Need to update

Just wanted to update on recent happenings with the kids. Sadie's school year seems to be off to a great start. There are some really nice kids in her class, and overall, she seems at ease, which is a great relief to me. We attended the first birthday party of the year and it was really nice to get to see her interact with the kids. I'm pleased to say that she really jumped right in and was very comfortable. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that she didn't cling to Abby - in fact, she spent much of the time talking with another classmate and didn't seem in the least worried about where Abby was. This is good. As thrilled as I am with the friendship with Abby, I know how girls can be and I keep stressing to Sadie that she needs to be open to friendships with other girls and not so dependent on just one friend.

Speaking of birthday parties - Sadie's 'birthday week of festivities' wrapped up on Sunday with a trip to American Girl Place. What an adorable place. Sadie and Eden (and, yes, Mommy and Daddy) really enjoyed the 'fancy' restaurant, and had fun browsing the store. We spent a bit of time walking around NYC afterwards, and overall it was just a great day.

As for Eden, what can I say? She has been unbelievably adorable lately, even if the tantrums and freshness continue. I know I shouldn't laugh when she says things like "shush! Shut out!" to me, but Eden being naughty is awfully hard to resist. She has this imaginary friend, Una (Oona?) who she talks about all the time. We're probably making some grave mistake by encouraging it, but again, it is just very cute to hear what goes on in her head. All the lead up to Sadie's birthday has Eden jonesing in a big way for her own. She tells anyone who will listen that her birthday is in January, and she's going to have a party and wear a crown and have a cake with Belle (from Beauty and Beast) on it.

She is also outgrowing some of her most adorable misarticulations, which is bittersweet. She no longer calls her friend Joseph "Jofess" and she repeatedly tells me "I don't say Opiseye anymore..I say Octopus!" Thankfully, she still mangles a few words like Leyow (yellow) and asketti (spaghetti) so I get to relish the baby talk for a bit longer. At Cindy's, she is learning to write her name and, miraculously, poop on the potty.

We will be moving Eden to a big girl bed this winter and saying goodbye to the crib forever. at some point in the next few months, I will be buying the last pack of diapers for our household. When "Madagascar 2" comes out next month, we plan to take both kids - this will mark Eden's first trip to the movies, and the end of man-on-man parenting, where one of us does 'big kid' stuff with Sadie while the other entertains Eden.

It is an interesting place to be in the parenthood journey - kind of at the crossroads where we are starting to leave babyhood and all its trappings behind, and look ahead to just parenting kids.

I do feel like I was able to cherish Eden's babyhood a bit more than I did the first time around, because I knew how quickly it would pass, though there is a part of me that is sad to see it end. Mostly, though, I'm looking forward to what lies ahead.