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.

January 2016

We're officially settled in Charlottesville Virginia, and I'm still having trouble believing it.  After having been "in between" for so long, and separated from my family for weeks, I keep treating each outing with Tag as a rushed event, like I have to show him around before he leaves...  And then I remember, "wait a a minute -- we're all together now! This is the new normal!"

Evelyn started her new Kindergarden class at the Montessori here (amazing school - I've been so excited to have her go there).  She transitioned seamlessly, as you would expect Evelyn to - and has even had a playdate already with a little girl who fell in love with Ev in the first week. 

Evelyn featured in the school flyer, looking right at home

Emerson is now 4 mornings a week in a Toddler class; he took to it like a duck to water.  "My class rhooom!" he happily exclaims when you ask him about his day.

checking out his new classroom on the 1st day

Paulina came back from Poland to our Tiny House and will have a nice, big au pair network here in C'ville -- she's already taken advantage of the improved geographical location (better airport options) with trips to Chicago and DC and Philadelphia.

Drake, our wonderfully patient realtor, has been helping us with our house hunt... the options are not awesome in the price range we'd like to be in.  We knew cost of living (housing) would jump with a move here, but it's become brutally clear that we are going to have to suck it up and take the big plunge with a large investment.  There's a house we've fallen in love with in a planned community that will meet all our needs:  yard (c'ville size), 4 bedrooms + room for guests, an actual laundry room (yes, a luxury here), tons of open space (even a workshop for Tag), and a 2 car garage, in a kid friendly neighborhood. Plus it has a stunning view off the back deck.  So far so good -- we have agreement on a contract.  Now we need to get the financing locked in and the clock will start ticking down to a March 30 closing.  Here goes nothin' !

We're happy in our Tiny House neighborhood - we can walk to an amazing french bakery, several cute parks, and we can drive downtown in 2 seconds.  The people are active and friendly -- there's always foot traffic up and down our street.  The dogs have really made themselves comfortable in their little backyard and on their long front porch -- we have visitors who want to "meet the bears" and I'm proud that our puppies are so well behaved and friendly.

To ensure we were properly inducted as new arrivals to VA, storm Jonas hit us with an epic, record breaking winter storm that dumped LOADS of snow in just a day and a half.  With all our snow gear in storage (oops) we've had to be creative -- and lucky -- we went sledding in the blizzard at nearby Washington Park, and on our way there (cardboard box in hand) a man peeked out of his home and offered us use of his sled (so cool!).  Poor Em was freezing (no snow suit) so we had to check out early, but we flew down the slope a couple time -- Emerson giggling the whole way.  Tons of folks were there at the hill, including Ev's friend Addie and her sister Lilly, so she had a ball sledding with friends.  The deep snow piled up fast, and everybody was worn out pretty quickly, especially after the trudge back to the house (so many hills around here!!!).

Snow Seats

Emerson's enunciation is improving so fast these days. He's moved from "ayee" to "evee" and from the early days of "na na" to "pahna" to the impressive "paula" and even "paulina."  He can introduce himself, "I ayson!" And he's talking all of the time.  We don't always understand him right away, but he can generally make himself understood.  And of course,  as comes with the territory of a 2 year old, he can throw ultimate fits when he doesn't feel understood or feel in command of the decisions that impact his toddler life.  His big fat tears are hard to tolerate... I swear that kid melts me.  At night, with the stress of the new job and the uncertainties of our housing, I miss having him snuggled up next to me...the awareness of him and his health, his vitality, his sweetness, and his sister just down the hall - that always brings me peace and I can drift back to sleep.  Now that he's sleeping soundly through the night in Evelyn's room, I miss my little snuggle-bug, but I can peek in on both of them via the video monitor and that helps.

DISNEY!!!!

I met Kathryn for lunch one day, and lamented that I hadn't had the chance to take Evelyn to Disney yet...and she was that perfect age for the magic to work all it's wonders.  Fabulous Kathryn's response?  "Well let's go then.  How does November look for you?"

It was a girls weekend and it was PERFECT.  Chloe, Ev, Kathyrn and me took Magic Kingdom by storm with Magic Bands and full-on Princess spirit.

We're Here !!!!

We met so many wonderful princesses...Ev was floating on air !

All the planning and complex itinerary stuff had us a little stymied, but we had a great Disney planner who laid it all out and all we had to do was show up in the right places at the right times.  We really felt charmed -- everywhere we went it was like we ended up in the perfect spot for a parade or a performance or an intercept with a fun character.  And we saw SO. MANY. PRINCESSES. The planner gave the girls each an autograph book and they filled the pages with their favorite characters.

Perfect, charmed moment after perfect moment.

It was so pretty everywhere, decorated for Christmas.  And there was a fun holiday parade in the evening as a bonus, with all of Magic Kingdom lit up in twinkle lights (we pulled an all-dayer-into-the-nighter --- whew, we were exhausted).  There was a show in front of the Castle that we somehow, inadvertently, got a perfect front-row vantage point for, and Elsa made it SNOW.  Yes.  It was incredible.  Ev was dumbfounded and beyond fascinated -- she was glowing with joy.  I cried. It was beautiful.

Watching Elsa in front of Cinderella's Castle - True Happiness

Ev impressed Mary Poppins with her ladylike manners

May 2015

Water makes everything better.  And goggles?  That's just straight up awesome.

