Look, Mom, no pants!

The last couple of days, we've been experimenting with letting Alina run around the house with no pants on. The theory is that when she needs to use the potty chair, she can do so with no pesky clothes or diapers to require adult assistance. So far, we haven't had any accidents. She has not actually gone and sat on the potty chair without someone having suggested the idea, though, so I'm not sure it's been a complete success. When Thomas's parents came over this afternoon and saw the situation, I think they were somewhat shocked.

Cute Hat

Happy Easter?

We have an Easter tree in our living room. It's actually some branches that my mother-in-law collected on a walk with Alina, decorated with little wooden bunnies and eggs, with some little nests and fake little chicks around the base of the vase they're in. It's very cute, although it's been there about a week and the leaves are starting to fall on the floor. I guess this is a German tradition that she picked up when they lived in Germany when Thomas was little.

In looking at this little arrangement last week, I became aware that it bothered me, but I wasn't quite sure why. Then, two things came to mind. I've heard my dad say, "The world that doesn't know Jesus has no problem celebrating Christmas. Anyone can rejoice at the birth of a baby, but they have a harder time with Easter. I mean, you don't normally celebrate someone's death, and if you don't believe in the resurrection, then there's nothing to celebrate." That and the fact that I think my parents purposely kept our family celebration of Easter centered on church activites and relatively egg-and-bunny free.

I'm not from a liturgical background. But it's true that liturgical churches celebrate Lent before Easter. The purpose of that is to prepare for a true remembrance of the sufferings of Christ. Lent and the memory of the suffering necessarily precedes the joy of the remembrance of the resurrection. Somehow, these little bunnies and eggs hanging in my living room the week before Easter seemed almost to be saying, "Hey, let's skip the suffering part, and go straight to the celebration of life." That made me think about how, as Christians, we believe that there is no life without the suffering of Christ and that Easter without Good Friday is nonsensical. It's true that for someone who doesn't believe Jesus was God, his death is meaningless, and Easter goes back to its pagan roots. It becomes just a celebration of springtime and the cycle of the seasons. But for me, it's more than that. Eggs and baby bunnies as symbols of new life can be appropriate at Easter. As long as we have remembered that death necessarily precedes resurrection.

I think next year, we'll save the bunnies and eggs for Easter morning.

Flowers

It's just about springtime, and with all the rain we've had here, we have lots of flowers blooming. Alina loves flowers. She makes cute little excited noises when she sees them. She always likes to smell, touch, and, of course, pick them. The funny part is that what interests her is, of course, the blossom. So, that's what she picks. She wraps her little fingers around the blossom and pulls it off of the stem, usually crushing it in her palm in the process. Then, she'll open her hand out to you, all the while saying, "Yeah, yeah?" (I'm not sure yet that she actually associates a meaning with this syllable she says, but that's definitely the sound she's making.)

If we're on a walk, she often will end up with a whole handful of crushed blossoms: dandelions, little wild pansies, tiny little daisy-like flowers that grow here. And, then I'll find them in random places around the house later. We're trying to work on the fact that there are things that are "not ours" and therefore off-limits, like other people's flowers. And their cars. And their yards. And their dogs.

We're working on it, but we're not there yet.

Almost Famous

Hey, guys, I'm famous! Well, almost. The salon orchestra I played with in Paris has produced a CD, and I'm on it! Well, I'm on one piece. If you care for more information, click here.

A First

I just wanted to document Alina's first skinned knee. (I know, I know, here I am putting nudie pictures of my daughter on the internet. But, the thing is, we take our potty training SERIOUSLY around here...)

She walked in the yard with her Daddy today, on the streets in town with her Mommy, and on the street to the playground with Grandma and Grandpa Constantini. We're not sure where she got it. It must not've hurt very much, and there was really no blood. I'm sure we'll get much more spectacular skinned knees later, but this is a modest beginning.

And, for your viewing pleasure:

For Alina

I have 3 requests, if anyone has the time and interest to respond to any of these things. This could make an interesting series of comments if anyone does!

1. I'm on the lookout right now for fun, easy, cheap activities to do with toddlers. For those of you who have or have had toddlers, do you have any ideas?

2. I'm also looking for healthy, yummy snacks to fill a nice little toddler appetite. Any ideas?

3. If Alina is anything like either of her parents, she's probably going to love books. She's actually off to a great start in that area. We'd really like for her to read and be read to in English as well as French, and the English section of our local library is very small, as you might imagine. If you happen to be in a thrift store or somewhere with extra-cheap books, and to see a book that you think to yourself, "Every little kid should read this book," please get it. If you have someone in your immediate family to give it to, pass it on to them. If not, Alina would love to have it. Anything from books she will be enjoying soon ("Make way for Ducklings," Dr. Seuss, etc.) to books that could be read to her in a couple of years ("Little House on the Prairie", "Alice in Wonderland," etc.). We thank you very much!