Chloe - 196 Months

After a full month of blogging every day about Zoe and Mia or the baby-to-be, I figured I certainly owed our puppy Chloe at least one shout out.

Chloe turned 16 in August 2009, making her just about 196 months. She was born in August 1993. I have no clue what that is in dog years but I'm guessing an awful lot.

Scott and I have always thought of Chloe as our first child. We used to tease that it would be a shame if her and Mia or Zoe didn't get along, because it would be really difficult for Mia and Zoe to find new places to live. But all has worked out well.

Many dogs, especially tiny dachshunds have big attitudes and can become disgruntled as they get older. We have certainly been prepared for Chloe to try and nip at the girls or generally be aggravated about their arrival.

But Chloe has been a real trooper. She is mostly unfazed by both of them, and we have had no incidents to report.

Chloe is still a chief cuddler who loves to tunnel under covers. Her health has really leveled off and now she mostly just seems like an older dog versus a sick dog which we were struggling with a few months back when I blogged about her Cushing's Disease. She still needs to eat often and be walked even more often, including very early in the morning, but that is just part of caring for an older dog.

Thank you Chloe for 16 great years. Happy 196th month! We love you.

Pocket Pictures

Zoe has taken to drawing "pocket art". She sits at her little table for extended periods of time drawing tiny pictures and then cutting them out. She'll carry them around until she identifies someone with a pocket. Then she'll tuck the miniature art in their pocket.

At Thanksgiving, she provided pocket art for each guest. While we sat and lingered after dinner, Zoe mass produced art work and then stuffed pictures in to each guest's pockets. Most were tulips, some were eyeglasses, and several were abstract. I had a turkey hand drawing; the kind where you draw a hand and then use the thumb for the turkey head. I thought it was quite impressive - that's a hard thing to draw in miniature!

I think the interest is more about using her scissors than it is about art, but the art has evolved too. In general, cutting with scissors or using a knife at meal time have become activities high on Zoe's priority list.

Thanksgiving Visit - 2009

We had a fun Thanksgiving holiday with lots of family in town. Both girls enjoyed helping to prepare the food and set the table.

Thanks to Grandma Barbara, Grandpa Ed, Grandma Bette, Grandpa Steven and Uncle Brad for making the trip. We also had fun seeing our family friends Gene, Pearl and Seymour.

Zoe and Mia had a great time and miss you already! (To prove it, this morning when Mia would normally call out for mommy or daddy when she woke up, after a few feeble attempts at calling for us she started hollering for Grandma Barbara.)

Something that Bugs Me

How come some people just can't help commenting primarily on kids eating and appearance? I'm not talking about the occasional comment. I'm talking about people who have no other conversational repertoire than comments on appearance and eating.

I assumed it was primarily an issue for people who have never had children. I guessed that it was a way to find something to talk about. But that doesn't quite pan out because many of the people I hear that from do have kids. Now, I deduce that it's primarily people from my parent's generation and above. That is not exclusively the case but closer.

Either way, it really bugs me. As a baby, when people commented so much on Zoe's weight, it made me wonder if she was getting enough to eat. Was she ok? Of course she was, and the doctor told me constantly that she was just at the smaller end of the weight continuum. As a new mom though, those comments can cause glimmers of doubt or concern. As a mother of daughters, it will likely bug me more as they get older. I prefer to pay attention to weight and appearance when they impact health, manners, or safety. Otherwise, it's a non-issue.

I have developed a few tag lines to say when well-meaning people continually comment on appearance or eating, e.g., redirecting to other behaviors such as "she tries different types of food" or "she has great table manners". When it is recurring and not entirely well-meaning, I may say something like, "That's not the most important thing about her."

Imaginary Play

Yesterday morning I went in to Zoe's room to say hello. She was wearing her ski boots and pajamas. She told me that the floor was covered in ice, that her boots were ice boots, and that she was skate dancing.

She had recently seen a little ice skating on television which I'm guessing had an impact.

Mia -22 Months

Mia, you're rounding the corner on turning two in just two more short months, and it really shows! You are becoming more and more little girl and less and less toddler each day.

