Groucho's family

Sad!

2011-08-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

Mainly so I can remember this beyond the 27 minutes my brain usually manages to retain information: Lucy is very emotional these days; she frequently recognizes emotions in others (real people (Dad's happy! Dad's mad! No mad for dad!) and only-real-to-her people (Boots crying! HoHo mad!)), asks if we're happy, etc. She's also a bit emotionally fragile these past few weeks; I think there's some anxiety related to half her preschool class "graduating" and leaving and a batch of new kiddos scheduled to come in in a few weeks, and other stuff going on.

But tonight, she was watching no more than 45 seconds of SpongeBob -- she likes the character because her speech therapist has a doll, but has never actually seen the show -- and we happened to catch a scene when one of the characters punched SpongeBob out. She BURST into tears out of sympathy for that spongy creep. SO sad for him, so scared! It was truly, pathetically, hilariously adorable.

No more SpongeBob for Lucy, though.

Rocky Mountain High

2011-08-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

Every year or two during my childhood, my grandparents would arrange for these massive family reunions in Disney World -- 30 or so of us, half kids. It is one of the very few things I remember from my childhood -- my cousins and I doing Ed Grimley Jr. sketches, everyone hanging spoons from their noses at the dinners, the matching and goofy (and Goofy) t-shirts.

Grandparents are gone -- that set, at least -- but the family decided to take up the tradition again after a 30 year hiatus, so we all met last weekend in Colorado Springs. Again, about 30, again, about half kids (my cousins picked up the bulk of that job; my brothers and I being on the slow side on that front). It was really nice. As soon as we saw my mom in the lobby, Lucy ran to her and then let Bobbi take her away for about 20 minutes of playtime...a first, that she was willing to run off with someone else. A very nice first. Lucy had a few meltdowns now and then -- LOTS of stimulation and not so much oxygen -- but a quick break in the room for some medicinal TV and milk usually calmed her down and overall she did great and had a very good time.

She's perfected her "cheese" smile, the goofball:

There were Ring Around The Rosie games played, a bit of duck duck goose. Some waddling like a penguin, of course (what reunion is complete without that?). She remembers Uncle Ben and Uncle Jake, which is awesome, and is getting to know Aunt Kate (who is making a first cousin for her right now as we speak -- so awesome!).

There were zoo animals in the lodge lobby; this turtle was a big hit for cousin Charlie, and cousin Charlie was a big hit for Lucy.

She did amazingly on the plane, in large part because I wasn't there (she's way more ... emotional, at both extremes, with me). With dad, it was smooth flying. Again, the Cheesy Cheese face.

Yes, those Rockies ("Look mom! Hills!" says Lulu) are nice, I know. But just look at my beautiful state. Oh, I love Oregon. "Mount-a Hooood," Lucy calls it with an inexplicable sterotypical Italian accent.

4 years

2011-06-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

From 25 hours to four years...I almost literally can't believe it's been four years already since we first met sweet funny goofball Lucy that hot hot (hot hot hot) day in HCMC.

Oh, she was so sad, at first. She

cried

ate

considered not crying

cried

slept

(by which I mean passed out from crying so much).

She wouldn't leave my arms for about 48 hours; she was and has remained a wonderfully leechy little snugglebug. I think the head-to-boobs moment in these pics was actually her first joke, my funny girl.

Passed out on my shoulder in the hotel lobby, after our first car ride together.

In the coming days, we met lifelong friends -- Frank and Crystal and Frances, Joe and Katie and Ben -- sweated, explored (Lucy at the orphanage where she, at least to some extent, started her life)

sweated, sweated some more -- did I mention it was kind of hot? -- and started to figure it out. It was not an easy transition; Lucy was scared and weak and grieving hard. We were fucking clueless. But we were a family, and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

This girl, this girl is the light of my life.

They're coming home!

2011-06-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

I can't possibly express how happy I am to write that Crystal, Frank, and Frances are coming home to Oregon again! (But SO and VERY and many many exclamation points would have to be a big part of the picture.) You know them, right? They were our sometimes travel partners in Vietnam (they were a week ahead of us but we overlapped in HCMC and it was life-saving). The first meeting of Lucy and Frances, shortly before they rolled around on the bed together, Lucy might have tried to scratch Frances, and Frances definitely farted on camera for the first time:

We became fast friends when we got home. Playing in our favorite coffee-shop in March 2008:

At the zoo in May 2008, Frances feeding Lucy or Lucy biting Frances, we'll never know:

Pics in fields of flowers in October 2008: Sweet

And somewhat less sweet:

Holding hands in the car, November 2008:

They were there, literally, when Lucy took her first steps. And it was at their house, the very next day, that Lucy took her first walking fall and split her lip. They were a huge part of our lives. But they moved, and broke my heart a bit. We still saw them; and vacationed in Maine last summer:

And now they're coming back. And my family is complete again.

SO. VERY. HAPPY. !!!!!

Damn, I'm tired.

2011-05-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

My mother's day gift from Lu. While I am pretty fond of mac'n'cheese and damn, the kid's got me nailed on the ice cream store bit, and her answer to the "favorite sport" question is nothing short of genius...not so sure the rest are really "me." Regardless, I'm VERY happy that she actually gave appropriate contextual answers to all the questions! In the past, surveys like this have had "kittens" or "pink" as the answer to every question. Progress, progress.

Speaking of progress, guess who learned how to ride a tricycle last week? So happy for her.

So, most everyone in the world has seen this book, soon to be published? It was all over FaceBook for a while but it's mostly been removed...copyright problems, I'm sure. It is PURE GENIUS. Sad, sad genius. Four years out and we've yet to master sleep. Yawn.

Blech

2011-04-27T14:34:00.000-07:00

Lucy LOVES worms. Or more accurately, "worms" -- she finds random grossness on the playground now and then and picks it up to show off...millipedes, beetles, other assorted ickiness (eew, I'm giving myself the willies just thinking about it. I do NOT like bugs). Here she is, looking like she's a little preschool drug dealer, although I'm pretty sure what she's offering is a worm. But seriously, doesn't she look like a little hoodlum in her plaid and fake leather?

In the preschool classrooms they have sensory tables -- usually filled with bubbles, or sand, or marbles or something. The classroom next door, this morning, had theirs filled with dirt and worms. Huge, huge, disgusting worms. Lucy was in heaven. She hung out in the other room all morning, entranced. And now for your viewing pleasure: worms.

Blech.

Many hats

2011-04-13T09:40:00.001-07:00

Lucy is ... "exploring several personality characteristics" these days, to put it in the best possible light. One of those personality characteristics, unfortunately, is an out-of-her-gourd lunatic, but happily there are many others to even out the roster.

First is mama's girl.

Mama's Girl is pretty awesome. She greets my return from the shortest absence with a gleeful "MAMA! You're back!" and a big hug; she winds her arms around mine when we sit on the couch watching TV; she kisses my hand or arm when we walk together. Bedtimes are kind of amazing; when she goes up the stairs with Matthew to brush teeth and read books, and I stay downstairs, she spends about five minutes bellowing as she climbs the stairs and as she walks back and forth from bathroom to bedroom some repeated combination of "Goodnight, Mom! Sweet dreams! I miss you! I love you! Mwwaahh!" And her latest addition to her arsenal of awesomeness -- asking that we do things together: "You and me, mom. You. And. Me. OK?" We have a weekly breakfast date before her occupational therapy session and it's a really nice time (unless Freakshow Girl shows up; see below).

Generally Happy Girl

Generally Happy Girl is pretty great too. Easy going, flexible, finding delight in small things, ever-developing in her communication and other skills, loving, singing, just kind of nice. Exuberant when her babysitter friends come over to play with her, reading Brown Bear (or, more accurately, "reading" Brown Bear) to herself in the back seat, happily spelling familiar words, not being too picky about food (although her STRONG cheese and noodle preference still dominates), talking to her dolls -- putting them to bed, calming them when they (apparently) get upset, feeding them bites of her food. A really happy kiddo.

And then: Freakshow Girl.

Well, you guys probably know your own versions of Freakshow Girl...also known as 3-year-old. Lucy's older than 3, but her developmental delays put her at about that level, so I think we're getting our taste of the terrible 3s right now. Defiant, oppositional, kind of out-of-her-mind indecisive tantruming...sound familiar? She's also learned how to whine, and fake-cry. Good times, good times. Happily, Freakshow Girl makes rare and limited appearances, to preserve her mystique, I assume. When she's in the house, though...not too many other people want to be in the house with her. Enough said on that point, I think; we're repeating the "just a phase, just a phase" mantra.

Vietnamese Gothic

2011-03-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

Lucy's class was given the option of doing their own face-paints today at school. Which explained the interesting interpretion of "cat" that greeted me at pickup time today...all black, all over her face. It was kind of embarassing to have to run errands with her after school...her only-fourness and extreme cuteness managed to overcome what would in other circumstances be a classic example of racism. It was really on there, and it didn't release it's hold on her little face easily. I gave up after much wailing and flailing on her part, only able to get her mostly clean. And leaving her with some pretty kick-ass Goth eyes, if I do say so myself.

Bubbles & bouncing & breakfast

2011-03-17T10:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Rhonda, I am now totally addicted to Lush. Matthew thinks I smell like a hippy now, but ... peace, dude. Lulu's a fan of the bubble bars...excellent bubbles with staying power and that hippy-dippy smell I apparently love (you can take the girl out of Madison but can't take Madison out of the girl, perhaps).

No great pics of the next, but Lucy's been going to a speech and an occupational therapy session each every week for about 4 months now, and it's wonderful. She's definitely making some progress with speech -- still not "conversational," exactly, but using more and more descriptors, longer sentences, somewhat clearer enunciation, "I love you" and "I miss you" and "I want a big hug"...good stuff (dude). Occupational therapy is a BLAST. The first half of every session is dedicated to big gross motor

movement -- the playroom has big swags of lycra hanging at various levels for bouncing and swinging, and a ball pit, and swings, and trampolines. Honestly, I'm jealous and want to play too.

Matthew takes her to one of the sessions, and I do the other. On our days, Lucy and I have been having a breakfast date first -- Burgerville or bagels. "You.and.me., mom," Lucy says (each word phrased kind of like a distinct sentence). Very sweet. Cheeeeeeeese, from this morning.

Zoo!

2011-03-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

We had a nice trip to the zoo today. Lucy especially liked the baby elephant.

When we were in Vietnam to meet Lucy, our travel partners were Thanhha and Henri, who were meeting An. We were so lucky to have them -- Thanhha is originally from Vietnam, and was so helpful as we found our way to our new family in a vastly unknown world. She just published her first book, a young adult accounting of a year in the life of a 10 year old Vietnamese girl, Ha, and her family during the fall of Saigon, their escape and first year of life in Alabama. It's an amazing book; compelling and engaging and so well-written. I am so glad to have this opportunity to better understand that (sad, scary, inspiring) part of Vietnam's history told in such a beautiful way. I highly recommend it.

Working Blue

2011-02-18T10:35:00.001-08:00

Just taking a minute to record, for posterity, Lucy's first swear words.

Earlier this week, I was annoyed that she had thrown all her car books on the floor instead of putting them back in the box. Damn it, Lucy, I said. Damn it, damn it, damn it, she said back smiling.

Such a proud moment.

Year of the Cat

2011-02-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

We had a great start to the year of the cat.

A delightful dinner with some friends who also have children from Vietnam -- the fabulous Coley, who organized us for the second year in a row, along with four of the six Koprowskis, and new friends Shali and husband and sweet daughter Pria (I hope I'm spelling her name right?).

