2/2/08 The Photo Session

Ever really wanted to throw a child off a balcony? No, of course not, that's too extreme, right?

Reserve judgement: this morning, Katrina cried out at 6:20am. I got up to check her and found her door closed (we keep it open at night so her room doesn't get too cold). The boys' door was open (and it's closed at night). Gabriel was asleep, Julian...missing. Hmm. I quietly opened Katrina's door, and there was Julian, with his arm inside the crib, poking at Katrina. He'd gone into her room, closed her door, and now was trying to wake my sick baby. Where's that balcony?! I still want to strangle him when I think of that.

Perfect day for photos, overcast and rainy. Now if only the subjects would cooperate.

Mom and I took the boys to the Y this morning, where we attended a "sculpt" class. I'd never been to it and had no idea what to do. We asked a few clueless questions of the woman setting up next to us, who, as it turns out, didn't speak English well -- no surprise in Cupertino. But surprise -- she spoke French!

After the class and retrieving the boys, we collected acorns and then tried a photo session, but Julian wouldn't cooperate. And didn't fall for the usual "OK, no Julian in the picture" reverse psychology. And, he's been insisting on wearing his coat, hood and all, all day long, which makes for awful pictures.


But he was too interested in looking at Gabriel's Snap Circuits with Bonne Maman to object to this.


Bonne Maman had a fun project to do with the boys: she got us appliance-poor Doudnas a citrus juicer. To East Coasters, if you have an abundant orange tree in your front yard, it's criminal not to have a citrus juicer. The boys had a great time making OJ, though our oranges are not at their sweetest.


We never got to do a family birthday party for Gabriel on his birthday, as he and I went to the airport instead to pick up family. So, tonight we did a little cake and candle and opened birthday gifts.


Earlier in the day, I managed to find a moment in which all three kids were in decent shape and willing to take a photo. Not easy to pry Julian's hood off though! Katrina put up with this for only a few minutes, but it was just long enough to get something.


Katrina was still sick today, and not just sick, but really unhappy. Whatever's bothering her is in her lungs now, and she truly just can't scream at all. We've been giving her these breathing treatments, and they seem to help, but she still spends much of her time at home crying, and not eating. She did surprisingly well when Mom and I took her and the boys out to Diddam's and grocery shopping: her eyes cleared up, skin un-blotched, she smiled and made cute baby sounds and had a good time. Back indoors, right back to crying.

Poor thing, she's so uncomfortable. It's eerie, she's like a different person. I'm looking forward to my ornery, testy, demanding, screaming baby coming back!

2/2/08

2/1/08 The Lesson

Bonne Maman accompanied us to Katrina's 15-month appointment today, and helped me keep her entertained. This time, I asked the nurse if we could wait in the waiting room instead of in the exam room, which turned out to buy us about 10 minutes. It was still another 15-minute wait with a diapered baby in a room with nothing to do.

Well, except play with grandmother, that is. Katrina let Mom hold her and play with her, and was just as physical with her as she is with me.

And, Bonne Maman got treated to a rare cuddle.

She's still got a cold, and the doc thought she heard some wheezing inside her lungs, even though there's no sign of it from the outside. I realized today when a few times I'd have expected a scream from Katrina that she just can't.

Stats:

Katrina @16 months: 21 lbs 1 oz (25%), 31" long (70%).

(For the sake of useless comparison:)

Gabriel @ 16 months: 18 lbs 10 oz (0%), 31-1/4" long (45%)
Julian @15 months: 22lbs 2 oz (20%), 31-3/4" long (75%).

(Hmm, all I get out of that is that Gabriel is pathetic! And that I couldn't get two out of three to the pediatrician in time for 15-month appointments - how's that for pathetic?)

The doc was floored by her weight gain, going from 5%ile to 25%ile, and that's even while being under the weather and not eating well the past few days. Even her chicken-ankles have filled out.

Mom and I dropped Katrina off at Melissa's afterward, and went on to have a nice grownup lunch, a little browsing, more shopping, tea and a snack (those mini-tartelettes at Whole Foods are killer), then the onslaught of children.

Gabriel finally got his first piano lesson, sort of. My mother, the accomplished pianist, who performs, does chamber music, takes classes, practices for hours every day, showed him scales and chords and arpeggios and proper fingering....and then taught him to play Chopsticks! I mean, really!


He loved it, and so did she. She spent a lot of time with Julian on the little piano too, which he did for most of the evening tonight. I wish Melissa & Doug would make another songbook, as Julian knows all of them by heart now and is ready for more. Being 4, he treats it more like a toy than Gabriel does, who Bonne Maman thinks is genuinely interested in learning to play.

I'm sure we're in for nonstop Chopsticks this weekend.

