My Newest Diaper Bag Accessory

Tim surprised me last night with the most exciting gift any reader could ask for, the latest-generation Kindle!

I have been lusting after this device ever since it first came out, and I can't believe that Tim (the same man who cruelly added a "Books" line item to our budget when we were first married) willingly placed in my hands an object that allows books to magically fly through space and land in your hands in about 10 seconds. It's definitely dangerous. I already bought two books while laying on our family room couch last night, and surfed for more while waiting for the car to get washed this morning (a woman with a fancy-schmancy iPhone was clearly jealous). It fits neatly in my diaper bag between coloring books and Joey's Thomas the Train catalog (his favorite reading material), and hopefully will prove impervious to sippy cup spills!

Fruit Fiend

We keep meaning to pull out the videocamera to capture on film exactly how quickly Clara can polish off an entire carton of raspberries (about 60 seconds flat). The same holds true for bananas, pineapple, apples, strawberries, grapes, and melons. We call her our "little bear" or "angry bear" when she runs into the kitchen, points to the fruit bowl on the countertop, and then vigorously shakes the legs of her highchair. Here's that wild look on her face, captured while she was eating raisins today. She was on cloud nine... until she realized I wasn't going to let her eat the entire carton.

And finally, one more photo to round out the bunch... here's Clara sporting a mismatched outfit (Daddy dressed her) and crossing her ankles while eating (she has always done this, even when nursing).

Meeting Mela

Our friends Thomas and Sabrina had their second baby girl last week, and we went over last night with dinner to meet baby Mela, an adorable little chubster who put up with being held by both Joey and Clara. She's had lots of practice with her big sister Gitte, who has been mothering baby dolls for months in preparation!

Clara loved every moment of her turn to hold Mela, and really didn't want to relinquish her! Note that she's also sporting a borrowed Tinker Bell costume from Gitte... their house was baby girl heaven last night!

Gitte told Joey to put his arm around her, but he looks like he definitely doesn't mind ;)



and finally, proud big sister!

So Many Ladies, So Little Time

Joey has far too many little girlfriends to choose just one Valentine this year, so he opted to send a super-suave Lightening McQueen card and cherry lollipop to all of his lady friends. Cousins Marco and Tommy got one for good measure, too :) Here he is showing off the cards before they were stuffed into envelopes.

The Great Facial Hair Debate

On a lark -- or out of laziness -- Tim grew a beard a week and a half ago during our "staycation," and it went unchecked during the following four days of relaxing, carousing and gambling in Tahoe with friends at a bachelor party. For better or worse, it's now pretty grown in, thanks to his Italian genes, and he's debating whether his first foray into facial hair should become semi-permanent of not. Weigh in with the poll at the top right of the page! :)

Budding Artist

If scrawling on every available surface with crayons and pens makes a three year-old a gifted artist, then Joey definitely qualifies! His most frequent request these days is for crayons and paper -- his favorite canvas is a yellow Post-It, and he blankets it edge to edge with illegible scrawls that would make a conspiracy theorist proud. Other canvases have (regrettably) included walls, books, tables, and himself.

But all his hard work is paying off! He had one very unbiased critic (Mop, the original artist in our family) convinced that he was a genius when he drew this self-portrait on Sunday. Judge for yourself!

Staycation 2009

Tim and I decided to be really hip this winter and take a staycation. We were all set to go to Tahoe for some rest and relaxation last week, but at the last minute, the packing, the prospect of dealing with out-of-sorts babies in Pack n' Plays, and the lack of snow made us decide to stay put and do some sightseeing in the city!

On Wednesday, we visited the California Academy of Sciences for the first time, and Joey and Clara enjoyed the fish, the "early explorers" area designed just for tots, and the alligator!

When we pointed out the "fishies" to Clara, a lightbulb went off in her head, and she tried to feed the fish one of her goldfish snacks!

Joey makes his ferocious pirate face while manning the ship in the "young explorers" area.

Joey saw the pendulum from afar and was very intrigued:



On Thursday, with the help of Kyle, who was in town through the weekend, and accompanied by Shawna and the girls, we hit the Bay Area Discovery Museum. Aside from a traumatic hair-pulling incident that caused the loss of way too much of Megan's hair, and a bathroom accident that forced us to clear part of the shipwreck area for kids (Joey), we had a lot of fun, and couldn't believe we hadn't been before! At the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge in Sausalito, the museum has a gorgeous view of the City and the bay, and has a lot of activities for toddlers themed around water, bridge-building, and waves.







Unfortunately, Clara slept through most of the outing!

Tiebreaker Baby

It seems like we've broadcast the news far and wide, but in case we haven't seen you in person recently, the most exciting news in our house is that a new baby will be born at the end of July or the very beginning of August!

