HAPPY HALLOWEEN

This is Vanessa's second Halloween. Remember how chubby she was last year? She fit into her costume again this year. She was a little lion, although she often referred to herself as being a tiger.

We asked her to roar and she did this pose:


She has stopped napping during the day and was very tired when we arrived at the downtown trick-or-treat event. She looked like she had toothpicks holding her eyes open, but other than that, she was able to go store to store, say "trick or treat," and even "thank you."


There were so many adorable children and stunning costumes. However, people still found a reason to stop and dote over the little mop-headed lion. She got so much attention it reminded us of being in China. Basically, she had the perfect mane for the costume. "Hair by God," I tell people.


We bumped into the triplets, Marley, Audrey, and Cordell. They were busy. Oh my heavens, we literally said "Hi," snapped a photo, and they were off with their triple stroller and fleet of babysitters.

Daddio took Nanners around to all the businesses that were handing out candy. Mama ran the camera. After quite a bit of trick-or-treating, Vanessa felt she wanted to run off some energy (she had her New Balance running shoes on, afterall). Daddio bent over and chased her through the throngs of people, Mama not far behind. That rascal was following the sounds of a polka band, playing at an open cafe for Oktoberfest. She stood outside the cafe and did a lion dance for a few minutes, very much to the delight of the beer drinkers there. "Uninhibited" comes to mind. Just the way we like it.

We bumped into Vanessa's bff, Andrea, and her mom, Jen. They live right by us and they babysat Vanessa a couple times last week. They treat VH1 like family. The feeling is mutual. Andrea is 10 - the age Auntie Anne was when I was two.


We also bumped into a couple of Daddio's athletes, Chadnei and Jerae. Little Bananakins was sans costume at this point, and needing that nap.



When Jack put her into her car seat to go home, Nessa asked, "Daddy, you ride in the back seat?" Hello: a complete sentence. It was an exciting day for a lion cub, but, when we got home, Daddio had new pumpkins to carve.

Vanessa didn't get to bed until 10 p.m., and even then it was under protest.

TWENTY TWO ON THE 22ND

Months, that is... Vanessa is 22 months old now, as of October 22nd. New in her life? The word mayonnaise. Tonight we had roast chicken, white rice and broccoli. We let her put a dab of mayonnaise on her food, which she immediately ate, then shouted "Mayonnaise! Mayonnaise! Mayonnaise!" the rest of the meal. [She has mayonnaise on her turkey sandwiches with Daddio. That's how she got hooked.]

She has also developed a popsicle habit. We bought a Costco box of Flav-o-Ice popsicles for her baby dedication back in June. Daddio discovered them since we've been home from our travels and don't you know the two of them curl up together every evening with a popsicle. Nanners can wait, but don't try to put her to bed without a popsicle. Good thing she loves to brush her teeth.



Over the weekend Vanessa got a cold. I pulled out my box labeled "Pediatric Rx" and wee Bananakins insisted on running the show. First she asked her toy kitty, China, "Do you need some medicine?" in a sincere and gentle voice. She stared into China's eyes and waited for a response. Whatever China said, Vanessa took it upon herself to use every item in the Pediatric Rx box on her: Motrin drops, Tylenol drops, Mylicon gas drops, ear thermometer, tape measure, nasal aspirator, toenail clippers, eye dropper, Vics Vapo-Rub (she can say that), and a brush. After she administered to China and wiped her nose with a tissue, she let me doctor her. It was very, very cute. "I fix it," she said.



We've been playing around with Van's buddies. It's always fun at the organic farm feeding the goats, and those hayrides to the pumpkin patch are a real treat this time of year. Nothing can compare, though, to Daddio carving a Jack-o-Lantern. Never has Van imagined such a thing. When he put a candle in it, turned off the lights and lit it... you should have heard the MONKEY SCREECHING! After that, just saying the word "pumpkin" would produce a screech.



Of course our temperatures here have been near 100 degrees, so the Jack-o-Lantern has already collapsed and been sent to the green and clean recycling pit. She's picking up our decorative baby pumpkins, asking, "I cut it?" (We must get more pumpkins.)



Van's vocabulary continues to grow. She has her pronouns down pat this week. She doesn't always choose to use them, but when she does, they are correct. Thank God, because that would be hard to teach, I think. We read her Halloween book from Gramma Patty and her three Nursery Rhyme books every day. Like ten times a day. We don't know why she's fixated on the pumpkin book. The Nursery Rhymes are fun because we sing them, shout them, act them out... we are downright raucous with our Mother Goose around here. Today it was Cheech and Chong do Pussycat, Pussycat Where Have You Been? Her favorite song to sing is still Tomorrow, but she only knows the one line.



We have to watch what we say around her. We've known for a very long time that she understands absolutely everything, but now it's weird that she can talk. I hung up after talking with Daddio about which of our three favorite take-out places to go to and Vanessa shouted, "Taco Rico!" which had been one of the options. "You don't even know what that is," I shot back. "Food," she said. I got Daddy back on the phone and said, "Tell Daddy what you just told me." Van said, "Taco Rico, Mexico food." Hola! Where did she learn the word Mexico?