2/1/08

1/31/08 First music class

It wasn't looking good. Katrina was grouchy and sniffly and miserable this morning, and barely ate any breakfast. I figured I'd at least make an appearance at music class, get the materials, and see if she'd last for a few minutes. And who knows, maybe she'd pull out a miracle and be fine in class.

Well, miracles do occur! She did great, and she loved it. As with most kids, as soon as the whole group starts doing the same thing together, especially with the teacher playing the flute, it caught her attention. She was interested, relaxed in short time, smiled, and even got up and wandered around. In fact, toward the end of the class, she just walked (and crawled, sigh) around the room and explored. She liked the instruments, she liked the group dynamic, and overall the whole thing was a smashing success. Not only was I immensely relieved, but it was a lot of fun! It was nice to be back in Music Together again.

Of course, any musical experience is greatly enhanced by having Bonne Maman there, as she likes anything music, and she participates and sings and dances along and acts goofy like everyone else.

Katrina looks a little different, huh? Maybe, like, a girl?

Well, that beautiful purple dress was a gift from Bonne Maman (from April Cornell), so Katrina had to model it. It isn't great for crawling, but at this point, anything that hinders crawling is fine with me. Also, her bangs are just too long, and I've been looking for things to keep them out of her eyes. It's hard to find simple baby barrettes that stay in, and I find these little pony-tail-holders to work OK, despite the fountain effect atop her head.

I can't believe it, but I think combing her hair and putting it back in the morning has become part of our daily routine. She's surprisingly cooperative about it. I never, ever comb the boys' hair in the morning, though they go to bed with it washed and combed, so it's not THAT bad. Gabriel and his lofty hair can get some pretty severe cases of pillow-head though -- severely funny, that is.

Mom and I (my mom that is!) then brought Katrina to Melissa's, and went to meet with my kitchen designer, to hammer down the final details. I completely caved on a few important things that I'd felt strongly about, and you know, I love the result. Everything fits so much better now -- and I may like having a microwave below the counter instead of 5" above my head! I'm thrilled. It was great and instructive to have my mother there for the kitchen details, pointing out things, giving me confidence about decisions, asking questions...44 years old and I still need my mommy!

And, we have an appointment with a promising contractor next week, and got a call back from another one. Boy, times must be tough if contractors call you back within a few hours.

Katrina still wasn't herself tonight, as she hardly ever screamed and was pretty mellow, but she was a lot better than yesterday. She didn't nap much today, and didn't eat very well, but she seems to be on the mend.

It sort of goes without saying that the boys are having a fabulous time with Bonne Maman, but it's nice to say anyway. Gabriel is happily showing off, and Julian is acting like a lovesick puppy (aww, such a sweetie pie).

1/31/08

1/30/08 Six Years Old!

Did a little party for Gabriel at recess at school today. I brought cupcakes for all 18 of the PMers in his class.

It was another boy's birthday too, so I brought two candles. Gabriel's teacher acknowledged it's hard to make cupcakes healthy, but she has to ask. So I made carrot cake, with half whole-wheat flour....well, sort of. Nothing healthy about the frosting though.


Gabriel came with me to pick up Bonne Maman at the airport. He'd made his own sign to find her, so he joined the other limo drivers for a photo-op. Passersby found this scene very amusing.

Katrina's sick! Wah! We'll poke our head into her first Music Together class tomorrow, and depending on how she's doing, maybe stay a little bit. I'm bummed, I was really curious to see how she'd like it.

I've been a Mom six years today! Yay!

1/30/08

1/29/08 The Walk

I went for an exercise walk at lunch today, driving to the creek trail I'd normally run to, making for about a 2-1/2 mile loop. I managed to stick with a power-walk for a while, then let myself break into an easy trot, back down to walk, then more light jogging. At first it was hard to run, I was winded, but it wasn't long before I settled into a rhythm. It was SO fun to be moving again, feeling the wind on my face, looking at the sky, listening to my iPod, and being immersed in the stormy outdoors. I had to tell myself, "at that next signpost, back to a walk....ok, the next signpost....oh, ok, one more...." I probably ran about a mile all told. My ankles had been feeling better and I've been strengthen-exercising them, and I was using the insoles that the sports podiatrist had adjusted for me.

Hours later, both insides of my ankles started screaming at me, right under the inner anklebone. They didn't bother me during the run, which I guess is an improvement, but this is very discouraging! It took months and many miles for the first twinge to develop, and now, it takes barely a mile of gentle trotting for the pain to return full-on. I'm finding myself feeling jealous of people who have healthy tibialis tendons and don't make use of them running. Not fair, I'd use them! I'll trade you!

Well, I deliberately tested it today to see what little I could get away with, and I have my answer. Lots more time off. Walking doesn't seem to bother it, but walking just isn't the same. Fooey.

