People Keep Asking

How is "re-entry" going?

It's going well.
Hubs and I are loving Denver.
The air is clear; the sky is blue.
The grass is green.
The playgrounds are clean.
The parents are nice.
The sun is out. All the time.
Found a local dairy that delivers milk.
Taggart has not made a "mess" in several days (knock wood).

But I miss China.
And Switzerland.
And even London.
I miss the crazy, exhausting travel schedule.
The people we've met from all over the world.

I miss the awe that overtakes your soul when you stand in front of the Pyramids. I miss enjoying a glass of wine at a rooftop cafe in Shanghai, scaling the Great Wall in Beijing, taking in the view at the base of the Matterhorn - to name a few.

The food - the fish in China (albeit toxic), the fondue at Chasealp and the full English breakfast.

But I don't miss the plane rides. Not at all.

For The Love Of The Game

Taking careful aim...




















Slam dunk!




















Yah, you know it...

Day Light Savings

I tried to explain day light savings to Chase. We'll find out tomorrow morning if she understood.

All I Want For Christmas Is...

As Walmart has moved-up it's Christmas efforts, I am following suit. Not for me, but for Chase.

And, as everyone lives in a different state, I wanted to make sure you have up-to-date information to ensure we get (1) clothes that fit her, and (2) toys that Chase will play with...

I will keep a running log of what has been purchased (as far as I know) so that there aren't duplicates. Is that terribly tacky? I dunno.

I like to think it's no worse than bridal and baby registries, right? So here goes...

- Child Easel (Thanks, Karla & Joe!)
- Tobaggon (Thanks, Dad!)
- Dress-up clothes (Thanks, Karla!)
- A music box (with something that moves or dances)
- Art supplies (paints, crayons, pens -all washable/non-toxic)
- Musical instruments
- Anything money related (like a piggy bank she can empty and refill)
- Chinese books/DVDs (found on Amazon.com)
- Clothes (size: 2T. Shoes: size 7)
- Books (she loves language books, like 1,000 words in Chinese - which she already has. French & Italian would be fun)
- Anything with Curious George
- Anything that teaches numbers, textures, colors
- Anything that would be fun to play with in a bath tub
- Memory games

Please no...
- Candy

Updates

I took Chase to the pediatrician yesterday. She came in at 60% for weight, 90% for height. Shocker. The pediatrician reported her development was very good.

His questions included: can she run? (Yes) How many words does she have? (About 60) Can she string two words together? (Yes) Can she stack 4 blocks? (She stacks 5) Can she show the doctor where the eyes, ears, nose and mouth are on his grubby teddy bear? (Yes) He was noticeably impressed that I already took her to see a dentist. (I got a big mommy gold star for this!)

I declined the flu shot. Controversial, I know. I just can't bring myself to inject Chase with more stuff. Plus I think the flue shot is bogus, anyway. The pediatrician said that since she wasn't in day care, he wasn't worried - plus she was probably exposed to "all kinds of good stuff" while she was in China (which is where the flu comes from he said - I don't buy it). He was impressed with how healthy she's been - as have I. Knock wood.

And, with the tetanus shot she rec'd today, she's up-t0-date, until age 2, when she will receive her second dose of Hep A. And then she's all good until age 6 (I think). Awesome. With all our travels I was really worried about ensuring her "jabs" were on track.

I asked him questions about her dry scalp (he suggested Selson blue, twice a week for a month), about her face - near her mouth (which has been covered with little red dots due to teething - he suggested a little cortisone cream).

In other news...

- The Greek yogurt was very good, but not very thick. I could drink it out of a straw. And it used whole milk and whole yogurt - so maybe I need a yogurt maker after all. Plus, it is appealing to think I could make six different flavors at one time. Oh the things that excite me these days.

- I popped into the Denver International School yesterday - and joined a tour. Chase had the chance to sit in on a Mandarin class for 5-year-olds. I was interested to learn that at age 3, 4 and 5, the kids are in full immersion programs - so there is no English in the classrooms. They were learning colors, animals, sizes, and fruits/vegetables - all of which Chase already knows - and while she can't really say all the words yet, she recognized what they were saying. Of course the bonus is they are being taught by a native speaker, whereas Chase has to suffer through my miserable pronunciation. So after much thought (and a discussion with Hubs) we decided to pour our money into private lessons/tutor/Mandarin play for Chase, rather than into a full-blown International school. We figure we'll do enough travel with her to supplement the "international" part of her education.

- Speaking of which, I met a lovely German woman in the park. She speaks only German to her little girl, who is Chase's age. So Chase will soon have a little German in her life again - only suiting. Perhaps she will learn some German, too!