At Taco Rico that night we met a little blonde haired girl her same size whose birth day is one week after Vanessa's. Her due date was also one week after Vanessa's. They were like twins, except the other little girl, Brooke, had two pigtails on the top of her head. The two blonde toddlers entertained everyone at Taco Rico with their aisle sprinting. We exchanged numbers. The next day Vanessa wore two pigtails.



Favorite phrases these days: "It's broken." "Not working." "Needs batteries." "I fix it." Last night she used a Phillips head on one of her toys that needs batteries. I no longer need to leave the couch when she wants to change out her DVDs.

Here are videos from the past two weeks. Sorry, this layout is funny: there's something up with the blog editor.

Co

KITTENS DRINK MILK

Yesterday was fun. We went to our very first toddler story hour at the library. It was great. Too bad Vanessa has no idea how to sit still. There were 15 children aged 2 months to 4 years, and an equal number of parents. Vanessa sat on my lap for the first story. For the second one, she crept up to the story teller, stared into her eyes at close range, then exited, stage left. (Wendy, I thought of you.) Nanners was the first (only?) one to defect. All the other parents seemed to have children who stuck around. I guess story time was a little to passive for our active go-getter.

We left the library for a few short errands - the bank, DMV, and the pediatrician's office. Vanessa was quite a hit and very energetic at all three places. Most notable was the DMV, which was packed with sullen drivers waiting their turn in uncomfortable, plastic chairs. Vanessa walked through the entire room making eye contact and saying, "Hello!" You'd think she was in China. It was actually great fun to see people's scowls and frowns melt into smiles. She was particularly charming at the DMV.

When my number was finally called, I had to hold her writhing body in one arm while trying to pull papers out and sign legibly with the other. It didn't work very well. I stood Van on the counter, then had to put her down. She bolted, of course. I had to run through the DMV, all eyes upon us, to capture her, then run her back to my window. One or two more times of that, and we pretty much had stolen the show for the day. I carried Vanessa out as she waved and said, "Bye-Bye!" to each of her adoring fans.

By the time we got home from our errands, it was time for lunch. Here are two videos of that. Mom, click on the triangle on the bottom left of the picture to play the following two videos... you may have to click them twice (or more).

The first one is dedicated to cousin Corey:

[got milk?]
[That's a belch at the end.]

The second is dedicated to Daddio:

Somehow I missed the fact that September 19th is International Pirate Day. Arrgh! Have you heard me speak to Vanessa like a pirate? I do. Not sure why. Anyway, I thought it fitting we find out what my pirate name is. This is for Kraybear. Arrgh! Nancy-girl!

Red Mary Kidd

Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Should I include this summary in the home study? Check yourself out at:

http://www.piratequiz.com/

THEN YOU SHALL HAVE NO PIE

This week Vanessa has taken her reading to a whole new level. In addition to being able to be trusted with books that have (gasp!) real, paper pages, she has latched on to nursery rhymes with a real passion. Her favorites? "The Three Little Kittens," and "Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat." I detect a theme. She can also spot Humpty Dumpty and Yankee Doodle a mile away, which I find fascinating. No wonder these crazy nursery rhymes have survived.

This week she discovered that her new size diapers - size 5 - have Mickey Mouse on them. You'd think she'd been reunited with a long, lost relative. In fact, we have no Mickey Mouse stuff about the house, so I'm not sure how she recognized him or why she's obsesseed with him. She pulled out every single diaper to check and remark, "Oh! Mickey Mouse!"

We've been singing a lot this week, too. At one point I told Daddio I wanted to see two of my childhood favorites, "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." Well, he ordered Bedknobs from Netflix and I purchased Chitty for $6. The movies, we found, were excessively long, a trifle corny, and short on plot. They do have, however, a couple fabulous dance sequences that Vanessa could watch as a loop for easily a week. We jump up and sing and dance for these scenes.

I sing, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" with such gusto I'm nervous the police might appear at our door. Vanessa sings along. In fact, we recorded "Annie" and, after I stormed around the room for a full-body rendition of "It's a Hard Knock Life," Vanessa felt at liberty to chime in to sing "Tomorrow" - I kid you not. Sure, she sings, "Tomano," which sounds suspiciously like her version of Tomato, but hey, it still made us about burst with pride.

Last week we had another home visit as part of our adoption process. It went quite well and we are nearing completion with our home study. This is the part where social workers document our life details to show the government we can be trusted with a child. It seems silly to many people, but some adopted children have been harmed or even killed by their parents, so we subject to this process without complaint. Our home study social worker was in the convent from age 19-26, before getting married and having four children. She's a nurse and has an MSW, so we had quite a bit to chat about. She thinks we're fit to adopt.

