Isaac's First Friend

Isaac has a little friend at daycare, a cute 6 month old boy named Zachary. Apparently they lie around and "talk" to each other, laugh at each other and Isaac tries to grab Zachary's legs when they are kicking about on the floor together. I would love to put up a picture but I'm not sure if people would think I was odd taking pictures of the other babies at daycare!

Interestingly Zachary was the other name we considered for Isaac. Now that would have been confusing!

Side Note: In an alternate universe my kids are called Maya and Ethan. It was the strangest thing but when Ana was born I had an overwhelming urge to refer to her as Maya. I almost changed her name a couple of times in the first few days. Then when I had Isaac, out of the blue I kept accidentally calling him Ethan. I mean who messes up their own kid's name? Me, that's who. I would say "Hello little baby Ethan, I mean Isaac" D'ohhhh!

Of course, they suit their current names perfectly. I just thought it was worth documenting here. I chalk it all up to postpartum hormones.

We are so ready . . . It's absurd

Ok, I'll admit, after seeing the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew I am a different person when it comes to hurricanes.  I don't think you can see thousands of square miles completely flattened, not a leaf left on a tree, and walk away thinking hurricane parties are the height of hurricane.  So I have prepared:

I managed to pack both cars in the garage with all lawn furniture,

We have a flashlight, Sterno, battery, phone recharge section 

we've got two tanks of propane

a fridge packed with ice (yeah, 25 dollars for 15 bags of frozen water), bread, milk and of course, beer

we've got extra water, 3 tubs of formula, poster board and fashion magazines for Ana to create concerts and fashion shows with glue and scissors, cash, lots of peanut butter, and Raman noodles !

So I am paranoid.  If I didn't have kids, I'd be at the local bar.  Instead, I have become crazy prepare for every possible scenario man.  I am still smarting over the fact that I could not find water purification tablets.  Ha, the old boy that grew up in Miami praying for a hurricane is gone. 

So Z and Ana, when you have children of your own, and something potentially scary is on its way, remember my manta, "It's better to be prepared and not need it, than to need it and not be prepared."  I love you Jasmin, Ana, and Z!  God I hope the power stays on and Brisco has a larger bladder than I suspect :-).  

Family Walk

How nice is it to be able to do things outdoors in August? Yayyyy!!

Here we all are out for a walk and a scoot on Ana's new scooter!

Growing up before my eyes

This week Ana seems to have matured tenfold! She suddenly seems very much the young girl. She's out there in the world, doing her thing, very independent. She takes showers for the first time and wraps her head in a towel after. She has started watching bigger kid shows, that aren't even cartoons :( She is very excited about starting big school. Not nervous at all. Most shocking of all she has FINALLY, after 5 years, started sleeping on her own, in her own bed, at a reasonable hour. Hallelujah! Luckily she's not SO grown up that she doesn't still want to come in and cuddle in the mornings :)

Did you feel that?

Yep, sitting in my office and things start to shake. For a while I thought I was going dizzy. Nope, it's a frigging EARTHQUAKE. It was a funny feeling, sort of like being on a rocking boat, but mostly feeling like it was in my head and I was about to pass out. Then I looked at my water bottle and noticed it was rocking. This place, I swear. What a year we have had! Blizzards and 6ft of snow - check. 105 degree heat - check. Tornado - check. Earthquake - check. And now we are bracing ourselves for the impending hurricane. Sheesh!

Rain

So excited for Cami coming over she's standing out there waiting in the rain!

Welcome to Ana's tea party

Clothing optional!

Poor Isaac. Eye level with Ana's butt. I have no idea where she gets her bootie from. James and I have the flattest two asses you ever did see!

Jumping in!

This is a HUGE step. Ana has always been afraid of her head going under water and would never jump into a pool before. Go girl!!

So proud of herself!!

A perfect team

Ana loves to dance and entertain. Isaac loves to watch her. A perfect combo!!

Untitled from jasmin hutchinson on Vimeo.

Birthday Party

Ana had a blast at her birthday party. Her exhausted parents worked themselves to the bone getting everything ready!! But it was worth it. The girls squealed in delight all afternoon and played really well together.

Pretty girl in her party dress waiting for her guests!

