From the Mouths of Babes in April

"Help me Nobi Nobi."  (translation: help me obi-wan kenobi)

"I don't like you Mommy." (pause, knows this is not okay to say) "You're a good mommy, Mommy."
(Linus now will try to see what he can get away with by saying things like "I don't like you couch" or some other object).

"Oh boy!"

"Shhh. It's okay Baby Eileen. I'm here.  Your big brother's here."


Me:  (using a pretend mad voice)  Where's my good night kiss!?!
Linus:  Right here!!


Sometimes Linus likes to anticipate what he thinks we should say.
                    (While hiding) "Oh no, I lost my Linus."
                     (Eyes closed)  "Wake up Linus. Linus wake up."
                     (Using a silly, yet disciplining voice after knocking over blocks) "Linus!"
                     (While doing something mildly dangerous)  "Be careful Linus."

As a part of his imaginative play, Linus has taken to calling our doctor, Dr. Moscovitz, on the phone, believing he can solve all problems.
                     (Opens door to another room) "Oh no, Monsters! Call Doc Mosc-vitz." (grabs phone and pretends to dial) "Beep boop boop beep. Hello? Doc Mosc-vitz?  There are monsters. Okay."  (hangs up phone) "He'll be right over."
Dr. Moscovitz usually prescribes band-aids when Linus, dressed as a shark, bites off Eileen's leg.

Easter Weekend

 It all started with a little egg dyeing after dinner Friday night.

Linus did a great job and was very patient.

Saturday my sister, Sally, and her boyfriend, Bryan, took the kids for the morning.  They went to the Loyal Heights Community Center egg hunt.

Linus is sporting his new Husky jersey (Aunt Sally is starting a Masters Program at UW in the fall).  He also brought along a mini husky football and bike helmet. The bike helmet was his football helmet. He refused to take it off all morning.

Waiting with Bryan for the hunt to start.

Linus found 10 eggs.  2 were special winners, which meant he got two large chocolate bunnies.

I should probably feel guilty about missing my children's first egg hunt, but instead, Dave and I got to enjoy a little shopping and the sun at U Village and amazing sales at GAP.  We then got to have a brunch date complete with mimosas.

Sadly, in the afternoon the sugar from earlier in the day created a small, melty gremlin.  Easter morning I got Linus from bed.  He was none too pleased to see me until I mentioned the Easter Bunny had come.  He screamed, "Oh boy!" and ran past me.  Lots of Easter candy and then we got ready for mass.

I hadn't planned on matching outfits, but I like it!

praise the Lord, I love candy!

 Easter was extra special because my brother, Tim, came and spent the day with us. He even braved church.

Eileen loves her uncle.

I love holiday celebrations with kids.  It gives you a chance to recreate magic and relive fond memories.  I dislike the grumpy children that result from too much sugar and excitement.  I am looking forward to a normal week.

Spring Break

It is Spring Break this week for the Seattle School District.  This means preschool is also on Spring Break.  I have grown to love and appreciate the way preschool helps fill the day.  Thank goodness the weather has decided to cooperate a little and stop raining for just a little bit.

After an hour long tantrum yesterday, I pulled out the double stroller and pushed it up the hill to Phinney Ridge to Starbucks.  We then walked along the ridge and went to the library before going home.  Usually the library is a bit of a chore. Linus throws a fit because he has to let go of the book before he can check it out, parking in the garage in a minivan is nearly impossible, hauling Eileen in the carseat is exhausting, etc.  However, the stroller seemed to solve all this.  It was a great, simple, low stress trip.  I wasn't sure what to think.  We came home and Linus was in a great mood.

Today we went to the Burke Museum, aka the dinosaur museum.  Linus was polite, stayed by my side, relatively quiet.  Again a simple, low stress trip.  Now I thought I must be pressing my luck.  We came home and he asked to paint.  Normally, I hate painting and do everything I can to dissuade him.  It's high stress and messy, but today I needed something quiet while Eileen napped.

Linus actually painted quietly by himself and got almost no paint on his body! He got a drop of yellow on his arm which he asked to have cleaned up immediately.  Even the table stayed free of paint.

The paint on the table is from a previous paint experience I was too lazy to clean up.

Linus "smiling"

I think this is pretty good. 

I don't know what to think.  Am I finally getting the hang of this two child thing?  Is this what 2.5 years old looks like?  Has there been a disturbance in the space time continuum?  Whatever the reason, I wouldn't mind if the pattern continued.  I could definitely get used to it.  Maybe I can stop fearing summer vacation now?

