Melissa had told me she'd given Katrina grapes (cut into safe quarters, of course) and that she loved the grapes, but I hadn't seen it for myself. Katrina overall doesn't seem to like cold moist smooth foods, which pretty much rules out most fruit.
On a lark I tried some grape slices this afternoon, and oh my, look out! She could not get enough of them, cramming them into her mouth as fast as her clumsy baby fingers could grasp them, then pointing back to the cutting board and wah-ing for more.
I think I have a new way of keeping her happy sitting in the high chair now!
10/13/07
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
10/12/07 3-way play
We almost didn't make it to pick Gabriel up from school today (messed-up baby naps), but I'm glad we pulled it off. First, Gabriel had to push the stroller, which is as much about doing something with wheels as it was amusing his little sister, which he did admirably.
We had some fun moments this afternoon with all three playing together. One of those involved the boys making up a noisy song to try to attract Katrina's attention and get her to chase them. But she was more interested in a book.
Finally, the melee pays off, and they run away giggling with Katrina in tepid pursuit.
Later I decided to see how much I could get away with assigning menial baby-care tasks to Gabriel. Turns out, he's just fine at getting her out of the high chair, and she goes right along for the ride!
It rained much of the afternoon here, a rare event. I went running this morning and enjoyed constantly moving cloud formations and some sun, escaping any precipitation (though mud building up on the bottom of my shoes made them feel so heavy it felt like they would fall off!). It felt especially good to be ensconced at home on a rainy afternoon, all my children around me, and knowing I'd had my time outside.
My inner indoorsy sort of hopes for a rainy weekend!
10/12/07
Thursday, October 11, 2007
10/11/07 The Grownup Kid
This morning, he got up, got dressed, went downstairs, poured himself some cereal and milk, had breakfast, put his shoes on, and was all ready to go at 8am.
Gabriel, that is. Not Dave, the adult, but Gabriel, the kid. I'm loving this!
I left a bowl and glass out for him last night, and talked to him about getting his own cereal in the morning, and he did exactly that. I also left out a bowl and glass for Julian, since there's a good chance he'd want to do the same thing, and that Gabriel would either help him or hinder him, either of which could result in Julian having breakfast, or the boys getting into a huge fight and ending in a huge mess. As it turned out, Julian just putzed around in his room, but that could be different tomorrow.
I met up with my Mom friends for our old hike at Rancho San Antonio this morning. We let the kids out at the farm, and they walked and ran most of the way back. Julian and Allison explored a puddle, and Julian and Andrew fell for the old trick of waiting until I count to 3 before running off together (and I take a photo at "2" while they're still holding).
Oh my gosh these boys are cute!
We met with our architect this afternoon to pin down some details, and made some really nice tweaks to the design. And I have enough now to take to a kitchen designer. Yippee! I'm starting to get nervous about how much this is going to cost, but I don't see an alternative. The design is necessary and wonderful, it has to happen. It's the finishes (fixtures, tile, cabinets, flooring etc) that can really bleed a project.
Katrina was in rare form tonight, playing happily and watching Dad & brothers playing baseball outside while I made dinner. Then we all sat down to dinner together, and incredibly, she ate! No fuss, no pushing away, no spitting out, no tricks, no distractions (unless you count all the obnoxious noises the boys were making). She quietly opened her mouth and accepted numerous bites of rice and chicken. I didn't even bother pushing a vegetable, I was so relieved. Before bedtime, she even nursed peacefully. Life is so much better this way.
I haven't had a good long run at Rancho in a while. It was so glorious there today. Tomorrow morning when I'll take a now-familiar 7-mile route. I can't wait!
10/11/07
Gabriel, that is. Not Dave, the adult, but Gabriel, the kid. I'm loving this!
I left a bowl and glass out for him last night, and talked to him about getting his own cereal in the morning, and he did exactly that. I also left out a bowl and glass for Julian, since there's a good chance he'd want to do the same thing, and that Gabriel would either help him or hinder him, either of which could result in Julian having breakfast, or the boys getting into a huge fight and ending in a huge mess. As it turned out, Julian just putzed around in his room, but that could be different tomorrow.
