Aliens Digging for Fossils

The other day I read Tai the book Aliens Love Underpants, which features brightly colored illustrations of aliens of all shapes and sizes. After we read it through it occurred to me that he might not even know what an alien is. So I asked and the conversation went like this:

K: Do you know what an alien is?

T: yes.

K: OK, what is it?

T: alien-tologist!

So now I'm worried that he thinks that paleontologists are green or purple or blue and have antennae and anywhere between 1 and 4 eyes. Next he'll be telling people he wants to be a paleontologist so he can fly a space ship.

That Poor Gorilla

I'm not sure how many of you folks know this, but Nibbles (the cat with no genitalia) is the friskiest animal in our house. And by frisky I mean, um, "frisky". About 8 years ago (back when he had a penis) he adopted a stuffed black cat of mine as his own. "Why does a cat need a stuffed companion?" you might ask. For sex, of course.

Nibbles and Sex Kitten (as we call it) were inseparable for years. Late at night, we'd find him biting it on the back of the neck and...um...you know. Sex Kitten is the size of an actual, small, cat. Just big enough to be realistic, and just small enough for Nibbles to be able to pick it up and move it from one room to another. We never knew where we'd find that thing each morning -- tossed in a corner of the living room, curled up under the kitchen table, or spread eagle at the bottom of the stairs.

Over the years, Sex Kitten got *much* use. This poor thing is now so tattered and threadbare

that it's embarrassing when people come over and see it, thinking it's one of Tai's toys--almost as embarrassing as having to tell people to keep their young children from touching it, but not wanting to explain why in front of tender young ears.

That is all just background for the news that there appears to be a new game in town. Not long ago, my parents gifted Tai a stuffed gorilla that happens to be black and roughly the same size as Sex Kitten. The gorilla went pretty much unnoticed and unused by anyone, including Tai, until last week. That's when we saw Nibbles saunter into the living room, carrying the gorilla in his mouth, settle down in the corner by the door and assume "the posture".

We rescued the gorilla right away, ushering him to safety up on a table, and gave Nibbles back Sex Kitten, who had been vacationing under our bed. But the next morning I found that poor primate at the bottom of the playroom stairs, looking rather ashamed of himself. Now, each evening we make sure the gorilla is up somewhere that we think is out-of-sight and out-of-mind, if not out of reach, but each morning he's laying on the floor somewhere looking dejected. Most recently, we discovered him halfway down the playroom stairs, and Sex Kitten at the bottom. So now we're not sure if Nibbles is upgrading his partner or trying to get a three-way started.

At this point I'm not sure whether to save the gorilla by hiding him away in Tai's room, or just let Nibbles go for it.

Selected Scenes from a Weekend in Vermont

Scene 1: The Trek North

1 hour into the 2.5 hour drive: (smiling) "Mama, I just got a big huge boogie out of my nose....and ate it."
1.5 hours into the 2.5 hour drive: (upset, almost frantic) "I can't see The Vermont!" My reply? "Look out the window, it's all around you." (He didn't get it.)
2 hrs into the 2.5 hrs drive: (all patience lost) "I don't want to go to The Vermont. I want to go home RIGHT NOW."

Scene 2: Who Knew a King-Sized Bed Could Feel Cramped?

I enjoy sharing my bed with Quynh, and I enjoy snuggling with Tai. But not at the same time. Never again.

Friday night-- after placing an almost-asleep Quynh in the center of a king-sized bed and tucking Tai into his sleeping bag on the floor, I foolishly attempted to go into the other room and have a glass of wine. Quynh wouldn't settle. My attempts at settling her just kept Tai awake. Tai wanted to know when I was coming to bed, and if he could get in the bed with me and Quynh. We called Daddy at 8:30pm and Tai announced, "I'm having trouble falling asleep." I then gave in and said all three of us could surely sleep comfortably in a king sized bed. After much flopping, flailing, talking, and whispered reprimands ("Don't lay on your sister!") somehow, by about 10pm, we all fell asleep.

