We'd waited long enough...

Dinner

2012-02-12T17:45:00.001-05:00

Maia says "He is looking haaaaaandsome!"

Super Bowl

2012-02-06T20:49:00.001-05:00

The Giants Win!

The Wisdom of Maia

2012-02-04T18:07:00.001-05:00

Upon seeing a very large cow statue in a parking lot, Maia educates us:
The cow goes potty and we get some milk that goes into a truck and gets delivered to our house or school.

Getting Ready for Bed

2012-01-31T20:50:00.001-05:00

... Or not.

Carousel

2012-01-26T21:41:00.007-05:00

We took the kids to the mall (at Maia's request) to ride the carousel before heading out for my belated birthday dinner. It was Parker's first time, and he thought it was pretty cool.

He did a good job holding on,

while Maia is becoming a bit more lax.

Little Things I Love

2012-01-25T23:16:00.001-05:00

When Maia grabs Parker's hand, and says "I'm going to take him with me so I don't miss him"

When Parker yells "hooooop!" to ask for help.

Watching Maia and Parker dance to the Lord of the Dance soundtrack. Parker calls it "Di di di deense!"
(and the mini-tantrum at the end of this video is hysterical!)

And I love my kids!

Big Thought, Little Head

2012-01-13T21:58:00.002-05:00

Bleary eyed conversation with Maia at 6:30 am:
She: aw, you gave me a kiss because you love me!
Me: that's true!
She: and that means that you don't want me to die because that would make you sad and you would cry.
Me: yes, that's true too.
She: and I love you too and I don't want you to die. Because I would cry.
Me: yes...
She: and if we died we would go to heaven and God would make us better.
Huh. I think she's making progress on this concept since Grandma A passed away. Made me a little teary.

Reading

2012-01-12T22:49:00.000-05:00

How awesome is this? And also, a good example of how Parker repeats the end of phrases, which seems to be building up his vocabulary.

It's funny...

2012-01-12T22:32:00.004-05:00

It's funny the little things that make you proud of your kid.
Wednesday night. Bath night for two little kids. Bath water running. Maia is sitting on the potty. Parker is fond of this word... Pah-dee. Pah-dee!
Ray asks Parker, Do you want to try the potty?
Parker: YESCH!
Ray: Okay, wait for Maia!
Parker: Pah-dee!
... and then he begins to pee on the floor, eagerly looking at the potty.
Ray excitedly shouts Good job! You totally would have peed on the potty if Maia hadn't been using it!

Christmas, Round 3

2012-01-02T21:45:00.003-05:00

Ding!

These lucky kids had a Christmas that kept on going. Aunt Tara sent (generous) gifts a few days later. So after baths, we skyped with Aunt Tara and opened them.

Maia got a LeapPad Explorer. She didn't know what it was, but it wasn't long before it became a favorite.

Parker had a better idea of what to do with presents, but Maia was still there to help.

Parker got more cars to use on his race track, which is great. It makes that toy even easier to share!

Maia's dress up shoe supply was replenished,

and each of them got a Giants jersey!

Thanks Aunt Tara, Uncle Dave, Aaron and Rachael! We miss you!

A day in the Park

2011-12-31T20:55:00.011-05:00

Taking advantage of a snow free day, we took the kids to the park to try out the balance bike.

Parker prefers to go down the slide backwards right now.

And running with his short little legs down the ramp... and back up to do it over again!

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-30T22:58:00.000-05:00

Maia woke up first, around 6:30. Santa had closed the pocket doors to the living room just to make sure that little people didn't go in without mommy and daddy. But Maia has figured out how to manage the pocket doors, so she had a little peek before coming downstairs and cuddling with us.

The Tree

Santa is very clever. He takes their initial ornaments off the tree so that they know which present is theirs!

The obligatory family photo is taken. Parker looks like he just woke up!

Then to the presents. Gifts from Nana and Grandpa, gifts to and from ourselves.

2011 seems to have been the Year of the Car, for Parker. He was excited about them, as was Maia!

There were also a fair amount of art supplies, which worked out well with this Easel from Nana & Grandpa. They played together pretty well, each taking a side. However, I learned that Parker needs to be carefully watched when he has a crayon in hand. Some of our walls also appeared to be possible canvases...

Here, Parker demonstrates his "two-fisted" technique. Currently, he prefers the left hand slightly over the right.

But at the end of it all, Mommy and Daddy remembered: Santa said something about a gift that didn't fit under the tree...

Winner, winner, chicken dinner. I most definitely appreciate this gift from Santa. I'm hopeful it'll help to keep busy bodies entertained on cold snowy winter days.

But my favorite presents?

Maia's gingerbread man, Parker's painted wrapping paper.

Wish I had a tile like this for every year!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-27T22:27:00.000-05:00

Christmas Eve (day) at our house again this year. Since it was on a weekend and some of us were hoping to get to the candle light service at night, we started earlier in the day.

Maia wore her sparkly dress from Grandma. Lydia has one just like it in purple, so that makes it extra cool in Maia's eyes.

And this was about as good as it got for a pic of them together.

We had a little brunch, then cleaned up before opening presents.

Lydia and Parker

One of Maia's first gifts was a dress up outfit. For this, she was willing to ditch her favorite dress. The Christmas tights, however, stayed.

Parker wasn't as excited about opening presents as Maia (who tried to help just about everyone open theirs). He was just a bit bleh and was content to hang out on daddy's lap.

Parker was, however, quite excited to get this soft doll from Aunt Kathleen. Someone said something about having a little buddy... and so that's what he calls it. "Buh ddddee" isn't quite as loved as "Paschi" but he's probably a close second! He's loving his little buddy!

Papa and Grandma got both of them this balance bike (I'm so excited. I think they'll LOVE it), and Maia spent quite a bit of time riding it in the kitchen.

It's too big for Parker right now, but he desperately wanted a turn.

After gifting, we had an early dinner: Prime Rib,

hot-oil fondue (aka, fon-don't in Ray's world), sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, "Papa's potatoes" - more food than we needed!

And then some very tired children went to bed to await the arrival of Santa.

Art O' The Month(s)

2011-12-23T15:50:00.001-05:00

I have LOTS of these that are outstanding since early Fall.

Parker's work in watercolor

Parker - Crayon

Parker's Halloween Mummy (toilet paper)

Parker at 18 months

2011-12-22T15:12:00.002-05:00

A year and-a-half old. This is going too fast!

Parker's First Shiner.

On the 21st, we went to see the pediatrician for his well child visit. The stats:
26.7 pounds - 58th percentile.
31.5 inches - 26th percentile
It was difficult to contain him in the doctor's office, so we played a little game to keep him from opening the doors. I stopped him in his tracks by whispering: "Ready? Set! Gooooo!" and he would run his dimpled legs from one side of the room to the other. He'd turn around and look at me expectantly. We kept this going for quite some time, until the nurse accidentally let him out, and then we both were chasing him down the hall way. Those short little legs are FAST!

We also have been assured by both the ENT and the pediatrician that his tubes are in, open and clear. We are hopeful that they will stay in through the winter, and that he will have outgrown the problem by the time they do fall out.

He is trending toward the shorter, stockier side at the moment. We see that a lot in his clothes, as his pants are always too long (although often his shirts are a little short). I suspect we are due for a growth spurt soon, however. He is still wearing his 18 month clothing, although it is getting small. He has been wearing size 4 shoes since summer. He looks much more toddler than baby.

He is growing in independence. He loves to open the fridge and see what he can find. He's figured out how to open the bathroom door. His big sister has taught him how to slide down the stairs on his tummy. He loves to look at books. Books, books, books. He'll look by himself, and of course he'll bring a book to you, yelling "Muk! Muk! Muk!" He will put things away, including busing his dishes, with some guidance.

But my favorite part? The language explosion! He will repeat (or try to repeat) most things you ask him. He's counting 1, 2, 3 and 3, 2, 1. He's starting to put two and three word phrases together: "Mama's schooos" "Mooh, peese, muk?" (More please milk), "Daddy hoooome?"
heh-Woah! = hello
Cocky? = cookie
Ca-kuh = cracker
See-yoh = cereal
Sah-sehjjj = sausage (one of his favorite foods)
Pah-tah = Pasta (a fave food)
Muk = Milk, Drink, Book. This one is very confusing!
Wasch = wash hands
Buuhsh Teesssh = brush teeth
Gumma = Grandma, gum
Papa = Papa, Grandpa.
Nana = banana (another fave food)
Eh-moh! = Elmo (definitely a favorite character)
D-d-doh-wa = Dora
Eye Treeeem! = ice cream
Yaya = Maia - although with some prompting, he can and will put an M on there, and get it right.
Pesch-ee = paci
Wisch-ee = fishy
Butt-bahl! = Football (or baseball)
Pah-tuh = Parker! He will pat his belly or point to himself in a mirror. He knows what belongs to him.
Hope = help (I love this one!)

Animals and the sounds they make:
Muh-ey (Monkey): ah ahh! -
Ow-ooo (Owl): hoo hoo!
Saur (Dinosaur): wraaaaooooh!
Hoh-see (Horse)
Dut (Duck): Qwaa qwaa

He can identify his:
eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, head, hair, belly, legs, hands, feet, toes.

Really, he knows most of the words for thing that are important to him in his environment.
Here's an example of how Parker is trying to join in songs... Watch him study and try to pick it up! One week after he this video had been taken, there was an improvement in this behavior. He's also now responding to prompts in preschool television shows when he watches with Maia on weekend mornings, which I think is hysterical.

(and please pardon my squeaky voice. I was still working through the last of that awful cold)

Christmas Card

2011-12-21T21:13:00.002-05:00

We didn't get particularly fancy with Christmas pics this year. We didn't even go visit Santa as a family (although the kids did see him at school) because weekends were crazy with Ray being gone saying goodbye to Grandma A, the kids and I getting sick, and all the miscellaneous Christmas preparations... we just never got to it. I was not even well enough to participate in Holiday Pops this year.

So it was a quiet evening at home that lead to a few candid pics in front of the tree...

