Cooperative Play

The kids are still playing well together, although Talia is presently chasing Alex with a bracelet attached to a necklace (therefore making a leash) that she wants him to wear but he is refusing. She originally had the necklace tied around his neck so maybe I'm romantisizing their relationship? I'ts 9:40am and I haven't fed them yet so I guess I'll go do that... We're staying home in PJ's all day today, which is becoming a winter tradition. Wait, I think it was a summer tradition too.

Party of Two

Alex is finally old enough to really play with Talia. Today he wore a necklace and a homemade apron to Talia's tea party and actually took sips of pretend tea and shared a snack with his sister. He wants to be just like her-- it's adorable. Most of the time she allows him to play with or next to her. She's such a good sister. If he's crying she trys to find a way to make it better. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that this friendship lasts a long long time.

Home Sweet Home

I can never seem to get a photo of the two of them looking at me and smiling at the same time. This will have to do. They were both "reading" books on the steps today. I couldnt' resist snapping a few pictures.

Laugh and laugh and laugh

The kids are getting along really well these days. In this picture Alex is using Talia's arm as a phone. She thought it was pretty funny. I really try to cherish these times instead of being stressed out about stupid shit. The house will either be clean or it won't. We will either eat a healthy dinner or we will eat out. We will definitely forget something important when we leave for vacation. Unless it's one of the kid's blankets, everything else can be bought. You can only be so prepared. Wish us luck on our long drive. Hopefully the person watching the house won't let my garden die and the tomatoes won't ALL ripen while I'm gone. I'm excited to see family and friends!

Plays Well With Others

The kids played together for a least a half hour on the fatboy beanbag (Ron's Father's Day gift). They just kept making each other laugh. It was such a nice treat to just let them do their own thing. They are truly in love (for now). I realized I hardly have any recent pictures of Talia on the blog. She doesn't really smile for my camera anymore and makes stupid faces. It's annoying!

Cross your fingers...

Things are pretty good here in the Dolin household. The kids are sleeping better, the routine is starting to come back after the long winter break, and winter has relented a little bit. I'm going to try to sneak into the basement now and get a little sewing done...

The miracle of 01/02/08

Both children slept through the night! They were both in bed and asleep around 9:30 and Alex didn't wake up until 6:00 (as far as I know). Talia is still sleeping at 7:30am. I'm sure it was just some strange coincidence and won't happen again. Even though I myself was asleep before 10pm and slept all night without interruption I still feel as though someone took a truck and ran me over. Maybe even more so. I guess it doesn't matter whether they sleep through the night or not. I will never feel well rested.

On the Media

A quick post before I go on vacation to Mexico with Talia. I'm leaving Alex at home with my mother-in-law and with Ron, who has to work Christmas. Yes, I feel bad that I'm leaving my baby. Yes, I am excited to go on vacation with my mother, father, daughter, sister, brother, brother-in-law and niece!

I read a book that I absolutely loved; Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. It was fantastic and surely the best book I've read all year.

Also, one of my favorite shows is running it's whole series over Christmas and the New Year. It's Run's House on MTV. I kid you not. I LOVE that show. I can't seem to convince ANYONE I KNOW to watch it. This is my plea-- it's great! Set your Tivo!

Lastly, here is my conversation with Talia yesterday:

Upon finding a new princess in her Polly Pocket collection (I bought a playset to bring on vacation and it came with Aurora and Prince Phillip so I just added them to her pile of Polly's).

T: Mom! Did you get this at Target?

Me: Yep (not true but whatever)

T: Where was it?

Me: What do you mean?

T: Was it in a corner or on an end (of an aisle, I suppose)

Me: Uhhh... the corner.

T: (Excitedly) That's what I figured!

Who is this kid? She's been asking some interesting (and tough to answer) questions lately, such as "Where does the pee and poo go after I flush it?" and "How did the fog get here?" Interestingly enough, Ron and I answered the first question identically. I was pretty much making up the answer so I'm glad I got it somewhat right.

An update on Alex too while I'm at it... he's been sleeping better, so that's good. He is the cutest kid ever. So happy and good-- completely different from when he was a tiny baby. He loves to play with anything that's not a toy (naturally) and paper especially. He can grab and reach anything so super quick. He's very tactile and just loves to touch and grab (and puts everything in his mouth, of course). Sometimes I'm going about my day and I just put him in front of a basket of toys (princess ponies, princess dolls etc.) and he just plays and eats things and I forget to pay him attention because he's occupying himself and then all of a sudden I realize he's just STARING at me. So I flash him a smile and maybe go over to him for a minute and he's just so happy about it. Poor kid. It really DOES suck to be the second kid. He doesn't have a life ANYTHING like what Talia had. On the plus side, Talia is IN LOVE with him and he her. She only had Ron and me. He has a sister too and she's really good to him. I know I should cherish these good times.

My kids

Talia and Alex at about 6 months each.

Matching Outfits

I can't really buy matching outfits for the kids so I thought maybe PJ's would work. These are definitely girly pj's (trim around the neck that thankfully you can't see!) but they looked so cute in matching sets! Alex wears Talia's old pink pj's anyway so this isn't much different. I really need to get a camera with a working flash though...

I can be in pictures too, you know!

swirl face

Talia's nickname for Alex is "swirl face." I'm not sure why!