Mommy's Blog

Flirt

2012-02-18T19:49:00.000-08:00

We spent the evening at the mall with Melinda and her girls tonight. And Jack and Naomi spent a good deal of that time sitting together like this.

Yes, they are in front of a fire.

It was almost too cute to handle.

After this they spent a lot of time running in circles after each other and giggling.

Who knew the flirtation would start so soon...

It's been a fine week all told, recovering from the Valentine's festivities on Sunday. Ivy was ill on Tuesday but is back to her usual ornery self by yesterday. She has been talking more and more, parroting things we say (like, Wait up! after hearing Jack yell it across the library parking lot this evening).

Jack has been loving Valentine's day with its influx of presents, glitter, and candy. He has been sweet as can be recently, increasingly helpful to his sister (tonight he helped her take off her boots) and full of compliments and kind words. He's lovely.

Here are some pictures from preschool this week. Jack shared that the highlight of Nat's parent helper day, was pretending to a be a superhero with Sophie and defeating the Daddy-monster. Nat is quite popular among the preschool set. :)

Its a three day weekend and oh am I happy for that. You may get two posts in a row, imagine that!

The babies...

2012-02-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

...they're all grown up...

At the playground at St. Paul's, during our "springtime in February":

On a trip to the Natural History Museum, where the kids reportedly participated in some sort of craft. I just think Ivy looks like she's at a job interview here...

Playing "Laundry," one of their favorite games.

The little "reader":

At the Parent Center:

At play:

And of course, in the tub:

Jack's a champ at getting his face wet these days. We've also been going swimming once a week and he's all about jumping in and blowing bubbles and he's practically fearless. See? All grown up.

We've just had a most delightful Second Sunday Soup, and we've just finished clearing up the first round of dishes and glitter-from-Valentine-craziness.... post and pictures of tonight's event coming soon... for now, off to bed!

Springtime dancers...

2012-02-07T19:18:00.000-08:00

A little video for you.

Happy Tuesday.

Springtime in February

2012-02-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

Looking at my last post, that wintry view of our backyard.... this evening we were outside in our light jackets, playing tag in the grass and swinging and racing down the slide.

It's springtime in February and we are soaking it up.

I've had this lovely, wholesome evening with my children that I just need to share with you all. Our activity for the night? Going to the carwash, where Jack and Ivy helped to vacuum out the van by running around inside of it. Then we took it through the automatic wash and it was hilarious to watch Ivy's face change from apprehension to awe to delight as she got used to the onslaught of water and foam. Jack helpfully pointed out to her exactly when the water would hit her window, insisting that she "LOOK! LOOK!" each time. It was a noisy time in our car, for sure.

When we got home it was just too darn lovely out to stay in the house, even for a minute. We tromped right through and spent some time in our backyard. The dog ran and jumped and generally obstructed our games of hide-and-seek and tag, and Ivy wanted to swing instead of playing so I had to keep running back to push her some more....it was delightful.

Inside for supper and the kids wanted to stay in the kitchen while I cooked. So out came paper, markers, glue, and little bowls of random small items. The two of them sat and crafted while I made dinner. I actually had to pull them away from their coloring to get them to the table...where both of them actually ate.

I felt good about tonight, like it was a nice, well-rounded evening. I also managed to get both kiddos tucked in by 8:30, which also helps. I did not, however, take any pictures. So here are a few from Sunday instead.

The kids and I went swimming in the morning, which may just be a new weekend tradition, it is such fun. On the way home we enjoyed another stunning, spring-like day with some dancing in a garden bed at Eton place.

They are two of the funniest people I know.

Jack went to a Planetarium show on Saturday, "Cosmic Collisions", and now enjoys talking about the earth's electrical field, solar flares, and what happens when two space rocks "klurnk" into each other.

Ivy adds new words to her lexicon by the moment. Recent additions include: Cookie, tights, dots, puppy, nice, cute, moshe (more, of course), wet, owie, lap, nap (as in,"doggie nap!")... I could go on! She is stringing words together more and more. Today she happily said "Goodnight poop!!" as we disposed of a diaper. She is a true comedian and the sunniest of little girls, too, just the happiest thing, almost all of the time.

That is, unless she is screeching at the dog for licking her. Or at her brother for taking a toy.....

Tonight I read to both kids up in Jack's room in an effort to get our worn-out little boy to bed a bit earlier. It worked out fine but I did regret the decision several times as I tried to read a book to my snuggly boy while live-wire-the-sister got into stuff around the room and demanded my attention in any way she could manage. But it was all worth it when I tucked Jack in and he excitedly called Ivy over to snuggle in for a good night cuddle, too. And he just wrapped his arms around her and seemed so happy to have his sister in there, saying goodnight to him. It was perfect. Until Ivy started flailing and screeching and I had to extricate her from the bed. Jack didn't get his nice, long mommy-snuggle... but that didn't keep him from going to bed perfectly, about an hour earlier than normal. So we may be trying this bedtime arrangement again sometime...

Untitled

2012-01-29T20:06:00.000-08:00

I have been waiting for inspiration to strike, for some grand event or momentous milestone to spur me towards a wonderful post about the darlings...

But it has been another quiet weekend, full of comfortable routine and card games and dustings of snow.

Nat taught Jack to play poker this week, complete with betting (you put a chip in if you think you'll win). The boy is obsessed. He is thoughtful and focused on the task, carefully checking that he has 5 cards, carefully deciding if he wants one, two or three new cards, exclaiming with joy when he gets a pair. "Oh, that's JUST the card I wanted!" "I have a REAWWY high pair!"

He has a ways to go with his poker face.

He loves the game and for the most part is a terrific sport, though if we take a chip from him in a bet more than two times in a game, the tears come hot and fierce. "IIII wanted to win! I want to get a chip from YOU!" Eyes ablaze and brimming with tears, face red, hands busy gathering the cards to play another round. I have to smile at him, just a little, before composing my face into serene empathy for his emotions. My little sensitive soul, that one.

The girl? She is more of a comedian every day. Tonight at bedtime was was cracking herself up. Seriously. We could hardly get through her bedtime routine because at every turn she was working herself into belly laughing hysterics, thrilled with her own jokes. Her favorite goes back to the "What does little birdie say" incident. Now she thinks its a big joke to present ANY animal as making a loud, high-pitched, kind of horrid squawking sound. She did this on every page of the Zoo Babies book tonight. Except by the end it was a loud, high-pitched, half-squawking-half-laughing sound because she couldn't handle how great her joke was. She lost it again when she couldn't keep a grip on her jammies zipper (she likes to zip herself up these days), and then again when she pulled her chin down into the neck of the jammies and "hid there".
Her eyes just dance and her laugh is irresistable and she is going to be able to get away with murder, this one.

She's talking more and more these days, too. We are starting to hear phrases strung together. "Mommy-- oh-ee dis!" ("open this" for those not fluent in Ivy-ese) or "me, up, bounce!" She loves dancing, being naked, jumping and sliding, and playing with her little porcelain tea set.

I love her.

This morning we had a little time before heading to a play-date/ clothing swap meet-up at a friend's house. (I love our friends, have I mentioned this before??) and I found myself with two snuggly creatures who were happy to share time reading a book.

Moments like this, I feel like I might be doing all right at this Mommy thing.

Happy Sunday, all--

With love,

Amanda

Winter Quiet

2012-01-23T19:42:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the quiet here on the babies' blog. There are times in life when keeping up with two blogs is, apparently, one blog too many.

To my credit, though-- it's been quiet in real life, too. A soft, settled sort of quiet that comes from two weekends with no big events and the resuming of our full back-to-school routine in between.

The kind of quiet that comes from two kids who are suddenly, somehow, acting like brother and sister.

They play together.

They eat together.

Jack pulls Ivy down off of high places.

Ivy kisses Jack's boo-boos.

They love each other.

They are paragons of virtue these days, really. Or maybe that's just the 2 good nights of sleep in a row talking.

Really though-- can you beat this for cute?

They play by themselves! They sit and look at books! I am beginning to see glimmers of a time when they get up and get themselves breakfast on Saturday mornings....

I am really, really looking forward to those future Saturday mornings.

In the meantime, though-- Saturday mornings are for playing Go Fish.

Or Go Shark, or Go Squid, or Go Octopus as the case may be, thanks to Nat's introduction of "Word of the Day." Jack's been on a sea-life kick and so this week we've been watching videos of reef-squid laying eggs, making flashcards, finding the letter S, drawing lots of tentacles, and chanting things like, "S-H-A-R-K, woooo! Go shark!"

Our house is fun.

Not to be outdone, Ivy can identify the letter "i" in multiple settings and can count to two, thank you very much. She continues to add to her lexicon daily and we are astounded by the depth of her communication considering she still speaks primarily in single words.

For instance, "one" (or one-nuh, as she pronounces it) can mean one as in I want one of those, or it can mean "I want to count now!" or it can mean "There's another one of those right there!" She loves pointing out "another one".

"Go" can mean "I want to get going now" or it can be short for "There you go" when it is paired with one of our names and the insistent presentation of some object, very close to our faces. " 'go, Mommy!" as she hands me a dishtowel. " 'go, Dack!" as she brings him a cookie (which she grabbed for herself off the kitchen counter no less).

She's intensely independent and intensely loving and intensely cute.

The above pictures were taken at a recent birthday party for lovely friend Sibel, at The Little Gym. I have to say I am a fan of the place and would seriously think about enrolling both of my little monkeys in gymnastics there if I were, in fact, made of money.

Sadly, I am not, so the occasional birthday party will have to suffice.

Love to all!

Snow babies, take two

2012-01-14T19:16:00.000-08:00

A stunning, powdery snow has settled over the Heights, along with a wintry chill to the air. When the temperatures drop below 20 degrees, what do we do??

Take our children sledding, of course.

We met friends Greg and Scott at Coventry Park at 10am and we had the hill to ourselves for at least a half hour. The kids we rock stars, flying down the hill, rosy cheeked and happy and not a complaint about the cold. We kept warm dragging their little selves back up the hill; the snow was powdery and glittery and very, very slippery.

We celebrated the morning with a walk to Phoenix for hot cocoa, where the picturesque, nigh-Rockwellian perfection of our little group-- sipping warm drinks, clad in snow bibs, by the fire-- was marred only by the fact that our son (recuperating from his first ear infection, poor boy) suddenly hit the wall of exhaustion and became so droopy that Nat went and got the van to pick us up.

A lot of Max and Ruby has been watched today, and between that and an evening trip to Chic-Fil-A (complete with ice cream, of course), he has perked back up considerably.

In other news:

Soup Supper

I believe I waxed poetic on the glories of our January Second Sunday Soup over on my Thirty Days blog... it was a lovely night, quite relaxed despite the fact that we had 7 littles dashing about the house. Babies playing on the living room carpet, preschool set joyfully dumping bins of toys in the playrooms, lots of markers strewn on the floor. Loveliness.

Here are a few pictures.

Sweet sibling moments.

They do happen. Interspersed between the screaming toddler and the boy yelling "No, Ivy!" and the grabbing of toys and kicking each other's chairs and....there are moments like this.

They are beautiful. The children, and the moments.

Thanks for the kitchen, Grandpa and Vovo! Jack said with joy, "It EVEN has a refrigerator!"

Card Games.

The obsession with War continues, and yesterday Nat helped him add Go Fish to his arsenal.

We played a game before breakfast today. Jack asked about it upon snuggling into our bed this morning, and again when I tucked him in tonight: "Mommy, do you think we should play Go Fish in the morning when we wake up? We have to ask Daddy!!! (sits up, I assure him I'LL ask daddy, he needs to lay down to sleep) OK, but you have to ask him in the morning or he'll probably forget. Ask him like this -- "Wanna play Go Fish?" Got it? Put it in your BRAIN, mommy..."

I love our boy.

Yep and Nope

Ivy's two new favorite words. The way she says these things-- its the cutest thing going. That is, unless she's applying "Nope!" to bedtime. Which she's been doing a lot lately, the little pill. But that's another story.

She says "Yep" more like "Dep" with that little nod of her head or her self-satisfied smile. And she says Nope clear as a bell and like she means it. Which she does. Girl knows what she wants down to what size of cookie she'll have, thank you very much. She likes to exchange items she's taken a bite of, for a whole new one. She loves her little tea set and putting tiny things into containers. She prances on her tip-toes, loves her snow boots and enjoys picking out her own clothes AND taking them off. She's a riot and I am pretty in love with her right now, too.

A little more in season....

2012-01-09T19:32:00.000-08:00

From our trip to the zoo on Saturday. Brilliant sun. Colder than you might think. Especially when one is waiting 20 minutes for the tram.

We never did get to see the sharks. But the New Guinea Singing Dogs were wonderful, and there was stuff to climb on, so the kiddos were happy.

Out of season

2012-01-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

I don't think I ever shared these pictures with you all.

(blame Nat, he was hoarding them on his phone)

I think they are priceless, if a bit out of season right now.

Jack and Ivy, circa September.

Alternate title for this post: Children of the Corn. The cute version.

Pictures

2012-01-06T19:52:00.000-08:00

I just thought I'd pop in tonight and share a few pictures I happened upon this evening, which I particularly enjoy. Random pictures, hanging out in a folder labeled, interestingly enough, "Pictures". While waiting for these two to upload I took a trip through the rest of that folder, and then about 10 more, from years ago, from parts of our lives I haven't thought of in years. Tiny-Jack pictures, Bedford house pictures, wedding pictures, Winnipeg.

I am struck again by the abundance in our lives.

Our girl is on the mend, as evidenced by the sparkle that was back in her eye tonight. So sparkly, in fact, that instead of heading to bed at 7:30, our little girl was dancing in circles around us, clad in a diaper and socks, yelling "Nakey!" and occasionally launching herself into our arms. This was precipitated by one our timed lights clicking off, wherein Ivy sat up straight, looked around, declared "Nance!" (aka "dance") and began to disrobe.

The girl is apparently conditioned to take her clothes off and dance when the lights go off.

Nat noted this is going to be a lot of fun when she is 16.

Regardless, its nice to have Miss Sparkle back. Here's hoping she'll sleep tonight, too.

As Ivy was "nancing", all "Nakey", "roun'" us, Nat and I were engaged alternately in playing game after game of War with the boy. He learned how to play War in preschool right before break and is now completely obsessed. He's pretty proficient with knowing at a glance which card wins, only slight confusion with 6 and 9, and he's ready to flip that next card with enthusiasm-- '1,2, 3, FLIP!!!'-- which is instantly dampened the moment he loses more than 3 turns in a row. Should he lose a "war", the sobs begin. And yet, through the tears, he gamely plays on, tearfully says, "congratulations" to the winner. and begs and begs and begs to play another round as soon as we finish. He is driven to win, this one, and doesn't quite know how to handle the disappointment when he doesn't-- nor can he hide his ebullience when he wins. "Better luck next time!!!!" he chants sing-song as he bounces with joy. He's too cute and though I shouldn't laugh when my son is crying-- I do, just a little. He's so "4"-- and so "me", too-- but with enough edge and enough pluck that I am hoping he'll avoid the full extent of my crippling perfectionism. Now, to help him understand that winning isn't everything and that its all about how you play the game....

(yeah, right. how many adults really believe that one???)

Parenting is remarkable. Who knew a little card game could uncover so many decisions and opportunities to say or do the right or wrong thing, to encourage or discourage, to teach and to question what we teach.... Every day, it seems, this remarkable boy unfolds a whole new set of questions for us. Never simple, but so rich. Snuggling in with him, talking about his day, sorting out his favorite and "un-favorite" parts of his day, listening and learning from him...Love that boy.

Snow babies

2012-01-04T16:52:00.000-08:00

It's winter again in Cleveland Heights and we have happy kids.

Here they are enjoying gale-force winds at the top of the Coventry park hill. Ivy took her first trip down the big hill, which she greeted with a "WHEEEEE!" Jack was fearless and even handled a head-over-heels tumble when his sled careened into the tires at the edge of the playground. He discovered the joy of going down the hill on his tummy on the spinny slide, which led to many cries of "one more time!" and to us leaving about 5 minutes later than we should have-- cold-fingered sad little beings on the way home. Cold fingered sad little beings who wanted to immediately play some more when we arrived at the house...

Here are a few more moments from the first few days of our New Year.

Saturday was the first annual "New Toddler's Eve, wherein 8 little children played and danced and watched a disco ball slowly descend from a dining room light fixture at Greenwich Mean Time before we headed home to put them all to bed...

Our boy is very into games on the computer these days.

Both kiddos have a bit of winter crud right now. Jack has the runny-nose-and-occasional-cough variety; Ivy the spike-a-fever-at-night variety. But they aren't letting it get them down.

Happy New Year!

Year's End

2011-12-30T20:00:00.000-08:00

2011 is drawing to a close.

It is a cozy close, a calm and tea-by-the-fake-fireplace sort of close.

It has been a calm year, really.

Busy days but all of them cluttered mercifully with not much more than the bits and minutae of daily life. The cleaning and driving and cooking of it; walks around the block and pushing kids in swings; the softness and the brutality of routine.

Not much has changed this year, at least nothing monumental. Personally speaking-- I've lost about 15 pounds and have made exercise and writing more a habit in my life. I've learned how to fit more and more in my day and discovered how much I value a clean kitchen before bed. I've woken up early for work and driven a lot and I've learned to love listening to books on tape during my commute. I've gotten a new car and a new phone and some new clothes. I've taken my children to the library and the playground and Target and the museums; I've cooked a lot of Mac-n-cheese. I've spent far too many hours on the couch with the dog and a computer on my lap. I've been to Denver and Guernsey and Aurora and Farley'; return trips one and all but wonderful all the same.
I've watched my children grow and change each and every day and I've settled just a tiny bit further into my role as their mother.

It gets a little, tiny bit less strange with each passing year, this role.

In 2011, I have not had nearly as many moments where I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror and think, with shock, My god, I am someone's MOTHER.

Rather, this year I am struck with amazement that I have TWO children. Two actual-factual kids who belong to me, who are from me and of me and wrap up my history and my future and my mortality and eternity all in their warm, soft-skinned little selves.

At years end these two little beings are amazing in every way. From their skin and their lips and their hands and their little nails that grow oh-so-fast, the sheer physicality of them, to their smiles and their words and their laughter and the way their noticing changes my noticing, completely altering the way I see the world.

My amazement is not always suffused with joy. Not at 3am when I am amazed, continually, at just how long a little girl can refuse to sleep through the night. Not at the dinner table when I am amazed that I seem to have birthed not one but two picky eaters. Not at 6:30pm when I am exhausted from a day at work and amazed at the energy the children still seem to have, and the chaos they leave in their wake.

But somehow that is all drowned out when I see these two magical creatures laughing together over some private joke that sounds an awful lot like random squeaking to my adult ears. Or when I snuggle with my boy before bed and am awestruck by his thoughtful questioning of the world. Or when I burrow my nose into my girl's feather-blonde hair and breathe in her scent. When I hold my son's hand and marvel that this was the tiny baby I brought into the world, just 4 short years ago. When my girl dances on her tiptoes and hugs her babies and declares the world to be "mine!" and I see time racing away from the day she was my tiny baby, too.

They are amazing. They are breathtaking.

And if 2011 was unremarkable and calm and yes, nigh boring-- I will revel in it and be grateful to it for each and every day of regular-daily-life it has given me with my children. With this little family of mine. Tucked in our little home in this little city, leading our ordinary lives.

How lucky are we?

May 2012 bring more of the same.

Christmas Day in the evening...

2011-12-27T19:30:00.000-08:00

It was a lovely day.

Walks on the beach and bike rides and free, open time stretching out before us.

Oh yeah, and presents, too!

We went to sleep to this view on Christmas Eve..

...and woke up at 6am on Christmas morning to this...

In the evening we had some of this...

...and some of this....

And it was all perfect.

