So...where have we been?

I was glancing at the last year of archives on this, and seen I only really update when there's a big event. Christmas, Halloween, first lost tooth, etc. I realize that's sort of the point of this blog, but I know you're all anxious to hear about our everyday lives, right? I mean, they're soooo fascinating.

Chris and I are busy at work. I went on a business trip to NYC last week which was pleasantly without travel complications. May the travel gods be with me throughout 2012! I'm also getting in the groove at my new place of employment, and really enjoy the people there. I love the flexibility and the quality of work. However, my "commute" (I put that in quotes for my dad since his is nearly 2 hours, and mine isn't even close) has tripled (from 7 to 21 minutes) but I'd say that's the most negative thing. I guess I'll take it!

Annika loves first grade, loves her teacher, loves her friends…she's a happy kid. Her first report card this year was extremely impressive – scoring above average in almost all subjects (they don't use letter grades yet, I'll spare you the complicated details) and is picking up reading very fast. I see her reading signs and listening to me & Chris when we spell stuff to avoid their prying ears…time is ticking away on that luxury. She also has a little boy crush at school which is advanced, but I am reminded of chasing boys around when I was in Kindergarten…so I can't really be too worried.

Declan started preschool at the beginning of the year and the adjustment was rough at first. He has always had issues with "transitions" - I.e. Taking him to his grandparents every morning ("No! I don't want to go! I want to stay!") and then being picked up in the evenings ("I want to stay here! I don't want to go home!"). He's also always had issues – since he was a newborn – with people leaving him. When one of us would leave a room, he would start crying and the person would return…and he's be better. He is always taking a mental picture of everyone in his space so he can account for their whereabouts. So, to 1) transition him to a preschool that is new and 2) to leave him there without a person he knows, well…it was rough. He cried for the first week every time we dropped him off, but in the last 2 weeks he's been more excited to go and says that he "likes to play there." Last week, he told us he was bit by a little boy, and then ythis week he came home with a mark and a band-aid! Apparently, this kid is a known biter and after confirming that Declan was not the aggressor ("Declan? Oh no, he's really good – he would never start a fight") we had to tell the school to keep an extra careful watch and we'd have to pull him out if it happened again…which is a bummer because we love the school, love the teachers and Annika went there – we have a lovely history with this place. Is it normal to keep a "known" biter at a preschool? How many strikes until he's out?

So in case you made it this far you can see that our lives are pretty boring and pretty full. Just the way I like it.

Oh and ...GO GIANTS!