Your vocabulary is completely morphing in to more regular sentences. You usually string a few words together to make your point. And you indeed typically have a point you want to make and will repeat yourself until we acknowledge and understand what you're trying to tell us. You'll clearly tell us when you're hungry or tired, and that is such a relief and makes life much simpler. You're also increasingly able to understand and follow instructions.

You can carry a tune! This is one of my favorite things. You regularly hum and sing songs. Almost anything on the radio or CD, we will hear you singing at a later time. Without inspiration, your fall-back songs are the A-B-C song and Happy Birthday. You sang Happy Birthday to Mommy twice at dinner the other day. Thank you! Yesterday, while singing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, you did something a little surprising which I'm guessing you picked up from Zoe. When we sang, "...and eyes, and ears, and mouth and nose..." you added "and boogers" pointed to your nostrils and then you started pinching the top of your nose and saying over and over "I've got boogers mommy."

You're also becoming more organized in your physical movement. You can walk to the end of the block pushing a stroller...and back! without help. You run without tripping and can tackle almost anything at the playground. You're a little daring in terms of heading down slides, etc. but you always manage to make it on whatever obstacle you've found safely.

Earlier in the month you helped us celebrate Zoe's birthday at a painting gathering. You won the awards for most paint used, most paint covering a body, and best time spreading paint. I think this is the most civilized picture I have of you from that day. It's amazing what you're exposed to at this age by virtue of having an older sibling.

You have found a way to play with Zoe more regularly which is really impressive given how little toddlers tend to play with one another, often leaning towards parallel play instead. The other day you and Zoe were make believe painting your nails. You went and found a stick, dipped it in the muddy water (aka nail polish) and applied it to each nail one at a time with Zoe.

At least 2-3 times a day you like to sit on the potty, either the little one or the big one. You don't necessarily use it, but you're happy to sit there and talk about it a lot.

And, this month when our families arrived to help celebrate Thanksgiving, you easily called them all by name and went to them to play. Now, they understand that when I call them and say "Mia insisted I call you to say hello," that I'm telling the truth. You carried around a telephone much of the first evening insisting we call Grandma Barbara.

Happy 22 months Mia!

Love,

Mom

Old or Old Fashioned?

I like to think of myself as open-minded. I bend fairly far to the liberal side of things. I'm realistic about what kids are likely to do. I usually accept "age-appropriate" behavior and don't get whacked out when it's my kid having the tantrum or throwing their food over the side of the high chair and watching it fall. I assume she's practicing early physics, right?

But, I am much less prepared for the older years and what kids today are "entitled" to. I have no idea how I'll manage the technology that my kids will be exposed to that I never had as a kid. What are the limits on cell phones? Do all kids really have to have one or will my kid be classified as a dork if their parents don't give them one? What games will be ok on the computer and when? We don't even watch television at home. Neither of my kids has been to a movie at home or in the theater (except when Zoe was under three months and I took her with me to the Mommy Movie Clubs).

The verdict is still out for me on which technology is good and when and which technology is distracting. There is significant research accumulating on this topic from the cognitive and physical developmental angles, but there is a significant social angle too. Disney's Einstien series just had a massive recall. After marketing their movies as helping to raise IQ recent research showed that kids who watched a certain amount actually scored 10% lower on IQ tests. Now they're refunding up to $16.00 per DVD movie and four movies per household to help stem public outrage.

Even basic things like driving and cars are different now than when I was a teenager. We didn't worry about kids texting or talking on the phone and driving. These technologies, largely helpful, are also increasing traffic accidents, cheating in school, and distractibility. But, I wouldn't want my kid to be the one that couldn't call home in one of the much publicized although incredibly rare school emergencies we hear about.

Hopefully, some of these things will settle out over the next five to ten years in a way that helps hone my instincts about how my family functions with technology. At this point, I'm envisioning a family cell phone and laptop in a main area of the house that is available for all and owned by no one person in particular. I'm also imagining a family car that any of the three girls can use when needed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not thinking about these things all day. Just mind-wandering after watching some clips about technology here and there.

