The American Dream....

Ahh the American Dream: the car and the house with a shiny pool. Life is easy and you are living large. Friends come by and enjoy and celebrate your success... Well folks I am happy to say that at the ripe old age of 13 months Evie has achieved American-Dream Status. Yes, she worked hard to get here and is very grateful to those who helped her along the way: Nanny Nicole provided the sumptuous cottage, cousin Melissa the fast wheels and Nana Mary the luxurious baby-olympic-sized pool. (And of course a nod must be made to me, aka Mom, for turning a lovely shade of purple in my effort to blow up the gargantuan pool)

Now that her dream is complete she goes out everyday to survey and enjoy her kingdom. First she takes a ride in her car. So far she can only manage to propel it backwards on her own, a bit dangerous, but worry ye not she is very good about looking back over her shoulder to ensure she does not run over any residential cat or dog. If moving forward is required she must elicit the help of one of her big people; who are generally more than happy to oblige. Then, once the car is nice and warmed up, she “drives” herself home to her plush baby-mansion and does any number of domestic tasks: open and close the shutters and/or door, cook a meal at the sink or just sit inside and enjoy the tiny roof over her head with a nice snack (provided once again by her big people). Then she suits up and jumps into her aquarium pool. Splish splashing around without a care in the world one can hear the giggles of happiness, her squeals of joy and the sighs of content that can mean nothing but ahhh yesss I have arrived.

Finally. and this is the apex of her day, she gets to take the inhibiting swimsuit off (or at least mostly off… she insists that wearing the top as a hat sets off her eyes and who am I to argue). She then gets to enjoy the most important part of owning your own kingdom… running around in the buff without any reproachful roommates or nixing neigh sayers!

Hula!

My folks just got back from Hawaii this Friday... sounds like it was an awesome time! They brought back Evie this rockin' hula outfit which (much to my surprise) she loves to wear!!

Little Miss Bubble Mouth

I’ll admit it, Evie does not take a bath every day… or really most of the time even every other day. It is more like every two days or so, provided that there are no extenuating circumstances (most of which you really don’t want to know about, trust me). This lack of suds means that when she does take a bath she gets pretty excited about it. She splashes, squeals and generally has a good old time. Splashing and happy babble are welcome bath time activities. I am afraid, however, that not all of her bath happenings are quite so innocuous. One of her favorites is to “pretend” like she is drinking the shampoo bottle. Although we do not bathe her every night, we are not reckless parents. We always check to see that the bottle is closed before she begins her faux imbibing. Or so we thought….

Last week Patrick was giving her a bath while I was cleaning up from dinner (which Patrick proclaimed to be Space Food… but that is another story entirely). I went in to check on them and sat and watched while they played and noticed that, as is per usual, Genevieve was drinking the shampoo. I mentioned to Patrick that maybe we should take the bottle away from her because it isn’t exactly a desirable habit for her to have. He pooh-poohed me and proclaimed the bottle closed… no worries. We went one for a few more minutes talking while Evie splashed, and then, Evie looks right at me, smiles really big, opens her mouth and a HUGE bubble comes floating out as she begins to babble. Guess that bottle did have some soap in or around it eh? The look on her face was utter shock and disbelief at her ability to produce something she was sure only came from the magical little pink bubble stick and bottle. After her initial shock she realized the comedy in the situation and started giggling, the whole thing put Patrick and I in stitches too.

Needless to say that tonight during her bath duckies and cups were in abundance but shampoo bottles were decidedly not.

Nature girl....

Genevieve is a nature girl! Every morning the first thing she wants to do is go out back and play in the dewy grass. She will toddle over to the door, look longingly out the window and make her "I want that" noise (and of course say doggie if kita is outside too). The throughout the day whenever she disappears from sight it is always to go stand at the back door (or front door if it is open to the screen) and bang on it hoping she'll be let loose.

