Grandma Calls Her "Fire Foot"

Bettina at the Bothin Burn Center waiting room

We just came back from a great vacation to the Carolinas. We planned to visit family and friends, see some sites, and attend a beautiful wedding. There was one activity, however, that we didn't have planned in advance: the urgent care.
While visiting my cousin's house in South Carolina, Bettina decided to test the theory that a smoldering ash-fire is hot. There were no live flames since the slow vegetation burn hadn't been fed for awhile. Only a little rising smoke indicated that this was nothing more than a hill of grey ashes piled up high just like an autumn stack of leaves.
We didn't see it happen; all us adults were sitting together inside. However, the screaming told us even from there that something was seriously wrong. Three little footprints inside the ash-pile told us that Bettina likely jumped straight in middle then, after feeling the burn, stepped sideways out and then rolled to the ground where we found her. Quick cooperation brought all us adults together into a team: Paul carrying her into the house, me drawing a quick cold bath and removing her clothes, Jimee googling burn treatments and Barry flipping the yellow pages for hospital and urgent care phone numbers. It's uncanny how well everything came together.
We were lucky that the local urgent care was able to see her right away and was able to prescribe some serious pain meds. It was the first question I had upon entering and I repeated the request about every 3-minutes: "where are the pain meds!" She was wide-eyed and screaming at the top of her lungs in terror and pain....for nearly 2-hours straight! They helped us dress the wounds and determined they were not serious enough to keep her in the hospital - just off her feet. Good thing we traveled with the stroller!
When we got home, our pediatrician took a look and sent us to Bothin Burn Center in San Francisco. The doctor, Dr. Deweese (a burn reconstructive surgeon), is not a man with any bedside manner. In fact, I'm not sure he ever looked me or Bettina straight in the eye. He was direct, efficient, and, apparently knows his stuff. It's a good thing he has a great nurse! She knew everyone by name and her sunny and helpful disposition more than made up for his gruff ways.
The first month, we had a steady regiment of bathing her feet, trimming the skin, applying the salve and gauze, taping it off and putting a pair of socks over the whole thing for protection. Bettina calls this part "putting on the banjos (bandages)." Bettina was very sensitive about the handling of her feet and didn't want to share the bathtub for fear that someone would knock her wounds and hurt her. She started using her feet as a crutch for activities saying she couldn't do things because her feet hurt. The doctors assured us she was no longer in any pain. Perhaps just feeling a bit itchy with the healing. We let her complaints go for about 5-days, then told her she needed to start getting tough. I pretended not to hear her when I dropped her off at school, pretended not to worry when I dropped her off at gymnastics, and didn't let on that I was half-expecting a wince when putting on her ballet slippers. Would they be too tight? She danced, tumbled and played just like normal as long as I pretended everything was normal. A very complex mix of relief and anxiety.
It's been a couple of weeks now and, after a bunch of salves, creams and lots of rolls of bandages, Bettina's feet look much better. After weeks of trimming, they are no longer bubbled or wrinkled, and the grey-white skin has been replaced by fresh bright-pink skin. We need to be very careful with this new skin. I tell Bettina (who doesn't like the look of it) that it's skin that's just been born, so it looks different. We need to take care of it differently, as well. Lots and lots of sunscreen and socks for the next two weeks to boot.
At our last visit to the Bothin Burn Center, there were two other patients waiting, both in electric wheelchairs. One of them, a man in his early 30's, asked Bettina who she was visiting. She answered that she was there to see the doctor and asked me why his hand and arm were covered in a bandage. I answered, "The same reason your feet are in bandages, I guess." He then introduced himself. "My name's Ben. What's yours?" Bettina answered. "Did you get hurt?" he asked. "Fire," is all Bettina said. "Yeah, I guess we all know a little about that, don't we. Fire is bad, huh." "I jumped on fire," she answered. I saw a bond and an instant appreciation start to develop between this little kid and Ben as she started to tell him about her accident. There are fliers in the waiting room describing how Bothin Burn Center addresses all aspects of burn wounds, the emotional, social, recreational and even nutritional therapies burn victims may need. Even though we didn't make an appointment to cover these issues with the hospital, I could see that Ben and Bettina were working out their own. I so had wished I could somehow covertly record this moment. It brought tears to my eyes. It wasn't long before Ben was giving Bettina a tour of his wheelchair, allowing her to try all the buttons and sharing his burn story as well. Ben doesn't always need a wheelchair, just after his accident which happened a week before Bettina's. He will, thankfully, get better, just like Bettina, and will be able to give up his wheelchair as well.
We tease Bettina about her feet now. Grandma calls her Fire Foot and we talk about the lessons we all learned about staying safe, especially around fire. It has been an incredible learning curve as well as an opportunity to feel blessed.

