December 2017

The last month in this slog of a year -- and we're doing it up in high Christmas style.

The school winter assembly wrapped up the semester -- with Evelyn performing her much anticipated African Dance class routine (she, of course, was the one with the HUGE grin throughout - bouncing around gleefully like she was full of jumping beans). Awesome drumming performance as the soundtrack for the dancing. We love her school so much.

Emerson is exploding with 4 year old energy, and can hardly contain his excitement in his powerful little body -- he resembled a bobcat or a brawling badger more than my sweet last-born at the assembly. The good news: it always ends in a blissful collapse of sleep that carries him through to morning.

My Little Aerial FlyDog !

Oma & Opa came back (after a Thanksgiving visit) for the grand Christmas event -- We've been counting down the 25 days with advent calendars and the lighting of advent candles -- Ev & Em focused on who gets to blow which candles out at the end of the evening, but enjoying the process of identifying each candle (Peace! Hope! Joy!).  Emerson has really gotten into the magic of the season this year -- sooo excited seeing Santa at the parade, and wondering why - after the tree was decorated - there weren't presents left under it yet.

After a late night at a loooong Christmas Eve church service (we of course wanted to attend a candlelight service), Emerson fell asleep on the car ride home and Ev prepped for Santa (candy canes positioned in the shape of a heart, an oreo truffle that she made, and a cup of milk) and his reindeer (9 carrots - one for each reindeer and an extra in case Rudolf was in the mix) and then skipped off to bed.  It was such a fun morning (I got to sleep until 8am!) and not a tear was shed. Ev was beaming from ear to ear the entire day - making slime (thanks Oma) and playing games. Em played with cars, discovered a newfound love of the space shuttle, and played pool with Tag and Opa.

We're just a few days left of this year...and I can't say it was a bad year, but I can't say I won't be glad to see it go -- looking forward to the adventure that 2018 brings...and hoping it will allow us to stay in this lovely place we've started to call home.

Ev Turns Eight

For her eighth birthday, she asked for a slumber party.  With 3 friends over.  How could I say no to that?  Her lovely friends Aoife, Abby and Hallie came and celebrated with Evelyn in the sweetest way -- doting on her with gifts and kindness and helping her manage the excitement of a "sleep" over (they seem to be more experienced with this and actually did want to sleep).

There was so much excitement we forgot to sing her happy birthday -- following a hilarious piñata beating contest, they built their own sundaes (in lieu of a birthday cake) and then dashed off to play upstairs in Ev's room.

...she has shared the bunkbed with Emerson until only recently. Tag and I suspect that she started sleeping in her own room with her eye on this epic birthday event...  She's maturing and starting to chart her own course. As we roll on toward nine, I cannot wait to see what this amazing girl chooses as her favorites, her opinions, her approach to the world.

November 2017

Let's see, what's the news this month?

Well, Ev lost her other front tooth - the look suits her! Makes that megawatt smile seem even bigger (LOL). The tooth fairy is on the ball -- Ev's teeth are earning neat little stacks of quarters.

We orchestrated self-portrait family photos for this year's Christmas card -- a bit of a circus, since I had the brilliant idea to bring the dogs (that was a no go - they ran around, exalting their freedom, pooping everywhere, and completely disrupting the photo set up with obstinance (I'm certain they knew to sit and look at the camera, but they simply refused). I also ran back and forth between the fence (our prop) and the tripod, racing the self-timer and trying not to trip over dogs. After I threw a temper tantrum (got it out of my system), we settled into the silliness of it and ended up with some super fun pics. Evelyn was full of great pose ideas, while Emerson preferred the Spiderman look. Gotta love the mountains in the background (Pen Park is a popular photo spot).

As Head of School for A Day, one of Evelyn's schoolmates hosted a Color Run - Ev had an epic time -- and made the newsletter! Such a cool school.

One of my favorite things is Kissy Day. Emerson has adopted the notion of Kissy Day and uses it to reward (or punish!) me.  I think it started when I attacked him with kisses one day, and he said "No kisses!" and I asked, "Isn't it kissy day?" And from then on, he would be in charge of when it was Kissy Day (or not).  He will look at me with a sly smile when he's feeling generous and say, "It's Kissy Day!" and I am permitted to attack him with kisses. It's awesome. He is the most super yummy little boy ever created.

