N.Lo does not love the Outsourcer. The first day, he made it through like a champ, whereas K.Lo cried because it was a new room with new teachers for the “summer camp” season. The second day, K.Lo was just fine, but it began to dawn on N.Lo that this drop-off business was going to be a regular thing, and he cried. A lot. He does okay if he has his blankie, and the teachers don’t mind that he has his blankie, but it’s still kind of painful for all. On Day 3, both N.Lo and K.Lo cried, and I left the building feeling like a measly Manager.

N.Lo is used to drop-off at Exercise Place and our church nursery – but he is always in the company of his coworker. It’s interesting to see just how dependent he’s become on his coworker… more in an endearing way than anything. But it will be good for him to stand on his own two feet. On Day 3, I was actually asked whether they should just push through the tears and keep him there (oh dear – is it that bad?) or call me to come get him. It’s a pain for all, but I advised to push through. Otherwise, he’ll learn if he cries enough, he doesn’t have to stay – as opposed to opening up to the experience and eventually having a good time like his sister.

On the way home from Day 3, I tried asking N.Lo about his teachers and his day to get him talking about it all, and he said, “Um. I want K.Lo to talk.” Huh! He knows he can hide behind her chattiness!

Now, of course, N.Lo is crying at Exercise Place dropoff, too. Sigh.

On to more positive news! Courtesy of the Regional Manager, N.Lo was provided with a new pack of undies and on Sunday, K.Lo suggested he wear them after his bath. He was all excited about the prospect, so we went with it, and had several successes in the Employee Rest Room. Go, N.Lo! After three accidents, however, we quit for the day. I think he was getting tired of the whole process, and I don’t want to push the issue, especially with the Outsourcer goings-on. We are not in a hurry.

Our company celebrated CEO’s Day yesterday – Yay for the CEO! He is the best ever, and we couldn’t dream of a better one to head up our company. We set up a new digital frame – replacing the one for his office that broke – loaded up with 2010 company photos, as well as cards the employees had made at the Outsourcer. And while he slept in, the rest of the company went to the grocery store to procure some important items, such as donuts, bacon (to go with bacon and eggs) and steak for dinner. We arrived home just in time for the CEO’s clock-out from the Night Shift, and the employees ran down the hall to see him. K.Lo said, “Happy Father’s Day, Daddy! I love you!” And N.Lo said, “Happy Father’s Day WE GOT YOU STEAK!” Yes, that was all one sentence. One highly awesome sentence.

The employees learned (somewhere…) to say “Girls rule and boys drool!” and the patently false vice versa. The coworkers compete, usually in the cafeteria, with their respective phrases, and N.Lo struggles to piece his together because he’s so anxious to get to the subsequent “YEAH!” and fist pump.

K.Lo still fawns over Bailey and calls her the favorite, because she’s cute and sweet and cuddly. Whereas Bender is grumpy and growls. But she still loves Bender a lot. Nicknames for each of the Canine Staff are “Bailey Brownie” and “Bender Batater.”

More employee files to come.

K.Lo wanted me to go down the slide as well, but I first insisted on taking a few pictures. Why? she asked. Because I love the afternoon light, it’s difficult to resist around my subjects. Here is our initial “Cheese.”

“Cheese…” Note N.Lo creeping up in the background.

“Cheese…!” N.Lo advances.

What are we up to? N.Lo moseys over. We’re saying, “Cheese!”

“CHEESE!”

Are you seriously still taking pictures? How many times can we say, “Cheese?”

One last time? “CHEESE!”

As K.Lo approaches Maximum Cheese Capacity, N.Lo begins to look a little done with the operation. Is K.Lo going to go down the slide already, or what?

Go on…

“Hey!”

“Don’t push me! “

“Noooo…!”

“Heh heh...” Very pleased with himself. I think it’s safe to say he won that battle. 

As previously mentioned, Fridays are not the best day around our office, for one reason or another. The day stretches on. The CEO is often otherwise engagedafter working at his other job—much deserved free time (Happy Hour, volleyball), but it does make my own day longer. Also, after a week of running around, I am often ready for a day of Down Time; while K.Lo, being K.Lo, is always ready for action and adventure. N.Lo, too, can get squirrelly.

