Yikes!

I just realized that I have not posted since January!  So much has happened and it is overwhelming.  Last school year was the most taxing of my career.  Between teaching 5 different classes, being a mom, and taking a Masters class myself, there was little time to breathe, let alone keep up with this blog.  On the one hand, we are constantly busy with the kids, doing fun things and this keeps me from writing.  On the other hand, they are only little once and all of this stuff I think I'll remember, is being replaced by other new memories and I worry that I'll forget to document some of their important milestones/events.  Fortunately, Facebook has allowed me to document little things and I will transfer some posts over to here soon.  For now, I'll just do a brief update:

Jack:  Jack continued to love pre-school.  Mostly, he loves learning and his teachers.  He is still shy to engage in groups of kids is own age, but he loves spending time with adults and older kids.  At times I worry because he tends to hang back and is quite timid.  He sits back and lets the other kids take things (toys, opportunities, etc.)  My heart breaks a little for him because I worry he will struggle with his confidence.  I don't want him to choose to be on the outside.  He is such a wonderful, loving, amazing, smart little boy and I want people to see that in him.  Not for me, for him.  I just don't want him to be one of those kids who is overlooked when he has so much to offer. 

Jack loves to learn everything about everything and his memory is second to none.  His attention span never ceases to amaze me and he focuses on things that he wants to master until he gets them.  He loves all books (taking away books at bedtime is the worst punishment imaginable for him) and maps.  He has spent significant time with various geography apps on the IPad and knows where every state is and all of their capitals.  Now he has set his sights on the countries of the world.  The two maps (one of the U.S. and one of the world) in his room are two of his favorite new things.  He loves trying to read and is doing quite well.  He also requests to do math at the dinner table.  I call him my little nerd and his love of learning is one of the things I love most about him. 

Another is his capacity for joy.  He is so excited and happy about everything.  It is just so fun seeing things through his eyes.  He mostly loves his sister, though he has taken to pestering her and trying to push her buttons.  Fortunately, she has learned how to push his back lately. 

Jack has been very interested in sports lately.  He loves baseball and can hit the ball quite well.  He doesn't want to hit off the tee anymore, prefering the pitch.  He has a baseball glove and he is working so hard to make it happen.  He's been smacked in the face with the ball and though he warned me, "If you do that again, I'm gonna do it to you!" he keeps trying.  He is very interested in golf and learned how to swim by himself this summer without the help of a vest.  And he's a fish.  He has no fear of the water at all.  He jumps off the side and dives to pick things up off the bottom.  He also does a lot of gymnastics on his own.  It will be fun to see what he picks as his passions. 

Dani:  Dani's joy bursts out of her eyes and smile.  To know her is to love her.  People simply gravitate toward her and she makes friends easily.  The biggest compliment people give her is on her big blue eyes.  Though her eyes are indeed a beautiful color, it's their twinkle that gives them their true beauty.  Her hair still rivals Albert Einstein's and we wonder when it will grow into something we can work with.  At the same time, it is so her.  Her voice is awesome.  She actually has a pretty good vocabulary, but she wants to say more than she can and her head works faster than her mouth.  Yet she never gets frustrated.  She just talks and is so confident that she either assumes that you must understand or she doesn't care that you don't.  Her voice is hysterical.  She sounds like she is half parrot, half human.  My favorite mispronunciations are slowly becoming actual words.  Gone is "prin-cense" (princess) and "ah-pah-pus" (octopus).  But at least I still have my favorite, "suh-bagetti." (spaghetti)

Dani learns so differently from Jack.  She doesn't want to be taught anything.  And yet, she learns it.  She just makes things happen.  I think she's going to make a lot of mistakes (she's daring, she's impulsive, she's curious), but I'm never worried about her.  Dani is always going to land on her feet.  Even if she gets scrapped knees in a few stumbles.  She's strong-willed and knows exactly what she wants.  At the same time, she's so loving (she loves snuggles) and sweet.  We went to a music class and I was concerned that she wasn't going to pay attention and that I would be chasing her around.  She was by far the best listener in the class, focusing on what the teacher was saying and participating in the activities. 

Dani loves just being with you.  She likes riding bikes and coloring.  She also loves everything blingy.  Whenever we go to a store, she has to touch EVERY, SINGLE piece of shiny jewelry, declaring, "Ooooo.  It SO pretty!"  She loves to wear baseball hats (like Mom).  She also loves going to Santa's Village.  Her favorite ride is the roller coaster (you can barely see her head above the bar) and she gets mad if it doesn't go faster.   She loves animals. 

Dani also LOVES her big brother. She wants to do everything that he does.  The other day, Jack and Daddy snuck out to play golf and she burst into tears.  Not because she didn't get to go, but because they didn't hug and kiss her goodbye.  Sometimes, he is can be pretty mean to her and likes to tease her.  I keep hoping she'll deck him, but she never does.  She just idolizes him.  I hope they always love each other the way they do now.  I think they are the perfect match for each other.  I hope Jack will teach her some restraint, and that she'll teach him to loosen up a bit.  I hope they will lean on each other growing up and long after Mom and Dad aren't around. 

