Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

It took nearly 26 months, but Harry finally needed a haircut. I waited so long for it to grow I will admit that it was really hard to bid those blond, curly locks goodbye. But this morning Harry and I took a little trip over to PhD, a hair salon in Alexandria that will gladly trim-up the occasional child (how $13 is worth it to the stylists who have coax and cajole reluctant toddlers is beyond me). But Sonia was patient - never blinking when Harry refused to put on the penguin salon cape - and knew exactly when to whip out the lollipops, which were all Harry needed to be the model child. He received very high marks.

In no time at all (sob!), his precious curls were gone. I may never be the same.

I Like to Move it, Move it....

Charlotte is nearly crawling now, a necessity, I believe, to get to her brother's toys and drive him insane. She is doing a fine job.

"My Friend Tote"

Harry has lots of great friends. And they're all about the same age.

So it was great fun to have some friends of Paul and their three children come stay with us over Memorial Day Weekend. The youngest of their kids, Tote (a derivation of Christopher, please don't ask), is a year Harry's senior and the two of them got on like a house on fire. Tote was just the seasoned ringleader that Harry needed, showing him a three-year-old's trick-of-the-trade -- from the magic of nuclear-blue freeze-pops, to the fashion statement that is Batman undies and using the big-boy potty. Harry is still waking up every morning asking for his new friend. What a drag his family lives in Philadelphia.

Even Charlotte got something out of the visit. James, 12, was quite taken with our little girl. He actually wanted to give her a bottle. I dare you to find me another pre-teen boy who likes babies.

Little Chef

Given how much Harry enjoys eating, it's probably no surprise he's trying to cook. No, we don't prop him up at the stove to make dinner. But at least twice a day he asks if he can make salad. And every day I slice up veggies and put them in separate bowls and let him assemble the greens. From there we've moved on to making meatballs (he smooshes all the ingredients together with his hands and dusts the balls with flour), he's even rolled whole trout in cornmeal. 'Fish sleeping," Harry informs us. And who are we to tell them they won't be waking up? I think maybe we'll get him a pint-sized toque blanche for Christmas.

Shoe Fetish

Charlotte may not be crawling yet, but that doesn't mean she doesn't get around. A lot. After feeding her a bottle this morning I put her on her play mat. Within moments she had rolled (over and over and over) to reach a paisley-orange sneaker that clearly looked very appealing. By the time I realized where she had gone, she had barfed into said shoe. I will not be sharing pictures.

Sushi Baby

Who can resist a baby in Converse sneaks?

I'm Drinking in the Rain....Just Drinking in the Rain...

We got caught late Saturday afternoon in a downpour as we strolled through Old Town. Actually, I was in Pacers getting fitted with a new pair of running shoes ...faaaaaaaast sneakers in hideous pink and silver (who designs these things?)...when the sky opened. We thought we could race the thunder home, but we got as far as the very gross Rocket Grill (think beer stank and cigarette smoke) when the big drops started to fall. So we did what any respectable couple with two children in tow would do....we ditched into the bar for a cocktail. As soon as the sky cleared we got the Hell out of there, but just two more blocks down the street...more rain. So, we did what any slightly tipsy but respectable couple with two children in tow would do....we ditched into the Hilton hotel bar, for another drink.

It was quite the walk. Unlike the Rocket Grill, we found some comfy chairs, snagged a bag of gratis bar popcorn for the boy and settled in with our drinks to watch the ponies running the 134th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. We're lucky that there are no additional bars in the two additional blocks that separate our home from the Hilton. Or are we?

Monkeying Around

The threat of rain always means it's a good day to head to the zoo. Everyone else is scared away and invariably it ends up not raining. That was the case on Saturday. We went. We saw, we took a family photo in front of the orangutans (where, you may ask, is the orangutan in the photo?). Alas, only the tip of his posterior made the cut. But all four of us are facing forward, a huge achievement with two children.

The glass partition really makes this photo (right) look particularly creepy, as if the tots are about to invade the cage. Who, I wonder, is more at risk?

The Tooth Fairy Cometh

It took months of teething, but Charlie has cut her first tooth. It was cause for a very sleepless night (mine, and OK, hers), which crescendoed at 4 a.m. when the banks of her full diaper gave way to a torrent of pee down the front of my pajamas (thankfully we were in the kitchen hunting for baby Tylenol at the time).

She awoke, after a brief hour of sleep, just happy as a clam and proceeded to engage in another "first," taking the bottle in her own hands for a little self-feeding. You go girl.

The Great Blue Yonder

Harry talks about airplanes all the time. He's like most toddlers. They love them.

So how surprised were we when we took him to the Joint Service Open House Airshow on Friday afternoon to discover that the massive (and I mean massive) airplanes were just a little too, um, intimidating for our wee-little boy. He chirped "airplane airplane airplane" the whole way there. But it took us a good hour to coax him inside one of the birds. He seemed much more content to play with the spongy black rubber goop they use to fill the cracks on the runway. I felt better when one of the fighter pilots told me that his 2-year-old is also freaked out by it all.

