Reading is fundamental

We zipped right through the holidays...making the trek with everyone over to Gramma and Granmpa Grave's house in the middle of what has been the biggest storm in as many years as I've lived here in Seattle. Henry had a great time with his cousins Andy and Emily - playing in the snow, wrestling, shooting at each other with Nerf guns. To that end, one of my favorite moments of the two family days there was when Greg was waking up on the couch and Henry sitting right below him - holding his new Nerf gun (pointed towards Greg), looking down the site saying, "Good Morning Greg." Dirty Harry would've been proud.
Stella did a pretty good job with the traveling. We think she's getting some teeth, so there was some whining, but all-in-all a very good experience with her. Lots of people to hold and love her. She's growing so quickly...getting strong, eating lots of solid food, and loving her brother more and more as the days go by.
Now we're back to normal - whatever that means. We sure like our gifts though...and the wrapping paper they came in.

Life Father. Like Son.

Seriously. This is exactly what Dave looks like when he's saying, "No, Jen - we need to go this way. It's right here on the map" (one of our first arguments was about a map, I think). Anyway, we were at the zoo today and Henry was letting me know that we were going the wrong way if we wanted to actually SEE the lions as opposed to just TALKING about seeing the lions. And here's how Stella enjoyed being told where to go...she's like me.

Pick a sport, any sport.

Henry played the role of athlete yesterday. We went to soccer in the morning (he loved his new kicked-back coach) and in the afternoon we went to "our" park by the middle school and he ran the bases (truly, his favorite thing to do at this park) over and over again. He'd come around home plate as fast as he could - huffin and puffin - and say, "Mom, that's the last time. I'm not going again." And, as soon as I'd turn around - he'd be off again, running around 1st, 2nd and 3rd as fast as his little legs would carry him. He was framed by middle-school football practice on the field next to us and an adult soccer league on a field a bit aways from us. It made him look just fantastic - this little guy, all by himself - running around the bases like crazy in the middle of these big people. And, I don't want to be one of those prophetic moms, but I think that little fool is going to be quite the baseball player someday...or at least he's probably going to love doing it. Or I'm going to love watching it. Wichever.

Super Hero Dentist Visit

Henry Seward can drive me absolutely crazy sometimes. He can be whiny and argumentative and too silly for me to deal with on occasion. Dave would possibly say he's sometimes like me, I suppose. But yesterday was truly one of those "I can't believe I got lucky enough to have this kid" days. We went to the dentist. He had just seen a Sid the Science Kid episode on how you need to keep your teeth clean or - gasp! - green stuff will grow in your mouth and you'll get cavities. So this was serious business. We walked in and the first thing we heard were kids crying in the waiting room. This didn't put even the smallest dent in our hero's resolve. He looked right at me and said, "I'm ready, mom." The hygenist took us back and he got to sit in the space chair, wear sunglasses so the light wasn't too bright in his eyes and listen to music so he wouldn't be bothered by the sound of the cleaner. Again, kids around us crying like crazy and he just looked forward - very serious - and opened his mouth. Ready to rid himself of anything green or cavity-like. At one point I thought he was getting nervous and tried to hold his hand, but he waved me off - letting me know he was just trying to show me a fish on the wall. I was absolutely bursting with pride. I have no idea why - I guess just because I love to see that kind of resolve. There's a part of me that would almost like it if he wanted to be comforted during the experience - but the better deal is to see him barrel through things, things that can scare you, like you have to do in life.

And when we came home, he took this fabulous picture of Stella. What a guy. And what a stinky little girl.

Vanity Run Amuck

I’ve been really worried about the lines around my eyes lately (well, since my near fatal shopping trip last week for YSL concealer and the dang department store lights that dropped the proverbial hammer on what I thought was my youthful glow). Then, on my way back from dropping the kids off at their respective daycares/schools this morning, I heard an Indigo Girls song I haven’t heard in a while on the radio and there was a line, “with every lesson learned, a line upon your beautiful face…we’ll amuse ourselves one day with these memories we trace.” I think that’s the way to go, right? Vs. trying to save up for plastic surgery?
Big issues this morning. Big issues.

