My new Name

Makili has been saying Daddy for a long time, and though he would occassionally say mama after someone else said, it wasn't frequent and it wasn't usually independent. Now things have changed. I have a name. Apparently I say things like "give me that toy," or "do you want me to help you," or "what do you want me to do?" because I am officially called "ME." Raph thinks it's hilarious. I kind of like it actually.

Allergic Reaction, Fifth Disease, A Mystery!

We have no idea what has caused this incredible rash.

A Gabrielle-Paka Saga

She started off cute as a button and happy as a clam (love those cliches!)
But then Makili made her mad. (She has a delicate nature!)

Paka came to the rescue and decided to provide some diversion. She loved it. Laura did not.Then the inevitable happened. A little slip. No harm done, but...

Again the delicate nature.
So Paka tries another diversion. And all was well.

A few more shots.
I look ridiculously pregnant and big, but otherwise a nice group shot.

I just liked this silly picture of Ann.

Some more Arkansas shots

Crack kills.

Gabby taught Makili to golf while we were here.

BFFs

They say that Makili and Gabrielle are too young to play "together."  I'd say that is definitely not true.  They play hide-n-go-seek.   They give each other turns and watch each other go down the slide.  They draw together.  It is pretty amazing how well they get along.  They have similar temperaments - both observers, emotionally tuned into other people, both gentle.  Makili sees a lot of other children in a given week between the kids I babysit for and the kids at the family resource center where we spend some mid-week time, and I've never seen him get along with any other child so well.  It is uncanny and ridiculously cute.  

Two

Yesterday Makili turned 20 months and strung two words together for the first time. Byebye duck! (When the ducks walked away from him.) That doesn't sound too exciting but it's a big developmental milestone in language, which hasn't been his advanced subject. He's been talking so much more lately, and having his BFF Gabby around who is a huge chatterbox has helped too. I think I'll try to list words I hear him say regularly, though I know I'll forget some.

More
Help
Shoe
Sock
Outside
Inside
NiteNite
Duck
Ball
Cheese
Beans
Snack
Eye
Dada (mama makes a very occassional appearance)
I LOVE You (which sounds nothing like I love you, but is damn cute nonetheless)
Please
Eat
juice
Water
Cat
Dog
Thank you
Hat
Pants
Shirt
Stick
Uh-oh
Up
Down
Block
Slide

ps: I'll post some more pictures of Makili and his best bud Gabby soon.

Arkansas: Part I

We're visiting Gabe, Laura, and Gabrielle in Arkansas, enjoying the 50 degree weather and living it up in general on vacation, a needed vacation after a stressful month.  Here are a few pictures (since they have a functioning camera) with more to follow.

On Stage

I cannot begin to describe how stressful this month has been. Really i can't even begin. But tonight was Raph's shining moment - his beauty pageant, a chance to compete for the title of Mr. DHS (Dover High School). There was a choreographed dance, displays of western wear and summer wear, an interview, and of course the talent. Raph used his ninja guise all the while. He wore his ninja costume with cowboy boots, and then with his swimming trunks on top. But for his talent, little Makili got to show his stuff. Dressed like a ninja as well, and super tired, Makili loved being on stage. He never actually did all the hi-ya ninja moves that we had practiced in the hall but he was still super cute toting dad around the stage and even said "bye" into the microphone when his show was over. I was so proud!

It doesn't take much...

It doesn't take much warmth to make a difference. Enough to melt the snow on the roof of the shed, creating little puddles full of rocks that Makili can play in. It is so nice that when he is bored with the toys inside he gets shoes and a jacket and points to the door.

It doesn't take much soy milk in Makili's hair to look super-stylish.

It doesn't take playing the song "the wheels on the bus" too many times before I want to shoot myself, but Makili never seems to hear it too much and he just rolls his hands in a circle emphatically asking me for more of that particular song.

It doesn't take much...

We Showered.

