The kiddos

I posted this picture because Tommy climbed this rock by himself, almost. I told him I wouldn't help him, so he backed the stroller up to the rock and used the board (which can't be more than 6" high) to give himself a small step. I admired his determination.

I swear to God, this is the last post that will discuss or picture (ew) potty-training. But just for the sake of keeping a record, here he is (still no accidents; he is just awesome):

The Lulabell in a very cute hat:

The Lulabell sitting with her daddy and helping him with his work:

Today could have been horrible but was fine. It rained, so I decided we would go to the Natural History Museum. It is a block away, and free. We had to get out of here about 9:20, so we found a digger to watch for a while, and then skipped into the museum at ten on the nose. This was a good thing, because there was a pretty long queue when we left at 11:30. Tommy had a great time, except that the T Rex was pronounced "scary." Then, we had lunch and left for preschool. Tommy didn't want to stay once we got there, but after trying to be nice for five minutes, I turned into a mean mama and told him he had to go and he would have fun and I left.

When I picked him up, he told me he'd had fun, and then it started pouring. I am a person who is used to rain and as long as Lizzie isn't getting wet, I'm normally okay with it, but this was HARD RAIN. And we were walking home. So I was trying to steer the buggy with one hand and cover Tommy and me with an umbrella in the other hand and it was horrible. So I stopped under an awning to reorganize and dropped my phone. And then carried on, without it. For those of you who don't know this about me, I love my phone. It's an iPhone. And here's why I love it. When I push a little button, a map appears. And the map shows me where I am. I can hold it and walk and the little dot on the map that is me moves. I'm certain you all understand how valuable this tool is to me in a city like this. A city that is not on a grid and thinks nothing of using the same (or nearly the same) street name four times.

About ten minutes down the road, I realized I had lost the phone. So, I tore the stroller apart looking for the phone while the kids got wetter and wetter. And then I turned around and went back and talked to the people in the two shops nearest to the spot I'd dropped it. No phone. We went back to the apartment and the whole time I was thinking about how whoever took the phone could be calling China! Or reading all my email! Aaaah.

But, when I got home, I called Eli and he had already spoken to the woman who found my phone and I have it back now. Safely with me. Which is good because on the way there, I lost my A to Z (I had to use it to find the nice woman who found my phone's house, of course, because I didn't have my phone). It fell out of the cup holder. There has to be some sort of message here, but I really don't know what it is.

Here's why we don't let Tommy pick out his own clothes:

We went to Whole Foods today and bought some bread that we used to eat when we lived here in 2007 and maybe that's what set me off, but today, I am just overwhelmed that Tommy is a three year old boy. Or maybe it's the potty-training and the transition to a big-boy bed, and sudden acceptance of a blanket and pillow? Whatever the reason, I am stunned that he is so grown up. And Eli keeps telling me how it's great, how he's still completely adorable, and how our relationships with him are so much more developed because we have conversations (I can ask him questions like, "what's your favorite fruit?" or "what's your favorite color?") but for some reason, today, it's killing me.

Tommy bit his lip this morning while eating his granola, so for the rest of the day, when he ate something, he started screaming (full on screaming) -- presumably because he bit the same spot. Please feel free to email me any suggestions you have for dealing with this. He's only had yogurt and a popsicle today, and I'd like him to have a slightly more nutritious diet tomorrow if possible.

My Sick Kids

After all my worrying that Luc and Emma would get the pox from us, Tommy got something from them. He has a fever, and seemed sort of spacey before nap, but otherwise is fine. (For now.)

The chickenpop baby is fussy today and slept very fitfully last night (her parents are exhausted today). I called the pediatrician and he said that she only needs to come in if she seems to be in distress but so far, she just seems like she's itchy. Poor thing.

I'm happy it's the weekend and Eli can help get through this lovely time.

A few pictures.

Here are Eli and Tommy in a pink teacup in Windsor. This is especially funny because one of Tommy's favorite songs has a line that is about not liking spinny rides -- and so Tommy says he doesn't like them, but of course he wouldn't leave us alone until he got to ride this one.

Here's Lizzie today. She looks pretty good for a baby with the chickenpox (which are getting much worse). She has been a horrible sleeper today.

Tommy & Lizzie having a moment on the couch together:

Happy Birthday to Larissa today!

Update -- she's got them.

Lizzie has the chickenpox. POOR BABY. I noticed a couple of spots on her face last night and thought she might be sensitive to her new soap. But this morning, she had one on her back, and a few on her head. No fever yet, but she has been asleep for almost two hours which pretty much means she's sick.

Chickenpox have not affected Lizzie's appetite thus far. She scarfed down some rice cereal at lunchtime. She likes to eat -- I have no idea where she gets that from.

Grandma Nancy's Gone...

but she left a legacy: a potty-trained boy. He hasn't had an accident in days. I realize I've spent far to much time on this blog writing about the potty-training, but it is hard for me to explain just how life-changing it is.

We finally did something sort of fun with Grandma on Saturday, and went out to Windsor Castle. We had lunch, toured the castle, went to a toy store, and got back on the train. Lizzie slept about seven minutes during the whole trip and Tommy also skipped his nap. Sunday, I worked while the rest of the household went out to the garden. We let Tommy stay up late and watch "Finding Nemo" with us (or, as he calls it, "Fishies That Live In the Ocean"). He was, predictably, terrified at the scary parts and again, I felt like an idiot for not thinking through the viewing selections a bit more carefully. Monday, Eli took Mom and the kids up to St. Pancras while I worked. The afternoon was mellow because Tommy was up at 5:51. I heard him wake up and started to mobilize but still by the time I got into his room, he'd talked Grandma Nancy into turning on the light and playing trucks. He also managed to wake his sister. So that was nice.

The other big news around here is that the Lula started solids and she loooooves them. She eats rice cereal with gusto, and when we tried sweet potato, she was similarly enthusiastic. I am less enthusiastic because her spit up is now orange and I'm worried it will stain everything. She is also working hard on sitting up and can do it for a couple of seconds at a time, though she tips very easily.

Luc had a high temperature last night, so it looks like Tommy did give the chickenpops to another kid. Now let's just hope he didn't give them to his sister...

I promise to post pictures soon. They're still pretty cute.