Arlo Steps Up

 

Arlo continues to warm to the idea of being a big brother (his 3 a.m. tantrums notwithstanding), and this morning he finally held Macy for the first time! They were enjoying some interactive time--he was showing off the awesome fire engine he got from Piers for his birthday a few weeks back--and he planted a kiss on her head. (I, unfortunately missed this part, as I had stepped into the other room for a minute. But I did hear it, because Arlo's kisses are audible: "Mmmmmmmwahh!") I came rushing back with the camera, in time to catch Arlo asking if he could hold her. Here's one of the resulting shots.

Why, oh why, do I not have a high-speed connection at my house? I have so much more to share!

I have made arrangements to use a fast computer this afternoon to FINALLY post the rest of our latest photos to flickr. Stay tuned...

Here She Is

 

Mae Clara "Macy" Knights
Born September 23, 2007
7:43 a.m.
8 pounds
20 inches long
Gorgeous!

The Stuart Davis Show - Episode 11: 581 c Day

I love Stuart Davis. All three of him. Consider him Permanently Laminated.

One Inch Shy

Arlo recently went to the doctor for his three-year-old check-up, and all were suitably impressed with his vigor and development. At 41 inches tall and weighing in at 36.8 pounds, he officially qualifies as a Big Kid. To be precise, he exceeds the 97th percentile in height, and the 90th percentile in weight. (I know, you can just see my chest swelling with pride, right?)

Anyway, this got me to thinking. Arlo is only one inch shy of the height requirement for just about any run-of-the-mill roller coaster.

I KNOW! IT'S CRAZY! But here it is, from the Adventureland web site: "Guests must be at least 42" tall to ride the G-Force, the Tornado, the Dragon, the Outlaw, Himalaya, or Falling Star, and 36" tall to ride the Raging River and the Frog Hopper."

Is a kid too young to handle a roller coaster at 3-and-a-half of 4 years old? Every time the Adventurelan commercial comes on the T.V. (honest to God, EVERY time), Arlo says, "THAT looks like fun!" and then also proceeds to make a "splassssssh" sound when they show the footage of the raft ride hitting the big splash at the bottom of a drop. He does, however, concede, "I need to get a little bigger first."

What do you think? Should we be including this in our plans for next summer?

Arlo: Inspired by Pillows

I've written here before about Arlo's imagination--specifically, even, flights of fancy inspired by heaps of blankets and pillows on the bed. Remember this?
Here are two more examples.

1: Over the weekend, Arlo grabbed a pillow from our bed, propped it up on top of his head, and went marching up and down the hallway, proclaiming to be an ant. Says he: "I've got a big piece of toast!"

2: Burrowing, head first, under the down comforter and assorted pillows on the bed--all sans linens due to the fact that it was laundry day, and therefore all shades of white--he shouts a muffled "I'm a snowplow!" from beneath a "snowdrift." This one, in particular, blew me away because of course he hasn't seen a snowplow in action in months.

You Might Be Surprised

You may even be alarmed that I have an opinion to register on the topic of the Kanye West-versus-50 Cent showdown that's been all the hype in the music industry this week. If you don't already know about it, the basic gist of it is that rapper 50 Cent has said he will stop making solo recordings if his "Curtis" album sells fewer copies than Kanye West's "Graduation" during their first week in stores. Both albums were released Tuesday. Sales figures will be revealed next week.

I admit, I'm a pretty basic white girl with a taste that leans more toward indie rock, folk, and alt country ... but I've listened to my share of rap music--ever since my hip hop days in junior high (don't ask). These days, my hip hop repertoire doesn't go much deeper than liking or not liking whatever rap singles filter into my consciousness by being big radio hits, so I don't claim to be an expert.

(For the record, I LOVED Kanye's "Gold Digger," (2005) and the line "We gonna party like it's yer birfday" from 50's single, "In Da Club" (2003) has entered my lexicon as a thing I might say.)

But I do have a vote to register.

I don't plan to buy either album--which is the "real" way to vote, in this case, but I will say that Kanye's album is far more enjoyable a listen than the 50 Cent equivalent. In fact, I don't think I can actually call them equals.

The albums' respective titles are actually pretty good indicators of what's "inside." 50 Cent's "Curtis" is full of the usual gangsta rap bravado, including a nonstop flow of words that would make my mother very uncomfortable indeed. The first song on "Curtis" is "My Gun Go Off," which pretty well sets the tone for the rest of the cuts.

Kanye West's "Graduation," while still liberally peppered with dirty words, has brains. Critics have long credited Kanye with thoughtful and inventive lyrics, and I also happen to like his lyrical style much better. His crisp and creative phrasing has more flow than 50's rough-and-tumble slur, and his storylines appeal to a wider audience than just rap devotees. Case in point, Kanye enlisted Coldplay's Chris Martin to sing on his track, "Homecoming," which (Midwestern white girl that I am) is one of my favorite cuts on "Graduation."

