Memories IV

LG Memories

LG didn’t crawl until she was 12 months old. You could set her in the middle of the room, leave for five minutes and come back to find her sitting in the exact same spot. I don’t know if this was because she felt like she could be carried wherever she needed to go, or if it was just because she was building up to moving on her own terms. Either way, once she did start crawling, it was like someone had poured grease all over her and stuck her on an ice rink.

She could move – I have never seen any baby move so fast. I know I’ve talked about this before, but every time I think about it, it amazes me. She’d put her head down, then be off like a shot – a combination of tank and Ferrari, barreling through anything in her way. If she were to run into anything – dog, wall, fridge, leg – she would just switch direction and continue on. It was absolutely crazy, and completely the opposite of how she had once been. Gone were the days of calm contemplation, no more sitting around… once she was on the floor, she was gone. If you weren’t looking at her for five seconds, it’d be a chore to find her. Our house is not that big, 1100 square feet, but somehow she’d manage to elude capture for minutes at a time, and that was with 3 doors closed to bedrooms and the bathroom.

The crawling phase didn’t last too long, perhaps a month, maybe two, then she was walking. This was actually somewhat of a relief, since it slowed her down considerably. People thought that since she was walking & upright we’d really be in trouble, ‘cause she could now reach shelves, but she’d already been pulling herself up for a while, and pulling things off any shelf she could reach. Really it was a bit of a relief, though you could tell the speed was frustrating to her – she’d often switch back to supercrawl when she really wanted to go somewhere or get away. Slower was definitely better.

Until she learned to run… oy…


LD Memories

This wasn’t a memory of mine so much as a recollection that L told me about, when LD was around the same age LG is now. LD has always been a social kid, never being too shy around strangers (not always a good thing, but I’m glad he has a positive outlook on life). Still, there were some people he would just naturally gravitate to; I don’t know if he was sensing something special in them or if it was just a random happening, but there were definitely some people he instinctively trusted more than others.

We were living in Atlanta (ok, in Decatur, just on the other side of the border, near a MARTA stop), and I was on my rotations at Southwest Hospital. I was gone a lot, so L & LD had a lot of time together. One day, L took the little guy to a local mall. This mall had a train that kids could ride. It was a cute little thing, about a half dozen “cars” and it ran the length of the mall; I don’t know if it was on tracks or if it was just running free, but LD loved going on it. On this one particular occasion, there were apparently not many kids on the train, it being the middle of the week, and it was being run by a big, burly man in his 50’s with a few tattoos and gerri curls, according to L. She said that he looked like he was just there, not really enjoying it, not mean or mad, but it looked like not many people talked to him very often.

L told me that when LD saw the train, the first thing he did was go up to the conductor, put his little arms out and say “Up.” L said that the man broke out into a wide grin, and that he looked genuinely touched. He reached down & picked Little Dude, babbling at him for a couple of minutes before setting him back down. L thought that it was great – she wished she’d had a camera (remember, this was before the time when cellphones had cameras built in). I thought it was hilarious, and every other time I took LD to the train, I kept an eye out for the conductor, but we never came across him again.

Laziness

As a whole, today was a day we sat around, ate fudge and watched WALL*E. We went to the gym for a bit, and T from across the street came over, but for the most part, we were lazy today. L & Bipa went to get the car fixed; I read to LG & LD out of a new chapter book, The Dragon in the Sock Drawer. There was a bit more outside snow time, though I think that’s wearing on everybody now. Bipa would only stay outside for ten minutes. All together a day of hanging out, playing lightsaber battles,, chading each other and joy.

Children of Joyful Head Explodings

When LG saw the little indoor playstructure (a used Lil Tyke’s Climber) that Santa had recycled from Craigslist & left for her, she went nuts. She figured out how to climb up and slide down immediately, spending most of the morning gravitating between it and ripping wrapping paper into bits and pieces.

The morning started with both of the sleeping later than normal (a real Christmas miracle). When LD woke, he found a note to he & LG under an empty plate on the floor of his room. He grabbed it and ran into the living room. He took in the mounds of presents and most likely nearly passed out, but managed to compose himself long enough to feed the dogs and let ‘em out (he’s such a good boy). He then ran into our room, talking a mile a minute, describing the living room in minute detail, especially talking about the big wrapped thing that might have a slide on it that was probably for LG cause it looks like something he played with when he was a little kid but had given it away ‘cause he gotten too old and could we read the note ‘cause Santa left one?

