Curly Straight

Seeing Julia smile her gummy little smile at TJ is so cute it melts my heart.

I was not impressed with the "photo studio" of JCP the other day.

I was also not impressed with TJ who was supposed to be holding Julia, flopping her onto her belly and saying "it's time for tummy time" which is why we only ended up with one photo of the two of them together, of which I could have taken much better with my new SLR.

Today TJ did a whole dance routine for Julia with her gazing at him.

I danced a little too, and TJ asked me if I was little. I said "No, I'm big." He said are you "little big?". Sure, I told him. "Not tall, tall, tall (insert hand motions here) like Daddy/" he said.

TJ was holding Julia's hands today and we were all dancing and singing ourselves to the following very popular children's songs. (ahem)

Shake what your mama gave ya.

Shake shake shake, shake shake shake, your booty.

Shake your moneymaker.

It is such a sweet sight to see TJ being gentle and kind to his sister. One of my favorite things is when he shows something to Julia, and explains it to her in a higher-pitched voice than his usual tone of speaking.

"See Julia, this is a banana," he'll say, showing her a piece of toy food, holding it right up to her face. "See, Julia, it's a banana."

He'll repeat it, which is something I know he gets from watching us. It's nice to know that he is picking up some good habits.

TJ accidentally spills his pretzels all over the kitchen floor.

"Those are for Julia" he says, walking away.

Mama, talking about the prize won at Edaville Railroad: TJ, don't go near Julia with that sword.

TJ: I won't Mama.

Mama: If you do, you will go right into time out.

TJ: OK.

Mama: Are you going to go near her with that sword?

TJ: No.

Mama: What will happen if you do?

TJ: She will eat it?

One goes to take a nap, the other one wakes up.

For having two kids who allegedly sleep through the night, it sure does seem like I spend a lot of time feeding Julia, or settling TJ down or cuddling with one of them in the wee hours of the morning.

Last night in the middle of my good REM sleep, TJ, woke up crying. I went down and he had a really stuffy nose.

I fell asleep in his bed, only to be woken by the sweet sound of Julia's cries.

TJ has always loved lining items up in a straight line. He does it with his little animals, cars, blocks, etc.

Julia loves taking her things - food, toys, etc. - and placing them into a container.

I'm thinking when they grow up, they are going to be organized for this reason alone.

Here's hoping.

TJ and Julia are looking out of the master bedroom window together. It's very sweet. TJ has his arm around her and is saying "look at the shadows" in the high-pitched voice he uses to speak to her - and she is giggling.

I heard from a good source that the Easter Bunny is going to hook up TJ and Julia, as long as they are good!

When TJ was a little boy, not the big strapping three-year-old he is now, he would say Thank You so it sounded like "dick-daw" - John and I still use that every now and then in conversation.

He used to yell "ay-nay" from his crib, when he wanted us to come...again and again, "Ay-NAY!! Ay-NAY!! Ay Nay!" - we never did figure out what it meant or where it came from.

Julia, I'm positive, says "Thank You" when I give her a bottle of milk. "Thank you."

She also yells "Georgia" in the same tone that we do and when we do.

TJ's first word was very clearly "cracker" - I am not entirely convinced that her "real" first word has announced itself as of right now.

TJ didn't own up to it, he said it was Julia, but I'm pretty sure it was him that pinned down the stuffed animals, Gloria, Alex and Melman from Madagascar with 5-pound weights to their necks.

Pooh Bear got away easy, he was holding a 10-pounder in his lap.

Had such a nice day with the two kids today. Seems easier lately.

I attribute some of it to the sunshine; some of it to TJ starting to get in the car by himself; some of it to Julia's beautiful smile and demeanor and some of it to TJ calling me Pretty Mama.

I never thought I would be a stay at home mom. I sometimes still don't think I am, really, between drill weekends and property management and Executive Director, it doesn't seem like I have enough time at home to be considered a stay at home mom. But I am, basically, that. Which is fine, more than fine. It's really great. I'm psyched to be able to spend this time with TJ and Julia. Everyone says they miss this age, and yes, I can understand that. It definitely has its moments when the two of them are crying or fighting over something, it's not always so fun. But it ends. And then TJ runs around the highchair with Julia in it, and she laughs with delight, and looks behind her on one side, then the other, and she screams when she sees TJ. And I laugh. And she laughs. And TJ laughs and I think of how lucky I am to have this time with them, to be able to read them and know what they need, because I am with them so much. I know when they are hungry, tired, excited, crabby, loving, playful, happy or bored. And I act accordingly.

I feed them breakfast every day, and get to eat with them, and drink coffee and do the sign language sign for hot and see Julia do it back to me. TJ asks me "what are we doing today, gym, school, church?" and I answer what's on the agenda for the day.Sometimes I surprise them with a trip to the zoo or a road trip to see Ali and Bebe. I'm going to miss that when he goes to school full-time and we have to be there each day, every day, on time.

It's the little things that I think I will remember when I look back at this time. I don't know what I will think of - my memory is not always so great - but I hope I remember playing and loving and laughing with them. Doing a puzzle (or six) with TJ, dancing with Julia.

On certain days I walk to pick TJ up at his "school" - it's not the best walk, or so I thought. A busy road, with trash thrown on it. But now it's even worse, they are doing construction. Once the construction is done, it will make me appreciate it, it will seem quiet, the busy road. The trash could be much worse, although I still want to wear gloves and bring a bag and pick it up as I walk along, why don't people know they are so nasty to throw trash on the road?

