Omphaloskepsis

cartoon baby

2012-01-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

Liesl continues to grow and change with extraordinary rapidity. She is clearly relishing her newfound ability to let us know exactly what she does and doesn't want with regard to food, activities, sleep, and clothing. She can shake her head no with gusto, say mama and more, point to her mouth for hungry and her chest for help, and point out objects of interest with her imperious little finger. She gets a lot of mileage out of those few skills. When crossed, she throws herself to the ground, screams and cries, and kicks her legs and pounds her arms on the floor. She's like a cartoon character throwing a tantrum.

I had a meeting with her daycare teacher yesterday just to check in and talk about how Liesl is doing. In general, she's just really happy. She loves other children and adults and will regularly make the rounds hugging all of the teachers. She sleeps well. She eats lots of fruits, veggies, rice, and pasta, but doesn't like most meat. Kelly described her as the easiest and calmest of babies, calling her "my little zen baby". Zen! Calm! I think it's fair to say she neither inherited nor learned that from me. But Kelly said that for the most part nothing really frightens, upsets, or bothers her. (obviously she's not nearly as zen at home, but that's to be expected).

She continues to astonish us with her physical confidence and willingness to try any maneuver and climb any obstacle. She saw Steve doing pushups and immediately got down on the floor and tried to copy him. She has tried to stand on her head, like Sebastian. She jumps. She can stand on one leg and do leg lifts. Her latest trick involves pushing the high chair over to the window and then climbing first up onto the seat and then from there up onto the window sill. It's so fun, and worrisome, to watch her.

dinner conversation (or, the makings of a non-hero

2012-01-25T17:52:00.002-05:00

We are looking at one of Sebastian's new puzzles, one with a picture of a knight on a horse, fighting a dragon that has fire coming out of its mouth. Behind the knight are two other boys; they're sort of hiding behind a hill (cowering is the word that comes to mind). We talk a bit about the knight fighting the dragon, and then:

Seb: "What are those other boys doing?"
Me: "Well, it looks like they're hiding from the dragon."
Seb: "Why?"
Me: "Well, the boy on the knight is brave, and he is fighting the dragon. But it's hard to be brave, and sometimes you're brave and fight the dragon and win and you're the hero, and other times you're brave and fight the dragon and you get eaten up. So that's not great."
Seb: "But you don't know if you're going to be the hero or get eaten up."
Me: "That's right."
Seb: "I don't think I would want to be brave. Maybe I'd just run away and hide."
Me: "Me too."

Leapin Lizards

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

Winter is the best time for an indoor play space. LL in Port Chester is our favorite. This was Liesl's first time there as a walking toddler and she loved the tunnels and slides and ball pits. Especially the ball pits, where she kept throwing herself backward with abandon and glee. I was a little worried for her because of all the really big boys (8 year olds?) running around, but she held her own and was not afraid. I had to help her through various tunnels and up and down rope slides and mats, and Seb did a wonderful job of showing her around and protecting her.

Wheeee

2012-01-23T07:46:00.001-05:00

Avery/Raab/Lees in San Diego

2012-01-22T21:10:00.000-05:00

We went to San Diego for the New Year, meeting up with Carl and Kim, Danica and Roxana, as well as my mom and dad. We flew out a few days early to let the kids get over their jet lag before the rest of the crew arrived. For the first few days we stayed in downtown San Diego, right near the baseball field and Gaslamp district. We walked around the city, swam in the hotel pool, rode the lightrail train (just a joyride, for Seb's sake), visited the auto show (great timing!), and took turns trying to catch up on sleep. It was unseasonably warm, apparently even for San Diego, which was just lovely.

Once everyone arrived, we rented a big house in Del Mar and all stayed there together. The house was pretty good, with plenty of space for everyone and an enormous back yard with trampoline. We did a couple of day trips to the zoo, the Birch Aquarium, and to Torrey Pines Preserve, but also spent a lot of time just hanging around the house and playing on the local beach.

Sebastian and Danica continued their magical relationship, immediately latching onto one another and becoming inseparable for the week. They wanted to do everything together - games, meals, sleep, car rides. It was by far the easiest week we've ever had with Sebastian; he was on his best behavior, he was daily exhausted by running around outside, and he was entertained by someone other than us all the time.

Liesl struggled a bit with sleep and health, as did Roxy, but they were mostly cheery and interested in each other and in playing with everyone. Liesl loved the beach and the ocean, plopping herself down in the waves and remaining unconcerned and unafraid even after toppling into it.

snow bunnies

2012-01-21T21:01:00.003-05:00

Liesl was confused by the snow, and then she was just cold and cried. We took her out a couple of times and she was not a fan. No surprise there - I remember Seb having the same reaction.

Sebastian, on the other hand, loved the snow. He wanted to go out at 7 am in the cold darkness, as soon as he saw it. We spent multiple hours outside today, shoveling snow off the car, walking around town, stomping in piles, and going for the rides in the sled. Even though we discovered just this morning (oops) that his boots were too small (bad mommy), he never once complained of being cold or having cold feet. It was glorious.

pickup sticks and puzzles

2012-01-20T21:09:00.000-05:00

Our boy has been very interested in playing games and doing puzzles lately. Maybe it's just the winter, maybe it's a developmental thing, maybe he's been copying a friend at daycare, but he's been very excited about puzzles in particular. And he's clearly gotten a lot better since the last time he was really into puzzles, finding the 48 piece puzzles easy, and even managing to do the few 60 and 100-piece ones on his own. We bought a couple of new ones, thinking that it would take him at least a few times to get comfortable, but instead he did it immediately with barely any help. So now we're back on the market, looking for some 200-piece ones.

The other game we've been playing is pickup sticks, a spectacularly old-fashioned game. We have the sticks that the Avery family played all through my childhood, courtesy of Popo and Bompy. We've been playing it a lot, and although we don't usually manage to pick up all the sticks before losing interest, it's been fun.

the end

2012-01-19T21:44:00.001-05:00

After more than 14 months, I have stopped nursing Liesl. It was a good run, and a slow winding down, but we are through. I'm really happy and proud to have made it for such a long time. Fortunately, she doesn't appear to miss it and although I expected to be a bit sad and wistful at the end, as it turns out I am not. I am extremely happy to once again be free to drink regular coffee and more than the occasional single glass of wine! I stopped by the wine store last night to buy some celebratory bottles, in particular, Clear Creek's Cassis liqueur, an addictive drink. Skal!

Christmas...

2012-01-15T14:32:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted anything. It's been such a busy time, but still! Sigh. In December, any free moment I had was taken up with shopping for gifts and arranging our trip to San Diego, or baking cookies, or wrapping presents. But it was a glorious holiday month, and a wonderful family reunion in San Diego, and we have tons of photos to document it all. I'll try to post them in batches, so I at least have some record.

We had the Happy Harbor Christmas party first, where Santa came on the fire engine and distributed presents to all the children. Sebastian knew the drill and was super excited. Liesl looked very suspiciously at this strange man, but once she got her present and opened it up, she looked at him with fresh interest. (New toys! I like him!) The pre-K children all sang a couple of songs for us - Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, Jingle Bells, We wish you a merry Christmas, and This Land is your land (complete with props). It was great to watch and listen to Sebastian participate.

We let the children open two presents on Christmas Eve - new pajamas! With matching red and white stripes. And a new book, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Grandpa Avery skype-called from California and read the book to all the grandchildren.

We left out homemade gingerbread cookies for Santa, and he filled our stockings. Christmas morning was the usual jumble of paper and presents - new cars, books, dolls, socks, sweaters, and various other toys. We ate the fig bread I had made, as always - it was particularly figgy this year. It was Liesl's first time and she loved it.

After presents and breakfast, we drove out to Long Island to celebrate with the Raabs. Liesl and Hana wore matching red dresses, which was ridiculously cute. Sebastian and Rio had a great time playing together - the age difference matters less as they get older - which was terrific. More presents followed, and lots of delicious food, and good times with all.

cutie pie

2011-12-11T20:59:00.000-05:00

After I pick up the children and come home, they both head to the stairs and get great pleasure out of climbing the stairs together. Liesl loves it, and Sebastian urges her on. He climbs on his hands and knees too, in the true spirit of solidarity. She has also become very attached to her winter jacket and will drag it around like a blankie.

Strolling around town on a beautiful Sunday morning.

On Saturday we visited a new spice shop that just opened in Dobbs Ferry. Liesl tasted chocolate for the first time, in the form of hot chocolate. She fell in love. I think she was trying to eat the cup, to get every last lick of chocolate. Our girl has a sweet tooth.

holiday preparations!

2011-12-11T20:55:00.000-05:00

We got a very short Christmas tree this year, and put it high up on a table. We were worried about Liesl (the wrecker) trying to climb the tree to get the decorations, and pulling it over on herself, so we decided to just put it out of her reach. Sebastian loved helping to decorate the tree and did a great job.

On Sunday we made gingerbread cookies together - candy canes, gingerbread people, and trees - they were super yummy. (Thanks for the recipe, Popo!)

Liesl loved the cookies. Yum yum yum. Look at that grin.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas....

Cuddling with Pip

2011-11-28T10:00:00.000-05:00

The other day, Liesl picked up Pip, Sebastian's hipster boy doll, and gave him a big hug. She then cuddled him up tight and carried him around with her. It's more love than Pip has gotten from Seb in the last four years. :) Of course, she also hugs Tonka trucks and seems similarly attached to them, as in the second photo above. Who teaches little girls these things? How can people argue against the importance of nature, versus nurture? Did they not have small children? We are constantly amazed at just how different Seb and Liesl are.

4 year checkup

2011-11-23T13:43:00.000-05:00

I took Sebastian to the doctor on Tuesday for his four-year old checkup with Dr. Jane. He weighed 35 lbs and was 41 inches tall, which are at the 50th and 75th percentile. He did a great job this time - he answered when the doctor asked him questions, didn't cry or fuss when the nurse was measuring him, and managed to participate in the eye and hearing tests. Dr. Jane asked him his favorite food: pasta. Anything else? chicken and pumpkin pasta. Any vegetables? carrots. Favorite fruit? blueberries. And favorite thing to do in school? build things. It's always fun to hear your child tell someone else things you didn't know about them.

