Mother's Day Delayed Pictures

I took the kids to JCPenney for Mother's Day photos, which was a lot of fun. Jacob and Lucy were pretty well behaved and actually did what the photographer asked! She asked Jacob to get on the floor and Lucy immediately copied that with any prompting. The only bad thing was the pictures weren't available until May 9, the day after Mother's Day. Oh well, you can't have everything in life.

We bought a new scanner, so I've been trying it out on the pictures we did purchase. I'm also testing out uploading pictures to Picasa Web Albums, part of the Google/Blogger suite of products. Here's the pictures we bought:

Jacob and Lucy in their 2011 Easter outfits!

Am I cute?

No, I'm cute!

Didn't crop this one quite right!

Lovey dovey siblings (I can't believe I just wrote that!)

Lucy had cute shoes but wouldn't wear them!

New Playground in Columbia!

We've discovered a new place to go for indoor play time fun, right here in Columbia, Maryland! I saw an email from one of the parent groups I belong to that mentioned Play N' Learn has open and free playtime on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Knowing next to nothing about it, we decided to go anyway.

Jacob and Lucy had a great time. The store sells mostly outdoor playing equipment, including swing sets, trampolines, climbing walls, basketball hoops, and other fun stuff. They also provide pool tables, ping pong tables, air hockey, Foosball, and other indoor entertainments. The children played almost entirely on the outdoor equipment and had a grand time of it:

Jacob slides so fast he comes out blurry!

Lucy slides even faster. Eat you heart out, Flash!

These chains can't hold me!

Lucy loved climbing, though it made Daddy nervous.

A race to the top!

Even the outside of the store looks cool.

We definitely recommend going if you are in Columbia or finding one near you if you aren't in Columbia.

Valentine's Day Craft at the Library

Tuesday night's Pajama Time at the library included a craft. Now that Jacob and Lucy are going to PJ time, we get twice the craftiness to bring home. I didn't go to the library, but I got to take these sweet pictures when Mommy and the kids got home:

Lucy is unsure of how to present her craft.

Jacob also doesn't seem to know which end is up!

Close up of the floor model.

 The theme was Hugs (as a lead-in to Valentine's Day, no doubt). Both children had a good time and Mommy reports that they were well behaved too. Hopefully we'll get to PJ Time on Thursday and have another craft to show off!

First Library Visit of 2011

Friday we went to story time at our favorite branch of the Howard County Library, Savage Library. And our favorite librarian, Miss Ellie, ran the show. We were very happy for the old, familiar things.

"Snow" was the word of the day. One of the books Miss Ellie read was Ezra Jack Keats' "The Snowy Day," which Jacob immediately recognized. He shouted out, "We have that book." Jacob was happy to hear that story again. If only he had some enthusiasm for singing songs and dancing during story time. But at the end, we had a craft to do. Jacob was super enthusiastic for it. We glued a tree and snow flakes to a plate. Then we went to a sparkle station to sprinkle glitter on the plate. The glue pick up quite a bit and it came out pretty well. Jacob looks pretty serious about it. Lucy helped out too. She pointed to where we should put the snow flakes.

We look forward to many more visits to the library this year!

Lucy's 18-Month Checkup

Despite the snow from last night, we made it to Lucy's 18-month doctor's appointment this morning. All is well, she is 24.6 pounds and 33.5 inches tall. She was pretty excited to stand on a scale and to stand against the wall to get measured. Jacob was excited for her, though he thought the scale was his! The doctor was pretty happy with Lucy: she is physically fit and she was pretty easygoing about him poking and prodding and looking at her with his little light. She received only one shot, for which we were all grateful. She cried for about 20 seconds, which doesn't sound long unless you are a witness.

Following our usual post-pediatric tradition, we headed off to Chick-fil-A. Jacob asked to go to the "globe" Chick-fil-A, which is not our usual nearby restaurant. But it is on the way home from the doctor's office, so I approved. The good thing about that was it was empty, so the playground area was all ours. We, I mean, the kids played for almost 45 minutes! The bad news is that they took out the globe in the play area. I suspect Jacob will continue to call it the "globe" Chick-fil-A regardless. He was not distressed by the absence, but he did mention it a couple of times. Since we stayed so long, we had a yummy lunch there. Jacob and Lucy split a 6-count chicken nugget kids meal, with milk and fruit cup. The only problem is they hardly drink the milk (especially when they realize I have lemonade) and they could easily eat two fruit cups. We may have to try something new next time.

