playroom

I rearranged the playroom furniture to make it a better playroom and guestroom. As I was doing it, I thought I was maybe making it marginally better, or marginally worse. I thought Sophie and Joseph were going to be mad at my strategy for patching together all the leftover carpet from the bedrooms. But then we came down to play in it the next day and it is terrific. Sunny, spacious, the toys are easier to get to, and Mom says the guest bed is more comfortable––it has access to a reading lamp and bedside table. It was inspiring.

In addition, I did end up sending out some Slipping queries and some agents are reading it. Two have already rejected it, but I want to remind myself right now that I need to just keep sending it out into the world, and not give up, and not settle.

I've written down two stories that I've told Max and feel good about them. Not sure what to do with them, but I'm glad they're around.

I miss Max

I just wrote about Max's growth this month, and I am glad he's growing, and glad he is loving school. But I also am feeling sad about how independent he is becoming, and how the sleepy recovery we see at home isn't what I'm used to. I'm used to the whole Max.

In the two weeks before school started, we went to the Prospect Park Zoo, the Bronx Zoo, the Children's Museum, the Acquarium, and the carousel. Other days, we relaxed, had playdates, went to the playground. He was ready to go every day. We had active days and quiet days and I knew everything he was thinking. It was lovely, and though I think I was sad about not doing any work during that time, I miss it. I can see the appeal of staying at home full time. I am waiting for him to be able to take school more in stride, and come back, but it's kind of like walking around without a watch you're used to wearing these days.

Big growth month

Well September is over and I just want to record what a big push it has been both for Max and Eliza. Max started school, and I can just see his brain stretching. He was really nervous on the first day and asked me to tell him stories about my own preschool on the walk to school. Then he loved it, and as the month has progressed it has become all consuming. When he's not at school, he's thinking and talking about it, or sleeping on the couch which he's started to do. He's grown about an inch, and is getting really good at talking through his feelings, saying "I'm mad" instead of just acting mad.

His favorite friends as far as I can tell at school are Kika, Henry and Evan. Their names come up a lot.

Yesterday they celebrated his friend Henry's birthday. There was a birthday swing––which is teachers swinging a child back and forth. Max thought it was going to be a real swing, and was disappointed, and then terrified when he saw what it actually was. He talked about it all day––and he started out saying, "I'm mad at the birthday swing, I hate the birthday swing, hmmph," and ended up being able to say his true feelings, and then this morning said he would want the birthday swing on his birthday.

They seem to have muffins on birthdays instead of cupcakes. Whoah.

Eliza's 7th month has been record breaking. She learned to 1) crawl, 2) sit up, 3) stay sitting, 4) stand, 5) stay standing, 6) pull herself up, 7) clap, 8) wave, 9) use consonants. Again, whoah.

She's also taken to smiling a lot at us and at strangers. She has two smiles. First is her big smile––open mouth, two teeth on display, big eyes. Then comes her super big smile, where she squints her eyes and wrinkles her nose. Somewhere deep inside a little Scotty is saying, "Capt'n, I'm giving her all the power she can stand!"