At 3am when Quynh woke to nurse, Tai also woke. And became jealous (or something). He started pawing at Quynh, and at my breast, and then sat on my head. Yes, sat on my head. When he did not remove himself by the count of 3 he got an un-precedented 3:30am time-out. Tears ensued.

Saturday night was better, though it also started with an "I'm having trouble falling asleep" call to Daddy. I abandoned all pretense of staying up later than my kids and we all climbed into bed at 8pm. By the time I nursed Quynh to sleep and rolled over to snuggle Tai. he was still pretty wired. I had to tell him a lengthy story of the life, and death, of our long-dead cat Marmalade to get him to settle down (why he finds that particular tale calming is beyond me). Somehow we got through the second night with no one sitting on me and only 15 minutes of wailing at 3 am. "Is it wake up time yet? It's taking a looooong time!"

Scene 3: The Water Boy

Even though there is not much to actually do in Killington, VT if you are a non-skiing toddler, Tai only needed water to have a good time. It seemed like I couldn't keep him dry for more than a few hours at a time. Jacuzzi bathtub, shower, outdoor (heated) pool, back into the bathtub, etc. (Perhaps we should have just stayed home and soaked in the hot tub all weekend?)

Scene 4: Life and Death

At lunch on Sunday Tai claimed to be afraid to walk under the giant stuffed moose head on the wall. I explained that the moose used to be alive, but was now dead and stuffed (ugh). Though he still would not walk under it, he became instantly interested in learning which things in the restaurant used to be alive.

Pointing to a canoe hanging from the ceiling: "Mama, was that boat alive and it died?" And then, "Did that (wooden) duck used to be alive?" And on our way out the door after lunch, "Mama -- what about that man? (sitting and eating his lunch) Did he die?" Luckily, the man was good-natured about it and almost seemed entertained by Tai's curiosity. Whew.

Scene 5: Home Sweet Home

The ride home (at naptime on Sunday) was blissfully quiet and we returned to trimmed hedges and gardens, a mown lawn, a re-organized laundry room, and even a clean bathroom floor. But we also returned to an exhausted Daddy with a killer headache from lack of caffeine. (Apparently washing the coffee pot seemed like more trouble than it was worth to him).

While we were away Minh even found time to test the Halloween candy, just to make sure it isn't poison and will be safe to give out to the neighborhood kids. What a thoughtful guy.

My Big Boy

Tai is almost 3. How and when that happened, I'm not sure. Lately I've been marvelling at how grown-up he is. Some examples:


He orders his own food in restaurants. Granted, it's always the same order. "Do you have chocolate milk? And do you have mac n cheese?" And when the server comes by half-way through the meal to check on us he says "I'm all set" before they can even ask if we need anything else. (Perhaps we eat out too much?)

He can walk all the way around the block on his own feet, without begging to be carried just after the half-way point. Buttons is not a big fan of Tai's stop-and-smell-the-roses pace, but it's fun to do once in a while.


He's *nearly* potty trained and is quite good about using public restrooms. He recently delighted in selecting which port-o-potty to use from a row of about 8. Once inside he became fascinated with the urinal and (after I insisted he stop *touching* it) he requested to stand up and pee into that instead of sitting on the toilet. Afterward, he bragged to Minh about it.



No one has ever taken so much pleasure from doing laundry as my boy Tai. If he sees us with a load of laundry he insists that he be allowed to help with it. He sits up on the dryer and pours the detergent into the washer. He is also in charge of putting the Bounce in the dryer. Surely this obsession will last through his teen years and I'll never had to do another load myself, right?



He feeds the dog. By himself. For the past several months he's been helping me feed the dog and cats each morning. But the other day I was in Quynh's room changing her diaper when I heard it happen. "Buttons, down!" And then the sound of dog food being scooped into her bowl. And then. "OK, good girl!"



