Vacation with the Sullivans

I'm in Virginia for a few weeks with the kids, visiting with my parents.  Poor Chris is at home in MA all alone, but we try to Skype every day.

Kaylee is eating solid foods with a vengeance.  Yesterday was avocado, and jarred green beans; lunch today was some of the broth and tofu from my hot and sour soup.  She has gone up a diaper size and she'll be flying back home with an extra chin at this rate.

Gabe tells elaborate stories now.  Often he is shy with strangers - for the first thirty seconds.  But often he will strike up a conversation with a strange adult.  I approve of this.

"I am rated for multiple small children," says my dad, who at this moment is crouched over Kaylee, administering kisses, while Gabe climbs on his back.

Kaylee has been razzing like crazy, particularly when ready for a nap.  She has discovered her ears.  And she is talking all the time about "abba".  And grabbing things - my lukewarm coffee went over yesterday with her ninja grab.  And she just started waving!  Yesterday it looked accidental, today it looked deliberate.

This morning we took Gabe swimming at the rec center.  He clung to me skittishly as I took him in the deep area, and then he rocked the shallow end of the pool, fearlessly charging about in neck-deep water.  I couldn't convince him to dip more than his mouth in the water, but when he accidentally dunked himself, he told me about it proudly.

But the best part is watching Kaylee laugh at Gabe!  She'll get belly laughs watching him spin in circles or play with toys, or better still, when he pokes her and kisses her.  I think my encouragement is paying off: he loves her so!

The cookbook is inching along towards its final state.  I worry that it will be riddled with typos and bad advice.  But if I can clean it up sufficiently, it's going to be stellar.  This knowledge has kept me working on it night after night. 

I'm pooped; the pool sucked the energy out of me.  I'm going to limp my way through a haircut tonight, and get myself ready for visits with old friends tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday.  And Marta gets here Friday, too, with her boys!  This is going to be an exciting weekend.

August 6. . .

On this day in August, Chris' 70's-style mustache causes both children to inexplicably fall asleep.

Gabe's Great Aunt

My aunt Kristi (Mary Sullivan, my dad's sister) stopped by for a visit in early August on her way to a convention of documentarians in Boston. I'm so proud of her for going back to school to follow her dream! We got to see some of her work while she was here, and I was impressed.




Here's Gabe, jumping into the picture.

Gabe's Bento

Here's Gabe, enjoying a bento box lunch on the day before his third birthday.

Two Months Ago. . .

. . .Kaylee was really getting into her feet!

Nom Nom Nom

Foods Kaylee tasted yesterday and today: blueberry, nectarine, carrot, green bean, and vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. I am breaking all the rules. I'm not waiting two or three days between new foods. I am not starting out with cereal. I'm letting her gnaw on chunks of fruit that aren't contained in a silly little net, and I'm spooning lumpy things into her mouth. And I'm feeding her in my lap.

Blueberries and nectarines were a big hit. With the blueberries, I bit off one side of the berry and then squeezed the pulp into Kaylee's mouth. With the nectarine, I first pulverized some with a fork. But later in the day I bit off a piece and let her gnaw it while I held the skin side between my fingers. She had no trouble gumming the fruit into a consistency that she could swallow.

Baby foods in jars will be a part of her diet at some point, no doubt, but for the time being, it is both more convenient and more in touch with our caveman roots to do things this way. Most of the world does without highchairs and ultra-pureed baby food, anyway.

More Catching Up

Kaylee is now chanting "Ah-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba!" She loves her own toes; I think she would love them even more in some of Crackerbarrel's gravy. I don't remember Gabe putting his toes in his mouth like she does. Kaylee also sucks her thumb, which Gabe never did. Chris worries about the future state of Kaylee's teeth; I just love that it calms her down. I'm sure she won't be one of the few who don't give it up naturally. Chris was once one of those, and I think the experience traumatized him.

Gabe and Kaylee and I just got back from out weekly picnic at Franklin's farmer's market on the town common. No wonder I'm tired - we were there almost four hours! We met up with Molly and Amy and their kids at the gazebo for a picnic, and then spent a long while chatting with Anne Marie, who runs a booth at the market that doubles the money of anyone shopping there with food stamps.

. . .

I had to put down this post and take care of things for a bit. Kaylee helped me fold some laundry. She griiiined and laughed at mommy vanishing and reappearing behind sheets and towels. And she continued with the ah-ba-bas. They morphed into va-va-vas, and then concluded with ma-ma-ma! Mommy's favorite!