Who or What is Bobby?

Abby has had this one word for a while that we haven't been able to figure out - "Bobby". She says it all the time, but we haven't figured out what she means by it. We thought it was was "Buddy" for Jake as John and I call him that sometimes, but she'll say it when he's not around or in the wrong context so that's not it. We thought it was Mister Bear, her Polar Bear or even her paci, but those aren't it either.
Well, today I think I finally figured it out...it's Abby! She's saying her name! When she's getting into stuff or is acting silly I often say, "Abby, Abby, Abby"...today after I said this to her, she repeated, "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby". I think she's saying her name!!! She said it a little more pronounced today and I heard "Abby" in there. I know I did. I'm going to keep paying attention to see if this is really it, but I think the mystery has been solved!

The Sneaky Chef

As most of you know, Jake's my picky eater. And since he's still allergic to milk and won't eat meat, he's limited in what he can/will have. Both the kids used to be great eaters, but they've slowly become more picky and now Jake primarily eats
- bananas
- eggs
- quesadillas
- grilled cheese
- mac n cheese
- soy yogurt
- PBJ (with soy nut butter vs. peanut butter)

So, I set out to try and find ways to get other nutrients into his diet. I came across a cookbook called The Sneaky Chef and decided to give it a try. It featured ways to sneak veggies into all his favorites! I checked it out from the library and read the whole thing in about a day. I loved the concept and was eager to try out a few recipes.
I tried the quesadillas first. You sneak sweet potatoes and carrots into the quesadilla. You can't even taste them! Jake loves sweet potatoes actually, but can't stand carrots. Never has. Both kids gobbled up the quesadillas like they were going out of style.
The grilled cheese and mac n cheese also use sweet potatoes and carrots. The kids loved those as well. They don't have anything for PBJ, but I figure that's healthy enough with the soy nut butter. They do have some recipes to add a little more bang to applesauce so I think I'm going to try those next. And possibly the scrambled eggs. Jake loves eggs and with this recipe you add spinach to the eggs. You can't taste the spinach, but it does turn the eggs green so they say serve them on Saint Patty's day or something. My guys won't understand that so I'm hoping they'll get past the color and try them. Since they'll be green, there's a good chance they'll get tossed to the floor!
Anyway, just wanted to pass that info along on the Sneaky Chef. If you have a picky eater...check it out!

I'm slowly becoming a soccer mom

Okay, we took the plunge...we bought a mini van yesterday!!! After we found out we were pregnant, we tried to fit three car seats in my Explorer, but we were 3 inches short of them all fitting! 3 inches!!! We tried taking a seat out and placing the twins in the 3rd row, leaving the new kid in the 2nd row, but now I had no place for my stroller. That wasn't going to work. We tried every which way, but nothing worked. We looked at getting a bigger SUV and were leaning toward a Navigator, but we wouldn't be able to park both cars in the garage (John would have been parking in the street, I would have kept the garage :-). We didn't like that idea either so I bravely said a mini van was the way to go. It would be smaller than an SUV allowing both cars to fit in the garage and we could arrange the seats easily so we could fit 3 car seats, plus it has an amazingly large cargo area. So, we grudgingly set out to find the perfect mini van. A poll of PAMOMs showed the Odyssey and Sienna at the top of the list so we checked those out first. We test drove an Odyssey and I was so disappointed. It had anything and everything I could possibly want...dvd, nav system, voice commands for everything in the car, etc., but IT WAS A MINI VAN!!!!! We continued to look and John found the perfect Odyssey, but we just couldn't get past the fact it was a MINI VAN! We were going to go and purchase the car Monday (last day for a lot of the car sales), but before we did that, I wanted to test drive the Sienna just so we would know what that was like. John stayed with the kids and I went to test drive by myself...it was great!!! I loved it! It didn't have as many extras as the Odyssey, but I liked the inside a TON better. John couldn't believe it - they were essentially the same car. After all the hours he had spent researching and charting Odysseys, I was changing the car on him. The Sienna is a bit more so we couldn't afford the dvd or nav system, but it's still really nice. After I got home he set out to find a better deal on a Sienna. He went to a couple of dealerships to no avail. He'd find something and then in the negotiation process, something would fall apart. I told him the one I test drove that morning was being held for me. He could go there and get that one. After several hours he did, and we now have a brand new car. I really like it, surprisingly. We're going on a little road trip this week so I'll get to put it to the test and see how it does. John was great during this whole process - if he actually billed out his hours for the research he put in before we bought the car, we wouldn't have been able to afford any type of car. All our money would have gone towards the research!


The kids' first ride in the new van...Jake was a little scared by the automatic doors and cried the first couple of times it happened. But by the end of our errands today he had warmed up to it.


It looks a bit purply here, but it's really a dark blue/gray.



It's going to take some getting used to with the shifter on the dashboard like that.

Where'd it go?

This is Abby's new favorite phrase. She shrugs her hands and asks "Where'd it go?" (I have to try and get a pic of this pose, she looks so cute!). She will do this for everything, her ball, her paci, even daddy. I always asked this (usually in reference to their ball) as a diversion tactic when they were getting into something they shouldn't. They loved to go get their ball so it worked great. Well, Friday, Abby asked the same question back at me and asks it continually now. She'll throw her paci on the ground and ask "Where'd it go?", then go grab it and shove it back in her mouth. Or she'll spot the ball around the corner and ask "Where'd it go?". She doesn't name what she's talking about so you kinda have to guess, but most of the time it's something or someone nearby. So cute!

Daddy's Little Helpers

Both the kids, especially Jake, copy EVERYTHING that John does. And there was no exception last night. Our door knob on the front door had broken and John knew it would be an easy fix so he jumped right on the task as soon as he walked in the door. The kids watched him busy at work and decided they should offer their help. They immediately picked up the tools nearby and started working on the door knob, just like daddy! Fun was had by all fixing the door knob. And it works great now!!!

Girls n' Pigtails

Okay so I thought girls were supposed to like pigtails. Abby has been blessed with a good head of hair. Although it's a little wild at times. She likes to sleep on her head with her butt in the air so when she gets up from naps or in the morning, she looks like a lion with her mane sticking out everywhere. I've tried brushing it, spraying water on it and then brushing it, even hair products...nothing works to control that girls hair. It's frizzies everywhere!
When we go out to places, I always see little girls in pigtails or barrettes with their hair all nice and pretty. My little sweet Abby appears to be the only little girl with the crazy hair!!! So, I thought we should try pigtails too. Well yesterday morning I sat her in the bumbo with ponytail holders and comb in hand. We set out to get two little pigtails in her hair. I brush her hair ONCE...she SCREAMS!!!! The girl is twisting, turning, pulling and tugging at her hair, the comb, anything! I manage to get one in. Time to get the other side done. She's got full blown alligator tears by this point. It takes another five minutes or so to get the second one done. I take a look at my work and realize the pigtails are going in two different directions. I can't have that. Need to redo the first one. Another 5 minutes has passed. Whew! Done with that one. Abby is so unhappy at this point, red little face, tugging at her pigtails. Jake is just working on his puzzle, watching everything happen right in front of him.
I thought she looked so cute...it definitely changed her face...she's turning into a little girl. My baby is disappearing.
Anyway, Abby would have nothing to do with the pigtails and just cried while they were in. She eventually pulled them out and then returned to her normally chipper self. Oh well, at least I have a few pics to prove she did wear them!