Scratchy

Lately, the Mama Sailboat has been in dry dock (at least, Julie thinks that's what you call it). Joe has been motoring to bed aboard the Dada Bus. The other night, Joe had his arms around Ted's neck, but at one point brushed his hand against Ted's face, which brought him up a little short. Ted asked if Joe was feeling Daddy's scratchy face, and Joe giggled and said "Scratchy!"

Valentines

Valentine's Day is coming up, as we have told Joe, and as he is fond of repeating. (This replaces "Christmas is coming up!" which he was known to chirp earlier this month.) So we have been busy making valentines this weekend. Turns out, making valentines is kind of a drama-filled activity. The activity was introduced last night and we quickly--very quickly--deduced that we were going to need more stickers as each of Our Hero's valentines requires approximately 100 stickers to be deemed complete.* More stickers were procured at this morning's Target run (froggies with goggly eyes and puffy hearts). Joe was set to make valentines immediately following lunch. Our first drama ensued when he was told time did not permit, and valentine making would follow nap time. Fans, it is really hard not to laugh at your two-and-a-half year old screaming, "I WANT TO CUT!" as tears stream down his face. Immediately upon waking, valentine making was demanded.** It was all going so well until Joe ran out of stickers and requested "to share" Mommy's. Mommy was down with sharing, no doubt, but when she made to cut one of her sheets of stickers in half. . .well, all hell broke loose. Tears, wails. . .So we are on a hiatus from valentine making. The boys are off to the Little Target for two items not in stock this morning at the Big Target and the girls are upstairs--Clara trying valiantly to get to the nest of power cords, and Julie filing this report from the field.

*They also require copious cutting. Ted says they look like ransom notes. Julie laughed really hard at that one.

**Interesting, related sidebar: when Joe got his first scissors, he was promised their use following his nap. He woke up and said, "I want to cut."

The Nine-Month Once-Over

Baby Bird had her nine-month well-child check-up today. (We did not tell Our Hero that we visited Dr. Harrington without him. He's sweet on her, you know.) We begin, as always, with the stats: 18 pounds, 3 ounces (38%) and 28 inches (66%). Our Birdie is birdlike! But Dr. Harrigton isn't worried and speculates that Our Girl is bending the weight curve down because she is such a busy lady. It remains to be seen how she's going to tame the teeter toter with her gentle giant of a brother, but for now, we're not worried. She was pronounced in perfect health otherwise, and was rewarded with a Hepatitis A vaccination which she took in stride.

Now, she was pronounced in perfect health, but we are wondering if something is afoot. The facts:

1. She took two naps in the morning at school today and none in the afternoon. What?

2. When Julie arrived, she was wearing her, "Just hold me. Just. Hold. Me." face. (Julie regrets that she is too old to put this face on anymore. Who doesn't have days like this though really?)

3. She wanted nothing to do with dinner.

4. She had a temperature before bed of 101.7.

5. She was asleep at 6:09pm.

She is sleeping soundly now, still, and has no other symptoms. (In case you, Dear Readers, are, at this point, thinking "What about those super pooper tropper poops we've been reading about?" as we were at the doctor's office, we would report to you that her tummy sounded and felt "beautiful." The poops appear to be, as they say, irrelevant.)

Our Hero Conquers Dressing

What you see here in this picture is a young man who has just dressed himself! That's right, Fans: another step on the road to self-sufficiency is being taken. Now to be sure, there is still some initial confusion surrounding the whole one-leg-for-one-pant-leg bit, though it is sometimes tough to tell if Joe is just playing you. He will sometimes, for example, deliberately flip his coat on over his head upside down and say, giggling, "This way?!" (Oh, it's charming! Except when you are trying to shepherd eight feet and three bags out the door for the day. Then it's sort of maddening.) It's probably only a matter of time before he tries to put his pants on his head and say, "This way?" What is for sure charming is the manner in which Our Hero yanks his pants up with one hand from the front, using a second hand only when he encounters the resistance of a back-of-the-diaper dam and uses a second hand when prompted, and then endeavors to yank them up to his armpits. (These pants will be ON.) Socks are also tricky. He can pull them on, but sometimes, the bottom is on the top and assistance is needed to turn it around. This picture was taken over the weekend, but Joe took his pajamas and diaper off yesterday, and put on all his clothes all by himself. High fives all around. He was pretty pleased with himself.

Baby Bird: A Super Pooper Trooper

We have been meaning to report that for some time now, Baby Bird has been a Super Pooper Tropper. It's almost a sure bet that she'll come home in something different than what she went to school in. This morning, we had a reprieve, but for the three mornings proceeding today, we found Bird in the middle of a poop bomb with massive fallout. Crib stripping down to the mattress required most days. PJ stripping pre-nursing also required, and on all days, which Bird WAS. NOT. HAPPY. ABOUT. One morning, we may have had to cut her under onsie off with scissors. It was a poop-a-palooza. In order to get her nursing sooner, Julie would just whisk her upstairs in her diaper, which meant Baby Bird got to feel the flannel on her belly and she motored around the blankets and pillows after she was done. Much to inspect. The day's books, the day's threads (also taken upstairs), and the camera's lens cap. All pooped out.