And the winner:

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas Concert 2011

2011-12-18T22:24:00.000-05:00

I have a number of posts in draft are waiting for completion that come, chronologically, before this event. But in the interest of the arrival of Christmas, I'm going to post these now, and edit later. Enjoy!

The daycare holiday concert.

The jokes are as follows:
What's a mommy's favorite Christmas Carol?
Silent Night.

What kind of bow is impossible to tie?
A rainbow.

(Maia's joke:)
What does an Elf learn in school?
The Elf-abet (alphabet).

Where does a snow man keep his money?
In a snow bank!

Rest in Peace

2011-12-05T10:53:00.009-05:00

Lois Marie Ashley
June 20, 1923 - November 29, 2011

Art O' The Month

2011-11-28T23:51:00.000-05:00

Autumn items: Maia's "tom tom" (thank you, Mr. Quaker), Maia's binocular necklace, and Parker's Pumpkin.

Parker's painting of a garbage truck.

Maia's: H is for Hearts

cookie cutter, paint on paper

Maia's spider

Maia's H is for House

Maia's J is for Jewels

No Rock.

2011-11-27T20:39:00.005-05:00

Maia was wearing this little towel wrap thing after her bath tonight. While I was combing her hair, she looked down at it and asked what it said. I told her "Rock On. R-O-C-K rock O-N on." She looks down at it for a moment (like this...)

and says "No it doesn't mommy. That's no. It says N-O no."

Huh. Now that I was not expecting.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-26T22:54:00.003-05:00

Oh, Thanksgiving. Can you feel the love?

Look at all we have to be Thankful for, mama!

Cousins who play dress up with us and make us feel pretty.

Not sure I WANTED to be pretty (but check out my cool shiner! That makes me hard core, right?)

And we can always count on a complete room trashing for at least part of the day (and yay for more hands to help clean up!)

We really like the yummy food! (Maia was really enjoying Uncle Andrew's spicy sausage stuffing, and my sweet potatoes with apples this year).

But mostly, it's about being together.

We are so Thankful for our Family.

This year we had Thanksgiving at our house, and invited Ellen, Sarah and Rod as well. So once again, we had to have a "kids table" as we were spilling over our table's capacity. Dinner was fabulous and the company was even better. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we are so grateful for friends and family.

Random Funnies

2011-11-25T21:36:00.003-05:00

Upon seeing a wedding dress in a shop window, Maia asks: when I grow up, can I wear a dress like that when I grow up and get married to daddy?

Watching a YouTube video of U2, Maia asks about Bono: who is that microphone player? He is a cool guy!

One afternoon, for no apparent reason, Parker is walking through the house shouting 'heh-WOAH?' into each room. I wonder who he's looking for?

Proud moment in parenting:
Maia: why did that song skip a minute?
Me: I muted the bad word.
Maia: why is it a bad word? Is he angry at his daughter?

Saturdays

2011-11-15T21:50:00.001-05:00

On coldish Saturdays, we like to try to "run" the kids... and this is a cheap way to do it. To the Mall!

Dancing (Tap Shoes)

2011-11-10T22:03:00.005-05:00

While Maia was sick, I got tired of watching our limited supply of Princess movies (Tangled, Snow White) and Netflix faves (Wallace and Gromit) and finally hauled out Lord of The Dance. She wasn't sure she wanted to watch it at first... but she was intrigued. And then when daddy sat down and told her some of the story? Oh, it became a new favorite.

So within days her "dancing" style had changed. Hands on her hips, lots of hopping and kicking. And, because she's just of that age, she wanted to try on the idea of being "the bad guy" (Don Dorcha). Then came the resurgence of wearing my heels for extra clicky sounds.

Cue mommy and daddy getting annoyed with the clomp, clomp, clomp.

So it occurred to me that we had some hand-me-down tap shoes from Lydia. They're a few sizes to big, but even tap shoes must be quieter than a toddler in mommy's shoes. The response? Don't let the photo fool you... she was thrilled.

Maia as Don Dorcha

The Tap Shoes.

Parker's got his own dancing style!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-05T21:49:00.004-04:00

What with Maia just getting over this sickness, and Parker wanting absolutely NOTHING to do with any costume I put on him... it wasn't looking like we were really going to participate much in any Halloween festivities. But apparently they both did great (and wore their costumes) at the school Halloween parade.

So after a quick (and soft) dinner... we got Maia dressed in her butterfly costume (yes, I know it was last year's but it was her request, because it's nice and warm!). And Parker was supposed to be the ducky, or maybe Elmo... but the boycott continued for me, so I put him in his fireman-ish rain coat, and plopped a fire hat on him. Into the wagon (where they wouldn't cooperate for pictures)

and out for a little walk around the neighborhood.

Maia knew exactly what to do, and Parker caught on fairly quickly.

In fact, after a few houses, it was hard to get him back in the wagon.

It was a brief jaunt - maybe 10 houses, but they still made enough of a haul that we'll have candy for months. Which is actually rather unfortunate, because Maia has a habit of becoming obsessed with candy after each of these candy-celebratory holidays. She's also adept at getting a chair to climb up to where she wants something, and a little sneaky. So it wasn't long before she'd wake me in the morning with a tootsie roll clenched in her sweaty fist. Look what I found, momma!

Sick.

2011-11-01T22:03:00.022-04:00

About a week after everyone left, Maia woke up from nap with a fever on a Sunday afternoon. No other discernible symptoms, just a fever. Just Maia dialed down from 11 to 10. She still had a temp in the morning, but didn't seem any worse, so we sent Parker to daycare and I brought Maia to work with me so I could complete a few reports that were due, and grab some work to do at home. I brought Maia's back-pack (my "bag o'tricks") full of paper and stickers and quiet toys, but she was delighted just to be there, be special, and get some special attention from my co-worker, Kelly.

So a quiet day at home. She watched her Princess movies and some shows on Netflix while I worked. Tuesday, much the same. More whiny, a little slower. But then she perked back up in the evening, so we thought maybe that was the end of it. Nope. Wednesday was worse. She really didn't complain about anything specific being wrong. I couldn't see anything bothering her, specifically. So on the 25th, we went to the pediatrician to see if they could help us solve this mystery. While we reviewed her symptoms, and she talked the PA's ear off... we finally came across the realization that she had complained her tongue hurt. So we looked. And lo, and behold: Blisters. Hand food and mouth. Which meant it was going to get worse before it got better. And worse is what it did.

Last time she had this as a toddler, she only got blisters on her hands and feet, and they didn't bother her in the least. We had officially Gotten Lucky. This time, not so much. No blisters on hands or feet, but her poor mouth was covered. On her tongue and her gums and the roof of her mouth. The blisters kept coming, and her gums were so swollen, her heart shaped lips looked more like Angelina Jolie's. She was miserable. There was a lot of crying, not much sleeping, very little eating or drinking. After she could no longer tolerate soft or acidic food, it came down to ice cream, pudding and pediasure. Her breath was rank because any contact with a toothbrush caused a bloody mess and screams. She finally started to turn the corner a full week after she came down with it, but tooth brushing was still touch and go. I wondered if she'd be able to enjoy her Halloween! But by Monday, she was at about 85% and totally fever free, so back to school she went. Incidentally, none of the other kids in her class got it, nor did Parker. Phew!

Incidentally - her stats:
weight = same: 30 lbs
height = 38" - that's 1 1/4" growth since August!

Best Mommy

2011-10-21T21:39:00.000-04:00

Maia:

Here Mommy. I'm going to give you a smiley face on your hand, because you're being a very good mommy today.

Oh. It looks a little angry... That's okay, because you're still my best mommy!

Leaf-ing, and leaving.

2011-10-18T20:53:00.001-04:00

Toward the end of the week, the air got cooler and we started to wind down.

All these beautiful leaves...

and still lots of them to rake up. So we spent a little more time outdoors.

Maia was delighted to help!

Raymond and Ray took on a huge project. Clearing out the over growth under the cedars in the back corner of our yard. At the end of their project, we learned that there was a grey house behind us, and that they have a dog and kids. We'd not seen much of that corner of our neighborhood before.

Unfortunately, this left us with a HUGE pile of branches that took Ray weeks to break up and get into our lawn service.

While the Rays worked on the branches and I made dinner, Effie and Maia filled up bags of leaves, and mooshed them down.

After a wonderful week together, it was time to say goodbye, and we were sorry to see everyone go. So Maia drew herself a picture of Aunt Tara... see?

(incidentally, this is the first time I'd ever seen her draw anything resembling a face, so this was pretty cool for me!)
Maia is frequently asking when Nana and Grandpa and Aunt Tara were coming back... or maybe we could just go to New York tomorrow, okay mommy?

Autumn Gardening (2)

2011-10-17T00:12:00.002-04:00

We went to find drier places to explore. The puppet theatre is fun, but it became apparent that it was past time for a snack, and children were getting a little cranky.

So off to the tea party at the tree house, where other kids also sit and snack.

Then Maia was off to explore. The rope-and-plank bridge was a LOT of fun for Maia. But not so much fun that she couldn't peek through and give a shout out to Parker and Nana!

Closing time was approaching, so we started heading back.

We stopped briefly at the sculpture entitled "Mad Mom" (Tom Otterness).

Why is she mad, momma?

Probably because her children weren't using their listening ears.

Continuing up the path, we stopped to watch the pigeons (can we call them doves? it sounds so much nicer!) at the bird feeding station.

Nana got down to watch with Maia, and tell her a little bit about what was going on. Oh, and maybe if Maia was still enough, a bird would wander close to her.

One did.

Maia wasn't sure she liked that at first... but then maybe she did!

I'm sure this is wishful thinking, but can I get a pic of both my kids sitting amid these mammoth pumpkins?

No? How about just Maia then?

Hmm. Okay then.

Fine. Lovely.

Autumn Gardening (part 1)

2011-10-16T21:57:00.000-04:00

Wednesday afternoon after nap time, Effie and I took the kids to the Gardens. We always wander the indoor gardens first. Usually there is somewhere nice for photo taking in the Victorian Gardens. This would have been MUCH more interesting if my children had cooperated in the slightest. I think they were both sitting on these chairs for approximately 3-6 seconds.

