Bean is sleeping an uninterrupted 8-9 hours a night! Awesome!

He has started laughing when tickled, if one of us speaks in a silly voice, or if we make faces at him. I love baby laughs. He also laughs in his sleep, just like his big brother.

I finally tested my Taser and it sure works. Hubby got a target, which we set up in the garage. It was really cool, sparks and all. Hubby was impressed, but wanted to go a step further, so he cut the barbs off and taped the wires to his clothes, with the intent of me tazing him. I wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but went along with it after convincing him to lie on the bed so he wouldn't fall and get hurt (and after making sure he wouldn't pee). We agreed I would turn it off as soon as he told me to. Luckily, I decided to turn it off immediately after pushing the ON button. Poor Hubby could barely speak, it hurt so much. He was really happy with the results - he said it felt as bad as being tazed with one of the big police models he has for work.

Don't taze me, bro!

I've loved mysteries since I was a kid. Scooby Doo was one of my all-time favorite shows. When I was a bit older, I discovered Agatha Christie (the Miss Marple books were my favorites) and Ngaio Marsh. I've gone through spells of reading murder mysteries on and off. About a year ago I dound the Cliff Janeway books by John Dunning and worked through the library's collection. My latest find was the Gregor Devorkian books by Jane Haddam. I'm working on the library's collection now.

Haddam's tales always have a cast of several characters which could be the murderer(s). I usually can't figure out who did it or why, with the exception of one story - I figured out who, but not why. My most recent read was one of the "I have no idea whodunnit" books - I love those. The story is set in a small Pennsylvania town. Except locations in that town are based on my hometown and the adjacent town - definitely not in rural PA. At first she named a couple of places with familiar names that could have been coincidental. Then she named a street with an unusual name, about a mile from where I grew up. Later, she included a bookstore Mom and I used to love (which sadly closed). An important location was a restaurant Mom and I used to frequent on Friday nights before grocery shopping at the Grand Union across the street...which happened to be just up the road from a seedy theater - all included in Haddam's novel, right down to the curve and hill on that road. It was strange to read a novel about horrible people in a fictitious town based on the place I grew up.

We are a farting bunch in the selzach household. Hubby jokes that all the farting and burping sound like a frat house.

Peanut has recently learned the phrases "Did you hear a barking spider?" and "Did you tear your britches?" They both crack him up and must be asked any time someone passes gas.

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We were in the car when Peanut pooted. He asked if I heard it (I didn't) then told me "Those were silly poots. They sound like acorns hitting the car top (roof)."

Where does he come up with this stuff? It's great!

Bean's 2-month well baby check was yesterday. He's almost 12 lbs and has grown a couple of inches. He's on the lower range of the percentile chart, but is right on target on his growth curve. He goes for a longer spell at nights - 4-5 hours then usually another 4 hours. The fussies seem to be decreasing and we have some days with almost no fussing at all. He's a very happy baby (other than the gassy spells). He smiles a ton. He also sleeps in his crib and co-sleeper! We can put him down when he's awake and he'll actually go to sleep without crying. I love the co-sleeper. He's right next to me where I can pat him or pop a binky in his mouth, but not in the bed where I'm afraid he'll smother...or never leave. We kept Peanut in bed with us for a couple of nights after his surgery and we're back to him crawling in bed with us nearly every night...not that we really mind. It's sweet to have the whole family snuggled up.

My parents visited last week to celebrate Dad's 70th birthday (holy crap) and to meet Bean. Grammy and Peanut were best buds the whole time. Grampy and Bean really hit it off, too. Both of them look wonderful. They've lost weight and are back to exercising regularly. Dad doesn't look or act 70. Step-mom surprised him with a lunchtime party at their favorite restaurant and the waitress thought the bakery made a mistake on his cake - she couldn't believe his age. I totally lost it after they left and spent the afternoon crying...arrgh, I'm tearing up now. I miss them so much. I wish Hubby and I could get our finances together so we could move back near his family. The kids would be near half their grandparents and we'd maybe be able to visit my parents more often. It would even be a driveable trip.

Mom continues to do well. She'll probably be released after her hearing next month. They told her it will take 4-5 months for the process to be complete. Once we know the decision I'll talk with the social worker and find out where they plan to place her.