Matt and I have a tradition of about four years running of hosting a half-assed New Year’s Eve party. After a week or so of intense family socialization, we’re always ready to catch up and relax with our peers and their kids. The problem is, we’re too beat/lazy by this point to do it right. […]
Category Archive for 'Jessica'
The Year in Pictures That Wasn’t
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy on Dec 30th, 2011
For a variety of reasons, as of yesterday I had only posted one half of 2011’s pictures. Oops! This can be boiled down to my not liking the new Gallery interface (I’ve been complaining about that for a year I think), many of Simon’s pictures this year coming from Matt’s Blackberry when we were on […]
Christmas Grab and Middle Childhood
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy on Dec 27th, 2011
One of the more challenging facets of childrearing is trying to discern the difference between individual characteristics and general developmental stages. Almost all babies are lovey-dovey and smiley at around six months, for example, so how is a parent to know if their child is affectionate or just hitting a set stage? You really don’t, […]
Chanukah Grace Notes
Posted in Family, Jessica, Little Boy on Dec 21st, 2011
Chanukah this year did not get off to a great start. In fact, it started with a tray of home-made dreidel treats falling off the roof of our car and splattering all over Taylorsville Rd. I had put the tray there when loading the car, and then promptly forgot about it. Surprisingly, it survived a […]
Pillow Talk
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on Dec 19th, 2011
Simon’s bedtime chat with me as we lay side-by-side in his bed, a pretty accurate snapshot of life with him these days: “Mommy, what’s 3 plus 2?” “You tell me? “Um, 6? “No, use your fingers if you have to. “Oh! 5! “Right. “What’s 2 plus 2? “You tell me. (hereafter “) “4 “What’s 4 […]
Holiday Cheer
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy, Simon says... on Dec 16th, 2011
Yesterday Simon has his class Chanukah party. He ended up with a Hot Wheels toy, which I was surprised fit into the assigned budget. Then I saw how flimsy it was and was less surprised. Simon loves it, it breaks on contact, and he’s been one frustrated little boy for the last 24 hours. At […]
Growing Every Which-A-Way
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy on Dec 13th, 2011
Last year, all spring it seemed, Simon increased his rate of daytime sleeping, had more night-time sleep disturbances (usually involving waking up between 11:30 and midnight and hollering “Ow!”), and ate non-stop. At the end of this period, he had grown about four inches in six months, hit a plateau, and started eating less, sleeping […]
Kindergarten Selection Part IV: “The Decision”
Posted in Elementary School, Jessica on Dec 9th, 2011
Simon has something he’d like to say: “I’m taking my talents to __________.” I kid, I kid.* I do honestly understand that this is not as high-stakes a game as most incoming kindergarten parents make it out to be, even if I can’t totally shake the anxiety myself. Honestly, I think Simon would do well […]
School Picture
Posted in Jessica, Little Boy on Dec 8th, 2011
I didn’t think Simon looked that different this year from last. Then I got his school pics back. Last year’s were better, fyi. His hair has an odd bump here and I’m not sure why we buttoned the top button. Regardless, the boy has really stretched out in the past year; everything here—-face, hands, arms, […]
Kindergarten Selection Part III: A Tale of Two Schools
Posted in Elementary School, Jessica on Dec 7th, 2011
Now we come to two of the three schools we have visited to date: Bloom, our “resides” or neighborhood school, and the B-cluster school we have the best shot of getting into; Brandeis, the district-wide MST (math, science, technology) magnet school, and our favorite of the two magnets we toured. Helpfully, we visited these schools […]