Library

Today was a misty morning so we took the bus to the Seattle Public Library and played in the children's section for a couple of hours. Finn did a digger puzzle and Poppie watched, mostly. The coolest part was the pink floor.

Welcome home Daddy, er sort of.

Nick came home last night after a long shoot in California. We were all excited to see him and had hoped that the homecoming was going to be the best yet. As promised on Father's Day, I had gotten both the children moved into the same room and for the most part, both were sleeping soundly through the night while he was away. Finn still wakes up really early and Poppie prefers to be more of a nightowl, but we were there! And then, beyond all control (which is what parenting is really all about, isn't it?), a series of events led Nick's homecoming to be one of the hardest yet. Why? Read on...


I thought Finn needed a tiny little trim. His luscious locks were getting out of control and even he was complaining about his hair in his eyes. So, I did what any (not) normal mother does and got out the sharpest pair of scissors I own (sewing shears) and did a little trim. Too short on one side so I had to shorten the other. And then that side was even shorter than the other and so I had to cut some more. Luscious locks? Gone.

A funny side story? Nick loves Finn's hair long and wild. Despite the fact that he used to complain to his mother that all the baby pictures of him make him look like a girl because she also loves luscious locks. (For the record the complaining happened when he was younger and you cared about things like that.)

Moving on.

Daddy came home at an hour when the kids are usually at their most rambunctious and I not ready for bed, Mommy so I thought it would be a fine time to collect him from the airport. Wrong. The only night all week that both of them were ready for bed at 6pm and they had to stay awake, get in the car and deal with the heavy emotions of seeing Daddy for the first time in two weeks. Needless to say, a very sleep-deprived second wind was had by both and when we finally got home and ready for real bed, Finn was a wreak and Poppie couldn't stop crying.

And why couldn't Poppie stop crying? Because she had eaten something that bugged her tummy and proceeded to projectile vomit all over her bed, all over herself and all over Daddy, who rushed in to the rescue. She was crying and writhing and in general lapping up the attention for the next hour while Finn demanded mama when Daddy was in the room and Daddy while I was in the room.

Finally, at 11pm, both children were asleep. Poppie was just fine after her episode, but I knew emptying her stomach of all contents didn't bode well for making it through the night and I was so right. So we had a wake-up call at 3 am and then a little boy, dominated by his circadian rhythym that does not listen to the fact that he has only had 6 hours of sleep, joins us at 5am and throws an epic tantrum when we won't get up to play with him, complete with peeing on our floor and throwing Poppie's highchair down the hallway. We got him settled and managed to get him back to sleep with a bottle in our bed and he thanks us by peeing on me and all over the freshly-changed sheets.

I know that transitions are hard for all of us, but this pretty much takes the cake in our life as a family. To make up for it, we are going to have a quiet family dinner and some cozy time reading books on the porch swing and hopefully and early night for all. 

Wish us luck.

This girl stands!

Poppie has been standing on her own a lot lately and has even taken one teeny tiny step from the couch to her toy. Keeping up with her brother is a huge motivation!

Football/Soccer Finn

Finn has been asking for a soccer ball for the past couple of weeks. Everytime he is at the park and there is a ball around, he is out there kicking it and running around, typically with the older kids. So, on Friday we bought him his first soccer ball (and for the record, darling husband, I know it is called a football in the UK, but for the sake of fitting in with his peers who think a football is something else entirely, we are calling it a soccer ball).

And damn if this kid isn't a natural little soccer player. 2 1/2 years old, he is! Watch out, Beckham.

Poppie plays with her mobile

Poppie in a placid mood (which is rare). Usually I can hardly change a diaper with all her rolling and moving and screaming to be free!

Bubbles in the sun

Finn boy blowing bubbles on a sunny porch.

Poppie's 9 months well baby exa

17lbs, 12oz; 29.5 inches of long and lean healthy little Poppie machine.

This is how we sleep now

A couple of days ago, we moved Poppie into Finn's room to the delight of both of them. There are no more tears and no more 'I don't want to go to bed'-s. Instead there is a lot of giggling, squealing and Finn occasionally saying shhhh, shhhh it's OK, sorry, don't cry, I kiss you now when Poppie complains about something loud enough for me to come stomping towards the room.

