Life Affirmation

Stinky Flowers and the Bad Banana

My wonderful friend Croft created a character, and then a story, and it grew and grew and now it is a full blown piece of multimedia brilliance running to rave reviews at under St marks. This is just a note to say Get Thee to the Theater! Go! Go! It is a beautiful piece, you will not regret it.

As an added bit of encouragement, here is a brief video of Cadence dressed as a fairy singing a snippet of the theme song:

Precocious children

Sorry for the lack of updates lately; we have been busy bees here...finally got a new computer to replace the one that was stolen, and are beginning the process of adjusting to having a desktop once more. (NOT easy thing to do, now that the kids demand more flexibility, and a desktop demands, well, the opposite. ACK!) James has added a small internship for a human rights clinic and more work for his RA position to his load, as well as finally taking on a formal form of exercise- which, while it is another big chunk-o-change and time, I am actually very relieved by. It gets him up and moving, which he needs since he spends so much time working at various desks these days, and will provide an all important outlet and form of stress relief. So yay for all of that!

And the girls, well...they're the reason I started this post, which was meant to be a one-off little blip before I realized how overdue a newsier update was. As the title suggests, they are doing well - perhaps even a little TOO well, if such a thing is possible (which I will not dare to complain about! We are so unendingly grateful for the amazing life we have, and all the little wonders it contains). It has been made abundantly clear that Cadence is, shall we say for lack of a gentler way to put it, a little bit ahead of the game, and we are working with her teachers and the development team at the blue school to figure out what the best way to proceed from here is. I will say, I am extremely grateful that she has such warm, hardworking, intelligent people on her side, who are willing to go the distance and create the best solution for her as an individual in this situation. I am so glad she is in a place where they are willing to take her frustrations seriously, and work to accommodate her intelligence and personality instead of bureaucratically sorting her into a box and sticking a label on it, and then poking a few extra holes in the places she doesn't fit.

It's almost scary to discover that your child is actually as smart as you think they are. Parents are supposed to live in an overly-proud fog, aren't they? Our fog is being validated, which I guess means its raining all over everything and clearing up, leaving a beautifully saturated potential which is, in all honesty, daunting and humbling.

And then there is Hazel. Hazel Hazel Hazel our little Amazel, this only five-month-old baby who is ALREADY PULLING HERSELF TO STANDING. She's been doing that for a while now, though I was in a little bit of denial over it. But then today said denial was unmasked, when she stood on her own, not touching anything, even me, for a full 2 seconds.

...

I'll just let that one sink in there, for a moment.

...

She has SO MUCH personality already, this girl. She's stubborn and determined and very strong and oh so wonderfully happy and sweet. And she really loves Bananas. And Cats. And her sister.

We are so blessed to have these two unimaginably beautiful, genuinely sweet, intelligent, loving souls in our lives, and we just hope that we can do them justice and create a loving, supportive environment for them, which will allow them to truly flourish.

For now I should get going; we have an epic Cross Town Adventure to embark upon in the morning, as we bring the cats in for well-kitty check-ups and boosters. (They seem to be flourishing, as well, by the way!) I'm sure they would appreciate any good thoughts you can send them tomorrow, I do not expect this to be a pleasurable outing for our poor miaos.

[And don't worry, I am doing well too...got a few things I'm tossing around creatively, along with re-figuring how to make housework and transportation happen amidst the new-found scheduling hooplah. I'm very tired, but also very grateful, and Happy.]

Goodnight, all!

Oopsies...!

Yesterday, while walking through the flatiron district after walking Charlie, we had a bit of a cinematic moment.

I was walking with Hazel in the wrap, holding Cadence's hand as we headed towards the bus stop. From the other direction came a woman carrying an overstuffed Trader Joe's bag in each hand. She looked up, saw the cute, and was immediately transfixed. Until she walked smack into a tree. Oops.

(She was fine, and though one of her bags got tangled, I think the only thing she injured was her pride.)

See? I toldja, my ladies are hazardously cute.

dear Hazel: Month 5

Dear Hazel,

Five months have flown by, and I can hardly believe how far you've come. One thing I know for sure: I have fallen Totally and Completely in love with my little bitty tiger cub. Hazel Amazel continues to astound!

