Merry Christmas 2010!

It has been quite the year... we decided early to stay at home (Victoria) for Christmas and it has been an easy going day so far. It is 12:34pm and Finn still has two packages to open... Finn was up at 7am.. and wanted to watch "Pablo"... I found a Christmas recording of Backyardiagans and then I set up for the morning.. Zoe didn't' wake up until 8:30.. her light was on in the middle of the night.. she must have woke up and not gone back to sleep for a while. She did have Rapunzel and Flynn (barbie size dolls) in bed to play with, which she opened Christmas Eve afternoon.

Speaking of Christmas Eve.. the day started with Zoe wanting to open a present..We said at Dinner.. she negotiated to after lunch.. but spent every hour asking to open the gift. Opening the last Advent bag didn't help much (but she did like the wind up jumping toy). Finally at 11am we went swimming... then lunch at A&W (Zoe's favorite).. then Finn was asleep by 2 and Zoe opened her gift. Much to say, with her insistence, I did not put any gifts out until after the kids were in bed. I had planned for the kids to open new Toy Story PJs (Jessie for Zoe and Buzz for Finn) at night, but at some point I was upstairs and hear (oh.. look Toy story!!) and feared that Zoe found my present stash.. but really she had just opened Finn's PJs.

but back to this morning.. we Skyped with my mom and dad.. so they watched the festivities... the kids went relatively slow.. I guess the average was slow.. Finn opened one an hour.. Zoe opened everything else. It was a Toy Story theme.. Jessie and Woody dolls, Rex and Buzz. Lots of barbie and princess dolls. Finn received a Rocking Horse from Grandpa and Nana.. and that will be a lasting hit. He loves the cars from Auntie Carrie and Uncle Scott. He has already put new socks on his hands. They received a lot of art supplies, including dry erase/magnetics boards which I think they will really like.

Zoe is a little crushed that her princess dolls look "prettier" than her.. she didn't get enough dress clothes (things were hard to find.. she really wants a dressy ballet outfit.. and I think if it was the same as her Princess dolls, that would thrill her.) I bought her a Chinese silk dress, but she said it was "too slippy".

The best part of this Christmas though is the interaction between Zoe and Finn.. I heard countless times last night and this morning Zoe saying things like "We'll always be friends. We'll play together. We'll sleep together.. Finn lets go sleep " and then they snuggle together.. it was so cute.

gingerbread houses

christmas is hard for a four year old

Zoe has been having a hard time with the Christmas waiting... she and her brother found a package my mom sent to me.. one of three under the tree.. and she and her brother made off with it while I was busy cleaning or some such silliness.. I heard from a far: "Dad... can we have a pair of scissors".. I hoped with all my soul that he would say no.. 5 minutes later Dad presented me with a unwrapped box.. and showed me where they tried to open it with a comb (it was rather taped up).

In the stores yesterday, Zoe threw a fit because I wouldn't buy Rex (from Toy Story).

I have yet to put more presents under the tree... but plan to on Friday.. (and stay vigilant)... plus they do get to open one on Friday.

My plan for the Advent Calendar (24 brown bags filled with things to do.. art projects.. mostly making ornaments.. gotta love Michaels!)... has helped. Her favorite seems to be anything with pipe cleaners.. today she must have made 50 projects.. I just picked them all up.. what a variation in fun... and the fact that Leo the cat loves them doesn't hurt either.

visit to Santa

hair cut!

websurfing

Daddy: "Look at that.. in mom's tummy is Zoe"

Zoe: "And in your tummy is Finneas!"

(Quote overhead while the two of them were web surfing for images)

Picture in question to be posted soon

concoction

Zoe was up to mixing tonight. She had some lemon juice in a cup (which she likes to drink straight...usually out of the bottle)... then she added water.. then an icecube.. then requested some maple syrup.. then some honey... then some icing (one color at a time)... then some egg shell, then it needed grass.. and was declared monster juice!

(at some point Finn almost drank it..) we finally fed it to the hungry monster in the kitchen sink.

all better..

After our bit of excitement on Sunday.. we had lots more fun coming. Turns out Grandma had a minor heart attack.. and the next day she was quite wacky.. with a 3 minute window of memory. The next day a little better.. more like 5 minutes (and thrashing around, pinched a nurse.. called someone names..) they put her on some things to relax her anxiety.. then Wednesday she was nearly normal.. only confused our house and the other Gooch household, but was otherwise conversational. On Thursday she was up and moving and they released her. Bruce took her on the plane back to SLC.. they arrived without incident (well, except he forgot his own contacts and meds; and I forgot to tell the Gooches which flight they were on and Bruce and Gran took a taxi because I was running around trying to FedEx his contacts and meds)

The only nightmare I foresaw for my time as a single parent was bedtime.. Zoe goes down at 7:30 and Finn at 9pm... but
I arranged for the girl down the street to come watch Finn while I put Zoe to sleep on Thursday night.. that worked out. Friday Zoe went to school, Finn and I ran errands... then picked up Zoe.. went to the mall, ate dinner, went to the bookstore, and then since Finneas didn't nap, all went well at night time, both kids down by 8. Then Saturday was great.. we stayed busy... truck parade to end the night... no naps, bed by 8:30. Sunday we made waffles, quiche, gingerbread cookies with great colored icing (green, violet, yellow, red).. played at Liam's.. he had a new 8' x 8' bouncy castle in his basement... picked up Dad... what a day.

Gran is doing much better... at familiar territory, walking around; turns out that the drugs the Canadian doctor put her on has her doing much better and the US doctor switched her to them.

painting

pseudo-thanksgiving

Today was a busy day.. we made cookies, pies, pulled out Christmas stuff.. Zoe and Gran had a tiny play.. Zoe said she wanted to be a dolphin.. Gran said: "Abracadabra, Allacazam.. you are a dolphin" and Zoe was swimming like a dolphin.. then she wanted to be a lion.... Then she tried to get Gran to play a game of hide and seek.. it didn't really work...

We also had a pseudo-thanksgiving dinner (I couldn't find turkey legs, so we had Chicken ;).. but we had pumpkin pie (the first time I had ever made it.. Laura Deen's recipe).. it turned out well (good thing, we have a ton of it)... We were sitting down enjoying it.. I put the kid's portions in the little bowls that Heather gave us with the built in dip section.. and filled those with whip cream... well Finn was only interested in the cream part.. set to licking it out.. but got stuck.. honestly stuck.. suctioned to the bowl..screaming.. I pushed in on his checks and click.. it unstuck.. we all laughed so hard.. (laughing that hard with a belly full of pie.. not good)... then because it was such a racket, Zoe wanted in on the action.. she also tried, but failed to get stuck.. did get whip cream all over her face.. Finn too.. but then Finn did it again.. so funny...

but the night didn't end there... Gran fell asleep or something and dropped a glass at the table while we were cleaning the kitchen... I cleaned it up.. set to get the kids ready for bed.. Bruce was on a conference call... then I come back in and Gran is collapsed over the chair.. I tried to wake her, no go.. I lowered her to the floor... her eyes were open, she was breathing (hardish).. I scream for Bruce... we all tried to wake here.. now the irreverent part... Zoe comes in "I think she is dead.".. and kept saying it.. Finn would get close.. kind of pokes at her... then at some point he is standing over her.. and is going to put his foot on her. Both kids were quite confused. We put Gran in bed, called the Dr, then the ambulance came.. still waiting to hear.
After Gran was gone to the hospital, Zoe said: "I miss Grandma"

