Ballerina Harper

Today was Harper's first ballet class and she LOVED it. I was so proud of our girl. She was 100% committed, trying to do everything the teacher modeled, answering questions, thoroughly enjoying herself.




It was a very happy surprise this morning when we arrived to find that Sydnie Tyler was in Harper's class! We were so pleased that the girls get to share ballet. They stuck together through a lot of class.




It was also extra cool that Teresa (Lee) Vidak helped Harper a lot today. When it was time to learn how to skip, Harper told her, "Excuse me, my Aunt Carie showed me how to skip already!" I also heard Harper tell Teresa that her mom had taught her first position when Teresa instructed the girls to stand that way.



Her leaps were more like hops, but you couldn't fault her effort or enthusiasm.



We were all impressed with Harper's bravery (including Harper) when Harper hung from the bars.



She had a great time and we are very happy she's begun ballet. It is such fun!

Harper, circa 1982

Tennis phenom Harper Sequoia

Recently

Harper was very happy to have her big cousin Caroline spend the night with her last week while the rest of Caroline's siblings were away at camp. Harper adores Caroline and looks up to her very much. She likes to think of them as both-big-school-girls and Caroline is kind and gentle enough to let Harper think that they are in the same league. It's funny to watch both of their faces when they play together-- Caroline's sometimes reveals a confused amusement when Harper wants to pretend something very random, and Harper's face shows a real admiration for her wonder of a cousin.


I like this photo because you can see that expression of amazed love on Harper's face here. I got the girls matching outfits for fun (this is their second matching outfit and they don matching crocs often, too).

Here are a couple more photos of the recent girl. She helped Daddy wash our cars this weekend and she also washed her own car in the process. She had a great time.


Ever since the trip to the aquarium, Harper has loved her baby otter souvenir. Here she is with it "in her sutemi" (baby carrier).


Fran and David Lieberman visited us this week, long time friends of Arlene's who live in LA and Palm Springs and who hadn't seen Harper since she was one and had never met little Jack! They brought both kids thoughtful gifts and although Harper started the evening "feeling a little shy", she quickly lost that and played all night with David and her new dolly baby that cries and laughs. Here are some cute ones of them.




A couple days ago was Harper's actual birthday-- she's officially 3 years old. She spent the night with Grandma on her birthday eve and the next morning I came over with Jack and pinned a ribbon on her to commemorate the important day.


Grandma made matzah brei for breakfast, but girly gorged herself on a breakfast of mostly blueberries. We hung out at Grandma's in the morning (me, Jack, girl, and Grandma) and then Grandma treated us to Red Robin for the girl's special day. She left with a green balloon and was delighted and surprised when the servers sang to her. After naptime, we had the Correas over for dinner (grilled chicken and sausage with a really yummy pasta salad) so Harper got to play with Rylee that night. She's looking forward to her party on Saturday!

11 months old!

Jack Jack is officially a walker! He is getting better and better all the time and can now walk across the room, pivot and turn himself 180 degrees and return. His only trouble is standing back up after he's fallen down. If he isn't near something he can pull up with, he will scoot his way to something. The result is that he's doing about 90% walking, 10% scooting these days. It is crazy how quickly the scooting/crawling phase is gone. I am going to miss his peculiar crawl-- that downhill skiier style pulling forward with his feet, dragging on his bottom. He's gotten fast at it, too! Those days are waning and as excited as I am about his new walking confidence, I am also savoring the scoots when he does them.

Here's one of the last looks at Jack doing his classic scoot.


Jack continues to be a super musical guy. He can't help but bounce to any rhythm (musical or not) that he hears. Last night we took Johnathan to dinner at Big Bubba's Bad BBQ restaurant and at some point toward the end of our meal, a rockin' song came on and two guys dressed in black did a routine of mostly popping and locking. Jack LOVED it; he bounced along and even turned around twice during it to smile proudly at Dad, as if to say, "Are you seeing this, too? Isn't this great?" Harper's about to start ballet, but we're thinking maybe Jack will be a dancer, too! Or maybe he's just very musical... he also sings a lot and even has a favorite song ("This is the Way We Get Up in the Morning" by Hap Palmer... curious thing that my two kids' first favorite songs were both by Hap Palmer-- he must have some sort of special baby appeal). That song has a lot of "ooooo"s, and Jack sings along with those parts, ooooing from his little car seat and bouncing wildly.

