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There She Grows

V turned 2 in Jan, and is a hilarious little person.

Some things she’s doing lately:

Speaking in lots of sentences with more word combinations now. Her vocabulary is beyond measuring anymore. Making a lot of very specific demands and connections, as her vocab and understanding grow. Joking around. Stringing beads. Helping me when she can (and of course, only when it is her idea). Being obsessed with the wonder pets. And always, trying to do everything her sister does. Sharing, playing, laughing, wrestling, fighting and competing with her sister. And adoring her.

She delights at calling any octopus “applesauce” and tadpoles “apples”. She pretends to be a cat. She still loooooves hide and seek. Plays brazenly on big-kid playgrounds. Wants to swim freely. All by herself. NOW. (can’t yet, yikes!) Loves books, and finally enjoys flipping through and “reading” them on her own, too. Determines and announces her favorite things (the zoo is currently her favorite place, strawberry her favorite fruit.) She erupts into “acting class” after most meals. Acting class is when she goes down from her chair, stands in the middle of the floor and twirls/throws herself around while insisting on everyone’s full attention.

Using the potty! She’s not fully trained, but doing great with using the potty many times a day. We’re still using diapers all the time but she has tried undies here and there (always resulting in an accident, eventally. but today she kept them dry for hours, asking to go to the potty twice!)

Sleeping in a big girl bed. We removed one of the crib walls and lowered the mattress so she can get in and out of her own bed at will. It has gone completely well so far! The first night she toyed with this newfound ability, and came out of her room several times. We kept letting her take different toys into her bed to quietly play with, an exciting novelty for her. From that night on, there’s been no problem.

One thing she doesn’t need in her bed anymore: a paci. Thats ancient history now.. I employed a slightly revised version of what we did with Li. Instead of creating a paci fairy, bringer of special gifts in exchange for snipped ends of the paci nubs… I just cut the damn things. I mean I warned her I was doing it – she wanted some simple thing off the counter and i said she could have it as long as I could cut a tiny snip off the end of her paci. She obliged – ever in the moment. And that was that! I did it to every paci in the house, at the same time… she continued using them for a few weeks, snipped & all, with no arguement from me. I let her get over it in her own time. And she shortly did. As soon as she stopped requesting them, I threw them out and it hasn’t been mentioned since.

Hmm, what else. She freely converses with strangers when in the mood. We’ll be walking Marl, pass someone and Vi erupts into some lengthy introduction and explanation. “My mommy right here. My doggy: Marley. My sister in school. Daddy work. My Grandma lives in Chi..ca…go.” (She usually stresses the “my” in these sentences). The pedestrian will be like um..ok. what? but she is getting more and more clear by the day.

Except when she’s in a whining huff, which can be brought on by something entirely nonsensical and last WAY too long. Then, all she will do is cry and whine and sulk. I have taken to speaking sternly to her, perhaps more than I should, but what can I say. Sometimes a stern word from me is the only thing that will snap her out of a drawn-out, dramatic funk when all else fails.

To call her moody would be accurate. The two sides of the extreme two-year old:

Moments later she’s so warm and cuddly again, and funny and thrilled to try things and just the cutest happiest thing ever. What a mush she is. Great hugger. Constantly saying things like, “My Marley, my doggy… so heavenly!” Or, “Mommy! Love you so much. Miss you so much!” Or, “I love my Miles!” (her best bud).

Easter was celebrated in its most secular family-friendly glory.

And celebrated. And… celebrated. Easter sure does encompass a ton of events when you have little kids! I did none of this stuff in my own childhood… but I’ve embraced and am ok with the fact that we’re doing it now.

Obligatory pesach treats we brought to an easter dinner. Who doesn’t like matzah toffee brittle, anyway!?

One more spring party (with another egg hunt!!!?) is still coming up mid-april, and I’m providing some fundraising bake-sale treats. It continues!

The other night, several members of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society brought gigantic telescopes to L’s very own Elementary School for our first-ever Star Party, as part of a public outreach program. Our PTA group, of which I am a member, was there serving hot chocolate and popcorn to the stargazers. Kids and their families were out way past dark enjoying the generosity and expertise of the society volunteers.

They do these events for free, and every local school should contact them to bring this unique experience to their students. These guys were super-awesome and knowledgeable. Here’s some info about the society from their website:

The LAAS has over 300 dedicated members who share a passionate interest in Astronomy. Their ages range from children to adults with skills from beginning astronomer to professionals in the fields of Astronomy and Space Science. Our members are helpful and courteous and have a real desire to help YOU explore the night sky.

