Moving Forward

I suppose it is time to put football aside and start dreaming of spring... Our temps are supposed to be in the forties next week and Matt has already suggested we put on our shorts and plan a picnic. It never ceases to amaze me how the forty degrees that feel so cool in October are simply heaven come February. For now I'm going to ignore the fact that warmer weather also means the yard will be a giant mud puddle and Rebound (and the floors) will be extra filthy for a solid six weeks. You take the good, you take the bad...

We've had some big changes in the last few weeks and I can hardly believe Christmas was less than two months ago. Michael has transitioned out of both the school programs he was in this fall and into four-morning-a-week public preschool, where he will receive weekly speech services. He began at his new school last Monday, but thanks to a great deal of ice Monday was the only day he had school. We're three for three so far this week, with one day left to go. He howls when I leave in the morning, and truly nothing is quite as heartbreaking as your child screaming, "Mooooommmyyyyy!" as you walk away from him. But in the end I know we are doing a good thing and they tell me he is through screaming before I even get back to the car. It also helps that he chatters happily about his day when I bring him home. Today he counted! With a pointer! And did a joyful skipping dance around the kitchen as he reenacted the events. He'll be fine.

Harper is going through something right now. I'm guessing there is a normal inability (or unwillingness) to attend to anything parents say that comes with six-year-old territory. But beside that, she's been a little extra tired, clingy, and crying at the drop of a hat. I think it is a little too early for adolescence to be setting in so we'll keep and eye on her and see. She is really, REALLY reading now (books with more than five words on a page) and it is so much fun. AND it means there are things we have to be careful of that we hadn't needed to think about previously. I recently discovered she could read over my shoulder as I was typing. She also recently brought home a flyer for Girl Scouts and proclaimed, "It's not too late!" Which, of course, is exactly what the flyer said. It's really too bad you can't turn the reading thing on and off for a couple of years. I have to start putting notes to her teacher into envelopes!

Did I tell you that my netbook arrived? I LOVE it. I can't believe how long I was chained to that computer desk! I am typing this from my kitchen. I have been freed! (Also, if you've been waiting two or three years to get an email reply from me, this might be your lucky month.)

I think that's all, for today. I wondered if you'd need a little updating, what with three posts in a row about our love for the Superbowl winning Green Bay Packers. Never fear, regular scheduled programming has returned.