Thursday, March 26, 2009

Preschool here we come!

Lily, Evan and Will got accepted to Covenant Presbyterian today! We got the last three spots, isn't that wonderful?

That means that they will start a 'two's' class in August on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 to 1pm. I think they are going to blossom in the school environment and be thrilled to have lots of new activities and friends.

Holden did not get into his 'Toddler II's' class, but now that the trips are enrolled he would be next on the list should anyone cancel over the summer or even drop out over the school year. So, keep your fingers crossed because I think it would be great for him to have his own class with kids his age.

It's a great school and just around the corner. Lots of our neighborhood friend go there and speak very highly of it. Lucky for us Covenant is opening their brand new school building this summer so they will also have all new facilities.

**Michelle just called, Covenant called her and said Devin got into the same class. I think there was actually just one spot left after us. I got one child in on Tues and they were waiting to hear back from a twin mom and one other child. Too bad Devin is already enrolled in St. Matt's with his brother Rowan. It would have been fun to have them in school together. Michelle suggested signing them up for the same summer camps next year.**

San Diego


Holden and I recently tagged along with David on a business trip to San Diego. It was Holden's first airplane trip. He was charming on the flight, easily making friends by waving hi, blowing kisses and flashing his winsome smile.


He even made friends in our hotel room.


We stayed at Tower 23, right on the beach. Our room had an ocean view and opened up to a patio deck with rock garden and fountain which entertained Holden while David and I relaxed and got to spend a little down time together.


David worked most of the time but it was nice for him to return to the hotel and have us there with him instead of being on his own most of the week.


We didn't do too much in San Diego, just long walks, playing in the sand, napping and a few nice meals. The first night went out to dinner at the hotel restaurant and brought Holden along. He had gourmet kids meal of fish sticks and matchstick fries and was happy as a clam. We soaked in the simple pleasure of being normal parents with one child and were able to actually have a conversation.

The second night we had sushi takeout and watched Slumdog Millionaire in our room. Holden napped through dinner and the movie, but woke up right at the end in time to dance to the musical finale. He is such a joyful being. He seemed quite relaxed and content to have mom and dad all to himself. I enjoyed spending leisurely time with him with no distractions. Just reading him a book or giving him undivided attention while digging in the sand was a nice treat for both of us. And of course it was a nice treat for me to get to steal a few minutes with David amidst a busy work week.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Overheard

Tonight while talking to David on the phone in NY, Evan said, 'Hi Dad, how are you?' He mumbled a bunch of other things excitedly about his day, including 'I pushed the button (on the phone)', saying 'yes' to a few questions from David and signing off by saying 'Bye Daddy' and giving him a kiss."

Earlier today when I got the kids up from their nap Lily was crying saying, 'Memo pushed me'. I asked Will if that was true, he said sincerely and calmly 'Uh, huh. Memo needs to go in time out, Memo needs to go in time-out (with emphasis).'

I said, 'Well, let's just give Lily a hug and say I'm sorry.'

Will went up to Lily and pointed to her arm and back saying 'Lily hurts here and here. Mmm, hmm. Sorry Lily' while gently patting her back.

Holden brought me a book at bedtime and pointed to the animals. I said 'elephant' and he said 'el-fant'. He said 'hoo-hoo' for the owl and 'quack quack' for the duck. He has definitely had a language developmental leap this past week or two, repeating a lot more of what we say. The 'big kids' love counting and do so quite often (they all seem to be skipping five these days, but I digress). Anyway when they are counting Holden likes to chime in with 'two!'.

Kiddo update

While I'm working in NYC this week I took a moment to consider how far the kids have grown over the past couple of weeks.

Holden now asks for a "nana" in the morning and tells his sibliings "nigh-nigh" when they go to bed.

Evan made a bunch of friends at Sunday school last week. They are a bit older and rougher so they can hang with his antics.

Will is always the first to notice when we're wearing running clothes and calls dibs to "go jogging with daddy". I missed him during my 7-mile run along the Hudson this morning. Not his weight, mind you -- but his cheerful disposition as he shares his observations along the trail.


Lily has developed a delightful Steverman laugh-giggle and seems to be so full of words that they come spilling out in passionate and intent discussion.