I met up with my Mom friends for our old hike at Rancho San Antonio this morning. We let the kids out at the farm, and they walked and ran most of the way back. Julian and Allison explored a puddle, and Julian and Andrew fell for the old trick of waiting until I count to 3 before running off together (and I take a photo at "2" while they're still holding).
Oh my gosh these boys are cute!
We met with our architect this afternoon to pin down some details, and made some really nice tweaks to the design. And I have enough now to take to a kitchen designer. Yippee! I'm starting to get nervous about how much this is going to cost, but I don't see an alternative. The design is necessary and wonderful, it has to happen. It's the finishes (fixtures, tile, cabinets, flooring etc) that can really bleed a project.
Katrina was in rare form tonight, playing happily and watching Dad & brothers playing baseball outside while I made dinner. Then we all sat down to dinner together, and incredibly, she ate! No fuss, no pushing away, no spitting out, no tricks, no distractions (unless you count all the obnoxious noises the boys were making). She quietly opened her mouth and accepted numerous bites of rice and chicken. I didn't even bother pushing a vegetable, I was so relieved. Before bedtime, she even nursed peacefully. Life is so much better this way.
I haven't had a good long run at Rancho in a while. It was so glorious there today. Tomorrow morning when I'll take a now-familiar 7-mile route. I can't wait!
10/11/07
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
10/10/07 Julian writes his name
I guess Julian wanted a "race number" on his bicycle, because he found a pencil and a paper and wrote his name and the number "1". This is the first time I've seen him apply this knowledge of his own volition, working it into his play. Good for him!
Poor little guy has an infection in his....little guy. He complained about it bothering him today, and when he went to the bathroom before going to pick up Gabriel, sure enough, it's purplish and swollen and very very sensitive. Dave took him to the pediatrician, who said it's an infection from something caught in there, and gave him an antibiotic. I sure wish it didn't come to that; but you just can't refuse any medicine when your little guy's little guy looks so bad.
Katrina, in a perfect example of getting herself stuck. She stood up on a chair under the dining-room table, then wasn't able to get out from under the table because a lip blocked her forehead. Naturally, she cried. More and more she wants to reach for things while standing up, and reach up higher -- I think half of her grumpiness comes from really, really wanting to walk and not knowing what to do.
At least I got her to eat tonight, sort of, in three short sessions, some of it standing up outside, some of it sitting down in the backyard, some of it actually in the high chair (ooh!). It's all coming back now: I had to do some of this with Gabriel, none of it with Julian; but if this persists, she certainly "takes the cake" as the fussiest eater.
10/10/07
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
10/9/07 The Draw
Today after picking up Gabriel from school, I took all three kids to a medical center for Katrina to have her blood drawn to test for a peanut allergy. I was delighted with how well-behaved the boys were -- and helpful, as now Gabriel is strong enough to open and hold the numerous doors one has to pass through in a medical center, reducing my stroller struggles.
Before I had a chance to signal "Nooo--OOOOOO!", a kind lady at the lab offered the boys lollipops while we were waiting. Fortunately, the lollipops didn't cause the trouble I anticipated ("I WANT IT **NOW***!!!), but I sure as heck wasn't going to deal with being handed a sticky lollipop with a hasty, "Here Mommy, hold this," when I had a wiggly baby-almost-toddler to keep under control. Not to mention losing my door-holder help. Nope, the boys had to wait until they got home, where they sat at the dining room table with a plate in front of them for the lollipop. Mean old me. I really hate lollipops.
But look at that little sneak eyeing her brother's lollipop!
Calculators are the toy of the week around here. At first, I thought Julian was just playing around when I'd hear him say, "9 plus 5 is...14!" and then "8 plus 9 is....17!" and then "4 plus 8 is...12!" -- Hmm, he's getting all of these right, what gives? Seems Dave taught him how to add using his calculator yesterday, and he took right to it.
