Family Davis-Ross

vroom, vroom

posing, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

Another fun outing with my Dad - this time, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Big room full of cars? Cars that you can sit in? And some motorcycles, too? Sign Peter up!

(In planning the trip, my dad did say, "well, it takes about two hours to go through the museum," to which I had to gently remind him that Peter has the attention span of a gnat, and suggested that perhaps half and hour was a more reasonable expectation.)

While the boys were away, Lucy took a super long nap and I read about three months' worth of People magazine.

So yes, we all had a nice afternoon.

seriously.

seriously., originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

My parents live directly behind a fire station, and I told my dad that Peter would love to visit the station to see the trucks.

So while Kevin and I went off to check our email and look for flights, my dad took Peter to the fire station. (I should get into a better habit of mentioning Lucy's activities, which aren't as diverse as her brothers, yet. She went with us, as she is little-miss-nursing-addict.)

Unfortunately, the hat was left behind. But by all accounts, Peter had a great time, was well behaved, and was curious about everything. I'm not at all surprised by the photos my dad took - you can see more if you click on the photo above. Peter driving a fire truck? Peter trying to use the computer? Peter looking with interest at all kinds of equipment? Totally believe it.

Later, Peter ran around our backyard, throwing leaves, then came inside and tried to eat a hairy cheerio he found under the sofa. Someone stopped him, which resulted in some cries for "mommy!" A cookie was doled out, piece by piece, to calm him down (Kevin's suggested technique if Peter were to freak out), but it was my phoned-in suggestion of the Elmo video that really did the trick. This, too, I believe.

the only one

the only one, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

my Mom and Lucy - the only picture

this week

Kevin and I flew out to Indiana with four hours notice. It can be done.

My children remain amazing fliers. I'm really very, very lucky.

We were also lucky to find flights home with Thanksgiving holiday over-bookedness. We're back in California, despite my fears of needing to spend a night or two at the Denver airport.

We flew out Sunday, arrived at 1:30 a.m. We put my mother to rest Wednesday morning. I saw relatives I've not seen in dozens of years - relatives I only know as signatures from Christmas cards and graduation checks - strangers who knew my mother for as long as I did.

We spent Thanksgiving as a family, just not in the ways we thought we would.

My children provided a bit of light in an otherwise dark situation. I'm happy for that. My Dad and Peter are little buddies - I'll always remember how it looked to see my Dad and Peter, holding hands, walking to visit the fire station.

I won't say much about my mother's passing here, because it's not the place, and I'll certainly say things I don't mean - or, rather, that I won't mean for very long. That's not to say I won't mention her, because she's on my mind.

That's not also to say that I'm not grieving, because I am. But I'm in an awful, blaming, angry kind of grief that does no one any good.

The fact that I have an amazing husband to help me through this only compounds my pain, though. I can't even imagine how it would feel to lose Kevin - and then I remember that's exactly what my father's going through right now.

So, things may look as if they're "back to normal" around here. And, in many ways, they are. I still have a toddler who needs to swing and a baby who likes to giggle. This blog is as much a memory keeper for them as it is anything else.

Tomorrow I'll share some of the lighter moments from our trip to Indiana, like, "oh! Peter's running a fever and throwing up before we fly!" or "is that a baby driving the fire truck?"

I will say this, though: I missed seeing my mother, by two hours. Suddenly, it seems so silly to be so far away from family. It always was our goal to be close(r) to family, but we thought, "hey! three years! that's not too long." Except maybe it was too long.

goodbye

Susan Ellen Davis, 1951 - 2008

I try to keep this blog a happy place.

But, I'd be lying if I didn't say that something big has been on my mind for the past two months.

My mother is really, really sick. It sounds as if things have gotten particularly bad this past week. She's currently in the hospital, receiving fluids and treatment for some infections.

Please, please, please keep her in your thoughts. Also keep my father and younger sister in your thoughts too - they're taking such great care of my mother.

Thank you, friends.

makeshift double stroller

Clearly, I'm still awaiting the arrival of our double stroller.

Kevin had to work today. It's possibly the first (and last?) time he's worked on the weekend days. We were the only fatherless family at the park. It was a little sad, but, at the same time, I don't know if Peter really knows the difference. It's not like he has a calendar above his desk reminding him that it's Saturday.

We also decided to have lunch out. The park was getting a little...socializing-y...and I decided we needed to leave. Peter might have been in for another hour, but I just wasn't in the mood to make small talk.

I gave Peter the option between pizza and tacos; he chose tacos. He had a giant plate of beans and rice and a huge scoop of guacamole. I hate it when these come out the "processing center," but the kid loves his Mexican food.

I threw Lucy in the stroller while eating. She loved it, which gives me great, great hope for the stroller that's now in LA on its way to make my life easier. On the way home, rather than take her out and re-Bjorn her, I had Peter walk beside me. This worked well until he turned into must-investigate-every-ant-and-point-out-every-cigarette-butt*, so I made him sit on top of the stroller.

Despite the smile on his face, he hated it.

* Peter's tried to pick up a few discarded butts; every time he comes close to one, I started shrieking "dirty! dirty!" Now, whenever he sees one, he points to it and mimics me: "dirty! dirty!"

an open letter to the park

swingin sibs, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

I love your swings. I love it when my sister can swing, too. But I'm getting a little bored with you. Tomorrow, let's go to the farm.

your friend, Peter

cool dude

cool dude, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

He requested all elements of his outerwear today: sunglasses, hat, puffer.