Seb has tagged along on Liesl's doctor's appointments this past year, but this was his first visit since his 3-year old checkup. Sadly, it all ended on a sour note, as he had to have a number of shots - booster shots, plus flu. He was very bitter about the shots.

Steve has been teaching Sebastian how to play checkers. We don't seem to have a board or pieces, so he made one with markers and Legos.

Ma-ma

2011-11-15T21:14:00.001-05:00

Liesl woke up at 5 this morning, as usual, and cried a bit. Then she settled down and said, very clearly, "Mama." I grinned and went to her, and nursed her a bit, and she went back to sleep for another 45 minutes. When she woke up again she tried it again "Ma? Maaaa? Mama." So sweet.

Seb's birthday, part 2

2011-11-13T15:06:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we continued with the birthday celebration (a three-day affair, at this point), as Grandma and Grandpa Raab, and Mary and Joe (and Holly the dog!) came over. There were more presents of course, and playing outside together, and then dinner and strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Happy 4th birthday!

2011-11-11T15:03:00.000-05:00

Our boy turned four on 11/11/11. The coolest birthday ever. On Thursday, we brought cupcakes to his pre-K room and he got to celebrate his birthday with his school friends. His best friend Nathan gave him the Cars 2 movie. (After we let him watch it, he asked to watch it again, promising that he'd give us all of his money if we'd just let him watch a tiny part...)

On Friday morning, he opened up a couple of presents from us - the Poppleton series of books, and a couple of new tshirts.

He also opened up his present from Popo and Grandpa - a cool map puzzle of the United States.

And then it was off to the Dinosaur museum - American Museum of Natural History in NYC. I took the day off work so we could hang out. We saw the dinosaurs and then the hall of African animals. The elephant was his favorite. I took this picture at 11:11 am. After the museum, we rode in a taxi to meet up with Daddy for lunch, then took the subway back to our car. All in all, a perfect birthday day for a small boy.

In the evening Seb got to open more presents, including this Steelers hat and jersey from Steve. I'm not sure who was happier about this particular present.

And finally, of course, there was dessert. Four little desserts, with a candle in each (cream puff, pumpkin muffin, strawberry parfait, and chocolate pudding). We didn't let him eat all of that, of course. The three of us shared.

fall at Rockefeller State Park

2011-11-10T20:16:00.001-05:00

Liesl's one-year checkup

2011-11-02T09:33:00.004-04:00

I took Liesl to the doctor yesterday for her one-year checkup. She weighs 18 lbs, 12 oz, and is 30 inches tall. She's in the 20th percentile for weight and 70th for height. Steve and I produce string beans. She is healthy, doing everything she should, and already raring to start the terrible two's.

HH Halloween party

2011-10-31T21:06:00.000-04:00

All the daycare friends loved Sebastian's school bus costume. Steve made improvements to it this year: the stop sign on the side, the picture of Seb driving, windshield wipers, headlights... It looked amazing and everyone wanted to drive it.

Meanwhile, our little dragon was raring to go, as always. She loves to climb those stairs and come down the slide.

The kids parade around the building and then in theory all sit here on the front stoop for a photo. You can see the crowd of parents reflected in the glass.

At the end of the night, our boy contemplates his candy haul. Yum yum.

Liesl's birthday party/Halloween party

2011-10-30T21:03:00.000-04:00

We spent Saturday at Mary and Joe's house, celebrating Liesl's first birthday and Halloween. The whole family got together and it was great to see everyone. Here's our dainty birthday girl.

With Grandpa, who she likes to feed bits of her food.

Birthday cakes! Mary made the chocolate graveyard; we bought the chocolate spider.

Trish and cousin Hana.

The pumpkin apple cake I made for Liesl is in front, with a candle. The usual terrible family photo. :)

Seb and cousin Rio, dressed up as Gem (a cartoon character).

Happy birthday, baby

2011-10-27T21:28:00.000-04:00

Happy first birthday to our happy, curious, feisty, strong-willed, fearless little munchkin. The wrecker, as Sebastian calls her. What an amazing year it's been.

Liesl's first birthday

2011-10-25T12:08:00.000-04:00

Our girl was born almost a year ago today, on a beautifully sunny day. The leaves were red and orange and yellow, the sky was a clear blue, and the air felt crisp: a perfect encapsulation of autumn in the northeast. She was born at Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow; the road to the hospital is lined with grand old trees which were gorgeously bright yellow, and the maternity rooms overlook part of Rockefeller Park and the Hudson River. She was born at 6 am and I remember lying in the bed that afternoon, in a ray of sunshine, holding her, looking out on the river and feeling happy and relieved and grateful.

On Saturday we went up to Rockefeller Park to celebrate Liesl's birthday by remembering her birth day. It was sweet to be there, to remember pulling into the emergency room at 5 am, for Steve to remember doing that beautiful drive under the trees to see us during the day, to look out over the water, and to watch her clambering around everywhere. Amazing how much they learn in a year. More pictures in picasa.

From October 2011

letters and things

2011-10-20T12:40:00.003-04:00

Sebastian has been doing a lot more writing and drawing since moving up to the Pre-K room at daycare. Both his fine motor skills and his creative imagination seem to have rapidly developed simultaneously, so he is both more capable of drawing and more interested in drawing actual things (as opposed to just making lines and colors). So he will finally say to us, "This is a bus/person/tree/train". One of the skills that the Pre-K room emphasizes is learning to write your own name, which for Seb is a bit of an ordeal. But he knows the letters and was able to put together his "whole big name" on our fridge using letter magnets. And he's getting better at writing his name too. He wrote "bus", in the picture below, and then wrote "Alex" (one of his friends at daycare), and then tried to sign it (he got as far as Sebas before running out of paper room and steam).

This is just a random video of Seb dancing. I think he has a future with Riverdance.

daredevil

2011-10-19T12:31:00.000-04:00

We discovered that our little daredevil loves ride-on toys. She loves to be pushed around on them.

So for her first birthday, we bought her a big car. :) She loves it.

When not trying to hitch a ride, she climbs everything. She climbs on chairs, tables, ottomans, beds, stairs, playground equipment, random boxes...

But then, every once in a while, she calms down and sits down. She has two favorite books, both by Eric Carle - Brown Bear, and The Busy Little Spider. Here we are reading both. Interestingly, I didn't notice until watching the video that she clearly had a thought about sheep while reading the spider book and wanted to get the bear book in order to show me that there was a sheep in there too. Amazing.

apple picking

2011-09-25T21:34:00.000-04:00

We had a terrific fall weekend - I played frisbee yesterday morning. Seb and I took a bike ride together, and Steve and Seb watched a beautiful sunset tonight over the Hudson. Today we drove up to Wilkens Farm and did some apple picking in the morning, and in the afternoon went to a book fair at Washington Irving's homestead, here in Irvington. Despite predictions of rain, it turned out to be a sunny and pleasant day. Sebastian loved riding the tractor to the orchard, picking apples from the trees, and then eating as many as we'd let him try. Liesl got into the act as well, happily munching her way through an apple. And then we all enjoyed freshly made cider donuts.

The book fair is an annual festival at Sunnyside. Dozens of children's authors attend, with stacks of their books at the ready for you to buy and them to sign. It's a cool way of demonstrating to Sebastian that books are written by real people that you can even meet. He isn't yet thrilled by the idea of having his name written in the book by the author, but I think it's pretty cool. We bought 5 or 6 new books for our boy.

talking and walking

2011-09-22T08:44:00.000-04:00

Liesl has been trying to say her first word: "uh-oh". She's got the first part down, and she's got the concept (throw something on the floor, smile at Dada/Mama/Seb and say uh-oh, wait for them to pick it up, repeat), but the second half of the word is hard. So she just says "Uh!". It's pretty cute. She also tried to say blueberry the other day for Steve, which really surprised us. (Although, given how much she loves blueberries, maybe it shouldn't have.)

She's doing a pretty good job of communicating without words, however. She has a very definite protest cry that we hear when we try to take favorite objects away from her. She has a real giggle, that she'll make when you tickle her or turn her upside down, but she also has this funny cackle that seems to mean "look at me, wasn't that cool!?".

I often offer her Cheerios during meals as a way to keep her occupied and happy. She likes to feed herself, but usually can't feed herself enough food for a meal. So one of our games is that I put a Cheerio in my hand and place it in front of her, and her game is to pry open my hand and grab the Cheerio. When she opens her mouth for the Cheerio I shove a bite of real food in. (Hey, it works.) But the other day, my hand was on the table in front of her and when she pried it open there weren't any Cheerios inside. She opened up my hand a few times and turned it over and over, looking for the Cheerios, and then she lifted my hand up to her mouth and bit me. Mama finally got the message, and got some Cheerios.

She's definitely a full-on toddler now - just yesterday she walked all the way through the kitchen, the dining area, around through the living room, down the hallway, and back to the kitchen. We call it the loop. I can't believe she's walking already. She sways a bit, like a drunken sailor, but is totally undaunted by her frequent falls onto her bum. She's also starting to take an interest in playing games with us, and unsurprisingly two of her favorite games are to try and roll a ball back and forth and to push little cars around after Seb. If she's not a tomboy, it'll be a miracle. I have to get my fix of cute dresses now, since she'll probably start refusing to wear them next year.

Football season. :)

2011-09-20T11:44:00.000-04:00

Walkway over the Hudson

2011-09-19T21:20:00.000-04:00

On Sunday we drove up to Poughkeepsie to take a walk over the Hudson River on the new pedestrian bridge (opened 2009). It's one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world and was formerly a railroad bridge. It's beautiful. Gorgeous scenery all around, great views of freight trains and ferry boats and passenger trains for one small boy, and a really nice wide trail over the river. I've never walked across the Hudson before.

