Motor'en

It's official....At 7-months and 4-weeks old, Baby Brother has found first gear and is motoring around the house now. It's fortunate when Daddy's home for one of the big milestones, and this time, he was there. Alessandro had taken one to three steps forward, but had never really busted out crawling across the floor. Tonight, he did. And, Daddy was there for it all. Here's a little video we took after figuring out that Alessandro had figured it out.

Stitches

Wouldn't you know it....at 5-minutes to 5 o'clock, just after ballet but before leaving Grandma's, Bettina clocks herself on the coffee table. Stoic little thing...she won't show she's hurt, hiding the gushing wound under her hand, until she sees Mommy. Then, the tears pour.
I take her to the bathroom to wash off the blood from her hands and assess the wound and know instantly it needs at least 2, but probably 3 stitches. Damn, now we only have 3-minutes until the doctor's office closes... I scramble for the cell phone which has the number pre-programmed and dial.
"I know it's like 2-minutes until closing, but can I rush down there? Bettina's gonna need stitches and I don't want to go to the emergency room." The bad news: the doctor's already left for the day. The other bad news: they don't do stitches there anyhow. The good news: I don't have to go to the emergency room! There's a great little urgent care place nearby where they can do the work with hardly any wait. You make an appointment and, even better, it's only for pediatric work!
A short phone call later, I have an appointment for 20-minutes-from-now. Within an hour, Bettina's in and stitched up (they did a really nice job, too! ) and out the door with a couple of prizes to commend her bravery.
What is the wonderful place that EVERY mom should know about? Night Owls Pediatrics in Pleasant Hill. The other good news: as long as you have a PPO health plan, you're completely covered; all you need to pay is your regular co-pay! Fabulous tool to know about!

Time to Angrogynize

This is just too much! I think we need to add to our dress-up closet.

Poor Dean! You know he has a way with the girls if he's willing to play dress up with princess outfits. Well, the girls' friend Dean is such a sport. And, we have ammunition on him for, well, the rest of his life. When over for a play date, Dean just jumped right in and grabbed an available costume with coordinating accessories. However, I think it's time we got some more androgynous....perhaps Dean and his mommy will be giving the girls some Superman capes or the like for their birthday??

Can't Find First Gear

So, Baby Brother is crawling....he just can't find first gear. We're stuck in neutral or reverse. He's trying very hard to get that crankshaft in the right direction; the focus on his face is clear. However, when trying to get something, he finds himself just a little bit farther away each time he starts to crawl. He doesn't get frustrated, though....at least until he's backed himself into a corner and can't go anywhere anymore. Then he whimpers until I place him in the middle of the room so he can try again. And try he does. Still moving in reverse or stuck in the middle just trying to find that first gear. I'll bet he has it all straightened out around his 8th month.

It's Just Art

In the last two months or so, I've noticed a dramatic change in the drawings and art the girls create while at school. I've talked about changes like these before like in my post about their drawings of bugs. They were then (last April) just showing signs of growing into the schematic stage where they use recognizable forms in their art. Still, their entire drawing would be done using the same marker and the same color -- and they would draw on top of their drawings, too, not really feeling the importance or maintaining a value of the image.
Now, the girls come home with colorful pages that tell a story. Their people are brown with pink dresses standing on green grass with birds in the background. They have fingers and feet and hair, smiles and noses. Sure, it's just a pile of papers in their cubbies which almost always get thrown into the recycling just as soon as we get home...it's just their art. But, it's so indicative of how they've developed and continue to become more aware of their world and all the parts to it.
They have emotional responses and connections to how others perceive their drawings - their reality. The other week, Bettina drew a picture of Ava while at school. Her teacher told me how much time and effort Bettina took in creating 'Ava,' using different colors, making brown hair and arms and legs, black ears and tongue, how she drew her floating above a field of green grass. Bettina even wrote Ava's name next to her. Proud of her work, she put the cap back on the pen, walked over to Ava and said, "Here, Ava, I made this for you." Ava's got a bit of a mean streak and, seeing a slight imperfection where the brown pen dotted the paper below her legs said, "I don't like it - you drew me taking a poop!" Ava was being silly (doesn't everyone know nothing's funnier to a three-year old than poop?), but Bettina was devastated. She immediately changed to a sad face and "hid" in the corner for over half and hour before re-engaging in play with others. Paul and I posted this picture on the wall and regularly complement Bettina's artistic nature and thoughtfulness towards her sister.
Is it just art? Watching the changes as they come into our house, even though most of them end up in the recycling, is entrancing and it makes me marvel at these little people who are growing in so many ways beyond their weight or shoe size. It is remarkable to watch their minds and imagination unfurl and grow.

Definately Time to Drop the Mattress

Alessandro can pull himself up onto things now. Still trying to figure out how to turn his feet around to crawl, he is relying on pure upper body strenght to get where he's wanting to go. Unpacking after a recent trip to Costco, I put Alessandro down next to the box of diapers and wipes that go in the upstairs closet. I turn my back for a second and look to find him standing up, feet still a little curled under, and holding on to the wipes box. He let go with one hand and tried to reach for the diaper box. Curled feet don't make for stability, so I had to catch him. Not 15-minutes later, he'd also gone from on his tummy to back in a sitting position.

He can do this with his activity block as well. Here's me trying to "catch" him trying to stand.


Yep, time to knock that mattress in his crib one more knotch down. He'll pull himself up and launch himself out.