Conflicted

I can do this.  The battle cry, feels like pressure to be more than I am.  But I don’t want to.  The childish maxim, feels like permission to give up.  Neither one is right.   

Thank goodness we aren't doing it alone.

 

CEB October 2009
Sporting a sweater her daddy used to wear

JEB

Brought to you

by the letters O, S and U.

And by the talented knitting fingers of Grandma Jan...

Socks Off

At seven months, he's approximately nineteen pounds of smile, eyes, drool and thighs.  With hair the color of dishwater* and two new teeth like little cubes of sugar, he laughs in place of language.  After several days perseverating on pulling up, he's a pro.  And, he's always pulling off his socks.  Bet he'd charm yours off, too.

JEB
* A few days ago, I described Tuck's hair as "dishwater" colored.  G'Ro disagreed, said that implied it's dull.  She's right, it's not dull, but it is the color of dishwater.  Shiny dishwater.  Put that on a box, Clairol.

It's not Eerie

Their resemblance. But it is noticeable.
Now that it's October, and Tucker is wearing the same little Halloween sleeper his sister wore, we recognized another opportunity to compare:
She is sweet as candy. And he is such a treat.
JEB

Joyful Noise

Joyful Noise was one of my FAVORITE books to use with fifth graders. It's a book of poetry, about insects, meant for two readers. By design, two columns of verse on each page allow children to alternate reading aloud about things like a love affair between two lice and crickets eating pie crumbs. The book fit right in with the fifth grade life science unit, and was a super way to integrate literacy.

I wish I could hear Celia and Tucker reading books together someday, hear them hold conversations, share riddles, sing duets. I wish for lots of things that will never be. But one wish has been granted recently -- our house is filled with baby laughter again. And that is a joyful noise!

JEB
(Apologies for the video quality - the videographer was also playing the role of tickler, and is obviously better skilled at one than the other.)

Lucky Stars

If we were using sticker charts to track Tuck's development, if his achievements were documented with gold stars, we might be able to share things like:

Archery: five stars
If my shirt were a target for his digestive arrows, Tuck consistently hits the bullseye.

Sleeping: three stars
Tucker knows how to sleep well.  He can do it. But he needs practice. We're working on bribing him with the promise of unlimited texting and his own Facebook page. 

Eating: four stars
Although he mastered the mouth to nipple union instantly, he didn't like his first morsel of chocolate cake.  Clearly, there is room for progress here.

Cuteness: five stars
He makes baby kittens jealous.  And furry bunnies holding hands and sliding down rainbows carrying buckets of sunshine have nothing on him.

But we don't do sticker charts.  Although, we can say with confidence, Tuck puts stars in our eyes.  His future is bright.  At least as a cute archer...

JEB

Falling Up

 

CEB Fall 2008 

The earth is spinning, the seasons changing, leaves falling.  The days grow shorter, in more ways than one.  Despite her tremendous will, her perseverant effort, there are days she cannot drink, cannot coordinate her swallowing muscles.  Days when the threads that tether her to this world break at a faster rate.  It’s a tug of war, and heaven is winning.

JEB