Kid Cuteness, February 12, 2015
Luke to Daddy: "You are my best friend! I'm giving you a hug. I love you, Daddy."
We got a half-dozen big foam blocks recently (packing material) that the kids are loving (stuff like this makes the best toys). They build forts with their dad and also they like to play "Shark Attack," where they make the blocks islands and Mommy and Daddy turn into sharks and can attack if a kid gets off the island.
"Here sharks, here's a snack!" Sis says as she throws her little people out to us. Also: "I'm going to turn you into little fishies!"
And then when it's Mommy and Daddy's turn to be on the islands and Luke and Zo's turn to be sharks I have to say to Luke, "No, no no, pretend biting only! Pretend biting, little shark!"
Luke talking about the Superbowl: "It's got dogs, and horsies...and a little bit of football..."
Luke, a few days after the Superbowl: "Can we see the lady up in the sky?"
Me: "You mean Katy Perry?"
Him: "Yes."
Luke and Zo, after haircuts that included a little bit of mousse at the end: "We have a moose in our hair!"
Sis in the bathroom: "Mommy close the door. I need a little privacy, please."
Sis, out and about: "I'm a monster eating trucks! And stoplights! And fruits and vegetables!"
Luke, while Daddy was out of town: "I miss Daddy very hard."
Sis: "Can we make cookies for Daddy? He will be so surprised and excited!"
Me to Jeff as he walks into the kitchen: "That is not my daughter."
Him: "What do you mean?"
Me: "She just took her favorite stuffie, Lambykins, and put him under the vegetable chopper and started chopping with glee and said, "Chop chop Lamby! We're going to eat you for dinner!"
(I eat meat, but am overly soft-hearted about the animals.)
The kids have started "Mommy Train, Baby Train," which is always accompanied by extra lovy-ness.
"Your Baby Train loves you, Mommy Train," they'll say with a big snuggle.
"I love my Baby Train," I'll answer...
Luke and Sis at breakfast: "We need to sit on either side of you and lock you in! That way you'll be safe from the monsters!"
Luke, late at night, very seriously: "Mommy, I have trouble sleeping." (And it's true, since we've been done with the pacis, he's not sleeping well. Sigh. This too shall pass.)
Me (later than normal in the evening, trying to get the kids to bed at a reasonable time): "Let's do Fastest Bath in the West!"
Luke: "Yes!"
Zo: "I want SLOWEST Bath in the West!"
(Luke and I did do Fastest Bath in the West last night and set a new record: 53 seconds.
"Is that even a bath?" Jeff asked.
"Face, hands and private parts got washed," I said. "So yeah, that's a bath.")
XO
Assistant Chef
We're getting more and more into "helping" vs "hindering" territory as far as having kids in the kitchen goes. Not there yet, but making progress. We've been eating a ton of guacamole lately, and one of Luke's favorite things to do is juice the limes. Love having him (and/or Sis) with me in the kitchen...we often play music (Pandora's been my thing lately), light our angle-food-cake candle, good smells and tastes from what we're cooking...it's lovely...
XO
Where Are My Big Kids?
One of the kids' favorite things right now is, "Where are my big kids?"
"Mom, can we hide?" they'll say.
"Sure," I say.
"Make sure to say 'Where are my big kids?'" Zo reminds me.
And then I'll give them time to hide...during the day it's in the couch cushions (like Zo is here in her purple PJs), before bath it's under the covers in our bed.
And then I'll walk around saying, "Where are my big kids? How could I have lost them again? They are so easy to lose! Bummer! I love my big kids! I hope I find them one of these days!"
To which they laugh, and then shriek with happiness when I finally do "find" them.
XO
The Grassy Field, 5:10 PM on a Warm February Friday
We ran baby races, threw the big plastic ball, kids made me into a "leaf monster," played on the playground and still made it home in time for dinner...
(Minimally) Messy: 2015 Valentines
I wanted to do valentines with the kids and felt like potato stamps would be fun and somewhat easy (I'm all about easy with DIY stuff). It was pretty easy, the kids LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED it, the valentines turned out SO cute, and there was really very little mess. I was prepared for kids, I don't know, covering themselves in bright red and bright pink paint and then bouncing around our white kitchen before I could get a hold of them, but it all ended up being very contained. The fact the kids were loving it was part of that, I'm sure. It was our first foray into paint...I'm sure there will be other painting adventures in the near future.
XO
Bubs Catches Raindrops on His Tongue
Sis was requesting some Daddy Time this morning, so Luke and I got to hang out. We walked the dog in the rain and had a great time catching raindrops on our tongues, splashing in puddles, finding the places on the sidewalk where different colored arrows had been painted (for some sort of utility purpose, I'm guessing...I never would have even noticed them but that's part of the joy of going for a walk with someone who is two...you notice all sorts of stuff you wouldn't have otherwise...)
XO
Kid Cuteness, January 29, 2015
Luke: "Snow comes and snow goes." (There's a book we have about Pete the Cat and his Groovy Buttons, where he [the cat] loses buttons but doesn't let it phase him.
"Buttons come and buttons go," he says and goes about having a good day.