Every day, I can't believe how lucky I am in this life and how lucky I am to get to be the mom to the two most amazing kids.  I am so proud of them and my heart swells every time I think of them.  They are the absolute lights of my life and if I never accomplish anything else, I'll feel fulfilled just because I got to be their mom and I'll know I've done something good for the world.

Love

Today, Dani said, "I love you."  It was unprovoked and she wasn't simply repeating what I had said.  It's going to be a good week.

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When Jack was younger and didn't know the word for something, he would say, "Buh duh", as in, "Jack, what is that?"  "Buh duh."  It appears that Dani has her own version.  Today, in her numbers book she was able to tell me the words for all of the different fruits.  Until she came to the kiwi and the pomegranate.  Those she referred to as "a bu da ya ya ya." 

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This weekend, Dani told her first story.  She was all smiles when she came back from a trip to Meijer with her daddy and couldn't wait to tell me all about it.   

Dani:  Mommy!  I go Target!  (she doesn't know her stores yet)
Me:  You did?
Dani:  Yeah!  I see toys. . . .I ride horsey. . . .I see fishies. . . .I have fun!

Catching up

I have been a HORRIBLE blogger lately.  I actually wouldn't even call myself a blogger.  I would call myself a copier of Facebook statuses.  Well, this post will be no exception.  Work is crazy and I don't have the time I'd like to devote to this.  But the FB statuses offer up cute stories that will someday give the kids a glimpse into their childhood and what kind of kids they are.  And I'll try to be better about filling in larger pieces.  Until then. . .

1.  This morning, Jack called me over to the window. He pointed outside and asked, "What do you see?" When I told him I didn't know, he pointed again and said, "Do you see pink clouds?" In the moment I finally noticed the amazing, billowy clouds lit pink by the sun, Jack, still looking in awe, remarked, "Beautiful." Though they were indeed spectacular, pink clouds weren't the most beautiful thing at that window this morning.

2.  We were just discussing going bowling with the kids again (it was a big hit yesterday). Jack turned to me and said, "Don't worry. It's okay. We'll go bowling again, big girl."

For the record, Jack is the only man who can call me "big girl" without getting punched. Same goes for "old girl", if you are taking notes.

3.  My parents and their dog are in town for the holidays. It appears that Dani has either confused the dog with people or she is far less polite than my son. At breakfast this morning, they wanted Poppy to come to the table.
Jack: Poppy, come join us!
Dani: Come 'ere, boy! Come 'ere!

4.  My greeting this morning:
"Mommy, I took a really long nap and I peed in my bed but I love you."

5.  Me: Jack? You're taking turns with your toy? That's nice!
Jack: Yes. It IS nice.

6.  Jack's commentary at the end of the night: "We can't read books yet. We have to wait for Dani. Then we can be a family and smile at each other."

7.  While reading books before bed, Dani impressed me by knowing far more animal sounds than I have actually taught her. My eyes widened and I told her, "Wow! Good job, Dani." She gave me a big smile and replied, "I practice!" No idea where she learned that one either!

8.  At school Jack has two teachers and knows the very involved 70 year old school director well. We'll call them Mrs. James, Mrs. Alt and Mrs. Baker, respectively. At dinner he was being silly and calling me by different names.
Jack: Hi, Mrs. James.
Me: What?! Do I look like Mrs. James?
J: Yes, because you're pretty.
Me: Oh! Do you think Mrs. James is pretty?
J: Yes.
Me: Do you think Mrs. Alt is pretty?
J: Umm. . .sure.
Me: Do you think Mrs. Baker is pretty?
J: (silence) Kinda?

Nice to know my son has already rank ordered his teachers based on hotness.

9.  Jack was making up games that we could play with his basketball and other bouncy ball. He got so excited that I couldn't understand the rules.

Me: Wait. What do we do?
Jack: Or I can just throw it in your face, that's fine.

I don't think Jack is going to have a lot of friends.

10.  Tonight at dinner, Dani thought it was hilarious when she pressed my nose and I made a noise like a car horn. She laughed and declared, "I so happy!"
I'm going to remind her of this someday after I disappoint her by saying "no" when she asks for a pony.

11.  Jack: What are we having for dinner?
Me: I don't know yet.
Jack: You better tell me or you gonna go to time out. (Pause) 1. . . 2. . .3. That's it!

12.  I hate American Girl. I'm sorry, I just do. My husband's family has been pushing me to get into it but I refuse. But today, at Dani's family birthday party, American Girl came to me. Dani got a baby from her aunt and uncle. For the sake of my daughter, I disguised my feelings, happily presenting the baby to her with the appropriate ooohs and ahhhs. She grabbed it, gave it a quick glance and promptly threw it to the floor. I've never been more proud.

13.  Today in the car...
Jack: Mommy, you can't drive fast. If you drive fast the policeman gives you a ticket and you go to jail and that's a really big Time Out.