she even wakes up happy
Technorati Tags: baby
September 3, 2008
crawling & standing
She officially crawls and now she pulls up to standing too! This girl is on the move.
Technorati Tags: baby
August 22, 2008
zoo day
Into the fog we went to enjoy the morning strolling through the zoo. Nadia, Tommy and Max all had a great time and I enjoyed hanging out with Aunnie and Julieann. But that miss Vivienne gave me a run as she refused to sleep and wailed through most of the route — joy. I thought these two peacock portraits were amusing. They show a glimpse into Max's mercurial mind and his amazing morphing facial talents.
Technorati Tags: boys, preschooler, San Francisco
August 17, 2008
first bowl
After months of playing too much wii bowling, Max finally talked us into playing a real set. He'd been asking to play for weeks it seemed. We headed to Yerba Buena's bowling alley. Though the lightest ball - a six pounder- was too heavy for him, he managed to bowl fairly well. We were all thankful for the gutter guards. Most importantly he really enjoyed himself. He cried when we said no to another game, but we promised to return again soon.
Technorati Tags: San Francisco
August 13, 2008
grassy grins
The never napping (!) Ms. Vivi seen here enjoying herself on the grass near the San Luis Obispo mission.
August 11, 2008
blubbery lips
August 1, 2008
lazy days of summer
See the little beans swinging the afternoon away at "frog and bunny park" aka Holly Park in Bernal Heights.
Technorati Tags: San Francisco
July 30, 2008
little gem
July 26, 2008
mamma mia
Vivi is still on the verge of real coordinated crawling so no new progress there, but what's most exciting is her first word...drum roll please... it's "mamma" !!! She's saying it over and over — and most often while diving intently for my boobs, so we are sure that she truly knows its meaning.
July 23, 2008
tall ships
This morning as we were driving into the bright morning light Max said to me "Mommy, it's really sparkly outside." I melted. It was a really spectacular day and the sun was clear and shiny and little did he know how much better his day was going to get. I dropped Max off at Pier 30 so he could take a very special ride with his Grandpa aka Paga aboard the tall ship Eagle (it has it's own blog) which was at the front of the Festival of Sail parade on the bay today. Max was pretty aprehensive about going, but we made it there and he said goodbye without issue. According to Paga he had a few moments aboard where he wanted to go home, but for the most part he was thouroughly entertained by all the activity. He watched the coast guard hoist and unfurl the sails while chanting "heave ho", he took a turn at the steering wheel (uh I guess they call it the helm), got a full ship tour, and hung out with a child-friendly sergeant Jonathan Lolly (not sure if that's his real title but that's what Max is saying). In the early afternoon I drove around the Embarcadero and Chrissy Field water front chasing their gorgeous pirate-like boat as Vivi napped for two hours in the back seat. Max returned with hats, commemorative coins and a most-beloved embroidered patch. He was beaming. He was so sad to leave Paga that he cried for him as we drove away. He clearly had a special but exhausting day!
Technorati Tags: Bay Area
July 17, 2008
bathing beauty
Vivienne has started waving! It's so cute. I swear she even says a "hi"-like sound while she waves. Have I mentioned that she's a really happy baby? She's truly amazing. She only fusses over basic issues — a dirty diaper, hunger, and tiredness — the rest of the time she's a grinning, giggling sweetie pie.
Technorati Tags: baby
July 14, 2008
on the verge
Vivienne Grace is on the verge of crawling. She's doing all sorts of pushing up, army crawling, down dog and worming maneuvers. It's only a matter of days I think.
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July 12, 2008
retro summer dress
July 6, 2008
first manicure
Max accompanied me to simply unique nails so I could get a pedicure (by the amazingly sweet Jessica!). For many months now he's been dictating which shade of red or pink I should put on my toenails. He often complains that I've chosen the wrong shade. He's expressed many times that he wants to go with me but I wasn't sure he'd really handle the experience until he repeated the request a few more times — then I knew he was serious. He was very excited to go with me and thrilled to get his nails painted red and pink on alternating fingers. After his were done the wait for my pedicure was painful and too time consuming for his three year old mind. I resorted to saying yes to the candy bowl on the front counter. He then sucked on a sees lollypop while watching his favorite Backyardigan videos on my iPod — oh mother.