He selects his outfit each morning. Actually, we've started having him select it at night before bed, for the next day. This is an attempt to get us out of the house earlier on weekday mornings, but it has proven only moderately successful thus far. It's not so much that he cares what he wears, but he likes having a say in the process, I think. He's beginning to understand that the season have just changed and short sleeved t-shirts are no longer an appropriate choice. Except for that one favorite shirt I can't seem to get him to forget about. Now if he could just learn to dress himself, we'd be all set.

I always find something to worry about

I woke at 5:30am this morning to Tai standing beside my bed -- his face mere inches from mine. After the initial shock of that rude awakening, I explained that it was still "the middle of the night" and tucked him back in. But while I was tending to him I was thinking, "where the hell is Quynh?" I had put her to bed at 8pm the night before and had not seen her since. "Surely, she is dead," I thought (while simultaneously knowing that was ridiculous and she was perfectly fine.)

After settling Tai back in I climbed back into my bed and tried to enjoy the fact that Quynh was sleeping so long. But that only lasted 2 minutes. I peeked at her using the video monitor, but that does not allow me to see whether she is breathing. Knowing I would not sleep until I knew she was OK, I went in. I lingered just long enough to see her move her arm and then me and my aching engorged breasts went back to bed.

She woke at 7:15am and I ran to her at the first peep. I brought her into bed with me and she nursed long and hard. Let's hope she sleeps as well tonight.

My New Philosophy

I have this new method of keeping sane that I'd like to share.

Instead of walking by the giant tumbleweeds of dog and cat fur that gather up against the baseboard and thinking, "oh, this place is getting dirty" and "we really need to clean this weekend" I now stop, bend over, pick them up, and put them in the trash can. The most important part of this new method is that I don't seek the tumbleweeds out. This is not Active Cleaning. But if I happen to see one in my travels, I grab it.

Brilliant, right?

Who would have thought that I could have come up with this groundbreaking solution? It takes about 4 extra seconds and I only pick up one or two a day, but it keeps me from slowly growing more and more disgusted with the general state of the house and constantly thinking about about how much house-cleaning is on the horizon. It also has the added bonus of making the house look slightly more presentable in the event of a Neighbor Pop In.

Now if I could just bring myself (or my son) to do the same thing with the toys that are strewn all over the place I could stop grumbling about the state of the house entirely.

Lessons Learned (Maybe?)

This morning, while he was supposed to be getting dressed for school, Tai attempted to retrieve Emmit from the top of his bureau by standing on an ottoman, on tiptoes, reaching across an 18" span and fumbling around above his head.

He fell.

Naked.

Onto a wooden train.

I was nursing Quynh at the time, listening through the wall as a crying Tai told Minh what had happened. After some wailing and some exclaiming of "my penis!" when Minh asked where Tai had hurt himself, I found the two of them snuggled in Tai's bed, wrapped in a blanket. Man Time.

The lessons to be learned are many. (1) Don't reach for things on top of the bureau, (2) Don't stand on furniture, (3) Don't leave toys laying around on the floor, and (4) we need a better place to keep Emmit when he's off limits.

Love / Hate

Lately, I seem to have a Love/Hate relationship with many aspects of life, especially those related to motherhood. Here are some examples:

Coffee:

Each day I drink more coffee than I think a nursing mother really should and then feel guilty about it and start swallowing gallons of water in an attempt to somehow dilute the caffeine in my breast milk. Then I do the very same thing the next day.

Nuks:

I love that Quynh has recently started taking a pacifier. I love that it helps her sleep longer at night. I love that she'll suck on a nuk all night long, instead of my poor nipples. I hate that Tai is nearly 3 years old and still uses a nuk. I hate the thought that Quynh might also use hers well into toddlerhood and we'll be "the family whose kids still use pacifiers". Yet, I hate the thought of breaking Tai of this habit, possibly even more than I hate the thought of not breaking Tai of this habit. Perhaps I'll be packing his nuk when he goes off to college?

