Right Now

Right now I am trying to take a little break and get a few things done during Annelise's nap time. But guess what I hear? Thump, thump, thump.... giggle.. and a lot of chatter. I think she is actually running across her crib. She has probably thrown her pillow and dolls out of her crib. She could be without clothes, or even her diaper!!!! Occasionally we have days like this. She took a long nap yesterday (2 1/2 hours) and slept almost 12 hours last night, so she won't be a total wreck if she doesn't get a nap.

Speaking of crib, I'm not sure when I should transition her over. With Danny we chose to (at about age 26 months) because Annelise was on her way into our world. But Annelise is 2 1/2 and she hasn't tried to climb out. Plus, I know if she were in a toddler bed she would roam around the house at night and nap time and then the nap would definitely go. Hmmmm... things to think about.

With Apologies to My Republican Friends and Readers

Randy and I have been discussing a lot of politics lately. You can hardly help it, right? Things are trickling down to Danny, which we think is cute. If you ask him who he is voting for, he would say Obama. He watched part of the DNC with us (it was recorded since it was on soooo late out here!). And in general he likes to listen to us talk politics with our friends, too. Everything has been pretty tame until I overheard him and his sister today.

I was in the kitchen getting dinner ready, and he and Annelise were rough-housing in the next room. Danny did something that hurt Annelise and she yelled out, "No!" And then Danny said, "You're a... Republican!" Of course Annelise had no response to that supposed insult. But the sad thing was what I said from the kitchen. "Danny, that's not nice," I warned. Of course I was referring to his tone, but once I said it I realized how an outsider would have thought the whole exchange was odd. I guess we need to explain some more things to Danny (including the fact that his mom was a Republican for her first two voting years).

Party Preparations

I'm currently taking a break from cleaning and cake-baking. Danny is having his birthday party tomorrow at our house. A HUGE storm (tropical storm Hanna) is supposed to make its way through MD tonight and tomorrow. We'll see, but I'm prepping for an indoor party (and I'll be thrilled if we can be outside). I've got games, a craft, lunch and cake all planned. Unfortunately the house is a DISASTER! I hate housework... but that is a whole other story.

Legos are the theme of the party. The invitation front looked like this (image scanned by Danny from one of his creations):


Lego robot design looks like this (image designed by Danny):
Stack of Lego Robot T-shirts look like this (The kids will get to add their own paint embellishments to these and take them home as their favors.):

Cake will hopefully look like this (Thank you, Betty Crocker... I hope this works!):


Better get back to work!

Another First Day!

Annelise had her first day of Nursery School on Thursday. They actually ease the two-year-olds into the school quite well. First of all, they only go two days a week (Thursday and Friday). The first day the parent stays and class is only one hour. The second day (today) the parent leaves and class is only 90 minutes. The rest of the month class will be two hours, and then starting in October the children will stay for the full 2 1/2 hours.

Yesterday Randy stayed with Annelise (since I was at work), and she had a great time. They painted, played with play-doh and played outside. Today I actually left her after I played with her for 10 minutes or so. She fussed when I said I was going to leave, but she didn't cry and she stuck really close to one of the teachers. Fortunately she knows the teachers pretty well because Danny has been at the school the last two years. It is no longer Danny's school, though... now it is Annelise's school!

What do you think of these very goofy grins? Annelise is now in a very unnatural smiling stage. Randy loves the first picture because of A's eyebrows. It is something I do with mine, too... very evil looking!

Hazelnut Eyes

I am (finally) ready to tell the story of my blog's name. Becoming a mother has totally changed my life (duh!), and one of the most amazing things has been the affection I feel for my kids. Not the I love them kind of feeling, but more of the gazing at them in wonder. They truly amaze me. Watching them play, learn, talk and reason things out has been fun for both Randy and me. We also think they are absolutely adorable. Because we adore them so much we have let a few things slide just because we think it is cute. We try not to let behavioral issues slide (like Annelise's tendency to give Danny a big wallop... so frustrating!), but we have let our kids believe some things that aren't totally accurate. Poor Danny is going to have some startling realizations over the next couple of years as he gets a reality check at school!

We are both educators so we do give the real story as often as we can. We usually correct our children if there is some confusion or misconception... BUT if you ask Danny what color eyes he has he will answer proudly, "Hazelnut." Since Randy, Annelise and Danny all have hazel colored eyes, I thought hazelnut eyes would be a good name for our family blog (my blue eyes couldn't even get a hold on the kids!).

Hmmmm... who will correct Danny? Time will tell, but for now Randy and I are letting him be cute.

Danny's First Day

Danny is doing really well in kindergarten. He started on Monday, August 25th and the last week has been so busy. His teacher said he does a very good job at following directions and listening. The main thing is that he comes home tired and cranky! School starts at 9:15 and goes until 3:25, so it is a very full day! No tears were shed (by me, either!) on the first day. Annelise didn't know quite what to do without Danny around, but she'll adjust. Here are some pictures:

Waiting in the gym to go to the class.


Lined up with all his classmates (and many parents!)


"Okay, Mom, enough pictures already!"

"Maybe if I act busy my parents will leave and let me do this kindergarten thing!"