's doing better.

Glad to hear Aria is doing well Monad. She is so adorable.
Also wanted to say hi. I know you do not make it to the boards as much cause you are very busy. Plus I am here sporadically myself. Just wanted to say hello.

So, lots of new stuff I think I haven't mentioned yet.

Kasper got his first teeth 3 weeks ago. And he uses it. Mostly on me.

Also, around the same time Kasper learned how to roll over to his tummy. Now he's learned how to move around by rolling. We have to start thinking new places for all the little things he might get to his hands.

Monad, that story is great! The Board Kids are so much fun and so amazing. I'm delighted by every story.

Rea, if you wrap Kaspar in terry cloth he could clean your floors for you (well, if you have hardwood floors like we do) Pretty soon you'll find him under the coffee table.

Thought I'd give a quick Molly update. She's teething again, aparently (from the doc) she's getting all four one-year molars in. Besides just the general nasty of teething, her little gums have swolen enough to block her eustacian (sp?) tubes, thus not letting her ears drain and thus thus getting her second ear infection in three weeks (and her second ever).

Well anyway, Friday night was a very very rough night, and about 12:30 I went in to comfort her. She was coughing and whining and really uncomfortable. I went to pick her up and she signed 'drink'. I paused, and she kept signing 'drink', so I asked her just to be sure that's what she wanted ... 'drink'. So I got her a sippy cup of milk, she took several healthy swigs from it, handed the cup back to me, put her head on my shoulder, and was promptly asleep. I was stunned.

So Saturday mid-morning is when we noticed she was tugging on her ear and took her to the doc. Mmmm, glorious meds.

Then yesterday, we played and played, outside and in. She got lots of fresh air, and walked in the grass in her new shoes (which she is JUST NOW starting to tollerate) and just had a grand time. Around 7p it was time for PJs and to get to bed, but she wasn't quite calmed down. So, I held her for about 20 minutes while I watched some basketball, just standing in the living room. She was on-and-off fussy, didn't want held, but we could tell she was really tired.

About 20 minutes of this and suddenly she quieted down and put her hand up to her cheek. Rae and I looked at each other, looked at her, and she kept patting her cheek. I said, "Molly, is it sleepy time? Are you tired?" and she patted her cheek some more (we'd been putting two hands up to our head like sleep/nap/pillow time, if you can picture it). Well, I took her to her crib, put her down, and she was asleep in five minutes. Needless to say we were stunned, because it sure looked to us like she was signing 'sleep/bedtime', and we'd really only been doing it with her the past couple of days.

It's quite amazing to us to see her communicating with us, telling us what she wants, before she's able to say it. With the little drama queen temper tantrums she's starting to exhibit, we can only imagine how many more we'd have if she couldn't sign.

Me to zoe: "You're Awake"
Zoe to me: "yep"
Me, deadpan: "Ok, time to saw your legs off."
"Daddy, No!"
"Sorry, but it has to be done"
"I don't want me legs sawed off!"
"It's for the best. Just like you needed those eye drops but didn't want them."
"Nooo!" (By now, I have retreived the saw and have it in hand)
"Sorry, but we need to do it."
"Why don't we cut off your legs?"
"No, I'm too old for that. Which leg shall we do first?"
"I don't want my legs cut off!"
"Well, it's either that or you take a bath"
"Well why didn't you tell me that before? I'm not psychic!"
"That's not what you told me!"
"Well, not all the time"
Zoe then enjoyed a soothing bath.

You are unspeakably evil...and she is amazing.

*dies laughing*

From this morning, after discussing what aich-ee-double hockey sticks meant:
Zoe: Hell's up in the clouds, and right now there's no clouds, so there's no hell.

It does make sense, doesn't it?

after i come home late one night from work and simon is still awake. i go up to say good night.

simon: did the ghosts keep you from coming inside?
me: no, they didn't give me any trouble.
simon: but there are ghosts outside. do they talk to you too?
me: um.. no, they haven't talked to me in a long time.
simon: oh. well, the monsters don't like the ghosts.
me: is that right? well, right now, none of them are allowed inside. good night now.
simon: good night, i love you.

GM, you are SUCH an evil man! I can't believe that your daughter isn't going to take it out on you SOOOO bad when you are an old old man with dementia problems. She's gonna keep you in a home and tell you all sorts of lies which you will completely believe. and it will SERVE YOU RIGHT!

So, last night Molly was eating dinner (yogurt, black beans, green beans). When she was finished, she signed "finished" and "up" like she always does (we know she's really finished when she signs "up" immediately following, otherwise she's just telling us she's finished with the one thing we feeding her (say, the yogurt) and wants something different). So, we put her down and she set off around the house playing. A while later, as Rae and I are finishing up our dinner, Molly comes walking in from the kitchen with the zippybag of vanilla waffers. She walks right up to me, hands me the bag and signs "more", looking between me and Rae. So, I sit her on my lap while Rae gets a cookie, and we eat it at the table. We put the bag away, and after her cookie she hopped down and went on playing

I guess they've been teaching Molly "please" at daycare. Yesterday, while I was making lunches for Rae and I, she was eating breakfast in the kitchen. She ah-ah-ah'd at me asking for more cheese, I asked if she wanted more and she signed "more". A few seconds later, I was putting some pretzels into a baggie, and she points, signs "more" then out of the blue signs "please" It was so cute, I hated to tell her she couldn't have any pretzels. At that, she signed "more please" and pointed to the cheese sitting on the cutting block. It's amazing to me what she understands even if she can't entirely communicate (and what she CAN communicate amazes me even more).

kids are amazing what they understand. felicity just started yammering in full sentences out of the blue one day. then she started bossing her big brother around.

"simon, get me my sippy cup NOW!"

or when simon comes up to ask for something, felicity will be in the other room and yell "NOOOO SIMON!!!"

then he starts to cry. simon is such a wonderful, caring, and sensitive little boy.

My nephew's started picking up cuss words. Time for my brother to stop his blasphemies!

Its my little girl on her second birthday

she's a princess