Archive for August, 2007

Eliza comes up with some funny stuff sometimes…she is just as witty as her brother was at her age. Jay and I were surprised at her cleverness in a conversation we had in the car the other day:

• ELIZA: Mama! Mama!

• JAY: What is it, Eliza?

• ELIZA: No, I wuz talkin' to Mama!

• JAY: Well, can you talk to me?

• ELIZA: Okay. Hey, Daddy!

• JAY: What is it, Eliza?

• ELIZA: I wanna ask you somethin'.

• JAY: Okay, ask me something!

• ELIZA: Can Mama talk to me?

• JAY: Yes, baby. Mama, can you talk to Eliza please?

At this point, I asked her what she wanted and she was happy.

James has been trying to talk to me when I'm preoccupied sometimes, and he lets me know about it: "Mama! You're not listening to me!" Tonight I was sitting next to him on the couch, talking to Jay on the phone. James was looking at a magazine, and he decided to stretch out and lay down. I could hear him saying something, but I wasn't paying much attention until all of a sudden I felt his feet digging into my leg. "James, stop kicking me! Do you want me to scoot over?" I said. He replied matter-of-factly, "Well, I tried asking, but it didn't work."

We are surviving preschool so far, and James seems to be enjoying it. Eliza has started asking about her school, but I keep telling her she doesn't have one. We do all kinds of things while James is at school, like run errands, paint, and play games. I actually have less time to do housework, however, because I am entertaining Eliza!

We made it to preschool this morning, on time even! James went right in, with no problem, and I did fine, too. The only one who got upset was Eliza. She started crying as soon as we started to leave the classroom, and she cried all the way to the car and halfway home. She did not want to leave James there! But when we got home, she went straight to James' room and started playing with his toys. I don't think she missed him too much.

We walked in to get James after preschool, and we had to wait a few minutes while they finished up. The teacher came out with the students, and held out the clipboard for us to sign our kids out. As I signed James out amidst the reunion of parents and students, the teacher started to talk to me, saying, "James is so…." and she trailed off, either unable to think of something, or getting distracted. Well, I couldn't have put it better myself. James is definitely "so".

For our 7th anniversary (which was last Sunday), Jay took the week off and rented us a secluded cabin in the Ozarks. We left the kids with my family, and spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights in the mountains. The cabin was hidden down some twisty dirt roads, and was surrounded by many acres of woods, all owned by the same people who own the cabin. There was a creek running through the property as well, so we enjoyed our own private swimming hole, which was a welcome relief from the near 100 degree temperatures. The mountain scenery was beautiful, and we enjoyed most of it from our air-conditioned car. We drove to a nearby town for lunch at its only diner, and drove to the next bigger town for supper another day (it had 6 or 7 choices). We also drove about an hour and a half to the nearest town big enough to have a Walmart. We really were out in the middle of no-where! We had a great time relaxing and being just the two of us, a rare occurrence since Jay started his Red Hat job last October. I miss it already!

Jay was sick with a cold last weekend, but he felt much better by the time we left for our cabin adventure. I managed to stay mostly well, except for a slight sore throat and tiredness just before we left. Our kids apparently managed to catch the cold, too; they both came down with it while we were gone. It was kind of a shock to go from relaxing at the cabin to having to take care of sick, whiny kids. They are feeling much better now, thank goodness!

James' first day of preschool is tomorrow. He is pretty excited about it, and hasn't shown much apprehension at all. We met his teacher last Monday, and she seems really nice. James is probably more ready than I am!

