Calm Before the Storm (so to speak)

For the past few weekends, we haven't had much on the calendar. We haven't traveled anywhere or had definite plans with friends or family--there's not even a big home project that's on the horizon. Lately, our weekends have consisted of breakfast together, lots of play time, maybe an outing or two to the store, and relaxing evenings at home. And I have to say, even though I'm a person who loves to get out and be social, these quiet weekends are nice. I'm almost reminded of summer, where's there's nothing particular to do, but lots of time to be together.

Some bigger moments around our house involve the kids continuing to change. Ainsley is ever-so-close to crawling--she gets up on to her hands and knees, rocks back and forth, and then lunges her body forward while falling on her belly. You can see the determination in her eyes to make it to a certain destination, and in the end she can get there by rolling, scooching, and turning around. Soon there will be a day where she realizes that moving her knees and hands will be a new mode of transportation, and then watch out! We'll have to baby proof the house as much as we can.

Eli continues to grow and change. He says funny phrases like, "My truck is stuck in the muddle!" and makes funny observations that otherwise go unnoticed. He's been very cooperative lately about certain things he used to HATE doing before, such as brushing his teeth, going to bed, and helping clean up his toys. And I can't even begin to express how thankful I am that there's a glimmer of hope that he won't be in the terrible twos forever. Our next big step with him will be potty training--lately he's been talking more about what his body is telling him, and tonight he even mentioned wanting to wear underwear. So we'll see how that goes....

Jay is doing well. He's been working on little things around the house and brainstorming about what our next big home improvement project will be.

I'm busy, too. As usual, work is busy, but I'm really enjoying my students this year, so the year has seemed less stressful than in years past. It also helps that I'm approaching teaching my two favorite pieces of literature, To Kill a Mockingbird and Romeo and Juliet. I also put together some new lessons for the book Maisie Dobbs, and the lessons just so happened to coordinate beautifully with the week of Veteran's Day, so I was pretty proud of that.

Well, that's all for now. I'm sure life will get busy again here soon now that the holidays are approaching, but in the meantime, here are some photos of what we've been up to at home....

Eli shoveling the snow in the yard

Ainsley playing on the floor and looking at me with her big, blue eyes.

Handy Eli helping Daddy with a project

The kids playing together at their learning table