The Pian-y-o

The cost of renovating a 1917 piano that was sitting in our garage covered in dust and spiderwebs, hopelessly out of tune, and missing some ivories and a pedal? Too much for Tim to stomach, given that neither of us are musical or can carry a tune.

But the sentimental value of the piano was too high for me to let it gather dust any longer in the garage, and I'm so glad it's been repaired, and moved inside the house once more. The piano bench has been a resting spot for many childrens' bottoms, including my grandma, 'Ma,' when she was a toddler, seven Field kids, and many, many Field grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Seeing our own kids plunk at the keys, perform concerts and breathe new life into this very old piano is priceless. We may invest in lessons at some point, but for now, we're just focusing on correcting Joey and Clara's constant, multi-syllabic mispronunciation of the musical beast in our living room. 

In the meantime, the din and ruckus of our energetic musicians is a happy noise in our house  -- even when it threatens to interrupt nap time -- because I'm pretty sure that someone, somewhere is smiling over "The Pian-y-o's" new players.

Thirteen Months

Every household with a baby should come equipped with a five year-old baby stalker. Our resident little man is not only obsessed with the safety and well-being of Molly -- he's also doing his darnedest to ensure that I'm keeping track of her milestones and accomplishments.

The other morning, when we witnessed her say, "Yay!" while clapping, Joey had as much fun as the rest of us hearing her new word, but then snapped into record keeping mode.

"That's her fourth word!" he exclaimed. "Now she says 'hi,' 'dada,' 'mama,' AND 'yay'!!! Did you get that, Mommy?"

(For the record, this is the same tone of voice he used to reprimand me after getting a mild sunburn during swim practice last week: "Mommy, today can you ACTUALLY put sunscreen on me instead of just talking to the other mommies?")

So, this late thirteen-month update is brought to you by a chastened Mommy and her mature-beyond-his-years son. 

Besides expanding her vocabulary by 25 percent, Molly is up to all sorts of new tricks. She's on the verge of walking, can stand for minutes at a time, and has taken a couple of very tentative steps. I'm not sure what Molly will think of her new mobility when it happens, but I'm pretty sure Joey's head is going to explode -- from excitement, and then unadulterated panic, when he realizes just how unsafe a walking toddler can be.

 (Joey's bike helmet is her latest accessory.)

Speaking of excitement, Molly finally learned to clap... and hasn't stopped since. She started by clapping with one open hand and one closed fist, and gradually started clapping both palms together. Reasons for applause in her world include mealtime, bottles, any stunt performed by Joey or Clara, and Daddy returning from work.

(Don't mind the crazy Aztec rug in this video; this was caught on film at the vacation home we stayed at in Twain Harte.)

She also has perfected the art of blowing raspberries, and totally holds her own in competitions with her siblings.



She continues to be a mellow, mellow baby with some spitfire moments, who has learned to hug and kiss, is taking a big interest in baby dolls, the kids' play kitchen and anything and everything in the real kitchen drawers and cabinets. We love her to pieces!

Can You Feel the Love?

Poor Clara can't do anything right with Molly these days -- she ambled into a video of Molly playing peekaboo last week, and in return for trespassing on the baby's spotlight, she ignited eardrum-piercing shrieks, had her hair yanked viciously, and was swatted numerous times by a tempestuous redhead.

Thank goodness they're not wearing the same clothing or shoe size yet... I have a feeling that's when the real violence will begin! 

Do yourself a favor and turn the volume down about halfway through...



Conquering The Slide

We finally had a bonafide swimmer on our hands at Twain Harte this year, and he had a ball! The Slide, which Joey had only slid down under duress in years past, beckoned him within minutes of arriving on the beach the first morning. Here he is conquering this Twain Harte icon, and loving it! 

Twain Harte '11

We made a return trip to Twain Harte Lake last weekend with the Cecchin clan, and, as always, loved every minute on this kid-friendly beach. With floating diving platforms, slides, and all of Grandma's beach toys, it was heaven for our water fiends, Joey and Clara, and Molly's maiden visit was a hit as well. This year, we brought along Uncle Kyle, who was a huge help in corraling and entertaining kids!

 

What could be better than sand and surf? Adding cousins to the mix! The kids had a ball with Tommy and Lucy, and loved hanging out with Marco on the beach.

Molly and cousin Lucy are starting to take notice of each other. They're only five months apart, and the age difference is starting to feel less giant with each passing month.

 

Thanks to Grandma Cecchin for organizing another fun family trip! I can't believe I didn't take a single picture of her with the kids! Hopefully there's one stored away on someone else's camera!

One of the Gang

I don't think it's possible for a baby to look more pleased with herself for joining in on some "big kid" fun. 

Flashback Friday

Did anyone else go to bed with pink foam curlers twisted in their hair on the eve of the first day of school, picture day, and every holiday? For Shawna and me, blessed and cursed with stick-straight hair, putting curlers in was the pre-cursor to every major event, and seeing those same pink curlers at CVS the other day evoked a wave of nostalgia, and an almost visceral flashback to the giddy anticipation of Christmas Eve.

