All the Ways It Can Go Wrong

We took professional family photographs on Monday morning. I spent time trying to figure out the clothing situation. I actually did two loads of laundry on Sunday night so that the kids would have appropriate socks to wear. I picked out Chris's clothes and he had a freak out moment that his pants might not fit and I'd cause him bodily harm for Ruining Everything. I had a freak out moment that I don't own that doesn't clash with someone else's outfit. And I can't forget to mention that despite it being December and everyone else in the world is taking holiday photos, Josie is wearing a yellow dress with daises.

I scheduled our appointment at Sears was for 10 am in hopes of the children behaving. I even fed them a snack before we left. I gave them fruit snacks, thinking that they couldn't possibly ruin their clothes with fruit snacks. Josie proved me wrong by dropping a half chewed, red one on her dress. I didn't even realize there was a stain until we were at the studio and, luckily, it doesn't seem to appear in any of the photos.

Thinking we'd need plenty of time, we headed out early and arrived to find that Sears didn't even open until 10. So we drove around for twenty minutes. Oops. While driving, about a half mile from the store, I saw a woman in casual, professional clothes with magenta hair running down the sidewalk. Turns out, she was running to get to Sears and open up the studio to take our pictures.

The studio time went ok. The photographer and another worker tried to keep the kids entertained but it wasn't the greatest job ever. And of course you can't expect perfection with a 3 year old and 1 year old.

Some pictures weren't centered.

There were shadows, squinting and not looking at the camera.

There were awkward poses.

There were interrupted games of Peek-A-Boo.

There was a broken background curtain, more squinting and a confused child.

"If one more person tells me to smile, I'm going to rip off this flower and crack it over their head."

Mount Diablo

We headed to Mount Diablo State Park on Saturday. We should have gotten some fabulous pictures and taken a nice hike. Instead, we forgot the camera and it was cold, windy and raining at the park. I'll spare you the pictures of us sitting in the car while it rained that we took with our phone.

It took us just over an hour to get there, giving the kids and I quality nap time. Then it was up for 3000+ feet. Did I ever mention that I got car sick as a kid? I thought I was over that, but mountains definitely push my tolerance.

When we arrived at the top we found that the observation deck was closed for repairs, so no great views of the mountains on one side or the bay on the other. However, the summit was actually indoors. They'd built the building up around the summit and had a platform built so people could stand on it.


After sitting in the car for an inordinate amount of time, the rain let up. We also traveled most of the may back down the mountain to get out of the wind and cold. Chris and Xander did take a short hike.


Then we let Josie loose in the parking lot to stomp in the puddles.


My favorite view was on the way down the mountain. I love the clouds (fog) in the valleys with the little towns.


I hope we can go back in the spring. There was a postcard on display showing a field of tulips and I would love to get pictures of the kids running around there.

Alphabet Hunt

Both kids have colds again. This is the third time within a three month period and it's entirely frustrating because we can't go to Mom's gym, Xander's gym or try story time with snot running down their faces. We're hoping this round clears up so we can go to the Thanksgiving dinner we were invited to.

In the meantime, we're stuck around the house a lot more. In a moment of inspiration I decided we'd go on an Alphabet Hunt. We put on jackets and shoes and I had Xander tell me the alphabet and I wrote it down.

My original idea was that we'd find things out side, like a tree, and Xander would circle the letter at the beginning of the word. So tree would get a 't' circled on the list. Instead we just looked around for letters. We started with some license plates, Xander would read a letter and then circle it on his list (kind of hard to do with nothing under the paper, but we muddled through). There were street signs and road signs and even letters on the garbage bins.

Xander had a good time, he'd point and get excited when a new sign came up. I didn't let him circle every letter on signs like 'Not a through street' but we'd get a few from every one he pointed to.

Josie was not as excited and became increasingly frustrated that we were stopped. Towards the end of the walk I had to tell Xander that the hunt was over and we'd head home when done. Still, it was fun to do something different than just walk.

