See You On The Flip

We wanted to capture this little moment: yesterday, we went to the Little Target to return some things, and pick up some more infant Motrin. Julie was holding Joe's hand, and Ted had Clara in his arms. As we reached the doors, Joe turned back to Ted and Clara and oh so casually tosses out, "You go on ahead. Mommy and me will do the returns and we'll see you on the flip."

We kid you not, Fans. We kid you not.

Quiet Time

Fans, we would be remiss if we did not report on the biggest happening of the weekend before its close. We know: what could be bigger than Santa?! Fans. Our Hero has dropped his afternoon nap. !!!!! It was time. Of late, he wasn't napping so much as making the mischief of a bored three-and-a-half year old boy, and waking up his sister in the process. Also, though he would go into his room at 7:30pm for bed, he was up in there, sometimes past 9pm. It wasn't good for him, and it wasn't good for Birdie. And so, we took a deep breath and introduced Joe to quiet time, outside of his room, and pushed his bedtime up to 7pm.

We first attempted quiet time a bit ago, but in his room. However, Clara, though a good sleeper, is a lighter sleeper, and the moment she would wake, it was all over but the shoutin'--and the gigglin', and the partyin'. (The good news is, they're buddies, and it makes our hearts flip flop--it really does.) And so, quiet time, on the outside, was introduced. So far, the way it's gone down is Joe monkeys around upstairs with his new Dado blocks from Aunt Kate and Uncle Scott, and puzzles. After about an hour--which is a super long time!--he gets, understandably fidgety. Then, we try and fold him into whatever we're doing.

Today, we were taking down the scuzzy, dilapidated drapes that have hung in the dining room since we moved in, and which have hung less than a foot away from the table at which two children have learned to eat solid foods. The silvery gray ones we have seen in many a dining photo op, you may be thinking, Dear Readers? Yes, you've got it--except that the drapes were crisp, snowy white when first hung. Really dazzling against the cranberry walls. . .You will all have to wait for the reveal because after Ted fixed the curtain rod that was hung incorrectly from the get-go, he decided to paint the windows, which had suffered much abuse at the paws of Raleigh. Fans, we're gettin' all respectable 'round here at Raleigh House!

So Joe pitched in by going to the Target with Julie for the drapery panels, toting the mini-vac to Ted as needed, and merrily shoving the step stool hither and yon in the dining room with the two corner cabinets filled with the wedding china and wine glasses, until Julie's nerves were just about shot and he said he just. Had. To. Stop.

Julie will say that it had been a long time since she'd kicked it with Joe by himself, outside of story time and was reminded that the kid is one cool little dude. We covered off on tons of things on the way to and from Target, and in and out of Target. On the way out, he remarked that maybe Mommy would get Frosty soon. Here, he was casting back a day or two, when we were talking about a buddy of his at school who will soon have a brother arriving.* We discussed the fact that Joe has a sister, and so does Daddy, and--MINDBLOWING (still as we've covered this before)--it's AUNT KATE--!!!!! It was at this time that we relayed that Julie did not have a sister, or a brother, and when Joe said something along the lines of we should get one for Mommy, and she should be called Frosty. So today, when we ran into Ms. Melissa of KinderCare with her son and daughter at Target, and were discussing that her son and daughter were brother and sister, it was all very top of mind, apparently, that Mommy does not have a sister (or a brother). But, it must be said--and it was--a pretty fab son. (And, though no actual Frosty, some pretty great Frostys-of-her-heart.)

*Apparently, to be named Mickey like In the Night Kitchen which makes this little bro instantly awesome.

Just a Splash

Yesterday, we received Christmas greetings from the bambini's Great Aunt Janie (and Ted's Straight Up Aunt Janie), which contained a bit about a juice glass, the last remaining from a set of four that Ted had given her when she lived in her New York City apartment. She noted that it was from the days when juice was a luxury so the juice glasses were rather small by today's standards.* This put us in mind of a phrase Joe has picked up and uses to our amusement.

Though the juice glasses of today are bigger, Julie often doesn't want a lot of juice, at least at breakfast, especially if we are already having something sweet with breakfast, as we tend to on the weekends. So, she will often request water, and "just a splash of juice." Naturally, now our three-and-a-half year old can sometimes be heard asking for his own water, and "just a splash of juice." (We have a set of six plastic cups from IKEA that are perfect for little hands, and those who want just a splash of anything.)

*Janie, I know just what you mean! I grew up with a set that were ringed with four large starbursts. We never used them for juice. In fact, one always held toothpicks in the cupboard!

Pajama Walk

Since we had so many new toys, we decided we needed to leave the house! As local Fans know, there is nary a flake of snow on the ground here in the Great Not So White North. Also, it's been downright balmy, especially if you still rock the knee high socks and puffy coats. So after the presents had been opened, we went on what was billed as a pajama walk. (Everything is more fun in pajamas. Also, with a grocery cart, a stroller, and in Mommy's sunglasses.)

Christmas 2011

Good news, Fans: Santa Claus came to Raleigh House. He knew that we have a pretty awesome pair of bambini because he did not disappoint: he brought the fishing pole and Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle for which Joe had asked. Other loot included a "cupcake kitchen," a "basket of babies," a toy record player, books, some Thomas the Tank Engine tracks and trains, a viewfinder, assorted puzzles, and several types of blocks. We are ready to dig a foundation for an addition. Clara also got a dress and a swim cover-up, or so she was told. She thumb her nose at such provincial fashion backwardness and wore them together a good portion of the morning. She'll be mailing some sketches to Santa for next Christmas.

[It's kind of a wild time, making cupcakes.]

[We got train sets. Julie put them together separately. Ted said we should connect the. Julie said, "You need, like, and Engineering degree to do that." It's true. She is very subtle.]

[Berenice, you gotta see this.]

[Daddy, who is this Titian-haired beauty? She has a horse and a sporty blue roadster? Wait, this is Mommy's book? What?]

[Often imitated. Never duplicated.]