Some of the girls -- L, Taylor, Pria, and Lucy -- hung out at the end of the table coloring with the great crayons and coloroing books Pria was willing to share. We don't see Chloe and K, and poor D -- the only boy -- was huddled at the far end of the table in guy-land with his dad and Matthew. Lucy was beside herself; she was so happy with all the fun and friends (AND a picture of a baby! bottle! which might have been her favorite thing all evening. Such a dork.).

Unfortunately the grown-ups forgot the real cameras, so we've got a few iphone pics to memoralize the event. I hope we manage to see each other more than once a year; it's a great group.

In other Tet news, Lucy also had a celebration that day in her daycare class; we brought extra "outfits," as Lucy called her ao dais, and all her friends got to try them on. Could not have possibly been cuter. They also had a dragon parade through the hallways. Love this school so much.

B-b-b-b-b-boogie shoes

2011-02-02T11:07:00.000-08:00

You can take the mom out of the midwest, but apparently you can't take the midwest out of the never-been-there-Vietnamese-born-girl. Now, all we need is some tuna casserole.

Lucy's chicken dance (early morning, well before hairbrush met head), for your viewing pleasure.

2010-12-20T13:50:00.000-08:00

So, shall I summarize my six months of absences in a paragraph or two? Or, just ignore that embarrassing blog abandonment and go forward anew?

I’m voting for anew. Less typing that way.

Look how cute my people are! Lucy wearing what she calls her “daddy coat” (leather(ish), like his), clowning in a mall photo booth this weekend.

Be back soon, I hope/plan. Happy happy everything, everyone.

Smile!

2010-12-11T08:12:00.001-08:00

Lucy's 2010 School Photo. Too cute!

Lucy's Big Trip 2010, the finale

2010-08-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

The last pix from our trip to Maine…
Echo lake with Frances, Crystal, and Frank.

A dinner in Bar Harbor, down at the town pier.

Tea and popovers at the Jordan Pond House

Followed by Lucy and Frances dancing on the Jordan Pond House lawn. And this… Truckin'?

A schooner trip out around the harbor & some nearby islands.

Frances & family brought their bird, Kenya. Lucy is fascinated and frightened.

But Frances thinks the bird is cool.

There it is, the bird. (This picture is mostly for Lucy's entertainment.)

The next to last day we were in Bar Harbor, Lucy and Dad went out to find Lucy some ice cream for breakfast. Success!

Ice cream for breakfast is serious business…

The last of the blueberries.

Sylvie the corgi. (Another picture that is here for Lucy's enjoyment. Look! Dog!)

My parents' / Lucy's grandparents' back porch. Adorable!

Flying back to Oregon. Looking forward to next year!

This has been Matthew rappin' atcha. Hope you've enjoyed the pix. Best, MCH

Four times!

2010-08-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

It's getting dark in the mornings and the time change is coming soon, so I've started taking my early morning walks with one of the dogs to give me (an almost certainly unfounded and foolhardy sense of) protection. Gus is a delight -- he came pre-loaded from the pound with some basic training that we haven't managed to completely fritter away in the 10 years he's been with us, and he's such a friggin' awesome dog that he'd be good even without it.

Simon...Simon pooped four times during our walk this morning. WTF, Simon. You're killing me here. Seriously.

Lucy's Big Trip 2010, part 2A

2010-08-07T07:21:00.000-07:00

So many photos! Here is the first part of the second leg of Lucy's big East Coast trip… Bar Harbor, Maine! Pix from when we got there to when Frances (and family) came to visit Bar Harbor.

This is Matthew rappin' at you again, by the way…

…a walk on the shore path.

…a trip to Echo Lake.

…following in the steps of the Obamas (who had just visited Bar Harbor): a trip to the "Black Supremacy" ice cream shop that FOX "News" got so worked up about. That logo! Clearly more of Obama's "Kill Whitey" routine… See? It looks vaguely like the "Black Power" logo. A conspiracy for sure! A delicious, delicious conspiracy…

A blueberry picking expedition!

Blueberries for Sal, but without bears. With Lucy instead of Sal. And set in the present.

A blueberry muffin making expedition. A few muffins do get made & taken to my parents' friend Charlie. Lucy doesn't eat all the muffin batter… though that is how things are looking here.

A trip to Bee's Candy (and Yarn) Shop. For us: all candy, no yarn. Mother & daughter lounging on the lawn, looking pretty relaxed.

Next blog post will be the last 1/3 of the trip photos… Frances & her family arrive. So sweet: Lucy & Frances met in Vietnam when they were 10 months old. They are still best friends 3 years later, despite living on opposite coasts now. They were so happy to see each other.

Aww…

So get your insulin levels in check before the next post… it is going to be so damned sweet that there is a risk you'll go into a diabetic coma. Cheers, M

Lucy's Big Trip 2010, part 1

2010-08-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

Hola. Matthew here, makin' blog post. The first leg of
our big, cross country vacation, Summer 2010.

Airport: From Portland to North Carolina for
Uncle Jacob's wedding.

Look, a swan. Spokes-model gesture.

Followed by some just being pretty. Lucy is a flower girl.
She looks the part but it isn't going to go well.

Uncle Ben is there. (No rice)

So is… everyone else.

There is Jacob (or "AJ")… ready for wedded bliss.
You can tell!

Uh oh… Lucy is faltering.

And she is down…
Eating rose petals, providing some comic relief.
Cute little weirdo.

…And off towards Big trip part 2, Bar Harbor, Maine (pix coming)

Jojo & Lucy

2010-07-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

(Matthew here, making a blog post. Hello.)

This fall, when Lucy's class at daycare moves up, they'll join with another group into a class that is twice as large. Today they went for a walk with the kids they will be with. Lucy got paired up with Jojo. I'm not sure if the two of them could be cuter or not.

Photos and following copy from the Stringer Center's daily note:

Today we went on a walk with MV! Everyone was so excited to see the friends they would be with next year! We had each preschooler pair up with a transition friend to help show them the ropes of taking a walk in MV. The kids bonded so nicely and made great new friends. They each talked and introduced themselves so nicely. We were all so amazed and proud. Coral Reef has grown so much.

We headed to the Coop first, but it was already taken. Then to the soccer field, but that too was busy. So off to the Japanese Garden to walk across the rocks! What a big thing for us to experience! First, some of the preschoolers showed us how it was done, then we each took a turn walking (not hopping) across. Everyone followed directions and made it across carefully.

Slowly, but surely we made it back after taking a few breaks to relax. It was a great bonding experience and we hope to plan a couple more before move up. The kids were able to see and talk with Mindy & Katie (Rachel was out) which was another great bonding experience.
-Stringer Center Staff

Wow. What a fantastic little society of children they have there! I feel very lucky that Lucy gets to go to this terrific day care. And Lucy loves it. Of course.

Cheers, Matthew

Walk

2010-06-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

Like everyone else in the world I'm kind of in love with the Hipstamatic iPhone app. Lucy and Deborah, looking really pretty Madonna-and-(goofball) child, don't you think?

Last weekend at a fabulous playdate at Jamison Park with Sheen and Max, navel-gazing:

A few weeks ago, emulating her most beloved friends Abby and Abby (one Abby is actually Sarah but they're all Abby to Lu):

And finally: my iPhone has totally changed the way I, and the extent to which I enjoy, exercise. I've been taking walks almost daily lately, and Nike+ is my favorite (pretty sure I wrote about this before?), audiobooks keep me motivated, and the camera allows me to ... well, take pictures of cats and flowers. A critical component of my own particular exercise regiment. From this morning:

Camo-cat

This one was a real sweetie; she came over and writhed on the ground for a while while I petted her.

This one was an asshole. It didn't really do anything other than sit there, but come on -- you can just tell, can't you?

This, disturbingly, is not a blurry picture. I think this cat had power over time and space.

Invisi-cat (and look how green Portland is...it's been raining forever, but so pretty after all)

And a gorgeous poppy from one of my more strenuous hikes in the west hills a few weekends ago when it was actually sunny out:

And I'm out.

Blog v. Facebook

2010-06-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

Facebook's winning the battle, but the war is yet to be decided. Here's Blog's latest offensive:

Until we meet again.

Shorts

2010-05-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

1. I don't usually read short stories; I like a good long engaging plot that I can escape into for a while. But I recently discovered Joe Hill, who's written two novels that I enjoyed (they're kinda horror-y, but not blood-and-guts gross out) and, although I read it last and didn't have high hopes, a book of short stories. And I was completely blown away by the short stories; one in particular called Pop Art. So much so that although I bought and am reading it on my Kindle, I went out and bought the paper version just now so I can share it with Matthew.

I'm not sure I'm recommending him to my vast audience at large (all 4 of you)...he's an amazing writer -- Stephen King's son although he's certainly got his own voice, and I LOVE most of Stephen King's writing -- but like Stephen King, perhaps not for everyone. But yes for me!

And along those lines, my brother AJ recommended a book of short stories called Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned, which I haven't read yet but which, I noticed, is on Joe Hill's "recommended" list. So that's a good sign.

2. Boy, I like using Nike+. It's made exercising fun. And good god, that's a hard thing to do.

3. I ordered an iPad, should be getting it any day now. Exciting -- an opportunity to play online boggle with WordPlay on a bigger screen! I'm such -- SUCH -- a dork.

4. Speaking of dorks...

5. And finally: stunningly gorgeous, isn't she?

Friends & Kiwi

2010-04-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

If I ever win the lottery or become otherwise rich, one of the first things I'm going to do is hire someone to peel friut for me. Specifically, kiwis. These are from the cafeteria at work; it's one of my favorite things about my job, I think. I love kiwis more than all other fruits but they're SUCH a pain in the ass! Why, kiwi, why must you trouble me so?

(And buy a private jet. Commercial flying sucks. Sucks unpeeled kiwis.)

I bought a new app for my iPhone called "hipstamatic," it uses the camera to take old-fashioned looking pictures with various lens, film, and flash options. Here's Lucy, responding to my request for a smile with her usual super-cheesy "Cheese!!"

We've had a delightful overnight visit from our once close, now far BFF Frances. Lucy was SO happy to see her -- she loves her friends and it made for a fun:

and exhausting:

weekend.

And that's it. I'm out, friends.

By heart

2010-03-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

So as I was reading (reciting) Lucy's bedtime stories to her last night, I realized that I have most books we read completely memorized. Where the Wild Things Are, of course; I think I've mentioned that before (but since it's my blog and I can do what I want, I will again: "and an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max" is one of my favorite lines in literature and I can't say why, but that cadence just strikes a happy chord somewhere deep in my psyche). Also the fabulous "Wild About Books," which is relatively long but still has etched itself into my memory (I'm a sucker for a good anapestic tetrameter, apparently).

"It started the summer of 2002 when the Springfield librarian, Molly McGrew, by mistake drove her bookmobile into the zoo. Molly opened the door and let down the stairs, turned on her computer and sat in the chair.

At first all the animals watched from a distance, but Molly could conquer the strongest resistance.

By reading aloud from the good Dr. Seuss, she quickly attracted a mink and a moose. A wombat, an oryx, a lemur, a lynx. Eight elephant calves, and a family of skinks.

In a flash every beast in the zoo was stampeding to learn all about this new something called reading!"

This book was written by Judy Sierra; she has several others and they're all great (and rhyming and metered and addictive). And Goodnight Moon, of course, and Kiss Good Night...I'm sure I'll be able to recite these books for the rest of my life.

