Calliope's First Christmas

A friend of mine once characterized parenthood as "long days, short years." Yes, the days can feel long. Today, for example, was veeeerrrrry long. Maybe it was because it began at 5:30 am when Calliope woke up (woke up for good, that is - she'd already awakened previously just to say "Wassup?" at 1 am and then again at 3am). But then the years seem to flash by. I feel like it was just the other day I was washing and folding newborn onesies in anticipation of the birth of a baby who would be so small that he wouldn't be able to wear them until he was three months old. Now, that same tiny baby is a raucous preschooler who enjoys stomping in puddles and tormenting his little sister. And his little sister... Well, once she was born, time moved from light speed to warp speed. The past ten months have been a blur of milestones, birthdays, and holidays. And now it's Christmas. Where did the time go? Thank God I have a camera (or three) to overdocument every single moment, or I might think that it was all a dream.

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Since becoming a family, Vince and I have developed a few holiday traditions. Each year, we send out our holiday cards right after Thanksgiving. Each year, we add a new ornament to the tree that consists of a picture of the family inside a frame with the year on it. But one of our favorite traditions involves going out for a holiday dim sum with our dear friends and neighbors the Bowens.
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This tradition started the first year we met them. Benjamin was 10 months old, and Nolan was just over a year.

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It continued the following year when the boys were about two.
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Now, it's not just the two boys anymore. It's three boys, along with a little girl. In another year or two, there might be another little boy or girl in the mix. Just kidding, Vince! I know you said the baby factory's closed.
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Despite the changes, some things do stay the same!

. Another wonderful tradition we have is spending time celebrating Christmas with our good friends Deb and George. They come over to our place to share a meal and also to spoil the kids rotten with too many presents.
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This year was no different - they came over for brunch on Christmas Eve and brought with them a ridiculous amount of gifts!
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Although the kids loved the new toys, what they really enjoyed was just hanging out with their favorite auntie and uncle.
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We spent the rest of Christmas Eve getting ready for the big day to come. That evening, we attended a candlelight service at my in-laws' church and then came home to relax.

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Rather, I relaxed, and Vince used some very un-Christmas-like language while attempting to assemble what was to be the kids' big gift.
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All that sweating and cursing was not in vain - their faces lit up when they saw the beribboned wagon on Christmas morning. We actually had to persuade them to get out of it so they could open the rest of their gifts. Actually, Benjamin was the only one we had to persuade. Calliope had no idea what was going on.
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Being only 10 months old, we expected her to enjoy the boxes and wrapping more than her actual gifts, but she surprised us by really taking to her new Remo floor tom.
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Benjamin's favorite gift was his Zoob set. He got to work right away building himself a little car.
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Calliope enjoyed playing with the Zoobs, too. Only she didn't build a car; she built a toothbrush.
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Later, we took the new wagon for a stroll around the neighborhood. There was almost no one out, and it was so quiet and serene. The only sounds were those of the wagon wheels turning on the hard concrete, Calliope giggling in her seat, and Benjamin giving us a running commentary on everything he saw. "Mama! Look!! A tree! A big tree! Mama, a car! A big red car! Car go VROOM! Oh, Daddy! DADDY, LOOK, A SQUIRREL! Squirrel go JUMPJUMPJUMP--" Ok, nevermind. Let's go back to that serenity.
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That evening, we went to Vince's parents' house for Christmas dinner. After stuffing ourselves silly with ham and sweet potatoes, we opened gifts. Tons and tons of gifts. It felt like each of us had a veritable mountain of gifts to get through.
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The kids definitely had fun unwrapping all those presents, but I think what they really enjoyed was just spending time with one another.

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So I guess I've learned a few lessons this Christmas...

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Lesson #1: Holiday traditions are awesome. Let's keep 'em going!

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Lesson #2: The presence of loved ones mean far more to us than their presents, which is a good thing, because...

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Lesson #3: Sharing Christmas presents can be difficult. For some of us anyway.

Happy Holidays, everyone!!

Broadway Baby

Last week was the yearly holiday celebration at Benjamin's preschool. Parents were invited to attend, and we were treated to coffee, breakfast, and a musical performance by the students. The kids had been preparing for weeks, but the actual songs were to be a surprise for the parents. I tried asking Benjamin what he'd be singing, and he replied, "The Calliope Song." Hmmm... Either he's pulling my leg, or he hasn't been paying attention in class.
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Before the show started, Benjamin and Nolan sat excitedly with us in the audience. I sensed they were a little nervous. Were they getting pre-show jitters? Were they anxious about singing in front of such a large group of people?
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One person who had no problems whatsover getting up in front of a crowd was Calliope. Here she is shamelessly flashing her chubby diaper butt for all to see. It's not that kind of a show, Calliope!

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Pretty soon, it was showtime. One by one, the kids lined up on the stage and began singing. Rather, most of the kids began singing, and a few of them - including Benjamin and Nolan - stood there looking like deer caught in headlights.
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Maybe they were being stunned by the flashbulbs of the parent paparazzi.
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Fortunately, it didn't take long for them to loosen up and get into the holiday groove. My favorite number was a rollicking preschool version of "Jingle Bells," complete with accompanying hand choreography.

