The weather cooperated with Charley’s fiesta, and so we invited a few friends and neighbors over to play in the pool, dance to Putumayo, eat guacamole and grilled fajitas, drink sangria and Mexican beer, and all around chillax. It was a blast — Charley had the most fun splashing and belly-flopping in the pool. And we really do have the best friends and neighbors!
For Charley’s second birthday, I really wanted to make a cake in the shape of a Mexican sugar skull, and it determined the Mexican fiesta theme. Marty cut the shapes from round and square pieces, pieced them together, and I frosted and decorated. The whole time, Charley watched and said, “My cake, not Fwora!” and the whole time, Flora replied, “I don’t like that Charwey!”
I think I’ve come down with second child syndrome — I forgot to post Charley’s 22nd (top) and 23rd (bottom) month birthdays! Can I claim better late than never? No? Ah well. Ever since Charley got tubes in his ears, he’s really been talking up a storm, in sentences. “Yarley” (Charley) is quite the “Yaddy’s” (Daddy’s) boy — loves to help Marty in the yard and fix things with tools. He has a selection of creature comforts that he likes to be saddled down with, even at bedtime (big pooh bear, red sailor hat on his head, books, blanky, binky, mousey, sharky, doggy, and pirate pillow!). All of a sudden he has separation anxiety, and cries when we leave him with a sitter and at school. He loves to climb, play chase, wrestle, run, play with balls, spot airplanes and trucks, wear hats and coats (the frog hat above was knitted by Great Grandma Eleanor for Uncle Andrew when he was little, and Charley wouldn’t take it off!), play in the water and sandbox, dance, read stories, and just being outside. On the rare occasion big sister is sweet to him, he basks in her attention. He’s still a happy guy most of the time (he gets really mad when you can’t understand what he wants, or gasp, if he doesn’t get what he wants!), and loves to snuggle and play with hair.
P.S. Today (May 28) Charley woke up from his nap calling, “Amy! Amy! Amy!”
Lovin’ the warm weather, Charley has been riding bikes, chasing bubbles, digging in the sandbox, running amuck, and all around “getting into” every chance he gets! You can usually find him apprenticing by Marty’s side when he’s fixing something, busting a move when he hears music, or eating just about anything and asking for more. He loves to climb, play on the playground, and peek-a-boo. When he’s not whining, he’s a happy guy who loves to be silly and social!
Mr. Hooper turned 20 months old on Saturday — and with that now comes the Toddlertude. “No, No, No!” is his default answer to most queries, unless the question involves cookie or candy or swimming, which he absolutely loves. Charley hates to get dressed, get his diaper changed, and go to bed. He talks all the time now, has lots of words, and can repeat any word you ask him to (Flora keyed into this and has been trying to get him to say “dammit” when she thinks we are out of ear shot). This morning he pointed to a number 5 and said “E.” Close! And the other day when I was counting to three during “Statue” (that’s where we freeze and try not to move or talk, but Flora loses in about a half a second by giggling), I said, “One…” and Charley said “Twooo.” All this time he’s been absorbing! And finally he and Flora are starting to play together. Last weekend they played Flora’s favorite game, “Doggie,” where she ties a scarf to her waist and pretends to be a dog, and Charley takes her for a walk. They love to play chase and hide-and-seek, and I can see already how they are going to combine their Wonder Twin Powers and use them to plot against us! Here they are playing “Kitchen.” Flora was a surly waitress named Flo and Charley was a hash slinger named Chuck.
“F-Pow” (her Jersey Shore nickname) had her four year checkup today with Dr. G. After showing off her painted toenails, she happily cooperated with all of the doctor’s examining. She got her vision and hearing tested (we have to go back in a month to recheck her hearing because she had a hard time with the lowest setting), her finger pricked, and THREE booster shots. You would have thought the nurse was sawing off her leg with all her crying, but she soon recovered with the promise of a safety pop. Poor girl has to get the other two booster shots next month. Sigh. Little Miss F weighed in at 38 pounds (73%) and measured 41.5″ (84%), which means she has gained 6 pounds and grown 3″ in the past year! Aside from her hearing test, she passed the exam with flying colors. Both kids have been battling fluid and wax in their ears with all these winter colds (Charley has to go on ANOTHER course of antibiotics for his), so hopefully it’s just that.