What books do you have stuck in your head -- and heart -- forever?

Ball pit, Bad hair day

2010-03-11T20:11:00.000-08:00

Just two pictures of Lucy. Can you tell which is "Ball pit" and which is "Bad hair day?"

Yeah, you got it. Bad hair… but good attitude. Damn, I love that smile.

I want it NOW!

2010-02-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

No, not a toddler demand (although we do get that, too, in haiku-like little bursts of bossiness: "Mama, chair, now! Milk. MILK!!").

It's me. I'd like to take a moment to praise the instant gratification my favorite devices have brought to my life. I want what I want, the minute I want it, and (given that most of the things I want are book/media-related), I am getting it! I LOVE my Kindle, as you know. Hear about a book on NPR? Send yourself a free sample of it's first chapter at the next stop light. Better yet, send it too to your PC and/or your iPhone, and you can read whenever you get a moment. Like the sample? Buy it in a minute, keep on reading.

Think, in the middle of boring exercise, of an audiobook that would make the incredibly slow minutes pass faster (like this morning, Stephen King and Peter Straub co-writing the wonderful The Talisman, the first fantasy book I think I read)? If you can retain your balance, find it on your iPhone's iTunes app, download, and start listening -- easier on a stationary bike than a treadmill.

I really love my gadgets. I know in the scheme of all things tech they're really not that impressive, but for a book lover like me, they've improved my life greatly.

2010-02-11T19:27:00.000-08:00

see more Funny Graphs

Seriously, Dora. With the time you spend asking us to help you ward off Swiper, he's going to reach you EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Lucy's really reached a fun interactive stage with her television programs -- she sways back and forth with Tolee as he calms the hell down on Ni Hao Kai Lan, she suggests that Swiper might want to reconsider swiping, she does the Cabbage Patch dance with Linny on the carnival episode of Wonder Pets (and cheers herself on: "Go Lucy, Go Lucy!"), declares the baby versions of Boots and pals to be "aww...cute!" Teeth-grittingly adorable. Go, Lucy!

NOT about Lucy's sleep!

2010-02-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

When I eat something with sesame seeds -- a bagel, or a cracker -- I usually eat the sesame seeds one by one. (Which is why I don't eat sesame seeds often. It takes for-friggin'-ever.)

When I eat corn on the cob, I eat each row of corn on the cob one by one. Like a typewriter.

That's it. Just thought we could all stand to have a change of subject for once.

Just for the record

2010-01-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

Lucy made her first truly funny (if inadvertent) joke last night. She calls her pacifier her "baba." She called Matthew's computer "Daddy's baba."

Clever kiddo.

Rough

2010-01-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

We're having a kind of tough weekend here. Lucy has discovered the art of the tantrum, and she definitely excels at it. For the past month or so she'd been having what I THOUGHT were tantrums -- usually in the car, when she's hungry or tired: about a minute of crying, then coming back around.

But on Friday night, holy fucking cow. It seemed like a normal bedtime, until lights out. Then, she didn't want to go to bed, obviously. Kept trying to crawl out, I kept putting her back. It quickly escalated into her crying, screaming, kicking, scratching (herself and me), hitting herself. It was truly scary, I didn't know what was going on. She seemed like she was just out of her mind. We did what was probably the wrong thing, and let her come downstairs after a half hour of that to drink some milk, watch an episode of Dora, and calm down (which she did). But when we tried the whole bedtime routine again, same thing. Another fit. I stayed in her room with her because I was afraid she'd hurt herself even more than she was. She finally managed to fall asleep when I took her out into the guest room and slept with her there. Two hours, start to finish.

Saturday was fine.

Sunday (today): good morning, BAD afternoon. Nap time was the same thing all over again, although not as escalated because we didn't try to force the nap too hard. She was so tired, though...she finally fell asleep on me, on the couch, three hours after she should have napped. Both Matthew and I feel kind of ... afriad, I guess ... of her. (Of her tantrums, I obviously mean.)

What the hell are we supposed to do? I'll be spending some time in the parenting section of my bookstore, I'm quite sure. Advice welcome.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T13:45:00.000-08:00

Hola. Matthew rappin' atcha for a change. Well wishes for a healthy & prosperous 2010!

We spent most of the week in Orange County with Aunt Amy & Uncle Bill. A nice warm break from Portland over the New Year holiday. Flew down Tuesday morning, returned that Friday, Jan 1, 2010. Lucy traveled well. We all had a great time.

I took a lot of photos.

We'll start with our first night there & Lucy's best-friend for the trip: Lotus the cat.

That first night, Lotus did wind up taking a swipe at Lulu—but after that, it was an amazing display of kitty / excited little kid love. While a sane cat would run and hide from an enthusiastic, enamored 3-year-old; Lotus would come & perch on the arm of the sofa next to Lulu, indulge her in not-quite-right cat toy play, abide her gentle pat pats. Adorable!

Melissa has a cute video (or two) of Lucy play play playing with Lotus.

Lucy mostly called Amy & Bill's house "Kitty House" or "Cat House." Very cute. (And here is hoping we don't get in trouble for taking a child on vacataion to a 'Cat House.')

Not to rub it in like: this was the morning of December 31. We went to the pool & there was not a cloud in the sky. Oh, was it snowing / raining / cold & dark where you were? Drag!

Little warm shallow pool. Goofball had fun splashing around.

I only really went off the rails with my photo taking (would shutter buggery sound off color?) when we went to Laguna Beach. Very scenic, bustling, touristy, artsy town on the coast. Being tourists ourselves, we started by eating ice cream. Lucy got blue bubble gum flavor.

Lucy is really fond of her great uncle Bill. It is sweet. She wanted him to pick her up & carry her several times. Lulu seldom wants that from anyone other than mom & dad.

Lucy's best "say cheese" smile. She's really giving that smile her all!

Swinging. Wherever we go there must be swinging. (Lucy's lips are blue from the bubble gum ice cream, FYI.)

And we all walked down along the water's edge with Lucy. Uncle Bill, then mom, then dad.

Here is Lucy on the beach with her aunt Amy.

I just love these last three photos of my beautiful ladies.

For Deborah, although she doesn't deserve it.

2009-12-14T08:55:00.001-08:00

Fine, here's your much-nagged-for blog update. But seriously, when's the last time YOU updated your blog? Oh, right, you don't even have one. So...

Kidding. I just don't have a ton to say these days. I'm reading a lot, but kind of goofy books I don't think most would enjoy so not really fodder for recommendation (Terry Pratchett's Discworld series...hilarious, if you're in the mood for goofy "fantasy"-ish fun). Lucy's...Lucy (daycare on Friday):

Just another variation on a theme. Maybe she's got a future as an extravagant mask-maker or makeup artist? She's having a big developmental period these days (although some may think the paint explosion above belies that statement a little...). Talking in 3 word groups, actually climbed the stairs holding the railing -- as opposed to our hands or crawling up them -- for the first time ever yesterday. Doing somewhat better eating at the table with utensils. Still sleeping HORRIBLY.

My friend Hank is getting married in Vietnam in a few weeks; unfortunately they weren't able to get a visa to come to the US so we won't get to meet Thao for a while yet.

Matthew's getting ready to do another series of his encaustic paintings; they should be stunning. Working on getting an etsy store set up for his vinyl wall decals. He's also building up quite a following for his TwitterArt (tw1tt3rart)...hundreds of people from all over the world are following (and leaving comments in languages he's left trying to decipher using Google, to limited success).

Mom's coming down for the first half of Lucy's winter break, then we're off to Amy and Bill's in Orange County for a few days. So that should be fun.

Mah Jhong with the girls this weekend, I think this is going to be my time to shine and I'll probably win the big bucks ($5)...watch out, ladies!

OK. You're updated. Happy, Deborah?

Stuck on you

2009-11-30T13:32:00.001-08:00

Lucy's entered a new (flattering, tiring, sweet, exhausting) phase of her development/attachment. Recently, she just can't get enough touching. She wants to be on someone -- preferably me, but in a pinch, anyone -- ALL THE TIME. She's very demanding about it. "Mama, chair. Chair!!" when I'm required to sit on the couch with her. Or "Up-up-up!" to be carried. And if I try to ignore the up-up-up and make her walk on her own, she does this little hurry-up move and gets in front of me so that I either have to walk over her, stop, or pick her up. And when I do give in and carry her; she most often gets a little "handsy" if I'm not wearing a turtleneck. We've started co-sleeping many nights, and in our king bed I put a pillow or two lengthwise down the bed to us so that she isn't literally sleeping on my head. It usually does the trick, but last night I woke up with her down near the bottom of the bed, both arms wrapped around one of my legs. I don't remember that it's always been this way; I'm pretty sure it's something that's popped up over the past few months.

I haven't done ALL the attachment reading, or if I read it I didn't retain it...I hope it's a good thing. I hope -- and think -- it means she knows what she wants and is secure enough to "ask" (i.e. demand) it of us.

So, that's where we are. In other news, she FINALLY learned how to get down the stairs...still not walking, but learned to turn around and scoot down backwards. I think this newfound freedom to roam will be a huge help in her development. More and more language coming our way -- a few real sentences, too ("I need help." "I want ..."). Overall, just extraordinarily sweet and joyous. We're so lucky.

Peril? Puke? HILARIOUS!!

2009-11-17T15:38:00.000-08:00

We're getting a handle Lucy's sense of humor...there isn't a lot that makes her laugh out loud, but when she does...well, that might be the best thing that's ever happened in my world. So far we've identified three laugh-out-loud things:

1. That video of a kitten puking we posted before -- still fantastic!

2. A 30 second segment of Dora where a baby jaguar falls over the edge of a waterfall -- hysterical!

3. A scene in the movie "Up" where they're getting blown about in a storm and things fall off the mantle and crash around and they're in danger of plummeting from the sky. FUNNIEST THING SHE'S EVER SEEN. Giggles, squeals, spits milk if she's drinking.

We've got to get a better video to share...until then, though: washing her hair with a scrub brush at daycare.

Skram

2009-11-02T10:39:00.001-08:00

Have I told you lately how cool my brother is (well, "brothers are," but you'll have to wait a while before you get the Ben profile). My youngest is Jacob -- or, a nice professional grown-up sounding "Jacob" to the rest of you; I get to take advantage of the grandfather clause and he'll always be "AJ" to me. He designs and builds his furnitere line at http://www.skramfurniture.com/; beautiful striking pieces. He's been getting some nice press recently; most recently a snippet in the London Financial Times. A nice picture overview of his stuff on a single page (on his site you can view by type and collection) is here.

Above are some gorgeous vases, below is...actually, I will let you look first and try to see it. Maybe it's just me, but when I see this photo it takes a few seconds for my brain to re-arrange appropriately so I can see what I'm looking at.

An optical illusion chair. Again, maybe just for me. I guess it takes a little time for my head to get out of straight lines and into an artier space.

And this credenza...that wood. I just want to pet it.

You're pretty awesome, my brother(s).

Halloween 2009

2009-11-01T07:20:00.000-08:00

This was Lucy's first time trick-or-treating. We thought the little ballerina would look cute holding some flowers in a photo. She thought it would be better to rip the flowers up & throw them everywhere. Oh, Lucy. You'll see above (right side) that I caught the last flower in flight as Lucy hurled it. Little ballerina of destruction…

Here the trick-or-treat gang is, getting ready to hit the neighborhood. I pity the fool who doesn't have a treat ready. This crew looks like they've got some pretty vicious tricks in store. For example, Lucy might rip up their flowers like a little flower-shredding ballerina-maniac.

