The kids love drawing with crayons, and they all have very specific "styles".
Today, while I was at the Giants game, Uncle texted me that Caroline was drawing "a yellow house with green grass and a blue Daniel". I asked if I would have been able to tell that without her narration, and he answered no I would not have, nor would I have known that "the yellow crayon is sleeping because it's tired." Caroline does that a lot - often she will use just two crayons and she will make them dance and have conversations as if she were playing with dolls.
Here's the picture - what do you think?
(That's a yellow Daddy, red and blue Mommy, blue Daniel, green Max, and red Caroline up top, courtesy of Uncle.)
After dinner, Caroline wanted to draw again and her brothers were quick to copy her. I gave Caroline 12 colors, the fancy art museum crayons her grandmother had given her as a gift. Max got a brand new 8-pack of "Jumbo Crayons" and I offered Daniel the rest of the tub of crayons. I was concerned that we were about to have a meltdown when Daniel insisted on using the crayons Caroline had, until Caroline voluntarily offered to let Daniel use all but the red and pink crayons she had - she kept passing me colors saying, "Daniel need blue...Daniel need 'nother blue..." etc.
Max pulled his crayons out one by one and made them dance and talk to each other:
Daniel focused on each color individually with a very deliberate drawing and minimal overlap:
Caroline, with just her red and pink crayons, started out just having them dance and play with each other. Then she started drawing and told me she was drawing a cat. Eventually, she had a bunch of cats on the page (she counted them out, "One, two, five, six!"). She told me she wanted them to come off her page and play in her house, but that couldn't happen. I pointed out it COULD happen in her imagination if she wanted. She thought for a moment, then squealed as she said, "There goes my kitty!"
(each largish swirl represents a cat)
After a bit of "watching" them roam around the room and meowing at them, it was time for them to get back on her paper. So she pointed at a cat somewhere in the room with her crayon like it was a magic wand and said, with purpose, "Cat get back my paper!" and then took the crayon and "drew" the cat back onto the page. She made sure I knew where the cats were she was targeting - a few were on the floor, one was on the newspapers, one was even on Daniel's head! Eventually, we got them all back.
The cats may have multiplied during their visit to the dining room.
Addendum:
After reading the above entry, Boppy printed out Caroline's original cat drawing and searched it to see how many cats he could find.
Here's what he came up with:
from this:
And the question is, whose creativity does that prove? (Also, how did he miss the face of the other one in pink off to the left???)
Today's plan was to meet Hartley and "Hartley's Mommy" for a playdate at the Zeum. We got to Yerba Buena Gardens around 11:30 and went to the playground area to kill time while we waited. There is a "giant slide" there which is only for 5-12 year olds and which, of course, was like a siren call to Caroline. We got her to go down the "all ages" slide instead, but right before the end of it, she flipped around and smacked into the ground with her head. So, that was that for the slide! If it scared Caroline, the boys wanted NOTHING to do with it! (Daniel did slide down on Uncle's lap once.) Instead, they roamed around climbing up and down the stairs and trying to scale the ladders of the monkey bar-type structure.
Then we ran over to the carousel to meet Hartley and her family. The last time we did this was nearly a year ago - or more - and Max was crazy for the carousel. But since then his acrophobia has kicked in, albeit intermittently, and adding that to a cling-on-to-Mommy phase made for a pretty nervous little boy on a horse. He didn't let me let go of him long enough to get a picture, but the others were happy to pose.
Daniel is all about equestrianism.
Caroline's peeking over to see if Hartley is beating her.
After the carousel ride, Max was hysterical and didn't want to leave, but Hartley wanted to go to the museum and Caroline wanted to do whatever Hartley wanted to do, so off we went! It was really fun to see how much Caroline enjoyed playing with another little girl.
Hartley and Caroline build with Floam
At this point, Max was more about snacks than discovery.
Daniel is getting into the Floam business.