I hate you.. I don't love you any more

I remember listening to a speaker at Zoe's preschool talking about all these things I hadn't experienced yet.. one of them the "I don't love you any more". Well Zoe has started in on this big time.. so much so she hurt my feelings yesterday.. I just couldn't hear it any more (yes, hormones on my part). I always say in response, "But I will always love you".. but sometimes.....

a picker

I'm sorry Zoe.. one of the habits you've picked up.. you inherited from my side of the family.. we are ... pickers ... Yep, there is some compulsion to pick and not only that, but we enjoy it, the way your dad's side enjoys rubbing the eyes. Zoe loves to coat her hands in glue and there is nothing as intense in concentration as Zoe picking it off. ;)

Wet and loving it

Something got into both kids tonight...they were aiming for ...well...finding trouble... At some point Finn comes out saying..."nakie"... Well he wasn't naked, but guess who was...and she tore into the diaper wipes and was wringing huge handfuls all over her and spinning on the now slick and wet hard wood floor...crazy... Finn was trying to be in there too.

Then silly me I put zoe on a time out, clean up, but have to leave to go finish dinner... Finn comes out again and he is wet in the sleeve... My jump to conclusions was right... Zoe was now playing in the sink and Finn was playing in the toilet... Luckily we have Lynda.. Who keeps such things spotless...

That seemed to care of their naughty energy for the night...

tub paint!

How do you get a 4 year old who fights but loves a bath to get in.. two words.. homemade tub paint!

http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/2008/04/homemade-bathtu.html

1 T cornstarch (I used waaayyyy more)
1/3 cup dish detergent (you may want to use something that won’t make your kidddies break out if they decide to paint their bodies. I used an eco friendly brand)
Food coloring

Pics up soon

Letters

About a month ago Zoe started asking me what signs say... For about two weeks she has been writing a few letters.. And some "alien-like" symbols... Now she is always finding new letters and new ways of making... With her fingers, with sticks, with straws, on paper. This weekend she has started finding them in her surroundings. Today she made an x with her straw and then named it and found the same thing on the exit sign in the restaurant.

Today she found the letter tracing app and was going thru it

The cool part is that they surround them at school by these letters and give them exposure to it, but do not practice it explicitly... It's a lovely thing to find her exposed to and soaking up this new found knowledge.

The letters I have seen her write include

A X H i L O P Z

presents

"Hey mom, I want to play a new game.. I want you to give me something I do not have in my room. Puzzled, I looked at my dresser and gave her a pumpkin she likes to play with off of it. She threw it down and said, "No, that's not what I mean".... I can't remember how it came out, it took a while.. but what she meant was that she wanted the Christmas present sitting in the closet. Not only that, but she wanted it to be a Barbie with a crown, and dress "this big" = 1 inch tall, with polka dots (sounds a bit like the gift we gave one of her friends).


Zoe has been to two parties for friends recently.. we had to buy birthday presents.. she accepted it with grace (but not without the occasional.. can I play with it before we give it to her?)...
then she spotted some presents I put in the closet from her Auntie Heather.. for Christmas...

I have no friends, I want a new school

Zoe must have had a hard day at school today.. she cried tonight telling me as I was getting her ready for bed that she doesn't have any friends and wants to find a new school.. In getting more out of her, it sounds like Asha wanted to play with Max and Zoe didn't like that. I tried to just let her dump it out, dragging more out of her. Then I asked if she wanted my opinion and she said yes. We talked about having more than one friend, and how over the day it might be good to play with different people. A work in progress I think... We hugged for a while, then she said she was fine, we read books, sang a song, and she was quickly off to sleep.

Will you be my friend

Finneas do you want to be my friend? Then hold my hand we have to stick together.

"so..."

Zoe's new habit is to sit down, look at you and say "So...." usually followed by "How'd you sleep" or "How was your day"... this morning she sat down in the toy room, looked at me and said, "so...Mom! when some one says so, you are supposed to say 'so...' ".. of course at that point I couldn't do it with a straight face. Now she's made it part of a knock knock joke to crack me up.

Halloween

Zoe had asked me if it was Halloween every day for the last month, perhaps month and a half. Then the day finally came, she was so excited. If anyone asked her what she was going to be, she'd say a fairy...but it was decided early that we'd do a theme of Alice in Wonderland. Zoe was a lovely Alice, Finn was the White Rabbit, Mom the Queen of Hearts and Bruce was the Queen's Consort, the Naive of Hearts (hopefully I spelled that right).. Bruce was supposed to be the Mad Hatter, but changed at the last moment.

We spent a lot of time getting ready... Mom trying to set up the timer with her new camera and tripod.. we got a family picture!!!

Then at 6pm we went to Emily's house for dinner (we made enchiladas), kids ate before we left because I knew they wouldn't settle down once we got there. Then we went Trick-or-treating. The girls were slow to catch on... enjoying just holding hands and being together (they don't go to the same school anymore). They were so cute together... finally after about 4 houses, they worried less about where we were and were just off at their own speed (still kind of moseying). We went two blocks down, and then back up... the weather was ideal... crisp, but not too cold.... and dry! At the top of the hill (3 houses shy of our end goal), Zoe declared she had enough candy (her bag was getting heavy), but it was a bit less than last year (when it was much colder). In the end, both kids candy added up to about 1 gallon zip-lock full. We stayed busy enough we didn't even do our neighborhood. When we were on our way home, Zoe said, "I want to go lay down on my bed and have a little rest".. she was exhausted and easily asleep by 9. (1 hour later than her usual bedtime)

moment in time

Zoe is now using the stapler and her bucket of paper scraps and is "doing art"... she is making "a love card for you mom"

Dear Santa...

I've been thinking about Zoe's christmas wish list...

(she woke up one morning, found a pen and requested a piece of paper so she could write a letter to Santa)

it is currently:

"Dear Santa,

Please bring me Andy's room toys.

"

Both kids want toys from Toy Story (I know Santa takes this seriously and is on it).

Other than that they'd love:

New art supplies: crayons, markers, coloring books, paper (pad), storage for new art supplies,

Also, I saw Rapunzel from the new "tangled" disney movie and her man "Flynn" and those would go over big.

Also, she has pined after the Ken and Barbie from Toy Story 3. She has told me several times that she needs some male dolls

Also on her wish list is a "Barbie house like Brooke's"

kickourous

Finneas came out of Zoe's room in tears, chanting "kick, kick"... I went into Zoe's room mad, she started to explain, I cut her off, then caught myself and said, "Zoe, in your own words tell me what happened..." "Finneas was trying to steal my binkie...." this went on for a bit ... then I asked, "How did this make you feel?".... Zoe answered: "Kickourous"

(at this point I could not stop myself, I broke the one parent rule.. I laughed out loud... discipline was over....)