Knock knock.

…and they're off.

A dance move?

Even though it was Lucy's first trick-or-treating, she got right in the spirit of it. Candy? Great! Dogs & cats? Even better! Lucy wanted to go into everyone's house to meet their pets.

Breaking News

2009-10-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

News Flash: Lucy is still pretty.

I probably didn't need to, but I added some Photoshop to make this picture a little more artistic looking. Blurred background, some 'watercolor' filter. You should be able to click this photo to open a larger version.

FYI: This shot was taken about 1 second after she stopped picking her nose with her big toe. She is looking down angelically at said toe, possibly contemplating a satisfying nose-pick, gazing on what treasures she has extracted from her nostril. That is Lucy: a fine blend of adorable & gross.

Melissa thinks I should write more words with this post; about my life, my hopes, and my dreams. I can't imagine that is what you want to see when you could be looking at more pictures of Lucy but here goes:

I am 5' 10" and have been for some time.
I hope to have some nachos for dinner.
That is also my dream (nachos).

I'll share more intimate details like that in my next post, too. Boy! Are you in for a treat! —Matthew

Bath Time

2009-10-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

Lucy went through a period of hating baths not all that long ago. It was bubble bath that brought her back around to enjoying the tub. But now every night she demands a bubble bath. And she wants it to be an hour long bath with more and more bubbles every time.

Here she is having fun in the bubbles…

"Cheese"

"Water from the top?"

"YAAAAH!!!"

According to Yo Gabba Gabba "Bath time is splashy time, its splashy fun time." This seems to be accurate.

Midwest & books

2009-10-12T05:03:00.000-07:00

Hi from the midwest; as Matthew said below (or was it on Facebook, or Twitter, or skywritten with an airplane or scrawled in wet cement...so many media outlets these days, hard to keep track) -- I'm in St. Louis for the week for work. Just woke from a so-so night's sleep...disappointing. I'm ALONE in a huge bed, no crying kiddo, no snoring dogs or husbands. And yet I toss and turn. Well, I expect it to get better -- can't let this opportunity go to waste. In other words: hello, artificial sleep aids! Anyone want to come say hi?

And ... well, I have nothing at all intersting to say, but the blog is very photo heavy these days and so I wanted to at least pretend that I still know how to use my words. In some way other than losing repeated Scrabble games to Law Mommy.

Lucy is in her new daycare room; she had to transition at the beginning of September to the next class up. It was rough. Remember the transition from home to daycare, this time last year? The non-stop tears for 8 hours/day, for NINE weeks? Well, she's getting better. Week 1 was horrible, week 2 was good because they had one of her old familiar teachers subbing in there, week 3 was mixed, but the end of week 4 -- awesome. Good sweet happy girl. God, I love her.

I've been reading a lot on my beloved Kindle. Some silly crap (spy books, mysteries), some recommendations to pass along. Agnes and the Hitman -- light, sharp, sexy, entertaining, credit to Law Mommy for recommending it. All the Steig Larsson "the girl who..." books...there are two of the trilogy published so far; the third any day now. Ultimately mysteries, but incredibly engaging and engrossing. Just a bit into Audrey Niffenegger's lastest, Her Fearful Symmetry (LOVE the title) but like it very much so far. Also, re-read one of my old favorites, Good Omens, hilarious and by one and a half of my favorite authors (not totally in love with Terry Pratchett yet but I think I could become so -- halfway through the first Diskworld novel). It's given rise to a strange but, I think, ultimately irrestible compulsion to re-read all the old Sandman graphic novels. So I'll have to hit Powells to start re-collecting those...had them all at one point, but got rid of them. Moral of this story: never throw anything away.

What are you reading?

And on that note, out into the midwestern wilds to find coffee and work.

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

We went with Kurt & Sarah & Francis to the Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island this morning.

Birthday Season Redux

2009-10-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

(Hi. This is Matthew, rappin' atcha. So don't imagine the narration in Melissa's voice, OK? And keep your expectations low as far as the, uh, "word putting together" is I guess what you'd call it)

I just downloaded the last 4 weeks of photos of the camera. All about Lucy? What a surprise.

Lucy had a fun belated 3rd birthday — belated because she was sick sick sick on Sept 10th. Here she is with a present from Grandpa Norman & Grandma Judith:

Play ice-cream cones & cupcakes! Lucy loves them. She is all about cupcakes these days, so she was pretty excited about them.

…And to use them as telephones & hats &c. She had fun ripping open the packages & the whole birthday present experience.

…As evidenced here. Grandma Bobbi came to visit & brought Lu gifts. Here Lucy is vocalizing her excitement. Presents? YAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!!!

The next photos are from the Vancouver Farmer's Market — it is held every Sunday. We'll be going less once the weather turns, but we have gone quite a few times this summer. Lucy loves it. Balloon. Swings. Hawaiian ice. Dogs & people & music.

This picture really captures how much Lucy loves balloons. We were just shopping at Trader Joe's today & the woman who filled up Lucy's balloon — actually her second balloon of the trip — said "I wish that a balloon could make me that happy." Lucy was ebullient over the prospect of trading her yellow balloon for a blue balloon, clapping and cheering.

Lucy wanted yellow & red ice. The two-spooned approach served her well. Amazingly, this is a "small."

Grandma Bobbi & Lucy — the second time on the swings. With a balloon! Good times.

Homeward bound… a good visit with Grandma Bobbi.

Lucy hasn't mastered the word "Grandma" yet — but as soon as Bobbi came in the door on this visit, Lucy exclaimed "BobBEEE!" So that, apparently, is what Lucy is going to call her Grandma Bobbi. It is very cute.

In further Lucy news, she seems to have gotten over the hump with adjusting to the new class room. By the middle of last week she was participating, napping, eating OK, getting into the swing of Coral Reef — getting used to her new teachers & friends.

She's a tiny racist

2009-09-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

So I realized today as we were leaving school that Lulu might be just a little bit of a racist. Every Asian woman we passed, she called "Kai Lan." Seriously, like four or five times. Happily she didn't enunciate well, so I don't think people realized she was calling them all a bobble-headed Chinese cartoon, but I did (and I must admit I thought it was really funny). It's a compliment -- she likes Kai Lan!

Birthday season

2009-09-11T11:03:00.001-07:00

Happy happy to all my people: Mom on the 9th, Lulu on the 10th, Matthew today. I'm lucky, very lucky, to have you all in my life. Kind of a crummy one this year; Lulu sick, Matthew home with her all week and surely bored with kids TV at this point (I heard him murmuring "oh, Ming Ming! Again with the feathers?! You scamp! You're a wonder pet, indeed!" So maybe "bored" isn't quite the right word...).

Love you all.

From PDX to the OC & back again: a tale of phlegm, cutness, and natural disasters

2009-09-08T14:46:00.000-07:00

Hola. Matthew rappin' atcha for a change. Sup peeps?

I'm home with Lucy today while she is on the mend from a cold. We just had a not-so-successful trip to Southern California - Lucy, Melissa, and me - over the labor day weekend. But even with Lucy getting sick, we had some fun. It was good to see the family and - during the stretches that Lu wasn't miserable - she had fun meeting people, being a goof, and playing with the cats.

Lucy was starting to get sick before we went down, but it didn't seem like her little cough would amount to much. We had a good flight down.

Aside from being an adorable goof (pictured above), she wanted to look endlessly at the "A Year in Kid Believe" picture book that the people at the Stringer Center printed out. The pix in the last post are a very few of the hundreds of pictures that they assembled into a spiral-bound, probably-60-page picture book of the whole class, teachers, friends, and family over the last year.

More entertaining than I expected, Lucy spent hours going through the book and pointing out her friends and teachers and the special guest appearances from Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma Bobbi. And Lucy is friggin' obsessed with a picture of a former teacher, Kim, and Kim's baby. Even though meeting Kim's baby apparently was a pretty freaky experience for Lucy (in one of the Kim's baby pix, you can see Lucy frantically signing "All done!") - she wanted to see the picture dozens of times.

After flipping away from Kim's baby page for the 55th time...

"Kim?" Lucy asks, "Baby?"
"Seriously?" we reply, "Haven't we looked at that enough yet?"
"Kim!" She insists "Kim! Baby! Now!"
"Oh my God Lucy!" we moan, "You're killing us, kid!"

After a pleasant trip down and a nice reunion with (Lucy's) great-aunt and great-uncle Amy and Bill and her uncle Joe and friends of the family Miles, Christopher, and Mary Anne (I'm so bad w/ names - we discussed how she and her two sisters have alike-sounding names that now I can't quite recall any of them), fun meeting of the family cats Lotus, Kia, and Bently* (fun for Lucy, not the cats), we had a lovely dinner in the warm So Cal evening.

Lucy continued being adorable through dinner.

But that night the horror of the common childhood illness kicked in. She was up a lot all through the night coughing & feverish & crying. The family (sweet hearts they are) claimed they heard hardly a peep - but it seemed to me like her plaintive wails resounded quite effectively through their open-floor-plan, all-stone-floored house. I tried to sleep in on a sofa in the opposite corner of the house for a while & could hear every whimper.

So, change of plans: we moved up our return trip by a day and a half, checked into a hotel for that last night, and even made an urgent-care visit with Lu. Made sure she didn't have an ear infection or anything else serious. They tested her for the swine flu, too. Nothing serious. Just a cold or bug of some kind.

And that night we actually stayed in a really wonderful hotel & Lucy managed to rally enough for some smiles and laughs. Here she is looking down from our window at a very cool kids' water feature - a bunch of timed water jets & sprayers & sprinklers & other contraptions.

We put on our swim suits and ran around in the water park a little. If she'd been healthy, she would have been bonkers for the sprinklers & sprayers. As it was, she was happy to have dad carry her around & investigate the various ways to get wet.

The hotel was full, so they actually opened up a room for us they keep on reserve - a special suite (identified on the room sign as a "sweet") that was quite wonderful. Spacious & luxurious. And somehow Lucy managed to sleep like a log all through the night. A welcome contrast to the previous largely-sleepless night.

On our flight back I snapped a few really neat photos of the California wild fires. Amazing that natural disaster can look so graceful - beautiful even - from 35,000 feet up.

We recently upgraded from a digital point-and-click to a mid-entry-level Nikon SLR and wow... I really like this camera! It does a beautiful job just with its auto settings - and I am just enamored of the amount of data that a 10.3 Megapixel camera captures. I've always loved taking snapshots out of airplane windows and this camera really takes that to the next level. The following side-by-sides show the whole picture + a screen resolution full-size detail. (Click the images to open the larger versions)

OK... Lucy is now done with my blogging so I'm signing off. L8R, MCH

A year in Kid Believe

2009-09-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Lucy's last day in her beloved Kid Believe daycare room, with the teachers she loves more than anything else. Very sad. Very apprehensive -- her and me -- about the move to her new room. We'll miss our friends and teachers a lot. Amazing: over the last 12 months, Lucy learned to walk, dance, talk, play with baby dolls, identify TONS of colors, paint and color and draw every day, eat at a table, clear her own plate, drink from a cup. Thanks so much, Kid Believe -- you've been SUCH an important part of our lives. Lucy loves you all. They had a last-day party today and gave me a year's worth of pictures they took. The careful observer might notice a theme (the kid's a friggin' slob!).

Pajama Party with teachers Amanda, Darcie, Kristin, and Erin

Snacking, lounging on the wall with Luc, Sophia, Suiyao and some kid I don't know

Got a little somethin' on her nose, I think.

