rice on the side, please

last post i griped about the new blogger dashboard... nothing i did seemed to make it change back. but sometime, somehow, it DID revert and now i'm oh-so-pleased. it's the little things, ya know?

anyway, we've been keeping busy in our cyber-absence:

kelvin found a curious george treasure hunt game for the kids. yes, they've got daddy wrapped around their sweet little fingers! they had a blast with it, and it's going to be great for teaching them to take turns and follow instructions. (and there goes mommy, taking the fun out of the game, hahahaha!)

remington didn't get to play, but he did get snuggles with daddy after cole and madison were in bed. i had to laugh because he looked so itty-bitty sitting there.

oh, and then the grin-a-thon started!

i think he was mid-coo during this one... and it still makes me laugh when i see it! his eyes are always so bright, sometimes i feel my breath catch. if you're a parent, you know the feeling... :)

we love bubbles here. goodness knows this little guy's been making his share lately... it's like a tiny, human bubble-machine. (sort of)

all by his big-boy self on the loveseat! his latest thing is sticking his feet up in the air and just staring at them. makes me really wonder what's going through his sweet, tiny noggin.

auntie sarah introduced him to hair "pretties" last week- they sure caught his eye! poor little baby was the ONLY guy at the bridal shop, which happened to be positively swarming that particular evening. crazy-busy for a small-town store, that's for sure. he was a trooper, though, and got plenty of attention.

we're getting serious about potty-training.

we've had a small bit of resistance, but nothing so bad that the promise of a gummy bear for a job well-done can't fix. let's see- today's stats, as of noon: two potties, two gummy bears, and if you'll excuse me for JUST a moment, the first accident (of the day). she's learning and i've found that unlike cole, who used the regular toilet straightaway and needed one of us to be with him from start to finish, madi prefers the potty chair and her privacy. whatever works- just so long as she gets trained! i think she's doing splendidly for her first few "serious" days :)

my first attempt at homemade pudding. i wanted to make chocolate, but that means NO egg whites and i though separating a bunch of eggs would be too much work. now that i've done vanilla pudding with whole eggs, i'm thinking that getting the right cooking temp for any pudding with egg whites is slightly more difficult that separating eggs. it tastes yummy, but there are little bits of cooked egg white because apparently, the heat was a tad on the high side. but still- for a first attempt, i'm happy with it! and the kids love it, so i'm calling it a success.

remington's first time in the highchair! poor baby gets banished to the floor or his carseat when i'm working in the kitchen (for safety reasons, i almost never put him in the moby when i'm in the kitchen. i'm a klutz and the moby isn't flame- or sharp-object-proof.), and he usually protests. this time he was at my level and was a bit more satisfied.

i was snapping a photo of his little legs and feet up in the air but the look on his face in the background is too funny- totally makes the shot! anyway, he's got a little more growing to do before he's able to really utilize the highchair. he'd better hurry, because i'm already getting his "big boy" menu planned out...

sunday-morning snuggles!

remi and curious george are roughly the same size...

crabby much? ;)

brothers!

cole wanted to hold his brother "like mommy and daddy do's".

madi in her sunday get-up- i found the skirt at goodwill; it was an old navy piece, size 5, but with a few strategic tucks around the waistband, she can wear it now AND when she's actually in a size 5.

sharing secrets with auntie sarah; wonder what she told him?

here's our rice! it's not on the side, but it IS finely ground and stored in a container, ready to be cooked up for remington's first cereal. i used brown rice (because it's a whole grain, therefore not refined and full of starch) and stuck it on our coffee grinder on the "espresso" setting. when our little guy is ready for his first bites, i'll mix one part ground rice with eight parts filtered water, cook it on the stovetop for 10-ish minutes, let it cool a little, thin as needed and let him devour it! or cry and spit it out, whatever. either way, it's wholesome, SUPER cheap and easy to make. and i can even make a little extra to put in the fridge so all we have to do is reheat and thin it out. remington will be four months next monday, so it won't be long before he gets his first taste :)