Pumping:

I really hate pumping. Yes, it's wonderful to be providing Quynh with breast milk each day, but there's nothing pleasant about the process of extracting that milk. The only bright side to it is that I get to go sit in a quiet room and read a book for 10 minutes, three times a day. It is a nice break from work. I'm thinking about switching Quynh to formula, but not telling my boss. Then I'll continue to take my three breaks each day, but use the time to read and drink copious amounts of coffee.

Working:

Speaking of work...I could absolutely not be a stay-at-home mom. Caring for two kids all day every day would exhaust/bore me more than I can imagine. I adore my children and love spending time with each of them. Just not 24-7. Work provides a nice "break" from the little ones and the chance to talk to other adults. Oh, and it provides money. Can't forget about that little detail. On the other hand, it is Work. 'Nuf said. I think what I need is to be independently wealthy so I can stay at home, but still send my kids to daycare.

West Virginia, Part II

Quynh's thoughts on travelling:

Milk tastes good, whether having it:

in Logan Airport,
on a plane,
in a hotel lobby,
in a restaurant,
in a hotel room,
or in the reptile house at the National Zoo.

Napping is delightful, whether doing it:

in the ergo,
on a plane,
in a rental car,
in mama's arms,
on daddy's lap,
in the wrap,
or in a hotel bed--on crisp white sheets, under a fluffy down comforter.


No matter where I am, things that make me happy include:

sitting on daddy's lap,
riding around in the ergo,
getting complete strangers to make silly faces at me,
and watching my brother act a fool.

West Virginia, Part I

Our Trip, as seen through Tai's eyes:

Major excitement at the presence of tunnels and overpasses in Boston. We just don't have those things out here in cow-country. "Mama! Another tunnel!"

Upon arrival at the Logan Economy Parking Lot: "I can't see West Virginia! Where is it?"

Hanging out at Logan: pizza, smoothies, rides on the escalator, chocolate from grampy, and watching plane after plane take off. Sitting on the tarmac: "Are we taking off yet?"

In flight (at naptime): shoes off, headphones on, channel surfing on his own private TV. Snacking on water and Jet Blue cookies. Tired, but too excited to sleep.

Rides in the hotel elevator, "Which number you want? Up or down?"

A bowl full of hard candy in the hotel lobby......so many flavors, so little time.

Swimming in the (outdoor) hotel pool until his lips turned blue.

At the wedding: (loudly, during the ceremony) "Are they married yet? Why are they getting married? Why are they doing rings? Where's the dancing part?"

At the National Zoo, "Daddy, look! Pigeons! This is a special treat to see all these birds."

Tuesday morning. K to T: "Today we're going to the airport to get on a plane and fly home. A Jet Blue plane." T to K: "Oh!! I LOVE Jet Blue planes!"

Sitting on the tarmac in DC for way too long: "Are we taking off yet? Will there be a snack this time? Where's the snack? I see the engine!"

Five minutes into the drive from Logan to South Hadley: sound asleep in his car seat.

Mountain Mama

We'll be taking the Mass Pike, an airplane, and (perhaps) some actual Country Roads to West Virginia on Saturday.

It's our first trip as a family of four, Quynh's first plane ride, and Tai's first time getting his own seat on a plane, like a big kid. He doesn't remember his previous plane rides, so he's very excited for this one. Too bad he keeps pointing to the peg-legged, patch-eyed swash-buckler on his jigsaw puzzle and asking me if that's who is going to fly the plane. Think he'll be disappointed to learn that pilots and pirates are not one in the same?

After attending a wedding (about which Tai is also very excited) in West Virginia, we'll spend one day in DC and hopefully tour the National Zoo.

Sadly, in this time of just-back-to-work, water in the basement, still not getting quite enough sleep, I have not had a chance to start packing for this adventure. The Type A in me is thoroughly disappointed by this.

Wish us luck.

Day One

Woke up to an alarm clock instead of a Quynh fussing or Tai announcing, "It's time to wake up!"

Showered.

Put on maternity pants (sigh) and long loose fitting top carefully selected to hide belly, and fact that pants are intended for pregnant women.