- The Halloween decorations are down. And I'm pretty sure that Starbucks is serving my favorite coffee drink of all time - the Eggnog Latte - which is only complete with a slice of pumpkin loaf. I might just have to go check it out today. I'm thinking if Walmart moved its Christmas sale up a month, Starbucks must be keeping time.

Many Thanks To Nana Banana

Chase was SO happy to receive this lovely care package from Nana Banana.

She loved the strange squeazy thing, the flashing wand, the mask, the corn, the gourd, and the pumpkin. She was a bit scared of the costume pieces (fake nose/glasses) and flashing teeth.

Happy Halloween!

We were invited to join in a tiny tot parade in Stapleton (a new, very Desperate Housewives neighborhood), which used to be the location of Denver's airport (and is about 15 minutes East of where we live). When they moved the airport further away from Denver, there was a large amount of unused land, which they decided to rebuild as a "new, trendy (read: very white) " neighborhood. The houses are all brand new - and huge. But they are all right next to each other. And the yards are tiny.

Going there always makes me feel like I need a manicure and a perfect haircut.














The parade...













Kermit...













Go, Kermit. Go!













After an hour of running around, there's no place like Dada's arms...













From there, we headed home to trick-or-treat.

Chase got the hang of it after the first house. And, although she didn't get to eat any of it, she still enjoyed the process. She was so super sweet, and said Thank You (dah-dah) and Happy Halloween (Hah, Hah, Hah, Hah, Hah) to everyone who gave her candy.

Greek Yogurt

I found a housekeeper. A little, old, Greek woman, who cleans other houses on our block. She is pretty good at cleaning, too! When I first met her, I asked her if she knew how to make Greek yogurt (one of my favorite foods of all time). She said she'd teach me.

So she showed-up today, to clean. And teach me how to make Greek yogurt. And brought home-made baklava. SO FABULOUS.

First she warmed a quart of whole milk, until "the milk come up." (I'm still trying to figure out what this means). Then "let it cool until you can stir it with your finger 20-times." And then she added three, large spoons of plain, whole yogurt to a small bowl, mixed it up and added it to the milk. Then she said "cover it in a blanket and leave to tomorrow." So she wrapped-up my bowl of yogurt-to-be, in a fleece blanket, very carefully, like a baby, and patted the top lightly, saying "good luck" - to the yogurt, not me.

Star Light. Star Bright.

Chase actually hummed "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight," this morning. By herself. Unprompted. And with perfect tone. It was amazing.

And then, while she was in the bath, she took a small pitcher - put it down into the bath, so that the bottom rested flat on the bottom of the tub - and water filled it up - right over the top. When she realized how it worked, she took a small foam number, put it into the pitcher (while it was empty) and submerged it - watching the small foam number float to the top. Then she took the pitcher out, poured out the water, took the foam number (from wherever it landed), placed it back in the (now empty) pitcher and did it again and again.

I am so amazed by her development.

Chase also notices things. And names them. Like the moon. It's pretty wild to be driving along and hear the word "moon," come from a little voice in the back seat.

Another big surprise - she makes sure that every last one of her stuffed animals gets it's own verse in "Happy Birthday" (one of her favorite songs of all time).

Happy Halloween!

Introducing... Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird and Kermit The Frog.

Have You Noticed?

I have found a pattern. A pattern in the way parents answer the question, "do you know of a good baby sitter?" They pause and say either:

(a) "Um, yes, but she's really busy. She really doesn't have time. She's the only person we use."

- or -

(b)"No, we don't." Which means they are lying.

Now let me just say - I am not looking for someone full time. Not even part time. I just want two-friggin-early-evenings-(2-hours-max!)-dinners-out-without-chasing-a-toddler-around- the-restaurant-and-let's-not-forget-the- -adult-conversation-with-my-husband. That's four hours a month where I don't have to worry about picking poop up or changing diapers. Is that too much to ask for? Seriously.

Les Dents

"Start saving now for braces," the dentist told me.

Apparently, Chase doesn't have much space between her baby teeth, which means that when the big, adult teeth come in, there won't be enough room in her mouth.

The dentist also told me I should be brushing Chase's teeth, 2x per day - real brushing. And flossing her teeth. Are you kidding me? At present, she chews on her toothbrush, once per day.

Snow

Yesterday it was 80 degrees. Today, it snowed.
By the time I woke up, we had nearly three inches- on the ground.
This, of course, means the mountain resorts are o-p-e-n.