So let's see:

The first week of this month, you started doing something that I found quite endearing and silly. You have all the skills necessary to crawl - you know, the strength, being able to push up, balance yourself, a modicum of coordination, knowing what limbs are involved, etc. - but you seem very resistant to the idea of crawling. Why? My guess is that it is because crawling doesn't involve walking, which is your favorite thing ever, and how you KNOW people are supposed to get around. So, starting that first week of this month, whenever we put you into a crawling position, you end up sticking your feet on the floor, which results in your cute little bum sticking up in the air in a perfect downward dog position, and you inevitably hang out there, attempting to lift your upper body so you can stand up and walk, until you ultimately topple over sideways.

But that doesn't seem to be holding you back that much. By september you had figured out how to roll in every possible direction, and that was followed quickly by your canny little self putting this skill to good use, employing it as a form of locomotion.

You'll set your sites on some goal or other, and then roll across the room to get to it. just tumble tumble tumble, and there you go. Of course, you don't really do much once you've reached the destination, given that you haven't figured out how to get from you back to a sitting position yet, and you inevitably end laying on your back in whatever spot it is you've chosen.

Actually, other than the brief moments you pass through as you roll from point A to point B, you spend almost NO time on your tummy. Like seriously. I'm getting kind of frustrated with how consistently you stick your butt in the air and roll over to your back, because you do it EVERY TIME I put you tummy side down. Without fail. At this rate you really are just gonna skip the crawling bit, because you NEVER stay on your stomach (or hands & knees, etc) for more than, oh, say, about a 10th of a second.

You even try to get up to walk to retrieve objects just out of your reach, rather than leaning over and being almost in something that resembles a (Gasp!) crawling position.

You do, however, sit up just fine now - you can't get there on your own, but if we put you into a sitting position you'll hang out there indefinitely, unless someone makes you look up too far, in which case the weight of your head proves too much for your poor top heavy body, and you topple backwards...but this is becoming increasingly rare.

We've had a few Big New Life things this month...we've started integrating the subway into our travels, though we still opt for the bus when time permits, since we don't want to overwhelm your poor little ears, but the faster transport allowed by this has been...kind of earth shattering, at least for me. It kind of makes New York feel like an entirely different city, and I can feel the possibilities - for all of us - yawning up at us. It's pretty amazing.

Also, SOLID FOOOD!!!

You basically chose your own first food - and established your readiness for it beyond a shadow of a doubt - pretty early on by stealing some of your sister's avocado. So, we went ahead and mashed some up really well, and voila, you became a bona-fide consumer of solid food! You seemed to genuinely enjoy it, so much so that we actually had to cut you off during that first meal for fear of overwhleming your poor little digestive tract, but you seem to very much enjoy getting to eat like the rest of us do at mealtimes now. So. Much. Happy. (and so big already! ahhh!!)

Oh, and how's this for precocious behavior, kid? You've taken to trying to change your own diaper. I have to be even more on my game lately than I would normally be, because you've evidently discovered the relationship between big poops and the removal of the soiled diaper...while you know how to take off your diaper, you almost never do it. If your diaper is clean, you don't seem to mind its presence and don't bother it. If you've have a large bowel movement, however, you begin the removal process as soon as you're done. I am both proud of your intelligence and ingenuity, and dismayed at the level of inadvertent mess-stress this particular behavior causes me. I love you, Hazel Rose.

You have other little personality quirks that are beginning to show up more and more...like how you now roar at your toy tiger...like, seriously, lean forward, focus all your energy on it, stare-it-down and throw your whole body into it roaring, right at the tiger...SO MUCH LIFE!

You've also discovered blowing raspberries, and so, of course, everything in every aspect of all four of our lives has become glittered with raspberries. There is no other way to put it.

These days, you are standing so well we barely even need to hold on-even just having our hands hovering by your hips is enough support for you -you've got some strong gams and a solid core, m'lady, and you're just itching to strike out on your own.

And that will come, all in good time. Already, you're picking up on behaviors we teach you -intentionally or not - and making them your own. For instance, the classic baby game "how big is Hazel? Soooooo Big!" has been a favorite, but now you actually throw your arms up in the air on your own, even if someone just says the phrase "so big" in a completely unrelated context. And you look so pleased with yourself whenever you do it, too.

