Zadie is four months old!

Zadie, Zadie, Zadie...what can I say? Just watch this little movie and you'll feel it, too.

*@%$&!!

Hi everyone in blog-land. I am currently trying to make this my profile picture but somehow that's more difficult than one would think. Sigh.........

Short and Sassy

Last week, while Nolan, Zadie and I were taking a walk, we looked across the street at a house with Thanksgiving decorations (I know!!) and Nolan started singing:

"Have you EVer seen a turkey, a turkey, a turkey?
Have you EVer seen a turkey, a turkey, a turkey?
I just sang a little turkey song!"

Seriously - I practically sobbed. Sometimes they are just too funny.


Here is little Frank Sinatra in beautiful Sausalito at the Children's Museum. Gathering up possums to carry all around and then later line up on top of a lizard statue. Have I mentioned he likes to line things up?







My last haircut was in March so I was clearly overdue. Try grabbing a fistful of this, Missy!!

She Likes To Move It, Move It! He Likes To Shoe It, Shoe It!

Nolan *loves* to wear shoes: Mumsie's, Dadsie's, his own, visitors' - he even tries to put on Zadie's socks. Here he is wearing rain boots that we are waiting for him to grow into. At this moment, there are at least seven pairs of all different kinds of shoes lined up IN VERY SPECIFIC PLACES DONOTMOVETHEM!!!! all around the house. He is also beginning to pick out his own clothes. On this day he selected the "I love my mummy" shirt - can't say I mind!


Zadie ALMOST rolled over today! She gets about three-quarters of the way, but the shoulder underneath her still blocks her like a tripod. However, she is very scootchie: she was lying on the "activity mat" today - nude! she loves to be nude! - and did a Three Stooges "whoop, whoop, whoop" and made some tracks. Her head was basically where her feet were from when I first put her there.

Here she is in a more contemplative mood. See that mirror? I think that is what motivated her loop-de-loops. Who wouldn't want to gaze at that face?



Dadsie's work schedule has made life so pleasant. He's home by about 4:15 which allows for playtime before an early dinner, then more playtime before a tub. It used to be a very tight schedule with us racing to get everything done. Now it's even still light out (for a while) when he gets home and sometimes I take Nolan to the playground or he brings him out back to water or mow. Altogether a pretty sweet deal.


Me? I am getting a haircut next week. I have that post-pregnancy shedding of hair (it is truly frightening) and plus, the baby's ironclad grip not only makes for mouthfuls of hair for her, it makes for wincing whiplash for me. I might post some before and after pics, but I make no promises.

Just for fun, I include a picture of Noley from about one year ago. Here he is at "lovely" (seriously - the sand is like tar) Ocean Beach - you know, in November...prime beach going season. A lot of that blond hair has both filled in and darkened, but he still has that same expression on his face when he looks at his Daddy.

A Dose of Reality; Giggles; Peanutkin

This past week has been a doozy. Thus far, we have managed if not semi-thrived as a family of four. However, what with colds and extra days off from pre-school and new understandably developmental yet oh so challenging behavior from the toddler leaves little time for using the bathroom by oneself, let alone blogging. (And don't worry, I'm not celebrating the one by combining it with the other.)

What's new?

Zadie is starting to roll over and can manage it with a little help from a friend! She also laughed for the first time the other day - laughed!! Can you believe it? And she is also really interacting with toys with her hands and her voice - she is a talker! We have a little cloth book with pictures of animals that Nolan shows her and "reads" to her (names the animals on each page as he gets to it.) She is enthralled with him...we went to an open playgroup with many kids running around, but she only had eyes for her big brother, tracking him from slide to playdough to bouncy horse. She not only smiles readily, but does so with a full body wiggle as if to say "wow - ain't life grand?" She still loves her tubby and nudie time on the changing table.

Nolan has always had a great memory and will recite passages from his books at the drop of a hat. This morning, he delighted me with this:


Hum-a-bum! buzz! buzz! Hum-a-bum buzz!
As I went over Tipple-tine
I met a flock of bonny swine;
Some yellow-nacked, some yellow backed!
They were the very bonniest swine
That e'er went over Tipple-tine.

