Sunday November 13.The three of us headed down to the playground at the end of our street. Your agreed-upon request. You both put on special outfits for the trip. We brought our guitars, we brought some snacks, we were ready to get out in the beautiful weather and enjoy the sunshine.
At first it was just the three of us at the park.
Then the whole neighborhood, by happenstance, came out too!
The Long triplets; the Larson boys; one of the Raineys; the Bear triplets; our neighbor Grayson; and some new friends.
And we stayed and played and chatted with neighbors for FIVE hours!
There was swinging, and singing...
Duck ducking, and goosing...
Bike sharing and racing...
Ant hill and tiny frog exploring...
Some feelings, and drawings, and climbings, and kissings (Aidan, you and Zoe were smooching quite a bit) and lots and lots of smiles.
Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for dinner. And our neighbors, and our family, all returned to our respective homes.
It was a beautiful day, and beautiful to watch you all bonding and playing and learning from each other.
It's hard to keep up with every advance you make, as you have grown and learned so rapidly that we hardly have time to adjust.
You are talking in full sentences and baby paragraphs routinely. "Daddy, I shut it. Please open it!" or "Aidan, no touch my tushy!"
You are mostly potty trained. When you need to go, you enter the bathroom, undress, and get business done. Including wiping. Sometimes, though, when you need to go but don't want to go, you can be quite stubborn about the whole thing, which occassionally causes some inopportune moments. You still sleep in a pull-up (only the "Mermaid" and "Doffin Stuffin" ones...NOT- god forbid- the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" (Minnie Mouse) ones."
You are funny, and love to play jokes, retell funny stories ("Aidan says blerg blergh blergh), and surprise people. You also learned that "poopoo" is funny (thanks to your brother, and your extended family for laughing that one time).
You also love to say "uh-oh daisy" in case of accidents.
You are smart and determined: you know your ABCs, you know to use the potty, you dress yourself most of the time, and try to undress yourself at night. You know "twinkle twinkle," know that you live in "Dallas." You know that Aidan is your brother. You call your Mom and me by first name sometimes...although maybe that should be under "funny," since you know you're being cute when you do it1 And are a quick study when learning new words. You also love to read to yourself, even if you don't know all the words.
You are strong: doing forward rolls in the back yard, and impressing everyone at the little gym with your hanging skills, jumping skills, and rolling.
You can tussle with the big boys and take them down a peg if needed. It seems just like yesterday you were learning to Jump and not getting off the ground...and now, a few months later, you're practically a frog or rabbit!
You are sweet: you have no problem displaying affection. You love kisses, and tickles, and hugs. You tell me, Aidan, and Mommy "I love you SO MUCH" (which never gets old). You say bye bye to inanimate objects "Bye bye TV!" And you LOVE animals, especially your dogs and other people's cats. Just yesterday you walked past Preston and told me "That's my boy! That's my boy Preston!" You, of course, had to stop and give hugs.
You love your brother like no other.
You LOVE dairy foods: yogurt, cottage cheese, chocolate milk, shredded cheddar, shredded parm, shredded mozzarella, and "pirates booty booty." Sometime you'll tolerate meat or vegetables.
You LOVE Frozen, and sing "Let it GO Let it GO Let it GO" around the house, in the car, or wherever. You also LOVE Aladdin. The other day you were saying something repeatedly and we had no clue what it was "Hoenewwhoa Hoenewwhoa!" I asked you what it was. You said "Yaddin Song!" You were singing "A Whole new World!!!" You also love "Wreck it Ralph." And Nemo. God, do you love Nemo.
Your favorite animals are Horses, Zebras, and Giraffes. We "play horsey, daddy! get up horsey!" nearly every day.
You are weigh 26 pounds and are 32 inches tall, and you're in perfect health.
You've grown from this:
To this:
To this!
And we have loved every moment of trying to keep up with you. Happy Second birthday, dear, sweet, strong, silly, stubborn, super, Julia Sekina!
What do Buzz Lightyear, a little Kitty Cat and a lot of upset tummy times have in common?
Halloween 2012 and Introduction to Tummy Time!
We had a wonderful Halloween! Tammy, Bryan and Luke invited us to crash their neighborhood party and then go trick-or-treating. So I rushed home, put on my costume and we headed over.
Aidan, your Mom had been discussing Halloween with you all day, and you were eager to tell me all about it. When I walked in the door, you were ready to go and said "CANDY HOUSE!"