Alessandro - 10 months

Alessandro is a huge cuddler with Mommy -- she is just eating it up! At 10-months, Alessandro is very good at cruising and standing up by himself for awhile, but less than a minute. He can cruise along furniture easily and has even attempted a number of times to walk forward between things. However, each attempt just ends up falling forward on his face. Once, he got one step and a sort of trip before catching himself on the table in front of him. I'll bet by 11-months, he'll be walking!
He is able to crawl up steps, like he did in this play-tube at the San Francisco airport. He went from standing next to the tube to pulling himself inside and crawling to the other side. he plays often with his sisters and other kids, giggling infectiously with games of chase and pee-a-boo. He loves to pounce on and grab people, particularly attracted to faces (noses and eyes). On our trip to Raleigh, NC, we visited with cousins including the kids' second-cousins Ella and Rudy. Rudy is about 9-months older than Alessandro and the two of them were hilarious the way the wrestled and giggled with each other. They were certainly talking each other's language: the language of "boy!"
Although he still uses his pacifier for comfort, he is finally getting better about sleeping in the night. He can start to comfort himself at night and now I'm up only once with him per night, usually around 2:30pm. He has also started drinking from a sippy cup (yea!), but not enough that he would take his milk-meal/snack from it. We use it for water during meal times. It's a good start.
Favorite toys: balls, the sea captain from his bath boat, and he is really starting to enjoy opening kitchen cabinets and pulling everything out. I am very soon going to get those baby-proofer door latches, despite Paul's concerns they will damage/change the cabinets too much. I have also had to tell Paul that we need to get a legitimate door handle for the kitchen pantry as Alessandro opens the unlatched door and will throw all the food on the floor as well. he has two very-tall teeth on his lowers and I've been waiting for those uppers for some time. No sign of them yet, although I blame general crankiness on their anticipated arrival.
This month, Alessandro attended his 5th wedding, my friend Natasha's in Raleigh, NC. Here's another picture with a bride and him. We've put his sportscoat to good use!

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Hot Days, Sleepless Nights

The weather has been stunningly hot lately. Bayside, it's been in the high 80's. Today in SF, it reached 91!! This sort of weather has us bee-lining for the water. We tried a new (for us) beach at Lake Temescal with friends Dean and Catie. Great way to cool down. A nice sandy beach complete with lifeguards (and not just the cute one pictured below)!
However, the unusually warm days mean unusually warm nights. Last night we "cooled down" during the night to 75-degrees from 78. Too warm for covers; everyone was up tossing and turning with sweaty pillows and bunched up bedsheets. It's warmer tonight, but we'll hope that the last sleepless night will keep them knocked out a bit more solidly.

Beeping Eggs

This year, I took the girls to "Do Good" with me and volunteer at the Blind Babies Foundation Beeper Easter Egg Hunt in Golden Gate Park. We were suppossed to be volunteering, but there were so many volunteers, we ended up acting more as participants than helpers. There was much to do and was a great opportunity for the girls to learn about the visually impaired.
We got to meet "Enrique," a one-year old puppy studying to become a Guide Dog. We took pictures with the Easter Bunny and then make a tactile photo frame in which to keep it. The SF Fire Dept also came out so we could feel all the different textures of the hoses, truck and tools and, of course, ring the bell. "Thumper" and all his friends from the adopt a bunny foundation were there and we could touch them, too. There was Play-dough and painting with golf-balls (roll the balls in a tray), face painting, and of course, there was the egg hunt! Ava & Bettina met a set of twins just 3-weeks older then them and got to help kids find the beeping eggs; they could collect 3 non-beeping eggs to keep for themselves.

