Catching up and BIRTHDAYS!!

I'm so sorry I haven't posted since Tuesday. We've been busy, and during the time I normally write posts, I've been working.

FIRST, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Auntie Chinka (yesterday, on the 28th), Lib (today), and Grandpa Ollie tomorrow!! What a nice weekend of birthdays. We miss all of you and wish we could celebrate with you.

Second, I have some news for all of you: we bought our plane tickets to Seattle. We (Lizzie, Tommy and I) arrive on July 20 and leave on August 24. Eli leaves on August 2. (That's right, I'm flying home alone, but it's just a nine hour flight and it will be at night. Plus, Tommy loves TV.)

Now the update. We've had a nice week! Tommy's potty training is going beautifully. He even made it three hours without having an accident yesterday when we went to watch the changing of the guard. Note to those of you with small kids: the changing of the guard is not overly interesting for them. It's alright for 45 seconds, but otherwise, you'd better have a lot of snacks.

Yesterday, Tommy took a nice long nap because he got out of bed before 5:30. Now that Grandma Nancy is his roommate, after he wakes up, he gathers his tools (making enough noise to wake the whole household), climbs down and heads out to the living room. (He used to play in bed until we got him.) The bedroom doors in this flat don't stay open, so we know he's up for sure when the door slams and then we hear him running to the living room. Anyway, that all happened really early yesterday, so he had a good nap. After nap, he and Grandma made pizza dough, then Tommy, Grandma and Lizzie went out to the garden to play with Luc while I got a pedicure! Have I mentioned how much I'm going to miss Grandma Nancy?

On Thursday, Tommy and I went to the digger park and out to lunch with Claire and Luc. It was fun to hang out with just Tommy and he was mostly a good boy, though we had a couple of sharing issues and at one point he swatted Luc with a spade so he had a time out. After his time out, he said, "Mom, I promise to be a good boy." It was very sweet and surprising and I must've reacted well because now he says it all the time, even when his behavior isn't at issue. After nap, we went to the science museum which has a nice place to play, but we didn't stay long because it was overstimulating and I couldn't get Tommy to calm down.

Lizzie likes to sit up (against cushions) and play with toys now. When she gets something in her hand, she knows to wave it around to see if it makes an interesting noise. She is pretty much adorable if I do say so myself.

Happy long weekend!

Update -- potty training

Second day in a row of going numero dos in the potty -- today's prize was this very special Bob the Builder cup from Grandma Nancy. Yesterday he got the drill sitting on the couch beside him. The drill is very popular, especially because it comes with various drill bits. However, we have opted not to put batteries in it, so it's not as cool as it could be. (I am so mean.)

Baby Tess (x2)

This is Tommy's baby, Tess. She is named after the real baby Tess (keep reading). (Grandma Sid gave a baby like this to Lizzie, and it quickly became clear that Tommy needed one of his own.)

Here is Tommy taking care of (smothering?) baby Tess:

And here's the picture you've all been waiting for -- the REAL baby Tess. Can't you understand why Tommy decided to name his baby after her?? (That's her cute mommy in the background, Liz.)

(Isn't the real baby Tess's outfit so adorable?)

Today Tommy suggested that I should go to work and Daddy could stay with him. I said that Daddy had to go to work at the airport, and Tommy said, "what's Daddy building at the airport?" And I said, "I don't know. What did he tell you?" And Tommy said, "he's building a big long building that's going to be a fire engine and go up in the sky." So now we all know what Eli does at work.

Helen Mirren

So last night, Eli and I went to dinner with our friends Simon and Vivian (friends from our last London stint), and guess who dined at the next table? That's right, Helen Mirren. Once Eli spotted her, I kept smiling randomly and looking like an idiot. But it's okay because Helen couldn't see me. Ever since I read this profile of her in the New Yorker, I feel especially close to her.

Yesterday we woke up and went to Hamley's to try to find tools as rewards for using the potty. Of course, after two perfect days, he's pooped his pants three times, so it taught us an important parenting lesson: have the reward at the moment of the good behavior. Because we were in a situation of rewarding two-day-old behavior, or, if not old behavior, than bad behavior. But Hamley's didn't have any tools, so Tommy chose a toy he already has. (And one that I hate because it requires more involvement from me than I like.)

Anyway, we went to Hamley's, then to the park and had a picnic. It's gorgeous in London this weekend. Then, I worked during and after naps. When Tommy woke up, everybody went to the garden to play! Yay! We're out of quarantine. Tommy had a lovely time and only a couple of fits about Angus's red scoop. Tommy has a green one exactly like it, but he loves red. I'm so tired of these fits that I'm going to buy Tommy a red one.

A nice thing about the garden yesterday is that Eli got to meet all of my mom friends and their husbands. Have I complained yet about how my favorite mom is just here for a few weeks? She lives in LA and has really nice kids and she's funny. Her husband is British and seems really nice as well though he works in Germany during the week so we don't see him as much. Tommy and her son Luc like to go back to the compost bin and dig (last night Tommy looked as though he'd had dirt for dinner because his face and mouth were so dirty).

That's it. Sorry the posting hasn't been very regular. But I wanted to remember to tell you about my friend Helen.

13 lbs., 8 oz.

Guess who saw the doctor today and doesn't weigh enough? A generous reading is that she's in the 25th percentile (or centile, as we say here). He said she's obviously healthy and happy but that we may want to try supplementing with formula. I am surprised by all of this, as Tommy was such a tank. She gets vaccinations in three weeks and will be weighed again then. I am more than a bit concerned and really don't want to supplement even though I know it's not a big deal.

In better news, Tommy just flew by me, running from the balcony to the potty, yelling "I have to poop!" Then, he did poop. IN THE POTTY. There are no words to express my joy. (Though, in one light this feels a bit like a parenting failure as he was obviously ready to be potty trained and I kept putting it off and blaming it on his bad attitude.)

This morning, I brought Lizzie out and Tommy said, "Hello, Lizzie! I'm eating toast. Do you see my toast? That's peanut butter."

I should be working...

But here are a couple of cute pictures.

And in chickenpox news, Tommy did not have any new spots this morning, and has a boatload of energy. So, we went to the park (not the playground) and found a big grassy area to play by ourselves. He had fun and even went potty in the public restroom at the park, so he didn't have an accident. I am becoming hopeful that he might be out of pullups by the time he is 15.

It's a beautiful day today, which is helping everything.

Chicken Pox & Potty Training

So. On Saturday night I noticed three bumps on Tommy, in his diaper area, and thought that he was probably reacting to some toxin in his disposable diapers. Then, Sunday evening, he had more of them (still confined to his diaper area). Then last night when I undressed him for bath, he had more bumps, and all over. This morning I took him to the pediatrician, who confirmed that he has chicken pox (and that she has seen three other children this morning with chicken pox). Since he was vaccinated (because he had to be in order to do anything in DC, which is where his back up daycare was), this case ought to be mild. Which means I am stuck indoors with a energetic little boy who has red bumps on him but no other symptoms.

Tommy has been putting his pee in the potty all day long, with no accidents because Grandma Nancy drags him in there every 15 minutes. They listen to music and sing songs and discuss things. Perhaps we will have a silver lining to the chicken pox.

Lizzie is going to the doctor on Thursday. No vaccinations, in case she's brewing some chicken pox. The incubation period is two weeks.

So. I think my readers can all be thankful that they do not have my life right now. Sigh.

But, again, God Bless Grandma Nancy.