(I did finish up by asking how would be a better way to handle this and I was satisfied by her answer which equated to use words)

on school

"You know what I love most about going to school? Asha."

Asha is her best friend at school, and they had quite the greeting when they saw each other. Zoe was also very welcomed by her friend Claire (whom I saw her sitting with on Friday in the play house, surrounded by boys, one of whom was apparently being Zoe's puppy ;)

ol' blue eyes

Goldstream Park

Although we were too early for the salmon run, it was a beautiful, brisk walk.

chicken: animal and food

"Mom did you know that Chicken is an animal and food?"
Did you learn that at school or were you just thinking about it?
"No, I was just thinking about it."

ahh.. shopping

I was feeling the post thanksgiving shopping bug (which is something Canadians don't go into, not having their lives revolve around consumerism like my upbringing..), so earlier this week I picked Zoe up a little early from school and we went to the mall. It was so nice to have a shopping partner.. even if it did sort of revolve around what she wanted (like not spending time at the Clinque counter.. but she is young ;).. but we did have a grand time having her try on dresses.. she of course picked one, and wore it out the door. Then we stopped by the Halloween shop.. boy did her eyes get big.. she loved it.. picking out costumes... all the little masks, staffs, etc. Her idea of the perfect place to shop.

loves school!

Zoe really, really loves her school. She now looks forward to going, can't wait to be there. Yesterday when I picked her up I had a chance to watch her over the fence with Carter.. they looked so intimate.. like they had their own conspiracy going.. Zoe would get real close and talk to him, and then she was off running, talking to Asha... then they were chasing people who were riding trikes.. She had big arm movements.. it was something to watch.

On Tuesday, when I picked her up there was a bit of a surprise.. a bunny was having her babies right out with the kids there (not a good sign for the babies or mom), but the kids were sitting in a quiet little circle watching the babies being born. They were around 3 inches long, grey, blind, crawling around. Lots of the kids were very curious.. Zoe was not.. in fact I think she was a bit put out because I was more excited about it than she felt I should be.

Her teachers say she is coming out of her shell, will ask for help if she needs it; They talk about her dancing on the stage, telling her friends stories.

In fact, Zoe is a really good story teller. She tells us stories at bath times, using the foam characters from the pirate stuff. Quite inventive.

She and Finn are now exchanging Knock, Knock jokes.. and some of the ones Zoe tells are really good. (Vids up soon)

No Finn!: Oh No, not Weeeee

Zoe and Finn were watching iPad video (Toy Story 3) and it was near the end and Finn was saying "Weeee..." like when you go down a slide. Zoe grabbed Finn with hands on either side of his checks and made him look at her and said, "No Finn, that is no Weeee, that is Oh No!.. that is not a slide".. (the characters were heading to their doom down to an incinerator).

Finn said "Oh No! Oh Shoot" and 10 seconds later "Weeeeee"

Marry him...

At dinner tonight Zoe started in on something about wanting " to find a prince, some one who she loved, who she could kiss....  Mom what's his name, you know the boy I like at school?". Yep, couldn't remember the name of her future husband.... "Carter"

Fav Summer picture

fav July Pics

(See Zoe's blog for fav August pics)

preschool and kissing boys

We went to Zoe's preschool family picnic last night.. it was nice.. met up with some friends who I didn't realize Zoe would be at the same school with, made new friends with Zoe's new friend Asha's mom (a MS student in Linguisitics).. It will be fun to meet up with these like minded folks at future events. One notable part of the evening was Zoe and her friend on the swings, of course Zoe wasn't much for moving, but Asha asked Zoe if she'd be giving Carter (the cute boy) who was waiting a turn. Zoe said no, she was waiting to give him a kiss (and then puckered up)!

Tonight I was praising her for going to school so easily this morning (she was geniunely excited) and for taking a bath and washing her hair (finally!, she has been averaging less than 1 a week.. I sponge bathe her a lot) ... and she mentioned kissing boys again in addition to playing with her other friends.

she is 4 going on 16. Another of todays quotables:

"Mom, can you please change Finn in the other room, not my room, I need to change my clothes"

"Mom, can you please keep your voice down, I'm reading."

The little things

I've been thinking about all the small things a out Zoe that I don't write up:

Last week she experimented for two days with wearing two different colored shoes , one ruby, one silver... The same size and style

Today she choose fingernail polish... Red, pink, purple, two green

She picks put her own clothes..always.. Still wearing summer... Today shorts and shirt, all pink.
She loves to perform on stage...sings, dances.. Makes up her own songs, pulling together things from books and movies.

She can latch onto whole lines from a book.. But has yet to learn anyones name at her preschool... Well except Amber. .. Also the name of an adult friend of ours

She loves a good snuggle 

She loves to play big sister

She loves to go to our work... Feels left out... Bruce went to work one night after dinner ... She was very upset

The new thing Zoe is really looking forward to these days is the pick up by me and my bike... Her ride in the chariot ...a bike trailer... She says it is the most fun ever.

First week of 4year old preschool

Zoe's first day of preschool at her new school Arbutus Grove children's center was a bit rough... Perhaps harder on me than her.  We got to school at 9... We took a self guided tour... She started clinging to me hard... Both arms wrapped around min arm... We finally saw everything and went to her classroom.. She watched from a tight bundle in my arms ... I gave her a silver heart locket and told her if she ever missed me just to hold on to it.  We also repeated our new mantra from llama llama red pajama..."mama llama is always near, even if she isn't right here"
I finally decided it wasn't going to get any better, so I got up to go.. They took her to the window to say goodbye.. It was awful... She was staring out the window... Not really looking at me.. It was like the look that the cat gives on Shrek... I cried for an hour... Then went to a meeting...came back and noticed that I missed two calls.. Redialed and it was her school.  Of course I assumed the worst.. Started grabbing my jacket, purse keys, and it was Cindy her teacher.. Calling to say although Zoe sat by herself on the carpet she did join in shortly and all was going well.  Zoe was happy when I picked her up.. She had a great day.  Her favorite part of her day was playing outside.

Wednesday morning we had to wake her up at 9 ... She didn't sleep well last night.. So she was sleeping in. Generally I hate waking her up and almost never do, but she woke up easily, was happy to go to school.. We both dropped her off and she was happy to be going to school. Day two went seamlessly.

Day three was fine... She told me she cried at one point and missed me.. But grabbed the locket and it helped.

Day four was awful hard again in the morning... Daddy dropped her off and zoe had tears on the way out. But she recovered. One thing the teacher did tell us is that a girl called her "garbage" and they all had a conversation on nice words. Tonight Daddy taught her "I know you are but what am I"... Ughhhh.. Hope that does not backfire.

First day of 4year old preschool

Zoe's first day of preschool at her new school Arbutus Grove children's center was a bit rough... Perhaps harder on me than her.  We got to school at 9... We took a self guided tour... She started clinging to me hard... Both arms wrapped around min arm... We finally saw everything and went to her classroom.. She watched from a tight bundle in my arms ... I gave her a silver heart locket and told her if she ever missed me just to hold on to it.  We also repeated our new mantra from llama llama red pajama..."mama llama is always near, even if she isn't right here"
I finally decided it wasn't going to get any better, so I got up to go.. They took her to the window to say goodbye.. It was awful... She was staring out the window... Not really looking at me.. It was like the look that the cat gives on Shrek... I cried for an hour... Then went to a meeting...came back and noticed that I missed two calls.. Redialed and it was her school.  Of course I assumed the worst.. Started grabbing my jacket, purse keys, and it was Cindy her teacher.. Calling to say although Zoe sat by herself on the carpet she did join in shortly and all was going well.  Zoe was happy when I picked her up.. She had a great day.  Her favorite part of her day was playing outside.