Easter Pictures

Ava sporting her bunny tail.

So, this year, I wasn't as organized as I usually am. I was distracted by some house drama and, come 10:30 pm the night before Easter, I hadn't got anything for the kids' Easter baskets. So, tired and a little perturbed, I searched throughout the closets trying to find things to re-gift before crashing into bed.
Ava wakes up first in the morning and wanders downstairs. She is the first to find the baskets waiting for them at the breakfast table. "Mommy, Mommy! Bettina! The Easter Bunny came! Wake up!" she screams excitedly. After we all arrive, she announces, "I don't think he came down the chimney like Santa, though." "How did he come?" I ask. "He must have come through the basement," is her answer. "Why do you think that?" "Because all our presents are from the closet we're not supposed to play in." Whoops! I guess I'm not as clever as I think! "And he used the Easter eggs we made yesterday, too!"
Good thing nobody cares what was brought but just that something was brought. Regardless of my conscious, the girls excitedly peel and half-eat their Easter eggs and play with the re-gifted toys. After going to church with Grandma, we head over to Sylvia's house where we have another little egg hunt, again with mostly re-gifted toys and the leftover coins from our pockets. All is well!

Getting Sea Legs

Alessandro, now 9 and a half months old, is really getting his sea-legs under him. He can stand for quite awhile like he does here at Grandma's house, while contemplating and choosing a toy in Grandma's sun room. He's getting so big so fast, it's hard to keep up!

April Flowers

Ever Watch 3-year olds Try to Eat Rice with Chopsticks?

Alessandro - 9 Months

Our big boy has mastered crawling and is starting to experiment with cruising. I bought him a few new pre-walking toys including this walker. He enjoys using it, getting used to taking steps and pushing the toy forward....or backward should his balance falter. We celebrated his 9-month at the doctor's office for his scheduled well-baby appointment, but attending to his cold that he hasn't been able to quite shake. Both he and his sister Bettina had ear infections. We left with only one shot (Hep B), leaving the polio for another time when he's not feeling so poopy, a couple prescriptions for antibiotics for the infections and a nebulizer for Bettina whose cough is a bit tight and wheezy. I've never had to use one of these contraptions, so I felt lucky that it took nearly 4-years to get the introduction. I fear that we'll be late to pre-school for the next week as the treatments take like 10-15 minutes and we'll never get out of the door on time.

Alessandro is still unable to sleep through the night and can't bring himself to drink from a sippy cup or a bottle. My pediatrician, who I love and is also a playful Facebook friend, suggested I take myself and my boobs on vacation out of the house for a weekend. One of her boys (she's got a set of B/G twins and another single boy) was the same way, and she says that cured him. Very tempting.....Part of me wants to quickly implement the "tough love" approach and then, the other part thinks, "well...he's my last and it's only for a couple more months.....he can't possibly be one-year old and not converted...." Which to I listen to, the devil on one side or the angel on the other? We'll see.

His appetite is good and is really more interested in what everyone else is eating than whatever is in the jar. He wants pancakes from his sister's plate rather than quartered bananas on his high chair or minestrone soup rather than that jarred apple sauce. He's still easy going, but determined to get what he wants. Don't get in his way, either, lest you want a lot of screeching in your ear. He's a real challenge to change his diaper...his sister Bettina was the same way for a long time. He plays easily with the girls who are good about removing the "little toys" too small for him. He is happiest in the middle of it all doing the same as everyone else and just blending in. The baby gates are all up now, so I breathe easier when doing the laundry or general cleaning up. The girls, however, have figured out how to open 2 of the 3 of the gates, so I'm constantly double and triple-checking to make sure they are locked. Life is pretty good and easy for this little man.

