Kingpin and Mohawks

There is something decidedly Bill Murray about Simon's expressions. Not sure what it is, but I can't get the image of Bill Murray's comb-over from the movie Kingpin out of my head sometimes when Simon makes certain faces. It is so not flattering to say that, and he is a very cute baby. It's just that he is a cute baby in a Bill Murray sort of way. His eyebrows are very expressive and his hair is thin and starting to tuft over the ears. He has taken his first baby crawl steps--he doesn't get far by crawling, in fact he usually goes backwards, but he can get around pretty well by scooting, turning, lurching and reaching. His precise pincher grip usually gets him whatever he sets his mind to, and like Jonah, he is a big baby--95th percentile for height and about 80th percentile for weight. If you leave a room with him that he wasn't done with, he cries. Like the laundry room. He could stare for hours at the spinning machines. He also is not crazy for diapers--lately when I lay him down he cries and kicks so hard you would think I was hurting him. He still thinks his siblings are funny. He has warmed up more to Maya and grown suspicious of Jonah. Maybe due to the one-sided light saber fights and being knocked down one too many times? He also likes eating, especially really messy, squishy things. You should see what he can do to say one cookie. It is like he emulsifies it and uses it to fingerpaint the table. He loves grapes and cherry tomatoes, but mostly he likes fresh ones. Once he has bitten into it and squeezed all the juice out he loses interest. He feeds the dog with enthusiasm.
As for the other two--they are going through funny stages. Maya, normally the most agreeable, easygoing and pleasant to be around is sort of in a Question Authority phase. She has too many of her own ideas to jump at one of mine with obedience, especially when my ideas include things like brushing teeth, cleaning up or doing schoolwork. Jonah, if given a list or explicit instructions acts like a desperate-to-please servant. He actually says things like "Is there anything ELSE I can do to be helpful?" The two of them are pretty hot and cold on each other--some days they can play together for hours, and others they are bickering from the moment they wake up. Yeah, I've read Siblings Without Rivalry, and it is helpful. I think it all stems from Maya's desire for solitude, and time for her projects, while Jonah wants constant playmates for running around and raucous playtime. Hopefully when we land in a bigger place them having more space will help matters.
Speaking of bigger places, well, we aren't all that closer to making a decision. We keep making a decision then we get totally de-railed and and we are starting over again. Can't even talk about it right now except to say that my eyes are going blurry from looking at apartment ads, and the neural pathways that point toward the decision making process are worn out from overuse.
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New York is inching toward spring. We had a glorious day last week where we took off our coats in Central Park after a field trip and soaked up the rays on our faces...the birds were out, the snow was melted and it was wonderful. I haven't been wearing a hat the past few days, but it is still pretty chilly. But you can feel that winter is losing it's grip...
It is Fashion Week. Today we walked by the big tents at Bryant Park on our way to the library. Crowds of photographers were swarming around the doors, and we would have waited a bit to see if anything interesting happened, but I was about to pee my pants, so we moved on. There were foxy models with mohawks of all shapes and colors doing a promotion for Diesel Jeans--someone traced their shadows onto the sidewalk and they looked like cartoon characters. It would have been right up your alley, m.b.