Ivo and Burl vacation pt 2 (written on Wednesday)

Ryan is off work until the 30th. We are going to go to Taipei for a couple days but we have to wait til Papa "as long as I have to change my underwear after I fart, I'm not going anywhere" Ryan is feeling more mobile.

I love him crazy - which is good cuz he's been no picnic lately. And gross. There was some static over Ivo and me eating chocolate after breakfast. The kind of static that impunes my parenting ability and overall common sense while hinting that it is just this kind of bad judgment on my part that explains, now and forever, anything that might go wrong with the boys. I joked that we could change jobs to which Ryan said I "wouldn't last til Tuesday" at his job because I wouldn't be able to handle discipline problems. When I asked him why he was being mean to me he said, "I thought I was being nice." He says I can't quote someone who's got a fever. Poor poopy Ryan.
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Burl, Ivo and I have been staying clear of Ryan as much as possible. Monday we played at Carrefour with Dman, Heather and Ciro. Yesterday we went to RT Mart and Caves. Today we are meeting Mary at Starbucks.

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Ivo and Burl are doing great. No one is over-poopy or sick, knock wood.

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Burl loves sitting and playing and singing. He has never never had that baby-thing of not being able to put one toy down so he could grab another. If Burl sees something he'd rather hold than what he's got, he drops what he's holding and goes for his new interest. Burl is very happy, super sweet and cutely curious. He laughs and fake-coughs to be part of the conversation. He loves to look at new things and tries his best to let us know what he wants. He no longer wimpers only to be held or fed but also to be given toys or sat up to play. Burl sleeps well and drools plentifully. No teeth yet - though I think they're coming. Burl is quite interested and excited about food. In less than a week he'll be 6 months and can try some applesauce! Yay!

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Ivo is the king of make-believe! He holds imaginary babies, chickens and ice-cream. He drives imaginary cars and gives me "one, two, three bwoo fwowers." We are trying to get him to STOP saying "dumbass," "such a bitch," and "you so dwunk." These come from Family Guy which he can't watch anymore.

A little Ivo Overheard:

• (on being asked what he's doing) Oh, I just hanging on with Papa.


• (on agreeing with a proposal) That an idea!


• (on disagreeing) That not an idea!


• (while playing Robots, I pretended to eat him) No, give me back my stuff!


• (on clicking his tongue) I doing dis. (told what it's called) I clicking my tongue!
• (trying to remember the game he's playing) Who I am?

Mary gifts Ivo and Burl Tokyo Treats!

Mary always buys the best gifts! This time red and white checkered Vans for Ivo plus sticky toys that he used as "shoot the web" and a samurai shirt. A super-cool onesie for Burl... I've got to get better pics... soon!

Also Mary brought over her new litle chihuahua, Hei-ji. He is sooooo cute. His ears are sooo big, he looks like a bat.

Brothers

Burl LOVES Ivo. He smiles and laughs and hangs on Ivo's every word. Ivo LIKES Burl. He seems to be conducting some baby-stress-tests.

I've got lots to chronicle but my brain won't work w/o my notebook... and that's upstairs, Burl's nursing so I can't add pics from yesterday. Anyway all that soon - including a tiny movie made of still pictures - all of Burl SITTING BY HIMSELF - taken 19-20 August. Burl now sits with a 95% no-tip rate!

Ivo says "together" and "all together" a lot now. "We wake up all together!" "Allbody in da car together!" It's sweet. His song-du-jour is "ring around the rosie," the obvious attraction being the "all fall down" part.

Sepat: The 3rd Lack-Luster Typhoon

Mighty Typhoon Sepat was rendered into mere raindrops by the mountains surrounding Taichung. It seems like we haven't had a BIG TYPHOON since before Ivo was born... That's the last cold winter too... Well, that's how I mark things...

At lunch, we ordered some bamboo cuz Ivo recently got a panda bear from Alison. He's super sweet with it, treating it like a baby. All by himself he decided to name it and all by himself he chose the name "Beak." So cute.