Josie Speak

It occurred to me a few weeks ago that Josie doesn't use many words. Her favorite two words are 'no' and 'mine.' It's a little frustrating because Xander didn't use 'no' until he was almost two and 'mine' was a little bit after that. I guess that is what happens when you have an older sibling, you learn the survival words first.

Josie doesn't say 'yes' but she definitely gets her point across when she agrees to what you say or what you are offering her. She makes a noise that is a little like this....but without the 'doughnut'.




"Josie, would you like some yogurt?" "Mmmmmmmm!"
"Josie, would you like to hold Curious George?" "Mmmm-mmmm!"
"Josie, would you like to wear your slippers?" "Mmm-mm!"

There are a few other words that she 'says' but only we understand, because as her parents we have the secret codes to know what she is saying.
"Easssssss" is please
"Day" is thank you
"Maa" is more
"Ba" is bottle - thought she is getting better with "Bott"

I've been attempting to have her repeat new words.
Squirrel is now "S-wirl"
Elmo is "Momo"
Bob the Builder is "Bobbie"

You get the idea. She did put together her first sentence of "More Bottle," which sounded like "Maa bott." You get the idea.

The best is when she tries to sing along with songs that are making nonsense sounds. For instance, out of the blue Xander asked me to sing the Batman song (how does he know these things?) so I started 'ne-ne-ne'ing. Next thing I know, Josie is singing right along.

Headlines from Golden Gate Bridge

Bridge in San Francisco is Huge

People Walk on Big Bridge

Bridge is High Above the Water

Mother Threatens to Throw Child Into Water

Little Sister Worries for Brother's Safety

Bridge Has Cables Thicker than Child's Arm

Bridge Looks Small from Far Away

aaah parenting

This morning after showering I stepped out of the bathroom and noticed that the kids' bedroom door was open. That means Xander was up and about. Usually he goes into our room and bothers Amanda, however this morning I had gone into the kitchen and on the way turned on the dining room light --and left it on while I showered.

I go into our room and Amanda asks me if Xander is up. Ah ha! So that means the little scamp saw the light on and is in the kitchen trying to play with my phone while it's on the charger. I head that way and Xander leaves the kitchen and meets me halfway in the dining room with a huge smile on his face (which means he heard me, stopped what he was doing in the kitchen and left). This is typically what he does when he is nearly caught in the act. But, he's got something white on his chin???

Dad: Xander, what's on your chin?
X: Lotion!
Dad thinks: there's no lotion in the kitchen, what's he talking about?
Dad: What lotion? Show me.
Xander leads me into the kitchen and points to the Elmer's glue.
Xander: That lotion.
Dad: Xander, that's not lotion it's glue!
Xander: Oh!

That Darn Pigeon

When I find a book that the kids (or I) like, I tend to go online to the library and request more books by that author. Right now we have the Pigeon books by Mo Willems. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, and The Pigeon Wants a Puppy are what we have read so far and more are on the waiting list.

Xander has picked up enough about picture books that after reading a book only once he can go back through on his own and tell the story. It might not be word for word but it's the same story line and hits the important parts. Like on the page with the huge lettering he will yell "Let me drive the bus!"

Now Xander has extended what he reads to real world circumstances. For instance, while I'm driving somewhere he will ask if he can drive the car.

X: Can I drive?
Hugs: No.
X: Can I drive?
Hugs: No.
X: Can I drive?
Hugs: No.
X: Can I drive?
Hugs: No.
X: Can I drive?
Hugs: No.
X: Can I drive?
Hugs: No.
X: Can I drive?
Hugs: No.
X: Can I drive?
Hugs: ............No.

You would think it would get annoying but so far it has been a fun game. After all, that's what happens in the book. The pigeon keeps asking to drive the bus (although he tries other methods than just asking) and we tell the pigeon 'no.'

The best was after we read the Hot Dog book. In it a duckling keeps asking the pigeon what a hot dog tastes like, going so far as to ask if it tastes like chicken.

We sat down to dinner the other night and Xander asked what we were eating.

