The Battle of the Black Pants

The amount of laundry I do in any given week is completely determined by the number of times Luke insists on wearing black pants.  And since that tends to be every single day and he does not own seven pairs of black pants...you do the math.  For whatever reason, he is focused on color more so than just the style.  Most kids love sweatpants of any kind, Luke likes only black sweatpants.  Don't even suggest grey, they are completely and utterly unacceptable.  If fact, he "hates grey!"  Royal blue?  They are not worthy.  Navy blue?  Maybe, but only if there are no clean black pants because the laundry slave is clearly not doing her job.   You would not believe the number of times my little black pants dictator orders his laundry to be done.

I know you are thinking 1 of 2 things right now:

why doesn't she just make him wear other pants?  easier said that done, my friend, easier said than done.  I'll leave it at that.

Or maybe you are thinking, get smart and buy seven pairs of black pants!  Now see, this is where I think the universe is against me.  Or against black pants at least.  I've given a herculean effort towards buying black pants!  They either don't fit or they are the wrong material.  face plant.

I've currently got the favorite pair of black pants with the family seamstress to see if she can work her magic patching up a gigantic hole in the knee.  I need these pants fixed for my sanity.  stat!

My only hope is that I find an article from a medical journal that links black pant wearing with genius level IQ.  Then he can wear them whenever, wherever and however he'd like.

Happy Meal

I'm actually not talking about a kiddie meal from the land of the Golden Arches.  I'm just referring to Corinna by the pet name that her loving big sister has given her, "Happy Meal."  I mean, she is scrumptious and all - maybe that's what inspired this moniker.   It does roll off the tongue easily when using it as a term of endearment, "Come here my little happy meal," or "Aw, look at our sweet happy meal."  A bit more awkward to get out when adding some urgency or disapproval: "Don't touch that happy meal!"  "That wasn't nice, happy meal!"  Like most nicknames, it doesn't have the most flattering of rings to it.  Alas, I've found myself absentmindedly calling her this.      

"Happy Meal" has invaded all things.   Let's take the religious Christmas carol Away in a Manger for example.  And now let's add some of Ade's creativity to it and her version comes out a little like this:

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Happy Meal lay down her sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where she lay,
The little lord Happy Meal asleep on the hay.

So ridiculous but why would you discourage something so cute and harmless?  And I try really hard not to stifle creativity but make no mistake, I am nervous for the nicknames she comes up with for me in the future.   

Sparkly One

Coco has made one complete extra-uterine orbit of the sun!  And Matt and I have survived (with only a few battle wounds) a year of parenting 3 small beings at the same time.  Hooray for all of us!  We had a lovely first birthday party for our tiny tinkerbelle. She flitted and flopped about in her glittery outfit, wooing the crowd left and right.  The theme of the party was sparkle and shine and nothing says fun like a little glitter - which I may be finding in my house for the next eighteen years.  Luke and Adrienne really "helped" assemble the party decor by putting their mark on the glitter filled balloons.  I'm clearly not the only one in the family fond of those itty bitty shiny bits of papery metal.    You would think by now that I would be able to anticipate how tempting a helium tank and confetti could be for the young folks but nope, no I did not anticipate competing with them for party supplies.


So our Coco was the star of the show, per usual and was spoiled, per usual.  She sure is the apple of a lot of eyes.  For the record books, here are some things she is doing these days:

walking, running, climbing stairs
dancing, a lot of dancing
spinning
says: hot, ball, dada, dora, baby
sleeps through the night but is easily awoken from naps (ahem, I wonder how that happens, Adrienne?)
likes playing with the play kitchen and doll house
favorite foods: toast, pasta, bananas, yogurt


We've truly enjoyed Coco's first year (who couldn't?!?!) and can't wait to watch her little personality emerge more and more.