Hey! Look Here! A Long Post!

I finally weaned Jem a few months before his second birthday. What finally made me want to really stop for real this time was that during an ultrasound (due to - surprise! - some pain I'd been having in a breast) the technician asked me how long I had been nursing. I answered. She exclaimed "Well now, you have been nursing for two years! That is why your breast is sore!"....which turned out to be true, thankfully. That, and I also became that mother who's kid runs up to her at a dinner party, tries to lift up her shirt and says "I want boobies!" and points to the side that he wants. True story.

I was worried that Jem, my baby, my little buttercup treasure of sweetness and sensitivity, would take it hard. But he didn't. He's replaced it with one of my t-shirts clutched in his soft little hands and pressed to his face at naps and bedtime. Not just any t-shirt - it must be one that I have worn recently. Last night I tried to give him a freshly laundered one, and he sent it back like an overcooked steak. At one point he was actually holding on to three shirts at a time, but thankfully he's down to one again. The only part that kinda weirds me out is that he'll just come up to me and say "that's a nice t-shirt, Mama" or "I like your t-shirt, Mama", like he expects me to take it off and hand it to him immediately. That would be a good one for a dinner party.

Last weekend was his big 2 birthday party. I've been trying to get him to tell people he's two now, but he is confident that he's still 1, and there is just no way to argue with him about that. The stubborn is strong in this one.

He was very serious about opening his presents.

At Jem's request, I had made a "bulldodozezer chocolate cake"

He blew out his candles all by himself, although Violet was at ready should he require her superior candle blowing skills. Actually, she showed remarkable restraint*.

Rejecting his fork, he ate his piece of cake with the shovel of the bulldozer.

That was pretty funny.In other news:

Violet was getting a little jealous of Jem's birthday cards and wishes.

"That card says Jem is the sweetest boy in the world?"
"Yes, it does"
"But am I the sweetest girl in the world?"
"Yes, of course you are!"
"What about I'm the sweetest girl in the UNIVERSE?".

* The best idea I've ever had was to give her a little instant camera to take pictures during his party. It really kept her happy. Much to my delight, she is developing an interest in photography.This was her first full week of school and taking the bus. She loves it.
She gets her backpack ready early and eagerly walks to her stop.This was her only moment of hesitation before getting on that big bus all by herself for the first time. She twirled a fall leaf in her fingers for a few seconds,
and then she was headed up those steps.

I thought I would be sad about Violet going to school, but I'm not really. I'm so happy for her that she likes it. She was ready for some new challenges. Anyway, this ushers in an exciting new era of quiet afternoons. Jem still sleeps for a couple of hours, Violet is at school, and I have time to update the blog!
Win, win, win.

My Man Jem

This morning Jem walked up to me and asked
"you want a coffee, babe?"

Day 1

Today was Violet's first day of junior kindergarten! It's a staggered entrance, only 5 kids starting each day this week, so she doesn't go back again until the 14th (at which point she'll be taking the big yellow bus). I feel like I can defer any overwhelming emotion until then. She's in the afternoon class. We arrived a few minutes early and saw the lunch break in full swing. She stopped, stared in wonder, then yelled "KIDS! LOTS OF KIDS!", and took off toward them.Dropping her off was a family affair (Grandpa came too!).Jem played in the yard while we waited for her teacher to come and call her.She ran into a friend from preschool and they had a good laugh. When the big bell rang, she put her impossibly large looking backpack on.And was the first in her line. She remember to wave at us as she went in. When I came to pick her up she was happy and tired. As usual, I had to pump her for information, and she gave me the bare minimum of how the afternoon went down - she had a good time, her teacher's name is Ms. Gibson (actually, it's not) and she doesn't want to talk about school anymore.
My big girl.