7 Quick Takes

__1___

I suppose it was, um, highly optimistic to expect that I would get much work done during Spring Break.

___2___

It’s been a while since I referred to Julianna as “cousin It.” And although she still screams when we have to comb her hair after she’s gotten food in it (daily, IOW), she’s actually beginning to be a teeny tiny bit girly. I put her hair up in pigtails for the first time in almost a year, and she giggled at the sight…and left them in. And the next day, I asked if she wanted pigtails again, and she screamed with excitement. In a fit of delight at finally having a girl to primp, I bought special butterfly barretts for her! And she promptly pulled them out. Oh, well. Incremental steps.

___3___

Nicholas has always taken his sweet time about crossing the milestones. If I was a first-time parent, I’d probably freak, but especially after Julianna…it’s hard to rattle me. But now, at age two (he celebrated his birthday last week), Nicholas is finally attempting to talk. He’d crossed the threshold of about a dozen words when he handed a book to me, pointed to a certain round letter and said, “Aaauuuooooooooooohhhh.” Since then, he’s picked up “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D” as well. It’s so exciting to see him tuning in to that celestial aerial.

___4___

Speaking of which, Julianna, too, is showing signs of letter comprehension. She’s pointed to “A” and tried to say it, too, but her “A” comes out more like “Ah.” I’m beginning to differentiate tiny variations in her vowels.

___5___

But we were speaking of Nicholas. Did I mention that Nicholas celebrated his second birthday by throwing the first real tantrum we’ve ever had in this house? And that he continued to throw them daily for a week? Slowly, we’re learning to cope, to recognize the signs and head them off. I think that naps are a factor (the Tantrum Week was my week to pick up at school) and so is blood sugar. But the thought of a tantrum still makes me quake in my mommy shoes. So anyway, yesterday a parent of a student walked in–this is a family I taught before kids, and who are returning now–and they were oohing and ahing over the children. Nicholas peeked from around the banister, and the mom’s first reaction was, “Oh, that one’s going to be trouble for you!” Which I thought was an astonishing first impression, considering how often my husband has said this same thing (for an illustration, see here).

___6___

Alex has begun taking piano “lessons” from his daddy. And he’s really excited about it. Which is really exciting to me. I got all sniffy and sentimental watching my boys at the piano–so much so that I had to go get the camera. He won’t take from Daddy long-term, but for an introduction it works. They went out and bought him his very first piano books yesterday.

___7___

Last Friday night we got home from a family outing to Catfish Corner to find a long box full of plants from Michigan Bulb, containing the flowers and strawberries I ordered for planting this spring. The package bore a stern note admonishing me to get them in the ground TODAY IF POSSIBLE, because Michigan Bulb prides itself on sending plants at the ideal planting time for my region. I find great irony in the timing of its arrival…considering that the temperatures were nosediving into a 6-inch snowstorm. 🙂

Have a great weekend, everybody!