Today I took Gabriel to his school's festival and walk-a-thon, which was really a PTA fundraiser. They raised plenty of funds from me, in the form of a walk-a-thon pledge, tickets for food, games and drawings, and a T-shirt.
I didn't go through the whole thing of getting people to make a pledge for laps walked, and good thing, since we got there pretty late. But Gabriel did walk 3 laps, and enjoyed it.
Meantime, Katrina had a grand time looking and pointing at everyone and everything.
I'm happy to say that Julian was on a mission with Dave: Dump Day. Nothing, not even a festival, can compare with the honor of riding in the pickup truck with Dad to the dump.
Later, after dinner, we did our belated mini-family party for Katrina. She was very interested in the candle, but not at all in the cupcake! Even smearing frosting on her lips didn't do it.
Even more surprising than a one-year-old not eating their own birthday cake: Julian -- yes Julian didn't like the cupcakes. But Gabriel, who's so-so on sweets, did! In fact, to earn the cupcakes, the boys only had to finish their broccoli. I didn't insist on more, since their tummies may still be recovering. Dinner was hamburgers (expensive seasoned ones from Whole Foods that were too grownup-tasting for kids), french fries, and broccoli. I had some lettuce out on a plate for the burgers, and Julian wanted some. He just sat and munched on lettuce like a little rabbit! Surprising for a 3-year-old, though this 3-year-old also eats raw cauliflower stems. He's a very flexible eater. And he didn't like cupcakes?!
Meantime, Gabriel wouldn't touch the lettuce. Except, he did. He put his hand on the pile, and Dave told him that now he had to put it on his plate, since handling food like that is bad table manners. Gabriel tolerated the lettuce on his plate for a few minutes, then he threw it on the floor. BIG no-no! So, Dave told him he now had to eat that lettuce if he wanted a cupcake. Though Gabriel did his usual resistance (closing his eyes and refusing to answer, claiming he didn't have to comply, hurling insults ("you're STUPID, Dad!"), the usual), I was too busy with Katrina to follow the drama. But, to my amazement, a few minutes later he was methodically chowing down the lettuce, determined to get a cupcake.
So, let's get this straight. The kid who wants to eat lettuce doesn't like the cupcake. The kid who has to eat lettuce likes the cupcake. And the kid for whom the cupcakes were made wouldn't have anything to do with them.
What a mess. Last night before I went out, Julian threw up. Since this usually happens in sets of two, I prepared his bed for another one later, and wasn't disappointed. Except that my preparations were inadequate and I still had to dig up more bedding for him.
Done, right? Nope, just starting. 3am...Dave gets it, so violently that the sounds he made woke Gabriel, who started crying in fear of the "roaring" sounds. In the morning, Dave was feeling weak and achy, and said, "I don't think I'm going into work today." I had a pang of envy. Dads can do that.
Julian seemed OK, well enough to put up a fuss about getting dressed, crying loudly and whining until I had to send him upstairs until he got dressed. While I was dealing with that, Katrina was crying in the high chair, wanting full attention to her breakfast. I turned my attention back to her, only to find Gabriel standing over a new pile of partially digested food on the ground.
Three down!
Fortunately, Katrina was in pretty good shape, and I brought her to Melissa's, with Julian in tow. Back at home, I found that Dave had had another round with the porcelain god, and Gabriel was lying on the couch looking pale and unenergetic. I tended to my sick boys, and thanks in part to some taped PBS shows, I got a nap myself. (While the boys don't watch TV on a regular basis, when they're not feeling well enough to entertain themselves, I don't mind at all sticking in a tape and letting it go.)
After a few sips of Pedialyte, Gabriel lost it one more time, this time on the family room couch. That turned into a 45-minute cleanup job, including a lot of grumbling on my part about the supposed ease of slipcovers "just toss them in the wash." Hah! The afternoon went better, at least.
I took Julian and Katrina shopping at Whole Foods after picking her up from Melissa's, and took advantage of a pumpkin display there for a photo-op.
Then we opened a birthday gift from Bonne Maman and Papa Paul. I never understand why birthday gifts for a one-year-old get packed in peanuts! It was the softest stuffed bear I've ever felt. Why didn't they have things like that when I was a kid? Wow. Gabriel took an immediate liking to it, and Katrina dabbled around at it as well, when he let her.
