“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2015.”

Lillia: This week you have been really, really sad. Or, at least I think you are sad. I haven’t been able to get you to talk much about it. Fifth grade hasn’t been the easiest year. You are doing well, academically, but I feel like you are really disconnected from your peers and even from your family. I wish I knew how to help you, but I don’t know exactly what is wrong and you aren’t very forthcoming with information. This week was a particularly difficult one, anyway, because Daddy was out of town at a conference so it was just the three of us for days and days. The rhythm of the home is completely out of whack when he’s gone. If you read this, which I know you do sometimes, just know that we love, love, love you and we’re here anytime you need or want to talk. On a slightly more uplifting note, your spirit really seemed to brighten when we went to the zoo in Boston this weekend. You were so interested in all of the animals, and you were often several steps ahead of us. You have always loved animals and I can really see that you connect with them on a deep level. Your high regard for all creatures, great and small, is one of the qualities I love most about you.

Zane: This week your behavior was, shall we say, very much that of a textbook three-year old. I know I have really lucked out because you are usually a very good boy, but with Daddy gone you were a mess. You were hitting, and crying a lot, and throwing fits, which is just not like you at all. On Tuesday when I tried to drop you off at school you had a total meltdown, which you have never, ever done. Even on the first day of school you didn’t cry! I ended up leaving you sobbing with your teacher, and told them to call me if you didn’t stop crying (thankfully, you were fine after a few minutes). Then, on Thursday, I told you that Daddy was going to be coming home, to which you replied, “Do you see Daddy anywhere? No. That’s because he’s never coming home!” Poor little thing — I know it’s confusing, but sometimes parents have to be away from their children for a little while. And, despite your uncertainty, he did come back! You seem to have mellowed out a lot since things have returned to normal. My favorite Zane quote of the week (during one of your fits): “You’re not taking me to the playground right now, so YOUR GOOSE IS COOKED!” You slay me…

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2015.”

Lillia: This week was school vacation week. As soon as you learned that many of your friends and classmates were going away for the week, you expressed your displeasure at the fact that we never go anywhere. I remember this a little bit from my own childhood; my mom stayed home with us for a long time so for most of my childhood we lived on one income, meaning that we couldn’t go to Disney World or the Caribbean during every school vacation. And, your dad and I have made the same choice for our family. This is something you probably cannot appreciate now, but I hope that someday you will look back and feel that the trade-off was worth it. We can’t travel the world just yet, but you do have a mom who picks you up from school everyday, who is home so that you don’t have to go to school when you are sick, who is home during the summer so that you can go to the pool instead of going to camp. I hope you will find some value in that someday.

Zane: This week was your school vacation week, too. The weather hasn’t been stupendous, but we have been getting out as much as we can. You’ve been working really hard on learning how to use your scooter. I swear, nothing in the world is more adorable than a tiny little guy zooming around on a scooter. You were helping me do yard work, too, with your new wheelbarrow. We finished clearing out all of the flower beds, and we raked the whole backyard so the new grass can grow. I appreciate your help so much, and I love that you just instinctively want to be helpful without being asked. In fact, I think sometimes I could use a little less help…no, not really, I’m just kidding! Your desire to help seems to grow out of your desire to be involved in everything I do, to participate, and to learn; that is a wonderful thing.

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2015.”

Lillia & Zane: Egads, this week was rough! You both look happy and smiley in these photos, but the truth is that the three of us spent some large portion of the week severely under the weather. I caught a tummy bug from my brother and it quickly made its way through the house, only sparing Daddy! So, you both missed a bunch of school, but at least you both recovered in time to enjoy your Spring vacation week. Here’s to healthier days ahead (fingers crossed)!

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2015.”
Sometimes your kids make the same ridiculous face when you try to take their picture!

Lillia: This week you have been drawing up a storm! You got some new art pens from Mémé & Olde Shoe and you love them so much. You are an epic doodler — I don’t know how many sketchbooks you’ve filled up in your short lifetime, but let’s just say it’s a lot. But, it’s not often that you create something that would be called a “finished” piece. I think the new brush pens have had a huge impact on your art in this regard. Your doodles have color now, and I see that you are taking more time with your lines — they’re less sketchy and more deliberate. You’ve been using your pens to make lovely little illustrated bookmarks for friends and family, and I can’t wait to get one of my own!

Zane: This week we played outside quite a bit. The snow has largely melted (I started writing this prior to it SNOWING AGAIN…for crying out loud!) so we started to clean out the flower beds, and worked on cleaning up all of the sticks that fell from the trees during the winter. You found a bucket in the garage and made “soup” out of all sorts of things you found on the ground: dried up coneflowers; twigs; snow; and rocks. You also really enjoyed helping me to decorate our little easter garden. The wheatgrass we planted came up right on time for Easter morning, and you have been helping me trim it back — boy, does that stuff grow fast! Hopefully the snow will all melt soon, so we can get started on our outdoor garden.

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2015.”

Lillia: This week you were really excited about April Fool’s Day. On Monday afternoon, you and your friend spent a long time thinking up ways to prank your classmates (all of your ideas were good-natured fun, not cruel tricks). My favorite one was the “quarter nose trick” in which you color the edge of a quarter ahead of time with a pencil, and then ask your unsuspecting victim to roll the quarter down his or her nose, thus making a graphite line on their nose. I hear you fooled many people with that one! You’ve always had a goofy side — you really take after my mother in that way 🙂

Zane: This week you’re sick again, but I am just so completely done with writing about illnesses. So, I’m going to share some conversations that we had this week instead. Three year-olds are the perfect mixture of burgeoning intelligence and sweet naivete.

[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]Conversation #1:
playing with a Duplo garbage truck
Zane: I’m doomed!
Me: Doomed?
Zane: Yes, that’s another way to say you’re full of trash.
[/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Conversation #2:
listening to birds singing
Me: They are all trying to find mates.
Zane: I’m a bird mate!
Me: You’re a bird mate?
Zane: Yes, I LOVE birds!
[/ezcol_1half_end]