The Fine Game of Nil

We’ve had a lot going on lately, but as usual the kids have completely fried my train of thought, so I’ll just post a handful of photos with captions.

Dor, getting tickled and cackling like a maniac.

I took Liam skiing for his third time.  He’s been doing amazing and is almost ready to start soloing.  In this video he wouldn’t let me take his straps off, but he wanted me to drop them behind him.  He skied a good bit before the video started, but it took me a moment to get the camera out and start recording.  The second kid that the video follows is Liam’s best friend from the NEB daycare and the vanpool.

Dor discovers Nutella can be ingested transdermally.

Dor posing in her poofy dress and metal skull shirt from Dad’s band.

Finally, The Boy was having a bit of a rambunctious afternoon, so I decided to go burn some steam off by taking him for a run.  We started out running around the block and made it 2 full laps for a total of 1/2 mile before he decided it was time to go in.  Pretty impressive for a 3-year old I think.

Pretty much since he was born, I’ve been wanting to get Liam out on skis. He’s 3 1/2 now and super physical, with the jumping off stuff and running around, so I figured that its about time to get him out. The Thursday and Friday before we went I dragged my skis up from the basement and set them up in the living room.

Both Liam and Dor were thrilled by the equipment and had to try everything on.

Out on the mountain, Liam did wonderfully.  I started out trying to give him some instruction on how to make a snowplow and how to lean to turn, but pretty quickly I realized that he was excited enough about it that I mostly had to get the heck out of his way and provide enough support to keep him having fun.  So we started on the magic carpet, which turned out to be to shallow to be much fun, and then Liam campaigned to take the rope tow up the larger bunny slope, so we rode that a couple of times.  Liam was able to hold onto my poles and ski along with with me.  On the third or fourth time up the rope tow, Liam started campaigning to go up on his own.  Previously I’d been holding him between my legs and pulling us both up.  On the 5th run up as I got us set to go Liam said “I want to ride on my own!”, then reached out and grabbed the rope tow and shot out from between my skis and up the hill.  So I grabbed on and rode up 10 feet behind him the whole way.

2 weeks later we headed back to the mountain for another go at it.  In the chaos of leaving I left his ski harness/leash at home, so he got to go on his own.  After a couple of tentative runs where he wanted to hold my hand on the way down, he was able to take off on his own and do a remarkably good job of staying upright and turning.  Stopping, is another matter.  I’m pretty sure he could get it if he tried, but so far he has no motivation to try and stop.  I’ve tried re-explaining the snowplow to slow down, and he explains that he wants to go fast.  So I let him go fast.  On the way home though, I stopped off and bought him a helmet.  I have a feeling he’s going to be moving fast enough to need it sooner rather than later.

The Boy did break my heart though, when while sitting at the top of the slope eating a granola bar, he exclaimed “I want to ride a snowboard”.

Its been quite a while since I’ve been around here to post about the kids, but right now its a lazy Sunday afternoon and both kids are napping, so I’ll give it a go. If this ends abruptly, it means that one or both woke up and life became busy again.

First I should say that Dor is turning into quite the little girl. Its really hard to start to see her as a toddler instead of an infant. With Liam running around being such a skillful little monkey, up till now the contrast has always been that she’s the infant needing looked after. But, all of a sudden (or at least it feels that way) she seems to have blossomed into a capable toddler. …a capable toddler who just woke up from her nap…lets see how this goes with her chilling in my lap.

Right now, she’s just in the process of learning how to walk.  She’s been able to do it for a month or so already, but she’s not yet convinced that she really can.  If tricked, or coaxed with something shiny she’ll do a couple of steps, but if she needs to cover some real ground, she lowers herself slowly down to the floor, then is off like a shot crawling.

Liam, is continuing to grow like mad.  He’s turning 3 on the 28th, and is every bit as fun and maddening as a three-year old should be.

At the beginning of the summer we gave Liam a balance bike.  Its like a normal kids bike, but has no pedals and is lower to the ground so his feet can sit flat.  He was already going great guns on his tricycle, so in the beginning it was a little of a hard-sell to get him over onto the balance bike.  At first, Liam would ride the tricycle out, and I would carry the bike in case he decided to try it, and usually, Dor would end up taking rides on it.

Once he got use to it though, he’s become a real master of the balance bike.  These days its his main mode of transportation up and down the bike path and over to the playgrounds with us.  He can do some amazing long stretches gliding with his feet up.  By the end of summer, he’s probably going to be completely ready to graduate up to a real bicycle… and then college.

This is old news now, but we have a crawler!!

Dor has been crawling for about 6 weeks now. And she crawls a real crawl, on hands and knees, not the strange butt scoot that Liam used to do. She’s fast, and loves to book it around the corner into the bathroom. We would leave the bathroom door closed, but Liam needs to be able to go in there to use the potty, so we don’t have much choice.

