JAB blab

So, my sister and her lovely fam were out here the week before Jack started school. Graham and Jack had a ball getting to know one another. It was such a treat to watch them together.

Jack was a little possessive of Abby initially with a repeated “that’s MY sister.” Once we straightened out that Abby was indeed only his sister but that she was Graham’s cousin (as was he), all was well.

The boys got along so well and were already working together to thwart the adults. A favorite past-time was jumping on the air mattress. We literally caught them sneaking into the room together on tippy toe so as not to be caught! A sneak peek at the adventures the years will bring!

Highlights in photos…

The honeymoon period for pre-school seems to be approximately three days. Yesterday’s drop off showed signs of a slightly weakened spirit and today’s included tears. Mind you, the tears were gone a mere five minutes after parental departure, but it was tough to leave.

Overall the week went incredibly well. He’s loving it. And this two week summer session is proving to be the perfect transition into the school year. The class size is super small and he’s getting to know a lot of the teachers. They’re also doing a lot of really fun stuff.  This week’s theme was animals and they brought in a small “petting zoo.” Here’s a picture from the school’s newsletter:

I think it will take a little time to get used to the new routine. The small melt down at the end of the week was expected. He’s been exposed to a lot this week, not to mention a completely new (and reduced) nap time. It’s pretty fun to pick him up at the end of the day and hear how things went from his perspective. His favorite things thus far seem to be Mr. Hennigan and his guitar and the cars on the playground. You don’t say!

Big day today. I dropped Jack off at his first day of preschool. He’s visited three times, and loved it so far, so I wasn’t too worried that it would go off the rails, but he exceeded my high expectations. After hanging up his bag and little napping bed, Jack was ready for me to go. So ready, in fact, that when another dad was asking his daughter for a good-bye hug, Jack ran over and obliged the dad himself. Then he looked at me: “You go to work?” I nodded, gave him a hug, and asked him if he was going to have a fun day at school. He offered a chipper yes, and off I went. The teacher only shrugged at me in wonderment at the ease of all of it. I was a little weepy as I walked to the car.

Some picks of rapidly-growing-up Jack on the way out the door this morning:

Tiffany picked Jack up from school, and after I came home she had to run out to a work meeting. That left me having some time with Jack and Abby. While I love spending time with all of us together as a family, the time alone with the kids is special and irreplaceable, because I relate to them totally differently.

Today, the late afternoon sun streamed in through the window, lighting up a column of air and dust. Jack said “Butterflies!” We tried to take some photos of this but none really came out. I kind of liked this one though.

…and the in-laws.

Headed up to the Russian River Valley for a relaxing week in the “country.” Our extremely kid friendly and cozy cabin was nestled among the redwoods with only a quick ten minute drive into town (Guerneville) and the beach on the river. Overall, we fell in love with the area. It’s gorgeous and tons of stuff to do (both with kids and without). While we basically stuck with the river and low key swimming, there’s boating, hiking, wining and dining, and its only a 15 minute ride to the coast.  

Ok, so we’ll admit, you’ve got to have just a teensy bit of “country” running in your veins to appreciate it. I mean you have to be ok with swimming with the fishies and all. It’s also definitely got the aging hippie vibe. So if you’re looking for a cosmopolitan vacation, this isn’t it. But if you’re looking for a beautiful spot to relax, be real, and entertain the kidlets, it’s spot on AND so close to the Bay Area.

A couple of pics…

Opened THE LISTENER this weekend. Always a relief to get a show up and running.   Many thanks to Mr. Hurwitt for the lovely review. Still running like mad to get butts in seats…that’s my job after all!

So, if you’re lucky, please come on out for a nice evening knowing that you are supporting small, independent theatre. And if you aren’t local, consider adopting me. you know I’d talk you into the $25 ticket if you were. Besides, I’m practically an orphan…adopting Managing Directors just isn’t as sexy as actors, I suppose.

