"Eeeeee'!!!

When Jackson wants more of something, he turns into a little seal. He uses his sign for "more" (touching all of his fingers together) and yells "Eeeee" repeatedly. And repeatedly means yelling this one word over and OVER again until we fulfill his requests. I think "Eeee" is his way of adding the word "please" into the equation.




To continue with the swimming theme, I wanted to post this video of Gregory and Jackson at the pool. He loves to be underwater and even though he probably has water up his nose - it doesn't stop our little seal from asking for more!

 (Apparently I am a failure at uploading videos to Blogger, so per Gregory's computer recommendations, I am just putting up a link to the video on Facebook.) Click here to see it!!

Swimming at the YMCA (and everywhere else)

This week marked the end of YMCA swim classes for Ayla and Jackson. We'll have to take a little break before starting up again, since the next session would be inevitably interrupted by the birth of their new sibling.

Our YMCA (and it may be the same everywhere else) designates levels with a different type of fish. Babies start out as Shrimp/Kippers, grow up to be Inia and Perch and graduate at a shark level. You become so good at swimming that you are a predator! Or something like that.

Jackson is still at the age of parent/child classes, so I enjoyed getting into the water with him every week. Until these classes, he was a total wimp about the water. Maybe it was just bad timing on our parts, but our previous trips to hotel swimming pools or the beach were quite unsuccessful. He has stood on the side of the pool crying until taken back to cozy hotel rooms and tested the ocean water with one toe and run in the other direction. Last year's beach vacation for him meant lounging in a chair instead of jumping over waves.

Now he is water-crazy. Perhaps it's the laid back approach of just getting into the pool and distracting the 2 year olds with songs. We do the hokey pokey and sing ten rounds of "The Wheels on the Bus". If you can get over the embarrassment of singing in public, it's actually fun. He blows bubbles like a champ, jumps into the water with abandon and LOVES going under water with people and waving at them.

Ayla took her first class without a parent in the pool. The kids are taught to wait patiently on the side of the pool until they can practice swimming alongside the instructor one on one. Dog-paddle (or "ice cream scoops") and kicking backwards.

Jumping into the water was a big highlight, which is something that the girl has NO fear of. We were trying to reiterate in class AND at the beach that she had to let someone know she was ready to jump on their heads... because she wasn't waiting for the signal! The funny thing about Ayla is that she yells and screams while she is swimming. If you weren't looking, you would think she was drowning. She is just kicking along, huge smile on her face, but screaming like she is terrified.

I've been talking with a lot of friends about our memories of learning to swim. Does anyone remember being afraid of the water and then conquering that fear? Did you have a terrible or amazing instructor? I can't imagine not knowing how to swim. I took swim lessons early and often; having some teachers that were tough. One particular lady would yell that we had to keep our eyes open when jumping from the side of the pool... because she didn't want us fearful of what was going to happen. It worked for me, but I'm sure for some kids that was a little traumatizing. But much of my confidence in the water was built early in a class and then confirmed by hours upon hours of screwing around at the pool with my friends. It was there, at the public pool, that I learned handstands and how to blow bubbles out of my nose when I flipped. We would hold our breath under water with stopwatches to see who could last the longest. We had tea parties in the shallow end and played sharks and minnows in the deep end.

We have to find that balance between healthy fear of the water and confidence that we know how to swim through it. There was one scary moment at the beach that Ayla was suddenly struggling below the water without any sort of flotation, simply because she hadn't considered that possibility when letting go of her raft. She thought she could swim to Gregory only a few feet away, but found herself sinking while kicking her legs instead. (That's an image that is permanently burned into my nightmare file... seeing her poor little face so scared underwater.) To keep tabs on a toddler in even an uncrowded pool is hard - so we felt safe with the permanent rule of wearing swimmies on her arms.

Our kids have to acknowledge limits in the water but not let it be a concern at the same time. It seems like such a fragile thing to establish. I'm hoping that getting them in the water during their ages of no-fear attitudes will do most of the work for us. Once they realize how deep the ocean (or deep end) really is, they'll already know how to swim through it.

When you have kids of your own...

How many of us grew up hearing from our parent(s), "When you have your own kids, you'll understand."? It was the rationale used for almost anything. It's why we couldn't have the ridiculously expensive brand name clothes all of the time. It's why you had to finish dinner. It's the reason why our parents got to have the final word in every argument.

Basically, until you grow up and have kids of your own... you know nothing. Then, maybe someday, you'll see the light and understand the secrets of the universe.

I'm probably the exception to the rule - but now "that I have kids of my own", it's only reaffirming the belief I had at 16 that I wouldn't ever really understand the reasons my parents did/do the things they do. The path I've taken in my early years as a Mom, and the perspective I view my role as a parent, are not the same.