He's clearly very stylish.

yes, actually, it does

yes, actually, it does, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

It just seems like if you're going this much out on the patriotic limb, your flag in question should have the thirteen stripes.

fall!

, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

We found not one but two trees that had shed their leaves into inviting piles on our walk home from coffee#2 today.

Lots of this followed.

In other news, I'd like to publicly announce that I had two slices of coffee cake for lunch today. I'm still waiting for that day when I actually regularly eat somewhat nutritious lunches. It's appalling what passes for lunch up in here...bowl of candy corn? Three Powerbars? Handfuls upon handfuls of goldfish crackers? Yes, yes, and yes.

this one

, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

Kevin: I alternate between thinking she looks like my grandmother and Cartman from South Park.
Lucy: wail! wail! wail!

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It's true though - she's a round little mound of baby. My favorite part of her, without question, is her little belly button nestled in her chubby baby belly. It's a perfectly formed innie, and it's perfect.

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If I don't mention Lucy more, it's because she's so good, so complacent, and so even from day-to-day. There are a few sad trends of late (ahem, night waking), but she's also doing things Peter never ever did: putting herself to sleep, spacing out her feedings, keeping her BMs relatively clean, and using very distinctive cries to signal her wants.

Yes, it's a Lucy Language. A few highlights:

"quacking" - it means it's time to get to sleep, pronto
"wah! wah! wah!" (short little cries) - I'm ready to sleep, please
"aaah! aaah! aaah!" (long wails of despair) - feed my belly!

She's also incredibly easy to make smile, laugh, or giggle. I think she's starting to become ticklish under her arms - either that, or the ridiculous faces I make while tickling her sets her a-gigglin'.

She's not terribly interested in holding things, but she does enjoy sitting and reading stories more than her brother did at this age.

Hmm. She enjoys *standing* and reading stories. I don't know if it's all the time she's spent in the Bjorn or just her abnormally large legs, but this kids LOVES to stand up. I think she'd like an exersaucer, except for that all we've seen have way, way, way too much stuff going on. And a doorway bouncer would never survive with Mr. Me Too! around.

When Peter was her age, he slept dozens of feet away from us. Lucy still sleeps spooned against me. I couldn't possibly imagine her any farther way.

back to nature

clouds/fog + cool breeze = perfect farm weather

As I threatened to do last week, I made the farm an addition to our weekly schedule. I'm going to try to go on cloudy mornings, since the park becomes pretty chilly when the sun's not out, and the walk to the farm us just too sunny on clear days.

I was afraid I'd made the wrong choice in going to the farm today, though. As we were walking from our car to the farm (a mile walk, which is why I'm always a little afraid...it's a long way out to have two freakin' out kiddos and only port-a-potties), I asked Peter what we would see. "Rhinos! Hippos! Giraffes! Roar (lion or tiger, I can never tell)! Peacock! Flamingos!" he replied. After each animal, I said, "no, silly, we see that animal at the zoo...what do we see at the farm?"

Pretty much the same story as last week, except the cat was more obliging and the pig was out in full force.

"no, no, don't pull the cat's tail!"

Today, the birds weren't a big draw. It was - surprise, surprise! - the water fountain he found, complete with a handy step for wee tykes like himself.

luckily, the cat provided a much-needed distraction

Lucy had fun, too, even if she was dressed like a clown. (And while I'd like to blame Kevin for this one, it's all my fault.)

at least you're warm, Lucy

I'm always curious about what Peter remembers from the day, so as we were having dinner, I asked Peter to tell Kevin what he'd seen. With a little prompting, he was able to recall some of the highlights of the day, especially "oink!" (the pig), followed by "all gone!" (meaning, when we walked past the pig again, he was all gone!).

caught stealing the pig?

things to do while babies refuse to nap

(Well, the first step is a simple one: put babies to nap and wait for them to sleep...or, in this case, not sleep. Let #1 cry for, oh, 40 minutes before deciding that you've crossed into cruel and unusual territory and take him out of the crib.)

1. Don't put in Elmo video. Try to nurse #2 while #1 tries to push her from your arms. Tell #1 firmly, yet calmly, "this is the time I take care of your sister. You are supposed to be napping. I need to spend time with your sister. You only can watch Elmo when you take a nap."

2. Have brief, fleeting moment of hope when #1 runs back to his crib and says "yes," when you ask him, "do you want to take a nap?" Hold him for 5 minutes (while #2 cries piteously), singing the "Twinkle Twinkle medley."

3. Know that you were getting your hopes up for nothing when #1 begins freakish, scary, never-before-seen tantrum once placed in crib. Keep him in cruel infant torture device (a.k.a. crib) for a few minutes - perhaps he'll really tire out? At least you can nurse #2 and bring her back to happy state.

4. Acquiesce to #1. Put in Elmo video. Hug and kiss profusely. Convince self that #1 does not "hate" her for trying to get him to nap. Bring him orange juice, a treat up there with ice cream in his eyes.

5. Nurse #2 again. Hold her in your lap as you reply to emails - that flat head of hers means you must type everything with one hand while the other holds her upright on your lap. You're getting very good at this. Consider marketing said skill.

6. Surprise! Clean up baby spit-up. Lots of it. Hmm. Where did it come from? All of that frantic crying earlier?

7. Let #1 watch next part of Elmo video.

8. Check status of double stroller. Still not here...

9. Internal debate: can your back take another 2 hours in the Bjorn? The park always is an option for the extra 2 hours of entertainment we need.

