Random

I have not had much opportunity to write on here. I have been super busy, well, maybe not super busy, but it seems to me that I have a lot of things pulling at me during my "free time", I have been working on Eric's quilt, and going to the gym. Lately though my thoughts are on the tragedy in Hsv and reading everything that is written about it. I used to work on the same floor as one of the professors that was killed and spoke to her many times. Several of my good friends worked with her. She was a super hard worker and gave me a plant that sadly didn't make it through our many moves. Randomly early this year I was speaking with our neighbor and we talked about the same plant and how I wanted to get more of it. It is surreal to know someone who was killed in such a manner and well, Maria was such a sweet person, very driven and sometimes difficult to work for, but she always wanted the people she worked with to be the best they could and that can often cause challenges when you in that situation.
On to happier things, I think. My Mother always says that one thing about my kids, they are never lacking in imagination. I don't let Gwen watch a lot of TV-Sesame Street while Nate is napping, but Eric likes to let her watch movies occasionally, so she has now seen many Disney movies. When people used to ask her name she would tell them "Belle" all the time, but she'd say "it is ok if we still want to call her Gwen", that kid! She has recently moved onto Briar Rose and Ariel. Although come to think of it, she doesn't call herself Ariel, she calls herself the mermaid and she goes to the sunken ship (in our bedroom by the closet, where she brings "treasures"). What is funny about it is when she is Ariel she puts both of her legs on the one side of the pants and hops or crawls around the house. She will do this all day! I had some pictures of it on the old computer, but I lost them :( I have some I recently took, but I don't like them, actually, I do like them, but I feel they are showing too much skin for the internets...so for now you will just have to live with the image in your head.
Nate is still quite the character, his words are very clear. He is speaking 2-3 word phrases, maybe even sentences. He is quite smart I think. I find myself qualifying his intelligence when we are in public. I don't want people to feel bad because Nate is so smart. I don't know if that makes people feel better when I say things like "he has an older sister and that makes a difference". I don't know that it does though, certainly he wants to keep up with Gwen and they spend an awful lot of time together so she teaches him a lot of words. He is also quite humorous right now because his favorite animal is "a duck". So hilarious, anytime we sing a song about animals and ask him what animal he'll ALWAYS without fail say "a duck!" This has been going on for at least a month. Have I metioned yet he can sing his ABCs and count to 10?
We are definitely at fun stage with both kids. I have started to let Nate walk more and hold hands, previously he would lean real far forward when you tried to hold his hand and then try to get out of your grip. Recently he has started to calm down and hold my hand and then also hold hands with Gwen, I so wish I could get a picture of the 3 of us walking around holding hands I feel like it is so cute and it warms my heart! Although sometimes just to be funny when Gwen and I are holding his hand he'll go down on his knees and then we will all laugh. Stay tuned for pictures from V'day cookie decorating, hopefully I will get to that soon!
Oh and if you were paying attention to one of the last slideshows with the snow, it may have looked like Nate was going to be run over by the Jeep, he was not in fact run over by the Jeep or was the Jeep even on, just a product of the "fade", I sadly don't watch the slideshows after I make them!