I am almost 11 months old!

Hi everyone!  This is Isaac writing.  My mommy has been really busy and tired so I thought I would write an update about me so everyone knows how I am doing!

Here is what I am up to now:

I am crawling FAST.  I have my own special type of crawl, with my left leg straight and my right leg bent at the knee so I look like I can sit down or stand up at any moment, or just keep crawling.  My mommy says I look like I came out of the Jungle Book.  I just think it is best to be ready for whatever I want to do.

Our House

One day Evie wanted to ride her tricycle outside.  I took the opportunity to take some pictures of the house exterior and the church grounds around us.

Here is Evie navigating her trike up the driveway that goes from the church at the top of the hill down to the parsonage.  You can see the side of the parsonage from here.

  

Wild Creation

We used to live in the city.  City living is wonderful for many reasons but one of my favorites:  not too many mosquitoes and insects. Sure, there are bugs in the city but the list of different species of bugs around my house was relatively short and therefore easy to combat.

Now, we do not live in the city.  It is called "the suburbs", but I disagree.  Suburbs are developed communities outside the city limits with just enough space that you don't have to hear or see your neighbor if you don't want to, but it is still a controlled environment so you aren't living in the woods.  We don't live in the suburbs, we live in the "country suburbs".

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes! Isaac Updates

Isaac is 8 months in two days, and his rate of growth is ridiculous!  And we, the parents, are completely thrown off guard because according to previous experience, we did not expect any of this to happen so soon.  Here is a short list of comparisons:  (**This is a LONG post, prepare to sit until your butt goes numb.)

Argh, Matey! We be Pirates!!

While digging around in his stash of belongings at his parents' house, Tim found an old colonial hat that he got in Williamsburg, VA when he was a kid.  Evie adopted it as her pirate hat.  

The other night, I heard a lot of "Arrrghhh, Matey!" and "We're Pirates!!" from the living room.  So I peeked in, with camera in hand. 

These pictures certainly showcase my adorable daughter.  But for me, they are really about my adorable husband, and how far he went to play pretend pirates with Evie after a long, hard day at work.  So raise your pirate sword to Tim Dalton and give a mighty ARGH!!  Shiver Me Timbers, Scalliwag! Ye's the best Buccaneer in all these parts!

Sweetened and Condensed

Lately, I have been watching Evie and have been in wonder at how much she has changed.

Here she is at 18 months.  I had just shown her the rocking chair I picked up at a yard sale.  This was August, 2008.  Such sweetness flowing like a gentle river out of her.

Here she is at 3 and 1/2 years old, June 2010.

Same sweetness, just condensed into intense, dynamic bursts of electric sugar.

I Would Rather Have Another Baby

We have moved and the things we have unpacked are finally outnumbered by the items still in boxes.  I am still, however, trying to locate some extra bathtowels, and cannot seem to find them yet…

The process of moving was the most difficult thing I have ever experienced.  Yes, really, The Most Difficult Thing I Have Ever Experienced.  That includes having TWO BABIES NATURALLY.  WITHOUT ANY DRUGS.

Prunes!

Isaac has started solids, with gusto I might add.  For a few weeks before we started him, he would watch us eating food, and start to make chewing motions with his mouth.  If we were holding him close enough to the table, he would start to grab at plates and pull them toward him.  His desire to eat solids was becoming deadly.

Right before he turned 6 months old, we gave in.  Here is a picture of his first bite.  You can see that he quickly took over the situation, taking the spoon from me and chewing on it with desperation.

A few days later, he becomes a pro.  Prunes are his favorite food, and his favorite face paint.

"Where is the rest of that food?!  You there, give me my vittles!"

Tim, Evie and I are satisfied: the Dalton trait of enthusiastic eating will be carried on in this young one, as well.

Un-Ace of Cakes

I am not ashamed to say that I am not a domestic goddess.  My house is not immaculate, I do not possess the lovely art of arranging furniture in a comfortable way to accommodate pleasing conversation, and I am not versed in matching accent colors.  I feel good about the house if it is cluttered but not dirty, the the creatures in the house are fed and wearing clean clothes, and nothing stinks.  So it shouldn't be surprising that I do not possess any supernatural talent when it comes to baking cakes.

Tim's parents were coming up for a short visit at the beginning of June.  The day before their arrival was their anniversary.  Being the over-ambitious achiever that I am, I decided that on top of the packing of the house, daily child care routines, and cleaning the house for my in-laws' arrival, that I would bake them a cake for their anniversary.  In my severely compromised oven that bakes unevenly so one side will burn and the other side will remain close to raw.  Why, oh why.

The Evening "Itis"

When it is late afternoon, and the heat of the day begins to truly sink in, you may find yourself very drowsy.  You may even find yourself succumbing to an unplanned nap on your couch or in your chair.  Once, I woke up with my face on my keyboard; I had fallen asleep at work in front of my computer.  Good times.

