The day of the inauguration, I was home and the boys were at school (and A. was home sick with a cold or flu or something), so I was doing a lot of housework, mostly folding laundry and washing dishes, hand washing multiple bottles and pump parts. My mind tends to wander during those tasks, and I think the inauguration and impending Women’s March got me thinking about women’s issues and fears I have for the future. It was a sad day! I would have loved to take part in Portland’s march the following day, but I had to work over the weekend, with two crazy, long shifts and some sad stories from my patients. By the end of the weekend, I was feeling pretty worn down. A.’s brother was visiting and I hardly got to see him, but I’m glad he was there to help A. with the kids! Especially because A. got pinkeye somehow, and then I got it from him (along with some cold symptoms) and had to call in sick for my two work shifts the next week. Ugh, what a dreary time! But it’s so much worse for people affected by these executive orders, people whose lives are stake. I’ve been so heartened by all of the protests, though! It’s good to know there are so many good people in this country, showing real American spirit and making me feel proud of what we stand for. But then I remember that those in power, including so many corporate-sponsored Democrats, are unaffected by the voices of the American people, and I feel discouraged and hopeless again.

But I sure love my boys!

Sam on the floor:

Walking Andrew:

Sam likes these beads:

Teething on an apple (only with me right there – it seems like a choking hazard):

Sam exploring and Ari doing the poses in his yoga book:

Sometimes Sam likes to get his own toys out:

That week, Ari was really into his new Gruffalo book, and he would often recite the whole thing. On one of our walks, he didn’t have any books to look at because he hadn’t picked any out when I asked him to and I was unwilling to wait any longer, so after whining about the unfairness for a block or so, he started cheerfully reciting the Gruffalo. Way to be flexible, kid!

Ari has also been more into saying “I love you,” which is very sweet. One day, he asked me, indicating himself and Sam, “Who do you love the best?” I was trying to figure out the right way to answer that I loved them both as much as I could possibly love anyone, when he said, “Do you love Sam and me both the best?” so I just said, “Yes!”

A few other developmental notes… We read a book that talked about patterns and ever since, Ari has been pointing out patterns and creating patterns. He’ll say, “I’m eating a raisin, then an almond, then a raisin, then an almond – that’s a pattern!” I’m thinking that I should take advantage of this interest and created some food patterns that involve vegetables!

He’s also interested in words that rhyme and things that are opposites. One day while we were out for a walk he was listing opposites and said, “Real dinosaurs and toy dinosaurs…those are opposites!” I thought about it and said, “Yes, toy dinosaurs are not real…” and then he said, “Real dinosaurs and pretend dinosaurs are opposites!”

Ari also made a cute book of bear stories at school, with some great drawings, where you can see that he was drawing legs, eyes, and ears, which is pretty new for him. Here are a couple of pages of it, and the back cover:

Sam is moving around more and more, and one of his teachers told me that one day he saw a toy he wanted across the room, and he took off and rolled really fast all the way from one corner of the room to the other to get the toy!

The other excitement around here is that the foundation of the ADU has been poured!

It was a long, busy day for the crew. When I got the boys home from school, the crew helped me put their hand prints in the cement where the stairs will be, so we should be able to see them under the stairs. It was pretty dry by that point, so the prints are faint, and I hope they turn out okay!

Early the next morning:

At the end of the week, the day the above photo was taken, we left to visit A.’s parents in Reno – more on that trip in my next post!