Well that's a relief

Apparently TV may not be rotting the kids' brains after all. Good thing, since I tend to enjoy a nice hearty chuckle every time I read the American Academy of Pedatrics' recommendation that children under 2 watch no TV at all, and 2-year-olds watch only an hour a day.

Rainy day

It's pouring right now, but luckily I took the girls out this morning before the rain really got started. We had a snack at Noah's, read books at Vroman's, and picked up a few groceries at Whole Foods. Maggie was bratty and made everything more stressful than it needed to be.

Both girls are napping (hallelujah!) and I am contemplating how much life is about to change...because I have agreed to start working 20 hours a week for my former employer. I will be happy to have the mental stimulation and even happier to have the money, but it will take some planning to figure out how to do this. Except for a weekly meeting, I can do all the work from home. I'll be able to do some work in the evenings and on weekends, and I can use babysitting time from my mom. I guess I won't be able to slip off to movies by myself any more...at least not as often.

Audrey is 8 months old

Happy. Busy. Loud.

Doesn't like to cuddle much.

Loves to be tossed, rolled, squished.

Always on the lookout for something new to touch, taste or laugh at.

Our little Audrey is eight months old, and getting cuter all the time.

Griffith Park

On Saturday we took the girls to Travel Town and the carousel at Griffith Park. Maggie isn't super-into trains the way some kids are, but she liked seeing the big engines and train cars, and she loved riding the little train. She was even more excited about the carousel and even rode a horse all by herself. But after about two minute she was DONE and wanted to get off, so she and Daddy spent the remainder of the ride on a bench. Audrey enjoyed her first carousel ride in the safety of the bjorn.

(Almost) unforgivable

I took the girls to the Huntington yesterday for a short stroll through the gardens and down to the koi pond (so Maggie could say hello to the big fish). The girls even had matching hats on...but horrors! I forgot my camera! Luckily my camera-phone was available so the cuteness was not entirely lost to posterity.

Something good has come out of the experience: It has occured to me that I might be able to email images from my phone directly to the blog. Wouldn't that be neat? I will investigate.

Music class

We're off to the girls' music class this morning. Maggie loves it SO MUCH. We listen to the CD every day--usually several times a day--and I have to keep my trigger finger at the ready to switch to Maggie's favorite songs. There's one called "Trot Old Joe" about a horse. She has made up her own motions. She shouts, "Bend your knees, snap your fingers, stand up and say 'Trok Old Joe, Trok Old Joe, you're the hmm-hmm-hmm country oh, WOAH Joe!"

Robert likes to point out that even with the "hmm's" in the middle, she still knows more lyrics to more songs than he does.

Audrey loves the music too. She seems more responsive to music than I remember Maggie being at this age. When a song comes on that she likes, or even better--when Maggie or I sing to her--her face lights up and she wriggles with delight. She has even made a few clapping motions recently.

Self love

Maggie found an old get well card in a drawer, opened it up and "read" what was inside:

"To Maggie...

Happy birthday...

From...

(She pauses)

Maggie!"

Maggie is 2.5

Happy second-and-a-half birthday to Maggie!

I got a BabyCenter update that said my 30-month-old may be able to name a few body parts and even some colors. Um...yeah. Maggie speaks in fluent sentences and has a huge vocabulary. The best is when she appropriates words for her own meaning, like using the word "kill" to mean "annoy." As in "Stop killing me, Mommy."

The update also said she might be able to stand on one foot for a few seconds, but she seems far from this skill. She can't even really jump yet. But her singing and dancing skills are certainly improving thanks to our music class. She constantly asks to hear her favorite songs on the CD, and has made up her own dance moves to one of them.

Her dressing skills continue to improve, and she's getting much more particular about choosing her own clothes. This morning she spilled some milk on her pajamas, so I suggested she go change her clothes. Completely by herself, she removed her PJs and put them in the clothes basket in the closet. She removed her diaper and threw it away in the diaper pail. She got a pull-up from the cabinet and put it on. She picked out jeans, a clean pajama top, and another shirt to layer over it. She came back to the family room fully dressed and ready for the day!

There are often several wardrobe changes throughout the day. She has become enamored of a tiny pair of hot pink shorts in size 6-12 months. She keeps finding them in the corner of her closet and changing into them. Yep, she's wearing them today in her bear chair portrait. What a great snapshot--literally--of Maggie's personality right now.

Maggie gets smarter, funnier and more interesting all the time. I'm feeling more and more like she is not just my child, but a companion--someone I genuinely like being with.

Cold Watch 2006

40°F Partly Cloudy Wind: NW at 4 mph Humidity: 73%

Tue 58° | 36°

High of 58? It's like Alaska here! The girls and I are prepared to layer on all our clothing and burn the furniture, if necessary.