When he was satisfied that the note just thanked he & LG for the thoughtful snacks (Rudolph had apparently eated two of the carrots because Blitzen wasn’t hungry), he got us out of bed, telling us to get LG up, too. We spent the rest of the morning in our PJs, passing out the gifts and trying to decided the best order to play with them in. Santa got a remote contol “BladeStar”, a kind of indoor hovering airplane that I took to… LG’s babydoll was a big hit – with LD (he carried it around all day, making sure it got plenty of naps and food). The lightsaber (springloaded, glowy, and with spund effects) that LG got for him was a huge hit, too. He was wandering around with the doll tucked in the crook of one arm and the lightsaber at the ready.

LG tried to eat anything and everything that wasn’t edible, but she did get a tiny bit of chocolate and loved it. L’s dad, Bipa, showed up – he’d been promising to make it in all week. LD was really excited about this, and we made some more fudge for him.

Usually the tree stays up for a week or so after the day, but this year we took it down early – LD wanted to play with the Bladestar, and LG wanted more room for her play structure. Today was NOT a day of boredom.

Christmas Elfers

I slept most of the day today in preparation for my night shift. I got up around two in the afternoon, then LD & I went to the store for odds and ends. He’d been cooped up inside all day and was feeling supremely bored. He was expecting Santa to come tomorrow night (since I was working we were going to celebrate a day later & ask Santa to bring gifts then, though LD had no idea of the actual date), and not sure why his friends were unavailable for playing. He’d read, played in the now-old-hat snow, watched a lot of tv, played with his toys, drawn, colored… he was at his wits end for a five year old. LG wasn’t much better, with her cold and cutting a bunch of molars all at once. L was understandable frustrated.

On the way home, we stopped off to pick up some veggie burgers at a local fry joint – dinner for the rest of the family, breakfast for me. While we were sitting and eating, about an hour before I was going to leave, Eric, one of Santa’s Little helpers who also works as a manager at my job, called me up & told me I didn’t need to come in. After I got off the phone, LD asked who it was – I let him know that the Little Elfer called to say that LD & LG had been SO good this year that they were coming a day early – this caused LDs little head to explode with happiness.

We got them both off to bed early, setting out our now-traditional Rice Krispie Treats & Carrots (for the Reindeer, of course), while Mrs Claus & I got the house ready.

Slippiness

I was at home with the kids all day, and we wrestled, read, and tried to make fudge. For some reason, that particular treat is eluding our know-how this year – I’m usually pretty good at it. This year – two batches were bad.

The making of it today went something like this: LD & I first tried to clean up the kitchen, unloading the clean dishes from the dishwasher & loading up the dirty ones, while LG would randomly pull things off of shelves, out of drawers, out of the garbage. She would then try to shove it into the dishwasher, into drawers, into boxes of cereal, while we tried to keep up.

Eventually we pulled ahead of her swath of destruction, and got to the actual cooking part. Last week when we tried, it came out like sludgey chocolate frosting – not horrible, but not at all solid. Today… it came out really crumbly while mixing, then hardened into steel nuggets of doom. Trying to bite into one invited the possibility of tooth destruction.

Another of LGs friends from Kindergarten came over, and the two of them went off and did things that five year old boys do for a few hours: made guns, played in the snow (yep, it’s still around – I think this is the 5th day), made up games with malleable rules. Lunch came around, and we all enjoyed pizza… I’m thinking that I like Papa John’s the best, go figure.

LG napped part of the time that the boys were playing; after she woke up, I tried reading a little to her, first one of her picture books, then Harry Potter, but she wasn’t in the mood. She really just wanted to be spun around and hugged. She’s a bit on the snotty side, I don’t think she’s feeling so hot. We played a game where I’d hide her water bottle and she’d run off and find it.

After L came home from a short day (of a short week) of work, I made up dinner and got the kids in the bath. L was watching the news, and they’d been talking about sledding a lot. We hadn’t taken them out to sled at any point during the snow storm, and L said that we really ought to do it. I agreed. I got LG into bed (she was crabby), telling LD to get out of the bath so we could go sledding.

Man, that kid can move like greased lightning when he want to. He was out of the bath and into his outdoor clothes in about 1.5 seconds. I made him dry his hair, though that was a chore as he didn’t know WHY he had to have dry hair when we were going out into 25 degree weather. Once I asked him what water did when it got really cold, he stopped fidgeting.

It was seven o’clock as we left the house, his normal bed time. We went to LH, a local community center to find some hills. The hills were at the top of a huge playfield, and the entire place was like one big ice sheet – the snow had melted during the day, and refrozen by the time we got there. It was a struggle getting up the hill, but we managed. I let him go on the first run on the red disc, and he went flying. When he hit the bottom of the hill, someone had made a little snow/ice ramp, and he caught it perfectly, grabbing some serious air. He frikkin’ loved it!

