Fears

Today we went to the Durham Museum of Life and Science with my friend from work, Becky, and her husband John, and their nearly 4-year old daughter, Sophia.  It was a gorgeous day: mid-70s, not humid, sunny.  We went to the museum mainly to see the outdoor exhibits, specifically the dinosaur trail since Alice is really into dinosaurs.  We told her about the trip on Monday, and every day this week she would ask, "Is it Saturday?  Can we go to the dinosaur swamp now?"

Once at the museum, we went to see the dinosaurs first, so Alice wouldn't be whining for them the whole time.  The first part was probably the best: climbing on a dinosaur.  After that, it was just looking at several life-sized dinosaurs.  Alice really has trouble enjoying the moment though, because she would look at each dinosaur for just a few seconds before asking, "Is there another one?" and scurrying down the path in search of a another dinosaur.  

Sophia, Alice and Simon enjoy sitting on the Parasaurolophus.  Luckily it didn't get up and shake its head.

Alice: "Look, another one!"

 So we got through the dinosaur path pretty quickly.  At the end of the path though is a place where kids can dig for real fossils.  I'm going to quote the website for this: "The pit is filled with dirt that has been trucked in from an area in Eastern North Carolina that is rich with fossils – specifically, a mine that used to be on the ocean floor."  So it's really pretty awesome.  Alice really liked digging.

After that, we went to see the insectarium and butterfly house.  

Alice loved looking at bugs and spiders and poison frogs, but the butterfly house was terrifying for her.  She is scared of butterflies, probably because one time we showed her a butterfly on the porch that the cat had brought in.  Just as she leaned her head in for a good look, the butterfly flew into her face and she screamed in terror. Ever since, she regards butterflies as face-attacking menaces. While at the butterfly house today, a butterfly landed on Zac and she was even terrified on his behalf (Zac was quite calm).  Alice kept asking if we could go see bumblebees instead (because they're not scary like butterflies).

After the butterfly house of horrors, we went to a misting area.  Alice was also afraid of the mist, but Simon was not and he happily crawled around on the moguls.  Alice eventually went in them too, but reluctantly.

Gorillas in the mist

If Alice keeps shoving food in her mouth at this rate, she just might grow into this chair.

Next we went to the sailboat area where the kids are supposed to learn about the wind.  Simon had a blast splashing in one of the mini sailing ponds.  Alice's favorite part was probably eating berries off of a mulberry tree.  She had the red juice dripping down her chin, making her look like a zombie or vampire.

Our final stop was the barnyard area.  Zac had Alice up on his shoulders to see the cow.  As soon as the cow came out of the barn and started mooing, Alice wanted down immediately.  We first thought she wanted to get closer, but no, she wanted to go into her survival position and laid flat on the ground.  She said the cow wanted to eat her.  We kept telling her that she eats cows and cows just eat grass, but to no avail.

Cow to Alice: "I can still see you."

So, for those of you keeping score at home, Alice is afraid of butterflies, mist, and cows.

All in all, the day was beautiful and fun and Alice and Sophia got along great.

2 girls in a caboose

Backwards

When I picked Alice up from school today, she had her shorts on backwards. When I pointed this out to her, she explained, "I liked the flowers. I wanted them on the front."

Fishing expedition

Alice has been interested in fishing for a while.  Sometimes when we're at a park she'll see people fishing and Dinosaur Train and Caillou have had episodes about fishing.  She keeps talking about going down to the dinosaur swamp to go fishing.  Today, because she actually ate supper fast enough, we had enough time to go to the neighborhood pond and pretend to fish.  She wanted to bring all of her "fishing supplies" (a green trick-or-treat bag, a black plastic stick from a yard sign, the 'snatchers' and her net) but I told her she could only bring one thing.  She resisted, but then willingly parted with the bag and plastic stick.  However, it was like Sophie's Choice to ask her to pick either her beloved snatchers or the net, so in the end she was permitted to bring both.

