Your First Day of Preschool

Today, we got ready for your first day of preschool.  For the most part, it felt like any other day getting you ready for a place we've called "school" since you were a baby, but I walked around the house last night searching for ways to make it more real, more authentic for you.  I got your navy blue backpack out of the closet, took out the snow pants still tucked away from the winter, then scratched my head as I meandered around the house looking for something to put in it.  Finally, I stuck in a water bottle.  I scrubbed you extra good in your bath, brushed your teeth, and made sure you were tucked in bed early to get a good night's sleep before your big day.  I laid out your clothes, double-checked the daily schedule to make sure I had the drop-off time right, then crawled in bed myself and thanked God for my little boy who is growing up so fast.

This morning was a special one.  Instead of eating breakfast at home or at school, I took you for pancakes and bacon at Village Inn.  We talked about which centers you were going to try out today and sang Frozen songs while waiting for our food.  We got to school a little early and I snapped a few pictures of you by your school sign.  And then,  we walked in to see your class, made of both old and new friends, lined up by your new teachers.  I thought you would run up and stand in line confidently and casually like always, but you threw your arms around my leg and said you wanted me to go with you.  That was all it took today.  A little kiss, a little nudge, and a little reminder to "be a good friend," and "listen to your teachers."  And then you were off and I cried the entire way home.

Today, was a growing up day for both of us.  You are going to learn so much this year and we can't wait to see how you spread your wings as a pre-schooler.  We pray that you will learn more about Jesus and what it means to have a heart for him.  We pray you will meet new friends and learn new ways to be a good friend to everyone in your class.  We pray you will continue to develop your talents, to use your natural born leadership skills for the good, and to experience a few new challenges that will help you expand those ever important fruits - patience, kindness, and self-control.  Most of all, we just pray that you will feel love in little ways every day, show love through learning and exploring new things, and give love to those around you.  Be salt and light, little man.  You can do it.

As parents, the growing never stops.  A part of me felt like I was playing house last night and this morning, fully absorbing the little details that I used to dream about when I thought about being a mommy.  Combing your hair and cinching your backpack before heading out the door, holding your little hand and kissing your soft cheek as I dropped you off in that line, and organizing preschool folders and hanging first day pictures on the refrigerator, wondering what you're doing and counting down the minutes until I get to see you.  But there's this side to being your mom, a side I never dreamed up when I was rocking those baby dolls and feeding them with plastic bottles.  A side that feels so deeply this raw mix of emotions - of question and guilt, responsibility and urgency, helplessness and fulfillment, all wrapped up in this package of deep deep love and desire to do it right and raise you well.  Every day is new territory, and we just keep learning, just keep growing, and just keep loving.  It's a wonderful journey, being your mommy.

Here's to one more 'first.'  You rocked it.
 

                    

33/52

"a portrait of each of my children, once each week, in 2014"

  

Cruz: This little boy, who calls our builder Wade a "lumberjack", who knows the entire opening sequence of Rapper's Delight, and who informed his new preschool teacher little known facts about triceratops at his open house last week, is starting preschool tomorrow.  Boy is he ready.

Mila: Is going through some changes of her own this week, too.  She's been babbling up a storm the last couple of days, is working on her fourth tooth, and has learned that if she cries when someone sets her down, chances are someone will pick her back up.  She's ready to be on the move and always wants to be in the middle of the action.

     

Seven Months, Continued...

Oh, these are some of my favorites yet.  That skirt, those bare feet, and those chubby cheeks - I so love this stage.

Tomorrow, I am thirty.

Tonight, I am spending my third night under the covers of my very own king-sized bed, in my hotel room just miles from Stanford University.  I am here with a team writing curriculum that will be co-copyrighted by Stanford and shared with educators across the country.  I have strolled the open-aired archways around Stanford's campus on our lunch break, purchased souvenirs for my husband and kids at the bookstore, and spent each night sitting at outdoor restaurants, eating cioppino amidst young groups of tech savvy students probably dreaming up the next Google.  We've seen Steve Jobs' residence, gawked at the 99 year leases strewn across Palo Alto's manicured streets, and walked by a bar called The Nuthouse, where Mark Zuckerberg and his buddies dropped peanut shells on the floor and made plans for their multi-billion dollar empire, now taking up acres of land just down the street.  It's been an interesting, productive trip with my colleagues, and I've now decided a trip back to the Bay Area with Beau is a definite must in our future.  

And although it's a little depressing that I will spend my very first day of this new decade stuck in an airport slowly and anxiously making my way back to my bed, my babies, and my Beau, all this alone time has provided a much-needed opportunity for some independence and reflection as I say goodbye to one decade and welcome another.  A decade is a long time.  In the last ten years, I have become a wife, a teacher, and a mother.  I have purchased one home, earned two college degrees, and traveled out of the country four times.  I have swam in the ocean, stood at the base of a mountain, and danced in the kitchen.  I have watched my body transform in the most magnificent ways and felt a strength I didn't know I had as I brought two babies into this world.  I have cooked meals, drank wine, taken pictures, and written words.  I've laughed, cried, prayed, longed, and loved, sometimes all in the same day.  But most importantly, when I look at the last ten years, I realize how much I've lived.  When I was a little girl and used to dream about what my twenties would look like, it's just as I pictured it.

