You've Got Mail

Aunt Jana instructed Mimi to put a stamp on Lila and send her to New Jersey. What she didn't know is that Mimi actually tried.

Lila was really excited until she discovered that she didn't have enough postage.

Assistant Extraordinaire

Here she is helping Dja Dja fix the computer:Helping Mimi nap:Feeling quite proud of herself:

Children's Museum

While Mom and Dad were here visiting, we decided to kidnap T.J. from work and journey to the great city of New Orleans, where we visited the Children's Museum. While there, Bronwen and Lila got to explore many career opportunities.

Cashier:
Lounge Singer:
Toy Tester:
Line Cook:
Waitress: (She was bringing Mimi her birthday cake)
Truck Driver:

Captain:
And...um...okay so this wasn't a career, however, Bronwen did get to stand in the middle of a gigantic bubble. Here she had just popped it.
Despite the masses of school children that descended upon the place shortly after we arrived, I would say we all had a good time. Even Mimi.

Guest Blog Authored By T.J.

We decided to take at trip to the lakes to see the pelicans this weekend.
Lila was up for the challenge - literally.
Bronwen explained to Lila that pelicans are birds that have large bills and eat fish and...
Is that a pelican? No, it's an egret.
Is that a pelican? No, it's a bald eagle!!
There are the pelicans!
Bronwen disapproved of the photographer's suggested composition...
...by refusing to turn around and smile. I did not recognize her brilliance until later.
Then Bronwen saw something even more exciting than the pelicans, bald eagles, and egrets...
Pigeons!!

But the pigeons were not welcome where she wanted to play.
Shoo, pigeons!
Finally, we can relax and enjoy the beautiful day.

Crawling

Lila has been working on her crawl for about 2 weeks now. She was up and rocking really well when we went to NC, but she has now advanced to coordinating her hand/knee movement. She is still practicing, but I am really proud of her progress. She now moves forward, when enticed--usually by dangerous things like cords, cables, and Bronwen's toys. (Note: Bronwen's toys aren't inherently dangerous; it's just a safety issue once Bronwen realizes her sister is touching, looking at, or thinking about touching or looking at her toys.)

Some things I particularly like about this video:
Lila is tired so she is putting forth great effort to appease me.
Bronwen allowed me to use Jerry as bait. (until it worked)
Lila isn't phased by Jerry's removal and keeps going despite many obstacles (known as her sister.)
Bronwen's training panties are all bunched up. That is just funny.

Adios Baby Bath Tub!

Lila has become such a champ at sitting up by herself, we decided it was time to store the infant tub in the attic and let the girls take baths together. I was pleasantly surprised at how well Bronwen did. She seems to be enjoying the company.


Lila was perplexed at first with her new surroundings:Once she saw her sister, it was all good. Lila's new toys:Bronwen's New Toys:

Sweet Lila:Sweet Bronwen:
My sweet girls:

Bronwen's Pet

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was awesome this year. Bronwen was finally able to understand what was going on, to some degree. She knew what Halloween decorations were, spying them all over the neighborhood and in Target. She talked endlessly about jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, witches, and being "spooky."

While T.J. and I carved the big pumpkins during nap time, Bronwen got to work on hers afterward:
She was interested for about 10 minutes, then T.J. had to carve the rest solo:
My pumpkins! (Note: Bronwen is holding the pumpkin she picked out from the patch)
Lila, all smiles:After the photo session, Bronwen thought it only fair to turn the tables on the photographer. T.J. was terrified:We went over to Becky's to trick-or-treat, and here is the whole gang:
Hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

As soon as we returned from N.C., we went to the pumpkin patch. It was already the 28th, and T.J. was leaving on a business trip the next day, so we had to hustle.

Bronwen was in awe of all the pumpkins:
While Lila seemed to feel right at home:The girls and their Daddy:
Bronwen shows Lila how to frolic in the hay:
"Now which pumpkin shall I choose?"Bronwen agonized over which pumpkin she wanted, and in the end, chose the tiniest pumpkin I have ever seen. It cost us $0.25.

Sister Games

As usual, I ran out of memory space at the last minute, but if you replay, you'll get an idea of Lila's reaction.

For Tiff

As requested:

Bronwen in a witch hat

By the way, I have a better picture of this, but it is locked away in our old computer somewhere. This will have to do...

Child Labor Law Violation

Now that I published that warm and fuzzy N.C. trip entry to appease my parents, I shall reveal the truth of what really happened on our 10-day stint in the pokey.

Bronwen was forced to make a pile of leaves--a.k.a. her bed.
She had to do all the laundry:
She mopped so much, she was on the verge of collapsing:
Even a baby was made to fluff and fold.
Here Mimi is explaining how to "properly" unload the dishwasher:
Keeping the furniture dust-free:
I first thought Lila was trying to hide from the tyranny, but then I realized my parents had put her to work, using her body to dust under the couch.
The cruelty was unspeakable. You can see how traumatized my children were/are:
And there you have it--the true tale of what happened on our visit. My parents are coming down in about a week, so I am confident they will get a taste of their own medicine once the queen Bee gets them on her turf.