Things You Did Today 10/21/2012

Linus, this morning you pointed to the loose skin on my belly, made a concerned face, and asked, "What happened to you?".

I told you, "I had two babies at the same time!".

You covered your face with your sweet little hands and giggled.

Wearing the twin skin proudly... but not in a bikini. ;-)

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I've got to start updating this blog/your baby book more often. Busy or not. Even if it's just to share a sweet little anecdote.

Family Vacation, Day 4

Linus is obsessed with rocket ships.  All day, every day, you’ll find him gripping a toy rocket and rehearsing launches. He watches NASA documentaries in lieu of cartoons and spends his reading time intently perusing books about astronauts, rockets, space and shuttles. It’s become something of a game in our house to ask Linus, “Are you a baby?” because without fail he always answers, “No, I’m an astronaut.” So our visit to Kennedy Space Center was extra special.

We started out in the rocket garden. Linus couldn’t be contained. He ran between the models excitedly pointing to each one and declaring, “Another rocket ship!”.

 

Here’s Veda sitting in a capsule with Nana. Poor Veda, she was pretty uncomfortable that day (see Day 3 parking lot incident).

 

Running through the rocket garden.

Veda being carried through the rocket garden on Granddad’s shoulders. This photo is terribly blurry, but I love it.

Linus studying some models with his dad.

Two subjects I’ve learned a lot about from my son: construction equipment and NASA. Before Linus turned into our resident rocket man, I never thought much about how space vehicles get to their launching pads. I’ve since learned that they’re transported on a huge vehicle called a crawler that moves at a creeping 1 mph. Think a flat top mounted on tank caterpillers. All this I knew from the many library books we’ve studied, but until our KSC visit I didn’t realize just how big all of the involved equipment is.  Here we’re driving by a crawler track. The grass you see is a median between wheels. The rocks you see on each side are where the caterpillers sit. WOW.

 

Fascinated.

This is a building that existed for the purpose of assembling the Saturn and Apollo crafts, and fully assembled, those vehicles took up just about every bit of it. These spacecraft are taller than I ever imagined.  It takes 45 minutes just to raise the hanger door.

Despite not feeling the greatest, Little Miss enjoyed her day as well.

This next exhibit was great. Here’s the control room from the Saturn V launch (Man’s first journey to the moon). It’s the actual equipment as it appeared on that day.

The countdown clock was set to 3 minutes before launch, and we got to hear the recording of the countdown in the control room, with the seat of each member lighting up as he spoke. With all of the documentaries we’ve been watching, it’s gotten pretty easy to be sucked into the emotion of a launch. Even though we already know how each one ended, it’s incredible to imagine being there.

Liftoff!

Even after seeing the assembly building, even after seeing the crawler track, I still couldn’t believe how HUGE the actual Saturn V was. This is the real thing – not a model!

 

Here Veda is touching an actual piece of the moon.

A capsule

Lunar rock

And Veda pointing to a space suit while requesting to eat it. *Sigh* It was time to go.

  

Family Vacation, Days 1-3

Our much-anticipated family vacation has come and gone. Here’s the story in pictures.

Day 1

We dropped Mimi off to have her own vacation at a non-kenneling facility and drove for about a total of 5 ½ hours. I had wrapped car surprises. I had four movies to choose from for the portable dvd player. I had lots of snacks.  It was still a little on the miserable side. Before I had children, I never would have believed how rotten a car ride with little ones can be.  The highlight of the day was our lunch stop at Figo’s, which is a pasta place we don’t have around our parts. My primavera was delicious. Also at Figo’s, the pretentious order-taking youngster cautioned my husband not to throw Linus into the ceiling fan. (um....... okay???)  Hotel sleep. Bringing Nana along meant that I was off bath duty, which was pretty sweet.

Day 2

On the road again. We logged several hours in the car again, but things started looking up with a stop at Little Talbot Island. My only vacation regret is that I completely failed to take any beach photos. I know. I know. But it was a pretty long trek to the beach from the car, and we had two kids, the world’s largest beach bag, kiddie life jackets, a tent, and chairs… it was just too much. And I also hate exposing my camera to all the sand that gets kicked up on a windy day.

Anyhoo, we finally rolled into the driveway of the house we rented for the week in St. Augustine, Florida. House rental = great for families, especially when you’re traveling with grandparents, as we were.

Day 3

Our vacation was packed with plenty of lessons in history and science. Our first St. Augustine excursion was to the Castillo de San Marcos, an old Spanish fort. Two of the many interesting facts we learned about San Marcos: It was the queen of Spain’s idea to construct it out of stone because its wooden predecessors (the king’s idea) had repeatedly been destroyed by fire and weather. It’s still standing, so score one for the queen. Interesting fact #2 – it’s made of coquina, which is a natural material made of bonded ancient seashells.

 

I didn’t have the right lens on my camera to get the ideal shot of what I’m about to show you, but check out the beautiful texture of the interior walls.

 

The kids. Veda demonstrating her new favorite pose.

