Top Ten Favorite Children's Books

Before I had kids, I was really excited about reading books to my children.  I still really like it and I'm always impressed at how much our kids actually want to read books.  Zadie liked being read to from a very young age, but Charlie and Skip have both taken a bit longer (Charlie has only recently been capable of sitting through a book without throwing it or trying to rip the pages).  I would guess that I average about three children's books per day, so over four years of parenting that would be more than 1,000 books!

Of course mostly I'm reading the same twenty books over and over again because the kids definitely have favorites.  And, like them, I also have my favorites.  It amazes me how big of a difference there is between a book that I really enjoy reading and the books that I dread reading.  

So here are my very favorite children's books (that we own, at least), in no particular order:

1.  Anything by Dr. Seuss, but especially There's a Wocket in my Pocket and The Cat in the Hat.

2.  Parts and More Parts by Tedd Arnold.

3.  You Read to Me, I'll Read to You by Mary Ann Hoberman

4.  Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

5.  I'm Gonna Like Me by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell

6.  Santa's Kwanzaa by Garen Eileen Thomas (good when you're sick of all the other Christmas books!)

7.  The Family Book and It's Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr

8.  Little Miss Busy and the whole series by Roger Hargreaves

9.  Moo, Baa, Lalala and anything else by Santa Boynton

10.  Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin by Lloyd Moss

Although I know they're popular I think I kind of dread reading Silverlicious and the Fancy Nancy books because I've read them so many times and I think the overly girly characters don't resonate with me -- and they're just too long!  Tori's least favorite is the original Curious George books because she's very disturbed by how they portray life at the zoo as the most enviable fate for a monkey from the wild. 

A Future Musician?

Skip can play a pretty mean harmonica. Okay, it's not like he actually knows how to play a tune, but he really  plays with intense passion.

In general, Skip's attention span is about 10 times shorter than Zadie's.  Zadie can color or work on an independent project for hours, whereas Skip can only sit still for a limited amount of time, like when we're reading him a book or he's watching a program on the computer (and he often can't sit through a full 30-minute program).  He's just an incredibly active and physical child who is most happy running, jumping, and wrestling.

The one area in which his attention span is significantly longer than Zadie's is when it comes to watching music.  From a very young age, he's been completely transfixed by live music.  When we were in the mountains with friends recently, we went to a pizza place with a bluegrass band.  It ended up not being a very kid-friendly choice because there was a sign on the door that said "Music lovers only, please."  We had six kids with us, so we sat outside in the patio, but Tori took Skip inside and the two of them stayed in there for 45 minutes, until she had to pull him out of there.  I think the other guests were probably rolling their eyes when they saw a two-year-old boy come in the room, but Tori said many of them approached her to say how amazed with how perfectly still he sat, and how fun it was to watch him watching the show.  One lady told Tori, "I can see his whole future right now.  He's going to be a professional musician."

I don't know if that will be the case -- and, as his parent, I hope that he finds a suitable day job to pay the bills and not mooch off us! -- but I do think that he will have a very special interest and hopefully talent in music.  And in this case, he will be very thankful that he does not have his mothers' genes.

Zadie's Birthday Weekend: Day Two

Really like this photo of Zadie and Sophie, but I wish I had a good one of the three girls.

 We told Zadie that today was her actual birthday, even though it's actually Tuesday, because we didn't want to celebrate a third day.  She was pretty spoiled all day long, first and foremost by the fact that her cousins spent the night.  We packed five kids into one room, with the three girls sleeping on the floor together and Skip and Charlie in their regular beds.

As soon as they woke up, we let them watch Zadie's favorite Pippi Longstocking movie, which is a very rare treat.  They had a fun morning at the park and then they got to the BEACH.  Yes, it was that beautiful and amazing today.  I told Zadie she was really fortunate to have such a beautiful beach day in January.  Zadie went pretty deep in the water and got her hair wet.  Her cousins were a bit more tentative about the big waves (and the icy water), but all three had hours of fun playing in the sand and running around.  It was a very beautiful moment.

Eventually we had to leave the beach and go to Aunt Susie's house for a family birthday party.  Zadie had a surprise visit from my parents, which she was very excited about (wish I had a photo!).  She was very fortunate to get many, many presents.  I feel slightly disturbed by how many presents she received for her birthday, but I guess I should get over it.

Some of her favorite presents included a new scooter (from her moms), a new helmet and water sandals (from my parents), a piggy bank, jumper, and book/stuffed animal (from Grandma Linda), a M & M dispenser (from Aunt Katie), and a t-ball set (Aunt Susie).  And I just realized that I forgot to give her the present from my sister.  Oops!

Zadie's Birthday Weekend: Day One

How we should all start the day: with a rainbow popsicle!

Getting her first mani/pedi.

