Halloween 2008

Arrggh! Haunted houses don't scare me.



Mama, the Fishbowl, and Spencer, the Pirate, enjoy the Halloween party at preschool.



Spencer showing off his pirate swagger.

Carving Pumpkins

The night before Halloween means it's time to carve pumpkins. Daddy carved as Spencer watched, making sure Daddy's technique met his exacting specifications.



One final inspection. Happy Halloween!

Yogi Spencer

Today Spencer and I were treated to a mini-yoga session designed especially for children. Teacher Leslie ordinarily comes on Friday but given that this Friday is Halloween, she came today instead. The children sat on mats arranged in a circle. They, for the most part, followed the teacher's instructions which involved pretending to be an owl by turning their heads from side to side as well as traditional yoga moves modified for children such as downward dog, cobra, tree pose, etc. It was fun watching the kids practice their coordination and balance. Say Ohm!

Table For One

Today Spencer decided he wanted a table all his own for dinner. We obliged by bringing his kid-sized table from the spare room into the dining room where he sat to eat his dinner while Mike and I sat at the dining table. Spencer seemed to enjoy sitting in a chair as opposed to his booster seat.

Do You Smell Dessert?

During dinner tonight, Spencer pushed away his plate of peas claiming to be finished with his meal. "Do you smell dessert?" he asked sniffing the air with his nose. Mike and I glanced at each other not smelling anything. "What does it smell like?" we asked. "It smells like dessert," Spencer states. It dawned on us that he had seen us place a container of vanilla ice cream in our cart earlier in the day at the grocery store. I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Spencer smelling ice cream through the freezer door.

Eventually he finished his peas and was able to smell and taste the ice cream for real.

A Family Visit

We enjoyed a visit today from our cousins LisaMarie, Chris and Chandler who were in town for a conference in Orange County. It was great to see how much Chandler has grown in the past year. He walks now, quite quickly I might add, shoulders back, a boy on a mission. Although we didn't hear any actual words, Chandler makes it very clear what he wants / needs whether that's a particular toy or more food. We took the boys to our neighborhood park to expend some energy and then to dinner at a new, local macrobiotic restaurant where the food was not only healthy but delicious. We can't wait to see everyone again over the holidays!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Today marked the long awaited performance of The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Pepperdine Center for the Arts. I set out with Nana and Spencer for the drive to Malibu a bit later than anticipated. We were a few minutes behind schedule when four or five cars cut me off on the turn into Pepperdine. These cars, we learned from speaking to the security guard at the entrance gate, belonged to paparazzi hoping to train their lenses on Ben Affleck and his family on their way into the performance. We were getting a taste of what celebrities must encounter all the time.

Although we missed the first few minutes of the show, we quickly were captivated by the performance and ended up loving every minute of it. All the children in the room enthusiastically oohed and awed, clapped and talked about what was happening onstage. The performers used black light to create a magical experience for the audience. The puppets were beautifully crafted. The play was just long enough to entertain the children without losing their attention. After the show, the performers (a theater troupe hailing from Nova Scotia) came out to answer a few questions, explain how the puppets were created and show us how they made them move.

As we were waiting to meet up with our friends Pharida, John and Sadie, who should walk through the lobby but Ben Affleck, a very pregnant Jennifer Garner and their daughter. Living in Los Angeles, you never know when you might see someone famous. Today we hit the jackpot. Our celebrity encounters continued later at lunch in Malibu with Sadie and her parents when we noticed surfer Laird Hamilton dining at a table not far from ours. Our brush with celebrity was now complete.

X Marks the Spot

Spencer took a pen to his souvenir shirt from Paris today. "Mommy, I'm writing all over my shirt," I hear him announce from the other room. And so he had. I was more than a little upset as you can imagine. Spencer lately seems intent on testing the boundaries, prone to fits of defiance. I attribute this new attitude to his age, his growing awareness of my pregnancy and a reaction to missing his Daddy this week. As much as I try to remain calm, I don't always succeed even though I realize when I react strongly it only feeds the fire. Two-year-olds can be alternately infuriating and adorable creatures from one minute to the next. No one ever said parenting would be easy. I'm beginning to understand what they meant.