A funny story - we were in the grocery store today.
I was holding Chase. She started saying "mee mee, mee mee."
I turned to look - and she was pointing at a change machine - the kind that turns coins into dollars. She had a big smile on her face. "Mee mee!"

So I guess a trip to the United States Mint in Denver is in order.

Go Sox. Go!

Pumpkin Patch

Our local Methodist Church has a pumpkin patch. As Halloween is right around the corner, we decided it was about time to pick out a pumpkin. So we arranged a play date with one of Chase's friends, Jordie. The girls moved pumpkins around and ran themselves until they were too tired to stand up.

It was a warm, beautiful day. Tomorrow it is supposed to snow.














Chase and Dada...




















Chase and her friend, Jordie...

What a day!

Today was tough.

Hubs came home last night - sick, sick, sick. He spent the entire day in bed. Poor darling, he's still there.

I took Taggart to the vet. I confided in the vet that I was exhausted by this puppy; that I found myself utterly frustrated by the training (potty and otherwise), as he is not as smart as our last boxer. And it seems I have to get physical for him to listen - and napping him on the nose and on the bum hasn't made much difference, except that Chase runs around saying no and hits him with his toys - not exactly the lesson I want to teach my daughter about animals. So the vet helped. She gave me some new ideas about how to handle him. She told me to crate him more. She also told me to attach him to my belt, so that he is never on his own in the house, which makes correction easier. And finally, she told me to grr at him when he does something bad, and to scream when he nips. I guess that's better than making "no" every other word.

Fast forward to the afternoon - Tag had an allergic reaction to his vaccination, but I didn't find this out until 5 minutes before a (real jerk) contractor was due to arrive (to take a look at our oh-so-funky-kitchen). Chase hadn't napped. The vet told me Taggart could start convulsing at any minute. And the contractor gave me a guilt trip because he canceled his pilates class to meet with me.

What about the good news? The Denver Rockies made the World Series. Fingers crossed the Red Sox pull through...

New

Chase's latest word is new - pronounced "nnn-ooooooo."

Auntie Lockett brought Chase a lovely new baby, and she loves it.
Chase calls her "nnn-oooooo."

Mee Mee

So I bought four little plastic pumpkins for Chase. I thought they'd be fun to put things in. What did she put in them? "Mee Mee" - her word for money.

Chase loves coins. Big coins, little coins. Coins from England, Switzerland, Thailand, China. She loves them all. I used to think it was funny that when we came back to the US (while we lived abroad), Chase would smell American bills. Now I think her love of money is a little more serious.

Hmmm... Maybe she'll be a banker. Or investor. Or maybe she'll find a way to spend other people's money.

At any rate, she loves counting money. Or at least transferring it from one pumpkin to another. I tried to put something else in her pumpkin and she screamed.

I'm thinking Halloween will be a real shocker. I can just imagine her surprise when people offer her candy instead of money.

19 Months

Dear Chase,

This week you turn 19-months-old. I'm writing this now, because I never know when I will have a free moment.

I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. I can still remember the look of awe on your face when you came into the world. Your lips forming a perfect little "o," as if in wonder of what had just happened. I remember bringing you home from the hospital, packing up the car and moving to Switzerland.

I remember what an amazing sport you were as we sped across England and France, en route to Zurich. I remember taking you down to the Zurichsee. Putting your tiny toes in the water. Watching you sleep. You first showed you had a sense of humor in Switzerland. It was Switzerland where you had your first solid food and where you got your first tooth - and perhaps where you developed your love of cheese. I remember flying with you back to Portland to visit your great grandmother, Mary The Great, and how much joy you brought her. She loved you so much. I wish so much she could be here to play with you now, to watch you grow. I wish so much you could have actually known her - she was an amazing woman.

And I remember moving you to China, by way of Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore. I remember what seemed to be an endless chain of hotel rooms. I remember being so worried about traveling alone with you - but in the end we made so many international flights together, alone, that I've lost count. You are an amazing traveler, my dearest little.

It was in China that you started talking. Where your palate expanded to include broccoli with oyster sauce, fish, noodles (of all kinds), and various other things. You learned to walk in China.

You are such a joy and delight to all who meet you. Everyone loves your laugh. When you laugh, the other children near you start laughing too.

I like your style Chase. You have a sense of humor and take a light, sensible approach to whatever comes you way. Always ready for the next adventure, your favorite thing to say is "Go, Dog. Go!"

We love you so much.

Overheard

On my way out of our little corner store - I had to make a run for vanilla - I overheard a man, saying VERY loudly into his cell phone, "Between you, me, and my lawyer, I was the only grown-up in the courtroom."