Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time

Let the Sun Shine

Sundays past, Bryan and I would hang around in the morning and split up the newspaper, grabbing our favorite parts-the Style section for me, the magazine crossword for him. We would drink coffee until we were caffeine restless and then go about our Sunday activities. These days, we still drink lots of coffee and we still get the New York Times weekender, but it often goes unopened from one weekend to the next and I am left wondering what the heck I did all week that I could not even get the paper out of the plastic.

My all time favorite column is called Modern Love. Each week features an essay regarding different kinds of relationships and the everyday things that may not be so everyday that shape how we interact with each other. I got to read last week’s column because I went into the city by train for a night out with my best friend (a lovely treat!). The essay was about the abnormality that is the long-term marriage and the author’s reflections on why, perhaps, he and his wife have been married for 35 years. “Obstacles become assets,” was the main theme. Days later I am still thinking about it. Fortitude can be found when you can weather the many storms that blow through your life. It is more than just buckling down and waiting for things to blow over-as I so often do, but instead tackling the things that make things uncomfortable. It is so much easier to reflect on this when I am not in the middle of a maelstrom and I so wish I could give the gift of this knowledge to the people in my life who her hurdling through some major hurdles right now. Because if you can come out the other side, the sustainble sunshine awaits.

Time may change me, but I can't trace time.

Last Day for the Park

We hosted playgroup for the first time today. Two moms came over and it was a really nice morning (nice sounds so dumb, but it was really nice.). I guess like any job, I am growing into this one. A year ago I was so stressed about all the things I didn’t know, as if I could have taken Baby 101 and got an A so that I could have been better prepared. Now I feel much more at home with the things I know and the many things I do not know. Nori and Charlie are these cool little people who are very patient with my on the job training and do not mind growing with me. Our music classes ended a couple of weeks ago, so we joined Gymboree. Charlie loves open play, while Nori likes the structure and performance of the class. Charlie climbs on everything and yells “Wee” while moving on anything with a decline. He is very generous with his kisses and hugs. Nori likes to play in one place for a while and check out everything that is going on. She will almost always give out kisses and hugs when she is asked for them but she prefers telling others what to do by wagging her index finger and singing, “No, no, no.” They both seem to share with the other children while they ironically are terrible at sharing with each other.

One of the moms who came over today was talking about programs for next September, since 2 1/2 is the age to begin little half day drop off classes. I felt my heart drop. Maybe I will be okay with them being in a class without me in a year, but right now I really like hanging out with them. Sure, it's much easier to do errands, etc., without them, and I know I will find something to do with the time, but I miss them when we are apart at the Gym for an hour and they are only a few feet away in the babysitting room!

And so it goes, I now understand how some of my more experienced mom friends mourn the passage of time while still marveling in the changes that their children make.

Brilliant Disguise

May the Force Be With You

Nonna and Ben walked Nori the whole way home from the parade.

I have no perspective on Nori and Charlie's size. For Halloween, I ordered costumes online and when they arrived I barely took them out of their packaging before deciding that they would be enormous. I was so sure that they would be too big that I had Bryan ask Sara to bring them costumes to wear to the Halloween parade held the week before Halloween. They looked adorable dressed as Cookie Monster and a Firefighter and Charlie's replacement costume earned him a shot in the driver's seat of the local fire truck. However, I was really stuck on having them dressed in theme, so I took a second look at the costumes, holding Charlie's up to my leg so that Bryan could confirm that they would never fit them. Bry's face, instead of registering agreement with my assessment, looked puzzled.

"I think that will fit him perfectly."

"No," I protested. "That would be impossible. There is no way he is this big."

He is, in fact, that big. Nori fit perfectly in her costume as well. We attended the rest of our Halloween events as Princess Lea and Luke Skywalker, receiving even more attention than usual.

When they were born, I really had no real idea of how small they were. I wasn't ever scared to hold them, cuddle them, change their diapers. The bath scared me a little, but it was a little awkward to bathe them in tupperware. I would shop for clothes in the Tampa Babies-r-Us, and even once we were home, and they would swim in the ensembles I chose. And now, on more than one occasion, I have bought things that fit them for a day, if at all. Some things have gone right back or to someone else without ever being worn. I spent a lot of energy wishing them to be bigger and now that they are "bigger," I can't seem to catch up. They have been disguised as three months younger (maybe more) than their actual age for so long and now they are closer to looking like other children their age. There is obvious comfort in that for me, but I still have not quite accepted it, like I wasn't sure it could happen.

Walkin on Sunshine

Charlie has started to walk. This video is from about a week ago, so he has improved from these first few steps. He has no fear, as he careens from one object to another, across our lawn, or through the middle of the circle of our music class. He especially likes when we say "ready, set,..." and then he finishes with a loud "go!" We are working on capturing this as a video.

These Shoes Were Made for Walkin

Nori has been walking for about two weeks now. She really stepped it up after a full day with her cousin Tyler, who runs rather than walks. So, we bought some new walking shoes a couple of days ago and Nori is very proud of her kicks. Since the walking started, she has been a little helper, especially if it involves Charlie. I am not sure if Charlie appreciates her assistance in eating pretzels, playing with toys, or getting his diaper changed, but I think he knows she means well even if she is a little aggressive in her tactics. Charlie has taken a few steps but we are still a little ways away from actual walking. Everyone says to appreciate their immobility while it lasts but I have to say I really like walking Nori and I can't wait to see Charlie wobbling around too.

Giving Peace a Chance

I belong to a Mom's group that posts a monthly calendar filled with activities and get togethers. We attend at least one activity a month, but a lot of the activities are more appropriate for children two and up. This month featured a mommy and me yoga demo class and an email went around prior to class encouraging everyone to come, even with little ones. So, the day came, and Nori and Charlie went down for their naps early and woke up refreshed just in time to get to class. I thought it was meant to be.


There is nothing zen about me walking up a flight of steps with a baby in each arm, but I tried my best to stifle my labored breathing while attempting to gracefully take off my shoes and glide into the studio and onto my mat without landing with an extra 26 pounds of baby thud. Miss Jamie, our instructor, smiled and welcomed us, wrote our names down on post-its and placed them at the end of our mat. Nori and Charlie sat quietly holding on to my cross legged knees, but their observation period did not last very long. We began class with Ohms and then played a name game. Miss Jamie rolled a ball and each child said their name and their favorite animal when the ball came to them. Charlie got the ball first and threw it behind his head and said, "hi!" I retrieved the ball and handed to Nori, who held it as tight as she could, smiling coyly at all the eyes on her.



Then we began to play some games that took the children through some basic yoga poses. As children moved around the room, Charlie took the opportunity to crawl onto every other child's mat and collect all the post it notes, prompting at least one child to sob, "He took my name." Once we remedied the crying, the children went back to their mats to lie down for a quiet pose on their backs. Charlie crawled on to the little boy next to us in order to inspect how his Spiderman shirt lit up. He only let up his investigation when another child was brought behind a nearby curtain to use the bathroom. Before I could uncross my legs, Nori and Charlie were just about under the curtain. It took some coaxing to get them out and leave the potty trained child in peace, but we were able to persuade them using little cotton balls that the children were picking up with their toes and placing into a cup. After tasting a few of the balls, Charlie crawled around and began emptying the cups that the children had worked their toes so hard to fill. More sobbing ensued. Finally, class ended, with a slightly frazzled Miss Jamie rubbing lavender oil on the feet of each child. All except for Charlie, who is allergic to lavender.

I have always said that Yoga is not a competitive sport and it seems it is not a family activity either. At least not for now. Maybe it will be "meant to be" next year.