blues skies are here!
The boys spent a lot of time outside on the porch today because we are having the warmest day we’ve had since winter started. A reason to celebrate!
Ayrie’s life as a recent 2-year old
For much of this year, I forgot that I was living with a 2-year old. There were times when Ayrie seemed older and wiser than I did. He is thoughtful, contemplative, inquisitive and loving. He always asks ‘why’? I thought this stage might be annoying or tedious, but it has been amazing! He truly wants to know why and you can see his brain making connections, testing hypotheses and formulating additional questions. The words that come to mind when think back on Ayrie from this year are Independence, Love, Inquisitive,…read more
ayrie and clifford
The Minnesota Children’s Museum has a large clifford room and Ayrie was delighted to sit with Clifford!
sleeping brothers
Sometimes I am struck by how alike ayrie and shiya look and sometimes by how different they look. I took this photo of them sleeping in their car seats on our last trip to Minneapolis and was struck by how alike they looked while sleeping.
HOT! A prediction of later?
‘Hot’ was one of the words that Ayrie learned first. He could name every hot thing in the house, and would toddle around pointing them out, saying ‘Hot!’. Shiya, on the other hand, still does not really say any words. And when I tell him that something is hot, he gets a silly little grin and touches it over and over again. Uh Oh…
walking and puzzling
Shiya had one sleepless night last week and when he got up the next day he was a walker! I haven’t seem him crawl for more than a few feet since that morning. His walking is funny, a little unbalanced, but fast and focused. He especially likes to walk while carrying things like package of toilet paper or two winter boots. This stage is such a relief because I can actually put him down and do something that requires two hands, like look for the keys. He’s also continuing to…read more
feeling lost
it started when i read about another happily married friend on facebook… happy for her but it felt like a blow to the stomach. i am so alone. so unloved. unlovable? being a single mom is hard. never having more than 2 hours away from the kids, and even that isn’t even once a week, is hard. having no time with friends when i’m not also with kids is not really like having a full social life. no volunteering. no hiking. no clubs. so there’s no me. i’m just a…read more
words
Ayrie is starting to understand that words are made of letters and that when we read to him, we are reading words. He’ll bring a book to me and say “Please read to me. I don’t know what the words mean.” To my great surprise, it has to do with us reading to him a lot, but also to the show ‘Word World’ on PBS. After reading this study, I have to say thanks for the help, Word World and Sesame Street! The National Institute for Literacy has released findings…read more
begging for surgery
It breaks my heart. This morning, like the last few, Ayrie has woken me up to ask if we could go to the hospital today. He cries and tells me that he doesn’t like having a quiet voice and that he wants them to make it better. Why is a 2 year old begging for an operation? And what if it doesn’t even bring his voice back? More often than not, he still can’t talk after surgery. If I am counting my blessings though, at least he’s not terrified of…read more
first day at the gym
When we got to the play room, Shiya crawled right away from me without looking back. An older boy immediately walked up and hit him in the face and Shiya just looked up at him and smiled. Ayrie had a very hard time. Ever since he lost his voice he has a really hard time in new social situations. At he clung to me and cried hysterically, I started to cry to. I’ve lost my job (essentially), my dream of a happy home with two parents, am losing my mind,…read more