 

Little handsome climbing the stairs to the top of the fort.

 

Veda on the way up

Linus at the top of the fort with the Matanzas Bay behind him.

 

It was hot. Soooo hot.

 

A canon firing drill. It was in Spanish, so I didn’t understand most of it. But fuego – I knew that word. Even with our ears covered, it was deafening. Another interesting fact – those old, old canons were capable of accurately hitting a target three miles away.

 

After we left the fort, we headed to the pirate museum. We weren’t there long, though, because Linus was absolutely terrified of the place (and we left before he ever saw the talking severed head of Blackbeard).

Our next stop was at the Hyppo, which sells gourmet $3.50 popsicles. But they’re worth it. Man, those were some fantastic popsicles. The kids both had Straight Up Strawberry. Ray went with Key Lime, and I settled on Pink Grapefruit.

 

Between the heat, the walking, the terror at the pirate museum, and the adventure at the fort, the kids were CONKED OUT for their afternoon nap. No kidding, I think Linus slept about four hours. When they finally woke up, we ventured out for dinner. We were hoping for some nice local seafood. What we got was this:

 

In the parking of the restaurant, Veda tried to run away from my mom and was headed for the road. They both tripped over a huge crack in the pavement of the parking lot, and Veda fell flat on her face. She had a bloody nose and mouth, but she really didn’t look too bad. Then as I laid her out on my seat in the car for further inspection, the enormous bruise on her forehead began to show, and I started wondering if we would be using the GPS to find the closest emergency room. She looked pitiful, but there was no permanent injury.  I was a little worried that the fine strangers of Florida might call the CPS people on me, but only a few people gasped and asked, “What happened to her face?!”.

 So, yeah, needless to say, we did not enjoy fresh local seafood that night.

 

Things and Stuff

Since all the big kids are back in school here, we're enjoying visiting some cool kid spots during the week without the crowds and the danger of being run over by older kids.

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I've been working on the kids' Halloween costumes for about a month now. The main component of Veda's costume is a knitted piece, which I'm about 60% finished with. As soon as I finish with hers, which I hope will be soon for the sake of getting both costumes ready in time to get lots of Halloween use of out them, I'll start on Linus's. I'll be knitting a hat and then sewing a vest for him (without a pattern for the vest - wish me luck!).

Veda's costume is the first thing I've knitted in many years. The last thing I knitted those years ago was a baby blanket for my own maybe baby. I remember how deeply sad I felt every time I picked it up to work on it. Honestly, it was a pretty stupid project for an Infertile to take on. As soon as I thought it was reasonable to call it done, I stuffed it in a closet and gave up on knitting.

What happened to the blanket? I've used it a couple of times with the kids. Did I take it out and feel all warm and fuzzy about it? Nope. It actually made me feel exactly the way I felt about it when I was knitting it. Infertility is weird like that.

But this project for Veda? It makes me feel exactly the way knitting should make someone feel. Every time I pick it up, I'm so enamored with how beautiful the stitches are and proud of mastering the new cast-on I had to learn. I've also noticed that I'm far more patient than I was when I started knitting about ten years ago. It's become a more meditative activity. It's good.

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We've been doing an elimination diet with Veda to test for food allergies, and I believe we've found the culprit. SOY. There are a couple more steps to make sure that that's the thing (and the only thing), but I'm almost completely certain. While we've been doing the elimination diet Veda's GI symptoms have abated (well, until we introduced some soy back in), and she's grown about 1/2 of an inch within the last month and looks to have filled out a bit more. I'm excited to think that we've finally gotten to the bottom of things. At the same time, a soy allergy is going to be a PAIN IN THE A$$. Do you realize just how many things contain soy? Practically all processed foods. Ice cream, crackers, frozen foods... it's everywhere. And for this vegetarian mom and dad, it throws some serious complications into dinner. No tofu... no freezer section veggie burgers...it's going to change things up.

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Remember this little pooch?

That's our little Mimi. I got her as a puppy five years ago. Five years goes fast, and it seems that Mimi is no longer a spring chicken. A couple of problems have sprung up for our girl. She's become incontinent, which is common for spayed females, but it seems to have happened a little early for Mimi. She's going to be going on a medication to help her have some more control, but sadly she'll have to be on it for the rest of her life. She also has some pateller luxation, which means that one of her knee joints sometimes slides out of place. It's painful enough for her that it causes her to limp for a few days at a time and have trouble getting up and down. Her case isn't serious enough to require surgery, so we'll treat her with medication when it's bothering her. It's going to cause arthritis down the road, but we'll deal with that when we get there.

Things You Did Today 8/8/12

This morning we had our first playgroup with the other mommies and kiddies in our little town since school let out for the summer. The kids were excited to go. Veda decided to pack up Baby Stella's carrier. "I need to pack my things!"

The Baby Stella carrier is so far the only way (other than stripping Stella's clothes off) that Veda has any interest in dolls.