Seb

2011-09-05T14:54:00.001-04:00

Poor Sebastian's newest tricks and achievements have been forgotten in the excitement of Liesl's more rapid changes. But he's growing and changing too, especially in the realms of language and imagination. He has finally grasped the concept of patterns, and can see and repeat simple ones (red blue red blue red ??). When he lines up his cars now, he sometimes arranges them according to size or color or type, which is new and fun to see.

He also has grasped rhyming and has begun to take great pleasure in picking out rhyming words in his stories and every day life. (pooper and scooper! those rhyme!!) Many of his books have rhyming couplets and he is basically discovering them anew.

We taught him to play rock paper scissors and he loves it. He loves the idea of a game that can be played anywhere and often asks us to play now when we are walking on the trail. Of course, he always does scissors. Always. So it's not much of a game. He was fascinated to watch me and Steve play, however.

Somehow the idea of chores has sunk deeply into his imagination, and he now will say that he's going to do something "as a chore" "to help out". This often involves something real, like putting away everyone's dishes after the meal (instead of just his own) or helping me fold and put away the laundry, or helping me vacuum. His help, as expected, is not always terribly helpful, but I do appreciate the thought. He usually wants a reward for his good behavior, though, which is sort of contrary to the selfless nature with which he presents the original offer. Fortunately, being our child, his rewards are mostly food-centered: bread, cereal, ice cream, watermelon, pastries.

And finally, he still loves stories. He loves to be read to - the same books, over and over, until he gets tired and moves on to a different tranche of books, which we then read over and over. We're on a Poppleton kick right now. They're short chapter books about a pig named Poppleton. And after a hiatus, we're reading Frog and Toad again. He has also discovered that people can make up stories and tell them to him - Steve is tremendously good at this - and so over dinner or in the car he'll ask for a story. It's always the same genre: "mama, tell me a race car story". I am not very good at impromptu storytelling, but I try, and he is an easy critic.

He starts in the Pre-K room at Happy Harbor tomorrow. I can scarcely believe it. Our big boy.

I really really want to walk...

2011-08-29T21:08:00.003-04:00

Ten months old, and she's on the move. She keeps trying and trying to walk on her own, and she uses anything she can push as a walker wagon to get around - boxes, chairs, the hamper. I love that she's not afraid to fall. Sebastian waited until he was absolutely certain he could walk before letting go; once he did, he walked across the room without falling, and never looked back. She's much more daring and hence awkward.

(I should edit all of these 10 second clips into a movie, but it's a busy time at work, and it's just not going to happen.)

From August 2011

new tricks

2011-08-27T21:05:00.002-04:00

From August 2011

Apparently, we can't leave the markers out any longer...

plums

2011-08-27T21:01:00.000-04:00

Bunny Fufu and the duckies

2011-08-17T15:01:00.000-04:00

Both of our children have lovies that they are very attached to. Liesl became very fond of her bunny by 3 or 4 months old, and now really needs it in order to go to sleep. She likes to eat the ears and smother her face in it. We have one for home, and one for daycare, and I'm considering buying a third, just in case. The original was actually a gift from Carl and Kim for Seb, when he was born, but he never really cared for it. We've named it Bunny Fufu, because I used to sing the little ditty to her when she was tiny:

Little Bunny Fufu hopping through the forest, picking up the field mice and bopping them in the head. Along comes the good fairy, and she says, "Little Bunny Fufu, I don't want to see you, picking up the field mice and bopping them in the head. I'm going to give you three chances, and then I'll turn you into a troll!" OOOOH!

And on it goes, with me enthusiastically bopping the children in the head, until the good fairy turns Bunny Fufu into a troll, and I throw the bunny up into the air and away, and say he was never seen again. Sebastian loved it as much as Liesl.

And Sebastian has his duckies, of course. Duckie 1 and 2, with no other names. He started out with one duckie, of course, but became so attached that we bought a second one. We intended to rotate them in and out, washing one while the other was in use. But then one day we made a mistake, and brought out the just-washed duckie while the other duckie was in his bed. He was thrilled, "Two duckies!!" And ever since, they have been inseparable. Always two. If he doesn't have both, he'll search until he finds the second. They sleep in his bed every night, and are what he wants when he's upset.

daily routines

2011-08-15T20:57:00.002-04:00

5:45 am: Liesl wakes up, nurses
6 am: Seb wakes up
6-7:45 am: change L's diaper, get her dressed, feed her some breakfast, play a little, nurse again; get Sebastian dressed; make breakfast for family, eat, clean up; shower, get dressed, get ready for work; pack my lunch, pack L's breakfast, lunch, snack and extra clothes, get Seb into shoes and out door
8 am: drop off children at daycare
8 - 9 am: commute to work
9 am - 4 pm: work work work
4 - 5 pm: commute to daycare
5 - 5:30 pm: pick up children, nurse Liesl, drive home
5:30 - 6:30 pm: feed L dinner, start dinner for family (meat in oven, rice/pasta on boil, chop vegs), talk to Seb, give L a bath, nurse L to sleep
6:30-8:15 pm: finish making dinner, eat dinner, play with Seb, give him bath, read 3 stories, tuck in, hold hands and cuddle and talk about the day
8:15 - 9 pm: empty dishwasher and re-load, wash dishes and breast pump, clean L's high chair, the table, and a 4-foot radius around her chair; make up L's food for next day; fold laundry, pay bills, order supplies online
9 - 10 pm: catch up on emails, both work and personal. Read. Talk to Steve.
10 pm - 5:45 am: sleep, hoping that Liesl only wakes up once, and not four times...

And, repeat.

Stone Barns

2011-08-04T20:34:00.001-04:00

We spent a beautiful summer morning at Stone Barns. We saw sheep and lambs, pigs and piglets, lots of chickens, and some cows. Sebastian climbed up onto a stone wall and clambered all along it. Liesl tried to copy him.

(The poor man's double stroller.)

little climber

2011-08-03T20:27:00.002-04:00

Liesl has discovered the joys of climbing. She wants to climb everything, from boxes to stairs to bookshelves to beds. She even seems to have figured out how to line things up, so that she can use a low box to make it onto a higher surface (like the couch). We're proud. We're terrified. Sebastian was always such a cautious boy, and she clearly is not, and we were able to keep a much closer eye on Sebastian's playtime. Half the time, I'm in the kitchen, the kids are in the living room, and I can't see them. I'm relying on the lack of loud crying and Sebastian's alerts (mama! Help! Liesl is on the couch!) to keep our girl safe.

Sebastian's first movie

2011-07-27T20:55:00.000-04:00

We took Seb and Liesl to see Winnie the Pooh. It was Sebastian's first movie in a theatre. We had thought about seeing Cars 2, but were not happy about the James Bond theme, the gunfire, and the overall look of the movie. Seb gets really scared when watching movies - he makes us fast-forward through the night-chase scene in the original Cars movie - and we didn't think he'd like Cars 2. But Winnie the Pooh was sweet and lovely, and we had a great time. Liesl occupied herself with Cheerios, and when that palled, with climbing up the stairs from the bottom of the theatre to the top. And then again. And then again. And then again....

Liesl's 9-month checkup

2011-07-26T20:46:00.002-04:00

Liesl had her 9 month checkup today. She's 27 1/2 inches tall, and 17 lbs. Everything looks good.

hand hand fingers thumb

2011-07-18T20:50:00.002-04:00

From July 2011

Liesl's been learning all sorts of things with her hands - how to wave, how to clap, and in the above video, how to do an Indian war-whoop (not a very p.c. term, but I'm not sure what else to call it).

peekaboo!

2011-07-07T14:23:00.004-04:00

I love this video of Sebastian playing peekaboo with Liesl. He does a great job, and she' so clearly delighted. I didn't notice at the time, but she also learns to mimic my hand gestures ("Where's Sebastian?"), which is really cool.

From July 2011

July 4th weekend!

2011-07-05T20:50:00.003-04:00

We had a terrific July 4th long weekend - gorgeous weather (mostly), good sleeps, excellent food, and hanging out with friends and family. We spent Saturday morning playing outside - I played frisbee, then we went to the park. Grandma and Grandpa Raab came over after naptime, and Sebastian was so super excited to see them. We took them down to the waterfront and then had dinner from one of our favorite fish restaurants.

On Sunday we went to a bbq and pool party at the Krapf's. Lots of Seb's friends were there and we had a great time. Steve made a flag cake for the occasion.

And then Monday was another lovely outdoor day - we spent the morning at Matthiessen Park with Rachel, Sonya, and Remy. After naptime we checked out a new ice cream place in Tarrytown and then went for a walk along the Aqueduct trail through Sleepy Hollow.

Random pictures below:

Plums and peaches are in season! Yum!

I love how intently she is watching him play. She's so fascinated by her big brother, and desperately wants to play with everything he touches.

Another amazing track layout, courtesy of Daddy. Liesl Diesl keeps trying to wreck it.

our big girl

2011-06-30T14:26:00.002-04:00

Not content with her success at learning to crawl, Liesl has started pulling up to standing. She is constantly standing up, especially when we try to put her down to sleep in her crib, but really anywhere she can. She'll use furniture, bathtubs, people's legs - she really just wants to stand. She's not nearly as skilled at sitting back down, of course, and so there have been some head bonks recently. She's even trying out cruising, from one piece of furniture to another, and pushing a small chair in front of her and following it. It's been a big month for movement - four weeks ago she was totally stationary, and now she's breaking out all over.

She is also quickly developing and demonstrating her personality. Courtenay at daycare has described her as a "social butterfly", who immediately crawls over to the largest group of children to see what they're doing and play with them. She also isn't afraid of any of them, and will steal toys from the bigger kids. Alysa at daycare declares that she is "strong-willed" and "stubborn", refusing to take any milk from any bottle or sippy cup, and immediately standing up to play when they put her down to sleep. They have to have a wrestling match and pin her down in order to get her to take a nap. She falls over and doesn't cry, but if you thwart her attempts to roll over and stand up, or take away something she wants, she'll wail.

