Seth Gets The Strap: A Dramatic Reenactment In 5 Parts

 ED. NOTE: I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THIS HUGE SPACE IS APPEARING HERE, BUT EVERY TIME I TRY TO FIX IT, IT ONLY MAKES IT BIGGER. SORRY ALL.

Part I:

Oh hi everyone! It's me, Seth. You will need to use your imaginations for 'dis part of the re-enactment because I was not laying here with my diaper on quite so peaceably (even tho' it looks like I am). I is not that kind of guy.

No, instead you should picture me sans diaper and maybe with a little bit of poopy bum.

Part II: 

And here you need to picture me still sans diaper, and still with a little bit of poopy bum, but now also a poopy foot. Maybe a little poopy hand too. Mommy wasn't too happy about my new moves and was pretty busy with 'dose baby wipes (you know, the ones in that really neat Green Box that she hardly lets me play with?). 

Part III:

'Dis the part where I get the strap, but don't worry. I is OK.

Mommy is still busy with 'dose wipes, and you know, she pretty quick too. Before I know what's what I has on a clean diaper and clothes and I been wiped from head to toe.

Part IV: 

I still pretty quick guy though and has tricks up my sleeves. You didn't think I was gonna let Mommy have the last laugh, did you? 

Part V: 

Hey, where you goin' Mommy? What do you mean you has to go Google wrestling holds? And what is duct tape? Mommy?

... Mommy?

- L.

While We're Still On The Topic...

Even though I'm sure the box these came in holds infinitely more interest than the cute letterforms inside, I couldn't resist ordering the My Travelling ABC's Toys and Book Set – especially since I got it half-price from Babysteals. For those who don't know, Babysteals offers a daily "steal" on baby and maternity products at 50–80% off the regular retail price until the item is sold out. In the past I've gotten great deals on Halo SleepSacks, a cloth book set from HABA, and now, this awesome alphabet set made by BabeEase.

Each letter is plushy on one side, textured on the reverse with a variety of materials like terry and corduroy and stuffed with crinkle. Although the set is marketed as a traveling toy to take along while shopping, it's great around the house too since the letters can be looped around almost anything.

See? 

Or you can just go ahead and dump the lot out on the babies and watch them having a blast. Our first alphabet is still pretty fun after all, even if this isn't Nate and Seth's very favorite toy. 

- L.

PS. After all the careful work I put into choosing names for Nate and Seth, I can't believe it's taken me this long to figure out that my sons will be forever fighting over the letters "E" and "T". Oops. Sorry about that, guys. I'll start saving those pennies for the therapy now. 

Also Not A Toy

– 'Dis a toy alright.

– If I plays with it, then it's a toy. 'Nuff said.

Mommy note: Seth is not one to rest on his laurels while he waits for his first tooth to show up. He's been a most industrious little guy practicing the fine art of creeping (or migrating as I prefer to call it since creeping sounds rather... creepy, I guess). I knew it was only a matter of time until he migrated his way over to the laundry basket since it has long been an object of great interest.

I just never imagined it was the contents and not the basket itself that would ultimately prove to be the source of such intrigue. Of course, in hindsight it makes perfect sense. It's a basket filled with nothing but Random Articles of Clothing. How could any baby resist?

- L.

These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things

– Hi everyone! 

– Oh, hi everyone! We is playing.

– We is playing with our toys. We have lots of toys.

– And we like our toys a lot. These not our very favorite toys tho'. 

– No, they is not.
– Can you guess what our very favorite toys are? 

– *giggle* ... oh, you is a sly one Nate.
– Don't I know it. 

– Dat's a trick question everyone!
– It is! Is a trick because our favorite toys are... 

– ... not toys at all! Gotcha!

Mommy note: Of course that's the way it is with all babies, isn't it? The box is always more entertaining than the toy inside and often as children we create our own toys out of everyday objects. Nate and Seth are no exception. Their favorites include:

01. Green Box: Green Box is a favorite at changing time since it holds the baby wipes. I used to keep it in the crib we used for changing until everyone got a little too interested in it and it started to look like a clobbering hazard. It is still great fun to play with though and an endless source of fascination whenever it's time for a fresh diaper. Green Box was in no way involved in any of "The Great Shiner Capers" although I can see why it would would seem a likely suspect. However, it was never at the scene of the crime. The source of the shiners remains a mystery to this day.

02. Green Thing™: Green Thing™ is a small pillow that came with the Jungle Gym. I have no clue what is so awesome about Green Thing™ but Nate and Seth both love to cuddle and chew on it endlessly. It's very popular.

03. Clean Diaper: I can guarantee at least 10 minutes of quiet time if I toss a clean diaper (or two) in the crib or Joovy. Fun to chew on AND play Peekaboo with, it's always a hit.

04. 10 Cent Plastic Ring: You can find 10 Cent Plastic Ring attached to a wide variety of toys for babies. It's there so you can easily loop it onto a car seat, bouncer or crib. Too bad it's more entertaining than the $15 toy it came attached to, but it's great fun to chew on and just the right size for little hands to hang onto. For what it's worth, I think this is also the most coveted teething toy around our house as well.

05. Random Article of Clothing: This could be any article of clothing really, but items with straps to chew on get bonus points. These denim cover-alls have been well loved, both on and off the babies.

