Baby Z!

valentine's day surprise?

2012-02-14T20:51:00.000-05:00

so last night, as i was taking penny's valentine's day photo, i thought it would be nice to make a video with a valentine's day message. and then this happened:

i told alex his cover had been blown, and we all ended up having a lovely valentine's day morning anyway :)

happy valentine's day!

2012-02-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

penny's top three phrases

2012-01-30T11:13:00.001-05:00

penny has started speaking like an adult, and it's pretty jarring to hear her use words indicating that she comprehends waaaaay more than i thought she could. however, she is still two, and sometimes what's going on in her head is ridiculous.
1. "actually" she has started sticking "actually" at the end of her statements sort of randomly, but also when she disagrees with us.

"i peed in the potty!"

"no, you didn't"

"i did, actually"

2. "in my imagination" this is awesome. when she wants something to be true, this is her go to.

"penny, those shoes are too big for you"

(while putting the shoes on) "in my imagination, they're ok"

3. "just talking about it"

"chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken"

"would you like to eat some chicken?"

"no, i'm just talking about it"

a bonus: we're trying to explain to penny about closing your eyes and picturing things, about dreams, about things that happen in your internal life in general. i told her that there is one song from one of her cds that gets stuck in my head (dana: it's "i want to be near you" from blue moo) and what that means.

that song came on a few days after we had this conversation and she turned to me and said "mama! this song gets stuck in your hair!"

snowy day

2012-01-25T21:01:00.001-05:00

over the weekend, we got a beautiful snowstorm. it has been such a mild, strange winter that it was a treat to pull on our snowboots and take a walk in the freshly fallen snow, even if we were frozen coming home.

bathroom talk

2012-01-25T12:26:00.000-05:00

those of you with delicate constitutions may not wish to read about this. you can skip this post, i don't mind. i was going back and forth about whether to write about this at all, but a large majority of the reason for my keeping this blog in the first place was so that i could look back from the future and remember when penny has done stuff; or, rather, not have to remember, because it's chronicled here and my brain does not function in that "remembering things" way that humans are supposed to have.
so. for the past couple of months, we've had a (really sweet) potty chair set up in our bathroom. it is awesome. we have the "once upon a potty" book, and we've been encouraging penny to try the potty a couple of times a day, but not pushing it at all. she's peed in it. before today, she had pooped in it once before. today she pooped in the potty again! this is giant news. EVEN MORE GIANT, however, is that when alex and penny were out and about this morning, as they were getting ready to leave barnes & noble penny told alex that there were poops in her diaper. there were not. she asked if she could use the potty. alex explained that there was no potty in the b&n, but that she could use the toilet - AND SHE DID. penny peed in public!
i will make sure to put the collapsing potty seat in our diaper bag so that poor alex doesn't have to worry about her falling in in the future, but let us mark this day in our calendars, journals and blogs. today i received not one, but TWO phone calls about elimination, and i could not be prouder.

new math

2012-01-19T10:32:00.001-05:00

penny is very good at counting to three. we do it all the time, so she has the concept of three being more than one and more than two, understands that things happen to her when we get to three, and i THINK she knows that there are bigger numbers, but is not quite sure how to get to them. for example, last night, while changing her:

me: penny, let's practice counting. i'll start. one...

penny: two...three...eleven...fourteen...eleventeen!

she is already better at math than i am!

hot chocolate!

2012-01-16T21:31:00.001-05:00

it was about 17 degrees for most of the day yesterday, so we decided to stay in. as a special treat, i made penny's first hot chocolate!

first sip

surprise!

it's tasty!

everything is more fun together.

super sweet

we should do this more often! *

just in case the photos were not enough, here is a little video. it's kind of the cutest thing i've ever seen in my life, so please prepare yourself:

*alternate caption: "jean luc!"

everything's great.

2012-01-08T14:27:00.004-05:00

it's hard to write a post when everything's just puttering along and there are no real milestones to report. we're pretty sure penny's off bottles (knock wood), and we'll be tackling the pacifier next; though we're pretty sure that will be much harder. sleeping in her own bed has been going incredibly well (knock wood again). she wakes up at around 6am, pads over to our room, cuddles for a little bit, then i send her back to her own bed and she sleeps until 7:30. i bought her one of these, and hopefully she'll stay in her own bed once it arrives and we explain it to her. brilliant!
other than that, not much to report. she's talking incredibly well, climbing up every piece of playground equipment like a champ, and being all around wonderful most of the time. i'm not going to lie, she has her moments, but the good times far outweigh the bad right now.
pictures!

