Hack

Joey is contantly turning everyday household objects into weapons or sports gear. Cardboard paper towel tubes, measuring sticks, brooms, rakes, belts, and scarves are all hot commodities here, and turned into swords, baseball bats, slingshots and lassos. But until a small rock went whizzing by my head yesterday, I didn't realize that he would try to use our "Chuck-It" (for fetch with the dogs) as a golf club. Here he is hacking on our nearby "green" -- the empty lot a few houses away.

Uncle Mike, he may need some pointers on his swing next time you're in town!

Baby Blue

Our pretty little Molly May turned eight months this week, and despite eating large quantities of everything you put in front of her, she seems to be directing most of her caloric intake to the growth of new hair.

While two months ago she was practically bald, she now has a bonafide 'do, a wispy, fluffy strawberry blonde cap that is a little less red than when she was born, but still noticeable enough that strangers take notice. I was fielding comments left and right during all three of my errands yesterday -- Starbucks, Safeway and CVS.

"Wow, is her dad a redhead?"

"Look at that Irish baby!"

"Now where did that red hair come from?"

I know what you're all thinking. Yes, Starbucks is definitely an official errand in my book. Yes, I did inform these people that her daddy is actually Italian. And yes, my hair colorist has definitely made my hair less red, and more blonde in the past few months! When she was a newborn, I never had to deal with this kind of inquisition.

Along with her red(dish) hair, she seems to be keeping her blue eyes! I have been burned before by making this prediction (and at exactly eight months, too!), but I would love to round out my little collection by adding Molly's blue eyes to Joey's hazel eyes and Clara's green eyes! Here's Molly showing off her baby blues at the park today, during her maiden voyage on the baby swing!

Could that smile be any sweeter? She aced her latest checkup at UCSF -- her surgeon was happy with her healing, and couldn't believe what a bouncing bundle she was. While he tried to take her picture for their records, she was hopping up and down on my lap like a little jack-in-the-box. He assured us that her lip will look even better after a few more months have passed. We hardly notice it, except when looking at pictures of her; the flash on the camera seems to make it look redder and more pronounced, while in natural light, it's much less visible.

In the meantime, she beams that smile at anyone and everyone, and is definitely our biggest flirt and most social baby. She loves to catch someone's eye across the room, and "speak" to them in the only language she has right now... lots of grunts and "huhs." She had the entire waiting room at UCSF laughing at her breathy repertoire last week.
 

She's mostly a go-with-the-flow third baby, but sometimes her temperment can match her red hair!

If only we could freeze time, and keep our baby this small for longer!

It's a Bird, it's a Plane...

It's a bird! It's a plane! No.... it's a delirious birthday boy, hopped up on apple juice, cake, superhero acrobatics, and the excitement of being around his closest friends, preschool buddies and cousins!

We celebrated Joey's birthday at our gym, Oakwood, where the kids did their obligatory workout (superhero style) before binging on Coldstone cake. With a January birthday, drizzly weather, and 20 amped-up kids under the age of 5, Oakwood definitely saved the day!



Smooch, Smooch

Clara isn't the only one getting praise from her preschool teachers lately... Joey's teacher, Miss Kristi, found her way over to me as I was picking up Joey today, and told me that she has rarely had a sweeter conversation with a student than she had today with Joey. He must have done some reconnaissance and discovered that she's a new grandmother, because our little schmoozer apparently told her that his favorite thing to do is spend time with his grandparents -- namely, riding bikes with them and playing catch.  He told her he's so lucky to have four of them!

Then she cleared her throat, and added,

"He also told me that he can throw a perfect spiral, and nobody even taught him how."

Hmmm, it appears that our little charmer could use some lessons in humility before taking his show on the road.

Growing Pains

Joey woke up complaining that his legs and knees hurt last week, and I made the mistake of telling our little hypochondriac that maybe he was having growing pains. He's been hobbling around ever since.

He has been growing, though -- so much so that it raised some eyebrows at his five-year check-up yesterday. He tipped the scales at 52 pounds (95th percentile), and measured 45 inches (87th percentile), which apparently puts Joey's BMI into a category that is cause for alarm. The doctor did a double take after Joey had stripped down to his underwear, and asked, "He weighs 52 pounds?? Where is he hiding it?"

Our lean, mean eating machine informed the doctor that his favorite vegetable is an artichoke, and told him his favorite activites were bike-riding, baseball, soccer, and basketball, and all concerns about childhood obesity were officially laid to rest. Phew!

