ILX Parenting 3: Back In (Potty) Training

With a musket in his hand?

He just needs to find some late 80s shoegazing type band to join.

An actual dirty dronerock boy, who knew?

And he's getting an electric guitar for christmas! (or so he hopes - ha!)

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/album_fullsize.html?c_photo=113336413

Still a smiler even in hospital...

Goddammit, why can't I link to images using the tags below?

http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/2883/hospitalwv5.jpg

awwwww....howie! get better!

Poor little lamb, hope he bounces back soon

Has he improved since he has been home, Meg?

He is still a big coughy snotball, and veers between being reasonably chirpy, and rather sorry for himself. He has just been put to bed early without a bath after vomming up an entire feed during a coughing fit.

I know he's not himself because for the last few days he has just sat still on my lap all day and not even attempted to wriggle off -- if I put him on the floor, sitting or on his tummy, he just coughs and wails. As I've been stuck to the sofa with him for all this time, my 'no TV until he's three' rule has gone out of the window since I discovered that In The Night Garden has a strangely calming effect on him.

Hahahaha Jean Kerr knew about this, in 1957 she said "The thing about having a baby -- and I can't be the first person to have noticed this -- is that thereafter, you have it, and it's years before you can distract it from any elemental needs by saying "Oh for heaven's sake, go look at the television."

Oliver -- this afternoon in Washington Square Park..

http://vassifer.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/11/18/img_6728_5.jpg

We took Liesje to the emergency after I *diagnosed* her with thrush. She's actually better now. Thrush has gone away for the most part and the cold is also almost gone. OPhelia's back from her grandparents and seems a bit *off*: she seems tired and ready to be sick AGAIN. :-( Hopefully no cold because Liesje might have it again and I really don't want that (as it doesn't help in keeping milk down). :-(

Also, that jacket is so cool, Alex!

Ain't it? Thanks. We just got it.

the boy and his Mummy:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2277/2050587545_a16b1964a3.jpg

Self as scourge of the strollerphobes.....with still-spoon-brandishing Oliver.

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v159/213/42/619069358/n619069358_451023_4568.jpg

That sure looks like a cosy stroller.

beeps becomes more and more fun everyday and she was fun to begin with! well, maybe not so much the first 3 or 4 weeks (ha).

i <3 this kid!

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/6044/beepsatstarliteagainqx0.jpg

Aw.

Oh Sunny, she's so cute. I want to kiss her little cheeks! So sweet. Damn - it's official, I totally want a kid. Sadly, it won't happen for another three years so I'll just ooh and aah over yours until then.

I forgot to post pictures of the boys' first birthday party...

Eating their cupcakes. Note the difference in styles (Ben on right):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2284/1958820339_c74620fa0a.jpg

Playing with their loot:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2361/1959421640_6d7bfa99eb.jpg

it won't happen for another three years

Talk about long-term planning!

(Besides, ENBB, you have to remember they eventually become snotty teenagers who trash your car and say you don't understand them, and mope in their room listening to Morrissey CDs...that they stole from you.)

And then a few from Thanksgiving, paying with their aunt:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2251/2055188115_1b7d8b4943.jpg

Peekaboo!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2363/2055974196_5e3f045e51.jpg

Owen looks on happily:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2263/2055969100_5904426fbe.jpg

x-post I meant at least another three years, ha - and yeah, I know it's not all cuteness and light but damn, ILXORs make some cute kids!

I don't remember any of this. (2xpost)

I don't either. My sister apparently made up for it.

Well, god damn it, now I know how Liesje got thrush: I have thrush as well. No fucking fun.

Oh man. Get well soon, all of you. What a horrible situation.

Yeah, it suxors. :-( But I'm sure we'll survive. :-) It's just minor bumps really. :-)

http://vassifer.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/11/24/oiver_2.jpeg

Ugh. The Thanksgiving holiday knocked everyone off their routines. Neither Charlotte nor Oliver were happy/comfortable sleeping at my Mom's place (waking up crying many times in the middle of the night, which means we had to take them in with us -- which means <i>no one</i> gets to sleep), and they're now frustratingly back to waking up at 6 am.

does this count as abuse?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2098/1904750977_2729caa52b_m.jpg

sucking monkey brains
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2277/1950783762_58007ad485_m.jpg

old films be borin
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2141/1793625037_bbc6648095_m.jpg

Too much antiquated pop culture for that poor kid.

Haha, baby in Carter t-shirt = Best Thing Ever.

The chubby legs!

Alice has chickenpox after all :(

Oh, yuk, but (as I'm sure everybody has said ad nauseum) better now than later. Depending on the severity of the spots she may hardly notice. Our boy had them at about 1 years old and wasn't bothered at all. Just keep slathering on the cream...

Mae has complained that her photo isn't on here when Louis has 2. So...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2294/2062564209_8f0a9a2b16.jpg

V cool!

yeah, so far Alice isn't bothered at all except that she's got a cough and snotty nose to go with the pox and that disturbs her sleep a bit. I'm glad she's having it now but I'm not looking foward to a boring fortnight of quarantine...

aw, sorry to hear about spotty quarantine, thrush and disturbed sleep in the group. we have the same problem with disturbed routine when we take a family trip to wallasey and it takes so long to get back to what passes for a loose normal routine in our house. lulu is the only one who gets any shuteye on these trips, she can sack out anywhere and has a travel cot to herself, but the rest of us sleep in twin beds pushed together and ava spends most of every night falling out of bed if she's on the outside, and falling down in the crack between the beds if she's on the inside. I'm too busy worrying about potential broken noggin/suffocation to sleep.

we've had our first new walker injury involving blood, yikes. lulu tripped over her own feet and fell face-first at speed into the side of the toy box. I knew it was going to happen at some point but it was alarming nonetheless, I thought she'd really hurt her eye because it was covered in blood! but it turns out she'd just busted her lip a little and brushed the blood on her eye. within a couple of minutes she was padding around and smiling again.

I love pictures of kids with statues. we always drove by a statue in a roundabout on the way to visit my grandparents in virginia, and for years when we were young my dad had us convinced that we were looking at a statue of him, built by the town for services to the community. it's a great comedy lie to tell your kids and if we ever drive by any statues of women I'm so going to carry on the tradition. it's no wonder that a few years later we didn't believe dad when he told us film star joseph cotten had been their paper boy, but that was apparently true.

who's getting excited about christmas with the kids? I know I am!

i'm exited about the future: i have heard that older babies sleep through the night. ;-) *sigh* i had my first "crash 'n' burn day" yesterday. i had a gigantic headache (as i can't stand warm bedrooms). :-((((

http://vassifer.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/11/26/photo_19_3.jpg

Oliver and I this morning....much earlier than I'd have preferred.

oliver's such a cutie that I bet he's immediately forgiven for his choice of way-too-early quality time!

don't despair nathalie, sleep will be yours again. and then right when you get used to it with the baby, a demon toddler will snatch it away again, ha! ava is stubbornly refusing to crash out till midnight these days. it's our fault because we kept her out/up late for a couple of parties one weekend when a good friend was visiting from the states and since then she's decided she likes the late-night lifestyle, urgh. on the upside, she slept till 9:30 this morning. the thing is she forgot to tell lulu we were all having a lie-in!

Alice was still asleep when I left for work this morning, which was good but... weird. Quite possibly she'll be in bed when I get home too. Not sure I like the idea of her not seeing her mummy for a whole 24 hours :(

Did you know alice means anchovy in Italian?

No! I hate anchovies!

Since I became a full-time Dad, I am too exhausted to post. I am still here though, sort of.

PS: I like anchovies.

Oh well, at least she's not called Pippa.