2011 round up

2011-12-31T23:07:00.002-05:00

2011 was amazing - penny has become an absolutely incredible little girl. the big news of the day, as you can see from alex's photo below, is that penny is spending her first night in her big bed!
she's been basically putting herself down for naps, so we offered to convert her crib into a bed! this is how we feel about it:

Make a gif
earlier in the week, i was astounded to see this:

no help.

she has been spending her days using her imagination - she started off the day this morning by saying "good morning gonzo, good morning fozzie bear!". she was talking to each of her feet.

alex and i reviewed the year, and we agree that it was good! the rewards of being a good parent now are more than penny simply not crying - now she plays with us, and will occasionally fling her arms around our necks, give us kisses and say "i love you".

again, she has met and surpassed all of her resolutions for 2011, so we've decided that this year we'll work on reading, getting off the pacifier, and counting to 20.

seriously, look at this child:

Big Bed!!!!

2011-12-31T16:13:00.001-05:00

(see full image)

Jumping Mice

2011-12-31T10:54:00.001-05:00

(see full image)

Penny Put Herself To Nap

2011-12-29T12:56:00.001-05:00

(see full image)

Penny just told us she wanted to take a nap, then crawled on the couch and after about ten minutes fell asleep. With no help from us. Which is kind of amazing.

Penny's First Movie

2011-12-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

Cousins!

2011-12-26T22:07:00.001-05:00

(see full image)

Grandparents!

2011-12-25T13:54:00.001-05:00

(see full image)

"Caps For Sale!"

2011-12-24T08:11:00.001-05:00

(see full image)

L'il Duckface

2011-12-22T15:18:00.001-05:00

(see full image)

"Hey Penny, can you make a face like a cool dude?"

2011-12-21T08:45:00.001-05:00

(see full image)

how to impress your pediatrician

2011-12-19T21:11:00.000-05:00

we went in for penny's 2 year old checkup today. we LOVE our doctor, and she is very much smitten with penny. here are the proper responses to your pediatrician's questions, if you'd like to start drilling your own toddlers now:

Dr. Julie: I'm Dr. Julie; what's your name?
Penny: Penny Ruth Zalben
Dr. J: Does she really know her first name, middle name & last name? Ok....how old are you?
P: Two months old.
Me: Two YEARS old, Penny. (to Dr. Julie) We're working on that. Penny, would you like to show Dr. Julie two fingers?
P: Mommy please help me. I can't do it myself.

Dr. J: Did you have a birthday party?
P: Cake!
Dr. J: Did you blow out the candles?
P: Penny did it. Daddy not help.

Dr. J: Do you drink milk?
P: Milk from cows!
Me: We were talking about this earlier. What other animals give milk?
P: Sheep!
Dr. J: And do you eat chicken?
P: (While climbing into a chair) On the bone!
Dr. J: Do you eat broccoli?
P: (Nods)
Dr. J: Do you eat spaghetti?
P: (silence)
Me: I'm not sure she knows what spaghetti is.
Dr. J: Do you eat pasta?
Penny: Noodles!

alex and i were silently hysterical for most of this interview. though we know in our hearts we have an awesome kid, we always panic a little bit that maybe we're missing something hugely important, or maybe penny is terrible in some way that we haven't noticed and won't be able to correct. it was really gratifying to have her answer the doctor perfectly, have a great checkup, give the doctor hugs and kisses, and then hear the doctor repeat penny's answers to the doctors and nurses outside of the exam room.

her current stats, though we forgot to get the percentages, are:
34 1/4" tall, 26lbs, 9.5oz

when we got home after the appointment and some playground time, penny got to open a ton of mail - holiday cards, birthday cards, and one birthday card PACKED full of stickers. she was sticking the stickers to a piece of paper we have hanging on the wall, and they were having trouble staying stuck on. i said to her, "let's see if we can make everybody stick" and she said "everybody sick". i said "no, no, no, no...SSSTTTick". she said "SSSSSIck". and it turned into a 20 minute running joke. AMAZING.

also, we have this book (highly recommended), and she calls me mama mama red pajama. she tells me not to stomp and pout. i tell her to save the llama drama. we can complete each other's sentences when one of us starts "baby llama what a tizzy, sometimes mama's very busy". this kid is really something special.

