Catching Up--Volume I: Rudy

I need three more days in my week at least.

Sorry to be so long in between updates lately. I wish I could say that we've been swept away by some grand glorious excitement, but really it's just normal ol' life that's keeping us scattered. Well, that's only partly true, I guess, because we are in the last days of Paul's dissertation and that is some grand glorious excitement! He's working so hard and I'm trying to make that work easier on him by keeping my composure and sense of humor. Some days I do better than others.

So there's a lot to say and I'll try to say it now. I'll start with Rudy, who is the sun in my sky and also, unfortunately, the throbbing directly behind my left eyeball. Oy. My sister-in-law told me once that 2 & 4 are horrendous, but 3 is a little slice of heaven. Marie, I'm afraid I am having a different experience than you did because 3 is SO much harder than 2 was. It's like Rudy saved up all his "terribles" and is now unleashing them like a plague of frogs upon the world. Okay, I am exaggerating, but somehow this age lends itself beautifully to hyperbole. The whining, for instance. Dear GOD the whining. Paul and I think he's having a delayed reaction to Josephine's arrival. A kind of regression, which we were warned would likely happen but did not expect to happen now. He's very, very clingy and needy and can burst into tears at a single word and become inconsolable. He wants to follow me everywhere. To the grocery, which is fine. To the bathroom, which is not.

And then there's the swearing.

We admit it: we sometimes let slip in front of the kids. Nothing too graphic, of course, but the kind of thing that inspires this sort of exchange:

Rudy: "$#@*&*!!"
me: "What did you just say?"
Rudy: "Maybe it sounds like damnit of some kind."

At the same time, though, he can be delightful and charming and full of love for his sister, his parents and the people closest to him. We hear a lot of spontaneous "I love yous" for instance, and just tonight I saw him walk over to Josephine and kiss her on the top of her head before moving on to play with his own toys. Insanely sweet. He's very dedicated to letters and numbers at the moment, and loves to sing the alphabet song constantly. I credit Paul entirely with this, as he is the one who taught him his letters during bath time. He is also becoming a master of imaginary play. This afternoon he told me an intricate story about his teacher Ms. Aracky (entirely fabricated as he does not go to school) and friend, Zick, who didn't want to share his toys but then Rudy convinced him to take turns so they went to the moon together instead. Hey, good compromise!

A few pictures now.

Peanut-butter and squirrel food pine cone. Ridiculous blue eyes. Cat.


Our neighbor's excavator.

Almost as tall as the tire!

Finally, one of the loveliest things of my year. It was my birthday a few days ago, and when I came downstairs for breakfast, this is what I found at my place:

The flowers are a birthday tradition in Paul's family and we've continued it with our own. The picture, however, is all Rudy. This is extra special because he's not particularly into drawing yet. He explained that "The green line is Mama and the other lines are her body."

Hmm. Seems like that one's ripe for some metaphysical analysis.


Next up: Josephine...