Cut and dry

With the new year upon us, I headed to the salon this morning to get my locks in order with my favorite stylist, Miss Katie. I've been going to Miss Katie for about a year, and she claims not to know anyone my size who enjoys getting their haircut as much as I do. I'm not saying that it's because I like looking at myself in the mirror so much, but I like looking at myself in the mirror so much.

Like all the other ladies, I passed the time chatting away. Mostly about how if Miss Katie didn't clean the hair up off the floor, she was probably going to get in trouble.

Upon deciding that her hair was completely perfect the way it is, Rowan observed the haircut from a safe distance.

Cleaning crew

A couple months ago, my parents decided that our walls had been pristine for long enough and allowed Rowan to consume her meals outside of the confines of her high chair. Ever since, we've been dining together in "our corner" of the family room.

While the location of our table is optimal for watching TV, it is located about 35 feet from the kitchen sink, which means that teaching us to clean up our own dishes is a risky proposition.

Particularly when one of us carries our dishes to the sink like this:

Earlier this week, my mom caught Rowan right outside the kitchen doing the Vertical Plate Commute and let out a sigh. My dad looked over and said, "It's okay, the plate's empty."

Which would explain the trail of chicken and green beans behind the couch.

Everything I know I learned from Strawberry

To appreciate the conversation I had with my mom at lunch today, it is important to know that Rowan and I have recently been ridiculously obsessed captivated by Strawberry Shortcake -- particularly her movies. Unlike some other characters we know, she doesn't waste our time droning on about the basics (i.e., why it's good to share, how to tie your shoes or why hitters never win). Instead, her films address a more sophisticated set of life lessons and skills, like why it's important to hold elections and to vote in them, how to give gifts that reflect the interests of the recipient, how to delegate large projects and how to identify a wide variety of flowers (including honeysuckles).

This information generally allows me to sound smart while making conversation, like today when I was eating lunch with my mom and dad at my favorite restaurant. While I was sitting at the table waiting for my dad to get back with my ice cream -- a treat I get for eating a good meal -- my mom and I had the following conversation:

Me: Dad's getting me ice cream because I ate a good dinner.

Mom: No, you didn't eat a good lunch. Two chocolate chip mini muffins and two slices of green pepper is not a good lunch.

Me: Dad said "yes" because I ate a good dinner.

Mom: No, Dad said "yes" because he's a sucker.

Me: A honeysucker?

Mom: (pause) Yes, a honeysucker.

What I did on my winter vacation (Part I)

Monday

On my first of two days off from school last week, I went to the grocery store with my mom, excited to assume my position as Assistant Buyer.

Before making our way down the aisles, we stopped in the food court for lunch. While I had my choice of freshly prepared sandwiches and hot meals, I opted for the salad bar. Given my "selective" eating tendencies, my salad consisted only of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, watermelon and canteloupe. Arguably not the the world's most exciting salad (although my mom says it could have been the world's most expensive, given the weight of tomatoes and melon), I decided to spice it up by insisting on eating it with chopsticks from the sushi bar.

Although my first run-in with chopsticks was a bit of a bust, the second did not disappoint.

Wednesday

After dropping Rowan at school, my mom and I caught up over caramel soy lattes. My mom's been worried that perhaps I am growing up a little too fast in the beverage department, given my recent obsessions with lattes, but she discovered today that I can't taste the difference between a latte and a hot chocolate. They're all "coffee" to me as long as they come in the right cup. My mom says that this is an excellent discovery for many reasons, not the least of which is financial.

After coffee, we headed out to see one of my mom's doctors. And although I had a playdate later in the day with one of my favorite friends, I adamantly declared the 45 minutes spent at the doctor's office (30 of them in the waiting room) to be my favorite part of the day.

My moms says that my appreciation for doctor's waiting rooms will serve me well later in life, particularly when I have more important things to do than play "Strawberry Shortcake" on iPhone and "Name That Tune" on the radio. (The older lady sitting next to my mom looked a bit taken aback when Maroon 5 came on the radio and I shouted, "It's Misery!!")

Friday (Christmas Eve)

Dad came home early from work and we headed out to the movies to see Yogi Bear. We decided to take Rowan, even though her disinterest in her first theater movie (Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole -- who knew that one would be a clunker??) forced us to make an early exit a couple months ago.

While she wasn't a whole lot more interested in this wildlife-based movie (she spent the first half hour repeatedly asking to watch "Mickey Christmas," a DVD we own and have watched upwards of 100 times), Mom and Dad joined forces to keep her amused just long enough to make it through the whole thing.

Oh well, Rowan, at least you looked good.

After returning home from the movies, we put on our snow pants and hit the driveway for a little Christmas Eve snow shoveling. My mom says that it is unfortunate that one's enthusiasm for shoveling is inversely proportional to one's ability to do it with effectiveness. Perhaps if they gave us more than a sand rake and measuring cup to work with...

Saturday

I wrote my name unassisted (with either spelling or writing) for the first time. While one might argue that you need somewhat of a discerning eye to read it, my mom reported this event to the Department of Very Big Deals.

In between fulfilling our Jewish Christmas duties of going to the movies and ordering Chinese food, we decided to address the stir craziness in our house by taking a drive to Saugenash, an area just outside the city known for its elaborate residential light displays. My dad used to go look at the lights when he was a little boy.

