Farewell, '06

7 is my favorite number, so next year should be a good one! In 1977 I was 4 years old-don't remember much of that. In 1987 I graduated from 8th grade. In 1997 I graduated from DePaul University with my MM. And now it's 2007. Without school to track the years, the milestones of my children mark them now. In 2007, Ted will start Kingergarten. Amazing. Sam will turn 4 and Mae will turn 2. TWO!! This won't be til 2008, but in January of 2008, a year from now, Mae will start preschool. PRESCHOOL! 2007 is, in effect, the last year I will have 'three little children.' Kindergarten isn't 'real school' yet in my book...especially since at Eldorado it's half day, 5 days a week. He will actually be in school less than he is now! (At Horizons it's 8-3, but that's another story.) I also expect to have Mae potty-trained this summer. So, 2007 will see my last baby turn into a big girl. It's funny. I had a blissful 4 months last year, from January through April, when both boys were in preschool 3 days a week. I went for a run, did my grocery shopping, had lunch with friends, etc. Both boys were potty trained, sleeping in big boy beds, and eating 100% real food (no more formula, no more breastfeeding, no more baby food.) It was bittersweet, made sweet only by the anticipation of one more baby in the house. I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to this lifestyle I've enjoyed for almost 5 years now. While being at home with the kids is oftentimes frustrating and boring, it is also filled with many, many, many priceless, sweet moments. Seeing Ted help Sam when he's frustrated, watching Sam bring Mae a toy when she's screaming during a diaper change, nodding approvingly when Mae pets the dog and says "Sost." Those moments are worth the many other, not-so-sweet moments. I will enjoy this last year of 'little child parenting' before I return, albeit part-time, to teaching when Mae joins Sam at preschool. One last year. Maybe we'll stay in our jammies all day on a lazy Tuesday. Maybe on a beautiful Colorado day, we'll skip grocery shopping and go to the park instead. And get an ice cream cone, just because. I'm not one for resolutions. I tend to decide to do something and just do it, when the event arises. But I do resolve to enjoy this year with my precious children and husband. And walk the dog more! (Ole just kicked me, while snoozing on the couch next to me...I think it was a hint.)
Happy New Year, from my family to yours.

early morning fun

Amazing the things kids can think to do before 9am. Magician Ted, at your service. Got rabbit?

reflections

Tonight's post will be a bit scattered, so bear with me. This morning Erin, Joe & Henry were nice enough to invite Ted and me to Apex to swim. Needless to say, playing with ONE child at the pool was soooo nice. We went down all the water slides, did the monkey bars, the lazy river...everything. Ted was perfectly content the entire time. We had such fun. He's going to have a super birthday party there.
When Sam and Mae got up from their naps, we went to the toy store so they could pick their present from G'pa Moeller. $20 goes a long way for little kids, and it was a looooong event. Ted waffled between another Bionicle and a Playmobile set. Sam had trouble choosing between a stomp rocket, a toy trumpet, and a knight sword (with sheath!). The sword won, as did the Playmobile set. We decided to just deposit Mae's $$ into her account. This was the first time the boys 'chose' a toy. It was tough! We probably won't do it very often, but it was fun. They put their change in their piggy banks. Ted said that the cashier thought that he was a little grown-up. I think he thought that because she was talking to him so politely, just like any other customer. Cutie.
After Mae's black bean soup dinner, a bath was required. She was fascinated with the water coming out of the spout (her normal position is at the other end). I know it's wasteful, but I allowed her to just sit with her little hand under the running water for a while. She just laughed and laughed. Oh, and after her soup we shared a cookie. I had a coffee and was dipping my cookie into it, just like she had dipped her bread into her soup. She put her cookie out and said, "Bip bip? Caw-kee?" So, I let her dip her cookie in my coffee...wonder how much caffeine that put into her system. What a funny kid.
I spent much of this morning working on the previous post, Then and Now. Tonight, while rocking Mae in the rocker while she drank her bottle, insisting that SHE hold it, I thought about how fiercely independent she is. I know that people say that they 'learn' to be self-sufficient in the orphanage, but when we first received Mae, she couldn't hold her own bottle or eat from a spoon. Someone had held the bottle, fed her with the spoon..etc. She had been cared for...she wasn't in the type of orphanage that propped the bottle, for example. No, I think this independence is just in her personality. Those referral pictures were a snapshot...the real Mae is emerging, day by day, giggle by giggle. And she's a pretty cool kid.

