Alexander is Two Months Old!

It seems that we've been saying Alexander is "almost 2 months old" for quite a while, but in a couple of days, he actually will be. He is doing great and looks much older than 2 months. He's a big, strong kid! He is sleeping a bit better at night and seems to be less fussy during the day. Yeah!

Abraham's latest thing is to make sure we really understand where he is coming from. It's my own fault, actually, because I was the one who told him to use his words! He used to sort of just growl or scream when he was upset butI gave him the idea to label his feelings and identify the source of that feeling. I know, I know---what was I thinking? So now, I hear things like:
(growl) " i'm mad...because I'm frustrated...because...because Mei Mei took my Percy train and I'm not happy because I'm mad!" We don't totally have the cause/effect thing down yet, but we're working on it.

He continues to LOVE preschool! He has learned so much and we really like the school's approach. I researched several in the area and many were all about "we'll have your kid reciting the ABC's by this date, quoting Shakespeare by this date, doing calculus..."okay, not really but you get the idea. Abraham's preschool, on the other hand, is all about helping kids LOVE school!

They have fun and do "school work", but the curriculum is about sharing, cooperating, transitioning well from one activity to the next, etc. Of course, many of these things he can learn at home too, but there is something different about the structure of a classroom setting. And more importantly, he feels so "cool" and like such a "big boy" as he runs up the steps to his "Friendly Fish" classroom. See ya Mom :) He is becoming very independent and his confidence has soared as a result. We feel it is a great blessing to be able to send him there, if only for those 4 hours a week. IF we can afford it, we would like to send both he and Annabelle in the fall. We shall see...

Miss Annabelle...what can I say about her? She is my favorite girl in the world! She is a character. Very smart and very, very aware that she is the middle child. Well, she doesn't know that concept but she knows that Abraham is quite dominant and that Alexander is taking a lot of my attention. She knows it and she doesn't like it. I can't actually blame her and as a parent, it is hard to admit that everything is not always perfectly even or as we all hope, perfectly "perfect". This is something I am really, really working on and I hope she will feel that she is amazingly special, as we all know she is. She is enrolled in a gymnastics class and yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend the class with just her---no Abraham, no Alexander, just Mama and Annabelle. We both had a fabulous time and I realized just how important that uninterrupted time will be. I will have to get VERY creative about how to find it, but I am determined to make it happen.

She loves books and really enjoys "reading" to us. She also loves putting things together and I marvel at how quickly she can set up a train track! She really loves playing with Abraham. Although they argue sometimes, they have a blast running around pretending. The stairs are the "train" and the blanket the've carefully placed on the floor is the "water", and somehow part of this game involves delivering "invitations" to me, the toaster, and all the stuffed animals. I have no idea what we're being invited to, but Annabelle does and she and Abraham are working hard to make it happen!

I'll tell you---nothing has ever challenged me the way parenting does. Nothing has ever made me think so intensely or work so hard. The physical part is hard, yes, but the part about making sure my kids feel secure, know who they are, have the chance to develop themselves and strengthen their character--that part takes a form of mental energy I cannot even describe. It may come easier to some, but for me, it is my greatest challenge. Still, as I mentioned in my previous post, though, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Today it was raining so we cancelled our list of things to do and stayed in. We had a carpet picnic and watched Shrek for the millionth time :)

Before that, Annabelle helped me get my priorities in order. I said, "Annabelle, why don't you color for a few minutes while I finish loading the dishwasher?" She looked me in the eye, grabbed my hand, and said: "Nope, you need to hold me." She grabbed Green Eggs and Ham and led me to the couch. Thank goodness I have her to keep me in line :)

William's job is going really well and it keeps him very busy. He continues to work in San Francisco, Oakland, and currently is in Denver. He also serves as the assistant mission leader at our church, an opportunity he loves.

As for me, I wish I had something more exciting to report about myself, but for now I am enjoying life being the "behind the scenes" person in this little qian jia ting :)!