25 September 2009

Sweetheart

Leia has really turned out to be a sweetheart so far. She regularly tries to feed all of us, including her sister once she has satisfied the worst of her own hunger. Such a simple, primal gesture.

It caries through to sympathy as well. Both girls have come to comfort the other at times. This morning they learned how to climb on their private bench. Alisa fell backward and got stuck between the couch. Of course she wailed. I extricated her and stood her up beside the couch. From there I started stroking her and comforting her. Leia responded by sitting down, legs through the back of the bench, stroking Alisa's belly softly and cooing.

P1010471This picture was from last weekend.

23 September 2009

Eager for Halloween

Last year's Halloween was a blast, spending time with Toast and clan in Las Vegas. This year, however, the girls are old enough to enjoy Halloween. So I'm really looking forward to dressing them up and wandering downtown.

We bought costumes for the girls last week and attempted multiple times to get them fitted by just trying them on. Alisa resisted forcefully. Finally I was able to convince Leia to try on her pink fairy costume, at which point Alisa became extremely jealous and begged for us to put her into a Snow White costume. They both fit well and the girls loved running around the house all dressed up.

P1010553Snow White

P1010549Pink Fairy

21 September 2009

Regression and Advancement

Leia was really hard to get to sleep tonight. She desperately wanted a bottle of milk as she was going to bed. Eventually she cried herself to sleep. It was painful to watch; but, better in the long run that she learns to sleep without the bottle. With a mouthful of teeth now she really needs to stop drinking milk while laying down for bed. Otherwise cavities set in pretty quickly. Also, its time for her to grow up and become more independent.

One area where the girls are growing up is in their interaction with the world. They seemed to have crossed a threshold from infancy to childhood. They act more like children than babies now. Each new experience is met with curiosity and experimentation rather than clinging in fear to Hirono or me. In the park they are starting to approach other kids to play rather than running around our feet. At the farmer's market they show interest in exploring the different displays (and trying every sample available.) They have even started the kids game of twirling in circles until they get dizzy and falling down in fits of laughter when they can no longer stand up.

On top of all that, tonight Alisa went to bed without a nightlight and with the door closed. She was in complete darkness and fell asleep without problem. Now if we could just get them both down so easily on the same night!

17 September 2009

No More Bottles

That's it. The comfort bottle at the end of the day to put them to bed is now history. No more washing bottles. They're all put away.

13 September 2009

Weaning

P1000976Leia enjoying Macaroni Bolognese

We spent the weekend weaning the girls from bottles. They are now down to one bottle each per day, the last bottle before going to bed. Even this last bottle they don't quite finish. It was rough, particularly Saturday; but, they seem to be getting used to it. Tomorrow they'll be going to day care without any bottles at all for the first time.

Another big item this past week is that the girls started eating dinner with us at the dining room table. We've now had three dinners in a row as a family of four all eating the same food. The food isn't quite how I would cook it for Hirono and me; but, its close enough to adult food that we can all eat the same meal together. I particularly enjoy this development as I can see it becoming a ritual for decades to come.

Work sucks.

07 September 2009

Dare Devils

P1010434

big bad wolf says it well: i'm proud of them and happy for them when they are finished and barely breathing during.

It's wonderfully thrilling to watch the girls dare a little more every day.

They are just now mastering the art of walking. Leia is well advanced and can actually run, which is an unfair advantage when racing to snatch Alisa's favorite stuffed toy. For her part, last week Alisa learned that you can easily turn around while standing if you just balance a little better. That totally changed her attitude to walking and she hasn't sat down since.

Today they discovered the balance beam.

Campell's City Hall has an earthen amphitheater in front. The seats are more like narrow (15") concrete sidewalks placed in a low rise of earth. Their play became an exercise in balance as they navigated each bench up the rise. Leia didn't stop there and ended up climbing around the City Hall building. Eventually we had to stop her when she wanted to climb onto a shelf coming out from the structural wall itself. I was nervous at times; but, they escaped with only one of four shins scraped climbing around in the bushes.

On the communication front there's a fair bit of progress as well. They've both been smitten by Winnie the Pooh. This afternoon I mentioned "Pooh Bear" to Alisa in passing. She stopped in her tracks and said "Pooh". Then she turned and went to their sprawling pile of toys. In the middle was a book, upside down with nothing indicating any Disney characters on the back. She unerringly went straight up to the book, turned it over and picked it up for me to read to her.

They first saw Pooh when my parents stayed with us. My mother and I share a love for children's shows, so we had to watch Winnie the Pooh with the girls. The girls have only seen the movie twice; but, they love the character. He hasn't replaced Totoro yet; but, he's starting to be a contender.

Since my parents have left Alisa occasionally sees something that reminds her of them and she says, "Papa, Mo." Today it was the quilt in the guest room that my mother made years ago. Alisa climbed on the bed, pointed to the quilt and said "Papa, Mo". Her vocabulary is growing rapidly. You can tell she's trying to learn a word when she watches you speak very carefully.

Leia's phonics are starting to catch up as well. She clearly tries to speak words; but, she is often frustrated at forming the words in her mouth. Then there are times when she sings nonsense syllables and she can randomly form just about any sound she wants. Her ability to understand and obey us is quite impressive. She's also a little sweetheart.

03 September 2009

Tagged Again

1 One
is contented me

2 Two
are the greatest blessings

3 Three Things I can do unconditionally
play with the girls, exchange smiles with Hirono, rock hard

4 Four Things I am pleased to have
family, comfortable life, ganja, energy

5 Five Things high on my wish list
retire and see the world in the girls’ childhood years
find a way to bring out someone’s true potential
play DnD regularly again
have the time to be close to my brother again
have the chance to hit replay at the end


6 Six singers/bands I like
Rob Halford, Maynard James Keenan, Dominique Vallard, Amy Winehouse, Emmanuel Bonnardot, Brad Nowell, Chris Cornell (oops, that’s seven)

7 Seven Things I don’t like
the day after Piels, weakness (h/t Sonika), not enough energy, prejudice broken joints, growing old, hangovers

8 Eight things I love
our girls, the smell of not-quite-so-clean hair, pork fat, stories, the memory of being carefree, fresh food, subtle curves, the touch of a noodly appendage

9 Nine Things I need currently
sleep, fresh food, time with my wife, to get to the gym, an appointment with a dermatologist, caffeine, non-capitalist society, political leaders who aren’t scam artists or criminals, a bowl

10 Ten movies/tv shows i recommend
2001:A Space Oddysey, The Princes Bride, となりのととろ、ぽんぽこ、まだだいよ、いくる, The Seven Samurai, とんぽぽ, The Life of Brian, Harold & Maude

11 My best football team
Hoosick Street Toilet Bowl, 1987

Praise Firefox

This was written yesterday; but, due to internet connectivity problems wasn't posted until now.

I’m on the train home from the SF office today and doing fine. His Skanketh, FSM hath touched his noodly appendage upon me thrice.

There’s no wireless connectivity on the train; but, I could still call home and let my parents know when to expect me. They’re caring for the girls while Hirono is out at her first Cheep Trick concert since before the girls were born. Of course, I’m late. Firefox knew to cache the train schedule page since last there this morning. Praise Be.

My badge was lost somewhere between the office and the train station. On the train they asked for a ticket. I talked them out of it. Praise be.

I had linguine with shrimp for lunch. Praise Be.