I threw them in my cart, and tried them out for the first time that night with a very willing little girl. Clara not only sat patiently through the rolling, but she actually slept with all of them on her head the entire night!

She couldn't wait to have them unrolled the next morning...

She already has some natural wave to her hair, but the curlers gave her some extra oomph that had her feeling extra-special. I can't wait to try them out for our next holiday!

In the meantime, the curlers have a new home -- a little bag I sewed out of some old fleece pajamas, exactly like the one my mom sewed to house our curlers when we were little. Clara and I had fun deciding which outgrown jammies to use for the project, and even made an extra bag for another family we know with four little girls :)

We started with two 2T sleepers, and cut off the legs, arms, and collars, making a rectangle.

I turned the two rectangles inside out, sewed four straight lines (reinforcing around the zipper and making sure to leave the zipper slightly unzipped), and then unzipped the zipper all the way and turned my new little case right-side out.

Clara got to work filling up her new curler bag with all of her curlers.

The finished product!

We made the second bag a little bigger than ours, large enough to hold curlers for four little heads of hair instead of two :)

S'mores Weather

Who would have thought we'd have a fire going in the fireplace and roasting marshmallows during the first week of summer vacation? We decided to make the most of our "June gloom," and re-acquaint the kids with a campfire classic.

Goodbye to Pre-K!

Joey is moving on to kindergarten, and couldn't be prouder of himself. His parents, on the other hand, have some work to do on scheduling and organization before the next kid in the line-up approaches this milestone. Although Joey wasn't any the wiser, his parents missed the vast majority of his graduation ceremony thanks to a major glitch in Mommy's calendar. (We dropped him off at 9 a.m. and returned at 9:40 for what we thought was going to be a 10 a.m. ceremony... it actually started at 9 a.m. Oops.)  

At least we got to see him receiving his "diploma," heard his teacher say some wonderful things about him, and were there to witness the most important part: a frenzy of balloons, cookies, punch, and the pre-K equivalent of saying goodbye for the summer -- bear hugs, wrestling matches and playdate promises.

Joey with his Pre-K teachers, Miss Kika and Miss Kristi 

We loved what Miss Kristi had to say about Joey as she presented him with his certificate (luckily, it was also written on the back of his little diploma as a keepsake for parents):

Mr. Joey is often a quiet, capable guy working out thoughtful and ingenius solutions to projects he sets himself. Other times, he's quite lively and enthusiastic with a great lopsided grin on his face.

Joey posing with his life-size self-portrait and his pretend pet cheetah 

Joey and his BBF (best buddy forever) Drew 

Joey and his friend Michael are headed to the same kindergarten in the fall... they're keeping their fingers crossed that they'll end up in the same class!

We loved the time Joey spent at preschol this year. He developed friendships, confidence and skills that will serve him well on his next adventure... kindergarten!

Pickpocket

Our little crawler may look super-sweet, but she loves nothing more than rifling through bags and purses and emerging with valuables. Her technique still needs some fine-tuning -- she's prone to removing car keys first, jangling them for several seconds, and then flinging them across the room. Not exactly a cat burglar in the making! But she already knows how to open my wallet and take out the American Express card. Yikes!

May in Pictures

So many of the random pictures we take -- especially with our phones -- end up filed in a monthly miscellaneous folder on the computer, lost amid the hubbub of folders shouting "Easter 2011" or "Molly May's Birthday."

But the everyday pictures, even when they're grainy and low-resolution phone snapshots, tell the best story about how we're spending our days right now, from humdrum routines at home to mini-excursions around town.

Mommy and Molly, photo by Joey

Joey trying out a new 'do

Clara and Gwen both had "daddy dates" in their PJs and rain boots at Moraga's ice cream parlor on the same night! Too funny!

On nice days, I spread out a blanket on the lawn and let Molly dig through a bucket of toys.

She loves it!

Tim organized a a trip to the A's game on Fireworks Night last week with cousin Megan (not pictured), and three of Joey's favorite buddies, Parker, Michael, and Isaiah.

Togetherness in the bathtub: Clara looks feindish, and Molly looks scared. 

Playtime for our little crawler

Unhappy Clara and Dolly on the way home from the doctor in Daddy's car (and in a very un-kosher carseat) after being diagnosed with an ear infection.

Joey keeping busy on a rainy day with off-the-beaten-track train configurations.

Trains and army men have been his toys of choice lately!

Joey earning his third stripe on his white belt in Tae Kwon Do. 

Molly supervised while Mommy cleaned the garage and Daddy assembled a new grill on Memorial Day.

Clara was obsessed with a patriotic garden flag that same day.

We took on a total of five kids last weekend... Gwen and Whitney Koplan had a two-day sleepover at our house while their mom and dad partied in Vegas. We took advantage of warm days and spent the entire weekend outside, meals and all.

Now, off to get started on June's installment!