Theodore

The[li]o[n]

2009-08-10T16:14:00.001-04:00

This was entirely his idea, I think.

Theo tries to look like a fierce jungle boy

2009-07-26T19:20:00.002-04:00

Not sure he pulled that off.

Bendaroos da bomb

2009-04-12T09:45:00.003-04:00

We got introduced to sticky wicks at P.F. Changs, under the brand Wiki Stix. Well, they're also sold as Bendaroos, and Theo has been playing with his set a lot.

Hair

2009-04-12T09:44:00.002-04:00

The First Cartoon

2009-04-12T09:15:00.002-04:00

We found this on the chalkboard this morning.

The dialog is:

Theo: Ha I win
Mummy: Man you win
Ruby: [singing] mo

The kids have a Reading Rainbow DVD with a segment on the Egyptian mummies. Theo especially loves watching it, and apparently has fantasies of defeating a mummy. Ruby's is apparently dyslexic, but at least she's been studying the Scrabble dictionary with comprehension. Her commentary on the unfolding drama is well beyond her years--"om" is "a mantra used in contemplation of the ultimate reality." That, or she's secretly an Udnih (a dyslexic Hindu).

Either way, it's good to see that their multicultural sensitivities are firmly established.

The "Call Julia" note was yesterday's reminder from Theo to set up a play date with his friend in Kindergarten. He's been pining for her all spring break.

Theo sings Painting by Chagall

2009-04-11T22:06:00.000-04:00

Painting By Chagall by The Weepies

Thunder rumbles in the distance, a quiet intensity
I am willful, your insistence is tugging at the best of me
You’re the moon, I’m the water
You’re Mars, calling up Neptune’s daughter

Sometimes rain that’s needed falls
We float like two lovers in a painting by Chagall
All around is sky and blue town
Holding these flowers for a wedding gown
We live so high above the ground, satellites surround us.

I am humbled in this city
There seems to be an endless sea of people like us
Wakeful dreamers, I pass them on the sunlit streets
In our rooms filled with laughter
We make hope from every small disaster

Everybody says “you can’t, you can't, you can't, don’t try.”
Still everybody says that if they had the chance they’d fly like we do.

We discover something exciting in Theo's mouth

2009-03-29T21:47:00.002-04:00

Theo has his first loose tooth!

We told him about the Tooth Fairy. He says, "I know, maybe I'll keep it in an envelope so it'll be safe." He is really happy and excited about it too, because it makes him feel like he is really on his way with this growing up business. (I was going to write, "It makes him feel like a big boy," but that doesn't make him seem very big to me.)

Also, less happy but also located somewhat in the proximity of his mouth: there is a high possibility that we will need to have his adenoids removed. I've always noticed that he was a mouth-breather and that he always sounded clogged even without a cold. Recently, he's had two ear infections and strep throat, amounting to three courses of amoxicillin in four months. We went to the ENT doc just a few days ago, and sure enough his adenoids are in the way. He did a hearing test, and they used this instrument that measured the vibrations of the ear drum. The results said that in his right ear, there was dampening of the ear drum vibration because of excessive fluid behind the ear, which resulted in some hearing loss. The doc gave him a 10 day course of a cephalosporin to see if the fluid in his ear would clear. If it doesn't clear, then he's going to get a myringotomy as well.

Random picture:

The kids know how to compromise

2009-03-26T13:35:00.003-04:00

Theo and Ruby have very different interests. Theodore likes explosions, cars, and play-fighting. Ruby likes pink, dollies, tea parties, and dressing up. I found out the other day how they're able to play so well together. It's a compromise--one minute they're playing house, then suddenly they're warriors.

So Ruby was in the living room, holding a dolly and pretending to cry. Apparently, the doll was supposed to be the one crying. She holds it up to Theo and says, "Theo, the baby is crying."

Theo leans over to the doll and starts very tenderly, "Oh, don't worry, baby, you're going to feel better--" transition to a fierce whisper here-- "after you fight the enemy."

Suddenly, the attack is on. There are explosions, projectiles, and war cries. And everybody is happy.

Theodore's dinosaurs

2009-02-23T20:05:00.003-05:00

Theo enjoys the chalkboard as much as his sister does.

Notice the hat the dino is wearing. Ruby thought of that touch. The smaller dino is a baby tyrannosaurus, the larger was his dad, I think.

We experience global weirding

2009-02-04T22:02:00.003-05:00

I'm not really that interested in typing about the weather. Mostly I wanted an excuse to post the following pictures, taken just a day or two after we had a snow day for school:

Dad builds the best winter fort ever

2009-01-24T11:58:00.009-05:00

We went up to Grampy and Grandma's house in January. When we got there, the ground was already covered in snow, and then we got another foot of beautiful powder. On Sunday, we went sledding, and then Dad and the kids built a snow fort that was easily 30 feet long. It's hard to describe, but fortunately we have videos!

It took three hours to build the snow fort, especially since Dad was the only adult working on it. He started the pile of snow using a snow blower, then made it higher using a shovel. Then he dug through it using a hand hoe and a roof rake.

The first video was taken near the end of construction. Ralphie names the fort "Five Star Way" because it had five openings--one on one end, two on the other end, and one on either side.

The second video shows Ruby sledding through:

And finally, my favorite--a video from the inside:

They were out there for hours! Theo is built just like his dad. He never seems to get cold or get tired of the snow, even if he gets a big spray of it on his face while going down a big hill on a sled.

The kids enjoy Halloween candy

2008-11-09T12:53:00.002-05:00

I've been kinda stingy with the candy. Even on Halloween night, the kids ate no more than three pieces of candy. On subsequent days they were allowed less than one piece each (they'd have to share a big of skittles or a miniature chocolate bar).

But I remembered when I was little, I used to eat tons and tons of candy after Halloween. So, I relaxed a bit, and I really mean "a bit." I gave each their own lollipop to eat. I also told them they were not allowed to bite into it. They were pretty happy anyway.

Candy trading is a big part of Halloween

2008-11-01T13:14:00.007-04:00

We went trick or treating with family. Here are pictures of the kids:

Arkiha and Mikas are not in this first picture because they joined us about fifteen minutes in.

After we got back, the kids dumped all their candy and the bidding began. "I'll trade you a Hershey's for a starburst!" etc. Overall winners of the night: Sourpatch Kids, Now and Laters, and Reese's. Losers: Junior Mints, Tootsie Rolls, and raisins.

Also, see the post about the costumes on Ruby's blog.

Theo did have a birthday party

2008-10-23T20:14:00.002-04:00

Unfortunately, we were so busy that we completely forgot to take pictures. EPIC FAIL!

The attraction of the day was the zipline. We were going to reserve it for last, but the kids immediately saw it and knew what to do, so for the full three hours (with the exception of birthday cake time), kids were lined up to go on it over and over.

We didn't take any videos of the actual party, but we took some post-party videos before taking it down. I can't imagine you'll get through the whole video. I think the better stuff is more towards the end, but all in all, it's different views of the same thing. The first minute make me dizzy.

We know that some parents took pictures at the party, and we are hoping that they'll send us copies. Til then, you'll have to be satisfied with a poorly shot video of Miss Pauline going down the zipline. Most of the action is in the first six seconds.

Theo does Sudoku

2008-10-19T21:15:00.003-04:00

Theo completed this Sudoku puzzle with an explanation of how Sudoku works and minimal assistance. You can click on the top picture to get a better view of his work.

Theo starts kindergarten!

2008-08-25T20:47:00.006-04:00

When he got home we asked him, what did you learn today? He first told us that in recess there are a lot of rules. The one he remembered most was, no one is allowed to climb on the climbing wall. He said he really wanted to climb on the climbing wall but he didn't do it because those are the rules. Then he said, "So I did pretty good at recess."

He said that during lunch he got a veggie burger, applesauce, salad, fruit, and milk. He finished everything except the veggie burger, not because he didn't want it, but because he ran out of time. Darned lunch lines. Fortunately, I packed a pretty good sized snack, consisting of three fig newmans, a few peach slices, a raspberry fruit leather, and a Yakult. Tomorrow, there aren't any good vegetarian options on the lunch menu so I will pack him my version of a bento box. When I get a chance, I'm going to purchase a small thermos so I can pack hot foods too.

