The kids are doing AMAZING things right now. Two weekends ago, Kiana learned to climb up and down ALL of the red ladders at Bennett Park (two inclined straight ladders AND a curvy ladder that is taller than my head), AND the twisty green ladder-tunnel at Javits Park! At the same time, Aidan focused on the horizontal bars, himself how to sling his legs over one horizontal pole while hanging on with his hands to the other, and then to angle himself up back and forth until he STANDS on TOP of the horizontal bars, hands up, all by himself! (I keep wanting to call them my monkeys, but Aidan insists instead on, "SPIDERMAN!")
Kiana's language right now has also been developing in leaps and bounds. All week she has been asking questions ("Where Gpa? Where Mama? Oh, der Gpa! Der, Mama!") talking to herself ("Dis boo [this is blue], dis wed [this, red], der pewprew [there is purple]!"), demanding attention ("Yum, yemma! [Come, Gma!] yum, deppa [come, Gpa!]), sharing ("Ere, Ayan!" [Here, Aidan]", and exploring. It is fun to watch her adventures!
Two Sundays ago after church we enjoyed some magical moments. The cherry blossoms on the tree outside our church were in full bloom, and were "snowing" petals in the gorgeous, 70 degree afternoon. We sat for a while under it, marveling at the natural pink cathedral, while the kids played in the cherry pink snow. It was ethereally beautiful!
This past weekend, we drove up to the Catskills to see Grandma and Grandpa Ruane (Gma and Gpa). The kids helped plant mountain laurel and rhododendron bushes on Saturday, and a hazelnut tree on Sunday, which ended up being wonderful and interesting! On Saturday, Gma set up a bush planting project, and - since she had five Rhododendron bushes and one Mountain Laurel, she told Aidan that she was going to have a grandchildren garden, where each of the grandkids would have their own bush: the boys (Aidan and Griffin) would have Mountain Laurels, and the girls (Miya, Siena, Rae, Elsey, and Kiana) would have Rhododendrons. Aidan worked hard and long with his own shovel digging holes, putting plants in, filling in mulch, adding dirt, and finding and creating smooth stones to circle the bushes with. Kiana helped too! However, after a while, Aidan stopped working, sat down with me, and had a very sad conversation about the process: he said that it wasn't fair that he had to have a Mountain Laurel just because he was a boy: he didn't WANT a Mountain Laurel, he wanted a Rhododendron, and it wasn't fair that there were only TWO Moutain Laurels and FIVE Rhododendrons, and he hadn't been asked about what he wanted, and was very sad about how things were working out! So, we talked to Gma about it, and said that in our house we don't usually make a big deal about being a boy or a girl: everyone choose what they want to do, irregardless of being one or the other. She agreed whole-heartedly, and said it was fine if Aidan would like to choose a Rhododendron instead. And Daddy came up with the idea of having Gma and Gpa have the Mountain Laurel bushes, and the grandkids all having Rhododendrons, which everything agreed was brilliant. In the end, Gma and Gpa got a beautiful Grandparent and Grandkid garden, which was watered extensively later that evening by the downpour, and I had my heart warmed: I am so proud of Aidan for speaking up for himself and pursuing his goals in a way that circumvents (even well-meaning) gendered constraints in the way! Absolutely love it! :D