Here she is, raring to go:

On the way, we stopped outside this house that is just across from the pond.  They have a little setup so the neighborhood kids can feed the chickens.  The instructions on the fence read like a found poem:

Little children, feed the chickens

Wheat, cracked corn

Ring the bell

Feed the chickens

These hens lay eggs

When we arrived at the pond, it became clear that Alice really believed we were going to catch fish.  She kept telling me to use the snatchers and get a fish.  There was a log floating in the water near the shore in one spot that strongly resembled an alligator and she warned me to stay back so it didn't get us.  We saw some cute baby turtles catching the last rays of the day on a log, and Alice said, "Tomorrow, I'm going to wear my bathing suit and go get that cute little turtle!"  The turtle must have heard, because it immediately plopped into the water and swam away.  Soon, Alice picked up a big stick and started using it for a fishing pole, but all she caught was a leaf.  She insisted I fish too.  I find actual fishing terribly boring and nearly as pointless as sitting there holding a stick in the water, so it wasn't a very big stretch of my imagination to play along.

When it was time to go, there were refusals and tears.  She didn't want to leave, because, "Mommy!  We didn't catch a fish yet!"

Simon also had a good time watching the geese, sitting on Zac's shoulders and pulling leaves off the branches.

At home

Scenes from life at home with the kids:

Alice put on her rain boots and apron to give her dinosaurs a bath in the sink.

Simon crawling around with plastic celery

Alice and Sera coloring

Alice, sated at last, after gorging on chips and guacamole.

Fire chief Alice rides to the rescue

Story time

This is the most the bumbo seat has ever been used.

Simon shows his four top teeth.

Alice transports a (fake) giant frog with the tongs (which she calls "snatchers")

He stands up, but hasn't figured out how to get back down on his own yet.

Alice came in as I was posting this, and she saw this picture and said, "My teeth are falling out!"

Simon at the Park

Now that Simon can finally crawl around, we're letting him loose all sorts of places.  MacDonald Woods Park has a nice little place for babies like him to play, with two tiny steps, a ramp, and some things to spin.  He kept crawling off, but it held his attention for a few minutes.

Look!  Both kids playing at the park!  I can't wait for more of this.

Back in the saddle!

As you may recall, about a month ago Alice's little bike was vandalized while we were at the park, making it unridable.  Zac couldn't fix it, but tried to salvage the situation by taking off the pedals and making it a balance bike.  Alice was not happy with the situation, and cried for her pedals.  Since then, I'd been checking Craigslist off and on for a good little bike for her.  We wanted a gender-neutral one that Simon could inherit, but alas, bikes are really oriented towards boys or girls (probably a marketing trick to make sure families have to buy more than one bike). I found a Thomas the Tank Engine one earlier, but when Zac e-mailed the seller, there was no response.  Luckily, a couple days ago I found a red one with a Cars theme for a mere $20.  Alice has only seen a couple of short Cars videos on YouTube, but those managed to have a great impact on her and she has been obsessed with Mater and Lightning McQueen ever since.  After a few e-mails with the seller, she and Zac picked up the bike from a nearby neighborhood one evening after work.  When they got home and I asked Alice about it, she ecstatically declared, "And it has pedals!"

We took it for a spin on Saturday.  Zac had to do some tinkering to get the seat at the perfect height, and it took her a few moments to figure out how to get it going from a stop, but, as they say, it was like riding a bike and she was soon cruising happily down the greenway.

Standing up

Today, for the first time, Simon is able to pull himself up to a standing position by himself. Up to now he just kneeled (or we would stand him somewhere).

Up and Down

Simon has learned to go down the steps without landing on his face, most of the time.

10 months old!

This pic is not very good, but since I always forget to take pictures of him on his month-birthday, it's better than nothing! 

Staying warm

It's been in the 90s here all week, and we haven't turned the air conditioning on in the house yet, so it's above 80 inside.  Alice is having some trouble adapting to the change of seasons, though.  She refuses to convert to summer pajamas, and still insists on wearing her warm winter pajamas with a snowman on them.  In the car, she still wears her car blanky and hat.  At home today, she got her blanket from her bed and was walking around the house with it wrapped around her.  I sarcastically suggested she might need some warm slippers too.  She took my idea seriously and went to her shoe box and got out her Abby Tabby slippers and put them on.