These Boots Are Made for Walking

Lucy is definitely a girl. We can tell because she is into shoes. Not metaphorically, literally:

First the right one...

...then the left,

Getting up is tricky!

Which way should I go?!?

Maybe I should stick to my core competency, cuteness!

I'm ready for my close up!

If you think she isn't into walking, check out this raw footage of her footwork:

Thanks for the loaned boots, Auntie Rosemary (and the soundtrack, too)!

Lucy's First Sledding

Today snow fell in sufficient quantities to make it hard to drive up the drive way and, more importantly, easy to go down the hill in the backyard on a sled. Of course, the front yard is much steeper but has a rather inconveniently placed street at the bottom. So we sled in the back yard. Here's Jacob and Lucy suiting up for the first adventure of this winter:

Jacob wears his coolest hat-his own name AND tractors!

Lucy's supercute snowsuit

Jacob loved his gloves; they're as great as a craft!

Outside, we had lots of fun:

Jacob drags his sled back up the hill

Lucy is smarter--she gets someone to drag her!

View from Mt. Reninger

 Back inside, Lucy decided to try on Daddy's hat. The only problem was the size difference:

"I feel like a character from Fat Albert!"

Jacob wanted to get in on the fun and wacky head wear:

The pillow wouldn't stay on his head so he decided it was a camera

Busy week at the library!

Actually, it's been a busy week at several libraries. We started with with the end of last week, where Jacob's latest craftiness produced these wonderful sheep at Pajama Time:

Jacob has to protect the sheep from the hungry dinos on his pj's

Jacob's picture shows the sheep a little better & juxtaposed with a random toy on the floor

Our next library adventure was on Monday. We went to Storyville in Woodlawn with Granny. See the photos here, since too many were taken to post on the blog. Jacob had a great time in spite of accidentally biting his lip while removing the drum. He got a little bloody. The family bathroom was no help since it was too environmentally friendly to have paper towels or tissues. I had to use a wipe from our diaper bag to clean up the blood. He really enjoyed working the grill and the cash register, which I guess means a fast food restaurant career is not out of the question. Maybe it'll be his day job to support his drumming passion.

Today (Thursday, September 30, 2010) we went to 3, 2, Fun at the East Columbia Branch of our local library. We were supposed to get a ticket from the children's desk to let us in, but we went the wrong way so Jacob could see photocopiers and the globe. An announcement on the library's PA system caught Jacob's interest and we ran into one of the children's librarians who helped convince Jacob it would be fun. We made it to the room a little late--Jacob still had to stop at every copier along the way and got two drinks from the water fountain before we made it to the right room. The theme was zoos. A story about ordering a pet from a zoo kept both Jacob and Lucy enraptured. Jacob also played along with "Old MacDonald" and a couple of other songs. At the end, he got his usual hand stamp on a piece of paper. While Jacob and I were busy negotiating that with the librarian, Lucy started cleaning up the room! She took all the bean bags that were on the floor and put them on a table. Lucy probably got us a guaranteed ticket to come back to story time at any time, ticket or no. Good job, Lucy!

New playground discovered in Odenton!

Since Labor Day is a holiday, many events during the week are pushed back a day. Our recycling and trash pick ups are all delayed (the poor garbage men will have to get our trash on Saturday; it doesn't seem like they really get a day off). Another effected event is new comics day, which is usually on Wednesday, but this week is Thursday. So we went to Annapolis to get some fresh reads for Daddy.

Usually the kids are inclined to fall asleep on the way there (even though it is less than half an hour to the comic shop), so I've been looking for stops along the way to entertain them. There's a library we've gone to a couple of times; sometimes we go early and hang out at the Annapolis Mall playground; we've gone to the  National Cryptologic Museum; we've gone to the National Vigilance Park at Fort Meade. Today, we discovered a hidden playground in Odenton, Maryland, thanks to this list.

