Fire Safety

Apparently they are teaching a new protocol for fire safety in the schools these days.

Henry came home from preschool the other day very excited to share what he had learned with us.

"The firemen came and taught us what we should do if there's a fire," he said.

"If there is a fire, you need to DROP, ROCK & ROLL."

I thought it was so cute and Henry was so enthusiastic about it, I didn't have the heart to correct him.  So let's just say, until I do, if there's ever a fire at our house, Henry will be rocking out.

On an Autumn Evening...

Andrew picked juicy apples from our heavy-laden tree.

Abby read a book in the fading light of day.

Isaac captured a grasshopper

and gave it to Henry

and we all enjoyed a school night that felt like summer.

First Days of Preschool

Henry started preschool a couple of weeks ago.  The day came and went without much fanfare. Abby and Isaac had already been in school for 2 1/2 weeks and it was the same school he'd gone to last year and the same school where he'd gone to summer school.  Not a lot of unknowns this time around and not a lot of drama.  Peter, Lucy and I drove Henry to school and dropped him off without any crying or sad farewells.  He jumped out of the car as happy as could be, and we waved good-bye as we drove off.

My cute 4-year-old on his first day of school.
(He has a bandage over his eye from walking into a wall with his eyes closed.)

As I drove home I thought about the first day Abby started preschool and compared it to Henry's.  We were living in Minnesota at the time, far away from family and without a lot of friends.  For the most part, it was just Andrew and me and our two little babies making our way in the world there.  No one was in school, our kids didn't really do play dates and other than an occasional trip to Target, Costco or Home Depot, we spent our days at home hanging out together.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  I look back at that time with total tenderness and nostalgia. Abby and Isaac were the best of friends and I have so many sweet memories of the games they would play.  They played together all the time, whether it was playing dress-up in their giant bedroom upstairs or swinging on the swings in our backyard. Their world was as small as our little house - but as big as their imaginations (which were huge.)   The point is, they were always together, they adored each other and didn't know what life was like without the other one there.

Until the day Abby started preschool...

Abby's first day of preschool - 2004

I remember driving to the school feeling somewhat worried about dropping Abby off for nearly three hours.  I wondered if she would cry when I left.  (I wondered if I would cry when I left.) I wondered if she would cry when I came back to get her.  I wondered if she would like her teacher and the other kids in her class.  I was filled with trepidation as I drove the few miles between our house and her school.

Abby, Isaac and I got out of the car and went into the school.  We hung Abby's backpack on the hook and then it was time to say good-bye.  I kissed her and promised I would be back as soon as school was over.  I promised she would have a great time.

Isaac and I waved good-bye and went to get in the car.  I was so thrilled that Abby hadn't cried or seemed worried or concerned about starting school.  She was delighted to be there.  As I walked to the car, I congratulated myself on the first day of preschool being a success and on raising such a well-adjusted girl.

And then we got to the car.  I opened the door and put Isaac in his car seat but once he realized Abby wasn't coming with us, he lost it.  He started sobbing - loud, heart-breaking sobs - and it struck me that this was really the first time my two babies had been separated.  I explained to Isaac that Abby was starting school and that we'd be back to get her soon, but he would not be consoled. He cried as though his heart was breaking.  I can't imagine what he thought as we pulled out of the parking lot, leaving his sister behind.

For months I had pictured Abby starting school, and in every scenario I had wondered and worried about how it would effect her, but not once had I considered how it would effect Isaac.  As we drove away from the school, my heart ached for my sweet little boy who surely felt like we were abandoning his sister.  I was so moved by his tenderness and his loyalty and so grateful for his friendship with Abby.

I have always loved this picture of Abby and Isaac.  Can't you just feel the love?

Well, needless to say, Isaac got used to Abby going to school.  He found ways to entertain himself while she was away.  The two of them are still best friends and play together when they are home but we don't have the tears and the meltdowns every time one of them leaves without the other.   Still, when I think about that day in Minnesota five years ago, it tugs at my heart just a little.  It makes me grateful for the bond those two share - and there is nothing I love more than watching the two of them head out the door in the morning and walk to school TOGETHER.

A Surprise Revisited

A year ago this week, I was feeling terrible.  I had no energy.  I was always exhausted.  My stomach felt queasy all the time.  In the afternoons, as soon as my kids went down for a nap, I would curl up in bed with a box of crackers and hope that I would feel better by the time Abby and Isaac came home from school.

It was so weird.  I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.

Besides the nausea and the exhaustion, there were other things going on too.  I told Andrew that I thought I might be going through menopause.  I asked him if he thought it would be weird for a 36-year-old to go through menopause.  Andrew assured me that it would be somewhat unusual.

"How would they determine if I were going through menopause?" I asked.

"Well, the first thing they would do is give you a pregnancy test."

"A pregnancy test!" I laughed.  "Well that's just crazy talk."

And then I thought about it for a minute.... hmmmm.

The next day, which was a year ago today, Andrew brought me home a pregnancy test.  And guess what?  I wasn't going through menopause.

I couldn't believe it a year ago when I found out we were expecting another baby, and today as I look at my sweet Lucy, I still can't believe it.  How did I get so lucky to have this sweet girl come to our home, to be my baby - especially when it was so unexpected?

Lucy turned four months old last week and let me just tell you, in the 123 days that she's been here, this girl has snuggled her way right into the family and deep, deep deep into our hearts.  We just can't get enough of her -- her huge smiles first thing in the morning, the way her face lights up whenever someone walks into the room, the cooing noises she makes as she falls asleep at night, the way she grabs onto her feet and waves them in the air, or the way she wrings her tiny little hands.  Every little thing she does is magic.

So, it was a year ago today that Lucy began to make her presence known and our family hasn't been the same since.  I count my blessings everyday that this sweet and familiar spirit came into our family when we least expected her.

Needless to say, she is WAY better than menopause.