"What books are they reading?"

Thanks for asking, Terra. I'd meant to list them when I did my last post, but got lazy.

Here's the list, in top-down order of the stack.

1. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems. [Terra, this is a must-read for Brooklynites, for sure. A great combo of B&W photography from your neighborhood and great cartoon illustrations. His Pigeon series is a favorite also.]
2. Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina [Classic. I loved this book as a kid, and Doug bought it for me for Christmas 2003 when I was pregnant with Harrison.]
3. Dinosaur Roar by P & H Stickland [One of many gifted from Aunt Lori. This was the book that kicked off the Dinosaur Craze of 2007. It's worn out and has been through numerous repairs.]
4. 12 Ways to Get to 11 by Eve Merriam [Harrison's favorite counting book has more challenging vocabulary and interesting illustrations than the run-of-the mill fare. Santa brought this Christmas 2006 and it's still a popular selection.]
5. Tumble Bumble by Felicia Bond (Another counting book. Very charming and fun to read in the morning in bed.]
6. Snowman Storybook by Raymond Briggs [A narrated and abridged version of the classic, textless version. He loves both, and so do we.]
7. Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel [If I had to recommend a single tome from this stack, this would be it. I had this read and later read it to myself endlessly as a kid, and it never loses its charm. Perfection!]

Happy Reading!

Camping Out in the Dining Room

Young Frankenstein's Monster

Projects

Montessori sewing work:

Preparing for a collage:

Thank you, George Washington

Just wrapped up a very nice four day weekend.

Long weekends with the kids always make me simultaneously miss them insanely when I get back to work and also grateful to be a working mother because seriously?---I would go insane.

I guess in the end, I'm insane either way.

We spent most of the weekend lazing about, but we did make two trips to Buffalo: Sunday en masse for Inga's Karlina's christening, and Monday night, just Doug and I, to see Super Furry Animals. The show kicked ass, and contrary to expectation, we were mostly able to understand Gruff Rhys through his awesome Welsh accent. Mostly. [We had feared he'd say something like, "Now everybody say, "Hey! Ho!" and the crowd would just stand there confused.]

Anyway, other than those two excursions, the only other things of note were some Harrison happenings. First, he informed us that he was naming one of his teddy bears Daryl. Uh. Okay, and hahahhahahahha! Second, he came out of Griffin's room with the thermometer in his mouth. Apparently, 3 year olds can't read the word "Rectal" which you've helpfully written in black permanent marker on the handle. Third, I convinced him to try a bite of creamed pea and tarragon soup that I made on Monday, which he did. After which he immediately, gagged, choked it back down, then proclaimed, "It's GOOD!"

Man, these are the things that keep me going through the work day.

Recipe

1 game of Scrabble* +
1 bottle of New York Pinot Noir +
2 dishes of Bailey's Haagen-Dasz topped with crumbled Milano cookies +
2 sleeping boys
=
The perfect Valentine's Day evening

(*even though I lost at Scrabble. I argued that I should get style points for the word "egret," but Doug refused)

Photobooth Triptych

Top 5 Things That Endear Griffin to Me This Week

1. First steps!

2. That he says "Sssssss!" when he plays with Harrison's rubber snake.

3. That he talks back and yells "AAAAAAHHHHHH!" at any noisy appliances we take out (like the food processor or vacuum cleaner).

4. That he is reliably sleeping an 8 hour stretch most nights.

5. That he just cannot wait to nurse the second I get in the door from work, even if he just ate a whole banana and a cup of formula 15 minutes ago.

"Take My Picture!"

Cheese

The moment I have dreaded ever since I first became pregnant with Harrison has arrived: the first birthday invitation to a party at Chuck E. Cheese. I have already told Doug in no uncertain terms that there is no amount of money, baked goods, chocolate, sexual favors, cocktails, or drugs to get me to step foot even on their parking lot, so if Doug wants him to go, it's all him.

[As a side note, my sister Valerie actually worked at Chuck E. Cheese when she was in high school, manning the prize counter. I'm guessing she's still living on the good karma she stocked up from that.]