Thomas' latest thing

Thomas announced today that he has a girlfriend. So far, the main activity in which the two of them cooperate is playing during "centers" in their pre-K class. I found his declaration that she would "always" be his girlfriend amusing and a little scary: Thomas remembers everything, and holds fast once he has set his mind to something! At least I can say that I am pleased with his choice! 

 

selling a house

It's something I have never done before, and it seems a little strange. Thomas is having a difficult time getting his head around the concept of someone else buying our house. He alternates between talking about living in Durham "forever" and coming back "home" to Atlanta. Probably the most difficult moment so far was hearing him talk about going in the pool this summer. 

We won't be going in the pool this summer. Of course, I didn't say that: Thomas is still at the age of the monologue. He's happy to do all the talking as long as he's pretty sure you're listening. I was definitely listening. It is sad to think that all the fun family times we enjoyed around the pool are over, and that sense is not totally overwhelmed by the anticipation of the sorts of things we are looking forward to doing together once we are situated in England. None of this is particularly surprising--though that doesn't make it less true. 

The big news of the week is the visit: Lewis' parents are in town, and--since they won't be reading this until after the fact, I can say--we'll be taking them to Tybee Island, along with Cedric and Sara, over the long weekend. Cedric and Sara's arrival and the trip will be a surprise for Lewis' dad, who celebrates his 80th birthday this month. Anna, Thomas and Iain are rejoicing in having a set of grandparents with us, to read and play--and to listen, in Thomas' case! I went to retrieve Iain after his nap this afternoon, and was greeted with a question: "Where's Grandad?" I see how it is... 

Beach means pictures, and I will post them. So far (Cliff and Evelyn only arrived on Wednesday evening), I haven't taken any pictures--I am swamped this week with work. That will change, of course, as the weekend gets underway and I get away from the desk! I know that the photos of the kids are the main attraction here, so I will stop now, and make a mental note to keep the camera to hand tomorrow.

superbowl?

It's impossible to believe that my last post was in November, and it's Superbowl Sunday. We are moving along slowly with the preparations for selling the house and resettling in Durham, but we plan to have the 'for sale' sign in the front yard in a couple of weeks. The next two weeks will be busy, as Grandma and Grandad Ayres arrive Wednesday the 4th and will be staying until the 20th. I do have some photos from Christmas and New Year's. And you can expect more regular posts as the transition gets underway.

Road trip!

I took the kids on a (200-mile) road trip to Shelby, NC to visit a friend. They did very well and had a great time. I took plenty of photos, too. Click the link to have a look at the album I created on facebook. 

Anna also made a friend, Skyla, who is a year older. She seemed really to enjoy the company of another girl, and did a very good job initiating peer interaction. Go, Anna! This is something that we have been working on for years now, and it was wonderful to see her take the initiative and then to have such a great time with her new playmate. Skyla, for her part, responded beautifully and generously to Anna, which is something we don't always see. So seeing Anna's overtures gracefully received and reciprocated made the weekend even more special.

Thomas and Iain kept busy with Skyla's little brother, Ashton, who is 3.5 years old. Thomas had a blast playing with a boy a little older than his own brother, and the two of them loved going with my friend Pat's husband, Len, to see trains. Iain played with Anna and Skyla while we three women talked over a glass of wine. I have a 1.5 minute clip of the three children pretending to be various animals that was fun. Since I have had no success uploading videos longer than about 20 seconds to Blogspot, I haven't tried with this one. I am happy to email it, though, or you can visit facebook.com, and search for me (Medi Ann Volpe). 

enjoy fall!!

moving right along

Because I loathe the late-summer heat and humidity, as well as the lingering mosquitos, I am glad to see that fall has finally put all that behind us! But I can't believe that the semester is drawing to a close, and Thanksgiving is almost upon us. November here means lots of blue skies and breezes, so those red-orange leaves have the perfect setting for drifting earthward. Although spring here in Georgia is dazzling, fall remains my favorite season, hands down. I enjoy the weather and look forward to the holidays--what could be better?