While it may be true that 50 Cent would win in a street fight, I'm putting my money on Kanye this time. My hunch is, if Fiddy remains true to his threat, we won't have to hear from him again. But really, does anyone believe that he's going to drop off the face of the earth is he loses this faceoff? Naw, he has only promised to stop making SOLO recordings. So watch for plenty of collaborations in the Fiddy's future.

Let's Get This Party Started.

Even the cats partied down with a house full of friends on Arlo's birthday. I know that it was two weeks ago, but I finally got my photos posted to flickr. Take a gander here.
Love,
Jen

How lucky are we that Halloween costumes have gotten so easy--and so adorable? Here's what Arlo picked out, from the Old Navy web site, for his Halloween costume this year. Anticipating that our time will be in short supply this fall (what with the imminent arrival of the new Knights baby), I decided to just let Arlo pick out a "boughten" costume instead of trying to dream up/ make up something creative and fabulous on my own. (Also note, Old Navy is having a 25%-off sale right now on lots of baby and kid stuff, INCLUDING the Halloween stuff.)

I can't wait to see it--not only is it totally cute, but it's made of fleece, so it should also be easy, comfy, and warm for Arlo to wear on what often turns out to be a chilly autumn night. Looks like all I need to do now is find some fireman boots for him to wear ... though I'm sure we could get away with just putting on his sneakers ... or his usual rain boots, which always draw loads of compliments:



You can get your very own pair at Target.com--and looky here, they're also on sale!!!!!

P.S. OHMIGOSH! Brace yourself for major temptation if you are a woman who likes to splash in puddles, because Good Lo,' they have quite the selection of ladies' boots as well.

Pregnancy Craving

Suddenly I have this strong yearning to feel a stubbly man jaw rubbed against my belly button. Curious.

Move it! Dig it! Do it!

First, let me say that I know I should have posted this event to my blog before the fact--but I will say, in my defense, that I e-mailed everyone I could think of who lives with little people (i.e. children), and I did see many of you there, so I feel like I helped get the word out.

Second, I must sheepishly admit that I did not take my camera along--so you'll have to just take my word for it that it was AWESOME. (And you can check out Ted's photo, above, of the happy worker wearing his hard hat from the event.)

Move it! Dig it! Do it! is an annual fundraising event for the Iowa Children's Museum. This was only the second year, and while I think they still have a few bugs to iron out (more on that later), it was a really fun event for the kids and it appeared to be hugely successful, especially considering that it's such a new event.

Here's the deal. They bring out all sorts of awe-inspiring and kid-beloved vehicles and machines--think dump trucks, cranes, tractors, a city bus, a HELICOPTER--to the county fairgrounds, and they let the kids climb around on them and check them out. You have not seen sheer joy until you have witnessed the glee of a three-year-old boy behind the wheel of a fire engine WHILE THE SIREN IS GOING. Arlo was manic, leading us around by our hands from one vehicle to the next, and successfully naming most of them by their correct titles.

Interspersed among the big machines were waist-high (to adults) piles of sand, equipped with shovels, buckets, etc., available for the children to scale and dig in and roll down. There were tents set up where kids could make and taste salsa, make concrete stepping stones for your garden, paint rocks, make "grass head" dolls (read: Chia pets without the copyright infringement). Arlo's attention was entirely monopolized by the multitude of big machines, so he couldn't seem to settle in at any of the crafting stations, but he did also enjoy petting the cows in the small petting zoo they also had set up--twice. And mom liked the petting zoo area because it was in the shade.

My only complaint is that they ought to have had some stations set up where folks could grab a quick drink. The only way to buy a bottle of water was to stand in line for half an hour, and I wasn't about to miss all the fun standing in line behind thirty families waiting to buy $3 PB&J sandwiches for their grumpy kiddos. I was just beginning to have some dehydration-induced contractions when I found some water available at the salsa-making station. Thank goodness! I sucked down half a dozen Sponge Bob Dixie cups full, one right after the other, before filling up four more to rehydrate Arlo and Ted. I might send an e-mail to the event organizers to suggest this, but I also need to make a mental note to always have my own water supply at hand if alternate supplies are uncertain...especially while I am still in this advanced state of gestation.

Oh, wait. I do have one more complaint. No tow truck.

All in all, though, this reviewer gives Move it! Dig it! Do it! a rave review of 4 1/2 starts out of 5. We'll definitely plan to go again next year.

You can read the Press-Citizen's account of the event here.