Wiggling and tickling with Caroline

Nope, it's still there. Wipe a little lower, down around your chin.

No, that's making it worse. And oh, you've got a little smudge on your foot too.

She be jammin'

Oh, hey, you got most of it off but you missed a spot.

Snow. Obviously.

Tunneling.

God, she's pretty.

Celebrating Tet with watercolors.

Hey! Not filthy!

This is my favorite picture of all. Lucy, running on the track, yelling her little lungs out. I love this kid.

Baby me

2009-09-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

Looks like I'm about the age Lucy is now.

My aunt found this old picture of me. Don't I look like I'm manically trying to scalp my poor blond doll by hand -- that tooth-gritting grin, that death-grip on her hair? Which makes the setting quite appropriate, since it seems like I'm in some kind of prison cell: white walls, bed with sheet but no blanket, stark blinding lighting against plain white walls...

Play date?

2009-08-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

I don't think anyone is in the area (Laura, sometimes?) but just in case: we're having a long weekend trip with Lucy to S. Cal. this coming weekend...any bloggy buddies nearby and want to play? We'll be in Laguna Niguel. I have no idea where that is.

Smile

2009-08-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

Lucy & Melissa 8.23.09

(post by Matthew) (Hi! How are you?)

2009-08-19T18:36:00.001-07:00

Sleep is not much better. But let's not dwell on it.

On the bright side, I offer you this: relief from the insipid kids music we all suffer through in the car. Oh my god, before Lulu began to broaden her musical horizons, the Dora, the Dora, the endless Dora, almost drove us insane (ha, a pun!). No, seriously. Friggin' insane.

Then we discovered and grew to like Barenaked Ladies "Snacktime." Really good stuff -- good for the kid, amusing to the parent. I bet even older kids will like it. Here's one of our favorites, the "ribbit song" (Pollywog in a Bog).

Or this, "Nine" to us (789):

We also really like They Might Be Giants' "No" -- especially "balloon" (Where Do They Make Balloons?):

Try it -- you'll like it.

Here we are, again.

2009-08-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

Damn it.

We're back in the bad sleep cycle, and it's hurting us, badly. The transition to the big girl bed has been tough, and never really had a chance to even out -- we did it, then she got horribly sick, then she got better, then she left on a vacation for 9 nights...now she's back and I hope we can beat this thing, but so far...not so much. She's figured out how to open the door to her bedroom, so at some point every night -- and on bad nights, at 4 or 5 points every night -- she comes out and wanders around. If we're in the guest bedroom near hers, she comes in and wants to climb into bed. If we're not nearby, she goes to the baby gate in the hallway and hollers and rattles the gate like she's in The Shawshank Redemption.

We don't know how to beat this. I'm not afraid (ok, I'm a little afraid -- you internets can be rough!) to say we did ultimately do modified "cry it out" when she was in her crib a few years ago, and it worked well for us. But you can't do that when they're free to roam about, I think -- she could hurt herself. It sucks.

In happier news, though, I found a new program that will let us print and bind blog into hardcover books. In the past the only software out there was incompatible with Blogger so I would have had to convert my blog to Wordpress which I'm still willing to do, but for some reason the formatting gets all screwed up (I lose paragraph breaks -- anyone know how to deal with that aside from re-inserting them all manually?). But now there's Blog2Print, which I'm very excited about. I can either use their formats and have them make the book, or I can get it as a PDF and send elsewhere if I want a fancier (like, cloth) cover. Nice! Anyone aware of other programs out there that work with Blogger?

So that's it, in a nutshell. Friggin exhausted, but able to print the blog. So...

unpacking

2009-08-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

I recently moved offices at work and ended up unpacking a box I'd packed for the prior move, two years ago, that had stayed packed and gathering dust in the corner of my old office since then. Mostly, as you would expect, crap. Dusty crap.

But I did find two of my favorite New Yorker cartoons, and although pretty much no one in the world finds these as amusing as I do except the creator and the cartoon editor, I still thought I'd share. They're on my bulletin board by my desk; I still giggle when I look at them every day.

(In case you can't read it, the caption is: "I have an imaginary friend. He's a real person -- he just isn't really my friend.")

(It occurs to me this may be inappropriate in some way to post these cartoons? I'm no IP expert...sorry, New Yorker -- you know I love you!)

More Maine Vacation

2009-07-25T18:33:00.000-07:00

If a picture really says 1,000 words then this is going to be a heft post. Quite several days worth of adventures - mostly in pictures. Starting with what we did with the blueberries Lucy didn't eat immediately...

Making blueberry muffins.

A trip to Town Beach.

A trip to Compass Harbor.

With Gigi.

And Sylvie.

Picnic at Compass Harbor.

Airplane!

Dinner at Gigi & Bumpa's.

At the town pier.

Lots of fun walking Sylvie the Corgi. Sylvie loves Lucy. Cute.

Lucy like's Gigi's friend Vicki.

Only one rainy day. Lots of toys to play with.

Heading down to Sand Beach.

Playing in the sand.

Bumpa came along, too.

Yep. Me and my Dad.

Lucy loves Ben the Maine Coon Cat.

Ben the Maine Coon Cat fears Lucy.

Gentle pat-pats?

Hell no!

Lucy shares some chocolate ice cream with Bumpa after a nice dinner.

Every day, Lucy is having more fun - more relaxed, sleeping better, getting to know her grand parents better. Tomorrow is our last day here. Then Monday - flying back from Bangor, Maine to Portland, Oregon. This will probably be our last vacation post - unless the 30 or so pictures that Lucy just took (close-ups of the floor, mostly) turn out too cool to not share.

It has been a great trip. I was anxious about it, especially the travel, but it has been really good. My parents have just so enjoyed spending ten days with Lucy. They've been out to PDX before but this has been way more 1-on-1 quality time - and it is great to see how much Lucy loves them and vice versa. Very sweet.

Goodnight moon.

My secret shame

2009-07-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here's mine: I am addicted to So You Think You Can Dance; it and Project Runway (if it ever comes back) are the only two reality shows I watch but oh, I love it so much. Last night my favorite dancers did this incredible dance, about cancer, to one of my favorite songs "This Woman's Work" (although wow, the Kate Bush original is so much better than the one they used). Moved me to tears. I strongly urge you to watch, if you didn't:

Blueberries!

2009-07-21T11:47:00.001-07:00

Lucy put exactly one blueberry in her berry pail - then promptly removed it & ate it. All the rest went straight in her mouth. Fresh Maine blueberries? Yum! Apparently one of the best years for them in a while: lots of spring & summer rain. There were so many of them - so ripe & so sweet!

Good for eating right off the bush? Yes!

Good for eating out of the pail? Yes indeed! That too.

Will Bumpa give Lucy some berries to eat? You bet!

Lucy scans the remaining acres & acres of ripe blueberry bushes. Can she eat them all? No, but she can try. My little girl is going to be pooping blue!

An empty pail & a full belly... but when we get home & make blueberry muffins, Lucy still manages to devour a muffin or two. Visiting Gigi & Bumpa is one exciting new experience after another. New things to see and do - and lots of good stuff to eat. (Blueberry pancakes tomorrow!)

Lucy's Big Maine Trip 2009

2009-07-20T18:11:00.000-07:00

We made it to Maine! Took 2 trips to the airport - the first red-eye was delayed & we wouldn't have been able to make our connections so we went a day later than we'd planned - but we made it. The trip itself was kind of rough. I didn't sleep, Lucy got about a half a night's sleep - but the fun began as soon as we got to Bar Harbor.

My folks were, of course, very excited to see Lucy. And Lucy got into the spirit of things amazingly well. She has met "Gigi" and "Bumpa"* a few times and is just incredibly comfortable with them - running around to find them when they leave the room ("Bumpa? Where are you?"), climbing up on the sofa to give them a snuggle, being ever so happy and expressive with them.

On our first day, we went to Glen Mary - a wading pool about a block from my parents' house. Here is Lucy dashing excitedly to the water & wading with Gigi.

My folks prepared for Lucy just perfectly: lots of art supplies, toys, DVR recordings of her favorite shows. Here are Lucy & Gigi drawing.

The highlight of the day was an after dinner stroll down through Bar Harbor (high tourist season, very crowded) and getting cups of delicious hand made peach ice cream and eating it on the grass at Agamont Park. Lucy was jubilant. Exclaming "yum" and rolling in the grass, running around with a big grin on her face, laughing it up.

On the way back from ice cream we stopped at Albert Meadow for a little exploration of the shore, the rocks, the balancing boulder, there. Fun throwing rocks into the water, climbing about with a little help from dad, waving to Gigi up on the grass.

Here is Lucy on her little-girl guest bed exploring some of the great toys that Gigi & Bumpa got for her. She didn't sleep in her little bed, though, because Dad was ready to sleep before Lucy was on our first night here - so Lucy slept in the big bed with Dad. Somehow my chainsaw-loud snoring doesn't wake her up. Took a while for baby girl to get to sleep in a strange place, but I think she caught up on all her sleep last night.

Today, the big excitement was a trip to Echo Lake beach. Swimming, digging in the sand, having a picnic, saying hello to some very friendly ducks. Lucy did great. She is getting so comfortable in the water! We had a lot of fun.

This evening we made an after-dinner trip through town and bought Lucy some balloons, bubbles, a ball, and a book (and a rubber centipede that doesn't fit into the things-that-start-with-B category, but Lucy fell in love with the weird thing, so we brought it home). On the way home, we walked through the Village Green where a big band was just getting started playing in the Town Gazebo - some quaint - and we bumped into Jennifer Judd-McGee (I think she's hyphenated her last name - apologies if that is wrong). Great to see her & her kids.

Here is Lucy relaxing with an episode of Dora the Explorer - just like she is doing right now beside me as I write. Going to be bed time soon (just after 10pm here, just after 7 back home on the left coast - no clue how she is going to adjust to the time change - so we're just going to go with the flow)... she is being very sweet and happy and having a better time than I could have hoped. A wonderful trip so far.

We're looking forward to another Bar Harbor day tomorrow: relaxing, adventuring, eating, napping. Going to blow up balloons, blow some bubbles, play with the ball, and read the book we got, I imagine (cute book: it is a Bar Harbor themed board book). I think my parents' friend Alexis is coming for dinner so Lucy will get to meet her - and if the weather is good: more swimming.

*"Gigi" and "Bumpa" are the grandma & grandpa names for my parents. Others might call them "Sandy" and "Burt." Being their son, I'd just call 'em Mom & Dad. Or M'am and Sir...

They're leaving me...

2009-07-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

Lulu and Matthew are off on a red-eye tonight for nine (nine!!) nights in Bar Harbor, where Matthew's parents live. I'm sure it'll be fun after everyone recovers from the grueling flight -- three legs there, two on the return flight. Ick.

And I'm going to be home alone in my house. In PJs all day, reading and watching movies to my heart's content...and oh, missing my peeps so much (by Tuesday or so, probably). I've never been apart from them for so long.

Lulu: chlorinated public water, what a delicacy! And 2009, my favorite vintage!

Matthew: Eeew. What's that on my hand?

Why I do what I do

2009-07-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

Hard days recently.

For you, goofball. I do it for you, and you make it better.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

2009-07-07T15:30:00.001-07:00

Believe me when I tell you that the "real" P&P is one of my top five favorite books of all time; I read it at least yearly and oh my god, Colin Firth in the BBC version. Enough said. This setup is necessary; you must believe me so that when I tell you how much I'm enjoying Pride and Prejudice and Zombies right now, you won't think I'm 1) kidding, 2) insane, 3) a total idiot, or 4) dead and a zombie is actually typing this.

