In Like a Lion....

..and definitely out like a lamb. How did we miss March? It's over and I know we participated in it because we were incredibly busy. One of life's paradoxes - to be so busy and not remember that you did anything at all.
We watched Irish Step Dancers and listened to harp music at the Irish Faire at the fairgrounds. We enjoyed the atmosphere and the participants and were even approached about having Hallie in commercials.

Anna was moved into the big bathtub (tub within a tub) and Hallie, literally, jumped in to help.

On a particularly beautiful day, Hallie pushed the stroller to the park, without our help, thank you very much. She slid on the slide and ran around to her sister's delight. Anna went on the swings for the first time and watched Hallie's every move. The girls love to be outside and don't miss a thing that goes by.


On St. Patrick's Day, Anna turned 7 months old and we celebrated at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Anna's eyes opened very wide at the sight of the big tanks. She liked the jellies and, of couse, watching Hallie run around. She listened every time Hallie pointed something out to her or explained about the animal. Everybody except Daddy enjoyed a nice nap on the way home.

The following weekend we celebrated Anna's baptism. Many family and friends attended the church service and enjoyed lunch at Great Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Mike's house. Anna received some very special gifts (as did Mommy since we celebrated her birthday as well)

Well, I guess after spending time with all those who walk upright, Anna decided being horizontal was passe. The next day, while briefly stationed in her crib, she pulled herself to standing. We have always anticipated that she would skip crawling and go straight to walking but didn't expect this move quite so early. Of course, it was followed by "Hey Sweetheart, come look at Anna before...she...(conk and crying)..falls." AMENDMENT: It's good that the little bruise on her forehead was where it was because the one she got about three weeks later covered it nicely.

There was more time with family and more fun for the girls as the last weekend in March was as full as the rest. We visited Grammie on Saturday to see her new furniture and go shopping. On Sunday, the sisters played with Daddy, Charlotte and Natalie in the beautiful spring sunshine. The girls had a great time together and got a chance to know each other a little better before Nat went home.
As busy, and sometimes hectic, at it was, we had fun. We will have wonderful memories with plenty of pictures to remind us How wonderful to be able capture those moments - basically so we remember that we had some of them at all!

Updated Baby Registry

We've all seen the email about how we somehow managed to survive through lead painted or metal toys, no car seats and collapsing playpens. I too always think - yeah, it's amazing we all survived. I know there's a reason for refining of products, their subsequent recalls and discontinuation of things altogether. It would however, be much more practical to make household objects child safe. Forget fashion colors and flashing lights. The black or grey of a remote control and an actual light/flashlight do the job - so much so that, when faced with an actual government approved toy, the child will not be distracted from the things they see Mom, Dad and big sister touch all the time. I guess if we played with their toys all the time instead of turning on appliances, writing checks and reading the paper, the babies would like all those brightly colored, smiley faced noisy things in which we all heavily invest. That said, the true baby registry, showing what babies actually like, would read as follows:

Water bottle (Arrowhead preferred)
Things that are red
Remote control
Shoes
Cabinet knobs
Light switch
DVDs (the cases to which Anna can open and empty)
Television screen
Magazine/Catalog pages
Extra sets of fingers/toes
Earrings/necklaces
Spoons
Cold Soda can
Straws
Telephone
Papers (only those of real importance, you understand, not junk mail but school registration papers and the like)
Anything loose/about to fall off
Now, if all of these things were child safe, our household would see a lot less jumping and grabbing and would definitely be more tidy. It would be without most protests as well. Alas, no such luck. I'm thinking the baby companies are a pretty good stock choice.

Sadly, it is not our reality at this point-maybe by the time we are grandparents. So for now, our registries request a million plastic devices to tie up or block off appliances and doors, Consumer Reports rated car seats(and just about everything else), and insist on only certain brands or colors of food and toys.