The disc went sliding about 75 yards or so across the field, his peals of laughter echoing through the park. The dozen or so high-schoolers were cheering him on, thinking it was hilarious also. He came running back, and I took my turn – it was insanely fast. It wasn’t a huge hill, but the ice made the speeds crazy.

It was rough getting back up the hill, but I managed to MacGyver some steps to the top, using an old steel commuter cup that I found laying there. LD thought they were great – he ran around telling all the other ids… “kids”, yeesh, they were between 15 and 20 … about the stairs, and all of a sudden we had the most popular spot. Still, in spite of the steps, the iciest spot was at the top of the hill – if you weren’t holding tightly to the fence, there was 0% chance of staying upright for more than 20 seconds. There were some nasty spills up there – one girl really smacked her head hard, but she said that she was fine. She was worried initially, asking about the loud crack she’d heard, and we told her that it was her toboggan breaking, not her head – she seemed relieved.

LD spent the next hour racing up and down the hill, sometimes taking bad falls, but always laughing, brushing it off and heading back up for more. He kept losing his hat and mittens, but didn’t seem to affected by the cold – it was probably all the hill climbs he was doing. It was a fantastic evening – bright, clear, not too crowded, and LD seemed to be having the time of his life.

When it came time to go, there were no complaints, just a constant train of narration coming from the little guy. He kept talking about what he had done, how he had done it, did you see that papa, that hurt when I did that but it was ok not too bad… all the way to the car. Then in the car and all the way home – it was great.

He didn’t really seem to have any problems getting ready for bed, but the evening ended on a sour note, unfortunately. He got his PJs on, then got in bed, after both L & I reminded him to brush his teeth multiple times. When I went in to tuck him in, I asked him if he had brushed – he replied yes, but hid his mouth under the covers. I asked him three times, each time telling him that if he wasn’t telling the truth, I’d be mad, but each time he said that he had brushed them. I told him I was going to check to see if the brush was wet… at which time he jumped out of bed and ran for the bathroom, but I was already holding the dry toothbrush.

I was angry, and I let him know it. I don’t like being lied to – who does, really? LD knows that, and he’s been working on his poker face, something I’m not keen on him perfecting. Tonight, he got the point, I think. I let him know that he was not to lie to me, not ever, for any reason – if he did something wrong and lied about it, it would be ten times worse than if he just told us the truth. I let him know that he might get in trouble for doing something wrong and telling us, but it’d be much worse if he didn’t tell us, or worse yet, if he lied.

I walked away, telling him to go to bed. He did, and I could hear the sobbing coming from his room; it was breaking my heart. L finally went in and comforted him, being the good cop, then brought him out to apologize. He did, and it was as sincere an apology as I’ve ever heard from a five year old; I told him I wasn’t mad at him any more, and hoped that he’d learned his lesson. I took him back to bed, tucked him in, and he seemed like he got it.

The whole lying thing is a serious slippery slope.

Highlights

The last week has been a bit of a blur, what with the Seattle “blizzard” and all. School was cancelled 3 out of 5 days last week, and I got to spend a lot of time with the family, which was fantastic – but didn’t allow for much time to actually write anything down. Thus, we’ll have a bit of recapping…

On the 17th, school was closed for the first of the three days, since there was a possibility of snow. The snow never actually came, so everyone started calling it the “practice snow day”. We got some good play time in, LG, LD and I playing a lot of chase, reading comics, and making the first round of our Christmas goodies (which I still haven’t sent out). Fudge, buckeyes, and pumpkin cupcakes – LD helped making most of it, though he was gone for an hour or so, playing at T & F’s house across the street. LG liked getting bits and pieces of the goodies, her eyes lighting up with each new treat. She never got more than one bite of anything, but that one bite was enough.

The next day, we swapped play times with LD’s friend from up the street. She came down to our house and played for a couple of hours – including in the snow (finally), then they switched. L & I were both home, taking turns watching LG and hanging out together. LD, his friend and I had a huge snowball fight on the way up to her house, and it was a good one.

Friday, with more snow and the school closed yet again, we spent more time outside and exchanging playdates with folks in the neighborhood. There was a lot of time spent out in the snow, and LD and his other friend, Z, seemed to have a lot of fun in the backyard together while LG was napping. After heading back in to take the chill off with some hot chocolate and warm cupcakes, we went back out, this time in the front yard. We took an over-bundled LG with us – she mostly just stood there. Literally, just stood, still as a statue, taking it all in. the couple of times she tried to move, she fell face down in the snow, getting a face full of the stuff. It didn’t seem to bother her so much as puzzle her; she appeared quizzical about the whole thing.