Nine Months With Bird

Our Baby Bird is nine months old today. She has spent as many months on the outside, as she spent on the inside. Julie writes this and pictures Ted laughing as he will when she says things like, "This time last year, Clara was on the inside." Or this "This time three years ago, it was just the two of us." It's stating the obvious, of course, but it's kind of crazy to think about, isn't it? A whole person, not here, and then here.

Enough mush.

How was Bird's day? In a word, slammin'. What did she do? Well:

"Today I was very busy trying to pull myself up to a standing position while playing at the table with a sensory bucket filled with water and rubber ducks. I was full of happy vocal sounds today! :)" We would also note that her "Overall Disposition" was noted to be "Cheerful," and that Ms. Melissa is not known to give out a cheerful too often. (The Ekkers bambini have most often been labeled "content." Apparently, you have to be having an absolute gas to get a cheerful out of Ms. Melissa.) Also today, Baby Bird had an afternoon snack for the first time ("3 vanilla wafers (crumbled))". She liked them quite a bit, apparently.

What a day. What a Bird. She was sacked out by seven.

Baby Bird Pulls to a Stand!

Clara pulled to a stand at school yesterday! Her daily report said, "I pulled myself up as I stood next to the toy shelf grabbing the mirror toy all by myself! :)" Clara has been working on this surprise for weeks! In the morning, when we are in her room, after getting her out of her puffy and while we wait for Joe to put Clara's bottles in the refrigerator and the bottle they are transported in into Clara's drawer, Clara will most often make a beeline for the low little table they have in there and pull herself up to her knees on its corner and then laugh and laugh. We usually see her still there when we walk back by her room on our way out after dropping off Joe. She looks very pleased with herself. So maybe now we'll see her go all the way up to her feet. (This little table was the site at which Joe first pulled to a stand.)

Jars Are For Suckers

Baby Bird is all about the table food, so when we get home at night now, she routinely has dinner with Joe before her bath. She goes right from her puffy into her high chair. Eagle-eyed readers will note that her chair has changed position, shifting one station to the right. Julie moved it one night when Clara was crying whenever Julie disappeared from view. Now Clara can keep an eye on her mommy and her dinner! Joe likes to be in charge of delivering Clara's sippy cup to her. Dinner is delivered by Julie on a cutting board which prevents Clara from pushing it off the table. Pushing it off the table by accident as he swished his arms back and forth used to be Joe's trick, but Baby Bird's trick is pick it up and make like she's going to toss it. Julie thinks Clara does this when she can't reach all the food she wants, so when Clara lifts the cutting board up, Julie has taken to dumping the rest of the food on the table and taking the cutting board away.

Miss Melissa and Miss Che report that Baby Bird is just as taken with table food at school as she is at home. She eats absolutely everything, apparently, so long as it does not come in a jar and she can do it herself. She seems to have decided that jars are for suckers.

Mommy's Home! And She's Wearing Necklaces!

When Julie got home from Mitchell's Admissions Open House, Baby Bird was still up! Her morning nap had stretched until noon, so she was going down later for her afternoon nap. Ted was at the door holding Clara, and Clara beamed one of her smiles, and reached right out for Julie's hair.* Then, she made for the tassel on her hat. Then, after Julie had shrugged off her coat, Clara spied--necklaces! Hooray! Julie plunked herself right down on the couch, plunked Baby Bird down on top of her, and let Baby Bird tug and chew on the necklaces until it was nap time, which they both agreed was a lovely way to pass the afternoon.

*Julie does have it all over Ted so far as Clara is concerned in this regard.

He Podiumed!

Today was the last week of Joe's first 20-week Little Gym session, which means it was "show week," culminating in a medal ceremony. Julie remembers Sara telling her how proud Graham was when he got his medal at the end of his first Little Gym session. Our Hero was no different. Ted said that when Teacher Lauren called his name, he walked right up on to the podium to get his medal, and his note (which he then staunchly referred to as his list, apparently; the Target run usually follows Little Gym and Our Hero likes him a list of his very own). Julie arrived home from an Open House at William Mitchell to find Our Hero asleep, wearing his medal. When he woke up, he told Julie it has stars on it, and named all the colors that are on it, too. Then he asked her if he could "take a smile," held it up to his face, and said, "Cheese!"

Ted reported that in the last few weeks especially, Joe has become much more confident. He follows Teacher Lauren as she leads them running around all the seated parents, he pretends to be a wheelbarrow with Ted holding his legs, and he attempts a forward roll--all things he was not doing 20 weeks ago. The new session begins next week!

The Second Annual Winter Gala: The Movie (Director's Cut)

Here is some video of the gala. You get to see the line up, the beginning of some tears, then the music starts and he gets his wheels turning and then his doors opening and shutting, and the camera cuts just as he notices us in the audience and starts bawling (see previous post for that shot!). He was fine afterwards and said he had fun!

