Category: Curie

Curie turns three. It is hard to believe that our little girl is three. If you recall, she was 37 weeks, three weeks early, and only 4 pounds 7 ounces, barely fitting two hands. She perched on Albert’s shoulder to sleep and soothe. Unlike Elia who was rounder and more filled out even at 35 weeks, Curie was wrinkly from the drop in amniotic fluid and alert to the point of flight/fright. Elia smiled on day three, Curie’s first smile was a month after she was born.

And now, at three, Curie is precocious and gregarious with a fabulous sense of humor. She is discovering plays on words and how to pretend. She is remarkably sensitive and caring with a big heart to match her sharp wit. Never mind her sun-drenched hair and Hawaiian skin. She loves her Mama, and said her favorite thing is “to play with Dada,” and Elia is her best friend.

Curie loves to feed her sister, make her laugh, and breaks out in a grin even after just waking up to see Elia smiling at her. For her birthday, we had three parties, one for three of the girls from day care at Natalie’s house, one with just family, and one with close friends hosted at the Hoaglands. Erin’s mother says you should have the same number of kids as age for parties, and after the big party, we would agree.

Ever since Christmas, presents have mattered to Curie, not to collect anything or get stuff, but to open and be surprised. In fact, it is a lot like the eggs, you can rewrap a present and it would have a similar effect (though she is getting into the “I want this or that/what did you buy me” phase). For her third birthday, among other things, Curie got a slide from Albert’s parents, a basketball hoop and Mommy and Daddy Pig from Mommy and Daddy, clothes and paints from Erin’s parents, figures and books from the Hoaglands, and Octolinks from the Tamanahas. Her auntie Julie gave her and Elia books. Suephy’s family got her a purse (in which she puts her Play-doh containers), and Bernard’s family got her a Peppa Pig and a great books about Crayons going on strike.

Though more appropriate for her monthly blog, Curie is well along in her potty, about to transition to pre-school (along with a number of her classmates), and loves to be the “line leader/waiter.” At her party we learned that she apparently tells the class when Daddy is going to pick her up – and is disappointed when he doesn’t. She doesn’t like to be left alone, and will say “I need someone to look after me,” if we do.

When they say “it seems like yesterday…” it really does. When you are single or even when you are married, life is a bit in suspended animation in that it is only when you look at old pictures that you realize you are a bit grayer or a bit rounder. With kids you mark time with every new thing they do, and if you remember how a year seemed so long as a kid it is probably because so many things happen to you while you are growing up and that each year is a larger proportion of your life. Time gets shorter, life goes faster, and the moments get more precious.

Curie August 2014. Curie turns three in a few days and we will have a particular collage for her on her birthday, but here is the August one where we went swimming with the Yischons, played “golf-ball (mini-golf)” for the first time, rode the merry-go-round and exposed our daughters to art at Glen Echo Park, went to the DC Pen Show where Curie got a pen that looks like a car, and learned to play a little ping pong at the Hoaglands.

Curie has become obsessed with popsicles this summer and has had her first lolipop as well. When she gets hurt she has Albert wrap the part that got hurt in a cast of athletic tape and under-wrap. She loves being carried upside down and has learned to jump from the couch. She is fearless on the playground and will elbow her way to the slide if she feels it is her turn. She is fiercely independent and analytical, but will tell you if she is “a little bit sad,” or if something is “a little bit scary.” When Albert had a hard day at work, she told Erin that “Dada is a little bit sad.”

Curie loves Elia and often is the only one who can make her smile. Elia has become enamored of Curie and will follow her to play with her toys or do what Curie is doing. We bought two toy boxes for them to have their own toys, but Elia just wanted to play with what Curie had and Curie wanted to play with her old toys again. We told her that she had to ask Elia if she could play with them to which Curie asked, “Elia can I play with your toys?” Immediately following with, “Elia says ‘yes.'” When she plays with Elia she calls her “Little one,” and “Sweetheart.” On occasion she will call her “honey.” If she is calling for her attention she chants: “”E-Lee-YA!, E-Lee-YA!, E-Lee-YA!”