James made his second singing appearance last Sunday night, August 12th. (His first appearance was more than a year ago.) Our church had an ice cream social, complete with silly games (kids squirting the whipped cream off their parent's pig snout with a water gun), and a few singers. Our music leader had asked that morning if James would be able to sing, and so we had to pick a song to practice that afternoon. We pulled out an old favorite, "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder." We had not practiced in a while (he hasn't been as interested in performing as he used to), but it came back to him as we sang on the way home from church that morning. After a nice Sunday nap, he was singing the whole thing as long as I sang with him. I asked him to try it by himself, but he was a little hesitant. Finally he said, "Let me go try it by myself," and he went to his room and started singing. I guess he just didn't want me to hear him if he messed up! After that, he was ready, and I had him sing it to me by himself a few more times. When it was his turn, he got up there with Daddy, who had to help him get started. He had to repeat the first few words once before he got into it, but by the end he was confident. He even did some motions, like pointing when he sang, "When the saints of earth shall gather over on the other shore…", and at the end, he stretched out his free arm (the other was holding the microphone), kind of like "Ta-da, I did it!" The hundred or so people there clapped and cheered. When James was done singing, Eliza ran up on the stage, being grabbed by Daddy just before she got to the microphone. She was not happy at being nabbed, and she kept saying, "It's my turn! It's my turn!" Perhaps she will be a star someday, too!

I am trying to migrate to flickr for posting new pictures. I just put up a few portraits of the kids that I made really quickly the other day. They're not as good as those Jay would do, but I just wanted to have something in case we don't get around to making better ones soon. They turned out pretty good, just slightly blurry. Jay's flickr site has pictures of New York, as well as both of Eliza's birthday parties. Hope you enjoy!

Our 4-week stay in New York was very nice. The weather was mostly beautiful, with only a few showers (like the one on the Fourth of July), and a few hot days. Mostly it was just comfortable temperatures, definitely cooler than in Arkansas. Our plane ride up Saturday (June 30) was uneventful, and we even got to our apartment early enough to drop off our stuff and explore our new neighborhood. We walked to Madison Square, which has a nice playground with a place to get wet, and some grassy areas. It became one of our favorite hangouts because it was so close to the apartment. A few times I let the kids wear their swimsuits and play in the water wheel, which dumped water from above, along with the spraying blocks. James loved the water, but Eliza refused to get wet. James was his usual outgoing self, introducing himself to almost everyone we met, and spelling his and Eliza's name for them, just in case they needed to know.

Our first week we mostly got settled in to the new apartment. The crib had not arrived yet, so James and Eliza shared the couch bed for the first few nights. It was difficult to get them to go to sleep in that arrangement, but the crib came Tuesday, and that made things much easier. Wednesday was the Fourth of July, so Jay had the day off, and we all enjoyed being together. We had heard about Macy's Fireworks Display that would be over the river, so we decided to go see it. We left around 6:30 to try and get a spot to watch the show, which started around 9:00. It was raining as we left, and we had to walk about an hour to get to where we could see the fireworks. Thankfully, I had bought a rain cover for our double stroller. This was the only time we used it, but it was worth it! The kids stayed high and dry, while Jay and I put on our rain hats and jackets and braved the rain. When we finally got near the river, we had to go through a security check. We found a spot on the FDR expressway, which had been closed down for the event. It was pretty crowded, despite the rain. We ate the sandwiches we packed for supper, then waited about an hour and a half for the fireworks to start. It showered off and on until the fireworks started. The kids enjoyed playing in the rain showers almost as much as watching the fireworks! We were all exhausted by the time we left. We took most of Sunday to recuperate, and then we walked around our part of town a little bit. It was a good weekend!

The rest of the week flew by. We played the Nintendo Wii, watched Noggin (a preschool channel) on TV, and enjoyed our evenings with Daddy. Eliza's birthday was Thursday, so we took the kids to McDonald's for supper. It was across the street from our apartment, and visible from our window. It became a landmark for the kids, and they knew we were almost back to the apartment when they saw it. We gave Eliza a small present- a Laurie Berkner Band DVD with all her favorite songs. We have had fun dancing and singing along.