Not the best video, but for the grandparents: here's the bear unveiling:
(Re-posted, this time from YouTube)
Thanks Bonne Maman and Papa Paul!!
So the day wasn't a total loss, and so far, Katrina and I have seemed to escape this gastroenterological curse. We didn't have the mini family birthday party I'd wanted to do, and I'm making cupcakes for tomorrow. I can't miss an opportunity for that!
And it's neat not to be able to think anymore, "This time last year, I was pregnant!"
Today at the Y, I was standing at the sink in the bathroom putting my hair in a ponytail. After some minimal combing (which amounts to all my hair care for the day) up into a ponytail, I was at that critical stage when I need to find the barrette and secure the ponytail.
A mom came into the bathroom instructing her 4-year-old daughter to wash her hands, but my bag was on the one chair that kids can use to reach the sink. I recognized the urgency of the situation, but thought it could wait for the 3 seconds it'd take to finish my crucial once-a-day preening operation....nope. "Could she wash her hands there?" the mom asked me with slight annoyance, as if to say, "well, DUH, I have a child here, I shouldn't have to ask you to move!" I immediately complied, dropping my ponytail and my bag and its contents all over the floor. Not so much as even a thank you.
Now, I know that some people believe that the child-free don't recognize the priority children often have to take. And I'm sympathetic to maintaining momentum when your kid is being agreeable about washing their hands. But I'd have told my kids to wait for a moment while someone else finished at whatever resource is currently being occupied.
The real capper was then hearing the mom ask her daughter, "Do you want some lunch before school?" It was 12:30pm!! And she asks?! She gives her kid the option not to have lunch before school? That's the sort of thing that Moms strangle Dads for doing! I mean, I can sort of understand if school started at a weird in-between time like 11am, but isn't lunch a no-brainer for kids who start school....well, after lunch?
OK, so I certainly know better than to judge other mom's situations without context. Certainly I'm sure my actions, or inactions, have invited raised eyebrows or out-and-out criticism before. Still, this lady left me feeling like a supermom, or, at least, a normal considerate adult. Or maybe I was just extra-peeved at having had to re-do my ponytail.
What a waste of a baby-free day today. Katrina, strangely, was awake for about an hour and a half last night, crying on and off. I got up to check her numerous times, but as usual, she never wanted to be held and just cried and reached back for the crib if I picked her up. No stinkers in her diaper, no throwing up, nose OK, gave her an extra satin cloth to suck on...I couldn't find the answer. Eventually I had to just turn down the monitor and let her cry to sleep, which by then she did pretty fast.
But boy, I'm tired today. I can't shake it. No working out, no aggravation about a self-centered mom, no walks, no nap, no coffee, nothing can wrest me out of this relentless sleepiness. Uh-oh....I know what that means. I'm happy to say I've been migraine-free for enough days that I can't even remember exactly how many days. But my unending desire to curl up under a blanket in the dark could mean that's coming to an end.
I guess I'll do that after some cheesecake with my Good Mom friends tonight.
Katrina now loves to look at herself in mirrors, pointing excitedly and identifying herself as "da-da." It's very cute! Now it seems like every few days, she does something new in terms of pointing or speaking or putting them together. Pointing especially, she does it constantly, and it's getting a shade less random each time.
Here she is pointing at herself in the mirror and giggling:
No progress on the walking front though. I sure am looking forward to it though! For one, when she's walking, we can start losing the crotch-snapping onesies that complicate diaper changes. For another, she keeps crawling under chairs or tables and getting stuck and crying. And, of course, it's so cute! As I was reminded by Saul last Sunday, who's toddling around like a champ. And was so cute.
On the whole, we've never had battery-powered toys, with a few exceptions, like trains that have toot sounds in them. One toy, however, stands out as being a really, really good, a gift we got Gabriel was 9 months old. It's supposedly a language learner toy, though I really doubt it does anything to teach Spanish or French, but it's got lots to do, with different non-obnoxious sounds, some mechanical things to operate, and -- whooowee -- a volume control! Now it will see a third baby through at least a year of fun with it. Not to mention, older brothers.
