Introducing Anna

Anna's here! After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, Anna finally made her debut the night before last (5/5). Her full name is Anna Nothertooth and we're expecting several more just like her in the months to come. She makes her home in Pooki's mouth and will be seen playing her role as Pooki's right front incisor until she falls out to make room for the new and improved front right incisor who will assume her place in about five years. Welcome Anna! We hope you enjoy your stay. Pooki's happy. When Pipsi asked her what she thought about Anna Pooki replied, "All the better to eat you with!"

Anyhoo, in addition to Anna's big show, it's been a busy week here in Beandom. We visited the doctor on Friday (because I wanted to make sure it was just sniffles and not allergies) and he said that alas, the Binkies must go. He said (and I paraphrase here) that constant Binking is jacking up Pooki's mouth. And we can't have that. So Farewell Binkies! We love you, but now with Anna and her highly anticipated companions, there is not enough room left in Pooki's mouth for all of you. Sorry. Under the bus you go. Considering the circumstances, Dr. Stephen's pronouncement came at a relatively good time. He said to just offer it to get the Beans to sleep and since both Beans were having a hard time breathing through their noses, it was a good time to cut waaaaaay back on the Bink.

And the Beans have handled it splendidly. Far better than Hubby and I feared, in fact! Now that their mouths aren't as preoccupied, they're babbling much more, giving Hubby reason to say, "Oh, man. Once they start talking they're never going to stop."

True, but better this than no talking which is what we frequently get from the teenage members of the family. That's us-- feast or famine.

And we had another fun event on Friday. I had to run into the kitchen for something (probably to wash off a Binkie or maybe to get a tissue) and returned to the nursery find this:

Surprise, Mommy! Look what Pooki can do! So now, lowering crib mattresses and removing mobiles jumps to the top of the priorities list, leaving Craps to multiply further in the garage. Don't worry Craps, you know you're staying here on borrowed time.

And we had yet more excitement in abundance as the weekend advanced. Cruddy though I felt, a Costco run was necessary. We were almost out of everything. Unfortunately I had neither the energy nor the inclination to load up the runny-nosed Beans into the Starship Margaret and trek across to universe to Consumer Mecca and navigate that chaos with the Beans' double-wide stroller. Enter Hubby and Best Friend. Best Friend and her daughter (the best babysitters EVER) came over and relieved me of Bean Duty for a couple of hours so Hubby and I could enjoy an exotic getaway together. He took my hand and guided me through all the hustle and bustle of the crowded marketplace where we saw all different kinds of people-- happy kids, crying babies (not ours!), harried people, bored husbands, blinged-out housewives. The tang of various aromas wafted under our noses as we experienced food fragrances from all over the world and had at our fingertips the option to purchase vaccuum cleaners at a hundred dollars below retail, cases of eco-friendly bottled water, ten-pound blocks of hard-to pronounce cheese varieties, backyard play structures, wetsuits, discounted nicotine gum, gallon-size bottles of vodka, and cases and cases and cases and cases of diapers and wipes. We got the diapers and wipes and I seriously contemplated the vodka but in the end, decided on just the necessities. Besides, if I buy that much vodka, I'd have to drink that much vodka. And at the moment Ny-Quil is enough for now, thank you.

We got home and Niki and Natali had the Beans sleeping, right on schedule. And Niki the photographer got some great pictures to show me how happy the Beans were while we were gone.

Okay, so Pooki isn't smiling. But she's studying, see? That is a studious expression on her face. What's nice to know is that we were able to weather this cold thing pretty well. Hubby and I really wanted to get them all the way through their first year without one but hey, that's the way it goes. And when it went, the Beans kept trucking right through it. We still have some residual runny noses but all in all, the Beans can now add " fought off the first cold" to their childhood resumes. Along with "standing".

Way to go Beans!