The Second Annual Winter Gala

Fans, it did not disappoint. This year's Winter Gala was held at the St. Louis Park High School, which represented a significant improvement over last year's venue, the Rec Center.* Notably, there was no green room. Instead, parents were told to escort their children to a section of seats near the stage, and then make a dash for it. So, we walked Joe to the appointed seats, found the erstwhile Miss Maneesha, and then tore off, as instructed. After settling into our seats, we spent a few minutes looking for our little blond head. We found it, and found it sans tears, and looking all about. There was a lot to look at. Despite the new venue, as last year, chaos reigned.**

But then, the show began. Toddlers did not participate this year so the two "Twos" rooms led off. Our Hero is in "Twos B," so we first watched the tots in Twos A slam their way through something called "The Snowflake Dance" with some guitars which had clearly doubled as an art project. And then, it was time.

Our Hero took to the stage. He looked about with trembling lip. The music began and he. Was. ON IT! The Twos B's musical selection was "The Wheels on the Bus."*** Our Hero was right there with his wheels. He was right there with his doors. And then, the doors stalled. Our Hero's gaze tripped over something. Wait. He saw us. And it was all over. Tears flowed freely. Fingers were pointed. Our Hero was picked up and whisked off to Julie who was by now waiting in the wings.

We bundled back up and headed home to Bird who stayed home to go to sleep. Miss Melissa, her teacher and Joe's former teacher, came over to stay with her. Our Hero was just the tiniest bit loopy, as you might expect, but he, too, is now down for the count.

And thus, we close the books on another Gala. (We did note that the Pre-A, Pre-B, and Pre-C children were in choo-choo train, twinkling star, and monkey costumes, respectively. You have to wait a year, but you could probably start getting excited now.)

*See http://joeekkers.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-gala.html and http://joeekkers.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-gala-movie.html.

**Ibid.

***We can all agree this is a vastly superior selection to "The Snowflake Dance." Do you know how "The Snowflake Dance" goes? Yeah. We don't either. Now, can you get your wheels goin'? That's right. Let us also pause to consider that this song has built in props. Our Miss Maneesha. She's no dummy, Fans. This woman works her curriculum; there is no time for making off-theme props.

Of PBJ

Dinner tonight, for both children, was some of the vegetable curry that Julie and Ted had last night. (We have been giving Clara more and more "soft solids," as opposed to the jarred food, with which she seems sort of bored. Her teachers concurred and told us Clara can often be found foraging under the high chairs during meal times. Our Bird is growing up!) Clara took to it with gusto. Joe did not. He was quite amicable about it all, but requested a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was not forthcoming, so he made do with his grapes. Here at Raleigh House, Fans, PBJ is all. The. Rage. Our Hero requests it for all meals save breakfast. He will instruct Ted how to make it, and whether to cut the sandwich into "squares" (by which he means rectangles, a shape he knows but is oddly misapprehended in this context) or triangles (usually squares); this all from the perch of his stool (number 1, see previous post). PBJ comes with chips (unless it is the second PBJ of the day in which case it has come with peas), and a pickle. He picks that spear right up and crunches away.* Often, a second pickle is requested. (We all often take a second pickle if we are all--save Clara--dining on PBJ.) It is for these reasons that of late, we have been buying two loaves of bread each week, and always have a jar of pickles in reserve. We are waiting anxiously to see if Clara likes pickles.

*Special to Kate: We cannot wait for you to see this in action.

A Mitten Moment

First, the weather report for our non-local Faithful Readers: more snow! (We know. We couldn't believe it either.) When Julie went to collect the wee ones from the KinderCare, Joe stated that he did not want to put on his mittens, and Julie said "Suit yourself." (The mittens were in his coat pockets and Julie suspected that the root of all this "No-I-don't-want-to-put-on-my-mittens"-ness was to do with the newfound fun of tucking the mittens into said coat pockets.) We arrived home and made our way along the walk from the garage to the front of the house. Picture Joe out in front trundling along with a plastic bag containing the clothes Clara went to school in, and Julie tagging along behind holding Clara who was straining down, down, down to snag one of the three plastic bags holding each of her three empty bottles*, and who was successful so Julie was trying to wrench it away before she got a plastic bag in her mouth, without dropping Clara, falling down with her, or losing the contents of the tote in which all the day's trappings were. Now, you remember that snow had fallen. So there was fresh powder on the railing of the steps leading up to the porch. What Joe likes to do here, is run his hand along the snow pushing it off on his way up the steps. So we are literally three steps from the door when Our Hero announces that he must put on his mittens! But of course he does! Julie knows any suggestion to the contrary is futile so tells him to have at it. And thus it was that she was standing there holding Clara (still trying valiantly for that plastic bag!), the tote, and now the door, when Ted whistled from down the street as he walked home from the bus, and Julie shouted down the street, "We're putting on our mittens!" and Ted laughed, knowing instantly what she was up against. It was cold outside, but Julie felt warm inside.

*They bag everything at the KC. It's not very Earth-friendly, but it is harried parent-friendly as it means one never suffers a bottle that has leaked the last dribbles of its contents or some such all over the place.

Socks, Solo

Moments before this picture was taken, Joe had put his socks on for the second time this weekend, all by himself! It's true that some assistance was needed in turning the sock around so the pocket for the heel found it's home, but still, we were pretty proud.

