tonyaharrington.com/blog

Child’s play

tonya — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:06:54 +0000

In an effort to convince Chris to help Emma Kate clean her (VERY messy) room, I was met with an explanation of why I should embrace her ‘creative play’ and the resulting mess. Our conversation went something like this:

Me: It drives me crazy how our kids tear through things and have no respect for putting things back where they belong. Emma Kate emptied out her dresser drawers to house stuffed bunnies and pretend food.

Chris: She’s having fun! One day [when she is a teenager] you’ll wish she still emptied her drawers to play with her stuffed animals. It won’t be long before she no longer plays with baby dolls and stuffed animals.

Me: (Teary-eyed and feeling slightly guilty) Ok.

So, all you mommies out there…
How DO you embrace the youth and reckless abandon of your children without losing your own sanity? Feel free to comment… hint, hint!

Big kids, big stuff

tonya — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:47:58 +0000

This beautiful fall day was a mixed blessing for me. I am so proud of my little people and their “big” accomplishments, but I also want them to stay little. Jack is growing like a weed- he has definitely crossed the bridge from toddler to preschooler. Today, we baked un-cheeze-its together and rode our bikes, enjoying the weather. On Friday, Jack read a few pages from a Dick and Jane book. He has shown a lot of interest lately in how words are put together and the sounds letters make. We used a combination of sight word recognition and phonetic sounds to read, “See Jane. Look. Oh, oh, oh…” It was pretty cool to observe his little brain working so hard. Emma Kate is still thriving at school. Her favorite class is recess and she has recently grown quite fond of jumping rope. She went from a novice to quite a little pro in just a few days. And, our big news of the day… Emma rode her bike (her smaller one) without training wheels! It was kind of weird to observe- one minute she was tottering along, and the next minute she was riding like it was second nature. Strange how that works. Pictures to come…

Remembering Sara

tonya — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:59:35 +0000

I am writing today to remember my cousin Sara who passed yesterday. Sara was a feisty spirit- intelligent, sharp, and witty. Even after a lifelong struggle with her health, she still pressed on to do the things she enjoyed most- spending time with family and friends. We always enjoyed Sara’s company- and we knew she loved Emma and Jack, and all the children in her life. It is so hard to believe she is gone. Sara will be greatly missed by family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

Happy Halloween!

tonya — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 03:20:39 +0000

Tonight, we had a blast trick or treating and spending time with friends and neighbors. After sorting their loot, the kids stuffed themselves with unlimited candy until they hit a sugar plateau, then practically begged to lie down.

Emma Kate and Jack dressed as zoo keepers this Halloween. It literally took them months to decide on costumes- and I think it’s terribly cute that they insisted on choosing the same costume.

And, Jane’s costume stole the show and received lots of support from a number of neighbors:

Emma Kate’s favorite part of the evening was giving out candy to late stragglers once we arrived home:

Parade of literature

tonya — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:45:22 +0000

Each Halloween at EK’s school, the kids (and teachers) dress up as characters from favorite literature. Emma Kate dressed as Fern from Charlotte’s Web. She wore overalls (thanks, Fletcher!), braids, and a spider- and carried “Wilbur.” Her friend, Nicole, dressed as Wilbur, so the girls were really cute together. It’s always fun to see children celebrating books!

I think I’m loving my girl in braids!

Scary!!

tonya — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:37:43 +0000

How frightening is this?

Chris’ job in a creative ad agency makes him privy to all sorts of crazy Halloween costumes. Check out his colleagues hard at work.

Like father, like daughter (repost)

tonya — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:34:29 +0000

I couldn’t resist sharing the similarity- I think Chris is about 2 here, but check out these look-alikes!

Sweet sleepers

tonya — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 03:14:47 +0000

Couldn’t resist blogging this picture of my cute little people. I had to throw Jack in the bed with Emma while I made up his bed- and the cuties just snuggled up together. They’ll love this picture when they are adolescents

Pumpkin carving

tonya — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:29:49 +0000

We decided to use templates this year and to give the kids a chance to use the sharp tools- it seemed to go pretty well! Now, if only I can figure out a fun art project to do with all these pumpkin seeds…

Blueridge Parkway with the gang from the ‘boro

tonya — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:24:20 +0000

We enjoyed a blissful Sunday on the Blueridge Parkway with friends. We met up with the gang at the Cascades- where we shared a picnic and trailblazing (i.e.- a short walk) through the mountains. It was a beautiful day catching up with old friends (old as in I haven’t seen Jamie and Angela in forever- not old as in we graduated high school 16 years ago). We topped off the day with an evening visit to Mom and Dad’s house and a bowl of homemade vegetable soup. Looking forward to the next gathering with even more pals! (PS- thanks, Dawn for the fabulous idea!!)

More parkway pics…