Around here, we have started calling her an assortment of affectionate nicknames - the monster, the menace, and the wrecker. She wants to play with whatever Sebastian is playing with, and will wreck his neat lines of cars, his carefully set up train tracks, his puzzles. Diaper changes are a full-on wrestling match - I put her down and she immediately flips over and tries to crawl away. We had a playdate with our friends Marci, Matthew and Sarah, and Mattie called our baby "Diesel", which we really liked. It sort of encapsulates her current no-holds-barred approach to the world.

It is so funny to have a baby like this, so different in every way from Sebastian. Seb was shy at daycare, cautious around the other kids and not terribly interested in interacting with them. He wouldn't sleep for us at home, but slept easily at daycare right from the start. He ate absolutely everything, and Liesl is much picker. Seb is an observer still, and often afraid of new experiences and new people, whereas Liesl is always beaming her biggest smile at random strangers. It's such fun. I think she's going to be a terror for years to come. :)

oatmeal! (the real stuff)

2011-06-29T13:13:00.000-04:00

oatmeal! from B. Avery on Vimeo.

cars

2011-06-27T13:37:00.000-04:00

Sebastian recently discovered that cars have names and has become obsessed with identifying every car that we pass. It began with our visit to Popo and Grandpa, who have named their car Rocinante (Rosy, for short). He doesn't realize that Rosy is just their name for their particular car, and thus calls all Lexus SUV's Rosy-cars. Then he wanted to know the name of our car - a Honda Civic. And it has mushroomed from there, such that every drive we take is a constant, never-ending stream of car identifications from the backseat. In a sense, this is just the logical extension of his earlier monologues identifying city buses, school buses, tour buses, garbage trucks, dump trucks, street cleaners, cement trucks, delivery trucks, and car-carriers.

He's pretty good at recognizing the car types, even at some distance and at speed. He has some trouble with pronunciation, though, which makes the whole thing really cute. He can't say Honda Civic - it comes out more like "Pondasiffic". He's got the CRV down and can even distinguish between newer model CRVs and older ones (which have a spare tire on the back). He calls the Rav-4 "Four-Rav, like Uncle Carl has". He knows Minis, Smart cars, and Beetles. There's "Nathan's car", which is a Chevy SUV, "Lydia and Sadie's car", a Toyota Camry. And then there's the Toyota Corolla, which he calls the "Corolla Torolla".

It's made our daily trip to and from daycare very interactive - he is constantly pointing out and naming cars and asking to be taught new car names - "what's that car named, mommy?"

He's said a couple of other memorably funny things lately - when we were visiting Grandpa and Popo, he didn't really like the anadama bread that Grandpa had baked and took to asking for "the bread that nobody made". It's so much more evocative than "store-bought bread". He watched me getting dressed the other day and said, in reference to my bra, "What's that for?" While I was sifting through possible answers, he said, "Is it to keep your milk in?" And I said Yes, yes it is. Perfect.

weekend pictures

2011-06-19T21:40:00.003-04:00

watch out world!

2011-06-12T21:16:00.003-04:00

I left Liesl on the floor in Sebastian's room this afternoon while I went to wash my hands and get a drink. When I went back to get her, she'd made it across half the room! She's on the move!

I've posted two short videos (click on them to see), in which I tried to capture her unique style of crawling.

From June 2011

Liesl update

2011-06-08T21:13:00.003-04:00

I can't believe I only managed two blog posts for the entire month of May. We were busy at the beginning of the month with various things, and preparing to go on vacation, and then we were in White Rock for 2 1/2 weeks, and there was little time in the family chaos for blogging. So I've been retroactively filling in some pictures and updates.

It's been a momentous month for our baby girl. Maybe momentous is too strong a word. But she's changed and grown a lot and is clearly no longer a newborn. She seems much more alert and aware - turning her head to keep up with the action, smiling at games we play, attempting to communicate with her hands and body. She reaches out for us, and grabs on when she wants to stay close. If she's happy to see one of us, she does this adorable full-body wriggle, while smiling and waving her arms around. If you're holding her and she wants to go somewhere, she'll kick and move her legs as though she's walking through the air. She has decided opinions about toys, and if you try to take away something she's currently playing with, she'll squawk loudly in protest. She likes shiny things and electronics - a little magpie.

She is trying hard to both crawl and stand. Watching her older cousin Roxy (10 months) crawl around my parents' place definitely gave her ideas, especially since Roxy would crawl over, steal a toy, and crawl away with it. :) Liesl sits and leans way way forward, balancing onto her arms, and rocks onto her knees. She's learned to get onto her belly somewhat gracefully instead of flopping face-first onto the ground. She can turn herself around and manages to move a bit, either by scootching on her bum, or pushing backwards on her belly. I don't think her arms are yet strong enough to hold her up for crawling, but she's trying hard. It's fun to contrast her crawling attempts with those of Sebastian at this age - he started off on his belly, pulling himself forward with his arms alone - commando-style.

She has developed a lot more enthusiasm for solid foods, and I've been rapidly expanding her repertoire. So far, my initial impression has continued: she likes fruit, and everything else is just okay. Even when I try to mask the veggies by combining them with fruit, she is noticeably less engaged in the whole thing. But she loves finger foods most of all. She loved eating crackers with Roxy. The other night I gave her a stick of asparagus and a peapod and she gummed both very happily. She seems both more interested in feeding herself and more capable of doing so than Sebastian at a similar age. She's definitely demonstrating more dexterity with her pincer grip than he did, which allows her to grab those tiny Cheerios with ease.

And last, but not least, she has her first tooth! It arrived at some point in the last week, on the bottom gum, and my best guess is that the next teeth are following close behind.

end of maternity leave

2011-06-06T11:04:00.001-04:00

Today was my first day back at work. I can't believe that the seven months went by so quickly! I feel like it just flew past, even faster than after Sebastian was born. I'm sad, of course, and feeling anxious about Liesl's adjustment to daycare and my readjustment to work life. On the one hand, I'm so thankful that I got to stay home for seven months with her - far longer than most mothers in this country. On the other hand, I wish I could stay home for a full year, which is what I would be able to do if I lived in any other industrialized country.

My biggest concern about Liesl and daycare is her liquid intake - she'll eat food, but so far she has not taken to the bottle at all. I don't know how she's going to get milk. But she's a friendly creature and definitely likes other children, so I think she's going to enjoy being with the other babies at Happy Harbor. We'll see about naps - she's used to a pretty quiet and dark environment, which she's not going to get.

She's at such a cute stage right now - all dimpled elbows and chubby cheeks - and she's starting to babble, and to move around. It's really hard to leave her. My sweet baby girl.

pictures from White Rock

2011-06-04T13:42:00.004-04:00

We had a terrific 2 weeks in White Rock, with my family. It was great to see my mom and dad and explore their home, and it was terrific to be with my brother's family. It was a touch chaotic, with six adults, two preschoolers, and two babies - it took us forever to get out of the house, and our adventures were not as extensive as on past vacations together. But the babies got to meet, and Danica and Sebastian got to renew their close friendship, and it was fun. There are hundreds of pictures posted in my web album.

vacation

2011-05-22T23:04:00.005-04:00

We are on vacation, in White Rock, British Columbia, at the home of my parents. We flew out last Saturday, the 14th, and will be here until the 31st. Carl and Kim, with Danica and Roxy, arrived yesterday. There have already been more pictures taken than I would have thought possible. :)

Sebastian did wonderfully on the flight out - he wasn't scared at all, and sat very nicely in his seat for the whole flight. We unveiled his surprise present, a portable DVD player (thanks Grandma Raab!), as well as some new movies, and he was in seventh heaven. Liesl had a tougher time. She found it hard to sleep with so many people around and without a crib to lie in, so I ended up putting her in the Baby Bjorn and pacing the airplane aisle for about two hours. I got to know everyone on the plane very well.

We have gone on many short hikes, visited the beach, planted tomatoes in Popo and Grandpa's garden, spent a day in Vancouver, and in general had a wonderful time so far. Steve and I managed to have a date night dinner at a restaurant overlooking the bay and a beautiful sunset. A substantial cohort of the Mahs also came to Vancouver, and we have had two dinners with the whole family. It's been fun to see Sebastian getting to know my cousins' children. We're hoping to fit in a trip to Whistler in the coming week, but we'll see. Overall, we are reminded that family vacations are really terrific - it's great to have extra hands to help with the children.

Danica and Sebastian haven't seen each other in a year, but within 30 seconds of seeing each other they were running around, giggling, and talking a mile a minute. They have been inseparable all day today. They take turns suggesting new games to play, they try to finish each other's sentences, and they chase each other around everywhere. And they talk, incessantly, asking each other questions, telling each other stories. It's amazingly cute.

sweet tooth (bananas yum num num)

2011-05-03T17:05:00.002-04:00

Our girl has a sweet tooth. She loves pears, prunes, apples, strawberries, and most especially bananas. Here she is attacking a banana piece with gusto.

moving girl

2011-05-01T19:23:00.001-04:00

Liesl has, all of a sudden, become much more mobile and strong and curious. So she wants to move more, to reach things, and she's finding herself more and more able to do so. She has started to scoot herself backward when she's on her tummy, and she's lifting up her bum in the air in preparation for crawling. From a sitting position she can launch herself forward onto her belly, which is extremely frightening to watch. And she's become a grabby girl - nothing is safe around her anymore - she wants to touch and grab everything, and eat it.

Here's her attacking one of Seb's battery-powered trains:

Saturday at the Botanical Garden

2011-04-30T19:32:00.003-04:00

Liesl's 6-month checkup

2011-04-26T20:55:00.005-04:00

I took Liesl to the doctor today for her 6-month checkup. She weighs 15 lbs, 1 oz, and is 26 inches tall. She's 50th percentile for both. She's doing everything she should be doing, and Dr. Jane gave me the greenlight to go ahead with all sorts of food.

coda: Liesl got the usual vaccines, and I gave her tylenol before bedtime. She slept from 6:45 pm until 4:45 am, nursed briefly, then slept again until 6:45. Amazing! Her first time sleeping through the night! Apparently it took some shots to make it happen... (Like a good, neurotic mama, I woke up at 3:30 and couldn't go back to sleep until I'd heard her murmur and snuffle a little.)

