America, America!

We had excellent seats for the inauguration today. And, no, we didn't have to get up especially early. It pays to know people, you see, and the people we know, well, they have a couch near their TV. Rachel stood up close and raised her hand along with her pal Joe Biden,
and then President Obama (I still grin every time I hear or say those words!) was kind enough to take a moment during his address to pose with both Rachel and Nathan. What? You didn't see them? Good thing we took a photo, then.


Rachel learned a new word today: America. When I told her yesterday that this would be a special day because Barack Obama would become president and be in charge of "taking care of our country" she said she'd rather that Daddy be in charge of taking care of our country. (As soon as she gets suffrage, David has one vote! Look for him on the 2024 ballot.) But today, once we called it "America," she was okay with Obama being in charge. She even spent a good part of the morning running around the house singing "America, America" over and over in between renditions of "Angels We Have Heard on High." (Have I mentioned that she's very much into singing all of a sudden and actually knows quite a few lyrics? Not a single melody, but quite a few lyrics.) The red, white, and blue sprinkles on the pancakes might have sweetened the deal--hey, we know how to celebrate a historic event in this house!

My mimic

Rachel is a keen observer of, well, us. Today I told her this, then explained, "I mean you watch everything I do, very carefully..." and she interrupted me and said, "and then I do it!" Right on, Rachel. Right on. The other day she wrapped a doll blanket around her middle and tucked a small figure inside--she had a baby in her sling, and she was darling. Then I noticed that she had a sticker on her foot in the exact same place where I've been wearing a band-aid. Almost freaky, but still darling! Think this will still apply when she's 15?

Catching up

So, when we had a boy and people told us to get ready for our visits to the emergency room, I laughed. I had no idea they really meant, "Get ready--now!" Nathan's starting young--he had his first visit to the ER and his first x-rays at just six weeks of age! Of course, it wasn't really any boy-daredevil stuff that sent us there--not this time, anyway--just slippery stairs and butterfingers Mom. He's fine, and so are the rest of us, thank goodness. I will just say this: those trauma bays are not as big as they look on TV. It's really quite crowded when all the doctors and nurses gather around the bed. You'd think they'd make them just a mite bigger.

That said, we are all still here in the real-o-sphere, even when we disappear for a while from the blogosphere. I guess actually I should say we live in the troposphere if I want to stick with using real words. But then, I could just be like Rachel and not live by such picky constraints. For all the enormous vocabulary she has, this child loves to make up silly words and keep us guessing as to their meanings. This morning, she told someone she didn't want to drink from a cup because it was "too bobby." Perhaps she'll be a poet, a la Jabberwocky, or a children's musician. Or perhaps she'll someday grow out of the exciting and unbounded world she lives in now, a world where she can make up words, where it counts as a jump even if one foot stays on the floor, where the juice and frozen peas and stickers flow freely, where bunny ears as a pajama accessory are just good, clean fun. From my vantage point in the real-o-sphere/troposphere, I hope she lives there for a good long while. It sure looks like fun, and I like that she lets me visit.


Nathan, for his part, is keeping us busy and entertained even when he's not dragging us to the hospital. Rachel exclaims triumphantly, "He's lookin' at his big sista!" (There will come a day, I know, when "He's looking at me!" will be pronounced with slightly different inflection. We'll enjoy this for now.) after many of their cuddles and often tells us that he's "talkin' to his big sista Rachel." He has also taken up dance and may be ready to audition for Riverdance soon--check out how still he keeps his torso while his feet go wild! I haven't seen the show...there is a part where all the performers are lying down beneath mobiles, right? He loves his mobile--I think it's his muse.