Max and Esme

Playstation. Esme's first electronic toy is a piano-like item that her grandparents gave her for Christmas. She loves to beat on it now to make the music play. These are pictures from last weekend. While Max and Pete were putting up molding in the kitchen Esme serenaded us through the doorway into the dining room.

Kids at work. Today is Bring your Child to Work day. As mine are too young to participate I've traded with my babysitter and have brought along her two daughters. Una (age 10) and Maureen (age 8) chattered for the entire train and subway ride in. They get to spend the day touring the office and learning what a publishing company does. I'm guessing my kids get to spend the day at play instead.

The great race. Max loves to run and is always challenging his dad to a race - who can reach the car first, who can get to the steps first, the tree, the sidewalk, the living room. But unless it actually involves running, Max prefers to do things on his own schedule. Whenever we ask him to be quick about something, he immediately balks and says he wants to do it slowly. And nothing takes longer than getting dressed. Our schedule is tight in the mornings, so Max's procrastination is always a source of contention. Yesterday I tried to turn getting dressed into a race. We set ourselves a target of beating the clock and away we went. Off with the pajamas, on with the jeans, fully dressed in a minute and a half! The race trick worked again this morning, with Max dressing quickly while keeping one eye on the digital clock the whole time. His balance was off, but the results are what counts.

Monday blues. It's still raining this morning. Esme had a tough night, waking several times and needing comforting to go back to sleep. Whether it's the beginning of a cold or some teething uncomfort (or both) remains to be seen. Max awoke this morning and asked what day of the week it is. When told Monday, he asked what that meant. 'Monday is a work day' elicited much whining and a response of 'I don't want it to be Monday. I hate work days.' Me too Max.

A day at the beach. If it weren't raining today, this is where we would be. Instead it's a day of errands, cleaning, and if we're lucky - naps.

Children at rest.

Dada As a cultural and anti-art movement, Dada is characterized by absurdism and randomness. Apparently infant language development shares some of these same traits. Esme spoke her first word yesterday, clearly saying 'dada.' Of course her father was miles away at work when it happened. And what about 'mama'? Scholars have debated the origin of the name Dada - and many feel that it's just a nonsense word. I have to agree.

A matched set. Esme got her first teeth in late January, two weeks earlier than her brother got his. Both of her middle bottom teeth broke through as a pair and have served her in good stead as she began chewing on everything she can reach. On Monday we discovered that her top teeth have now come in. After wondering for weeks if she was teething (it's convenient to blame all drooling and fussy behaviour on teething) and braving her bottom teeth by putting a finger in her mouth to feel her gums, two more teeth appeared virtually overnight. Smile!

New friends.

Picking candy. Max reminded me a few weeks ago that Easter was coming up. And that meant it was time to 'pick candy.' He remembered attending an egg hunt last year at the Flynn's and harvesting the eggs and candy from the grass. This year the Swenson's came to visit for the weekend and we arranged an egg hunt for the kids. Connor (5), Rya (2 1/2), and Emily from next door joined Max running frantically around our yard collecting jelly-bean filled plastic eggs and chocolates. Esme and Rachel napped through all the commotion. We had a lovely sun-filled weekend highlighted by a trip to the beach, good food and good company. And of course, chocolate bunnies.

125th Street Anyone who has met Max knows how much he loves things that go. He's a good traveler when we go to NYC because it's all about the transportation - trains, subways and taxi rides. Max is a train connosieur. He knows the difference between commuter trains and Amtrak trains, diesel and electric engines, the express and the local. And please don't get call something by the wrong name or you'll be corrected. And reminded about it again and again... 'Mommy, why did you think it was a diesel engine?" Last weekend we went to NYC to meet up with Pete's friend Vineet who was in from Chicago. We also met Carol Ann, a friend from St. Lawrence, and hung out in the sunshine in Bryant park drinking beer and coffee. Max watched out the window for the entire train ride, and Esme was a contented passenger as well.

