.. and then I painted his nails.

Ivan: Why is it that you go to the store for Baby Tylenol, and come home with hair clips, candy, a tabletop fountain, and body wash?

Me: You're such a boy.

Yes we can.

Listen up.

Ella's been having a hard time hearing. The ear infection has been messing her up, and I've found myself raising my voice to pretty insane levels just to get her to hear me. (Don't worry, I already have an appointment to get her hearing checked.)

I asked her to go get me one of Noah's little chew toys so I could wash it off. She nodded her head and disappeared. Five minutes later, I see Noah walking around with the toy in the tray of his walker.

I went into Ella's room and told her to try to listen better, because I actually asked her to bring the toy to me, not give it to Noah.

She just shrugged and said, "I gave it to him to give to you."

Well, hello.

Ever wake up one morning and wonder where the last two months of your life went?

I just did.

Okay, so since our last update, we have accomplished the following:

1. Ella got a double ear infection, and is just now finishing her round of amoxicillin. Today was the first day she didn't gag while taking it, prompting me to bark at her like some high school wrestling coach to "suck it up" and "just do it already."

2. Noah got over the stomach flu, and now poops like a big boy. This may, in fact, be directly proportionate to the amount of big boy food he is now scarfing down, including cheese puffs, noodles, peas, crackers, and lint he finds on the floor.

3. We got a new puppy. We went with the name "Sundae" because she's white on the bottom and has brown on her head (like a hot fudge sundae...?) She's relatively more assertive than Coco, and has chased Coco away from the food more than once, which gives Coco some sort of heart attack, having never even seen another dog in her life. As far as puppies go, Sundae has so far proven to be rather calm and cuddly, we just need to work on the whole "not giving Coco a heart attack from fear" thing.

4. Ivan is doing well. He's taking his blood pressure twice a day, and his medications are all right on schedule. I have to reign him in every now and then from boxing, since the doctor hasn't cleared him for real exercise yet, but he humors me and usually takes it slow.

5. My sister, Beth, is coming out to see us in a couple weeks. She's amazing with kids, loves puppies, and really needs a break right now, so I'm hoping this trip will do her good. We'll hit up Disneyland, maybe shop a little, but mostly just hang out and play with the munchkins.

6. Home improvement. Let's keep this short. Our bathroom's still not done. Next item.

7. Unemployment extended benefits! Thank you King Obama!

okay, so I'll do better at updating here. Promise.

Meanwhile, here's a pic of Sundae: