Little Bird Nests without Nuts

P put some skins in Zia's toy box and then choo-choo'd her around the house yesterday. She loved it. I assumed because of the boy :). Then, I repeatedly found her in it for the rest of the day. Chatting to her toys all comfy like. Then, last night, she kept plodding over E's pile of pillows (they play on the bed post-bath) and sitting in the center. Girl likes to be all nest-y cuddled :)

But I'm thinking we'll be all nest-y nut free. She never did have a physical reaction to almonds but E mentioned many times that she seems grumpier. But there's teething and tiredness and hunger and just general I can't tell you what I want baby angst... So in my infinite wisdom, we tried peanuts this week :)

And man did they taste Good. P requested it - he wanted to test 'em (again;) He tried a couple of months ago and became so rage-y it was both shocking and heartbreaking. At one point he stood in the living room, fists shaking, screaming "I feel so Angry!!!! And I don't know why!!!". A little later (after hugs ;) I mentioned maybe it was peanuts. He threw out the rest of his snack bag :)

But who knows, so we tried Again :) Healthy(ish) no bake bars. Oh the joy of having a handy dandy snack! By the second batch (in three days;) I was doubled over with stomach pain. I figured my post baby recess was finally over and my monthly mistress was returning with a monster's vengeance. Which got worse and worse until E was pushing for a Dr visit and I was actually taking Advil around the clock to be able to keep up with the kids. Dude. I don't even take medicine for childbirth. It Hurt. But each morning it would be mysteriously better. And my mistress still didn't show... Then I had a mid-morning no bake bar and the pain started within bites. Hmmmm

So I googled it. Yup. A peanut sensitivity can show up as horrid stomach pains. Great. Who knew?

Meanwhile, P was out. of. control. Seriously. And rather than trying to love him through it? I was raising my voice, over talking and criticizing, playing the part of Queen Bee-otch quite nicely. My mouth would run before I could grab it. :( I was surprising myself and I just kept thinking, my periods have never been this psycho... or painful...

About the time of my Google epiphany, P surprised himself. They were around the corner, so I didn't see the event, but Zia suddenly cried the most heart wrenching cry. When I lifted her up I glanced at P and could tell by his face. Shock. Sorrow. Guilt. He had hit her. A first.

She wasn't hurt, just her heart :(. Watching them recover was amazing. She cried her little eyes out as P looked at me and said, "I hit her. I did and I didn't. I didn't want to. But I just did." Then he came and sat by us and touched her head and she totally stopped crying and looked at him. He stroked her face and she leaned into him and smiled. Then he leaned forward so they could nose nuzzle (they do Eskimo kisses a lot). She smiled. He smiled. Wow. Forgiveness and redemption without a single word :)

I never asked him what happened. It was obvious he was shocked and ashamed it happened and I didn't want to play the part of lemon juice. And I don't think it will happen again. At least, not until she's much bigger. Or he starts eating peanuts again...

We threw out the rest of the no-bake bars. And for good measure, I'm taking an almond break. Just in case Superman is right and she's a little grumpy ;). P was bummed about skipping peanut butter again, but he Totally sees how much it effects him. So much for my "If there's no rashes or red butts we're eating it" rule. As totally crazy as it sounds, P and I are both nuts when we eat that particular nut. But I can have dairy, so I'm down with that ;).

So, no nuts, no seeds, no nightshades (had a tiny bit of red pepper in something yesterday and Z had gas pains and a rash:() and no eggs. I think we're getting this figured out!

So. Excited.

Miss Z doesn't yet know what's in store for her... but I don't know if P or I will sleep at all tonight. We are So Excited to see my mother tomorrow!!!

(Another) Park Day

My mother is going to arrive and cry. The house is in shambles, we've been so busy playing this week. (Sure, we've also planted blueberry bushes, huckleberry too. Taped, primed and painted a room and touched up 5 walls, cleared a mountain of dirt and weeded the whole yard... but the boxes and piles and laundry still stare at me!) Sigh. Spring is special here. So is childhood :)

Park day again today. The kids had a Blast. Zia absolutely Loves people. And parks ;). And P is making friends :). Goooood times.

