Ivo plays happy birthday &

"You will find it(?)"

"I found it!"

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5 make rocket de go ham!" (make rocket go now!)

Makes birthday cakes and hats out of his wooden blocks, carries the "cake" over sing-saying, "happy birfdaaay!" and "blow out the candles." Ivo's working through differentiating b/w who is you/me and when to use each.

Ivo's also been telling us how he likes blue, Papa likes blue and Mama likes pink. He feels strongly about this. I think his favorite color is green. When offered a choice, he usually picks green. On a related note, he refuses to wear anything but jeans, tho he'll accept jean shorts.

Train tracks, sun glasses, english, chinese (for a few months, he's been pointing out characters and telling us, "this chinese."

Ivo & Burl take the train

The train was the trip. We all took the train to Chang Hua, ate lunch, turned around and came back. Today is the last day of school for kids in Taiwan; there were uniformed kids EVERYWHERE. It was amazing. They were more cheerful than usual, natch.

In the pic of Burl in his carrier, he's holding his favorite toy, interlocking plastic rings. Burl seemed to enjoy being out but whenever we were w/o ac, he fell asleep. No cries of discomfort, just checked out.

Ivo loved the whole thing. We took cabs to/from the train station and rode 2 different kinds of trains. Does my heart good that Ivo had more fun on the cheap train than the more expensive one. When he saw the mountains, Ivo said "I will go the mountains someday." We will go next week.

Later we went to Caves - good time there too. I looked at cook books. I need to learn about fish. The only cookbook with a how to, mentioned stuffing the cavity , but nothing about how to filet or even what kind to buy/eat...

Today I've been thinking about Patty a lot. Last night I dreamt of her and she kept yelling at me. I can't believe she's dead.

Burl is 4 months old!

Today marks the completion of Bur's 4th month! Yay! We had a excellent day. Wet to the Art Museum with Nadja and Ann. Burl LOVED the work of Niki de Saint Phalle.

More soon.

Ivo likes Geckos

Boys this past Saturday night, June 23rd. Ivo loves holding Burl. When he wants to hold him he says "I will hold Burl?" It's all in the inflection, baby!

Ivo's been playing on a couple kids' websites. He uses the mouse and the keyboard. There are some really cool games at ABC (oz not us), PBS and CBC. As with everything he does - he requires company, companionship, assistance at the ready. So Ivo, Burl and I sit in the big easy chair while Ivo maneuvers and plays. Cuz everyone's getting bigger (except me, hopefully) and stronger, we're a little cramped. Burl likes to kick against resistance. When we're seated at the computer, Ivo's usually the resistance and he's not happy about it. He tells Burl, "No. I doing work. Not funny Burl."

Ivo's really taken off with the "Not funny" admonition. I started saying it to him when he used to laugh while being "disciplined." I try not to yell or use anything but a firm calm voice... I know I err, especially when I'm tired but... I'm pretty sure I don't say "IT'S NOT FUNNY!" - the way Ivo says it... Ivo is narrating in greater detail and placing his toys in ever more imaginative circumstances. Ones that come out of his head, not from a book or movie. At least half the time, Ivo has one toy yelling at the other - a la parent to kid, bigger person to littler guy. He expresses a fair amount of anger and a lot of impatience. I know he's got to be copying me/us - especially when he uses expressions I've said... But I'm pretty sure I don't yell as much as Ivo's play indicates. God, I hope I don't. Maybe I black out? There was that time, months ago when I was cutting up vegetables for dinner, and all of a sudden there was a sliced up gecko... I'm pretty sure I didn't kill it, but what else could have happened?

Yesterday was Ryan's last day of school this year. This morning he and Ivo have gone to the office to do finishing-up stuff. Ivo was so excited. "Bye bye, Mama. Bye bye, Burl." He waved.

Scenes from Ivo & Burl's Convalescence

Ivo and Burl went separate ways in their sicknesses. Ivo the vomit and diarrhea road. Burl the stuffy nose and cough route.

They are both feeling all better now, since Saturday.

More shots from Ivo's 2-1/2 Bday

Ryan and Kevin played with Kaia and Ivo. I got to play with Burl most of the time. Ryan took pictures - Yay! The astute viewer will notice that I ran out and bought the same black shirt that Heather got - cuz I LUV it!!! I think we should dress as twins whenever possible. I haven't had a chance to ask Heather yet - but I can't see why she wouldn't be into it:)

Burl can do the leaning-stand/standing-lean for more than 5 minutes at a time. Yesterday he moved his feet/legs like he was walking while I supported him. He is starting to just cat-nap. Or perhaps it's a super temporary thing and "starting to" gives it a more permanent sound... Over the past few days of sickness, sadness and whatnot, Burl's taken to sleeping 10 minutes every couple hours. This is enough for him - but not enough for me. When he's up, he wants to interact and chat - and I can't deny him that. Burl will be 4 months in 4 days!