The Seven Oaks Community Center Playground is just a stone's throw from Route 175 and Fort Meade. The parking lot enterance looks like it's for a row of townhouses, but off to the left is the community center and pool. Driving up to the pool, careful observation shows the playground on the far side of the pool. After walking around the empty pool (Labor Day is usually the cut off for swimming in these parts, especially weekday day time outdoor swimming), we found the playground. It had a fair amount of equipment,

Jacob loved the merry-go-round til Daddy went too fast

including a ride on plane and bus,

Keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times

Jacob's first school bus ride!

and a swing set!

Lucy's favorite part of any park

The children enjoyed it very much and we had it all to ourselves, presumably because no one knows about it. Hopefully it will stay that way unless some idiot starts blogging about how great it is. We will probably go back again in the future.

Reading is Fun for Everyone

Today, Jacob and Lucy decided to read books in her room. Or should I say read a book in her room. Pat the Bunnywas their selection. Conveniently we have two copies of the book and two rocking chairs next to each other:

We love to read and pose for cute photos

At one point, Lucy discovered that they were both reading the same book:

Hey, I hope he doesn't give away the ending!

Alas, she wasn't too happy about this and decided to take it out on the book:

Too bad she didn't realize Jacob had moved on to another book

Is this another sign of competition among them? I hope it leads to more reading, not less.

Cry Room Chronicles XI

This week we were back on schedule, walking in three minutes before the beginning of 8 a.m. Mass at St. Louis. In the children's chapel we discovered our old friends James and Colin with their parents (the mom is still pregnant). We said our hellos before the Mass started. Colin even said Lucy's name!

James is on a new program where he is following along the parts of the Mass, giving responses and standing or sitting at the appropriate times. It gives me hope for Jacob. Colin was carrying around a blanket with his hand up by his shoulder. His mother took this as a "ready to strike" stance and was very watchful when he was around Lucy and Jacob. Jacob and he had a lot of near interactions. Colin was generally peaceful. So much so that he even gave the sign of peace early to everyone in the room. Jacob did his usual wandering around the room and reading out loud from any book he could find. He asked to go see the violins, not realizing that we weren't at the 9:30 Mass.

We did go upstairs a little early for communion. I gave Jacob a nickel for the poor box. He just wandered around with it. Putting coins in the poor box has lost its appeal for Jacob but has gained appeal for Lucy. She took a couple of coins from me. Not able to reach it on her own, I had to hold her over the box while she put some spare change in. At least one of us is financially supporting the church.

After Mass we went to the playground where we caught up with Timmy and his parents Kim and Luke. We hadn't seen them since August. There wasn't much news to report. We were all bummed about the canceled pool party in the neighborhood (you know, the one I didn't write a blog about because it didn't happen). Other than that, the summer has been quiet. Then we headed home for special muffins (Jacob and Lucy still don't know that the green vegetable zucchini is the key ingredient) and some fun outside.

The sermon was a bit of a blur since we were trying to convince Jacob he needed his diaper changed. He countered with his need to read more books. Finally, we gave him two minutes to read and then he'd get the diaper change. Lucy didn't want me to leave the room so Angie wound up with diaper duty. Heaven help whoever went into that bathroom after us! Anyway, the gospel had the famous line, "every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 14:11ish) I do remember the priest talking about how we need patience and understanding, especially in situations that we can't control and feel are extremely annoying and inconvenient, like a delayed or canceled flight at the airport or being stuck in a grocery line behind very chatty and seemingly slow checkout attendants. That touched me because I have felt umbrage at the grocery store checkout before. I hope to mend my ways in the future.

Cry Room Chronicles X

For the past three Sundays (since the last Cry Room Chronicle), we've varied up the Sunday worship routine.

Back on August 8, we were up in Boston for the Catholic New Media Celebration. Boston is also the home of Leslie, maid of honor at our wedding four years ago. Sunday morning we joined her at Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a very beautiful church near Boston College. Lots of wood carving, good stained glass, etc. adorn this church. The vestibule is separated off from the rest of the church by wooden doors that were open throughout the service. When the inevitable came and Jacob had to wander around, we could still hear the Mass. I'm sure people inside could have heard us but Jacob is getting better at whispering in church. On the other hand, Lucy started practicing her vowels, at first whispering, "Eee ahh, eee ahh." She slowly gained confidence and increased her volume slightly each time. Angie had a hard time deciding when to take her out. We wound up drifting in and out during Mass, mentally and physically. In spite of the kids' shenanigans, we had a good time at church and seeing Leslie.

