Sleeping while standing

Now I know it is truly possible to sleep while standing up. Check out this picture I snapped of Eli recently..


In other news, Priya recently made the unfortunate discovery of the word "hate." Apparently, it holds a similar power to the word "no," whose prominence in her vocabulary was huge, but fortunately, in the past. When she learns a new power word, she usually tries it out as much as possible. Patrick and I are trying not to react too strongly when she says things like "I hate Bopa," "I hate sleeping", or "I hate cheese." The other day, she told me for the first time ever "I hate you mommy." I know she doesn't realize the weight of this word, but wow, the adventures of parenting..
More cheerfully, Pat's twin brother Chris came to visit us from Colorado. We loved having him here and wish we could see him and his family more often. Below are some pictures, including their birthday cake made with spaghetti lettering (hey, I tried..)

on the chart!

Today Priya had her three year check up. For the first time, she is without a doubt, not on the fringe, but on the chart for her weight! Yay! She weighs 26 lbs (10th %) and is almost 36 inches long (25%). Must be something in the water around here because River is gaining weight too!

The Meaning of Growing Up

Periodically, we ask Priya what she wants to be when she grows up. I thought it would be fun to write down a few from the collection of her responses.
"I'll drive the car and Poppy will sit in the carseat."
"I want to be a teacher!"
"I'll be a candle and you will have to be very careful to touch me."
"A Panda."
"I'll be big and I will help you get over the gate (the babygate)"
It's funny to me that she sometimes tells us that when she grows up, we will be little. She can't imagine that one day we will both be adults. Obviously, if she gets big, I will get little.

We started Priya in "Little Peoples", an arts and crafts time for 3-5 year olds. It meets twice a week, and its the first thing we have ever done (besides dropping her off at the babysitters) where I leave her in someone else's care. So far, she loves it! The teacher, Nicole, (who Priya calls "Ma-cole") says that Priya is doing great, and she was really into the project for the day. They put special beads on plastic shapes, which she will later on apply heat so they melt into their molds.

Long Winter

This winter has been hard. Starting with the stomach bug, moving on to chest colds, and then a plugged duct for me (a breastfeeding complication)- it seems like leaving the house has a lot of obstacles these days. Some days staying at home is cozy and creative- we find something to make or do. Other days I find myself feeling "stir crazy". Even running to the co-op by myself when Patrick gets home from work feels like a great treat to me. Anyways, here are some sweet pictures of the benefits of being home..

jumping into beanbag

Just a video of the kids playing after dinner.. Priya jumping off the futon, and Eli is riding his zebra, from Grandpa and Nona (and wearing the shirt that Miche and Cory gave him!)

Why be a frog when you can be a lion?

Here is a great coincidence: A few weeks ago, "Nana" and "Grandad" (Pat's parents) sent Eli a bath towel that looks like a frog. Priya was quite envious of his gift, and kept asking to use it. Pat and I were considering getting one for her, for her birthday, but couldn't find one locally. Then Patrick noticed that the shape and feel of the gift that "Grandma" (my mom) had sent for Priya's birthday was suspiciously like a towel, and we wondered what the chances were.. Sure enough, when Priya opened up her birthday present this is what she found (more pictures to follow with Eli as a frog):


Here is a silly picture of our contortionist son getting in the cat carrier. Thomas, the cat, was actually in the carrier as well!


OK, so despite our earlier attempts at teaching Eli to use the potty at a tender young age, he just thinks its a great little chair, just his size. This is one of those pictures that we will treasure forever, and the kids will probably hate it when they're bigger.

Priya turns 3!!

Priya's birthday was yesterday, December 31st. I really can't believe that Priya is three years old. It's been so amazing having her in our lives, she has changed us on so many levels that I never even expected. I also never realized when I was growing up and celebrating my birthday, how much of the importance of the birthday really exists on a family level. I should have realized this since my mom always liked to tell my the story of my birth every year, but I always thought the story was just about my entrance to the world. Now I can see that the story is also about how on that day I changed the lives of my family.
Priya's birthday has made Patrick and I reminisce about being pregnant with Priya, her amazing birth (which made me ecstatic), and how much we have been through as a family since she was born. She had the most intense colic that we struggled to understand and relieve. Sometimes I think that her colic was just her personality starting out. She is so strong willed and feels things so deeply. We still have some difficult moment, but if I have had enough sleep, I can really see that those big tears sliding down her cheeks when she doesn't get her way are REAL, and this helps me to understand her. I just hope that she knows how proud I am of her and I know she will grow up to be a strong, confident, passionate person.
Here are some pictures from her birthday party we had for her this evening. It was a lot of fun!