Happy Birthday Jenna

Jenna turns 2 this weekend!

When she was born

Last year

Now

A previously-posted photo, yes, but it is such 

a nice one of her (rare) so it's worth reposting.

The celebrations began early in the evening 

with the donning of party hats

And then playing in more leaves out in the backyard.

We had suprisingly good weather in the 70s yesterday, so everyone 

got to wear as many or as little clothes as they wanted - anything 

from shorts to fleece pants, Tshirts to sweaters and coats

and play outside as if it were still summer

Then in we came for supper- and Jenna got to eat as much pizza 

and olives as she wanted. After supper came some singing and 

birthday cake. Jenna requested cupcakes so we had 12 of them 

with little white-chocolate Maisys on them. The Maisys, for 

anyone interested, were easier to make than they might look

 - here's a tutorial. 

Then some gift-opening!

Here are some pictures of gifts from family out of town:

Very cool building blocks and hand-drawn cards 

from her cousins in NC

A cupcake, cookie and ice cream counting set from 

Grandma Mae and Grandpa Desmond

A wooden birthday cake set from Auntie Laura and Uncle Kum Kit

And Jenna finally got to meet Maisy's friends!

Kate quickly pounced on Ostrich and ate him

then became momentarily distracted by something else

before scampering over for a group hug 

(or an All Hug, as we call it in our family).

Note: Post edited to include a link to a tutorial on the craft blog on making the Maisy cupcake toppers.

Jennaisms and a Euphemism

This week we've heard some new Jennaisms, the most interesting of which was her use of plurals. For instance, while Dave was changing her diaper, she pointed to her elevated legs and said, "I have kneeses!"Another time while watching me stack some colorful bowls from the dishwasher, she commented, "Many bowlses". 

Which reminded me of Emily's own stage of overpluralism - "princesseses" and "orangeses".

Emily herself surprised us this week with her use of euphemism. 

Here is our conversation over supper:

E: Hey, mom!

M: Yes?

E: Have you ever been sprayed by a skunk?

M: (thankfully) Er, no, I don't think so.

E: I think that would be very unpleasant. 

Sadly, Kate has not said anything interesting this week. Last night, however, in her usual midnight screaming, I distinctly heard something that sounded uncannily like, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmamamamamaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Did you spot it? She called my name in the middle of all that caterwauling! Well, parents often have inflated estimations of their children's skills, but I like to think that some good did come out of our sleepless nights.

Doing the sister thing

Today is the last nice day of fall for a while, according to the weather 

reports. Tomorrow we are expecting snow and a temperature dip of 

20 degrees. Ah, Minnesota - always the weather drama.

So while Dave was out doing yardwork, the girls went out to play in 

the leaves again and just enjoy the fresh air before the hibernation.

Yes, even Kate came out to join us, sitting on the grass 

and tasting some of it.

Speaking of sisters, Kate also had her first tub bath with Emily 

and Jenna a few days ago. She uses the big tub now that she's 

outgrown her baby tub but always solo. She had so much fun with 

company! But we didn't get much actual bathing done this way, 

so it will be more a special-occasion thing than a regular affair.

When Beds Go Wrong

We've all been sick this past fortnight and sleep, which was a scarce commodity even when we were healthy, became even more elusive. There is nothing quite like a stuffy nose to cause the little ones interrupted slumber and us parents subsequent miserable mornings. Earlier this week, Kate woke in the middle of the night (like she often does) and I lay with her on the daybed in her bedroom to help her go back to sleep - something we sometimes do on occasions like these. With her between me and the wall, she's safe. Usually. That night, though, in a fit of silliness, she crawled off the end of the daybed and fell head first into the laundry basket. There she lay, legs kicking in the air, vocally protesting while I stifled laughter and pulled her out. Good thing the laundry basket was there, and that it was still full of clothes. Crawling at 4 am! Foolish child.

The next night, still with her cold, she woke again in the middle of the night, crawling around her crib, wide awake. After several attempts to put her back to sleep and remembering that the daybed was no longer a safe option, I climbed into her crib and lay next to her. Sheer desperation drives a person to do very odd things, especially when combined with sleep deprivation. I'd read about this particular acrobatic feat in a parenting magazine a long time ago and pooh-pooh-ed it. I now eat my words, of course, and I say beware of what you read because it may not only come back to haunt you, but will even appear very attractive and completely sensible at 3 in the morning. I am happy to say that our crib is clearly one of those sturdy ones and I will feel very good selling it at a garage sale or handing it off to a friend when we are done with it, knowing it will safely hold several family members simultaneously. 

I apologize for there not being any pictures in this post. Trust me, with all these nocturnal misadventures and us acting like the walking dead in the daytime, it is not a pretty sight. Will post pictures when we are all better!

How I Try To Sleep In

Behold our coffee table. Very rarely is the top of it visible, since it is 

the default dumping ground for toys and arts and crafts stuff. On the 

rare occasion that I plan ahead, I might lay out a surprise arts and 

crafts ensemble for Emily and Jenna to attack in the morning when 

they wake up. I desperately believe that if they are suitably occupied 

in the mornings, they will leave me alone to sleep in an extra hour. 

On Friday morning, this was the table before they woke up

and after they got to it.

They made these paper pumpkins and foam candy corn, 

probably our only Halloween decor this year, at the rate 

at which our orderly lives are falling apart.

Did I get to sleep in? Sadly, no. I still got out of bed at 8 am, 

but it is still better than 3 am, or 6:34 am 

or whatever takes Kate's fancy nowadays. 

Zzzzzzz.

Fall Cometh

Autumn is upon us. 

The brisk air. 

The clear blue skies. 

The wind. 

The earlier sunsets. 

The colors.

Some evenings are were still good for visits to the park.

But the summer is truly behind us now. This past weekend, 

Dave put away the deck furniture and made our first leaf pile of the season. 

Halloween Baking

The kids (except Kate) and I did some baking today with our new 

pumpkin cookie cutter. We used our usual sugar cookie recipe and 

half the dough became these pumpkin cookies. Emily and I frosted 

them and piped on chocolate faces and stems.

The other half became giant candy corn cookies, which we've made 

each year since we moved here. The idea came from the October 

2006 issue of Parents magazine.

This year feels a little busier than last, so this could be the extent 

of the Halloween baking we do in 2008. I'd like to make the candy 

lollipops and pretzels that we made last year to share with the 

neighbors but just in case we never get around to it, 

here are pictures of the 2007 batch:

The lollipops were Nilla cookies dipped in candy melts and the 

pretzel rods are covered in the same candy melts and decorated 

with sprinkles. 

In case anyone was interested, here is the sugar cookie recipe, 

courtesy of Betty Crocker, as usual:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar/icing sugar
  
• 1 cup/2 sticks/half pound butter, softened 
  
• 1 egg
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
  
• 1 tsp baking soda
  

Method:

1 On medium speed, blend together sugar, butter, egg and vanilla extract.

2 Mix in powdered ingredients.

3 Wrap and refrigerate 45 mins.

4 Roll out between sheets of wax paper to quarter inch thick.

5 Cut shapes out with cookie cutters.

6 Bake in oven preheated to 375F for 9-11 minutes, or till edges are lightly browned.

7 Frost cookies when cooled.