Testing limits is an ongoing theme around here. Katrina has to be on whatever floor she's not these days -- if she's downstairs, she makes her way upstairs, and if she's upstairs, she makes her way down. I guess I'm supposed to be more paranoid about her being on stairs unattended, but I've lost track of her so many times now, it's hard to get too worried. Besides, Gabriel went down stairs headfirst, sliding on his chest, laughing the whole way. Julian did tumble down once, and I could hear him: boom boom boom WAH boom boom WA- boom WAH-AH-AHH! I've been through it already. My paranoia is weary. Such is the plight of the third child.

She's more careful than Gabriel was, and more confident and coordinated than Julian (who was probably the least stair-safe). Her worst hazard so far is getting stuck from her sideways method of going down, which involves using her head for balance.

Actually, her worst hazard is being discovered and whisked away, because, as you can all easily predict now, her reaction is violent, vocal and VERY LOUD!

Still crawling though. I think it's safe to say that she's going to reach 16 months old without a crawl-free day. At least the walking is getting a little steadier, though she still treats it like an exciting excursion instead of something you just do.

I wish I could get that excited about walking.

1/29/08

1/28/08 The Driver

Gabriel's homework tonight included an "extra," which was to write down who is important to his family, and why. Gabriel took one look at this and said NO WAY. He relented a teeny bit when I said, "What about Katrina, isn't she important to you?" and he answered, "yeah, because she's cute....but NO WAY MOM I'M NOT DOING THAT." And that was that.

Julian, listening to this exchange, piped in, "I know who's important!" So I asked, "Who?" and he said, "Mom!" Awww. I gave him a kiss and then asked him why. "Because Mom's the driver," he answered.

Pretty profound for a kid, huh?

Actually, I think he literally meant that I'm the one who drives the car when I pick him up. But I'll savor the ambiguity for now.

1/28/08

1/27/08 Forward-faced

Katrina opened a late and lost Christmas present today, these cute little squeaky eggs. She loved them! She laughed aloud at them and played with them for much of the morning and later in the afternoon. Then some or other brother put them away, and for the moment, they're lost. [ later note: found in an obscure drawer after brother #1 'fessed up! ]















After much wrangling, we managed to forward-face Katrina's seat and get two booster seats in the back of my car (minus one armrest, and by installing Katrina's seat with the seatbelt instead of LATCH). This was harder than it'd seem, since the boosters don't nest the way the old carseats do, and when the seatbelt is buckled, the buckle is held up in such a position that it's right between two hard parts of the booster seats. It's going to take some practice to learn how to get everyone in and out quickly.

Julian's only sitting in the middle because I enticed him to come to the Y by getting to choose which seat he sat in (Gabriel said he didn't want to go). Sitting next to Katrina is the carseat prize, which at the last minute, Gabriel wanted to reclaim. I kept my promise to Julian, but he's really not trustworthy enough yet. I caught him poking at her cheeks with his fingers, and he also provoked her into screaming (admittedly not hard to do) by making faces at her. Gabriel is more reliable for now.

Katrina loved facing forward, and I could see her gazing out with fascination at the scenery passing by in the right direction. I thought our Britax Marathon would dwarf her, but it fits her pretty well.

Another rainy day. When I lived in Rochester, NY, I grew to hate rainy days. Now, despite the many weeks in a row we've had, I still like them. I would probably feel a lot differently if I didn't have a reliable place to go on rainy weekend mornings, to get the kids out and to get in a workout myself. Thank goodness for the Y.

1/27/08

1/26/08 Stepping out

Katrina is really, really working on walking! Still crawling sometimes, still cruising a lot, still demanding assistance -- but more and more, she's braving the wild blue yonder of open air, taking halting steps, eyes wide open with concentration, fists clenched by her ears. She seems motivated partly by just not wanting to crawl anymore, though she does resort to it when she really wants to get somewhere.


Here she is negotiating a slight downslope.


I took Katrina to Diddam's today, and dared to set her down while I did some quick shopping for party favors. She's never been set free in a store before, so I was curious about her reaction. As if I had to wonder? She didn't waste a moment doing her stiff half-falling walk right out of sight, riveted by the endless new sights and countless shiny colorful things hanging on the walls and bins full of things to play with. No fear, no separation anxiety, no hesitation -- and no compunction about putting up a tremendous fuss when I retrieved her.

Tonight at dinner, a cute little conversation:

Julian: "Mommy, can you tell me about the prince?"
Mom: "What prince?"
Julian: "The prince! You know, the one at Collins."
Mom: "I don't know of any prince there."
Julian (impatient): "Yes, Mommy, the prince!"
Gabriel (contemptuous): "Dude! that's the princ-i-pal!"

Poor Julian didn't quite understand why I was laughing so hard.

1/26/08

1/25/08 The "Shoo-Sheff"

Julian agreed to be my sous-chef for dinner tonight, though he had a little trouble saying it. He started out as my "shoo-sheff," then "soup chef," then finally, something close to "sue sheff."