These are the last picture I took on my camera before I broke my lens, which may account for why I've procrastinated so much in posting them. But we had a terrific time at Amanda's shower - eating awesome food cooked by Connie, playing fun games organized by Jayme (want to guess who won the poetry contest?), and watching Amanda open her lovely gifts. It was a great time!

Go Steelers!

I felt pretty fortunate to be in Pgh for Superbowl weekend.  So I had to get Makili a Polamalu t-shirt and some pompoms to get him pumped up.  So we listened to all the Steeler fight songs this morning and got ready for the big game tonight.  It was pretty awesome.  Makili, as you can see, knew just what to do.

Scenes from the Strip

To start I want to share the news that I broke my portrait lens yesterday.  I don't want to talk about it because I'm still very upset, but I want you to know because once I get the pictures I've already taken posted, there won't be any for a while.  So here we go...as in "Here we go...Steelers.  Here We GO!"

We went down to the Strip yesterday morning in subarctic temperatures to land some Steeler gear and some goodies to eat while watching the superbowl.  Amanda came cute and pregnant, and Emily and Caroline came with their watchful eyes for goodies.  Mostly they were into the snacks - the cream horns, the cookies, the salsa, the dips, and then all the stuff they didn't buy - the mung bean pan cakes, the sausages, the breads...  

There weren't nearly as many people as there were three years ago when we went, but I'm blaming that on the fricking unbelievable cold.  Our toes were unprepared and kept steering us back to the car...but it was fun to be there for a little while.

Oh Pittsburgh

So I made it to Pittsburgh.  We were forecasted to receive less than an inch of snow, and I think we're at about six inches.  My mother was recently in the hospital for a semi-serious condition, a hemotoma, that resulted in three pints of blood floating around in her abdomen.  She has been puking all afternoon, and making running trips to the bathroom.  We're debating about taking her back to the emergency room, but the next door neighbor doctor is coming over to check her out first.  Makili came down with a fever this afternoon, and then Nadine called to tell me that Morgan came down with a fever on Wed, which has since been found to be pneumonia!  Blair and Amanda just arrived for Amanda's baby shower tomorrow, which my mom is already crying about the fact that she might have to miss and Emily, Caroline and Suzanne get in within the half hour.  Whew.  

And, my Dad is tormenting my mom.  He just walked out of the bedroom with a disposable stethoscope on.  Then he went back in and I heard my mom scream "get the hell away from me with that."  Followed closely with "You're annoying the hell out of me." 

Fun fun fun.

My Nerdy Husband

Raph likes to guilt-trip me about not helping him with his homework. Like I should grade his lab reports and what not after having cleaned the house, done the laundry, cooked dinner and taken care of Makili all day. But occasionally I give in and try to help. Last weekend he wanted help writing questions for his final. He told me I could either read and article about the sun or paintball, and then I'd have to write questions. I don't care too much for paintball, so I chose the sun. It was the most annoying article ever and I quit on the second page after reading this paragraph about the nuclear fusion that takes place in the core of the sun:

The fusion cycle beings when two protons, or hydrogen nuclei collide to form a nucleus of deuterium (2H). This fusion is accompanied by the conversion of a minute amount of mass into energy - a lot of energy. In fact, it is enough energy to cause one of the protons to be converted into a neutron, releasing energy in the form of a positron (*) and a neutrino (v). The positron annhiliates an electron, and two gamma rays (y) are created (this is omitted from the figure for clarity). The deuterium combines with another proton, forming a helium-3 nuceus (3He), releasing a gamma ray in the process. Then two 3He nuclei fuse together to form a normal helium nucleus (4He), ejecting two protons, which start the process over again.

Seriously! He makes his poor students read this garbage. Come on. You're a positron.

Paka

Ann and Larry (aka Annma and Paka) came down this weekend, after pukefest 2009.  They brought homemade bagels and a sled with them.  Larry had a grand time whipping Makili all over our glare-ice road.  Makili thought it was great, till they let him out, then he did NOT want to get in again!  It was fun while the frigid temperatures allowed us to stay outside...