During free time he played on the soil table, which he described as a green table with dirt and shovels. He came home with a little booklet of shapes that he drew and this picture:

I recommend clicking on it to see his writing at the bottom. It says, "My name is THEO TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AND Today is my first day of kindergarten at ____ Elementary School!" (The name of his school is omitted.) Theo wrote it out without any prompting or assistance.

Overall, it sounds like it's gonna be a good year. Here are a few more pictures from the first thirty minutes when all the kindergarteners congregated in the gym.

Random musings, since there is so much going on

2008-08-18T21:44:00.009-04:00

Theodore loves K'nex. They are like legos, except they have rods and connectors as well as building blocks. He got a small box of them for Ruby's birthday from a nice friend who didn't want him to feel left out. Then he got a larger set a few weeks ago, on a day when he went to the doctor and got four shots, plus had to get a fifth stick to get some blood tests to screen for Celiac disease. It was negative, by the way.

He's gotten really good at following the instructions that come with the box. This evening he put together two helicopters, plus a third airplane-shooter thing that he made with some leftover pieces:

He received absolutely zero help in constructing the helicopters.

Right before going to bed, Theo enlisted Ruby and me (Mom) to help with an important mission. He even had a script for us, it went something like this: "We have to fight the enemy. There are little green...I mean, BIG green ships that fly around and they're trying to shoot us down. But my airplane doesn't have any shooters, but yours does, and so does Ruby's, so you and Ruby have to protect me. But they shoot me down, but I don't die, but I am a little bit hurt. So I crash to the ground like this (makes crashing noises that only boys know how to make) and you and Ruby come and get me and bring me back to home base. But you still have to fight all the big green ships." There was very little exaggeration there, I think I just about replicated it. Ruby listened to the whole thing with big eyes then looked at me at the end and said, "Mom, I think this movie is going to be too scary for me."

In other news, one more week before school starts! This past Friday Theo and I went to orientation where we met his teacher and a few classmates. Afterwards, Theo got a haircut at a barbershop for the very first time. He thought it was really strange at first, and made a funny face when he saw the big chair that you have to climb up on. Anyway, here's the result:

TOO MUCH FUN. I love this age.

Chalking

2008-08-09T22:59:00.002-04:00

Theo pulled out the chalks and paints I bought the other day. What a good investment that turned out to be. Sometimes I wonder why we don't play outside all day, but I usually remember once I'm worn out. I can't claim to be brilliant--all the drawing ideas came from the box, with the exception of mazes (Theo's idea), and bowling (okay, that was me).

Theo and Ruby have a house with an attic

2008-07-09T19:05:00.004-04:00

The other day, Dad went up to the attic to examine the roof. The kids were permitted to climb up the ladder and take a look, but they weren't allowed to go all the way up because there were a few rolls of insulation lying on the attic floor, left there by the previous house owner.

This apparently left an impression on the kids because today they built a house with an attic using their bunkbed. Theo's bed, on the top bunk, was the attic. It doesn't look terribly impressive, but it kept them busy until I got dinner cooked.

I asked Ruby what they kept up there, and she said, with urgency, "All the pink stuff. But you can't touch the pink stuff because it will scratch you." Then Theo started putting the couch pillows on the top bunk, and he said, "Mom, look at all of our old stuff that we're putting in the attic!"

Bunkbeds are so awesome, so many possibilities! The other day the bunkbed was a spaceship and one other time it was a fishing boat.

We love our daycare

2008-06-26T22:38:00.001-04:00

But one reason of many. Now that Theo is starting school this year, I'm even more glad he was in a daycare that let him get dirty, enjoy the outdoors, and be a kid.

Theo is getting stronger

2008-06-26T22:35:00.002-04:00

Francis, too.

Theo also lifted the tailgate on the truck all by himself, but couldn't get enough momentum to shut it.

...writes a hopelessly proud dad.

Fun pictures

2008-06-19T21:42:00.004-04:00

Two- (almost three-) headed monster. The real three-headed version is on Ruby's blog.

I like this picture. I think Theo is very handsome. Maybe he'll grow up to look like a camel, just like his dad.

Despite his mom, Theodore is starting kindergarten in the fall

2008-06-19T21:01:00.005-04:00

In our county, children can't start kindergarten unless they turn five by September 1. Theo obviously misses that deadline, with his birthday in October. There is also a rule that says that if they turn five by January 1, they can apply for early admission. The application process consisted of a some questionnaires and a standardized test. I took Theo to take the test, but I didn't get to listen in or see any part of it.

I got a letter back at the end of May saying that Theo was not accepted. According to the letter, each kid is rated as Advanced (A), Proficient (P), or Basic (B) in six categories: reading, general knowledge, parent developmental checklist, mathematics, graphomotor/writing, and non-familial developmental checklist. You have to have an A in at least 4 out of 6 categories and no B's. Theo got A's in 3 categories and P's in the other three categories.

The thing was, he got a P on the parent developmental checklist...which was something I filled out! It was something of a true/false quiz. Answers could be given as Always, Sometimes, or Never, and for nearly every category, I really felt like it was impossible to circle Always, because who Always does anything? I mean, even grown adults do not Always "persist with tasks long enough to complete them" or "resolve conflicts appropriately." Anyway, I felt awful thinking that I was so fixated on the meaning of Always that Theo lost a very important point on his overall assessment and wound up being rejected for early admission.

So I wrote a letter of appeal saying as much. We got a letter back with a second rejection, but the explanation was a mess. It said,

Upon reviewing the file ourselves, we found Theodore scored in the Basic range in (#) areas. In order to be admitted to kindergarten, 4 of the 6 categories must be rated as Advanced and no category can be rated Basic.

When I read that, I thought first of all, it didn't seem like anyone addressed what I wrote about in my letter of appeal. Then I thought, "What if they are sending me the rejection letter for another child?" because in the original letter, it said that Theo didn't score basic in any of the categories. Then I thought, it is so obviously a form letter, because they couldn't even be troubled to replace the "#" with an actual number, and you know how form letters are often filled out by people who don't do the actual thinking.

So I called the Board of Ed and spoke with a secretary, who initially was treating me exactly how she would treat any other parent who mistakenly thought her child was smarter than all the other children. I explained to her though that I didn't think there was anything wrong with the process they used to evaluate kindergarten readiness. I really tried to emphasize how dumb I felt about overanalyzing the word Always. I had to explain a couple of times too, in a couple of different ways, because I felt like her responses to me weren't addressing my concerns. The words that I used that finally changed her answer went something like this: "I messed up when I filled out that questionnaire...it ended up reflecting me as a person rather than my son...because it was the last point he needed to get into kindergarten, I feel like I really messed this up for him." So she said she would talk to someone about it, and I thanked her.

I got a call back twenty minutes later from the same secretary. She said that the director reviewed Theo's file and decided to accept him.

Hooray for Theo! Time to buy crayons and notebooks!

Danny Boy

2008-05-24T14:27:00.003-04:00

Theo has suprised Mama twice now by knowing lyrics to the song she happened to play. The first was Teddy Bears' Picnic. The second, and subject of this post, was Danny Boy:

Apparently he learns the songs at daycare. Thanks, Addy!

Centennial Park

2008-04-18T00:34:00.003-04:00

We had a chance to go to Centennial park yesterday, and it was quite warm. Water and fruit snacks propelled the kids to new heights. (You can see higher-resolution photos if you click through to the album)

P.S. Leave a comment if you like/don't like this flash album viewer.

Zipline...

2008-04-10T06:59:00.002-04:00

Big kids, even adults can ride the zipline...sort of.

Skiing

2008-04-10T06:39:00.009-04:00

This is the most snow we've seen in a while, and the first ski trip for our immediate family. The kids had some difficulties the first day, but then Grampy and Grandma came to the rescue for day two. Wish we had more time!

Catching up with Christmas

2008-04-10T06:15:00.004-04:00

Many of the pictures now on the camera were taken at Christmas or shortly after. I guess we've been busy (or lazy). Here's what the Christmas tree looked like. It is hands-down our favorite of all time.

Diego: Animal Rescuer

2008-03-29T23:17:00.002-04:00

Theo loves the Diego show, so we pretend that we're animal rescuers a lot. Today, we took it to the next level.