Zia: her eighth month

Holy Cow has she grown this month! Hiking, eating, talking, climbing. She's really starting to "play," rather than just lick. A super fun development. She initiates peek-a-boo every chance she gets (with her dress, around a corner, or her little hands over her eyes:) Plays "how big is Zia?" (raises her arms and laughs for "Sooo big!"). Bounces until we notice and say "Bounce-a, bounce-a!". She loves to knock over block towers we build. (This is, apparently, quite hilarious:) And hand clapping is Big Stuff right here. There's something else...I'm forgetting ;)

P is infinitely impressed with her expanding repertoire of tricks. Which I find fabulously funny, since he was a total anti-trick kinda baby. Seriously, he would smile for no-one. Clap for no one. When people would try to play peek-a-boo, he'd look at them like, dude, I ain't no trick monkey.

But Z seems to be quite the social crowd pleaser. Smiling and ducking bashfully, then popping back up for some chatting.

She Loves going out and about in general. Especially if she can get down and wander around. Terribly tricky, since she still prefers to taste the world around her :)

But the last few trips to the yard have seen her eating fewer and fewer pieces of pea gravel. And today she stacked a block, instead of snacking on it. She started putting things IN things, so that she can dump them out (full laundry baskets actually elicit squeals of joy as she tosses contents over her shoulder.) And, with whoops of joy from big brother, she properly vroomed a car this morning;).

She's still nursing quite a bit at night, so my brain is still hazy :). But she's settling into an aaaalmost schedule. (umm, fina-frickingly - P was like a goddamn soldier with his to the minute naps. Miss Z's chaotic sleep habits have helped me grow a go with the flow 'tude for sure;) Some days are still your best guess, but we're getting a leeeeetle dependability :) Nodding off (still rocked in the wrap, other than those few successes, she won't lay down and nurse to sleep - she just crawls around the bed and cries. Its easy in the wrap:) around 10 at night and rising for the day around 7, sometimes even 8! Play, breakfast, play, nap. Then play hard all afternoon and zonk again right about the time I'm trying to cook dinner. This makes getting food to the table in a timely manner quite a challenge, but we're adjusting to late dinners :)

She's also adjusted to Superman in the last month! They take walks together - she's even fallen asleep in his wrap! She perches on his lap to share his lunch, hangs out with him while I clean the kitchen and splashes him when he scrubs her filthy toes each night. Ethan is in heaven (after P's anti-Papa babyhood) getting to baby his baby.

Below, random phone blogging order (sigh) is Z in the yard, having clambered onto the wheelbarrow, she was delighted to discover she could make a wheel turn. And Peaches having her first raspberries and blueberries - both picked fresh in our yard! (She liked them both :)

Cloud dough

Hi, my name is Jac, and I'm a Pinterest addict.

Seriously. If I'm holding Z while she sleeps and P busies himself for a second... I scroll through the pretty pics and fun ideas on my phone. Rarely enough time to blog or email, just enough time to sigh at brilliant designs. (Buying a house and discovering Pinterest at the same time.... deadly combo.)

But P is in heaven with my newest Pinterest find: Cloud Dough. He's addicted to the texture of flour (remember your kitchen when he was 3, Mom?!). But, and I speak from LOTS of experience here, flour flows from a play area to Everywhere, much like sand. Sigh. Cloud Dough solves this dilemma. Fab flour texture, no flow. Go make it and smile:). Bless you, Pinterest.

Oldie But Goodie...

dude.  Long naps ROCK.

one more video - from before we moved.  P, entertaining himself while we packed...

Stair sledding.

Video!

Infinitely pleased with myself for remembering to find my computer before Z zonked:)  Finally, a video!

Z (and P;), "hiking."  The slanted ground was all new for her so her balance was extra off ;)

Baby in the forest

It didn't even cross my mind to put an 8 month old baby down on a hiking trail to hike last weekend, but she asked to get down this week and...hiked a huge part of the freaking trail.  This made her So happy.  Obviously ;)  Time to get some baby moccasins...