Swiss Crisps

So we decided to make Swiss Crisps. For those not in the know, Swiss Crisps are a rather fabulous holiday cookie (originally from a Woman's Day magazine, according to our photocopy anyway) that Ted grew up eating. Now, he makes them for his Ekkers brood. Here, we pause to report that historically, Julie's only part in this operation is to sprinkle colored sugar on the cookies before they are slid in the oven, and we would also note that hardly a year passes when she is not looked askance (or chastised outright) for using too many sprinkles.

So when Ted said he was going to attempt Swiss Crisp making with Joe, she thought, "What could go wrong?!" and suggested he establish some ground rules with his sous. Thus was born The Blue Line. Fans. Why didn't we think of this before?! And what else can we put a blue line around or in front of?!?!

The chief rule was that Joe could not cross the blue line. Other rules: only Daddy touches the marble, and we sprinkle the cookies closest to us and then Daddy will turn the cookie sheet.

Overall, things really went surprisingly well. Really, when you began this post, you were thinking that "What could go wrong?" bit was foreshadowing, weren't you, Fans? But no!

Still, as you know, we here at The Continuing Adventures of Our Hero and His Sidekick Birdie strive to report to you, Our Dear Readers, the unvarnished truth. Thus, we must reveal that the rule regarding sprinkling only the cookies nearest one, and thus, the rule banning overzealous sprinkling, were abandoned by Our Hero on one occasion, to near disastrous results. Julie turned from doing dishes and was able to take in the scene and strip off her gloves just in time to prevent an avalanche of blue sprinkles. Mercifully, it was on an edge scrap, rather than a cookie cutter shape. Ted still hung his head in dismay and admonished Joe. Really, Fans. The Swiss Crisps are serious business.

[Here, in the background, you should play Ted saying, "O-kay, Joe. O-kay. That's enough. That's enough!"]

We would be remiss if we did not mention that cookies now go by coo coo (like cuckoo cuckoo clock) in our house, in the wake of Clara once asking, not so long ago, for "more more coo coo." And thus are traditions made and remade, the Swiss Crisp coo coos and The Blue Line.

[waiting for the coo coo]

Of Quiet Time and Nap Time, and Grubstakes

Sleep. Fans, who needs it? Suckers and schmucks. Not Our Hero, and not Our Bird. On Christmas Eve. Truthfully, we've known for some time that Our Hero's napping days are a thing of the past. However, we insist on Quiet Time for Our Hero while Birdie has Nap Time. To date, Quiet Time needs some refining. By which we mean it needs to be quiet so as to not end Nap Time. Today, Birdie was snoozing away, when Our Hero did who knows what really, causing Birdie to wake up in wails. Julie went in to the bambini's lair and gave Joe her very best Stern and Reproachful Mother Stare and hissed something like, "I am really disappointed, and I think Santa will be, too," while she rocked Clara back down. (It was good enough for him to slump under the hippo duvet and just poke his eyes out over said hippos.) Then, she put Clara down and scampered off to collect one last item for Ted's stocking. She peered through the keyhole of the bambini's room before she left and saw Clara attempting a somersault and no movement from Joe's bed.

All was quiet when she returned, but not for long. Ted came down the stairs--with a Bird in hand! Apparently, she began to wail with increasing despair not long after Julie had left, so Ted went in, and found her blanket on the floor. He gave it back to her and tried to quiet her again to no avail. Sometime in the midst of all of this, Joe popped up to ask, "Is it wake up time?!?!?" After being told no, he snuggled back in with the hippos (Christmas miracle).

So, there we were with two bear cats in the making. Grandpa Charles had sent Clara a piggy bank to match Joe's, with a grubstake. So the Birds set to work depositing it into the pig.

Sometime in the middle of this project, Joe decided Quiet Time was over. So he came on out to the living room, and made some deposits as well. It may have been his sister's grubstake, but he's no sucker. Of course, Birdie's no schmuck--she was scooping up as many coins in her little paw as she could!

Joe's Music Class

Here is Joe last night, imparting some music and life lessons to, we assume, Panna Bear, Teddy, Neaky, and Blankie, the assemblage on his bed last night (the ranks have been recently thinned). When we checked on him before heading up to bed, we found he'd stripped of his pajamas and underwear along the way.

Air-Ah

If you were here, Brigade, you could set the Birdie on your lap facing you, point to her and say, "Who's this?" and she would thump her chest and say "AIR-AH!" and your heart, would melt.

The Color Yellow

Clara is at that age where in an effort to distract her from making some colossal mess or injuring herself in the oh, say, two minutes of time that might elapse between making ready the day's flotilla of supplies and putting on shoes, coats, hats, and mittens before our ultimate departure, we ask her to find all kinds of items. The toy grocery cart offers an array of options (though, as you will no doubt recall, the maple syrup is to be requested only at the cost of great peril). Over the weekend, we discovered that Clara both recognizes, and can say, broccoli. She is still an absolute fan of "NANA!" (Really, who isn't?) and also this weekend, we spent some time on the other yellow items in the grocery cart" the lemon and the corn. She's got the lemon down (though she cannot say it), but seems shaky on the corn? Today, the report of Bridie's daily doings relayed that they'd looked at a book of colors at group time, and, that "Clara recognized the color yellow." Well of course she did.

Julie is always sort of amazed when the colors start to sink in because they are adjectives and thus, it seems to her anyway, a little more difficult. For example, the walls in the bambini's room are yellow. Clara knows (can recognize and say) them as walls. Julie will sometimes say, "yellow wall," while changing Clara's diaper, and thinks Clara is looking at her like, "Why don't you get your story straight lady and get back to me." Ditto the ceiling, which Clara calls both the ceiling ("ee-ling") and the sky ("i") right now, though this is noun confusion rooted in the indoor-outdoor divide, of course.

Gone Fishin'

Fans, Saturday, we celebrated not only seven years of marriage, but also the birth of Joe's buddy, Graham. (Actually, the anniversary of both of these events was Sunday, but they were celebrated Saturday.) The bambini kicked the festivities off by holding an ABSOLUTE RAGER in their room from approximately 12:30pm until 2:30pm, a time you all might also recognize as nap time. There was jumping. There was flopping. There was shrieking. There was stuffed animal tossing. There was giggling. Suffice it to say, they were bearcats when they were roused a little after 3:30pm to get ready to go to Graham's party.

