Saturday Recap

Just another busy Saturday. It started off with some bike riding at the park. Porter looks like he's been caught red-handed here. The only question is whether he's going after her wheels or her snack. Then lunch at an old friend's which featured the most amazing persimmon pudding ever (recipe coming soon!). Porter chased a soccer around the backyard while Matilda tried to throw herself into the fish pond and generally terrorized the old cat. She did manage to successfully throw the skimmer net into the pond, and came to sweet talk me into retrieving it saying how I had "nice, long arms to reach it better than her." I was just thankful she didn't go in after it.
Then we were off to Gracie's 2nd birthday party where Matilda got to live the princess dream & we ate amazing blue velvet cake from Milk.
Also, I finally finished the hand sewing parts of M's pigeon shirt this week so she was super excited to finally wear it today. All in all a great day.

Water Baby

Tim & Porter went to P's first swim class today, at the aquatics center where Matilda used to take classes. Porter seemed to really enjoy it, aside from the dunking part. When I took M there for lessons they never did any dunking, which I thought was good. The swim lesson philosophy back then was to let the kids get comfortable to put their face in the water on their own. I didn't realize anything had changed, and neither did Tim, who hadn't attended the classes with baby Matilda. Regardless, I think we will be skipping the dunk portion next week, much to Porter's relief.

Porter's reaction to the pool was to go limp like a noodle.

Pop goes the weasel. Matilda was super excited for Porter & went crazy when they started singing "Pop Goes the Weasel" because she remembers that from her swim days. M was fairly insistent that she was going to get in the pool, too, so after watching Tim & Porter for a few minutes we disappeared to the playground next door. We were majorly distracting Porter, I was feeling bad about depriving M of pool time, and I was also really sure that if we stayed there long enough M would end up somehow falling into the pool. She was so amped up about it all (picture her vibrating) and couldn't manage to sit still to watch or stop fussing with all of the toys/floaties/safety equipment.
Porter enjoys the warm pool.
I cannot refrain from making a man-boobs joke here. I think the best part about swim class was seeing Porter in his little swim trunks. A topless baby is always a funny thing.

WIsh List

Over the holiday's Matilda picked up on the idea of a wish list.

After trying out her buddies new Christmas bike at the park, you can guess what has made it to the top of her birthday list!

Mr. Big

Stats from Porter's 8.5 month check up:

Weight: 23lb, 90th percentile. (Tim at that age: 22lb 4 oz)

Height: 29.5", 92nd percentile (Tim at that age: 29.25")

His head circumference is still off the charts, but not a concern. The pediatrician DID measure Tim's head though to verify the big-headed genes!

Porter is astounding us lately with his skills. In between sessions of shaking things, he is doing new stuff hourly it seems. Yesterday we heard "bye bye" very clearly to finally claim as his first word. He's been babbling up a storm of late so we knew he was saying stuff but hadn't picked anything out of the stream yet. Today he was clapping together some musical blocks & drumming along with Tim & Matilda's jam session. A few days ago he started waving & now is a mad fool waving at everything: his bites of food, toys he is holding, his sister, the ceiling fan.

Here He Comes, Spelled With a Capitol T

I submit these as evidence in the need-more-babyproofing column. Porter really likes to shake things. It makes me think we need to fasten down every piece of furniture with earthquake straps, not just the heavy stuff. (I promise that I check the sweetened lime juice bottle regularly to ensure it is screwed on tightly. P has learned to go for that one specifically; I see a future margarita fan in the making.)

In other "Trouble" news, yesterday our pediatrician actually seemed concerned when we told her that while we were all in the bathroom getting ready to go to Porter's check-up, he learned how to flush the toilet. Dr. K is so laid back & has never batted an eye at anything, but she really seemed disturbed to hear about Porter's repeated flushing of the toilet. Although she did laugh upon hearing of the grin he had & how proud he seemed. She quickly regained her composure and pleaded with Porter to stay out of trouble in the bathroom & for us to keep the door closed!

