Destined for the Petites Department

Our littlest munchkin may have celebrated her birthday last week, but she's trying hard to stay pint-sized. She's still rocking her infant carseat, barely filling out 6-12 month gear, and loves nothing more than being toted around on mommy's hip like a baby monkey.

But we were still surprised at her one-year check-up last week, when she proved just how small she really is, weighing in at 17 pounds, 8 ounces and measuring just 27.25 inches. Both measurements land her in the 4th percentile. Yikes! Only her noggin seems more in keeping with the stats from Joey and Clara's infancy... she has a head circumference of 45.75 cm, putting her in the 75th percentile.

To try to bulk her up more, we made the switch to whole milk. I think it's safe to say she loves it!

In other news:

• Molly's now sporting a lopsided collection of six teeth (three on top, three on bottom).
• She has a grand total of two words: hi and mama, but is working in dat (that).
• She's mastered crawling from one end of the house to the other, lickety-split, and is moving on to cruising around the coffee tables in the family room and living room. She's standing for up to 10 wobbly seconds at a time, but seems in no hurry to try out walking.
• In fact, her favorite spot is parked in someone's arms, and she loves playing a game of hot potato, reaching her arms out to whoever is standing nearby. Once transplanted to the new person's arms, she's ready to be on the move once again, with those come-hither eyes and arms. This game requires only three players, and can be played all.day.long.
• Speaking of games, she's already a good little sport who loves clapping you on the back when you're holding her.

We can't wait to see what the next month brings, but in the meantime, we'll be busy whipping up some high-calorie concoctions for our little peanut!

Lord of the Dance

Once a teacher's pet, always a teacher's pet... even when said teacher is in charge of your preschooler's education, not yours. My almost-straight A's past honed my instincts to please and respect all teachers, and I can't shake the habit, even in my 30s.   
  
Needless to say, I was never on a teacher's black list, and so far, my kids have flown under the radar, too.

Until this morning.

Like a horror film, the scene unfolded like this:  As I was hugging Joey goodbye at the door to his classroom, and instructing him to hang up his backpack, Miss Kristi hurried over, caught my eye and arched her eyebrows... in greeting? in annoyance that we were five minutes late?... and then actually ducked out of the chaos of her classroom to meet me in the hallway. And then she shut the door behind her.

I immediately broke out into a cold sweat and felt like I was in the principal's office. If I hadn't been carrying a 50-pound baby seat in the crook of one arm, and juggling car keys and coffee in the other arm, I would have been sure I was back in junior high.

"Do you have time to talk?" asked Miss Kristi.

I looked nervously behind me, and realized the mayhem of drop-off was over, and we were alone in the hallway. A hundred different plausible reasons for this tete-a-tete floated through my head ...all bad, and all centered on Joey's rocky relationship with two boys in his class. Had they finally come to blows?

"Sure," I said, as I mentally resigned to removing Joey from Tae Kwon Do and confiscating every plastic gun, sword and knife in the house.

"I just wanted to share a story with you from last Friday," began Miss Kristi. "I'm not sure if you know this, but every Friday, after clean-up, we have about fifteen minutes of free dance time. I bring in a different CD each week, sometimes salsa, sometimes opera, sometimes classical. It's always different, and most of the children enjoy it."

She paused pointedly.

Oh no, I thought. Please, God, I hope Joey didn't make an un-PC comment about dance.

But he did.

"Joey always says dancing is for girls," continued Miss Kristi. "Which is fine. He's content to just sit and watch the dancing.

"But last Friday was very different. I brought in Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance, and as soon as he heard the first chords, something changed in Joey. He slowly straightened his shoulders and stood up -- no, he actually arose -- as if pulled up by an invisible string, and it was absolutely amazing to watch. One of his feet kicked out, and then the other, and then he was off, charging, leaping, kicking, completely propelled by the music. It was as if he had one invisible sword in each hand, and he was unstoppable. For three or four songs, he was in a different world.

"And then he came back to us. As if he was returning from war. And he was so sweaty and excited, and he said to me, 'Miss Kristi, I've never done anything like that before!' It was one of the coolest moments I've ever had as a teacher. Miss Jill and I were blown away, and I went home and told this story to my husband. You just never know what is going to ignite them."

Yes, Miss Kristi really is that poetic and descriptive. I hurried home and couldn't wait to write her story down so I wouldn't forget this magical moment... Joey dancing and Miss Kristi sharing.

Modern-Day Fun

Staying at home with young kids can sometimes be a lonely endeavor. Whereas in generations past, moms may have gathered on their front porches during the day and supervised their children running around in their front yard, today, most of the moms on my street -- and streets all over America -- are working, ferrying their kids from one activity to the next, or simply inside their homes.

We're very social on the weekends, gathering with friends to barbecue, heading out to pizza with a horde of little people, or meeting other families at birthday parties and playing fields. But the stretch of days inbetween Sunday and Friday can sometimes seem an eternity. We try to play out front -- riding bikes in the court and in the driveway, coloring with chalk, or playing catch on the front lawn -- but finding playmates can be hit or miss, especially during working hours. I think all stay-at-home moms crave the front-porch socializing of yesteryear, which is why we meet up so often at parks and playgrounds, to exercise our children and our minds.