Presidents Day

Robert is off work today. This morning we put out the American flag, got the girls ready early, went out for bagels, then to Target, and finally a quick stop at Trader Joe's. I told Robert how weird it felt to have him tagging along on these normal weekday outings, and he joked that it's "Take your husband to work day."

At Target we bought Maggie the play kitchen I've had my eye on for weeks. I think it's a great value and well constructed (thanks in part to the awesome screwdriver and wood glue stylings of Robert). She is in heaven, as you can imagine, and has already cooked up a pot of "lettuce and french fry soup." Yarg!

Discovery

We took the girls to the Discovery Science Center this morning. That's the Taco Bell Discovery Science Center, to be exact, and the only food they serve is, yep, Taco Bell. Which means we had lunch at a coffee shop down the street instead! But I digress. The girls had fun, although I don't expect we'll be going back for a few years. It is much better suited to kids age 5 and up. It was very crowded and noisy, and most of the exhibits were way too sophisticated for Maggie. There was a live dog show that I thought would be a big hit, but it was too overwhelming for the girls and we left early.

Squish

Maggie's first movie

Maggie had a wonderful time seeing Curious George. It was obvious she felt very special being out alone with Mommy and Daddy (we realized it's the first time the three of us have done something alone since Audrey was born). We got her the kids' snack pack, consisting of a little box of popcorn, a drink (Sprite and lemonade mix) and candy (which I ate for her). In the theater, she sat on Robert's lap and happily dug into her popcorn. When the previews started, she said "Oh!" in wonder a few times. The previews were loud and frenetic, and after a couple of them she said she was scared and wanted to go home. But I talked her through the rest of the previews, and when the film started she was very happy.

The movie was great: slow-paced, sweet, funny and absolutely perfect for young children. We enjoyed it too. It had a few jokes for the grown-ups, and the music was really good and mellow. I liked the animation and thought it was a nice tribute to the original books. Maggie was engrossed the entire time and only asked a few questions. When we were leaving, she asked if we could see it again tomorrow!

Curiouser and curiouser

This afternoon, Robert is leaving work early, my mom is babysitting Audrey, and we're taking Maggie to her first movie: Curious George. In preparation, we have been reading the original book* every day for two weeks, plus we have a little picture book from the film we've been reading too (although it's kind of lame).

Maggie is so excited and keeps talking about it: "Can we go see Curious George mooovie? Can we? My go with Mommy and with Daddy. No Audrey. Audrey TOO LITTLE. And my have a special snack. Popcorn and a special bubbly water drink!"

*It's so nice to finally be able to read her actual story books (with some occasional editing for long boring passages).

Playground

We had my favorite kind of weather today--sunny and cool. I took the girls to the playground this morning and although it was a little chilly, I was comfortable in short sleeves. I had to laugh when I saw a nanny there wearing a ski jacket, scarf and gloves. Gloves! I guess if she was on the East Coast right now she'd just curl up and die.

Audrey went in the baby swing for the first time and liked it. Maggie did some swinging too, but as usual mostly wanted to go on the slides.

Escapism

My new obsession is going to movies. I have seen six in the past few weeks, mostly by myself. I discovered that when my mom comes to babysit for the afternoon, it's just enough time to take my bag of home-popped popcorn (which I sneak in because I am a popcorn snob and only like my own) and go to a theater and see a movie--any movie.

I have seen Nanny McPhee (loved it), Narnia (liked it), Something New (cute), Last Holiday (funny), Annapolis (tolerable) and Firewall (lame). My number-one criterion for selecting a movie is that it is starting just as I approach the theater. You can see how this selection process has led to some questionable choices. My only other criteria are that it not be a horror film or an embarrassingly bad comedy starring Steve Martin.

Is it possible to get addicted to movies? All I can think about is how much I want to go again. My mom is babysitting this afternoon and I have to go to the dentist instead (first time in 2.5 years--bad, bad deborah).

I like the immersion of sitting in a dark theater with nothing to look at but the film. I like not being responsible for anyone but myself. I walk up to the box office and pick a movie with noone's happiness but my own at stake. I don't have to carry anything for anyone, or carry anyone, or talk to anyone, or feed anyone but myself.

Maybe I can sneak away sometime this weekend and fit in another movie while Robert watches the girls. I want to see The New World.

Cool weather

Today's forecast: High of 59 degrees, windy, chance of showers.

It's about time. I've had enough of 80+ degrees in February.

Happy Valentine's Day

Our DSL has been spotty lately, and we've been experiencing longer and longer spells of inactivity. Today I was unable to get online almost all day, hence the lateness of this post. It's been driving me crazy not blogging or checking email!

Accomplishments

I've been meaning to post about some of the new stuff the girls are doing. Audrey is still a fast army-crawler, but has yet to crawl with her tummy up off the ground. Her new trick, however, is to push herself into a sitting up position.