Anna, Thomas and Iain have participated in various ways in some fall chores. Thomas and Anna help to put leaves we've raked into bags; Iain prefers to scatter them! The weather makes being outdoors especially pleasant, though I know it is bound to give way in a few weeks to the cold, wet days that mean more coloring and play-doh than bike riding and digging in the sand. So we seize these days, and try to make the most of them. I know all too well that next year we will have fewer cool and sunny days!

I have been busy with the camera, though I have yet (a) to get my computer to work with the printer--so there are no prints to be had; or (b) to start learning how to make DVD's with still pictures and video footage. I plan to sort our both of these things in time for lots of creative photo work for the holidays. I hope to have my children smiling out of a TV screen near you!

For the time being, I have posted some photos to my facebook page; click the links to see the albums:

Anna poses; change of seasons; and more fall photos.

fall photos

I have posted some photos of Thomas's birthday party, plus a few "here and there" snapshots. To see the album, click here. 

this and that

The beginning of the transition to England will be putting our house on the market. We cannot imagine what it will be like for Anna, Thomas and Iain to go through the process of getting the house ready, keeping it tidy (!!), and--eventually--moving out. Fortunately, they are all pretty resilient, and I expect that they will find it easier than their parents will. As of now, we expect to list the house after Christmas. I just can't imagine doing it before that; there is too much to do.

Anna has recovered fully from her dental procedure. She is quite curious about the silver crowns on a few of her teeth, and seems more receptive to brushing. So we are making progress on that aspect of self-care. Her progress in potty training is slow, but steady. We plan to focus on it over the Christmas break and see how much farther we can get! In other areas, she is growing by leaps and bounds, talking in complete sentences and expressing more complex ideas. She recognizes more than half of the letters of the alphabet and enjoys doing word puzzles. (We have the Melissa and Doug version, and she has become very good at putting them together!) With all the language, self-help and cognitive development, Anna has also begun to press the boundaries in terms of behavior, and has landed herself in time-out a couple of times this weekend. Insofar as that indicates a new level of awareness of rules and consequences for breaking rules, I am all for it! Anna needs to develop in this area also, and testing the limits is an important step in that process.

Anna isn't the only one moving in that direction. Iain will tell you he's 'big two!'--and has the occasional temper tantrum to prove it. Although he does fall apart sometimes from frustration, or being tired or hungry (just before dinner can be a tough time for him), for the most part he is quite distractible, and so the tears can be dried and we move on quickly. Iain is much less stormy than Thomas and much less stubborn than Anna. He plays happily by himself, and loves for us to join him. He will bring me a book and ask me to read it, or come to me and say, 'sit mommy couch', when he wants to sit on my lap to watch a video. This phase of his life, like his babyhood, is a delight. 

Thomas, the last one to have his birthday and accompanying check-up, has grown to 41 inches and 39 pounds. That puts him below average in terms of size, but what he lacks in that area, he fully makes up for in imagination and speaking ability. For a few minutes after he first wakes up, he will often be quite quiet. Then, his imagination seems to kick in, and he's off--telling us about all the events, places and people in his make-believe world. Thomas loves to draw, and will create all sorts of things on paper, explaining what he's made in detail. That accompanying narrative makes drawing a less suitable occupation for church than it is for most kids. Thomas has begun attending Mass with Lewis and me, and his first Sunday, when asked what he had learned at church, replied, "I learned you don't talk in church." So he has grasped the basic rule, now is it a matter of following it a bit more. Of course, part of the problem is that Thomas is an incredibly curious kid, and so questions like, "What do the bells mean?" just have to be asked! I enjoy having him with us, and look forward to the time when Anna and Iain will join us as well. 

Things are pretty busy: between teaching and writing and spending time with the kids, there isn't a lot of time left. Yesterday was the last of three Saturdays I have been teaching in the Course of Study (part-time seminary education for Methodist pastors who are already serving churches). I love the teaching, but being away from home all days Saturday is tiring for everyone! So I am glad not to have more Saturday teaching until May. 

Thanks to a bout of insomnia, I have been getting a bit done in the middle of the night. I could use the sleep, but I will take advantage of the quiet to do things like keep up with the blog and keep up with friends on the internet. I will post a link in the next couple of days to a new photo album, which I mean to create tomorrow or Monday. So don't give up on me! I am working on it!

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