'Tar Hero

A few weeks ago during a mundane trip to our local Best Buy, Benjamin had a life-changing experience. No, he didn't kiss a girl for the first time or see the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast. That was the day he saw his first electric guitar.
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The shopping excursion started out routinely enough. I browsed the CDs, Vince shopped the video games, and the kids tagged along. But then Benjamin grew restless and wandered off. Soon, he found himself walking-- no, found himself pulled towards the music section where he beheld row after gleaming row of shiny new guitars.
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As he walked beneath the guitars, he solemnly intoned the color of each one: "Yellow 'tar. Back 'tar. White 'tar. Wed 'tar. Boo 'tar."
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He also ran his little fingers over the dials and switches of the practice amps....
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...and tried stomping on a pedal board.
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Later on at home, he wielded his own plastic toy guitar with a new sense of reverence. I thought I also detected a hint of longing for the fine instruments he'd seen earlier, but I'm sure that it's only a matter of time before he has one of his own.
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After all, being a rock star runs in the family!

Benjamin's Booby Bear

For the art project during class yesterday, the kids made teddy bear puppets. They were given paper sacks and brown construction paper for the body, yellow construction paper for the face, and a brown pom pom for the nose. Each child also received red circle stickers to be used as eyes. Benjamin decided to use his red circles in a different way, though, and instead he-- Well, why don't you take a look for yourself.
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I guess that seeing me nurse his sister has really been making an impression!

Calliope Turns Two (Months)!

It's hard to believe that it's already been two months since Calliope was born. It seems like just the other day I was the size of a whale with swollen ankles and just one child to chase after. Now, I've lost my whale-esque proportions, but it's mainly because I've got two rugrats keeping me busy - so busy that I often forget to eat. Thanks, kids! No really... THANKS.
.Calliope's two-month birthday meant a trip to the doctor's office for her two-month checkup, but not before first taking a trip to the blood draw center for a routine check of her levels. And if getting blood drawn wasn't bad enough, she received her first round of vaccinations once she got to the ped's office.
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Yeah, Calliope wasn't too happy about that, either.

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Unfortunately, the results of her blood test that morning were less than perfect, so more tears were shed a few days later when her blood had to be drawn again to determine whether or not a transfusion would be necessary.
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Isn't it cute how the warmer on her arm matches her hoodie? Hey, I was just trying to see the bright side of things that morning!

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Luckily, the results of this test were better, so no transfusion necessary - WHEW! We'll be repeating the tests again in a few days, so cross fingers and toes!

Flip Book Fun

Step 1. Print the above image onto cardstock or other stiff, heavyweight paper.

Step 2. Cut out each individual image of Calliope.

Step 3. Stack images together, keeping them in original order (top to bottom, left to right).

Step 4. Staple the stack on the left side to make a little booklet.

Step 5. Flip through the book quickly to see Calliope's facial expression change.

Step 6. Ask yourself what kind of person thinks a crying baby is cute.

Station 67

Almost a year ago, Benjamin and I took a field trip to the neighborhood fire station. At the time, he was just shy of a year-and-a-half and was still unable to fully appreciate how very cool the fire station could be to a toddler. Sure, he enjoyed gaping at the big red firetrucks and even standing inside of one, but he was still too little to be able to explore it much on his own. Well, a few weeks ago, we paid the same fire station another visit, and it was a whole new experience for him.
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This time, he was able to run willy-nilly behind, around, and inside of the fire engines. It's a good thing there was a helpful fireman around to rescue him from his own intrepid spirit!
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Yes, Benjamin was more than happy to make himself completely at home in Station 67. One moment he was climbing up on the window ledge to get a better view of the neighborhood, the next moment, he was giving the firemen's pole a spin and trying on their bright yellow gear - a far cry from last year when the sight of a fireman in his gear was enough to scare Benjamin into a stunned silence. A lot changes in a year, huh?

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Benjamin's newfound courage wasn't the only thing that was new during this visit - he also had a new partner-in-crime in his buddy Kayla.
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Another new girl on the scene was baby sister Calliope. It's strange to think that during our last visit to the fire station, she wasn't even a twinkle in my eye. Like I said, a lot changes in a year! Unlike her brother, who was busy tearing around the building, Calliope was content to spend the entire time tucked securely inside my sling. Well, not quite the entire time...
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I guess some things stay the same!