Band-Aids

Another thing Joe likes to do for Clara is get her a Band-Aid. He likes to get everyone in the family a Band-Aid if he can. Santa Claus left some Band-Aids in Joe's stocking. Julie had thought twice, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, that she should tell Santa that Ban-Aids might be a hit. The first time she thought it was when we were in Target with Uncle Scott when he was here, and we were killing time as we waited for our prescription to be filled. We passed by the Band-Aids, and who knew that they make such an abundance of branded Band-Aids? Julie thought, "Well, they'd be just like medical stickers!" Then, right before Christmas, Marco was over and needed a Band-Aid. Marco and Joe both got Band-Aids on one of their respective feet. This perhaps explains why all Band-Aids now go on feet. Eagle-eyed observers will note that Clara's Band-Aid is on her foot. It was a-fixed there by Dr. Joseph Ekkers while she was crawling about, before she was sitting pretty in a rare event snapped here!

Joe and Clara Hanging Out

Joe and Clara Jane hang out! Sort of. It's pretty neat! Joe likes to bring Clara Jane toys, and to follow her about with one of his two stools* upon which he will then sit as she motors around. Alternatively, he will establish himself somewhere on his stool and bid Clara, "Come here!" She does not understand this command, but Joe does not understand her absence of understanding, as given the size of our house, there's about a 50% chance that Julie is near Joe and Clara is in the midst of that time when she will make a beeline for her mama anytime she catches a glimpse of her. Thus, it seems like Clara is heeding Joe's call. For a while, Joe was following Clara about with her little singing fridge. (La cocina! It's the kitchen! Where we love to cook and play! Cha, cha, cha!; everything after "La cocina! It's the kitchen!" may be made up. We just like to sing the first bit to each other at random moments. That is fun.) This is sort of an awkward thing to tote about as it is bulky relative to Joe and Clara's size, and it is hinged. But no matter! When it became clear this well-meant following Clara about with La Pequena Cucina** was something that would be happening with some regularity, we told Joe that La Cucina should stay put in the kitchen (or the living room where it lived briefly last week).

Clara, for her part, is all about a romp over and around blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals on Joe's bed. Joe is usually very good natured about Clara zeroing in on his Panda Bear, Teddy, Elephant, or Lion.***

*Stool number 1: the collapsible white stool that lives in the kitchen. Stool number 2: the white non-collapsible bathroom stool. Similar you say? Oh you would think so, Dear Readers, oh you would think. And you would be so very wrong. And Joe would tell you so. And so, we are awash in stools. You cannot go two steps in this house without running into a stool.

**The author does not speak Spanish (though she is on her way with Joe and Clara), but did you know Google has an awesome translation feature?

***Lion was one of Joe's first words. Remember, Fans? He used to say "Dion."

Bath Time Hilarity

We must begin this post by noting that Julie is not all about a bath, the way many women are, if commercials and movies are to be believed. But it is really, really, really cold here, and so this morning, after putting Clara down for a nap, the thought of settling into a tub of super hot water sounded nice. So there she was, running the water, and putting in some of Joe's bubble bath, when all of a sudden, Joe was next to her saying "What are you doing, Mommy?" Julie was in the way one is when one is about to bathe, if you know what we mean, Dear Readers, and though Joe is often one for flinging the bathroom door wide and announcing himself with a cheerful smile and inquiry, he still caught Julie off guard. She laughed out loud and told him she was taking a bath. He was already on the case and had the following comments and questions:

1. "Whoa. That's a lot of bubbles."

2. "Get in, Mommy! Get in!"

3. "You want a toy?" [Upon Julie's affirmative response--what's bath time without some toys, Fans?--he pitched several of the stacking cups into the water, and Julie did fill them up and watch the water trickle out of them.]

4. "I want to watch!" [At which point Ted told Joe that was not what Mommy had in mind, and managed to steer him out and off to their morning adventures, which included a trip to Jerry's, the hardware store, and Target.]

We would also like to note that Raleigh was front and center for the whole of this exchange as well. There is nothing Raleigh likes better than a little bathroom tete-a-tetes.

Later, Joe found Clara's tub filled with bath water in the brief moments after Ted had filled it and before Clara was in it, and Ted found Joe at exactly the same time about to dump the water. As Ted said, "No, no, no!" Ted reports that Joe looked at him as if to say, "What. Are. You. Talking. About????? I see a tub filled with water. I dump it. Duh."

Pulling to Knees

As you have seen, Clara is a Bird in motion. She can stick the sitting position now with ease and regularity, but she doesn't stay in it for very long before she is off. She is almost always off to something on which she can pull herself to her knees: the musical table*, the small white bookcase upstairs, the stool by Joe's bed, and the stair case (where she gets most frustrated as she cannot. Get. Up. Them!!!!!)

In the second picture, you can see Clara very intently considering a cylinder filled with beads that rattle when the cylinder is spun. It also cues up the alphabet. One morning, Joe had joined Clara at the table and, with his more advanced two-and-a-half-year-old knowledge, was spinning that cylinder for all he was worth and singing along with the ABCs (or, ABCD, as referred to by Joe). Julie watched in amusement as he (and the table) would get about as far as the Q-R-S range, when Clara would randomly hit something, prompting Joe to slap the cylinder again with a toddler vengeance.