After our Home Depot run yesterday (sigh), Zia fell asleep in the car again.  She reaches out to hold P's hand for this and it is the Sweetest Thing.  Even P melted, after bragging about it;)  Remembering we raced to the park for a hike last car nap, P begged for another.  E and I were hesitant, there is soooo much to be done around here.  But, the house isn't going anywhere, and P's childhood is, so we went for a short hike in Washington Park.  I can't describe how lucky I feel to live in a place that has these sorts of parks, right in the city, so accessible, so gorgeous.  And a car to access them.  And kids that love them as much as I do.  Lucky, lucky me!

Zia is a blur because she is moving so freaking fast.  Sigh. 

P, climbing, of course ;)

My Mother is coming! My Mother is coming!!!

Yes.  To Portland.  In a week.  Eek!  Excitement doesn't even begin.

I never talk to anyone on the phone (inevitably, both children completely fall apart right. at. that. moment.)  Except for my mother.  But this has required many, many chats with the Little Man about how important it is for me to talk with my Mama.  How much I miss her.  How I'm a selfish little witch for running so far away from her with her two adorable grand babies and that I positively Must call her and share every last detail that she misses because I can't stand that she isn't here every day.  (Ok, I didn't actually tell P any of that, but that's what I mean:)  Still, he has trouble when the phone hits my ear...

So I did a story.  He and I live a ways apart ("Never, Mama!"  "Just pretend, love.")  And he could only speak to me... by phone.  ("I would call you All. The. Time, Mama.")  But there was a Very Loud neighbor boy that screamed and laughed whenever he called me.  He couldn't hear my voice or my stories.  "I would take that boy and throw him to the moon and then lock him in the dungeon without any food for forever!"  (Obviously, at 7, there must still be a disconnect with fables...)

Anyhoo, phone chats amidst chaos can only do so much and as we're not traveling to Kansas but once a year for a while now, my mother is saving the day by flying to Portland.  Thank gawd.

She will also be saving the day by helping when she gets here.  Kid wrangling.  Little Man spoiling.  Unboxing.  Organizing.  Turns out getting a fixer with Zia in tow is tricky.  And while, back in the day, Superman and I could have knocked out 10 projects a weekend, well...

Take yesterday, for example.  We are desperately trying to prep space to get some melons and squash planted, before its too late this season.  And the Jungle needs tractors and chainsaws some TLC before this can be achieved.  Playing with P while making sure Zia doesn't die from pea gravel consumption while accomplishing anything is a great challenge (oh that she moves through this "eat everything" stage fast!!!). When the neighbor girl climbed the fence to play with P, we figured, one down!  Things should fly now!  Ha.

Somehow the kids managed to get a hex bug down the stairs and under the floor of the laundry room.  Where, rather than sweetly and quietly dying, it proceeded to zoom around in it's battery led brilliance until it lodged itself into a corner and vibrated so viciously it sounded like it was screaming for help.  P was holding onto his very last nerve, just getting better from his fever and being so very attached to this particular piece of plastic.  So, rather than moving more mountains of dirt and trimming trees, Superman pulled up floorboards...  Then, as he went back to sawing, his blade broke.  Of course.  Because what is a weekend without a trip to Home Depot?  This, unbelievably, is par for the course, every lovin' minute.

All of this to say, I'm hoping my mother is as prepared for the Behemoth as she promises.  Work in progress is an understatement.  We are loving making this monster "ours."  Disemboweling it with new plumbing, cleaning the ick from years of neglect, creating an urban farm from the chaos.  But its taking a bit longer than we'd planned ;)

Fortunately, the yard has some big perks, much like the house having good bones beneath the grime.  The two camellia trees are gorgeous and give us large green spots, all year.  We have raspberries growing on three sides of the yard.  And an apple tree!  And a fig that grows over from the neighbor's space.  We've planted one blueberry, strawberries and some tomatoes - along with all of the herbs we need.  Slowly but surely ;)  And as of next weekend, with another adult around (assuming my mother doesn't run, screaming, when she sees the place...) to kid wrangle, well, it will be a lot less "slowly" and a whole lot more "surely."  Plus, I'll get to hug my mom!  (After P tackles her, of course;)

Counting the hours...