Saturday, July 14th, we decided to go ride the air tram to Roosevelt Island. It was quite a long walk to get there, but we took our time and stopped at a little park along the way. On the island, we played at a playground, and walked to the end to see the little lighthouse. James lost his sunglasses somewhere while we were there, so I bought him some new ones at K-Mart a few days later, before he realized the others were missing. He wasn't too upset to learn the others had been lost, because now he has cool mirrored sunglasses. On the elevator up to our apartment, James started explaining the whole story to a guy that was also on the elevator. James wasn't quite finished talking when it was time to get off, so the guy said (in a stereotypical New York accent), "We'll pick this up later, James." James thought it was hilarious, even though he didn't really understand what the guy meant.

Monday we met Jay for lunch at Bryant Park, which we did a few times while we were there. It was about halfway between the apartment and Jay's work, so it was a good place to meet, but it was always pretty crowded. The kids enjoyed riding the carousel there- Eliza did not want to get off, so Jay had to pry her fingers off the pole. The rest of the week we were looking forward to Jay's mom coming. She arrived late Thursday night after getting stuck at the Atlanta airport for several hours, because her second flight was delayed. She and Jay explored a little of Manhattan that night, visiting Times Square and seeing some other famous sights. She and James slept on the couch bed.

Jay managed to get off work Friday, and we planned a whirlwind tour for Mammaw before she had to go home on Sunday. Our first destination was the Statue of Liberty. We rode the subway down to the southern end of Manhattan, then walked around to see Ground Zero and Wall Street. The line to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island was really long, but we stuck it out and finally made it onto the ferry. Mammaw bought a pretzel to share, and we enjoyed the ride to Liberty Island. We walked around to the front of the statue, where I wanted to have a family picture taken. As we were getting ready to take the picture, however, the park staff made everyone move to the back of the statue. We were very confused and a little upset, but I overheard one worker say that someone was taking a picture of the statue. We rested under some shady trees, and the kids played in the grass while we waited to be allowed back around to the front. Finally, after about 30 minutes, we were allowed to go back. The kids were getting pretty tired by this time, but we got an okay family picture and then got in line to get on the ferry to go to Ellis Island. The immigration museum there was very interesting. The kids fell asleep in the stroller and slept through most of the museum, allowing us to enjoy it. We got back to the apartment early enough to have a birthday party for Eliza. Jay went and bought a cake and a balloon, and Mammaw had brought some presents. Eliza was excited about her presents, which included a backpack, a purse (complete with a wallet and jewelry), a sticker book, and a coloring book, all from Mammaw, and two cute outfits from Jill and Robbie. She loved her little party!

Saturday we headed to Central Park, where Jay took his mom to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art, while I took the kids to a nearby playground. We played there for a few minutes, then walked over to see the boats in the pond. We stopped at a bigger playground, where we played until Jay and Mammaw were through at the museum. We walked through Central Park a little before taking the subway back to our apartment. We were all pretty tired! Jay rode the taxi to the airport with his mom early Sunday morning, and her flight back went smoothly. We had a good visit with her, and she got to see some of New York!

Our last week in New York went very quickly. We walked over to Times Square and ate supper one night, met Jay for lunch at Bryant Park once, and visited the playground at Madison Square. There was a children's concert going on while we were at Madison Square, and the kids enjoyed dancing to the music. As I was doing laundry one morning, James made it a point to talk to everyone in the laundry room. Two young ladies were doing their laundry at the same time, and they had a long conversation with James. The subject came around to his birthday, and he invited them to his birthday party. As they left the room, James said to me, "I wanted to invite them to my birthday party, because they're so pretty!" After that, some older ladies came in, and they were also impressed with James's friendliness and non-stop talking. They also got invited to the party. Thankfully, I don't think any of them will be coming to Arkansas anytime soon!

We headed to the airport Saturday morning, and our flights were mostly uneventful. Our flight from Chicago was delayed a little, and after we had finally boarded and gotten settled, a problem was found and they could not use that plane. They made everyone get off the plane and walk across the airport to get to another plane. As we packed up, we explained the situation to James, but he wanted to know what the problem was. We didn't know, so he proceeded to ask everyone in uniform that we passed getting off the plane, but none of them knew either. We made it to the other plane, and both James and Eliza were sleep before we got off the ground.

