Growing up too fast

Here are Zane and Evie after lighting the last of the Hanukkah candles last night. The adorable matching RIT sweatshirts were from our trip up to Rochester (hopefully more on that later).

Ever since we had Jack ‘o’ Lanterns for Halloween, Zane has been talking about making pumpkin pie. Sunday, he and I did just that. And then, because I really miss being in preschool, we decided to make construction paper turkeys. It was a lot of work, but it was a fun project for me to do with the kids. Zane helped out a lot more than Evie, but she sure does take ownership of that gobbler — “EVIE’S TURKEY!!!! MY TURKEY!!!”

Evie’s turkey:

Zane’s turkey:

By the way, Zane worked VERY hard on the eyes. He made them for both turkeys and was VERY specific about exactly how they should be positioned on the turkey faces.

It is snowing. Right now, as I type. As my officemate put it when he saw my delighted expression: “You’re a three-year-old!”

Only this time, technically, it’s not costumes. It was our Anniversary dinner. At a fancy restaurant. Downtown. No kids. Just the two of us and several hundred people who could have been our grandparents. I’m serious, the restaurant had a very different demographic than… us. But the food was very good, the wine was superb, the coffee and dessert was outstanding, and I spent the evening celebrating my marriage of seven years to a truly wonderful man, with whom I hope I will be celebrating when we really “fit in” at that restaurant.

Wherein I show off the overwhelming cuteness of Evie as Raggedy Ann and Zane as Superman.

You can view more of these pictures in the gallery (just click on the pic).

We have officially moved in (you know, now that jimandgigi.com is back up). We’re living in the Washington, DC area and both have new jobs. The kids are in a new preschool. We’re close enough to my family to spend some time with them every week. My children will grow up with a close relationship with their grandparents and for that I am thankful! Our family has many things to be thankful for after a few extremely challenging months. I know I will never be able to catch up on all the Zane and Evie developments that I missed blogging about, but I hope to pick up now where I left off and also mention a few things from our “void” of time off the Interwebs (as I think of them).

I completely missed the triathlon season this year. I am gearing up for a few road races over the winter, starting next weekend with a 5K. I’ve only made it so far in the other two sports as “swimming” with Zane at the JCC while taking him for lessons, and getting Jim to put my bike together. I have picked back up on my weight training since my work has a nice (and VERY inexpensive) gym right in my building.

Evie and Daddy enjoyed watching some Olympic football (soccer) this morning. Throughout the day, we saw soccer, beach volleyball, cycling, and swimming.

And here’s the aspiring artist a few days ago coloring…

Evie started saying “pee pee” and “poo poo” weeks ago, and of course we immediately started trying to get her to sit on the potty. No. Thank. You. She really wouldn’t even go near the thing. Except to try to throw her shoes in it and then cry to have them put back on. Or to try to stick her hand in Zane’s, uh, stream. Anyway, she wouldn’t go near the baby potty we have for her, at least. This evening, however, we had a huge breakthrough! Zane, in his usual nightly dinner routine, announced after sitting and eating for about two minutes, that “OH! I forgot to go POTTY!” Not that I didn’t remind him before he sat down to eat, at which time he adamantly shook his head and insisted he didn’t need to go. While he chattered away about having to poop and took forever to take off his pants, Evie finished eating her dinner and wanted to get down from her high chair. Where did she head? Well, into the bathroom of course! Let’s see what Zane is doing in here? Hmm, maybe I’ll sit here on this potty next to him…

So I go running in and offer to take off her diaper so she can go potty like Zane, too. Finally, a breakthrough on the potty training front. I expect she’ll be out of diapers by Friday.

By the way, all she did was sit there for a bit. She didn’t actually USE the potty. Saturday, then?

Yesterday morning we had a great time at a local park with the kids. If I didn’t know better, I might think that Daddy had the most fun of all!

Jim had to carry each of them into the water, kicking and screaming. I was initially opposed to his technique, but once they were wet, they all had a blast. I guess that Dad guy knows a little something.

Last Saturday morning we were making a herculean effort of getting our family out the door to have some breakfast at one of our favorite Austin breakfast spots (YUM! Jess Special!!). Evie had been playing with her shoes downstairs and when we went to put them on, we could only find one shoe. Evie usually goes and gets the other one when we ask her where it is. She has a minor (or major) obsession with shoes. If they are on, she takes them off. When they are off, she either plays with them, puts them on her hands, or brings them over to one of us to have them put on. She didn’t know where her shoe was, and we tore apart the entire house looking for it. Jim was getting increasingly cranky as the clock ticked and his blood sugar plummeted. Come to think of it, all four of us get very cranky when we are hungry. Eventually, we put an old pair of Zane’s swim shoes on Evie and headed out admonishing Evie that she had better start keeping her shoes ON.

After breakfast, we searched again and came up empty handed (or barefoot). Since she had only the one pair of shoes, when we conceded defeat we went to the shoe store to find her a new pair. After much trying on and fussing and an explosive poopy diaper (in a store with no changing table in the bathroom and only one wipe left in the package) and jealousy from a brother who wasn’t getting new shoes and pulling many shoeboxes off the shelf and probably only two tantrums… we left the store, Evie proudly carrying her shoebox with a new pair of sneakers, and wearing a new pair of sandals. Evie looked thoroughly triumphant.

I am sure you can guess how the story ends. Sunday morning, when we got home from bicycling, Evie was wearing her old shoes. Both of them. We asked the babysitter where it was and she said it was stuck behind a curtain. Evie continues to look triumphant. I guess she was fed up with trying to tell us she wanted some new shoes.