Carlos turned 19 months old today and somehow he has changed so much in just the past couple of weeks. He has at least tripled his vocabulary and has started to “parrot” by repeating a random word from your sentence (not to self: ixnay on the swear words). And he’s using the ASL sign for more and please like mad, although he can say both words. He hasn’t faded out his secret language yet (“bah bah” is to draw or color, which might have come from “draw draw” or “paper;” “nah-nah” means to eat/food which we think came from “banana”). He, like his father and sister, remembers everything: where things are, people and places, things we did the last time we were with said person or at said place. He knows most of his body parts, including his “butt-butt (for some reason he doubles up on syllables — two syllable words are easier to say than one). He loves to climb, assemble and disassemble, dance, and do everything just like his big sister. He’s a bit of a clown and likes to make people laugh. But the best part about Charley is that he is still a Mama’s boy, and loves to snuggle and play with my hair.
By the way, I rescued this chair from the basement of the Humboldt/Marion Streets property my father owned — it was filthy and rusty and shoved in a corner!
We gave Flora a retro play kitchen for her big birthday gift — which took two hours and four adults to put together — but decidedly well worth the effort. Our vintage play dishes are right at home now, and little Miss Housewife can serve us up some mean cupcakes.
After much bribing, Flora agreed to wear one of her vintage dresses and take her birthday chair photos. I bought a “lot” of one hundred plus — yah, that’s right, one hundred plus — vintage dresses from the late 1950s and early 1960s, in sizes 2-18, mostly mint condition and with original tags, from e-bay shortly after Halloween for only $200. I had been begging Flora to wear one for months, and she finally agreed. I can now say I got my money’s worth!
Future Rock Star shirt from Gram Kaye. It came with a scarf, but Uncle Chuck wore that.
We had a little girly dance party to officially celebrate Flora’s fourth birthday this weekend. Thank goodness her Aunt Tracy and Uncle Chuck came up from New Jersey to help with the festivities — even little parties are a lot of work! We transformed the play room into a dance floor — complete with a disco ball, lights, foil fringe curtains, and hanging decorations. Some of the kids rocked 80′s-inspired outfits, and they all cut a rug dancing to Flora’s Mix Birthday Soundtrack — twenty-one of her favorite songs. We ended the evening with homemade pizzas, cake, ice cream and presents. Flora chose to have an Ariel cake, which proved a little challenging for her parents, but we think we pulled it off. Here it is in the making.
Miss Flora turns four today — what a BIG girl! To celebrate, she brought purple cupcakes with pink frosting to school to share with her friends, and later we’re meeting BFF Ruby at the Border Cafe for dinner. She even got to open a couple of presents this morning — some bling from Gram Kaye and a paint and draw video “game” from Papa and Amma. We can hardly believe it has already been four years since we brought our little girl home — she’ll be off to college in no time. Sniff, sniff. Though she does say she’ll NEVER leave me, and of course her Daddy says she can live with us forever and ever!
Weighing in at 26 pounds 9.5 ounces (61%) and measuring 32.5″ high (57%), Charley is just above average. But, it’s that noggin of his that puts him nearly off the charts. At 20.5″ around, he’s in the 100th percentile, which means if there were ever a who-has-the-biggest-head contest, he would win hands down. Let’s hope he’ll have big brains to go with it! Other than that, Charley met all the 18 month milestones, didn’t need any vaccinations, and left only with a RX for antibiotics to clear up his ears — both kids have that cold and cough that never goes away.
Officially one and a half and just six months away from the Terrible Two’s. God help us, and everyone we know.
Sporting a new haircut and showing off his chipped tooth.
What better way to start a dad’s birthday than a trip to Lowe’s where my Daddy got to pick out a new rake and some paint buckets. Then just he and I went to a huge Halloween parade in Woburn while Charley stayed home with Mommy to nap, but Dad forgot the camera on the window sill so we didn’t get any pictures. Trust me, it was cool, and there was candy. When we got home Mom made lasagna for dinner and brownie sundaes for dessert. And then we carved our jack-o-lanterns before collapsing for the evening. Happy Birthday, Daddy!
Sixteen months old and no concept that he is only 16 months old. In Charley’s attempts to keep up with big sister, he has badly scraped his chin and chipped his front tooth in the past week (on two separate occasions!). He imitates every single thing Flora does, and wants all the things she gets. His temper flares when you try to help him eat, brush his teeth, etc. — he wants to do everything by himself. He’s added some new words to his regular repertoire: baby, car, boon (ballon), mine, butt, bubble, guys, clock, sock, and oh. He loves animals, books, trucks/cars/trains, being silly, and most of all music and dancing. And he has given up nursies and sleeps through the night, mostly, and finally.