Easter weekend

2011-04-26T13:57:00.009-04:00

For Easter this year we went down to Fenwick Beach, Delaware, to a pair of houses partly owned by Steve's parents. They are beautiful places, on the bay, with four bedrooms each. They are upside down, with the kitchen and living rooms on the third floor to maximize the views. We stayed in one house with Mary and Joe, and their dog Holly, while Grandma and Grandpa stayed in the other with Trish and Jeff and baby Hana. Sebastian was thrilled to be able to go back and forth between the houses, visiting people and playing. (It was quite the workout to have to do six flights of stairs every time you wanted to visit the other kitchen or living room.) Sebastian and Holly fetched balls on the lawn together and ran around inside chasing each other until both collapsed. Seb also got to ride his little tricycle around the houses and the driveways, and he loved it.

We took Sebastian mini-golfing and go-kart racing for the first time, which was terrifically fun.

We had one gorgeous day, and Steve and I got to walk on the beach together (Seb chose to stay home with aunt Mary and Holly). I got a little tan, and Steve got a little sunburned. (oops.)

Baby cousins Hana and Liesl had fun checking each other out and stealing each other's toys. Liesl warmed up to her family pretty quickly, and by the second day I could leave her with someone for a little bit without triggering crying.

We dyed eggs on Saturday night. Sebastian got to participate in two Easter egg hunts - one in our house, with the real eggs hidden by Steve (locations carefully recorded).

The other was organized by the Delaware Fords (Anne's brother and family) and was immense - lots of small children and an amazing potluck lunch. The children all took a hay ride while the grownups ran around tossing eggs everywhere, and then there was a mad rush. It was pretty fun.

Our trip down was pretty miserable - traffic on the Jersey Turnpike, both children waking up too early from naps, stops to feed Liesl, stops to feed Sebastian dinner, etc - it took nearly 8 hours in total. So we decided to take the ferry back, from Lewes to Cape May. It was a great decision - the ferry wasn't crowded, Seb could walk around and see everything, I could nurse Liesl, and Steve even managed to do some work onboard, because there was internet access. The Garden State parkway wasn't trafficky, so we flew up through Jersey and both children slept and slept. We even saw some dolphins swimming by the ferry boat. I think the ferry was Seb's favorite part of the whole trip - he keeps talking about it.

prunes (yum yum)

2011-04-18T06:50:00.000-04:00

Easter egg hunt at the Krapfs

2011-04-17T18:54:00.005-04:00

The Easter bunny visited the home of our friends the Krapfs a little bit early, and so they hosted a big Easter egg hunt. It was great to see all of Sebastian's friends - Nathan and Alex, Liam and Zoe, Presley, Lydia and Sadie, Isaiah, Paul, Penelope, and Frank - and their parents. The weather cooperated and it was a grand party. More pictures from the morning here.

anecdotes and word games

2011-04-16T08:14:00.001-04:00

On the car ride home today, from Sebastian: "Probably we'd die if we went in a space ship all the way to the stars." Me: "Why would we die?" Seb: "Cause it's too far."

I sneeze, covering my mouth with my hand. Sebastian: "Mommy, that's not right. You have to go like this (demonstrating), using your elbow." Me: "Oh, you're right. Sorry, Sebastian." Seb: "Do it right next time."

Sebastian in his play kitchen, preparing to feed Liesl a dinner: "You have to eat all your dinner, and all your vegetables, before you can have dessert. If you don't finish all your dinner, you get no treats."

At dinner last week. Sebastian: "Boys have penises and bums. Girls just have v'ginas." Me: "Girls have bums too."

Passing by the cluster of three churches on the corner. Sebastian: "What's a church?" Me: "A place where people who believe in the same things, like the same god, meet every week." Seb: "What do they do there?" Me: "They talk, they listen to a minister or priest, who is like a teacher, and they sing songs." Seb: "That doesn't sound very interesting."

***************

We've also been playing some new games. He's very much into spelling and letters at the moment, and will frequently ask us "What's the first letter or number in the word 'x'? What comes next?" (He always includes the category of numbers, and has seemingly never noticed that words don't contain numbers. We haven't corrected him.) With help, he can sound out some words, but the English language is tricksy. The fact that C makes different sounds, overlapping with other letters; the silent E's littering the ends of words; the challenges of CH, TH, SH... It's a minefield. But I love that he's interested in spelling and in reading, and that he's trying to figure it out.

Just yesterday he looked at the letters FROG, sounded out the letters, and correctly identified the word. We were very proud. He knows how to spell some words, like Stop, Bus, and Car, but that's through memorization and not reading.

We've also been playing a variant of Twenty Questions - one of us hides a card with a picture on it, and the others have to guess what the picture is. (The cards come from our Boggle Jr. game, so are of common objects and animals.) It lets us introduce the concept of categories, and how to narrow down a search - so we start with asking if the thing is an animal, or an object, or a person. Then we can ask if it's a vehicle, or a toy, if it's man-made or natural, etc. He's still struggling to grasp the idea, but he's definitely improving.

Lastly, and most sweetly, Steve and Sebastian play the "I love you" game. We have a book - Guess How Much I Love You - in which a bunny and his daddy take turns saying how far, how high, how big they love each other. My boys make it a game that they play - "I love you as high as our house." "I love you as high as the Empire State Building." "I love you as high as the moon." "I love you as high as the stars." "Wow. Hmm. I love you as far as the river." "I love you as far as New York City." "I love you as far as Vermont.". Etc etc. It's very sweet.

park play

2011-04-15T19:24:00.001-04:00

Liesl's new sunbonnet.

the swings! such joy!

running up and down the hill, chasing balls

Pushing Liesl and our toys up the hill towards home.

PepsiCo sculpture garden

2011-04-12T14:34:00.005-04:00

On Saturday we went to the sculpture gardens on the grounds of PepsiCo's headquarters, in Purchase. It's about 20 minutes from here. The gardens are open to the public and free, and have not only dozens of sculptures by famous artists (Giacometti, Calder, Oldenburg, Henry Moore, Rodin), but also beautiful trees and flowers from all around the world. We saw a pink tree - a Japanese maple - that was wonderful. It was a beautiful, warm day, and we had a great time running around and seeing all of the art. It's an amazing collection.

testing, testing

2011-04-11T12:19:00.000-04:00

Sebastian has been really testing us lately - testing the boundaries of behavior, testing how far he can push us, testing to see if we mean what we say. It's been exhausting and frustrating. Nothing out of the ordinary, I'm sure, but hard to deal with, especially as it's such a contrast with his usual sweet, compliant self. There's been a lot of no. And running away from us and hiding. And refusing to sit at the dinner table. And doing things he knows he isn't allowed to do. His verbal way of expressing this recalcitrant self is to say "bang". It's like a preschooler version of damn, no, I hate you, and f*** you, all wrapped up in one neat little package. So we'll ask him to do something, and he'll say "bang". And then he'll keep repeating it as he realizes he's getting under our skin, at increasing volume, until we tell him to stop it. And then he says "bang you!" Awesome.

Fortunately, the best solution seems to be outdoor exercise and play. He's nearly always happy and cheery when we're outside, and so we've been dragging him out at every opportunity and inventing new ways to encourage him to run. And his crankiness isn't nonstop, every day, which is nice - we still hang out with our sweet boy some of the time.

some updates, and random cute pics of our girl

2011-04-09T20:35:00.006-04:00

Liesl appears to have cut her first tooth! There's a sharp little thing coming out of her top gum, and she has been a bit fussy, especially at night. (Oh, joy.) After our first success with rice cereal, she has steadfastly rejected all of my attempts at feeding her more food. She won't eat the rice cereal, and she refused to eat pears as well. This is new territory for us: Sebastian ate absolutely everything, in huge quantities, from the very beginning. We went back to the spring 2008 videos and watched in amazement as Seb devoured a huge bowl of pureed carrots. I don't know if she's just not ready, if she's cranky because of the tooth, or if she is just going to be a troublesome eater. At any rate, I'm going to back off for a week, and then try again.

spring! (thank goodness)

2011-04-08T20:29:00.001-04:00

The warm weather has finally arrived, and we have been glorying in it. We've been outside as much as possible, going for walks along the trail and around Halsey Pond, going to the fields and playgrounds, and trailing Sebastian on his bike. Liesl has tickled her toes in the grass and started to investigate trees and flowers. It's so great to be out.

rice cereal!

2011-04-02T20:24:00.010-04:00

We gave Liesl her first taste of solid food today - rice cereal with mama's milk. She was at first confused by the necessary mouth action and seemingly disgusted by the taste, and I couldn't figure out whether or not she was actually swallowing any of the cereal. But then she got the hang of it and became extremely enthusiastic, grabbing at our hands and the spoon to encourage more food, more quickly. She ate the whole bowl. We took turns feeding her, even Sebastian getting in on the action.

She's been gazing longingly at our food and drink for a few weeks now, so we suspected she was ready to try solids. I wasn't ready, though. Steve laughs at me, but I wasn't ready to give up the knowledge that all of that baby cuteness was directly through me - in utero, and through breastfeeding. But since she won't take a bottle, it seems like a good idea to introduce some other form of non-me nourishment. And so, off we go. She's growing so fast.

rice cereal! from B. Avery on Vimeo.

35!

2011-03-25T20:16:00.003-04:00

Today was my 35th birthday. 35 is so solidly... 30-something. I don't feel old, but I certainly don't feel young either - although that may be a product of the consistent sleep deprivation associated with children, and not at all related to age!