I think that's one of the most valuable things the kids [and me, frankly] can learn...to be OK with change...)
Luke, pushing me away in the morning as I try to hug and kiss him: "No Mommy! Not when it's light! Hugs and kisses only when it's dark!"
The kids have their share of fights over toys and possessions, but they can also be incredibly sharing and sweet.
Like the time recently when I said Sis could have popcorn at the car wash but Luke couldn't have a little bag because he hadn't minded, and Sis seeing her brother without shared her popcorn with him.
That was reciprocated last week when Luke but not Sis was eligible for a "special treat" because he had finished all his dinner. When we got to Whole Foods where he was allowed to select 2 cookies he said, "I'm going to get one of my cookies for Sis," and proceeded to pick out a green heart for himself and a pink one that he gave away to his sister.
Or Sis not only getting her stuffie for the road before we went out and about, but getting the one she knew Luke wanted from the bedroom and handing it to him with a, "Here you go, Luke."
We've been talking with Luke for a while about the fact that when the last of the current pacifiers gets lost or broken (he tends to chew off the end), that will be the end of pacis. Well, last Saturday that happened, with him biting through the last paci right before bedtime.
"Well, that's the end of that," we said.
"OK," he said. "I want to send my pacis to Baby Henry. Can Santa come after I'm asleep and take my pacis up to Baby Henry in Seattle." (We tried mailing away the pacis to babies who need them about 6 or 9 months ago, but that didn't go so well.)
"Santa doesn't usually do things like that," I said, "But I bet he'll make an exception and do this one favor for you."
And that's been the end of the pacis. I expected there to be a lot of tears with this transition, but that hasn't been the case. What has happened is a lot less sleep on Luke's part...it's somewhere between 9 and 10 PM when he finally goes down. But we'll all adjust to this, just as we have to everything else...
XOXO
Luke and Zo Watch Their Cookies Bake
We took chocolate chip cookies to Two Eagles Mission Control yesterday...they (the cookies) turned out delicious and everyone there was so appreciative. It's important to me to teach the kids that it's nice to do things for others, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity...
XO
Two Eagles Mission Control
There's a balloon--Two Eagles--that's traveling from Japan to hopefully somewhere in North America, out over the Pacific right now. I heard about this a few weeks ago and have been checking the status daily hoping to take the kids to Mission Control--which is here in Albuquerque--for the launch, but it was yesterday, the one day I didn't check and so we missed it.
We went to Mission Control this morning with Daddy, though, and it was so, so cool--the people were so friendly, shared a ton of information, answered all our questions.
"Why are they trying to break records?" Luke asked one of the men.
"To keep the spirit of adventure alive. And to show people like you that you can follow your dreams..."
XO
A Girl's Trip to Uptown
Something I'd like to do more of is one-on-one time with the kids. Sis and I did just that yesterday--went to Uptown and had such a nice time together, smelling the bath bombs in Lush (and picking out a few); returning a shirt to Anthropologie and putting Toot-Toot the elephant into the dream bed they have there for a nap; checking out some of the cool art like the "Duke City Cowboy;" getting some makeup for me; and finally a little treat for both of us at Starbucks...it was lovely...
XO
Winter Canyon Hike
We went hiking in a new spot today, just on the edge of town...beautiful canyon and tons of snow (for ABQ) in the shade, the kids threw snowballs and slid down rocks and made snow angels. Will be fun to go back as the seasons change...
XO
Kid Cuteness, January 22, 2015
After spending an hour or so getting EVERYTHING picked up around the house, I turned my back for 5 minutes max and blocks, cars, the kids' play felt pizza, books, play canned goods from their kitchen, play tools, play doctor stuff etc. was all thrown into their closet into a huge jumbled pile.
"We don't do that," I said. "We don't just throw all our toys on the floor in a huge mess. ESPECIALLY after Mommy worked so hard to pick up."
"But there's a panda bear in our closet, and he was HUNGRY," the kids said.
"Well, pandas don't eat much," I said. "Just a slice of tomato would have been good."
"Ohhhh," they said, like i had just revealed a big panda secret.
Sis: "I want to have my OWN birthday. I don't want to share with Luke!" (Which I'm sure we can arrange...they are their own people and need to be treated as such...)
Sis: "I want to be Luke. Can you turn me into Luke? Because then I'll be a boy and I'll match Daddy."
Luke: "Santa forgot to bring me a stretch limo!" (Santa brought him lots of car-type toys. And we saw our first stretch limo the other day. This whole "Santa forgot to bring me..." thing is an ongoing conversation around here.)
Luke, after I found him and Sis in the kitchen, with a half-rolled-out roll of paper towels stretched across the floor: "Mommy! We rolled out the red carpet!"
And there is a book called "Dinosaur Rescue" that the kids both love and--and this is the first time I've seen this--they want me to read it and they want to act out the scenes...so when the fire truck and ambulance go down the road, Luke has his play fire truck and ambulance do the same. Or when the police car pulls up alongside the train to warn the driver of a truck stuck on the tracks, Luke pulls his police car up to his train. Sis does it too, but it's Luke who is really into it.
XOXO