But how could I not, with lines like this (you know it; it's right after Jane goes to Netherfield and becomes sick and Lizzy walks there to check on her and Bingly's sisters say (something like)):

"Yes, and her petticoat; I hope you saw her petticoat, six inches deep in mud, I am absolutely certain; and pieces of undead flesh upon her sleeve, no doubt from her attackers."

Ha! It's really good; obviously it involves zombies so not 100% true to the spirit of Ms. Austen's original, but they really work the stories together well and somehow, make it ... not better, but good. Definitely good. (When she realizes Mr. Collins might ask her to marry him, Lizzy almost pukes and has to cover her mouth to catch the potential vomit. That would have been a good addition to the original!)

I'm reading this as a break from World Without End, which I'm also enjoying a lot but which is a different kind of read entirely and so a little fun diversion is welcome. What are you reading?

P.S. Lucy used the potty twice this weekend. Totally weren't expecting it, but exciting!

2 years ago...

2009-06-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

June 24, 2007: Our first day meeting Lucy. Oh, she was so scared, and oh, so were we. And she was freaked, and we were freaked, and she was floppy, and we were HOT, and on and on.

And now (well, not LITERALLY now because LITERALLY now she's sick and feverish and in pain...my god, does anyone really NEED that many teeth?!), she's a happy, joyful, goofy, loving, sweet sweet kid. We're so very lucky.

Yes officer? Oh, my, was I speeding? Little ol' me? I sure do hope there's something I can do to make it up to you?

Mama and Lulu see an airplane. Hi, airplane!

OK, I think she's making a point here: "see? Do you like it when I try to cram food down your throat?" Point taken, goofball.

My favorite lopsided smile in the world. Happy two years, kiddo. We love you so much.

The Jerk

2009-06-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Lucy's doing me a favor and re-creating one of my favorite movie scenes lately; this week she's paying tribute to Steve Martin in The Jerk. Unfortunately I can't find a clip but remember the scene near the end when he's sulking and leaving his home and...

"Well I'm gonna to go then. And I don't need any of this. I don't need this stuff, and I don't need you. I don't need anything except this. [picks up an ashtray]. And that's it and that's the only thing I need, is this. I don't need this or this. Just this ashtray. And this paddle game, the ashtray and the paddle game and that's all I need. And this remote control. The ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that's all I need. And these matches. The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control and the paddle ball. And this lamp. The ashtray, this paddle game and the remote control and the lamp and that's all I need. And that's all I need too. I don't need one other thing, not one - I need this. The paddle game, and the chair, and the remote control, and the matches, for sure. And this. And that's all I need. The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, this magazine and the chair. And I don't need one other thing, except my dog. I don't need my dog."

Lately she walks around picking stuff up until she can't carry more, and

"all I need is this pink cat and this empty yogurt cup and this drumstick. And that's all I need. I don't need you, I just need this. And this ball. That's all I need. And this shoe. And that's all I need."

What a loveable little Jerk.

We did it! Lo hicimos!

2009-06-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

(Insert mental image of me doing my Dora Dance here (if you dare).)

First night in big girl bed: successful (with a little help from our friend Benedryl)! Fell asleep easily with dad, didn't wake when he left, didn't wake when I snuck in to spy on her. DID wake at her ridiculously early usual 5:30, but woke happy and calm...she just walked over to her door, which sticks a little so she can't open it, yelped a little, and when I came in her room climbed back into bed with me and snuggled a little. So happy for her!

(And because I'm compulsive like that and didn't realize the black flowered bedspread also had red and blue dots on it, not just yellow...new bedspread too. I love Target so much. It doesn't look this nice yet because the mattress is just sitting on the floor, but you get the idea.)

To sleep, perchance to dream

2009-06-18T07:06:00.000-07:00

Despite my hope and intention to leave her in her crib for a long long time (like, till she's 9), her incessant growing up has foiled me. When I lay her down in her crib these days it's almost laughable how big she is. She still loves it, and has never tried to get out, but she can't comfortably turn and toss as she'd like to and I think it's time to make the switch.

So we bought a full-sized mattress (and this cute comforter) and will just put it on the floor in her room, I think with the crib there too? But that's what I'm asking for advice on now. How to transition:

1. Follow her lead, wait till she expresses interest in the mattress (she's not anywhere near the level of expressiveness with language that would allow her to do that, though)

Cold turkey, take the crib out and do all mattress, all the time, from this point forward?

Make the mattress a fun play place, as well as a sleeping place, or just identify it as somewhere to sleep?

Lay down with her on the mattress at night and sleep with her there for a while?

Other advice?

Miss Manners would weep

2009-06-15T20:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what's going on here with Lulu, but over the past few weeks she's lost complete control over her table manners. It's never been great, but it's never been this bad either. I will enumerate, in hopes that you all might have some advice on the various and sundry ridiculousness that is Lucy.

1. The kitchen table. She WILL NOT eat there, at all. She used to...usually not for long, and it was never pretty, but she used to be willing to sit there. Now, freak out the minute it seems we're heading in that direction; if we force it, she throws a major fit (and most of the tableware).

2. Spitting out food. Pretty self-explanatory...she spits out her food. Fairly often. What the hell?!

3. Other tables. For a while I've been trying to have her sit at the porch table outside for a change of scenery; that works maybe 40% of the time. The other times, it's just like the kitchen table.

4. Throwing her silverware. Pretty self-explanatory, too. I understand that at school she eats fairly well and fairly civilly, although she is certainly not good there either.

5. Speaking of fits...when she does, which is pretty much at the end of EVERY SINGLE MEAL at home, it is uncontrollable sobbing completen with real tears, and also clawing at her mouth. She can't STILL be teething, can she? For the love of The Tooth Fairy, she's almost 3!! If we don't get the fit under control, she also will eventually lash out and scratch or hit either (or both) herself or us.

So. What IS that, anyone know? Is it finally the terrible twos, as she's almost three? We thought we'd perhaps skipped them, but maybe she's just on her own timeline as she is with everything else? She's getting enough nutrition because she'll drink liquids without a problem, so she's drinking yogurt smoothies, soy milk, and pediasure. And she eats well at school. She also eats better at restaurants than at home, for the most part. And the last embarassing fact I need to share is that she eats ok-ish in front of the TV, which is what we too often end up doing after we've fought the good fight (and lost).

OK, on that less than happy note, let's move on to this weekend at the farmer's market. Have you ever seen such a happy joyful kid (when we're not torturing her by making her (horror of all horrors) eat delicious food)?

This, I think, is a strong contender for my favorite picture of her ever. It really shows her personality -- happy, mischevious. She's sneaking her hand into my bag there at the bottom of the screen.

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing

"Up up up up up up up!"

The only thing better than swinging, perhaps: balloons. Here, her goofy face is because she's asking for help detatching one to take away with her ("helphelphelphelphelp!!?").

Dora is her latest obsession (especially the episode with babies -- she hates them in real life but is facinated by them in doll or TV-form). She does the "We Did It" dance so adorably.

And then we went home. And she sucked (and seemingly got stoned) on a green marker. Oh, Lu.

Fish food

2009-06-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

Dangling over the koi pond at the surprisingly gorgeous Chinese Gardens this weekend...I figured the fish would appreciate the crust of filth on her face, so I didn't clean it off on purpose (that's my story and I'm sticking to it).

I'm so backlogged in my blog reading; I miss everyone! These blog relationships are so odd...I was trying to ask a favor of a "real life friend (RLF)" on behalf of a "blog friend (BF)" this weekend, and trying to describe how I knew the BF to the RLF and I think I seemed oddly defensive..."I know her through blogging but she's really nice and smart and I've even met her in real life once..." (Hi Gretchen!) Odd. But these BFships are some of the closest I've had. Who else in my RL circle of Fs knows Vietnam adoption? Who else can bear to even listen as I obsess(ed) about whether a particular behavior is normal toddler behavior or adoption-related? And then as we go beyond our adoption common ground, we find even more connections -- you loved "The Great Brain" books too! You read the Twilight books in a single day! You can quote favorite movie lines at the drop of a hat! I love that song you refered me to! and it's hard to even justify the distinction between BFs and RLFs any more. You know?

Anyway, hi. I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone.

Ears

2009-05-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Turns out it's Lulu's first ear infection. She's already feeling better; thank god for modern medicine. Matthew created a "recuperation pit" on the living room floor -- sofa cushions, stuffed animals -- and she's been lounging there resting and watching TV for most of yesterday and today. We tried daycare this morning but she was too pooped to make it, so we'll let her rest up today and try again tomorrow.

Lulu's latest performance art, with her assistant and favorite babysitter Melissa:

We've got the Sick Baby Blues

2009-05-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

Hi. I'm back. A huge project at work (mostly) wrapped up last week; it had been consuming me for 16 hour days, seven days per week, for the past month and now...hmm. Not quite sure what to do with myself. Blog more, I guess. Lucky you!

And, take some time off, with family and also alone -- my boss gave me a nice gift certificate to my favorite bed and breakfast on the Oregon Coast, the Sylvia Beach Hotel. Have I written about this place before? Sylvia Beach owned a bookstore in Paris in the 20s and 30s, Shakespeare and Co., where all the expat authors would hang out together, Hemingway, Joyce (she published the first edition of Ulysses herself). Anyway, the B&B is a great old building, and each guest room is modeled after a different author. The Colette room is all red velvet and lace, the Poe room is black wall paper, a bricked in wall behind the (fake) closet door, and a pendulum swinging over the bed. Hemingway (deer heads), Fitzgerald (gin bottles), Wilde (pretty! flowery!). And upstairs overlooking the ocean, a common library with books, old overstuffed chairs, hot spiced wine in the evenings (oh, I wish I liked booze). I love that place.

So, maybe I'll sneak away to spend some time there in the coming weeks.

In other news...Lulu is sick, pitifully sick. Monday afternoon she went from gloriously happy to sad and clingy and a low-grade fever. The fever broke in the night and she went to school yesterday, but by the time she was home the fever kicked in again -- only low-grade again -- but she started drooling, whining, and crying. Literally crying, which she almost never does...sitting on the couch with tears rolling down her cheeks, watching Dora. It was horrible. The night wasn't great either; she's clearly in pain despite a constant schedule of Tylenol. We slept together and she would wake periodically, cry, and say "help." Broke my battered heart into a million pieces. Probably teeth -- will that NEVER friggin' end?! she's almost 3! -- but Matthew and she are going to the doc today to rule out anything worse.

And there you have it. How are you? Sorry I've been so absent from blogs and emails recently. I shall return.

Kissing of the french variety

2009-05-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

Dork on the beach

Yeah, I've got a belly. It's right here. Why the hell can't you remember that? This is the last time I remind you, I mean it.

"Baking" with Grandma (wherein "baking" = eating frosting by the spoonful)

Warm up kiss

Slippin' Grandma the tongue (seriously, gross!)

Baby jail

Those damn papparazi -- can't a lady eat in peace?

Baby insomnia

2009-05-08T09:55:00.001-07:00

The time: 11 p.m. last night
The setting: Lucy's room
The lighting: dim
The mood: surly

Lucy: ok, kinda bored here...duck, you here? Duck? Oh, hi. Hey, bear. Pig, good to see you -- lookin' fine! La la la...ok, this blows. I need to create some magic here. How to rouse the rest...crying? Screaming? Yeah, but what else? Oh, a little poop -- that's novel! "YAAAHH! AAAAA! MAMAMAMAMA! YAAAAH!"