It was a lovely birthday, against all odds. Steve, Liesl, and I all have nasty colds, probably brought home from daycare by our resident Typhoid Sebastian. But Steve let me go back to sleep after I woke up to feed Liesl at 5, made french toast for breakfast, and collaborated with Sebastian on a terrific art piece (see below). Liesl contributed to the drawing by scrunching and crumpling a corner, and drooling on it. :) I got a sweet silver bracelet, with Sebastian and Liesl's names engraved on it, two bouquets of flowers, and some delicious chocolate cupcakes. Steve worked from home so that we could go out to lunch together - we tried a Japanese place called Fujinoya in Hartsdale, which was very good. My brother called and sang to me, my parents skype-called and sang to me in unison, if not harmony, and my boys sang to me after dinner. All in all, a terrific day.

Of course, the biggest difference between being a child and having a birthday, and being an adult and having a birthday, is that all of your usual responsibilities still have to be done. Meals need to be cooked, dishes still need to be washed, laundry still has to be done and put away, babies still need to be fed and get diaper changes, baths have to be given, etc. But everyone was cheery today, and I feel so very blessed. To be 35, happy and healthy, with a lovely, sweet husband, two wonderful children, a good job with great colleagues, and a loving, supportive extended family - life doesn't get any better.

The left flower bouquet is yellow irises and narcissus; the right is purple sweetpeas, white freesia, and two other purple flowers whose names I've forgotten. They're perfect - they smell deliciously like springtime.

(Sebastian took this picture of the two of us - we had to prop the camera on a chair so that it would stay steady enough - he was very proud to be entrusted with the real camera.)

Liesl at play

2011-03-23T20:03:00.000-04:00

commentary

2011-03-22T08:38:00.001-04:00

Sebastian yesterday, gazing upon his daycare's class picture:
"Anaiyah is very pretty. Almost like a dinosaur."

more photos

2011-03-21T20:00:00.002-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Empire State Building!

2011-03-13T19:52:00.001-04:00

In a fit of enthusiasm and bravery, we headed into the city today to visit the Empire State Building. We have had a run of books lately about visiting New York City - walking around, seeing the sights, naming the landmarks. The ESB is of course prominently featured in all of them. So we figured we should visit while Seb's fascination is fresh and before the summer tourist season begins.

We got lucky - there were no lines, and it was a clear enough day to see a long way. Our pictures are not great - it's not a great photo venue - but it was a lot of fun. Seb was scared of the height but did enjoy seeing all of the water and bridges surrounding us. Liesl was not a fan of the wind, but she made a lot of friends among the workers and fellow tourists, with her wide-eyed stares and smiles. She's a charmer.

I haven't been up to the top of the Empire State Building since my cousin Jeff came to visit years ago, shortly after I had moved to the city (1998/9). It was really fun to be back.

photos of the week

2011-03-12T20:56:00.002-05:00

This was a whole-family effort. We were very pleased with it - you could reverse direction, and multiple trains could run on it at once.

Reading The Very Busy Spider to Sebastian and Liesl.

Our fisherman, and a wrapped-up bundle of girl, at Rockefeller Park.

tough week

2011-03-12T20:32:00.004-05:00

We had a really tough week here. Liesl was sick all week, throwing up at least once per day. She was also not sleeping well, for obvious reasons, and so I was very tired as well as anxious. Sebastian, for his part, didn't get quite enough sleep for a few successive nights and naps, and was cranky and petulant as a result. We were not good company, and I was very abrupt with him when not losing my temper entirely. Sigh. On Friday, Seb's bad week culminated with him biting his best friend Nathan at daycare, something he's never done before. I was surprised and mortified. We had a long talk about it on the way home and I hope he doesn't repeat it.

Happily, Liesl seemed much better yesterday and today, and the whole family managed to get naps today. It was a lovely spring-like day and we went outdoors to enjoy it. I played Ultimate Frisbee this morning, for the first time in a year. I have not forgotten how to throw, and I dove to catch discs as usual, but I was seriously exhausted after about 20 minutes of running. But it was glorious to be back in the game. We also went for a late day walk at Stone Barns farm, and Sebastian was as always thrilled to see the chickens, sheep, pigs, and cows. All of the usual trickly streams are full-blown spring gushers at the moment, and he loved pretending to fish in them with a long stick.

Pics to come -

sick baby

2011-03-05T19:36:00.003-05:00

Liesl woke up at 6, gave a dry hack that sounded like she had a hairball, and then vomited everywhere. The day continued downhill from there - she threw up at least a dozen times today. There's nothing sadder than a sick baby, who doesn't understand why such things are happening to her. She kept smiling at us in between episodes, which was just heart-breaking.

We went to the doctor, who said it seemed like just a stomach virus. It most likely came home from daycare with Sebastian, starring in the role of Typhoid Mary. Our boy is never sick - only the mildest and briefest of colds, and even those pretty rarely - which is amazing for a daycare kid.

So it was a long, yucky day, with many loads of laundry and a lot of floor-scrubbing. She fell asleep early and I'm hoping she'll be better tomorrow. Our poor girl.

Four-month doctor visit

2011-03-01T14:20:00.004-05:00

Liesl visited Dr. Jane today for her four-month checkup. She weighs 13 lbs 6 oz, and is 24 1/2 inches tall - 50th percentile for both. Everything looks great so far.

Sebastian was bigger at this age: 14 lbs 11 oz and 26 inches tall, which isn't surprising, given how much he loved his food. I remember laughing at all the books that noted that babies can only see a certain number of inches - just the distance from your breast to your face. Sebastian never ever interrupted anything as important as a meal to gaze up at me lovingly. Liesl, on the other hand, will certainly stop nursing to grin at me, or to check out her brother's noise, or just on a whim.

Sebastian continues to love his food, and eat large quantities of it. He had always spit out and refused to eat carrots, until I had the bright idea of telling him that they would make his eyes super-strong. I think I promised that he'd be able to see New York City from our apartment if he ate enough carrots. And lo, they have become his favorite vegetable. He has requested them a few nights this week. Of course, he also asked if he'd soon be able to see all the way to California, so I'm about to be unmasked as a fraudulent huckster...

plant life

2011-02-28T15:46:00.003-05:00

In the last three years, a number of my plants have fallen victim to a sad lack of attention. Apparently I can't keep both multiple people and plants alive and thriving simultaneously. This is the latest tragic case.

But then, against all odds, both the orchid and the anthurium flowered this week! Woo-hoo! Hope is not lost, ye few remaining plants!

winter sports

2011-02-26T20:00:00.001-05:00

The end of February - the snow is melting, the trail is muddy, the local streams are rushing, and I saw a brave forsythia bush coming to bright yellow bloom. I can't wait for spring to arrive. We have rushed outside to enjoy these first few warm days. Sebastian has been riding his push bike around the neighborhood, and the difference in his confidence level between last summer and now is amazing. He actually lifts both feet off the ground and glides along for a few feet at a time.

I've also just realized that while I've blogged lots about Sebastian and Liesl, I haven't written much about how we've stayed busy this winter. Sebastian goes to daycare three days a week and stays home the other days, so we've had lots more time together. We signed up for a music class on Thursdays that has been great fun. Sebastian plays the instruments and dances, and Liesl gazes at everyone with rapt fascination. Seb requests that I play the accompanying music cd constantly, and so I have memorized all the songs and am able to sing along in my ridiculously off-key voice. :) We also signed up for swimming classes at the Tarrytown YMCA. We've only had three so far, and it's been rough going, but we're hoping to get him a bit more comfortable in the water before next summer. We've been visiting the library at least once and sometimes twice a week. The Irvington library is just a few blocks away and is one of Seb's favorite places, so we often walk down after naptime to pick up a few more books. At any given time, we have 10-20 library books scattered around, and it reminds me so much of my childhood.

Last winter, I couldn't convince Sebastian to wear a hat or mittens or boots, so our outdoor adventures were extremely short-lived. It was frustrating, especially for this Canadian. This winter he's been much more accepting of warm clothes and of the snow, and so we have done lots of tromping through the snow along the trail. Seb likes to make little tunnels in the snow with his boots, or get a stick and whack the snow, or drag along our little red sled. We went sledding a couple of times and had a really good time, although we had to start off very slowly. Our boy is not a daredevil and did not want to go too fast, so we had to start a couple of steps up the hill and work our way higher.

There were also a couple of special trips: we visited the Children's Museum in Norwalk, which has been completely redone, and went ice-skating with Nathan and his family. Ice-skating was back-breaking for me: bending over and holding up a 32-lb boy on skates is no picnic. I was crippled the next day. But he gamely tried it out and we went round and round the rink. And we discovered an indoor play space in Port Chester called Leapin Lizards, which has tunnels and slides and rope ladders and ball rooms, and have been there four or five times to let Seb run off some steam.

All in all, it's been a busy winter, with lots of small adventures. But I'm still looking forward to spring.

hidden talents

2011-02-24T10:58:00.005-05:00

(Click on the pic to see the video.)

I did not play with trains as a child, and was not much of a Lego builder either. Creating structures is not my strong point. But then I had a boy who loves trains, and sometimes needs help getting the tracks to join up into a circle. And so I've built a lot of tracks over the past year, and I'm getting better and better. (We've also bought a lot of new tracks, including some specialized pieces, which make the whole thing more fun and interesting.)

Seb and I made this track setup together, and I'm just amazed at how well all the junctions actually work!

From February 2011

February pics

2011-02-23T13:17:00.002-05:00

money

2011-02-20T20:15:00.000-05:00

Sebastian has very recently started to grasp the idea of money. We have always talked to him about money, of course, telling him that he can't eat food at the grocery store until we pay money for it, and explaining that we have to work to earn money to pay for everything. But it didn't seem to make much of an impression.

But then, he got six dollars from Great-aunt Adele for Valentine's Day. He was thrilled. He put the money in his piggy bank. And then he asked if he could buy the car Flo (Cars movie-character) with his money. We said yes, and he was super excited - starting putting on his shoes and jacket to head out the door immediately. We took him to Target, and while we couldn't find Flo, we did find a bright-yellow sports car that he really liked, and he got to buy it.