We made it back to Little Rock around 5:00, and my family met us at the airport. The kids were especially glad to see Gerald. He had been gone to Scout Camp the week before we left, so it had been 5 weeks since they had last seen him. We relaxed and treated some of my family (the rest were busy) to dinner at Cracker Barrel for taking care of our house while we were gone. Then we got ready to have a birthday party for Eliza on Sunday before Jay had to leave that afternoon. We have been recuperating and adjusting this last week, and life is almost back to "normal", I guess. Overall, we had a great trip, but I am kind of glad that our traveling is over for a little while!

Yesterday I converted Eliza's crib into a toddler bed just before naptime. She was very excited about being able to get in and out of bed all by herself! As I expected, the first few times that she was supposed to stay in bed have been difficult for her. After she had gotten up a couple of times at naptime, I laid her down again and said, "Eliza, you have to stay in bed." "Or I get a spanking?" she replied from behind her pacifier. I had been prepared to be more gracious for her first time, but I agreed to her chosen punishment and left the room. When she got up again, I had to give her a swat, but I also stayed with her until she fell asleep.

Bedtime was also very interesting. Eliza had no objections to getting in the bed, but a few seconds later I heard her call out, "I want my cup…I'll get it! I'll get it!" and she went running past to the kitchen, then back to bed. A minute later she came running in again: "James needs his cup…I'll get it for him!" Again she delivered the cup, then went back to bed. One more time she came into the hallway, just as I was leaving James's room. I looked at her and said sternly, "Eliza…" Eliza spotted a blue stuffed rabbit on the floor, grabbed it and said, "I need this bunny!", then ran back to bed. I walked in and told her she had to stay in bed. "Or I get a spanking?" she replied again. "Yes," I said. I didn't hear a peep from her the rest of the night.

After being on the waiting list at 3 different preschools, James finally got into a class at Geyer Springs First Baptist Church. It's only about 10 minutes away, and he will be going 3 mornings a week. I can't believe my little James is going to school, but we are hoping that preschool will help prepare him for kindergarten. As Jay put it, "He has to learn to be bored." And sure enough, when I was describing the things he would be doing there, he said to me, "That sounds boring!" He starts August 20th.

Our 7th wedding anniversary is coming up next Sunday (can you believe it's been that long?), and Jay rented a cabin in northern Arkansas for us to stay at for a few days next week. The kids will be staying with my family, and so it will be a nice vacation for just the two of us! We are also supposed to meet with James's new teacher that week, so it should be an interesting week.

I had hoped to write about our New York trip by now, but the computer had other plans. Maybe I will get it done this week. We are adjusting to life at home and being without Daddy. The kids have seemed extra whiny and just generally ill-tempered for the last week, but I think they are starting to get better. James had a bad nightmare about skeletons the other night, and that has been causing him to fret over things like going to sleep and going into the bathroom by himself. He's finally starting to get over it a little, but it must have really frightened him. I hope it doesn't cause problems when school starts!

Well, our computer finally bit the dust. It's been having issues for a while, but on Wednesday it crashed and refused to come back up. I just now drug out my old vet school laptop and managed to get it on the internet, so at least I have access to the outside world (it's what I'm using right now)! It's amazing how dependent we have become on these machines and their connections!

We had another birthday party for Eliza with my family the day after we got back from New York. She was overcome with glee while we sang her "Happy Birthday." A few times I couldn't keep singing for laughing at her; she laughed through the whole thing. I'm afraid having two parties was a little confusing, though. When asked how old she was, she responded, "Three!" Her biggest present was an inflatable ball pit shaped like a playhouse. We gave it to her to replace James's ball pit. (His was a present for his second birthday, but it "no longer qualifies as inflatable" according to Jay.) It will probably be a while before I can get pictures up because of our computer troubles, but there are a few on Jay's flickr account.