oh my, it's been 12 days

Both kids are in the bath (with me on the tile), the kitchen is full of (dirty) evidence of food prepared for my family plus my dad, and I have a bit of a sinking feeling in my stomach. Saying goodbye to family visitors is always bittersweet. My dad is on a plane heading back to Portland now, after three lovely days together. We had a sweet time of playing with the kids, talking, and putting away two pies--but now I won't see my dad again for eight months. sniffle. John was so upset when Grandpa Dave (papa for short!) had to leave for the airport. This is the hardest part about living 1400 miles away from our parents--time with grandparents is out of the ordinary. But...the nicest part is that when a grandparent comes, we get them all to ourselves for several days of play, play, play! (-:

Havilah wanted to feed herself the yogurt...

It was time for John to put on his jeans so we could head out for a visit with the family. So then why are John's pants on my dad's legs? Billy grabbed the camera and since the pants were stuck, my dad was caught on film. (-:

Jumping on the pillows!

Playing! (That's what grandpas come to town for, right?)

Unfortunately, J and H have nasty colds and coughs. The kids have been on and off sick for the whole month so far. yuck! The bummer about being sick is that John has to miss preschool, therapy, Sunday school, and anything else he really enjoys. Here's his happy face right before Grandpa came:

Hopefully we're on the mend now. 

This post has been a bit random but I had 12 days to account for, you know? Hope all is well with you and yours!

P.S. Congratulations to Nate and Robin on the birth of their sweet little one, Hazel.

a tiny video

For your enjoyment, a very short video of Havilah saying "Papa," signing "please," oh yeah, and drooling all over herself in the process. Could she be asking to see a "papa" (grandpa)? My dad will be here next weekend, so she can try the word out on him. It will be so nice to have him here!

That's all for now...I'm off to play frisbee with Billy at the park. It's a beautiful day in Peoria, AZ!

Who is this boy?

John surprises me every day with a new word he hasn't been coached on. A few days ago it was poo-poo--very useful, especially since we're attempting to potty train (as a side note, John is doing this opposite of the average by happily poo-pooing in the correct place but needing more encouragement for #1). Yesterday it was boo-boo (not to be confused with poo-poo). Today his unprompted word was play (said P - ay)--also very useful. He enjoyed dictating Havilah's schedule with his word: "Hava, play!"

(Speaking of taking advantage of a younger sibling, check out John's helpfulness in the photos below....)

The surprises are not just with his words. Yesterday when I took him to the park he raced there ahead of me, climbed the "big kids" structure and zoomed down the tall slide--before I was even there. Megan Mullins and I used to take "the boys" to the park; she remembers the John who didn't want to sit on the swing (let alone be pushed) and who would walk the long way around anything in order to avoid sand on his feet. Yesterday, he kicked off his Crocs at the park and told me not to give him little pushes on the swing. "No, mama, whoah!" Meaning, "No, Mom, don't be wimpy; I want to go 'Whoah!'"

We've been working more on sign language. Last night, John couldn't sleep well (let's think; could it be the two and a half hot dogs, sno-cone, gogurt, popcorn, and candy--courtesy of his school carnival--not settling right with his small stomach?) so he was dozing in bed next to me at 11 p.m. I was saying goodnight to Billy on the phone (ok, another side note! Billy is switching to evening shift next week!) and told him that John's stomach hurt. I mentioned all the things he had eaten that evening when John sat up bright eyed and said "Yeah!" Then he signed "cheese" and said "I want cheese!" Sorry, kid, I think you've had plenty of calories for one night. But the fact that he could clearly communicate his midnight cravings to me was, weirdly enough, special. Today he was telling his skinned knee "bye bye boo-boo" because it has apparently overstayed its welcome. There are finally enough words (maybe 100?) so that he can communicate big ideas and thoughts. It's a relief to hear him say he wants me to play with him and that he is expecting five gummy bears after he, uh, does his business.

It's as though a different kid is living in my house. The change is very, very encouraging. On the first day of preschool, Ms. Martin sent home a little capsule for each parent. After it was soaked in hot water, it expanded to be a spongy animal. The note with it read "This capsule is like your child this year. At the end of the year, he will have completely changed." I almost hung the nasty sponge on the fridge because it offered hope. Who would have thought that so much change would already be here by the beginning of November?

As Tamara (the speech therapist) said yesterday: "Each success will build his confidence, which will inspire him to try and succeed again, which will build his confidence. It will become a snowball effect." I'm proud of all the work he does each week to catch up on his speech. And I'm excited to see where the next three months take us!

"Hey Hava, I know you're sleeping but you look a little hungry"

"I'll help you!"

Sweet sandwichy dreams, Havilah!

Right now....

I'm Enjoying:

--a quiet morning at home with both kids. I kept John home from preschool for his first sabbath day of rest. The boy is exhausted--mostly mentally--and needs to just be a kid for at least one morning. (Plus, Hava and John have both had colds this week. His is not as bad but still...)

--rearranging furniture to create new uses for familiar items. A small space for productivity in Hava's room. The changing table moved to the garage to wait for another wee one. Front room couches rearranged to let in more sunlight. A large ottoman converted to a "kid's couch" for reading by the window. Kid bookshelves more strategically placed. Forgotten toys moved to the garage for later rediscovery (or given away!).

--a new quilt made for Havilah (pictures to come in the sewing project post to come soon). It was originally made to be sold as part of a baby basket at the silent auction benefiting John's school tomorrow. But at the last minute they didn't need it and now Hava has her own homemade quilt.

--lemons off the tree. The oranges are still green but the lemons are beginning to fall off the tree. Fresh lemon peel smells almost as nice as lemon blossoms. yum.

--reevaluating everything in my life. Ok, maybe I'm not "enjoying" it, but it is clean feeling, healthy, and freeing.

--cool nights. The kids both woke up with cold hands this morning, rather than sweaty foreheads. The highs are in the mid-seventies and the lows are in the high forties. It is in November when Arizonans remember why they live here. (-:

Halloween P.S.

I forgot to mention--for all you non-Arizonans--a peculiar aspect of warm weather trick-or-treating. Many of my neighbors put up lawn chairs in their driveways or even sat in their garages to hand out candy. Some of them even congregated together in a designated driveway, though they each brought their own bowl of candy for the trick-or-treaters.

Obviously, you have to have warm weather (really warm weather) for this to be possible/pleasant, but I really enjoyed it. Instead of ringing the doorbell and seeing each neighbor for only a second, the folks in the driveways made trick-or-treating seem very neighborly indeed.

P.P.S. This was the first time Billy had been trick-or-treating (as far as he can remember). He said, "Man, I missed out as a kid!" But don't feel too sorry for him; we're "helping" the kids with their 200+ pieces of candy!