Happy Mother's Day to Me

I can post from my phone at jessitron.vox.com
check that out.

Eating - 4 skill points

Lindita has leveled up at eating solids. She now opens her mouth and lunges for the spoon. She likes applesauce, avocado, and mashed potatoes. She makes weird faces when we feed her bananas.

Evelyn, when she is hungry, announces, "I'm startle-in'."

Hello world

I can now post on the blog from my mobile phone.

edit: well, maybe not. Attempts to send a photo failed. grr.

Yum, roly poly tomatoes

Threeness

This morning Evelyn looked at the edge of our bedroom door. She turned one doorknob and watched the other one turn, then vice versa. "This door has great twisters!" I told her that they're called doorknobs, and that the door has two doorknobs. She looked at her bedroom door. "My door only has one." Then she ran over to look at her door from the edge: "One, two! My door has two doorknobs." This was a major discovery.

Later, I stood at the top of the stairs and called to her. She came to the bottom of the stairs and I tossed her preferred dress down to her. She almost caught it. "Let's try that again!" She tried to fling the dress up the stairs, then carried it up the stairs.

Then she noticed some dust particles in the sunlight. She spent several minutes catching them. "Look! I caught one!" (opens hands) "Where did it go?" She caught a white dust particle, then a pink one, then several other colors.

She's thrilled to go to school this morning. It's a beautiful day, and she has a new headband. Today is school picture day -- should be interesting.

She didn't die

On Saturday, Evelyn went with Daddy to swimming lessons, then the library, then out to lunch at Lion's Choice. She ate her whole ham sandwich. She read several books. And at swimming: "I drowned, but I didn't die. I splooshed right back out!"

Lindita has a tummyache. We are all very sad and tired. Evelyn dances for Linda; the baby stops crying and laughs at her sister.

How the wind works

A few days ago, it was windy and chilly. Evelyn said that the birds need to stop shaking the branches because it's making too much wind.

Bathtime Giggles

Lindita thinks Evelyn is hilarious. They play in the bath. Evelyn splashes her sister, but Linda blinks and then laughs again.

This video posting doesn't seem to be working. I'll go upload it to Facebook too.

Evelyn loves her bunny towel. She wears it every day. She hops around the house with her floppy bunny ears.

Finally, a sitting photo

Easter friends

Here's Evelyn and Sydney at Purina Farms. They bravely held hands when cold or when intimidated by the giant Easter Bunny.

Money

For those of you with a Facebook account, I uploaded a bunch of pictures this morning. I didn't have time to crop, shrink, and upload each of them to here.



If you sign up for RME with this button I will get $10 and will donate it to Free The Midwives.

Spoon Joy

This morning, Lindita bounced in her command chair while I put away dishes, as usual. After waving a wooden spoon around a bit, I walked over and handed it to her. She stared at me, stared at it, stared at me, and then grabbed it with both hands. Her little eyes lit up and she grinned in delight. She was shocked and thrilled that I gave the wooden spoon to her.

She is the perfect baby!

Burps and kicks

Yesterday after Lindita woke up, stared at her hand, and kicked around for a while, I helped her sit up. She immediately made a huge burp. It was so loud it woke Evelyn.

Last night she kicked me the whole night. She couldn't sleep. Maybe the booger that made so much noise in her nose it kept all of us awake? Maybe the miso soup she sucked off her fingers last night at Sansui? Either way, it was one of those nights I won't be sorry to leave behind when my kids are big.

That's babies: extreme cuteness and joy, alternating with extreme aggravation.

I want food!

Lindita seems to think it's time to start eating solids. At dinner, she wants to sit on our laps and grab our food. Last night she snatched tiny handfuls of rice and a green bean from my plate and tried to cram them into her mouth. Once they are near her mouth, she tries to suck on them. Silly girl.
We tried to take a picture but the camera was MIA.

Today is full of snow. They're closing my office early, and when I get home, I'll put on my puffy coat and take Evelyn out to play. Hurray!

My new favorite baby shirt

I've added pictures to these posts: The birthday continues and Victory at last

And because we haven't seen a photo of Evelyn in a while:

She sits!