Through the ages, it's been the gift that gets played with less than the box which held it and it's the pots, pans and spoons being banged mercilessly in the kitchen that are preferred. True, children need the creativity of playing with boxes and beating out a symphony for stockpot and colander in a~minor but we can make it more safe. We are raising children in a world where we know too much and it can actually be a good thing. We may not have grown up with latches on the cleaning cupboard and doorknob covers (which many adults can't figure out by the way) but, please don't mock what we think we need to keep our children safe (or roll your eyes to your friends) We are faced with so much that is scary in this world - which, incidentally, is not of our making - that we want to try anything that might save us the trips to the emergency room that the previous generation laughs about. It doesn't have to be a part of life. There are those who staunchly insist that nothing can substitute for good supervision - the flip side of that is that we've all said, "I just looked away for a minute!" We should remember however that, like history, it's always the survivors or those unaffected that write those things in the first place.

When one becomes a parent , one grows weary of hearing the "With you we just...." and "We never worried about...." and the ever popular "You turned out fine." The things that other generations may pick on or criticize to their peers (out of earshot of the, according to them, 'oversensitive parents') are really not what matters. We all know the people who give unsolicited opinions or advice and follow up with their disdain for having been told what to do with their children. Whatever happened to "I won't do that to my kids" or "...grow up to be my mother/father?" It's okay that we want more than a drawer for the baby to sleep in and that we don't want to let our children suck on someone's keys. It's a good thing that we put covers on restaurant high chairs and shopping carts. In case you haven't noticed, the stores have sanitizer outside and it's not for babies. Why go along with the new 'things' that are out there now? Because, each generation has new and different information and is trying to do what's best with what they've been given.

With any luck, the village raising this generation of children will see past the things they view as unnecessary, and see the efforts of their best parenting shining through. Hopefully, they will find that, regardless of what we were allowed to lick or eat off the floor, it's okay to reinvent the wheel on this one. With any luck, each generation has added to their parents' hard work and adds new skills in hopes of raising happy, well adjusted children who will contribute to society through their demonstration of the things they've been taught.

February Portraits

Anna- 6 months

Hallie- 4 yrs 3 months

Both- Beautiful!!

Happy Family

With a beautiful weekend (80's in February - gotta love California winters!) what else could we do but go to the park for a picnic? Daddy spent the morning hours out taking photographs and when he was done, he came and picked us up for simply the best family outing we've had. Because of Anna's age, holidays and weather, we've done little out all together but family gatherings and doctor appts. and errands. So, loaded down with sandwiches from Subway (which Hallie loves!) and blankets and toys, we headed for Hallie's favorite park in Sierra Madre - the 'Shady Park'.

With Anna able to sit up on her own-6 months old that day, thank you very much-we all could really participate and enjoy the park and the company. We ate and played and laughed at Anna rolling around and playing with some of her favorite toys, trying to catch our faces and hair in her hands and the occasional tipping over; Anna, not us. Hallie, as always, was great with Anna and was SO excited to have Anna out with her. After lunch, big sister went off to play with Dad while Mom and Anna stayed behind to enjoy the fun of grass between their fingers and toes, sticks, leaves, small bugs and the occasional dog walking his human. We had good luck with the timing of our visit because we arrived as a party was being cleaning up and could actually hear the wind and the birds and Hallie's laughter echoing over to us on the breeze. After an hour or so we noticed it was looking like nap time (sadly, not for us) and that another party was coming to set up so we put shoes back on and packed up. We had been in the shade so we were quite surprised to see the temperature gauge in the car showing 95 degrees! It cooled down a few once we were on the way and the yawning (mostly from us) spanned the 7 or so minute drive home. It sure is easier to get naps in when you've run/rolled the kids around at the park!

We ended the great day by celebrating Uncle Chad's birthday with steak dinners, salad and cheesbread at Northwoods and great dessert made by Auntie Ann. This is definitely what we signed up for!

Just think of a wonderful thought.....

