Series #1. Saturday Morning boy time

This little flower lover and I had a little time alone this beautiful morning, venturing out on a walk, at his request. That request sounds something like, "Iantalk." Only a mama could decipher that code for "I would love to take a brisk stroll with you, mama." If you think David looks like he fears the gigantic pink peony is about to devour his head in one fell swoop, you're probably right. Danger, danger! Flowers are for girls (and courageous superheroes). Basketballs (and soccer balls, and marbles, and nasty chewed up tennis balls and decomposing nerf balls from my childhood) are for David. Our neighborhood has two ball collection spots, and both are ultimate heavenly destinations for this boy.

Series #2: Slumber Party Casualty.

See Jade and Teya

See Jade and Teya having the time of their lives

See Teya recovering from an evening of sneaking out of bed and playing the recorder (yes, the elementary school flute-like instrument that 4-year-olds play in the shrillest possible manner) at 10 pm.
No more sleep-overs for Teya.

Night swinging. When I couldn't find Teya after her bath tonight, I ventured outside to the swingset and found her in her fluffy red slippers and pjs, swinging quietly. The quiet soon turned to fun for all as David, my mom and I joined Teya for a final pre-bed romp. I love spring!

Pool's open!

Or in adult language, footbath on deck is filled with yucky, polleny water.

Silly faces are the best. And proper floatation is worn at all times. Wouldn't want that little guy to drown in an inch of water.

Inspiration

Winter seemed eternal this year, so even though my last posting dates back to September, I simply cannot go back! I am inspired and revived by the arrival of spring in all its glory (and attitude) and apparently, I've decided to give blogging another try... once again.

In the past months we have weathered some transition: in late December, we moved out of our beloved first home, handing the keys over to a new owner. On a freezing cold December night, we moved in with my parents for what we believed would be a short stint while we await the right time to make our move to Orlando. Yes, Orlando. Home of Mickey Mouse and Shamoo (don't know if he's still part of the spectacle at Sea World), which Teya found out about from some random person in nursery at church.

Long story short, we have loved living here in Krupski Kingdom (the neighborhood where I grew up), and we expect to stay for a while, until all our needed support comes in to enable us to move. This place is a haven for kids, a well-kept secret, because if families knew how amazing it was to grow up in this neighborhood, there'd be a rush on the market.

Teya and David love to venture into the heart of the neighborhood where the Tucker (Anthony and Rachel) and Jones (Jeremy) boys live and to yell down the hill across the street to the 2 Allen (Doyle) boys. Yes, they're all boys. Eleven of them....and Teya, who likes to wear her fluffy ballerina skirt to climb trees. Poor girl. The other day when she asked if I'd help her climb the tree in the Tucker's front yart, I told her she needs a girlfriend. Astutely, she replied, "Mom, you're my girlfriend." Hope she feels that way at fifteen!

Buddies. We are thankful for girlfriends who share a love for holding hands.

David, almost 2. Don't mess with Dave-Dave.

football in Coolidge Park, one of our favorite spots (not sports)

Juice Pop Love - our primary incentive for veggie consumption at dinner.

March, 2009

Little hands, little tea, little spills.
Hiking at Lula Lake Falls

Tree planting - yes, they lived through the summer!

Teya and Linda's 1st tea party with their "fragile dishes" from Millie and Popsey

Sleep, play, celebration, LIFE

As I sit here trying desperately to catch up on the documentation of our life, I hear Teya mumbling in her sleep (I hope its sleep), "Mama, yes, open the door. Mama, mommy, mommy! Cover me!" This is her waking-up routine. I don't know where the "yes" comes from, but she is habitually consistent in this pattern. Always the question, to ignore or not to ignore. Ok, I think she's done. Ok, maybe not. I sneak in, floor creaking, door squeaking, cover her and tell her I love her. Hope that'll take care of things for tonight.

I never understand how David can sleep through her pleading for bedtime diversion, and I don't get how she seems to sleep right through his fussing at night. They've shared a room since I realized they could, after we all slept in the same hotel room at Christmas.

Sleep....what a beautiful thing. Last week, I packed up pack-n-play #1, which has been set up in our bedroom, where David has napped since he was born nearly 9 months ago. #2 is still set up in the living room, in case he wakes up during the night and needs to be transferred to an area where he won't keep others awake. The past 3 nights, he's slept through, and what a pleasure its been to walk into the kids' room at 7:15 and behold them cheerfully peering out of their beds, not having seen, heard or touched either for 10 hours! Maybe #2 can go into the attic next week. I sure hope so. I'm ready to have my living room back.

David, 8 months.

On sunny days, we've been trying to spend as much time outside as possible. They both love the swingset, given to us by Millie and Popsey and painstakingly assembled by Daddy. We can never swing Teya high enough. As she swings violently back and forth, she yells, "Higher, higher, that's not high enough!" She is a dangerous mix of us, scared of getting hurt (me), but curious about limits and adventure (Philip). Makes for a wierd combo.

The Deck Rocks, even we still have to exit the house via dining room window. Brownie, the poor naked baby, loves to take walks on the deck, which Teya insists is the street. We're not allowed in the street when she's pushing Brownie. We have to hug the side of the house or the railing, which makes for lots of "one-sided fun."

D. enjoys chillin on the deck. He's probably looking for some piece of dirt to consume.

Learning from the best. Teya is learning (in)appropriate celebration following a spectacular goal. Daddy rocks.

Cousins' Christmas

Phil's brother, Taylor, and his wife, Anne, spent their Advent season awaiting the birth of baby girl #4. We joined them for a couple days before Christmas, and spent Christmas Eve with them. Little Hazel was born on the Monday before Christmas, and Anne arrived home with the new babe to a house FULL of Longs. I cannot imagine! She's much more gracious than me and just took it all in stride. Who knows, maybe she was doing quite a bit of crying on the inside, as Teya likes to say ("Mommy, are you crying on the inside?"). Here's the crew taking a break from playing ballerina and dress-up and torturing eachother.

Upon our arrival, snow blanketed the ground, and it only kept coming and coming....and coming. The kids enjoyed about 5 minutes in the snow before Teya took a snowball in the face and Lily's hands froze. Phil pushed them down the front "hill" on a sled into the street, and fun was had by all.They call her "The Lil" because of her "spunky presence." She refused to wear a coat, and I took this picture just before she pulled off the gloves and froze her hands.

Fun times with our sweet family who we never get to see.

I'll be home for Christmas

First flight for David was an eventful 5-hour wresting match. Of course, we won by sheer force, determination and brainpower. Overall he was a trooper and handled no real naps and a LONG trip really well, but we're glad not to be making that trip again until....June 13, which is not long off. Looking out the window placated him for all of 26 seconds before he started squirming and screeching. Yes, he's a screecher.

Teya was an angel, as usual, though the novelty of flying on an airplane wore off quickly, and we were forced to begin pulling out the airplane Christmas presents in the course of the first hour. A slinky (yes, they're still as great as when we were kids), a mini magnadoodle, one of those awesome 4-color pens. When the wonder of new toys wore off, we pulled out the i-pod, on which we had downloaded 37 Sesame Street episodes. What did our parents do with us on long trips other than let us roll around in the backseat without seatbelts or carseats?