Merry, Merry Christmas to one and all!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T20:15:00.000-08:00

I think the magic of this night is that much more intense for how fleeting it is. This moment in time, where time stops. Presents wrapped, carefully arranged, candle light and tree light intermingled and dancing on the glitter of ribbons and bows. It will never look like this again. And I can't capture it on film, as hard as I try. There is no one media that can hold and store and re-present all of it at once. The smell-- candles and pine and paper and tea-- the sound-- a clock, hushed voices, Corydon's breathing, the night settling in--and that amazing half-light that is somehow bright as day and celebration but soft as a newborn asleep. Mystery and magic and timelessness.

The world in solemn stillness lay...

Our children are snuggled in sugar-plum beds and the stockings are stuffed and I am giddy with the anticipation of their faces as my little ones snuggle their new stuffed animals and delight in the joy of three Tootsie rolls for their very own. (We overdo Christmas, we really do. The stocking presents alone are such a bounty....) But the tree! The tree! What would Christmas be without a completely ridiculous pile of presents under the tree? We know Jack and Ivy will be too overwhelmed to actually appreciate half of what we have given them. We know this, but still we give it, and wait eagerly for morning...

Jack said he is not going to close his eyes tonight. He has the curtains pushed back to keep watch for Santa. He carefully helped to pen a note to the big guy and selected three of his favorite cookies to set out.

It's a daunting responsibility, and an amazing privilege, to be a part of creating the magic of Christmas for this little boy of my heart.

Off now to soak up a few more moments of light and stillness.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Pageant

2011-12-23T19:45:00.000-08:00

I had tears in my eyes tonight, watching those little angels parade out. And then my boy, the most serious of lions, shepherded by his cousin... Eyes forward and focused on the task at hand, until he saw me and flashed that shy eye-smile of his at me.

I couldn't have been more proud.

This pageant, of legend and Nat's childhood-- it was as magical as he's described it.

And not JUST because of my little lion.
Though that was most certainly a big part of it.

He helped pass out programs, confidently greeting strangers and telling them, "Thanks for coming" in that sweet little voice. He sat quietly and patiently through the far-too-long commentary by the Catholic priest.

Have I mentioned how proud I was?

Little sister loved the night too. Though she manifested that love by flinging herself around our pew, and chatting enthusiastically nearly the entire time. "Bah, ba-bah-ba, Bop!!!" She "sang" along with the carols and watched carefully for Jack's appearances and fought mightily against us when we kept her from following him back down the aisle.

And her curls were to die for.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. This stealth Christmas has come upon us like a bolt out of the blue this year, and we're just going to have to be ready. We're here in Aurora and already soaking up the calm and peace of Claire's house. We are going to try to just BE for a bit tomorrow.

Just breathe.

And revel in the memory of 50 little children gathered in church, earnest faces shining in the magic of that old old story of that cold night long, long ago; tears in the eyes of every adult in the room as the past melds with the future and creates a present we wish could be bottled up forever; organ resounding and choir descant streaming and familiar-wonderful tunes filling our hearts.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and it will be beautiful. Much magic to each of you. Soak it up.

First Snow

2011-12-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

The first snow of the season is magic.

And we've been reveling in the magic of it.

When it snows in Cleveland and you've got two kids who love the snow, you seize the day. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars, do not clean the house-- just get outside.

Yesterday we went sledding in our front yard, which entails a lot of pushing sleds forcefully down the slight incline on one side of the lawn. The kids ate it up. Ivy, little be-mittened hands covered in snow, furiously signing "more," Jack demanding more and faster and giggling like mad.

Then, we trudged our way around the block. Because its not often that you can pull two sleds all the way around the block on a layer of fresh, white snow. By the time we got home, the children's noses were pink, Ivy had piled snow all over her legs, the dog's paws were covered in snowballs and Nat and I were sweaty and exhausted.

It was great.

Today, we built snowmen in the slush.

Jack woke up asking to sled and spent his waking moments looking for icicles; Ivy talked nonstop about the "no" alllll day. They will be sad little children tomorrow when it all melts away.

But for today? Magic.

You know you're a parent when...

2011-12-12T19:29:00.000-08:00

... the phrase "naked fun" has a whole new meaning than it did in college.

We had naked fun at our house on Friday night. And yes, it did end with someone peeing on the floor.

You'll get that when 3 not-yet-potty-trained baby girls streak around your house for 20 minutes, after all.

"Naked fun" (as Jack refers to what is now, apparently, a new evening tradition in our home) was the culmination of a rather nice evening with Melinda, Will and company, wherein the kiddos actually spent quite a bit of time playing nicely together, and the adults chatted for a bit, and there were lots and lots of balloons. Then Melinda went to get Lillian changed into her PJs to head home, and little miss did not want to get her diaper on, and, well, there was just no keeping the clothes on anyone else once Lil started running and giggling. All of a sudden we had 4 little bums streaking around the downstairs loop. Round and round, shrieking with joy.

It was freaking hilarious.

And the puddle of pee? It was on the hardwood so it was all totally worth it.

Here;s Jack in his new favorite spot. He notes that the radiator behind the couch is "a nice warm place to sweep."

Sunday we celebrated our family of friends again, with our December edition of Second Sunday Soup. Eight kids and babies, eleven grown-ups attending, two soups, 4 loaves of bread, 37 markers on the floor, with 35 caps, 1 Magic game, lots of fun...

While I continue to be fairly overwhelmed by the busyness of Christmas (and the fact that is, like, less than 2 weeks away), I think I may be starting to soften towards this holiday season.

It might be magic after all.

Snippets

2011-12-07T19:29:00.001-08:00

Ivy likes to do laundry. We were in the basement, adding foam tiles to the basement auxillary play area (because one playroom? just not enough for this household...), and Ivy disappeared. I found her, with the washer door open, reaching into the hamper for dirty clothing. The girl knows just what to do. She very enthusiastically helped me fill washer and pressed every button she could find until we got it started. And then you should have seen her helping to unload the dryer, climbing up onto the door, leaning her little self right in there to grab every last sock.

While snuggling with my little boy tonight -- my very tired, still-really-needs-a-nap little boy-- and reviewing his day, he told me all about what he did in yoga today: crab and seagull, pedaling the bike to the beach, ice cream... "but not the REAL way, Mommy, just for pretend!" Then, after a moment's pause, he asked me, "Mommy, do you remember when you were 4, and you were in Mrs. B's class??"

Smile.

We had a lovely chat about whether the toys at my school were the same as his, which led to a discussion about the merits of the really big wooden blocks and just how strong my boy is.

It was a saving grace, that snuggled-conversation, after an evening that had a fair amount of frustration, as my children refused to eat the dinner presented to them and I refused to cook them something different. The joys of parenting abound.

hot cocoa

2011-12-06T19:56:00.001-08:00

The kids have been very into hot cocoa recently. Or, as some people might describe it, tepid Ovaltine in a mug.

Here's Ivy (aka "the mop"-- don't mind the street-urchin hairdo) enjoying hers today...

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

2011-12-06T19:15:00.001-08:00

I've been a bit of a scrooge so far this Christmas season, I have to admit. I had several moments this weekend where I came close to cursing the name of Christmas, sure that this holiday was invented purely to add more work, mess, and general chaos to my life.

We did manage to put up, light and decorate a tree this weekend... at the cost of getting no cleaning or laundry completed. And, there are still 3 more boxes of decorations to go.

Sigh. Can't do it all, I suppose.

Still, I am grateful that we took the time to get a little Christmas on around here. Extra work and all, it is delicious to have the glow of the tree complementing the glow of our little electric fire.

And, I am loving the little village. A last minute, clearance-at-Walgreens purchase last year, I think it may become a mainstay. Jack and Ivy both loved setting it up, arranging and rearranging the little people. Miniatures are magic, especially at Christmastime...

Jack was very into decorating the tree this year. In fact, I'd say he decorated about 80% of that tree by himself, with only minor adjustments from perfectionist-mom, to spread out a few clusters of ornaments.

You know what I loved about decorating the tree with him this year? His comments on each ornament, his obvious enjoyment of each one, getting to tell him, in tiny snippets, a little about what each ornament means to me. He was so very careful with them, and so very focused on his task. It's astounding, isn't it, just how grown up he is?

Ivy girl was interested in the process, in so much that she wanted to remove the ornaments as we put them up. She also enjoyed breaking apart pieces of styrafoam, and playing with the village. She's certainly a more active participant this year than last, but she's no 4 year old. Not yet.

You know, I am starting to get really excited about spoiling these two on Christmas morning. The magic of the lights is starting to spread...

Here's a random photobooth shot of Nat and I, just for fun.

Quiet

2011-12-05T18:41:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the quiet blog recently. Life has been anything but quiet; a bit routine, a bit too fast, but definitely not quiet. There have been moments to write, here and there.... but there has also been laundry to fold, and dishes to do, and frankly, I've not been particularly inspired by anything to write about.

After all the excitement of Thanksgiving, with its photo-ops and memories being made, the return to normal life has been almost too normal to bear. Or perhaps that's just the return to early mornings after the deliciousness of 5 days off...

I am recuperating today from a jam-packed weekend. Choir concert and book club and Nat's birthday and a "birthday date day" and putting up the tree and...All good things but nary a moments pause between one and the next.

By recuperating I mean, of course, folding all the laundry that we didn't get folded over the weekend.

Laundry. It'll be the death of me.

The kids have been good. Definitely not quiet! but good. Ivy comes out with these perfectly enunciated words from time to time: nice, snow, lights. And plenty of rather-hard-to-understand word approximations-- but she gets her point across. By far my favorite thing about her right now? The way she says "yes". Just the simple fact that she says YES now and not just NO is a beautiful thing. But the way she nods her whole little self, and says "yeah" or "uh-huh!" with this thrilled look on her face! Like she is simply tickled pink that we understand her, so happy just to be in agreement. We need to get a video of her saying yes!

The boy continues to have his moments wherein he tests the limits of being a 4 year old-- talking back, refusing, a bad, bad case of selective hearing.... Of course he also has his moments wherein he is the sweetest child in the known universe. A new bedtime routine is emerging where Jack asks us to climb into his bed and snuggle with him before tucking him in. I have to say, I'm a fan. For starters, its nice and warm under his covers. And he is just this tiny thing again, tucked in my arms, his hand in mine.... we talk about the day and give hugs and its just lovely to have, for a few brief moments, a snuggly kiddo. And, Jack doesn't beg and cling and dawdle when we leave the room after he's had a good snuggle. There'a a lot to be said for anything that will keep Jack from begging, clinging, and dawdling...

Will attempt to get pictures from recent days uploaded for sharing.... In the meantime, I am going to enjoy this moment of quiet in my house. And fold that laundry.

Cousins

2011-11-25T19:12:00.001-08:00

We've had a house full of children for the past two days and its been lovely. Busy, and messy, and frequently very loud-- but lovely. Cousin Steve Henderson and his family made the trip from Annapolis to join us for Thanksgiving and its been a delight to spend more time with this "new" branch of our family, after our brief visit together in July. Jack and Ivy have been in seventh heaven, having constant access to play mates. Steve's son Gavin is 4 1/2 and he and Jack have become fast friends, playing together nonstop for two days with only a few small arguments, which is nearly miraculous. Ada and Ivy sometimes played together, sometimes apart, and generally tagged along with the boys. Most of the time, all four of them have entertained each other in a most delightful way, with independent happy play predominating, At times, there have been tears over stolen marbles and arguments over airplanes, but they're family, so they've gotten over it.

Can I tell you how adorable it was last night, when Jack and Gavin had a "sleep over" and sat together in Jack's bed for a good half hour, looking at books together, til Jack snuggled himself into his nest of pillows and blankets, and Gavin headed in to sleep with him mom.... Or tonight when Gavin came back in to Jack's room to tell him that he's invited to come to their house sometime, that they'll put a bed in the basement room for us and we can stay with them. Jack is all excited to go to their house, "all the way to the ocean!"-- and I think we should do it. Six hours is not that far and this is a wonderful new relationship to nurture.

Plus, Annapolis is very close to D.C.

It's been a truly splendid Thanksgiving, from our perfectly cooked turkeys (yes, two turkeys, one roasted and one grilled...) to the happy children to the good conversation. Not to mention the weather, which has been as good as it gets in November in Cleveland.

Today, a most marvelous morning was spent at the beach, in 60 degree sunshine with driftwood teepees and pirate ships and barking dogs and sandy little hands.... but that will deserve its own post when I get the pictures from my mom...

In the meantime, a few shots of our lives over the past two days:

Thankful

2011-11-23T18:51:00.001-08:00

Tonight, Thanksgiving Eve, I am thankful. For my family, slowly returning to health after a heckuva week. I am thankful that most of the time, we're healthy as horses, thankful that this week was all the more difficult for my not being used to it.

I am thankful for my two enthusiastic little children and their smiling eyes, for their voices and for their little hands, for their soft skin and their kisses and their fidgety little snuggles. I am thankful for bathtubs full of bubbles and funnels and giggles.

I am thankful for walks around the block, for our wonderful block and the neighbors we run into every time.

I am thankful for my mom who cleaned our bathrooms for us today.

I am thankful to be hosting Thanksgiving tomorrow, for the bounty of our lives that lets our kitchen be overflowing with food right now, for the ease of our lives that lets me sit here on the couch and write these words. I am thankful for family coming to join us, for gatherings and the making of memories for our children.

I am thankful for my husband who always takes care of the turkey.

I am thankful for the November-grey skies and damp chill in the air that makes me believe winter is really on it's way; thankful too for the Botanical Gardens, where glasshouses and butterflies and emerging Christmas displays banished the grey and damp for us this morning.

I am thankful for this day off work.

Happy thanksgiving, dear followers. I am thankful for all the people in my life, whether or not I can host them at my table tomorrow. May your day tomorrow bring you gratitude and joy.

Sweetness

2011-11-17T19:23:00.001-08:00

Today's post is cross-listed with my Thirty Days blog, where my focus for November has been on finding the sweetness in life.

I need look no further than my son.

This kid, I tell ya. He's a charmer.

I've been ill the past few days and Jack has been all about the advice-giving. Upon my emergence from bed yesterday morning, Jack informed me, "You know mom, sometime when I am sick I just sleep a little and I feel better. Maybe you can sleep for a while? Do you feel better?" He was all snuggles, all day and so understanding when I wasn't much good for playing in the evening.

Of course, part of that may have been that I let him watch TV practically nonstop.

Kid loves TV.

Ivy girl is pretty delicious herself these days. I feel like she just gets better and better, this one. She's talking more and more, saying things like "Star" and "heart" and "blue", though somewhat indiscriminately. And she's both fastidious and considerate, as demonstrated by this moment, from earlier this evening:

Ivy always insists that she wants tomatoes. She never actually does, of course, and this evening the half a cherry tomato I gave to her ended up on the floor. After dinner, we were sitting on the floor together when she discovered said cherry-tomato-half. She brought it over to me and with almost scientific precision, proceeded to pinch it and squeeze its contents directly onto my skirt. She immediately got her most concerned face on, pointed to my skirt, and said, "uh oh!" I reassured her that it was fine, that we'd get something to clean it up.

She promptly left the room.

She went into the kitchen and opened the junk drawer (which is, by the way, above her head), pulling out a pencil and considering it for a moment before tossing it aside and pulling out-- a wad of elastic. (no, I do not know why there was a wad of elastic in the junk drawer. Do I have to know? I mean, its a junk drawer...) She trots back out, right to me, and oh-so-carefully places the wad of elastic onto the splotch of tomato goo on my skirt. Jack, ever the helper, dashes over to rub it around vigorously. By this time I was laughing too hard to talk, much less stop him. The final straw? When Ivy pointed out, with dismay, the one, singular tomato seed left behind. God forbid there be one tomato seed out of place. Poor girl. It may be a long childhood for her, growing up in our not-so-clean house....

So a tiny taste of what it's like to live with Ivy Jane. Multiply that story by, like, 10,000 and you might get the idea.

Photos

2011-11-14T18:57:00.001-08:00

We've been taking them, I swear! Tons. Nat, mostly, playing with his Hipstamatic app on ye olde iPhone. You'll note several of his recent works in the post below.

Yet, somehow, as I go to post this evening, I can't seem to find any recent photos worthy to share. We've done things, gone places, our children have been cute-- all reasons for abundant photo documentation, to be sure. Its a mystery.

In the meantime, a little word-picture instead, a moment from our evening-at-home tonight. Wish you'd been here to join us.

It was a rainy evening, stormy in fact, a rare evening indeed where I did not feel called to drag my somewhat fried children out into the world. We nestled in and puttered about, doing some vacuuming and spot mopping and some climbing-on-mom in between. Some playing with hotwheels, some sloppy joes, some back-to-the-playroom after that. We were aimless and quiet together, we three. Seven o'clock found us like this: Jack sitting in the playroom, a good 120 hotwheels strewn around him, playing and laughing along with the Monster at the End of this Book app. Ivy in her booster seat at the kitchen counter (by her request) feeding herself applesauce with great success (She is the most fastidious 18 month old I know, asking with distress that I wipe up every tiny drip of applesauce as soon as it occurred.), chewing on toast, and bopping her head in time with the music on her MP3 player. This moment of family contentment is brought to you by mobile technology....

This little girl and music! She can't hold back when she hears it; she just has to wiggle, kick, bop, dance. And can I tell you what fun it is to sing "The Cat Came Back" with her? She's nodding and shaking and moving along and then when it comes time for the "Mee--owwwww"-- oh I wish I'd gotten her "Meow" on video! All her heart and soul and charisma poured into that one, drawn out sound, and that ornery laughing-smile on her face while she does it, just loving every second of the act of meow-ing.... She's a joy. She loves every second of just about everything, this girl, as long as you don't cross her, or deny her anything, that is. But she makes you want to go ahead and deny her nothing, with that proud-cat smile of hers and the little random kisses and her high-stepping prancing run and her hands up over her head pretending to be an airplane. Irresistible. She's big on hats and socks and comparing whether or not various people/animals or pictures of people/animals are wearing hats and socks, as opposed to her. She likes for everyone to have their shoes on whenever possible. She asks to nurse by saying "nummy!!" and then asks for the other side by saying 'Die!" Not as brutal as it sounds as she also asks to go outside as "out-die". She's saying approximations of a few phrases, like "there you go", and she continues to amaze us with how much she understands. She is very particular about which books she wants to read and asks for a few by name. She enjoys discussing the status of hats in her books (point to hat in book, point to her own head, say "Noooo", look to me for confirmation that there is no hat on that dog's head, nod and turn the page...) and can "read" the last page of her book about snow: "Slide!" She'll go find things for us when we ask and sometimes put things away when we ask too. She's rather systematic and I'm hoping we can capitalize on this and have one tidy child...

I'm kind of in love with my daughter tonight.

Jack, I love you too, never fear. But, my son, you did not dance as much as your sister tonight. So this post belongs to her.

into the woods....

2011-11-13T20:07:00.001-08:00

We've had a simply lovely weekend. I am having a hard time seeing it end, actually. But it is late on Sunday evening and so I won't be long. For a more detailed recounting of our wonderful Sunday, hop over to my Thirty Days blog. But here, I just want to share with you some of the wonder of our morning walk, out in the blustery November sunshine. A simple trip to the park-turned-ramble in the woods, discovering a hidden treasure that is very nearly in our back yard-- or front yard, anyways-- as we explored down into the gully across the street. Happy children clambering about, happy dog wet and full of burdocks.... all as it should be.

Hoping you've all had a splendid weekend, too.

18 months

2011-11-09T20:06:00.000-08:00

Little Ivy Jane is 18 months old. And while time has slipped by at an astounding rate since her first birthday, its passage is well marked in just how different she is these days. Gone, it seems, is any trace of the baby we used to have. We now have a little girl, a giggly, kissy, sweet and ornery little girl who understands everything and is starting to talk and who copies everything her big brother does. She's pretty wonderful and really stinking cute.

Ivy at 18 months:

* She runs and stomps and spins and walks on her tiptoes and loves climbing up and down the stairs but prefers, really, to climb up the rocks through the garden.

* Thanks to following a big brother around, she's the master of the playground at the preschool, having learned since September how to climb up the rock wall, go through the tunnels, go down the big slide, and even walk across the "Stepping stone" bridge, all on her own. She may be doing the monkey bars by two...