Penny Likes Reading

2011-12-18T17:02:00.001-05:00

(see full image)

birthday 2.0

2011-12-17T04:19:00.000-05:00

dear penny:

tonight i put my one year old baby to bed for the last time. you were charming and adorable, and took out your pacifier and put it on the arm of the couch so that we could read "one more story, mommy" and you could be awake for another 10 minutes. you put your empty bottle in the sink. you walked over to your crib by yourself. you gave me a big hug and lots of good night kisses. you are wearing your pirate pajamas.
i thought your first year went by quickly, but as it turns out, it had NOTHING on this year. right now, you are an incredibly articulate, absolutely gorgeous, magical human being. i love how you can entertain yourself using your imagination, how you sing as enthusiastically as i do, and how i know what phrases i use most commonly by what i hear coming out of you - "woah, woah, woah, woah" is apparently a popular one with me.
there is so much you have learned this year - walking, talking, coloring, sticking stickers, putting on and taking off your own shoes & socks...so much more. you are the most affectionate cuddle bug, hugging your new friends, waving to complete strangers, giving kisses, hugs & fist bumps.
i don't know what we did before there was you. every morning, you find our glasses, hand us our phones, and remind us to put on pants. over the past couple of weeks, you have taken charge of making the coffee. you took a music and movement class for the first time this semester, and you totally rocked it.

i have heard that the terrible twos are right around the corner. i don't believe it for a second. i miss you every moment that i'm not with you, i love to hear you tell me the story of your day, and i am delighted that you will be starting your third year on this planet as such a capable, caring, loving, intelligent wonderful human being. i love being your mommy.

Penny vs. Bird

2011-12-15T10:43:00.000-05:00

Bagel & White

2011-12-13T11:45:00.000-05:00

(see full image)

almost two!

2011-12-12T13:07:00.000-05:00

this week penny has decided that:

she would rather sit in a chair with a booster seat than in her high chair
she would like to hold her own bottle
she would like to try to pee in the potty (she did it the first time she asked!)
halfway through meals, she is a baby who cannot use a fork or spoon and "needs help"
the letter "u for umbrella" and "p for penny" spell "up"
her "guys" keep making new friends, and need to be constantly introduced to one another

Snacktime

2011-12-12T11:39:00.001-05:00

Tunnel

2011-12-11T20:17:00.001-05:00

(see full image)

http://twitter.com/azalben

Official Album Cover For PennyAgnesDahlia

2011-12-09T10:06:00.000-05:00

I Swear I'm A Good Dad...

2011-12-07T19:38:00.000-05:00

penny's first joke!

2011-12-07T16:08:00.001-05:00

at the breakfast table this morning, alex asked penny if she knew any knock knock jokes. she said that she did, so alex asked her to tell him one. ladies and gentlemen, i give you the beginning of a brilliant career in comedy:

Penny: Knock, knock
Alex: Who's there?
P: Poppa
A: Poppa who?
P: Poppa Steve!

she's working on a tight five, and we'll keep you posted on her upcoming appearances.

...Because Of Course Union Market Has a Shopping Cart For Kids

2011-12-05T10:44:00.001-05:00

Leaves! Part 2: The Return of Leaves

2011-11-28T11:15:00.001-05:00

Leaves! (With Anaka)

2011-11-28T11:14:00.000-05:00

Ultimate Decadence (Featuring Iris and Raisins)

2011-11-28T11:13:00.000-05:00

Cousins!

2011-11-27T22:12:00.001-05:00

happy thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T22:23:00.001-05:00

happy thanksgiving to you! we woke up early this morning, ate pancakes and watched the parade. penny's attention span is getting longer, but a three hour parade is a lot.
when we got on the railroad, we settled into our seats - penny THREW her arms around alex, gave him the biggest hug ever and said "i love you, daddy". my heart totally melted and i watched them snuggle a bit, then she threw herself at me, gave ME a gigantic hug and told me "i love you too, mommy".

that's what i'm thankful for.

birthday party!

2011-11-22T22:13:00.000-05:00

penny attended her cousin jacob's second birthday - she had a fantastic time tumbling, jumping on trampolines, sliding, and eating pizza and cake. if she could have moved in to the gym, she would still be there now!

happy 2nd birthday, jacob!

She's not joking...

2011-11-21T12:18:00.001-05:00

Penny just asked for broccoli. Alex asked her if she wanted him to cut it up for her, and she said, "No, Daddy. On the bone."