Scissors

Last Wednesday was Parent/Teacher Conferences at pre-school. I got a chance to sit down with the girls' teacher and discuss the social, cognitive and physical skills the girls have achieved during their time at school. I was never worried and in fact, looked forward to hearing glowing reports on what geniuses they are (they are, aren't they?). The paper given to me listed all sorts of skills that the teachers observe in each child. A check mark means they are still learning that skill; a plus indicates they have mastered that skill.
Ava's paper had all pluses, and Bettina's pretty much did, too. The one area I expected, communication, she had some checks because, when she's upset, Tina tends to shut down and not use her words to communicate. And, sometimes, it takes a couple requests before she will follow instructions. I know all about that. There was one other check, next to "knows how to handle and cut with scissors" that I didn't know about. You see, there are certain things that I just don't do at this age in my house: Play-dough (too messy), markers and pens (potential messy) and scissors (potential disaster) are just a few of them. However, after seeing a check mark, I had an attack of guilt. Perhaps it's not Tina's fault she has a check there, but mine. OK, I'll let you use scissors at home.
We go home and I review the "rules" about scissors before I go upstairs to attend to laundry and general cleaning: only use the scissors to cut paper...this yellow paper that I'm giving you. If you run out, tell me - I'll get you more. Stay at the crafts table here in the kitchen.
The girls were happily busy for a good chunk of time. I listened to their excited chatter from my room. Suddenly I hear, "OK, now it's my turn to cut hair." WHOA! INTERVENTION!!
"Girls??? You're remembering to cut only paper, right?"
"No, Mom, we're cutting hair," Ava answers.
"Stop right there and freeze! Mommy's coming down."
I can't tell just how bad it is or who has it worse, but strands of hair cover the floor. Baby brother, who I plopped on the floor to figure out what to do next, quickly gets it all over his fleece pants. Ack! I pick him up again. The mess stuns me like a deer in the headlights.
After running a bath, getting everyone in it and cleaning the floor, I decide it's not as bad as it could have been. Since they are training scissors, they only open very slightly, so Tina really just got a bunch of layers and not a blunt cut. Ava hardly got cut at all.
Friends on Facebook ask for photos, but really, it's not dramatic enough to be funny via a photo.
As Paul and I talk in bed that night in review of the day, he laughs, "Perhaps it's a good thing that Bettina hasn't mastered the skill of scissors yet! Think of what could have happened to Ava's hair if she had?"
Good point!

Alessandro - 8 Months

At 8 1/2 months, Alessandro is really blossoming. He's crawling around very easily and today, he even climbed the 2 stairs in the picture below (sunken chapter room at the UC Berkeley DG house) all on his own.

Paul and I bought an industrial shelf with bucket sorters so that all the projects around the house staged for "tomorrow" or "this weekend" have someplace to wait because, already, Alessandro has found and dumped over at least 4 boxes of wood screws as well as having played with power screwdrivers, spackle knives, boxes with door knob parts and the like. I have also needed to strategically place heavier toys in front of the house plants as he has already found a love for digging in the dirt. I know I will have to find a better solution soon, but for now, this is easy. He is constantly pulling himself up on things and is just now starting to think about cruising. He will walk with BIG steps and high knees if you hold his hands. Nearly every meal, he pulls himself up onto the girls' little table to watch them eat.

He himself is eating thicker food with more texture as well as some table foods: halved blueberries, cottage cheese, avocado from the spoon, rice crackers (Mum Mum are fantastic!), banana chunks, Nonna's applesauce (not filtered) and just about any bread heels. He is really interested in eating what we eat and is becoming very attentive to my plate. Breakfast (7:30am) is the same, one jar of fruit with Nonna's applesauce in it. Lunch (after nap or about 11:30 or noon) is some table food and then 2 jars, one veggie and a fruit, and dinner (around 4:30pm, again after nap) is similar to lunch. His favorite foods are yogurt, applesauce, squashes and he loved the halved blueberries he had yesterday. He was a bit unsure of the new texture cottage cheese brought, but liked it, spending an unbelievable amount of time gumming it, ensuring it was mashed well enough (good boy!).