Anyway, I pulled this toy out of the garage today to try to keep Katrina busy while making dinner, and she loved it. She was laughing and giggling so much playing with it that I tried to take some video. However, I captured something else too: Gabriel had been instructed to stay behind me and not touch the toy while I was taking the video. But notice how he sneaks in to play with it, taking advantage of the fact that I was occupied with the camera, then he does exactly what drives me crazy: takes over the toy. But Katrina takes it back, twice! That whole interaction is almost more interesting than her delight with it, which was hard to capture anyway.
Third day in a row of picking Gabriel up right from school, though I had to stretch Katrina a bit to make that happen. I think I'm converging on a pattern now: I always use the CDC in the morning; it turns out that dropping Gabriel off at 10:30 is astoundingly inconvenient every day. But I really really like having him home in the afternoons. I like having everyone home, actually, and I think I can foresee that when I go back to work, I'm still going to want to have everyone -- including me -- home after school. After-school activities, sure, but at the moment, I'm thinking that avoiding 6pm pickups and starting dinner and homework and all that so late seems like the thing to avoid. Most of the moms I know do it though! Then again, I know a whole lot of super Supermoms, and it seems I'm just not one of them. As though that's some sort of new insight! Hah!
Fortunately, on the whole, other than keeping the boys off of Katrina and her toys, it's fun having them all home together. And, today I joined the PTA (well, gave them money, anyway), and maybe I can start to get to know other parents to help out with the future toddler-afternoon-nap problem.
I don't know what my problem was last night, but I just couldn't stay asleep. I woke up again and again and again, and got increasingly fretful about knowing I'd be wasted today. And I was.
But the worst indignity was what was ringing in my head: the bubbly hold music from Bank of America. I'd spent over an hour on the phone with BofA yesterday, with numerous different departments, mostly on hold, and listened to the hold music so much that I couldn't get it out of my head. Ugh!
At least today I had a group of angelic children. I took Julian and Katrina to the Y, then home for lunch and naps, then picked up Gabriel, then to the grocery store where the boys were really, really well-behaved and helpful and Katrina delightedly pointed to darned near everything. Gabriel even said in the car on the way home, "Mom, that was a fun adventure!" Back at home, they all played in the backyard for a while, I chatted with my Dad on the phone, then Katrina took a late second nap while I prepared dinner.
Tonight's big job is to clean up for the cleaners, and then hopefully an early bedtime. I always get sucked into fun stuff, not to mention overdue work, in the office late at night, but hopefully the WWII movie that arrived from Netflix today will entice me upstairs early.
Uh-oh. Julian just lost his post-dinner cookies because of bathroom talk at the table, and now Gabriel is demanding justice on behalf his brother (or is it on behalf of the cookies?). I know where it's going from here.
Katrina, nonstop chatter today. I mean, really. YAKYAKYAK!!! She's as bad as I am!
But, it's getting more directed too. She's imitating "bah" and "mmm" sorts of sounds now, reminding me that the rate at which they acquire "words" is really telling. I remember now that Julian didn't start talking particularly early, but I remember being blown away by how quickly he acquired words and sounds. Tonight as I was cleaning up, I heard Katrina rustling around for quite a while, and finally went to check on what she was up to. I found her holding a crayon and moving it along a pad of paper in a pretty close imitation of attempting actual writing.
This is one of those nebulous reasons I like picking Gabriel up at school: seeing what's posted outside his classroom. Today it was a bunch of colored-in sneakers, to mark an upcoming festival and walk-a-thon this weekend (something for which I'm sure we've already missed deadlines and not prepaid for something or other). Gabriel has some very artistic classmates. Actually, he did a really nice job on his sneaker! It cracks me up that he always insists on writing in his last name also, so as not to confuse him with any other Gabriel (which there isn't!).
I chatted briefly with his teacher, who told me that he had fun showing off his Student Of The Week poster. She said he did a great job and that he made sure everyone understood that the mixer he was holding in a picture was real.
Meantime, I also saw Gabriel showing off Katrina to a classmate, talking about her and playing with her excitedly. His classmates are universally delighted by her, especially the boys!
