We’re just ending our first week of camp for both kids. Overall, it’s gone really well, despite missing the first day. Hallie really seems to be enjoying Camp Raven, which is done through the Y. They had family night last night, and it was fun to see her counselors in action and watch Hallie hang out with some of her buddies. It delights me to see how easily and enthusiastically she makes friends. And also how adaptable she is about what she’s doing, whether she’s home with me or heading off to camp or going on a family trip. Today I asked her what she did at camp. She gave me the “what a silly question look” and declared, “Had fun!” And while she’s definitely tired at the end of each day, she’s been much more agreeable in the evenings than I was expecting. Read the rest of this entry »
Hallie had her six-year check up a couple of weeks ago. I’m just now getting around to posting about it. It was pretty uneventfully perfect. Instead of the list of typed-out questions I used to take to infant visits, I scrawled a couple of things on the back of my grocery list — and left it on the kitchen counter. But it wasn’t necessary anyway. Hallie got a perfect bill of health. Read the rest of this entry »
Lately Travis has been fascinated by birth order and size, especially when the two seem to contradict each other. Whenever anyone new comes up in conversation or in person, he’s asking, “Am I older or younger than him? Is he taller than me? Were you born before or after Stefan’s mom? But why am I taller if Stefan is older?” He’s determined to fit everyone into boxes — you’re older, so you’re bigger or you’re a man, so you’re taller. And he’s intrigued when things don’t fit neatly into these categories. It’s fun watching him try to make sense of his world, even if there isn’t always sense to be made!
After a trip to Costco earlier this week, I found myself perched on the folded-over backseat of the minivan while Travis played in the well below, manipulating six stuffed animals as performers and audience of a rather undefined “show.” Travis was chattering away about something and then piped up with a suggestion to “go to the store that makes the toilets flush.” Read the rest of this entry »
There was once, many moons ago, a period when we were concerned about Travis’s language development. Hah! Just like wishing I’d had a glimpse of Hallie’s two-year-old growth chart when she was stretching to make it to 5 pounds, so I wish I’d had a glimpse of just one stream-of-Travis-consciousness conversation to get me through that period of anxiety. That boy can sure talk! Read the rest of this entry »
Until last weekend, Hallie and Travis had never seen fruit loops. But three mornings of breakfasts in the hotel restaurant put an end to that. They both spied them on the first pass past the cereal station, and neither wanted anything else. Read the rest of this entry »
We’re back from our long-weekend in Milwaukee celebrating a cousin’s wedding and enjoying a family reunion of sorts. We had a great time out there and I’ll post more about it soon. But first I want to capture the ups and downs and downs and downs and downs and (finally) ups of our trip home. Read the rest of this entry »
Well we beat yesterday’s record by 50%. Today we spent THREE hours at the pool. We went to a different Y with Paige, Alex, and Denelle. This Y has a cool kids’ area inside, too, and a baby pool that’s good for Alex that kept all the kids entertained at times. Having that variety made things more interesting, and the time flew by. Read the rest of this entry »
The kids and I enjoyed our first day of the summer today. We didn’t have any concrete plans other than the promise to go swimming. So we had a slow-paced morning, with some play time and some experimenting with Hallie’s birthday science kit, which she’s really enjoying. I even got the kitchen counters more or less cleared of last-day-of-school piles. Read the rest of this entry »
For the last few weeks I’ve heard the same refrain from parents at the creek or around Conn: “Are your kids counting down the days? Mine are so ready for school to be over!” In our house it was a little bit different. Read the rest of this entry »
