Summer. June 24, 2009

Big sister shushing a restless baby!

Well, things have finally ‘downshifted’ to a more manageable gear over the past week.  Thank goodness.  The last few weeks before the holiday were insanely busy. 

The family left Sri Lanka very early on Wednesday morning June 17th (easily changed our departure date by two days for a negligible fee) and arrived in San Francisco on the same morning, just before noon.  Coming east to the states is a much better itinerary than going west.  Everyone survived the long flight and we had no problems.  Maddie was a traveling champ – she should be, after talking for two months about getting on the airplane.  She was so excited!  Calvin doesn’t really care where he is, as long as he is warm and dry, with a good diaper and breast to hang out on…. Maddie and dad have been suffering from bad head colds now for a while, and this didn’t make traveling any easier for either of them.  Everyone just needs lots of sleep.

Really, we haven’t done much since we arrived.  It took a good 3 days a foggy-minded jet lag before we felt ourselves again.  Though Calvin and Madeline seem to be much less affected by the time change (12.5 hours!) than mom and dad – or maybe this is because they both have spotty sleep habits anyway, so it doesn’t make much of a difference.  The California clan is very, very happy to have everyone home and tickled to get to know ‘The Calvinator’.  Maddie, of course, never tires of showing off her little brother to everyone.

Reclining Calvin....

On Father’s Day,  Sunday, the extended family came over for an afternoon of fun and games.  Maddie and Calvin got to hang out with cousins Henry and Scarlett and everyone had a super time.  Watersports and a bar-b-que.

Everyone is looking forward to a long relaxing summer in the USA.

The first month with the new roommate. June 9, 2009

Has it already been almost a month since Calvin came along?  Can’t believe it!  Time is moving fast.  That’s what happens at the end of the school year for teachers anyway, and this year is turbocharged, with the entire household still getting used to having an infant around.

I don’t know how it is possible, but having 2 kids is way more than double the work of one kid (have I said that before?)  That being said, Madeline’s crazy adjustment period is getting smoother.  The first two weeks were rough on the older sister – but now she’s cruisin’.  She no longer throws such severe tamper tantrums at the drop of a hat, or goes absolutely crazy for no apparent reason at all.  She’s on the tail end of a nasty cold at the moment that has brought her down a bit, but on the mend. She absolutely ADORES Calvin, and continues to be endlessly fascinated by him, showing him off to other people as ‘hers’ and treating him gently and lovingly.  We’ll see how long that lasts, until he starts playing with her toys!

Calvin is doing just great.  After a sleepy start (sleeping about 20 hours out of each 24!) we’ve come back down to reality as the past few weeks, he has been more active and sleeping less.  He is an incredible eater – I have never seen a kid that wants to eat so much so often.  Quite different from Maddie at that age.  He’s gaining lots of weight and is at that point where he can truly be called ‘cute’, though somewhat alien-looking at times.  He’s also developing a personality.  Stong-willed, knows just what he wants and when he wants it… oh wait is that Maddie or Calvin?  Hmmmm.  Mom is doing well at home, not working, though at times it’s not easy for her.  Calvin is demanding at times and she has the typical cabin-fever that all moms get from time to time during the early days of infancy.  But she’s doing great, finally nearly back to normal physically after a month on the mend.  We’ve started our pleasant neighborhood walks again and she’s almost to the point where she will be going to the gym to work out.  Pretty impressive, a month after what she went through!  Sleeping at night has once again become a luxury, as Calvin pretty much just sleeps whenever has feels like it around the clock, and is up at all hours as well.

Everyone has done a good job making Maddie feel like she is still an important kid.  This, as every parent of more than one child knows, is crucial.  She got a great gift a few weeks ago – her very own parakeet!  She loves him, though wants to call him ‘Calvin’.  That was over-ruled by mom and dad, so we have settled on ‘Greenie’ since he is, in fact, green. Clever! To her, a parakeet is not unique in itself as we have them flying around our neighborhood. But what a treat to have your own.

Though we have not been out of town for a while, we’ve tried to be as mobile as reasonable for Amy and Calvin.  Last weekend we went to the Parliament grounds on Sunday afternoon - this is a huge open expanse (park-like) that fills with cricketters and families on weekend afternoons.  Among other things, Madeline got to ride a pony, which she adored.  We’ve also done some trips to the pool and the school playground.  But it’s quite difficult to travel much with this situation.  We’ve thought over the past few weekends that we might get out of town for a night, but it just hasn’t materialized.  And that’s ok, as we are about to embark on a very big trip, back to the USA for several weeks.  Maddie is really looking forward to that (“I want to go on an airplane!  I want to go on an airplane and see Nonnie and PapaG!  I want to go on an airplane and see Meemaw and Poppy!  I want to go on an airplane….!” over and over and over and over….)  All in due time.