This morning we had to wake her up at 9 ... She didn't sleep well last night.. So she was sleeping in. Generally I hate waking her up and almost never do, but she woke up easily, was happy to go to school.. We both dropped her off and she was happy to be going to school. Day two went seamlessly.

Birthday Tutu-Tea party

Today we had Zoe's birthday tutu-tea party with her friends Emily and Ana... Tyler also came, as well as Finn. It started out as a Fairy party, but because she'd only wear her ballet stuff, I decided to have everyone else wear the same. The party went as I expected.. I set up nice dishes and crystal and silver for all the stuff.. served Fruit kabobs (made from grapes, marshmellow, one strawberry, and heart shaped apples on the top like wands), cream cheese and jelly sandwiches, pink rice crispie treats, and pinkalicious cupcakes (mini and large) topped with Jelly Bellies. The kids got anxious to play everywhere but had to wait it out a little to let Finn sleep.. Finally when he woke, they ran around, found the table and wanted Tea. To get the tea ready, I had them pretend to have tea at the mini trampoline with a tea set (Erica, Emily's mom was a big help here).. then they got up for tea.. all of them had two cubes of sugar and milk in their decaf raspberry white tea.. ate the tops of the cup-cakes (just the frosting and candy please) and ate the fruit. No one touched the rice crispies ;) They ate fast and were off to play again. The three girls got on fabulously well.. played well together.. switching rooms at a whim. At some point Zoe and Emily striped down, took turns pee-ing, and then got into new ballet costumes (Zoe shared hers)... After Ana left, Zoe and Emily where stuck together (literally).. hugging and tackling.. they get along so well.. true friendship... and giggled themselves into a dither. It was the right size of party.. went fast, I didn't do any of the games or activities I planned (and it was a rainy day so we were inside the whole time), but I know they loved every minute of it.. Zoe fell asleep with no stories tonight.

Pics up soon.

trip to Utah

We had a really good trip to Utah... started out at the Gooches and Zoe and Brooke started where they left off.. playing together in the doll house, or playing separately in the same room. Sometimes Brooke would school Zoe (ie limit the play), but Zoe was a good guest. She latched on to a few toys which we had to return at the end of the trip (notably a toy barbie fan). She loved the Barbie toy house. Auntie Heather taught Zoe the Barbie world song (shown via YouTube.. the Sims 2 version)... to which Zoe would wear her Barbie outfit (binkini top, short sleeve shirt).. and dance like a professional MTV dancer...
When not in her Barbie outfit, she wore ballet clothes.. I knew I didn't need to bring all those clothes.. she didn't touch anything but swim suits, her favorite short sleeve skirt and the ballet outfits.
Finn was pretty easy on the plane (thanks to iPad with vids).. but spent a bit of time playing with the window shade.. upon lift off he looked out the window and proclaimed: "Bubbles!" (the clouds)
Finn had a good time playing beside the girls.. doing what they were doing. His favorite thing at the Gooches was their white board to which he begged all the time "Color!!"
At the Gooches the kids went to their first funeral.. thankfully a closed casket.. and they didn't know what they were doing.. except having to be quiet (which other people said they did quite well.. at the time I didn't feel they were especially quiet)
The kids loved being at Nana's and Grandpa's.. Grandpa was especially entertaining.. playing the "Where is my binkie game".. to which Zoe would get involved at saving Finn's binkie.. it never got old.. but did get kind of rowdy. One of the first things the kids did was play with the bubbles Nana bought.. and then the playground.. loving every minute of it.
Both were quite spoiled, especially the birthday girl who got a fabulous cake and oh so many presents. Both kids were good with Aunts and Uncles.. especially Zoe who wasn't too shy to give hugs (except around the Great-Grandmas).. Finn kept a bit of distance, but would give snuggles if I was holding him.

Probably the best thing to come of the visit was the bonding between the two.. Zoe and Finn. Finn has been quite the parrot of Zoe, but now they play and tease each other all day. They are learning to play with one another and it is more positive than adversarial. Last night as I was putting them both to bed, Finn fell asleep during the lullabye.. Zoe was still chatty.. so we talked a little and she said; "I want you to put Finn on my otherside (her in the middle).. " I was stunned... "why?" I asked.. "So I can snuggle him".. a major turning point. (of course I didn't move him, but that the idea was hers still made me wonder if I heard correctly. )

decorating trees

I kind of scolded Zoe tonight for beating on a tree to get hardened sand out of a dish... told her she hurt the tree. She spent the rest of the night decorating the tree with leaves (some of which were his eyes), some of which were used to heal his owies, drew additional eyes and a mouth with chalk. Gave him an arm with a small vine segment of ivy.

(and of course had to battle her brother who just wanted to remove all the doctoring/decorations).

update

Zoe is hilarious.. I could fill a page every day with the clever, cute, amazing things she says and does. She is a natural conversationalist (as her dolls would attest) and a fabulous dancer.. people always ask if she's had lessons.. I think she just does what is natural.

She picks her own clothes (either skirt and shirt or one of her two favorite ballet outfits).

Her favorite toys are the Disney dress-up dolls (3 or 4 inches tall, rubber clothes)

Her favorite playmate is her dad.. they are now debating what "Prince Lavine" should wear.. Bruce doesn't want to change the clothes (so hard to put on) and Zoe is standing her grown.. apparently Prince Lavine is in a lot of trouble for not bending to the will of Princess Jasmine. She is standing with hands on the hip, looking down her nose scolding Prince Lavine/Daddy.

But she also craves the play of her friends.. I can't wait until she has 5 day a week preschool.. she will love it. On Friday I came home after leaving her with Anna for 3 hours and she balled because she didnt' have anyone to play with (Anna did count) and I had to call my three local people to find someone for her to play with.. we do wish we had a neighborhood with more kids.

Her Dad's favorite thing is when Zoe does her "mommy whistle".. one finger in the mouth with a "Fwew-Fwew" whistle call.