(baby #3 at our 8-week ultrasound)

With 14 weeks under my belt (horrible pun intended), I can't believe that I escaped all of the first trimester nausea that marked both Joey and Clara's pregnancies. Having thrown up in the most public of places (a MUNI station, a parking garage, our front lawn), as well as more private spaces (the steering wheel of the car, the bathroom at home and at work), I fully expected morning sickness to strike again. Luckily, with two little ones to take care of, I was spared this time around! Overall, this pregnancy has been a breeze, and half the time, I forget that I'm pregnant, and need to remind myself to take my prenatal vitamins!

So, without further ado, some answers to the questions we're fielding these days:

Are you having twins, too?

No, thankfully, since Tim threatened to leave the country and leave our children fatherless if we were expecting two this time around like Shawna and Matt!

Will you find out the sex?

Yes, for the first time, we're planning on finding out the sex, and our big ultrasound is scheduled for March 13! A little less than 6 weeks to go before we find out who our little tiebreaker baby is!

Do you have any names picked out?

We agree on some girl names, but for a boy, we really need to go back to the drawing board, which is why we'd like to give ourselves ample time if another male Cecchin is on the way (see above).

Where will the new baby sleep?

Since Tim is already complaining about the close quarters in our house, with Clara in the nursery connected to our bedroom, and Joey right next door ("It feels like we're living in a studio apartment!"), we're hesitant to bunk all three kids in space that feels tight with just two! So we're preparing Joey for a move into his "big boy bedroom," which will be the room downstairs that we currently use as an office. With only one window that looks out onto our dark alley, we hope he doesn't feel like he's being shoved into a basement niche. On the plus side, maybe he won't be waking up at the crack of dawn anymore!

Any more questions? Send them our way in the comments section ;) Just refrain from the most obvious: "Wow, you'll have your hands full with three babies so close in age, won't you??" ;)

Joey-isms for Posterity

Lately, Joey's adding more and more expressions to his vocabulary... and most of them are defiant in some way. Recent favorites that have us fighting back laughter:

Us: Okay, a few more minutes of playing, and it's time for bed.
J: You kidding, right??
Us: No, Joey, I'm not kidding.
J: Suwe you are!!

Us: Joey, did you spit juice onto the kitchen floor?
J: Besides!!

He's beginning to iron out how and when to use prepositions, and most often gets them mixed up.

Us: Let's go, Joey (taking his hand in a public place to lead him along)
J: Ouch, be careful to my arm!!

J: I need juice to my sippy!

J: Watch out to me!

But our favorite phrase is the one he uses when he knows he needs to win bonus points:

"I love you, Mommy... you a good mommy. You nice to Joey."

Super Joey and His Cape

Anyone who remembers Kyle as a little boy is seeing more and more of his personality emerge in Joey. Yes, we're a little scared. We almost hit the panic button when Joey was paging through his alphabet book, pointed to the capital letter "K," announced that it was Kyle, and then pointed to the lowercase "k" and added, "That's Joey!" He's definitely his little sidekick!

Like Uncle Kyle, Joey seems to have been born with an innate obsession with superheros. Like his passion for guns, sticks, and swords, this isn't an interest we're actively helping him develop is any way, but it is what it is. He's been calling himself Super Joey for months, and often (like 20 times a day) will push a pretend red button on his chest or arm that allows him to a) fly into the air; b) shush his mother; or c) vanquish other big and little boys at the park. It's a pretty powerful button. He had also been experimenting for the last several months with Super Joey's attire, and most often would settle on a soft blue baby blanket that he asked me to tie around his neck at least 5 times per day.

Then, the day after Christmas, Uncle Kyle arrived in town with a relic from his past - a special cape that *his* mommy had made him for his 3rd or 4th Halloween. One side was red, with Superman's "S," and the other side was blue, with Batman's logo. Here Kyle is modeling his whole 1980s ensemble ;)



Kyle bequeathed it to Joey, but we were all a little disappointed in his reaction. He didn't want anything to do with it, and refused to allow it to be tied under his chin. I think he may have been a little alarmed at how authentic it looked, and only wanted to view it from a distance. It's been hanging on the little toolbench in his room ever since, but finally, this week, Joey asked me if he could wear the Super Joey cape. Apparently he was ready, at last, to man up to the powerful garment and make it his own!

Hat Tricks

There has never been a baby so obsessed with headgear of all shapes and sizes. Clara's favorite activity is rummaging through Joey's hat bin and emerging with one, two, and sometimes three hats perched on her head.



She also loves sporting the ivory hat that Shawna knit her a few months ago, and sometimes uses it as more security blanket than anything else, carrying it around the house with her, and placing it on her head, and then in her mouth (maybe ivory was a poor color choice!).





