February 2011 Snapshot

What are we...
Reading:
Cody: One of Ralph McInerny's Notre Dame mysteries, plus The Virtue Driven Life.
Erin: After seeing the brilliant movie, I picked up the 7th Harry Potter book again to refresh myself on all the things the movie left out and to get ready for the last movie coming out this summer.
Sean: Little Blue Truck and 15 Animals (by Sandra Boynton, whom we love).  I should note that he loves reading in his tent outside most days, and cannot go into the tent without at least 2 books and an adult to read them to him.
James: Seems to enjoy listening to us read, but is more interesting in eating the pages, which greatly stresses out Sean.

Eating/Cooking:
Cody and Erin: Tonight, a chicken and brocolli calzone, using the Publix pizza dough for the first time.
Sean: Has been gobbling up his chicken and veggies lately at dinner.  Requests to drink "apple tea" most afternoons, and has a newfound love for Yo Baby every day at lunch when he sees his brother eating one. Also, he was so so so cute when he asked his GG to take him to "Gunkin' Gonuts" (after he saw a commercial--darn marketing!) that she complied, and he now asks to do that nearly every day.
James: I am most proud of this category.  Jamesie has had some issues gaining weight lately.  We just could not break the 20-lb mark, and as he got taller and taller and older and older, his weight percentile dropped-- a lot.  At his 9-mo appointment he was 95th% in height, and 25th in weight.  Nothing drives a mother into high gear like seeing her baby's weight percentile drop.  So, young James has been enjoying rotisserie chicken, his grandmother's beef brisket (both in the blender), whole milk yogurt, cheese, toast (with a lot of butter), at least an avocado a day, and, as the doctor instructed me, anything he'll eat.  I am a mother on a mission, armed with protein.  He completely gave up breastfeeding a few weeks ago, and I don't feel too too bad since he's not really interested in a bottle either.  His liquid feedings are usually a battle, but he is into solids, so i'm pushing protein, calcium and fat, big time.  AND...... one month after his 9 mo appointment he weighed a staggering 20 lbs, 14 oz.  YEA Jamesie!!!  He is supposed to gain a pound a month between 9 and 12 months, and we are off to a great start (he was 19lb 1 oz at the 9-mo). 

Talking About:
Cody and Erin: a far-off dream of opening Groeber & Groeber Law Office one day.  One day.  We're also talking about the luxury of owning a mini-van-- one day.
Sean: Every morning he asks the following:  "Its Wednesday?"  "What we doing today?  What we doing after breakfast?  What we doing after playing? What we doing after lunch? What we doing after nap?  What we doing after dinner?  Where are we going today?  Who is here today?"  Also, as many children go through a "why" phase, Sean's is a "what for" phase: "What's this?" "A wine opener."  "What's a wine opener for?", or "what's a warthog for?" "what's mommy's sweater for?" "what's the strings on mommy's shoes for?" "What's a crayon for?" "what's Jamesie's shoes for?" etc, etc, all -day-long. 
James:  FIRST WORD THIS WEEK!.... drumroll........a-ball! We are so proud.  Cody also taught him "shoe" this morning, and his Ma-Ma is pretty clear when I come into the room.  So sweet. 

Thankful For:
Erin: Work. (I'm still home full time, but do a little bit of work for my old boss, from home.  Even just a few hours a weeks helps out tremendously, and I recently discovered, after several months of being unsure, that I do like being a lawyer still).
Cody: tackle-time with Sean at night, reading stories at night, telling Sean stories about Jesus at night, and giving Jamesie his early morning bottle the last few days.  Oh, and after staying home to take care of sick mom and Jamesie two days last week, I am confident that Cody is thankgful that he works full time, outside the home. 
Sean: Sidewalk chalk, baseballs, tennis balls, footballs, soccer balls and softballs.
James: A Ball.

Milestones/Accomplishments:
Erin: I made my first appearance in the South Carolina Supreme Court this month. A case I have been working on since I got out of law school made its way up there, and I got to go help Peter argue.  I didn't acutally argue at all, but I consider the brief in front of the Justices my seminal piece of work in my short full-time lawyering career, and I was very proud of it.  It was an awesome experience, one of the reasons I can say I still like being a lawyer.  We don't find out the Court's ruling for months, but I thought the oral arguments went very well.
Cody: Was assigned a very high-profile case at work the other day.  Of course I'm always proud of him.
Sean: I have four words for this little genius: My-baby-can-read.  Sean has known his letters and their sounds for months, but just this week he really got the hang of putting the letters together (I want to recommend Leap Frog's Letter Factory and Word Factory DVDs--amazing). The first words he strung together? C-O-D-Y...c-o-d-y, co-da-ee, it says Cody!  M-O-M, m-o-m, maahhh-m maahhhhm, it says Mom! He can also do CAT and BALL. 
James:  Breaking the 20-lb barrier and saying his first word! We are movin and groovin over here!  Except the movin' part--still no crawling or scooting or pulling up yet.

That's all for now, enjoy the update!

The boys in their first fort-- I have a feeling there will be many more of these in the futre.

Two brothers reading.