independence

Cael dances on stage with Tim Noah and Cindy Soup while Isabel does her Stevie Wonder impression. I am always so proud of my son for being the one to jump up and join in rather than remain in his seat. I have never been keen on following directions either. But I was wondering today as the other kids in the audience were whisked away from the stage by their worried mothers if the difference really is just that Cael’s mother has set his boundaries just a little further off than normal. I do tell him ‘no’ every once in a while. Really I do! I’m sorry, Mr. Noah, if you have to step over my son to get to your guitar. But did you see how cute he is?

back from vacation and right into Christmas

Cael is helping to decorate the tree. We take out each ornament, “Whassiss?” (What’s this?) He shows it to his sister or the cat and we find a place for it on the tree.

I am watching now as a highly motivated Isabel inches forward towards a binkie. She is not quite crawling yet, but it is as if she can will herself places.

And now Cael is jumping up and down, pointing at a higher level ornament, “Bluue birr bluuue birrr, beek, beeek!” (blue bird, blue bird, beak beak).

the busiest bee

After much anticipation, Dad and Ella are finally here for a visit. Ella (my sister, 10) is Cael’s new hero, and watching him follow her around and want to play with everything she touches is a quick trip back through time to when Tim was Cael’s age and I was Ella’s. There were some wonderful moments of play followed by the more memorable long stretches of torture. Lots of “mine mine mine’s” from both parties. I distinctly remember all the grown-ups looking on at our mutual plight in amusement, sipping their wine, knowing looks, and the bursts of laughter, maybe some crumbs of pity thrown out or a stern word. Mostly laughter. You would think, with these memories, that I would have more empathy. But no, I am just as bad as my parents were (and still are, who do you think I am laughing with?), poor Ella.

necessity is the mother of...

Cael is trying to get me to come into the TV room. I assume he wants me to watch ‘Cars’ with him. “I’m making dinner right now, Cael,” I tell him, “but you go ahead.” After long babbling pleas of protest he wanders off. A few minutes later I notice that the sounds of ‘Cars’ have been replaced by the theme song to ‘Chicken Little’ and I run in to see what had happened. Cael had removed the disk from the player, picked out a new movie to watch, managed to get it in, and even more amazingly, figured out how to get the DVD to play.

halloween

Cael screams when we stuff him into his costume. He and his dad go to a costume party, but without Judd on the actual day I can’t bring myself to repeat the tragedy. Instead I hand out candy at a friend’s house while Cael plays happily with Lightning McQueen (also know as ‘Re’ and “Fass’, or ‘red’ and ‘fast’) and Doc Hudson (or ‘Bluue’).

Cael is a Pokemon character and Judd his a Pokemon master. I think it is every parent’s fantasy to be the master of their children. But what else is Halloween for but to dress up in ways that are a complete and utter fiction!

the floor swimmer

Cael and I crawl around the kitchen floor to demonstrate to Isabel the finer points of this particular form of travel. She pushes up as high as she can, inching backward and around in a circle until she backs herself into a corner. They seem to agree that this is the best form of entertainment so far today.

po’[;/cfdd - Cael’s first contribution

The past few days: Isabel is eating baby food with much enthusiasm (Cael is trying to feed her too- tonight peas were ‘gently’ shoved into her mouth); Cael picked out a pumpkin for himself and his sister at the pumpkin patch; Isabel has 2 teeth; Cael is afraid of his Halloween costume; Judd made yummy pizza, yummy scones, yummy soup, and more yummy soup; I am working on a quilt for Cael; Mom is still in Italy; I found a present for Ella that she will love and my dad will hate!

and then what happened

For the two weeks Judd is at work, I take mental notes of the changes in our children and the routines we have had to tweak in order to keep up with them. “He can get out through the basement,” I will warn him, “so we have to make sure to keep the baby gates closed.” Or, “He can climb onto the table now so we have to keep the salt and pepper on the counter.” And then, “The cutting board is no longer a safe place to keep knives, or for that matter neither is the counter because he can pull a chair over and climb up.” Every new skill comes with a new adjustment, and Judd has to relearn every time he comes home. This time it is, “Don’t rely on the baby gates anymore. He just jumps up and down on the lever and shakes the gate until it opens.” Nice.

bad monkey

Cael wants to pee in the potty again. I am thrilled and he is proud. He runs around the house naked for a little bit- which should be fine because he just went, right? A few minutes later I find him in position, knees slightly bent, carefully aiming for... the dog bowl.

When can we come for a visit, Bev?

friends

Grace comes to visit and Cael is so happy to see her that he runs up to her and applies diaper rash cream to her butt.

easy out

Cael pitches and I hit. His aim is getting better, but he aims for my face, so the bat is up in self defense. In between hits, Cael runs over to me and gives me a big hug, sometimes even a kiss. Then he gets back in position and hugs the ball. Tonight he is sleeping with both.

Today he practiced the words ‘bad kitty’ over and over.

Isabel rocks the excer-saucer

Isabel is performing her ‘Salutation to the Sun’ pose, arms up up up, head back, followed by the ‘Old Macdonald Sway’ with a drool drool here and a coo coo there, here a drool there a coo, everywhere a drool coo... Now it is time for her 5 minute poo.

away again

Although I am always sad to see Judd leave and I miss having him here to share in all the quirky moments of parenthood, I do appreciate having my son back. Cael is all about Dad from the moment Judd walks in the door. It is great to get a break from chasing a toddler and spend some time with Isabel while the boys go play, but I start to miss my bond with Cael. He snuggles in my lap to read, he tells me long-winded stories about ducks and squirrels (from what I can decipher), he clings to me when he is nervous, tired or scared, he whaps my butt with a hammer when he wants my attention, he chases me with the spray bottle and he helps me out with his sister. And I love to lie in bed with him at night and talk about what we did that day...

the language of Cael

Cael spits a ‘no’ out in a short defiant burst of sound. But his ‘yes’ has developed into this lovely long ‘yaaaaa’.

juxtapositions

Cael's 1st and 2nd birthdays

let them eat cake

chasing squirrels with a stick

For the past few days Judd and I have been wrapped up in planning, preparing, executing and recovering from Cael’s birthday party. We now have a two year old! Pictures are coming soon to an email near you.

next stop- trees and flagpoles

I don’t know how he did it- but when I went to check on Cael after I put him to bed (in the big bed), he was in his crib. He must have climbed in somehow. My first thought was that someone else must have helped him, but upon further inventory of the household occupants I realized that this must not be the case.

reading in bed

I had thought Cael was sneaking into our bed to sleep after I put him down because of a need for parental comfort. “How sweet,” I sigh, as my heart melts a little. Instead, I just now deciphered, he is there for the light. He can turn our lamps on easier than his own and he needs light to read Curious George. I find him passed out, surrounded by books, with both bedside lamps on, his own room illuminated by an inadequate nightlight.

more siblings

By brother, Tim, comes to visit for a couple days. I don’t think I have been around him for this long since a family vacation over 6 years ago. It is so lovely to just hang out with him. He was recuperating from his trip to Burning Man, starting a 5 day fast and finishing Harry Potter. I helped out by giving away the part with the aliens and the time travel, and cooking up some bacon- mmmm, smells gooooood!

escape artist

Cael follows the kitty down the basement stairs and out the dog door. I notice the house is empty of toddler after a prolonged suspicious silence. Childhood is filled with too many ‘almosts’ for my taste. Although, they do make good anecdotes.

Scary...

touch-a-truck, crash-on-couch

After a busy nap-less day following Chloe around, climbing into trucks, testing out horns, and rearranging the barn, Cael crashes.

wherefore art thou, sanity

Cael picks out a book of Shakespeare sonnets to read. I limp my way through one and he requests another. Maybe he understands this stuff better than I do.

the return of the grandparents

After three full weeks deprived of all grandparental attentions, we are overjoyed to have them home again. It is so much fun to see the relationships develop between each of our children and our parents.

Den is drawn to Isabel (moth to flame, fish to water), rushing over to hold her, waiting impatiently for Louise to hand her over. Isabel smiles up at him and coos while he rubs her feet.




Cael grabs Louise’s hand, dragging her off to whatever adventure the two of them dream up. Any time our family gathers we lose Louise to Babyland.




And my mom has bonded with my son over horse poop. He runs around the pasture pointing to each pile of manure for her to scoop up. She has finally found a child as enthralled with barn chores as she is. She just had to wait through a generation.



So welcome home, Grandparents. Your presence in our lives is much enjoyed and appreciated.

get 'em while they're young

Cael and Judd are hard at work teaching Isabel the wonders of television.

morning moment

Cael runs around the house as I do dishes this morning. “Baby,” he shouts, and heads for the stairs taking them one at a time- thump, pause, thump, pause, thumppausethumppausethump. After a suspicious period of silence Judd checks up on him. He finds Cael snuggled next to his sister, head on the pillow, watching her sleep.