When the boys invaded the Floam table, Hartley decided it was time to go play with clay, and Caroline dutifully tagged along.
Hartley's mommy is making her a doggy.
Hartley's daddy is trying to help Caroline, who is still thinking hard about her design.
And as soon as Max came in to play with the clay, the girls moved on to the next thing!
These figures were, of course, Sportacus and Robbie fighting.
At this point, Caroline met a 7-year old also named Caroline - and also wearing a fancy pink dress. Caroline is a magnet for "big kids". There is something about her that they find particularly adorable and they simply must play with her and show her how to do everything. And Caroline LOVES big kids and getting to follow them around, so this works well for both parties. The Carolines spent the next half hour or so exploring all parts of the big playroom, including building a huge fort out of soft blocks and inviting Max and Daniel to hide in it with them.
Max is helping out with the fort.
Saying hi to Daniel and Max IN the fort.
And then it was back to the Floam.
Banana!
Corn?
They kept playing for a long time, discovering a big video wall to dance in front of and costumes and puppets to play with and the always-popular green screen slide (kids can record themselves sliding down and see weird backgrounds projected on the screen).
Caroline and Hartley shared snacks adorably and when the boys wanted to go outside to play, we all went to the plaza and chased pigeons for twenty minutes or so. There was much wailing when it was time to say good-bye, but eventually friends were hugged and we waved so long and we somehow made it the two blocks back to the car without anyone dropping to the ground and kicking their feet in a tantrum.
Though Mommy was close when it was time to get everyone to take a nap once we got home!
Caroline LOVES babies, so she was very excited to learn that Sam and Junior were coming and bringing their new baby (well, Sam's new baby, Junior's new little sister) Lilly with them. All morning, all she could talk about was getting to see the baby and hold the baby.
When they actually got here, though, the boys were equally excited to hold the baby.
Caroline wanted to tickle Lilly
Daniel's deciding if he likes holding the baby
Yep, he does.
Max has a little trouble focussing
Multi-tasking - holding the baby, talking on the phone, and lifting weights…a modern dad...
Since their visit, whenever we find something that is too small for Caroline, she asks if we can "give it to Wiwwy", so I guess she liked her!
Later that day, they agreed to take pictures with me -- and we can see that Max was equally interested in that as he had been in the baby.
The kids have been doing really well with their later nap time, so when Caroline announced last night that she wanted to go to the zoo today, I wasn't worried about leaving immediately after they got up in the morning to fit everything in. We had a leisurely breakfast and played for a bit while we got ready and Uncle met us at about 10:30 and we headed out.
It was Day Camp day at the zoo, but it was still surprisingly empty. We went through the Children's Zoo's nature trail where teenagers explained animal things to the kids and they got to pet chinchilla fur and pet turtles and snakes and watch rabbits hide in burrows for "nap time". Then it was over to the petting zoo for ducky feeding and a bit of goat brushing.
But Caroline really wanted to ride the train! I was surprised she remembered it, as she hadn't mentioned it the last time we went. There was nobody there and the train was just about to leave, so we had perfect timing with no waiting.
And then we had to get off. Oh, the meltdowns. We mollified them with a visit to the snack bar and some chicken strips and fries for lunch. Luckily, they like birds, so the sea gulls were a draw, too. But Daniel was not deterred in his mission to return to the train. Not even getting to go to the "big boy bathroom" to wash his hands with uncle made him forget! (Caroline pronounced that the "big girl bathroom" was "stinky" and she thought the girls were "messy".)
So we went back to the train, where we had to wait about five minutes. This means the people in front of us had to wait for about five minutes of wailing and teary eyed sobbing from my kids. As soon as the train pulled in, Daniel and Max threaded their way through the people in front of us to be first in line. They are lucky they're cute.