The Winter Puddle, or Most Responsible Dad Ever

2011-11-21T11:20:00.000-05:00

Agnes & Penny: Hands Across America

2011-11-21T11:19:00.000-05:00

Agnes & Penny: Bridge To Nowhere

2011-11-21T11:18:00.000-05:00

Trapped In The Closet

2011-11-20T15:20:00.001-05:00

Mirror, Mirror 2

2011-11-20T14:20:00.001-05:00

Mirror, Mirror

2011-11-20T14:19:00.000-05:00

Fosse

2011-11-16T17:06:00.000-05:00

full sentences!

2011-11-16T13:10:00.001-05:00

sorry for the extended blog silence - we've all been battling a cold, so we've been taking care of each other in shifts. the good news is that penny can now speak in full sentences! over the past two days, she has said
(upon running into a neighbor, complete with arm flourish to indicate who she was speaking about): "this is grandma"
(upon the completion of a song that alex & penny made up together and has become a staple of our household): "i like that song, daddy"
(upon placing items in a bag and hanging that bag over the push bar of her elmo truck, complete with VERY surprised inflection): "i did it!"

she also can tell you that penny begins with a p and mama begins with an m, and point at various letters in the dr. seuss ABC book, though i'm not at all convinced she gets it yet.

this morning she took alex's dress shoes off the shoe rack and wore them around the bedroom, telling us that she was going to a "fancy party".

penny and noah spent a good couple of minutes standing side by side in the hallway giving each other sidelong glances and saying "hi, penny", "hi, noah", then hugging. true love, i tell you.

Come With Me If You Want Some Pie

2011-11-15T09:15:00.000-05:00

The Teeny Tiny Woman

2011-11-02T17:13:00.001-04:00

spooooooky!

2011-10-31T23:01:00.003-04:00

so i left work early today, armed with t-shirts i drew ghosts on. we've been preparing her for the past week or so - teaching her how to say "happy halloween: and "trick or treat". when alex asked penny what she wanted to dress up as a few weeks ago, she said "pumpkin", and hasn't given another answer since. she decided we should be ghosts (once gourds, but quickly back to ghosts), hence the t-shirts. penny's tried on her pumpkin a couple of times, but she was super psyched to get out into the neighborhood and mingle with the other costumed kids!
we've been watching decorations go up slowly since the beginning of october, including a giant pumpkin down the block from us, which was our first stop. immediately following that was penny's first trick or treat experience - she did great! she had a great time looking at all of the other kids' costumes, trick or treating, and walking through the neighborhood. we took a break, sat on the stoop for a little while, and then watched the parade - it comes right down our block.

as far as penny is concerned, halloween was about collecting as many candies as possible - when we got home, she dumped them all on the floor, and we had a fun time finding matching candies and sorting them by color. the chinese restaurant gave penny a fortune cookie, so we let her eat that, and then put her in her pirate pajamas for bed! all in all, a very successful first halloween!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T16:59:00.000-04:00

science!

2011-10-30T22:11:00.002-04:00

for alex's birthday, we had planned on going apple picking - we did lots of research figuring out which would be the best pick-your-own orchard, and even found a couple with dwarf apple trees so that penny could pick apples herself. then, all the weather reports started getting pretty grim. we started thinking that maybe we should make some alternate plans. when we woke up in the morning, there was a pretty steady cold drizzle. i got penny and myself bundled up while alex went to pick up our car. while we were waiting for him, we watched the rain turn into snow - it was actually kind of incredible, but made us very glad we had decided to do something indoors.
we spent the day at the hall of science! as it turns out, penny is still too young for most of the museum, but she had a great time in the preschool fun area, and spent the whole time she was playing with fake produce, trains and in the play kitchen wearing a turtle costume. it turns out to have been a pretty great miserable day.

Agnes and Penny Like Apples

2011-10-28T18:25:00.000-04:00

harvest festival

2011-10-23T22:02:00.000-04:00

today was the park slope harvest festival! penny is getting more and more excited for halloween, and she loves seeing pumpkins, ghosts ("spoooooky....") and witches ("eh he he he"). we waited in line for a while psyching ourselves up for penny's first pony ride! she did great! alex reports that she had a huge smile on her face the whole time, and she gave it pats on the mane when it paused in its walk. we then fed a goat, a donkey, some chickens, some rabbits and an alpaca. then we listened to some live music, then wandered through the farmer's market.
when we got home, alex and i had big plans for what we were going to do during penny's nap, but we all ended up falling asleep for about two and a half hours, and when penny woke up we brought her in bed with us for another half an hour of cuddle time. time much better spent than cleaning or cooking, i say. the rest of the day was low key - we did some grocery shopping, ate some dinner, took a bath and put penny to sleep.