Harry did love the actual show, watching the stunt planes loop-de-loop-de-loop. How glad we were (for the kids) that we were back in our car when the fighter planes took to the sky. The sounds was all but deafening, even with the windows closed tight. I still have visions of Tom Cruise battling it out with The Iceman.

Move Over Oprah

At least once a week I say to myself "this is one of my favorite things, every mom should know about it." Well, enough already. I've got a list. It's in no particular order but suitable for sharing with the parents-to-be that you might know. Like they say, if I knew then what I know now...

1. Burt's Bees baby shampoo and Triple Paste Cream-- Having a baby in winter can mean eczema, as I discovered with Charlotte. It can also mean a flaky scalp. So far nothing has worked as well to calm her skin as Triple Paste (no, not Aquafore either). I must have tried every shampoo to keep her scalp clear. Burt's Bees, recommended to me by someone at Whole Foods, is super creamy. You can tell it's gentle because it leaves absolutely no chemical residue on your fingers or make your hands feel pruny. I love it. (I've tried them all, from California Baby to Mustella).

2. No Bunny's Perfect, by Anna Dewdney -- This would be on Harry's list. The book teaches toddler manners by explaining what good and bad bunnies do and don't do. Harry is fond of saying "bunny, no pushing! bunny no biting!" I swear it works! At least so far....

3. The Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper (The Little Palace Collection). The Stratford changed my world. We tried a traditional bassinet for Harry and it was the pits. With a c-section all the getting up and down to feed the baby was really unpleasant. I wish I'd gone co-sleeper then. These days they have a new Little Palace line, which is a little more stylish. It looks cute in the bedroom and converts to a free-standing bassinet when you're ready. She likes it. I like it. Four gold stars. Maybe five, for added good looks.

4. Apple Seed Maternity and Baby Boutique --Unhappy, as I was, with traditional maternity clothes stores, I was so excited when my husband brought home some togs for me from this Alexandria shop. They're lovely, almost worth the months of pregnant discomfort. They will fit you, make suggestions and yes, charge you a heap. But for a few nice things to dress up the pants from Gap Maternity and Motherhood, this places is aces. They sell online now and have adorable baby clothes and gifts, too.

5. Planning or thinking about having two kids? Don't bother with buying one stroller now and a second one later. If you think two might be in the offing, get a Phil and Teds stroller. One day, you can add on the doubles kit for the second kid. While there is no perfect stroller, this one has a lot to offer. It's sturdy (maybe too heavy, some say), folds nicely and is great for maneuvering. It's inline, so no trying to wedge unsuccessfully through doorways, and if my kids are any indicator, children like it. We have the sport model and during winter, when Charlotte was born, I got the cocoon attachment to keep her warm. It worked brilliantly. (At the very least, check to see whether the stroller you're buying for one kid can be adapted for two before you plunk down $600 or more...yes happy childless couples, that's what they cost, stop goggling.).

5. Craigslist. You've heard of it, but have you used it? If you're looking for things for the kids (a second crib, or a train set -- some of our purchases), you probably can't go wrong with the online want ad. We've saved hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars thanks to the list.

So what are your favorite things?

You Gotta Have Friends

We enjoyed a special play date today with Lucy and assorted buddies (Pearl, Jack, Caroline and Tripp among them). We slid. We rocked. We wandered the park in search of different colored flowers and then, when Harry assumed I wasn't looking, he took off like a bat out of Hell for for the train trestle to watch a big, fat CSX train whistle by. "Look at that big train," I admired, after catching up to my son. "Mommy" he admonished, "freight car!" Someone has clearly been studying his Thomas the Train episodes very closely. I think he has a crush on Emily (which will make sense only to those of you who know the bossy, emerald green engine....and for your sake I hope you don't).

Our extra special visitor today was Roxana's daughter Aimee, who spends her afternoons being watched by her grandmother, drinking juice, chocolate milk and eating junk in front of the TV. No books, no park. And it makes me feel lousy. So I suggested Roxana bring Aimee to play today. Despite being terrified of the dog (at least until I showed her how to feed him Cheerios), the kids had a very good time together. Harry tickled her hands and then blew her kisses. BFF Lucy doesn't even get that kind of treatment.

'Happy Birthday Xana'

It has been a serious Nanny Diaries month for us, courtesy the planned, sad end of our nanny share.

The Reader's Digest synopsis: The couple we have happily shared a nanny with for nearly two years recently had another baby and moved to McLean. Roxana didn't want to choose her new home (too much pressure, she said). Are you sure, we all urged? Yes, she said. And we understood. So we very agreeably flipped a coin. Family Smith-Barnes lost said flip. And I started the painstaking process of finding a new nanny.

But before we could ink a deal with someone new, Roxana appeared at our doorstep on a rainy Saturday, flowers and middle child in tow, and asked if she could stay. She loves the other family and their sweet daughter Lucy, but she didn't want to leave her tight nanny collective, cherished Starbucks (my words!) and the park where she spends four-plus hours a day. Harry adores Roxana, we trust her, we feel we owe her our loyalty. So, with the other family's whole-hearted blessing, we welcomed Roxana to formally join our household for the duration.

