Us!

A few weeks ago, we had family pictures at the most beautiful park!

Let me pause for a moment to tell you about Edgerton Park. It's just this lovely estate not too far from our house (we drive there, but we really could walk) that was donated to the public. It has community gardens, a greenhouse, a fountain, and lots of lovely paths. And I just found this lovely website showing pictures of the mansion that used to be there. (I was wondering why there wasn't a big house there with such a lovely estate, so that made more sense.)

We had a wonderful morning working with Aubree of EE Photography and I'm so excited to show you how great a job she did! And, here are a few quick updates about us.

We are really happy here in Connecticut. There are hard things still, such as dealing with mice who no longer step on traps, and I do regret taking Joseph from his large group of friends and a more carefree environment, but life is really good.

Life. Most of the time.

I do admit I've developed a slightly dark sense of humor to cope with some of the unpleasant idiosyncrasies of living here (maybe sometime I'll share New Haven driving bingo), but overall it's astonishing just how easy it is to be content. I kind of smiled today as I thought about the list of things weighing on me or bugging me or disappointing me right now and how they generally have little to no bearing on my mood, except occasionally. (Like last Tuesday. Or this Monday.)

One thing that's helped us adjust is that we've had lots of social activities. For a while we would eat dinner on Sundays over at student housing with other Yale students. It's gotten too dark too early for that now, but there are still plenty of ward activities (especially with Relief Society) and chances for social interaction with our callings. Usually when I move to a place I only show my serious, quiet side because my goofy, snappy side is so quirky that I don't want to weird people out before I've even met them. But this time it's happened faster where Kevin and I have made friends that we can be a little sarcastic with, and even though I know sarcasm is technically bad, it is nice to not suppress that side of my personality. (Not that it was ever really suppressed. Kevin and I spend most every evening in constant good-natured banter.)

I am doing well. As per usual, I spend a lot of time feeding small children (though the days of Otter Pops and baby carrots for the neighbor kids are gone). I am involved in a sort of laid back Joy School (I sometimes laugh when I see pictures of friends doing Joy School right because ours is so casual in comparison.). I am also serving in the Primary Presidency trying to figure out what on earth Cub Scouts and rechartering is all about and trying not to sound too obnoxious asking people to take Youth Protection Training. Church and my calling has kept me pretty busy lately with meetings and Primary Program practices and visiting teaching and soooooooooo many emails and phone calls and texts, but it feels good to be useful.0

Other than that . . . I'm not up too much! I spend most days happy and content with my life, and then about once a month I fly into a panic of "What am I doing with my life? I am not creating anything right now!!!" Then I start making all sorts of plans. One day I thought that I should get a law degree and do pro bono work. Then the next day I wondered if I should do something more creative, perhaps network with real musicians and make something beautiful with them. In a fit of "I've got to do something!" I sat down and did several difficult problems from my Calc 3 textbook I used 9 years ago just to see if I still had it. I've still got it.

But then a few days later, I calm down and remind myself that it's okay to have quiet seasons too, and that I really am doing a lot of good right now by living a flexible, available life. And at any rate, being less busy has kept the house generally cleaner and led to earlier dinners, and I like that too.

These two are so fun! Over the past few months Joseph has gotten a little more patient with Matthew, and maybe Matthew has been less inclined to knock things over, so they generally play pretty well together. Matthew loves to follow Joseph everywhere, especially into the bathroom. The other day Matthew was at the top of a slide and too scared to come down, so Joseph went up there and tenderly (and maybe awkwardly) placed him on his lap so they could slide down together. Love it.

Matthew is SO SWEET. He follows Joseph around, copies his dance moves, sings along, mimics everything we say, and snuggles like a champ. As soon as Kevin comes home and sits on the couch, Matthew comes over with a book and insists that he read it ("up please up please"). He rotates through naughty toddler antics -- sometimes he wants to touch everything, sometimes he wants to throw food, sometimes he wants to squirrel things away (such as crayons into the heater vent), and right now if he's quiet there's a good chance he's headed for a toilet. He has also become a fan of hiding, even if it just means putting his back to the wall and waiting for us to "find" him. He has a favorite corner now where he just sits and looks at books. (I would share pictures but I don't want the comparison of cell phone pics and lovely professional photos hurting your brain.) He loves Baby Signing Time and knows maybe a dozen signs and a few dozen words. His favorite food is probably butter.

Joseph is so fun! He loves to do crafts, dance, exercise ("because it's healthy"), dress in superhero uniforms down to the socks and underwear, build, listen to books (especially chapter books right now), imagine, and help. His favorite movie right now is Kung Fu Panda (he always does a lot of kickboxing moves as soon as it's done) and his favorite TV show is Mr. Rogers. He is getting better and better at reading and writing. He likes it when we pull out maps and talk about the different countries. He also likes turning on the "demo" button on the piano and making up stories about the different songs. "This one is about Superman is dead." "This one is about Superman is alive again." "This one is about Jungle Book."

That is his Hulk shirt. It's 2T, just like most of his other favorite clothes. Sigh.

It's been kind of fun tweaking ways to help him learn and grow. I've learned a bit to give him permission to have his feelings and just give suggestions for "bad things" he can do when he's mad such as yelling into a pillow because that will hurt the pillow's feelings or grading his feet-stomping to see if he can perfect the art. We deal with a lot of frustration here, and today I told him that every mistake he made while writing in lowercase would result in another chocolate chip. That changed the mood for sure!

I've fretted about not having him in a more formal preschool, and 3 months in I have yet to get a "yes" about a formal playdate (not for lack of trying, for goodness sakes), but we still try and get some socializing in for him with kids closer to his age. This usually happens at Institute, at ward playgroups (which are more informal than in Ann Arbor, but still happen), but also a lot just at our favorite park down the street. There are times when I feel out of place there (mostly because I worry I'm making people uncomfortable) but it's always so great to see Joseph becoming friends with all sorts of different, wonderful kids.

And then there was the time at Chick-Fil-A when he played in the playplace with a few boys who immediately adopted him into their game and it sounded exactly like the kind of playing he did every day at the sandbox or in our basement back in Northwood, and it was the most magical sound I've ever heard. I am optimistic we'll get more opportunities like that the longer we live here.

Kevin is busy with work and his calling. From driving kids to seminary and cultural celebration practices to working on papers and trying to make sense of data, he has plenty to do! (I should give more details, but they might be outside the scope of this blog.) Amidst all that he is super helpful at home (especially regarding the mice and my laptop) and is so fun with the boys. We keep each other giggling.

and osculating. Just like in Calc 3.

In short, we are happy.