He then started to seem pretty interested in money - wanted to know how he could get more. So we started talking about an allowance, to be given once a week, if he was a good boy. He didn't say much, and we weren't sure he'd understood. But after about a week, he asked if he'd been a good boy and if he could have some more money. I gave him three dollars, which he took with great glee and stuffed into his piggy bank.

And then came today's swimming lesson, his third one. He really did not want to go. He dawdled, and cried, and told us he didn't want to swim, and looked fair to having an enormous tantrum at the Y. So I told him I'd give him a dollar for entering the room and joining the class, and another dollar for every time he went into the water. He thought that was pretty cool, and left.

I'm four dollars poorer tonight, and I have a sinking sensation that I might have unleashed a scheme I will soon regret. Ah, well.

playing games

2011-02-15T21:05:00.005-05:00

This winter - cold and snowy as it has been - has been a season of games around here. Sebastian is now old enough to play and enjoy all kinds of games, and it's been fun for me and Steve to rediscover them as well. We've got Chutes & Ladders and Boggle Jr. - classics - as well as our favorite Busytown board game. We've got really fun wooden sets to play Memory and Dominoes, both transportation-themed. And in the last week, we've introduced card games - Go Fish, Old Maid, and Crazy Eights. Sebastian is really into all of them. Perhaps it's just a guaranteed way to get a parent's attention, as we can't insist that he play by himself.

comparing Liesl and Sebastian

2011-02-14T19:42:00.000-05:00

Many people have told me that Liesl looks remarkably like Sebastian. It's hard for me to say. Of course, I've also heard that she looks exactly like me, and also like Steve, so I always take such comments with a grain of salt. But for fun, here are some side-by-side photos of Liesl and Seb, taken around the same age.

bright eyes

2011-02-13T19:35:00.002-05:00

Our girl is increasingly aware and interested in things - she especially loves watching us eat and drink - and she's starting to use her hands in an intentional way. This afternoon, she laughed for the first time - I was tickling her and laughing, and she giggled so sweetly. Steve and I were happily both in the room, and so charmed.

She continues to sleep for more time than I would have dreamed of - 12 hours at night, and around 4 hours during the day. Looking back at the (extremely obsessive) records I kept from when Sebastian was a baby, he never slept more than 12 hours a day in total. On the other hand, he fell asleep whenever he was in the car, and anytime he was in a stroller or baby Bjorn, and she is pickier about her environment. She likes our bed or her crib, and she likes it to be dark, and her favorite sleeping position is snuggled up next to me on her side. But overall she is a good sleeper, and we are not complaining!

Liesl's beautiful quilt

2011-02-03T17:09:00.002-05:00

My aunt Martha Avery made a beautiful quilt for Liesl. Pictures below. Thank you!!!

parent-teacher conference

2011-01-31T13:49:00.002-05:00

I met with Sebastian's teacher Carina this morning. She had no concerns - said he was doing everything he was supposed to be doing physically and developmentally. His only fault is apparently an unwillingness to stand up for himself when another child takes away his toys. He'll tell the teachers, but avoids direct confrontation. (Clearly taking after Steve, not me.) He is always cheery, plays with everyone, and likes to show other children how to do things. But the funniest moment of the meeting came when Carina said that he never acted up or got upset or had meltdowns. I asked, incredulously, "He never has a tantrum?!" And she said, "No, does he have them at home? What does he do?" That cracked me up. She hasn't ever even seen a Sebastian tantrum. He saves them all for us, his lucky mommy and daddy.

expanding palate

2011-01-30T21:03:00.000-05:00

Despite our best efforts, there was a long period there when Sebastian's food intake was not ideal. He ate simple carbs - bread, pasta, rice, cereal - and some fruits (apples, berries, bananas) and meats (ham, sausage, fish sticks), and truly remarkable quantities of eggs and cheese. No vegetables. He refused to eat things like hummus, guacamole, yogurt, and edamame, which we thought were easy. When he was very young, he ate everything, and since I made most of his baby food, he had a terrifically varied diet. So we kept cooking our regular food and offering it to him, and hoping.

He has gotten steadily more adventurous over the last four months or so, but this past month has seen some absolutely tremendous strides in his willingness to try new vegetables and cuisines. He has eaten zucchini, green beans, carrots, eggplant, brussels sprouts, spinach, edamame, and cantaloupe. We ordered Indian food for ourselves and he astonished us by eating lamb curry, lentil/spinach pattie, and the samosas. We went out for Korean food and he ate jap chae noodles, bi bim bap, scallion pancakes, pork dumplings, and bulgogi. I made a sweet potato, carrot, and white bean casserole with garam masala, and he ate that too! We are giddy with glee, and planning to visit all kinds of fun restaurants with him now. :)

two children (man to man coverage)

2011-01-27T21:20:00.000-05:00

When we had one child, it felt like a lot. Now that we have two, I'm remembering those days with some nostalgia. Any time we have only Liesl, especially if it's the two of us at home with her, it seems really really easy. And now that Sebastian is sleeping through the night, napping easily, and potty-trained, well... But of course, the problem is that you don't realize how easy one child is until you have two, and then it's too late - there's no way to go back to having just one. :)

Steve has been unusually busy with work this month. He's had to work through both of the last two weekends and quite late on many nights. He tries to be home for dinner/bath/bed and then continue working from home, but he hasn't been able to always manage it. I find it exhausting to look after both kids all day long - the back and forth between them, making sure both are fed, well-napped, diaper-changed/potty-visited, and entertained. Oh, and that I manage to do some basic house things, like make meals and clean up the kitchen, and basic self-care, like brush my teeth and have a shower. But bedtime is particularly difficult, as Liesl needs her bedtime routine a bit before Seb, and she needs things to be quiet and dark as she nurses to sleep. He's been pretty good about playing quietly by himself in the living room while I sit in the bedroom with her for half an hour, but it sometimes feels like a delicate juggling act.

Starting in the new year, we cut back Sebastian's day care hours to three days a week. I'm on unpaid leave until June and we need to save some money, and the theory is that it'll be fun for us to hang out together a bit more than we usually can. We've had so many snow days so far this year that he wouldn't ever have made it there five days a week anyway, but it has meant that January has featured a lot of days with me in charge of two children. I'm steadily getting better at dividing my attention and retaining my sense of humor, but it's definitely been a learning process. Sebastian has also gotten better at playing by himself and recognizing when I need to do something else before taking care of him, although that too is a work in progress.

On one of the first days we stayed home together, Liesl had a doctor's appointment. Sebastian was very well behaved in the waiting room and in the doctor's office room, mostly because both were well equipped with trucks. But then, just as I was trying to talk with Dr. Jane, Liesl decided she was cold and hungry and started crying. And then Sebastian tugged on my sleeve to tell me he needed to go pee. So I interrupted the doctor to take Seb to the bathroom (Liesl still determinedly crying in my arms). He peed, we flushed, we came back to the room and I continued speaking with the doctor. Then it was time for vaccination shots - four of them. The nurse finished and Liesl was howling (and naked, of course), and I was trying to nurse her (so I was half-naked), and then Sebastian tugs on my shirt and tells me he needs to go poop. So we walk out into the waiting area - half of us half-dressed, and Liesl alternately wailing and suckling - and I deposit Seb on the toilet seat. I tell him to come back to the room when he's done. Which he does, but of course, he can't wipe himself, and it turns out he couldn't reach the flush button or the sink. Yucky. We returned home at 11:30, and I told Sebastian it was nap time (thank goodness he can't read clocks quite yet, as nap time is actually 1), and collapsed onto the couch with an exhausted baby girl. My brain felt like it had short-circuited.

Steelers family!

2011-01-23T20:16:00.000-05:00

tummy time

2011-01-22T21:06:00.001-05:00

brotherly love

2011-01-20T13:08:00.000-05:00

I think I keep posting basically the same blog entry: Sebastian loves Liesl! It's not news at this point, and yet he keeps amazing me with his utter devotion to his little sister. At least she's smiling at him now. :)

He participates in every bath I give her - I get an extra washcloth for him, and he splashes it in the water and all over her. He still likes to watch her diaper changes, but only if poop is involved. He asks to cuddle and kiss her all the time. He sings and reads books to her, and creates little dramas with stuffed animals for her amusement (as in the pics above). When Steve and Seb and I were hugging, and Steve said, "a whole-family hug!", Sebastian said, "where's Liesl?". And on Monday, when he was having a total meltdown in the car on the way home from a playdate at Nathan's house, I reprimanded him for behaving badly and waking up Liesl with his screams. He quieted down immediately and said, "I don't want my baby sister to be upset."

We are so lucky that he's such a sweet boy.

a girly girl

2011-01-19T20:36:00.003-05:00

We have recently discovered that Liesl loves dolls and stuffed animals - anything with eyes and a mouth. She'll stare, fascinated and intent, and smile very sweetly, when we dance stuffed animals in front of her. She coos at Sebastian's hipster boy doll, Pip. (Despite my best attempts, Sebastian really never paid much attention to Pip and has been unmoved by Liesl's usurpation of his doll.)

And Liesl smiles at people - not just us and extended family members, but at perfect strangers in the grocery store. Big, happy smiles, and the occasional gurgle. Sebastian never ever smiled at anyone he didn't know. He still doesn't either smile or talk to most people. But Liesl - our girl - is so very interested in people. It's so stereotypically female, and yet so obviously innate and not learned.

What fun to have both a boy and a girl.

coyness

2011-01-18T13:07:00.001-05:00

Liesl has developed this very funny habit with Steve - when he smiles at her, she gives him her very best grin, and then turns her head away from him. And then turns back, still smiling. It's very coy - like she's doing her best hair-flipping flirting with him. She rarely does it with me, and never to Sebastian. (When she looks at Sebastian, she stares at him very intently, and watches everything he does. And smiles. She's going to be his little shadow, I think.) Steve and I can't figure out why she's doing it, but it's really funny.