* She loves Sesame Street (Elmo and Bert are her favorite characters) and books with babies or animals in them. She adores music, especially the Itsy Bitsy Spider.   She dances at the slightest provocation.

* Speaking of babies-- she's crazy about them. She likes to have 2 or 3 dolls in her crib and to take one with her when we leave the house. She also likes to have her "bebee" wear a hat, and then of course she needs a hat too, and then mommy needs a hat, and then she goes and gets Jack's hat.

* She is very thorough, and very inclusive. She needs to put one object down (or preferably, hand it to a parent) before picking up something new.   Almost meticulous, actually. When she's not barreling through life running into things, that is.

*She's talking more and more. Yesterday she put two words together by herself: "Nine-y Bee-Bee" (tiny baby) and she's saying I love you, even though it sounds more like "eye-uh-oowe". She's starting to parrot more and more of what we say. She's probablyt got about 40 words she uses on her own. A few new ones: Bowl, apple, cheese, pizza, milk, down (as a command to Corydon, of course!), diaper (dap-a), bottle (bot- oh), Elmo, hat, coat...

* If you ask her if she has room in her tummy for (name of food here), she lifts up her shirt and looks.   Its hilarious.   She also starts to take her shirt off if you mention a bath. Or spaghetti.

* She wrinkles up her nose when she smiles and gives spontaneous kisses and running-tackle hugs on our legs. She's funny and engaging and determined and she's going to take the world by storm, this girl, one shake of those blond pigtails at a time.

Beach-comber

2011-11-06T16:23:00.001-08:00

From october 2011 iphone pics

Can you believe it's November 6th? Perfect fall day today. Much time spent in leaf piles, on walks, on beaches. Heaven. A wonderful weekend. More details and pictures to come.

Dance Party

2011-11-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

This evening we had a dance party in Jack's room. We listened to T.A.T.U and danced in strobe light. Turns out, the boy has got some MEAN dance moves. Little hands jiving away, feet stomping, turning and smiling, smiling, smiling.

Just another little way the iPhones are making our lives better.

In other news about the boy-- he went across the monkey bars by himself today. Two times. I am inordinately proud.

Girlie-girl was not quite so agile, however, taking a header off a breakfast stool this afternoon. Goose-egg on her crown aside, she seems none the worse. She was a little live wire this evening when we had Lillian, Naomi and their parents over for supper. I think she really does recognize them as her friends, these days, genuinely excited to see them, following them around, even trying to say their names -- "o-mee-nom-ee" and "Wee-uul" At least she's trying. :) They give each other hugs and kisses. They carry handfuls of toys around the house and throw balloons and are about the cutest things going as they dash about underfoot. I love having these three little girls together. They are changing at the speed of light and they are more amazing every day...

***

Nat and I spent some time this evening organizing our calendar around parent-teacher conferences and Kindergarten open houses. It is mind-boggling to watch our babies babbling and toddling around, and then look at our big boy and see the space-time continuum, as it were, fold in upon itself. Because that's the only way it could be possible, that my baby boy is getting ready for Kindergarten.

In light of certain developments in the area of public education in recent years (four letters for you....NCLB....) and the way these developments have led our public schools to be focused more on numbers than on children, this public school teacher has been (gasp!) talking about private schools more and more. We may attend a Montessori open house or two along with our local elementary. And Nat's always made noise about home-schooling, though I am never quite sure how I feel about that option. With how I've been feeling about my own job, and with how Ohio seems to feel about teachers these days, home-schooling is holding more of an appeal for me...

Who knew. This parenting thing doesn't get easier. The challenges just change form.

But-- with great challenges-- come great rewards.

I love these little monkeys.

PS: Here are some pictures from Halloween! It was a wonderful evening of pumpkins and rockets and astronauts, aliens and little devils, friends and candy, and three exhausted trick-or-treaters being brought home in a wagon. Thank heavens for Grandma, who joined us, and carried the rocket home.Pictures can't do the magic justice, but you'll get the idea.

Sun in the Cemetary, Ghosts in the Garden...

2011-10-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

It was a glorious fall day.A day with wings.This morning there was frost on the ground as the children and I walked the dog, and Jack's pumpkin around the block, with the wagon. We had to warm our pink noses and chilly fingers with some hot cocoa and donuts when we got home...We spent the afternoon outdoors, in 50 degree fall sun, crisp air and crisp leaves and some very happy children and dogs romping at Lakeview. Several tombstones were decorated with pumpkins. We brought an offering of children's laughter.Then, it was off to the Garden for our first time to the annual Boo Bash. Swarms of littles in costumes and a perfectly spooky children's garden awaited. Fog machines, dangling ghosts, some amazing bubbles lit by a black light... our trek through the darkened gardens was magical. Our cameras simply could not do it justice. Inside, there were some nice stations with crafts (Jack's favorite-- the ghost on a popsicle stick which he could "pop up" to scare us) and a feast of cider and donuts. Sadly a great deal of our time was spent waiting in line for a balloon from the balloon clown... some 30 children in front of us... we gave up after about 15 to head outside and next year-- we're hitting the children's garden first. Still, it was a great night, and Jack's rocket costume drew accolades everywhere we went. Our little alien, sadly, had to play second fiddle, but she contented herself with holding a green pumpkin kaleidoscope, stealing donuts from us, and taking in the scene with rapt fascination.

In the name of progress

2011-10-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

We've done it. We've gotten iPhones.

In the name of using technology to streamline our lives and make us more productive, organized beings, we've upgraded to a data plan and, since Sunday, have spent nearly every one of our limited free moments playing with our new toys.

Yep. Feeling more efficient already.

In addition to getting to talk to Siri, our newly beloved digital assistant, and connecting to the web to browse Facebook status updates from a wide variety of locations, we've also been using our phones to take a lot of pictures.

I am sure we'll emerge from this techno-coma soon but for now, here are some of those pictures to tide you over.
(click on the little speech bubble on the lower left if you want to see some captions...)

Reflection

2011-10-20T18:49:00.000-07:00

Long time no write....

Sorry about that.

Life is busy, you see. And we've not been taking as many pictures as we probably ought to. It's been rainy.
And just normal life, and somehow, that's not really photo-worthy, I guess.

But life is good, even this rainy workaday blur of it.

Two little blonde people live in our house and there's never a dull moment. Ivy runs on her tiptoes and dances at the slightest provocation. She's obsessed with babies and sleeps with a collection of 2 or 3 each night. She's talking more and more: tonight she asked for "getti" (spaghetti) and mill (milk) and she loves when it's rayeen out and wearing her coe with the hoo- up. (did you get that one?) She's a riot. She's got an opinion about everything. She's given up all meat except for hot dogs and pepperoni. She can navigate the entire playground at the preschool. She looks like a little princess and approaches the world like it's a roller derby. I love her.

And Jack? We were off to Math and Science Night at St. Paul's tonight, and as we talked about it last night he said to me, "I love Math and Science! We get to discover!" I love him, too. Tall boy, fidgety one, arms and legs and knees everywhere and his vocabulary growing every moment. He loves yoga and counts everything and he can write his name pretty nicely these days.

We're starting to talk about kindergarten and will be going to an open house next month. It's rather unreal, the way these years have gone by. How we have this boy now, where there used to a baby. And now this girl, too.

We don't have any babies in our house anymore.

Strange feeling.

Tonight as we left the preschool, I walked Jack and Ivy across the street, one little hand in each of mine, two little people matching pace with me over the wet pavement. Two little hands in mine. Two little people walking with me. Our joined figures reflecting in street-light puddles as we skipped up over the curb.

Strange feeling, this.

But good.

Apple Day, take two

2011-10-14T03:07:00.000-07:00

wheeee!

Yesterday Jack had his first field trip. The Pre-K crew headed out to the apple farm. Yep, two trips to the apple farm in one week. Lucky kid.

Nat was planning to cut the cord and load Jack's carseat into the car of another parent, sending him off into the wild world on his own for the afternoon. But apparently Jack awoke yesterday certain he did NOT want to go on the field trip at all. The boy and his slow approach to change....

So Nat and Ivy went along.

Apparently, Jack turned to his daddy at one point and said, "Dad, I was wrong. I DO like it here!" I can't tell you much more about the trip (I am trying to get Nat to do a guest entry, really I am!) but from the looks of the photos, a good time was had by all.

Jack works the ladies. Romeo in a pith helmet.

Into the wild...

Aren't they all so BIG???

Wonderful Weekends, the fall edition

2011-10-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

Second Sunday Soup is off to a warm and wonderful start. 12 adults and 8 littles under the age of 4 were served this evening, al fresco, with candles and decorative gourds and lots of bug spray to combat the hordes of rabid mosquitoes that infest our yard. But no matter. The candles glowed and the soup was perfect and a grand crowd of little girls dashed about in little skirts and our boy led them all in a dance party under the pergola-- no music needed, just the enthusiasm of toddlers and preschoolers as they stomped and spun and crashed and twirled under the rainbow windsock.

Looking forward to a season of warmth and friendship.

Even if we have to move it indoors in November.

Today also brought me two wonderful outings into the wonderful day, just me and my wonderful children-- playing at the Science center and then a walk around the pond at Wade Oval. The sun was warm-- bordering on hot-- and my children were enthusiastic, about the ball pit and the water works and feeding the fish and throwing stones. It was perfect-- and tonight, I am very tired. :)

From October 2011

Apple Day

2011-10-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

Couldn't have ordered ourselves a better day. Well, maybe just a tad bit cooler as really, one ought to wear a sweater on Apple Day. But you won't hear me complaining about the short sleeves.

It's become an annual tradition, our trip out to Edy's Fruit Farm with Melinda and Will, picking apples and picnicking by the trees before choosing a pumpkin and posing our ever-increasing brood of children amongst the pumpkins.

Today was as delicious as always. This year, four littles happily munched apples and pears as we meandered through the orchard, taking full advantage of their wonderful, sample-at-your-will policy. This year our picnic spot was a bit high-traffic (turns out, we're not the only ones who thought today was the day...) but we reveled in it, sipping our coffee (from real mugs, thank you) with pride as we lounged on blankets in the sun.

The leaves are nearing their peak. The shadows are longer. There are two large bags of apples in my kitchen. Never mind the 80 degree days. Fall is here.

Tomorrow, we'll welcome it with soup and bread and cider and friends as Second Sunday Soup returns. I am looking forward to it. I am vowing right now to try to slow down this fall, and truly savor the moments of this most fleeting of seasons, in ways that matter.

Starting with posting pictures for you, because what matters more than that??

I heart Turtle Park

2011-10-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

Fall got over itself today. Damp cold drifted away to be replaced by crisp October sun. I felt the day tugging on me to go out, go out, go out for 10 hours at work so as soon as I got home I was working on getting the kids out the door.

It was a Turtle Park evening, for sure.

We loaded up and headed off and eventually, after talking Jack out of investigating each. and. every. rock he could find to see if they were "breakable", we made the 20 minute walk and ensconced ourselves at the park.

I know I've taken you all to Turtle Park before. Its the one with the big, green turtle in the middle. And the lovely fence alllll the way around and the sweet little climber that's just right for the 18 month to 5 year old set. And all the shovels and pails and random, defunct toys and cars lying all over for the playing. And swings!

It's pretty much perfect.

And so was our time there, tonight. I consciously did not bring the camera with me because I wanted to be fully present with my children and the sunshine, and sometimes being busy documenting moments-- takes away from the living of them. But wouldn't you know, being fully present seems to make me more aware of just how "picture-perfect" the moments really are. Sigh.

I'm just going to have to remember it.

It's been a while since we've made the trek, seeing as Jack-man can handle Cumberland and Coventry park playgrounds now, and we can get to those in 3 or 6 minutes respectively. It was remarkable to see how the kids have grown in that time, against the background of this little park that always stays the same.

Jack climbed up onto the turtle today. His first time doing it completely by himself. And he did it so casually, no help from me at all; I wasn't even watching and only noticed when I turned from pushing Ivy on the swing, to see him sitting proudly up on the turtle's head. So very, very proud, his little Jack-smile shining at me across the whole playground. There he was just like that and it took my breath away. Not because he was so high up; I had no fear for his safety because there's that wonderful thing about Jack, that he rarely does things he can't already do...

No, I caught my breath at the pace of time, at the way the last 4 years have flashed by. I caught my breath seeing the baby not-yet-walking, not sure of the sand, cautiously exploring a few square feet of ground; seeing the toddler mastering the steps and the slide; seeing the three year old pretending and digging and singing his way around the place. And now this young man, so tall and put together and up on top of the most challenging climber in the place, like it was nothing. Somehow, that was everything, 4 years rolled into one moment, time wrapped up with a bow on top of a giant, fiberglass turtle.

He played happily with a 6-ish year old girl for the better part of an hour, while I followed Miss Into-Everything-Ive around. That one? She can climb up and down all the steps of the climber using only the handrails. She can zip down the slide all on her own. She can push herself around on the little ride-on toys and fill a sand bucket with ease.

This little girl seems bent on picking up the pace even more. She's already got her eye on the turtle, and I know it won't be long.

By then her brother will have aged out of this park-- the posted signs tell me it's for 5 and under only, please. And it boggles my mind that the time is coming so soon, when I won't list this tiny plot of land as a destination on a fall evening any more. When I won't stand around watching other people's children clamber about with my own, chatting with the moms and asking how old their babies are. That time- it is hurtling toward me with unstoppable force.

And so tonight, in the fall sunshine, sitting at a picnic table with a catalog in my hand, watching my children explore and play and grow before my eyes, I froze time for just a moment. I savored it all, broken toys and scrambling children, diverse families scattered about and my babies in the midst of it. And I didn't take any pictures.

I'll just have to remember.

October rain

2011-10-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

The arrival of fall has brought rain, more rain, damp chilly days, clouds.... and early bedtimes for this momma who apparently depends on a little sunshine to get her through the day. All has not been a complete "wash" however. We've had some lovely times in the midst of the rain.

Thursday last week, thanks to the glory that is having-Jewish-holidays-off-school, I enjoyed the gift that is a mid-week free day. Nat's in crunch-time mode with the dissertation these days, so I took over the kids and left him to write. We three had a wonderful adventure. We took the train.

We hustled out the door by 8:15 to make the 9:00 departure for Peninsula on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic railroad, and had a great 40 minutes ride to the bike shop, where we got a new tire for Jack's bike. Most expensive, out-of-the-way tire replacement ever, I tell ya--- and totally worth it. Both kids loved the train. Jack remembered his last trip, amazingly as he was only 2 1/2 at the time. It was Ivy's first time and she thought it was grand to be able to clamber about as we moved along. They were remarkably well-behaved children, actually, throughout the whole adventure, which also included a walking trek through downtown Peninsula, in the drizzle-mist, where Jack only moaned about being tired about 4 times. Not bad. After a lovely ride home during which time Jack got to hold beaver and coyote pelts, we topped off the morning with lunch out at Yours Truly. I think this may have been my first time taking the two into a sit-down restaurant by myself, and it went so nicely it may be opening up a whole new, expensive but delightfully easy, world for us. A tired momma brought home two napping children at 2:30.

We spent the evening enjoying pizza and good company with friends Erik and Sarah, to welcome their new baby boy Jonah. The baby boom continues. We enjoy Erik and Sarah (and their wonderful daughter Claire) for many reasons, but one of the prime reasons continues to be just how real they are. They share our attitudes about parenting so well-- the admission that having children is NOT and easy thing, the assertion that yes, we do in fact remember our lives before children... An evening of the easy camaraderie born of a shared journey was complimented by the fact that the three non-newborns played together perfectly the whole time. Ivy girl is suddenly one of the kids. And while there is something wonderful about the soft pliant weight of a newborn in arms, and a part of me certainly enjoyed soothing little Jonah to sleep with that bounce-sway gait that is second nature to me, it was reassuring to notice that, really, I am happy enough to not have a tiny one in our house any more. I like having kids instead.

Sunday was Greg's birthday party, a much-anticipated event around here. Jack was most excited about his buddy turning 4. He was also excited about cupcakes. It was a really nice party, chock full of babies, 12 littles age 5 and under in attendance. Another wonderful reminder, all those little people laughing and clambering and making messes, of just how blessed we all are.

The "big kids" pretending to be dinosaurs as they ate their pizza...

Life is good. Even in the rain.

30 seconds of cute

2011-09-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

Jack is picking up all sorts of great learning from Pre-K. Today he cam home proudly showing off 4 new yoga poses. Which he is pretty good at, I have to say. That flexibility is paying off for him...

He also learned this song today. He started singing it spontaneously at dinner and kept going with it pretty much all evening. Luckily its really cute. See?

Quick updates...

2011-09-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

Ivy has two new words today: Nye-Nee (night night) and Pee-ba (Pizza). At Dewey's tonight she ate an entire slice of pee-ba all on her own. She's taken to running laps around the house, doesn't wait for help to clamber up the front steps on her own, and she slept through the night last night. (Praises be!!) And, she's still really cute.

Jack was thrilled to have daddy be the parent helper today; daddy did me the favor of taking lots of pictures and one really long video of Jack and his new best friend sitting and waiting at the snack table. I won't post it here. Mostly because it would take too long to upload and also because no one but his parents actually want to watch 7 minutes worth of two boys waiting to eat some yogurt covered raisins. Even if he's really cute, too.

Here is a little gem for you, though. Moments like this make me feel like having two kids wasn't such a bad idea after all.

And some moments from Pre-K...

Jumping on this trampoline is one of the two things that gets reported to me when I ask about his day at school. The other being: "I jumped off the monkey bars!" Every day.

This is Jack dicating his story to Mrs. B in the writing center. Today his story consisted of a string of random numbers generated by his calculator, with occasional random words sprinkled in. He's special.

Jack and buddy Tristan. Before you get too excited about how adorable they are, we'll pass on our sad news: Tristan's family is moving out of Ohio in October. I think we're cursed.

Group meeting. Jack's not even in this picture but I like the "piles of 4 year olds" feeling in this shot.

Happy Friday to all. We are hurtling into a busy weekend. Off to the History Museum before 9 tomorrow to see Dr. Scott the Paleontologist (from Dinosaur Train of course). Can't say that we don't know how to have a good time!

Snippets

2011-09-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

We keep on having these wonderful days.

Darn it all.

It keeps me so busy uploading pictures and recording our travels and events, that I find I am leaving out the little moments, the snippets of information about the kiddos that would truly capture them as they are, right now.

To that end, I give you these:

Ivy, her raincoat, and her doll.
Kid loves her new raincoat. Yellow rainslicker with pink and red ladybugs and the cutest ruffle detailing on the hood. Never mind that it fits her perfectly and frames her face so well; what is so wonderful about this coat is her attachment to it. She demands to put it on anytime she sees it. Once you put it on her, she walks around until she find Jack's windbreaker and then she wants him to wear his coat too. Yesterday her coat was in my car, which traveled to Lakeland with Nat while I stayed with the kids. We were getting ready to head out into the rainy evening when girlie, with great intention, began to walk around saying "di-di! Ray-ee! Didi! Rayee!" It took a while before I put it all together, as she walked around and pointed at every coat she could find. "Raincoat! Raining!" That's what she was saying. I explained we didn't have her raincoat but we did have another jacket. She accepted this as long as I put a coat on her baby doll too. Really, she told me, in her own not-really-talking way. We went to dinner at Burger King with her clutching a doll clad in one of Ivy's hooded sweatshirts. She was intensely concerned with the doll getting wet in the rain. I love her.

Jack, preschool, monkey bars and chapter books.
Jack has become very interested in climbing high and jumping off of things recently. OK, that's been for a while. But this week the things that he's been most proud of, all of his reports from school, seem to involve just how high he's climbed, how far he jumped, or whether or not he cried when he fell. The boy is manning up, now that he's 4.
Also, he seems to have a best buddy at preschool, Tristan. Apparently they save seats for each other, and Jack talks about playing with no one else at school so far. Hopefully we'll get along with Tristan's parents...
We've decided to try reading chapter books with Jack, mostly because we are getting tired of the library roulette that is picking out a stack of picture books. What if we get a bunch of lame stories, or too-long stories, and we're stuck with them for a week? What's worse, what if one of those becomes Jack's favorite?? So, we ordered a set of Magic Treehouse books and Jack LOVES them. It IS magical, the attention he is paying as we read, even coming over and laying a head on our shoulders. Three chapters a night and oh does he remember the story from night to night. He's very excited about them. It doesn't hurt that the first two books are about Dinosaurs and Knights, respectively.

