A Little Something?

This morning, the bambini woke up late (by which we mean 6:30am), and Birdie was not her usual up-and-at-'em-at-the-rail self. She didn't have a fever, but she was quite content to lay on top of Julie on the couch. She pushed herself up twice to say "Dog!" and pull her dog in close. Julie was thinking about how just yesterday, she had been wondering when the last time she had laid like that with Clara was, and how it was one of those things when you didn't know the last time would be the last time.

But then Birdie pushed herself up and threw up! We think maybe she was thirsty, but really, we've no idea. We think this, despite the fact that she had a very wet diaper this morning. We were outside a lot yesterday, and Birdie is wary of this whole open cup nonsense. She's getting better at it, but we still offer and sippy cup when we're out and about, or outside, and boy does she seize those moments to drink up!

Bye-Bye Morning Nap!

The other big thing that happened this weekend was Clara dropped her morning nap. They take only one nap in the Big Girl Toddler Room, at 12:30pm. Birdie has been shorting her afternoon nap, so we and her teachers all though she was ready to make this transition, but this change represents an overhaul of the weekend rhythm! On this first, transition weekend, we planned a Fun Parade each of the past two mornings to help Birdie make the long march from 6am to 12:30pm. Yesterday, we went to Home Depot, the car wash, Target, Schuler's Shoes, and Whole Foods, and then played in the backyard before lunch. (A rolling stone gathers no moss, Fans.)

Today, we went to the Children's Museum, and visited its Habitot exhibit for infant and toddlers four years and younger. This is a room that has different environments and attendant accoutrements on and through which kids can climb. For example, there is a little arctic enclave (slightly cooler than the rest of the room!) with igloo building blocks and jungle bells, chimes, and faux icicles to clink together. They loved it! They were everywhere. Clara twice found herself at the top of an area the only way down from which was a slide. She was set to just pitch down there and see what happened, but settled for coasting down on Julie's lap, which Birdie's loved. She walked up and down the rolling hills and scaled some steeper inclines, and slid down them if they weren't too tall. We could tell Clara was tired by the time we left by the way she got less steady on her feet, and started crawling instead of walking.

So we headed for the hot dog place Julie sometimes goes to for lunch in St. Paul where Joe and Clara has tater tots and split a hamburger ("Because I [Joe] don't like hot dogs, but I love hamburgers.") Then, Ted drove the bambini and Julie home; they all sat in the back seat. Julie tickled Clara; sang Down in the Meadow (in an itty bitty pool, swam three little fishies, and a mama fishy, too. . .) about 10 times at top volume (also we're floating down the river on the Oh-Hi-O, and a Sandra Boynton medley with Ted); and spelled words by letter, alternating letters with Ted, words selected by Joe following Julie's inaugural selection of Mississippi as we crossed it (two issi-s, Fans! it's not Miss-ippi!).

It was raucous and obnoxious. And still Birdie fell asleep. We had not wanted to be so far afield necessitating a long car ride back at exactly the wrong time, but it was so humid, we couldn't really be outside at any of our usual outdoors-y (and free) spots on our side of the river. So we landed at the air conditioned (and free) spot on the St. Paul side. Birdie roused upon our arrival home, but she let out just one protest wail before going back to sleep.

All things considered, it's all going down vastly better today than it did yesterday, which was pretty much a disaster, culminating in Joe's arrival, buck naked in the backyard. When Julie escorted him back to bed, it was clear he'd been up and all out and about for a while--he'd used the potty (we stopped to do some additional wiping), been down to the basement (Baby Doll had been drying on the table down there after her water table baptism and was at the top of the stairs), Berenice's leash was down on the ground. Oh Fans. You should have seen his face as he came out the back door and walked right over and put his arms around Ted. He was the very picture of "Hey HEY! Check ME OUT!!!!!" Such joy. It sort of broke our hearts to take him back in. Naturally, when we did, he was wailing, so Clara began wailing. We've not yet mentioned that since they went down at the same time, they spent a good while yukking it up. So yes, sort of a disaster so far as restorative sleep goes.

Joe's napping days are probably drawing to a close. He's up later at night after bedtime, and this is the second time he's gotten up from a nap-that-was-not-a-nap. But we'll see how things unfold before we introduce him to Nap Time's friend, Quiet Time.

Birdie Needs a New Pair of Shoes!

Birdie will begin her transition to the Big Girl Toddler Room this week which meant two big things happened this weekend. The first was she got her first pair of shoes! On the advice of Sara, we took her to Schuler's Shoes in the Miracle Mile which we have passed countless times going to and from Dairy Queen and all round and about in that area, but had never been in. Sara reported that they measure your bambino's feet, and then bring you out what they have in that size.

