at the beach with uncle seth

We're in LA and spent the morning with uncle seth out at venice beach.

molly had too much fun and passed out on the way home... :)

1, 2, 3 ...

We seem to be all getting healthier and less tantrum-y around here. Turns out I had/have an ear infection, Molly's brain was scrambling to prepare for turning 2, and Zach was exhausted from my temper tantrums.

In the midst of all that, though, I learned a neat toddler parenting trick that makes me feel so clever, even though I in no way thought of it myself. It's as simple as 1-2-3. Oh wait. Actually it is 1-2-3. I watched her Nana use it for fun things, like "On the count of three let's get up in the chiar. 1...2...3... up!" And I put it all together when I read a parent on BPN describing using it to help her kid. Basically, if I feel strongly that she has to do something, like put on her shoes, and she puts up a big fight I stop and tell her in that great parenting "firm but gentle" voice: "I'll count to 3 and then Mama will put your shoes on. OK. 1.... 2.... 3..... shoes on!"

The first two times I tried it I really had to toughen up and follow through. On go the shoes, even if it means she's pounding her fists and I'm wrestling the shoe on. Then, the third time I used it things went a little more smoothly:

Mama: "Time for your diaper Molly."
Molly: "NO diaper!" (turns away to get another book)
Mama: "If you don't put your diaper on I'll count to three and then Mama will put your diaper on"
Molly looks back at the diaper sheepishly while grabbing a bok.
Mama: "OK. 1.... 2.... 3...."
Molly suddenly turns and puts her but right on the diaper. I hide my surprise and close the tabs.

Now that I've used this method a few times it's dawned upon me (oh, I'm ever so brilliant) that it's actually doing two things for Molly: it gives her a few seconds to understand what is going to happen and allows her to have some control over it. Maybe I'll jinx our good luck by saying this, and maybe she'll stop responding to it in a few more days, but for now I've been really amazed at how much it helps things go smoothly. Two nights in a row she's laid down in bed on the count of three. This afternoon she stopped in the middle of a meltdown at the farmer's market over putting a coat on (the fog had rolled in and the temp was quickly dropping) when I said "on the count of three, Mama's going to put your coat on, 1, 2, 3."

So, I may not be the most clever parent, but I figure things out eventually. I guess what they say is true: kids crave consistent boundaries (and a little information about what the heck is going on, and just a touch of input into what will be done to them).

Little Farm, BIG Truck

we went to the Little Farm today. Molly got a big crack out of having us feed the geese, listening to the rooster crow, petting the sheep's woolly coat, and looking at the biiiiig truck! She also exercised her rights to wear her pajamas all day and put her own hat on, thank you.

back at home

back to your regular programming

Not to worry. Mr. not-a-Tortilla-head's hair will be just fine.
In other news, we've had a lovely visit with Nana and Pa. If they email us some pictures, we might even put them up here. (hint hint!)

In the meantime, here are yet more Ocracoke pictures: Molly offers up a shell she found; Molly & Mama enjoy the sunset; Molly & Mama have a splashing good time; Molly searches for shells; Dada has a reflective moment to himself; and more splashing fun with Mama. All this at the part of town we dubbed "sunset point".

and now for something completely different

we interrupt this baby (err, big girl) blog to bring you...

this is not a picture of my brother the tortilla-head
we apologize for the interruption
we now return you to your regularly scheduled Molly

Molly at Sunset

And here are some pictures of Molly enjoying a sunset on Ocracoke...

We've been taking turns here - first I got sick, then Molly, and now Zach is fighting it off. I'm glad that Molly is learning the concept of taking turns, but I'd prefer she practice with toys rather than her health. ;)

To make this cold even better, I was away most of the weekend taking an intensive class to prepare for my next set of Landscape Architecture licensing exams. It's all for a good cause (the health and safety of the precious public) but it's a pretty brutal process. Granted, any process that requires me to be away from Molly for the weekend might be considered brutal. But this Molly separation aside, this is no fun. According to the administering organization (CLARB), the passing rates for last year ranged from 38% on Section E to 74% for sections A & B. This is up from the previous years (they reorganized the test last year) in which Section E had a passing rate of just 27%. (Each section is taken and passed independently, so they don't keep statistics on the overall passing rate). For the record, I took Section C in December, I'll find out if I passed or failed in February or March, I'll take Sections A, B, & D in March, and Section E in June. If I failed Section C I'll take that again in June as well.