We hadn't revealed that we were headed to Graham's party until after "nap time." (We have found that the bambini operate best on a need-to-know basis and, moreover, that the category of things they don't need to know is rather vast.) At any rate, Joe promptly decided that he needed to wear his party shirt and despite the fact that Graham's pary was ina gym, and thus a purple checked button down might not have been the best choice, but you look as good as you feel, and you pick your battles. Thus was Joe all set to wear his party shirt--with his bright red fleece pants. We did suggest these pants might not be the best choice and though initially Our Hero balked, (sadly?) he did eventually concede the point.

What you see here, Fans, is a fish, on a fishing pole, made out of balloons. Our Hero acquired it at the party (where he was also lucky enough to again sit next to the Birthday Boy at cake time). You will note that one might be able to go fishing in say, oh, the Creche Sea. The fish are really biting there. Our Hero also made off with a balloon bumblebee. They are indigenous to the Creche Sea region.

Sadly, these items are no longer with us. Or rather, they are, but are slowly expiring in the basement. Our Hero knows only though, that balloons last for but a day. Nothing gold can stay, except perhaps, love.

The Drawing of a New Bath

Fans, tonight represents the dawn of a new era at Raleigh House: the bambini bathed together.

Now, some of you may be thinking, "Wha. . .? I thought they did. . ." No, Fans. No. We tried some time ago and Clara thought it would be fun to bop her brother on the head with a sudsy hand, and thereafter, Our Hero was having none of his sister in the bath with him. Tonight, however, Julie was going to be flying solo and she told Ted she was going to give it a whirl. He said, "Good luck, and Godspeed," and high tailed it off, as Julie looked wistfully on.

BUT FANS! The bambini were ROCK STARS! Bathing beauties, if you will! Initially, Joe balked. Full throttle whining commenced straight off. Julie mused, as though to herself, "Well, I know Graham and Connor take a bath together. And Elise and Charlotte. And Eli and Emma.* They all have so much fun. I just thought you would have fun, too. . .Anyway, that's what we're going to do!" This last said with much bright, hip-hip-hoor-AY cheer! that accompanies such Parent-As-Steamroller Edicts. Joe sniffled his ascent.

So, we rolled into their room and got undressed. Usually, disrobing occurs in the bathroom so this, too, was different. Then, we rolled into the bathroom and everyone brushed his or her teeth. Joe does this all on his own now, save the toothpaste load. Usually, he insists on standing on the bathroom stool, but not tonight--perhaps because he was so distracted by the novelty of this whole operation. And then, of course, we rolled into the tub. Joe requested his "special toys," otherwise known as the Thomas the Tank Engine trio of Thomas (naturally), Percy (where Thomas goes, Percy goes), and Captain (the boat, and thus, apropos). Julie feared derailment was imminent when she said that special did not mean exclusive, and Clara would have to be permitted to play with whatever floated her way. Surprisingly, bubbles did not fly. Joe looked at her like, "Duh, Mommy." As if he hadn't just referred to them as "special." Whatever. We will concede the battle if we win the war.

Bubbles were pointed out, talked about, handled; Thomas and company were played with; Clara put the orange rings on her arm and foot; hair was washed.

All good things must end however. Clara wanted out first, which meant Joe wanted out. So they got out and then pattered into their room in their towels where Joe got into his pajamas on his own, while Julie got Clara squared away.

Then, we all pattered into the living room and read books. This was actually the trickiest part of the whole bit. Joe's books are too long for Clara; Clara's books are to basic for Joe. Clara thought it was a glorified playtime. Joe didn't, but is eager to show all he knows and must be held back so Clara can participate in your flap lifting, animal identification and noise making, and what have you, especially if she is going to understand that it's still book time and not free-for-all time. But we will get there.

And then we all pattered off to bed!--!!!!!

*Whether Eli and Emma bath together is actually unconfirmed, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

M-I-N-G-O!

Mingo. It's not just a night. It is also, as you will no doubt recall, Fans, a song: there was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name oh, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was his name oh. Tonight, Joe schooled us in how you sing this song, with a clap taking the place of an increasing number of letters. "That's how you do Mingo. Yeah. Not Mingo Night. Mingo."

She's Quick as a Cricket!

Here is Birdie before dinner tonight with her two favorite toys of the moment: the cube shape sorter and the cause-and-effect pop-y-up-y-animal-thing-y. (Joe was also a fan of the former, but not so much the later.) Clara has long been able to sort her a shape, and has even caught on to the difference between the half circle and the crescent. Tonight was the first time she attempted to turn the cube when her piece didn't work in any of the opening on the side facing her. (Usually, Julie does that part.) Birdie didn't actually find what she was looking for yet, though. This morning, she was playing with the cause-and-effect toy, and in another first, was able to make one of the animals pop up by manipulating its switch effectively. It was the latch one has to turn, but she also then banged out the latch that one just--bangs, actually--down (fourth and third from the left, respectively, in the picture above).

So she's really piecing it all together lately! Also of late, she's been fond of Quick As a Cricket (a book Julie still thinks of as Quick Is Like a Cricket, as Joe used to call it). Julie has noticed that Clara mimics a lot of Julie's motions--small as an ant, large as a whale, quit as a clam, shy as a shrimp, tough as a rhino. . .If you listen, you can hear her trying to babble some of the words, too.

Hi Ronald!