Someone overheard this at Gabriel's school today, and seemed impressed that a 3-year-old could operate a calculator, and I restrained myself from the temptation to say that his brother was reading analog clocks at this age. I must remember: for me it's just mom-chatter, but Julian needs his own moments and attention. Comparisons are inevitable, but don't do it in front of them, especially when there's a good chance Julian will live in his older brother's intense shadow as it is. Don't pigeonhole them, don't put their achievements into the context of the others. I read it in "Siblings Without Rivalry."
Anyway, Julian is having no end of fun with this new skill, and Gabriel of course has to jump into it too with his calculator. Katrina also likes playing with a calculator, though hers doesn't work.
I managed to get a lopsided photo of all three of them with their calculators while waiting for Katrina's blood draw. (Calculators have long been one of my favorite cheap portable toys, the $3 kind from Rite-Aid.)
Oh yes, the blood draw. Unfortunately, Katrina doesn't have Mom's ugly bulging veins, the kind that only, and every, phlebotomist would love. I had to pin down every little limb while they rooted with a needle looking for a tiny baby vein, until they finally hit paydirt. She screamed her feeble best, but didn't put up much of a fight. She's really not very strong, even for a 12-month-old.
I was actually more concerned about the boys, and I told them several times that Katrina would cry but it would be very short and that she would be fine. Another kid who was having some more involved procedure was REALLY screaming, so Katrina's wails were tiny and short-lived in comparison. Thanks kid, and sorry. So while the boys looked very concerned,they didn't get upset or anything. And Katrina forgot all about it by the time we got back into the waiting room.
I felt good about my kit'n'kaboodle driving home, as they happily chatted to each other and the boys made Katrina laugh. That good feeling swung wildly the other way when I had to face what has become a dreadful job: feeding Katrina. It used to fun and easy, but now? She immediately waves away anything I offer her, fusses, cries, and is completely impossible. But then, she won't play happily either and is fussy and miserable and, of course, hungry. This just drives me crazy, it is SUCH a pain!
Once again today, I tried everything, including putting her up to the table without the tray, and this was good for a few bites (I knew she was hungry). I tried giving her something to drink between each bite, and apparently, milk has some palate-cleansing properties, enough to prompt her into a few more bites. But then, just as I think we're getting somewhere, she starts to spit stuff out. Dinner, same thing; a few bites, then, "how DARE you present me with this swill!" All normal stuff of course, for toddlers. TODDLERS! ARGH!
I'm about ready to wean her, too. Nursing has become a miserable exercise in abuse and pain. She yanks her mouth off me, pinches me with her hard little gums, pounds me with her arms, grabs the skin on my neck, pulls my hair, tries to stick her fingers up my nose, then for all my trouble, cries when she's done. The occasional moment when she's calm and serene make up for it, but those are so occasional now that on balance, it's not fun.
Complain, complain, complain. Alas, but now she's in bed, and I can look at pictures of her and remember what a beautiful, spritely, funny baby she is and love her completely. Swing, swang, swung.
I'm trying something new with Gabriel tomorrow: I left him out a bowl and a glass, and told him to just get his own cereal in the morning. He's quite capable of pouring milk, and does so very, very carefully. So, why not serve himself his own breakfast? I should probably leave two bowls out, since the odds are good he'll do it for Julian too. Though Julian can pour his own milk quite competently as well. Uh-oh, I can already see myself sprinting down the stairs tomorrow at 6:30am to break up a milk fight.
10/9/07
Before I had a chance to signal "Nooo--OOOOOO!", a kind lady at the lab offered the boys lollipops while we were waiting. Fortunately, the lollipops didn't cause the trouble I anticipated ("I WANT IT **NOW***!!!), but I sure as heck wasn't going to deal with being handed a sticky lollipop with a hasty, "Here Mommy, hold this," when I had a wiggly baby-almost-toddler to keep under control. Not to mention losing my door-holder help. Nope, the boys had to wait until they got home, where they sat at the dining room table with a plate in front of them for the lollipop. Mean old me. I really hate lollipops.
But look at that little sneak eyeing her brother's lollipop!
Calculators are the toy of the week around here. At first, I thought Julian was just playing around when I'd hear him say, "9 plus 5 is...14!" and then "8 plus 9 is....17!" and then "4 plus 8 is...12!" -- Hmm, he's getting all of these right, what gives? Seems Dave taught him how to add using his calculator yesterday, and he took right to it.