Today hasn’t gone too badly. We filled up the morning with a successful trip to Costco, where the children behaved, tasty samples were eaten, and the purchase total wasn’t nearly what I imagined. Some minor disagreements have erupted in the office over use of office supplies, which is always trying. No major problems, though—until Afternoon Break.

N.Lo, in a fit of temper, threw his blankies outside the crib. I know, because instead of napping, he was screaming his face off for more than a few minutes. Also, I looked under the door. This same incident happened a couple of Friday’s ago, and the result was highly unpleasant. Obviously, what could I do then, but go in there and hand the poor kid his blankies? He can’t sleep without them. Of course, the sight of mommy leaving again stirred up a hornet’s nest of insult, and the cycle repeated, and ultimately, N.Lo missed his nap. No one was in a good mood after that.

I didn’t feel like going there again, one bit. So this time, I sent in K.Lo. I gave her instructions on what to do, and luckily, she was fully up to the mission. And this is why I love my employees and their current working relationship:

[Observed from around the corner]

K.Lo marches over to crib, picks up blankies. N.Lo has already stopped crying.

“Here you go, N.Lo.” More rustling as she hands him more items. Stuffed animals? Toys? Not sure.

N.Lo heaves a great big shuddering, sniffly sigh and says in the tiniest voice, “Thank you.”

K.Lo says, “Okay, now go to sleep. Night-night…” And she leaves, closing the door.

Silence from within as N.Lo falls asleep.

Problem solved! I could give her a great big hug for being such a good big sister (or my minion, depending on how you look at it). And in fact, I did.

K.Lo, of course, may have had little concept of what would really happen once we reached the Outsourcer this morning, the first day of a new school year, but she knew change was ahead. I hooked her in with the idea of a new cubbie, and then tacked on the concepts of new room and new teacher. She seemed fairly excited when we talked about it, but you never know. I found her new cubby, put up her things, and walked her in to her new classroom, where the teachers already knew her name. Thank heaven. Miss Jenny and Miss Lisa had visited the 2-year-old summer camp classroom the week before, and so were familiar with Miss Bug. They complimented her twirly dress and invited her to play at the tables, which was already a big difference from the younger room, where there is free play on the floor as the day’s first activity. I hugged and kissed her good-bye, and that was about it! So proud of the little one.

At pickup, I found her with the other 3-year-olds on the big-kid playground, looking perhaps a little forlorn, but she was all smiles once she spied me and N.Lo. She dragged us around to the different equipment for a few minutes, and then on the way to the car, we walked through the building again, where K.Lo insisted on showing off her classroom again. No arguments there! N.Lo actually provided the greater challenge in prying him away from the slide set up in the corner. Maybe he is ready for the Outsourcer, too? Next year, little one. For now, let’s absorb K.Lo as the seasoned preschooler. Amazing!

I do wonder how long it will be before it sinks in that she’s not going back to her old room, with her old teachers, whom she did love very much. On the way home, she told me all about her day, the picture she drew, the waffle blocks she played with, some of the other kids’ names (some new, some familiar), and the sandwich she ate. Then, as we pulled into the driveway, she thrashed and screamed about not wanting to get out of her seat, and gave her brother a slap.

It can’t all be magic.

As we approach the office in the company car, it is K.Lo’s habit to say, “We’re…home!” as we turn the corner. N.Lo has picked up the same habit over time. Today on the way home from the Outsourcer, N.Lo began announcing, “Home” way, way too early. At least according to K.Lo.

N.Lo: Home!

K.Lo: No, N.Lo. Not yet.

N.Lo: Home!

K.Lo: No, N.Lo, we’re not home yet. Stop saying that.

N.Lo: Hoooooome!

K.Lo: N.Lo, I don’t want to hear it. We’re not home yet. Stop saying that!

N.Lo: Hooooome!

