Sibling Play

Morning bead play

Samuel and Shira constantly amaze and delight me. What amazes and delights me the most, however, is when they amaze and delight each other*. I never would have guessed that they would begin playing with each other so early. Pretty much as soon as Shira could giggle and smile, Samuel would ham it up and try to find ways to amuse her.

While I chopped fajita veggies for dinner tonight, Samuel and Shira jumped on the trampoline.
I was just going to have Shira sit inside with me while I cooked, but she freaked out and started yelling at me and pointing at Samuel on the trampoline. So I took her outside and put her on the ground, at which point she screamed and pointed even more. She got a huge grin on her face when I finally brought her inside the trampoline enclosure. Samuel promptly kicked me out and insisted that he would take care of her. I was cramping his jumping style.And he did take care of her. When she started crawling for the springs, he hauled her back to the middle and explained to her that she would fall off if she went over there.
And Shira was upset when he left the trampoline without her, reaching for him and yelling for him to come back.

When dinnertime rolled around and Steve was stuck in a meeting, I sat Shira in her chair and gave her food to eat. I was concerned that she would be unhappy over there while I was cooking and I wouldn't be able to finish making dinner.Not to worry, as you can see, Samuel had no trouble cracking her up and keeping her occupied.Of course, some of this entertainment involved throwing food across the table and eating in silly ways (Samuel isn't the only jokester in the family)...

*This amazement and delight can only be equaled in intensity by the frustration (anger and annoyance) I am frequently in due to Samuel deliberately harassing Shira (standing with his butt in her face, putting his foot on her head, touching her head gently all the while knowing it will irritate her, etc. etc.), and Shira screaming in mock pain and terror in return.

Good Morning

Samuel decided he needed an early morning popsicle yesterday. But the rule of popsicles is that they are eaten outside. So what do you do when it is a chilly Bay Area morning and you want to eat a popsicle, but you are still in your pyjamas?Why, you put a robe on, of course. And then when your fingers and toes are cold? You request shoes for your feet and socks for your hands.

Thursday with Rebecca and Penelope

Since our babysitter got a last minute full time job, we needed to find an alternative situation for Samuel and Shira for a the couple of hours that I am at work on Tuesdays and Thursdays, until the end of the school year.

So, our new Thursday situation is a child swap with Kathrine. Samuel and Shira go to Kathrine's house for a couple of hours in the morning, and then I swing by and scoop Rebecca and Penelope and take all four of them home with me. So far so good...
We had a good time. Penelope was tired and had a tough time being away from mom, but took a nap and was ok. Rebecca was lovely and so polite and articulate. We are going to have to work a little on Samuel's hosting manners. He had a tough time sharing his trains and playing WITH Rebecca, rather than just using all the toys himself. Bear with us ladies, please!

A New Farm

Kristen suggested a new Wednesday afternoon activity this week. I didn't think that we would go, as our early bedtime usually means that I need to be home at 4:30 making dinner.

But Shira woke up early from her nap, and I didn't foresee spending the next 3 hours in the house ending well for us, so I threw Shira on my back, encouraged Samuel to jog, and we hopped on the bus to a farm that is unbelievably in the middle of suburbs.The kids played on and in a haystackAnd on a compost pileLillian and Samuel examine some ladybugsWhile Shira and Penelope chow on some dirtAnd since it is a working farm, we did do a little work

Riding Bikes...

...has become very popular in our household as of late. I'm excited that Shira's old enough for me to take her on the bike (though due to my freakishly small head genes her bike helmet still doesn't fit) and that Samuel is starting to really enjoy his strider bike.Samuel, Shira and I rode all the way to preschool this week.And Samuel rode all the way to the park (and most of the way to the farmer's market the week before).

Monday Morning Pancakes

There are some advantages to having a child that insists on waking up at 6:30am (if not earlier) every day. We have around 3 hours of family time most mornings, which means there's always time to make pancakes should the whim hit said early riser.Could these two guys be any cuter?

Shira scavenges for food on the floor while the men make breakfastCan you tell they were a hit?

What do you think, Steve?

Visiting Bubbie

The last time Samuel went to Bubbie's house was the weekend before Shira was born, so we figured it was high time to make the trek down to Nipomo.

We were originally going to go down on Thursday night, after I went to class, and Steve took the kids to music class, but I was sick as a dog, so Steve stayed home, and we decided to head down early in the day. The kids both slept most of the way, we stopped in SLO for lunch (yah! for yelp's iphone app) and made it the last half hour without incident.

One of the first things Samuel insisted upon doing, as soon as we got there, of course, was jumping in the pool, despite rainy 60 degree weather.

And of course, one of the first things Shira did, was eat some of Bubbie's chicken.
Bubbie had lots of fun playing fashion show with an obliging Shira...
Insisting that Shira clearly loved her hats...Samuel's birthday frog pinata was created And this little piggy was playedOn Saturday we visited Great Grandma Sarahand planted tomatoes