Her recent journeys into nature go beyond the backyard however. Two weeks ago, on my flex Friday, we went out to Sabino Canyon and went on a nice little hike. She rode on my back the whole time ohhing and aweing at the flowers, lizards, birds you name it. The highlight of that trip though was definitely the creek where she got all wet and messy. (She also learned that walking in a stream is no easy feat and would not let go of my hand because she was afraid to fall)

Another recent outdoor adventure was last weekend when my folks came down and we took them out to Tohono Chul park. (That is where the pictures are from) We had a great breakfast at their tea room and then walked around for a bit (not too long though because it is already getting hot!!) The park has a children's area that Evie thought was pretty cool... again the water feature/fountain was the biggest hit. (Ahh way into water, she must be my daughter :)

Then just today we went out to the zoo for the second time. She was much more into it this trip... pointing at all the animals and laughing at them. I even let her toddle around in one of the aviaries. She thought that was really cool until she came upon a bird with big eyes that kept squacking at her and clearly made her very nervous... she wouldn't walk past it and had me pick her up to go by it.... too cute.

OMGTC phase

Over the past few weeks Evie has entered an exciting phase of her development… the oh-my-god-too-cute (OMGTC) phase. Now some may think that the OMGTC phase begins at birth and I am willing to concede that the precursors, building blocks to too-cute if you will, are definitely there. But once your child truly enters the OMGTC phase you’ll know it and understand how all the early cuteness was just training for the real deal.

And of course, because one would expect no less of me, I have been taking notes and gathering evidence to support my declaration of the beginning of the OMGTC phase.

Example A: Evie and I were shucking fava beans on the floor last week and she was “helping” me by trying to put the already shucked beans back into their pods. The best part about it was that she got this very serious, “I’m working here people” look on her face as she did it.

Example B: Genevieve took one of her shirts out of her drawer and proceeded to spend a good 10 minutes putting it on her head like Carmen Miranda… giggling at herself, taking it off and then putting it back on again.

Example C: We have booster chair for Riley that stays on the floor in a corner during the weekend when it isn’t needed. Yesterday Evie grabbed her spoon and a bowl, sat down in the chair and pretended she was “eating” while all the time talking to herself about her meal in a higher pitched version of her normal gnome.

And this, folks, is just one weeks worth of data gathering… I’m sure there will be much more to come!

Chatterbox

Evie takes after her mom.... she just talks and talks and talks. I am proud to say she is now fluent (or I am pretty sure because my skills are a bit rusty) in her very first language.... gnome.

Bagel Monster...

All visitors to the Mott Lacroix house be forewarned. There is a monster in our midst. She lurks beneath the kitchen table at around about the hour of 7 am. Appearing innocent enough, this monster cases the table’s underbelly waiting for her moment to strike. One must be vigilant, clever and quick in order to evade this monster, for she is swift, relentless and decidedly hungry. Yes danger waits for those foolish enough to try to eat their breakfast of the seemingly peril-free…. bagel and cream cheese.

Through weeks of suffering through this morning menace we have, as all good parents, learned to adapt. Simply feed the mini monster and occasional “bagel tariff” and all remains peaceful and good… but oh woe to you if you do not. The terrifyingly cute eyes will stare longingly at your feast, small precious hands will reach out for your hard-toasted fare and, if you are not paying enough attention, you may soon find your entire bagel and plate on the floor in the domain of the dreaded bagel monster (and of course her devious companion the D.O.G.).

To and fro this bagel monster roams. First a small morsel from dad, then a toddle over to mom for another bite, back and forth she will go until utterly sated. So, friends, family and visitors of all sorts consider yourself noticed. Should you choose to dine at breakfast time at our table a bagel tariff will be required of you!

Birthday Paarrrty!!

Evie's b-day is much like her... it just keeps on going and going and going! (But really you only turn one once, right?)

On Sunday we had a little group b-day shindig at Reid Park with all her baby pals from the birth center. It was so neat to see all of the kids at one year and how much they have changed! The theme of the party was storybook. I put together a little invite:

Anyway we all brought books to trade among the babies, but mostly the time was spent enjoying their cute little faces and trying to keep them coraled under the ramada. Evie was lucky to have some friends other than the birthday kids show up to wish her a happy one... including Evie's Uncle Brendon (who came all the way from Phoenix AND bought her a ice cream birthday cake) my aunt and uncle Lisa and Bob and cousin Melissa (who donated the awesome car to Evie which turned out to be a real hit at the party), Keren, Jeff and Zev and Annie!

Happy Birthday Genevieve!