Interval: diaper change, tiny teaser poop only hinting at the horror that might be to come, ridiculously alert kid, ridiculously tired mama.

Interval: cuddle, back to crib, back to bed, back to yelling. Repeat.

Interval: move the freak show to the guest room and lay down together on big bed; this works during naptime sometimes.

Mom: zzz. Wha? zzz.

Lucy: Well now, this is kind of nice. Room to wiggle, new pillow, Mama...what should I do? Wiggle? OK, commencing wiggle sequence

Interval: crazy wiggling.

Lucy: ....wiggle executed. That was fun. Now what? Sing? 99 bottles of beer? Oh, crap. I can only count to one. OK, that's out. La la la, doobedoobedoo. What's that in my ear? Oh, hey, what's in my nose? Is that my foot? Why isn't mama talking? Do you think she knows where her head is? Do you? Should I tell her? I'll tell her. "Head. Head!" OK, got that covered. Hey, what's that in my nose? Let's check it out. Ho hum...wiggle time? Why isn't mama talking? Do you think she's trying to remember what the horn on the bus says? Should I tell her? Did she forget? Better remind her..."Beep beep beep!" Wiggle time! Is there something in mama's nose? Should I check? Oh! She's talking now! Happy happy! Oh, she doesn't seem that happy...I should smile. Cheeeezze! Hey, what's that in my nose?

Spring has sprung

2009-04-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

It's my favorite time of year at work: baby goose time! I saw my first today; soon there will be lines of them following their parents across campus, through parking lots, tumbling into and struggling (adorably) up the banks of the ponds on campus.

Mandatory Mittens?

2009-04-28T12:52:00.000-07:00

I could use advice. Turns out that this sweet and sunny girl, this snugglebug, this adorable creature, has a dark side.

She's a gouger. She'll cut you, she'll cut you bad.

For several weeks now Lulu's taken to grabbing faces and in the worst case, scratching and drawing blood. It's very hard to figure out -- sometimes (less frequently), it's apparently out of anger or frustration. But more often, it seems to be just fun (tickling on the bed, she gets over-excited), or exploring (just to see our reaction), or totally inexplicable. She gets "gentle" and she can definitely use "gentle touches" when prompted to do it, but sometimes...she just doesn't. Doesn't want to? Doesn't know to? Doesn't care? I don't know.

We don't know what to do. At daycare, they first tried to "use their words" with her -- explain that when she does that, it hurts other people, and it's not nice, etc. Lulu = oblivious. (Her language skills aren't up to that level of discussion, I think.)

Now they're trying what seems like a modified time out -- removing her and sitting her across the room while they tend to the other kid, although not making her stay there for any period of time. Their theory is that she really craves adult interaction, so removing her and ignoring her briefly will reinforce the negative consequences. So far it hasn't solved the problem; she had another incident yesterday which seemed more like the "exploring" type of scratching, not the anger/frustration kind.

When she's scolded or corrected at home, she immediately bursts into tears -- she knows what it means to misbehave and hates the consequences. It doesn't seem to stop her, though.

So, advice? Mandatory mittens?

Lucy Busts a Move

2009-04-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

From the looks of things, this move may have been busted before Lucy ever got her hands on it. She loves that Dora the Explorer. And lately, she loves dancing. Dancing like a little dork. Enjoy.

PS. Melissa is not happy that I'm "taking over the blog." She says "hi, blog friends." She also says she doesn't like sandwiches. What is up with that?

Visual Poetry by RSS feed: wordle.net

2009-04-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Aunt Alice for this cool looking art from an amazing web application I'd never seen before: wordle.net. Wordle creates poetic mash-ups of text, either entered on their site or linked from any site with a feed. The piece here is from a blog entry where M and I were just leaving for Vietnam to get Lucy, nearly 2 years ago.

wordle.net

Little Cutie at the Park

2009-04-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

Oh, our adorable little goof ball. We could not love her more.

Rockin' out!

2009-04-14T20:05:00.001-07:00

Seriously!!

2009-04-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

How about a quick update, while we're at it (mostly for my benefit as I quickly shed brain cells like rats off a sinking ship):

Personality: this kid is, quite literally happy almost all the time. She's loving and sweet and funny. I don't think we've ever had a real full-blown temper tantrum (I think I'd know if we had, right). She gets grumpy, and waking up from naps on weekends, if she even takes one, is prime grump time. But otherwise, seriously happy.

Sleep: mostly good, mostly 7:30 to 6:00 or so. When she hurts (my god, those teeth are still coming in!), it can be less than good -- then, on a "good" bad night, it's just one or two wakeups resolved with a quick hug and cuddle, and on a "bad" bad night, it's up and crying for an hour or more. As I've whined about ad nauseum, bad/no naps on weekends, but 1 to 2 hours at daycare with no problems.

Food: eats well. Less flinging. Not quite dexterous with silverwear; she eats about half each meal with fingers still. Vegetarian. Likes all veggies (especially peas, butternut squash), most fruit, cottage cheese, cheese, soy milk, pasta, popcorn, jelly beans, yogurt.

Language: still almost all single words, not very advanced at all. I was typing up a list; I think she's using about 40-50 words or so regularly. New ones include "cheese" (accompanied by a teeth-gritting grin), "mine," and "mouse" (thanks, Goodnight Moon!). This, now that we've mostly conquered mobility, is the last big delay to overcome.

Play: more and more into pretend play with dolls or kitchen stuff, very cute. Apparently the pics above were Day Two with clay; yesterday she played with it for about 25 minutes -- a big deal; she usually flits from amusement to amusement in 5 minute increments.

And obviously, she LOVES her daycare more than I could have ever hoped.

Daahhling!

2009-04-05T14:07:00.001-07:00

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful...

Pretty

2009-03-31T21:12:00.001-07:00

Matthew spends hours and hours each night on his computer. I know what you're thinking: porn and online shopping for taffy, right?

Well, I certainly can't blame you for thinking that but, it turns out: not entirely! He's also making these:

Cool, aren't they?

Bye Bye, naps. God, I miss you already.

2009-03-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

I think it's official -- no naps on weekends. Remember how happy I was when she finally learned to say "no"...and how some of you warned me I'd be sorry? Umm...yeah. So that sucks.

Also not so great: Matthew and I engaged in our bi-monthly "Opening Of The Mail." Which sounds like a kind of sexy euphemism but is, in fact, not. We literally open the mail about every other month. In this batch:

A jury summons for me. I was to report on February 2. I'm such an ass. I'd actually love to be on a jury.
A holiday card from the delightful LawMommy family (yeah, that holiday. Almost 4 months ago. Seriously. Me. Huge jackass. Sorry.)
An adorable adoption announcement re: the adorable Boo (by the way, I didn't realize you lived in that city -- I travel there sometimes for work! Maybe I can meet Boo someday; that would be great).
A some tax documents (nope, haven't done that yet. Not surprising, right?).

It's my March resolution: open the friggin' mail at least weekly, if not daily.

A life measured in laundry...

2009-03-15T07:03:00.001-07:00

My life consists of piles these days.

Of laundry: Matthew wrote in the last post that we've known Lulu for almost 2 years now, which is shocking. I think this is true and not just a bloggy exaggeration, though -- I've done more laundry in the past two years than I did in the preceding 10 altogether. It's NEVERENDING. I also haven't left the house in entirely clean clothes myself in the past almost-two years.

Of work: unbelievably busy these days. Working evenings, weekends...in fact, it's 7:06 on Sunday morning; I'm sitting in my bedroom writing now but in a minute I'm going to fold a load of laundry (of-friggin'-course), shower, and go to work.

Of guilt: I only see LittleLu about 2 hours/day on average these days. Sucks.

Of happiness: oh, those 2 hours are just delightful. She's the sweetest kid; I never expected this kind of personality in my life. She's so funny, too. Picking up more words (still can't understand most of them, but can tell she's trying more). There's a page in her Olivia book where Olivia tries to recreate a Jackson Pollock painting on her bedroom wall; every time Lucy says "Uh oh, time out" and it just makes me so happy. And she prefers the inexplicable Yo Gabba Gabba over any other program, we try to watch a little Elmo or Wonder Pets for variety and she'll watch 5 minutes then start pipping up with a cute little "Yo?" "Yo?" Then escalating: "YO?" "YO!" Then more, and this is my favorite part, the announcer-like windup: "YYYYYYOOOOOO!!" Then, she'll assume you're just not understanding so she'll clamber over whatever obstacle, find the remote, and bring it over. And possibly whack us with it. Point taken, little one.

Happy Half-Birthday, Funny Girl

2009-03-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

Lucy turned 2-1/2 yesterday. Her dad's half-birthday is today but that is another story. Here she is blowing bubbles with Grandma Bobbi.

Grandma Bobbi and Great Aunt Alice came to visit last weekend and a good time was had by all. Especially by Oscar the cat, who fell in love with Alice and has been 2X as friendly as usual since her visit.

Happy half-birthday little sweet one. Your mom and I love you like crazy. You fill our lives with happiness, you tiny goof ball. We've known you almost 2 years now and it has been amazing.

HaHa x 4

2009-03-04T21:17:00.001-08:00

I'm so friggin' buried at work that this is the best I can do...but it's pretty damn good.

Baby Picasso

2009-02-23T13:29:00.001-08:00

29 months, 7 days

2009-02-17T18:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I think it's time for a 29 month, 7 day update. Lulu, you're the light of my life. Things are sad and scary out there in the world right now, but when you smile that crazy jaw-jutting smile when you see me, everything else fades. Despite good intentions, I've certainly been lax with periodic updates, so we've got a lot to catch up on (this is mainly for my benefit so I don't forget). But since we did this last...

Holy crap, you can walk! That happened 17 days after your 2nd birthday; you really kept us guessing. Twerp.

Holy crap again, you can finally get up off the floor without pulling up on furniture! That was another four months. But now, you're finally a full-fledged toddler. With a funny gait that we've got to keep an eye on -- as the developmental pediatrician said, you'll "never be the most graceful" kid, but you're locomoting, baby!

You can walk, but sometimes just don't want to. And when that's the case, you do this funny little move: you try to hurry up as you walk alongside me and try to get in front of me so that (I guess you figure) I'll have no choice but to either have to stop walking myself or pick you up. It's kind of the opposite of Gus, who, when he wants to take a walk, maneuvers himself behind us and kind of tries to herd us out the door. Very sneaky, you two. And, you love balloons.

You love daycare so much, which is so wonderful when I remember the horror that was your transition period (see: all of September and October's posts). Here you are with your dad on the "Twilight Walk" at school in January.

Your personality is so sweet -- you're a pretty easy-going kid. You've entered into the "stranger danger" realm just a little bit; prefer us to others and get shy with strangers. That's awesome.

You love the dogs, especially goofy Simon, who you play with as long as he's willing (i.e. until he gets impatient as you continually grab his toy from his mouth and begins to get a little growly).

You laugh out loud now, which is delightful. When tickled, but also at situations on TV or when your dad does something funny. Below in the video is 35 seconds of her having fun at the dog park. Very very cute.

I think I've written this on several updates in the past, but you have so many more words than we can recognize. I'm sure it's frustrating to you; it is to us too. We'll get it soon, I promise. At school, they report you've said "ketchup" twice now. Hmm.