I was going to wait until I could upload a picture, but you all deserve to know: Lindita can sit. For a while. She still flops over every few minutes, but she can support herself -- and wants to practice all day.

Yesterday, Evelyn plays with Mater (the tow truck) and a My Little Pony. Says the pony to the tow truck: "I'm not a good hooker."

Immigration

This blog is nominally about my children but I'm going to post about politics today. Blame Jaelithe.

The immigration reform debate makes my heart ache. Why are we fighting so hard to keep out people who want to come to this country and work? Why do we want to spend billions making a wall along our border, to keep out a few desperate desert crossers?

What is so bad about a person of Mexican birth benefiting from a job here? Why should American citizenship confer exclusive rights to the jobs available on this soil? No wonder firms are moving jobs outside of this country. We don't want to let the people who want to do the work, do the work. We force people underground, cause them to resent the system we won't let them be part of. They have so much to contribute!

In my own field, programming, we have many foreigners working here. We also have many jobs that go overseas. In some cases offshoring is a bad idea, when clear communication is essential for doing the job. Other times it's efficient. This competition, both here and abroad, has enriched the field. We need to let more intelligent workers in if we want to continue as a world leader in technology. More, not fewer! The immigration caps on some countries (India, China) are far too low. I'm in favor of letting in as many people as want to come, in the long term. Does this lower my salary potential? Probably. But it enhances the opportunities available to my children, because more innovation will happen here.

I don't want what seems best for the American people. I want what is best for the whole world. In the long run, the two are the same.

What are your thoughts?

The birthday continues

Last weekend, Papa-san and Uncle Jason came to visit. Evelyn, Eric, and Jason all got birthday presents. Evelyn enjoyed the company. Lindita enjoyed the trip to the Art Museum.

What are you going to be?

Yesterday as we laid down to take a nap:
Evelyn: What will I be when I'm done being three?
Mama: Next year on your birthday, you'll turn four.
Evelyn: And then five? And then I can drive a sharp yellow car?
Mama: You can drive when you are sixteen.
Evelyn: And eighteen?
Mama: Yes.
Evelyn: When I'm eighteen I'll drive a big yellow car with a steering wheel.
...
Evelyn: What will you be when you're done being a mama?
Mama: I'll always be your mama.
Evelyn: No. What will you turn into after you're done being a mama?
Mama: A grandma!
Evelyn: Yeah! Like Nana.

She agreed that she might be a grandma too some day, maybe. But when she grows up, she wants to be a mermaid. A mermaid, with a green mermaid tail and a green mermaid swimsuit.

Lindita's Big Day

Today Lindita turned 4 months old. She finally rolled over! She rolled from her back to her tummy. She rolled right off her naked butt pad and immediately pooped on the living room rug. Then she puked on it. She is proud of herself. It's repeatable too: she rolled from back to front several times!

Evelyn's big birthday party at Gymboree was a success this afternoon. Thank you to everyone who came. I'll post pictures on Facebook.

Evelyn is three!

Today is Evelyn's birthday. She denies that she is three: "No, I'm still two and a half." She wants me to carry her down the stairs.

This morning she opened her most exciting present, the big one from Nana. Nana bought her two dresses and some toys. Evelyn immediately put on one of the dresses. She quickly got it wet. Good thing Nana bought her two dresses.

She took cupcakes to school today, cupcakes that we decorated last night. She helped. After frosting and squirting and sprinkling the first batch, she began to eat one without using her hands. Frosting on all the nearby cupcakes interacted with her hair. Time for a bath. Good thing the people who'll eat those cupcakes weren't there to see it.

This evening the planned festivities include more presents and a visit from Jorge and Eva. On Saturday is her big party at Gymboree.

Graeme Frontbum - President of the Internet

Just another day

Here are my girls today. I'm working from home because there's a lot of snow on the ground. Evelyn has been sick this week. Her fever is going down but still present, so no snow play for her. Lindita is cheerful.

