Puppy Love

You can't see it very well here, but Mason's sucking on the dawg's nose. It's his "Chirpie."

Isn't sign language supposed to be silent?

Mason has a few signs now. His favorite is "more" - more food, more play time, more whatever. To show "more" you're supposed to clasp your thumb to your fingertips on each hand, and then bounce the hands together, tip to tip (silent). To Mason it's more like banging gongs together. He leaves his palms open and claps very loudly. This morning Kenzie was feeding him yogurt in the car. Every time he wanted another bite we heard BAM, BAM, BAM.

I'm glad that he has signs though - you can tell that it's cutting down on his frustration. He's able to get his point across. Quite effectively!

Let sleeping cats lie

Poor Zeke and Maddy. They used to be kings, now they're peasants. But they seemed to have accepted their fate. They show great patience.

Both kids do full body tackles on the cats. Kenzie disciplines them too. Such as today:

Kenzie: No, Maddy, NO!!
Cindy: What happened?
Kenzie: Maddy was eating the flowers
Cindy: Maddy! No eating the flowers!!
Kenzie: [sigh] Ama, I've already discussed that with him.

It's tough to be broke.

We were shopping today and she set her sights on this fuzzy little reindeer at Pier 1.

Kenzie: I like that little reindeer. Do we have any money?
Cindy: I don't have any, how much do you have?
Kenzie: I don't have any money.

She then went to find me.

Kenzie: Mom, I really want that cute little reindeer.
Me: Oh, well, it costs money.
Kenzie: Do you have money for it?
Me: Nope, I don't have any reindeer money. How much do you have?
Kenzie, getting frustrated with the lack of progress: I don't have ANY!

A saleslady happened to be walking by. Immediately Kenzie turned to her and said, "Can I please just HAVE that reindeer?"

The lady laughed...she wasn't quite sure how to answer. I gotta hand it to Kenzie, though, she works all the angles.

Hey sis, how do we eat spaghetti?

Ah, I got it! (Notice the single noodle in each pair of lips.)

Next Week ->The Tilt-O-Whirl

At last!

It's fun to see that they're starting to play together, even if very infrequently. Most of the time she has little patience for him, taking his toys whenever she can. He responds with his only defense - a special scream that he reserves to tell on her.

But, every once in a while I get a peek at times to come when they'll be buddies. This picture is one of those times. (You can click on the picture to see it enlarged.)

Paper girl

It seemed like a simple request: go outside and get the paper. She darts quickly into her room, emerges ten minutes later fully clothed, purple fuzzy jacket (hood up), Chirpie strategically tucked and zipped, socks and ladybug boots. But, that wasn't enough - she wanted her ladybug umbrella too. We convinced her that it was only five feet outside the door and wasn't raining, so she might be safe.

Mr. Walker

Pas de Deux

Now that Kenzie is oh-so-independent, she picks out her own outfits and I have very little influence over the matter. That would explain the ballerina outfit for Thanksgiving dinner. (The black tights were a mid-evening wardrobe change.)

She enjoyed her impromptu ballet lesson from self-proclaimed favorite cousin Sarah yesterday. (Sorry I cut your head off Sarah.)

A planned bath!

Christmas lists

Several people have asked what the kids want for Christmas. They really don't need anything! But, here's a list with some ideas. Kenzie loves anything girlie or imaginative. Mason loves anything that bangs or rolls, or that he can climb or push.

Double Disqualification

At least I know how it happens. I must say it doesn't take long. I was only 2 feet away this time, standing in the bathroom waiting for the tub to fill. In one swift move he approached the bathtub and slid in. It was really quite graceful. One fluid movement, out one second, in the next.

Then, splash, splash, splash.

(P.S. Diapers weigh a whole lot after a bath.)

The little purple dog

Chirpie, Spot, Pepper. I can't keep it straight. Just as some days she's not "Kenzie," but Dede, so also does the little purple dog have alter-egos.

This morning I was exploring that concept after I was reprimanded for referring to him incorrectly. (I called him Chirp and was told his name is Pepper.) So, I said, "is his name "Chirpie Pepper?""No." "Pepper Chirpie Spot?" "No!" "Pepper Spot Chirpie?" "No!" "Spot Chirpie Pepper?" "No, no, it's not any of those!"

So, I asked, "What is his full name?"

She told me "Pepper Roni."

Mason does the unthinkable (takes Chirpie)

Making a list

Kenzie (holding just a piece of paper, no pen) : I made a list of everything I have to do!
Julie: Are you going to make me a pie?
Kenzie: Yes, that's on my list.
Julie: Are you going to make a bed for Chirpie?
Kenzie: Yes, that's on my list.
Julie: Are you going to go grocery shopping?
Kenzie: Yup!
Cindy: Are you going to be nice?
Kenzie: My pen just ran out of ink.