Meal time is definitely more finger foods lately, but he still eats some baby food (snuck in between his cracker bites, when his mouth sort of involuntarily opens in anticipation of his next bite). He doesn't eat as much thick or chunky stuff as Harper did at this age, but that is because he has half as many teeth! To keep him regular, he has some pureed prunes about every other day. Here he is with a prune mustache.



He still only has four teeth, but he's clearly working on the bottom two to flank the two in the center. His left is further along than his right... maybe he'll have six teeth by his birthday.

Jack communicates more and more as he gets bigger. He's definitely been focused on conquering the walking more than talking the past month, but he's also picked up a few words. Besides the things I've previously reported, he can do "cheers" with his sippy cup,



swing his arms for "monkey", open and close both sets of fingers together to make the pinching arms for "crab", hold a block or other object by his ear when I sing "I called you on the telephone", knock on surfaces when I sing "went to your house, knocked on the door...", splash in the bath when I tell him to, say "boo" when we play peekaboo, smack his lips to tell you he's hungry, direct his eyes at a person when you ask him, "Where's ________?" (He knows all of our families and most of our friends' names, apparently.) He's also pointing a lot more and makes it very clear that he wants something by pointing right at it, bouncing and vocalizing his impatience. The other day I showed him a few shapes with the wooden blocks: the square, the circle, the triangle, and the rectangle. I left many blocks out around him after I'd repeated it a couple times and then I asked him to put each shape in the box. He got them right about 90% of the time. I thought that was pretty good for not having the same kind of undivided lesson time that Harper used to enjoy. She learned her shapes right at age 1, so I definitely think Jackie is just as cognitively capable, but he's a different kind of guy.

Jack doesn't perform as much. He isn't as eager to please, much more internally motivated. However, he is definitely easily upset if he thinks he has displeased you! He knows the words "no", "don't", and "not post to" mean that he's done something he is not allowed to do and he will often burst into some crazy crying when he hears it. The result of that is that I don't like to see him so upset and I am tending to just divert or distract Jack from the things he can't/ shouldn't do.

The boy remains very lovey and enjoys giving kisses. Last night, Jack alternatively gave me and Ethan kisses-- back and forth between the two of us. He leans his head over on us when he feels tired or wants reassurance. Despite our attempts to put Jackie in his crib at night, he wakes pretty quickly and joins us in our bed. Knowing he's our last baby and having been through this before, E and I have more patience about things like sleep and we know he won't be in our bed forever. I am soaking in his babyness because already (little walker!) it's passing us by and someday I know I'll miss it.



Here's Jack giving Daddy his "bye bye" kiss in the morning as E leaves for work. Jackie always gets excited and gives kisses, says bye bye and waves to E. He even wants to follow Daddy outside and watch him until he's gone down the street each day.


Here's another lovey with Daddy picture. Look at that contented face.


And here's the boy with one of his best friends, Jovial Blair. We had the Blairs over for dinner the other night and it was funny that the two little ones looked like they were dressed for Sadie Hawkins dance... extra funny because after they said that, we remembered that I had taken Heath Blair to Sadie's in high school! Crazy.


Here's bathtime Jackie showing us his fish.


In preparation for his upcoming first birthday, the boy (quickly) learned how to answer the question "How old is Jack?" or "How old are you?" with the classic one finger point. It's charming!

Nearing 3 years

Wow. I sorta can't believe it. Girlie is turning three in a couple weeks. On the one hand, she seems so much older than 2, but on the other hand, her life has really whizzed by. It does happen so quickly.

