Headlights in the Fog

And now...

I had to start off with that cute picture of Kitty. She is just so adorable and funny these days. If you ask her, "Are you a baby?" She'll say, "NO! I Kitty!" She will also answer the same way if you pose the questions are you Jack? are you a dog? are you a zebra? to her. Last week I bought some corn on the cob because we had had some recently at my mom's and it had been so very yummy. The kids were very interested in how you go about schucking the corn... I gave them lessons. See them hard at work below:

Jack is concentrating very hard... now for Kitty's concentrating look:

Kitty did not want help. No siree bob, no help whatsoever. She actually did pretty well, in the end. Her pace was just a bit slower than mine or Jack's. The corn was super sweet and so, so, very good.
My 5 yo nephew Mason is visiting for 2 nights. He got here yesterday and he and Jack immediately disappeared into the playroom for an hour. After I put Kitty down for a nap, I had no idea what to do with myself... Jack usually wants me sitting right with him. I went in to the playroom thinking I would sit with the boys while they played. They were hunched over something they were building out of legos and the vibe I got was that I wasn't needed or particularly wanted at that moment. It was such an odd sensation... I sat in the livingroom reading a magazine. I felt sure if I started doing anything that really involved my attention they would immediately need me. They are having such fun together.

I understand completely...

Today Jack and I were discussing the meaning of the word 'fair.' A book we were reading was explaining it using sharing or not sharing cookies as an example. Jack looked a little confused, so I tried to clarify and then asked him if he understood. The conversation went something like this:

B: Do you understand now what 'fair' means?
J: No, my brain isn't very sensitive right now.

(B laughs for a minute, stops to kiss J on the head and then tries again.)

B: Maybe you were thinking of when we have cookies and break them in half?
J: No, I was thinking of Star Wars.

(B laughs again, harder this time.)

What I had forgotten about 2 year olds

I had forgotten how fast 2 year olds can run away from you... in a library, down a steep hill, down to the end of our driveway.
I had forgotten how loudly 2 year olds can scream for no reason other than to amuse themselves by hearing their own high pitched shrieks.
I had forgotten how 2 year olds seem to make decisions based on flawed logic.

Jack, Kitty and I trekked over to the Morris Arboretum today to see their garden trains. We're members and every time I go I tell myself I need to go more frequently. We had the whole place to ourselves due to it threatening to rain and also arriving right when they opened at 10am.

It is such a magical place... and they've done a great deal of work to the gardens since I was there during the winter. New bridges, walkways... a new waterfall (above) in with the trains... please... if you live anywhere near Philadelphia... go there... it is so, so beautiful.
Here is Kitty enjoying the new fountain:

In the car on the ride to our favorite burrito place for lunch, I was saying to the kids, "What a pleasure it was to be at the Arboretum today! With all the rain of the past few days, all of the plants and trees seemed so lush and beautiful. I'm so glad we could enjoy it together!" After this Jack said, "Are you talking to us? I thought you were talking on the phone!"

Kitty enjoyed brushing the water off of the plants.

Emerging Personality

I might have mentioned in a previous post how Kitty really likes wearing Jack's clothes... both old and current. Her favorite shirt to sleep in is a long-sleeved shirt with a fire truck on it. She was wearing it this morning when I went in to get her. She had a very full diaper, as she usually does first thing in the  morning. The routine has always been: change diaper, get into new clothes for the day. Today I showed her the striped pants which she approved and then because it is colder here today, I got out the adorable matching dress (see above picture) and took off her fire truck shirt and put the dress on. Well, it was as if I had seared her with a hot poker... screams like a banshee. I kept saying over and over, "It's blue! It's blue!" as I ran down the stairs with her... trying to not wake up Thom or Jack. Now, I must confess that I LOVE this particular dress/pants combo... my friend Katie gave it to Kitty as a hand-me-down from Jack's friend Olivia. It's made by my favorite kids' clothing manufacturer: Hanna Anderssen. I wanted Kitty to wear the dress today... because I wanted to see her in it, because, well, it's so cute. The fact that I'm having thoughts like this are freaky to me because my mother and I fought tooth and nail over my wardrobe through the 80's. I never thought I'd ever insist on a child of mine ever wearing something because I wanted them to. As I thought this over while Kitty was eating her breakfast, I decided to back down and let Kitty pick out her own outfit. She got down off of her chair and pulled at the dress to get it off and I told her she could take it off if I could just take one picture first (see above.) Right after we took the picture, Jack came downstairs. During all of the hubbub of good mornings, I took off Kitty's dress. Once she realized it, she complained loudly to have it put back on. I guess she really is a two year old.
Here's a picture of the kids where you can see Kitty wearing one of Jack's firefighting tshirts:

More Star Wars

Actual conversation overheard this morning:
Jack: Why is C3PO so serious?
Thom: He's built that way.

Later... I'm lying in bed and Jack comes over with his little lego C3PO and R2D2. He says, "It makes R2D2 so happy when C3PO takes his head off to brush his teeth."