Technorati Tags: mom, preschooler, San Francisco
June 24, 2008
first bite
wee gallery
This image makes me happy. I really like this simply spartan yet gleeful little still life. And I must admit too that I'm absolutely crazy about "Sophie le giraffe" and one of the newest creations from Vulli "gnon". The rubber quality is tactily perfect for babies and the softly painted creature features are sweetly seductive.
Mr. C gave up dressing in our bedroom and moved his armoire to our not connected downstairs rumpus/junk/craft/office/laundry/cat room (i.e., he has to go outside to get to his stuff) so that our darling Vivienne could sleep safely in a crib (and so we could have a few hours to ourselves in our bed). But this left the wall over the crib was looking terribly bare. Rather than take down the quilt that matches the bumper which is still hanging in Max's room, I bought some wall decals by wee gallery from Natural Resources. These stickers match a set of high contrast flash card art images that someone had given me and that I have taped up on the wall over the changing table. I'm really please with how easy they were to adhere and how quickly they gave the room character. Vivie likes them too!
June 20, 2008
heat wave
It's so hot I broke down and thought that buying a vinyl kiddy pool was a good idea. It was. While inhaling the horrid vinyl vapors and blowing my lungs out trying to inflate the pool I kept thinking," this is a half hour of my life." Existential moment gone...we each had satisfying turns splashing in the refreshingly chilly little pink puddle.
The effort was more than worth it. The reflection of the ginkgo tree in this little pink pool is quite beautiful.
terrible threes
I feel a bit evil taking a photo of this moment, but...it's been happening so much that I'm losing empathy for it. Many of these break downs are filled with crocodile tears, while others are sincere moments where Max is feeling any number of things that cause tears. But all of them are trying my patience!. This particular moment was one where I said "no you may not have a chocolate chip cookie before dinner" — I am such an evil mother?! About an hour earlier he cried hysterically for about 15 minutes because I said, "No, you may not drink the pink pool water." Ah this is why the book on this age group is titled Your Three Year Old, Friend or Enemy?
Technorati Tags: parenting, preschool, preschooler
June 17, 2008
best friends
Max and Gabriel are best of friends but also tattling rivals. They ebb and flow, trying to be the same and then in an instant demanding the other to go away and never return. Such wondrously mercurial minds these little men.
Technorati Tags: preschool, preschooler
June 15, 2008
happy father's day
Technorati Tags: preschooler, puppets
June 13, 2008
sneak peek
Gertrude and Mabel put some sneak peek pictures of Vive and I on their blog. Wow! They are stunningly beautiful and I can't wait to see the rest....mmmm baby is so yummy. xxoo
Technorati Tags: baby, Bay Area, photography, San Francisco
June 12, 2008
children's playground
Max has decided he doesn't want to go to karate anymore. The last few classes have been a bust. He wouldn't wear the adorable ninja uniform and he refused to participate in the class. We sat there watching and I struggled to keep him quiet and focused. The last class he whined and cried most of the way through. When I ask him why he says its just too scary. I find that I just can't argue with that. Since Max no longer hits kids at school I'm thinking the karate outlet has served it purpose for now and maybe he'll be interested in picking it up again later? Who knows eh. So after school on this thursday we opted for an hour of play time at the fabulous Children's Playground in Golden Gate Park. Max's physical abilities are rapidly improving. He went up and down most of the climbing structures and down some longer and fully enclosed twisting slides — things he was too scared to try before.
June 11, 2008
let's play hooky
Today Vivie had her sixth month check-up — a month late, but whatever. She weighed in at 20lbs 10oz after a giant pooping mishap while on the scale, uh thank you so much darling. She measured 28 and a quarter inches long. All these numbers put her in the 95% for both height and weight. I asked about the red cheek rash she gets off and on and the doc said it's baby eczema which she'll likely outgrow before she's two years old - if not sooner. Best I can do is keep it moisturized at all times and use cortisone if she scratches it. Other than that doctor says she looks fabulous, proportions are all perfect, her lungs sound clear and ears are healthy. She's cutting her top right front tooth too. She had 4 immunization shots without a single whimper or tear! That speaks well for having chunky thighs so you can't feel the pain. The doctor has approved her as ready to try the high allergy foods like, eggs, yogurt, wheat, citrus, berries, and soy.