She is very loving and loves a snuggle.. can't get enough of it some days.. and it is hard to compete with her brother for attention sometimes (if she is getting loves, Finn wants in on the action and won't stop until he gets it)

more soon...

making Finn laugh

M: "Look Zoe, a mamma deer and two babies"
Z: "Mommy, can you get give me a break. I'm trying to make Finneas Laugh"


[as heard in the car]

life is not fair

Life is not fair.. I know that... but sometimes, can't a mommy just want a little self-care selfishness? For once, I tried to sleep in.. I woke up at 5, got out of bed yesterday at 6:20 with both kids.. other mornings have been more reasonable.. 7. Once or twice a month I get until 8.. but this morning at 7am when I really wanted it Zoe would not have it. Bruce got out of bed, told the kids he take them to "toons".. but neither of them went willing.. for 10 minutes they crawled and whined all over me.. Z: "I want a snuggle" F: "Up-ee" At some point he got them out of the bedroom for Zoe to come running in, throwing open the door, turning on the light and yelling, "I need snuggles". I think this is just the last straw on top of my reading self help books that tell you to make time for you.. but as a mom, it is virtually impossible without a support structure and its become obvious that my support structure is not in this house. I need hire someone to be my early morning support team, to actually physically remove the children and distract them. If I want to get any exercise or throw some pots, I need to hire someone to watch the kids... its just not happening. Then apathy and lack of time sets in and I'm sure I'll just go back to not doing anything but taking care of the family. At least come September I can try to get exercise taking Zoe to school in on the bike... May I find the strength to do that every day. Off to change stinky diaper, find breakfast, get kids dressed, packed for their day.. all while I hear the whirl of the exercise bike I should be on.

Zoe the rockstar

I love four year olds (okay, so she's not quite 4, but close)... People will say... oh I love toddlers.. but I think four is the real prime of cuteness and this video posting will show you why... so cute!

Zoe got all dressed up.. "Mom, I'm going to be a movie star.."

but what she really meant was RockStar!

And this one.. there was a whole lead in, she introduced herself, and what she was doing.. I missed it because I was making myself a bite to eat.

Then I had her redo it a bit:

[To be uploaded later]

after she watched this one, she said, "I'm so cute".

[we've been watching Go Diego Go, and Zoe is practicing more of her spanish all the time... some of it real, some of it her own creation]

My sister Rachel.. the skirt maker

Auntie Rachel sent 5 new skirts that replicate the "Short sleeve skirt" pattern that Zoe is in love with... and it worked (we added 3 inches in length)... this morning she was running around going on and on about how Rachel is her sister like her friend Ana (at daycare) has a sister Jasmine and her sister is a skirt maker and how she loves the skirts and they are beautiful.

Z: Mom, can you put my hair up

I don't want ketchup to get in it

M: Where did the ketchup come from

Z: the wall

[Yes, there it was.. all over the wall.. and on her back, and on her leg...]

later..

D: Where did all this ketchup come from?

M: Did you put the bottle away

D: No

M: me neither

D: Zoe's where's the bottle

Z: hidden under the sink

[I haven't looked for it yet]

new bedroom details

So, I am finally setting about to spruce up Zoe's room.. thanks to our cleaning lady, I finally have Zoe's room clean and thinned of toys... (she started hiding things from the room and going on about how I needed to store some things away)

Now I'm planning on putting some things on the walls. I've fallen in love with the vinyl decals that are out there and plan to do something of the kind. Here is a picture of Zoe's room (before it was cleanned), with my planned decals... the plan is to bring a projector home.. project the things on the wall and paint them. I probably won't do black.. I'm still thinking colors.. the cool thing is chalkboard paint but I'm trying to decide if I want to do that for the bedrooms.. perhaps just the toy room.

for the girl on the moon, the big plan is to adjust it to fit a Zoe silhouette... fun eh?

then we just need closet doors... and it will be great.

I'm shrinking

"Oh mommy, I'm shrinking"... I was sharing a drink with Zoe.. as she was drinking it, she pretended to get shorter and shorter (a la Alice in Wonderland)

Zoe on horses

"horses are big and ponies are pretty"

24 hour flu again

Zoe has her worst case of the flu so far... she was bedridden all day yesterday.. took 4 naps... it was horrible to watch... she was unable to keep down any fluid.. but alas, today she is on the track for wellness.. she's already ate two crackers.. some water.. and just now went to put her clothes on (she stayed in her undies all day yesterday.. another rarity for Zoe). Yesterday I did 3 complete bedding changes.. so much laundry.. ugh! I feel bad for my mom.. I remember her doing such laundry challenges when we were sick.

oh the melodrama

Zoe woke up in the middle of the night screaming (not uncommon).. in my tired state, I brought her into my room, put her on Finn matress on the floor (he was in our bed).. then at 7am she woke up screaming.. again... this is rare... "my teeth hurt".. "my checks hurt"... "fix it".. "do something".. "no don't touch me"... "no I won't do that".. "no I don't want that"... "ahhhhh"... she is the perfect blend of me and Bruce.. from Bruce "do something" from me "no not that"... it is frustrating.. finally fell back on cartoons to stop the screaming (and some triametic.. thankful for chewables)

towards another birthday

Now that I'm about to hit my 37th birthday (a year that will probably mark other people noticing my gray hairs!), that means I can think about Zoe's 4th birthday.

This year I'm thinking:

Pocahontas.. she is dying for a doll and a costume

New princess table mat and dishes (her old ones are growing old fast)

and I'll keep adding more.. but this is all I can think of now.

Adding: One thing Zoe likes to do is make clothes for her dolls... I keep wondering if there is an age appropriate set of cloth samples that could be fastened with ties or something... I may have to make it up myself.

I'm also thinking:

New bedding... we only have one set.. so either princess pink, or red, or brown.. that is the chosen color scheme.. or I have to switch color schemes before I implement my plan....

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/zoku-quick-pop-maker/

(but maybe that is a Christmas whole family type gift.. we eat popsicles every night.. a lot of them)

cat ate my art project

I was just consoling Zoe who was out and out crying because the cat came up and tore into her folded papertowel-foamies art project. I tried to explain to Zoe that a cat ripping up her art project is a form of flattery.. that they thought it was another toy she made for them, and that they didn't know any better. I swear we have the only cats for whom my kids can truly say: "My cat ate my homework"

the things we do to our kids

I often write this blog thinking about Zoe reading it as a teen, and try not to make it fake. This is one of those times I hate to write about but feel obligated to. Zoe has lately not been a big fan of the bath. For several months she has insisted on wearing her swimsuit in the bath, saying that is what mermaid wear. But we think it may have to do with Finn taking bath with her. To add to more of the trama, when the weather got real warm, Bruce declared a water fight in the backyard after dinner and I was not in the mood for it. When he sprayed me I got upset.. we weren't on happy terms any way, been fighting a bit, and this set it off. Apparently Zoe internalized this and declared war on water and fighting. She has not taken a bath except under circumstance of me holding her under the water.. she is scared and scarred by the actions of her parents. This hurts me deeply and I'd do anything to take it back. We are trying not to fight in front of her and we have set a goal to have a "good" water fight.. first by going to the swimming pool, a place of water and happy memories. I've also declared today a Zoe and Mom and Dad day, she is at work with us and we will do something fun today.. in addition to taking her to lunch with us (no Finn).

Zoe morning thought on marriage

One morning Zoe (while watching Pocahontas), was telling me that when two people "kiss one another on the hand like this, then they are married".

Speaking of which.. Zoe is in love with all things Pocahontas.. who at Disney World she pronounced "Pho-ko-mal-ous"... and wants a doll for her birthday and an costume.

back seat driver

Zoe is turning into a back seat driver... often heard:

"You are driving too fast.. I'm scared".. I think this is because she doesn't watch out the window very often.. and when she does, she's surprised. Another theory is that she's heard this at day care.