You can see more similar videos at my youtube page and subscribe to the same.

Cell Phone Recordings

2008-03-26T03:50:00.005-04:00

I found some old cell phone recordings of the kids. Enjoy.

We went ice skating

2008-01-26T11:09:00.000-05:00

The Hermit Crab Passes

2007-12-03T21:57:00.001-05:00

Theo's hermit crab, given to him almost two months ago*, has passed away. He never paid much attention to it, but I think, along with a fish at daycare, it is helping introduce him to death. "Why did the hermit crab die?" he asks. And that leads us into other conversations about us. A gentle introduction.

* Special credit for the commenter who guesses how many weeks a hermit crab can live without food or water.

Theo: Almost Reading and Writing

2007-11-03T02:47:00.000-04:00

Theo can just about read, and he sometimes constructs his own sentences using the magnetized letters on the fridge. He also has a fondness for writing everyone's names down. Like his dad, he doesn't plan out exactly what he's going to write before he starts.

His sister is also very interested in the whole process. When he writes RUBY, she reads it: "Theo!". However, she did help him read the Pepe and Papa book the other night. Theo wasn't sure if "Papa" spelled Pepe or Papa, he said Pepe first. Ruby heard Mama encourage the "pa" sound, and immediately said Papa--but she wasn't looking at the book.

Mom makes a rockin' cool birthday cake

2007-10-18T22:12:00.000-04:00

I made this myself. Well, the cake was from a box. But I made all the decorations and it was 98% percent edible (Diego is my 2% exception.)

Also, I thought the Diego action figure looked a lot like Theo.

Now here's a picture of all the kids. Unfortunately, little Eva (bottom right hand corner) got cut out of the picture. All you can see is her hair. So, Eva, you get a shout-out.

No, that is not alcohol you see in the background. It's rootbeer.

Singing for Fruit Snacks

2007-10-15T22:57:00.001-04:00

If we ever have to live on the street, we'll be fine. We'll just put Theo and Ruby on a busy corner, and tell them they'll get fruit snacks if they sing.

Theo turns four

2007-10-14T00:48:00.000-04:00

Theo turns four in a few days, but we had the party today. He got a digital camera (and so did Ruby, Merry Christmas) and all the kids took turns taking pictures. Of course 90% of the pictures are too blurry or contain little more than carpet. An additional 5% cut part of the target person out of the picture. So I guess I'll delete some, and leave some, and we'll see what we get. Here's some examples, the rest are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedgifford/sets/ .

Theo really loves the new house

2007-07-06T12:43:00.000-04:00

It is a little over one week now that we have moved into our new house, and Theo still refers to it as "the new house." For the past several months, I have spent so much time worrying about the housing market, and the housing bubble, and whether we will pay too much for a house. I am delighted to say that none of it matters anymore, because we can afford the house we bought and because everyday we live in this house, we are finding more and more things that we love. Here's a list:

1.) There are owls living in our neighborhood.
2.) We can walk the kids to daycare.
3.) Our neighbor, Nancy, is very nice.
4.) It is very quiet except for the sound of chirping birds.
5.) The driveway is completely shaded by big trees, so our cars never get hot on the inside.
6.) There is a playground in the woods right behind our house.
7.) There is a pond close to our house (a 20 second walk at a leisurely pace!). Right now it is empty because they are removing extra sediment from the bottom, and they will be building a fishing pier. It should be gorgeous by November when the job is done. In the meantime the kids enjoy looking at the excavators on the way to daycare.

The first night that Theo slept here, he said, "Mom, I really love this new house." The house is bigger than our old house, which means we don't have to feel cramped anymore. But I think what Theo was saying is, he feels safe and cozy here. He steps outside and sees friendly people walking dogs, other children running around, bunny rabbits, flowers, butterflies, and swingsets. Inside, there are two levels, enough space for running around, but not too much that a small kid can feel lonely. He and Ruby still share a room which is right next to our room, so there is no trouble finding us in the middle of the night if necessary.

So getting here wasn't easy, and that's why this is such a big deal.

Harvester ants are better than the small ants from our wall

2007-04-17T13:34:00.000-04:00

Theo got an Antworks ant farm as an Easter present. It has a blue gel in it that serves as food, water, and shelter for the ants. We captured some teeny weeny ants from our wall, but they didn't seem that interested in the blue gel, and at night they all escaped through the air vents in the ant farm. Dad and I finally gave in and purchased harvester ants online, $4.00 for 25 of them. They arrived in a plastic vial in an envelope, and they weren't moving because they were cold. I dumped them immediately into the antfarm, and after they warmed up I discovered that we had actually been sent 26 ants and 1 of them was dead, so it worked out nicely. These are big ants that can't climb up the walls of the ant farm at the top where there is no gel. They are much easier to observe, and they can get a lot of work done in one night. So far they have made two connecting tunnels, and they don't hang out much on the surface. I'll try to post a picture sometime. Theo loves it and can spend quite a lot of time watching them. Ruby says, "I see the bugs." However, truth be told, I watch them more than anyone else does.

Theo is learning how to read. He knows the sounds that the individual letters make, but he still has a hard time putting them together. It stresses him out actually, and a lot of times he'll just say, "I don't want to read that word." However, sometimes he'll figure it out, and he is so proud of himself. I can tell that he feels like he is on the verge of something very important.

Theo is mostly potty-trained, and I mean it

2006-12-21T21:35:00.000-05:00

Okay, so we've had plenty of false starts with the potty training, but I think we really have something here now. At the end of November, I got a two week vacation. Dad and I kept Theo at home pretty much the entire time. We already had a Costco bag of gummy bears in the pantry from previous potty-training efforts. Before, he wore pull-ups all day and he would get one gummy bear for pee and four for poo, but the number of times he got the gummy bear prize was approximately zero, and he didn't care. So I changed things up. I put him in real cotton shorts, and with my cell phone as a timer, I made a rule that he had to sit on the potty every twenty minutes. What I meant by that was, every twenty minutes, he had to practice going to the potty, pulling his shorts down, and sitting. The deal was, he had to count to five, and if nothing happened, he got a piece of gummy bear (about one-third.) Pee got him one gummy bear and poo got him four.

So the first two times we did this were a big struggle. We would spend 15 minutes or so in the bathroom with Theo yelling that he did not want to sit on the potty, and I explained that we were not leaving the bathroom until he sat, just for five seconds, and "Don't you realize that if you would just sit and count to five this would all be over and you'd have a piece of gummy bear already?" After a while, he got the hang of it. He even got a gummy bear out of it most times because I kept him pretty well hydrated. I'd say I kept him too well hydrated, because sometimes he wouldn't even make it the whole twenty minutes without needing to sit down again. After two or three days, he hardly needed the timer anymore, but we had tons of accidents because he would just forget, or maybe he was so interested in what he was doing he didn't want to take the time to get up. That went on for another few days.

So the update is this: Theo spends all day in his big boy shorts and he has had zero accidents in the past week. There's no need for any of that knock-on-wood stuff, because Dad and I have accepted that accidents happen. He goes to daycare, to the store, to grandma's house--everywhere!--in his cotton shorts without any problem. He still wears a diaper to sleep, because one time I tried cotton shorts and he woke up at three in the morning distressed because he was wet. Then we had to get up and wash him and change his sheets and it was just too much to do. Recently he was woken up in the night to go the bathroom and has managed to stay dry until the morning, but I am still not brave enough to give up diapers completely. Finally, he did have some funny poo issues, where he would hold it in for two days, and then finally poo in the morning when he had his diaper on. Then one night he asked to put on a diaper but wouldn't say why, so I told him to go sit on the potty which he resisted, complaining that he didn't need to go pee or poo. I set a timer for one minute. At about 45 seconds I heard him say, "Mom, I think something is going to come out!" And sure enough, it was huge. I think that was the experience that taught him that it was okay to go poo in the potty too.

So there you have it. Score one for the moms and dads of the world.

Lost in the jungle

2006-11-15T03:22:00.000-05:00

We all packed into the car and promptly got lost in DC. Then I let my dad drive -- while I manned the Google Maps. We got there eventually, and had a good time. Thanks for the idea, Grampy, and for your long-suffering in the backseat, Grandma.