Her brother Max accompanied us to the pediatrician. since I mistakenly promised him last week that we'd play hooky next wednesday and then of course it turned out I'd booked a doctor appointment for THAT wednesday. I feared it would be a recipe for a melt down, dragging him to the doctor with Vivie, but he handled like a champ and soon we were off for the day's adventure.
Max has recently been complaining about having to go to school and crying at drop off. So I decided we'd plan a hooky day so he could have some outside of school play-time and we could enjoy the beautiful weather. We decided on the Bay Area Discovery Museum. One of Max's favorite play areas at the Discovery is the wonderfully landscaped lookout cove. He's come along way in willingness and ability climb in, on, and through. I really enjoyed watching him at play and he had a great day. I think we'll cut school a little more often now that I'm freelancing!
Vivie enjoyed the Gullah exhibit the most. She really savored the fresh caught plastic crabs. (for all you germaphobs, yes, I wiped them down before she slobbered all over them!)
Technorati Tags: baby, Bay Area, preschooler
June 8, 2008
planting tomatoes
Last year we grew some amazing tomatoes. We are hoping this year will be the same or even better. I look forward to more tomato, cucumber and feta salads, but this time the juicy parts will be home grown!
June 3, 2008
when nature calls
There's no equality between the sexes when it comes to this issue — boys really do have it easier!
Technorati Tags: boys
June 2, 2008
a crib of her own
We finally put together the crib for Vivienne. Recently Vivie's been inch-worming her way around our bed so we knew it was time for her to have a safe sleep space. I still bring her to bed with us sometime between 3 and 5 am, but I'm now getting a few hours of sleep by myself — it's great — well, except for all those nights when Max shows up somewhere between 8pm and 2 am. Oh well, these are the days.
Technorati Tags: baby
portrait session
Today Vivie had her first photo shoot — she did an amazing job! Vivie is pictured above with my dear friend Heidi of Gertrude and Mabel who did the portrait session. Heidi's work is simply amazing so please go check out her site. Vivienne was a total trooper through costume and set changes and switching formats, film types and lighting set-ups. I was surprised at how well she handled, she really has a wonderful temperament. Afterward Vivie slept peacefully in her stroller while Heidi and I ate a delicious lunch at Serpentine. What an enjoyable day!
Technorati Tags: baby, photography, San Francisco
May 30, 2008
person of the day
This morning Max had all eyes on him. He was given the power and title of "person of the day" and he relished it. Max spent a few minutes at the beginning of his presentation talking about the photos on his family board. At one point when his fellow classmates interrupted him, he not so gently reminded them that "this is not about you, it's about me." During his presentation he asked me to help talk about the photos, but when I started to talk too much or gaining control of the focus he gave me a giant "Shhhh mommy!" and put me in my place. Whoa, Max is clearly a kid who is comfortable being the leader.
After the photo presentation we made fresh pasta for our family project. Each child got two opportunities to crank the pasta machine. One was to flatten the dough and the other was to cut the dough into spaghetti or linguini. We asked the school chef Celestina to cook the pasta for lunch. We weren't able to stay for lunch, but we heard it was a hit. But sadly for Max Celestina had put tomato sauce on all the pasta and apparently Max cried because he only wanted butter on his. Oh goodness.
More photos to come...thanks to Paga & Daddy for taking the time to be there and help, Max felt very loved.
May 29, 2008
teeny tiny but powerful
Ah the gun issue. How I wish I could suppress it and live in peace, but alas it only seems to rear it's ugly head the more I try to kibosh it. I started with a hard line response explaining that we are pacifists and there will be no guns in our house. I even made Mr. C remove the giant poster of his grinning five year old self holding an AK47 in front of an Israeli tank (not really such a weird request eh?) I pleaded with Max not to talk about guns and reiterated that we don't want to hurt anyone. But recently I've softened my gun stance. I'm still on about not hurting anyone, though I've added no pointing at people or shooting anything that's alive — "yes trees are alive." I'm feeling that fighting his inner and clearly biological urges isn't going to get me anywhere, in fact it may produce the opposite result. So I'm letting most of the finger guns, stick guns, straw guns slide — obviously there's no limit to what can become a weapon— I'm just trying to get him to aim at the skeet instead. Above is Max pictured with the gun that came from his tiny star wars drone action figure —thanks Paga ::wink wink::. He doesn't care much about the drone but he's been carrying the teeny gun around in his pocket.
