Not Quite Groundhog Day

It's been a little hectic around here lately. We've been doing a few things post-dinner the last couple of weeks (swimming, climbing wall, etc.) which makes things feel a little rushed in the evenings. I've also been taking advantage of the nice weather by taking the kids to the park, which gives me less time to do things around home. But it's hard not to be outside when the sun is shining and things feel spring like. I guess we've been to the park enough, in Anna's opinion. She flatly refused to head there now, so the kids are playing in the back yard. Playing together nicely, I might add. They've been doing that with greater frequency, which is nice.

Isaac's big news is that he recently got a big boy twin bed. The delivery guys showed up a little early (while I was still at the gym, actually) so Jon had to figure out where to put what. But it all worked out, and I'm quite happy with the bed we chose. Isaac's room is a little small, so we got a bed with drawers and also shelves for a headboard. We still need to move some things out of the room (like the change table), but the crib is gone and it looks like a little boys room now. Jon felt a little nostalgic about the crib, but I was so glad to see that thing go. We aren't going to resell it (it's a side-drop crib, likely recalled at some point in the last few years), so I guess it will hit the trash. I feel kind of bad about that - but not so bad that I'm willing to keep it in the basement.
Frankly, I'm looking forward to putting these baby things behind and moving forward. The change table will be the next big hurdle. I'll be glad to see that go too, but I'm NOT looking forward to hopping the potty train. Perhaps this is why I'm putting it off until Isaac is three.

Anna's inside the house now, and has changed into her P.J.s. Never mind that it's only 3 in the afternoon. She's turning more and more into a homebody every day, and not always for the better. It was like pulling teeth to get her to go to dance class this past week - the same class she had begged to attend. She's even grouchy during Isaac's story time at the library, and doesn't want to go to junior church. Part of her dance class hesitation comes from a tendency to avoid things she's not immediately good at. So how far do I push this? Do I make her go? Give up? I'm not sure giving up is the right answer. And it doesn't solve her general reluctance to go anywhere these days, which is completely baffling. She constantly wants to play with someone, so why not head out to these places which are rife with someones to play with? After all, I am no fun at all. I'm truly not. And while Isaac is fun, he also beats on his sister when the spirit moves him.

The silver lining here is that Anna still enjoys preschool. This bodes well for kindergarten, I think. I hope. I expect that Kindergarten will also help our relationship. I love my daughter, but I think absence makes the heart grow fonder sometimes. Or to put it another way, not being constantly together every minute of every day makes me appreciate my daughter more. And hopefully vice versa.