The yard, still in major transition.

Conquistador

Zia decided to conquer P's castle today. Little Man was sick with a fever and laid on the couch, chuckling. Very interesting to watch how the sharing/not sharing plays out each day (hour;) So far (knock on wood), I'm pleasantly surprised...

And truly, I feel like I'm counting the minutes till her first ER run. She was bound for the top tower here. Sigh. No stopping her...

Entirely for his sister's entertainment.

Seriously, I love this kid.

And if playing clown for baby laughs isn't sweet enough, how about yesterday's morning antics?  Z and I woke up to a missing boy.  This never happens, the baby always gets up before the seven year old.  What was he doing?

"Morning, Mama!  I have a surprise for you.  Since you and Zia always get up and do stuff for me, I did something for you!"  

Z and I quietly busy ourselves in the morning.  I never thought it was a big deal, its just easier to get stuff done with only one munchkin underfoot :)  We do little projects, like putting P's castle back together or setting up his shelves or something.  I love him waking up to a sweet surprise.  Especially since his place in bed has been replaced and he no longer wakes up to an hour of cuddles.  (He doesn't complain, but as I mentioned with his room, the kid just isn't really the complaining type...)

P had picked up the living and dining room, arranged Zia's toys in a fabulously feng shui way and then tidied up the attic too.  Every time his ornery side explodes in an enormous whirl of noise and mess gets the better of him, I must remember to conjure these images in my mind...

Wacky Wednesday Walks

A homeschooling mum organized a Wacky Wednesday Walk that was in our neighborhood and P was game to go.  We played in the park and picnicked before we joined up with the gang for a Springtime Scavenger Hunt.

P is so funny about making friends.  Even though he talks a mile a minute if he knows you, he practically melts down if he doesn't.  His ammo, since he's decided he wants to enlarge his friend circle, seems to be Goofyness.  Serious Goofyness.  As all the kids walked peacefully down the sidewalk, singing and talking, there goes P, pell mell through the grass, impaling himself on a tree, comically bouncing off and backflipping onto the ground.  Then he lay there, obviously dead (even had his tongue hanging out to the side;).  He has grown to have a great appreciation for comedic timing and, apparently, is looking for kindred kids...

P LOVES Laurelhurst park.  We're only three blocks away from this gorgeousness.  We've been here a year and I still can't get used to all of the green!

In particular, he loves this tree.  For climbing.  And for having such cool bark.

And Zia loves anyplace outside.  Funny mouth face courtesy the four emerging teeth and the bark dancing on her tongue :)

Park days

P is into going to homeschool park days! And the week is lined with them, now that summer is here. I realized today, we actually know quite a few faces, despite still feeling like Portland newbies. I think this helps the Little Man.

Miss Z was pleased as punch with our day spent in the park. Girl luuuuvs the grass:)

A little stroll in the woods

Zia actually fell asleep in the car this weekend (on the way home from, of course, Home Depot).  Freedom, you are so very near to being mine.

It seemed a shame to ruin such a golden opportunity, though the house loomed with duties... So I zoomed us to Washington Park for a sweet stroll in the woods.  It was Zia's first real hike (shameful it took so long, really, but we just couldn't bear the car drama before) and she seemed quite pleased.  The Little Man was Thrilled.  He loves the forest and the green lined trails here.  Ethan (who had slept in the car like his babe;) was surprised to wake up surrounded by a jade jungle and sighed, "Ahhh, this is why we moved here!"  Yes.  And now we can do it regularly again.  Behemoth allowing ;)

Beyond words

That's the type of happiness I'm experiencing this weekend.  It makes me feel like a silly little hen of a housewife to admit this... but we finally got the plumbing and electrical and venting finished and... we have achieved fancy washing machine status.  Oh Em Geeeeeee.  After crappie rental and laundromat hitting (the last rental ate holes in a lot of our stuff - blech) for the last decade, a machine like this makes me lightheaded.  Seriously.  It got dirt out of a towel that has looked dirty (I assumed it was stained!) for 3 YEARS.  (ewww.)  The kids think its da bomb too.  This photo shot was not staged.  I found them both mesmerized by the machine yesterday.  Numerous times.  If I wasn't so busy I would sing to it and pet it.  I'm not quite kidding.