Victory at last

After days of trying, Lindita can now grab her feet. She first noticed them about a week ago. She stared and stared. Since then she's been trying to operate her hands, aiming for them. Yesterday she finally grasped them, both of them. Then she smiled. We cheered. Her big sister is proud. She even lets Lindita wear her socks from when she was a baby.

Here she is the day she noticed her feet:



Evelyn has been sick for a few days. We have a virus, and she had a high fever for a long time. She laid in bed with me and told me about parades, fireworks, sledding, and many other things she does with Pa-Pa, Uncle Seth, Mama Cat, and Bean Dog. She wants her purple butterfly blanket when she's sick. Mama Cat bought that for her years ago.

Today I had a beautiful lunch. I had my hair cut, then walked to the hot dog place for a lamb gyro and chili dog. It was gorgeous, 69 and sunny. The guy on the radio says low of 14 tonight and 30% chance of snow by midnight -- crazy!

Another wonderful weekend

The girls are getting smarter and smarter. Evelyn is now sleeping in panties, and she is using the big potty instead of the little potty chair. She has begun asking, "Why?" She wants us to make up stories about Diego and Dora, in which Evelyn rides her "yellow skateboard with yellow knee pads and yellow elbow pads and a yellow helmet with a black three" or her pink horse or Lightning McQueen the famous race car. In these stories, Evelyn is always the fastest. Sometimes while riding her yellow skateboard she races with Lightning McQueen, and Evelyn is still the fastest.

Lindita, um, well, she looks at us and smiles. She has outgrown all the small diapers and is almost too big for 3-6 month clothing. She coos at us, and squeals and chirps like a wild bird.

Evelyn turns three in about two weeks. She is excited about turning three, because then she can be a baseball batter. That's what she wants to be when she grows up, and she thinks that three is grown up. She dismisses any notion of being five or six; three is all she needs.

Three months, and still alive

Today Linda Estrella is 3 months old. Evelyn is 2 years and 11 months. They're both alive and well, growing and learning. Evelyn adores her sister. She plays with her, tries not to squish her or kick her, and exclaims, "She smiled at me!" Yesterday she took a drawing to her, saying, "I will give it to my best friend, Lindita."

Lindita is smiley. She sleeps well at night, eats well, and spits up a lot. That's from overeating. She's wearing 3-6 month clothes and medium diapers. She has both parents, her sister, and her Nana securely charmed.

Evelyn is excited about turning 3 in February. "When I'm 3, then I will be a baseball batter." (She thinks 3 is grown up.) She loved Christmas, and she loved spending time in Hannibal with Mama Cat, Pa-Pa, Uncle Seth, Aunt Bunny, Jeremy, and Bean. When she came home, she hugged Daddy, hugged Mama, and then asked, "Is Lindita here?"

Rock Band

Evelyn has a new favorite video game: Rock Band. She can really play the drums! She does pretty well in practice mode; she can hit it to the rhythm. She's especially good with the cymbal. She gets a lot of extra hits in, though, since she constantly bounces up and down on the bass drum pedal.

When this game comes out for the Wii, we'll have to get it. And a Wii.

Snowdrops are coming down

This weekend brings the first snow of the year. Evelyn woke up, looked out her window, and saw snow everywhere. Boy, was she excited! We made a snowman. It's a leaner.

She went down the slide at the playground, making a big pile of snow at the bottom. Then she went down again -- fast, "like Lightning McQueen, the famous racecar!" She landed on her butt in the snow about four feet in front of the slide. Mama said, "That was awesome! Do it again!" Evelyn replied, "I'm ready to go home now."


Jorge taught her to make snow angels. She made lots of those, and threw many snowballs. Daddy helped her to slide down hills in the neighbors' yards. It's been great weekend.
Right now she's declaring, "I'm not cute. I'm big."

Here are some gratuitous pictures with Lindita in them:

Fame

Lindita's birth is national news.

Pajama Time

Normally, getting Evelyn's pajamas on is a nightly fight. We have to threaten her with timeouts to get her to step into the pull-up and hold still while we pull on her pajamas.