Technorati Tags: preschooler
May 27, 2008
stowe lake
Captain Max enjoyed ordering his first mates Aunnie and Yaya 'round Stowe Lake yesterday afternoon. As Aunnie put it "boating is such a lovely weekend activity even in this man-made lake." It was a perfect holiday afternoon, thanks you two! I walked the lake perimeter pushing Ms. Vivie in her comfy carriage while constantly waving to the peddling crew. Along the way I gazed at some lovely wild flowers and watched a family of geese herding their young to shore.
Technorati Tags: San Francisco
May 24, 2008
sitting pretty
Vivienne is now able to sit up unassisted. Every once in a while she teeters over but she rarely complains about it. She loves being on her tummy too and has been doing push-ups and tucking her knees like an inch worm — she's getting ready to crawl. She's quite fond of putting everything in her mouth as pictured above. Max's toys are everywhere so it's quite a chore for us to keep the house picked up and all the chokable items put away.
While browsing through H&M on friday Vivie tried on these sparkly shades and then tasted some pink tights packaging.
I picked up those mesh food bags I'd been hearing so much about — and yes they are a hit and a brilliant product idea. So far we've put in banana, apple, bread and avocado. On the list of foods she's tried via blender or jar are sweet potato (japanese yellow yam is her favorite), peas, pears, apple, butternut squash and lots and lots of rice cereal.
I succumbed and brought the hideous, but oh so helpful, "kingdom" exersaucer out of storage. Our teeny house it done for now there's not a single baby or kid free space!
Technorati Tags: baby
May 20, 2008
after school funsies
When I picked Max up from preschool today he was toting more giant chalk and had been busy writing all over the playground's rubber mats. He wrote his name for me again and then drew me this flower.
When we left school, we headed off to Kid Robot to get more cool zipper pulls (we discovered them when we got one for daddy's birthday) and then we got one little special extra surprise toy (seen here). Max loves him because he has a cupcake on his back. What's not to love about a cupcake eating monster named Maurice?!*#@!^!
Technorati Tags: preschool, preschooler, San Francisco
May 18, 2008
swing time
It was high noon at Jackson Playground when Ms. Vivienne took her first glide in ye old bucket swing and boy did she enjoy herself.
Technorati Tags: baby, San Francisco
May 14, 2008
rahhhh
There's no denying that boys have an unique and intense energy. I experience it when Max eats a piece of bread and then tells me the shape of his bites look like a gun or when he tells me he's taking his gun (thumb up and forefinger pointed) with him to make sure no bad guys are out there — these are moments that I feel I had nothing to do with. I certainly didn't teach him about guns or expose him to them. Somehow he's figured out the gun thing and feels ready to aim, point, and shoot it. I think there's nothing a pacifist such as myself can do other than just wait for him to out grow it. I worry that if I try to suppress his interests in guns, swords etc I'll just encourage his intrigue. I know from my own experience that each time my parents tried to tell me something was bad or that I shouldn't do "x" I wanted to do it more — so I'm thinking that he should just shoot his finger gun until his heart is content and then hope he'll grow up to be a conscientious objector.
May 12, 2008
the very hungry caterpillar
Here is Ms. Vivienne Grace reading an old favorite by Eric Carle while lounging on our deck during a San Francisco heat wave.