And he did an admirable job. I must say, I'm getting better and better at finding stuff for him to do. He cut open a bag of french fries (in teeny little bits of course!) and dumped them onto a cookie sheet. Then I had him "paint" slices of zucchini with olive oil (lending a whole new meaning to painting with oil). Then he sprinkled salt on the zucchini, as well as the steak I was grilling. Then he took handfuls of broccoli florets and put them into my (!brand!new!great!) steamer pan. I ran out of jobs appropriate for him by then. The bigger and heavier and more dangerous knife I'm holding, the more both boys want to use it.

My sports medicine podiatrist appointment today was anticlimactic, because my self-diagnosis was correct: tibialis-posterior tendonitis. There's no quick fix for overused tendons, but time, physical therapy, strengthening exercises, gradual re-introduction of use, adjusted insoles, and eventually, custom orthotics, should get me back on the trails again (yay!). The podiatrist himself is a marathoner, and when I briefly described my running ascension, he shook his head and mentioned something about too much too soon. This hit when I told him all my 9+ mile runs had included the PG&E trail, legendary among runners, and not many tackle it in their first 5 months! Those hills by themselves didn't cause the tendonitis, but apparently my tibialis muscle and its tendons weren't in the same condition as the rest of me.

(But really, was I ever in condition to run 10 miles? Mostly, it was angst and a need for accomplishment that pushed me. After all, my first time up the PG&E trail was minutes after I'd dropped my firstborn "baby" off for his first day of kindergarten. If that isn't angst, I don't know what is!)

I was determined not to leave the doctor's office with any unanswered questions, but of course, I still did. But the big ones were answered: how to help it, I can run again, it's not bruised or swollen (not trauma, in other words), swimming and elliptical won't injure or strengthen it, hills are fine, and the odd sensations I feel all around it are normal. My feet do pronate somewhat, nothing unusual, and it's possible that my right leg is a little longer, which would also explain my tricky right sacro-iliac joint. Mostly, I just ran too long too hard too soon.

Running all started with the Big Bunny Fun Run, Cupertino's 5K the day before Easter, so my goal is to rehabilitate until then (early April, over 2 months away), and that will be my first race and re-introduction back into running. I must do it gradually, but it is not going to be easy holding back, 'cause that runner's high thing is powerful stuff!

It rained all day here. I don't say that lightly, because that is a very rare occurrence. It had to be a day when I had a lot of driving to do, too.

But I did one other thing today I'm really excited about, to my surprise. On complete impulse, and based on a little email note Betsy sent the 2006 group, I signed me and Katrina up for Music Together!! I have NO IDEA how on earth I'm going to fit this in, but I almost don't care. I miss doing things like that, and I always liked active ways to spend time together, when I have no other distractions or temptations. And, the teacher is my all-time favorite, and it'll be fun to be in another MT class with Betsy again, we've done this many times over the years. And, most of all, Katrina will probably love it (though I'm not looking forward to when the instruments get put away....) I can't wait until next Thursday! (Oh yeah, Mom, you know how you're going to be all tired from just having flown in the night before....?!)

I've been an aunt for 6 years today!

1/25/08

1/24/08 Peer influence?

Gabriel declared today he no longer wanted sandwiches for lunch. "OK, what would you like?" I asked. "Rice!" he answered.

I picked up Katrina from Tonya's today, and got to talk to her briefly. Or tried through Katrina's screeching. But, Tonya would have none of it: "uh-uh, not OK, nooo screaming." To my amazement, Katrina indeed did stop, and started to pout and cry. OK, I guess it's not too soon to start introducing gentle directions! It didn't last long, but she did respond.

More walking today -- more crawling, and more screaming to be walked, but definitely getting a little more confident. Here's another common thing I'm told that's not true for any of my babies: "Once they start walking, that's it, they're done with crawling within a few days!" Oh, if only. The transition for us has never been less than 6 weeks!

Coffee, cheesecake and chit-chat with friends tonight!

1/24/08

1/23/08 The New Piano

Katrina insisted on being walked out to the car today, and Melissa kindly obliged her. Earlier in the day, Melissa walked her out also, but had to pick her up at one point, and the screaming that ensued had Melissa worried that neighbors would come running! Just as she was telling me about that, it was time to pick Katrina up to put her in the car, and Melissa's neighbors got a repeat.

Seriously, you'd think we were torturing the child for all the fuss she puts up, except that it's angry screaming, not sad or fearful. I know this is a theme I keep pounding in, but it's pretty hard not to think of "demanding SCREECH" when I think of Katrina.

Actually, she's really not crawling much anymore. She still doesn't walk much unsupported either, which doesn't leave her with a whole lot of choiced! She either pushes something in front of her, cruises on walls or furniture, shrieks for assistance, or, in a pinch, gets down on all fours briefly.

