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I’m a little late, once again, for another letter to Cullen. Cullen was 8 months old on the 22nd. (more…)

Something that makes me happy: Planning and thinking about future vacations makes me happy!

Something I’m thinking: We had a great weekend, but I’m quite tired after two late nights. I should be going to bed…

Something I’m hoping: I’m hoping to get Cullen’s 8-month letter posted soon…

Something happening around the house: We had our first games night since Cullen was born! We had a great time and hope to have another one before too long.

Something I’m reading: If anything, I read a little of Mockingjay.

Something I’m watching: Getting ready to watch tonight’s Amazing Race premiere.

Something I’m playing: Yay, I played more games this week! In addition to playing Carcassonne on the iPhone, I started playing Angry Birds. Since we had games night, I was also able to play some real games, too. I played Small World, Telestrations, Die Mauer, and Alhambra.

Something tasty: Well…last night at games night, we did our usual thing and ordered pizza. It all smelled so tasty!! I was strong, though, and I didn’t give in…until today at lunch when we had an entire pizza and nothing else interesting for lunch. I thought that I had been planning to reintroduce dairy within the next month, why not? First, it wasn’t as tasty as I had dreamed it would be. And then 2-3 feedings later, Cullen spit up a considerable amount. Coincidence? Hard to say.

Something Maddie is doing (31 months old): We attempted Candy Land sometime recently, and it didn’t go well at all! She was too interested in matching the color of the pieces to the colors on the card and didn’t care about the board at all. We “played” again today, and we made some progress. We didn’t make it through an entire game, but I actually managed to get her to move pieces on the board and take turns. It took considerable effort to keep her focused, though!

Something Cullen is doing (36 weeks old): Poor little dude was diagnosed with an ear infection on Tuesday. I felt like I should have known, but he never ran a fever! It’s no wonder we had a few terrible nights. We were just about to start him on the regular antibiotic, but now we’ll do that after he finishes his antibiotic for the ear infection. Little boy is interested in pulling up, climbing, and crawling anywhere we let him. He may be waving (seems to be at times), and today I think he was trying to give me big open mouth kisses. He thinks it’s hilarious when I cover his face in kisses. He’s such a sweet boy.

Something I am struggling with: The usual.

Something I’m doing towards my goals: I discovered that one of my goals was to replace the kitchen sink…and we did that back in March. I just need to mark it off. Woohoo!

Something I learned: I think this might have been in the previous week, but I learned that Cullen needs a new sun hat. Turns out that his head is a bit larger than it was back in April. Who knew.

Something I’m looking forward to: Dinner with friends, book club, and a photo session with Catherine!

Something random: Telestrations can produce a lot of random stuff.

Something captured: This was one of my favorite results in Telestrations last night – “seedless grapes” turned into “peeing on an electric fence.”

Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey

His 8-month letter will be posted “soon.”

Something that makes me happy: Managing to play some extra games this week.

Something I’m thinking: I’ve been thinking about getting started on the year’s photobook (well, volume 1 from January to June). I’ve been unable to get started, despite my good intentions.

Something I’m hoping: I’m hoping the mood of my kiddos improves soon. They have been super cranky this afternoon and evening. Fortunately, they are both in bed now (but for how long?). Cullen is getting over a cold, and we are worried Maddie is coming down with it now.

Something happening around the house: My parents came for a brief visit on their way back from their huge vacation (transatlantic cruise).

Something I’m reading: I read a teeny amount of Mockingjay.

Something I’m watching: I went to see Eat, Pray, Love. I enjoyed it, but I see why the critics gave it bad reviews. Mostly, I enjoyed having a girls’ night out!

Something I’m playing: We bought the Alchemy expansion for Dominion and have had a chance to play several nights this week. We even played with friends on Friday night. We’re still playing lots of Carcassonne on the iPhone.

Something tasty: I had dinner at Lucky 32 this week as a birthday treat.

Something Maddie is doing (30 months old): Maddie went to the dentist for the first time. We are doing fine with her home care, but she has enamel hypoplasia. This means that she has a lack of enamel on her baby teeth. We are hoping that she won’t have the same problem with her permanent teeth. This is often genetic and can be due to illness/fever in the mother during pregnancy. I can’t remember whether I had a fever with Maddie, though I do know I was sick a few times. I know I had a fever or two with Cullen.

Something Cullen is doing (35 weeks old): Cullen is getting around with his army crawl. He goes all around the house quite quickly. Cullen isn’t quite as restrained as Maddie was at his age. We haven’t gated off the kitchen or blockaded the living room with furniture. He’s pulling up onto the activity table, baby piano, Maddie’s chair, and ottoman quite a bit. He’s also starting to climb over things (like me when I was playing with him on the floor). He still says “dada” frequently and may be adding a few other sounds to his repertoire. He sounded like he was saying, “mama” earlier today. He’s been sick for the majority of the week. He has a very runny nose and trouble breathing at night. Our nights have been very rough.

Something I am struggling with: I’ve been exhausted this week. This is due to not getting much sleep at night (with Cullen screaming quite a bit) and catching Cullen’s cold.

Something I’m looking forward to: Our return to games night!

Something captured: The kiddos were actually playing together this morning. Maddie and Cullen were army crawling all around the house.

Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey

What? It’s not Sunday again? How odd.

Something that makes me happy: Playing lots and lots of games.

Something I’m thinking: I’m thinking about some of the games I played this weekend. We played some great ones.

Something I’m hoping: I hope to never miss another TBGT. I’m so glad that we decided to go!

Something happening around the house: We stayed in a hotel across town for the weekend so we could attend That Board Gaming Thing. Some of the moments in the hotel weren’t stellar with the kiddos, but the gaming was fabulous. I have really missed the gaming community.

Something I’m reading: Nothing this week, aside from a few articles in parenting magazines.

Something I’m watching: Our shows are starting back up this week – woohoo! I guess that means it’s about time for a Fall Television post.

Something I’m playing: I played a bunch of new-to-me board games: Agricola, Attika, Blue Moon City, Change Horses, Dominion: Alchemy (expansion), Dominion: Prosperity (expansion), Fresco, Lemming Mafia, Macao, Ra: The Dice Game, Small World, Telestrations, Valdora, Who’s the Ass?, and Word on the Street.

Something tasty: Birthday brownie (dairy free). Maddie insisted on frosting and sprinkles. When Gabe asked Maddie if she was going to sing “happy birthday” to me, she said, “but we don’t have cake.” Dairy free cake is hard to come by, so Gabe made brownies. YUMMY brownies.

Something Maddie is doing (30 months old): I think that 3 days in a hotel were a bit much for Maddie, especially since the kids spent so much time in the hotel. Getting both kids to bed and keeping them asleep while all in the same room was a challenge. Lately, we’re just amazed with her ability to communicate and reason (and remember things!!!). She’s definitely growing up fast.

Something Cullen is doing (34 weeks old): Little dude is quite adorable these days! He is still army crawling (and fast). He doesn’t like it when we leave the room or his sight. He pulled up once on Sunday night on the ottoman. He was only on his feet briefly and was quite curious about something on the table. We tried to get him to do it again, but he moved onto something else.

Something I am struggling with: Juggling all the things I need and want to do.

Something I’m doing towards my goals: One of my goals is to attend a board game convention outside of NC…I have renewed interest in that after this weekend’s festivities. I hope to be able to do it when the kids are a little bit older.

Something I learned: I learned how to play all the board games I listed above!

Something I’m looking forward to: A birthday dinner/movie, dinner/games with friends, the Life & Science museum, visiting with my parents, and a dinner/play date. Whew.

Something random: I put a washcloth shark puppet in time out this evening at bath time.

Something captured: One of the cakes from TBGT this weekend. Do I really have to wait another year to attend again?

Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey

So, it’s not Sunday. Again. Oh well.

Something that makes me happy: Seeing things through my kids’ eyes.

Something I’m hoping: I hope that things go well this weekend with That Board Gaming Thing. I’m not sure how everything is going to work logistically with the kiddos.

Something happening around the house: Ants, again. We had pest control come out, but I see a few tonight, so I’m not sure that they did any good.

Something I’m reading: I started reading Mockingjay, but I haven’t gotten too far yet. I haven’t had much time to read (what else is new?).

Something I’m watching: We are trying to watch Food, Inc. tonight. It has some interesting things so far…

Something I’m playing: More Carcassonne on the iPhone, but I hope to have better answers after this coming weekend!

Something tasty: Peanut butter treats – yum! Thanks, Shannon!

Something Maddie is doing (30 months old): Daddy taught her how to draw smiley faces this weekend. I was surprised when she was drawing them earlier today. They aren’t all smiley, but she’s good at drawing the circle and then drawing the eyes and mouth. Cute. She was excited to visit the alpaca farm twice this weekend. She has talked about them quite a bit since our visit. She also attended her first real concert – a bluegrass concert in the mountains. She loved dancing with her best friend, Keira. Maddie does not stop talking. She was annoyed this weekend when her baby brother was crying non-stop in the car. That was a lot of fun when both of them were screaming.

Something Cullen is doing (33 weeks old): I thought that Cullen was getting better in the car, but he still hates it as much as ever. We went to the mountains this weekend, and Cullen cried for the majority of the time we spent in the car. He does decently with the daily commute, so maybe he just gets tired of it after more than 15 minutes or so. I thought we’d be over this by now. We are considering swapping out the infant carrier for the bigger rear facing seat in the hopes that he will be more comfortable. He and Maddie took turns screaming in the car, and at night they took turns waking each other up with the screaming. He is vocalizing more and more and practicing his “Dada” sounds. He will often say, “dada” back to me when prompted. Super cute!

Something I am struggling with: I’m often feeling overwhelmed these past couple weeks.

Something I’m looking forward to: My return to That Board Gaming Thing after missing it for the past couple of years.

Something captured: Maddie was so excited to see the alpacas!

Others writing The Sunday Somethings: Audrey

The months where I have to write a letter to Maddie and a letter to Cullen are a little rough! It’s challenging to get them both done on time, and this time I missed the “deadlines.” Oh well, as long as I write the letter on or around the date, then I’m happy. Here’s the latest letter to Cullen. I wrote it on the day after his 7-month “birthday,” but I’ve been struggling to keep up with the photos. (more…)