Monkey see, monkey do

We have lots of teeth.

Bike-go-round

At the MakerFaire this weekend, Julian got to sit on an oversized swing set, enjoy a private concert of kids music, decorate a chocolate-covered Oreo, and ride this merry-go-round made of bikes.

Scarlett did these activities as well, minus the Oreo, but probably won't remember them next year.

The cool thing about this ride is that the inventor just made it for fun. No business model here; just the smile it puts on the faces of the riders.

No use crying over it

Scarlett helped herself to a half-gallon of milk that was sitting on the table. Yes, pretty much the entire half-gallon.

As a result, we have ditched the dining room rug. FLOR tiles, maybe we'll try you again in a few years.



Then she and her cousin had a pretty good laugh over it.

It's Birthday Week

1973 part 1
Originally uploaded by small fry

Just when I was thinking of quitting this blog, I was inspired by my own birthday.

I am going to be 36, the age my mom was when I was 13. I remember her being this age and sometimes feel that I'm imitating her, borrowing her voice and way of talking, her handwriting and her style. But I also keep in mind that I'm now double the years she was when she married my dad. So maybe I'm actually becoming my grandmother. I'm not sure.

Looking at these pictures of 1973, most of them not mine, is a blast from someone's past. The art and home furnishings are terrific. Or are they terrifying?


Picture from a Swedish magazine Husmodern 33/1973


Inside of a 1973 BMW


Datsun (I had one of these...)


Me and my dad, plus me in my crib with the plastic bumpers


So, what do you think? 1973 is the year of awesome, right?

Paradise Found

We just spent 3 days at Paradise Point in San Diego. We tired Julian out by providing nonstop activity and stimulation such that he fell asleep at 6 pm the day after we returned.

("How did he sleep after falling asleep so early?" you might ask. No worse than usual. He came in our room at 3.30 am to gleefully announce that he just had a dream in which he and Scarlett were chasing Boots and Dora. Um, go back to your room and don't make any noise until 7 am, please.)

The cousins got some time together, and I read a book, not a magazine, for the first time in almost a year. I was reminded that down time is really more "down" outside of my own house. I must seek out more of this.

More pics of the weekend are here.

40-year old fuses

Ryan just found these in our garage. The previous owner had written a date with pencil on one of the packages. That date is 9/20/68.

I didn't even know they had pencils back then.

Why these new pics are brought to you by Facebook

Through Facebook, I recently hooked up with an old friend from gymnastics/jr high, Sharon Montrose. I learned that she is a professional photographer in LA and I instantly fell in love with her work. She specializes in animals, especially dogs, but also shoots kids for various parenting publications. I don't even love dogs (I only like them okay), but Sharon makes them look so charming.


(You can buy this piece from Sharon on Etsy.)

So, I asked her to write up some tips for RookieMoms.com, which she did. Now we have a delightful photo tips page.



I was myself inspired to take a different approach to snapping pictures of my kids by looking at Sharon's work. I just took a bunch of pics of Scarlett in the tub where I focused more on capturing the event and the aesthetics of the bathroom setting as a backdrop to a toddler's exuberance in the tub. I dropped the obsession with capturing her eye contact and smile. I think I got some great shots in terms of composition. (They are a bit grainy due to the lighting challenges of the bathroom.)

Tell me which ones you like.

Skeleton Veggies

Better late than never.

I took a picture of the veggie plate at Julian's birthday party because I wanted to share with the world the cuteness of this crudite skeleton I ordered my brother to make for our Halloweenish fiesta.

He did an excellent job and I thank him. Now. In January.

Cycle For Survival

Many of you know that Jen Goodman Linn, a friend of ours, has been fighting a rare cancer for several years now. Recent news that her cancer has returned is a disappointment to us all. Jen has let us know how we can help and Ryan and I are taking action.

Jen and Dave Linn created an event called Spin4Survival, an indoor team cycling fundraiser held in January 2007. She envisioned an event that would “reward and challenge the mind, body, and soul” — one that would eventually become national in scope. The inaugural event was an inspiration for all who attended. The second annual fundraiser far surpassed projected goals, with more than 120 teams “geared up to battle cancer,” including worldwide satellite teams. In total, the event has raised more than $800,000 and has grown into the fundraiser now known as Cycle for Survival.