Hugs: This is chicken.
X: Does it taste like a hot dog?

The grin on his face was hilarious.

Halloween

Xander was old enough to really participate in Halloween this year. I asked him what he wanted to dress up as for Halloween and his immediate response was "Buzz!" It didn't help that there were commercials for Disneyland with little kids dressed as Buzz giving the 'real' Buzz high fives. Xander kept repeating that he wanted to be Buzz and get a high five.

Since I have almost no craft supplies and I knew Xander would wear it enough to be worth it, I bought him a Buzz costume. It involved going to four different stores to find, surprisingly. There was also lots of waffling on Xander's part. "I want to be Buzz! Spider-man, I want to be Spider-man. Oh, Super Why!" The store we bought it at was a Halloween store with many scary props around, so Xander had his first real dose of 'scary.' We talked about how it was pretend and make believe but he still closed his eyes as we walked out of the store past a child-sized doll with rotating skull. When we arrived at the car, Xander asked if that was a witch. Not wanting to go into zombie/skeleton/possessed details, I said that it was a witch. Xander turned in his seat and yelled "Bye, witch, have a good day!"

I have to get a video of Xander wearing this and post it.

And by the way, this costume, it's tag says 'Toy Story 2'. And it is absolutely falling apart already. The wings were totally worth it though. Josie agrees.


I found a butterfly costume for Josie. She was ok with it, but none of the pictures turned out well because she was tired and cranky.


On Halloween day we went out to the stores by the local farmers market to trick-or-treat in the afternoon. Josie slept. Xander was fascinated that he could walk up to someone and get candy. I spent most of the time holding his wings back because the sidewalks were crowded.



In the evening we trick-or-treated around the neighborhood. Xander had a blast and was so excited that he'd yell "Trick or treat" or "Happy Halloween" before people even opened the door. There were a few houses that were a little too scary for him, but nothing bad enough to give him nightmares.

My favorite part of the evening was when we ran into a family with a little Sheriff Woody. I so wanted to take a picture, but figured it would be rude. Xander was all excited and jumped up and down and yelled "Hi Sheriff Woody!" Woody was a little more reserved.

Overall, it was a good time. Monday morning, after breakfast, Xander asked to go trick-or-treating again.

Performance Art

We are trying to get out and do things on the weekends while we are here, but sometimes we have no idea what. While Chris was looking for something to do indoors last Sunday, he found that there is a Pixar exhibit at a museum. Not the best choice to bring a three year old to, but we decided to go for it.

We arrived and Chris stood in line with Josie while I wandered with Xander in the outdoor part. Our tickets were for 2:45 and it was just after 1, so we went in to look at the regular art museum. Xander kept asking "What's that?" and tried to touch everything. Then we found a special room for 'Art of the Immaterial' and Xander felt the need to express himself.


(I'm not sure how this will work, I recorded it on my iPhone but it doesn't seem to load correctly. It's basically Xander stomping to a techno beat as a voice names the colors on the screen.)

After this, we decided to take a rest room break and headed for an exit when the lights went out. I was immediately grabbing for my phone for light and calling for Xander, but emergency lights went on in less than 30 seconds. We headed to the rest room and when we reconvened we found out that the doors were locked and everyone was hanging around outside in the rain.

After about ten more minutes it was announced that this was a city-wide power failure and the museum was closing, but our tickets would be good for another time that we would like to visit.

So I will let you know how the Pixar exhibit is within the next two months.

Pumpkin Patch Kids

There are all sorts of parking-lot-pumpkin-patches that have sprouted up around here. There's a fenced in area that contains pumpkins (obviously), corn, hay and a bounce house. Xander sees them as we drive by and gets all upset because he wants to jump.

After some debate, we decided to go to a pumpkin patch on a local farm. It had the bounce house, pumpkins, corn, etc. It also had a petting zoo and face painting! So after nap time, we headed off. And it started raining.