An Afternoon Outing

A little outing on a beautiful day!
Mia is holding up a little stick here. She and Zoe were taking turns dipping it into a small hole in the rock with muddy water in it and then using it to paint their nails.Zoe is riding her Chanukah present, a bike. She saw me bring it in the house (complete failure) and hide it in the basement. When we were deciding what to do, she convinced us to use the bicycle saying that it was a pretty day and that we should ride it now because the weather may not be so good when Chanukah finally comes. Sounded reasonable and now I don't have to figure out how to wrap it. Mia walked her baby in the stroller all the way from our house to the rocks and back. Neither kid or equipment needed Scott and I to help carry. Awesome.
Flying high.

Holy Memory!

Today, when we were driving past the Ballston area, Zoe pointed at a building and the following conversation occurred:

Zoe: There's a restaurant in there, isn't there?

Mom: Yes, it is called Vapiano's.

Zoe: What do you eat there?

Mom: Pasta, salads, and pizza.

Zoe: I've eaten there before with Mr. Ed, Elaine, and Conner. Connor and I got in big trouble for running towards the street.

Now, for a little context. It must have been at least a year ago that Connor and Zoe ate together there. Elaine, you'll have to correct me here because I don't remember exactly, but it feels like it was a very long time ago. I think Mia was around but very tiny.

Zoe and Connor were playing by the fountain after dinner and took off running. The grown-ups realized that they were running down a path that led towards a back street, and we caught up to them in time to stop them before they reached the street. We then had long talks about running, streets, safety, etc. I am simply blown away that Zoe remembered that. They were much less "organized" you could call it as far as little people go and it was a very long time ago. Good noggin Zoe.

PS - Later the same day, we decide to go bowling. On our way to the alley, this is what I hear.

Zoe: Remember when we went bowling and Connor was there and he fell and bumped his chin and needed stitches?

That was roughly a year ago too I believe. Wow!

Babies

Zoe has taken on my pregnancy in earnest. She eagerly pats and approaches my stomach. She is happy to tell others, any others-anywhere-anytime, that I have a "baby in my tummy". Fortunately, she has gotten increasingly discreet about this and doesn't try to lift my shirt or holler the news in public.

She has also taken to having many babies of her own. Two days ago, she had 100 babies. Yesterday, at last count, she'd had six babies, and there was a seventh on it's way, "hiding behind the chair" to be born. Fortunately for Zoe, when she had the 100 babies in a single day, "they were all very small."

PS- Rest assured, we talk about babies and birth in real terms, but that doesn't put aside all sorts of imagination now does it?!

Some Life Milestones

This blog is devoted to my kids and your life milestones. My hope is that this type of technology will be around long enough that you're able to access this blog, and read the chronicles I've tried to keep of your early lives. And, thank goodness for blogs, because I'd be hopeless if I had to keep up a baby book each year as detailed as I did for the first year of life for each of you.

That said, when I thought about you reading this in later years, I wondered if it would be helpful or interesting for you to know what some of my life milestones have been and how they have shaped the things that matter to me and that I try to pass on to you. If I thought of my life as a book, these would be some of the chapter titles. Some are happy, some less happy, but they were each very important and helped shape me and taught me how to problem solve in ways that I think help me today.

I was born in Georgia but grew up in South Florida. That means that I am Southern at heart (e.g., manners count), but that I know how to have a good time and love the ocean. I grew up around boats and feel a little land-locked when we don't live near water. My dad was an expert fisherman and boatsman, and we were lucky to go on the boat a lot.

My parents divorced when I was nine (separated when I was eight). I don't have many childhood memories before this age, although I have lots of childhood photos to reflect on that remind me of fun activities. That said, I was cautious about marriage and have always been very open about different lifestyles and believing that each person needs to figure out exactly what works for them and follow that path.

