Hello Mudduh Hello Fadduh: ILX Rolling Parenting Thread

She can also climb up things very easily...like the crate we use to protect the TV stand from her probing fingers. It's difficult to even leave the room for 30 seconds to boil a kettle now, she's so mischievous and hazard-seeking.

Here's Ava running around the Rachel Whiteread exhibit at the Tate Modern:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvsgyYrfqlI

Emma (10 1/2) has suffered her first sports-related injury, a foot deal from soccer. She'll be going into junior high in the fall, a science magnet school with a good reputation and a small student-teacher ratio; she is currently reading White Fang and The Castle of Cant and The Teddy Bear Habit; she pretends to be angry and petulant but she is really quite sweet and lovely.

Sammy (8 this summer) is in love with being Jewish, he actually cheers for anything having to do with Judaism -- except for Israel, which isn't "tolerant" enough. (Brainwashed? We live in Madison, Wisconsin, so you make the call.) He thinks "Young Frankenstein" and "Big Trouble in Little China" are hilarious good fun, so that's two of my top three favorite films ever; I wonder if he'd like Tarkovsky's "Nostalghia"? He is also looking forward to attending Yale (grrrr, traitor!) and becoming a Broadway star.

Louis is 4 months and some, he weighed in at 18 lbs at the doc a couple of days ago. He's really strong, he can sit up by himself for a few minutes at a time. He loves standing on a lap, especially if he can see the mirror behind the couch. He's got an incredible smile.

I'm enjoying being a stay at home mom to a remarkable degree, I'm probably going to quit my part-time job or at least go on hiatus for a while.

also the wrong people got elected to the school board this month so I'm pre-emptively worrying about the school situation again.

as for other things, it's funny to me to read the early posts on this thread, where kiddo wasn't even walking yet. he's fully mobile for a while now, which has made taking him to the playground a lot more fun for everyone. it's hilarious to just kind of tag along behind him and watch him play and start to interact with other kids. i basically try to just stay out of his way and keep him from getting hurt. there was a great moment last week where he was sitting in the sandbox, around a bunch of other kids, and was just playing with the sand and kind of looking out into space a little. it was cool to watch him think. and then he sort of snapped out of whatever reverie he was in and realized he hadn't done a spotcheck for a parent in a few minutes. brief flicker of uncertainty on his face, he stands up and does a quick scan of the scene -- and sees me sitting 4 feet away. then he got this big, reassured smile on his face, and sat back down to keep playing. it's a nice thing to know that just your mere presence is enough to keep a kid feeling secure.

http://static.flickr.com/52/127420130_bb7bd0a75a.jpg

Let's talk about...strollers! Specifically those accursed double-buggies, cos, er, we're going to need one later in the year. eBay seems the way to go (preying on those poor unfortunates who forget to make a reserve price) cos those Mutsi and Jane things are frighteningly expensive new. One in front, one behind is our preferred option; the double-width ones just seem designed to run peds off the pavement.

I am sure we will both have a lovely time.

Won't we?

I said, WON'T WE?

I wonder what you would have thought of our 3-year-old at the library the other day. He was making nice chit-chat with the librarian, telling her what kind of books he likes and whatnot. Then we walked away from the desk and he turned back and loudly said, "Oh, I want to tell you one more thing!... If you ever have a wedgy, just pull your underpants out of your BUTT!" I was mortified. I laughed so hard I cried. The whole children's room was in stitches.

We'll probably start testing solids (i.e. cereal) in the next week or so. Oh, the mess that is. Plus, it takes about five times as long to feed and you have to drag food stuff out of the house with you all the time...way more planning involved.

Teeny and Gypsy: the worry about school never ends. Ever. My three year old is starting to read and I had some private school snob come up to me and warn me that the public school would probably "give him a bad early reading experience." I wonder if that bitch rude woman heard me curse her under my breath as she walked off.

This sounds wonderful. Still waiting for Ava (14 months) to learn the value of the gentle touch (starring Jill Gaiscogne) - she slaps and smacks and pokes and prods and we're wary of letting her interact with her neighbourhood contemporaries for this reason. We guide her hand in a soft stroking motion to persuade that there is another way to touch Daddy's face which doesn't involve drawing blood, which she finds hilarious, and eventually builds up the stroking to a frenzy of scratching. Original nuttah.

I taught Edith to say cock-a-oodle-doo.

It comes out as doodle-oodle-oodle-oodle-oo.

I am not very keen on other parents. On the whole, they seem like a bunch of twats.

Present company excepted, of course.

But it does strike me as a problem, how to interact with others without feeling like an alien.

They're never too young for call centre work.

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Here's Ava at 14 months, 8 days:

http://static.flickr.com/45/132975662_d6b85944fe.jpg

Ophelia is now exactly 100 days old. I know this because we are celebrating this. It's a Japanese celebration. Strange? Maybe, but you gotta remember my parents live in Japan. :-) It'll be a blast. :-)

I feel so weird for recognizing that label on Ava, ie Quinny. Anyhow, Ava is so beautiful! Those eyes!!!!

My awww moment this week: watching Emma and Sammy work together on their project for their school's science inquiry fair. They didn't fight hardly at all, and Emma was very patient with her fact-laden but kinda-hyper lil bro, whereas Sam tried hard to stay on task and not just let his sister do all the work.

UNO--OH NO. Must scrounge up. There were some baseball movies at the library but they were too sporty for me. Games, and arts, and crafts? Don't the kids like to vegetate anymore?

My mom says they are happy just drawing and making up their own games together.

mary, why don't you like Uno? I don't know how down an 11 yr old might be with drawing and making up games. My cynicsm tells me that playstation-attention-span already has a hold by that age.

And oh my god Ava's eyes. They could be prescribed as therapy :)