Little Swinger

31/366

We made it out of the house today! In my car!

Minnie Me

30/366

I finally got my car worked on, and even fixed, today. The guy even made a house-call and fixed her up in my driveway. I literally walked into the house, relieved to have that worry off my shoulders, only to smell gas. After a quick soap test it was confirmed, we had a gas leak. And in the process of that discovery I realized we were about to run out of propane anyhow. After a few calls around it was confirmed that neither the gas nor propane company would come out to the house to help with the leak, the plumber I randomly chose out of the phone book charged quite a bit for his time, and the propane company won't refill the tank unless I agree to have them fill it quite a bit, an expense I just can't afford at this time. I've always been rather fond of January, but I must admit that I'm glad to see this one go. I'm hoping February is kinder to me.

Az and I almost made it out the house today. I was walking back inside to get her fresh clothing so we could go pick up Z from school when I was sidetracked by the noxious fumes. Thanks to the leak (which Migs seems to have been able to fix on his own) we were on another day of house arrest and trying to entertain ourselves.

Az's two dance floors in the house are the kitchen and the coffee table. After I had stripped her down to put on her pajamas in preparation for bed she insisted that I put her dirty clothes on this stuffed Minnie. The skirt kept falling off but Az was persistent in her desire for me to put it right back on. In the few seconds that Minnie was wearing the skirt Az would hold her to her chest and dance her around. Which of course only made the skirt fall off sooner.

It brings me joy to see Az playing with this Minnie though. My dad bought it for me, along with Minnie's puppet beau, during our first trip to Disneyland. I happened to be wearing a matched Hawaiian shirt and shorts on that trip, which most likely influenced me to choose the Hawaiian-clad Mickey and Minnie. I don't know that either of them really got played with very often during my childhood but they both remained reminders of a happy time for me and so when I parsed my stuffed animals down later in life they both made the cut. It makes me happy now to see my daughter enjoying something that was given to me during such a happy moment in my life.

And on that note, I'm eager to get the propane situation figured out so that maybe my children might one day regard this time right now as a happy moment from their childhood, rather than just a cold one.

Puppet Master

4/52

Z and one of his creations. Unfortunately I failed to capture all of the fine details that Z put so much time into, but this is very simple as far as his usual creations go. (One of his larger installation pieces can be seen in the lower left-hand corner of the photo.) Since preschool Z has filled the house with his art. In his mind there is no such thing as garbage because everything can be used for creating something else. And I do mean everything. I often am driven a little nuts by the fact that I can't throw anything away ever (because of course once he has made an art piece it is very special to him and must be kept for eternity) but I already know that I'm really going to miss seeing piles of his creations in every corner should he ever decide to throw them by the wayside for another hobby. My goal is to raise a child who turns into an adult able to see the beauty in every empty cereal box and shampoo bottle. Because by then he should have his own home to keep them in.

Prepping for Summer

29/366

My car is still in a coma, and seemingly will be so until I find enough change to hire someone to get it going again. So we're having to get more creative about entertaining ourselves. Az decided it was a good day to try on all her swim suits and hats, occasionally using her swim suits as a hat, and vice versa.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Beats.

28/366

I was trying to lay out some photos to figure out how I want to hang them on the wall, but Az had other plans. For some reason whenever I lay frames on the ground she comes over and begins dancing on them. I haven't yet figured out why frames on the ground equal dance party.

Through the Looking Glass

27/366

Az experimenting with a piece of plastic. I'm not sure where it came from or where it went after these photos.

It was a hectic day; I woke up just as I was supposed to be beginning teaching first period. Migs has been driving me to work and then Z to school the past couple of days so this meant that not only did I have to get myself ready as quickly as possible, but I had to get both of the kids ready and out the door as well. Z has trouble moving expeditiously in the mornings but this morning he got himself ready in less than ten minutes, about an hour faster than his previous record. It was one of the sweetest gestures he could have made for me; he knew how important it was that I get to work ASAP and so he managed to bypass his need for things to be done in his very particular Z way. You'd have to know the kid to get the magnitude of the gesture, but believe me it was a heart-warming one.

After work Migs took me around to run errands for work until he realized that he was about to run out of gas, at which point we all came home and enjoyed a night in. It seems like the days that Migs gets to spend out of the house just him and his daughter are good for his soul; both days he picked me up in an extremely good mood, full of stories of his adventures with Az.