And so it went, K.Lo vexed, and N.Lo clearly enjoying himself. I especially love, “I don’t want to hear it,” having *no* idea where she might have heard the  phrase.

Their back-and-forth conversation sometimes strikes me as so… old.

K.Lo: Look, N.Lo, I’ve got money in my hands. A quarter, a penny…

N.Lo: Whoa. Cool.

Speaking of money, K.Lo likes to ask for some, a lot. She mainly likes change, which she then asks to put away in her duckie bank. Quarters are the most prized, though she couldn’t possibly know they’re worth the most… could she? Intuition? She’s well aware that money can be found in select jars around the office, in the Manager’s hand after a trip to the bank, and occasionally in the Manager’s purse. I think she is practicing to be a teenager.

Speaking of teenager training, K.Lo (as you may have guessed) can be a bit dramatic at times. Often in the middle of a scene, when K.Lo is either screaming, crying, rolling around, and/or slamming doors, N.Lo will appear very curious and say, “K.Lo?” As in, “What’s she doing?” We don’t know, N.Lo, we don’t know.

We continue to get our money’s worth at the Outsourcer. In addition to random song selections performed throughout the day, such as, “I’m squishing up my baby bumblebee,” and the one about “bright, smiling faces,” K.Lo knows about deep breaths. Recently, in the midst of an office conflict, I said abruptly, “K.Lo. Take a deep breath.” And she did. She narrated it as well, saying “In through your nose…” and raised her arms over her head. Score one for preschool.

N.Lo, having the best language teacher available on premises, has picked up the “Why?” bug, as well as the jumbled together, but still-there question, “What are you doing?” The latter especially is funny to hear from such a small employee. Also, he will shoo the Canine Staff along, saying, “Bender! Bailey! Move!” Or simply, “Hey!”

Lastly, the favorite K.Lo-ism today: Froot Loops were referred to as “candy Cheerios.” Indeed, K.Lo, indeed.

I’ve been noticing lately that N.Lo and K.Lo are not actually that far off in height. Will outside observers soon suspect they are twins? I tried to capture the discrepancy this afternoon with mixed success. K.Lo was too busy eating a fake popsicle to comply with requests to stand up straight and smile, but I think I managed to capture the basic idea…

• In the backseat of the car, N.Lo sings along with songs I don’t expect him to: mainly noises rather than words, i.e. “Nah nah nah” along with Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al,” and similar, but it’s still very cute and catches me off guard. He also drums on his legs in imitation of the Manager. He continues to be arrested by music, whenever it is on.
• I really wish I could be a fly on the wall at preschool sometimes, or Summer Camp, as it’s called now. K.Lo has a few new teachers, and the structure is different, a lot looser than during the school year. One of the new teachers is sweet as she can be, and comforts K.Lo when she’s feeling clingy or upset… but I don’t know why exactly she’s been clingy or upset. Maybe the small changes in routine, which will settle out just in time for the new school year? (Sigh.) Or is it the power of suggestion. Obviously, we teach our kids how to express their feelings in words, i.e. “I feel sad,” but sometimes I feel like K.Lo gets over whatever it is a lot more quickly if the idea isn’t dwelled upon by whoever’s in charge. Does that make sense?
• K.Lo’s teacher for next year (not the aforementioned) did talk to her a bit today about being her teacher in August, and K.Lo being in a new room, and showing her that room on our way out today. Grateful for that, even if the concept doesn’t sink in until later.
• We don’t really do an official Time Out in our company for ECC violations. We do send K.Lo to her room if she can’t calm down, and revoke privileges or office supplies in accordance with the crime. They use Time Out at the Outsourcer, however, and today K.Lo sent N.Lo to Time Out for stealing her Cinderella cupcakes. And then again for knocking her magnet creation off the fridge. (He is notorious for this sort of destruction.) She told him to go sit on the couch and “No, no, don’t go anywhere! Get back on the couch and sit there!” Hilarious.
• N.Lo and K.Lo are becoming partners in crime, chasing each other all over the office and plotting to ask Management for this and that when planning their next stunt. You might guess who is in charge of this operation. One very amusing thing I like to watch is K.Lo helping N.Lo up over the side of the living room chair, which they like to climb and then slide down. When N.Lo is at the top, almost over the side, he looks more than a little like Pooh Bear, trying to get that honey out of the cave…

Watching the coworker relationship unfold is at least as interesting as individual employee development.