Parker, once released from the stroller, wanted to R U N !!!!

Yay, running!

Parker's current phase: if you head toward Parker to catch or corral him, he giggles and runs away as fast as his little legs can carry him!

Maia needed a penny to throw in the fountain.

I'm not sure she really made a wish.

Next, the tropical conservatory.

Parker: back in his stroller. Then it was Maia who wanted to run in the opposite direction... pushing Parker in the stroller. Unfortunately, while she is getting better, she's still not a great stroller driver. She runs into things, people; runs over toes. Is a general menace to foot traffic.

She is in absolute denial over her lack of skill; so there were some hairy moments before we got our listening ears and walking feet working.

Off to the Sensory Garden.

How'd he get out of the stroller?

Next - the Great Lakes!

They both had a GREAT time!

Maia is so much taller, she has a lot more option of where to sail her boat!

Nana spent a LOT of time herding Parker.

The kids love the water areas, and both got dully soaked as the shadows lengthened. We moved on to some drier areas before the park closed.

The Park

2011-10-15T23:10:00.003-04:00

Tuesday was an even more beautiful day. And I missed it, because I was working.

Everyone else headed over to Hagar Park (a place where I spent many hours as a child) to play for a while. This nifty play place didn't arrive on the scene until my teenage years. At that time, you could climb a ladder up about 8-10 feet to stand on a decked platform to see this:

It's the United States. Can you see it?

Ray and Maia traveled all the way to New York!

There was lots of fun to be had...

... and lots of adults to have fun with.

And lots of steps and places to explore.

Balancing.

Working on some arm strength.

And whenever there is a group photo, someone's gotta put the bunny ears up.

Thanks grandpa.

We can even make the ride home some fun.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Aunt Tara this night. Maia says: But, I'm really going to miss her!

And she does. And we do too.

Playing with Grandpa

2011-10-14T21:25:00.000-04:00

Is there anything better?

Leaves

2011-10-13T21:22:00.001-04:00

Hi. We're going to rake some leaves. In short sleeves. How often does that happen?

What? You're revolted?

Maia will help with the rake she got for her birthday from Grandma.

Then we can jump in the pile!

Maybe I'm not so sure about this...

I am!

But Nana and Aunt Tara will play with us.

What fun!

Apple Picking

2011-10-12T22:03:00.013-04:00

On Monday, we went apple picking. A lot less busy than weekends at the orchards, but also fewer thing for the kids to do. That said, they had a great time with Nana, Grandpa, Aunt Tara, Mommy, Daddy and each other. U-Pick Mutsus were in season (yay!)

Maia was a enjoying filling the bag with yummy apples!

We were fortunate for another gorgeous day.

Next: The Pumpkin Patch. We're excited about that.

(Doesn't Parker look so much older here? More like a little boy than a baby!)

Parker was happily running around, pointing, saying "Bah?! Bah?!" Everything round(ish) is a ball in his mind.

Maia, Nana, Grandpa and Parker

Maia (with barrette in mouth), Aunt Tara, Parker

Jonathans

The really good pumpkins were largely picked over. But Maia looked at most of them. She really wanted a white "Luna" pumpkin, but they were all heading towards rotten.

We loaded up our pumpkins (including Parker) and headed toward the childrens' area.

Parker played in the corn bin, and Maia climbed up lots and lots of stairs (with about 50 other preschool-aged kids) to go down this slide.

Parker thought he was pretty cool riding this little "horse."
He rocked himself back and forth and giggled, giggled, giggled.

As much as we were focused on getting our Mutsus (since you can't find them in stores) Tara and I learned that Jonathans fresh from the tree are sweet, crunchy, delicious and a beautiful deep dark red. Effie learned that she likes Honeycrisps.

It was another beautiful day, and we were so fortunate to have this day together!

The Ride Home.

AB (After Baptism)

2011-10-11T20:50:00.001-04:00

After church, it was lunch and naps, picking up Aunt Tara from the airport, and getting ready for everyone to come for dinner. We were having a lovely bit of Indian Summer, and it was so warm out, that we had the rare opportunity to play with fall leaves in our summer clothes.

So there was lots of running around with the cousins.

In the cozy coupe, the wagon, and on the slide.

We had a little dinner (some of us even ate outside). A little cake. A little ice cream (Maia has decided Peppermint ice cream is really good)

And after dinner, a little dress up and dancing. Maia loves to use her plastic dress-up shoes as tap shoes.

Parker's Baptism

2011-10-10T20:30:00.003-04:00

After two reschedules... the third date stuck and we got Parker baptized.

He was pretty antsy while waiting, he desperately wanted to get down and run (!!!!), but as soon as we were called up front, he settled down and became quietly curious. And he left a shoe behind on our seats. Oops.

There was only one other child being baptized on this date, so it was nice that there wasn't a lot of extra waiting with fidgety children (although Maia did about as well in church as she'd ever done). As Nancy took Parker in her arms, he laid back and looked up at her as calmly as if he was an infant (instead of the busy toddler he's becoming) and didn't even flinch as she soaked his head and clothes. When Chandler gave an additional blessing, he stroked Parker's arm, and Parker looked at him wide-eyed, as if he was taking in every word.

After the service was over, we stopped to take some pictures.

Parker's candle (front)

Parker's candle (back)

Grandpa and Parker.

Daddy, Grandpa and Parker

The Four of Us

We are, unfortunately, missing Effie because she was taking the pictures!

By the time we started taking the pictures, both the kids were hungry and ready for their naps, so we didn't get to take full advantage of having everyone together, and all clean and shiny. So these photos will have to suffice.

While there is this pic of Maia...

... there was no chance of getting just Parker in his suited finery.

Tree tunnel

2011-10-08T13:37:00.001-04:00

Maia started calling this section of road the tree tunnel. It's so gorgeous in the fall!

Dancing

2011-10-06T20:49:00.000-04:00

One of Maia's absolute favorite activities these days is dancing.

Dancing is more effective with accessories.

Her 'veil' she made at school. Yarn, lace and staples.

The wings were from Lydia,

and the tutu, we've seen many times.

All these things must make her a better dancer... don't you think?

I Love Fall

2011-10-05T22:27:00.000-04:00

I love cool autumn afternoons.

We can take our lawn mowing very seriously.

And fill up the water table with sand.

We can rediscover the slide we hadn't played on for a while,

and giggle, giggle, giggle

while we climb up the wrong way.

And for one brief moment (or maybe two) Maia slowed down,

And Parker explored the yard.

I love fall!

Dinner

2011-10-03T19:45:00.001-04:00

Maia discovered she loves corn-on-the-cob!

Parker's First Haircut

2011-10-02T23:30:00.001-04:00

It was time. His hair was covering his ears and hanging in his eyes... unless we gave him a comb-over. And that's not nice. So off to Piroska's we went last Friday.

He liked looking around (LOTS to see) which did add to Piroska's challenge. He liked the big chair-style hair dryers. "Bah?" he would ask. No honey, that's not a ball. So we found other things to keep his interest.

Outside of the looking around (which is to be expected), he did very well. He wasn't the slightest bit upset or afraid.

The whole thing took about 15 minutes. And by the time he was done... he could see!

He got some candy and lots of hugs. He waived buh-bye and blew kisses. And this time I got a little hair.

The Zoo

2011-09-25T14:32:00.003-04:00

A cool, crisp autumn morning. After a little breakfast, we decided to head to the zoo in our fleeces.

We checked out the Alligators, then the Pelican and ducks. Parker makes a "gop gop gop" sound (quack) and makes a pincher motions with his fingers every time he sees anything remotely bird-like. So we heard a lot of those today.

Maia was eager to check out the penguins, which we did. She did not care for the smell in the aquarium. After a stop for a snack, and a visit to the frogs, we went to the petting zoo area.

This turkey was pretty impressive.

Maia wasn't sure she wanted to pet the animals at first. She ran from animal to animal almost, but not quite, touching them. Until she saw you could brush them.

oooo, feels like a football!

Brushes? That changed every thing.

Then she had to brush every one of them she could get her hands on. Cows, goats, sheep.

Not the turkey.

Parker and daddy watched from the side of the pen.

Parker was delighted to run down this woodsy path and play on this wooden train.

And Maia made new friends with every kid within 3 years of her age.

This time the monkeys were a lot more fun to watch, but by the time we got to them, we had one sleepy boy, and one hungry girl, and decided that the rest of the zoo would have to be seen another day.

Labor Day

2011-09-23T00:21:00.000-04:00

Looking back again...

We had big plans for labor day. We were going to go to a park with my parents and my sister's family, and have a cookout. It was supposed to be drastically cooler than it had been on Saturday.

At home, we had our usual Saturday morning routine: all four of us watching Nick Jr, cuddling together in our bed. I got my shower and was just taking Parker upstairs to change his poopy diaper when I was anointed with a stream of vomit. Sigh. We waffled: Stay or Go? Split up: one of us takes Maia, the other stays home with Parker? We decided to go, but make the day short, and try to keep the cousins away from him.

We got there... and it was raining. Well, drizzling. We played for a while anyway. It's always great fun having all these cousins to help push you on the swing... And despite the warnings, Parker just wasn't acting sick, so it was just too hard to stay away from him!

After playing for a while, we went back to my folk's house to eat lunch. Parker was maintaining a good mood, but was getting hungry, thirsty and sleepy by then. He cuddled up on me and took a brief nap.

It was a nice day, but unfortunately it was only the beginning of 5 days of sick kids... first one, then the other. The illness and feeling awful was actually short lived... it was just a lingering low grade temp that prevented a return to daycare.

Parker at 15 months

2011-09-22T23:47:00.000-04:00

Oh boy, time is Just Flying. I cannot believe that my baby is a toddler. There are so many little details I haven't really gotten a chance go chronicle. Milestones, every day stuff. Poor second child.