There's a Baby in Your Tummy

Although we've told Spencer about my pregnancy, it's only recently that he appears to realize what that means. Yesterday Spencer discovered an old pacifier in a drawer and immediately started pretending to be a baby. He even insisted on bringing the pacifier with him to preschool. By snack time, however, he was back to being a big kid. Spencer listened very intently when one of the older children asked me about my belly. I told the little girl that I had a baby growing in my tummy which led to the following conversation:

"I thought you had been eating too much food," says the little girl.

"No, I have a baby growing in my tummy. That's why my belly is getting big," I answered.

"I have a big belly," Spencer chimed in. "We both have big bellies, Mommy."

The conversation must have made an impact because tonight, for the first time, Spencer acknowledged that there's a baby growing inside me. He wanted to ensure that the new baby would receive his old pacifier, the one he had found the other day. I let him know that the baby still had some growing to do but assured him that one day, the baby would have a pacifier to suck. Spencer is going to make a great big brother.

Bubble Boy

It was bubblemania today at Spencer's preschool as the children were treated to a special bubble performance. In the process they learned what makes a bubble (air, water and soap), what makes a bubble pop (evaporation) and how no matter what kind of wand you use, a bubble always comes out a sphere. The highlight was watching each child stand inside his or her very own bubble. Spencer, who waited very patiently for his turn, was thrilled!

A Look Back

My cousin Sarah tagged me to participate in a meme (for those of you who like me had no idea what that means, click on Sarah's name for her post with the word's definition) showcasing the sixth photo in the sixth photo file on my computer.

The photo above shows Spencer at six weeks old, small enough to fit in a laundry hamper. Since we didn't know his gender until his birth, I had picked out this adorable onesie at Baby Gap telling myself that since it was white, it would be gender neutral. As soon as I put the onesie on him, I realized it had been meant for a girl. What can I say? Girl clothes are way cuter. Besides, Spencer doesn't seem to mind at this stage in his life.

Pumpkin Patch

Nana and I took Spencer to a pumpkin patch in Laguna Hills. He had so much fun that we're thinking of making it an annual excursion.



Here Spencer is "driving" the tractor. I say driving loosely because as you can see from the photo above, Spencer doesn't quite realize that it's best to look forward when you're steering so that you don't run into anything. Luckily the helpful attendant was there to guide Spencer in the right direction, over and over again. Nana and I got a kick out of watching Spencer play bumper tractor and run into the hay bales. Good thing he still has a few years before he gets his driver's license!



Spencer had the swings all to himself. He would have stayed on all day if he could!

Obstacle Course

Whenever we visit Nana's house, Spencer wants to go to his favorite park. He always finds new things with which to play. This time his discovery was a face through which he climbed. Here he is coming through the nose as Nana looks on.

Blood and Tears

In every toddlers' life comes a fall. Spencer's fall came today at Playa Vista park when he decided that the fastest way to get off the play structure was to lower himself off a platform three feet off the ground (incidentally that's his current height). I was right next to him at the time and suggested he go down the ramp a bit to a staircase leading to the ground. Spencer wanted to do it his way. I watched as he dangled his feet off and let go. His chin grazed the platform on the way down causing his head to snap back enough that he lost his balance hitting his bottom and then his head against the rubberized play surface. As he opened his mouth and started to howl, I could see that he had bit his bottom lip.

I scrambled down as fast as humanly possible and scooped him into my arms. Immediately I wished that I had stopped him from getting off that platform but then I thought of all the times that Spencer has proven me wrong about his capabilities. Parents who hover and tell their children not to attempt anything because they might not make it eventually teach their children not to strive, not to reach beyond their grasp. Now was the time to assess the damage, bandage the wounds and help Spencer move on. I handed Spencer the water cup I had brought but as he started to sip, blood went down the straw which only traumatized him more. Quickly I removed the top and tried to get him to sip and spit but he doesn't really have the spitting part down yet. That will come soon enough I'm sure. After holding him tight for several minutes, Spencer calmed down. Before long, he was back to playing, climbing a rope spider web up to a slide, going down and repeating the process again. I think I was more shaken by the experience then he was.

When we got home, I saw exactly how deep the cut was. It looked as if his two front teeth had gone deep into his lip. I called the doctor and made an appointment for the next day. We waited almost half an hour the next afternoon only to have the doctor take a quick glance and tell us that the wound would heal on its own. Spencer complained for a day or two that his lip hurt but within a week there was no trace of the injury.