Curie most recently has been talking in her robot voice, which she finds terribly funny; started watching Jake and the Pirates, (Captain Hook) and Phineas and Ferb (Perry); and has taken to making up words and songs. This month she went to the dentist which left a very big impression: she will play dentist now as much as doctor, and give you a cleaning, including the water and how you need to close your mouth around the vacuum thing to suck the water out. And though she has the beginning of a cavity, she has was great at the dentist, and has taken to brushing better (and spitting) each night.

As a two-year old becoming a three-year old, she tests her boundaries, has trouble adjusting to having a younger sister who is growing, and is more susceptible to being fussy as she gets less sleep. She especially hates being left alone One night Curie was crying and ever since Curie was an infant, Albert will come up and say “Don’t worry Curie, I am here, I’ll always come get you.” If she was crying in the crib, “I’ll always come get you.” Or if she was playing alone and started to cry. “I’ll always come get you.” Well, after Albert came up and spent some time with her, he got up to get something – now she really wants people to watch with her when she watches TV or the phone, so she got him to come back by saying, “Daddy, stay. ‘Member? I was cwying.” Wow. And she will only get better at it as she gets older, right?

 

Curie July 2014. In a month, Curie will be three. She grew an inch and a half on the door jamb and was 25 pounds at her last doctor’s visit (from the rotavirus we referenced last post). Somewhere along the way she got her two year molars and we never noticed. She brushes, swishes and spits by herself. At a recent play date, she was a little bossy, and when she isn’t getting what she wants with us, she has started bargaining.

At two years, eleven months, Curie has started correcting some of her language and we have mixed feelings about it; as much as we want to hang on to the days, we are proud that she is growing. Where she used to say “I will” whether it was something you wanted her to do or not, she has learned to say “I won’t.” The hammer in her Ikea tool set went from “banger” to “hamber” to “hammer” in three days. She is just shy of three still though, and mints are “mintens,” and she likes to tell us that SHE is the “waiter!” When she means “leader.” Waiters are people of authority to her and she has great respect for them.

Curie’s other two authority figures are teachers and doctors. She loves to say “I’m the teacher,” and ask us to sit for circle time. She also says “Daddy is not listening.”  Then other days she is giving us check-ups as the doctor. At night she likes to say that she is the baby lion and that Erin is the mommy lion.

Non sequitur: The fact that Curie likes her homemade Duplo/Lego “Belle” and “Flynn” train and fire engine more than the pre-made ones kind of warms the heart. The fact that she rebuilds them daily to new configurations assures us that Legos are still about creativity and not just glorified models.

She wears so many t-shirts these days that we are thinking about more dresses for her. Her latest shoes are Stride-rites again and she loves them.  We did dress the girls up in the same outfits the other day, and finding it cute, we realize that somehow we became “those parents” in the process.

We have been concerned about not spoiling Curie and have been sticking to rules more often. It is hard, as you really want to give them everything they can, but the responsibility of making sure they are well equipped, forces you to be firm no matter how much it tears you up inside to do it. On the other hand, she is so good – she holds Elia and makes her smile and laugh. She cleans up her toys with just a gentle nudge. She is respectful, kind and good-natured.

She is growing though. We didn’t know she already knew how to ride a scooter until we saw it on the school pictures. When we were at National Harbor, she lay next to Albert and put her hands behind her head like he had. She is growing and says “I like Mommy the best,” or “I like Daddy the best,” to great effect. On the flip side, she likes to stand on Albert’s belly before jumping off (Hop on Pop), and when you have a moment of quiet and hold her tight, you say “I love you Curie,” and she says in the same quiet voice, “I love you too.” Three years old soon, holding on, but not too tight.

Curie June 2014. “Daddy, I like being with you.” Life’s challenges are mollified by “I love you Mommy, you are my very best friend,” or “it’s okay sweetheart (to Elia),” and “will Elia be friends with me?” Recently she has been asking, “Daddy, how was work?” Even on Saturdays when there is no work.