Of course, there is one exception in all this (and you can give yourself a half-point if you guessed it), and that's the boys' unwavering adoration for Sophie (who is a real toy). Sophie wasn't cheap, but she's been worth every penny – and the boys love her as much as I once read they would. In fact, she's been loved so much that most of her spots have worn off, and her feet and ears seem to be missing a little paint too. I expect she will be completely naked long before Nate and Seth are done with her. 

Poor Sophie.

- L.

7 Month Reshoot: Fait Accompli

Literally. I think this was Nate's way of saying, "I's done now". You can check out the latest additions to our 7 month photo shoot on our Flickr™ page. Be prepared, as always, for extreme cuteness.

- L.

7 Months Old

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

– Dr. Seuss

– Hi everyone! It's us!
– We is 7 months old today!
– We is wearing our new hats and... er...
– 'Dis not what it looks like.
– Oh no. Don't be getting any funny ideas.
– 'Dis high art.
– Very tastefully done.
– Oh, very.

Mommy note: You can see the rest of the pics from today over on our Flickr™ page. I am reserving the right to add more photos at a (near) future date, especially a few pics of poor Nate. His shots from today didn't turn out well at all and that was my fault since, I assure you, he was looking very cute in his altogether. We were a little rushed when it was Nate's turn in front of the camera (sorry Nate!). Never fear – we will be scheduling a reshoot as soon as possible.

- L.

Updates On Everything II

Well, it's time for another mass update post since I feel like I'm getting behind on keeping up with Nate and Seth and all their antics and adventures.

First things first... the boys are 7 months old today! Don't worry, this isn't our official 7 Month post – check back later today/early this evening for updates and cute pics of the babies. Speaking of which...

Videos, Videos, Videos: 

I uploaded 5 new clips to our YouTube™ channel the other day and then ran out of time to let you all know about it over here on the blog, so by all means head on over and check 'em out while they're still fresh. Here's our list of new titles (in no particular order):

Spooky Seth™: What can I say? The boy makes some spooky sounds that are very much his own, although I never thought I'd actually capture it on video since Seth is typically distracted whenever I've got camera in hand. This video features an unexpected visit from Spooky Seth™, interspersed with some really big grins.

Spooky Seth™ Part II: Not so spooky anymore but Spooky Seth™ sounds were certainly the jumping off place for Seth's NEW noises, which sound suspiciously like Donald Duck to me. 

How To Steal Your Brother's Butterflies (And Get Away With It): This video has a bit of everything: playtime, big smiles, bonks in the head, songs from the jungle gym, Spooky Seth™ noises, kicky legs, cuteness and of course, butterfly thievery. 

Peas: Lip Smackin' Good: A short video of Nate trying peas for the first time. I love the lip smack at the end. : ) 

Peas: The Bib Is Also Tasty: A short video of Seth. I think the title says it all really. A small funny... when you upload videos to YouTube™ it automatically generates tag suggestions for your convenience. Sometimes, however the suggested tag really misses the mark. YouTube's recommendation for this video was "Combat Sports".

New Foods:

Speaking of peas, here's an update on our first foods. So far we've tried sweet potatoes, peas, bananas, avocados, peaches, squash and pears. I've made some things myself and left others to the fine people at Gerber™. The babies are fine with either, except sweet potatoes which they now prefer from the jar. Of course. Naturally, I let them know they were breaking their mama's heart but I don't think they heard me over the lip-smacking going on. They are both hearty eaters and love their solids.

As for favorite foods, I was about to declare avocados the big winner until they tried squash. They loooooove squash. Can't get enough. Pears are a close second, and they definitely consider it the best meal EVER when both are on the menu at the same time.

I, on the other hand, prefer the avocados since I'm convinced they keep my babies fuller (and therefore sleeping longer) at night. We also introduced oat cereal at bedtime a week ago and it seems to be helping with keeping everyone asleep past 5:30 AM (or the dreaded 4:45 AM!) for the most part as well. As far as I'm concerned, avocados and oat cereal are the best meal EVER – and since I've been mixing in some pears with the oats, everybody wins! : )

Toothwatch 2010:

Gotcha Nate!

Finally, a photo of the prized teeth. No other teeth to report yet, however. Toothwatch 2010 is still in full effect for Seth. 

Nate's Plagiocephaly:

After just 5 visits to the osteopath, I'm so happy to report that we are seeing definite results. I took a "before" photo of Nate's head around the beginning of July and some "after" photos yesterday morning. Pardon the messy food face/neck in the "after" shots, but breakfast in the high-chair seemed like the best time to catch Nate in profile without a helper around to hold him while I took the pictures.

Before: 

Even here his head was not as flat as it had been originally since we had already been doing tummy time and positioning him off his flat side at night, but you can see the flatness is still quite prominent.

After: 

What a difference already! It's easy to spot some pretty dramatic changes to his head shape, particularly at the base of the skull and overall less of a "cone" shape to the crown as plates of his head move downward. We have a follow-up visit in 6 weeks time to check for further progress and possibly have additional treatment if required. In the meantime, Nate has become a confirmed tummy sleeper during naps and at night which is going to go a long way also in helping his skull bones reshape themselves naturally. Go Nate!

And with that, I think that's all our recent news for now (or at least the highlights). Don't forget to check back later today for our official 7 Month post – hope this keeps you all busy reading in the meantime.

- L.