Today was Evie's 1st Birthday!! It was a pretty laid back affair; attended by Patrick and I and my folks who came down from Phoenix for the weekend to celebrate with us. On Saturday we went down to the 4th Street festival and picked up a few presents for her... dad bought her a cool truck with a trailer full of blocks and grandma Mary picked her up a fabulous birthday dress and a cool jungle toy tote bag. Then today we walked over to Ikes for breakfast and my mom and I baked her a carrot cake. During a trip to the grocery store Evie got really excited about the mylar balloons so we decided what the hey, ya only turn one once and picked her up a balloon too :)



After the cake was made we threw on the b-day dress, put her in her "throne" (which was my little brother's chair originally) and tried to get her to open up the presents we had bought for her. Good thing there weren't too many of them because it was quite a challenge to get her to focus in on the task at hand. She kept crawling or walking off to go investigate the dogs... or the door... or the last thing she had opened.... or "wait guys aren't these bows on my dress cool?" Anyway it was all pretty cute and as you can see very well documented. Once presents were opened we sang happy birthday and tried to get her to blow out the candles... when it became clear that the candles were going to burn into the cake before she would blow them out Patrick and I gave her a hand. For Genevieve the highlight of the whole affair was definitely the cake. Man did she scarf that piece we gave her!! (Of course you'll see we had to remove the dress first; we didn't want it in the frosting line of fire)

Look who's walkin'

It occurred to me last weekend that Genevieve was starting to really walk and I had not yet captured the moment on film... So the dutiful milestone preserver that I am I took a little video... Here it is. As you can see crawling is still the quickest way around for her but she is looking pretty good as an amateur walker :)

Evie's Easter Eggstravaganza

Now officially last easter was Evie's 1st... but really I don't think it counts seeing how she was only about 48 hours old. Anyway, Evie's "first" Easter was a multi-day many partied event complete with THE perfect outfit.


Last Thursday we were fortunate to receive her Easter duds in the mail from Oma Monique who crocheted them from scratch! As you can see from the photos, this is not an outfit folks this is a work of art!

The weekend started with the dress debut at Annie's b-day party. We had a ton of fun and even hit the pool for the first time this year. The too cute bathing suit is courtesy of my aunts Barbara and Anita Mary (Evie is such a clothes horse... she has more swim suits than I do!)

Then on Sunday we showed her off at an annual easter egg hunt/brunch at a friend's house where I walked her around and helped her procure an egg or two. This had to be the coolest easter party ever. There were tons of kids and the eggs were hidden all over the desert behind their backyard. I can't wait until Evie is old enough to actually hunt herself!

And then finally easter dinner at my aunt and uncle's house complete with another egg hunt. This hunt was coordinated by my 7 year old cousin Melissa who was thoughtful enough not only to just place the eggs on the grass so Evie could easily "find" them but also to fill them with Ritz crackers so Evie could actually eat what was inside. They have two very pregnant pygmy goats so we were hoping for a little easter birth but no such luck. Evie enjoyed the goats so much that we are thinking about adding a few to our yard :)

Whew what a weekend!

Mmmessy

This past Friday it was so beautiful out I decided that Genevieve and I just had to go play in the backyard... with water. I knew this was going to be a messy endeavor but boy howdy did I underestimate her capacity for filth creation. By the end of our backyard playtime she was soaking wet with mud, grass, leaves and dog hair. So bad that I felt the need to strip her down to her skivies before letting her back in the house. It was great! The best part about it though was that she was totally oblivious to just how wet and messy she was!

EVS DAD

A pretty momentous weekend for the Lacroix household. No Evie did not say her first word... no she did not finally figure out how to open the fridge (aka baby mecca)... it wasn't even the momentous I can really truly walk weekend.... No indeed this weekend was the weekend that her dad graduated from just plan old Patrick to "I-am-super-cool-I -have-a-fast-car Patrick" Yes as many of you know this day has been long in the coming. Many nights were spent purusing E-Bay, Craigslist and you name it. Many days were spent a-dreamin' of the speed and now that the moment has finally come let me tell ya Patrick has an unerasable smile etched onto his lips. So with out further ado I present to you... the newest member of our household, our 2003 Honda S2000 in Belgian Racing Yellow named Puppy!! (You'll have to ask Patrick about the name :)

A thankless job

I tell ya what folks; this motherhood gig is a thankless occupation. I know, I know its trite and has been said before by many before, but by god add me to the list of millions….