Gabriel also seems very happy when I pick him up; I can hear him exclaiming, "Oh GOOD, my Mom's here!" and he runs outside to give me a hug, and jumps up and down and says, "I love being picked up!" or "I'm so glad I'm going home now!" Yet I don't have that much guilt about his CDC afternoons, because he clearly enjoys that too and pretty much acts the same way when I pick him up from there, except that first I have to wrestle him away from some fun project.
Maybe it's because of the MWF morning daycare for Katrina, or maybe it's just because she's in a good phase now, but the feeling of constant demand and pressure from dealing with a pre-toddler has faded tremendously. For now, I've hit upon a good balance of doing things that have to be done anyway (shopping, cooking, laundry etc), and still interacting and playing with her, and doing other things during her naps.
The only remaining barrier to being able to turn my head for a moment is Julian, who relentlessly pesters her, blocks her, plays with her toys, hugs her, grabs her feet, pushes her sippy-cup into her face, bats her head with balloons or books, shows her toys and yanks them away and generally annoys her (and ME) in a thousand different ways. Most of the time, she's fine, but I'm never sure when he's going to go too far, and he so often disrupts a perfectly happy state. So, much of the time they're both around, he ends up banished to the living room or upstairs.
Come to think of it, though Julian acts up a lot when Gabriel's around, he also ignores Katrina a lot more too, so having Gabriel around is a big help. That is, unless Gabriel starts to play with her with Julian around, in which case, she gets the full brunt of brothers and it's only a matter of minutes before I'm barking orders at them. But Gabriel with Katrina alone is increasingly a big asset, as his genuine affection and caring and interest in her is unbounded, and more and more I can ask him to take care of her, watch her and report to me. This will be a big help in upcoming toddlerhood!
Wow, I still need to write about Katrina's party yesterday. Another post!
I'm sold on small, directed parties now. I should have been since Day One, since the very first birthday party we attended years ago was one with just 3 other babies (including Gabriel), and it was perfect.
This time, my main goal was to enjoy my baby without dealing with her brothers, and pretty much force that on my friends too, even if it meant risking some grumpy husbands.
We had a very nice group of five babies and moms, including me and Katrina. All the babies except Saul go or went to Tonya's, so Katrina "knows" most of them. Two walkers (Veronica and Saul), one verrry close (Blake), and two crawlers.
I've long since learned that it's very difficult to get good party photos, so I didn't really try all that hard. Here's the best group shot I got: From left to right: Veronica (15 months), Blake (13 months), Saul (14 months), Dylan (10 months), Katrina (12 months!).
So, we had a nice low-key gathering with just moms and babies. I had a great time preparing food and making the cake, which the party was partly just a fun excuse to do! The babies tried out new foods and old, we moms compared notes on the usual things about babies and sleep, feeding, talking; and juggling work, exercise and keeping up with home life. I was the only mom who doesn't work, so I was particularly interested to hear how the full-time working moms do it all. It's not easy any way you look at it, and that includes for the one part-time working mom too (Betsy).
The babies all got along just fine, and there was enough to do that there weren't any toy conflicts or anything (though toy conflicts at this age seem like nothing after seeing the boys get into a knock-down-drag-out over a footstool!)
Then, of course, the best part: cake time! While Katrina was interested in this strange fiery anacondan face, she would have nothing to do at all with actually eating it.
She stabbed inquisitively at the thing and fussed, perturbed by the feeling of the frosting on her fingers. I had to forcibly smear some on her lips to get her to try it, but once the sweet stuff made contact with her tongue, she was just fine with it -- eating and smearing.
Veronica's mom asked me how I do things differently with the third baby, and the big difference is that it's exactly that sort of thing that I can't do now. In Gabriel's early days, it was much easier to hang out with just us and our babies, with each new thing being an exciting piece of news to share. I'm really glad I got to enjoy that again, and I think the full-time working moms who haven't done a lot of that enjoyed it too.
A great way to start my baby's 2nd year. Thanks Moms!
