The passage of time

November 10th - Rebecca is 1 month away from being 3
Rebecca has developed a particular interest in her privates. This is perfectly normal and healthy for her age and yet can have (and has had) some spectacularly messy side effects when combined with potty training. Rebecca is so keen to observe herself, that she "grasps and raises" (I don't know how else to describe it), with her hands when sitting on the toilet. When it comes time to pee, this inevitably causes a fountain-like spray. Good times.

November 11th - I turn 32.
I always make a practice of observing Remembrance Day, and I have been taking Rebecca with me from the time she was born. The last time was pouring rain, and freezing cold, but Rebecca was snug in the baby backpack. This time, it was only 2 degrees or so, with a little bit of snow, but no rain. Rebecca was in her comfy snowsuit and experienced the ceremony with my father and I. Greg, being sick, stayed home with Lucy. I fully intend to take Lucy next year, when she is a more suitable age. Rebecca by contrast, was nearly 1 the first time we went with her and therefore, much easier to manage. While it's important for me to make this a part of my children's lives, I also want to be respectful of the solemnity of the occasion. Rebecca was extremely well-behaved. She particularly enjoyed the music (no big surprise), and alternated between being held by Grandpa and Mommy. I was very happy that the 3 of us attended the ceremony together. Becca appreciated the airplanes, made comments about the poppies, and assured me that the 21 gun salute was in fact a noise made by clocks. I don't expect her to understand what's going on, or the purpose of the day at this point. All I am hoping to do right now, is to show her that it is something that we participate in as a family, and to create an awareness of it in her. Then, over time, she will bring her questions to me and I can explain in greater detail. I know that she understands the concepts of conflict and fighting, however, the concepts of nations, death and large-scale destruction are still outside of her world-view (too bad it won't be that way forever). She is beginning to understand aspects of death - like the idea that a body can be broken and not fixed, but the totality of it escapes her. Despite these grim musings, I enjoyed a fabulous day with my husband and my daughters - I let Rebecca crawl into my bed in the morning and we had a great cuddle, Lucy barfed on me and was also cute and cuddly, we went out for lunch, and we got our flu shots. Greg and I watched Battlestar Galatica way too late into the night while eating ice cream with hot fudge sauce. All in all, he was very sweet and attentive even though he was suffering from some freakish virus. It was perfect.

November 12th - Lucy turns 7 months old
Lucy started crawling several days ago, but has now reached a state of high mobility at seemingly impossible speeds.. Nothing on the floor is safe - including your feet. She has a penchant for shoes in particular. Nowhere was the change in her locomotion more evident than in today's (Nov 13) Fitmom class. She usually just rolls around on our mat, grabbing toys and chewing them. This time she left our mat, and went to someone else's. She pursued another crawling baby in order to chew on his Robeez (while they were still on his feet). She attacked my sneakers while I was doing butterfly crunches, and she rolled my water bottle across the floor. The downside is, now when she barfs (still quite often), it falls on the floor in front of her, and then she puts her hands in it and spreads it around (as though she was fingerpainting).