Then and Now

This week's challenge was a great one. Match the Referral pictures as best you can. Try and match the background, the clothing, and the expression. The 'mug shot' was easy- just use a red towel against the chair. I was really skeptical about the possibility of a yellow anything in Mae's wardrobe, but we got lucky! In a yet-to-be culled bin was this yellow dress. Red tights were easy. For the sweet blue sheet picture, I used a light blue Winnie the Pooh blanket. For the walker pic, I went into the depths of the crawl space to drag out her old exersaucer. As you can imagine, all 3 kids have enjoyed that all morning! This was such a fun challenge. And, for the record, she really does smile! But I was trying to match the expression too. As always, click on the picture for a larger view.

Nighttime Antics

The joys of 'the last few minutes' before bedtime in our house...thanks to Daddy.

how far she's come

Tonight after the kids were in bed, Paul and I began the arduous task of reviewing the video footage from the year to make our annual "Best Of" tape. (Yes, we still do a tape; someday we'll go digital, but don't hold your breath!) Anyway, 2006 began innocently enough (and we haven't yet gone through the China footage) but when Mae appears on screen, it is just amazing to see how little she was. Her little wobbly legs, her short hair, her giggle...she has really grown up in these short 8 months. The most notable is how QUIET she was. Yes, she cried almost all night long, but during the day, in these quick shots, she is SILENT. Ahh...and we want them to talk so badly... One of the videos was all about her signing 'dog'. Someone should try ONLY signing with their children...not a bad idea!!! What a year it has been.

Round 2

Here we snow again! More pics on moeltini.

Why I love hand-me-downs

Thank you, Rachel and Molly!

snug as bugs

I dropped the boys off at camp this morning and went to the grocery store to stock up. Last week our milk delivery (which includes eggs) couldn't come, so we were out of those two things, plus low on everything else. It was a boring weekend, food-wise, so this time we're ready. Milk, eggs, mac n cheese, smoked oysters, oranges, cereal...bring on the snow! We're supposed to get a foot today and another foot on Friday. Wowsa.

Five

I spent the evening writing out the invitations for Ted's birthday party. While I am thoroughly enjoying him right now (4.5 is a seriously delicious age), I can't quite get a handle on five. Another blogger I read had a similar comment about her 2 year old. Granted, two seems like such a baby to me now, but it's the same thing...your oldest child (in my case anyway) always seems so grown up, so mature...and then you take a step back and gasp, "When did that happen?! When did he get so old?" Ted spent the afternoon at a soccer clinic for 5-7 year olds. I'm sure he was one of the least coordinated kids there, but he did it. And he says he liked it. When I came in to pick him up and they were all scrimmaging like mad little monkeys, he just looked so together, so grown up. These kids were RACING around the field, intense and with purpose. It was like watching a bunch of 10 year olds (not as well trained, granted! I think the score was 1-0...hee.) Ted's party this year is going to be just for his pre-school friends, rather than try and invite all his individual little buddies from all over. There are 9 other kids in his class and about 5 from the other Pre-K class that he wants to invite. Originally he wanted to invite ALL the other class, but I talked him down from that one. This will be the last hurrah of preschool, I figure. Next year, he won't have as many friends to name and we will probably start the "6 kids for a 6 year old" that works so well. In the meantime, his invites are ready to be handed out and I'm at work trying to find a Bionicles cake...hmmm...
Five years old. Slow down, world. I'm not ready to get off!

Daddy day

Daddy was in charge of Mae today. Can you tell? Love the pants and unbrushed hair. Nice, Daddy!