Curie fell off the bed for the first time this month and had a fever and bloody nose (not related to the falling). We suspect the fever is from teething. As for the bloody nose, Erin called down to Albert to have him rush up to find Curie covered in blood. She had used her forearm to rub her nose and spread it all over her face and arms. She looked quite the fright. Albert calmly wiped off the blood and talked to her gently to not alarm her about the blood (Erin who is not good with blood felt a turn in her stomach). Later Albert talked to Curie about how cool the blood was as not to make the sight of blood something she turns away from. She wanted to bring the tissues to school, which we did not do.

As we have written, June saw us in Ottawa visiting Eric and Taylor, driving instead of flying to Massachusetts for Grampy’s memorial, and celebrating Elia’s 6 months. It has also seen tragedy at Albert’s work, the end of the fiscal year for Erin’s, and a generous visit to the White House by David and the Hoaglands (Curie was unimpressed). At the BBQ festival in DC, there was a city bus on display for people see while visiting the MBTA booth. We put Curie in the driver’s seat and sang “The Wheels on the Bus,” while we pretended to ride. Imagine our surprise when the bus roared to a start because Curie loves pushing buttons. We hightailed it off the bus while the MBTA people rushed aboard.

Curie has always had a great sense of humor and it has only gotten better as she has grown up. Just look at her in costume, hamming it up at the White House, and eating corn. The picture of Curie and Elia in the corner is one of our favorites. She also loves shopping, and asks “daddy, what did you buy me?” When he comes home from work (he doesn’t always buy something).

Curie loves Elia, even when she doesn’t. Curie will ask to hold Elia and try to calm her down when Elia is upset. Though, Curie wants to be held by Mommy when she is upset, Curie will sing to her when Elia is upset. This morning when she woke up, instead of asking to watch something, or go downstairs, or even where Mommy or Daddy were, she asked where Elia was (Albert had her in the hall) as the first thing she thought of after being woken up. We think she was dreaming of Elia and couldn’t find her upon waking.

Sometimes it is hard to give yourself a break from the petty things to hug your loved ones a little closer, and  appreciate each moment. Take the break though, after all, life is fleeting.

Curie May 2014. The other day, we realized that Curie was no longer a toddler but a little girl (just as Elia is no longer an infant, but a baby and in another blink she will be a toddler herself). At a cookout the other day, a little girl spilled her bubbles, and though the other kids didn’t notice, Curie –unprompted, mind you, poured half of her bubbles into the little girl’s bottle so that she would also have some. We didn’t even witness it, some parents came to tell Erin. Apparently at that party, Curie also helped a little girl that the others ignored after she fell. Child care is doing a great job.

In another instance, Elia had gotten sick, Curie actually gave it to her, and when Erin’s father came to visit and he took Curie for some ice cream, Curie unprompted asked if Elia was all right, and wanted to make sure she brought Albert some apple juice. How she is so considerate, we should just appreciate that she is. She isn’t all a bed of roses though, she has gotten whiny in her twos (especially when she is sick) whenever she wants something or doesn’t want something and while it is normal, it is no less frustrating.

On a different milestone, she has gotten into the “whys?” And more recently into the “why not?” But it is not what we think of when someone says “why not?” Instead, she has put it together logically, the “not” is the negative for the “why,” it isn’t “why shouldn’t I?” Rather, “why is it not?,” literally. She also logically says “I will,” when you ask her not to do something. It means “yes, I will not do what you asked me not to do.” Edit: “why not?” is just why when she doesn’t agree.

She has been saying a lot of precocious things recently, if you say “excuse me Curie, she will say “oh sorry, I forgot.” When Albert pointed out some bikes during Rolling Thunder, her response was, “those are motorcycles, Dada (yes, on occasion she calls Albert “Dada” because once she heard that he liked it. Her personality is really developing and not just in precocious ways: she screams “SAND!” As if it were the most terrible thing in the world when she finds it in her shoes, and she has a fantastic sense of humor with great timing especially repeating Albert’s story time faux-faux pas. “Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss,” becomes “Three legs of ham and orange juice,” from Albert, and without prompting later she will repeat it with the right timing to make everyone laugh. And of course there is the Lion Cow incident.

