Life in 2012, So Far

We are keeping on -- I can't believe January is almost over! The transition back to school has had its ups and downs. Ups have been that both girls have been really diligent about homework (thank you God) and seem to be really enjoying school. Their English is amazing and they are both so curious that they are learning all the time. I suppose it helps that Chris and I are teachers, but even so. Fer particularly loves social studies and geography and has been taking books out from the library every week about different countries. Both girls are really developing a love of reading. Yesterday they went back upstairs after breakfast and some video time and snuggled up in their bed with their chapter books and read for probably 30 minutes straight. Wendy brought her book in the car as we headed out to a birthday party and finished it on the way! And today we went to the library and Fer never even got on the computers but looked at books and read for almost an hour and a half. Wendy just took about 20 minutes to look at some websites but otherwise was reading as well.
Sleep continues to be an issue, on and off. We have had a lot of night-time wakeups this month, sometimes with allergies, other times just needing reassurance and help going back to sleep. The interrupted nights have taken a toll on me, though the last two nights the girls have slept through, so I'm hopeful that we may be entering a new phase.
We are going to Florida over Presidents' weekend, and there is a lot of talk about that. I think the girls are somewhat anxious/excited -- the last time we got on a plane was to go visit their brother and sister in California, and, in general, plane rides have heralded major transitions as the only other times they have been on planes have been to travel to and from Colombia. This time, it is just a family visit/vacation, but still, Florida is coming up a lot, whether in play or in passing comments. Tonight we were at a neighbors house and Wendy and their little girl Abby were in full princess costume, pushing carts and pulling suitcases around the living room because "we're moving to Florida!"
We have had some really nice times with friends this month -- birthday parties and dinners, playdates and playgroups, etc. The girls are taking yoga now once a week and are really liking it. They also continue to take dance classes on Saturday afternoons (which is fun for them and gives me and Papi a much-needed break in the middle of the weekend), and Fer is doing an indoor soccer clinic on Sundays.
Overall, life is full and good these days, even when it is also challenging. And, in many ways, today's challenges help us appreciate how far we have all come since we started this journey. With help and support from family and friends, and by the grace of God, we have made so much progress together, and for that we give enormous thanks.

Happy New Year & Back to School

We had a lovely serendipitous New Year's Eve and New Year's Day -- we ran into friends Sue and Craig and their daughter Kaya at the South Orange/Maplewood First Night, and they kindly invited Fer and Wendy for a spur of the moment sleepover at their house, which freed us to hang out with our neighbors Dan and Amy and watch New Year's Rockin' Eve! Complete with a glass of wine, yet -- quite the luxury. Then on New Year's Day we met up with the girls and their hosts at dim sum in West Orange, totally yummy, and I spent the afternoon at Liz's relaxing and fending off meltdowns from tired children while Chris went to a local sports bar to watch a football game with Liz's husband Nick. Yesterday was the last day before school started up again today, and the morning and afternoon were great -- the girls went ice skating with a big group of friends in the morning, and then after some chill time back at home we went for a walk on the Reservation with the Cannings. But yesterday evening the anxiety kicked in and it was a pretty fraught bedtime. I decided to proactively sleep in the girls' room with them to head off a 3 a.m. wakeup and stressful back-to-sleep time. It worked, after a fashion. There was lots of tossing and turning especially by little one, which led to somewhat interrupted sleep throughout, but still better than being fully up for more than an hour in the middle of the night. This morning went well, though -- both girls got up and showered and dressed with a great attitude and we all got to where we needed to be on time. Now on to homework (oh dreaded homework) tonight, and we'll see how this evening goes. Hopefully we will avoid some of the stress that we experienced in September and the girls will settle back into our routines. It's hard for all of us to re-enter -- we had such a great vacation. But, as I wrote to a friend this morning, onward into 2012!