Now, back to the reporting and recording. We had a really, really nice weekend. Full of more snippets than I could possible record or even remember. And some wonderful big events too...

The Madison Park Festival (ethnic food, cheesy music, and of course, alpacas..) and a treat of a half hour at the park with just my boy. Best. Half hour. Ever. This little boy? He's pretty fun.

"Weekend of the Pooka" in Bedford Square. We really had no idea what to expect from this venture. I mean, what IS a Pooka??? Turns out, the festival was a small, down-home art fair with lots of interactive booths with very kid-friendly activities. Here you will see Jack sculpting, painting, and creating a poem flag. Ive got the short end of the stick this year, but I think we'll be heading back next year when she can do a bit more...

We ended the weekend with an impromptu and perfect picnic at Horseshoe Lake Park. We followed clambering children up and down rocks and in and out of logs, ate hotdogs and chips with wild abandon, and then fed the ducks as the sun dipped towards the horizon. I promise you pictures soon. For a sneak peek I'll link you over to Melinda's Blog, where you'll see Ivy girl has made the headlines... :)

Goodnight all. More snippets to come soon.

Free Time

2011-09-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Another great Saturday has been had by all here in sunny Cleveland. After a week of rain we've been treated to a spectacular few days, sunshine and crisp fall air abounding, with plenty of end-of-summer festive events to choose from.

Last night, it was Ingenuity Fest. While I am sad this event has moved out of downtown, and I personally believe it had more to offer when it was located in the venue-rich Euclid Avenue neighborhood, I can certainly see the appeal of its new location.

Its got a great view.

Three years ago it started as "BridgeFest", a one-time opening of the space underneath the Detroit Superior Bridge, where the trolleys used to run. Now our Ingenuity Fest call the Bridge home. It's a mysterious and "secret" space; you enter through a doorway that seems like an afterthought, up a grass-and-cobblestone rise from the old Flats, and enter a dim subterranean world... but to your right! The columns arch off toward blue sky and river below and you are suspended in this middle world, abandoned and raw and industrial and lending itself to the cause of art and music and dance for this one weekend a summer.

And there was dancing, in our family at least. The kids were crazy about the bridge, imbued as it was with a no-rules vibe. The first exhibit-- just past the beer truck-- is an all-white room wherein you are given a Sharpie and told to draw and write. On anything. Jack asked, "even on the couch???" In retrospect perhaps it was not the best idea to encourage our children's participation in this experience....

Other highlights:
Dancing and stomping and spinning on the plywood floor laid over the metal grid on the "suspension" part of the bridge, while the Drum Corps played; looking down to river and boats docked underneath our feet; the interactive light-art in the "catacomb" section by the old terminal.

(In the picture above we are waving to our images in the interactive screens on the walls. The family portrait we created is below. Don't worry, Nat is holding Ivy. In fact, one of the horizontal blobs on the screen is the image of her legs being held straight out in the air so you we could tell she was in the picture.)

Jack scored two cups of free lemonade, by the way.

Today picked up where last night left off, with the awesome-ness. Off to Lakewood bright and early where Nat went to work at The Root, I went to shop at the first Kids' Resale of the season, and the kids stayed with Gram. Two hours later, Gram and I were off together to take the kids to the Madison Park Festival, where we fed alpacas, ate random ethnic food prepared by church kitchens, listened to cheesy renditions of polka and folk favorites, got balloons, waved to Elmo, and generally had a wonderful time. Gram took Ivy to the car to nap while Jack and I had the most marvelous time on the play structures, which are sky-high and adventurous. I realized I don't get nearly enough opportunity to play with my boy on playgrounds. I mean, REALLY play. Not run after his sister while pretending to be a troll from a distance. Not supervising him while I chat with adults. Really running around, climbing, racing down the slides--playing. We had a blast. Jack is a really fun kid, you know? And so kind-- he offered to help me up ladders, to "stable me" while I balanced. Looking out for his mama.

It was a little gift, that moment of time with him.

Later in the afternoon Nat and I had a little gift of time ourselves, leaving the resting kids at Grams house again and heading out for some spontaneous garage-saleing and coffee. Delicious, to have free and unfettered time together, to just putter around, to go through shops and amble and talk and not have to shepherd anyone else.

We talked on the way home about being startled at just how little free time we do have, as parents. How plenty of our time is spent doing fun things, but we are always on duty during that fun, always on guard, protecting and watching and encouraging, structuring and creating and arranging, creating and safeguarding the fun experience for our children.

Back in our neighborhood this evening, we took Cor on a 3-blocker walk. At one point we found ourselves singing "We are the dinosaurs" at full volume, roaring and stomping and all. And I had this little epiphany that has somehow taken me 4 years to discover:

I need to change my definition of free time.

Because what could possibly be freer than walking along with a happy dog and two happy kids, unabashedly singing about dinosaurs? Not much, that's what.

Maybe that which we used to think of as free time, was really more like wasted time. All those moments spent doing...nothing at all. Unimaginable these days.

No, as parents we USE our time. We FILL our time. And if we fill it the right way, with joy and care and love and spontaneity, maybe this full time can be all the free time we need.

A side note:
Here's just a small example of the way kids make our lives great. As Jack and I opened the packaging for my new jump drive, he asked what I was going to use it for. I explained how it would help me to take information-- words, documents, pictures-- from one computer to another. I held the tiny device in front of me and marveled over how something so small could do something so amazing. That we have to take this technology for granted because if I think too much about it, its simply mind-blowing. Nat observed that its all a series of ones and zeros. And I continued to marvel that "I have no idea how it all works." Jack, sitting quietly by, watching his "How the Earth was Made" documentary, chimed in: "I know! You just take it and you put it in a slot and then you take it out!" Kid knows how to keep it real. I love him.

Oh, and FYI, I will be putting up a few pictures of Jack's first day at preschool, in the post from that day, below. Jack continues to report that he is having fun at school and most recently was proud to report that he can jump off the rock climbing wall from really really way up high and not even fall or cry. Atta boy.

First Day

2011-09-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

Jack started Pre-K today.

I ended up writing mostly about the children tonight on my other blog, so I am going to jsut link you over there for now, OK?

But I promise pictures soon!

http://anythingfor30days.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-13th.html

A couple of pictures:

Sparx in the Hyundai

2011-09-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

This morning dawned dismally. Gray light and pattering rain greeted me as I pulled myself from a luscious night of sleep up in my "nest" (the bed in my office that Nat encourages me to retreat to, once in a while, when Ivy's night wakings and my early mornings combine to make me a very droopy camper). Pattering rain and a grey day are not in and of themselves the worst things. At the right moment, they can both even be lovely.

But you see, today was supposed to be one of my favorite days of the year: the Sparx City Hop. One wonderful day full of people touring about Cleveland in trolleys, congregating in wonderful hidden neighborhoods, discovering galleries and restaurants, spontaneous art fairs and flea markets and car shows springing up around the trolley stops. Its fabulous.

And this year, it was rained out.

We'd talked ourselves into braving the threatening skies and trekking out, Kelty and McClaren in tow, when we discovered the event had been cancelled, in its entirety, due to weather.

Sigh.

But it turns out that even the most dismal day can be entirely redeemed. Here's the story of today.

A grumpy mommy took over the kiddos at 8am so Nat could go to Starbucks and get some work done. Jack and I played our own version of Bakugan for a while (which involves dice and comparing quantities up to 6, of course) and I tried valiantly to get some food into my reluctant eaters. We spent the usual inordinate amount of time getting children dressed, packing snacks, and running around the house to find shoes, toy cars, and other items we had forgotten. Finally at 9:30 we headed out the door and went to the J to check out the recently renovated Family Playroom.

The kids had a great time, clambering on the foam shapes in the gross motor room, and playing kitchen and garbage truck in the toyroom. Ivy was a hoot. She discovered the two dolls, the doll stroller, and the doll highchair and spent her time shuffling back and forth with one doll or the other clutched to her chest, trying to wrap them in blankets, patting them, and alternately placing them emphatically in the stroller and in the highchair. I wish I'd been able to get a video, of her concentration and her funny little posture, and the way she tried to push that highchair ALLLL the way in to the table. I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while.

Redeeming of the day, underway.

We detoured on our way home for a stop at a local thrift shop where we scored two pairs of shoes for the kids ($1 each! Keens and Skechers!) as well as a milk crate jam-packed with Hotwheels track, loops, starters, connectors, and a wild assortment of cars, planes, transformers and one very strange amphibious vehicle with a lot of propellers, labeled a Rescue Unit.

Add in some consumer therapy. Day is getting better.

Jack and Daddy and I assembled track and raced cars and folded laundry (well, OK, that part was mainly me) while Ive napped in the car. We discovered the Great Cancellation during this time but that disappointment aside, we had a lovely rainy-Saturday hour, the three of us.

When Ivy awoke we took a break for some lunch and then, somehow, Nat got the kids going on Ring-Around-the-Rosy. And apparently, this is the game Ivy has been waiting for her entire life. She couldn't get enough. Nat and I took turns walking in circles in our dining room with giggling, flailing children clinging to our hands until the whole thing just dissolved into laughter. I think Ivy would've played all day.

Watching our children play together and laughing til our sides hurt = not such a bad day after all...

So, as the understanding dawned on us that we would either be spinning in circles all afternoon or dealing with a very disappointed toddler if we didn't distract her soon, we decided to head out into the world. Cancelled Trolleys be damned. We would have our own Sparx City Hop. Sparx in the Hyundai.

We drove around through midtown til we found a few of the places we'd stopped at last year (a little glimmer of home but no cigar) before heading to our telos: downtown, to visit the Arcade.

And we had a most lovely visit to our fair city. By the time we parked near the Public Library, the sun was shining and it was a glorious fall day. We meandered through arcades and pedestrian malls and gardens for the better part of 2 hours. We saw a religious fanatic preaching his message on his own personal PA system, a large contingent of homeless people, and no fewer than 8 wedding parties. We may be memorialized in a number of photo albums. Our children posed for pictures on walls, ran down sidewalks, splashed in puddles, and had a snack at the soldiers and sailors monument. Ivy tried to do a somersault in a puddle of water. Jack was a ball of enthusiasm. We visited Starbucks and the sun glinted off of everything. It was rather a magical afternoon; we felt as if we'd gone abroad.

Day, all of a sudden = best I've had in a while.

From there we went to Edgewater. A boy wanted to wear his new Keens in the water. We were going to take a McDonald's picnic but the skies were threatening again and we didn't want our son's choice of activities to be rained out. Quick, quick into the swimtrunks and down to the beach we went, where Jack spent a few moments standing in 2 inches of water while Ivy did everything possible to keep her feet out of it, before we turned our attention to the giant sandbox that is the beach, with Jack and I building a sand ship and Ivy alternately digging in the sand and trying to get it off her hands. The sun glanced down from between the shifting clouds and the post-season beach was calm and clean and our children were easy and content.

We left for dinner before the day could lose a bit of its "Can't get much better" magic.

We'd promised McDonald's so McDonald's it was even though picnic plans had changed. Instead we ate-in and it turns out, we kind of like McDonald's. It seems like we always have a nice meal when we eat there. Something about the combination of greasy food and cheap, novel toys makes our children very happy, and tonight was no exception. So we decided to take it all the way and end our meal with ice cream.

Today, it seems, was sublime.

I hope your day was, too.

*I think I ought to note that all of the preceeding pictures were taken with Nat's phone. Freakishly good camera in that phone. When we went to download today's treasures, we accidentally imported all the pictures on the card. All 1100 of them. Ranging from winter 2010 to today, all those blurry and odd and perfect photos, snapped in the "where's my camera when i need it" moments. Beautiful. I am working on a plan to get the 250 pictures I deemed worthy collaged into 20-some pages because what a interesting view of our year that would be....

Ivy right now...

2011-09-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

Changing at the speed of light, this little girl.

Except for sleep. She still clings stubbornly to the sleep habits of a 6 month old. Sigh.

But other than that! Oh what fun she is becoming!

Here are some new developments from our youngest child:

* New words! Among them-- Sticky, Stinky, and Baby. All utterly adorable to listen to. She LOVES the word "sticky" and will say it over and over and repeat it, if she hears us say it in conversation.

*Dolls! She has suddenly gone all girly on us, and is now officially obsessed with the dolls she received last week from Grandpa and Vovo. She likes to take them along on walks, in the car, into the store or restaurant. Today at Chic-Fil-A she ate her dinner with her "bee-bee" tucked under one arm. She gives them kisses ("mah!!) and snuggles and walks them in her doll stroller and oh is she cute.To her credit she also takes Hotwheels and shoes for walks in her stroller.

* TV! She now watches television and has gotten into the routine of settling in to the small Poang chair, placed right next to Jack's TV chair, where the two of them will happily watch up to 30 minutes of video. She doesn't stay seated for that whole time but even as she wanders the living room or stands in her chair, she's pretty engaged in the shows, to the point that she repeats words said by characters in the show. So far she's pretty open-minded and will even watch Jack's new favorites-- animal documentaries-- but her favorites seem to be anything with music, and Bert and Ernie. I really shouldn't be happy that my barely 16 month old baby likes TV but I have to say-- both of them sitting and being entertained for a few moments, at the same time? It rocks.

*"Shyness"-She continues to be a friendly girl who loves to say "Hieee!" and charm everyone she meets but recently she'll follow that up with a cling to our legs or a shy head turn. She gets over it pretty quickly so at the moment its mostly endearing.

* Trying to run. You should see her do this little quasi-march, legs extending out straight in front, tromping about at a great rate... she's almost there with the running.

* Dancing. She does the twist, arms swinging and rotating her torso like mad, anytime music starts up. Interestingly she uses a similar motion to indicate "No way in H***" rather than just shaking her head no to things.

Well, my ramblings about my daughter must end now, as she is starting up her nightly "its about time for mom to go to bed so I'd better wake up and scream" routine.

Before I go I just have to share that she and Jack climbed all the way up the play structure at Chic-Fil-A tonight, the boy holding her hand and following her attentively the whole way. It was wonderful to see, one of those "OK, it might be worth it" moments. Especially when Jack happily exclaimed, "I just LOVE Ivy" when I asked him if they were having fun. Good stuff.

Now, off to have my nightly chat with my daughter about the whole "nighttime is for sleeping" thing. If she ever figures this out, she and I may actually get along pretty well....

God Bless Three Day Weekends

2011-09-05T19:51:00.001-07:00

"Back to School" is ALWAYS a shock to the system. I don't know why I am surprised by this again, every year. It's brutal, the early wake-up, the driving, the craziness at school, the craziness of my own darlings who only act like this because they miss me but STILL.... whew. Complicating matters have been runny noses, fevers, coughs, and the ensuing bad nights of sleep that come with two kids getting the same virus in succession.

This weekend, they felt better.

This weekend, I felt better.

I didn't think about school for (almost) three days (just did a BIT of planning before coming on here, because, you know, I ought to have SOMETHING ready for tomorrow...)

After being briefly overwhelmed by the state of affairs in the housecleaning department on Saturday morning, Nat and I divided and conquered and by today I even got to one of my long-term, organization projects. Nevermind the 33 more projects on that list...

HOT weather on Friday and Saturday (mid 90s! In September!) has morphed to fall-like chill and next weekend I'll probably be switching out our seasonal clothes.

In the meantime, here are some moments from our weekend trips to the Botanical Gardens and Rocky River Beach.

Box of Fun

2011-08-31T19:31:00.000-07:00

We received a delightful package in the mail today (just what a still-sick birthday boy needed. Grandpa and Vovo sent a birthday package for Jack, with presents for everyone in the household too. How fun! Jack greeted me at the door with his new soccer ball ("I just LOVE balls, Mommy!") and so we went to the park. Ivy brought (and hugged and cuddled) one of her new dolls, too. (Good lord, how did this gender division happen? The further I go down this path of mothering a boy and a girl, the more I believe it MUST be inborn...)

At any rate, here's a video and some pictures for you, so you can share in the lovely evening we just had...

I think I may be in danger of becoming a soccer mom, with how cute that kid looks in a soccer jersey. Oh my.

The things he says, 4-year-old version

2011-08-28T18:27:00.000-07:00

The birthday boy spent a good portion of his actual-factual birthday rather miserable with a fever. Sigh. The rest of the day? He spent it cracking us up with the things he says. A random sampling:

* This morning upon waking he was observed to look intently at his hands, feet, and tummy, and then remark, "How can I be 4?? I still look like I did when I was 3 1/2!"

* While playing an "I Spy" game, we had the following exchange:
(after finding the whale) Me: "Can you find another animal that lives in the water?"
Jack: (aiming flashlight at the fish) "F-i-sh"
Me: (pointing at the seal) "Where does this animal live?"
Jack: It lives sometimes on the land and sometimes in the water."
Me: "How did you find out so much about seals??"
Jack: "I don't know, I guess I just have a good brain."

* In the car on the way home from riding the trains at Penitentiary Glen (his birthday outing, which we managed to squeeze in before he started feeling crummy):

(note: this was pretty much out of the blue.)

"Daddy!!"
"What, Jack?"
"What if we had a waterproof smartphone and we could take pictures with it under water???"

This led, somehow, to a long discussion about waterproof cupcakes. Jack noted that a waterproof cupcake would be soggy, but not tooo soggy. Just a little bit.

(Oh, and lest we forget, a fine moment from last weekend, leaving the Greek Festival, Daddy walking ahead holding our newly purchased rainbow windsock which he had, moments before, compared to a squid. Jack, in the stroller, decided it would be fun to be pushed through the trailing tails of the windsock and so he enthusiastically ordered me, the whole way to the car: "Run the squid! C'mon mom! Run the squid!"

I could go on, if I could remember them all.

It is crazy to think this is the little tiny baby we weld in amazement 4 years ago today, little curled soft thing asleep on my chest and now he is this boy, barrel chested and lanky and talking up a storm, putting the world and words together and sorting it all out with impeccable, four-year-old logic.

He is a delight.

And, for the record, feeling "quite a bit" (his words) better thanks to the wonders of Advil, snugly tucked in under his new "bed shader" (AKA fabulous bed tent) up in that big bed, 3 newly-beloved Bakugan tucked in with him. He had a great weekend. So did we...

Birthday Boy!

2011-08-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful Saturday.

A perfect day, a blue-sky day, a soft-air-soft-breeze, not-so-buggy day. A wonderful day for a party.

The yard dressed up well.

And, there was cake.

And there were good friends.

And presents, of course!

There were cute little same-size boys playing Hotwheels in the back, cars leaping off the track, daddies working so hard to make it work and boys thrilled with just the attempt; there were cute little same-size girls with runny noses wandering the yard in their sing-song gait, up and down and up and down the stairs and the cellar door; new friends and old gathering and chatting at the table and the deck, a cute squishy baby to snuggle and two grandmas and an aunt to help. The sun filtered through the leaves and lit up all those little faces and we sat around and drank iced coffee and ate too many cupcakes and soaked it all in.

I love my kids' birthday parties.

And I love this boy.

He'll be 4 in just a few hours. Four years ago right now I was having a very long evening, hours that seemed so long but were but a blink in the scope of motherhood.... four years ago there was no turning back; a little baby boy was headed down a birth canal and into the world and ready to make me into a mommy, his mommy. He's tucked in upstairs in his new, big-boy loft bed and I don't know where these years have gone or how they've gone so fast but oh, it has been an amazing journey so far....

Happy Birthday, dear Jack.

Long Goodbye

2011-08-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

The last weekend of summer break is bittersweet. Trying to fit in as many events as possible into these fleeting moments, acutely aware that this is it, the real world looms-- and that looming lays on a little veneer of stress over the days, an edge of mania and irritability under the surface of the enjoyment.