Technorati Tags: baby
May 11, 2008
yay mother's day
Max was so excited about mother's day, it was sweet to hear him say that he'd hidden a card and couldn't wait to tell me where it was. Then this morning he came into our bed, after sleeping through the whole night on his own — gift enough, and said "Mommy it's Mother's Day, can I give you your present now?" He and daddy came back in a few minutes with a little blue box. Max says, "We went downtown to Stiffany's mommy." No kidding, he has said it a few more time since then so I can confirm the pronunciation of "Stiffanys" — don't you love that?! Inside the box was a beautiful big solid silver heart locket on a chain with a photo of Max on one side and Vivie on the other (good job daddy!). I melted inside while tears of motherhood joy rolled down my cheeks. Then to add to my water works, Max tells me about the card he made for me at preschool. "Mommy, see it's a heart. Here's where I did the gluing and I put letters on it I -L-O-V-E-U" he said. Then I said, "it spells I love you" and he said "no not yuh yuh 'you'" as he sounded out the letter Y, "I didn't use the Y." He also planted me a sunflower in a pot and wrapped it in yellow tissue paper. He put his hands on his hips and said in the cutest voice, "Now what's that mushroom doing in there?"
Technorati Tags: motherhood
May 10, 2008
1/2 birthday
Max, seen here wearing all his favorite things. He asks me every morning if it's a school day, seriously he does. On Saturday when I finally say, "no today is not a school day," he dresses himself in crocks, his superman t-shirt and an almost too small union jack sweatshirt. Super-hero wear and crocks are outlawed at his preschool, oh and so is celebrating holidays — political correctness sucks.
We headed out at about 8:45am via Muni and made it to Blue Bottle Cafe about 9 am. It was already crowded. Normally that would get me down, as I am so over waiting in long lines at the cool kid spots, but today I didn't mind. It's ironic how when you truly don't care and are relaxed, that life flows smoothly. Within minutes three counter spaces in a row by the big window opened up — such luck.
We each enjoyed a delicious fluffy and lightly sweetened belgian wafel and two lattes each (yes two!). I could drink their creamy lattes all day if they didn't cause such jitters. Vivienne took notice of our blue bottle love and dove into the cup for a sip (no she wasn't successful).
Happy six month birthday to baby Vivie.
Technorati Tags: Bay Area, eating, family, San Francisco
May 9, 2008
written word
Last night we were waiting outside for a table at Delfina Pizzeria, when Max whipped out a giant piece of chalk (that he'd swiped from the school playground) and started drawing on the sidewalk. This is how I found out that he can write his name. Love it.
Technorati Tags: eating, San Francisco
May 5, 2008
cheek to cheek
This is Vivienne with her great grandpa. There's 93 years between them! I love their matching bright blue eyes. Awe, so beautiful.
When Max melts down during family dinner at Santi (yes, this has happened before) we walk across the street to the tractor sales show room and take a pretend ride. A few minutes of serious fun makes the rest of dinner manageable.
See Miss Vivie kicking it.
May 1, 2008
happy may day
Technorati Tags: baby, San Francisco
April 24, 2008
life is sweet
mmmm miette is so yummy and it's on the way home from school — which is so dangerously delicious! We stopped by on this lucky tuesday and each found a treat to enjoy.
Happy Birthday to Paga & Auntie Gail! xoxo
Technorati Tags: eating, San Francisco
April 23, 2008
happy birthday daddy
Here's daddy holding the picture Max drew for him on his birthday. It was so endearing to listen to Max explain the drawing — he said something like "the orange is a reflection of the sun on the pond." We looked at each other with awe, how poetic!
Max and I decided it would be best to put four and three candles on daddy's cupcakes, otherwise we might have a fire hazard! The over abundance of sprinkles were a necessity! Why walk when you can run eh?
Technorati Tags: family
April 20, 2008
not one, but two!
The lower right one is poking through too!