Cute haircut, thanks Becka!

Soon Mason, soon!

Mobility

It's been so nice having Mason take his time learning to walk. So nice. The memories are fresh in my mind of those days when he was easy to hold and contain. Those days are gone, however. He's into everything! We're redoing the fireplace (chaos in the livingroom) so of course that's the first place he heads when he can make a break. That or the dog water. Or the cat food. Or the kitchen cupboard. I'm convinced that his decision-making process goes something like this:

• does it make a loud noise?
  
• can I break it?
• can I climb on it?
• can I push it over?
• can I make any noise with it?
• can I fit it in my mouth (unless it's healthy)
• can I spill it?
• can I use it to break something else?
  

If the answer is yes to any of those, great. If not, onto the next thing!

So you say you're a teacher...

Kenzie has been having a tough time visualizing the fact that I'm a teacher. It's the subject of many conversations. Very skeptical questions, as if she's trying to catch me in a lie. "What do you DO when you teach?" "How do you teach?" "Do you teach big people or little people?" "What are their names?" I think it's a forensics technique - asking the same question at different times looking for different responses.

So, tonight, Cindy brought Kenzie to Seattle U so we could help her form a visual image. Basically prove to her that I'm telling the truth.

It was before class started so I took her into the classroom, showed her the desks and let her draw on the whiteboard. We walked through the classroom, row by row. I explained the overhead screen, the computer, the projector...we even went over the lights. A couple of former students popped in to say hi. (She wasn't particularly impressed by them.) Short of a full class, she witnessed everything.

As we were walking out the door, she said, "but where are your students?" I told her they were coming soon, but didn't get the impression that she believed me. I may have to enroll her in the class.

Mason shares

Last night we went down to Mom & Dad's. Mom made chocolate pudding and Mason thought it'd be nice to share. Mmmmm....chocolate.

Yes, I'm getting my school work done..almost done.

Sunday Struggles

Kenzie's Sunday School teacher says she's "getting better" and is "learning to use her words." That means that she's clobbering the other kids only once in a while, and explains to them why she's doing it.

Mason hates the nursery. He sees us heading down the hall and starts crying. This time he spent most of the time in tears. There are several kids in there and lots of toys, but he just hates it. The ladies in there are very sweet and encourage us to keep trying.

I'm doing this today as a diversion from working on my class. I have a 2-1/2 hour lecture on Tuesday night at Seattle U. So, yesterday I decided to install a new operating system on my computer (the same one that held the draft of the presentation). Yes, it was a bad idea. So, I spent a couple of hours borrowing a computer (thank you Jackie) and then another bit getting it connected to the network...so that I can sit here and wait for my presentation to finish itself.

Alright, I'm getting on-task.

Ok, just one more. This morning Kenzie was interrupting Cindy and me unmercifully in the car. She doesn't like conversations to go on without her at the epicenter. She asked me why I was telling her not to interrupt. I told her that I felt like it was my job to teach her how to be polite and use her manners. She informed me, "Mom, you teach adults. Ama teaches kids." Arg. I never thought I'd be in a position of trying to explain my qualifications to a 3 year old, and being only halfway successful.

Identifiable

She wrote her name for the first time all by herself!

Santa Boundaries

Christmas is coming! On the drive into work yesterday I decided to start prepping Kenzie (since last year the picture shows her sitting on a stool in front of Santa).

• Me: Kenzie! Look, they're building Santa's workshop! Are you excited to go see Santa?
• Kenzie: Yes!
  
• Me: Are you going to sit on his lap this year?
• [pause]
• Kenzie: Mom, I like Santa and all. I'm just not comfortable sitting on his lap.
• Me (choking): Ok, honey, that's fine, whatever you want to do.
• [pause]
• Kenzie: Mom, when I see Santa I'm going to give him a BIG High Five and a handshake!
  

Happy Boy!

Water logged

I'm sure this one disqualifies me for Mother of The Year.

This morning I ran the bath for Kenzie, then went out to check on Mason before scanning email. He was playing in his room--looked very content and busy! I went into the living room, read one message (didn't reply), and then heard Kenzie say, "Mason!!! We don't go in the bath with our clothes on!" I ran to find him--full clothed--sitting in about 4 inches of water.

In Training

Cindy's got them in training already. Nice form, Helen!

Smooch

And So it Begins

Finally time to start a blog. Great intentions to write in their books, but here I sit. I'm hoping to jot down Kenzieisms and Masonisms as they happen. And they do happen.