Grandpa In The Workshop

Trip To Ohio, Christmas 2013

We are very excited about travelling to visit Grandma and Grandpa (and others) for Christmas 2013! Our flight will be a red-eye where hopefully the kids can sleep. We were going to drive (36 hours each way) but scored some cheap airplane tickets so got to fly instead! The kids are very, very excited for the trip.

Tire Swing

Stephen In Bathroom

Stephen Peeing By Himself For The First Time

I just turned my back for a minute, and Stephen ran over to the urinal and was done by the time I got over there.

No More Monkeys Jumping On Bed!

Stranger Danger

Maybe I've got it all backwards, but I don't try to get the kids to be afraid of strangers.

In fact, I try to get them to be confident enough to go up and to talk to anyone, at any time.

Am I worried that they might be abducted? Not really. I never let them out of my sight, or the sight of someone else who can take care of them.

What are they going to need to do as adults? Be afraid of everyone and unable to talk to new people? That's sure not going to help them much. Better to be able to know how to talk to as many different people as possible.

So no, the kids are not being taught "stranger danger."

Get In The Car!

Papa: Ok kids, jump into the car please.

Stephen: Noooo? Me no juuuump? Me cliiiimb!

Papa: Oh yes, you're right Stephen, please CLIMB into the car.

Monsters Pretend

Stephen started going through a phase where he started becoming afraid at times. It turned out that he was afraid of monsters that he thought were in the darkness lurking somewhere.

Papa: Stephen, monsters are pretend.

Stephen: Monsters pretend?

Papa: Yes, monsters are pretend.

Stephen: Oh!

He still needs occasional reassurance sometimes when he becomes afraid and will ask again.

Stephen: Monsters pretend?

Papa: Yes, monsters are pretend.

Stephen: Oh!

He and Sarah by themselves also figured out that Superman and Spiderman are pretend. However, they think that Santa Claus is real.

The Little Gentleman

Stephen is a little gentleman in almost everything he does. He says please and thank you without being prompted. Whenever he gets some candy or something special he immediately wants to share it with Sarah or make sure that she gets some and knows about it too. And anytime if he has a difference with Sarah, Mama, or Papa he is usually very quick to try to make amends and to give and receive a hug.

Papa (hands Stephen something)
Stephen (beaming): Thank you Papa!

Yes

Stephen just switched from saying "yeah" to pronouncing "yes".

Stephen: Yes!

Me Happy!

Stephen is at the age when he starts to form sentences with very basic grammar.

Sarah: The voy a matar!
Stephen: Me sad!

Papa comes home. Sarah and Mama are yelling and crying.
Stephen (looking me in the eye): Papa, me happy!

Stephen (putting on a sweatshirt): Papa, hold. This. Banana. Hold. This. Rock.

Stephen (climbing very quickly into his car seat): Papa, me FAST!

Ow!

Stephen hits Sarah, then turns to Mama making a pain face, holding up his hand and and saying, "OW!"

Mama (shaking head): Mmm Stephen, you hurt your hand?

Umbrellas

Sarah: I like it when it rains A LOT ... Because THEN we get to use UMBRELLAS!

House Rule #37

House Rule #37:

Mamas can fart and it's never a big deal, but when papas fart it's a near criminal offense.

"Auto-Awesome" Pics

So my Android phone uploads the photos I take automatically, and recently they started sometimes automatically converting into animations, many of which are pretty cool. Here is a collection of some of these automatically-generated images.

Climbing At Park By Tia Evis' House

Relaxin' At Wal-Mart

Playing With Nana Near Tia Evis' House

It's Raining, It's Pouring,
The Old Man Is Snoring ...

Park Time At, Like, 6am-In-The-
Way-Too-Early-Why-Does-Stephen-
Wake-Up-So-Early, Morning

Playing In A Basket At Grandma
& Grandpa's House, Christmas '12?

Work, Work, Work

With Aunt Anne, Christmas '12

Eating Delicious Play-Doh Watermelon,
Christmas '12

Can't Remember Where This Was

Silly Monkeys Christmas 2012

Riding The Bread-Seller's Bike,
Bacerac, Sonora, Spring 2013

Internet

We finally got Internet at our house. This means that we can now video chat with Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Bo and Aunt Anne, which we have now started doing. "Yay!"

Random Pics

Papa: Are those too big?
Stephen: No, no too big!

Mama Loves Chipotle

That Froggie Just Ate Sarah!

After Seeing Sarah Squat To Go Peepee,
Stephen Attempts The Same ...
... By Standing On His Head

What We Look Like To Kids
(Photo Taken By Stephen)

Static Electricity

Flying The Police Helicopter

Shopping At Wal-Mart

The Two Kitties Leaving
Scottsdale Civic Center Library

Stephen Playing Outside In Our Mini-Yard

(This Was One Of The Last
Times He Used Diapers)

Sarah By The Fountain

See-Saw at Playground in Mexico

No Caso! No Caso!

We picked up a phrase from the kids' cousins: "No caso." It's a shortened version of a Spanish phrase which we use to say, "I'm not paying attention to you; I'm ignoring your attempts to bother me."

It comes in pretty handy. Any time one of the kids is bothering the other one, we remind them, "No caso," and it makes them laugh even if for just a few moments. Except that both kids will then start yelling "No caso!" at each other, Stephen especially. But still, it is a useful tool for deescalating conflicts and having a bit of fun.

Cochise County Fair!

We visited the Cochise County Fair in Douglas, AZ. The kids absolutely loved it. We saw bunnies, chickens, sheep, goats, animals that I could not tell whether they were sheep or goats, pigs, cows, and even some horses!

Also, there was a decent Johnny Cash cover band playing that the kids were dancing around to.

And the kids got to ride on a carnival ride, a train going around in circles.

But their favorite part was attending the rodeo and watching cowboys run out on horses and fell calves with rope.

Sarah (at rodeo): I wanna leave! Let's go somewhere else!

Sarah (the next morning): My favorite part was when the horses ran out and they threw the rope around the cow's feet and it fell down!

Stephen: Run! Run! Run!