Saturday rolled around, and we spent an hour in the car so you could see Santa. We hadn’t really been paying attention to the date, and didn’t realize that EVERYONE would be going to the mall at the same time. The line to see Santa wasn’t too long, only about a half an hour, but the traffic going to the mall was crazy. Both LD & LG were perfect during the trip – no whining, fussing or complaining, which earned a pretzel before we left the mass of stores.

While in line for Santa, LD had no trouble making friends with a little girl behind us in line; the two of them found a set of massage chairs, and they scrunched together while sitting in them. LG wandered around the line in her cute little PJ’s that my mom had sent her – we’ll call her G.O. All of the clothes that G.O. sent were really cute, and we decide to use ‘em for the photo.

Then it was Sunday again, and I had to work – though not for too long. It was extremely slow, so I wound up coming home early. I bought some new mittens for LD, and as soon as I got home he wanted to try them out. The whole family bundled up and went into the front yard, playing together in the snow. We brought T & F over to play with us, having snow fights and digging snow tunnels, while L snapped a few pictures. After about an hour, LG got tired of standing around (and of getting knocked over by our dogs – they’d come out with us), and it was time for her and L to go back inside. LD, T, F and I stayed out for another hour and then all adjourned to our respective homes for dinner and bed. LD asked if I could play with him while he took his bath, and I promised him I’d do it on Monday or Tuesday.

I’m back at work, and am fairly well caught up, though not with as much detail as I’dve liked.


Oh, and I almost forgot – on Wed, the day I went to work for just a bit, we had a Secret Santa. Austin, one of my co-workers, picked me, and he gave me this HUGE stuffed pig that was super soft. He’d won it in a carnival, and thought my kids might like it. LD was in bed when I got home, but the next morning, when he came to get us up, L told me he’d spent the entire day before cleaning & help look after LG, so I gave him the pig. It was an immediate and HUGE hit – the thing hasn’t left his side since, at least not when he’s been indoors. He sleeps curled up next to it, and has named it Mr. Fluffy.

Memories tres

I wound up working late and really didn’t get to see LD or LG. LG was in bed before I got home; LD was on his way to bed as I was getting home. School was cancelled due to snow… well, sort of cancelled. The automated call said that “School starts 2 hours late, and AM and PM kindergartens are cancelled.” We took this to mean that Kindergarten was closed… I mean, if you were told that your work in the AM and PM was cancelled, would you go?

The babysitter told us that around 11 am, the school called looking for Sage. Apparently, the cancellation did not affect full-day K. We felt like idiots, until today, when the recorded voice said “… and all half day-AM and half-day-PM are cancelled for the day. Full day Kindergarten students will start two hours late.” So, apparently, we weren’t the only ones to make that mistake.

LD Memories

The second vivid recollection I have from the time we lived in Las Vegas is when we went to a health club. Children were allowed in the club, and many families took use of the outdoor pool in the heat of the day. LD, you and I were walking through the dressing room to get ready to get in the pool, and you were about two and a half. Your vocabulary had expanded greatly, and you decided to make use of it.

“Big penis! Big penis!” You were stating this loudly, pointing to each man we passed. There were about thirty men in various states of undress in the changing room, and by the time we got to the locker, you had the entire room roaring in laughter. And, to put icing on the cake, you walked up to one portly gentleman, a man who looked as if he was about 60 and had swallowed an exercise ball, and poked his belly. Just once, but definitively.

Looking at him, then me, you proudly stated “There’s a baby in there!”

I think he’s probably still laughing to this day. I’m glad he had a good sense of humor.



LG Memories

LG, you used to LOVE sitting outside in your ultra saucer, before you were mobile, You didn’t really crawl or walk until you were a year old, but once you did – I have never seen, and I will probably never see a baby who could crawl as fast as you. Your speeds were insane – you could probably have outpaced a small motor scooter.

But before that, you were still. You were content to sit and observe, to watch the world around you. Your favorite place to do it was in the back yard under our Asian pear tree and watch everything. The breeze in the branches, the birds, the clouds, the insects – you loved it all. It didn’t matter what type of weather – sun, rain, snow or clouds, as long as you were dressed appropriately, you wanted to be outside, in your bright red seat.