Ted and Sam spent the morning swimming and Ted the afternoon at a soccer clinic. It was pretty hard-core and I was impressed that he stuck with it. It was from 12:30-4 and when I went to pick him up they were really playing hard. He says he liked it, so here's hoping! It's the one sport (besides swimming or track) that I can handle him playing! If nothing else, he should sleep like a rock tonight.

Happy Christmas

As my English friend Louise says...somehow Happy Christmas sounds more 'snowy' than Merry. Not sure why. Have a good day! We are enjoying yet MORE snow and getting ready for our annual Chinese feast this afternoon with friends.

Dec. 15 post

My friend Beth at BeeBlog is so good at noting milestones with 'then and now' pictures. Mae's referral pics were taken on Dec. 15 last year. This year, that was the first night of Hanukkah and it slipped right by me. I put a post in, to remember. So, click here for the Dec. 15 post, if you're interested.

more fun in the snow

A view of the fort from upstairs. Our neighbor Sergei is in the blue coat.

with Ling Ling

on to vacation!

Well, we did it! Last night was the final night of Hanukkah, spent at the Schwartz casa. The food was amazing and the kids all had a blast. We snuck away before Shrek 2 claimed our kids. This morning, after putting the decorations away, I had my annual holiday brunch with the Erins (we missed Kathye for the first time in years...sniff...) and then had a mellow afternoon. Here is a pic of Mae in her dreidal shirt (made by Tara of Sticky Mango Designs) before the party last night.

magic

I think this is my favorite picture of the season. Seeing 'the magic' through the eyes of a child...it's a beautiful thing. Happy Holidays to all our friends.

Splish Splash

Fun in the tub.

Blizzard

This is how we spent our morning. Fun stuff!

crazy day

Mae's special present this Hanukkah was a doll that speaks Mandarin. Some of the older girls at Chinese school had one, and her teacher said the girls love them. After she opened it Paul asked her "Do you like your doll?" She nodded vehemently. She repeats anything the doll (named Ling) says. Especially 'hao' as in Ni hao. She really seems to know that one. I think it's a hit!

We have had a tough few days. Mae has had almost constant tantrums, screaming NO! at the top of her lungs at me whenever I ask her anything at all. Lots and lots of screaming. And, in the same minute, if I am out of her sight for a SECOND, she starts to cry and say "Mama?? Mama!!" So, I'm thinking these two are somehow related. We played a great game of "Can I have a hug?" earlier today that was successful and I did it some more tonight. I think she is going to be one of those kids who needs choices, no telling her what to do. We spent much of the day this way-in the Ergo. My arms are killing me.

Today's blizzard was nuts. The fun part was putting aside any preconceived notions of what to do and just enjoying the day. We didn't get to the cookies, but we did bake chocolate-chip banana bread this morning and a batch of latkes tonight. The gym is closed tomorrow, so no camp for the boys. Hopefully we can play in the snow with the neighbor kids tomorrow, and maybe get to those cookies! In the meantime, here's a pic of Ted playing with his Bionicle. Heh.

Latkes

We are having a SERIOUS blizzard. Any schools still in session were cancelled and everything. Considering this is Colorado, this is a big deal. Paul went to work this morning but headed home around 11:30. He finally arrived home, having walked the last mile, at 2. The snow is supposed to continue through noon tomorrow with an estimated accumulation of 2+ feet. With all the snow and wind...it is piled HIGH. A pleasant thing to happen when school is out anyway and we have latkes and Hanukkah cookies to cook!!

OK, the CUTEST thing. Mae just spent the last few minutes running from Paul to me, giving us giant hugs. We've had a tough 48 hours with her, and Paul reminded me that we need to encourage this type of thing. So sweet!!