But she becomes a positive fiend when it comes to any item of clothing that has recently been worn by Joey, especially his underwear!

M-O-O-S-E, Moose!

We headed back to the doctor on Monday for something refreshing... a well-child visit for Joey! It's hard to believe these visits only come once per year now!

At three years old, Joey passed all the developmental quizzes the doc threw his way, including jumping, hopping, balancing on one foot, drawing a circle, making a "T," and providing a running commentary on life with "my baby sister Cwara." When the doctor asked him his name, he cocked his eyebrows, and then loudly answered, "J-O-E-Y, Joey! Joey Cecchin!" I'm pretty sure the doctor thinks he's ready for kindergarten now ;)

Speaking of kindergarten, he's ready to take on 5 year-olds any time... he weighed in at a back-breaking 39 pounds, which puts him in the 97th percentile, and measures 39.5 inches, or the 75th to 90th percentile. Thankfully, at three years old, they show some mercy, and finally stop measuring head circumference. Now, we just have to worry about BMI!

Of Patients and Patience

These days, being at home with a three year-old and a toddler feels less like parenting and more like nursing.

I'm not normally the type of parent to haunt the pediatrician's office --in fact, I chose our pediatrician, just like my OBGYN, because of her laid-back demeanor. I come in for check-ups, and reserve the in-between visits for only the most dire circumstances. Unfortunately, the last week of 2008 and the first week of 2009 have fallen into that category, and the receptionists at the front desk, for better or for worse, know our names.

First, after almost three years of parenting, we encountered our very first ear infection last week. I took Joey in after he started running a fever and was repeatedly asking me to kiss his ear. Luckily, Grandma Cecchin witnessed this, too, and encouraged me to call the doctor! Her instincts were right, and the doctor discovered that he had a double ear infection! He also said that he was the most active patient he'd seen all day, considering his fever and his ears! Lucky me, he showed off more of that spirit once we were home, when he kicked over a full bottle of hot-pink liquid antibiotics on his bedroom carpet.

Then, over the weekend, Clara started running a fever, and was inconsolable. For three or four nights in a row, Tim and I were like Jack in the Boxes all night long, springing up to get one or the other. By Monday morning, I was sufficiently worried about Clara to schedule another pediatrician visit -- her eyes were puffy and red, and she could barely hold her head up to watch Blue's Clues, let alone function like a normal 15 month-old.

The good news is, I'm not a false-alarm parent. When we stepped into the waiting room, all the nurses kind of gasped, and all the parents flinched. Her face really looked that bad. Even our easy-going pediatrician, who happened to pass us in the hall while we were headed to see the on-call doctor, couldn't hide her shock, especially since she had just seen a very healthy Clara the week before for her check-up! An hour later, our very puzzled doctor finally decided that she must have a viral eye infection (not pink-eye, and not contagious, fortunately!), and prescribed eye drops. She's finally starting to perk up a little bit today, but is still sleeping about 22 hours per day.

Now, less than halfway into the first week of the year, I'm trying to decide which is worse: a squirmy Joey who requires the dreaded antibiotics morning and night; a lethargic Clara who needs drops in her puffy eyes three times a day; or, a husband who last night fell victim to the same cold that the kids have! Ugh!

The (No) Babysitters Club

We rang in the new year at our house with pizza and chicken tenders, brie and pigs in blankets, and wine and juice boxes -- that's right, we had a wild and crazy New Year's Eve party that included lots of non-sober adults and 9 children under the age of 3.

Clara, left to her own devices, kept asking any and all adults to open a juice box for her, and practically fell head first into the tub of drinks more than once.

Midway through the evening, possibly due to a sugar high induced by a Superman ice cream cake for Joey's birthday (a few days early, but who's counting?), the kids rocked out in Joey's crib:

As the ball drop was approaching, Joey and Gitte were still going strong. Joey opted to *add* to his ensemble by pulling on some swim trunks, but Gitte went the opposite route... therefore, only Tim and Joey made it on-camera for this almost-midnight shot:

Here's to a fabulous 2009!

Dark Horse Lightweight Champion

After a very promising start (remember those huge, adorable thighs?), Clara has decided to take herself out of the running for the Cecchin Heavyweight title, possibly due to her brother's intimidating tonnage, and her cousin Marco proving recently that he can out-walk and out-eat her, even though he's four months younger!

I present to you the new, petite Clara Cecchin, who at her 15-month appointment weighed in at 21 pounds, 3 ounces (a mere 25% percentile), and measured 29 inches tall (10th percentile!!!). She still proudly sports a respectable noggin size (46 cm, or 75th percentile).

These stats make her the smallest of all her cousins... here's hoping that her newfound tolerance for milk in a sippy cup will help her regain a little bit of her old chunk!