Here are a few quick pictures, from Easter

We went to Seattle in February 2010. The first part of the trip was leaving Boston on Wednesday Feb. 10. Unfortunately, that was the date of the great No-Storm of 2010, which they were predicting would drop a foot of snow on Boston. Our 6:50pm flight was cancelled at 9am that morning, and then there was no snow at all. We were unable to get on another flight until Sunday, Feb. 14th! We had been planning to return on Feb. 16th, but we were able to shift our return flight (for no charge) and stayed through the 20th. It was frustrating because we ended up not straddling a weekend, which made spending time with people more difficult. Still, it was a good trip, and Liam and Dor loved seeing Grandpa, Aunts Anne, Sara, and Jenny, as well as Shawna and Scott in Portland, and Colin in Seattle.

First, a few pictures prior to leaving

How can you not love those cheeks!

Alex built an awesome painting easel for Liam, which he has enjoyed using

Dor helps Daddy sort through his old computer stuff. What’s that saying, don’t throw the baby out with the tech stuff?

Now, onto Seattle

Dor and Sara

Grandpa and Dor… Dor was just starting to really push up onto her hands, and even got up onto her hands and knees a few times

We went bowling one day in Seattle. Liam really loved it, and is just starting to get the hang of pushing the ball down the lane.

We drove down to Portland one day to visit Shawna and Scott. They have been so awesome, and often come up to Seattle to see us when we are in town, including twice while I was there with mom in the hospital. We had a great time hanging out with them. Went to lunch at the Spaghetti Factory, then took a tram up to the hospital (can’t remember the name right now) that is on a hill and has a great view of Portland and beyond. Liam greatly enjoyed the tram, and the sticker he got that proclaimed “I rode the tram”. We then want back to their apartment, attempted to get Liam to nap, and had a delicious dinner of salmon (that Shawna’s dad had caught).

We also went to the zoo in Seattle, with Anne and Jenny.

And the Science Center. We have a membership to the Children’s Museum in Boston. It has reciprocity with 300 other museums in the country, including the Pacific Science Center. So we got in free, and could get in up to 6 people each time. We went twice, for about an hour each. Definitely worth the money!

Dor is a cave girl.  A cheeky cave girl.

They also have a butterfly room. It was fun until about five minute after this photo, when Liam decided he was deathly afraid of butterflies.

We ate breakfast with Anne and Colin at the Portage Bay Company. Yummy food. Good company.

Liam and Colin read about naked mole rats, which Liam then saw at the Science Center

And to end, I love these two beautiful faces

We’ll see how this goes…. it will probably take me all day to get this post up, if at all.

It’s been another long time since we posted. Not for lack of content, in fact, probably from too much content. So much going on, and so many old posts we need to get up. Not sure if it makes more sense to abandon hope of getting caught up and just start from the present, or try to go back…

Okay, so that took over a day to post (I started on Tuesday, and now it is Wednesday). Let’s see if we can get it done!

We made three trips to St. Louis since September. September 11-16 was just a trip to visit and introduce the extended family and friends to Dor. October 15-18 was for my mom’s funeral. Then January 15-18, to visit my Grandma (great grandma to the kids) because she had made a drastic decline in health since we had seen her in October. For a bit of background, Grandma was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly before/after Liam was born (July 2007) and was told she had around 9 months to live.  She was not a surgical candidate, and she chose to have no treatment. Two and  a quarter years later, she was still going pretty strong. After my mom died, she was even able to make a trip to Seattle at the end of October to attend the Memorial Mass for my mom at her church. I believe it was very shortly after that that things really declined. She went onto 24 hour oxygen, and quite a bit of pain meds, after a hospitalization at which her primary doctor implied her time was up, so let’s just dope her up and let her go. (Not that I’m angry about that (okay, I am)). After the palliative care team came in to work with the family, Grandma rallied a few times, but each time she was never back to her full self (health wise, mentally she was still very with it). But we knew time was getting short, so we made one more trip to St. Louis to see her. Although her week prior to our arrival had been pretty bad by all accounts, she was the picture of grace for us. We visited in short stints, no more than an hour at a time. Liam and Dor got some good face time in and I got to spend a little more time with my last living grandparent. It was hard knowing that this would be the last time we would see her, but we didn’t talk about it, because what was there to say. A few days after we left, Grandma decided she didn’t want to use the oxygen anymore, and took it off. She was going to go on her on terms (like we knew she would, she was a tough broad). Grandma Eberle died on January 26, 2010, which is also my birthday. My Grandma was one of my most favorite people in the world. While her death was not unexpected, it is still very sad.