For my little troop, the most fun day of the week is usually Monday, when we head to our athletic club -- a mecca for families in our area -- and the kids participate in their Tae Kwon Do and dance classes. More importantly, they get to reconnect with their classmates and friends for yet another Monday of fun, both inside and outside class. While the moms cluster together, sip coffee, nurse babies, and chat, the kids convene before and after class for raucous games of hide n' seek, Super Spy, and tag. It may not be a front porch, and the kids may not be playing in the street, but our modern-day equivalent may be just as comforting.

Another new take on an old slice of Americana? This game of super-modern tops that for the last two weeks has absolutely captivated all of the boys. And by captivated, I mean that tense, whole-body, tongue-sticking-out focus that is usually reserved for video games. If anyone is in the market for a gift for a boy age 5 and up, this is destined to be a favorite! Joey is exploring every angle in his mission to acquire his own set of tops, even lobbying for a present on his half-birthday this year!

I guess some things never get old!

Molly May's Birthday Bash

On Saturday, we celebrated the birth of our sweet little strawberry blonde with a strawberry-themed part-ay, including a bouncehouse for all of her rowdy little friends, a margarita machine and beers for their parents, fajitas and quesadillas befitting the Cecchin Cantina, and homemade banana cake with cream cheese frosting.

It sounds like a lot of hoopla for one small baby, and it was. We were also celebrating the end of a big year that included moving to a new house, remodeling that new house, adjusting to life with three kids, dealing with a much-dreaded surgery for our baby, and transitioning to a new job. A party with our friends and family was definitely in order!

Molly loved being the star of the show, and even busted out her very first tutu... strawberry-themed, of course. Here, she shows off her patented backwards wave with Daddy.

These grandparents don't look doting, do they??

All of her many months in the Jumperoo had Molly primed for her first bouncehouse experience; like a finely tuned athlete, she took right to the new bouncing mechanism, not even fazed by the giant, insane children who were attempting to double-bounce her right into her next birthday (not that I'm naming any names, Joey).

Here she is with some of the littlest peeps from the party, Mela and cousin Annie.

Big sister Clara convinced me to get in the bouncehouse, too, and we were joined by Mop and Shawna, and all of the little Raley girls.

Although the bouncehouse was a giant hit, it paled in comparison to the excitement generated by the cattle call of "Cake!" Molly may have been slightly shell-shocked by just how many hungry little people were surrounding her at this moment.

In fact, she really wanted nothing to do with this moment at all. Here she is pushing my frosting-covered finger away.

We snapped a quick picture while our little party pooper meditatively nibbled on a strawberry that was on top of her smash cake.

And then it was time to move on and feed the masses!

Luckily, while I was busy cutting and serving cake (and sweating while two dozen kids clamored for a piece with a strawberry on it), Tim finally convinced Molly to dive in to her cake.

The verdict? Molly likes it!

Thanks to all who helped us celebrate this special day!

Good Golly...

Happy Birthday to our sweet Miss Molly! We can't believe a whole year has passed since we met her!

Here's to more sweetness in the year to come!

Voyeurs

Somehow, in a few years, I don't think it will be quite this socially acceptable for Joey and his Tae Kwon Do buddy to be this obvious in their stakeout of their younger sisters' dance class.




(And, ahem, speaking of socially inappropriate, check out what the little girl in blue is doing.)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Water Babies

Is there anything better than holding a wriggly, wet, happy baby, splashing with a little three year-old fish, and proudly watching a five year-old show off his freestyle?

I hope all the moms I know were able to celebrate their Mother's Day in a way that felt this right :)

The Cecchin Cantina

Parenting can apparently drive you to drink... or at least inspire you to bring the party to your own house.

Our new backyard bar was completed just in time for our recent heat wave, and hardly a day has gone by that hasn't found us outside enjoying our new slice of paradise.

We started with a large, unfinished workshop that was attached to the rear of our garage, and gave it a new lease on life by enlarging the window that overlooked our patio, and adding cabinetry, lighting, a bar top and barstools, a new tile floor, a TV, and, Tim's favorite part, a kegerator.

It's hard to believe this is what our future bar window opening looked like just a year ago.

By the end of last summer, our new patio and landscaping was complete...

and it was time to move on to the workshop and begin its transformation. Here, the kids belly up to the new window opening, which suddenly seemed cavernous.

Drywall and beadboad went up soon after, along with a beautiful grey tile floor, white Ikea cabinetry, and honed black granite countertops.

Joey loved helping pick out the new paint color for the interior of the bar (coincidentally the same Kelly-Moore shade of green that was in our San Francisco kitchen), and he provided lots of elbow grease when we were assembling the new bar stools, too.

Yes, we'll have to keep this place locked up when our little ones become teenagers, but in the meantime, we love feeling like we're on vacation the minute we step onto our patio, and we love being able to capture moments like these...

Cheers!