Ivo's 2-1/2 Birthday!

Ivo spent his half birthday playing at the kids' space and Tom's World at Carre Four. Kevin and Kaia celebrated with us. We all had lunch and lots of fun. Later Ivo and Ryan went to the park and had a bath.

We were not up for a party this year - but next year, it's

gonna be BIG! We love Ivo so so so much.

Today he's variously answered the question, "How old are you?" by saying, "I 7", "I 12", "I 2 months." His final baby molars are coming in (again). Uncomfortable. He plays angry and will tell me "Not Funny, Mama. Unnerstan? I hear me?"

Eulogy from a Garden in Taichug

Patricia Ellen Schaeffer 1972-2007

heartbreak's wake

Pics from 11 June - openig packages from Grammie Gail.





This is a 4-day weekend cuz of Dragon Boat Festival. Ryan has Monday and Tuesday off.

Ivo and Burl had fevers starting Friday at 4am thru Sat evening. Ivo had had (and still does) a cold for a week. Burl just got a stuffy nose sometime last night. Since Patty died, we've been living a limbo-y, outside-of-time existence. My babies being sick has painted surreal these initial days. Our sleep is messed-upside-down. And when they are sleeping, I'm compelled to make sure they're breathing - more than usual. I have taken 2 showers giving me about 5 minutes without at least one boy in my arms.

I'm working on my eulogy. I started it when Patty moved into the hospice. It's hard.

On Saturday late afternoon, we went to Taichung Metropolitan Park, to fly a kite, see a natural horizon line and hopefully the sunset. It's a beautiful park with some over-heavy facist-y architecture. But it's possible not to let that bring you down. And enjoy the trees, smells, quiet - no-traffic sounds, and big big sky. There are some huge cement beetles on the cement path - Ivo was delighted. He saw turtles, fish, swans and ducks. He also saw some new-school metal windmills, painted to look like animals. When he saw them, he caught his breath and said, "Oh, look at the windblows!"

Sunday was Father's Day. Ivo and Burl got Ryan a subscription to MLB.com. Burl stood up holding the couch for 5 minutes. He did it again today. To be clear, I put him there - he didn't stand up from a prone position. But he did maintain a standing stance leaning against the couch - pretty cool. Burl is also turning over more often - from back to belly. This past week he started playing with his feet. Burl holds one foot in each hand and happily rocks side to side.

Heartache

it is with chasmic sadness that i let my sister go

Patricia Ellen Schaeffer
13 october 1972 - 13 june 2007

Ivo-Dash uses training chopsticks

oops - thought i'd corrected the red-eye. Next time:)

Ivo's amazing!

Ivo-Dash no like that all-body

That's right. Ivo-Dash was looking at pictures on the computer - he's a discriminating guy who coins words left and right. Allbody, nobody. It makes sense.

Yesterday, Ivo-Dash intentionally "tripped" over my outstretched legs. After each fall, he got up, held his arms out away from his body with his palms up and said "It just a mistake. Just a mistake." His arms bobbed up and down emphasizing his words. Hilarious.

Cuz of the rain and Ivo's cold of the last few days, we've been playing indoors a lot. We've been making subtle improvements in the toyroom which we've been enjoying. In the pics Ivo is saying "dinosaur-row eating the leaves" while raising the dinosaur's neck up.

When playing with toys with faces, he usually conducts some kind of narration, and often voices an entire dialog on the fly. The other day - and so far this has happened only once, he had Spiderman and the Green Goblin yelling, "I kill you! You no kill me!"

Ivo knows that some animals kill and eat others (he hasn't realized that he's among them). Ivo knows/says that we kill mosquitos and ants. He's used the words die/died - cuz we've seen dead gekkos and in movies (do writers of kiddie movies have so little imagination? It's nice, wholesome - kill off a character, kids have to learn that death is nothing you can't rewind!).

Ivo also plays make-believe. He informs me of this while in character. So, he pulls a weird face, talks thru his teeth and says, "Who I am? I Spiderman. Going a fighting AppleJuice Man." I just figured out today, AppleJuiceMan is Octopus Man. Ivo was really happy to be understood - even when talking funny. When he's finished being a character he tells me using his regular voice.

Pics from this busy week.

Ivo's got a cold - went to dr yesterday cuz he's melodramatic and emphatic with his litany of woe. The way he described his condition, strep throat was a possibility. He talked a good game about going to the dr - but didn't enjoy his exam. At all. Nor does Ivo like taking medicine... Ryan calls his current lethargic state - "Ivo-lite." I took him to RT Mart yesterday - a place I normally almost lose him - he sat in te cart the whole time. Easy.

Today Burl and I are going to a baby shower. Yay!

This week Burl started doing the fake baby cough. Analogus to adults clearing their throats, it's a subtle kind of, "hey, over here. Look at me."