fun times

I have Scotty signed up for a bunch of free and cheap (yay Tempe!) classes through the city parks and rec. Ever since I started our little preschool time and started taking him to these, he's been an all-around much happier kid. Maybe it's coincidental, and he's at a mellower age, but we're all a little less crazy around the house when Scotty's happy. He's delightful. Almost 100% of the time. Realizing that just a little individual attention is what did it for him makes me a little sad. I thought I was doing a pretty good job being a mom of 2, but I guess we all learn as we go...


James is perma-happy still, and so fun. We've been noticing more and more though that he's like a giant 8 month old instead of an almost 1 year old. He scoots, rolls, sits and plays, claps, laughs, imitates, and "dada's" all day long. But still no crawling or cruising. The pediatrician suggested we have him checked out by early intervention, and as it turns out, he's a little behind on gross and fine motor skills, as well as his verbal skills. During the first e.i. visit, I realized that James needs a little more one-on-one time, too! She asked me questions I might have been able to answer "yes" to, had James been in Scotty's place. I was much more hands-on with Scott from an early age, kept copious notes of what he learned when, etc. I know most parents go through this, but I've been truly humbled. The good news is James is already improving with only 2 visits, and we're more conscious of what he needs.

Here are James' greatest assets. I'm sure they'll melt away as he gets more active, so I wanted to preserve them for posterity:

This is a lame attempt at capturing one of my favorite James rituals. Every meal clean-up time, we go to the sink, and he grabs and grabs at the water with those uber-chubby fingers and hands. He's done it since at least 4 months old, and could stay there forever. Needless to say, bathtime is a fun time, too. It's my favorite fix for evening fussies, and *always* does the trick. These are some pics of a recent trip to the Phoenix Zoo with Karen Eberhard and boys.
Giddy-up!
Is it gonna get me?
Save us! Save us all!
Scotty loved the goat petting zoo:the boys showing their true Iowa colors:
Ending a long morning:Shortly thereafter:Another car nap on the way to Vegas for Easter and Jer's 30thEaster mania at Grandma and Grandpa's:Vegas is always a good time. And a chubby time. The food is entirely too tasty. We celebrated 30 years of Jeremy while we were there. Yay for Jer! He's such a fun guy to dote on. Turns out birthdays are just as exciting as Christmas to a 3 year old. Everything is so exaggeratedly fun to Scott, and it's very contagious.

A highlight of his birthday (here in Phoenix, before we left town) was Jer's choice of dinner out to Pizzeria Bianco. There were moments during the 3 hour wait (no joke!) I thought we were insane. Then we tasted the food. And were treated like the waiter's best friends. And got blown kisses (not Jer, don't worry) and personally thanked by the chef himself. It was TOTALLY worth it. And if any of you are ever in Phoenix and have a spare 5 hours, I highly recommend trying it out. Especially if you're in constant pursuit of the perfect pizza, like Jer seems to be. In the last few months, he's eaten at Gino's in Chicago, Fresh Brother's in LA, and here. The verdict is definitely in favor of Fresh Brother's, by the way, but I guess Fresh Brother's and Pizzeria Bianco are apples and oranges.

We're definitely on the downhill here in Tempe, which is good news for our utilities budget, as we've been suffocating in 100+ weather since Sunday and our car and apt a/c seem to be maxed out keeping us only mildly sweaty instead of really, really sweaty. blegh. I loved the winter, but I think we're definitely getting out at the right time. Unless we had a pool, then I think I'd want to stay forever... In mid-May we take off for Graduation (hooray for Dr. Jer!) and "final" visits to family before being sequestered on the east coast for 3 years. Jer starts the last week in June, and thus begins "real life" for us. No more summer vacations. Ever. Weird. But I'm sure the perks will outweigh those of med school, i.e. an *income*! wahoo! We'll keep you posted.