And now you can recognize the wrap! We go out and about often enough that you now know what the wrap means. Its really kind of cool...I usually put you in the bouncer while I get everything ready to go - including putting on my shoes and such - and you will quite often get worried and fussy, and I think you're afraid I'm going to leave without you (which is silly...I never have, save one or two five minute trips to the grocery store across the street while you and Cadence played with Baba) but you always stop crying as soon as I pull out the wrap, and you watch intently while I put it on, and then start to get wiggly-excited as I move to pick you up and put you in it, its really genuinely exciting. Every trip is a grand adventure in your eyes, and you love being included in them...and that, pretty lady, is absolutely wonderful. Because you know what, little Hazelnut? I absolutely love having your company in every minute thing I do each day.

Thank you for being a part of my life, little bitty wonderful. I adore watching you grow, and getting to cuddle with my sweetheart little tiger cub. You're growing up so fast, it almost hurts - but I am immensely proud of you, and so grateful to be here for you in each passing moment. Here's to many more adventures, my little Hazel Rose, with kisses to your Hazel Rose nose and your Hazel Rose toes. (and everything in between, and the top of your head, too!)

Love Always,

Mama

recognizing the wrap!

Crazy Week

...

I have no idea how to start this post! I wanted to keep up the momentum I've regained recently in terms of posting, so I thought I'd sit down and just do a brief description of this past week, but that is proving slightly harder to actually accomplish than I would like.

Not only has it been James' first full week of classes (the last two weeks were short weeks with things like "legislative mondays" in the mix) and the start of his duties as a journal editor, and not only did Cadence have her first week of school ever, meet all of her new classmates and take definite strides in terms of asserting her independence by kicking me out of her classroom before most kids would even consider letting their parents go; but it has also seen the first school-borne illness to hit our family (at this writing, Cadie is asleep but with a temp of 102.2, Hazel is finally resting after two days of goopy baby nose, and I'm trying to deny that my throat has a tell-tale tickle...)...and oh yeah, we had a break in about midway through it, too.

On Wednesday we left just before noon to walk Charlie, as always, before I brought Cadence to school. There, I got to witness her class' introduction to the 'picture clock'; their schedule for the day broken down into representative photographs to give them an idea of what to expect for their school-day routine. There was a picture of the courtyard for outdoor time, a picture of the rug they all sit on for 'circle time', a picture of her teacher's ukulele for their musical end-cap, and of course representative images of snack time and for free explorations and all the activities they'd get to encounter there. After they were done going over each item on the list, my little Cadie B called for the teachers attention and, very politely though quite firmly, expressed that this was all good, but that "I really want to do learning time." Of course, when I relayed this story to my mom later that night, she reminded me of my reaction to my very first day of kindergarten at the age of 4. I got off the bus and met her enthusiastic inquiries about how it had been with utter disappointment, declaring that "it's just a playing school." Apple? Tree? not too distant, evidently...

Anyway, she sent me on my way shortly after that, so I headed out to Clementine, a great little kids' consignment shop right next to the law school, to pay for a skirt I had (embarrassingly) accidentally shoplifted a couple days before (I know, I know! It's terrible...I tried it on Hazel, Cadence distracted me, Hazel zonked out on my chest while I was dealing with Cadie and I, forgetting that Hazel had the skirt on, absentmindedly just stuck her in the wrap out of habit, without looking, and didn't discover my error until much later).

Having made amends and had a longer-than-I-should-have-stayed conversation with the store's owner about life as the wife of an international lawyer, I hustled back to the blue school to fetch Cadence, and we met with James back at the law school for an OWLS event. OWLS, (Older Wiser Law Students) is a student organization aimed at students who are not fresh out of undergrad, and may have other priorities in life which can make the law school experience significantly different than it would be otherwise, for which James serves as a board member.

The girls were wonderful representatives of some of those outside priorities, and everyone seemed to have a quite enjoyable time. After some good food and schmoozing, I took Hazel home to prepare to receive the guests we were expecting that night, while Cadence and James stayed to see out the event. It had already been a thoroughly exhausting day by the time I got home around 7:00 in the evening, so I was perhaps less prepared for the shock that awaited me upon my return.

