december already?

thanksgiving 2012

not a creative title, but i just realized today is december 1, and i had to ask myself, december already?  fall does come to davis, but in november, not september or october.  it is cooler, highs in the 60s now, with more rainy days, and we have beautiful fall colors.  but i'm still running in shorts and tees and we rarely need jackets at the park when the sun is shining.  the wednesday before thanksgiving is usually the close to the farmer's markets in the midwest, but ours is just shifting gears to a bounty of fall and winter produce.  and so, i have to ask...december already?  no complaints here.




we had a great thanksgiving at jeannette's house.  cousins mary and jim joined us from walnut creek, and put on brave faces for what was to be a first for us all--vegetarian thanksgiving!  that's right!  blaspheme.  delicious, delicious blaspheme.  jeannette had fun experimenting with a bunch of new recipes, and we finished our early dinner full, but not too stuffed to eat most of the leftovers later that night.



and another thanksgiving first for me--skypegiving!  i missed a big family get together back in michigan, but was graciously there via computer.  it was slightly weird and fun.


as i continue in my prolonged period of unemployment (seriously, not a single interview.  seriously.  at least i'm getting better at running and sewing or i'd begin to believe every hospital in northern california that i am completely worthless.), the kids and i are spending all of our time together, which is wonderful.

it's still generally lovely enough weather to be outside most days, and i am reminded constantly of the importance, in my opinion, of children's ability to explore nature and follow their own curiosity.   i suppose they do miss out on many cultural references and some technological capacity as a result of our screen-free lifestyle, but i love they way their creativity continues to develop without concepts or ideas fed to them by media.

i treasure the ample time i spent outdoors as a child, learning about plants and animals and interacting with my surroundings.  with the increased outlets for sedentary, mindless activity, i'm more and more confident in the merits of avoiding it, and grateful to live in a place that makes it so apparent and so accessible to do just that.  collecting our favorite fall leaves has been a big hit for several weeks now, and never seems to get old.

we spend our time in doors reading and coloring, mainly.  bean has really taken to tutoring reese on his colors, numbers, and letters.  she quizzes him and congratulates or corrects him.  it's very cute and amazing to watch.  they've recently taken more of interest in the piano as well, especially reese.  he climbs on the bench and opens it himself, and then accompanies himself while he sings.  it's awesome.





the past two weeks he has really exploded in verbal development.  he's speaking completely in broken sentences now, 2-4 words usually.  his vocabulary is huge.  it's really interesting to see the younger sibling develop verbally since they have an example.  they have extended conversations together now that are becoming less and less one sided.  bean has also taken up the role of translator, and incredibly, she really can understand him better than the rest of us.  my favorite are his interrogatives, when he cocks his head at LEAST 45 degrees to the side and asks a question in an extremely high pitch.  it's this over exaggerated, wonderful, cute thing to watch, since it's clearly his interpretation of how we ask each other questions.

now, if only he would nap (MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY for the last hour).

david is still loving his job and coworkers, who we enjoy socializing with outside the hospital as well.  a really great group of people.  we were able to get away for a day recently and explore san francisco, which was a lot of fun.  that's a resource we can't tap into often because it's not (like most cities) super baby-friendly, but i'm really looking forward to taking advantage of its proximity as much as possible in the future.

aside from the kids, i continue to spend my time running and working on my craft projects, then blogging about them, which i treat like my job in the absence of a job.  something has to fill the void when you've been employed since age 10.  revving up big time for the holiday season, which we're so pumped to be hosting this year.  i had a few extra birthdays sprung on me, so i haven't scratched the surface of my christmas gifts yet, but we'll get there.  and now that it's officially december on the calendar, seems about time to get the tree up as well.  my turn to string the lights this year...