This morning the family made the pilgrimage across the mighty Mississippi to the Children's Museum in St. Paul. The walk from the garage to the museum is via one block of skyway where one passes a McDonald's and a bench with a life size statue of Ronald McDonald waiting for a photo op. We are guessing the pictured assault on Ronald will become a rite of passage for any future trip to the museum. Joe had been to the museum just a couple months ago, so a lot of it was familiar to him. He took after the letters in the Chicka Chicka letter escalator exhibit and then built himself a snowman in the Snowy Day exhibit with Clara on his heels grabbing letters and snowballs. We then went to the City Life exhibit (or whatever it's called) and drove the bus, delivered letters, sat in the dog house (not the punishment it sounds like), played with blocks and shopped in the grocery store. After a raisin break on the window sill, Joe and Ted departed for Earth World where Joe played in the river and crawled around the ant colony. Meanwhile the Birds took in story time in the lobby, which was the right speed for both of them as they are each suffering from lingering colds (can you spot them in the picture?). Museum fun was followed by a treat for everyone...lunch out at My Burger. All had cheeseburgers. Two in our party ate quietly savoring the comfort food and two tried eating ketchup with a spoon.

Mingo Night

Joe's classroom at school is in the midst of the two-week theme, "occupations." This theme has proved to be somewhat difficult to the three-year-old set in that, the world might as well be divided into police officers, fire fighters, doctors, nurses, dentists--and everyone else. As Ted astutely pointed out, if the occupation doesn't require a uniform, to a three-year-old, it is not easily identified as an occupation. So it is that a polling of the kids in Joe's class about what their parents did yielded responses like, "My mommy picks apples," or "My mommy works and buys things at the store." The situation isn't helped by the fact that the occupation flash cards include one for "office worker," a rather large block.

In exploring this hazy concept, they have, apparently, been playing Occupations Bingo. One night, on the way home, Joe excitedly announced that he'd won "FLAMINGO!!!!!" What? "Yeah, we had mingo night!" Huh. Several exploratory questions did not elicit anything helpful in doping out what this could all mean, and Julie remembered just in the nick of time before Joe gave up in frustration, that the "What I Did Today" board had included a mention of Occupations Bingo. This, together with Joe's mention of "you got to get the star," allowed Julie to translate the above to Joe had won bingo and they had played bingo night.

Ms. Kristin reports that Joe did indeed win the first round. He had to be introduced to the idea of calling out "Bingo!" at that point, but he reportedly took to it with gusto. Ms. Kristin also reports that al the kids love Mingo Night.

The Maple Syrup

Fans, you may recall that when we were reporting on last Friday's morning's antics--this would be the morning we had to launch a search and rescue mission for the Buzz Lightyear phone (oh, you remember)--we wrote that Julie was amazed that no angst was expressed at the possibility that a different item might have to be taken for show-'n'-share. Rather, a breakdown was had over something else, which our reporter from the field could not remember when filing her report.

A newer, but loyal, reader reminded this reporter the source of the consternation: the maple syrup. It is pictured at left. This item of play food is the hot item. Why? We really couldn't say. Some of you may recall us reporting that this item has caused Clara some consternation because it won't open. What is up with this pretend food anyway, huh? Joe is also a longtime fan of the maple syrup, together with the jelly that (oddly?) is a yellow plastic container (and maybe it is peanut butter?).

So Julie was trying to do the breakfast dishes (you will recall we were in the midst of the War on Fruit Flies and thus, could not leave yogurt cups to molder in the sink all day) and trying to distract Clara from dismantling the house in under five minutes and Joe from whining by asking them to "go shopping" for various pretend grocery items. All was well until she made the mistake of asking Clara to find her the maple syrup, which she had no more started to say then she began to regret it, thinking, "That was stupid, stupid, stupid! It's the precious and now only one will have it. . .Sigh." Sure enough, Clara was dashing back into the kitchen from the dining room with the maple syrup when she was met at the threshold by Our Hero who instantly was interested in no other thing in the world, and especially, in getting into his shoes and winter wear to go to school. Clara munched on the cap that will not open and was happy as a pancake, with syrup.

Birdie's Sick Day

Here is Our Birdie, yesterday morning, motoring around the kitchen with the "duckie" pieces that go in the barn on the refrigerator (a toy she can swap the pieces in and out of on her own some of the time now). Who would have thought that she would throw up on the way the school?! But that's just what happened. So we dropped Joe off and then circled back home with Clara who, except for being covered in smelly, wet vomit, was in high spirits, and continued to be. She had no other symptoms to speak of and made herself busy in the kitchen with the measuring cups, oven mitts, dish towels, various kitchen tools and utensils, the stool, and her Little People's airplane (the kitchen is this season's hot vacation destination). Thus, we will admit, we fully intended to take her to school after her coat had been washed and dried. We reasoned that something must not have agreed with her, or her tummy was a little upset from being congested earlier in the week and things moving down before moving out, but that she'd worked it all out. That is, until she threw up again, after morning snack. Julie had already planned to stay home to bake cookies for back-to-back cookie exchanges she has been invited to this weekend; Ted stayed home, too--heroically salvaging the day for all the Birds. He took Birdie to the doctor who also thought that the vomiting was due to too much mucus in too small a tummy. But, we are apparently, to watch Birdie for signs of hand, foot, and mouth disease. All evidence was inconclusive, but the evidence was that Birdie had had a rash on her torso Wednesday morning (which had faded by that evening), and presented at the appointment with four pinprick spots on her right wrist (which Julie couldn't find yesterday evening when readin stories to Clara, though admittedly Clara kept yanking her arm away like "Get your book on, Books McGee!"). We are, of course, hoping that things remain inconclusive since this hand, foot, mouth who-ha sounds less than amazing and it is, naturally, a virus that must just "run its course," and that, takes about a week! In any case, Birdie hasn't thrown up since morning snack yesterday and is making spirits bright, befitting the season.

I See You!

Brigade. BRIGADE! Birdie said a sentence tonight! The Bird were down in the basement. The Big Brid was folding laundry. Birdie was flapping about in the tent from the larger (and packed up) tent-'n'-tunnel system that looks like a house. Julie glanced up and saw Clara through its window and said, "I see you." Then, Clara pressed her face up against the window's mesh and said, "I see you!" Julie flat out cackled. Clara thought that was hilarious so she cackled back. Julie thought to herself, "That was a sentence! But she was probably just repeating what she heard." Then, not more than five minutes later, Birdie, still in the tent, poked her head out of the door opening and said, "I see you!" !!!!!