I Think It's Fall

2011-10-18T10:08:00.000-04:00

Penny Gets A Special Train Ticket

2011-10-08T19:19:00.000-04:00

Flower Girl

2011-10-08T13:38:00.000-04:00

boo at the zoo!

2011-10-06T22:16:00.001-04:00

this weekend, penny, my parents and i all went to the bronx zoo! every weekend in october, the zoo is filled with jack o'lanterns, trick or treating, s'mores & costumes. we had a great time, even though we managed to take a route that didn't take us past nearly as many animals as one might expect.
penny's newest thing is pointing and asking "what's that!?" whenever she sees something she doesn't recognize. she got lots of chances to ask that at the zoo - it was great. when i asked her at the beginning of the trip which animal she was excited about, she said "owls", which, incidentally, is what she was most excited about at the prospect park zoo, and we found one in a dark room. she loved seeing the snakes, frogs & turtles (especially because some of the exhibits had jack o'lanterns in them), and now when she takes a bath she'll swim around for a while and pretend to be a turtle she saw at the zoo ("giant! huge!").
unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, i was having such a good time, i didn't get to take very many photos - but the ones that i did take are pretty cute, no?

Choo-Choo 2

2011-10-03T16:39:00.000-04:00

Choo-Choo Train

2011-10-03T10:02:00.000-04:00

penny told me a story!

2011-09-30T12:43:00.001-04:00

this morning on the changing table, penny told me a full on story. i was stunned! she had her plush elmo doll to play with while i changed her diaper, and she said "bye bye" to him and started walking him away from her. i asked her where he was going, and her reply was:

supermarket - shopping apples. elmo cart! so excited! first change poop diaper. car seat.

as it turns out, elmo needed some butt paste because his butt hurt when he took a bath (surprisingly, HER butt hurt when she took a bath not too long ago), and elmo wanted to share his apples with her when he returned from his shopping trip.
it is so much fun getting a glimpse into her imagination!

Cookie 2: The Return of Cookie

2011-09-29T09:52:00.000-04:00

She Also Rules The Cookie

2011-09-28T15:35:00.001-04:00

labels are important

2011-09-28T14:51:00.000-04:00

penny is learning many things nowadays, at a rapid clip. she loves to point at and identify everything, categorizing them and making sure that she knows what she's looking at. she can identify by color, animal type, gender, size...she's working the adjectives and nouns. she is also getting very good at remembering names and associating memories with the company she had at the time. when we walk by restaurants in the neighborhood, she can tell you what you eat there, and who she's eaten at each one with. i can ask her "where did you go with katy belle this morning?" or "who did you see at the playground yesterday?" and she is quick with a reply.

the other day, we were walking through the neighborhood, and a man greeted her with "hi, mami."
penny pointed at herself and said "little girl."

There's Another Penny In The Car

2011-09-21T10:46:00.000-04:00

Tickle Train

2011-09-20T10:28:00.002-04:00

Friends!

2011-09-20T10:28:00.001-04:00

Mouth

2011-09-20T10:27:00.001-04:00

penny met elmo!

2011-09-19T21:42:00.000-04:00

if you've seen the photo alex posted below, then you know that penny got to meet elmo tonight. but not just the walkaround elmo, penny got to meet the real thing, too - and got two "kiss kiss"es from him! she also met cookie monster. let's take a step back.
alex was invited to the red carpet launch event of the let's rock elmo toy, where kids were strongly encouraged to attend. i left work early to meet them, and we all entered the lobby of the empire hotel. we waited for a bit in the lobby, then went up the stairs, checked in, and saw cookie monster! penny was a bit shy with him, but gave him a high five, and seemed really pleased with that. we headed back to elmo's "tour bus", where penny got the chance to check out the toys - and she had a blast! i chatted a bit with the toy's designer, who was super nice, and seemed really happy that the kids were having a good time. we ate some chicken fingers and sliders, and drank a juice box, then got on the line to meet the walkaround elmo. penny was starting to get a bit sleepy and cranky at that point, but she got her second wind, discovered a counting cookie monster toy, had a second round with the tour bus toys and then it was time to line up and head into seats. we got to see the world premiere of an elmo video, and then randy jackson and elmo performed. penny was transfixed - she truly loves elmo.
after the performance, kevin clash and elmo came out into the crowd to say hi to all of the kids, and penny got her kisses! she was thrilled! alex had brought her to the event in her elmo stroller, and she had an emotional reunion with it - she missed it so much. on our way out, we got a ridiculous amount of swag, and took a moment to breathe. it's a good thing we did, because the subways were completely screwed up. it was insanely crowded*, and penny was on the verge of a meltdown for the entire way - and i can't blame her. we got home, took off our shoes, and penny went straight to sleep, but not before we talked about the fun time she had at the elmo party. "cookie high five!" is how she summed it up.

i feel super lucky to have met kevin clash nine years ago, and i feel even luckier to have been able to bring penny to this event. sometimes i really can't believe my life.

