Buyer Aware

There was a book fair at Milo's school recently. Since the school neglected to send home a catalog of the offerings, we trusted Milo with some modest funds to purchase a few books. He ultimately ended up purchasing books for himself, Calder, Zola, and me (to read to him, of course). We were kind of annoyed to learn that he bought himself and his brother each a copy of the exact same book (some silly yet incomprehensible illustrated Star Wars prequel book).

Why, we asked, would you buy two copies of the same book? "So me and my brother wouldn't fight over it and give Mommy a headache."

Now that's one educated consumer!

First Dance

Last night Milo and I attended the Mother-Son Dance at his school. Milo was very excited about this, his first elementary school dance, and moved like a maniac on the dance floor with his friends Makili, MJ, and Zander. He also danced with me, enjoyed punch with soda (another first!), and bounded on and off the stage like a madman.

Like the Father-Daughter Dance that I volunteered at last month, this dance had a wonderful turnout, with well over a hundred "couples." It was so nice to see so many moms and sons smiling and having a great time together and with friends.

Wheels

Some footage of Danger Girl, as described in the previous post.


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Danger Girl Rocks On

Or should I say "rolls" on? It all started with Milo giving Zola a ride around the house in the little red wagon and by the end of the evening Zola was standing up in the wagon, tightly gripping the handlebar with two hands, wiggling her torso back and forth and propelling herself, and the wagon, forwards and backwards. And yet, she still does not walk unassisted.

Mr. Robot

Calder is proudly displaying the Wall-E-like robot he created out of LEGOs, complete with a garbage disposal unit with a working door.

Reunion

This past weekend Zola was reunited with her friend Hudson, whom she'd not seen since last July. Hudson drove down from NC with his mommy and daddy (Suzanne and Craig) to brave the craziness of the Weinberg household for the weekend. Zola seemed to love having another little person in the house and Milo and Calder just got louder and more rambunctious with company around.



Zola and Hudson had a busy weekend, eating tons of food, introducing Hudson to playing with old computers and phones, and visiting Riverbanks Zoo. We were sad to see Hudson and his parents leave Columbia on Sunday.

Splish Splash!

The Weinberg Three shared bathtime last night. After the bath there was more water on the floor of their bathroom than in the tub. As you can see, a little splashing in the tub makes even a baby with a double ear infection happy.

Danger Girl

How do you know your child is going to be trouble in the future? I suppose if they have a nickname, like say, "Danger Girl," you might have an inkling that trouble's on its way. Anyhoo. Zola's got a new nickname. Yup, it's "Danger Girl." The kid loves to climb. We find her dancing on top of the train table in our playroom constantly and last night she was halfway up the ladder to the top of the bunk beds before I pulled her off. (Mind you, she still doesn't walk!) But this afternoon our little darling earned her nickname. As I stood with my back to her, putting away the bags of groceries from the supermarket, Zola quietly climbed the step stool in our kitchen and attempted to turn on the stove. I guess the knobs look a little too much like the ones on our toy kitchen in the playroom. Oops. So at some point I'll have to design a little superhero (or would that be a villain?) costume for Ms. Zola to don. "Danger Girl" definitely fits.

In other Zola humor, the girl likes her bling. We have a bunch of Mardi Gras beads with which the kids play and use for dress up. Zola's figured out how to put them on and likes to wear them all at once. Last night before her bath she had wrapped at least five of these beaded necklaces around her neck. We, of course, removed them for bath time, and, I swear, Daddy bathed the kid and clothed her in pajamas without any necklaces. This morning, however, I took off Zola's pajamas to change her diaper and what should I find but a purple beaded necklace down in the leg of her pajamas. That's right folks, the baby managed to smuggle contraband to bed. What's next? Shimmying down the side of the house at midnight to hang out with the boys down on the corner?

Swampy Hike

Today we went for a hike in Congaree National Park. Part of the boardwalk that leads to the trail we usually take to Wise Lake was flooded by approximately 4-6 inches of water. Much of the trail leading to the lake was worse: thick, mucky, sticky mud abounded. It took little time for the boys to get accustomed to the gooshy feeling in their sandals and on their legs. By the end of our afternoon (three hours later), they were covered in mud and loving it.

Even Zola got in on the action, crawling around on the side of the lake while her brothers tried netting fish. It was a lovely Spring afternoon. Most of all, I was impressed (and so pleased) that my boys could walk the whole three-plus mile hike, without complaining or resorting to being carried. Ten mile hikes uphill here we come, yeah!

Spring Soccer

Spring soccer season has begun. The boys had their first games of the season yesterday, both at 9 am, and at opposite ends of Owens Field, making it difficult for both of us parents to watch each child's game.

Calder is no longer an immovable object on the soccer field. He actually chased the ball and the other players, willingly. Despite this, when asked, Calder's favorite part of "soccer" is still the post-game snack.

Milo played hard and seemed to really enjoy his game. "Playing soccer" was the favorite part of Milo's day yesterday. It will be interesting to see the boys develop as players as the season progresses through April.

Should I Walk?

Although we thought she'd be walking by now (based on how much earlier she started crawling than both of her older brothers), Ms. Zola is still tentative about walking. In fact, at 13.5 months old, she has yet to take any steps unassisted. Like her brothers before her, Zola is a speedy crawler and drops to her knees to dart across a room. Zola's wariness regarding walking, however, has not impeded her climbing skills. Zola loves to climb and we often find her standing atop the train table or balancing on the back of a sofa. Never was Zola so happy as when she climbed herself up the ladder into the play fort in our backyard. The word "playground" now makes her giddy with smiles.

(Zola after first climbing into the backyard fort)

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

Today I had the boys answer a questionnaire for fun. Here are their answers:

1. What is something Mom always says to you?
Milo: Sometimes when we're badly behaved you yell: "Milo and Calder to the naughty step!"
Calder: I love you.

2. What makes Mom happy?
Milo: Behaving and listening and you'll say "you are being great boys!"
Calder: Being quiet so that we don't wake up Zola.
Milo: Yeah, that too.

3. What makes Mom sad?
Milo: Not listening and misbehaving.
Calder: Making noise.

4. How does your Mom make you laugh?
Milo: By tickling and all that stuff.
Calder: Like this, hee hee hee.

5. What was your Mom like as a child?
Milo: Like me, Milo Weinberg.
Calder: And Calder Weinberg.

6. How old is your Mom?
Milo: 4 (laughing)
Calder: 5 (also laughing)

7. How tall is your Mom?
Milo: I don't know.
Calder: big

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Milo: Read books, right?
Calder: Right.

9. What does your Mom do when you're not around?
Milo: Call a babysitter.
Calder: Call a babysitter to bathe us.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Milo: Drawing.
Calder: I don't know.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Milo: Cleaning.
Calder: Eating food.