A is for Adoption

Say Hey, Willie!

Last night was Halloween. Due to Theo's obsession with baseball, he decided that he'd like to be Willie Mays (we have a very cute book about the Say Hey Kid). Lucky for mommy, the costume was very easy to make -- just cutting out some felt letters and numbers and putting them on the cap and T-shirt. We went to Robbie's house for some Halloween fun -- a scavenger hunt, art projects, and trick-or-treating among their neighbors. During the day, Theo saw lots of jack-o-lanterns and other semi-scary stuff when Daddy took him to the "Scary-Go-Round" at Tilden Park. We didn't see Eli and Josh this year, because their costumes were going to be way too scary and gory for our little guy. Eli was an evil clown -- I'm sorry, you can't get much scarier than that!

Ebony and Ivory

This is Robbie. Robbie is Theo's good buddy from Jil's House (their daycare). I just love to watch them play together; they are two of the cutest little guys around. Last week Robbie's mom and I took them to Children's Fairyland and watched them explore the world together (which consisted of a lot of running around and squealing). And I just melt when they hug each other like this. So innocent and pure; no macho embarrassment. I guess we have just a couple more years before that stuff starts.

Theo visits the dentist

Last Wednesday Theo and I took a trip to the pediatric dentist for his very first visit. Dr. Denise Bass counted his teeth (10 on top and 10 on bottom!) and scraped a little tarter off the bottom two. I beamed with pride as she praised mommy on doing a great job brushing Theo's teeth -- no decay to be found! (Thank god . . . little does she know that my child still goes to bed with a sippy of water/milk . . . a true no-no . . .) I think the best part of the visit for Theo was getting to take home not just one, but TWO bouncy balls -- one that looks like an eyeball!

Talking about race

Last week's Newsweek magazine featured an excerpt from a new book called Nurtureshock. This particular article focused on new theories of how racism and discrimination develop in children. It's fascinating -- and it is completely consistent with the training we've received through Pact (our adoption agency). Basically, the concept is that very young children already see differences in skin color, yet so many parents believe that if they don't talk about color, their children will be "colorblind" and treat everyone the same. It's a great thought with nothing but good intentions behind it, but it's just not true. As the article says: "Children see racial differences as much as they see differences between pink and blue--but we tell them that 'blue' is for boys and 'pink' is for girls. 'White' and 'black' are mysteries we leave them to figure out on their own." It's up to parents to talk explicitly about race when children are very young to help them figure it out, before they draw their own conclusions based on what they see/hear/read in society.

One of Theo's very favorite books is called Skin Again: "The color of my skin is only one way to know the real me." Whenever we read it, Theo holds out his arm and says "My skin is dark." Then he touches me and says "Your skin is light."  We've already started the conversations, and I know many more are on the way. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with what we've taken on--trying to raise a black boy in a white world. We just have to keep making our world a little less white--and we have to keep talking.

Sweet Conversation

Mommy: "Oh, darn it, Theo. Mommy forgot to bring your water!"

Theo:  "Oh, too bad."

Mommy: "I'm so sorry, honey!"

Theo: "It's OK, Mommy. That's life!"

Mommy: "Where did you hear that expression?"

Theo: "On a video!"

Tricks of the (parenting) trade

In the last six months, Theo has developed a taste an obsession for bacon. It started at his daycare, where they serve him the juicy treat at least once a week. That's fine, but we didn't want to clog his little arteries with all that fat at home too. So my brilliant husband discovered the miracle of Smart Bacon. It's a soy product--there is absolutely no pig involved. Theo loves it--we just call it bacon and he doesn't know the difference. 

It made me think of all the little tricks we parents play on our offspring . . . things like:

• Pretending we're asleep so they'll go to sleep

• Telling them we're out of fruit leathers (when there's a whole box in the pantry)

• Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

Oh well, I guess we should make the most of Theo's two-year-old naivete--he'll be tricking us soon enough!

Theo plays bass too!

I don't mean to overdo the whole proud mommy thing, but . . .this is pretty cool!This is Theo's very own "bass" (actually a cello, but compared to his size it's a bass). He's been studying DVDs of Rufus Reid and Willie Dixon . . . 

Theo does his thang

Beware -- Jellyfish!