As far as interests, we always had pets growing up, and I gravitated towards dogs mostly. I have always been an "animal-person" and have a lot of compassion for them. My mom also very much valued community service. I remember after a party, we boxed up all the left over food and she took me to donate it to people living in the streets (not through a shelter, but directly handing it out in the street). Community service and volunteer work have always been very important to me. Sometimes, that intersects with my love for animals which means that you've likely come home to find a stray animal that I picked up and brought home until we could find it's owner. It may also mean that you've seen me running down the street like a crazy person trying to catch an escaped neighbor's dog to bring him home.

Music was also a critical part of my upbringing. My mom sang and danced with abandon. We had a piano which we played and a guitar which I attempted to learn. I was always in some sort of chorus and taking dance, singing, or acting lessons. I have no doubt embarrassed you numerous times with my singing and dancing around the house.

A few neighborhood experiences also impacted me. In my earlier years, we had a neighbor who committed suicide. I was friendly with his two kids. Another neighbor fell off a skateboard while being towed by a motorcycle and hit his head on a tree stump. I saw that happen. A neighbor who chopped up a snake in her front yard like a lunatic, and another who accidentally shot himself in the hand with a bb gun. He was an idiot. There was a family with 12 kids on the next block. At the time I thought their house was a non-stop party. Now, I think they are crazy. While this all sounds a bit nutty, this neighborhood was also packed with goodness. I could ride my bike and stay out well past dark. There were wonderful and safe nooks and crannies to play in. Everyone safely trick-or-treated around the neighborhood, and there were lots of kids to play with. There was a big green space behind our house and most neighbors grew fruits in their backyards that we could exchange and share. There was a lot of freedom and independence that I'm worried you won't have in your childhood since local communities have changed so much.

I always created odd jobs, i.e., sewing tooth fairy pillows and holiday gifts for classmates, holding car washes, etc. to make extra cash. My dad was an entrepreneur and businessman which I found fascinating and my mom was quite thrifty. My first real job though was as an "expeditor" at Burger King. I was too young and would not have been hired according to today's labor laws, but things were "looser" then. I collected the order information, put the orders together, handed orders to customers, and said "have a nice day". I walked to and from work, enjoyed saving money, and felt good about being able to bring home dinner on nights I worked. That said, no one ate the expired Burger King food items I brought home and I stunk of fast food. Anyway, I always had a very strong work and savings ethic. This served me well later.

I also have travel-lust. The seed of this was likely planted by a wonderful high school English teacher who agreed to take top students to Europe each year. This had several impacts on me. First, I learned it was possible to travel at any age and on any budget. Second, I learned that I loved international travel. Third, it reinforced my developing financial personality because in order to go the second time I needed to raise 1/3 of the money myself. By this time, I was already pretty good at scrimping and saving.

During high school, I was also aware than people gravitated towards me when they needed help. I had several bizarre experiences where class mates, sometimes strangers, approached me for some sort of significant help or support. Many times, I was not equipped to help them alone, and my parents were always supportive in these amazing situations.

Later in my mid-teens, there was a rough patch. One of my closer friends, Jenny, was killed in a car accident. (As an aside, she was in Alabama at the time and in order to go to her funeral, I needed to purchase a $600 plane ticket. I was able to scrape much of this cash together by sorting through old hiding places because I'd been saving for so long.) Another friend, Julie, was in a major car accident and had some brain injury. A close friend's father killed two people and committed suicide and it was all over the news. This was during the stock market decline of 1987. An underlying eating disorder that I struggled with began to rage at this time and I ended up spending two months in a hospital to recover. I hope that you are smarter than me and never use food to manage your feelings. It was the biggest mistake of my life. That said, I am a real success story. The hospital helped me heal. I have no food issues today. I became strong and assertive. I continued to have a lot of compassion for others. I am still close with my friend Julie, I keep in touch with my friend whose father committed suicide, and I kept in touch with Jenny's parents until recently when it was natural for our lives to drift apart. I learned a lot about relationships, healing relationships within yourself and with others.