The mission of LAAS is to promote interest in and advance the knowledge of astronomy, optics, telescope making and related subjects. In furtherance of its mission, LAAS conducts public star parties and other outreach events that are intended to enhance the public’s understanding of astronomy and its enjoyment and appreciation of the beauties and wonders of our universe.

Here’s a pic of L right after looking at Jupiter. We were able to make out the stripes, and some of the moons in orbit around it.

L was in school, passing out our hand-made Valentines cards to her classmates…. while they were passing HER huge bags of candy! Seriously, there was so much candy it was on par with Halloween, maybe even more so!

For those of you who are interested in checking out our local school options, there is an open house at Atwater Elementary on Feb 22. And later that night, they are having their first ever ’star party’ that we’re hoping will be a cool, family-friendly thing to do on a friday evening.

From Friends of Atwater president Shelli-Anne Couch:

We are hosting our Annual Open House plus a new Star Party on Friday Feb 22.
The Open House runs in the morning from 8.30am-10.30am, while the Star Party with LA Astronomical Society is at night on campus from 6pm-8pm.
All are welcome to tour the school, meet + greet students, staff and parents. All are invited to come and see for yourself why the school’s API score has soared to a historic high of over 800! Enjoy learning about the school’s unique educational programs plus enrichment including our Edible Garden, Yoga Classses, Chess Club and more. Further information visit www.atwaterelementary.com.

(hiding! hide, while!)

Just as soon as the hubhub of the holiday season came to a close, well our little miss V went and turned 2!

We were able to begin her birthday times a week beforehand, when our family took V’s best buddy Miles and his family down to Disneyland on the day of his birthday. They are exactly a week apart. Good times were had at good ol’ Disney. Our cousins came too, we had quite the crew.

The night of her birthday we celebrated as a family with a few yummy treats, and the next day she brought cupcakes to preschool.

That weekend we had a party at our house for both V and Miles, who sadly came down with a cold and couldn’t attend. Still, the backyard was full of happy little toddlers riding on toys, playing mini basketball, sticking puffy stickers onto crowns, and using the new slide. And, eating the very bizarre cake-concoction I ended up with. Who knows what I was thinking… it kinda looked cool though.

Here’s some pics of our now 2 year old little lady.

At just-turned-2… V is a force to be reckoned with for sure. She’s talking more and more. . New words all the time, more clearly, more sentences. She is still fiercely independent when it comes to doing things herself, and plays at the park like a much bigger kid. (she can even swing herself now… something her 5 yr old sister only JUST figured out. ) She loooooves to cuddle with her family, she sleeps though the night in the room the kids share, like a champ. Not as ravenous with food as L at this age but still a decent eater. She’s very very silly, she loves to sing and dance, likes pretend play with her baby dolls and toys, enjoys running around in circles.

She also sometimes has intense tantrums that are different from anything her sister did at this age. What causes them is different, and what works to stop them is also different. So far – pretty much nothing but time will do that trick. We’re working on it.. If you can call it that. Otherwise, things are going swimmingly – what a character though!

The year began with V turning 1!

(she STILL loves her kermie)

L turned 5 and graduated preschool, end of an era.

Grandma is able to live & work in LA when she visits, so she comes once a month.

SR & O got engaged

Kids became friends with new neighbors and spent a lot of time hangin with them.

Mike started doing stand-up comedy which he is super psyched about. (plus we celebrated our 11 year anniversary)

Annual family reunion times in Chicagoland & the beach house

Little V started preschool

Papa’s health is improving

Miles spent a lot of time with us

Big kid started kindergarten at our local public school,
I’m now involved in various organizations therein.

This halloween I decided to design a t-shirt for our neighborhood & ended up raising over $1000 for my kids school.

We (with help of Grandma) hosted our first thanksgiving here.

Holiday trip to Chicago, reunions with family and friends, plus V has her very first experience with snow.

The baby became a fiercely independent toddler and a major personality.

The kids have became great friends.

Like many families, we like to make holiday treats to offer friends, family and neighbors this time of year. and I opt for simple stuff the kids can help out with.

Like last year, we made a HUGE amount of ‘reindeer paws’, the easiest thing in the world that everyone seems to enjoy. Nothing but a pretzel and hershey’s kiss with a holiday themed m&m pressed into the top, after melting the chocolate for a couple minutes in a 250 degree oven. Beware, these things are suuuper addictive. Last year we used cherry cordial m&m’s but since I couldn’t find those this year, we opted for mint – also a winner.