The kids have felt it as much as Nat and I. All day today Jack has swung between grumpiness, lethargy, and fits of giggling. He's been completely unenthusiastic about activities designed for his enjoyment (ie, refusing to go in the bounce house at the Greek Festival) as well as not listening and taking his dawdling to the limits of human tolerance. Nat was about ready to throttle him and I do hope tomorrow goes more smoothly for them when I abandon them to each other's devices. Ivy wasn't as bad but she has been a bit of a clingy momma's girl these past few days. They know change is coming. Though I think the maniacal boy at least will benefit from the return to a routine. We are hoping it will help him deal with life on a more even keel, as he's been very easily overwhelmed and emotional recently. Routine, and perhaps the magic of turning FOUR. We've heard good things about four...

But I digress. This post was supposed to provide you with pictures as well as an update on the Ivy-thing. I'll give it the old college try on the pictures but I don't think we'll get to an in-depth on Ivers tonight. So just let me tell you real quick that she's adding words to her vocabulary at a great rate, all of a sudden, and yesterday she said "crib", "bow" and "sticker" in the same 5 minutes. This morning, she said "beagle." I could go on, oh I could go on, because now that she is starting to sleep just a little bit better these past few nights, I am loving this baby so much... but I'll do her justice later this week. Promise.

For now, pictures. In reverse chronological order. For no particular reason.

Today we fit in two of our favorite summer events, Canine Fun Days and the Greek Fest. I think Canine Fun Days is one of my favorite days of the whole entire year. You really can't beat an event which draws HUNDREDS of the best-behaved dogs in the Cleveland area, and their owners, who all happen to love dogs, and a bunch of booths-of-crap that are all focused on dogs. Plus there's games-- for the dogs. We watched dock-diving and the "Best Biscuit Catcher" competition and Lure Coursing. Corydon rocked the Fear Factor course ( she's not brave, just oblivious...) and had a blast on the agility equipment.

Contrary to her face in this picture, Ivy loved the dog contest, clapping enthusiastically after each dog caught it's biscuit.

Here are Jack and I, about to run Cor around the agility ring. For a dog who only gets to do this about once a year, she did pretty well.

Jack had a great time walking Cor around for a while, away from the crowds. This is just before the deluge that had us hiding out under a tent with 6 greyhounds, 3 chihuahuas, a rescue dog adopted 5 minutes earlier, and their respective humans. It was a memorable trip.

Home for a bit, some time to relax in front of the television, and then off to the Greek Fest we went. Since Jack wouldn't go in the bounce house, we spent most of the time sitting at some nice tables set up in the shade by the Greek Coffee tent, while Jack and Ivy ran around and played with the poles holding up strings of lights. The sun slanted in on us and there was a lovely breeze and Greek music drifted over as we ate souvlaki and loukomathes and french fries and it was a gentle, sighing goodbye to summer break...
(pictures to come when we get them off the phone...)

Backtracking:

Last night we had one of Jack's friends over for the evening so her parents could go out to dinner (looking forward to our half of the kid trade equation sometime soon!). She's a lovely girl and she, Jack, and Ive had a great time together, cooking, playing school, and watching parts of both the Monster Fish documentary that Jack is currently obsessed with, and Mary Poppins. A few moments from the evening. It's hard to capture good shots when you're busy entertaining three very active littles, so pardon the poor photography...

The "crazy 3" holding still for just a moment to learn about very large fish...

You'll notice they are covered in stickers. That's from playing school. I couldn't get any action shots of that, as I was busy leading structured activities with 2 preschoolers and keeping one baby occupied the whole time, but here's what the table looked like when we were done.

Ivy loves spaghetti.

Man, this kid is good looking. Note the dimple. Which allows him to get away with anything.

And here is a little video of the kids as they waited for supper. Warning: you may want to turn your volume WAY down before watching...

Three kids = an adventure.

Backtracking:

Here are a few shots from our trip to the South Euclid Splash Park on Thursday.

Backtracking:

Some shots from our last weekend in Farley's. Jamie and Casey's wedding was really quite perfect... and brought back memories of 5 years ago, for sure... Here's the beautiful couple.

And the beautiful kids.

Note the pigtails.

Note the sky.

It's been a wonderful summer, folks. Thanks for sharing it with us. Wish me luck tomorrow as we jump into the school year... I'll be in touch...

Nonstop

2011-08-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the dearth of pictures. I will make amends soon.

It all is, you know?

Summer and weekends and laundry and dishes, festivals and car rides and the mess in the playroom, flowers blooming and all the mosquitoes and my kids growing up every minute before my eyes.

Nonstop.

I'd like to press pause sometimes so I could just sit back and sift through it all, savor the good moments and write it all down. Freeze time and admire the light in my daughter's hair, my son's one-dimple smile, the faces alight with giggles as they tumble (one-second-from-disaster) together on the bed. I'd like to have a magial tape-recorder that would capture each and every funny phrase that comes out of the boy's mouth, share it on Facebook, then engrave it into my heart. I want to spend hours admiring the snuggled weight and softness of a sleeping babe in my arms, without feeling one twinge of "but I should really" as I rock her.

I'd like all that very much, thank you. I don't want to miss out on a second of the living, the doing, the busy rush of fun and work and the satisfaction of filling my days-- I just want some extra time on the side, too.

We are hurtling along toward my firstborn's FOURTH birthday. How that is possible, I cannot tell you. One week from tomorrow we'll have a party, with Hotwheels galore and twin-racing tracks with tunnels and lots of chocolate frosting for a boy to lick off of cupcakes. We'll fill the yard with 10-plus little people and their mommies and daddies and, if all goes well, our home will be full of friends til long after dark. It will be one of the best days of the year. As it should be, to celebrate that long long day, 4 years ago, when this little-big boy made me a mommy.

In the meantime we have Greek Festivals and Canine Fun Days and a lot of stressing out about the start of school; a first week of teaching to survive; nonstop life to keep up with. There's a lot of living to be done in the next 7 days.

But what I want to do, what I meant to do when I started writing tonight, is to step out of the living for a moment and try to hold on to my children as they are, right now, before this nonstop life grows them up anymore.

Jack.
The Jackman, Jackie, Jackie bear. The Boy. Twinkle eyes and ornery-ness and skinny legs and ribs, tan back and arms and hair that likes to stand up in the back. Emotional and enthusiastic, he is all elbows and knees when he runs or dances or hugs. He likes to put off bedtime and put off leaving and put off coming home. He likes to say "No" first. He likes to change his mind. He doesn't love mealtimes but he will always eat chocolate, hot dogs, or shredded cheese.

Loves his Hotwheels, with their ever-creative names: Red Car, Yellow Car, Silver Car, Snoofie-Snoofie-nee. Loves Dinosaur Train and Wordworld and SuperWhy and documentaries on giant fish or bugs or sharks. Likes to make his cars fly and fight and fall; likes to wrestle and roughhouse and build forts and knock things down.

Yep. He's a boy.

He's still deliberate, sometimes. Sometimes there's that baby boy, the little buddha, who would sit and examine his own hands or a spot on the floor. He still notices little things and little changes, questions any incongruity and seeks to explain and categorize and order his world. Then moments later he's running in circles yelling jibberish and giggling.

Yep, he's almost 4.

Oh how I wish I could tell you right now some of the things he's said today to make me smile. That nonstop life, gets in the way of remembering it, every time. I shall make that a goal this weekend, to capture some of his words. He's such a talker, he knows so much; some of the things he says are so astute, so surprising, so true. His syntax is so wonderful in its imperfection and I am in love with his soft "l" sounds... "There are some si- wohs, we must be close to Far-weey's!" despite the fact that they make him hard to understand sometimes. And he can't stand it when we don't understand him. He's not big on patience right now, bossy little man who talks back and demands and then wins us over again in a heartbeat when he finally remembers that "please" and that smile. That smile. That dimple that sneaks out when he tries to pout so there's no hiding when he's faking the grumpies.

He's not always faking, though. He needs his warm-up time, our boy. Naps are starting to go by the wayside and when he does fall asleep, in the car or after an hour of playing in his room, the wake-up is a long and difficult process. He watches and waits in any new situation and almost always warms up and jumps in (with enthusiasm!) if he just has enough time. The emotions only flare when we try to rush him in, in OUR enthusiasm that he participate, have fun, get in there and DO it. We must try to learn patience along with him. Because of course he's inherited my perfectionism. Gets so frustrated with himself when he can't draw like us, can't reach something, can't do anything right away. He holds back, says wrong answers on purpose, changes the subject or leaves the activity, anytime he feels like he might not know something, might not be perfect at it, right away.

( Note to my parents: Sound familiar? I don't know how you put up with me, I really don't.)

We are learning (slowly) to just back off. To just wait. To let him struggle with his own demons and do things when he's ready. Because he always does. A switch with flip and there he'll be. Walking. Running. Riding that bike. Writing his name (all except for the K, at least). Amazing us every day with the things he'd soaked up and learned just from being in the world.

Something wonderful he's been learning just recently is compassion. He's coming into his own as a big brother and he's starting to show concern for all of us, going out of his way to help (whether or not that help is appreciated by his sister), asking what's wrong when people are sad, making the most generous and thoughtful statements when you least expect them. "When I'm at my party I'll give all the ribbons to my friends and just have the last one for me." It's wonderful to see him becoming kind.

Happy and Kind. That's what I hope and pray my children grow up to be.

I think the Boy is on the right track.

Tune in for notes on Ivy later this weekend. Nonstop life has taken me an hour close to bedtime and I've got to be ready to meet this weekend head-on. Sleep well, friends.

Back to the real world...

2011-08-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

Warning: the following post wanders into quasi-philosophical musings and contains absolutely no actual updates on the children. Feel free to skim and move on.

We're home again from Farley's and the real world is setting in. As we drove away from the lake I said goodbye to the water and goodbye to summer, too. School doesn't start, officially, til Monday and Nat isn't back til the week after that. But we were back in practice mode the morning after we got home, me off to tutor and work in my room, Nat off to Lakeland to write after a brief kid exchange in the afternoon.

There seems to be enough summer lingering in the air that these past few days haven't felt that hard. The mornings have been early but I've left school by 3 and that hour of difference makes a huge difference. There's time enough to walk tohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif the grocery store, make dinner AND play on the bed. Or to go to the splash park AND to Melinda's for dinner. I am left thinking, "I can do this."

I will hold on to that.

This teaching profession, it's big on creating transitions for you. The Great Divide of summer, breaking apart one year from the next. The way your life shifts for 2 months then has to swing back to a new center and everyone in your life has to swing along with it.

Melinda heads back to school next week, too, after just about two years off with her girls. Reading her post on her wonderful blog, about sending her girls to daycare for the first time, got me to thinking about my own shift in persona. Next week I officially turn back into a "working mom." Because I spend the larger part of the year thoroughly enmeshed in that role, it becomes the one that defines me as a parent. Even though I am coming off of a two month stretch of full-time mothering, I haven't once thought of myself as a full-time mom. I am just a working mom on break. And so I guess I take it for granted that I'll be leaving my kids, abandoning them really, stepping out of their lives for 10 hours a day 5 days a week, to go back to my job.

I suppose it makes it easier that I have the (absolute and amazing) luxury of leaving them, home snug in their beds, with their daddy. But also I have the (strange to call it this) luxury of never having know it any other way. Ten to fourteen weeks of maternity leave aside, I have never been home with my babes full time. Never, at least, on my own, the sole provider and helpmeet to the littles day in and day out. Never to the point at which it becomes who I am.

I'm a bit jealous of my friend, you know? She has gotten to be that person, really be her, for these two years. I think about what I've missed out on, as my babies have rocketed through their infancies in a series of evening walks and fleeting weekends. I wonder how it would have been, to be truly present for every bit of their babyhood. I wonder how that would have changed me.

And at the same time I bask in my luck that I do not have to go through what I imagine she is feeling right now: A change in self, a strange meshing of halves as she steps out of the role of "mom" and back into "teacher". The wondering, whether either one will truly fit again.

I know, of course, that they will fit, wonderfully. Because my friend is an amazing woman who is capable of all things. But (just like our pre-momma jeans) they won't feel the same. And it'll take some breaking in and stretching to get there.

We're used to that, though. Isn't that what's been happening for 4 years now, the constant adjustment to our new lives and selves? This transition back to work, its no more or less than all the moments of the days in between. A slide, a check, a change, questions and decisions and second-guessing and a healthy dose of sleep deprivation on the side.

And at the end of the day four soft arms wrapping around my legs and four shining eyes and two tiny voices that call me mommy and make my heart catch a little every time. And at the end of the day, wherever I've been all day, that's who I still am and who I will be when I leave again. At the end of the day, it's going to be fine.

Farley's II

2011-08-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

We're back at our summer home-away-from-home and it feels great.

A different tone to the visit this time: we are focused on Jamo and Casey's wedding rather than solely the fine art of relaxation. Not to say that we are not relaxing. No, we slipped back into Farley's life like a comfortable shoe.

The upcoming wedding is exciting, but means that I am not seeing much of Nat this trip, as he is the best man and therefore busy at all times. I kind of miss him, you know? Luckily my mom (AKA Gram Gram) is along for this trip so we are teaming up with the kids. It's been a laid-back visit; many many trips to the park and round the castle loop, much playing on the porch with bristle-block spaceships and block towers, seeing the lake through windows rather than from the water. But oh, that is better than no lake at all!

We did get out for a perfect boat ride this afternoon. Both kids took a turn driving the boat-- Jack did it all by himself and let me tell you, that kid is not afraid to TURN. As I clutched the side of our swerving boat I also had to hold Ivy back from shoving her brother out of the way so she could get her hands on the wheel. Its kind of unreal, the extent to which she feel she MUST, immediately, do what Jack is doing. He puts a sweatshirt on, she goes and gets her sweater. He gets sunscreen on his arm, she sticks her arm out. He wears sandals, she tries to take them off his feet so she can wear them. Its a riot. It also involves a LOT of whining and a fair amount of pushing and grabbing. Oh joy.

Here are a few pictures from our brief moment on the lake (we went swimming this afternoon too...) More to come tomorrow. We're just back from the (pictureperfect and absolutelywonderful) wedding and I am off to bed soon...

Don't you just love the look on her face here? "That's right, I'VE got the wheel. And you better not mess with me, buddy."

He takes his driving seriously.

County Fair

2011-08-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

Another day, another summer outing...

We went to the fair last night. On opening night, no less, as it was the our only chance to go before heading off to Farley's II.

It was great.

Got in for $1 (with a canned food donation) and we were treated to all the sights and sounds of Americana at its finest. Livestock barns, of course, where Jack and Ivy were disappointed by the lack of pettable cows, but enthralled with the very sociable miniature horses.

Here's Jack trying to call a calf over to the fence.

And, feeding the horses.

Other favorites included the sheep and goats, who were also quite friendly. Here's Ivy taking off to see what's across the barn. It seems a lot of pictures of her, recently, involve her striding off, fearlessly, away from us...

A dinner of more greasy food than we could handle, in the pavilion next to the chainsaw-carving guy (great choice, there, mom... Poor Jack had to go sit somewhere else so that he could eat; he just couldn't handle the noise. We were finally tipped off to this when he crawled under the table...)

And, the rides! This is why the fair is so wonderful. Where else in the civilized world can you find such a perfect combination: good selection of kiddie rides, elephant ears, AND barns full of cows?

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The girls, waiting for Jack. Next year, loves, next year...

Spazzmatics

2011-08-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

That's the name of the 80's cover band playing at the Warehouse District Festival this evening. It is also a handy moniker for our children. Here are some videos of the dancing machines, to brighten up your evening...

Gardens galore...

2011-08-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

We are drinking up summer, yes we are, and walking through gardens while we do it.

It's been a lovely week, really. A few days spent at school, doing tutoring and working in my room (and I have to tell you, I could really get into this being my level of work, all the time...), the rest of the time spent with my family. Jack and I had a mommy-son "date" on Wednesday and oh, it was delightful to spend some one on one time with that boy of mine. Turns out, he's pretty wonderful. And at his very best when he is getting absolute, one-to-one attention. We went out to breakfast and it was amazing-- he ate, we chatted, he was perfect. We went to the dollar store where he selected a new HotWheel and a "glow-up shooter." (Turns out, he's a boy, too. He noted at the art museum today, as we entered the armor court, "I just LOVE shooters!") Then we went to Wade Oval where we ran and chased balls, per his request. (When asked where we should go for our date, his response sounded something like "I can wear my sneakers and you can wear your sneakers and we can run and jump and I can jump while I am running and jump while I am walking." Kid knows what he wants.) A lovely morning. We met Nat and Ive for lunch at the parent center and then, in lieu of a rainy Wade Oval Wednesday, we went to Chick-Fil-A. Love that place. Peach Milkshakes and two happy kids in a Playplace. Not to mention air conditioning. Sublime.

Friday, we went to Stan Hywet. Melinda and Will and the gang met us there and we wpent a wonderful 3 hours in the gardens. In a few years we'll visit the house again... sigh... for this trip I enjoyed the view of the exterior architecture as seen over the tops of two little blonde heads.

Or sometimes, four.

Nat captured this one of Melinda and I, brood in tow. What would our college selves have thought of this...

I think they would be pleased. With the "Secret Garden", at any rate. It seems our children love these magical paths as much as we do.

Today, continued the theme, with a trip to the Botanical Gardens with friends Erik and Sarah and their daughter Claire (one week older than Jack, and his friend since the age of 10 months...) Children played in sand and dipped toes in the pond and climbed and laughed. Another hot, sunny, perfect day in an entrancing, perfect place. Can't help but think how wonderfully lucky we are. Wonderfully.

You'll notice in this next set the children are wearing different clothing. That's because these are from last week. We get to visit this place every week. See what I mean about lucky?

It is so cute to watch Ivy as she attempts to do every little thing Jack does...she knows just what to do.

Finally, the most kissable little face in the world. The boy was a little tired after our trip yesterday...

We're still here!

2011-07-31T19:05:00.000-07:00

Along with many, many visitors this weekend! The past few days have been a wonderful whirlwind of cleaning and visiting and eating and drinking and watching little ones play together and it has been grand (if exhausting). A part of me wishes the weekend would go on forever, or at least that we could do this every weekend. And the rest of me is very glad to be going back to our routine tomorrow!

We started the weekend on Friday with a second Henderson family reunion, when my cousin Steve and his family visited on their way from California to their new home in Maryland. Steve (who is the son of my mom's brother Ed) and I have managed to never meet each other before now. About time! Turns out, the hypothesis that Hendersons are pretty cool people, still holds true. We had a wonderful time getting to know Steve, his wife Eileen ( who is a house buff like me! ) and their charming children Gavin and Ada. Gavin is just over 4 so Jack was in seventh heaven, with a friend-in-residence here for 24 hours. The two boys bonded instantly and played so well together. Ada is adorable and spent a lot of her time giving a "baby" (a small stuffed dog who looks like a Springer Spaniel) to Corydon. She was pretty insistent that Corydon have this "baby" with her at all times, in fact. So cute. Ivy enjoyed following the crew around and being a part of the action....

Gram-Gram (aka Steve's aunt-whom-he-had-never-met) joined us for a wonderful dinner and a bottle of wine from their home in Napa and later we stayed up til midnight just chatting. Jack and Gavin were back to playing the instant they awoke the next morning. Oh, what a happy boy we had!
Sadly our little girl spent the night fussing and not sleeping much at all and awoke Saturday morning with a fever and a runny nose. Sigh. Luckily Little Miss Sunshine is a trouper and with the help of regular doses of Ibuprofen and a lot of tissues, she made it through the day smiling.

The people she is smiling with? Our next 2 rounds of visitors, who arrived before the Henderson crew had even left. First, we went for a wonderful lunch at Melinda and Will's, to spend time with Steve, Laura, and 2 year old Noah. Laura, most impressively, had just completed a one mile open-water swim in Lake Erie. They came for that but stayed the rest of weekend just to visit, and it is wonderful to have some our our Hiram family come back to town because they act as a magnet for everyone still in the area... it felt so right to be sitting in a circle of some of my favorite people, eating hot dogs and cookies and watching the next generation play together in the yard.