During this time, another major event to me (likely appears minor to others) had a significant impact. I had experimented briefly with cigarettes. They are horrible, deadly things, but we didn't know as much about that then. My dad had been an addicted smoker for many, many years despite all efforts to quit. My mom found a few cigarettes in my purse and told my dad about it. When I went to stay at his house next, he sat me down and confronted me in a very quiet but serious way. This was extremely unusual. He also became tearful, which was more than extremely unusual for me to experience with my dad. How my dad handled the situation and his vulnerability had such a profound effect on me and persuaded me more than anything to toss them out. End of story. My dad, grandpa Randy, did go on to quit himself. It was hard work, and it payed off!

I also valued education quite a bit. I was a very good student and pretty social too. I really enjoyed learning and still very much pursue education. I gravitate towards people who have an inherent curiosity about things and life in general, and I think it keeps things interesting. My parents put a big emphasis on education and being interested in the world, and they sent me in to the world without any debt from college for which I will always be grateful. I went on to get a master's and a doctorate degree. I've likely encouraged you in your studies, and you've probably heard your dad persuading me at some time or another not to go back to school for an MBA, MD, or a JD which I sometimes consider.

I was also very active and still am. I value physical activity and fitness. I have run a couple marathons, although I can't say that I encourage that. Somehow I felt less balanced doing marathons that I do maintaining regular fitness routines. I also became a vegetarian in 1993, unrelated to fitness, just personal choice.

Having my babies, including laboring and delivering at home, was of course a major milestone each time. Going with the flow is a requirement when your body becomes a science experiment during pregnancy. And, nothing creates more vulnerability and openness in life than being loved and loving others so deeply as children.

I love you!

Mom

Bathtime

Zoe and Mia have been having a super fun time in the bath tub. They play more imaginative games and they try to wash each other's hair and style it. Then, of course, they like to fill cuts and rinse each others hair, which is most often a mess but funny.

Recently I took some photos of Mia's hair in a mohawk and Zoe making antennas on her head. However, I'm not sure about putting bath photos up on the blog. What's the etiquette on that?

Mom's Night Out- November 2009

Thanks for a fun night out ladies. (It's a little hard to see who was there. We had a pretty full house: Ellen, Elaine, Therese, Amanda, Marya, Luchy, Helen, Laurence, Fiona, Vickie, and Laurie.)

Bouillabaisse

One of my favorite dinners to make is Bouillabaisse. I have a recipe that I really like but it can take a little while to prep. Scott and I usually make it on holidays, and we cook it together and eat late after the kids are asleep.

This weekend, I decided that it would be fun to make Bouillabaisse with the girls help. So Sunday we took a field trip to the seafood wharf in D.C. to pick out fish, shrimp and clams. We prepared our vegetables in advance on Monday. Then Monday night they got to help put everything in the pot and measure it. Our parsley is actually still thriving in our little herb garden so we got to gather that and chop it together also.

When the meal was ready, there was a definite chance that it would not be eaten by either Zoe or Mia. As much as they enjoyed helping to prepare it, neither of them eat much fish or shrimp and they've never tried clams.

They loved it. And, Zoe loved clams. She ate almost all of them in the pot! Who knew?

Fall Leaves

There is no shortage of leaves to rake at our house on Harrison Street. Even if we left a thick layer for composting, there would still be bales full of leaves to rake away. We typically rake the leaves from the backyard (where our dog is never walked), to the driveway to play in. These are some of our most fun and creative play dates.

Watching the girls play in the leaves on this warmer-than-typical November day, made be resonate with Thornton Wilder's quote, "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

Fun afternoon.

Napping

I've pretty much decided not to write about night time sleep anymore. I say that now, but I'm sure when baby #3 comes, it will be hard to resist. But, for the meantime, I'm fairly resigned that I have early risers who are getting plenty of sleep and it is what it is so I need to just get over it. But I wanted to mention something interesting to me about Zoe and Mia's napping patterns.

From the time she was an infant, Zoe had a difficult time falling asleep without fussing. We learned this through trial and error. It seemed like she would get tired, we would put her down to sleep, she'd start to fuss and we'd run back in to sooth her. Once, it took us a few minutes to get back to her crib, and in the two minutes it took us to get there, she had fallen sound asleep. After that, we experimented a bit and learned that at every sleeping occassion, she would need to fuss and grumble for just 1-3 minutes before falling asleep soundly.