In fact, my experiences have made me even more confused about why some parents think they've got it all figured out. These are the parents that can't ever muster up an apology to their kids (because they are obviously never wrong and have never made mistakes). We aren't living in ancient China where you respect your elders no matter what happens or you won't achieve enlightenment. These are parents that use their authority to manipulate, confuse and belittle their kids. These are the parents that involve their kids in their adult problems (at young ages), but still lord over them when the kids try to act like adults themselves.

What I know is that having children means something different to each person. Maybe we can all come to understand a deeply-rooted animal instinct to protect, love and find everything our kids do to be amazingly unique and special. Those are the strongest things I feel. I feel rooted to the earth, invested in the future like never before AND a weight on my conscience to be a better person. That's what I get - now that I have kids of my own.

But I don't get the perspective that kids can be used as excuses, crutches or a means to fulfill my own shattered ambitions. I chose to be a parent - my kids didn't choose me. I have to remember to respect that. I want to grow with them, learn from mistakes, be realistic, apologize if I act like an ass and never, ever make my problems their responsibility. That, to me, is a true display of love.

Annoyances

I'm feeling surly and annoyed by a lot of things today. Chalk it up to hormones or the heat or the general absurdity that the YMCA closes their indoor pools during a rainstorm (after I rushed there through said rainstorm to get to Ayla's class).

I'm going to roll with this feeling of general ickiness and list some of my biggest pet peeves.

#1. SELF PITY - it's a pathetic thing to witness, especially when it isn't truly warranted. I have a certain person in my life who pities themselves constantly. It goes hand in hand with having an unrealistic sense of entitlement and also being a victim. If you live in America, don't have to work, have every freedom and liberty you need, are freakin' alive... you should probably give up on the "poor me" mentality.

#2. STUPID BUMPER STICKERS - Very rarely are bumper stickers interesting. They either spew some hateful rhetoric against a woman's right to choose (and always with a white male driver!) , tell us where you've been on vacation (OBX) or list all of your children's names with a cute stick figure. Why would you do that? Any freak child molester could follow you for 2 minutes and then take advantage of that information. Some idiot who attends the church on our street has a bumper sticker that says, "I've still got my Bible and gun." Good for you dude, I don't really think that's advocated in Jesus' teachings. And the worst? Keeping your political stickers on ten years after the election. Seriously. If your candidate didn't win... keeping the sticker on your car won't help.

#3. PEOPLE WHO ABUSE THEIR KIDS WITH FOOD - I'll clarify that I don't like any child abuse. It's all terrible. What gets me about this one is that it isn't called abuse. I'm talking about the two year olds that are morbidly obese and only their parents are to blame for indulging them with every packaged, processed food. I let my kids eat candy, cookies and ice cream too. But they are NOT in charge when we go grocery shopping. It's so terribly unfair to these kids and almost impossible for them to ever have a normal, healthy relationship with their bodies and eating.

#4. STEREOTYPES - Both people that enforce their stereotypes on others and the ones that perpetuate them within themselves. We are not cardboard cutouts. You cannot say, "All women should do this, and all men should do that." People are mysteries, constantly changing and adapting. Yet, it is the root of a LOT of problems in our world.

#5. KNOW IT ALLS - We've all worked with one. They have an answer for everything and will "one-up" you in every regard. They've been everywhere and seen everything. And plus, it's just weird. Somehow a lot of know-it-alls end up being pathological liars. I really like people who ask questions and are willing to look silly. At what age do we decide it's not okay to learn from others anymore and start pretending we've invented the world?

I've missed a ton of obvious pet peeves, but it certainly made me feel better to vent about a few of my top choices! (I also can't stand it when people bump into me and don't apologize.) And unless your major annoyance is blogging - let me know what really irks you!

Dinner on the Patio

Or dinner on the front porch. It sounds fancier to use the word patio when I'm describing Ayla and Jackson's dining arrangements for the summer time. I haven't served them a dinner inside since May... and it's working out for us. I grit my teeth a little bit less when rice or a drink or ketchup is spilled on the porch. It's either food for the birds or easily washed away with the hose.

Ayla and Jackson absolutely love watching cars drive by, yelling at our neighbors (in a nice way), saying "Hiiii!" to every person who parks on our street and chasing lightning bugs.

We can also keep the insane Baxter happy by latching the gate and having him sit outside with us. (Because many a household item has been ruined by his chewing anxiety if left alone even for five minutes.)Most importantly, I have the peace of walking in and out of our house - grabbing drink refills, clearing away plates, etc. - knowing that everyone is safe on the porch. We've had enough escape attempts to worry what happens when we look away or wash dishes for five minutes.