Same deal the second time through. They LOVED the ride and then SCREAMED when it was time to get off. Uncle dealt with Daniel and Caroline while I tried to lock a flailing Max into the wagon. It was at the point that he full on punched me in the jaw and I said, "Jesus!" in exasperation that I looked up and saw another family - two adults and one child - just smiling at me knowingly. And then I couldn't stop laughing. Poor Uncle had to get them all in the wagon alone because I had stopped breathing I was laughing so hard.
This performance continued all the way to the penguins - we were the rolling zoo exhibit of the Screaming 'Teenies! And then there were penguins and a rhino (or "dino" as Caroline dubbed it) and everything was forgotten. Then they wanted to see the lions and tigers.
Caroline was the only one interested in the hippo and she was very excited that we got to see her stick her nose out of the water and open her nostrils for air before submerging again - just as I was explaining how she held her breath under water!
Nobody wanted to leave that area either, so we employed Uncle's trick of "on your marks, get set, go!" They'll go almost anywhere if they think they're racing! We ran to the river otters, and then through the monkeys to get home. Max had a meltdown at this point and wanted to see "MORE MONKEYS!" but I carried him and eventually he begged to get back in the wagon.
We'd almost made a clean getaway when Caroline spotted the stuffed animals on the display outside the gift shop. They have nearly every animal you can imagine, dyed hot pink. So she started begging, culminating in my adorable child sitting down in the middle of the parking lot, screeching, "I WANT PINK ZEEBA NOW!"
But if you ask them, I'll bet they'd say they had a GREAT time!
The plan was to go up to Tahoe for the All Star Break. We'd drive up on Monday, meet up with Boppy who was up there and heading back down on Monday after greeting us, and then unpack and make our way out to a leisurely dinner after watching a bit of the Home Run Derby. Tuesday, we'd wake up at a vacation pace and decide whether we want to go to the Lake for a dip in the clear, cold water or over to the Visitors Center for a stroll through the flora and fauna of the High Sierra, then back to the cabin to see some of the All Star Game and dinner. Wednesday would be our most adventurous day, heading over the hill into Nevada to meet up with Joe's niece Andrea and her husband for lunch and then to the Reno Aces' ballpark for the AAA All Star Game. And Thursday we'd pack up and head home, refreshed and relaxed.
That was the plan.
We made it through the first few steps without incident. We left on Monday and drove to Livermore for a quick visit, then through Sacramento and onto Highway 50. From Folsom to the "Y" at South Lake Tahoe, we made seven different stops to retrieve items the kids had "dropped" and couldn't get to, but we still made it to the cabin by about 4:15/4:20 and chatted with Boppy for a bit before he had to hit the road and coast down the hill. The kids and I went out back to inflate and set up the wading pool so Daddy could watch Yoenis Cespedes crush the first round of the HR Derby.
A bunch of the toys took a rest after their long trip.
Max and Caroline man the hose.
Max making sure the water is getting into the pool.
Doesn't it look like she's asking, "You expect me to swim in THIS?"
And then we tried to leave for dinner. Caroline was THRILLED to be going to a restaurant. When I told her she could choose between spaghetti and pizza for dinner, she added, "And PIE!" I have no idea why she associates pie with restaurant eating, but it immediately sounded like a good idea. Sadly, her brothers were NOT interested. Luckily, Boppy had stocked the fridge with some chicken nuggets and grapes and we'd brought some other snacky food and we made it through that meal. They dug into a LazyTown DVD while I snuck out to do some additional shopping and soon enough it was time for bed.
The cabin has a large living room/dining room/kitchen area with a bedroom and bath downstairs and two additional bedrooms at the top of the steep staircase. Since the kids are not out of cribs yet and cannot be trusted alone in the dark around a staircase without a sturdy safety gate, we brought up three pack n play playpens to set up in the living room. This meant we had to set them up at bed time each night and break them back down in the morning, but we survived it last year and my spirits were still sort of high. But I'd apparently underestimated how attached they are to the things they sleep with (Max calls these his "stuff" and Daniel calls it his "toys"). I brought two items each, plus the Lazy Town dolls, but Daniel instantly realized that Carrot was missing. And while we're at it, where's Mickey Mouse? Monkey and Ribbit were simply NOT going to cut it. Caroline and Max seemed less concerned, but still a little upset.
