Autumn Update

We're well into Autumn now - snow caps the mountains around town, there's a familiar chill in the air, and everyone is shifting to snuggly indoor activities - but It's been a great Summer! Fiki and I got to visit Chicago in July to see my family, and we all went to Phoenix for Ofelia's birthday. Although we enjoyed the "Fiki Fete" when she turned one, we decided her second birthday should be a bit more low-key. It was different, but very fun! My mom came to visit us the week prior, and we enjoyed her company and took it easy. Immediately upon dropping her off at the airport, we continued on to visit Ty's family. In Phoenix, Mike and Lottie organized a family get-together that was intimate, relaxed, and very fun. Ty stayed on and visited with the San Diego clan while I returned home to enjoy some "Mommy Time" and take care of home projects that seemed to be hounding me all summer long. The big one was re-organizing Fiki's room:  Fiki - who is a self-proclaimed "big girl" - now has a real bed, no longer a crib.

In August, Ofelia "matriculated" to the Caterpillar room, the third-level classroom at the daycare. It took about a week to get adjusted - at first she was just a little shy and intimidated - but then the strings of words really began to flow. They really work on language skills, colors, shapes, and numbers (which Ofelia is grasping readily, to my delight). We now communicate quite well, although much of her speech is still... well, her own. Sometimes she tries to tell me something and I have no idea for the life of me what she's trying to pronounce - she patiently repeats it over and over until she grows frustrated with me (this must be the early start of "You just don't get it, Mom!").

It's a lot of fun these days! A big load of the work has been taken off of me as Ofelia gains independence of being, and I can step back and enjoy a lot more. We're not quite as exhausted as in months previous, but she definitely still draws a lot from us both. Ty feels it strongly now - he says it's gotten harder for him, which is in accordance to advice we've received. Most women tell me "It only gets easier from here on out", while the men sigh that "It only gets more difficult from here on out". I can deal with that ;)

We still spend the bulk of our fun time outside, and I don't anticipate that changing a whole lot during the winter - we stocked up on our cold weather gear and we're set to go! All I'm missing is a pair of snow shoes for when it gets deep. Fiki will most likely be taking her first slippery steps on skis on the mountain this year - we're excited to see how it goes!