At a Birthday Party for Georgia

Goofin'

Goofin' Too

October 2017

Beautiful C'ville Sky

Trip to New York for Jessie and Kurt's Wedding

Sweetest EVER

Cutest EVER

Atop the Empire State Building in NYC

Walking along Rockefeller Center

Obligatory Times Square shot

The most expensive photo known to man

Chopsticks!

Building a master piece with magna tiles

Bouncing JOY!

Spiderman. Always Spiderman.

Abby's fairy birthday party

Camping with Neighbor Kids

Evelyn, Evelyn, Sophie and Ava

CHEEEEESE!

Decorated with Love by Ev

Lovely view off our back deck....

Sunday Morning Jam Sessions

Halloween / Fall Festival

Okay, not always Spiderman. Iron Man!

April 2017

This is why we chose this neighborhood:  With the spring weather and extended sunlight, the littles have all come out and they are ready to play.  We have a tumble of riding toys piled up in our tight garage space, but I fight Tag every time he tries to give any of them away, because I knew this day would come. There were 8-10 littles riding and running and laughing up and down our sidewalk, a full Norman Rockwell parade of 'em, and my two were in the thick of it having an absolute ball.

My job is tough. It steals more from me than it should. There are days when I wish I could just give up and walk away. But this place, this beautiful little city, these rolling mountains, this great neighborhood, and this amazing house we've invested in -- they are good reason to keep going and to work to stay.  My kids are settling in. They are liking it here, making friends, making memories, getting comfortable. The thought of leaving makes me ache in the pit of my stomach.  So I fight the urge and keep on keeping on.

We took a deliberate spring break this year - both Tag and I taking time away from work so we could all get away somewhere together.  And we don't have to go far to find fun stuff to do - we drove a mere 2-3 hours east and found the ocean and some fun spots to stop off and explore history. Virginia Beach is quiet before the summer season, but the sun was warm and the kids busied themselves for hours in the sand, begging to stay longer even when it got chilly.  Evey is such a water maid. She becomes so intent digging and building, splashing and dancing along the water, all by herself. And the sun loves her hair and her skin. It's like she gets supercharged with light and joy.  Emerson ran up and down the beach on his strong little legs, chasing sea gulls and escaping the rolling tide.  Both of them LOVE hotels and they always fall in love with their room and the breakfast area (they love serving themselves from the endless breakfast selection). This trip was no exception, and the added bonus was they got to go swimming in heated pools. Two thumbs up from these two.

School continues to be a source of amazement for me and Tag. Emerson is just in love with his classroom, his teachers, his friends (they play versions of Superman on the playground, taking out "bad guys" who do "bad things" because they are all "good guys").  He has such an ability to focus and sort things out. We did a 4 year old level puzzle together the other day and I was working very hard not to dictate his process, and I was really impressed by his ability to work the pieces, trying all angles to make the right fit and not giving up or getting at all frustrated. He was pretty satisfied when he finished it, making a quiet "yes!" to himself as he settled the last piece. Such a beautiful thing to watch.  Evelyn is doing times tables and division (!) and reading like a fiend with comprehension that blows my mind. She loves Ecology the most these days, and the discovery process of how things live and grow.  We went to Lowe's the other weekend to buy flowers for some flower pots to decorate the porch, and Ev wanted to (of course) do her own pots - so as I hunted for flowers, I kept waiting for her to make her selections, but she asked where the seeds were. So she carefully selected her packet of seeds (cosmos again - an old favorite) and planted them with Emerson in a pot on the back deck.  They're sprouting nicely, and I know it's because she checks it diligently each day and waters it carefully.  I hope it's a huge riot of bright blooms for her before it's all done.

These blossoming children are so beautiful, so loving. What an amazing time this is.

January 2017

I have not kept up with the Blog as I meant to, so when I go back and update the months between now and January 2016, I will miss so many of the details, the funny things that happened that made us laugh till we cried, the perfect moments, the endless amazing things that these kids say... But today is as good a day as any to document what is happening right now, January 2017, the start of a fresh new year, with the absolute whirlwind of 2016 behind us....

