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There She Grows

During our walks, Lil will often pick up one of the big pinecone-shaped seeds that fall from the trees lining our block. The other day she held it up and announced, “this and the tree match.”

The tree truly was the exact shape as the seed. I told her that was a very good observation to make, and that’s a connection that can be found time and again throughout nature. Miraculously, she left it at that. For now. But sometimes when we tread on subjects of such potential depth, she wants to know much more. It amazes me, the discussions we get into nowadays. Most always initiated by Lil, her curiosity and alarming understanding about certain things.

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Its noon on Sunday and she just fell asleep. That means, after this procrastination post, work time for me until she wakes up. Much like… every other day.

I do sometimes fantasize about working on location somewhere, having a set schedule and some structure. It doesn’t have to be full time, just out of this house. So that whenever I have the rare moment of freedom at home I wouldn’t feel like I have to be working. I’d love to be using this naptime to do art projects in the garage, or watch a movie, although I’d first need to use it to finish up our xmas thank yous or tackling mount laundry… the kind of things I never seem able to finish during her waking hours. And then maybe once in awhile I could just go the eff back to bed. Which is at times my ultimate fantasy, lol. 2 and a half years into this parenting thing, waking up at 6:30 is still a huge struggle for me. Dont’ worry I’ll save that for my next self-pity post.

Yeah this is one of those moments I am feeling rather bleh about my current routine. Why should I, when things are so great I thank my lucky stars its worked out the way it has. But when I’m feeling particularly sleep deprived and ineffective, my darker pessimistic side comes out easily. I think this year is going to see some changes. Could go in one of two directions. I’m going to have to figure some stuff out.

oh wait, she’s not even asleep yet. Still just playing in her room. I can hear her reading to herself in there. Heh.

Well, more like a very blurry iphone shot taken of her first class photo as it hangs on our fridge. I should really scan it one day. Its adorable, and a bit of a milestone as the very first of a whole childhood full of class photos she’ll collect over the years. I still have an old folder full of mine someplace at my mom’s house and its a trip to look back at them.

Her pre-school peers currently range in age from about 2 to almost 5. I remember how small she was compared to the others when she first started at 18 months. And how brazen she was despite that, fitting herself right in immediately. Now she’s an old pro and has welcomed new students as older ones have departed. Can you spot our little sweetie’s big smile?

Oh, how she loves school. It fills me with so much joy. We had an extended break over the holidays, since we took off for Chicago in mid December. With so much going on, it was awhile before she started missing her school routine. Once the whirlwind of family fun began to subside, she started pretending she and I were having circle time in the green room, like they do in school. She wanted to sing together her morning school song… and sometimes when she was playing on her own I overheard her mention her school friends names as if she was playing with them. It was really sweet, and we were both happy about her return to school this Tuesday.

To be honest, I was ready to return to the preschool routine as well. It gave me 1 day of non-mom-time during my sister’s fun visit here. There is SO much I need to catch up posting about. Lots of Big Kid achievements, a new playhouse down the street and new friends, Lil’s first trip to the dentist… and all our travel and family visits throughout the holidaze. I’ll get to some of it eventually.

note to self: Hello do a day, sir.

This was part of the holiday card we sent out this yr. Miss two-and-a-half smothering Marley with her joy. FEEL IT. lol, its so them.

And here is Lil’s very first Santa experience. Taken at the SL moms club holiday party. She wasn’t afraid in the least; the moment he walked in the front door she ran right to him for a hug. Then started in with the hard questions: “Santa, where’s your sleigh?!” he pretended not to hear, lol.

She also put both hands on his stomach and said, “bowl full of jelly, mama?” I’ve read The Night Before Christmas a few times, and she really seems to love that part.

OK. So much. Hannukah, two christmases in two cities. So much family and friends and fun. This post shall serve as a placeholder until I return to elaborate on the holidaze. In the meantime – Happy Celebratory December Holiday of your choice, and Happy New Decade!