Pride Parade

Last weekend we went to the Pride Parade. The kids really enjoyed it. My Dad started a blog here, and I'm stealing his photos of the kids since I haven't been taking many pictures. Athena loved all the free stuff but said her favorite thing was the clown who made her a dog balloon. Rowan loved everything, especially the motorcycles. Athena actually wants to be a clown now when she grows up. It was super funny because we always talk about what she'll be when she grows up and she always says, "a mom". When I tell her she can be something else and a mom she has always said that she'll just be a mom. I was telling her all sorts of things she could do like fly an airplane and she was like, "what will I do if I have my baby on the airplane?" I tried to explain that she would be fine bringing her baby on the plane if needed. "No, mom, I mean what if my baby comes out while I'm driving the plane!?" So that possibility alone totally ruled out her dreams of becoming a pilot, I mean, what would she do? I even further explained that she could take a break from flying when it got close to her due date but she'd have nothing of it.

Back to the parade, I have to admit, I got all teary eyed when this family of 6 walked by in the parade. It was a simple message they carried, just a banner that said "Married at Last", and on the reverse it said "Thank you California". I thought it was awesome.

Athena and marriage

Last weekend we were having dinner at my mom's house with my bro/SIL and family and Athena and her cousin O were talking about getting married. O has a plan of marrying Athena. Athena started to respond to this (and I thought she was going to say no, they couldn't marry, but this is what she said instead):

"Two girls can only get married if one of the girls looks like a boy." She went on to say that O did in fact look like a boy so that they could get married, and both seemed happy with that plan. I keep wondering if she made that up because of an observation, or if she just made it up because it made sense to her. Either way, it made me laugh.

Athena and Death

Athena is really into talking about death these days. It must be a four year old thing. These are a few of her statements about it today.

"I love, love, love kombucha! I'll be drinking kombucha even when I'm dead!"

or

"That would be funny if we died in the same place mommy! Then we'd still be together when we we're dead!"

or one of my favorites...

"Mommy, oh no, there is a bee! When is it going to be dead!?"

Mom v. 4 year old

Athena has sure been "testy" lately. Sometimes though our battles end in both of us laughing because we realize how ridiculous we both are. Like tonight for example, who sounded more ridiculous?

(Athena, rolling her tofutti cutie all over the table, leaving a lovely chocolate trail)
Me: Athena, stop rolling that all over the table or I'm going to eat it!
Athena: Stop always saying that to me or I'm going to take you away from here!
How do you respond that one? I just started laughing and said I'd eat her cutie while she took me away and then we were all just laughing.

Quick update

We haven't moved yet so I'm breaking my blog break, but I had to give these quick updates, mostly just so I'll remember later.
1. Rowan weighs 26 pounds and is 33 inches tall. For the first time in my parenting life, I have a baby in the 60th percentile for weight. I know %ile's don't matter much, but Athena has never been below the 75th for anything. When I joked to my pediatrician that he was looking "thin", she laughed because he is such a solid guy.

2. Rowan's bus. Rowan is absolutely in love with this matchbox type bus. He asks for it all of the time and even clutches it while he nurses to sleep. Last night Chris left it at Nana and Papa's house so tonight Rowan drove with Daddy to get the bus as he wouldn't stop asking for it and was looking all over the house and I started feeling bad because I don't think he understood that it wasn't here. He checked all of the usual places saying "Buh? Buh?" Oh, it is so cute. I was holding him in my arms when I asked him, "Do you want to go with Daddy and get your bus at Nana's house?" He jumped from my arms and ran to the front door, grabbed a pair of socks that was there and was frantically trying to get them on. "Buh, buh!"

3. Rowan's new sense of fashion. Rowan is starting to pick out his clothes now and I can't believe it. He will pull at what he has on and bring me a clean shirt, demanding that we change him into the proper attire. Tonight he found his monkey shirt and was working so hard to pull the tag off. He was grunting and everything and he got super frustrated that it wouldn't pull off (he was pulling on the tag that is sewn in, but acting like it was the kind of tag that you take off a new shirt). He kept this up for 5 minutes or so and was crying by the end saying "taa, taa" as in get this tag off. So I asked him if he wanted me to cut it off and he immediately handed over the shirt and stopped crying. I cut the tag off and he wanted it on right away and then walked out proudly to show his Dad. I was so surprised at how much thought he put into the whole production. I feel like Rowan communicates very well, even though I'm the main person who can understand it. I'm just happy he and I have that communication going. But I'm scared I'm going to have another very opinionated dressing kid. Well, look who his #1 role model is, his very fashionable, highly opinionated sister! (obviously they don't get this from their parents)

4. Potty. Rowan went pee on the potty tonight. It was amazing because for the past few months he'd say "pee pee" (actually sounds more like beepbee) and ask to go on the potty whenever Athena or I went (he says something like that and lifts his shirt and pulls at his diaper). I often, but not always, take off his diaper and put him on there, but he never goes. Tonight, I put him on and he grunted a little and there it was, a little stream of pee. We were so excited and he just had this beaming smile. Pretty cute.