"This is ~not~ the way to ..." She tells me I'm going the wrong spot

"This is the way to.." but she also seems to recognize roads, especially on the way to Daycare

So excited I slept in my swimsuit

I took Zoe shopping for a new swim suit.. she wanted a singlet like her friend Anna.. I usually don't buy them because she's so tall and they won't last the season (like this time I bought her a 6.. she did manage to try on the 5, but there is no way it would fit her for long if at all)... but she was so excited in true Zoe fashion, she wore it from the store dressing room to the car, and is now sleeping in it. She would not take a bath because "then her swimsuit would not be new any more"

But this is not abnormal for Zoe.. she pretty much wears any one of two skirts and 3 shirts and has only slept in PJs for say 3 times in the last month. I've given up on the fight unless the clothes start to stand and walk on their own.

bone for "Princess"

Last night we spent some time outside.. the weather is now perfectly lovely and summery after a long, cooler than usual spring. A neighbor, May Kay, and her puppy Pookie were walking by and stopped to chat. Pookie was not really interested in the kids and despite pulling out a dog bone, she would not eat or endure kid snuggles... Zoe ended up keeping the dog bone, and before bath asked me where she could put it to save it for "Princess".

"Princess" is the name she would give her dog (a Chiuaua if she had her way)

This morning first thing she saw me, she asked where the bone was for "Princess".

Hey clothes! are you having fun in there?

"Hey clothes! are you having fun in there? uh-uh-uh"

[Zoe looking at her favorite outfit in the dryer]

Zoe pretty much wears the same two skirts and three shirts, regardless of weather.. it has been a really cool summer, and Zoe is well into wearing her favorite "Short Sleeve Skirt" and either the pink shirt, kitty shirt, butterfly shirt.

Zoe the little lady

We are working on Zoe's whining, and it seems to be working.. the other night she said, "See, I can be so polite. You should say 'thank you Zoe'."

regression

Zoe is now experiencing her first round of regression to babyness... since Finn started talking and perhaps we make subtle pride in it, she has started mimicing his babytalk. She has also (I don't know if this is connected), had two potty accidents in the house in two days.

"Listen to me"

My favorite Zoe tale for the month.

Zoe standing at the grocery store, arms up like she was holding a very large ball, shouting, "Listen to me." with great pause, then a step forward and "Open".. and the doors would open.

I was with both kids at the grocery store, a store in which the lines end right at the door. Zoe went to the door, and after some experimentation noticed that she had the power to move the door open and shut. She was doing so with great bravado, and I didn't have the heart or care to tell her to pipe down.. it was quite a theatrical performance.

Hey mom, Y and I Rhyme

Zoe has become a master of rhyming and the whole time we were in San Francisco she would find rhyming pairs... sometimes she was just doing it to talk, but about 90% she was very spot on and creative.

Zoe the fairy, the butterfly.. the flier

Zoe loves to pretend to be a butterfly.. or fairy... or anything that flies.. she grabs leaves, and jumps from rocks or just runs full tilt.. I've never seen another girl her age with such enthusiasm ;)

photo

I've recently gotten a real camera.. a Nikon with a lovely lens.. and am finally able to take pictures like this of my beautiful young lady

Zoe the foreign language expert..

We just got back from Ottawa, Ontario, which is really close to French speaking Quebec and I was shocked by how many people were speaking French and how many people preferred to speak it whenever possible. As an indirect result of this, Zoe started speaking in her own language and offering to translate.. I remember a specific instance at the museum of civilization in the Aboriginal section where she said: "Do you know what Cora means?".. "it means run in French"... there we lots of other instances, sometimes things would be an action word, sometimes tied to French or Spanish, sometimes unidentified, sometime translated to meaning "No"...

Finn is saying...

One of my favorite things Zoe has adopted: translating for Finn. Sometimes he'll babble on about something and Zoe will translate for me. Sometimes its just like a translation of what she is wanting/thinking "He doesn't want to eat that" or "He wants to get down"... but sometimes she is spot on.

nobody dies

Zoe is fond of watching Sleeping Beauty and telling me that she dies. While watching on the way home from daycare yesterday (the fairies were putting everyone to sleep), she said: "No one dies. No way. Nuh NuhNuh Nuh NuhNuhNuh"

bad magic masks

Zoe asked me the other day: "Mom, why do you have bad magic masks like the Shadow man?"

This is in reference to the Princess and the Frog... and she was talking about the African masks we have on the wall.. one of the characters in the movie is a Voodoo man.. and the masks at some time come after him. I told her our masks were protectors of us and not all masks are bad and told her about going to New Orleans and picking them out. She seemed satisfied.

Zoe and Finn

Bruce is out of town, and so things were a bit off and the kids seemed to me to be acting up a bit last night...Zoe was teasing Finn, making him cry... at some point we finally went outside, Finn found a shovel and clocked Zoe on the head with it.. then while she was sitting down crying, he threw successive fistfuls of dirt at her, making her cry more.. as I was interceding, he threw it at me too.

They both missed Daddy quite a bit, Zoe especially when I was disciplining her. Finn right before he layed down for sleep.

This morning they were more together and less against one another, playing around and with one another.

let the ants have the bubble gum

Zoe came home with Dad with a mouth full of bubble gum.. some minutes later she asked for her bag of chips from lunch.. I gave it to her but tried to explain that she'd have to take the gum out and throw it away. She said that she keep chewing until it was gone. I tried to explain how it doesn't work that way. After some time, she really wanted to eat the chips... I gave her a tissue and told her to throw her gum away. She said, "No, I want to give it to the ants [outside]. They will take it away." [insert mom arguing here] and she opened the door and spit the gum out.

I wish I was married

last night as I was getting Zoe to bed, after reading "Princess and the frog", Zoe closed her eyes and said, "I wish I was married... I'll wish on a star... I wish, I wish, I wish with all my might I was married.... .. that was a good wish".

Princess and the Frog

"Princess and the Frog" is Zoe's new favorite movie.. even more than "Little Mermaid". She has watched until we all have it memorized.

At dinner one night, I had been talking to Bruce about how we needed to maybe do a prayer thing at dinner that Nana had mentioned, but I haven't been able to find something non-religious...

as if Zoe heard me, after 20 minutes of finally getting her to the table, she said:

"like daddy always says, Good food and Good TImes brings people together"...

it is a line from the movie...

it is now our dinner time prayer.

to the limit

Zoe has recently been pushing me to the limit.. Thursday she was so whiny... "Are we going to Tricia's"... "Don't leave".... "Don't leave me at Preschool..." that is all before we left the house... at preschool she was the same, don't leave, finally Frances (her teacher) had to take her aside an said she could make a card for Daddy when he picked her up. She made us both one... Finn at preschool fell and got hurt.. its not Finn safe... I was just exhausted and it was 10:30am.

This weekend she ran across the street without us.. always running ahead... Then she came home from our visit to Liam's house to get a stuffy (her favorite o' the month is Simba), and when Daddy went in the house, she ran back down the street on her own. Much to say, Daddy took her back home and she got a time out in her room.. I came home about 15 minutes later and she was still crying.