*the highlight of my subway ride home were two frummy ladies who spent the whole trip talking about food. as it turns out, haggis is "just like a kishka."

Fun Fact: No one will ever make Penny as happy as Elmo

2011-09-19T16:49:00.000-04:00

"Break!"

2011-09-12T10:02:00.000-04:00

Not Ready For This Jelly

2011-09-10T18:01:00.000-04:00

Coney Island!

2011-09-10T17:47:00.000-04:00

the best things in life are free

2011-09-10T14:50:00.001-04:00

it's true. and penny gets really good things! for example, if you're penny, and you are taking a walk in the neighborhood, before you even leave your own block, the lady in the hair salon on the corner will come out to say hello, ask if she can give you something, and come back out again. she will tell you that what she's going to give you cannot be found in american grocery stores - it is russian candy. your parents will expect it to be a piece of candy. but no! it turns out what you are being given is

frozen chocolate covered cheesecake.

of course, you cannot beat the simple pleasure of

swinging in a swing

and, when we're talking about the best - The Best - things in life, there is nothing that beats having a couple of parents that will, every now and again, with zero warning, explanation or remorse

reveal your secret identity.

Balloons!

2011-09-09T10:09:00.000-04:00

My Two Favorite Nerds

2011-09-04T11:03:00.000-04:00

Free Frozen Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Time

2011-09-04T10:14:00.000-04:00

Penny - No Joke - Picked These Out Herself

2011-08-31T17:32:00.000-04:00

irene

2011-08-27T12:51:00.001-04:00

so alex is stuck in toronto until tuesday morning. i was a little freaked out last night because we were totally out of food, and i was afraid there wouldn't be any left in the grocery store, but penny and i headed out first thing this morning, and now we are totally stocked. when we got to the last aisle of the market and i looked in our cart and saw how much we had, i stopped and took a moment to realize how lucky we are to be able to afford everything we need, and to have it available to us when we needed it. i told penny "mama was a little scared, but now i'm ok". she patted me on the arm. "better", my charming daughter said to me. "yes, mama feels better now. what made mama feel better?" "shopping!", said penny.
so true.

heartbreak

2011-08-26T16:42:00.000-04:00

alex is away for a few days, so penny has had a babysiter all day yesterday and today. she loves both of her sitters, but she knows that they come when neither of her parents are going to be around. this morning, about half an hour before the sitter was due to arrive, i let penny know that he was coming. usually she is very happy about this, and will wait by the door; but this morning she said to me "no, mama. miss you! no work!" and she got pretty upset. i snuggled her and told her that i didn't want to leave, that i always come back, and that she was going to have an AWESOME time playing with her sitter. i gave her a huge hug, she calmed down, and i went to the kitchen to pack my lunch.
when i came back, i found penny sitting on the floor, surrounded by all of the former contents of my pocketbook. "no purse, mama. no work".

penny is an artist!

2011-08-25T13:03:00.000-04:00

i can't say i'm too surprised, considering who her grandmothers are, but you guys - WATCH what she's doing with her crayon. i am stunned.

our morning

2011-08-23T22:59:00.002-04:00

i am so enjoying the fact that penny now can hold a conversation. she will frequently loop back to yo, gabba gabba, or elmo but it doesn't matter. she is so close to using full sentences that i'm enjoying how able she is to communicate with only one or two words at a time.

*edited to add - ugh. this is about half of the video. all sorts of technology troubles over here. i will fix ASAP.

**re-edited to say - hooray! The Technology and i seem to be getting along again.

Penny Gets Eaten By Her Mama

2011-08-20T17:25:00.001-04:00

Penny & Katy-Belle: Then & Now

2011-08-15T08:50:00.002-04:00

Wow, I can't believe that top picture was taken only three days ago.

Sneak

2011-08-14T19:48:00.002-04:00

Squish

2011-08-14T19:48:00.001-04:00

Slide!

