Friday, November 15, 2013

Words & Life

Last Friday was the sixteen month birthday for the guys. The month birthdays have been a little less spectacularly celebrated as of late. I did, however, make a point of getting them some cupcakes to enjoy after dinner.

Martin Eating his 16 Month Birthday Cupcake

Elliott Eating his 16 Month Birthday Cupcake

The end verdict was that they really enjoyed eating all the buttercream off the tops but they could take or leave the actual cake portion. This may be thanks to their recent discovery and love affair with pudding. They seem to love almost anything with a pudding-like consistency not the least of which is pudding itself.

Martin with Hair Tied Up Out of Eyes

Martin's hair is now officially so long that we have taken to tying it up out of his eyes so that he can actually see. Elliott is still hanging in there with hair that hasn't seem to grow in the past six months.

Jen and Nate at Miranda and Jon's Wedding in Milwaukee

On Saturday Jen and I headed up to Milwaukee for a friend's wedding in what was the be our first night together without the boys since they've been born. It made us feel a bit guilty but a head-pounding cough made sure that I wasn't able to fully enjoy it.

Elliott Watching the Snow

On Monday our daycare was closed and I stayed home with the guys as we got a decent dusting of snow.


Aunt Lauren came over and was able to witness Elliott learning how to dance along to "Old MacDonald" in what can only be called a version of twerking.

I apologize for acknowledging that twerking exists.

Martin Grocery Shopping

Elliott and Evelyn Grocery Shopping

We also went out grocery shopping in the morning to pick up items for dinner. When Evelyn started crying Elliott turned around and started rocking her baby seat. This seemed like it was pretty sweet until you realized he was just probably trying to shake the seat so he could get closer to Evelyn and smack her.

It is his way. It's the only way he knows how to love.

Martin and Elliott Sitting in Chairs

A new favorite activity for the guys is to sit in chairs. They don't quite know what to do once they get into the chairs but they stand by them, eagerly hit them with their open palms, then smile as soon as they are lifted to sit down. This lasts about four seconds until they try to hurl themselves off the chairs to start the process again.

Pumpkin Pizza with Carmelized Onion, Sage, Toasted Pine Nuts, Ricotta, Fontina and Pancetta

Pumpkin Pizza with Carmelized Onion, Sage, Toasted Pine Nuts, Ricotta, Fontina and Veggie Sausage

For dinner on Monday I made three pizzas with pumpkin sauce, ricotta, caramelized onion, sage, toasted pine nuts, and fontina. I made one version with pancetta and one with veggie sausage.


They guys have been extremely vocal lately. They are learning words at an alarming rate. They both picked up the word "apple" from a book we would read to them in the morning as we got ready for the day. They soon began waking up saying "apple" over and over again, associating it with something that people just say in the morning.

At the moment their combined vocabulary consists of the following words. "Mama, dada, daddy, duck, apple, ta-da, banana, backpack (though Elliott only said this once a few weeks back it is still worth mentioning), no, milk, uh-oh, ball, bottle, more, mine, Elmo, hi, and bye.

They understand hundreds more. At the end of the night when they start to get cranky, we announce that it is bedtime and they both immediately smile, say "bye" to Grandma and Grandad, and begin marching on their way to climb up the steps to take their bath.

Soon there will be a new set of steps and a new tub. We are less than a month away from our move in date and then we will have an intense run up to Christmas. Goal number one will be to hopefully not be surrounded by boxes on Christmas morning.

That would truly be a Christmas miracle.

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