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.

Things You Did Today 7/11/12

As we were pulling out of the driveway today, it was raining. Linus waved out the window and said, "Bye, flowers! Drink enough coffee!" Because, you know... coffee rains from the sky. I love my little coffee man.

Both kids marched into the living room today and declared, "We're twins!". I've told them that they're twins maybe three times ever, and today wasn't one of those times. Wonder where that revelation came from...

The Day You Turned 2 1/2

“Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?--every, every minute?”
― Thornton Wilder, Our Town

The one big thing that happened today that there won't be pictures of is potty training. Mr. Linus, you totally nailed it today. I won't get into the specifics because I don't want to embarrass you (more), but you did better on day one than any potty rookie I know of. I'm so, so, so proud of you.


First things first, watching some morning cartoons right after you woke up. Today you asked to watch Cars 2... AGAIN. So we did. Right before this picture, you ate your cereal bars. You guys love those things - Kashi Ripe Strawberry. I buy two boxes every week at the grocery store, and sometimes we still run out.

While I was making breakfast, Linus managed to find a stray crayon and created this wall art in the play room.

Secret: part of me enjoys seeing crayon marks on our walls. It's a sure sign that I'm a mom. But, I still marched you to the closet to get the magic eraser. Here you are scrubbing it off the wall. Logical consequences, folks. 

 For breakfast? Oatmeal with strawberries, your favorite. Lately you've been requesting a layer of cold milk on top.

Just in case you're thinking that looks like a lot of oatmeal for such little people, yeah, it is. But you both cleaned your bowls out. Veda needed a little motivation from Linus, who was on the prowl for her oatmeal, but she ate every bit of hers.

After breakfast was tooth brushing. I always do a more thorough brushing once you've finished, but you two really enjoy practicing first. 

Next up, some chores. While I did stuff like clean off the table from breakfast, put in a load of laundry, and put toys away, you guys ran around like little wild people, intermittently helping.

Daddy had the day off thanks to the 4th of July holiday, so you guys climbed into our bed and talked to him for a while.

Next up, it was time to do the official unofficial height check for the growth charts. (The official official height comes from the pediatrician.) Veda, you were pretty compliant. And 33" tall. Linus ran away. We'll get to him later.

A big part of every day at home is little Mimi. You chase her, you pet her - gently and... not gently, you like to drive your cars over her, and you sometimes even throw the occasional object at her before I can get to you. Poor little Mimi. She really does like the chasing, though.

Time for playing...

Arts and Crafts Time. Today was the first day that we worked in your Kumon books. You wanted to do the coloring and stickers/pasting ones.

The directions on this page were to color ketchup on the omelet (??? I think it said omelet? Who eats ketchup on an omelet???). Anyway, you did. We talked about colors and what color we should use for the ketchup. Linus also colored some ketchup on the little man's face. Makes sense, since you two usually end up wearing a little on your faces, too. Then he wanted me to get a paper towel to clean up the man's face. Sorry, dude. Crayons don't work that way.

Our finished products. Veda's work is on the left, and Linus's is on the right. We decided to be fancy and add a little glitter glue.

More playing...

Snack time! Veda chose graham crackers, and Linus went with a Kashi cookie. Normally I really do bake the cookies for you, but it's been in the 100's lately. Not turning on the oven. Nope.

And then something unusual happened - a Veda on Linus attack. I suspect that Veda may have been a little jealous of all of the attention Linus was getting for using the potty. Look at this pitiful little face. Time out for Veda.

Veda, you are super sensitive to being corrected. When I came in to talk to you post time-out, your little lip quivered as we talked about how we shouldn't hurt brother because we love brother. Then you told me you wanted to have some time by yourself. I get it, girl. You set yourself up with some books and enjoyed a little reading alone time.

Linus was ready to be measured for his growth chart. Today's measurement was a bigger deal than normal since allegedly you double a little boy's height a 2.5 to know how tall he'll ultimately be. You were almost 36" tall, so maybe you'll be about 6' tall. We'll see.

With Veda reading alone in your room, Linus and I cozied up in a chair and read a stack of books together. But not this whole stack.

Lunch time! Today's lunch was a pasta salad with peas, lactose-free cheese, and turkey along with a generous serving of applesauce. 

After changing into diapers and reading a book (Fancy Nancy), it was nap time. I took a gamble and snuck back in to take photos of you guys sleeping. 

But then Veda started stirring. Escape! Escape! Phew, nap time disaster narrowly avoided.

While you guys slept, I set out to work on laundry and clean up the living room and kitchen.

Your nap was blessedly long today, so I also had time to break some beans for dinner.

Turns out the nap wasn't quite as long as I thought, though. Here's what you two did to your room before you came out.

While I made dinner, you watched some music videos with Daddy.

Dinner was mashed potatoes, green beans, corn on the cob, and fried okra. Veda found a pair of tongs and decided to try eating her mashed potatoes with them.

Bath time! Before the bath, the two of you are responsible for putting your clothes in the hamper. Veda usually does it enthusiastically. Linus's interest level in chores is highly dependent on how tired he is.

Linus, you are so, so handsome.

Veda loves it when I wrap her up in her towel after the bath. She always admires herself in the mirror. With good reason - look at that cute little ladybug!

Lionus.

All finished up with the bath routine, it's time for bedtime stories. We usually cuddle up in the rocker in the nursery, but tonight you wanted to read in our bed. We read Fox in Socks.



Good night, my sweet, sweet little man.

And my precious little pudding pop.

Then I turned out the light and made sure the night light was projecting the planets and stars on the ceiling and signed goodnight and "I love you" as I backed out of the room.

Then it was time for me to clean up the kitchen, pick up toys, sneak in about 10 minutes of exercise, and take my own bath.

And finally it was time for this.

 

I can't wait to see you tomorrow. 

Dictionary

Mombuli - (noun) Term of address for female parent. Used exclusively by male offspring. (ex. 
                   Mombuli, hug!) Origin: unknown.

Cozy - (noun) Rectangular piece of soft fabric. Used as a bed covering or for morning cuddle time.
            (ex. I need a cozy!) Origin: Being tucked into car seats in cold weather. ("There you go. Nice
            and cozy.

Valise - (noun) Term of address for female sibling. Used exclusively by male sibling. (ex. No,
             Valise!)

Stars - (noun) Gummy Omega-3 supplements. (ex. I need stars!)

Whole Life - (noun) Strawberry freezer jam. (ex. More whole life, Mombuli!) Origin: Hearing that
                      said freezer jam would be the best jam of one's whole life.