Last night, after their bath together, Linda needed pajamas too. I asked the magic question: "Who will get her pajamas on first, Evelyn or Linda?" Suddenly, Evelyn is asking for the pull-up, pulling it on by herself, and jumping up and down for Daddy to get her some pink pajamas. She put them on all by herself, while I very slowly snapped up Linda's sleeper. Evelyn declared victory and jumped up and down in triumph.

The same strategy works for getting Evelyn into her car seat and into the bath.

Sibling rivalry is working to our advantage right now.

Where bananas come from

"Evelyn, do you know where bananas come from?"
"From banana peels."
"Where do banana peels come from?"
"Marshmallows!"

She went on to say "...nooooo, bananas." I think the marshmallow bit was a joke, and a funny one!

Evelyn's Christmas List

For anyone who wants to buy presents for Evelyn, here is some info. If you like, post in the comments what you're getting her, so that no one else does.
- Dr. Seuss books: Hop on Pop, Sneetches.
- Dora movies. She has Animal Adventures and Shy Rainbow, and we're getting really tired of watching those two over and over. She also loves Diego.
- a swimsuit with animals on it.
- those foam letters that stick to the bathtub.

Linda would like:
- a black and white mobile, or else the Haba Butterflies mobile.

Shaking tail feathers

For Halloween this year, Evelyn was a fish (Nemo) and Linda was a skunk.



Evelyn shook her tail feathers for candy.

New Baby

Welcome to the world, Linda Estrella Kerr! She was born last Tuesday, 9 October. Read her birth story. Her name means "pretty star." Linda is after Nana Linda, of course, and Eric picked Estrella to go with it. Please address all mail to Linda E. Kerr or Linda H. Kerr.

Linda is doing all her baby duties: eating, sleeping, pooping, and peeing. Eric has taken two weeks off work, Nana went back home to Kentucky, and Evelyn is in Hannibal with her Pa-Pa and Mama Cat. We're having a lovely quiet time of bonding here.

Waiting

Nothing going on, really. We're waiting for the new baby to arrive; it could be any day. Look, baby, see all the leaves falling. It is October. It is time to come out. Never mind that it is 90 degrees outside.



Evelyn likes clam chowder.

Company

It was a big weekend. Lisa, Lauren, and Elliot came to visit from Chicago. Lauren is Evelyn's age, and Elliot is seven months old.



Mama Cat, Paw-paw, and Uncle Seth came to visit too. We all had a blast at the City Museum. Here, Evelyn and Lauren play on the roller slide in the toddler section. This was the only part of the museum where we could catch them on film.





... and finally, a gratuitous photo of Evelyn.

Let's fight!

Retreat

The whole family went on a retreat last weekend at Mark Twain Lake. Evelyn spent most of her time riding bikes with Carter.



She enjoyed eating Carter's dinosaur birthday cake, too. They fought over the threehorn until they realized that the tyranosaur roared; then they fought over him.

Preschool

This morning I dropped Evelyn off at preschool for the first time. She wasn't quite sure about me leaving, but she gave me a kiss and went off to play.

Why Nanny is a Sucker

Dinosaurs

Labor Day Visits

For the holiday, we drove to Hannibal. Evelyn was thrilled to go to Hannibal to visit Mama Cat and Paw-Paw and Uncle Seth and Aunt Bunny and Rachel. She had a blast, especially playing with Seth. She went fishing and caught a little tiny fish, and Daddy caught a bigger fish.

And guess who came to visit? I'll give you a clue: he's sleeping on the couch right now. He fell asleep watching the Hurley episode of Lost, his birthday present from Rachel and Seth.

Happy Birthday Mama

I am thirty! Evelyn made me a cake.

Nanny Sucker

Today, Nana Linda and Evelyn were walking through the neighborhood.
Evelyn: "Carry me."
Nana: "You think Nanny's a sucker, don't you?"
Evelyn: (sweetly) "No."
Nana picks her up.
Evelyn: (laughing) "Nanny Sucker!"

Meet the Teacher

Today Evelyn's preschool teachers came by to meet her. They go to the house of each new student so that the kids meet the teachers in a familiar environment before classes start. In two weeks, Evelyn starts preschool, two mornings per week. I think she'll love it. Her friend Carter currently attends this preschool, with the same teachers, and he highly recommends it.