Typical Afternoon

These days I get a little quiet time alone with Linus after his afternoon nap while Eileen is still asleep.

 

The picture above is a typical scene.  Linus in cozy pants/shorts, two fig bars (Newman's Own wheat-free dairy free) and playing by himself.  Linus loves playing diggers and rice.  I love how quiet it is and how it seems to engage him for long periods of time.  He'll play for 10 minutes, take a quick break for a little soccer, trains, or play kitchen, and then it's back for more diggers and rice.  Sometimes he lets me play with the excavator. Sometimes.

And guess who is 5 months old today?  She is growing up way too fast.

Sounders Game!

Despite growing up in Puget Sound, I have never been to many major league sports games.  Today I got to go Quest Field for the first time as well as go to my first Sounders game.  I think I was the most excited out of anyone.  Dave and I each carried a kid and we caught the #28 bus to the game (sometimes it's nice to live super close to a bus stop).  It's a good thing we live near the top of the line because by the time we got two stops further, the bus was packed and not taking on anymore passengers.


I was nervous about this adventure since it was taking place during nap time.  Linus was perplexed as to why he could not get a Happy Meal with a toy and milk at the game.  We found our seats and Linus was a wired, un-napped, ecstatic little boy.  Linus decided that a soccer game was the perfect time to play fireman and started yelling, "Fire!  I see smoke!  Mommy I see fire!"  Oy.

Linus really wanted to hold Eileen.

It was a great game.  I wish I had done my homework ahead of time about how a Sounders game works.  Apparently, no one sits.  The only time everyone sits is half time.  There a specific ways to clap.  I couldn't figure out what the cheers were.  No matter.  The stadium was filled with energy.  By the end Linus was screaming "Go Sounders!"

This section behind the goal seemed to direct cheering for the entire stadium.

Sounders beat the Chicago Fire 2 -1.  Dave and I now own Sounders jerseys.  Utterly exhausted, Linus passed out while walking to the bus stop.  Tonight during dinner we asked Linus what his favorite part was.  His answer: ice cream.  His second favorite thing: the hoses (during halftime large hoses are used to spray the field).  I'm glad he had a good time.  We will definitely try to make it to at least one more game this season.

A Crisis of Faith?

I firmly believe in sending my kids to Catholic school (despite being able to write a novel on all the neuroses I developed being a poor kid in a wealthy school). This belief is reinforced on a daily basis by teaching in the public school system.  I promise not to rant right now about public schools.  We've been going to St. Benedict since moving to Seattle.  It's a nice little community and the priest has a soul patch.  My sister, Sally, and I did some parish shopping before settling on St. Ben. However, I have had a nagging feeling from the beginning that the school is not as strong as I would like it to be.  I don't have any concrete proof.  It's more of a gut thing followed by not being overly impressed by an open house I attended.

Enter St. John.  St. John is in walking distance to my house. It is a larger parish with a larger school, meaning more resources.  Looking at the website alone and ignoring all mission statements, you can tell that this is a good school that has its act together.  Word around the neighborhood is that it is hard to get into the school.  I talked to someone in the school office and she basically said: yes it is hard to get into but if you join the parish immediately you can probably get into the kindergarten and have a good shot at the preschool. 

So here I am trying to make huge life decisions for Linus when he isn't quite 2.5 years old.  I almost feel like one of those crazy Manhattan parents who need to get their kid into a top preschool.  The parish registration came in the mail today.  I am wracked with guilt over leaving St. Ben's, but deep down I know that by choosing St. Johns, I am choosing a stronger education.  St. John has a different priest since I did my parish shopping.  I like the new priest.  He seems very sincere and gives interesting and relevant homilies.  Dave will support whatever I choose.  He humors my Catholicism.

I am giving myself the rest of the week to think about it. 

Jump Around

When Linus was a baby, I researched johnny jump-ups.  I wanted one that didn't look so sketchy.  I found the Pugubop. I liked how it looked outdoorsy.  Linus loved it.

Linus was a jumping fool at 5 months.

Despite having done this whole being a parent to a baby thing before, I still find myself constantly googling questions that arise.  Today's question: how old does a baby need to be to use a baby jumper?  I ignored those who said jumpers are horrible, bad, and evil and eventually deduced that 4-5 months is about right.  Eileen is 4.5 months.  Perfect.

I tried googling "pugubop" and couldn't find it.  Apparently, nobody carries it anymore.  I didn't see any recalls so I hope it is okay to use.... In the meantime, I'll let Eileen keep jumping.