• They are starting to wrestle. Full-on, rolling around on the floor, tackling each other wrestling matches. So far it is all giggles and fun, and I think K.Lo is just more shocked, than anything, that N.Lo even tries to take her down. Management will continue to referee these matches to ensure employee safety, as well as observance of respectfulness in the workplace.
• N.Lo mimics his coworker in both words and actions, as well as gibberish. He is an Equal Opportunity Emulator. My favorite scenes involve silly-shouting, which is a big stress reliever for the whole office. Until it gets too loud.
• K.Lo also tolerates N.Lo giving her a little push, literally. Whether on the tricycle, at the top of the slide, or down the driveway on the way to a walk, N.Lo will stand behind K.Lo, place a hand on her back, and attempt to propel her forward. Exerting his will onto the world, as I suppose we all attempt to do…

It is hard to imagine one without the other, at this point in their careers!

• This picture just makes me laugh. I brought out the camera because his hair has been all curly and flyaway for the past two days, and I love it. But all the pictures came out blurry, and in this one, the expression is not exactly what I was going for.
• He is getting a little moody, that one. Growing pains. Fast approaching Twoville.
• He likes Alone Time in the morning. He wakes up and babbles and tosses stuffed animals from the crib, and sometimes ends up going back to sleep, so I just let him go and see what happens. Unless we are due to drop off K.Lo at the Outsourcer, in which case I have to wake him up/interrupt the Alone Time. He typically does not take this very well. I completely understand.
• I worry about leaving him alone for too long, however, as yesterday he experienced his first-ever fall from the crib. It was a flip, actually, and I was unfortunately right there to witness it, but not soften the fall. If only I had the lightning quick reflexes of a superhero, and/or an additional set of arms.
• He also fell down the set of three brick steps leading to our “downstairs” last week, and landed mostly on his ear, which bruised purple and red. This occurred during Un-Happy Hour, which is promptly before dinner. I went downstairs to change out the laundry, and he followed, all upset at being left with the CEO. Didn’t even look, stepped off, and toppled down the stairs. It could have been worse, but lately I’m paranoid about the more serious head injuries. I’ll be keeping him off the Canadian ski slopes.
• We think he might have seasonal allergies, which are just a pain no matter what age you are. Thanks, pollen.
• He repeats words overheard from K.Lo’s desk, words which K.Lo has only learned the true concept of recently, such as “shadow.” He also attempts to capture intonation, which is entertaining when the word is “No.” There are so many different ways to say that one.
• Also mimics K.Lo when she “races,” which is a game she likes to play. We say, “1, 2, 3, set go!” and she runs from her place to maybe 5 or 10 feet ahead. He goes right along with her.
• And he’s tired of the baby swing, mostly. However, doesn’t really have the full hang of the big swing yet… has to learn to keep his hands on the chains and not let go.
• When thirsty, he likes to open the drawer where I recently moved all the sippy cups and hand me a cup and a lid. Sometimes they match. He says “drink” instead of “juice.”
• He packs a purse of K.Lo’s with random toys and says, “Bye-bye.”
• He loves shoes. Mine, his, doesn’t matter. I think he likes the sound on the floor as he tromps around.
• He loves, loves being outside. Sometimes it is the only thing that calms him down. He especially loves playing the sandbox, which I sometimes wish was a sand table, to avoid the issue of sand all over the bed.
• He is comparatively more distractible than his coworker, taking direction at times when he is fussy and I’d like him to go play rather than climbing all over me and whining. I’m mean, I know. So I suggest a project, and he sometimes takes me up on it, rather than persisting in his complaints.
• He is learning to exert his will upon the world, or tries. If he wants to climb a chair that I’m sitting in, he will pull on my hand and grunt to try and get me to move. Also, I’m told that this past weekend, at the Regional Manager’s Office, he proceeded to push a certain coworker who didn’t want to go for a walk all the way down the driveway…

Who, me?