Julie is fond of telling the bambini "I see you." While playing peekabo with sunglasses, spinning around from the front seat of the car, when they are doing something they know they aren't supposed to be doing. . .It has all kinds of uses and meanings. For Julie, it's first meaning is the most important though. Julie first started saying it because she thinks one of the most important things a parent can do for his or her child is really see them, just as they are--a kind of acknowledgment of their hearts and thoughts, even if maybe sometimes a parent might not know what to do except shake his or her head. Saying it out loud was, for Julie, a way to remind herself of one of her "north stars." In any case, it's a very handy phrase, and now, Birdie knows it, too!

The End of an Era?

A little over a week ago, Julie thought to herself, "I don't think Birdie is sucking on her two fingers anymore. . ." Julie noticed it when she was reading Clara stories before bed. Very often, after selecting her tome and flinging it up to Julie, Clara would nestle into Julie's lap, throw the first two fingers on her left hand into her mouth and throw her right hand up and behind her head to twirl her hair. Julie thought that she was just sort of half-heartedly twirling her hair now and again, but was second-guessing herself as it has been Birdie's signature pose. But then, when Ted came home from Atlanta, he said the same thing, and now, Brigade, we think it's true: Birdie isn't really striking this pose so much anymore. She is getting to be an awfully Big Birdie though.

Of Snowy Sled Rides and Buzz Lightyear

Saturday, we had our first substantial snowfall here in the Twin Cities. It started late in the afternoon and continued as evening fell. It was pretty, and not too cold. In other words, conditions were perfect to pull the bambini around the neighborhood in their sleds. And so we did.

And it was like a Hallmark card ad that makes you want to have a whole passel of bambini to gaze at as they march along in their little snow bibs and boots in the snowy night (you should have seen the Bird!).

And then, you might chance to remember Friday morning. Friday, as all Loyal Fans know, is Show-'N'-Share Day at KinderCare for all rooms, Twos and beyond. Julie had suggested to Joe that he might bring his Buzz Lightyear phone which, even before she'd fully verbalized the suggestion, she was regretting, having simultaneously remembered that she had hidden the Buzz phone because it is a rather obnoxious toy*, and that, she had forgotten where she had hidden it (despite the fact that the hiding occurred just the day before). Now, here is where you are no doubt thinking, Fans, as Julie was, that all hell was about to break loose. Julie took a deep breath and floated the idea of taking something else if the BL phone could not be located, and Our Hero said--wait for it!--"O-kay." !!!!!

No, instead, all hell broke loose over something so mundane that Julie can't even remember it anymore. (Admittedly, this might not be surprising since she couldn't remember where she'd hidden the Buzz phone the day after she'd hidden it!) Probably something along the lines of Julie having the temerity to suggest that shoes be worn before exiting the house. I mean, really. But when one parent is out of town, really, all hell must break loose. Preferably at a minimum of four times a day.

The good news Fans, is that the phone was in fact found. On top of the refrigerator.

*The Buzz phone features three modes: Battery Emergency, Friends, and Numbers. In Battery Emergency, Buzz announces that "WE ARE HAVING A BATTERY EMERGENCY! WE NEED THREE BATTERIES!" The intrepid earthling is then asked by Buzz to find the number three. Inevitably, the three-year-old space ranger is less interested in doing so than in simply pressing buttons, so one hears Buzz also announce, "GOOD TRY! BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!"

In the Friends mode, Buzz yells out the names of the Toy Story character that shares a button with each number. So what you get is: "REX! HAM! HAM! HAM! SLINKY D-HAM! SLINKY DOG! THE ALIEN! THE ALIEN! THE ALIEN! THE ALIEN! RE-HAM! SLI-RE-HAM!" (You have to imagine this all AT TOP VOLUME!!!!!)

The Number mode is the same as the Friends mode, but with number listening whiplash.

This phone is nearly as awesome as the Rex flashlight (which we no longer own having wisely, we think, donated it before Joe was as aware of his toy population as he is now). When the user squeezed the tail of the Rex flashlight, Rex's mouth flew open, a flashlight appeared, and Rex screamed, "ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! Did I scare you?!?!"

Birdie Breaks It Down

As we have written here, Birdie likes her a beat, and she likes to bust a move. We've not been able to capture her in her car seat throwing a dance party to the Kidz Countree Klassics, but shortly before breaking down the body parts, Birdie was just breaking it down, to the Glee Christmas album, volume 1, before she had to take five for a water break. (You can here Mr. Grumpy Pants wailing intermittently in the background.)

Where Is Birdie's Belly Button?

Fans, Our Birdie is a hoot. She will select what books she would like to read before bed, thank you very much, and will dispense with suggestions to which she is not amenable with a a rapid succession of "no, no, no, no"-s which we will endeavor to catch on video for full effect and posterity. She punctuates them with head shaking and hand waving. For now, you'll have to use your imagination. Tonight, the books she selected were Peekaboo Baby (first appearance in months); Toes, Ears, and Nose!, and Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. During this last, she beat her little hand against her leg in time to the dum-ditty-dums, and also made the fiddling motion on the "Hands play fiddles zum, zum, zum!" line, just like Julie. Birdie generally likes anything with a beat. (Rejected this evening: Bright Baby's First 100 Words, Goodnight Moon, The Rain Train.)

Toes, Ears, Nose! is a sort of a companion volume to the modern day baby and toddler classic Where Is Baby's Belly Button?, by the same author. TEN! features more body parts than WIBB? and Clara has been all about the body part identification lately. Tonight, cheeks were introduced. Sounds a lot like teeth, apparently, to Birdie. Here she is this past weekend, showing off her skills.