A Visit from Dad

During my father's whirlwind tour of the USA, he was able to visit the East Coast for a few days at the end of May.  However, because of my denomination's Annual Conference, we would only be in town to see him for ONE DAY.

So Dad came through Philly for a record-breaking 24 hours!  He came in by train on Sunday night, and left by train on Monday evening.  Somehow through all of his travels, he made it safely to LAX by Tuesday at 1p.m. to catch his connection back to Hong Kong.  Wow!  So we are very thankful we were able to spend a little bit of time with him.

What any normal person would do

I am backtracking in posts, but this story is too hilarious not to tell.

Around the end of May, we had a mini-family vacation.  I had to attend my denomination's Annual Conference in Lancaster so the whole family came along.  We spent two nights and three days at the brand-new Marriott in downtown Lancaster.  Tim and Evie had a wonderful time: swimming in the pool, going to see Peter Pan at a marionette theater, visiting many fountains, and eating out.  Isaac accompanied me to many many many meetings.  He and I did not have so much fun, oh well.  In the evenings, when the kids somehow fell asleep despite the distraction of everyone being in one room, Tim would go down to the conference's bookstore and raid the bookstore offerings.  He was in heaven.

Growth in the Chaos

Where have we been?  Are we still alive?!

We have been here, and yes we are alive.  But you haven't heard from us because our lives are CRAAZZZYYYYY.  And this is no exaggeration.

Why should I update the blog when I could be sleeping?  Why should I update the blog when I could be packing?  Why should I update the blog when I could be stealing precious moments to take a shower, eat some ice cream and watch a little TV before I gratefully fall asleep?  Moms, we need to get what we need when we can get it, right?

This is the state of affairs at the moment:

A necessary conversation

Blog: DORIS?  Is that you?  *shading eyes, squinting*  Oh, it IS you!

Doris: *shuffling feet* Yeah, hi Blog.

Blog:  *hands on hips*  Where have you been?!  I have been waiting and waiting ….

Doris: Yeah, I know, I know, it's been awhile since I've …

Blog:  … And people just keep coming up to me and asking how your family is doing …

Doris:  Sorry, Blog.  I know, I know.

Blog:  … and I never have anything new to say.  What gives?!

Doris:  Well, we've been … busy.  Very busy.

Blog:  Is that really an excuse?  *gasps, wringing hands*  Are you trying to break up with me?

Oh No, it's the PLUMBING.

I put a notice up last week saying that we were having plumbing problems.  It turned out not to be a problem, but a NEAR MISS WITH DISASTER.

Last Wednesday morning I was preparing to walk out the door with Evie and Isaac when I noticed some white plaster on the floor.  Huh? 
I looked up and was shocked: the plaster in the section of the ceiling underneath our second-floor bathroom had swollen due to water leaking, looking like a very crusty cow udder.  Oh No!
The emergency plumber came, punched a hole in my ceiling, looked around and gave me the very very bad news:  You don't have just a leak, you have a calamity.  OH NO.  
Your entire pipe system connecting your bathroom pipes to your soil stack needs to get replaced.
And yes, it will cost a lot of money.
And no, you can't use your bathroom in the meantime.
And we can't fix it until Friday.
OH. *%#@.  NO.

Big Girl Days!

Last Tuesday, I had a conversation with one of Evie's teachers that filled me with Great Hope.  She told me that Evie had been talking that day about how she wears panties at home.  She encouraged Evie to bring her panties to school the next day and Evie agreed.  My heart flip-flopped.  Could it be?  Can she do it?

In the words of a recently successful presidential campaign slogan:  YES SHE CAN!!

Dalton Daycare

My friend, Katie H., has a beautiful little baby girl named Noriana.  Nori was born a few days after Isaac, so they are pretty much the same age.  You can find out more about them here on her blog. Katie is returning to work, and had an emergency need for a babysitter one day.  She asked me if I would be crazy enough to care for two four month old babies one day.  Am I crazy?  YES!!  And here are the pictures to prove it.

Isaac 4.5

He is now 4 and a half months old, and I really can't believe how fast he is growing.

First of all, he is falling asleep so much easier than before.  I THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER ARRIVE.   But now that it has, all I can say is Praise God, I THANK YOU!  This is his usual sleep position: flat on his back.  I have tried to get him to sleep on his side, but to no avail.  Which is why the back of his head is so very flat.

One day when he is much older and he complains about the flatness of the back of his head, I will tell him that I truly tried to prevent it and then correct it.  I really did.  But since he wouldn't sleep unless it was on the flat of his back, my choices came down to 1) a really cranky baby or 2) a really flat head.  I chose option 2.  This way, we would all live.

Because a Flamingo is Pink

If you haven't figured it out yet, Evie's favorite color is Pink.  She has been known to leave the house decked out in different shades of pink from head to toe.  If she is asked to choose between two items of any color and pink, she will choose the pink item.  But Tim and I had no idea how far her love of pink could take her.

Sorry!

