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.