Hanukkah party at school

Singing all the songs, doing all the dances and eating all the latkes and donuts they could eat, the JCC Hanukkah party was a blast for all the kids. Since today is the last day of school, it felt like a Friday to me...what a sad realization that it's only Monday! Oh well. Tomorrow we 'do Hanukkah' with the Krams family. We've done one night together every year we've been friends...4 years now! It will be fun

Reflections

While chatting with my mom this weekend, I realized I hadn't blogged about my visit to Horizons, the alternative K-8 school we are open-enrolling to. The visit was great-they did a good job of spelling out exactly what makes their school unique and why it still ranks Excellent in the CSAPs and other tests. The tour helped too, because we got to see the classrooms. The classes are grouped: K-1, 2-3, 4-5 and 6-8. There are 4 classes of each. I think the bottom line, what I walked away with, was that while our kids will get a first-rate academic education at ANY school in Boulder Valley, this school has the potential to mold our little ones into excellent citizens of the world. Yes, this is our responsibility as parents, but it sure would be nice to get some outside help, especially when they will spend 30+ hours at school in a week. I love this school. I will drive them there without griping (well, I might gripe a little, if it's snowy...) But it all comes down to the lottery. So, we wait and see. The first round comes out Feb.2. If we aren't in that batch we are waitlisted. Ted's teacher's kids weren't accepted until 2 days before school began! I know Eldorado would be fine, so if we don't get in it will be OK. But it would be GREAT to get in.
Sunday night, while watching the boys dancing like dreidals to Hanukkah music, it just hit me so hard. This is what I want for them. I want to see this kind of joy in their lives forever. I don't want it set aside for some academic ideal deemed important by someone who has never taken a child development class. I want them to have JOY and LOVE for school, for life, for their friends, for their religion. And RESPECT for different cultures, different religions, different ways of living.

And for fun, here are the top 10 reasons I love Horizons:

1. Classes meet from 8-3 Mon-Thu and 8-12 on Fridays.
2. Mountain biking and skiing are commonplace fieldtrips on Fridays.
3. Field trips to Mesa Verde, RMNP, and other amazing locales happen often in grades 3-8.
4. K-8 has Spanish class daily.
5. Horizons is a Green School-no waste is produced by the kids' lunches that can't be composted.
6. The ratio of male teachers to female is 40/60. Pretty good ratio!
7. Mixed age classes (K-1 are together) are small, about 17 kids in a class.
8. CSAP and other tests consistantly rank Horizons as Excellent, one of the top schools in the county.
9. Many families are 'non-traditional.' Not just white mom, dad, brother & sister.
10. The child has ownership of his work in class. Rather than report cards, the kids meet with their parents and teacher and do a presentation about what they are doing in each subject.

There are more, many more, things that I love, but those are the top 10. Those are the ones I don't think I'd find anywhere else. We shall see.

I love this band

Tonight was the annual Hanukkah concert by Mah Tovu, a local Jewish band. This is our third year of going to their concert and it just gets better every year, or maybe the location just keeps improving. Sam was transfixed the entire time; Ted was wound up and crazy, but seeing as his other buddies from school were too, it was OK. We did leave early, because Sam told us he was ready to go. Hee. Mae was very social, wandering around looking at everyone with interest. We bought their CD this year because I really love this guy. If you're interested, go here to buy one for your kids.
We opened presents when we got home. Paul's present, a lightcast, was the biggest hit. So all three of them were dancing like maniacs to the light show on the ceiling.
Tomorrow is the last day of preschool til January 3. We're almost on to 2007. What an amazing year this has been for our family.

it's official

Today was Mikveh Day! We all traipsed down to Denver. It was nice to see Rabbi Feder again...there haven't been many babies born in our little preschool community in a year or so, so we haven't seen each other. There for a while it felt like we were always going to a bris or a naming! Mae had her dunking and a sip of wine and is official. For her, she will either 'accept or reject' her conversion when she reaches bat mitzvah. I like that-I like that she hasn't been 'made Jewish,' rather, she is welcomed into the community and can choose for herself. That's nice. We all had donuts to celebrate and are taking early naps in preparation for the big Hanukkah concert tonight. Mazel tov to our beautiful Yarden Matana. Her naming ceremony at our temple will be in January, although with the conversion ceremony, she already has her name in a legal sense. Off to nap!

Happy Hanukkah!