We only tore ourselves away to return home and welcome Fiona and Anthony, and their daughter Keely, who came for the sole purpose of visiting us. Aren't they grand? We had this magical bit of time where we lounged in the front yard, little Keely happily wandering, Jack playing quietly with grass and sticks, just enjoying the shade and each other's company (Ivy was napping at the time or that wouldn't have been possible. Love my daughter, so much, but there's no such thing as lounging when she's around!)

Steve and Laura and Noah, along with Kate, joined us at home for dinner. That picture above is us being smart and feeding the kids first; the adults had Melt takeout later on. Once again, our house had "4 under 4" playing and toddling about, but we had enough adults to balance it out and we all floated back and forth from kid-duty to adult chatter and it was lovely. S'mores and campfire with Noah and jack capped off the evening, along with an early bedtime for Ivy-the-sniffler and her tired mommy...

This morning we continued the theme. Steve, Laura and Noah spent the night so once again Jack was thrilled to find a playmate-in-residence when he awoke. And by that I am referring primarily to Steve, who really is a pied-piper around the little ones... After a leisurely morning here, we al trekked to Willoughby and spent the day at Kate's house, enjoying each other's company and Kate's lakefront access. I have no idea why we don't do that more often. Jack and Ivy both loved hunting rocks on the little beach and getting sprayed by the waves on the breakwall. The day was gloriously bright but the beach was shaded and breezy and it was a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon...

A happy, happy weekend indeed. Thanks to all who traveled to Cleveland and helped to fill our home with the love and happiness of children and family and friends. I think the whole place is glowing from it all. Or maybe that's all just spilled apple juice and cheerios. Either way, it was perfect. Here's to a wonderful week to come...

Back to Farley's...

2011-07-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

... for a few more pictures! We DO go back, for real, in just a couple of weeks, which is a wonderful thought on these hot, humid, land-locked days. This morning's run was swamplike and difficult, not because of cardio-vascular effort but simply the effort of slogging through the water-choked air. I felt like I'd just gotten out of a (tepid, salty) shower when I got home. Yum.

On the upside we did get to see a bit of sunset over the water tonight, via the East 9th Street pier, as we were downtown for "An Evening with Bill Maher". Another of Nat's NPR wins, and probably the best yet. An hour and a half of wonderful, irreverent stand-up comedy with a crowd of raucous middle-aged white liberals loving the fact that this man can stand on a stage and say all those things we think to ourselves but never have the guts to say aloud. I laughed so hard I cried a few times. Oh, if only that mass laughter could create the change we wish to see in this country!

We left the kidokes with a very-happy-to-see-them Gram Gram and enjoyed ourselves a little night out. The past few days have been home- and kid centered, with hours spent doing cleaning, organizing, chores while kids play, and then one of us taking the troupe out for an afternoon event while the other gets alone time. Today was my day to take the kids and we had a hot, sticky, glorious time in the Hershey's Children's Garden. What an enchanted place! All those child-sized arches and little secret paths, stepping stones over creeks and a treehouse and a hedgemaze and statues to discover in the woods. Most of our time was spent in the water-pump and samdbox area where Jack eventually joined in with an industrious group of children who created quite a lake in the sandbox, and Ivy walked around with rakes and played with stones. We came home sandy, tired, happy messes.

With no further ado! Here are some shots from the rest of the Farley's trip:

From july 2011 farleys 3 keepers

Jack and ALex heading off to the park. On their own. Quite the independent young men of the world. Jack was so proud and so confident.

I love this shot because of everything you can see reflected in the sunglasses...

At Long Point for the annual Morehouse Family photo shoot.

The "kids table" on Claire's porch.

New family picture!

Both kids! Smiling! At the same time!

Funny face boy.

Oh! The hair!

And, they're off..

There he goes, that grown up boy. Can you believe he'll be 4 in a month? Oh my.

Things I am loving right now...

2011-07-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

These summer storms. Delicious rain and wind and actual cool air blowing in our windows, breaking the oppressive heat. Was it sublime to have two solid weeks of sun for our vacation? Yes. Am I loving this rain now? You bet.

Target brand sugar free peach iced tea mix. Make some of this stuff up in a Bell jar with as many ice cubes as you can fit, and you feel like you are having a decadent treat. Not too many treats at the moment as we are attempting to atone for our " desert every night " madness in NY. Sigh.

Alone time at home. I probably shouldn't admit this sort of thing on a "Mommy's Blog" which seems to exist only to glorify my children, but oh, I do love a little time at home without them. Sensing that I needed a sanity break, Nat stole them away to the Natural History Museum and I had 2 glorious hours in which I did some schoolwork, puttered about, cleaned the playroom, organized toys, and wasted time on the internet. It was great. And, I was truly happy to see them come home, which was even better.

Going for a walk, half a block behind my boy because he's racing ahead on his bike. He's a man obsessed, putting on his helmet first thing when he wales up. It's all we can do to get breakfast in him before were off. Ivy in the stroller, Cor ambling along beside us, through our sun-strewn neighborhood. It's a picture postcard, really it is.

Ivy's funny voices. She does this gutteral little chortle, and babbles on and on in a voice that can best be compared to a joking dinosaur. And babble she does! She has so much to say right now, if only we could understand it all.

Her curls. Can't keep my hands out of them. I am always reassuring her that she is more than just a nice head of hair... but I love that hair as much as the rest of the world, it turns out. And all this humid weather we've had, only makes her curls better.

Our friends. We had the most delightful evening yesterday, fishing up a 98 degree day (4 hours of which were spent at the mall. yep. We were those people...) with dinner at Melinda and Will's. We were going to grill out and run children in the sprinkler but a storm came along and kept us inside. Turns out, that was perfect because through some miracle of planet alignment, all 4 children played and wandered quietly for the better part of an hour as the adults carried on a real, live conversation. I'd almost forgotten what that felt like...

Picnic season. In full lake withdrawl today,we headed off for a dinner picnic at Rocky River Beach, 30 minutes of driving for a 45 minute stay as a rumbly storm moved in moments after our arrival. We managed to fit in some wading for Jack, some sand exploration for Ivy, plenty of swimming for Cor, and even a picnic, albeit a somewhat abbreviated meal due to the fact that we packed up at the first raindrops and raced home ahead of the deluge. We finished our meal back at home on the front porch, watching the rain fall. Jack danced around in his shoes, undies, rain coat and duck umbrella. Ivy wandered the porch and exclaimed in her funny voice about the bikes. We drank peach iced tea. Summer is good.

Home again

2011-07-20T17:24:00.000-07:00

We've arrived back in Cleveland to enjoy the 90 degree temperatures and humidity that this fair city of ours has to offer. Thankfully the house is a bit of a sanctuary of (comparative) cool and calm. Thankfully we cleaned before we left. Best. Decision. Ever. We have decided to only unpack items as we need them so as to keep the chaos of travel contained in the van and not sullying our home. Not just yet, at any rate.

It feels like we have been gone much longer than two weeks. We've all been a bit out of sorts since our return, a lot of wandering around and looking at random things, some manic hyperactivity on the part of the kids, followed by the very wilted little boy watching Miffy in his chair right now. Corydon seems to have transitioned back the best, seeming utterly content to be sacked out on her couch again. I would expect her to miss the lake terribly-- but with how tired this spaniel has been the past few days, I wonder if it isn't a relief to her, that she is not compelled to swim and play with the neighbor dogs. Jack and Ivy, too, seem happy to be back and I hope that Jack in particular does not go into cousin-and-Farley's withdrawl tomorrow. At least not too badly.

It was a wonderful trip, to answer your question. We have just shy of 200 pictures in our Farley's 2011 album. And those are the "keepers!" I have my work cut out for to summarize our two weeks in a photo book. For now, a few things I want to remember about our stay...

Jack embracing "Farley's Freedom," feeling so very comfortable at the point, riding his bike so fast, around the circle, to the castle. Heading off to the playground with his cousins. Playing quietly in the yard, floating in an innertube out to the raft, climbing on his own into the boat. Jack asking for more time with his Lulu and telling us all about his cousins. Asking questions about how car engines work and electricity and boats and and and... He wants to learn about everything and talk about it all and I wish I had a tape recorder going for all the things he says, the way he says them, his little voice and inflections and earnestness and the surprising vocabulary he has soaked up. He has grown up, tangibly, in the space of these two weeks. I truly forget he is still only a 3 year old...

Ivy trying to put shirts on her head-- enthusiastically wrapping them around the back of her neck and walking around with her proud face on. Learning how to wave at each passing car and at each passing boat. Carefully moving gravel from one place to another, or moving Corydon's dog food a kibble at a time, to the mortar-and-pestle doorstop. Walking, nigh-running, over every type of terrain. Loving the slide, ready to climb herself right up to the top and walk herself right down. "Friendly and fearless," she was described at the Chapel family reunion. That's her to a T and she has come into her own with that fearlessness on this trip. It's going to be a great trait for her, it really will, but it may be the death of me first...

While Ive continues to be a motor-driven little girl, charging around the world, she is beginning to say a few recognizable words. In addition to "Hi" and "daddy" and "Jackie" she is saying "dog" (or deegoo or owie or a "panting" sound, any of those can refer to a dog, reminiscent of the way Eskimos have many words for snow...) and cat. She quacks for a duck and makes a pretty cute monkey sound. She signs, sometimes, for eat, more, all done and help, though her preferred way to tell us what she wants is to point at it and make a "mmmm, mmmm" sound.

And today, she added "Ah-meee" to her vocabulary. Its a whole new world of love now that the girlie calls me by name...

Off to download and sort and upload and, eventually, post the latest round of pictures. Our internet access was spotty the last few days at the lake so I've gotten behind. Though there is something to be said for being unable to spend my evening hours on the internet. I was forced to sit by the lake and read a fluffy novel instead...

Sunny Days.

2011-07-14T19:15:00.001-07:00

You know, it still hasn't rained on our vacation. We've had two days where winds came up and some drops fell-- for about 3 minutes. Not even enough to wet the ground thoroughly. The grass is looking a bit brown around here. But oh! The lake is blue! I will take this sun, thank you. There is nothing like waking up to the sight of the glittering water peeking through the porch windows, the other side of the lake a hazy shadow and the tips of the waves alight.

In order to not take this weather for granted, we gave our sun-kissed offspring a bit of a solar break yesterday and spent the day inside, at the rather phenomenal Strong Museum of Play. Amy has been taking Lauren and the triplets to Rochester daily this week, so Lauren can attend a flute camp there. While the trio's been having a grand time at a few different museums, Jack's been missing them terribly. So we joined forces yesterday and it was wonderful watch the crew enjoy this amazing, stimulating space together. Jack, of course, became the 4th triplet and ran off with his cousins, who are all so wonderful with him and seemed to take great pleasure in helping him explore the museum. Miss Ivy Jane kept up pretty well, though her favorite activity seemed to be taking off at a near-run in some random direction, and even faster toward stairs or ramps. I was particularly grateful for a few areas designed for small ones her size, with accessible, simple activities, low stairs, things to open and close, and most importantly, a wall around the outside!

Here are a few visuals from our trip to the Museum:

And, in other news on the point-- Jack has finally started riding his bike! I know, he was riding a bike months ago. But then he fell one time and didn't want to ride again, didn't like the way the training wheels wobbled... (hmmm, sound like anyone else we know?). And, since we've been here he's stuck to the scooter and continued to avoid even the little blue bike. But last night-- off he went. Just like that, in classic Jack fashion, chasing after his cousins. He's been a bit obsessive about it since and is getting quite good. Here's some footage.

And, to close, a few more pictures from the point.
Jack and Hannah out for a boat ride.

Our walk up Great Gully. Love his face here.

Pretty.

Bob, Grant, and baby Kyle.

Emily, Stephanie and baby Isabella (with me).

What a place to enjoy an ice cream cone.

Jack and Alex.

I love him.

Ivy, making a run for it with Daddy's cell phone. The two large bruises on her cheek aside, she's really walking amazingly well.

Cousins at play. Beautiful to watch this.

Just plain beautiful.

I am off to enjoy the full moon over the water for a bit before bed. Goodnight all.

Picture time!

2011-07-11T13:53:00.001-07:00

A little photo tour of the past few days on Farley's Point. Today's been a hot one and Ivy and I are whiling away some time on the porch waiting for the wind to blow in the rain it's been threatening all day. Hasn't rained since our arrival so it is about time...

An inordinate number of our photos seem to be of Ivy and Corydon on the kayak. They ARE pretty cute. Here's a sampling.

More of Ivy and her popsicle..

Ivy loves to give!

Stealing beads from Lulu...

Enjoying corn on the cob...

Just look how blond she's getting! Not wearing a hat'll do that do you...

With cousin Kyle, just 3 weeks younger.

And, just being a cherub.

And a few of the boy-- by day

fun random fact: his swimming noodles match the raft paint this year. Exactly.

And by night

He adores the speedboat, as he calls it. Last night Nat and I went out for a quick sunset jaunt just the two of us, Ivy in bed and Jack playing with cousins. When we came in to shore he was waiting on the dock so we went back out with him too. And that was just as wonderful.

Farley's, continued...

2011-07-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

There is something about being at the lake that makes our children grow up faster. Since we've arrived, they both seem older somehow. There are the tangible changes, new skills learned-- the fact that Ivy can now walk over uneven terrain with tremendous aplomb, that Jack can navigate the point on a scooter... But there is something else too. They have flourished in this climate of freedom and independence and in just these 5 days they seem taller and more competent in a million subtle ways that I cannot seem to capture in words.

What I can do, however, is try to capture a few of the past days' events for you.

Yesterday we attended the Aurorafest Parade, the highlight of which was most certainly the copious quantities of candy being thrown out the windows of city vehicles. ( At least, that was the highlight for Jack. Personally I enjoyed the fife and drum band...) Jack and Elliot (son of Nat's friend Sara) jumped with excitement at the approach of each new vehicle, waving and shrieking, then raced after the loot as it scattered to the pavement. Elliot, being 6, was much more proficient at the candy grabbing and probably had a 3-1 ratio to Jack, but our little boy did manage to procure a pretty good haul. Today, as Jack and Ivy and I took a morning walk around the end of the point, Jack was admiring his ziploc baggie-full of candy: " Look at all these! I can't believe I got these many! This is the BEST!" Pause. Then, "Mom, did you tell me the parade was going to be AWESOME????!!!???"

Can you just hear him saying that? And can you sense that he is, somehow, older? See what I mean?

We also attended the annual Joust. (Of course Aurora would have a Joust as part of its summer festival..) Both kids were pretty tired but Ivy was riveted by the horses and Jack was a big fan of the sword fight at the conclusion.

This weekend, in addition to being Aurorafest, was also highlighted by a visit from Jamie and Casey.

Jamison cooked amazing gourmet dinners for us all both nights (the man is a master of the grill! Ever had grilled pineapple? My new favorite thing...) and we enjoyed staying up and having a drink with grown ups after the kids went to bed. Novel idea! And, a tiring one as the kids never do seem to understand when mommy and daddy just want to sleep in. Or, maybe they do understand and they are just cruel and vindictive little things.... hmmm. At any rate, it was wonderful to see our friends! We will be seeing them again in just over a month for their wedding, too. Exciting times!

Cousin time and swimming continue to define most of our days, though Jack did get some one-on-one time with Lulu today while the rest of us had some consumer therapy (5 days without Target! How have we survived!). Then, it was back to the lake and back to family immersion for the traditional Sunday Dinner. We served 21 tonight...

Family picture! One of the few with all 5 of us. This may end up as our Christmas card picture by default..

Finally, a little video for you. I've offered Ivy a lick of a popsicle on a few occasions and she's never gotten into it. But, oh, you should have seen her eyes light up when I handed this one to her! Apparently she just wanted to be in control of things...

We have about a gazillion wonderful pictures of the kiddos to share (lake lighting looks good on them, what can I say?) but running after our growing darlings all day in the 90 degree heat? I need some bedtime before I can sort through and post any more...

Look for pictures, in some form, tomorrow!

Farley's

2011-07-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

We're here.

A lovely smooth drive out on Wednesday ( we only stopped once! haven't made the trip this quickly in 4 years! ) brought us to the beginning of our 2 weeks at Farley's. A much anticipated trip, especially by a little boy. Happily, our first two days have not disappointed. The weather has been sublime. Hot enough by day to make the lake the most appealing thing around, soft evenings and nights cool enough to snuggle under a blanket (or, in Ivy's case, her favorite fish print beach towe1). Jack has been thrilled, overwhelmed, and exhausted by his cousins-in-residence, spending nearly every waking moment with the triplets, running off to the playground with them, fishing for seaweed off the dock, scooter-ing all over the place. I really feel like I haven't seen the boy in the days. And that he's grown up, tangibly, in the space of this time as an independent man of the Point. Farley's is a magical place that way, so self contained and safe that all the littles learn to run free, confident that they are being watched over by the community at large.

And, littles there are! The past two evenings have seen the full contingent of 10 in this youngest generation to play at the Randall/Burnett cottages. Last night, Melinda and Will joined us on their way home from Boston and the number of "under 6's" jumped to 11. It really was almost too much to handle. I couldn't seem to maintain the appropriate small talk because I was just to busy soaking in the tableau of these little humans, riding bikes and chasing balls and running to the playground, the youngest in the crew playing on a blanket or vying for the cozy coupe, the older ones all clad in bike helmets and giggles. Watching them, reveling in their freedom and their togetherness, this group of cousins who will take each other for granted, this beautiful family and built-in friends-- it was almost breathtaking to watch the memories being made, right there before our eyes.

Sipping on a gin and tonic as the sun set over the lake? That was pretty nice too.

Ivy and Jack treated us to a remarkably good first night of sleep. Girlie was only up twice and then there was time we heard a little whimper and awoke to find Jack (who is stationed on a mat on the floor between our beds) fully under Nat's bed. He was asleep again almost before we finished coaxing him out and doesn't remember the excitement now, but we have placed some pillows to each side of his bed to prevent any future sleep-sliding.

Today we enjoyed the fascinating effects of "5 is less than 2" as we hosted the triplets for a portion of the day and watched Jack simply become one of the group as they played, created a band, ate lunch, explored the field, gathered flowers, made potpourri, swam...Around them he is almost fearless, and so grown up-- yet so little still! It seems impossible that in just 2 short years he will be one of these capable little people too... Ivy of course is not to be left behind and insists on going everywhere the big kids go, sitting on their bikes, playing with beads, you name it. Unless we're swimming, then she wants to be with Corydon, apparently...

(Corydon, as you know, can't be left behind when we swim. So, we usually float her on the kayak. Ivy insisted, absolutely insisted, that she be placed on the kayak with the dog. And this is where she "swam" today, with mommy holding her on, of course, and Hannah and Sarah pulling her around. Little queen she is, she just ate it up.)

There are simply too many pictures (already!!) to choose only a few to post. So here is a slide show of our first two days...More memories to come!

Family Reunion

2011-07-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

On Sunday ( 1 day before the 4th, 3 days before leaving for Farley's ) I took off with the kids and Gram Gram on a trek to Detroit. Why in god's name did I do that, you ask?

Family.

We drove for 3 hours each way and got home at 2am for a 3-hour pool party.
And it was totally worth it.

We went to see some of the Henderson family I have not seen in years-- my cousin John and his wife Heidi, and their two daughters who I would not have recognized because kids sure do change in 5 years! They were up in Michigan from Charlotte and were in Detroit for the day for a ball game, and 3 hours is much more do-able than 10 so we grabbed the chance. Aunt Mary, Laura Kay, and James and Meghan also met us there and the outdoor pool at the Quality Inn served as our reunion site. It was quite perfect for our purposes, especially as Jack has realized that swimming is, in fact, fun. And swimming with cousins? Heaven. He and Ivy both took an immediate shine to Paige and Abby, who obliged by playing many rounds of hide and seek with the boy and fawning over Ivy the whole time. Watching the second cousins meet for the first time, and love each other instantly-- that was the highlight for sure. Catching up with my family was certainly a close second!

We also had a lovely time on our own at the pool, before the rest of the family arrived at 6. A good "warm-up" period for Jack, who has advanced to jumping off the side of the pool into my arms. We had to have a little talk about waiting to jump til I get to "three". Ivy, too, learned to jump to me (with a little more assistance) and there was a fun period of time wherein I juggled the two jumper. Sometimes quite literally...

