Family of Origin

We are getting ready to go to Florida in a few days for Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary. I have been spending many hours looking at old pictures as Dan and I are preparing a pretty extensive photo slideshow for the party. It is not easy incorporating 50 years into 15 minutes! The end result, I can tell, will just be lovely and a great tribute.

Doing a project like this really puts you in a contemplative mood. I keep recalling a phrase. When we first moved here and I was lonely for familiarity, an older woman from church made the statement to me "I can tell your "family of origin" is very important to you." Indeed, it is, but I have thought a lot about that phrase and what it means. As I look at these pictures, they really are a life created by two people. Yes, there are other folks involved along the way but this whole, massive crew originated from just two people. So it makes me wonder when your definition of "family" shifts from what was, as she stated, "your family of origin" and becomes simply "your family", meaning you, your husband and your own kids. Not meaning that your extended family loses importance but rather that your frame of referance changes. I guess for me, I am still somewhere in the middle, still leaning toward the former. I have to wonder if being the youngest child, especially youngest by such a spread of years, makes that transition any harder, delaying it much longer. I have to think it probably does.

For now, I guess, I will continue where I am at.

I am sure the years, invlovment in the increasing complexity of my children's lives will eventually draw me in that direction. I am sure we are going to have a great time next week. It is especially nice that my whole "family of origin" will be there as my brother Loren and his family will be there. How nice! I think it has been almost 12 years since we were all together in one room. It will also be great to spend Easter together.

For the Love of Daddy

It really is amazing how the more time you spend with a kid - the harder it is for them to be apart. (at least until you are way out of sight and they have moved on to something more entertaining) Since Dan started watching the kids 3 days per week a few weeks ago, it is obvious to tell the kids are responding. Avram often looks at him with that baby love glow smile and cries when he walks out the door. Kade also doesn't want him to leave for more than a few minutes. They both love their Dad a lot.

Avram is cruising around the furniture very well now. He continues to let go sometimes and stands, wobbling for a second or two before he finds his grip again or falls, plump on his behind. He now says yet another B word "bath". As soon as we enter the kid's bathroom upstairs and the water starts to run, he gets really hyper. He crawls over to the tub, pulls himself up and literally jumps up and down. Over and over, he pounds on the side of the tub chanting "bath!! bath!! bath!! bath!!" until he gets plopped inside. He sits very well in the tub now, playing with the toys and grabbing the bubbles.

Kade is steadily learning to recognize more numbers and letters. He can't quite identify the letter with it's sound but he will get there. He is practicing writing his name. He still has not decided whether he is left or right handed which is kind of odd at this point, at almost 4 years old. He still seems to use them almost equally although he seems to have better fine control with his left. He uses his right hand often for gross motor skills and seems to kick with his right. I know true ambidexterity is extremely rare so he is probably "mixed deterity" which are people who can use one hand better for some tasks and the other hand better for other tasks. It will just be interesting to see which skills, particularly writing, is better with which.

We are getting ready to go back to Florida in a couple weeks. Kade is very excited to go to Disney World for the first time.