Transit of Venus and carnage

Little Man enjoyed some astronomy this week watching Venus pass the sun.  We went to OMSI, where there was a parking lot party with viewing stations.  The kid took one look and said, "I hate it when places are busy with lots of kids."  And he really, really does.  A crowded playground is his idea of hell.  So we got some glasses and hit the road, since, you know, the sun is everywhere ;)

Meanwhile...  His room is still in tatters.  I've been pushing for that to top our to-do list since we moved.  E has repeatedly reassured me that the kid is fine, has a new house, climbing tree, yard, blahblahblah.  Then P saw a scene in Harry Potter the other day that prioritized this weekend's to-do list.  Dumbledore magically makes a decrepit house fly from shambles to chic.  P looked at me and said, "I wish I could do that!  I would use it on my room.  So that my room wouldn't look so much like, well, like my room looks."  Insert knife stabbing me in the gut.  Guilt, my friend, must you never leave my side?

I read up on moving when P was little (since we moved him many times.  Now, with the Dr. mentioning the "trauma of a move" I can only imagine how much trauma we have inflicted on the Little Man.  Sigh.)  The article suggested having the child's room all set up, ready to go when they move to the house for sleeping.  I still have no idea how this could ever be accomplished without shipping a child off to family.  Ah, to be that sort of amazing parent.

But E was sure we were good to go, plenty amazing ;)  He thought balcony dinners and patio picnics took the top spot (alongside plumbing, painting and heat, of course;)  Apparently, just cuz a kid doesn't complain, doesn't mean something isn't bugging them.  And while my pleading with Ethan to make P's shelves and get him out of boxes didn't get anywhere, that one pathetic line from the Little Man has E in the basement, ripping out boards to make shelves right. this. minute ;)

Meanwhile, P's boxes have barfed everywhere so he can find various treasures.  Then the contents wreak havoc in new and creative ways.  Below, a fairy knight and his (bruised) cherry carnage.  A little Dexter like splatter pattern study in progress.  Thank gawd for old Craigslist dining tables...

Strawberries and Sourdough

I was worried Zia would never be able to eat "normally" with all of the early food allergies, but her gut is doing great!  We're still off of Eggs, Nightshades and anything unnatural but otherwise, wow!  She had wheat for the first time yesterday and I swear, there was no getting that bit of sourdough away from her.  Seriously.  She held onto it like a wild animal.  And P realllllly wanted her to taste a strawberry.  Its a top allergen and recommended to wait until after 1 year, but we played it foot-loose and she totally fancied it.  No reactions either time :)  She had a huge reaction to something last week, I think it was the cantaloupe.  I'll test it again this week to be sure.

Toddlerhood comes early

To be perfectly frank, I think I kinda rushed through P's babyhood.  Always waiting for the next milestone, for it to get "easier."  Nobody I knew was nursing, and I was in Kansas (read: not a nursing friendly place to be.  My stress level would go through the ROOF if we were out and the baby, heaven forbid, got hungry).  I didn't have any family around.  Phoenix wouldn't have anything to do with Ethan.  And I was sporting (what I now realize was) a really crappie case of post-pardum.  Tipping the scale was that I was always worrying I was "doing it wrong."  What felt right in my heart wasn't what I was hearing from society.  (He should sleep through the night!  In his own room!  He should be put down more!  In a crib!  He should be more independent!  With some toys!  Nap better!  Eat better!  Sleep better!  Go to people better!  Wean!!!)  Ah, the growing pains of first motherhood... ;)

So I swore it would be different this time.  I would relish, roll in, positively permeate ever second of this baby's babyhood.  Fuck milestones and mainstream expectations.  I was gonna e-n--j-o-y my last's baby-ness.