Chez Michel

When you have a toddler, having a nice evening out at a restaurant becomes a little more complicated. We decided that rather than reserve a babysitter and dine out, we would create a special atmosphere at home for our 6th anniversary. Thus the concept of Chez Michel was born.

Mike donned the chef's role while I put out our china (Spencer got a special plate, non-breakable plate all his own) and lit some candles. When dinner was ready, Spencer and I pretended to come in from the outside while Mike acted as the maitre d'. Juggling many roles, Mike also served as our waiter for the evening. Our menu consisted of the chef's special of peppercorn steak, garlic mashed potatoes and wilted spinach. Since candy is the traditional gift for six years of marriage, we treated ourselves to Ferrero Rocher chocolates for dessert.

Mike and I told Spencer stories of our courtship and marriage to commerate the occasion but Spencer kept asking whether he was there. It's hard for him to grasp that we had a life before he came along. The evening was so much fun that we may do it again next year. Who needs to go out when we have Chez Michel in our midst.

Lions and Giraffes and Telescopes - Oh My!

Exhibit #1: Yes, Daddy is able to put family ahead of the Green Bay Packers (at least for one, possibly even two games per season)



Exhibit #2: Yes, you can build a world-class zoo filled with all kinds of animals, some you've never ever heard of, much less seen, but the 2-year-olds will always be most impressed with the things they can climb on, manipulate (like the 25-cents-per-view "zoo telescope" above), or hide within (like the five-dollar (!) zoo-themed photo booths).

This Sunday, thanks to our good friends Seth and Gillian, was Zoo Day. They were nice enough to share guest passes to the Los Angeles Zoo and invite us along on their animal adventure. Our first stop was Millie's for breakfast -- a Silver Lake diner where Lydia and I often ate breakfast when she lived nearby. Next, we raced to the Zoo so we could meet Jonah (and his parents, the aforementioned very-generous Gillian and Seth) to walk with him through the Zoo. But we were also meeting our good friend Norma, her mother, and her little girl, Olivia. Together, we formed one great expedition that saw elephants, gerenuks, giraffes, lions, flamingos, red apes, tigers, chimpanzees, and gorillas.

As I mentioned, Spencer did take notice of many of the animals but his special attention was reserved for the telescopes, the photo booths, and the signs. It was very cute when he and Jonah walked up to an ubiquitous sign in the park that showed a circle with a slash through it over an open animal-mouth and a hand dangling a morsel of food just above it. "That says, DON'T. FEED. THE ANIMALS,'" Spencer told Jonah (and us all) on our fourth or fifth encounter with the sign.

There's only so much of the Zoo you can see before nap time. We will still have a lot to explore the next time we go there...if we can pry ourselves away from the telescopes and the photo booths.

Somersaults

While Spencer was at preschool this morning, he learned (as he later excitedly recounted) how to roll and somersault. Coincidentally, Lydia and I experienced an amazing somersault of our own.

Today was Lydia's 16-week appointment. After the usual check-ups -- weight, blood pressure, blood work, etc. -- we were treated to an ultrasonic view of our baby. Many of you have seen ultrasounds before in all their black-and-white, impressionist glory. That's the head, you're told, and...wow! There it is, really, a head: complete with eyes and a mouth and what may be a nose or a kind-of black line in the middle of the white oval. And there are the hands. And the legs. And there, right there, is truly, unmistakably, a beating heart. And there's...oh wait, the baby's moving. The baby turned over for us, to give a nice profile view. Yup, bottom-side down, there's distinctly the baby's rump. And turning again? And, swear to God, what looks like the legs are ... kicking??? The doctor confirms it, this baby is dancing for us, kicking its legs, turning around...gettin' DOWN.

We saw our baby's first dance today and it looks like this kid has a serious groove. There's more than enough room to bust a move for now without Lydia feeling a thing but what will it be like two months from now?

There was no way to determine gender on this visit but we know that the next time we see the doctor (at the end of October), we'll know whether it's a-Fred Astaire or a-Ginger Rogers in there. So come November, will we start getting the tux-and-tails or the gown-and-pearls ready for the grand, dancing debut?

Bets, anyone?