On this second night of Hanukkah, all the kids seemed to be feeling the effects of last night's party. Lots of crying and everyone went to bed very early, except for Ted. His joyous dance of glee at getting the Playmobile Pirate Dungeon just made our night. What a joker.

FFFF Challenge: Pigtails

The challenge at Double Happiness this week is PIGTAILS. Mae often has 2 or 3 pigtails going and Sam MUST have them if Mae does. But this was the first time Ted asked for them too! Too funny!

swaddling

Funny how true some of the 'adoption advice' is. One thing we were told is to place our daughter's emotional age at a newborn level when we first received her. According to that, Mae is 7 months old, in the 'newborn learning to trust in her parents' process. Today she had another of her emotional outbursts, 1.5 hours of screaming, writhing, scatching and generally freaking out. This time, after about 15 minutes, I swaddled her in her soft pink blankie and held her and rocked her. She calmed down (and wound herself back up a few times) and let me hold her. Eventually she zoned out and seemed exhausted, so we came downstairs for some water and a little snack. These episodes are few and far between these days, but this is a great trick to know. I think part of her hysteria was aided by her flailing limbs. Just like a 7month old, once she couldn't move so much, she calmed down somewhat.
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. Ted's friend Jack is here now and we will head back to his house to celebrate with them tonight. This next week will be a bit frenzied but fun. All of Mae's 'firsts' are so much fun.

A year ago...

This picture was taken one year ago today, December 15. What a difference a year makes!

Ted does art!

I have been worried about Ted's lack of interest in art (a pre-writing skill) since he was a Caterpillar. I think he might have produced about 3 works of art in the 2 years he was in preschool. This year isn't turning out to be much better in the art department. However. A friend told me about this art program in Longmont and I've been taking them, fairly regularly but spaced out enough to keep it 'new and interesting.' This is the 3rd one we've done so far. Each time, the volume of art Ted is actually interested in creating keeps multiplying. He wanted to make a card for Jeanne, his teacher from last year (that is Jeanne spelled out on the bottom...albeit a backwards 'J') and a star of David and also a hand menorah. I was able to leave him almost completely alone with this last one, and he did it all himself (thus the chopped off fingers of the candles..hee). He was so intent on gluing the little flames on...
I am really really thrilled with this program. I wish it wasn't so crowded and overwhelming in the room...it's very tough for me to keep an eye on all 3 and help them appropriatly all the time, but I think the stress is worth it. And this art will be treasured this Hanukkah season, that's for sure!! (click for a larger view of the picture).

patient croc

Here's a pic of Sam from yesterday, when he was feeling pretty down. As long as he had his croc costume on, he was pretty cheerful. Sweet pea. Today all three went to the pediatric dentist (cough...choke...gasp). Ted's teeth are perfect although he wants to fill the molars next time because there are such deep grooves in them (just like mine). Sam flipped out and they had to scale back their plan with him, but his teeth are great and the spacing is evening out now...hooray! Last time they were really squished in there but it's all working itself out as he grows. Mae pitched a royal fit, of course, but the good news is that her teeth look great. She has a very strong under-bite, typical for Asians, apparently, but good teeth. When we got her she had none, so the dentist thinks the good nutrition she got once with us helped make her first teeth so strong. Hooray! We are broke, but healthy. You can't take the money with you, right? So they say...

goofballs, lasagna and eye goop

What a day we had yesterday. Sam's eye was all puffy, he was coughing and whiney, and Mae had the start of a cold too. Luckily Ted played quietly all day with his Pirates, when he wasn't running errands with me. Everyone slept GREAT last night...the first one up was Mae at 7:15. Paul stayed home from work since he is starting Sam's goop, so I took Ted in to school today (field trip to sing Hanukkah songs to 'the Oldsters' at Jewish nursing home..so sweet..) and Paul took Sam in to the doc. He has eye drops and should be ok in 24 hours...hopefully he can go to school on Wednesday. He spent the day napping, crying or watching movies. Poor little guy. Mae is in a GREAT mood today and her new favorite game is to come up to you, scream in joy, and then run away from you, looking behind her to make sure you're chasing her. I think she learned this from Jacob Saturday night:


Erin dropped off a lasagna tonight...the timing couldn't have been better. Hooray for kindness! It was accompanied by bread and homemade garlic butter to smear

FFFF - PJ's

The challenge over at Double Happiness this week is pj pictures-and do I have the PERFECT one! I love this pic.