10. Think about calling husband to complain. Reconsider. He is trying to work, after all.

11. Take two three Advil as a prophylactic against late-afternoon headaches.

12. Type rambling blog posts. Think for a minute, "oh, in 5 years this will be the stuff of memories." Then think, "oh, dear God, please let this be the stuff of memories."

13. Join #1 in a rousing rendition of "The Ants Go Marching One by One!"

14. Put #2 in her infant seat and coo at her.

15. Relax. Everyone's back to their happy place...for now. Use the next 15 minutes wisely. You ought to put laundry in the wash, but you'll probably look at someone's blog, wondering why you don't have any eggs at home so that you, too, could make some delicious-looking chocolate chip cookies. Then Google "eggless dessert recipes," and find a bunch of fruit pies. Remember: oh! I made apple crisp last night! Yes...happy endings always are the best.

I'm all about easy solutions

addicted, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

If your kid has dirty hands and you need to do the dishes...why not clean both? I make Peter take his clothes off before he can do this; otherwise, he might never be motivated to take off his own clothes. This kids is addicted to water.

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Our daytime routine is one forged through the kind of overthinking only 30-minute walks can give you. Every time Kevin proposes an alternative (why not this park? why not that coffee shop? why not earlier/later?) I have a list of five reasons why his suggestion just isn't optimal.

That's not to say that my solution is perfect, just that, believe me, I've thought of every permutation available and adopted the best option.

The biggest problem with our routine is the walk home. It's long, it's after a fun morning/early afternoon at the park, and it's just before naptime. I find myself doing the clown-mommy routine to keep Peter awake on the ride home.

Today? Skittles. Three. Doled out at equal intervals. One for every ten minutes we walked. He still managed to close his eyes as we were walking in the apartment (something that happens way more often than you'd expect). But naptime today was great, so I can't complain.

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I made apple crisp tonight. While I was making it, I gave Peter a taste of cinnamon. He requested more. His dinner tonight might have consisted of frozen peas and cinnamon.

While making the apple crisp, I thought to myself, "man, you know, the best part of apple crisp is the topping...I should make a LOT of topping."

I did. I made way, way too much topping. It's like 70 percent topping. I also cut way back on the sugars and butter,* but it's still way too rich. Believe me when I say that I had to take some of the sweet edge off by topping it with caramel ice cream.

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Lucy is so, so close to rolling over from her back to her stomach. I've given her less back time now that she's Little Miss Pancake Head, but, as I told Kevin tonight, I can't deny her something she enjoys so much.

* I never, never, never follow recipes. Ever. I just throw stuff that tastes good together and hope for the best. But how could you go wrong with brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter?

standoff

watching the train pass, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

Dear Peter,

I know that it probably stinks to get four new teeth at once. I wish that teething weren't such a long process. But...

...please take a nap.

...please, please, please take a nap.

Also, I can't believe that you've forgotten how cool your dad is. I, your mother, don't have to do everything for you. Your dad's pretty good at things like book-reading, diaper-changing, and teeth-brushing.

My mood is a direct function of Peter's nap. The more nap, the better my mood. No nap = very, very, very sad mommy.

The fact is, while I like spending time with Peter, I also enjoy not spending time with Peter. I especially like not having to watch out that he's on the brink of killing himself or his sister.

Today, I caught him with a razor (eek!) because he realized that he could move his stool into the bathroom and reach all kinds of fun stuff. I also caught him trying to mount his rocking horse by jumping onto it from the futon. He also decided to try to hang off of the highest possible hanging point on the "big kids" playground equipment. We're talking 30 feet off the ground here, friends. So, yeah, I need to keep my eyes on this one.

As our doctor said, "never underestimate a toddler's ability and desire to climb."

In more optimistic news, our stroller is on its way!

easily pleased

, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

I found a fly on a lampshade this morning.

Peter found a lot of pleasure in examining it.

This kid is really, really easy to please.

morning bed time (by request)

morning bed time (by request), originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

We do this every morning.

"baby? pillow? blanket? up? up?"

Sometimes Lucy goes on the right side, sometimes she goes on the left side. I never know which, but you can be assured a very particular toddler is quick to let me know when I've gotten it wrong.

holy moley, I'm not ready for this

I made him cross the street and pose for this picture

yesterday, while walking to church

Amy: blah, blah

Kevin: blah, blah, blah? 

Peter: all gone!

Amy: what's all gone?

Peter: rainbow! rainbow!

Kevin: the rainbow's all gone?

Peter: wheel! wheel! (motions furiously with his hands in a spinning motion) all gone! all gone! (points across the street to a house)

Kevin: ooohhh....the pinwheel's all gone.

OK, so a back story: we pointed out a pinwheel in someone's front lawn to Peter a few months ago because we knew, hey, what kid doesn't like a rainbow pinwheel? And Peter pointed to it a few times as we walked past, but we only walk down that street when we're walking to church, and we hadn't done it for about a month.

The fact is: the pinwheel was all gone.

today

Peter threw off the shackles of naptime, and I wanted a way to fill the extra two hours we had ahead of us. I suggested a walk to the library, which met with tepid enthusiasm from Peter.

As we started our walk, Peter was pushing along his popper. It's something new he likes to do, and, as long as he's making progress, we let him do it.

He was starting to dawdle, and Kevin said, "hey, Peter, let's go and see if you can find that pinwheel." Meaning: the pinwheel that we thought was missing from yesterday.