Her teacher asked to take her picture, so Evelyn dutifully said "cheese" when asked... then smiled for the camera. That was a first! She actually smiled for the picture. She must like her teachers.

Bellystick

Last week Evelyn had a little too much fun with a melted lipstick.

Nombres de nenes

We can't tell you the gender of the baby-in, but we can tell you the names we've picked out for each possibility. Of course, all name plans are contingent on the baby looking like that name.

A boy will be Corwin James. Corwin is a name Eric has always loved, and his dad and grandfather are both Kerwin, which is close. James, of course, is after my grandfather.

A girl will be Linda, after Eric's mother. The middle name for this one is up for discussion. I wanted Grace or Faith, after my aunts, but both of those sound rather plain with Linda and a one-syllable last name. A Spanish middle name would be much prettier! We could go with Gracia (grace), but not Fe (faith, pronounced "fay"). My current favorite is Sofia, which means wisdom. Any other suggestions?

One Yard High

She is now as tall as the yardstick and weighs over 28 lb. She is not quite as tall as the bike pump, though.

Two and a Half

Evelyn is now two and a half years old!

Not a baby anymore

Evelyn has passed a milestone: instead of asking us to "hold you" she moved on to "hold-you me" and finally, "Hold me." She sounds grown-up. She is working on saying "Evelyn Joy Kerr" when asked her name instead of "Emelyn Joy Kerr." The v is a difficult sound for her, but she can do it when she concentrates.

Her other recent accomplishments include clipping her own fingernails and toenails; wearing big girl panties most of the time, even on outings; and dancing like Pocoyo.

Cousins

A few weeks ago, Evelyn and I visited Chattanooga with Mama Cat and family. Evelyn loved her cousins, Faith and Ellie and Nick and Liz. She thought they were the best. Nick was her favorite chaser. Faith and Ellie each played with her for hours and hours.
Also in Chattanooga, she visited a park where she rode the carousel three times. She ate blue ice cream. Mama Cat: "What flavor is that?" Evelyn: "Mine!" She played in the fountains a little bit, but mostly wanted to splash Paw-paw.
She misses her cousins. Hopefully she'll get to see them again while she still remembers them this time. Come up for Christmas, cousins! We certainly aren't going anywhere this year.

Little Tiny Fish

Evelyn had a big time over the 4th of July with her Paw-Paw and Mama Cat. On the 4th, she saw a parade, a festival, a carnival, and fireworks. By firework time she was tired and ready for bed. She loved the parade ("I got candy") and the carnival, especially the plane ride. I loved that other people took her to fireworks and I went to bed early.

The next day, Daddy and Mama went back home and Evelyn stayed with her grandparents. They took her to Going Bonkers in Quincy, where she went bonkers in the indoor playland for hours. The following day they took her fishing. She wanted to catch a little tiny fish, and she did! Paw-paw caught great big fish, which he fried up on Sunday -- yum. Evelyn ate Mama Cat's meatloaf and mashed potatoes every day during her visit. She played with Uncle Seth and Aunt Bunny, chasing endlessly around the house. She was not ready to come home with Mama on Sunday, but she consented, and very quickly fell asleep in her carseat in the minivan.

Mid-day Mole News

This is the latest from Nana:

After we came back from "Dora's" awhile ago, there was a little bitty dead mole on our walkway. Mole may or may not have been taken down by the Goddess of the hunt. Anyway, Evelyn took a liking to the mole and she has been stroking it and telling it all her secrets ever since. Hope that is ok.

New van

Our stroller doesn't fit in our car nicely, so we bought a new van to drive it around.