Now, as a four year old, she goes to bed at night without any issues but nap time is no different than it was when she was younger. She will go to her bed happily at first. If she gets upset during reading, etc., she then falls asleep pretty easily. If she doesn't, I know that she's not going to sleep. In those cases, I leave the room after reading. In about 10 minutes, I come back in and she immediately starts to cry when she sees me. I'll lay down with her and within 2-10 minutes she's asleep. I don't even have to say a word. Really interesting I think.

Mia has a different pattern. She took much longer to sleep through the night, but she will tell us when she's tired and wants to sleep, both at bed time and nap time. She will also fall asleep happily without fussing. When she wakes up, she is ready to party and will call to us and sing, etc. until we bring her some toys to have in her crib or take her out.

Ballerinas

Just last night, Zoe asked me if she could be a real ballerina. She has begun taking a new series of movement/ballet classes, and really enjoys them. She wants to know when she can be a big girl ballerina like Oliva or Angelina, some book characters.

Today, we turned up for story time at the book store, and there was a big surprise. Ballerinas from the Nutcracker were there. They were in full dress. They passed out crafts, read stories, showed off their costumes, and then, they danced. Zoe and Mia sat stock still enthralled. I may get Zoe to a theater yet to watch a production if there are ballerinas involved.

I of course sat there teary-eyed, because they were so excited. I can't help it. (And, I can't blame it on hormones. I do this pregnant or not). It was really precious.

Extreme Giggles

I don't usually post more than once a day, but I don't want to forget this silly moment.

Every night at bedtime, Zoe and I lie on her bed and she lists five things she's grateful for and five things she did during the day. I do the same.

Tonight, while she was making her list of things she was grateful for, after she had finished listing "play date at Gymboree, corn, mommy, daddy" when she added "...and my Uncle named Sandra Hong" at which point she started to giggle uncontrollably giggling. I have no idea what inspired Sandra Hong or why it was so funny, but these were the kind of giggles that make it hard to breath. Where your face is red and your eyes start to water. She would do her best to compose herself so she didn't choke, and then repeat the phrase and start all over again. It was contagious. Sandra Hong, whoever you are, thanks for a good belly laugh at bedtime.

Dinner Antics

Most nights, we have dinner at home as a family. We try to all eat the same food at the same time. This is an attempt, often met, but not without challenges and sometimes not in the most relaxing atmosphere.

Not infrequently, some evolution or should I say devolution occurs. It may be something simple like Mia makes a spitting sound. Normal for her age. If she were alone, we'd simply tell her that it wasn't ok at the table. That it was ok when she brushes her teeth, but not here. However, she's not alone. Zoe is usually delighted by the surprise dinner antic and picks up on it immediately. After that, whatever measures Scott and I take are often less effective than the giggly reinforcement they get from one another.

Here is one dinner theater event. Mia, between bites, begins to play with her shirt. She is surprised when she gets it over her head. Zoe starts to laugh. Mia starts to laugh. Zoe starts to wrestle with her shirt...and, well, there you have it. In this case though, Scott and I thought it was funny too, and it didn't prevent them or us from eating so no harm done. Cute kids!

Gross!

Scott's children are gross. I don't know which one is guilty for sure, but I blame them both.

Several days a month, I spend a very full day away from home with clients. On these days, I usually pack a few light snacks and fill a water bottle to bring with me.

Today, my water tasted a little off, but I didn't pay much attention. It was a very, very long and tiring day. When we had our "after action review" at the end of the day, I was gazing at the table when my eyes focused on my water bottle.

Next, they noticed several disgusting brown things floating in the bottom of my water bottle. This was not something that I could really examine with six clients sitting around the table waiting for me to continue to conduct the meeting. So I discreetly put my water bottle in my case and tried not to wonder what was in the bottle that I'd been sipping at all day.

Apparently, one of Scott's kids dropped some raisins in the bottle before I left the house. It could have been much worse I know. But it looked really gross. I would take a picture to post, but I don't really want to remember what four swollen raisins looked like floating in my water. Yuck.

