Happy Bithday to the Papa Bear!!

To a man who can juggle two kids, a dissertation, an always busy and sometimes crazy wife... not to mention ultimate Frisbee (winning not only a tournament, but also Fall League this year), disc golf(designing and building yet another local course... god help us), micro power radio (DJ Furious George), and keeping us all well fed and nourished (The Tofu King)!



Happy birthday... we love you with all our hearts!!!

Just in the nick of time...

I spend all day with adolescents who (from time to time) remind me a great deal of my three year old daughter. I also spend all day trying so very hard to understand the English spoken by Burmese, Thai, Karen, Korean, and Latino teenagers... and then I go home and try desperately to understand the distinct dialects spoken by my three year old and one and a half year old (trust me... that will make you a little crazy). After two very long, five day work weeks (without the shortened hours that I'm used to and including some extra work for some extra work stuff), I kind of reached my limit. I've been running dangerously low on patience and energy both at work and at home. Throw in the holiday season that includes the birthdays of the Mr. and Charlie Ann in addition to the Little Baby Jesus... and I'm feeling like I need a really strong drink. December is my favorite month because there is so much fun to be had and really good stuff to celebrate (birthdays, Solstice, Carolina basketball, new year's), but I guess working right up until the 18th is just not something I've ever done before this year (at least not since having babies).

Luckily, my Mama arrived last night to pitch in over the next couple of weeks. Now I feel like I can properly get my festive spirit on, the Mr. can write into the wee hours of the morning, and the grandbabies can soak up some YaYa love!! I kind of think she came just in the nick of time!

A whole lot of nothing...

It was a low key weekend to be sure! I think I only got out of the house once to grocery shop. This left lots of time for snuggling, making solstice ornaments... and laundry (of course).

Almost there!

What a week... but we're in the home stretch now! It is a handful of days until I have a good solid 20 days at home with my littles. When I think that I almost took a job where I would have gotten like one or two days off over the holidays, I cringe! I really do appreciate the perks of my job, the sense of accomplishment I feel almost every work day, and my husband who is a nurturing, fun, creative, and all around amazing Papa (or Pops as Charlie Ann frequently calls him).

Today, I met with Charlie's teachers for a conference! I sat down on a comfy couch across from them... and they handed me Charlie's portfolio filled with photos, teacher notes, paintings, drawings, and a write-up of year so far. Pretty awesome! They had so many lovely things to say about our Charlie Ann... they shared her many strengths and we laughed and shared stories about her and her silly antics! They said she was very verbal... often describing what she is doing during the day. They noted that she often finds unexpected ways to play with the classroom materials. She loves exploring cause and effect (especially with water and other sensory materials like sand and glue and paint). They showed examples of Charlie's growing skills as a painter/drawer... really studying the shapes and colors of things and reproducing them (she did a number of paintings of a mango that were pretty darn good). They said she is developing many pre-reading skills... taking books and reading them to herself, often from memory. She can recognize many letters. "She engages intently and has a sharp attention to activities sh is interested in." They said that while she is very courageous physically (no fear with jumping off high structures on the playground, brushing the donkey on the field trip to the farm, touching tadpoles in the pond, etc.), she is pretty cautious with people. She is forming relationships with some of the kids in her class though... and is good at sharing and often acts as a model showing other kids how to do something. They also explained that her biggest challenge is that she "sometimes has a difficult time communicating to children who are in her space, as well as being assertive in what she needs at the moment." It was such a cool window into the growing world of our sweet and wild Charlie Ann! I'm so proud of her... it seemed like her teachers thought she was pretty great too!

And while I'm at it, let me brag for a second about Aden. Yesterday, he blew his first kiss! And this evening while playing tug of war over a book, he very clearly said, "MINE" to Charlie Ann. He is so going to give her a run for her money!!

Pictures soon...

WTF?!

Remember all of that nice stuff I said about Aden in that last post?! I take it all back (okay... maybe not all of it)! But the kid won't sleep... and waking up every 15 minutes during the night is not cool (not to mention crummy naps). I've got a full week of teaching ahead of me, 4 applications due in the next two days, a dissertation proposal defense on Tuesday, and a teacher conference for Charlie Ann on Thursday. There is simply too much going on this week... and a sleep wrench is something we simply cannot afford. I know cutting asshole molars must really suck and I try to be compassionate (as I dose him with more Motrin), but seriously WTF?!

I promise to give you a fucking unicorn if you'll just sleep for the love of god!!

16 months...

Dear Aden,

I have loved you since the day I met you 16 months ago, but I have become so smitten with you this month. Your personality is really emerging and I feel like I'm starting to get a much better sense of who you are and who you will become. You are clever and affectionate and so very busy learning your way around this world. You are cautious, but not afraid. You are laid back, but not passive. You are loving, but not clingy. You are strong, but not aggressive. You are a great eater, but not a great sleeper. You have such a good soul, but you are a cheeky little bugger! You are absolutely, perfectly you in every way!

You have been slowly warming up to books for a few months, but you absolutely love them these days... and demand that we read your favorites (The Little Engine that Could, The Barnyard, I Love You, A Your Adorable ) many times a day. You like to draw and you enjoy playing with dolls (especially your sister's) almost as much as you dig your cars. You've gotten pretty good at defending yourself from your sister's attacks and you squawk loudly when all else fails. You continue to love music and dance whenever you hear a song you fancy. You have a broad taste in music... though you seem especially fond of pianos. Your understanding of language has absolutely exploded this month and you follow directions better than your sister most days (you can also use a fork better than your sister... but then again you like food more than she ever did). You have quite a few words (mama, papa, Char, dog, go, uh oh, truck, book, ouch, wow), sounds (ruff ruff, roar, vroom), and signs (yes, no, sleep, nurse, bye, where) that you use to communicate with us. When you don't have the words to tell us what you need, we assume you are hungry and that words 9 out of 10 times.

The other night I was unsuccessfully rocking you to sleep when you sat up, grabbed my face in your hands, and planted three great big kisses on my lips. I had been getting progressively more annoyed that you weren't falling to sleep quickly enough... and then you did that. My whole mood changed instantly and I relaxed into the ritual. Your kisses snapped me out of my To Do List and back to what is most important. You are growing so fast... your unsteady steps have quickly turned into running, your babbling is quickly being replaced with words. I won't always get to sit and rock you to sleep in the light of the moon. I promise to try to appreciate every second... and when I don't, I do hope you will continue to remind me! You really do mean the world to me.

Love,
Mama

Grateful!

So very much to be thankful for... family and friends both near and far, plenty to eat and drink, an entire day spent in each other's company, and not a single poopy diaper!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!