Finished packing four lunch bags just in time to hear Tai emerge from his room.

Breakfast.

Took way too long selecting Quynh's outfit for the First Day of School, all the while knowing how ridiculous I was being. Somehow, it had to be cute, but not so cute that anyone would know I had put thought into it. I wanted her to be able to pull off the coy, "oh, this old thing?" look.

Nursed Quynh. Burped Quynh. Spit-up everywhere. Changed self into Carefully Selected Outfit #2. Changed Quynh into Outfit Number 2, less carefully selected.

Family of four out the door, only 15 minutes past Goal Time.

Arrived at work.

Chatted.

Pumped.

Tended to personal emails. Read work emails.

Ate "lunch" (10:30am).

Read more work emails.

Pumped.

Chatted. Looked over work To Do list (updated last on May 27th) and tried to remember what it is I do for a living.

Took care of a little online shopping.

Pumped.

Picked up kids. Went home and played with Tai. Nursed a hungry and exhausted Quynh.

Dinner. Playtime. Bathtime. Bedtime.

Washed a mountain of dishes, bottles, and pump parts.

Fell into bed and was asleep before my head hit the pillow (oh wait....not yet...maybe in about 30 more minutes).

The Beatles

Tai is in a huge Beatles phase at the moment. It started when he heard Yellow Submarine at school and has blossomed from there. Let me state for the record that I much prefer listening to the same 10 Beatles songs over and over in the car than just about any kids music. So I can't complain.

The other day, while Eleanor Rigby was playing, Tai suddenly said, "Mama, they have no friends." I asked who he was talking about and he said, "all the lonely people."

Milk Brain

They say nursing makes you spacey. It just might be true.

Last week I put both kids in the car, started the engine, rolled up all the windows, cranked up the AC, and was about to back out of the garage when Tai said, "Mama, close Quynh's!"

Although I was sure I had closed all the windows, I obliged him by hitting that button again, without looking back. I told Tai her window was closed and then put the car in reverse and was just about to back out when Tai explained, "No, Mama. Close her door!"

I had, indeed, neglected to close her car door. Good thing I keep Tai around to keep an eye on things.

Tai's Third Camping Trip

We're just back from our third camping trip as parents. Each year we manage to get to the DAR at least once and each year it presents new joys and unique challenges.

2007: Tai wanted nothing more than to roll around on the ground and practice trying to crawl. This proves difficult on a rocky campsite. He had to settle for sitting in camp chairs.

2008: Being 18 months old and walking, Tai had a much better time camping. He also got to bring a friend. This year's activities consisted of hikes in the ergo, collecting acorns, and throwing sand into the lake.

2009: Tai was once again accompanied by his good friend Natasha, but this time also by his 11-week-old sister, Quynh. Tai and Natasha hiked on their own feet, rode in a canoe, splashed in the lake, and imagined up all sorts of games around the campsite. Quynh happily sat in a lap, rode in the ergo, or relaxed in what is now her camp chair.

Ahhh....Toddlerhood

I am truly the mom of a potty-training toddler. I have picked poop off the floor and out of Finding Nemo underwear. We're getting there. Slowly.

A couple priceless examples of Tai's take on this process:

Last week when we arrived at school I asked Tai to tell his teacher about what he did on the potty that morning. He immediately rattled off, "I went pee on the potty and I tried to go poop, but I didn't. But mama did." Thanks for sharing, Tai.

This morning, Tai was watching a show buck naked on our new and very expensive couch. I noticed he was holding his penis so I asked, "Do you have to go potty?" and he said "No." So I asked, "Then why are you holding your penis?" and he said "I'm afraid to get pee pee on the couch." Smart kid. He knows fine furniture when he sees it.

Adventures in Potty Training

In our house, anyone who puts pee or poop in the potty gets to ring a bell. It's very exciting. And loud, so it let's the whole household know what's going on.