Tonight she was pushing a footstool around and was actually running behind it -- not just faster than walking, but clearly a different gait. Didn't anyone tell her that you can't run before you walk?

(At least one of us is running around here. My calves, arches, spots under my anklebones, and every obscure connecting tissue I never knew I had below my knees are all telling me loud and clear to stop everything. I went swimming this morning, and I'm even having doubts about that. What is going on here?!)

We did the Big Reveal tonight! The boys got to see the new piano. It was an even bigger hit than I expected -- all three launched right into a huge fight over it. Gabriel wasted no time getting started, immediately translating his songs from the little piano (whose keys are marked) to the "real" piano. Julian got a turn, and Gabriel was counting minutes until his turn again.


Dave showed him how to play Mary Had A Little Lamb with more than one finger, and it wasn't long before he was playing it smoothly and quickly -- and very, very, VERY proud of himself. You'd think we'd just put him in Oz or something, the way he's acting about this new world of piano playing. I should know better by now than to ever underestimate Gabriel, but he's surprising both of us with his drive and gripping interest. Julian also loves it, but in his calmer and more childlike, playful way.

Katrina....oh my. Well, I could just cut-and-paste from tens of other posts, but I'll have to say it again: she FLIPPED when she saw the piano. Like with the tricycle, her whole body shook as she screamed and waggled every limb madly for it. She was desperate to play on it, and she did get a turn, but the brouhahah picked right back up again when we had to pry her away to give her impatient brothers a turn.

Gabriel's Bonne Maman is visiting next week, and he can't wait to show her what he can play. He asked me today if she can play a really long song without making a mistake, and I smiled at the question as I know she's smiling reading this. I told him that every piano player makes mistakes sometimes, but yes, absolutely, she can play long songs without making mistakes. "Oh!" he said excitedly, "I wonder if she can play chords!" He was beside himself when I told him that not only can she play chords, but she can play them with both hands! (My mother is a skilled pianist who takes lessons and performs and plays for hours every day and even has her own piano studio. So yes, she can play chords.)

Oh my, is Bonne Maman going to have a great time showing her fascinated grandsons how to play. And there's a long precedent for that. (Photo from August 2004, when Julian was 7 months old and Gabriel was 2-1/2.)

Welcome to our world, piano!

1/23/08

1/22/08 The Jam Session

The little piano is becoming an increasing source of contention around here. Katrina's contention, that is.

It's one thing to make the boys take turns, but Katrina will have none of it. She crawls right up to it and screech-orders her brothers away from it, and I have to intervene (reluctantly) and try to distract her. Not easy. Occasionally the boys will release it, then she can bang to her heart's content. But she's learning -- she no longer just bangs on it, and actually uses individual fingers to press the notes.

The screechy demands are coming fast and furious now. Maybe since I'm not subject to them all day, I can be amused by them. No gentle wilting flower, this one.

Gabriel wanted to play "moostick" together (he still can't say "music"!) tonight with me. How could I resist such an invitation? So I put Julian and Katrina to bed first, then instead of a book, we played moostick together. First, we tuned this beautiful Melody Harp that Julian got for Christmas, then I played the harp, following Gabriel playing Happy Birthday on the piano. He got such a kick out of this, and so did I. What a wonderful way to spend time together, I really enjoyed this! We went on for quite a while before I realized it was almost 9pm and way past his bedtime.

Gabriel said this morning he didn't want to go to school, he was tired of it, as though it were soccer or something. Sorry kid, that's your job now.

The pain in my ankles continues, and I haven't even been doing anything to aggravate it. It changes all the time, manifests itself in different ways, at different times of day, in different places. It's fine to walk on, and if it weren't from running, I'd be puzzled what these twinges are about and that would be that. But I know the pain would blow up full-scale if I tried to run at all. I'm getting downright depressed about it, as the injury just keeps getting worse, and I'm terrified I'll have to give up running completely. I was just getting started! Maybe this new fascination would have "run its course," but right now I miss the trails so much it hurts even to look in the direction of the hills. Given how inclined I am to form new interests, I'm sure something will fill the void. Maybe piano.

1/22/08

1/21/08 One - count'em - one - pickup!

Today, ALL THREE went to Melissa's. I dropped off ALL THREE in ONE PLACE, then later, picked up ALL THREE from ONE PLACE. Ah, a taste of what life could be! It was Martin Luther King day, and even Kids Inc was closed, but of course, life goes on in the world of corporate high-tech, so I went to work.

There's a Y about 3 minute from Melissa's, and it's in the group of 6 or so that I can use with my membership, so I went there this morning to get in a little workout before work. I'm not sure this works so well; I have to take a shower afterward, and I'm sleepy and tired all day. Exercise wakes me up later in the day, but not in the dreaded morning! Still, it's nice to have it all over with, and by the time I'm done, traffic has died down and I can get way the heck to the other side of San Jose without too much traffic impediment.

