Sydney’s Spanish

I am ashamed to say that despite studying Spanish in elementary school and college (both in Houston, by the way), my comprehension of the language is meager, and my ability to speak it is as close to non-existent as it gets beyond the few dozen words I still remember. I wish the schools (elementary and beyond) I had attended after moving away from Houston had kept up the Spanish classes, but I guess the farther north you get, the less value is placed on it…

Amy, on the other hand, has a better excuse for not knowing Spanish, as she grew up in states bordering Canada as opposed to Mexico. She does, however, have a great desire to learn the language beyond the "medical Spanish" she picked up during her residency.

All that is to explain why (after years of talking about it) we picked up the Rosetta Stone software as a Christmas present to each other this past Christmas. In the last week or so, we have finally started the lessons (when both children are asleep at the same time) and are learning a few words and phrases, though obviously we are still just getting our toes wet. Part of our desire to learn Spanish, though, is to be able to teach Sydney as she grows. She has discovered Dora the Explorer, and has some books that introduce a few Spanish words. She knows that the Spanish word for "Thank-you" is "glackias" for example. And "Please" is "Por Pabor". Not bad for a 3-year-old…

So yesterday we were having lunch at a Tex-Mex restaurant after church, and we decided to get sopapillas after lunch as a special treat and introduce Sydney to them. We taught her the word, and she would say parts of it slowly, trying to string it together. Then Amy encouraged her to "now say it really fast". To which her response was a big smile, followed by "really FAST!"

Perhaps we need to cover pronouns and antecedents next…

Smiles

Peter is now 7 weeks old, and he has started showing smiles that actually look intentional as opposed to those that you suspect are the result of discomfort or just the brain trying to figure out how to control all those muscles in the face. Below are a few examples as well as some that are just cute pictures.

And just so that everyone doesn't think we only take photos of Peter these days, here is one of Sydney being snuggly with Savannah. Given her natural tendencies, I give Savannah a lot of credit for staying put and receiving the affection rather than bugging out and hiding under the table like she usually does when Sydney comes calling!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

Today is my beloved wife's birthday. Join me in a round of "Happy Birthday"...

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to...

Hey, you in the back, no lip syncing!

At any rate, Amy is another year beautiful today, and I couldn't be more in love with her! I wish I could whisk her away for a romantic getaway with just the two of us. Oh yeah, and Peter, who can't be away from Amy for more than a few hours for nutritional reasons. Oh, and I guess Sydney wants to be included since Peter is along. And we might as well bring both dogs and maybe an in-law or two just for good measure, because that's just how much "Alone Time" we seem to be getting these days. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I'm just looking forward to a day when I can focus on Amy again and devote time to her the way she deserves.

Take this morning, for example. I woke up early (relatively speaking, given the thunderstorms which kept Sydney awake last night and Peter's erratic schedule) to make Amy breakfast. Amy of course was just finishing with Peter and was trying to get him to go back to sleep so she could grab another hour or so before starting the day. Before I could even get to the kitchen, though, Sydney woke up (a good hour early even if she hadn't been up in the middle of the night crying over the thunder). Fortunately for us, she is perfectly happy to stay in her room every once in a while and play semi-quietly. I tell her it's not time for Mommy and Daddy to wake up yet, and she seems okay with that...

So anyway, once I got Sydney settled and started breakfast, Peter made it known that he was also up for the morning and was having none of this "going back to sleep" business. Amy tried to quiet him and took him to our room to await the breakfast that I promised was coming...

I finally got breakfast ready and managed to get it all on a tray and into the bedroom, where naturally Peter was determined to be held and cried when we tried to put him down. I changed his diaper and held him while Amy ate and then she fed me my breakfast over Peter's fussings. I then let her take the first shower of the day while I got Peter to go back to sleep (he'd been up for an hour and was naturally exhausted... if only his schedule hadn't been shifted he'd have slept through breakfast...). By then, of course, it was 7:30 and Sydney was ready to come out and play, the dogs needed to be walked, and the whole house was in full motion for the day.

I can hear you all now thinking "Wow, what a romantic breakfast... not!"

But hey, at least there was leftover French toast and sausage for Sydney so we didn't have to work hard to get her fed!