Last weekend we took a quick family vacation to Monterey and had a blast. The Aquarium was terribly crowded, but still magical as always. We also spent a lot of time at Dennis the Menace park. And Theo ate a lot of bacon (going out to breakfast two days in a row!). Our boy got a little fever on the first night. It's only the second time he's been sick during his brief life, so I was a little anxious about it -- it seemed like he was burning up.. . . but it turned out to be only 100.5. And no puking! Lucky lucky us.

Summertime

This is the third official week of summer (defined by when Daddy ends the school year). We've already had many adventures . . . trips to Half Moon Bay, visiting Daddy at Jazz Camp in Pescadero, fun with the Scarsdale clan, and more. Theo is so curious and aware of everything around him. The other day he was babbling enthusiastically when he suddenly exclaimed "My mommy drinks coffee and wine!" Um, gee, I guess there's no hiding your vices with a 2-year-old around!

Take me out to the ballgame!

Last night, Theo went to his first pro baseball game--the Oakland A's vs. the Baltimore Orioles, with daddy, Grandpa Weinmann, Uncle Barry and Riley. Apparently he was very into the jumbo-tron and the hot dogs. All day today he's been talking about "hitting the ball like the Oakland As." It's cute, but I must confess that I find baseball very boring . . . so I hope he develops more of a passion for basketball! But not football. Mark my words, my son is NOT playing football. . . 

Theo and the beach ball

Yesterday our little family went to the Healdsburg Jazz Festival and enjoyed some lovely Brazilian music in the park. They had all these beach balls scattered around the field for the kids ... and daddy and Theo played beach ball soccer. Theo was caught on camera by a professional photographer who emailed us the photos . . . too cute!

Affection

One of Theo's best qualities is his affectionate disposition. He is generous with hugs and kisses, especially for mommy. He likes to hold hands and even caresses my face sometimes when he's going to sleep. As you can see here, when given the opportunity he will even kiss himself!

Tales of a two-year-old

Last week Theo climbed up on top of his dresser when he was supposed to be sleeping . . . he pulls my hair now when he doesn't get what he wants . . . he pees through his nighttime diaper every night . . . he won't eat anything consistently except pepperoni (gross) . . . he likes to bounce his super ball into the kitchen sink . . . he bursts into tears one minute and laughter the next . . . it can take him 10 minutes to walk up our back stairs . . .

On the other hand --

He's perfected his drum roll . . . he says "Oh My Goodness" . . . he can count to 10 . . . he climbs structures meant for 5-year-olds . . . he can kick a soccer ball across a field . . . he puts just the right amount of sugar in mommy's coffee each morning . . . he knows the difference between a trumpet, a french horn and a tuba . . . he tries to blow his own nose . . . 

He's incredible.

How to play pool (by Theo)

First, you climb up on the table. Then, you wave the stick around and try to hit the ball. Who cares if you accidentally hit mommy in the eye? It's even more fun if you have "Sweet Home Alabama" playing in the background and your mommy shows you how to shake your booty. Silly mommy.

Easter Eggs

Theo really got into the whole Easter egg hunt thing this year. He loved running around and finding all the plastic eggs and then popping them open and watching all the goldfish spill out. My moms group had a brunch/egg hunt with all the two-year-olds, which was truly adorable. And then we had a hunt in mom's backyard with Josh and Eli, and then another with Rose and Riley at Rossmoor. That's a lot of goldfish! Luckily, that's just about all he eats these days so he was pretty happy.

Theo reminds you to . . .

. . . stop and smell those roses! There's nothing better than a 2-year-old to help you live in the moment.

Splish Splash

How cute are my boys? I'm sure Jeff will not appreciate me blogging his nakedness, but I couldn't resist. Do you LOVE the pink tile? Can you say "remodel as soon as possible?" 

Tu ba or not Tu ba?

What Theo Loves Right Now

• 

  • The Lawrence Hall of Science 

  • His Uncle Serge (pictured at left)

• Elmo • Pizza at Jupiter (the kind with pesto, olives and chicken)

• His mommy (he hugs me all day!)

• • "Wee" Willy Dixon (a blues bass player from the 60s)

• • Zin Zin Violin

• • Running

• • Jumping down the stairs (scary!)

• • Going to play drums in daddy's studio

• • Flirting

• • Asking "why?"