It was a nice treat to have so much time to talk to my mom, too, as littles napped in the car. We had a brief stop at the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, which was too a)crowded b) huge and c) expensive for a quick visit, but we have decided that this trip ought to become a full weekend at some point in the near future so we can visit the museum and Greenfield village, as well as see family again...

Just a little something...

2011-07-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

... to tide you over til I can post about Michigan, and the Fourth (It takes a while to sort through 400 pictures...)

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

A wonderful Independence Day was had by all here in Cleveland Heights. One of our favorite days of the year around here, when we fall in love with our neighborhood all over again. This year we went for breakfast with the neighbors. It seems like each year we add on another event as we become more comfortable and enmeshed in this community.

A highlight this year was taking the whole family on the rocket car. Both kids had a "blast".

Jack was very excited about decorating his trike and really got into the blue crepe paper. This was evidenced later by his blue hands.

He rode in the Somerton Parade briefly before deciding the band was too loud. Our sensitive little soul. Ivy enjoyed walking around and petting any dogs and bikes she could get her hands on.

This evening we had a backyard picnic then a campfire, sparklers, and firefly-hunting with the boy.

Magic.

Here is a sampling of the day, in pictures...

And a few videos...

Of Shopping and Submarines

2011-07-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

You know whats bound to happen when you give us free reign with a minivan...

We're going to go to IKEA.

We traded vehicles with my mom in advance of our trip to NY next week and Thursday, we weren't doing much. And Ivy needed a morning nap, and we were wondering where we ought to drive to give her a chance to sleep. Why not drive two hours to our favorite mecca of consumerism?

Turns out it was a great idea. We not only got Jack's new big boy bed (about which he is very excited... we may not be able to wait til his birthday to set this up!) but had a really nice chance to chat while kiddos napped on the way home. AND we even got to visit with Fi and Anthony despite our last-minute travels, catching them on the way to their cabin for the weekend. That gorgeous daughter of theirs! It was wonderful to see her too... other people's babies grow so fast!

Here are a few pictures from the day.

Best "soft toy" find ever!

Ivy and Keely may grow up with an unnatural attraction to swedish design...

The girl will always find something to climb on, you can count on that...

"Quick! Everyone put your hands on the table!"

"Scuse me, can I get by??"

Jack did come along too! He just spent most of the time in the ball-crawl childcare area, where he would have gladly stayed all week had they let him...

Rewinding a bit in our week-- Wednesday we had a great outing to downtown, where Jack and Daddy toured the USS Cod submarine, and we all visited the Cleveland Public Library.

In the reading garden

Ivy really loved this shopping cart and this little green shape.

The submarine

The boy who was really excited to be on the submarine.

The boy manning the guns on the submarine.

Finally, to rewind a bit further, here is Ivy with our wonderful friend Meg, who came to visit and stayed with us Monday night. Our kids absolutely adored her, instantly. Not surprising. :)

And, for the fun of it, we thought we'd put big girl in her chair with bear. Um, I think she's still growing, eh?
We're going to try to do this monthly...

The book is this photo is one of her favorites, along with "Baby Animals" and "Farm Animals" and "Where's Spot" and "Kittens". Sensing a theme? She's so great to read with these days, touching the pictures and vocalizing earnestly, clapping her hands with excitement at a favorite part, making animal sounds (snake hissing and bear growling are my favorite, though her "oweee" for meow is pretty stinkin cute too. She's just this hilarious little person who does circuits around our house carrying random things, wearing lanyards, and talking to herself...I love it.

Today we had a great day hosting Jack's best buddy Greg. I took the crew of 3 to the History Museum on my own and it went pretty darn well, actually. I wanted to just drive around all day listening to those two 3 year old boys just chatting away behind me in the van. They were awesome. Jack: "I want multi-grain cheerios for lunch!" Greg: "Green cheerios! Yuck!!" Jack: "Actually, they're brown, and they're really good. You know, Greg, Pig says you should try something new..."

Nat and I just got back from dinner out for our anniversary. It was a lovely evening to be out on Shaker Square, with a decadent amount of time to talk with JUST each other. Of course, as usual, we spent a large percentage of that time talking about children....

And tomorrow, I am off with the kiddos again-- this time only my own, and with Gram to help, too!-- as we head to Detroit for a day trip to meet up with much of the Henderson clan for a quick reunion. We might have made an overnight of it but we've got to get back for the 4th as the jam-packed schedule for the Somerton block party begins at 10am on the 4th!

You can look forward to a picture extravaganza soon, faithful readers! In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday weekend!

5 years

2011-07-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

Today is the anniversary of the day I married my best friend in the world, my amazing husband and father of my children. It's almost hard to see back to that day considering all of the toys and baby equipment that have cluttered the way between then and now. But I will always remember the glimmer of summer sun on the water of Cayuga Lake...

5 years, 2 houses, 2 jobs each, 3 dining room tables, 2 children, 1 dog... its been a great ride. I love you, Nat, now more than ever. We are so lucky, you and I. Here's to many many years to come...

School!

2011-06-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today Jack found his backpack, spent a few minutes figuring out how to put it on, then requested that we pretend to go to school. I was more than happy to pull out a few worksheets and puzzles that I just happened to have on hand... :)

Here is a little snippet of our impromptu school. Notice that Ivy had to attend as well.

Summertime, and the living is...

2011-06-28T17:15:00.001-07:00

...BUSY! Sorry for the recent quiet on the blog. We've been working to keep up with a house and a dog and two kids (who both walk) and the general pace of life which did not slow down one bit despite our being on vacation. We are reaching a bit of equilibrium now that we have been home for a week. Almost caught up on housework, if you don't count the playroom, which looks rather like a hurricane has hit there. Twice. In the last three days.

We've been busy soaking up summer, which looks like trips to the pool, trips to the park, street fairs and playdates and walks around the block, and most recently several impromptu dinner parties in the backyard.

It's been good. Just, busy.

The kids are great, funny and engaging and utterly time consuming. Jack continues to act on his desire to control his universe, which often takes the form of yelling at his sister and ripping a toy or other object out of her hands. At these moments, as Ivy screams at her brother and Jack loudly tries to justify his actions ("but, but, but....!") I think to myself, oh my, it is going to be a long 15 years.

Then, Jack will proudly call our attention to something Ivy is doing, or walk her around the restaurant, or get her attention and make funny noises to calm her down in the car. Or Ivy will hear his voice and look up and say "Dack-yee!!" with such excitement in her voice. And at those moments I think that maybe it won't be so bad...

Ivy has 4 new teeth coming in, and is walking more and more. She can cruise around while holding objects now, though crashing down and catching herself on hands holding Hotwheels-- well, things have gotten a bit louder around here. But not much is cuter than seeing her toddling along, holding a bucket of sidewalk chalk out to one side, the proudest grin on her face. Oh, she is irresistable. This morning she held court at Firstwatch while we were eating breakfast, grooming the crowd with coy smiles and coos to prepare them for the parade she put on before we left, making the rounds of the restaurant over and over, perfect "beauty queen wave" going as she approached each table in turn with a lean-in, full-on smile "Haaaaeeee!" Nothing beats watching every face in a crowded restaurant light up at the sight of one's daughter.

This is how Ivy secures her survival, you know. Because when she is not busy charming every person in sight, she is alternately climbing up onto any high/dangerous surface in the vicinity or demanding something by whining, pointing and fussing when we don't guess correctly on the first try. Good thing she's so stinking cute.

Last night Jack and Greg had a marvelous evening of play, beginning with a rousing game of squirt guns with their daddies and culminating in climbing the ladder to rescue imaginary cats. At one point Greg came and complained that Jack was taking all of his cats. This evening, Jack was very enthusiastic about learning to identify arachnids and crustaceans. It is simply amazing to watch his mind expanding before our eyes. He dawdles at bedtime and finds excuses to leave the table at meals and does a thousand other things to frustrate us (no, not TO frustrate us, things WHICH frustrate us, because he's three...) but really, he's an awesome little kid. A long-legged, scabby-kneed KID. All grown up.

It's nearly time to plan a 4th birthday party.

How does time go so fast? Oh, I know... because we are keeping up with a house and a dog and two kids (who both walk) and......

Picture hiatus due to premature death of point and shoot camera. Will rectify soon.

Walking!

2011-06-21T19:59:00.000-07:00

A whole new world of excitement awaits..

Bonus: Our two little fish at the Guernsey pool. Jack seems to be warming up to the idea of swimming (finally!) and, not surprisingly, Ivy-girl dove right in. :)

Personality Plus

2011-06-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

The little lady of our family has gone through quite a surge in her development this past week. Perhaps it's the high mountain air, or being surrounded by so much adoration here at her grandparent's house. Either way, I thought I'd best take a moment to record a few of her latest accomplishments...

Walking! Yesterday girlie took about 7 unassisted steps toward her VoVo and then got so terribly excited about it that she was giggling too hard to stand. Today we got a couple of repeat performances. She's not off and running, not yet. She still much prefers to hang on to one of our fingers with a little baby death grip and lead us around toward her desired destinations, or sometimes just in a circle. She's developed quite a bond with her Grandpa, who follows her lead on circuit after circuit of the house and yard (and even appears to enjoy himself while he does it).

Babbling! She's gotten all chatty this week too. Not so many recognizable words, but a whole lot of syllibication. Lots of “wo-wo-wo” and “er-ra-oo-rao” and other interesting phrases, said with much pursing of lips and seriousness. She's all about saying “hi!”-- says it to people, chairs, any small object she can put between ear and shoulder and use as a phone. The past two days, for some reason, she's added an “s” sound to the end of the word. So now she quickly and enthusiastically chirps “hice!” to everyone she meets. “Hice!” paired with her charming smile and a big open-handed wave... she's really irresistable.

She also waves “bye bye” now and prefers the European variety, with her palm facing toward her body.

She's beginning to repeat words and parts of words, more often. Today? Cracker (Crack-o and later Crack-ie) and Duck. Clear as day.

Of course, interspersed with these moments of very clear communication are a lot of grunts, whines, points, leans, grabs, and cries as our opinionated little darling seeks to gain some control over her world.

Favorite activities:

Walking in loops around the house
Getting up into Jack's booster seat (seriously, she LOVES this booster seat)
Baths (she tries to climb into the tub herself)
Anything Jack is doing (cute story: Jack was playing with the fishing game, the one where little fish move around in a pond and open and shut their mouths and you try to catch them... he caught a fish and, silly boy that he is, put it on my head. Moments later, Ivy grabbed a fish out of the pond, looked at it, looked at me, and then, very soberly, reached up and placed it on my head too.)
Climbing up onto things
Being outside

Favorite toys:

Grandpa's “Best Supporting Actor” medal-- she carries it in one hand on her walks and tries to put it around her neck. Another favorite game with this is, “Demand that someone get the medal down and then demand that they hang it up again. Repeat.”
Tupperware containers, with lids
Pill bottles, with lids
(She really likes lids. And she's getting pretty good at getting them on and off. Uh oh.)

She is starting to be able to play with the Ipod (in a slightly more appropriate way than chewing on it), though she has a tendency to press the button a lot and thus end the game she was playing. (Buttons. I should mention buttons as a favorite toy).

She is so affectionate. She'll grab our hands and arms and hug them to her, right between her shoulder and chin. She loves to press her forehead into our faces and lean in for kisses.

Her hair is getting so long! Little ringlet curls above the ears, and plenty of hair to clip to the side, which is a style that seems to suit her wide-eyed, bunny nose little face.

OK, I know that's not really a development per se but it does add to the overall impression that, all of a sudden, we don't have a baby any more. We have a little girl who lives in our house, a little girl who charms everyone she meets, who looks like a cherub and approaches the world like a rugby player, who suddenly understands the world and can begin to act on it, who loves her brother and her dog and her grandparents-- really who loves just about everyone and everything. Mostly sunny, that's our girl. And growing so fast.

Cowboys and big girls

2011-06-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

We have survived our first cross country trek with two kids, and are comfortably settled in the fresh-aired sunshine of Guernsey. Jack has noted, "I love Wyoming because I can see much more farther than at home!" And we can. Nat and I had both forgotten just how refreshing it can feel to be in big sky country. These long horizons stretching over the most spectacular topography, grey rock outcroppings and flat plateaus dotted with sage and juniper. Clusters of cottonwood and tall grass by the bends in the rivers. The distant blue shadow of Laramie peak and the way we can see storms approaching from 60 miles away. There is something captivating about the barren beauty of this place.

Jack also loves Wyoming because he can walk in the road, and there are lots of anthills, and he can wash and sweep Grandpa's driveway. The constant doting attention from two grandparents doesn't hurt much either.

A little recap of the trip so far.

Aside from the sheer ridiculous-ness of getting up at 3am to start our day of travel, our flight/drive out here went shockingly well. The day was even, I daresay, nice. We cut it a little close with our departure and we were checking in at the last moment, so we did not get seats together. This led to a rather long 3 hours for Ivy and I back in row 20. Turns out little fireball is hard to keep contained for 3 hours. Thankfully she did sleep for a while, and all things considered she behaved herself very nicely. Nat reported that Jack enjoyed the flight immensely. The flight attendant hooked him up with some DirectTV access, where his favorite "show" was the map tracking the progress of our flight. He was very interested to learn the name of the aircraft we were on, and any facts about it.

We got our rental car and headed North to a delightful breakfast stop with friends Leigh and Blaine and their new little babe, Wyatt. We were perhaps a bit too exhausted and slap happy to fully enjoy ourselves, but once again our over-tired littles went above and beyond the call of duty with their behavior and breakfast was enjoyed by all. We broke up the drive to Guernsey with a stop in Cheyenne for supplies at Walmart and a visit to the Sierra Trading Post, and we were here by 4. A LOOOOOOONG day but remarkably smooth. And, to make things even better, the children have slept remarkably well, too. Ivy decided to get up for the day at 4am this morning (someone hasn't adjusted to the time change yet, apparently) but other than that they've been stellar.

Monday was a relaxed day, several walks around Guernsey and a trip into the booming metropolis of Wheatland to procure a straw cowboy hat for our boy. And what a cowboy he is, especially with his beloved blue dragon sunglasses (which he picked out in Cheyenne and from which he has been inseparable ever since).

Yesterday, Grandpa took him fishing at the river. It was a wildly windy morning and we did not have a single bit, but the boy had fun nonetheless, running back and forth across the bridge, singing songs about fishing, casting and then reeling it in right away. "Worm check!!"

We took a picnic lunch up to the Castle-- the most wonderful picnic shelter I've even seen, perched atop a cliff above the reservoir. Jack found it every bit as enchanting as I'd hoped he would. He loved collecting the "giant pinecones" and clambering up the steps and walls like a little mountain goat. Ivy was charmed as well and took her Grandpa on a climbing adventure, going up all the steps to the second floor "turret" and back down... and then she proceeded to take each of us back to do them again. It was no wonder the kids slept for about two hours after lunch.

Big girl has been honing her walking skills during our time here. She's taken 2-3 steps on her own a few times, when she seems to "forget" to grab our hands for a moment. And her preferred way to spend nearly every waking moment? Touring one of us around the house or the yard, toddling along holding one or two of our fingers, seeking out steps to climb and inappropriate objects to play with. Thank heaves for doting grandparents to share the fun!

She's also been saying a few more words these past few days, though she continues to be stingy with repeat performances so its always hard to know when to count something as a word. Mommy, daddy-- much more precise now. Today she repeated "tees" when I pointed out some trees to her. She is clearly signing her own approximations of "more" and "all done".

Leaps and Bounds

2011-06-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Never finished this post, apparently...putting it up in its current state as the first section captures a moment in time...

Today was my last day of school. This year has flown by at work as well as on the home front, and I don't think I've yet registered that the year is over. I guess it is a sign that it was a pretty good year, that I've got enough energy to feel it ended too soon. It was a rather formal leave-taking today as I am moving rooms for next year (gain, 4th room in 6 years...)so I spent the day packing and left behind me at 4:00 an entirely boxed and bare room and a floor plan for what it might be in August, with no plans to return to the building for at least a month and half. Adding to the illusion that its not over yet--our evening tonight, comprised of folding laundry and sitting quietly together in the living room, on our computers. We launch into summer on Sunday with our adventure of flying across the country with our two littles in tow, off to Wyoming for 8 days. Wish us luck.

But, I digress. What I meant to write about tonight is Ivy's newest talent: Animal noises. All of a sudden, she imitates animal noises....

Only a phase

2011-06-07T18:41:00.000-07:00

Jack has taken on a new persona these past few days and I find myself not liking my son quite as much as I did last week. Oh, I love him, immeasurably. But recently I haven't been exactly craving his company. He seems to have morphed into a whiny, moody child with the attention span of a flea and the attitude of a teenager. And he still won't eat dinner worth a damn. He interrupts me with "mo-om" that rivals what a 14 year old girl could produce, and pays no attention to books we read or questions we ask. He finds and employs every possible technique to stall on the way to bed, or on the way out the door. He wants to do what he wants to do, and nothing else, right now... He is not interested in games or puzzles or reading or writing or drawing, any of those things I think he ought to be doing, but he is obsessively interested in the flying habits of moths and will drop anything to try to catch a bug. He is fascinated by the world, busy, inquisitive... all those wonderful toddler trait. He is also exhausting, and more than a little bit annoying and frustrating to this mama.

Sigh. I hear tell 3 is the new 2.

I also remember Ellen, our Parent Center guru, counseling us when Jack was new and we were scared and obsessive first time parents, worrying about a new behavior or sleep pattern.

Everything is a phase. Good or bad, its only a phase.

Back then, a phase lasted a few days, or maybe a few weeks. And she was right. Some of those phases were wonderful (sleeping through the night!! sleeping through the night!!) and we were so sad to see them go. Other phases came and went and our lives improved immensely (remember babies who screamed any time the car stopped?).

I am wondering, tonight, how long phases last for 3 year olds. Hoping that this is only a phase, that someday soon, with that magic of phases, our boy will start answering our questions, paying attention to things, following directions...

Or maybe I should wonder how long phases last for mommies? Here's hoping that tonight's fixation on all the faults of my son, is only a phase.

Bounce!

2011-06-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

Ivy went in her first bounce house yesterday. I think they have a special spot for that in baby books, no? Baby's First Bounce House? C'mon, its a big event! :)

Ivy, bouncer by nature that she is, loved it.

Jack did too.

Turns out the bounce houses were the highlight of the event for Jack, who appears to be exiting his "truck phase" as he was fairly unenthusiastic about the trucks and diggers. We did get him into the front end loader, and he did appear to enjoy the fire truck though he changed his mind about getting into it (after waiting in line for 10 minutes, of course)...

Ivy wanted to climb right into all the trucks herself... I think next summer will be her year to be crazy about this event...

Jack's favorite part of the day in Lakewood was the Jungle Bob animal show, where he got to touch a skink and loved looking at the baby alligator. Ever the scientist, he also had a good time on our trip to the Botanical Gardens in the late afternoon, spending almost the entire time looking at things through the telescopes.

Ivy enjoyed looking at herself in the giant mirrors at the entry to the glasshouse.

She also enjoyed walking around and climbing on things, which are two of her favorite pastimes in general these days. She wants to be on her feet at all times and she can cruise around furniture or along walls... but of course prefers to hold our hands and lead us along, as we hunch and shuffle behind her. I will be happy to see her walking independently if only to save my poor old back.

outnumbered....

2011-06-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

What in the world would college-Amanda have thought of tonight's First Friday Fiesta? She would, I think, have been quite aghast at the turn her life had taken. Its good that life tends to transition slowly, that the big shifts creep and slip and happen without our taking much notice, so that the difference is not so stark and the new normal truly does feel normal. It's only when I examine tonight through the eyes of the past that I am so surprised to find myself where I am...

And where we were tonight, was outnumbered. We took a count earlier in the evening and realized there were 7 children under the age of 4, and only 6 adults. Makes for a different party dynamic, you know? One focused on cutting up bites of food and keeping babies on the porch and juggling climbing and crawling and walking twins and wondering whether the preschoolers had gone back inside. Relaxing with a beer? Savoring the perfectly grilled chicken? Using two hands to do anything? Not so much.