*Back for an encore. When Joe used this to pull to a stand, it was warm enough that we could be outside and the table in the grass. For a fun trip down memory lane, and to see one of our favorite pictures of Joe that still hangs in our stairwell (it is the one on the right in the post), see: http://joeekkers.blogspot.com/2009/05/classy.html.

[Photo Editor's note: We are including the close-up shot as Baby Bird's two teeth are visible in it. False alarm on the top teeth. They are on their way, but not yet broken through.]

Baby Bird Crawling

At long last, here is some video of our Baby Bird crawling up on all fours, and breaking out into a smile and a shriek. Oh she is most delighted with life! She has been crawling this way for some weeks now, but we've just not managed to get a good, brief clip. Added bonus features include Ted's feet pattering about in the background as he makes pancakes, and Joe's voice saying, "I want to see my family," which is what he says anytime the camera comes out, and continues to say until he sees the instant replay on the screen.

The Mama Sailboat

A small item we've been meaning to note, particularly for our Dear Readers hailing from the Eastern Seaboard who might actually have experience on boats, and be amused by this report (settle in and stick with it; there's some exposition and the amusing bit is at the end):

For a very long while now, Joe has been carried to bed after story time by the Dada Bus, whose services originated after Joe stopped nursing and Julie decided we needed to change story time location from the downstairs, living room sofa, to the upstairs reading nook. In time, she was pregnant with Clara and ferrying Joe down the steps became something that seemed not prudent in several ways, and so we would call the Dada Bus who could be heard approaching with a "Beep beep! Honk honk!" (Interestingly, this is also now how we call the Dada Bus.) A competing service was offered, the Mama Choo Choo Train, but the golden age of the train in Joe's history, as in American history, was short lived. The Dada Bus was the mode of transportation of choice.

Last week, in the wake of reading Where the Wild Things Are, Julie decided to launch the Mama Sailboat, which sails nightly from the sofa in the living room, to the big boy bed in Joe and Clara's room. She herself loves a bus ride and misses them from our days living in Chicago, and it must be said, the Dada Bus is top of the line. To be frank, she did not anticipate Our Hero being swayed from the fine and serviceable Dada Bus, even for an occasional luxury experience on the Mama Sailboat.

Fans! She could not have been more wrong! The Mama Sailboat has been gliding down the hall to Joe and Clara's room since its inaugural sail! Now, we come to our point: the Mama Sailboat narrates her voyages. The first night, she excitedly stood up from the couch with her precious cargo, and exclaimed, "Cast off the riggings! Unfurl the sails!" only to hear the Dada Bus snort behind her and state quietly that if the riggings were cast off, the boat would not go far. Apparently, it is the lines that are cast off. Humph. The Dada Bus softened the blow by noting that the Mama Sailboat was yar, and Fans, you will recall, of course, how Julie just loves that word and all manner of nautical terminology, even if she does not know what it all means, and has never sailed a boat in her life.

A FAB New Game: Brush My Hair

After we got home from the library on Sunday, we had just a tiny pocket of time before the feed-bathe-nurse-pajama-and-put-down-the-wee-ones relay, and all Julie wanted to do was sit. She thought up a great new game right there on the spot: Brush My Hair. She asked Joe if he wanted the much coveted brush or comb (the fine tooth comb is his true love; the wide tooth is almost never requested and accepted only on a temporary basis when offered until the fine tooth is free) to brush or comb Mommy's hair and he raced to the bathroom for the implements. Julie sat down, and Joe went to work. It was glorious--the sitting, and styling. It must be said that Joe has always had sort of a gentle touch with hair. When he was still being toted everywhere, he used to put his hand at the nape of Julie's neck and just run his fingers ever so softly through the hair there.*

When Julie had to leave the salon to nurse Clara, Joe asked if he could tend to Ted's hair. He humored Joe, and this put Julie in mind of her maternal grandfather, who had very little hair (Julie is famous among her mother's side of the family for asking him once if it all "blewed" away), but who allowed Julie to comb what there was before heading into the bathroom together, to face the mirror and say, together, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" At which point Julie's grandpa would shout, "GRANDPA!" as Julie shouted, "JULIE!" So you see, Dear Readers, Julie feels she has made a discovery. She had never considered that perhaps her grandpa allowed the combing of his comb over because he wanted to sit. He was a very smart man.

*Clara is also fond of hair. She LOVES it, but she loves to YANK it. She's been on a partial nursing strike of late, though we have largely worked through it. One strategy that Julie has employed is to allow Clara to throw her little arm up and wave her hand around in Julie's hair until she decides to close it around a fistful and yank down hard. At least she's nursing.

"Leave Me Alone!", or Pepper and Salt

Fans, Julie was just about to try to squeeze a shower in between putting Clara down and the beginning of Joe's bath, but then Joe just announced his intention to use the potty and told Julie, "Leave me alone," as he made to take off his pants. And so she has retreated!

In other news, we can report that Joe is smitten with the application of pepper and salt (both table and kosher). It all began when Ted put some pepper on his "mac 'n' cheese" (which has a particular cadence when Joe says it--he gives it a zoom-y sort of flair). Well, Mr. Monkey-See-Monkey-Do saw that and it was all over but the clamoring for the pepper, and then the salt. Tonight, he requested pepper on his pineapple. Everything, it seems, could do with a dash of pepper, and salt!