This motivated Peter to keep moving. And, when he's walking, we let him (within reason) tell us where to go. We were on an unusual path anyway, having left from the side gate instead of the front gate, and Peter led us down this scary-suburb road,* where we go to look at a few motorcycles and to growl at a pair of lion statues.

Amy: blah, blah, blah

Kevin: blah, blah, blah

Peter: rainbow! (pointing across the street)

Amy: Peter, do you see a rainbow? (looking in vain for source of rainbow)

(return to adult conversation)

Peter: rainbow! rainbow! wheel!

Kevin: good job, Peter! (generic response whenever we have no idea what Peter's talking about)

At this point, displeased with our lack of enthusiasm, Peter stops, claps, and says, "bravo!"

Then he points again.

Another pinwheel.

In retrospect, I know I've pointed it out to him during our walks. But seriously, I'm blown away by it all. And I'm not ready for a kid who might actually remember the promises I make that I don't actually intend on keeping. (note to self: keep promises)

Kevin and I talk about how much we'd love it if Peter could draw a map of Mountain View for us. He has so much of our little part of the city cataloged in his brain. There's a house we walk past every day. For about three days around Halloween, a giant purple inflatable spider sat on the front lawn. Every day since it's been put away, Peter says, "all gone? spider? all gone?" when we pass.

A yellow motorcycle sat parked in the corner of the church parking lot for a week, never to be seen again - and Peter still says, "momo? yellow?" when we pass.

He could - I am sure - walk to the fish store from our house. He knows where to find the store with the Mr. Potato Head toy, which coffee shops I frequent when**, and where the pizza, "taco," and ice cream stores are. (And he of course knows what kind of treats he receives in each of these stores, but that's a story for another time.)

The thing that amazes me about kids isn't necessarily how quickly they learn things. It's that Peter has this whole, fully developed world in his head, a world created just from observing what's around him. A world that he sometimes opens up for us. It's kind of neat, really, to see the things your kids know that you've not taught them. I can't wait to see what else the little dude knows.

* A street of cookie-cutter houses in a downtown neighborhood of unique, older houses. It sticks out like a deformed limb.
** And, this afternoon, when we didn't stop in a coffee shop as per our routine, Peter became very upset. Kevin said sternly, "no, it is NOT acceptable for you to be upset that we're not going into a coffee shop."

new hairdo

new hairdo, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

Instead of naps, we did all kinds of silly things today.

Here is my contribution to the pile: a new hairdo for the little man.

What surprised me the most is that he didn't seem to care. This is the kind of thing that would get under his skin.

Maybe he liked the look? (Maybe not.)

I don't anticipate it being a regular feature. Kevin couldn't decide if Peter looked like a girl or a "dirty hippy" with a "long ponytail." Kevin then complained that Peter would "look like a softball player" when Peter requested his hat. So, there.

tight squeeze

For the past week, Peter's been waking up around 5 a.m., patiently calling "mommy!" from his crib, drinking 12 to 24 ounces of milk, then falling back to sleep. I should add that Kevin's always the one to get him, and that he usually falls asleep in our bed.

Since we're essentially co-sleeping with Little Miss Flat Head (aka Little Miss Suddenly Waking Up a Bunch at Night, What Happened to Sleeping Through the Night? I Knew It Was Too Good to Be True), this means I wake up in the mornings with the two little ones snuggled on either side of me.

Yes, a nice way to wake up. Perhaps made nicer only by a later wake-up time and a coffee by my bed. But we're working on that part.

I'm chalking Peter's waking up to teething, or a growth spurt, or perhaps an astrological phenomenon. I'm not willing to believe that he's taking a step back in sleeping, nor that we're allowing said step back to occur with the abundance of pre-wake-up milk and cuddles.

Actually, it's all Daylight Savings fault. Why, cruel world? I liked you better a few weeks ago, when Peter slept in and it was light outside when Kevin came home from work. (Eek. I'm betraying my Indiana DST problems.)

new skill

, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

She's done this a few times today. It's something that her brother has shown no interest in, ever.

It's surprising how such a little thing makes a such big difference.

girls in pink, boys in blue

girls in pink, boys in blue, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

I didn't plan it this way.

(And when Kevin came home, he was wearing blue too. But that's not saying much, since 95% of his wardrobe is blue. Well, the part I let him wear. When he came to me, Kevin had a ghastly collection of striped and checked and plaid shirts; I said "no way, Jose!" and made him get rid of them. I think they're in a box under our bed. And this is just one secret to a successful marriage.)

home is where...

Feeling (Carolina) blue

Today, the world conspired to remind me of Chapel Hill. Peter's Merge shirt, his UNC hat by request, and the amazingly beautiful sky.

When we first moved here over two years ago, we missed Chapel Hill. Those pangs of NC being "home" for us have subsided over the months we have spent here. I still miss some things - good record stores and close ice cream shoppes; Newman and Carburritos; friends, the Cradle, and Maple View.

But so much of what I miss from Carolina we never can have again: friends have moved on, we are actually working jobs rather than simply being aimless grad students, and we have two adorable but very time consuming children now.

While walking our routine today, I realized just how much I love the life we have now, and how it will be just as hard to leave Mountain View in a year's time. Peter has friends - real friends, friends with whom he shares toys and snacks. I ran into four separate people I knew by name on my short walk to get coffee this morning. Sure, we're still renting, but that means we have our weekends free to have fun and not to peel wallpaper from ceiling or to paint entire homes (although not all at once!).