After about six months or so, you transitioned into the swing, or the Johnny Jump Up, but you still wanted to be in the back yard. The dogs would run by you and push you, which you thought was hysterical, or they would lay at your feet, your little tootsies inadvertently petting them. They enjoyed it, and you – to this day, they follow you around, waiting for you to pet them or feed them. You’re their little snack basket.

Memories Deux

Today was a work day, so I didn’t get to spend much time with either LG or LD today. I got home, read to them and put them to bed. I did get to hear all about how one of LD’s friends came over, he gushed about playing in the snow, about how they played with an imaginary video game, about how they chased the dogs around the house, about how he got to go over to her house for a long time, too.

LG was having a bit of an off day, apparently – L was telling me that she had been a little on the cranky side all day. I got to witness this first hand when I got home, she whined a lot and got frustrated easily. Maybe she’s going through a growth spurt – though she’s already bigger than any other 18 month old I’ve ever seen; she’s actually in 3 T’s now.

LG Memories:

I remember the first week after we picked you up, on the beach house in Maryland. I was doing the night shifts, waking every two hours to feed you. I am amazed I remember it at all, L and I were so exhausted. LD somehow didn’t seem affected. You showed us then that you had a serious set of lungs on you, and an appetite. You started out small, about 5 pounds at birth, and you were determined to make up for it. When you and I were out for a walk along the beach boardwalk, I stopped in a little store to get something, something small, trivial – I don’t ever remember what now. What I do remember is the woman who was about ten years older than me, telling me how beautiful you were.

Then she mentioned how much you look like me, which is funny on many levels. I am a tall geeky white guy, you’re my little African princess. The woman was trying to be nice, trying to be PC; all I said was “Shhh, don’t tell my wife that – it’s a secret!” You are so beautiful that I wish I looked more like you, but alas, I’m stuck with my own ugly mug. You have my heart, little one.

LD Memories:

Some of the funniest things you did when you were really small happened in Las Vegas. We lived there for a while, about a year, living in your BiPa’s house while he was off on one adventure or another, trying to wrangle oil or harness river currents for energy. There were two times that stuck out most. One of which I’ll relay here:

We were waiting in line for a big shark exhibit, and it was taking a little while, you were two-ish, a little under, with a few words under your belt, but a lot of signs, as Mama was teaching you sign language. You were hungry , and you were cruising up and down the line charming people. You stopped at one woman, a woman in her mid twenties, very obviously surgically top-heavy. You looked up, she looked down, smiling. Then she giggled “Oh look, he’s waving, how cute!” She starting waving enthusiastically back.

I hustled over, smiling and saying something about how he was good at waving, how he liked to wave. I didn’t mention the fact that you were signing “Milk”…

Tree Day

December 13th is the day we go get our Christmas tree, and it was one of the coldest days of the year. L decided that she and LG could stay in the heated car, while LD & I went and picked out a tree. We were at a local school, helping support the PTA… and you could tell that it was an all-volunteer operation. The credit card machine was down and no one could figure it out, the volunteers would congregate around one customer to try to help, subsequently leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves.

LD didn’t mind, he thought it was all great fun, especially since they were handing out free candy canes and chocolate kisses. He, of course, went directly for the biggest tree, but we scaled back to one that was more modestly priced. Out of the selection I gave him, he went right for the Charlie Brown tree. He said that it was lucky that there were so many space between the branches so it would be easier to carry.

Getting it on the roof of the car and secured with the 3 inches of twine they handed me wasn’t too bad. The nice thing was that I had no tailgaters all the way home. When we got to the Blue Moon, we took down the tree, then set it up in the living room, making it as straight as possible. We got the ornaments out, letting LD do all the decorating, while LG did a lot of undecorating. She thought that the shiny metal ornaments were especially tasty. This was the first year that LD decorated the entire tree himself, and there was no clumping at all… the ornaments were neatly spaced and the tree looked great.
When it started snowing later that night, we got LD out of bed to take a look. He was so excited that he ran out into the back yard in bare feet and his PJs – we quickly called him back inside.

Mislitterations

LG, your mother thinks you are speaking Klingon. Id have to agree, though there’s also definitely some Sand People talk in there as well. You babble and sing just about all day long… Our Taiwanese Nanny (TN from here on out) tells me thatsome of your babbling is indeed Mandarin, but I’ve no idea. I can say “Say Tchien” (good bye), “lie” & “qua lie” (both are forms of “come here”), and count to five. I think. Oh, and I can say “thank you”, but you’ve never really said any of those, at least not that I can tell.