Just shy of his first birthday, he was known to walk on his knees, and even jump on them. Walking started a few weeks after his first birthday, and he made incredible progress while we were camping in July (13+ months). He's now trying to run. In August, he made the transition from the infant room to the Toddler 1 (T1) room at daycare. That meant leaving Ms. Kathy behind (his biggest fan, and the first person he ever left my arms out of preference to get to her!) Moving up to T1 also meant a change from two naps a day to one... and a lot more independence. The toddlers sit at teeny short tables to eat their meals (instead of high chairs), and go outside a lot more often, usually in a wagon. They do get to play at some of the playgrounds - his favorite is "the bike playground" which is a large courtyard with an oval sidewalk. The courtyard contains tricycles and several "cozy coupes" and other outdoor push and ride-on toys. But they also walk to the duck pond and feed the ducks and swan. He, like his sister, loves to be outside; aht (out) is probably his second most common word, after bah (ball). He adores books, but if you pull out a board book when he's got a paper book in his hand, he will grab the board book, shake his head nah! and throw it. He wants the big kid book. Or, rather, he thinks he does, because once you start reading, he'll announce ah dah! (all done) and head off for another one. He will sit through most board books, though, and that's a favorite part of the bedtime routine. He's starting to dance to music which is adorable.

Parker definitely goes through typical toddler food jags: Some days he'll eat a ton, others, not so much. He loves to eat tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries, steak, pasta, mac n cheese, hot dogs, burgers, asparagus, bell peppers, pickles, most fruits.
He does not care much for chicken or chicken nuggets. When given mixed vegetables, he will eat (in this order) green beans, peas, carrots, corn.

Words (in addition to these) have been increasing, too.
buh-boo: bubbles
mah: more
aht: eat
aht: out (meaning outside)
nih-nih: night-night
ahp: up
dah: down

baba: sippy or a paci: anything he sucks on
shoos: shoes
dut: duck
gop gop gop: what a duck (or most any animal) says
dah: dog, or cat... most things with 4 legs
oofff: what a dog says
maaaaah: what a cow says
duh-dee: thirsty
buut or buuk: book
pees: please
dih-do: thank you
uh-kuh: you're welcome
mai: mine
see?: self-explanatory, accompanied by pointing
ah-woah: hello
bee-bee: baby
miuk: milk

Today I was actually floored when he put three words together as we got in the car to go to the doctor's office: Mah.... buut.... pees? He was reaching for a texture book about dogs, and also doing his version of the please sign.

He loves to imitate:

And it's so great that he can participate in some of Maia's favorite activities too.

He's definitely realized he has an opinion of his own, and we currently live in the land of "Nah!" It is the answer to everything, even if he really means yessch. But he's a happy, sociable kid. This week both the pediatrician and his teacher (who previously taught Maia) have commented on that. His teacher also commented on how he has a similar angry reaction to his big sister: balled up fists, he starts to shake, he turns red/purple and starts to scream! Apparently some mannerisms between the two are also similar, but why wouldn't they be? They have the same models!

I can't believe you put me on this girlie pink tricycle, mom!

Fortunately, his tantrums are generally short lived, at the moment... and they're at the point where they're pretty funny to the observing adult. Oh, you want me to walk across the room and pick up that paci that is literally 2 inches from your hand so that you don't have to get it yourself or you're going to scream and turn purple. Okay. Let me know when you're done.

There's so much more I could say about Parker... but it'd probably be better if I just blogged a little more frequently. Here are the stats:
24.1 lbs, which is the 44th percentile
30 1/2 ", which is about the 30th percentile. That also supposedly means he hasn't gotten any taller since his 12 month exam. Or they may have measured him a little long at the 12 month, and he's only grown 1/4-1/2." I think the latter scenario more likely. That said, 1/4-1/2" isn't much, so I'm expecting we'll see a little growth spurt here, soon.
Clothes: 18 months (although pants are a bit long at the moment)
Shoes: 4 infant/toddler
Teeth: 12; 4 front up, 4 front down, 4 molars. Eye teeth are coming soon!
Hair: Straight as a pin and red. Also in need of a cut!
Eyes: blue
Ears: still healthy with tubes in place, functioning and clear. Yay!
Paci: Addicted. One in the mouth, upside down. One in the hand at bedtime. Not being first time parents, and having a dreaded finger sucker in the family already... we have opted to let the paci go... for the time being. He's not ready to get rid of it. We're not ready to deal with him without it.
Smile: Contagious.

Swimming

2011-09-05T00:14:00.027-04:00

Labor Day weekend started out beautifully warm. A last summer hurrah.

We had been invited to swim at the house of my dad's friend. What a great opportunity for us. Unfortunately , the timing wasn't fantastic, and Parker was due for a nap, having fallen asleep in the car just after we exited the highway. Then he was pretty whiny when it came to putting him in the water. Maia was more excited, and was happy to cling to someone and float around a little bit.

Parker continued to be miserable until it occurred to me to take his life jacket off. Then it was a whole new world. He was relaxed and enjoying the water. So we took Maia's off too, and gave her some other ways to explore the water. After just some time with me, Papa, Grandma and my dad's friends... Kath, Emily, Adrian and Lydia arrived.

Adrian and Lydia had been here before, and in no time, most (if not all) of the pool toys were out and Maia wanted to try them all.

We had some lunch and swam some more. It was fun for the grandparents to see how Parker can seriously put food away, these days.

It was a great way to cap off summer. Maia thoroughly enjoyed herself, and was telling me we needed to go back tomorrow, or maybe after nap. Parker however... he was snoozing before we reached the end of the street!

Sprinkler

2011-08-30T21:28:00.014-04:00

We never water our lawn. It's just not something we feel the need to do. That said, we did happen upon an extremely hot and dry period of weeks during the dog days of summer, and the lawn was getting a little crispy. Ray decided to haul our our single, lonely little sprinkler.

This was intriguing to Maia. Her last run in with the sprinkler (at about 10 months old) she wasn't really a fan. Times change. She looked at that sprinkler for a few minutes, and ran to get her swim suit.

Is there anything better than being a kid, running through the sprinkler on a hot summer day?

Parker was happy to watch Maia play and to be outdoors. He wandered from side to side of the steps, holding on the railing... trying to figure out his way down so he could climb back up.

Art o' the Months (part 2)

2011-08-29T21:14:00.001-04:00

Oh, I told you it was MANY months' worth of projects.

C is for Corn (Maia)

Water color drop art

A pig!

Parker's colors.

Parker's kite

Maia's

Art o' Many Months

2011-08-28T20:54:00.028-04:00

I am months and months behind with school art projects. And now, with two kids... there are more!

Parker's 4th of July flag.

and rocket

Maia's "H is for Hearts" collage

Camping week: Maia's flashlight

Maia's. I love the colors of this one.

Maia's watercolor

Maia's Handprint Sun.

Parker's spring flowers. This may have been done with limbs and abdomen rather than hands, if I'm identifying the texture correctly.

Maia's Easter Egg.

D is for Dinosaur

"Maia painted eggs hatching" (looks like they hatched a little violently!)

Goldfish

Tissue paper/water color fish.

A is for abstract?

"A person and her Mama"

Parker's handprint butterflies

Maia's fireworks: Chalk on construction paper.

Trinkle, trinkle...

2011-08-25T23:10:00.005-04:00

Maia would like to show you what a rock n' roll star she is. We call this "Trinkle, Trinkle Little Green Star"

The Park

2011-08-24T22:58:00.003-04:00

A quiet Saturday morning hanging out, reading books and playing with toys. It's all good.

But hooray for township and city parks. Hooray for an hour or two of getting out some wiggles which does us all some good.

Parker LOVES stairs. Especially when he can go up or down them on his feet (instead of crawling)...

...but he'll take them any way he can!

As such, it was back and forth....

... up and down...

... in and out of this piece of play equipment.

Unfortunately, that 256980th time he went down those stairs, he missed...

... resulting in his first goose egg. He was not deterred.

Maia, for her part, wanted to ride her scooter. She would do so for a few moments, but then it was back to the playground. Climbing.

Being followed by Parker (ya-ya? ya-ya?)

Daddy helped Maia see the world from a different perspective...

And Maia's favorite part of any playground... the Tire Swing.

This was the only video I took in which she was not playing her broken record: Faster, mommy! Faster! I fear this refrain will follow her into adolescence, which makes me a little panicky.

So let's just smile about today, shall we?

A Box

2011-08-23T22:44:00.001-04:00

When Parker got too heavy to carry in his bucket seat, it was time to get a new convertible car seat. I got a a great recommendation on this (highly rated, but totally affordable one), which is much smaller than the ones we have in Ray's car.

But the REAL bargain? The box. Almost three months of JOY and playing together on evenings and weekend mornings. Lots of giggles and laughs. I could have gotten hours of similar video. We held onto it far longer than we probably should have. It was creased and crumpled, flattened and misshapen by the time it finally found itself curbside.

Should we do a "priceless" Visa commercial?

Maia's Stats

2011-08-18T22:10:00.001-04:00

A few days after her birthday, we went to the pediatrician's for her 3 year exam. We did all the usual, and about the only developmental thing she wasn't doing was drawing people with 2 or 3 identifiable features (head, arms, eyes, etc.) See previous post about that...

Her primary doc had a resident with her that day, and Maia charmed him. She started out "being shy to him" but warmed up quickly.

She is 30 lbs even, which is the 44th percentile (highest percentile since 4 months old).
She is 36 3/4 inches, which is also the 44th percentile (she usually ranges between 40-60%).
Her BMI is now in the 48th percentile, it was 3% a year ago, so they're not keeping a close eye on that anymore.

Forever

2011-08-17T22:30:00.003-04:00

Today, Maia and I were discussing the construction vehicles demolishing the road; Why momma?
S: the road is broken and it needs to be fixed.
M: why is the road broken?
S: They just wear out, honey. Roads don't last forever... You know what does last forever?
M: what?
S: My love for you!
M: uh huh. And also Milk.

Turning 3

2011-08-15T22:01:00.002-04:00

Three. Is it possible, she's already Three?