Yes, Beatrix Potter is a favorite around here. Here's a look into the 2.75 year old's language process:

Many weeks ago while driving in the car, I heard a sharp clattering in the backseat; Nolan was banging his toy car keys against the window. I said "Banging toys against a window?? No dice! Not okay..." Three days ago - OUT OF NOWHERE - he says to me: "Banging toys against a window? No dice! Playing with toys? Dice!"

Baking cookies!

Okay - they were from a boxed mix, but still...Here's how it went down:

Mumsie: I thought we would bake cookies. Don't you think that would be fun?
Nolan: Yes! I like cookies! I do!










And here's a cute one of Zadie, well, just because! Yesterday she picked up a toy squirrel from her lap and mouthed it! This is the first time she has reached out for something interesting and brought it to her mouth to learn all about it. (And, yes, I am giving her a break from the tyranny of PINK.)

Summer-time in SF.

Short pants, short sleeves and warm, blue skies - it was a heavenly weekend!

Zadie is getting so strong! She actually enjoys some "tummy time" - especially with Daddy who provides silly antics and sparkling conversation. (Seriously - last night those two had a chat that must've lasted 15 minutes!) I finally busted out the "activity mat" and clipped a totally random toy to it just for kicks! (Well, actually, mostly because I have no idea where the original ones are.) She liked lying there and even whacked the giraffe's legs around some, flapping her arms and kicking her legs all the while. [BTW - For those of you who wished one thing for me in this baby (besides, of course, good health), your collective positivity worked: she is a wonderful nighttime sleeper. I feel so lucky to wake up *not* feeling exhausted and already depleted - makes a world of difference.]



Nolan is still enjoying his zebra costume. The lovely little kiddo from my moms' group who lent it to him has agreed to another week of sharing it - it's her going to the zoo outfit!! - and he is taking full advantage. He wore it for the 15 extra minutes we had this morning before getting ready for school. Last night, he requested an "Almond Joy" from his stash. And then ate four pieces of pizza with bell peppers and onions: "Sometimes it's kind of sting-y" he said about the onion.

Who needs aspirin?

A picture a day, helps keep the doctor away!

Boo!

Nolan looked at the bowl of candy at our front door and - I kid you not - looked at me doe-eyed and said "He wants to eat this." He is not familiar with wrapped candy bars. For all he knew, they were toys. But some kind of magical or chromosomal or developmental something kicked in and he recognized the colorful, round M-stamped packages as CANDY. We explained we'd be handing that out to kids dressed in costumes when they rang our doorbell. They'd say "trick or treat" and we'd say "happy halloween" and give them candy. He looked at me and said "He wants to eat this." Sooooo, though we hadn't really planned on trick or treating-ing ourselves, it turned out to be lots of fun. We did hand some out, then all tried to walk around the neighborhood together, but it was too spooky out (foggy, windy and freezing, natch) so Zadie and I came home. Noley and Dadsie has a blast - especially when they grouped up with some neighbors and fellow pre-schoolers to do a group thing. When they got back - Nolan was raring to dig into his bag 'o' crap. [For lo these many months, not an artificial color nor flavor has passed his lips (even his grandparents who wished mightily to bestow upon him the cookie suffered my rules and gave him organic ones!) and all in one night, his palate shifted and on this post-halloween day, I heard not once, but many many times "He can't have any more candy..." with the hopefulness that I might bend.] He chose Milk Duds and Junior Mints last night - one would think that would put him off candy altogether. (Seriously, Junior Mints?? Have some toothpaste with your chocolate, kid, and cut out the middle man!) We even flossed last night, which he enjoyed almost as much as the candy (now that's what I'm talkin' about!) And after those two pieces of candy - two fun-sized pieces of candy - he did, like, 20 laps around our house all by himself. Not playing a game, or being chased or anything. Just...ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOM. Then he scarfed down two bananas and brushed his teeth for 20 minutes. It was a wild ride, people.