Evelyn and Emerson have a new bedtime habit of getting up, playing, wandering around, inventing new must-haves, instead of what we've been so spoiled by -- a little tired complaining about not wanting to go to bed, and then the sudden crash into deep sleep.  Emerson seems to be the catalyst.  He has decided that playing on the carpet next to his bed, then migrating to the doorway, and eventually moving the party fully into the hallway, is what he is supposed to be doing after we put on pajamas, brush teeth, read a couple stories, hugs and kisses, a song, and lights out.  (Oh and have a quick trip back to the potty. And then maybe a drink of water.  And then, can Poppa come up and say goodnight and sing us a song on his guitar?) Evelyn, meanwhile, announces with her full lung capacity that "Emerson is out of bed!!"  "Emerson won't get back into bed!!"  "Emerson is making noise!!"  "Emerson is in the hallway!!"  This can go on for an hour and a half.

Now that I think about it, it might have all started when we plugged the disco nightlight they got from Santa into the hallway outlet outside their bedroom door... 

Tag is in the kitchen taking a whack at tying flies.  Fly tying.  There's a certain way to talk about it - a new set of vocabulary - fairly involved and sophisticated. He's looking forward to trying out his new nymphs on the end of his new fly pole next weekend.  He's on the hunt for some trout that he can bring home and grill on his fancy Green Egg.  He's got it all goin' on.

I'm sitting in our beautiful bed in our spacious bedroom, cozy and warm hearted. Potter is snoring softly somewhere down on the carpet. I've decided this is a year of gratitude. Pushing through all the changes and stressful stretches of last year, arriving to a place of contentment and simple possibility has tumbled and softened my spiky sense of drive. I feel ready to simply enjoy and breathe and keep it simple, plan trips for our family that will generate more of those intense memory sets that my children will be able to keep. Explore the coast just 3 short hours east of here. Explore the snow slopes a mere hour from here. Make friends. Be with my family. Be grateful.  There is simply too much good to consider in this life I have. I hit the jackpot. And I'm going to revel in it and use it as a force for grace and generosity, which I have been lacking in this past year.

Speaking of grateful, I started this whole blog for my amazing children. For my firstborn, to be precise.

Evelyn has such a regal presence when she's studying something, watching something in the distance. She is really such a natural beauty with power and elegance even just in the way she holds her head.  It's incredible. I love just watching her.

It's been a really tough year of transitions and tensions for a 6 year old child. She has been torn a bit this past year, caught in a battle between saucy girl and gracious young lady.  Gracious young lady seems to win out more often these days. Ev seems to be settling into herself, still hit with pangs of jealousy for her little brother every now and then - but she's able to express those and move through them more easily. She's maturing. She takes care of Em like I never imagined - he relies on her.  She helps him with all kinds of things - and if I ask her to please run upstairs and get Emerson some socks, for example, she'll say "sure" and off she goes.  Like magic.  So great!  They are friends like I'd dreamed they'd be.  They play and laugh and goof around and gang up on me and Tag - it's awesome. And they are simply comfortable around each other.  I'll find them cuddled up on the couch watching a show. Perfection.

Em and Ev tootsies

Emerson is Peter Parker.  Spiderman.  You didn't know?  Yes, it's true. Just ask him.

Emerson is obsessed with Spiderman. He keeps asking me if its Halloween, and can it please be Halloween now? Not sure why the focus on Halloween - doesn't stop him from wearing his costume all the time.

He's the yummiest little boy this planet has ever known. I could drop the mic right here. Nuf said.  He is joyful, compassionate, willful yet amenable, strong, funny, and so very loving. He'll say, out of the blue, "I love you Evey" "I love you mamma."  He knows all the names of the various construction vehicles (he's known them for some time actually - I remember many moons ago when he corrected me, "No mamma, that's a excavadah").  He'll sit and enact elaborate scenarios with his toy bulldozers, motorcycles, cars, airplanes, trains, helicopter -- singing and playing all by himself, content and happy, lost in a story of his own making.

He's a serious little man too.  He brought home a Spiderman encyclopedia of super heroes and their enemies from the library, and we both studied the pages carefully, determining which of them were bad guys "is he a enemy?" and which were Spiderman's friends, learning the word "ally." I think we could have sat there for another hour before he would've become bored of it.