A rock named Per Gynt

Dear Lucy,

What kind of artist are you becoming?

At Wren's Nest preschool, you spend a lot of time in the art shed working on various creations. At the end of each week you bring home a jumbled stash of treasures - a jewel encrusted fish painting, a montage of glue and colored beans, a handprint coated in glitter and stickers.

Today it was a painted rock you named "Per Gynt."

I love these creations of yours. I confess, I have not been able to throw any away and they have been filling up the front of the fridge, the countertops, and lately, the top of the piano (all the places Henry can't reach to eat the glittery beans).

At the bursting point, I decided to make something of your creations to give away for Christmas - bookmarks.

They were really fun and with such a library of projects, I had plenty to work with.

And at last I think I can let some of your art go.

But not Per Gynt. He is staying right here on my desk to keep me company.

Love,

Mama

Cowboy and Indian

Henry, you are a little of both.

Picture day

We made it! ... but just barely. I'll tell you what - picture day is not easy on Mama. Especially when she is silly enough to make an appointment on a Friday afternoon (traffic! tired kids!!). That plus a last minute code brown (times 2), made for some interesting last-minute scrambling.

Lucy - you were not in a smiling mood. These photos definitely show your more serious side. On the other hand, you LOVE this dress so it was no problem coaxing you to change your whole outfit.

And my sweet Henry - I thought you might grow straight through these clothes before we could finish taking photos. As it were, I had to find some nylons last minute so we could cram your pudgy feet into the shoes. Socks + shoes were not going to happen. I promise, the outfit fit just fine last week!

Ah well - you are beautiful kids. Surely I'll be happy when I'm 80 to have these so I can show off to all the other biddies at my retirement home.

Alert! Another one has come through

The way that our life resembles this comic strip is equal parts funny and alarming.

All princess, all the time

The obsession is on. It is all princess, all the time. You love to look the part and want to wear dresses every day now.

I took you to see a "Cinderella" puppet show. It was lovely and you did pretty well. Here you are dressed up for the performance.

Before the show started, you were looking at the program and asked "Is Cinderella going to be white?" In the picture, she had darker skin and was wearing a brown, rag dress. "Why is she brown?" This was strange because you have noticed race before and we have been talking about it at home, but you have not seemed opinionated about it.

I hope things change in your lifetime, but right now, race can be hard to talk about without offending people. Even a two-year-old can't get away with asking something like "But is she going to be white?" over and over again.

Finally, I looked at the picture again and said "Are you talking about her skin or her dress?" Yes, you were just wondering about her dress.

Lovely. Nice one mom.

Well, there are some folks in that theater that think we are weird.

Henry is crawling

Henry started crawling on Thanksgiving day! Here's a little video of the two kids in action.

Thanksgiving

We had a very quiet holiday. The grandparents and cousins coming from Idaho had to cancel because of storms so it was just us. Your dad did all the dinner preparation: choosing the recipes, the shopping, and the cooking. It was fantastic.

We took a walk to the Swap Shop and then watched Pocahontas. After talking a lot about Indians and pilgrims this month, the movie was a perfect fit. Lucy loved it and immediately wanted to watch it again. The fighting in the movie was confusing though. You asked about a hundred why questions. And I'll tell you, power lust, greed, and racism are not easy to explain in appropriate terms for a 2-year-old.

After dinner, we went to Franny and Dave's house to visit and have dessert. It was strange to be without our big family for the holiday and I am so grateful for friends who made us feel welcome and loved. That is what Thanksgiving is all about.

All in all, I feel so lucky I should run out and buy a lottery ticket. But you know what? I think I already won.

Henry's helmet is off!

Here is the before and after:

After 4.5 months, on 23 hours/day of helmet time, your plagiocephaly is officially cured! The clinic gave you a diploma and everything.

I was nervous going into this but we all got used to the helmet pretty quickly (you best of all) and I am very glad we did it. For other parents wondering about helmets and abnormal infant head shape, I would say:

• Get a referral and measurements taken as soon as you can. The head grows really fast for the first 12 months so it is much easier to correct problems. If we started Henry's helmet now at 9 months instead of at 6, he would be wearing it for over a year.
• Buy a new kitchen brush so you can easily scrub it every night with baby shampoo that agrees with your child's skin. Dry thoroughly with a fan. We hardly had odor issues and Henry's skin did really well.
• Get it checked often and whenever you are worried. I felt a little overprotective taking him in so much but it was hard not to attribute every fussy episode to the helmet.
• If you happen to have a 2-year-old, the helmet may just be a godsend. Many a parent asked me where they could get one at the playground.
• Plagiocephaly is more common in preemies, multiples, and boys. It is also more common than it used to be as a the result of the "Back to Sleep" campaign introduced in the 1990s to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. If you are concerned and your pediatrician isn't, get a second opinion. The last thing you need is one more worry keeping you up at night.