This used to be a baby back rib. She enjoyed lemonade and cornbread.

I'm usually carrying Charlie, so Zadie got to be carried all over the place.  This was right after the ferris wheel.

Thanks to Sidney for making a great cake with blue frosting, just like Zadie requested!  (This is her cute new outfit from Grandma Linda)

Zadie had some very specific requests for her birthday.  Instead of a party in the park, she wanted to have a few kids over and watch a movie projected onto the living room wall.  More specifically, she requested that there be no little brothers or babies at her party.  That's quite the insight into her everyday life.

So we obliged her and farmed out the two boys to some very kind friends and relatives while we took her to Long Beach for a fun day with her two moms.  Although we each try hard to spend alone time with our kids, I don't think she's had time alone with both of her moms since before she was 17 months old and Skip arrived.

Per her request, we took her to get a popsicle and then her very first mani/pedi.  She picked out the colors and felt quite pampered.  Then we took her to lunch -- baby back ribs and cornbread!  Lastly, we took her on the ferris wheel and for a haircut.

Then it was time to return home and get ready for Zadie's party.  My sister called around this time and asked if I was stressed out about preparing for the party and I had to laugh because all we really did was clean the house and then throw on a movie.  Tori made a casserole, Sidney brought a cake, and all was good.  Some of the adults played Scrabble while it was happening.  That was the really nice part of not having the younger kids there -- we could relax and let the older kids play together.

Oh, and an hour before the party started Zadie got a really wonderful surprise: her cousins Sophie and Izzy showed up for a sleepover!  You really wouldn't believe how excited she was.  It makes me sooo happy to see how excited she gets to spend time with those two.  She had told us that she was really hoping to see Sophie and Izzy on her birthday and her wish came true.

Visit from a Lao Pengyou

Me and Jenna on a nice January beach day.

Zadie and Lucy were nuts and went in the water!

My closest friends from the Peace Corps are Jenna and Erin.  We were so tight during training that people called us "the tripod."  Erin is living in Africa right now, but Jenna and I got to have a mini-reunion last week for six wonderful days.  She might as well be in Africa considering how infrequently I see her, but she actually lives in what she calls the jewel of the Midwest...you know, Milwaukee?!
It was great to have Jenna staying with us because she definitely makes me laugh like few people do and this time was our first hanging out as full-blown parents.  One time she came to visit when our two girls were just a few months old, but that wasn't really parenting.  That's really just keeping your baby alive.  Dealing with older kids and all their fighting and needs and negotiating -- now that's parenting.  So it was the first time we've ever seen each other with our mom voices on.  Not really a pretty sight, but it is what it is.

The really nice part about having Jenna here was that she brought her super positive attitude along with her.  As I've written before, I am typically a very content and happy person, but parenting has challenged my optimism, I must admit.  Enter Jenna.  She's one of those people that is genuinely amused by her kids and loves babies (she kept calling Charlie a "squishy baby").  So it was nice to see our crazy household through her eyes because sometimes when people stay with us they (understandably) look like they're ready to run for the door.

While she was here, we had two nice beach visits with the kids (see photos above), two amazing Sichuan dinners (from the region where we lived in China), and a really invigorating trip to the mountains east of San Diego.  My parents let us stay at their beautiful home and we also invited another couple and their kids.  It was really wonderful time with our combined families.

Thank you, Jenna, for a great visit!
p.s.  Lao pengyou means "old friend" in Chinese!

My Vacation from the Kids

My very relaxing vacation spot!

I've noticed I take a bit more time off from my children than other moms I know, many of whom have never spent a night apart from their children, much less actually taken a vacation from them.  Maybe part of it is because we have two moms in our household and so caregiving for the kids is divided differently.  But I know that a significant part of this difference between me and other moms is because I probably require more adult time than other moms to keep me happy and healthy.

With this is mind, I arranged to spend three days in Austin with my aunt and uncle after Christmas.  I wanted to give myself the gift of a mini-vacation before I start my next job (I'll write more about that later).

I can't describe how wonderful my trip was, on so many levels.  First of all, I really enjoy my Aunt Dana and Uncle Mark and it was nice to have so many long and meaningful conversations with them (without kids interrupting me, I might add!).  And of course Austin is a great place to visit, especially their amazing neighborhood.

I saw two live music performances at very small venues, and left with my first-ever New Year's resolution: to watch more live music in L.A.  I also had some great meals, nice walks through the neighborhood, and lots and lots of down time.  I had plenty of time to catch up on reading (I finished What Is the What about the Lost Boys of Sudan and started Bossypants), I watched a movie in bed during the middle of the day (can't remember the last time I did that!), and got caught up on my blog.

I'm lucky to have a wife who supports my need for adult time (as do my parents, who were watching Zadie during this time).  And of course I'm thankful to my aunt and uncle for being such great hosts!