What you do say, and seem to say it quite often, is “n’barda”, which is a Pulaar (Mauritanian dialect) word for “how are you” (or something like that; it’s a greeting of some sort). Not sure where you picked it up, but I like that you know it.

I actually am hearing more and more sounds that sound like words… “nana” is your favorite fruit, “dod-dod” your favorite animal and “mamamama” is, well your favorite parent, most likely. You also have “hi” down pretty well, along with a smile, head cock and wave… it’s super cute, and you elongate it, so it sounds more like “hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii”. Perfect. LG, you and spent a large part of the day babbling at each other, and it was a lot of fun.

We also played a lot – from letting you roll down the couch cushion to chase o swinging you around, I think we had a good day together. I took you out back and let you swing for a while while I cleaned up a bit of the back yard. We also walked home from LD’s school after dropping him off. Somehow, a block and a half took forty minutes, but it was fine: your legs are short and your attention fleeting. “Ooh, stairs! Ooh, a shiny thing! Ooh A slug! Does it taste good” hey, let’s go back up the way we came, it looks like it changed, it must be new again! Hey, a dog!”

Those were forty well spent minutes. I did, however forget that I was supposed to volunteer in LD’s class today… whoops.

Hrm, why am I not writing this in 3rd person? Ah well, no laws against changing styles once in a while – “Ooh, a new style! Does it taste good?”


LD, man, you were the BEST today. Seriously, I could not have asked for a happier, more helpful kid – you got up happy, helped fed the dogs (of course, these days, you’re in charge of feeding the dogs & you’ve been doing it for a year without complaints), took a bath, ate breakfast and played with your sister, and that was just in the morning.

We walked up to school, where you were starting early. Today was one of the two “before School Sports” days you have with Mr. PE, and India and I stuck around to watch ya. 50 kids all running around in controlled chaos, and you there in the thick of it. While we were watching, you were playing catch with the twins from your kindergarten class, using a soft frisbee thingy. You were laughing and seemed to be having fun.

After school, you made sure that I would play chase with you after dinner, then you ran off to the playground for a bit. On the way home we talked a little about your day, as we always do, and you told me that you saw the Blue Angels today when you were outside. I’m not sure what you say, but I don’t think they were in the area today. I could be wrong, though. I think that L. would be happy to know that you remember who they are. Your mama loves planes, especially planes that go high and fast and with precision. She’d love to go out into space, too (as would I, but she really would). Hell, if I won the lottery, one thing I’d buy would be a ticket into space for her. I think she’d love it.

After we got home, I let you have half a Twix (shhh, don’t tell; it was your first time having one, and you got it cause of how excellent you’ve been). We hung out for a little bit, the we went to the store, then went and got Mama from work. We had grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner (yours had Tofutti soy cheese, tomatoes and garlic, Mama’s had Tofutti soy cheese, tomatoes, garlic & onions, LG’s had cheddar, tomatoes, garlic & onions, and mine had just cheddar… I like it simple).

We got to play chase after dinner, out side in the dark. The moon was full, and you let me know that it was easier to hide at night because it was dark. You just need to find dark shadows and no one can see you, but with the moon so bright and full finding shadows is hard to do and you’re in the moonlight and isn’t the moon almost as bright as the sun tonight, Papa? It was fun chasing you around.

Though I did learn that I have to work a little more to get ya; your zigs and zags are improving, not to mention your speed.

Deck the Moon

Our babysitter was watching India today so that I could run errands, and this gave me a little time with LD. He’d gone to bed late last night (two and a half hours later than normal), so when he got up this morning, he was still tied – he thought I was going to spend the whole day with him. When he realized that that wasn’t the plan, he burst into tears. I’d been trying to sleep in a little, so I let him crawl into bed with me while he cried. My heart broke a little, but we worked it out. He got up, got ready for school, and I walked him up. H was in a much better moon and we joked around the entire way.

LD & I spent a good half an hour after school playing chase on the playground. This is his favorite game – any time you ask him what he wants to do, this is the first thing out of LD’s mouth. The game would up involving half the kids on the playground – LD would run and climb up the rope climbing structure they call “The Spider”, and I would try to follow. All the other kids would jump and shake the ropes until I fell off; it was a lot of fun, and I think he enjoyed it, too, seeing how upset he got when it was time to go.

Still, he brightened at the prospect at putting up the Christmas lights. Ever since Thanksgiving, he’d been wanting to get the lights up; he was seeing them go up all around the neighborhood. We pulled them out of the attic a few days ago, and decided to start as soon as we got home.