So there was no zoo, no face painting and we had to nearly drag Xander past the bounce house. We were even too late for the hay ride, though the kids were able to play on the tractor and trailer. But, by golly, we bought some pumpkins.

This one is titled "Turn around so your mother can take your picture."

"Yee-haw, Cowboy"

Junior Zoo

The kids are hanging onto their colds but we needed out so we stopped by the 'junior zoo' here. It's actually a 'junior museum and zoo' but we skipped the museum part because it is entirely interactive and germs would be spread.

The 'zoo' (do you like you I keep using the quotation marks?) was very small and only contained small animals, most which you could find in your neighborhood. I'm talking turtles, rats, snakes, rabbits, raccoons, etc. Since we don't usually see them in the neighborhood, it was still fun.

Snotty Little Things

Last week, on Thursday to be exact, Josie woke up with a runny nose. So like clockwork, Xander woke up with a runny nose on Saturday. There has been an abundance of tissues used, some coughing but, fortunately, no fevers.

Unfortunately, them having colds does severely limit our activities. No gym because they aren't allowed in the kids area, no play grounds or story time. I'm pretty sure that is where Josie picked up this little bug, an oh-so-thoughtful caretaker left a kid's bottle sitting on a bench and Josie repeatedly made a bee line for it while I was reminding Xander not to tackle kids. So I'm trying to be considerate and not expose others.

So that means being stuck at home in this small house with tempers already shortened by not feeling well.

I just hope that they are better by next Monday because there is a scheduled power outage and I might actually have to interact with Xander and Josie.

Sweet Dreams

Somewhere around the beginning of summer, Xander woke up a couple of times in the middle of the night crying and very upset about something. He couldn't quite articulate it but I had the impression that he'd had some nightmares.

In order to prevent this, I would talk to him for a minute before bed about what dreams he might have. I did not go into long explanations about the definition of a dream or explain that bad things weren't real. I just told him to close his eyes and think about one thing or another. Like the sun and clouds. I'm still not sure if he understands, but every morning I ask him what he dreamed about.

Most of the summer his answer was snow.

All of August his answer was California.

Since his birthday, his answer is Chuck E. Cheese's.

He must get replaced during the night

We have started looking into some sort of class for Xander. He has way too much energy and desperately wants friends. He mentions friends he hasn't seen since Ohio (CaiyaConnorDeacon, Tyler, Caroline, Alex, etc) and has become a little....needy...on the playground. Alright, he follows the other kids around trying to play with them.

The local Y has one class one afternoon a week, but that won't work. We don't feel ready to put him into an organized sport. I tried looking for classes at a community center with no luck. So this week I looked in at two kiddie gyms. The first was nice enough but we arrived during a faculty meeting so didn't get to see how things worked. And boy was Xander mad when we left and he couldn't play.

The second gym I like because it had a separate area for parents that included toys to occupy Josie. We arrived 15 minutes before a class that Xander would fit into and he was invited to try it out. We grabbed a quick snack and I let him loose wondering what would come. Crying and clinging?

Xander ran right in, past the instructors, to play. The instructors called him back and he went and sat in the circle of kids. He followed directions, he jumped and slid and ran and tried everything new with eagerness. At the end, most of the kids slowly walked over to sit down and he started running in circles. By golly, he liked it!

Of course, it's pricey. We'll try to look around for more options (any ideas??) before we commit.

So today I take the kids to a different story time, for ages 18 months to 3 years. I knew Xander would be one of the older kids, but that's ok. And maybe Josie wouldn't spend the entire time getting into things (haha).

No dice, once again Xander sat with me saying he wanted to go home. He started to have more fun towards the end when there were songs he knew but he still wouldn't leave my side. Someone mentioned story time in another area library, maybe we'll see if that clicks.

Train ride

We went a couple of towns over and went on a carousel and a mini train ride. It located at a city park with the normal picnic tables, swings and slides as well as the carousel and train.

We all had fun.




There was a turntable for the train. I thought that was cool. The train is built to be 1/3 scale.