Pool fun!!

"Dad, who are all these girls and why are they squealing?"

Untitled from jasmin hutchinson on Vimeo.

Untitled from jasmin hutchinson on Vimeo.

Five

Five. You are five. Everyone at Mass Mutual Children’s House knows that now because you burst in this morning and yelled “I’m FIVE” at the first person you saw (and everyone else thereafter). This morning I put out a special birthday breakfast for you then went in to wake you up. I took a picture of you first to remember how beautiful you looked and peaceful you were, sleeping (upside down) in your bed.

I whispered “Hey Fiver” in your ear. After a few confused blinks you thought about it and said “But I don’t feel any different.” Still, you were positively beaming eating your birthday breakfast. Your little brother was considerate enough to sleep in so it could just be us two girls.

What a year you have had this year. You’ve moved, gone to three different schools, met your bestfriendinthewholeworld, Cami, finished pre-K, survived a tornado, become a big sister, and moved again. Quite the year. You have met all these challenges with the same happy demeanor and boundless energy. You like Massachusetts because it is not sooooo HOT, although for a while you missed your friend Lauryn Greer. You like our new house because you have not one, but TWO playrooms and a very purple bedroom. Of course, you still want to play in the only grown up room in the house, but that’s ok, I was the same when I was a kid and my parents tried to stick me in that drafty playroom :). You just want to be where your parents are, and that’s cool. It is draining and annoying, but it’s cool, because one day you won’t. So I try to savor every day where you want to glue yourself to my hip and talk my ear off.

You love clothes. You like to dress yourself and surprise us with your choice of outfit. You have an eye for style, which is most definitely an Auntie Mel trait. You still hate having your hair brushed, but you like to be pretty, so you are tolerating it better than you used to. You are also interested in make-up now, which scares your father. Speaking of which, you are an outrageous flirt with the boys at school. You have a charisma that everyone seems to be drawn to, but you make us do a double take when you come home from school and say things like “Evan loves me. Today he wanted to sleep with me at nap. He is always trying to look after me.” Fortunately you have decided you are marrying Izee, so you mostly give the boys the brush off (for now).

You have a great sense of humour. You giggle at everything and are quite the entertainer. In your first school report your teacher, Miss Emilia, wrote “Ana also has a playful, silly side that she loves to cut loose and share with her classmates!”. I think that is a polite way of saying you are the class clown!! If there in one person in the world who you just love to entertain it is your little brother. You can make him laugh like nobody’s business. You may kill me when you read this in years to come, but you particularly like to stick out your tongue and (inexplicably) slap your “front butt” repeatedly. This must be some kind of sibling in-joke because Isaac cracks up when you do this.

The adjustment from only child to big sister was one you took perfectly in stride. You were sweet and caring when I was ill with the pregnancy, you were very excited for the big arrival, and you have been so great since Isaac arrived. Patient? No. But sweet, kind, and helpful? Yes. Now Isaac has you up in his face all day long trying to make him laugh and make him do things like dance with his little arms. You seem to be about his favourite person in the whole world. His face lights up when he sees you or hears your voice. I hope you two always have such love for each other.

So, you are still my little girl, but I’m seeing flashes of the big girl you are becoming. Like when you march up the street to Cami’s house with your oversized backpack on, and I watch you out of the window. My little baby out there in the world without me. Sometimes I get upset about seeing you grow up. Remember when we went to watch Toy Story 3 I was bawling in the cinema and you told me “It’s ok Mum, I’m never going away to college. I can live at home and go to Springfield with you”? Now, your Dad would have a heart attack hearing this (he loves you more than anything in the world, but he is also counting down the days until your 18^th birthday). But me? I squeezed you a little tighter and said “Sounds great to me”.

So we have a big year ahead of us. You start Kindergarden next month. You are going to RIDE THE BUS to school. There’ll be lots of tears from Mum that morning. On a bus without me?!?! Wow. But hopefully (please God) that will be our only big transition this year. We are finally settled! Our little family is complete, your Dad and I have great jobs, we love New England, and we live in a fabulous new house. So let this year be a year for enjoying ourselves and making great family memories.

I love you so much Kiddo

Mum xxx