Wherever we move (Toronto, my eye's still on you!), we'll make it our home. For now, though, I'll appreciate where we are and work on my list of things to always remember.

parenting survival techniques

license to drive
Originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin

I'm slowly amassing a collection of survival techniques that allow me to manage two little kids while out and about. I've mentioned some before - like the obvious, "always bring a stroller, even if you plan on letting the walker walk free, because you never know when you'll need to restrain him."

Here's another tactic I use: "driving." Whenever we arrive at a fun location and I want to nurse Lucy before we get out of the car, I take Peter from the car seat and let him "drive" the car.

It's either this or listening to him shriek "all done!" and "outside!" for the 10 minutes it takes for me to feed his sister. Speaking from experience here, people.

He thinks the gearshift is a microphone, squeals with delight when he sees the wheel, and shows no interest at all in the parking break.

He has been finding random pieces of candy, though. I caught him with some orange drool coming out of his mouth and asked him what he had. "Candy!" he replied - like, "duh, lady, can't you see this orange drool and smell my artificially-flavored orange breath?"

It doesn't surprise me at all that there's a buttongus of candy in the car. I mean, we've taken it everywhere - New England, the Grand Canyon, to California, to Indiana and New Jersey and Atlanta.

I just know we've not really had candy in the car since we've turned him around and he can see what we're eating. This kid is a scavenger. He sees something he wants, points to it, and says "yum!" It's his request for a taste.

Anyway, he obviously survived. And he still loves driving. I might even add it to our rainy-day activity list.

hey baby flathead

, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

Peter has his 18 month check yesterday. All systems check out - he passed his autism screen without any complications, Dr. Soriano confirmed my suspicion that he has eczema behind his knees, and he was a bit hysterical throughout, especially when it came time to poke him full of shots.

Dr. Soriano also confirmed that Lucy's developing the old SIDS flat head.

So, no more happy-playing-on-the-floor time for you, little girl. More hanging-out-in-arms, sitting-in-your-chair, propped-up-on-the-couch time. You'll grow to like it.

Because, really, things were going a little *too* well around here.

my back says "thank you!"

Thanks to the generosity of my parents, this is now on the way to our abode:

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. A silver lining on an otherwise crappy week.

farmlife

, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

We visited the farm again today. I'm not sure why I don't go more often - Peter LOVED it, and it was a great way to spend a few hours. Plus, it's close and free. Note to self: go once a week.

It was perfect weather to go, too - nice and cloudy. I always take advantage of nature's SPF when possible.

Bit hits at the farm were the chickens, the goats, and the sheep. Peter was not at all interested in the pig, was only mildly interested in the cow, and might have been more interested in the rabbits had their hutch not been so in-the-shade and far-from-view.

Actually, the big hit was the barn cat, which Peter chased, cornered, and was allowed to pet. He really liked touching the cat, and was quite gentle.*

I'm less and less wary about trips with the two, especially now that Lucy's older and less likely to need to eat every 15 minutes. We have a pretty good routine. Her naps are coalescing and she's spacing out her feedings. Yes, she's fitting in just fine.

* One of Peter's favorite books is "No, No, Yes, Yes," which tells him "No, no, don't pull the cat's tail; yes, yes, pet the cat nicely." Except for when Peter tries to communicate "pet," he furiously pets his own head. I mean, he slaps his head quite hard. It's a little disturbing, but he gets his point across.

mixed messages

A few times a week we have to remind Peter not to eat his crayons.

Yet, I just purchased a "Crayola" toothbrush for him.

I can't help but understand if he gets really confused. But, as I've mentioned before, it's really hard to find unthemed children's toothbrushes. I mean, maybe I'm not shopping in the right stores.

Related:

A few days ago, I caught a glimpse of Peter's molars. They were, to my untrained eye, very "decaying" looking. I freaked out. I called Kevin over to take a look. Kevin appraised the situation quickly: "he was eating a brown crayon earlier." Whew!

sharing his blocks

sharing his blocks, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

I know I've mentioned it before, but Peter's really good about sharing with Lucy.

Lately he's started bringing her toys to keep her occupied. Today he brought her his little push-cart, his spaceship, his dump truck, some drumsticks, numerous books, and her wrist rattles.

Unfortunately, his preferred method of giving Lucy a toy is to put it on top of her. An OK move if he's sharing a stuffed animal; a somewhat dangerous move if he's sharing his tricycle. Also, he refuses to stop giving her his food and drink, even when my reaction borders on frantically angry. I mean, I've caught him stuffing Cheerios and dried berries in her mouth, not to mention the number of times his sippy cup has gone in there.

He also loves to share his Cuddle Bear with her, which certainly is a mark both of his generosity and how much he loves her.

Peter's actually really compassionate. I'm surprised that someone so young can have so much empathy. Whenever kids cry at the playground, he's quick to send them "air kisses;" he loves to pray for family members during our nighttime prayers. Today he gave Lucy so many hugs and kisses I thought about staging an intervention.

Lucy, for her part, takes it all in stride. Sometimes she laughs, sometimes she cries, mostly she stares dumbfoundedly at her older brother and his antics. (Then again, her preferred position is sitting up, which makes me think she realizes being on he back makes her very vulnerable. At least if she's sitting up, she can see his attacks before they're upon her.)

sorting

crayon order, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

Kevin: You love it when he does things like this.
Amy: Yeah, but it also scares me.

P.S. I know my carpet is raunchy! Blame it on the still-drooling toddler who spills droplets of drool, milk-drool, and milk all day long.

things we have said today (sometimes more than once)

Lucy rocks a backward shirt, courtesy of Kevin's fab fashion sense

"Peter, don't sit on your sister!"