After all my hard work and sleepless nights, my babbling baby girl will not utter a single mama for her mama. Her skills in the dada department are, however, very well developed. So well refined in fact that she does a perfect, clear as a bell, “daddy”. Now this isn’t to say that Patrick is undeserving of her vocal attention, he certainly does his part, but even he will admit that most of the more grueling baby tasks fall onto my shoulders.

Being the proactive parents we are, and in an effort to right this wrong, we have begun Say Mama Bootcamp. Genevieve now has a series of daily Say Mama exercises that must be repeated ad nasueum:

Exercise One: Patrick points to me and says there’s Mama. I then wave and say Mama. (We originally played this game with me pointing to myself and saying Mama and Patrick pointing to himself and saying Dada…. But after a week or so the result was a baby who pointed to herself whenever we said Mama or Dada….)

Exercise Two: Whenever I leave the room Patrick says “Where’s Mama” I then respond by calling out Hi or some other such thing to her.

Exercise Three: Stare at Evie and repeat over and over and over again mamamamamama.

Exercise Four: (This one is hard core) Set Evie up in her highchair facing a doorway. We then hide on either side of the doorway and take turns jumping into view and saying “I’m the Dada (or Mama)” or just a plain old excited proclamation of “Mama!” or “Dada!” (Sometimes we have to quit this exercise early because Evie gets nervous with us disappearing and reappearing on her like that.)

So far this workout has led to mixed results. A few mama utterances have been recorded in recent weeks but never in my presence. Here’s to hoping she gets it soon because this sort of routine really wears you out!

In other news we went on a fabulous hike this past weekend with Ben, Annie and Maxine. It was really great to get out and spend sometime in the desert. Evie figured out how to use the camelpack and I think spent the entire hike drinking water because at the end of the hike all 1.5 literes were gone! The other momentous event of the weekend was Evie taking two honest to goodness steps… only two at a time so far but she is definitely on her way to walksville.

B-day Party!

Last weekend was a blast! Patrick and Annie threw me a 30th b-day party at our new digs. The theme was shoes and beer... two personal favorites, everyone was supposed to wear their fav shoes and tote their best beer. (As a result we have a ridiculous amount of beer in the fridge now but hey I think Patrick and I are up to the challenge :) Annie made fabulous carrot cake cupcakes and Patrick put together all sorts of yummy appetizers. It was pretty funny though... given the age of some of the participants (i.e. the babes under a year old) the party was all said and done by 8 pm... woohoo are we crazy or what!

Because we got to sleep so early we were able to easily make it up to Phoenix for the annual Wheels of Britain car show. Dad had both of his Lotus entered into the show so he needed Patrick to drive one of them home (goodness knows mom and I didn't want to stay for all 6 hours of British cars... been there done that :) At Patrick's request below is a picture of his favorite car... a Lotus Formula Ford... in British racing green of course.



Anyway, thanks to everyone who came to my party this weekend or who sent their well wishes... y'all certainly made me feel special! Here's looking forward to the next fabulous 30 years!!

Genevieve heart Boys

Ohh the trouble it is a startin’ early. Two weeks ago Nicole took Genevieve and Riley to the baby story hour at the library near our house. The girls had a great time… especially Evie who seems to have taken a liking (or more accurately put a licking) to one of her baby peers of the male persuasion. Apparently Nicole was just hanging out watching the kids play and looked away for just a second and when she looked back she saw Evie kissing one of the little boys, her big ole maw open on the poor unwitting kid’s cheek! Well once was enough to get her dad worried (I mean he thought he had a good 10 or 11 years at least before he had to purchase a boy-warding firearm of some sort!) I am sad to report however we have now two data points on our the chart for our little vixen. This weekend at my mommy book club she came up and accosted (well really it was just hug) Ksenija and David’s little boy Joe. (At least she has good taste in men… what a cutie) David managed to take a picture of the event so I even have proof this time!

In other news it is high time we post a picture of Nicole and Riley… so here they are!