Friday, Gabriel and I worked on his poster for "Student of the Week." They're supposed to describe their likes and dislikes, put in pictures, magazine clippings, drawings, and write anything they like about themselves. The teacher said other kids love seeing things about families and to try to include things about families.
Gabriel took this all very literally, and after picking some photos, could not be persuaded not to use ALL the photos I printed for him, nor to do any sort of drawing or decoration or write anything besides some likes and dislikes.
The most interesting thing was that we had to think hard to come up with a "dislike!"
Last night I got sucked into some overdue office work, so didn't have as much time as I wanted to play with making a caterpillar cake. Once again, it just looks so darned "homemade," but I guess if I wanted a professional appearance, I'd buy it.
I learned something about food coloring. The good stuff that comes in a gel makes for much brighter and more vibrant colors, but it gets all over everything, as I learned the first time I rinsed off the knife I used to pull some out of the teeny canister and eensy splatters I'd never have noticed without the coloring were everywhere. Black is an especially bad color, and it didn't even make the frosting very black, though it did a good job coloring anyone consuming it. From now on, I'll keep the frosting uncolored and decorate the cake with candies instead!
This morning, the boys were bent on planting seeds, and so dug a hole and asked me for some seeds. I cut up an apple and put seeds in cups for each of them and they "planted" the seeds. Then they just sat down and looked at the hole and talked together about how often to water the seeds! Our next-door neighbor got involved and gave them some flower seeds to plant too. Naturally, no construction project is complete without the ubiquitous helmets.
Dave scooted the boys out for a movie and a pumpkin-patch jump house (even Julian went in a small jump house for a few minutes!) this morning, while I enjoyed some time to finish up preparing for Katrina's party during a perfectly-timed baby nap. More on that in a few.
I think that counts! She's also pointing all over the place at....well, everything and nothing. So far we're never quite sure what she means, though clearly something is spinning through that baby brain.
Fascinating, this human language development thing. And it all starts with a "bah!"
Welcome Back Parents Night. Back to School Night. PTA Family Picnic. Chicken Dance. Fall Festival. Walkathon. PE Day. Library Book Day. Friday Folder. Weekly Homework. Reading Log. Sharing Day. Student of the Week. PTA donation. School donation. Class donation. Classroom supplies donation. Fall fundraiser. Volunteer Days. Halloween Parade. Parent-teacher meeting days. Reflections Program art contest. Early Tuesdays. Kindergarten Half Days. No school on Staff Learning Day....
Oh Lordy, revive me! And that's just from a few weeks for one kindergartner, at a relatively undemanding school (no required classroom aiding, for instance), and for me, a mom who's avoiding involvement as much as possible, unlike my Good Mom friends who volunteer and fundraise and pick up their children from school.
No wonder I feel like I have a day off tomorrow. It simply can't be done without Google Calendar.
Gabriel's school district is closed tomorrow for one of several special learning days for the teachers. Tomorrow's Staff Learning Day is to discuss three approaches to teaching social studies: text path, digital path, and active path. I am not making this up.
I had another day alone with Julian today, since Katrina was at Tonya's all day for the last time, a remnant from the summer. Or is it? I couldn't believe how much I got done today, much of which revealed how behind I've gotten on other things. This darned running habit so far sucks up all my baby-free time on MWF mornings. I'm not sure how "real" runners with full-time jobs juggle this; "real" runs take a lot of time. Maybe I'm just too slow. Anyway, I think I'll keep Katrina at Tonya's for another month, since we're on notice from our architect to start picking "finishes," which means flooring, sinks, countertops, windows, etc, now, and that's a lot of work, time and shopping. None of which mixes very well with an almost-toddler. Though Julian and I had a great time together most of the day, I wasn't a very fun date in the afternoon while I was on the phone with USAA talking remodel financing. He was grateful for the nap and I had a tough time waking him to go get his siblings.
Earlier in the day, as we were leaving the Y, he happily grabbed my hand and squeezed it and said, "I just love you SO much Mom!" Awww.
Gabriel is Student of the Week in his class next week, so by Monday we need to put together a poster, with photos, magazine clippings, drawings, lists of likes and dislikes....it'd be fun except that I'm looking forward to Katrina's party on Sunday instead. It's meant to be small and simple and low-key, but I still plan to prepare some food and decorations and have fun trying to make a Kat-erpillar cake. And I'd have fun helping Gabriel make his poster too. Is too much kid fun in one weekend possible?