Go Away

26/366

As good of friends as Az and Z are quickly becoming, he isn't always able to tell when Az would rather have some space. It's something Z is working on with everyone so of course his relationship with Az is no exception. He does seem more motivated to try to understand what Az wants, but I'm happy that when he isn't reading his sister properly she has found a way to tell him herself. Never one to beat around the bush, Az has learned to say, "Go away!" very distinctly and clearly. She reserves it for only her brother, and only pulls the words out when she is truly irritated (usually in the close quarters of the car,) but she apparently considers the words important enough to have learned to pronounce them with perfection so there is no chance of misunderstanding. Unlike her other phrases, I'm not sure where she learned this one. I would like to think it's not something we say often in our house.

Down time

 

25/366

My car was still not starting and thanks to a couple of paychecks being mailed to an old address for no discernible reason at all and a few unexpected expenses I didn't have money to get it running, so we enjoyed the excuse to hang around the house. Az chose to hang out in her very favorite way; wearing no pants and only one sock.

Shooooe?

24/366

I was glad to capture this picture because it very much epitomizes Az at this moment in time. Pantless and in mismatched socks, pointing up to the shelf where her shoes are displayed, repeating over and over, "Shoooes? Shooes?" I keep shoe catalogs on hand now because she loves looking at shoes so much. She presses her feet to the pages and pretends to be putting them on. We don't wear shoes in the house in an attempt to keep the nature outside but often I give in and allow Az to slip on a pair of shoes. How can I not when it makes her so happy?

Let's Do Sit In the Road

23/366

Yesterday when we went to pick up Z from school the van wouldn't start. I've determined it's not gas or the battery but that's about all I know. Oh, and I can tell it's not a flat tire. That about exhausts my car knowledge. It was nice having a dad who knew so much about cars, and who always swooped in to take care of mine, but it's left me not knowing much on my own. When the car wouldn't start I called up Migs, who luckily hadn't started work yet. He was able to pick up Z from school and then pick up Az and me to bring me to one of the district offices, then bring us back home and head to work. It's lucky it worked out, living in the country is tough without a car, especially when one of your kids has been having difficulty with his usual mode of transportation.

While Az and I waited for Migs and Z to pick us up we enjoyed spending some time outside after spending the weekend hiding inside from the rain. Az got a mischievous look before sitting down in the road and doing an interpretive dance. Her goal when outside seems to be to find her way into the road. We're the second to last house up the hill so there isn't any through traffic but the house across the street from us has cars constantly coming and going. People whip up the hill, it made me nervous even before I had a toddler who was fascinated with the street. I'm trying to not make the road seem too forbidden because if Az is anything like her mother that will only make her more interested in it. It obviously doesn't seem to be working so far.

Kid Sister

3/52

This was a rough week for Z. When he has weeks like these I want to scoop him up and protect him from the world. He will always be my first baby, my first real true love who made me realize my heart was capable of amazing, intense feelings. It hurts me to see him hurting and struggling like he has this week. I wish he would realize that he doesn't need to struggle with so much. Z has needed a lot of physical comforting this week, but he has also provided a lot of physical comforting. He doesn't always understand what motivates his sister or what she wants, but he tries really hard. He told me this week that he loves his sister more than anyone else. Z has waited a long time to make a real friend, and I think he has finally found one in his little sister.

Az, the Nineteen Month Old

22/366

Taking Az's 19 month picture in the rain, very quickly.

Az at nineteen months: This promises to be a fun month. Az is just learning to really express herself verbally. She still only knows a handful of words and phrases, but she manages to get almost all of her needs met with them. When she needs me to do something she tells me, "Go go!" and takes my hand or pushes on my legs. If my hands happen to be full at the time she takes whatever is in my hand and carefully places it on the ground. Most encounters are capped with a, "There you go!" from Az. I never realized how often I used this phrase until I had someone parroting me around the house.

My girl loves shoes above all else. My goodness that girl loves shoes. Last summer she refused to even wear shoes, until one day she realized shoes meant going "bye bye." Now all she wants to do is try on shoes, and look at pictures of shoes, and touch other people's shoes. Z was never like this about shoes. Is it a girl thing?

Another love of Az's is music and dancing. Yesterday while I was putting away clothing she spotted a sparkly pink frou frou bikini Aunt Lulu gifted her last summer. She was immediately drawn to it and put it on. The girl loves playing dress up so this was all par for the course, but the moment she had the bikini top pulled up to her knees she requested demanded both of my hands and started singing while we danced and swayed back and forth. I'm not sure where she even saw this sort of dancing, or how she knew it's what one does when they are sporting sparkly frou frou things. It's amazing the things kids notice when you're busy living life.

As girly as my Az is, she's also tough and gruff. She shakes off a fall, and then climbs right back on (often much to my chagrin.) Az likes dirt and rough housing, and has no problem with expressing when she is unhappy with a situation. She's bossy, bossier than I remember Z being (which is a bit worrisome since he definitely owns a couple pairs of bossy pants.)