I know I will look back and think about the walk and picking him up in the double stroller and being psyched that he will still sit in it - and really love that I was able to do that, to show them the joy of walking and seeing different sights than are normally seen. I hope that they are somehow learning from this time and it is helping them to develop into good communicators and have a good sense of humor and love nature and music. Even though they probably won't remember - I hope that they know that their Mama really tried to encourage the makings to guide them into really cool, appreciative, fun little people.

So, we arrive home from our relaxing vacation in the Dominican Republic. Tired from the flight, but excited to see the kids, and yes, the Rottens, and even the cats.

TJ plays with us for a while, then perks up, remembering something. "I have a surprise for you," he says, taking me by the hand and leading us into his bedroom.

There is a light illuminating his whole room, an aquarium with two goldfish in it.

Are you kidding me, I am thinking, more pets. TJ and I had this conversation the other day, and I told him that 2 dogs and 3 cats is enough. I am not happy about this at all.

But I can't let him know that, he doesn't understand the whole dynamic of it, he is just psyched that he has new fish.

So I ask "What are their names, TJ?"

"This one is Flip and this one is Flop."

What a fun day of apple picking.

The best part was seeing Julia enjoy her apples. I am not a big fan of apples, so they are not around that much, but will be now. She ate at least three and a half straight from the trees today.

TJ and his little friend Jeremy had a blast, jumping in holes and running all around and worm whacking - not sure if that's the proper term for it - you whack the ground with a stick and worms come up out of the ground.

He also really enjoyed announcing the different types of apples - "This one is grandy smith; this is a macintosh." School works, because I certainly didn't teach him that.

Mama: TJ, you have to start using full sentences and speak clearly when you talk.

TJ: A full sentence?

Mama gives some examples.

TJ, loud and clear, quickly comes out with the following: I love Julia.

I like to color.

I eat my lunch at school.

I like your hair, Mama.

TJ:

Eeeny meeny mynee mo

Catch a tiger by the toe

If he's hollow, let him go

Eeeny meeny mynee mo

TJ is eating vanilla ice cream. Actually, he's drinking it through a straw.

Julia is sticking her hand into the rainbow sherbet and sucking it off.

I'm enjoying watching both of them eat their ice cream treat.

TJ: Julia cannot have too many balloons. She would float away into the sky.

The first words out of Julia's mouth this morning when she woke were not Mama or Daddy or Help or Eat.

First thing we hear through the monitor is her yelling "Teeeeee Jaaaaaaaay! Teeeee Jaaaaaaay!"

Repeat about 10 times.

TJ doesn't hear it because he is sleeping soundly. When I tell him, he puffs up with pride and says "I heard her from my room."

After being up and at a character breakfast at 8:45 am, Epcot all day, then dinner and back at the hotel at 8:30, both kids went to bed without a fuss. Actually TJ fell alseep in the restaurant and Julia was close behind.

The kids do this at random times throughout the day.

TJ: Echo!

Julia: Echo!

TJ: Echo! Echo! Echo!

Julia: Echo! Echo! Echo!

Rick's Roadhouse in Providence has it figured out.

We stopped there today after church and noticed other families with kids in there, which is always a good indication that our kids will be welcome and get crayons and cups with lids, the all-important macaroni and cheese, etc. By the time we had left, there had been at least six other families in and out, all with kids. No one came in sans children.

They have a bunch of televisions in there and the biggest one of them was playing the movie, The Incredible Mr Limpet. We asked if they always play kid movies on Sundays and the server said they did. There's not a set schedule or anything, but they usually play something kid friendly. Last week it was The Muppet Movie.

Good beers on draft, too. The ribs were good, a little dry, but the sauces were yummy. Kids meals have all the normal selections, and come with ice cream. The mac and cheese looked nice and creamy and delicious, as did the garlic mashed potatoes that TJ had as a side. Julia's french fries that I commandeered were good, tasted homemade although her quesedilla looked like it needed a little more love. I didn't try it, so I can't say for sure.

All in all, a good family place to go on a Sunday.

We have a Kindness Jar in our home and whenever someone does something really nice or kind, they get a little note in there. Every now and then when TJ does something nice, he demands it gets documented and put in there, but mostly it's when we catch them committing a random act of kindness.

We have filled it up twice since we implemented it in October or so.

It's nice to sit and read the kind acts that the kids have done. After John and I take turns reading each kindness, we all applaud. Mostly it ends up that TJ gets a lot of praise because although Julia is pretty sweet and kind, she hasn't quite figured out the good deed thing yet at her tender age. In the future, I'm sure she will have many more.

Here are the kindnesses we read about as we emptied the jar on Saturday evening.

TJ got Julia her milk when she couldn't reach.

Julia gave TJ his car. He was sitting on the potty.

Ava (TJ's little friend) gave Julia a book so nicely.

Julia is always smiling in the morning.

TJ shared his eggnog with Julia.

Julia gave TJ a hug just because.

Thomas put Julia's coat away for her. Also, at school, he cleaned up when she took out a doll.

TJ helps Julia get down from her chair.

Julia let TJ read a story to her.

TJ whispered in the morning so Julia wouldn't wake up.

TJ and Julia played so nicely with her new dollhouse.

TJ helped Mommy make delicious beef stew.

Julia helped pick up all the cars.

TJ and Julia shared their spiders.

Julia gave TJ his shoe.

Julia gave TJ a Christmas kiss.

TJ gave Julia a pizelle out of the kindness of his heart.

TJ helped make his lunch.

I have a sweet son and a sweet daughter.