Gabriel wanted to pick up Katrina, so I put him in her arms and then took some pictures. He quickly found out that she's not all that much fun to hold, being squirmy and grabby and pretty heavy for him (about half his weight!). But he got a kick out of it and wanted to again right away. "I might drop her though...."
Still, I think these photos will go well on his Student Of The Week poster. Gabriel's teacher said kids love hearing about other kids' families, and the first thing Gabriel said was that he wanted to put a picture of Katrina on his poster. One of the CDC staff told me that he's been talking about her birthday next week too, and confirmed that he never mentions his brother! Even though my stress level and blood pressure go through the roof when all three are together (mostly because Julian kicks into Pest mode to impress Gabriel), something inside me feels more content, at home, complete, when I have all three of them together. When I have just Julian and Katrina, as I often do these days, it's like something's missing, like I'm just keeping busy until Gabriel gets home and life begins again for real. Of course, a 3-year-old and an almost-1-year-old is a pretty full complement of children, who deserve my full enthusiasm and attention to pre-toddler and post-toddler life. But with Gabriel in school, doing his own thing, sometimes it feels a little like we're hovering around the edges until he's back in the mix. Then when he's back, the circuit is complete, the ring is lit, the power is on. With his being in school, it's like he's the pulse of the family, as though his activities and schedule and ups and downs in the day and week drive the mood for the rest of us. Such as: a day off for him feeling like a day off for me. Katrina news: she likes pushing wheeled vehicles around now, and Gabriel is unusually generous about loaning her his beloved Passenger Train.
And, she's starting to point! We're not sure at what yet, but she seems to understand that us asking "Where's....?" in a sing-songy questioning tone means to look around and point randomly. It's a start. Well, semi-point, with an open hand, like her older older brother did, but much earlier, which means, right on time. Pointing is a distinct language-development milestone, and since her babbling and sounds haven't really moved much beyond the initial "blah-blah-blah," (again, like her brother), the pointing is a good sign that language is developing normally. And it's fun.
Heh, I couldn't resist digging this up. Two short videos of Julian at almost exactly the same age.
Julian's "vocabulary" at almost 12 months old:
Julian says Mama:
Even he didn't have much of a vocabulary yet, but his responsiveness, clarity and understanding of the back-and-forth of "conversation" almost shocks me now, as Katrina is nothing like that (not for talking, anyway, though she will get into a fine spitting contest if so invited). And he was a lot calmer, sweeter and cuddlier to hold! Oh my little angel, what happened?! Then again, who'd ever have guessed that we'd be saying that Gabriel is the easiest one of the bunch?
Oh BOY is it funny to stand up in a shopping cart at Target when Mom's back is turned and Mom didn't know you can do that. And then do it over and over again, guffawing and giggling the whole way, especially as you're about to dive over the side, making so hard for Mom to shop that she ends up grabbing the wrong size Pull-Ups because she doesn't dare turn her head for more than a second and then making her grumble something about dialing a cell phone while driving being easier and safer than shopping during your stand-up routine. Yuk yuk!
But it's not funny at all to have the cart's strap put around your chest so can't do it anymore. Then you cry and scream your head off and make everyone stare and tsk-tsk under their breath about what a Bad Mother that sour-faced impatient old woman over there must be, so Mom has to carry you and push the cart with one hand and steer it with nudges from her foot until she gets tired of that and puts you back in the cart and then you just pop up to a stand all over again. Bonus: you're so distracting and annoying that she can't keep track of your brother either and holds up the checkout line while she looks for him and forgets things and you wriggle out of her arms and grab the cart and pull it onto her foot while she's trying to pay and you grab the pen and the card and punch the buttons and then Mom's hair and earrings and think that's especially funny and send her into a harried discombulated frantic tizzy.
All from a simple trip to Target! Imagine what you can do at Whole Foods now! Hee hee!
Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my....well, no. Full-time Moms often don't even get *that* far.