Today, after we had spent the morning swimming, having fun as a family, she came home and at some point grabbed the cherrios ziplock bag and ran to our room where Finn was sleeping and dumped them on her head and all over the floor.. the good news is she didn't use the whole bag and really she was quiet about it. But I was so mad... I couldn't give her a timeout in her room, I tried the kitchen.. she kept laughing at me.. finally I just locked her out on the deck.

oh, and did I mention nearly pushing her brother off the new slide?

This week I've vowed for more mommy-daughter time.. maybe its a competition thing.. but it is definitely also a 3 year old thing. Defining boundaries.

I'm also vowing to look into Supper Nanny discipline.

remembered quotes

Bruce and I were also remembering:

"I need to play with a boy"

"Play with Finneas"

"No I mean a real boy. One who talks"

Then at some point I remember her telling me:

I wish I had an brother

oh?

yeah.

what would he look like?

blond like me

how tall would he be?

this tall holding her had over her head

what would you call him?

Tyler [her best friends older brother... which was who she was describing]

quotes of the day

[on the way to daycare, Ana is her friend at daycare]

"Ana has the power to make trouble"

(which is a parallel to a phrase often used on "SuperWhy" but that never ends in "trouble" but instead words like "read" or "spell")

"the talking mice told me..."

[Cinderella III]

[on the way to diner]

"Are we going home? I need my royal sleep"

Oooh.. your a princess, can I be a princess too?

Z: "Oooh.. you are a princess, can I be a princess too?"

[Zoe gets dressed in a skirt too.]

Z: "Now we are both princesses. You are the flower princess and I am the XX."

(Where XX is I can't remember what she said...!)

(Summary: I wore a flowered skirt today)

competition for snuggling

The newest challenge with Zoe is getting enough snuggling in and she calls me on it... it is her way of keeping my attention and not wanting Finn to be on her action. The worst is at bed time when she howls the loudest and longest... it sounds like true pain. Its hard after adjusting to full time vacation mom, to having to share and have separate spaces and time for each of them.

Zoe the princess

Zoe is the cutest princess ever.. she wears her cinderella costume everywhere.. to bed last night, to breakfast at Pluto's this morning, with the crown hair barret we bought yesterday and her ballet shoes. When she gets a complement (from Anna, or a stranger), she curtseys.., yes, the whole arms out with the dress, dip and twist of head and shy smile... so cute it hurts!

Disney World: Pre-travel shopping

Our trip to Disney World in Florida started with our visit to Seattle to get out of town, do a little shopping, and be ready for a 6:30am flight to Florida (stopping at NYC Kennedy). At some point in the trip I found a swim suit with a hula skirt, which was exactly what I was looking for.. we were going a luau... upon buying the outfit, Zoe inisted on changing into it in the parking lot, yes, it was raining toboot, but she did.. and she wore it the next day to the airport:

I call this: Have Grass Skirt, Will Travel

update on Zoe

Zoe is now a full fledge little girl, full of her high and lows (a peak at a teenager?)... one moment she will be giggling over older boys (seriously... I saw her do it twice yesterday, once at a restaurant, once over Levon; I told Bruce about it discretely, he asked Zoe what she was doing, she told him she was just giggling); she can strike the perfect princess/diva pose and does so often. The next she can be crying and carrying on like there is no tomorrow.. some times it is "I want X" and there is no getting past it.. sometimes she has just worked herself up to being "scared" which is her word for anything uncomfortable or frustrating.

She is also working up to be quite the comedian, but her material needs work. She will look at me very seriously and say: "Mommy, I need to tell you something" Followed by "Poop in the house" and her laughing herself silly (Daycare!).

Tah Dah! Zoe strikes a pose

Last Friday I took the kids to Sidney to the Aquarium... it is a good place to run around. I had this great plan of getting burgers to-go and that we'd eat outside and let the kids run. In the restaurant, I didn't realize the part I hate the most with kids is the waiting, and by getting food to go, I was still experiencing the worst of dining with kids. In all fairness, the kids were mostly good.. they let me drink my beer without demanding too many sips (although I did drink fast), and only once did I yell, "Zoe where are you?!".. when she was hiding literally under my nose, under the table.. the nice business guys at the next table told me where she was.

Then we finally got our burgers and went outside.. and ran into Anna and Family. In the picture, Zoe takes her new and often seen "I'm a princess, tah dah" pose... ;)

mermaid butt

[last night as leaving bath...]

[Daddy wrapped Zoe in a towel and she was kicking her feet]

Z: look, I have a mermaid tail for swimming. And a mermaid butt for sitting on rocks

[Last night as Daddy was putting Zoë's pajama's on...]

Z: Daddy I am doing my wiggle dance. Do it with me.

D: How does the wiggle dance go?

Z: Stick out your butt like this. Wiggle back and forth. Now look at it.

D: Do I look at mine or yours?

Z: Mine!

Z: [Turns turns around, points at Daddy, jumps up and down and starts yelling]

You are a bum looker! You are a bum looker!

snuggle

Zoe is quite the lady, getting bigger everyday, very independent.. changes her clothes every 10 minutes when idle, every 5 when busy... picks out her clothing.. she is becoming sensible and will take advise on how much to wear (most of the time) and is now balancing pants/shirts with dresses, becoming a big fan of skirts... but she is still my little baby.. last night she asked me: "tomorrow, can we have another family snuggle?"

bruce had taken a nap and when he was waking up, we all crawled into bed with him... at some point, Zoe was nestled between Bruce and I and couldn't have been happier.

Finn and Sibling Rivalry

Finn is just now starting to combat Zoe's pushes over toys and such.. his current method is grab hair and don't let go... fortunately I couldn't stop myself from laughing.. it was very funny, so Zoe thought it was funny too and hasn't got her dander up over it..

Zoe the ballerina

Zoe went to breakfast today in her complete ballerina outfit.. it was lovely.. Bruce says I'm living vicariously, but I just think I want her to enjoy being her ;)

I can say if we do move here soon, I want her to help me paint her room.. to make it hers. She is just about old enough. (that I would do to live vicariously through her.. I always wanted to do something "exotic" like paint my room.. my guide is the new Curious George movie... I like what he did)

I also condone her picking out her clothes, regardless of the colors... but will coach her on finding something appropriate for the weather. Her new favorite thing is to pick out socks... non matching ones... and then we will have a discussion (started by her) on which one each of us likes and why...

dancing in the pee

I remember going to a preschool parent education night, and the mom and professional parent advisor saying something about when your kids use bathroom words for everything, and I had something in the back of my mind that said, "never my kid".. well, Zoe says "poopy this" and "poopy that"... her dolls are always getting ready to go pee and going pee... and she thinks of everything round and sitable as a toilet.. a few days ago, I had to drop off a conversation with Auntie Carrie because Zoe sat (in her clothes) on the old ceramic flour pots and pee'd. Tonight, she stripped down to nothing and pee'd on the deck.. then proceeded to dance and, yes, roll around in it... I could not stop myself from laughing.. but I hauled her into the sink.. and she got a bath.

birthday jealously

Zoe did really well for attending a birthday celebration of her brother's, she was quite jealous and there were periodic tirades... but in the end, she was just happy to play with his toys, and really enjoyed opening them (Finn didn't stand a chance).

however, despite Zoe's saying otherwise, she did not come and go empty handed. Mommy and Daddy bought her a pony (head on a stick) and she got a beautiful snow princess porcelain doll from Isabel. Nana and Grandpa sent her socks and a pretty barbie dress which immediately went on Cinderella (I had to hunt high and low for her, and it had to be her).

