Friday, May 05, 2006

Yes. Too long. Hello. The kids are great. The yard is growing in, as you’ll see. It has been a busy month, as much for trying to figure out what to do next as for having actual things to keep us busy. The kids are excited about the changing seasons. We have done more things outside, which is exhausting, but fun for them. The past two Fridays we have taken a walk in the morning through downtown Maynard and back. Maxim got a red scooter for her birthday that rides. Noah insists on us taking the carriage, although he will often get out and run on his own. All the way Maxim shows off her new tricks. “Look daddy, see how I can make it turn by leaning?” “That’s great, honey.” “I can balance almost standing still, Daddy, did you see what I did?” Noah likes to play “red light green light” when he’s up and running. He isn’t quite in sync with the game – he is still just barely three – so when you say green light, he takes a few seconds to get moving. Likewise when you say red light, although when he eventually freezes, he puts his body into a form as if he was running. We round the corner near the Maynard ice cream shop. “Daddy, can we get ice cream?” Maxim asks. “It’s 10:30 in the morning,” I reply. She looks at me with a look that says, “and…?” “We don’t eat ice cream in the morning.” “Please Daddy!” “No.” Today we pulled out the swimming pool. Maxim insisted. At first I said it was too cold, but it was quite warm and she knows how to read the thermometer. “Look Daddy, look how far onto the warm side it is.” “Ok. In the afternoon.” I say. For the next twenty minutes: “Is it the afternoon yet?” And so by mid-morning, they were both in bathing suits playing in the water, making mud of sections of the backyard, despite my objections. And then they ate lunch with that hunger that comes from playing all morning in the sun. Summer hunger. And they went to sleep almost without a peep after a story about a girl and her imagination. Noah has finally decided to begin using the potty. This is a nice change. He has boundaries, times, places, etc., that only he knows when he will cross, but we are off to a good beginning. Today, he awoke from his nap, took off his diaper, and sat on the potty himself. Baby steps and big ones. What else? The house is still on the market, we are still tired of cleaning it, and spring is still coming in. The yard needs a regular weekly mow these days, and the recent rains have caused everything to leaf and flower and fill in with a sudden pop. I looked out the door this morning and swore it was summer. Wasn’t it winter just yesterday? The long light is welcome.

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