Someone overheard this at Gabriel's school today, and seemed impressed that a 3-year-old could operate a calculator, and I restrained myself from the temptation to say that his brother was reading analog clocks at this age. I must remember: for me it's just mom-chatter, but Julian needs his own moments and attention. Comparisons are inevitable, but don't do it in front of them, especially when there's a good chance Julian will live in his older brother's intense shadow as it is. Don't pigeonhole them, don't put their achievements into the context of the others. I read it in "Siblings Without Rivalry."
Anyway, Julian is having no end of fun with this new skill, and Gabriel of course has to jump into it too with his calculator. Katrina also likes playing with a calculator, though hers doesn't work.
I managed to get a lopsided photo of all three of them with their calculators while waiting for Katrina's blood draw. (Calculators have long been one of my favorite cheap portable toys, the $3 kind from Rite-Aid.)
Oh yes, the blood draw. Unfortunately, Katrina doesn't have Mom's ugly bulging veins, the kind that only, and every, phlebotomist would love. I had to pin down every little limb while they rooted with a needle looking for a tiny baby vein, until they finally hit paydirt. She screamed her feeble best, but didn't put up much of a fight. She's really not very strong, even for a 12-month-old.
I was actually more concerned about the boys, and I told them several times that Katrina would cry but it would be very short and that she would be fine. Another kid who was having some more involved procedure was REALLY screaming, so Katrina's wails were tiny and short-lived in comparison. Thanks kid, and sorry. So while the boys looked very concerned,they didn't get upset or anything. And Katrina forgot all about it by the time we got back into the waiting room.
I felt good about my kit'n'kaboodle driving home, as they happily chatted to each other and the boys made Katrina laugh. That good feeling swung wildly the other way when I had to face what has become a dreadful job: feeding Katrina. It used to fun and easy, but now? She immediately waves away anything I offer her, fusses, cries, and is completely impossible. But then, she won't play happily either and is fussy and miserable and, of course, hungry. This just drives me crazy, it is SUCH a pain!
Once again today, I tried everything, including putting her up to the table without the tray, and this was good for a few bites (I knew she was hungry). I tried giving her something to drink between each bite, and apparently, milk has some palate-cleansing properties, enough to prompt her into a few more bites. But then, just as I think we're getting somewhere, she starts to spit stuff out. Dinner, same thing; a few bites, then, "how DARE you present me with this swill!" All normal stuff of course, for toddlers. TODDLERS! ARGH!
I'm about ready to wean her, too. Nursing has become a miserable exercise in abuse and pain. She yanks her mouth off me, pinches me with her hard little gums, pounds me with her arms, grabs the skin on my neck, pulls my hair, tries to stick her fingers up my nose, then for all my trouble, cries when she's done. The occasional moment when she's calm and serene make up for it, but those are so occasional now that on balance, it's not fun.
Complain, complain, complain. Alas, but now she's in bed, and I can look at pictures of her and remember what a beautiful, spritely, funny baby she is and love her completely. Swing, swang, swung.
I'm trying something new with Gabriel tomorrow: I left him out a bowl and a glass, and told him to just get his own cereal in the morning. He's quite capable of pouring milk, and does so very, very carefully. So, why not serve himself his own breakfast? I should probably leave two bowls out, since the odds are good he'll do it for Julian too. Though Julian can pour his own milk quite competently as well. Uh-oh, I can already see myself sprinting down the stairs tomorrow at 6:30am to break up a milk fight.
10/9/07
Monday, October 08, 2007
10/8/07 The Code
A productive child-free morning for me, perhaps since I didn't go running first thing and wipe myself out. I had to wait for a house appraiser for our remodel line-of-credit loan, so got all sorts of Official Office Ordering done. Then I went for a short run, which turned into a sprint as I saw how late I was going to be to pick up Julian! In the end, only 8 minutes late, but these days, I try really really hard never to be late.
I made the mecca to Trader Joe's after picking up the younger two. Julian was very proud of himself helping me at TJ's, so I extended the honor by letting him help me unpack groceries. Hey, I might be on to something here!
