Here He Goes

My camera (with its video function) is broken. My phone requires a memory card to take video. Shawn's camera, despite its many options, does not take video. My Flip was unavailable for comment. So, in order to prove that Jamie is (pseudo) crawling, I have taken some pictures, flip book style. I present for your review and entertainment, the following:

I know it might be hard to see, but he was going for the tag on the boppy. This only took him about a minute, and that was mostly cause he was pausing to listen to the camera click.

A Few Pictures

I got my toes!

James saying A-looooooooha from Hawaii

Emmy and Jeffrey loving the fish

Love the Aquarium

Bless Us, Every One

When we started saying grace before dinner with Emmeline, I wanted to keep it simple. To that end, we have always just said "Dear God, thank you for our food, and thank you for our family. Amen." I thought that was simple enough for a little toddler to grasp - to the point. Now that she's so very old, she likes to help me. Now, dinner goes more like this:
M: Dear God, thank you for our food
E: And our milk!
M: and our milk, and thank you
E: and our forks!
M: and our forks, and thank you for our family
E: and thank you for Jamie's blue elephant
M: yes, Lord, thank you for all the toys that we're able to give to our children. Amen.
E: You didn't say thank you for our dinner!
M: I did. You were too busy thanking God for everything else.

I like that she's so very thankful, but I'm also kind of hungry and would like to get to the eating part of our dinner. Bless her.

Moving and Shaking

This is not a brag post. This is an I-Don't-Know-What-To-Do-With-This post. Emmeline, as we all remember, never crawled. I mean, I guess she did a bit around 18 months, long after she was walking. James, on the other hand, has been a bit more...shall we say, advanced in the physical arena. He's been rolling both from belly to back and back to belly for a while. Monday, he began scooting across the floor on his back. He will have a nasty bald spot on the back of his head. Today, he got his knees up under him and scooched forward. It was not a crawl, but it wasn't far from it. He did it three times this morning, and a few times yesterday. He will be 4 months next week. I could be wrong, but I'll put money on this guy crawling before 5 months. This is amazing to me. I never experienced this with Em, so it's all new. She did combat crawl a bit for a little while, but she hated it, and it never progressed. I am continually surprised by Jamie's physical strength and interest in moving. It is awesome!

That's What She Said

Me: Jamie, you are the King of Blowing Bubbles, huh?
Emmeline: Why?
M: Because, hear him blowing all those bubbles? He's good at it.
E: Mommy, you're the King of Mommies!

Shawn: Emmeline, please get your jammies on. It's almost bedtime.
E: I am! Chill out!

Uncle Gary: Uh-oh, looks like you dropped your taco.
E: Actually, it's a tortilla.

E: Mommy, I'm not sure he (indicating Jamie) is the perfect Jamie for us.

E: (crying, in bed) I'm not dreaming very well!

E: Where's Daddy's little car?
M: Remember? Daddy drove himself to work today.
E: He drove hisself? I'm so proud of him!

No-Cry Sleep Solution - Preferably Neither of Us is Crying

Things are chugging away here. After enduring a nasty heat wave, we're enjoying a day with a high of only 93! I think we're starting to settle into a new routine. Emmeline is doing much better with staying dry at night, and Shawn's been able to get to work on time more than not lately. That may not sound like much, but when you have two small people waking you up at night, and they are both still sleeping when the alarm goes off, it's very easy to turn it off and sleep until the wee ones get you back up. So far, Jamie is getting a nice nap routine. Up until this week, the score of Jamie vs. Mommy regarding naps has looked like this:
Jamie - 287
Mommy - 3
I don't know where I was when God was handing out Mommy-baby-soothing-skills, but wherever it was, it was not the right place. I am not sure why I am completely incapable of soothing an infant to sleep, but I really suck at it. I try rocking, humming, singing, patting, shushing, pacifier, tummy-sleeping, rubbing and every combination possible of those. Maybe Jamie is a tough nut to crack, maybe I just haven't hit his magic combo yet, but I leave every nap feeling defeated and incompetent. While my toddler wreaks havoc through the rest of the house. I have been yearning for the day Jamie is old enough to Cry It Out. Pediatrician said not till 4 months, and I honestly don't remember how old Em was when we started. However, this week has gone much better. More like this:
Jamie - 0
Mommy - 5
Those are good numbers. He has put himself to sleep, without tears, every nap and bedtime since yesterday morning. I consider this a victory. Who knows how long it will last, but I'm excited about it for now.

Trout Lake

We have many awesome friends - Shaina and Craig are two of them. I met Shaina in Denver, at TMI. Her parents own a lake house just outside Adirondack National Park. We drove up there on Sunday and stayed till Friday. We swam, boated, kayake, fished, cooked, and inner tubed. What a great time with great friends! Emmeline was a bit wary at first since there were 4 dogs between the Fergusons and the Spielers. By Friday, she was just like old times - loving the dogs, especially Figgy, Mrs. Spieler's geriatric dachsund. Jamie had a tougher time. He's still kind of a homebody, and seems to REALLY like his bed best. But he did ok.

The view looking up the lake from the end of the deck. Bee-yoo-tiful.

Em had a little bit of a crush on Craig. Maybe it was because he read to her - every single time she asked.
Emmeline took this one of Jamie. It's kind of artsy, I think.