Monday, August 30, 2010

A Face that Only Kayla Could Love

It was a day like any other. Vince was at work, and I was at home with the kids. Naptime rolled around, and Benjamin spent a good fifteen minutes in his crib screaming for his beloved:


In case you couldn't understand him, he was saying, "I want Kayla!" over and over. And over. He eventually cried himself to sleep and must have spent his naptime dreaming about her, because the first words out of his mouth when he was awoke were - you guessed it - "I want Kayla!" I had to explain that Kayla was busy that afternoon, but that we would go to the park together where we would have lots and lots of fun. Unfortunately, that could not have been farther from the truth.
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Our park playdate started out just fine. The sun was out, and both Benjamin and Calliope were in a great mood.

Soon, we were joined by Benjamin's friend Kai. The two boys had fun running around, and Kai was nice enough to share a wooden train with Benjamin.
. Unfortunately, Benjamin has a bad habit of putting toys in his mouth, a worse habit of running at top speed along the cement ledges in the park, and an even worse habit of not always watching where he's going. Put those three things together, and--
.That's what it looks like when your child falls off a two-foot ledge and does a faceplant onto the cement with a toy in his mouth. Yeeeeeeeoooouch! Luckily, there's an Urgent Care right across from the park. I don't know if the developers of our neighborhood intentionally put it there to serve the growing toddler population, but BLESS THEM for doing so.
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And bless my mommy friends Kim and Stephanie for watching Calliope while I took her sobbing brother to get checked out. We ran into them as we were making our way to Urgent Care. Stephanie took one look at us, dropped her things (including her own son, I believe), and said, "Lily, give me the baby." God, I love this neighborhood! Anyway, it was a good thing that Stephanie took Calliope, because I needed both hands free to restrain Benjamin, who was completely freaking out. Fortunately, his wounds were superficial - lacerations to his gums and lips, but no loose teeth and no concussion. Still, his poor lips were swelled up several times their normal size, leaving him looking like a forlorn little duck.
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On our way home, we ran into several friends, among them Benjamin's true love Kayla. When he saw her, instead of greeting her with his customary enthusiasm, he stayed mute and cast his eyes downwards. I think he was embarrassed by his appearance.
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But Kayla didn't seem to mind at all, though. She was able to see beyond his ginormously swollen grill and shine her sweet smile on him. As a matter of fact, she didn't even seem to notice how duck-like he looked!
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Which is more than I can say for his father, who spent the evening making quacking sounds at Benjamin. What a jerk!
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Aw, heck - I guess a little good-natured ribbing never hurt anyone!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Cabbage Patch Kids

I love living in the city. I love the fact that I can shop for Chinese, American, and Indian groceries within a five-mile radius. I love that no matter how obscure the service, there will be a provider available. And I really love that I can walk around wearing knee-high leather boots with a mohawked toddler in my tattooed arms - and no one will stare at me. But sometimes, it can get to you: the traffic, the crowds, the rush, the race. Yeah, sometimes it's good to get a break from the city. And what better way to do that than by taking a trip to a farm - Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark, Cali.
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Because we city folk feel better traveling in packs during our jaunts into the wilderness, we drove up there with our buds the Bowens and the Ilardis.
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Our first stop was the pony rides. Nolan and Kayla had no problems holding their own, but the tiny Boo needed some assistance.
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Next, the kids got up close and personal with some of the farm's furry inhabitants.
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The real attraction at Underwood, however, was the opportunity to pick your own fruit. So each of our families grabbed a little red wagon, and we ventured into the fields.
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First up: raspberries! At first, we picked berries close to the road, but it wasn't long before we were moving deeper into the bushes.
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And it wasn't just the grown-ups who were doing all of the work - the kids were getting in on the action, too! However, Benjamin couldn't help but pop nearly every berry he picked into his mouth, so I guess it was a good thing that his little fingers moved more slowly than ours.
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Berry-picking wasn't the only place where the Boo pulled his weight; he also took a turn pulling his dad in the wagon!
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We wrapped up our visit to the farm by letting the kids take a ride on the choo-choo train. Our trip to Underwood had been a sweet change of pace from the usual hustle and bustle of our lives.
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And what a nice bonus that we got to take some of that sweetness home with us!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Defying Gravity

During my last pregnancy, people would comment on how unique Benjamin's hair was and ask me whether or not I had any exciting hairdos in mind for Calliope. The answer was that I did not. Yes, I did want my daughter to have just as distinctive (and low maintenance) of a coif as her brother, but I had no intention of mohawk-ing her head. I just didn't know what the little girl equivalent of a mohawk would be. It turns out that I needn't have worried, because Calliope's hair has kind of developed its own distinct style: it is very, very spiky. Yes, I am aware that most babies have pretty spiky, unruly hair, but come on, this is ridiculous -
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Her hair makes her look like a chubby little peacock!
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Her hair wasn't always so spiky. In the months after she was born, it was pretty short, and it laid flat. But somewhere around four months of age, it decided to stand up and be seen! To defy gravity! To fight for its right to party! To-- You get it. Anyway, I don't know why Calliope's hair is so darned spiky. Maybe she was inspired in utero by my Halloween costume:
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Either that, or using excessive amounts of hairspray affects fetal hair development!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

A Tricyle Named Desire or "KAYLAAAAAA!"

The first years of parenthood are marked by our children's milestones. Now that Benjamin is two-and-a-half, we've been able to check several off the list. His first tooth came at four months of age. He had his first bite of solid food at six months. His took his first steps the day after his first birthday. And now, and two-and-a-half years, he's hit a big one: his first crush.
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Benjamin first met Kayla when they were about eleven months old. We were all hanging out in the park, and I began chatting with a woman who would one day become a good friend: Kayla's mother Sheila. Two thoughts crossed my mind: one, that Sheila was remarkably put-together for a new mommy (I still remember being impressed by the fact that she was wearing a white jacket - something I will never dare to do as long as I have children in my house), and two, that her daughter was UH-dorable.
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Fast forward a year and a half. Our families have become close and often hang out together. The fact that our kids are the same age is a plus. In fact, as much as I love seeing Sheila and Marco, I'm pretty sure that Benjamin loves seeing Kayla even more.
.I'll admit that I'm not doing much to discourage his puppy love. Not only do they make a cute couple, but his in-laws would be folks I wouldn't mind sharing Christmas with!
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Of course, any major decisions about the direction of their courtship are way, waaaaaaay in the future. For now, they're just enjoying doing the things young couples do, like holding hands and going on dates.
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Chaperoned, of course!
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Recently, Benjamin's affection for Kayla has become more intense, and I'm wondering if I should be worried. During a recent car trip, Benjamin spotted a car that looked a lot like Sheila's. The poor boy was convinced that it was Sheila's and began crying for Kayla à la Marlon Brando in that famous scene from "A Streetcar Named Desire:"

In case you couldn't understand what he was shrieking in that video, here is the transcript:
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"I want Kayla. Want Kayla, Kayla, Kayla. Kayla, Kayla, Kayla. I want Kayla! KAY-LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
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Yikes. I guess Benjamin still hasn't learned that girls prefer guys who play it cool.