We spent fifteen minutes detangling the LED Christmas tree from the net lights and strings, then tripped over one another trying to find the extension cords from out ultra-musty shack out back. As a surprise, I’d gotten a light-up reindeer and set of LED candy canes, so of course he went for these first. LD’s little fingers were better at the detangling than mine, and he was able to figure out how to stake them into the ground all on his own… it seems like I blink and he’s grwun up a bit more.

LG spent the day with our Taiwanese nanny – we hired her so that she’d speak Mandarin (and only Mandarin) to both the kids. She’s great, and the kids always seem happy and giggling every time we see them all together.

Every time I came home form another errand, LG was there to meet me at the door, waiting for her hug. LG is a hugging monster – she can’t seem to get enough. She’ll todwaddle over to strangers and hug their legs; as soon as she’s picked up, she’ll wrap her little arms as far around you as she can, then bury her head in your chest. If anyone was a natural at comforting people, she is.

LG was also a bottomless pit, eating anything she could get her hands on. For lunch, she had two and a half bananas, a sandwich, a granola bar, a bottle of milk and a carrot, and that was just lunch. I hate to think about how much is gonna come out the other end…

Fluteloopy

Tonight was L’s concert. She plays the flute in a local civic band, and it was all about Christmas music. We rushed to LD’s karate class, then rushed over to the performance.

They both did great – it was a small venue, and loud at that. LD took it upon himself to follow LG around and keep her from touching any outlets while occasionally giving her part of his Christmas cookie. LG? She spent the first half of the program wandering about, stopping now and again to shake her funky tailfeather when a piece of music struck her as particularly danceable. LG has been dancing since she’s had any sort of control of her muscles, singing, too. She loves music in all forms, and will babblesing at the top of her lungs half the day. If there’s a piece of music that strikes her fancy, she dances til she drops, all smiles and giggles. Right now, her favorite album is the Dino 5.

LD likes music, too, but more to play. He’s never really been much of a dance, though he id take ballet for a bit (and loved it). Actually, he came home from preschool when he was 4 ½, saying “Ballet is for girls,” he was enrolled in a class in the next hour. A couple of weeks later, when I picked him up from preschool and told him where we were going, he dropped to the floor and had the first, - and so far, only – temper tantrum of his life. Kicking, screaming, crying yelling saying he wouldn’t go, that it wasn’t fair, that it was for girls only… it was crazy.

He kept repeating how unfair it was, so I asked him if it would be fair if they said that his soccer class was for boys only (more than half the kids in it were girls), and he agreed that it wouldn’t be fair at all. I asked him how fair it would be if someone told him that ballet was girls only. He thought for a minute, got up and shrugged. “You’re right Papa, I guess I’ll go.” He was the only boy in his class, and he really had a lot of fun – it helped that his teacher was great, too.

LG, on the other hand, she’s a natural. She’ll be our singer, our dancer – it’s as natural to her as breathing, I think. She always seems happiest when she’s doing one or the other, a bg grin, first toothless, not with a bunch of new pearly whites to show off. She has the best, most infectious smile, and her laugh is insanely hilarious.

About halfway through the program, which was ate for them, they both got tired. We sat, LD putting his head in my lap, LG’s on my shoulder. They didn’t fall asleep, it was far to loud for that. LG was a bit whiny but also enjoyed the music – she couldn’t make up her mind whether to sing and dance or do her tuckered out cry, so she wound up in the middle of each half the time. LD was just squirmy and uncomfortable, but still wanted his head down. I think he really wanted to sleep, but he loves the face that his Mama can play actual songs.

We got home, out them to bed two and a half hours later than normal, and they both dropped off to sleep almost immediately.

The Hamster Poop Incident

Tonight I walked in the door after being gone for more than fourteen hours (I work long shifts, but fewer days a week), and was immediately assailed on three fronts. My wife was talking to me about something LD had done today, my eighteen month old daughter came toddle waddling over to me as fast as she could and began whining to be picked up, while my son yelled at me from the bath. Apparently he’d been in there for 20 minutes and wanted me to play with him.

Walking into this bliss of chaos, I felt embraced and loved, interestingly enough. I thought that I would be annoyed by it all, but I wasn’t. I liked walking in and being there, in the midst of family. It gave my spirit a lift, reminding me of life after I spent the day handling death (I have a … unique… job).

As L got ready to go for an evening swim, I was speaking to her about many things: about my work, about her job, about a private school application (she has a bet with herself hat I won’t actually get around to filling out the app), about mundane things that make life important. About that time, I notice that LG has tod-waddled off to the bathroom, where her 5 (and ¾!!!) old brother is bathing. I hear splashing and laughing, so I go to investigate.