Our new maid

Simon likes to crawl around the house with the feather duster.  (It's right before bedtime in this video, so he's a bit fussy.)

Soul searching

Sera: I'm gonna get your jammies on, then daddy's gonna brush your teeth... he has the toothbrushing power...from somewhere deep in his soul.
Alice:  Where's his soul?  Under the floor or in the closet?
S: I think it's in the closet.
A: No, not in the closet, mommy!
S: Ok, maybe it's under the floor then?
A: No, not under the floor.  It's in the closet.

Mother's Day

This video pretty much sums it up:

But to backtrack a little bit, the day started out rough and never got easier.  Both kids woke up in the night, but at least they then slept in to a little past eight, about an hour later than normal.  It was one of those mornings where Alice was super intense and high-maintenance.  It seemed like between every bite of my breakfast I was getting up to tend to one of her needs.

We finally made it out of the house around 10:45 for our excursion for the day.  We planned to go to the Prairie Ridge Ecostation where they have a nature play space that we had never been to yet.  However, when we arrived the gates were closed: it didn't open till noon.  Instead, we went to the nearby Schenck Forrest and had a snack at a picnic table.  At some point Alice fell off the picnic table and hurt her crotch, but we didn't think much of it.

We went on to the the Ecostation around noon, and found a delightful play area.  Alice really likes to carry around tools and play with water, so she had a great time. We stayed until about 2:30, then went home.  Once at home, Zac worked on the Lemon Meringue pie I had requested, and I took care of the kids, who napped, but not at the same time.  The pie wasn't finished until about 5:30 pm, just in time to start supper.  The above video was made after supper.  We eventually got the kids to bed, the clothes in the dryer, the dishes in the dishwasher, and ourselves to bed.

So, I don't have any profound thoughts on this mother's day.  Just that I admire anyone who is in the thick of it like this and thinks to herself, "You know what I need?  Another one of these creatures!"  Props to my own mom for forging ahead and having three kids, because otherwise I wouldn't exist.  But I think Zac and I are content with two.

Alice's daycare teacher, Ms. Carson, used to do yoga with the kids and said Alice was really good and loved it.  So while Zac was working on a pie, I had her stay in the living room and do a yoga exercise video with me.  She didn't actually do much yoga, but she did manage to get in the way.

Simon in the kitchen

Now that Simon can climb the steps to the kitchen, he is getting into lots of trouble.

Guacamole

We had tacos for supper and Alice doesn't really know how to eat them. She broke hers all apart then ate the cheese and a little of the meat.  Then she started demanding guacamole.  The conversation went something like this:

Alice: I want guacamole.
Parent:  We don't have any.
A: But I want some.
P: I know, but we don't have any.
A: I want guacamole for my chips. (Her taco shell.)
P: I want guacamole too, but we don't have any.
A: I want guacamole, please.
(And on and on and on.  Finally Alice changes tactics.)
A:  You can make some guacamole.  You only need three things.
P: Really?  What do we need to make guacamole?
A: Dogwood, sour paste, and mud.  Green mud.

Simon Arcaro and the Tunnel of Doom

We thought Simon would enjoy climbing through the tunnel...

Simon goes up the steps

As reported yesterday, Simon has finally figured out how to get up the steps into the kitchen.

Here is the video of him going up the first step:

About four minutes later he finally made it up the second step:

It is kind of bizarre to be reminded of how hard it was to learn the simplest of things.  On the other hand, he was a total blob ten months ago, so it's kind of amazing that he can do so much already.  Now he just needs to learn how to sit.  (According to Babycenter.com, we should talk to the child's doctor if he doesn't sit by seven months old.  I think most babies sit before they crawl, but Alice also crawled for a while before learning to sit.)