Got to get you into my life: Nurse baby, bug 3-year-old to get dressed, get breakfast into both of them. To the Y, home for snack & naps (mine & baby), shower, baby's up, lunch, pick up schoolkid, grocery-shop at Whole Foods, unpack groceries, get really really REALLY mad at 3yr-old for bothering baby for the millionth time, bake cookies, baby down for nap #2, get a few things done in the kitchen, scan schoolkid's school photo while starting emergency quick kid-dinner.
That's just the big stuff, not the picking up, emails, phone calls, laundry, putting things away, etc. When I'm 64, will it be easier?
Then sneak in a quick blog entry before dinner 'cause Mom's going out tonight to be a grownup and catch up with one of my best longtime friends. Who will be the victim of most of the cookies.
This is how I got dinner cleaned up tonight. Not to mention the opportunity to re-organize my mess of a Tupperware cabinet.
Gabriel said something so interesting today about a friend in school. There's a girl, Hadas, in his class who was also in his Kids Inc class, from Israel. Which explains why some weeks back he said he wanted to learn Hebrew. I asked him who he had lunch with today, and he said in his best well duh Mom voice, "Hadas, as I always do," then said that he helped her cut up broccoli and cauliflower from her hot lunch, using a "real knife."
I asked him if she speaks English well, since I thought I remembered from Kids Inc that she was a new English learner, and he said "Yeah!", then, "I especially like the sound of her voice."
I tried to probe him on what about her voice he liked, but he said it was too hard to describe (fair enough) and repeated sweetly, "I just really like her voice." (Oh! I'll bet I know now! He probably means her accent. Always assume the most literal interpretation.)
Gabriel and Julian got kids' Sudoku books for party favors last Sunday, and they both love them. I showed Gabriel how to do it, and he immediately applied his characteristic focus to the book, methodically tackling each puzzle one by one. (Julian doesn't understand it, but wants to and so asked Gabriel to teach him today!)
Gabriel understands the Sudoku rules, but describing them is a little harder:
(I know Bonne Maman will be happy about this, since she's a big Sudoku fan.)
Unfortunately, I was seething by the end of that video because Julian was flapping his Sudoku book on Katrina's head when she was trapped in the high chair. He has me on a hair-trigger now because he constantly bothers her: blocking her path, grabbing her hands, stepping on her feet, taking toys away. They did sort-of play together happily for a few minutes today, but she's getting to the point where she screeches when she sees him. Mostly, he's not trying to be mean, but he's menacing anyway and it infuriates me. I'm constantly sending him out of the room so that I can turn my head and know she'll be safe. Pest!
Leave it to Gabriel to turn around a great idea. He really, really, really wants Snap Circuits, so I had the bright idea to use them as an incentive to night-train. We told him that if he keeps his Pull-ups dry for 5 nights in a row, we'll get him Snap Circuits. He enthusiastically said "OK!" though I was silently skeptical.
So, last night around 2am, I woke up to hear Julian crying, and found Gabriel standing over Julian's bed, with Julian lying on his bed crying, something about pooping in his Pull-Up. Which he hadn't done, but I guess he was worried about it or something. I took him to the bathroom, where he cleared up his concern without incident.
But Gabriel's pajamas were soaked, and he didn't want to change them because he thought this meant that now he wouldn't get Snap Circuits! I talked him into changing his pajamas, assuring him that the deal was still in place, and he did so, but he cried sadly about Snap Circuits through the whole process. (In case you're new to Gabriel-land, crying sadly is not in his usual repertoire.)
Katrina's doing great with spooning food herself, though she consistently holds the spoon non-ideally, if you're an 11-month-old baby that is. And HEAVEN FORBID you try to turn it around for her! Oh, the calamity! The offense!
It helps to use the yummy Greek yogurt from TJ's that is so thick it doesn't drip.
(The pans down to her feet were an attempt to catch her wiggling her feet in delight, since she LOVES spooning her own food, but she stopped whenever I moved the camera.)
More photos of Katrina exploring the kitchen. She's a lot sneakier about it than her brothers were, but thankfully not quite as energetic or thorough as Gabriel was.
