The Power of Suggestion

I hear my blog fans (that's you, Patty and Debster!) want a new post. Here you go!

Last week Bryan got Peter dressed in brown pants and a light blue polo shirt and then came downstairs himself dressed in brown pants and a light blue polo shirt. If you look closely at this picture you can tell Peter is embarrassed. Bryan used to do this to me all the time when we worked together!

I recently bought Jill a new board book children's Bible and a small book called "God, I Need to Talk to You About Whining"--I can't wait to delve into that one with her! Anyway, the Bible has a picture of Jesus on the front and Jill was digging through the toybox looking for it saying, "I need Jesus. I need Jesus. Oh, I found Jesus!" Jill also has a CD from church called "Jesus Lullabies" that she likes to dance to. Here she is twirling in her tu-tu.

Peter was baptized on Sunday and we had a little party that afternoon to celebrate with family and friends. On Saturday we ran tons of errands to prepare. Our last stop was Shaws in Salem for beer. Bryan said, "I'll just run in. You stay here with the kids." After three hours of shopping with two tired kids, I nearly pounded on the glass as I watched him walk away, "Noooo! Don't leave me here!" Apparently Jill felt the same way. Peter started to fuss and cry and Jill lit into him. "Peter. Stop." Then she bellowed, "TIIIIIIMMMMME OUT!" I hid my laughter and stuck my head in the backseat to sing songs and break it up.

We had a great day on Sunday. The service was very nice and it was the first time we have had Jill out of the nursery during church. She held my hands and jumped up and down to the music. Peter was very good, too, though he filled his diaper while we were on the altar with the other families. I think I blushed bright red when I realized that smell was coming from my child.

It was a lovely afternoon at home, too. So many friends came to visit us and meet Peter. Unfortunately I didn't think to pull out the camera until very late in the game so I missed the chance to get pictures of some of the very best looking people (Mom, Aunt Donna, Aunt Janet, Beck, Yaka and the girls, etc.) but here are the shots I did get of the (still attractive) gang.

During the party Jill played with Jacqui and Anna in her room for a really long time. At one point I stuck my head in to see how the girls were doing and an exasperated Jacqui said, "Auntie Ronni, Jill just keeps making me read this same book over and over!" I feel your pain, Jacq. It's nice now that Jacqui is getting old enough to do some minor supervision of Jill.

And my favorite story from Peter's party... Apparently Jill was eating candy corn in the dining room. My friend Jenn smartly asked, "Does your mom know you're eating that?" So Jill trudged over to me with a mouthful and hopeful look. I asked, "What are you eating?" Jill answered, "I have one more?" I said, "Come show me what you're eating." Jill took my hand and led me to the candy dish which I had thought was out of her reach. I said, "OK, you can have one more." She jammed her hand into the bowl and pulled out a handful. I wrestled the candy corn out of her grip but I had to respect the attempt.

Aside from the party this is what has been going on... Peter is now blowing raspberries. He is so cute smiling and blowing spitty bubbles. If you say "Aaaa bababa" and blow a raspberry, he'll blow one back. His attempts at tummy time are pathetic. He lays on his face crying until I pick him up fearing he will snuff himself out. Bath time he loves. He smiles and coos as I pour the warm water over his belly and chest, and afterward his hair is so clean and fuzzy!

Jill has had an off-and-on cold this week. One day she's under the weather, the next she's fine. On Monday she woke in the night acting a little strange and with a croupy cough. I was really worried about her but Bryan calmed me down. On Tuesday morning I was determined to get some warm liquid in her to loosen things up so I made her a cup of hot chocolate. I sat her on my lap and spooned the drink into her mouth while rocking Peter in his bouncy seat with my toe. Jill would only drink the hot chocolate if she could spoon some into my mouth, too, so I drank quite a bit of her germ soup. Jill wasn't very good at controlling the spoon so we both ended up covered in hot chocolate. Jill said, "Mummy, that's a big mistake!" like the Count does in her current favorite episode of Sesame St. Later that day Jill said, "I need hot chocolate!" I said, "Oh, you want more hot chocolate?" She replied, "No, I don't like hot."

Here is Peter in his new cold weather gear.

That's all the news that's fit to print for now. We are off to Columbus tomorrow morning and looking forward to a long visit with Bryan's family. Go Bucks!