"Kevin, did you realize you put her shirt on backward?"
"Oh. That makes sense. I couldn't figure out the tag situation."

"No no!"
"That's right, Peter, don't pick your nose."
"No no!"
"Don't pick Lucy's nose either."
"No no!"
"Don't pick Mommy's nose either."
"Daddy?"
"Well, you'll have to ask Daddy if you can pick his nose."

"whaaah!"
"Sorry, Peter, I'll let you flush next time."

"Cookie? Cookie?"

"Peter, what should we have for dinner?"
"Cracky."
"And what else?"
"Taco."

"Growl! Growl!"

"Hey, Peter, knuckles?"
"Knuckles!"

-------------------------------------

all in all, a pretty normal day

colors, shapes, books, and grunts

Peter knows most of his colors. We've been working on them for a few months, but over the past few weeks he's manages to master all of the rainbow colors. And black. Yellow was the easiest; green seems to be his favorite. Orange is hard to say.

He also has a few shapes down: star, circle, square, triangle.

He's started to memorize a few books, too. Hop on Pop is a current memory book, but he certainly has much of No, David! down too.

He caws whenever he sees a crow, moos whenever he sees a cow, and baas whenever he sees a sheep.

Tonight we went to get movies, pizza and ice cream. He was ready to go home after pizza, until I said, "but Peter, we're getting some ice cream!" He replied, "OK."

Lucy's primary means of communication is shifting from crying to making other noises. She certainly coos quite a bit, but she makes a variety of noises Peter didn't. To be specific: she grunts, a lot. She also makes a semi-quack of protest. It sounds like a scream or yelp that is cut off a quarter of the way in.

Her reaction to the world around her takes a few different forms: happy smiles when she sees someone she likes; glazed-over when she's about to fall asleep; resigned when she's taken for yet another trip to see the motorcycles; laughing whenever something entertains her; and twitchy whenever her brother decides he wants to play with her.

art styling by Peter

caught it!, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

Most of the Peter-Lucy pictures are styled by Peter, who jumps in the frame when I'm taking a picture of Lucy, or otherwise sets up a scene he wishes me to capture. Usually his style is focused on seating arrangements, but today he broke out the props.

I give you: baby and duck.

I appreciate the yellow-and-green harmony the duck brings to the chair, but I would have gone with some thing a bit more contrasting.

Oh, well. Peter has many years to learn.

Peter + seastar

Peter + seastar, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

I apologize for the terrible photo - aquaria are tough places to photograph.

Yesterday found me in a bit of a funk, and what better way to shake the funk off than to get in your car and drive 40 miles to the nearest aquarium?

Peter's been pretty obsessed with the fish store down the street, and I thought he'd enjoy seeing the fish and other sealife in a bigger environment.

He did. He especially liked the tunnel full of seastars (a new favorite, combining his favorite shape, star, with his favorite ecosystem, water). He also got to splash around a bunch in the touchpool and manhandle some sea stars and sea cucumbers.

But his favorite part might have been the emergency stop buttons that controlled the automatic walkway. This kid's going to be an engineer, for sure - he can't pass a button he doesn't want to push.

Defending his cracky from hungry gulls

Since this aquarium is at Fisherman's Wharf, we took in the sea lions as well. Peter also strutted around the place, having his photo taken by two separate groups of Japanese tourists and helping strangers eat their ice cream.

Watching sea lion antics

I do a lot of things with Peter that mostly are for myself. But yesterday Peter really enjoyed our outing. (I mean, he always enjoys our outings...but this time, you could tell he got that it was something special and a treat.)

Lucy was a bit fussier than usual yesterday, which mean that we weren't really able to do other Bay activities, like walk on the boats or play in the sand. All for the better, really, since we barely made it home before the wretched freeway traffic swallowed us whole.

inertia

a Peter pose, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

Lucy's "massiveness" (in that she has great mass) means that she pretty much stays put when you plop her in a corner.

Her new nickname is "the tank."

While I'm obviously glad she's doing so well, my back is not.

storytime

storytime, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

This has quickly become a much-requested activity. I've learned to put Lucy to one side of her blanket, to give Peter plenty of room, or else he'll make room. (He's tried picking her up only once or twice - our quick and not-so-happy reactions might have scared him from that for now. He does move her around, though, and I've caught him trying to flip her over.)

Today, Peter picked the books, all truck themed. Lucy didn't seem to mind too much.

the good with the bad

I'm happy to wake up this morning to the news that Indiana went for Obama. It really, really surprises me, in a happy way.

I'm sad to wake up this morning to the news that California passed Prop 8. I don't think that any voter, in any place, at any time, should be given the power to eliminate rights of other citizens. I'm disappointed that the Catholic Church has spent so much time and effort supporting Prop 8. I'm outraged that people actually think that their kids will be forced to learn about same-sex marriage in school, since, as far as I can tell, kids in California do well to leave high school with the ability to read a job application and count to 10.*

There are so many other issues that "support families" or "harm to social fabric" more than same-sex marriage. Hmm...what about those stellar schools I hinted about above? Or a crushing budget deficit courtesy of a mismanaged war and an economy of greed?

I am confident that Peter and Lucy will look back on this period of our country's political life the way we now look at Japanese internment camps or Jim Crow laws - with the shocked horror of "how could that happen in my country? during my parents' lifetime? why didn't anyone do anything?"