It seems weird to just go into posting pictures, but that is what I am going to do. While in St. Louis this last time, we went to the Zoo several times, as well as the Magic House, which is pretty much a Children’s Museum. When I was growing up in St. Louis, it was located in an old Victorian building. It has expanded significantly, but still has that building as well. In January they had a Curious George exhibit (which is, ironically, now in Boston). Liam doesn’t watch TV, but does have some Curious George books. At first he was scared to meet the Monkey, but he finally gave it a chance, in the safety of Dad’s arms

One of the things the Magic House is known for is their Van der Graf (spelling?) generator, which creates hair raising effects. Liam was scared of and wouldn’t give it a try.

Guess my hair was too heavy/wet?

If we lived in St. Louis, we would definitely have a membership to the Magic House.

The next few pictures are from the St. Louis Zoo, which is one of the best zoos in the country, and free

Dor and her cousin once removed, Bridget

Liam really likes Bridget, and after we got home to Boston, spent about a week asking when we could go to Bridgie’s House

Aunt Libby, Bridget, Liam, Aunt Cathy, and Dor

Uncle Tim and Dor (Tim’s birthday is also January 26, he’s my God-father)

Out to dinner at Grandma’s place. Despite being terminally ill and having hospice and 24 hour supervision, Grandma was able to stay at her apartment at Our Lady of Life, which I think was really good for her

We tried really hard to get a picture of Liam with Grandma, but at 2 1/2, it’s really hard to keep him still for any appreciable amount of time. Especially with his cousin there to run around with. This is the best we could get, our last picture of Grandma. She even smiled for the camera, and for those who know her, that’s a big deal. Why we didn’t have alex take one of me with her, I’m not sure.

Alex has gone out to meet up with friends to celebrate someone’s birthday. I figured I should try to get a post up, even if it doesn’t have many (or any) recent pictures. I was thinking about what a change it is, having children. Having to decide who gets to go out, who will stay home. What events are worth the money for a babysitter, what events aren’t. Thinking about all the extra money we would have if we didn’t have kids. But then I think about reading stories with Liam, or hearing Dor’s belly laugh when I pretend to eat her cheeks or tummy, and I know. I know I wouldn’t trade this for the world. I can complain about money and free time, but in reality, we have it pretty good. We’re not struggling. I still have time for a social life. And Liam and Dor bring me more joy then I ever imagined was possible. Even through my sadness and grief, I am thankful every day for them. And my heart grows every day because of them. Yes, it breaks a little, too, thinking about mom missing all of this. But I know. I know that if she can, she is watching from somewhere. And I know that she would want us to go on and enjoy every moment that we have. And tell good stories about her, of course.

I was thinking about Alex’s recent post about Liam telling stories. It’s so wonderful to talk to him. He is getting into pretend play, and uses most things he finds as either a phone or a camera. He makes his stuffed animals and other toys do things, sometimes just “for pretend”. Like tonight when he wanted to put a little wooden gorilla into his water glass at dinner. When we said no, he said, “no, just for pretend”. Also, he loves to read. There are several books that he has us read night after night, sometimes multiple times throughout the day as well. And he has started to memorize a few, and will read it to us after we read it. It is amazing how he gets it right. The exact right phrase on each page. Sometimes it’s a summary of what is said on the page, but sometimes it is right on, word for word. I especially love when he reads us “I met a dinosaur”. There’s a line that says “it’s just bones, girl”, and another that says “go to sleep, girl”. and it’s hilarious to hear him say it. He’s such a loving boy, too. Loves his sister, or “my baby” as he calls her. Yesterday at daycare, his class was in the playroom that abuts Dor’s class room. One of Dor’s teachers brought her out to say hi, and he apparently went running across the room saying “my baby!” and giving her kisses.

Dor is also growing every day. She had her 6 month appointment a few weeks ago. She’s tiny, only 13 lbs and 14 oz, which puts her in the 9th percentile for weight. But she nurses well and is taking to her solids. We’ve decided to introduce some higher calorie foods more quickly, so bananas, whole milk yogurt, and avocado are all in her repertoire now. She is recovering from a GI bug she picked up, which has made her go from a poop every few days, to about 12 a day! Her poor bum is so sore. But it’s finally getting better and things are slowing down, so that’s good. Still not sleeping through the night. I’m hopeful it will happen soon. She sits up very well now, and coos and babbles, and even gets some “mmm” sounds that I maintain sound like mama. She claps her hands, has waved inconsistently, and also makes kissy noises. She smiles like crazy. and she loves Liam, maybe even more than she loves Alex and I. She lights up when she sees him, and cackles and everything he does. I cringe to think all the things she’s learning from her 2 1/2 year old brother, who is very independent. But they get along very well.

