You Cuss'n Me?

So Padon was sitting with me at the dinning room table while he was eating his lunch and I was working on my current book illustration and per a comment he made we started talking about why I was the boss of him and Pia. I then tried to reaffirm that, that was why he was the boss of blanket, to make sure that blanket didn't get in trouble or hurt. Too which Padon replied that Blanket was in trouble because he got in Padon's face and Padon said "you cuss'n me, are you cuss'n me?!" and Blanket kept getting in his face and so he was in big trouble under the pillows on the couch. I was so shocked at this story that I made him tell it to me three times, each time with the same about of emphasis and emotion.

This was so funny Walter and I had to call Sarah with the intention that Padon would talk to Greg and tell him about his cuss'n blanket. Sarah wasn't home, though, so we left a message instead. Later she called to play the message back to us and to say that it was really funny but that she couldn't really understand what Padon was saying. I interpreted the toddler speak and she thought it was so funny.

It did make me think a bit about where he might have gotten the idea to say "are you cuss'n me?!" and it only took a couple minutes; The Incredible Fantastic Mr. Fox movie, that's where. I think that movie is great and one of the things that just cracks me up is the amount of swearing in the movie only where ever there would be a swear word they substitute it for "cuss". At one point the fox gets in an argument with his badger lawyer over how he shouldn't buy a tree house in very close proximity to three farmers. The argument escalates until the badger says "The cuss you will buy the house!" and the Fox turns and says "Are you cuss'n me?!" and it goes from there. I didn't give Padon enough credit to think that he wouldn't take that conversation to memory. Ah, almost 4 year olds, you gotta lov'em!

Padon's First Dental Appointment

In my pre typed blog post I forgot to mention that
Padon had his first dentist appointment on February 19th. It was something that I had wanted to do but was apprehensive of how the first visit was going to go. Unbeknownst to me there is such a thing as a pediatric dentist! Whoopee! We had gotten a flyer in the mail for Apple Pediatric Dentistry, in Stanwood, and they only saw, get this, 12 month olds thru 18 year olds! Rock on! The day before Padon was set to go I saw through Facebook that Greg had just gone, also to a Pediatric Dentist, and Sarah learned that he should have had his first appointment at 12 months. It seems sort of silly when you're like Sophia, almost 14 months old, and you only have 8 teeth but I can understand the importance of knowing that your children have a good healthy dental foundation. With Dental care being free through my insurance we made an appointment for her too, a month after Padon.

I went in with an unnecessary level of anxiety . I so badly needed this appointment to be positive for Padon. I had, had a hurtful dental staff attend to my teeth from the time I was 9 till I was probably about 22 and I wanted Padon to like going to the dentist. I knew it could be fun and it was really important to his health and confidence going forward. Funny enough when Walter and I talked to Padon about going to the dentist, why it was important, and that the dentist was probably going to talk to Padon about sucking his finger, it elicited a passionate response from Padon that had him saying to Walter, in hushed tones, "Daddy, I need to go to the dentist."

So we arrived at the dental office to a kindergarten-esk feel; cartoonish animals stuck on the wall, coloring book pages colored by kids hung on the walls, adult sized chairs positioned so parents could sit and face their children being worked on, and a large picture window facing into the brightly lit dental room so small kids could see the goings on. They called Padon in soon after I filled out all the standard paperwork and I apprehensively sat down in front of Padon, realizing that my smile was genuine but feeling stale, and I wondered if I was getting smile wrinkles from trying so hard to impress upon Padon that I was having a good time so he could have a good time too. Padon was awesome! He put the Kermit the Frog sunglasses on, had no problem with the paper bib (didn't even say anything), and enjoyed talking to the amazing dental hygienist about squirting the water, sucking it up, and how the dentist was going to count his teeth with the little metal hook. He had no problem having his teeth rinsed, kissing the water down the sucking straw, kept his mouth open as the dentist counted his teeth, didn't say a thing when the dentist grabbed his tongue with a cotton swap to see back to his molars, and didn't baulk when the hygienist cleaned his teeth. He commented on how the fluoride didn't taste very good as they wiped his teeth down with it, but he didn't keep the gal from finished the job either. In the end he walked away with a motorcycle toy, two rings, a tooth brush and Sponge Bob Square Pants toothpaste, and strangely enough a hair scrunchy, although we have no idea where he picked that up.

