Videos of the kids

Ellie dancing


Kids splashing around


Playing in Rowan's room

Time for change - and not just the seasons!

I feel it is now safe to say that winter 2008/2009 is behind us. Sure, we may see an occasional snow or two, but for the most part the highs are above 40 degrees. We are still having to wear jackets, especially since it's been raining a lot, but we don't have to bundle up completely with gloves, hats, extra layers, etc. And we have also been blessed with a few warm days - no jackets required! It is unbelievably freeing to be able to run outside without stopping to bundle up. Now we have to start thinking about what to plant in our garden!

Another change coming soon - a sad one - is that 3 out of the 6 families in our building are moving this summer :( I don't know if anyone else truly knows how close the families in this building are, for I've never seen such true community anywhere else. But as always, the student life is very nomadic, and people are constantly coming and going. One of the moving families we are very close with, and we will dearly miss them. Ellie is losing 3 of her closest friends (how to break it to her?!?) and I will be missing my closest Madison friend. We can only hope that the 3 families who move in will have young children for Rowan and Ellie to play with, and kindred spirits for Jason and I to build friendships with (and swap date nights!).

It has been over 2 months that we've been using the public bus to travel around town, but the end is in sight. We are flying to AZ on May 19th for Jason's sister's wedding, and then driving home in my mom's car, which she so graciously offered us. It will be soooo good to have a car again. There are just some times when it is very difficult to get somewhere with the bus. I do expect that I will continue to use the bus often after we have a car again, because it is nice to not pay for gas!

About the family: We've all been sick lately, but things are starting to get better. The kids are pretty much well, with Jason and I lagging behind :) Rowan is starting to put 2 words together into sentences, like "more juice" or "mommy up." He is so funny, because he has a definite opinion about things and will do all he can to get his point across. Like if I am slow in getting up to play with him, he will come over to me, put both hands on my cheeks, and say emphatically "Mommy, choo choo." Then he'll grab my finger to pull me to his room. It's hard to deny such cuteness!

Ellie is just getting smarter and smarter. Every night after dinner, Jason hides an index card in the kitchen for Ellie to find. Ellie finds it, then reads the sentence on it to get her dessert. I think it's the highlight of her day, because Jason makes it so fun for her. An example of a sentence she reads would be "I want to go outside." She does pretty well reading it outloud herself, sounding out the words. Yesterday Rowan received a magazine in the mail (thanks Gram!) and Ellie volunteered to read it to him. So, they hopped up on the couch side by side. Ellie read the first page, "Cleo the clownfish." The word "cleo" she had to have some help with, but Jason and I were amazed when she read the rest no problem. I'm certain she's never even heard the word "clownfish" before! Today, Ellie was spinning in a circle pattern and I said "Come here, you dancing princess." She quickly corrected me and said, "I'm not a dancing princess, I'm the Earth orbiting the sun!"

We thought spring was coming

But then it snowed today. Actually, it started off pouring this morning and switched to snowing in the afternoon. So now, once again, the sandbox is now a skating rink with toys frozen in it. It's like the movie The Day After Tomorrow, everything is frozen in the ground and covered with snow. At least we enjoyed the few days of warmth by playing outside with the neighbors.

Rowan's talking more and more every day, and it's fun to hear new things he says. Yesterday he dumped his applesauce all over his tray (his favorite thing to do) and I said to him "That is not nice" in a firm voice while wagging my finger at him. So he sticks up his chubby little finger and says "Not nice." Of course I couldn't hold back the laughter, which probably wasn't the best move. But he really is the sweetest boy. Although he enjoys swiping Ellie's toys sometimes, if I can get her to calm down long enough to ask him nicely to give it back, he'll hand it right over. Tonight he got into some Christmas candy and ran away laughing with it, but he gave it up willingly when I asked for it.

Ellie is loving school as usual and has been having more friends over to the house. She loves to ask if she can have a play date with a friend. She's so funny, because she loves the phrase "play date" and uses it all the time in different variations. Like "lunch date" if they stay for lunch or "outside date" if they play outside. She has grown quite close to one of the girls who lives in our building. In fact, I often hear them plotting something they want to keep secret from the adults. The little girl told me they were planning a "stay date," but Ellie shushed her and swore her to secrecy. I'm pretty sure their "stay date" entails one of them hiding in the closet of the other's room and staying there forever.

I'm not looking forward to this summer, when that little girl's family and the other family we are close to in this building both move on to different universities in other states. But, that means new families in the building for us to meet. I'm rooting for more families with preschoolers!