Technology at Two

 

What's funnier... that Eva calls the Etch-a-sketch her I-pad or that she hands me a dried up marker and says it's not working and needs batteries?

As challenging as age 2 can be with all the boundary testing and insistence on doing it their way and then doing it your way and then doing it their way again (just ask me about the blanket battle routine at bedtime every night), my rapidly growing daughter is a delight who makes me laugh every day.  Last night when Sam won the coin toss to pick the movie to watch and he didn't pick Finding Nemo, my sweet, cuddly little girl burst into tears and pointed at her brother and screamed "NO!  NO!  We're not watching that movie!  I don't want that movie!  No!"  And I had to duck behind a wall so she wouldn't see that I was laughing just as hard as Sammy was.

Circling the Parking Lot Again

Despite the endless frustration with the parking situation (They actually told us at the parents' meeting before wrestling that they need about 300+ parking spaces and there are something like 89 parking spots if you include the on-street parking within a few block radius), we entered into the maze of the local YMCA and Sam did a Happy Hoops basketball class.  We missed a few weeks because of weather.  And maybe one because of illness.  And Sam missed the last week because I was off in Florida and I couldn't ask Grandma to circle for twenty minutes looking for parking and then drag two kids up and over the snowbanks and along the icy sidewalks to the front entrance.  So we didn't fully participate.  But most weeks Sam got some fun time with his friend Gedion and I got to unload to Gedion's mommy about the exhaustion and frustration I was working through in January and Eva got to run around with Eomji and laugh and jump and do that two-year-old boundary-testing thing. (There are no pictures of the night she laid on the court and proceeded to pull off her pants.)

Gedion and Sam are so fun to watch together, their opposite personalities shining at different times.  Gedion so focused and attentive to the instructor.  Sam so distracted and interested in running around playing or watching the little girl crying on the other side of the room.  Gedion shoots free throws as if he was born doing them.  Sam passes a ball against a square on the wall and then runs away from it so it doesn't bounce back in his face.  All in all a positive thing during a challenging time of year.

 

 

January Sushi

Notice there are no pictures of the kids.  They were nicely destroying other parts of the house while I got to relax and drink wine and spend time with some fantastic women.  And of course I learned how to roll sushi... which, by the way, Sam loved.  An absolutely delightful afternoon!

Morning Sunshine

Hibernation

January has almost always involved a little post-holiday letdown mixed with cabin fever and a struggle to return to the routines of real life.  But it’s also always held the promise of a new year, a clean slate, a big thaw some time in the future. 

As you can see in the pictures, much of January so far has been spent in low light in our pajamas.  Hibernating.  What these pictures don’t show is the way a mama bear sometimes wants her child to stop whining and just do as she says and lay still and be quiet and give her some peace.  What these pictures don’t show is that once the baby bears know mama will react when they irritate her, they make a game of doing it over and over and over again.  And what these pictures don’t show is that if a mama bear growls when her babies misbehave but only growls and never follows through with the things she has threatened to do, the babies stop listening and think it’s just another fun game.

Parenting constantly challenges me to relax and be flexible and patient and accept that I have to let go of control on some things but be firm with other things. I never knew how much I liked to be in charge until suddenly I wasn't. The things we learn about ourselves from our children

Mama Bear needs to do two things if we’re going to survive the rest of the hibernation season:  1) get some mama bear alone time, and 2) follow through with being a little more firm with those baby bears.

They say Parenting is the hardest job you’ll ever love, but to be honest, when it’s this hard, I don’t love it.

 Homemade Ice Cream tastes good no matter how cold it is outside.

 Not sure why I thought putting together a children's kitchen would be a fun family project.

The kids survived several mommy meltdowns, and Sam kept reminding me to do belly breaths..

 Hex Bugs - building and bugs - two of Sam's favorite things in one toy.

 Eva hangs with the "big" girls at a New Year's Eve party.

 Happy New Year!

 One of the few times I've seen Eva play with her babies.

 A New Year's Hug (brought on by a fear of the puppy).

 How we finally calmed the boys down on New Year's Eve

 Sam is great at creating entertainment for Eva.

 My little artists

 Making quick pizzas with crescent roll dough.

 Eva is all ready for the Wild Card Game.

 Training the kids to make their own French toast in the hopes that some day I'll be able to sleep in.

Christmas 2012