As of Monday, we have dropped Whitney out of summer school. While we had been excited about her continuing progress this summer since her preschool progress was so great, the summer situation the district offered just didn’t make sense for us. Why? Well, first off, the bus wanted to pick her up at 6:30am (for an 8am start time). um. no. None of us...
Zum abenteuer! (German “To the adventure!”) It’s been a phrase Tyler and I have used now since the dating years. This month we had separate big adventures: I went galavanting around Italy with my sister, and he held down the family fort at home. All in all, I am so proud of him (not to mention infinitely grateful) at how well he managed the kids,...
She graduated!!! …to another year of preschool, that is. She’ll be in the same classroom with the same teaching team with a few of the same classmates next year. One big change is that Dylan will be doing private preschool at the classroom next door (they share the playground) for two mornings each week. We are very happy with how this year went for...
My apologies for the dead air for the past two weeks. A combination of busy calendar and kids testing my limits with yet another round of nap wars (sprinkled with a heap of general consistent defiance) have buried my blog thoughts a few rungs down on the priority list. But I’m going to survive. There’s hope. Lately…. The kids break through our slider onto...
Boy’s got some extra spunk. A few new things for him this past week: first blimp spotting. “Woah! MOMMY! Look at that!” and then he tried to explain it to Whitney later “something on Mommy and Dylan’s head, in the air, …” He repeatedly declares “I have an idea….[yes?]…it’s something…..it’s silly” and before ever getting to the idea he says the same thing about...
Whitney has so much joy. She delights in the simple things. She loves people and joining in with whatever the fun is. She really enjoys her life. She has her own ideas of what she wants (and is typically stubborn about getting it). I love hearing her laugh. I’m constantly reminded how worthwhile her life is. It’s worthwhile of her delighted experience of it,...
Here’s a little shout out to my desert family. I married and changed my name to match theirs almost 10 years ago, and throughout the years have learned more and more about what it means to be one of the family. I understand better their language of love, the strength of their bond, and have come to appreciate some of the family favorites and...
[Great] Grandma turned 90 earlier this month. We were lucky to be with her on her special day. We consider ourselves lucky to be with her any sort of day! I was struck with how beautiful 90 years is. Grandma is the youngest of 11 from farmland South Dakota. She and Grandpa left farming and set roots in Southern California to raise their family,...
Lord help us. We have some stubborn kiddos. We are in a stage where they want to do everything by themselves, but can’t quite do it yet…or can’t do it in any reasonable about of time. This is true for everything from getting dressed and buckled in car seats to pulling the wagon and pouring their own milk. Oh that I would be more...
Sleep for our little guy has been a challenge for the past month, we’ve tried a few different methods to help him quiet down and fall asleep. Tyler started reciting poems to him (I love this side of my husband, my Renaissance Man). A few days into this new attempt Tyler called me in “Michelle, listen to this” and he started the lines of...
Tyler’s out of town for most of this week. Nothing like travel and having to dust off the super suit alone for a few days to remember how much I absolutely love and appreciate my husband. The kids are constantly asking for Daddy. Where is he? What’s he doing? Declaring that he’s working or perking up and saying “Daddy’s home!” Nope, he’s not honey....
It was March 23, 2010 when they told us our baby would have Down syndrome. I was 4 months pregnant. The news was devastating. It’s very fresh in my mind still, what it felt like. I can go there, my heart wide open. It was a season of mourning – grief for the typical baby I thought I was having, as well as a...