Almost 9 months - almost crawling

Henry,

The way you roll and awkwardly flop around to get from one place to the next reminds me of your sister at this stage. You can move but you can't quite steer to what you want to get to. This means you spend a fair amount of time backed up under a piece of furniture with one arm hooked around a chair leg, the other arm reaching for a forgotten raisin.

The way you obsess over wheels is not like your sister at all. You spend a lot of time looking at wheels, turning wheels, rolling wheels. Cracks me up!

Here you are - Mr. Big Stuff. I cannot believe how fast you are growing!

My own little bear cubs

Daddy and I both played with one of these when we were "cubs." Daddy got one for you on eBay.

I love that we call the bears Mama, Lucy, and Henry. Daddy bear must be at meetings.

Look alikes? Family faces at about 9-months old

Lucy

Henry

Mama

Daddy

I shall now call you chompers

Congratulations on the 4 teeth buddy. Just do me a favor and test them out on your toys, your food, your clothes...the furniture. Just definitely NOT on Mama.

Happy birthday mom

Here is my beautiful mother, with her lap full of kids. I spend a lot of my time like this. Well, minus the fancy hairdo, makeup, fingernail polish, and hand-made dress suit.

I have learned a lot from my mom but (I'm sorry to say) not what it takes to accomplish the glamour she's exuding in this photo.

You are amazing, Mom. I love you more than I can say.

Fall photos

Photos at: http://gallery.mac.com/mfivecrows#100288

Seriously in need of a transporter

"After our nap, shall we watch Snow White with Grandma?"

"After this book, shall we go to Grandma's for some apple juice."

"After lunch, shall we go get a kleenex at Grandma's?"

Clearly you had a good time and the excuses to go back keep coming.

If only Scotty were around to beam us at will. Sigh.

Tuckered

Cousins + swimming at Grandma's + trick-or-treating + candy + head colds + even more cousins - naps(!) = 2 very tired kids on the flight home

The last 20 minutes of the flight were not this serene however, as you both woke up screaming as we descended into a storm front. Your little ears are acutely aware of air pressure changes. Barometric pressure, you are not my friend.

I'll post some photos of the trip as soon as I can catch up with myself. What - it could totally happen? But yes, I wouldn't hold my breath either.

xo,

Your tuckered mama

A riggity jig and away we go...

We had a blast at the pumpkin patch this weekend. And how could we not with friends, ponies, a boat ride, and a train ride!

And Henry, your sound effects chip is installed and working correctly! Some days you make fart noises constantly. And I do mean constantly. It can be difficult to catch your face not in this arrangement.

We're off to Utah this morning. Hooray! I can't wait to see family!

On sea life

Lucy: "I saw a pink one of those at the coast. I got to touch it."

Mama: "Really?"

Lucy: "Yes, and it gave me a hug."

Prepping for Halloween

Boo!!

Henry clapping

Henry, you are hands-down the cutest, sweetest, most precious baby ever to hit the planet. Seriously. A shar pei wearing angel wings while hugging a baby seal that is nuzzling a kitten is lower on the cute scale than you.

And just when I didn't think you could get ANY cuter, you busted out the clapping. Also note the foot and hand rolling you do whenever you are happy and excited - which is pretty much all the time. Uh-dorable.

Sign we are doing our job

Daddy: "Good night Lucy B. I love you."

Lucy (from her crib): "I know."

One down, lots to go!

The first tooth has broken through! It isn't visible yet but I can feel it. You are 7.5 months - same age as Lucy when she got her first tooth. Maybe that is what has been keeping you up at night; after a brief period of sleeping straight through, you've been up about 2 times a night for a week now.

I think you are also staying awake because you are excited to be moving around in your crib. We put you in the snowsuit to keep you from rolling around too much but you can still inch around. I hear you banging your helmet on the bars and squawking if you can't sleep.

And when you wake up, sometimes I hear talking first – but usually it's the *thud*, *thud* of you banging your helmet on the mattress. Funny boy. Makes me smile every time.

When the going gets rough, escape to the coast

We had a weekend of wonderful weather, fantastic company (Dane and Jamie) and the big, beautiful ocean. And after two days of sand castles and aquariums, I think we all feel about a thousand times better. Phew.