After sitting down with Padon the Dentist asked him how old he was and Padon replied 16. To which we all laughed and the Dentist said, cool you're two years older then me! I immediately loved this Dentist. The dentist was happy to say that Padon had really good looking teeth with no cavities but that he could tell Padon sucked his finger and he recommended we bandage Padon's finger before his 4th birthday, to help deter him from sucking it for much longer. He said if we could stop him from sucking his finger before his 4th birthday the baby teeth would go back to their correct position whereas after his 4th birthday they would start to impact his permanent teeth.

Padon had a really good time, it was a positive experience, and we ended it all by having a delicious breakfast at the Stanwood Cafe and getting Padon's hair cut. I am curious to how Sophia will do and how you work with a 14 month old in a dentist office but I can already feel that I won't be as anxious this time. I really like this office!

Sushtine

Jane, when she was little, called English Muffins Angle Munchkins. Super cute! I can't forget it and it makes me smile to think of it. Padon has had his own slew of adorable phrases generating from his learning to talk and inability to pronounce the various constinents in the English language. One I don't want to forget is Sushtine. He tells us in the back seat of the car that he would like his Spiderman sun glasses because the sushtine is in his eyes. I love it! I'll be sad when the sushtine goes away.

Sucking Face

Pia does this really cute thing where she takes a big swig of cold milk and then sucks in like "Oooooo so cold, and, oh so good!" Like you might think someone would do with an especially strong whiskey. It took me forever but I finally got a picture close to what she does. I love the way her eyes light up and her jaw totally juts out. She tends to jut her bottom jaw with an under bite look with any big expression. The sound she makes is awesome! Some thing along the lines of sucking in with a gurgly sound (well she just drank some milk) and then a hoo, hoo, hoo as she exhales.

I So Love You!

Another adorable saying that Padon has is "I so love you!" I tell him "I love you so much!" alot and his backatcha is "I so love you!" Thank you goodness he gives me this validation because as he moves closer to being 4 he becomes more contrary, and frustrating and I find myself more and more frustrated and screaming with my fists clenched down at my sides. I totally gush inside when we are in the grocery store and Padon says "Mommy guess what?! I so love you!"

Padon and I Read Big Kid Books!

Oh my God, do I want to brag to every parent in the world about this!!!

Padon at three years old started reading grade school books with me! He isn't reading them to me but has the imagination and understanding to listen to me read the story and follow the story line, and talk to me about it. This blew me out of the water when in November our power went out. It was dark and we had already played a game of Uno Moo to the point that we didn't want to play anymore. I went in Padon's room and not feeling enthralled to read Parts or Molly Lou Melon again and just wondering grabbed Steward Little instead. I sat down with Padon, on the couch, gave him an overview, asked him if he wanted to read it, and he said yes. From there history was made! By December 6th we had finished Stewart Little and Padon was still interested. And this was with the offer, every night, of "do you want to pick out a book or do you want to read the mouse book?" To which he would yell "mouse book!" Thrilled that Padon might love books as much as I did growing up I ran to get and share Matilda by Rohal Dahl. We finished it around January 21st and Padon was enthralled with the magical little girl and her abusive headmistress (we had to read repeatedly about the little girl that got swung around by her pigtails and the little boy that was forced to eat a whole giant chocolate cake). After Matilda I was so excited to continue sharing my favorite stories with Padon, while I could still share them with him and before he started to independently read stories on his own. We moved onto Mouse and the Motorcycle and after that continued onto Ramona the Pest, Romana and Bezzus, started but stopped reading The Witches because it was too scary, The Enormous Crocodile, The Twits, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Glass Elevator, and now Pippi Longstocking Goes to the South Seas (July 2011). After this one we will read Charlotte's Web and then The Wizard of Oz. And still this is all by his choice!

Who would have thought that I would get to read all these stories to my three and four year old and that he would happily snuggle at my side, finger in his mouth, blanket tag in hand, telling me "Mommy I so love you" and "Mommy I love you very much!" It will be a sad day when we don't read stories together anymore, but at this rate we will have read so many together that I will have tons of stories to dreamily gaze back upon. These are such special moments that just belong to Padon and I.

