Hi All,
Can you guess where we had the boys’ birthday party this
year? Yeah, I caved. While we were in LBurg I realized that we had
to either have a quick birthday with his friends in the suburbs before we moved
into our house or we’d have to either wait until he made friends or invite a
bunch of strangers to his party. So we
decided to have a last minute party at Chuck-e-Cheese. I have to say that the kids had an absolute
blast and it was by far the easiest party we’ve thrown. It worked out pretty well all around.
So here we are again.
In a new house, in a new neighborhood.
But this time around it just feels right. And I think the kids can feel it. It’s where we belong. As we unpacked the cars and painted the
closets and took down ugly curtains the first weekend, we watched the parade of
kids pass our windows. We played soccer
in the backyard when a friend was in the neighborhood. And on moving day, per Rin’s request, we went
to Cactus Cantina, which was our fave place to go when we were in DC. It is perfect.
Well, ok, so the house itself isn’t perfect. The bathrooms haven’t been done since 1941
when the house was built. And the
kitchen is crazy small and has a non-working oven that we have to replace asap. The dryer is from 1980 and you have to run it
twice to get anything dry. And we need
to go to the hardware store because the sellers took all the light bulbs and
some of the outlet covers (yeah, seriously).
But it is perfect. I would so
much rather have a house that is imperfect than a neighborhood that is. And we are so excited to make it our own as
time goes by. But so far so good. The boys love it and that’s all I really care
about.
And speaking of the boys, not only did Rin start a new
school here and seems to be settling in just fine but our sweet baby Bek has
finally gone to his first day of school ever.
He was so excited about it and we have been talking about it for weeks
now. And he really got the whole school thing
because he’s seen Rin take off for school every morning for the last two years
and has wanted so badly to go too. And
finally it was his big day. Rin hadn’t
been enrolled yet and so he got to see his little bro off and at one point
said, “I think I might cry, he’s a big boy now” which I’m sure he heard me say
at some point. But Little Man was
nothing but excited. He got dressed, got
his little tiny lunch box, started walking toward the school and it wasn’t
until we were actually inside that the tears started. “No Apple School, Mama. No Apple School.” As tears rolled down his
big adorable cheeks and his little lip was trembling. My heart was breaking but the sane part of me
knew he would be fine. His teacher got
him playing with some animals and that was it, we were off. When we came to pick him up later that day, I
asked the lady at the front how he did and she said he was absolutely
wonderful. No tears all the rest of the
day and he was a complete delight (of course, I mean, I knew that). He saw us and came running with a big hug for
his Dada and big brother and I was so relieved.
School is a success. Now I’m not
going to tell you about day #2 (time out) but instead focus on the fact that
Gigi got to come up and see her babies and their schools and they were so happy
to show them off. So I have to say that
we are settling in pretty well around here.
If it weren’t for all those stinking boxes to unpack…
I still think of our little stinkpot as that shy quiet
little guy that we adopted and it always takes me by surprise when I realize
he’s not. When I went to pick him up
from day 2 of preschool, she commented that he was very definite about what
‘work’ he wanted to do and said ‘no’ to the one that she suggested and let her
know the one that he wanted to do. She
said it was so good that he was so confident and I just paused and didn’t
answer. Because although I know that is
who he is now and I am so happy about it, I still forget that this is the new
Aibek. That he is opinionated and loud
and absolutely full of personality. So
Aibek, if sometime down the road I yet again forget that you don’t need taking
care of and that you have a mind of your own, I might just need a little
reminding that you are no longer the terrified, quiet, unsure child that we
adopted but are now confident and self assured and you know what you want. And it is wonderful.
Except that our Sweet Bek sometimes turns into Terror
Bek. I woke up yesterday morning to the
little man yelling downstairs “You ‘toopid!
You ‘tupid! You ‘tupid!” and
thank the good lord that Rin didn’t take the bait. I kept waiting for the inevitable retribution
from Rin but it never happened. Instead,
I heard him talking quietly and calmly to his little brother that it’s not nice
to take his seat when he just got up to go to the bathroom and that he should
give it back. I have done something
right I think. I may not do it all right
but at least some of it is rubbing off.
And Rin does just adore his little brother Bek.
Overheard in the next room when Rin was talking with his
friend
Friend: “I think it would be great if we could switch
families and we could live together and Bek could live over at my house and I
wouldn’t have to live with an annoying sister and then you wouldn’t have to
deal with an annoying brother.”
Rin: ”But that would make me really sad actually.”
F: “Why?”
Rin: “Because I really love my brother”
F: “But you like me right?”
Rin: “Yeah, but I really really
love my brother”
and this was all said about 5 minutes after Rin got
completely frustrated at Bek for busting in on his playdate with the kid next
door. I just love being able to get out
of the picture enough to hear stuff like that and know that it is genuine and
not said just to make me happy but because he truly feels it. I just love the love we got going on around
here.
And we’ve had a lot of playing going on around here. Within a day of meeting the neighbor kids,
they had organized a stand to sell cookies in the front yard. I just love it. And I love the kid friendships that
happen. They are BFF’s within minutes of
meeting each other. And Peter and I are
starting to meet some really nice people around here too. We really are settling in just fine.
Love to all, -m