Hippie Chick

Well, miss Stella had her first cold this weekend. It started on Thursday (while Dave was in Walla Walla - HOW he got a client in the Washington wine country is beyond me - I'm going to need one of those clients pretty soon) and she's still a little stuffy. It just bites to have a baby with a cold. I felt so bad for her and spent the entire day on Friday just holding her and talking in what Henry calls "my Teletubby voice."
Here she is on Sunday, feeling a bit better - and wearing my favorite hippie chick outfit.

Hercules, Hercules

Here's the strong lady in our Seward circus. She's about four minutes away from rolling over. And I dig that she already looks like she's chasing her big brother.

Look Out. Here Comes Spiderman.

Halloween. I love this time of year. The weather goes south. Things tend to get cozier...and spookier. This year promises to be brilliant. We've got Henry - who is 100%, full-on into this thing. Last year he was super cute and fun. But this year, he GETS it. We pulled out the big spider for the front door, the skeletons, the old green witch to sit on the porch..."Mom. We're going to scare A LOT of people with this stuff." Yes sir, we will. And off to Target we go to look for some more decorations. We find a $9.99 Spiderman costume (he's wanted to be Spiderman since Nov. 1, 2007 at 6:00 a.m.) that is pretty much just a blue and red, polyester singlet that makes him look a bit like an ice dancer. Are you sure you don't want the nice Spiderman costume I found online? Nope. He wants this one. We had to get it. It will be ripped all to hell before the 31st (he's slept in it every night since he's had it) and he'll get tired of it. But I'm so glad he's smart enough to remind me it's way more fun to be Spiderman for four weeks than it is for one night. Even if Spiderman looks like he's seen 16 miles of hard road by the time the big night rolls around.

And then we have Miss Stella. Still small enough that I call the shots re her costume. I'm so glad the years of being a pea in the pod and a cozy bear aren't behind us. And I'm definitely thinking cute, fuzzy and not a superhero. Lucky us - we get both sides of the coin living with a 3 1/2 year old and a 3 month old. That's true with everything when it comes to Henry and Stella, but it's fantastically illustrated in pretty vivid colors as we get ready for Halloween.

Firsts, Seconds and Thirds

Well, fast forward three months from July 2, 2008 and you’ll find me crying at my computer, wondering how twelve weeks magically disappear like they have.

I took Stella to Julie’s this morning for the first time. Julie was a caregiver at Allegro, Henry’s daycare for three years. She was actually the first person I ever left Henry with there and this morning I left Stella with her too. And, as amazing as this sounds, I completely forgot how hard it is to leave your child. It was hard when I didn’t know Julie. And it’s the same kind of hard even now that I do. Stella will stay with Julie for the month of October and, as Julie isn’t quite sure what she’s going to do with her daycare business, we found a more permanent caregiver situation for Stella starting in November. Rosa and Jose own a little home daycare called Mi Casita. I might already love them - as the first time we went to visit them, Rosa said, “Ah, Janetta – Estella, she looks a’ very smart.” They came recommended by a friend who is the most particular person on earth, so along with the good vibes we get from them both, it seems they were able to pass the Lisa test for three years with her daughter. And I’m glad we found such a loving place for her.

All that to say, it was about 5 minutes ago that Dave and I settled in for the evening and had finished watching the HBO series John Adams, when I felt a cramp that was a bit more intense, a bit longer than those I had been feeling the last few weeks of my pregnancy. Dave went to sleep, and I stayed up and lay on the couch, feeling the cramps get closer together and watching the numbers on the clock on my cell phone go from 10 minutes from the start of one until another one came, to 6 minutes, to 4 minutes. At 2:30 AM we woke Henry up – the last time we’d be a family of three. He was so good. Just groggily asked if he could have a juice box on the way in to the hospital. We drove in and, after much hulabaloo regarding when they would actually do the c-section and some fast driving by cousin Beth to come take care of Henry, Dave and I walked into the operating room at 7:00 AM to meet Stella. Pure and complete joy.

And now that first bunch of alone time with my second baby is over. I know enough now to realize that it will be replaced by other, just as joyful firsts and seconds and thirds. But today is the start of that change – and I once again recognize in myself the complete inability to rationally process change. Which makes me think it's a good thing I get to pick them both up in about three hours.