Launching Myself

When my Mom was 36 she told me she could no longer have a pony tail in her hair because it as an inappropriate hair style for someone who was 36. I'm fully aware that I am three years from 36 and feeling pretty much like, damn it, if I want a pony tail I'm going to wear one!" This also stems from the fact that I'm finally in a job I like A LOT and that means that I am destined to wear business dress for many more years to come. That means, at work, no blue hair, no nostril screw, no flamboyant and whimsical clothes, and no tattoos. This makes me think of my Father; like as I think this he says, "Thank the lord!" It also makes me think of Nanci and Leo when Nanci commented that she was surprised that we ( Walter and I) got mice because after my rat Diva, becaue she thought I would "grow out of it." Mind you I was 24/25 when we got the mice (hysterical animals to own, albeit stinky).

Not rebelling but determined this year I have been neck deep in graphic design with my new position in marketing and book illustrating, have decided I would grow my hair down to the bottom of my shoulder blades discovering I look good without bangs and younger with long hair, realized that due to the temperature of my office and my need to wear sweaters and jackets that I could indeed have a tattoo sleeves and no one would know, and that no one seems to care when I wear eye liner on my top and bottom eye lids. I bought three books on restyling clothes from your immediate wardrobe thinking I could revamp my closet in a professional yet Chloe style and I was feeling pumped. I had designed a logo for myself earlier in 2010 and after receiving confirmation that it was a pretty cool and appropriate design in my Business of Graphic Design class, from my teacher, I was starting to feel reborn. I was tired with the feeling that I was mostly bending to what others thought was the right thing for me to do. I bought the 10 gauge spiral earrings that I fell in love with on a girl in my Web Design class and wore them to work (again no one said anything) and I'm on a quest to continue launching myself; my whole self, not just a dusty window reflection of myself.

I told my friend Nick that I was thinking of getting my upper arms tattooed and he said something about "what would Padon and Sophia think of their Mom when they were teenagers." This comment makes me envision myself in a wife beater, tight running shorts, breasts much larger then I actually own and bending over my daughter's boyfriend with a plate of cookies. I'm just not that kind of Mom but at the same time when I do save enough money for my sweet tattoo sleeves I'm going to wear a tank top when it's hot and if my kids are embarrassed of me, I'm sorry they feel that way. Hopefully when they are older and adults they will see that at least their Mother was true to herself and not folding her true self esteem and spirit to what is perceived to be the norm. I can't get my tattoo sleeves fast enough.

Breaking Sophia's Stuff

Something that I didn't account for and I suppose I should have, being the oldest of 4, was that Padon might break Sophia's toys as well as his own. It bothers me enough that their toys aren't organized in toy specific bins for easy reference and playing but that Sophia might have a broken toy before she was old enough to play with it?! Padon at 4 is just now finally not putting everything under the sun in his mouth and isn't needing to take all things to their breaking limits. I completely understand that this a a subject of curiosity and rough housing, but in a house where most things come as gifts or well thought out planning and saving, it is totally unacceptable to me that Padon might break something based in the whimsical theory of "what it I...; I wonder what will happen if..." I have gotten to the point where I am okay with Padon breaking his own things after some good time of play but broken Sophia toys are for Sophia to do. I haven't been able to bend past this point yet. I don't think I should have to.

Walter's Sweater

In college Walter had, and still has, a white poly-cotton cable knit sweater. At the time I think it probably fit him perfectly but 13 years later it is stained and a little too small. It's hard to let good friends go however, and Walter still felt this was an appropriate sweater to wear to nice family functions. Determined to replace this sweater I went on a quest for a new sweater.

I really enjoy spinning and knitting and it seemed that if I knitted Walter a sweater MAYBE (caps because most knitters know that when you knit something for someone else they never wear it) it would be so special it would join the ranks of the treasured white sweater and possibly (hopefully) replace it. It took months, however, to find a pattern that I thought Walter might really like. Finally in September I saw a sweater in a friends yarn shop that screamed Walter. It was covered in cable knits, and seed stitch, and was right up his alley. I was determined to finish the book cover illustration I was working on by the end of the month and to start Walter's sweater no later then than October 1st. My Mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said, "yarn! For Walter's Sweater!" A full body sweater runs about $50 and that was more money then I had to spend or that I wanted to spend all of my B-day money on. Walter's sweater ran about $56 and the yarn was soft, earth toned, and toned down; just what Walter would have picked out himself, I'm sure.

Right on schedule I finished the book illustration and started working on the sweater like a fiend. Now this sweater was a surprise for Walter, I was thinking birthday present, and that meant I had three months to get the sweater done and without him knowing. I knitted on the bus, while waiting for the bus, in Nordstroms while shopping with a friend, in the cafeteria and at Starbucks over lunch, under the covers in the bedroom while Walter played XBox in the living room, and every Thursday night at my friends Yarn shop.