I demand of Dr. Seuss: Maia is three? How can that be?

So who is 3-year-old Maia? She's got a ridiculous vocabulary for her age. Little surprises daily, for example one day recently she used "neither" correctly 3 times in one day, and at least once with a "nor". She is doing a great job learning her letter sounds. She can identify some of the letters that might be in a word by listening to it (e.g.; Grandma has a G and an M, and if we work on it slowly, and if it's just that sort of day and she wants to, she can come up with most the letter sounds she is hearing). However, she has zero interest in learning how to write her letters or draw; she cannot be tied down that long. On one hand, she seems pretty mature and responsible for her age, but she routinely reminds us: She's still three, with all the age-appropriate boundary pushing and poor decision making and whining. Screaming happily or not happily, jumping/skipping/dancing everywhere, everything to do with princesses (especially Disney ones, even though she's only ever seen Tangled and Snow White up to this point) and pretending are dominating her activity now. Along with nonsense words (making up her own language? She's mastered this one, time to move on?) and naming all her dolls and animals... Although most of them seem to be named Min-AW! (No. I have no idea.) She loves to hide in her closet and under her bed, but immediately gives herself away by giggling or saying "Can you find me, mommy?"

She wears 2T/3T sizes (as usual: length fits before circumference, so we're all about the saggy britches and plumbers crack unless we haul out our dapper snappers and clippos to cinch them together.) She is potty trained except for overnights (sometimes she'll wear a pull up for naps, but if she doesn't, she'll get up to use the bathroom. If she does wear the pull-up, she figures its an excuse to use it). She is between a size 6 and 7 shoe. She still sucks on her fingers. She loves to pick out her own clothes and dress herself. She doesn't need much help. Weight and height will be updated after the doctor's visit.

She is a bundle of joy and energy and excitement about everything! ... except maybe sitting down and being quiet. That she doesn't do so much, unless she's watching Yo Gabba Gabba, Ni-hao Kai-Lan, Dino Dan, Blue's Clues or one of the aforementioned princess movies.

So. In keeping with her princessy wishes, it was a princess themed party!

Lydia, Maia and Gracie all played together and had a lot of fun!

Aunt Kathleen read Maia one of her cards.

She wore her princess button, and waived her princess wand (do they have wands? Perhaps it's a scepter...)

And Adrian brought a Spider Man playing the violin. Because what birthday party would be complete without that?

Parker sat contentedly with Papa.

And finally, after dinner and presents, it was time for the cake!

Maia thought the cake was beautiful, and was really "excited about that." And, as she had demonstrated to Nana, Grandpa and Aunt Tara on skype the night before... singing "Happy Birthday" to her makes her cry. A lot.

Usually for the kids' birthdays, I try to put together a photo slide show. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and so I did a Kitchen Cabinet Art Gallery instead.

Going Home (Messena part 7)

2011-08-10T21:38:00.070-04:00

All good things must come to an end, and vacations always fly by much too fast. Just as the kids start to get acclimated to the new structure, it's time to go. And with little ones, it seems like we just didn't get as much time to spend chatting and catching up with family and friends as we would have liked.

But we got a "date day" courtesy of Nana. She spent one afternoon with each child, having lunch in town, bringing them to see the (great) grandmas, driving them around until they fell asleep in their car seats. Then she took both of them so Ray and I could spend some time together.

We went to Walmart, bought stuff for the kids, and watched the last Harry Potter Movie.

On Saturday, Effie took Maia on an errand while we were packing up. On the way back, they stopped at the locks to look at the boats and check out the visitor center. While there, Maia watched a video about how the locks work, and was reportedly fascinated. Nana also bought her this purple visor, which she disassembled on the way home.

Eventually, the car was packed, and we knew it would soon be time to hit the road and head for our hotel for the first leg of our trip. As usual, Maia was excited about the hotel... but, well, she didn't really want to leave.

She was fine for a while. Maia and Parker took naps, played with toys, books and each other.

(okay, the video and picture is from the ride out, but static-head is always funny)

But after driving for a while, she dissolved into tears. I miss Aunt Tara! I miss Nana! I miss Aunt Candy! (Maia, Candy is your cousin, not your Aunt) I miss my cousin, Aunt Candy! I want to go back camping. Right Now! So we tried to focus on dinner and the hotel. Okay, we're okay with going to the hotel, but we'll go back to camp tomorrow, right?

Unfortunately, she was exhausted, and so sweet funny Maia didn't make much of an appearance that afternoon and evening. Parker was a bit out of sorts too, but was wonderful for 90% of the ride. Both were difficult to settle at the hotel, which we've started planning on, and factoring that into our travel time. That translates to make sure you get to the hotel before the driver is completely exhausted, since it will take 1-2 hours to get the kids settled down after they've explored the room and jumped on the beds and dialed the in-room phone and tried to eat and/or lose the TV remote.

The last leg of the trip home was much better, and I think both kids were happy to be home, although Maia still says (several times a week), I miss ________ (insert loved family member here) really bad!!! We are going to camp again, soon, right? We are going in two days or something!

Sounds great to me, kid. Sounds great to me.

Concert (Massena part 6)

2011-08-09T21:05:00.070-04:00

On Thursday night, Uncle Wayne and Uncle Roger came out to camp to give us a little informal concert. They've played together for many years, but this was a unique opportunity for us.

Uncle Wayne set up the microphone and amp ahead of time, and naturally, there were some curious children. I was cooking dinner in the screen house when I heard Maia's amplified voice announce:

Momma, I want a snaaack please!

Family and friends were there to visit, but turned their back from the usual campfire direction to listen, enjoy and even make a request or two.

Maia was delighted that they sang both the verses to "You Are My Sunshine." She prefers the second verse, and usually calls the song "The Other Night Dear." When she was smaller, I'd sing the song to her at bedtime, and when we got to and so I hung my head and cried, she'd giggle.

Ring of Fire

This is Maia's new friend, Serena. They were camped next door, and Maia made friends with her on a trip to the bathroom by saying "Hi. I like your skateboard." Serena apparently thought she was cute, and Maia sought her out frequently over the following days. Serena would ask for hugs and kisses (which Maia was happy to give) and was nice enough to include her in some of the play with the bigger kids: Destiny, Morgan and Connor.

Wayne, Maia, Destiny, Serena and Roger

Row, row, row your boat

The concert went on for quite a while, and we weren't really sure what to do about bringing our protesting kids into the camper behind them for bed. So Maia stayed up and ate a s'more with Destiny and Serena.

And when it was finally time to go to bed, she cried But I want to sing into the microphone! I waaaaant toooo!

Rachael sang, and Ray also got a chance to play with his uncles, but unfortunately, I have no pictures of that, as I was putting one Very Over Tired Girl to bed. With difficulty.

(and still they woke up before 6:45 every day. What's with that?)

Water (Massena Part 5)

2011-08-08T21:02:00.003-04:00

Dave got Tara a brand new SeaDoo for her birthday this year, and we made sure to help do our part to break it in. Maia could hardly wait!

She loves to steer, and Aunt Tara is nice enough to let her.

Bobby brought Maia down to the river...

... for a ride with Daddy!

Who took her even faster (tiny little personal watercraft vs. large laker!)

Every day she could, she was down by the river,

And would have stayed all day, I think, had we let her.

Looking forward to Parker getting his turn next year, when he is two.

This was an interesting, and uncommon sight: A submarine on a barge, being towed by a tug. We're very curious where it was headed. Museum?

Even I (eventually) took a turn, and had more fun than I thought I would.

Thanks Tara and Dave!

Family (Massena part 4)

2011-08-07T20:52:00.001-04:00

When your both your parents work full time, vacation is a great time to actually spend some time with your parents, too! Maia and Daddy.

Raymond and his two grandsons.

Rachael and Parker.

Grandpa and Maia.

Aaron and Parker.

Rachael, Effie, Parker, Aaron and Grandma O.

Maia helping Leonard (he and LJ came back for the last weekend) set up his tent.

OYO!

The A clan: Sherry, Lenny, Linda

Wayne, Raymond, Bernie

Playing (Massena part 3)

2011-08-06T20:08:00.002-04:00

All this outdoor time means lots of playing! We were still unpacking when Maia decided it was time to get her helmet on so she could ride her trike. Since she also knows that you get to ride your bike to the bathroom when you're camping... that meants LOTS of tricycle time!

Everyone loves the cozy coupe. Even Macy.

Toward the end of the week, we got Maia an early birthday present: A scooter. Now she could choose between the scooter and the trike for her many bathroom trips.

Some of those scooter trips were to the park, so she could swing...

... show you how strong she is...

... and play in the sand.

LJ took a few spins in the coupe as well...

Maia and Parker tried to share it (what was she thinking? That's Parker's favorite place to BE!)

If the coupe wasn't available, there was always the fire truck. Maia and LJ shared and played together nicely.

Parker was really working on improving his walking skills and Maia was happy to help him learn.

Big kids play with toys too.

Ahhhhh, the fire truck.

After a little rain, Parker discovered his own little water table.

All that playing wasn't without its consequences, and we went through a few band-aids. This one on Maia's face is particularly attractive!

Messes (Massena part 2)

2011-08-05T23:49:00.010-04:00

With all the setting up and meal planning and confusion, meal times got a little out of sequence for small children. So Parker ate some easy mac.

And he enjoyed Every. Last. Bite.

The demolishing of the meal necessitated a bath, as well as the need for sitting down in his hook-on chair. Parker did a LOT of standing... because he could.

But because there are no bath tubs at public restrooms in state camp grounds, I bring my own (of sorts).

All the happy splashing garnered a little bit of attention. He actually got a couple of baths during the week, and after one of them, Maia decided that looked like fun (perhaps after the evening she triumphed over smore to look like this:)

and she wanted one too.

Bath time precedes bedtime, and yawns abounded while our normal schedules shifted around.

We managed to get both kids set up comfortably in Uncle Wayne's camper and get a decent night's sleep.

