Books are best friends

Today we went to the library for story time, and all I can say is, where has this been all her life? It was so much fun and 100% free--that's why I love the library. There were bubbles and songs and a big toy box. Since it was Halloween there were ballerinas and peapods and even a Santa Claus. One thing I am noticing lately about Anneke is a general reticence when she's outside her comfort zone; she needs a few minutes to check out the scene before charging in exuberantly. I think part of that might just be a stage, but knowing her dad and knowing me, it sounds like she's definitely a cross between the two of us. Apologies to Ms. A for the painfully obvious genetics lesson.
This post is dedicated to my mom--I want to make sure she knows we go to story time!

More cute baby pictures, as promised

Tagged again

Okay, after this post it's going to be less opining and more cute baby-ness, I promise. And no, this is not a political post. I have been SO tempted lately, but decided to refrain. Okay, yes it is: one thing: thanks, Laura, for informing we ex-pats about Act One in Arkansas. Sheesh. I'm a social worker, and that's an obscenely bad piece of legislation that will HURT CHILDREN. So there.

Anyway, what I meant to say was: here are seven things my parents did that I want to pass down to Anneke and her future sibling.
1. Supper time: we always sat down to dinner, every night. Sometimes we were all mad at each other, but there we were, around the table. When I remember day-to-day family life, this is one of the first images that comes to mind. And no eating in front of the TV. One thing Dave maintains with us is no fighting at the dinner table. So if there is an issue we are working through we don't work on it over Gill's curry.
2. Church: We went to church almost every Sunday, and to Family Night Supper once a month, and to Bible School in the summer. We Presbyterians were not a preachy lot, and Love God/Love your neighbor was not a preachy affair. This kind of quiet example is what brought me back to the faith. I want Anneke to have a church family, and for the love in that community to lead her to pay it forward, as it were.
3. Boundaries: my parents did a good job of keeping us away from grownup business. When hard things happened--job losses, illness, money problems--as the oldest I knew what was going on, but I didn't know EVERYTHING. As an adult I can look back and realize, "oh, THAT's what was happening" and even "oh, it was THAT bad," but as a kid I was protected from that knowledge. When I entered adulthood I had what I think was a healthy naivete about a lot of grownup stuff. I don't feel naive about much anymore, but I learned hard lessons when I was old enough to handle them.
4. Reading: every day I saw my dad reading the paper, and book shelves were a prominent feature in the den. My mother used to read to me from "One Hundred and One Famous Poems," and when I was seven she started bringing me these orange-cloth-covered biographies with titles like "Clara Barton, Girl Nurse." I don't know how much of a reader Anneke will be--I'm voracious; Dave, not so much. I won't force it on her, but she'll have plenty of opportunities for curling up with a good book.
5. Music: When I was four my dad introduced me to The Beatles, and mom and a friend started a children's choir at church around the same time. We all did our stint in piano lessons and band. I want music to be a source of discovery and pleasure for Anneke. No matter what kind of voice she has, I want her to sing her heart out and know how good that feels. Dave is excited about taking piano lessons alongside her; I can't wait for that.
6. Back to boundaries: there were SO MANY shows we weren't allowed to watch. And I was not allowed to date until I was sixteen. SO LAME. Except Dave and I are going to be just as mean. Maybe meaner.
7. Trips: some family vacations were fancier than others, but we got along so famously when we got on the road. That's what I remember more than anything. Dave and I both have grouchy streaks a mile wide, but we are great travel companions. I try to rein in the grouchiness as much as I can, but sometimes you just need to get out and about and be together outside the proverbial daily grind.

Whew. where did I get my long-windedness? Thanks, Mom and Daddy. I tag all you other blogging mommies!

Bad mother

Question to the more seasoned mothers out there: am I going to deeply regret not getting Anneke a Halloween costume she'll wear for maybe an hour? I already bought a little Halloween onesie. I am too cheap to buy anything else. There is a timeshare piglet costume Ms. E and Anneke are going to trade off wearing for photos before they go to bed.

Is this so wrong?

Petting zoo

We went to the pumpkin patch this weekend! This patch itself was fairly lame. In fact, it was FAKE: just pumpkins scattered around a yard. But the menagerie of random wild animals definitely made up for it. Among other creatures we saw a lion, a tiger, a wallaby, and a porcupine. Apparently they were all rescued from different places. The petting zoo was absolute chaos--all manner of baby and adult ruminants straining against the bars to get to the baby and adult humans holding cups of food. Anneke LOVED it. Her favorite animal was the donkey; she completely cracked up at the sight of him.

My baby's first words?

Today, as I was having a telephone conversation with my wife, I heard Anneke banging on the keyboard in the background. Soon text popped up in my GTalk chat window.

Now you may be inclined to argue otherwise, and you would have a valid point, but I am going to have to go ahead and say this is the first remote communication I have received from my daughter:

// / mmm ;ij.km>
; 77777r 87yhjnh
hnbiiiiiiiii v o o k [=
"
yfy6jhy,. u9 y780olp ol9 uji hjbl;k l'
] n

Tagged

My sister tagged me with a request for seven random, little-known facts about me. This is complicated by two things: I talk about myself a LOT, and I have to write this with the thought of future clients of mine stumbling across our blog. So, Caroline, think mildly neurotic....
So I think this will be boring:
1. I found a great chocolate chip cookie recipe and froze a few batches of dough. So right now I have three cookies baking in the oven.
2. I think folding clothes is kind of the loophole in household drudgery, because you get to watch TV. Plus, you start with a mess and end with neat, organized piles, all in the course of half an episode of Magnum P.I.
3. I just read this and realized I need to get out more.
4. I once read that Camilla Parker Bowles is not one for therapy. She's more apt to make some scrambled eggs and put some rum in her tea when the going gets tough. I try to remember this when I'm getting all dramatic about a bad day. Sometimes you just need to figure out what your version of the eggs/rum-in-tea is.
5. Speaking of which: when I am going through a hard time I tend to fetishize a particular meal. When Dave was recovering from his accident it was tempura udon. I slurped down many, many bowls of it. Then one day, after Dave had returned home and was limping and gimping around on his own, I was done. After the baby was born it was coldcut sandwiches. Now that Anneke is scooting around I am so sick of them. What will I eat when she starts CRAWLING?
6. Camilla Parker-Bowles is not otherwise a role model of mine.
7. Nigella Lawson is! I love her so much. I made three of her dishes this weekend, including venison in white wine. It's basically venison stewed in caramelized onions, spices, and, of course, wine. It was heavenly.

I tag Ashleigh and The Law!