Comadres

Ok, well, just noticed the double chin, but....no importa!  This week I got to go out TWO TIMES with girlfriends!  And I kinda forgot how important it is to go out and talk with other women, without attention seeking kids around. I won't mention all the stuff we talked about - girl talk, helped along by the drinks. And speaking of drinks, I drank about one third of a margarita and felt tongue tied. That's how long it's been since I've had anything to drink, asides from a beer or two since Liam was born. 
The night pictured above, made me feel like I was with my high school girlfriends again, hittin' the divey bars of San Francisco.  Or small local bars in the East Village or Brooklyn.  We only talked about the kids a little bit.  And the husbands just a little bit. Mostly we talked about....well, again, I won't go there. (haha!). 
And, the Elks Club!  A little piece of SLO I didn't know about.  I drove there and it was kind of creepy foggy outside, maybe it felt that way cause the Elks Club is across from the cemetary and down the street from the Drive-in and a trailer park.  So, thick fog, a near deserted parking lot and a club that hasn't changed since 1972 or so.  Tina had to come let me in, cause it's private and you have to be a member (some friends are members so they can use the pool with the kids, and maybe the husbands can go and watch a game or schmooze).  And we were the only ones there besides the bartender.  I've only watched two episodes of True Blood, but it was very True Blood.  I expected to find a body in the bathroom, or meet a vampire if I left by myself to go out to my car.  And the new Hipstamatic app on my fancy new phone captured just the right feel for the night- nostalgia for things past.

But the first night I went out this week was on Thursday for the premiere of the latest Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn.  I don't know what was more exciting, the movie (eh.....) or going out for the first time with friends since baby (yes!).  My mom watched the kids, I managed to get Liam to sleep before I left, and luckily he is a pretty good sleeper (gracias mi amor!).  Lots of etrogen in the theatre that night!  We sat on Team Edward side.  And I succombed to peer pressure and went to Robyn's house afterwards where she had such a cool themed spread!  Decorations, drinks, and an Edward replica (see above).
So, thanks ladies!  Thanks for convincing me to come out and have a few moments to feel like someone other than a wife and mom...

Apples and mud

We picked apples the other day with friends.  Lupe inherited rain boots and she and her friends could not resist the mud puddles.  For a moment I thought, "Oh no, you're going to get all muddy, I don;t know if I have a change of clothes...."  But then I realized, it was only my own laziness not wanting to deal with the mess. Kids should get muddy in mud puddles when the opportunity arises.  So she did.  And I did happen to have a change of clthes in the car. It all worked out.  And since that day she has been asking to eat apples all the time.
Letting children play. Giving them opportunities to see where food comes frm. This is what it's all about.

Therapies

Stay tuned........... I'll soon be writing about our experience with cranio sacral therapy.  And I am reading the page of the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential In Philadelphia, we have friends in Mexico that have taken their daughter there who has Trisomy 14.
Update- went to cranio sacral therapy today, good session i think. i'm excited about this.
From the website http://upledger.com/content.asp?id=26 "CST is a gentle, hands-on method of evaluating and enhancing the functioning of a physiological body system called the craniosacral system - comprised of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord.
Using a soft touch generally no greater than 5 grams, or about the weight of a nickel, practitioners release restrictions in the craniosacral system to improve the functioning of the central nervous system."

small steps

My little guy will be 4 months old tomorrow.  That's a third of a year! How did that happen?  I am having a little inner battle, which I am sure is quite normal.  I have friends having babies and I find that I am not as excited to hang out and see their new babies because I know that even the ones months younger than my Liam, will more than likely be reaching developmental milestones a lot quicker than my guy and that makes me just feel....weird.  I want to hang out and I will.  Perhaps it is human nature to compare things, people.  But I really want to concentrate on focusing on the positive and taking things a day at a time. So on that note, today Liam did something new!
To help him learn to roll over, I put him on his back and start to lead him to the side by pulling slightly behind his knee and bringing it over.  When I did this last week with him, his arm would stay stuck under his torso, but today.....he was able to pull it out from under him, several times!  These little things seem big.  And it's strange to be so totally conscious of every thing rather than just playing with my baby.  But, it is what it is. His leg and neck strength seems to be better in some positions than in others.  When I hold him facing me, he will push out from me and his head is up and strong, but when he is sitting in my lap facing out, he slumps it a lot. Our little guy is laughing more, with direct stimulation, asi que econtramos donde le da cosquilla. We found his tickle spots!
As for Lupe, this last week she surprised us with two things she seems to have learned on her own.  She spells her name "L.U.P.E." ( I am so certain she will be an early reader).  And she asked me if I wanted Ariel the mermaid's phone number and then said  my phone number (missing one # only). It's true, they are sponges.
"By the age of three, the toddler's brain has formed about 1,000 trillion pathways or synapses ­ about twice as many as his mom or dad have. The toddler's brain is super dense and primed for learning. When a pathway is used repeatedly, it becomes permanent; a pathway used infrequently is lost. Children whose parents speak, read and play with them during these early years have more highly developed brains with better language and learning skills.
Around age three, research indicates a growth spurt in a toddler's head circumference and a dramatic increase in activity in the two major language regions of the brain. At the same time, a toddler's vocabulary surges from about 900 words to around 3,000 words before age five." http://www.growupreading.org/toddlers/index.php?section=210
This is my update for now, it has been a long day and I am going to try and actually go to bed early, though it is so nice to have some mellow time without the kids!