Archive for the 'School' Category

Interaction

Published June 27, 2011 School , Siblings , Smiles Leave a Comment

What’s more precious than anything about Bobby’s development is how completely he worships his brother.  Jack, just by looking at him, or blasting a phony laugh from a nearby corner of the room, will make Bobby smile without fail.  Just this morning, after running up the stairs to grab Jack’s toothbrush before heading out the door to school, I came back down to find Jack lying casually on his side beside his brother, exchanging toys and teaching him the colors of each plastic piece.  Bobby was beaming back at Jack with unparalleled adoration.  During their bathtime in the evenings, Jack (who is showing more interest in his brother each day as Bobby moves further away from infancy) frequently requests that he and Bobby “stand up together” so he can show Bobby how tall he is.  They repeat this exercise several times as Bobby stares up at Jack and exhales happily.  Bobby then reaches for Jack from his partially submerged position in the tub and Jack succumbs to let Bobby touch his shoulder or hand.  And then, a whole lot of splashing, mess and merriment ensues.   It’s one of my favorite times of day. 

At school, Jack tells all his teachers and classmates that Bobby is “his baby”.  And if Bobby is going down the hallway in the infant buggy at the same time that Jack is returning from his playground adventures, Jack runs joyously to the buggy to show off his brother to the other kids.  

These two are going to be the best of friends.

Shy Guy

Published June 8, 2011 Personality , School , Talking 1 Comment

Jack, Bobby and I wandered up our next door neighbor’s driveway yesterday after our brief jog around the neighborhood because Jack wanted to say hi to the kids.  They have a 5, almost 3 and 1-year old; perfect playmates for my little men.  Jack was talking non-stop during our jog, telling me all about what he was seeing, where he wanted to go and what was coming up around the corner (he is an exceptional navigator and can find his way to all his critical destinations – the swimming pool; the park; his best friends’ houses; his school; the doctor; and the airport).  As we turned onto our street, he spotted the neighbor kids playing in their yard and announced “I want to go say hi to Maya.”  However, as soon as we ascended the driveway and the neighbors all shouted “Hi Jack!”, he clammed up.  He put on a shy smile, dug his head into my thigh and said nothing.  My next door friend mentioned that she’d never heard Jack say a word, which is hilarious to me, because the kid speaks in a novel-like stream of consciousness when he’s home. 

I’m not sure I’d call him shy, just cautious.  He is not afraid of much and does not back away from the opportunity to socialize.  He just takes some time to allow people into his circle of trust, at which point the words flow ad nauseum.  When we moved Jack to a new preschool a few weeks after Bobby was born, I recall his teacher suggesting that Jack was reserved.  But about three weeks into it, I picked Jack up and his teacher informed me that he had talked very enthusiastically during circle time and had quite an impressive vocabulary.  He’s never regressed and now runs through the door of the classroom in the morning like he owns the place. My pensive little man, observing and learning how to rule the world…

Back to Work

Published June 7, 2011 School , Sleep , Working Mom Leave a Comment

I’m not sure the transition would have been as easy if I hadn’t been thrown into the fire on my first day back with an unexpected client-related project and a Monday deadline (including several weekend hours with both boys looking at me as if to say “a conference call…on a Saturday afternoon…really?”).  I shed a customary tear or two the evening before I returned to work as Bobby lay comatose on my shoulder after consuming his last milk of the evening.  I finally laid him to rest in his crib, spent a few hours organizing, packing his bags, pumping and labeling milk bottles and preparing for his first day at the preschool his brother is already attending.  It was no small feat getting out the door the next morning as I figure out a good balance between nursing vs. pumping, feeding my 2-year old, showering and clothing myself, and ensuring both kids have fresh clothes, diapers, lotions, wipes, milk and bedding for their daytime routines.  There is an art to this, which I have not yet mastered (as evidenced by the fact that I had to take a 9:30am call from my Principal on Wednesday and hadn’t even gotten the kids in the car yet…baby steps – we’ll get there). 

Once I returned home from dropping both boys at preschool on my first day back and sat down in front of my computer, the stars realigned, the intellectual power cord rebooted and I began to voraciously accept, as I always do, more tasks than I can accomplish in a regular work day.  I peeked in on the boys via web-streaming from time to time and neither of them seemed remotely phased by a temporarily absent Mommy, a fact that is both heartbreaking and cause for guilty relief.  At the end of the day, as much as I’d rather be with my kids than anywhere else in the universe, I’m meant to be a working mom.  It keeps me well-rounded, smart, as organized as I’m capable, energetic, independent and strong.  I like having a career, I like having my own money, and I really really really really really like my company.  Sometimes it even makes me feel like superwoman that despite my 10-hour days (some of which is performed after the boys go to bed), I can still bath them, feed them, hug them, play with them outside, go running with them, read to them, kiss them, teach them and love them like no one else can.

Bring Your Kid to Work Day?

Published April 6, 2011 Boy-ness , School Leave a Comment

I got a call from Kent this morning about 25 minutes after leaving the house.  He said “Hey – I’m at the office and guess who I’m hanging out with?”  After a few missed attempts at guessing, he fed me the answer, “Jack!”  While enjoying his conversations with Jack in the car ride, he’d completely forgotten to drop him off at pre-school.  Ah well, made for more father-son bonding time this morning anyway.

School Pictures

Published October 20, 2010 Photos , School Leave a Comment

First of many awkward school photos

After last year’s seriously awkward school photos, I had low expectations of this year’s results.  Particularly given that Jack has gone from crawling to long distance sprinting in the span of a year and the only time he sits still is when he is asleep (if even then).  In addition, last year I had the opportunity to take Jack to the photo shoot, whereas this year his Dad dropped him off and his teachers bore the brunt of entertaining him behind the camera. 

Apparently the latter method is better.  Keep Mommy as far away as possible from the studio lights and…success!  Despite that I forgot to put a belt on to keep his oversized pants from dropping below his hips, his bright, watery eyes and smile could melt an iceberg.  With these flirtatious poses for the lens, he’s surely his mother’s son. 

Sitting still for a picture!

The tousled hair emo look

Big smiles require a lot of chin(s)

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