Rapid Fire Update

OK, so it's been ages since I've posted anything on the blog. I truly apologize for the absence, but as I'm sure you'll find, we are in the midst of a very busy time right now. So, I will write very brief entries over the best stories from the past few weeks to tide everyone over until a proper blog post can be constructed.

Does Not Compute

At the root of our blogging break has been the lack of a computer in the house for a few days. Rach and I have been slogging through with two six year old computers for a while now, and lately it became unbearable. The desktop was slower than a Tim Wakefield knuckleball and the laptop randomly shut itself off. Anyway, we took them to a computer repair shop, and it turns out that it would cost more to fix the laptop than to buy a new one, so they sent it back. The desktop is still in the shop, but due back tomorrow with significant changes and upgrades meant to make it quick as a Kerry Wood heater. Here's to hoping this old laptop can make it until the end of this post.

Over, Around or Through

In the past two weeks our kids have gone from scooting slowly across the carpet to tearing through the house at breakneck speeds on their hands and knees. So, to curtail the crawling in opposite directions, which happens just as often as you probably think it does, we installed three baby gates to enclose the living room. Micah is not a big fan of the gates, as you can see. However, these baby proof gates are apparently also Rachel proof, as she has tripped and tumbled over the gates a few times already. One time, as she was attempting to enter the living room from the kitchen, she caught her back foot on the gate and went down hard... while carrying Malorie. I tried to grab her to keep her up, but it was no use. Luckily, Rachel contorted her body to protect Mal when they hit the floor and nothing was hurt. Mal crawled away unscathed and Rachel was unharmed as well, except for a nasty welt on her ankle and a bruise on her ego.

What Goes Up

Micah and Mal, never satisfied to just have one point of progress at a time, have decided that crawling is not enough of a development for the week. So, in the span of three days, they have begun pulling themselves into the standing position on whatever they can get their hands on. Baby gates, sliding glass doors, parents, tables, dogs and an inflatable ball have all been used with varying margins of success. Micah is a pro at standing and then letting go, and he has gotten to the point where he does not cry unless he smacks into something during his fall. Sweet Malorie still cries after every tumble.

Are We Really That Old?

Tyson celebrated his sixth birthday this week, which cracked him into the forties in dog years. He has really taken to the children well, and seems content to be around them, especially when they've just eaten and have cheese bits on their shirts. The Wolfman did growl and snap at Micah once, when Micah snuck up on him and grabbed his tail unexpectedly, but all in all, we could not be happier with the interaction between the kids and the dog. I have a feeling that they will be attached at the hip for quite some time to come.

Good Morning

Every morning, Rachel wakes up at about 6:30 and turns on the baby monitor and listens for the kids to be ready to begin their day. Most mornings, the kids are awake in their room when she gets up, and are chattering back and forth quietly and contently. Rachel will allow them to do this for about a half hour, or until someone gets upset, so that their wake up time stays at about 7 a.m. Well, this morning, Rachel said that when she went into the room after listening to the kids exchange baby talk like "Ba" and "Nee Nee" for a few minutes, she found that Micah had pulled down his crib bumper and was looking at Malorie's crib. Mal, for her part, was up on her hands and knees, looking right back at her brother as they held the conversation.

The Hoedown

Recently, Micah has been mimicking our swaying when we sing. I never really noticed we did it until he started doing it back, but it turns out that every time Rachel or I sing to him, we rock back and forth. Well, Rachel caught him doing this the other morning to his Baby Einstein video. All I can say is, "E-I-E-I-oh my!"