Yep, The Money Spent On Those
Photography Classes in College
Was Pretty Much Wasted

We couldn't help but compare it to our "home" fair, the Great Geauga County Fair. It was much smaller and there were no tractors, but it was still a ton of fun, especially for the kids.

One favorite memory was when Stephen was getting sleepy and glazed-eyed, and I asked him if he wanted to to see some tractors. He bounced back to full strength so fully and so instantly and with such enthusiasm in his eye that it made me laugh. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, there turned out to be no tractors, but we did get to see plenty of other exciting things.

Peepee

Stephen saw Sarah going peepee by squatting down and tried to imitate her by standing on his head ...

Crash!

Sarah: Nooo! Papa I want you drive!

Papa: Why? Are you afraid Mama will crash?

Sarah: Yes!

Later...

Stephen: Crash! Crash! Crash!

Mama: Stephen, you want us to crash?

Stephen: Yeah!

Mama: But if we crash, you will have a lot of owie! Are you sure you want to crash?

Stephen (thoughtful pause): Yes!

Papa: ... He's a boy!

Congratulations Marlenne!

We were able to celebrate our niece Marlenne's graduation from high school.

Highlights:

1. Trying to catch balloons for the kids.

2. A dove flew into the graduates seated on the football field, seemingly targeting a particular girl and causing chaos for several moments.

3. Firefighters setting off fireworks intermittently behind the bleachers accidentally set one off exploding through the crowd, exactly where we were walking below the bleachers, freaking out both kids and forcing us to almost leave.

4. Stephen chasing a lazy, helium-filled balloon that kept trying to very slowly float away.

5. Marlenne graduating!

Head Start

Sarah finished up her first (partial) year of "school" at Head Start.

Her first question every morning was, Today I'm going to skewwol?

Everything about her going to Head Start was good. She learned how to write her name and made some friends with boys and girls. It gave the day some structure while exposing her to learning activities every day. And it gave Mama enough of a break to help keep her from going crazy, and to give her some more one-on-one time with Stephen.

Her classroom is closing after this school year but she should be placed in another class in the fall. We went to visit a classroom in North Tempe that hopefully she will be able to get into and attend 6 hours per day.

Head Start is going through budget cuts due to politics on the federal level ("budget sequestration" due to Republicans desiring to cut expenses spend on the majority of the country for the benefit of a tiny fraction of the very richest among us).

It's very sad because there should be nothing that holds us back from investing in our children, and preschool education for kids Sarah's age has been shown to make such a big difference over the course of their entire lives.

Boo to the "elected" Republicans in Congress!

("Elected" because their majority was achieved through gerrymandering, not through getting a majority of votes. Democratic representatives for the House received a total of 1.4 million more votes than the Republicans, and yet the Republicans won 32 more seats than the Dems. Seats that the Repubs are using to obstruct anything constructive and promote the interests of giant corporations and the few thousand richest Americans and the detriment of science, education, the environment, truth, decency, and everything good.)

If you are reading this in 2033, and the Republicans are still around, they sucked in 2013. Really, really, really bad.

Milk! Milk!

Stephen is running around the house, lifting up his shirt, pointing to his chest, and smacking his lips (his sign for milk). Sarah is running around with him, yelling No! No! and laughing.

We think it's a reaction somehow to Mama just starting to wean him off her milk...

Hablando Espanol (Talking Spanish)

We came down to visit Nana and celebrate her birthday. We missed the date by a few days as we waited for Sarah to finish her last week of classes.

Papa: Sarita, ahora vamos a hablar solamente en espanol, porque vamos a Mexico, donde todos hablan espanol. No quieremos hablar ingles aqui, porque vamos a hacer sentir mal a nuestros familiares, quienes todos hablan espanol, y no saben hablar ingles.

So after that, Sarah kept catching Mama talking in English instead of Spanish.

Sarah: Mama! Habla en espanol!

Mama: Ok, gracias Sarita!

Kids Portraits

Taken inside the love sculpture at Scottsdale Civic Center.

Stephen's Flip-Flops

Mama bought Stephen a pair of Disney's Cars flip-flops somewhere the other day, and Stephen loves them so much he wants to wear them everywhere.

He even wore them to bed. But since they started bothering his feet, he took them off and hugged them in his arms as he went to sleep.

Stephen's Bad Dream

Stephen woke up in the middle of the night, crying a lot. Mama figured it was because of a bad dream.

Mama: I think he was having a bad dream about a not nice doggie.

Sarah: Maybe he was dreaming that Sarita hit him!

First Day Meeting Teacher

We went to visit Sarah's new Head Start preschool classroom and meet her new teacher.

Teacher Sasha: Sarah, what do you like to do at school?

Sarah: Umm, I like to hit people!

Motorcycles

Sarah relates all kinds of things to Grandma and Grandpa. We were driving at night and saw a motorcyclist and Sarah started talking about how dangerous they were.

Sarah: When I was little I was riding on a motorcycle with Grandma and we feel down but no sangre* came out. So that's why you should be really careful when you are riding a motorcycle at night.

(Just one of many stories she comes up with.)

*(Sangre = blood)

Rain

On a rainy day in Scottsdale.

Sarah: I like rain, because it makes me feel ... Wet!

We did get a chance to go walk around in the early morning rain, splash in the puddles, walk in the soft grass, let rain run over our toes, and use the kids' rain boots that were gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.

First Crush

Stephen has a friend at preschool - Edna.

Papa: Stephen, did you see anyone at school today?

Stephen: Edna!

...

Papa: Stephen, do you like Edna?

Stephen: Hug Edna!

Edna is a very happy and smiley child, just like Stephen.

...

Mama drops Stephen off at preschool. Stephen has, up to this point, usually been pretty tearful as we leave. Today, Stephen sees Edna.

Stephen: Bye Mama! (Almost shoos Mama out the door).

Row Row Row

Papa taught the kids a new song: Row row row the boat.

They learned the original version, and then Papa taught them the alternative version:

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Throw the teacher overboard
And listen to her scream

Mama: What? I don't want them to learn that!

Papa: (Singing original version several times)

Sarah: Row row row your boat, throw the teacher in the wadder!