I also caught Evie this weekend contemplating her cookie….hmm yeesss, brilliant yes brilliant....

Bike Ride!!!

Last weekend when I was up in Phoenix I picked up yet another fabulous Scottsdale garage sale find that my mom came upon; a brand-new-esque baby bike toteting thing. I had been eagerly awaiting the weekend to use it but unfortunately we all got sick this weekend and spent most of our time inside sleeping and hacking... (that makes at least 3 of the 7 colds a "year," right? I think, pray, we are more than half way through our fair share!!)

Anyway we were all feeling a bit better today so we decided to take the new toy out for a spin. Halfway down the block though we realized that the helmet that came with the baby trailer was ohh about half the size of Genevieve's body and therefore quite simple for her to take off. For the sake of fun we went up and down the street a few times (don't worry mom it really was just up and down our street) Then later in the afternoon Evie and I walked to the bike store and bought her a snazzy new helmet that fits much better (although she still has some growing to do before it will be a perfect fit! Woohoo weekend rides to the zoo and beyond here we come!

Zoo and to Grandma's House

Evie and I had a great weekend! On Friday we went to the zoo with our friends Soren, Jameson, Monica and Haylee. I think Genevieve had more fun looking at the other kids than the tigers and bears but hey it was certainly nice for us moms to have an hour or two to talk together about our babies :)

On Friday afternoon we headed up to Phoenix. Patrick was at a meeting in Sedona all weekend so he dropped us girls (Kita included) off at my folks place. We had a nice relaxing weekend of much clothes shopping for Evie... good thing too because she had been wearing the same two outfits day after day. Which I guess she could care less about but sure did make for lots of laundry sessions.

Night-Night

The Rime of the Bleary-eyed Mother
(adapted from -and with apologies to- Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Rime of the Ancient Mariner)

Night, night every where
And the baby she did shriek
Night, night every where
Nor any sleep a wink

The very bed did rot: O Christ!
That ever this should be!
Yea, the crying baby did crawl with legs
Upon the matressed crib like a tree.

About, about, in reel and rout
The wakeful-one danced at night;
The mom, like a sleepless owl,
A red eyed, pale faced, fright.

And some in dreams assuréd were
Of the rest that eluded us so;
Nine suggestions for better sleep had followed us
From the land of doctors, nurses and know.

And every shh-pat-pat, through utter irritation,
Was withered at the insemination;
We could not leave the room, just as if
We had been chained to obligation.

Ah ! well for that ten a-day ! what evil looks
Had I from my young!
But at the end of it all, instead of a bawl
The sweet sound of 10 hours sleep was sung

Please don't feed the animals....

Ahh the developmental milestones we never expected…. Yes it is a running theme here. Her latest passion is for the weak, the downtrodden... the very hungry pets of the Lacroix household. Yes, she feels for them so much that she is compelled every time she eats to share a little (or a lot if she doesn’t particularly like the fare) of her meal with Kita (and Whiskers if he can manage to sneak in). And like most acts of charity we do because it makes us feel good… Genevieve’s joy is evident in the range of giggle to out and out crack-up every time she gives Kita or Whisky a morsel of her meal….

Die cold, die

All is well in Mott Lacroix household… hmmm truth be told maybe “well” isn’t the word for it. Poor Genevieve has had a cold for going on 3 weeks now. Who knew that those darn viruses could be so persistent. Of course it doesn’t help that she now cringes and cries whenever the nose bulb (aka snot sucker) gets within a five-foot radius of her head. And to think, most babes get about seven colds a year. So seven a year times about three weeks a piece…. By god that means that she’ll be sick for almost half of the year! Man I better find a way for her to make peace with the snot sucker…..

Well, even in her ill found state of snot she still manages to look pretty cute. This morning we played dress up with a nice vintage number that was mine when I was about her age. The tights were a hit given that her new favorite pastime is to rip off any sock placed on her foot.

And for my next act....