Technorati Tags: baby
April 17, 2008
karate kid
Max took his first karate lesson today. I thought karate would be a good place for him to learn where hitting and kicking is appropriate and to practice discipline, courage, and respect, while also getting his boyish aggression and energy out. He's on the young side, so the teacher wanted to assess if he had the attention span for the 30 minute class — his physical abilities don't matter at this point. For the first 15 minutes he followed the class perfectly doing all the exercises and he looked like he was really enjoying himself. Then he was paired with an older kid who was his height (I think he was about 6 years old — the boy on the right in the top photo) to take turns hitting and kicking while holding a pad and he got really scared. I watched his face turn from interest to fear. Max had a lot of trouble holding the pad for this kid to kick. Each time the other boy whacked the pad Max got more fearful until he gave up and ran to my arms. We then sat on the sidelines and watched the rest of the class. I asked repeatedly, but he had no interest in trying it again after that. When class was over we talked to the sensei (Mirako) and determined that he is quite capable of taking the class if he decides he wants to. Fortunately, they aren't charging me any money until Max decides that he's willing to commit to the class and we are welcome to to come again for a few more times. We stayed about 10 minutes afterward exploring the space and taking turns hitting the pads. I was hoping if mommy and he did it together he'd feel more comfortable trying the class again. While driving home Max asked me why the teacher was saying so many weird words. So now I'm trying to reiterate the concept of multiple languages and to teach him a little Japanese so he understands what the teacher is saying. I hope he'll want to try the class again next thursday.
school = dojo
teacher = sensei
one= ichi
two= ni
three= san
four = shi
five = go
that's enough for both of us!
Technorati Tags: San Francisco
April 16, 2008
first tooth
Surprise! There's a hard and sharp little bit poking through her gums. It's the lower left front tooth. Time to start serving some first foods eh?!
Technorati Tags: baby
April 15, 2008
loving baby
April 13, 2008
beach day
It was extraordinarily hot today, in the low 80s at the beach! We had scheduled a playdate for the park but the day just screamed "go to the beach!" We headed down to Chrissy Field with a classmate of Max's named Griffin. Max thoroughly enjoyed getting covered head to toe in wet sand. I, of course with my typical craziness, forgot to bring his sand toys — but hey I remembered the sunblock. Max wasn't so into playing with the girls (Griffin met her friend Lily there) who were mixing sand to make hot chocolate for the plants, so he adopted a nearby family with two boys and borrowed all their boy sand tools to build roads for their cars. By the end he was buck naked and our walk back to the car elicited grins and giggles from many gawkers.
Technorati Tags: San Francisco
April 6, 2008
just like lulu
Who wants to grow up to be a police officer just like Lulu? Little Marcus, uh I mean Max. History repeating itself can be a beautiful thing! Max's fabulous great Auntie Lulu set up a full-on tour of the Healdsburg police station, jail & a squad car. Our tour was given by the kind and patient officer Uretega (hope I spelled that right?). Max's eyes were like saucers and he was so uncharacteristically quiet and on his best behavior as he soaked in all the information about how 911 works, what jail is like and how the police car works. He really enjoyed turning off and on all the car lights and savors his special silver officer police pin. Thank you so much Auntie Lulu, you are truly the best!
old & new
Papa and Vivie are 92 years apart — wow, life is amazing!
April 4, 2008
check ups
Every little body is a-ok (for one little second no one is sick— big sigh!). Max weighed in at 39 lbs and 42" tall which puts him in the 95%. Vivie weighed in at 17 lbs 10 oz and 28" long, which put her off the chart!
April 2, 2008
after school
Max and I are enjoying the days when I can pick him up sans Vivie and spend an hour alone together. We often head to Duboce Park so he can run around in "the woods" (really it's behind a tree and some bushes), swing, slide and blow off steam. It's so fun to watch him explore his world. Recently he's decided he has to climb up on the park gate and swing with it as it opens. He's still mustering up the courage to go down the "big kids" twisty slide all alone. Usually he thinks he'll do it, but changes his mind once we are at the park. This day he asked if we could go down together — was so sweet.
Sometimes we stop at a cafe before hand and pick up a steamed milk and madeline for him and a latte for me. Today we stopped by Duboce Park Cafe for said treats and I saw this fabulous piece of art. This so summarizes my recent mental struggles with not feeling sane and thinking meds may be my only hope. Ok a bit dramatic, I am prone to theatrics on occasion, but I do wish now an again that I could pop a pill to feel "normal". It makes me a bit sick to see the repetition of bottles representing the toll pill popping would cause just to achieve "normal" eh?
Technorati Tags: art, preschool, preschooler, San Francisco
March 31, 2008
open wide
Max did a great job at the dentist. However turns out we aren't doing such a great job brushing his teeth. We need to start brushing in the mornings in addition to evenings and we need to floss — especially the back teeth which are tightly touching. He has a watch on the lower back molars 'cause there's a cavity a brewing. Gotta brush away those rotten "sugar bugs."