Our adoption placement agency, Lifetime, is working on our behalf to speak to birth parents and match us to them for an open adoption. In an open adoption, the birth mother chooses the family for her baby. Birth fathers are only occasionally involved in open adoptions. We found out last Tuesday that one birth mother saw our profile online and has us as her "first choice" adoptive family. Hearing that was really, really exciting for me. Even if we don't go on to match with this person, I'm thrilled our profile appealed to her.

If you want to see our online profile, and give us your baby, you can check us out, here.

http://lifetimeadoption.com/for_birtmothers/families/jack_mary/index.html

In addition to this profile, we have a 12 page scrapbook style profile that is mailed out to birth parents. Special thanks to all our peeps who sent in character references to the home study agency and letters of references for our birth parent profiles. Thank you!

We went to the beach and the park with Andrea and baby Kennedy last week - our friends from 2006 birthing classes. The girls went on the slide and swings and met some other nice kids. I love seeing Nanners with her peers. She loves kids.

This week Milo turns four and we've had Chica in the family for three years. Tonight Chica is eating pretzels out of Van's hand and flying around the house to watch what we do. Chica even landed on the floor and was calm enough to let Milo approach her to sniff those ever elusive tail feathers. Happy Birthday, Milo!

We had a 100 degree heat wave that melted suddenly into 60 degree days. Brrrrr. Vanessa went out to the back yard for a tennis ball one day and returned with a baby snail.

Today it warmed back up to normal, so we were out back for an afternoon dip in the kiddie pool, when VH1 requested to take off her swim suit. Then her diaper. Then Nature Girl explored the perimeter of the yard in her birthday suit, with evident freedom and wild abandon. I wondered what the heck she was doing, hiding in the shadows for so long, then I hear, "Mama!" and out she came, with a bit of a grin. She looked relieved, if you know what I mean.

This was another day, but the same look:

I forgot to mention that "Auntie" Nell, in addition to moving to L.A. and getting engaged to her soul puppy, Braidy, has a new gig as a sports model. Her first job? Cover story for HerSports magazine. Way to launch, girl!

http://www.hersports.com/

I KNOW AND BECAUSE

Well, we haven't been to any other continents, nor have we been to the E.R., but we did have another wonder filled time of it this week. Mostly, we are gearing up for our second home study visit on Tuesday, a big part of our adoption quest. Also, VanNannerkins is dazzling and delighting us with her burgeoning vocabulary. The most beloved phrases this week are:

"I know."

"I don't know."

"Because..." which proceeds pensive silence and grand hand gestures that suggest she is searching for the words to explain whatever major mystery she is solving. Can't wait to hear the full thought.

Van is also saying, "Bless you," after we sneeze. We also taught her to say "Cheers!" and clink our water glasses, so she can't get a bite down during dinner without having us toast three times first.

By the way, did I mention I call her The Epicurean? She eats whatever we eat, and don't you dare give her too bland a food. In fact, she turns up her nose at Cheerios, bananas and milk. You call yourself a baby, Vanessa? Well, she eats those things, but only sparingly. She'd much prefer garlic laden pesto, a loaded salad, aged cheese, herbed bread, olives and orange juice. She really loves spices. In fact, we gave her roast chicken with mango salsa on it which she loved. Unfortunately she then had a bit of a break-out around her mouth and also her behind, so, um, no more mango salsa for our wee Epicurean. "Not 'til you're two," I tell her, as with the more advanced foods, like peanut butter.

Daddio is back to school with the students and directing their preseason conditioning work, like running up mountains and jumping over boxes and the like. "Auntie" Shea-Shea is flying to the White House to meet the President (that's right, the President) with the U.S. Olympic Team. Granny Ernestine just stepped onto a cruise ship to spend 2 weeks looking for the Panama Canal, a long-time ambition. She went with Auntie Judi and a group from church.

And me, I've had a tough week as a mom. In many ways I feel a bit more on top of my mom game than at any other time in Vanessa's existence, but keeping Van mostly quarantined at home all week to nurse her contagious virus has perhaps taken its toll a bit. When you don't have a job to go to with a group of comrades and a supervisor, you don't get the feedback that helps you think you're staying on course. Soon enough, my baby will be giving me her feedback in English, so I'll get that elusive performance evaluation, true. But in the meantime, as we spend our day together, I sometimes doubt I'm doing a good job or any good at all. Heaven help me if I do her harm, but of course I worry about that, too. Luckily, V-Dog's virus is pretty well gone, so I can pick back up with my fellow moms and commiserate as only moms can. Of course I can always solicit feedback from Daddio, but he only says wonderful things. I suspect he's biased.

Friday we spent the day together on the beach, then at the park, then at the petting farm. It was fun. When I feel I've gotten my work done, it is such a privilege to get to go hang out like a kid. Here is a clip of us having lunch together afterwards. I had just interviewed Vanessa for about 5 minutes, ran for the camera, then don't you know she wouldn't repeat the interview? So I'm asking her leading questions for the sake of filming. If you listen very carefully you can hear her say, "I know" after I mention we went to the farm.

Vanessa continues to work her sense of humor. "What are you going to be when you grow up?" I asked her in the park the other day. "Two," she deadpanned.