Updates

Here are some fun things I want to remember about the kids these days:
* James calls himself Jim, which is really sweet both because of how he says it and because his grandfather and namesake went by Jim.
* James acts like a little goat and head-butts things he loves very slowly.  Shanti is the one who receives these head-butts the most often.  It reminds me of a game Joshua said he played with Emily as children (grown-up-ish children)
* Alma is transitioning out of nap times still.  A few months ago, we thought she was done and she started reading for an hour instead of a nap.  Very quickly she went back to napping but it very late in the day (2:30pm).  About twice a week she will choose to read instead of nap.  Luckily, she is still in bed with the lights out by 7:30 or so.  The only unfortunate thing is that she sometimes wakes up at 5am from a bad dream.  Joshua is the champ as he goes in and sleeps in her bed.  If I went in her room, we would both stay awake chatting so that isn't an option.
* James still takes two naps -- one in the morning so I can work (9:45-11:30) and one when Alma naps so I can make dinner.  He will be transitioning to napping at daycare (around 12 noon), which I am feeling will be a good transition for him.
* Since Alma will be transitioning to a full day of school, I spoke to her teacher to discuss the details.  As we were making plans, the teacher said something to the effect of, "Well, if Alma doesn't like it, I'm sure I'll know."  I asked her to explain.  "She certainly gives me a look that says she is uphappy."  While this isn't the best news (Alma should be using her words instead of just making a mean/sad face), it is also just very like her.
* James is very verbal and can easily speak in three word sentences.  He also knows his colors and spends most of his day talking about the colors of things -- blue, red, green, purple, brown, black, yellow, orange, pink.  It is shocking how he is accurate about the color 95% of the time.
* James likes to have his shoes removed in a manner we call "horse" -- he leans over on the couch and lifts one leg at a time.
* Alma reads to James often and this is often a great help when I am finishing up dinner.  Her ability to remember the text of books is incredible. 
* When we go to the library, James yells "princess princess princess!" once he realizes where we are going.  They both love their princess books.  James also loves books about animals and construction trucks.  Alma loves listening to CDs of Asope's Fables and reading other traditional fairy tales (12 Dancing Princesses, Thumbelina, etc.)
* Alma still drops the beginning of a bunch of words: "formance" (performance), "ginning" (beginning), "brella" (umbrella)
* James says "nap" for milk which can be confusing as he points into his cup and say "nap!"

Beach Day

Inspired by Kate and Neal's recent trip to Hawaii and a day off from school for Alma, the kids and I drove to the beach yesterday for a day of sun (90 degrees in October, yes please!), surf and sand.  We spent most of our time jumping over waves, digging in the sand and chasing seagulls.  James insisted that they were ducks.  Since the beach was so empty, Alma had the freedom to run as far as she wanted (maybe 150 yards away) to chase the birds and roar at them.  It was fun to see her take advantage of the open space and be so independent. 

New Position

Today I was offered and accepted a part-time position with the Grants Office of Northampton Community College.  I will start mid-October and James will begin going to a daycare center at that time.  It will be a big transition for our family, but we are excited and ready for it.

The position is similar to the work I currently do for the University of Pennsylvania (which I will continue to do as well).  They are both evaluation coordinator/grants compliance officer type roles although how they actually play out at the two different institutions will be very different.  Penn, while an ivy league school, has been more "do what you think is right and works - from home - on your own time - however much you would like."  NCC is insistent that I come to an office, sit at a desk and work set hours.  I'm loving the fact that I will have both styles in my life.  It will be great to have time set aside to work and not also have to also juggle children at the same time.  In fact, this new set up will allow some time to do Penn work without children under foot.  Moreover, I have been craving co-workers and projects with actual people with faces.  Penn's flexibility is awesome, but it's nice to have face-to-face contact as well.  Lastly, I think that I'm doing quite well at my Penn job (always exceeding the expectations of some of my four bosses) so, knowing myself well enough to know that I love to take on new and exciting projects, the addition of NCC will allow me to work extra hard and demonstrate to a new lot of people how cleaver I am.  They are always receiving new grants to learn about, have an entire school of classes I could explore and have a spirit of innovation I totally dig. 

What a blessing this position is.  In a time when many people are struggling to find work, I got a position that is the perfect number of hours, close to home, at a place that was voted as a top place to work, with an award-winning childcare program where James and Alma (in the summer) can go and so much more. 

I'm excited! 

(And, admittedly, a little a sad about putting James in a childcare program a little earlier than we planned.  But let's not get into that right now ....)

Celtic Fest

Living in Bethlehem consists of one festival after another.  This weekend was Celtic Fest.  The kids and I saw the kick-off parade on Saturday after Alma's morning ballet class and we visited the festival as a family today. James, of course, wore his kilt which got a lot of cute attention.  The kilt was a gift from Grandma Chisholm and seems like it will still fit him for a few more years, which is awesome.

Best Summer Ever: September Photos

Another good, busy month:
Hanging out around the house, Lehigh Valley Zoo, riding the "free rides" at the mall, chalk drawing, hikes, touch-a-truck event, running around a golf course, baths, broccoli grown in the yard, block building, eating apples at an outdoor concert, finishing installing the bookshelves with doors in the living room (see James?), dancing in new hand-me-down leotards, first football game, first time fishing with grandpa, growing pumpkins in the yard, park trips, reading.



 

 

First day of ballet lessons

 

 Alma started ballet lessons again.  Here she is before her first class and then a bunch of snaps of James and I on our usual morning walk around the neighborhood.  The pumpkins, raspberries and sunflowers are from our overgrown "back" garden (it's behind the detached garage, along the alley).