Of course, bothering Katrina by putting toys in her face and then snatching them away is daily-required S.O.P.
We picked Gabriel up from school, and then the boys played together all afternoon, for hours outside. After Katrina's nap, she joined them, she wasn't sure what to make of this last streak of sunlight I stuck her in as a photographic lark. Speaking of larks, she was actually looking for birds.
Meanwhile, the boys had been occupied spinning the wheels on Julian's bicycle for at least half an hour. They'd seen Dave do this, looking for the master link, and even took turns on each side of the bicycle.
Katrina found this very amusing....
...and tried to get in on the action. That was far less amusing, as I imagined the spinning spokes ripping off her tiny fingers. Mom moved fast after seeing her lunge joyfully for the wheel in the camera screen.
I moved her to the front wheel, where the main hazard was the bike falling over on her. Yeah, not the safest baby play, but I couldn't resist the moment, with all three of them playing with the same thing. To think about the effort people go through to babyproof a house. Windows? Stairs? Sharp edges? Pshaw! How about brothers and spinning bicycle wheels and a mom who looks blithely on? OK, I removed her from the situation a few moments later.
Julian succeeds in their quest for the master link, while Katrina looks on and tries to participate.
Katrina was no fun at "dinner" once again. Offers of food were met only with an irritated hand wave and push-away. Not holding her, not taking her outside, not sitting down (heaven FORBID she sit in the nice handy convenient back-saving high chair), not favorite foods, not new ones, nothing. Not one bite of dinner for baby. Cumulatively, that means nothing, but in a particular evening, a hungry 12-month-old makes for a major bummer, dude. I was very, very happy to see her go to bed.
Meantime, Dave found something he thought, correctly, was right up Gabriel's alley. Today's Wall Street Journal "column 4" article (usually a human-interest story) was about someone who's trying to keep Morse Code alive. The headline was in Morse Code, and Dave explained it to Gabriel. Then, Dave printed out a translation sheet for Gabriel, and set him about the task of writing out the regular (er, duh, what is the right way to describe our alphabet...?) letters. Which he did, with great enthusiasm.
Then Gabriel wanted to write his own message in Morse Code, and did so! It's hard to tell what he wrote; something about asking a question "do you like carrots well?"
Another spectacular Indian-Summery sort of day here. Much cooler here than in Chicago, where the Chicago Marathon was cancelled yesterday halfway through the race due to excessive heat. One person died, and numerous others taken to the emergency room. I can't imagine having that much determination to keep running when my body is on the verge of collapse. Oh wait, isn't that what motherhood is all about?
10/8/07
I made the mecca to Trader Joe's after picking up the younger two. Julian was very proud of himself helping me at TJ's, so I extended the honor by letting him help me unpack groceries. Hey, I might be on to something here!
Of course, bothering Katrina by putting toys in her face and then snatching them away is daily-required S.O.P.
We picked Gabriel up from school, and then the boys played together all afternoon, for hours outside. After Katrina's nap, she joined them, she wasn't sure what to make of this last streak of sunlight I stuck her in as a photographic lark. Speaking of larks, she was actually looking for birds.
Meanwhile, the boys had been occupied spinning the wheels on Julian's bicycle for at least half an hour. They'd seen Dave do this, looking for the master link, and even took turns on each side of the bicycle.
Katrina found this very amusing....
...and tried to get in on the action. That was far less amusing, as I imagined the spinning spokes ripping off her tiny fingers. Mom moved fast after seeing her lunge joyfully for the wheel in the camera screen.
I moved her to the front wheel, where the main hazard was the bike falling over on her. Yeah, not the safest baby play, but I couldn't resist the moment, with all three of them playing with the same thing. To think about the effort people go through to babyproof a house. Windows? Stairs? Sharp edges? Pshaw! How about brothers and spinning bicycle wheels and a mom who looks blithely on? OK, I removed her from the situation a few moments later.
Julian succeeds in their quest for the master link, while Katrina looks on and tries to participate.