Anyway. Big Fun Times, lately. Ivo wears his cape everywhere and sometimes is Superman, sometimes is other. We picked up the September Vanity Fair (it's a good one - Arthur Miller institutionalized son with Down Syndrome - boo! Christopher Hitchens - yay!). We also read some stories, including Toy Story, yesterday at Caves. On our way out, one of the lovely girl clerks called Ivo Superman and the caped-one responded, "I BUZZLIGHTYEAR!!!!! I HAVE ROCKET ON MY BAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!" I translated and they thought it was cute. They're nice.

Later we went to Carre Four - for many tasks. First, we LOVE their produce now and with the typhoon coming we thought we should have some more food. Gwen's bday party, which got postponed to next week, shopping. And even though those are fun things - the funnest thing we were doing at the Carre Four monster was checking if that Net outlet had the special present we've been searching at all known Nets for... Superman underwear - just like Ivo's!!!!

But there's a downside to super-heroism. Sometimes power corrupts - Ivo's taken to roaring like a monster and not just at adults who are trying to touch him. At Carre4, he roared at kids and seemed to enjoy making them cry. Yea, I'm not sure what to do. I feel like I'm acting to stifle more and more behaviors - with varying degrees of success. I just wanna be a yes-mom...

the good the bad and the super cute

In case my invocation of slavery a couple days ago seemed off the map, here's Andy's post from a couple days ago including an article from the International Herald Tribune reporting that kidnapped Filipinos have been forced to take part in the construction of the newest, biggest embassy in the history of embassies: The US Embassy in Baghdad! The contractor is First Kuwaiti. I'm teaching Ivo to say "war profiteer."
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We've been listening to KCRW music stream - yay! and no ads.

Ivo, Burl and I ran errands and had a generally excellent day. First we went to the breakfast shop where the girls love Ivo and Burl. Love may not be strong enuf a word! Ivo ate most of his dan bing and shu bing but not much ro bo gao or do jiang. Ivo went to breakfast wearing his cape, spiderman shirt, jeans, red shoes and superman underwear! Very exciting! Ivo accepted a trip to the bathroom to wash his hands but denied the need to pee. When we got home we had to change pants and don a diaper.

No hard feelings though. We were on our way to meet Alison and Little Baby Tessa for another visit to the Mothercare sale where we knew we could pick up Bob the Builder underpants but had no idea there would be Spidey underwear too! So excellent.

We ran into Sho 2x on 2 different streets today. Karin stopped by for a quick visit.
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Also, it's news to me, but Kristen Hersh has at least one newish cd - I need it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blogger's not lettin me upload pics...

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way

Today we were both!

Hi-lites:

• Ivo pooped on the toilet and then wore his Superman undies, without incident, until bedtime



• Burl held his water bottle by himself and worked it! The kid's only used a bottle, at all, on a handful of occasions



• Burl can practically sit on his own steam



• Our speeding tickets were paid and car inspected. Mechanic Aiyi is an angel and a speed talker. She always either comes to get the car or drives us home AND drops the car off when it's ready. Today she told me I should just call her to just shoot the breeze or if I need anything. This delivered amidst non-stop giddy laughter. A laughter caused just by looking at Burl in his car seat. She happily laughed the whole ride from her shop all the way to our house. Her reaction is testimony to how much Taiwanese people love babies. No one has ever been as observably thrilled by the mere sight of Burl as she was today. It was super sweet. She said things like how much Burl looks like Ryan. This is pretty much the consensus opinion - and it's funny cuz people used to think Ivo "hao xiang Baba" but Burl is definitely "gen xiang!"

Lo-lites:

• In a mad rage against god-knows-what, Ivo threw his milky cereal all over the table and knocked over a glass of water (at computer) and then screamed for at least an hour



• Much Burl attacking on Ivo's part



• In order to remove soup from Ivo's corncob, Papa "I'm-getting-a-cold" Ryan licked it clean

Little Bit o' Burl

Sweetest Baby in the world! Burl smiles, laughs, reaches for us, grabs and holds toys. I ask him "Where's Papa/Ivo?" and he looks around til he finds them. He LOVES Ivo - maybe more than he should!

Ivo Overheard

• "That true. That true, Mom."



