Because When You Live In The Hudson River

... *someone* has to throw you food.

So Jack and Thomas and I took all the stale Saltines and goldfish that we found at the bottom of the diaper bag and gave those ducks and geese and seagulls a feast the likes of which they had not come across for some time.

The School of Hard Knocks, Crayola Campus

Guess what? Anna's preschool class has been learning about colors.
I think she's learned a lot:

"Jack, if you want to mix two colors together to make a primary color, you can't.
You just have to deal with it."

Deep Thought: GoodWill

The other day Anna helped me carry a bag of toys to her preschool to be sold at the school's Halloween Fair/Rummage Sale. I tried to use this opportunity to explain the importance of being thankful for what we have, charity, and re-use.

When Anna's friend's Mommy asked her about what she had in the bag, she showed off her new understanding:
"Yeah, we're giving away the brother's toys to other people's babies."

Anna and Her Friends

on left: "We're All Really Cute" (Anna, Sloane, Katharine)
on right: "Big Air" (Katharine, Anna, Alexandra)

Some Favorite Phrases

Anna is a little Mommy:

• Anna to Jack who is busy eating oatmeal with his hands: "I did not teach you that!"
• Anna to Mommy: "Let me tell you something you don't know..."
• And, of course, in a perfect Anna world:
  "OK horsie I'm the Mommy and you're the Anna and you say something and then I will do whatever your idea is."
  

Just A *Spoonful* of Sugar? That's All??

Anna after finishing all the food on her plate:
"So... what else can I eat so that I can get dessert?"
Perhaps Mary Poppins has some idea about what we are doing wrong here.

A few other recent classics:

• "I don't like protein!"
• "Pear is NOT dessert. I need something more... chocolate. Or vanilla."
• "Popcorn? I need something tastier. Like a brownie!"
  
• "I want something big AND chocolate!"
• (and of course don't forget this oldie but goodie.)
  

Lest you think a more subtle approach to calorie acquisition is beyond Anna's four year old means, the last time we walked by an ice cream truck she gave me this food for thought:

"Hmmmnnnn... let's think for a moment about what we are going to have for dessert tonite..."

Thomas, on the other hand, nearly jumps out of his stroller whenever we are in the vicinity of an ice cream truck (in other words, every three blocks).
And they don't even play that annoying music.

True Life: I Faked Daylight Savings

That's right.
Well, the 'spring forward' part, at least. So maybe I should say that I faked 'Daylight Spending'.
But only halfway.

Basically, last night I needed Anna to get a really good night's sleep before her IQ test this morning.
You know, the one she needs to take for Kindergarten. NYC public school Kindergarten.
(But that is a story of another kind...)

Anyway: I wanted her to go to bed early. This was complicated by the fact that she knows that her bedtime is 8 o'clock.
And that she knows what the big hand and the little hand are supposed to be doing at that time.

So, I did what any creative parent would do: before she came upstairs for a bath, I set her clock forward half an hour. Worked like a charm.

D'oh!

Would be Jack's current favorite word.
When I say it, he erupts in laughter.
And now he says it. And now he makes his sister say it. And oh, the laughter.

Bartender, another Flaming Moe please...

So: The Elton John Concert Is Cancelled

WWYD?

Right. That was Tommy's thought as well.

WARNING: More Potty Talk

Guess what?
Jack uses the potty.
LOVES to use the potty, actually.

He demands to go in there several times a day. He loves to sit on the aforementioned (fabulously modern and green) Boon potty chair. Once placed, he shoos everyone else away with cries of 'out! out!' and then closes the door nearly all the way.
And then he sits.
And he sings, and he plays with the toilet paper, and he plays with the wipes, and sometimes he turns the sink on. And if you go in there and ask him if he's done, he'll look at you with his most pained expression...
and make his best grunting noises to let you know that, in fact, he is still working on it.

Recently, he's started asking to go in there when Anna is in the bathroom. She was surprisingly OK with this. She is happy to pull his pants down, take his diaper off, and get him seated properly. Then the two of them just sit in there and chat and holler at Mommy to bring them books. You have to check on them often, however, because Anna loves to empty the potty chair. As in, sliding the (waste-containing) bottom tray out and dumping it into the real toilet.

Sometimes this goes well.
Sometimes it does not.

Shall We Dance?

While they're not exactly Richard Gere and JLo, Jack is definitely very optimistic about his chances on next season's Dancing With the (Animated Bilingual) Stars.

By the way: Jack loves Dora.
LOVES her.
He even has a pet name for her--she is his "sha".

Ballerina On Her Way To Work, Part II

Sing it, Dolly:

Tumble outta bed
And stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
Yawnin, stretchin, try to come to life

Jump in the shower
And the blood starts pumpin
Out on the streets
The traffic starts jumpin
And folks like me on the job from 9 to 5...

And let me tell you: it's not easy looking this good, in a tutu, pushing a stroller, when you're late for ballet class.

And now this from "The Way We Were" department.

Deep Thought: Donkey

"It's kind of like a unicorn, but not as beautiful."