You decide. I did trim quite a bit of hair from that cute little head, but other than a slight Dennis the Menace vibe on the top right side, it doesn’t look too different in pictures. In person, though, I promise that the back is much less scruffy than it was, and I eliminated some extra long pieces in there leftover from past equally unskilled trims.

Here was the hair on Saturday:

Post-cut this morning, after a nice wash and dry last night: 

Of course, do I have a comparison photo of the back, specifically? I do not.

N.Lo did show off his new ‘do this morning to the CEO, pulling at his hair and chattering on all about it. He also presses his hands over his shirt as if to say, “Look at me, I’m wearing… stripes!” and tries on the Manager’s shoes, tripping through the house in flats. I have no idea where he might have learned such behavior; he clearly doesn’t look up to his coworker one bit! 

The Executive Assistant is always at the ready, listening to your conversation and attempting to meet your needs. N.Lo, now that he is walking and picking up language right and left, is proving himself to be most helpful. If K.Lo says something like, “I want a blanket!” The Manager will ignore this impolite way of asking, but N.Lo will deliver, leaving the room and locating his blankie to bring back and share. Another day, K.Lo was going on about wanting to wear a dress to to Outsourcer, and N.Lo disappeared for a little while, eventually tottering back out with K.Lo’s cheerleader skirt and handing it to his coworker. K.Lo appears shocked, and then amused, that her baby brother is helping her out.

N.Lo is moving up the ranks in other surprising ways as well. It wasn’t until my arms were full on the way to the company car yesterday that I told N.Lo to walk to the car by himself. Just to see what would happen. Sure enough, he charged ahead over to the car, around to the passenger side, and climbed right up into the car seat, unasked. Very proud of himself he was, and me too. Who knew! I could have been going hands-free this whole time… Conversely, it’s a little strange (bittersweet?) to begin saying good-bye to the end of such a long era, of juggling babies in my arms.

Before I began running the video, K.Lo was actually shrieking, “Close the door!” By this point, it was hard to tell whether she was still mad, or laughing right along with her tormenter coworker.

Yesterday was a bad day for N.Lo. Our company received an unwanted Christmas gift in the form of a lingering cold, and at the moment, N.Lo is in the thick of it. I’m pretty sure yesterday was the “my ears won’t stop pounding” portion of the show, and as a result, N.Lo slept a lot, ate very little, and cried and cried and cried. Not a productive work day overall. And hopefully, though occurring on New Year’s Day, not foreshadowing company events for the year to come.

If there’s any foreshadowing involved with the New Year, I’ll take today. This morning, after sleeping 13+ hours straight, N.Lo woke up all smiles. K.Lo ran into his bedroom, climbed up on his crib and said, “Hi!” N.Lo pulled himself up, leaned in, and gave K.Lo a kiss and a hug. For real! And both employees got such a big kick out of this new “skill.” It was beyond cute, and a terrific way to start off the work day. 

1. On the way home from our recent trip, N.Lo fell sound asleep, and K.Lo, whose TV was (temporarily? we hope? it’s so handy for long trips) broken, sang to herself pretty much the whole way. She wanted an audience, however, specifically in the form of a little brother. While beating on patting his head, she changed the song around:

N.Lo is asleep!

N.Lo is asleep!

Wake up, N.Lo!

N.Lo is a sleepy boy!

Etc.

The singing continued until we passed through Pig Country, which as you may know, doesn’t smell too great. K.Lo, ever the Observer, ended her song and announced, “N.Lo has a BIG stinky.” I nearly drove off the road.