However, the other night I was putting things away in the kitchen while the kids played on the swing and I heard Baxter howling at something out on the street. I'm not positive he wouldn't try to jump at a really enticing cat or bird, so I ran out to see what the problem was. It wasn't a wild animal. It was some dorky guy getting back into his car that was literally barking at my dog. If I were Baxter, I'd be upset too. Ayla, Jackson and I just stared at the guy until he got in his car and drove away. I'll chalk that up as one of the weirder things that has happened on our block. (Weirdest is our dancing neighbor... but that deserves a post of its' own.)

All in all, we are loving summer and our new dining arrangements. Cheers to summer!

Escape to the Ocean State

Two weeks ago, Gregory and I were lucky enough to escape Pittsburgh for a sublime "babymoon". (A vacation with the purpose of spending time as a couple before everything is turned upside by a baby... especially when it's the third one!) It was all made possible by Gregory's parents who had given us a Bed & Breakfast gift certificate www.bedandbreakfast.com for Christmas. It was unknown to them at the time that we were going to have another baby, but they understand the need for us to have the opportunity to get away from our kids for a few days and reconnect with each other.
If you take a peek at the website, the choices for locations and amazing B&B's are endless. It took us awhile to decide exactly where we wanted to travel because so many places looked awesome! I'm the type of person who would rather visit a thousand different places once then vacation in the same spot over and over again. I appreciate familiarity and some places deserve to be explored many times (like New York City or Paris), but we wanted to see a region of the country we'd never really seen before.

Destination: Rhode Island. (Disclaimer: Gregory has been to RI before... )

Sounds thrilling, right? But I would recommend that everyone go there. It's called the Ocean State because it seemed if you drove in any direction more than a half hour, you hit the shoreline. Granted it wasn't tropical, but for me in my 7 month pregnant state... the northeast coast temperatures were absolutely perfect.

We chose the William's Grant Inn in Bristol, RI. Cutest house ever. Cutest innkeeper ever! It felt very similar to the times I stayed in people's homes while traveling in Europe. They give you a key, offer advice on the best sites to see and a cozy room to sleep in. Not to mention a home-made breakfast every day.

Bristol is an adorable town with a lot of history. Our B&B, among other homes, was labeled with an historical plaque and probably preserved under strict guidelines. It was similar to Sewickley in that almost every store was either antiques or a restaurant... even the Dunkin Donuts looked pretty classy.

Our first day was pretty exhausting, since our flight was scheduled to leave at 6 AM. Anyone that knows us, knows very well that we are not morning people and it is almost impossible for us to go to bed earlier than midnight. We didn't get a lot of sleep Saturday night and get to the airport at a god-awful hour only to find out that the flight is delayed. We were routed through D.C. and the first part of the trip induced some serious nausea. I've never gotten airsick in my life, so I was not pleased with the implications for the rest of our trip. Who knew if this was a new pregnancy symptom and I wasn't going to be sick for every other flight AND our scheduled whale watching tour?

We arrived in Boston safely (and without using airplane barf bags), rented our car and drove the hour to Bristol, RI. We took a little walk through the town, had a lunch of sandwiches at a cute restaurant with a view of the harbor. Now here's the beauty of a babymoon: we were able to check back into our room and take a long nap! No kids to interrupt!

We woke up a few hours later and found the last place open in a sleepy little town on a Sunday night. I can't overestimate the value of relaxing during a dinner with Gregory. This probably happens about four times a year for us.


The next few days involved a lot of coastline hiking, whale watching, eating, stressing out in Boston traffic and exploring all that was possible in a few day's time. I'll get to those posts eventually!

The BEEP said it all

What's a beep?

It's a fart, or passing gas, or whatever your family may call it.

I grew up in a house where we weren't allowed to say the word "fart", making it one of the funniest words I know. I am extremely juvenile about it - and always have been. I spent many a sleepover with my friends laughing about farting.

And the humor lives on...

Tonight, while Ayla, Jackson and I were out enjoying ice cream cones on the back porch, Ayla let out a huge "beep" and proceeded to laugh about it for ten minutes. And it's kind of hard to discourage the behavior when (1) it's natural and (2) it's still hilarious. She's definitely my daughter!

Jackson, with his limited vocabulary, is in on the joke. He sits around making beeping noises and showing us his butt. It's just too funny to stifle him.

Perhaps we will teach them to only beep and talk about beeps at home. I can only imagine the situations Ayla would get us into at school, church, etc. For now, I'm going to laugh at every beep and enjoy their sense of humor!