23 months going on 6 months

Cael has been protective of his sister. He does not like other people to hold her and will quite adamantly tell them to give her back to his mom, grabbing her foot and patting my chest to illustrate his point. But it’s a different story now that we are bringing out toys for her that he wants to use. He squeezes himself into the bouncy chair and jumps around gleefully with his bum just grazing the floor. We figured out through trial and error (mostly error) that if we offer him a chance to go and then ask if it is okay for Isabel to take a turn, he is much more receptive.

up for air

I have just finished the last book in the Harry Potter series, and I, like my husband, found myself completely immersed in his magical world. I tried to drag it out as long as I could, knowing that when this was finished there would be nothing left to look forward to. But as the tension mounted I could no longer keep Harry at bay. With Isabel drooling on my lap and Cael driving trucks up my arm I read on, trying to ignore my husband shouting from the kitchen, “Have you got to the part when they travel back in time yet?” and “Has Hagrid called the aliens down to help fight yet?”

So now what?

37?

I have been sitting here, staring at the screen with the words ‘the daily hogan 37’ staring back like some kind of challenge. This is my husband’s favorite number, you see, so I can’t let it go by without some sort of tribute to him. When Judd and I first met I was inspired to write more poetry, so I thought I should share a poem from then, but reading back through them I am struck by how cheesy I sound! And now when I sit down to write a poem I can’t think beyond a poopy diaper and little arms encircling my neck. I guess the cheese never really goes away. But since I have the books open and I am in the sharing mood, I will pass along a poem I wrote around that time.


October, 2002

sometimes I imagine my
life as a whole visited
through fragmented memories
stirred to tears by
images collected and
indexed photo albums
stuck to shelves covered
with dust-- and I in a
determined fit of “I
need to organize this
house before I go crazy”
find myself cross legged
in front of the open
closet door pawing through
pages labeled “first steps”
and “San Diego 2004”
group shots family
vacations significant events
school pictures buck
teeth bad perms goofy
grins you caught sleeping
with your mouth open
halloween costumes
animals in hats
all bringing to my
lap the blink of
a moment past
so much behind
each bright color
that day we spent
hours chasing
and the heat you
would not believe
the mosquitoes the
heavy smells hanging
in the air like
sleep-- how proud we
were how we
laughed how she
whined for hours
the look in his eye
as he gently carried
you up the stairs
the look mirrored in
my father’s eyes as
we swung in our
matching plaid flannel
pajamas my fingers
clutching his-- somehow
the same fingers
although the cells have
since replaced themselves
a thousand times over--
that now linger absently
caressing the outline
of my father’s face
young and hopeful sparkling
blue eyes shine through
black and white
and now you--
sending me more
I diligently add to a
new album I’ve
put together just
for her- this new
breath I don’t see
often enough but
when I do I tease
you for your worrying,
spoil your carefully
researched discipline
and blame the onions.

fourth anniversary

Oh, it is such a beautiful day. The sun is shining and there is a warm breeze, and we get to reminisce about our wedding and celebrate our marriage all day. It really seems like forever ago. Haven’t we always been married with children? Who are those people in the photographs (smiling, happy, much more attractive)? And where are Cael and Isabel?

It is the year of the appliance, formerly fruits and flowers. We picked an apple, smelled some flowers, and talked my mother out of buying us a microwave.

summer lament

I have to admit that I feel like I have been waiting all summer for summer to start. Not to say that there haven’t been some hot lazy days. But the fact remains; it is almost the end of August and the grass is still green. I caught myself thinking, as I turned the heat on and watched the rain pour down, “ooo, it is almost fall!” Although I have a tendency to get excited at the prospect of any new season, this time the excitement is bittersweet. Sure, we had a couple barbeques and we swam in the river a handful of times. Yes, we did indeed go camping and take a trip to the lake. But we haven’t really had long stretches of hot summer days. We haven’t felt that level of desperation as we lie in bed naked with the windows open and the fans blasting, trying not to touch a single body part to any other body part. The words ‘languid’ and ‘listless’, ‘swelter’ and ‘sultry’ have not had their proper chance to trickle off the tips of our tongues. Autumn should come as a longed for reprieve, not as the next season on my calendar. But alas, the leaves have started to turn. We are headed into a new season regardless of whether we feel satisfied with the last. I still hold out hope for a late arrival of summer though. September could be the new August. Couldn’t it?

