Oh, no! Not again!

That's Baby Wily's incredulous look. Did Daddy really bust his other Achilles tendon?

Do it yourself day

On Friday, Eric declared the day 'Do it yourself' which pretty much meant Toddler Jeneric got to make a few more decisions than normal, including:

Dressing Baby Wily:


and putting in her own hair clip:

With a moo moo here

Toddler Jeneric really likes cows and her parents are really grateful for digital cameras. Yesterday's farm visit resulted in a very thorough toddler-directed cow photo shoot. Toddler Jeneric's best efforts (not bad for a 2-year old):





(Not pictured: Lucy, the cow who was milked while we watched.)

Interlude

A keen Toddler Jeneric observation:
Cantaloupe skin feels like tree bark.

Random Wednesday

Some cute pictures for the middle of the week...

Running with the sap

The Wily Jeneric family had an outing to a local nature center where we learned how to make maple syrup. Below, we present our unorthodox 6-step program.

Step 1: Observe some turtles (and snakes - but we were too slow to get pictures of that).


Step 2. Take a picture of the turtle (a box turtle, perhaps?).


Step 3. Find a grove of maple trees and tap them.


Step 4. In a giant cauldron, boil the sap down, down, down. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.


Step 5. Pour the syrup into trays to make candy.


Step 6. Eat some candy (sorry, no photos). Toddler Jeneric declared the maple candy good, but still only got one piece!

Caption this! Friday

Photo A.


Photo B.

Weave, wove, woved

Verb tense is a tricky business - just ask Toddler Jeneric (I eated 'sert, Mama!). But don't disturb the master as she weaves...

Look Ma! No pants!

The fashion-sense of a 2-year-old. No worse than many A-list celebrities.




(We're inching our way towards potty training, hence the lack of pants.)

Gratuitous Baby Wily picture - fully clothed!

Caption this! Friday

Happy Friday the 13th! Now get to work - it's Caption This! Friday, the grab-bag edition.

Photo A. How would Toddler Jeneric caption this photo?


Photo B. How would you caption this photo?

(in case it isn't clear, that's a booklet in Toddler Jeneric's hands)

Interlude

Overheard on the way back from Canada:

Eric: Toddler Jeneric, what does safety mean?
TJ: It mean holding hands in parking 'ot.

And we're back!

From a lovely trip to Canada. Toddler Jeneric was a bit sad to leave a house that had a playground in the backyard, a big dog and 2 additional Wii-playing adults.


Jenni (holding a Wii remote), Toddler Jeneric, Baby Wily, Ninja Baby and his dad.

Thanks for the hospitality, Ninja family!

Let's get out of here!

In fact, let's leave the country! Toddler Jeneric rounded up the family, packed the car and directed us to Ninja Baby's house. She then proceeded to do a lot of leaving...

Leaving this picture...


And that picture...


Oh, there she is!

Caption this! Friday

Photo A


Photo B

Interlude

Alternatively titled: How Daddy is not like former Illinois Governor Blagojevich

Today, Toddler Jeneric attempted to 'negotiate' her nap, offering to trade Eric 1 nap for the consumption of peas and green beans. Sadly for Toddler Jeneric, Eric is beyond reproach and could not be bribed.

To Mystery Politico, who thinks the health of our family would improve if we just got some sleep: Blogger has a scheduling feature. If we're up at midnight, it's because someone has woken us from our slumber.

The domino effect

1. A chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence (courtesy of Wikipedia).
2. Life with 2 children under the age of 3.

Oh yes, indeed. Who spiked a fever Monday night? Why Toddler Jeneric, of course!



Too sick to read? Oh, my.


Well, not too sick to read to Baby Wily.


Ah, Tylenol. Brings down the fever and returns our Toddler Jeneric, complete with sunglasses on her head (just like Mama).

Interlude

Alternatively titled: I would never flush the cat.

The place: our downstairs bathroom, where the flusher valve is a tad sticky on occasion.
The players: Jenni and Toddler Jeneric.
The scene: Jenni has removed the tank cover on the toilet to un-stick the flusher valve. She has just finished scolding Lady Argon (the cat) for picking at the carpet.

Toddler Jeneric enters and screams at the top of her shrill, toddler lungs: "Noooo! Mama! Don't flush Lady Argon!"
Jenni (aka Mama) jumps 36 feet into the air and begins to reassure Toddler Jeneric that she would never flush the cat (it took all her strength not to say because the cat wouldn't fit in the toilet).
Enter Eric, with a cameo. He quickly reunites Toddler Jeneric with her beloved Lady Argon who has taken up residence on the scratching post.

You finish the scene: Is Toddler Jeneric scarred for life? Will she ever trust Mama with the cat again?

Yeah, it's hot, hot, hot

A study we read a few years back indicated that about 80% of mothers are accurate in detecting a fever in her child with touch alone.

Jenni was spot-on this weekend with Baby Wily. She detected a hint of fever on Saturday (actual temperature: 99.4), continued fever Sunday morning (actual temperature: 100.1) and a full-on, real-deal fever Sunday evening (actual temperature: 103.1).

The real hero of the weekend? Dad, who bravely took rectal temperatures without hesitating, flinching, or complaining.

Needless to say, we did not get time to down and upload photos, let alone write the witty posts you've come to expect. Fingers crossed for better fun on Wednesday.

(ps What a crummy way to spend your 5-month birthday!)