Genevieve has become quite the performer in the past few weeks. Grandma Nicole gave her a piano and as you can see she is quite fond of playing it. No Mozart yet but she does enjoy a good round of the itsy bitsy spider. Not only does she enjoy “playing” the music she also does a pretty nifty little dance to it every so often when the mood strikes her ☺

When she isn’t tickling the ivories or dancing she is performing the “anything you can do I can do better” routine. This little ditty involves her imitating things that you do and let me tell you she is building up quite the repertoire. To date she does a mean imitation of the pirate (arrrrr), an African bushman (click, click, click), a person laughing (ha, ha, ha) and my personal favorite “devil baby” (a low growl followed by a shaking head). The pirate is her Dad’s favorite and as a result it seems like whenever I leave the room I can hear them arrring to each other and giggling. She also does a few impersonations, her most common one being of her friend Riley, the nanny’s 1.5 year old daughter who likes to go around saying “that” and pointing at things. As a result Evie is constantly saying “that, that, that” and using her pointer finger… ahhh she must be brilliant!

And finally there is Evie the movie star! Here she is in her latest film "Snow is Cold"

Scare tactics

One of the great debates for the eco-minded with babies is whether to use cloth or enviro disposable diapers. Which is “better’ for the environment, believe it or not, is a hotly debated subject. There is one, albeit infrequently considered, option that is hands down the most eco way to go. This path is known as conscious elimination or going diaperless. Now I must confess I am not enough of a hard core greenie to travel this road but we have had some experience with what it might entail. Every month or so Evie starts to get a diaper rash so we give her bum a break and have a diaperless night (or at least a diaperless hour or so). During these times of trouble we have learned her “cues” for when she is going to eliminate and can usually act accordingly, i.e., make sure she is sitting on a towel or bring her to the toilet.

After Christmas my family all went skiing together and stayed at a condo that was a classic circa 1975 wonder. On the second night Genevieve started to have a rashy problem so we decided to let her roam free (the carpets were far from pristine so we figured no one would really notice should there be an incident…and this my friends is why I don’t want to rent our old house). Patrick and I quickly discovered that a diaperless baby was a terrifying notion to my father and little brother. All of a sudden the once adorable baby was compared to a one shot, fully loaded, game of Russian roulette that was to be feared as though her nether regions contained an atom bomb instead of the innocuous and decidedly mundane baby poo and pee. They both watched her like a hawk and when, inevitably, she relieved herself they were both so horrified that they immediately vacated the family room and only returned when Patrick certified that it was “safe”. Being the kind, understanding sister I am I found this phobia of my brother’s to be quite entertaining so of course I had to exploit it by waving her naked bum in his face. Poor Genevieve, nothing but a pawn in my evil design.

In other news, and pictures, Genevieve’s first Christmas was great! She got to spend the holiday with my family and Patrick’s dad, Monique and Sarah. Mom made her phenomenal a stocking, which, as you can see, was rather large. Evie’s favorite part of Christmas was definitely the ribbons, of course a close second was the wrapping paper and certainly last were all the fabulous clothes that everyone bought her.




New Years was spent in Utah at Brian Head where we all got to go skiing and Genevieve was able to see and (sorta) play in the snow for the first time. It was so cold out (5 deg) that really her first snow experience was more of a quick photo shoot ☺ The snow was just one of the many exciting new experiences…. Tops on the list though were spaghetti and the New Years fireworks; she laughed and pointed her way through the whole show.

Evie's new "crib"

Well it was touch and go there for a bit but I am happy to report that last weekend the whole clan successfully moved into our new digs.... we are still in boxes and everything is just a bit chaotic so not too much time to post but I thought I'd put up a few pics. Hope everyone has a merry christmas and a chilly wonderful solstice and I'll update with stories later

Cookies

Mmmm cookies. Last year Annie and I hung out and made Christmas cookies and it was a lot of fun so we decided to do a repeat this year… only this year we had two additional “helpers", which of course we had to dress for the occasion. Maxine was fabulous (except when Aunt Kelly tried to hold her, then she would cry) but Evie was trouble… Luckily Maxine let Evie use her swing otherwise cookie making would have been nigh impossible. This picture of Annie says it all!



Anyway over about 4 hours we managed to make one batch of cookies… not nearly as productive as last year (ahh story of the life of a person with a small child) but man was it fun!

In other news Patrick and I are buying a new house this Tuesday so stay tuned for pictures of Evie and Kita in their new digs!!!