rainy day

The three of us stay in our pajamas all day long. We watch movies, dance to music and build forts out of sheets and furniture.

blues

Cael’s favorite color is blue. He brings me a blue car, “boo,” hordes the blue binkies, separates out all the blue legos, points proudly to his blue pants, “boo.” He giggles and claps his hands when he finds a blue ball, a blue truck, a blue book, a blue pen. He gathers up an armful of blue booty to bring to bed, making a little hidden pile under the covers. In the morning he tracks down every last item from under the bed, in the bed, and across the room, to haul back downstairs again.

captain of his own butt… I mean boat…

it's code

Although he has yet to say the words, Cael now signs ‘I love you’. The real sign (a cross between ‘the devil’ and ‘hang loose’) we thought might be too hard so we made up an easier sign. I touch the tip of my nose with my finger- or reach out to touch his, and he reciprocates. It is pretty darned sweet.

And speaking of speaking... His first two words together; ride bike (sounding like ‘ide ‘ike).

"But Cael, we can't fit three DVDs in the machine at the same time..."

Cael gets up without waking me. I come downstairs to find him trying to get the DVD player to operate or rearranging books in the hallway. I would be happy to get a chance to sleep in a little, but it is a little disorienting to find my son downstairs without me. And Cael is my alarm clock. He gets up between 7 and 7:20 every day- something I have come to rely on. Without him, Isabel and I would sleep until noon. Well, at least 8!

Oo Oo Ooo oOO oOOo Ah AH AHHH

Today we shop for “Curious George” books. Cael makes monkey noises and arm gestures. After just a few short weeks of requests for the impish primate, I am beginning to think that Bandaid may not have been joking when he claimed to be sick of reading these books over and over and over again. And all this time I thought he really liked Curious George, beets and cats.

the hogans unplugged

Cael and I rock out to Rusted Root while Isabel sucks her fingers and practices rolling over. Cael enthusiastically pats his chest and belly with peanut butter and jelly. Isabel cries. Cael- concerned- points at her and makes the sign for ‘crying’. I pick up my daughter and we dance cheek to cheek watching Cael crouch down, jump up, run in circles, and do something with his chin that may be the prelude to the white man’s overbite. Isabel lets out a giggle. I’ve been practicing all my life for dancing goofily and singing the wrong words at the top of my lungs to an appreciative audience.

juxtapositions

Cael and Paige summer '06 and '07.

things you can count on

Isabel has yet to refuse: a boob; a smile; attention from her brother.

Cael is pretty much always up for: a peanutbutter&jellysandwich; a hotdog; a new car; a trip to the barn.

Jen very rarely turns down: an alcoholic beverage; a caffeinated beverage; a visit from a friend; a game of cards.

Judd can hardly resist: a movie; a nap; a game of cards; a post-game discussion regarding said game of cards; a kiss from his wife; a hug from his son; a smile from his daughter.

future member of 'Lambda Lambda Lambda'

Cael sorts through the recycling, picking out all the beer bottles and lining them up on the floor. I know this is their ‘sorting and stacking’ stage, but I wonder if his choice is an indication of things to come.

bragging rights

I am pretty dang proud of this little outfit! Of course Isabel poops all over it the first chance she gets, but what did I expect? I have been knitting instead of reading lately. My dad keeps asking if I have finished the book he recommended. This is my answer;

the last supper

This is the last day with a husband. As usual, by the time he gets ready to leave I have forgotten what I ever did without him. It is nice though- that the time doesn’t fly by. I feel like we really are able to appreciate him when he is here.

Cael’s baby is becoming very useful. I can use her as a proxy for talking about things with Cael. If he is inconsolable about something I can say, “Cael is your baby sad too? Can you give her a hug to make her feel better? Does she feel better now, Cael?” Taking the attention off his problem and onto helping his baby brings him down from his tantrum like a charm! If he doesn’t want to go eat; “Cael, I think your baby is hungry. Let’s go feed her!” And so on… I am sure I could have found this out eons ago in a baby book, but who reads? No one in this house!

Happy Birthday Dad!

the third hogan baby

After stealing baby dolls from every friend we meet, Cael finally has one of his own. He sits with her in his lap, feeds her a bottle, cuddles with her, hugs her and kisses her, and is absolutely distraught if we can’t find her. In the two days since the baby arrived, we have turned the house over twice looking for her while Cael cries, “Baby, Baby!” Don’t these things come with microchip implants and a GPS location system?

ready to travel

After numerous issues with getting passport photos for the kids, Judd decides this is something we should be able to do on our own.