Early Learning Project #2

Mia participated in her second session with the Georgetown Early Learning Project today. The two young researches weren't daunted when Mia showed much more interest in her own toys and in drawing the girls pictures than in playing with the materials they brought. Mia eventually made her way over to the two girls and their stacking cups and they had a little research play date. Afterwards, Mia began pulling out cups from her kitchen to join the stacking cups brought by the researchers.

I hope to continue supporting research in this way as long as the girls enjoy it. As a student, collecting data was often daunting. In earlier days, my research covered women's issues across the lifespan (i.e., menopause, sexual satisfaction, eating disorders and body image issues, physical appearance and success, sexual abuse, etc.). As I crossed in to the world of consulting, my work focused on leadership, talent management and organizational performance. In nearly every case, collecting data was difficult and tedious work.

Anyone considering research studies for their kiddies, I can tell you that the girls have really had fun and they usually get a little token for participating. For Mia, receiving her own coloring book and crayons was a big hit!

Separately, over the past week or so, we have noticed another burst of vocabulary and sentence use by Mia. I continue to be surprised to hear her communicating in simple and not-so-simple sentences and expressing such clear and strong preferences. It's pretty cool. Way to go Mia!

Birthday Follow Up

Zoe, still recovering from her birthday sugar high yesterday, spent the first several hours this morning pining away for lollipops. After lunch, I submitted. She had 10 or so licks, talked about it non-stop for over an hour, and clearly never napped.

Later, while we were outside playing, a plane flew overhead. Zoe wondered out loud where it was going. First, she pondered "maybe to Virginia", and then she replied to herself "or to get some trick or treats."

Totally unrelated and curious to me...one of her presents is a new CD. Zoe and Mia both love the music and we have been listening to it a lot. However, when we first played it and the song "Rock a Bye Baby" came on, Zoe became seriously weepy and then pleaded to please turn it off. She said it was making her very sad and she didn't know why. Since then, she still wants to hear the CD over and over, but makes us promise that we'll skip that song before she has to hear any of it because it makes her too sad. Hmmm?

Zoe - 4 Years Old

Zoe, you have been looking forward to turning 4 for months. The other day, you looked up at me and said, "Mom, my birthday is in two days. I'm so excited I can't stand it!" And it was true. You were so excited that you were bursting at the seams. You've been happy, eager, and enthusiastic for weeks.

And, it seems like we've been celebrating for that long too!

First, we celebrated with our Milk Mom's group who you've been celebrating with since you were born. We call this the BBB#4 (Big Birthday Bash #4). This play group party (made up of mom's and kids who met at the Breastfeeding Center when we were all first time new moms) was about a month ago. There was even a mini-moon bounce which you were thrilled about. This year, you were able to appreciate that this party was for all your friends with birthdays around the same time and that your birthday was still weeks away.

Then we had a birthday celebration for you last week that included a ridiculous amount of paint and sugar. As requested, you were able to paint with reckless abandonment. You painted paper, puzzles, spin art and a cardboard house. Later, you got to make frosting and decorate your own cupcake.

Later in the week, your class had a small birthday celebration. This was a special, short dedication to your life. You lit a candle and placed it in the center of a unique calendar creation. Your teacher shared a brief timeline of your life milestones from each year that we had prepared for her and you walked around the circle to show your classmates photos of yourself from each year. After each year's milestones and photo were shared, you picked up a globe and walked with it in a circle around the calendar and candle as your classmates sang a sweet song about growing a year older. After the presentation, you sat with the circle and your friends took turns asking you questions like "what did you do in Hawaii?" or "One of your first words was 'woof'?" You were beaming. Later, you shared a special snack that you prepared and brought for all of them (pears, bananas, oranges and tomatoes).

