TV or Book? Both!

Zoe unwinds with a good book and an episode of Kai Lan after school today, and before nap.

Newsflash!

Exciting news on the home front.
Warning!! Not for readers who are sensitive to scat chat!
(Really, this is for the grandparents, because no one else cares.)

So Mister was standing around the kitchen at dinner time the other night. Like a cat winding around my shins, waiting to be fed. He looked up at me, and while patting his bummies said,
"Puh puh"
"Did you go poo-poo Guiliano?" I asked.
"Nup."
So I checked- no poop. But a faint scent of the pre-poopie toots.
Hmm. This would be an excellent opportunity to whisk him off to the potty for some positive reinforcement.
So I pantsed him, sat him down, and gave him a good truck book.
He tried to tell me he was "ah dun".
But he was not. So I found a racecar to keep him busy.
After a few minutes, he became bored and stood up. Just then (I'll spare you the real details) it started to happen. I quickly sat him back down, and voila! Poopie in the potty! There was much celebration and high-fiving by all. Then we had another success this morning.
I've not been pushing the potty thing. He isn't usually dry in the morning, and hasn't been too verbal, so I've let it go. But he's started telling me when he goes, and now- tells me before! I know it's not time for chonies, but he's making progress!

Playdate with Andre

Playschool

Zoe LOVES her playschool class. Who wouldn't love spending the day in a room like this? Kristie's class is a child's eden. Where life is always fair, friends play nice, and every healthy whim is indulged- and encouraged. There is a music nook with a real child sized drum kit. There's a kitchen nook, a reading nook with a racecar bed. There are dress-up clothes, trains, trucks, cars, a dollhouse, a zoo full of plushies, visual amusements of all sorts. A table for crafts and games, and formal meals at holidays and celebrations. There's music in the background. And if that wasn't enough- it snows the week before Christmas break, and the snow stays around until spring.

And Tigers, Oh My

Little guy loves him some orange kitties

Playing Sleepover

Zoe is tucking her baby in for their sleepover.

Beary Different

Thank you for your condolences since our loss of the one and only, Mr. Bear. Many of you who Keep Up are wondering about the Bear seen hanging out with Zoe lately.

Since Mr. Bear's bearnapping at the Oakland airport last November, Zoe has been coping with the loss very well. The empty hole in our hearts left by Mr. Bear's absence has been filled with a circulating array of temporary loveys. First, Mr. Bear's brothers- Monsieur and Senor have stepped in to fill the immediate void in Zoe's bed.
They were purchased years ago soon after Zoe's attachment with Mr. Bear, when a stranger in line for coffee told me the horror story of having a family friend break into their house to FedEx her daughter's lovey across the country while they were on vacation, after accidentally leaving it behind. The child cried constantly, and would not sleep until reunited with it.
"Go out and buy two more just like it while you can", she pushed.
A book suggested rotating the loveys before the child becomes attached to not only the beast itself, but the increasingly "gamey funk" related with it.
Well, Zoe was sly to any attempt at a switch and looked at the fresh creature as if we might have handed her a kleenex.
"What am I supposed to do with this?"
So the two stand-ins sat in a closet, waiting in the wings until they were called upon.

We had just unlocked the house after the airport when Nico ran to the closet, grabbed the bears and stuffed them into Zoe's tearful arms.
"Look!", he exclaimed, "It's Senor and Monsieur Bear! Mr. Bear's brothers!"
And they soaked up her tears into their fluffy fur and outstretched arms.
They sat up straight instead of drooping over like a half-stuffed beanbag. Their eyes were black and shiny, not scratched and dull. Their fur was a light camel color- not a dingy brown. And they were soft and fluffy, not matted and worn.
And Zoe took them around. Usually both, or maybe one or the other. She let Julian hold one of them sometimes and didn't wig out about it. No one could really tell who was Senor and who was Monsieur, as one had a tag but Zoe would just throw out a name when asked who was who. We didn't think she had a preference.