Balancing act(s)

2006-11-15T03:06:00.000-05:00

Theo wouldn't go upstairs to nap with his sister. So, I let him whine and play downstairs. You are witness to the unpredictable result. No, the rocker did not start on the couch. Did you notice the delicate balance of the water gun on the left? Either it was an accident (unlikely, I tried it), or else you can never predict what kids will find to enjoy.

The house with the garage and the back porch

2006-09-06T10:27:00.000-04:00

We had a little trouble with the lighting in some of the pictures, because we had wide-open windows in the background and it was in the middle of the day. Dad helped them build it, and amazingly enough, it was pretty hard to knock down. I only saw one of the walls go down once, and it was easily fixed. I could fit it in lying down, and everytime I sat inside, Ruby would come inside and sit on me, and then I would have to holler for Dad to help me to escape.

It really reminds me of when I was small. I used to take the mattresses off of our (Kuya Casper and my) bunkbed and use it to build a playhouse on the couch.

We get a visit from a "grasshop"

2006-09-06T10:23:00.000-04:00

It snuck into our backyard, and started gnawing on the old sunflower that we forgot to clean up. At first I was disappointment that I had forgotten to save the seeds for eating, then I realized that in my whole life I never really ate sunflower seeds for snacks, and for me the true value in the sunflower seeds is luring birds, squirrels, and "grasshops" to the backyard so that Theo and Ruby can see them.

Theo is learning what its real name is, but usually we have to remind him. There is a part of me that never wants him to get it exactly right.

Big Little Boy

2006-08-20T23:56:00.000-04:00

"The blower was blowing at me."

Theo had a nightmare that featured a man with a leaf blower. It took me several tries before I understood what he was saying. It was just too bizarre. Instead of dragons or tigers or spiders, the boy has leaf blower nightmares.

And then at other times he's so aware of his feelings. "Dad, you need to take care of me." What it turned out to be was that I'm trying too hard to make him "grow up", and function like a respectable five-year-old. "Theo, don't get your yogurt all over your face. Theo, don't push your sister. Theo, put that back. Theo, ..." He seems so smart that I forget he's just small. Instead of discipline, he needs a hug. Instead of yelling, he needs conversation. "You need to take care of me" says a lot.

There's still some processing to do. Where does spoiling come into the picture for us? And maybe some things do need to be punished. Maybe he'll try to take advantage of the situation. I'm not so worried about all that until he feels loved enough.

The kids go crazy with the cuteness

2006-08-20T23:15:00.000-04:00

The second picture was Theo's idea. Well, at least he knew it would be cute to have two kids in baskets.

Theo takes smiling lessons

2006-08-20T23:01:00.000-04:00

I think most kids have difficulty smiling, judging from the daycare pictures. But each kid has their own touches, with Theo no exception. We've caught enough grimace-smiles, and we'll catch more, so I decided to see if Theo could learn to smile nice on command.

I almost cut his hair the other day, but it's too fun still. We'll see how long it grows.

Theo has good memories of Mom's graduation

2006-07-21T21:19:00.000-04:00

It was really important for me that my entire family attend my medical school graduation back in May. I really had this vision set in my head, that I would walk across the stage, look out in the audience, and see them all cheering me on. Maybe even I would hear somebody yell, "Mama!" It didn't end up happening that way. I remember walking across the stage, barely paying attention to the deans who were trying to congratulate me, because I couldn't find Theo. It turns out that Theo had been taken out of the auditorium and was out for pretty much the entire thing. I did leave instructions beforehand that it was okay if he left for a few minutes, but I really wanted him there when they awarded the diplomas. I was pretty devasted when I found out. Both of my children were born while I was in medical school, and I felt like that graduation ceremony was for all of us, and he didn't deserve to miss it.

The reason I am typing about this now is, Theo has been repeatedly showing me how important that day had been to him. For example, in our graduation ceremony, I had the privilege of singing the national anthem with four of my classmates. Since graduation, Theo has really been trying to sing the Star Spangled Banner. One time in the car, he asked Ted and me to sing it over and over, and you could tell that he was trying to learn it. He almost has the whole first stanza memorized now. Also, a few days ago, he came up to me holding a book flat on his head like a mortar board and said, "Mom, look, I am the graduation man."

Theo didn't even know how much I ached in my heart over the whole thing. I really didn't think there was a whole lot that could take the sting away from the memory. But to me this is something like a miracle, like God working through him to heal me.

I hardly had any pictures of Theo and Ruby on the actual day of the ceremony, so the next day before I returned my cap and gown to the school bookstore (yup, I paid over $60 and all I got to keep was the tassel), we took some extra pictures.

Update on the sunflowers

2006-06-01T15:16:00.000-04:00

Picture taken May 24:

Picture taken June 1:

Obviously, no blooms yet. They are definitely too close to each other, but I don't have the heart to pull any yet. I should do it soon.

Update on the green bean plants

2006-06-01T15:14:00.000-04:00

Picture taken May 24:

Picture taken June 1:

We planted a few green bean plants directly in the ground, but out of 10 or so seeds, only two came up, and one of those died. The one that survived looks like it'll be okay, but it's not growing nearly as well as the ones in the pot eating Miracle Gro.

Update on the tomatoes

2006-06-01T15:10:00.000-04:00

Picture taken May 24:

Picture taken June 1 of the same plant:

It probably would have been better for comparison if I took a picture of the entire plant, but I wanted to focus on the fruit. On top of that, the fruit picture is out of focus. Oh well.

Pictures taken June 1 of a pear tomato plant:

In general, all the tomato plants are doing fabulous. They all have blossoms and quite a few already have green fruit.

Update on the peppers

2006-06-01T15:04:00.000-04:00

Picture taken on May 24:

Picture taken on June 1:

The banana pepper plants were the first to bloom, but all the rest of the pepper plants are doing quite well. We'll have tons of peppers this summer. I don't even know what to do with banana peppers. Recipes, anybody?

Theo has a green thumb.

2006-06-01T14:04:00.000-04:00

So overall, everything is doing well. The cilantro has been neglected and is on its way to serving as coriander instead. Whatever. The chives have been cut back a few times. I need to learn more ways to use them in my cooking. The eggplant hasn't changed much, maybe looks a little bigger than before. As for those basil seedlings, I took a chance and tried to separate them. Some of them did not do well after the separation, but others still managed to thrive. I think the difference was the soil. Miracle Gro really does work.

Theo helps me take good care of the garden. I do have to watch him around the plants though, especially when he gets it in his mind that he's going to prune and weed just like his mom. He has already pulled up a few onions and basil seedlings. It's okay though, we have too many. He is really excited to show off the garden. He points to the tomato blossoms and says, "These are going to grow up to be tomatoes." He points to the sunflower plants and says, "Look at the sunflowers, they came up. They're going to grow up to be corn."

Nagsawa si Theo sa swimming pool

2006-05-30T20:29:00.000-04:00

Theo was in the sun all day on Memorial Day. The second picture is of Auntie Nineth and Tim. By the end of the summer, Theo will be the beautiful color of burnt toast.

The garden is (mostly) doing well

2006-05-12T02:00:00.000-04:00

So here's an update on the garden:

The tomato plants look fabulous. They're already flowering. We were supposed to put the stakes in last week, so that later when we have to support the stems we wouldn't hurt the roots driving the stakes in. Hopefully we'll remember to get them in tomorrow!

The pepper plants look...leafy. I don't know really what I'm supposed to do to take care of them. They look healthy enough, but I think for the most part I'll probably neglect them and hope some peppers come out of it.

The eggplant plant doesn't look like it is changing much. I wonder if I planted it too soon.

The chives and cilantro look great. I realize I don't know what to do with the chives. I don't remember cooking with chives ever.

The basil in the pots are growing well, but the ones in the ground keep changing their minds. One of the four in the ground died and we pulled it out. Turns out the stem had been damaged. It was probably damaged all along and I just didn't notice. Just like I didn't notice that I was buying 48 plants instead of twelve. Yesterday I cut the tops off two of the best basil plants because pruning is good for them and we were making a pasta dish that needed some basil. Yummy.

