Wes likes it when I do criss-cross applesauce on him. The words go like this:

“Criss, cross, applesauce
Spider crawling up your back.
Tight squeeze (I squeeze the back of his neck),
Cool breeze (I blow on the back of his neck),
Now you’ve got the shiverees!”

He’s picked up how to do it, and here he is practicing on Dad and Carissa.

Wes loves the theme music from the TV show The Office. I’ve been watching reruns streaming on Netflix lately, and every time he hears the closing credits he’ll come running. He likes to conduct the music.

Last night I was putting gifts together that included clementine oranges (those cute mini oranges that are easy to peel). Wes and Carissa zoned right in on them, thinking they were things to throw like a ball.

But I showed Wes how he can eat it, too. He ate all of this one, plus half of Carissa’s.

Our friends invited us over for a night of games and crepes. We played minute-to-win-it type games.

The first one: stacking cups as fast as you can with one hand behind your back.

This is Brittanie stacking cups, and Wes looking on (far left). He was the biggest clapper for everyone who participated. He will always be a terrific cheerleader.

John gave it a shot…

But guess who took home the prize! Moi! In a quick 23 seconds I won a full single-serving dish set: 2 plates, bowl, and cup.

The party hosts were nice to give each kid a turn trying the games.

Wes and Carissa liked to find alternative uses for the cups.

Here’s Wes and his soul mate Abby trying the game where you tie a tissue box with a ball in it around your waist and you have to jump/dance around until the ball falls out. They LOVED this one.

Afterward someone opened a mini stomp rocket launcher and let Wes play with it.

The party was for adults, but Wes obviously thought it was a party meant just for him!

Carissa tried painting…the paper, the table, anything she could reach. Notice the pigtails–her first time.

When it’s time to put on Wes’s pants or diaper, he gets silly and folds himself up like this so I have to work harder to get the job done. People with Down syndrome are very flexible.

Wes likes to read books, or at least to look at them. I found him at our bookshelf with a giant old picture Bible.

We had our family picture taken at a church activity. It was the end of the night and Wes and Carissa were ready for bed.

They love daddy’s measuring tape.

A few nights ago Wes was watching some home video I had shot of him and Carissa. In the video Carissa is holding a carrot that I’m using to make dinner and I’m telling her that it’s a carrot.

Suddenly Wes jumped up from the couch, shouting, “Carrot! Carroooottt!” and ran into the kitchen.

I dug out the giant leftover carrot from the fridge drawer and gave it to him.

Then he ran back to the couch, finished watching the video, and ate half the carrot.

I was kind of amazed. He doesn’t often (read: EVER) request raw vegetables. Just shows the power of suggestion in what you watch on TV.

I recently purchased a toddler table for the kids.

Carissa is an expert at using it.

She is also an expert at climbing onto tables.

…and under them.

Last Sunday before church, in between getting the kids dressed, I paused to take photos of them together on the couch–which were supposed to be nice, look-how-much-I-adore-my-sibling type pictures.

The reality:

This morning I took both kids to the pediatrician’s office. It was Carissa’s 15-month checkup, and the doctor needed to make sure Wesley’s ear infection was better.

Since Carissa’s forehead had a run-in with a metal rod a couple weeks ago and she had to get stitches in the ER, she’s been super-extra clingy to me, and as soon as we walked into the exam room and the nurse wanted to touch her, she was NOT happy. I think she was flashing back to her ER experience.

The good and problematic thing about Wes is that he’s so sympathetic to other people’s feelings. When someone else is upset, he is upset. Therefore, when Carissa is screaming her head off Wes tends to follow suit.

The nurse was great and tried to get through everything as fast as possible. The downside is that some of her measurements were clearly off and the doctor had to do them again (head circumference jumped from 45th at 12 months to 95th percentile…he remeasured and it was the 56th percentile).

She’s doing fine. She’s nearly 21 pounds and about 30 inches tall (that’s one of the measurements that we’re not sure about).

We talked about Carissa’s apparent allergy to nuts (she’s gotten hives around her mouth the two times she’s eaten peanut butter and one other time I cut her food with the same knife I used for hazelnut spread). We’ll be getting in touch with an allergist. But, boy, Carissa getting pricked by nurses doesn’t sound like a good time.

After we finished at the doctor’s (Carissa topped off her experience with three shots in the legs) I took the kids to IKEA. It was a gift to myself.

I had a specific mission in mind: a toddler size table for the kids. We already have four toddler size chairs that we got for free a while ago. I’ve looked elsewhere for tables and knew that IKEA’s prices were very good.

John and I went to IKEA once in San Francisco while on vacation with his family. This was long before we had kids, and we weren’t looking for anything. So I wasn’t really into it.

Today, walking into IKEA, I was a little blown away. It’s the most family friendly store I’ve ever visited.

They got me first with the family restroom right up front that’s big enough for you to take in your whole cart, a child-size sink, complimentary diapers if you forget yours, and a comfy chair for nursing. Not even Babies R Us is so nice.

Then it was the giant elevator that takes you to the second floor showroom that was big enough to fit probably four or five moms with their carts, kids, strollers, and purchases comfortably.

Then it was the children’s IKEA section full of gorgeous little lamps, rugs, toys, storage, and, yes, tables that are not only cute but affordable. I found a two-pack of artist smocks for Wes and Carissa for $5 and a two-pack of big plastic bibs for Carissa for even less than that. Then I picked out the table I wanted, wrote the product number on the “shopping list” printed on the back of the store map (which is ESSENTIAL), and moved on.

We ate lunch at the IKEA cafeteria-style restaurant. I got Wes a kid’s meal for $2.49 and got Carissa some baby food (!!! Who else thinks to sell baby food in the cafeteria? Genius). We ate by a window overlooking the parking lot and busy freeway.

Wes loved his french fries and juice and watching people and cars outside.

Carissa liked her food, too.

The food was pretty good, but it didn’t hold a candle to the food in the Provo LDS Temple’s cafeteria. I’d eat there every day.

We went downstairs to the Marketplace, which is less of a showroom and more of a regular store setup. I walked into the kitchen section and I might have drooled a little. It was fun to walk through. I only bought one thing that cost 99 cents, but I sure thought about more.

We strolled through the rest of the place and ended up in the warehouse part where you go find the product you want to buy. It’s easy to locate the aisle and bin number. The box was so well packed and light that it fit easily under my cart. The checkout is a self-checkout (that actually works, not like Wal-Mart’s). And then, ta-dah! we were done.

The only thing left to do was get the free frozen yogurt cone that we had a coupon for at the Bistro by the exit.

Wes ate it all.

And I mean ALL.

IKEA, IKEA, what a wonderful place.