This is an experience that I'm sure is common to all parents, but the memories of birthdays that started quietly at 9:30am instead of loudly at 6:30 are still fresh in my head. Can you relate?

All that to say, though, Happy Birthday Amy! I love you, and would do it all over again to be able to serve you breakfast in bed. Maybe next time we'll catch the kids sleeping...

Abandonment

I've been stricken today with a culmination of somber thoughts that have been forming and developing for the past few years. I'm not sure I can do them all justice, but you would probably be wise to continue only if you have the fortitude to consider some emotional topics.

Read more »

Peter’s First Month

Peter will be a month old in a few days, and the time is flying by! Below are photos of Peter at 5 days old and just over 3 weeks.

You may or may not be able to tell that he is starting to put on a little chub around the cheeks and chin, though his arms and legs are still (in my words) little chicken wings with no meat on them. He regained his birth weight before the 2-week mark and is continuing to grow, but every time I pick him up I am amazed at how small and light he is. He does seem to be growing, but I think it is mostly that he is stretching out his arms and legs instead of keeping them tucked in close to his body. Then again, my mother likes to remind me that I weighed 18 pounds by the time I was three months old, so he may take after his dear old dad and start really bulking up!

Cherishing the Rest

Yes, it has been a while since we posted. And yes, it's attributable to the adjustments going on in our schedule with Peter. He slept well, and then he didn't. He nursed well, and then he didn't. And then he did, again...

Overall, he has really been doing very well, but he's not even 2 weeks old, so what else could we expect?

I know this is nothing new to parents who have had newborns, but it is a first for us. It has been nice to be home to help Amy while soaking up time with both Sydney and Peter, though I do have to go back to work at some point. The folks from church who have brought us meals may not have any idea how helpful they have been. Actually, I guess all of them have been through this at least once themselves, so maybe they do. Just let me say "Thank you!" here for all to see, and know that you have helped us get over some of the early hurdles until we get this thing called a routine worked out.

Well, that's all I have time to say. Three of the four people in this house are asleep right now, and I think I'm going to add to that number before it starts dropping again. That's actually what got me to post in the first place, looking back at our photos of Peter and seeing the above picture of him sleeping so peacefully. Those moments are priceless, are they not?

"Ar-One-See-Emma"

Many people have been asking how Sydney is adjusting to being a big sister and having us occupied with her little brother. The answer is that she has done wonderfully! She loves to see him when he is awake, and tiptoes around whispering when he is sleeping (when she's not singing at the top of her lungs, which is par for the course!) She loves to pat and kiss his head, to "shush" him and say "that's okay" when he cries, and his toys (which are mostly her old toys, naturally) are exciting and new as she talks about "Baby Peter" wanting to play with them.

The best part of all of this is that she is still a growing little girl who is constantly learning, listening, and surprising us with her abilities. For the first time today (since I'm usually working) I took her to a gym class that she attends each week with a number of other little boys and girls. Her physical aptitude and dexterity amazed me as I saw them for the first time in an environment where she could really run freely and let it all hang out.

She amazed me yesterday too, in a very different setting. While having lunch a bit on the late (and tired) side, I was trying to keep her on task (turkey and cheese, if I recall correctly) when she began staring at me intently. After a moment that I attributed to fatigue, she pointed at my sweatshirt and said "Ar... One... See... (pause) Emma!"

Not impressed?

I realized as she was pausing before the "Emma" that she was staring at my RICE sweatshirt! She spontaneously, and for the first time Amy or I knew about, was starting to spell out what she saw with the letters she knows. I can't fault her for thinking the "I" was a "1", and I was truly tickled when she didn't know the name of the letter "E" and instead used a word (the name of her cousin, in this case) that started with the letter. After I picked my jaw up off the ground, I lavished praise on her for a while and walked her through some more letters while she beamed in recognition of her achievement.

Parents out there will surely recognize my pride, which was naturally enhanced by the fact that she chose the name of my alma-mater to spell first. I guess it's a good thing I didn't go to someplace like Gonzaga or Rensselaer, or that my sweatshirt didn't say "The William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Literature, Science and Art!"

I can't believe how fun childhood is!