Goodnight Moon

There are two Ben items that bear reporting today. The first is that he and I (thanks to Glenn taking a very long Labor Day weekend and staying home with a bottle of milk that Rex eventually took) went to the Seattle Gymnastics Academy for their "indoor playground." I was a gym rat as a kid and have been chafing to introduce Ben to gymnastics, but have been worried about handling the baby when I might need to give Ben a helping hand on the equipment. Boy, did I have a great time! I gather it was mutual, since Ben had a wall-to-wall grin during nearly the entire time we were there. Let's just say that the gear is a lot cooler than it was when I was a kid pretending to be Nadia Comanechi. The whole place is covered in mats and the trampoline is sunk into the floor with mats covering the oh-so-hazardous springs, so the kids can just walk on and off, rather than taking turns "spotting" each other on the edges. They have a six foot deep pit filled with one foot square chunks of foam. Did you hear me? That's a SIX FOOT DEEP FOAM PIT! They had wisely labelled it, explaining that adults are not allowed in. Had they not done that, I might have pushed Ben in just so I could seem to be rescuing him. Clearly, the whole thing was excellent and awful, because I am not a kid anymore and am not allowed to do any of the cool stuff. Did I mention they have a six foot deep foam pit?

And a Tumble-Trak, which is essentially a 30' long narrow trampoline. It ends with the mother of all foam mats to allow for dismount practicing. Again, clearly labelled "no adults." Damnit.

The other cool Ben thing is that about three nights ago HE started reading Goodnight Moon to US! It's unutterably cool to sit on the floor (he claims the chair when he's reading) and listen raptly as he "reads" the book we've read to him 1,000 times (3 years x 365 nights). No, of course, I know he's not really reading the words, but he knows just when to turn the pages and when to pause for effect. Tonight I thought I would be funny and say "meow" after he read "Goodnight kittens" but he went too fast and had already said "Goodnight kittens, goodnight mittens" before I got my meow in. He paused, looked at me appraisingly and said "mittens don't say meow." I laughed so hard I nearly fell over. What a kid I've got.

Decide for Yourself

I keep claiming that my kids are hilarious and fun, but then I tell stories about what pains in the #$%es they can be. Here are a couple of videos showcasing their particular charms. You decide for yourself what you think.


Rex Talking


Ben Cracking Himself Up

Apricots and Peaches and Plums, Oh My!

Today I left the house for a coveted two hours on my own. Not a kid in the car! Of course, I was going to the farmers' market and we all know that there's no point taking the kids if you actually want to buy food there. I sneaked a couple of slices at the Pagliacci Pizza on the Ave. before shopping and then loaded up. It took two trips to the car since I've been working for the past few weeks on making baby food: The first load was our usual vegetables and fruit, and the second load was an entire flat of plums, about 12 pounds worth.

So once the two boys are in bed I have to cook, puree and prep for the freezer a giant batch of plums. I manage to dirty only about half of the pots and pans we own, but get so much sticky plum juice on the floor that I have to mop. If you know me, you know that I'll do just about anything to avoid mopping. I do a lot of spot cleaning, not because I like that either, but because it forestalls having to mop. I'm just about to do it, even though I want to be in bed, when Glenn comes to the rescue and volunteers. Hallelujah! And Rex, who's not even eating solids yet, has about 30 or 40 pounds worth of apricots, peaches and plums waiting for him. Let's just hope we don't have a power outage...Thank you, honey!

I really like this photo that Glenn took today (from his iPhone, of course). He took the boys to the library while I was at the farmers' market and I beat them back to the house by about 10 minutes. I walked down to the sidewalk to greet them and had one of the loveliest welcomes ever. Ben ran an entire block at full speed to give me a whopping hug. As I watched his beautiful, floppy run I thought "This is why I had kids."

Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Ben and I have started a new pasttime lately: We like to make muffins together. We did some varied baking projects initially, but have settled into the happy routine of blueberry muffins. In truth, they're the only muffins I really like to eat and I know the recipe by heart, which helps when you're baking with a kid and need to think about things like whether the flour will wind up on the floor while you've turned around to grab the sugar.