2011-08-13T10:28:00.000-04:00

Penny Spends Some Quality Uncle Time

2011-08-12T17:43:00.000-04:00

catch up

2011-08-10T22:22:00.001-04:00

so much to catch up on! penny loves stickers - she spends hours moving them from one wall of her box to another, sticking them to herself and to us, and searching out the right color for whatever purpose she has in her mind.

also check this out:

a six block stack!

this weekend, alex and i took penny to the prospect park zoo! it was super fun, and a very different experience than when we took her in march - there were so many more animals, and they were all so active. i have never seen a red panda run before, but we watched one run up and down a tree, and around its enclosure. penny was really into the owls, and it was great to see how many animal names she knows.

she can carry on conversations now, and it's fascinating where her mind takes things. for example, tonight at dinner, my mom bumped her foot. "foot!" said penny. that's not so surprising. a moment went by, and then she said "market!" it seems so obvious to me now, but i had no idea what she meant. my mom, however, immediately knew that penny wanted to play "this little piggy." incredible.

things penny can do:

string beads on a shoelace
tell us what's happening on every page of "the cat in the hat"
drink from a non-sippy cup
assemble her bottle
shake hands and say "meet you" (short for "nice to meet you")
sing ABC, twinkle twinkle, the wheels on the bus, elmo's song and several yo, gabba gabba songs
count to two, and has made it as far as four
identify the colors blue, yellow, purple, green, orange and red

also today, penny and alex were hanging out and she said "potty" - alex took her to the potty, and she peed in it! that's pretty fantastic! later, she squatted next to the potty and peed on the floor - that is less fantastic, but she was close...

Penny Eats a Cookie Bigger Than Her Shoe

2011-08-05T16:42:00.000-04:00

she peed in the potty!

2011-08-04T21:32:00.001-04:00

for the last few nights, as i've filled the bathtub for her evening bath, penny has asked to take off her clothes and sit on the potty. she reads books, chats, and then gets her towel and gets into the bath. tonight when she stood up, there was pee in the potty! i don't know if she knows that she did anything, but we flushed it, sang a happy song, clapped, danced - it was a big celebration! we'll see if it happens again. i have never been so proud of anyone's pee before.....

I Stuck Some Cheerios At The Top Of This Tree (Not True)

2011-08-02T10:56:00.000-04:00

Penny and Katy-Belle Play In The New Expensive Play-set We Got

2011-07-31T20:36:00.001-04:00

Penny Thought This Was The Funniest Thing Ever

2011-07-26T10:32:00.000-04:00

muppets!

2011-07-24T22:34:00.001-04:00

aunt jodi and eric were kind enough to invite penny & me along with them to the museum of the moving image where we saw the jim henson's fantastic world exhibit. to penny, this meant just one thing - MUPPETS!
we were foiled by the museum at the beginning - mini rant, mostly complaining to follow:

- i was asked to check the stroller. that's fine and understandable. when we got to the second floor, security stopped us and told me i had to check the diaper bag. before i could protest, jodi was on the case! it turns out they wanted me to check my water, and eric was kind enough to run it down the stairs to the checking area. now, i don't know if you, dear reader, have ever brought a 19 month old anywhere, but if you have, i'm sure you know that the (visible) bottles of water in my bag were the very least of the museum's worries! i spent the few minutes that the security guards turned their backs artfully draping penny's doll over the rest of the water, the sandwich, the fruit...
- eric rejoined us, and we walked up one more flight of stairs, where we were stopped by a volunteer. apparently we needed a ticket. a free ticket. that no one at the desk had provided us, even though we had made it exceedingly clear we were headed to see the muppet exhibit. eric headed back down the stairs, while the volunteer and the volunteer coordinator discussed whether or not we actually needed a ticket, or if it was late enough that the timed entry tickets were no longer necessary. from the staircase, we could see a wall where 2 second projections of video appeared, and we could see kermit in a case. penny waved to kermit, she named all of the muppets as they appeared, she sympathized with bert when ernie removed his nose. eric returned with the volunteer coordinator, and it was determined that we did not need a ticket, but we also couldn't get in to the exhibit for 15 minutes. we took penny into the adjacent exhibit, but she was screaming for kermit,so we couldn't really enjoy it - though there was an awesome set piece from blade runner that i would have liked to examine a bit more closely. we wasted a bit more time and then got to enter the exhibit. ugh. museum - get it together. it was painful how much penny wanted to get in and see kermit!

from here on in, it was pretty cool. the exhibit had lots of sketches, videos and photos, and several muppets - it was just the right amount of stuff for penny, but possibly a little light on content for the over 2 year old set.

in case you are interested, following is a list of muppets penny can name:

kermit
miss piggy
rowlf
beaker ("what does beaker say?" "me, me, me, me, me....")
dr. teeth
bernie (bert + ernie)
cookie monster
animal
scooter
oscar the grouch
elmo
big bird

alex has my camera with him in san diego, so there are no photos of our fun time. jodi tried to take some, but penny is not a very cooperative model - if she sends me any usable ones i will add them to this post.

