December 2006 Archives

...and no, I'm not talking about that Dan Aykroyd/Eddie Murphy movie in the 80s.

It seems that Maddie and Josie have traded places, as far as their verbal skills go. Josie, silent for most of the time up until now, has suddenly developed quite a complex vocabulary. Despite being able to say everything she wants (and repeat anything you say), her favorite phrases are "no way" sometimes followed by "Jose", and "No, Maddie, don't do that." The other day Bill asked her a question and she said "Sure thing, Dada."

Maddie, on the other hand, seems to have regressed. She now walks around speaking baby talk and sometimes repeatedly points to things instead of talking. Her favorite phrase? "No" or "No thank you." (Nonetheless, she's polite, even when she won't do what you ask her to do.) Everything is a struggle of wills. It's driving me crazy, though it seems to be better with Bill. And yet, there are days where she acts like a perfect child. When we go out now, Josie is the one acting up and Maddie is staying by my side, listening to me.

Is this a phase for Maddie? This regression? I assumed it would come with a new sibling when Josie was born, but it didn't. Is this a latent reaction? Or is she possibly reacting to Josie's newfound speech skills?

Moms who've been there before, please lend me any advice you have.

Just a note in regards to the film:

Bill's being way too humble. You should know that the head of TNT and TBS networks came up to him and said that he loved it. Many of the other films were inside jokes for the network or industry, but Bill's was one of the only ones that had a much broader audience.

I'm very proud of my husband and everyone else should be too. Even though the film is only 5 minutes long, it took weeks and weeks of preparation (and stress) on Bill's part, and he pulled it off beautifully.

I've finally digitized a copy of the film, for family and friends to see. It premiered at the film festival on Thursday, and got decent reviews. It seemed to do better with the older demographic, but considering that this included the head of all of Turner Entertainment, I'm not going to complain.

Formiche ad un Picnic
(Ants at a Picnic)

Special thanks go out to Alecia, of course, without whom none of this would have been possible. When my lead actress bailed on me at the last minute, Alecia showed up with no time to get ready and only having ever seen the script once, and she nailed it. She was a true pro, and hopefully had some fun while getting to cross one of her "43 Things to Do Before You Die" items off of the list.

I'm posting the film right in this page, but I recommend clicking on the image a couple of times until it takes you to the YouTube page, so you can watch it in fullscreen.

I took the girls to the pediatrician last week to check on their chest colds. Turns out they're okay, but here's something interesting:

They both weigh exactly the same. 27.6 pounds. Both of them. Down to the ounce.

Even the doctor was surprised.