Yesterday morning before school, Tai peed in the potty, rang the bell, and then put on underwear. A mere 10 minutes later he peed while standing by the couch in the playroom. We rushed to the potty to see if he could finish there, but he told me that "I peed it all out in my underwear." We put on dry underwear and moved on. I tossed a hand towel down on the wet spot, stepped on it a couple times, and tossed the towel in the washer. A little toddler pee is no big deal, I figured.

That evening, we were all down in the playroom and Minh asked why the floor by the couch was wet. I recounted the story and explained that I must not have cleaned up very well after the accident. Minh grabbed a fresh towel, threw it down and stepped on it. And when that was soaked through he grabbed another towel and did the same. And then another. After he had soaked 4 or 5 towels we decided we either had a kid with the world's largest bladder or there was some secondary source of dampness.

Minh did the Sniff Test and determined that the cats had not taken it upon themselves to mark the spot where Tai had peed (whew!)

Then he went in the utility room (to get another towel) and found water all over the basement floor. Rain was literally streaming in by the bulkhead door. So....after living here for 6 years with a bone dry unfinished basement, we now have a sopping wet finished basement. Awesome.

Minh stayed up till 3am last night using the shop vac to suck up as much as he could, while the rain continued. Due to those efforts, we seem to have contained the wetness to one corner of the playroom. Luckily, the company that did the work "guarantees" it and will come out soon to assess the situation and make a plan to resolve problem. But, somehow, even after living without a playroom for so many years, the thought of living without one for (days? weeks? a month?) is horrifying.

The good news is, Tai kept his underwear dry all morning at school. And the Potty Bell was rung last night before bed and again this morning. We're getting there.....

Places I've Recently Found Baby Poo

on the back of my hand,
on Quynh's foot,
on the sleeve of my sweatshirt,
on the sheets of my bed,
and (occasionally) inside a diaper.

Quynh's Birth Story

I've had two children and two unmedicated births. But I can only take "credit" for the first one. Quynh's birth was so fast that they wouldn't have given me an epidural even if I had bribed the anesthesiologist. Still, her story will be told.

On May 27th, I tucked Tai into bed and said, "stay in your room until your night light turns off" instead of "come find me when your night light turns off" because I had a feeling I might not be home at 6:30 the next morning.

8pm: Minh and I sat down to watch a movie. I was having some short, mild contractions. Not unlike what I had off and on for the previous months. Still, I wondered if I might be going into labor, as I watched a woman die during childbirth in the opening scene of Benjamin Buttons. (Not the best movie choice for the occasion, in retrospect).

11pm: We finished the movie, which ends with a baby dying (again, not the best film choice that night). At this point I was pretty sure I was in labor, though Minh was still not convinced. We discussed possibly needing to call someone to come stay with Tai, but Minh figured we wouldn't need to leave for the hospital until after breakfast the next morning. I disagreed and, in preparation for a long night, I ate a giant bowl of Cheerios and went to lay down and rest.

11:30pm: I got back up, certain I was in labor. Spent a few minutes convincing my husband of this fact. Next I called the doula to warn her that she too was in for a long, sleepless night. Then I got down to serious business -- washing dishes, changing the sheets on our bed, packing Tai's lunch for the next day, and ordering Minh around. Minh, finally convinced this was the real deal, ate a bowl of instant noodles and then opened up the Bradley Natural Childbirth book and began cramming for the final exam.

12:00am: Minh arranged for our friend Scott to come stay in our bed and take care of Tai in the morning. Then he called the doctor and described the nature and frequency of my contractions. They suggested I stay home a bit longer. Minh dutifully relayed this information to me and then promptly called the doctor back and told them that his wife said we are going to the hospital NOW.

12:45am: Scott arrived and greeted me with a big smile and a "hey, how ya doin'?" (Seriously? Men, I swear.) Minh gave Scott all the necessary instructions and we pulled out of the driveway around 1am. I rode the whole way to the hospital with my eyes closed (partially because I was trying to relax, but mostly because I was scared to see how fast Minh was driving.)