Then Zoe's teacher gave her a little Beanie Penguin for Christmas. He came along with us on our holiday trip to Vancouver, stuffed into her jacket pocket. When the Bear Twins were accidentally left behind at Security with the backpack full of plane toys, she had to go without for the duration of the trip. Thus, she became really attached to penguin. He went everywhere- on the plane, on the ferry boat, in the car, to bed, to the potty, in the snow, for toboggan rides. When he came home, he was black and grey, not black and white.

Then one afternoon, Zoe discovered an old friend in her closet. Ladybug was a little nightlight of sorts- plushy underneath with a hard shell that has tiny stars cut into it. When you flip the switch underneath, light shines through the shell and projects blue, green or red stars on the ceiling. Zoe moved Ladybug to the #1 position and decided that it must accompany her everywhere. After a couple of weeks of this, Ladybug- who was meant to live on a dresser- has had some accidents. I've had to pull out my gluegun on 3 occasions. She's half glue at this point. A Mommy's to-do list is never dull.

All the while, the bears remain. They go on rides in the car. There's always one in bed, or on the couch. Julian likes to visit with them too, but isn't really attached to any one object, the way that Zoe was to Mr. Bear.
The other night, we were tucking the kids into bed, and Zoe had her bears. Julian requested, "Beh!"
And pointed to the bears.
Daddy asked Zoe if Julian could borrow one of the bears. Zoe turned them upside down, and carefully handed one to Daddy.
"He can have this one".
We looked at each other. We thought she didn't have a favorite between the two, but clearly she had made a distinction.
We looked at the one not given over to her little brother.
The bears look exactly the same- the same soft, fresh camel colored fur and shining eyes. But the one remaining in Zoe's arms? The fur on it's tail is worn, and a little dingy brown in color. And it has a faint gamey odor...

Driving North

What started as nearly three hours through pouring rain, turned into a lovely bucolic frolic up the 101. By the time we reached Refugio, a blue spot of sky had opened up, allowing us a nice walk on the beach. Obviously, the rains are worth it to drive through rolling GREEN hills, that were scorched brown only a couple of months ago.

Tonka Tough

A busy Saturday at Wardlow Park

The Ocean Side

That's right, for those who are Keeping Up, Zoe finally returns to the ocean side, without fear of waves and tractors. Why miss a great sunset play session?

Travel Pro

Zoe has this airport thing down. Long check-in line, check. Shoes off, check. Bear in the bin next to shoes, check (she knows he'll be right back in her arms on the other side). Run extra fast while giggling on the moving walkway (her favorite part). Go potty. Wait at gate, check. Run like mad through the airport while you still can, oh yes. Then it's sit down, quiet down, nibble pretzels and sip gingerale, all while perusing the guide about how to successfully de-board in the event of a water landing. "Mommy, are we going to land in the ocean?".
"I hope not, honey."
"But, it shows you right here (points to drawing of plane in water, slides out). When do we get to do that?"
"Hopefully never, unless Sully is driving the plane. We're not going to land in the water."
"But, look-"
"Mmm hmm. Zoe. Hush."
"What are these things for? (Points to drawing of passengers with bright yellow oxygen masks)".
"They're oxygen masks. Let's look at the catalog instead..."

At the Park

An Apple a Day

Offseason Boardwalk

Someday they'll get tired of the Boardwalk, right? I hope so. In the meantime, we can't drive near SC without heading over the trestle. Even now in January, there are still a few rides open. Zoe took a turn on the large, 1918 carousel which is complete with brass rings and a taunting clown mouth in which to fling it. She couldn't quite reach the rings, but the staffer kept loading her up with ammunition to throw.
Julian was not interested in such silly rides as the carousel or the flying helicopters, but seemed very interested in the big guns (rollercoasters!)

Beach & Bluff

Another beautiful winter day at Moss Beach.
We walked in the sand, hopped over the stream, tossed rocks into the tide, then hiked up to the bluff where we could spy down on a group of seals frolicking in the water.

Cat Nap

It's hard to tell by this photo, but at 26 lbs., Julian actually has a few pounds on ol' Sidsy.