I arrived home that evening to discover that someone had broken into our apartment while we were away, and had stolen our computer, my engagement ring, the girls' family rings, and almost all of my jewelry including almost everything I had inherited from my late grandmother.

Thankfully though, no one was hurt. Only the kitties were home when it all went down, and they were all present and accounted for, and didn't seem to have been harmed (but were understandably a bit freaked). All in all we were quite lucky, and I am grateful that all that we lost were material possessions...the place wasn't even ransacked, and in fact they didn't seem to touch anything other than what they actually took...really, this could have been a much worse incident than it was; the way it all went down, it's almost nothing. (Though the feeling of violation and the decreased sense of security make that a big almost.)

Anyway, the rest of that night was a bit of a blur of guests arriving amidst police reports and phone calls, sorting through things and dealing with the shock. There was no sign of forced entry and the door had definitely been locked when we left the house, so the police (and the locksmith who replaced our locks and installed an additional deadbolt the next morning) think they must have had a key...

So, despite some lingering parental trauma, I think we'll be fine. And I really do believe that if someone had to go through all the trouble of breaking in to take it all, whether they were doing it to survive or to support some sort of bad habit...chances are they needed it all more than I do right now, since they are clearly in a worse state of crisis than I. So I sincerely wish them peace.

Anyway, we were all glad to greet the weekend today, though with sickness and some very troubling news within the family (which I won't divulge here out of deference to a loved one's privacy; suffice it to say we are sending oceans of love and worry to someone we all care deeply about), and trying to figure out how to recover our functionality without our main computer...well, we're all a mite exhausted.

First Day of School!

Any old friends recognize those socks? Surprised they're hangin' on, but hey I found a great place to wear them!

Taken at one of the parents' events earlier this week.

Today was a very big day around here, since it marked an occasion that has been actively anticipated for months: Cadie's First Day of School!!

Needs no caption.

It went splendidly...The Blue School has a new building now, right on Astor place (Sesame Street aficionados: In the 'word on the street' segment featuring the word "humongous," there is a brief shot of the Astor Cube ["HUMONGOUS!"]...the rather non-descript building in the background houses Cadence's new school. Exciting! For those of you of a NY persuasion but perhaps less current in your Sesame knowledge: it's the building that used to house the Starbucks across the street from...well, the other Starbucks.) .

HUMONGOUS!!!

They have a great program for easing kids into the idea of going to school without the company of mom or dad, which is really reassuring, but evidently unnecessary in Cadie's case. I'd have more to report about specifics except that she kinda kicked us out after the first few minutes.

Baba and Hazel are very excited for Cadence on her first day.

We were there as she played with sidewalk chalk in the courtyard (and started a trend, surprise surprise, getting most of her class to play, or at least draw, hopscotch 'courts'...) and changed her shoes, [No street shoes allowed in the building proper!] which was the first point at which she told us she wanted to play with just teachers and friends and wanted us to go...Katrina, one of her teachers, convinced her to let us come do the introductions and hello songs with her...so we all went through the glow hallway and up to the classroom. After the bathroom tour and a few minutes of play...she wanted her independence, so I ran some errands and waited in the "multi-purpose room" [where Hazel and I got bombarded with first graders on their way home, boisterous as ever after their first day...] and came back to fetch her at the end of the day to reports that she'd done very well, played with a girl named Oonagh (pronounced Oo-Nah) for quite a while, and had a great time overall.

Getting ready to go...

So much for my plans to stay for the whole first day to get to know the routine/kids/other parents...but who am I to stifle her independence when she is so clearly asking for it? And I am so proud of her confidence and grace...so I let expectations fall away and will take it all as it comes.

So Grown Up.

She was mad at me when I came back, though. She hadn't gotten enough. She warmed up a bit once I reassured her that she could come back tomorrow...so I have to think that the first day was a rioting success.

Cadie B and Baba walkin' from his school to hers!

Congratulations, Cadie B! Here's to a great year! We are all SO proud of you, sweetheart, and we're so excited to be taking on this adventure with you, even if it is by supporting your decision to take it on solo for the time being. Parents are invited into the classroom later in the year, and we look forward to coming in as welcome guests at that point. We love you, honeybug! Onward!

Our Little Cadence Ann, at school. (!!)