For the heck of it I tried growing basil from seeds, and instead of putting one or two seeds in a little cell pick, I sprinkled 5-10 because I figured most of them wouldn't come up. Well, all of them came up! So now I'm trying to figure out whether I'm going to throw away all the extra seedlings or if I'm going to be silly and actually try to find places to plant them.

The sunflowers are coming up too! We saw a least five seedlings the last time we checked. I know we planted more than five but less than ten.

Finally, we bought seeds for green onion and green beans. I figured green onions don't take up much space and have shallow roots. As for the green beans, well, there was a small space left in the garden, and we needed beans.

I'm not posting a picture of this, because right now there isn't much to see and our camera isn't good enough to take a picture of a seedling. Tonight it rained very hard. I hope the plants enjoyed it.

We figure out what to do with 48 vegetable plants

2006-05-03T20:08:00.000-04:00

You see, what happened was, I thought I was buying 12 plants: 5 tomato plants, 3 pepper plants, cilantro (which was stupid, I found out later), chives, and 2 basil plants. What I didn't realize, because I was in a hurry and I had less than ten minutes and both kids with me, was that these plants came in packs of 4. So I didn't have 12 plants, I had 48 plants.

The original idea was that I would plant them in pots. But there was no way I was going to buy that many pots. So I spoke to Ted, and we agreed to have a garden this summer. We had a very limited space, so we ended up planting everything too close together. Even with the garden, we still had to put some of the plants in pots.

Theo is loving this whole garden thing. He loves the dirt, the worms, the beetles. He likes watering the plants with his blue watering can. He goes outside and helps water the plants every day. And I'm sure he'll love picking tomatoes and peppers, and eating them too.

So here's two pictures of our garden. We also have planted some sunflowers on the other side of the yard. We'll see if they come out. It's not much to look at, but as Grampy says, by harvest time we'll probably have enough tomatoes and peppers to feed half the town.

Theo finds his old duck hat

2006-05-03T19:48:00.000-04:00

We bought this duck hat before Theo was born. Anyway, there's not a whole lot to say about the picture.

Theo changes Mom's opinion of the beach

2006-04-19T15:03:00.000-04:00

I never was an ocean-lover. However, this past weekend we went to Duck, NC, for Great-Grampy's happy birthday celebration, and Theo got to play on the beach. He had a great time, which means that this summer, and for the next two decades, I'll be seeing a lot more of the beach than I ever thought I would. I could see myself loving the ocean if it could bring my kids that much innocent happiness.

That is Theo and cousin Ralphie up in the air, with their dads ready to catch them on the ground. Everybody is wearing white shirts and blue jeans because we were doing a photo session at the time. Theo did get to have a chance to play on the beach wearing swimshorts, but the ocean was too cold for him. Not to worry, the sand is full of treasures for a pootie.

These last two pictures are of the Easter egg hunt. Like going to the ocean, that is something I did not do much of as a child (or a grown-up). Unlike going to the ocean, it is not something that I will incorporate into Theo and Ruby's upbringing. I'm not a big fan of candy, Easter bunnies, nor the idea that Easter has anything to do with these things. As a parent I am still trying to figure stuff out, and I won't pretend that I have a solid argument for everything that I am doing. I will admit that there is a measure of cuteness seeing Theo's excitement in locating an egg, and seeing cousin Joshua and Theo share the eggs that they have found. But I really don't understand the point of eggs and bunnies, and cuteness can be found without them.

I leave you with the first ever Manlangit-Gifford family "portrait":

We survived sick-eye

2006-03-26T01:23:00.000-05:00

I was surprised that my eyes didn't blow up like Theo and Ruby's eyes did. Well, actually, Ruby's eyes didn't ever swell, but they got very red and more than anyone else, she was waking up with one eye glued shut. I had two mornings when my eye was very sticky right when I woke up, and throughout the day I would notice that my eye was itchy. It never got too bad though. So all that silly dysthymia was for nothing. And everybody's eyes are beautiful again.

In other news, potty-training is still going nowhere for Theo. Granted, I did sort of put everything on hold until I knew the match results. I figured even if we did manage to potty train him, he'd regress if we ended up having to move. Earlier this week, Theo sat on the potty for a very long time while Dad kept him company. Dad needed to step out of the bathroom for a minute, and he told Theo to stay on the potty. So naturally as soon as Dad left, Theo promptly got off the potty and left a pile on the bathroom floor. Shortly afterwards I heard him calling down the stairs, "Mama, I got a poopoo leg." This morning we spent half an hour in the bathroom. Theo was very cheerful the whole time. He'd sit on the potty for five minutes, stand up for a minute to take a break, and then get back on. We sang Rainbow Connection a few times. I would say, "Are you trying to get your poo out?" and he would say, "Yes, Mama," and he would bear down, and his face would turn red, and I'd say, "Good grief Theo, it'll come when it comes." So he'd relax and sing Rainbow Connection again. Dad took over at some point because Ruby wanted to nurse. Theo eventually got tired (you couldn't blame him) and a few minutes after putting on a fresh diaper...

Some old nice pictures

2006-03-25T15:39:00.000-05:00

I've been a little bit behind with posting pictures because we've been transitioning from our old broken computer to a new one that we purchased shortly after finding out that we would not be moving. Anyway, here are some of my favorites:

Everybody else gets sick-eye

2006-03-23T12:35:00.000-05:00

It was just as I feared. Ruby got conjunctivitis, and now I (Mom) have it. I've never had it in my life, and now here I am. I wonder if this means I have to take a few days off from Emed.

I need to get a new attitude about these little illnesses. Everytime my kids get sick, I start to feel worried and dysthymic. I don't feel like cooking, I undereat or overeat, all I want to do is surf the internet. It's not that we've ever had a truly threatening illness run through our house; it's more like it's one thing after another and we're constantly running at below optimum performance, because we're constantly wiping someone's nose, or we have to hold the kids down to get their eyedrops (which were worthless, but you don't know they're going to be worthless til you've tried), or every night you have to clean the carpet because the kid throws up his food two seconds after behaving perfectly fine. This morning I didn't want to get out of bed, because I felt the stickiness in my eye, and I know exactly what happened to each of my children-they looked perfectly fine in the morning except for a little weepiness, but by the time the evening rolled around, eyelids were swollen (you can look at the picture below.) It wouldn't be so bad if I could hide in the house for the next four days, but I have to attend a suit-and-tie dinner with Dad tonight.

I just have to get over it, but it would help if I could find my inner cheerleader.

Theo has sick-eye

2006-03-06T19:58:00.000-05:00

I (Mama) never had conjunctivitis as a child so I thought that maybe my children could escape it too. No way. Theo woke up the other day with gunk in his eye, and slowly as the day went by, it got redder and redder, until finally he looked like he was in a boxing match (hence the inspiration for the picture.) He went to Nighttime Pediatrics, which is actually a terrible place to go, and people should only go if the case is straightforward and is not emotionally taxing. Ted and Theo spent two hours there waiting for them to fill a prescription. I think that may actually be worse than the pharmacy at the VA. When they got back, Theo said, "Mama, I have sick-eye."

Those eyedrops are the worst. He needs 3 drops per eye four times a day. Every single drop = at least 10 seconds of screaming with physical restraints.

And it hit me too that by having children, I am getting another 15-20 years of this. What I mean is, everytime someone gets sick, I get this terrible feeling that everyone in the whole house is in for it. It's such a big difference from before, when I would get a cold and maybe Ted would catch it or maybe he wouldn't, and certainly no one was going to come home with conjunctivitis. But kids have fluids everywhere and try as you might, you just can't chase after them with sanitizer all day. At Christmas time, I got the flu, and I hoped that by washing my hands no one else would get it. But one by one, everyone got it. Then there was that AWFUL GI bug that Theo brought home from daycare. We got a call that he was throwing up, so we took him home, and that night, one by one, we ALL threw up. That was some virus. Now I'm afraid that any minute, I'm going to notice that Ruby has pus coming out of her eye.

Theo discovers a game

2006-02-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

So I'm working at the computer and I hear Theo shout, "Mama, I did it! I busted the cereal!" At first, all I said was, "Good job, darling," without really thinking about what he's doing. But after he yells about it a few more times, I turn around. Theo has a large plastic cooking spoon that he got from the kitchen drawer, and he's hitting the carpet with it. On the carpet is a box of Kix on its side. I get up and look at everything more carefully, and sure enough, Theo has been putting Kix on the carpet, and swatting it with the spoon like he was trying to kill flies. All over the carpet, there are small imprints made of pulverized Kix. How do you even yell at a kid for doing something like this?