Ev has fun cheering on neighbor Matthew at his high school water polo matches (SBA)

Rain never stops their fun

diva girl at a birthday party - she was the most elegant young lady there

All the Divas at Skye's birthday celebration at Sweet & Sassy Salon

Evelyn's flower garden, coming along nicely

Finger Paint is a favorite

those earrings that seemed like such a great idea...they back-fired :-(

Evelyn's Happy Family

Drumming at Rainbow Lake Playground in Overton Park

dinner al fresco on the patio

oh that swing ... endless fun !

My Teeth !!!

The Graham's

EMERSON
my emerson just gets yummier and yummier.  he has this beautiful soft skin, and these chunky little feet that are always wiggling and pushing up against you.  his hands are so perfect - even when i can't keep up with his long fingernails.  He has his Oma's hair, this straight blond hair that grows so fast - can't keep up with that either. His eyes are bright deep blue and so big and expressive.  Even when he pouts at you.  And boy can he pout (!).  I love him like crazy.

he is growing his vocabulary lightening fast.  "Pea!  Pea!" is his please.  He's very polite.  You ask him a question and you get "Yeah!" or "No." or "Okay!"  He's not sure how to say "may i have some of your drink?" so he does this straw sipping impersonation instead -- his little lips pursed together with this adorable little "sipping" inhale sound.  Irresistible.

Tag has proclaimed him an athlete.  He took one day to start walking on his own, with a little teetering here and there.  But by day 2 he was solid.  He is extremely good with macro motions - even throwing a ball.  And he's impressive with micro motions -- able to place small items into exact positions, like inserting cards back into the paperboard card box after he dumps them out everywhere.

Boys are indeed different.  That is obvious with Emerson.  We are learning which things are sturdy in our home, and which are breakable.  Things you can pick up are either good for swinging around, banging on other things, or throwing.  And all with great gusto.

His little body (i get the sense that he is petite for his age) is so strong and solid and capable.  He is learning to climb up onto things now (uh oh) mostly through his swim lessons where he's learned how to pull himself up and out over the edge of the pool.  Swim lessons have been good, but I'm not sure how much swimming he's learning. He LOVES water, and doesn't at all mind being dunked down into it. The issue is that he thinks he should be able to float around on his own, so it's hard to hold onto him.  And if he wrenches free from you, he sinks like a stone. This summer at the pool should be interesting....

EVELYN
Big sister.  Not an easy job, but one that she seems to be enjoying more and more now that her brother can keep up with her a bit. Emerson won't brush his teeth unless his sister does it with him.  and he even pretends to spit like she does. he watches her like a hawk.  and wants to do everything she does, good or bad.  They hunt for worms together in the backyard, each with a bucket and a small spade, lifting up stones one by one and peeking underneath.

She glows and fawns over him when they're having fun.  She tries to help when he's fussy...but that usually backfires and we end up hollering at her to let him be.  And she can be quite the conniving mischief maker when she's not in a great mood or she's frustrated that her brother is stealing more attention than he deserves.  Im so proud of her for taking it all in stride.

She lets him destroy her room without batting an eye - she enjoys his company. Always one for social activity, emerson helps her manage through times of boredom or loneliness for the mayhem of other kids.

she's been reading more and more.  it amazes me how she can sound out words that are totally foreign to her and sort out sentences piece by piece.  she seems to have a love of numbers and is always adding up numbers for us and asking about the days in the month and the weeks in the year. she makes these books out of random drawings and has a story behind each page that she can recall even weeks later, writing in the titles on her own, sounding out the words in her mind.

we picked up this pot holder weaving kit on our trip to san diego as a coming home gift for evelyn.  she took no time at all to figure it out, even wanting to crochet hook the edges on the finished square (we turned two of them into a super cute little purse - which turned into a battle around how to turn that purse into a merchandizing strategy so that she can start earning her own income...watch out world - this one is not going to settle for small !)

she's been asking about another trip - she wants to go on an airplane trip so she can use her suitcase with the rolling light-up wheels.  I need to plan some visits to cool places and get this girl out in the world.  I'd love to take her to europe again... we'll see...

April 2015

We had a bit of a rough Easter with some of us coming down with a bug, and with Elina's final days before heading off on her travel month.  But we still found the time and energy to dye eggs with friends, have a last-minute pulled-together easter egg hunt, and enjoy the warming weather.

Evelyn started her flower garden again this year -- I think it will be even better than last year.  We got a bit more organized with it, and she circled the seed plantings with some annuals that are already blooming for some instant color.  For this year, she selected: watermelon, carrots, english daisy, zinnia, cosmos, larkspur - all from seed.  Only after suggesting some live plants for the border did she agree to select a few for color: marigolds, dianthus, and petunias.  She and I worked out there for over 2 hours planting and marking the rows. Was a great morning.  And we got to enjoy the scent of the lilac bush nearby that is in full enthusiastic bloom for the first time since I planted it 10 years ago.

The patio is once again our evening hangout spot with the mild weather and (for now) zero mosquitos.  Emerson LOVES playing in the water and walking up and down the path along the back of our yard. Both kids got into finger painting the other evening, which is perfect patio fun. This really is a great house in the spring.

making her awesome sliders

with neighbor dog Sadie

watering her flower/watermelon/carrot garden

future golfer...for Brasil ?