Weddings and Birthdays (Massena, part 1)

2011-08-03T21:03:00.004-04:00

We made our cross-country trek to camping, and survived the drive. Parker was amazingly content (bless him) and Maia was so very excited. We thought we'd be clever and pick the kids up from daycare right after lunch, which is naptime, and they'd sleep in the car. Right? Wrong. Maia claimed she was hungry (she just ate "everything" as reported at daycare). Then sleepy, not sleepy. We're going to da hotel, right? I'm excited about dat!"

While parts of the trip were challenging, we still felt that we made the right choice: taking Friday off to pack the car without being rushed, and to leave town early enough to get to the hotel before we were completely exhausted. It generally takes 60-90 minutes for the kids to wind down at the hotel before they can sleep. They are, apparently, quite exciting to the under three set?

We got some breakfast at McDonald's, where Maia and Parker thought it was great fun that his highchair rolled around; they were in great moods! The 2nd leg of the trip went beautifully! We arrived in time to set up the camper we borrowed from Uncle Wayne, get diaper changes and potty breaks and clothing changed. We then drove back into town to the gazebo on the river to watch Schuyler and Karlie get married.

Maia really thought the "princess at the park" was very pretty.

Maia also had a lot of fun running around with her cousins Patience and Faith before, during and after the wedding itself.

The next morning, Maia awoke to the realization that we were going to eat all our meals outside.

Like a picnic, all day!

And we were very excited to re-connect with family.

Maia played with Patience a bit more. (ed. Apparently they also share a birthday, a year apart!)

Then we had Rachael's 16th Birthday Party!

And hauled out the camping toys, including the infamous fire truck!

Wagon

2011-07-21T20:38:00.004-04:00

Before Parker's birthday (see how far behind I am?) Ray cleaned out the cars and the garage. We also opened up the new 2-kid wagon we got a few months before. Maia was delighted, and wanted to take Parker for a ride.

It kept them both busy for quite a while. Parker loved being pulled, and Maia loved being The Big Sister and pulling him around.

Camping! (part 2)

2011-07-19T22:38:00.003-04:00

While we were there, Parker got to go on his first boat ride. He was a little sleepy, and not sure what to think of it all. And the life jacket that goes up to 30 pounds and still fits his big sister? Yeah, he was a little smooshed.

Maia likes to go fast. Are you surprised?

The water was about 71º, which feels quite, er, refreshing when you first get in, but doesn't take long to adjust to. Maia swam with Aunt Kathleen for a while while I got in with Parker.

He wasn't sure about the water (and the cold) at first. But it wasn't long before he decided he liked the water, and started splashing.

On Sunday we headed home, missing out on the fun of The Fourth, but giving us an opportunity to get laundry done and the kids back on schedule before our work week began. Maia decided that her artistic creativity could not be contained on paper, and used her skin as a canvas for her (washable) Crayolas.

Parker slept much of the way home, and looked at some books.

About 90 minutes from home, Maia finally fell asleep around 3:30/4:00. When we got home at dinnertime, she asked to go to bed, so we let her. I was convinced she'd be up at 11 pm, or maybe 3 am... wide awake and hungry. We ate dinner and put Parker to bed.
No Maia.
Our bedtime came. No Maia.
6:00 a.m. arrived without a trace of Maia.
Finally... at 7 a.m. she finally wandered down to our room in a great mood.

Camping! (part 1)

2011-07-19T20:20:00.004-04:00

We went up to Interlochen to camp over the weekend of the 4th of July. Tent camping with 2 under 3. We might not be smart. Anyway.
We decided to leave after work, stopping on the way for what we'd hoped would be a "quick dinner" but it turned out not to be as Maia's pull up (which we put on her 'just in case') was so full it had leaked and soaked her clothes and seat. Apparently she ate a lot of watermelon at school.

So as a result, the kids got to bed really late that night, although we did get our tent set up fairly quickly, thanks to Grandma, Papa, Aunt Kathleen, Emily, Adrian and Lydia all eager to help us keep the kids busy.

Naps are always a challenge when you are a kid and are out of your routine. And it was also forecast to be cooler at night than it proved to be, so I clearly packed the Wrong Kind of Pajamas.

Naps and bedtimes in general for both were really awful... although worse for Maia than for Parker.

Both kids seemed to do fairly well despite the lack of sleep, and off their eating schedules. Ray and I may not have done quite as well with them being off their schedules.

But the kids got to use their chairs that I got them for Christmas, although Parker wanted nothing to do with the snack tray feature.

I'd hoped Parker would be walking by this time, hoping it might keep him a little cleaner than if he was crawling (the dirt is very dark and sandy at this campground). But for the most part, he chose to cruise anyway, so it turned out just fine.

Since Parker wasn't quite walking, but was able to cruise with good confidence, Papa spent a LOT of time walking with Parker, and having him hold onto this re-purposed broom. (The broom had an unfortunate entanglement with a pop-up camper on a previous closing.) Leave it to Papa to find a new way to use a broken object!

It was nice to have some cousin-time...

... and grandparent time.

Getting dressed

2011-07-18T20:38:00.001-04:00

Instead of napping, she put together this fabulous ensemble.

Hanging out...

2011-07-18T20:35:00.001-04:00

...in his office. His favorite outdoor place.

Gardening

2011-07-18T18:21:00.001-04:00

Over the past couple of springs since we moved into this house, my physical condition (pregnancy, post-pregnancy/post-surgery) has made gardening prohibitive... and I do have a general lack of skill when it comes to all things green. These photos are from about a month ago.

However, Maia is an eager helper and loves to dig with her own tools.

Parker still didn't particularly care for the feel of grass, so for this moment, he preferred stay on the blanket.

She's very proud.

Words

2011-07-17T20:42:00.000-04:00

Along with his "Uh-ooh!", which he's had for some time now, Parker is quickly adding to his vocabulary, and is eagerly repeating words and sounds as he is able, and in his own way.
bah! (ball) a favorite, which came shortly after he got his tubes
di duh (thank you)
Nuh! (no)
Mah! (more)
Mama
Dada
Yaya (Maia)
bubai! (bye-bye) another favorite
Papa
pah (up)
Diddy (Lydie)
Ae (Ade)
Pees (please)
Weewee (Wheee!!!)
Nai-nai (Night-night!)
Yessch (Yes)
Ah-yuh (yeah)
We've also been hearing a lot of "Bee-bee!" which may or may not be baby. There are new babies in his classroom at school.
And now: a vid from about a month ago.

Thanks...

2011-07-17T17:42:00.001-04:00

A little trick he learned from his sister...

A very merry Un-birthday to you!

2011-07-13T21:22:00.000-04:00

When you are almost 3, you are not limited to arbitrary dates for celebratory purposes.

Here we go!!!

2011-07-12T21:08:00.000-04:00

Today, I walked into Parker's classroom at daycare. He was sitting on the lap of the lead teacher, Kathy (his biggest fan). While I went to grab the pen to sign him out, she put him on his feet, and he walked toward me. All the way across the room, just like that!

I'd hoped I'd be able to show Ray the same event when we got home, but he wouldn't replicate it. We got a few steps, but no lengthy walk. At least, not until Ray was in the living room, and Parker was cruising around the kitchen, and then he would let go and just start walking toward me, then drop to his knees and crawl the rest of the way.

He's not even doing the "drunken monkey" walk with his arms above his head!

12 Month Stats

2011-06-30T16:29:00.002-04:00

On June 22nd, we went for Parker's 12 month exam, and he weighed in (officially) as follows:
23.3 lbs - which is the 56th percentile
30.5 inches - which is the 72nd percentile
and keeping with the trend of both my children, his head circumference was in the 92%.
The ears with tubes looked great at the exam, and as we just seem to still be having cold after cold, I asked about the possibility of doing an allergy med trial. Dr O was on board with that, and I have tried it, but haven't really seen a significant improvement in either kid.

Parker is crawling quickly, cruising efficiently and creatively. He is not yet standing on his own for more than a few seconds, and isn't really trying to let go. He will "walk" on his knees if so inclined, and since it's summer, and he is wearing shorts not pants, that means very calloused knees!

He is very much a Mommy's boy, and if he is hungry, tired, dirty or otherwise distressed, he will cling to me with a death grip and yell until I figure what the problem is. This isn't always convenient (particularly when I'm trying to make dinner), and it is a little surprising to us as Maia was so very independent even at this same age. Parker is clearly showing us that he has his own way of dealing with things.

Parker does "yell" a bit during meal times and other times he's trying to get our attention. I think this has developed out of necessity, since there are two of them competing for our attention. That said, though, he LOVES his sister. He adores it when she plays games with him, and smiles happily when she sings to him. She will often sing to him to "help him to feel better!"

He's very interested in climbing, and actually is surprisingly good at getting back down as well. One place he will make a bee-line to is the step-stool in the bathroom. He could spend endless hours climbing up, standing and patting the sink top, and then turning himself forward and climbing down one step at a time.

He's a happy giggly little guy, and he's getting more and more fun these days! He's affectionate, gives Mah! kisses, gives hugs and pats your back, blows kisses and waves buh-bye.

Time

2011-06-29T18:55:00.001-04:00

There are so many things I have to write about. Photos to share. Stats and new words from Parker (bah = ball is a new favorite.)
But it seems that even free time is full these days. Stay tuned!

Cake Smashing!

2011-06-19T18:07:00.002-04:00

Cake? Oh, you want the cake smashing?

He did well with this, too. Actually ate most of the cake, in fact.

After this, he had a nice bath and jammies.

First Birthday!

2011-06-19T13:51:00.000-04:00

One year ago, Parker and I were doing this at about 4:30 on his Birth Day.

2011, and here we are, setting up for the anniversary of the event!

My big birthday boy!

Parker didn't care that much about unwrapping the presents.

Although this ribbon was fun!

Maia actually didn't stick around much to help either, as she was given a Big Bag of dress up stuff, which she played with Lydia and Gracie.

She would come back into the room from time to time to steal focus. Get a little spotlight.

Parker didn't care much about the clothes, but the toys were interesting.