Just Another Normal Dinner

The comedienne:

Her biggest fan:

It's Super Baby

He's handsome.

He wears a cape.

He can free-stand.

It's true: he's super!

(Cute shirt/cape credit goes to the Kilts clan. Thanks, guys!)

Only in Hollywood

Missing Thank You Notes

Today Matilda was running around the apartment with an extra computer mouse (unattached to any computer), aiming it at the computer and claiming she was sending emails. When I asked who she was emailing M claimed it was a note to Grandma Marge to thank her for the great Legos she got for Christmas. She's like a little Miss Manners getting her imaginary thank yous out on time!

Jelly Belly!

We went on an awesome factory tour at Jelly Belly last week. The best part of it was that they were making licorice flavor that day so we all left smelling delicious (or terrible if you ask Tim). Here we are sporting the mandatory tour headgear.

Like any good tour, it had a mosaic of Reagan. I guess Ronald Reagan was a big fan of the beans, so when he became president they got lots of publicity and the company really took off.

The whole place felt like Vegas for kids to me. The waiting areas, store and cafe were filled with these flashing, blinking jelly bean dispensing machines. Matilda quickly learned to check the dispenser spouts for freebie beans.

The wait for a (free!) tour was quite long so we ended up sticking around to eating lunch there since we were all in dire need of sustenance after smelling all that sugary goodness. Here everyone waits for their bean-themed food.

Jelly bean shaped personal pizza and jelly bean shaped burger patties! Only slightly less bizarre than the hideous smiley face fries.

This is the color of Matilda's favorite flavor: mint toothpaste. It is supposed to be a joke flavor in the "Bean Boozled" line of beans but don't tell Matilda that. I tried the diaper wipes flavor and it was gross but not terrible.

Tim fills up his bag with soda shoppe flavors. 7 Up is good, but root beer is better!

The gals were running on pure sugar power by the end and had loads of fun.

Ice Skating

If I had a life list of things I want to experience before I die, taking my daughter ice skating would be on it. I skated tons growing up, but don't get the opportunity to much here in LA. While in the Bay area last week, I finally got Matilda onto the ice and we had a blast.

I was tempted for a moment to get her the two bladed strap on kind, but we got the real deal figure skates in their smallest size. She did really well, and was just as excited as I was about the whole endeavor.

There were no casualties, although I did have many moments where I was sure we would pull her elbow out of socket again!

After getting her confidence up, M took a few turns on the ice with our old friend Sarah.

Happy, happy ice skaters.

I declare January the best month in So Cal

Here are some pictures of our sunny, California New Years Day playground trip to spread some sunshine to those of you in cold weather.
Porter peeks out happily from the little train. Stella has some awesome teeter totter technique. The chin use is genius for increased stabilization.

This feature on the playground is perfect to practice for prison visitations.

Deceiving

Don't let the innocent look fool you, this boy is trouble. He is SO fast and into everything! The upside of moving is that we are re-evaluating all the half-assed baby proofing we did for Matilda and now doing a Porter-proof job.

Warming Up to the Suit

Tonight Matilda decided (possibly as a stall for bedtime) that she finally wanted to try on the spacesuit that she got for Christmas. Once she had it on she was really excited and I think that all her trepidation was gone.
She has already declared that she wants to wear it to the zoo tomorrow. Sounds a little hot to me.

We made Penne with Spinach and Chicken for dinner tonight and Porter gobbled it up. We didn't give him the chicken chunks, but chopped everything else up into tiny bits and he was flapping his arms and squawking for more, especially the caramelized oniony bits. It was the most enthusiastic I have seen him for food yet.

Like Porter, Tim also had a tasty treat today. He took Matilda to see the Princess and the Frog. M was snacking on stocking candy and peanuts during the movie, occasionally feeding some to Tim. He had automatically leaned in for another bite, and had his lip on the offering, before he realized something was amiss. Matilda did not have another Skittle, but had been trying to show Tim her booger. Moviegoers be warned!