We were skype-chatting with Popo and Grandpa the other day, and Liesl gave me the biggest pout before she started fussing a bit. I thought my parents were going to cry from laughter, and glee, as they claimed to recognize that overly dramatic pout from my babyhood and thanked the gods of karma for blessing me with a daughter who would take after me. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

And in other news, Liesl figured out how to hold things and grasp things just yesterday and today. We've been giving her a little shaker toy, and various brightly colored noisemaking things, and she's been moving the toys around and investigating them.

big step: sleeping in the real bed!

2011-01-17T21:07:00.004-05:00

Sebastian moved out of his crib a long time ago - almost a year ago - after we caught him climbing over the railing. We put his crib mattress on the floor for a long while, and then finally over the summer picked out and bought a twin-size bed and frame. He refused to use the bed. Nothing would convince him to get on it, or sleep in it. We took away the crib mattress and he started sleeping on the floor - on the hardwood floor - with nothing but his pillow, his duckies, and a thin blanket. After a little while, we decided to humor him and provided him with a mat. He put the mat as close to the door of his room as possible, with his head in the doorway, and bedded down on it every naptime and nighttime.

We've tried to figure out why he doesn't like the bed, but he hasn't been able to articulate his objections. We decided that maybe he's just afraid of falling out. So today we borrowed a bed rail from our friends, the Krapfs, and installed it, and Sebastian informed me that he was going to sleep in his big boy bed. Steve set it up, with stuffed animals lining the bed rail and Seb's favorite objects all around, and our boy curled up to read himself to sleep. But then, when the actual moment of going to sleep arrived, he had second thoughts. He told us he would sleep in the big bed when he was as tall as us. He asked very sweetly to have his mat back. We cajoled him to just try it for one night, telling him how proud we would be. He still looked anxious, so I crawled in beside him and cuddled with my boy until he drifted off.

We'll see if he makes it through the night, or if he's willing to try again tomorrow night. But for tonight, success! He looks so long and lean to me - growing up so fast. Sigh.

Hana Jane

2011-01-13T20:50:00.002-05:00

We are delighted to welcome our new niece, Hana Jane Cuthbertson! She was born to Tricia and Jeff just after midnight, January 12. A snow baby. She's lovely. We drove to the hospital in Hoboken yesterday afternoon so we could meet her and see Trish. Sebastian was extremely excited to see his new cousin. (Really, he was. He kept asking "are we there yet?" all the way to the hospital, and when we initially told him he couldn't come in with us, his face fell and he looked crushed. So we had to sneak him in.)

Of course, now Sebastian has four girl cousins, and nary a boy cousin in sight. Poor thing.

January snows

2011-01-09T17:14:00.000-05:00

Two month checkup

2011-01-04T13:04:00.002-05:00

We took Liesl to the doctor today for her 2-month checkup. Sebastian was a very well-behaved and concerned big brother ("Why are they hurting her?"). Liesl weighed in at 12 lbs, and measured 22 1/2 inches. She's about 50th percentile for height and 75th for weight, so she's clearly eating enough. :)

letters to Santa

2011-01-03T20:21:00.002-05:00

As I blogged earlier, Sebastian wrote a letter to Santa requesting a new school bus, and Santa showed up in person and delivered one at his daycare holiday party. Apparently this made a deep impression. A couple of nights ago, as he was lying in bed trying to go to sleep, he asked Steve if he could write another letter to Santa and ask for more Cars movie characters (the Sheriff and Ramone). He was extremely excited about his brilliant idea. Steve explained that Santa only comes once a year, and that a year was a really long time, and so the two of them decided that they would instead write a letter to mommy asking for the cars.

This is the letter that was awaiting me at the breakfast table:
Dear Mommy,
I want Sheriff and Ramone, Mama. Please can I have them? Please Mama? I'm going to clean up my dishes when I am done eating and I will not fuss when Mommy tells me to go and I'll clean up my toys.
Thank you.
Love,
Sebastian

Steve had to prompt him re. the promises of good behavior, of course. But Seb insisted on trying to write his own name at the end. I love it.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T12:22:00.008-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas in the Avery/Raab home. It was the first time that Sebastian was really able to understand the idea of Santa Claus and to ask for and anticipate specific presents. And of course, it was our first holiday with little Liesl-girl, who was smiley and happy throughout the day. We put out a plate of cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve.

Christmas day began with the Advent calendar, which has been filled with various treats all month long. Sebastian has gotten small treats - chocolate, cookies - as well as larger ones - a book, a new game. This morning the 25th contained two small cars, Luigi and Guido (two characters from Pixar's Cars movie).

We then peeked into our stockings to see what Santa had brought. In addition to oranges and a pear, Sebastian got a magnifying glass and a Mater (tow truck; see Cars movie).

I made fig bread on Friday -our annual tradition - and we all enjoyed slices of it with our eggs and tea and oranges.

And then there were lots and lots more presents. Sebastian got a new jacket from cousins Danica and Roxana, Sally and The King from Popo and Grandpa, a dominoes game and books and a big red Mack truck from mommy and daddy. Steve got a Kindle and a manbag; I got cozy new slippers and a beautiful necklace.

Liesl got a red and white Christmas dress from Popo, and a new book from cousins Sam and Eve which Sebastian promptly read to her.

And then it was off to Greenlawn to celebrate with the Raabs. Sebastian got new trucks from uncle Joe (a Hummer) and uncle George (a police truck), as well as a Trunki (ride-on suitcase) from uncle Tom and aunt Angie. He also got new games from Grandma, trains from aunt Adele, and a dinosaur from aunt Trish and uncle Jeff. He and Rio played really nicely together. Liesl slept and ate, and then woke up and smiled very sweetly for everyone.

Great Grandma Raab and her three great grandchildren.

Happy Harbor holiday party

2010-12-21T20:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Harbor's annual holiday party was this past Friday. The highlight for the kids is that Santa comes, on a big red fire engine, to say hello and distribute presents. Sebastian had specifically requested a new school bus for Christmas. We wrote a letter to Santa together: Dear Santa, Please can I have a new school bus please? Thank you. Sebastian.

Sure enough, Santa brought Sebastian a beautiful new school bus. The children then sang songs and had a little dance party, and we all ate the food that everyone had brought. Photos and 3 videos below.

From December 2010

Jingle Bells

From December 2010

We wish you a Merry Christmas

From December 2010

And my personal favorite, with Seb singing loud and clear.

Sebastian reading to Liesl

2010-12-20T15:15:00.002-05:00

Sebastian reading to Liesl from B. Avery on Vimeo.

Liesl doesn't seem to fully appreciate Seb's storytelling, but we were properly impressed.

Liesl rocks tummy time

2010-12-19T18:24:00.002-05:00

Steve was playing with Liesl the other day - making faces, making her laugh - and then plopped her over on her belly for some tummy time. She looked at him for a bit, and then he moved to the other side to encourage her to turn her head and follow his voice. He kept talking, and after a few minutes she gave a big sigh and seemed to settle in. He leaned over to check, and sure enough, she'd fallen asleep! I'm sure that most parents wouldn't find this totally miraculous, but Sebastian didn't fall asleep on his own, without bouncing, cuddling, a pacifier, shushing, swaddling, or a moving car, until he was about 3. So Steve and I were simply awestruck. She slept for a good 2 hours on her stomach that time, and we've since put her down for other naps on her tummy. She scooches (sp?) her legs up under her, so that her bum sticks up in the air. It's adorable. She's next to me in her crib, sleeping just like that, as I type.

sweet baby girl

2010-12-14T12:18:00.002-05:00

We have fallen down on the photography front of late - my mom and dad left, taking with them their nice camera, and Liesl developed a terrible case of rashy pimples. The poor thing looked like a 13-year old with bad skin, and felt scaly to boot. So I wasn't feeling driven to commemorate that stage. Happily, she has moved beyond that now, and is back to soft skin. She's filled out and is smiling more and more, and she's adorable.

My list of things to blog about has been growing and growing, a sure sign that I'll never get to half of the topics. Liesl has been a very good sleeper so far, and unlike Sebastian not at all interested in the pacifier. She is very interested in sucking on her own thumb/hand, if she could just figure out the mechanics of getting it in her mouth. She's just a sweet, happy baby, and we are feeling extremely lucky.

Our boy is such a cuddler. He is always asking if he can touch Liesl, and hold her, and carry her, and sit with her. I think he sometimes squeezes her a bit too tight in his enthusiasm for hugging her, but I am reluctant to criticize him. I want him to keep on cuddling with her. So I let her get a bit squished - she cries and wriggles if it's too much - to keep him happy.

I went to Whole Foods by myself this past week, for the first time in a really long time. I thought it would be better and easier without Sebastian, but instead I was just lonely. I missed the conversations that Seb and I have in the store, and the "help" he gives me in choosing things, counting eggs, unpacking the cart, etc. It was faster, but it felt more like a chore and less like an adventure.

Sebastian's language skills have been really going through a rapid shift lately. He is able to put together much more complex thoughts and sentences and his grammatical errors (in verb tense, for ex.) are decreasing. He is also remembering and repeating a lot of things we say, even when we aren't sure he's paying attention the first time around. His creative and imaginary play is also really developing - he doesn't play with dolls, but he attributes human characteristics and personality to his cars and buses. He has them talk to each other and do things together, and they interact in various ways (getting angry with each other, for ex.). It's fascinating to be in the next room and eavesdrop on his internal conversations. He has named two of his trains - he knows that the blue one is Thomas, but the green engine he has named Clock, and the black engine has been dubbed France. He has a green clock, so that makes some sense, but I have no idea where France came from.

He and Steve have really bonded over the last two months, since Liesl was born. Steve does the whole bedtime routine - bath, pjs, stories - and is often the one who is available to play with him. It's been very sweet to watch, although I admit to feeling a little left out and sad that my boy doesn't automatically turn to his mama any more. There are also a lot of little ways in which Seb is copying Steve - his favorite color is green, he likes to play football in the living room and cheer for the Pittsburgh Steelers... it's cute.