So What, Pray Tell, Are We Doing?

We are a family of four, with two small children and two working parents, so mostly it is work, school, weekend activities for Leila, weekend chores for Kevin and me. Pretty boring but fortunately we are usually too busy to dwell on that. I am working part time (90%-- not really sure how part time that really is) as a software developer (a contractor for NOAA-- the thoughts and opinions of the author do not represent those of NOAA in any way blah blah blah) and Kevin is in a product management type role at Vaisala, which "makes electronic measurement systems and equipment for meteorology, environmental sciences, traffic safety and industries". Both of us are very happy with our jobs, which certainly makes the daily rush more worthwhile.

Leila and Sabina are in a daycare ("school" I like to call it) that we like very much. When Kevin started at Vaisala we thought about moving them to a place closer to home, which would be more convenient for both of us, but every time I really start to consider it I get extremely sad. The place is such a nurturing environment, the teachers are so great, and they really love the kids, and I have such a peace of mind leaving them there. So they will remain there until I just can't take the additional commute anymore.

Leila will be turning 4 in January. I read somewhere that a 3 year old asks on average something like 357 questions a day. She is definitely on the upper end of the spectrum. What kills me is that she asks questions that we both full well know she already knows the answer to. She just likes to hear the explanation again. Her latest favorite is "Why did Mr. Toby cry at the wedding?" ("Mr. Toby" and "Miss Barb" got married a few weeks ago and he cried during the vows. She was fascinated.)

Leila absolutely loves life-- she loves to do activities, go places, she loves people. I mean everyone. We came out of Carrabas one night and there was a lady outside smoking who had been at the table next to us, waving to her and Sabina through dinner. As we walked out she commented on how cute the girls were, and Leila went up and hugged her before we realized what she was doing. The lady did her best to get her cigarette out of the way, but it was a little awkward.

She is also taking a "tumbling class" at a local gymnastics center. I think it is safe to say she is the most enthusiastic one in the class. She skips from one activity to another, chats with the instructor, talks to instructors working with other students ("Watch me! Look what I can do!"), much to their amusement. And she must wear her black leotard. I think that is the main reason she likes tumbling class. Next we are going to try a ballerina class. She is also taking swimming lessons. We were doing group lessons at the local rec center. There were four kids to a class, with many class levels in the pool at the same time, and as I started watching the more advanced levels, I realized they were all pretty much doing the same thing Leila's class was doing. I then realized if we actually wanted her to learn how to swim we needed to get things moving a little faster, so we switched to privates. It was a little rough (frightening) for her at first, but she is making progress and can actually swim short distances on her own.

Sabina, as most little sisters do, adores Leila and emulates her every chance she gets (unless it involves hugging someone-- Sabina has a little more discretion regarding who she hugs). The great thing is that Leila adores Sabina as well, and they play really well together. Leila loves to make Sabina laugh, and Sabina loves to laugh, which makes for a good pair. Sabina is doing her best to talk. She speaks in complete sentences, but a majority of it would appear to be babble to someone who's not familiar with her language. About 80 % of the time, Kevin and I can figure out what she is trying to say from the context. One word she is really good at saying is "no". Any question requiring a yes or no answer, the answer is no. If we are doing something she doesn't want us to do, it's "no-no-no-no-no-no-no", as though she is trying to correct us. She also does her best to say "I love you", which sounds a lot like "Na nuh noo" (pretty close to "no", actually), and "thank you" ("na noo").

Unlike Leila, who loves new situations, new places, and new people, Sabina does not. It takes her a long time to get comfortable and until she does, she will do her best to remain in my lap or at least within a certain radius of it. It doesn't matter if you are a grandparent, or an aunt, a close family friend, if she doesn't know you, she reserves the right to refuse any attempt at affection from you until she feels comfortable. It took her several weeks, even months, to get used to her new classroom at school, even though it was across the hall from her infant room and she had seen the teachers and kids there daily. While we were in St Louis over Thanksgiving, it took three days for her to get comfortable enough to even play in the same room with Corine and Booker, but she still wouldn't really go to them. Although she had no problem going to his sister Denise and her daughter Charity, which was a little dismaying to the grandparents, though they hid it well. I will say that if you are fortunate enough to be a recipient of her affection, you are indeed fortunate. She is a good hugger. One of her current teachers said Sabina is one of the most affectionate children she has ever seen.

I won't go on, although as you can guess, I certainly could. Suffice it to say, life is really good right now. The Baptist in me does feel guilt about that, though I try to push it way down.