Clara, for her part, has recently been introduced to black beans, and tonight, sampled Trader Joe's 5-Layer Fiesta Dip that Julie was having as a snack while she fed Clara and waited with Joe on his fish sticks. Who doesn't love the 5-Layer Fiesta Dip? Bird was no exception. She shoveled that dollop right in.

While we were enjoying the 5-Layer Dip, Joe asked if it was meatloaf, as it is packaged up a bit like a smaller version of the meatloaf we had at Elise's house the weekend before last. We told him it was not meatloaf, but noted that the meatloaf we'd had at Elise's was good, "Wasn't it?" Joe informed us that he did not like it ("It wasn't tasty!") but that he had to drink his milk. He's in for a rude surprise next week as Julie plans to include it on the menu, and Fans, rest assured, Elise's mom makes a mean meatloaf. Maybe we'll put some pepper on it and Our Hero will like it better? (We hasten to point out as well that meatloaf tastes better when you've actually tried it.)

Family Field Trip to the Libs

Yesterday, when we were reading stories before naptime, Joe requested "Ollie, the Big One," by which he meant Gossie Plays Hide 'n' Seek, a pop-up, lift-the-flap, spin-the-wheel, and other-assorted-manipulable delights book we had checked out from the library. Earlier in the week, he'd requested Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, another title we'd checked out from the library, so after nap, we decided to take a family field trip on over there to see if we could locate Ollie, the Big One.* We explained it might be checked out, and waited with bated breath to see if it would be there, and if Our Hero would understand if it was not. Thankfully, we save the later for another day because Ollie, The Big One, was in! We snatched it up and gathered up some other titles, and then headed on home after Joe had raced around the little people's stacks for a bit while Ted and Clara looked on.

Now you would think that last night, when we were reading stories before bedtime, The Big Ollie would have been one of the first requests, if not the first request. It was not requested at all! Julie was shocked! Instead, we read the new Valentine's Day book from the If You Give a Mouse series, and this schmaltzy book about happiness featuring bears that Julie fell hook, line, and sinker for at the bookstore and bought fully expecting it to be rejected out of hand and thus read mostly to Clara in that period when Julie does the selecting of the books to be read. But we'll see if it's ever picked again.

*We weren't looking for Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, because Julie had a $5 off coupon at Barnes & Noble, and had gone with Sara during naptime to get it. But the super involved flap books are super expensive and thus good library choices, save the fact they are also easily broken from lots of little fingers attempting to spin the wheel or whatever. In our library's copy, for example, Gertie is decapitated on one page. She's hiding really, really well on that page! We can't find her!

Nap time

We are all enjoying nap time on this sunny but cold afternoon!

More Teeth!

Clara has more teeth! Holy smokes! Ted asked if she was getting another because one of her cheeks was all flushed, and Julie said she wouldn't be surprised because she'd felt them under her gums up top earlier this week. Sure enough, when Julie felt up top again, at least one has broken through! We will bring you the latest developments in Tooth Watch as they unfold.

Clara Is Not Sick (Knock Wood)

But she is crazy for the attempted pull up! Our Bird has been busy trying to crawl on our hardwood floors which make this tough. In her zeal to just get there already!, she will often start off on all fours, go two "steps," if you will and then flop down and army crawl it to her destination. If she is upstairs, a favorite destination is a green bin filled with toys. She's not after the toys so much as she is wanting to pull herself up on the green bin. She gets up to her knees (since it's not very tall as you can see), and then will often try to start scaling her way over it. She also likes to pull herself up on shirts, if one is holding her. She is getting noticeably stronger at sitting up, but it is equally clear that sitting just isn't her bag.

Sick Day AGAIN | Let the Wild Rumpus Begin!

Fans, Our Hero is coughing less and less, and has a far less messy nose, and is in such high spirits, that Julie was sort of surprised when the thermometer read 100.9 this morning. But 100.9 it did read, so Joe was home again, and again with Julie. First, we all piled into the car and dropped off Clara and Ted at school and work, respectively. Then, we were off to Target for some supplies via "the blue fish" (of which there is a sculpture--a schoolpture?!?!) in front of an office or apartment building near Lake Calhoun. Julie pointed it out on the way home Tuesday and it is now, apparently, a landmark of sorts.

Target was a gas, as always. We got a few things and then headed home where Joe screeched at the dogs when they tried to help put away the groceries before he could get to them all. The bags were dragged to a secure location, Julie was instructed to call Berenice and Raleigh (away), and Joe made a choo-choo train out of Clara's food.

After that, we whiled away an hour in the basement. Oh the basement. Julie had thought simply to put some laundry in, and she did do that, but Joe was having such a high time, that we stayed down there. Julie began packing up the play mat that Clara seems to have moved beyond (Joe played with its toy bars), and read most of the messages in her year book from her senior year of high school which lives in the basement, and was remind of what a dork she was, and how much she really enjoys being a dork still.