I Wanna Be Just Like You

We have mentioned here, surely, that Joe is the absolute apple of Birdie's eye. Reportedly, on picture day, when Joe was escorted to Clara's room to collect the Bird, she was over to him like a rocket. The next day, when Joe passed by her room and pressed his face against the glass before moving along, Birdie burst into torrents of tears because she couldn't go with her big bro. At home, Birdie is fond of trying to get her big brother's attention by snatching whatever he is playing with and tearing off so he will chase her (100% success rate; 50% success rate with real tears from Joe; 50% success rate with fake tears from Joe). If Joe is doing it, Birdie must be doing it and if Birdie is doing it, well, she'd really like Joe to do it, too. (See if you can guess what this week's craze in the morning is.)

This last results in rather a lot of mealtime shenanigans: utensil banging, table top banging (with hands), utensils in and out of the cup, one-handed cup pick-up with hand stretched across the top attempts, placement of yogurt cups in the drinking cup, plate banging, weird noise making, weird face making, and more (with banging, if possible). With respect to the shenanigans, typically one warning is issued, and then one of three things happens:

1. Joe stops, and Clara sallies forth again hoping to engage Joe again and Clara's food, drink, utensils, or all three things are removed, as appropriate and tears ensue. (On such occasions, Joe will sometimes tell Clara something she has been doing is "inappropriate." Oh if only the kettle could tell the pot a thing or two, right?!)

2. Clara stops, and Joe begins again hoping to goad Clara into the fun and Joe's food, drink, utensils, or all three things are removed, as appropriate and wails ensue.

3. They both stop, and then either both begin again or at any rate, a cacophony ensues because both are doing something "inappropriate," and the Powers That Be issue a Royal Edict that Mealtime Is Over, and wails ensue in stereo.

The upside, of course, is that these antics are surely the foundation for the time when Joe and Clara will gang up on us, and though we do not wish to be at their mercy forever, we suspect we may be. In any case, it will not be altogether bad that they are a gang. After all, we do rather hope that they have each others' backs as they get on, and if one day, one of them again needs a spoon to bang, the other will be there with it.

SANTA!

Well, it's December, and after more warm-for-fall days than we have any right to expect up here in the Great White North, we have a coating of snow on the ground and temperatures befitting December. We also have holiday lights up about the neighborhood. We like to point out all the holiday lights we pass in the neighborhood on the way to Raleigh House. On Monday night, shortly before we reached home, Joe drew in a huge breath and burst out with, "SANTA!" (Our neighbor on the corner has one of those inflatable, nylon Santa's that's lit form the inside.) We explained that the Santa lived at the North Pole, but that he looked just like this decorative Santa, and Our Christmas-Loving Hero seemed to take that in stride.

We Don't Fly In The House

Words to live by, Fans. Words to live by. We have been dispensing with flies right and left--fruit flies, stowaways in a bag of late season apples. By the time we figured it out, 50 of them had probably had 50 babies. Last night, as Julie and Joe were hanging up Joe's towel after his bath, one buzzed into the bathroom. Julie quickly shuffled Joe into the bathroom, closed the door, and set to stalking the pest with a Kleenex box. On the inside, she was wondering what Joe's little developing, wondering mind was making of this scene. He didn't leave her wondering long. After Julie had whacked the fly when it landed on the mirror, she said, "A ha!" Joe giggled and said, "We don't fly in the house. We got to walk." Indeed., Fans, indeed.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Julie has learned that The Lion King CD with which Joe has become acquainted is strictly a musical CD, that Ms. Kristin plays during lunch. Ms. Kristin reports that Joe and his cohorts are intensely interested in good lions and naughty lions. She reports also that each week, she checks out a book or two from the library on CD, in addition to those she checks out in (can it be?!) "old school" paper style.

This past weekend, Julie and the bambini were at the library picking up a book that Julie had requested from another branch, when Joe spied a turn style of books on CD in the children's section. "MOMMY! MOMMY" After Julie reminded Joe to use his inside (and inside Minnesota; no doubt he could have been heard in at least Wisconsin) voice, she allowed that he could select one book on CD. Joe selected The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Upon arriving at home, he sat with the book facing out, teacher-style. (It was as precious as the picture you have in your minds, Fans.) Julie told him since it was just the two of them (and sometimes Clara) looking at the pages, he could hold the book in his lap. When one is meant to turn the page, one is cued by a billy goat "MAAAAA!!!!!" Our Hero listened with rapt attention for the "MAAAAA!!!!!" Ms. Kristin reports that all the kids in her room do the same and are quick to pounce when she does not turn the page. We have a vivid mental image of this as well. After all, three year-olds are on it, like white on rice, when they want to be.

Joe has brought The Three Billy Goats Gruff to school the past two days to share with his friends. MAAAAA!!!!!

Photo Shoot

Today was picture day for siblings at the KinderCare. The bambini were decked out in their matching-but-not-too-matchy-matchy finest. You never know how the shots will turn out so we took a stab at home, too.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

It was a rainy cold afternoon here in SLP and we needed a good post-nap activity to occupy both Joe and Clara for a while, so we decided on a PlayDough extravaganza! The whole family got into it. Joe made a big pancake, Clara was mesmerized by the Fun Factory, Julie made snowmen for the kids, and Ted made spaghetti and meatballs - seen here being manhandled by Clara. Much fun was had, no tears were shed, and an afternoon was filled with fun!

Scarf

Joe's class has been listening, of late, to The Lion King soundtrack on CD. Yesterday, he said to Ted, "Did you know Scarf lives in a cave? He's not nice. From Lion King. The CD." For Fans who may not have seen The Lion King movie (and Joe of course does not know there is a movie, and was a movie first), we should say that its villain is Scar.

