The 30 Minute Glass of Water

Step 1. Assess sturdiness of stepladder. Place cup on ladder while climbing.









Step 2. Ascend. Carefully.














Step 3. Push glass against the thingy in the back to make water come out. This step is not as easy as it sounds, especially when using one hand to hold onto the ladder.

Step 4. Enjoy sip of cold, tasty water. Hand cup to mommy to dump in the sink. Descend ladder. Carefully.

Step 5. Repeat steps 1-4 with blonde child

Piggy PJs

Here, Eleni & Zoe model their favorite piggy PJs.

I do understand the appeal of the piggies, but I still don't get what makes them so very much preferred over the monkeys (see yesterday's post).

Stuck

Lately, Zoe has become fond of being "stuck." In Zoe's definition, "stuck" kind of means what it means to you and me...but kind of not.

For instance, she will lie down on her belly on the couch with her feet against the cushions and her head toward the floor, announce that she's "stuck," and then slide slowly toward the floor, head first.

Here, she gets "stuck" on a balloon.



Note that the girls are wearing their monkey PJs in this video. These are my favorites, but for some reason fall very low on the ZE popularity scale. I'm thrilled to have captured them on video.

Waking up Eleni

After a nap-free Sunday, Eleni fell asleep on a chair while I was getting dinner ready.

I asked Zoe to wake her up for dinner.

When it didn't appear to be working, I went for the camcorder.

Fight...for your right...to squeeeeaaak

Last night, Zoe was emitting an unpleasant, high-pitched squeal -- of which she has recently become quite fond -- while I was changing her diaper.

I asked her to shush.

She paused and then looked at me with big, soulful eyes and said, "But mommy, I want to squeak."

Balloons and Parties

To the untrained eye, this is a toddler sitting in the midst of a scattered pile of diapers.

Look closer, however and you will notice that this is in fact a toddler sorting a pile of diapers by design.

Seriously.


Zoe's diapers come in two designs. I call them "Party" and "Balloon."

"Balloon" diapers are acceptable for Zoe's bum. "Party" diapers are not. Here, Zoe is sorting them for me so that I can be sure to put only the acceptable "Balloon" diapers in the diaper drawer.

Seriously.

For a time, I got away with drawing balloons onto the "Party" diapers.

Drawing is no longer acceptable.

My only hope now is to find a way to keep her distracted until I get the onesie snapped up.

Our pile of unused "Party" diapers continues to grow...

Proof

I'm not saying I think Kostas doesn't really believe me when I tell him that I have been sorting through the kids' clothes and toys on an ongoing basis in order to weed out the broken and outgrown and make room for the new.

I just happened to take this photo as proof on my way to Goodwill.

No Photoshop, I swear!

Elli-Bean-in-a-box

Taking the time-honored toddler tradition of pushing the limits, Eleni continues to find ways to get into smaller and smaller boxes.



















Seriously, Eleni?






















I mean, seriously?

Calling All Angels - Take II

Not to be outdone by her sister in the angelic photo department, Eleni gives us some angel eyes of her own.

Sometimes, it's all I can do not to chew them up.

Ladybug, Ladybug

I won't go into great detail about Zoe's dream last night, but I will say that if a ladybug happens to go "tuk tuk" on your window tonight and asks for a glass of water, tell her Zoe says "Hi."

Top Books of 2008

Aron Greenberg recently requested an "E&Z Top Toys of 2008" list.

We know we're behind this year, but we're going to make it up to you by starting with a lucky strike bonus special "Top Ten Books of 2008" list.

January 2008 (age 16 months)

My First ABC Board Book / My First Animal Book by Dorling Kindersley

These are two popular examples of the many picture books we had around for the girls at this age. Eleni & Zoe liked looking at all the bright pictures and loved to show off their new vocabularies -- at first by pointing at the correct object when we said a word, and later by saying the word themselves while pointing at the object. They were usually on target with their descriptions, but Zoe and I would get into heated arguments over the caterpillar that she insisted was a doggie. I mean, it's not like it was a fox or a wolf, it was a CATERPILLAR. But the girl is nothing if not stubborn, and so we reached an impass. I'm looking forward to her trying to teach the caterpillars to fetch when we move to the suburbs.

February 2008 (age 17 months)

Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt

This book brings back...not memories, exactly, but sensations from my own childhood. This interactive book was a favorite for reading together and playing alone. We have "Pat the Puppy" and "Pat the Kitten" too, but "Pat the Bunny" was the standout. The original is also less easy to destroy; the newer renditions have more features that are easily ripped out by a determined 1 1/2 year old.

