squish it

cohen and i sat down for a little snack this afternoon. i didn't realize at first, but it was all orange, and i had put cohen's on a blue plate. blue and orange, a winning combination. looking at the plate i felt compelled to photograph it. it's one of those things that happens to me from time to time.

this is the photo

seems serene, doesn't it? everything was going alright, until we bit into our oranges and realized that they were pulpy and dry and everything an orange shouldn't be. i threw mine away, cohen had other plans. turns out he thought he should make orange juice.

also, because the last two have been about cohen, i will include a photo of the little lady, if for no other reason then i liked this one. she's a feisty one that ada.

yes, please

cohen's language is starting to pick up. so much so, that if you were to meet him today for the first time you probably wouldn't say, "don't you talk? come on, say something!" (yes people really did). i am liking the talking. i am finally starting to get what all the fuss was about kids and the darnedest things they say. i have also come to the conclusion that the two year old needs the cute saying repertoire to balance out the unruly tantrums, without the cute quip it is just a tantrum, and no one wants that, especially me (enough with the tantrums, please?).

don't get me wrong, he isn't precocious or anything. i am still waiting for the uncensored truth spoken in line at the grocery store or the unending questions about the state of the world. these days the thing that makes me laugh the most is his use of "no, thank you".

a few weeks ago we were in fort langley with baka, and as we always do when there, we were checking out the old timey locomotive they have on display. it was freezing cold that day and once i could no longer feel my pinkey finger i announced that it was time to move on. of course he wasn't super impressed with that and threw himself onto the grass and started wailing like a tortured cat. thankfully this type of display is becoming less and less frequent, but it is nothing new, what was new was that in between wails he was yelling "no, thank you!, no, thank you!". polite in his fury, i taught him well.

the other day i was tickling him, he was in stitches on the bed, rolling and trying to push my hand away he managed to gasp out "no, thank you!" between giggles. don't worry, i stopped right away. after i endured several ticklings as a child i swore i would never do it to anyone myself, but that laugh is too cute, and let's admit it, it's fun. the problem was never in the tickling, it was in not knowing when to stop. i know when.

the best though was when my somewhat judgmental christian neighbour came over to ask me a question. cohen came running over as i opened the door, he was only wearing a diaper below the belt (not all that uncommon around here after nap time...or anytime really), and as a result she felt compelled to ask "where are your pants cohen?" while looking me dead in the eye letting me know that she was on to me. cohen didn't even skip a beat and answered with "no, thank you" and skipped off down the hall. it's good to know he has my back.

in other news i am going through that change of season i'm so depressed i only feel like eating and watching tv all day thing. it seems to happen to me no matter the season. motivation. so. hard. i have made it out of the house every day this week, but i can't do it today, i just can't. i know that the temperature is very likely in the double digits out there and that there is not a cloud in the sky, but it will have to wait for me. today i am sipping tea and letting the kids play amongst themselves. some days are just like that.

this is a list

i saw a post over at lucky fish with a list of 15, perhaps a truncated take on the dreaded list of 25 that is all over facebook. i realize that it is kind of cheating, writing without writing, but that will have to do as i don't feel compelled to be here anymore, not since my camera up and left me, and yet at the same time i feel it is important. pushing and pulling, the essence of life.