Maggie's newest trick is being able to undress and dress herself with very little help. She's been perfecting this over the past few weeks. In the morning she takes off her "pajams" and put them in the laundry basket in the closet. Then she removes her diaper and throws it away, and gets a new pull-up diaper and puts it on. Then I set out pants and a shirt, and she puts them on alone. Sometimes she gets something on backwards or tries an experiment (like putting on a shirt feet-first) and needs a little help. But it's impressive how much she can do!

Virtual becomes reality

Four years ago, I met four friends online who were all trying to get pregnant. We now have eight children between us, with three more on the way. The others all live in the eastern half of the country, and all of them have met at least one person in the group. Yesterday I finally got my turn, when Sarah came from New York to L.A. on business and came to my house for dinner. It was fun to finally meet one of my "online friends" in person.

Naps again

Just when I think I have things figured out, Audrey thwarts me. Yesterday she napped twice: 8-10 and 1-3. Okay, I'm thinking, maybe she'll start to settle into two longer naps a day--that's fine by me!

And then there's today--10:10 a.m. and so far, no nap. I laid her down twice and both times she wouldn't fall asleep. Now it's time to leave for music class and I don't know what will happen.

Naps

Audrey naps three times a day: 8 am, 11 am, 3 pm (more or less), for an hour each (more or less...usually less).

Maggie naps once a day, from 1-3ish.

Most days, the girls and I leave the house at about 9:30 am and go out for a couple hours. Usually Audrey comes back asleep. Sometimes Maggie does too.

It's the afternoons that are hard. Today I'm supposed to take the girls to Gina's house to play and have dinner. I planned to leave at 3pm when Maggie was up, and have Audrey fall asleep on the way there. But Maggie is taking an extra-long nap and I couldn't keep Audrey up any longer, so I just put her down. We'll be lucky if we can leave the house by 4:30. I've been home all day and to be honest, I'm bored with my own company and don't even want the time to myself. Maybe I should have woken Maggie.

These are the things that occupy my mind. See? This is why I need to start freelancing again.

Morning at home

Maggie set up her Lego box as a tea table, from which to eat her waffle and milk. The Lego box also serves double duty as a stove on occasion. She is really into pretend cooking and serving food right now. We may splurge and get her the new wood kitchen they have at Target.


Audrey loves to sit up and play with toys, especially this soft box full of interesting things. This was one of Margaret's favorite at the same age. It's nice to see Audrey getting use out of Maggie's toys!

Compare the Hair

It's time for the 7-month-old Compare The Hair! Audrey has slightly more hair than Maggie did at the same age, and it's lighter colored too.

Maggie at 7 months (how cute is she!!):

Audrey at 7 months (love that fuzzy blonde head!!):

Rice Krispie time

My words of Saturday--looking forward to the time Audrey can eat finger foods--turned out to be prophetic. I've sprinkled Rice Krispies in front of her a few times before, but yesterday she "got it" for the first time and started really eating them. It was very funny to watch. First the glee when I poured them on the tray (little feet kicking like mad--her usual signal for happiness and excitement). Then she used her hand to rake the Krispies toward herself and managed to get a few in her palm, which she then scraped into her mouth. After that, her hand was nice and damp which facilitated the pick-up process greatly. She must have eaten at least a quarter-cup of Krispies, her mouth working in a proper chewing motion. We were impressed. I may even try Cheerios soon.

Santa Monica

We took the girls on a brief outing to the Santa Monica pier this morning, where it was cool and foggy. Good thing I brought warm sweaters for the girls! We walked down the pier so Margaret could admire the ocean and watch, fascinated, as people caught fish off the end of the pier. She and I went for a spin on the carousel, and she was uncharacteristically brave and rode on a horse! On the carousel at the mall, we have always ridden on the bench or teacup, so this is progress.

We had lunch at Bubba Gumps, which I assumed would be too fishy and touristy, but we were surprised by a great lunch and even greater dessert. And by great I mean LARGE. I ordered a "mud pie" and was served an enormous wedge of ice cream bigger than Audrey's head. Everyone in our section of the restaurant stared and laughed. Unashamed of my deep and abiding love for dessert, I tucked in and put away as much as I could before Robert had to roll me out of the booth and back to the car. Audrey quite enjoyed watching lunch from the highchair, and made several daring grabs at our plates and silverware. I am looking forward to the day she can eat finger foods and join in on the fun.

Sleeping beauties

One sleeping baby = one happy mom

Two sleeping babies = pure bliss

Laurel & the kids

My friend Laurel has been here visiting, hence my lack of posting. Every spare moment has been spent chatting and admiring the girls and being silly! On our first day we managed a shopping trip sans kids and a Taco Bell dinner run (actually we made Robert do the running). Yesterday we did a mall trip WITH kids that included a Valentine portrait and...friends of Laurel will be impressed...Laurel pushed a stroller for the first time! Ooooh. Today we hit the zoo where we admired the flamingos and things and posed for more cute photos.