Sunday Morning Yogurt

 I loved this little moment, watching these two cuties eat their breakfast on a Sunday morning.

#NapaLife

A girl and her shovel, the vines and hills, the cows grazing...

 The boy with his bowl of crackers...

The rocks to climb... Life in Napa is so beautiful. I followed the kids around one afternoon, soaking it all in.

 I followed this boy and his red wagon, as he took it on a high speed chase down the slope behind our house. (The red wagon seemed to be chasing him)

He pretty much crashed into the gate leading down to the barn, so I opened it up for him and let him continue his journey. The slope got a little steeper as he made his way down to the barn.

And then when he realized that the wagon might just run him down, he dropped the handle and propelled himself forward toward the mud puddle--the giant mud puddle--just feet from the barn. I realized he wasn't going to stop, and before I could throw the camera down to rescue him, he landed face first in a gloppy quagmire of thick, cow-poop infused, mud.

He screamed out; he was completely stuck. I had to fish him out, covering my entire front in mud as well. I loaded him into the wagon and raced him back to the house, offering my condolences for his plight, but trying very hard not to laugh out loud in the process. We smelled horrible. I peeled off his clothing at the side door and rushed him right into the bathtub.

#NapaLife

After that experience all I could think about was this:

Matthew pulled his first "Anne Shirley".

Valentine's Day

We celebrated our long weekend with a trip to visit the Stephens in EDH. Mark and I dumped the kids for a little while and ended up going on a shopping spree at Target. Nothing says love like buying new clothes on sale and let me tell you, this Target was awesome. HUGE. The 'burbs know how to do it. After the kids went to bed, the grown ups went out to sit in the hot tub under the stars. The next morning we had lemon-blueberry muffins, and then drove up to Placerville and went on a bike ride. We picnicked at a park and ate Brookie's potato salad. Everything was so nice and relaxed and fun--a great way to spend Valentine's Day weekend!

These two get together and just disappear. They get along so well and spend their whole day swimming or dressing up or playing at the park. It's so great. 2nd generation BFF's.

A Few of My Favorite Things: Isa and Matthew Edition

 

This girl + a garden hose + a super hero cape made from Daddy's old pants= Pure joy

And this one is where she tried to ride her scooter in the vineyard.

When she smiles, she smiles with her whole face, which mom pointed out to me once, and it's become one of my favorite things about her. 

I was trying to make my bed one morning--an impossible task with two kids, so I gave up and threw the bedding on the floor. They had the best time wrestling around in all the comforters and pillows. Matthew started getting a little too rough in his play, so I suggested to Isabella that she do something quiet and see if Matthew would follow along. When I returned to my room, this is what I found. Isabella had pulled out books for both of them, and wrapped him up in blankets so he'd be comfortable. She even set up a pillow barricade for Matthew so he wouldn't hit the door.

 And then there is this one. He started Primary in January. We thought about transitioning him out of his nursery class at church slowly--having him go into the 3 year old class for singing time only, but at the last minute, we decided to keep him in his peer group. I'm so glad we did. His teachers are a young, married couple who work so well with him, and he is doing great!

Matthew's new favorite movie is The Music Man. He loves the opening scene with the train, and even does the part of the conductor when he waves his arm. He loves the singing and dancing and the marching band at the end. He will request the movie by waving his index fingers in the air and singing, "ooh, ooh, ooh". He'd watch it everyday, if he could. Oh, but that spells trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble...

And finally, Isabella celebrates her 100th day of first grade by making a fruit loop necklace. She organized 10 groups of 10 fruit loops, strung them all on a string, with little tags separating each group, which she decorated with a jewel sticker (totally her idea).

Christmas 2014

I love Christmas arts and crafts made by my kids. Isabella made Christmas trees for each of us. They included stickers, glue, tattoos, and cut-outs.

 Then she made luminaries.

Matthew made this luminary at his day care. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was: "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine", which to me embodies Matthew. Sue, his day care provider, told me one day that he fits in so well in her little program. That made my heart soar because I recently watched a news report about a couple of teenage boys with Ds who made a Zombie movie. One wrote a letter in which he said he had always felt like he didn't fit in.  I don't know what Matthew's school or social experience will be like as he goes through life, but I hope he will always feel a sense of belonging. He's off to a very good start. He participated with all the other kids singing and shaking jingle bells at Sue's Christmas dinner. It was the first time we were able to see him interact with his peers in that way.  I'm so happy that he is so loved by those that care for him.

A few days before Christmas, NoCal experienced the storm of a decade. "Epic" they called it. Whatever. This is how I remember winters being as a kid: Wet. It wasn't "epic", it was "vintage"California weather. I loved it. Everything looked blue-gray. We were huddled inside watching movies and drinking hot chocolate. And my house was clean. Now THAT was epic.

Aunt Karen and Cousin Amanda visited us for the holidays. They got to come with us on the Polar Express this year on Christmas Eve, which almost didn't happen because Mark and Karen were stuck in horrible holiday traffic picking up Amanda at the airport. I made soup for Christmas Eve dinner and ate it myself.

Popcorn and hot chocolate were made. Tickets were passed out, and this bunch of ruffians boarded the Polar Express to look at Christmas lights around town, er, the North Pole. Isabella totally got into character and as the the Polar Express zoomed up and down the hills and around corners, she starts yelling, "I SUGGEST WE ALL HOLD ON-- TIGHTLY!!" (one of the lines from the movie). Never a dull moment with this one.

After the train ride, Amanda and Isabella tracked Santa's progress on Amanda's iPad. Isabella learned that Santa's nickname for her was "Cutie Pie" and that he loves ice cream. But Isabella had made him a gingerbread cookie, so she also left an apology letter. 