You know, this reminds me of another incident. Again, I was working at my computer, and I hear Dad say, "Theo, you are wasting the wipes. Do not get anymore wipies." I turn around to see what is going on, and Theo had been getting wipes one at a time and placing them on top of Ruby's head. She had about three of them on her head by the time we caught Theo. She never complained, even though they were hanging over her eyes and obscuring her view. And what really made me laugh was, Dad told Theo not to waste the wipies, but what I would have said was, "Hey Theo, do not put wipies on your sister's head please."

Theo learns to hug

2006-02-22T00:29:00.000-05:00

A picture wouldn't do it justice. He gives it all his strength and squeezes your neck with those short arms.

It used to be that when you said, "Theo, give me a hug", he would let you do all the hugging. Now he's an active participant. He knows that somebody loves him and he wants to give some of that love back.

In the same vein he's started to say spontaneously that he loves us, or that I'm his "nice dad". He especially says that "Ruby is my nice baby." Just when I thought he couldn't get cuter, he pulls out all the stops.

Theo gets a second blog

2006-02-22T00:09:00.000-05:00

I started a new blog for Theo, Theo's Quotations.

Theo likes to repeat funny things. For example, if you ask him, "Who has a big butt?" he'll say, "Uncle Casper." It's entertaining enough because it shows that he likes to play along, but it's not really THAT funny because we taught him to say that Uncle Casper has a big butt.

However, every once in a while, he'll just come up with stuff out of the blue. It's the kind of stuff that really reveals what happens when a two-year-old brain processes information. It is what I hope to collect in this new blog. For now it's a very short list, but it'll be fun to see it grow, and read back over it when he is older.

I think it is a real privilege to have a son that is so chatty and expressive at such a young age.

Theo learns to write

2006-02-19T23:26:00.000-05:00

Dad wrote the one on the top, and Theo wrote the one on the bottom, with the exception of a few lines on the E. Theo did make horizontal lines on the E, but they were very short and you have to look closely to see them.

Theo actually is learning how to write letters, but more often than not, he is scribbling and then notices that his scribbles resemble letters. However, he can write letters O, T, I, and H on demand. One time he even wrote a very handsome letter B, but again, it was probably an accident.

Theo rides a snow horse

2006-02-19T23:22:00.000-05:00

It snowed a lot out here just a couple days ago, and Theo took full advantage of it. We bought two sleds, so that Theo and my cousin Tim (a little girl-when you pronounce it correctly it doesn't sound like a boy's name) could play in the snow together. Tim wasn't as comfortable in the snow, but who can blame her? She moved here from the Philippines less than a month ago, and is just getting used to everything. Theo, on the other hand, played outside for 2 hours or so.

Theo is a funny boy

2006-02-19T23:06:00.000-05:00

Two funny photos of Theo. In the first photo, I didn't give him a bath until the middle of the day even though he really needed it, just because I wanted to be able to look at his bedhead for as long as possible!

Theo understands about the potty

2006-02-09T19:21:00.000-05:00

He understands but lacks the myelination to follow through. But hey, I think the understanding is the hardest part.

What happened was, this morning I checked his shorts and found that they were dry, so I asked him if he would like to sit in the potty. He said, "No!" and immediately began to whine and struggle. I tried to sound as soothing and nonthreatening as possible. I said, "Want to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow?" (NO, kick, whine.) I said, "Want to read the On Your Potty book?" (NO I DON'T WANT TO.) Then I explain that if he puts his poopoo in the potty, his butt won't turn red and hurt anymore. He listens. Just sit for two minutes, Theo. Hollering again. This whole business went on for a little while. Then I ask the magic question: "Do you want to sit on the big potty like Dada?" Yes!

So he sits there and gets peepee inside and squeezes (He actually says, "I'm squeezing it, Mama,") but no poopoo. But Dada and I congratulate him. We wash hands to the tune of Twinkle Stars and go downstairs to eat breakfast.

After breakfast I'm sure he'll need to poo, so we go back up to the potty. He easily complies, sings Twinkle Stars and Tomorrow and reads the Potty book. Squeeze. Nothing. He even suggests that I sit outside the bathroom for a while. I hear him singing. It gets to the point where I'm coaxing him to get OFF the potty. He finally stands up, and says, "No poopoo!" But I congratulate him anyway. We wash hands, then go downstairs.

He must have gone in his shorts in the fifteen seconds that it took to walk downstairs. I smelled it and said, "Do you have poopoo in your shorts?" He gets the most hilarious, sheepish look on his face and says, "Let me sit on the potty again?"

Ok that was a LOT of detail. But the point is, he knows what he has to do. We're on the same team, I think.

Theo figures out about pedals

2006-01-28T17:09:00.000-05:00

Theo is learning how to ride his bicycle that he got from Uncle Casper for his 2nd birthday. For the first couple of months of owning it, all he could really do was honk the horn. Now he can do a couple of consecutive cycles of pedaling before getting stuck. Dad got on his bicycle and rode around with Theo in the concrete slab behind our house (our "patio") and everytime Theo got stuck, Dad would give him a gentle push. I can't wait until summertime, when Theo can practice every day. Then, when he gets really good, Ruby can ride in the baby bikeseat and we can all go for a nice bike ride.

We take a surprise trip to Massachusetts

2006-01-28T16:50:00.001-05:00

In the middle of January, I had an interview in New England, and the plan was for me to drive there in the evening, interview the next day and drive right back. When it came time to drive, I realized that I really didn't want to go there by myself, so 30 minutes before I had to leave, we all decided to take the trip north and spend some time with Dad's folks. We had a really nice time, especially since nobody got sick. It even snowed for us, a very cold dry snow that was no good for making igloos or snowballs. However, Ralph 4 made some mini snowmen for Theo and Ralphie.

Also below are pictures of 1.) Ralph 5, Theo, Ralph 4, Ted, Ralph 3, and 2.) Grandma reading a book to her 4 captivated grandchildren (Ralph 5, Theo, Joshua, and Ruby.)

Theo clips Mama's toenails

2006-01-28T16:40:00.000-05:00

Theo ran into the kitchen saying, "Mama, I'm going to clip your toenails, all right? I'm going to clip your toenails." I heard him fussing around in one of the drawers, pull something out, and then close the drawer. He ran back into the living room and announced, "Mama, I got the nail clippers!"

Theo chooses a career

2006-01-09T11:57:00.000-05:00

"Mama," he says, "when I grow up, I want to be a lion. And a monkey."

Also, in the car, Theo was singing "The Wheels on the Bus" and had this conversation with his dad:

Theo (singing): The wheels on the bus go swish swish swish, all through the town.
Dad (singing): All through the dish.
Theo: No, not the dish! Through the town!
Dad: All through the clown.
Theo: Not the clown! Through the town!
Dad: All through the gown.
Theo: Now the gown! The town!
Dad: All POO the town!
Theo (thinks a minute, and can't figure out how to explain): Dad, you are messing it up.
Dad: Well, you are messing it up too. The wheels go round and round, and the wipers go swish swish swish.
Theo sings: The wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town. The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish, all through the town. And the dish!

Finally, we are still working on getting Theo to sleep in his car bed through the night. Yesterday we borrowed a library book, "My Own Big Bed" by Anna Grossnickle Hines, one of our favorite children's authors. Who knows if it is helping. In the past few days, we have been able to get Theo to read books and fall asleep in the car bed, but he wakes up crying very loudly, and within a few minutes comes into our room still crying, and finds a space in the middle. Last night, he fell asleep in his car bed, then later started crying loudly. We heard him get up, open his door, open our door, then he closed our door, went back to his room, and shnuffled off to sleep! When I woke up this morning, he was still in his bed. What a big boy.

Theo has happy holidays

2006-01-02T17:26:00.000-05:00

Actually, he got pretty sick at Christmas time. We all did. Mom got so sick that she cancelled two interviews, and now she is trying to figure out how to make them up.

Theo loved the Christmas tree, and he didn't even notice that there was hardly anything under it. I wonder how long it'll be that way. We got a lot of bell ornaments that made nice sounds, so we put them low on the tree so Theo could ring them.