I think the party went very well. Both Maia and Parker, who both stayed up over an hour past their bedtimes, were in great moods. Maia had plenty of entertainment with Lydia, Adrian and Gracie.

Parker, after the initial shock of so many people in the house, settled in and did just fine! We were really proud of them both.

Parker at 12 months

2011-06-17T11:49:00.005-04:00

We have to wait until Parker's 12 month appointment to find out officially how big he is. With all the doctor's office visits, he's been weighed a lot, but on various different scales, and often clothed or with a full-ish diaper. He's somewhere around 21.5-22.5 lbs, which, even though he seems like such a roly-poly baby to me, puts him only at 50th%. Feels like 75% to me! He's a solid boy. Those cheeks! Those chubby legs! LOVE!

Parker cruises, and fast. I thought perhaps he'd be walking by 12 months, but it seems that he doesn't really need to yet. He can get wherever he wants to go based on a combination of cruising, push toys (or an available chair or pant leg) and crawling. His balance is pretty good... he will walk holding on to one hand or behind me while grabbing a fistful of my pants. He just isn't terribly interested in standing on his own, yet... and to walk, he's going to need to learn how to stand. So, I guess it'll be another month.

And he loves to explore! If we leave the mud room door open ever so slightly, he makes a bee line to it. If you tell him "no!" he'll crawl faster! There must be something fascinating in that room.

He really enjoys hanging out in the Maia's kitchen.

Words: Uh-oh (his first), Mah (more, which is his most consistent sign), Di Doh (Thank you); Bah (ball). We're pretty sure he knows Mama and Dada, but they're used inconsistently. More specifically, we're hearing a lot more vocalization, vocal range and sounds post-tubes. It just sounds more like language. And we're really seeing him put it all together in his head. We're asking "where's your ball?" and he will say "Bah!" and look for it, find it, and go after it. Much of this development is within the last 2 weeks.

Signs: More, Milk, No, All-done

He will wave and blow kisses, and give "mah" kisses on your face. Still loves to give zerberts. He's quite talented. He will occasionally blow kisses if you tell him "love you!" We've seen a little bit of pointing.

Favorite Foods: Yes. Don't think he's turned his nose at anything yet.

Clothes: 12 months (for a few more weeks)

Shoes: size 3

Diapers: size 3 or 4. Fours probably fit better, but 3s go up to 28 lbs, and there are more in a box for the price... so 3s it is, since we're not having leaking issues yet!

Teeth: 8 (4 up, 4 down) and one molar (upper right) thinking about poking through, but it has not yet made a full debut.

Sleeping through the night: Yes, finally! Prior to the ear tubes, he was getting up an average of 3 times a night, and nursing back to sleep at least 2 of those. This was getting pretty old for me, since I've been sick more this year than ever in recent memory, and well... two kids just takes infinitely more energy. So after the tubes, it was time for some sleep training. Within 4 nights, he was putting himself back to sleep through the night. Hooray!

Update: No, he changed his mind. He can sleep through the night, but with all these milestones coming fast and furious, I think he's too excited to sleep. He's often up at least once a night, and will grab and cling to you desperately when you go into his room to comfort him. Once you pick him up and get him settled down, even sleeping again, he will repeat the desperate clutching should you try to put him down. So Ray and I take turns, and often end up sleeping on the bed in his room with him for the sake of self preservation. It's all a phase, it's all a phase...

Wheelbarrow Ride!

2011-06-08T22:32:00.001-04:00

Last weekend, Ray was at his annual golf outing, so the kids and I went over to my folks' house. Maia had a lot of fun. Papa brought her to the park, and then across the street to pet the draft ponies while Parker took a nap. After lunch, Papa offered a wheelbarrow ride. What fun!

They had a great time! Parker and Maia were both giggling away.

After Parker and Maia had their turn, Papa needed one too.

Maia tried...

... and tried..

I can't do it!

You're too heavy, Papa. Get out, please!

And Parker showed grandma how he can walk holding on to just one hand.

I love kids.

2011-06-07T18:42:00.000-04:00

Wouldn't it be great if more moments were like this?

A Memorable Memorial Day

2011-06-01T20:52:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day. A beautiful, warm, sunny clear day. We've made plans with my folks and Kath's family to meet at the beach for a day in the sun. A little cookout. A nice day with the family.

Imagine a picture of Parker eating his first handful of sand, here.

Imagine a picture of Maia putting her feet in the 50º water here.

Parker's face after his first foray into Lake Michigan.

Where are these pictures?

Our plan was to be at the lake shore between 10-10:30. We were just starting to get ready at 8:30, I'd had a rare extra hour of sleep that morning. So we started a bit behind schedule. It's partially my fault. I should have loaded the car the night before. And we had some issues with children listening. But we were on the road, minus gas in the car and ice in the cooler, by 10. Should be okay. It's about a 40 minute drive.

We're 5 miles away from the beach. We turn a corner, and it's a parking lot of cars. What's going on? An accident? No cop cars or any posted detours. In fact, there really isn't anywhere to even turn around to try to find another route. After being stationary for about 20 minutes, Maia announces she needs to go potty. Did you put her in a pull up? No, I thought you were doing that. Oh boy. A few minutes later, Maia announces, "It's okay. I went potty, but it's okay, momma." Sigh.

After about 40minutes, traffic starts moving. Slowly. As we drive into town, it occurs to me that it was probably a parade that was holding us up. But I am surprised that there was no re-routing of traffic, given the fact that Memorial Day is also a huge beach holiday.

We continue on our way, more than a bit annoyed. One mile out from the beach, we see that traffic is again heavy, trying to get into the state park. We find our way around much of the traffic and take our place in line. Where we wait. And Wait. Parker, who was sleeping, is now awake and whining. Lunchtime is approaching, and the kids are hungry. We're getting frustrated, as traffic isn't moving. We've let people in, and other people have taken advantage of street side parking lots and cut in front of us.

It is now about 12:15 pm. I've given Maia a pack of fruit snacks that I had in my purse, but there is nothing much I can do for Parker, who is now in need of a diaper change. One hour into this wait, we are finally in the driveway to the state park. We can see my parent's motorhome, where they are firing up the grill so we can eat lunch. There is most of a row of empty parking next to them. We inch forward, beyond frustrated, we are just done. Two Park Staff members are walking down the drive. They walk to a sawhorse sign and put it directly in front of our car; Park Full.

You have got to be kidding me. I object, I tell the part staff "We're meeting family, they're right there!" I point. "Sorry." No explanation, no suggestions. The park is full is the only answer we get.

That's it. We are Heading Home. We peel off from the drive, stop in front of where my folks are parked, and tell them what has happened. They suggest we park on the street... but there is no parking within blocks. Sorry, we need food and a bathroom. We cannot drive around for another 30 minutes to look for a parking spot. We drive off and head to Burger King, where the very hungry children pound their lunch.

Once we're back on the road, we find out by text that within 5-10 minutes they were letting cars in again, and not only that, the parking spots around my folks never filled up the entire day. Thanks Park Staff. Thanks for your failure to appropriately communicate. Thanks for making a bad morning worse. In addition to our frustration and annoyance, I was feeling both guilty for not getting us out of the house earlier, but that Parker was missing out on this first beach experience. We don't often get to the beach, and this arrangement with the motorhome is really a nice option for getting out of the sun.

Back home, we put kids down for nap. I thought I'd make up for it by inflating their kiddie pool, only to find that we'd lost the adaptor for the air pump. Out to the store to find a replacement. Home. I inflate the pool, but unfortunately, it took so long that the water didn't have time to warm up before the kids were up and wanting to play. So the water was extremely cold, but they made the best of it. Maia wouldn't sit down, but Parker didn't really have a choice!

So he didn't stay in for long.

Maia loved the sprinkle feature.

Parker sports his fancy purple ear plugs.

While the kids were playing, I thought I'd go ahead and fire up the grill for hot dogs. I turn on one burner, then the other. Click. Click. Click. Fantastic. We are out of gas. No problem, I'll grab the spare tank... which is also empty. Sigh.

After getting a new tank, Ray also brought me a much needed refreshment.

What a day!

Water Table

2011-05-28T22:16:00.003-04:00

On Sunday the 22nd, we opened up the water table for the first time this season. Parker thought all the splashing was great fun.

He got himself quite wet!

It was difficult to convince Maia that she is much too big to get in the water table this year. She really liked to sit in the table last year, and call it her "pool."

Stomping

2011-05-27T21:08:00.003-04:00

May 21st was the 9th Annual Stomp Out Stigma event for the Mental Health Foundation. I captain the team for my place of work, and we ended up having 104 people register for the walk, with 97 actually participating. AMAZING. I was grateful to have some extra help from my family, while I tried to make sure that 20+ got their t-shirts the morning of the walk, and to help find some of the t-shirt sizes I was shorted.

When we were getting ready in the morning, Maia was the last to get dressed. She saw Parker in his shirt, mommy and daddy in their shirts, and said "I want one of dose shirts like Pahkuh!" When I showed her the t-shirt for her, she yelled and jumped up and down "I'm excited about dat, momma!" She also asked to wear it the next two days.

My sister started running this year, and has already run two 5k races. So a 5k walk was nothing for her, and the kids did great as well.

Emily had a volleyball tournament later on during the day. And Parker was very sleepy.

Maia was a little overwhelmed by being in the middle of 900+ people.

Adrian had was set with his Ipod.

Right as we were supposed to start walking, Maia decided she had to go potty. So Kath quickly ran her to the bathroom.

Maia walked (and ran) the last half, and was very excited about the river. She told us it looked like daddy's coffee. Meanwhile, Parker had a nice nap.

After the walk, we went to Applebees for lunch.

And in the afternoon, Maia tried on my glasses (which I rarely wear),

... and "played Piroska" by wearing those glasses and combing my hair.

Ears by the Numbers

2011-05-26T23:01:00.000-04:00

Sixteen doctors appointments since February 17th.
Twelve weeks of chronic ear infections.
Six Rocephin injections.
Five rounds of antibiotics.
Four different antibiotics.
Three additional medications.
Two infected ears.
One surgery: Bilateral Myringotomy with Tubes. Hopefully the resolution of a long three months of ear infection, after ear infection, teeth and a couple more ear infections. Poor kid.