Creche

The creche is also on display. Ted is in charge of this and Fans, he really outdid himself this year. Certain of our Fans know well that our creche is comprised of a motley crew, ranging from a panda bear to a tiger. Each year, Ted chooses one animal for each of the bambini to add to the menagerie; this year's have not yet been selected. This holiday season, working from left to right, Ted has created the following areas: angels-we-have-heard-on-high, a jungle, a dessert, a meadow, a farm, and a woodland. The woodland area features a lake made of blue construction paper. For our Fans familiar with the creche from its days at Ted's childhood home at Camel Hollow Road, we know that the question on your mind is "Where is the tee pee?" (Now, for other Fans, the question on your mind is "Tee pee. . .?") The tee pee is on the shores of the lake in the woodland area. The baby Jesus in the middle of it all, between the jungle and dessert areas, in front of both of those areas. Our babies visit the creche after their baths and affect migrations of various creatures--just like the Star of Bethlehem did!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

The first words out of Joe's mouth this morning were (you guessed it, Fans): "Can we put up the Christmas tree?" We got it out. While the bambini were awake. From then, until Ted left with the bambini in tow on a cloud of Julie's everlasting devotion, it was a glittery and shiny mess. Joe wanted to hang ornaments, so Clara did, too. Joe is capable of taking some--we stress the word some--direction; Clara, of course, is not. So Joe ferried ornaments to Ted to hang, while Clara got relegated to the carrier, where she was permitted to play with the Rottweiler jingle bell ornament. (She also played with her pink phone which she kept holding up to Julie's ear and saying, "Ello? Ello?!") That fragile peace lasted less than an hour.

After Ted and the bambini left (for Ridgedale mall as it turns out), Julie hung ornaments at a furious pace until reinforcements arrived in the form of Grandma Connie and Grandpa Charles. Grandma Connie trims a mean tree, but also has been known to spend a day doing it. Julie told her time was of the essence. Things were pretty well done by the time the bambini sailed back in, but there were enough ornaments for Joe to get his hand in it all again. Julie's heart smiled when she heard Grandma Connie giving him his first lesson in Tree Trimming According to Grandma Connie: the ornament has to dangle freely.

The tree is now trimmed. Julie finished the top up after the bambini had gone to bed. Ted helped after he saw her standing on the arm of the sofa again.*

But before that, and after nap, Clara managed to pull one ornament off, and is rather taken with turning on and off the lights. So although Joe could manage a "gentle touches" rule, and learned the word "delicate" in Christmas seasons past, we feel confident that a "no touch" rule must be the law of the season this year.

Oh but Fans, you should have seen Our Hero tonight, in his pjs, dancing around the tree, counting all the red ornaments as high as he could go, finding the purple one, and the snowmen, and the penguin and so on. Such joy.

*Longtime Fans may recall that Julie was chastised for pulling this stunt "when she was like, nine months pregnant." Let the record reflect that she was seven months pregnant:

http://joeekkers.blogspot.com/2010/02/unauthorized-cleaning.html

Clara's First Full Out Freak Out

Thanksgiving 2011 will also be the anniversary of Clara's first really big tantrum, featuring our Bird, on the floor, screaming, pushing away all within her reach that would make a racket in the shoving, crying (of course), spinning, arching, flipping. . .Poor Birdie. Who knows what was wrong? One moment all is well, and the next was on its way to hell in a hand basket.

Thanksgiving 2011

Fans, we have so much to report from Thanksgiving 2011. Settle in. Joe woke up chirping about. . .Christmas. He is keen to have the Christmas tree up, and Santa donate to him a Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle. You read that right, Fans. There is an organization here in St. Louis Park called STEP, that assists low-income folks with food and necessities and, around this time of year, presents for the holidays. We (by which we mean so far only Ted) have begun volunteering there. As part of his inaugural visit, Ted took some food and two toys Joe had helped choose: a garbage truck and--yes, you were no doubt there already Fans--a Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle. Joe does understand that by "donate" one means give away. But his definition is not yet so refined as to encompass the concept of give away to those with less. And so he has been keen to have donated to him a Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle. Fear not, Fans. The item has been secured and will be donated to Our Hero December 25. (It is perhaps worth noting here that later in the day, when Joe was kept occupied with making a list of all his heart's desires for Santa, his heart's desires numbered but two: the Thomas puzzle, and a fishing pole.*)

Alas, today was only Thanksgiving. We whiled away the early morning hours at the annual Walk Against Hunger at the Mall of America (Read: a good cause and excellent opportunity to let your toddlers tear about the Mall of America at warp speed thus tiring them out at warp speed; Joe tried an escalator! So brave!) with Marco and his entourage. As the meet was at the early hour of between 8am and 8:30am, we had cereal for breakfast. Joe charmed Julie when he brought his bowl to her at the sink and set it on the drain board, announcing, "Mommy, I'm just setting this on the counter because I need to go potty." That's verbatim because Julie was so taken aback by the completeness of thought and expression, she stripped off her dishwashing gloves to grab a pen and write it down. However, there was not a meeting of the minds, despite this clarity. Julie, assuming Joe meant he really had to go and thus was setting his bowl by the sink with a banana peel still in it instead of tossing it in the garbage first, tossed the peel and the cereal dregs and washed the bowl. Joe was rather sad when he returned from the potty, ready to finish the job. He meant he was setting it on the counter, but would be right back. !!!!!

Fans, by now, you may be thinking, "Editors. Get to it!" But we sort of like these little bits. They're really the good stuff, right? Also good stuff: the Grandparents Trump arriveth. Grandpa Charles is having hip replacement surgery in three weeks, and is really a trooper. Somehow, despite it all, he managed to tickle Joe on Joe's bed this morning for rather a long time. He has a cane for the time being, and Joe is quite taken with it. Let us simply say that Grandpa Charles does not deny Our Hero anything. Turns out, Grandma Connie is also rather good at tickling. While Julie and Ted were in the midst of the final moments of the Thanksgiving feast preparations, Joe and Clara were on the porch with their Grandparents Trump and Fans, we don't know what was happening, but the squeals could probably be heard throughout all of St. Louis Park.

And then it was dinner. Grandpa Charles said grace. (Clara banged her plate through it. Give it up for giving thanks!) Now, Fans. You would think that mashed sweet potatoes with maple syrup (you know, the stuff you put on pancakes) that are orange would be the biggest hit with the bambini. And Fans. You would be wrong. The clear winner: "that red stuff."** This would be the cranberry sauce. It is good. We use a recipe from Grandma Jane that notes she took it to Thanksgiving at Kate's in 20-something-we-cannot-remember-right-now-exactly. There was also, naturally, pie. Clara ate hers the way she eats cake--i.e. just picks the whole piece up and tries to eat it all at once. The meal ended sort of organically when Clara picked up a remaining hunk of pie on her plate and pitched it on the floor--splat! (Fans, our dinner theater goes up every day. Our show runs 365 days a year. Matinees twice a week in addition to the dinner show. Don't forget to tip your wait staff.)