Ah, I forgot...the day started off with a longish run at Rancho San Antonio (a 7-mile route with moderate climbing), and it was positively glorious there today. It had rained, so the air was crisp and cool in the shade, but there were warm wonderful fresh breezes that carried a tiny hint of Indian summer. Part of me will never feel like I'm a Californian, despite living here for almost 20 years, but mornings like today make it hard to imagine ever leaving. Just me and the trail, the trees, the scurrying lizards, the sun and the sweet scents of the coming autumn...a wonderful peaceful spirit-lifting morning.
Today I took the boys to a triple birthday party, for Erin, Allison and Kate. Erin's birthday is only a few weeks after her twin sisters' birthday, so their parents combined it into one big mondo party.
And what a party it was! Lots of great kid food, a jump house, and the unexpected hit of the party: the fabulous face painter. At first, neither Gabriel nor Julian would have anything to do with it, but eventually, Gabriel decided he wanted it and waited patiently for about half an hour. Meantime, he chatted with other kids and hung out and had fun, so nothing was lost.
Julian almost went into the jump house, especially when he saw his new buds Kate and Allison joyfully and fearlessly bouncing around. I volunteered to take him in, he got his shoes off and I climbed in, but at the last minute, he bailed. He's never liked jump houses, even now, when he's pushing 4!
When we got home, Gabriel wanted to tell his cousin Aidan about his dragon face, so we practiced a new skill: phone manners. He called Dave last Friday, but first we rehearsed the routine, as we did again today. After rehearsing, he got the phone, turned it on, dialed as I recited the phone number (and today that included a little tutorial about area codes), and then prepared to talk...except that we mostly got answering machines. After leaving messages all around about his face painting, we got Aunt Laura live, and he was thrilled to tell her all about it.
This morning, Gabriel also helped me make Dad's scrambled eggs for breakfast. I let him do more and more things, realizing that I'm really underestimating what a 5-1/2-year-old can do. Some of what I have him do is inspired by hearing about kids younger than he is doing them (such as cracking eggs), and some of it is inspired by envisioning the day when Gabriel makes the scrambled eggs entirely on his own!! That'll have to wait until he can reach the stove though.
Meantime, he can get the eggs from the fridge, take them out of the carton, put the carton back, get a bowl, and (with me hawking over him), crack the eggs and open them and dump the contents into the bowl and throw away the shells. Then he can pour the milk in (next time he can measure it himself too), season the eggs, and mix it up with a whisk. I love his enthusiasm for helping me, and I love teaching him and working with him. We laugh a lot together. Who knows, maybe he'll be a chef someday! (And if he ever is, people will start to wonder who his father really is....)
I was glad to be outside today for a party, distracted and in the outside air, and without the intense effort of keeping a crawling baby from being stepped on. (Katrina had a grand time with Dad at home, including a trip to a nearby playground and about 50 trips down a slide, Dad reports.) For the 3rd day, I've been skirting a bad migraine, without too much pain yet, but with other symptoms that are increasingly disturbing: nightmares, sharp irritability, even depression. I went through many hours yesterday of feeling despondent and hopeless about my life, while at the same time knowing I don't actually see it that way. It's a little like what amputees report feeling with phantom pain in a lost limb: they feel pain in their missing foot even though they know their foot doesn't actually hurt. It's frightening to wonder if someday the feeling of depression will overpower the rationale.
Still, I'm grateful that having fun and being outdoors (which has a distinct physical effect) alleviates the pressure and strange feelings from a migraine, even if it doesn't make it go away. There are times, and today was one of them, that the instant I set foot indoors I'm struck with the pressure, as though I just dove 20 feet underwater.
Some photos from today.
Julian goofing, and the cake! Wow! Made by a woman in the 2004 group who is apparently starting a cake-decorating business, and, well, Wow!
Gabriel chatting with Erin before his face-painting turn; Erin is describing to him what she's going to get.
The Dragon Face! Note the forked tongue. Wow!
The Devil made me do it!
Some more facial artwork.
Erin's best friend Maya, who it turns out knew Gabriel from Kids Inc. And, one of the twin birthday girls doing her best model-pouty-face (my favorite photo of the day).
Congratulations to the birthday girls' parents for retiring the Terrible Twos -- twice!