First attempt (notice the diaper background)…

the language of Cael

Cael has made up a sign for “follow me”. He turns to go, reaching around to pat his butt like you would for a dog.

He also has a ‘sneak’. When he wants to go somewhere without us noticing, he walks sideways very slowly, crouched down a little and dragging his foot.

father and daughter, mother and son

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones

Cael runs ahead of me through the crowds, inspiring shocked faces to search frantically for a desperate parent. Then big smiles when they spot me walking a few paces behind, a look of shared appreciation for the momentary magic of a happy toddler.

spellbound

I have lost my husband to Harry Potter. He picked up the 7th book a couple days ago, and has been completely engrossed ever since. You can tell that he is just tolerating the demands of us muggles until he can get back to the world of magic and wizards. I laugh, but I know as soon as he leaves, I will be the same way. The kids will run around with dirty diapers, starved for food and attention, while I say, “I am almost done with this chapter!”

lullabies

I think I have a song for just about every occasion. There is the teeth-brushing song, the bath-time song, the diaper-changing song. Pick up toys, eat your peas, don’t pull the cat’s tail, let’s clean your face, pooping in the potty, the baby’s sleeping; most activities do not escape my musical-theater-like ability to turn them into song. Isabel is smitten, and Cael is sometimes tickled. But when he wants me to stop, he puts his hand to my mouth with an emphatic “NO!” and I stop until he removes his hand. I get to have my fun too, Cael!

oh.

Judd and I watched the entire movie, “Babel”, before we realized that we could have been watching with subtitles.

another day, another charmer

Isabel is responding with giggles and smiles to me singing and daddy laughing. Listen hard enough and you can hear our hearts melt.

Cael shows his father how to put on his shoes (no- not on your hands, Daddy!). He shoves them onto Dad’s feet, and then picking up the laces he twirls them around in his hands. When they don’t tie into a bow like they should, he tries again. “Uh oh, uh oh!”

Dinner with all available grandparents last night; we are a fortunate family to have such lovely company and yummy food.

highchair dictator

As Cael loads up the back of his little jeep with peas and drives it around the tray- I laugh and wonder, “What exactly is wrong with letting them play with their food?” When he giggles maniacally, picking up his plate and turning it upside down, smearing remnants of food around and around, when he shoves handfuls of bread in his mouth and shakes his head back and forth, then I think “That’s why!”

red eyes, pink skin, the sun can really do you in

Water slides today- we all had a blast. We look a little dazed and bruised after a day of hurtling our bodies down slides. Cael had a smile that took over his whole face, lasting until he fell asleep in the car. We were taking bets on how many seconds it would take for him to fall asleep once we left. No one even came close- he fell asleep before the door was closed!

home again, home again, jiggity jig

Cael- Beside himself with excitement, his Father is home. Peals of giggles and instant tears.

Isabel- Big changes through the lens of a two week separation. Wiggles and smiles, bursts of poo.

Judd- Relief, work is over. Contentment, home again. Delight, three cheerful faces and kisses galore.

Me- Does life get better than a beautiful day (sun shining, freshly mowed grass) and a happy family?

the squirrel

Cael likes to hide things. When I clean the house (something I tend to do on the day before my husband returns- not that he really cares, but it makes me happy), I find all sorts of stashed goodies. Binkies are carefully hidden- under the stove, in a toy box, in a shoe, on a shelf. I even find a couple toys inside the comforter on our bed. Not to mention the trucks he regularly gets stuck up his pant leg…

potty time

Cael gets the biggest kick out of going to the potty. He copies everything I do, insisting I go “pee” at the same time. We sit across the bathroom from each other, handing toilet paper back and forth. He gets on, gets off and looks, closes the lid, opens it and gets back on again. Repeat.

This pic is from his first attempt at a real toilet. He can reach his own toilet paper!

(And if you had to change his poopy diapers, you would be as excited as I am!)

izzy and kitty

There are entire chapters in baby books on how to prepare your pets for a new baby- the advice ranging from ignoring your pet so they start getting used to not being the center of attention, to bringing a doll into the house before the baby is born. Each of the creatures in our household has had her own reaction to the new member of the family:

Sasha views any human under 4’ tall as a gold mine for food so the jealousy and resentment I expected from her is nonexistent. She is surprisingly patient and tolerant.

Dory stares at a moving foot- in the back of her mind she knows she shouldn’t eat this, but she’s not really sure why not. And sometimes she forgets.