At Finn's party, Zoe wasn't always the grateful host to her best friend Emily and brother Tyler (5) who came to the party.. like the time she really wanted the same princess glass we gave Emily or the time she really wanted the purple balloon Zoe was holding, or at the end when she was ignoring her friend and playing her leapfrog alphabet toy... but there was plenty of time that they were running around and screaming (and spraying baby powder).

We made a it snow

you know when your friend comes to you (during your son's first birthday party) and asks you very calmly, with a shy smile, where your vacuum is, and her daughter and son are running around with your 3 year old, that something is up.. I didn't really want to ask, but I did... Well.. a very small bottle of baby powder that I'd had for three years suddenly got sprayed everywhere around my downstairs tv room... the place and our children smell lovely BTW.

Levon took pictures. Bruce vacuumed.. tomorrow I'll have to wipe up the rest.

I'm sort of jealous that I couldn't have been there when it was snowing.

I'm a movie star

Bruce was telling me a story about taking Zoe to the grocery store.. they were picking out sun glasses, Zoe tried on a pair and said things like, "Look at me. I'm a movie star".. and proceeded to strike a pose and strut her stuff.

On this same trip I also believe she said something about already having been eating, to which she clarified that she had been sampling from the vegie isle (I told her if she at anything on that trip it had better be an apple, banana, or pepper.. something good for her, she'd spent the day eating the cake pieces I'd been trimming from Finn's b-day cake).

It turns out that "eating" was really Zoe taking sample bites out of everything in sight.. a cabbage, a broccoli,.... Bruce had to bring them home.. guess I'll make cold slaw.

We Love Auntie Rachel

Auntie Rachel has been at it again.. a new box of dresses came today.. and wow...

let the pictures and movies tell you...

And one more of my favorite pictures of Zoe in Rachel couture from December.

update on the eye

Zoe slept from 5pm to 1am.. woke up, peed, got into jammies and went back to sleep, sleeping until 6:30am... the bruise has all drained into her eyelid.. looks scary. But it is going away fast.

ouch!

Zoe got a major ouch today.. hit her head on the dinning room table... I know Grandpa would ask if she left a mark on the table she got hit so hard.. it instantly turned purple raised and bruised.. scares me.. she was already sleepy from her day.. she went to sleep at 5pm. I tried to wake her at 6pm.. I've been checking on her every 2 hours.. called the nurses line.. I think all is well.

the owie is on the line intersecting the curve of her eyebrown and the corner of her eye.

I"m naked....

Bruce and I had just finished a day dealing with our first real client for Relevant Games.. we were both even in suits. I went home to get the kids, brought them to the faculty club to meet up with everyone... about 20 minutes in, I see Zoe running in only panties through the club, giggling her heart out, and chanting "I'm naked!".... It was the most crowded I'd ever seen the club... legendary material for years to come I'm sure.

all the world is a song...

[in a sing-song voice] "I've got to go pee pee because I want to get a treat"

Zoe spends a lot of her day singing, and with pee pee training on, this day is no different

(we've not had a diaper on since early this morning.. about 10 times pee-ing on the potty and one accident (while playing with water))

Here is an nearly month old video (01.01.10) of her singing twinkle, twinkle.... if you see the tree shaking.. it is the kittens in the tree.

potty training.. on her own terms

Zoe has just gone peepee on the potty for the 3rd time in a row!

(since peeing on her stepping stool earlier)

since about noon, she's been running around naked. (her choice)

Maybe she's decided for real, she doesn't want to wear a diaper.. or she just enjoys the candy I've been giving her after each time. (It started with her sitting on the potty before bath last night and going potty and getting her reward).

She asks me: "Are you proud of me?"

Sadie the Ballerina

one of our favorite new stories is Sadie the Ballerina about a girl who wants to do Ballet, goes to the Nutcracker Ballet, and goes on stage. She has two pony tails, so I was finally able to talk Zoe out of her one and only style (Tinkerbell hair, all on top), and she sported two pony tails to ballet class this morning.. unfortunately my camera battery was dead. But boy is she a cutie!

polly pocket

Zoe and I were very excited to find out that Disney now makes Polly Pocket size dolls complete with the same rubbery dresses... I just bought her sleeping beauty.. and can't wait to fill in her collection.. the dresses are much better than the skimpy Polly Pocket clothes :) (and they do fit on the Polly Pocket dolls of which she has 4).

let unattended yet 20 feet away

If there are letters missing from this message.. it is because we are doing home improvments and I left Zoe occassionally playing by herself.. I came back and two of the keys on my keyboard were popped up... now in addition to hitting the "h" key hard and multiple times for one letter, I now have trouble with "e", "f" and "g"... great...

did I mention she was washing playdoh?

did I mention the 1/4" of water on my kitchen counter?

ah... self entertainment...

2nd ballet class

Zoe started her first ballet class last week. I'll post video soon.
Today she went again.. I was the only parent who had to be there.. I think most girls had taken the class before.. many times... (9 other 3-4year olds)

representational drawings

pics from 12.31.2009

Over night a week ago, Zoe started drawing representations of faces. I have a photograph of one of the first ones I've seen... a spider with circle, eyes, mouth, lots of legs.

On our fridge I have one she drew yesterday of a "rock", with eyes, mouth, 2 legs and 2 arms.

(TBP)

catfood

Zoe loves to play in the laundry room, the place the kittens called home for most hours as they got used to us and the house. Unfortunately she is fond of distributing the cat food, spread it all over laundry room, in litter boxes, cat post, floor... ugh! Good morning to me.

Zoe's new daycare

Zoe survived a week (4 days) of day care. I dropped her off yesterday, and she cried a lot.. Tricia said she had a hard time for an hour. (I had a hard time all day).. I could tell that she was quite torn between wanting to be with me and wanting to play with her new friends. It was clear on her face, her voice, that she alternated between it being okay and something she did not want to do.

holding her breath

Yesterday at breakfast, I made oatmeal, but Zoe was worried it was too warm. then she tasted it, it was too cold... so she asked for it to be hotter. I switched the contents of her bowl from the pot, she was not happy and so she held her breath. I couldn't help it.. I laughed.. I laughed so hard that Finn was laughing too. She left the table and went to her room.

I wonder where she got that from.. or is it just innate?

crazy

first day at daycare

I really need to get Bruce to tell about Zoe's first day at Tricia's.. home day care... she was there from 12-5. Bruce dropped her off and stayed for about 45 minutes with her.

She started playing by herself, and the two other 3 year olds keep trying to involve her. Finally they got into dress up clothes, Zoe as a Mermaid and that did it. Tricia even had placemats that matched their outfits. (I need to remember to buy more placemats like that).

She had a good time, she must have, she was exhausted when she got home. Apparently there was one episode where she cried but couldn't say why. She was okay when Tricia said her Dad would be there to pick her up soon.