“The fact that this event has directly benefited patients motivates me to keep going,” Jen said. “We’ve gained momentum, and we’ve already changed the way we’re fighting this illness. I have great hope that this will ultimately lead to more treatment breakthroughs and higher survival rates for those with rare cancers, so that more of us will live to tell our unique tales.”

This month, we'll ride as part of a satellite team in the Bay Area. It would mean a lot to us and to the Linn and Goodman families to have your support. (That means dollars.) Click here to donate and stay tuned to find out how we did.

Merry Christmas Day 2008

Julian and Scarlett love them some christmas!

Bubblicious

Why 4-year olds are weird:

They make up languages
They wear rain boots in the dry summer
They stick their fingers in their noses absentmindedly
They come in your room at 3 am to invite you to come into their rooms
They want to eat rice with their fingers
They don't believe it is wonderful to be invited to lay down for an hour in the middle of the day
They make 5 or 10 horizontal lines in their capital "E"
They say "nipples!" and giggle when their shirts are off

Or maybe it's just ours.

Genetic study

On the left, I am pictured in the tub, circa 1974. On the right, a printout of Scarlett earlier this year. Comments?

Birthday 4.0

Four years ago today, I was sitting on the couch, 11 days past my due date, barely able to breathe due to all the space my fetus was taking up in my torso. And two days later, Julian arrived, making us parents.

On Wednesday he'll have his third birthday party of the season. His first was with my cousins and his second was this weekend with his friends. Dinosaur digging in the sand table, mini-pumpkin hunting, and cupcake eating were enjoyed by all the kids. See all the pictures if you need proof.

Partying with Scarlett

Untitled from whitneymoss on Vimeo.

Preschool field trip

Julian and Zenaida

From Monterey Market

Scarlett at home

Underwear Do's and Don'ts

Today children's book author Todd Parr came to Julian's preschool. I was very excited about this, since we are big fans of his colorful books. We own two: This Is Your Hair and Funny Faces. I even wrote my own board book, inspired by This Is Your Hair a couple of years ago.

This morning when Julian got ready for school, he put on two pairs of plain white underwear, one atop the other. Both backwards. This is really not a battle worth fighting, so I said nothing.

Interestingly, one of the books Todd gave to the school was Underwear Do's and Don'ts which has a page that explains how one should not wear multiple pairs of underwear at the same time. When I picked Julian up from school, there was one pair of plain white undies in his cubby.

I sent Julian to school with his well-worn copy of Funny Faces. I hoped that someone would facilitate Julian getting it signed by the author and I explained this to Julian last night when I told him to bring the book to school. Tonight, from the bathtub, when Ryan questioned J about his experience with Todd, Julian reported that he did indeed get his book signed. "He wrote my name and a heart because Todd loves me," he explained confidently. "When I am bigger than a grandpa," he continued, "will I be the author of Funny Faces?"

"No," Ryan had to tell him. "Todd Parr already wrote Funny Faces. You'll have to come up with your own book."

I really hope he does.

Liveblogging a vacation

We are at the mid-point of our Santa Cruz summer vacation. So far, excellent.



We arrived in the late afternoon on Monday and were delighted by the location of the hotel, The Dream Inn. (Oh, and the first lovely part of the day was that we had our babysitter come and watch the kids for 5 hours while we took our time preparing for the trip. So worth it!) We upacked at the hotel, had poolside drinks and then went to a vegetarian restaurant in downtown Santa Cruz called Malabar. Delicious.

Tuesday we floated from beach to pool to the Boardwalk where Julian enjoyed carnival rides and a Chinese acrobat performance and Ryan and I DID NOT enjoy the food. We had dinner outside at the hotel pool and it was far more relaxing than the restaurant. Julian danced in place while he ate, and that went over just fine. Scarlett is a total maniac and you don't even want to know what she was doing while we ate. "What wasn't she doing?" is a more appropriate question.



Wednesday was more pooltime and rides and then downtown for dinner. The Taco Bar in The Palomar restaurant was perfect for our overtired little people. I was feeling a little fuzzy after only 1/3 of my pina colada, so I poured the rest in a sippy cup and drank it on the way home. Classy.

More details later, and more pictures are here.

The dress up box has been in use