So now I am thirty, standing at the base of a new mountain, a little wiser and more experienced, eager to begin my climb and see what's in store along the way.  But at the same time, I can't help but think about forty, and what I want that view to look like as I stand at the top ten years from now.  I hope it's filled with a lot of the same, as well as new landscapes yet to be explored.  

So, here's to twenty, and thirty, and forty.  To appreciating the climb and knowing that although it's often long, arduous, and difficult to see the big picture, the view from the top is always breath-taking.                     

Seven Months Old

Mila is seven months old this month, officially closer to her first birthday than her ‘birth day.’  She’s thriving in every way, showing more of a personality every day and making us laugh with her unique quirks and of course, that easy, full gummed smile that now reveals not two, but three little baby teeth.  

Milestones and memories from her seventh month...

-As I said previously, Mila is revealing a funny personality that reminds us so much of her brother.  She is audacious, smiling big when Beau holds her upside down, or not flinching a bit when he throws her up on his shoulders.  She started sitting in Cruz’s push and play car and although she looks a bit small in there, she holds onto the wheel and bounces up and down as if she’s riding a mechanical bull.  She still smiles at everyone, all the time, but now that she’s sitting, will smile big and instantly bend all the way forward, displaying this shy, hard-to-get side of her that we know is more show than truth.

-Mila is also full of excitement and fun.  She kicks her legs like a frog, pants like a puppy, and when she’s really excited, squeals like a baby seal.  This is not hard to get out of Mila – she’ll do this every morning when she sees Cruz, when she spots her bottle, or when we talk or play with her.  She is one of the most smiley babies I know, however, my girl has hardly giggled.  I’ve gotten one out of her a few times, but I have to work really really hard for it!

-Mila is also not much for cuddling.  I blame it on her being the second child, for she is always craning her neck to see what her brother is doing or wriggling her way out of our arms as if she’d prefer to be on the move.  This is presenting a problem as of late, because it seems Mila has also discovered that if she cries when we set her down, one of us will most likely pick her back up.  So, she’ll squirm out of our arms when we hold her, but cry when we set her down.  What typically results is her crocheted to my hip, facing forwarded, just sort of dangling there like a little flower.  I think she has her sights set on moving herself, if only she could figure out how to get up on all fours.

-I still think we are a ways away from a crawler, however, she’s figuring out how to move in more creative ways for now.  Like the other day, when I got Cruz lunch and suddenly Mila realized she was alone in the living room.  She started crying, so I picked her up and plopped her on the kitchen rug next to the sink.  I went on my way making mac and cheese and cutting up apple slices, and before I knew it, Mila had scooted her buns across to the other side of the kitchen.  Cruz and I got a good laugh out of it and Mila was all smiles, pride swelling as she knew what she had done.  She’s discovered this is a bit more complicated on the carpeted floor.

-One of my very favorite things about Mila right now is her eating habits.  She is a girl after her mama’s heart, a lover of food and new tastes and textures.  There is not a food this little girl hasn’t devoured, fuel for me to take full advantage of the farmer’s market and steam, mash, and puree until my freezer is bursting with a rainbow of frozen cubes.  We’ve tried parsnips and turnips, zucchini and squash, potatoes of every size and color, and lots and lots of fruit.  The other night, Mila’s face was stained red after destroying a bowl of fresh beets, and she cried when it was gone.  I have the most fun mixing all sorts of combinations of purees – avocados, pears, and blueberries, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and apples, and just made her her first meat dish – a chicken casserole made with chicken breasts, stock, carrots, sweet potatoes, and leeks.  She loves her baby food and her little physique is showing it – she’s over 20 pounds and has caught up to her brother when he was her age!

-We’ve also tried a few puffs this month, although she’ll only get them to her mouth if one of us caves and does it for her.  She’s working on those fine motor skills, and we look forward to the day that three puffs will occupy her for twenty minutes – surely a feat that will make family meal time a little less chaotic!

-We popped a third tooth this month, as well as more light blond hair on that head of hers.  She actually has quite a bit; however, it will be awhile before I can use these barrettes of hers. 

-Mila still loves her baths, however, her days in the whale tub are numbered.  She isn’t much for a relaxing bath, but now prefers to sit straight up and see how close she can get to the suds without sticking her entire face in the water.  When I do lay her back, she has discovered a new splashing technique, one where she lifts her torso and bottom up and down, sloshing water around her.  She makes quite the mess, but looks hilarious doing it, usually ensuing lots of laughter from her three family members.  She, unsurprisingly due to being the offspring of her father, responds to our laughter with amplified splashes, until there is hardly any water left in her tub.

-Mila is a pro at ‘SOOOOO BIG’ and a bigger pro at staring at us blankly while we look like fools and do it for her over and over and over again.  She’ll finally give in, but not before we embarrass ourselves first!

   

-Things Mila loves: playing on the floor with her brother, chewing on her wooden cellular phone, being held by her mama, exploring outside, being naked, eating all the time, and sleeping!  She likes her bed and likes her sleep, something we most definitely love about her!

-Things Mila doesn’t love: the car, waiting for her food to warm up, having her face washed, pulling clothes over her head, and being alone in a room while other amazing things are happening without her!

Happy seven months, little sprite!  We love you!