Last week (August 15) we went to the Saturday vigil at 4 p.m. at St. Louis. The children woke up early from their naps and we had Sunday morning plans, so it seemed like a good plan. Uncle Brian (godfather to Lucy) was a lector for the second reading. When Jacob heard him talking through the TV, Angie asked who it was. Jacob shouted, "Uncle Brian!" and smiled. After Mass we got to see Brian and Teresa along with friends Kevin and Amanda, who happened to be volunteers at the blood drive I went to that day. Sunday morning plans were a bust since the kids were a little under the weather the next day.

Today (August 22) we again did not go to the usual 8 a.m. Mass. Lucy slept until about 7:30, which made it extremely tight to get her fed and to church. As a result, we decided to attend 9:30 Mass. Thinking we had plenty of time, we dawdled at the house and wound up late getting to Mass. Another dad (or maybe grandpa?) was in the children's chapel with a boy and a girl. Later, a mom and dad arrived with a boy who seemed just a little younger than Jacob. He and Jacob did a lot of wandering around the room. Occasionally they'd be interested in the same item, but luckily parents were there to defuse the situation before it became critical. Also Jacob pretended to push buttons on the ethernet outlet in the room. The outlet cover had no buttons; this did not deter Jacob. He was so distracted he almost missed his chance to put money in the collection basket. Jacob hardly ever gets to do that at 8 a.m. Mass because the usher doesn't come through the children's chapel. He clued in just as the usher was leaving. I handed Jacob a dollar and he stopped the usher just before he left. Jacob gave his usual fist-clenching bow of excitement after his success. After communion, we stayed upstairs so Jacob could watch the musicians and choir. He truly was in awe.

Hopefully next week we'll be back to the regular Mass time, but you never know what will happen.

Fun at and after play date

This week's play date was a big one for Lucy, even though it is Jacob's play group. She showed off her walking skills both outside on the grass (why did I forget to bring shoes for her!!) and inside on the hard wood floors. She also got to ride on the big kids' swing and down the slide (both with daddy constantly holding on to her). Jacob was rather aloof, hanging out by the rocks or watching from a distance. He became more enthusiastic when we went inside.

Inside plenty of toys waited for us to enjoy them. Lucy and Jacob loved Caroline's play kitchen. Jacob even microwaved a cucumber for me. I pretended to enjoy eating it. What will happen when he starts cooking for real at home!?! Lucy dropped a lot of the dishes on the floor. Chloe was quick to pick them up. Lucy also climbed up to the top of a toddler picnic table, presumably to get to the dishes Chloe had stacked there.

The real action was afterward during lunch at Pasta Blitz. I ordered a couple of slices of pizza and a lemonade. I brought some lunch for Lucy: Gerber peas, Cheerios and a banana. I cut up some pizza for Jacob and offered Lucy a piece. She loved it. I could barely get any spoonfuls of peas in her and not one Cheerios. All she wanted was cheese pizza. Jacob was too busy looking out the window to focus on eating. Lucy might have eaten more pizza than Jacob did. Jacob finally ate the banana along with a lot of my lemonade. Lucy totally amazed me. It may be time to give up the Gerber.

The Longest Drive Ever!

Now that enough time has passed, I can talk about our morning excursion last Wednesday. The original plan was to go to the Savage Library and then on to Annapolis to hang out at the mall there, go to the comic shop and buy some groceries (Lucy and Jacob go through milk faster than light through a vacuum). Jacob had a completely different agenda in mind.

Jacob spent the morning begging, whining and flat out stating that we were going to the "Millis Mall," which translates to Arundel Mills Mall. This continued through breakfast and snack time. Eventually, he started throwing toys to make his point. I told him after the second toy that he'd get a time out if he threw another. He picked up another toy. He smiled. He threw it. Then he said he wanted time out in mommy and daddy's room. He was pretty smug about it, too. So I put him in his own room. Then he really pitched a fit about being in the wrong room. Lucy and I hung out for the two minutes then released him from his prison. Now he was upset and we were running late for running errands.