Jennifer -- good luck holding down the fort!

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Arsty

We painted today. It took lot of effort for maybe eight minutes of art time. Holden ate most of his paint then crawled across the table much to the kid's dismay. I'm hoping once Holden is older art time will be a bit easier.


The clean up was the best part for the kids, they played with the hose for almost an hour - and now that we have grass no mud pit! Then I stripped them down and put them in our tub.


I need to remember to lock the doors so I don't have wet kids with paint running through house. It is tough to keep up with the four. It would also be handy to have place to hang drying art and wet clothes and another mat by my french doors into our master bedroom so we can wipe off feet before heading to the tub. An outdoor shower or tub would be even better.


In the meantime, mom and dad's tub does the job.

Woodsy


Yesterday the kids and I planted our new ferns and wild violets that Lucinda selected for us. We have a mix of Southern Wood Ferns, Autumn Ferns and Wax Ferns with a bit of Missouri Violets. The woodland part of our garden is really starting to take shape. Lucinda is so excited about our new garden that today she picked up some additional plants for us to mix in and she sent me on a run to Lowes for some large wispy palms that were only $6 a bucket.


The big kids did some of the digging and helped fill the newly planted areas with soil. Evan is quite adept with the shovel, putting his foot on the shovel like we do to dig in, then scooping and pouring the dirt in a pile.

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Talleyran Park


Mrs B had a great idea to meet at Talleyran Park, down off Old Spicewood Rd, with the boys and their bikes. We had a nice outdoor playdate and pinic. It is a beautiful little park, hilly with lots of trees and shaded picnic areas. It has inspired me to get more involved with our neighborhood park to help it realize all it's potential.


The boys were very cute exploring together.


They had a blast bicycling around and climbing these new citrus colored playscapes.



Evan is a natural on the trike, he is able to peddle and steer with ease. From the moment he got his tricycle for his 2nd birthday he was peddling away. Will is mostly scooting along using his feet but we did get some good practice using the peddles today.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Natural Gardener


We visited Natural Gardener today where Lucina is working on the herb garden she designed. I wish I got a photo of it, it is early but already is beautiful. Next time.

Lucinda selected a mix of soft lush ferns and wild violets for our shady forest areas. She also spied a pretty windchime and some colorful children's sized garden tools for us.

This weekend Issac, Carmen's husband will be back to deliver the soil, a yard of the Hill Country Garden Soil also from Natural Gardener, for the 'salad bar' and 'butterfly garden'. Speaking of, Natural Gardener has both. Their grounds are rather large and there many places to explore including a couple of pens with burros that the kids were tickled to visit. It is a challenging to say the least to keep track of all four in the nursery so we didn't make it over to the Butterfly Garden this visit. I plan on visiting again over the next week or so with one child in tow so we can wander around the beautiful grounds. I will also pick up more plants for my gardens since my beds will be ready after the weekend.

**Updated to add that after I wrote this post Lucinda recommended Natural Gardener's Rose Magic Soil with a bag of peet moss blended in for our vegetable garden so we will try that instead of the Hill Country Garden Soil.
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Fruit of our Labor

Monday, March 02, 2009

Operation Garden Rescue - Part II

Monday 8:45 am

Monday 10:45am. Progress on the patio, grass delivered.


Monday 12:45pm. Patio complete, lunch time.


Monday 2:45pm. Garden walls almost complete. Starting to spread the soil to prep for grass. Lucinda has already dropped in twice to check on progress and provide design advice.



Monday 4:45pm. Garden walls complete, boulders in 'bosque', grass going in back.

Monday 8:00pm. Grass finished. Everyone fed. Kids are tucked in. Goodnight.

Will post some pictures of today's work tomorrow.

Operation Garden Rescue


Sprinklers installed on Saturday.


Outline of garden and patio. Our bench is nestled back in 'el bosque'.

Sunday, March 01, 2009

Goodmorning


It's Sunday morning, we just finished having oatmeal and blueberries for breakfast that David prepared.

Will and Holden are cuddled up with David and Lily is on the sofa watching cars. Often we would be outside already but it is in the 30s.


Evan is busy working with his toolbox.

We are about to get dressed and head to mass and sunday school.