We tried to re-create the bedtime routine as close as possible. We watched a Caillou DVD, then said "good night" to the TV and let everyone walk to their "fancy cribs". I lifted them each out of bed and over to the light switch to turn the light off and on, just like we do at home, and then we did hugs and kisses. Only for Daniel they were hugs and sobs. I have never felt his grip harder than it was as I had to wrench myself away to disappear into the back of the house so they could settle down. Of course, they didn't settle down. Daniel screamed and sobbed and ran around shaking his crib and threw his toys into Caroline's crib or onto the floor. And I, the one who was so strict sleep training them and would wait outside the door forcing myself not to go in, ended up sleeping on the floor outside his crib with my hand held up to the mesh like a prison visitor to the glass. I admit this to portray just how unsettled he was, but also to remind him, years later, that I slept on a cold, hard floor without a blanket or pillow while suffering from bursitis in my hip all because I love him. So no, Mr. 16-year old Daniel, you may not borrow the car until your room is cleaned!
At 6am, the early morning light flooded the room and everyone was awake. I have no idea how much I slept, but I know it didn't feel like much. Joe emerged from the bedroom bleary-eyed and we discussed the various merits of just packing it in and going home right then. But we didn't. I put the kids in their swim diapers and bathing suits to try out the pool around 9, but the morning sun hadn't reached the backyard early enough to warm the water and so we came back inside. This is when I discovered that swim diapers don't really contain pee - so I changed everyone's clothes, including my pants where the boys had been sitting on my lap, and we went out shopping.
Oh, did I forget to mention that at some point during the night the refrigerator died? It was still making all the noises of a functioning fridge, but there were three trays of water in the freezer and a particular "cooked shrimp" smell from the cooler that begged to differ. So we all packed into the car to buy an ice chest, a block of ice, and some dairy products to replace the milk, yogurt, and cheese it no longer seemed wise to eat.
The kids were over the moon to go shopping, even if Caroline had fallen asleep on our six-minute trip there, and as they entered KMart it was like they had actually entered the pearly gates. We found ourselves a cooler, some bug spray, a bunch of cold water, and two large dark brown blankets to pin up over the light curtains that let in too much light during Daniel's rough night. As we emerged from KMart, the crying began, "No go home! No go car!" so we just unloaded our purchases and walked down to the Starbucks around the corner of the shopping center to get coffee, tea, and 3 milks. We were definitely a sight. Luckily, people still think they're very cute and they still think we're brave for taking them out when they're crying. So we wandered all the way to the other end of the shopping center, and then back. They still didn't want to go, but they announced they wanted french fries. No fries to be had on our side of the street, so we loaded them kicking and screaming into the van and backtracked to Jack in the Box. Caroline fell asleep on the way.
We then ate french fries all the way back to the lake area and the Visitors Center (less packing, fewer costume changes required than the beach) and loaded up on sunblock. The kids were instantly engrossed in everything.
Well, everything except having their picture taken.
The Rainbow Trail at the Visitors Center takes you through all the different habitats of the High Sierra - meadow, watershed, dense forest, etc - with detailed educational signage. But most importantly, it is almost entirely paved and is wonderfully flat. So the kids were able to roam relatively free.
Max pointing out some interesting facts about the local grasses.
There was a blue jay in this bush somewhere. (Don't worry, I can't see him either.)
The kids stopped to look for froggies.
A boy scout who was also looking pointed out four frogs sleeping in the water. Can you see them?
Here, Caroline is pointing out a family of ducks on the creek.
