This last week was a call week, so I was heading up child development as Mama worked in the hospital tending to those less fortunate, especially those unlucky enough to spend Thanksgiving day away from their families.
A while back Mimi and Kuri celebrated their Mama's birthday. Papa ran around securing cards and cakes during the day so that all would be prepared for Mama's arrival. As soon as Sumie returned home with the kids, I ushered her into the bedroom and took the kids to write their cards. Kuri even managed to get some ink on the page, though his favorite thing was to mash the card up as much as he could.
Mama was very pleased with the special treat.
Rather than going out (which can be more stressful with these two kids than cooking a full meal at home) I attempted to prepare something special for the birthday meal. I bought two cracked crabs, shelled the meat, and warmed it up in butter. I then tossed it with fresh pasta, onions, and mushrooms sauteed in white wine, butter, and truffle oil. Thankfully, Sumie approved.
After dinner, Sumie attempted to blow out the candles on her cake, but Mimi, as usual, beat her to it.
The following weekend found Sumie at work, so I took the kids to the open session at the gymnastics center on Sunday. Even Kuri got into the fun, doing his best to climb up the angled mats...
...and sharing the foam stars that were being flung about the room by his older sister.
When it's just me and the kids at home, Mimi usually confronts me with two options: 1. play with me, or 2. let me watch TV. We don't allow much screen time, so I'm usually roped into some kind of shenanigans by my 4 year old. Here is a shot of her "you're-going-to-do-something-with-me-or-I'll-make-you-suffer-in-ways-you-cannot-begin-to-imagine" face.
One of the best things we do together (and also one of the messiest) is to play with Legos. Mimi's almost old enough for standard Lego, but with Kuri around, we just have the Duplo out. That's still enough for now, though. Together, Mimi and I made a crane, a train, a plane, and a robot. I decided to name the robot "Wayne" so that he'd rhyme.
Kuri got into the fun, too. I think he likes taking things apart best. He loves the way his arms fling out frenetically to the side when two pieces finally separate.
With Kuri now 1 year old, we're beginning to see just how different little boys and little girls are. In many ways, Kuri is somewhat easier to handle than Mimi, but he also has his own agonizing little quirks. Like most boys, he's very adept and finding, and insisting upon, the most dangerous way of doing anything. Here he is eating toast, which he'd only submit to if he was also holding a fork, with the tines pointed at his face. No matter what utensil is on the table, Kuri will always make a beeline for the sharpest and pointiest. Case in point, while writing this very post he was looking at me with a butter knife held against his neck. Had there been a steak knife on the table, I'm sure he would've used it instead.
Every time I'm out with these two on my own, I learn something new. For instance, I am now fairly sure that a love of BBQ is not transmitted genetically. Here we are at the Pork House, with Mimi refusing to eat and Kuri attempting to see just how far back he needs to lean to have his high chair fall over.
I also learned, on this outing, that some things are well nigh impossible when juggling two children. Immediately after our food arrived, Mimi declared that she needed to go pee. Unfortunately, I did not have a stroller or a Baby Bjorn with me. Once inside the bathroom, I quickly learned how to hold a 4 year old in one arm over a toilet seat while balancing a toddler in the other. The trick is hold the toddler sideways. Well, at least it was for me.
This, however, was not the most challenging bathroom gymnastics undertaken. I also had to go. Mimi could stand on her own, which was nice, so all I had to do was hold Kuri. Easy stuff. I took care of my business and then realized that I'd forgotten something: it is virtually impossible to button jeans while holding a toddler. Somehow, 5 minutes later, we were able to leave the bathroom without the toddler having been set down and with my jeans in place. I still don't quite know what I did to make this happen, but I do think I worked off some of my meal in the process.
As we get closer to the holiday season, I'm looking forward to more time with these three and the rest of the family. I am sure many small, but memorable adventures await. I'll just be sure to have a Baby Bjorn with me to face them.
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