Madeleine really loves Merry Go Rounds right now, mostly thanks to a CD we listen to in the car that features a song about one. So when I heard about an old restored carousel in San Francisco that was having a free-ride day, I immediately thought of M. She couldn't get enough, and must have ridden it at least six times in a row.
She loves singing and sometimes makes up songs, and other times rotates between her current favourites: Eensy Weeny Spider, ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, and Mary Had A Little Lamb. Sometimes the Wheels on the Bus makes it in there too. She is also really into talking about all the things she will do "when she grows bigger"... anything she is either not allowed to do now (like use a sharp knife or touch a pan on the stove) she says "I can do that when I grow bigger". It also comes up when she sees exciting things like a crane, digger, airplane, car... all of which she is planning on driving when she grows bigger. In the nearer future, she is excited about going to school when she is five, and often packs up her backpack with things to bring to school. She doesn't have a nap anymore, and is usually asleep around 8pm, but she does not like going to lie in her bed if Ross is still awake. He often lies in his crib talking to himself for a long time, and she will say "I don't want Ross to talk to me!" which of course, makes him talk more. Oh, I can so clearly remember intentionally doing the exact opposite of what my big sister wanted of me.
Ross rode the Merry Go Round as well, but he was less enthusiastic and had had enough after two rides.
There is a pretty severe drought in California right now, but that was not the reason for Ross' sink bath. We sometimes do a "foot bath" as an alternative to a big tub bath, but Ross was not content with just his feet in the sink. He has started using some new sounds and is getting closer to having real words. He says "uh oh" and "all done" and "mama/dada" somewhat consistently. One of the bonuses of him wanting to do everything Madeleine does, is that he's shown some interest in using the potty lately, so every now and then if I set him on it, he'll actually go. Most of the time he just likes to pretend he's gone so he can flush and move the lid up and down a hundred times. He takes one nap midday, anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours, and is in his crib pretty consistently from 7pm - 6:30am. He is still nursing too, but usually only once when he wakes up from his nap.
Our camera has been broken for the last couple of months, so our pictures have been lacking, and while we wait for the replacement part we've been using our old point and shoot. And also, it feels like the everyday events of life here are much less blog-worthy than they were in NZ!
It is certainly wonderful to have Steve be finished the PhD and not have to bring any work home with him. Madeleine always looks forward to the weekends when Daddy doesn't have to go to work. He loves having all his tools set up in the garage and the kids love helping him out there. We've even started a weekly cleaning night where we each pitch in - something that I could never expect while the thesis was hanging over us.
My day-to-day with the kids consists of visits to parks, gardens, grocery stores, and occasionally something more like the steam train, merry-go-round, or a beach. They're still young enough that we can also pretty easily fill a day at home with books, blocks, trains, monster-chasing, and skyping.