Max loves birds, so he was pretty happy with our wildlife finds so far. It was a battle to keep him from dropping into the water to chase after the baby duckies!
Max and Caroline are impressed by the sign warning that there are deer in the area.
The really cool thing about this trail is the Stream Profile Chamber, a small dugout with a big glass wall allowing you to see underwater in the creek and spy some rainbow or brown trout in the summer months. Last year when we took the kids, there was a tour group in there that didn't seem too thrilled with three screeching toddlers. This year, we had the whole room to themselves, which was awesome because they were SOOO loud.
That's right - Caroline introduced herself to the fish. I'm most impressed that she introduced the rest of us as well.
After about twenty minutes visiting the fishies, we emerged into the sunlight and began our return leg. The kids took turns with "On your mark, get set, GO!" races up the path.
I don't know what Daniel was thinking here, but I love his expression.
About two hundred yards from the end of the path, Max stopped to poop. He chose the only part of the path with no benches in sight, but at least there was shade as he refused any attempt to move for the next fifteen minutes or so. Caroline was not excited about staying still, so she continued to run races between Daddy and me, sometimes getting Daniel to run with her.
Caroline was not interested in waiting.
Eventually, I had to carry Max to the end of the path, where we met an adorable small dog and Max magically forgot that he was upset.
Until it was time to get back in the car. We bribed the kids with the promise of ice cream, which meant we picked up a box of Drumsticks at Raley's when we stopped for dairy products and ice and ate them while we shopped.
Then it was back to the cabin and into the pool to clean off.
Caroline is the only one who got in the water.
This photo doesn't show it, but Max was actually having fun.
Then it was time for shivering, blue-lipped babies to take a warm up bath, get dressed, and head out to the restaurant. We ate really quickly and nobody gave us dirty looks for letting the kids play with iPod/Pad/Phones at the table. Daniel decided he really likes butter and Caroline ate shaved parmesan by the handful. We were delightful company, I'm sure. (Honestly, though, there was a table of six people who spent most of the time we were there recounting plots for episodes of "Full House" and discussing whether or not Joey was an uncle or just an "uncle" - I don't think they noticed us.)
The kids were exhausted when we came back and I was confident this meant they would fall asleep.
Hmm... after twenty minutes of screaming which seemed to wake all the neighborhood dogs, I let them get up and have snacks and run in circles. At 10:45, I put them back down and hid in the bedroom with my headphones and at 10:59, Daniel finally gave up. At about 3:04, he decided to give it another try. I came out to find that he'd wriggled out of his sleep sack and thrown his blanket and all his toys out of his crib and was standing there saying, "Mommy? I cold...." I covered him back up and gave him all his things and snuck back to the bedroom. Ten minutes later, I was back in the living room with both boys screaming. They both wanted out of their sleep sacks and cribs, so I settled into a recliner with a boy on each knee and they slept while I wondered why I hadn't thought to grab a blanket and marveled at how much they move when they sleep. And how heavy the are!
At 6:30, they were awake. At 6:45, they'd awoken Caroline. By 7, I'd given in and turned on the TV and started to slowly pack up their cribs and everything else. After our experience at the San Jose Giants last month, I was not going to attempt a two hour drive to an unfamiliar ballpark in 90+ degree weather on four hours' sleep. So instead, we packed up the car, cleaned out the dead fridge, put the trash out, and headed back down the mountain. We didn't even bother to get them dressed.
And after a full day in the car, Caroline couldn't wait to try out driving when we got home.
She and Daniel also enjoyed hitching a ride from Uncle, who came to rescue Mommy and Daddy from their sleep-deprived state.
We went to Livermore on Thursday, since we missed out on seeing Grandma and Grandpa on their way home.
Max showing off his Reno Aces shirt Grandpa left for him at Tahoe.
I think Daniel still looks tired.
Checking out Papa's chair
Daniel is in charge of the remote!
And when we got home, Caroline somehow made it behind the wheel again.