When Peter Pan is asked how he flies, he has to stop and think. He realizes that "you think of a wonderful thought". The chorus of voices then sings to us that to "think of the happiest things" is the "same as having wings". That's how you fly. Musically they remind us that "when there's a smile in your heart, there's no better time to start". Our hearts are smiling with love for our girls and we find that our hearts fly a lot in this little family. Never Land has nothing we don't have - it's all right here.
(Guest columnist Anna)
A wonderful thought? Hmmmmmm. How about a nice day with Mommy or Daddy? That's my wonderful thought. On Saturday I spent a fun day at home with Daddy all to myself. I held my own bottles to drink and ate turkey, pears and sweet potatoes along with my cereal. We played and sang songs and practiced crawling. Daddy knows I like to try walking with his help, too. I napped a little but was having too much fun to do it for long. We giggled and talked and I played peek-a-boo. In case you don't remember how to play, I'll tell you. I hear "Where's Anna?" and I pull the blanket or cloth up to my forehead and then pull it down - so fast. Then I just smile and wait for Daddy to say "Peek-a-boo!" We sent pictures to Mommy and Hallie on Mommy's phone and they sent them back so we could share our fun days. Daddy and I got to hear all about the fun they were having too!

Mommy took Hallie to Hollywood to see Peter Pan at the refurbished El Capitan Theatre. They had reserved seats which meant no waiting in line and, popcorn and a drink for each of them. When they got there, Hallie showed her ticket to the usher and she and Mommy were led by flashlight to their seats in the front row! No big people to block Hallie's view - how lucky! Before the show they got to listen to the world champion organist play on the grand, gilt theatre house organ. When the performance was done, the organ and the organist were lowered right into the stage! What a surprise they had when the lights went down! At the sound of some tinkling bells, they saw a green light flickering around the theatre and when it landed, the stage lit up to show a castle with Tinker Bell herself flying and showering pixie dust and sparkles of magic. At the end of her flight, they were showered with pixie dust (and they quickly tried to cover their popcorn). Then the curtains went up and the magic began. they were riveted throughout and laughed and cheered with the rest of the families there to enjoy a classic. They applauded when the movie was over and had big smiles on their faces as they retraced their steps up the aisle.

But, the fun wasn't over yet...it was time for lunch.Right next door is theDisney Studio Store and Soda Fountain. At counters, tables or window, you can enjoy old fashioned Sundaes and, get this, Phosphates! Sandwiches, salads and chili bowls round out the food choices served there. Soon Hallie and Mommy were seated at the counter and checking out the menu. After coloring, and enjoying a Chicken Caesar Salad (Mom) and a Mickey shaped grilled cheese and fruit (Hallie), they enjoyed a Lost Boys Sundae complete with cannon balls, pixie dust and a gummy crocodile. They watched it being made and had so much fun diving into the whipped cream for scoops of chocolate chip ice cream and hot fudge, hoping for a (malted milk) cannon ball. There was even time for a game of hide and seek between Hallie and the soda jerk. He had fun making her squeal and giggle as he popped up and disappeared in various spots around the soda machines. She didn't mind being called Tinker Bell by the employees either.

And, the story would not be complete without mentioning the trip back to the parking structure at Hollywood and Highland As the girls were eating their sundae, sheriff deputies appeared and the street was blocked off to accommodate a protest march down Hollywood Blvd. Chanting people with banners and American flags were briefly filling the street to respond to someone demonstrating at the end of the block. It had cleared by the time Mommy and Hallie left the lunch counter (much to Mommy's relief) and they headed out to cross the boulevard. In true Hollywood Blvd. fashion, there was more to see. They passed a man being handcuffed as a man-headed Chewbacca gave his story to someone writing on a notepad. Mommy was distracted by a rainbow-wigged clown making balloon animals and when they made it across the street, she looked away from the clown to nearly bump noses with Sleeping Beauty! The third in the trio of, need I say, "oddballs" was an extremely gluttonous Elvis in jumpsuit posing with tourists. Mom was very sad that they were not close enough to each other for her to be able to get a picture postcard shot of the real Hollywood. They finally made it safely out of the depths of the parking structure and while waiting for the light to change, had a final glimpse of the greatness that is L.A. On the corner was, johnny-come-lately to the party, Spider-man. He clearly was waiting for his buddies to cross the street because, waiting for the same light, were Superman and Gene Simmons (complete with make-up and guitar) Ahhhhhhh, Hooray for Hollywood! What do you suppose their wonderful thoughts are?



What are your wonderful thoughts?