Writing

Henry got the idea of writing "I am a builder" on the chalkboard at the playspace.

He got as far as "I AM A BO." This is the first time I've actually seen him form recognizable letters by himself.

The next time he did it, I told him to leave a space before the "A" to show that it was a new word. He drew a circle for it instead: "its own space."

Ta-da!

Rainy day

Today it was raining hard, and my dad and I took Henry to an indoor playspace called Imajine in nearby Lawrence. (Why is it spelled with a J? No idea.) I didn't get any photos of Henry on the active stuff, like the jumping machine and the climbing structure. But here's the arts and crafts part. Stamping designs on paper...

He is starting to be interested in spelling words and in the concept behind reading ("What does this spell?"), though he can't actually read any words yet.

Esti cooperated. I think the noise in the space (rainy Friday after Thanksgiving -- you can imagine) was just right for her.

Marching band

Ana Paula cheers up the kids, who are starting to get cranky, with a little parade around the house.

Esti's first Thanksgiving

My family tends to celebrate Thanksgiving as though it were Passover.

Esti's arrival has raised the number of native-born Americans at the table to four (Ken, our kids, and my brother). Esti sat at the table and was reasonably well behaved through the toasts and appetizers...

...but was somewhat chagrined by the main course.

It must not be fun to realize that one is smaller than a 15-pound turkey.

Bonus pumpkin pic

Who can resist?

2 months old

Meanwhile, Esti is 2 months old. There are a few different ways to look at this. My maternity leave is half gone. Two months ago she didn't exist.

She is eating voraciously (must be a growth spurt) and the acne is gone; Pimply Piglet has given way to Chunky Monkey.

Today she had a checkup. 10 lbs 13.5 oz; 22in long. About 33rd percentile for length, 49th for weight. The doctor called her "beautiful" and "very social." Did we need a doctor to tell us that?

Bye-bye, garden!

End of the season: pulling out the tomato plants. They had managed to put down very extensive roots.

Hard to rip out.

Arrrrrrrrrr!

Getting better all the time

We've really cracked down on Henry's behavior since last week -- with noticeable results already. Insisting on politeness, prompt response, and a modicum of obedience takes everything we've got. But it's working.

The big benefit: less time arguing with him, more time to be silly together.

It's still a hair-trigger, though. The smallest thing can make him so angry. I hope it will pass. He is such a basically happy kid.

Sunday after a rainy Saturday

Making a stroller delivery. Henry pushes. He gets to stop en route to jump in all the puddles.

Spy Pond playground.

Henry is actually standing on top of a turtle-on-a-spring bouncy toy.

We get lots of compliments on the hand-me-down pumpkin hat. But are you surprised that we lost one of the booties on the way home? Those things are just a calamity.

Moments

Some of the calmer moments from the weekend before last, while Ken was in Montreal. Esti, whose absentminded mom has forgotten to pack her a hat, prepares to go outside wearing... pants on her head!

Henry goofs around with some goop he and my dad have mixed up following a recipe in a wonderful science book someone has given us. It's cornstarch and water, is a colloid rather than a liquid or a solid, and acts like Silly Putty.

Eeeew!

More experimentation, this time psychology rather than chemistry...

DeCordova, spring 2009

Flashback to when life was easier. This is from a cold day last spring when Henry and Ken (I was out of town) went with our friends Amahl and Nidal to the DeCordova museum and park. Posing on the parapet...

Encountering contemporary art...

Hmm.

Monster children

My kids look so sweet, don't they? Would you ever guess that Esti didn't sleep more than an hour at a time last night, after raising my hopes with a six-hour (!) sleepathon Friday night?

Ken's in Montreal for two days for a conference; Grandma and Grandpa (and Aaron & Ana & Sedi & Toshimi) are babysitting us. My parents have been models of patience.
Here's Henry eating borscht for lunch -- he got some sour cream on his nose.

Shall I lick it off? (Just kidding.)

He has been having an extremely rough weekend -- a cold, and a severe temper. Yelling at people, hitting, generally being a pain in the neck. Promising to be a good and respectful kid, then starting again. Plus the usual climbing in the baby carriage, yelling at me to put the baby down and attend to him first, etc. Blecch.

This year will pass, right? And I'll forget enough to be nostalgic for it later?

Minding our manners?

More Halloween

With Sean, Philip the lion, and Veronica the T-Rex. Henry spreads his wings.

Veronica practices her scary roar.

Somebody on Sean and Gretchen's street went all-out with the decorations.

At each house, Philip (14 months) tended to give back the candy after taking it. It seems he was imitating the behavior of the giver -- you give me candy, I give you candy. Monkey see, monkey do!