Posts will be coming!  I promise!

But in the meantime, dealing with a plumbing emergency in the house. Yikes!  Hoping to be cleared up by Friday.

Nashville, TN

Hi everyone,

If you have been missing updated pictures and notes about our family adventures, you may have noticed I have taken some unannounced time off from blogging.  I was planning on putting together a post on May 1, but when I got on the computer, all I could do was read about the portable classroom floating down 1-24 in Nashville.  Then, my heart started to sink when I began to follow the news reports of the rising waters.  Imagine my utter heartbreak when I began to hear reports from my friends in Nashville that not only had the city become completely inundated with water, but also that the block I grew up on was one of the hardest hit areas in the city.

The Smell of Victory!

I have been meaning to post an update on the potty training.  You may be tired of hearing how often my daughter pees on the floor rather than in the potty, and I can sympathize with you because I am tired of it too.  If you don't want to read any further, feel free to look at the slideshow I just posted below.  However, if you are the tiniest bit interested, check this out:

Slideshow

Last Friday, I took a series of pics of the kids. Voila! Here is a slideshow to entertain you! The pics are grainy because they were taken on my iPhone, so please excuse the quality. And because I am new at this, I forgot to add music. So perhaps you can hum a little tune to yourself to add some background noise. Enjoy!

Thank You, Pathmark

Today, I needed to go out and buy groceries.

"With two children under the age of 4? By yourself?!  It has never been done … by you!"

Well, yes, this is true.  It was going to be a new experience for me.  But I was comforted in knowing that other people did this, even did this with MORE THAN 2 CHILDREN, and they were able to survive and tell the story.  So I set out with a plan in mind:

1.  I needed a grocery store in my direct vicinity that has grocery carts with a fun toddler/kid attachment, preferably something with a steering wheel.  I knew that grocery stores had such contraptions, but I did not know which one so I would need to scope out a few stores before I committed.

2.  This grocery store could not have waist-high metal poles that would prevent carts from leaving the front area of the store.  If I shopped at such a store, I would then have to hold my daughter's hand while shouldering several bags of groceries and Isaac while crossing a parking lot and preventing anyone from hitting us with a car or anyone from running away from me.  Not cool.

Confession of a Normal Mother

Monday was a very hard day.  For some reason, on that day, something changed inside of Isaac and he needed something different to fall asleep for naptimes.  So instead of just fussing a little bit and falling asleep on his own, he would full-out scream, thrash, pinch, scratch his head and face until he was bleeding.    Laying him down in his bed did not work.  Holding him and comforting him did not work.  I was completely at a loss as to how to help him.

Isaac's 3.5 month update

Isaac had his 4 month check-up this past week and I am happy to report that our little buddy weighs 13 lbs., 5 oz. and is 24 inches long.  He remains in the 25th percentile in all his growth charts, and is hitting all his marks in development and maturity.  What a big boy!

Keeping Score

To: Anyone who knows how to pray
From:  A Mommy who is tired of cleaning up pee in all the wrong places
RE: Potty Training Saga 3 day Update.

Scoreboard--
Potty: 3
Floors/Area Rugs/Booster Seat at Dinner Table: 4.5

Operation Potty or Bust

Tim recently accepted a call to pastor a small church in an area outside of Philadelphia known as the Mainline.  We are excited to be part of their church family, and we will be moving to their parsonage in July.  There are so many thoughts, issues, natural anxieties and welcome excitement this change will create and has already been creating.

Props and Mad Love

No, you're not dreaming.  This blog did not use to look like this.  It was rather blah before.  And no, I didn't do it.

Last Night...

Last night, Tim was checking on the kids.  Suddenly, "Doris!" he bawled, "yougottaseethis, yougottaseethis!"  I walked upstairs to see my husband propping himself up in the bathroom doorway to keep from falling over laughing.  What was so funny?  All he could do was gesture at Evie's room.  Then I saw it.

I'm Three Years Old!

Evie is three years old now, and this fact still shocks me to no end.  How did she get this big?  How did she learn all that she tells us on a daily basis?  Why is she incessantly talking?  This post is all things Evie.  Here is what she is up to now.

Introducing...

So the biggest piece of news since this blog was last alive in 2008 is that we now have another Dalton with us.  Isaac En-Lin Dalton, born December 26, 2009 at 2:26 a.m.  He missed Christmas Day by a few hours; nevertheless, the specter of Christmas and all its outlandish commercialism and uninhibited present-giving will remain over his little head for the rest of his life.

Easter Resurrection!

I remember reading a story about Rev. James Forbes, a renown preacher and pastor of Riverside Church in NYC that I have always loved for its simplicity yet depth. He was on a flight and was just meeting the passenger sitting next to him in that traditional "Hey, I am going to be within your personal space for the next xxx hours so we might as well be civil" conversation. The man goes on to ask, "So, what do you do?" Rev. Forbes said, with great drama and excitement, "I raise people from the dead!"