Around these parts

So far this year, three of our closest friends have had baby boys.  Two of them were born on a Friday the 13th- January and April.  Suddenly Scarlett seems giant, and independent.

Yeah, she plays dress up

But then something happens, and I remember she's still so small.  I took her to a swimming lesson last weekend.  There was a giant fan by the poolside, which she hated with the same passion she also hates vacuums, blenders (sometimes) and motorcycles driving by.  She clung to me and whined.  And in what was not my best parenting moment, I made her an ultimatum- if we leave now, no more swimming lessons.  So we cancelled the lessons for the duration, and I felt like a mean parent.

I said, 'smile for mama'

In the meantime, she's been taking a judo class with her cousin Esther, which is mostly just kids crawling around on mats and hitting the ground with their palms.  I've only been once, and it was chaotic, as a room with 12 toddlers should be. 

She still loves putting her stuffed animals to sleep, in a very long, elaborate routine that involves us being very quiet as we sneak back into the room to check on them.  There's a new game too, where she sits in her wagon and we hand her the friends, until she's under a big pile of them, giggling.  Her toes are her piggies and she'll say 'my piggies are buried'. 

Also, I've been making poached eggs like crazy, ever since I figured out how to poach them straight in the water.  Charlie thinks I'm crazy, because I think poached eggs are beautiful and I take a lot of pictures of them.