Ricky sees this soft lumpy thing as something that will help her get one step closer to mom.

Sabine will take attention however she can get it- even if it is a little hand pulling at her face and whiskers.

are we there yet?

With Judd's schedule the way it is, I lead a double life. In one life I have two weeks of vacation time with my husband. We enjoy time with our family and friends, or we run off to the zoo or the park with our own growing family. We have no obligations to an office or a schedule so we don't feel the looming weight of an impending Monday. By the time his two weeks come to an end, we are truly amazed by how much we have done and how satisfied we are by the time we had together. Then two weeks of Juddlessness. There are times I feel overwhelmed by being alone with two children, but I get into a rhythm of my own. I stay up way too late watching a movie, playing on the internet, knitting, writing to you all. I get to hang out with my mom, I get visits from Den and Louise, I see my friends, we go on playdates... And by the time Judd steps off the plane I am really ready to see him. Right now I am really ready to see him. Really.

when the boys are away, the girls will play

Slumber party at Kerry's this weekend. Cael is sleeping in a 'big boy' bed for the first time. We lay in bed together reading Curious George books and talking about the day. He fell out of bed the first night, but seems to have a handle on it now (and his mom learned to line the bed with pillows). He cries out and I come to comfort him, climbing into his bed and rubbing his back. But he says "No!" and "Go!" accompanied by the hand gestures. He wants to handle it himself. I want to cry with pride and that unique sadness parenting brings; we applaud their newfound independence while we mourn the loss of their dependence. And it is only just beginning...

Kerry and I admire our sleeping children together. And then we run downstairs (within earshot!) to stay up way to late eating cookies. We enjoy an uninterrupted conversation and a few moments of NOT wiping faces, changing diapers, and fixing snacks.

a day without a sun and a day without a son

Cael-less today. Grandparents to the rescue. Every once in a while I would realize that I was half listening for him to wake up from his nap. I hear tell that he missed me though! It is good to be missed. A son like the sun- I love it when it is here, but sometimes it is nice to have a quiet rainy day without much adventure.

camera shy

The kids sleep in like a couple of surly teenagers. But they wake up in much better moods.

Cael wants to see the pictures I have taken of him and his sister. He laughs and points back and forth to the Isabel on the camera and the Isabel on the chair. He wants me to do it again, so he climbs back up to kiss her- jumping down again to see the results.

more siblings

Visit from my brother today. It really is wonderful to be around him when we get a chance (when he gets a chance). Although we are in completely different places in our lives- “I’m thinking of going to Paris to learn tango,” and “Well, I’m thinking about when I should get a toddler bed for Cael!”- we both truly embrace life. It is lovely to share in each other’s zaniness and zeal, wit and wisdom. (And both my children are enamored by his charming girlfriend!)

Cael- asleep in his car seat… I take the cracker from his hand before it falls. A minute later I glance back; he removes his binkie with one hand and brings the other to his mouth to take a bite of the missing cracker. Still sleeping.

the siblings

Cael asks to hold his sister today… He climbs into my lap and we pick her up together, settling her into his lap. They are both so thrilled; she looking up at him in worship and delight, he taking out his binkie to kiss her on the lips, hug her and giggle. I am constantly amazed at their capacity for love and affection. I was prepared for jealousy, rivalry and competition for attention. But I was not expecting absolute fascination, adoration and protectiveness. I am sure there will be a bit of everything in their relationship throughout their lives, but watching it unfold is truly wonderful. And Isabel is only three months old!

it's all fun and games until someone steps in the hummus.

The local supermarket has recently undergone a huge remodel and the atmosphere there has totally changed. The employees must have had to go through some sort of ‘friendliness training’ too- they are so perky and helpful. But I think they are trying to turn your shopping experience into an event (for me it actually is). As we bee-bopped from one tasty sample to another (highchair on wheels, Cael frantically signing "moremoremore") we came across an author signing his book in the ‘book department’. He looked so out of place at his folding table in his folding chair, surrounded by copies of his work- between the canned tomatoes and the bulk jelly beans. I bet he was replaying in his head the conversation with his agent; “Top Foods in Sno-what? Are you sure?”

crouching toddler, sleeping angel

Cael signs “poo” today, squatting naked in the sand. Then the “uh-oh” followed by the sign for “dirty”.

My darling daughter falls asleep in my arms, her ‘hearts and minds’ campaign victorious. She smiles, the binkie falls, she searches for the binkie eyebrows raised, one suck, two… she smiles again.