Welcome Simon Liese Marenstein, the newest baby in the club. This riotous redhead was born to Dina and Harry on August 16 and is thriving. Congrats to the new parents and we wish you sleep, sleep and sleep.
We've had yet another wonderful month with all sorts of firsts. The first first is to admit that I will not be receiving any mother of the year awards any time soon. The amount of black eyes and other nefarious bruising has risen drastically this month, and in one sad, sad case was the result of my finger hitting a very small and darting face. Poor Liam has of late taken on the nick-name "Black-eyed Bean" for obvious reasons and Oliver just yesterday fell victim to a bicycle tire pump; yet another age inappropriate toy that mommy and daddy didn't realize would be wielded as a weapon in the new baby on baby struggle for supremacy in the Ivers' house.
Liam surprised us early this month by climbing the entire flight of stairs at Grampa and Gammy Scherer's house in an effort to get to me in a second floor room. Oliver has (unfortunately) also caught on to how much fun stair climbing is and now the boys often seek to escape from their baby cage and race up the stairs at our house. It was really cute and exciting the first few times. Not so much when one decides he's finished half way up the steps and throws himself back into the air. The boys in general have become much more agile- they are speedy and small. When Oliver is in a good mood, he practically stomps around on his hands and knees. Sometimes, he doesn't look up and this occasionally causes him to smash his sweet little head on walls, baby gates, and even the oven. When something gets in his way while he's crawling, he disdainfully throws it aside. He acts as though someone unbelievably daft put the horrible object in his way and he can't wait to see it gone.
Both Oliver and Liam are standing for moments on their own, and each can comfortably cruise around a room. We have had to purchase a "baby cage" to isolate the mischievousness of our boys, and it is the best money I've spent in a long time. (You can see this miraculous device in many of the photos shown.) Sometimes when Chris and I are together and decide it's a good time to "free range" the boys, we are quickly shocked at how two eleven month old, twenty pound, innocent looking children can terrorize a household so quickly. Last week, within moments of a free-range attempt, one had toppled and broken a floor lamp and one was knee deep in the hammock on the back porch. Sometimes they both crawl right to the screen door, stand up, and with their hands pounding on the screen above their heads, yell loudly. Presumably they wish to be rescued from this stifling environment.
We also had many adventures this month including a fun visit from Aunt Nancy, who rocks. When she comes to visit, she kicks Chris and me out of the house to hang with the babies.
We took a trip to the Conesus Lake Cottage to visit with Chris, Cat and Logan Brent and also Marta and her two little ones. So many small children! And if I may, I will take one moment to whine about how much gear one must haul for eleven month old twins: A LOT.
We also had the honor of throwing a baby shower-ish party for our friends Rachel and Tony who are expecting their Lena on Halloween. It was a blast and we even got to see Aunt Lipa who came in from out of town.
In one trip to Buffalo, the boys were able to play with their favorite cousins, Johnny and Andy Scherer. And in another trip to Buffalo, Oliver and Liam were finally able to meet my dear high school friend Leora.
In sad news, stupid library hour started again and I have taken to steeling myself to the agonizing twenty minutes that constitute this absurd club. Why do I go? I don't know. All the other well- quaffed moms sit with their well- behaved youngsters and gently sing the songs and listen to the stories while I work up a sweat dragging my loud and wrestling children into my lap. I've never even listened to a story. The last time, Liam succeeded in escaping my grasp and started poking at a 2-month old who used to be asleep in her car seat. I end up so hot and sweaty by the end I need another shower and certainly a drink.
In other exciting news:
- Chris ran the Oak Tree Conservancy 5K race- his first running race (other than the running portion of the triathlon). I twisted my ankle and had to sit this one out with Scott Giorgis who cheered on Tania running a 1/2 marathon in 8-minute miles. (She's crazy.) Congrats to both of you!
- Happy Birthday to Katie Scherer, Aunt Nancy and "spring chicken" Tania Giorgis.
- I started to teach more Yoga classes this month and am working on making a teen yoga class happen this fall.
- Chris and I celebrated our seven-year anniversary this month! Tia Lu came and watched Oliver and Liam while Chris and I had a nice dinner.
Have a great month!