We also made homemade lollies the same way I did for the easter soiree and for Lilah’s 5th birthday. I guess these lollies have become a fast party tradition. Its easy to customize them to any occasion simply using different colors of hard candy. This time we used holiday themed lifesavers for christmas colors and flavors (peppermint and spiced apple). A unique treat, and again, ridiculously easy.

And of course we made a ton of basic sugar cookies using our christmas and hannukah cutouts. The kids love every step of this process from dough to cut-outs to decorations of course. No good pics of our cookie batches this year…

I made a rustic pear & blackberry tart to bring to a Hanukkah party and it did NOT turn out right. I’d go so far as to say it was a disaster! But it looks kinda pretty, anyway. Its made in a pan and then in the oven – this is before the dough is added.

And I made a couple loaves of what I call ‘hodgepodge bread’ to bring to holiday parties. Another thing the kids love to help make, and people devour it. I call it hodgepodge because it contains zucchini, banana, apple sauce AND an abundance of chocolate chips. It also happens to be milk and egg-free for those who care about such things (not I). I’ll post the recipe someplace at some point. Works well in bundt-form too.

Bonus treat! Our friend Doug has been making mustard and has perfected his recipes enough to start a gourmet mustard business: West Coast Mustard. We gifted a bunch of them to friends and hosts, and kept some to enjoy with our Christmas Eve ham. Now I’ve been putting it on everything. They are seriously delish! Way to go, Doug. Check out westcoastmustard.com.

I saw a funny post on mamami blog that was so true, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I’ve heard a few new moms admit they felt almost betrayed by other parents who had failed to tell them how hard it can actually be. Truthfully, I think a lot of that info is already out there, overheard and understood. Oh, the new parents haven’t been sleeping, their house is a mess, etc. Rehashed enough, it becomes a bit of a cliche. Mostly we hold onto the idea that parenting is one of the most rewarding things a person can do.

Just to avoid any confusion however, here are 14 simple steps to follow before deciding whether or not you are ready and willing to have children. Consider it a public service!

Being a parent has it’s ups and downs, I wouldn’t change my title as ‘mummy’ for anything in the world, however when this came through my in-box from a great friend it made me laugh (a lot!)…
READ ON

Here is the bona fide fundraisin candy. $1.25 a bar. Which means 4 bars for a fiver. Feel free to place an order.

I have found myself nominated and voted-in to be part of a small council that makes some decisions at the school, including how to utilize the money raised by events such as this. No idea how that really happened, but it’s official. Between that and the FoAE committee there, I’m feeling somewhat involved. Which is nice. There has been a definite increase in parent/community involvement going on at the school these past few years and that is something that really pleases us ever so much.

Our fiercely independent and strongly opinionated little one has become ever more willful.

For instance. It has been months since she has allowed me to put her into her own carseat. She simply INSISTS (as in, she will have a fit otherwise) that she walk all the way to the car herself and climb up into it unaided. Regardless of the extreme hurry I’m in, or how busy the street is (although she is good about holding hands in the street, thankfully). She would then ask for a boost, and ONLY a boost mind you, in order to prop herself up into her seat, gradually turn herself around, and finally sit down to be buckled in.

That had been the process of getting her into the car every single time. For months. And it was fine. Really, I was even proud. What a big girl. Yes, I’d say, she’s been doing this for ages! (to people expressing amazement).

But now, suddenly not so fun. Every step of the drawn-out process remains the same except for the last part, where she willingly sat down forward in her seat. Oh no, now she makes her way right to the front seats (”driving! driving!”) or will even hover near the seat but refuse to get in, or will even hover IN the seat but refuse to turn around.

This stand-off will go on forever; she aint budging until I physically intervene. I’d prefer not to, but sometimes we’re late. Or Li has to pee, or its 107 degrees out (yeah I heard its “fall” already, who knew) and its time for this to be over. I’ll explain it to her, warn her that I’m about to grab her and put her in the seat, and that’s what inevitably occurs. Much to her screaming and writhing dismay, I have to mush her rigidly resisting body into the seat, manage to buckle the harness and finally drive away, now having to endure her whining about the ordeal for the entire drive.

Yep, its almost the 2s! This one is a character, let me tell you. She is still a very happy baby in the grand scheme of things, but boy does she have a mind of her own.

Ok perhaps I’m late to this particular party, but I’ve just discovered the video series “Smart Girls at the Party” by Amy Poehler and friends.

In each short episode, Amy celebrates “extraordinary individuals who are changing the world by being themselves.” Instead of celebrities or powerful adults, I love that she focuses on children and the important simple lessons we can learn with & from them. I am really touched by some of these. She’s just great.

There are also a few worthy vids as part of a segment called “Ask Amy” in which she directly video-replies to viewer email questions. Also touching.