Harper continues to be the same girl she's always been: inquisitive, sensitive, aware, curious, busy, imaginative, purposeful, energetic. She is very sure of herself, confident in who she is. Even though she is young, she is not especially impressionable. Harper knows what she wants and she has strong opinions. She continues to have an ease with language and communicates really well. Her latest phrases include "Actually..." and "Speaking of_______, (something that relates)" She's learning to ask for things nicely instead of demand or throw fits. "Would you please help me unbutton my shirt, Mama?" was a good example of this tonight. She came to me with this question with tears in her eyes after she'd already tried herself and gotten frustrated.

When the girl is upset, our go-to is to teach her to express how she is feeling and try to tell us what is making her feel that way. We've found that when she gets her feelings validated, she recovers sooooo much quicker-- even when the answer is still no or she still has to do what Mom or Dad is asking. "I can see that you look sad when I ask you to do your potties in the toilet. I am sorry you don't want to do them right now, but we always do potties before naptime. Please obey."

It isn't always natural for me to be so rational all the time, especially on days when things aren't going as well as we'd like, but I am learning, too. My first inclination is to feel frustrated when Harper questions me or tries to disobey, but when I address her this way, I feel like it helps in many ways. 1. I remain calmer and more in touch with her heart. I treat her like a real person who has her own perspective and feelings. 2. She learns to communicate better and bring her feelings out so they can be helped, and she can feel understood. 3. She learns to respect Mom/Dad not out of fear but because we respect her first.

Harper loves school and loves the structured environment where she can play with other kids her age. She prides herself on being a "preschool girl" and reminds us when she's embarassed or not as able as she'd like that she's "still a preschool girl". A good example of this is wiping her own bottom. She hates doing it but we're trying to get her more comfortable with it since it's a pain to have to attend to her throughout the day for tukus-wiping and if she ever does poos at school, that'd be an issue. When she can't wipe well, she tells me, "But I'm still a preschool girl, Mama!" (more to reassure herself than anything).

She reads independently, every day. For the past few months we've made a concerted effort to bring home lots of early reader books from the library each week. A couple weeks ago, I noticed Harper reading in Ethan's club chair and she'd obviously turned on the lamp beside her. She was reading "Fish Out of Water" to herself. It's quite long, about 50 pages, about a fish who is fed too much and grows too large for this and that container... Anyway, she read there for about 10-12 minutes and Jack and I went into the bedroom to talk to Ethan. Shortly after we left the room, Harper came in with her book and leaned against our bed to continue reading it. She finished the last 8 pages in there with us. She'd simply moved to be near us, but she remained interested in her book and finished it there. The last pages I had her read out loud so I could hear her and see that she was really doing this. Then I questioned her a bit about the book and she recalled the whole narrative for me. She really is a gifted kid. We've known this for quite some time, but it surprises even us sometimes.

It can be tough to differentiate which things we can expect to be so grown up about her (i.e. reading, understanding and communicating her own feelings) and which things are more age appropriate (i.e. wiping own bottom). She's definitely in an in between phase and each day she becomes bolder and more of a kid, less of a baby. I wish she'd cuddle more and give me kisses every time I asked, but I am also proud that she knows what she wants and asserts herself.

She's also devastatingly beautiful. I am her mom, but I am just in love with her face, her curls, those puffy, pouty lips, those dark, dark eyes, dramatic lashes, gorgeous skintone...Whew! She says she wants to start ballet after she's three... I'm looking forward to seeing that girl in a leotard and tights, pointing her toes and extending her arms. Every year is fun with Harper. I just love her through and through.

LOVED the Aquarium

10 months old

Jack Jack got his own room yesterday... sort of. We'd been wrestling with the moving to the crib issue for a couple months, trying to set him in there for the first part of the night as we did with baby Harper but as soon as he'd wake crying (as babies do), this would upset Harper and we'd have two crying kids in need of consolation. So the decision was made to move his crib into the office, set up his own monitor in there, and see how it goes. Last night was the first try and he was set down at 8:45 after nursing, slept for an hour, was comforted back to sleep, slept another hour, and came into our bed with us. He then woke for the next two hours on the hour until I nursed him again at 2:45 and he slept until 6:30. My sensitive kids... when something's been changed they notice it.