With Easter and a wedding coming up, and a sale at Janie and Jack, I bought the little man a little blazer. OMG! Just too cute. We pulled it out today and he wore it to our Founders' Day luncheon at the chapter house in Berkeley. One little dapper man amid a sea of sorority women. Later in life, he will be please with his early start!

Interview with Ava (3½) and Bettina (3½)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Don’t make a mess/Don’t go in the laundry

2. What makes mom happy?
Peoples to not make a mess... I mean, you give her a hug/Giving kisses and hugs

3. What makes mom sad?
If you don’t get hugges and kisses/When I make decorations with crayons on the walls

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Tickle/Pulling on my cheek

5. What was your mom like as a child?
A toy/A silly tractor

6. How old is your mom?
Three…five…are you five, mommy?/Maybe six

7. How tall is your mom?
This much (putting her hand up to my head)/Look it up in the sky

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Share things/Clean up all the rooms so it’s set

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Be scared/Say, "Come back here!"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Being a mommy/Give you kisses and hugges and play

11. What is your mom really good at?
Doing computers/Getting medicine

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Doing sommersaults/Doing tractors…only farmers can do tractors

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Get medicine/Answer the phone

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Pasta/Maybe french fries

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
When she gives me hugs/When she answers the phone

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
June (from Little Einsteins)…she’s a ballet dancer/SpongeBob Square Pants

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Play/Clean up

18. How are you and your mom the same?
You got brown and I got brown (hair)/We match hair-es

19. How are you and your mom different?
This big/I’m this big and you’re this big

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Gives me a hug/Maybe, um, give paper

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
Cleaning up/When we go get lunch

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
To Misty’s house/Go to the park

I Think I'm Hopeful

Are our 20-somethings a "lost generation?" I hope more will watch this backwards than forwards....

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.

Alessandro - 7 Months Facts and Stats

Little Man is getting ready to crawl! Here's a little video where, as he does dozens of times a day, leans forward and with a little effort, gets his knees beneath him. He rocks back and forth, getting used to the balancing thing, and then usually falls on his face and tummy. At Grandma's house the other morning, he actually moved his knees forward two little steps before falling on his tummy. In the meantime, he has discovered alternative ways to transport himself while his upper-body strenght gets perfected: he rolls across the room, he will "bottom shuffle" (scoot around on his bottom, using a hand behind and a foot in front to propel himself), and commando crawl, slithering forward on his stomach.

We don't have another "official" doctor's appointment until 9-months, but we went in to check for an ear infection and found he was 19 lbs 5 oz (and didn't have an ear infection). He went through a huge food frenzy when he was eatting about 5-jars of food a day, but has backed down to about 3. And, mom has not had any luck in 1) getting him to sleep through the night or 2) take a bottle. This guys just a boob-man and I think I'll just start giving him a sippy cup and make that the next goal.
Current schedule: out of bed by 7am, nap from 8:30 or 9am to about 11am; lunch (1-2 jars of stage 2 food) at 11:30; nap from 2-4pm; dinner (another jar with oatmeal or rice cereal mixed in) at 4:30pm; get ready for bed at 6:30pm, sleep by 7:30pm (depending if the girls are going down at the same time), waking at 11, 2 and 5:30am, but we're trying the "cry it out" method to curb this pattern. He's only slept through the night once and, wouldn't you know, the girls were up 4-times that particular night leaving me no sleep!! (Grrr!)
This month, we had some photographs taken by an excellent photographer who specializes in the old-school styles and vingnettes. I wanted to mimic some of the old photographs I have of my mom's parents. I have a photo of my Grandfather, about Alessandro's age, wearing his baptism gown. Although their coloring is different, the pose is nearly the same. I plan to hang them next to each other. For the girls, I have other pictures of my Grandma and her twin sister that I tried to mimic. They were a little bit older than my girls at the time, but we found a set of vintage dresses to borrow and I made up some large silk bows and styled their hair the same way my Grandma and her sister's were done, although their hair was shorter with the classic 1920's bob do. I'm very excited about the whole grouping.