So I decided to concede and draft a new plan: we could go to the Elkridge Library and the Mills Mall. So we loaded up in the van and headed out. After about 10 minutes of driving, Jacob fell asleep! At 10 in the morning! Quite annoying, so I decided we would just drop the books that were due in the outside box. Not having been to the Elkridge branch before, I drove past it and had to turn around. So it eventually worked out. Then I saw a Shell gas station, which is offering a gas discount with a grocery store frequent shopper card. The card didn't work, so I had to pay full price. After that, I told Lucy we would head home and put Jacob in his bed.

Driving back down I-95, a truck with a smoking engine was pulled over on the curb. Everyone in front of me had hit their brakes to slow down and look, so I had to hit the brakes too. I braked hard enough to wake up Jacob 5 minutes from home. He started crying and demanding the mall again, so we turned the car around yet again and headed back north to the mall.

We finally got there and followed our usual routine. We visited the coin-operated ride-on machines, riding them without coining them. Lucy rode on some of them for the first time. Then we walked over to the book store and hung out in the kid's section, which features a Thomas train table. On our way back to the car, we looked at the waterfalls and the fish tank in Bass Pro Shop. Jacob was finally satisfied and we headed home for lunch.

Lucy was very patient through the whole affair and got to eat a quarter of a slice of bread with her lunch as a special treat. Jacob had his usual peanut butter sandwich with fruit on the side. I was worried that nap time would be delayed since Jacob slept in the car, but everything went normally.

Changing plans constantly was a challenge. I'm glad I rose to the occasion, but I hope the occasion does not arise again.

Good and Bad at the Library

Yesterday (Wednesday) I took Jacob and Lucy to the library. We had some returns to make and a reserve for Angie was waiting for pick up. Also, Angie wanted some more books on potty training to get new ideas for what to do with Jacob. He still has little to no interest in using the potty.

After dropping off our returns, I noticed a free computer, so I thought I'd look up potty training books and we could get them before going to the children's section. What a big mistake that was. Usually, we go to Jacob's section, hang out for a while and then go find books for the rest of the family. Jacob had a little meltdown in the 649.62 aisle. He kept demanding to play with the computers, pulling books off the shelves, and whining without ceasing. Consequently, I grabbed three random books on potty training and hightailed it to the children's area. He calmed down a little bit, but it was very crowded (thanks in part to the triple digit temperatures this week). He picked a puzzle fairly quickly and wanted to go. The hurry was a bit of a shame since I had let Lucy out and she was enjoying exploring the toddler area, cruising the low shelves and playing with the toys. The librarian dutifully retrieved the puzzle for us. I carried Lucy so she wouldn't freak out about being put back in the stroller.

As we headed back into the main library to go to the 30-inch globe that Jacob loves, he asked if we were going to get a book for daddy. I said no, not today. His request made me realize the mistake I'd made. If only I'd have waited to go get mommy's books after the children's section visit, I would have followed proper order at the library. The globe was fun as usual and Lucy didn't fuss too much when I put her back in the stroller there. Checking out went smoothly, though Jacob did want me to pick him up so he could see the receipt print out. He told the librarian that it was just like the printer at the game store. She was impressed. We went home for lunch.


Today, we went to the Savage branch for story time. We arrived just at 10 a.m. so we didn't have to wait for the doors to open like last time. We went in and made a beeline for the children's section. Jacob happily looked through various books and occasionally asked about the computers. He received the usual response: "We can play with computers at home." He seemed satisfied. Lucy was mobilized again to her delight. She even rode for a bit on the rocking horse. Our old friends Miss Ellie and her son Alex showed up. Alex took a turn riding the rocking horse, then as soon as he got off, Lucy raced to have a second ride. She was cute and impressive. Then the bell rang for story time.

Today's story time theme was the circus. Miss Ellie and Alex were there. Alex was acting up, not wanting to sing or sit. I sympathized since Jacob went through a phase like that. Luckily, that phase is over and Jacob enjoyed jumping through the hoop like he was a lion and walking the tightrope (an orange string on the floor). There was a backup on the tightrope, so Jacob only made it halfway across and then stood with the rest of the kids. They looked like they were part of a police line up! A puppet theater presentation of Curious George Goes to the Circus rounded out a fun story time.