Notice the hilarious muffin "papers," a gift from Iris for Ben's birthday. Today was our first time using them and I was relieved when I asked Ben if we should eat the "feet" and he laughingly said no. One potential misunderstanding averted...unless I just planted the idea, instead.

Ben Turns 3!

Yesterday was Ben's third birthday and since it happened on a Saturday we had the party on the actual day. Here are a ridiculous number of photos. It was a blast with such a great crowd. The kids were marvelous and played really well together and the adults were equally fun. Ben had a really great day, which is all I can ask for (well, that and a bloody mary, but until I stop nursing Rex, that probably won't happen).

Lots of catching up to do

Mom has been here about a week and it's just been too much fun talking or preparing for Ben's birthday party or collapsing in exhaustion together to keep up the blog. But she leaves tomorrow night and I'm realizing that I've got about 2,300 photos to sort through, so I'll do a bit tonight.

Here are some shots of Mom with the boys. Rex just lights up when she walks in, and has even been known to stop nursing to track her across the room. The shot here is of Rex in his Bumbo chair, serving as our dinner centerpiece. He loves it because it gets him up at eye level and we love it because it just cracks us up. Mom made a "feel box" for Ben where he sticks his hands inside and tries to guess what he's touching without looking. Or at least that's the theory. In reality, he pulls the item out immediately, announcing its identity as he sees it. Sort of subverts the game... So Mom came up with a variation in which Ben hides under the coffee table, holding his hands up to touch the thing. It's easier to keep him from cheating and funny to watch, to put it mildly. And here's a photo of Ben in his Krispy Kreme soda jerk hat, sent by Aunt Lucia. He looks pretty fetching, doesn't he?

Grandma's Here!

Okay, I'm a little slow in keeping this updated, but my Mom is here and I'm too busy catching up with her to blog much. Rex is having another rough go of reflux, so we'll be calling the hospital tomorrow to tweak his medication. But when he's not miserable with the reflux, he's busy grinning at Grandma!

Photos: An unfortunately fuzzy shot of Grandma and Rex enjoying each other. One of the teachers at Ben's child care center decided to give Ben pigtails today. Why? We have no idea, but we thought it was both hilarious and oddly becoming. We've just had our house painted and it looks gorgeous! The painters were here briefly today to finish up, and Glenn took a funny photo of the family plus Marc, the painter. Busy morning!

Photo Catch-up

We had back-to-back doctor's visits on Wednesday morning, with Ben having his 3-year and Rex his 4-month checkups. Ben was jealous, since Rex got four shots and he only got one, weirdo that he is. Lately he's taken to telling us he's sick because he likes to eat his gummy vitamins. Unfortunately, we figured out yesterday that he really is. He woke up at 4:15 AM today wailing and with a raspy cough, so Glenn gave him a dose of Triaminic then all of us tried to get back to sleep. Eventually Ben and I succeeded, but Glenn was not so lucky, poor guy.

Rex had a lousy two days, running a low fever and just generally being unusually fussy, but today he was back to his usual charming self.

But healthy or not, the kids make for great photos. Here's a whole selection since I haven't posted in a few days. In no particular order, we have Ben wearing a selection of play scarves and giving me a gorgeous smile, if I do say so myself. I included the one of Rex and the rattle to prove that we do (occasionally) give him tummy time. I love the one of Rex in the Bumbo chair watching as the whirlwind that is Ben zooms by. And the handsome dark-haired fella in the car seat is Dominic Morrow, here for a playdate along with his sister Iris and his mom Margarita. I tried to take pictures of Ben and Iris, but they were moving too fast to be captured on film!

Benspeak

Here is a conversation we had with Ben tonight. When he isn't being whiney, he can be pretty damn funny. By the way, we have no idea what he was talking about, although he may have been negotiating the duration of his upcoming bath.

"And you want three minutes...and five minutes...and 10 minutes... and 75 minutes."