We spent weeks looking at minivans. The Toyota was our favorite, but it was too expensive. We almost bought a Mazda, but the price wasn't quite right. Buy it anyway? I prayed about it, and heard "no, not yet." So I prayed that the right van would come up for sale in the next four months. The right van is red, with power doors and driver's seat and a sunroof, and maybe a power tailgate for bonus.
The very next day, I randomly check Craigslist, and poof, right at the top of the page is a 2006 Toyota Sienna in red with all the features we want and more, for less than the price of a base 2007 model. Surely it's sold already. But no, it is still available! The next day we drive far, far south to see it. And lo, it is the perfect van!
Buying from a person is lots more trouble than buying from a dealer, especially when you're financing. We looked at the van on Friday, and now the next Wednesday (after much paperwork) it is sitting in our garage awaiting temporary tags. Soon, very soon, we will be driving it. I can't wait!

Mama Cat and Aunt Bunny

My mom and sister visited for four full days over this weekend. Wow, that was fun! It is great to have my mom around when I'm pregnant. On Saturday we went shopping, first all the girls to Crestwood Mall (the carousel is gone! how sad!), then just Mom & I to the Galleria for shoes. We stopped at the tea store that I've been itching to visit for months. Last night, Mom and Eric and I stayed up late playing a game. Aaaaah.

Aunt Bunny played with Evelyn almost the whole time, since Evelyn wouldn't give her a minute alone. "Where Aunt Bunny? Aunt Bunny, come back! I want Aunt Bunny." and if Aunt Bunny didn't respond, she called for Rachel. Evelyn liked riding in Rachel's car, red with bird poop on it.

I'm going to miss them a lot.

New stroller

On Saturday we purchased this stroller:

We assembled it (just the single buggy, not the second seat yet) and Evelyn is in love. She describes the color as "blue, with clouds." She loves to climb in it and buckle herself. She loves to lay in the seat when it is fully reclined. She wants the hood up all the time, and plays peek-a-boo through the little sneak-peek window in the top.
Yesterday we pushed her for almost four miles, and then she was really ready to run. On this walk, she got to pee in a port-a-potty ("I want to pee in it again") and jump on a trampoline. It was great!

Where babies come from

The other day, Evelyn and I read a book about dinosaurs. It showed the little baby dinosaurs growing inside eggs.
Me: "Do we grow our babies inside eggs?"
Evelyn: "No."
Me: "Where do we grow our babies?"
Evelyn: "In our bellies."

Thank you very so much!

Last night a package arrived from Hanna Andersson (my favorite clothing store) containing new shoes and dress for Evelyn, and matching ones for Nora. She is thrilled with the shoes because they're purple and turquoise, her two favorite colors. They're her first pair of slip-ons. She wore them all evening, even when walking only a few feet. She said, "Thank you very so much!"

Lake trip

For Memorial Day weekend, we drove down to Table Rock Lake (near Branson, MO) and shared a cabin with Sydney and her parents. What great fun! Evelyn rode on a boat, threw rocks in the lake, and played. Throwing rocks in the lake was her favorite, although she enjoyed the boat ride and the playground. When we returned home, we missed Sydney. Having a playmate around makes it much easier for Evelyn to stay entertained.

When Evelyn is particularly happy with me or Daddy, she says, "You are my best big brudder."

Trains

Evelyn loves to play with her train set. I love to build new tracks for her. Mom's mural makes a great backdrop. The trains go up, down, under the traffic signal, stop at the water tower for a fillup, and into the little house. She likes Thomas Train the best, because he is her favorite color. She carries him around with her, and keeps losing him.

Best Friends

Evelyn and Nora are best friends. Today, Nora came over to Evelyn's house. Then they both rode bikes over to Nora's house, and then they walked back to Evelyn's house. They both cried when we made them part for dinner.

Daddy came home

Yesterday, Eric returned from yet another work trip. Evelyn is happy to have him back. In the middle of the night, she said, "He's snoring like elephant." Then, "And he is Eric. And he is Daddy. And I love him. And I love you." Aw, my sweet daughter!

Goose Egg

Evelyn fell and hit her forehead on a table leg last night. She got a big ol' bump. It didn't break the skin, thank goodness. She was running and playing again fifteen minutes later. This morning she's a little sluggish, and she says it still hurts, but she's okay. She has a colorful handkerchief tied around her head for a bandage.

More danger

Last night, on the walk...
Me: "You are too cute."
Evelyn: "No, I'm dangerous."