In addition to traditional treatment, we also tried a few chiropractic visits. I was hopeful it had helped, but I brought Parker in to the pediatrician to have his ears checked, since he'd had a cold for about a week, but hadn't ever spiked a temp, and... Nope. "Raging bilateral ear infection." Sigh. Rocephin injections. Again.

Our arrival time for Parker's surgery was set for 6:45 a.m. Today was the first time in quite a while we actually tried to, and managed to, get up before the kids (who are notoriously and unfortunately early risers). I'd last nursed Parker at 1:30 a.m., since orders were for no milk/formula after 1:45 a.m. We had to wake him, and he was pretty okay with that. A sleepy Maia was dropped off at daycare with a cereal bar and some milk at 6:10.

Then off to the outpatient surgery center. Parker got his cool new bracelet, which he played with until he managed to get it off, about 15-20 minutes later. Until then, he was cruising happily along the waiting room furniture,

and reading a book with momma,

or cuddling with daddy.

When it was time for surgery, they took him from us with paci in mouth and jammies on. We saw the ENT surgeon in about 15 minutes, to advise that surgery was fine, and that yes, there was an infection (we knew that) and we should go ahead and get that third (and hopefully final) Rocephin shot.

A few minutes later, they were bringing us back to a recovery room. He was cuddling the nurse and they told us he did really well. They often expect them to be irritable, sometimes inconsolable, but Parker was content to look around sleepily and lay his head on my shoulder.

He didn't nurse much, and wasn't acting particularly hungry. After another 5-7 minutes of cuddling he perked up and was ready to play. He remained snugly for the rest of the day, and finally seemed more normal and ate well at dinner time.

It was actually kind of nice to have a cuddly, snugly baby for a day. He's on the move so much, that cuddling has become minimal of late. We had designs to get a bunch of things done while we were both home, but with cuddly sleepy baby, cold rainy day, and serious sleep deficit (see above for 12+ weeks of illness and teething) made napping seem much more appealing. Our fingers are crossed that this is the end of this issue, and we don't have to repeat this in a few months. Poor Parker.

Dentist

2011-05-20T23:29:00.001-04:00

Maia went to the dentist for the very first time on the 18th. She'd been talking about it for months, ever since she'd caught an episode of Elmo's World where a kid went to the dentist and got to have his teeth polished with bubble gum flavored paste. She was in. Every day she would tell me, her classmates, her teacher "I'm going to da dentist now, okay mommy?"

We got a referral from my sister to a local pediatric dentist who is supremely kid friendly. Maia was unbelievably excited when we walked in the door and she saw this great log cabin playhouse filled with toys. I sat down and completed paperwork, and she brought me Every. Single. Toy. in that playhouse!

Then, it was time to go back. They did x-rays on her teeth, and she did really well, and sat amazingly still. She looked so tiny in that chair with the big lead blanket (tie-dyed!) over her, with just her little cowgirl boots sticking out.

Then we went to the exam room...

...where her teeth were counted, flossed and eventually polished. She had lots of choices of paste flavor, originally thought maybe cookie dough was for her, but settled on bubble gum in the end. No cavities, things are looking great with her current and future teeth. Not to worry yet about damage from the finger sucking. If she's not growing out of it by 6 months from now, however, we will have to do more talking.

She did SO well, I was so proud of her good manners and patience. She is very excited to go back!

She got a truckload of little gifts... toothbrush, paste, floss, a mini flosser, a sticker and a plush flower.

She was eager to try everything out in the car. When I picked her up at the end of the day, I learned that she and her friend Claire had dominated the lesson plans for the day by talking about the dentist and Disney World, respectively. Since my kid is now asking to go to Dizaney Wourd, I certainly hope Claire and the rest of her friends are now asking to go see the dentist!

Family Pics

2011-05-19T22:21:00.001-04:00

Daycare was asking for a family pic. One of the teachers created a tree out of 9 canvases, and asked all the families to submit pictures for the center's "family tree." So we set up the tripod to see what we could get.

This was the best one:

The out-takes:

An important lesson: Don't wait until it's bedtime and the kids are exhausted to do this. Parker does not look pleased!

Mothers Day

2011-05-16T22:20:00.000-04:00

"What would you like for Mother's Day?" Ray asks me.

"For my children to not wake me up before 7 a.m."

I had a better chance of winning the lottery without buying a ticket.

Parker generally gets up at 5:45, and Maia between 6 and 6:30 at the latest.

What I did get... was some love and cuddles from my kids (that's good!)

Maia remembered it all on her own and wished me Happy Mother's Day.

Ray got McDonald's breakfast and we got shorted a few sandwiches.

And these gifts:

Wow. Parker has great handwriting for a 10 month old!

(alright... thanks goes to those wonderful ladies at daycare!)

And Maia made bath salts with her friends at school. Lavender and Eucalyptus Mint.

Maia brought them home for me the Thursday before, and was so excited:

Da purple one is for you, and da green one is for daddy.

Dere bath sawts, so you can take a weeee-laxing bath!

The Park

2011-05-15T23:50:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was gorgeous. It was time to get out to the park. However, it tends to take forever to get ready, so we didn't really get out in the morning like I'd hoped. In fact, it was pretty much lunch time.

No matter. We'll stop and get lunch, since Maia is constantly asking for a picnic, and we'll eat at the park.

So, Wendy's junk in hand, we chose our table and started eating. Parker is in his stroller. I got out my phone to start taking pics, but the Maia decided she had to go to the bathroom.

So we packed up the food, ran across the park and...

Alas. The bathrooms were still closed and locked for the winter/spring season. A toilet-paperless porta-potty it would have to be. Fortunately, I had wipes, and there was hand sanitizer. Maia was fascinated. I wasn't quite so excited, while we stood there with the door open, since I couldn't bring Parker and stroller in with us. I had to hold Maia to keep her tiny tushie from falling in the big hole!
Moving on. We re-settled at our table, and Maia wolfed down another chicken nugget before deciding she HAD to go play. She climbed right up to the biggest spiral slide and slid down. After that, it was running to every piece of playground equipment and trying it all. Every slide. Everything that could be ridden or climbed on, she tried it.

Parker tried a few slides, but usually slid too fast and bonked his head a little bit. Eventually, I managed to get them both to the swings.

There, Parker was delighted. He giggled. He kicked. And yes, I know he's missing a shoe. I got tired of putting it back on.

When we got home, Daddy was mowing the lawn. Even though it was nap time for little girls, lawn mowing is An Event. And we must Do Our Part. So she 'helped' daddy finish up, and Parker watched them both out the window.

He was very excited to watch them, but it was hysterical with his big sister came to say "hi!"

Laughing

2011-05-09T20:52:00.001-04:00

I love that the kids are now more able to interact and play with each other. Maia continues to be a good sister, and is generally concerned with Parker being safe by pulling or pushing him (uncomfortably) out of the way. He is generally not a fan. But there are things that escape my mouth that I later marvel at. You may not ride your brother! for example.

But a few days ago, this was the "after dinner entertainment."

Dinner Outside

2011-05-08T22:20:00.000-04:00

Last week, Ray was gone at dinner time for his bowling league, and Maia kept asking to eat outside. "A Picnic!" It was a beautiful evening. The dinner plans included such glamorous items as hot dogs, and macaroni-n-cheese. So I thought this might be doable.

Parker was pretty sleepy, but managed to put away some serious mac n' cheese.

See this little thing he's doing with his feet? Maia used to do it too, and I think it's pretty funny. Somehow the highchair tray becomes a foot rest?

One of Those Nights.

2011-05-07T17:21:00.001-04:00

Every mother (parent) has this night, or day, and probably quite a few variations of them as our children age.

Ray is off bowling so it's just me and the kids. So I'm getting some dinner ready for them, and Maia is so hungry she is eating it out of the serving dish before I can even get the table set. Then she spills the bowl of peas on the floor. I get the kids eating while I clean this up. Dinner's done, and Parker is wheezing so I let Maia watch a little TV after dinner (a rarity) so I can go give Parker his inhaler. I come back from getting the inhaler, and Maia is standing on the couch: "I went poopy momma."

Sigh.

This is the third accident this week after dinner, but she rarely poops in her pants. Unfortunately, she's had rather loose poop this week, so I put Parker down next to his toys and tell her "don't move!" I pick her up and carry her to the bathroom to clean her up. She's trying to take off her her pants, and I'm yelling at her to wait for me to get her onto a towel so I don't have to mop the floor. She doesn't wait. It's so bad, I throw the undies away and poop is everywhere. I get her cleaned up as well as I can and in a diaper for bedtime. I check on Parker, and he's happy as can be. I pick him up and think Huh, I thought I did a better job cleaning him up after dinner than... Oh Crap. Literally. Little poop nuggets had fallen onto the carpet, and he'd crawled through them. Poor kid had Maia's poop on his hands, shirt, feet, and cheek. GROSS!

Just to top it off, later in the evening, she managed to head butt me right in the nose so hard I saw stars and my eyes were immediately streaming. I tell you, I could not get her to bed fast enough!

It is for days like this that they make Mother's Day, right? And to Our Mothers: Thank you, and We're Sorry for your days like this!

He Walks Behind

2011-05-05T20:39:00.000-04:00

Then, on Sunday, May 1st, he did this.

Since he's been cruising for a while, I thought it would have been a quicker transition to this, but he really didn't show any interest in wanting to walk behind a toy until just recently. I helped him get started today, and he thought he was pretty cool.

He Climbs

2011-05-04T17:15:00.002-04:00

Usually he sits at the bottom stair and pat-pat-pats on it.

On April 30th, I was surprised to see him doing this.

Easter

2011-05-03T23:47:00.000-04:00

Easter arrived in a house full of sick people (Momma included). As such, apparently the Easter Bunny was reluctant to spend too much time leaving eggs to search for.

Maia found them quickly! And that was that.