On the way, I asked you what was about to go down. You seemed to have a pretty awesome grasp:
So, we landed in Luke's new neighborhood, and got everyone in their Halloween costumes before the festivities began and the costumes slowly got soiled, sticky and destroyed. Your Mommy and I did a great job on your costumes this year, if I do say so myself. Your Mom crocheted your Buzz helmet and papier mached the jet pack, and I painted it! Julia, your Mom crocheted your costume too!
(your Mom also painted my costume).
So, may I introduce the winners for best costumes for 2012 Halloween:
Little Kitty Cat:
And her Space Ranger Protector and gatherer of much candy, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command!
Mid-"Infinity and Beyond"
Luke was happy to see you and some of the other children were very happy to meet you!
Then the costumes came off, because the kitty didn't like her hat, and there was a Bounce House for Buzz. Aidan, you had a blast playing with Dinosaur Luke and the other kiddos on the bounce house!
Then bouncing, plus hot dogs plus two cup cakes tested the limits of Buzz's iron fortitude, and the dress whites of a space ranger's uniform got sullied a bit by some upchuck.
But that doesn't get in the way of a Space Ranger's sacred duty to collect candy! So when the sun set, Julia and Aidan, the three of us were off with Mommy, Bryan, Tammy and Luke to Trick-or-Treat! And Julia, you didn't really seem to know or care where you were until you got hungry and Mommy had to go feed you in the car. But Aidan, you were in your element!
As you and Luke went from house to house, filling up your pumpkin buckets, you really got the hang of it. You liked ringing the doorbells (which made me realize how tall and grown up you are!)
and you said "Trick or Treat!" Or sometimes just "Candy!" You'd say 'Thank you' and 'Happy Halloween!'
But, you were all business. There was no time for small talk. You'd proudly announce to each friendly neighbor, "Next House!" and we'd move on!
Finally, jackpot, someone gave you a lollipop and that pushed you over the edge: best night ever!
We said goodbye to Luke, Bryan and Tammy, as Dinosaurs need their sleep.
But you were determined to go to more next houses! So as Mommy went to feed Julia in the car, you and I went to even more houses! You may have been a bit sticky, and bit tired, but you would not take no for an answer. Even as you sat in someone's front yard for a breather, you were ready for more and more houses!
So we loaded up the car, and headed home and you and I went out Rex-and-Buzz for even more houses!
You milked your lollipop for the next several blocks, and stayed excited as we looped around our own neighborhood, having the time of your life.
You may have started to show signs of fatigue, especially when people had the gall to dare not to be home, but you were mostly in high spirits and loved this special night. I loved it too.
Finally, with pumpking bucket full, we looped back around to the final house of the night.
We went inside, showed off our new bling and sweets, and then hurried off to an all-important bath and then bed. This Space Ranger had a huge night and was up waaay past his bedtime.
But it was way worth it to see that smile.
And I think it left an impression on you as well. This morning at 6:30am, almost a full week after Halloween, you climbed in bed with us after playing on your own for a while. Clearly you had been playing with your Black and Decker toolbox, because you came to bed with an orange tool tray and some nuts and bolts. You started doing your early-morning talking fest, where you free associate your mind with fun words. You came to bed telling us about the tool tray.
"Red! Red! Red!" Then you decided it was Orange. "Orange! Orange! Orange Bucket!"
Then it got good. "Orange Bucket. Orange Bucket? Candy! Trick or Treat! Costume. Buzz Lightyear! Halloween!"
Awesome!
And with good cause too: Halloween is awesome. Except that between your loot and the leftover candy for trick or treaters, we now have a pantry too full with delicious candy.
Your Mom and I may have beena bit too overzealous one night and both wound uip with upset tummies after eating one too many fun-sized candy bars. They didn't seem so fun after the fact.
So, we learned our lesson and have been limited to one a day.
Speaking of upset and tummies, Miss Julia, you might have slept through Halloween (which is a-ok!), but you've been working on your tummy as well. Aidan gathered all the treats on Halloween, but you are working on a new trick!
That's right, you're holding your head up so well, that we decided it was time to try Tummy Time and Playmat time!
So in and around the night of your first Halloween, was your first Tummy Time! And, as to be expected, you got a little upset. But, that's okay: tummy time is a hard work out, and you did fabulously on your first go, and even better each subsequent time!!
Your Mom and I have been so proud of the super displays of awesome baby-ness you've displayed during tummy time. You're growing so fast..too fast. And before you know it, if you keep this tummy time up, next thing you know, by next Halloween you'll be cruising the neighborhoods, gathering candy and getting upset tummies with the rest of us!
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