Trumped

They've done it again! Tonight was Paul's work's "Holiday Party." Because it's such a small company and everyone has little children, the decadent dinner at Flagstaff House has become a catered affair at the boss' home, complete with awesome presents for the kids. This happened last year too - the gift Ted got at the party WAY out-trumped our presents in coolness! He got another Playmobile Pirate ship; the new and improved model, complete with skull and crossbones, which I guess means they are the bad guys? Ted is falling asleep right now, trying to stay awake to help Paul assemble it. Sam seems to be getting sick-one eye is puffy and the other has goop coming out of it. Lovely. Mae was a trooper today. We had a playgroup/cookie exchange with some little Chinese friends from 11-2, then a quick nap in the car and the work party at 4. She did great. She was a bit of a bully at Shayna's house...the other kids are 'only children' and not as tough as she is. I hope we can teach her to be more gentle in preschool! Then at the party tonight, she hooked right up with Jacob, a little guy her age. They spent most of the time feeding each other, tickling each other, and chasing each other. Hopefully Rob will send pics, because it was so cute. Ted played with Ben & Aiden, the big boys, and poor Sam rested on the couch alot. What an exhausting day. Tomorrow we have no plans...hopefully we can all take naps!! Welcome to the holiday season!

first friend

Today my camera malfunctioned, so this is an old pic. Henry and Mae were being so cute together. They were both kneeling next to each other on the top step up to the kitchen, stringing chunky wooden beads on a shoelace-like string. They were cracking each other up. Henry would correctly identify the color for Mae, and she would attemp to repeat him. And then they would laugh. Later, they were passing their matching blankies back and forth. Henry would say, "This is Henny's. This is mei-mei's." And Mae would babble something back at him. They were so cute. Today was my last day of Henry-duty, and while it's been challenging wrangling two so close in age, it absolutely warms my heart to see them actually playing together. Mae says "ah-ri!" (think of Henri, with a French accent) with such excitement. He's her first friend. Aww!!

Photo Shoot Out Takes

the one we didn't use...

Family pictures with 2 kids was always hard, with 3 it was such a joke I could only laugh and go with the flow. Like this one? hee.

Reading

These "Bob Books" were sold through Scholastic Books a few months ago at preschool. I am amazed at them. In the first book, we read:

Mat.
Mat sat.
Sam.
Sam sat.
Mat sat. Sam sat.
Mat sat on Sam.
Sam sat on Mat.
Mat sat. Sam sat.
The End.

Onto Book 2:
Sam and Cat.
Mat and Cat.
Sam, Mat, and Cat.
Cat sat on Sam.
Mat sat on Sam.
Sad Sam. Sad Mat.
Sam sat. Mat sat.
O.K., Sam. O.K., Mat. O.K., Cat.
The End.

And so it goes. (Ted and Peg make their appearance in Book 10. Heh.)

What amazed me the most about Ted's complete devouring of these 12 little books is the incredible sponge that is a kid's brain. He never forgot. Once he 'recognized' a word (such as 'sat') he never forgot it. When someone sat in Book 12, he was able to recognize it, in a different context. Note that I am not saying he is really reading. He has yet to grasp the concept of c-a-t...sound it out. He is learning a new word by sight only. But...HOW COOL! He is so excited about it...like a door just opened in his brain. I told him that we could read these books any time he wanted (he has a tendancy to want me to read to him All. The. Time.) These are really cool. And how fun is it for both the boys' names to be presented in just the first series! Woo hoo!

wow!