March 30, 2008
max & mommy zoo day
It was an historic merry-go-round ride. Max started on the stationery tiger — a step up from his usual pick of the big bench seats. And while riding the tiger I kept coaxing him to try the up and down animals. So on the second ride he chose a shiny gold horse with glitter jewels. As long as I kept a hold of him he was happy.
When does your sweet little toddler turn into a fierce young boy? Right about age 3. Max has these wild moments where he's really intense and demanding and really reminds me of a teenager — YIKES!
Technorati Tags: preschooler
March 23, 2008
easter egg hunting
The Easter Bunny managed to find us in Purcellville, Virginia—imagine that!
The glorious looks of shear delight and surprise on Max's face were priceless. I adore seeing the light beam from his eyes. What's not to love about Easter eh? A basket filled with chocolates and jellybeans, plus we added some books and little toys, and a day filled with hunting for eggs filled with MORE jellybeans! Aunnie was forced to reenacted the egg hunt numerous times.
I love this photo. Aunnie looks (and feels) just like I did — tired but so happy. But she gets all the credit for the easter hunt success! Well done and many thank yous!
Technorati Tags: holiday
March 22, 2008
egg dying day
Max thoroughly enjoyed the science of measuring, pouring, and fuzzy colored pill dropping as well as the art of egg dipping. The activity kept his attention for quite awhile which was impressive. The results were stunning. Sadly the weird spring weather forced us to choose an indoor plastic egg hunt, so these little masterpieces weren't hunted. However they did end up as delicious egg salad sandwiches, mmmm thank you Gail.
Technorati Tags: holiday, preschooler
March 18, 2008
best buddies
This is the scene I saw when I opened the door at his preschool pick up today. There he was playing nicely with his best friend Gabriel — an endearing moment.
But then my utopian vision was shattered when two of his teachers pulled me aside to tell me that he had a really bad day and is having trouble listening and getting along with others. Apparently he wound up (literally turned his body and took a huge swing) and slapped one of the sweetest kids from room 4. He hit this boy Emmet so hard he had a red hand mark on his face for half a day. When asked "why?" Max really can't think of an answer, he just says that room 4 kids aren't supposed to be where room 3 kids are. The teachers say Megan, the oldest girl in Max's room 3 class, has been picking on him but they can't understand why he would take it out on Emmet. It makes no sense. I've seen a fierceness, rage and temper in Max, one that he doesn't understand or know how to control. He could just out grow it and learn to behave over time, but we also need to keep an eye on it and learn how to direct him. We also worry that he may not be in school or with teachers that understand him well enough and that perhaps the school may not challenge him enough — or have enough structure to keep him focused. It's a lot to think about...
This is Max's favorite sweatshirt. He chooses to wear it everyday. Sadly it's getting too small so we are being challenged to figure out what to do to save the Union Jack. Scissors and sewing are in our future! In addition, I'm excited to post this photo because I'm so happy to see Max taking physical risks like climbing up this high. I sometimes worry that he's too heady and mental (like his parent!) since he often won't go down the slides at the playground or swing on the monkey bars or other activities like that. I gotta fret less eh?!
Technorati Tags: parenting, preschooler
March 17, 2008
lil' leprechaun
His Irish eyes are smiling!
March 16, 2008
breakfast with baby
Vivie enjoyed watching us each a yummy breakfast at Mission Beach Cafe.
March 14, 2008
the end of nap
Max will still nap without too much grief, but the two hour late afternoon snoozes cause havoc at bedtime. He'll often not want to sleep until 9 or even 10 pm, so I'm on the cusp of canceling nap-time in favor of early bedtime. I tried it last weekend, and bedtime was still a battle, but he did pass out sooner. He's also totally regressed and now wants to sleep in our bed every night. He claims to be afraid and lonely and doesn't want to sleep in his bedroom. We try every night to get him in his own bed, but he almost always ends up in our bed. Not sure what we can do at this point. More experiments to come...
March 12, 2008
rolling baby
such a cutie! She's a rolie polie olie.
Technorati Tags: baby, motherhood
March 10, 2008
crissy field walk