We went to Florida to visit Pap and Nan, Uncle Tim and Aunt Joyce, Grandma and Grampy, Geoff and Steph, and Aunt Sheila and Uncle Jon. Theo was sick pretty much the whole time. We didn't get any pictures because 1.) we forgot our camera and 2.) Theo was so grumpy that we probably wouldn't have been able to get any pleasant pictures anyway. I feel like everytime we've had a chance to travel to see Grandma and Grampy, Theo has acted totally weird the entire time. I wonder if they even believe me anymore when I explain that Theo is not normally a whiny, clingy kid!

After we got back, we had to remove the Christmas tree right away because it went for a long while without getting watered. Thankfully, it retained its needles pretty well. After we cleaned it up and Dad vacuumed, Theo said, "Dad, did you clean up the Christmas dirt?"

Uncle Casper and Theo go shopping

2005-12-09T11:20:00.000-05:00

For the first time that anybody can remember Mom and Dad took an overnight trip, and Theo and Ruby stayed with Uncle Casper, Gramma, and Grampa. We went to Charlottesville for an interview and managed to convince everybody that it would be best to leave the kids.

So Kuya Casper was supposed to take Theo to daycare on the second day, but he got suckered! Theo looked at him with big brown eyes and said, "Uncle Tapper, can I just stay here with you?" And Uncle said, "Okay fine, but we're going shopping!" They went to the mall, bought come stylish stuff that Mom and Dad never would have been able to put together, and then had a photo shoot.

Theodore sings about holding bananas

2005-12-05T20:24:00.000-05:00

He was sitting in his high chair, and while nobody was even paying attention to him, he sang this little ditty to the tune of "The Bear Went Over the Mountain":

I am holding bananas
I am holding bananas
I am holding bananas
La la la la la

Santa Claus is "that man"

2005-12-02T10:37:00.000-05:00

Theo doesn't know who Santa Claus is or that he's supposed to be a really special guy around Christmas time. Sometimes you just assume that all children know about Santa Claus. We haven't made any mention about any Santa to Theo, not really because we're against it, more just because we forgot and it's not a priority. So it was amusing when Theo pointed out a Santa on our Christmas tree and said, "Look Mama, look at that man there."

Theo is having a weird week. It all started when we cleaned up the living room to make room for the Christmas tree. It stressed him out or something, because he is crying and whining a lot. It is almost like a relapse from when we moved to our current house and Ruby was born. I hope he gets over it, because it is a trial!

This year we have a concolor pine for our Christmas tree

2005-11-27T21:37:00.000-05:00

The five of us-me, Dad, Theo, Ruby, and cousin Alex-went to a cut-your-own farm. We were going to get another balsam fir tree like last year because it smelled so nice, but we didn't like any of the ones that were at the farm we went to. But we did see a pretty concolor (aka white) fir. It's a good thing Kuya Alex was with us because somebody always had to be carrying Ruby.

Notice that while Kuya Alex and Dad were working hard on the tree, Theo concentrated on poking a nearby tree stump with a stick.

The last picture was obviously taken after we finished decorating. It has VERY difficult to get Theo to sit still for a picture.

Theo and Dad play in the snow in the night-time

2005-11-23T21:38:00.000-05:00

I tried to take a picture of it, but it was too dark. Theo is already very much like his Dad. In other words, he starts to cry if he thinks that he won't be able to play in the snow. When I was trying to take pictures, Dad asked Theo to hold this big snowball. Theo must have thought that we were trying to lure him into the house because he grabbed the snowball and ran.

Mom can't play in the snow right now because she has a cold. But she can blog about it.

***Addendum 9:31 PM Nov 27, 2005***

This one picture sort of came out. That is the very snowball that I was referring to in the original post.

Mom is hit hard by the reality of being a (future) physician

2005-11-18T20:42:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sad today. This week I was away from Dad and the kids because I was on a three-interview tour through New England. The interviews went well, but the traveling was rough on everybody. Anyway, I came home on Thursday, and Theo was very happy to see me, but this morning, I had to go back to the hospital. Theo was very sad when I left; I heard him crying even when I had closed the front door and was walking to the truck. The worst part is, I am on call tonight, so I won't even be back until Saturday afternoon. I wonder if Theo ever gets scared that I will be going away for good. I tried to explain to him that this was my last night sleeping in the hospital for a long while (my MICU rotation ends Saturday and I'll finally be doing easy stuff!) He says, "Ok Mama," but then when I tried to put him down, he started crying again.

I love my babies and miss them.

Theo hangs out with his cousin Ralphie

2005-10-30T14:49:00.000-05:00

We all watched in consternation as they fought incessantly. Okay, maybe they improved on the second day. But it was a little bit stressful.

It was something of a surprise for me, because Theo seems to get along so well with Gigi and Gerard in daycare. When I pick Theo up from their house, I always see them playing together and hugging and occasionally fighting over some orange toy car, but that never escalates. But for some reason, Theo is unusually anxious around Ralphie.

As I am writing this, Ralphie and Theo are hanging out at the zoo with Grampy and Grandma Gifford, and I hope it is going well. For now, at best, they might be able to ignore each other. Nobody wants to share toys with anybody. I have all kinds of theories about why their first real meeting did not work out so well, but the truth is, I don't know. At the same time, kids are kids, and they'll grow up and be just fine.

I wonder how Ruby and Theo will get along.

Theo turned two years old

2005-10-26T20:41:00.000-04:00

Theo's birthday was October 17. We did not throw any big parties. It was very similar to last year, where we brought a birthday cake to his daycare and had everybody sing happy birthday, and then we had some small family celebrations. The theory is, at this tender age, he probably could not appreciate a huge crowd of people.

The days preceding his birthday, he learned to answer the question, "When is your birthday?" At first he would only say "October seven" but after a while he got that last syllable in. On the day of, he was really embarrassed when everybody started singing happy birthday to him. I didn't expect that reaction. He looked happy but covered his face up.

I'll post more a little bit later, after I get the pictures set up.

Wood blocks are fun for Theo

2005-10-02T12:06:00.000-04:00

We got these blocks as a Christmas gift from Ted's Grammy. You can put them together to make a marble maze. For a long time, we couldn't really do the marble part with Theo, because he was too sneaky, and before you knew it, he could have a marble in his mouth. Now, he's big enough to know better, so Dad puts it all together and then Theo runs marbles through it. Then, when they're done with the marbles, they knock it over with great fanfare.

Theo playing in his gymini

2005-10-02T11:44:00.000-04:00

The first picture was taken February 16, 2004 when Theo was 4 months old. The second picture was taken September 8 of this year, a month and some days shy of Theo's second birthday. We took the gymini out because we realized that Ruby is getting to be that age when she might be interested in the things that it has to offer. When we layed it out on the floor, Theo immediately started playing with it, even though he hadn't played with it in over a year. Ruby plays with it too sometimes, but we always have to watch, because sometimes Theo decides he wants to play with it at the same time. He might lay down beside her real nice, or he might shove her over, or even attempt to pick her up (which is not a good thing!) He also does this funny thing where he steals my keys out of my purse, and then hangs it on his gymini. If ever my keys are gone, the gymini is a good place to look.

Peepee in the Potty

2005-09-12T17:31:00.000-04:00

Theo went peepee in his potty today! Hooray! I still say we are a long way from being potty trained, but it's still a marvelous accomplishment. I think we have two books to thank: "On Your Potty" and "Once Upon a Potty." Sometimes when I read those books to Theo, I look at him, and he looks the way that I look when I'm studying for the USMLE (which, by the way, I just took Step 2 CK today!)

So what happened was, Theo woke up this morning and I asked if he wanted to sit on the potty and he said yes. He sat on it for about 2 to 3 minutes and finally he looked at me and he said, "Nothing happened," which is a line from "On Your Potty." But when he got up there was peepee, so of course I had to holler for Dad to get up and take a look at it so we could both fuss about it. And fuss we did.

Where are Mama's feet?

2005-08-22T22:57:00.000-04:00

Theo got a little concerned when Mama hid her feet in the sand, so he helped her find them again.