Rainy, windy, cold day today. And poor Melissa, stuck inside with my three! But they all did great. I'd told her to let loose the movies and videos; a rainy day off is the time for that (folks are generally reluctant to do so with kids they know don't watch a lot of TV at home, so I assured her: go for it!). Melissa said Katrina was very feisty and demanding today, and I said, "today?" A lot of it is that she wants to walk, but won't do it herself. And, she's very possessive of certain toys she's come to think of as her own at Melissa's; she protects her property with a shriek reminiscent of a car alarm if heaven forbid a brother comes over to investigate. But she throws the same energy into a giggle fit too, so it balances out.

Back to the grind tomorrow. It's not so bad now, actually. At least, it seems like that today when I only had one -- ONE! -- pickup.

1/21/08

1/20/08 The drizzly park

Katrina was ALL set this morning to raid the pantry. No half-baked plan here.

Another not-so-half-baked plan was to go to the park this morning, for an all-years Las Madres park date. The skies had their own ideas, and drizzled on us for a while, but it cleared up just enough so that we weren't actively getting wet. It was chilly though; I was cold, and increasingly concerned that Katrina was underdressed. The weather kept away most of the moms who'd planned to come, leaving only a few of us die-hards (uh-huh, yeah, that's me, the park die-hard).

Katrina has had very little park time as compared to her brothers, so it was a nice treat -- for me, really! -- to take her on a weekend. She was grouchy before we left, but she "warmed" (brr) right up when we arrived: cruising along stone walls, sitting and playing in sand, looking at the sky. I didn't get a photo of her in the swing with Julian pushing her; probably because swing shots are hard to get, and I was too busy yapping anyway.

Don't be fooled by these photos of her standing, 'cause that's all she was doing: standing. No walking. No crawling, either, which presented a problem when I got tired of holding her hands to walk her around. She still wanted to "walk" and let me -- and the rest of Santa Clara County -- know in no uncertain terms of her disapproval when I dared depart from her prescribed activity.



Meantime, Dylan very happily, and athletically, crawled around the grass, the wood chips, up steps and down slides, rubber hills, stairs, having a grand old time. He's clearly very comfortable with parks, as he goes to them a whole lot more (~guilt~).

I'd have taken more photos of the boys, but they were busy with Gina and Andrew and Gavin and Cassie playing a game of keep-away from the grownups. Any time one of us approached, camera in hand, they'd burst from their "hiding" spot, shrieking with laughter, and run away.

Julian's always glad to play with Cassie, though today he got the bonus of Cassie's dad too, who, for some reason I missed, he followed around like a puppy dog "helping" track down the other kids.


Katrina was ready to go before the boys were, but she discovered this little tree sprig and that bought another 10 minutes or so. She was tired and grouchy and went straight down for a nap when we got home.


Despite the blustery weather, and all the park time, the boys spent the much of afternoon playing out back!

Dave got Gabriel's birthday piano today .... but after talking about it, we decided not to make it a birthday present after all. As it is, certain gifts they must share: books, CDs, DVDs. The latter two especially: you can't *not* share music or a movie. The piano...well, if it's "Gabriel's", does that mean that if Julian takes piano lessons, he has to get one of his own too? What if Gabriel loses interest and Julian doesn't? What about Katrina in a few years? At this premature stage of their musical careers, it doesn't make sense to designate something like a piano as belonging to one child. Pianos in particular are family sorts of instruments. So, I rephrase: we have a new family practice piano, just a little electronic one with 61 keys, but adequate enough to start simple group lessons if the boys are so inclined.

Just for fun, I tried to show Gabriel and Julian how to do a simple scale, and right away their differing personalities revealed themselves. Gabriel resisted instruction, claiming he already knew how, wanting to do it his own way, though he did make a decent effort. Julian, who'd just watched Gabriel's "lesson," was much more open to suggestion, welcomes the guidance, and is more anxious to please. Also, his finger coordination is better; he could summon his 4th and 5th fingers separately, whereas Gabriel's smaller fingers are more like mine (which are practically glued together). But Gabriel is the one banging away at the little piano all the time; he's long since mastered all the songs in the little songbook, and now is experimenting with things like playing a song with two notes in unison with two fingers. Gabriel is more likely to actually practice and take on the hard work of learning an instrument, and might actually listen to guidance from someone other than Mom. With Julian, it's a social event; for Gabriel, it's a technical one.

But this piano fancy has all come about during rainy times that have ruled out BMXing. Let's see if music can survive beautiful weather and the call of the hills!

