Paci, RIP

Do you know about Halloween Magic? Well, I'll tell you. You put your candy right outside your bedroom door on Halloween night. In the morning, your candy will have magically disappeared and turned into a present! Perhaps it will be a Fisher-Price medical kit. Or maybe a child-sized musical instrument. You don't know yet because it's a surprise!

This lie is the first of many that we'll be telling Julian. It feels wrong to me, but I know we'll be talking all about Santa over the next couple of months, so I decided we should just jump in and get started with all the myth-making.

Halloween was a big hit at our house. We put decorations in the window that provided hours and hours of discussion and entertainment for the three talking members of the household. Julian was perfectly happy with his hand-me-down skeleton costume. He kept telling me that although it came from Lucas, Grandma Marilyn was the one who gave it to Lucas. I don't know where he got such an idea, but I went with it.


Scarlett celebrated her first Halloween as a Jazzercise queen. When we showed her off to our friends, instead of "That's so cute," we heard, "That's just wrong." If dressing my daughter as a Flashdance extra is wrong, I don't want to be right.



And final news for the month: We acknowledged Birthday 3.0 with a small party in our backyard and then we said goodbye to Julian's pacifiers. There was no myth involved. "Paci", as it was known, did not get taken by the Easter Bunny or mailed off to a new baby, nor did it "break". It is simply sitting on a shelf unused. Perhaps it is me or Ryan who is mourning the loss and unable to just throw them away. Paci, you were a good friend. We miss you already.

I'm a pirate! With bad teeth! Wearing Arrrrgh-yle!

Helmet hair

Julian and Paxton had a blast at a block party in front of Paxton's house this weekend. Julian sat on Paxton's grandpa's steps and strummed a guitar along with some actual musicians for so long that he got a blister on his finger. They cruised around on their tricycles, ate potlucked food, and socialized to the best of their abilities.

If you've seen the movie SuperBad, and can remember the scene where the two high school buddies tell each other that they love each other and want to shout it from the top of the roofs, you understand how Julian and Paxton feel about each other.

Seeing the picture my mom took of them on their bikes reminded me of a picture I took exactly two years ago. They are a couple of weeks away from turning three years old right now, and a couple of weeks away from their first birthdays in the other picture.

Three Monkeys ... or ... two J-Dogs and a monkey in my parent's family room in August

It's Wordless Wednesday in the blogosphere.

Wassup, Cuz?

Calvin, Scarlett's older cousin, shows her how to play with a Gymini.


Bonus Julian story

Ryan: We have to go pick up the Honda.
Julian: It's too heavy, silly! We have to drive it.

> More family photos

Scarlett pushes 11 weeks

See more pictures from this week.

Timothy Hutton: Milkman?

A playground friend told us that Julian looks like Timothy Hutton. Thoughts?

Siblings without Rivalry

Of course you should not compare your children. Of course you shouldn't.

Julian's first shave

A pretend one, of course.

Namaste

Since my parents always delight in hearing about the baby-centric adventures I have in Berkeley, I have to post this picture of Scarlett at her first yoga class, at five and a half weeks old. For $14, you spend two hours in a yoga studio with your baby, doing poses for your own well being and performing infant massage on your baby. Babysitters are on hand to cuddle your baby should she become bored with the spa-like experience she's receiving.


At this particular post-natal massage class, each student's station has a yoga mat for Mom and a cozy pillowy bed for baby. A bottle of massage oil, a clean washcloth, and a soft toy are set up, right next to your yoga brick and strap. When Scarlett got fussy, I was offered my preferred brand of swaddling blanket, and once she was calmed, an extra set of arms to rock her to sleep while I downwarded my dog and saluted my sun. At some point during the class, the instructor says something about how special your baby is. One mom was told that she looked like she needed a hug, and given one.

I'd love to go to yoga class tomorrow, but I have an appointment for another Berkeley baby task, a fitting with the Nursing Bra Nazi at Cotton and Company.