Olivia on Playmat

I forgot to include this video in my last post. What a cutie!

My Trip to London

It's really nice to have a new member of the family that I didn't have to give birth to myself.

Four weeks ago, my sister had a baby girl, Olivia Rose Brooks. This past week I was lucky enough to fly out to England and get to know this adorable little bundle in person. The week was fantastic, but the lead in was tough. Flying off to a foreign country sure isn't as easy as it used to be. I had to recruit live-in childcare (Thank you, Grandma Rhona!). I had to cook and freeze a number of meals. I had to type up a four-page memo about the boys' schedule and care. Then, I had to agonize over my decision to "abandon" my family, alternating between excitement over getting some time to myself and crippling guilt about leaving my babies. What if they were miserable the whole time? What if I crashed and died in the Atlantic? What if Grandma Rhona couldn't find her way to Max's preschool?

Of course it won't surprise any of you to hear that everything went just fine. In fact, it appears that my boys didn't miss me at all. Every time I called, they didn't want to talk to me on the phone ("Not now. We're watching Handy Manny"). They made it to school on time, enjoyed play dates at the park and ate out at a number of exciting restaurants (That Panera is REALLY hot stuff. A yogurt tube AND chocolate milk...). For my part, I missed the guys, but I really, really enjoyed a life free of responsibilities. I stayed up late and read three separate books. I slept in every morning and nobody was clambering for me to cook oatmeal. I snuggled my adorable niece, and then handed her back to her parents when she was inconsolable or needed to eat. In short-- it was heaven.

At the same time, it was also really nice to come home. The boys gave me giant hugs at the airport and Henry said, "We really missed you, Mama" (yeah sure, kid. That's not what I hear!). It was great to snuggle up with Scott on the couch and watch the Oscars, and it was wonderful to sleep in my own bed.

Young Olivia is off to a great start in life. She has two adoring parents and a "sweet crib" in an area of London affectionately known as Nappy Valley. Babies change so quickly, and it was really special to be able to spend time with her when she was only three weeks old. I am tremendously grateful to everyone who helped make the trip possible. I probably won't be heading back to London anytime soon. The cost and the logistics are just too daunting. But, I'm already counting the days until Olivia and her parents make the trip Stateside this summer!

David feeding Olivia her first bottle

Olivia posing for a baby announcement "photo shoot". Do you like the sexy sheepskin rug?

Snoozing on Mommy's shoulder

Out for a walk around town (Yes, it was cold there)

Proof that I was actually in London and not just down the freeway in San Leandro or something

My favorite "sculpture" at the Tate Modern. No woman could look at this without thinking about the mountain of laundry she had awaiting her at home.

The Thames River and St. Paul's Cathedral in the distance

Olivia catching a nap in Max and Henry's old sling

Three generations of LaLone ladies!

Snow Weekend

As has been noted before (both here and elsewhere), vacations are not the same once you have kids in the picture. What might once have been a winter idyll -- sitting beside a roaring fire in a cabin in the woods, watching snow fall outside while reading a book and sipping cocoa, or a weekend of college debauchery -- fifty people from a dorm crammed in one decrepit Tahoe rental condo, partying all night and skiing all day, becomes something quite different when you're traveling with two four-year-olds, two two-year-olds and one other set of frazzled parents.

To be more specific, what you end up with are kids who have a hard time falling asleep because they're (1) insanely excited and (2) sharing a bed for the first time with a sibling ("Mom! Henry keeps poking me with his feet!!!!!"). The next day you end up spending twenty minutes getting everyone suited up in snow gear only to find that (1) some kid needs to go to the bathroom or (2) five minutes of snow time is enough and someone really wants to watch Toy Story. You visit a couple of ski resorts and spend hours using brute force to hoist your four-year-old up again and again as he struggles to balance on skis for the first time (Go, Scott!). Meanwhile, you also do your best to pacify a two-year-old who wails loudly for over an hour and wants to go home because he is so strung out from lack of sleep (see above).

At the same time, you also realize that the Sierra Mountains in winter are absolutely gorgeous and that it feels fantastic to get away from your home and your routine for a few days even if "relaxation" isn't exactly part of the equation. You find that it is a big rush to see your four-year-old master the first stage of skiing and coast down a bunny hill all by himself, and that you'd put up with a lot of sleepless nights and aggravation for the squeal of joy your two-year-old gives as he plunges down a slope in an inner tube, his cheeks pink from the cold and his eyes shining. You realize how special it is to share a couple beers and a conversation with another set of parents who know EXACTLY where you're coming from -- what you've given up and what you've gained by being right here.

Boys on the Deck (Maybe Henry's eyes are so crazy because he's holding a block of ice!)

The chef "statue" in the rental kitchen. The boys had that knife out of his hand and were chasing each other with it within 30 seconds of our arrival.

Cutie Max in his snow gear

Scott and the Freund family at Soda Springs Resort

Henry tries tubing for the first time

Scott helps Max into his skis

Max bites it for the 100th time

The boys enjoying a post-bath snack

The beautiful river near our cabin

You Can't Catch Me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!

Thanks, Dodie, for sending the book and the cookies to decorate. The whole project was a big hit with the boys!

Henry Rides a Bike

Two years, ten months and already riding a two-wheeler!

Potty Training the Hen

I'm sure I'm cursing myself by saying this, but I think that Henry is pretty much potty trained! Over the past few months, Scott and I have been bickering about when to start the training process. Henry would tell us IMMEDIATELY when he was dirty or wet and he enjoyed watching other members of the family use the toilet, but he showed little to no interest in actually sitting on the toilet himself. We didn't own a small potty, because that was never Max's "thing." Max, in fact, insisted upon using the big toilet from day one. He would hang his little bottom down in there and cling to the sides for dear life. While this technique worked for him, it was clearly not going to fly with his little brother.

So, one day last week, Scott suggested that we could get a small potty for Henry. Henry was very enthusiastic and wanted to go to the store that very moment to pick one out. We hauled the family over to Tot Tank, a local kids' supply wonderland here in Alameda, and let Henry peruse the offerings. He picked out a snazzy green and white number which we are now calling the Cadillac of potty seats because it turns out that the damn thing cost $43!!!! We picked up a potty watch, some bribes, and some underwear and settled in for Potty Training Boot Camp.

All day last Sunday I stayed home with Henry while Scott got Max out of the house. I put Henry on the potty every ten minutes whether he liked it or not (and initially, it was mostly "not"). Eventually, he had a success and was rewarded with M & Ms (yes, I feel terrible about bribing my child with food, but I was already not going to win the parent of the year award after letting my kids watch too much TV and ride bikes at the professional BMX track). In any case, we went through a lot of underwear and pairs of pants, but about four hours in, Henry really began to get it. By the end of the day, he was even telling me when he needed to go!

Monday and Tuesday were better and better and the kid was even pooping in the potty by Wednesday. Last night Henry got up to use the potty at midnight and then went right back to bed. First thing this morning, he and his brother went to the bathroom together and when I walked in, I found them each enthroned on their respective seats. Pretty exciting stuff!

I am so proud of Henry, and I'm very excited about being done with diapers. At the same time, like most milestone moments, this one is tinged with sadness for the Mama who is gradually losing her baby. As Henry said to me yesterday, "I'm not a little big kid anymore. I'm a real a big kid now."

Stanford in the Orange Bowl

We enjoyed having friends over to watch Stanford crush Virginia Tech in this year's Orange Bowl. Go Stanford!