Charley had his 15 month checkup on Wednesday, and while waiting for Dr. G in the exam room, had fun admiring his physique in the mirror. Over the past three months, he has packed on a slight 1 pound 4 ounces (weighing in at 25 pounds, 4 ounces or 62nd percentile), grown one little inch (measuring 31.5″ or 63rd percentile), but thank God has kept his head circumference at 19 inches (80th percentile). He met all his milestones and endured three shots, stopping mid-cry the second I picked him up from the exam table. What a faker!
On the 20th Charley turned 15 months old, although he has no concept of the fact that he is just 15 months, and will keep pace with all the big kids. His new favorite word is “uh-oh,” and he’ll purposely drop food on the floor — all the while looking you dead in the eye and smiling — and proclaim “uh-oh!” Slight of hand he has not. He also waives and says “hi” to anyone and everyone, over and over and over — it’s how he gets your attention. He loves to dance, and as soon as he hears the beat he crouches down, throws one arm way behind his back, and bounces up and down. He’s really got some rhythm for a white boy. He’s all about learning to talk these days, and started using sign language to communicate bath, drink, stinky, and please. We had given up on the signs long ago, but apparently Charley was absorbing them like a little sponge to be used at a later date. While he is building his vocabulary (he has about 15 words now: mama, dada, hi, uh-oh, dog (he makes the barking sound for dog), hot, bye, guck (truck), nana (eat), eye, ball, cat, cah-cah, more-more, etc.) he understands everything you say to him — even two-step instructions. He LOVES anything that goes, like trucks, trains, and balls. Still loves to play with hair and is turning into a binky lover. And he’s got a wicked sweet tooth!
Fourteen months old and this is what Charley is up to: walking, running, spinning, climbing, exploring, talking, flirting, doing silly tricks, and getting into everything. He got all four of his first year molars in at the same time, and now has eight front teeth plus four back teeth. I can count on one hand how many times he has slept through the night. He loves dogs, trucks, and any toy his sister has. But most of all he loves to just be outdoors.
We picked up this 1970s Little Tikes Cozy Coupe at the thrift store for $2.50, and I think it might be the best $2.50 we ever spent. It took Charley no time at all to figure out how to open the door, climb in, sit down, beep the horn, and turn the steering wheel. When I handed him my keys, he immediately tried to put them in the “ignition.” Obviously he sees and hears everything we do (note to self: might be a good time to stop swearing). He has been taking lots of unassisted steps in a Frankenstein-like way, but still gets around by crawling the majority of the time. We started him at the YMCA daycare in the Ladybug Room (where Flora started) — he loves to snuggle in the pile of stuffed animals, dive in and out of the ball crawl, and play on the playground. Yesterday Flora taught him “Ow” and if you say “Ow,” he’ll either say “Ow” or give you a little smack. He says “A-dah” for Daddy, “Mama” for Mommy, “Cah” for Cat, “Dahy” for Doggy, “Hah” for Hi, “Ow” for Ow, “BiyBiy” for Bye-Bye, and “Da” for everything else. If he sees something he likes or wants, he shakes his head yes in confirmation. He has five front teeth in now and a back molar on it’s way. He is forever pointing at pictures and objects to “ask” what they are. He laughs the hardest at his big sister’s antics. And yes, he is STILL a wicked Mama’s boy.
Flora officially turned three and a half this month, although when asked, she tells everyone she is five. She is forever verbal, talking non-stop from sunup to sundown, with her usual list of demands, fantastical stories, and continual questions. She is learning to write letters and numbers, can spell and write her name, and can do basic addition on her hands. She loves to play in her sand box where she makes the most delicious pies, ride her multitude of bikes and cars in the driveway where she travels to Target, dress her babies and stuffed animals (always named Polly), pretend she is an animal (bear, cat, and dog are her favorites), loves to read, and is finally loving her little brother (“I just love him in the whole world!”). The potty humor has emerged (oh the endless ways the word “poop” can be worked into a word or sentence), along with some real sass and defiance that makes us wonder if she is actually thirteen and not three. Her favorite color is pink, only wants to wear “twirly” dresses of her choosing, and gives daily hairstyle requests. She’s able to — demands to — do things by herself, like getting dressed and brushing her teeth. Her favorite foods are macaroni with milk and butter (a comfort food from my Mom’s side) and crusty bread toasted. She personifies her stuffed dog Rusty and brings him with her everywhere — the subject of many a story, he NEVER hits nor needs a time out, and currently works at Trader Joe’s. Flora is super imaginative and has a steel-trap memory on which she will recall the most amazing details from long ago. Her favorite shows (this week) are Phineas and Ferb and Spongebob Squarepants. And she has a best friend at school named Ruby — the two of them together are as silly as they come.