A little later, still in bed... Jack and I are looking at the Eyewitness Book 'Everest.' Jack asks me how long it takes to climb to the top of the mountain. I explain it takes a long time, plus it is hard on humans because the air has less oxygen the farther you go up. Jack says, "They should wear oxygen tanks." The kid is 4.

Crazy Day (plus Kitty turned 2!)

A picture of Jack and Kitty from Sunday's party. Monday night (Tuesday morning), I woke up with shooting pains under my left breast and it felt like one of the flaps of my heart was flipping the wrong way. I could not get comfortable... any which way I turned seemed to intensify the pain. Of course, I was totally freaked out I was having a heart attack, but managed to fall back asleep. In the morning, the pain was still there, but only when I was lying down. Thom and I took Kitty in to the pediatrician for her 2 year old well visit. When we got there, I stayed in the car and called to make an appointment at my primary Dr's office (their office opening right before Kitty's appointment.) They could squeeze me in at 10:30. Kitty passed her appointment with flying colors... in the past 6 months she's gained 4lbs and 2 inches in height. She's gone from the 15% in weight to the 54% which the Dr. was very pleased with. She's 86% for height. The fact that she is talking in 3 word sentences (sometimes) impressed the Dr. After Kitty's appt., I dropped her off at home (where Grandma Gretchen was watching Jack) and headed over to my Dr's office. After lots of questions and a simply stunning EKG, it was determined that I had pulled a muscle... and that it had not one iota of a thing to do with my heart. My Dr was concerned that a rib could be involved, so she sent me to the hospital to have a chest x-ray. I arrived home from all of this quite exhausted and took a nap in which I had not one pain whatsoever. Go figure.
We had a quiet observance of 6:21pm when Kitty made her way out of me and in to the world, opened some presents, had mini-chocolate cupcakes and then after bathtime, Kitty and I called it a day. Jack, on the other hand, had taken a 4 o'clock nap... so he went late-night grocery shopping with his dad.
This morning at 6am, Kitty and I (Thom and Jack still being asleep) said goodbye to Gretchen... she's been here for a week and I could have her here for a month more. I always get teary-eyed when she leaves, she's such an awesome human being, adoring grandmother and caring mother-in-law. Really, I'm blessed in the in-law department.

Happy Birthday Kitty!

We had Kitty's 2 year old birthday party here at the ranch yesterday. Geez... my little BABY is going to be 2 years old TOMORROW!  We were blessed to have all 5 grandparents, Thom's sister and her fiance, Ed, here to celebrate with us. It was just a wonderfully fun day. Kitty's big present was a play kitchen set up in the playroom which she and Jack both adore and have made good use of since it was installed. Aunt Karen and Uncle Ed gave Kitty a big tub of pretend food... so lots of very interesting culinary delights were being served to all. Most of them involved ice cream cones in frying pans... very cutting edge cooking, I'm telling you. I remembered this year and gathered the 5 grandparents + grandchildren for a photo:

From the top left:
Meemaw (Sue), Grandma (Gretchen)
Ohgeechan (Yoshi), Ghia (Jim), Kitty (birthday girl)
Ohbahchan (Mineko), Jack (big brother)

I know Jack has an odd face in this picture... but it is the only picture in which he is looking at the camera.
Here are Karen and Ed with the kids:

One really nice thing about the party is that it was the first time my parents had met Ed and they all got along famously. Ed is a reporter and currently covers Baltimore, which is where my mom grew up... and sometime before that he covered the Orlando part of Florida and my parents recently lived in Florida. I could tell by the questions my parents asked Ed that they were enthralled with his stories. He is an amazing man... so much knowledge on so many things... he's really opened my eyes to how important good reporting is in our society. Plus, he is so wonderful to my sister-in-law. He's a keeper.
Lots of pizza, cake and ice cream was consumed over the course of the day. As a result, I think we all feel a little sugar-hung-over today. Somehow, though, we will recover enough to have more cake tomorrow night on Kitty's actual birthday.

My Boy

My boy is starting to read. He can read more than he lets on... but is in that beginning embarrassed stage, where you don't want anyone to listen to you for fear you'll mess up. He sounds out words while we're in the car and we'll talk about how a 'c' sounds like a 'k' and all those little things you take for granted when you can read. Today he and I went to IKEA to buy some additions to the play kitchen I am putting together for Kitty's birthday. We walked through the store holding hands and it felt very sweet and wonderful to be spending time alone with him. He only started to whine when we got about 3/4's through the store... and who can blame him? It's a big store. After we checked out we had a hot dog special lunch at the Bistro followed by ice cream cones. He couldn't keep up with the furious pace his cone was going, so he frequently asked me to 'make it not so drippy.' I did notice one man watching me hold my cone while holding and licking Jack's cone... must have made for a funny sight. After that, we would just switch cones when his needed maintenance. Back in the car, Jack asked me what it meant to have 'high hopes?' The Frank Sinatra version of the ant moving the rubber tree plant song is on one of the mix cd's Thom made for the car. I love those sorts of questions from him. When he asks them, I tend to launch in to idealistic/philosopholistic teacher mode and come out with a 5 minute lesson on believing in one's dreams. I'm usually feeling pretty good about my parenting after these moments until Jack follows up with a question like, "How do they make crayons?" The boy has a ton of question these days... he's always thinking, always assimilating what he's learning in to whatever it is he is playing or doing. He's an amazing kid. He makes me laugh. He also lets me kiss him on the head if I ask politely.