March 2008 (age 18 months)
Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
Thanks to the Bass family, who sent this as a gift when the girls were born, this is one of the girls' favorites of all time -- for Eleni in particular. There are some prerequisites for this book, however: The adult must 1) have some sense of rhythym, 2) have some sense of what a squaredance caller sounds like, 3) be willing to share all of the above, out loud. For example, I love reading this book to the girls; Kostas does NOT like reading this book to the girls. When I started reading this book, I would do a kind of hoedown pat on my leg as I read. Soon the girls were doing their own hoedown pats on my leg. It was pretty fun.

April 2008 (age 19 months)

Goodnight Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
This is the mostly visual story of a kindly zookeeper who goes around saying "Good night" to all the animals in the zoo, and of the sneaky little gorilla who steals the zookeeper's keys and frees all the animals, only to follow the zookeeper home. The colors are truly lush. As an adult, I see something new each time (for example, each animal has a toy version of themselves...the mouse carries a banana with him all along the way, the balloon that escapes at the beginning can be seen further and further off into the distance, etc.). Fortunately, the girls love it too.

May 2008 (age 20 months)
Red Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton
Sandra Boynton was top of the charts with the girls in 2008, but has been falling in popularity in 2009. Typically, the girls would have one or two favorite books at a time, and the others were completely unacceptable. For example, my even so much as reaching for Hippos Go Berserk would drive Zoe into a screaming frenzy for months, although it later became quite popular. That said, "Red Hat, Green Hat" was pretty consistently acceptable. The weird thing is that I think part of the fun of this book is that your kids are supposed to start saying "oops" with you at the end of each 2-page spread. I always set them up for it, and they always turned, stared, and waited. I continue to believe they knew what I wanted and were just toying with me.

June 2008 (21 months)
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd

This book is so good it gives me goosebumps every time I read it; the words are magical and soothing. At least to me. Eleni just loves telling me where the mouse is in every picture, which is probably good too.

July 2008 (22 months)
Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell

I find the Clifford books dated in an odd way, but the girls love them and want me to read them over and over and over, so it would be unfair not to include them here. Maybe it's the little blonde girl's feathered hair that creeps me out.

August 2008 (23 months)
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

I cannot tell you how exciting it was when the girls finally became interested in story books, but trust me that it was very, very exciting to finally have a plot. Unfortunately, this interest coincided with a new interest in having the exact same book read over and over and over. As a side note, the girls and I have just discovered the animated "Harold" series on HBO, narrated by Sharon Stone. Very imaginative. I actually enjoy the episodes too...well the first time I see them maybe.

September 2008 (2 years)

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joff Numeroff

Yup. They sure do like these books.

October 2008 (25 months)

Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss

Hooray! We've made it to Dr. Seuss. I find that I have relatively strong feelings about the rhymes in this book. I'm a fan of tweetle beatles, but am opposed to free fleas. I find it interesting that Knox wears a dress.

November 2008 (26 months)
There’s a bird on your head by Mo Willems

From what I can tell so far, the sweet and witty works of Mo Willems are blessings to parents in the world of toddler books. Thank you, Mo. It just kills me that the girls aren't into the Pigeon books yet. I strive to be as sweet and witty as these books.

December 2008 (27 months)

Ten Apples up on Top by Dr. Seuss

The wacky thing about this book is that it is written, but not illustrated, by Dr. Seuss. Which is slightly disconcerting. That said, Zoe is obsessed with this book. And now refers to her head and hair as "up on top," which is pretty amusing. She particularly enjoys my "kaboom!" sound effect for the apple cart collision, so I like to tease her by turning that page very slooowwwwly.

Night visitors

Zoe's nighttime dreams -- or perhaps vivid imaginations -- are back.

This week, the 2AM cries for "Mommy" were followed by another leap into my arms and an explanation that there was a "boy going 'tuk tuk' at the window."

NOTE: After weeks of curiousity, I recently discovered that "tuk tuk" is Zoryana's word for a knocking sound, such as when someone knocks at the door, or someone is hammering in another apartment.

Our conversation went something like this:

Zoe: Boy tuk tuk on window! Boy tuk tuk on window!
Mommy: Why is a boy going tuk tuk on window?
*pause*
Zoe: Boy AND MOUSE tuk tuk on window!
Mommy: OK, why are a boy and a mouse going tuk tuk on the window?
Zoe: Boy wants water
Mommy: The boy wants water?
Zoe: Yes, boy wants water.
Mommy: OK, the boy and the mouse are knocking on the window because they want water?
*pause*
Zoe: No. Mouse wants CANDY.

Ahhhhhhh

Mommy: Uh huh. Boy wants water; mouse wants candy.
Zoe: Yes!
Mommy: Well did you give them water and candy?
Zoe: Yes.
Mommy: Well, OK then. That was very nice of you.
Zoe: Yes

At that point I put her back to bed and was given a customary dismissal "Bye" with a wave of the arm.