Until then, I'm going to continue to treat everyone the way I'd like to be treated. Sound like a good plan? I'm surprised more people don't try it, given it was Jesus's idea (Luke 10:27). But then again, they seem to read a different part of the Bible than I do.**

*Gross, horrible exaggeration. But really, unless the state puts something on the exit exam, kids aren't going to learn it because teacher's won't teach it, and that's a whole other can of worms.
** Sorry, terribly unChristian and pot-calling-kettle smarmy-ness here. I'm trying to be better.

obama!

obama!
Originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin

Peter voted twice today, once with Kevin and once with me.

It's all about the sticker, though. And he received no fewer than six. I think every poll worker tried to give him one.

Anyway, here he makes his voice heard, in the cheer we've been working on for the past few weeks.

Kevin and I are just waiting for the results on Prop 8, the measure to CHANGE THE STATE CONSTITUTION to ELIMINATE THE RIGHT of same-sex couples to marry. (And that's the wording from the measure, too: "eliminate the right.") I can understand that people don't believe in same-sex marriage (understand, but don't agree with), but I cannot understand how anyone can vote to eliminate rights. It sends big, icy chills up my spine.

tearing up

awake, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

I think Lucy has a clogged tear duct. Over the past three or four days she's had some serious tearage in her left eye, along with some crusty gunk. It's not red and it doesn't seem to bother her, so I don't think it's serious, yet.

For someone who likes to go to the doctor as much as I do, you might be thinking, "but Amy, why not just take her to the doctor?"

The fact is, I like "well" checkups. I hate going when something's actually wrong.

So, I'll massage her eye and keep tabs on it for signs of infection. The ole Internets suggest that it's pretty common and easily treatable with home remedies. Kevin's convinced that Peter had this as well, but no - Dr. Soriano just talked to us about it, showing us how to massage his eye, should it happen, since it's so common.

Until then, she looks a little sad, a tear always rolling from her eye.

he's a regular George Michael Bluth

he's a regular George Michael Bluth, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

Hanging on this bar is one of his top-3 park activities.

astutue election analysis

in which Kevin casts judgment on millions

Kevin: McCain didn't get any good states.
Amy: What do you mean?
Kevin: Look at the map. The only good state he got was Texas.
Amy: But what do you mean by "good?"
Kevin: He got all of the lame states: Kentucky, Alabama. At best, second tier.

thank god

our long, national nightmare is OVER

while Lucy sleeps (or: stir-crazy afternoon)

Lucy sleeps on, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

This rain is causing me some SERIOUS problems.

This afternoon, I turned our kitchen into a three-ring-toddler circus: finger paints, dry-erase markers, cornstarch and water goop, and bean and rice scooping.

Peter lasted the longest with the beans and rice, scooping little spoonfuls into different tins of a muffin pan. This kept him more entertained than I could have hoped, which is good because it was on the messy side. Of course, some scoops went directly into his mouth, but I figure there's little harm caused by dried rice and lentils.

He enjoyed putting the dry erase markers together into one long "stick," which suggests to me that he'd enjoy a set of Duplos. (Ahem. Hint, Christmas elves.)

it turns out...

elmo, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

...Peter's sick of watching the same "weather" Elmo's World as I am.

I'm a little surprised, but mostly relieved that I don't have to watch the tornado swoop in and say, "you can't play outside when I'm around."

Well, I'm hoping it's just that he's sick of the "weather" Elmo. I'm afraid that he's figured out the DVD I rented has THREE Elmos. I let him watch it while I popped in the shower yesterday morning. Yes, I admit it: first use of TV as babysitter.

If he has figured out the abundance of Elmos on the DVD, he's far more sinister and tech-savvy than I've ever feared.

storytime (plus bonus features!)

October 2008, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

I figured: hey, I've read the miscellaneous animals and David books enough. Let these two read their own books for a change.

(I admit this photo is semi-posed, but it recreates what happened during the time I located my camera, turned my camera on, realized my batteries were dead, found charged batteries, installed said batteries, and turned camera back on.)

In other news, Kevin came home today! Peter reacted with the enthusiasm of a surly teenager - he looked at Kevin, shrugged his shoulders, and went back to picking locks.

Also, Lucy's hitting her 3 month growth spurt hard. You kind of get a sense of her hugeness in this photo, but man oh man has she gotten BIG. Very rough estimates put her weight at about 15 pounds. Of course, this is on our super cheap-o bathroom scale, and the measurement error is bound to be at least +/- 3 pounds. (But that means she could weigh 18 pounds! YOWZA!)

This growth spurt also explains some fussy behavior, night nursing, and otherwise insatiability of late. It also explains why her pants suddenly started cutting into her tummy with their suddenly-overnight-too-smallness. I swapped out her wardrobe to the 6 month sizes. They're large, but they're not that large.

Even in these outfits, people insist on calling Peter "she" and Lucy "he." Context clues, people!

phone calls & politics

Yesterday, I got a phone call from Bill Clinton.

(For real! Asking me to vote against Prop 8, the measure to change the CA constitution to disallow same-sex marriage. But the message went to voice mail and I didn't catch the front half of the message, so I spent the entire message saying to myself, "who is this strangely confident and familiar sounding southern man on my phone?")

Today, I received two pollster phone calls.

Tomorrow, we might early vote, unless we're just too tired from our rock-and-roll lifestyle.

I'm not saying for whom we're voting, but I've been teaching Peter a certain chant to use while we're standing on line to vote. I'll see if he'll do it for the camera.

this is why...

twins?, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

...you have two children.