Katrina was no fun at "dinner" once again. Offers of food were met only with an irritated hand wave and push-away. Not holding her, not taking her outside, not sitting down (heaven FORBID she sit in the nice handy convenient back-saving high chair), not favorite foods, not new ones, nothing. Not one bite of dinner for baby. Cumulatively, that means nothing, but in a particular evening, a hungry 12-month-old makes for a major bummer, dude. I was very, very happy to see her go to bed.
Meantime, Dave found something he thought, correctly, was right up Gabriel's alley. Today's Wall Street Journal "column 4" article (usually a human-interest story) was about someone who's trying to keep Morse Code alive. The headline was in Morse Code, and Dave explained it to Gabriel. Then, Dave printed out a translation sheet for Gabriel, and set him about the task of writing out the regular (er, duh, what is the right way to describe our alphabet...?) letters. Which he did, with great enthusiasm.
Then Gabriel wanted to write his own message in Morse Code, and did so! It's hard to tell what he wrote; something about asking a question "do you like carrots well?"
Another spectacular Indian-Summery sort of day here. Much cooler here than in Chicago, where the Chicago Marathon was cancelled yesterday halfway through the race due to excessive heat. One person died, and numerous others taken to the emergency room. I can't imagine having that much determination to keep running when my body is on the verge of collapse. Oh wait, isn't that what motherhood is all about?
10/8/07
Sunday, October 07, 2007
10/7/07 The day's rewards
Being a parent has many rewarding, wonderful, warm moments; and even more frustrating, infuriating, exhausting ones. Some days my baby delights me; other days my baby drives me crazy. Today was both of those sorts of days.
Dave took Gabriel and Julian to All-Italian Day in Alameda, so I was looking forward to a morning alone with Katrina. Despite not feeling well, it was a pretty good morning with her, and I took her to Rancho San Antonio for short run. It was a glorious day here today, warm and fresh and indian-summery.
A short snooze in the jogging stroller meant no morning nap for her, but she was adorable, making really cute sounds and smiling a lot. Getting her to eat some lunch took a lot of work; finally I fed her bits of soynut-butter sandwich sitting on my lap outside while she pointed at birds.
After her nap, forget it. She had good moments, but was mostly demanding, fussy, climbing on me, crying, insisting on being held, and mostly refusing to eat, for the rest of the day. It was really exhausting and un-fun for her to cry EVERY time I set her down, and pushing away every bit of food I offered her. I tried holding her, I tried bringing her outside, I tried giving her something she could pick up herself, I tried giving her a spoon, I tried numerous different foods, I tried everything. Not only did I fail, but it made me tired and resentful -- can't I just sit and feed you and have you accept it and not cry and fuss in hunger later?!
I started to wish in despair for my old life back. Actually, not even my old life, just some semblance of a life now. I just wanted to put brother's clothes out without her crying incessantly. Thank goodness Dave was in good enough shape today help me, and I was so grateful to hand her off for bedtime. I don't think I even looked at her again after handing her to him.
The boys earned their one half-hour TV show today, and I let them watch a second half-hour too, by cleaning up the family room fairly promptly. Still, they can putz around all night cleaning up, so I set a time: TV starts at 6:55pm, with or without you! And they weren't ready by the appointed time, so the first 8 minutes or so of Curious George went on behind closed doors as they finally hustled to clean up. They were so cute watching, each clutching their stuffed animals. Afterward, they pounced on me together for the goodnight hug and kiss, and I let them think they'd wrestled me down as I hugged and kissed them and pretended to try to get up while they giggled with glee.
Those moments of wrestling with the boys will only last another few years, so I really do appreciate those. The moments of fussy, whiny, demanding baby on the other hand.....feels like it'll last forever. But all it will take is one little "ah-ba-ba-ba" in that little baby voice to make up for it.
10/7/07
Dave took Gabriel and Julian to All-Italian Day in Alameda, so I was looking forward to a morning alone with Katrina. Despite not feeling well, it was a pretty good morning with her, and I took her to Rancho San Antonio for short run. It was a glorious day here today, warm and fresh and indian-summery.
A short snooze in the jogging stroller meant no morning nap for her, but she was adorable, making really cute sounds and smiling a lot. Getting her to eat some lunch took a lot of work; finally I fed her bits of soynut-butter sandwich sitting on my lap outside while she pointed at birds.