We mentioned that Grandpa Charles said grace. He did, and he does, and it's always nice--familiar, but unique to the year, too. And as Clara was banging away anyway, we did not, in the end, do as Julie has thought of doing--going about the table to share something for which we are thankful. But, if we had, Julie would have shared what Joe said at some point this weekend: "When we're all together that means family."

To our family, right now in Fayetteville and Santa Fe, we miss you. Happy Thanksgiving.

And here are some pictures!

*Special to Kate: We forgot this! Or at least, I did! Clearly, Joe did not! [Fans, many--all?--of you may recall that Joe was rather taken with a toy fishing pole that was at the lake house we stayed at this summer.]

**Honorable mention to green olives. Julie grew up with a "relish plate" on her holiday table that included dill pickles, green olives, radishes, carrots, and celery (the later three collectively referred to as "rabbit food"). She still likes to do the dill pickles and olives. So does Grandpa Charles. As it turns out, both bambini tried--and liked!--the green olives. Joe also had a pickle. [Special again to Kate: You're cringing, right? :)]

Three Reports, Two Incidents, One Bird (and One Big Red Barn)

Tuesday was a big day for Birdie, Brigade. By day's end, in her folder, in her classroom, she had three reports. In addition to the usual report on her daily doings, there were two incident reports. Incident #1 occurred at 10:45am: "Clara was playing by the sink when another child bit her upper arm." Incident #2 occurred at 4pm: "Clara was climbing on the shelf when she fell and hit her head on the carpet." Here's what happened in between: "Today I. . .made a turkey! Clara had her hand painted with brown, orange, and red paint to make her turkey. We also worked on our colors and read Big Red Barn. Ms. Julie [the Learning Adventures teacher is also named Ms. Julie] came to our classroom today for music class. Clara had fun shaking the bells!"

That evening, Clara was at the shelf picking out a book to read during stories-before-bed-time. She pulled out our copy of Big Red Barn, padded over to Julie with it, sort of pitched it at her like "Let's do this thing," and said--big as life--Big Red Barn. !!!!! Julie almost fell out of the big red chair.

We are pleased to report that Birdie's various wounds are healing up quite nicely. She may even manage to look presentable for school pictures this week.

15

As we have written, a concept Joe is still mastering is the recognition of numbers past 10. We are told he can count in sequence up to 20, and indeed, we have heard him to do so, but it is also true that sometimes, 15 does not exist. We haven't yet acquired a big wall calendar, but Julie remembered that Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever has the numbers 1 through 20 on the inside back cover and so, tonight, Joe said hello to 1 through 10, and, met 11, 12, 13, 14, and--15. After this, Joe said he had to show Julie something. What he wanted to show her, was the school page which--wait for it--has a wall calendar on it--!!!!! Just like his room at school, and which Joe also knew had numbers past 10 on it--!!!!! Pretty cool, huh, Fans?!

"Where is the. . .?" Birdie Style

When Joe was the age Clara is now, one of his favorite things to do during stories-before-bed time, was point to a picture of whatever Julie asked him to find in the big Bright Baby First 100 Words book. Clara knows a lot of words now, so Julie has begun to try this game out with Clara, too. But Birdie rolls differently. After the first few times Julie says, "Where is the. . .?" Birdie takes matters into her own wings, and just starts pointing out all the things she knows, with the word! If she wasn't pointing to a picture while she was saying the words, you might not recognize them as such, Brigade. Flower, for example, sounds rather like "dow-er." Which we smell with our noses so Clara will always slam her nose down onto the flower after pointing to it and saying "Dow-er!" Another word Birdie knows is "chair." Tonight, we found the two chairs in the book (one is on the cover), and then Birdie pointed to the sofa and said "chair." That's when Birdie learned "sofa" (oaf-ah), and thereafter, we were much occupied with tacking down the difference between chair, sofa, and the table, of which there was also a picture on the chair and sofa page.

Sweaty!

As longtime Fans know, Our Hero sleeps with a veritable Noah's ark of animals. Longtime Fans may also recall he used to sleep with his head entirely covered by a blanket, striking panic into his parents' hearts on more than one occasion. This afternoon, he was entirely enwreathed by animals and blankets as he was waking from his nap.

When he finally opened his eyes and popped up, he looked like he'd just gotten out of the bath or had gone swimming!

Cupcake Snow Day

Our first snow day of Winter 2011-12 was also a Cupcake Day. We had a tiny bit of frosting leftover from all the birthday cakes we made in September* and we'd been meaning to make some cupcakes to put it to good use. Joe was pretty excited to wake up from nap to a cupcake snack. He likes for the wrapper to be left on initially, to lick the frosting off, and then remove the paper. The first few times he removed the paper, the cupcake fell apart, and so did he. But now he takes any breakage in stride.

Clara picked her cupcake up and just shoved it up to her mouth. She eats it like a little squirrel that's gotten hold of a nut. So when she pulls the cupcake away, she looks like a clown in face paint!

*It was more than two, Fans. Birthdays and birthday cakes do not have an equal relationship in at Raleigh House.

Leaf Stompers

Far-Flung Fans, there is snow on the ground here in the Great White North. It was predicted, but it's still a little hard to believe in the wake of the long and rather warm fall we've had. But when we woke up, it was still warm enough that Ted thought he would try and gather up a few more leaves. So after breakfast, he and Joe headed out to the yard to do that and Julie and Clara went to Target.

By the time the Birds came out of Target an hour later, the wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped. By the time they got home, raking had been abandoned. Joe was busy stomping leaves down in the yard waste bin ("I'm the leaf stomper!").

Naturally, Clara needed to try, too.

About two hours after these pictures were taken, the snow was falling. Raking season is over. See you in the spring leaves!