On the other hand, she is full of kisses for Migs, Z, and me. Often the kiss is a preamble to her asking for something she wants, but my days are filled with kisses given purely for the joy of a kiss. My baby who did not like to be swaddled or cuddled has turned into a toddler who loves nothing more than cozying and cuddling up. As she runs by one of her baby dolls she almost always stops to plant a kiss on it before tossing it aside to continue on with her adventures.

Other things Az the nineteen month old loves: yogurt, crackers, broccoli, meat and pasta, water, brushing her teeth, wearing Mom and Dad's clothing on her head as she runs around the house, going on walks, climbing on top of anything that even might sort of be climbable, nursing and snuggling with mom.

Things Az the nineteen month old could do without: sleeping in her crib on her own, relying on Mom and Dad to feed her or help her drink, wearing pants.

I can't wait to watch what this month brings us in the life of Az!

Table Dancer

21/366

Dancing on the coffee table, using a bowl as a hat. Because why not?

One of Those Weeks

20/366

Friday night, eating dried fruit before they both were tucked in to bed.

It was one of those weeks around here. Thanks to an entire month's worth of paychecks being mailed to an address I haven't lived at for almost two years and some surprise bills and expenses I've scaled through the last couple weeks with a single dollar in my wallet that I refused to spend because it seemed unwise to spend my last dollar. (After some searching of pant pockets I found two more dollars but still didn't want to spent my last three dollars.)

On Wednesday night just as I was getting ready to turn in for bed with Az we got a knock on the door; a neighbor had driven onto our front patio and was stuck. Again. I love living where we do but I do not always love living across the street from a house full of ever-changing people who do things like drive their cars into my house and car. I've always just rolled my eyes and maybe posted an irritated status on Facebook but this time I decided to call the sheriff. Of course the woman driving the car didn't have a license, or anything convenient like insurance or an actual registered car. What she did have was a car full of passengers who smelled of alcohol. In the end it took over two hours and countless CHP and cops to get the whole thing straightened out. As it turns out the police were looking for an excuse to talk to residents of the house across the street, and they did it in my yard.

The next morning I was up bright and early at 4 and out of the house with both kids dressed and ready by 6. I was teaching zero period, but also got off of work later than usual. Just as I was getting off I got a call that Z was having a hard day and hadn't been put on the bus so I headed to get him. It took a few hours, six staff members, and a whole lot of patience and convincing him to get him out of there. Just as a staff member was informing me that Z would be brought to the nearby hospital to calm down unless I got him out of there in the next few minutes, Z just up and decided to go home. Parenting a special needs kid is always full of surprises. I missed some work/life related errands I was supposed to have attended to but at that point I just had to get Z home.

I ended up being away from Az for almost 12 hours that day, the longest I have ever been by far. But the world kept spinning and after an enthusiastic nursing session Az was back to playing on her own. The next morning I was gone before the sun had woken up again. It was a rough day at work but the nice thing about rough days at my job is that usually when the bell rings I get to leave all of the hurdles behind. That makes the hurdles no easier to jump when they're still in front of me though. When I met Migs with the kids in town after work Az was exhausted. I guess it had been a tiring couple days for her too. She fell asleep in my lap in the car immediately and I didn't have the heart to wake her up. She ended up sleeping for hours, even after I'd transferred her to her car seat. By the time we got home I gave the kids a dessert of dried fruit and sent them to bed, but not before taking a quick photo of course.

Bathing Beauty

19/366

Our bathroom doesn't feature one of them high-falutin' bathtubs all the city folk are talking about, so I bought a plastic storage bin to bathe A in the shower. It doesn't feel as ghetto as it did with Z because prior to Az being old enough to bathe in a storage bin we bought what was essentially a $60 plastic bucket to bathe tiny Az in. The Internet was buzzing about how it was European and mimicked the feeling of the womb for the baby, but in the end it was just a plastic bucket. So a plastic bin feels like the next logical step. I totally heard it's what they do in Prague.

Ears Looking At You Kid

18/366

Z sharing his earbuds with his little sister. Az loves absolutely everything to do with music. If it plays music it is solid gold in Az's book. When she was still new to the world Migs often coaxed her to sleep by dancing with her in the dark bathroom with my iPod playing. I'm not sure if this led to her love of music or if it was her inborn music appreciation that made it such an effective strategy. From the moment Z was born he loved everything that had to do with lights. He has broadened his interest to electricity, but lights are still where it's at for him. This has meant that Az likes entirely different toys than Z did. The toys I saved because they were Z's absolute favorites don't really register on Az's cool toy scale. It's a bit of a bummer that we have all these toys that don't really get played with, but it's been fun finding toys and activities for her that she does love. Z has always had a slight hearing loss so music didn't automatically draw him in. So now I get to buy and do things with Az that I never did with Z. I feel like I'm getting to run a fuller gamut of kid things.