• (while playing an online Caillou dinosaur-bone-excavation game) "Maybe dat the bone." I bet you're right. "I Ivo Lawrence."



• (usually after a tough/bad-mood time.) "I happy now."



• "Pink-a-Boo"



• "I will ___________." "I need__________." (Never I want______.)



• "Burl Lawrence, Papa Lawrence, Mama Lawrence."
  


• "I frustrated." /fwaus-to-waited/


• (arms up, skipping) "Woo-hoo!"


• "Kick-ass!"


• "Rock and Roll!" /wock and woll/



• "I kiss you a big kiss."



• (while waving) "I hi-ing you."



• "I not Dude."


• "I not Spider-Pig! Name: Mr. Incredible!"



• "You be happy?!" (Both scoldingly and encouragingly)



• "No, no like dat. No singing like dat."



• (to a whispering parent) "You talk louder?"



• (in the bath) "I moving the water. I living on the boat."



• (to Papa) " You shave the beard?" "You get the haircut?"



• (when asked if he wants a haircut) "Yep. I grow bigger. My hair orange."



• lots and lots of "I love you" "I need bao bao"



• (on being turned down for booby) "I will have booby? I no will have booby - just bao bao." (sometimes he can be overheard muttering this to himself, I guess to help the idea really sink in)



• (on trying to persuade us to take him the McD's) "I will go e-i-o. Have bathroom. Change my diaper. Eat ice cream."

He is growing so much and working so hard. Right now he is super into superman. He insists on wearing his cape and boots on any outing. Sometimes people in the neighborhood call him Superman - in English and Chinese. Usually Ivo likes this but sometimes, while in full get-up, he's being someone else (Gingerbread Man, lately...strange) and gets angry when people call him superman.

Recently Ivo's discovered how to spit. He's long imitated spitting in the post-tooth-brushing way - but nothing has ever come out. Now he's doing all sorts of lip contortions, producing lots of spit. It's cute but unpleasant. He is having an almost impossible time remembering not to spit at all of us, including Burl. Also Ivo's been a little more brazen and experimental in his attacks on Burl. We're keeping our cool about it (mostly). I don't wanna enumerate the ways right now - let's just say all limbs, heads and hand-held objects are at play.

Be Fruitful and Multiply

Sometimes I get hit with debilitating guilt and worry re Ivo and Burl. About the stinky crappy mean hot and dirty world ruled by greedy selfish incestuous oligarchs we live in and how my sweet boys are gonna have to live here - as the world gets worse and worse- long after I'm just a memory.


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I believe that Ivo and Burl will be in good shape to elbow their way to the topside of the sinking ship. They have good strong healthy bodies, clever creative minds, spirits poured in and overflowing with love wonder hope and happiness. I just can't stand to think of them in a world where water takes the place of oil as the oligarchs struggle to keep 90% of everything and pit the rest of us against each other to divvy up the rest. I hate that our good (us upper-lower-middle-class-types) is always already built on the backs of slaves. Not metaphorical slaves, not hyperbolic slaves. Real slaves chained into debt bondage, forced labor, sweatshop factories. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When I feel this way, a little overwhelmed by the power of 2, I remind myself that Ryan and I can/do take good care of our little guys, that we are among the luckiest people on the planet and we can prepare them to expect joy. We can shore them up to face challenges and hard work with confidence and optimism. I'm seriously thinking of downplaying compassion and empathy though, because how do you live in such a lopsided world where most people don't have health care, education, food, water...
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In some ways, the boys act like a finger in the dam for me - cuz I must be ok for them. I will be a good parent and I know that the most important stuff, attitude-orientation-wise, is modelled not taught... I just am a little shaky on how to get them to embrace this world that I'm just so-so about. And while I think my boys will continue to be wonderful human beings, I don't think they're gonna save the world or really improve the lives of anyone they don't actually meet.
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So it was with these thoughts swirling around that I became aware of the Duggar family who just welcomed their 17th kid. They don't plan to put an end to their purposeful procreation. According to an article that they link to on their website,

The girls – and their 39-year-old mother – don skirts or dresses (no pants) and
white socks. The boys – and their father – dress most days in the same colored
polo shirts and slacks or jeans, with black socks. The sameness of their attire
helps with laundry and organization.

