Well, internet, it’s been 2 months. If any of you read our blog as closely as some segments of the population read the Harry Potter books, you have certainly already figured out what this means.

Right? You all know, right? Nobody here would just read for pictures, right? You’re not the type to just get the New Yorker for the cartoons, are you?

We’re going for the threepeat, people. We looked around, noticed we had things like free time and brain space not devoted to the gastrointestinal situation of people under 4 feet tall, and decided to remedy that state of affairs. The Bird is due sometime in August, and we are thrilled to bits. Well, except for the part where we probably need a new car. I do detest the car buying process. But the kid part is going to be very fun- I really feel the best thing I have ever given Claire Helen and Simon is each other I've never seen two kids so close and so thrilled to be around each other all of the time. To have decided that we have the energy and time to give even more of that to them is a really elating feeling.

For pretty much all of January I was a mess(being the one biologically in charge of reproduction BITES), but I saved up enough energy all week for us to go to the snow a few weekends. Claire Helen was an awesome sledder. The first weekend, though, Simon was not snow's biggest fan. He had an okay time, but any time the snow touched him he'd wilt and wail. The no body fat problem, again.

The next weekend, though, we took the kids up with some friends to see what they'd think of skiing. Simon apparently was born to ski. Mat would set him up on the little skis, balance him in a tuck position, and Simon would bomb down, full speed ahead. He didn't pause, look back, catch an edge, or anything else. And even as he slowed down he'd start shouting "More ski! Ski again!"

Claire Helen thinks exactly what you would think she thinks of putting giant wooden sticks on her feet and hurling herself down an icy abyss.

Vancouver, for my birthday. I was still a little green to appreciate the whole thing, but I did perk up long enough to eat dessert from the coolest chocolatier in the world. Why don't they have more of these? And we stuck the kids in what appeared to be a giant hamster cage- 2 stories of slides, ball pits, and nets to climb, which we found while wandering around their farmer's markets. Oh, those wacky Canadians.

Random Claire Helen picture. For a little while she had decided to name the new baby Solatta, but has now changed her mind to Dorothy Lightning. These are both options for a boy, in case you were wondering; she's not interviewing for a little sister. She's having a great time at preschool these days, and lately seems to enjoy playing "architect," where she makes blueprints and then carries them out with construction paper and pipe cleaners. That's my little long term planner. We've recently started both kids in soccer, and while it's fun to see both of them running around out there, it's especially heartwarming to see Claire Helen so confident with a physical activity. She's a natural at it- who knew? And really seems to have a good time kicking around the ball. It's an hour, and she runs flat out for 55 minutes of it. Awesome.

Simon has also recently started preschool- the same little mommy and me co-op Claire Helen and I participated in lo these many moons ago. It's very fun to do this with another child, and I think Simon is getting a lot out of an activity that's Just For Him. He is an incredibly inquisitive little dude, "Where that noise comin' from? What those people doin'? What that bird doin'?" and I can see the Why phase coming at us fast. His most favorite thing right now is to break into his sister's room while she's at preschool and play with the babydolls she has artfully arranged and left just so. Good little brother. We have had an epidemic of crayon drawing showing up on walls, but overall I'm enjoying 2 and 3.5.

Merry Christmas, y'all

It's all fun and games until somebody swallows a penny

And what did you do Friday night? Hang out at the Children's Emergency room with a purple helicopter princess and her pet monkey/kid brother? No? We did. She's fine. You could see the outline of the penny in her stomach REALLY clearly. Odd.

Today it snowed, and at first didn't look like it was going to stick.


Simon pretty much hates snow. It's hard having no body fat.


These are pictures from my folks' house over Thanksgiving. Checkers is a little above their heads at the moment, but they definitely get "jumping from square to square."




The closest we got to a picture of Thanksgiving dinner- but leftovers are as venerated a tradition as the turkey, right?

Kids and giant wooden mallets, what could go wrong?




Simon the miner.

Simon wearing a woolen suit my parents brought back from Great Britain for my brother when he was Simon's age.

Claire Jane is over right now, and she and Claire Helen are negotiating/playing in the living room. I wish I had gotten this on tape.

CJ: I'm the fox, and you're the hunter! No, no, I'm the DOG and you're the hunter! No. I'm the hunter, and YOU'RE the fox. OK. You be the fox, and I'm the hunter. Go! OK. You're the fox! You're a fox! I'm a hunter, and you're a fox!" (makes move to chase Claire Helen)

CH: I'm a beet. (sticks up arms, squats into a ball, like a beet, I guess?)

Simon: Hey, that's mine! (runs out of room to the notice of nobody, grabs baby doll, declares himself victorious)

Quiet Time in the City

Well, not exactly quiet time, per se, so much as "Simon passed out in the car on the way home from lunch with Mat, and Claire Helen is playing with a puzzle" time. Either way, I am free to amble about on the internet.

And internet, I have a question. Why are all the animal habitats farm animals? Why are there no swamps with alligator nests or rain forests with tree houses? Simon and Claire Helen play amateur biologist with about 40% of their free time,* and seem to really want to play pretend with stuff we see at the zoo or on our front steps, wanting to know who lives in nests or burrows or caves. You'd think there would be more pretend animal habitats out there, wouldn't you? But no. If you see one, let me know. Triple bonus points for meerkats, puffins, or snails. Also, what do you do for a frustrated beginning pre reader? Claire Helen seems to be really, really annoyed that she can't sound out the words in books she likes read to her (who knew that Amelia Bedelia had such an advanced vocabulary, right?), but I am having trouble imagining an interesting book made of words with 3 letters, besides which I think what she's really looking for is success sounding out new words, not really getting whole narratives out of it yet. Games? Non electronic ones?

And for all those questions, I will give you some answers:
Number of times each child has slept in their own bed over the last week: 0
Number of times they have had a sleepover on Simon's floor: 2
Number of times they have swapped beds: 4
Number of times 1 child started out in our bed and the other went to their sibling's bed: 1

Forget musical chairs, we have musical beds. They are awfully sweet when they have a sleepover, though. Awfully. They're so close, lately. Last week Claire Helen was at a playdate when it was time for Simon's nap, and he missed her so much he made me sing her special song to him(they each have their own), and go lay down in her room while he fell asleep.

*other options include in order of frequency: lego house building, Simon plays with doll house while Claire Helen tries to convince him to do anything else(which has actually led to her declaring she only wants Santa Claus to bring Simon his own doll house so she doesn't have to share hers anymore. Despite the fact that she never plays with it.), dress up, puzzles, or art. But animals are number 1 by far.