Oh, I realize for this to make any sense you need to be aware of Ben's dominant verbal tic: He reverses pronouns. When he should say "I want some more milk" he says "You want some more milk." And if he's saying "You're eating a sandwich for lunch" it comes out as "I'm eating a sandwich for lunch." He's been doing it for a long time. We thought initially that he would just figure out the mistake and correct himself, but that doesn't seem to be happening, so now we coach him through the sentence and he repeats it. Fortunately for us, he's really good-natured and doesn't get pissed off at the constant correction. Heaven knows I would!

What I find amusing about this speech pattern is that it often sounds like he's trying to plant subliminal suggestions. Like his attempt to ask for something sweet after dinner, which comes out as "You want to have a treat."

As a matter of fact, kid, yes I do! I'm off for a brownie.

Happy Birthday Flynn!

Sunday was Ben's buddy Flynn's birthday party. We live about four blocks away and the boys were born 10 days apart, so Ben and Flynn have known each other since they were about three months old. Flynn's a great kid - just a ball of positive energy!

And his party was suitably excellent. After opening his gift from Ben, Flynn came over to high five him. Ben doesn't spend much time giving fives, whether high or low, so he was slow to catch on to Flynn's plan. Eventually, Flynn grabbed Ben's hand and held it in position so that he could complete the intended maneuvre. Pretty damn funny.

Uncle Mike Visits

We LOVE having Uncle Mike visit. Actually, he's Michael to the world now, but has agreed to grandfather me since I'm evidently too old to relearn my own brother's name. Anyway, Ben adores him and Glenn and I pretty much feel the same way. Rex doesn't have any opinion yet, but hes' still getting to know him. Mike's only fault is that he could have settled in Seattle but chose Portland instead, and has since moved even further away (though that was for a job, so we can make some allowance). Otherwise, he's pretty much perfect.

Here are a couple of shots of Uncle Mike with our boys.

Come back soon, Mike!

Our family Odyssey

My brother Michael arrived last night for a quick visit. He's going to tomorrow's Red Sox/Mariners game so we've got a day and a half with him and are determined to use it wisely. I'm always glad when he shows up since we tend to get creative, looking for fun stuff to do to entertain Ben and make it seem to Michael that we have lives and don't just putter around our house 24/7, which is much closer to the truth.

Today my brainstorm was to drive to Seattle Center, park there and take the monorail into downtown. It arrives at Westlake Center, so we could grab lunch at their food court and hop back on the monorail. Big fun from a kid's perspective and entertaining for us, since we get vicarious pleasure from watching Ben fall in love with yet another form of transportation. And then a quick drive home for naptime.

Here's what happened. We park at Seattle Center but have to pay $8 since there's some giant event and they jack up the rates accordingly. I brush off Glenn's suggestion that we take the stroller for Ben and volunteer to haul the baby in the Bjorn, since I've been doing it a lot lately and figure my back and shoulders have built up the necessary strength.

We pay for our tickets and hop on the monorail and have a lovely trip to Westlake Center. All of the grownups buy lunch and Ben eats the lunch we packed for him -- he's picky -- and has some of Glenn's naan and mango lassi. Rex watches everyone eat.

Ben gets itchy before Mike and Glenn finish their lunches so I grab him and we ride the escalator three stories down and three stories up (see photo). Then we all get back in line for the monorail. The one time I rode it years ago, Glenn and I were two of maybe six riders, total. But this is Seafair weekend and there are tons of tourists in town, too, so the trains are packed and you have to wait to board them in an endless line.

Long story short, we wait with many, many others for a train. When it finally shows, it dumps its riders and slinks away empty. Finally, we wrangle with the ticketseller to learn that it'll be another 25 minutes before the next train arrives. We decide to bail and I thank heaven for Glenn's new iPhone, because we can use it to look up bus routes back to our car.

We start hustling through city streets to find the right bus stop when Michael reminds us that we could call a cab. His jaw drops when I tell him that the bus is the only legal way to get the two kids back to the car. But it's true. Well, that or walking, but I've been carrying Rex for hours by now so that idea is less than appealing.