The girls embrace a similar hairstyle, long and pulled back with a clip, flowing to near their waistlines. The boys' hair is closely cropped, often cemented into position with gel.

The girls do most of the cooking, though they've been taught to change a tire and check the oil. The boys are trained to fix the cars and make home repairs, though they cook occasionally – mostly on the grill.

Gross-me-out-dorito! - as my sister Chrissy (5th of 7 siblings) used to say. This family is Xian with a capital X. They ascribe to the Quiverfull branch of a movement which has come to be called natalism. They believe that practicing birth control breaks the "commandment" God gave Noah to be fruitful and multiply. They are civic-minded too, applying themselves to the redress of the industrial world's #1 problem, (white) "race-suicide" with an eye to forming their own conservative voting blocks.
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Plus this is a homeschooling family and neither parent attended college. Roll call!

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Look at this NYTimes article from 071204 and this article from the Nation from 271106. And this one from the 191005 edition SFGate is the most fun. Quiverfull gals have authored books titled, A Full Quiver: Family Planning and the Lordship of Christ and, my fav, The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality the author of which proclaims, "My body is not my own" and "Family planning is the mother of abortion." Good times!
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Well, I feel better now. Disgust and indignation always beat out my depressive tendencies. If only the answer were unchecked population growth!

Ivo Got Boots!

Ivo has been pretending to wear boots for months. Finally, he found some and, YES, he wore them to sleep! 080807

Burl and Ivo lunch on Tea Street 080807

Eel noodle soup!!!!

Ryan and Sandy's 3rd Anniversary!

Yay! Yep, I got the best one!

We got married on the day we already considered our (6th) anniversary - which is nice for not having to remember too may dates. It's also 8-8 "ba-ba" Day - Father's Day in Taiwan. Yay!

The just-leaving-the-island typhoon made very little impression on us here in Taichung... I guess it's better like that but less exciting!

Ducks in the Vacuum

I don't like the sound of the word fart. I've tried a couple other euphemisms; wind, toot... but they do not work. Toot sounds stoopid and wind sounds really old and wrong. I can't use gas either, it bothers me and at best, requires a verb. It sounds like a painful medical condition rather than a quick, normal event.

So everytime Ivo, ahem, passes gas, he says "I fart." When he burps he announces "I burp." I mentioned to Ryan that I'd like to find another word for fart.

I have been away from Ivo/Burl maybe 2 hours Burl's whole life (excluding the ER). Most of these 2 hours happened over the weekend when I got to visit Isabel and her shiny new baby Albert and (finally) got to see Alison's beautiful little Tessa. When I returned from Alison's house, Ivo came up to me and said, "I have a stinky duck in my bum!" Now, 2 days later, Ivo's keeping it up. Waving his hand in front of his nose he says "Dat duck, dat a stinky duck. Like Papa."

This bothers me cuz... well, for one thing, now people (you know who you are) are farting with abandon, loud and proud. Then they're narrating their efforts with long descriptions of these... ducks. DUCKS. Sometimes they talk it up before the duck arrives. We've gone from albeit daily - but occassional - use of the word fart by Ivo to steady dialoging on ducks by half the household...

Simpsons movie coming next week!

Speaking of movies, on Sunday Ivo, Burl, Ryan and I went to Mitsukoshi to see Ratatouille. It's a Brad Bird movie and since he did Incredibles and the Iron Giant plus so many Simpsons, we were sure we'd all enjoy it. This is Ivo's 2nd movie and Burl's first. Ivo's first (and Ryan and my last) movie was the most recent Star Wars film, we saw it in May 2005 when Ivo was about 5 months old - same as Burl now.

Burl watched with a serious face for about 20 minutes then slept with only one more period of movie-gazing. Ivo was great. We just had to hush him a little when he was assigning us new roles, "You the boy. I the mouse. I Remy. I have long tail. You have hat." Fun fun fun. After the movie we ran into Josie and her posse.