Less than Twelve Parsecs

Paper plate craft that our friend Kristi sent us! Original  how-to is here ; make sure to watch it! It took just a few minutes to make because luckily we already had a paper plate that was blue, from Mara's birthday party. We also replaced the wool tentacles with a paper napkin, and Mara decided to use the red napkin for eyes as well. Here are the pieces: Mara

Gaius just woke up in the car, and started gently telling me with a smile: Gaius: Open door. Gaius: I saw an open door. Me: You saw an open door? Nice. Was it in a car or in a house? Gaius: Dragon house. Gaius: Door was in a dragon house. He follows this with a long, quiet, contented smile. What's not to love... P.S: Here's what we had been up to, that morning around 6am: reading the numbers off of trams in a Romanian tram station:

I love observing how the children go through the different stages of picking up the language grammar rules. Two weeks ago Greg and the children pick me up from work from my desk. A nice coworker attempts to talk to the Gaius (2yo), and gets this quite stern, serious answer: Gaius: Me miss Mommy! After which Gaius protectively grabs my hand and drags me away. Now, two weeks later Mara, holding a handful of carefully selected grapes: Whoever is a kid and wants a baby grape, raise your hand up. Gaius: I'm raising my hand up! Mara: That's not raising it enough. Gaius, stretches it really high: I'm raising my hand up! Mara, with a satisfied smile: Yeah, that's it! You're doing it. Here is a grape. Did you see the "Me" vs "I'm" shift? 

This is a conversation that started as I was putting Mara in the car seat on a Friday evening pickup. It went quickly downhill after my highly intelligent joke. Mara is twisting around, as I try to buckle her, making my task impossible. I give her a glare, she catches on and explains: Mara : I was just trying to look at Gaius to make him laugh. Me : Well did it work? Mara : No. [slightly saddened] Me : Maybe next time you can also say something to make him laugh. Me: Something funny. Like... "Hey, sock!" Mara : Hey sock! Gaius laughs heartily. Me : See, it worked! Greg : Honey, you should be a comedian. Mara : Hey sock! Gaius : Hey sock! Everyone giggles, saying " Hey sock " over and over, until Gaius changes the tune: All : Hey sock! Gaius : HI sock! That sounds different, and it gives us a pause. A very short pause, because we pick it right back up: All : Hi sock! Gaius : Hi sock! Low sock! Mara bursts into song:     Hi sock, ...

This weekend we visited the Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, Santa Cruz, and took their famous Steam Train ride through the redwoods. Lots of steam, plenty of fun, banana slugs here and there and overall a perfect day. The one thing we didn't get a good photo of: the steam engine! But check their website for that . The first Banana Slug close-up encounter. Mara was so excited about spotting the slugs from the train, until she got close to one. Her face turned into this:  The giant meaty slug refused to stick his horns out:  Here's us on the steam train: Gaius exhibited very good self control by walking *around* the puddle at the entrance of the kids barn, about 20 times: There was a covered wagon near the rail road station, so the kids got to pose with the paper rainbow trout and butterfly we made at the crafts table: Obligatory stern-faced caravan photo:  Spot the Banana Slug!  Here's a close-up - this one had his horns out ...

It's 5am and the whole house is dark. Two little feet shuffle into our bedroom, soft blanket trailing behind. Mommy gets out of bed to intercept. Me: Gaius, pui, it's night time! Let's go back to sleep. I'll come with you to your room. Gaius, in a sad voice: Daaaddyyyy... Me: Daddy is sleeping, Gaius. It's dark outside. I take him gently toward his room, trying to not wake up the rest of the family. Gaius, thoughtfully: Kaa-kaa. Nigh' nigh'. It takes me a moment to fully register what he meant: Me: Yes, the birds are asleep too. Everyone is asleep. Let's go back to sleep. <3 Here he is, this month, with various birds:

Gaius recently started to talk a storm. It's all fun and cuteness, like when he says " Bye-bye, My Trash Truck! ", or a never-ending steam of " Appah Sauce ". But recently, and much more life changing, he learned to say: No, Stop! It's a powerful phrase when you are surrounded by other kids and trying to set your boundaries or explain your wishes. However, imagine the effects this has on our morning routine: Me: Gaius, let's get ready to go to school! Gaius: Skoo! Me: Yeah! You want to see your friends? Gaius: Yah. Me: Let's take your jammies off. Gaius, suddenly stark serious: No. Me: Come, I'll help you take your shirt off, so you can put your play clothes on! Gaius, unmoved by my plea : No. I get closer to him and gently start lifting his pajama shirt. Gaius: No, Stop! He means it. Serious frown, and the whole shabang. I sit back, take a calming breath to give myself time to reason. Then I start name-calling...