Short Takes

There's so much to say each day as TJ and the girls grow and the and we all entwine in new ways, but the reserves of time and energy are constantly in demand and sometimes sleep is the wiser choice and recording these moments gets put off for another day and another.

And so,
some comments from the peanut gallery.

Meimei, left,  told us this week that she was studying George Washington in preschool.
"What did you learn about George Washington?" I asked her.
"He's the one with the white hair," she said with undisguised pride.

TJ continues to surprise us. Here he is in his Shirt of 100 Eyeballs, made for the 100th day of school celebration. He refused to wear it, then relented but would not wear it with the long-sleeved shirt underneath. At last, he gave in. Sometimes with TJ it helps to be a clown; he is easily disarmed by his own laughter.
Tonight he said, "Daddy computer."

Then to clarify, he said, "Big." I took him to the desktop computer, knowing full well he could find it and log in himself. "Uh-uh," he says, shaking his head and thinking. "Big iPhone!"
"Oh," I said.  "Daddy's iPad?"
"iPad!" he said, thrilled to have gotten through. Pretty resourceful.

Jiejie is nearly 8 years old and changing fast. She's taking an advanced sewing class at the Y; she knits, with needles and with fingers; she watches out for her big brother and little sister, and she competes with them wholeheartedly. Like TJ, she has trouble putting things in perspective. What seems like a minor slight causes weeping, as intense a reaction as a major emotional wound. She dives into chapter books, but wants to be on my lap every time she stops moving. At her insistence, all three children imbibed in chocolate milk from baby bottles, just as Jiejie did when Meimei came home, a sort of planned regression she found comforting. They each were rocked and cuddled while they drank their milk. They kept it up for three days, and after that the bottles have been, for the most part, put away. But the baby in each of them is near the surface. Jiejie had a couple of whiny and weepy days, and a few hours after this photo was taken complained of a sore throat and headache and spiked a fever of 103.6. I held her in my arms most of the night and put cold cloths on her neck and forehead, and looking down at here, with her hair held back by the washcloth, I could see the long lashes, pouty lips and full cheeks of the beautiful baby who came home almost seven years ago.