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After the show was over, the kids took a bow and exited the stage. Benjamin, however, returned to perform a solo encore consisting of a series of intricate dance moves that ended with his butt high in the air. Hey, Benjamin - like I told your sister earlier, it's not that kind of show!

Calliope's First Trip to the Playground (and my trip down Memory Lane)

With the end of summer near, we've been spending as much time as possible outside. Last weekend, we walked over to the neighborhood playground with our neighbors Shawn, Julie, Nolan, and baby Kieran. Up until this point, Calliope had spent most of our playground trips tucked into her stroller or into my sling, but not this time. This time she was gonna hang out with the big kids! We plopped her into one of the baby swings, pulled back on the swing, crossed our fingers that she wouldn't start screaming, and let go...

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Well, she did start screaming, but not in fear - in utter delight! With each pass, Calliope's pigtails fluttered like handlebar streamers on a bicycle, and she couldn't stop giggling, shrieking, and waving her fists in joy.

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Benjamin and Nolan wanted in on the fun, so we let them give her a push, but boys being boys, they fought over whose turn it was to do it. We wound up having to take them over to the big boy swings on the other side of the playground.
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As I watched them swing back and forth, I thought back to their first time at this park together:

.God, they're growing up fast!

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!

Meet Kieran

On July 22, Julie, Shawn, and Nolan welcomed the newest Bowen into their family: Kieran Reed Bowen!

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All pregnancies get uncomfortable towards the end, but this one seemed particularly uncomfortable because Julie is tiny. Ti. Ny. She's one of the most petite women I know, and her hubby Shawn is six feet tall, which meant that her teensy frame had to support an awfully big belly those last few months.
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Julie happens to be one of those fortunate women whose pregnancies only show up only in their belly, so unless you were looking at her in profile, you couldn't even really tell how pregnant she was. When seated, she didn't even look pregnant. Lucky!

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Several weeks before Kieran was due, Julie began having contractions severe enough to land her in the hospital. Her hospital stay coincided with our monthly moms-only dinner, so Brooke, Sheila, and I paid her a visit. Luckily, Julie's contractions abated, and Kieran stayed put. Even more luckily, our hospital visit wrapped up in time for us to make it to dinner. I know what you're thinking: I can't believe you b*tches still went to dinner without her!
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You may be amused to know that after dinner, we left the restaurant only to find Brooke's car battery dead. Like us, karma's a bitch. But I digress... Back to Kieran!
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The day after he was born, Sheila and I drove to St. John's to meet him for the first time. At over 8 lbs, he was a big baby, and it was no wonder that Julie had been so uncomfortable. But just one day postpartum, she looked happy and on her way to recovery.
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We were all struck by how much Kieran looked like Nolan. He had Nolan's eyes, nose, and lips. In this picture, he even shares Nolan's trademark furrowed brow. But according to Shawn and Julie, the resemblance ends there, because Kieran is a calm and mellow baby. No offense, Nolan.
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Julie's own birthday happened to be the following week, and we didn't want that to be forgotten. So the day after she was discharged, we surprised her with a surprise birthday party. We festooned her home with streamers and balloons, hired a caterer and a 12-piece band, and invited Julie's 50 closest family and friends.

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Just kidding! The surprise party just a casual gathering of a few friends. There was a little cake with candles, and Shawn threw burgers on the grill. The whole time, Kieran slept peacefully in his bouncer or in Julie's arms. It was really cool to see the Bowens as a family of four for the first time.
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Congratulations, guys!

Red, White, and Boo

This past July 4th fell on a Sunday, and in many ways, it was like any other Sunday. First thing in the morning, we drove down to Gardena to meet our dear friends Julie, Shawn, and Nolan for dim sum. It was, as always, very nice to see them, but later in the day I had someone even more exciting to hang out with...
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The Boo!

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For two whole years, it was just the two of us. Since his sister's arrival, though, he's no longer been able to have my undivided attention, and I could feel that this was causing him considerable stress. Even worse than that, however, is the fact that I haven't been able to spend any quality time with him. I really missed my Boo.
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So on the afternoon of this past Independence Day, Vince watched the baby so that I could spend some one-on-one time with my firstborn. Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to take Benjamin's balance bike out for a spin. I loved watching him "pedal" away, his little fists gripping the handlebars tightly and a determined look on his face.
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We stopped to catch our breath in one of the neighborhood parks. The sun had warmed the ground, and Benjamin couldn't resist taking his shoes off to dig his toes into the dirt.

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Before heading home, we finished our date with dessert at Pinkberry. It was a treat to watch him demolish his frozen treat.

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Later in the evening after the kids had gone to bed, we attended a Fourth of July party at our neighbors' home. These people were young professionals with no kids, as were the majority of their guests. Vince and I stood on their balcony in our sleek outfits and watched fireworks go off in the distance while we sipped cocktails, ate sushi, and engaged in adult conversation uninterrupted by the needs of small children. How refreshing! You'd think that it would have been the highlight of my day, but it wasn't. My mind kept flitting back to the afternoon I'd spent with my wonderfully grubby, stinky little boy with whom conversation consisted of being interrupted by monosyllables and incomplete sentences.

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I'll take him over cocktails and sushi any day!