When he wasn't counting rocks, he would make exclamations such as, "Look, Mama! A starfish...No, not a starfish, a leaf!"

Theo and Mom pose in front of the Cheat River

2005-08-22T22:33:00.000-04:00

This picture was taken in Cooper's State Park in West Virginia. Mom was just a tiny bit nervous up here; the fence had gaps large enough for a small boy to fall through. As you can see, Theo wasn't much interested in taking a picture. He wanted to run around and make Mom even more nervous. After visiting this park, Mom was almost convinced that she wanted to move to West Virginia. It is a beautiful state.

Theo builds a lamb and a cow out of blocks

2005-08-22T22:29:00.000-04:00

Theo loves to play with blocks. On any day, if you ask him, "What would you like to do today?" his most common response is, "Play blocks!" He likes to build bridges, mushrooms, bulldozers, and trains. One day, he decided to build a cow and a lamb. I hope the picture is large enough that you can appreciate the cow and the lamb in the bottom left corner. The lamb is the one with the red block for a body. Neither Mom nor Dad gave Theo any guidance in building these animals.

Dad and Theo play in the park

2005-08-22T22:21:00.000-04:00

Usually when you tell Theo to smile for the camera, he gives a big funny smile with his eyes squinched shut. (Squinched is a nice word.) Dad didn't know that Theo was going to tone it down this time.

Theo wears a towel like his dad

2005-08-22T22:17:00.000-04:00

One day Dad thought it would be fun to wrap a towel around Theo, and it was fun. Towels look so much cuter on small boys, which is why we chose the picture that did not include Dad in a towel.

Theo is a big brother, part II

2005-07-13T03:04:00.000-04:00

I've read quite a few parenting articles about helping the older child cope when a new baby is born. They all say that the older one's behavior may change so dramatically that he may be practially unrecognizable ("What happened to my kid?")

Well, they're not kidding. Theo loves his baby sister and treats her so gently. However, he sure does give his mom and dad a hard time! He throws tantrums much more than he ever did before. The worst is bedtime; we are guaranteed a tantrum every night. Just before Ruby was born (and before we moved to the new house) he would willingly go to his toddler bed and sleep.

The good news is that we have seen some improvement, some of which is attributable to our actions. When I took a step back, I realized that I had said "No" to him so many more times since Ruby's arrival. I couldn't help it, man, I was tired. I've made a conscious effort to speak positively to him, and I think it's taking effect. Also, Dad and I spend a lot of time affirming him and snuggling him.

Despite these difficulties, Theo has still managed to keep his wonderful appetite; the champ loves to eat fish and "blockfish" (what he calls veggie meat.) He is also sort of learning to color within the lines, and he sings in tune about a third of the time.

Theo is a big brother

2005-07-01T20:53:00.000-04:00

This isn't the first kiss Theo gave his sister, but it does show how happy he is to be her big brother. He gets very concerned whenever she cries, and often asks to hold her. He would also like to tell you she has a nose, ears, eyes, hair, mouth, and teeth, although he's wrong about the last one.

We are so happy to have them both. I think I will burst.

Just now he's walking around with a crate on his head, acting like I can't see him until he takes it off. Words can not describe how fun this boy is.

Theo's New Daycare

2005-03-17T16:26:00.000-05:00

Theo had to switch daycares recently. It all happened unexpectedly, since he was basically kicked out (it wasn't anybody's fault.) I did worry for a while, but Kuya told me that his friend's brother's wife who was also a good friend of mine in middle and high school, had a home daycare. I remembered her being a very good person, and we did end up signing Theo up for her daycare.

We are so lucky that Theo was kicked out of the other daycare. Theo is SO happy at Sara's; Ted and I talk about it almost everyday. When we pick Theo up, he is happy to go home, but not before he gives everybody a big hug. The kids are very nice to him and very patient when he knocks down their block towers. We were very worried that he would have so much trouble adjusting, but it was no problem at all, and I think it's because Sara takes very good care of him. This is very happy thoughts for moms and dads!

The Theo Calendar

2005-03-13T19:40:00.000-05:00

The Theo Calendar
Originally uploaded by tedfordgif.

We've been needing a new calendar since sometime around New Year's Eve, so I made this one and stuck it on the wall. If you click on it and zoom in a bit you can look at each of the pictures (it's worth it). The 25 letter-size pages take up a large section of our wall that was empty for too long. It's been a good year!

Theo's stack of cans

2005-01-28T23:30:00.000-05:00

Theo's stack of cans
Originally uploaded by tedfordgif.

Theo was busy making mischief while I was cooking. I stopped him for lack of very-small steel-toed boots. He seems about as proud as his dad was in this picture.

Internal Medicine

2004-10-30T20:45:00.000-04:00

I just started my internal medicine rotation and I've never been so sad. Maybe I was spoiled during my peds rotation, having such a terrific schedule. Now, I'm back to leaving the house at 5:30 and getting home after 6 pm. On call nights I get home at 9 pm and I have a regular day the next day. I miss my family so much, all the time. I have a day off today and next saturday, and that's it until November 19.

Today we played a very nice game of whiffle ball. The teams were: Mom, Uncle Mack, and Ate Korina vs Dad, Theo, Kuya Alex, Kuya Alonso, and Auntie Silen. Theo served to handicap his team, since Dad had to bat and run with Theo in his arms. Kuya Alonso had fun with batting, but once he hit the ball, he had no interest in base running. We played to either two outs or three runs, and even with those limits, we still only made it through two innings. It wasn't really the kind of game where you could keep score, but we did get to run around and holler quite a bit.

This is the kind of stuff I think of doing when I'm at the hospital working. The whole surgery idea is going down the drain real fast.

Where did Theo get hummus?

2004-10-21T15:26:00.000-04:00

Ted noticed a mess where Theo was standing and some goop on his hand. It looked like he got his hand in some hummus. The question is...where did Theo get the hummus?! I think Theo has a hidden stash of hummus!

Picture taken on October 17, 2004

2004-10-21T10:10:00.000-04:00

Picture taken on October 17, 2004
Originally uploaded by SoupieShorts.

We went to a pumpkin patch on Theo's actual birthday. We took a hayride to the pumpkin patch where Theo had a great time looking at pumpkins and eating dirt (Ah, the joys of having a small boy who can finally walk!) Later we went through a corn maze and looked at farm animals. There is a lot of sun in this picture, but it is the only picture that had Mommy in it. Anyway, the sun in the picture goes to show what a beautiful day it was.

Picture taken on October 17, 2004

2004-10-21T10:06:00.000-04:00

Picture taken on October 17, 2004
Originally uploaded by SoupieShorts.

This photo is pretty self-explanatory. It was pretty hard getting a photo where everyone is looking the right direction. In fact, in this picture, birthday boy is still trying to figure out how to get Kuya Alex's slice of pizza.

A good birthday party for a one-year-old

2004-10-16T23:02:00.000-04:00

I was going back and forth about whether to throw a birthday party for Theo or not. The thing is, Theo won't really understand what's going on. He would probably ignore all the children who attend. At this point, a party would serve only two purposes: to make the parents feel better and to amass gifts. I don't need a party to make me feel like a good parent, and while Theo can appreciate gifts and new things one at a time, multiple gifts would just clutter our house. It seems like a lot of craziness with very little return.

But Dad and I figured out what to do. We brought a cake and party favors to his daycare during lunch time. It was like an instant party, because there were 8 children there to sing happy birthday. (Actually, only 6 because one apparently was on permanent time-out and the other was only one and a half years old.) We lit the candle, sang the song, Theo attempted to put the flame out with his finger (anyway, he doesn't even know how to blow properly), we ate the cake, passed out party favors, and then we were done. The whole thing took about 15-20 minutes, which was perfect. Kids really have short attention spans anyway, and as we expected, Theo didn't care about anything except the pleasant surprise of having his parents there during lunch time. Also, no parent had to deal with the extra task of buying a gift and driving their child to and from my house. The only person who had to go out of her way was the daycare provider, and we'll figure out how to thank her.

Theo playing in the castle

2004-10-08T21:06:00.000-04:00

Theo playing in the castle
Originally uploaded by SoupieShorts.

The blog is starting to look a little boring. Here's a picture of Theo playing in the toy that his Gramma got him for his first birthday (which is actually still coming up.)