While I was working on that last post and replying to emails, Ted brought his letters workbook and marker over and sat down next to me. He proceeded to copy out the letters from A-F. Only once, mind you, but still! I was psyched. This is an activity his little girlfriends have enjoyed for over a year now. None of the boys seem to find it interesting. Here's hoping!

missing Ted already

It is a good thing I have 3 kids, because I am just lousy at transitions for them. When Ted started preschool he went 2 mornings a week, from 9-1. Last year, he went 3 mornings a week, again from 9-1. This year he goes 3 days a week from 9-3. And the realization that he will start kindergarten and be gone every single day is making me very sad! It isn't the reality of dealing with 3 kids all day long-it's the 'idea', the 'concept' that he will be out of my life, living his own, every day. This was a fast 4.5 years, I'll tell you that. Wasn't it just last week that we were graduating from GymCrawlers? Wasn't he learning his shapes and colors just yesterday? When did he get to be a big kid? I already miss him. I had assumed I would send him to K-care, which is the preschool-like enrichment program to make Kindergarten a full day. Otherwise K is from 8:30-11 (morning session) or from 12-2:30 (afternoon session). But now I'm reconsidering. Maybe, especially since the younger 2 will be in preschool til 1, those extra hours spent with Ted might be really special. I am thinking about this now because I have a Kindergarten talk to go to next week, at one of the Kindergartens we might open enroll to. And the one for Eldorado is the first week of January. Oy.
This pic was taken the day before Sam was born. Ted was 2 days shy of his 18-month birthday.

before we knew her

These pictures were all taken by Mae's caregivers in the orphanage. On the right, the 4 month Referral pictures. On the bottom, the 7 month pictures, taken the day we accepted her referral. And the center, larger picture is the only picture that was undamaged on the camera we sent. I have a "good friend" (via internet only) who has received so, so much information about her daughter's life before she joined their family. Using this service, she has pictures and letters...so many pieces of the puzzle, as she calls it. I wish we had more. This is it. This is all we've got. Click on the picture to see a larger view.

girls rock

Tonight I had just put a grumpy Sam to bed and Paul and Ted were yelling and play-fighting. Mae went right up to Paul, put her finger on her mouth and told him, "Shhhhh." I love having a girl.

the Playroom issue

It is safe to say that most of my friends here in Boulder are a bit older, often resulting in parents who started their families a bit later, had two incomes for a bit longer, and have beautiful homes now. I love our little house. I just wish it was a little larger. Anyway. I have started noticing that we are in the minority when it comes to the Playroom idea. I don't really believe in a playroom. Usually that equals the ice-cold basement or a boring beige room off of the front entrance. All the toys are there and it's a disaster...how can a child even play in a room that is littered with toys? We have our fair share of toys, I'm not trying to insinuate anything less, but the toys are out, in plain view. In the front room, besides our piano, futon-couch and rocking chair, is the train-turned-Legos table, as well as a small table with Ted's Playmobile toys (i.e. choking hazard small parts). In our family room we finally got rid of the plastic house (hooray!) but we have Mae's little kitchen, a bookcase filled with books and baskets of instruments and a mini trampoline. Plus the couch and recliner. It's their house too, right? I'm sure that when (if?) we finish the basment, it will become a place where the kids can 'go play.' At this point, Mae is too young to go down the stairs alone anyway, and she wants to be where they are all the time. I don't want to spend my time in the cold basement so why should they? Anyway, I feel grumpy about it. Perhaps I just have house envy.

hope we get a pic

Today was Eliot's 3rd birthday party. I can't believe he's 3! His party was at a kids gymnastics place and all the kids had so much fun. Sam hung out with his buddy Kylie most of the time and Ted, Zach and Jack (the big boys of they party) had a blast on all of the equipment. Rachel kept Mae entertained, so it was a mellow party for Paul and me! I think Sam's favorite was the huge trampoline, and Jon (Eliot's dad) took some pics, so I hope we have one of Sam jumping. What a fun party. Sam is the oldest in his class and Eliot is next in line. I just hope they end up being buddies like Ted & Rach are. They may not play together at preschool but they always get along famously when our families get together. Happy Birthday Eliot!

And for fun, a pic of the gang watching a Bionicles commerical on the computer...Mae had pigtails so the boys needed them too.