Visitors From Turkey

A few weeks ago my husband's very young cousins came into town from Turkey. These two boys are very close in age and play rough with each other. They were fabulous with PJ, letting him tag along and get into the fray.

A rare moment of no rough housing...

...over so quickly!

And PJ getting into the fun. 

Now as a mother, I'm amazed by older children that have been raised to include other children, especially younger children in a kind, ability-appropriate way. These two boys showed exactly that type of positive behavior.

They were also great with our little girl as well.

xo

Jelly Bean 7 Months & Happy Mom's Day

Today - Mother's Day - my little girl turns seven months old. That is definitely on the side of being closer to one year old than closer to being my little newborn. Oh, and she's standing. Sometimes she's even pushing something a little bit out in front of her and then trying to shuffle after it. 

People - she's standing. I still cannot wrap my head around that.

Today she started saying "momma" as well. I know I've heard it before from my bigger baby, but there is something magical about every baby saying it. I mean, really, now, aint that something!

Since it is also mom's day, we tried to get a lovely picture of both kids in my arms. This was the result.

I can't figure out which is my favorite. Together they all sum up what motherhood is like for me these days. Loud, chaotic, goofy and somewhat more physical than I expected.


XO 

Xo

Why a Spider-Man T-shirt Matters

About two weeks ago I gave PJ a Spider-Man t-shirt that Watcher's mom had picked up for us. Since then he has worn the t-shirt every single day.

Every.Single.Day.

Look at that face. He loves his t-shirt. For some reason this t-shirt makes him proud. It hasn't been too warm the past couple of days, so he has worn it over - not under, never under - a series of long-sleeve shirt. They tell me at the daycare that he leaps up to get a wet wipe to clean his shirt if anything falls on it and he takes care that none of the other children pull on it. I've washed it by hand a few times and I've also done an extra load of laundry on evenings I really didn't want to be doing laundry to make sure he could wear it clean the next day. And, yes, he has worn it even when it was really dirty and he had 15 other, clean t-shirts in his drawer.

I'm sure there are some raised eyebrows when my kid shows up at kindergarten in the same shirt for two weeks. I know that there have been some rude comments about his outfits on other days when he chose his creative outfits himself, mostly from people who thought they were being "funny". Just this afternoon a lovely person tried to tell him - right after he proudly showed her his "pretty clip" in his hair - that wearing an adorable little clip in his hair was "only for girls." (Spoiler alert: clips are not just for girls.)

My child can chose what he wants to wear. If he wants to wear the Spider-Man t-shirt every day because it makes him proud, I'm going to do what I can to make that happen. If he wants to wear clips in his hair, I will buy him some. If he wants to wear cowboy boots with football pants and a striped shirt because he thinks he looks "chic" (his word) than I'm going to tell him he is right, he does look chic.

I do not identify with what my child wears. I identify with his dancing ideas and his happy posture. I am joyful that he is learning that his opinions and his tastes matter; that he can express himself in lots of ways, including clothing; and that he has a sense of agency in choosing what he wears on days that he cares about what he wears.

We aren't going to be here forever. He isn't going to be a child forever. Today I can help him build the skills he will need and that will - I hope - support him through challenging times by giving him the space and the backing to proudly wear his Spider-Man t-shirt for yet another day. If he pairs it with green and white plaid pants and an orange long-sleeve shirt and a sparkly bow tie in his hair and then tells me, proudly, with dancing eyes, that he looks "chic", I'm going to say, "Honey, you look amazing."


XO

Jelly Bean Can Stand

Our little lady can now pull herself into standing. I'm just not ready for this. She is though and she is so proud every time she does it. Just like her brother.

The first time she accomplished her new trick.

The worst part of her standing is when she runs out of strength and then falls backwards like a rotten tree, cracking her head. Man, it looks painful. The best part is how darn proud she is, calling for us to look and cheer her on.

Standing up to choose a toy

Writing her first email. 

This lady. Glorious.

xo

PJ's First Professional Haircut

In June of 2013 I cut PJ's hair for the first time. Almost one year later, he was ready for another cut. This time we decided to try a professional. He also does my hair and is a family friend of the Watcher's family.

First the Watcher got his hair cut while PJ watched intensively.

Then PJ was up. He did an excellent job. 

And then our handsome boys showed off their new hairdos.

Lordy, have they have grown! 

XO

Solids for Jelly Bean

Our little Jelly Bean is over six months old and has been enjoying more and more solid foods. We started slowly with actual baby food. For a few weeks it went well.

Jelly Bean's first bite ever.

She was open to the experience.

She LOVED the experience.

But then something happened. Maybe she noticed that we were eating different things or maybe PJ told her our food tastes better or maybe ... who knows! Suddenly baby food was not acceptable. So we turned to Baby Led Weaning again.

Since then she's enjoyed cucumbers, carrots, bretzels, lettuce potatoes, bread, and a lot more. Like:

Strawberries!

Sushi!

Start 'em early, right?


XO

Day in France 2014

I live in Germany by choice. I want to live in Germany. I like my life in Germany. 

But sometimes Germany just really pisses me off. 

And recently, that sometime was now. I usually take a break from Germany at least once a year but I realized about two months ago that I hadn't gotten a break from Germany in almost two years. Two years. 

Two years. 

And my attitude showed it. I needed a break. So we headed over to France for a day. It took us about an hour to drive over. When we got there, Jelly Bean needed to eat and get changed. PJ needed to be a little silly. 

Tilly getting a new diaper.

PJ getting his silly on.

We didn't really know much about the little town we went to, so we just walked around aimlessly. At first the place was dead. 

PJ didn't complain about having the playground to himself.

Check out the statue in the square window. Strange, right?

It did get a little boring though. So when PJ found this balcony, he raced up it and then started to sing "Let It Go!"

That baby sure does make him look even more handsome, eh?

Then the village started to wake up. The streets filled. The cafes got full. We stopped to get some food - hamburgers! - and PJ grabbed a balloon. 

Then we discovered a carousel! Who doesn't love a good carousel?

PJ with his race car and ready to hand his card over. 

While PJ was enjoying the carousel and Tilly slept in the Ergocarrier, the parents got to enjoy a little time off. 

We like time off.

The Mr. likes time off.

Okay, I really like time off.

We also really enjoyed discussing if this was on purpose or not. Thoughts?

The highlight however was PJ's response to the man who collected the tickets each time before the carousel  began. At first, he silently handed over the ticket. However as he got more comfortable, he began to respond to the man's French with "blah blah blah blah". With each turn, PJ got more confident, louder, and his accent got ever more French, "bla ble bla ble". 

It. was. fabulous. 

I'm not going to lie, it was glorious to be away from Germany for a few hours. I chose to live here and sometimes I chose to take a break. This break was lovely. 

XO