1:20am: We arrived at the hospital (in record time) and Minh endured 4 contractions on the way from the car to the childbirth center. Yes, Minh endured them. For him, this meant letting me throw all my body weight on him and moan and groan, in public, while he was holding two duffel bags, two pillows, and trying to act casual. The folks smoking their cigarettes in the parking lot outside the ER gave us funny looks, I think. But seriously, Minh was a rock star of a hubby during all this, making sure I had whatever I needed. He didn't even piss me off by cracking a stupid joke (this time).

1:40 am: I received the most wonderful news--that I was 9.5 cm along and could pretty much push right away.

1:45am - 2:55am: Lots of messy details no one needs. A grouchy OB, a wonderful husband, a helpful doula, and I somehow managed to get Quynh born. There was yelling and swearing as I attempted to educate the OB on my pioneer valley hippy-dippy views about unmedicated birth while giving birth. And then we forgot to ask for the placenta until after they had cleaned up the room and our doula went running out into the hallway to track it down. The folks at that hospital undoubtedly think we are truly weird.

7:30am: I talked to Scott and learned that, upon waking and finding him in our bed, Tai burst out with laughter. We had been worried that it would be traumatic for him to see someone else in our place, but apparently not. Minh then began to wonder if perhaps that was not the first time Tai has seen Scott in our bed. But Quynh looks decidedly Vietnamese, so no paternity tests have been ordered.

Friday May 30th: As we headed home as a family of four, we stopped at the nurses' station to say goodbye. They said, "come see us again sometime" and Minh promptly replied "hell no!" We are done. This will be the last birth story I write.

All About Tai

Yes, Quynh is a major topic of conversation these days, but I cannot neglect to share all the wonderful Tai stories of the moment. First, to answer everyone's most pressing question these days, Tai is a fantastic big brother and is very sweet with Quynh. He's less sweet with me and Minh--frequently testing limits and throwing tantrums. But he's wonderful with his sister. Some of his favorite activities these days are:

(1) picking out an outfit for Quynh to wear
(2) petting Quynh on the head and holding her hand
(3) winding up her mobile and turning on her swing

The other day on the way home with both kids in the car, Quynh started crying pretty hard. Tai immediately started saying, "It's OK Quynh. We're almost home. Getting closer and closer." it was so sweet I almost melted.

Tai was fascinated with breastfeeding.....until he saw me pump. Now that is his current obsession. I often find my pump bag open with various parts strewn on the floor -- evidence that Tai was "pumping" without me. Last night at dinner he actually got in trouble for playing with his food -- he was pumping by shoving a hamburger roll up under his shirt. And here's a typical Saturday morning conversation:

T: Mama, can we pump now?
K: Yes
T: I'll set up the pumper!!!

But Tai's whole life does not revolve around his sister. He's still going to school 4 days a week and comes home with lots of stories about climbing, swimming, and playing with the other toddlers and even the pre-schoolers. He does appear to be 2 going on 14, however. His new favorite answer to most questions is "nothing" (pronounced "nuffin"). What did you do at school today? nuffin. What did you eat for lunch? nuffin. Who should walk Buttons this afternoon? nuffin.

Puzzles are his new favorite toy. And not those really easy baby puzzles, either. Real jigsaw puzzles. He has one of a farm that he does at least 3 times a day. Faster and faster each time. And when you sit down to do it with him he usually reminds you, "you have to start with the edges."

Finally, the fascination with trucks, construction equipment, and power tools continues, but is now matched by a concurrent obsession with dresses and tights. He's asked for tights a few times now and when we tell him we don't have any he asks us to buy him some. We may just have to. For dresses, size 4T t-shirts have sufficed this far. He likes to twirl around in them. But we are headed to a wedding in September and Tai has already requested that "mama wear a long dress and Tai can wear a long dress and we can dance!" So, for those of you who will be at that wedding, be prepared to see Tai in a dress and tights....with a HUGE smile on his face.