This Is Maybe Going To Blow Penny's Mind

2011-07-22T15:40:00.000-04:00

Gettin' Yogurt

2011-07-19T11:25:00.001-04:00

so much talking!

2011-07-18T23:09:00.000-04:00

penny and i spent a lot of time together this weekend - on friday, i brought her to work with me all day, and she charmed the pants off of my co workers. i got very little actual work done, but there is now a crayon drawing of hers up on my office wall. i am a corporate mom!

this weekend, alex was filming with elephant larry both days, so we had a ladies weekend! on saturday, we spent time with the ladies lawrence, and played inside and outside, went to playgrounds, and tried to keep our cool in the super intense heat. when we visited alex at the end of his shooting day, he was wearing a cow costume (as you do), and penny thought it was hilarious. she and he "moo"ed at each other and when we headed downstairs as he finished up, she kept pointing up the stairs saying "daddy moo, daddy moo". she then passed out on a sofa for 45 minutes, but that is neither here nor there.
here's where it gets good. on sunday, penny and i spent our morning with katy belle, but spent a lot more time at home trying to stay out of the sun. we were having a rollicking game of tent at around 3:30 when she stopped what she was doing, had a good think, then said to me "daddy. work. moo. off. all gone. home. dinner".
WHAT?! that is a whole, complete thought including both the day before, the future, the understanding that he had to take off a COW COSTUME before he came home for dinner, and the concept that her father exists in another place when he is not in the room with her, which is a concept that *I* still struggle with.

plus, she put on her tutu and danced around on bubble wrap.

Loungin'

2011-07-18T19:45:00.001-04:00

Baby of Thrones

2011-07-18T19:44:00.001-04:00

i love this kid

2011-07-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

this evening in the bath, penny asked me to "read book". she was having dinner of chicken nuggets, broccoli, pita & hummus, and she took a piece of pita and dipped it in a chicken nugget because she knew it was hilarious. over the weekend, this happened:

i cannot even begin to tell you how in love with this child i am.

independent penny

2011-07-06T22:43:00.000-04:00

happy independence day to you! we spent the long weekend hanging out, and not really doing anything patriotic - there was not even a hot dog consumed in our household. what did happen is that penny's bad sleepy mood lifted, and she's now back to her happy funny self. she has also slept until 8 for the past two mornings in a row! that's pretty much amazing, but also confusing and it actually makes our mornings harder, since we had just figured out how to function with one of us getting up at 6:30, the other at 7:30, and leaving at 9. we're not going to get used to it, as i'm sure it's just a lovely, lovely phase.
when penny does wake up, she spends a few minutes just hanging out - playing with her feet, reading her book, practicing downward dog, and playing with her doll. it's pretty awesome to spend my first few waking minutes watching her on the video monitor enjoying herself on her own.
talking has spiked dramatically - my current favorite is the way she says "excuse me" when something or someone is in her way. she loves to sing, and can request songs. she also gets to choose between "cookie elmo" diapers (disposables) and "flower" diapers (cloth). she's got a step stool for the bathroom so she can wash her hands after meals. she can identify the "muppet babies", as well as kermit, miss piggy, and fozzie.

a story: penny really enjoys playing "tent". this is where you take a blanket or a tablecloth and get under it. it's not more complicated than that. on saturday, alex and i were making our bed, and we took the opportunity to play tent with penny with our three (count 'em, three!) mattress pads, sheets, and got to our quilt - we were having a great time playing and being silly, when all of a sudden my face exploded! alex heard a crack as the back of penny's head collided with my nose. i ran off to the kitchen, while alex very calmly said to penny "heeeeey, let's get our shoes on...aaand take a trip to the emergency room...", while i iced my nose down. it turns out i was fine, and didn't even get a black eye, but it was touch and go for a minute there.

alex unwrapped instruments that uncle jonathan gave her for her birthday, and she had a fantastic time being a rhythm section. we also went to the playground and i followed her around with a camera - lots of pictures this week!