Bathroom talk

Jack seems to be like a camel as far as being able to go very looooooonnnnnngggg expanses of time in between going to the bathroom. So much so, that I don't think about it and never think to ask him. Well, yesterday we went to Smith Memorial Playhouse for an hour or so and then to Ruby's in Suburban Square for lunch and then to Borders. I had Kitty in the stroller because she is a MESS in Borders (running, screaming, pulling books off shelves kind of mess) and while we were waiting for the elevator Jack is doing this holding-his-crotch-funny-dance sort of move. I ask him if he needs to go to the bathroom and he says no. "Are you sure?" "I mean YES! RIGHT THIS MINUTE!" I try to calm him down until the elevator arrives... we get on the elevator, get to the bathroom, have the conversation about the automatic flusher (he doesn't like 'em either) and he gets his business done. After washing hands (which Jack did sitting cross-legged on the counter), we walk over to the children's section. We're discussing where we should look for Star Wars books (Jack's latest obsession) when he says, "We have to go home RIGHT NOW!" "Why?" I ask. "Because I HAVE TO POOP!" I, of course, become quite startled at this proclamation, and start asking him further questions. His attention has wandered to a floor puzzle and whether or not we can purchase it. I bring him quickly back to the subject at hand. I ask him if he thinks he can make it home... he says yes, if I drive 'quickly.' This does not inspire confidence in me. He insists he does not want to poop at Borders. We walk 'quickly' to the elevator. Suddenly, Jack has a look of pure terror on his face. I say, "I am making an executive decision: you are pooping here!" Jack says, "I think that is a very good idea!" We make it in time and all goes well. I think from now on I will try to remember to ask him if he has to go to the bathroom before we leave the house. We must have been quite the sight at Borders: back and forth from the elevator to the bathroom and then leaving without buying anything!

Random thoughts

Lately, Jack is obsessed with Star Wars. I think it began, as most things do around here, from a toy that we named and gave a personality to. When I say *WE* I mean Thom and myself. I think the rock solid foundation of our love is the layer of just gosh darn silly-boots humor. Mostly having to do with having things talk that don't usually talk. In this case, a vintage 1970's Fisher Price Little Person Race Car Driver was renamed 'Darth Vader.' So, before Jack could speak, we referred to something he played with as being something from Star Wars. Then there was the ongoing conversation between Thom and myself as to where 'Darth Vader's Theme' was on the Star Wars soundtrack. We couldn't find it. Turns out it doesn't show up until 'The Empire Strikes Back' (Thanks Wikipedia!) and it is called 'The Imperial March.' Thom and I are just dumbfounded that it isn't in the first movie... I mean that line of music IS DARTH VADER!
Perhaps you are gathering why Jack is obsessed with Star Wars. He has small lego figures of R2D2, C3PO and 4 Imperial stormtroopers. He is always asking Thom to, "Tell me a Star Wars story!" Thom will retell Luke having to go find Yoda to become a Jedi or something along those lines. The latest mix cd that Thom made for the car has 'The Imperial March' on it. When it comes on, I feel a surge of power course through the car and in to my body... it is heady music to drive to!
The other day I asked Kitty what her favorite color was and she clearly said, "Blue!" I was flabbergasted! I had no idea she had an opinion on the matter. Today I took the kids to Smith Memorial Playhouse and since it was an ultra-hot day, I packed a cooler with many sippy cups of water. As I was getting everyone settled for the ride, I asked if they wanted a snack or water. Kitty said, "Water." but then started to cry when I handed her the sippy cup. I asked her again, she said "Water." I handed it to her and she shook her head vehemently 'no' and cried. What I usually do when this happens is just move on to whatever I would have gone on to do had she been happy when I handed her the water. In this case it was starting the car and driving. It really bothered me that she had gotten so upset. I said, "Kitty, you so clearly said you wanted 'Water' and then you started crying... why was that?" and lickity-split she said, "Blue!" "Oh," I said, "You wanted the sippy cup with the blue lid! Is that right?" "Yes!" She said. I felt like some kind of rocket scientist. From where she was sitting she could see in to the cooler and there were 4 sippy cups but only one with a blue lid. Jack then had a 5 minute discussion about Kitty and her love of blue and isn't that odd because he thought she liked pink! What do you know about that? I'm so used to Jack having opinions about everything... but Kitty is (in general) go with the flow... until now!