Kindergaten: Natalie jumped into Kindergarten with enthusiasm and energy. She made friends quickly, grew close to her teachers and fell in love with computer lab time. She's already learning to read and there's nothing I enjoy more than snuggling with her on the couch while SHE reads to ME. She's also writing all over the place - scrap papers, notebooks, dry erase boards, inside her closet...ooops. We had to have the conversation about how walls are not for writing.
We've also had a few unexpected hardships. Kindergarten brought Natalie's first case of puppy love, and a pretty intense one at that. It's also brought lessons about how to stand up for yourself when someone isn't nice and how to make better choices for yourself. I've hugged, coached and sought help for my big hearted girl along the way. I didn't expect so many lessons in growing up to be learned so early. Please keep her in your prayers as we continue to go through this process.
Friendships: Gavin's made his first preschool friend at speech and we'll be getting together for a playdate later this month. I love watching him and his buddy sit side-by-side on the bus and wave goodbye to me. He talks about him all of the time and they chat on the bus like old friends.
Preschool: Gavin goes to preschool/speech two mornings a week. This year he's in a class of eight students with one teacher and a para. For 1.5 hours they read books, sing songs, make crafts and play, with one-on-one time for speech drills. He adores his teacher and comes home with the most adorable projects, and stories to go along with them. His speech is slowly improving, though not at the rate of his exploding vocabulary. Man, that kid says the funniest things and keeps us on our toes.
Computers: Jason continues to enjoy his job and can't imagine his life without computer programming as an essential part. Even after a long day of work, I'll catch him curled up in a chair with a book about another programming language. Some weeks are long and stressful, but his hours are fairly flexible which makes it easier for the whole family. Many nights he'll come home to help me with the
Writing: This fall I was overwhelmed by the freelancing projects that came my way. I didn't realize how much I'd missed writing for magazines until the assignments came in and I dug out my old notebooks. Coffee with other writers, joining a communications group and writing the most challenging piece I'd worked on in years stirred up the passion. In fact, it got to the point where I was overwhelmed by trying to write and tend to my mother duties. Finally, I decided that while I need to be writing some, I would have to scale back for now. Balance.
Pets: With the dogs turning 13 and 10 this fall, we've noticed some big changes. They spend most of their days sleeping, with bursts of energy for chase and play in the backyard. Sacci, our most neurotic pup, is strangely calm most days and is bonding with our kitten. Cloudy continues to ignore both Blossom and the dogs, but is incredibly in love with Natalie. Just yesterday, the two of them curled up in her bed together for a nap, Cloudy tucked under Natalie's arm like a doll. What a gift.
As we work our way into the new year, we're setting our sights on less scheduled activities and more time for play and adventure. January is starting off with a bang thanks to a big vacation (future posts) and two special little birthdays.
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