XXOO

Have been promising picture updates for the yard…just wrote up a nice post and lost it, so you get no pithy comments! The photo of the front didn’t come out so well, but the close up of the “terracing” did:

Back yard (tent is “play area,” kieran and abby are sitting in the area that will some day hopefully be a deck extending off of french doors where the ugly window currently exists):

I figure if I’m going to be up late working on press releases and email blasts, I may as well update on my personal life as well. We are fairing pretty well at this end. Still adjusting into a new groove. Balancing work and everything else is proving a bit more challenging of late, but we’re getting there. Things will ease up on me when August come and Jack begins pre-school (can you believe it?). At that point Abby enters the nanny share. As much as I am looking forward to jack starting school (I think he is going to love, love, LOVE it), I am also feeling a little absent from his life already and that makes me sad. I guess it makes him a little sad too, because there really is just not enough snuggle time to appease him. (Or perhaps I am projecting?)

All that nursing and the fact that she can’t, you know, walk means Abby gets a lot of attention…at least that’s Jack’s take on it! I, for one, feel like the poor girl gets abandoned in her swing or staring up at mobiles or left lying on the floor while I try to make Jack feel less abandoned. Then I suddenly  remember I do indeed have a second child when she makes a littel gurgle or coo and rush over to try and respond appropriately less I delay her language development through neglect (and risk the wrath of her speech pathologist auntie!). In short, I’m making myself crazy. Add work into the mix…I think you get the picture.

So here are the real pictures you’ve been waiting on!

Jack was very excited to help out by giving Abby a bottle. He was pretty successful with it as well. He definitely enjoys being a big brother when he gets big brother responsibilities. And he does often inform us that Abby is “very cute.

Speaking of bottles, Abby got her first bottle of formula tonight because when she spent the day with a sitter she drank every ounce of milk I had pumped and still wanted more. Thankfully she held out until I got home (I mean I’m not worried that the child is going to starve to death, but she might not get the distinction.)

Anyhow, I decided to give her some formula tonight so that I could feel confident that she would respond to it in a pinch. She took it like a pro. Some people swear that if you feed a baby formula at night, they will sleep more soundly at night, but given that I am already hearing her stir in her room a good three hourse before she normally would, I’m skeptical. We’ll see.

Tummy Time! Beautiful blue eyes and, yes, lightening hair. She looks just like Jack at this age. Thankfully he is a “pretty boy.” Other than the fair  complexion, I’m beginning to wonder if my children have inherited any of my genes.

No, it’s not Jack’s interpretation of Michael Jackson’s infamous glove; just an obsession with sock puppets. I suppose if I were a really good mom, I might actually help him decorate a sock puppet, but he seems content to just use a plain old white sock (or a washcloth!) so I figure, why place restrictions on the child’s imagination with buttons and yarn?!?!?

Started back to work…which means the new office has come in very handy. I’m loathe to add Abby into the nanny share with Jack and Max. Let’s just say that they are “acting their age” and requiring a lot of attention. This leaves me with a bit of a juggling act, but I think it is going ok. If we can get through to August, Jack will start preschool (can you believe it?!?!?) and we’ll be looking for a new family to share care with Abby.

It does mean I work in bits and spurts, taking computer time when I can get it. It also leaves me little time for updates on the blog. And then today, what did I decide to do for the last half hour? A disastrous attempt at html coding. I’ve been trying to figure out how to create a header of my own, but I’m just ill equipped in my knowledge. So after screwing up the coding on the last theme, I had to go back to the same old options they’ve had on Wordpress for over a year now and I’m not pleased.

Such forms of procrastination are not worth it, but it’s hot and I have a headache and I’m really tired so I let myself get sucked into the vortex.

We’ve been struggling with teething and tantrums on Jack’s part. More on that later. Abby is still sleeping like a champ, but is also much more alert when she is awake. All in all Jack continues to be very good with Abby. All signs of envy are taken out directly on us (as it should be; we did, after all, so this to him!). And really, can you blame us when you look at this:

I haven’t seen them in person yet, but the “babes” are most officially in Oakland as of early in the morning June 1. A big welcome to Sean and Darcy and congrats to Sara and Neil. It’s been a journey thus far. Now the real fun begins! Photos and updates on their blog.