Lately

Everyone once in a while I like to reflect on life our life at this very moment. It is often a blur, so it's good for me to stop and remember all that is happening. Here is the insert from our Christmas card this year. 

We have been back in the Bay Area for a year and a half now, enough time away from Chicago to grumble when the temperature drops below 50, but not enough time to feel justified when we complain. We do love living in an area with so many beautiful places to explore and with much (but not all) of our family within driving distance.

Jane started kindergarten this year and is completely in her element! She has a year of soccer under her belt (Trever, seeing that no experience was required, signed on as the assistant coach). She has absolutely no fear of being on stage, which shines through in ballet, tap and hip-hop (where she is perfecting moves for Aunt Jacci’s upcoming wedding). Jane is taking after-school Spanish and has us all listening to music in the car to practice (classics like, “La Semana Tiene Siete Dias”). She loves swimming WITHOUT floaties, reciting lines from Jerry Seinfeld’s Halloween stand-up bit, and pulling her loose teeth out with dental floss and a doorknob (5 so far in 2015).

When Cate started preschool this year she marched in without a glance and hasn’t looked back! She is our little monkey, loving gymnastics but also causing our first should-we-take-her-to-the-ER? nurse hotline call after she fell out of a tree (she was fine). She made a darn cute ladybug in her first ballet performance. She loves to draw and is currently in her eyelash period, making them by far the most distinctive feature in all her pictures. Cate refuses to wear a coat and we are balancing giving her agency without her preschool teachers reporting us to the authorities. After most of the year on a balance bike, she got the pedals on her bike and immediately zipped down the street (I remember more blood, tears and terror learning to ride).

Lizzie is “exerting her independence” as a healthy/maddening two year old! She often says, “I don need yo help!” and has strong, specific opinions about her clothes, food and doing everything her big sisters do. This determination has served her well - she can now buckle her own seat belt, ride a scooter (in arabesque every once in awhile) and wear big girl underwear (the end of the diaper tunnel is near, cue the hallelujah chorus!). She is definitely our spunkiest girl, and her cute smile and hilarious bedtime behavior (she’s the one that tucks her big sisters in) keep all of us laughing.

Trever is enjoying the job that brought us out here although he now has (gasp!) a real commute into San Francisco. He may be most proud of getting the girls out camping three times this year (with more planned for 2016). Too infrequently, he loves to drive west to Bolinas to surf or east to China Camp to mountain bike. The most common comment Lindy hears in public with the girls is, “You sure have your hands full, chuckle, chuckle.” In her “free time” she enjoys meeting with friends in a cookbook group (favorite recipe this year: baked chickpeas with pita chips and yogurt) and has organized activities for the women’s organization at our church. She enjoys photography and shares her photos and our adventures on our family blog.

And a few more thoughts...

This time of life can be exhausting but at the end of the day I am grateful to spend each day with my girls. They are so full of life and bring me so much joy. Watching them master a new skill, or show kindness to each other, or light up as they share experiences from their school days makes me so happy. There are certain parts of our day that feel complicated and frustrating (getting out of the door or eating dinner) but it's also pretty easy to find ways to keep them happy. They find joy in simple things. A treat, lovey and a show can fix most of their problems, so I should be grateful. I have been told the key with each phase is focus on the good and let that overshadow the challenging parts of each day. I know this to be true and am grateful for all the joy I experience with these beauties! Can't wait to see what the next year holds in store for our crew.