But that was not all, because when we returned to the library to check out some books,we discovered Louie from the Bowie Baysox, the mascot of our local minor league baseball team:

Jacob was totally fascinated. He received a high five and an activity book from Louie. We also received a second activity book for Lucy. She has not started chewing on it yet, but I am sure once we give it to her, she will. We went home for lunch, triumphant!

A fine day out

Jacob spent the morning asking to go to a "new-new playground." The "new playground" is hidden within walking distance of our house but has had lots of Jacob and Lucy visits, so it's probably passe by now. A "new-new playground" is one which we haven't visited before. Angie also made a request this morning for a couple of books from the Savage branch of Howard County's Public Library. This branch has a Friday morning story time (with craft). It seemed like we'd get a lot done this morning if I could find a playground.

Luckily, the internet came through with some surprising suggestions: school playgrounds. Howard County has a lot of schools and now that it's July, school's out for summer. We went to Forrest Ridge Elementary School, drove around back and found the playground. In addition to basketball courts and baseball fields, two wonderful playsets were completely empty and ready for customers. Lucy tried out the slide. After going down, she decided to go the wrong way for a second ride:

 Please note: Lucy's hair was subject to static electricity, not a bad hair day.

Jacob enjoyed playing on the playground, too, even venturing across a difficult bridge with a little help from Daddy. I gave enough help that I couldn't take a picture, so here's a shot of the bridge. You can fill in Daddy and Jacob with your imagination:

He kept his hands on the top two bars and stepped carefully across. The second time I think he would have made it on his own but I wasn't confident enough in him not to be right there holding him.

Lucy took a much safe bridge all by herself:

After all this picture taking, Jacob decided (as he often does) that he wanted to take a picture too. Somehow I was able to limit him to one picture. Naturally, his favorite subject is hanging on the side:

Yes, that is Jacob's cheek and ear on the right and the playground on the left. The sun seems awfully large and close in this picture, but it really wasn't so bad.

Afterwards, we went to the library for books and storytime. We arrived a little early and had to wait outside with some other people. It's nice to live in an area where people are lining up to get into the library! Once inside, we found three books for mommy (two with cake ideas for Regina's birthday and one for fun) and a video for Jacob. Then story time started.

Today's storytime was all about the Fourth of July, featuring stories and songs of patriotism. Then came time for the craft. Again with the patriotic hat!! Jacob had a lot of enthusiasm for making it, using the glue stick to attach the stars. Unfortunately, since Daddy was helping in stead of Mommy, the results were not as good:

Note the paper clip holding the star and pipe cleaner and the terrible taping job inside. This was supposed to be a hat for Lucy (since Jacob already made one for himself), but the measurement was far too large. Lucy wasn't allowed to model it since the structural integrity is weaker than a sandcastle's in a sandstorm. In hind sight, I think it would have been better to use the glue stick on the ribbon and stick the stars into the glue rather than putting the glue on the backs of the stars. Maybe there will be a new craft next week!

Lucy's new habits

Now that Lucy has passed the one year mark, she is trying out new things. First, she is following in her mother's footsteps and is starting to grab as many books as she can. Here Lucy is trying to decide which book she will consume next:

Since I can't read yet, I guess I'll just chew

We went to the library today. For the first time, she got more books than Jacob did. Oddly enough, I checked out items for Lucy, Jacob, and Angie but nothing for me. As Jacob says, "Oh well, maybe next time." Though he usually says that about sitting on the potty and not having anything to show for it.

Lucy is also crawling around like crazy. She can pull herself up to standing on furniture, cabinets and knees. Sometimes she pulls herself up on the back of your knees which makes it awkward to lift her (which is what she really wants). She'll cruise around on the furniture when there's something she wants, like a toy Jacob is playing with. I'm sure walking is only weeks away.

You'd pick me up, wouldn't you?

She's begun the habit of sticking everything in her mouth except for food. Consider what she did with this scoop:

She kept blowing it out, maybe expecting some musical note like she gets from the recorder. Hopefully we'll snag some video of her playing the recorder. So far she only has one note down but can vary the volume quite a bit.

Today's lunch required that I tempt her to open her mouth with a cheerio while I snuck in a spoonful of veggies and meat mixed together. I did giver her the cheerio after each bite. I think of it like a chaser. What does Lucy think of it? If only she'd start using words. Maybe next meal.