And yes, the earbuds they are both rocking out to aren't actually plugged into anything.

Feeling bubbly

17/366

Z helping Az blow bubbles in the front yard. It had been a while since we pulled out the bubbles (I guess I don't automatically think of blowing bubbles as a January activity) but Az can now blow bubbles herself, with a little bit of help. Z or I held the wand for her and she blew, then climbed down to try to follow the bubbles. Rinse and repeat. She's still getting the hang of not putting her thumbs through the wand when she holds it herself, but it's exciting to watch her become a real live Big Girl. It was her idea to blow bubbles. I didn't even know she knew the word, but she's just beginning to enter the stage where I can no longer list all of the words she knows. It's a whole new world now.

She ain't heavy

16/366

I love the relationship forming between Az and Z. Despite the almost decade between them in age and the fact that one of them is still in the very early stages of learning to talk and the other barely pauses in his talking long enough to take a breath, they are quickly becoming the best of friends. Last night when Az woke up in the middle of the night (as she does every single night. every. single. night.) she didn't call for her dad or me; she called for her brother. Most likely it was because she knew her brother getting her would mean play time, but it was still very sweet.

Unleasing the power of play

2/52

This would be the companion to A’s park photo I suppose; Z riding the zip line. I need to make a point of aiming for a “good” photo of Z each day. Without the pressure of getting a daily photo I’m ending up not even getting a decent weekly photo. This photo is very “Z” to me though, his personality shines through so to speak.

Watching Youtube videos

15/366

The four of us ended up gathering around my laptop watching Youtube videos together just before bedtime. I’m not always thrilled that electronics sometimes fill up so much of my children’s day, but I have to admit that technology can provide some nice moments. It was a bit lacking in helping me with this photo however; my lens’ limited focal length forced me to take this shot over my shoulder because we were all squished in a little too cozily. A is actually looking at my face in this shot.

A cookie of her own

14/366

I think this is the first time I’ve ever handed Az an entire cookie. Z had never even tasted a cookie at her age. We found ourselves at a friend’s belated holiday get-together where homemade cookies were presented, and it seemed like the proper occasion to spoil her a little. When Az found herself with a whole cookie in her hand she didn’t seem to know what to do for a second. She looked at me curiously and then hid with it behind a counter as fast as she could. When she was sure that I hadn’t handed it to her by mistake she slowly came back out within my line of vision. And then she got to work on making that cookie disappear.

Racing the sunset

13/366

I was scheduled for a ten hour workday so I left my camera at home, figuring I would meet both it and Az at home at the end of the day. I was surprised with a shorter work day that conveniently ended right around the time Z was getting out of school. Migs and Az met up with us and we decided to check out a park based solely on a lone Yahoo review that read, “This park is beautiful it is inhabited with unicorns and fairies.” Luckily I had my phone’s camera with me because, as you can see, the review was completely accurate.

This little piggy went to Sephora

12/366

During our daily hang out session in the bathroom while Az brushed up (no pun intended) on her tooth cleaning skills I decided to paint my toenails, something I very rarely get around to doing these days. The bottle of silver polish was enough to distract Az from her toothbrush and even enticed her to climb down from her throne and offer up her own toes for polishing. Now we can add pulling off her socks to check out her toes while breathing out the word, “preeetty” to the list of Az’s favorite around-the-house activities.

Living the mini van dream

11/366

Another afternoon, turned evening and then night, spent hanging out in the car. As much as I loathe driving a mini van sometimes, it is awfully nice driving around a play house on wheels.

Pearly whites

10/366

Ever since Az was old enough to have obvious preferences, toothbrushes have been her very favorite thing. Any toothbrush has the potential to capture her heart, but ever since I put this Hello Kitty battery operated toothbrush in her Christmas stocking she has been over the moon for it. She very rarely wants it turned on, and in fact seems to prefer that it be off. When we’re home she prefers that the brush be in her hands at all times, and ideally she is sitting on the toilet at the same time. This morning the moment she climbed out of bed she walked immediately to the closed bathroom door and indicated that she wanted her beloved toothbrush. As soon as I handed it to her she backed up to the toilet, as is the routine, and said, “Down,” as in sit down. This is my cue to plop her onto the toilet, where she sits for as long as I’ll let her. It doesn’t seem sanitary to allow her to walk around the house carrying it, and I can only find so many excuses to hang out in the bathroom so I find myself spending most of the day trying to distract her from the toothbrush. She’s very focused, that girl.