Then on the actual day-of-your-birthday, we planned nothing but a low key day. You asked to go out for pancakes for breakfast and we agreed. It was a surprise when the waiter brought over a chocolate cake and a candle at 8 am after you'd just finished 5 mini blueberry pancakes. As we were leaving the restaurant, you were walking very slowly and holding up your hand in an unusual way. It took me a minute to realize that you were holding up four fingers to let all the other diners know that you were now four years old. Later, when we went to play a little soccer with some school friends, it was also a surprise to realize that you had just eaten 1/2 a large jelly donut and a donut hole that the other parents offered after play time. Fortunately, we had plenty of time to go run and jump off some energy. I think that today was the first time that you fell asleep before I left your room at nap time. After good, long naps, the afternoon was reserved for lots of low key cuddle time with you and Mia.

Cedra the Bat

This morning Zoe was drawing on some envelopes. It looked to me like small black lines.

Mom: Zoe, what are you drawing this morning?

Zoe: Cedra the bat with no wings. He sleeps on the ground in a bed and eats cheese toast and peanut butter and jelly. (now laughing) That's people food!! He sleeps at the nature center.

Whoa! Was I off base...little black lines, ha! Love the imagination!

PS - later she added some additional lines and guess what they were? Multiple bats you think? No! A camel of course!

H1N1 and Playtime

Ok - two completely unrelated topics I know. This isn't a theme kind of night.

First, you both got vaccinated today for H1N1. Normally, I wouldn't bother posting about something like a typical flu vaccine, but I thought it was worth noting because it's been a major media event for months. When we got back from our Morocco trip, I had nearly 1,000 emails about this virus. It's simply a new strain of flu that they didn't identify in time to couple with the regular seasonal flu vaccine which was distributed a couple of months ago. It's tougher on healthy people and spreads quickly. Beyond that, the vaccine has been difficult to get because production and distribution of it has been slower than expected. Sounds mundane, but it has caused a major international frenzy and lots of parents spend a lot of time talking about it. You will both return in one month for your booster shot of the H1N1. Hopefully by then there will be plenty of vaccine and it won't be such a news event.

Second, you have both been playing a game that was cute when you started it a couple of months ago, but it's wearing me thin. It's some version of "baby" or "animal." Rules are simple. Zoe identifies the role of each person in the family, such as mommy, baby, daddy, doggy if we're playing "baby" or doggy, dog, kitty, etc. if we're playing "animal." We then proceed to call each other by our assigned role names for an indefinite period of time. It's really fun. (Hopefully, by now, you're old enough to detect my note of sarcasm.) I will say though, that you both play this game beautifully together, often hug and cuddle during it and share nicely, and that part is really sweet. I'm just a little tired of having to use the proper role names all night.

It went by too fast..

After coming back in town from our first trip without either of you (more on that later), we were immediately thrust in to planning for Halloween and celebrating Zoe's birthday. I was adamant that those activities would not be in any way impacted by our decision to be out of town the weekend before.

So, we hunkered down, worked long nights, got costumes sorted out, parties planned, etc. and eagerly awaited the festivities.

And then...they were over.

What an anticlimactic Monday! I love Halloween. It's a close call between Halloween and Thanksgiving as my favorite holidays. I was excited to go to community festivities with you, trick-or-treat with you, play dress up and all the rest. I love the community spirit of the holiday too. It seems like everyone comes out with a decent attitude and a desire to be together regardless of weather.

Then, we celebrated Zoe's birthday. You had so much fun! (More on that later- remember I'm pacing myself for NaBloPoMo.) You both painted and made an extreme mess. You ate cupcakes. We cuddled and told stories about your most fun things all weekend.

And poof! It's gone. Fastest weekend on record. There are many, many days that I would like to fast-forward through. This is one weekend I would have liked to hit "pause" on a few times. As slow as many moments are, these years are going to whiz by.

NaBloPoMo - Year 2

So, I've committed to National Blog Posting Month for the second year in a row. This means that I will blog every day during the month of November. This shouldn't be hard at all given the list I have next to my computer of things I've been meaning to note here.

However...that list is practically growing mold and I actually had to look up my blogger password before signing in tonight because it has been so long since I've posted.

This leaves me with The Dilemma:

Do my blogs count if I back date them, or shall our summer farm trip be posted in November? I think I know what the hard-core bloggers will say, but my friends are of a gentler, kinder sort aren't you?