Anyone have $15? One of our morning routines involves stopping at Starbucks on the way to the train. Pete pulls up out front and I run in to pick up 2 coffees, a milk, and three breakfast treats. This week Max decided out-of-the-blue that he likes 'creamy cheese' on his bagel. I can't tell you how many times I've attempted to get him to try cream cheese, with no avail. But now he likes it, adding another $.95 to our morning routine. It's probably only another few months before Esme wants a snack of her own. If you're considering buying stock in Starbucks, now's the time.

What do you know about biting? Pete picked the kids up from Caroline's last night and then met me at the train. On the ride home Max asks from the back seat "Mommy, what do you know about biting?" "Biting?" I ask, not sure if I've heard him correctly. "You know, biting." he replies. I give him a floundering answer about using teeth to bite carrots and other foods and try to find out why he's asking this odd question. A bit further into our trip, and after other conversation, Max speaks up again. "Daddy, what did I do all day?" After the requisite back-and-forth trying to get Max to answer his own question, Max insists that he wants his dad to "tell Sara what I did all day." Turns out that Max bit Una (age 10) while playing around. I guess the need to confess is strong in a 3-year old. I'm waiting for "Mommy, what do you know about tattos?" or "Mommy, what do you know about fenders?"

The red shoes. Esme's first shoes are red leather slippers that were a pass-along from one of our generous friends. They are mostly used to keep her socks on - she long ago learned that pulling her socks off her toes was a worthy amusement. The red shoes are also a good distraction when she's lying on her back on the changing table. I hand them to her to play with while I'm changing a diaper or getting her dressed or undressed. Last night I handed Esme her shoes in preparation for pajama time. She immediately grabbed them, lifted her legs so she could reach her feet and tried to put them back on her toes! What a clever girl. Is this the beginning of fashion consciousness?

He is risen. Brian was released from the hospital yesterday and we have a full house again. He's getting around quite well with his cane and seems much happier without institutional food. Esme was interested to have Grandpere's face to play with! This morning Max and Grandma Sissy and I colored eggs for Easter. Max's egg-dying skills have come a long way from last year when all the eggs turned out a mottled brown from being dipped in all the colors at once. This year we have nice stripes and plaids, and if the occasional olive green shows up, who's to complain? Saturdays Max has swim class at the Y. He's very proud of being a Pike, which means he gets to swim without Dad in the water with him. Esme and I are enjoying a bit of quiet together this afternoon before the fish get home.

Good fortune. We had Thai take-out last night for dinner which comes with fortune cookies. We always save them for Max who is excited to open them and find the fortune. The usual platitude that's included doesn't mean anything to him, but still he wants to hear it over and over again. While not a healthy, complete breakfast, fortune cookies provide a nice crunchy snack for the car ride to the babysitter. Esme ate three slices of italian bread yesterday at Carolines. Apparently she sucks and gums the bread until it dissolves and she can eat it. I'm sure fortune cookies are not far into her future...

A brief respite... It's raining today after a lovely spring weekend. We took the opportunity to spend a lot of time outdoors this weekend - a walk to the beach, a picnic and a trip in the row boat for Max and Peter and a visit with Grandpere on the quad at Burke rehabilitation for me and Esme. Max drew a picture of Grandpere to cheer up his hospital room - he had a nice round head, two eyes and a mouth, two legs with feet and five toes on each foot. Max then proceeded to draw a picture of himself to complement the first piece - basically the same guy with lots of curly hair! I was very proud and had to call my dad right away to brag about my son's artistic ability. Max had his curls shorn on Saturday, much to his chagrin. I took before and after pictures of him which I'll post later. Generally Max likes to get his hair cut because he gets a lollypop for his effort, but I think he's had so many compliments on his curly hair lately that he hated to see it go. Of course on...

Big girl food Esme woke at 5am this morning with a smile. We usually let her chirp in her crib for a while before we go in to get her, hoping that she'll go back to sleep. The waiting game almost never works. So at 5:23 it was time for a clean diaper and a bottle. Esme and Max both had their oatmeal for breakfast this morning and then Esme got to have her first Cheerios! How nice to be able to play with your food. She pushed them around her plate and picked them up, but only ate them if I brought them to her mouth. You can see that she looks very proud of herself!