Happy Birthday Stephen!

So now it has been two years since we first welcomed Stephen into our arms.

He is a very smiley, happy, playful boy who brings us lots of joy into our hearts.

Work

Papa has been working a ton of hours managing a mechanic shop and at the dealership. Money has been little and time demands have been great, which have been stressors on the family. But the hope is that the work will pan out into greater income and more free time down the road. But work is very close to home (I walk there most days) and we still find time to go out together as a family several evenings per week (that's a great thing!)

Early Head Start

Stephen just got accepted into Early Head Start, which is a government-funded preschool program for broke folks like us. He goes for several hours per day, Monday-Friday. It has been great for Mama, who has had her first break since Sarah was born, although it has been hard for her, too. Stephen cried a lot the first several days he had to go. Mama cried, too. But he has liked the idea of going to school since the beginning and by week 2 he was hardly crying when we dropped him off.

He has fun there, playing with other kids, getting more socialized (if that were possible), and taking baby steps towards independence.

Next month Sarah will go back to her own Head Start preschool in the same building, and then Mama will really have a break - several hours in a row per day with no tiny person demands.

Swimming

The kids love going to the pool to swim. They have been using little plastic "floaties" on each arm and can jump in from the side and swim the length of the pool.

Stephen is able to hold his breath under the water and has no problem dipping his head underwater. In fact, he jumped in to the pool a couple of times without his floaties and had to be retrieved from under the water by nearby Papa, and each time he popped out of the water with a big smile on his face.

Sarah is not as good at holding her breath. She does not like to put her face under the water at all and is a bit more afraid of the water.

But we all have fun splashing around. And Mama is slowly improving her swimming skills as well.

Papa: Stephen, do you want to go to school today?

Stephen (grinning ear-to-ear): No! Pool!

Papa: You want to go swimming in the pool?

Stephen (still grinning): Yeaaahh!

Actually

Sarah: Ac'shuly, I want this one. Ac'shuly, I want the other one. Ac'shuly ... that's a girl in my scowol! Ac'shley!

Electric Company

We have been watching old episodes of The Electric Company with the kids. We all enjoy it and it is good especially for Sarah and for Mama.

Sarah: I like Electric Company because it teaches me how to wead! I want to wead when I grow up and get big.

Congratulations Grandma!

Grandma has finally taken the much-deserved and long-deliberated step of retiring. She worked for several decades cleaning teeth, most recently in an office in our home town for something like 25 years. Her patients and coworkers were like a second family and it was not an easy decision to make, but I was informed that she seems to be happier now than ever before. Now she can do whatever SHE wants to do all day.

(Hope I don't have to wait until I'm years past retirement age in order to do the same).

Love you Grandma!!

Stephen Playing On The Sit-N-Spin

Stephen, Way Too Early In The Morning,
Pulls Everything Out Of His Crib Until He Gets
His Sit-N-Spin, As Papa Films & Tries Vainly
To Sleep On The Couch

One Sock

Sarah is walking around with one fluffy sock and one bare foot.

Papa: Sarah, why do you have one sock?

Sarah (serious): I'm looking for the other one.

Mama Driving

(Mama bumped the the carport wall with the car when trying to pull out and made a hole in the drywall.)

Sarah (a few days later): Papa, Mama is not good driving! She cwash!

Mama: The drywall is really weak. I barely touched it!

Sarah: Don't cwash Mama! Don't cwash!

Good Examples

(Mama and Papa had a disagreement.)

Sarah: Mama, be nice! Papa, that's not good!

Mama, say sorry to Papa and give him a hug!

Papa, say sorry to me for not being a good example!

Stephen's First Sentences

Stephen is starting to group words together.

Stephen: No! Go! (Papa, don't leave to go to work!)

Stephen: No! Hot! (This tortilla has cooled off enough is no longer too hot.)

Sarah's Song

Sarah (singing): Me gusta ir a McDonalds. 

Me gusta ir a muchos lados

(I like to go to McDonald's .. I like to go a lot of places)

(The two lines rhyme as she pronounces them.)

Mama's Striped Shirt

Papa: Look, Sarah, Mama's wearing a black and white blouse!

Sarah: Right! She's a zebra!

Stephen Singing Stephen's Song

Happy Birthday Nana!

Happy Birthday to Nana Elvia, who celebrated 77 years this May 21!

Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!

Stephen likes to wake up every single morning at 6am when we are lucky, 5:45am or earlier when we are not. Lately he has learned to entertain himself playing in the room for a while while Mama and Papa try to get a few more minutes of sleep. (Ever notice that those last few minutes in the morning are the very best moments of rest you can get?)

The other morning I was asleep with a pillow over my face and Stephen came up to me and put his face as close as he could to mine, with a huge grin and whispering,

Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!

Over and over, trying very gently to wake me up.

Racism in 2013 (Language Warning)

So mere moments after meeting me in a professional setting the other day this otherwise un-noteworthy guy tells me that he misses the South because "the n******s knew their place" down there. 

!!! 

And I failed to do my civic duty by not busting his face...

Poquito (Just a Little Bit)

Stephen learned a new word: Popo (poquito). He holds up his finger and thumb almost together and squints, saying popo, popo (Just a little little bit!)

Papa: No, Stephen, we can't go outside right now.

Stephen (squinting with hand sign): Popo! Popo!

Papa: Ok, just a little bit.

Stephen (happy)

Mama: No, Stephen, no more leche!

Stephen: Popo! Popo!

Mama: No, no more leche!

Best Friends 2

When Sarah is happy and getting what she wants, she wants to be best friends.

Sarah: Papa, you wanna be my best friend forever?

But when she does not get her way, or she is crabby, she rescinds her friendship.

Sarah: Papa you're not my best friend!

There is another phrase she has been using to express her dissatisfaction:

Sarah: Papa you're not invited to my happy birthday!

Best! Friends! Forever!

Mama taught Sarah a little game they do together.

Mama and Sarah (clasping pinkies): Best!

(Clasping thumbs): Friends!

(High five): Forever!