Ben is disappointed that we don't get to ride the monorail but is consoled by the idea of a bus ride, so in the end it all works out. Rex has napped intermittently and obligingly smiles at me, squeezed in the backseat of the car between the kids' car seats. I decide that our kids are the BEST KIDS...EVER!

So about three and a half hours later, we're home and the kids go to sleep. No big deal, really, but hey, it's a story to tell.

Rex Looking Dopey

For no reason at all, I just like this photo. It's not particularly flattering, since it makes Rex look pretty slackjawed and all, but it cracks me up.

I guess that is a reason. And heaven knows, I can use all the laughter I can get.

A Conversation with Ben

Today Ben, Rex and I had a date to meet Iris, Dominic and Margarita Morrow for a visit to the Arboretum's Japanese Garden. The Morrows have a membership there and Margarita had explained that it's a great running-around spot for Iris, or in parentspeak, a guaranteed nap.

By the way, Margarita rocks: Ben's nap today was two hours and forty-five minutes long!

Anyway, during the morning I had the following exchange with Ben:

Me: Remember today we're going to the Japanese Garden with Iris!
Ben: And someday when we go to the Japanese Garden we'll see Flynn. (note: Flynn is another one of Ben's friends)
Me: Flynn? Hm. Maybe. We've never been to the Japanese Garden before, so we don't know who we'll see! Do you think we might see a dragon?
Ben: Or a dragonfly.

The kid is pretty bright.

Thanks, honey!

I have never photographed well. It's really okay. I long ago decided to just accept the fact that I look lumpen in photos.

But every so often I am pleasantly surprised. For example, I quite like this shot, taken by Glenn the other night. I've cropped it, since it was an uncharacteristically mediocre photo of Ben. Which in itself is surprising, since he usually looks like an angel in pictures.

Herold relatives: you'll note a bit of the gorgeous china cabinet that I ogled for years at 36 Petrolia Street in the background. It still makes me happy every time I look at it.

Ben's Plane

Ben is just plain plane crazy.

If you tell him that we're going to a "fun place" (a term he started using ages ago that I've capitalized on, since it gives me wiggle room: If southbound traffic is crazy on the way to the beach, hop off the highway and go look at trains at the Amtrak station instead!), Ben immediately assumes that we're going to the Museum of Flight.

So it's not surprising that about a third of his toys are planes or related gear like baggage carts, pilots, airport fire trucks, etc. Actually, if you judge by weight, the planes probably make up half of his toys (excepting books, always excepting books).

Still, Glenn and I were stunned to see this drawing emerge from Ben's crayon a few days ago. He went crazy with a dark blue crayon later, so it's not as clear as it was initially, but I think that's a pretty damn fabulous airplane! In fact, it's probably better than any airplane I would draw.

And today Glenn comes home with a report that Ben constructed a plane at child care today out of foam, paper and tape that wowed the teachers.

I'm so proud. And I'll bet Buppa is, too. (My dad, whom Ben dubbed Buppa, is a pilot, and Ben has already been up in his Cessna!)

Ben is adjusting to being a big brother...

It's not often that photos of my kids make me laugh out loud - I mean, I'm usually there when they're taken, so there's not much of an element of surprise. But this one was an exception. Nonnie gave Ben a book called My Toolbox on their recent visit. Each page has a foam tool that can be removed from the book. Obviously, Ben decided to check out his hammer while holding Rex. The story is so far removed from the one the picture tells that it just cracks me up.

On another note, Ben, Rex and I had an extremely fun playdate with Iris, Dominic and Margarita Morrow (and Margarita's mother Yolanda, too) today. I am always nervous about playdates, since so many things can go wrong: Ben tries to hog another kid's toys, another kid upsets him by laying claim to Ben's toys, etc. But this was just pure pleasure from start to finish. My only regret is that I couldn't get a good photo of Ben and Iris driving in her play Corvette! The thing holds two kids and actually drives. I'm not sure Ben will ever recover.