15 things about cohen

1. he is obsessed with trains, i mean it, obsessed. when he is sleeping he sometimes mumbles and often, when i hear it, he is saying "tracks, trains, tracks, trains". i am not certain this is at all healthy.
2. he loves to help around the house, forever asking for "his turn" with the broom, and pulling his chair up to the counter to help cook (cracking eggs by squeezing his fist really hard while the egg is in it is his specialty!) or clean dishes.
3. he has a thing about open gates and insists on closing them when we are out walking. if the gate won't close properly due to improper installment or age, he appears to get agitated but he usually lets it go.
4. he loves tunnels, this mostly relates to number 1, but the interesting thing is what he calls a tunnel. first it was when we went under overpasses and now, when we are out walking, he insists that any sidewalk that has trees overhanging it is a tunnel, AND THAT IS THE WAY WE MUST WALK (preferably while singing "tunnel, tunnel, TUNNEL, tunnel").
5. he can pedal his tricycle quite well. for the longest time he couldn't do it, no matter how much we practiced, then one day he was on it and bamn, he was off. i am beginning to realize that much of raising a child is like this, wait and it will come.
6. he is having trouble learning his colours (what did i just say, something about waiting...). we are still not entirely certain if he is colour blind or just being a little stubborn. i thought he didn't know the alphabet, or his numbers, until i walked in on him singing the alphabet or counting to ten. i think colours might be the same. he knows it, he just doesn't want me to know he knows it. a man of mystery, that's cohen.
7. he has taken to climbing into our bed every night. at first he was discovered creeping in and promptly hugged and placed back into his own bed, but through practice it would seem he has perfected the skill of stealth. he somehow sneaks his way in to our room, lifts the covers, and then snuggles in beside me. that is where i find him every morning, his breath hot on my cheek. this sneaking and sleeping coincided almost exactly with ada starting to sleep in her crib. i am beginning to think it is territorial.
8. he loves the word and the practice of snacks. no, SNACKS! 4-5 times a day he gleefully announces that it is snack time and then proceeds to rifle through cupboards or the fridge (new fridge, tough seal, thought we could keep him out but he figured it out within two weeks. now he pulls so hard the door swings open and he flies into the stove). luckily he is happy to accept healthy snacks, no question though, he is going to be one of those teenagers that eats you out of home.
9. he hasn't shown any interest at all in making decisions when it comes to what he is wearing. i ask him if he wants to wear the red shirt or the blue shirt and he shrugs and says "yes?".
10. he has a sweet tooth and acts irrationally when cake, ice cream, gelato or cookies are involved. it is like a little monster awakens within him and demands "more!" he gets this from his father.
11. today we got a free bag of play kitchen stuff off craigslist and one of the first things cohen did was grab himself a mug and sit down by us, we asked him what he was drinking to which he happily responded "beer!" and then he reached out his mug and tapped it on mine with a boisterous "cheers!" i guess our home brewing is starting to wear off on him.
12. he most often uses his left hand for colouring and eating. marko is left handed, but i think it is too soon to tell if he is going to be in the end.
13. he calls my dad papa. nothing interesting there except that no one told him to call him that, in fact we always called him grandpa, but then one day out of nowhere he decided he was papa and now that is all he will call him. i still haven't figured out where he even heard the word?
14. he calls me grandma. seriously. he also calls my mom grandma. it has been going on for nearly 2 months. every day, 20 times i say, "i am not grandma, i am mommy", to which he responds with a "hurry grandma, come quick, trains off the track". i am trying to not make a big deal out of it and hope that it passes. i mean i know i have some grey, but really?
15. he is incredibly affectionate, insisting on hugs and kisses. he gives the best hugs of anyone i know. tight arms around the neck and a squeeze with a little nuzzle into my neck. hands down this is the thing i will miss the most when he grows up and doesn't feel like hugging anymore, because of that i take as many a day as i can.


15 things about ada

1. today she took her first unassisted steps. it was only two in a row but she kept getting up to try again and again. any day now she will be off and running.
2. she loves to eat. the only thing she doesn't like so far is green beans. her preference is little pieces on her tray which she can grab by the handful and stuff down her gullet. when she really likes something she claps.
3. speaking of clapping, she starts clapping whenever you play music (well that and bopping up and down) or if you sing paddy cake (she is even working on her "roooooollll it"). she loves music.
4. she waves goodbye only it is this more like a wiggle goodbye, she takes her fingers and crunches them into her palm and jiggles them, not moving her actual hand at all. it is significantly less weird looking then how i just described it.
5. she is in love with her brother. he climbs in the playpen and puts her in a headlock to smush her against the side mesh and she bursts into the loudest laugh, sometimes verging on squealing. she admires him in a way i wasn't sure was possible. they are going to be good friends.
6. she loves the bath, but insists on standing up, so they are usually much shorter than she would like.
7. she can let out a seriously loud fart for such a small thing. cracks me up every time.
8. she says mama and dada and tonight it sounded like she said ba ba (bye bye) on her way to bed. fingers crossed she ends up being a early talker, i think it would be much less frustrating for everyone.
9. she is wearing size 12-18 months clothing now. based on the way clothes fit her, i think she has really long legs for her age.
10. she is a pincher. i am pretty sure that she shows her affection by hurting the people she loves. my tummy and chest are covered with little cuts from her nails, kneading away as she drinks milk. grandma and baka have also been covered in cuts, necks, faces, arms. her love knows no bounds.
11. she loves to hang out with the shoes by the front door. she will pick up hers or cohen's shoes and try and put them on her feet. when she is not there doing that, she is often found dragging someone's shoe along behind her as she travels around the house.
12. she is shy and will play strange with new people. this took me by surprise as cohen wasn't shy at all, he has always been pretty outgoing, ada is more of a thinker. she needs to assess you before committing to anything like a touch. her affections are all the more sweeter though for having to be earned.
13. she sleeps on her tummy with her bum in the air and snores a tiny delicate snore. galena,who sleeps every night under her crib, also snores. it is the sounds of these two that lulls me to sleep.
14. she is fairly even mannered, not overly happy, but not miserable either, kind of like a pessimist with hope. her smiles don't come easy. she gets that from her mother.
15. she is coddled far less than cohen was and is permitted to do so much more, because of this she is growing up so much faster than he did. that makes me sad and yet also excited for the future.