We ooh'ed and ahhh'ed over the lights and after seeing one house elaborately decorated in light-up menorahs, dreidels and Jewish stars, the wheels in my dad's head are spinning.

Sunday

Today I built my first fort. My interest in blanket-based architecture was spurred by a playdate on Monday with one of my only older (i.e., more sophisticated) friends. I had never heard of fort building before, but I vigorously took mental notes as my friends' mom helped them build a secret gathering spot out of chairs and a blanket.

Recognizing that not everybody may be able to read my writing, I decided to draw pictures of those allowed inside my fort. That's me on the left and Rowan on the right. My mom's assuming that the abstract piece in the middle is the artistic interpretation of the legalese about how trespassers will be prosecuted.

And speaking of people being in trouble, you should have heard the firm talking to I had to give my dad when he disassembled my fort a couple hours later. I told him that I was going to rebuild it, but to take note that I did NOT WANT TO BUILD IT AGAIN.

After we went to bed this evening, my mom asked my dad if he was planning to clean up the chair, and he threw up his hands and announced that he did not want to get in trouble.

My mom says that at least a little verbal scolding is working on SOMEBODY in this house.

Take Two!

Yesterday Rowan celebrated the Big Oh-Two, and the festivities got started early. At 7 am, we serenaded Rowan in her crib. And despite a very enthusiastically-delivered rendition of Happy Birthday, this was her response:

Rowan: I'm hungry. (pause) Downstairs.

That's okay, though, because a couple minutes later, we shared this very special moment:

Turns out you're alright, kid! Happy birthday!!

Stay a while

For almost two weeks, Popi and Grandma have been sleeping over at my house. I haven't blogged much because we have been so busy! Since it would take me too long to recount two weeks' worth of adventures, I figured that a short list would suffice.

* We ate dinner at The King's Crown. Twice! Which allowed Rowan to master the art of peeling the tops off of those little butter containers. All of them.

* We ate lunch at McDonalds and played in their treehouse. I struck up a conversation with a 12-year-old boy and informed him that he and his friends were playing too rough around my sister. He apologized.

* We went toy shopping and I got to pick out "Go Fish!" -- a battery-operated fishing game where you have to catch the fish with a little plastic fishing rod. Given the limits of toddler dexterity, Rowan prefers to hand-catch them.

* I got to walk Katie, my Grandma and Popi's dog, and give her all her treats. Rowan, unfortunately, was not a fan. The thing about Katie that seemed to bother Rowan the most was her existence. The fact that they were under the same roof. There was a LOT of shrieking.

* We threw an early birthday celebration for Rowan, who is turning two next week. All of our grandparents came and my grandma and mom made an Elmo cake! Figured I'd spare you the play-by-play and just show you the pictures.

Rowan's 2nd Birthday: The People

Rowan's 2nd Birthday: The Presents

Rowan's 2nd Birthday: The Provisions

Eater's choice

Every morning, my sister and I come downstairs, sit down for breakfast at our table and take turns picking which shows to watch on TV. I'm always eager to know whose turn it is to pick, and I am always adamant that it's mine.

Rowan, on the other hand, is a little less excitable when it comes to the process. Sometimes, when it's her turn, she announces that her baby doll will pick the show. "Baby pick."

Luckily, Mom always tells Rowan that baby wants to watch exactly what I want to watch, so it all works out.

Except a couple of weeks ago, when I got to pick a DVD, rather than a show. To ensure Rowan had a chance to pick too before we left for school, Mom insisted that we turn the DVD off before we had a chance to finish watching it. After protesting in vain, I stated somewhat angrily, "This is a joke."

Which my mom found to be funny. And, of course, not funny at all.

Stage presents

One day my mom and dad took us to a pizza place with an empty stage in the corner. While it was just a bunch of unfinished pieces of plywood nailed together, we ran around that small, empty stage for a good 20 minutes laughing and dancing. My mom and dad say it was one of the greatest lunches they had in a while because they could actually sit and eat it in peace. Nobody making a beeline for a game room to balance precariously on a chair, trying to win a game of Ms. Pac Man with no quarters in the machine. Nobody insisting on making three back-to-back trips to the bathroom. Nobody whining about why ice cream isn't considered "lunch."

So you can imagine our reaction this morning upon learning that my Yaya's dad, Great Papa, came over to Yaya and Papa's house over Thanksgiving and built Rowan and me our own stage. Our own STAGE! Complete with a curtain, working microphone and electric guitar.

And while this set-up virtually guarantees that Papa and Yaya will never have a moment's peace again (did I mention how loud the microphone can go?), my mom says that she thinks they'll get as much entertainment value out of this stage as we do.

P.S. The password for the video is "gaga."

(password: gaga)

The unwrap recap

Rowan found it to be true that Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down. She also found it to be true that Weebles damage hardwood floors when thrown with great might.

Part of our scientific study to determine whether one can own too many Strawberry Shortcake movies. This was two of three, and we still feel comfortable owning more.

Part of the Fancy Nancy couture collection. If the dress and mutt handbag are "not your taste," you're clearly not fancy enough to appreciate them.

The Back and Forth Game. Just small enough and light enough for me to carry around myself. My mom says that this is unfortunate news for basically all scratchable surfaces in our home.

The "bust" of Chanukah 2010, the most exciting part of this ladybug-shaped flashlight was the moment right before we took off the wrapping paper.