And then it was time for lunch so we tromped upstairs for some cinnamon sugar toast (by request) and scrambled eggs before settling into Where the Wild Things Are, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and If You Take a Mouse to the Movies. Joe narrates most everything he does these days, and it's just too dear to hear him murmur, "And I snuggle in. . ." as he does so. Julie got a little choked up at the end of Where the Wild Things Are, reading about Max who was lonely for the place where he was loved always with her little wild thing all snuggled in next to her. And then Joe sailed to his bed on the Mama Sailboat for his nap.

Sick Day: A New Frontier

Well, we have another sick day for Joe. The fever subsided and this morning we thought he might be ok. Ted even was all dressed in his suit and went to change Joe. The diapoopoo running down Joe's leg made us reconsider. So Joe and Ted have had a good day - picking up where Julie left off with "Stamps" and PlayDoh. We got to add a new toy to the mix though - the Aquadoodle! This thing is great for the uninitiated. It is a mat that changes blue when touched with water. So there is no ink, just sponge pens filled with water. Joe took right to the "brush" and then proceeded to say he was "car washing". I don't know if that was because I drew a car, or it reminded him of something else. But he would swirl that brush around the page and anything I drew he would leap over, declare, "I carwash it!" and brush right over my picture.

After Aquadoodle, we went outside to shovel the half inch of snow that has built up over the past day. Then we went on a quick spin in his sled (a new sled very similar to his old sled, just a little more room for him). The morning ended with mac and cheese and some books before heading off to nap (for Joe...work for Ted).

We will see what the afternoon brings us, but I am guessing Joe will be carwashing.

Sick Day | Part 5, or Raleigh Rides Again

Our Hero awoke from his nap late in the afternoon, woozy, sweaty, and asking after Ted's whereabouts. Once reassured that Daddy would be returning home on the city bus after Joe and Mommy went to pick up Baby Clara Jane, Our Hero was up and at 'em. He had some cheese and crackers, and more "special apple juice" (Pedialyte), and thus fortified, we were off. We arrived home just as Ted was, and it's a good thing, because it meant all hands were on deck when we discovered the smashed container of Clara's infant cereal in the living room with its contents strewn all about, by one Raleigh Roo Ribbons Ekkers I, pictured here in all his shaggy and guilty glory. Really? Really? Really. He apparently did not get the memo that stated the Fun Parade did not include a confetti component. But you know, the floor needed a vacuum and mop in the wake of the stamping and beeping, and Play Doh-ing. Joe watched Julie do all of this while Ted took Clara upstairs (Joe is no longer afraid of the vacuum, but will note that it is loud).

Of course, Joe wanted to stamp immediately after the floors had been cleaned. The Fun Parade commenced again. Julie had to step aside as its Grand Marshall in order to nurse Clara. She quickly briefed Ted on the aforeposted stamp 'n' beep rules, but she later learned, our Hero was on it: Ted reports that when he sat on the couch, Joe looked at him and told him to get down on the floor because he "didn't want to get the couch all messy." Good boy.

Sick Day | Part 4, or Play Doh Hour

After we had stamped and beeped until Joe decided he could stamp and beep no more, we hauled out the Play Doh Grandma Connie and Grandpa Charles gave Joe for Christmas. [Sidebar: Grandma Connie was so surprised this was such a hit! She does not remember Julie having Play Doh. Julie did. She played with it outside, on the deck. See previous post.] To lead off, Julie selected blue and then Joe selected the shade of blue with which she was to play; Joe selected orange. Other colors that were eventually dragged out: black, purple, and pink. Yellow was flatly disallowed for reasons that remain known only to Joe. We explored some of the tools that came with this rainbow of Play Doh. There is a plunger-type tool that makes a mean snake. Julie made a lot of snakes; Joe cut them up with his knife (from the grocery cart; cross-functional toy).

After Play Doh Hour (and it really was an hour), it was time for lunch. So we made some mac 'n' cheese as this is what Julie always ate when she was sick when she was little, and rolled on into stories and nap. Our Hero was, by this time, pretty tired. Play Doh Hour may have been marked by some lap sitting and resting.

Fans, we are unable to report a single tantrum or nervous breakdown of any sort! Julie is pretty proud of the decidedly and demonstrable, phenomenal success of the Fun Parade.

Sick Day | Part 3, or Stamp 'N' Beep

After the cinnamon sugar toast snack and breakfast, the Fun Parade marched into the living room where we broke out the art crap. Here, we pause to note that Julie has chosen the word "crap" rather carefully. In fact, she loves an art project and will admit to our legion readers that in addition to taking more than a few art classes at the rec center and such, she once selected a room in a new house as hers, because it was on the east side of the house and she had this fancy that she might paint in the early morning light. It's true. What is hilarious about this idea (beyond its prima facie hilarity), is that there is no way Julie's mother would have allowed the setting up of an easel or paints or any art trappings on the carpet, by the drapes on the windows. Julie's mom knew what Julie now also knows: art crap is crap and perhaps best belongs outside (which is why we LOVE chalk!!!!!) or in say, your art room, which we are missing at this juncture. But Our Hero was sick, it's frigid outside, Daddy was at work, Clara was at school. . .so we were doin' this art crap up right.

