Oh, man!

Almost every time Jude tells us that he needs to go potty, he follows up his request with a perfect imitation of the "Dora the Explorer" villain's catchphrase: "Oh, man!" We don't know exactly why he adopted this exclamation as a potty mantra, although I suspect that, at some point—perhaps after the millionth "potty gin!" in a row—I might have given him the idea by saying, "Oh, man!" in exasperation. One thing is for certain: We hear, "Oh, man!" a lot around here—and it makes me laugh every time. What makes it even funnier is that the phrase is always accompanied by a signature arm move and followed by the proper citation: "Fox. On Dora." Check out our little comedian in action:

Head shaker

A mother wears many hats—often in quick succession. Like the other day at the table, when I was an enthusiastic entertainer one second, and an amateur paramedic the very next:



Who knew that my silly sight gag could induce a case of actual gagging? The real head shaker, though, is why Ted kept taping instead of telling me that Jude was choking—I'm guessing he was just as distracted by Isaac's delightful laugh as I was. One thing's for sure: These kids keep us on our toes from one moment to the next!

Telly laughs

Friends often tell me that their kids love to watch the videos I post of the Fab Four. Well, guess what? The Fab Four like to watch themselves onscreen, too. They usually get a big kick out of identifying everyone in the video, and even the most mundane clip can keep them entertained indefinitely. Just the other night, in fact, watching and re-watching a video of Lucy pestering Dahlia gave Isaac a delightful case of the giggles—I hope his sisters can always make him laugh like this!



For those wondering just what was so hilarious, here's the clip he was laughing at (toddler humor—who can understand it?):

Dahlia's refrigerator surprise

Even after nearly a year, I still forget sometimes that, to a baby, the simplest things are often new and downright amazing. Last night, for example, I was carrying Dahlia around the kitchen while getting the bottles ready for bedtime. I didn't think a thing of opening the fridge to retrieve them, but Dahlia had a much different take on this routine visit to the big white box in the kitchen:



Who knew a trip to the fridge could be so exciting?

So you think you can clap

Lucy has recently started "clapping" whenever she gets excited about something. And when Dahlia claps, Lucy most definitely does not want to feel left out!



I wonder when she'll realize that clapping involves a horizontal motion?