1/20/08

1/19/08 Boys in a box

Good thing we have all these high-tech expensive toys around to stimulate kids' minds and imaginations. I'd hate to think a simple cardboard box could do the same -- what would the toy and battery manufacturers do with themselves? This cardboard box was a boat, a house, a hiding place, a tunnel, and something for Katrina to shriek at her brothers to shoo them away from today. It was one busy box.

Its final contribution for the day was to provide an incentive for the boys to get undressed quickly, so they could jump out of it and "surprise" Dad, eliminating one step of persuasion to get ready for bath. Not much of a surprise with the nonstop giggling, but, it served its purpose.

It was finally nice, warm, and dry enough for the boys to play outside, inexplicably with a little plastic tricycle. I brought Katrina out, and when she spotted the tricycle, I swear her body started to shake. She THREW herself into a complete fit, wrestling and wriggling and screeching, reaching for the tricycle, as if her life depended on it. I kicked the boys off (sorry), and then she latched onto it like it was her lifeline.

Mostly, she ended up pushing it around in circles, but it wasn't long before she was climbing on and off it herself too, and kicking her legs around in circles as if to pedal (but she's nowhere close to reaching). We had to time the exit carefully, making sure everything was in place before Dave whisked her off into the car.


My goodness, I've seen toddlers want a toy before, but even for Katrina, this was exceptionally insistent. Maybe she will be into BMXing after all!

Dave took her and the boys on an errand, a HazMat day, to drop off some old paint cans at the dump. Easy enough, everyone stays in the car, baby's entertained just by being out, boys never miss a chance to go to the dump (and most importantly, Mom gets a nap).

But then, Dave took all three of them to Target! On a Saturday, no less. I know lots of Moms who'd be nervous about such a venture, but it's just about unheard of for a Dad. He didn't think much of it, and didn't have any problems, the boys were very good "helping" find things. I'll take a little credit for that; the boys are very used to walking and (sort of) behaving themselves, while Katrina hangs in the cart. But mostly, they're just pretty (sort of) good. And Dave -- not bad for a Dad! It's nice to know every so often you're doing something right. I just wish I knew what it was.

The Target trip was to get more booster seats for the boys, since we're about to do the Big Carseat shuffle. Boys in boosters from now on, yay! Katrina will get the Britax Marathon, forward-facing. In two weeks, Gabriel will turn 6 and won't even legally need a booster, but of course he'll still use one, he's such a shrimp. I weighed him a few days ago with just pajamas and Pull-Up (argh) -- 37 pounds. Pathetic!

1/19/08

1/18/08 The Mayhem

Gabriel had school off today, so he went with Katrina to Melissa's today. She brought them both back home in the afternoon, along with her son 7-year-old Jackson, and they stayed for a little while.

Even though Gabriel and Jack had had the whole afternoon together, they hadn't tired of running like crazy, shouting at the top of their lungs, jumping on the furniture, wrestling, and full-out horseplay. Julian joined in the fray, and it was complete, total, ear-splitting chaos for a while, as only boys can make together. Yeah, yeah, girls can play hard too, but piling up, picking each other up, holding each other upside-down, shaking each other, pushing, pulling, racing, grabbing, pouncing, total all-physical rough-housing -- it's all boy. No tea party here. I love it. (It's hard not to imagine wistfully if baby#3 had been a boy too....)

I did get them to calm down briefly by having them sit on the couch and make faces for the camera. Meanwhile, Katrina, not in the slightest bit intimidated by all the rough action around her, pushed herself up to a stand and walked unsteadily across the rug, to the joyful delight of all three boys.


Jackson spends every afternoon with Katrina, and he adores her. He carries her, he plays with her, says he loves her, he's on her all the time -- in fact, Melissa has the same trouble keeping him from bugging her as I do with her brothers. Who knew little boys liked baby girls so much?!

As my poor friends have endured me complaining doggedly about, I just can't let go of this ankle problem. It reminds me of when my right wrist got so painful for a while, from motorcycling and from too much mousing, that I started mousing left-handed, cut back on riding and used a throttle lock whenever I could. It took well over a year before it didn't bother me all the time, and the introduction of right-hand-specific mice got me using the mouse with my right hand again. Persistent, gradual, achy sort of pain from too much use. Tendons.

So some targeted Googling today turned this up: Tibialis Posterior Tendinitis. It, and all articles on it I've found since, describe my ankle troubles to a T. Yeah, T, as in, Tendinitis. And, Tenacious. It's not going to go away easily. But, there are ways to prevent and treat it, and it's going to mean always keeping an eye on it and always backing off when it flares up. Of course, I'll let the doctor diagnose it himself next week, but until then, I'll Treat it Tenderly. I'd rather break my leg! That heals!


Before Melissa and the mayhem arrived, I had a few minutes alone with Julian, who only slightly willingly sort of posed for the camera. I was actually trying to get a good picture of his beautiful pout, but that's only going to happen candidly. Still, I love his smile even more.