I had under estimated my ability to do this, work, children, and the holiday's and Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays threw a few monkey wrenches into my time line. Oh! and about two week worth of work went out the window when I realized I was knitting the wrong size of the sweater, had to tear it out, and start all over again. By Christmas I had the front and back of the sweater complete but half a sleeve and the seams weren't attached. It was apparent that I was not going to finish this by the 10th of January. By this point I had quite a following of supporters wanting to know how the sweater was going and wondering whether I was going to make it.

We celebrated Christmas Day with my Family and scheduled a second Christmas with Leo on January 9th; one day before Walter's birthday. I had, had hopes of finishing the sweater in those 10 days in between but in celebrating Sophia's 1st B-day and planning for our own Christmas dinner it didn't happen. There was a collective sigh of sadness from my devoted followers.

I wasn't about to not give Walter his gift however, especially not after all this work. I took his white sweater, as planned, folded the new sweater up, and stuffed it into the white sweater. Folded it up, wrapped it, and gave it to Walter at 2nd Christmas for his birthday. Walter was pleased for a present, opened it, was surprised to see his white sweater, saw the gray-green sweater inside and thought initially that I had lined the white sweater. I directed him to pull the new sweater out and he was most perfectly awed and touched by the front and back of the sweater. I gushed about the whole process, told him about my sweater groupies, and how I still needed to do the sleeves. He told me he loved it and I was so satisfied; it was all so worth it.

It took me another two weeks to finish the sleeves, partially because I no longer had this dead line looming. When it was all together, Walter put it on, and it fit him perfectly; well at least it fit him like it fit the model in the book, which I took to mean perfectly. He said again he loved it and I totally took that to be a completely honest statement because he continued to wear it almost every day for weeks (it was a really cold and wet winter). It did tend to stretch a little but I think a good washing will fix that. It was an awesome project and present! Worth every minute!

My little supporters:

Sophia's 1st Birthday!

I am devoted to celebrating my kid's birthdays on their birthday even if it is a little family celebration and I wasn't going to let the fatigue of the ending holiday season take that away from Sophia. I am hyper aware that she was born at a time where Christmas has just ended and New Years Eve is the next day and just as I worried people weren't excited about getting together to celebrate her 1st birthday. I jockied around the idea, via an email to family members, that we celebrate her birthday in February but got no response and saddened I stamped my mental foot and decided we Warren's were going to celebrate her birthday regardless if anyone else came, on her birthday! I had Groupon coupons from Jane and from a purchase that I had made for the Children's Museum in Seattle and it was the perfect venue for a 1st birthday. I sent the invite to join us to family and happily Leo, Jane, and Jason said they could come.

We dressed warmly and adorned with her birthday crown we made our way to the Seattle Center.


It was awesome! The coupons covered the cost for all of us to go into the museum and Padon was super excited to run amuck in a world designed for people his size. Sophia was a little hesitant but in the baby/toddler section she was still curious and to my surprise used her new found crawling skills to follow me from one section of the play area to the other.
I had decked her out with a wire rimmed red ribbon that was stink'n adorable with her polk-a-dot dress, onzie, and daisey covered tights. It made people ask about her ribbon and gave me the opportunity to brag about my beautiful little girl and to tell them how it was her birthday that day.

We played for about two hours and then made our way up to the food court in the Seattle Center for a delicious pizza lunch.

I had packed with me a special table cloth, cupcakes that came with snow globe ring favors, and a special chocolate cupcake and Pooh candle for Pia.

We lit the candle, sang her happy Birthday, she put the candle out by pinching the wick (no kidding) and we let her dig in.
A little slow to react to the gluttony that comes with the 1st birthday cake, especially on a full pizza belly, she soon was scarfing icing and cake, and some where in that little roly-poly body found room for the whole cupcake! She did pass out cold in the stroller as we made our way back to the car. I take that as the sign that it was a perfect party.

Even though it was so very important to me that we celebrate Sophia's 1st brithday on the day she was born, going forward we will celebrate Sophia's birthday as a little Warren party on her day but have a party on her 1/2 birthday on the 4th of July. Family gets together on that day anyway and who can turn down a middle of the summer birthday - pool parties here we come! I'm think'n Luau theme! Woot!