Up the steps!

This is just to record that Simon made it up the steps from the living room into the kitchen for the first time this evening.  He was pretty happy and proud of himself when he did it.  He is now a free-range baby!

He has been climbing up the steps with just his arms for several weeks now, but he was never able to get his legs up.  The daycare teachers have been saying he's been extra active there lately (they say he is now more active than Alice was, but we find that hard to believe).  Anyway, maybe he's getting the hang of locomotion better.

Tower

Zac and I often complain that the kids interfere with our playing with their toys.  Whenever we try to build a great railroad track or nifty tower, one of them will tear it apart or knock it down.  So Zac was amazed when he was actually able to build this tower with Alice in close proximity and Simon on the loose.

Alice kept herself occupied putting her toy trains in the cups.  Simon was playing at the table.

Chasing Thomas

Simon loves to chase the little Thomas train around the living room.  Simon is getting faster at crawling and Thomas's battery is dying, so it's not really an even match anymore.  In the second part of the film, Alice is sitting on my lap (you'll know when this happens because the camera gets shaky).  Then, she takes the camera (phone) and tries to film Simon.  It does not go well.

Bucket head

Sera: Alice, it's time to put your toys away and set the table.
Alice: Ok, but not this bucket because my head is in it.

Playdate

My friend from my old school, Kathy, came over with her nearly two year old son.  We've only had one other kid over for a playdate, also a boy, and this one seemed to follow the same pattern. The kids are interested in each other for a few minutes, then ignore each other.  The boy happily plays with the trains for an hour, while Alice quickly gets restless and wanders off.  In this photo, she is playing with one of Simon's baby toys instead.

Maracas

There was a little festival in downtown Cary to connect the community to the public safety officers.  There were bounce houses and a big slide, and several other activities for families.  Alice was tired and clingy though, so she didn't do anything.  We let Simon crawl around on the grass a bit.  But the best part was when we were getting ready to leave and Alice scored some maracas.  Simon enjoyed shaking them.

Mother's Day at daycare

This morning was the mother's day celebration at daycare.  We mothers sat awkwardly in circle time with our children on our laps, while they did the morning calendar and then sang a little song calling each child to the center of the circle to jump up and down.  Alice, as with past parent visits to daycare, cowered in my lap and was the only child who did not get up and jump when it was her turn.  Also, during the special mother's day song, she sat in my lap as if she had never heard it before.  It was a terrible song though, and the only one singing audibly was the teacher, Ms. Saffa, and even she inserted an aside of "Whew!  That was a long sentence!" after one particularly arduous verse. 

After that, we all went to a low table and ate bagels and fruit and juice with our children.  Oscar, the kid next to me, had fun pouring the orange juice between his cup and his mom's cup, eventually expanding to include my cup.  Alice, on the other hand, did not play with her juice but did manage to spill it (luckily most of it went into the plate so it didn't make a huge mess but it did make the bagel rather soggy).  Oscar, despite continually transferring the juice between several cups, did not spill a drop.  

After that, the kids were ushered on to the playground and the moms were supposed to escape.  However, our children clung to us and dragged us out to the playground with them.  We continually tried to give them the slip, saying things such as, "Alice, look at Izzy going through the tunnel.  Doesn't that look fun?  Why don't you go play with her?"  None of the kids were falling for the trick though.  The kids whose mom's had already pried themselves away left behind a virtual wailing wall: kids lined up at the fence gait crying for their mommies.  In the end, Alice was only different in that she did not stay in one place crying, but spread her tears over the whole playground.  The irony, of course, is that this little event is meant to make us feel good as mothers, but really it just reminds us that we are abandoning our children every day when we go to our jobs.  Alas.

Gardening

Zac got a few plants to be in our garden for Alice to take care of and watch grow.  There are three plants: zucchini, cucumber, and rhubarb.  We don't have much hope for them, but if it gives Alice something to do, we consider it a win.

Simon also really loves being outside and exploring nature.

Jumping Jacks and Tunnels