Tea Time for Tots

Friend from school, Hanna
Bettina and her play high tea
Ava awaits her high tea goodies

I've found this little tea shop, Crown and Crumpet, in Ghiradelli when we went over there for our Christmas hot fudge sundae. The girls and I invited a friend of theirs from school, Hanna, and her Mom and baby sister to meet us there to try it out.

It's absolutely adorable and the hostess wonderfully helpful. She rightly judged our group of seven (5 kids: 3 aged 3-1/2, a one-year old and the last just 7-months) and put us on the fast-track and brought the girls some play food shaped like tea cakes, a 3-tiered cake tray and thongs for each little girl. This busied them until the "real thing" came along. A very helpful hostess, she suggested the Tea for Two combination to be split by the whole table with a pot of "Blue Eyes" (aka "pink") tea for the kids and a chai for us adults. It was perfect! The kids got to try crumpets, scones, tea sandwiches, tea cakes and all the trimmings of curd, whipped butter, strawberry jam, etc. They loved the fact their tea was pink, too!

This was a very fun activity - a bit fast-paced for a nice tea for me, but that's just life with 3-year old short-attention spans in a relatively nice tea shop. Hanna's mom, Gina, and I fantasized about doing one of these at home -- getting some pretty fabric for table clothes and cute little children's tea dishes. At this age, they'd appreciate it just as much and there wouldn't be the anxiety of the "one-false-move" that can happen so quickly with little kids in a nice place. Probably a more relaxing place to go with either an older kid (5-years+) or with a better 1:1 ratio.

Afterwards, we went across the way to a new kids' play gym called Peekadoodle. Very fun and decorated with common San Francisco themes (Golden Gate Bridge, Victorian play house, cable car, etc). However, it's a monthly membership that's too rich for my blood ($110/month). I prefer to dabble in play places and try different things different days. And, with pre-school 3-days a week, we wouldn't be able to go often enough to make it worthwhile. If I were very local and lived within walking distance, it would likely be a no-brainer. However, this time I'll pass.

Our Year in 25-Minutes or Less

Can't believe it will be 2009 tomorrow!! To celebrate, we'll likely enjoy some ice cream and ice skating, too, if Daddy gets the things he wants done around the house all fixed up. If you have the time, here's a rather substantial look at our year through pictures and video:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A San Francisco Holiday

Well, Grandpa and Sherry's airplane is grounded in SEA so, along with 3-other days worth of flights, they are going back home instead of down here as intended. It will be a blue Christmas without them. However, Aunt Ainsley did make it down from the snow just before having to go back to work and we managed some fun - San Francisco style.

We started out with Christmas decoration gazing while listening to carols in the car. We saw the trees at Pier 39, Ghiradelli Square and Union Square. We then went in for a hot fudge sundae at Ghiradelli and took pictures on the cable car at the Hyde Street turn around. Oh, what fun it is to ride and eat chocolate at the same time!!

And, although we won't be able to host Dad and Sherry, we will still probably go down to Fishermans' Wharf to get fresh cracked Dungeness crab for Christmas Eve's dinner. Paul's mom and younger sister and family will come for the "traditional" ravioli Christmas Day feast, which we will host. Christmas with my Dad and Paul's older sister will have to wait until 2009.

Alessandro - 6 Months

Well, he doesn't have teeth yet, but is obviously teething. Naps are shortened by teething pain and drool as well as shoving anything in his mouth is constant. He's also biting me while nursing (Grrr!).

Here are his healthy stats at the beginning of his 6th month:
Height: 26 3/4 inches - 75%
Weight: 16 lbs 12 oz - 50%
Head Circumfrance: 43 cm - 25%

His silver-plated rattle is still his favorite toy. His god-parents gave him a new crinkle-teething book which he also likes. He rolls from one side of the room to the other with ease. Unwrapping presents this Christmas might be a fun activity for him!!