Because I could never have expected Peter to love anything as much as Lucy.

He frets when she's not around.

He climbs into bed to be next to her.

He will stand by her, drinking his milk or eating his stack, just to be close to her.

He will gladly get her pacifier or any other item she needs.

He ensures she won't get rickets.

He wants her to ride his horse, go through his tunnel, or throw balls with him.

He doesn't seem to mind that she can't do any of the above.

He tries to elicit her giggles by imitating my silly cooing and face-making.

When not wincing from his overzealous love, Lucy watches her brother curiously and laughs at his antics. I know that in only a few months she'll actually be playing with him. For that, I can't wait.

Halloween

monkey!, originally uploaded by amy_and_kevin.

Our Halloween plans changed when Kevin realized he'd be out of town for the day. Specifically, it became clear that Lucy would not be able to wear her penguin bunting, since there was no way I could finagle two kids if one was taking up both of my arms.

So, I threw Peter in his monkey suit. I expected much more protesting, especially since (a) he doesn't like hoods and (b) he's been very fussy about zippers and fasteners near his neck lately. After I threw it on and sealed him up, he fussed but then was pretty calm. I'm surprised, actually, that it stayed on for as long as it did. The Great Pumpkin might be at work here.

(Aside: Peter has some really weird words - words that you don't expect an 18 month old to have - that mostly have come from books. I think his most unexpected word is "robber," courtesy of a Halloween book I checked out from the library. It features kids in different costumes, one of which is a robber.)

Our plan was pretty simple: go to the kid-friendly hours at a haunted house down the street, get dinner, and then visit one or two houses. It had started raining the minute Kevin left for the airport, and there was a small break in the weather that allowed us to go out. I, however, didn't want to be the mom out with two kids, one of whom technically still is a newborn, in a pouring cold rain. Also, it gets really dark on the walk home to our apartments.

We first visited the haunted house. There was a small line outside - we had to wait for maybe 10 minutes to get in. Peter would wait patiently for a minute or two, then dash over to see the skeletons and coffins and other sights on the outside of the house. Frankly, that's all he needed to see. He wasn't upset or scared or startled by the display, not even when skeletons jumped out at him, but I didn't have extra arm space to comfort him if he did freak out while in the house.

Next, dinner. I offered Peter a choice between pizza and tacos, and he chose pizza. No complaints here! We went to our regular pizza place, enjoyed some pizza without incident, and went on our way.*

I decided that our first trick-or-treat spot had to be the fish store, since we spend at least 10 hours a week there. Plus, it's a place where Peter feels comfortable, and I wasn't sure how into approaching strangers and asking for candy he would be.**

So, for the record, his first piece of Halloween candy was a mint Three Musketeer mini bar. He said "thank you" (or, in Peter's words, "bock-bock," although he's as likely to say "you're welcome" as "thank you" after you prompt him) and was on his way. Oh! But not so fast! The fish store gave Peter a cool snake skin. Unfortunately, I lost it on the way home. Attention Uncle J: Peter is WAY into snakes. Other reptiles and amphibians, too, but especially snakes. 

Checking in on the frogs

We stepped outside the store doors, Peter looked in his bucket (a Darth Vader head), pulled out the candy, and said, "that?" He liked it.

We visited one other store (where Peter put the candy he'd been given on the counter, as if to pay, in imitation of what he'd seen us do dozens of times) and then stopped at one house. After, I called it a night. Peter was starting to really get into the idea of Halloween, which only meant more candy. And really, we don't need any candy, let alone more candy.

When we came home, I had Peter show our neighbors his costume, and Lea and Peter went running around our little courtyard, shrieking in excitement. And really, a little boy dressed as a monkey, running around and shrieking is about the most adorable thing you've ever seen.

So, the final tally: seven pieces of candy, three of which came from our neighbors. The only one he ate was the mint Three Musketeers, which he enjoyed. I have eaten two peanut butter cups, and will leave the Laffy Taffy, Skittles, and Mike and Ikes for Kevin. I kept the Darth Vader bucket on our kitchen table all day today, ready and willing to give Peter a Mike and Ike if he asked for it. But he didn't. I almost had Laffy Taffy...for breakfast! (Ha, ha, Kimberly!)

Lucy's first Halloween was spent in her pumpkin hat. I lost one of her socks on our walk, too, so perhaps she went as some kind of neglected street urchin. She slept most of the time, waking to eat with the rest of us at the pizza place. Seriously, is she my child? Something this easy, fun, and nice?

Daughter and mother?

*I love how some things become ingrained in Peter's mind as routine, while others can be one-offs. For example, we always visit the restroom when we go to this pizza shop. I suspect we went once or twice (mostly while I was 9 months pregnant), and it just became the thing to do. I'm always fascinated when Peter insists on things being done the same way as before, especially since not everything qualifies. And it's not like he makes us do things that he particularly likes. I wish I could see inside that little head of his.

** Oh, please. I knew he'd be fine after his first or second experience. And he kind of reacted just as I thought he would: handing people his bucket and making them fill it with candy.

money, money, money

dear Daddy:

Thanks for keeping about $40 in coins on your dresser. It is currently keeping us all sane, since I can't go outside as it is raining! I'm sticking the coins in all holes of the house - why stick to my little bank?

But really, Mommy told me to tell you thanks, because it was either this or that emergency Elmo video she rented. She also said something about "hitting the bottle," but I reminded her that hitting is a no-no. Besides, Lucy hates bottles, so where would she get one?

Signed,
Little Boy