random July photos

My boys watching the World Cup on the computer.

Sebastian reading "It's not a box!" in his blanket cave.

Lining up the cars and trucks. What a lot of traffic!

Reading the newspaper. The Automobiles section, of course.

Welcome Roxana!

We are so delighted to have a new niece/cousin! Congratulations to Carl and Kim, and welcome baby Roxana Lee Avery!!!

Carl's report and photos are on their blog.

Sebastian is very excited about his new baby cousin, and we all can't wait to meet her.

manipulation

"I think my nails are too long. Mommy, are my nails too long?"

Sebastian says this at least two to three times a week. At least. Your first reaction is probably, "Great!", a child who doesn't scream and squirm away from getting his nails cut! Signs of a toddler boy who cares about appearances!

Except that you'd be wrong, because the nails comment is all about manipulation - of me. You see, he loves the movie Cars, and we are very strict about when he gets to watch it. Basically, almost never. Except that a few months ago, I made him a deal, that he could watch the movie if he let me cut his nails. You can see where this is going...

So now, a few times a week, he makes an elaborate show of examining his nails. He asks me to inspect them, to conclude that they are too long. And only then, once he's snookered me into agreeing that indeed his nails need to be cut, only then does he say, "And let's watch Cars, too!". He always says it in this bright and excited voice, as if it's just occurred to him that nail-cutting and the Cars movie go together. He never makes the mistake of first asking to watch the movie.

It's hysterical. It's his first attempt at manipulation. I love the patience he shows as he goes through the whole elaborate setup. It cracks me up. (I still only cut his nails once a week, though, but apparently hope springs eternal ... or his memory is short.)

food for thought

Everyone I know around here is discussing the New York magazine article referenced in this Motherlode blog post.

I am still working through what I think.

more excitement than necessary

I managed to get an infection in my finger over the weekend - I have no idea how it happened, as there was no cut or open wound - but the area just beside the nail on my index finger became very painful and swollen. I tried to ignore it, but it just kept getting worse.

So I decided to bite the bullet and go to the doctor this morning. She gave me a local shot of lidocaine and then cut open my finger to let the blood and pus come out. And that was where things went badly. I reacted badly to the lidocaine and started to feel lightheaded. Then I started to get nauseated, and clammy, and even more lightheaded. Then my heart rate dropped (to 52/minute) and my blood pressure dropped (to 72/50). And that's when they decided to call the ambulance. Apparently there's nothing like a pregnant woman to get people's attention.

So an ambulance came, and the cops, and there was a lot of paperwork, and they took me to Phelps Hospital to make sure everything was okay. They especially wanted to check the baby's heart rate, which turned out to be totally normal. And then there was a lot more paperwork. But in the end, my blood pressure recovered and I felt fine - except for the pain of the infected and now cut-up finger, obviously - and they sent me home.

I can't even imagine the bills that my infected finger just generated.

Sebastian was a little scared of all the people bustling around, but I think the joy of following mommy in an ambulance made up for it. "An amamulance! Mommy was in an amamulance!" Of course, we had brought him along to try and show him that the doctor's office wasn't that scary (he's terrified of his doctor), and I'm pretty sure that backfired entirely. Or maybe not! Maybe I can tell him that it's possible that he'll get to ride in an ambulance, if he visits the doctor!

Soso and Bastian

We went to the pool with the Karyos twice in the last week - the first time, I tried to convince Sebastian to a) put on a swim diaper; b) put on swim trunks; c) get in the pool. The first two were sufficiently traumatic, and led to such tears and upset, that the third was impossible. So I put him in his regular diaper and shorts, and he then consented to dip a toe in.

The second time was much more successful. I didn't even try to make him change clothes. Rachel very astutely led Sonya to the opposite side of the kiddie wading pool, and it only took a few minutes for Sebastian to decide that he just had to go join his lady love. So he waded in, giggled about how cold it was around his private parts, and then took off to see what Sonya was doing. They splashed, they jumped into the water, they investigated the fountain, they kicked their legs... a total success. I know there's no way he would have done it without Sonya there to show him how.

After a long time in the water, we took them out to run around the playground. First they hid in the pirate's ship, firmly insisting that we both (both mamas) go away. Then they ran away from us, up the hill to the tennis courts, where they clambered into side-by-side chairs and commenced to watch a doubles match, chattering away to each other.

Other vignettes from Sonya and Sebastian's play:

Sonya to Sebastian, "Bastian, come here!"
Bastian to Soso, "One minute, Sonya!"
It cracked us all up.

Leaving the farmer's market a few weeks ago, Sebastian started to give Sonya goodbye kisses and then didn't want to stop. Many kisses later, Sonya's papa dragged her away. :)

They spent probably close to an hour in the Karyo's backyard, carrying rocks up the hill and then climbing back down to get more, totally independent, carrying on a conversation with each other the whole time. (About what, who knows?)

Out of the blue one morning: "I want to go on an adventure with Sonya."

It's so delightful that they enjoy each other's company so much, and play so nicely and cooperatively together. And it's been amazing to watch the development of their ability to independently play and communicate, without any intervention from us.

future frisbee star

Steve may think our boy is going to become a soccer player, but I look at these photos and see my future Ultimate Frisbee star. He's fast, he loves to run, and he's been throwing since he was 2. And he's been sitting on the sidelines and watching his mommy play a frisbee game every Saturday morning, so he knows what to do out there... (well, except I had to quit with the advent of the second trimester of this pregnancy. But I can't wait to return next spring!). Look at that form! I'm so proud.

becoming a big boy

Sebastian has recently decided that he's a big boy, for which I thank my dad. Apparently during the two evenings that my mom and dad looked after our boy and put him to bed, the idea of being a big boy arose and was strongly encouraged by Grandpa. So Sebastian now talks about how he's big and about who else is big (Dani and Silas come up a lot) and about the various things he can do because he's big. Chief among these is that big boys sleep by themselves, in their own big boy beds, and don't need mommy or daddy.

This is basically a minor miracle. Since my mom and dad were here, he has not needed us to lie down next to him at bedtime, and has only woken up once per night (or not at all!) asking for our company. And even then, I visit him briefly and he isn't panicky or distraught that he is in his bed on his own. He just snuggles back in and goes back to sleep. It's amazing. It's life-changing.

Now, if only my mom and dad's strong encouragement of the potty had been as successful...

telling Sebastian about the baby

We told Sebastian about the new baby the other day. We said, "There's a baby in mommy's belly. Isn't that exciting!? You're going to be a big brother!". He looked at us, and then said, "Okay, you get the yellow school bus, and I'll get the green bus...".

I assumed that it hadn't registered, and that was fine. Steve thought he saw a flicker of comprehension. But we figured we'd try again later.

The next day, when I picked Sebastian up from daycare, the head teacher Amanda said to me, "Congratulations! Sebastian told us your happy news!" I was flabbergasted. Amanda reported that Sebastian came up to her and said "My mommy has a baby in her belly. I'm going to be a big brother."

Amazing! Further proof that we need to be careful what we say around the boy. Little pitchers have big ears, and all that...

Bastian and Dani, part 4