Nakey

Sarah (partially or fully naked, running around and laughing): I look kind of nakey?

Sarah: Mama, you look nakey!

Same Shirt

Sarah and Papa are both shirtless.

Sarah: Papa, look! You and me both have the same blusa (shirt)!

Peter Pan in the Park

We discovered Kiwanis Park, a big park in Tempe where they were showing family movies on Fridays in May. Papa escaped early from work in time to head down with the whole family.

Now, Sarah was drawn to screens since she was a baby and was captivated by a TV screen at the grocery store. Stephen, on the other hand, has shown almost no interest whatsoever in watching anything on a screen.

So Stephen had no interest whatsoever watching the movie in the park. He was much more interested in the girls sitting in a wagon nearby, or tumbling around, or getting up to walk around. Not even the doggie on the screen could capture his interest. So Papa and Stephen got up and walked around instead, and went to play in the big, nice play area nearby.

Halfway through the movie Mama and Sarah followed and we all had more fun playing on the playground.

New Words

Papa recently read how the second child in a family faces language challenges in comparison to the first child, since children only learn when you speak directly to them and are interacting with them, and that indirectly overheard or "secondhand" language makes very little difference. So when there is one child, that child receives all of the talk. When there are two, the talk per child is divided roughly in half. That puts second and later kids behind the firstborn in a statistically significant way.

So we have been trying to speak more to Stephen. It seemed to take effect within days of starting, with Stephen becoming more vocal and saying more words.

Some of his new words he has been saying:

Go!
Bath
Hot! (He pretends he is taking a bath, then steps out and says, Hot! Hot!)
He has been attempting names too, like Ivett, Joe, and Scott.
Chht! (Quiet! Or, Stop! Holds finger up in front of face)
Cereal
Food
Book
Thank you (Eeh Ooo)
Red light! Green light! (From the game, red light green light, but he recognizes red and green streetlights now, too)
Juice
And he continues practicing his all-time favorite, No!
Plus some more that are not coming to me at the moment...

Papa's Belly

Sarah: Papa, do you have a baby?

Papa: No, Sarah, I just ate a sandwich.

Sarah: Oh, was it a really BIG sandwich?

Papa (serious face)

Sarah: Was it a LOT of sandwiches?

Papa (serious face)

Sarah: Is that why you look like that?

Papa (serious face)

Mama (laughing)

Shhhh!

Stephen is crying and begging Mama to give him her Eskimo Pie, being unreasonably demanding.

Papa: Stephen, Mama already gave you some! Look how big she is and how small you are - she has to eat a bigger portion tha-

Stephen (glances over, holding up one finger): Chhhttt!!

(Continues trying to get Eskimo Pie from Mama)

Papa (laughing to hard to continue correcting Stephen)

Stephen's face was the perfect combination of sternness and playfulness at the same time...

Pictures Around The House

"Yes I Am Ready For The Eskimo Pie!
Please Put The Eskimo Pie In My Mouth!"

He Loves Climbing Up On The Counter
To Look For Goodies In The Cabinet

Pretty Princess On Her Bicycle

Sarah Was So Tiny I Had To Touch The Covers
To Make Sure She Was There

Fireflies

Papa and Sarah are reading a book about fireflies.

Sarah: Look at the butterflies!

Papa: These are FIRE flies, not BUTTER flies. They do sound similar though. We saw fireflies at Grandma and Grandpa's house, you remember? Little lights in the air in the dark?

Sarah (thinks): Oh yeah! And then they go Boom! Boom!

Papa: Oh, those were fire WORKS, that is something else!

What's Up With The Antibiotics Doctor

Stephen got an infection in his pee-pee and the doctor prescribed him two antibiotics - one oral and one topical.

I'm not even a doctor and know that giving oral antibiotics to a kid under 2 years old TRIPLES his risk of developing asthma later in life. Besides other serious side effects. So why would a doctor even prescribe them?

The doctor, of course, did not even mention any risks to us, and neither did the pharmacist who filled the prescription.

It's a good thing that I had happened to remember reading something about this issue previously and Stephen was protected from possible lifelong complications of what I can only call medical malpractice.

By the way, we are using the topical application only and the problem is resolving nicely.

Sharing Drinks

Papa is drinking some juice that Sarah wants.

Sarah (to Papa): Mama says we shouldn't share drinks. SO CAN YOU JUST GIVE IT TO ME??

Worst Name Compilation

Some of the worst names I have heard put on children:

Lice (boy)
Erotica (girl)
Assineen (girl)
Loser (boy, went by "Lou")

These are all real.. Any one have any more to add? Real only, please!

Tu-tuu

Stephen's new word: tu-tuuu (Thank You.)

He uses it all the time in the right contexts and it is so cute. You give him a drink and he says, Tu-tuu!

You hold the door open for him and he says, Tu-tuu!

You say, Stephen, can you tell the lady thank you? And he says, Tu-tuuu!

Sarah's word was gan-ku. I seem to remember that being Aunt Anne's pronunciation when she was little, too.

"The Wick Men"

At Uncle Bo's House in 2012

Tell Stephen

Sarah (angry): Papa, Stephen took my toy and now he is not sharing with me and I don't like it because he should share!

Papa: Well, tell Stephen that.

Sarah (angry, to Stephen): That!

Papa (laughing): Well, I meant tell him how you feel.

Sarah (to Stephen): How you feel!

Papa (shaking head)

Can't Sleep

Papa: I can't sleep.

Mama: Well, then why don't you get up and do something productive, like go wash the dishes?

Papa: Thank you so much for helping baby, I am starting to get sleepy already!

Eating Babies

Sarah has concluded all by herself that mothers eat their babies, since, of course, they have them in their tummies.

Sometimes she has crackers in her hand and says that they are babies that she is eating.

Papa (testing her reaction): Sarah, when you were very little, Mama ate you up, and that is why you were in her tummy.

Sarah (laughs): Silly Papa!

(Maybe she is growing out of it now.)

Remembering Terry Bartos

This morning Terry Bartos passed away. She will be remembered as the daughter of a hard-fighting woman and someone who went through many trials and troubles in her life.

