Labor Day -

Took on new meaing. Labor - yes.

At 1am on Sunday night as I gave Mike a kiss while he held a flashlight and I held a nit comb with Ian wraped in a towel on the floor between us - I told Ian "If anyone ever asks you, this is love." And there was something special and sweet and I so appreciated having a husband who would hold the flashlight (and make and feed me waffles while I picked nits).

Labor day weeked involved my 102 fever, the Bronx Zoo, lice picking till 2am, the beach, 3 hours of sleep, work trade show emergency, heaps of laundry and lots of other fun activities. Labor of love.

No!

I think we could learn something from the boys. Daron’s favorite word is no and I think he is on to something. When you say simply “no” someone has to try to convince you, bribe you or otherwise. And usually when Daron says no, it makes me want him to do the thing even more. And generally no does not mean yes. And saying no doesn’t seem to make him feel badly at all.
I am 32 – you think I can learn to say no?

A tooth!

Last week, Dorothy got her first tooth. I think it was the first week of August - dont even know exactly! But one day lilia said "you know she got a tooth right?" and we had no idea!

We have crawling!!

Dorothy spent a weekend with Lijah and seems to have picked up on the fact that you have lift one arm at a time and ... off she goes! She is a total and complete budle of energy and picking up crawling pace very quickly. We all get a real kick out of watching her move and I am happy for her but fearful for all the transformers in her path. The best part is the huge drooly smile she beams with each "step" - so very proud of herself. (8/1)

The Army Crawl

She's been on all fours and rocking since we cheated and put her there. But now, she's doing the army crawl - pulling herself along the floor after transformer keys and lego peices.

Tiger Face

TImes have been a little tough for D lately. I worried tonight it was "middle child" syndrome -laughing along the way. He's been cranky, moody and maybe just typical for a 3 year old.

We went to Sesame place with Caleb's family and mom and Josh. Our first ride was the roller coaster which we assumed would be no big deal since you only needed ot be 3 to ride. Wow. I thought Daron might not speak again. Fortunately I've taken to holding him more, hugging and just bringing on the affection. It is sweet. And came in handy when he clung to me like a baby monkey with his eyes popping out like a fly's.

He had several breakdowns during the trip- usually a result of not understanding something fully - a complicated explanation or something that doesnt seem fair. But what did he want to do? What interested him to the point where he wanted to do it even though Ian did not?

Face painting. Sweet Daron who enjoys beautiful things and pretty colors had his face painted not just one day but two. First day he was a green monster and the second day - the most adorable tiger I've ever seen.

No texture concerns here. Just to fully support him - I had mine painted on Day 2. Maybe he did get some of my genes after all.

Toothless

We have a missing tooth! A few days ago Ian was brushing his teeth when I asked if I could wiggle the loose one. And there... behind the loose tooth was a wide, bumpy-ridged real tooth.

Last night Ian went to sleep talking about hose wiggly the loose tooth was. In the morning we woke up hearing Ian and Daron talking in the hallway. I heard Daron saying "its backing up - it looks like its backing up" in a concerned tone. Turned out the tooth was gone. It was truly a case of the lost tooth. We turned his room upside down but couldnt find it. I told him to check the toilet for a week.

But we did keep the fantasy alive. I have a really hard time with the tooth fairy story - I am not so comfortable lying to my smart kid. But imagine if I told him - and then asked him to lie to his friends. Or if I told him and he ruined this fantasy for his friends? In carpool today, Donny said she is tiny, someone said she is an angel. I am 90% sure Ian has significant doubt but he sees the rest of us going along. I dont really know how to deal with it but we have a hot wheels car sitting right here. What to do if he asks. I think I'll say I dont know.