 Santa has a forgiving heart because he brought her EXACTLY what she wanted on Christmas morning: An Elsa plush doll.

These two hail from Chicago, but you would never know it given the fact that they freeze when they come to marine-climate, Napa.

 Matthew got a book with all his favorite people in it.

Amanda made popcorn, and lots of it. Merry Christmas!

Conversations with Isabella

"When Daddy gets older and moves out, can we get a cat?" 
"Don't you want Daddy here? With us?"
"Well yes," she says, "but I really, really want a cat."
"So you want a cat more than you want Daddy to live here? Don't you think he'd be lonely if he lived by himself somewhere else?"
"Well, he could get a dog to keep him company," she says earnestly.

That makes me laugh out loud.

"What would make more sense is that when you grow up, and move out, you can get a cat wherever you live."

And then it hits me...I have said this to her before, and she has taken it to heart. In her 6 year old understanding of life, everyone grows up, moves out and gets the pet of their dreams (or in Isabella's case, she will voluntarily move you out so she can get the pet of her dreams.)

***

We are driving down the road when we pass a dead skunk. "Eeww!" I exclaim as I fumble to  close the car's vent. Of course this gets Isabella's attention and she asks to see the skunk.
"We already passed it," I say
"Can you show me where it is on our way home from school?" she asks
"Sure, "
"OR, maybe you could take a picture of it, and save it." she suggests
"I don't think I want a picture of a dead skunk," I tell her, " that's kind of gross."
There is a pause and then she says,
"Gross...yet interesting." 

***

In other dead animal news...

During her bath, Isabella says, "Today we saw a brown frog at school."
At least that's what I thought I heard, so I responded, "oooh, a brown frog, huh?"
"NO! I said, 'there was a DEAD GROUNDHOG at school' today."
"Oh that is different. Where was it?"
"In the field." And then came the REAL news..."Ellie, Karly, and Raegan went to red for touching it,"("Red" refers to the color-behavior chart they keep in class. Going to "red" is not good)
"You didn't touch it, did you?" I inquired.
"No, I didn't touch it, Ms. C told us not to touch dead animals."

I did not know that not touching dead animals was part of first grade curriculum, but I'm sure glad Mrs. C included such an important life lesson--and that Isabella listens to what Mrs. C teaches her.

***
As we are driving away from mom and dad's house...
"Ah, I already miss Nana and Papa, I wish we could live with them, " she says
"Oh, I know, but if we lived with them, then it wouldn't be special to visit them."
"NO, I still would really love to live there" (My consoling words could not convince her otherwise)
and then she leaves it with this little nugget:
"they are like my greatest treasures that can't fit into my treasure box"

My Own Baby

When I was a wee thing, I named my most beloved doll, My Own Baby. It was a clever, most original name. This was she: (or rather she with me)

My Own Baby was a Madame Alexander doll, which meant nothing to me. She was My Own Baby, and she went everywhere with me.

Once I turned My Own Baby into a WMD. She was the torpedo I launched from the back seat of the car to the front seat where my parents, who did not give me my way, sat. They were very mean. My Own Baby knew it.

I snuggled that doll so tightly I wore her soft cloth body down to rags, until all that was left was her dirty, plastic head.

Then I grew up and forgot about My Own Baby.

One day Mom, who was on a trip back East, stopped in a store where she discovered a doll. It's name was: My Own Baby, because she *supposedly* looked like a real baby. Filled with nostalgia, and sensing how delightful it would be for me to have another doll that I could pass on to my children, with the same moniker, she snatched it up from the store shelf and bought it for me. I was in college. 

My Own Baby (The Imposter) was a little creepy with her open, gaping mouth and eyes with their blank stare. She was quickly relegated to her box and placed on the top shelf of some closet and I moved on with my life.

That is, until I was about to have a baby of my own (a human one).  When I was pregnant with Isabella, Mom returned My Own Baby to me, so that Mark and I could use her to practice our swaddling techniques. She was, after all, slightly weighted and had all the correct physical features that a real baby has, making her the perfect model on which to practice. We became swaddling experts. Then my own baby (the human one) arrived. She cried. She moved. She had colic. She pooped once she was swaddled and had to be unswaddled, changed, and swaddled again. She constantly broke out of her swaddle. She was NOTHING like The Imposter. My Own Baby was quickly relegated to her box and was placed on the top shelf of some closet, and we moved on with life with our human baby.

That is, until I was pregnant with Matthew. Mom brought the box around again.
"My Own Baby will be perfect," she said, "for Isabella, to get used to being around another baby," The doll was, after all, around the same size of a real newborn.

"That creepy baby?" I said, under my breath.

My Own Baby was presented to Isabella, who was 3 at the time. She looked at it. She cuddled it.

"Ooh, ahh," Mom and I cooed.

Then Mom asked, "What do you want to name your baby, Isabella?"

Isabella looked up in earnest and said, "Creepy Baby".

Mom and I laughed so hard, one of us, may or may not have peed our pants. Just a little bit. Creepy Baby was quickly relegated to her box and placed on the top shelf of a closet, somewhere.

That is, until I was doing some early spring cleaning this year. I saw the box on the top shelf and decided it was time for The Imposter to go. I asked Mom if she had any reservations about me donating the doll. Her only request was that I take pictures of it, for posterity and all. But pictures in my household mean stories, and stories go on the blog.

Here is My Own Baby's last photo shoot. Matthew couldn't leave her alone. Either he thought she was as creepy as the rest of us did, or he loved her. I guess we'll never know.