April 1, 2011: Woogie is 5!

I just love that picture. It's so 80's, an instant classic. Well, Luke is now 5, much to his delight, and dismay, because he CAN'T play baseball or go to school yet. He fails to grasp that concept completely, my fault, for I kept telling him that he could play and go to school "when he is 5". [Parents of 3 and under, heed my warning: they will listen to everything you say, and then use it against you later. You may *think* they don't hear you, but it's just a clever trick, don't fall for it.]

What I love about Luke is that he is so determined. He knows exactly what he wants, and proceeds to work until he gets it...take for instance, our birthday "outing" to the BX - we went to the donut shop first, he got a chocolate chip muffin and some lemonade (lemonade?!??), and then when we went shopping (me with Isaac in the backpack carrier, trying to keep Josh contained to the small confines of the shopping cart), he chose a 1.) harmonica, 2.) A "Fur Real" Cat that purrs, and 3.) Baseball bases and new batting gloves (I told you he really thinks he is playing this season....he tells me ALL.THE.TIME. "I'm going to be late for practice, mom, and my coach will be mad!!")
I let him pick out his gifts, because his REAL gift is a new B-I-K-E, which he still hasn't seen yet, because Jeff needs to put it together and we haven't actually had any time at all...besides sleeping time, and we can't afford to cut any of that! I'll put up some pics when we do finally give him his new bike!

It does seem like just yesterday that we were at David Grant with our precious little Lukie...who was so quiet, so soft and cuddly...so happy and content. Things were so different then, so much easier, but we didn't think so at the time! We were living in a brand new house in Dixon, I was homeschooling Dylan, and we had only been married a year...and we didn't know what we were doing, really. It's neat how you grow so much when you have children, your priorities change, your selfish desires wane and are replaced by a desire to serve your family. Of course, my Christian path is more heavily trodden, too...and in my spiritual growth, confronted by spiritual truths, you are able to see how far you've come, while at the same time realizing how far you still have to go. That was a rabbit trail...sorry about that!

Happy Birthday, Luke. Soon you will be playing baseball, in 5 months you will be starting Kindergarten....so many exciting journeys for you still undiscovered! We love you!

March 27, 2011: Isaac turns 1!

God-willing, this day was going to come...but I just can't believe it's here already. Amazing how time passes so much faster the more little feet you have you, propelling it forward! In true Cascio-style, we celebrated in a procrastinate-to-the-last-minute kind of way....but it was still wonderful. Since I was working all weekend (Reserves), I didn't get an opportunity to "get crazy" with everything and relied heavily upon Jeff to pull it off. And he did, as usual!

His dinosaur-cake before him, he daintily pushed his little fingers into the frosting and poked them back into his mouth, we are talking complete composure, here, folks! It was so cute. I guess he thought he had an entire sheet cake, so what's the rush? He didn't dive in head-first, grab gobs of it in his hands, or anything. Quite an impressive show of control. When we took it away to cut it, he did his pidgy-cooing thing, but that's about it! Daddy had been giving him the good stuff pretty early, though - all this week: Oreos, ice cream, cookies...and I wonder why they always like Daddy better!! :)

He got a zebra-scooter-push toy, a learning tool-bench, some cute clothes from Grammy and Grampy in NH, a zhu-zhu pet from Luke & Josh, and lots of kisses!!

Jeff and I capped off the night by watching the "birth video"- all 15 minutes of it! It was surreal, watching myself in full labor - I really should have been a bit more dramatic about it, it was rather uneventful, of course, until I swept I cheese-covered Isaac up into my arms from the warm water! I wish you could actually see into the water - that was where the action was! How beautifully sweet he was in that moment, how calm - cozy...it was such an AMAZING (proper use of that word!) experience.

Up and Running Again...literally.

I turned 33 last week.

That statement could be interpreted many ways; the obvious absence of an exclamation point should clue you in about how I am feeling, ummmm....less than spectac-u-lar. But age, like the scale, (that demonic device that only feeds my most terrible vice) is just a number. Right?

THIS year is going to be different. THIS is going to be the year that I officially conquer all of my battles: reading my bible daily, spending time in serious prayer, exercising daily, eating better, practicing ALL the fruits of the spirit. I know what you're thinking; that is one TALL order for 365 days. That is why I need help, encouragement, a gentle nudge and reminder that I am human so when I DO fail I will not wallow in self-depreciation any longer than I have to.

So yesterday, Jeff wakes me up by asking, "Are you going to run first, or want me to?" (For authenticity's sake, I left his grammar choices.) I was up every few hours with Josh who still refuses our meek attempts at ferberization, instead craving the warm, cozy, comfort that only my "milkies" provide. The only place I had any interest in RUNNING to was my keurig. So I did, and Jeff left me to my computer and coffee and headed into the cold, and rainy weather that defines this season in NorCal. By the time he returned, sweaty, happy, even perky, I had resolved to attempt a run. In the rain. And the Cold.

I got a little carried away.

"A little carried away" is a Cascio family joke. I tend to get "a little carried away" more often than not. Having some ice cream is a half-hour process of preparation...but that is another story. I ran for ONE HOUR. Sixty-one minutes, to be exact. It was exhilirating and liberating on a level comparable to organizing the garage and finishing cleaning the grout in the shower. Hard work, yes. Worth repeating? Absolutely. But not for a while...anyway.

On another note, Luke just peed. IN THE TOILET! Woo hoo. This may seem inconsequentially trite to those of you sans young children, but it is a victory of magnanimous proportions at our house. We have fallen a little behind in the potty training since Eagle was born...which, I expected, but I'm trying hard to get Luke back on the potty seat; diapers for two heineys are getting a little expensive!

Okay, I have some serious work to do now. English essays don't write themselves! (unfortunately!)