Hello Brudder, Hello Sister

In anticipation of the arrival of Hop, Mop, and Uncle Kyle over the weekend, we moved Clara's carseat to the "way back" of the SUV. The new arrangement was greeted with giggles and glee, and a delighted Joey told Clara,

"Now we can hold hands again!!"

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Partying Like it's 2006

It's been a long time since Tim and I went on a dog walk with just one baby... but with two kids in preschool for the morning, and a working-from-home Daddy, we strapped on one little munchkin and set off! This was Molly's first time facing the world in the Bjorn, and she was so happy, she was practically doing jumping jacks!

Hmmm...

This may or may not be related to the fact that we plied Clara's preschool teacher, Miss Sharon, with hand lotions and a restaurant gift card for Christmas, but I discovered this note in Clara's cubby yesterday:

"What a joy it is spending each Tuesday and Thursday morning with Clara. She is so smart and mature, always ready to help or comfort a classmate. Her personality is amazing."

Apparently she's keeping the head kicking to a minimum at school.

The Mister Turns Five!

As Miss Jill wrestled this birthday crown on Joey's head at preschool this morning, I heard her say, "My, you have a big head, Joey!"

Something about the jaunty tilt of the crown on Joey's head reminds me of a military cap, and his confident, hands-in-pockets pose makes me simultaneously proud of our little man, and astonished that he's getting so big, so fast.

At five years old, his sweet, generous spirit still amazes us every day. Born to be a big brother, he embraces the role in a way that makes our hearts swell on a daily basis. He's naturally cautious, watchful, and careful, and that extends to the care of his little sisters.

Ever-curious, he provides us with a round-the-clock soundtrack of questions, and his running commentary never fails to amuse us. "Mommy, did you know???" is most often the prelude to some astonishing fact he's just discovered, like, "Michael R. knows how to drive a speedboat! His daddy sits in the back of the boat, and Michael R. EVEN sits in the front and drives! Really! I'm not even lying!"

We love his determination and brute strength, his faith that where there's a will, there's a way. This morning, I found our long hallway runner neatly rolled up and stowed away in our master bedroom -- a feat that amazes me, since it easily weighs as much as he does, and is unwieldy to boot. His favorite mantra is, "Practice makes perfect, right?" and we know this will serve him well in life.

He's impressing us more and more with his intense concentration on art and building projects -- mostly done solo, and with his tongue sticking out of his mouth, during Clara's naptime. It's our secret that he doesn't take a nap anymore -- Clara is blissfully unaware -- and he loves it that way.

Finally, his sense of humor is what makes him Joey... he can break into giggles over the thousandth reading of Goodnight Gorilla, he guffaws at nonsensical knock-knock jokes, and doubles over clutching his stomach when things turn silly... as they mostly do when he's around.

Silliness was the order of the day tonight for his family birthday party, when our newly minted five year-old enjoyed chocolate cake and tore open presents: his first set of Legos, a giant paper airplane book, and a tabletop Ping-Pong set.

Happy Birthday, Mister!

Clara, Continued

I know, this raincoat and rain boot combo is just too much. It's hard to say which is cuter, the little girl, or her clothes.

I faced the same quandary, until she sweetly turned to her brother, and proclaimed,

"Joey, did you see my boots? Watch out, I'm going to kick you in the head!"

Snap, Crackle, Pop!

Despite being homeowners for almost 10 years in San Francisco, our new home has presented us with many "firsts."

The highlights have been lingering outside long after dark on warm summer evenings (and swatting away mosquitos and yellowjackets), installing (and using) ceiling fans, landscaping a yard that is a whole lot wider than 25 feet (and tending to it), and being able to pedal laps in our driveway (ad nauseum).

But a most exciting milestone occurred last week, when these fireplace virgins -- having lived with a faux fireplace for their entire marriage -- built their first fire at home!

By "built," I of course mean we threw a CrackleFlame into our freshly inspected, cleaned and repaired fireplace. Semantics.

We knew it was time for this rite of passage when on a recent chilly evening, Joey put his nose in the air, sniffed loudly, and said (in his tone of voice reserved strictly for the discovery of heretofore impossibly ludicrous ideas),

"I think someone is BARBECUING right now!! In the middle of WINTER!!"

No, Joey, they're actually enjoying a fire in their living room. And isn't the scent delicious??

Santa Baby

It may not be seasonally appropriate any longer, but we just had to share our little Santa baby! Check out the first photographic evidence of her two little teeth!