Dane and wildlife at the Newport Aquarium

Just commit me already

I have lice.

And thrush.

And an acute case of insanity.

It is truly a magical combo. We are living in the mess to match...

In addition to the chemical treatments, laundry, brush boiling, and extensive vacuuming underway (again); all the furniture in the house is covered in plastic (this includes the pillows on our bed) and I'm getting some really fun (!) medication that may take up to 14 days to cure my painful boobie problem.

I'm not sure how to describe what this situation feels like.

"AAAAAAEEIIRGHHHHHABAAAAA" about sums it up.

Obstacle course

The Warrior Dash looks crazy but I kind of want to do it. You get to "Duke's of hazard" slide over 20 cars, repel down rocks, climb over hay bales, and crawl in the mud. My 50-ish friend did it and survived. Think I could?

I'm in training now if you count the obstacle course that the last 7 months have been. Here's that course description:

• Crash through the starting gate at full speed
• Cough your guts out the top, and give birth out the bottom
• Make 31 laps to and from the laundry room
• Tackle toddler eating crayons while holding infant at boob
• Push the stroller 5 miles in a rainstorm
• Stay up three nights in a row
• Dash 2 miles uphill to the office and convincingly make believe you are sane
• Recite The Cat in the Hat backward, from memory
• Strap on 50 pounds of kid and dance to the Grinch song
• Repel 300 ft down into a hormonal ravine and then claw back up using only your fallen out hair and diet coke
• Go on a nit hunt and clean all the bodies, furniture and stuff in the house with a toothbrush
• Recover from (yet another) bout of mastitis and cheerfully cook three meals no one will eat
• Change a diaper with your teeth while nursing a sick toddler
• Step over the "finish line" (where exactly do I find that?), fall over, and pass out

Yup - I think I can handle the Warrior Dash no problem.

I love you, my little obstacle course buddies. You certainly keep life interesting.

Love,
Mama

Irresistible

I could not resist this jacket. I only wish they had it in my size so we could match.

What was that?

Henry, you are starting to talk - looking right at us and making fun noises. Of course none of it makes any sense yet but it is all very interesting.

Ba ba ba plbbbbt pffffft *raspberry* plbbbbbt.

From the sound of it, you are either describing a monster truck rally or a hippopotomus with an extreme case of gas. Either way, we can't wait to hear more.

Pain in the you know where

A whole lot of panic boiled down to about 5 lice eggs in Lucy's hair. The rest of us (I think) are clean but the idea has made my head itch often enough that between all the vacuuming and loads of laundry, I've asked Daddy to check me more than once by flashlight. We followed all the recommended advice. I can only hope others in the school will do the same so we don't get this again. It is no fun!

It didn't seem like lice was very common in Utah where I grew up. I still remember the names of the two kids sent home in third grade because they had it. Here, it seems like many families have at least one run-in and I've talked to moms whose kids have had it multiple times. Serious downside to living in this climate and our chemical-eschewing neighborhood. Plus, the school system no longer checks for it so it can spread widely before people realize it is a problem.

Oh well. Now I know exactly how many loads of laundry it takes to wash every bit of bedding and blanket in the house (8) and Lucy got to watch part of Monsters Inc while we meticulously combed through her hair. TV mid-week and at bed time? It was such a treat, she behaved perfectly and didn't even question why.

Arghhhhh!

Nits!

In your school!

In your hair!

So much for that parenting class. We'll be nuking the house instead.

The magic of Grieg

You were playing in the Swap Shop and found a toy that played a few lines of Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg.

So daddy downloaded the whole song and played it to you while we told you about Peer Gynt climbing up the mountain to peek in at the trolls dancing. Wow - this got you going and sparks were clearly lighting in your little head. You wanted to listen to that over and over and hear the story of "Pepper" climbing up the mountain. When we got home, we brought out some troll statues we have from Norway and that was it - your brain practically exploded.

Silly us - bringing up such an exciting topic right before bed. Needless to say, it took us a while to wind you back down.

Stealing the show

We took you to a wedding this weekend - a perfect excuse to deck you out in your finery.

Afterward, we took you to hear some music by the Fossil Fools. What a treat! You both heard your first "Sweet Home Alabama," "Mony Mony," and "Jenny" live plus plenty of other greats and an Elvis medley to boot. We had a great time dancing to it all. Lucy, I think you get your moves (and perhaps your lack of inhibitions on the dance floor) from me.