Our goal is to reclaim our room and get them both on similar schedules so we can have adult time consistently at night. Nick is away on assignment and this seemed like a perfect thing to try and do while he was away, or as I put it on Father's Day, two sleeping-through-the-night-children by the time he comes home is his father's day gift.

Poppie has begun sleeping soundly through the night as a result of the new sleeping arrangements, but Finn has taken a turn for the worst and ends up in our bed every night. He has been telling amazing and elaborate stories during the daytime about all sorts of creatures on all sorts of adventures and he has also been talking a lot about his dreams and whether they were good or bad and what happened. I think he is entering that vivid stage where his imagination, the real world and his dreams all sort of co-mingle and boundaries blur. Maybe the trick is to tell him gentle, simple stories at night before he goes to bed and see if we can set him off on the right foot.

Any tips for calming a vivid imagination at night?

Monday night bedtime bouncing

Helping do things

A delightful aspect of toddlerdom is the willing nature to help with chores. Finn delights in helping to set the table and then also patiently waits until we are done and helps clear it up again. He even thoughtfully put Poppie's seat on the bench so 'she could sit 'der. And mama, you sit 'der and Daddy can sit 'der and I sit 'der next to Daddy.' Yay! I did it! he exclaims.

My wise mother advised us to always encourage this 'helping', even when the helping makes more work for us. Take advantage of it now, she said, because 5 years down the road, chores will already be a natural part of the family routine and won't be a big fight. Wise words indeed.

Riding his tractor in the alley

AKA why we wear helmets in this family

Breakfast!

Hmm, what's this tasty little morsel?

Finn pops in for a closer look at what Poppie is eating.

It's squishable...

And smashable...

There must be more of it somewhere.

Yum! Cinnamon raisin bread!

Oooh, another raisin!

And onto the floor it goes. I wonder if Inca will eat it?

Dancing girl, 9 months old

This little girl is 9 months old! Where has all the time gone? Poppie stands up with the help of furniture and has even been spotted standing on her own for about 5 seconds. She is also practicing standing from a squatting position, without holding on to anything, which she has managed once or twice.

Remember this little almost-walker? Finn was just shy of 9 months when we shot that video and there is no doubt that Poppie is keeping up with her little brother's accelerated physical development. Which scares me to death, because I can hardly keep up with one of them, let alone two walkers. What ever am I going to do when they run in opposite directions?

In other 9-month-old news, Poppie is slowly giving up her bottles and is getting the majority of her calories from real food. Her favorites are curries, seaweed, any type of fish, berries and just about anything that has lots of flavor and that she can feed herself. Baby food is passe for this girl. It is a little challenging trying to make sure that we don't give her too much dairy or high-galactose foods (legumes, tomatoes and figs are all suprisingly high in galactose), especially since Finn could live on cheese, yogurt, spaghetti bolognese and lentils if he had his way.

Poppie is also going through a very vocal phase of neediness. If she feels ignored for too long (lately it seems 2 seconds is too long), she will scream and fake-cry until someone picks her up. Which is tough because our house is so tiny, no one can handle her screaming and she ultimately gets swooped into someone's arms. We are trying to teach her to be a little more independent, but it is slow going. The simplest thing is to strap her on my back and continue on our way until she either falls asleep or gets fed up with being carried.

Yesterday, Finn came with me on a shopping trip while Poppie stayed home. Finn was thrilled because I swooped in and 'kidnapped' him from the nanny and he felt super special and was a darling the whole time we were out and about. The mommy-and-me time was just what he needed and a chore that is usually frustrating for both me and the children (grocery shopping and running errands, in and out of the car), was suddenly easy and pleasant. I had a momentary epiphany about how much easier life is with older children. I thought that the baby phase was going to be my favorite, but I have to admit, I am really looking forward to both of the children being able to talk (communicate their needs) and walk (instead of carrying one and desperately trying to hold the hand of the other).

Poppie is equally as outgoing and engaging with the world as Finn. She can't hold still for a second and always wants to explore and touch and 'talk'. Poor thing is in that frustrating stage in life, where she knows where she wants to go and what she wants to do, but can't get herself there on her own. As I write this, it explains the needy, screaming to be picked up (and engaged with) behavior. Once she can satisfy her own curiousity without relying on us, I am sure this phase will disappear. And a new one will replace it, I am sure.