First haircut

Mom was feeling sick last week so I took the kids for a haircut to Snip-Its. It was Josie's first haircut and I was sure to ask for a baggie to take home her curls in.

The kids were both good, of course, not only because they are always good, but there were TV's with cartoons on in front of each station which turns them into Zombies.

Snip-Its is a haircut chain that specializes in overpriced kids haircuts. $18 for a buzz cut for Xander and $23 for a cut for Josie. They also require all employees to have a facial piercing or a large visible tattoo. I got over the price pretty easily because of the speed, quality and friendliness of the service. I'm not over the body art.

Anyway, here is Josie in all of her cuteness in her church dress from last week. I made her promise me until she started crying that she'd never get a disgusting neck tattoo or facial piercing. If it was only that easy.

Josie's First Haircut

As I suffered a migraine on Saturday evening, I convinced Chris to take the kids to the park. When he returned, the children both had shorter hair.

Hugs: Please tell me that you have some of her hair.

Chicks: *shock* Oh, no, I forgot!

Hugs: Liar.

Chris took them to a children's haircutting place in town, so they were entertained by television and each received a prize when they left. It was definitely pricier than using clippers at home, but it was done right. Although, they did parted Josie's hair, which really bothered me for some reason.

Josie Before



Josie After

Headlines from Big Basin

Trees are really old!

Trees are really wide!



Trees just get wider!



Some trees are hollow and yet still survive!



Grass attacks one-year-old!



Three-year-old escapes the Rodents of Unusual Size!



First raccoon-fish hybrid created!

Splash park and Port Fest

We went to a Splash park last weekend. Not too big of an adventure.

Xander had lots of fun. Josie was a bit more timid, but still had fun. I didn't get any good pictures of her without other kids I don't know, so no pictures of her in the sprinklers.


Here's one of Josie having fun on the playground. Her big afro is gone now. Amanda was sick yesterday and I took the kids for haircuts. By the way, it was totally overpriced, but it was done right and the kids didn't scream so it was worth it. Josie's new haircut looks fabulous by the way, more on that later.



Then yesterday we went to a Port Festival at a city up the road. It was boring, had only 2 kiddie air toys and frisbees to be colored on and overpriced burritos. We won't return.

But the Firemen there were cool. They told Xander to eat his vegetables and he kept repeating that on the way home so maybe he will now. We can only hope.

Cold Little Piggies

Our current house has hard wood floors with a few rugs thrown in. My first thought was wondering how often the kids would slip and fall, possibly hitting their heads and passing out and/or needing stitches. Can you tell I'm one of those mothers that worry? In any given circumstance I will immediately detail in my head what could go wrong and what I would do to make it better. Chris is the opposite. "Look Xander, a tall and unstable ladder covered in broken glass! Let's practice climbing it and then tomorrow while I'm at work your mother can have a fit when you climb it and she's busy with your sister to stop you." I'm just saying.

Back to the point.

There have already been several mornings where the house is nearly frigid when we get up. I want to put the kids in socks that have traction but the traction has worn off of Xander's socks and Josie is still new enough to walking that traction won't help a lot.


So I bought the kids slippers.


I bought Xander's at Target. Have I ever discussed Xander's foot size with you? Well, he has wide (widewide) feet. A couple of times we bought shoes that were too big just so his feet would fit into them. Even the velcro adjustable sandals were too tight. But I saw these and figured I'd give them a try. He loves them and tries to wear them to bed and at naptime. After about three wears, one of the slippers ripped right underneath the elastic. I thought about bringing them back but figured it's easier to get on and, really, we're not going to find something that fits better. I considered ripping the other one.


I had to look around for slippers for Josie, there is something about size 4 that makes them either sold out or just not available. I found some at Babies'R'Us and just went with them. They aren't the hard soles that I wanted but she's pretty steady in them. And I was annoyed by getting something that is trendy but I can't help thinking how cute she is running around in these knitted pink slippers with a cute skirt. You wouldn't catch me in this get up but Josie totally pulls it off.