Friday was her birthday -- thirty-something, I think. A Hallmark card seemed weak given all the tumult. So I spent part of yesterday morning (away from the vital concerns of sailors) in the kitchen baking. We sang (Harry the loudest of all), we blew out candles and we ate greedily.

Roxana, I hope you like us, 'cause you're stuck with us now.

Mother May I?

We started our Mother's Day picnic tradition when Harry was born. He was but a wee, skinny little one (pictured right-- you too will agree that even with a buttercup tucked behind his ear, he looked two servings short of a meal. A stunning 'then and now').

But we had a lovely afternoon two years ago and have continued to picnic. This year, we tried the zoo, camping on the lawn just outside the Great Ape House. And it was, without a doubt, the best afternoon I can remember. I could attribute it to the half bottle of champagne I drank in the shade of a blossoming tree or the sublime weather....but really, it was the fact that Harry and Charlotte had so much fun, and us watching them. She rolled and rolled and rolled on the picnic blanket, trying to snatch a turkey on rye out of Harry's paws. Harry, on the other hand, ran around on the grass, trying his best to enter forbidden zoo enclosures, all the while shooting us that 'watch me do something naughty' grin. Fortunately we were nowhere near the polar bear den.

We were given two big treats, the first when the orangutans swung overhead (nearly, literally overhead) on the zoo's O-line...what a show. I swear they were eyeing us...'look at those feebs with their lunch...are we close enough to huck poop?' Later, a mama and papa mallard paid our picnic blanket a visit, eating pita chips straight out of Harry's hand. Even he was shocked.


Harry, today a much more robust version than the baby I brought to my first mother's day picnic, has absolutely no shame when it comes to food. While he's willing to share with the birds, he too is a skilled moocher, roaming over to neighboring picnickers to score some grapes. No, he doesn't outstretch a hand. He simply opens his mouth with the unspoken directive 'please deposit food within.'

It was a great, great day, all thanks to my incredible husband, who gave me the best gift (which ranks somewhere after the kids, but definitely before any piece of bling).....he secretly formatted, printed and bound my blog...presented over breakfast with a bouquet of flowers. It may be a mixed media message to print a blog, but what an incredible treat for me, the still unpublished would-be author. Mostly, it drove home how special it will be for the kids to one day have a record of their lives. It made me cry, right there over my goat cheese omelet.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Today seemed like a good day to show our nanny Roxana a) how to use the Metro and b) how to get to National Airport, one of Harry's favorite rainy-day destinations.

She took to it like a pro while I was the one who accidentally demagnetized my Metro card by putting it too close to my cell phone. Ahem.

'MoreToad Food'

Anyone who knows Harry knows that he's a big, sometimes insatiable eater. I think today's lunch pretty much sums up his need for food, and lots of it.

1 organic chicken hotdog, no skin, sliced
1/8 cup peas and carrots, steamed
1/4 cup pears and strawberries

Most kids would be done at this juncture. But not Harry!

Round two involved eating half of mom's lunch.

1/4 cup Quinoa
1/4 cup curry tofu with diced tomatoes

It was the tofu he couldn't ingest fast enough, ordering 'more toad food!"

Today Charlotte had her 6-month check (a month late because of delayed vaccinations). Harry insisted on going along to the pediatrician to see "Doctor Maisy," a new favorite storybook character. Frankly Dr. Bergman DOES look a little bit like a mouse.

After peeing on the changing table -- an act that annoyed a nurse I don't at all like (way to go Charlie!), she got her vital stats: Huge head, 80th percentile for weight...and short. It is not the stuff of a runway model, but who know exactly what Heidi Klum looked like as an infant anyway, right? Charlie, I think you're just right.

Aunty Jordana

We were delighted to host a guest over the weekend. Jordana, a friend from college, former roommate, fellow journalist, all-around great gal, was in town for a work conference and spent some time getting to know the kids. The last time I saw Jori I was pregnant with Harry. So we had a lot of catching up to do. I'm smaller. The house is bigger -- crammed with diapers, toys and tots. Harry and Charlotte either charmed her into adding to her family or have assured that she and hubby Dan will be childless. Not sure which it is.

Regardless -- we had a great time in her company. We went to a very posh cocktail party in Old Town, for which we were all painfully under-dressed despite the heels and skirts (yes, my fault), we went to hear the final season performance of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, and we spent one very soggy afternoon camped out at the Building Museum in DC where Harry ran amok.

I hope she comes back soon. There are diapers to change...

Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You...

We don't just enjoy our own Birthday parties at our home, we sing about them. Every day. Over and over. We sing for the dog. We sing for the grandparents. We sing for the window, the chair, the trains, the dog. We even sing for Harry's poop on occasion. He makes a lot of requests. But last week we had an opportunity to sing with purpose -- for the birthday of Harry's friend Morgan, held at the city's newest rec center. Pizza, cupcakes, a big floor to slide around on. What was not to love?

Firsts

Miss Charlotte has been patient with my tardy blogging. Especially since she experienced some personal milestones. These won't get her into Harvard, but they certainly were entertaining (for me and the nanny who was the smart one and realized it was time). So, I give you Charlie...on the rocking horse at the park (riding solo) and in the swing, the first of many to be sure.