The OTHER "Little Rasmussens"

Here's a little info about the Rasmussen canines:

George (a.k.a. Porgy, Mal Pal, Store-bought Jelly Jam)- George is our three year-old pug. He used to be the baby of the family, but has comfortably settled into "old age". He prefers to spend his days sleeping and snoring. However, he is the brains behind any canine misdeeds taking place in the house.

Bluto (a.k.a. Blutz, Bloustoff Smirnov, Bluteous Maximus)- Bluto is a two year old boxer. He is as energetic as George is lazy. He loves to run around the backyard and pester George. But if George is the brains of all mischief, Bluto is definitely the muscle.

The dogs are awesome house dogs. They are very protective of the kids and love to snuggle with us and with each other (they have recently begun sharing a bed). The only complaints we have are the occasional chewed up dirty diaper and their barking when the doorbell rings -- although it comes in handy when the J-Dubs (Jehovah's witnesses) come to the door.

Rice Cereal and "Womb" Bear

Tobin is sleeping through the night! (Cue the Hallelujah Chorus) He is such a big boy with an insatiable appetite-- He was waking up to eat every three to four hours. I was a walking zombie. On the advice of many concerned family members and friends, I, at last, began adding rice cereal to his bottle before bed each night. The first time I tried it, he went twelve hours without eating again. I worried that I had drugged him. Now, I LOVE rice cereal.

The other life saver is how much Tobin loves his crib. Lance spent alot of time remodeling our guest room into a fun little boy's dinosaur room. It paid off because Tobin will go from screaming to smiling as soon as I set him in his crib. I always thought that those bears that sounded like a womb were creepy, but in desperation I bought Tobin a "womb" bear. He loves that thing. It sleeps in the crib with him. Between the rice cereal and womb bear, I am a very happy person.

Potty Training

On the advice of our pediatrician, Lance and I have postponed Zoie's potty training. However, certain recent events have made it clear that the time has come (i.e. randomly removing her diaper at unbelievably inconvenient times and places). Yesterday had me sitting on the floor with Zoie on her potty reading her "Where the Wild Things Are" for hours. But it was worth it! Today she has used the potty three times by herself. Whenever she does, we call someone to report the success. So, don't be too surprised if you receive a call from Zoie to tell you that she went potty.

Kira's 28

I celebrated my 28th birthday by taking the kids swimming with friends and later getting together with my remaining family. It was Matt's last night in the country-- before joining my parents in Prague.

Pics from Utah

Zoie had so much fun with her cousins and it was crazy to see Big Tobin and Tiny Scout together.