Curie is learning her letters, exerting her personality, insisting on cutting things with her plastic knife – it is weird to hear a two-and-a-half year old say “wait, let me get my knife.” Potty training is on hold, but she doesn’t seem fazed other than being a little embarrassed when she has pooped. Erin’s parents visited, Curie played with her “best friend Bella (the Hoaglands), Quintin broke her arm (“why?”), Albert went to Denver for a Board meeting. and we discovered a new conveyor belt sushi place to replace the one that closed. Life is pretty good.

Okay, so this part of the blog is premature since it is happening while writing this (late) on vacation in Ottawa in June. Curie knows when Albert is not in bed, and in our hotel room with the single bed and crib, she will not sleep comfortably unless Albert is back in bed. She normally sleeps holding Erin, but in the last couple of days she has held Albert’s arm, and is resting her head on his shoulder right now. There is so much to do these days, work is stressful and can be consuming if you let it. Clearing your head for your children is difficult but really necessary – and if you don’t, it is not the risk of losing your temper that matters, it is more simple than that – you may not see the signs that they need you and you won’t take the five, or twenty, or fifty minutes to play with the paper ball and make up a game, or count eggs together, or hear – “Daddy (or Mommy), this is fun with you!” You may simply miss, the chance to be with your children while they are still children. Priorities right? So though, Albert has work to do tonight during vacation, Curie is on  his arm snuggled asleep and he is going to let the computer battery run out instead of getting up to charge it – after all, how many nights will be like this again?

Edit: When Curie asks “why not?” She still means “why?” She uses them interchangeably.

Curie April 2014. Curie weighs in at 23 pounds and 5 ounces, and stands two feet ten inches tall. This month we went to New Orleans right after Bernard and his family visited. Curie tried and now loves crawfish even though it was a little spicy. She loves to fly and makes the “NEE-AW!” sound for planes. This was the first time Curie had her own seat.

From New Orleans, Curie and Albert flew back by themselves. Albert introduced Curie to M&Ms (when we were kids we called them MMMs, Curie doesn’t call them that), and to eating Reese’s Miniatures with a tissue so that she doesn’t get her hands dirty. They had a delayed flight and as a result had a 10 minute connection. Albert told Curie they had to run to which she replied “Let’s do it!” What a kid. Once on the plane (they made it, Albert ran 10 gates carrying backpack, camera bag, Curie and Curie’s bag), instead of making a fuss (which she had before) about the seat belt, she buckled herself up without asking – surprising Albert.

As we mentioned before, Grampy passed away, but before he did we went up with Julie to see him and Nana. The kids couldn’t go in to see Grampy, but they did get to see Nana. Erin showed Grampy a picture of Elia, which he appreciated. After we came back, Curie would ask about Grampy, and when he passed, she said “at least he is safe.” What a kid. Later that week at day care, she said she saw Grampy after a nap.

While up in Massachusetts, we visited Andy and Lynn in his new home, Curie played with Poppop, and Grandma, and we went to Easter service. This past week we went to National Harbor and the next day to Clemyjontri Park to ride merry-go-rounds, at Clemyjontri, we went with Candace and Bella (Curie’s “best friend”) who took great care of Curie. Steve’s parents visited too and we all went out to dinner.

This week Albert goes to Thailand (hence the early posting) for work. When he goes on trips he takes Curie’s rabbit, “Hop” with him; we Facetime and talk every day, and Erin is charged with the Picture a Day. It is particularly hard on Erin as Curie is a little sick and has to stay home (Julie and Candace have been great in offering to help). Albert has been spending a lot of time with the kids before he goes, playing trains, and cooking, and eggs, and watching Thomas and Friends, or Curious George, or Calliou, or Peppa Pig (oh, Curie is Curie Pig, Albert is Daddy Pig, Erin is Mommy Pig, and Elia is George). With Elia, he holds her while she sleeps (like Erin usually does). Time feels short and Albert gets a little moody before leaving so the time with the kids is especially important. Travel for work is exciting and fun, but without the family, it is time away – missing out on the day-to-day, the smiles and the frowns, the laughter and the tears, watching the kids as the days go past; never mind the wonders of the world, it is enough to play at home.