Care to Elf Yourself?

I love this site!! You've got to check out our annual elf dance, gratis a Jib Jab... Click here to watch a jingle-jangle.

Having a Holly Jolly Christmas

Well, Ava and Bettina are ramping up to have a hilarious Christmas. Here's a little "play" with Ava as Santa Claus and Bettina as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer..... and, Merry Christmas!

Alessandro's Baptism

With God-parents Ralph & Tiffany and Rev. Judy. Also gathered with the family and his sisters, also wearing their crosses, gifts from Grandma on their Christening Day when they were just over 4-weeks old.

It was a rainy day, but not quite the freezing torrential storm that was expected. In the white heirloom gown I bought from Feltman Brothers (called the 'Roosevelt') that Grandma gifted for the occasion, we went to church - this time on time - to baptize our child. If you've been reading this blog for awhile - or are just familiar to our funny family stories, you will remember that we almost missed the girls' baptism we were running so late. On top of that, while Paul was hurriedly changing Bettina into her christening gown, she had one of those giant explosive poops that sprayed "mustard" all over the car as well as Daddy's pants. For some beautiful Godly reason, it completely missed her gown. I was laughing too hard to either help him or hold Ava properly. Poor Paul threatened to boycott the christening because there was no time to clean his pants. Oh, the things the congregation didn't know that day....
Not nearly an occasion for such a story today. Alex's baptism was cute and happy. We got many compliments on him - even today as I dropped the kids off at school. However, two of his cousins had complaints: Antonio couldn't figure out why the minister kept calling him "Alex" ("His name's not Alex!" he said in not-so-hushed tones as his mother tries to shush him). And Jacob, my cousin's 12-year old, wanted to know why he had to wear a dress! Well, we know who will keep him straight from now on!
Now our baby is christened - even if they couldn't pronounce his Christian name.

Alessandro - 5-Months

Does this cowboy thing ever really get old for me? Ah, no.

weight - 16 pounds (50%)
height - 26.5 inches (75%)
head - *forgot* (25%)

So, now we're 5-months and so many changes: we've outgrown the infant car seat (at 26.5 inches, 1/2 inch too tall) and had to change to the monster convertible one. Still backwards facing - at least until 20lbs and 1-year. We're grabbing absolutely everything and can even transfer from one hand to the other. He is rolling (both ways) all around, across the floor and under the Christmas tree to pull on some of the ornaments there (note to self: move the ornaments up one more notch). He is still a happy giggler and goes with the flow. Today, he had to wait until 11:15am for his 9:30am nap because we had to take Bettina, with a suspected ear infection, to the doctor (good call - bulging ear drum for sure! Antibiotics and these great drops that topically numb the drum to ease her pain). He is eating solids (only rice cereal, bananas - which he LOVES - and sweet potatoes), so I have to remember to pack a bowl and a spoon, as well as break out the old baby food processor from the cupboard. Oh, the memories. I still have some of the old jars from the girls, too. How nice! We need to put Nonna on baby food alert. She did such a great job making all kinds of food for the girls, and they both became great eaters (even compliments from the pre-school teachers about how un-picky they are), we have to set Alessandro up for the same plan. Making food never seems to be a problem for her - nice Italian heritage. Things to look forward to this month: celebrating his baptism this Sunday and buying a new Christmas stocking. Also, we will probably be out of the 3-6 month clothes and breaking into the next level. This is always fun as you feel as if you just went shopping! Nice feeling.

An Evening to Remember

OK - Wedding number 4 for Alessandro and just days after he turned 5-months old. Here he is with bride (and my good friend) Tina and her new husband Neil. This ceremony was all-the-more significant as Tina and Neil got married at The Harvest Inn, just like Paul and I. Tina came to that ceremony and got the idea (one of many she researched) there. We were thrilled that we could watch Tina and Neil while remembering and recounting our own ceremony, this time, with one of the kids with us.