2. Since our return, K.Lo has been pushing Management’s buttons. Her work performance overall remains high, but her highest highs are matched with the lowest of lows. In response, I tend to give several chances for redemption with the Most Patient Voice Ever, until she ignores me so many times; I then snap and become Scary Manager Who Takes No Crap. The CEO is more prone to banish the employee to her bedroom, which is an equally effective measure—and easier pull off when managing as a team. For instance, I can sit at the dinner table with N.Lo while the CEO corrals the defiant, wild-eyed K.Lo back into her room, should she come back out before ready to behave nicely.

While I’m not a fan of the escalated tension these situations present, I secretly love watching N.Lo watch the action. K.Lo is completely unaware of his interest, but he watches it all unfold like a ping-pong match. Where is Daddy going? Here comes K.Lo again, still mid-fit. Look at her shout. Back to her room. Daddy sits down again. And so forth. N.Lo’s expression remains fairly unfazed the entire time; he’s up on the action, but continues to shovel food in his mouth throughout the event. It’s difficult not to laugh.

In over two and a half years of working for this company, I have not once gotten to take a nap while under the Boss Lady’s supervision. Not even during the lengthy hiring process for N.Lo. Today, while I was out running errands for our company, my coworker took a nap with K.Lo wide awake. N.Lo was sleeping. K.Lo entertained herself in her cubicle. My coworker slept soundly for a good half an hour.

Apparently, I missed something in the Employee Handbook.

As previously noted, N.Lo has an established history of grabbing and grasping with those sweet little hands. This work habit translates to the following results for our staff:

• The Manager has lost hair straight from her head, and fears it will come out in a big patch one day. N.Lo likes to grab a big fistful and pull the weight of his 25-lb body up as though the hair handful is a rope. Which clearly, it is not.
• The Manager has cried from the pull, pinch, and twist move also employed by N.Lo to pull up from the ground.
• The CEO has cussed up a storm when it’s his leg or chest hair being used for leverage.
• The Manager is literally kept on a short leash when the boy-hire grabs her pants and attaches himself, leech-like, to her legs. This action mainly occurs when The Manager very much needs her legs to perform such tasks as assisting the Kitchen Staff.
• N.Lo has absolutely foiled The Manager’s bookshelf strategy, which involved super-packing books into the lower shelves to deter new-hires from pulling them all down. N.Lo is able to target, grasp and grab at one key book until it surrenders, and the rest are soon to follow.
• K.Lo, too, has her hair pulled in giant fistfuls; however, it makes her laugh, and laugh, and laugh. Which in turn makes N.Lo laugh, and laugh, and laugh. Clearly, one of our staff has the right idea!

Every office has a popular spot where the employees like to gather. In our spring and summer months, N.Lo and K.Lo were both quite happy outdoors. Now that the weather is getting colder, there’s a new Hot Spot at the Lo.Co. K.Lo’s bedroom seems to provide hours of entertainment, with a shelf full of training manuals, a selection of videos (the TV having been reinstated a few months ago), and a wide, wide selection of toys. Special appeal for N.Lo comes in the form of K.Lo’s bed, which of course provides the perfect climbing challenge. K.Lo is most happy cooking up lemon soup and coffee with salt in her kitchen, and serving it to the staff. I imagine the great amount of sunlight in this room has something to do with the appeal, and I’d also like to think the decoration job, furnished by The Manager once upon a time, provides a welcoming atmosphere. Whatever the reason, K.Lo’s cubicle is clearly the place to be.

Lately, K.Lo is mesmerized by a show on Noggin called “Max & Ruby.” It’s about two bunnies, and frankly, it seemed a little boring to me at first, but there was a Halloween special available On Demand, and K.Lo seemed into it, so why not. After awhile, it hit me why she likes it so much. Max and Ruby are brother and sister bunnies. Ruby is the older sister who does most of the talking, the bossy—er, doting—one who tends to Max with a very specific idea of what he should be doing. Max, while quiet, is the mischievous one, and has big ideas of his own.

Max & Ruby pretty much are N.Lo & K.Lo. I love it, and love that K.Lo sees it, too.

“You have a birthday coming up soon, N.Lo. Yes, you do.

And look, there’s the flowers, and the trees, and the sky…”

The Working Relationship