The Divine Miss C

Since bringing her home, I've wanted to take close-up shots of Calliope's face similar to the ones I took of Benjamin when he was a newborn. As you may have noticed, that hasn't happened. I know what you're thinking: I'm suffering from N.P.S.C.S. (No Pictures of the Second Child Syndrome). I assure you that I'm not! The reason why you haven't seen any close-ups of Calliope's mug is because when I put her down to take a picture, she tends to give me just one look:

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Miss Thang likes to be held, rocked, worn in a sling, or placed in a swing. This doesn't explain why she detests her car seat and stroller, but that's a subject for another post. Anyway, Calliope is not fond of laying quietly in her crib for extended periods of time. On the occasions when she is in the crib awake and content, I have to stay out of her sight, because the moment she sees me, she-- Well, take another look at the above.
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In order to capture some pictures of a happy, awake Calliope, I decided to place her in one of the environments in which she's most comfortable - her swing.

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Not bad, eh? I think I may even see a bit of a smile in a few of those pics! I also got a few pictures of her laying prone on her tummy:
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I tried turning her over to get some less smooshed pictures of her face, but...
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...no such luck. Oh, well.

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To calm her down, I put a screaming Calliope where I knew she'd be happy - bundled up against my chest in a baby carrier. As she mellowed out, I made one last attempt to capture those much-wanted close-up head shots. I pretzelled (pretzeled?) my head back, stuck the camera way up in the air and snapped:
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Much better! But before I could take any more pictures...
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Nighty-night!

Legolamania

The other afternoon, Benjamin was quietly playing in his playroom when I suddenly heard him cry, "Hao Po? HAO PO??" My mother had long since left Los Angeles, so what was he talking about? Was my child hallucinating? I ran over to see what was going on, and saw that he was playing with his little Lego family, and Hao Po was missing.
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Right away, we began to look for Hao Po. After dumping out every box of Legos and meticulously sorting through every one...
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...there she was! Whew! Benjamin immediately seated her in the Lego family car.
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I waited for Hao Po to meet the same gruesome fate that Hao Gong had met several weeks ago at Benjamin's chubby hands, but that didn't happen. Hmmm.... I wonder what that means?

Just for You, Vonner...

After seeing my last blog post, my friend Yvonne sent me this email:

Okay, this is cute and all... But more pictures of YOU with your kids!! This is the bad part of being the photographer in the family. :)

So by popular-- I mean, Yvonne's demand, I went through all the photos I'd taken since Calliope's birth and collaged the ones in which I appeared with the kids. Here you go, Vonner!

Déjà Vu

To Each Their Own (Baby)

I knew that I might have problems with how Benjamin would behave around his new baby sister. I'd heard nightmare stories about older kids who grew jealous of newborn siblings and acted out by tantruming or hitting. Benjamin has expressed jealousy since Calliope's homecoming, but Mommy isn't the object of his jealousy; Calliope is! As soon as he sees me holding her, he runs over with anxious look on his face, yelling, "Hug! HUUUUG!" If I'm not on guard, he'll try to tackle her and smother her with kisses and hugs. Safety issues aside, it's freakin' adorable.
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Several people had recommended that I get a baby doll for Benjamin to hold during the times I was holding Calliope. So I went on Amazon.com and purchased the most Asian-looking soft doll I could find. So far, it's worked like a charm! When I see Benjamin running towards me and Calliope with that crazed Boo look in his eye, I say, "Benjamin's baby!" and quickly hand him the doll. It's kind of like being chased by a lion and tossing it a steak to keep from being eaten yourself.
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To my surprise, he manages to amuse himself quite a bit with his new "baby." In addition to just cudding it when he can't cuddle his sister, he also enjoys doing other things like reading books to it, taking it grocery shopping, and rocking it to sleep in a bouncy chair.
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Benjamin doesn't neglect the more basic needs a baby might have, either. He changes its diaper, gives it shots, and even nurses it. Yes, you are reading and seeing things correctly: that last picture shows Benjamin attempting to breastfeed his baby doll.
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So that the baby doesn't feel left out of his own pottying routine, Benjamin also gives it the chance to sit on the loo right next to him.
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But as fun as his baby doll is, it's no match for the real thing!