After her nap, forget it. She had good moments, but was mostly demanding, fussy, climbing on me, crying, insisting on being held, and mostly refusing to eat, for the rest of the day. It was really exhausting and un-fun for her to cry EVERY time I set her down, and pushing away every bit of food I offered her. I tried holding her, I tried bringing her outside, I tried giving her something she could pick up herself, I tried giving her a spoon, I tried numerous different foods, I tried everything. Not only did I fail, but it made me tired and resentful -- can't I just sit and feed you and have you accept it and not cry and fuss in hunger later?!
I started to wish in despair for my old life back. Actually, not even my old life, just some semblance of a life now. I just wanted to put brother's clothes out without her crying incessantly. Thank goodness Dave was in good enough shape today help me, and I was so grateful to hand her off for bedtime. I don't think I even looked at her again after handing her to him.
The boys earned their one half-hour TV show today, and I let them watch a second half-hour too, by cleaning up the family room fairly promptly. Still, they can putz around all night cleaning up, so I set a time: TV starts at 6:55pm, with or without you! And they weren't ready by the appointed time, so the first 8 minutes or so of Curious George went on behind closed doors as they finally hustled to clean up. They were so cute watching, each clutching their stuffed animals. Afterward, they pounced on me together for the goodnight hug and kiss, and I let them think they'd wrestled me down as I hugged and kissed them and pretended to try to get up while they giggled with glee.
Those moments of wrestling with the boys will only last another few years, so I really do appreciate those. The moments of fussy, whiny, demanding baby on the other hand.....feels like it'll last forever. But all it will take is one little "ah-ba-ba-ba" in that little baby voice to make up for it.
10/7/07
Saturday, October 06, 2007
10/6/07 The Recovery
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.
Well, one out of three ain't bad.
10/6/07
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.
Well, one out of three ain't bad.
10/6/07
Friday, October 05, 2007
10/5/07 Katrina's birthday gets the heave-ho
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!"
10/5/07
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!"
10/5/07
Thursday, October 04, 2007
10/4/07 Not-so-bad mom?
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.
10/4/07
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.
10/4/07
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
10/3/07 Katrina's self-image
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.
10/3/07
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.
10/3/07
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
10/1/07 Sleepless Tuesday
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.
10/1/07
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.
10/1/07
Monday, October 01, 2007
10/01/07 Chatty Katty
"Ah-BAH-bah!" "mmm-bah!" "mm-ah!" "BAH-ba-ba-babababa...!" "ya-ba-ba BAH ba!"
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!
10/01/07
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!
10/01/07
Sunday, September 30, 2007
9/30/07 Katrina's first party
Katrina's birthday party was so much fun!
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!
9/30/07
9/30/07 Party Prep
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.
9/30/07
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.
9/30/07
Saturday, September 29, 2007
9/29/07 Katrina's first word?
I say: "Blah!"
She says: "bah!"
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!"
9/29/07
She says: "bah!"
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!"
9/29/07
Friday, September 28, 2007
9/28/07 The Moonlight Run
Running at night? Yup! Tonight Sonia and I ran the Palo Alto Moonlight Run, the 10K. Not surprisingly, it was dark! But popular, and a lot of fun.
Spent the morning with Gabriel, helping him with his "Student of the Week" poster. That was fun too.
And now, my well-deserved bath will be fun.
9/28/07
p.s. The race results:
(26 out of 97 for my age group of women 40-49, in 58:52 -- so I met my under-one-hour goal!)
Spent the morning with Gabriel, helping him with his "Student of the Week" poster. That was fun too.
And now, my well-deserved bath will be fun.
9/28/07
p.s. The race results:
(26 out of 97 for my age group of women 40-49, in 58:52 -- so I met my under-one-hour goal!)
DivP Place Name Age Location Time Pace Bib
10K Run F 40-49
26 443 Noemi Doudna 44 Sunnyvale 58:52 9:28 482
Thursday, September 27, 2007
9/27/07 Picking up
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?
9/27/07
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?
9/27/07
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