Garden treasure

I got home a few days early from Alaska and have taken the past couple of days to do house and garden projects that I haven't had time to complete in the past four years. If that sounds like a long time, I gently ask you to have two children, a stressful career and only 8 months a year in this house to get stuff done. Enough said. 

We had the nanny lined up and I had the time scheduled away from the office so carpe diem, which is Nick and my favorite phrase these days and gets stated at least three times a day from one or the both of us. My project include getting the house ready for painting, which in our case, means cutting 30 years of shrubbery and other living, twisting, vining things away from the house so we can actually get access to the exterior walls. We live on a tiny lot, and yet you can hardly see the house from the road even though you could reach your arm out and touch it, such is the magnitude of our natural surroundings. 

So, two compost dump trips later, and the house can be accessed to paint and along the way, I found a treasure. I love finding treasures and was really hoping I was going to find something cool in all the biomaterial, especially since it was a long hard day toiling in the bushes by myself. 

The treasure I found was a bison carved out of hardwood, hidden beneath years and years of leaves among the recently-cut bamboo. He is missing his back hooves, but other than that is a stately and beautiful piece of art, probably 16 inches tall and by the looks of it, rather old. 

What a reward!

Au Revoir, Alaskan summers

I was up in Alaska last week, probably for the last time in any sort of work capacity, shutting down our offices and helping with the final transition from Snopac to the company that bought us. This is the first week away from my children, ever and certainly my first time alone for this long in years. The emotion of being away from everyone was blurred with the emotions I am feeling letting this place go.

I started coming up to Alaska when I was little and although we only live here in the summertime, Alaska is in my blood unlike any other place I have called home. I have watched our small village in the bush boom, bust and boom again, following the rhythym of salmon cycles. I have experienced death and birth. I know the rivers and lakes, the tumble of the tundra hills and the icy peaks of the surrounding horizon better than any natural landscape in the world. The memories I have formed here are deeper and more clear than any other memories of my youth.

Part of me rejoices that I will no longer carry the loads I have carried in the past. The stress of this industry and the pressure I was under all the years managing our operation will no longer be mine. I am giddy with the excitement of a new type of summer, one that includes bountiful gardens and sunny days on the beach. 

But another part of me is sad that my children will not grow up with Alaskan summers. Where else on the earth can you step outside your door and look to three horizons, knowing that no other civilization exists within hundreds of miles? Where the silence is deafening and gloriously healing? It is going to be easy in this world to get culture and city and civilization. It is going to be hard for our children to find a solitude like the one Alaska offers. 

Nick and I both have an affinity for this place that will not go away. I have no doubt that we will be back again, children in tow for more adventures. But it won't be the same, it won't be the childhood and adulthood I was raised into here. 

Onwards to new memories...

Happy to be home Sunday

I was in Alaska last week and got home Saturday night to a clean house, a delicious meal, happy children and a superdad. Sunday was a beautiful day and we went for a five mile walk along Lake Washington to celebrate the beginning of the first summer we all will be home in Seattle. No Alaska for this family, which is both thrilling and somewhat sad for me. 

This boy can run FAST! One, two three, go!

Terrapins and a heron enjoying the sun too.

Daddy and Poppie (who has a summer cold, poor thing)

Sometimes life is so fun, you have to laugh at the sun.

Shower baby

A sunny day in the park

I'm imaging some bongo drums right here

Hmm, what's in these things?

This feels good.

Finn saw a fish jump in the lake

I can be kind of serious sometimes

Do these blackberry bushes have any berries yet?

There's been a lot of this lately

For as long as we can remember, Finn has never asked to be carried. He is such an independent young explorer and being carried cramped his style. Even when he was first learning to walk. So, it has come as a surprise that lately he is asking to be carried when we are out on walks. Maybe it is because Poppie is being carried and he wants that connection with us. Or maybe his growth spurt is painful (I remember growing pains as clear as yesterday and I would rather endure natural childbirth than go through those bone-aching pains again). Either way, we have been indulging his need to be carried in sometimes creative ways...

A backpack (not) built for two.

Daddy is an ox

Auntie Casi and Uncle Nick

We love these guys. The kids do too. For the past several summers, I have had the pleasure of working with Casi in Alaska while Nick fishes. This will be the first summer in ages that I haven't spent long hours and lots of laughs with Casi. I am going to miss her and I know that Finn will too. They are living in Walla Walla and we had a blast visiting them this past weekend. I have a feeling more visits are on the horizon.