Happy 5 Years!

Mama and Papa celebrated 5 years of wedded bliss today by spending a bit of time away from the kids (thank you nieces for your help!)

Our dinner at Chipotle, small ice cream at Cold Stone, and night away at Motel 6 will hopefully be remembered as how we did it before we started making some decent money.

Sharing

Stephen loves Sarah and shares with her easily. The other morning, Stephen asked for some raisins, and when he had them in his hand immediately pointed towards the stairs and said, "Sarah? Sarah?" He is always thinking of his sister.

RIP Kitty

Grandma and Grandpa had two little black kitties, Max and Lil' Bit. Max died a few years ago and Lil' Bit was showing some age. During a visit last year, Li' Bit was not feeling well or acting normally, and then a few days after we left, he passed away. Grandpa insisted that we talk to Sarah about it, even though I was hesitant because I thought she would not understand, and both Mama and Papa were concerned about how she might take it.

Papa: Sarah, remember Grandma and Grandpa's kitty? He got very sick and went to sleep and won't wake up again. They are going to put him under the ground in the back yard.

Sarah (thinks) (laughs): Silly kitty!

Food II

Stephen and Mama are in the kitchen and Stephen is getting into everything that he should not be getting into.

Mama: Stephen, go tell Papa that that food is ready!

Stephen (momentarily turns head): Food! (Continues pulling things out of drawers)

Food

Mama: Stephen, go upstairs and tell Papa that the food is ready.

Stephen (goes upstairs to Papa): Food!

Papa: Thanks Stephen!

Stephen: Mama! (Points towards door) Down!

Papa: Oh, Mama has food downstairs? Thank you Stephen!

Stephen (nodding)

Congratulations Grandma!

Congratulations today to Grandma, who is enjoying her first day as a newly retired person. Yesterday she had 150 people out for her "surprise"  retirement party at her office, which filled her work and surrounding parking lots to overflowing - people could not find a place to park. Also someone even came all the way out from Cleveland to celebrate with her. We are excited for Grandma to have some more time to relax and explore hobbies like her loom in the basement that she has wanted to set up for so long.

We wish Grandma and Grandpa a long, long, and happy retirement together and hope that they will come for a visit soon!

Love

Papa: I love you Sarah!

Sarah: Papa I love you with all of my love!

Papa: (heart melts)

Fast Food

Mama/Papa at McDonalds/In-N-Out to Sarah/Stephen:

"Eat your burger! No more fries until you eat another bite of burger!"

(Repeat for other junk food like pizza.)

Yes, we know, we are terrible parents.

(But better to eat out once in a blue moon than have our cook suffer a nervous breakdown, right?)

School Bus

Sarah loves the idea of going on a school bus, even though she has never been on one. This conversation is from a few days before she started her Head Start "school."

Sarah (from back seat): Papa, when you're big like me, you can go on the school bus. This big! (Holds hands out) Not this big! (Holds hands out). That's good. You want to go there? You have to be big.

At McDonalds

Sarah was playing with a nice boy at McDonalds. The boy's father was nice and said hi to Sarah.

Man: How old are you?

Sarah (thinks, makes a questioning face to Papa): Papa, how old am I?

Papa: Three.

Man (to Sarah): He's six.

Sarah: I'm six.

Man: No, HE's six.

Sarah (to Papa, hands up in question stance, face screwed up): I'm six?

Sarah (to man): I'm six. I'm six! I'm ALMOST six.

Metallica

Sarah (hears a Metallica song on the radio): Look Papa, DRUMS!

Sarah (pause, listens): LOUD drums!

Sarah (listens some more, laughing): Silly song!

A few days later, she heard a Metallica song on the radio again and started bouncing all around the back seat.

Sarah: Louder! Turn it up!

I turn around and both Sarah and Stephen are having a ball, bouncing around and laughing to the music.

(Papa: My babies are muzzies??)

Motorcycles

Stephen loves motorcycles. Every time he sees one he wants to stop and look at it and touch it. It makes no difference if it is running or parked.

This kid is going to be a lover of adventure.

Stickers

This afternoon at In-N-Out:

Mama: Who wants stickers?

Sarah: Me!

Stephen (smiling, pointing to self)

First Week of Head Start

Well after her first week of Head Start preschool, Sarah is still loving every second of it. She seemed especially happy all week. (Sarah AND Mama. Although it was extra work for Mama all week since Papa was recovering from his back injury, Mama gets a breather in the afternoon that is helping her a lot.)

It is helping us as a family to get a more regular routine, too:

Get up, breakfast, YMCA in the morning, come home, get ready, school, mama breathes & gets caught up at home, pick Sarah up, go to the park or play outside, dinner, story, in bed at 8pm. This week we will be instituting a brief, after-school nap, too.

Now, if we could just get Stephen to sleep all night again like he was doing before!

Good Friends

Sarah wanted her friend Molly, 4 years old, to share some of her books with her, but Molly didn't want to.

Sarah: You're not being a good friend!

Molly (crying)

(Mama: Oh no!)

The Cat

Papa: Stephen, do you remember Grandma and Grandpa's cat?

Stephen: Hhhhsssstt! (Swipes hand and makes anguished face)

Papa: Oh, you do remember!

(The cat swatted him in the face a few months ago on our visit.)

School (!)

Yesterday one of Sarah's dreams came true - she started going to school. A Head Start preschool, to be precise. It's a couple of hours a day, four days a week. She has been on a waiting list for 6 months. It did not look like she was going to get in until she and Mama visited the classroom a couple of weeks ago and inquired about volunteering. That seems like it may have helped her get chosen from the pool of applicants. She was so eager to get in that she cried and cried that day when she had to leave. Since then she always referred to it as "my school". "Papa can I go to my skowol?" But she is happy - should I say - ecstatic, to be in school.

Ready To Go!

Owie Papa

So Papa was exercising, without warming up, and threw out his back.

While taking a hot bath to try to feel better, Stephen immediately knew what to do - bring over the bath toys and dump them in the water.

Papa: Thanks, Stephen! No, no, that's enough. Thank you!