And I have.  But its been waaaaaay too short :)  I'm busy with big bro so much that I feel like I miss a lot right there.  But I have snuggled and carried and coslept with supreme happiness and no angst this time.  And you'd think that since I'm primed to chillax and enjoy this time around, it could linger.  But life is funny :)

She's over her babyhood.  She is into Everything.  At only 8 months. Sigh.  She's sporting all of the tale tell signs of toddlerhood, a bit too early for her parent's ever lovin minds.  She is officially walking everywhere.  Totally over the "try a few steps" business and onto just. plain. walkin.  Which means she gets into the cabinets and pulls out saucepans.  Walks with long objects in her mouth, constantly calling up Grandpapa's horror story of Uncle Blaine's near demise with a spoon.  She climbs the stair to the unfinished laundry room and scavenges electrical cords.  Stands on her tippy toes and tries to open doors (it seems hilarious to see her reaching for the knob. She seems too young to realize she needs to turn the shiny thing;)  She gets caught in chairs.  Topples plants and eats them behind tables.  Climbs inside of tables.  Under the couch.  Gets stuck.

And she still brings me immense joy.  Like heart-swelling silly kinda joy.  So I'm not necessarily mourning the passing of her babyhood... but, well, I still kinda am :)

Romeo, romeo...

We have a little covered balcony off of our living room. (I'll get a better pic someday;)  As ex-New Yorkers, this was a huuuuge selling point to E and I ;)  Hidden outdoor space was something we have lusted after for the last decade.  Alas, this one had lacked love for a lot longer than a decade...  But Superman tackled it this weekend.  There's still a good scrubbing in its future, but we christened it with dinner the other night with beer and flowers.  Its a silly little detail of a house, but its one that makes us silly happy :)

Side-note:  Notice the babe in her highchair?  I have two things to say about that.  The first, she freaking LOVES her highchair.  I've mentioned before how we just skipped that with P.  He didn't want to eat and he didn't want to be off my lap :)  For a while, if we started dinner and Zia was busy sucking on a  toy, I would just sit and try to eat as fast as I could :)  Come to find out, this really pisses her off.  When she notices we are dining, she Insists upon being included.  So now I set a tray of nibbles for her (this week's faves: kalamata olives (still), cottage cheese, guacamole, beef stroganoff sauce and ground beef) when I fill our plates and she munches and messes with us three times a day.  Funny how different kids are!

Second thought on the babe in highchair.  If you are in the market for one, run, do not walk, and buy the baby bjorn highchair.  OMG.  No nooks and crannies to catch food and break you with its dirtiness at the end of the day.  Brilliant tray removal.  Awesome harness.  Fabulous fold.  Lightweight.  And the kid loves it ;)  The fact that it matches my B&W obsession and sports a sweet Eames era Tulip Chair styling, well, that part is freaking fondant.

Last side note.  P froze as I said I wanted to snag a pic of dinner on the new balcony.  After I put my phone down he turned to me and said, "Action Shot."  BWHahahahahhaa.

Rainy day fun

So much house stuff going on. E and I feel like we're doings mental Tetris to figure it all out! I worry P isn't getting loved on like I'd like :(. But when I was feeling a little run over at the end of the day yesterday (he started in on a long, intricate BB scenario... just hearing the intro exhausted me) he said something sweet that makes me hope this move isn't too much for him (My new Great Worry. Since the doctor told me Zia probably stopped saying Mama and Papa because of "the trauma of the move" I've felt like a real shit....) At any rate, my head was spinning with BB dialogue and I told him a few minutes of quiet would help me. "Why?" (of course;). I told him I was tired and didn't think I'd be a very good play companion right then. His response, "But Mama, you are Always the world's best play companion.". Gotta love a boy that knows just what a girl needs to hear :)

Happy with hat hair

Hahaha!

Just a note...

If Zia sees me run water in the bath, she rushes to the side trying to pull her shirt off and sticks her super-flexible little leg up on the rim, trying to climb in. Baby likes the bath ;)