It's actually a really bad picture. He's so cute in real life. And that mouth...!

1/18/08

1/17/08 The Upcoming Holiday

Julian announced at dinner tonight that Martha Luther King is coming on Monday.

A little slice of life here while I'm making dinner, though this is calm since I'm able to take video. Katrina trying to horn in on Gabriel's Snap Circuits, and he gently keeps her away, and succeeds in redirecting her attention to a book (I caught this scene at the tail end, she'd been trying for some time):

Hmm, I took that to illustrate her vocal disapproval of the restraint, but now what I really notice is how Gabriel handles her. He's actually smiling the whole time as he puts his body between her and his beloved Snap Circuits to keep her away -- believe me, Julian doesn't get this kind treatment!

Ironically, not much later after I took that video, both the piano and the Snap Circuits -- the two mainstays of entertainment around here -- got angrily confiscated to the garage after escalating through the whole ladder of heads-up/ask/tell/remind/warn/insist/timer/countdown/NOW/THAT'S*IT!* that the boys set the table.

Melissa said Katrina walked a lot more today, yay! It's still mostly a game, but more and more she's using two feet to get from one wall to another, occasionally taking unsupported steps inbetween. Could she be the earliest give-up-crawler of The Three? Oh, please yes!

I "walked" Katrina to get to the car, while she held one finger, and this was a daunting experience for her. She gets tripped up by plants in the way, uneven spots in the pavement, the slope of the driveway. But when I try to pick her up to expedite the process? Screeching, arm-flailing, back-arching, full-body-and-soul protest. NO WAY MOM, I'm gonna do it myself! Hey, I'm all for it.

Another random "accident" in the mini-potty tonight before bath too. A few more and it won't be so random anymore.

I went out for a Mom's Night Out tonight, something I haven't done for a while. That was great, so nice to catch up with other moms and be in the mom world again. Work has proven to be an odd source of calm and stability, but while I need some of that in life, it's never been my hallmark. It's nice to stay in touch with -- maybe even stay in -- the far more chaotic and less predictable kid life. Of course, hanging out with moms when our kids are in bed is the best of both worlds!

1/17/08

1/16/08 Katrina in the bathroom

Sigh. It's time. Every toddler at some point discovers how to flush the toilet and then becomes obsessed and flushes it again and again and again and SCREECHES when you block it or pull them away...ok, maybe not the screeching part. But, it's Katrina's turn for the Flush Phase. The flusher is now her new BFF*. But not before doing some damage to the carefully arranged bathroom cabinet.

In other bathroom news, Katrina objected strongly to being sat on the mini-potty before her bath, just on principle. I grabbed a book, and her energy was instantly plunged into "boo? boo?" and pointing to the strange figures in a Dr. Seuss book and making sounds at them. Then, she looked down, pointed to her tummy, and said, "bee? bee?" Whaddya know, there in the potty was quite a substantial amount of "bee?". Goodie! I tried to praise her, but she was right back to the book. Eventually these random accidents converge into doing it on purpose.

Now if only the boys would stop having not-so-random accidents at night. Or even in their sleep! Yesterday, Julian insisted he was tired of naps. Today, he napped so soundly that he didn't wake up when he had to pee, and he came home in his emergency pants. Sigh.

Left work early and came home to exercise a little, as doing a pretend aerobics class in my living room is the only convenient cardio I can get these days. Too bad I'm such a lousy aerobics choreographer. But even a few minutes of movement does wonders for my mood, though much of my movement took on a suspicious resemblance to running.

Then it took just under an hour to go pick everyone up, and that was with the additional time of getting the boys to go pee (another bathroom reference) before getting into the car. They always have to go when I pick them up, which isn't a problem for the usual 2-minute trip home, but today I picked them up first, then made the trek with them to Melissa's to get Katrina. I didn't want to go into traffic for half an hour with them strapped down and unable to do The Dance to shake it off (until I get tired of the wiggling and order them to go stand in the bathroom) at home as they usually do. But even with that extra step, doing the pickups from home didn't cost me any extra time as compared to doing them from work, and the sanity savings of going home first is huge.

I'm getting too good at this though. Dave got home at 6:45, and I had all three kids fed, kitchen cleaned up, Gabriel had finished his homework, and Dave's dinner was minutes from being on the table -- without touching the kitchen until I walked in the door with all three of them. Pretty soon, we'll start expecting this level of efficiency!

I do find tiny optimizations in the strangest places though. Lately I've been wearing socks to bed, and I like to put on clean ones....so I figure, why not wear the socks I'm going to put on in the morning anyway? That saves me 12.5 seconds of taking off my sleeping-socks and putting on my day-socks!

Now if only I could learn to blog shorter....

1/16/08

*BFF: hip-speak, stands for Best Friend Forever