For context, here's the Baby Stella carrier with Stella strapped in.

And here are the things Veda "needed" to pack. 

I can already tell this girl is going to need a big purse.


In other news, Linus is obsessed with rocket ships. OBSESSED. He says he wants to be an astronaut and be the first man to walk on Mars. (Before you think he's THAT precocious, this statement was made in response to a question in a book about astronauts.)

Yesterday I made a lasagna in the slow cooker. It's not as great as traditional lasagna, but it doesn't heat the house up like the oven would. Anyhoo, the kids couldn't say lasagna clearly. And they also refused to eat it. Then Linus called it launchpad. And they started eating it. Whatever it takes. So lasagna is now officially known as launchpad in our house.

Things You Did Today 8/7/12

I like to use grocery bags to collect kitchen scraps to save time when I'm cooking, to line the tiny bathroom garbage can, and to collect stinky diapers. So, it's natural for the kids to associate grocery bags with garbage.

Add to this that Mr. Linus has adopted a habit lately of hugging his favorite toys and telling them he loves them.

This morning my husband asked me to meet him at the Panera near his office while we were out to deliver the workout clothes he had forgotten at this house this morning. He was running a little late, so the three of us galumphed into line to get a bagel to appease the kids.

What was I holding? The grocery bag of workout clothes.

Linus embraced the bag in a great show of sincerity and screamed, "I love you, garbage!". And because Veda didn't want to be left out, she joined in on the screaming fun.

I was a little embarrassed, but mostly I was laughing.

I did tell them to stop screaming. But mostly I was doing the silent laugh when they weren't looking at me.

A Portrait of the Artists at 2.5 Years

Official well visit weigh-in stats:

Linus - 26 lbs. 6 oz.
Veda - 21 lbs. 13 oz.

I think the nurse messed up their height check because they were both shorter than the last time they went to the pediatrician. No matter. Our home stats:

Linus - 35.75"
Veda - 33.25"

Veda will be headed to another pediatric gastroenterologist next week to get a second opinion about some ongoing GI issues. Wish us luck.

And now... the good stuff...

This age is my favorite so far. You guys can carry on conversations. You answer questions. You have clear preferences.

Linus, it's pretty remarkable how affectionate and loving you are. You're so free with giving me hugs and kisses. It's going to be a very, very sad day when you decide that you're too big to love on your mommy. One of your favorite games right now is the go to sleep game. It entails you telling me to lie down in bed and go to sleep. (Don't mind if I do!) Then you snuggle into me and let me cuddle with you. It just doesn't get any better. Well, for the 45 seconds you're actually still.

Your vocabulary is so impressive. You're not just speaking in full sentences, you're using words like presentation and camouflage. You've been pretending to read out of grown-up books lately, as well as inspecting the text of things like receipts and junk mail. You recognize lots of letters and are pretty good at counting objects. Colors, though? Neither of you can recognize a single color, which is sort of driving me nuts. But we'll get there... we will. And surely both of you can't be colorblind.

You are currently obsessed with all things that go. You're usually carrying around at least one matchbox car, and you pretend that nearly everything in our house is a rocket ship. Every day you request to watch the Cars movie... multiple times over. It's also pretty funny to hear you randomly shouting "Ka-chow! or "Axlerod!" (as in Sir Miles Axlerod).



Veda, you have become so, so independent. Whether it's getting out of your car seat, using the potty, or getting into the bath tub, you insist on doing it on your own. ("Myself!") You've also started requesting time to yourself every now and then and sometimes say that you don't want Brother in what you believe to be your room. Sorry, kiddo, but until we move, you guys have to share. You've developed a little bit of a bossy streak, too. I love singing to you, but you've started declaring, "No song!" pretty often. Even funnier is when you tell me, "Don't say that." Just the other day I was reciting a line from Seinfeld - "Elaine and Suzy! Suzy and Elaine!" - and sounding like a teeny little exasperated teenager, you said, "Don't say that."

You've become the big arts and crafts enthusiast around here. Stickers, watercolor paints, chalk, crayons, markers, drawing, playdoh, cutting with your new scissors - you love it all, and it's not uncommon for you to wander into my bedroom in the morning requesting that I get out some paint or glue for you. You're pretty good at recognizing letters, and you are starting to enjoy counting objects (though you refuse to believe in the existence of the number four), but right now honing your fine motor skills is your big thing. It's pretty amazing to watch you so focused on learning to use scissors or trying to stay in the lines in your coloring book.

As much as you like dressing like a girly-girl, you have almost no interest whatsoever in dolls. You still request Thomas the Train books, and Cars is currently your favorite movie. Blocks, Legos, and balls are among your favorite toys right now. Helping me is one of your favorite pastimes, and you get so excited about cooking.

I've always had this feeling with you that you're something of an "old soul". Sure, you're a toddler, but everyone notices that you're very mature for your age. I'm sure this will sound kind of nuts, but I really do feel that there's a little adult in there who understands way more than the average two year old.


I love you, my little bunnies.