Speaking of changes, Jack continues to grow up into a cutie pie big boy. He signs more words, including elephant (along with the trumpeting sound), and bird (pinchy fingers). We had a huge (bigger than my head) sunflower from our garden cut and in a pitcher on our dining table for several days, during which time he learned to do a snorty nose for the word 'flower'. He also puffs up his cheeks and blows when we read "Mirror Me" and we get to the page where cow puffs his cheeks. He also sticks out his tongue when the frog in said book "sticks out his long, pink tongue". He began signing "all done" a couple weeks ago, and uses this sign to let us know he doesn't want to eat any more. He makes the sign for water when he's thirsty. He can follow the commands "Arms up! Arms down!" and feels proud of himself for doing so. He says Dada (started on July 1st), and he says BaBa for bye-bye as well. He still uses the signs for these words as well, sometimes verbally communicating, sometimes signing, sometimes both simultaneously. Jack also says "fff--sh" for fish (which we first noticed when he was standing in front of Harper's aquarium, touching the glass), and "kkkk" for duck/quack. He can identify them in books this way, as well as point them out when asked. He also does a "vvvv bbbbbb" sound for a car.

Jack is also working on walking. That downhill skiier scoot (this side, now that side pull with the legs) is going to be gone soon (the crawling stage is such a short window of time!). Jack's been cruising furniture for a while now, but he's getting bolder, even taking a few unassisted steps (walking!) back and forth between mom and dad a few nights ago (July 3rd was when he first did it). We went to a 1st birthday party for Brooklyn Collins (Adam's daughter) this weekend and she had a push toy that you walk with. Jackie LOVE LOVE LOVED it. He pushed it along squealing excitedly. We had to distract him and give him his sucker when we finally pried it from his hands. He lets you know in no uncertain terms that he is mad when a toy is taken from him! He's a second child-- knows how to fight for his toys already! When we got home, we got out Harper's old walker/stroller and let him push it around. He loves it until he hits something and he's stopped. Then he gets frustrated.

In preparation for American Idol auditions coming up, I have recently eliminated breastfeeding until just before naptime, so he's going from his middle of the night feeding (the wee hours of the AM) until around 2 PM before nursing again. In the morning he's eating oatmeal cereal, some banana and yogurt. He is drinking a lot more water (I've tried formula, whole organic milk, and soy milk-- won't drink any of these) from the sippy cup too. Jack also eats graham crackers, bananas, Cheerios, tiny bits of bread, and he still eats a lot of baby food, preferably a tad warm.

Jackie had his first ocean experience the weekend of June 21st. We went to Cayucos with Amy and Jason. It was so nice to stay at a home, where we could have our bedroom for our family and a kitchen to feed the kids. Jack liked the water except for the coldness. He liked playing in the sand on the shore with big sister Harper, too. He pretty much likes everywhere as long as he's with his family. It was tough to keep him from being covered in sand. The first day, he (despite my best attempts to prevent it) tried to eat some sand. After discovering it wasn't so good, he never tried it again! It was funny that I'd spent so much effort trying to keep his sandy hands out of his mouth and if I'd just let him do it right away, it would've been a lot less stress in the end.

Jack's a hugger and a kisser. He will often scoot over to me, pull himself up and kiss my leg. He's also starting to do the "mm, mm, mmmmm" sound when he hugs. Today he even patted my shoulder when he hugged me. He is also a very ticklish kid, good spots include under the chin, kissing his ears, under the armpits, inner thighs, sides of ribs, feet just under toes. He cackles and laughs big belly laughs and loves to be tickled. He also sings. He does high-pitched aahhs and he vocalizes the b sound while flicking his closed lips to make the sound more staccato.

He's fun.