Railroad Park

Mama and kids went to the railroad park with another family, old friends of Papa's. Looks like they had a good time.

Our Charming Neighbor

Not long after we moved in, a neighbor went on and on to me about how terrible Mexicans are, how they are usually criminals, how they should be deported, how good it was that this great guy "Sheriff Joe" was working to put them in "tent city," where they were forced to wear pink jumpsuits, go without heat or air conditioning out in the Arizona desert, and etc. I was just thinking "You racist jerk, you know full well my wife is Mexican, why are you going on and on about how racist you are." Then not long after, he hung up this sign on his door.

I Know This Is Arizona, But Am I Wrong
To Feel A Little Bit Threatened Every Time I
Open My Door And Have To Look At This?

The guy was real nice to me too before he heard us speaking Spanish the first time. Now he ignores me and I avoid him. (It's probably better that way.)

New Job

After working for a while under my own business, and working on setting up another, I came upon the opportunity to start working with a small auto dealer right down the street from where we are living. It looks like the money will be good (hopefully) and we are already thinking about what we want to spend it on: travel, a house, and gifts for family. The most exciting of these is gifts for family. But let's see if I can start making some money first.

Drawings

Sarah did another couple of drawings. These are both ladders with a plate of food at the top. (Sarah: "Es una escalera con comida!")

Featuring "Writing" On Lower Left

Another Ladder With Food On Top

Papa: It looks like a tree!

Sarah: Oh! Tanks!

Red Light

Sarah enjoys playing a game called Red Light Green Light. When we say Red Light, she has to stop. When we say Green Light, she can go. It is designed to build executive function (think self control or impulse control.)

It is fun, too, except that Sarah likes to say Red Light every 3 1/2 milliseconds.

No!

We are at the supermarket. The lady behind us in line starts to put her groceries on the checkout counter.

Stephen: No! No! No!

Lady (smiling): You don't want me to put my things up here?

Stephen: No!

Lady: Is no your favorite word?

Stephen: No!

Lady: Oh, I thought so! No is your favorite word!

(And it is true, NO is Stephen's far, far favorite word. He uses it at least 3x as much as all of the other words put together.)

Clean And Dry

Sarah is now "clean and dry" all day almost every day. Now we are trying to get her to stay clean and dry at night. We motivate her by promising her gum (bribing) if she is clean and dry all night.

We are also trying internal motivation:

Papa: Sarah, how will you feel in the morning if you are clean and dry?

Sarah (smiling broadly): Really good!

Papa: Right! You'll be able to say, "I did it! I did it! I did it! Yay!"

Trying to figure out something that will work. Mama is getting tired of washing so many sheets all of the time.

Calzones

Do you know what calzones are? In Spanish (and I am assuming Italian) the word means underpants. Think of that next time you are eating a calzone.

Stephen started wearing "calzones" this week since he has started getting so good about going peepeepoopoo in the bathroom. Sometimes, depending, he wears a diaper over the underpants.

Princess Pea

Sometimes Sarah reminds us of the princess in the story who was able to feel a pea through twelve mattresses.

But her skin is very delicate. She got several tiny cuts on her hand the other day just from touching some dry grass. Not cutgrass or anything, just grass.

Pretend Ice Cream

Sarah used to play a game in the car where she would give us imaginary candy or ice cream.

Sarah: Stephen would you like some ice cream? Mama? Papa? Would you like some ice cream? (pause) Waaaahhhhhhh!!

Papa: What happened?

Mama (laughing): Stephen leaned over and took Sarah's "ice cream".

Sarah: Stephen! Don't take my ICE CREAM!

Papa: Sarah, Stephen took your imaginary ice cream?

Sarah (still crying): Yes!!

Rolling Stones

Did you hear that the Rolling Stones are putting out a whole new album with music just for toddlers? It's gonna be called "Stinky Fingers."

Real Food

A nice lady was giving the kids M&M's at the local McDonalds play area. Like tons, big handfuls, of M&M's. I told the kids they had had enough because we were going to have "real food" shortly in the house.

9-year old son of nice lady: What do you mean, real food? Oh! You mean, McNuggets and fries? Oh yeah, that's what I thought you meant.

Our Favorite Places

The kids' favorite places to play:

Children's area of our awesome local library
ArchitectureKIDS, "the houses place" at our local mall
The nearest McDonalds with play area
The nearest park
The old couches piled outside our front door
Any store with shopping carts that look like cars

Boys And Girls

Boys with boys and gowols with gowols! - Sarah

Can't Sleep

Papa: I can't sleep.

Mama: Well, then why don't you get up and do something productive, like go wash the dishes?

Papa: Thank you so much for helping baby, I am starting to get sleepy already!

No Singing!

Sarah starts to sing.

Stephen: No! No! No!

Papa: Stephen, you don't want Sarah to sing?

Stephen: No!

Papa: Stephen, do you want to sing?

Stephen (nods)

Stephen (clasping hands): Ooo ooo ooo (singing intonation and choir boy singing face)

New Song

Sarah made up another song today. Here are a couple of lines:

Me gusta ir a McDonald's
Me gusta ir a muchos lados

(I like to go to McDonald's
I like to go to a lot of places)

The two lines rhyme when she sings it...

Sarah's earlier song

Also she made up a song (more of a cheer, really) about In-N-Out today:

In-N-Out! In-N-Out!
Kakadalatka
In-N-Out! In-N-Out!

I wish I could write down every one she makes up as it comes out.. She has some real potential for talent if I knew how to cultivate her songwriting ability.

Bicycle

Sarah's Christmas wish for a bicycle was fulfilled the other day at a garage sale. It's a nice pink one with training wheels that she can already ride. She has been riding it around the apartment all by herself and today she rode it all the way to the park and back with Mama.

Mama's Shirt

Papa: Look, Mama's shirt is black and white.

Sarah: Right! She's a zebra!

More Coloring

Stephen is not to be left out on the coloring... This one is his first real effort.

Chili

Papa made a big batch of chili the other day. Not sure which ingredient it was but it made us all ill (or so we believe). It did tast pretty good, though. Last night Mama and Papa worked together to make a new batch.