August Is The Birthday-est Month

It's August 30th, and we find ourselves singing Happy Birthday for the 2nd and third times this month. The brothers are 2! Hooray!

How Do You Grocery Shop In NYC?

Well, that's easy: child labor.
(And OK with a little help from Fresh Direct.)

Free Range Children

Uh-oh.

Just over one month ago, Jack climbed out of his crib for the first time. Truth be told, I have been trying just as hard as I can to ignore this. And Jack seemed so shocked and a bit scared by the whole experience that he didn't try again.

But, two weeks ago (after hearing some screaming) I entered the room to find Thomas precariously balanced on his stomach on the edge of the crib rail. Jack, always righteous and ever helpful, was just watching from his crib and shouting "No! No! No!" at him. Still, I tried to ignore this.

But then today at naptime Tommy made it completely out.
And so, toddler beds and open sides it is. Let freedom ring, and all that.

I was worried about this, of course. But I never gave a second thought as to what the boys would think of the beds. I mean, if their goal is to be able to get out, then these are exactly what they have been looking for, right? I thought they'd be ecstatic.

Not so.
Thomas, I could tell, was on the fence about all this. Jack's reaction was decidedly more definite: he started shouting "No! No! No!", tried to push the bed out of the room, and made 'unscrewing' motions with his hand in front of the screws at the end of the bed that Daddy had just spent all that time putting in. All I can say about that is that they are finally asleep. For now.

Meanwhile, Anna's reactions to all this were fantastic.

• She went from the retail: "Wait... does this mean they get new sheets?
• To the sentimental: "We're giving away their cribs? Can we keep their bears?"
• To the insightful:
  [Mommy explains to Anna that the brothers are climbing out of their cribs, so they are not safe, so they get big boy beds.]
  Anna thinks for a moment and says
  "Yeah... or a top."

We Took A Trip Today

All the way to the bottom of Manhattan. To South Street Seaport.
On the subway. This was the boy's maiden voyage.
Then we took a water taxi. Yet another first. Jack, sea dog that he is, was fine stomach-wise.

Neither of the boys was too sure about the boat, though. They didn't cry, but they were uneasy. But Jack only pointed at the dock and shouted "Back! Back! Back!" a few times.

It was perfect: a one-hour ride past Governor's Island, Ellis Island, The Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn and Manhattan. We saw helicopters landing at the helipad. We even went underneath the Brooklyn Bridge.

We ended up on a water taxi filled with a tour group from another country. One that took taking photos very, very, seriously. I mean, there were wives muscling small children (mine!) away from the rail so that they could get that perfect shot of their husband on a boat, moving, in front of the Statue of Liberty.

And then there was the eager tourist who, posing next to us as her husband took the Brooklyn-Bridge-in-the-background shot, decided (with no warning and no English) to grab Anna and get her in the photo, too. To her credit, she did it all with a smile so it was only slightly creepy and not absolutely terrifying (to Mommy), but Anna was a bit sour on our trip after that.

Highlights:

- Thomas looking at the boat's wake and getting very excited. He kept saying "Milk! Milk!".
- Jack looking at a drawing of the Statue of Liberty on the brochure, pointing to her torch, and saying "Hot! Hot!"

Mine are little men of few (but incredibly important) words by the way.

- But by far the best moment was Anna the babysitter starting to throw Thomas over the rail of the boat, with Thomas kissing the rail for dear life and dramatic affect. All with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background, no less. It's a good thing I was standing there holding my camera, eh?

How Jack Hides

He runs into a corner, puts his hands over his eyes and a huge smile on his face.
Then he waits for you to see him.
When he sees you coming, he screams (with delight) and runs toward you.

As you might guess, Jack spends a lot of time as 'It' during family game play.
But don't worry: we've dealt with these kinds of issues before.

Nursing On Mars: It's Your Only Option

"Mommy, why is Earth the only planet with water?"
Mommy gives some dismal answer about how we are just the right distance from the sun, not too hot, not too cold, blah, blah.
Anna thinks.

"Mommy, is Earth the only planet with milk, or do other planets have milk, too?"
I think just us, A. I think just us.

I Have So Much Material

but I haven't had a chance to get it up on the blog, as I have been working on my Kindergarten application essays.
But that is a story of another kind...

Anyway, I will now attempt to catch up but things might seem a bit scattered. Trust me, they are.

And That Is A Reason, Not An Excuse

Anna! What are you doing? Why are you drawing on your hand with the marker?!

"Don't worry Mommy, I'm just connecting my moles."

Bring on The Happy

On August 22, Anna turned 4. She was pretty excited about this. Finally: she's not the youngest one in her class! Yay!
For the record, we used horse plates and horse napkins and pink cups and she had a horse balloon and a horse cake. Well, OK: a cake onto which Mommy had drawn a horse that any caveman would be proud of. But still, she recognized it.
(Note to self: next time, take the cake out of the pan before you frost it. Funny how I never seem to get this quite right.)

Thomas and Jack love birthdays. They love to wear party hats. They love to sing the song.
If I ask them if they want any food, they say "Happy! Happy!" and are disappointed when what they get doesn't have any frosting.