In repeating the story to Baba the next day, Birdy made a reappearance. By then, it was a boy, a mouse and an ORANGE BIRDY going tuk tuk at the window. Apparently, birdy was also looking for some candy.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY 2009

In the Marousis household, we're perfectly OK with wearing our hearts on our sleeves...

...(and our foreheads, cheeks, shirts, etc.)

Do's and Don'ts of Childcare

Eleni & Zoe generously continue to provide visual aids for the "Do's and Don'ts of Childcare."

Don't #41

Don't deposit your baby upside down in a box when you're bored of holding her.

On a positive note, it's an improvement from depositing your baby in the oven. I think they're getting somewhere.

Mommy vs. Mouse

This evening, Zoe and Eleni were snugly tucked in with Baba watching their nightly pre-bedtime two episodes of Tom and Jerry (don't even get me started here), when the first episode came to an end. As Baba fast-forwarded past the commercials, it is possible that Mommy may have quietly muttered "Anyone want to sit with Mommy?"

To my delight and surprise, Zoe sat straight up, said "Sit with Mommy!" and started to move my way.

Baba said, "No, no, no, stay with Baba."

Zoe said, "No Baba -- Mommy."

Baba said, "OK, no more mouse."

Without missing a beat, Zoe said, "No Mommy -- Baba," and plopped back down in his lap.

Mouse - 1
Mommy - 0

Flintstone Cars

KidCity also has a fleet of those Flintstone cars, which I am convinced were designed with one purpose in mind...

...taking irresistable toddler photographs.

Zoe in the Grocery

On Wednesdays, Zoryana takes the girls to KidCity for the morning. KidCity is an indoor pay-to-play space that "allows children to explore the function of a city through pretend play by featuring; a grocery store, post office, home , movie theater, Reading corner, automobiles, and much more."

Zoe is partial to the grocery store, in which she fills her grocery cart to the brim and then spends the rest of her time guarding her full cart from the horror of sharing until Zoryana is able to distract her attention elsewhere.

The whole "sharing" thing is just a rough concept to get one's head around.

Granny Red Apples

Upon discovering my granny socks in the clean laundry pile, Zoe immediately determined they were the perfect repository for red plastic Fisher Price "apples."

Cherry-to-Lettuce Ratio

I agree with Eleni that it's a good idea to include some dried cherries in a dinner salad.

I simply disagree with her regarding ratio of cherries to lettuce.

Zoe Nightmare, Round II

Last night Zoe was up and screaming again at 2am last night.

This time it was "Humpty Dumpty in Zoe's crib!"

Despite a thorough investigation of all the nooks and crannies of Zoe's crib that revealed no evidence whatsoever of Humpty Dumpty (in either pre- or post-fall condition), it still took 10 full minutes of reassuring before she would loose her gorilla grip from around my neck and go back to bed.

The Color of Things

The girls have been learning their colors for some time now, and have just recently really started to get the hang of it. They now like to randomly identify the colors of things.

A couple days ago, Eleni announced, "Baba has black hair."

Then, "Zoe has brown hair."

And then finally -- wait for it -- "Mommy has gray hair!"

***

Good thing for Eleni, there are almost 11 more months until Christmas in which to redeem herself.

Repaying an Overdue Debt: The Princess Plate

In the late 90's I spent two fun-filled years living in Berkeley, California. I have almost entirely wonderful memories of my time there -- a notable exception being the untimely demise of a certain priceless "princess" plate created by yours truly in kindergarten.

My relationship with my "twin" Jim Feldkamp has felt the impact of unspoken damage related to his participation in said incident during the intervening years, during which the promise of a replacement princess plate was often been bandied about but never materialized.

I am overjoyed to report that reparations have at last been paid and the "twin" relationship rejuvenated full force.

Below is an image of the new family heirloom. Princess artwork by Jim with artistic consultation by Eleni & Zoe (he was babysitting Eleni & Zoe SOLO while mommy was stuck in a Chicago snowstorm -- with smashing success.)

Kostas pointed out that it was odd that I only ordered one plate, and we have two children. It was only then that I realized he thought the plate was for Eleni & Zoe.

Clearly he does not understand. This is MY PLATE. I AM OWED THIS PLATE.

But now I'm feeling just a wee bit guilty for being so selfish.

Jim, you better get your markers ready for your next visit to Chi-town.

Twins in a Box

Just a few more photos in the ongoing twins-in-a-box series.




This one was an airplane.















This one a choo choo train.











And this one was just a box.





Yes, they do dearly love being in a box.