But-- there's something magical about a yard full of littles. Even if we're all an exhausted mess by Friday, even when we wish they'd just go to sleep already... we come together in the early summer perfect-light and eat with our fingers and let our children get all grubby as we take turns holding each other's babies, and I catch myself looking around and thinking how perfect our lives really are.
Watching my college friends-- now my mama friends-- caring for their children; loving them so much and loving their children like my own; my backyard awash with these beautiful people and their beautiful progeny... We are just so very lucky, you know? We really are.

Dancing queen

2011-05-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

He always has loved ABBA.

Wish I had a video but words will have to suffice.

This evening Jack decided to explore the world of interpretive dance. He prances into his room after his nightly ablutions, wearing nothing but his white button down shirt, and he says, "Hey mommy! Wanna see my dance moves?" But of course, little man!

And so, he closes his eyes, gets this dreamy-happy look on his face and begins to sway and wave his arms to some unpredictable, internal beat. Bend down, swoop the ground, up and sway, wiggle the hips, suddenly speed up and pump the arms and jump 3 times then back to dream land-- and a big "ta da!" to finish.

Oh how I love this strange, strange little boy.

Memorial Day

2011-05-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

I have been completely worn out by the wonderful weekend. Whew.

It's been a remarkably relaxing 3-day weekend, with a nice blend of time alone and time with kids, trips out and about and time spent at home. We've done very little housework, which accounts for a lot of it. As does the fact that the sun's been out for at least 75% of the weekend, and I've slept in til 7 every day (oh the decadence). And, our kids are really, really cute.

From May 2011 2nd album (after Ivy's birthday)

I'm still worn out, though.

Today: Went for a run this morning, then took the kids to the park, by wagon, while Nat went and got some work done. Off to Melinda and Will's for a Memorial Day picnic where we alternately pushed kids in swings, helped them on slides, or generally chased them around for 3 hours straight. In the 90 degree heat. And the 90% humidity. To Target, home for dinner, then Ive and I walked the dog around the block before I put her to bed, took my car to the car wash, and went to dinner swap. I've made the mistake of sitting down, here on the couch, and I am wondering if I'll be able to muster the energy to get to bed.

It's a good sort of tired, though, you know? A "quality time" tired. A sun-warmed tired, a muscles-well-used tired. A tired that tells me I've spent my time well, today.

** Disclaimer: Jack is NOT actually drinking this beer. He blantanly refuses to try beer. But, wow, does it look like he is enjoying this beer in this picture, eh?

Thanks, Memorial Day weekend, for being wonderful. Off tomorrow to start the last 8 days of school. Wish me luck with the insanity!

A beautiful Saturday

2011-05-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you about my lovely day:

A pedicure and haircut this morning (many thanks to Gram who took Ivy, and Nat who took Jack, giving me the morning to be pampered while reading Cosmo.

Iced coffee and a sunny drive home.

A little boy who greeted his mom with hugs and kisses and a giant wolf spider in a jar. Oh, he was so excited to show me his spider! "It's THIS size, mommy!!"

A walk to Coventry for lunch Hunan with a co-worker and friend. An hour and a half of talking over Jasmine tea and heavenly Thai Basil chicken.

A delightful detour to a neighborhood yard sale, chatting with fellow dog owners and enjoying the sun.

Playing with my daughter on the bed, as she giggled and rolled and jabbered away.

Off to Tina's house for a Taco night-- a bit disorienting as virtually none of the old crown were there-- but a wonderful trip to Roxboro playground where Jack fell in love with Aiwyn and her other 5th grade friends, who played with him so well. And it was amazing to see my boy, my big boy, running around that playground with no need for us at all, keeping up with the big kids and playing along and so, so happy to be there. And the little girls? (Melinda and Will, at least, were there...) They toddled and cruised and climbed up and down steps and slides, Ivy gathering wood chips and handing them to us. In the evening early-summer sun it was quite magical to watch our babied growing up, so wonderfully.

And it begins...

2011-05-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

With the arrival of the Hessler Street Fair and 80 degree weather on the same weekend, summer festival season is officially underway!

As is generally the case with the Hessler Street Fair, we had just as much fun on the walk back to the car, as we did at the Festival. The Fair itself is a crowded affair, a narrow street lined with booths-of-pretty-nice-crap and packed entirely with an intergenerational mix of hippies. Very dog friendly and full of acoustic guitars and drum circles and patchouli. Festive indeed but a bit tiring with two kids and a dog in tow. This year there was the addition of "Harmony Park", a play area for the kiddos which Jack thoroughly enjoyed.

But we weren't up for camping out on a sidewalk to eat fair food, so we headed back home for dinner-- with a detour to the wonderful step-fountain for a snack, and a foray into a meadow of abstract art, too.

The sunshine was wonderful as were the happy, rosy children we brought home with us.

Hello summer.

words

2011-05-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

For a while now we've been speculating about whether or not we can count Ivy's random utterances as "words" or not. Today, however, we had an indisputable, purposeful, clearly spoken word: Coco. The name of Auntie Bec's cat. She says it more like "gogogogogo" but it's very clear and she makes sure to point and reach for the cat while saying it, just so we aren't confused. :)

She also continues to say:

"da" for dog. She also "pants" now to indicated dog, and excitedly identifies pictures of dogs when asked, by pointing and then flapping her hands and panting. It's pretty funny.

"dada" or "da... dee", for Daddy of course.

Occasionally-- "ca" for cat

This evening she clearly repeated "duh" after I asked her if she was all done at dinner. Not counting that one yet...

So, we're getting there! :)

Fog

2011-05-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit gloomy around here recently. Forty-six degrees and drizzly today, with the tops of the skyscrapers hidden in cloud on our drive home from Lakewood tonight. You'd never guess that it's mid May. I am most certainly looking forward to another taste of Springtime. Really. Anytime now...

Drippy weather aside, we had a nice weekend, with a date night to the West Shore Chorale Benefit on Saturday, then a trip with my mom to see West Side Story at Playhouse Square on Sunday. I could get used to treatment like this! Both events were fun and the weekend overall was very relaxing. I love this point in the school year, when I stop feeling guilty about not doing schoolwork at home, because there's so much less to do.

(side note: I cannot believe that there are only 3 1/2 weeks left in this school year. Where did it go??? It's that point in the year when I am ready to be done but also sad to leave this year behind only to step into the unknown of a new year-as-yet-unplanned....)

The following pictures were from our trip to Rocky River Beach on Saturday morning. Jack has been hoping to go to the beach for a while so off we went, cold grey skies be damned. It wasn't actively raining and that qualified as a nice enough day out, seeing the kind of month we've had...

Turns out, the grey skies were magic. The lake blended into the horizon so completely that the breakwall seemed like the edge of the world, and the family of geese that came by, seemed to be floating on a mirror in midair. In the midst of this enchantment, a dog swam and jumped and chased and barked, a boy climbed and threw stones and threw sticks and ran and ran and ran, and a girl climbed on logs and walked on bare tiptoes in the sand. Turns out, it was a perfect day for the beach.

Another good thing about the rain: Little blue rain boots waiting on the porch.

52 weeks, otherwise known as, "wow, we've been taking these weekly shots for a whole year???"

2011-05-13T19:12:00.001-07:00

Here is the wild woman, a few days after her actual 52 week birthday (um, it was kind of a busy weekend...) and it's a good thing this brings us to the end of our year of photo shoots because, as you can see, its becoming nearly impossible to keep this girl in the chair...

Ivy had her 1 year appointment on Monday.

Official stats:

20.5 pounds(50%)
30.5 inches tall(95% !!!)
17.7 inch head (50%)

Girly is growing well and was pronounced perfect except for having a sinus infection. She is currently on her first ever antibiotics. Sigh.

Here is a little portrait of the lady as a 1 year old:

* She is thinking seriously about walking. Precisely on her birthday she started taking a few steps forward with her hands held. She's very into crawling and previously, she'd just buckle to her knees when we held her hands. But on Sunday, boom, it was time to work on vertical mobility. She now cruises around with her little green walker quite happily, very proud and fearless and rather quick, at least til she runs into a wall...

* She is starting to say a few "words" -- Today Nat reports she clearly said "hi dada!" as she tried to get out of being put down for her nap. She also says and enthusiastic "Dah!" when she sees Corydon or a photo of a dog, so I am pretty sure we can count that as a word, final consonant or no...

* She "sings" along with lullabies. All on the same pitch but with a variety of syllables... very cute. She also sings a little "sleepy song" when she is tired, a humming single-pitch noise that is rather soothing, really...

* She is starting to be interested in books and is very enthusiastic about turning pages. Faster than I can read them, most of the time. And, she likes to close the book up again in between each page. So, reading stories together isn't exactly a relaxing pastime, but she is pretty cute. Oh, and she has favorite books already, and favorite pages within those books. She likes the "touch and feel" farm book, and the dog page is her favorite. And in "Mommy Loves" she gets very excited about the page with the cat. I think she has said "Caa!" a few times in response to that page...

* She loves cats. She is crazy about Coco, Becca's cat who is living with Gram gram. She likes to grab her ears. Luckily Coco is patient.

* She loves to put things into things-- and not just random objects, either. She knows just what to do with straws and forks/spoons and today at the store she knew to hand my credit card right to the clerk. :) It's amazing to watch her, knowing that she's just been observing the world all this time, figuring it all out. And how excited she is to be trying it out on her own...

* She's still the happiest little thing going. (Except for when its time to go to bed, which is another story..) People comment all the time on just how smiley and happy she is, that and her eyelashes and her newly obtained blonde curls. She really is a shameless flirt.

Kiddie Park, May 8, 2011

2011-05-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

The first trip to Kiddie Park of the season!

What better way to celebrate Mother's Day, and Ivy's official birthday, than a family outing to the most enchanting parking lot in Cleveland? It was a perfect day, cool and sunny and chock full of adorable tiny ones riding things around in circles.

Here are a few videos to share the moment with you...

Here's Ivy on her first ever Merry-Go-Round ride... she did NOT want to be placed on a horse, which rather surprised me, considering her usual daredevil nature, but she did enjoy the ride from our seat in the chariot..

The birthday girl enjoying the sunshine with Gram Gram later that day..

Last Night

2011-05-12T03:47:00.000-07:00

Last night I yelled at my son for not eating his dinner then let my daughter cry herself to sleep while I tucked the boy in.

It was not the best of moments for this mom.

But before that-- there was an hour at turtle park, my independent boy climbing and digging and exploring on his own, my girl crawling fearlessly through woodchips and sand, scooping sand with a rake, climbing up and onto and into all the plastic toys that go to this park to die. There was a picnic snack where Ivy only had two woodchips in her mouth to spit out before she could eat her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There were friendly moms to chat with and toddlers galore out in the perfect spring sunshine...

There was the picture perfect moment of my boy, my rascal, my little scamp, sitting on a flowerbed wall, holding a gone-to-seed dandelion in his hand, the blue of his eyes matching the blue of his new excavator T-shirt, pink cheeks from sun and exertion, giving me his impish smile as he “took a break” from sitting in his stroller.

You'll have to imagine that photograph here as we did not take a camera along.

I am having some mommy guilt this morning over how our idyllic evening ended, you can be sure of that. But I am trusting in the resiliency of children and hoping that, should they remember any of last night, it will be the sunshine of our trip to the park, splashes in the bath and snuggles before bed, and nothing more.

Birthday Bash

2011-05-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

It was a wonderful party.

We were blessed with a gift of a day. We'd anticipated rain and had spent the morning rearranging the public rooms to maximize space so that we could fit upwards of 30 people in the house. But when the sun was holding at 11:30 (indeed nary a cloud in sight) we went ahead and hung the garland and lanterns outside.

All the details came together, from the butterfly nets to the flower cupcakes, and the yard was green and idyllic in the dappled midday sun. I think the moment that made all the prep worthwhile had to be the parade of preschoolers running along the trail through our "woods" chasing each other with butterfly nets. Can you imagine? Perfect.

Our little birthday girl seemed occasionally overwhelmed but more often simply oblivious to all of the excitement and decor that had been arranged in her honor. She was pleasant and sweet the whole time and enjoyed simple pleasures like standing next to the rocking horse and smiling. The preschool crew were the ones to really take full advantage of the party atmosphere, as well they should.

The full party lasted til about 2:30, capped off by singing to the girl and offering her a lovely little cake which she wanted absolutely nothing to do with. In fact, she spent most of her cake experience trying to wipe the frosting off of her fingers. Present opening was done mostly for the benefit of Claire and Elizabeth, the two preschool girls in attendance-- they were really the only people paying much attention. Ivy's very favorite gift? A large cardboard box, after the gift was removed. She spent the second half of the present-opening extravaganza sitting in said box, playing with a piece of ribbon. (The morning after the party she found the box in the dining room and immediately climbed inside...)

As seems to be the case with our children's parties, this one turned into an all-day affair, as our kid-free friends arrived around 3, along with Melinda and Will and their little ladies who'd been napping earlier. Our little girl decided napping is for the birds when there is a party going on, so we spent the next few hours sitting outside while 3 babies toddled and crawled and climbed in the woodchips and fought over rights to try climbing up the slide. They were pretty awesome. And absolutely filthy by the end of it.

Kate and Zach stayed late and we actually had a campfire after the kids went to bed. It was a tiny little bit like old times and that fire, plus the fact that we've hit this milestone of surviving the first year, reminds me that we'd best not "sell the boat"; these baby years are flying by and we'll have more and more time for campfires with friends, all too soon...

51 weeks

2011-05-07T19:57:00.001-07:00

Better late than never.

Updates and photos from the great birthday weekend, coming soon...

Countdown

2011-05-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

It's May! May! I was still writing "4-" all over the place today at school because somehow April went too fast, it disappeared and now amazingly soon, it's May.

My baby girl will be one year old in just 6 days.

We had our West Shore Chorale Spring concert last night. Faure Requiem, Brahams Schicksalied, Poulenc Gloria. Lovely orchestration and some sublime chords to sing, and oh the melodic lines of Brahams! bestill my heart. Standing on stage preparing to sing, looking out into the audience and missing my glimpses of Nat and Jack (who, along with Ivy, sat out this right-at-bedtime concert, this year), I remembered one year ago on that same stage, wondering if Elijah wasn't just the thing to send me into labor. Last spring concert, I was a mom of one. Now I am a mom of two. And not just one -and-a-baby. Two kids. Two real little people. Cause that's what girlie is these days, a real little person.

Today she stood on her own for about 10 seconds, too busy ripping toilet paper off the roll she was holding, to realize she wasn't holding on to anything.

She is getting downright fiesty, too, opinionated and full of such drive to get what she wants. She doesn't reach for things, she propels, ever muscle in her body just going for it. Which is fun when one is trying to cook with her in one arm and she decides she really needs to go-for those dirty dishes in the sink... makes for a good core workout, trying to contain her.

Somehow, wild woman that she is, she's also quite the love, too. She loves to snuggle in for hugs and holds right on when we pick her up. She plays chase and tag with Jack and feeds the dog her scraps and loves patty cake. She says "hi" now, a longlonglong high pitched "haaaaaaaaa" as she holds out one hand in a stationary wave and smiles like the dickens at her target. She's very hard to resist.

Preparations are under way for a "flower party" on Saturday, complete with flower-pot goodie "bags", petal-shaped baking cups for the cupcakes, and hanging lanterns that I will hang.... somewhere. Fingers crossed for a pretty day so the 5-7 preschoolers can run OUTside and so that I won't have to clean the house quite so well...

Fire Camps and chatty girls

2011-04-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight Jack wanted to have a "fire camp" and so we did. We made a tiny, tiny dent in our enormous pile of sticks at the fire pit, roasted 3 marshmallows, and had a wonderful time. It was kind of a revelation, that we don't have to wait for people to come over, and for the kids to go to bed, to have a fire. Thanks to this awesome kid, this little blue-eyed ray of optimism and inspiration living in our house, we've opened up a whole new world of summer recreation for our little family.

I like having a kid.

Things certainly get more interesting once they hit this age, that's for sure. Jack has recently made the discovery that he can get out of bed during his nap time. What's more, he can leave his room. Today, about an hour after putting him down for a nap, Nat came upstairs to his office to find the little man sitting quietly at his desk. He politely informed Daddy that he had a surprise for him. Nat found 4 antacid tablets taken out of a roll, lined up carefully with several post-it notes. It's pretty hard to get upset with that...

Miss Ivy Jane is just over a week away from turning one. I don't know how this year has gone so fast. She's becoming quite the live wire, that one. Some new habits of hers:

* nonstop babbling... something to the order of "bulabuladulabulabula...." Repeat ad infinitum, with increasing volume.

* She's getting into books these days. She points at pictures and words (randomly, not on command or anything!) and seems to really enjoy them... but also really enjoys closing the book again. Usually 2 or 3 times per page.

* She continues to love the dog and daddy ... I think those two may have eclipsed Jack as her favorite things in the universe, for this week. A few times today she pointed and said "di" at the dog. Then this evening while we were reading a lift-a-flap animal book she lifted the flap for the border collie and said "dog" clear as day and all nonchalant like she's been saying it forever. She's pretty inconsistent with the talking attempts, though. It's hard to know when to call something a "first word..."

* I think she isn't in a hurry to walk just yet. She'll cruise on furniture and she's a whiz at pulling up and getting back down to pick things up, but she doesn't like to take steps forward. Why bother when she can crawl like lightning? And CLIMB. Oh does she love to climb. Serious addiction to the stairs.

* She loves to put things in and take things out. She knows all about how doors and lids work and tries valiantly to open and close them, twisting her little hands... we're not safe for much longer! She can nest her Measure Up cups and fill and dump containers of water. Her favorite toys continue to be small, inappropriate objects, though! We had our first "penny in the mouth" incident the other day...

*

Easter Morning

2011-04-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

A tad late (again...) but I wanted to capture a little bit of Easter morning 2011 before it slips away into the busyness of everyday life.

A whirlwind of a morning; Nat woke up early to begin preparations for a Special Day breakfast. We'd set out the Easter baskets with care the night before...
... and they were greeted with enthusiasm by both children in the morning. Jack is our choco-holic, for sure. The chocolate bunny was the winner of the basket, and the only thing he's been going back for, since. Ivy, as you can see, liked her hard boiled egg. In the shell.

Then, off to church! I am in love with this dress on Ivy...

And I can't get enough of this boy in blue oxfords.

Following a lovely lunch back at our place, we had a lazy lovely afternoon. Egg hunting and playing with kiddos, a game of Scrabble while they napped...

The house is a mess... but it was a wonderful holiday!

Mommy's Blog

Flirt

The babies...

More video fun...

Springtime dancers...

Springtime in February

Untitled

Winter Quiet

Snow babies, take two

A little more in season....

Out of season

Pictures

Snow babies

Year's End

Christmas Day in the evening...

Christmas Eve

Pageant

First Snow

You know you're a parent when...

Snippets

hot cocoa

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Quiet

Cousins

Thankful

Sweetness

Photos

into the woods....

18 months

Beach-comber

Dance Party

Sun in the Cemetary, Ghosts in the Garden...

In the name of progress

Reflection

Apple Day, take two

Wonderful Weekends, the fall edition

Apple Day

I heart Turtle Park

October rain

30 seconds of cute

Quick updates...

Snippets

Free Time

First Day

Sparx in the Hyundai

Ivy right now...

God Bless Three Day Weekends

Box of Fun

The things he says, 4-year-old version

Birthday Boy!

Long Goodbye

Nonstop

Back to the real world...

Farley's II

County Fair

Spazzmatics

Gardens galore...

We're still here!

Back to Farley's...

Things I am loving right now...

Home again

Sunny Days.

Picture time!

Farley's, continued...

Farley's

Family Reunion

Just a little something...

Happy Fourth of July!

Of Shopping and Submarines

5 years

School!

Summertime, and the living is...

Walking!

Personality Plus

Cowboys and big girls

Leaps and Bounds

Only a phase

Bounce!

outnumbered....

Dancing queen