Active girls

Maggie has a little better control over her head and neck so we tried her in the Bumbo chair recently. She sat by herself for a full minute or two before she slumped over in her seat. We'll try her again, and Stella the first time, in another week or two.

Maggie and Stella were both pretty crabby all last week (fun fun) but they've been better this week. For part of each day they've been checking each other out in the co-sleeper.

Hi-yah! It seems that Stella is the ninja of the family...

The girls LOVE their taggie blankets that Mrs. Orsillo made for them. They laid in their crib mesmerized by them earlier this week. Thank you!!

Zoo trip

The five of us trekked down to the National Zoo again on Sunday. It was still crazy hot but Will got to see all of his favorites and the girls continued their tradition of being fed on a bench in the zoo - near the colobus monkeys this time.

Will and Patrick got to see their buddies in the Reptile House. Will likes watching this veiled chameleon because he's always right by the glass and Will can watch his eyes rotating all over the place. For whatever reason, Will decided this time that he didn't like the big snakes. He kept turning Patrick's face away from them and saying "Will no like this guy."

To keep things interesting (beyond taking the family of five in 100 degree heat), the only parking lot with space was at the bottom of this ramp with at least a dozen stairs. Maggie, Stella and the double-stroller seemed to handle it better than Will did...

Feet and heat

Developmentally right on cue, the girls are digging their feet. For the past week or so they have been holding on to their feet, playing with things within reach, and rolling over in their co-sleeper.

Here's Stella...

And Maggie...

It's been 99 degrees (115 heat index) for the past two days so it's been miserable. We finally let Will out around 8 PM to take a dip in his pool - it was still 90 degrees.

Patrick challenged the heat today to mock an NFL lock-out press conference (the NFL Player's Association headquarters is next to Patrick's office). Chris Mortensen from ESPN has been broadcasting from the same spot and the heads of the rival NFL factions have both been giving statements in front of this tree for two weeks. Pay attention the next time you're watching SportsCenter...

Will's wild kingdom

Bill took Will to his friend Sofia's third birthday party this weekend while Patrick and Patti were learning the ropes at Will's nursery school. The party was at a local petting zoo and although Will usually stays away from animals, he really loved the farm.

Will fed the goats by hand and he liked the kid (goat) that followed him everywhere.

He petted a bunny that was seemingly bigger than him.

He took a hayride with Pop, and then talked about it over and over and over again at home.

Will posed for this picture and now that he sees it, he gets so scared. He throws up his hands and says "no dada, no dada" until we make it go away. Pretty funny...

And Will got his fill of pizza, juice and fresh fruit and veggies from the farm.

The week in review

Stella and Maggie have taken turns being cranky this week around dinner time. They're still pretty happy girls but it would be nice to eat once in a while. Will has been a pretty good boy this week, except for some nasty streaks now and then. He also used the potty once a day for five days in a row!

Maggie and Stella had their four-month check-in today and they're both doing great. Maggie is half an ounce under 11 pounds and Stella is half an ounce under 10 pounds. Both are nearly 24 inches long now. And they have four girly band-aids between them thanks to today's shots.

We went to the National Zoo last Sunday before a great pizza lunch at Two Amy's. It was HOT but Stella and the rest of us loved the misters in the zoo.

The girls are more and more attentive, smiley, and laughing these days. They love seeing familiar faces, especially Mama's.

Will is becoming quite the big boy. He used the potty to go pee once a day for five days in a row and then again today. He's been using his booster seat at the table for a few days now, and he's talking up a storm.

Check out our tomatoes and zucchinis! The tomatoes and beans are at least eight feet tall now.

Where the magic happens

Maggie and Stella have taken a great interest in crying whenever they've gone a few minutes without being held. That makes doing just about anything challenging, including posting here.


Will, on the other hand, has been pretty good this week. He finally started saying "red" (instead of "stop"), he began saying "teamwork" and he loves saying it as he helps bring us diapers and things for the girls, he's perfected the art of catching fireflies without squishing them (usually), and he has started using the potty to go pee.


On Tuesday night, Will asked to go pee on the big potty and after a book or two, he got it done. Later that night he asked again and made it happen. Same thing on Wednesday morning and once on Thursday. So while he's not doing it all the time, and while he hasn't asked to go poop yet, every time is a step in the right direction.