Photos, Finally

Photos, Finally

These were from weeks ago, but the kids still look essentially the same (though Zoe's mouth and hands are no longer blue, and they both have shorter bangs now).




Sascha, dressed up as, er, we're not sure. But ain't she cute?



Cookies decorated by S and Z.

Z also decorated herself, as the next photo shows...

Kids and Memory

Kids and Memory

Zoe remembers that there were tadpoles in our pool last summer. Last week we were looking out the window and she pointed to the pool and signed "fish". Then yesterday, we were outside and she pointed to the pool again, signed "fish", and asked me to pick her up so she could see if there were any "fish" in there.

I'm amazed that she can remember something that happened 6 or 7 months ago...since she's only 19 months old!

We heard our first morning (mourning?) dove today (at 7 am). Zoe thought it was Sascha crying upstairs! Every time we heard it, she'd say "Wah-wah?"

Burning to Learn

Burning to Learn

A sampling of questions that Sascha has asked over the past month or so:

What is energy?
Where did all the dinosaurs go?
What's a skull?
What's a brain?
How does the medicine work that helps you not hurt during surgery?
Why do some people need wheelchairs?
What's 'alive' mean?
A go-kart is alive, right? Because it moves.
Are trees alive?
How do they kill chickens? (Yikes...this was during a discussion of where Buffalo wings come from)
Is anyone older than 60?
How much is an hour?
How much is a minute?
How much is a second?
What's a month?
Why do people throw trash on the ground?
Why is it bad to throw trash on the ground?
Where does the water go after a bath?
What are germs?

And that's only the ones I can remember...there are many, many more....

Infantile Syncope ... No, It's Not a New Dance

Infantile Syncope ... No, It's Not a New Dance

Zoe has always done the silent, throw-your-head-back, keep-your-mouth-open-and-turn-red-and-don't-take-a-breath sort of crying, usually only when she gets hurt. But she's recently started doing it so "well" that she faints. She has done it twice, most recently this afternoon. (I was on a phone call and missed it all...probably for the better.)

Being an irrepressible researcher, I looked it up on Google. It's termed "infantile syncope" ...which is just a fancy way of saying "cry until you faint".

It's not common - maybe 5% of kids - and stops by age 4 or so. There are no long-term effects. She starts breathing again within 5 seconds. The time I was holding her, not only did she start breathing right away but she picked up crying right where she'd left off. ;)

Now I am starting to understand how children can make you old before your time.

On the Cuteness and Light side of things, she has started calling Sascha by name. But it comes out "Wah-wah". So you will be elsewhere in the house and suddenly hear this little voice shouting, "Wah-wah? WAH-WAH!" I simply must get it on video, but every time there's a cute something going on and I find the camera and get it set up, they have moved on to pushing one another or crying.

Oh - the camera is working again. I just haven't taken any postable photos yet. Soon...

Our camera battery died. I have a new one; I just haven't actually put it in the camera yet. So no new photos. Both kids need haircuts so if I did post photos you might just be wondering how Zoe could possibly see properly what with her bangs in her eyes like that. :)

We all went out to dinner last night (Thai) for the first time since possibly last summer. It's been a looonnng time. As long as Zoe sat on my lap and had an endless supply of spring rolls, she was happy. I think she did freak out a younger woman by pointing at her and shouting "Mama!" (Zoe thinks all females over the age of about 3 are mamas and all males are daddies.) Sascha is at a pretty low-maintenance age for restaurants anyway, so we all did fine.

As we were layering up to leave (it was about 4 degrees outside!), an older couple next to us commented that Zoe was "as cute as a bug's ear". You should never say something like this to a biologist...I became distracted trying to remember if any bugs really did, in fact, have ears, and if so, were they cute.

(Yes, I know, it's just a saying.)

For nostalgia's sake, here are some newborn photos of the kids.....

Here's Sascha at about 8 days old. It's amazing how much she still looks like this (with way more hair, o'course).


Here's Zoe at about 1 week of age. Ah, blessed sleep.