In the past 4 or 6 weeks, you've really started to master silverware. You start all your meals using it now, but if it's an especially good meal, like pasta, you eventually end up just stuffing huge handfuls into your gaping maw. You like pasta. A lot.

You're super-bendy. You'd just as soon suck your toes as your thumb.

At 29 months and 5 days, you weighed 28 pounds and were 3 feet tall (I think...I'm sure about the weight but not 100% on the height). You're FINALLY all caught up on immunizations.

Teeth, though, still not so much. Still got several to come in. Holy cow, it's taking forever.
You sleep pretty well these days. About once a month or a little longer, you wake up in the night and can't get yourself back to sleep for an hour or more, but for the most part you're down for 11 hours. You nap well at daycare but HORRIBLY at home (see above: twerp).

You're FRIGGIN' GORGEOUS. Seriously, I know I'm biased because I love you and all, but really, folks. Isn't she?

Love you tons, Lucy. You're the sweetest kid.

cupcake (updated)

2009-02-10T06:59:00.000-08:00

I assume this is what all great chefs looked like after whipping up a batch of pastry, too. UPDATED TO ADD: good god, people, no! I would have a breakdown if this were at my house...it's at daycare, as Stacy guessed. And she was totally clean when I picked her up -- they're miracle workers.

praise

2009-02-06T11:06:00.001-08:00

My best bloggy buddy Lawmommy complimented my blog (a boost I greatly needed after the hit my self esteem took when no one but Dot seemed to care as much about funny radio tag lines as I do...go figure!), which is very very nice of her. I think she's groovy too.

All the other blogs I would have complimented in turn have been covered by others as this nice meme makes its way through bloggyland, except my off-the-beaten-path friend Hank's. You remember him; he's my law school friend living in Vietnam...total dork...terrifying (to him) run-in with a 5 ounce bat...sound familiar? I love his blog and his photography; he makes me feel connected to Vietnam (I'm going to print a bunch of his Tet pictures -- these are a few from this year -- and frame for Lulu's room), to him, and he makes me laugh every time.

Anyway, his father is visiting and he took his dad to his "Welcome to SE Asia" equivalent of the tried-and-true first date, a visit to Angkor Wat.

There are monkeys there. I love monkeys. So go check his blog out. He's great.

Language

2009-01-30T08:29:00.000-08:00

I'm often amused by language (I wrote in a freakish giddy manner about my love of grammar a while ago; I'm such a geek). There have been a few things I've heard on the radio recently that made me laugh out loud in the car, along the lines of Jimi Hendrix's hilarious (to me): "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" line. You've got to say these out loud to fully appreciate them.

After a brief teaser for an upcoming story about one of our annoying anti-tax activists: "More on Bill Sizemore coming up next." (This on my local NPR station, so I'm pretty sure they did that on purpose.)
This morning, the advertising tag line for a plane service between Portland and Seattle: "Hit the sky running." I'm not sure that's entirely good advice, especially for the joggers on the road.

Ha.

Tet (Updated with better pics)

2009-01-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

Bad quality pics (the two below, from school and taken with my Blackberry); better will come tonight when I get back to my real camera, but...

Happy Tet!

OK, here are some newer pictures...little lady does NOT pose for the camera; it's tough to get a good shot unless she's carrying something to me ("bring mama the Blackberry!" "Bring mama the drums!"). But look at the joy in her face as she's about to bean Matthew with the pink stripey ball...such a good good girl.

This is my favorite...I love her yell-y holler-y sweetness!

Straight-up toddlerhood

2009-01-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

Lulu's finally a fully-fledged toddler -- Friday afternoon, she figured out how to stand up from the middle of the floor (as opposed to pulling up on furniture or my legs). That's it! We haven't seen much -- any -- crawling since then. And we're off!

Blue...

2009-01-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

is her favorite marker flavor.
Hey, everyone misjudges a lipstick (and tongue, and tooth) color once in a while. Don't hate her because she's beautiful!

We'll always be his family, but...

2009-01-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

My sweet boy Groucho died yesterday. We had 15 great years together; he was with me from college to law school to my first house to Matthew to Lucy to new house...and finally his bony body started giving out. I'm glad we decided to end things for him before we saw significant pain. And now, if one believes in such things (and I think I don't but it's a very comforting idea), he's with best-cat-ever Boris.

Thanks, Grouchy. You were a great friend.

Ha Ha

2009-01-12T09:23:00.000-08:00

Hey all. We haven't written forever because...well, there's not much to say. All is good, which makes for boring blogging, I'm afraid.

The biggest news is that Lucy's finally indicated that she's got a career path -- I think she's going to be able to replace the sound effects guy on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion. She's a little noisemaker...she's mastered the loud kiss, slurping, and, most recently: pretending to poop! It's delightful. We were driving down the road to daycare the other day and (wait, I just realized this story reflects poorly on me) for some reason (really, I can't remember why) I said "poop" and she launched into a 5 minute extravaganza of straining and grunting, checking in every so often to see if I was laughing (oh, believe me, I was).

In fact, she's overall found her sense of humor within the past few weeks. Now she does things that she knows are funny, just to make us laugh. And, as evidenced in the video in the last post, she laughs out loud more than she ever has in the past. So if her sense of humor is decidedly juvenile, so be it -- works best in this family, anyway. I'll try to get her into Woody Allen and Oscar Wilde soon enough; for now -- at least till she's potty trained -- potty humor is good enough.

So that's a relief. Surely there's big money in sound effects, she'll be able to have a comfortable job in the future. Right?

Lulu's 2009 resolution:

2008-12-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

More YouTube! Matthew introduced her to the wonder that is YouTube today...she was particularly amused -- even to the point of audible laughter, which we don't get that often -- by a video showing two kittens wrestling, until a third kitten stops by and pukes ("uh oh" as they tussle, giggles when the third guy tosses his kitty cookies). Good times!

Happy New Year, everyone.

Worth approximately 9042 words...

2008-12-26T19:36:00.000-08:00

Breaking in the snow suit.

Lucy loves the snow.

Cooking with Grandma Bobbi. Mmmm. Chili!

I think Lucy is having a good time.

Try a little more Chili?

And some broccoli (?!)

Lucy loves Groucho.

Everyone loves Gus.

Aftermath of a pudding incident.

Happy Hannukah

2008-12-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

See my new pretty menorah, with candle holes actually big enough to fit the standard candles (for some frustrating reason, all the menorahs I've had in the past have just tiny candle holes, and has led to a less-than-spiritual mood hanging over the lighting of the candles). I like it very much. So happy Hanukkah, all who go for that kind of thing!And a different kind of "festival of lights," too...the kind I hate, without presents and latkes and other good stuff. The Pacific Northwest -- the western part, at least -- is NOT supposed to get this kind of weather. Daycare already closed for tomorrow (although I've got work to do from home), and we were homebound today too.

Pretty, though, isn't it?

Happy Happy Lucy

2008-12-19T13:25:00.000-08:00

We had our first "parent conference" with Lucy's teachers yesterday. Both her teacher and I got weepy. The good kind of weepy, though. Lucy is, quite literally, happy every minute of every day at her daycare.

It's AMAZING to me how well Lucy's doing in daycare, how much she absolutely loves it all. There was a section on the progress report where the teacher was supposed to write "things that distress" the child; she couldn't think of a single thing (until she remembered the pure and unadulterated horror that is wiping Lucy's nose). And she's learned so much in the three (has it only been three?) months she's been there -- well, the walking, of course. Eating with utensils, napping well, talking more, animals, art...and it's even more incredible when you remember that the first 8 weeks were simply horrible (remember the "Lucy was crawling around crying" comments I used to get?), so all that progress has really been in the past 5 weeks.

I know those photos are a little small; here's one of my favorites:

As if she's saying "Look, Mama! String! Do you SEE this? Holy crap, you didn't tell me there would be STRING here! If I'd known that, I wouldn't have cried for 8 weeks!"

We're SO thankful to our teachers and staff at daycare. You've made a huge difference in Lucy's life, and we couldn't be happier that you're part of it.

Shopping

2008-12-18T06:58:00.001-08:00

I want to show you all the great stuff I've found on etsy.com lately, but most of them are gifts for people who peek in here now and then so I can't yet...but believe me. If you're not a fan yet, get over there and become one. Like this: I can show it to you because I couldn't, despite my best efforts, figure out who to buy it for (no one seems to use paper planners any more), but if you've got a traditionalist in your family/friend circle...pretty and cheap and comes in nice girly colors, too!

Or these...I'm not Christian so wouldn't by them for myself, but doesn't one of you just absolutely NEED these? (I've never understood the argument I get from people when I tell them that we don't have Christmas trees (or even that we don't celebrate Christmas, sometimes): that Christmas trees aren't about Christianity, they're just...winter trees. Really? That seems so silly to me. Of COURSE they're about Christianity...the fact that they're called "Christmas" trees doesn't kind of give it away? I think being Jewish rarely means as much to me as it does during the Christmas season.) Anyway, that's my grinchy rant for the season...on the blog, at least. Happily for me, unhappily for everyone else, one of the things I do as part of my job is train my company's employees on "appropriate workplace behavior" and one section focuses on religion at work, and I get to trot out my rant about the overwhelmingness of Christmas at work then too...good times!

We're all good here. Lucy's back into a sleeping phase; back up to 12 hours/night. Still naps for crap here at home, although yesterday we managed to hit the trifecta -- went down well, slept for more than an hour, woke up happy. Usually that does NOT happen. (We were home yesterday because we've been having RIDICULOUS weather and ice was in the forecast. We're going in today, though. We love daycare now.) Hope everyone's doing well too!

Ho ho ho.

Nights in white satin

2008-12-11T17:44:00.001-08:00

Lucy's got some seriously messed up hair. Seriously. Smooth and soft in the front, a coarse wild tangle in the back.

We found a semi-good solution; white satin pillowcases. Reminds me of my grandma Dorothy, who slept on them to keep her hairstyle (beauty parlor (no, not "salon") every week for a wash-and-set, satin to keep it just so in between). Now, if she would only use it through the night, but this girl is a CRAZY skilled wiggle-butt, and never stays in one place through till morning.

Evidence of her wiggle skills, plus how much she loves that damn cat. I had to work hard to find one cat-love video I was willing to post; most of them show how brutal she is with her love. This one only has one rough spot (which still makes me wince, but really, that cat could get away. He's not glued to the spot. He just lets her. I don't know why -- I wouldn't -- but he does.)

Poor Pogues!

2008-12-01T12:28:00.000-08:00

Lucy recently discovered her groove within the past few weeks, and has been a singing and dancing fool (she walks around the house with her arms by her side, hands pointed out to the side like a penguin, humming. Adorable). I thought I'd share her dancing playlist, in case other kiddos are in the market for some new tunes. Let me first say that I'm so sorry, Pogues and Pixies...I'm quite certain you didn't intend for your music to be used to make a 2 year old bounce. (Katrina and the Waves and the Archies, though...you guys were just asking for it). These are the top five:

1. Tuesday Morning, the Pogues.

2. La La Love You, the Pixies (bad sound quality on this video but the acting! The drama!)

3. Sugar Sugar, the Archies

4. Walking on Sunshine, Katrina and the Waves (wow, there are some odd videos on YouTube! I don't know why but this made me laugh out loud (and maybe snort, in a very ladylike way) for the better part of an hour at work today.)

5. Stay up Late, The Talking Heads (must use anti-jinx spell when playing this song...god, no. Please don't really stay up late!)