Lunch stop

Josh and the big kids are off on a little road trip today.  I asked Josh where they were going to stop for lunch and Dash piped in and said "Well, probably Goats."  I thought he was just being silly but then he said "Wait, wait, I mean Sheeps!"

Sheetz. He meant Sheetz, the giant gas station/food stop we frequented on our last trip to the Northeast.  It's as if Dash's brain works in a Cockney rhyming slang.  Man, I love this kid.

Pizza smell

Josh loves nothing more than the smell of the pizza dough rising and baking at the Mellow Mushroom close to our house.  Whether on purpose or just by fact of their ventilation system, if you are on the street by the restaurant, the smell comes wafting out.  When we drive by, Josh always rolls down his window to get a whiff and the kids now love to do the same.  Today we walked from our house up to the area with Mellow Mushroom so they could all stand there and sniff as long as they wanted.

Sitting up in bed

Turns out, it's really really hard to sleep when you are trying out your new skill of sitting yourself up in bed.

Business travel

I had to travel for work this week and was gone for two new (very long, just ask Josh) nights.  My flight home on Tuesday should have arrived in time for me to pick up Dash at school but due to snow in Detroit, I arrived just late enough that our nanny had to get Dash instead. I made it back to my house just before they arrived back from school, so when they pulled into the garage, I came out to meet them.  Our nanny said that Dash was initially really disappointed I hadn't picked him up at school but he was really brave and pulled himself together.  His giant grin when I came into the garage was priceless.  As was his comment later that night when he told me "Mommy, when you came out that door, it made my heart explode."  My boy is so sweet.  He makes MY heart explode, too. 

Snow in NC

We don't get a lot of snowstorms in North Carolina so when it starts falling, it's magical to watch as these 3 found last week.

Good kids

I had to take Max to the doctor yesterday afternoon with little warning when his cold seemed to be getting rapidly worse.  Since there was no real time to plan, I had to take the big kids along, too.   I try as hard as I can to avoid taking extra kids to the doctor, especially in the winter, because I'm paranoid that we'll pick up some new bug while we're there.  But this time, everyone had to come along.  I'm glad we went in because poor Max has a double ear infection and most likely RSV causing the cold-like symptoms.

As Max was getting examined, Dash and Ella were doing what I thought was a pretty good job of giving the doctor space to work (although we did have to have a conversation about them getting down off the examination table at one point), and talking little enough that the doctor could have a conversation with me (Cohen kids are big talkers).   At one point, Dash pointed out that he had a skeleton on his shirt and that he thought the doctor should like his shirt because "You know, skeletons are IN our bodies!  And you are interested in bodies!"

As we were leaving, the doctor (not our usual one, so someone who doesn't know my kids very well) smiled and said "Your kids get the cute award today.  They are so well-behaved and everything they say is cute."

My mama heart swelled five sizes with that comment.  They are good kids and I try never to forget it.

The bookshelf clearing phase

I was talking to a friend this morning who just had her third child a few months ago, and she remarked that she was surprised at how much she is loving all the milestones her new baby is reaching.  She said she expected to be more blase about them this time around but was finding them to be as exciting and enchanting as with her first and second babies.

I totally agree.  I love watching Max develop, in some ways maybe even more than the first time with Ella, since I'm less worried and more certain that he will do everything in his own time.

And I love being surprised by the little things he does that are exactly like his big sis and bro.

Exhibit A:  The bookshelf clearing phase.  This bookshelf of board books has lived in all 3 of our nurseries, and right about this age, all three of the babies enjoyed a phase of regularly clearing the shelves off with their mighty grip and throw maneuver.