However, nothing compared to Mama's own apple cake recipe she prepared for us last week. Mostly apples with a little bit of breading. Yum!

Stair Light

Stephen has learned to turn on the light switch before going up the stairs. He doesn't like to go up the stairs in the dark. So much so that if he is almost all the way up the stairs and someone turns off the lights from the bottom... he slides right back all the way down, stands up, and turns the light back on before starting back up the stairs again.

I did this to him at least 10 times in a row the other day before he started getting mad (trying to buy time for Mama, who was resting upstairs).

Geese Chased Us

Sarah saw some geese and remembered, again, the episode where some geese tried to run us down.

Sarah: Remember when we went to the park and the geese were chasing us and tried to eat us, and we ran?

A bit later, Stephen overheard Papa telling Mama about what Sarah said. Stephen started quacking and then made motions with his hands that seemed to describe the story of the geese.

Mama: Stephen are you telling us about when the geese chased after us and tried to eat us and we ran away?

Stephen (nods and moves his eyebrows "yes")

Convertibles

Sarah on convertibles.

Sarah: Silly car! Why don't it have ventanas? (windows?)

Ponmibo

Sarah mispronounces this Spanish word, "conmigo," in the cutest way: "ponmibo," replacing two consonants.

Until the other day, when she got it right for the first time, and I was kind of sad.

High Five

Sarah is really enjoying her subscription to High Five, the little sibling publication to Highlights for Children (the children's magazine found in dentist's offices nationwide since 1946).

We have read each issue almost daily since it came and she likes every feature. I think that with the repetition, she is slowly learning to read.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

(Just as I finished writing this, Sarah walked into the room carrying one issue in each hand.)

Sarah: Ok! Who wants to read one of these! (Sits down and starts reciting a Peter Rabbit-like story while looking at the cover of one, then reciting pretty accurately parts from inside it)

Coloring

Sarah has started coloring in the last couple of weeks and has improved dramatically. I was feeling pretty impressed, since kids don't usually start coloring until age 5, right, not 3? Until I googled it and saw mothers claiming that their babies started coloring at 8 or 9 months. Liars!

Late Night

Late at night, in the bedroom:

Papa (farts)

Mama (whispering): Shh! You're going to wake Stephen!

Stephen: Waaaaaah!

Mama (laughing)

Poopoo

Stephen is now letting us know several times per day when he needs to go to the bathroom, both for peepee and for poopoo. He goes in and sits down on the toilet, either the big one or the little one, and does very visible effort, usually successful. Then we clap and cheer, Yay, Stephen! Good job! Age: one year, seven months. Still using diapers 24 hours, for now.

Singing

Papa (starts singing)

Stephen: Noooo! Noooo! Noooo! (shaking head and making faces)

Mama: Stephen, you don't want Papa to sing?

Stephen: No! No! (shaking head and waving finger) No!

New Friend

Sarah was very happy coming out of the YMCA childcare.

Sarah: Mama! Mama! I made a new friend!

Mama: Sarah, that's so nice! Is your friend a boy or a girl?

Sarah: (pause) Um... I will ask him tomorrow!

Mama (laughing): Sarah, girls usually have long hair and sometimes wear pink, and boys usually have short hair and usually don't wear pink.

Sarah: Um, I think maybe he is a boy!

Mama: What is your friend's name?

Sarah: I will ask him tomorrow!

Friends

Sarah is getting good at making friends. We go to play in one place or another, and very quickly she is playing with whatever other little girl who is her age or so, or up to five years older.

At the library, she made friends with a 6-year-old or so girl, joining in playing with puppets, and then inviting her to sit down and read a book together, and then inviting her to go sit together in the play castle.

Later that day, at a Mesa McDonalds, she made friends with a very nice girl, who helped her with her shoes and socks, as well as running all around the play structure together for as long as we let them.

Silly Mama

The other day when Mama wasn't feeling so well, she was throwing up in the bathroom. Stephen thought it was hilarious. He followed her in, gave her a silly look and started laughing. Luckily, Mama took it well and it made her laugh, too.

Help Eating

Sarah, with a very good heart, was helping Stephen to eat his food. They both enjoyed it.

The Ring

Sarah and Mama find a lost ring on the ground.

Sarah: Si me pongo ese anillo, estoy casada? (If I put on this ring, am I married?)

Mixed-Up

I hear Stephen and Sarah in the other room. Then Stephen enters the room in skeleton shirt and bunny ears and saying, "wow-wow."

Stephen, The Phantom Dog-Bunny

The Crib

Stephen has discovered that he can climb out of his crib. 

So, now our threat of: "Stephen-don't-do-that-or-you're-going-in-the-crib!" has lost its power to bring order to our house.

Sigh.

Sarah On Obedience

Sarah: Papa, I like it when you obey!

Sarah: Papa, you need to obey me!

Sarah (to Grandma): Obey!

Girls' Time

This afternoon and evening Mama, Sarah and Bricela went out for girls' time. Shopping and stuff. Bricela bought Sarah a nice outfit at Children's Place, and Sarah got to go play at "the houses place," a play area at the Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall that she enjoys.

At first, Sarah wanted to take Stephen and Papa along, but after getting the extra attention of being alone with Mama, she said, "I like girls' time!"

Grandma

Grandma: It's not easy being three.

Grandma explained that she had to tell this to her mother time and time again when we, as children, behaved in exasperating ways. She said that although everyone talks about the "terrible two's," in fact, age three is a lot harder. So, we try to keep this in mind when Sarah is having some meltdown or another, or is not instantly complying as we would like.

Sick

I lost count of how many times Stephen threw up last night. But I think he never stopped smiling the whole time. What a kid.

Overheard

Overheard:

Mama: Stephen do you want water?

Stephen: Wa-(hic)-wa

Letter Q

Sarah is working on a "letter Q" worksheet.

Sarah (points to paper): Papa, what's that?

Papa: That is the tail of the little "q."

Sarah (laughing and shaking head): That's so silly!

(By the way, it looks like her penmanship will be much better than either Mama's or Papa's.)