Here, we pause to tell you, Dear Readers, that this is in contrast to the Shoe Zoo, where you find the shoes you like for your child, they measure your child's foot, and then disappear for what feels like five years only to return and tell you that they do not have the sandal you liked for your son in navy--but! You can get in neon aqua! "And that's been very popular." Probably because parents have aged 10 years while they wait for the clerk to return and tell them there is no navy "but the aqua is so popular!" and just don't have the energy to go someplace else. All this before they give your kid a balloon which he or she will grip so tightly in the car it will squeak the whole way home, while you worry it will pop before you get there (or later), and be something of which you have to keep track until it deflates enough, and enough days have passed, that you can furtively stab it with scissors or stuff it into the garbage can. (It's true. You have deduced correctly that we do not like the Shoe Zoo.)

If you are an older reader, you may be thinking, "What the heck ever happened to Stride Rite?" You may have had shoes bought for you there, or you may have bought your children shoes there. It seems like it used to be everyone bought shoes for the little people at Stride Rite. So yes, what the heck ever happened to Stride Rite? It's still around. Fed up with the zoo-iness of the Shoe Zoo, we strode rite on in. We got Joe some sneakers and sandals there at the start of this season. The sneakers didn't even last until now. They're not in ribbons (yet), but they are falling apart. He is still wearing the sandals, but one day this week, Ted glued the inserts that go in their bottoms down with Krazy Glue since one of Joe's favorite things to do had become sitting down to take off his shoes, and remove the inserts. (It really added something to the coming-home-getting-dinner-ready milieu.) You get what you pay for? Shoes are cheaper at Stride Rite, but they don't seem up to what a toddler at least can dish out.

And so, Schuler's Shoes. What it lacks in selection, it more than makes up for in ease of shopping experience. They opened at 10am, and we arrived at 10:01am to find no less than probably 10 people near the door just waiting to help us. (And they didn't let on that our entourage of a 15-month-old, three-year-old already running, and two probably clearly tired already at 10:02am parents might not have been the way they wanted to start their Saturday.)

While Joe tore about the store and tried to behave in such a paradise of delights (shoe-fitting stools = mini-mountain slides!, shoes everywhere to try on! put them back?! what?!?!), Birdie had her feet measured. She explored a bit, too (shoe-fitting stools = mini-mountains only; no sliding) while we waited to see what would be available in a size four. She and Julie rather liked a pair of lavender Teva sandals like Graham had last year, but as KinderCare demands a closed-toe shoe, the open-toe Tevas were not to be. But, Birdie's new and first pair of kicks are purple! Ted said she looks like she's trying to walk in swim flippers, and that's true. But they are smart looking flippers.

It was all a flurry as we left. Joe was actually carried out by Julie after he had slid down one too many a shoe-fitting stool and picked up one too many a shoe, as Ted tried to hold Clara while he paid.

But, at least we weren't wrangling a balloon.

Because We Love Our Little Bo Bo

These days, Fans. They fly by. So fast that we often find a week's worth will have passed and we'll not made time each day to capture, here, all of the little, good bits that make up our days. Like we have been meaning to tell you for weeks now that Joe has taken to calling each of us Little Horsey. He is Little Bo Bo. We think this nomenclature originated at daycare, as we've heard Joe and Marco using it with great fluency. So we will have exchanges like this:

Ted: "Joe, please sit on your bottom."

Joe: "O-kay, Little Horsey."

Ted: "Thanks, Little Bo Bo."

Also of late, Joe will often cite his love for something or someone. For example, earlier this week, when Julie was getting him dressed, Joe informed her he wanted to wear Thomas the Tank underwear, adding, "Because I love Thomas."

We love our Little Bo Bo.

Backyard Thoughts

As we wrote, we played outside after we got back from visiting Dr. Harrington and dinner at Chipotle. Ted worked from home part of the day and Julie took the day off entirely so we could tend to some things around the house, including an overhaul of the gardens in the backyard. Before we'd left to collect Clara for her doctor's appointment, we'd set up the water table so the sun would warm the water and in hopes that it would provide enough entertainment to allow us to do a bit more work in the yard.

As you can see, success! In the wake of our week at the lake house, Joe is quite comfortable around water, and quite keen on being in it no matter what. (Baby Doll is back as well. She'd been tucked in the garage for a time until Clara was walking with more confidence. When we play outside, Joe spends a fair amount of time ferrying things out of the garage and into the yard, including their automobiles.) Curiously, Joe will often pitch a mini-fit if Clara splashes him. We think it is not so much that he doesn't want to be splashed, as he just isn't expecting it. He wants to play with Clara, but you can sometimes see him wrestling with the limitations of her age. (Doesn't she know that you don't knock the arctic wonderland down from the water table? Doesn't she know we are taking thing out of the bucket, not putting things in it?) Still, she is so much more fun than we are. This morning, Clara was following him around while he said "Blue!" (or shoe? or goo?) over and over again at not quite the top of his lungs, but with conviction. So they get on, and maybe one day, not so far from now, they can open up a pretend restaurant, and bring us pretend lemonade which we can pretend to sip while we sit on real chairs, and watch them having real fun together.