First up, the "stamp 'n' beep." Julie had suggested this to Aunt Kate as a Christmas present. Here, Julie pauses to say that she now knows why Sara once told Graham at a play date with Joe, before Graham had even finished the question, that he and Joe would not be playing stamp 'n' beep. Wow does stamp 'n' beep go e v e r y w h e r e. Wow. Stamp 'n' beep is a set of chunky vehicle stamps (several cars of various stripes, a truck, an airplane, a boat--note several of these "things that go" [yes! a school tie-in!] do not beep) and a red stamp pad proclaiming that it is washable ink. You stamp, and that's all there is to it. It's pretty fab in that we stamped and beeped for nearly an hour, which for a toddler is an amazingly lengthy period of time. Joe was fond of the boat and the plane.

As we have reported, Julie quickly--very quickly--discerned the reason for the rapidity of Sara's response to Graham at an earlier play date, and decreed one stamp 'n' beep rule: when we are playing with stamp 'n' beep, we can only play with stamp 'n' beep--i.e. we cannot mix stamp 'n' beep fun with, say, Play Doh fun. (It perhaps goes without saying--though it was said--that a rule implicit in stamp 'n' beep is we do not touch the couch and chair with our hands. It is, after all, Berenice and Raleigh's job to destroy the sofa and chair, and they are really making good progress on that front.) [Author's note: Other members of the house not present for the inaugural stamp 'n' beep fun should commit these notes to memory.]

Julie is pleased to report that the ink is indeed washable, and wipes up quite nicely from the floor with a baby wipe.

Sick Day | Part 2, or Cinnamon Sugar Toast

Joe prefers Ted to Julie these days for almost all things, so Julie was a little nervous about how this day at home would go down and was determined to keep the Fun Parade marching at a steady clip. First up upon arrival at home was making a new snack (also known as Julie's breakfast): cinnamon sugar toast. After we made it (and learned that cinnamon will fly all over if we wrench the cap off instead of letting Mommy help), we sat down at the table and "ate it all up." We had a rather lengthy discussion about where people were, and tunnels. Julie confirmed that Clara was at school, and Daddy was at work, and that we did not go through a tunnel when we took Daddy to work. Joe asked if we might go see Kendra (as he knows that we pass through a tunnel when we go to visit her)! MUCH confusion ensued when Julie told Joe that Kendra was not at home, but also at work (with a sidebar acknowledgement that undoubtedly, she would like to be at home accepting visits from tunnel-loving wee ones). Kendra is at work with Daddy????? Julie had to explain that Kendra worked at a place called William Mitchell--where Mommy also works!--and that Daddy worked at TARGET--!!!!! More confusion until we learned the word "headquarters," defined loosely as "a different Target than the one to which we go." It's a big world out there, but we're trying to get our little corner of it nailed down.

Sick Day | Part 1

Fans, Our Hero is sick. The bad news is he is feverish (this bit has improved over the morning), coughing, and sneezing; the good news is he now consistently covers his mouth and nose with his elbow when coughing or sneezing! This is a recent and most welcome development. So he stayed home today, as did Julie. Their adventures began with the car ride to KinderCare to drop off Clara at school and to downtown Minneapolis to drop off Ted at work. Mr. Chatterbox was full of running commentary on the passing scenery and learned the word skyscraper. This month's theme in his room at school is "things that go," and so they have been learning about all manner of things that go (go figure), and the things that make things-that-go, go--e.g. wheels. So when Joe asked us this morning what went round and round and was black, we thought he meant the wheels on the school bus that was next to us. He did not. He was asking what the steering wheel was! As he learns all these new words (and pronouns!; his pronouns are all a jumble still of course) some of the constructs he uses right now will slip away, which will be a little sad in that Julie often thinks it's like having a secret language.

The Bird and the Boo

Yesterday, Clara was motoring around the floor when she happened upon Berenice on her way out from under the dining room table. She stopped (was stopped?) to pet Berenice's hind leg (which prompted Berenice to flop over for a belly rub), but Clara was already off again, just hoisting herself over Berenice's leg.

The other day, Julie was reading Clara a book on the couch and realized Clara was petting Berenice, who was next to us. Petting, or absentmindedly hanging her hand over in Berenice's general direction while Berenice burrowed her head underneath it.

The Boo does love a wee one; she does not always realize her own un-wee-size.

The Return of the Jumparoo

We took down the Christmas tree this past week which made way for the Jumparoo. It lives in the far corner of the living room, except when in use when it tends to be dragged to the space between the living room and dining room. (Its footprint is bigger than that of the Excersaucer so it can't live in the same--more convenient--spot in the kitchen.) Baby Bird has not yet tried out the jumping feature, but she did look at all its bells and whistles. She liked to eat the vegetables and reach for the things behind her. Joe (helpfully?) bounced the center saucer up and down in an attempt to show his sister how it was done, and flitted about the edges trying out all the bells and whistles again, too. Then, he swooped in for a "huggie."

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year loyal readers! We got a good start to the day with Joe and Clara playing with the kitchen in the kitchen. Joe also found his sunglasses, which might come in handy on sunny days when the snow glare is too much for him. Meanwhile Ted made special Star Wars pancakes! Marco's family gave us pancake molds for Christmas and we decided to put them to the test. The two shown here were the only ones we made because it got a little messy on us, so Ted and Julie each just got a short stack of Death Stars.