The bathroom looks as if a tsunami had just left it; water was everywhere. LD mirthfully mentioned tht LG had come in and started splashing him, soaking both herself and the bathroom in the process. “Has it been five minutes Papa?” he asked with a twinkle in his eyes “You said that we could play after five minutes.”

I smiled and let him know that it had indeed been five minutes, and that I would sit and play with him. I then noticed something peculiar. “LD, why are you squishing yourself all the way over to the side of the bathtub?”

“Oh, well, um, well it’s because I don’t want to touch the hamster poop over there,” he informed me, pointing a the bottom of the tub.

I looked, hoping that I would not see what I was about to see, but.. there it was. On little raisin of hamster poop at the bottom of the tub, quietly disintegrating.

“GAH!” I shouted intelligently. “Drain the tub! Drain the tub! You’re still getting hamster poop on you!” I was grabbing the LG and stripping her of her clothes, wiping down her face and the bathroom. She thought it was hysterical.

“No I amn’t, Papa,” LD said while draining the tub. “See, the poop is over there!”

Without really stopping to think about it, I ran to the kitchen, grabbed the salt and a cup, filling the cup with water. I hustled back into the kitchen with the stuff in one hand, a naked, laughing and peeing year and a half old tucked under the other arm.

I put her down and began my explanation to my son while he was waiting for the water to drain. “Ok, see this glass? It has water in it, right?” He nodded. “Taste the water and tell me what it tastes like.” He complied, saying it just tasted like plain water. I took the glass back, upendeingthe shaker so that a butt-ton of salt went into the liquid. I swished it around a bit. “See the salt on the bottom? Good. Now taste it.”

After taking a big swig, he spat the water out immediately. “It tastes like the beach salt water did when Mima was here and we went swimming!” He seemed a little confused for a second, then it dawned on him. “You put salt in the water so it’s salt water, does that mean that the bath is hamster-poop water?”

I nodded. Tears of laughter streamed down his face as I turned on the shower, scrubbing down he and his sister. They’re in bed now, and it’s time for me to get the hamster poop water cleaned up off the bathroom floor.

Hamster poop water is decidedly less appealing that salt water.

First Memories

I'm going to try to write daily about at least one thing my kids have done or said or whatevs, just because they are perfect & need to have their lives documented through the eyes of an impartial observer. Cause, ya know, fathers are impartial to their own kids.

Memories of Lil' Dude (LD) (my son) and Lil' Gal (LG) will be marked as such. I'll try to add a memory as well as a current event daily.

LD Memories:

I remember the day you were born... well, the days, actually. it was three days an nights of eternity all kind of mashing together. Your mother went into labor early one morning, and we drove to the hospital in Atlanta. I'd had all the hospital gear ready - it wasn't like the movies, no one was panicked, it was just a fact of life. When we arrived at the North Atlanta hospital, we went into the (nice) birthing suite and began what we thought would be a short wait. Well, maybe not that short, but not that long either. I'd seen a few long labors, and a few false labors, but your mother's labor was longer and less false that any other I'd seen.

She went into active labor fairly soon after arrival, then stayed that way for three days - something that doesn't happen often. When the time came for you to pop out, she and I were both exhausted. Obviously she'd done the work, and she was just a tiny bit more tired than I was, but still.

On that cold February morning, you came into the room and warmed my heart. I was yours, you were mine, and you were friggin' gorgeous. I was expecting a squishy lizard alien baby, but what I got was you, a perfect baby that fit well into my arms. Sure, there was some slime, some gunk, but I only;y say that 'cause I know all births have it. I don't remember any of that, I only remember how beautiful your mother looked right at that moment, and how incredible you were.

LG Memories:

Oh Holy Hell... walking into that room I knew you were mine - were ours. You brought our family even closer together, a glue that bonded us all tightly around you. We swarmed you, nearly smothering you, I think. LD, your mother & I all wanted to hold you and never let you go. You were the perfect addition to our family, and we could never imagine being without you from that moment on.

It was a sweltering day in Maryland, and we had been waiting for you for what felt like years in the waiting room. When the woman from the adoption agency brought your foster mother in with you ( a vegetarian Jewish mom with the energy of cyclone and a heart of gold), our souls melted. You were magnificent and sweet. you were a tiny thing, quiet and reserved, giving us no hint about the volumes your lungs would one day manage.

We passed you back and forth, but I never wanted to let you go - you were my daughter, and from that second forward, you were a part of me.