Daddy time at the Big Park.

9/366

          Once upon a time not all that long ago this was my very favorite park, but that was before Z started ending up in the middle of conflict each visit. I still enjoy bringing Az to the Big Park while her brother is in school, but the thought of bringing the two of them together has begun to make me feel a little queasy. We still go to lots of parks as a threesome, but the Big Park is just a little too…big. The kids never feel like playing in the same area of the park and it’s just impossible to keep my eye on both of them. The toddler always wins the battle for attention at the park and I begin to feel like I’m setting Z up for failure.
         Today we had Migs with us and the sun was warm and shiny so I figured if each of us took a kid to follow we just might end up having a good time. And we did! I felt a little odd hovering over Z, but with a little redirection here and there he had a successful, fun time playing at the park with the other kids, as he deserves.
At one point I found myself answering the question, “How old is he?” with “Ten. And he has autism,” which felt incredibly awkward, but after the fleeting look of uncertainty my statement was well received. I suppose I was trying to head off the usual barrage of judgement about him that I’ve grown used to expect so that he would be allowed to be a kid. And it worked. :)

I spotted Az and her dad across the park slowly walking along the entrance sign and quickly took a picture before going back to my task of keeping up with an energetic ten-year-old.

They were being a little too quiet.

8/366

We did eventually get dressed and leave the house, but before that there was the moment when I realized that the kids were being just a little too quiet. I peered into Az’s room to find this; Z was sitting reading in the baby basket that Az barely fits into any longer herself and Az was just quietly sitting next to him, observing.

It takes 100 pictures to get one semi-okay one.

1/52

Z wants to take part in the project, but he hadn’t realized it would mean me taking so many pictures of him. He requested I do a daily photo of him as well, but only cooperates with the camera for one photo each day. Thus is born Project 52, where I post my best photo of the week each Sunday.

Surfing the ‘net with Grandmama

7/366

At Grandmama’s house before going out for an early celebration of Uncle S’s upcoming birthday. Az has been given play laptops by each of her grandmothers, but of course nothing compares to the real thing. If I leave my laptop on and step away for even a moment Az will plunk down in front of it and do a very authentic impression of typing. It's cute, in a "I hope you haven't done anything I can't easily undo" sort of way.

C’mon ride the train, and ride it.

6/366

Taking advantage of another beautiful January day, we decided to go to Train Town. I hadn’t taken Z to Train Town for the first time until he was quite a bit older than Az is now, and it was truly wonderful experiencing the train ride with Az at an age where she is suddenly taking in so much of the world around her. The ride starts with a tunnel, and a fellow young passenger immediately began screaming throughout the dark ride. Az’s reaction was to crouch down and hide between her father’s feet. We were able to quickly coax her back up, and for most of the rest of the ride she stood completely still with a serious expression of concentration on her face. However, every once in a while she would look over to her father or me and shoot us a huge smile before going back to making sure she didn’t miss a thing.

Hiding from the January sun in the car

5/366

Only five days in and I’m already posting another picture in the car, but the two of us spend a lot of time in the car so I suppose this is only the beginning of a trend. We came into town to deliver the brother to Aunt D and waited in the van while they watched a movie together. I had thought we’d have some one-on-one time of our own at the Big Park while the brother bonded with Aunt D but the little one’s nap schedule had other ideas. She slept most of the three hour wait, (I may have closed my eyes for a bit as well) but once the brother was safely delivered back to us we still had a few more hours to wait for Daddy. We went ahead and left the car for that portion of the wait. In all we spent nine hours of the day waiting; luckily we find each other pretty entertaining.

A walk through the woods

4/366

Of course she thought it was the trash cans in the picnic area that were worth pointing out.
(It was Dad’s job to choose her hat.)

A lazy day at home

3/366

We had lots of fantastic ideas and plans for today, but then we didn’t get much further past getting dressed. Those are often the best kinds of days.

Tickles from Mom

2/366

Waiting on Mom’s bed for her to get dressed before bringing her brother to tae kwon do and errand running. Getting us out of the house in the mornings takes a bit longer these days what with the tickle fests I have to work in to keep a happy baby.

Waiting in the car with a bed-headed baby on New Year’s morning.

1/366

By the time we headed home on New Year’s Eve I was feeling too drowsy to make the 2.5 hour drive home so I pulled over to sleep in a Chevy’s parking lot. When I woke up it was already light out, so I figured why not wait another hour and a half for IKEA to open. By the time we were done with IKEA I needed to pull over for another nap.