We were in St. Louis last weekend, to visit family. Grandma (my grandma) has had a decline in health recently, and it was important to us to get another visit in if we could. It was nice to see her, and she is still so sharp mentally. It was nice to visit with the aunts and uncles as well, and Liam cannot stop talking about cousin Bridget. oh, and that he saw an elephant pee and poo at the zoo.

We go to Seattle in two weeks, which will be nice and hard at the same time.

A few pictures from our Thanksgiving in Mahwah NJ with Uncle Bill and Aunt Linda:

You know, it’s really amazing that they allow us to have children…

I love this photo

The Lippmann Family (Alex’s cousins, Quinn, Becky, Alexandra, and Chris)

And, Zombie children

The Boy is currently smack in the middle of the terrific twos, and has been learning to assert his new found sense of independence something fierce.  Lately he’s been experimenting with misrepresenting reality to try and get his way, and really, I’m pretty impressed with it.  Since November we’ve been commuting to a daycare in town via the T (Boston’s public transit).  On the way home we can either go bus to the red line, or green line to red line.  The green line takes a bit longer but is all train travel, and Liam seems to have inherited Dad’s disdain for buses.  On the way out of daycare we usually stand on the bridge over the green line and take whatever comes first, bus or train.  Liam initially started saying “No bus. Train!” and trying to direct us down the stairs to get on the train.  Recently, he noticed that on walk to the bridge, Emily and I watch the interchange a couple of blocks away to see if a bus is stopped at the light.  From that he got the idea to call out “I don’t see a bus” in the hope that we’d go down to the train instead.  Today, on the walk to the bridge he told me “No bus”, then explained “The bus is broken”.  I have to say, I’m pretty impressed.  If I remember my cognitive development textbooks at all, creative deceit is a relatively advanced skill.  My hope is that by next month he’ll have moved up to direct acts of sabotage against the #47 crosstown.

The four of us had a good Christmas this year.  Liam is already two and a half, and is getting to be able to get really excited about opening presents and checking out new things.  Dor is 6 months (actually 6 months on Christmas day), and while she wasn’t as into the whole receiving and opening presents process, she loved the crinkly wrapping paper that they came in.  While Liam was busy running around like a wild man, she wiled away many a happy hour scrunching up and trying to eat the wrapping paper.  Though we tried to discourage the eating of the paper, there was discussion at the time that her upcoming diaper might look like someone had set off a confetti filled party popper.

The week before Christmas the four of us went on the Somerville Illuminations trolley tour.  It was our first time going, and it turned out to be a lot of fun.  We took the bus down to the Somerville city hall where we all loaded up on trolley tour buses and cruised around the back streets of Somerville to check out all the over-the-top decorating jobs that had been done.  It made a fun evening out on the town, and was nice to get out of the house for a drive around town.  Liam had a great time looking at all the lights, and Dor had fun grinning at all the people on the trolley. For the next several days, Liam keep asking to ‘see more lights’.  By the end of the trip he had gotten the hang of saying ‘Ooh and Ahh’  when we passed another decorated house.

Christmas eve we made our traditional pierogi and mushroom soup dinner.  Looking through my mom’s old cookbook, Emily found a recipe for a sauerkraut, mushroom and sour cream filling which may have come down from my grandfather or great-grandfather, depending on how you read the reference.  We made that along side the normal potato cheese filling, and it was excellent.  Liam spent the afternoon up on his step stool helping me at the counter.  He was pretty good with the rolling pin and helped roll out the dough for the pierogies.

You wouldn’t imagine that the step-stool would be that much of an important thing to The Boy, but it really is.  For him, the step-stool turns out to be a powerful tool of acquisition and inclusion.  With it, he’s able to get up to the adult working height and take part in the stuff that mom and dad are doing in the kitchen.  He’s gotten really good at pulling it up to the counter and climbing up to help put food in the Cuisinart, roll out dough, or simply make a grab for whatever is interesting on the counter.

There’s far more to write about, but its quarter of eleven and I’m already exhausted.  My New Year’s Resolution is to get back to regular posts on this blog, and for right now, a short post is better than none at all.  Hopefully more later though, and hopefully I still have a couple of people still interested in reading.

I was glad that Alex finished out the month of October at NEB, mostly because it meant that Liam, Dor, and I got to attend the NEB Halloween party one more time.

Liam trick or treating on the grounds, with the squeeky mouse that Paula gave him

Liam with Kaan, one of his friends from daycare, and one of the first kids that you could actually call his friend. They recognize each other and scream and give each other hugs when they see each other. They ride in the vanpool together, and sometimes hold hands when walking into daycare

Dor uses her third eye

Give me that donut!

Liam and Paula, a woman who rides in the vanpool. Liam loves Paula. She is the person who drove us to the hospital when Dor was born.

Dor and Paula