The One-Second Poo

The other day poor Sarah urgently needed to go to the bathroom. She sat down and in less than one noisy second released a "big mountain" of poo, and was done. "Can you clean me?"

She has not been feeling well and had a little bit of owie in her tummy. (The flu is going around.)

Handedness

Both kids started out seeming ambidextrous. Sometimes they seemed to prefer the left hand, and sometimes the right. Both of them still use both hands. But they seem to be leaning right-handed.

For example: Stephen throws like a little athlete with his right arm. He throws just as often with his left arm, but the left-arm throws are "like a girl," or, "like Papa," depending on how you want to describe it. He does not seem to realize yet that one arm works better than the other.

Raining

Hey Bring That Wooden Chair Back Inside!

It's been raining the last couple of days in Phoenix. Stephen wanted to go outside so I let him, even though Mama would not approve. He mostly stayed in the doorway and out of the range of direct rain. Then he came inside, I dried him off, and he ate and went to sleep in my arms for a couple of hours while Mama tried to rest off a lingering cold. 

Don't Cry

Stephen was having a blast rolling golf balls down this contraption at the children's museum when he noticed a little girl crying nearby. He walked over to her with a golf ball in each hand and gave them to her, then pointed her over to this contraption. He got her to come over and had her roll the balls down, and she stopped crying.

Wow that made us feel good to watch happen!

Children's Museum of Phoenix

We had a great time at the Children's Museum of Phoenix, which isn't a museum as much as a collection of different play areas for kids.

Sarah's Almost-First Time On A Tricycle

Getting Ready

Papa: Sarah, today we are going to go to a really fun place. It's like the library and the McDonald's play area together, but a lot bigger!

Sarah (grinning ear to ear, puts head in hand like she can't believe it)

Sarah (thinks): They have horsies?

Papa: Well, no...

Sarah (thinks some more): They have a cocina? (a kitchen?)

Drawing 2

Sarah has done another drawing. Of course I am the least objective of observers, but I was totally impressed by this one. The improvement over the one the other day is impressive. You know, considering that she is not yet 3 years 3 months old.

Leep

Sarah: I wanna leep!

Papa: You want to leep?

Sarah: I wanna. Sssss-leep!

Drawer

Stephen is still small enough to sit in the drawer. He likes to pull out all of the plastic containers and climb in to sit and play.

Chicken Soup

Mama was feeling kind of sick. 

I told her I would make her some chicken soup. She was excited. She was even more excited when I told her that my chicken soup is very good. 

Then I told her that the only thing is I never know how to get the feathers out of the soup water. 

Then she told me that she wanted to make the soup herself. She is going to the store now to get some potatoes.

Baby On Board

Remember those Baby On Board signs that were popular a couple of decades ago? I remember people making fun of the idea: "Hey, please drive more carefully around my car, since I have a baby in here." Because, what, am I not going to decide not to crash into your car just because of that sign?

However, now as a parent, I realize the real purpose of those signs: To warn other drivers ahead of time of erratic driving caused by the driver frequently turning around and yelling at the back seat.

Socks

In the back seat this morning, Sarah was playing with her socks and talking about how they smelled: first yummy, then stinky. She said that Stephen wanted to eat them. Then, she pulled them off and put them on her hands.

Sarah Sock-Hands

Gum

Sarah: Papa, what's your favorite part about gum?

Papa: I don't know, chewing it, and the flavor.

Sarah: No! That's MY favorite part!

Favorite Candy

Sarah: Papa, what is your favorite candy?

Papa: My favorite is chocolate. What is your favorite candy?

Sarah: Mine is gum!

Knocking

Stephen understands that knocking on a door is the way to get it to open. Except he doesn't yet seem to understand that someone has to be on the other side to open it.

For example: This morning while we were all in the bedroom together, Stephen crawled off the bed and went over to the door, where he knocked, and then stood there, looking expectantly at the door, waiting for it to open.

Mama (laughing): Stephen, there's nobody there to open the door for you!

Stephen: (Tries to open door by prying his fingers into the crack between the door and the wall)

House Church

Still recovering after some traumatizing church experiences in the recent past, this weekend we went to a "house church" with friends. What that is is basically a couple of families getting together at someone's house for church. It was fun and we got to meet some incredibly well-mannered home-schooled kids.

Another especially memorable moment was that the hosts had an orange tree with some perfectly ripe naval oranges that they shared with us - very juicy and delicious!

Drawing

Sarah, all by herself, did this great drawing. It is a face with eyes, nose, mouth, and hair, and legs and feet down below.

Rhyming

Sarah (singing): Water in your mouth you can drink by yourself!

Sarah (now talking): That's my song. It's about food!

(Sarah has come up with several spontaneous rhyming songs already, but this was the first one I was able to write down before forgetting it. Note: mouth and yourself rhyme when Sarah sings it.)

Walking In Water

When Stephen stepped into the water at first he cried for a second, but then thought about it and went right back in. I knew Mama wouldn't like him getting wet feet but stomping in water is definitely an important part of childhood.

Zoo Carousel

This carousel at the Phoenix Zoo was for endangered species and each animal represented was an endangered species - American bald eagle, tiger, etc. Except for one.

Papa: I did not realize that the flying dragon was an endangered species.

Ticket girl: Yeah, I know, it's one of my pet peeves...

Anyway it looked like fun from the outside, but the kids didn't really like it, and it made Mama dizzy.

The Ducks

Papa: I think Stephen's favorite part of the zoo today was the ducks.

Stephen: (Quacks)

Sarah's Favorite

Mama: Sarah, what was your favorite part of the zoo today?

Sarah: My favorite part was playing with Stephen, and the animals, and... (sees clothes rack) and the clothes!

Zoo Pictures

Looking At Some Birdies

Up Close With A Giant Tortoise

The Kids Loved This Old Jeep

And Playing In This Human-Made Cave

We Saw 15+ Cute Little Monkeys In Here

The Kids Managed To Hold Down
This Bronze Lizard

Yep, They Had Giraffes

Stephen Loved Bouncing On
This Suspended Bridge

Sarah, With New Friend And Her Mom