Gary's Buddy

I took this picture first thing this morning while Gary was drinking his "ya-ya" (that's toddler speak for Yoohoo, which is really chocolate soy milk) and watching Curious George. He had the whole couch to sit on, but he made Clara move over and make room for him. I guess he wanted to sit right next to her for warmth since our living room is like an ice box in the mornings. Funny thing is the boys can't walk on the new wood floors in their sock feet because they keep slipping and falling. It's either socks and shoes or cold feet. They usually opt for the cold feet. 

Doesn't Clara look like the tolerant, dutiful dog that she is? She's the best.

December 1st Will has an appointment with a pediatric neurologist for an evaluation. Crossing my fingers that it's not a waste of time or that he doesn't recommend a bunch of tests that my insurance refuses to pay for. I can't wait for Obama to start kicking some you-know-what to get out country's healthcare system on track. I hope my vote wasn't wasted. I'm counting on him to come through for me.

My 36th Birthday Dinner

Well, I've had another birthday. I'm not quite as old as I feel, but I'm closer. We (that would be myself, Gary, Little Gary, Will, Rick, Ree Ree and Grandma Betty) celebrated with dinner and cake. Mom cooked spaghetti with cole slaw and garlic toast. Yum! She was going to make me a caramel cake, but I didn't want to disappoint the boys by not getting the traditional transfat-filled birthday cake from the grocery store and vanilla ice cream. What's better than Crisco mixed with sugar? (Really, don't think about that one too long if you ever want to enjoy a birthday cake again.) 

Neither my mom nor my mother-in-law would let me post pictures of them, so you have to take my word for it that they were here. Vanity knows no age limit I guess. Anyway, I had a nice birthday with my family, and here are some of the pictures.

William Everett

Just wanted to share some cute pictures of Will sporting orange, his best color. He's trying so hard to talk, but we're not there yet. Sometimes we hear what we hope and want to believe is Mama and Dada (or Daddy). I've heard "ball" a few times--I think. Tonight he was playing with the telephone handset that's on the fax machine, and it sounded like he was saying "Hey". I told him to say, "Hey Ree Ree!", and I swear it sounded like he said "crazy". You know, come to think about it, the kid may be talking after all. (Sorry, Ree Ree!)

Anyway, he's beautiful and funny and full of life and energy, and he's so loving. He's perfect even if he never talks. His brother even loves him most of the time, as long as he stays away from his toys

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Budding Artist

Gary walked up with his Magnadoodle the other day and said, "Look, Mommy! A bird."

Can you see it?

Gary, the friendly lion, goes Trick-or-Treating.

Little Gary got dressed up tonight as a lion, and we hit Uncle Rick's neighborhood for Trick-or-Treating. Boy, did he score! For the last 30 minutes or so of the night he had us carrying his pumpkin for him because it was too heavy. 

He did well saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you", but he wasn't loving the houses with the scary decorations. Uncle Rick tried to encourage him to go to those doors, but he was having none of it. 

Ree Ree got worn out from all the walking, but everyone had a good time, and we'll have plenty of candy around for a couple of weeks. Woo hoo! Happy Halloween!

Utter Cuteness

I caught this picture of Gary tonight while he was watching "Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie". Wouldn't you love to recapture a 3-year-old's sense of wonder? He's blissful sitting there in his M&M-covered dinosaur pajamas watching Winnie the Pooh. These are the moments to remember.

Bubba Says "bite" . . . almost

In our house, word approximations count as words. After big brother was sent off to bed for repeatedly trying to kill Will, we were sharing (I wasn't really getting much) a bowl of vanilla ice cream. It dawned on me that Will kept saying "bi-" and then opening his mouth. He was trying to say "bite"! Yeah! He did it consistently. I'd hold out a spoon of ice cream and wait, and he would finally say it. Then I'd say, "OK, you can have a bite. Here you go." He was digging this communication thing. I could just see it on his face. He was getting his point across with a word (well, almost a word). 

Will is 28 1/2 months old, and we think we've heard Mama and Dada on occasion. Of course, that may just be wishful thinking. That's it. Asking for a bite over and over and over again with the same word approximation is progress in this house. Hot dog! When he learns to say "No!" and "Mine!" to his brother, I think I may just have to sit down and do the ugly cry, as Oprah says. I know we'll get there one day. That day can't here soon enough.